Be revelant but. [ Jeremiah 6 v16 ]

Last evening I was ministering at a small church, this church is led by two elderly ladies,they dont do any preaching but lead,when I am asked to preach they always stress they want me to preach the gospel.I enjoy going there in some  ways it is like going back in time,they sing the old choruses ,and from the old hymn books, Sankey/ Golden bell.These two dear women have been very active in missionary support,they are two godly women,and I admire them a lot.Things have changed in the Christian church ,dress code,hymns,attendance at church,often only one service on a Sunday,of necessity we have to,and must change.The church must adopt to the age they live in,and yet must not in any shape or form compromise as regards the truth, people are still sinners ,still lost, still going to a lost eternity.Christians still need to be built up in their most holy faith,need to hear and be fed from Gods word,it should never be said that the hungry sheep look up and are not fed.By all means let us be relevant to the 21st centuary, but let us be faithful to God and His word.
A prayer...../Dear God in this changing world, help us to hold unto Your unchanging truth in Jesus name Amen./

The Lord Looketh on the heart.[ 1 Samuel 16 v7 ]

I am glad I attend a church that is imformal,it was not always so,I remember hearing of the former minister being criticised for taking his coat of  when preaching,but thankfully things have changed.When I was a minister I used to wear clerical garb ,I still try to look my best when I meet with Gods people, at one time I used to wear a bow- tie,yes that was my bow tie period.I remember  people making a great deal out of women wearing jeans,and if they wore make up, they were labled a Jezebel.I remember a speaker telling how a preacher was challenged by lady for wearing perfume[after shave],and he replied ,yes but it is obvious you dont wear perfume. Again I remember a pastor I knew who had a beard, being told by someone as they left at the close of the service,pity about the beard.A number of years ago I went to minister at a church, who had called a new minister, he was a young man , and he had an ear ring in one ear,which was a bit different, and for some not acceptable, and I remembered a scripture, /The Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance,but the Lord looketh on the heart[ 1 Samuel 16 v7]/
 A  prayer...../ Dear God forgive us for judging people,as the old saying  goes,judging the book by its cover, thankfully, the outward appearance is  not important,  with You, in Jesus name Amen /

It is not natural . [ Hebrews 11]

The way of faith does not come naturally to us, for it is not  natural ,it is a spiritual concept,we will not be applauded for walking, and living by faith, there is every possiblity that people will despise you. I wonder how many people thought my wife and I were going to fall flat on our faces when we stepped out by faith, with our young family. But God honoured our faith ,oh yes we where tested, faith will always be tested,was not Abraham and Sarah severely tested, tell me a saint of God who took a step of faith,and was not tested. Yes faith will be tested,but it will not be found wanting,God will honour those who honour Him, for He delights in those who trust Him, when the chips are down.In the midst of a life threatening storm. Paul boldly declared a message of hope,God had spoken,that all those in the ship in the storm would be preserved,so he declared, /I believe God. Acts 27 v25/, and so it came to pass.
A prayer..../Dear God help us to live by faith, to not be afraid, to take a chance,knowing that You will not fail us,in Jesus name Amen /

True riches [ Philippians 3 v 8 ]

Proverbs 23 v4 - 5 /Labour not to be rich.......for riches certainly make themselves wings,they fly away as an eagle toward heaven./ Now there is nothing wrong with being rich, but we are warned that the love of money is a great evil,we read of a rich young ruler, whose love for money was greater than his own soul Matthew 19 v16 ff. All the people who are going for gold are not in the Olympic games, there are literally millions of people who are clutching their lottery tickets, for we are told there shall be 100 millionaires, and as I was leaving my place of employment,I overheard a number of people expressing the hope of being one. It was the apostle Paul who reminds us Christians that we should never be fooled by earthly values[ cp  1 Corinthians9 v25],if God should bless one with riches, then use those riches to bless others,and above all else, to not let  our possessions possess us.
A  prayer..../Dear God help us to not be fooled by worldly values, that we are to love You,that our service may be as unto You,our worship may be always focused on You,in Jesus name we ask this Amen./

