Telling the truth [ Exodus 20 v16 ]

We have been making inquiries about getting a new tv deal, we thought we had it all sorted out then we discovered that what we had been told was not right,this applied to three companies. We feel we were not told the truth, fortunately we found out in time, and will be cancelling our agreement, it makes one wonder about the importance of telling the truth. I realise that it is so easy to fail to tell the truth, there will be many today who will placing their hand on the bible, and swear to tell the truth , the whole truth, so help them God, and have no intentions of telling the truth. May God help us to be truthful people, with those nearest to us,and with all we come into contact, today. [God of truth forgive us for not always telling the truth, help us to be truthful, grant us this grace, in Jesus name Amen ]

We are all different. [ Jeremiah 1 v 5 ]

A penguin walked into a bar and asked the barman , have you seen my brother, the barman replies, what does he look like?. I hope you get the joke, the point is penguins all look the same, but they are not, so with us ,to penguins we may all look the same but we are not, we are all different. We all have different abilities , personalities, gifts, we are like snowflakes,not two of us are alike,so today dont wish you are someone else, rejoice in who you are,oh yes there are things in all of us that need to change, and of course we all sinners, and we all without exception need Jesus.Today you may hate yourself because you feel you are to thin or to fat,listen God made you and me, He made the elephant man, read his life, he was a beautiful person. God made all of us , and when He made you and me He didnt make a mistake, and here is a wonderful thought ,He loves us, and longs that we love Him, by accepting His Son as our Saviour.[ Dear God , thank You for making us, and bringing us, into being,thank You for loving us, and giving Your Son to die on the cross for us, thank You that we all are different, but this is not a bar to being accepted by You, in Jesus name we pray this Amen ]

Make it count [ 1Corinthians 3 v 11 - 15 ]

According to 1 Corinthians 3 all we have done for Christ will be weighed , and judged, it will be tested by God, now it is important to stress ,that this is nothing to do with being saved by works. The fact of the matter is we cannot be saved by anything we do, we are saved totally by what Christ has done, He saves. 1 C0r 3, is stressing rewards for what we do as Christians,I wonder what those rewards will be? in a sense I dont think of rewards, but rather of trying to please my Saviour,there is a compulsion inside me that wants more than ever to hear my Saviours well done. As I start this day my prayer is that whatever I do, that it will count for Gods glory, if love is my aim it will count, if I am led by the Spirit it will count,if I am motivated by Heavens values, it will count, if I do all things to the Glory of God, it will count. [ Dear Lord , grant that this day, that all I do may count , and be of worth to You Amen ]

The way ahead [ Matthew 16 v 24 ]

The way ahead is very simply this, follow Jesus, no matter what disappointments we have, or face, no matter what successes or failures,no matter how we feel, Jesus says to all of us follow me. There is to be no turning back, no deviating, no compromising, no excuses, it may mean offending our nearest and dearest, of being misunderstood, of being thought a idiot, a fool, a fanatic. It means continually following Jesus , no days off, it may mean the loss of our very lives, or the lives of our nearest and dearest, whatever , it will mean choosing that which we cannot, prove or see, that means walking by faith. It means not caring about our reputation, in other words not caring what people think of us, not winning the popularity contest, of being despised, and rejected, wharever it may cost, the challenge is this , to follow Jesus. [ Dear Lord Jesus help us this day and everyday to follow You, Amen ]

Gods people [ Matthew 11 v 17 ]

In Luke 22 our Saviour and His disciples were having the passover meal, and during it our Saviour tells His disciples, that sitting among them as a friend, was one who would betray Him. The disciples ask each other which one of them would do such a thing,and thats as far as they took it, surely one would have thought that would have killed off all conversation for the rest of the night, but no they quickly move on, and start arguing among themselves, as to who would be the greatest among them.How fickle people are at times, changeable, shallow, and yet here is the amazing thing, our Lord choose these disciples, we may ask why?, but are we any different?. So often when one preaches the word of God,afterwards it appears that people want to talk about everything and anything ,but what they have heard, yet the Lord choose us, but when will we begin to really take in ,what God is saying to us ?. [Dear Lord we confess that we are fickle, changeable,and shallow at times, we thank You for Your patience towards us, help us today to really listen, to Your voice, we ask this in Your name Amen ]

Overwhelmed [Psalm 121 ]

I wonder do you ever feel overwhelmed, I must confess I do at times, I imagine that there are people who look at me and feel that I am on top of everything, after all I have accomplished a lot of things. I have brought up five children , no mean feat, I have a very responsible job, I am a preacher, and so I could go on, yet there are times one feels overwhelmed, with feelings of unworthiness, and ineffectiveness. This is not an unique experence, for many people in the Bible , have felt this way, the apostle Paul, [Romans 7 ], the prophets Elijah, [1 Kings 19], and Isaiah,[ Isa 6 ]. The Psalmist David prayed ,/ I cry to You for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me [Psalm 61 v 2-3 ]/. Today if you are feeling overwhelmed , or when you do feel overwhelmed, walk in the footsteps of David and look up , to the one who hears and understands, and who whispers to your heart, I understand, I care, I love you. [ Dear Saviour we come toYou, in all our need, and ask that You would, sustain us by Your grace,strengthen us in our weakness,comfort us in our times of sorrow,and uphold us in the ongoing course of life Amen ]

We are not as strong as we may think.[ MK14v29-31/ 66- 72 ]

We are not as strong as we think, I read these words in my study Bible, I thought so true, it reminded me of the time a number of my friends where having a talk, we were all single, and one of my friends said how he had got his sexual feelings under control. He was a fine young Christian, I wish I could have said the same thing, but it is an area in which I struggle even to this day, well later on I heard that my young friend had to get married because his girl friend became pregnant. In 1 Corinthians 10 v 12 we read,/ If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall/,very wise words for all of us to take in, consider King Solomon the wisest king who ever lived , he acted so shamefully, and fell so dramatically. Now none of us are meant to live in fear, but we are meant to live with a continual dependance on our Lord, simply bcause we are not as strong as we think.[ Dear God we come to You in our weakness, help us this day not to fall into sin, help us in those areas of our lives in which we think we are strong, to realise that we are not as strong as we think,grant us the grace of depending on You,we ask this in Jesus name Amen ]