What a terrible mess.( Luke 19 v10 )

I still get great pleasure watching  the old movies starring Laurel and Hardy,such innocent humour, always getting themselves into trouble,and what Oliver used to say to Stanley,'another fine mess you've got us into'. Like Oliver it is easy to blame others,Stanley was not alway to blame,and its easy to blame others for the mess we get ourselves into.Lets go back to the beginning of time to a garden,where two human beings did something awful,they diobeyed God they sinned against God,by their action sin entered into the world by one man,and death through sin,and in this way death came to all people,because all have sinned (Romans5 v12) When God confronted  Adam ,he blamed Eve.and she blamed the serpent (Gen 3 v11-14),they would not take the blame for what they had done,think of the consequences of their actions.As I read history what a mess we have created,and as I look at the world to day,the mess is getting worse and worse,what an awful mess we have made of this world,we can't blame it on God though many try to.No we are the guilty ones,God could have wiped humanity out,but He didn't,instead we read that He so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him,will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3 v16)

Birthdays ( John 3 v 1ff)

 One  of the tasks allotted is to me send birthday cards off to our Children and grandchildren,we have a lot of grandchildren and great grandchilren.Every Christian has two birthdays,a natural birthday and a spiritual birthday. Our dear Saviour said that we must be born again if we are to become citizens of God's kingdom.When we are born naturally we are spititually dead, everyone of us,when sin entered the world the spiritual umbilical cord binding us to God was cut,which means we are no longer connected to God. We cannot have a relationship with Him, it is not that He does not love us,it means that we do not love Him,we cannot commune with him.This means we are in great danger,we can so  easily be drawn into all sorts of wrong things ,wrong reilgions, and become slaves to sin,and there is only one place we are heading for ,that awful place called hell,for all eternity,there is no escape from that, a place of isolation,of utter lonliness and sorrow.But it need not be that way,God is merciful,loving and forgiving. Here is the way you can change all that ,by receiving Jesus as your Saviour (John 1 v 12),acknowledging you are a sinner,and when you do that ,you will be reconnected to God,and all the blessings that will bring.

The school of life ( Psalm 42 v 5)

 I have just read about a young lady  who was dyslexic,it was not until she was in  her teens was it diagnosed .So she had a rough time at school ,she was made to feel she was inadequate,with the result she felt low in esteem.But she did get a job and her boss encouraged her, and she began to look at her dyslexic in positive way,and it empowered in her life to be successful in her buisness which she had started.In the school of life we may find ourselves at the bottom of the heap,not much going for us,we may have been abused, have no friends,and so the list goes on,it's not cheerful reading. You may see yourself as one sitting on a dunghill,because of where your at,and what you have come through.You may be a Christian and feel very negative about yourself,let me remind you,there was time when you were a nobody,but when you trusted Christ you became a somebody,you became a child of God.There is a lovely verse in 1 Samuel 2 v 8 of what God does to those who are sitting on the dunghill,'He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill to set them among princes,and to make them inherit the throne of glory'.One person commenting on this verse writes,  'He  puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned out lives with fresh hope,restoring dignity and respect to their lives,a place in the sun'.

Trust Him. ( Romans 11 v33)

In Deuteonomy29 v29 we read,'The secret things belong to the Lord our God,but the things revealed belong to us and to our children for ever,that we may follow all the words of this law'.There are two things emphasised,or what we do and we don't know'.Someone says that the Hebrew  is more striking it contrasts the 'covered' and the 'uncovered'.As Christians we know a lot of  things,God has revealed many things to us ,there was a time we went on in our darkened ways,until He revealed Himself to us.Think of all the wonderful things we know, but what about the things we don't know?,all the why's in life, and what about the future.? Think upon these words 'the secret things belong to the Lord'1 Corinthians 13 v12 reads  'Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror,but  then we will see things with perfect clarity',and let us remember what our Saviour said to the disciples in Acts 1 v 7'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority'.  In John 13  v 7 Jesus says this to Peter, ' You don't  understand now what I am doing,but someday you will'.I leave Proverbs 3v5  with you,'Trust in the Lord with all your heart,and lean not on your own understanding.

