Spluttering prayer. [ Romans 8 v 27-28]

Our prayers do not always flow, sometimes they splutter along, our minds
finds it hard to focus, but we do not give up. Prayer is not a performance, it
is a  weak human being communicating with almighty God.  He is perfect, we are not, so do not be discouraged when praying is not easy, He may be perfect, but He rejoices over our feeblest cry unto Him. Our words may be limited, our mind inclined to wander, but it makes no difference to Him.
I have a friend whose grandchild is autistic, his speech is not great, but she listens to him and loves him. Every parent rejoices when their child begins
to speak, to hear those first words, is never criticised, We can learn from others about prayer but God will teach us, we are not to compare ourselves with others, for prayer is not a comparison web site. Prayer is not about how we feel, it is pressing on regardless of feelings, it is an act of faith. Prayer is on the whole is personal, even when we pray in public. Prayer will make a difference to us, and others, we may not see how effective our prayers are.
I am convinced that prayer will make a difference, to our world, to our country,to our neighbourhood, to our friends and families, and to ourselves, so pray

                                               A  prayer.
Dear God help us to pray, help us not to give up praying, and like the disciples of old we ask that you will teach us how to pray, in Jesus name,
Amen.

Disposable. [ John 3 v16 ]

About a year ago we purchase a kettle, I choose it, I like it, one of the things I liked about it was, one could see clearly the level one filled it up to, I also liked the design, It has a flip lid, and that's were the trouble began, I managed to put it together, but then it came  away altogether, and I cannot fix it. What can I do?, depose it, and replace it with a new one, yes we live in, the disposable generation. That is the way it is, things are disposed off, but it seems that for the religious fanatics ,human beings are disposable,and
likewise for many other groups, dictators ,war mongers, the uncaring, and self obsessed. We all remember what a certain lady said about the poor let them eat cake, let us remember that this is not Gods way, He sees no one as a thing that should be disposed of, like my kettle. Every human being is loved by God, let me repeat this every human being is loved by God. His
heart towards humanity, is to bless them, as regards going to heaven, well we read that He wants all men to be saved,[1 Timothy 2 v4 ]And He has provided the perfect answer, Jesus ,the choice is yours, you are not a disposable kettle, you are dear , and precious to a loving God, who has done everything to enable you to be saved.

                                                 A prayer.

Dear God we thank you that you love humanity so much that you gave Jesus to die that all can be saved,Amen.

The challenge. [ Matthew 28 v16-20]

Donald  English wrote,'' The idea that if the church got her act right, society
would embrace her, may be  illusory. Persecution and opposition might be  
more likely and  we must be ready for that'' Consider that the Lord went about good, the crowds flocked to  him, but in the end they crucified Him. Yet I know that a godly life can speak volumes, so there must be balance in our lives, a faith that manifests the reality of Christ, in good works, for faith without works is dead, the scripture tells us we are to show our faith[James 2 v18]Yes a godly life will speak, many years ago a band of soldiers broke into an abbey, and demanded of those in charge, their jewels, they were taken and shown a room full of sick and poor people ,the soldiers were told these are, our jewels. I always feel that I must stress that our good works do not save us, they are the evidence, of our salvation.[Ephesians 2 v8-9]All this I mention is part of the whole, but if I was to stop there, what I have written, if I left it there, it would be like an unfinished jig-saw. We must
be prepared to speak about Christ, for it is by hearing the word of God. people come to faith we must speak the word.
                                      A prayer.
Dear God help by our lives to show Christ, and help us by our words to proclaim Christ Amen.

Jesus its me again. [ Matthew 11 v 28 ]

A gospel song has the following words,
                                      
                                      ''Jesus its me again,
                                       Down on my knees again
                                       Asking you please again
                                       Reach out your hand''
                                  
                                       Lately Lord, I almost feel like dying,
                                       Wake up like a child crying
                                        Sometimes Lord, I just can't keep from crying
                                        Jesus its me again.

                                        Time to time I try to find a reason
                                        To talk to you, from time to time before,
                                        But this time. your will is my command
                                        And  I know I just can't take it anymore.

As we read the gospels we note that the spiritual intellectuals missed out in
receiving a blessing, but the desperate and needy did not. The question is what category do we fall into?.

