Who can meet our deepest need?. [ Romans 5 v 6 - 8 ]

My wife and I were visiting her sister,and daughter,during the evening the daughter started asking questions about the Pope.I was doing my best to answer her ,but I found it hard as the young girl is not the easiest to communicate with,so in the end I said,it is not important about the Pope,or whatever,whats important is knowing Jesus personally as ones saviour. It is the nature of humanity to want to know,but sad to say ,not the knowledge of knowing the Christ of the Bible,with the result they go deeper and deeper,
into the quagmire of unbelief,and darkness.As a great Theologian said when he was asked to tell of some deep spiritual insight,he simply replied,Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. As a child I trusted Jesus as
my Saviour,I did not know any deep spiritual truths,but I found in Jesus,even as a child the one who saved me and met my deepest need.I
wandered away from Him,and as a young man I attended a church service,I do not remember what was preached,but again I came in all my need,to the only one who can meet that need, Jesus.
                                     A  prayer.
Dear God we praise and thank you for Jesus who alone can meet the deepset need of the human heart ,Amen.

The mind. [ 2 Timothy 1 v7 ]

Recently I read of a lady who wanted to be blind,and in the end she succeeded,strange but true,why would anyone want to be blind?.A psychologist once told me it is was impossible to change a person who is
obsessive .When an obsession takes hold of a person,no amount of reasoning can change their mind set,I knew a man who was convinced he was Jesus, yet he spent hours reading his bible.Anorexia is a very serious condition,a condition in which a person refuses to eat,because of a fear of becoming fat, thankfully some people do break free from that condition. Today let us lift our thoughts and our prayers,for those who are mentally ill,
of course there are different degrees of mental illness. Let us remember it is not a sin to be mentally ill,no more than a physical illness.Although in some cases sickness be it mental or physical can be the result of our sinful behaviour.Young people need to be more aware of the dangers in taking drugs,it can most differently be a cause of mental illness,it is so sad mental illness,and especially sad when one see's a young person who because of drug taking,has become mentally ill,they are stuck with it for the rest of their lives.
                                       A  prayer.
Dear God have mercy on those who are suffering from mental illness,and for those who are caring for them,we ask that in your mercy,you would heal
for your word assures us that there is nothing impossible with You,in Jesus
name we ask this Amen.

Amazing [ 1 John 1 v 7 ]

My son was leading an Alpha course,which is a means of introducing people to the Christian,told of a young lady who was moved to tears, when
she was told that all of her sins would be forgiven,by trusting in Jesus. People often sing amazing grace,that saves a wretch like me, and yet not fully grasp how truly amazing it really is.Yet guilt lies heavy upon many peoples hearts,it may surprise us ,for we can only see the outward,the laughing apparently lovely person.Yet behind the front,lies a  heart full of guilt,caused by abusive practises,lying,,cheating,yes and many other things. The good news is there is a person who can forgive every sin,no matter how many,and no matter how gross,and that person is Jesus. This is truly amazing,but it is true,the death of Christ,on a cross was Gods answer to mankind's greatest dilemma, sin.The good news is this it works,when we by simple faith trust in Jesus,God whose holiness is offended by our sin,in mercy forgives us every sin we have or will commit.I leave a wonderful
verse from Isaiah 1 v18, with you,/ Come now, let us reason together says
the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,though they are red like crimson,they shall be like wool/.
                                         A  prayer.
Dear God for your amazing love,in sending Jesus your son,to die on the cross for sin,we thank you.It is truly amazing that when we trust Him all our
sins can be forgiven .Amen .

Constant vigilance. [ Philippians 4 v 11-13 ]

Two things I ask of you,O Lord, do not refuse me before I die; Keep falsehood and lies far from me before I die.Keep falsehood and lies from me
give me neither poverty nor riches,but give me only daily bread.Otherwise,
 I may have two much and disown you,  and say,'Who is the Lord?'. Or I may become poor and steal and so dishonour the name of my God.Here is a man who sees the danger of certain things effecting his relationship with his
God,riches how many people want riches,and the supposed happiness,and security they think they will bring. But this man was concerned that he would loose out in his relationship with his God,let us remember our greatest happiness, and security are to be found in our relationship with our
God. He also sees the danger in poverty as we have mentioned before,and so he prays this wonderful,challenging, and meaningful prayer.Consider his request ,yes it is right to make requests unto God, before I die ,yes consider
until the day we die there are dangers to our spiritual well being,one only has to look at the aged Solomon, [1 Kings 11v1-12].
                                           A  prayer.
  Dear God help us be on our guard as regards anything that could harm us spiritually,to hold lightly to your blessings,to trust you when things are
difficult,please keep us by your grace in Jesus name Amen .

