Love one another. [1 John 3 v11-23 ]

I well remember all those years ago, when I was about to go to bible college a dear friend give me two things ,books, and a bike, the bike is long gone, but I still have the books. It was an act of kindness which I will always remember, till my dying day, Ive had many acts of kindness shown to me, by so many Christians. There are none so kind and thoughtful as the children of God, Christians are not perfect,but they can be kind and generous, and I thank God for them, I speak from a lifetime of experience. It is so easy to become critical of our fellow Christians, but today, stop and thank God for them, and as you have an opportunity show a kindness to them, do it out of love not duty. Our dear Saviour taught us to love one another, even as He loves us, He commands us to love one another,[John 15 v12/17 ], how did He love us, by dying for us, forgiving us, He continues to love us daily,in so many ways, let us follow His example. [Dear Lord Jesus we thank You for loving us in a million ways,help us to walk in Your footsteps, and to love others especially our fellow Christians. Amen ]

Something greater [ Ephesians 2 v 8-9 ]

Grace ,as we look at certain people, we may despair,but then we are reminded of the Grace of God,and that by that Grace they can be changed, they can be saved,let us remind ourselves that we should never put limits on Gods Grace.No matter how far a person sinks, the Grace of God is able to save ,when they call on Christ, In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul reminds those he is writing to of their former state, he goes through a list of sinful practices,/sexual sins, idol worship, adultery, male prostitution,homosexuality, thieving, greediness, drunkenness, abusiveness,and cheating. As we read that list, we are reminded of the Grace of God, that is trully amazing, so today if you are lost in sin, there is hope for even you.As we look at humanity, mybe our workmates, neighours, friends, family, or whoever, dont despair, pray for them, that they may experience the Grace of God, let us remember that were sin abounds , the Grace of God is greater.[Father help us to never despair at mans lostness, rebelliousness, help to look beyond these things to You the God of all Grace, in Jesus name Amen ]

Doing what comes unnaturally.[Galations 5 v 16-26 ]

It is in Galations we have two aspects of the Christian life, the natural and the spiritual, [5 v16-26 ]what we are being told is we have a choice each ongoing day, to live in the Spirit or to live according to our sinful nature. The natural will manifest all that is opposed to the spiritual, , we have a choice today, whats it going to be?. Being a Christian never takes away human responsibility, everyday we have to make discisions, we dont ask our wives to dress us,we are expected to get up out of bed,and go to work, these are choices we have to make each day, so it is in the spiritual we have to make decisions, to be filled with the Spirit, to seek His leading,and to resist wrong, and choose to do the right,if we make the right decisions the Holy Spirit will help us, by guiding and strengthening us, so today what is our choice going to be?. [Dear God and Father in the name of Jesus help us today in all we our faced with, to make the right decisions, fill us with Your Spirit . Amen ]

Who will minister to the few? [ Matthew 25 v14 -30 ]

What preachers want is people ,to minister the word of God to, and as many people as possible.Since being a minister ,I have had the privllege of ministering to a small church,people have said to me that, I am wasted doing this as my ministry could be a blessing to the many as opposed to the few.Many years ago I sought to be a missionary, I did all the right things, went to bible college, applied to missions, but the way was closed to me, so I ended up in a small church in England. I have at times sought other openings, but the doors have remained shut.In the end I have come to realize, that I am were God wants me,even if it is a small church.God may yet call me to a larger church that is in His hands, He shall choose my way,I dare not choose, for I know His way is best. [ Dear Lord Jesus we thank you that You know whats best for us,be in the jungles of the Amazon, or in a small church, or wherever,we know that Your will is always best Amen ]

A sure and certain hope.[ 1 John 5 v 13 /John 3 v 16 ]

It was the sixtenth century French philosopher Francois Rabelais who wrote about after death as , /The great perhaps/, in philosophy we have but mens vain attempt to understand humanity, with little or no idea as to after death.In Gods word we have all we need to understand humanity, and the after life, of course the word of God is not mans ideas, but Gods. The word of God is a divine revelation, it tells us of our origin, God created us,it reveals unto us our condition, we are sinners, and it clearly reveals to us a way of salvation.When it comes to death the word of God tells us clearly that there is a Heaven and a Hell, and the only way we can escape Hell and go to Heaven, is by trusting Jesus to be our Saviour, and if we do, then are sins are forgiven, and we recieve eternal life, unlike the ramblings of the philosophers , we have a sure and certan hope .[ Dear God we thank You ,that in a life were many things appear uncertain, You have revealed to us in Your word that which is sure and certain, as to this life and the life beyond,Amen ]

When nothing is happening[ 1 Kings 19 v 1-18 ]

There are times when nothing appears to be happening, as I look at the church situation, nothing appears to be happening, then there are situations , things we pray about continually, and nothing appears to be happening.The invisible God really appears invisible, just silence, followed by silence. In this situation we can become like Thomas, who declared ,/unless I see, [ John 20 v25 ],I wont believe, I wont keep praying, I wont follow, I want to see answers, results,something, happening. I think of our Saviours words to Philip, / Have I been with you all this time[ John 14v 9 ],we are like Philip, we forget the things that have happened in our lives, we start leaning on our own understanding, we fall into the trap of living by sight, instead of by faith, and so we become discouraged, impatient, and loose sight of the fact that God is working His purposes out in our lives in the best possible way. Let us remember that God is working, when it appears He is not, let us not judge the Lord by our feeble senses, in His time He will reveal His purpose,so trust Him .[ Almighty God have mercy upon us, and grant us the grace we need , to trust You, when things dont appear to be happening, in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

Answers to prayer [ Matthew 26 v 39 ]

Last Friday evening I suddenly developed a sore tummy, after trying various things I got no relief, so I cried unto the Lord, and as I did the pain eased , and I was able to go to bed and sleep. Praying for healing is a difficult area , I believe God hears and answers our prayers ,I have proved this so many times, and yet we know that at times,things dont appear to happen, a person we prayed for dies,situations do not appear to be resolved, doors have stayed closed. Prayer is a learning experience, in that experience God is teaching us valuable lessons, in the exercise of prayer, it is what God is doing in us that is important. Keep praying dont despair if things dont appear to be happening, God is listening,and will answer in the best possible way, let us remember God knows best, and whats best for all of us. [ Dear God we thank you for the privllege of prayer, You hear our cry, at all times, and always answer in the best way , in Jesus name.Amen. [I am going away for a short break I will be back Sat]