A good name.[ Philippians 2 v 5-11 ]

Proverbs 22 v1..../ A good name is rather to be chosen rather than great riches/ Here we are thinking of having a good reputation, the bankers have a bad reputation, the salvation army has a good reputation.I am having some work done in my home,and the man who is doing the work ,has come with a good reputation, and he has lived up to it.As regards buissness a good reputation is very precious, destroy that reputation and your buisness will suffer. One wonders will the Roman Catholic ever recover their  reputation, in the light of the sex scandles?. We all like to think of our reputation,as important and rightly so,we are told we should value a good  name rather than great riches. And yet we read about our Saviour that He made Himself of no reputation,and this can only be fully appreciated when we understand who He was and what He became, equal with God, for He was God, and yet He became a servant,becoming a man, and then to die,the most humiliating death on a cross. In the light of this profound happening there is a challenge which we all have to face ,in our work places,in our schools ,or wherever God has placed us.
A prayer..../ Dear God help us to hold fast to what is important in Your eyes, even if that means putting our reputation on line, in Jesus name Amen/

Not acceptable [ Isaiah 1 v10ff]

Proverbs21 v3..../ To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice/ Now of course Solomon was dismissing sacrifices  cp  1 Kings 9 v 25,but it is the folly of religious people who thought that God would accept them while they committed injustice,and oppression.cp Isaiah 1v 10ff.Religion if it is to be meaningful and acceptable must be acceptable to God, which means, just, and merciful.Yet it is sad, that history reveals so much injustice,many slave owners were Christians,apartheid was given sanction and credibility by the religion of white South Africans,and those who owned those dark satanic mills in England,professed  to be Christian.So let us appreciate that if we are oppressing our wives,our children or those we employ, and we hide all this behind a religious front, remember God sees and is not pleased,it is not acceptable.
A  prayer.../Dear God help us not to be a hypocrite in Jesus name Amen /

An affair of the heart[John 21 v 15-17]

Proverbs 23 v26..../My son, give me thine heart,and let thine eyes observe my ways/ I remember hearing a preacher telling how those words,/My son give me thine heart/,spoke into his heart, and he surrendered his life to Christ. It is Charles Bridges who writes./ Many are the claimants for the heart. Heaven and hell contend fot it. The world with its riches, honours,and pleasures, and science with its more plausible charmes,cries , give me thine heart./The question is who or what has our heart? our Saviour was asked, what is the greatest commandment?and He replied,/Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul,and with all thy mind[ Matthew 22v37] The non Christian knows nothing about this,for this goes further than,doing our best,it goes further than legalism,it is surrendering our heart to Jesus,and in that ,we forsake all lesser things.Jesus asked Peter, the failure,three times ,/Do you love Me? /[John 21 v15-17 ] ,the question is how many more times does He need to ask you this question ,before you respond?
 A   prayer...../Dear Lord Jesus today I  give You my heart,I forsake all other lesser things, I confess that I love You Amen/

Run to Him. [ Psalm 121 ]

Proverbs 18 v10./The  name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe/Names  have meanings, Gods name has a meaning,in the NT we are told to ask in Jesus name,whats in a name?often a name reveals the character of that person, be it good or bad.So what does Gods name conjure up?,a protector ,Psalm 50v15 reads,/And call upom me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Whats in a name Gods name?a place of saftey c p.....  Psalm 4 v8 I will lay me down in peace, and sleep, for thou Lord, only makest me dwell in saftey./. Whats in a name Gods name?a place of security , Psalm 27 v1 The Lord is my light and my salvation,whom shall I fear?the Lord is the strength of my life, whom shall I be afraid, the answer to that question is no one.The righteous run into it and is safe,we note two things in these words , what we are being told is very simple  these word are spoken to those who have put their faith in Jesus , He is the only way to God [John 14 v6 ].Next we see that they must run to to God, run ,not dilly ,dally all the way,if we are to be safe then we must be urgent,how often Israel sought false gods, to their destruction.But when we run to the Lord, we are guaranteed a place of saftey, a place of deliverance. W.O. Cushing wrote../How oft in the conflict,when pressed by the foe,I have fled to my refuge, and breathed out my woe. How often when trials like sea billows roll. Have I hidden in Thee ,O Thou Rock of my soul/
A   prayer...../ Dear God in our difficulties help us to run to You ,not from You,help us to make You our first port of call in Jesus name Amen/

