Our Strength or His.[ Philippians 4 v13]

There are those I work with who have a, to do list, things they hope to complete, I dont write mine down but I do have a ,to do list,in my head, what we all need to do is to Commit our, to do list, to God .Let us remember, God is not in the buisness of overburdening us, others do that, and we also do it to ourselves.We need to cast our burdens unto the Lord and He will sustain [help, support,carry]us[Psalm 55v22 ] , and when we do, we will discover the truth ,that we really can do all things,through Christ,who gives us strength.[Philippians 4 v13 ], we must stop trying to do things in our own strength,we have all been down that road and know from experience how futile, and frustrating it is. Consider how Samson failed when he attempted to defeat his enemies in his own strength,[Judges 16 v 2o-21 ] the more we rely on our Saviour , the better, remember it is not I can do somethings through Christ, no, it is ,I can do all things through Christ. [Father we thank You for Jesus who saved us when we were without strength, help us to continually look to Him to strengthen us in everything we do, Amen]

I will be with you [ Exodus 33 v 14 ]

As we look to the new year, whatever it may hold , the greatest comfort, and that which should give us the greatest confidence is the knowledge that Jesus will be with us. The new year may hold difficulties, problems, pain, and so on, but as we proved in the year that has gone ,the presence of Jesus made all the difference, so for the coming year His presence will make all the difference. This truth that Jesus will be with us may seem obvious, but I believe it is so important to be reminded of it, His presence ,will assure us of His protection, provision, and power.In Hebrews 13 v5, we read,/I wil never fail you/, many things may fail us , but Jesus will not fail us. [ Dear God we praise for Your Son Jesus, that He is with us, now and in the future , help us to take in what that means, and help us to rest in that reality, Amen ]

Suddenly the lights went out. [Luke 18 v 20- 37 ]

Last evening we had a short power cut,suddenly the lights went out, and we were sitting in the dark, we were not expecting this, but we were prepared as we had a good supply of candles. There is a story in the Bible of five people who were not prepared, we read about them in Matthew 25v 1-13 , they are known as the five foolish virgins,the point of the parable is, to be ready for when Jesus comes back again. Jesus is coming back again, there is much speculation as to the events leading up to His coming, only God knows when Jesus will return, to collect those who are His, and also to judge those who are not.The true believer must live in the light of Christs coming, the unbeliever has an opportunity now, to be saved, they must take it, or suffer the consequences, on that day, crying ,pleading will not avail, if they dont know Christ as their own and personal Saviour then, He will declare, I dont know you. [Father we thank You for sending Jesus the first time, we know that this is not the end of the story, He is coming back again, help all of us who know Him, to live in the light of His coming again, and grant that those many who dont Him will turn from their sins, and trust Him, so that they also will be ready on that day, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

What is going on? [ Matthew 11v28 ]

Im am sure we have asked the question, what is going on?, as we look at this world, the world wide credit crunch, the never ending conflict in Israel , and many other things. There is also personal problems we have to deal with, there the list is endless, the on going problems, the unexpected problems, and we find ourselves asking what is going on?. In the OT we have the prophet Habakkuk who asked the question , what is going on ,evil appeared to be abounding, the future looked very bleak, the prophet could not figure it out, so he struggled. As we come to the end of the book of Habakkuk , the prophet gives up his struggling, and falls into the arms of God. To all of us who are struggling, let us follow Habakkuks example, and fall into the arms of God, listen to the words of Jesus, /Come unto me, all of you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens,and I will give you rest, [Matthew 11v28 ] [ Dear Lord Jesus there are so many things we do not understand, so many things we struggle with, right now we would fall into your arms, those everlasting arms, Amen ]

The parties over [ Matthew 28 v 18-20 ]

How many days is it to Christmas? it seems a silly question,yet my wife has started to buy presents for next Christmas. There is a Christmas song which goes,/I wish it could be Christmas every day/, someone jockingly said it was written by Tescos.I know we are still in the season of Christmas but because of the pressure, it is with a sigh of relief when it is all over.and yet cutting through all the commercialization, the true meaning of Christmas, can leave with us a lasting blessing, and a challenge. The blessing , God is with us in the person of Christ, and we can have no greater blessing than this, it will not be Christmas everyday , but Christ will be with us every day. The challenge, to continue to be as generous, as we are at Christmas, in our giving, loving , sharing, and caring. [ Dear God we thank You for Christ, who is the reason for us celebrating Christmas, yet we rejoice that He is with us all the time, help us to manifest the reality of Christ ,in us, everyday, Amen ]

Thank You God for prayer. [ Luke 18 v 1- 14 ]

I heard a preacher on the God channel say,/ Thank God for prayer/, it may amaze us how many people pray. I agree with that preacher , we should thank God for prayer. It is such a blessing to pray, through prayer we recieve so much, calmness , guidance, needs met, both phyisical, mental,and so the list goes on, it is also a means to help others. Prayer involves many things, there are no experts, only one , Jesus, He is our example, He was continually praying. It is possible to have answers to our prayers,we must prove this ourselves, and we can.It is important that we dont compare ourselves with others, although we can learn from others. We do have a helper when we pray ,the Holy Spirit,[ Romans 8 v 26-27 ], so pray,in your weakness, pray inspite of your limatations, but pray ,pray,pray. [Dear God we thank You for prayer, help us to pray and help us to be guided by Your Spirit, we ask this in Jesus name ,Amen ]

Change [James 1 v22 - 25 ]

In the 19th century a Dr Arnold took over as principal of Rugby Public school, this is were the game of rugby originated, it was Dr Arnold who sought to bring change to this school. Public schools were noted for bullying,cruelity,and nurseries of of vice, so change was needed.[The story Tom Browns schooldays was written about Rugby school and Dr Arnold ]. Dr Arnold sought to introduce ,moral principals, gentlemanly conduct, and lastly intellectual ability.The message of Christianty is about change, we cannot be a Christian without change in our lives, the initial act of salvation, when we trust Christ involves change, from sinner to saint, but that is only the beginning.The coming days will bring challenges to all of us , to change, the sad fact is, many of us will resist change, many of us will listen to Gods word,but thats all we will do, no change will take place. [ Father in Heaven You sent Jesus Your Son ,to save us,and to change us, grant that we may not only be hearers of the word of God, help us not to be concerned about the faults in others,rather help us, to change, by Your grace, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]