The poor.[ Psalm 41 v1 ]

I smiled when I read the following, by Miss Piggy,/never eat more than you can lift,/eating is our favourite activity , some live to eat,others eat to live. In this country we dont hear of people going hungry,but for many in this world, hunger is a daily experance, we throw away more than they eat.I remember a lady telling me about her uncle who had been in a concentration camp,she said he would not waste any food.If you like me, live in a country were food is plentiful for all, give thanks to God for the fact that you never go hungry. One of the benefits of fasting is, it helps you understand ,what it is like to feel hungry,and to some degree you can understand the feelings of those who suffer hunger. Also you can begin to give help to those in need, by giving regulary, to charties, who work among the poor and deprived. Also pray for those missions who want to genuinely help the poor, and also seek to tell people about Jesus.

A prayer...../Dear God we thank You for the many blessings we enjoy, help us to bless others as You have blessed us in Jesus name Amen /

Man know thyself. [1 Corinthians 10 v12 ]

I find the words of James very instructive [1 v19 ],/ let every man be swift to hear,slow to speak,slow to wrath/. Note, it includes all of us, reminding all of us that we are all without exception liable to fail in this, the word of God warns us all,/let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall/. Sometimes we are foolish to judge and condemn others for their failings,when we ourselves are guilty, of the same offence. Our Saviour warned us not to judge others,if we do we will be judged,when we judge others we are blinded by pride,failing to realize our own weakness, and that we can so easily commit the very same thing . Man know thyself are wise words,and we need to take them to heart,we are all sinners, and can so easily commit the same evils that others are committing. Consider the great apostle Peter ,his foolish boast, that though all men would forsake the Lord he wouldnt, but he did. So today let us all tread carefully.prayerfully, and humbly, lest we fall into the very sin we are judging others for.
A prayer..../ Dear God help us this day to rely upon You, and not ourselves,in Jesus name Amen /

His Kingdom come [ Matthew 6 v 9-13 ]

It was reported that Fidel Castro of Cuba fame, has declared good Friday a national holiday,this has happened after Pope Benidicts visit. This is amazing because for most of his reign Fidel has appeared anti Christian,being anti Christian is very popular in many countries,I am continually reading of Christians suffering for their faith. Could it be that things are going to change in Cuba?, I hope so, I wonder how communism gained a foothold in many countries,I suppose the situation in many countries was so bad for many ordinary people, they saw communism as a way out.There are no perfect political systems,democracy appears the best , but it is far from perfect,because men are imperfect,if they were perfect then we would have a perfect goverment.Our Saviour did not preach about the rule of earthly goverments, but He did stress what it meant to belong to His kingdom,cp Luke 6 v20 ff/ Matthew 5 -7 v27,of being a servant, of loving others. If we live by these principals,we will be better people, and better citizens, although we may be considered fools, by the world.

A prayer...../ Dear God we pray for Cuba that Your kingdom will come,and we pray that we who are citizens of Your kingdom,may live lives, that reflect that reality, for Jesus sake we ask this Amen /

A waste. [ John 12 v24 ]

I follow a football team, just on the TV,called Manchester United,and one of things we remember about this team ,was a plane disaster in which most of team perished,such a tragedy and it was such a waste. And yet from the ashes of that disaster they have become one of the best teams in the world,and they gave me great pleasure,I wonder would they be the team they are now, if they had not had that loss?, I dont thing so.I heard someone yesterday say in relation to my Saviour, the young Jesus, those words touched me, for He was young, and the fact that He died so young would, and did appear a tragedy and waste,to His followers.When he told his disciples He was going to die,Peter especially protested and had the audacity to rebuke Him [ Mark 8 v32 ].It was a tragedy that the Jewish leaders, and the Roman authorities, had Christ crucified, but it was not a waste. Our Saviour was totally aware that He must die, and never saw it as a waste,He made it clear that unless He died,it would be a waste, and a tragedy for us, for no one would have been saved, not one person, and think of the terrible consquences of that.
A prayer.../ Dear God we thank You for Jesus Your son who laid down His young life for us Amen /

Resurrection day. [ Luke 24 v13 -35 ]

In Luke 24 we have an account of two people ,who had been followers of Christ, I say had been, but not now, for Jesus had died, To them He had failed, to fulfill their dreams,had failed so completley, it appears to me, they had given up,oh yes they had heard rumours ,that He was alive,but that had not impressed them.These two were in the depths of despair, and it showed,[v17 ]I am sure someone reading this ,can identify with these two people.The title of two of Philip Yanceys books are,/Disappointed with God, and What good is God ?/, it is possible that one may feel like that,and give up,just like these two.Life can be ever so cruel,we can experience so many hurts,but it even hurts more when it appears that Jesus has failed you. They were so down, they didnt realize that Jesus was there with them,mybe you feel the Lord is not with you, but He is, for He has said I will never leave you nor forsake you[Hebrews 13v5] All changed for those two ,when their eyes were opened,suddenly it all made sense,for resurrection day had come,and the risen Saviour,had not failed them, in fact He had, through His death and resurrection, saved them, and there lives would never be the same again.

A Prayer...../Dear God we rejoice in our Saviours death and resurrection,we give You thanks for all that He has accomplished , Amen

Inbetween days. [Luke 24 v13 -33 ]

I am listening to a song as I write, the words go/,Only by grace can we enter/, how welcome those words are, I am ever so grateful that it is not by performance,religious or otherwise. Especially not our feelings, unfortunately so many of us our ruled by our feelings,take this morning, I did not feel like praying, felt my concentration was poor,yet I prayed,for I know how vital prayer is for ourselves and others.Consider, this is the inbetween day ,yesterday was good Friday, tomorrow is resurrection day,but what about the inbetween day?. How did those early disciples feel? by all accounts they were in no mans land, were they still in the old covenant, or the new covenant?.What about Jesus, He was dead, was it all over?,how would you have felt in that situation?, Of course the coming day would change everything,but until then,what?. So what do we do in our inbetween days?, when we feel our world has collapsed,which brings us full circle,/Only by grace can we enter/. What do I need in the inbetween days?, the grace of God,when the one we love is taken,when we are having to endure the pain of loss,just simply rest in His arms of grace,remember tomorrow is resurrection day.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us in our inbetween days ,carry us through by Your lovely grace, in our lovely Saviours name we ask this Amen /

One word. [Isaiah 53]

As I look back on my childhood,there are things I feel sad about,one incident comes to mind,a friend and I were walking to school,and for whatever reason we picked on a boy.I remember having him up against a tree,threatening him, later he and his mother called at my home, I cannot remember what I said,but nothing else came of it,but as I grow older, this incident keeps coming back to me.I was to a degree an agressive little boy,and again as I look back I wish I had been different, in some ways one had to stand up for oneself,yet I often went further than this.So do I stand in the corner of condemnation, no, for you see it is good Friday,and all those wrong things,much an all as I regret them have been forgiven. I wear a little cross, last night I fondly touched it ,for it reminded me once again ,that I am forgiven,that a miracle has taken place,in my life. There is no greater miracle than ,what was accomplished on Calvary, for me and my past sins,my dirty language,dirty thoughts, my violence,over them all, I hear a voice,saying one word ,forgiven.
A prayer..../ Dear God we thank You from the bottom of our hearts,for Jesus Your wonderful dear Son ,who died on that awful yet wonderful cross, that every sin we have ever committed can be forgiven,by simply trusting Him,Amen /