Saying no. [Philippians 4 v 13 ]

It is Eugene Peterson who says, / Only humans can say no. Animals cant say no. Animals do what instinct dictates or what training embeds in them. No is a freedom word/.No may be a freedom word but many choose not to use it,to drugs,sex,and many other things , the question is , is it a freedom word to you and me ?. Think how hard it is to say no to the many wrong things we eat, obese people are people who will not say no, those who commit adultery, are people who will not say no. So many of us make the excuse that we cant help what we do, but if we are Christians we are told in 2 Peter 1 v 3, that God has given us everything we need for living a godly life, that means God has given us the power to say no to all those things that are contrary to a godly life,let Gods word be true and every man a liar. We are a driven people, when we should be a led people, today let us say no to those things that are driving us in the wrong direction. [Dear God help us to follow You today in all we do, even if that means saying no to those things which are contrary to Your will ,we ask this in the name of Jesus .Amen ]

Contentment [ Psalm 139 v 13 - 17 ]

There is a modern song which goes, /You can only be you, and I can only be me/, when I used to minister in song , some people would say ,I wish I could sing like you, I found it strange coming from a woman. We all at sometimes want to be like someone else, or even to be someone else, there are people who hate themselves, there are people who starve themselves to death, because they loath the person they see in the mirror. There is nothing wrong with trying to improve our image, but we should accept whom we are, God has made us everyone , He didnt make a mistake. Of course we all need Christ as our Saviour, because we are sinners, and we do need to be changed, and be like Him, but we are all unique, and there needs to be a contentment, and acceptance of this, so let us stop wishing , we were someone else. [God we give You thanks for making us whom we are,may Your Holy Spirit , grant unto us contentment, and may He help us to see that we are precious in Your eyes,in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

Letting go. [ Hebrews 12 v 1 - 2 ]

I have to let it go, although it has served me well for many years, but now it is causing me pain, I would like to let it stay, but I cant, I dont much like pain,I dont like that which hurts me, so even though I am attached to , I have made a decision.The decision I reached was to phone the dentist and make an appointment, to have my painful friend removed. There are so many things in life that we hold unto, things that cause us pain, the wrong kinds of friends, memories,habits, attitudes,our sins,and what we really need to do is to let go, to pray about it,committing it to God and then ,let it go, we have to stop making excuses, putting it off, we have to let go of those things that are damaging us.. If we are not saved then we have to let go of our unbelief, and simply trust the Saviour. If we are Christians we have to be obedient, and realize that God desires only the best for us, so today let go.[ Dear God help us to make a decision to let go of those things that we cling to even though they are causing us pain, we ask this in Jesus name Amen ]

Self obsessed. Mark 10 v 42 - 45 ]

One of the most popular songs years ago was ,/ The Streets of London/,Have you seen the old man in the closed down market, Kicking up the papers with his worn out shoes? In his eyes you see no pride, Hand held loosely by his side, Yesterdays papers telling yesterdays news./In these words we are challenged to take our eyes of ourselves and to look at the plight of others, who are worse of than ourselves. We all have the habit of being self obsessed, of just focusing on ourselves, we become the center of the universe. The gospel story is about God thinking of others, of loving them so much that He gave the most precious gift He possessed to die on a cross, so that others could be saved. Our Saviour said that greatness is seen in serving others [ Mark 10v 44], today let us take our eyes of ourselves, and look at others, with a heart of love, and out of that heart of love, be a servant. [Father forgive us for being self obsessed , help us to be more like our Saviour, the Servant King, Amen ]

Pressure. [ Philippians 4 v 6 - 9 ]

Years ago we used to have a pressure cooker, I heard of people who would not have one because they were afraid of it blowing up, but on the one we had there was a saftey valve, so our one never blew up. It seems to me that for many life is like a pressure cooker , financial pressures, employment pressures, the list goes on, what can we do ?, explode with anger, and frustration ?,we may, but let me tell you of a better way. Go to God, and tell Him how you feel, bring all those things that are putting you under pressure, tell Him everything, and ask Him to help. The bible continually tells us that God hears us when we pray to Him, so today pray to Him, He will help you to bear the pressures of life, and He grant you the grace you need, read Psalm 23, meditate on it, pray over it. [Dear God so often we feel under pressure, so many things crowding in upon us, we ask that You may help us, through these times, by Your grace, we ask this in the name of Jesus Amen ]

Change [ 1 Corthians 6 v 9 - 11 ]

I watched a TV program last night, about two men who bought a lion cub from Harrods,and for a year they brought it up in their flat in London, but them it was taken to Kenya and eventually released into the wild. As I watched this program I was reminded of a scripture in Isaiah 11 were we read how, / the lion shall eat straw like the ox [v 11 ],some see this scripture as referring to Christs thousand reign on earth in the future, but it speaks to me of that transformation that takes place when a person trusts Christ as their Saviour, in 2 Corinthians 5 v17 we read,/ that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone, a new life has begun/. There is an old gospel hymn which goes,/ What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart/. [ Dear God thank for Your son Jesus who saves us and changes us. Amen ]

The wrecking process. [ Psalm 40 v1- 3 ]

Oswald Chambers wrote the following, / You may often see Jesus wreck a life before He saves it [Matthew 10 x34 ], I wonder what you think of those words?. People dont want to hear God from their comfort zone. The prophet Jeremiah had a two-fold ministry, [1]To uproot and tear down,destroy and overthrow. [2] To build up and plant. [ Jeremiah 1v10 ]. The sad thing is, so often ,we only look up, when we are down. It is so often that we only cry unto God, when we are at our lowest ebb , when we have come to an end of ourselves.We read these words in Psalm 130v1,/ From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help/, it is only when we come to an end of ourselves, and admit our need of Christ, can we ever be saved. So many will never be saved because they are not desperate enough,if God is wrecking your life it is not to destroy you, but rather to save you, He is waiting on you cry to Him in all your need and when you do He will save you. [Dear Lord Jesus help us to see that You love us, and desire to save us, help us not to resent the wrecking process in our lives, but rather to embrace and recieve Your love, through our tears, Amen.]