Dont be fooled[ 3 John v4 ]

I feel a bit unsettled ,the reason being I had a conversation with a person who is very religious,and holds to unbiblical beliefs,yes he reads the Bible,he studies it for 2 hours every day,fasts and prays,but is a person whose veiws are inbalanced ,and unscriptural. To try and talk to him about truth in a more balanced way is nigh on impossible,and I came away feeling unsettled. The bible tells us to contend for the faith [Jude 3],and if we do,it is a war zone, and the enemy will do all he can to wound ,hurt and unsettle us. The people our dear Saviour had to contend with, were extremley religious,and they opposed Him continually,and when they could not defeat Him with their spurious beliefs they nailed Him to a cross. So beware especially if you are a young Christian ,that when you challenge the enemy they will fight back. The devil is a very powerful enemy, and one of his aims is to destroy all Gods children,and in so doing challenge God Himself,so be on your gaurd, for the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Let us not be fooled by religious people ,whoever they are,that do not hold to the truth, remember though they may defeat one in an argument, that does not make them right.
A prayer by Thomas Brooks....../Ah Lord, this mercy I humble beg,that Thou wouldest rather take me into Thine own hand, and do anything with me, than give me up to those sad errors, to which thousands have married their souls  and are in a way of perishing for ever. Amen/

The offence of the cross. [1 Peter 2 v7-8]

When Jeremiah and Ezekiel were called as prophets they were both told to not be afraid of those they had to witness to[ Jeremiah 1v8/ Ezekiel 2 v6 ].I dont know if I always get it right as regards witnessing, but rest assured there will be those who will take offence at our words.When my dear mother was dying I sought to witness to her,she took offence,and later on my sister and her husband mentioned this. Now I can assure you I dont want to upset anyone ,especially my dying mother,but  the reality is, we will, not because we our argumentative,not because we are seen as religious fanatics,but because the Gospel is still an offence to so many. Many do not appreciate the exclusiveness of the Gospel, that Jesus is the only way to God [John 14 v6 ],in fact they are deeply offended at this.Also the idea of hell does not sound right to many,or the truth of sin,to some extent most people live by their own standards. So many feel that they are not accountable to God ,and that somehow He will accept them,after all because He is love He will ignor their sin, and the fact that they reject His son. If that was true then God would be not true to His holiness, yes God is love,and because of that fact He has provided at a tremendous cost a way in which people can be saved from wrath to come . We have a wonderful Gospel  ,we are called to tell others this good news as our Saviour commanded us to,yes we have to be sensitive,and wise,but people wil react not always in a friendly way, the cross is evidence of that.
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us not to be afraid to witness, but help us not to witness in an offensive way,in Jesus name Amen/

He delights in mercy . [Micah 7 18 ]

One  of the songs of the civil rights movement  was, /We shall overcome/, in the book of Revelations we read of  about the devil who accuses our brothers continually[12 v10].As long as we are on earth following Jesus, the devil will continually try to overcome us,he will use every means at his disposal,just as long as he can bring the saints down.He does not rest on the sabbath, or take a holiday, or go of sick, no,day after day he will attack us. So it is, we must be on our gaurd continually,there is no respite, from his enmity, how he must have rejoiced at Davids folly,and Solomons foolhardiness,at Peters cowardice,and at us when we do that which we shouldnt. But let us not despair,God will forgive and restore,his erring children, I am sure the devil hates the fact that God is merciful and forgiving,for it means no matter how far the child of God falls,and brought down.No matter how much the devil,may tempt the saints,there is always a place of mercy,and forgiveness,when mercy is sought and repentance is manifested by a child of God.There is always mercy for repenting prodigals,from the God who delights in mercy ,consider the words of Micah 7 v18,/ Who is a God like unto Thee,that pardoneth iniquity,and passeth by the trannsgression of the remnant of His heritage,He retaineth not His anger for ever,BECAUSE HE DELIGHTETH IN MERCY/.
A  prayer..../ Dear God we shudder when we consider our sinful failures,how we yielded to Satans temptations,but we praise You, that You are a forgiving God, one who delights in mercy,we thank You in Jesus name Amen /

Doing in us. [ John 15 v1-8 ]

