Old age. [ Psalm 71 ]

A friend of mine was telling me about his church situation,they are so low in numbers,and more and more is being put on him,he is not young ,his health is not great,he feels he may have to leave, and go somewhere else.Things do become more difficult as we grow older,we are not as able as we once were,physically,or even mentally, we have to pace ourselves.I am not a young man anymore ,but I can still manage to do most things,but there will be a time that I will not be up to certain tasks.Yet I do not believe that old age is the finish of our usefulness,we have a lifetime of experience, we should have more of most things,like Bible knowledge,of godliness,wisdom,patience,and skills,God can use all these things in His wisdom and will. He understands that we are older and all that this means,more than we do ourselves,He is not in the business of pushing us over the edge,others might.Moses went on working until he was a 120 yrs,how did he do it? well God preserved him [Deuteronomy 34 v7],and then God took Him home.Most of us will not be blessed in that way,but we will be blessed, and cared for by our loving heavenly father, and one day He will take us home,remember the best is yet to be.
A  prayer..../ Dear God we thank for Your faithfulness,and the fact that it will never change,even when I grow old,receive our thanks in Jesus precious name Amen /

Becoming a child. [Matthew 18v 1-4 ]

I had a Winnie the pooh moment in that I watched on TV a movie where he and his friends try to catch an Heffalump,there was a moment in the movie that I found myself getting emotional and even ,yes, and even found myself shedding a tear.I am in some ways am a 69 year old child..It made me think of what Jesus said,Except ye be converted, and become as little children,ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven [Matthew 18v3].I wonder what you think of those words?now it does not mean that we should act in a childish way,but that we should have a simplicity about us that will respond  to what Christ said.W Barclay points to ,two qualities in a child,dependence,and trust,think upon dependence,adults value their independence,especially from God,one of most popular songs of modern times is,I did it my way.When it comes to God and us we are to do it His way,and His way is Jesus [John 14v6]. Next trust ,one of the most meaningful yet challenging verses in the Bible is Proverbs 3 v5,trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not upon your own understanding. A child trusts their parents,to provide for them, to protect them, to love them. So it is if we are going to enter the kingdom of God there must be trust,in Christ for salvation,and for a life of kingdom living. The biggest obstacle is pride, Christ humbled Himself,so must we,irrespective of the consequences.
A  prayer..../ Dear God grant unto us that childlike trust that is acceptable to You in Jesus name. Amen/

Where do I go from here? [Psalm 32 v8 ]

Don Williams sings a song about being on strike,of his money running out,bills not paid,and he asks the question,where do I go from here?/On a popular TV programme  called Top gear, it is about cars,often expensive cars, and there are three presenters they often race and test cars. On a particular programme which was being filmed in Spain,the 3 drove up a mountainous road,when suddenly the road came to an end,it was a road going nowhere.Life can be like that the road we are on suddenly comes to an end and we ask the question where do we go from here?.You may have just retired, you may have lost your husband or wife of many years,maybe your health has brought you to a full stop,or the plans you had made have come to nothing.I remember when I finished Bible college no door had opened,and there have been so times,I have found myself wondering,where do I go from here?.Those times were testing times,difficult times,but somehow God guided me on to the next place. I am at the point were I may be retiring,the question is if I retire where do I go from there?The answer is to trust God,simple but true,God will not forsake us,He will be our guide until the day we die[Psalm 48 v14].God has brought you to this place,he will not as it were run of and leave you,no He will continue to guide
A  prayer..... Dear God we thank You that You have assured us ,that You will be our guide continually,help us to rest in that truth, in Jesus name Amen
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Leaders. [Ephesians 4 v 8-13 ]

I was thinking about the church that I attend and one of the things I  like about it,it is a friendly church,we always have refreshments after the meetings,and once a month we have a fellowship meal. The pastor is a nice young man ,who is married and has 3 children,he is a sincere person,and we love him,and pray for him,for I know from experience how difficult being a pastor is.My time as a pastor and elder was not easy,some churches make it very difficult, for their leaders,yes sometimes the leaders bring trouble upon themselves. It is a big responsibility being a leader of a church, that is why James cautions those who want to become leaders [3 v1].  Today pray for your church leaders, for your pastor and for yourself,that you may not be a hindrance, but a help in the church God has placed you.
A  prayer...../Dear Lord Jesus we thank You for those godly yet imperfect people who lead your people,grant unto them wisdom,and cause them to be faithful in proclaiming Your word Amen /

