Division [ John 15 v 9 - 17 ]

In the book of Genesis [ 10 v 25 ]we read of a man called Peleg, he was a decendant of Shem a son of Noah, now we dont know much about this person, but we know that his name means, division. We live at a time when many people seek to trace their ancestry, I think many of us are the decendants of Peleg, and I am speaking about us Christians. Within the Christian church from time to time division raises it ugly head, it is not new , the Corinthian church was full of it, read about it in chapter 1 v 10 -17 of first Corinthians, the fact of the matter is, it is still happening, sad to say. Our Saviour prayed that we may be one, [John 17 v 21 ], He also commanded us to love one another,[ John 15 v12 ], the question is ,are we fulfilling these things ?, or are we ignoring them as if they dont matter, it is the apostle of love John, who wrote, / If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life [ 1 John 3 v14 ] .[ Dear loving heavenly Father as You have loved us, help us to love one another, we ask this in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen ]

Noah [Hebrews 11 ]

As we consider certain things in the Bible,we may struggle to accept it literally, the miracles, the virgin birth, Jonah and the great fish, and of course the story of Noah, and the great flood, that covered the earth. How do you think Noah felt,what did he think?,well ,we are not told, but what we are told is this, Noah acted in faith, [ Hebrews 11v7 ]. Like Noah,many people in the Bible when told by God, to do certain things , things that they intellectually would have struggled with, obeyed, how?, by faith, let me stress that these people were no different, to modern man, [ James 5 v17 ]but they rose above their human reasoning,and exercised faith, and obeyed God. If God speaks to us, commanding us to do a certain thing , then we are called to obey, by faith, ours is to not reason why,ours is but to obey. [ God we come to You by faith, we confess that we struggle to live by faith, struggle to accept certain things in your word, forgive us, help us to cast of our unbelieving thoughts, and to rise in faith and obey You in all things, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]

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 ]