Friendship [ John 15 v13 ]

I received a booklet with Christmas devotionals put out by my old Bible college, the Belfast bible College,the person who sent me it , is a dear friend,since my time in Bible college. She is confined to her home because of ill health, I write to her on a regular bases, and she replies occasionally . Just recently I had a conversation with another of my friends from Bible college,it is nice after all these years that I have still got their friendship. They both went on to serve the Lord, one became a deaconess, the other a pastor, he is still in the ministry although he is aged 75. Another friend of mine lives in Wales ,a godly minister, preached thousands of sermons, but because of ill health ,has had to stop all preaching, he is quite old. Another friend of mine is one I have known since I was in the ministry,their friendship is important to me,as indeed are all my friends, and I thank God for them. But the greatest friend I have is Jesus, there is so much one could say about my friend Jesus, I have never seen Him,but if I did I am sure I would recognise Him,of course one day I will see Him , and as the old hymn puts it, that will be glory for me. I have never seen Him but I love Him,because He first loved me,yes me ,even me, loved me so much He took the punishment for all my sins on the cross. Knowing Him is not an exclusive club, no He is willing to be the friend of anyone, who asks Him to be their Saviour, so why not ask Him now.
A  prayer...../ Dear God I thank for those dear people I can call a friend, and especially thank You for Jesus my forever friend  Amen/

More Grace. [ Hebrews 4 v15 ]

More was the response to poor Oliver Twists request for more food ,in that orphanage one did not get more,the request would be seen as ingratitude, and would have been dealt with severely.In an old movie starring Humphrey Bogart ,he played the part of a down and out,he goes to a fellow American and asks for help,later he goes to him again receives help but is told not to make a habit of it. More we need more,but more of what?, more  grace,I am not ashamed to admit I need more grace,yesterdays  supply is gone,today I am a needy soul, in need of Gods grace. So what can I do ,well there is only one place I can receive grace , it is at Gods throne of grace,through Jesus.But surely God will get weary of me coming to Him,surely He will remind me of all the times He has helped me, and say enough, is enough,stand on your own two feet, stop coming to Me,and asking for more. No, He will not say that, James tells us,/He giveth more grace [4 v6 ].Of all the things we need the most important is more grace.So go to Jesus today, not as a beggar, but as child of God and ask Him for more grace, to meet your need,to overcome,to persevere, and to know  victory over the world the flesh and the devil, He will not say no to you.
A prayer...../ Dear God in the name of Your Son Jesus grant unto us grace, and more grace Amen /

Deep prayers. [ Genesis 32 v 24 -32]

A  lady was asked how she coped,she answered that usually she prayed ordinary prayers, but when she was faced with problems she prayed deeper prayers.In Psalm 130v1 we read, /Out of the depths I cried unto thee, O Lord/.Now that is a deep prayer , M Henry wrote,/ The best men may sometimes be in the depths in great trouble and affliction. But in the greatest depths,it is our privilege that we may cry unto God and be heard./Is our posture important when we pray? I dont think so, what is important is the attitude of the heart,my son John tells me how he prays while driving,he does not close his eyes.Consider Jonah,he prayed in the belly of a great fish ,when he was in a weakened condition ,Nehemiah prayed as he stood before a king[2 v4 ],but that prayer came from the heart of a man who was heartbroken,it was a deep prayer. It was James who wrote about the effectual fervant prayer having great effect[5 v16], and how Elijah prayed earnetly to great effect[v17].Consider our dear Saviour ,how He persisted in His prayer, and prayed with so much intensity,that He sweated great drops of blood, [Luke 22v44]. this was the deepest prayer ever prayed, there will be times when we will be faced with difficulties,and see great needs it will be then we will pray deep prayers,and God will hear and answer as is best,but in that deep prayer we will touch God, and He will touch us,as Jacob experienced[ Genesis 32 v 25 ]
A  prayer....../Dear God we thank that You hear our weakest of prayer, oh God teach us how to pray, in Jesus name Amen /

Not giving up. [Luke 15 v 1-8 ]

