Redeemed [ 1 Peter 1 v 18-19. av ]

I found myself singing an old hymn this morning which goes,/ Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child, and forever I am/. Throughout the Bible we have this idea of redemption,it has a number of meanings , [1]Buying back something that was sold,[2] Of purchasing a slave with a view to their freedom.The best illustration of this is Israel in Egypt , they were slaves, God had to redeem them, by the slaying of the passover lamb,and the shedding of its blood, when this was done they were freed.[Exodus 11-12].This is a picture of what took place on Calvary, when Christ was crucified, His sacrificial death was redemptive, by His death He was paying a price to buy those who are slaves to sin[ John 8 v34], and set them free. This is a wonderful truth, to all, it offers hope, to all who are in bondage to sin, that they can be set free, by trusting in Jesus who paid the price of redeeming sinners. [ Dear God thank You for Jesus who died to redeem sinners. Amen ]

Let God.[ 2 Chronicles 20]

Let God,sometimes there are situations we cant do anything about, we try to resolve them, yet the more we try, the worse it seems to get, nothing changes,and we just experience more pain. So what does one do , let God. Yesterday we thought on Joseph, when he was in prison he thought that the cup bearer would , speak a word in high places and have him released, but he didnt, he forgot about Joseph. It is often the case that we have to stop our struggling,our manoeuvring, and let God take over, a person can only be rescued when he submits to their rescuer. The Israelites were in great danger of being destroyed, God spoke through Moses/Dont be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today,[Exodus 14v13], and He did. Today let us be still and know that He is God[Psalm 46v10 ], to have confidence,trust, and Faith in Him, who can make a way ,were there is no way, to Him who can provide, a job, a wife/ husband, a home, a family , a friend.[ Dear God help us to understand what we have to do in every given situation, help us to realize that there are times when the best thing we can do is simply be still and to trust You to work on our behalf, in Jesus name Amen ]

God really does have a plan.[ Romans 8v 28. av ]

One of the most instructive stories in the Bible is in Genesis chapters 37-50, it is about a man called Joseph , a man loved by his father but hated by his brothers.These brothers treated him very badly, they wanted to murder Him, but instead they sold him into slavery , and he ended up in Egypt. In Egypt he was accused falsely of attempted rape, thrown into prison and forgotten about, there was a monent when it appeared that he would be released,but it didnt happen, then suddenly everything changed, he was released,and became second in command to the Egyptian Pharoah. The great lesson we see in all this is the sovereignty of God, many years before this God declared to Abraham that He had a plan for his decendants, [Genesis 15v13-14] in order to fulfill that plan Joseph had to go through his trials.Mybe you are experiencing a trial today,it appears unjust, and even cruel, consider the life of Joseph and learn from it, and hold unto this vital truth God is in control, and has a plan, and will cause everything to work out for your good. [ Romans 8 v28 ], and His glory.[ Dear God help us to trust you in every difficulty, to have faith in your Sovereignty, to believe that all things are working together for our good, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Doing good. [ 1 Corinthians 3 v 10 -15 ]

Do all the good you can, In all the ways you can,In all the places you can, At all the times you can,To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.So wrote John Wesley. We can do this in many ways, by praying for people, helping in practical ways, by showing them Jesus in our lives, and by telling them about Jesus. In Acts 10v 38 we read that Jesus went about doing good, so in doing good we are following in His footsteps. In Galations 6 v9 we read,so let,s not get tired of doing what is good,we may feel discouraged in doing good, we get no thanks, people can be so ungrateful, let us remember that God will not forget,and He will reward us in a coming day.[Hebrews 6v10] So today let us do good to everyone, especially to those in the family of faith. [Galations 6 v10 ] [Father in Heaven grant us the grace today, to follow in the footsteps of Your dear Son, by doing good. Amen ]

Burdened[ John 4 v34-38]

Today I feel a burden, for the lost, my family, brothers ,sister, and other relatives, neighbours, work mates, and many others, for our nation, for the area in which I live,so few people are saved. So many people are going to Hell, so few are going to Heaven, and this causes me pain,so few know our Saviour, is there anything we can do?, yes we can pray .Let us never underestimate the importance and power of prayer, we can tell others about our Saviour, how shall they hear without a preacher, the answer is they wont, faith comes by hearing the word of God, so today let us tell others about Jesus. Fanny Crosby wrote many hymns, here is a verse of one of them,/Rescue the perishing, Care for the dying. Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave. Weep o,er the erring one, Lift up the fallen. Tell them of Jesus , the mighty to save.[ Dear God, who would have all to be saved,we ask that You would use us, to be fishers of men,to rescue the perishing, in the name of Jesus. Amen ]

Rejoice [Nehemiah 8 v10 ]

Sometimes it seems life is all gloom and doom, for some it appears that way, as we read the life of the apostle Paul , we see a man who suffered so much c.p 2 Corinthians 11 v21ff . Yet he was not a doom and gloom person, in his letter to the Philippians, which was written from a Roman prison, he is so positive and encouraging in what he writes. In chapter 3 v1 ,he writes,/What ever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord/,these are challenging words, is it possible to rejoice what ever is happening to us?, not in ourselves, it is a fruit of the Spirit Galations 5 v22. Today let us ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with joy unspeakable and full of glory, so that whatever happens to us today we may rejoice.[ Dear Lord fill us with Your Spirit so that whatever happens to us today we may rejoice in You. Amen]

He understands. [ Hebrews 4 v14-16 ]

Sometimes I am tempted to sin, [lets remember it is not a sin to be tempted] but then I think of the consequences if I yielded to that temptation, the consequences , to my family, friends, neighbours, myself, and the consequences with my relationship with my Lord. It is easy to sin, to taste that forbidden fruit, to be carried away with the emotion, and to justify what we do, on the grounds that we are hard done by.We will all be tempted in one way or another, make no mistake about that, until the day we die, so take care today, let us be on our gaurd. There is a gospel song which I like, it goes,/ Sometimes I feel discouraged , and feel my works in vain , Im tempted ,oh to murmur, to grumble ,and complain , but then I think of Jesus and what He,s done for me , then I cry to the rock of ages , hide thou me.[ Dear Lord we come to You in all our need,we thank You that You understand about temptation, for You were tempted, so today help us not to yield to temptation. Amen ]