Sin ( Proverbs 14 v9 )

I would like to share somthing from a book I have of Puritan Devotionals,the one I choosed was written by a man  called  Thomas Case,a very godly man,the subject  is sin.'Sin is always sinful, but in our prosperity we are not aware of it. The dust of the world fills our eyes that we cannot see it clearly.God  frequently  uses affiction to teach his children the great evil that is in sin.It shows sin as an evil in itself. It not only brings evil, but is evil. It not only works bitterness,it is bitterness. It has a bitter  root as well as bitter fruit. God  leads the sinner by affliction to take notice not only of what sin does,but what it is. It is a pure, unmixed evil.It has the devil for its author,and death for its end. Not only is it evil in itself, it is evil against God' I will just add the following, we must never take sin lightly,God does'nt ,look to Calvary to that old rugged cost,visualise what you see a blooded battered person hanging on that cross ,Jesus.On that cross Jesus died that we could be forgiven,that we would not suffer the wrath of God,if only we trust him to be our Saviour

Jesus is divine ( Psalm 110 v1)

My doorbell rang so I went to answer  it,and there on my doorstep was a young man,and he was a JW ,he was a pleasant young man,and so started a conversation.I often become get very frustrated in talking to JW's ,for no matter what I say,it all seems pointless,of course that's me talking,God only knows the effectiveness of ones witness, we have just to be faithful,and leave it to God.I told the young man I believe in Jesus Christ, he said he also believed,but I replied not the Jesus of the Bible.What dId I mean by that? I mean that Jesus is truly man and  truly God. Of course the JW's have there own translation ,we should not be surprised at that,their founder Charles Taze Russel,rejected the trinity.But that created a big problem for his followers,all the translations  clearly show that Christ was divine,that includes the whole bible.So what did the JW's do? ,they brought out there own translation,that fitted in with what they believe,it is as simple as that,they have a mutilated translation,and they blindly accept it.In Psalm 110 v1 a Psalm by David we read,'In Matthew 22 v41ff Jesus asked the Pharisees ,'What do you think about the Messiah? whose son is he?,They said the son of David,Jesus replied,How is it then that David ,speaking by the Spirit calls him Lord? quoating Ps110 v1 which reads ,'The Lord said to my Lord; sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet',,then Jesus went on to say,'If then David calls  him ''Lord,'' how can he be his son?.Yes the scripture clearly teaches that Jesus is divine.

Fellowship ( John 15 v 34-35)

Hebrews 10 v25 reads,'Not giving up meeting together,as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching'.These words tell us that there were those who were in the habit of not meeting with other believers.Isolating one's self from believers is detrimental to oneself and to fellow believers. One of the reasons given  for meeting together is that we can encourage one another.People stop meeting with believers for different reasons,someone has hurt them in the church,so they  withdraw nursing that hurt,not forgiving those who hurt them.When Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested and imprisioned by the Nazies,he said what he missed most was the fellowship of fellow believers.As Christians we need each other,we need their prayers,their encouragement,their friendship,and likewise they need ours.

                                                             'Blest be the tie that binds 

                                                             Our hearts in Christian love;

                                                             The fellowship of kindred minds

                                                              Is like to that above.

                                                              We share our mutual woes,

                                                               Our mutual burdens bear

                                                               And often for each other flows

                                                               The sympathising tear'             ( Words John Fawcett)

                                                             

                                                              

                                                                 

Use me. ( Ephesian 2 v10)3

We have  considered the following prayers,'Help me', 'Guide me', not let us consider ,'Use me'.There is hymn writtenby Elsie D.Yale I will leave that with you.

                                      ( 1)      'There's a work for Jesus,ready at your hand ,

                                                  'Tis a task the Master just for you has planned

                                                  Haste to do His bidding,yield Him service true;

                                                  There's a work for Jesus,none but you can do.

                                      (2)       There's a work for Jesus,humble though it be,

                                                   'Tis the very service,He would ask of thee.

                                                    Go where fields  are whitened,and the labourers few;

                                                    Ther's a work for Jesus none but you can do.

                                               

                                              

Guide Me! ( 1 John 5 v 14-15) 2

 Let us consider the next short prayer ,'Lord lead me', a very simple prayer,prayers don't have to be long,God answers short praayers,he answers long prayers also.In Galatians 5 v18 we have these words, 'Led by the Spirit',we need  the Spirit of God in relation to our prayers and how much we need Him to guide and direct us according to the will of  God. A very important verse in Romans 8 v 26 - 27 we are told .'In the same way,the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for,but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And  He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God'. It is the great apostle who writes these words.He prayed for so much, but  there was a time he prayed to be healed of an affliction,and it didn't happen 2 Cor 12.William Hendriksen writes as regards the Holy Spirit interceding  for us,'The Holy Spirit's intrrcession reminds us rather of a mother kneeling at the bedside of her ailing child,and in her prayer presenting that child's needs to the heavenly Father'

Help me. (Psalm 121) 1

Here are three short prayers,'Help me! Guide me!Use me!let us consider these 3 things ,'Help.me'  The Beatles  sang a song  which started of  with the words Help me  ,yes it is a  prayer, Psalm 121is one of  seven  Psalms sung by pilgrims as they ascended up to Jerusalem to the temple. The opening verse reads,'I lift up my eyes to the mountains does my help  come from there?why does he mention the mountains?in Jeremiah 3 v 23 we read ,'Truly ,in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,and from the mulitude of mountains'.Often the high hills and mountains where the place where false gods where worshipped to feel closer to their deities.And so verse two of Ps121 reads 'No,my strength comes from God ,who made heaven ,and earth, and the mountains'.The world is full of god's who are not god's,billions of people are looking to these god's.  William Plumer writes that .'He is alone is all sufficent.Men and angels,means  and instruments,the united powers of earth,and the wisdom of all creatures are as nothing compared with God. We are never safe till,ceasing from man, whose breath is in his nostrils,we look to God alone'.

