Stratford -upon -Avon. [ Revelation 3 v8 ]

I have just returned from Stratford-upon -Avon, the birth place of William Shakespeare,although one guide said he may have been born away from there in a country residence, because Stratford was experencing plague. But he did return to Stratford when he was about 3 months,it was all very interesting, I did visit the church where he was buried, a curse is put upon anyone who moves his bones. Well we enjoyed our visit,we visited Warwick castle,and saw the death mask of another great English man Oliver  Cromwell But one of the things I remember most was a man called Henry, there he was giving out the War cry,a salvation army publication. I spoke to him,inquired how the army were getting on in Stratford, he told me his group had closed.He spoke of the great need in Stratford,a place where million pound homes are common,one got the distinct impression that God had withdrawn from that place.Well I  prayed for him and he prayed for me, but we both prayed for Stratford the birth place of the great  William Shakespeare, yes I will always remember my visit to Stratford,but most of all I will remember Henry a faithful brother in the Lord.
A  prayer......./ Dear God have mercy upon Stratford visit it with Thy salvation, and bless Henry and his witness for Your dear son Jesus Amen /

Gods love is the greatest thing.[ Jeremiah 31v3 ]

Im in love again, so read the words in a magazine,I am reminded of a song which says,/when I fall in love it must be forever ,and /so many moonlight kisses seem to cool in the with warmth of the sun/. Love is trully a many splendour thing, but us humans,appear to fall out of love so easily. Consider David,,,, why did he have so many wives?, likewise Solomon,the word of God does not comment on the right or wrongs of what they did.In Solomons case it caused him to forsake God ,yes this very wise man acted very foolishly. So many songs are written about love,and the Song of Solomon, is a book about love,love is very important .  Of course there are different types of love we love our parents,our children,our jobs,our girlfriends/boyfriends,our friends,our neighbours,so many things we love.The thing is we can love all those things and not love God,might even find it strange when we talk of God and love. Yet this is what is so vital if we are to have a relationship with God,and continue on that relationship ,if there is no love there will be no relationship. I was driving in my car recently and I spoke to God , I said I love You Lord,and even as I said that I had an uneasy conscience,of my imperfect love,in contrast to Gods perfect love my love is imperfect and indeed as long as I live,it will be imperfect,but the wonder of wonders is that a perfect God,loves me inspite of my shortcomings,and He always will, for He declares ,I have loved thee with an everlasting love [Jeremiah 31v3 ].
A  prayer..../Dear God we are lost in wonder of Your love for us, that even while we yet sinners Christ in love died for us,and that You will always love us,inperfect though we are,thank You in Jesus name Amen /
/I will return to my blogg Sunday 30th SEPT,  every blessing /

Fortress security. [ 2 Samuel 22]

I  heard these words on the radio,/Fortress security/,as we read history even Bible history,we read of nations who felt they were secure  because of their wealth,their military power,and I suppose their gods. Even Israel felt they were secure because of the temple of the Lord, the ark of the covenant,and their religious activities,But they were to discover that these things were but empty shells,because they had forsaken the Lord himself,they made the mistake that many make,religion without a true relationship is of no value,either in time,or eternity.Mankind will substitute so many things in place of God, the America dollar has the words /In God we trust/, printed on it,but how few  Americans believe that?. One of the peanut characters in the Charlie Brown cartoon always carried about with him ,his security blanket. Let us ask ourselves what is our,fortress security?,king David when the Lord had delivered him from all his enemies , declared,  /The Lord is my rock,and my fortress,and my deliverer[2 Samuel 22 v2]/ As you start out on this day,yea everyday, why not repeat those words,for what God was to David ,He will be to every dear child of God.
A  prayer..../Dear God help us to see that our security is not ,in money,power,or people, but in you our fortress, in Jesus name Amen /

He that winneth souls is wise. [Proverbs 11v 30 ]

