Dont expect the worse.[ Roman 8 v 28. A.V ]

It is going to rain tomorrow is an indication of us always expecting the worse, one of my favourite verses in that wonderful hymn by William Cowper, God moves in a mysterious way,is verse 3, which reads , Ye fearful saints , fresh courage take, The clouds ye so much dread , are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings on your head. This is not just about being optimistic, it is about having faith,that our Sovereign Lord is in control, and is working out all things for the good of His children. So dont expect the worse, trust your loving heavenly Father to work on your behalf. [ Loving Father forgive us for our lack of trust in your care, help us today to rise above our worries, and fears, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen. ]

A request [2 Timothy 4 v6-8 ]

In Proverbs 30 v8-9, we read, O God , I beg two favors from you, let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches, Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deney you and say , Who is the Lord?, And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult Gods holy name. Here is a man who wants three things, [ 1 ] Integrity. [2] Balance. [3] To honour God. The writer acknowledges his weakness and vulnerability, God wants honesty from us, the writer also acknowledges his dependance on God , this is the safest attitude to have . [Dear God and Father we lift our voices up to You, and ask that You will help us to be people of integrity, balance, and that we will not do anything , that will bring dishonour to your name ,for the sake of Jesus we ask this , Amen.]

A request [ 8 v 36 ]

In 1 Chronicles 4v10, we have a request made to God, by a man called Jabez, his name means pain, it was given unto him by his mother, because of his painful birth ,but Jabez wanted to be free from that , none of us want to live under a stigma. So he prayed to God, Bless me, O bless me,give me land, large tracts of land. And provide your personal protection, dont let evil hurt me. God gave him what he asked.[ T.M] What cloud are you living under? what curse are you living under? what bondage are you living under? There was a way out for Jabez, so there is a way out for you , make your request unto God , in Jesus name, ask and you will recieve. [Father in the name of Jesus free us from all that would enslave us, Amen.]

Despair [ John 11v 35 ]

I was reading an article about HIV/AIDS,in Africa, the writer describes looking over a childrens gravesite, he wrote,[They were like war graves, rough and quickly dug in unforgiving earth, 1,342 graves on this site alone. ], how heartbreaking. With this disease there is a stigma, it is seen as a disgrace, and so those suffering from it have to endure been stigmatised, and isolated, it is a story of despair, and sadness.Let us raise our eyes to heaven today and pray for those suffering from this disease , to the all-loving God, who so loved this sinful world that He gave His dear son Jesus , so that all who believe in Him can be saved. [Father we lift our voices to You today for those many dear people who are suffering from HIV and AIDS, have mercy on them, in Jesus name we ask this. Amen. ]

Jesus the only way [ John 14 v6 ]

I listened to a radio program , it was a discussional program ,as I listened I wish I could have been part of the discussion, as I listened I must confessed I felt a degree of frustration. You see they were discussing if the apostle Paul taught, that the Jews needed Christ, those on the program felt uncomfortable with such an idea. The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10 v3-5, that we are in a war for the souls of men, Jew or Gentile, and one of the things we have to contend against is the stronghold of the mind, human reasoning. Let us never forget that a relationship with God is by faith in His word,not by human reasoning, are we prepared for that? if not, we will never ,and I stress, never have a relationship with God. [Dear God help us to trust in You with all our hearts, and not to lean upon our own understanding, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen]

A kindness [Galatians 5 v22-23 ]

I travelled to a preaching engagement and got stuck on the M. 25. it took over an hour to travel one mile, eventually arriving late, a rare happening for me. After the meeting a dear brother,offered to show us a different way home , so we followed him and got home without any holdups. I am very grateful for the kindness shown unto us, as I get older driving does not become any easier , so I really did appreciate what that brother did. There are many ways we can show kindness to others, let us be alert to how we can show a kindness to someone today. [ Father You continually bless us ,for that we are grateful, help us to be a blessing to others today, by showing a kindness to someone. in Jesus name we ask this, Amen.]

Our Helper. [John 14v 15-18 ]

The great apostle wrote in Romans 8 v 26 -28, And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness, for example, we dont know what God wants us to pray for, But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with Gods will. The results of this is God causes everything to work for the good of those who love Him. These are very meaningful words, for so often there are situations in which I dont know how to pray, yet here we are being assured that God who understands our weaknesses has promised that we have a blessed helper, who prays with us and helps , so let us all be encouraged in our prayer life. [Dear Lord so often we are like the disciples who asked you to teach them how to pray, none of us are experts in prayer , but we thank You that we have a helper the blessed Holy Spieit ,thank you Lord Jesus,, Amen.]