Wearing jeans. [ 1 Samuel 16 v7 ]

There is a local church it started with a few Christians in a new housing estate, it has grown to about 400 people,God has blessed, in a time when many churches are diminishing. I rejoice that God is blessing that fellowship,and pray for it, but recently I was talking to a person who was critical of the leader of that church,because he was preaching heresy,living an immoral life,no ,none of those things. The criticism , was about how the leader dressed,he wears jeans,and a check shirt,every week, this is terrible,no its not,is that person right in his criticism, no he is not. Now I like to dress up ,look my best,but let me ask you ,should we be judging people,because they don't wear a shirt and tie?,or they take their coat of when preaching. I used to play a game called trivial pursuits, and that is all it is, trivia, not important,is it not time that we stop emphasising the importance of trivia in our Christian life.What a person wears is not important to God,what a person is, that's important,is that person a man of God?, is that woman a person of God?.Should we not be taken up with spiritual fruit, than the wearing of suits?are we showing disrespect to God if we stand before Him in a pair of jeans?no. Peter writes about being clothed with humility[1 Peter 5 v5 ],now that is what we need more of, Paul ,exhorts us to clothe ourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness,humility, gentleness, and patience[Colossians 3v12 ]
A prayer...../ Dear God help us to grow up,help us to stop judging others by how they dress,in Jesus Name Amen /

No resting on our laurels.[ Hebrews 2 v3 ]

In spite of all the wonders and miracles that Israel had witnessed, Moses warns them of the dangers of leaving the worship of the only God,and turning to worship ,idols,creatures,or the moon and stars [Deuteronomy 4 v 14ff]. Unfortunately that is what they did ,so often cp Ezekiel 8,continually God had to challenge them,as regards idolatry, even King Solomon fell prey to this,influenced by his wives. None us can be sure of how we will act, a lady in the church of which I was an elder, who professed faith in Christ,turned to Mormonism.Jim Jones who professed to be an evangelical, turned into a monster,and under his leadership,hundreds of his followers committed suicide.Germany the birthplace of the reformation,became the birthplace of the Nazi party , and all the horrors that brought.England once a place of a strong church .With each new generation,changes will come,and not always for the best.I know I am saved, I have been a minister,preached the word faithfully,even had the joy of seeing people being saved,but I realise,that I could be so easy led astray, yes I know I am kept by the power of God, as all Gods children are,but I know also that things can change, and often for the worse,there must be no resting on our laurels.
 A  prayer...../Dear God help us to stay faithful to Your truth,help us to be holy,help us to be on our guard continually, in Jesus name/

O let me hear Thee speaking.[ 1 Samuel 3 v1-10]

I read one of my daily readings and it spoke to my heart,it made me aware of my vulnerability,and the cost of acting wrongly,but it also made me realise how much I need God.I am reminded of the prayer of Jabez,  in 1 Chronicles 4 v10./And Jabez called on the God of Israel,saying ,oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed,and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that wouldest keep me  from evil,that it may not grieve me.And God granted him that which he requested./ Could it be  that is the prayer you need to pray today. The last part strikes a chord with me,/ that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me/. Keep from evil,the world, the flesh, and the devil,all these things are arrayed against us,and so it will be till the day we die and go to heaven. The devil may leave us for a season,but he will be back,the flesh our carnal nature,may be overcome today, but it will not give up, the world has many empty promises and allurements,yes there are pleasures promised,but it is usually the pleasures of sin. There are multitude of voices out there clamouring for our attention,today I heard the voice of God in my daily reading,His was the voice that mattered.J.E.Bode wrote, / O let me hear Thee speaking,in accents clear and still,above the storms of passion, the murmurs of self will. O speak to reassure me, to hasten or control, O speak and make me listen,Thou guardian of my soul/
A prayer..../Dear God speak to us,help  us, make us listen,and help us to obey, in Jesus name Amen.