Unworthy [ Matthew 7 v 7-12]

I was talking to one of my sons, he is a Christian, he said there was a time his feelings of unworthiness effected his prayer life, that he could not bring things to God because he felt unworthy. Many people feel because they are unworthy, Christianity is not for them, not realising the simple truth that everyone is born unworthy, But that God loves us all, and because of Jesus we can be accepted by a holy God when we accept Jesus as our Saviour. Even though this is true some Christians still feel that their unworthiness is a hindrance ,a reason why God will not answer our prayers ,or that we cannot partake of the Lords table. The fact is when we know Christ as our Saviour God becomes our Father, who loves His children, imperfect though we are.all are welcome . None of my children are perfect, but I love them all and will help them if they ask me, How much more will our loving heavenly Father respond to His children when they call upon Him.

                             Ask and it be given to you,
                             Seek and you will find,
                             Knock and the door will be opened to.
                             For everyone who asks receives;
                             He who seeks finds,
                             and to him who knocks,
                             the door will be opened
                              [Matthew 7 v 7-8 ]

                               

Is He the God.....? [ 1 Kings 20 v 28 ]

                Life is easy, when you're on the mountain.
                And you've got peace of mind, like you never known
                But things change, when you're down in the valley
                Don't loose faith ,for your never alone.

                For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley
                When things go wrong, he'll make them right
                And the God of the good times ,is still God in the bad times.
                The God of the day, is still God in the night.
                We talk of faith way up on the mountain,
                 And talk come easy when life is at its best,
                 Now its down in the valley, trials and temptations,
                 That's where your faith is really put to the test.

                 For the God on the mountains is still God in the valley,
                 When things go wrong, He'll make them right,
                 And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times
                 The God of the day, is still God in the night,
                 The God of the day, is still God in the night.

                         [ Words by Lynda Randle ]

Hold on my child [Psalm 30 v 5]

King David experienced many trials, his life was full of trials, some of his own making, but this man of God, experienced  Gods deliverance time after time. Dear child of God if you are in difficulties look back on past deliverances, and take encouragement in your God who does not change,He
is still the one who can help you. Hear His gentle words to you, I have not forsaken you, my love is everlasting, I will help you, I have heard your cries in the night, my heart is touched with what you are going through, do not
listen to the enemy of your souls, trust me in your distress. My timing is perfect, my help is assured, because you are my child, I love you,
circumstances do not change how I feel toward you, nothing can separate you from my love. You may feel that the problem you are experiencing is
beyond help, not so, I am more than able to help you, so trust me in your distress. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

                          Hold on my child joy comes in the morning
                          Weeping only last for the night.
                          Hold on my child joy comes in the morning,
                          The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.
                                 [Word by Bill Gaither]

Why did they do it ?.. [Romans 3 v 9-23 ]

William Barclay, tells how a young girl went with her mother to church on
Good Friday. The long story of the crucifixion was read and beautifully read. She heard of Pilate's bullying cross-examination; she saw the crown of thorns, the buffeting of the soldiers; she heard of Jesus being delivered to be crucified, and then there came the words with their terrible finality,'' and there they crucified Him.'' No one in the church seemed to care; but suddenly the little girls face was buried in her mother's coat, and she was
sobbing her heart out, and her little voice rang through the silent church,'' Why did they do it? Why did they do it?''. So often we attend the communion service, and to our shame we just go through the motions. It is
sad that we all the habit of familiarity, it may not breed contempt, but it can deaden us ,As to why did they do it?, why did they actually kill their Messiah. Recently a person died, a prisoner, he and another had killed a number of young people. A person asked me why, I sought to tell him, that it reveals the awful condition of the human heart, which neither civilisation,
or religion cannot change. Make no mistake about our fallen sinful nature,
unrestrained, it can do the most awful things,even  to the extent of putting Jesus on a cross.

                                       A cross.
Dear God, like that little girl who cried out ,why did they do it?, we may be asking the same question, we ask this because we fail to take serious ,that we are sinners and we are capable of so much evil, Open our eyes to see our true state,and to why Jesus truly died, for us sinners .Amen.

