Lord make me beautiful.[ 1 Corinthians 13 ]

My mind turned this morning to the true story of Joseph Merrick,who unfortunately is known as the elephant man, because of his deformities, caused by the disease, Proteus Syndome. The movie of his life is not totally accurate, but it helps us to appreciate his condition. Joseph suffered a great deal,his mother died when he was eleven, his father remarried ,and in the end he was turned out of that home,he suffered a great deal because of his appearance. He was eventually befriended by a surgeon called Treves, and was cared for until he died, although he was disfigured physically, ,he was a very cultured,educated, and a sensitive person, and a devout Christian.It reminds me how people judge so often on outward appearance, no matter how we may appear physically, no matter, about our circumstances we can by the grace of God, and the Spirit of God manifest a lovliness ,that can leave a lasting testimony to the glory of God.[ Dear God help us to be like your Son Jesus, inspite of difficulties, help us by Your grace ,to be more like Jesus in every situation, for Jesus, Your sons sake. Amen ]

It can be a happy Christmas.[Romans 6 v23 ]

Well the snow is nearly all gone, I hope for good, I dont want a white Christmas, what do I want for Christmas?, maybe I will get something I dont want, although I arise early, I have not opened my presents, we will see.What I do have this Christmas is Jesus, Gods unspeakable gift, what want I more, He is with me after the Christmas season, ,and indeed in all the seasons of my life, He is the one who said I will never leave you ,nor forsake you. [Hebrews 13 v5 ]. There is no greater blessing than to know Him as Saviour, Lord ,and King, but also as a friend, He gives us many gifts, but most of all He gives Himself, many people will recieve gifts today, but will miss out on the wonderful opportunity of recieving Jesus as Saviour, if you have, rejoice, if you have not, God would offer that gift to you, ask and you will recieve, and then it will be truly a happy Christmas for you.[ Dear God thank You for Jesus Your dear son, help us all to see our need of Him, and to recieve Him as our Saviour. Amen ]

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 ]