Am I a prisoner?. [ John 8 v 32-36 ]

While on holiday we visited York,and I noticed outside the cathedral, a cage with two young men in it,my curiosity drew me to it,the two young men were staying in their cage to emphasize,that people are prisoners,and that they need to be set free from their sin, by Jesus. The prophet Isaiah wrote of Jesus as one who would,/Open the blind eyes, bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house[42v7]/ The world is continually crying out about freedom, from poverty, freedom of speech, the list goes on, these are all reminders that man for all his advancements, is far from free.Our Saviour has come to bring true freedom, a freedom that sets people free from their sin, and its consequences,let us make no mistake ,the best of us, are slaves to our sinful natures,and there is only one remedy,the Lord Jesus. William Sleeper wrote the following words,/Out of my bondage ,sorrow and night, Jesus I come, Jesus I come. Into Thy freedom , gladness and night,Jesus I come to Thee/. [ Dear God thank You that through Your Son we can know true freedom, Amen ]

We are not clones. [Joshua 1 ]

Moses had died, and now Joshua is the new leader, what an act to follow,poor Joshua, people would always be comparing him with Moses. They would be saying ,Moses would not have done it that way,but them , he is not Moses, he is Joshua, we are not meant to be like our predecessors, we are to be ourselves, thats the way God meant it to be. I have five sons ,they are all different,they have different personalities, strengths , weaknesses, gifts, thats the way God made them. God has no favourites, he loves us equally, and has made us as we are, He does not want us to live in the shadow of others, He wants us all to feel that we are loved, God tells Joshua, /As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee, I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.[Joshua 1 v5 ] [ Dear God we thank You for making us as we are , that we are not clones, but individuals with our own personalities,gifts and abilities,help us, and use us as You will, in Jesus name, Amen ] [ I am on holiday for a week , so no blog]

Follow Me. [ John 10 v27 ]

Follow Me says Jesus, in fact He said it many times, and He keeps saying it many times to me,when He saved me, when He restored me ,in fact He says it everyday to me, and to you. Everyday brings with it the challenging words of our Saviour, follow Me, these words mean just that, following Him, I stress the word Him, not the crowd, not the changing fashion of this world, or even our own ideas , but Him. People are usually following something or someone, , Jesus says follow Me, am I prepared to do this today?, following Him will involve a cost,it will often involve being misunderstood, being criticized, but it brings with it the challenge to love, to sacrifice,and it is the path of blessing. [ Dear Saviour help us to follow you today ,Amen ]

Dont do it. [ Matthew 7 v 1-5 ]

In Matthew 7 our Saviour tells us something ,we need to be reminded of continually ,judging others, He says we are not to do it, He illustrates the point, in v3,which reads,And why worry about the speck in your friends eye, when you have a log in your own.I listen to some people criticising other peoples children, and I remember what they were like as children. Lets be honest none of us were perfect children, and none of us had perfect children, likewise none of us were perfect parents,I cringe when I think of my lack of parenting skills. People will be judging others for their driving, judging we are all into it to some degree, listen to Jesus ,dont do it, and He says if we do ,we will be judged. [ Dear God help us not to judge others, help us to pray more for others, help us to treat others as we would like to be treated, in Jesus name Amen ]

Humor [ Proverbs 15 v13-15 ]

Humor is something that can be such a blessing if it is not hurtful, my wife wears a mask over her eyes at night , so I asked her was she joining the lone ranger club, or even Zorro,s. she had just woken up so mybe she didnt appreciate my comments. I try to tell jokes, I say try, but not everyone appreciates my humour, sometimes I tell a joke or say something humourist and it back fires on me. We do need those people who make us laugh, thats why they are so popular, humor can be used in many ways ,to diffuse tense situations,to lift someones spirit. I always turn to the cartoon strip in the paper,recently I saw one that made me laugh,it goes like this,/A mans will was being read out,it read/ I being of sound mind and a believer in reincarnation ,I leave everything to my self. [Let me say I dont believe in reincarnation] Dear God we thank you for those people who make us laugh, grant that today we may brighten someones life,in Jesus name Amen]

He is at work. [ Genesis 50 v 19-21 ]

God is working His purpose out ,so wrote the hymn writer, sometime it does not seem like it, and yet He is, to us life may appear a mess, a tangle thread ,that can never be straightened out, to our natural senses we think, we see, we hear so much,that challenges Gods sovereignty. Like Jacob of old we can give into despair [Genesis 42v36 ], but He soon discovered the very opposite, that in fact God was working everything out for his good. God is working His purpose out even though at this time in ones life we may not see it,our prayers are being heard,and in response to them ,the answer is on its way,so let us hang in there, by faith, and we will not be disappointed. [ Dear God forgive our blind unbelief, grant us the faith, to see, that You are on the throne and You have not forgotten Your own ,in Jesus name Amen ]

Families. [Matthew 19 v14 ]

We have four of our grandchildren staying with us ,aged from 14yrs to 10mths,it bears in upon me the difficulties of having a quite time. Looking after children is a full time job, I dont know how some women manage a full time job,but many do, to their credit.Today let us remember families,our culture puts them under pressure ,material,moral,phyisical, no wonder so many families break up. Let us pray for parents and children today, let us not judge difficult families, or children, let us pray for a spiritual awakening.[ Dear God have mercy upon the families in our communities, help them to cope, and in Thy mercy bring them into Your family, in Jesus name Amen]