Reality[Job chapter one ]

President Obama has now to face reality, the economy, unemployment , and so the list goes on, one asks the question how can one man cope with it all?. I had to laugh at a cartoon in one of our national newspapers it had the President crying , Help, and in the same newspaper one of the headlines read,/ Now the miracle worker must deliver/, expectations are very high. When I was a wee boy , I loved going to the cinema, it was an escape from reality,but the film would soon end, and then I would be faced with life as it was. Many people would ,if they could,would escape from reality, but the fact is there is no escape, reality must be faced, by the grace of God. Whatever our reality is, bring it to God, and ask Him to help us ,the only way we are going to get through, is on our knees, humbly depending on our Saviour, I write from experience. [Dear Father we commit all our realities to You, ask You in the name of Your Son, to help us face lifes realities , help us to persevere by Your all sufficent grace, Amen ]

Wringing good out of evil. [ Acts 2 v 22 -41 ]

Today ,a momentous thing is going to happen, a black president is taking office in America , many today will remember former days, those days when things where so different, many will shed tears. Yesterday was Martin Luther King day, in America, he was a wonderful man who said so many memorable things , and paid with his life for what he believed. One of the things he said, at the funeral of four children who had been killed by racist when they bombed a church ,/God still has a way of wringing good out of evil/, today, I believe bears witness to that truth. The greatest example of this truth is the death of our Saviour, men took the Prince of Glory,the sweetest gentliest person who ever lived, abused Him and nailed Him to a cross, yet God took that evil deed and wrung good out of it. The good that God brought out of the death of His son , was salvation for you and me, Charles Wesley wrote, / And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviours blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain?/, you see we all caused the death of Christ, and yet through that death we can be saved eternally. [ Almighty God we are overwhelmed by Your Great love , a love that allowed Jesus your Son to die on a cross, in order that we could be saved eternally Amen ]

Monday[ Psalm 100]

Many will be getting up this morning with the Monday morning blues, I suppose there are reasons, lets face it,there are some jobs that would give anyone the blues, I have been there, I know. I have been very fortunate that I love my job, I have been in the same job for about 19 years, I believe God got me this job, and has kept me in it, I feel like a square peg in a square hole. I dont usually get the Monday morning blues, but there are some things that get me down, life is never perfect . I believe God can open doors, can give us jobs that are satisfying, but, oh that but again, there will always be something we will have to cope with,and it is then, we will have to rely on the grace of God, whither it is an uninteresting job or a difficult relationship, so today rejoice in the Lord, and trust Him for the grace you need even on a Monday morning. [ Father grant us the grace to face each day, with joy , we ask this in Jesus name . Amen ]

All [Romans 3 v23/ 6 v 23 ]

We are all different, different shapes, different tastes, we are like the snowflake ,there is not two that are alike, but we are all alike in one way, we are all sinners. In Roman 3v 23 we read, / For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God/, consider what that inclusiveness means, our parents, our children,our friends, and ourselves, there are no exceptions. Consider the affects of this ,in Romans 6 v23 we are told ,/ The wages of sin is death/, my study Bible says,/The currency of sin is eternal death/. Most of us have fears,but live without fear of the consquences of our sin, Jesus told us to ,/To fear God/, because He has the power to punish us eternally, [Matthew 10 v 28 ],but the good news is He has also the power to forgive us our sins. Gods power to save us ,is in His Son Jesus, through Him we can recieve the forgiveness of all our sins, in order for this to happen we need to acknowledge our sinfullness, and ask Christ into our lives. [Father God we thank You for providing a way back to You from the dark paths of sin, through Your Son Jesus. Amen ]

Everything is going against me.[Romans 8 v 26 -39 ]

Sometimes we feel the roof is going to fall in upon us, thats what Jacob that ancient saint felt, he had just been told something , that filled Him with dread [ Genesis 42 v 36 ], I have been there, we all have . What do we do when we come into a place of apparent difficulties ?, well I tell you what I do ,I seek to hear Gods voice, and when I hear it I hold unto it like grim death, I try to resist the temptation of being panicked, and pray, and let me tell you, it works. I love that old hymn by William Cowper,which reads, /Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings upon your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace, behind a frowning providence , He hides a smiling face/. Let us take comfort from those words, and let us rest in the One who loves us with an infinite love, Jesus. [ Dear Lord recieve our heartfelt thanks for your loving care of us, help us to see that you always come to our aid, help us to remember if You are for us, who can be against us. Amen ]

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 ]