There are consequences.[ Deuteronomy 28 ]

In Judges 6 a man called Gideon asked the Lord why,here is what he said,/if the Lord be with us why?/,you see Israel was suffering, they were being oppressed by foreign powers.God had promised to bless His people ,to prosper them,but it seems that Gideon did not realise that the blessing,was conditional. In Deuteronomy 28,for the blessing was conditional,requiring obedience. If they obeyed they would be blessed,if they didn't then they would come under a curse, it appears so simple, yet their whole history , was that of ignoring this truth.Now in spite of this they still were His children, our children may still disobey us,but they are still our children.  I watched a TV program, and the main character,swore to God that he would stop doing a certain thing, when he was about to do that thing again,it was pointed out to  him,that he had made a vow to God,and there would be consequences if he broke his vow.Well he argued with the person,God would understand,God is not so unreasonable,he even went to see a minister,seeking a way out,but in the end,he was made to realise,he had to keep His vow. Let us all pause and consider the importance of keeping our vows, if we don't,then it is no good asking God why, and if we are experiencing difficulties ,remember there is a consequence to disobedience.
A prayer..../Dear God  help us in our stupidity, to see that there are consequences to disobedience, in Jesus name Amen/

The why prayer. [Psalm 22v1 ]

A brother in his prayer,prayed for all the why prayers, there are literally millions of people who are asking the question ,why?,and many yes, even of Gods children,who pray why?, prayers,,maybe we all have to some extent.We may not voice the why?, but we may think it,the Lord who understands and knows all things,is totally aware of our why?.What is your why?, at this time,maybe you have carried your why? with you for many years,even going back to your childhood.Why did my parents give me up for adoption?,why did God allow that to happen to me?,why did I loose my job?, why did I loose my husband?why am I suffering this illness?. In Matthew 27v 46 we have Jesus of all people praying a why prayer,so right away we see it is not wrong to ask God why?,in some ways it is a mystery, why Jesus of all people should pray that prayer,but He did.In praying that prayer Jesus was fulfilling the words of Psalm22 v1,it reminds us that the depth of His suffering was something that was real. .Why is it ,as Christians,we feel that we will not suffer?that the life we live will not bring to us various degrees of pain and hurts.In the Bible we see many of Gods choices saints suffering,Job  may have received twice as much as he had before [42v10]but I am sure he still felt pain as regards the children he lost.Then there is Joseph,hated by his natural family,sold as a slave,imprisoned for something he didn't do,He may have understood it,when he was released from prison,but what if he not been released?.We will leave it there and continue on tomorrow.
A  prayer ...../Dear God we confess there are times when we ask why,because we struggle, we thank You that you are not offended,when we ask why,into our confusion, pour in upon us Your grace and peace, in Jesus name Amen /

The importace of All. [Proverbs 3 v 5-6 ]

There are particular scriptures that mean a lot to me,like Proverbs 3 v5-6. /Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him,and He shall direct thy paths./The key word in these verses is all, The scriptures speaks of the double minded man,that such a person is unstable in all his way[James 1 v8] W Barclay,/James uses a vivid word of such a man.He says that he is dipsuchos, which literally means a man with two soul,or two minds,inside him. One mind believes,the other mind disbelieves, and the man is a walking civil war  , in which trust and distrust of God wages a continual battle against each other/Honest doubt must submit to the all, and trust in Gods word. Each new day is a journey,as we step out into it,let us acknowledge God in everything we do remember the folly of Israel ,when they made a peace treaty with the Gibeonites,this they should not done,for we read, that they did not consult the Lord[Joshua 9 v14]. Charles Bridges wrote./ Be in the habit of going to Him in the first place- before self will,self pleasing,self-wisdom,human friends, convenience,expediency/
A prayer..../Dear God forgive our foolish ways, our giving into our doubts,of failing to coming to You as we should,in Jesus name Amen /

Arrived [ Psalm 23v6 ]

I am sixty eight,and out of the blue a thought struck me,it appears to me that all my life I seem to be going somewhere , but never arriving. I think every Child of God may feel this,reflecting more on this ,I would  point you to Hebrews 11v13, there we have the saints of old, men and women of  faith., who confessed,that they were strangers, and pilgrims on this earth. They desired a better country,that is a heavenly, in other words no matter how prosperous they became, no matter how blessed they were,they never let the hope of heaven die,nor must we.Al Jolson was one my favourite singers when I was a  wee boy, and he used to sing a song called, Sonny boy. There is a line in that song which goes,/ You made a heaven, for me here on earth/, many people are trying to make heaven here on earth.They will never succeed,because we have sin here,and into every so called earthly paradise,death will always intrude in this fallen planet.Our mortality soon becomes evident as the years roll on, if we live long enough ,we are conscience of life's shortcomings. For the child of God the best is yet to come,and in the words of the hymn, there is a land that is fairer than day, and by faith we can see it afar. On that day,the feeling of never arriving,will disappear,on that day we will have arrived at our final destination
A prayer...../Dear Lord lead us on to our heavenly destination, in Your name we ask this Amen /.