Be active . [ James 2 v14 -26 ]

In W. Chantrys book on David, he touches on Davids attitude to the son of Jonanthan his dead friend, Mephibosheth, how David searched for an opportunity to be generous to him.[2 Samuel 9 ] This searching for an opportunity to be generous struck a cord with me, many are seeking for an opportunity to harm others,or an opportunity to get ahead, but David seeks an opportunity to be generous. As we look at the life of our Saviour we are told that He went about doing good [ Acts 10 v38 ], surely the Christian life, must have that driving force to it. David was actively seeking an opportunity to be generous, let us seek out such opportunities, be active , write a letter, pray, give of your time, and most of all of your love, let us not be passive.[ Father help us to be like David, today, help us to search out opportunities to be generous, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen .]

Fear [Romans 6 v23 ]

Many times in the Bible we are encouraged not to fear,in relation to provision, time after time we are assured that God will provide [ Philippians 4 v 19/ Psalm 23 v 1 ]. Also we are assured in the Bible that God will protect us, we see this in the life of David , and we are given many promises that God will protect, and preserve us. [Psalm 121. Isaiah 41 v 10 ]. So while we are not meant to live with fear in relation to what we need, be it protection, or provision , there is an aspect of fear that is important, and healthy. Continually we are told to fear the Lord, to live our lives in a reverent manner, that is to have an attitude of deep respect,awe, and love, for Him.It is John Flavel in his wonderful little book called, The mystery of providence, who writes, / Fear nothing but sin/, and this is so important,for sin is a cancer that destroys all that is lovely and good, and will cause God to deal with us, how important it is to live a holy and godly life [ 2 Peter 3 v 11 ], yes fear sin.[Almighty God have mercy upon us, and help us to live with a healthy fear of You, and of sin, we ask this in Jesus name , Amen ]

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 ]