Forgiveness. [ 1 John 1 v 7-9]

I spent most of this morning assembling a bed,so I do have something to sleep on,but it did take it out of me,my hands felt sore, and I have been experiencing cramp in my legs. I will be glad to get back to work tomorrow ,for a rest,there is a saying,which goes,/there is no rest for the wicked/that may be true,but praise God there is forgiveness,yes there is forgiveness,the day of grace is not past.but one day it will be,but now the good news is still proclaimed. What is that good news?,it is that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners,we read and hear of some awful things people do,people whom we believe should never be forgiven. We would not forgive them,but God will,  continually the Bible stresses the fact that all sin can be forgiven,consider the words of Isaiah to the children of Israel in chap 1 v5-6. /The whole head is sick.....from the sole of the foot,even unto the head  there is no soundness in it,but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores,they have not been closed up,  neither bound up,neither mollified with ointment/.Isaiah is not talking about their physical condition, but rather their sinful condition,their condition is like a stinking open wound. So there is no hope, ah but there is,for we read these wonderful words in 1v18./Come now and let us reason together,saith the Lord,though your sins be as scarlet,they shall be as white as snow,though they be red like crimson,they shall be as wool/.No matter how sinful you are, remember ,that you can be forgiven through Christ,whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.,
 If you are not saved  ,here is a prayer you could pray/ Dear Lord Jesus  I confess that I am a sinner,forgive me my sins, and be my Saviour. Amen/

Faithfulness. [ Matthew 25 v21]

The faithful witness of the messenger was more important than a successful response from his hearers. A similar forecast was made in the case of Isaiah at his commissioning[Isa 6 v9f], and Jeremiah, even though he was explicitly warned that the same  would happen to him,soon learned that he was almost doomed to  be disregarded or misunderstood/ So writes John B. Taylor in his commentary on Ezekiel,as a preacher it is not what I want to hear,I want to see people  respond, to the word of God,but here we have these great prophets, been told what God required of them was faithfulness, and obedience.It is interesting that the prophet who did see a wonderful response was Jonah,that was the thing he did not want,and he disobeyed was unfaithful.Even when he was faithful  it was a forced faithfulness,God desires us to be faithful come what may,as I stand up to preach,I must be faithful in speaking the word that God has given, I spoke yesterday,it was not the word I origionally was going to speak,but it was the word I felt the Holy Spirit,wanted me to speak,I did resist Gods change in my plans,but in the end I was obedient and faithful.One of the wonderful aspects of Gods being is His faithfulness,our Saviour was tempted to be unfaithful to the will of God His Father,but He remained faithful.So today the challenge to all of us is faithfulness,that involves all of our lives,yes our preaching,but also our marriages our giving,all of our lives.
A prayer..../Dear God help  us to be faithful ,in Jesus name Amen /

Memories. [ Isaiah 61 v1 ]

I did something which I had not done for many years, I read  to my grandson before he went to bed,it brought back memories of when my boys were young,and how I read to them.Now these are pleasant memories which I will always treasure ,of course there memories which I would like to forget.We all are people with memories,good memories like I have mentioned,but then are memories I would not like to mention. Recently another famous  person has been arrested and charged with sexual offences,and it is all coming out,the papers are full of the details.This person has pleaded guilty ,and will be sent to prison, which is right and proper,but the whole thing affects people,especially those who have suffered abuse and it seems to me many people have. It brings afresh back to them the abuse they suffered,at the hands of a father,brother,or whoever,these are painful memories, very painful. So today let us pray for all those dear people who have suffered abuse,and our emotionally scarred,that they may not be prisoners of their past,and by Gods grace healing may take place.
A  prayer....../Dear God we bring to You all those who have suffered abuse,that You will have mercy upon them,grant them through Jesus Your dear son,grace to forgive,and grace to be free. Amen /

Homeless.[1 Timothy 6 v16-19]

