Neglect. [ Joshua 9 v14 ]

Sweet hour of prayer,sweet our of prayer,that calls me from a world of care,And bids me at my Fathers throne,make all my wants and wishes known. In seasons of distress and grief,my soul has often found relief,and oft escaped the tempters snare ,by thy return sweet hour of prayer.We can thank the Lord for so much, but surely one of the greatest blessing is prayer,that place where we meet with our God and Saviour,and find mercy, and find grace to help in our times of need.That place where the one who knows just how we feel, listens, and listens,and understands, and feels for our pain,and is delighted to hear from us.It blesses me when my children get in touch with me,and saddens me when they don't,why because I care for them,and most of all I love them.It saddens me when I observe some children never bothering with their parents,they so easily it seems forget the sacrifices that was made for them.Our loving heavenly Father loves us so much and would challenge our foolish independence and indeed our sinful independence,when we shut Him out,and act as we did in our unsaved days,we never seem to learn the lesson,and that is the need to seek unto God,why?because we need Him,every hour of every day. So if today the path of prayer  has been neglected,acknowledge it,and turn again to that sweet hour of prayer,and delight your loving Heavenly Father.
Dear God we acknowledge that it is not so much knowing how to pray is the problem,it is to to our shame the neglect of praying itself,so today help us to pray, in Jesus name Amen /
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Welcome [Matthew 9 v11]

When my computer comes on, the word welcome comes on the screen,it is a nice word, it makes one feel wanted.One of the lovely things I observe as I read the gospels our Saviour was always welcoming,He welcomed everybody He did not discriminate, from the rich to the poor,from the despised to the desperate,they were all welcome,without exception.I remember a friend I used to visit , who suddenly made it clear that I was no longer welcome.There is an Irish song which goes,/If your Irish come into the parlour, there is a welcome there for you/,does that mean if you are not Irish, there will no welcome.Many, many Christians in the Lands where Islam rules are finding they are not wanted,at one time in England,Jews were not allowed to live there, they had to leave, it was Oliver Cromwell who showed the Jews a favour.Nations tolerate other nationalities,who come to live in their countries,but that's not the same as making them welcome.I suppose it will always be like this,but as a Christian,I am called to have a welcoming spirit,of making all I come in contact with feel wanted, irrespective,of colour,race,culture,and so on.
A prayer..... Dear God forgive me when I adopt an unwelcoming attitude towards anyone, help me by Your Spirit,to embrace all I come into contact with, in Jesus name Amen /

A citizen of two kingdoms.[ Matthew 22 v21 ]

J Stott wrote,/Many of our spiritual troubles arise from our failure to remember that we are citizens of two kingdoms. We tend either to pursue Christ and withdraw from the world,or to become preoccupied with the world,and forget that we are also in Christ/ In ,/We go to church on Sunday,the vows that we make, we break them on Monday,the rest of the week we live as we please, but come Sunday morning we are down on my knees/. One of the things I have had to learn as regards my employment,I am not there to evangelise,but I am there to live as a Christian .Oh yes if I get the opportunity I will speak of Christ,one cant help but do that,but there is to be no Jekyll and Hyde spirit in my life,I am a Christian no matter where I am, I know a dear brother who works in a very challenging job,he is so occupied with his work that he rarely meets with other believers.Paul said he was a Roman citizen,[Acts 22v25 ], but he reminded the believers that we are also citizens of heaven[Philippians 3 v20 ]. As a citizen of whatever country, I am called to obey their laws,pay my taxes,keep the speed limit etc,but as a citizen of heaven,I must not compromise the rule of Christ in my life,I must be on my guard against the spirit of this world,a spirit that can so easily take over.to
A  prayer...../ Dear God help me to be good citizen of the country I live in,yet help me to not forget my heavenly citizenship, and what that means for me,in Jesus name Amen /

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 /