It never ceases [ Psalm 103v17]

Looking back on the week that has gone,I must confess,I am disappointed,for I let things get on top of me,the enemy of my soul,must have been clapping his hands, at my failures. The good thing is ,I kept the lines of communications open, I have brought it all to the mercy seat,now that is a encouraging term, mercy seat ,it is from the OT, it  was a covering over the ark of the covenant, wherein was the tablet of stone with the 10 commandment on it[Exodus 25].The commandments,teach us that we are sinners [Galations3v24,],that we come short of Gods glory[Romans 3 v23 ],but the mercy seat ,gives hope to all of us failures.Our salvation is an act of mercy, salvation has three tenses to it, past, present, and future,and it is all overshadowed by Gods mercy ,through Jesus the Son of God.Thankfully mercy did not cease when Christ saved us,oh no,it continues  on, and on , and on.So today even though I have had a bad week, I can say,/Thy mercy, my God,is the theme of my song,the joy of my heart,and the boast of my tongue[John Stocker]/
A  prayer ...../Dear God we praise You for Your mercy that endures for ever in Jesus name Amen /

I will be satisfied.[ 1 John 3 v1-2 ]

I was reading Psalm 17 ,when the words of v15,came with a deeper meaning,they read,/As for me,I will behold Thy face in righteousness.I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness/.He has been telling us about people who have their portion in this life,they are prosperous,seem to have it all.Let us not envy such people,as sometime we do ,their brief prosperity will soon vanish,God has placed them in slippery places [Psalm 73 v18],they fail to consider their end,with dire results [Luke 6 v24]Having mentioned these people,he declares ,as for me,here is David the man of God,reminding himself and us,that inspite of all his power and riches,his hope and desire goes beyond the things of this life.Then he declares,/I will behold Thy face in righteousness/,like Job he has an assurance of seeing his redeemer,in righteousness,David was a righteous man,but it was a flawed righteousness,but like us David will be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus [Jeremiah 23v6/ 1 Corinthians 1 v30]He finishes by declaring ,/I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness/.I must confess that inspite of all my best efforts, I remain dissatisfied with myself,but one day I will by Gods grace I will be changed into His likeness, yes then I will truly be satisfied
A  prayer ...../Dear God we thank You that one day we shall like Jesus, and on that day we will be satisfied. Amen/

I have a friend .[ jOHN 15 V15 ]

Friendship is important for all of us,I have a number of friends,I received a letter from one yesterday,the word of God tells us a friend loveth at all times[Proverbs 17 v17 ] The story of the prodigal tells us about a young man who thought he had friends. It is remarkable that Jesus called Judus His friend [Matthew 26 vv50],how painful it is when a friend betrays us or lets us down, CP  Psalm55. What can one do? well in that Psalm David tells God all about it,and then he tells us what to do, cast our burden upon the Lord ,and He shall sustain us,and he ends the Psalm with these words,but I will trust in Thee. Thankfully our friends don't usually betray us ,but it does happen,be forgiving,leave it with God,remember they are weak sinners just like yourself,pray for them. In Isaiah 41 v8, God calls Abraham His friend,how privileged Abraham was,well the good news is,that when we come into the New Testament,sonship and friendship is granted unto every dear child of God,[John 15 v13-15/ 1 John 3 v1].Dear child of God you are not on your own,you have a friend called Jesus ,who will never leave you nor forsake you.Charles Bridges  wrote about Jesus,/He is the greatest,best,most loving,most disinterested and faithful of  friends,Truly He loveth at all times.
A  prayer...../Dear God we thank you for  our friends, we are amazed to think that our Lord and Saviour is our   friend ,thank You Amen/