A bad ending. ( Colossians 4 v 17)

 At the time Israel was a divided kingdom ,ten tribes were called Israel,and two tribes were called Judah,let us consider one of Judahs  kings Asa,read about him in 1 Kings 15v9ff and in 2Chronicles 14-16. Asa reigned for 40yrs,he did many good things removing  much of the  idolatrous symbols and worship of foreign gods.It is sad to say the people God's people had continually turned away from him,and that brought dire consequences upon them. In 2 Chron Judah is faced witth a mighty army with 300 chariots.Before the battle began Asa prayed v11 here is what he prayed,he acknowledges his peoples weakness but also God's greatness,and they won the battle.God sent a man to speak to Asa  15v 2 here is what he said,'The Lord is with you when you are with him.If you seek him,he will be found by you,but if you forsake him,he will forsake you' Asa continued to do much good removing the idols from the land,he even removed his grandmother because she worshipped false God's.Alas in his last years when he  was with faced with an Israels army ,he did not seek the Lord but sought help from a foreign power. (chap 16) When challenged by a prophet he became angry and put him in jail and brutally oppressed some of his people.He later became ill but never sought the Lord to be healed.So what lessons do we learn from this,well godly people can change and not for the better.He silenced the voice of God ,when you do that you are in big trouble,Last but not least he stopped relying on God,he did it his way, not God's, and that's being very foolish.

Is it I Lord?( Isaiah 6 v 8)

 Our Saviour said 'You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the  earth.(Acts 1 v 8)and on the bases of that the Christian Church became had a mission.From that moment on vast amount of people have taken the gospel to the unsaved.We honour them for many of them paid with their lives ,like Jim Elliot and four others.Here is a the names of some who sought to obey the call of God ,and were faithful to the gospel,'G .Paton ,David Livingstone,Hudson Taylor,William Carey C'T'Studd,Mary Slessar,Gladys Alward,Eric Liddell.They are gone and their works do follow them, we honour their memory.So that leaves us,in the Olympic's of old the torchbearers pass the torch on,so Christians are also called to pass the torch on from generation to generation.The challenge is this, are we willing to take up that torch?  

                                              I,the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry,

                                                All who dwell in dark and sin,my hand will save.

                                        1,who made the stars at night, I will make their darkness bright.

                                                 Who will bear my light to them? whom shall I stand?

                                                                     Here I am,Lord,is it I lord?

                                                                 I have heard your calling in the night,

                                                                        I will go Lord,if you lead me,

                                                                    I  will hold your people in my heart.

                                                                              Words  Dan Schutte

                               

She asked me a question. ( Acts 1 v 8)

I was visiting my dentist and recieving treatment by the hygienus,  she asked me a question,are you a  Catholic or are you a Christian?.I suppose the bracelet I was wearing,which has a little cross on it,caused her to ask that question.We had a good conversation and I said I was a Christian,and I asked her was she a .Christian? I believe she is,but she is not very knowledgeable about spiritual matters ,and the moral boundries there are in being a Christian,In the brief time I had I pointed out somethings ,and before I left I asked could I pray for her ?,and she agreed ,so I prayed for her.Maybe you could pray for that dear girl.In 1Peter3 v15 we read, 'Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.But do this with gentleness and respect'.Let us remember that we are to be witnesses that is one of our callings, don't neglect your calling,more than ever people need to hear about Jesus..

Why? ( 2Timothy 3 v 1-6)

 Why? it is the cry of the human heart,it was John Lennon who wrote the song 'Imagine' it is song with a longing for things to be better.It ends with the following words,'You may say I'm a dreamer,but I'm not the only one,I hope someday you'll join us,And the world will live as one'.It is only a dream this present world will not  change for the better, things will not get better I believe it will get worse.Now we come to that why,why is it that we are intent in destroying one another. Well we must go back to a beautiful  garden, with two lovely people ,they were sinless,harmony reigned.But all changed they disobeyed God and from being sinless they became sinners.For them and for humanity it was catastrophic,their fallen nature would be passed unto all mankind.Adam and Eve had two sons Cain and Abel,Cain killed Abel and from that moment on the world became a slaughter house .(T Brooke) If you ask the question why all the awful  things are happening in this world,you are failing to grasp the terrible fallen nature that humanity has.So thats why we need a Saviour, God's answer is Jesus,

