Three things. [ 1 Thessalonians 5 v 21=22 ]

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil [ 1 Thessalonians 5 v21-22] Here are three things we are exhorted to do,test everything,when I buy  something with a 5 pound note, the person on the till will examine it,to see if it is counterfeit. In Acts 17 v 11,we read how the people of Berea ,heard the word from Paul or Silas, with all readiness of mind, and then they searched the scriptures,in order to see if what they were told was true, yes like them let us test everything by the scriptures. Next we are told, hold on to the good, yes there are many things in all our lives we should get rid of, but there are many good things we need to hold on to. Consider the good things that are being eroded in many countries, faith,honesty,integrity,love of God,love of others,the word of God, let us hold on to that which is good. Lastly, avoid every kind of evil ,in our thought life,and what we say, I find myself praying continually,the words of David [Psalm51v 10] ,Create in me a clean heart,O God,/for  I know that my heart can so easily be affected, with evil, cp Matthew 15 v19,and our hearts condition affects what we say,so avoid every kind of evil.
A  prayer..../ Dear God,help us to test everything,to hold on that which is good,and to avoid every kind of evil, in Jesus name Amen /

A vital ministry [ Romans 12 v 7 -12 ]

A word spoken in due season,how good is it[ Proverbs 15 v23 ] As a preacher it falls on me to speak challenging words,to remind my hearers of sin and of judgement,hopefully I am not judgemental when I speak,because as the old Puritan Baxter said he was a dying man speaking to dying men. I know we all need to be continually reminded of so many things,to be holy,to be watchful,but I am also very conscience that what people need so often is a word of encouragement. Now I believe in getting a word from the Lord,but sometimes those who come to us as individuals, with a word from God,speak with a certainty that is not helpful. In times in the past I have spoken a word of the Lord to someone, and as I think about I wish I had kept it to myself. Usually we cant go wrong with a simple, I am praying for you.,it does not even have to be that,simply listening, can be very encouraging, it was when the friends of Job opened their mouths did they act wrongly , judgeing poor old Job. There is a little verse about a wise old owl, the more he saw, the  less he spoke,the less he spoke the more  he saw,oh that I was more like that wise old owl. I am not saying we should not say anything,but  we need to choose are words wisely, even the wise old owl, sounds forth a hoot now and again.Mybe the words that Barnabas spoke encouraged Mark , to keep following ,and serving Christ, after Pauls harsh judgement Acts 15 v 38], after all Barnabas means ,son of encouragement. 
A  prayer....../ Dear Lord help us to encourage someone this day,by an action or a word ,in Your name we ask this Amen/

The law of love.[ James 2 v 14ff]

I read an article in a national news paper,the head lines read,/Horrific case shows how lucky we are in Britain/. It dealt with a case of an English man who was attacked, the result was he ended up in a coma, I dont want to name the country,but the fact is, if in that country if you dont pay up front ,you will not recieve treatment ,if there is no money then no treatment . A friend of mine recently visited a country in Africa there she witnessed poverty, one lady said she and her children  had not eaten for days.Why was I born in this country?, a country in which I  am so blessed ,I dont know why,but I praise God for all His goodness, the Bible says unto whom much is given ,much will be required of that person[ Luke 12v48 ]. In Mark 6 v37 our Saviour said unto His disciples, / Give ye them to eat/, the Christian is not there to judge the people, but to help them,and care for them. Our Saviour said that the poor we will have with us all the time,He did not say this in order that we would ignor their need , no, He desires that we do good to them, as He did continually,even manifested  miracles,in order to feed the hungry and the poor.So today consider the poor ,and consider how you can help, and so fulfill the law of Christ, the law of love.
A  prayer..../ Dear God help us who have been blessed ,spiritually,physically,and materially ,to bless others, in Jesus name Amen /

Who owns What?. [Psalm 24]