Dishonour God. [ 2 Samuel 12 v14]

Two things I ask of you O Lord;do not refuse me before I die.Keep falsehood and lies far from me,give me neither poverty or riches,but give me only my daily bread.Otherwise I may have two much and disown you,and say,'Who is the Lord?'.Or I may become poor and steal,and so
dishonour the name of my God. Yesterday we considered his first request
that he may be truthful,the words before I die,have a sense of urgency about
this is not a half hearted prayer.This is not Solomon who is praying,if only it had been,no this is a man called Agur.He is very conscience of his weakness,none  of us want to  experience poverty, in that situation who knows what any of us would do.maybe we would steal.Given  our fallen nature,we may do all sorts of things,women sell their bodies, Man know thyself,better know what the Bible tells us about ourselves,the potential for evil is always there in one shape or another,let none of us think we would not fall give a given situation.The concern he expresses goes further than
doing something wrong,he considers the possibility of acting in a way that would dishonour God,this is a noble concern,the one above else that should
fill our hearts and thoughts in all that we do.
                                                A  prayer,
Dear God like Agur we ask that you lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from all evil, in Jesus name Amen .

Speaking the truth [ Ephesians 4 v25 ]

In the book of Proverbs 30 v7-9, we read,/ O God I beg two favours from you; let me have them before I die. First , help me never to lie. Second ,give me neither poverty nor riches,give me just enough to satisfy my needs.For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say,who is the Lord,and if I am poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name./ Consider his first request ,that he may be truthful,he see's that as very important,how important it is to you and me?.In Proverbs 12 v22,we read,/The Lord detests lying lips,but He delights in men who are truthful/.People tell lies for a number of reasons,
when a person is wanting to hide a wrong that they are doing,to take
advantage of someone,or to deceive.Hitler was a liar on a massive scale
a life of nation or a person,that is built on lives,will have consequences.The
word of God tells us , /be sure your sin will find you out[Numbers 32v23]
While some lie's have more serious consequences than others,that does not
give us an excuse to tell what we think are white lies,God is not colour blind
a lie is a lie for all that.
                                           A  prayer.
Dead God ,help us not to live a lie,or tell a lie, in Jesus name Amen .

Available. [ Exodus 4 v 10- 11 ]

Jean serves God in Austria,I met Jean many years ago when she and my wife were at Bible college.Her ministry is among the deaf, and God has
blessed her ministry,deaf people have been saved,and are very bright in their witness. Many years ago I read of a deaf and dumb person in South Africa who was a Christian and yet was used by God to win many to Christ.
What limits people have,  does not stop them from coming to Christ,and
it does not stop them from serving Christ and being used by Christ.The
apostle Paul had a weakness we do not know what it was ,but it not stop him from serving God, people are turned down from serving in the armed forces because of  whatever,but not so with God. Every Christian can serve
God,in spite of their weaknesses,let us not make our weaknesses a reason
for not serving God. Consider we are not Christians because, we are perfect,but because of Gods mercy,love,and grace.So it is in spite of our weaknesses ,there is a work for Jesus  that we can do,let Him choose that work,whatever it is, all He asks is,are we available,are we willing to be willing?.
                        O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,
                         bow down before Him,His glory proclaim;
                         with gold of obedience, and incense of lowliness,
                         kneel and adore Him,the Lord is His name.
                       