As I look back on my life ,much of my prayer life and concerns have been taken up with what I want God to do for me,now there is nothing wrong with asking God to open doors,heal,provide,guide, save and to grant us wisdom and strength. But as I look back I have been more and more conscious of what God is doing in my life,developing ,preparing,and changing me. I have had to learn different lessons, and sometimes the process has been painful, and yet it has been necessary in order for God to work out His purpose in my life,that of perfecting me. Consider the following words from Romans 5 v 3-4,/we know that suffering produces persesverance,perseverance,character, and character hope/. Now  I dont know a lot about gardening but I have a lovely little rose plant,and it had black spots on the leaves,this I treated, but it had also some dead wood, this I cut off,and now I have a lovely healthy rose bush. We are all to some extent like that little rose bush ,with black spots, and dead wood,if we are going to be the healthy Christians that we should be, then God must deal with those areas in our lives. The black spots must be treated and removed,they are a blight,that which mars or prevents growth, likewise the dead wood must be removed, consider what the black spots and dead wood are in our lives. Consider our Lords  words,/I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away,, and every branch in that bears fruit He prunes, that it will bear more fruit/[John 15 v 1-2 ]
A  prayer.../ Dear God so often we are solely taken up with what we want You to do for us,help us to begin to understand what You are doing in us, in Jesus name Amen /

What still awaits us. [ Jeremiah 18 v1 - 6 ]

Last evening in our fellowship ,we had a communion service,and we did something different ,we used liturgy from ,/A wee worship book/,I found it very meaningful and calming.I suppose it helps us appreciate other Christian traditions ,we are members of a  church worldwide made up of different cultures,and traditions. I believe we should accept all who trully know the Lord, that sounds obvious, but for many it is hard to appreciate this,and to put it into practice.Now coming back to our communion service, there was a  prayer that we all prayed, which touched me,it read,/ Take us,renew and remake us. What we have been is past,what we shall be, through You, still awaits us./  What we shall be,through You, still awaits us,yes our Christian development is ongoing.This means we are not set in concrete ,we are the clay in the potters hands,and in his hands He will change us,and always for the better. Marlyn Baker  who ministers through song, has written the following.
             / Jesus You are me changing me, by Your Spirit You,re making me like You.
               Jesus You,re transforming me, that Your loveliness may be seen in all I do.
                You are thr potter and I am the clay,help me to be willing to let You have Your way.
               Jesus , You are changing me, as I let You reign supreme within my heart/.
A  prayer ..../ Dear  Lord ,change us more and more into Your likeness Amen /

No sheep.[ John 10 v 1-18]

I attended our local agricultural show ,on display were horses,cattle ,both groups were very impressive,there were events like show jumping,and dogs involved in racing each other,but I didnt see any sheep,mybe I just missed them,but I wonder where they were?. The bible has a lot to say about sheep,it likens people as unto sheep,when it mentions that all we like sheep have gone astray,and that we have turned every one to his own way,the people would understand this, living in rural setting, many of them involved with sheep.It was to shepherds that the angels proclaimed the birth of Jesus[ Luke 2],Jesus called Himself the good shepherd ,who would give His life for the sheep. [John 10v11]. Again the people would understood this, wild animals often attacked the sheep, David spoke about a lion and a bear attacking his sheep[ 1 Samuel 17 ]Now the spiritual application of all this is ,as sheep go astray,so we without exception have turned away from God,we have gone our own way,and that puts us in great danger,in our self willed way,we are ensnared , and trapped by Satan and our sin,with all it consequences,for time and eternity.This is where Jesus the good Shepherd comes in, He leaves heaven comes to earth to give His life for us [lost sheep],in order that He would rescue us ,from Satan,and forgive and free us from eternal loss.The cost to Jesus cannot be estimated,as the old hymn declares,/ None of the ransomed ever knew,how deep were the waters crossed,nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through,ere He His sheep that was lost/.The question is why did He go through all that suffering ?simply, because He loved us His sheep.
A prayer...../ Dear God we praise and thank You for Jesus Your Son ,who left heaven , came to earth to die on the cross for lost mankind Amen /

In heaven.[ Ephesians 3 v 14 -21 ]

I wonder do you ever have a deep longing for our homeland ,I mean heaven,I  do , now I can understand how many dear peoples lives are so difficult,and they long for heaven and home. But we must wait until God decides it is time for our homecalling ,we read of Enoch who walked with God,and He was not,for God took him[ Genesis 5v24 ], consider, God took him, thats important, one these days God will take you and I home.I was thinking today about heaven , and what will not be there,have you thought about that?,well ,there will be no feelings of loneliness , the Beatles sang of all the lonely people,yes there are a lot of lonely people,who go to bed on there own, and face each day on there own.Ask God to lead you to some lonely person and befriend them,I dare you to pray this,God will surprise you. I believe even Christians are lonely, I have been  lonely at times, there I have said it, I have confessed,and it is true. Now could it be that as we are in this earthly situation loneliness is something we will always  know to some degree,but heaven here I come,were loneliness will be banished,not one of Gods children will feel lonley there
A  prayer...../Dear Father in heaven grant unto us a greater sense of Your presence, we  acknowledge that we are lonely at times,we praise You that in heaven we will never feel loneliness,until that day dawns,and the shadows flee away,pour out Your grace into our lives, in Jesus name Amen./