Forced labour [John 21 v15- 17 ]

It appears to me that Jonah was forced to yield to God, I wonder are we all a bit like Jonah? often prayer is the last thing we do, some of us only pray when we have to, and as for reading Gods word, well, we leave that to the preacher. If God spoke to us as he did to Jonah, would we react any different ?, we live under Grace, we are free, we are loved unconditional, those things are true, but surely the words of Jesus/, all who love me will do what I say [John 14v23 ]/ , tells us ,that love is a two way thing, and requires a loving response. One of my earliest memories of school was being forced to go,and the last thing a parent wants is for their child to only obey when forced to, you are not going to leave the table until , every parent remembers that. It does appears to me that so much of our relationship, with our Saviour could come under the term forced labour. [ Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for that love which we have experienced in your son Jesus, we are sorry that so often we act like we are under forced labour, it is to our shame we admit this, soften these hearts of ours, for the sake of Jesus our loving Saviour, Amen ]

Idols. [Exodus 20 v 1-17 ]

One of the great problems in Israels history was idolatry, time after time they created idols, and time after time, God sent His prophets to speak to them, it appears at times they had forsaken their idols, but so often it was a false dawn. Israel appeared to break free from this cycle after the exile in Babylon, then religion took over, we may not realize it but even religion can become an idol. It appears to me that mankind is very prone to idolatry, even modern man , sometimes this appears obvious sometimes it is less obvious, but it is there all the same, the dictionary defines idolatry,/ as an object of excessive devotion or admiration, as a pop star, etc./. The words of a hymn come to mind, /The dearest idol I have known ,whatever that may be, help me to pull it from thy throne and worship only Thee. [ Dear God , so many things can become idols,legitimate things, we are so prone to idolatry, it is a sinful tendancy that can seriously affect our relationship with You , help us to worship only You, we ask this in Jesus name , Amen ]

Smallness [Matthew 25 v 14-28 ]

I am an elder of a small fellowship, last evening I ministered at a similar fellowship,one of the leaders said how they had put on a holiday club but the response was poor. In some ways I am used to the small , ministering to the few, but one never fully accepts it, there is always the desire to see growth. The challenge of the Christian life is to be faithful to the will of God, if that includes ministering to the few , so be it, this is all we will held accountable for,wherever God has placed you, be faithful, that faithfulness takes in all of life, our giving, our relationships, whatever, be faithful.[ Father help us to be faithful to our Saviour in all things, in His name we ask this, Amen .]

The underdog [1 Corinthians 1 v18 -31 ]

I watched the movie Rocky Balboa, and enjoyed it, to me the Rocky movies are not so much about boxing, [lets face it if he took that much punishment he would not have survived ] it is about the underdog, the nobody, the uneducated, the downtrodden. Hollywood is good at this kind of movie, they are experts at what will be a success, they know that many people see themselves as the underdog, so they play into that emotion. I came from a broken family, my educational attainmets where low, the only employment for me were jobs with poor money and poor prospects, in so many ways I was the underdog. The Bible is a wonderful book , for it continually tells us that with Christ in our lives we are transformed, from being nobodies to being somebodies, [ C P. 1 John 3 v 1. av ] it tells us that God can even use us in the most wonderful ways , it tells us God can promote us, and make us a blessing to others. [ Father we praise You for your indiscriminate love, a love that embraces all, even the nobodies, a love that comes to us through your Son Jesus , Amen]

Be an example [1 Corinthians 13 ]

In 2 Thessalonians 3 v9, Paul writes ,/ but we wanted to give you an example to follow/,being an example is one of the most important things in life. I personally see being an example as vital to my family, my work colleagues, my neighbours, and all I come in contact with. The fact that what we do, has an affect on others, one of the most challenging things I read recently, was about about a famous Christian, it read, / He lived better than he preached/,I dont want to make you feel condemned ,but let us all remember the importance of being an example. [ Father we are so conscious of our short comings,of the gulf between what we are and what we should be, yet the challenge comes to us today to be an example , help us by your grace to show forth Christ in our lives , in whose name we ask this ,Amen ]

The enemy at the gate [Romans 4 v18 -21 ]

In Isaiah 36-37, we read how the Assyrian army invaded Judah, and where at the gates of Jerusalem, Assyria was a world power, Judah a small nation. Assyria had conqured many nations, as they stood outside the gates of Jerusalem, they boasted what they would do to the Jews. What do you do when the enemy is at the gate? , for Hezekiah and his subjects things could not have been worse. I wonder is that your situation? , the enemy is at the gate, certain defeat is staring you in the face, take hope today, for Judah survived, for God helped them. [God of ancient Isreal, you delivered your people from their enemies, you delivered them when there was no way out, we look to You, to make a way for us where there is no way, to provide where there is no means, to help where there is no help,we ask this in the name and for the sake of Jesus your Son and our Saviour, Amen. ]

How to cope.[Psalm 121 ]

Lets face it, sometimes it is hard to cope with life, circumstances , problems, that appear to difficult for us to cope with, press in upon us, so this raises the question, how can we cope?. There is a book called, Napoleons glance,[By W Duggan ] it highlights that sudden insight, that Napoleon had ,that enabled him to act in ways that brought victory in the many battles he fought. Life can be a battle and just like Napoleon, we as Christians, can recieve insight from God, wisdom from God that can enable us to know victory . Let us today ,have that upward glance, like the Psalmist in Psalm 121, who said, I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help, My help cometh from the Lord , and in doing this we will be enabled to cope, for God will respond, and help us. [ Father help us today to look up to You, and help us to believe, that whatever difficulty we may be facing, You will help us, and enable us to cope , we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]