It is important not to give up on people, after all God does not give up on us,I love the story  that Jesus told about the shepherd in Luke 15,how He left the 99 to go and find the one that was lost. Verse four reads ,and go after that which is lost, until he find it,think about those words ,/until he find it/, it seems to infer that he did not give up, he just kept on going until he found it. It is a picture of the good shepherds Jesus,who did not give up on us, Isaiah 53v6 ,reminds us that like lost sheep we have all gone astray,we are all lost. So there we were ,lost ,in mortal and eternal danger,we were doomed,ensnared by Satan and living in disobedience, blind to our condition,resistant to God and His ways,rebels. We were lost and we did not know it,or want to know,we despised the crucified one, never give Him a thought, He meant nothing to us . Like Paul we acted out of blind ignorance,and would have done away with religion,or if we did believe in God it was a god of our own invention.We never really considered our soul, all we considered,was the here and now,eating drinking,sport ,the pursuit of anything and everything,ignoring our deepest need, Christ.Yet in spite of all this, Christ never give up on us, He kept going until He found the one who was lost.So let none of us give up on others,let us keep praying for them,inspite of their attitude, for as they are, so we once were.
A prayer..../ Dear Lord Jesus we thank You, for not giving up on us, give us the grace in the pursuit of the Lost to not give up Amen /

Multimillionaires. [ 1 Corinthians 3 v11= 15 ]

I was talking to someone and they pointed out to me how certain TV evangelist are multimillionaires, they would justify having so much wealth from the Bible,under the term ,the prosperity gospel. I must confess that it does appear suspect.It appears to me these multimillionaires will always be having to justify their riches,it is interesting that Billy Graham tells how a wealthy person offered to underwrite all the work of his ministry but he refused it. His reasoning was, people people who did support his work with little donations,would stop praying, and the work would take a nosedive. It may appear attractive financial security,and reason if there was more money more could be accomplished,but it appears that what is more important, is our total dependence on God. I'm told that mother Teresa stopped her workers having tooth brushes ,because the poor people she worked with had none.Also a person bought carpet for the premises she worked from, when she was absent, when she came back she had it all taken up and given to the poor.I suppose we have the two extremes,what is the right one?, are both right?,a friend of mine spoke of someone who was wealthy and generous,and they commentated on his generosity, and he replied,,as he gives it out the Lord,brings more in. I am very conscious as I write this of having a judgemental attitude, I sincerely hope not,in the end I am only accountable for myself,as to my possessions,and as to my giving.
A   prayer..../ Dear God  we thank You that You know the hearts of all people,help me to be as generous as You are in Jesus name Amen /

A prisoner.[ Psalm 105 v 17-21 ]

The little letter by Paul to Philemon was written by him while he was in prison,he was  not there because he was guilty of any crime,but because he was a Christian,and proclaimed the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. This is still going on for many dear children of God,persecution, prison,and even death,we need not be surprised at this ,it is the way of the cross that leads home.It is unfair and yet it still happens and I suppose will always happen,there is an enduring to the end,when Christ will return. As I read this letter of Philemon, I noted that Paul describes his time in prison,by saying that he is a prisoner, of the Romans, of circumstances,of chance, no,he describes himself as the prisoner of  Jesus Christ.For Paul his Lord was always the first cause, our times are in His hands,Joseph was a prisoner of the Lord, and in the Lords time he was set free.Let us remember that God holds the key,and while we may not fully understand the why, we can trust Him to sustain us,preserve us, and in His good time to release us. Let us never loose sight of Gods sovereignty,this means as Pink writes, /A true recognition of Gods sovereignty will avow Gods perfect right to do as He wills/. Let us not murmur or complain, but to bow in humility and pray as our Saviour prayed,/Even so Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight[Matthew 11v26 ]
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to view life in the light of Your sovereignty in Jesus name Amen /

Staying faithful to the truth. [ 2 Timothy 2 v15 ]

I spoke to a friend  on the phone ,he is 75 yrs of age, and he is still a pastor ministering Gods word, he is very knowledgeable,has a vast library,and says he reads two theological books every week.I would class him as an academic, and yet he has not let his much learning go to his head,he loves the Lord intently and does not compromise in proclaiming the truth.My pastor who is now with the Lord,was not what one would call an academic,but he loved the Lord, and could preach a grand sermon,I owe him so much, and I loved him dearly.One should always try to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Saviour,we should respect those who are academic,not despise them,and we should also not despise those who are not academic. The main thing is, loving the Lord, and being faithful to the word of God, to not compromise in proclaiming the truth, not to depart from the simplicity of the gospel. The apostle Paul wrote of those who had departed from the faith,and who had started preaching error[1  Timothy 4 v1-3 ],let us remember that Gods truth does not change,man does not change,and they need to hear the gospel, and the word of God,I know I do.
A  prayer..../  Dear God in our pursuit of knowledge help us to stay true to Your word in Jesus name Amen /