Neglect not such a good idea. [ Luke 18v1 ]

Yesterday I wrote of helping ,when we pray for others, I believe when we pray we are helping ourselves, we recieve benefits, we are strengthened[ Isaiah 40v31], we are heard by God our loving Heavenly Father, [1 Peter 3v12], we recieve grace to help in our times of need,[Hebrews 4v16]. The list can go on and on,as regards the benefits we experience when we pray, and they are vital to us, as vital as eating and drinking. To neglect prayer is to deprive ourselves of so much that God has for us, so much that is good and beneficial to our well being. In James 4 v2 we read,/ you dont have what you want , because you dont ask God for it/, let us take these words to heart, and let us not neglect prayer, let us make all our needs known to God, for our Saviour said ask and you shall recieve[ Matthew 7v 7][ Dear Lord we thank You for prayer, help us today to avail ourselves of the privllege of meeting with You, with the assurance that You hear and will answer . Amen ]

Helping.[ James 5 v 17-18]

A friend of mine used to say, if you cant help ,then dont hinder,in 2 Corinthians1v11, the apostle Paul writes,/ you are helping by praying for us/. I saw a brother during the week, he has been through a lot of difficulties ,divorce,lost his church, possible mental breakdown.In the brief moment I saw him ,all I could say was, I am praying for you,he said he was grateful for that. I take encouragement from what the apostle wrote to those early Christians,you are helping by praying for us,prayer is not just an added extra, it is the vital ingredient in every situation. We are helping others by praying for them, so dont give up praying for others, God is listening, and He will respond .[ Dear God thank You that we can help others by simply praying for them, that our prayers can make a difference, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Naughty but nice. [James 1v 13-15]

When we are tempted it is always with something that appears good and promises to satisfy,when the devil tempted Eve, she looked at the tree and its fruit looked delicious [Genesis3v6]. Sin often comes dressed in clothes of finery, king David looked and saw a women of unusual beauty,[2Samuel 11v2]but she was a married woman, he looked then he took. How appropriate are the words in the Lords prayer,/ Lead us not into temptation[ Matthew 6v13] or dont let us yield to temptation, Temptation can be very strong, we are weak,consider Samson[ Judges 16],he yielded to temptation, and he lost his strength, his eyes,and his freedom, we will always loose out, when we yield to temptation. So today if we are tempted let us ask the Saviour to help us, he is willing to aid us, He will carry us through.[ Dear Lord help us in the hour of temptation,not to yield. Amen ]

Mountains. [ Matthew 17 v20]

Jesus said that is possible to move mountains,simply by faith [Matthew 17v20],so often there are mountains in our lives, what is your mountain today?. Got any river you think are uncrossable, got any mountains , you cant tunnel through. God specializes in things thought impossible, so wrote Oscar Eliason. Well said Jesus there is an answer, faith,sounds simple, well it is,but we find it hard to take Jesus at His word.[Let me say the most important mountain that needs to be removed is sin, people will try all sorts of things to move that mountain, and go to all sorts of strange people and places to remove that mountain, instead of having faith in Jesus.] Dear fellow Christian if you are facing a mountain look afresh to your Saviour,exercise faith in Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think.[Ephesians 3v20] [ Dear Lord Jesus grant us the grace of faith in You to remove those mountains that we are faced with, Amen ]

Be on time. [2 Corinthians 6 v2 ]

I heard a Lou Armstrong song, the last one he recorded, and the words that struck me were,/ we have all the time in the world/. The question is, have we?, when it comes to salvation we are exhorted to grasp the opportunity, to seek the Lord while He can be found to call on Him while He is near, [Isaiah 55v 6]. The old gospel hymn went ,/ be on time ....if in sin you longer wait ,you may find no open gate, and your cries be just to late ,be in time/. We all know what it is to arrive at the train station, only to find the train is gone, if one worked in Belfast shipyard years ago, they were very strict in relation to time keeping, if you arrived late you would be locked out, and you would loose a days pay. When we hear the gospel message, we are not meant to dilly dally along the way, we are meant to respond there and then, if we dont ,we are in danger of being locked out , and it wont be a days pay we will loose, it will be our soul. [ Dear God help us to see the importance of instant obedience in all things ,but especially in relation to the gospel, in Jesus name. Amen]

Anticipation[ Matthew 6 v25-34 ]

I wonder are you like me? in that you sometimes anticipate certain situations, I am sure many in Israel anticipated David being defeated by Goliath [1 Samuel17], and when Daniel was thrown into the den of lions, there were those who anticipated , he would be eaten up[Daniel 6]. Consider also the death of our Saviour, many ,even the disciples,thought that was the end, they anticipated the worse .The fact of the matter is, all these people were wrong, what they anticipated did not happen, why? , God, He had other plans, and what ever He plans and purposes will happen.Today whatever our situation and circumstances are ,let us not anticipate the worse, let us trust our God to overrule for our good as He has promised[ Romans 8v 28 ]. William Cowper wrote,/ Ye fear saints , fresh courage take, the clouds you so much dread, are big with mercy , and shall break in blessings on your head/. [Dear God we commit all our circumstances , and situations into Your hands, help us to not anticipate the worse, but to simply trust in Your overruling providence, in Jesus name. Amen]

Why did I worry?

All went well on my travels , I did not have to use my sat-nav , it happened just as I had requested,it was a travel free journey. After all I had prayed, and God answers prayer,this is what we are supposed to do about those things that give us concerns,pray and trust even though we may still be anxious, and God will answer. Philippians 4v6-7, tells us ,/Do not be anxious about anything, instead , pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience Gods peace, which exceeds anything you can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus/. So why not do this right now,and begin to practice it continually, till it becomes second nature to us, dont let our anxieties drive us from God let them drive us to Him.[ Father we acknowledge that we are weak, often fearful and anxious about different things, so today we bring all our anxieties to You, right now, and trust in Your loving care , a care that will always do whats best for us, in Jesus name .Amen ]