What is really important? [Matthew 6 v33]

My pastor was raising the issue of our cultural emphases and how it may not necessary be in keeping with Gods kingdom, he raised the issue of eduction.We all appreciate the importance of education,and we all applaud the young girl from Pakistan, Malala,who has shown such wonderful courage in promoting the rights of women to have an education. In this world education is vital ,it can liberate people from poverty,gave them an opportunity to earn a living.I did not achieve much in my schooling, no O levels,,no qualifcations,but I did learn the 3 R's,for this I will always be grateful. A young girl in Burma who was taken into a Christian care home,where she received an education,said how she who was a nobody was now a somebody.Yes education is so very important,but our worth must never be equated with our education, do  we need to think about,the worlds stand on education ,and what should be the Christians position,are they the same?.  Things are not just black and white,but that does not mean we just go along without praying for Gods will on the matter,in all our ways we are to acknowledge Him,and then He will direct our paths.I did say to my pastor that the most important thing for any family is that God would save  everyone of their children, I will be pleased that my grandchildren have a good education,but that will not take them to heaven,will not free them from their sin.The world is full of many godless educated people,who make mockery of God,by their actions and words.
A  prayer......./Dear God help us to appreciate what You consider is important in life in Jesus name/

Earthern vessels. [ 2 Corinthians 4 v7 ]

Consider these words from the Psalms,/Why hast Thou forgotten me? Why dost Thou cast me off?[42v9/43v2].These words where uttered by a man of God, a man who desired God, who loved God, nothing pleased him more than to be with Gods people in the house of God. Things were against him ,people were against him, it affected him,so much so, that his thoughts gave way ,to despair,and so we hear him uttering a number of times,the phrase,why art thou cast down oh my soul?it is a question,that he asks himself. I recently watched the movie , Lincoln, played by Daniel Day-Lewis,and one of the things I liked about the movie, Lincoln appears human. As we read the Bible we must remember that the people we read about are real people not dimigods,they had their moments of despair,they sometimes acted rashly,swore,lost their tempers,felt suicidal,felt like running away,disobeyed God. He uses earthern vessels,not vessels of gold or silver,He uses imperfect people,in spite of their imperfection,and He will use you and me.
A  prayer.....Dear God we often feel unworthy,and unsuited for Your service,feel like giving up,we thank you,that inspite of our obvious faults and failings You will use us,we thank you from a grateful heart ,in Jesus name Amen .

Evidence. [ 1 John 2 v29 ]

The words,/ what if/, came to mind this morning, what if ,we were caught out when Jesus came back,we were caught  dwelling on a sinful thought, or caught with our hand in the cookie jar.?.I remember when I was a little boy going into a paper shop, they sold comics,the owner was not about,I loved reading comics,so I put a number of the comics up my jumper. When the owner came in he noticed them up my jumper,I was caught out,I cannot remember how I felt,but I never attempted anything like that again. 1 John 2 v28, reads ,/And now little children ,abide in Him,that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence,and not be ashamed at His coming/.  Of course John in his epistle is dealing with not one act of sinning but those who profess to be Christian, but by there very lives Deny that reality,they do not love their fellow Christians.What they are lacking in their lives is a given proff that they are Christs,we are saved by Christ alone,but  as John points out,in v29,/everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him/. When I started writing my blog I was considering a guanine believer ,but it appears to have broadened out ,and taken in the person who walks in sin,whose very walk Denys Christ,as opposed to the true Christian who at times falls into a sin , both are serious but for the true Christian  it will not mean rejection, by Christ.My study Bible writes/John is not talking about people whose victories are still incomplete,he is talking about people who make a practise of sinning and look for ways to justify it/
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to see the importance of a holy life,as an evidence that we are Yours in Jesus name Amen/

Total forgiveness.[ Psalm 32]

It was David who wrote ,/Remember not the sins of my youth[Psalm25 v7], as I grow older my mind  goes back to my youth,and my sinful tendancies. The mind, set on carnal pleasures,the hurts inflicted on others,the straying away from the Lord,and so we could go on.Even that godly man acknowledges that his youth was not  blameless ,yet while I can see my sinful youth I can also see how God in His mercy prvented me from utter destruction,and utter folly. Pray for the young that God would preserve them , save them,and keep them,He is there only hope,as He was and is our's.It is possible that as we grow older that our past can hunt us,the sins of our youth loom large before us,now if you know not Christ let me assure you ,that no matter what you have done,He is willing to forgive you.If you are a Christian, God remembers the way you were, but when you came to Christ He forgive you,and would not have you living under a cloud of condemnation. cp Romans 8v1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
A  prayer...../ Dear God we thank you for providing total forgiveness of all our sins through Jesus Amen

