Very important words ( Proverbs 4 v 20 -21)

 It was a wonderful wedding,the biggest one I've ever been at,one of my grandsons was getting married,they are  both Christians,After they became man and wife we all sat down for a meal,and then people were called to give a speech.It was lovely to listen to the speeches,many nice things were said,mixed with humour.I was not called to contribute,but if I had I would have said something of very great importance to my dear grandson and his dear wife,in fact it is of utmost importance for every Christian to hear,'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths' (Proverbs 3 v 5-6 )

The importance of prayer ( Luke 18 v1ff)

How important is prayer to you? is it only an emergence service?,lets turn to the book of Daniel,Daniel was in exile,but he and his three friends were promoted to high office.Let us think about Daniel,after King Belshazzar was overthrown by King Darius,Daniel was promoted to high office ,other ministers sought to  remove him from power.They could find no fault with him,so this is what they did,they went to the King and convinced him to pass a law that forbid anyone to to pray to any god except to the king,for thirty days,it also stipulated that if anyone disobeyed, they would be thrown into a den of lions. When Daniel learned about it, he went to his room,got down on his knees  and prayed, it was his custom to pray three times a day.The other ministers reported to the king how Daniel was praying,and he should be executed, the king could do nothing about it,and reluctantly agreed to it.So let us come back to the question I asked at the beginning,'How important is prayer to you?.

                                                          'We perish if we cease from prayer

                                                           O grant us power to pray'

My way or God's way? ( Psalm 118 v 14)

 Frank Sinatra most popular song was ,'I did it my way',I did read once he was fed up singing it,it is and was a very popular song, it is played at funerals a lot.It could be seen as the national anthem of unbelievers,it is a statement of man's independance from God.It rings very hollow when you hear it often enough,as a Christian I acknowledge my dependance on God,the more we  rest in God the better for us. Jesus said apart from me you can do nothing.  (John 15 v 5) It was the apostle Paul who said,I can do all things through him who gives me strength (Phil 4 v 13)It was God's grace that sustained him in all his weakness,we read these words that God spoke to him ,' My grace is sufficient for you,for my power is made perfect in weakness.' (2 Cor 12 v 9).Think of what he  accomplished in his life time,how ? by relying on God ,he was a man of great learning,but he still depended on God,and so must we,and whatever are calling in life may be,he will be with us, in the fulfillment of it.

Home truths. ( James 3 v 1 -12)

 I'm sure we all have heard the saying ,'Home truths'.it means simply telling someone something they are blind to,or do not want to hear.Some people do it to hurt someone,or destroy them,they don't speak in love to that person,more that likely to humilitate them,it is not the Christian way.In Colossians 4 v6  we read, Let your speech always be with with grace,seasoned with salt,' One comment on these words goes,' Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation,nor put them down, not cut them out'.Someone I admire is John Lennox,who publicly speaks with Richard Dawkins,and Christopher Hitchens in defence of Christianity,he is always very gracious ,not in anyway seeking to humiliate them.It is important to remembering we are not there to win the argument at all costs.The greatest example of gracious speaking was Jesus. They said of Jesus,'No one ever spoke like this man,'( John 7 v 46).And in Luke 4 v22 we read,'So all bore witness to Him,and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded  out of  His mouth'.May we be given grace to be more like Jesus,when we speak.

Love ( 1John 3 v1-3)

John Denver wrote a lovely song,called ,'Perhaps Love',three of the verses start as follows,'Perhaps love is like a resting place,A shelter from the storm/ Perhaps love is like a window,Perhaps an open door/ Perhaps love is like the ocean,Full of conflict ,full of pain'.It is a nice to listen to,but it is a bit ambiguous,in other words it is not very clear,nothing challenging.Much in all as I like the song it leaves much more to be said,so where do we turn to? and the answer is the Bible,do you know that God is love,(1 John 4 v 8) what a profound statement.Not only is he love. he loves in the most wonderful way,one just has to look at the cross,that is the greatest manifestation of love one can imagine,as the hymn writer puts it,'The love of God is greater far,than tongue or pen can ever tell; it goes beyond the highest star,And reaches to the lowest hell; Could we with ink the ocean fill,and were the skies of parchment made;Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,Nor could the scroll contain the whole,Tho stretched from sky to sky.'Yes it is beyond our comprehension,it is a love that reaches out to the world,but it is a personal love,as the apostle declared,'I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me' (Galatians 2 v 20)

Misfortune ( Psalm 30 v 5)

A Russian composer wrote a piece of music ,and called it,'I carried my misfortune',I'm sure many people could say that, it reminds me of words from Les Miserables ,'There's a grief that can't be spoken, There's a pain that goes on and on'.I was talking to a lady whose brothers wife had died,she was 91,they had been married 61 years,and he is struggling to cope.Yes there are so many people carrying misfortunes around with them, the Christian  is no different,and yet there is a difference,there is one who walks with us, his name is Jesus I like what he said to his disciples and to us also,'Lo I am with you always' (Matthew 28 v 20)  and he really cares for us,in all our misfortunes,all our sorrows,all all our losses. Though we walk through the darkest valley he is with us,we are not alone.May he grant unto us in our times of misfortune a abuntant measure of his grace,peace and love.

                                                            'In every pang that rends the heart

                                                             The man of sorrows has a part,

                                                             He sympathizes  with our grief,

                                                             And to the sufferer sends relief'

The will of God ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 7-10)

 Have you ever hoped and prayed for a miracle?at this time a dear friend of mine needs a miracle,I  do pray  for him,asking God ,and this is the most important point ,if it is God's will that he would heal him,John 5 v14-15 reads 'This is the confidence we have  in approaching God:that if we ask anything in according to his will,he hears us.And if we know that he hears us  whatever we ask we know that we have what we asked of him'.William Barclay wrote the following,'We are so apt to think that prayer is asking God  for what we want,whereas true prayer is asking  God for what He wants'.There is a great deal of wisdom in these words, remember what our Saviour  prayed in the garden just before he was betrayed,'My Father if it is possible,may this cup be taken from me',here was Jesus overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death'.and in his humanity he was not just asking  that he would he would not have to go through the terrible suffering he was going to experience,no he went on to pray,'Yet not as I will,but as you will' ( Matthew 26 v39)No human being would want to suffer what Jesus  suffered,remember he was truly a man and all that means,Paul writes in 2 Cor 13 v 4,'He was crucified in weakness'. Jesus came with the sole purpose of doing the will of God in all his weakness, but he triunphed over his weakness and boldly went on to fulfill his calling to be the Lamb of God ,that taketh away the sins of the world

                                                                'Thy will be done'