Disruption [Romans 8 v28 ]

A group of us went to take a service at a local hospice, only to find it was not possible, I was going to speak and sing, so a member of our group suggested that we pray for the patients in the hospice, this we did. Often as Robert Burns wrote,/The best laid schemes of mice and men, often go astray/,yes we make our plans, but none of us can be certain that everything will go as planned. So many people never invite God into their plans, yes even Christians, and James says such an attitude is evil [ 4v16]. Today let us acknowledge God in all our ways, and not after the event,and if disruptions come ,do what my friend suggested ,pray , bring God into the situation, Im sure what the hospice needed in the providence of God at that time was our prayers, not my preaching.[ Dear God we thank you for your over-ruling providence in all our lives, help us to be at peace when our plans are disrupted, and to pray, in Jesus name Amen ]

Simple faith [ Hebrews 11]

A friend bought me a book for Christmas,written by Professor Edgar Andrews called,/ Who made God?/, I am enjoying reading it, I am at page 69, so I cannot give a full accessment of it. The author appears to be challenging those people who say science proves there is no God,and the wider argument that is no God. Going back to my Bible college days I remember being told we could not prove that there is a God,for me personally as the apostle Paul points out, Gods creation,is an evidence,[ Romans 1v20]. It is right that the no goders are challenged,but in the end for us Christians it is simply a matter of faith, Hebrews 11v3, reads,/ By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at Gods command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen/, also v6 reads,/Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists/.[ Dear God we come to You in simple faith, we surrender our intellect to You, help us by Your grace to not give up our faith, but to trust in You with all our hearts, in Jesus name, Amen ]

Its only make believe.[ Proverbs 14v12. av]

I saw the new movie Avatar yesterday, it is a wonderfully made movie, but I got the impression the writer , producer was trying to get over some sort of message, I felt a bit of unease in my spirit, as I watched it. Still it is only a movie , its only make believe,it is only there to entertain, it is the real world that we live in that should concern us, a world that covers up so much, a world that loves darkness rather than light. A world that is full of idols, a world that is at odds with their creator, a world that wants to do it their way,a way that leads only to death.[ Proverbs 14v12] There is only one way that leads to life, faith in Him who is the life , even Jesus [John 14 v6 ], this is not make believe, thought up by some writer, it is Gods way, to ignor it, or reject it, has very serious consequences, to embrace it, takes us out of the world of make believe and into a world of reality. [Dear God we so often want to escape reality, and in so doing we accept the make believe things, help us to see ,open our eyes and enable us to open our hearts to Him ,who is the way the truth and the life, even Jesus Your son Amen ]

Onward ever onward, and upward.[Hebrews 11v13-16]

Tennyson wrote ,/Ring out the old, ring in the new/,whatever the new may hold for any of us it is vital that we keep our eyes on our ultimate goal. Someone once wrote of roads that went nowhere, we are not on a road that is going nowhere , we have a destination, our heavenly homeland. We are but strangers and pilgrims here, this world is not our home, we must not dwell on the past, or even the present, but the road that lies ahead, and eternal glory. We must,/strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.And [let us] run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith/[ Hebrews 12v1-2 ].[ Dear God help us to keep our eyes on Jesus as we head towards heaven and home. Amen ]

Another year [Lamentations 3 v22-23]

So here we are at the end of another year,as I look back I am grateful for many things, holidays,renewal of friendships,Gods ongoing provision, patience,care,strength,help,protection,enabling,and so the list goes on and on, I am sure we all have our list.Let us remember Gods goodness will not cease with the ending of another year, His grace will not dry up,His love will not cool towards us, His mercy will not cease, as He was, so He will continue to be,for He is the unchanging One.Our grip on Him may weaken ,but His grip on us will not,we may enter periods of darkness ,but He will be our light. Like the Psalmist I can say,/Once I was young, and now I am old.Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned[Psalm 37 v25 ] [ Dear God we thank You for Your great faithfulness,in the year that is coming to an end, we praise You for all that is past, and trust You for all that is to come ,in Jesus name Amen]

Looking staight ahead [ Matthew 14v22-33]

In Pilgrims progress by John Bunyan, Christian the main character, gets into all sorts of bother, when he fails to go straight on, the result , he falls into a swamp called the, slough of despond, and likewise when he and his companion fall into the clutches of Giant despair.So Christian declares,/Out of the way we went, and then we found, what twas to tread on forbidden ground/,for the Christian there is much forbidden ground, I read that a French psychologist said that it was good to have extra marital affairs it helped marriage. It is easy to embace sin,dressed up in, fallen human reasoning, and when we do , we will suffer, and so will others. So today let us not enter forbidden ground, but let us look straight ahead, and fix our eyes on what lies before us, to mark out a straight path for our feet,to stay on the safe path. Let us not get sidetracked, but keep our feet from following evil [ Proverbs 4v25-27] [ Dear Lord help us not to be sidetracked today into those things that could harm us and others ,help us at all times to keep our eyes on You. Amen ]

God strong [Ephesians 6 v10-20 ]

In Zechariah 10v12, I read these words,/ By my power I will make my people strong/,these words remind us we cannot walk a spiritual life of victory in our natural self. David did not defeat Goliath in his natural self [1 Samuel 17v45-47], Samson did not kill a lion ,[Judges 14v5-6],and do many other mighty deeds in his own strength. So it is we will not know victory over our enemies ,be it the devil, the world, or the flesh, in our own strength. The fact of the matter is we are weak in ourselves, what ever difficulties we are facing today,we will only know victory in the strength of the Lord. So today be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, so we will be able to resist the enemy.[ Ephesians6v10ff], so we can say that like the apostle we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.[ Philippians 4 v13] [ Dear God help us to be strong by Your Spirit, as we face temptation, as we seek to serve you, in Jesus name . Amen ]