Right is not always right . [Isaiah 5 v 20 ]

Proverbs 14 v12/There is a way that semeth right unto a man,but the end thereof are the ways of death/ There is an old saying,/ convince a man against his will and he remaineth of that opinion still/,I listened to a famous pop star talking about his homosexual relationship,and of his adopted child. He appeared so comfortable and self assured,I suppose no amount of speaking to him would convince him that he was wrong,but he is,not because I say so, but because the word of God says so [ cp  Romans1 v24-28] Now I mention this to illustrate how people not just homosexuals,can be blinded by satan, into believing that what they are doing is right, even though it is clearly spelled out that what they are doing is wrong.The adulterer can convinced himself that God understands his adultery,because he and his wife are having difficulties,and that she does not understand him.I listened to the radio where professional pickpockets from Albania who will be visiting London during the Olympics ,to rob people.One pickpocket spoke as if what he was doing was alright,after all the people they  will be stealing from are rich.But Gods commandment tells us, /You shall not steal/ [Exodus 20 v15]. We appear to be  like the people at the time of the Judges,who simply did that which was right in their own eyes [21 v25], the result was they forsook Gods way and suffered the consquences.Let none of us be deluded ,let us judge are choices,beliefs,and practices,according to the word of God.
A    prayer.../ Dear God forgive us for our wrong sinful choices , open the eyes of our understanding,to make the right choices, to choose Christ, to forsake our sin, and to live our lives according to Your will as revealed in Your word,in Jesus name we ask this Amen /

Being rich,being poor. [ Mark 10 v 28-30]

Proverbs 13 v7 /There is he that maketh himself rich,and yet hath nothing,there is that maketh himself poor,yet hath great riches/I suppose it is nice to have a bit of money,but let us be very clear,being rich guarantees nothing,and often in the pursuit of riches people impoverish themselves.Riches dont make you a better person or a more happy person, or a more holy person,as I write this blog, the national lottery is on the TV ,millions are hoping that they will win millions, and then everything will be great, or will it?Some of the riches people are far from happy read the book of Ecclesiastes, written by the man who had everything ,tried everything,only to discover that everything was meaningless, a chasing after wind[2 v11]Our Saviour often spoke to the rich and warned then of the danger in those riches they possessed,even that of loosing ones own soul, rich in possessions but  poor in relation to God[ Luke 12 v 16 -21 ]
 Next we read of those who make themselves poor , yet hath great  riches,how is this possible?  would any of us make ourselves poor? would you? would I?,what if God challenged us to give up all we possess how would we feel?nobody wants to be poor, there is a stigma attached to being poor.If we are a Christian then we are following one who was rich ,even our Jesus, and we  are told for our sakes He became poor[ 2 Corinthians8 v9 ]and in so doing he enriched us,,He enriched Heaven,and He enriched Himself.We could mention many people who have have followed in the footsteps of Jesus and in so doing been a blessing and been blessed,and their memory is blest.
A  prayer...../Dear Lord help us to keep heavens values first in our lives in Your name we ask this Amen/

Holding back. [ Matthew 28 v19-20 ]