                          Fear not to enter His courts in the slenderness,
                          of thy poor wealth thou wouldst reckon as thine;
                          truth in its beauty and love in its tenderness;
                           these are the offerings to lay at His shrine.
                               [Words by J S B Marshall]
                          
                          


                       
                        

Malta [ Acts 27 - 28 ]

My wife and I went went to the Island of Malta  situated in the Mediterranean,near Italy,we enjoyed our holiday it was sunny .Their second language is English,and they drive on the left hand side of the road.Malta was a British colony,before that the French ruled, of course they have their own language,and culture. It was on Malta that the apostle Paul was shipwrecked,and the Maltese have named a bay after him,to commemorate that event on a small island  the Maltese have erected a statue of the apostle Paul. I could see this statue as I sailed past it our way to the island of Goza,I thought of this wonderful man Paul,of his dramatic and totally unexpected conversion,of his phenomenal missionary activity,of his sufferings for Christ,of his writings to which we are so indebted.I would sum it up with three headings,/The challenge that he brings us,/The courage he showed,/
the compassion and love he manifested.
                                    A   prayer
Dear God we thank you for your servant Paul and all you enabled him to do,and we pray for the people of Malta, that you would visit them with your salvation,in Jesus name Amen

Not appropriate [ 1 Corinthians 6 v 12]

When I was a young Christian,there were certain rules one was expected to keep,one did not smoke,or drink alcohol,  I even used to judge people,,who engaged in such activities, doubting their salvation. Thankfully I don't do that now,but I am glad that I stopped smoking,and drinking alcohol.Because I smoked and drank alcohol before I come back to the Lord,I do appreciate
the difficulty of stopping smoking,and the effects of over indulgence in alcohol. I realise that people are prone to addictiveness,especially when it
comes to those two drugs.The apostle Paul had to write to the church in Corinth,the city of Corinth was a very evil place,yet God had saved souls,
and brought a church into being.Unfortunately they were doing things that
were not necessary wrong,but was unhealthy as to their spiritual well being.So Paul writes the following,/You say ,I am allowed to do anything,but not everything is good for you.And even though,I am allowed to do anything,I must not become a slave to anything/. My study Bible has this to say,/Some actions are not sinful in themselves,but they are not appropriate.because they can  control our life and lead us away from God. Some actions [activities, I would add ] may hurt others.Anything we do that hurts rather than helps others is not right./
                                        A  prayer.
Dear God we praise you for saving and setting us free when we trusted in Jesus ,your Son.Grant us grace to strip off every weight that slows us down,especially the sin that so easily trips us up,in Jesus name we ask this. Amen.

Forgave me. [ Matthew 18 v23ff]

Recently while on holiday I became angry with my wife,I overreacted,and when the dust subsided,I realised that what I had done was wrong,and I said I was sorry.What I had done was a needy reminder that the old Billy is still around,that no matter how long one is a Christian,there is a continual need
to rely on God. It was interesting that this happened,for I had during our holiday been witnessing to a number of people saw .I believe Satan used this incident to try and hinder my activity, and to discourage me.During
our holiday we attended a fellowship,where the Pastor spoke about forgiveness,and not just saying  sorry. During the service the breaking of bread was held, and I thought on what the Pastor had said,and so I turned to my wife with tears in my eyes ,and said,forgive me. It is right to say ones sorry,but I feel those two words, forgave me,have a deeper meaning to them.I see a twofold result,first the one who asks,is exercising humility and secondly the person who is being asked to forgive,is being asked to respond out of a heart that has been forgiven.[  CP.  Matthew 6 v 12/14-15] Let us
remember the importance of asking forgiveness,and equally the importance
of forgiving those who have wronged us.
                                             A  prayer.
 Dear Heavenly Father as you have in your great mercy forgiven us, help us to forgive others in Jesus name Amen .

