Pain.[ Proverbs 27 v 6 ]

How does one begin to write about pain,the dentist does his best to eradicate it,we can buy medication ,for all sorts of pain,none of us want to experience pain.We are told that there is no gain without pain,and there is truth in those words,but we would still want the gain without the pain.Philip Yancey who had written 3 books on pain, was asked, what he had personally learned about pain?. He replied, / Pain is good. Pain is bad. Pain can be redeemed/. How can pain be good?, well Philip uses the illustration of a peson who has leprosy,this disease destroys the nerve ends,so they dont feel pain,with the result they injure themselves without knowing it, the result is they suffer severe effects, like the loss of fingers ,and toes.Pain is telling you there is a problem,if we ignor it there can lead to serious consequences, we can think this through at many levels, so today let us give thanks for the pain that is good.

A prayer..../ Dear God it seems strange to thank You for any sort of pain ,and yet we do, the pain that tells us something is wrong, in Jesus name Amen./

Anger. [ Colossians 3 v 8 ]

Many years ago I remember my best friends father stubbing his toe on a piece of furniture, and then kicking it afflicting more pain on himself, we tried not to laugh. This came to mind this morning while doing a blog and I pressed the wrong button, which meant I had to repair the damage to my blog, I felt so frustrated that I banged my hand on the table in anger, and of course the computor and the table cried out in pain, of course not, the only one was hurt was me.The Bible has so much to say about uncontrolled anger, take Moses who was very meek,yet he had his moment of anger [ cp Exodus 20 v 7ff]. He paid a price for that moment of anger,many of us pay a price for our uncontrolled anger, my friends father suffered double pain, and I have a sore hand. There usually is a price to pay for anything that gets out of control,if we are continually getting angry ,we are more than likely injuring others , mybe even frightening others,it could be road rage, whatever it is, we need to stop it,begin to see it for what it is, wrong.We need to say more than sorry, we need to repent, we need to stop it, I need to stop it, how?, by the grace of God.

A prayer..../Dear God grant us the grace to have control over our emotions ,in Jesus name Amen /

You dont bring me flowers anymore [ Psalm 147 v 3-6 ].

Barbra Streisand sings a song ,called,/ You dont bring me flowers anymore /, it is song about love fading, lessening, cooling,not speaking, distancing . Of warmth turning to coldness,of closeness turning to distance,of desire turning to distaste,none of it is very nice. I am sure what I am writing applies to so many these days, and many are feeling sad, feeling vulnerable, insecure,and afraid, along with anger. If you are going through this experience , try to not let it destroy you,and dont blame God, it is not His fault, God gets the blame for so much that is not His fault. These things come with the territory,we live in a fallen world, but in the midst of all our hurts there is one who cares and understands, His name is Jesus, He knows what it is to be rejected ,and unloved ,He has experienced the hurts, and as He looks on his creation ,He is still recieving them, but He justs keeps on loving, and loving, so go to Him today,if you dont know Him come to Him, if you do know Him dont turn away from Him .

A prayer.../ Dear Jesus in all my need I come to You , help me .Amen /

Chariots of iron. [ Hebrews 11 v 32 - 35 ]

The children of Israel were in the promised land but in order to have their allotted piece of land they had to conquer it, the children of Joseph came to Joshua,they wanted more land the valley of the Canaanites ,but the Canaanites had Chariots of iron. In other words they had the superior technology,so that was that, no it wasnt,the land was theirs, God had promised it to them, they were not rising in faith, they were looking with the natural sight,but Joshua wasnt ,he tells them, for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites,though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong. [Joshua 17 v 16 - 18 ] Has God given you a promise?, are you holding back because of the chariots?,in my life I have faced many chariots of iron, and have learned that if we are to overcome them ,it must be by faith in those promises God has given. So today go forward by faith, drive out those chariots of iron, you can ,for if God be for you, can who can be against you.

A prayer..../ Dear God help us ,to not let fear rob us of those things, You have promised us, in Jesus name Amen /

Getting things out of proportion. [ Matthew 23 v 13 ff ]

An old lady I dont know was complaining a client of mine,to me her complaint seemed so unimportant,and I could not help thinking how we often act this lady. We get things so out of proportion, our dear Saviour was faced with people who were so blind that they as our Saviour said, that they strained their water so they would not accidentally swallow a gnat, but they swallowed camels [Matthew 23 v 24 ]. They failed to see what was imporant,most of the things in their religious thought pattern was distorted, our Saviour said that they were blind, spiritually. Philip Yancey highlights this distorted way of thinking in our modern life,how many of us ,/ believe that the sole purpose of life is to be comfortable.To gorge ourselves, build a nice home, enjoy good food, have sex, live the good life./ but he goes unto say,/ but the presence of suffering vastly complicates that lifestyle- unless we choose to wear blinders. It is hard to believe the world is here just so I can have a party, when a third of the world go to bed starving . God desires that mankind see what is really important ,they need Him,first and most of all,and when they do know Him,to never loose sight of that reality.We all need to see what is most important and to treat the trivia for what it is, trivia.

A prayer...../Dear God help us to not be blinded by the trivia in life,that if I am not saved,then I need Jesus, and if I am saved I need to live for Him. Amen/

Judging God. [ Numbers 14 v 18 ]

As I read the book of Joshua and and how at the command of God cities were wiped out, men ,women and children, and even animals, I am inclined to question this, it appears so cruel. We all wonder at certain things in the Bible,hell is another doctrine, to many it is inconcieveable, that a God of love would condemn people to such a place.So what do you think?, or do you not think about these things, well here is my conclusion,God knows the whole, God is not cruel, God is kind, and He desires that all may be saved. So that is the character of God, the heart of the eternal is most wonderfully kind, but He has the crown of His creation in rebellion, let us remember that every sin is an act of rebellion against God.He knows the whole, we dont,and out of His total knowledge He acts in keeping with His justice , and holiness. God loves this old sinful world ,and He has acted in an incredible loving way, by sending His dear Son to die on a cross,He could do no greater thing than that. It may seem incredible to do such a thing,but the sinfulness of humanity demanded it.Let us not sit in judgement on God,whose ways are just and always motivated by love.
A prayer...../Dear God grant us the grace we need to trust in all Your ways and judgements in Jesus name Amen/

Unlearning. [ Romans 7 ]

There are many things we need in life, yes I may not have liked school, but I did need to learn the three r,s,and if I was going to drive a car I had to go to a drivng school to learn. There are so many things we need to learn in life, yes there so many things we need to learn in life. The thought came to me yesterday, there are things I need to unlearn, although I am Christian, there are habits , and thought patterns, that I need to unlearn. The modern song goes ,I did it my way,it is the hymn of modern man, but it is not a Christian hymn,we need to unlearn this, and sing a new hymn,and call it, Your way Lord.Where once we filled our mind with filthy thoughts which we learned,from pornographic material,or from the depraved conversation we had with others.We need to unlearn fearful thought patterns,as to money,relationships, ageing,dying,change,not feeling loved,discontentment,sin. We need to unlearn so much wrong thinking, stop and let look us look at our lives ,if we are honest,and nothing will change unless we are honest,honest to ourselves and honest to God, it will be the first step in the task of unlearning,then and only then can we begin to unlearn.
A prayer ....../Dear God by Your grace help us to unlearn those things that dog us ,and effect us, in Jesus name Amen /