Leaven.[John 8 v1-11]

An important part of our diet is bread, there are many different types ,soda bread wheaten bread,plain bread,pan bread,it is all bread. Many people make their own bread, in bread making machines, part of the ingrediants to bread is yeast,it causes the bread to rise. In the Jewish religion at passover they are to clear out any leaven [ yeast] in their homes, why?,it is symbolic of sin. W Barclay points out ,the Jews identified fermentation with putrefaction, and so leaven stood for a corrupting influence. In 1 Corinthians 5 v 6-7 the apostle tells the Christians how a little piece of leaven effects the whole lump of dough, and thats the way it is with sin, if sin is not dealt with, it will effect ,the whole church ,and the individual Christians life.So he exhorts them to purge out,or to get rid of those sinful practices ,that if left, will have serious consequences. Paul is exhorting the church to exercise discipline,often churches shut their eyes to sin in their midst, but as we see in Revelation 2/3 the Lord of the church will not.We must treat sin with the same seriousness as God does , but a note of caution as W Barclay put it,/Discipline must never be vengeful, it must always be curative and prophylactic.
A prayer...../Holy God grant us grace to lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, in Jesus name we ask this Amen/

Let the lesson begin.[ Hebrews 10 v 36 ]

There is a saying which goes,/You would try the patience of a saint/,and of course that is what patience does, it tries people, are you a patient person?. I am not always patient , God has sought to develope this aspect in my life, it is still an ongoing lesson,life for the saints is likened unto a classroom,and God is the teacher. One of my grandchildren is going to sit for 11 GCES ,amazing ,but when we talk about this classroom that we are in,it does not take place in a college, or a school building. As you wake in the morning the voice of God says to us, let the lesson begin. He does not use text books to teach us,no, He uses your children, your husband or wife,on the road he uses those drivers who cause us to become annoyed,difficult people, difficult situations. In Romans 5 v3 we read,tribulation worketh patience, so how do you feel about that? ,the fact is God desires us to be patient, just like He is, so today let the lesson begin.
A prayer..../Dear God as You teach me so many things help me to be ever willing to learn, to be submissive,help me to be a good pupil, in Jesus name Amen. /

The Lords mercies [ Psalm 121 ]

Yesterday I helped to confirm to my wife that I drive to fast, or without the due care , all I can say is I am glad I had new front dics and pads fitted recently. I do try to drive as carefully as I can, but I am not a perfect driver, I have had some near misses in my time,but I have had no injuries, how?. The answer as I see it, God, as Jeremiah declared, it is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed[ Lamentation 3 v22 ], I try not to take unnecessary risks,nor should any of us, we are all to act responsible at all times. Yet I know that it is only God who keeps me , and it is in this confidence I live , the words of John Ryland , come to mind,/ Plagues and deaths around me fly,till He bids, I cannot die. Not a single shaft can hit, till the God of love sees fit.
A prayer...../Dear God thank You for keeping us, help us to live in a responsible manner in Jesus name Amen/

Wrath. [ John 3 v36 ]

You may not not heard of Phinehas, we read of him in Numbers 25 , he was the grandson of Aaron ,Moses brother, that was his pedigree,although let me say people dont always live up to their pedigree [ cp 1 Kings 11]. But in case of Phinehas he lived up to his pedigree when he acted against sin, he slew two people who were causing judgement to fall on Israel. We may look on sin as just something that is acceptable, because it is acceptable for the culture we live in. David when he repented of his awful sin,reminds us that when we sin it is an act against a holy God [ cp Psalm 51v4]. Sin if not repented of, and forgiven ,by Christ, will bring Gods wrath upon us,believing in Christ is an act of saving us from Gods wrath, never forget this. Coming back to Phinehas , his action in dealing with sin ,turned Gods wrath away from Israel, and this is what Jesus did when He died on the cross, He turned away Gods wrath,not just from Israel, but for all those who trust in Him, as Saviour. How did He do that?, by bearing in His body the wrath of God,as the poet put it ,the wrath of God that was my due , upon the lamb was laid [Jesus cp John 1 v 29/ Isaiah 53 v 4 ].
A prayer ..../God help us to look on sin for what it is, in Your sight, and to appreciate the awful consequences of it, if not forgiven, through Jesus death on the cross. Amen /

On our knees. [ Luke 18 v 1]

George Orwell author of Animal Farm, spent time with the mining community ,he wrote of his experiences,of what it was like to be down the mines. It was to say the least a dreadful way to make a living, no wonder they went on strike when their wages were reduced. Orwell describes how those miners at the coal face ,had to work on their knees, consider how hard this was,they say hard work is not easy, in the case of the miners it surely was. Now let us consider a spiritual application as regards the Christian life,now I know it is a life of joy,and peace,and we have His presence with us,but, there is that but again,it is no picnic. Consider yourself a miner at the coal face, and the only way you are going to get that coal out is to work on your knees,in our case the only way we can serve and live for Jesus is on our knees. On our knees, the place of prayer,have you prayed today?, do it,do it,do it,we cannot cope without it,on our knees we are declaring our dependance upon God, Jesus said, without Me you can do nothing.
A prayer ....../ Dear God forgive us for our carelessness in not praying as we need to,help us all to pray ,and to pray, and to pray, in Jesus name Amen /

Gethsemane. [ Luke 22 v 39 -53 ]

There is an old saying which goes,/ What cannot be cured must be endured/, let us acknowledge somethings dont go away,things that are painful. The psalmist overwhelmed by his troubles wished that he had wings that he could fly away from it all ,and find rest[ Psalm 55] . This reminds me of those prisoner of war stories,when all those prisoners wanted one thing, to escape, how dear Joseph,longed to escape [ Genesis 40 v14-15 ]. No one likes to suffer, to experience a difficult marriage,to cope with a difficult job, or lonliness, or a breavement,or unemployment. Many people who live on the streets are there because they choose to escape from difficult situations,and yet living on the streets is not easy. There are many things that we have to endure, mybe you are enduring something at this time, that is very painful,mybe you feel crushed, a Gethsemane experience. In Gethsemane ,some slept, one betrayed,but one stayed ,He could have run from that garden, for He knew what was coming, knew what He would have to endure,so what did He do? ,well through tears, He prayed, not not my will, but Thine be done, prayed it three times. We read how an angel strengthened Him, yes even He in His humanity needed strengthed, and then He arose and faced His Calvary, today He speaks into all our lives, and says, follow Me.
A prayer...../ Dear God grant us grace to endure those things we feel like running away from in Jesus name Amen/

What a Friend. [ John 15 v15 ]

As I write this blog I am listening to an old Hymn written by a fellow Irish man Joseph Scriven called,/ What a friend we have in Jesus/.Joseph wrote this as a poem which he sent to his mother,it is the only hymn we have by him, and yet that hymn continues to bless millions of Christians. The hymn stresses a very important aspect of our Christian life, friendship with Jesus ,and the blessings that come through that friendship. Dear Christian you are not on your own you have a friend called Jesus, avail yourself of His friendship, go to Him pour out your heart to Him. Consider the words of this old hymn .
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear,
What a privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer
Oh, what peace we often forfiet,oh what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
A prayer...../Dear Lord Jesus we come to You our Saviour ,Lord and friend, have mercy upon us and bless us Amen .