Things of beauty [ Genesis 3 ]

We have a water feature in our garden, to my wife it is a thing of beauty,yesterday we did some work in our garden and we found to our horror, four dead birds , they must have gone for a drink fell into the barrel, and drowned. This thing of beauty had become a thing of death for those little birds We can learn something from this, that there are things of beauty, that can destroy, a mountain is a thing of beauty, but many people have died on mountains. Consider David , [ 2 Samuel 11], he saw a thing of beauty, desired it ,took it, and sinned greatly.Consider Achan, [Joshua 7 ], he saw things of beauty ,desired them , took them , and sinned, both of these men sinned,both of them caused others to suffer, and both paid a price for their foolishness, beware of those things of beauty, which we look upon and desire. [ Holy Father help us to not be decieved by things of beauty,help us to see that all that glitters is not gold, help us to have godly values of holiness, in Jesus name we pray this, Amen. ]

Giving up. [ John 21]

There will always be reasons to give , let me repeat these words, there will always be reasons to give up, we read of those who did, one such person was a man called Demas , we read about him in 2 Timothy4v 10, Paul says of him, Demas has deserted me because he loved the things of this life. Just as I said , there will always be reasons to give up , we can always rationalize our decisions, I am sure Demas did. The life of faith is one of trust, and commitment ,it does not lean on its own understanding, it sees beyond the here and now, to an eternal weight of glory, and above all else it is held by a love for Jesus.and the love of Jesus. A love that will not let us go, the hymn wrote ,O Cross that lifest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from Thee , dont give up on Jesus for He will never give up on you. [Father help us not to give up, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen]

Whats it to be ?.[ Hebrews 12 v1-3]

I watched a football match last night, and it bore in upon me how often the difference between victory, and defeat is very small . How many battles have been lost because of one wrong command, one wrong action, how many accidents have been caused by, taking the eye of the road. Lots wife looked back , a simple act but it brought disaster upon her, for which she will always be remembered, it could have been so different for her. It is in 1Peter 5v 8. We read , stay alert,Watch out for your great enemy, the devil, He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. [ Father I look to you this day, help me to be on my guard , help me not to be careless in my Christian walk, for Jesus sake, Amen.]

People I dislike. [Romans 5 v 6- 11.]

I have a confession to make, there is one character in the bible, I dont like, and I am not talking about Judas, no I am talking about, someone who was a king. Well it is not really important, I am sure God will help me, to look at him in a more balanced way as time goes on . Let us broaden this thought out to real living people we come into contact with, let us include, our friends, neighbours, work mates, family, and even fellow Christians. There are people in those group I must confess I dont like , I acknowledge this, but I do try to love them,for I know Christian love must rise above feelings, above the natural to the Spiritual, from being a son of man, to being a son of God. [Father I read in your word , that you love this world,that is the whole world, without exception, help me , for I acknowledge, I do need your help, to love those whom I naturally dislike, I ask this in Jesus name, Amen. ]

Empathy [ Hebrews 4 v14- 16 ]

The dictionary tells me that empathy means, intellectual or emotional identification with another, this is a very important aspect of life, and is vital to us as Christians. There are many ways to illustrate this, take our Saviour , in Hebrews 4 v15,we read , This High Priest [ Jesus] of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do,yet He did not sin. In other words when we go to Jesus in prayer in our weaknesses, He can identify with us because He himself has been through, what we have been through, He understands and sympathizes with us. So it is with you and I , why do we have trials? in order that we can identify with others who are facing similar trials, God is not wasteful, He allows us to experience trials so we can more fully help others, so we can have empathy with them. [ Father I often wonder why I am allowed to experience trials , I would rather not, help me to understand there is a loving purpose, in all you do, that my trials help me to understand what others are going through, in Jesus name , Amen.]

That special place.[Luke 23v 32-46. A.V.]

I am listening to an old Gospel song as I write this, the words go like this,Thanks to Calvary I dont come here anymore. Calvary , that special place for every believer. Calvary is only special, if by faith we have come to know what it means in our own lives, when as a sinner in all our need we trust in Christ as our Saviour, then and then only does Calvary, become special. Them we are enabled to move on into a new life, a transformed life, a life with tremendous potential ,we become people who are lead not driven, people who are free, not bound, for who Jesus sets free is free indeed.[ Father thank you for Calvary ,were Jesus your Son died, for sinners such as us, thank you for that special place, and that special person, Amen ]

How great is our God. [ Ephesians 3v 20 ]

It is hard for us to take in ,how God deals with all the mulitude of needs that are in this world. Consider how many prayers are ascending to God right now, millions, when I consider the many things I bring to God in prayer, how does God cope?. Well He does, we have to move out of our limited way of thinking, God is not a man, He is Spirit. It is in the 40th chapter of Isaiah, which I would encourage you to read, that we have a picture of the greatness of God,in this chapter we have, and I quote my study bible, Isaiah describing Gods power to create ,His provision to sustain, and His presence to help. God is almighty and all powerful, but even so , He cares for each of us personally,it finishes by saying this, dont limit His work in your life by underestimating Him. [ Great God and Father, we worship you ,we rejoice in your greatness, you are the One who is greater than our greatest thoughts, and yet You are so lovingly personal in your care for each of your children, we thank and praise You in Jesus name, Amen.]