Our only hope. [ 1 John 5 v18]

In my study of Johns Epistles ,I read  a very startling statement,  ''that the whole world is under the control of the evil one''[ 1 John 5 v19]There is no place on planet earth where his influence is not felt. In  the 20th century millions and millions of people died in wars and conflict, as many as 50 to 100 million died in such conflicts. The word of God is telling us that the powers of hell are everywhere manifested, and it is a destructive power, there is not one shred of goodness in it. John Stott wrote,'' the world is helplessly in the evil ones grasp, or as David Smith writes,'' the world lies in his arms''. Why is there so much hatred, were so many people do so much
evil?, why the holocaust?, why the suicide bombers?, why so many things we return to what the Bible states, that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. It is frightening ,I hope it at least causes you to  think, but mankind is not made up of innocent people, we are all born sinners, and that means we sin. It is that sinful nature of mankind that the evil one uses to accomplish his evil purposes. [ John 8v 34/44/ 1 John 3 v8]Now although these things are true ,we are told,'' The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil, we can escape from the devil's tyranny by
trusting Jesus as our Saviour. This world of mankind will not get any better
our only hope is Christ, your only hope is Christ.

                                          A prayer.
Dear God we thank you that Christ is the answer, the only answer to the evil
in the world and in our lives Amen

My enemy has appeared. [ Hebrews 13 v 5-6 ]

We have had a dry spell, then we have had some needful rain, but this has brought, an old enemy on the scene, the garden slug. Yes every gardener knows about this little enemy, of course the gardener faces other enemies.
Green fly, the black spot that appears on roses, they must not be ignored
As we face this day as Christians we need to on our guard against our enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. An enemy is one who wants to do us harm, he may try and pull the wool over our eyes, seek to deceive us.
The enemies  Christians face wants to enslave us, but ultimately wants to destroy our spiritual well being. If we give into him we are only asking for trouble, serious trouble, all that glitters is not real gold, it may be fools gold.
Our enemies may pretend to be our friend, like Judas pretended to be the friend of Jesus, while all the time he waited his opportunity to destroy our Saviour. Here is the important thing we can by Gods grace defeat the enemies of our soul ,in our weakness we can be strong in the Lord.[Eph 6 v10],remember this is a spiritual battle the arm of flesh shall fail us[Judges
16v20] Let us remember we have a Saviour who is with us, when everyone
had forsaken Paul, he declared,' But the Lord stood at my right side and gave me strength''.[2 Timothy 4 v 16].

                           In heavenly armour we'll enter the land
                           the battle belongs to the Lord.
                           When the power comes in like a flood
                           the battle belongs to the Lord
                           When the enemy presses in hard do not fear
                           the battle belongs to the Lord
                            [Words by J. O. Collins]

The historical Christ [ John 20 v 1- 31 ]

Donald English writes as regards the Christ event,''Gospel ,as a world -changing event points to the essential historicity of the Christian good news.....Like the mountains or the landscape, the Jesus events are part of our
historical terrain. We can look back and know that it is there. You may ignore or abuse historical evidence : you cannot erase.'' Yes Christ was an actual person, yet what made those who followed Him go and die for Him?
The fact is, they did, only John lived into an ripe old age, the others died
violent deaths, one was skinned alive and then was beheaded. Why did they die for Him? would you be prepared to die a horrible death for someone
who was a fraud ?,of course not. Those who followed Him knew Jesus
personally, they witnessed the wonderful miracles He performed, they saw Him die, likewise   many others  saw Him after the resurrection, CP .1
Corinthians 15 v 1-11.Where all these people lying?, no, nor was Jesus, He
fulfilled the prophecies made about Him, CP.  Isaiah 7 v14/ 9 v6-7/ 53./
Psalm 22.All this Jesus fulfilled and much more, All these things convinced
the apostles to believe on Him as their Saviour, they believed in it so much
they were  prepared to suffer,and  to die for .Why do so many not believe
in Him, do you  believe in Him?.

                                           A   Prayer.
Dear God thank you for Jesus who was born of a virgin, who lived a Holy
 Life. who died and rose again, Amen.

Godly patience. [ Habakkuk 2 v1- 3 ]

As I was out walking, I noticed that the traffic was heavy, and then I heard some impatient person ,pump their horn.  It is Donald English, who writes,
''Spare a thought for the prophets who obediently spoke out but never saw the fulfilment of what they prophesied. Patience in Christians is part of our
response to the sovereignty of God. Only He knows the time, place and circumstance for things to happen in our lives.Often because we know some of the context we think we know it all. How often the moment must have seemed right to the prophet. But God knows better, the best answer to some of our prayers is 'wait', and sometimes 'no', not because God does not love us, but the time and circumstance are not just right. In a 'go-getting' instant
culture we do well to cultivate the Christian quality of patience,over against
the constant pressure for success, results and fulfilment.''