When I was home in Belfast recently I was reminded how some people had suffered,owning to the sectarian strife,when the taxi driver spoke of the time his family had been burnt out of their home. I do not know if he was Catholic or a Protestant, because that did not matter to me,he appeared a nice guy,trying to earn a living.I read this morning of Christians in Pakistan lost their home when they were attacked by a Muslin mob,who had responded to the their local religious leaders cry,to kill the blasphemers. Let me say that the provincial government have compensated those Christians ,yet never the less,it is a very distressing experience. People in many places in the world have lost their homes and possessions through war,sectarianism,or what we could label as natural causes.There are a number of lessons we can learn from this,when we hear of these things,we should pray ,that God would undertake for such people.Next us remember that life is full of uncertainties ,the Bible reminds us not to trust in the insecure, but in God.We may never I hope experience what those people have experienced,but one day we will all leave everything  behind when death calls,the big question we need to face up to, before this happens,is where shall we spend eternity?.
A  prayer.../Dear Lord we pray for all who are homeless for whatever reason,but we ask that You will awaken people to their need of You .Amen /
/I will not be blogging for a couple of days, every blessing/

A stumbling block. [ John 3 v27]

Are you wondering why you did not get that job or promotion,or that child, you so longed for,well consider the words of John the Baptist,his followers were concerned that people where following Jesus. To them it appeared that John was loosing out,Jesus was more popular,but John who knew his place,knew his calling,did not feel threatened,and in fact realised that his ministry was temporary,declared./A man can receive nothing,except it be given him from heaven[John 3 v27 ]. A situation in the place where I work,as regards our salary has arisen,we feel we have been not been paid what we should, the union is negotiate on our behalf. I was speaking to one my colleagues, and I said if God wills, we will receive the extra salary,we need to pray about it,he agreed.Do we really believe in the sovereignty of God?,I do. I may struggle with certain things but in the end I rejoice that God is sovereign and He knows best.I also continually have to remind myself that  I am responsible to do the right thing,Joseph always sought to do his best and God blessed him and granted him favour.I really am thankful that God is sovereign, after all my knowledge is so limited,I understand so little of Gods will and plans,I may wonder why,but I will not let the why , become a stumbling block.
A prayer...../Dear God I believe You are sovereign, help me to accept what that means in my life in Jesus name Amen /

What type of prayer is right?. [ Luke 11 v1 ]

I have a friend who spoke in a critical manner of those who read prayers,he feels that it is less effective than ex temporary praying, unrehearsed,unplanned,relying on the Holy Spirit,at that time.The Jewish tradition is one of a written liturgy, and likewise the Church of England.I am writing about this because the minister of my church often reads his prayers,and I must confess I find them meaningful,it is a new experience for me , I was particularly blessed by a prayer he prayed recently.So what type of praying is right?,I think both are alright,after all we pray the Lords prayer,a written prayer,and I often use words from the Psalms in my prayers.Recently I prayed a very emotional unread prayer at a church prayer meeting,I felt very conscious of this,but a lady came up and commended me for my prayer,and she was critical of the fact that many prayed with no emotion..It is so easy to go through the motions when we pray or even read the word of God,and who wants that, God doesn't. I am sure we must be tolerant with each other, in all our different traditions,there is not necessary a wrong way or right way. Also we can learn from each other, and who knows what benefits we will receive,we should be open to the Spirits leading and guidance.I finish with a written prayer......../Grant us , Lord, 
                   to know that which is worth knowing,
                   to love that which is worth loving,
                   to praise that which can bear with p raise,
                    to hate that which in your sight is unworthy
                    to prize what to you is precious
                    and, above all,
                    to search out and do what is pleasing to you ,
                     through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[  Thomas a Kempis]
                  
 
             
 

Being judgemental. [Matthew 7 v1 ff]

Our Saviour taught us not to judge others CP  Matthew 7v1ff,there are a number of reasons for that,so often we do not know the whole story.Next we have not walked in their shoes ,have I suffered abuse? no,but I know those who have,have I experienced poverty?,and so we could go on,no I have not walked in their shoes.The church is called to offer healing, not stoning,not severity but mercy,to minister grace, not judgement.The forces of law and order are there to carry out justice, they are ordained of God for that purpose [Romans 13 vff],if they abuse that power then they must be challenged.Thankfully we can do this in a democracy,many are not so fortunate,we need to pray for those who are suffering injustice ,at the hands of of the forces of law and order. As to ourselves we must remember if we judge someone, we need not be surprised if we find that the tables are turned on us ,CP /Judges 1 v 7/ William Barclay wrote the following,/There is hardly anyone who has not been guilty of some grave misjudgement,there is hardly anyone who has not suffered from someone else's misjudgement. And yet the strange fact is that there is hardly any commandment of Jesus which is more consistently broken, and neglected/
A  prayer..../ Dear God grant the heart of our Saviour, who did not come to condemn the world,who showed mercy and forgiveness to the fallen and undeserving,we ask this in His name Amen/