Sidelined. [ John14 v6 ]

Maggie and the Indian mystic,so read the headlines in the newspaper, it was about a barefoot gura who spoke to Mrs Thatcher, predicting that she would become prime minister. Let me say this many people are listening to mediums,, and being drawn into error,into the dark side. These things are interesting but they will not help us with the most important question as regards my sin, and the consequences of it.John Travolta and his wife have celebrated 2o yrs of marriage , he put it down to good communication and the tools of scientology. A number of things may help us in our marriage, but rest assured scientology,Indian mystics, will not lead us into the truth, will not save us in our lostness, Jesus said ,I am the way the truth and the life , no man [or woman]cometh unto the Father but by me [John 14 v6 ][ Dear God help me not to be sidelined into error, help me accept Jesus as my Saviour,and to follow only Him. Amen]

Say it like it is. [Luke 23 v 39-43 ]

I read an article in the news paper about a gorilla that walks upright, now the article was not making the point of evolution, more about gorillas becoming an extinct species.The way humanity behaves so often ,may be an insult to a gorilla, humanity can often act worse than any animal. I was listening to person on the radio, how the Germans used starvation as one of the tools of the war, letting Russian prisoners die of starvation. They are not the only nation that have committed atrocities ,the list is endless, we just have to read the newspaper to see how mankind is capable of awful things. Two TV presentors loose their jobs , one of their wives said ,they were just being boys,no ,they were manifesting sinful behaviour, the sad thing is they will be sorry that they have lost their jobs, but they will not see their behaviour for what it is, and will not change.The word of God tells us that all of us are sinners [Romans 3v23 ], whither it is the sins of a nation or of the individual, it needs to be forgiven,and the only place that can take place is before an old rugged cross,before a Saviour called Jesus, it is time for nations and individuals to seek that forgivness.[ Dear God I want to stop making light of my behavior, I acknowledge that I am a sinner, I bow before You and ask Jesus to be my Saviour, Amen ]

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 ]