                                         A  prayer.
Dear God forgave us for being impatient, help us to believe that what you say, will come to pass , in Jesus name Amen.

GOOD NEWS.[ John 3 v16 ]

I am starting a study on the gospel of Mark, and suddenly the meaning of the gospel ,came home to me afresh, it means ,''Good News''. It goes without saying ,that there is so much bad news, so it is nice to hear good news. So we turn to the gospel, the good news, it is good for many reasons, God loves us . Are you feeling unloved?, so many people do, for many reason,rejection, abuse, betrayal, loneliness, and so it goes on. ,That liar the devil is saying to you ,your unlovable, your a failure, no one could love you. Lets stop right now listening to the devil and all his Lie's. My mother used to say you can never trust a liar, well you can't, she was right, so why do we listen to the lie's of the devil?. The good news to us all ,to you, spoken by Him who cannot lie, I love you, well you may say, how do I know you love me?.Let Him lead you to a hill far a way, to a special person hanging on a cross, his name is Jesus, and hear God speaking, that's how much I loved you, for that's my son hanging on that cross, that's how much I love you.

                                       A  prayer.
Dear God we praise you for the good news that you love us, in spite of how I feel, in spite of what that liar the devil tells me, thank you in Jesus name Amen.

Love and hate.[ 1 Corinthians 13 ]

In 2 Samuel 13 we read of Amnon a son of David who fell in love with his half sister. He ran with his desire, like him we will all have hidden  wrong desires, especially within the sexual realm, we can run with them,and
suffer the consequences, or we can by Gods grace resist them, we always have a choice. Well Amnon made the wrong choice, he lured his half sister
into his bedroom ,a friend had given him that advice, instead of seeing it as wrong ,he followed it. I knew a person who confided to a friend about the difficulties in his marriage, his friend advised him to get a mistress, he did
not follow that advice, and stayed faithful to his wife. When Amnon's
half sister, Tamar came into his bedroom he raped her. then things changed
we read that the love he had turned to hate, and he had her thrown out of his home. From one extreme to another, so many marriages these days turn
from love to hate, and divorce takes place, and they fight over the spoils,
and the children. Christians are not exempt from this, if only they were.
Let us pray for those effected by divorce, and for people who are trying to
keep their marriages together.

                                           A prayer.
Dear  God have mercy upon those who are having difficulties in their marriage, you know how love can turn to hate ,grant that this may not happen, for hate is a painful and destructive companion, in Jesus we ask this Amen.

Free at last. [ John 8 v 34- 36 ]

John tells us something that is very disturbing,''  that the whole world is under the control of the evil one''.[1 John 5 v 19].Yes one has just to read the history of the 20th century to appreciate what John writes. I thought on the darkness that mankind so readily embraces , to appreciate the darkness that is in this world. Who knows how dark it will become, who cares?, and yet God has not forsaken this world, and He causes good things to happen. For we read,'' For we know that we are children of God, and that God watches over His own[1 John 5 v 1],and keeps His own safe. Although Gods people do suffer, ultimately they cannot be destroyed.[Romans 8v 23ff] It is John Stott who writes,' There is no third category everyone is therefore either 'of God' or 'in the evil one'. There is no third category''
It is a very dark and awful state to be in, Yet here is the very, very good ,
news. ''The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
[ 1 John 3 v 8]We read these wonderful words of hope spoken by Christ,
'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed  me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed'.
[Luke 4 v 18]Whatever pit ,whatever strangle hold the devil has on a persons life, Jesus can set them free.

                                           A  Prayer.
Dear Lord Jesus we thank you that you came to set us free from sin and the
devil,Amen

Dont be afraid [Luke 11 v 10]

I read that hippies used to greet old friends by saying,'' Brief and deep,man''.
meaning they were not going to impose on that friendship. I used to call at friends uninvited and at unsuitable times, thinking it was alright, but the friend instead of telling me, talking to me, became very unpleasant, and our friendship was never the same. But of course it did teach me a lesson ,not to assume that people,  appreciate people calling uninvited. It is our Saviour who tells a story of someone calling unexpectedly, we read about it in Luke 11 v 9-10.In the middle of the night a man calls at his friend, he says that he has a visitor, who has been on a journey, and he has nothing to feed him, would he loan him three loaves of bread. He is told that it is not convenient, but the man is persistent, so the he gets what he needs.You see it was not the done thing to call on someone in the middle of the night, but says Jesus he got what he wanted. If a reluctant person responds to his friends needs,how much more will God respond to us when we pray. After all He is our loving heavenly Father, one who delights to answer our prayers.

