The waiting game. [ Psalm 40 ]

I am sure we all have had the experience of tired of waiting, to the point that we give up, this is understandable in many cases,but not in the case of the Lord. Psalm 40v1 reads ,I waited patiently for the Lord,one of the most important aspects of our relationship with God , is trust, and along with that ,patience. If God has given us a promise we must trust God to fulfill it, and often it involves been patient, the promise is all we have to go on, but God who cannot lie will fulfill it.[ Titus 1 v2 ]God promised Abram that he would have a child by Sarah,and instead of waiting, for God to work ,they became impatient,and they leaned upon their own understanding, and acted in a way that was not in accordance with Gods purpose. Inspite of this God was faithful and fulfilled His word, but this account is a reminder for us all ,to be patient, and to trust God to fulfill His word to us.[ Dear God help me to be patient, help me to trust you to fulfill Your word to me , in Jesus name Amen ]

What can we do?. [Psalm 34]

Winter is closing in fast, I have heard the word snow mentioned on the weather forecast, it is enough to make make one shiver, still I have warm clothes, a warm home, and a warm car.We cannot do much about the weather, I suppose we can complain, but what good will that do?, none. Lets face it there are things we cannot do anything about, things we cannot change,the weather is one of those things. So the question is this ,what can we do, with the things we cannot change, our age,our health,our circumstances?.We can become descouraged, and even bitter,or we can look up,that is a simple thing to do ,or so it seems, but sometimes we forget ,or find it hard to do,but it is the most positive thing we can do, we can look up,and remind ourselves that ,our help comes from the Lord [Psalm121 v1-2 ].We can also look at Gods word,for in that wonderful book the bible, there are words of instruction, and words of encouragement, especially in the book of the Psalms, if we are letting things get us down read Psalm 34,pray over it meditate upon it. [Dear God help me to look to You today,and help me to see that You are with me, inspite of those things I cannot change, in Jesus name Amen ]

The travelling people. [ Hebrews 11v 8-16 ]

The only way for the Christian is forward, if we are Christians there can be no going back or even looking back [ Luke 9 v62 ],onward ever onward must be our motto, we are strangers and pilgrims ,[Hebrews 11v 13 ]. We have Jesus saying these words Follow Me, if we are following we are on the move, though none go with us ,still we must follow. We are travellers on a journey, and our destination is heaven,people on the move, the book by John Bunyan , Pilgrims progress, illustrates the nature of the journey we are on, do read it.The first thing we must do on our Journey is to keep our eyes on Jesus,[ Hebrews 12 v 2], next we must persevere, this is set out in a hymn by J. Bunyan, which reads,/ He who would valiant be , gainst all disaster, let him in constancy follow the Master. There,s no discouragement shall make him once relent , his first avowed intent to be a pilgrim./[ Dear God grant me the grace I need this day , and every day to follow Thy Son Jesus . Amen ]

Comfort zones. [ Deuteronomy 32 v 9 -12 ]

A bit foggy last night here, sometimes life is like a fog, we cannot see anything because of circumstances, or things dont appear very clear,its a bit like that at this time for me, as I will leave my present church at the end of December. I keep trying to peer into the future ,will I cease to minister on a regular bases?what church will I attend? at this time all is like a dense fog, and I am trying to stay calm. I read this recently,/ God requires His followers ,and those who seek Him, to step outside of their comfort zones.[From a Poem a day]Many of Gods servants had their comfort zones, and were reluctant to step out of them,Moses, Jonah, Jeremiah, Peter and many others, we are no different than them, we have our comfort zones. At this time I am being pushed out my comfort zone,again another quote from ,a poem a day,/ May we never allow security to hinder our obedience to God.[ Dear Lord help me to move in obediece to Your will, help me see that I must not cling to anything other than You, for only in You ,and in Your will is true security,Amen]

A time for running. [Genesis 39 ]

There is a place for running away ,and a place for standing, when we are in moral or spiritual danger we need to run ,like Joseph [ Genesis 39 ],unfortunately some people appear to run into moral ,and spiritual danger. In 2 Timothy 2v22 we are told to flee youthful lusts, if one tarries one is in danger, Lot and his wife were told not to look back[ Genesis 19v17],his wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt[ v26],mybe she was curious, or mybe her heart was still inclined towards those evil places, and their evil way of life. Better to have heeded God, we are always better heeding God, to not play with fire ,for if we do ,we shall be burnt. In these days when the majority are doing whats right in their own eyes, there will be a price to pay,sin always carries with it serious consequences.As Christians we should know this ,but like so many things, there is often a gulf between the knowing and the doing.[ Dear God lead us not into temptation, deliver us from all evil, in Jesus name . Amen ]

I forgot.[ Psalm 137 ]

As I was looking at things on my PC ,I forgot about the bread I had put under my grill, I rushed to retrieve it,fortuonately it had not reached the burnt offering stage, so I was still able to eat it,and I enjoyed it. It brought to mind a certain English king who burnt some cakes,forgetting is something we all do, I have a good excuse being a senior citizen.Israel is warned by Moses not to forget [Deuteronomy 4v9], unfortuonately their history was one of forgetting, God and His commandments ,so God had to deal with them continually. Our Saviour told us to remember Him in communion, in breaking of bread and drinking of wine, have you done this recently?. One of the reasons I cannot stay in my present church,is I do not believe that people should be barred from the table because they have not been immmersed in water, now of course I am a Baptist, but I recognise that many people who are not immersed,are Christians, just as much as I am, and they have a right to remember their Lord, as He commanded.I believe that as the hymn writer puts it,that, we can make Gods Love to narrow by false limits of our own, and we magnify His srictness with a zeal He will not own. [ Dear God help me not to forget You ,and help me to not put barriers up in relation to other Christians, in Jesus name Amen ]

Love is not a game.[ 1Corinthians 13 ]

I heard someone say,/love is not a game/,the old song, reminds us that so many moonlight kisses seem to cool in the light of the sun. To love ,is the most challenging thing in the whole world,it will take everything we have to love, while our God is a consuming fire [Hebrews12 v 29] we are told that He is love[ 1 John 4v8 ]He is comsumed with love for you and me, the old hymn declares , /O the Love that drew salvations plan/.To save mankind it meant love in the fullest measure, a love that words are so inadequate to describe, every day God witnesses so much hate ,lust,selfishness, His commandments are broken continually, in mans natuaral state, he acts worse than an animal, but of course He is not animal. Yet God continues to love, and continues to reach out to mankind, inspite of their deliberate rejection of Him, consider His love ,in Philippians 2 v8, we read that Christ became obedient unto death even the death on a cross, yes truly, love is not a game.[ Dear God for Your love to me ,I thank You, that love that saved me, that is so on going,help me to to love like You, in Jesus name Amen ]