Inadquate. [ Jeremiah 1 v 6-7 ]

I have been preaching for many years so why was I feeling totally inadequate earlier this evening, as I was preparing to go out to preach. I felt I should not go , give up preaching. I had I thought, my sermon ready, but as I went over it, it did not seem to have a meaningful ending, I started wrecking my brains ,praying for a useful illustration, but nothing came. Preaching is not easy but can be very rewarding, I sometimes preach the same sermon twice. but usually I prepare a fresh sermon. So here was I feeling like giving up on preaching , but then I did my daily Bible reading from Jeremiah ,and we have the prophet saying to God, I cannot speak, for I am a child, he felt inadequate, so I was in good company, so God agreed with him, no He didnt, He told the prophet, say not, I am a child, for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. [Jeremiah 1 v6- 7 ] So with all my feelings of inadequacy I went and preached and God helped me, and for that I am grateful.
A prayer / Dear God help us to be faithful in those tasks You have entrusted to us, help us to trust You for the grace we need , in Jesus name . Amen ./

Our bodies. [ 1 Corintians 6 v 19 -20 ]

I noticed someone I know had lost weight,of course it was a woman, I dont think most men are into dieting,although my oldest boy has lost a lot of weight. I mentioned to the girl that her face looked thinner and she took it as a compliment,personally I think she looked a bit better when she was a bit heavier, but I would not dare tell her that.We live at time when the body beautiful is everything,of course we should look after our bodies,so I keep telling myself. Now for the Christian the body is seen as a temple of the Holy Spirit , and we ought not to be involved in anything unholy, and we should seek to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits . [ 1 Corinthians 6 v 19- 20 ] This is in contrast to the worlds attitude , so often the body is seen as something to be used in an abusive way,and so much is done for the glory of man. Romans 12 v1 ff brings us a tremendous challenge , it reads,/Take your everyday ordinary life- your sleeping,eating, going to work, and walking around life- and place it before God as an offering/ [T M
A prayer..../ Dear God take my whole being,my hands, my feet, my eyes,my tongue, my ears,and my mind,and help me to glorify You, in Jesus name. Amen/

We can make a difference.[ John 15 v16 ]

Battered and bloody, the tyrant of Libya, moments later he was dead,and then there were the pictures, I must confess it was upsetting. As one who comes from N Ireland,a land of conflict I never got used to the bombings, shootings and sectarian division, yet many dear people have to live with so much that is evil. Inspite of this there are many people who are seeking to make a difference, for those dear people and organisations we thank God. Let us not despair of the darkness in this world ,one day ,yes one day,God will cause it to end,in the meanwhile, two things, dont be afraid ,because God is still on the throne, and He will remember His own. Next let us by the grace of God seek to make a difference, we can, remember it is trully better to light even a small candle, than to sit in the darkness and be filled with despair.
This little light of mine
Im going to let it shine
This little light of mine,
Im going to let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Dear God help me to shine, to be light in the darkness, to bring hope, to bring love, to bring
my Saviour to a needy world. Amen.

Amazing. [ Romans 5 v6- 11 ]

I heard on the radio two things that are shocking, in China a two year old child is run over by a car,a hit and run incident,thats very sad, but whats even worse 16 people were filmed walking by the child,and she was run over again. She survived and was taken to hospital seriousally injured,many Chinese are shocked and asking serious questions, about their society, and rightly so. The next thing that I heard was,Texas that wonderful state in America, is were the most abused children in the world die, I am sure many people of this state are shocked, one hopes so. When people ignor the vunerable who are injured , and being hurt, or when they are part of it ,then there is something seriousally wrong ,with such people. Yet here is the most amazing thing, God so loved this world He gave His son to die for it,amazing love, amazing grace, amazing God.
A prayer. Dear God we trully are amazed at the love that drew salvation plan, the grace that brought it down to man ,the mighty gulf that You did span at Calvary. Amen.

No mercy. [ Ephesians 2 v 1 - 10 ]

I was watching a movie and I heard the words,/ no mercy/,those words should make us tremble and shudder, for they remind us of the unthinkable, especially when it comes to God. Consider if God withdrew His mercy from this world, this world would cease to exsist, and all, I mean all its inhabitants, would end up in hell [,the exception would be those who have trusted Jesus].Every blessing would be removed food,water, all those things we enjoy would turn to dust,of course those who have accepted I spoke to a person about going on holiday, when I quizzed her, was she a believer? she indictated she was, then she said something ,and I said those were not the words of a believer, like so many, she had no time for God,empty profession, but no possession. It is only when grace touches us do we realize the truth of the universality of sin and what that means[ read Romans 3 ], and the truth of the words of Lamentations 3 v 10, Through the Lords mercies we are not consumed.
A prayer.. / Dear God we praise You for Your mercy, we thank You that the words no mercy,
does not apply to this world now,that You are still blessing in a multitude of ways,
thank You in Jesus name. Amen.

Change.. [ Hebrews 11v 8 ]

Sometimes I think of change ,when we visited our son and his wife recently , I thought if I moved to where my son lived, I would become homesick, I would miss the familiar,well I suppose it will not happen. I am too old , then I remember Abraham ,and Moses, both were old men yet God called them, and here is the important part, they obeyed. There is a verse of a hymn which goes, Gods call we obey, not knowing our way but faith makes us bold, when we move at Gods command then all will be well. If Iwas to move because of a whim or fancy then I would have a reason to be anxious, but with God in it, as I have said, all will be well. If I move in the will of God, then God will undertake, there may be difficulties, and obstacles, but the God who calls will undertake, no matter about ones age, limatations,or gender.
A prayer. /Grant me , O Lord, to feel Thy hand,
Of tenderness and power,
Is holding mine and leading me,
Each day, each hold.

All need grace. [ Romans 3 v 23 ]

I spoke to a lady in work, I felt she may be a Christian,but she is not, although she is nicer than some I know who are Christians,some Christians are living examples of what it trully means to be saved by grace, for they are not all that nice. Yet God loves them, and they are precious in His sight, and of course just in case I am feeling superior ,I am not perfect, as I look into my heart, all I can say is I am glad you cannot see the dark thoughts,and so many other things lurking there, you may not want to read my blog. The fact of the matter is , none of us are perfect, and all of us are inperfect, all our inperfections are seen by God/, as Whittier wrote , / Our thoughts lie open to Thy sight, And naked to Thy glance, Our secret sins are in Thy light,Of Thy pure countenance/. It is grace for all, or not at all, it is as simple as that,only by grace can we enter ,and only by Grace can we stand.Niceness dose not negate grace,and badness only emphasizes the need of it.
A prayer.. /Dear God help us to see that all our in need of Thy grace, in Jesus name. Amen.