Mr Perfect.[ Luke 18 v 9 - 14 ]

Driving is not easy,so much traffic on the roads,yesterday I was reminded how dangerous it is when another driver ,sought to force himself into my lane,he should have waited, but no,out he came,there where cars on my driver side,I managed to accelerate, and got out of trouble.I should not be to hard on that driver, although  I was shaken up,for I know that I will make mistakes. No one is perfect ,even concert pianist play wrong notes occasionally,the best of footballers miss penalties,the greatest of chiefs burn the dinner,the greatest of jugglers drop what they are juggling.So today be a little forgiving for those around you who  make mistakes,who get it wrong, not only in driving, but with there finance,their children,their marriage,their walk with God. For those who yield to temptation, and commit the unthinkable,people are imperfect,and in case you think you are mister perfect, I got news for you,your not.
A  prayer...../ Dear God  help me to treat others in word and deed ,as I want to be treated,in Jesus name Amen /

Uzziah and pride. [2 Chronicles 26 ]

In Isaiah 6v1 we read,/In the year that king Uzziah died/,Uzziah was king of Judah,he was a powerful king,everything he did prospered,he became king at the early age of 16, and reigned for 52 yrs.For most of his reign he sought the Lord,and we read ,God made him to prosper,he was instructed by a godly man Zechariah.He may have gone  on to be one of  the greatest of  kings,but[ if only we didnt have that but]we read,when he became powerful , he also became proud,which led to his downfall.The AV puts it like this,his heart was lifted up to his destruction,my study Bible highlight two things, he overestimated his own importance, and a lack of thankfulness to God.Pride is one the most destructive sins,it literally destroys, as it did Uzziah. C S Lewis writes,/There is one vice of which no one in the world is free...Pride or Self-Conciet ,and the virtue opposite it, is called Humility/he goes on to write,/It was through Pride that the devil became the devil,Pride leads to every other vice,it is the complete anti-God state of mind./.In Uzziahs case he ended up a leper and lived in isolation,pride if it takes over our lives, it can have serious consequences,so today be humble, it is the saftest place in that place as Bunyan puts it we need fear no fall
A  prayer....../ Dear God have mercy on us for our tendancy to be proud,help us to be humble, in Jesus name Amen/

Relying upon God. [ 1 Samuel v 45-47 ]

In 2 Chroicles 13v18 we read how Judah won a great victory,because they relied upon the Lord God,the question to ask is this, what would have happen if they had not relied upon the Lord God?.We need to rely on the Lord our God,and then one may ask another question,is our religion not just a crutch?, well is it?.Well if it means I am depending on God ,yes,for I remember when I relied on self, and what a failure I made of that, yes I need my God,I am not ashamed to admit that. In declaring my dependance on God, I am acknowledging that I am weak, I am acknowledging that I cannot save myself, that Christ must save me. I am acknowledging that the trials of life are to much for me to bear on my own, I need Gods grace,I am acknowledging that I have a weak sinful nature,that I am prone to yield to the wrong. Yes I do need to rely upon my God just like Judah of old,I are no different from them ,and what applies to me , applies to you.
A  prayer....../ Dear God keep us from the folly of thinking we do not need You,for the fact is we need You every hour of every day, in Jesus name Amen /

Comforts die, but God lives[ Psalm 18]

We do not always mean what we say,take for instance our weather in England,we have had a few dry years,so their is a hosepipe ban,at the moment we are experiencing rain each day, and it is expected to continue. So what do we say when we meet people,ah well we need the rain,but really what we want is for the sun to shine each day.When a dear one dies we may say it is for the best,but of course,we will still want that loved one to be with us,it is understandable, dont be to hard on yourself. I still think of a loved one who died,still miss her, for many reasons.In Psalm 18 which is a very lovely Psalm, v 30, reads,/ As for God, His way is perfect/,it is so easy to read those words to speak, even to preach them with conviction,but[ yes that but again]be carrying within us ,bitterness,and a resentfulness with God.In that 18th Psalm v46 we read the word,/The Lord liveth/, H Lockyer writes the following in his devotional com on the Psalms,/ The story is told of a godly woman,having buried one of her children,sat alone in her sadness, yet had ease of heart when she read,/the Lord liveth/. Then another of her children died,still she remained calm and trustful as she said,/ Comforts die, but God lives,/ Then the heaviest blow fell, her beloved husband died,and this really broke her. Her surviving child who had heard her speak those comforting words, said to her disconsolate mother, is God dead mother?. This reached the sorrowing woman,s heart, and her former confidence in a living God returned.
A  prayer....../Dear God in Your mercy help us,for we dont always say what we really mean,we try  not to show, how we feel,but You know how we really feel when our comforts die,grant us the grace we need , at all times to find comfort in You our living God, in Jesus name Amen/