My son John shared with me something that was interesting,he was going to work and was feeling low in spirit,and so he prayed that God would grant him an opportunity to speak clearly  about the Lord to someone. When he got to work one of his fellow workers said how he wanted to have faith but,well this led on to my son speaking to him and others about Christ. When he had finished work,and about to drive home,he reached for candy scriptures,and before he popped it into his mouth ,he read,/Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men[Matthew 4v 19 ]. A  coincidence? no ,he prayed and it happened, plus a word of confirmation,and encouragement ,an encouragement in a tremendous ministry,of seeing people come to Christ.To tell others about Christ ,and to see them come to Christ is such a great blessing,the work of salvation is of God, from start to finish,yet is it not humbling,that He will use even us,in the ministry of soul winning. The gospel is the most wonderful message in all the world,it is great to study what it involves,and try to fathom its depths,but its so important that we dont forget,that it is a message to be proclaimed. As the great apostle wrote how shall they hear without a preacher[ Romans 10v 14],now the following verse,and how shall they preach,except they be sent,is not a get out clause,of not telling others about Christ. You may not be a so called missionary,pastor,evangelist, but you are called to tell others about Christ,pray about it ,and take those God given opportunities that come your way.
A   prayer..../Dear God help us to be faithful in telling others about You, and be pleased to bless our weak efforts,in Jesus name, and for His sake we ask this Amen /

Pray without ceasing. [1 Theealonians 5 v17]

I pray about many things and people,people who need to be saved ,personal problems and it appears that nothing is happening,but I just keep praying,because prayer matters. It matters to all of us to keep praying ,it does us good to pray,we need to pray,we need a continual humble dependance upon our God.I mention about nothing happening when we pray ,that is we do not see anything happening,but God is taking note of our prayers.Will He answer?is it pointless fruitless exercise by us to keep on praying,no it is not,for it is a ministry of faith,that Gods will , be done,and His will involves so much we do not see,so lets us not fall into an attitude of blind unbelief,as William Cowper puts it. All  we are called to do is to pray without ceasing [1 Thessalonians 5 v17 ],pray as if everything depends on it, and it does so often.Last weekend my wife and I were faced with a decision, and I challenged my wife to pray about it,she sort of leaves it to me to pray ,but I said if she didnt pray about it then we will just forget about it. To me prayer is not optional,it is absolutely vital,it is saying to God, I dare not take one step without  Thine aid,it is a depending on God a trusting in God,a hoping in God,who knows the best answer,which we dont.So today and every day pray, pray ,and pray,yes pray without ceasing.
A  prayer ..../Dear God grant us the spirit of perseverance in prayer in Jesus name Amen/

Humility and grace. [James 4 v6 ]

The book of Daniel is about many things,but one of the things that challenges me is  the courage shown by the four Hebrew men,Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.It does not indicate that they showed any fear,but it does mention that they took thier life in their hands,in taking a stand for what they believed.Of course we may ask the question what would we do if we were in their position?,we dont know, we  would like to think that we would be like them. I know this I could not do what they did in my own strength,no I may just chicken out,after all who wants to be burnt to death,or chewed to death by lions.I like those words in James 4v6 /But He giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud,but giveth grace unto the humble/. I can only take from these words that those Hebrew men were humble,pride is the greatest block to to blessing, and seemingly a block in recieving the grace of God. These men were not religious fanatics but humble God fearing men,men who walked with God come what may,even if God choose not deliver them [Daniel 3 v17-18] Yes even if they were consumed in the flames,they would not bow down to a golden image.Often trials reveal our inner self,and we turn away from God because He did not heal that one we love,we prayed and we prayed we felt sure God would do a miracle, and He didnt. Or our marriage breaks up even though we have prayed and prayed and He didnt stop it happening. Such an attitude is one of pride ,and such God will oppose,but if we keep a humble spirit within us, He will not only give us grace, but more grace,that will enable us to come through the darkest of trials
A  prayer....../Dear God help us not to justify our proud spirits,help us to maintain a trully humble spirit,and grant unto us the grace we need for every trial, in Jesus name Amen /.

Luke warm. [Revelation 3 v14-22 ]

I have before me a little card with a famous painting on it ,Holman Hunts ,/The light of the world/, I have actually seen this painting it is in ST Pauls cathedral in London.It portrays Jesus holding a light in one hand, and with the other knocking on on a door. It is based on the words of Revealation 3 v20`and it reads,/Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with Me/ These words were spoken to the church at Laodicea a church that was luke warm,neither  cold or hot, a church that was just going through the motions,materialism had taken over. They failed to see themselves as their Lord saw them,naked and blind,now Jesus threatens to chastize them, no He had not given up on them,why?, because He loved them.It was W Cowper who wrote the following words,/Where is the blessedness I knew,when I first saw the Lord. Where is the soul refreshing veiew of Jesus and His Love/. It is so easy to slip away from a close relationship with our Lord,and the fire goes out, and we just go through the motions,but like the the church of Laodicea, the Lord still love us,still pleads for His rigthful place in our hearts.
A  prayer...../ Dear Lord help us not to grow luke warm, Amen/

