The vunerable [ Isaiah 40 v 10-11]

I support a children's  mission ,and I received a letter from the director of the mission,enclosed were photos of 23 children all wearing pyjamas. Why were they in pyjamas?,well these dear children all come from  very poor backgrounds,they never in all their lives owned a pair of pyjamas.They received them at Christmas and were so delighted,as I am,is it not so true, that often it is the vulnerable who suffer,the women,children and the elderly.It is giving me more and more concern as  I hear on the news of children being used as sex objects,of child trafficking.We may be inclined to blame God,why does He not do something?,well He is, the mission I support are doing something. There are many people doing something, but it seems so little,but it is not,we should never underestimate,the good people do, even to one person,God doesn't,how do I know that?because I know what He has done for me,and His heart goes out to every orphaned child.Until Christ comes again,the world will continue to manifest its fallen nature,but He will raise up His servants who will be His channel of blessing,to the vulnerable.
A  prayer.... Dear God of the loving heart,bless all Your servants who are reaching out to the vulnerable, in Jesus name Amen/

I am with you always.[Matthew 28v20]

As I go on in my Christian life I  receive comfort from the knowledge that I am not alone,Jesus  said ,to his disciples,and to all who are His./I am with you always[Matthew 28 v20]. W Barclay wrote,/In the Christian life we have a presence, Jesus,He is at once the goal  of our journey, and the companion on the way. He   is the one we are going to meet and the one who travels with us/ Whatever difficulty we may have to face this day,He will be there to help us,whatever dangers we may face this  day, He will be with us to protect us.We can step into the unknown future with one who will lead us and guide us,as sure as He guided Israel in the wilderness ,so He will guide us His children. Words of an old song I used to sing come to mind,/Fear thou not for I am with thee, I will still thou pilot be,never mind the tossing billows take my hand and trust in Me/ If fear is pressing in upon you,and you don't know what to do,here the word of Lord for you,/I am with you always/ He is greater than our greatest problem,He is stronger than our greatest weakness,for you see with God all things are possible
A  prayer....../Dear Lord Jesus as I face this day,let me not be afraid of change,for You the unchanging one will be with me,help me not to be afraid of anyone for You will protect me,and help me not to despair of any given task I have to do,for You will be there to help me Amen /

Preserved,protected,and promoted.[ Psalm 40]

I  look at so many things and cannot see an answer, cannot see how they can be resolved, there are things I have been praying about for years,and no answer that I  can see. That I can see,maybe in these words I have a clue,or maybe it is what I don't see that is important,what do I not see?the hidden ways of God.God whom we cannot see is at work in hidden ways, ways that are part of His plan and purpose,we want knowledge of why,we think we should know everything,but the secret things belong to God,we may never know the answer now,but we will in eternity.Yet that is one aspect,there is another,and we find another answer in an old gospel song ,which goes ,/The answer is already on its way,Jesus said it, I believe it and its so/.Yes you have prayed,nothing appears to be happening,that is the time ,to wait, to trust and not panic,to be still and know that He is God. The waiting time is an exercise in faith,a time of trusting God to undertake,to see what He will do,to work on our behalf,to open the doors that are shut fast,to realise that only He has the key,to open that door, and make a way.Read the book of Esther, and the life of Joseph,read and learn the lessons therein,see how God worked in their lives and times.Joseph, Esther ,Gods people ,consider  how He delivered them. Consider the words of David, a man who was preserved,protected, and promoted,he says./ I waited patiently for the Lord,and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry[Psalm 40v 1]
A  prayer....../Sovereign God we bow before You, trusting You to undertake for us,to make a way where there appears to be no way,to deliver when there appears no one who can deliver,to help us when all help is gone, in Jesus name Amen /

Plenteous redemption. [ Psalm 130]

One of the themes of Psalm 130 is that of waiting for the Lord,that He would respond to the cry of His child,that he would forgive and grant mercy unto him.There are untold millions of people who are looking to so many different gods and in the end they will be unforgiven,and lost.But for the child of God there is hope,yea there is hope for all who call,and look to the God of the Bible,they will not be disappointed.His hope is placed in God and His word,God cannot  lie,what He says He will do.He goes on to describe the extent of his desire,it is like a sentry on night duty,who longs for the morning.So it is with a deep longing the penitent saint waits on God to receive His mercy,the night of sorrow for sin has been long,with that divine favour of mercy and forgiveness,and that the Son of righteousness would  arise with healing in His wings.For only if that happens can the saint move on, not living under a cloud,and stop living a defeated Christian life,sin has many consequences,it affects our peace. The writer of the Psalm although down, has confidence in a faithful God,to forgive and restore him to a place of usefulness.His is a confident hope for himself and for others, God is not limited in His mercy,no with Him is plenteous redemption.  Plummer=/ The greatness of our redemption may be estimated by the glory of its author, by the greatness of the price paid, by the number redeemed, by the depths of sin and misery from which they are rescued, and by the glory that shall follow the completion
A  prayer ..../Dear God we thank You that in Christ ,Your son there is mercy and forgiveness Amen /

