An antidote to fear. [Psalm 91 ]

Recently I have had a few near misses when driving,only yesterday a car could have crashed into me, yes driving is a hazardous activity.But of course many aspects of life are dangerous, there are many accidents in homes, in work places, one wonders are there ,is there, any totally safe places?. If we dwell to much on the dangers ,we would not get up out of bed,and yet consider how many people die in bed. Let us not be driven by such fears,or controlled by fear, of anything ,save the fear of the Lord. Is there an antidote to fear?, yes trust in the Lord,we read these words in Psalm 91[ Do read this Psalm it will quell your fears], in verse 2 , /I will say of the Lord ,He is my refuge and my fortress ,my God, in Him will I trust/. Here we have a statement that declares his confidence in the Lord,let us follow his example, let us declare this,and let us trust and not be afraid. [ Dear God let us not be controlled by fear, grant us grace to put our confidence , and trust in You , in Jesus name, Amen ]

Do it. [ Matthew 7 v21-29 ]

The word of God continually stresses the importance of ,not just hearing ,but doing,and acting on what we hear. As a preacher who has preached many sermons,it is nice when one recieves a compliment, a word of encouragement,but if the person who gives you the compliment, or word of encouragement does not act on what they have heard, whats the point.James in his often misunderstood epistle puts it like this,/but dont just listen to Gods word. You must do what it says. Otherwise you are only fooling yourselves.For if you listen to the word and dont obey, it is like glancing at your face in the mirror. You see yourself, walk away and forget what you look like. [ 1 v22-24 ] Our Saviour said,/ blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it/. Forget about whither the preacher gave a nice sermon, or he used the right translation,concentrate on obedience,not just being a good listener, but one who acts on what they have heard. [ Dear God help us to be a doer of Your word in Jesus name .Amen ]

Brain food.[ Philippians 4 v 8 ]

Food for the brain ,oily fish,fruit, vegetables, cocoa, nuts,seeds,and green tea,all these are supposed to be ,food for our brains,so read the article on the inter-net.Now I am not an expert on the things that may be good for our brains, but I do believe that the word of God is good for our brains. I believe that there are a lot of things that are not good for our brains.It would be a good exercise for us all to write down a list of things that we think on,that are in fact damaging to our brains.Let us be severe with ourselves,let consider what our minds take in ,the wrong thoughts that we dwell on,there are millions of people who are feeding their minds on sexual perversion, hate for others, covetousness ,self-centredness, etc. In Psalm119v78 we read, I will meditate on your precepts, the question is ,will we make that choice?,he says, Iwill, it is an act of the will, we are responsible ,for what we think and dwell on,it is our choice,what will you choose, what will I choose today?.We will end with the words of a hymn by Benjamin Beddome./ O grant us grace,Almighty Lord,to read and mark Thy holy word. Its truths with meekness to recieve,and by its holy precepts live, Amen/

Thank You Lord. [ Acts 16 v31 ]

In 1709 the home of the Rev Samuel Wesley,the father of Charles and John was set on fire, he was not liked. This was the second time this had happened, but this time young John was in the house, and it looked like he was going to perish in the fire,but fortunately he was rescued. Later his mother had a painting done of him with the words from Zechariah 3 v2,on it, which reads /Is this not a brand plucked from the burning/. These words can be written over the lives of every Christian, they are solemn reminders ,that God in His great mercy has saved us from everlasting burning. Today let us lift our voices in praise to God ,for saving us from a lost eternity,Oh to grace how great a debtor, daily I am constrained to be. Let the words by ,Seth and Betty Sikes be our daily prayer./ Thank You Lord for saving my soul, thank You Lord for making me whole,thank You Lord , for giving to me ,Thou great salvation so rich and free. Amen/

I wish. [Genesis 50v20/ Romans 8 v28 ]

I wonder have you ever heard yourself saying ,I wish, in relation to to some action or decision that you made,and you think ,I wish I had not taken that decision ,or action. Take Joseph there must have been a moment when He may have said,I wish I had not found my brothers,that fateful day,when my father sent me to see if they were well [Genesis 37v14]. Or on that other occasion when he went into his masters house,and was propositioned by his masters wife.[Gen 39v11],he did the right thing, and yet ended up in jail. I am certain that there are many of us and as we look at our lives, we see occasions when we think ,I wish . The fact of the matter is we cannot change the past,those actions ,decisions we have taken, but what can we do?. Well if we are a child of God, let us not despair,let us not act in a way that may cause us more pain, and take heart, from the words of Joseph, when speaking to his brothers, God meant it unto good[Gen 50 v20 ].[ God and Father,help us not to keep wishing our lives away, because of the past,help us to trust You to overrule in all things for our good, in Jesus name Amen ]

Consider. [ Psalm 100]

Psalm 100 is a brief Psalm ,only 5 verses,although v1/2 can be seen as one, short though it be, it is full of blessings, and truth. It is known as the old hundredth and has been a favourite Psalm of Gods people, down through the ages.Let us consider v3, Know ye that the Lord is God, there are not many Gods,there is only one, know this, believe this, do not be swayed from this truth. Next we are told,it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves,this goes against evolution,which teaches that we made ourselves, we did not make ourselves, God made us in His image, and for His purpose. Next we are told, we are His people,we who were not a people are now the people of God,once we were seperated from Him by our sin, having no hope, and without God, now we are the people of God.[Ephesians 2 v 11-13 ] Next ,and the sheep of His pasture, [consider Psalm 23/John 10],As a shepherd cares,provides,protects, his sheep, so Jesus our good shepherd will, care, provide and protect, those who are His.[ Dear God thank You for Your grace that has opened our eyes and hearts, to Yourself, in Jesus name. Amen ]

A sweet tooth.[ Isaiah 40 v 28-31 ]

Since being diagnosised with type 2 diabetes , I have to watch what I eat, I am forever looking to see the content of the food I eat,to see the fat and sugar content. It is amazing how much sugar is in the food we buy,which is not really helpful to all of us, but of course we love things that are sweet, most of us have a weakness for sweet things,even Samson [Judges 14 v8-9 ] I was singing about something that was sweet this morning, something that is really beneficial to us all without exception, it wont rot our teeth, or cause us to put on weight,now I wonder do you know what it is?. Well here is what I was singing, /Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer that calls me from a world of care.And bids me at my Fathers throne. make all my wants and wishes known. In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief. And oft escaped the tempters snare. By thy return, sweet hour of prayer/ [Dear God we thank You from the bottom of our hearts ,for prayer,when we meet with You, they trully are sweet times, we thank You in Jesus name Amen ]