Proverbs 11 v24 reads,/There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth,and there is that witholdeth more than is meet[ withholds what he should give] but it tendeth to poverty[and only suffers want]I heard someone say there are two things Christians become uncomfortable with, evangelism and thithing.[giving]God understands us fully, so I am not going to put myself or you on a guilt trip.Lets think about a biblical principal here,first evangilisim,we are not meant to be miserly with the gospel,it is meant to be shared,it is the good seed,what do you do with seed?, you sow it.It may bear fruit there and then ,but often it does not,but it will[ cp Isaiah55v8-11],for too long the church has held back,in plain evagelisim,and is the poorer for it,when we give the gospel away we will be blessed.
A  prayer..../ Dear God we thank You for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, forgive us for hoarding it,for not sharing it,help us to be generous with this gospel, and let us  leave the results with You,in Jesus name Amen/

We cannot loose out[ Proerbs 10 v22 ]

Proverbs10v22/ The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich,and he addeth no sorrow with it/When the blessing of the Lord is upon us,he will bless our endevours,but the scriptures tell us,except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it[Psalm127 v 1] Inspite of of all Laban did to Jacob the Lord overruled and prospered Jacob[ Genesis 31v 7 ]he became rich[Genesis 30 v43]this was not accomplished by Jacob efforts,alone, no , God blessed him,blessed his efforts. He addeth no sorrow to it,what does that mean?,Charles Bridges wrote/,no sorrow ,but what turns to a blessing,/we see this especially in the life of Joseph,all the suffering he endured,hated by his brothers,sold into slavery,wrongly accused of a crime,put into prison,until what he had said came to pass,the word of the Lord tested him[Psalm 105 v18-19]oh yes he suffered,but because the blessing of God was upon him,joy came in the morning[Psalm 30 v5 ]One cannot loose out if the blessing of God is upon us,, irrespective of what one may suffer,for there will come a glorious day when God will wipe away every tear,and we will enter into eternal joy[Revelation 21 v1-4] As I sat in my garden earlier,overhead dark clouds were gathering,and I thought of those wonderful words penned by dear William Cowper/ Ye fearful saints , fresh courage take,the clouds ye so much dread. Are big with mercy,and shall break, in blessings on your head/, so rejoice you blessed of the Lord.
A  prayer..../Dear God we praise You that in Jesus we are blessed by Your grace, mercy, and love,blessed in time and throughout eternity,. Amen ]

Which group are you in?. [ Psalm 1 ]

Proverbs 4 v 18-19 reads ,/But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at what they stumble./ We have two groups of people mentioned,one is under a blessing, and it shows,the other is under a curse,seen as a  person stumbling about in the darkness. One has confidence, has a certainty, and is conscious that they have a purpose, and a destiny,the other can only relate to the things of this life,with all its uncertainties, and has no idea as to where they are going.The nearer the just gets to their eternal home,the more it is manifest in their lives,the wicked [ all those outside of Christ]are without hope, and without God[ Ephesians 2 v12 ] The question is, which group do you belong to?,remember you cannot have a foot in both camps,for Jesus said,/ He that is not with me is against Me[ Matthew 12 v30 ]
A  prayer..../ Dear Lord help me to see that without You there  is no future,only in You will there be that perfect day Amen /

Acknowledge Him. [ Psalm 78 v53 ]

The next verse in Proverbs we can consider is 3v6/ In all thy ways acknowledge Him,and He shall direct thy paths/ The old hymn says ,/run not before Him/,is what we are inclined to do.In all thy ways acknowledge Him,in other words, bring Him into all aspects of our lives,be on gaurd against leaving the Lord out of our doings. We need to continually remind ourselves ,that dependance on the Lord is best,and the safest attitude to have,even when things dont turn out like we feel they should.Matthew Henry wrote/We must ask His leave, and not design anything but what we are sure is lawful/.We cannot expect God to bless anything that is dubious,our ways must be ways of holiness and integrity.So each day ,yea each hour,yea each minute,let us acknowledge the Lord, and the result will be He shall direct our paths.
 A  prayer..../ Dear God help us not to shut You out of any aspect of our lives,and at times when we forget ,have mercy,and overrule for our good, in Jesus name Amen /