For His sake. [Psalm 29 ]

Psalm 29v2 reads ,/Give unto the Lord,the glory due unto His name,worship the Lord,in the beauty of holiness./These are words penned by David,the man who had killed a lion,a bear,a giant, never appeared to loose a battle, ruled over many nations,acquired great wealth.Unlike so many he never looses sight of the fact,that God should receive the glory, due to His name.Are you gifted? are you rich, have all your children come to know Christ?,are you being used in Gods service,have you recovered from an illness?give unto God the glory due unto His name Next David declares, /worship the Lord,/ look at this world observe how so many, worship false religions,fading glories,fanciful ideas, the words of this godly man, challenge the folly of mankind to worship the Lord .The word worship has the meaning of being worthy.only the Lord Jesus is worthy of worship.Next we are not only exhorted to worship the Lord,but to worship Him in the beauty of holiness.It was JcRyle who wrote a book called holiness, I remember reading it,but that was a long time ago, I forget what he wrote on holiness,could it be that many of us have forgotten the importance of holiness?,have we forgotten that God declared ,be ye holy[Leviticus 20v 7],this is the daily Christian goal,we may never fulfil it fully,but till the day we die we are ever seek that goal, and God will honour our sincere efforts.Finally consider how he describes  a holy life,it is a thing of beauty.
A  prayer....../Dear God we give unto You the glory due to Your name,we worship You alone,grant us grace each day to be holy, for Jesus sake Amen /

The good shepherd [John 10 v1 -18]

I do love the Psalms, just reading them refreshes my soul,what is your favourite Psalm? it is not surprising to confess that mine is Psalm 23, I wonder why?. The Psalmist emphasises the Lord ,who provides,who guides,who restores,who is with us,who blesses us,.As I pointed out, it is all about the Lord and knowing Him,I get concern when people say I am a whatever,and I always feel like challenging that statement. David the writer of the Psalm was a Jew,an Israelite,now in the context that was important,but one could be a Jew an Israelite and not know the Lord.Please do not be satisfied with I am a whatsoever, no,David said the Lord was his shepherd. This means he was not trusting in tradition or nationhood,or family connections,no he was trusting in the Lord.Now of course the Jew could and does say the Lord is my shepherd,but he does not mean the Lord Jesus,oh no,he means something so different.He does not mean the one who was wounded for our transgressions,not the one who bare the sin of many,no he does not know that Lord. One may say the words,the Lord is my shepherd,but not have the true meaning of those words.In John 10 Jesus tells us that He is the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep,that is the shepherd of Psalm 23,can you really say the Lord is your shepherd?
A  prayer..../ Dear Lord Jesus,thank You for being my shepherd,and all that this means, Amen /

No slacking.. [ 1 Timothy 6 v 11-12 ]

God is sovereign but that in no ways takes away from the important truth that we are responsible for our actions,we need balance,when people over emphasise a particular doctrine,to the exclusion of the whole then they become imbalanced.We are called to pray but we are also called often to be the answer to our prayers,a dear brother I know ,was challenged by his father,as regards the needs of children,he is now the director of a wonderful children's mission.Wesley prayed but Wesley went,and worked ceaselessly till the day he died in telling people about Christ.The challenge is to be a doer of the word, what does Christ want us to do?,when God has something to be done,He  chooses a person to do it.Oh yes it is a risky business,but it is a risk worth taking.it starts of small and then then it opens up into something bigger,We do not know where it may lead,but if we be in Gods will He will guide us,we may stumble at our beginnings,God will use our stumbling to teach us,much more than  our successes.David when he was successful ,fell grievously[2 Samuel11], it was when Uzziah became strong he fell [2 Chronicles 26 v16 ]Yes God is sovereign but we are responsible to obey and serve Him,we are responsible to guard  our hearts and lives,no slacking,till the day we die
A  prayer......./Dear God help us to not slack in our service,help us to strive after holiness, in Jesus name Amen /.