Be still [Psalm 46 v 10 ]

In this very restless world, this cant stay still world , we need more than anything else, to be still, and in that stillness discover more and more, the reality of GOD ,and in that reality rest. Before we do anything we should stop doing,and seek unto that place of quite rest,that place of renewal, that place of casting all our cares upon our God.When Elijah the prophet was filled with fear, and thoughts of dying, he was taken to a mountain to meet with God, the God of the still small voice.[ 1 Kings 19 ] Hear the voice of your Master today saying, come aside and rest, lay your burden down, and simply rest in my presence,and listen to what I say, then go forth with confidence and assurance, knowing that I am with you, and If I am with, all will be well. [ Dear God help us to continually seek You, to rest inYour presence daily,to see this as a priority, to find that rest that can only be found in You, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]

Performing or ministering [ Matthew 6 v 1- 6 ]

I love the movies , I have from a child,it is a make believe world,of people performing, yes they are only performing.I have my favourite actors ,but they are not my idols, they are only actors, performers, what they portray on the big screen, is not the real them. When our Saviour was on earth he witnessed the performers, the religious performers, people who stood on the street corners, and prayed, so everyone could see them. [Matthew 6 v5 ]. As Christians we need to remind ourselves that we are not part of the performing arts, we are all called to be ministers ,in all we do. This is important for us all in what ever we are doing, as one who preaches I have to remind myself that I am not called to perform, I am called to minister, and when I sing I am not peforming I am ministering, that means when I seemingly make mistakes, I am still ministering. Our Lord wants us all to be ministers in all we do, so today let us forget about performing. [Lord forgive us for, forgetting that we are called to be ministers, not performers, Lord help us by Your Spirit to glorify You in all we do, Amen ]

Perseverance [ 1 KINGS 18 V 41-46 ]

The perseverance of the saints is an old theological term, which is very important, it implies not giving up. We can apply the idea of perseverance to what it means to be a Christian, of that enduring to the end, it is an evidence that we are Christians. One aspect were perseverance is important is prayer, in Matthew 7v7 our Saviour tells us to ,/ Keep on asking, and you will recieve what you ask for, Keep on seeking, and you will find, Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. So we see how perseverance in our prayer life is important,there are many things we will need to keep on praying about, day after day, week after week, year after year.There are different aspects of prayer, perseverance is one of them, one of prayers, are answered, but often perseverance is the key. Think of those people Jesus healed, many must have prayed many times for healing, so let us keep on praying, let us not give up, let us persevere, in prayer. [ Father grant us the grace of perseverance, in our Christian life, and especially in our prayer life, we ask this in Jesus name ,Amen ]

The Lord will provide. [ Genesis 22 v 14 ]

One of promises that has blessed me is , Genesis 22 v14/ The Lord will provide/, there was a four year period in my life, when my wife and I went to Bible college,we had three children, and we had no grant , no resources, all we had was the promises of God, that He would provide. Now I can assure you this was not easy, during that time we were tested, often the cupboard was literally bare, but God provided our needs.Now I want to say the usual way God provides is by us earning a living, what we did was not the norm, and I would not advise anyone to act foolishly, but what it highlights is the truth that God provides for His children.What is your need today? are you worrying? we all do, listen to the words of our Saviour,/Dont worry.....saying , What will we eat? What will we drink?, What will we wear?. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your Heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God, above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. [ Loving Heavenly Father we confess we become anxious at times ,forgive us, and help us ,yes help us ,to trust in Your care , and love, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Security [ Psalm 46 ]

Selwyn Hughes wrote,/The sooner we learn how to make God our security the better, for we are going to face some dark and difficult days up ahead.Ever kingdom is shakeable except the Kingdom of God/, and propheticaly,/The kingdom of finance is shakeable/.I dont want to be a doom and gloom person, but the fact of the matter is, the things that many put their trust in are built on sand, I dont just mean the unbeliever, I mean all of us. It is our Saviour who taught that true security lies only in Him, and that means trusting Him for salvation, and for life, this also means hearing what he says , and doing it, [Matthew 7v 24 27 ]. Today let us take stock of our lives,can we say like the prophet Habakkuk,/Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines, even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren, even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in the God of my salvation, The Sovereign Lord is my strength. [ 3 v17-19 ] [ Loving Heavenly Father we thank You for Your Kingdom which is unshakeable, it is the only true place of security, in a world where so many things are collapsing around us, we rejoice that in Christ, we are safe, Amen ]

Them shoes. [ Exodus 20 v 3 ]

Yesterday I discovered I had over twenty pairs of shoes, bought over many years, so I threw some out , give some away, and kept the rest. I am reminded of the old spiritual which goes /all Gods children got shoes/, well I have anyway, but I am also reminded how easily it is to accumulate things, we dont mean to, but we do. Our Saviour taught that we should hold lightly to the things of this world,[Matthew 5v40 ] that it is more blessed to give than recieve. He also taught us to lay up treasures in Heaven, and reminded us that as my study Bible tells me, / What we treasure the most controls us, whether we admit it or not /[Matthew 6 v 19 -21 ]. So mybe today we need to take stock , and ask ourselves the question, what do we treasure the most?, and then threw some things out, give some things away, and yes keep some things. [Dear God, we confess that we to easily take our eyes of You, and let other things steal what is rightly yours, our love, forgive us, and help us, in Jesus name, Amen ]

I blew it [ Judges 7 ]

I was ministering last evening, singing and playing my guitar, when the words of the song I was singing escaped me, I did manage to carry on, and finish the song. After this I give a short word, ,I came away feeling it was not my best effort, but I remembered that I had asked God to take my weakness, He appears to be taking me at my word, He does . Weakness is not something we rejoice in , we glory in our strengths,yes God has given us strengths ,but he allows weakness to remain,in order that we keep relying on Him, and do not forget Him [ Read Deuteronomy 8 ]. We are no different than ancient Israel, we need our weaknesses ,in order that we will remain faithful to our Saviour, it was the apostle Paul who wrote,/I take pleasure in my weaknesses/ , why ?, because God told him,/ that His grace was all he needed, for His power worked best in weakness. [ 1 Corinthians 12v 9- 10 ] [Father we thank You for our strengths, but we also thank You for our weaknesses, those things we wish we didnt have, those weaknesses are Your ministering angles,they are there for a good purpose, a loving purpose, we ask that we may experience Your all sufficent grace, so that we may glorify you in our weaknesses, we ask this in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus. Amen ]