Weakness [ Matthew 16v24-25]

Why does God often do the opposite to what we think?, we pray to be stronger, and we are made weaker,[ Judges 7]we pray for health and we recieve sickness,we pray for greater areas of service and we find ourselves given less. Well there are different reasons, for God acting in ways that are contrary to what we think.[1]God gets the glory through our weakness.[2]We learn valuable lessons, like humility,and a healthy dependance on God.[3] Christlike character is formed in us.[ Dear God we struggle with weakness, we want success, we want the perfect marriage, perfect health,perfect job, perfect children, we want prosperity, and then You point us to the cross, and we hear our Saviour say follow Me. Amen ]

Stubbornness.[ Matthew 23v37]

Are you a stubborn person?children can be very stubborn, you see this often in a supermarket,the mother tries to put the child into the shopping trolley,and its like the child has suddenly developed superhuman strength, and lungs. I am glad I dont have to deal with that anymore, it is called the battle of the wills, who is going to win the parent or the child?. For us to become a Christian ,the will is involved, and without exception we are all stubborn,it is part of our fallen nature, we are not so different to the child and the shopping trolley.If you have been resisting the gospel, I would encourage you , to think about the mother and the child, the child may not realize it, but the mother loves that child. In the trolley the child is out of harms way,a loving parent will always seek whats best for their children, even though they may not realize it. God without exception loves everybody, He is always seeking whats best for us, and whats best, is to be found in trusting His Son Jesus. So today stop struggling, and yield to Christ.[ Dear God of love help us to see that You always want whats best for us, help us to stop being stubborn, and to yield to Your loving will, in Jesus name Amen]

Clean the lenses.[ Romans 8 v28 ]

We wear glasses to help us to see ,but sometimes they appear not to be helping, until we realize that we need to clean the lenses, and then what a difference. There is an old saying about not seeing the forest for the trees, , often in life all I can see is the problem,the difficulty, and I become frustrated, and angry, and it is then I need to clean the lenses, by applying Gods word into that situation, and to look at things spiritually. When I do this, I am reminded that I am not a victim of circumstances,I am a child of God, and my Heavenly Father is watching over me,and yes ,I will say it again for we all need continually to be reminded of this truth ,that God is causing all things to work together for my good and yours, dear child of God,so clean your lenses today, and look at things spiritually.[ Dear God every day can bring new challenges and we confess to You that often we struggle, so today help us not to struggle, but help us to rest in You, in Jesus name. Amen ]

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 ]