The glory has departed. [ 1 Samuel 4 v21 ]

Before and during certain sporting events certain songs are sung,some football teams can be identified by songs they sing.West Ham's sing 'Im forever blowing bubbles,and that great Liverpool sing, 'You'll never walk alone.When Wales play Rugby often the Welsh who are noted for their male voice choirs, sing that wonderful old hymn,'Guide me ,O Thou great Jehovah'.It is wonderful to hear it sung,and yet it is unfortunately only a tradition,and has no bearing on the Welsh nation now.The spiritual decline in Wales is very sad,as it is in the whole of the United kingdom.Hymns sung at sporting events are reminders of past spiritual glories,alas the glory has sadly departed.There are many reasons, what ever the reasons so the decline goes on,more and more.Whatever the reasons the reality is this ,the church that remains must  not compromise as regards truth,they must continue to walk in holiness,to love God and others with a Christ like love,The church must walk and live in unity,be open to the Spirits leading,and be obedient in all things to their Lord,and never forget they are called to be witnesses .What applies to the church applies to us as individual,may it not be said of any of us ,you did run well,what did hinder you.
                                         A  prayer.
Dear God  have mercy upon those nations that have gone back spiritually,be pleased in your great mercy to visit such, in Jesus name Amen.

I have a dream. [ Revelation 21 ]

Do you know that there is one Ireland,and yet there are two Ireland's,one is called Eire and the other Ulster.Most people have heard of the conflict that
the people of Ireland have suffered in the 20th century,to some extent it continues.There are those who want with all their heart that there was just one Ireland,this was borne out  just recently,when the two Ireland's ,won important football matches.A man who wants one Ireland spoke of there being one world beater united team.That's his dream, but it goes further than football, Dr . Martin Luther King had a dream of freedom,but surely slavery
finished,at the time of the American civil war.Not so, racism continued and I am sure still does,we have it in sport,we have in it many countries,we had in Germany,Japan,we have it in India, we have it in Islam the way women are treated .Will this world never change?well a little,but not really,until that day in which Jesus will return,I am not passing judgement,only observations,but one day ,yes one day He will pass the perfect judgement,and bring in, an eternity of perfect harmony,where there will be no strange fruit hanging on tree's.
                                     A  prayer.
           Even so come Lord Jesus Amen.

Battling on. [ 1 Thessalonians 5 v 16-19 ]

Recently a Christian spoke of her struggle with the fact that she still is prone to yield to temptation,why this sinful tendency still persisted?. She wondered why ,seeing we have Spirit of God dwelling.why that should be?.
There are people who foolishly think that we can reach a place of sinless
perfection,in spite of all we read in the Bible that stresses the fact that as long as we are in this body of flesh we will be tempted.[CP.  Romans 7./I John 1 v 8.Enough said, the Christian life is on going,till the day God takes us home we will have to contend with the world ,the flesh,and the Devil,and the fact is we will not always win. But we need not despair,there is victory in Jesus ,and when we sin ,there is forgiveness.[1 John 1 v 9].In Galations 5v16 ff,the apostle Paul writes how there is a constant battle going on,and
the importance of relying on Gods Spirit to gave us the victory.This why each day we need to be filled with the Spirit,if we surrendered to the Spirit,then we will not be overcome. Yes it is an ongoing battle that is why
the Apostle tells us not to be weary in doing good[Galations 6 v9],and our Saviour exhorts us to keep praying and not give up. [Luke 18 v1 ]
                                           A  prayer.
Dear God help us to rely upon Your Spirit every hour of every day,in Jesus name Amen.
  [I will return to my blog on Tuesday 20th.  Every blessing]

Offensive religion [Micah 6 v 8]

As we face life with all its challenges the thing we need is,what would you say we need?,what do need we today.?We read in Micah 6 v 8,/He has showed you ,O man,what is good.And what does the Lord require of you?. To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God/.One commentator writes,/This verse is considered to be one of the most comprehensive and all embracing statements in the Old Testaments/.Micah is responding to Israel's condition ,it was the opposite of 6v8, [CP Chapter 7]In 6v7, Micah asks the question ,does God want us to be more religious,and the answer is no, religion that is devoid of ,justice[Doing that which is right],Mercy [Kindness] ,and humility,is an affront to God. When our Saviour was arrested they brought Him to Pilate,but they would  not enter Pilate's house, to enter a Gentiles home would have meant defilement ,
would have barred them from participation in the Passover celebrations.
[John 18 v28]Yet at the same time they were participating in the murder of Jesus.such religion is an offence to God.
                                              A  prayer.
Dear God and Father,help us to act justly,to love mercy,and to walk humbly
before You,in Jesus name Amen.

