Im not the man I used to be[ Romans 12 v 1-2 ]

Im not the man I used to be, but am I better man? , one likes to think so, in Romans 12 v2 we read,/Dont copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think/.I find the words, /let God/, interesting, as one who believes in the sovereignty of God, that here ,as Selwyn Hughes writes,/ because of the great respect God has for every human will, He will not force Himself upon us/. Let God, it seems an absurd thing to say, let us face up to what that means, and do it, let us yield to God, by changing the way we think, if we do we will be better people. As we read of the history of Israel in the wilderness, how continually they manifested stubbornness, if only, if only,they had changed the way they thought they would have got where they were going sooner. If only we would let God change the way we think, things would be so different in our churches , families,and in our individual lives, if only.[ Father in Heaven, we confess our stubbornness, our reluctance to change the way we think, help us to see that if we let You change the way we think , we would be better people, help us to submit to You, we ask this in our Saviours name , Amen ]

Hang in there, and hold on. [ 2 Corinthians 12 v 1 - 10 ]

Some things go on ,and on , and on, we pray nothing appears to be happening, is there an answer? is there some formula ,that this problem may be solved?. Lets be honest there are no easy answers ,sometimes it seems all we can do is hang in there, if we turn to the scriptures we find an honest record. The Bible tells ,it as it is, that the great people had their unresolved problems to cope with, Adam had Cain, Isaac had his daughter-in- laws, Jacob had his injury to his hip, Moses had Israel, now this is just the beginning of the Bible. So we learn that even though people love the lord, and He them, these people had problems that remained unresolved. I remember a promise I recieved many years ago, in 1 Corinthians 10 v13,it reads ,/There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it/. We must do more than hang in there , we need to hold on to this promise, and trust God to fulfill it. [Dear God we acknowledge that sometimes we get weary with some problems that will not go away,help us to hang in there, and help us to hold unto You , and what You have said unto us, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen ]

Promises [Joshua 24 v45 ]

On the British currency we have the words, /I promise to pay the bearer the sum of...... signed Andrew Baily chief cashier/. Making a promise and keeping that promise should be one and the same thing, but it is not always the same thing. It would be nice to say that I have always kept my promises, but the fact of the matter is, I have not,there are different reasons why we dont keep our promises. When it comes to God we are told, He cannot lie ,[ Titus 1v 2 ] and He always will fulfill His promises, in 2 Peter 1 v4 we are told that we have been given exceeding great and precious promises. I am reminded of an old hymn, which goes,/ Standing on the promises of Christ my King. Standing on the promises that cannot fail/,in an uncertain world we can totally rely on the promises of God, be it for salvation, provision , protection,and guidance, what God has promised He will do. [Father we thank You for those promises in your word, promises which You will always keep,help us to stand on them, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen ]

True religion. [ Matthew 23 v 23- 24 ]

In Proverbs 21 v 23, we read,/ The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer sacrifices/, now the writer is not saying sacrifices are not important, but he is saying we must not let our religious requirements take priority over love. One of the best examples of this is the story of the good Samaritan, [Luke 10 v 25 -37 ] two religious people, who failed to do what is right, they attended the temple, prayed,sought to fulfill their legal requirements but in Gods eyes they failed miserable, because they failed to do good. Praying ,going to church,reading the word of God are vital in our Christian life, but they are not the sum total of being a Christian. Our Saviour prayed,a lot, but He went about doing good, so must we, we must have balance in our lives, are we religious,well we are told that,/Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for the orphans and widows/. [ Dear God help us to be balanced in our Christian life, help us to value what You value, in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

Be careful. [Matthew 7 v1-5 ]

Just recently something happened, and I was pouring judgement on something that had happened to me, and then I recieved a phone call from the person involved, explaining that they had made a mistake.Well I felt a bit guilty , but I also learned a valuable lesson, that is, to be cautious in how we view things, and to not jump to conclusions. Many people are condemmed wrongly today, because of prejudice,envy,and an unwillingness to wait until the full story is revealed, in other words they are pre-judged. So let us not run with the lynch mob, let us wait until we hear the whole story, and let us remember , as we judge so we will be judged[ Matthew 7 v 1-6 ]

Goals. [ Ephesians 1 v 4 ]

Have you a goal in life? I have ,I suppose I have a number of goals, Heaven ,that is the ultimate goal, but here is one that is very challenging, Holiness. There used to be, holiiness teaching, I dont hear much about it these days, what is holiness? a good question, what do think holiness is?. The dictionary defines holiness as spiritual purity,it seems to me it is ungoing, it is not something that we suddenly arrive at, it is our goal every day, to be holy. It appears for many people holiness means lack of love ,Jesus encountered this continually, and this grieved Him [ Mark 3v 5 ]. True holiness starts in the heart,and then is manifested in the life, if the fulfillment of the law is love for God and people, [ Matthew 22v37 ], then holiness must be a manifestation of love.We are to hold the truth in love, and speak it in love, [ Ephesians 4 v15 ] consider what Jesus said to a woman caught in adultery, /Neither do I condemn thee, go, and sin no more[John 8 v11 ]/.[Holy Father we confess that only You are holy, we thank you that we are accepted in Jesus, help us everyday, to make holiness our goal, Amen ]

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 ]