It can happen.[ Acts 26 v 25 ]

As we look at life we can so easy despair, because it appears that somethings will never change,never get better,take slavery,one would never have thought it could have changed,but then came Wilberforce. Israel were slaves in Egypt for 400 years, then came Moses, in America slavery continued on,for a long time, then came Abraham Lincoln. For thousands of years this world lay in darkness , Israel was a conquered and ruled by Rome, then came Jesus, and for Israel and the world, salvation had come. We may feel that things cannot change ,will not change,but they can, consider the one who does not Jesus ,He can bring change, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning[ Psalm 30 v 5 ]. So many people Jesus healed had been suffering for a long time,some had tried everything humanally speaking [cp Mark 5 v 25ff ], but then Jesus came. With God all things are possible, these are not just words, they are Gods words,reminding us that change can come, the waiting can end,the burden can be lifted,the way can open.
A prayer..../Dear God and Father, I bring my burdens to You,and ask that deliverance may come, in the name of Jesus Amen /

Look for the mercies[ Lamentations 3 v22 -26 ]

It has become colder here, and the question on my mind is this, will it snow?I am not to happy when it snows, and yet I live in a home that has central heating,plus I have warm clothings, so even if it snows I should be warm. I believe we should always look for the mercies of God, painful things can happen to us,and we can let them destroy us,so thats why it is important to look for the mercies.In every situation no matter how difficult, will be mixed with mercies, this is not just about being optimistic, no, it is about looking to God, who is in control.I read this years ago about a Christian father, whose son broke a leg , God reminded him that all things work together for good ,for His children.Well there was a war on and because the young man had broken his leg he could not go to war. Think much on the providence of God,and His mercies in every situation, trust Him who loves you. Job may have lost so much ,but He never lost his God, and God used his experience to bless countless millions of His people. Today look for the mercies.
A prayer....../ Dear God help us in every difficult experience to look for Your mercies in Jesus name Amen /

Gods medicine. [ Psalm 23 ]

As I am sitting here I am listening to Psalms being sung,I really do love the Psalms, especially in the AV[ Although I am not just an AV person, but it is favourite version ]. Last week we got a phone call from our son,he has been stressed out for a while, but when he phoned us he was having trouble breathing. This upset me greatly, yes we prayed for him,later we phoned and he was feeling better, to our relief,but what could I do to help him?.Well I thought about it, and so I spoke to him later, and asked him to read the 23rd Psalm twice a day. Why did I do this?because I believe the words of Psalm 23 [ and all the words in the Bible ]are the words of God, they are the living words of God. When we focus on Gods word it can effectively change our lives, I believe that this wonderful Psalm can really help my son. Mybe you are struggling, afraid,frustrated ,a feeling of powerlessness, I advise you to read Psalm 23 twice a day ,till you know it by heart, and its truth becomes part of you, I believe it will be the medicine that can bring healing .
A prayer...../ Dear God we thank You for Your Word, that is all powerful and can bring peace to troubled hearts, and minds in Jesus name Amen /

The soul. [ Hebrews 10v39 ]

Yesterday we thought on the soul, John Bunyan wrote the following,/ The soul is immortal, and it will have sensibility forever. No one can kill the soul or annihilate it,if it may be said, God cannot do what He will not do, then He cannot annihilate one soul.When the rich man died as to his body,his soul was found alive in hell[Luke 16v23 ]./ So that is why I wrote that so many dear people are putting their souls in jeopardy,it has eternal consequences,now I am not saying the here and now is not important, but it is not the all important thing. Life is a gift of God, and He gives us all things richly to enjoy[1Timothy 6v17],I love life,music, reading watching the TV, holidays, work, and so on,but God has placed eternity within us,a consciousness that there is a spiritual context to our being, and our being here.Sin has blinded us to that reality, and so we live just for the here and now,fooled by sin and satan,the result is we suffer here and in the hereafter. In the person of Jesus ,God has broken into this world in order to save our souls, but in order for Him to do this ,His dear Son would have to die on the cross. On that cross Christ paid fully the penalty for our salvation, He made it possible that our souls could be saved eternally.
A prayer...../Dear God help us all to not neglect our great spiritual need,and the desperate need of our soul,and to look to Jesus the only one who can meet that need Amen./

