A minefield.[ 1 Thessalonians5v23-24]

Two things happened yesterday, that caught me unawares, they were a bit upsetting ,when you are dealing with people , anything can happen, be it family, friends, neighbours or whoever.Where you have people you will always have potential problems, and you and I may be the cause of the problem.we may not be , but here is the challenge what would Jesus have us do ?. There are different things we can do, be forgiving, ask for forgiveness,be humble, pray about it, we need daily wisdom, ask for it, we need grace, ask for it. In the end there may not be much we can do, but just commit things to God,and leave it with Him .[ Lord sometimes life appears to be a minefield, so this day help us to walk with humility ,wisdom and love . Amen ]

Be careful [John 14 v6 ]

I mentioned recently that I saw the movie Avatar and I felt a bit of unease with it, so it was interesting when I saw a headline in the Daily Mail,/ A word on Avatars/. Seemingly the word Avatar originates out of Hindu tradition ,referring to the descent of the god Vishnu descending in human or animal form to restore righteousness on earth. There are ten Avatars , the most famous is Krisna,so read the letter to the Mail. I know we can see spiritual truths,in so much, but we must do so with much caution, there is no gospel according to Avatar. The movie I stress is there baslcally to entertain, not to promote the gospel or any other religion, If we want truth then we must turn to Gods word, and to Jesus who alone is the truth, so be careful in how you spiritualize things. [ Dear God in a world of much confusion , help us to judge all things according to Your word, and Your Son Jesus , Amen ]

Generous [ Matthew 5 13- 16 ]

I read these words in the Message, from Matthew 5,/Be generous with your lives/,, they bring a challenge first of all to be generous. Our Lord was generous ,when He performed the miracle of the loaves and the fishes [John 6]everyone was fed ,everyone,the good the bad ,everyone. Generous, there seems to me,that there is contradiction, in a Christian who is mean, the challenge is to be generous, but it goes further than that, it says be generous with our lives,this goes further than financial giving, a friend of mine works in a residential home ,she is past retirement age, yet she works long hours in caring for others. Being generous with our lives brings a big challenge,but as we take the challenge up, we are following in the footsteps of Him who laid down His life for us. [ Dear God we give You thanks for Your generosity towards us , in giving Jesus , and all that that means, and also You generosity to us in a multitude of ways each day , help us to be generous .Amen]

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 ]