Wisdom. [James 3 v 13 - 18 ]

Most of us know about the qualities of love[ 1 Corinthians 13], but what about the qualities of wisdom ?, the wisdom the Bible speaks of is not just about making decisions, no it has certain qualities to it. The Message tells us,/ Real wisdom, Gods wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others, it is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold next, not two faced, [James 3 v 17 ]/ This is contrasted with the worlds wisdom, which can be hurtful and unkind, in the movie, /There shall be blood/, which I watched recently the main character , manifests a worldly wisdom, that destroys both others and himself ,unlike the wisdom from above, that will always be rooted in Gods love.[ Dear God and Father we worship You , and ask that You would fill us with that wisdom which comes from You, we ask this in Jesus name. Amen ]

Wisdom.[ 2 Kings 3 v 5 - 10 ]

One of the things we all need is wisdom, life is full of so many pit falls, we have all made discisions ,and acted in ways which at times have been hurtful to ourselves and to others.The Little Sparrow sung a song, with those famous lines, /no regrets/, I wish I could say that, but I cant, I do have regrets, I could have acted more wisely at times. It is to the book of James we turn, and we have these words,/ If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you.[1v 5 ]In Proverbs 3v6, we read,/ In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths/, so today before we make any decision, or open our mouths to speak,let us pray and ask God for wisdom.[ Our God and Father we thank You that You have promised to grant us the wisdom we need in life, if we but ask, so today we ask that You, in Your great mercy will grant us this wisdom, in Jesus name we pray this. Amen ]

Our gifting. [ Romans 12 v 3 - 8 ]

In Romans 12 we read that we all have a part to play in Christs church, that we are all gifted in some way, I like what the Message says,/Lets just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pride- fully comparing ourselves with each other, or try to be something we arent./. Be what God has made you, and do what God has equipped you to do, and be content in this, again I quote the Message,/If you preach, just preach Gods message, nothing else, if you help, dont take over, if you teach, stick to your teaching, if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you dont get bossy, if youre put in charge, dont manipulate, if you are called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond, if you work with the disadvantaged, dont let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face/. [ Dear Lord Jesus thank for those gifts that You have given us , help us to use them aright,help us to see what our gifts are, help us to be content with the gifts You have given us , Amen ]

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]