Learn this vital lesson. [ 1 Corinthians 1 v 18 -31 ]

Let us spend a little bit of time looking at some verses from the book of Proverbs,the first verse is an old favourite of mine chap 3 v5/Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding/.Here is a verse every Christian should memorize,meditate on, and put into practice.I wonder why a nation like Germany sunk so low as to not only tolerate a Hitler but also to follow him, now of course not all Germans did, but many did.Now there are many reasons why the Nazi party succeeded,the nation over a long time adapted beliefs that came from ungodly people the so called philosopher,s with their perverted ideas.Why did Mein Kampf become a best seller? because the land of the reformation, did not trust in the Lord with all their heart, instead they leaned unto their own understanding.Let us learn the lesson, that if we lean unto our own understanding.be it a nation or as individuals, we will suffer the consequences.
A prayer...../Dear Lord help us to hold unto the truth, that the safest thing to do at all times is to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, in Jesus name Amen /

Fighting, finishing,and keeping the faith. [ 2 Timothy 4 v 7-8 ]

My oldest boy completed a bike ride of over 50 miles yesterday,along with about 2ooo others, my wife and I were at the finish ride, it was a charity event.He and a few friends had been training ,if you are going to take on some challenge, usually it is advisable to prepare. At the end of this month the olympics will be taking place in this country mainly in London,I will not be attending any of the events, but I will watch some of it on TV.Of course it was the Greeks who started it all.The apostle Paul  refers to sport in his writings, and in writing to young Timothy, knowing that his end was near,and this is what he wrote. /I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith[2 Timothy 4 v 7 ]. In these words we see the challenge of being a Christian,he fought a good fight,one just has to read his letters to appreciate what he had to contend with,like him we are in a war zone,let us fight a good fight.Next he writes on finishing his course,my greatest desire is to finish,not to be a drop out, I want my heavenly father to be at the finish line,and to greet me with a big welcome home hug.Next he declares I have kept the faith,in other words he was faithful to Jesus,yes faithful to Jesus,God grant us the grace we need to be faithful to Jesus, and not be drawn away from Him.
A  prayer..../Dear God grant us the grace we need ,to fight, to finish, and to keep the faith,in Jesus name Amen /

Prayer, we need to go deeper. [ Matthew 6 v 5 -15 ]

Our daugther in law failed her driving test yesterday,this is the second time,now I am not writing this to make her feel bad,so why  mention it?.The reason I am writing about it,is to highlight the fact that my wife and I both prayed that she would pass her test,but she didnt. Why is a question we will all ask I am sure,in relation to  prayer,we are told ,ask and it shall be given unto you,we are told God answers our prayers.Do we just brush this question under the mat?why was this prayer not answered?,now of course my daughter in law must have prayed,my son must have prayed, so why did she fail? Now as I write this blog I am listening to Christian radio, I hear the words being sung,/Open the eyes of my heart Lord//and it seems to me that we need to go deeper ,than our natural understanding, especially when it comes to prayer.We need to not lean upon our own understanding[Proverbs 3v5], we need to go deeper,in all things, especially as I have stressed in relation to prayer. Prayer is not just a yes or no exercise, it is not just putting a coin in a machine and getting a coffee,for sometimes we dont get coffee. Prayer is part of our relationship with a loving heavenly Father, through Jesus,it is not just a one way street relationship.When my children come to me and ask, for advice or whatever, I listen and I consider what is the best answer,the best way to help.So it is with God when we come to Him, with a request,He may not grant our request because it is lacking in faith,we may have sin in our lives,we may need patience, we may be asking with wrong motives,we may not be praying according to His will, our faith needs refining.
A prayer..../ Loving heavenly Father we ask that You would open the eyes of our heart in relation to prayer, in Jesus name Amen /

Pray. [ Luke 18v1 ]

