They blew it. [2 Samuel 11-12]

Moses, David, and Peter, what did have in common?, they all blew it,Moses lost his temper,David lost his holiness,and Peter well mister infalliblity lost it doctrinally. Yet these were great men of God ,men, ah ,thats it , they were men, inperfect men, the greatest of men are but men, capable of sinning, capable of blowing it ,big time.Elijah the great prophet was a man subject to like passions as we are[ James 5v17], again that important point, he was a man. The best of men are but men, they are the same as you and I , they had their faults, and failings. So today let us pray for those great men and women of God, and let us learn the important lesson that we are all vunerable, no matter how long we have been a Christian,no matter how gifted we may be, no matter how God may be using us, we all can blow it. [ Dear God in your great mercy keep us from blowing it in Jesus name Amen ]

Our Calling.[ Mark 9 v35]

Servant to all, this my calling, that means I dont judge people, and I dont discriminate, irrespective of what they have done or who they are. Is this not what Jesus did, and this is what we , who are His followers are called to do. To be a servant is challenging, and costly,but whatever price we have to pay,it is only a feint reflection of the price our Saviours paid in His servanthood. Consider Jesus the servant, He humbled Himself ,humility is a very precious quality,but it is not always rewarded, or appreciated, but if it is real it will speak more than a thousand sermons. We all ,have much to learn about servanthood, [Luke 17v10],only one person served perfectly, Jesus, and today He calls us to follow Him, and if we do , then one fine day we will hear from Him ,well done My good and faithful servant. [Matthew 25 v21].[ Dear Lord Jesus help us to be more like You, to follow in Your footsteps, and to serve others, Amen ]

Remember [Psalm 121]

Let us remember that God has the final say in all things, it is not over until God says so. The children of Israel had there backs against the wall, [Exodus 14]thier enemies where about to destroy them , but it did not happen, God had the final say. So often we see this in the word of God, time after time, God has the final say. Look at the cross it looked like evil had triumphed, but God had the final say, God will always have the final say.Hitler boasted of setting up a thousand year reign, but God had the final say, He will always have the final say.Whatever situation we may be in let us remember God will have the final say, if you are not saved , God will have the final say[ Hebrews 10v27]. If you are saved, God will have the final say in all the affairs of your life, so do not despair,do not despair as regards the world situation, or your own personal situation. [ Dear God it often appears that the powers of darkness seem to be triumphant,in this world, help us to look to You, and to believe that You will have the final say in all things, in Jesus name, Amen ]

An abiding presence[ Hebrews 13v5-6]

In Matthew 28v20 we have these wonderful words spoken by our Saviour,/Lo I am with you always/,how important these words are for all who know Him. There are times we feel isolated, not many friends,in situations that are threatening,there are times we struggle in our commitment, the Christian is not immune from difficulties. Today let us all take those words spoken by our Saviour to heart, I am with you, we are not on our own, no, Jesus is with us, so take heart child of God. Whatever we have to face today we will not face it on our own, He will be with us, He is not just looking on, no He is there to help and comfort, to protect and to guide, to provide and encourage.In the book of Daniel we have the story of three young men[chap 3] ,who took a stand for God , the result was they where thrown into a firey furnace, and as the king looked on, he declared,/ I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God[v25. nkjv] The one who was with those young men in the fire ,is the one who will be with us ,in whatever situation we find ourselves in, even Jesus.[ Dear Lord Jesus thank You for being with us always. Amen ]

The Church. [ John 17v11 ]

I am a member of a small church, in the winter we move into a smaller room at the back of our building, a friend said, oh we are not meeting in the church. Many peoples concept of the church is the building, but of course that is not so ,the church is the people of God, they are the called out ones.When our Saviour said I will build my church [Matthew 16v18 ], it is obvious that He was not talking about a building, but a body of people. If we our Christians then we become part of that church, and we are called to meet with other believers[Hebrews 10v25],now of course the church is a body of imperfect people,and all that this means, but they are the ones we are commanded to love [John 15v12]. We may think we can do without the church ,but we cant, we need each other, and we need to stay connected. There will always be reasons to stay away from the church, always,I write from experience, but the fact of the matter is, I need them , and they need me, because I not connected to a building, but to a body of people, people whom Christ died for,and this same Christ told us to love them, and as my study Bible says,/Love should be the unifying force, and the identifying mark of the Christian community/.[Dear God thank You for your church , help us to love those who are part of that church, to even lay down our lives for them, in sacrificial love , in Jesus name Amen ]

Tell them.[ 1 John 4 v7-8 ]

I read this today,/Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them/, sometimes we dont think that those we love, need to hear this.As I look back on my childhood with my mum,gran, brothers and sisters, I can never remember hearing the words I love you spoken, oh that does,nt mean they didnt, but no one spoke those words. God is love, He shows it continually,if we have eyes to see,we just have to look to the cross to see love in all its fullness.But it is His word spoken that brings meaning to it, John 3v16,I wonder when was the last time you said to God you love Him?, tell Him today, and this will please Him, and tell someone you love them, mybe those simple words will encourage them.[ Our God and Father we love You in Jesus name Amen ]

Decipleship. [ Matthew 28v19-20]

The Christian life is very challenging, our Saviour spoke of making disciples [Matthew 28v19-20], what does that mean?, it means first of all a decision to accept Christ as our Saviour,this is followed by baptisim,and followed by learning to obey Jesus in all things. There where those who said they wanted to follow Jesus ,but when they were faced with what that meant they drew back [ Matthew 8 v18-22], there where those who started to follow Jesus, then give up[ John 6 v66] Before we become a Christian , we do it our way, or somebodies way,but becoming a Christian means we are deciding to go Christs way, we are deciding to become a disciple.[Dear Lord Jesus we ask that You would help us to see what it means to be a Christian, we pray that You would grant us the grace to become Your disciples. Amen ]