                                                A  prayer.
Dear God and Father we thank you that you delight in your children, and delight to bless them, because you love them,Amen

Suicide [Acts 16 v27-31 ]

I remember years ago a well known minister committed suicide, working as I did for many years, with mentally ill people, I have known people who committed suicide. I have known a number of people who have attempted suicide.  Death is hard enough to cope with, but suicide brings with it extra pain for those near to the person. Our dear Lord told us not to judge, we need to take these words to heart as regards those who commit suicide, and pray for those affected by such a sad death. Recently I was told of a young girl who was in continual pain, who attended an alpha course, which is a
helpful way of introducing people to what it means to becoming a Christian.
This dear girl attended and trusted Jesus, wonderful, but it appeared her suffering was to much for her, and she committed suicide. I believe the good thing  in all this, she is with the Lord, I am not going to judge her,but
as I write this I offered up a little prayer for her family and friends. Let me
finish by saying ,God can help you, suicide is not the answer.

                                         A prayer.
Dear God  help those who are suffering, be it mentally, physically, or emotionally, have mercy upon them, may they look to you Lord Jesus,
comfort all those who have been affected by the suicide of a loved one or friend, in Jesus name I ask this Amen.

A good adverisement [ 2 Corinthians 3 v2 ]

David Jackson wrote the following,'' the greatest of scholars are frequently the humblest of people''. True humility is a very precious quality, because it
is truly Christ like, we see it displayed by many people in the Bible, but of course we  must not just relegate it to the Bible, Paul the apostle told those who were challenging his apostleship, to look at those who were saved  through his ministry. Their lives appear as an open letter of what a Christian should be [2Corinthians 3 v2].William Barclay write,'' When we go out into the world, we have the awe-inspiring responsibility of being open letters, advertisements, for Christ and his Church''.  That means manifesting Christian love, and forgiveness ,I read recently of a lady running a Christian ministry in Afghanistan, someone threw a rock through a window in the premises they were working at. Then they received a threatening phone call, it was discovered that it was one of the people employed by the ministry as a teacher. The immediate reaction was to punish him by sacking him, but the lady remembered what Jesus taught as regards forgiving your enemies. She went to the person and told him she forgive him, which shocked him, .and it had a tremendous effect on him. I am sure as Christians we should manifest a reality that will shock people.

                                          A  prayer.
Dear Lord help us to walk humbly before you and before our fellow men,
to manifest a Christ likeness that will shock and challenge , Amen.

Betrayal [ Luke 22 v48]

I have to minister at a local church, and I have been asked to speak to the children, I am thinking of speaking on friendship. I  will start by showing a picture of a dog otherwise known as mans best friend, speak generally about the friends I have had. We all need friends, I can remember one of my earliest friends Billy Harris, I remember, visiting him at home, his mother asked him to go to go to a shop and get some shopping. Billy lost some money and for some reason his mother suspected me of taking it, I never took it, It is sad to be accused on the wrong, of betraying a friendship. Jesus had a friend his name was Judas, and he did something awful, he betrayed Jesus, for money, how painful that must have been, I recently met a Christian, who told me how a person he employed had he said turned him over, the result was his company went into liquidation. The thing that stuck me about that man he did not appear to be bitter, but manifested a godly spirit. The fact is those we consider friends can betray us, can hurt us, Being betrayed was part of the suffering Christ had to endure, He did not retaliate, instead He entrusted himself to Him who judges justly[1 Peter 2 v 19-23]

                                          A prayer
Dear Saviour grant us grace to bear with  hurts caused by  people we consider to be our friends, Amen.

