Faith / Prayer [ Matthew 17 v 20 ]

There are two men whom I admire , they are both in the glory, I never met them but I have read their lives, they are called, Hudson Taylor, and George Mullier. God used one in China, the other was used in establishing orphanage work, in Bristol, they both were men of faith , and prayer. They saw God answer prayer in the most remarkable ways, particulary in relation to finance, they never made appeals for money, by faith they prayed, and God answered. I would not say it is wrong to make an appeal for funds, or to ask someone to help you financially, but I believe we must be careful not to exploit the vunerable, better to go without than to do that. From a personal point of view I believe the examples of these two men, and the faith they had, and the answers to prayer they had ,can be a challenge to all of us to pray believing that God will answer our prayers. [Father we ask that you would help us to pray believing, to have faith in You, we ask this in Jesus name , Amen .]

Want a challenge [ Ephesians 5 v2 ]

There are many challenges , life can be one big challenge ,there are many who have to cope with illness, with financial difficulties, difficult jobs, difficult people. I read in my Bible reading these challenging words, / Live a life filled with love[ Ephesians 5 v 2 ], now that is a big challenge, consider what that means for you, in your situation. We have all read the saying , / Love is /, and then you tag something on to it, let us tag on what the scripture says love is. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.[ 1 Corinthians 13 v 4- 7 ] [Oh God who is love, we ask that you will help us, to live a life full of love ,enable us by your Spirit, to do this ,we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Home-sick [ Philippians 1 v20 -24 ]

Although I am an Northern Irish person , and living in my adopted country, England, I dont often feel home-sick, I believe I am were I am in Gods purpose. Having that sense of being were God has placed me ,gives me a real sense of peace and contentment, but sometimes I do feel home-sick , for Heaven, you see for the Christian we are citizens of Heaven, this is not escapism, it is borne out a relationship with Jesus, because of this relationship, I am a foreigner and a nomad , and am looking for my heavenly home[ Hebrews 11v 13-16 ] Here is the words of a poem, [Think of stepping on shore and finding it Heaven/ Of taking hold of a hand, and finding it Gods hand,/ Of breathing new air and finding it celestial air, of feeling invgorated, and finding it immortality/ Of passing from storm and tempest, to an unknown calm/ Of waking up and finding it Home. [ Father help us to live for You each day, keep us safe in your love , and help us never to loose sight of our Heavenly home , we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Justice/ Mercy. [ Ephesians 2 v1-8 ]

In the Genesis 18 v25 Abraham asks God the question, Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right ?, you see God was about to Judge , Sodom and Gomorrah, Abrahams nephew Lot a righteous man, lived there. So Abraham prayed to God who is just but is also merciful, Abraham wanted mercy to be shown to Lot. God did spare Lot and his daughters, God so often grants unto us more than we ask, the account in Genesis emphasizes two very important truths , Gods justice, and His mercy. Irrespective of what people think , there is a day of judgement day coming, in which He will judge the world, we take something to our graves , our sin, and for that sin we will be judged. As sure as God is just, so He is also merciful , He has provided a way in which His justice is satisfied, and at the same time He can show mercy , the Cross were His son died is that way,on that cross, the wrath of God that was my due upon the Lamb was laid, but we must seek that mercy, by repenting of our sin and trusting Jesus as our Saviour. [ Merciful God we thank You that in your love, you have provided a way of salvation, in your Son Jesus, Amen ]

Its hopeless [ Romans 4 v18-22 ]

Abraham had been told that he was going to be a father of a special child by God, but it had not happened ,so his wife suggested a solution, it was not Gods solution. Time went on , and they both were old, I mean really old, they were both on their way to recieveing a message from the queen[ if they had lived now ], and God spoke again, telling them they were going to have a child, the following year, and Sarah , Abrahams wife laughed, to her it was hopeless, but it happened. There are many situations in life that appear hopeless, but if God gives a promise, telling you that He will work things out ,it will happen. [Father there are so many hopeless situations in life,there are people whose lives are hopeless, in faith we look to You the God of the impossible , to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or even think, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen. ]

Light / Darkness. [ John 8 v12 ]

The genius of Charles Darwin , was the title of the TV programme, it was presented by Richard Dawkins, and as I thought of this programme, a verse of scripture came into my mind, Matthew 6 v 23. It reads ,If the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is. A denial of God to many appears light, but is in fact darkness , to live for things of time alone , to many is light, but is in fact darkness, to untold multitudes ,Christless religion is light, but is in fact darkness,to say when we die that is it ,to many is light , but in fact is darkness. It is the Lord Jesus who said , if we follow Him, we will not walk in darkness, but will have the light that leads to life, [John 8 v12 ] . [ Dear God we thank for the true light that lightens everyone , Jesus, the light of the world,We thank You that when we embrace Him by faith, as our Saviour, we are no longer in the darkness , Amen. ]

Will it never end ? [John 14 v 1-6 ]

Conflict in Georgia , another war, during my lifetime there have been so many wars, and one asks the question, will it never end?. Of course one could widen the question to so many things, murder , rape, road rage, so the list goes on, you ask yourself will it never end?, is there a solution?. Because of humanities fallen condition , it appears we will never see an end to wars and rumours of wars, until Christ returns, oh yes He is coming back again, read 1 Thessalonians 4 v15-18. Acts 1v 11. We are told that Christ will descend from heaven with a shout, and that shout will usser in a new heaven and a new earth, were there will be no more wars, no more pain, read Revelation 21 v1-7, the answer to the question, will it never end?, is yes. [ Father so often we feel overwhelmed with the plight of this world we live in, help us to see that you are on the throne working your purposes out, and bringing everything to a conclusion through your dear son Jesus. Amen. ]