The word of God. [ 2 Timothy 3 v 16- 17 ]

There are some books in the Bible that are not so easy to read, they do not appear to have much relevance to us today, such is Leviticus, so what do we do ignor it , neglect it?. An important aspect of the Christian life is discipline, and this applies to our reading of the word of God, that means reading it, even when we find it hard going, which we will at times. There are a number of things that can help us in this discipline, a study Bible, I use the,/ Life application study Bible/, and I find this tremendously helpful, I would commend it to you. The next aid we have is prayer,Psalm 119 v 27, reads,/Help me understand the meaning of your commandments/, so pray as you read the word of God. The next aid is meditation, again the Psalmist prayed,/ Oh how I love your instructions, I think [ meditate] about them all day long.[ Ps 119v 97 ]. Let us also remember we have the Holy Spirit who will help us in our reading of all of the scripture, even those parts that are difficult and uninviting.[John 16 v 13] [Father help us not to worship your word,but help us to read it , to understand it, and most of all to live it . Amen ]

Eyes to see [ 2 Kings 6 v 8 ff ]

The story of Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6 v 8-17 is very instructed , a great army had come and surrounded the city were they dwelt. The servant was overwhelmed , not so the prophet, they both faced with the same difficulties, but only the prophet had eyes to see beyond the difficulties, one despaired , one was confident. Life is full of situations, difficulties, they are real and can cause us to despair, we can be like Elisha or his servant, it depends how we look at our situations, or were we look, or to whom we look. Elisha spoke and prayed for his servant, /Dont be afraid, said Elisha, for there are more on our side than theirs. Then Elisha prayed, O Lord , open his eyes and let him see./ the Lord answered that prayer, for we read that,/ The Lord opened the young mans eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chaiots of fire/. The bible tells us if God is for us who can be against us, [ Romans 8 v 31 ],may the Lord grant us the eyes of faith, to see this today. [Father whatever difficulties we may be facing today, help us to see beyond them, to You, the One who is greater than the difficulties we are facing, in Jesus name we ask yhis Amen ]

Closed doors/ Open doors.[ Hebrews 11 v 8 ]

As we acknowledge God in all our ways, He will direct our ways,[Proverbs 3 v 6. a v ]that will mean He will close doors,[ Acts 16 v 6-7 ] but it will also mean He will open doors, [ Revelation 3 v8 ]. Let us remember a closed door is just as much Gods leading as an open one, so do not worry over the closed doors, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not upon your own understanding.[Proverbs 3 v5 av ] If God opens a door go forth in faith ,without fear, trusting in your Lord to undertake, He will be with you, to provide and guide. Sometimes the open door will raise question,can we cope,the answer is very simple, yes, for where God guides , He will provide, and whatever may come at you, He will over-rule,your business will be His business. Consider that wonderful promise in Isaiah 41v 10,/Dont be afraid, for I am with you. Dont be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. [Dear God and Father we thank You that You are leading us in life, help us to follow where You lead, trusting You to undertake in everything, in Jesus name we ask this , Amen ]

Difficulties [ Philippians 4 v6 -7 ]

How do we view difficulties?, it is an important question, yesterday I found myself in a traffic jam, it was so unexpected, and I laughed, I dont always laugh at difficulties. Recently I find myself just dropping any difficulties into the lap of God, and try not to worry, and it does work. In Philippians 4v 6 we are instructed to ,/ not worry about anything,instead , pray about everything/, let us take these words with us today,let us not just be hearers of the word, remember God is faithful. Let us tell God, let Him be our first port of call,let us tell Him what our needs our, and let us thank Him for all He has done. Then we will experience Gods peace, which exceeds anything we can understand,, His peace will gaurd our hearts and mind as we live in Christ Jesus. [ Dear Lord Jesus help us to face every difficulty with trust in You, help us to not despair or to panic, grant us Your peace, Amen ]

God is speaking, are we listening?. [Matthew 6 v 25 - 34 ]

I still enjoy fairy tales, well on the big screen ,think of the Beauty and the Beast, were a repulsive creature is transformed by love, apply this to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,and how we can be transformed by the love of God. Or think of Snow White lying in that glass coffin dead, suddenly brought to life by a kiss from her prince,consider how we who were dead in trespasses and sin, have recieved the kiss of life, from Jesus. So many things in life we see can be used ,to apply spiritual truths, so many situations, if we have eyes to see , can prompt us to think of deeper truths, articles in the paper, news events , ask yourself what is God saying, be it in a tradgedy, or a triumph, ask God to open your eyes, and ears, to what He is saying.[ Dear God forgive us for our spiritual dullness, help to be alert to what you are saying,in what we observe all around us, we know You are speaking, help us to listen , in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

He changeth not.[ Hebrews 13 v 8 ]

The weather has changed, it is a winter wonder land, snow and more snow, but hopefully the rain will come and wash it all away. The weather reminds us of the changeableness of life ,whither we like change or not, it will happen, but the good thing is , God does not change. Consider what that means , His care for us will not change, His love for us will not change, you see ,God does not change. Whatever change that may come into our lives, let us hold unto this truth, He changeth not, in a world where much is uncertain , He is the one we can rely on, to overrule, and undertake for us, so never mind the weather, or whatever, hear the word of the Lord,/ I am the Lord , I change not[ Malachi 3 v6]. [Father we confess that change can unsettle us, cause us to feel fearful, help us to rest in the truth that You do not change, You will always be there for us, come what may, we thank You in Jesus name. Amen ]

Success [Matthew 5 v 1- 12 ]

Perfect health, money in the bank,a perfect marriage, with perfect children, and a perfect job, holidays every year, that is success, and of course it all comes about because you give a tenth of your earnings. Now let me say this, God does bless His children, I am very blessed, I do have a good job , I do enjoy holidays every year, I have been blessed with 5 sons , and many grandchildren, I have a nice home, we have two cars,but I dont have perfect health, nor do I have a perfect marriage.It would appear that for most of us ,life is a mixture ,and for many dear Christians, they have a lot to cope with, unemployment, poverty, persecution, mental illness. Life is not about everything being perfect, I am struck with the words in Hebrews 11v36-37, regarding those saints who suffered greatly, it says,/ Of whom the world was not worthy/. Gods ways are not the worlds ways, Gods values are not the worlds values, consider, the most successful person who ever lived died on a cross. [Dear God thank You for everything that You bring into our lives, the painless things, and the painful things, in Jesus name we pray this Amen ]