The offence of the cross. [Galations 6 v 14-15]

I am very sad as I read continually of Christians being persecuted, I wonder why?,now we do not face persecution in this country,but there is concern when Christians are told that they are not allowed to wear a small cross. One asks the question were is it all leading,after all why should anyone take offence at someone wearing a tiny cross? ,why indeed, but seemingly they do. Mybe we should not be surprised at people taking offence at the cross, because of what it stands for, and what it challenges .It challenges a wrong concept of mankinds condition ,simply put we are all sinners, not just that we are imperfect but we are sinful in nature and in practice. It means we are lost away from God,we are Gods enemy[ Romans 5 v10] and although we are Gods creation,we are related to the devil [John 8 v44 / Ephesians 2 v 2].The cross tells us that no amount of religious laws can save  us,be they circumcision,abstaining from certain food,or meat with blood in it,or of keeping a sabbath,or visiting so called holy places. The cross rules out every other religion ,Islam,Hinduism,Mormonism, let me stress this again, the cross rules out every other religion. Need I go on?no I am sure you are getting the point,that the cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ died,is Gods only way, again let me repeat this ,the cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ died, is Gods only way.What we mean is the cross on which Christ died, totally fulfills Gods plan of salvation, even though it gives,and will continually give offence,to the vast majority of people in this world. But in the words of scripture, God forbid that I should glory ,save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.[Galation 6 v14]
A  prayer .../ Dear God we thank You for all You have accomplished through Your sons death on the cross ,forgiveness,pardon, victory over the devil,over death,over despair,and bringing all who trust in Jesus the free gift of eternal life,and freeing us from the bondage of law keeping, in Jesus name we thank You Amen /

It is impossible. [ Romans 4- 5v1 ]

I was driving home when I noticed these words on the back of a bus,/ save yourselves/ I dont know what it was telling those who would read it, but I know what it spoke to me of . It spoke to me of many of the religions in this world,my son Brian said a good question to ask a J W is, who are you trying to save?.I get very suspect of people who are always saying how they are praying and fasting, and giving,and they have a spirit that is judging others. In the end of the day are they trying to save themselves?, ask yourself why are  you religious?,remember works are a proff that we are trully saved,they show that we have true saving faith.But we are not talking about the evidence of salvation, but the means of salvation , which is not what I have done but what Christ has done that saves. You see it is only what Christ has done, His death on the cross, the shedding of His precious blood , that can deal with sin. Islam appears to be a saving yourself, but they are not on their own,many people feel that the good that they do will get them into God good books, but the fact is ,they will not, cannot , save anyone, let me stress this again.good works while being an evidence of salvation cannot save, for the clear teaching of scripture is this,/ God saved  you by His grace when you believed, and you cannot take credit for this, this is a gift of God. Salvation is not a reward, for the good things we have done so none of us can boast about it[Ephesians 2 v8-9]
A  prayer..../ Dear God we thank for saving us through Jesus Your Son,we ask that you will open the eyes of those people to the folly of trying to save themselves in Jesus name Amen/

Truth. [ 2 John 1 v1-2 ]

I was sitting in an Mc Donalds and I heard a pop song/ Words come easy when they are true/,I wonder is that true?,there are many words that are true, that dont come easy. Even as a preacher there are words I have spoken that have not come easy, but they needed to be spoken,it is easy to talk about heaven, but harder to talk about hell.It must be hard to tell a youngster that they have failed ,or that they are being dropped from the team,or whatever.It is not easy for the girl to tell her boy friend she will not marry him because she does not love him, no, even true words may not come easy.Even telling people that  God is love may not be easy when a disaster has taken place, a famous TV presenter give one of his reasons for not believing in God, was the cruelty he witnessed in nature. So what do we do?,should we stop telling people, or warning people about hell, or that God is love?,I dont believe so, we should obey God and speak the truth in love. Some people dont take in to account the hurt they cause others, as they twist the truth,or even distort the truth. Let us never forget that truth is vital and that Jesus said He was the way the truth and the life[John 14 v6], it does not stop there, He went unto say that no person could come unto the Father but  by Him.
A prayer..../ Dear God in a world were truth is at a minimum, help us to rejoice in truth ,to hold fast to the truth,and in love proclaim the truth, in Jesus name .Amen/