There is forgiveness. [Psalm 130]

Psalm 130 ,begins,/Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee ,O Lord/ here we have a cry of a person who is his really down, and yet out of that dark experience,he composes a prayer and a song,that would bless multitudes. There are many reasons why a person may feel so distressed,the death of a loved one,persecution,injustice,but in this case it is in relation to his sin,as I consider the laws that are being passed in our Parliament, it could easy drive one to the depths of despair. Yet when I consider my own sin,there is still within me and indeed in all of us,a depth of depravity,I am glad you cannot see my heart. Lockyer wrote,/here in Psalm 130,there is no complaint about others- only about the writer himself- his own sins iniquities and desires/ .Well what can one do when overwhelmed by a sense of one sinfulness?,he reasons with God,v3,/If Thou shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord ,who shall stand?, the answer is no one,the fact is the whole world is full of sinners,and I sometimes wonder why does God not just wipe us all out, like a spoilt dinner on a plate that is only fit to be thrown into the waste bin, yet God doesn't . Why? Because there is forgiveness with Him,that Thou may est be feared, Lockyer ./Thus, Divine forgiveness, called the smile of God, binds the forgiven one to Him in a reverential trust and love/.
A prayer..../ Dear God we praise You that there is, yes, there is forgiveness with You,a holy God, but a forgiving God, and a God who is to be feared,we pray this in Jesus name Amen /

But what way? [Acts 26 v 19 ]

A thought came to my mind this morning,/ God will make a way,but what way?, in Acts 16 v6-7 we read how Paul and his companions were kept back from preaching the word in the province of Asia,likewise when they tried to enter a place called Bithynia the Spirit would not allow them. It reminds me of my experience,as a young man ,my wife and I felt the call of God upon our lives,so we went to Bible college, before that we had tried to go with New Tribes mission ,later we applied to go to Brazil, then to the Irish Baptist mission,but none of these doors opened up.Did that invalidate our calling ?, no, no more than it invalidated Pauls calling,it was just Gods way of leading us to His appointed place. God will open a way,but the question is what way?what way is He leading you?do you feel the call upon your life? ,seek and you shall find,the door may open right away for you,it may not. God leads us in many ways before we reach His appointed destination, but we will reach it,what God starts He will finish,He will not leave us to flounder half way there.Paul was finally called to go to Macedonia,where God blessed His ministry, and a church came into being
A  prayer......./Dear God grant us grace to obey Your call in our lives,to be guided by Your Spirit in Jesus name Amen /

Our ultimate reward . [ Romans 8 v18 ]

Just recently a scandal has broken out in relation to a hospital,the old and vulnerable were neglected,they were not cared for,those in charge lost sight of the fact that patient care is more important ,than status,and reaching targets.One wonders why this was allowed to happen,why the staff went along with it,why?but they did,yes they were trained professionals,but they lost sight of the truth,that when love is absent,people suffer.I work in the caring profession,to me it is not just a job,it is a calling to care and to love those I serve. The story of the good Samartian comes to mind, a man was attacked and left for dead,two very religious people,ignored him,again consider how much cruelty ,and pain has been inflicted by religious people,we point to Islam,but the Church or those who represent the church have been guilty,also of awful things. Torturing ,burning people,judging people with a proud severity which is far removed from our loving Saviour,so often He cut across such things,and declared He had not come to condemn, but to save, so often He took a stand  for the marginalised,He never went along with the crowd.Such love cost,He did not always receive thanks from those He helped,He was not awarded a CBE,MBE ,or a knighthood,no they did not crown Him,with a crown of gold, but with a crown of thorns,and His  reward was a cross, but His ultimate reward was eternal. [Hebrews 12v2 ]
A prayer ....../Dear God help us not  to compromise in our service to others,to never forget the importance of love, in Jesus name Amen /