Stop pushing [ Psalm 48 v14 ]

So often we waste energy and become frustrated in trying to push our way in, and we find it does not accomplish much .Take my present position, as a support worker among the mentally ill, I was in my forties, had no recognised qualifications, yet after a simple interview, I got the job. To me it has been the best job in the world, I have loved working among the mentally ill, and have been doing it for over 18 yrs, looking back it all seems so simple, that door open to me without much effort, I didnt have to push. There have been many positions that I have gone for, that have not opened to me,I pushed and I pushed but to no avail, in Revelation 3 v 8 we read these words, /I have opened a door for you that no one can close/,let me assure you that wont need to push that door. [Dear Lord Jesus, we confess , that we need You to guide us,help us not to push our way through those doors that are not your will for our lives,and help us to trust you to open the right doors for us, Amen ]

The church [1 Corinthians 12 v12-31 ]

I have for most of my life been a keen follower of football, it is a team game,while one man may make a difference, he needs the rest of the teams support. So it is in the church ,it could be likened to a team game, the right leader can make a difference, but he needs the support of others, it can never be a one man team. On a football team you have different positions, you need defenders, you need attackers, so it is in the church we need the different gifts, the attackers , one could liken them to the evangelist, the defenders could be likened unto those who teach, the word of God, defending the truth of God, oh yes then there are the supporters,they are vital, in their giving,encouraging , and practical help. The point is this if you are a Christian you are a vital member of the team, and it is important that we all are invovled,in the work of God. [Father help us to see how vital it is for us all to be invovled , and help us to serve you faithfully ,within the church you have placed us, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]

Dont touch [ Matthew 6 v 9-13 ]

While on holiday recently I visited a museum, mainly of old cars, and right through the museum,there were notices with these words, dont touch.Now it was a very clear message, I understood fully what it said , but I have a confession to make , I touched a number of the cars. I knew that I shouldnt but temptation got the better of me, and I yielded to temptation. It is the apostle Paul who writes of a similar but more important experience, in Romans 7, he writes about the struggle he had ,to obey the law of God,and his failure in this. Like Paul there are so many things we know that are wrong, things we shouldnt do, we know them but we blow it, time after time,and like Paul we despair. But Paul moved on from despair to that place of victory, here is what he wrote,/ Thank God, the answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord, [v 25] , and in the next chapter he goes on to tell us that there is victory over temptation , through Christ who has given us His Spirit.[ Dear Lord Jesus help us to know victory over temptation by the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen ]

God repeating Himself. [ Revelation 2 v7 ]

Yesterday I was worried, it was not a major problem, but it was worrying,there was a moment when I said to myself , dont worry, and then I spoke to God, Your always telling me that. It is so true ,God is continually speaking to us,repeating the same things over and over again, because we continually forget what He has told us. The words of the old hymn come to mind, / for I forget so soon/, it is so true, we are all without exception a forgetful lot.I rarely preach the same sermon twice, but God is continually telling us the same things, dont worry,pray,read My word, keep meeting with other Christians,our bad habits, and so on, God will keep talking to us, until hopefully we obey what He is saying to us. and by the way that problem I had was solved. [Father we are sorry that you have to keep repeating yourself to us, we are so forgetful, , and often disobedient, it is to our shame that it is so, help us to change, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen ]

Timely advice [ Proverbs 8 v32 -36 ]

In James 1 v 19, we have the following wise and timely advice, it is threefold, [ 1 ] You must all be quick to listen/, how often have we heard the words, you dont listen to me, that could be said of all of us, today let us be listeners. [2 ] Slow to speak/, the idea is to weigh up things before we speak,remember wrong words can cause so much damage, [3 ] Slow to get angry,/ many of us are quick tempered ,let us remember that God is in the business of changing our temperament. [Father help us by your grace to heed what you say to us, to treasure your words, for in so doing we will be blessed, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Detached giving [1 Corinthians 13 ]

I woke up recently with the words, detached giving, in my head, I dont know why, so I looked up the meaning of the word detached, it means, disinterested, seperate,aloof , and impartial. It is in 1Corinthians 13, we are told that it is possible to help the poor,to have faith that can remove mountians, to exercise spiritual gifts,etc , and for those things to have no value in Gods sight, the reason being an absence of love. It is easy for a doctor to sit behind his desk and write prescriptions, it is possible for ministers to take funeral services, and just go through the motions.In Gods eyes love is to be the vital ingredient in all we do, if love is missing then what we do is of no worth, let me stress this again, no matter what we do, be it ever so noble, artistic, sacrificial, painful, in the service of others, and God, if love is lacking, it is of no value. [Soften my heart Lord, soften my heart, from all indifference set me a part, to feel Your compassion, to weep with Your tears, come soften my heart, O Lord, soften my heart, Amen ] [ The words of the prayer are by Graham Kenndrick ]

Doubts [Romans 4 v 18 - 25 ]

I wonder if you have doubts?, is it a sin to doubt?, the answer is no of course, the disciples appear to have doubted even after our Saviour rose from the dead. [Matthew 28 v17 ]. Most of us will have doubts , we have to face that fact, it is what we do with our doubts that is the important thing. When God promised Abraham and Sarah a child, they both initially doubted, [Genesis 17v17/18 v12, but faith was triumphant. There are many reasons for us to doubt, we just have to watch the news, our own personal lives, sickness, unemployment, the list is endless, some things touch us very deeply, we experience things that mar us for life. There are no easy answers, think of Job , think of Jesus , they both suffered, and suffered tremendously.Whatever doubts you may be having ,commit them to God in humility, let us remember we are called to walk by faith. I took down an old Bible from the shelf recently ,it belonged to someone who was very precious to me, and I read the words of an old hymn on the fly leaf, it read,/ O for a faith that will not shrink, Tho pressed by many a foe, That will not tremble on the brink of any earthly woe, That will not murmur or complain, Beneath the chastening rod, But in the hour of grief or pain,will lean upon its GOD/[Father so many things bombard us , pushing us into the darkness of doubt, grant us the grace of faith, so that inspite of our doubts,we will not give up, but will press on towards our ultimate goal, heaven and home, we ask this in Jesus name Amen ]