Is vengeance ever right?. [ Romans 12 v17 ]

When the Russian army was advancing into Germany during the last days of world war two, they were not only defeating an enemy, but they also were intent on getting revenge,because of all the  awful things the German army did to the Russian people. The German population sought to flee from the advancing Russians, and with good cause,but they could only run so far, and many of then,especially the women suffered .The question all this raises is, is taking vengence ever acceptable?,and the scriptural answer is no ,Romans 12 v 17 instructs us to leave God to deal with the wrong doers,/ Vengeance is mine, I will repay/. Does that mean we are to let wrong doers do as they please?, no of course not, there must always be a system of justice,and the wrong doer punished. This is one of roles of the state,justice also demands that the punishment should reflect the seriousness of the crime,the thief on the cross acknowledged he was recieving the just punishment for his crimes [Luke 23 v41 ] .
A  prayer....../Dear God we bring to You the many who are suffering injustice,especially Your dear children, we ask that they would leave their cause with You,in Jesus name Amen /

No ones perfect [2 Corinthians3 v18 ]

We live in an imperfect world,and it is obivious that even His church is imperfect,and even though I have been a Christian a long time, I am far from perfect. I heard of a Pastor who held and still holds a grudge against a person who did something on him 22 years ago. The point is, God knows and in His way ,His perfect way, He will deal with that brother, I am not to judge that Pastor,I need to pray for him. We read, as for God His way is perfect [Psalm 18 v30 ],yes God is perfect and His way is perfect,and we are told that He will perfect that which concerneth us [Psalm 138 v8 ]. How?, well He has His means ,if we keep ignoring His word, He has His means,this I repeat,God is not ignoring our imperfections,God is working in all His childrens lives His perfect will. It is called sanctification, that life long process in each of His childrens lives,one way or the other, He will deal with us,even if we are a preacher, Pastor,or whoever,we may not like the means in which He will use to change us,but then He is the potter and we are the clay.
A  prayer..../Dear God help to not gloss over those things in our lives that are contrary to Your will and word in Jesus name Amen /

Burdens [ 2 Corinthians 12 v1-10 ]

 We can carry many burdens in life,some have to be borne,God will give us grace,He will grace to the humble, we are exhorted to cast our cares upon Him,for He cares for us, and will sustain us [ Psalm 55 v22/ 1 Peter 5 v7 ]The burdens we are called to bear are never sent to destroy us,but they are meant to be borne,and in all things we are meant to glorify Him,it is natural to want to be burden free. I wonder what we would be like if we never had a burden to bear,would we better people?,as  I observe life I see how that material prosperity, does not make people more content, it just appears to create a desire for more. Consider the wisest yet foolhardy king Solomon,read the book of Ecclesiastes,he had everything and appears he was never satisfied,  he found it all meaningless.He appears to have lost sight that being king, was not just to accumulate,wives,gold,nor was it right to oppress his people[1  Kings 12 ] Could it be that we need burdens, to keep our sinfull selfish tendancies in check?, sunshine all the time brings its own dangers,prosperity can cause us to loose sight of what is most important,love for God, and love for people.We all want self satisfaction,not realizing that when ever the word self is first in our list,it can never bring satisfaction[John 4 v13-14],let me also say we are not,to be self  absorbed with our burdens also, for that can only bring frustration, resentfulness, and even bitterness.
A  prayer..../ Dear God grant us the grace we need for those things that must be borne, that in them we may glorify You in Jesus name Amen /