Run not before Him. [Proverbs 3 v5-6 ]

One of the tensions in the Christian life for me, and indeed I am sure for many Christians is to know Gods will, mybe its the important detail that throws us. For most of my Christian life , I believe God has called me to preach, the words of Jeremiah come to mind, when he declared ,His word burns in my heart like a fire. Its like a fire in my bones, I am worn out trying to hold it in, I cant do it [20 v9 ], or like Paul who declared, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel [1 Corinthians 9 v16]. The question is how and where does one fulfill this call upon ones life?there are denominational barriers, theological barriers, mybe even personal barriers,and practical barriers. It is so easy to become frustrated, and act out of those frustrations, a verse of a hymn comes to mind ,run not before Him , let Him be your guide. As I look back I can clearly see Gods leading , and thats the important thing to remember, He is leading ,and has promised to lead us[Psalm 23 v2 ] Today let us not fret or worry, our lives are in His safe hands,he will make a way, yes even where there appears to be no way, so trust Him. [Dear Lord help us to trust You to lead and guide us, as You have promised. Amen ]

Just a supporting role. [ Philippians 2 v 5-11 ]

Paul the apostle had a companion called Silas , he accompanied him on his missionary journeys ,experienced the same hardships as Paul,yet it is Paul we remember. Silas we are told was one of the chief men among the brethern [ Acts 15v22 ], we also read that he was a prophet [ v32 ], yes he was person of note, yet it appears that he played a supporting role. We will always remember with thanks the great people in the Christian church like Paul, Billy Graham, and many others, but let us remember,they had those who played vital supporting roles.Billy Graham did not do everything himself, he had a large supporting team. Being a member of a team , may not appear important but it is,no church functions on its own, Moses had his Aaron and Miriam, Elijah had his Elisha, Jeremiah had his Baruch, and our Lord had 12 apostles. All of these played supporting roles, and the part they played was vital. If we are called to be a leader, we will need those who will support us, if we are called to support let us remember that our role is vital , and that God will honour us one day, for all we have done. [ Dear God help us to carry out faithfully, whatever role You have placed us in , be it in leadership, or in a position of support, in Jesus mane . Amen .]

Pain. [ Hebrews 4 v 15-16 ]

While visiting my son and his wife I was stung by a wasp, this is the second time in my life I have experienced being stung, and let me tell you ,it was not a nice experience. When I hear of someone being stung, I will appreciate what it means, that little creature can trully inflict a lot of pain. Now we all try to avoid pain we take precutions, who likes going to the dentist? I go regularly, but I dont enjoy it, but I know that it is neccessary. Is pain neccessary? did I have to be stung by a wasp,is it necessary for our loved ones to suffer pain?,lets face it, it is painful to watch those we love suffer pain, our chidren, our aged parents. Their are many lessons we can learn from pain, and one of them is, we suddenly understand, how others feel, and our hearts go out to them in a more understanding manner. Not only do we understand ,we are more willing to help them ,to pray at a deeper level for them, to weep with them . You see that is what makes Jesus the perfect high priest, we read in Hebrews 4 v15,/ This high priest of our understands our weaknesses,for He faced all the same testings we do , yet He did not sin./ So today go to Jesus in your pain to the one who trully and fully understands, and recieve mercy and grace to help . [Dear Lord Jesus help us in our pain, we thank you for totally understanding how we feel, grant us the necessary grace we need. Amen ]

I am away this weekend, I will return Monday. every blessing

The freedom of the press. [ Romans 14 v 7 ]

The News of the World newspaper is closing, one of the most popular newspapers in the country, why has this all come about?. In answering this we need to think about something that we as country believe is important,the freedom of the press, newspapers we believe should be allowed to report freely. Yet this raises a problem how can a free press be regulated?,in such a way as to not inhibit their freedom to report freely. What newspapers ,politicians,and indeed everyone of us need to remember is, that freedom brings responsibility . The News of the Word and those in the phone hacking affair, forgot this, and it has caught up with them. As a Christian I have been set free by Christ, and yet it is a freedom of responsibility,we read these words in Galations 5 v13, /It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you dont use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom/ [Message]. [ Dear God thank You for Jesus who died to set us free, help us, to not abuse that freedom, help us not to be ensnared by anything that would destroy our freedom,help us to see that the freedom You have brought us into ,carries with it great responsibility, and accountability, in Jesus name we ask this . Amen ]

Self blindness. [ Matthew 23 v37 ]

I was reminded of an old saying which goes,/ convince a man against his will, and he remaineth of that opinion still, when I saw the following , a group of motor cyclist where protesting in New york,about a law that was being passed, to enforce the wearing of crash helmets. During the protests one of the protesters, had an accident on his bike,and was killed, the authorities said ,if he had been wearing a helmet ,it would have saved his life. This did not deter the other protesters ,from continuing their protests,what happened to their fellow protestor did not change their minds. As I read the gospels, I am amazed that inspite of the Jews ,having the revealed word of God, inspite of the fact that they believed in a coming Messiah,inspite of the fact that He came, showed by many infallible proffs that he was the long awaited Messiah, they rejected Him. It appears no matter what, people will refuse to change,especcially in relation to accepting Jesus as their saviour, for the Jews it meant cutting themselves off, from God, and condemning themselves to eternal damnation,this applies to all who refuse to believe the truth ,and accept Jesus as saviour. [ Dear God have mercy on the Jewish people , and all people ,open their hearts, that they will accept Your son as saviour. Amen ]

Be discerning [ Matthew 22 v 23-33 ]

In 1Corinthians 10v15 we read, / I appeal to your reason and your discernment in these things [Amp. Version ]/these are important words and principles. We must have discernment, some things are black and white, but other things are not, a JW ,or a Mormon, comes to your door, and it appears what they represent, and present are Christian, but it is not so, they use religious language, but when we examine it ,we find that what they mean is not what the word of God teaches. I have two favourite authors,[Christian] but I do not accept willy nilly what they say, there are things which they say I disagree with. When it comes to preachers we must also be discerning, we often can get carried away by their personalities,so we must be careful. Judge everything by Gods word, even yourself, your actions, motives, your beliefs,we are not speaking of being cynical, but discerning. [ Dear God help me to be discerning, in all things, help me not to be fooled,or taken in by others and especially by myself, in Jesus name .Amen]