Weakness. [ Ephesians 6 v 18 -20 ]

I was talking to my son in Ibiza today,and he said that women outnumber men 3 to 1 in the church in England, I wonder if this is true?,if it is ,I ask myself why?. I dont know that I have an answer ,or has any one an answer to this?. It was interesting at that funeral on Friday ,the men where in the majority, in our Lords day everyone was religious, men were the leaders. From my own experience I would find it easier to witness to women, although during the week I met an old neighbour and spoke a simple word of witness to him . Could it be that we are being challenged to pray for men, but in doing this, remember, God may challege you to witness to men, we are His lips, we are the channels He will use. So what about it?, are we ready to pray?, are we ready to speak,to men, in the coming week?. Dont overstretch yourself , start praying for one person,and ask God to give you an opportunity to witness to him, and ask Him to grant you a holy boldness to speak, I can assure you ,that I was a bit anixious in relation to that funeral service, but then, is weakness not always the best to be in, then we are relying on the Lords strength.
A prayer..../ Dear God we ask that You may fill us afresh with Your Holy Spirit ,that we may be witness ,especially to men, in Jesus name Amen /

Rest . [ Matthew 11 v28 ]

I had an interesting experience I attended a Hindoo funeral service,someone I knew for years had died, I was asked by his family to do a reading of my choice. I was not sure what to read but I did put something together, but it was as you will see Christian. Now only two people who were at the service were Hindoos, the priest and my friend who had died,so most of what took place was totally foreign to those present. So this is what I read,I did say that I was Christian and asked was that all right to the Priest, who said it was; now my short reading.
/ Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses,to breathe free.The wretched refuse of your teaming shore, send these, the homeless, temptest tossed to me.I lift my lamp beside the golden door.These words are to be found on a plaque at the base of the statue of liberty, they were written by Emma Lazarus, but nearly 2000 yrs ago a person called Jesus said, Come unto Me , all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. A Christian , Horatius Bonar ,wrote a hymn based on these words it reads.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,come unto Me and rest,
Lay down thy weary one, lay down thy head upon My breast.
I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad,
I found in Him a resting place, and He hath made me glad.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, behold I freely give.
The living water,thirsty one,stoop down, and drink and live.
I came to Jesus and I drank, of that life-giving stream.
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him
So ended the reading, please do pray that God will bless it to those who were present.

Look on the cross. [ Romans 8 v1 ]

Here comes that person again,he is always hurting me letting me down, and then saying he is sorry, until the next time,and not only that he is always asking Me to help him . I know Lord, I am sorry, I know son I love you,I will always love you, forgive you, and help you yes even financially.I see your imperfections ,but I also see and appreciate all your weak efforts, it will not always be so ,one day of my choosing , I will bring you home, and then for you, all will be perfect,and never again will you have to say sorry,or have a need.The past mistakes will be forgotten, the past failures will be seen in their true light,and I will reward you ,for all your service , yes there will be a reward for you, I will look upon you with eyes of love, and say well done son, enter into my joy and fulness. So in the meanwhile dont give up, for I will not give up on you,you may not think it but you are precious to me,and when you think otherwise look on the cross.

Be careful little eyes. [ Job 31 v 1 ]

There are three steps usually that we see in relation to sin, we look, we desire,and then we act, I think our hearing is part of it also[cp Genesis 3 v1-5].But it usually starts with what we see ,take the sin of Achan [Joshua 7 ],when he was found out,he confessed v21, I saw,and then it started on a downward spiral, likewise Davids sin with Bathsheba [2 Kings 11] in v2 we read ,he saw. Consider that there are two ways of seeing,first there is the seeing that only considers the immediate gratification, it does not take into consideration the consequences of our actions, the cost to all involved and especially in relation to God. We fail to appreciate the hurt and pain we are going to cause, no we just see with distorted single vision, and act in ways that are horrible. Was it Amy Charmichel who said when we are tempted we should think upon eternity,when Joseph was tempted [Genesis 39 ]he saw beyond the immediate,he saw beyond selfish desire,to its consequences, how it would affect his master, and most important his God. There is a little chorus which goes,/ Be careful little eyes what you see, theres a Saviour up above looking down with tender love. So be careful little eyes what you see.
A prayer..../Dear God help us to look at temptation with spiritual vision,and not be ruled by our sinful nature , in Jesus name Amen /

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/