There is an answer. [ Romans 7 v 25 ]

In 2 Peter 1 v 3, we read that God has by His divine power has given us everything we need to live a godly life,stop and consider these words. In other words whatever we are faced with, we can be victorious, this is what we are being told, we can be overcomers, instead of being overcome. We can be godly, we can live in a way that will glorify God. How? to you it may seem a pipe dream,I cant overcome these feelings of mine, I have tried and failed. Now thats the way the non Christian looks at life,but we are Christians,and that makes a massive difference, were once I struggled on my own, I have this wonderful word that there are divine resources at my disposal In Romans 7 the great apostle writes of his struggles, /Oh, what a miserable person I am, Who will free me from this life dominated by sin and death?,it appears he is in despair, but not so for he tells us the answer,/ The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord./
A prayer..../Dear God we acknowledge our failures before You today,Your word assures us that in Jesus we can succeed ,grant unto us grace today,to be more than conquerors. Amen /

Insecure.[ Romans 8 v 38 -39 ]

How secure are you? do you live as if the sky is going to fall upon you? and I not talking about Sky Tv. Let us be honest there are so many things that can make us feel insecure, recently I mentioned a soccer player who killed himself, it seems there was no apparent reason at the time. It now appears he was having trouble with his marriage,possible he thought he was going to loose his wife, and he just could not face this .Inspite of the fact that he was successful, he felt totally insecure at the thought of loosing his wife,yes so many things can make us feel insecure. The list is endless ,and of course there are many things in our past experience, that have created
a spirit of insecurity,many believe in eternal security,but when it come to the here and now we feel insecure. The result of this our lives are blighted by this,causing us and others near us pain. As I read the Bible, I am faced with people just like myself, these people at time felt insecure, and showed it, but God loved them. So today take this thought with you God loves you, that will never, never change,why? because His love for you is unconditional.
A prayer..../Dear God fill our hearts with You Love, a love that is unconditional;, in Jesus name Amen.

Preach the Word. [ 1 Timothy 4 v2 ff ]

I saw two daffodills two days ago ,they are not suppose to bloom till spring, and yet there they were, blooming out of season. In 2Timothy 4v2, we read ,/Preach the word, in season,out of season/.In the church were I was a minister, everytime I stood in the pulpit ,I stood on a rug with the words ,preach the word, on it. These words reminded me and indeed everyone who stood in that pulpit of the responsibllity to be faithful ,and to preach Gods word. Goverments are trying to take the place of Gods word, and tell us what is right and wrong, philosophers likewise, now I am not advocating we dont obey the laws of our land[cp Romans 13 v1],but as a preacher of the Word of God, I am called to preach the word,a word that makes clear what is clean and unclean[ cp Leviticus 14 v57 ],a word that tells of the only one who can save souls and forgive their sin ,Jesus. On the day I stand before Him I want to here Him say, well done good and faithul servant.
A prayer....../ Dear God help us in a world of change to be faithful to Your word in Jesus name Amen /.

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./