God mercies. [ Psalm 147 v 11 ]

I usually have porridge each morning for breakfast,I have never had a day without something to eat,when I was young things were  difficult.My mother and father broke up and my mum had to care for the four of us. In those days there was not much sympathy for women who left there husbands,and so she never received much help. We managed,just about,there was no pocket money, in fact there was hardly any money, but in Gods mercy we never went to bed hungry, my three brothers all shared the one bed,we lived in what was called a kitchen house,which had two small bedrooms,a little living room,a very small scullery, and an outside toilet. Such was the nature of our lives ,one had to just get on with things,I never liked school,but am grateful for what I did manage to learn,the basic three Rs.As I look back I am grateful to God,for preserving my family and me,yes things could have been better, but also things could have been worse.I have mentioned the mercy of God, and would encourage you to not dwell on, the difficulties of life,whatever they be,and give thanks for His mercy upon your life. Jeremiah declared, / It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed[Lamentations 3 v22]. None of us deserve anything, but God is merciful,let me repeat this, God is merciful, let us all be grateful for the mercy of God.
A  prayer....Dear God help us in our difficult experiences not to murmur, but to praise You for mercy, in Jesus name Amen /

All things. [ Romans 8 v28 [AV ]

I am back at work  after the Christmas break,I work with people who suffer from mental illness, I have been doing this work for 21 yrs, I have always enjoyed my work,and I praise God for opening the door into this calling. There was a time when the only work I wanted to do was to be a minister,or a missionary,I  had attended Bible college with a real sense of Gods call upon my life. My wife and I applied to different missions ,but every door shut,I eventually managed a Christian bookshop,but it eventually closed,had a time of unemployment,and then came to live in England,to pastor a small evangelical church. I did this for about 3 yrs then resigned, but I continued to look only for Christian ministry,to no avail, again a time of unemployment. I did voluntary work during that time in a Christian bookshop.Along side that my personal circumstances were difficult, my first wife had died and I had remarried,so I saw a job as a cleaner,applied for it, and got the job. I worked at that for about 3yrs until I applied for my present job,as I have said ,I have always enjoyed this work. In all these things God has taught me lessons,and I can see His over ruling providence,and His guiding hand.I have never lost the call of God upon my life to preach,and God I believe has honoured this.
A prayer.../ Dear God help us trust in you at all times,when our circumstances are difficult,when doors close,in our disappointments,help us to hold unto the truth that all things are working together for our good, in Jesus name Amen /

Last night. [ James 3 v 13-18 ]

Last night I sat up and saw the new year in and before I went to bed I asked the Lord for a word to take with me into the new year.The word that impressed itself upon me is found in Psalm 90 v 12/ So teach us to number our days,that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom/This is a challenge,for the new year,for some of us it may be our last year,how are we going to live it,what are we going to apply our hearts to? wisdom , the wisdom of the world?, no the wisdom that comes from above. We often limit that wisdom to the making of right decision,I am sure that is part of it,but surely we also need that wisdom when we make wrong decisions, when we make mistakes as to how we respond.It is in James epistle we have two types of wisdom contrasted,first we have the wisdom that is not from above.The qualities of that wisdom are anything but godly,they manifest bitterness,jealousy,boastfulness,lying,Stalin and Hitler were possessed by a cruel wisdom,devoid of love.The wisdom from above is the very opposite, it has godly qualities,purity,peace loving,gentle at all times,a willingness to yield,merciful, full of good deeds,showing no favouritism,always sincere.  Like love, the wisdom from above brings with it a tremendous challenge ,but it is challenge that must be accepted, and can only be manifested with the help of Gods Spirit.
A prayer..../ Dear God grant us Your wisdom ,a wisdom that is so different from the worlds wisdom,in Jesus name Amen /

A happy eternity. [ Hebrews 11 v 8-16 ]

