Anniversary [ Lamentations 3 v 22- 23 ]

Today is for me is the anniversary of my coming to live in England, 30 yrs ago my family and I set out from Craigavon in Northern Ireland in a little Morris Minor. On our journey we got a puncture, also the fan belt had to be tightened ,we had to travel from Scotland right down to our destination in Kent, and then to our final destination , Grays, where we have lived every since. As we set out on our Journey God give us a wonderful word from Exodus 23v20, /See I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you/, and He did. Many things have happened in those 30 years, painful things, joyful things, disappointing things, but in it all, God has remained faithful, and by His grace we are still trusting, still following, still seeking His will for our lives. [Dear loving Heavenly Father we give You thanks , for anniversaries,that remind us of many things,our losses, crosses,our gains , our tears, our joys, but most of all Your faithfulness, Amen .]

A motto [ 1Chronicles 4 v 9 - 10 ]

David Livingstone the great Victorian explorers parents family motto was, /Be honest/,I dont have a motto myself , mybe you dont have one either, but I am sure that we could all adopt the Livingstones motto , of being honest. The world needs honest people, people who will not cheat, people who will not go along with the crowd. One may refrain from having a motto because , like new years resolutions, we usually fail to keep them,most of us if we are honest are far from being one hundred percent successful in our resolutions, thats one reason why we should not judge others. So what can we do?, well we can very simple, be honest to God, and ask Him for the grace, to live each day in a manner that will glorify Him, and He will. I close with the words of a hymn , which we can all pray, [ Just a closer walk with Thee, grant it Jesus this my plea, I am weak but Thou art strong, Jesus keep me from all wrong, Amen ]

A new nature . [Isaiah 11 v 6-9 ]

The first world war was suppose to be the war to end all wars, it should have been ,but it was not, we are all aware of the history of the 20th century, wars and more wars. We should not be surprised at this , in Matthew 24, our Saviour said ,/nations will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom [ v 7 ]. We may ask why, people blame it on religion , and there is doubt ,religion may be a cause, but that is not the reason , the reason is our fallen nature, a nature that has within it violence , [Romans 3 v10-18], and this was shown in its fullness, when Jesus was crucified. So let us not be surprised at the violence mankind manifests, it is the nature of the beast. We all know the thoughts of murder that arise in our mind, and how it is so easy to loose our temper, and to damage someone if not physicaly,then with our tongue. When we trust Jesus as our Saviour a change takes place ,His Spirit indwells us, and it is He, who will help us to change. [ Father we acknowledge that we are fallen creatures ,so often controlled by our fallen natures, we ask that Your Holy Spirit , may fill us and control us, we ask this in the name of Jesus , Amen ]

Masks [ 1 Peter 5 v 7 ]

The story is told of a person who visited his doctor, he felt depressed, so the doctor said, there is a circus in town, and I am told there is a very funny clown performing there, go and see him, that will lift your spirits, his patient replied I am that clown. In Proverbs 14 v13, we read,/Laughter can conceal a heavy heart/, so true, behind a smiling face there can be a heavy heart, it does not only apply to the entertainment industry.Many of us wear masks , and it is only God who really knows us, success does not necessary mean happiness, whatever hidden burdens we may be carrying, let us remember , God does know, and does care. No one understands like Jesus, so today bring your unhappiness to Him, who loves you the most, be it lonliness,rejection, feelings of not being loved, or whatever, remember He cares for you. [Dear Lord Jesus you know all about us, those hidden fears,heavy hearts, which we hide from others, we ask that these things may not overwhelm us, and that You may fill our hearts with Your comfort, peace and presence, Amen ]

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 ]