Faith [ Hebrews 11 v 5-6 ]

One of my great hero's was Hudson Taylor,he was an English man,and he went to China as missionary,he was also a doctor. In China he went were no
missionary had gone before,inland China,eventually he formed what was known as the China inland mission.What we must be careful not to do is to idolise Hudson,or to romanticise missionary work,that goes for any Christian ministry .Hudson was a godly man,and a man of faith,now when we say that,that meant he had real difficulties,real testings,that's one of the reasons we need to be people of faith,all of us.What difficulties are you and I are facing ?,a shortage of money.needing a job, needing a car,a sickness,
persecution. The very nature of life on planet earth brings its problems,we must apply faith into our situations. Our Saviour said to a lady,as regards what He could do,/Believest thou this?[John 11 v26].The reason I mention Hudson was,I read something he said,/I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God; first ,it is impossible,then it is difficult, then it is done./.Whither it is a great work or a small work,the foundation is the glory of God,worked out ,and manifested by a life of faith.
                                  A prayer.
Dear God we are told that without faith it is impossible to please you,so please help us to live a life of faith,for your Glory in Jesus name Amen.

A show trial [ Romans 11 v33-36]

During the reigns of the dictators,such as Stalin and Hitler,people would be put on trial for alleged offences,but they were but show trials, judgement had already been passed,before they came to trial. So it was when our Saviour was arrested and tried ,it was but a show trial,the religious leaders
had already planned to kill Him [ John 11 v45 -53]. The religious leaders acted with the wisdom of the world,they saw in Jesus a threat ,to their nation and to their teaching,even though Jesus manifested wonderful power,
 that did not matter.Jesus was seen as threat from the moment he was born,
by Herod,His very presence was a threat,and when He commenced His ministry ,His words became a threat,for it challenged so much that was wrong,He who is the light of the world,exposed the darkness in that religious society. So on the night He was put on trial ,these religious leaders
were determined to do one thing ,kill, or should we not say murder Him.So
consider the scene, Jesus the prisoner ,the falseness of this show trial,so wrong so unjust,why ?.Should we pity Him,yes we may but we can above all else praise Him,He knew before hand what awaited Him [Matthew 16v21],again,why?,the reason He suffered was that we would not suffer.So
onward He marched towards His destiny,the cross,that our destiny would be heaven and not Hell.
                                    A  prayer.
Dear Lord we worship You,and praise You for your courage ,obedience,
and love,Amen.
,

We are family. [ Matthew 25 v 31 ff ]

I was thinking back on those who have had an influence on me in coming to Christ and in my walk with Christ.Sunday school teachers,children speakers
and so many more.The list is very long,even those who ministered in song, those who offered me their friendship,those who wrote Christian books.
Those who financially supported me when at Bible college and at other times, those who have prayed for me and those who still do.For all these and others I raise a prayer of thanksgiven,what would I have done without
them?,I do not know ,but as I say I am grateful for them.In Galations 6v2
we read ,bear ye one another burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.We need each other as Christians, our support of a fellow Christians,is vital
God wants us to care for one another.Some of the last words that Jesus said was to love one another,in our  churches there are those who are lonely,
those who need financial help ,those who need encouragement,there are
those who are serving God ,they need our support and prayers.In helping in whatever way we can, we are identifying with our Christian family,and in doing so we are fulfilling the law of Christ ,which is love.
                                    A prayer.
Dear God forgive us for our lack of love,help us to love one another in word and in deed , in Jesus name we ask this Amen.

I have had enough. [ Psalm 42 ]

