A man of God. [Revelation 14 v 13]

I would encourgage you read the life of William Carey who lived in the 18th- 19th century , he was a wonderful man of God, he came from a very humble background, and was by trade a shoemaker. He was a man of great learning could speak a number of languages, he had to contend with so many difficulties,but he had this tremendous quality, perseverance, he just didnt give up.and when he died in India, the word of God had been translated and printed into forty languages, and six hundred native Indians had trusted Jesus.One of the things he said was,/ Expect great things from God,and attempt great things for God/, and he did just that. [Dear God help us to be like Your servant William Carey, to persevere, help us to see that the God of William Carey is our God, and help us to accomplish something of value for our dear Saviour, in whose name we ask this . Amen ]

Our enemy. [ Genesis 3 ]

Dont let the enemy spoil the blessing, yes we have an enemy, he goes by a number of names,the word of God says that he even disguises himself as an angel of light ,and those who serve him are also disguised as servants of righteousness .[2 Corinthians 11v15-16] It is in 1Peter5v8 ,we read,/Stay alert . Watch out for your enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. This enemy will not only try to spoil what we have, but he will seek even to devour us, he is a powerful foe ,one just has to look at the world to see what havoc he is causing.So today stay alert, resistance is not futile, it is vital,and can be successful,/ [James 4v7 ], our enemy is strong but our Saviour is stronger, and through Him we can know the victory.[ Dear God in the name of Your Son Jesus grant us the victory over our enemy the devil, today. Amen ]

Secure [ Matthew 6 v 19-34 ]

Many people are feeling very insecure, their jobs are on the line, their health is not great,the list goes on, feeling insecure is part of the human condition. I am continually being challenged to keep God always as the center of my life, and to remind myself that He is my security, not my job, my family, not my health, not my friends, not my bank account. It is one thing writing this , preaching this, than actually living the truth that God is my security,we hold on to our supposed securities, not lightly but tightly, and if they are threatened, we break out in a cold sweat. Today I am reminding myself and you, that the securist place in life is in God, the more we have of this worlds goods the harder it becomes to really see God as our security, we hold on to things like grim death. If I put God first, then I will be secure, I am not saying we should act thoughtlessly or foolishly but that we be careful that we see were our true security lies, in our loving Heavenly Father. [Father in Heaven thank You for blessing us with so much,help us to not to be fooled, into thinking that our security lies in the blessings,rather than the one who has blessed us , even You, in Jesus name . Amen ]

There are the positives. [ Psalm 23 ]

Sometimes we are very negative about ourselves, one of my clients use to say there are no positives, but he was wrong . I know that we are all sinners and what that means, but I also believe that as a child of God there is much in life that I can praise God for, there are the positives. I dont think we should live under a cloud, yes I know life can be a struggle, but we can experience victory even in our struggles, personally, I can look at life and praise God that I brought up five lovley lads,and at sixty five, still working, the list goes on, the Grace of God has saved and kept me. If you are feeling down today, for whatever reason, if you are a child of God,try not to give in to the negative thoughts, consider the positives, and praise God. [ Dear Lord thank you for the positive things in our lives, help us not to give ourselves over to negative thoughts, help us to think about that which is ,true, right , honourable, pure , lovely,and admirable. Amen ]

Defeat [ Romans 8v37 ]

In the account of Scott of the Antartic , a story of great bravery, not because they reached the South Pole first but because of the courage they showed , even in missing their given goal. Defeat in many areas of life is just as important as success, Dunkirk was a terrible defeat for the British army, and yet it brought great inspiration to a nation at a time when hope was at a minimum. Look at the cross ,see Jesus hanging on it, to those who crucified Him it appeared that they had defeated Him, but of course they had not, for in that apparent defeat Christ was winning the greatest victory ever wrought. Sin could now be forgiven, Satans power was broken, hope to the hopeless was given, all this and more out of an apparant defeat. We will all experience a defeat of some kind in our lives, a marriage breakdown, a temptation we have yielded to, again,a business failure,let us look at the cross and take hope, the God who brought good out of an apparant failure, can turn ,even our failures into victories. [ Dear God grant us the grace to arise from our defeats, to forget those things that are past, and press on to victory, in Jesus name .Amen ]

Dont panic. [1 Kings 19 ]

If, wrote Rudyard Kipling, /You can keep your head when all about you, are losing theirs and blaming it on you/, and as you read this you say to yourself if only I could. Life is full of so much that can cause us to be driven, to panic, to react in unhelpful ways, we all do it. The great prophet Elijah panicked He ran away, became depressed, lay down and asked God that he might die, it all kicked in when he was threatened[ 1Kings 19], he had a panic attack. It was Jones in Dads Army[A tv program] who used to cry out ,dont panic, as he himself panicked. The question is what can we do if Panic sets in?,when we feel like running away?is it possible to keep our head when all around are losing theirs?. Well let us return to Elijah,how did he get through his time of panic?, well it all came to a head on a mountian when he was alone with God, and on that mountain he heard the still small voice of God, a gentle whisper, in the midst of our panic get alone with God, and listen.[ Oh God help us in our times of panic, to be still and know that You are in control, who has not forsaken us,help us to call upon You , and to listen to Your still small voice, in Jesus name . Amen ]

Feeling irritable . [1 Corinthians 13]

Felt irritable this morning with her who must be obeyed, it does not take much for most of us to get irritable with people, with the children , the dog, the neighbours. It is in 2 Corinthians 10v1, we read of ,/ the gentleness and kindness of Christ/, I must do a lot of things that could cause my Lord to be irritable , but He is,nt,no He is patient,kind and believe it or not ,is never irritable with me. My study Bible says this,/Much irritability comes from a love of perfection, a deep desire that programs, meetings, and structures be run perfectly/, and goes on to say,/ Those who are easily irritated need to remember that perfection exsists only in God. We need to love Him and our fellow Christians, not the visions we have for perfection here on earth. [ Dear Lord thank You for being patience with us, we acknowledge we do so many things that could justify You become irritable with us, but You never are, instead You are patient, gentle and kind, grant us the grace today to treat others as You treat us. Amen.]