El- Shaddai.[ Ephesians 3 v 20 ]

El-Shaddai means God Almighty, so God told Jacob [Genesis 35 v 11], He then went on to tell Jacob,how He would bless him and his descendants, in wonderful ways. God had a destiny for this man Jacob, Jacob the twister, the deciever, but one whom the grace of God had changed, and to mark that change , he had recieved a new name Israel. In this we see a picture of the believer, what we were once, twisters, decievers, liars,the list goes on, but then we experienced the grace of God, we were changed, and to mark that change we recieved a new name, Christian, and with that new change, like Israel we are promised a new destiny. a destiny with promised blessings,in this life, and in eternity,[ 1Corinthians 6 v 2- 3. i John 3 v 1-3 ]. El- Shaddai Jesus ,will accomplish this, for He is none other than God Almighty. [Dear Lord Jesus we thank You for all You have accomplished in our lives,You have saved us and transformed us, we thank You that we have a wonderful destiny in front of us, Amen ]

God is generous [ Matthew 18 v21- 35 ]

When it comes to describing Gods faithfulness,,the writer of scriptures tells us ,he declares, Great is Thy faithfulness[ Lamentation 3 v 23], and when it comes to answering our prayers we are told , He does exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, [Ephesiana 3 v20 ]. When Solomon asked for wisdom, God promised to also give him , riches and honour also,[ 1 Kings 3 v13 ]. God is generous, I have more than I need, I am also conscious that I am meant to be like my loving heavenly Father, as He has blessed me so I must bless others, as I have been forgiven so I must show a generosity in forgiving others. The mark of a Christian should be a generous spirit , those who hoard Gods riches, are the poorer for it, and their Lord is not pleased. [ Matthew 25 v 24 - 30 ]. [Father in Heaven we thank You for all the blessings upon our lives , help us to be more like You, grant unto us a generous spirit, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

You know better than I. [ Isaiah 55 v 8-9 ]

I heard a song yesterday on songs of praise, with the words,/You know better than I/,very meaningful ,easy to listen to, but not always easy to see it as we should. Take me ,when I went to Bible college, I thought I was training to be a missionary, and felt God was preparing me to work in Brazil, yet I ended up in as a minister of a small church in England.So many times our percieved goals , dont happen, and we struggle with that, in fact we can broaden the idea out further, in so many areas of life, it seems Gods ways are not our ways, whatever are situation, be glad and thankful, that Gods ways are not our ways. The words of that song are so true, God knows better than I, whatever our circumstances, whatever way we have been laid,Gods way is best, I see this more and more, as I look back in life, a life when I have experienced disappointments, sadness, frustrations,He really does know better than I, the Psalmist David wrote ,/ Gods way is perfect . Psalm 18 v 30 .[Dear God we confess that we struggle with many things, and we wonder if things could not have been different, help us today to see that You know best, help us to rest in Your perfect will, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

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 ]