There was a godly minister who would wish his students a happy eternity,a happy eternity grants to us a vision of how we should live the incoming year, we must have eternal vision at all time.We are giving reminders of this by the messengers of death,my brother lost his dear wife suddenly,likewise a neighbour lost her mother. As to this life we are not going to live for ever,Methuselah lived to be 969 years of age,but in the end he still die,yes we are not going to live for ever,for as we are told ,it is appointed unto man once to die[Hebrews 9 v27], and that is an appointment which we will all have to keep.Is it possible to consider a happy eternity?yes it is, if we live in the light of eternity.The biggest if, is ,if we know Christ as our Saviour,so many dear people don't,and for them it will not be a happy eternity. I was listening  to my favourite radio programme recently,a little old lady, reminded all those listening that for the believer the best is yet to be. Success here brings its rewards,but they are only temporal,it is not that success here is not important,it is,but as to eternity,it can count for nothing. Success without Christ is folly,for it is only as we know Christ,and serve Christ, can we ever hope for a happy eternity
A  prayer.../.Dear God grant that we will all have a happy eternity in Jesus name Amen /

Forget it. [Philippians 3 v 13-14 ]

This is the last day of 2012 ,how do you feel? relieved ,exhausted,glad,grateful,I wonder are you old enough to remember the old vinyl records,LPs,I have got rid of mine.  You placed the record on a turn table then placed the arm of the record player unto the record ,on that arm was a needle later called a stylus.This needle went into grooves in the record and from that the sound was heard .There was only one problem,no matter how careful one was,the surface of the record became damaged, and the needle would become stuck in the one groove and so you would have the same words ,repeated again and again.Listen none of us should, or need to be stuck in  the groove of 2012,or2011 and so on,if so,we are only inviting pain and trouble into our lives.Israel was delivered from slavery in Egypt,by all accounts they should have been free,but they were not,because they continually looked back and even at times wanted to go back. I believe the most important words for all of us to take to heart , are the words of the apostle Paul in Philippians 3v13,/Forgetting those things which are behind/,no matter how successful, on unsuccessful the past has been, forget it,no matter how painful it has been, forget it,Gods will for all of us is to not be held captive by our past.
A  prayer...../ Dear God free us from being stuck in the groove of our past, help us to forget those things that stop us from moving on, in Jesus name Amen/

Smoking. [ Mark 10 v 51 ]

Soon  we are going to see anti smoking adverts,it will show tumours forming in the cigarette the person is smoking.It is a very dramatic advert illustrating the awful dangers in smoking, yet people will keep on smoking,the question is why?,yet do we need a why?,is it not just enough that it has become so obvious that smoking is playing with fire,is it really worth the risk?. I am 68 years of age,and when I was a wee boy I started smoking,I remember the principal of my school,spotting a friend and I smoking as we walked to school,and when we arrived at school,being called into his office , and after a short lecture,we were caned.I don't think it was a health issue ,it was because we had let down the school. It didn't stop us smoking, I don't think we wanted to give up,and at that stage,there was no evidence to show the dangers of smoking. I continued on smoking, until I was 20 years of age, and then I was restored to the Lord. It was considered a wrong thing to smoke,so by Gods grace I was able to quit the habit,saving my health,and saving me money.As I look back I am so grateful to my Saviour for not only helping me to ,stop smoking, but also for not going back to it.We all can become hooked to so many things,things we would be better with out,I believe there is victory in Jesus,He who saved us can free us,that is if we want to be free.
A   prayer...../Dear God we thank You that Your dear Son Jesus died not only that our sins may be forgiven,but also died to break the power of sin in our lives. Amen /

Giving evil a foothold. [ Matthew 26 v33/ 69-75]

I heard someone say  that evil is just looking for a foothold,I wonder what you think of that?, is it true?, I think so. As I  read history so many evil people have waited and looked for a foothold, and unfortunately they succeeded.What a lot of pain and suffering  the world could have escaped if those evil leader had not managed to get a foothold. We all need to be on our guard, if we  waver there is every chance that evil will get a foothold,we all need to be vigilant.Our Saviour said,watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak [Mark 14 v38] In Pilgrims progress, Christian and Hopeful took what they believed the right way because it appeared the easiest way,and they fell into the clutches of Giant despair,who abused them and would have killed them. Let none of us be fooled by the easiest way,we are told that the way that we have to go is a way of tribulation[Acts 14v22]. The devil may go about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour[1 Peter 5 v8],but he can also translate himself into an angel of light[2 Corinthians11v14 ]. So the need is for vigilance,to be on our guard ,to have no confidence in the flesh for the arm of flesh shall fail us,let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he falls[ 1 Corinthians 10 v12]. Let us not give evil a foothold, for if we do, the consequences will be dire.
A  prayer......../ Dear God  help us not to give evil a foothold in Jesus name Amen/