Nehemiah [ Nehemiah 1 ]

One of my favourite people in the Bible is Nehemiah ,a person of  integrity,prayer,steadfastness,purpose
,also a great encourager of Gods people, he was a great leader. We dont read of any of his faults,not that we should be looking for any,but he had those who sought to hinder him,in the important work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.We can learn so much from this mans life and ministry, he could have given into fear[6 v12-13]but he didnt ,he prays to God, naming those who were seeking to unsettle him.
The list is interesting and instructive,Tobiah ,Sanballat non Jews,but he also mentions,a prophetess and prophets.Often it is those in religious garb who are the greatest enemies of the truth and the work of God,religiosity can cover a mulitude of sins, those who had our dear Lord crucified were religious. Religiosity is not the rule by which are we guided by,we must be guided by Gods word,judge all things by its teaching, and stand fast in the truth God has revealed to us,like the disciples of old, who told the religious leaders of their day,we ought to obey God,rather than men[Acts 5 v29 ]
A prayer..../ Dear God thank you for your servant Nehemiah,help us not just admire him, but to follow his godly example, in Jesus name Amen /

Jesus.[ John 14 v6 ]

Often in a dispute particularly between a man and wife it is best not to get involved, there are exceptions of course,but  usually it is best to let them sort things out themselves.If you do interfere you may be told in no uncertain terms, that it has nothing to do with us,it is between ,him and her, or her and him.I was at a meeting last night, and the preacher, a Alan Greenbank a retired missionary, who told of an incident about a eight year old boy,who went home after hearing Alan preach.When he arrived home he spoke to his father ,and told his father that he wanted to do what Alan had said about accepting Jesus as his Saviour.Well the father who was a Christian was delighted, so he spoke to him about what it meant to accept Jesus as Saviour,and then he offered to pray with his son, but his son said no, and asked his dad to leave the room,for he said, / this is between Jesus and me/. It is nice to have godly parents,Sunday school teacher, who tell us about Jesus, whom we all need,but when it comes to being saved,it comes down to this one solitary fact, we all need to be like that eight year old boy,and realize if we are going to be save, we personally need to meet with Jesus.to have our sins forgiven, and accept him as our Saviour
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to see our need of Jesus Your Son, and our need of meeting with Him and trusting Him personally,for salvation and in our everyday daily experience in His name we ask this Amen /

Sorry [ Isaiah 57 v15 ]

I should have known better, I was suddenly drawn into a conflict situation, the more I tried to calm the situation the more difficult it became, in the end I found myself becoming angry. Well eventually silence reigned, and unexpectantly I found myself saying , I am sorry I got annoyed with you, and surprisingly , the other person, said he was sorry,so peace returned. Often it is the hardest thing to do,that is to say sorry,especially if its not your fault, and yet that may be the only way to resolve a conflict.Many years ago when I was at Bible college,  I felt I had offended a visiting lecturer, he lived quite a few miles away,I had only a bike,so I cycled over to where he lived,and apologised, and then peace came into my heart.The word of God stresses the importance of humility,because we are without exception proud by nature, pride is a sin,it is the stronghold of the unconverted,alas it does not die when we are converted, so for your Lords  sake, say you are sorry
A  prayer....../ Dear God forgive us for our unforgiven attitude, help us to see the importance of destroying the fortress of pride,which manifests itself in so many ways in our lives,in Jesus name Amen /

Abuse. [ Isaiah 59 v1 ]

Last night on the Tv there was a programme about paedophilia in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland,and how those in power did not stop it happening, I am not going to run down that group ,although one could easily do that. When it comes to goverments , religious groups,or any situation,having power, it is vital,[ I stress the word vital,] that it is not seen as absolute power. The only one that can safely have absolute power is God, when men feel they have absolute power,they inevitable feel they can do as they please, they feel they are not accountable. Democracy is not a perfect system but to some extent it challenges those abuses in our society,be on your gaurd against, any who feel they can do as they please. In the church,politics,or in the home,if you are in a sitution where this is going on ,challenge it,and if you are been abused,have courage to leave,and report the abuse, no one has the right to abuse anyone.
A prayer ...../ Dear God we ask that You would help and come to the aid of those who are suffering from a abuse of power in Jesus name Amen /

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 /