The God of Joshua. [ Ephesians 3 v 20 ]

In the book of Joshua chapter four we have , Israel experienced a miracle, God caused the river Jordon to dry up, this was at a time when Jordon flooded its banks. There were a number of reasons why God did this, firstly to let the nation cross over, which they did, also to strenthen their faith, they were going to face many difficulties , God was showing them that He was with them, and all his resources were at their disposal. If we are Christians it is important to remind ourselves that whatever we have to face ,God is with us, yes the God of Joshua is our God. [Father help us to trust you in every situation, help us to trust and not be afraid, for you are with us, in Jesus name I ask this, Amen.]

Feeling condemned [1 John 1v1-10 ]

It is J Meyer who points out that there is a difference in being condemned and feeling conviction, if we have trusted Jesus as our Saviour, the Bible tells us we are no longer condemned [Romans 8 v1], this means that I am accepted by God, and because my relationship is based on Grace, my acceptance is permanent, and cannot be changed. Conviction arises when we commit some sin, or when we begin to stray in anyway from the path of righteousness, it is the work of the Spirit to convict, it is our responsiblity to respond to that conviction, to refuse to act is a serious matter, and brings consequences to our fellowship with the Lord. [Father we praise You for saving us freely, by your wonderful grace, through faith in Jesus your Son, help us in our walk with you to keep the slate clean, Amen.]

Falling over. [Joshua 7v19 ]

When you are an adult and you fall over,the thing you feel is mainly embarrassment, I remember while on holiday, a friend fell over, I went up to ask her how she was, and she shouted at me , I quietly walked away, she was embarrassed. Now if truth were told we fall over more than we would admit, oh I dont mean literally, falling over, I mean in our walk with Jesus, lets be honest, we put on a good front, but we know we have fallen, and how embarrassed if others had seen us. When Adam and Eve fell they started to blame others, instead of being honest and admitting their sin to God, we are all like our first parents, God would say to all of us stop hiding behind our excuses, and be honest with Him. [ Father help us to see how vital it is to be honest in our relationship with you , grant us the grace to not hide behind excuses, in Jesus name I ask this, Amen. ]

Detour. [I Samuel 15 v1-23]

If one drives a car ,one knows about detours, suddenly instead of getting to your destination, quickly, you have to go a longer way, often it is not convenient, and above all else it goes against our natural desire to get to our chosen destination as soon as possible. In the Bible we read of one of the longest detours ever recorded, Israel had come out of Egypt ,heading for the promised land, a journey that should have taken eleven days, but instead it took forty years, now thats a long detour. Reasons for this was, disobedence, one of the most important lessons, they had to learn was ,obedience, as with them so with us, no matter who you are ,the main thing God wants from you and I ,is very simply, obedience. [Father forgive us for our disobedience, not loving as we should , not doing what you command, please help us to be your obedient children, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen .]

A bargain [Roman 6 v23 ]

Most of us like a bargain, one of my boys likes shopping at charity shops, because of the bargains he is able to pick up, just this week I bought another jacket in my favourite store. I liked it , and it was at a bargain price, I have not yet told my wee wife, she does not understand me, I will keep it my little secret. Anyway it is nice to get a bargain, and of course the greatest bargain is the Gospel, it is freely offered, although it cost God everything, anyone can recieve it, and I mean anyone, yes even you. The Gospel means good news, of a Saviour, who died for sinners, like you and me, through receiving Him we can know forgiveness,and recieve eternal life, now that trully is a bargain. [ Father thank You for the greatest bargain there is, in Jesus your Son, thank You that He is freely offered to everyone, Amen ]

Im not God. [Philippians 2v 5- 11]

It was Cromwell who said , consider young man you may be wrong,and it was W. Churchill, who said of an M.P. there goes God but for the grace of God, man know your place. I was listening to some scientists on the radio,speaking as if they were God, they spoke as if they have arrived at the fullness of knowledge, instead of realizing they are on a journey. We are all on a journey, it is were we arrive at, thats what, is important.The Christian is one who is not alone on that journey,for God in his Son Jesus is with them, and on that journey they are to do right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God [Micah 6v 8 ] [ Father forgive us for our lack of humility, forgive us for usurping your place ,and help us to be more like Jesus, even though He was God,He manifested supreme humility, Amen.]

Old Friends.[John 15v12-17 ]

During my life time God has blessed me with dear friends, many I have lost contact with, I heard recently that two old friends have become Christians, mybe you need to pray for your old friends, God just may answer your prayer. Friendship is so important to me, I trully value my friends, and hope to make new ones, God always seems to bring someone into my life, even just for a season, or longer. My dearest and closest friend is Jesus, I really mean this, I talk to Him every day, and He talks to me, but often we dont say much to each other, I just know He is there, sometime those quite times are the best times, as the old Gospel song says ,He is my forever friend, I do hope you Know Him, as your friend, and Saviour. [ Father thank you for the gift of friends, thank you also for your friendship in Jesus. Amen ]