A reminder. [ Luke 17 v 20 ff. ]

C S Lewis wrote ,/Horrible countries have horrible religions/, take the belief of incarnation, there is a temple in India infested by rats.Now I have nothing againsts rats,[ or India ] one of my favourite characters in the Wind and the Willows is ratty, but of course that is just fiction.Now back to the rats in the temple, people actually believe they are reincarnation of their ancesters, so they feed them , and treat them with what seems reverance, after all one of those rats may be their deceased mother. It all goes to show how far people have wondered from the truth,rats,and it is the truth that will only set people free, of course we in the west would not reverance a rat, or a cat like the ancient Egyptians did, or a wooden idol. The dollar has the words printed on it/,In God we trust/, but I think many Americans ,have forgotten that. Could it be that these times of recession are reminders of our need to focus on our souls needs ,we have gorged our physical beings on so much that is empty, and starved our souls. Not only have we starved our souls, but we have put them in great jeopardy, as we are reminded by the words of our Saviour in Mark 8 v36,/For what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfiet his soul/.
A prayer...../Dear God of all the earth, of India ,America,Ireland, England ,have mercy and turn the nations to Jesus Thy Son,who died that all ,may be saved. Amen /

Lonliness. [ 2 Timothy 4 v 16 - 17 ]

It is said that one can be lonely in a crowd, mybe you feel lonely today,mybe you are single, mybe you are not near any other Christians,or you have lost your wife or husband. I have never lived alone ,and yet I have felt lonliness, the Bible says it is not good that we should be alone [Genesis 2 v18 ]. I am sure lonliness is more common than we realise,what can we do to help others? ,well we could visit them, befriend them,and indeed pray for them,and mybe in our trying to help others, we will be helped. When people come into our church situations make them welcome, not just initially, when someone is bereaved ,they need long term support, let us show people we care, and that we are there for them, long term. I know that it is not a nice feeling lonliness,but I believe we can experience a deeper relationship with our Lord in those times of lonliness.I want to leave these words with you and pray that the reality of them may encourage you in your lonliness./ For He [Jesus ]hath said,I will never leave you , nor forsake you. [Hebrews 13 v5 ]Andrae Crouch wrote a lovely hymn called /Through it all/, here are a few lines of it./ Ive been to lots of places, and Ive seen a lot faces, There ,ve been times I felt so all alone. But in my lonely hours,yes, those precious lonely hours, Jesus let me know what faith in God could do. Through it all ,Ive learned to trust in Jesus, Ive learned to trust in God, Through it all, Ive learned to depend on His Word/
A prayer.../Dear God help us in our lonely moments, for we do have them, in Jesus name Amen/

Strength enough to give. [2 Timothy 2 v1 ]

We have a slow cooker ,it does a grand job,it cooks meat slowly,and so the meat is usually nice and tender,years ago we used to have a pressure cooker that was quick in its cooking.Now I cant help but think that for most of us life is like a pressure cooker,when we really need to be more like the slow cooker.So many of us are being pushed,and pushed, with the demands of life,trying to keep deadlines,and if we continue like this then as the saying goes,somethings got to give.I observe people stressed out, and my heart goes out to them,and my prayers. An old Puritan William Gurnall wrote,/When you are oppressed with the weight of any duty and service in your calling, improve your trust in Gods power....encourage yourself with that which God said to Gideon. Go in this might, has not God called you? Continue in the work God sets you to do, and His strength will be engaged for you.....Set your needs all before the Almighty. God has strength enough to give./
A prayer..../ Dear God sometimes the pressure of life is overwhelming and we struggle, grant us the grace to cope in Jesus name. Amen /