His will, will be done. [ Romans 13 v1 ]

I am reading a book on Abraham Lincoln ,I am reading the part were he and 3 others where standing for the Republican party nominee to run for President.Of these four Lincoln was the most likely one not to be elected, a man called Seward was easily the favourite,he was confident he would,to such a point that preparations for his victory was in full swing. But Abraham Lincoln won,a man who came from a poor background,he was self taught,now whither he was a Christian I am not sure,but he was Gods man for the task,that lay ahead,as indeed was king Cyrus,who did not know God [Isaiah 45 v4].One wonders why God does not just use Christians,but He doesn't,He is sovereign,He will use whom He chooses . He will raise up whom He wants to perform His will and purposes,and will remove them as He sees fit,in all things He will work out His sovereign will, as He did with Pharaoh  [Exodus 10v1/ Romans 9 v17 /.Man is not sovereign, he may act as if he is ,but  God who is sovereign, will get glory,and honour,we may not understand why certain people are put in power,but God does,remember the words of the hymn, He moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.
A  prayer....../ Dear God we bow before You,acknowledge that Your ways are past finding out,that You rule and overrule in all things,that Your purposes cannot be overturned, or thwarted,in Jesus name Amen /

What are we building upon?[Matthew 7 v24ff]

Not far from where I live  the driveway of a home has collapsed leaving a large hole,one can only imagine the reaction of the people who live there. One the problems for some people who live in coastal areas is soil erosion ,causing their homes to collapse into the sea.Thinking of the broader picture, I think of so many people who are like the man who built his home upon the sand[Matthew 7 v 24ff],the result the house collapsed. The question we need to ask ourselves what are we building our lives upon? be careful ,it may collapse around you.What caused me to think on these things are the words I read of a hymn, by Johann Andreas Rothe,/Now I have found the ground wherein, sure my souls anchor may remain,the wounds of Jesus, for my sin. Before the worlds foundation slain,whose mercy shall unshaken stay,when heaven, and earth are fled away/. Can you say that? Christ is the only sure foundation, for all our lives,again in the words of another hymn,/On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand/E Mote]
A prayer..../ Dear Lord help us to stop and consider what we are building our lives upon,on sinking sand or on the Rock Christ Jesus. Amen /

We must not compromise [ 1 Corinthians 14 v33]

In all my long ministry I have sought to be faithful to Gods truth,I often realise that what I say may offend, it is not my purpose to offend anyone,I like to be liked. A young man I heard preaching recently spoke of how he sought to win others, and he didn't tell them,that they were dirty rotten sinners,he sought to bring them to an awareness of their need,of Christ by probing them with questions like,you cant give up something or other,words that may make aware of their need of Christ. Now I understand what he is trying to do and I pray that God will bless his ministry,I am sure I can learn from others,but the fact is we all are without exception,dirty rotten sinners,when it come to describing peoples condition the prophets,used very strong and uncomplimentary words.Now of course we must speak the truth in love,even though what we are preaching may offend,in Acts 20v31,we read how Paul warned everyone night and day with tears.We must not fudge the fact that we are all sinners,and the consequences of that fact, and the preacher,yes he may use different ways to win people to Christ,but he must be faithful to Gods truth,sin,Hell,Gods answer,Christ,the cross.
A prayer...../ Dear God grant us wisdom as we witness to the lost,and help us not to fudge the issues in Jesus name Amen /

Consequences [ Joshua 7]

In the movie ,Frankenstein, based on the novel by Mary Shelly,the creature who has no name,asked Dr Frankenstein,/Did you ever consider the consequences of your actions?/.It is a question that is very relevant to the whole of humanity,there are people in prison, who never considered the consequences of their actions,there are broken marriages caused by unfaithfulness. There are so many situations and people who do not consider the consequences of there actions,it is obvious that King David did not consider the consequences of his adulterous affair [2 Samuel 11-12].Let us all this day weigh up the consequences of our actions,here is the positive point, our actions can have good consequences,as well as bad,if you stop smoking you may escape lung cancer,if you are restrained in your spending then you will escape crippling debt.If you refrain from drinking and driving,then you may not kill someone, and end up in prison,if you refrain from owning a gun, you will not shoot someone,and if you trust Christ .
A  prayer.... / Dear God help us by Your spirit to always consider the consequences of what we say ,or do, in Jesus name /

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 /