Sometimes I see the humorous side of things,take our weather,earlier in the year we were told, that many parts of our land was affected by a lack of rain,a hose pipe ban was put into force,the word drought was mentioned.So I prayed ,now I am not saying I am an Elijah,but all I know is we have had one of the wettest summers in living memory.We have experienced floods in certain places, there is no more talk about a lack of rain. Now while on holiday as I was driving through heavy rain fall, I suddenly thought is all this rain my fault?, after all I did pray.I smiled at my words ,I better be careful what I pray about,who knows what devastation I may cause.As I said my sense of humour, sometimes gets the better of me,but being serious, I believe God did answer my prayers for rain, and I am grateful  [I am sure others prayed as well],when we pray God does hear, and I believe He does answer,prayer is a powerful ministry,so pray,dont give up,pray ,pray,pray.
A prayer..../ Dear God  thank You for answers to our prayers,help us to not give up ,help us to pray, and  to trust ,that our prayers are answered ,according to Your perfect will, in Jesus name Amen /

Gods no. [ 1 Kings 19]

I  wonder do you ever feel like giving up on your marriage ,children,church,job, yes even following the Lord?, because, what is your because?.You have prayed about things faithfully and nothing appears to change,well join the club. Elijah was a member of that club, surely not, after all he was a prophet, a man of God, one who stood,it seemed alone against a sea of evil.So what did he do ?well he talked to God honestly he had a good moan about the situation ,and he had a prayer request, he asked that he might die. I wonder do you have a death wish? Elijahs request was never answered, in fact he is one of those rare individuals who never died. It is a good job we dont recieve all we ask for , from God,that job, that girl,or boy we thought we loved,God said no, is not God wise and loving enough ,to knows whats best for us?. At this time you may feel like giving up,because of the circumstances you are facing, your requests are not answered,remember Elijah, and Gods no to Him,at that moment in time it may have seemed cruel, but it was,nt,God had some better thing for Elijah.
A  prayer...../ Dear God we thank You that You say no at times to us,not a lot, but nevertheless You do,help us to see, yes through our despair and tears that You know whats best for us, grant us grace to not give up, in Jesus name Amen /
[  I am going on a short break, and will return to my blog[dv] Saturday 14th,  every blesing]

The god particle.[ Colossians 1 V12-17]

 I am not a scientist ,I hardly know how to spell the word,and I am not a physicists, and I am not sure what the term god particle means,although the scientific world is excited about it.Most scientists dont like the phrase,and a man called Leaderman,mentions about a connection,to the book of Genesis. If scentists where seeking to discover how God made the earth,which unfortunately they are not, one could appreciate their efforts, but most of their efforts appear to be ignoring,or refuting a belief in a creator God. It appears to me that no matter how much they appear to discover, I say appear for science is an incomplete exercise,they will never explain the cause of the universe and this world, and how it all came into being.I am not anti science,but I am so saddened at their atitude,at their arrogance,for it appears to me the more they know the less they know.Unfortunately  here in the west,mulitudes are blindly following them,why?thats for them to answer,as a Christian I am encouraged to use my mind, to not accept willy nilly, what any group of people teach.I remember as a young man asking questions as to the meaning of life,for it did not appear to have any,until I came back to faith in Christ,by whom all things were made,and in that moment, I had found the answer,to my searching.
A prayer..../Dear God we thank You for the many scientific discoveries,that have helped mankind,but we pray for the many who are rejoicing in the god particle, may discover the one by whom all things were made and are now held together even Jesus Thou Son . Amen/

Relying on the Lord. [Psalm 127]

