The jumble of life.[ Luke 10 v 38 - 42 ]

.Years ago in the far distant past there used to be jumble sales a favourite activity to raise money, they are no longer. Life often appears like piles of jumble, a mixture of so many things, as we consider this jumble we can despair, because we feel we cannot sort the jumble out. At times we feel overloaded, and dont know how we are going to manage in this jumble of life. There was a lady in the Bible who felt that life was a jumble ,her name was Martha, she had so much to do, she couldnt cope, so she did what most of us do she moaned and complained to Jesus. First of all Jesus gently rebuked her, and then He pointed to a person who had chosen to quitely stop and listen to Him. The jumble of life can only be dealt with if we let Jesus first of all deal with us, by getting us to bring Him into the situation, we need to continually seek the Lord , wait upon Him, bring all the jumble of life to Him, and if we do ,we will really be surprised how He will sort out all the jumble of life. [ Dear Lord Jesus sometimes life overwhelms us ,it really appears to be a jumble of things, so today we commit everything to You, for only You can enable us to cope, and only You can sort out the jumble of life . Amen ]

Speaking and not thinking [ James 1 v 19 ]

In Luke 9 v 28 -36 , we read of Jesus , James, John and Peter going up a mountain to pray, there are times when we need to get away from the pressures of life. In this day and age when prayer meetings are in decline ,I am sure it would benifite us all to meet with other Christians, to pray, mybe your Christian workmates. We read that when Jesus prayed, something happened, we may not always realize ,that when we pray something happens,first of all God is listening,[ 1Peter 3 v 12] What happened was Moses and Elijah appeared unto Jesus, one was the great law giver , the other a great prophet, they spoke of Jesus exodus from the world , and as these two were about to leave,it was then that Peter spoke with out thinking. Today let us ask God to help us to not speak without thinking, to hold our tongue, and pray inwardly, and then as the Spirit guides, be quite or speak as He leads. [Father help us to control those impulses to speak when we should be quite, in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

Earthquakes [ Acts 16 v 25 -34 ]

An earthqake in Italy,people killed , injuried, homeless, earthquakes come so unexpectantly,when Christ was crucified there was an earthquake, and instead of people dying we read of people coming alive. [ Matthew 27 v 50- 53 ]. Christ is the giver of life, not death, Jesus died that we may live, and live life to the fullest, some people think accepting Christ robs one of life, not so. Sometimes God has to send an earthquke into lives in order to bring them into life, sinners are so stubborn to the point of folly, in our unsaved state we are so blind, so determined to go to Hell, and like the people in the parable in [ Luke 19v 12- 27] we cry out, / we will not have this man to reign over us /. So God sends earthquakes, not to destroy but to awake people out of their sleep of death, these earthquakes come in many forms, if you are in an earthquake situation it is every possibility God is speaking to you,it is sent in mercy, dont resent it, humble yourself, and seek the Lord while He can be found.[Dear God we acknowledge our stubbornness, hardness, blindness, we ask that You will help us to find You in our earthquake experiences, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]

Then Jesus came. [ Luke 8 v26 -39 ]

Then Jesus came, these are the words of an old gospel hymn, I have just read the account in the Bible of a man whose life was an absolute misery, he was possessed by an evil power, people had tried to help him, but to no avail. He lived in the cemetery, he was naked and homeless, his life was a living hell, and it would have continued to be so, because , he could not help himself, nor could anyone else, then Jesus came, and in a moment all was changed. By the power of Jesus he was set free,and we read these wonderful words, that when the people from the local town came, people who knew him, had witnessed his terrible condition, they now found the man sitting at Jesus feet, fully clothed, and perfectly sane. When Jesus comes into a life be it ever so messed up, there will be a change, He deals with the badness and the madness, for all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.[ Father we thank You for the transforming power of Your dear son Jesus, we thank You that when He enters a life , that life is changed always for the better. Amen ]

Greater love. [John 15 v 13 ]

Our Saviour said, / There is no greater love than to lay down ones life for ones friends, [John 15 v13 ]/, and then He adds, /You are my friends/. Much is written about love , because love is important, to all of us, we want to be loved, and we desire evidence of being loved.When Jesus died on the cross , He was showing His disciples, that greater love, but not just to His disciples, He was showing every human being, that greater love, He was saying to this world you want evidence of my love, well look to the cross,yes I was showing that greater love to my friends, but I was also declaring that greater love to my enemies ,[ cp Romans 5 v 6-11], in order that they may become my friends. Today Jesus is reaching out His nail scared hands to you ,whoever you are, these hands are hands of love, they come from a heart of greater love, will you simply take that hand and accept Him as your Saviour. [ Dear Lord Jesus it amazes me how much You love us, by going to Calvary and dying on that old rugged cross, help us all to respond to that greater love. Amen ]

Pain [ 1 Peter 1 v 6- 7 ]

No one likes pain,yet generally speaking pain is a good thing, it is a message from our bodies telling us there is something wrong. One of the difficulties about having leprosy is one cannot feel pain in different parts of the body, so if you damage your foot you would not know it , so infection sets in, and you loose your toes. What about painful experiences ?, when we recieve hurts from others, or we loose our jobs, or our homes, is that a good thing, let me say, those things in themselves are not good, and we all need to pray for those who are experiencing such things, what I would say is this, keep trusting , know that God is in control, that inspite of everything ,He loves you. I feel I should share a poem with you, that means a lot to me it goes,/ Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly, shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why. The dark threads are so needful, In the weavers skilful hand, As the threads of gold and silver, In the pattern He has planned. [ Loving Heavenly Father help us to continue to trust YOU in our pain, be it the pain of loneliness, loss, frustrations, whatever, and help us to see that weeping only lasts for the night and that joy will come in the morning, in Jesus name we pray this Amen .]

Let us not forget [Romans 8 v 28 av ]

On the ongoing course of life I continually need to remember that God is Sovereign, that means inspite of everything that is happening in this world, He rules. When we declare that God is Sovereign we are making a declaration of faith , for we are told that the just shall live by faith.[ Habakkuk 2 v 4. av ]. Habakkuk was full of complaints and questions, as to why things were happening, he saw into the future and he did not like what he saw, so he complains and questions God. Like Habakkuk we may be complaining and questioning God, we have all been down that road. Habakkuk ends His prophecy by declaring, /The Sovereign Lord is my strength. [3 v 19 ]/ Whatever is happening in our lives God is in control , He has not suddenly deserted us, no He is guiding, controlling, and over-ruling in all the circumstances of our lives, so today trust Him. [Sovereign God we bow before You in humility, we ask that You will help us in the midst of lifes difficulties, and frustrations, to trust in Your over-ruling providence, we ask this in Jesus name Amen ]