I  wonder have you ever felt that you cannot go on?,well there are a number
of people in the Bible who felt like this.I think of Jacob and Elijah.Let us consider Jacob ,he had to leave home because his brother Esau was threatening to kill him,he ended up working for his uncle Laban ,who treated him,very unfairly. God spoke to him to return home,but he lived with the tension of how his brother would react,in the end he welcomed him home. Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter.The sons caused him concern,but he had a son called Joseph,he loved him more than all his children.Because of this his sons hated Joseph,and when they saw their opportunity,they sold him as a slave.They lied to their father ,telling him that an animal had killed  Joseph,Jacob was overwhelmed with grief.Later when his sons returned from Egypt with the news that Simeon was in prison,and that the ruler there,demanded that they return with their younger brother,it all became to much for Jacob.In his distress he cried out, all these things are against me[Genesis 42v36 ]This was to him the last straw,he had reached the end of himself,but of course that was not the end of the matter,for God had a plan for Jacobs life,and soon his sadness would be turned into joy.Dear child of God like Jacob you may have come to the end of yourself,you feel  you cannot go on ,here is a word for you,/Weeping may endure for a night,but joy  cometh in the morning[Psalm 30 v5]. You may feel like giving  up,but God has not given up on you.
                                        A  prayer.
Dear God have mercy upon  us when we feel like giving up,help us to see that inspite of the difficulties ,you have not given up on us.and that You will
undertake for us.we ask this in Jesus name Amen.
.

We know not what to pray. Romans 8 v26-27]

As I was praying ,I found myself repeating the following,/Guide me by your
Spirit Lord/.I am very conscious how much we need the Holy Spirits help,
and guidance. A verse that keeps coming to me  is Romans 8 v 26./So to the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness,for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought/,do we not all feel like this,we know what God can do,but is it His will,we can pray as  James 4 v3  tells us,we ask amiss. Yet let us not despair ,for we read ,/but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads on our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance./[Amplified Version] .In v27 we also read,/the Spirit intercedes in  behalf
of the saints according to and in harmony with Gods will./ So we have a helper when we pray ,Leon Morris writes, /Paul is giving encouragement to the humblest of God's people.They may be dissatisfied with their praying ,
but they have a powerful intercessor and one who prays for them in accordance with the will of God/
                                      A  prayer.
                             Holy Spirit, prompt us,
                              When we kneel to pray;
                             Nearer come,and teach us
                             What we ought to pray.
                              Holy Spirit, help us
                              Daily by Thy might,
                              What is wrong to conquer,
                               And to choose the right.
                                [Words by W H. Parker]

I have had enough [ Psalm 43 ]

We considered Jacob yesterday ,now let us consider Elijah the prophet we read about him in 2 Kings 17ff. Yes he was a prophet,and a mighty prophet,
he was used by God to  challenge a king,that was no mean thing,for the king could have put him to death, and there times he sought to.Elijah challenged a king and a backslidden nation,he had been so brave and courageous.But there was a woman behind the throne called Jezebel,who sent him word that she was going to have him killed, this became to much for Elijah he fled for his life ,and ended up under a juniper tree, and he prayed for God to take away his life. He had,had enough,he had given up,there was no point of going on,he felt a deep loneliness, and worthless,in spite of all that God had accomplished through him.Yet the fact was God had not forsaken him,God heard his prayer, He fed him and and led him to the mount of God.On that mount Elijah, experienced being in a great storm,and an earthquake,these
elements typified how he must have felt.This was the darkest moment in his experience,and it was at that moment God gentle spoke to him,in a still small voice.It was not a voice of condemnation,a heartless pull yourself together voice,no its very tone was non threatening,and reassuring.Like Elijah we may have come to end of oneself,we want to give up,God understands,and would gentle reassure you that you are not on your own,
and that He loves you,that you are not worthless,that you are precious to Him.
                                    A  prayer.
                              Dear loving Heavenly Father.
                             Drop Thy still dews of quietness
                              till all our strivings cease;
                              take from our souls the strain and stress,
                              and let our ordered lives confess
                              the beauty of Thy peace.
                                 In Jesus name Amen.
                           [Words by J G. Whittier ]

Unquestioning submission. [Revelation 14 v 12 ]

