Grace for the needy.[Luke18 v 9 -14 ]

I have just stared to read a book called,/The Ragamuffin Gospel it emphasies the grace of God ,remember read every book ,and listen to every sermon with discernment based on Gods word,ask God the Holy Spirit to help you,He will [John 16v13 ] Well what can one say about the Grace of God, firstly it is an act of God by a gracious God, it is granted to the undeserving, or to those who acknowledge they are undeserving, a quotation from this book, /Grace has to be drunk straight, no water, no ice,and certainly no ginger ale, neither goodness, nor badness, nor the flowers that bloom in the spring of super spirituality could be allowed to enter into the case./I was speaking to a person pointing that the Bible says we are all without exception sinners, he replied, I am not a sinner. It is very hard for the not so bad people to accept that they are in fact sinners, and it is even harder to accept the consequences of that truth. The result, they place themselves outside the grace of God,they reject the need of Biblical grace, for it is only for the needy. It was the needy that responded to Jesus, not the selfrighteous,those selfrighteous people despised the needy, Jesus welcomed them with open arms,with His last breath, He welcomed a thief ,and granted him eternal life. [ Luke 23 v39- 43 ]I am sure when we get to heaven we will be surprised as to those our Saviour has saved, and if we are trully honest the greatest surprise will be the fact that we are in heaven, a sinner saved by grace.
A prayer..../ Dear God , we are all without exception needy ,and our deepest need is for Your grace,help us to see this,and to seek Your Son Jesus Amen ./

He loves us all. [Acts 15 v36 -41 ]

I have just finished reading a message by George Whitefield ,he ministered at the time of the Wesleys and was used by God in the revival that swept this country , America , even my own country. As I have travelled through this country,I have passed many Methodist chapels,many are empty,just buildings, np longer places of worship,yet there are still many in use. While the Wesleys created a network of churches, Whitefield didnt,and did not want to, be that as it may,we honour the memory of these men of God.It is interesting that the Wesleys, had their differences ,George was a Calvinist, the Wesleys were Arminians,yet God used them both. From early on in my Christian life I have seen the importance of honouring all true Christians, and loving them, and to realize that God can use all of us, as He sees fit, and He loves us all.
A prayer / Dear God bless all Thy people, help us to love all Thy people, in Jesus name Amen /

Never forget Jesus. [ Deuteronomy 4v 23 ]

I read in the obituaries column of a newspaper, about a Leif Hovelse an Norwegian, a resistance fighter at the time of the Nazi occupation,on the night he was arrested,and as he was taken , his dear mother cried out,/ Leif, never forget Jesus. /, and He never did.It appears that many people forget all about Jesus, they appear to forget what He taught them, and what He has done for them, in the case of Leif Heif, he acted out the part , by forgiving those who tortured him. He said, /When I answered the Nazis with the same treatment meted out to me, their spirit had conquered me/.I must confess I sometimes forget Jesus, and I put self first, when I think thoughts I shouldnt, when I say things I shouldnt. In Psalm 16 v8 we read,/ I have set the Lord always before me/, here is the secret of not forgetting Jesus. I am sure we have all had the experienced ,of watching T V, and someone stands in front of the screen, what do you do? you say, would you move please. Well why dont we do that when worries blot out Jesus,or temptation comes as so often they do,tell then to get out of the way. In Hebrews 12 we read,/ And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus./
A prayer.../Dear Lord Jesus, strange though it be, I do not always keep my eyes on You, I am inclined to forget how much I need You, grant that this day may be different. Amen /

Getting our wires crossed. [Reveltation 2 v 1- 7 ]

The football team I support got beaten 6/1 many would see this as a tradgedy, a disaster, the worst day in their lives, but then on the news we hear that an earthquake has struck in Turkey, with the loss of many, many lives.Now that is a tragedy , a disaster, and for those involved in it, it trully is the worst day of their lives. If only we could see what is important, not the trivia, the preacher yesterday ,has a young son who has cancer, my dear wife died of cancer, now these things are tragic and affect us more deeply than a football team loosing 6/1. Let me tell you a terrible tragedy ,in fact a disaster, people are so taken up with things, and are blind to their souls need, now that is a tragedy.people treasure so much that is of no importance, and forget what is important, their souls well being , their spiritual needs, which can only be fulfilled in Christ.
A prayer /Dear God forgive us for getting our wires crossed ,for loosing sight of what is really imporant, in Jesus name Amen.

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.