Hurdles [2 Timothy 4 v 7-8 ]

Often when writing about the Christian life the apostle Paul likens it unto an athletic event,like me, you may never have participated in athletics. The hurdles always appears to be difficult to me , running and stretching, and if you get it wrong you knock over the hurdle, and in the process fall , and you are out of the race. There are Christians , who stumble and fall at particular hurdles, and it appears they are out of the race, no longer going on with Christ, when I was young,this happened to me, mybe it has happened to you also, the good news is, we can as I did come back into the race, and even finish it, Peter the apostle fell flat on his face, when he denied his Lord, but the Lord forgive him and restored him by His outrageous grace. [Father help us all, to not despair, when we fall at particular hurdles in life, in thy mercy forgive , and restore us , in Jesus name.]

But it is cold [Revelation 3v14-22]

I am often reminded that swimming is good for me, I can swim, just about , but the fact is I rarely swim , because no matter how much people lie to me , come on in ,it is lovely, I know from experience that the water is cold. I do not like the cold , either cold people, or cold weather, I suppose many people feel this way as to the weather,and that is why of course many go to live in sunny Spain. As I write this I am reminded of a Chritian I knew many years ago, in Belfast, he was on fire for God, but then something happened, he lost the fire, he became cold towards God, I did not judge him but it made me cry. [Father it is so easy to slip away from You , so easy to let slip the things that matter, our relationship with You, in Your mercy keep us, dont let us become spiritually cold, for the sake of Your dear son I ask this, Amen.]

Its the Others. [Matthew 7 v1-5]

It has become a popular way of replying to the the question, how are you, it is the others, a somewhat funny reply, or so it seems. These words, it is the others, puts the onus on others , , if we read the gospels , our Saviour so often reminded those who put the onus on others, that they needed to deal with the their failings to love,and to stop judging others. Take a modern day example , why am I the only perfect driver on the road ?, sounds a bit silly, of course it is ,the fact of the matter is, there are no perfect drivers, we are all part of the problem, so the challenge to all of us is, let love be the ruling principal in our lives, [ Father forgive me for not being honest, for not facing up to my own faults, and failings, help me as I come into contact with imperfect people , to remember that I am imperfect, I ask this in Jesus name,Amen. ]

Dont Give Up. [1 kings18v 41-46]

One of the great truths I dicovered early in my Christian life,is that truth called the ,Pereverance of the Saints, it brings a balance to the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. This great truth lays an empahasis on personal responsibilty, you really cant be saved and live any old way, also this truth encourages us to press on, it times of trouble, it encourages us to keep on keeping on. There are so many aspects of life that this truth applies to, take prayer , while we are to avoid vain repetition, prayer involves perseverance, not giving up, I believe in that perevering, God is creating Christlikeness in us, consider how He perseveres with us, so I would encourage us all to persevere. [Father thank that you never give up on us, you keep on loving us, help us to be like you, and not give up in the task you have given us, and with those you have intrusted to us, in Jesus name I pray this, Amen]

Hope [Mark 5v25-34]

Think of all the people who came to Jesus in the N.T. what one stands out to you? , a good question , I admire the lady who suffered from the issue of blood [Mark 5v25-34]. This lady had suffered from this complaint fot twelve years,she had spent all her money seeking for a cure, all to no affect . What despair she must have felt, humanely speaking there was no hope, she may have given up hope , she may have felt all was to no avail, she must have prayed every day, for twelve long years, and nothing happened, how would you feel if you were her? . Then something happened she heard of Jesus, she came to Him, secretly , but with faith, she speaks to herself, if I can only touch the hem of his garment, I will be healed, this she did, and she experienced a miracle. Surely this story is one of hope , it comes us down through the years,encourageing us to reach out to Jesus in faith and experience a miracle. [Father there are times if I am honest I despair, there are times I pray and I pray, and nothing appears to happen, Father help me not to loose hope, help me at this very moment to reach out and touch you , in faith, in Jesus name ,Amen.]

Thoughts on my mother.[ Exodus 20v12.]

This is mothers day, my mother played a big part in my life, she was a single parent, for she left my father, that meant she had to somehow look after four of us. Things were different then , the support from the goverment was minimum, things were hard, but My mum did her best to look after us, she made mistakes, but she took responsibility for those mistakes, and in the end she succeeded in bringing us up. I did not have a perfect mother , but then she did not have perfect children, on this mothers day, I thank God for my mum. [ Father thank you for our mothers, thank you for the love and care they have shown us, in Jesus name, Amen.]

Not just an number.[ John 3 v 16]

In the age that we live in. we continually hear on T.V. or read in the news papers numbers, particularly in relation, to natuaral disasters, of the number of people who have been injured or killed, here is a number I heard yesterday, on the radio, in South Africa there is reported to be at least ,53,000 people who are raped every year, a vast number are children, this is astounding, mind blowing. I cannot grasp such wide spread abuse, it is easy to just gloss over the numbers, but let us remember, that we live in a world were many people are suffering abuse, not just in South Africa, vast numbers of people, in every country of the world, are suffering some kind of abuse.Let me say this,they are not just numbers , they are precious souls , whom God loves, mybe you have suffered some kind of abuse, God loves you, so much He allowed His Son, to be abused , and to be nailed to a cross, in order to save you, to make you whole, we cannot change the past, but we can embrace the love of God through Jesus, and this love can transform us. [ Father I thank you that I not just a number, or statistic, I am a person whom you love, loved me so much, that Jesus died for me, Amen]