The powers that be.[ Matthew 22 v15 - 22 ]

They are Gods servants, this is written about the powers that be ,or the governing authorities, [ Romans 13] as one considers this one may struggle,as we consider wicked goverments. If one believes that God is sovereign as I do ,then we have to believe that He in His wisdom has ordained the powers that be, even though they are wicked and oppressive. This is a complicated subject, all I can say is,God has not ordained them to be wicked or oppressive, that is their choice, and they will be held accountable.How should the Christian veiw his role in relation to the secular powers, well our Saviour said, / Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God/[Matthew 22v21 ]. As Christians we are meant to be law abiding, but no secular authority is to obeyed, when they go beyond their God given authority. Today let us pray for the many in this world who are being oppressed, by cruel and wicked authorities. [Dear God we pray for all those dear people who are living under oppession, have mercy upon them, especially your dear children, we ask this in Jesus name Amen ]

What is man?[Psalm 8 ]

In Psalm 8 the writer declares, /When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers- the moon and the stars you set in place- what are people that you should think about them, mere mortals that You should care for them/. It is reckoned that there are over one billion galaxies, mind blowing when one thinks of it, our planet is so small, and us humans, we are minuet, in the scope of things we appear so insignificant, do we really matter to God?. The answer is yes, every single human being matters to God, in fact He loves us all, we are the focus of His attention, and care. How do I know this? because the scripture tell us He loves the world[ John 3 v 16 ], that means He loves you and me, and of course the greatest manifestation of that love is the cross on which His dear Son died, everytime you see a cross let it be a reminder that God loves you. [Dear God sometimes we feel so insignificant, in the vast scheme of things, but then we look at the cross on which Your Son died , and are reminded that You love us, thank You in Jesus name Amen ]

What if [ Ezra 8 v 21 - 23 ]

What if ?, is a question we ask ourselves in relation to many things, like, what if I loose my job?, or what if I get cancer ?,we can apply the what if ,to so many things. The fact of the matter is ,if we know Christ, the what if ,can be committed to Him, after all He told us not to worry about the what ifs, [ Matthew 6 v25 - 34 ]. Today let us consider, that the one we follow is Sovereign , what does that mean? it means He is in control ,nothing can take Him unawares, we are under His special care. We can choose to live with uncertaines, or we can rest in the Lord , and be at peace,we can live with worry, or we can live in an attitude of trust, trust is the only way to face the, what ifs. [ Loving Heavenly Father, we commit everything into Your hands, and trust You to care for us, and to cause everything to work together for our good, in Jesus name we pray this Amen ]

Special. [ Genesis 1 v 26 -27 ]

The first daffodils are coming through, reminding us that the winter is slowly receding, and that summer is coming. Gods creation is wonderful, and the gem in the crown is humanity, because we are special, we have been made in the image of God. A leading politician has just experienced the death of his six year old son, a child that was profoundly disabled, a thought stuck me, we see very few disabled people on the T.V, the image is so important, or is it?. Years ago I used to have a boy in my Sunday school class who was disabled, Paul was his name, and I had a nephew, called Glen who was severely disabled.The point I am trying to make is this, they are all precious, becaues they have the image of God on them, and God loves them, they are part of Gods special creation. [Father in heaven thank You for all Your creation, and although sin has affected all things,help us Lord to see your image on every man ,woman, and child, and to love them as You do . Amen]

Be in time.[ John 3 v16 ]

Mybe it is my age but the days and weeks are passing so quickly,it will soon be Christmas again, and I will soon be 65. The Word of God writes of the brevity of life, and the uncertainty of life, [Psalm 90 v 10 ], and the importance of seeking the Lord now, [ Isaiah 55 v 6].The story is told of a wise man who spoke to a young person, and asked him, what were his plans,the young man replied, I am going to school and get a good education, the man asked ,what then?, the boy replied, I will then get a good job, what then ,asked the man?, I hope to marry and have a family, what then ,asked the man?, I suppose I will retire, what then ,asked the man?, I suppose I will die said the young man , what then ,asked the man?. In Hebrews 9 v27, we read that it is appointed unto men once to die, and after that the judgment,the point I am seeking to make is this, be in time. An old Gospel hymn goes,/ Be in time.... Be in time. While the voice of Jesus calls you be in time. If in sin you longer wait,you may find no open gate,. And your cry be just to late , be in time/.[ Dear God thank You for your patience with us, help us to appreciate the importance of seeking Jesus as our Saviour now, we ask this in Jesus name Amen ]

Moses doubted.[ Exodus 14 v 5 - 31 ]

Even great people have doubts, people like Moses, we read about it in Numbers 11, God said He would feed Israel with meat for a whole month, and Moses doubts, but God did it. In Jeremiah 32 v 17, we have the prophet praying,God had said that He would restore Israel back to their land, this was said at the nations lowest point, when they would be practically destroyed as a nation. So the prophet prays,/ Nothing is too hard for You,v 17 /. Yes great people can doubt, but great people can also believe, what group do we fall into ,today?. Whatever God says ,He will do, irrespective of the difficulties, for in the words of Jeremiah ,nothing is to hard for Him, He can do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think,[ Ephesians 3 v 20 ] [ Almighty God we come to you in our smallness, in our weakness, and ask that you would increase our faith in Your ability to make a way were there is no way, to provide for us ,were there is no hope of provision, to protect us when there is no one to defend us, we ask this in the name of Jesus Amen ]

An old friend. [ Mark 4 v 36- 41 ]

I have just come into contact with an old friend, a song by Bill Gaither, /Joy comes in the morning/, all through my Christian life , songs have blessed me, touched me, encouraged me. Songs to me are like old friends, they speak to us, remain with us, all our lives,they bring back memories of past joys, and struggles, such is that song, /Joy in the morning/, it is based on the words of Psalm 30 v 5[ A V]. The words are this,/ Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning/, these are words of hope, to any who are experiencing trials, that the trials will pass. Some trials bring us to tears,some experiences can be heart breaking, we feel crushed,it is then when in our deep trials, the words come, /Joy comes in the morning/,lets us by faith take hold of these precious words, and hope.[ Dear God we thank You for those songs in the night that You give us, some times the night is very dark, never ending, we ask for the grace to hold on , until joy comes in the morning, the morning of Your deliverance, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen ] [ Listen to that song on my playlist ]