Merciful. [ Isaiah 53/ Luke 23 v34]

The O T prophets were called to speak for God, often against a tidal wave of immorality, injustice, and idolatry, they pleaded and wept, it was not easy being a prophet. They would point people to the consequences of their actions, and tell the people how God felt, at their sinful behaviour. They told of Gods judgement if they refused to repent, but most of all they pointed the people to Gods mercy ,and forgivness, I love those words from Micah 7 v 18-19./ Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage, and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob , and the mercy to Abraham, which Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old/. God has not changed the God of the OT is the God of the NT ,He still challenges us as regards our sin, and warns us of the consequences, but above all else He offers forgivness to all who repent and trust His son Jesus. [ Dear God we deserve Your judgement for our sins, yet we thank You that You are merciful and forgiving, which we can know through Thy son Jesus, Amen]

All will be well. [ Psalm 42 ]

Its one of those days, like the hymn writer wrote , days of darkness still come over me, it is Joyce Meyer who spoke of the battle of the mind, and of course it is. Whats the answer take a pill?, no ,the answer is not there ,deney it ?, no, the answer is, hope in God. Thats what the Psalmist did,Psalm 42/43, and so must we, a dear saint who suffered much for Christ,imprisoned in a deep dungeon,made to exsist on a little bread,she felt overwhelmed, and then she remembered the words of Psalm 42/ Why art thou so heavy my soul? And why art thou so cast down within me? Still trust in God/, at this she said/ Gods right hand can change all this/, this gave her comfort in her sorrows, and she continued joyful until she was released.[ Dear God You know how easily we can feel cast down, help us to be like the Psalmist ,to hope in You, knowing if we do ,all will be well, in Jesus name we pray this Amen ]

Snow ,Gods call. [ Isaiah 55v6 ]

I found myself asking the question, why the snow?,after all ,it only appears to inconvenience us, traffic jams 20 mls long, dangerous to walk on, maybe I am getting old, I have not thrown one snowball, or built a snowman. Yes snow can be fun ,but mostly we see it as an inconvenience ,something we wish would not happen.Here is another question, who made the snow?, and of course God did,so what does that mean for us, well it reminds us that in inspite of all our advances in technology, that we are only the creatures, not the creator, that God is incontrol not us. Yes there are lessons from the snow, and from sickness,from even death,they are the voice of God , calling to us, reminders of who we are,and who He is. The next very important question is are we listening?. [ Dear God snow ,floods, earthquakes, sickness, help me to here Your voice calling me back , from my sinful independance,to Yourself,help me see that only in you am I trully secure, in Jesus name Amen ]

He sees, He hears. [ Psalm 34 v15 ]

Psalm 34v15 ,reads ,/The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous , and His ears are open unto their cry/. If we are children of God, we are being told two very important things, God sees us and He hears us. We need to take these words to heart,maybe you feel isolated today, as I write , the words of a song comes to my ears, Lord have You forgotten me?. I wonder is that how you feel?, you are feeling empty and misunderstood, mybe your family dont bother, and thats painful. The path of the Christian can be a lonely one, and loneliness is painful, be encouraged dear child of God, you cannot drift beyond His care, He sees You today, sees your situation, sees the pain in your heart, hears your hearts cry, His loving eyes are on you today, He is listening. [ Dear God thank You for not only ,seeing and hearing me, but most of all being with me ,in Jesus name Amen ]

One day, one task. [Matthew 6 v 25-34 TM ]

One day at a time, one task at a time,sometimes our to do list ,is a bit daunting, so many things to do, so little time to do it,well, do one thing at a time. It works,so often we carry to many burdens, and we feel overcome, our Saviour warned about carrying what we shouldnt. Consider the follow words ofour Saviour,/Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and dont get worked up about what may or may not happen happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes./[Matthew 6 v 34 TM] So today, let it be,one day at a time , one task at a time.[ Dear God help me to trust You for this day,help me to trust You, for every task I have to perform, in Jesus name Amen ]

Survival .[ Lamentations 3 v 22 ]

How do the birds survive when it snows?, with great difficulty I am sure ,but on the whole they do, there will still be a bird population, come summer.One looks at humanity and wonders how have we survived, wars ,disease, crime, how ?, as I look at my own life, and the difficulties one has had to face from childhood, how have I survived?. How indeed, the answer as far as I can see is God,there can be no other explanation, God. Even though man has turned their backs on Him, chosen other gods, God who is merciful and continues to pour out His love, on us all, that is a statement of faith. Without faith it is so easy to be skeptical, faith in God is not a head in the sand experience, it is rather, looking beyond the natural, with all its difficulties, as P Yancey writes,/Evil reigns in the visible world,presenting itself brazenly and in your face/. But by faith we see a God who is at work inspite of evil,and in the person of His Son, triumphed, in the strangest of ways, on a cross. [ Dear God help us to enter the way of faith, and to walk in it daily, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Death of a Christian. [John 10 v 27 -30 ]

I have just heard that a dear Christian I know has died, he had cancer,I knew that he was near the end, but was affected when I was told of his death. It is right that we sorrow when a person dies,I feel in this country, we do not take this into consideration enough. As a Christian we realize that death is not the end, for that dear Christian ,we know that he is with the Lord which is far better [ Philippians 1 v23 ], for those who are not saved ,it is far worse. How vital it is to know Christ, in life and in death, to have the wonderful assurance that when death comes ,we need not fear [Psalm 23v 4 ]. At this time of the year we rejoice in the coming of our dear Saviour, consider if He had not come, we would have no hope,in this life or the next, so let us rejoice at the birth of our wonderful Saviour, who has brought hope, to humanity. [ Dear God thank You for Jesus, who came from heaven, to bring us to heaven. Amen ]