Three things to remember [Joshua 1 v5 ]

What gave Joshua the courage to lead Israel after the great man Moses had passed away?,imagine the challenge that must have been,the people may not have accepted him.Imagine what it must have felt like for the successor to Charles H Spurgeon,or D M L Jones,can any body fill the gap  those great men left?. The answer is no,but then Joshua was not meant to be another Moses,the Lord choose Joshua, to fulfill  His new purpose,a purpose that He would be equipped by God to fulfill.We are not meant to be clones but to be ourselves,someone recently said as they criticised a certain church leader that he was not that bright. He may not be all that bright, but if God has called him, He  knows what He is doing , the fact is Gods ways are not our ways, cp 1 Corinthians 1 v 26-29. So going back to my origional question? what give Joshua courage to lead Israel? and the answer is found in Joshua 1 v 5, God said three things to him.[1]I will be with thee, Joshua wherever you go I will be with you.[2] I will not fail thee,many things may fail you Joshua, but I will not fail you, [3 ]Nor forsake thee,Joshua everyone may forsake you ,but I wont. What God said to Joshua ,He is saying to all His children ,to you and to me,so as we face each new day let us all take courage.
A  prayer...../ Dear God we thank You for this three fold promise ,that You are with us,that You will not fail us nor forsake us, in Jesus name Amen /

Our true friend. [1 Peter 1 v 6-7 ]

Difficulty is our true friend [  E  Burke ] We may have heard someone say I am not the person I once was,as a Chrstian of many years, I would like to think ,that I am not the man I once was. I am still the Billy of old and yet I believe that there is a diffent change in me ,oh yes I know there still is a need for a great deal more change.Often difficulties show us where change is needed,when someone hurts us then we find out if we have changed enough to forgive.If  I am faced with a challenge by God have I faith to meet that challenge?,can I accept criticisim, and not feel threatened?. Because Change is the name of the game although it is not a game,the Christian life is an ongoing process of transformation.One of my favourite vegatables is parsnips,now my son told me that in order for them to develop they need frost, one could imagine the parsnip saying ,as it shivered in the cold, I dont need this, but it does, just like the rose bush needs pruned,just like we need our true friend difficulty.
A  prayer...../Dear God grant us the grace we need to triumph over those difficulties we have to face, in Jesus name Amen /

Difficulties our friend?. [ Hebrews 12 v 2-3 ]

Let us continue to consider the words of E Burke that,/difficulty is our true friend/,first of all we are on a journey,we are as every Christian is,on a pilgrimage,we are strangers here, and like Abraham we are looking for a city which hath foundations,whose builder and maker is  God.[ Hebrews [ 11 v10-16] Now life by its very nature will throw up difficulties,the difficulties the unsaved face and overcome are related only to this life,the difficulties Gods children face, are overcome in the light of eternity. If we are facing difficulties ,moral challenges,poverty,illness,restrictions that frustrate us,or whatever, we must see these difficulties as Christ saw them, as but temporary hiccups,painful though they be.[ Hebrews 12 v2 ].The apostle Paul wrote ,that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory, which shall be revealed in us.I am 68 yrs of age,I may only have 10 more years to live. Those 10 years will pass quickly,is it worth giving in to my difficulties ,in the light of eternity?, of course not,am I going to fall at the temporary difficulties ,in the light of eternity glories?.So the difficulties are our friends in that they,cause us to think of the eternal joys that lie ahead.
A  prayer...../Dear God help us to see our difficulties,as a prompting from You,  to us , in order that we  keep our eyes fixed on our eternal homeland  ,in Jesus name Amen./

Jesus made perfect [Hebrews 5v 8-9 ]

