I was not expecting it [ Proverbs 27 v 1 ]

As one reads the bible , you notice how God breaks into lives, when they were not expecting it, people were just going about their business when God interrupts their plans.Think about the Christmas event , starting with Mary, being told she was going to have a child, she was not married, but she rose to the challenge. Think of the conversion of Saul, it was the last thing in the world he was thinking about, one moment hating Christians and Christ, the next moment he had become a Christian. Yesterday I was going about my business when suddenly I was faced with something, unexpected , that something was from God it was unexpected. I believe we should be ready for God , to act in unexpected ways, and what is most important for us, is the challenge to response in a right way. [ God of the unexpected, we long for You to act in our lives and in the lives of others, help us to responsed in a right way when You do, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

What can I give Him? [ 2 Corinthians 12 v 1-10 ]

This is the time for singing carols which I like, one of my favourite carols is, /In the bleak mid-winter/,I have been criticised for choosing it in our carol services, the reason being Christ was not born in the bleak mid-winter. I am sure the writer of that carol knew this ,mybe she was seeking to make it more real to us in England. It raises the challenge for all of us to convey the Christian message to non-Christians in a way that they can identify with. It is the last verse of this carol that strikes a cord with me, it reads,/What can I give Him,poor as I am?.Last evening I took a carol service, they are a small church, no one can play a musical instrument, I was asked could I play my guitar, I did, in much weakness,and God helped. As I drove home the words of that carol came to mind,/What can I give Him ?/, and I found myself saying, I will give Him my weakness, thats what I will do, I will give Him my weakness.[ Father in Heaven You tell us that Your power works best in weakness, and so we yield up to You all our weaknesses , in Jesus name we ask this, Amen.]

Evidence[ 1 Thessalonians 1 ]

In a national newspaper I read these words,/ Yes , Scientists believe in God/, I found it interesting and helpful ,particularly what a professor Burgess said,/The most moving evidence for Christianity I have seen is when a person with a broken life puts their trust in the Lord Jesus and finds healing, peace and purpose/. During the week I was asked by someone why I appeared to be calm, what was my secret, I simply replied ,if there was any calm in my life it was because of the Lord/. When Christ saves us He brings a change into our lives,He does trully bring healing, peace and purpose,and by His grace He gradually by different means, His word, prayer, a yielding up of our will ,to His will, make us better people. [Father we confess that we are far from what we should be, but we also give You thanks that through Your Son Jesus we have changed for the better. Amen ]

December [ John 1 v1-14 ]

December is such a dark and dreary month in England ,in many ways depressing, yet there are things that lift the gloom, Christmas lights. I stood outside my home last evening, and noticed the many homes that have lights displayed, these light displays do a lot to lift the gloom, and I enjoy them. I noticed in my diary that on the 22nd of December the Jewish festival of lights is taking place. It is William Barclay, who writes about this festival at the time of Jesus, when in the temple four great candelabas were lit, lighting up the darkest recesses within the temple, and it was during that festival that Jesus cried out,/ I am the light of the world, if you follow me, you wont have to walk in darkness, because you have the light that leads to life [ John 8 v12 ]/,again it is W.B. who points out that the Rabbis declared that the name of the Messiah is Light. It is Graham Kendrick who writes,/Darkness like a shroud covers the earth, evil like a cloud covers the people/,December may be a dark and dreary month, but there is a greater darkness as G. K. rightly points out,to all who are in darkness the words of Jesus is, if you follow Me ,you wont walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.[ Dear God we ask that He who is the light of the world, Jesus Your son, may shine into the hearts of men and women , this Christmas, Amen ]

Hide and seek [ Luke 15 v1- 7 ]

When I was young I remember playing hide and seek,it is the first game that humanity ever played,we read about it in Genesis 3. There was three involved in this game of hide and seek, Adam and Eve, they were doing the hiding, God was doing the seeking, and surprise , surprise, God found them. In Romans 3 v 11, we read,/ no one is seeking after God/, these words remind us that humanity is still hiding from God, foolish though it be , for the fact is ,one cannot hide from God, read Psalm 139, there we are left in no doubt, that there is no hiding place , when it comes to God. In Luke 19 v 10, we read these words, / For the Son of man came to seek and save those who are lost/,people are still trying to hide from from God, but praise His name in His Son, Jesus, He is seeking them out, to save them. [ Dear God and Father thank You for Your Son Jesus the seeker of souls ,who are lost, help us ,to see our part,in this seeking process, we ask this in Jesus name , Amen. ]

All the answers [Habakkuk 3 v16-19 ]

The fact of the matter is I do not have all the answers, oh yes I am a Christian a long time, been to Bible college, been a minister full time, I preach regularly, read my Bible everyday, but I still dont have all the answers. Sometimes the hardest thing for a person to admit is , they dont have all the answers, I wish the scientific community would admit this, and also Christian writers, we all need a good dose of humility. The not having all the answers, for the Christian, demands trust, in 1 Corinthians 13 v 12, we read,/All that I know now is partial/,this side of Glory, many things will not make sense, a death of a child, an incurable illness, oh I know God heals, but often He does not. As I write this I have a hymn playing in the background, the words go like this,/I dont know about tomorrow, I just live from day today, I dont borrow from its sunshine,For its skies may turn to grey, I dont worry oer the future, for I know what Jesus said, And today ill walk beside Him, For He knows what lies ahead/,let that suffice us. [Father forgive us for our lack of trust,we freely acknowledge our limatations, we ask for grace to leave all those things,that we dont know, things that frustrate us,pain us, with You , we ask this in Jesus name, Amen. ]

My loving Heavenly Father.[ Matthew 6 v25 - 34 ]

It is so easy to fall into despair, as I listen to the news on the economy ,and crime,despair can so easily creep in, it does look like we are in for a rough ride.Well I know a little about the rough times, I have experienced unemployment, bereavement, living on very little,I can look back to my childhood, being brought up in a one parent family, my wee mum the only wage earner, that was a time when women where paid less than men, I remember as a boy going to the pawn shop, of going to the local shop for out of date bread. Why am I telling you this ? , just to let you know I survived, and I am not bitter, hopefully those things taught me valuable lessons. Now I have not mentioned that from a very early age, I saw God as my Father, and came to trust Jesus as my Saviour, and as I look back inspite of my background , weakness, and failure to live as I should, God looked after me, and brought me through. [ Father in Heaven we thank You that when we come into Your family by accepting Christ as our Saviour, we come under Your care, Amen ]