Is God sovereign?[ Revelation 19v 6 ]

Is God sovereign? many of us believe He is, or so we say, does our actions and thinking correspond, with our belief?, so often there is a gap between the two. When God tells me to leave something to Him, am I prepared to do that, or will I meddle, if God shuts a door am I willing to accept it, or do I become resentful. If God causes me to wait, do I?,if God takes a loved one, do I spend the rest of my life,in bitterness,and depression. Is God sovereign? do we really believe this, in our given situations?, do you resent me raising this matter?, whatever you or I feel , the fact of the matter is, God is sovereign. If God was not sovereign He would not be God, we all need to read again and again the life of Joseph, or the book of Esther, to see the sovereignty of God in action, and as Christians to hold fast to Romans 8 v 28, which tells us that God causes all things to work together for our good. [ Sovereign God help us to trust You in all situations, to not make rash judgements, about Your ways, help us to trully believe in Your sovereignty, in every situation, in Jesus name . Amen ]

The communion of saints.[ Hebrews 10v 25 ]

The communion of saints is a phrase from the apostles creed, to me it signifies that bond between Christians, while we are all individuals , and we all need to experience personal salvation, Christ died for the church.As part of that body we are to love one another, pray for one another, help one another, to not isolate ourselves from the body, not to become disconnected.The apostle Paul was a strong individual, but he never shut himself off from others believers, he prayed for them, fellowshiped with them ,wrote to them, loved them. Often he faced difficulties from Christians, but he kept on associating with them,and expressing his love for them. The words of the hymn says ,/blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love/, today let us pray for our fellow Christians, let us not cut ourselves of from them, if we do we will be the losers. [Dear Lord Jesus help us to love our fellow Christians, with Your love, help us to stay connected to our Christian family .Amen ]

Pressure [2 Corinthians 4v 8-10]

Many of us live under pressure, money pressures, marital pressures,employment pressures, emotional pressures, and so the list goes on. I am a great admirer of the apostle Paul, he knew what pressure was,we read the following in 1Corinthians 1V1-9-11/ We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.In fact, we expected to die/, now thats pressure.Then he goes on to say,as a result of this,/ we stopped relying on ourselves, and learned to rely only on God,/ and the result of this was deliverance by God. The comfort zone is not a place were we rely on God, in fact it is a place of relying on others and even ourselves,the result is we do not grow in our relationship with God, and growing is so vital as a Christian. Whatever pressure we may be under at this time, it is an opportunity to grow spiritually, may God grant us the grace to grow, in our pressure times. [Dear Lord ,our times are in Your hands, all our times,the hard times, the difficult times, we ask that You would help us to trust You to deliver and sustain us, Amen ]

The Potter[ Matthew 26v 36-44]

In a number of places in the Bible, God is depicted as being a potter[ Isaiah 29v18/45v9-10/Jeremiah18v1-9/ Romans9v20-24],He is the Potter we are the clay, in other words He is Sovereign over our lives, the one who brings us into being, the one who caused us to be born into the family ,nation, that we found ourselves in.The one who shaped us in the womb, and preserved us, brought us into being, and has brought us to were we are now,the one who is shaping our lives, allowing us to experience joys and pain,preparing us for given roles and purposes.The thing to remember in this, is, the loving character of God,He is not a tyrant, nor is He cruel, whatever difficulty we may be facing at this time,He is working it for our good[ Romans 8v28.av ] and His glory.[ Sovereign God we come to You in all our weakness, we acknowledge that we do question Your ways,we struggle so often to accept Your ways and purposes for our lives, have mercy upon us, we pray that You would help us to trust You, and bow to Your Lordship in our lives , in Jesus name . Amen ]

Ice cream [ Matthew 6 v25-34]

At the club I help to run, they had ice cream , as I am diabetic I couldnt have any ,I would have liked some. When I came home my wife came in from the shopping and in the shopping was diabetic ice cream, so I had some, I am grateful to my wife for getting me the ice cream , but I am grateful to God for prompting her, to buy it. All this reminds me how God cares for us , His love is constant,and ever so thoughtful, in fact the word of God tells us that the very hairs of our head are counted,[Matthew 10v30]. I didnt even pray about the ice cream ,and yet God answered my desire. In Matthew 6v25-34 our Saviour, challenges us not to worry, about what we eat,drink or wear, and to not worry about tomorrow,we all are prone to worry,about something, Jesus tells us not to, the God who give me ice cream, will care for us all.Here is what we need to do, seek the kingdom of God above all else,and live righteously, and He will give us everything we need.[ Matthew 6 31-33].[ Dear Father in Heaven we thank You for your love and care, so often You surprise us with Your thoughtfulness, we bless You and praise You in Jesus name . Amen ]

Graduation [ Philippians 3 v12-14]

I was at the graduation of my daughter-in-law yesterday, at Southampton university,it was lovely to see all those young people, graduating. I thought about the cost of it all, the hard work, the financial cost, the discipline involved, but the joy that comes with having accomplished, that given task. If we are to be the Christians we should be ,it will mean hard work, it will cost ,it will mean discipline. Being a Christian presents to us all the greatest challenge in life,we will have to continually study Gods word, and,pray, we will have to live not with rules and regulation , but under the law of love, and to keep our eyes on the goal, not looking back, always seeking to go forward and upward, for the heavenly prize, heaven and home. We are not saying we are saved by our efforts, but rather simply that the Christian life involves effort, and a focus on our goal.[ Dear Lord help us to stay focused on the challenge of being a Christian, help us give ourselves fully to You, each day, help us to graduate with honours, for Your glory, Amen ]

Our Guide [ Psalm 48v14]

In Psalm 32 v8, we read,/ The Lord says, I will guide you along the best pathway for your life/, God does not save us and then let us get on with it, no He remains with us. We are being told three things,[1] the person who is speaking ,the Lord, consider what those words means, His character, Holy, loving,one who cannot lie. [2] His interest in you personally, God says , I will guide you. [3] The best pathway, I often say to myself as to my present employment, God choose what was best for me, and I rejoice in that daily. [ Dear God we praise You for your constant care for us, and that You are leading us,and that You make no mistakes,help us today to rest in You today, in Jesus name Amen ]