The pride of life. [Daniel 4 ]

Yesterday we emphasised the importance of humility, next let us consider pride. Now pride is manifest in many ways, obvious ways, and how it affects lives. There is racial pride ,Hitler latched unto that, he adopted a term for a true German, Aryan, and twisted its meaning. applied it to mean a
superior race, many believed his lie, and despised those who were not Aryan. The Jews and others suffered so much on Hitler's perverted beliefs.
Those nations who conquered and ruled nations, often manifested pride and despised those they conquered. In 1John2v 16,we have the term ,''the pride of life'', it is an interesting term, and it effects all of mankind. It is a term that can be described in the following ways, Dodd calls it ,'conceited
pretentious humbug'', Barclay ,''an arrogance or vainglory relating to one's
external circumstances, whither wealth or rank or glorying in show''. If you buy  certain magazines, you will see the rich and famous, in their beautiful homes, dressed in their beautiful clothes, with their beautiful, .you get the picture, that's the pride of life. Yet this applies to most of us, we all take pride in our achievements,our possessions, health, I suppose that's why we do not like the term sinner, for it reminds us and challenges us, as to the proud creatures we are.

                                The things that I love
                                and hold dear to my heart,
                                Are just borrowed
                                 they're not mine at all;
                                Jesus only let me have them,
                                to brighten my life,
                                 So remind me, remind me
                                          dear Lord.
                                  [Words by Dottie Rambo]

                                  

I will not apologise [ Proverbs 16 v 18-19]

She will not apologise, even though it may have consequences, sometimes it is better to acknowledge one may have been wrong, unintentionally, there is place for a humble spirit. So the lady is not for turning ,but is she right? one will have to leave that in the hands of God. Humility is a wonderful quality,
for many it is sign of weakness, consider Christ, He stepped down, from heaven to earth, most of us want to go in the opposite direction. Christ became a servant from being equal with God. Oh yes He was still equal but the role he choose, to lay aside all the glory of Heaven. He understood what that would mean, but He never faltered, going through an earthly existence,
that led to a death on a cross. Yes He humbled Himself, and now He is exalted in Heaven once more, the scriptures tells us,' Humble yourselves
before the Lord, and He will lift you up[James 4 v10].There is a tendency
in all of us ,to seek to get what we want by anyway we can. The humble in spirit will be blessed by God, and all that this means.From heaven, to earth, to the cross, to death, to resurrection ,to exaltation, such are the fruits and rewards of humility. It still applies to those who tread the pathway of humility, and just sometimes that means saying one is sorry.

                                           A  prayer.
Dear God forgive us  the sin of pride, help us to walk the path of humility
in Jesus name Amen.

Whe the last bell rings. [ Matthew 25 v31-46 ]

There is a song by Foster and Allen, called,' When the last bell rings', the
words highlight the importance of responding to the many needs in this world. Here is part of this song.

                          Do you see them with, their hands
                          out in the streets,
                          Do you notice they have no shoes
                          on their feet.?
                          Are they crying through their tears?.
                          Do you just close up your ears?
                          It's to late to turn around when the last
                          bell rings.

What do you think the song is telling you?, what is it telling me?, to not ignore the needs of others. We are not saved by good works, but we are accountable ,before God. We of course cannot help everybody, but we can help some, we can show that we care, that we love. James in his epistle ,
challenges empty profession .He writes ,''Faith by itself ,if not accompanied by action is dead.[1v17].......Show me your faith.[v 18].Remember it is to late to turn around when the last bell rings.

                                       A  prayer.

 Dear Lord help us to show the reality of our faith, to not ignore the needy
Amen.

Be a witness [Acts 1 v 8]

In Acts 1 v8 we read,'' But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses.'' Just recently I thought I have not witnessed to any body for a while, I was in a particular place and I started a conversation ,and later on I thought why did I not tell him about Jesus?. Yes it nice being friendly, but it is vital that people come to know Jesus, but you may say I don't want to be seen as a religious crank, I do not want them to cross over unto the other side of the road, when they see me coming. Well what about when you are at work, now of course you are there to work, but there will be opportunities, to witness. Yes our lives must witness, we must be Christians who live honest and upright lives ,like Daniel.[ 6 v 4]. But we must manifest the reality of Christ in our live, and that reality may open the opportunity to tell people about Christ. Let us remember that faith comes by hearing the word of God, how will hear if we do not tell them?. Be wise, and gentle in your witness, be prayerful, be an example, yes be a witness for Jesus,

                                         A prayer.
Dear God help us by your Spirit to be a witness for you with our lives and
with our words,for Jesus sake Amen.

