Death [ John 11 v 25 ]

Death, now thats a bright thought to start the day with, mybe you feel like turning of this blog, as you dont fancy being reminded of death. Could be, you are grieving over the death of a loved one, or a friend, mybe you are facing death, because of an illness. The obvious fact is we will all be touched by death ,sooner or later we will loose someone close to us, and of course we will all die, science only helps us to delay the inevitable. We were never meant to die, but because of sin we all will, it can been seen as a natural act, but in other ways it is unnatural, thats why we try to avoid talking about it, and find it hard to come to terms with.In 1 Corinthians 15v 26, death is called an enemy, but in that chapter we are told of the resurrection, and how those who believe in Jesus, can know victory over death. I love those words in Psalm 23v4, which reads,Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, a shadow cannot hurt us , and if Christ is with us then we have nothing to fear.[Dear God calm our fears as regards death, we thank You that through Your Son Jesus, sin can be dealt with, and victory over death is assured, Amen ]

Be prepared. [Ephesians 6 v10 -18 ]

The scouts motto is / Be prepared/,yesterday something happened which I was not prepared for, I was taken by surprise.It is Peter who exhorts us to be on our guard [2 Peter 3 v17 ], it is so easy to become complacent, to fall asleep on the job.We all know the dangers of falling asleep as we drive, but many people do, we all have read of king Arthur who fell asleep and burnt the cakes,these are all lessons for all of us to be on our guard, against the ,world, the flesh, and the devil.We must live in such a way, as to do battle, to stand our ground, to be prepared to fight the good fight of faith, that is why we need each day, to spend time with God,and right throughout this day to pray without ceasing. Let us be prepared for any attack , let us clothe ourselves with the whole armour of God, read Ephesians 6 v10 -18, as part of your preparation.[Dear God strengthen us this day against that which would harm us ,help us to be on our guard,in Jesus name Amen ]

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 ]