Purpose [ John 4 v1 -26 ]

In the movie I Robot , one of the robots says,/ I believe father made me for a purpose/,he is of course talking about the person who made him. As a Christian I believe my Father in Heaven has made me for a purpose, and I believe he has made us all for a purpose, and that purpose is a good purpose. Before I came back to the Lord I was thinking, that life had no purpose and no meaning, I was looking into darkness, I had lost my way,taken my eyes of God, but then one fateful evening , God met with me and the knowledge that I was made for a purpose came into my life, and in the words of the old hymn ,/ my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose went forth and followed Thee/. [Dear God thank You for sending Jesus , thank You for the grace to trust Him,, thank You that in Him I discover purpose for being, and purpose for living, Amen ]

Life is not a fairy tale.[ 2 Corinthians 4 v 8 - 10 ]

When I was a young boy I loved going to the cinema, it was the time before T V , and one of earliest movies I remember seeing was , the fairy tale Cinderella. Such stories end with the baddies getting their due deserts, and the goodies living happily after, this is alright in a fairy tale, but the fact is life is not a fairy tale. The fact of the matter is ,the baddies do at times win, and the goodies dont, and for many there is no happy ever after. I dont want to depress you, but being a Christian means being a realist, things dont always get better, Christians can experience heartache, and pain.Being a Christian, brings one into a new reality, that of faith,and hope, based on the greatest reality of all ,God. This reality helps us to face life with courage, gives us strength. and peace, and a belief that all things are working together for the Christians good [ Romans 8 v28 ] [ Father help us to face life as it is, give us the grace, to persevere in all things, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]

Change [ Mark 5 1-20 ]

So America has a new president, Barack Obama, what a change for America, it seems such a short time ago, the civil rights movement were protesting, led by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. The theme of Barack Obamas election was change, will this happen ?,we will have to wait and see. There will be many who will be hoping that this one man will bring change that will help them to a better life, I hope they will not be disappointed. So many people desire change ,so many things blight peoples lives, the question is , how can this happen?. Well the answer is Jesus, when a person trusts Jesus they are trusting Him to change their lives, millions have experienced their lives being changed in miraculous way. In 2 Corinthians 5 v17 , we read,/ that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person, The old life is gone, a new life has begun/. [ Dear God we thank You for Jesus ,who saves, and changes lives, Amen ]

Home [John 14 v 1-6 ]

I read the following quotes in the Readers Digest about home life/, A home keeps you from living with your parents/ Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in /, Margaret Thatcher said,/Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country/. I wonder what you think of ,when you think of home?, which reminds me of the old hymn , which says /, this world is not my home, I am just passing through/. Our homes here are important, but they are temporary dwelling places, in John 14, our Saviour tells His followers that He is preparing a home for them, I wonder what that home will be like? [Father sometimes we get homesick for our heavenly home, that dwelling place,which is being prepared for us , by our Saviour,help us to hold lightly to the the things of this life, and to keep our eyes firmly on our eternal destination, in Jesus name we ask this ,Amen .]

Gain [ Hebrews 12 v 1-12 ]

We all know the saying ,there is no gain without pain, it may appear an uncaring thing to say, especially to those who are suffering pain. If we are a Christian, the word of God tells that God is causing all things to work together for our good [Romans 8 v28 ], that means even the pain. Pain is not something any of us wants, be it physical, or emotional,but I do believe that we are gaining something from our pain, in fact I believe it is a very effective instrument in Gods hands, to make us better people. In 1 Peter 1v 6-7 , trials are seen as a purifying experience ,that shows that our faith is genuine,also in 1 Corinthians 1 v 4, because we have recieved comfort from God in our troubles, so we are then enabled to comfort others who are suffering ,we can identify with others in their suffering, there is, a gain from pain . [ Dear loving heavenly Father help us in our pain not to rebel against You, grant us the grace to trust You, and not to become bitter, we ask this in Jesus name Amen. ]

The power of words.[ James 3 v 1-12 ]

In Proverbs 12 v 6, [NLT ] we read,/The words of the wicked are like a murderous ambush, but the words of the Godly save lives/. Let us be very clear, words are important, as this verse tells us ,they have an affect , for bad or good, we can literally kill someone with our words, sad to say Christians are not immune from doing this. It is easy to speak without thinking, but it is so sad when we do think , and use our words in a calculating way to really hurt someone. The verse also reminds of the good we can do with our words, we all need to hear positive words spoken to us , many dear people are carrying burdens, whiich we do not see, let us not add to their burden, by speaking unkind , and hurtful words. There is a world out there that needs to hear the word of life about Jesus, let us ask God to help us with our words today. [Father forgive us for those hurtful ,painful words that we have spoken to others, help us to change, touch our hearts in such a way that our words would be healing words, comforting words, saving words, we ask this in the name of Jesus , Amen ]

Shine [ Matthew 5 v14-16 ]

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam , to shine for Him each day ,in everyway try please Him, at home at work , at play, so goes the little childrens chorus, we used to sing. There is so much darkness in this world, so many are stumbling around, involved in so many things that are wrong, so Jesus tells us to let our light shine, [Matthew 5 v 16 ]. The little chorus stresses three places were we need to shine, [ 1 ] Home, am I the light in my home ? I often think, the home is the hardest place to shine, [ 2 ] Work, your workmates are watching, so shine, [3 ] Play,a legitimate activity,but even there we can move into the darkness, pornography. Today the challenge is, to shine, to be a sunbeam for Jesus. [Oh God of light, and holiness, help us to shine, to say , ill be a sunbeam for Jesus, grant it Lord, Amen ]