Preaching.

Although I feel called to preach, I still find it the most challenging of activities, it is not something that comes easy. First of all you have to discover what your going to preach on, most times that is not so difficult, yet it can be, then the preparation, that can be hard work, then the preaching of it, all very challenging.Why do it if it is so hard?, the answer Gods calling.Mybe God has called you , or is calling you , obey it, simply because obedience is what it is all about, that applies to everything, not just that special calling on our lives , everything.

Faith alone.

One of the things the N.T. writers seek to do, is bring a balanced view into their teaching, we are saved by faith alone, through grace, alone. One of my favourite books is by P. Yancey. called, Whats so amazing about grace, a wonderful book. Grace alone ,faith alone,but what about balance in our Christian life?. Well heres how I see it, if you read James and John letters, it appears to me they are simply teaching, the life that has experienced the grace of God , must manifest the reality of that experience, you cant have one without the other.This does not weaken the doctrine of , grace or faith alone, it strengthens it, as our Saviour taught we are known by our fruits.

The path I must go.

Consider our Saviour , consider the path He had to go, and how few really understood where he going , or what He had to do, continually He was misunderstood . There is a lesson in this for all of us, you see God has placed a calling on all our lives, the question is are we following that calling?. In obeying Gods calling on our lives remember , you are leaving yourself open to be misunderstood, and you must take up your cross and follow Jesus, irrespective of what people think or say.

He has a plan and a purpose.

Consider these words from Romans 8 v29 , For God knew His people in advance,and He chose them to become like His Son. You becoming a Christian was not by chance , consider Ephesians 1v4 .Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us, it is a mystery. But there is more, His purpose ,He chose us to become like His Son ,all the events and circumstances of our lives are for this purpose,that we may be like Jesus.

Keeping life in proportion.

It is so easy to loose sight of what we have, the many blessings we have, often we look at life in an unbalanced way.We may be suffering from an illness , but we have medicine, let me encourage you to look for the mercies, life will always have its downside, thats the nature of life, but let us trace the rainbow through the rain. Look up today and give thanks unto God , do it in faith, honour your Lord, give thanks with a grateful heart, in Jesus name.

Keep right on to the end of the road.

The apostle Paul wrote ,I have finished my course,that means he had kept the faith, he had not given up in his following Jesus. If you read his life you would see just how much he had to cope with,2Corinthians. 11v23-27, imprisonments, floggings, being stoned, etc, but he kept his eyes on the prize, on the finish line. A song goes ,are you getting weary in the struggle of it all, well are you? be honest to yourself, and be honest with your Lord,there is a favourite song I often sing, it goes like this,I traveled down a lonely road, and no one seemed to care, The burden on my back drove me to dispair,I oft complained to Jesus how folk were treating me. And then I heard Him say so tenderly. My feet were also weary upon the Calvry road. The cross became so heavy I fell beneath the load. Be faithful weary pilgrim, the morning I can see,Just lift your cross and follow close to Me.

Precious.

There are many things that are precious, you have that little person in lord of the rings, who speaks of the ring as , my precious, and of course this obsessed and destroyed him. It is sad to say that many are obsessed with that which they consider precious,the result ,destruction, our Saviour said what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and loose his own soul. The most important and precious thing we possess is our souls, we must value that more than anything else, God does, we just have to look to the cross, where Jesus shed his precious blood. in order to save us.