Songs in the night .[ Acts 16 v 22- 34 ]

We bought a new water feature for our garden, the pump is powered by a solar panel, it only works when the sun is shining it does not store energy, today is overcast, so it is not working. This reminds me of the old gospel song, which goes, / Anyone can sing when the sun is shining bright/,some of the most profound words in scripture were spoken by a man who had experienced great loss, he said,/the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord/. As we know ,life is not all sunshine, but we can still shine,consider two of Gods servants, Paul and Silas, they had been beaten, and thrown into prison, what did they do ? they prayed, and sang hymns, and God responded and set them free. In 2 Chronicles 20, Israel were facing what looked like certain defeat, king Jehoshaphat was filled with fear, so he prayed,the next day as Israel went out to face the enemy, he appointed singers, who sang the praises of God , and as they did, the Lord defeated the enemy, prayer, praise, the result victory, so why not try it.[ Dear God help us when it is difficult to pray and to praise You, and as we do grant us the victory in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

I dont know what to do. [ Romans 12 v9 -16 ]

I dont know , should I cry or laugh? my two sides played yesterday, one won ,the other lost,sadness and gladness together. There is in life so much sadness , and so much gladness, in Romans 12v 15, we are exhorted to be happy with those who are happy,and weep with those who weep. A couple I know are going on a Caribbean cruise, it is easy to judge them, to feel resentment, or even envy, our Lord tells us not to judge [ Matthew 7 v 1], should we not rather do what the scripture says, to rejoice with them, I think so. Yesterday I met a dear brother , he seemed so glad to see me, he is self employed, but because of the times we live in ,work is scarce, he is struggling, there is so much sadness, and so many feel , no one cares, let us do what the scriptures tells us to do, to weep with those who weep, again let me add, stay away from judging others, just do what we are told to do, to be happy with those who are happy,and to weep with those who weep. [ Father unlike You we are not always happy with those who are happy, or weep with those who weep,forgive us in Jesus name Amen ]

Hold on [ Romans 8 v28 av ]

In Ephesians 3 v1 the apostle Paul wrote these significant words, /I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus/, at that time he was under arrest by the Roman authorites, my study bible says this,/Even though he was under arrest, Paul maintained his firm belief that God was in control of all that happened to him/. Today we may be tempted to despair of our circumstances, despair of those things that dont change, which we so desperaetly want to change, and nothing appears to be happening, we pray, and pray, and still no change. Well think of what Paul wrote, the prisoner of the the Lord Jesus, pray about it ,and let faith arise, and grasp and hold unto the truth, that you are not a victim, not forgotten , not insignificant, your times are in Gods hands, [Psalm 31 v15 av ], and that all things are working together for your good,[ Romans 8 v28 av ]. [Dear God there are things we struggle with, things we want to change, and nothing happens, help us to know Your peace, and help us to have faith in Your loving plan and purpose for our lives, we ask this in Jesus name Amen ]

Weakness [ 2 Corinthians 4 v 7- 18 ]

Salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit, we are but the messengers, as one witnesses to people about the Lord, one is made to realize more and more that salvation is of the Lord. We cannot save anyone , yes God will use us, our gifts, abilities, personalities, but in the end it is only the Spirit that can bring conviction, repentence, and faith.The glory must go to God, totally,we are as the apostle Paul wrote , but earthen vessels,a statement of weakness,whatever power Paul had in his ministry it was from God.[2 Corinthians 4 v 7 ] The idea of us being weak is not to discourage us, rather it is to encourage us to rely more upon God, so today , be faithful in your witness for Christ, pray much ,and leave the results to Him. [Sovereign Lord use us to be Your faithful witnesses, be pleased to bless our weakness as we tell others about Jesus, and to You be all the honour , glory, and praise , Amen ]

Burdens. [ Philippians 4 v 6 - 7 ]

It is in 1Peter 5 v 7, we read , /Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you/, these words are both a challenge, and a comfort, the challenge is to give all our worries, and cares to God.The story is told of a man who was walking along carrying a heavy load, a friend stopped in his car and offered him a lift, which he accepted, but he still held unto his load, his friend suggested putting the load in the boot, but he refused saying ,he didnt want to take advantage of his friends kindness, so he continued to carry it. Today let us take advantaged of what God says and cast all our cares upon Him. Often we feel no one cares ,but that is not so ,God cares,and He desires us to rest in Him,and trust in Him, and as we do this we will know peace, and we will see Him undertaking for us. [Dear God help us to obey Your word, help us to cast our burdens upon You, knowing that You care for us , we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Childlikeness. [ Mark 10 v13 - 16 ]

I spoke to someone yesterday, about the importance of being childlike, in order to come to Christ. My 10yr old grandson just recently trusted Christ as Saviour and it bore in upon me what our Saviour said,in Mark 10 v 15, / Anyone who doesnt recieve the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it/. We live in an time when Children are pressed into adult-hood, from an early age, they are it seems to me mini- adults. Children see so much on the T V that robs them of their chilhood, so many of them never have the opportunity to develop in a normal way. And yet there is a child in all of us, and it is that which Christ appeals to, that simple trusting, which takes hold of the Saviours outstretched hand, and when that happens, forgiveness follows,eternal life follows, and best of all Christ becames our friend. [Father in heaven help us to never loose that childlike trust in You, in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

Sweet hour of prayer.[ Psalm 34 ]

Before Calvary our Saviour prayed , one of the most important things we can do today and indeed everyday, is pray. A lot of people struggle with prayer,none of us are experts, we will always be in the primary school of prayer, but that is not a reason to despair, or give up. We must remember its not what we think of our prayers, its what God thinks that matters, sometimes our prayers seem like a bundle of rags, yet God may see them as very precious, and acceptable.Prayer is act of faith,we will see answers now, but we may not see answers until we get to heaven, I believe prayer is an act of sowing, and there will be a reaping, when I get to heaven, all will be revealed. God desires His Children to pray, and the world needs those who pray, God is calling us to pray. John Newton wrote the following, /Come my soul, thy suit [ pleading ] prepare, Jesus loves to answer prayer, He has bid thee pray, Therefore will not say thee nay. Thou art coming to a King, Large ,petitions with thee bring, For His grace and power are sure, None can ever ask too much. [Dear God thank you for the privllege of prayer, help us to see how vital it is, in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]