Let us consider another Psalm, 127,the opening verse reads/ Except the Lord build the house they labour in vain that build it, except the Lord keep the city ,the watchman waketh in vain./The church that I used to be an elder in was taken over by a person who made all sorts of claims that in three months time we would see such a difference.He told my fellow elder and me all about his success in other places ,well we had it appeared seen little success, so we stepped down,and left the church, we left it to him, thats what he wanted.It is over a year since we left, and the man who boasted about what he would do has moved ,another person is in charged and the last report I have had there was only one person attending, and was looking for those who have left to come back. I am not bitter I feel it was time for us to move on, and my desire is that the work there may even yet grow,but on reflection ,in relation to the man who took over,it appears, that his confidence was in his record or apparent record ,and not the Lord. There is that line we cross in which we can leave the Lord out of our endeavours,it is so easy,to become unbalanced,I often see churches making claims for their ministries that is not based on faith but on presumption.So today in all our activities let us make sure that we are trully relying on the Lord,and not on our past records, or accomplishments.
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to face each new task with humble reliance on You,for without You helping us continually we labour in vain, in Jesus name we ask this Amen /

He can alter my disposition. [Isaiah 61 v 1-3]

Oswald  Chambers wrote.../ There is no circumstances so dark and complicated, no life so twisted, that He cannot put right. The Bible was not written for babes and fools, it was written for men and women who have to face hell,s facts as well as heavens facts in this life. If Jesus cannot touch those lives which present a smooth face, but have a hideous tragedy behind, what is the good of His salvation?But, bless God, He can. He can alter my disposition alter the dreams of my dreams, until lust no longer dwells there./When Jesus was on earth ,He was faced with people whose lives were held fast by satan and sin,self destructive lives,no one could help them. We read of people who where plagued by so much, people who tried everything,had no where to go,they were trapped ,and lost.To these Jesus came, and performed miracles, healed them , forgive them, and set them free,this is what the Bible tells us,and the same Bible tells us that Jesus never changes. I believe the Bible ,I believe that Jesus saves, and that His power can set the prisoners free, He can gave the weary rest,He will hear and answer prayer,this is not a Pentecostal writing this, or a charismatic[ mybe they have something we all need to claim ],but a Christian who simply believes in a Saviour who is mighty to save ,mighty to deliver,mighty to work on behalf of the oppressed, and distressed.
A  prayer..../Dear Saviour have mercy on those who are bound by sin and satan,manifest Thy power and set them free. Amen/

If God be for us. [ Romans 8 v 31-39 ]

Let us consider words from Psalm 124v1-2/If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us/ consider these words in relation to your experience, as I relate it to mine.How have we come this far?, how have we overcome all the difficulties in life?,how have we got through when everything was against us?. Saved from drowning when I was a boy,passed my driving test after only 10 lessons,who made a way for me when every door was shut?,who stood by me when my dear wife died?,who has helped me in my ministry,who enabled me to get my present job,which I have worked in for 20years?, and so I could go on,as indeed every child of God could.If it had not  been the Lord none of these things would have happened,William Plumer wrote,/We cannot too often  remember that none but God can save us from sin, or foes, or perils, and that He can certainly do for us all that our case requires. He that has  God for His friend and portion lacks nothing whatever.........If the safety of the righteous depended on appearances,or on their inherent energies , or the weakness or fewness of their adversaries, they would all perish/ What shall we then say to these things? if  God be for us, who can be against us [ Romans 8 v 31 ]
A  prayer..../ Thank You dear Lord for all You have done for us, when no one stood with us You did, when all human resources where exhausted then You  met the our deep need, great has been Your faithfulness, in Jesus name we thank You Amen /

Look to God [ Psalm 121 ]

One of my and others favourite Psalm is 121,verse one reads/I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help/. Ask yourself this question,where will my help come from?,not the hills,no not the hills, the Lord is not a God of the hills or the valleys.The writer makes a positive decision,often we run with our fears, and feelings,no, dont do that,make a definite decision to look up,not at creation but to your creator. Today many people are taken up with secondary things,they are looking at their possessions,gods of mans imaginations,the list is endless, they are all, will of the wisps. Yes God will use means to help us,but they are only ,Gods instruments in His hands to accomplish His purpose,for His dear children.Verse 2 is a needful reminder to us all where are help will come from,/My help cometh from the Lord,/and what a Lord/which made heaven and earth/.Think of the power,wisdom, and planning that went into creating the heavens and the earth, is such a one not able to help us?, of course He is , He can do, exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think[ Ephesians 3 v20].
A  prayer..../ Dear Lord help us not to be earth bound in our difficulties,help us to look up to You in Your name Lord Jesus we ask this Amen /