There is a better day coming [Revelation21 v 5 ]

I know there is much that is lovely in this world, I am blessed, in so many ways, I look at my latest grandson and am blest, the Lord is good, praise His name. Yet we all know that there is so much pain in the world, the list is long, famine ,war's. I read recently read this about the country of Colombia,
one third of the children ,of all children are anaemic, stunted growth affects 13percent of  children under 5.There are an estimated 150,000 people[all ages] living with HIV. Domestic violence is high, sexual abuse of children, plus the poverty, and the drug lords. I mention Colombia but every  country,
is plagued by the effects of the fall when sin entered this world. There is no guarantee that it will change, in spite of all the advances we have made. I don't despair although it causes me a great deal of sadness, because as a
Christian, I am assured by Gods word that there is a better day coming,
when Jesus will make all things new[Revelation 21v1-4 ]I cannot fully
comprehend what  this will mean, but it will be wonderful, there will be no more evil statistics, no more worries. Yes there is a better day coming, you can be part of it ,by trusting Jesus as your Saviour.

                                       A  prayer.
Dear God have mercy on this needy world, so much  is tainted with sin, so much sadness, but we thank you that there is a better day coming because of Jesus ,Amen

A strong faith [Hebrews 11]

I was listening to a song ,dealing with a mans love for a lady, and he sang how it was Gods plan. I believe He has a plan for my life, looking back, many times I could not understand the details. The fact is ,there is so much I don't understand, and possible never will , this side of glory. The Bible tells that as a Christian we walk by faith, we live by faith, now we read in Hebrews 11v 1,' 'Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen'' ,I was not there at that moment when the world was creation, I have never seen Jesus, I have never seen heaven. Yet because God's word tell us clearly, of these things,we believe, Abraham left everything in response to Gods call, not knowing were he was going.but as has been said, he  knew who was with Him, God. I read an interesting article in a national news paper, the writer declares,''Why I envy those with strong faith'', what is stopping him, well he ends the article ,by saying how his rational mind ,was the barrier.The question one may ask is faith in God irrational?, why should it be thought so, are the Jewish nation with all its history, just a myth. I wonder why Hitler wanted rid of the Jews, and why do people, still hate the Jews?. Is the Christian faith borne out of lies, was Christ a deluded person?, are we all deluded?. Of course not, this world is full of people who are deluded , the Christian is a person who has by faith reached out to God, who has reached out to him/her, in the person of Jesus. This encounter with Him has changed their lives completely ,forgiveness, and the gift of eternal life followed

                                      A prayer.
Dear God when by faith I came to you, I discovered that faith is the key to
knowing you, and have discovered that faith is beyond our so called  rational mind, in Jesus name Amen.

A Poem. [Galatians 5 v22-23 ]

David Jackson writes about a friend a Dr Kenneth Moynagh,who served the
Lord in Rwanda, David considered him a very godly person, a very Spirit filled person and a man who was filled with the love of God. After his death a poem he wrote was published,based on the ninefold gifts of the Holy Spirit,we read about in Galatians 5 v 22-23.

                     Joy is Love exalting, and Peace is Love at rest;
                     Patience, Love enduring in every trial and test.
                     Gentleness, Love yielding to all that is not sin.
                     Goodness, Love in actions that flow from Christ within.
                     Faith is Love's eyes opened the living Christ to see;
                     Meekness ,Love not fighting, but bowed at Calvary.
                     Temperance, love in harness and under Christ's control,
                     For Christ is love, in person- and Love, Christ in the soul.
                                          

Lust of the eyes [Genesis 2-3]

We continue looking at 1 John 2 v15ff,we now consider ,the lust of the eyes, the door to the soul. Today men and women will look at another human being and lust after them, it can go further than that. There is no human being who is free from the lust of the eyes, be it the Pope, preachers, no one is free from it .It has a broader meaning that physical, it is as one
writer puts it, a tendency to be captivated by outward show. It all began in
the garden of Eden when Eve disobeyed God, she looked at the thing,that
 forbidden fruit, and so the pattern was set. King Ahab[1 Kings 21]looked at a vineyard which was another's, he coveted it, and went on to possess it , after his wife had the owner put to death. Let us be honest, we have
all lusted after something, most people only see the big car,big salary, big house, eyes only on the things they see. The non-Christian cannot see beyond the temporal, as Christians we must not be lead or controlled by the things we see, but by Gods Spirit.
                                              A prayer.
Dear God as we look at things today ,help us not to run with those evil
schemes of our sinful heart, or the devil's temptation in Jesus name Amen.