Edmund Burke said, /difficulty is our true friend/,I wonder what you think of those words,at this moment in time you may cry out,rubbish,or he would,nt have said that if he was going through,what I am going through.I must read uo on Edmund Burke,but let us consider what he said, that difficulties are our true friends. Consider Jesus of whom we read of in Hebrews 5v 8-9 ,/Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered, and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation, unto all who obey Him/ Now we are not  being told that Christ was imperfect in relation to sin, for he was without sin [Hebrews 4v15],but He came for a purpose to offer  Himself as a perfect sacrifice,yes He was born a perfect human being,but would He succeed were Adam failed?,and the answer is yes,and this meant He had to learn obedience,and that obedience involved suffering.As the Son of God in eternity,the question of obedience never arose, but as the Son of man,suffering was required,in order for Him to be our Saviour, and our great high priest, and this He fully accomplished, on the cross when He cried out ,/it is finished.[ John 19 v30].Coming back to the beginning ,that difficulties are our true friends,can we apply that to Jesus?,we can in a sense,for in overcoming them good came,to a needy world,and in overcoming them Jesus gained as Thomas Hewitt wrote,/Our Lord gained an experimental knowledge of obedience/,so when  His children come, in all their weakness, and failures He fully understands,and is touched with our infirmities[ Hebrews 4 v15]
A prayer....../Dear God we praise You for Jesus who for oursakes faced and overcome every difficulty, and we thank You that He understands us in our difficulties Amen /

True worshipper. [ 1 Thessalonians 1 v9 ]

I have to watch my sugar intake since I became diabetic, at this point I am not on medication, but it may come to that,but I still  like the taste of sweet things,yet I know If  I eat sweets and cakes ,it could cause me serious trouble. I try to be disciplined in my eating but its not easy , eating gives us great pleasure, but pleasure unrestrained becomes a god cp -Philippians 3 v19. I love football,as many do, but for many football and footballers can become objects of worship, inspite of our advancemet socially ,materially, etc, humanity will still idolise something or other. The reason being ,our imperfectness creates in us a want,or a need, the entertainment media, be it comics,books,movies,feed in on this want,and they create,superman,batman, super heroes. But the reality is this, they are but an illusion, have no substance,I make no apology for the fact that I am a Christian,a worshipper, that my worship is in a person called Christ. Someone said to me recently,ah thats what you believe,yes it is , but its a belief borne out of the word of God,that clearly foretold of a coming Saviour,in what we call the old testament,and was fulfilled,at a place called Bethlehem in a babe who would grow to be a man, who would die on a cross to meet humanities greatest need.Our greatest need is to be reconciled to God, and on the cross Christ dealt with the barrier to our being reconciled to God, sin,that foul and flthy thing that blinds us and causes us so much harm. Christ is not just another, no He is unique,and He alone is worthy of our worship.
A  prayer..../  Dear God we thank for the truth of Your dear son Jesus ,who came as was foretold, and died to make us true worshippers of Yourself . Amen/

Stop and let me tell you. [Lamentations 3 v 22-23]

Stop and let me tell you what the good Lords done for me/,these are opening words to an old chorous,they have a nice theme to them. In Psalm 126 v3, we read,/  The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad/,The Bible tells us that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,from the Father of lights; with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning [James 1 v 17].We do not appreciate enough the fact, that we alive in a fallen world,that means  so much is contrary to the original creation,also there is an evil presence abroad,who to some extent and often to a great extent influences and controls unregenerated humanity,the devil and his henchmen.Let us acknowledge that inspite of  this , God is ever seeking to bless mankind,He desires the death of no one,[ Ezekiel 33 v11]In Matthew 5 45 we read He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.I know there are things that we cannot answer, but I do believe that God is good ,for He has a heart of love, for this whole world[ John 3v16 ].As Jeremiah surveyed the devastation all around him,devastation brought about by sin,He declares rightly,/It is of the Lords mercies, that we are not consumed, because His compassions  fail not. They are new every morning great is Thy faithfulness /[Lamentations3 v 22- 23 ] What has the Lord done for me?,He has saved me, that means I am not going to hell, but it also means I am going to heaven,He has given me hope,He has given me love,He has preserved me, protected me,provided for me.
A prayer ..../ Dear God we praise and thank You ,for all You have done for us,Your mercies are truly new every morning, great has been Your faithfulness, thank You  in Jesus worthy name Amen /

Dont be fooled[ 3 John v4 ]

I feel a bit unsettled ,the reason being I had a conversation with a person who is very religious,and holds to unbiblical beliefs,yes he reads the Bible,he studies it for 2 hours every day,fasts and prays,but is a person whose veiws are inbalanced ,and unscriptural. To try and talk to him about truth in a more balanced way is nigh on impossible,and I came away feeling unsettled. The bible tells us to contend for the faith [Jude 3],and if we do,it is a war zone, and the enemy will do all he can to wound ,hurt and unsettle us. The people our dear Saviour had to contend with, were extremley religious,and they opposed Him continually,and when they could not defeat Him with their spurious beliefs they nailed Him to a cross. So beware especially if you are a young Christian ,that when you challenge the enemy they will fight back. The devil is a very powerful enemy, and one of his aims is to destroy all Gods children,and in so doing challenge God Himself,so be on your gaurd, for the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Let us not be fooled by religious people ,whoever they are,that do not hold to the truth, remember though they may defeat one in an argument, that does not make them right.
A prayer by Thomas Brooks....../Ah Lord, this mercy I humble beg,that Thou wouldest rather take me into Thine own hand, and do anything with me, than give me up to those sad errors, to which thousands have married their souls  and are in a way of perishing for ever. Amen/

