Dare [Hebrews 11v8]

When God puts a vision on ones heart, it is our vision, and to that one must stay faithful , others may not understand, they are not meant to,when the apostle Paul felt led to go to Jerusalem people begged him not to go[ Acts 21v12]. When our Saviour told His disciples he was going to Jerusalem and that He would suffer and die, Peter rebuked Him, [Matthew 16v21-23].The vision God gives you is yours alone, and to that vision one must stay true, irrespective of others.I have felt the call of God upon my life to preach, to that call I must stay true, irrespective of others, and their have been others, who have discouraged and criticized me, such is the way of the cross. The most important thing in the Christian life is the will of God, we must stay true to it, it is the taking up, ones cross and following our Saviour. the old hymn says,/ Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm, Dare to make it known./, so let us dare.[ Dear God and Father keep us faithful to Thy will in all things in Jesus name. Amen ]

Promising God. [ Ecclesiastes 5v4-5 ]

A woman was walking along the sea shore,with her little boy when a hugh wave went over them,and the little boy was carried out to sea, the lady prayed, that if God would give her back her child she would be ever grateful and thankful, suddenly another hugh wave came and deposited her son at her feet, as she looked at her child she spoke to God, he had a hat. In Psalm 66v13-14, we read,/ I will perform my vows to you, that which my lips uttered, and my mouth promised when I was in trouble/. Many people make vows when they are in difficulty, but when the trouble is past, they fail to keep them. A farmer went to his wife to tell her that their cow had given birth to two calves, one white the other brown, he was so happy he said to his wife,I am going to dedicate one of these calves to the Lord, his wife asked, which one?he replied there was no need to bother about that now.A few months later he came to his wife and said ,the Lords calf had died, his wife reminded him that he hadnt chosen which calf was the Lords,he replied that it was the white one, and that was the one that died.[ Father often we make promises to you in our difficulties, and even in our times of prosperity, and we fail to keep them, forgive us ,and help us to be more faithful in the future in Jesus name .Amen]

The first time [ John 3 v7-8]

Yesterday my son John preached for the first time,I wonder can you remember those first times in your life when you did something,I remember the first girl I kissed, I remember my first plane trip,my first job,my first home when I got married, my first time in England. I also remember when I first trusted Jesus as my Saviour , it was at a childrens meeting, the speaker was known as the Hallelujah milk man , I dont how he got that name ,but I do remember what he spoke on,I dont remember how old I was, between five and ten, that is over fifty five years ago.That was the most important first time experience of my life, because it sealed my eternal destiny, it gave me an awareness of Christ ,that never left me, even though at times I wandered away from Him, I thank God for that first time.[Dear God help us all to realize that their must be a first time to trust your son Jesus as our Saviour. Amen]

Benefits.[Romans 5 v1-5]

The Christian life is two sided, in Romans 5v 1-5, we are told two things, firstly the blessings we have been brought into through faith , we have been justified, which means we are no longer guilty before a holy God, we have peace with God , we are no longer His enemy, the battle is over, God is now our loving Heavenly Father, this has all come about through the Lord Jesus, when He died on the cross. We can look forward to eternal glory, so today let us rejoice, and praise God, He has done great things for us.But now the other side of the coin, the Christian life also involves sufferiing,our Saviour said in the world we shall have tribulation[ John 16v33], Ann Bronte, said,/ Believe not those who say, the upward path is smooth/. In Romans 5, we are told that those troubles we encounter , are Gods instruments in developing Christian character, strength of character,so today let us rejoice for what God is doing in our lives through, our troubles. [ Dear God we praise You for Jesus Your Son who has saved us, and brought us into eternal blessings, we also would ask that You would help us to keep rejoicing in all our sufferings, because You are causing all things to work together for our good. Amen ]

A person of strength[ Psalm 46 ]

I was given a poem about a woman of strength, I dont know who wrote it, I want to quote it, but I want to broaden it out to include , men and women./ A strong person works out everyday to keep their bodies in shape. But a person of strength kneels in prayer to keep their souls in shape. A strong person isn,t afraid of anything. But a person of strength shows their courage in the midst of fear. A strong person won,t let anyone get the better of them. But a person of strength gives the best of themselves to everyone. A strong person walks sure-footedly. But a person of strength knows God will catch them when they fall. A strong person wears a look of confidence on their face. But a person of strength wears grace. A strong person has faith that they will be strong for the journey. But a person of strength has faith that in the journey they will become strong./[ Dear God help us to not live in our own strength, but daily, moment by moment to rely on You in Jesus name. Amen ]

The call of God [Hebrews 11 v8-10]

The call of God , what does that mean?, we have the call of the wild, or the call of the sea, but what does the call of God mean?.I have stood up in a meeting and responded to what I felt was the call of God, that ,hear am I , wholly available, and from that point on I sought to fulfill this. My blog is called Bill the preacher, because from early on in my Christian life, I felt called to preach, this did not come in a meeting, but rather it was something impressed upon me, gradually. This calling has never left me, and so I continually seek to fulfill this calling upon my life, in some ways this has saved me from disappointment, because doors have shut in my face, the places I have sought to go to never materialized, but the call remainded, so I have sought to remain faithful to it. I do believe God led me to England, to Grays, I often wonder, why Grays?,I dont know, I just obeyed. I dont know where God will lead me next, but wherever that may be , I will remain faithful to my calling ,that of preaching the word of God.[ Dear God give us grace to follow where You may lead us in the fulfilling of Your calling on our lives, in Jesus name Amen]

Mirror gazing [Philippians 3v12-14]

In one of the Harry Potter movies, Harry discovers a mirror, as he looks into it, he sees his dead parents, they are standing smiling at him. He becomes engrossed with this mirror until the professor comes and tells him,that the mirror shows the desperate, and deepest desires of the heart. He then goes on to say,that men have wasted away in front of it,and even been driven mad by it, so the professor was going to have it removed.This all reminds me, how many of us have our mirrors , oh yes I have mine, and just like Harry and others, I gaze into it occasionally,many gaze continually into the mirror of past failures, past losses,past hurts, and it all has an negative affect upon their lives, crippling them emotionally, preventing them moving on, even driving them mad.It is the apostle Paul who wrote,/I focus on this one thing, forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,[Philippians 3v13], with Gods help we all need to put our mirrors away,and keep our minds on going forward, too many of us have wasted to many years mirror gazing, [ Dear Lord Jesus it is easy to make excuses for our mirror gazing, help us to stop wasting our lives looking at our past failures, hurts, and help us to put our mirrors away and move forward in victory, Amen ]