The safest place.[ Daniel 3]

When Abraham was called by God to leave his homeland ,we read in Hebrews 11v8, that he went out not knowing, whither he went. It seems a bit of a frightening thing to do, mybe even a foolish thing in our eyes, but the fact of the matter is, He was in the safest place in the world, because he was in the center of Gods will. He was not like Jonah who ran a way in opposite direction to where God wanted him to go.The safest place for all of us is to be in the center of Gods will, even though it may include uncertainty, or even danger.Joseph experienced many difficulties , but we read these very important words,/ And the Lord was with Joseph [Genesis 39v2 ]. Forget about the uncertainties of our situations ,if we are in the will of God ,He will be with us as sure as He was with Abraham or Joseph,and so all will be well.[ Dear Lord Jesus help me in those times of uncertainies, that cause fear to arise,cause me to worry, to trust You, knowing that You will never leave me , nor forsake me. Amen ]

A thankful people.[Ephesians 5 v20 ]

There is a lot to be said for positive thinking, here I am sitting at my PC listening to nice music ,I have just had a nice breakfast,I am able still to work. I have money enough to live on, plenty of things to wear, a GP to go to if I not well, and I even get free mediciene, I could go on, God has blessed me with so much .I live in a grand country, not a perfect country,but then nothing is perfect.Today consider the blessings you have, and offer up a prayer of thanksgiving, in USA, they have a thanksgiving day, let this be a thanksgiving day ,for all of us. Let nothing negative pass from our lips, in everything let us give thanks, to the God whose mercy never fails, whose faithfulness is trully great, and who loves us so very, very, much. [Dear God help us even through our tears ,to acknowledge your faithfulness, help us to be a thankful people in Jesus name .Amen ]

Force yourself.[ Psalm 37 v 25 ]

Make a choice to be spiritual, what I mean is simple this,dont let your thoughts control you, when negative thoughts come in, force yourself to focus on Gods word. When you find yourself thinking about the economy, or your own personal finances ,force your mind to remember that the Lord is your shepherd and you shall not want. As you consider what may lie ahead, and you dont know how you will manage, remember there is one with you, who will not fail you. When you find yourself worrying, remember what Jesus said, /Your heavenly Father knoweth[Matthew 6v32 ],yes He knows and will undertake,He is after all your Father, and will care for you His child. It is so easy to run with the negative, millions do ,everyday, but this day let us stand ,and having done all to stand ,on Gods word,to look up by faith and believe that all will be well.[ Dear God I confess that often I let my thoughts dwell on so much that is negative,help me to break this bad habit, help me to get into the habit of dwelling on You, of continually reminding myself, that You will never fail me, in Jesus name Amen ]

Be prepared. [ Hebrews 9 v27 ]

Yesterday I was told of a man aged 40 who suddenly died and today I see on the internet a footballer in his twenties died in his sleep, both these deaths happened suddenly. The fact of the matter death is not just for old people, nor should we think it is, we know not what a day will bring forth, the lives we have are in one sense very fragile.We live in an age that seeks to ignor death, instead of preparing for the event,we live careless lives,the poet wrote,/Ask not for whom the bell toils, it toils for thee/. We read these solemn words in Amos 4v12,/ Prepare to meet Thy God/, the question is ,are we prepared?,and the next question is ,how can I prepare?. Well there was a thief who was hanging on a cross , and he acknowledged his sinfulness, and then he cried to Jesus, and Jesus who was also on a cross,saved him, not from death, but from a lost eternity. [ Luke 23 v 39-43 ]Be wise if you are not saved ,call upon Jesus, and He will save you, He will answer your cry, here is a prayer you can pray./ Dear Lord Jesus I acknowledge that I am as sinner, forgive me all my sins ,and be my Saviour Amen /

He understands [ Hebrews 4v 14-16 ]

Often we misunderstand people, and often we are misunderstood,but here is the good news, Jesus understands, yes He does, in fact the hymn writer put it like this ,no one understands like Jesus. How can He possible understand?,well we are told that He was tempted in all points like us, yet He did not sin[Hebrew 4 v15], in other words no matter what we are faced with He understands. There are things we feel that no one understands,no one we can go to,we feel isolated, insignificant ,if you feel like that, go to Jesus He understands, He will listen, He will not laugh at you,and tell you to pull yourself together.Whatever difficult pathway you are on Jesus understands because as W Barclay wrote, /The best person to give you advice and help on a journey is someone who has travelled the road before you.....Jesus is the perfect high priest because He is perfectly God, and because He is perfectly man. Because He has known our life He can give us sympathy, mercy and power/. [ Dear God thank You ,that You understand how I feel, others may not ,but You do, I bring my situation to You, help me in Jesus name .Amen.]

Me, a saint. [Philippians 1 v 1-2 ]

I have many names ,William Alexander Heasley ,unlike some I like my name,although I thought recently my surname should have been Holmes ,my mothers maiden name, in fact when we were young some people called us Holmers. This was because my mum and dad seperated when we were young, and so I and my brothers/sister, identified with my mums side of the family.So what is my other names, here goes,/son, brother,uncle,nephew,father,neighbour, support worker,friend,husband,cousin, preacher,oh yes Christian, child of God, saint. My goodness saint,people who know me may easily say ,I am no saint, but I am, Vine describes saints as all believers, it does not apply to people of exceptional holiness, or to those who have died,in 2 Thessalonians 1 v10,saint is used of all believers,it has the sense of holy ones. That is very important for if we are a holy one, then we are expected to be holy, holy in thought,in word in deed[ 2Peter 3 v11].Of course we need to remind people that we are saved only through anothers righteousness, Jesus the holy One.[Acts 3 v12-16 ].[ Dear Father in heaven help us to be holy, to never stop trying, no matter how many mistakes we make , in Jesus our righteousness name we ask this. Amen ]

Legitimate things.[ John 21 v 15-17 ]

Ignatius wrote,/ All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us , to be the means by which we can come know Him better, love Him more surely,and serve Him more faithfully. As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of God insofar as they help us toward our goal of loving service and union with God. But insofar as any created things hinder our progress toward our goal, we ought to let them go/. Often it is not the blatant sins that hinder us in our relationship with the Lord ,it is the legitimate things, and when they do then we must ,as Ignatius wrote, let go of them. I was in a charity shop , and a lady spoke to a friend, about her church,the friend replied, that she was not attending so much as she was busy.When we who are Christians start talking like the non- Christians , then that becomes a problem,we are letting legitimate things hinder our relationship with our Lord, and we should let them go.[ Dear Lord Jesus help me ,to let nothing hinder my relationship with You,help me to let go of anything that is coming between You and I. Amen ]