God is passionate. [Jeremiah 31 v 3 ]

In the fellowship I attend the pastor was leading an open discussion,on being passionate, and he asked what did we think God was passionate about?.Well several answers were forthcoming, and
 one of the answers that came to me was, God is passionate about me,yes even little old me, and what applies to me ,applies to you.His passion for us is manifested by the love manifested on Calvary. This  love will never lessen, it is a love with an eternal aspect to it,for his passion will not end with this life,but will continue eternally. Everything He directs into our lives and everthing He allows us to experience is motivated by a passionate love for our well being. He desires us to rise from our failures,He  desires us to succeed,,to never waver.but even if we do, to not give up,He desires with a passion for us,to be the people we should and can be, inspite of what others think, and what we may think. Its not just about positive thinking,it is about a God who is passionate about us,passionate about you and me.
A  prayer.../ Dear God of passion ,we rejoice that You have a passion for us,a love that will not let us go,but will follow us, in time and for all eternity, in Jesus name Amen/

Death [ John 11 v 25-26 ]

I  was ministering in a certain church ,and was told that one of the ladies who attended that fellowship had died,she had over the years suffered a lot of illness, her last illness was cancer, which brought about her death. As I was leaving one of the members asked the question,  why?, yes people still ask this question, in that ladies case it appears a mercy that the Lord took her home. It seems to me that she had experienced enough suffering,and now she is at  rest,free from all sickness, all pain, I know death is a painful thing for those who are left, but I also know that as for God His way is perfect. There is a gospel hymn which goes,,/ everybody wants to go to heaven , but nobody wants to die./, this is so true, it seems to our human reasoning that to go to heaven ,like Enoch, or Elijah, is preferable to dying.Death will not go away no matter how painful it is,and no matter how much we wish for it not to happen. It is the apostle Paul ,writing on the subject of death to Christians,reminds us of  a number of things,that death is not the end, when a believer dies they immediately enter heaven [ 2 Corinthians 5 v8 ],also there will come a day when death will cease to be [Revelation 20 v14 / 1Corinthians 15 v54-55] . Death is for the believer a temporary experince,Chist assures us, that through faith in Him ,even though we die we shall live[ John 11 v25 ]. So for most of us death will take place,only those alive at Christs second coming, whenever that will be,will not experience death.[1 Thessalonians 4v 17].So if  we are believers we should not sorrow as those who have no hope[1 Thessalonians 4v 13].
A prayer..../ Dear Lord Jesus we thank You, that through Your death,You have overcome death, and have brought life and immortality to all who put their faith in You Amen ]

Integrity [Nehemiah 5 v 14 ff]

One of  the men I admire in the Bible is Nehemiah, one of his godly characteristics was his integrity ,cp chapter 5 v14ff,the more we hear of the modern day bankers we see how this qaulity is missing. Recently I purchased a second hand car ,and with it I was given a 3 month warrenty.I soon discovered there was a fault with the ,the car dealer told me to get in touch with the warranty people,now the point is this ,because the fault was in the car when I bought it, the warrinty was invalid.The garage that was going to fix it where charging me over 600 pounds to put the fault right,they phoned the warranty people who gave the ok to go ahead,but where not informed by them that the fault was in the car when I bought it. So I was faced with a decision to let the warranty people pay the bill or, well I went back to the people I bought it, got no joy,in essence they are responsible  to put the problem right. So although I could have let the warranty pay, I decided I should pay it. Integrity is important for all of us especially if we are Christians, it is easy to give in to the spirit of the age,but we must trust in God and do the right thing.
A prayer..../ Help us to be people of integrity in Jesus name Amen/