Japan and China are in disbute over some  island or islands,Argentina are in dispute with Britian over the Falklands,and Spain is in dispute with Britajn over the Rock of Gibraltar,and so we could go on.What if the real owner God suddenly shouted, it is not yours, it is all mine, so be quite and stop your arguing and fighting, over that which is not yours.For the Bible tell us , that the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof.[ Psalm 24 v1 ] All that we have, is only loaned to us ,all that we have as a nation,or as individuals is a gift from God. Herbert Lockyer writes that the words, the earth is the Lord,s,and the fullness thereof is engraven upon the Royal Exchange,London, and will one day, be written in letters of light across the sky./, .An old Gospel hymn goes ,/The things that I own and hold dear to my heart, are just borrowed, they not mine at all, Jesus only let me use them to brighten my life , so remind me, remind me dear Lord/. It would do us all good to have a reality check,as to our attitude regarding. our possessions., it may surprise us, and it may not be an nice surprise.It is one thing singing Id rather have Jesus than silver or God and putting that into practice,let us remember the lesson that Nebuchadnezzar was taught[Daniel 4 ], how the Lord humbled him,that  he may realize that all things are given by God, and if He chooses He can remove them from us.
A  prayer ..../ Dear God we ask that we may loose sight ,of our dependance on You, help us not to get carried away with the blessings You bestow upon us,and always to give You the Glory in Jesus name Amen /

Preach Christ. [ Acts 17 v3 ]

I was preaching at my local church and after I had preached I was speaking to an ex member of the church,he and his wife had moved away, and   were just visiting., I asked him had he found a new fellowship ,were he now lives, he said he felt he had. In his search for a new church he had visited  a number of local fellowships, one he said was well attended,he  attended it for about 4 weeks, and in all that time he said ,they never mentioned Jesus ,they continually  mentioned the Holy Spirit, and ,then they said something that caused this brother and his wife to not attend there any more,they said if you did not speak in tounges you were not a Christian. As a trinitarian ,I believe in Father ,Son,and Holy Ghost,and I believe that we need the Holy Spirit,who dwells in every believer, and witnesses to fact that we are the children of God[[ cp Romans 8 v 9/16] In John 16 v13 we read that the Holy Spirit shall not speak of Himself, next says Jesus, He shall glorify me[ John 16v14],so beware of those who leave Christ out of their preaching, the great apostle declared ,/we preach Christ crucififed[1 Corinthians 1 v23 ].
A  prayer..../ Dear God help us by Your Holy Spirit ,to live for Christ, to follow Christ, and to proclaim Christ in Christs name we ask this Amen/

Remember even the devil can quote scripture [ Matthew 4 v6 ]

I believe it was Gods will/ There is a higher ordering,and we all are nothing else than its agents/ I felt that now the call of providence has come to me/In three days the Lord has smitten them/and to me the grace was given/bow in humility before the Almighty who in a few weeks has wrought a miracle upon us/ Now the question is who spoke these words?.Was it John Calvin or M. L. King,or I wonder was it Billy Graham? Well it was none other than Adolf  Hitler,dear old godly Adolf who put to death ,9 million Jews, and who had the disabled put to death,whose armies slaughtered countless millions of poor defenceless people,who would and for all we know worked for the devil to get what he wanted,a man who told countless lies ,need I go on. There are many voices in the world, let us be on our guard and not be taken in by mere religious words, there are many examples of this ,the Prophets often exposed the hypocrisy of so called religious people, likewise our Saviour [Matthew 23 ] To the religious  rulers,and a religious people, he had this to say/,thou that  killest the prophets,and stonest them which are sent unto thee/[v 37] The cults can sound very convincing, but they do not stand for truth, in the end they are but bringing people into bondage and everlasting destruction.
A  prayer..../ Dear God help us not to decieved by persuasive words,or persuasive personalites,in Jesus name Amen /

A place of great need.[ James 5 v1-8 ]

I was sitting in my garden this morning,we are gradually improving in our gardening skills, and the garden is a nice place to sit and have my quite time,and I found myself going over that old gospel song, /I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses. And the voice I hear,falling on my ear,the Son of God discloses/I am very privileaged that I have a garden,but of course it is a place of intercession, and as I prayed, I read the prayer requests, and one really saddened me, on the 14th of April an orphanage was attacked in Vietnam, it was a Christian orphanage,the police did not help, but took part in the attack. An orphanage it hardly bears thinking of ,but it happened,the most vunerable in that society, are made to suffer, it should sadden any right thinking person, it brings shame to the nation of Vietnam to let such things take place. So today pray for those dear children and those who care for then, and for the country of  Vietnam, it is a sad and needy place,a place of great need,a place that needs the transforming power of Christ.
 A prayer...../ Dear God have mercy upon those who suffer injustice ,be it in Vietnam,or where I live,by Your Spirit move in the hearts of those who perpetuate injustice, in Jesus Name Amen /