Hearing from God.[ 1Samuel 3 v1-10]

In 1 Kings 22, we have an account of two kings , they were going to war,there names were, Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat , king of Judah. Jehoshaphat did an unwise thing ,he became involved with Ahab, be careful who you become involved with, but to Jehoshaphats credit he did a very important thing, he wanted to hear from God. The word of God tells us to acknowledge God in all our ways, and He will direct our paths, [Proverbs 3v6. A/V.], it is so important to do this, so today try and put this into practice. [ Father help us to bring you into all our decisions, help us to take this very serious, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen.]

Discipline.[2 Timothy 2v3 ]

How disiplined are you? all of us need to be disiplined, it is easy to put of things, to ignore the realities, but eventually things catch up with us. I have to watch what I eat, that takes discipline, for I do like so many things. but there are areas in my life that I am not disciplined. We cant always give in to what we want, sometimes we have to say no. I dont want anybody to fall into condemnation , most of all my self, but I am sure we need discipline in our lives, not just in the so called spiritual things. We should see that all of life is spiritual, Colossians 3v17, tells us, Let every detail in your lives, words, actions, whatever, be done in the name of the master, Jesus.[The Message]. [ Father help us to be more disciplined in our lives , give us the grace we need , help us not to be judgmental of others, who appear to be less disciplined than us, help us to do everything to the glory of our Saviour, in whose name we ask this, Amen.]

Enjoy today [ Matthew 6 v25 -34 ]

It was a lovely day the sun was shining, and I commented to someone , how lovely a day it was, only to hear him reply, it is going to rain tomorrow. Why is it we cant enjoy the here and now?, why do we let tomorrow rob us ?, for some people it is always tomorrow. Our Saviour tells us, Dont worry about tomorrow, [Matthew 6 v34], is worry ever helpful?. So enjoy today, dont be ruled by fearful thoughts of tomorrow, remember the God who is with you today, will be with you tomorrow, His resources will not dry up, His caring for you will not cease, so feel secure in His love, and care today, enjoy today. [Father thank you for today , help us to rejoice and be glad in it, in Jesus name, we ask this, Amen ]

Worry.[ Matthew 6v25 -34. ]

In Acts 27 v33, we read of the apostle Paul ,speaking to his fellow travellers, You have been so worried that you havent touched food for two days. They were in a severe storm, their lives appeared threatened , worry affects , and afflicts all of us, it is only natuaral, of course it is , but a spiritual man, made a difference, in that situation. Do read Acts 27, it is a wonderful story,in it we have the storm, two groups of people, the Believers and the unbelievers, which are you?, Paul hears from God , and then he speaks the word in faith. There are so many people out there who are worried about so many things,from debts to death, they need to hear what God has to say, from those who are believers, [ Father help me not to worry , but to trust, and help me to be available for You to speak through me to others, in Jesus name I ask this, Amen.]

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.]