The offence of the cross. [1 Peter 2 v7-8]

When Jeremiah and Ezekiel were called as prophets they were both told to not be afraid of those they had to witness to[ Jeremiah 1v8/ Ezekiel 2 v6 ].I dont know if I always get it right as regards witnessing, but rest assured there will be those who will take offence at our words.When my dear mother was dying I sought to witness to her,she took offence,and later on my sister and her husband mentioned this. Now I can assure you I dont want to upset anyone ,especially my dying mother,but  the reality is, we will, not because we our argumentative,not because we are seen as religious fanatics,but because the Gospel is still an offence to so many. Many do not appreciate the exclusiveness of the Gospel, that Jesus is the only way to God [John 14 v6 ],in fact they are deeply offended at this.Also the idea of hell does not sound right to many,or the truth of sin,to some extent most people live by their own standards. So many feel that they are not accountable to God ,and that somehow He will accept them,after all because He is love He will ignor their sin, and the fact that they reject His son. If that was true then God would be not true to His holiness, yes God is love,and because of that fact He has provided at a tremendous cost a way in which people can be saved from wrath to come . We have a wonderful Gospel  ,we are called to tell others this good news as our Saviour commanded us to,yes we have to be sensitive,and wise,but people wil react not always in a friendly way, the cross is evidence of that.
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us not to be afraid to witness, but help us not to witness in an offensive way,in Jesus name Amen/

He delights in mercy . [Micah 7 18 ]

One  of the songs of the civil rights movement  was, /We shall overcome/, in the book of Revelations we read of  about the devil who accuses our brothers continually[12 v10].As long as we are on earth following Jesus, the devil will continually try to overcome us,he will use every means at his disposal,just as long as he can bring the saints down.He does not rest on the sabbath, or take a holiday, or go of sick, no,day after day he will attack us. So it is, we must be on our gaurd continually,there is no respite, from his enmity, how he must have rejoiced at Davids folly,and Solomons foolhardiness,at Peters cowardice,and at us when we do that which we shouldnt. But let us not despair,God will forgive and restore,his erring children, I am sure the devil hates the fact that God is merciful and forgiving,for it means no matter how far the child of God falls,and brought down.No matter how much the devil,may tempt the saints,there is always a place of mercy,and forgiveness,when mercy is sought and repentance is manifested by a child of God.There is always mercy for repenting prodigals,from the God who delights in mercy ,consider the words of Micah 7 v18,/ Who is a God like unto Thee,that pardoneth iniquity,and passeth by the trannsgression of the remnant of His heritage,He retaineth not His anger for ever,BECAUSE HE DELIGHTETH IN MERCY/.
A  prayer..../ Dear God we shudder when we consider our sinful failures,how we yielded to Satans temptations,but we praise You, that You are a forgiving God, one who delights in mercy,we thank You in Jesus name Amen /

Doing in us. [ John 15 v1-8 ]

As I look back on my life ,much of my prayer life and concerns have been taken up with what I want God to do for me,now there is nothing wrong with asking God to open doors,heal,provide,guide, save and to grant us wisdom and strength. But as I look back I have been more and more conscious of what God is doing in my life,developing ,preparing,and changing me. I have had to learn different lessons, and sometimes the process has been painful, and yet it has been necessary in order for God to work out His purpose in my life,that of perfecting me. Consider the following words from Romans 5 v 3-4,/we know that suffering produces persesverance,perseverance,character, and character hope/. Now  I dont know a lot about gardening but I have a lovely little rose plant,and it had black spots on the leaves,this I treated, but it had also some dead wood, this I cut off,and now I have a lovely healthy rose bush. We are all to some extent like that little rose bush ,with black spots, and dead wood,if we are going to be the healthy Christians that we should be, then God must deal with those areas in our lives. The black spots must be treated and removed,they are a blight,that which mars or prevents growth, likewise the dead wood must be removed, consider what the black spots and dead wood are in our lives. Consider our Lords  words,/I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away,, and every branch in that bears fruit He prunes, that it will bear more fruit/[John 15 v 1-2 ]
A  prayer.../ Dear God so often we are solely taken up with what we want You to do for us,help us to begin to understand what You are doing in us, in Jesus name Amen /

