Knowing the right way. [John 14 v 6 ]

While on holiday we used our sat-nav ,to bring us back to the place we were staying, but it kept taking us back to the supermarket, we had shopped at earlier in the week. Now dont get me wrong the sat-nav is a brilliant invention,and I would not be with out it, in the end we asked someone the way and he showed us the right way. This leads me unto the thought of knowing the right way in life, which is very imporant, if you are not saved ,then very simple the message for you is Jesus, who is the way ,the truth, and the life [John 14 v6 ]. Without Him who is way you are lost and always will be,without Him you will be ensnared in in that which is not the truth, and without Him you will remain dead in trespasses and sins. So why not this day, ask Jesus to become your Saviour, if you do, you will be able say ,I once was lost but now am found. Here is a prayer you could pray. [ Dear Lord Jesus ,I am lost, please save me, please become for me ,the way ,the truth, and the life. Amen ]

A relationship with God. [ 1 John 3 v 1-2 ]

I was asked by a friend, would I would pray for her, of course I said I would, then I said to her,you can pray, this appeared to make her think, about doing something that she appears to shy away from, I wonder why?. Could it be that she realizes that prayer is based on a relationship, she has not trusted the Saviour ,yet, I am praying that she will. The whole point of Christ coming and dying on the cross is to bring people into a relationship, a right relationship, in life many are in wrong relationship,many feel that they are in right relationship with God, and they are not. Many who once had a relationship with God have left it , for a lesser relationship, they have left their first love, and are only go through the motions. Others have never experienced that first love, and to them praying is a strange ,unwelcoming experience, which they dont understand. I was thinking of the vastness of the universe, and God who made it ,upholds it,and sustains it, and how minute this planet earth is, and how minute we are. But here is the wonder of it all, this little planet ,and its inhabitants are the the continual focus of that great God,not only does He focus on it and us ,but we are told that, He so loved this world[you and I] that He gave Jesus to die for us, and if we but trust Him ,we will become His children, which is a wonderful relationship to come into. [ Dear God we thank You ,that desire us all to know you, and to experience a wonderful relationship through Jesus your son Amen.]

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 ]