Holiday

This is just to let you know that I will be on holiday for a week I will be back Sunday week. I just want to encourage you all , to keep praying ,keep trusting, and keep obeying.

No easy answers. [1 Corinthians 13 v 12 ]

One of my favourite brodcasters Alistair Cooke, said when he heard Duke Ellington the great jazz entertainer had died,I dont have to believe it , if I want to. I can appreciate what he said for there are somethings to painful to accept. Coming to terms with painful experiences,abuse, loss, failure, betrayal, and so on, whats the answer?, is there an answer?.Did Job get an answer to all his loss? it does not appear he did, but somehow he appears to have coped, I dont have any quick fix answers, I read these words in Romans 15v 4, that the scriptures give us hope and encouragement, the scriptures tells us that God loves us, that He is with us in ever trial, and in the words of the old hymn, to sanctify to us our deepest distress, yes there are no easy answers, but there are answers. [Father God we wish somethings did not happen, but they do, please help us to face whatever happens in our lives, with courage and trust , in Jesus name we ask this, Amen .]

God is in control [ Revelation 19 v 6. a.v ]

All is not well in the world , there are many problems in the world, mybe there are problems in your life, one could so easily be driven to despair. The word of God reminds us, and we most certaintly do need to be reminded, that God is on the throne, and that He is in control. That does not ignor all the wrong things that are happening, nor does it mean we will not have problems and difficulties to face. What it means is hope, that inspite of all that is going on, somehow we believe God is in control, and all will be well, I will leave you my life verse, Romans 8 v28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. [ Father God sometimes we despair, things appear to be out of control, help us to trust in the truth that you are in control, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen. ]

Caught out [ Matthew 5 v38 -42 ]

I had an experience yesterday, when I found myself in a conflict situation, I was caught out, it was unexpected. Inspite of the fact we are warned to be on our guard we do get caught out, the question I ask is this, did I handle it right, I hope so.What I have done is commit it to God , and am seeking to leave it with Him, although I am finding it hard. The challenge of our Lords teaching in Matthew 5 v39,is to be taken seriously , But I say unto you, That you resist not evil, but whososver shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Oswald Chambers , wrote,Naturally, if a man does hit back , it is because he is a coward, but spiritually if a man does not hit back, it is a manifestation of the Son of man in him. This is the challenge for all of us , even when we are caught out. [ Dear Lord Jesus help us in every situation to reflect You, Amen ]

Regrets [ 1Timothy 1 v 15- 17 ]

Sometimes your mind flicks back ,and you remember things you wish you had not done, and the memory of such things causes one real pain. Memories of childhood . I remember as I went to school with a mate we picked on someone, we roughed him up, I was a terrible one for getting into fights, and picking on people , I remember that boy standing outside the door of my home with his mother, the memory still causes me pain, regrets. Well what can we do ? one thing for certain we cant change the past, but I thank God ,He has changed me, and is changing me, I dread to think what I would be like if Christ had not saved me, I dont exaggerate ,the life without Christ is fraught with danger. [Father thank You from the depths of our hearts for saving us from so much that could have destroyed us and others, thank You for Jesus, Amen ]

Values . [John 3 v16 ]

At our church yesterday we sang a hymn by a Lucy Bennett, that touched my heart, in the first verse, it dealt with two things, [ 1 ] What it cost our Saviour to redeem us. [2] A request to be taught the value of a soul. Those two things bring with them a tremendous challenge , as to what God places value on, and what we should place value on. The value of a soul is something that we need to appreciate, because God values a soul so much that he gave His Son Jesus to die on Calvary. We need to have God values in life, when we look at people , to see them as He sees them, to love them as He loves them. [Dear God forgive us for our wrong values,and help us to value what you value , in Jesus name we ask this, Amen. ]

Believing . [ Hebrews 11v 6 ]

In the movie , Journey to the center of the earth, one of the main characters, says about two people, they believed something that everyone said was impossible. The Bible is full of such people, people who believed the impossible, Noah, Abraham, the list goes on. Their belief of course was not based on their imagination, but on God and what He said, and they acted on that belief, and God honoured their faith . Our Saviour said ,blessed are those who believe without seeing me,[John 20v29 ], have you believed?.To become a Christian ,we have put our faith in Jesus ,we may have doubts, we may have questions, but the challenge that we are faced with is to believe on Jesus, the words of an old hymn comes to mind , only believe. [Dear God we come to you in faith, for without faith it is impossible to please You , we ask for your grace, that we may exercise faith be in Jesus to be our Saviour, and then for faith to follow Him, Amen. ]