God our helper [ Psalm 121]

In Psalm 60v11 we read,/ Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man/, this Psalm was written by a man of God, David a man of God that sees life as it is ,that life has troubles of one sort or another. Being a Christian does not exclude one from troubles, Christianity is not a pass into a land free from troubles, our Saviour said in this world you shall have tribulations [John 16 v33]Are you experencing trouble, are you surprised?,well dont be. The important thing is this, when in trouble, who are we looking to, for help in our troubles.The Psalmist looks beyond the human factor to God, he declares ,vain is the help of man, God will use many means to help us in our troubles, but let us us not trust in those means ,they can so easily dry up[ 1 Kings 17 v7]. Make this your motto for this day ,and everyday,/ My help cometh from the Lord , which made heaven and earth [Psalm 121v2 ] [ Dear God grant us help in all out troubles,in Jesus name Amen ]

Hang in there. [Psalm 37 ]

When I was a wee boy my mum would tell me to sit still, for a youngster this is a hard thing to do, a child has a lot of energy, we see this in the supermarket, a battle of the wills, the mother is trying to make the child sit in the shopping trolley, but the child wants to run around. In Psalm 37v7 we read these words,/ Rest in the Lord , and wait patiently for Him/. We are all children sometimes in our attitude, and in our thinking,our Loving Heavenly Father is seeking to get us to sit in the shopping trolley,but we dont want to, we want to be up and doing. We feel we have waited long enough,why should we wait any longer?in James 1 v7[ stv] we read ,/Let stedfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing/.What we are being told is to hang in there ,and as we do ,two things are happening, God is working in us, perfecting us as Christians, but He is also working for us, and will answer us in His time.. [ Dear God grant me the grace to rest in You, and to wait patiently for You to work on my behalf ,in Jesus name Amen ]

Equality. [ Galations 3 v28 ]

I have a little book called ,/Four spiritual giants/ by R Brown, he writes on the lives of John Bunyan,John Wesley, Augustine,and Martin Luther. No doubt they were great men, and as I read the Bible we read of many more spiritual giants, but what about you and me, one feels very insignificant, I really do. Then there is a verse that comes to mind which tells me ,that God has no favorites[Acts 10v34 ],God loves you and me and those great people equally, he is not like Jacob who loved Joseph more than his other sons. Everyone of us are His favorites,sometimes preachers have said, if we had been the only person in the whole world ,Christ would still have died for us, and thats so very true. So let us not feel less loved, than others,in Gods sight there are no spiritual giants, He only sees His children, and loves them all. [ Dear God help us to realize continually that you love us equally,that you have no favorites, in Jesus name Amen.]

No condemnation.[Romans 8 v1]

I do wish that everything was perfect in this world, but it is not ,one day it will be, one day it is hard to take it in, even I will be perfect. Until then we press on toward our goal in our weakness,yet strengthened by the power of God, overcoming daily by Gods grace.I think of dear William Cowper who suffered from mental illness , who at times felt suicidal, yet he pressed on, and inspite of how he felt, he wrote some wonderful hymns, one in particular stands out, God moves in mysterious ways, a hymn that has such deep meaning and continues to bless mulitudes of Christians. The great apostle had to cope with a thorn in the flesh,plus a multitude of other things, and yet God used Him ,to write those wonderful epistles.As we look at ourselves we may be inclined to despair, because of our deep seeded problems, others may even judge us, even Christians, to their shame.Take hold of the words in Roman 8 v31-32,/Who shall lay anything to the charge of Gods elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth ?it is Christ that died ,yea rather , that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us/. [ Dear God thank You that You love us unconditionally,grant me the grace of not living under a cloud of condemnation, and I pray you will use use me ,yes even me in my weakness in Jesus name Amen ]

Power to overcome.[Ephesians 3 v20 ]

How can one overcome deep seeded problems?, often it appears no one understands, and no matter about our good intentions ,we fail to make any headway. First of all God understands ,He really does, but He really wants to help us to overcome those things that we are struggling with. The question is how can He help?, the answer, by the power of the Holy Spirit, all Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit,it is by His power that we will be victorious. In Ephesians 3 v20, we read,/ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us/. Take this verse and believe what it says,claim this promise everyday,and I believe as we rely on the Holy Spirit, He will do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think.[ Dear God help us to see afresh that you granted us Your Spirit to help us, I claim His help, to help me overcome those problems, I am faced with, in Jesus name Amen ]

Truth. [ John 8 v32 ]

As a preacher, I have preached many sermons, and part of my preparation is to discover what I am to preach on, so I pray and ask God to guide me, to that approbriate scripture. Likewise when faced with a decision I pray and ask God to speak, to get a word ,and when I get it, to act on it.So it is when one is faced with a deep seeded problem, the word of God must play a vital role, in helping us, to go forward, and be an overcomer. Our deep seeded problems are often based on misconceptions,and they cause us to be filled with fear, a fear that creates a prison for us, and affects the lives of others near us. Our Saviour said that He was the Truth,[John 14 v6 ],and also that the truth would make us free. [John 8 v32] In these words we have a key, to overcome those deep seeded problems,that will enable us to be free, it sounds simple, and in fact it is,as we look to Jesus ,and by faith apply His truth[ The word of God] into our lives, things will begin to happen .[ Dear Lord Jesus help me to look to you,to believe and act on Your word, in your name we ask this Amen ]

Relationship the key. [ Psalm 37 v5 av ]

I had just about finished my blog when we had a power cut, so I have to start again, it is a bit like life ,not giving up ,starting again,now we have been writing about deep seeded problems. Deep seeded problems do not go away overnight, they may be with us till the day we die, but the important thing thing is not to give up. We are all on a journey of discovery, discovering what?, the vital ,and I stress the vital importance of a relationship with God, and discovering how that relationship ,will change us.And it will, if, and again I have to stress the if, we look to Him, each day, each hour, each moment, to find the secret of overcoming is not in our own strength,but as the apostle declared, in the strength of Christ [ Philippians 4 v13 ]. While there will be those who can support us, our strength must come from the Lord, and along with that relying on the Lord for strength, there has to be trust. We must commit our way ,unto the Lord, trust also in Him, day by day, moment by moment, the result , He shall bring it to pass[ Psalm 37v5 av ][ Dear God as I surrender my will to Yours, help me to seek You day by day, and moment by moment, and as I do ,grant me the strength to overcome those deep seeded problems in my life , in Jesus name Amen ]