Perseverance . [2 Timothy 4 v 6-8 ]

This will be the third time I have tried to publish my thought for the day, hopefully this time I will succeed, which leads me unto one of the most important aspects of the Christian life, the perseverance of the saints. This is an old Calvinistic saying, but most important it is a Biblical truth, it has that meaning of not giving up. Now for many dear people humanally speaking it would appear an option, to give up, I read of many Christians who would have an easier life, if they only give up. There is so often reasons for giving up, life throws at us so many things, unfair things, unexplainable things, frustrating things, hurtful things, harmful things. All these things and more can discourage us,and we are tempted to give up, the enemy of our soul whispers in our ear,give up ,no one appreciates you, its not worth it. Ah ,but he is so very wrong, it will be worth it all when we see Christ. Ira f Stanphill wrote a hymn, which I used to sing, its called ,Follow Me, the first verse goes like this,/ I traveled down a lonely road, and no one seemed to care. The burden on my weary back,had bowed me to despair. I oft complained to Jesus how folk were treating me. And then I heard him say so tenderly. My feet were also weary upon the Calvary road, the cross became so heavy , I fell beneath the load. Be faithful, weary pilgrim,the morning I can see. Just lift your cross, and follow close to Me./ [ Dear God help us not to give up, help us to press on ,grant us grace to persevere, in Jesus name .Amen ]

Sorry no blog today , I did the same message twice but I was not able to save it or publish it, hopefully it will be alright tomorrow

I must forgive.[ Matthew 6 v 14-15]

While preaching recently I touched on something I had not prepared, forgiveness, and yet it was that very thing an elderly brother spoke to me about afterwards. He mentioned that he was divorced, his wife had left him for a neighbour many years ago, he spoke of how difficult it was to forgive, but he had. The Christian has no option but to forgive, and yet it is not easy, if one was raped, or ones child was hurt by someone, or one is hurt by fellow Christians, the list goes on. Yet if we are to have an ongoing relationship with God ,we are required to forgive those who have trespassed against us. I am reminded of what Peter was told by our Lord [John 21 v21-22 ], Peter was concerned about the other person, what shall this man do? our Lord replies ,what is that to thee? follow thou Me. Our forgiving is nothing to do what the other person will do, but what we are called to do, forgive, they may not change their attitude, but we will be changed ,for the better. Yes it may not be easy to forgive, but the Lord grants us the grace, to enable us to forgive. [Dear God ,you have forgiven us all our sins, help us to forgive those who have harmed us ,or even those we love, in Jesus name . Amen ]

Our rainbow end. [Hebrews 9 v27 ]

While on holiday,walking along the seafront I noticed a bench with a little plaque , with the following words on it,/ Dorothy and Victor Rainbow, they have reached their rainbow end/. It caused me to thing what was that end?, so many people never think about their end, do you?. What does the Bible tell us, about our end? not what we think, or what the entertainment industry tell us,but what does Gods word tell us. Firstly the Bible tells us that there is an exsistence after death, Hebrews 9 v27,in that verse it tells us that it is appointed unto men, once to die, so right away we rule out reincarnation, we will only die once,next we are told, but after this,so there is an afterlife, and then it tells us, after this the judgement.That means what it says, judgement, and that is to be taken as a serious warning ,to all, do read Revelation 20 v11-15, dont be confused when it says ,that all will be judged according to their works, the main thing to bear in mind that no one is saved by good works we are saved by Christs work on the cross. But if we have not trusted in Christs finished work, then we will be lost,for all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and deserve only the judgement of God. It ends with these words,/ And whosoever was not found written in the book of life ,was cast into the lake of fire. So I end with this question what will be your rainbow end?. [ Dear God help us to consider our end, and to seek You while there is time, by accepting Christ as Saviour. Amen ]

Toast .[ 1Corinthians 10 v 31 ]

I like toast, I liked it even more when I could have marmalade jam on it, not so now as I am diabetic, when it comes to toast I am continually trying to produce the perfect toasted bread. So often it appears only slighted toasted,or it comes out as a burnt offering, but I will keep trying. Most of our lives are made up of little things like toast, a cup of tea or coffee, a daily newspaper, shaving ,washing,cooking meals, going to the shops, hanging out the washing,and so on.These things may not appear important but they are, they add a normality to our lives, today let us give thanks for these things, and let us add a sacredness to them, to see that they are important. We read in 1 Corinthians 10v 31 ,that we are do all things ,to the glory of God, may this be the rule of our lives. [Dear God help us to embrace all of life as sacred, to do all things for your glory, in Jesus name . Amen ]

God does say yes, but.[ 1 Kings 22 v 1-40 ]

We have been thinking on God saying no, on holiday I mentioned this to a dear brother, and immediiately I found myself being drawn into a conflict, he felt I was undermining faith, and what God would do in response to faith. Nothing could be further from the truth, I know ,and am continually proving God, in response to my prayers, I know, God says yes , and grants my requests , but I know from long experience, and from my study from Gods word, God at times says no. I can think of so many times God has said no, in my life, if you believe God never says no to you ,then think again, I have pointed out scriptures that clearly show God saying no. Let me say this I am glad God does not always say yes,I am sure we are all glad ,that we had parents that said no to us, in order to protect us, to guide us aright. Let us get balance into our Christian life,in life there are what we call yes men, but the fact of the matter is God is not like that ,He will thankfully say no. [ Dear God thank You for those times You did say no to us,in order to protect and guide us aright, we thank You ,that in all things You have at heart whats best for us, in Jesus name Amen ]

Gods no to healing. [ 2 Corinthians 12 v 1- 10 ]

In 2 Corinthians 12, we read of Paul the apostle writing about a thorn in the flesh, we take it to mean an ongoing physical problem, the apostle puts it down to an attack from satan, as was the case of Job. What does one do when one is faced with a problem? one prays about it,Paul did this, but the problem remained. Now this man was used by God ,in Acts 28 v8, we read that he prayed for someone and they were healed, in that same chapter we read how he suffered no ill affects,when he was bitten by poisonous serpent. The whole area as regards healing is difficult, we believe God heals, God can heal, that goes without saying, but ,yes there is that but again, as with Paul, and many other people, God does not heal. The apostle Paul is told why he was not going to be healed,God had lessons to teach him, he the great apostle would have to submit to Gods will. I fear for the great people even in the church, that pride will destroy them, Paul realizes this, and submits to Gods will. With that submission God empowered him by his grace, God may have said no to healing, but He was not being cruel or indifferent to Pauls suffering. painful though it may be , God has often a greater purpose for us, than healing ,or deliverance from suffering, and with that purpose ,He promises to give us His grace to sustain us. [ Dear God help us to see and accept Your will, even if it means suffering, helps to appreciate that You have a loving purpose for us, and help us to rely on Your all sufficient grace, in Jesus name we ask this Amen ] [ I will be on holiday for the next week, so I will not be blogging ]