Shakespeare wrote, /Have patience and endure/,the Bible has much to say on those two things,patience and enduring.In the book of Revelation we have patience mentioned a number of times,in 13 v 10 and 14v12,we read of the patience of the saints. These words were written to Christians who were suffering,and the necessity for them to patiently endure,to obey Gods commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.One commentator translates the word patience as steadfastness,he writes the following ,/This does not mean passively bearing things,it means ; it means courageously accepting the worst that life can do ,and turning it into glory/[W  Barclay].We all have need of the grace of God to cope,and endure, whatever trials ,difficulties
come into our lives.Be it an illness,a difficult marriage,loneliness, the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune.All these and more ,if God so ordains ,in His sovereign purposes,then like our Saviour we bear patiently
and in that process glorify our Saviour.Kiddle writes of'' unquestioning submission to Providence,and trust', yes trust in one who will not suffer his children to shed a needless tear.
                   What though clouds are hovering o'er me
                    And I seem to walk alone,
                    Longing,mid my cares and crosses,
                    For the joys that now are flown,
                    If I've Jesus, Jesus only ,
                   Then my sky will have a gem;
                    He's the Sun of  brightest  splendour,
                    And the star of Bethlehem.
                     [Hattie M. Conrey]  

Moved with compassion .[Matthew 15 v32ff ]

Let us consider the miracle of the feeding of the 4000, [Matthew 15 v32ff ]it starts with Jesus saying to his disciples,'I have compassion on the mulitude'. Whatever   He did ,He did out of a heart of love and  compassion, never acting out of a cold indifference.He had been ministering previously to this multitude,performing many miracles, of healing, they had been with Him three days.He had helped many, but now He was going to feed a multitude,it is nothing to help with many or a few.I pray for many individuals,one group I pray for is my grandchildren,I have 13,I mention them all by name,and I end by asking to save them all.I have compassion on the multitude ,let us not judge,but let us act out of hearts of compassion,to all.They had been there three days,whatever food they may have had was gone,being poor they more than likely never had to much to eat, one never gets used to being hungry.Somehow in the providence of God the disciples found some fish and bread,Possible bread and fish would have been the stable diet of the people in Israel.From this meagre  amount Jesus would perform a miracle,the little we have if surrendered to Jesus, can be a blessing to many. Joseph Scriven only wrote one hymn,/What a friend we have in Jesus/,yet that one hymn has blessed millions of Gods children.
                                        A  prayer.
Dear God gave us a heart of compassion for all who are in need,help us to use whatever resources,we have at your disposal, in Jesus name Amen .

No reason [ John 15 v 18ff]

In  John 15 v 18, Jesus said,if the world hates you,keep in mind that it hated me first.Each day I pray for Christians who are suffering ,I often hear people say , words like this,they are suffering just for been a Christian,as if  this should not happen ,and that it is unreasonable and does not make sense.If you read John 15 v18ff you see that this should come as no surprise,because of what our Saviour taught,and experienced,in spite of all the good He did,he experienced continual hurt,and opposition which ended with Him being put on a cross,He summed it up ,they hated Me without reason[25]. Bruce Milne writes,' Being identified with Jesus makes opposition inevitable' Samuel Rutherford  experienced imprisonment as a Christian ,wrote,' God has called you to Christs side, and the wind is now in Christ's face in this land; and since you are with him you cannot expect the sheltered or the sunny side of the hill' I must confess I have not experienced little persecution or suffering for Christ,but if I do I need not be surprised
 ,because Jesus said it would happen.
                                       A  prayer.
Dear Lord you who suffered the awful hatred ,for no reason,help us not to be surprised if we likewise suffer, Amen.

Greater things.[ Ephesians 3 v 20 ]

Before our blessed Saviour would leave his disciples,one of the things He said ,/I tell you the truth,anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing,he will do even greater things than these,because I go unto my Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name,and I will do it/[John 14 v11-13 ] Now how should we look at these words,can we
do greater things than Jesus?.Well the Pentecostal people would say we can,but most commentators would  would see the greater things,in the future evangelization of the world. In other words in the conversion of souls,as B Milne writes ,/There is no greater work possible than the conversion of the soul/.Now I would agree with that,and yet it seems to me that our Saviour is leaving us with a challenge not only to evangelise,but to
also to believe that we should aspire,to pray prayers of faith,and actions of faith,in other words not to limit God ,[C P.  14 V14/15V7V16].
                                        A  prayer.
Dear God help us not to limit You,we ask that we may see answers to our prayers in evangelisim,answers in relation to difficulties,in relation to needs being met,in relation to sickness,whatever,in Jesus name Amen .