What still awaits us. [ Jeremiah 18 v1 - 6 ]

Last evening in our fellowship ,we had a communion service,and we did something different ,we used liturgy from ,/A wee worship book/,I found it very meaningful and calming.I suppose it helps us appreciate other Christian traditions ,we are members of a  church worldwide made up of different cultures,and traditions. I believe we should accept all who trully know the Lord, that sounds obvious, but for many it is hard to appreciate this,and to put it into practice.Now coming back to our communion service, there was a  prayer that we all prayed, which touched me,it read,/ Take us,renew and remake us. What we have been is past,what we shall be, through You, still awaits us./  What we shall be,through You, still awaits us,yes our Christian development is ongoing.This means we are not set in concrete ,we are the clay in the potters hands,and in his hands He will change us,and always for the better. Marlyn Baker  who ministers through song, has written the following.
             / Jesus You are me changing me, by Your Spirit You,re making me like You.
               Jesus You,re transforming me, that Your loveliness may be seen in all I do.
                You are thr potter and I am the clay,help me to be willing to let You have Your way.
               Jesus , You are changing me, as I let You reign supreme within my heart/.
A  prayer ..../ Dear  Lord ,change us more and more into Your likeness Amen /

No sheep.[ John 10 v 1-18]

I attended our local agricultural show ,on display were horses,cattle ,both groups were very impressive,there were events like show jumping,and dogs involved in racing each other,but I didnt see any sheep,mybe I just missed them,but I wonder where they were?. The bible has a lot to say about sheep,it likens people as unto sheep,when it mentions that all we like sheep have gone astray,and that we have turned every one to his own way,the people would understand this, living in rural setting, many of them involved with sheep.It was to shepherds that the angels proclaimed the birth of Jesus[ Luke 2],Jesus called Himself the good shepherd ,who would give His life for the sheep. [John 10v11]. Again the people would understood this, wild animals often attacked the sheep, David spoke about a lion and a bear attacking his sheep[ 1 Samuel 17 ]Now the spiritual application of all this is ,as sheep go astray,so we without exception have turned away from God,we have gone our own way,and that puts us in great danger,in our self willed way,we are ensnared , and trapped by Satan and our sin,with all it consequences,for time and eternity.This is where Jesus the good Shepherd comes in, He leaves heaven comes to earth to give His life for us [lost sheep],in order that He would rescue us ,from Satan,and forgive and free us from eternal loss.The cost to Jesus cannot be estimated,as the old hymn declares,/ None of the ransomed ever knew,how deep were the waters crossed,nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through,ere He His sheep that was lost/.The question is why did He go through all that suffering ?simply, because He loved us His sheep.
A prayer...../ Dear God we praise and thank You for Jesus Your Son ,who left heaven , came to earth to die on the cross for lost mankind Amen /

In heaven.[ Ephesians 3 v 14 -21 ]

I wonder do you ever have a deep longing for our homeland ,I mean heaven,I  do , now I can understand how many dear peoples lives are so difficult,and they long for heaven and home. But we must wait until God decides it is time for our homecalling ,we read of Enoch who walked with God,and He was not,for God took him[ Genesis 5v24 ], consider, God took him, thats important, one these days God will take you and I home.I was thinking today about heaven , and what will not be there,have you thought about that?,well ,there will be no feelings of loneliness , the Beatles sang of all the lonely people,yes there are a lot of lonely people,who go to bed on there own, and face each day on there own.Ask God to lead you to some lonely person and befriend them,I dare you to pray this,God will surprise you. I believe even Christians are lonely, I have been  lonely at times, there I have said it, I have confessed,and it is true. Now could it be that as we are in this earthly situation loneliness is something we will always  know to some degree,but heaven here I come,were loneliness will be banished,not one of Gods children will feel lonley there
A  prayer...../Dear Father in heaven grant unto us a greater sense of Your presence, we  acknowledge that we are lonely at times,we praise You that in heaven we will never feel loneliness,until that day dawns,and the shadows flee away,pour out Your grace into our lives, in Jesus name Amen./