A song to God ( Psalm 30 v 5 )

Psalm 30, a Psalm by King David,like many of Davids Psalms,it is full of up's and downs,ill health and good health,weeping and rejoicing.In the midst of it all David,inspite of his failures God has mercy upon him.He declares what God has done for him.In v 2 he write,'Lord my God,I called to you for help',When God is our God,we can call upon Him for help',we have that great assurance when we know Him personally. Psalm 23 v1 ,David prays with confidence,'The Lord is my shepherd,I shall not want',in v4  he declares ,Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,for you are with me' But  he takes his eyes of the Lord,Ps30v6 reads 'In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved',One writer puts it this way,'When things were going great I crowed,''I've got it made.I'm God's favorite'. Self confidence will get us into trouble,be on your gaurd in times of prosperity.He writes of God  hiding His face from him v 7,in other words he lost the sense of God's presence.v8ff has  David crying and  pleading  to God for mercy,he feels that death is near,but God had mercy and answered him. In v11-12 the mourning garment is  cast off and he sings the praises of God out of a thankful heart.

C.T.Studd ( Acts 20 v 22-24)

I remember reading the life of C.T.Studd many years ago,and just recently I read a short account of his life  from the Trail Blazers series,which I would recommend to you.He was an English man from an  upper class family,he and his brother were famous sports people.Their  father became a Christian when he heard Moody preaching ,he was an American evangilist.God moved through the whole family so started a life  for Christ ,he and his brother became missionaries ,first in China then in  Africa(Do read the little book) I move unto his time in what was known as the Belgian Congo where God used him  greatly, people got saved, Cannibals,Drunkards,Thieves,Murderers,Adulterers,and Swearers.C.T,Studd was a man on fire for God ,he had a soul thrist for the lost,and he gave his life over in Christian service.He, said,'If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then there can be no sacrifice too great to make for Him'.

                                                    'What sacrifice are we prepared to

                                                      make for Jesus?.'

A balanced prayer ( Psalm 62 v 10)

Last but not least we finish on the prayer by a man called Agur,he has asked God not to give him riches nor poverty,he was concerned that if he was poor with no money,he would become a thief.No one wants to be so poor tthat they may be driven to yield to temptation and steal,the  law tells us to steal is a sin.(Exodus 20 v 15) Bridges comments he is not asking for the bare necessities but for enough in accordence with where God has placed him. He refers to the manna that God supplied in the wilderness,they had it every day,in Exodus 16 v 18 we read, 'the one who gathered much, did not have too much,and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.In Philippians 4 v19 the apostle Pual writing to believers encouraged them with this wonderful promise ,'And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus'.A Bishop Hall wrote,''I am both thankful and indifferent; so as,while I am rich in estate,I may be poor in spirit; and while I am poor in estate,I may be rich in grace'.

Money (1 Timothy 6 v 10) 2

Let us continue to consider Agur and his prayer for God to help him and keep him from his evil weaknesses, he highlights falsehood and lies,but he doesn't stop there,he goes on to mention the following.'give me neither poverty nor riches,but give me only my daily bread (NLT . Give me just enough to satisfy my needs) Bridges comments on 'give me not riches',is scarce the prayer of one in ten thousand'.I have a friend who worked in a major bank in London,he was asked to go and speak to someone who was higher up in the bank.he made his way up in the lift to the floor the person was on,when he arrive he noticed how luxurious everything was.so he went into the persons office.The man dealing with him was offering him promotion to a far better paid job,in fact it would make his present salary look like pittance.My friend asked him what it would involve,well one of the things he was told was he would have to be pepared to work till ten in the evening.My friend mention about his family,and he was told that was part of the job,in the end he did not accept the job.Later on he was told a higher up person said he was a fool.'Agur could see the pitfalls of riches, my friend could,people sell their souls for money,people become a slave for money,and pay a cost as regards their family and their relationship with God.

Be honest ( Romans 7 v14ff)1

 There are three very important verse's that we should all read Proverbs 30 v7-9 the writer highlights two things in his prayer to God ,the first one reads,'keep falsehood and lies far from me'This chapter of the book of Proverbs was not written by Solomon but by  a man called Agur,he is very honest about himself ,v2 -3 he acknowledges his fallen condition,he is a man of God but he is still in a body flesh which we all are,so when  we come before a holy God there must be honesty. Next he recognises his need for God to help him to overcome his weaknesses,so he prays to God and he asks two things of God,first that God would keep him from 'falsehood and lies,keep them far from me he cries. He is so conscious that he could yield to such things,we all without acceptions if we are honest have things in our lives in which we could easely yield to,sinful things.Our Saviour knows that,and so he taught us to pray,'And lead us not into tempation,but deliver from evil,'(some translations have the evil one.)We are not meant to face evil or the evil one on our own,so let us pray continually for God to help us.