Do it. [James 1 v22-25]

I am reading the book of James at this time ,it is a very precious book, and very instructive, it touches on the importance of works in our Christian lives, of godly wisdom, of enduring under trials, of loving others. It is a very practical book, do spend time reading it,and praying over it, and above all else living it ,the word of God be it the book of James ,or whatever book in the Bible is meant to be obeyed. The bible is not meant to be worshipped,or just listened to,we are to be doers of the word,it was Mary who said,as regards our Saviour,/Do whatever He tells you/[John 2v5]. As you meet with other Christians to hear the word of God, put aside your criticism of the preacher, or the translation he is using, and listen to what God is saying, and obey it.[ Dear God thank You for Your Word, helps us all , to obey it, in Jesus name Amen ]

All this and heaven to.[Psalm 107]

The old hymn goes ,/ count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done/. As I survey my life ,I am so conscious , of how God has blessed me, how He has provided for me, and continues to provide,yes His provision does not cease. I have so much in my life to praise God for, materially, I have a nice home, a job which I love, five lovley sons, a lovely car,I have just returned from a nice holiday, and so I could go on. I trully can say goodness and mercy has followed me all the days of my life. Oh yes there has been pain and disappointments ,things are not perfect, but I have a wonderful promise which assures me that all things are working together for my good.[Romans 8 v28]. On top of all these blessings I have the assurance that I am going to heaven, that I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.[ Dear Loving Father so often we are full of complaints, but today we want to thank You for every blessing, in name of Jesus, Amen ]

Hell. [ Revelation 20 v11-15 ]

Then you will feel better about what I have done in Jerusalem......you will understand that these things , so reads the word of God to Ezekiel [14v22-23]. Judgement was about to fall on Jerusalem, the prophet was possible struggling to come to terms with it, so God speaks those words. Likewise the doctrine of Hell is not easy to come to terms with, the fact that God is a judge, for some it is hard to come to terms with, it all appears to severe ,to some even cruel, so we end up ignoring this truth, or rejecting it.But just as the Lord said to the prophet Ezekiel, we will understand, yes even Hell and its awfulness, is just, and that all men are deserving of it. [Dear God help us to accept all Your truth, even the doctrine of Hell, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Choose Wisely. [James 1 v12-18]

The wonderful thing about knowing Christ is freedom,before we become Christians we were not free, [ John 8v34]the hymn writer declares ,my chains fell off, I rose and followed Thee. The question is when we become Christians , what do we do with our freedom?,can I go to certain places, can I do certain things?. Of course there are obvious things we shouldnt do, steal ,commit adultery, lie,these and other things we should not do.In 1Corinthians6v12, we read,/not everything is good for you. And even though, I am allowed to do everything, I must not become a slave to anything/.There will be things that appear right, but they may not be right for us, they could become a snare to us, and harm us spiritually.Remember Christ wants us to remain free, not to become involved in things that makes us slaves again. [ Dear Lord we thank You for setting us free, help is to stay free,help us not to be lured into anything that could harm us spiritually, help us to make the right choices. Amen ]

They are watching [ Acts 1 v8]

In the book of Ezekiel chapter 12v6, God says to the prophet,/ I have made you a sign for the people/, it has been said that no one lives unto themselves, no man is an Island. Today people are watching ,they will be making judgments on what they see, if we are Christians, we must take this serious. We are to be signs to people about spiritual realities, about Christ,for they are watching, observing what we do , and what we say. Our children are watching, our neighbours are watching, our work colleagues are watching, the person on the supermarket till is watching, the question is what will they observe?. God is saying to all of us who know the Lord as Saviour, I have made you a sign.[ Dear Lord grant us the grace to be a sign for good,a sign that points all whom we come into contact with, to You. Amen ]

When we sin [ Ephesians 4v30 ]

I like to think that I would not hurt anybody, but sometimes I do, and of course people can hurt me, sometimes I think the world is full of hurting people. Country and western songs often reflect hurting people,likewise the song ,/The streets of London,/ or the Beatles singing,about all the lonely people. If we read the daily newspaper, or listen to the news, or observe people, hurting is the name of the game although it is no game, its real and for so many very painful. I was reading the book of Ezekiel and I read something that caused me to pause and think, it is God speaking about how He feels , yes God has feelings, and in chapter 6 v9, God is speaking about His people, He declares,/How hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes/. Let us remember these words today, when we are tempted to sin, in word, thought, or deed, if we yield ,we will be hurting God, and I am sure thats the last thing in the world we would want to do.[ Dear God forgive us for all the times we hurt You, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Darkness and Light.[ John 8 v12]

While on holiday in Ibiza, staying on the farm, I went out at night and looked up at the stars, unlike where I live in England , I could see so many more, because I was in a place were the darkness did not have to compete with the light ,one has living in a populated area. In the Bible we read ,/ The light shines in the darkness , and the darkness can never extinguish it/[ John 1 v5],where there is light , the darkness has to flee. When we accept Jesus as our Saviour, we are accepting one who said,/ I am the light of the world, if you follow Me, you wont walk in darkness,because you will have the light that leads to life/.[John 8 v12] Today we can choose to either walk in darkness or in the light,if we are not a Christian we are in the darkness,which is manifest ,by our deeds,our beliefs, our desires[John 3 v19]. If we are Christians we should manifest light in our lives, by our deeds, our beliefs, and our desires, it is an evidence that we have accepted Him who is the light of the world.[Dear God we thank You for sending Jesus into the world to lighten our darkness. Amen ]