Marriage [ Ephesians 5 v21-33]

This a special day for my wife and I, it is our anniversary,we have been married 28yrs, 28yrs of living happly ever after. Well I would not describe it like that,we love each other dearly,but at times it has been a stormy affair, one of the important things I have had to learn is patience, I am still learning. When one is married ,there are many lessons to be learnt, and the most important is to love, and love, and love, not just the romantic love, but that special Christ love. As a Christian I have to love my wife as Christ loves His church [Ephesians5v25],and also to love her as I love myself [5v33]. My study Bible says,/ Marriage for Paul, is a holy union, a living symbol, a precious relationship that needs tender , self-sacrificing care/.[ Dear God we thank you for our husbands and our wives, grant us the grace ,to love each other as You love us, in Jesus name Amen.]

The call of God [Romans 12v1-8]

The call of God should not be restricted to missionaries, pastors, the call of God is all embracing of life, I believe that I have a calling on my life to preach. I have and am fullfilling this call , but I also believe I have been called to work with mentally ill people, this I have done for nearly 19yrs,I also have the call on my life to be a husband, and a call on my life to be a father, and a grandfather. All these are valid callings, we must not make little of any of them,all of life is sacred,as Christians we must recognize, the call of God on all our lives, in whatever role He has placed us. We are all called to serve God, it may be as a dustman, a doctor,a farmer, a preacher, a missionary, we must not undervalue any of these calls. Whatever our calling is ,it is important that we glorify our Saviour, by our lives and words .[ Dear God grant us the grace to glorify You in our calling, in Jesus name Amen ]

The call of God.[ Acts 8 v26-40]

In the Bible we read of God calling all sorts of people , a fisherman, a shepherd, a taxcollector, not only different people, but at different ages. Samuel was only a boy, David a young lad,Moses an old man, some like Moses and Jeremiah struggled with the call, but God was patient with them, and enabled them to rise to the task. The call of God for them was not optional, we see this in the life of Jonah, I suppose we may ask, do we have the option of saying no to the call of God?. I am not sure, but I do know ,I would have missed so much of Gods blessing in my life if I had stayed were I was. Hopefully I am still following that call on my life, and listening as to the next step I should take, and I am 65yrs of age.Elsie Yale wrote,/ Theres a work for Jesus , ready at your hand, Tis a task the Master,just for you has planned. Haste to do His bidding,yield Him service true. Theres a work for Jesus None but you can do./[Dear Lord help us to be odedient to Your call, to trust and obey, Amen ]

Shame. [ Matthew 26 v69-75 ]

The dictionary meaning of the word shame is,/Dishonour and disgrace, to loose the respect of others because of improper behaviour/. We live in a time when wrong is seen as right, and right is seen as wrong,there appears to be no feeling of shame, by so many. In Leviticus 21v6, God says to Israel,/that they were set apart to be holy and that they must never bring shame on the name of God/. I love the writings of Oscar Wilde, but he brought great shame on himself, and his family ,by his actions. Life will bring us into situations when we have to make a moral choice, if we make the wrong choice we will bring shame on ourselves, our families, and our God, if we make the right choice we avoid so much that is painful, and in particular, the pain of shame. A shameful act can stay with us for the rest of our lives, we will never regret making the right choice, but we most certainty will regret making the wrong choice.[ Dear God help us to make right choices in our lives,help us never to bring shame on ourselves, our families, and on You, in Jesus name Amen ]

He will make a way.[ Exodus 14 ]

Sometimes we are faced with situations and circumstances , and there appears to be no way out, the Israelites were in such a situation /Exodus 14/, in their case, God had brought them into this place. They were trapped, their enemy, it seemed ,was about to destroy them, those who survived would be taken back to Egypt as slaves.The situation was desperate, they were facing a well trained army, they were no match for them, the game was up, or so it seemed.Yet God had a plan and a purpose ,He was going to receive great glory, by delivering His people, and this He did,Moses declares,/ The Lord Himself will fight for you, just stay calm[14v14]/, and He did, and they were delivered, God made a way. There is a modern song which tells us that God will make a way were there appears to be no way, what ever difficulty we may be facing in our lives , God can make a way, so stay calm ,He can deliver, He can provide, He can make a way. [Dear God we bring our situation to You, and ask that You would make a away, in Jesus name Amen ]

We have a choice.[ Psalm 118 v24]

Monday morning again, some people would like Monday mornings removed, but what can we replace it with?. As we start our working week we can either face it with joy, or depressing thoughts, the choice is ours. Life can be seen as meaningless,[Ecclesiastes 2v11], or we can look at it as a gift from God, an opportunity to serve the Lord by helping others.We can begin this day with sadness, or we can say in the words of the Psalmist,/ This is the day that the Lord has made ,we will rejoice and be glad in it [118v24]/, whats it going to be? I know what I am going to choose, so roll on Monday morning.[ Dear Heavenly Father help us to rejoice in You today in Jesus name Amen ]

Love is. [ 1 Corinthians 13 ]

On this valentines day we turn our thoughts to the subject of love ,not romantic love, but Christian love.We become upset when certain Christians , we call them liberals do not accept certain doctrines, or people dont use the translation that Paul used, but we fail to rise to the challenge of Christian love.Now of course Christian doctrine is important , we need to hold fast to truth, but if I have not Christian love, if I am unforgiving, if I am not patient, if I am proud,rude, boastful, demanding my own way, irritable, keep a record of wrongs done to me, can I say I am loving?. And if I am not loving then ,no matter about my soundness in doctrine, my Christianity does not amount to much. Our Saviour was faced with people who held a mixture of truth and tradition, they majored in those things, but they failed in love[Matthew 23][ God of truth and love we ask that You would help us to be people of truth and love, in Jesus name Amen ]