Poision chalace. [ Genesis 3 v6 ]

The thought came to me that certain things can be likened unto a poison chalice,they may be legitimate things,but there influence on our lives ,can effectively destroy our Christian walk.We may not even see the harmful effects on our lives,it may be our employment,politics,the imbalance on certain aspects,for example justice,now of course we live in an unjust world,and we must always be concerned with justice,but our concerns for justice must not be allowed to so control us that grace and mercy is pushed out of the way. Remember Christ died for the unjust,that means you and me,if we were to get our true deserts ,none of us would be saved,none of us would be blessed by a just but merciful God.In this hour of grace Gods purpose and plan is to forgive and forget,there will always be a need for justice,but there is also a need for mercy and forgiveness,remember if the Lord should mark iniquity who would stand [Psalm 130 v3].Now I emphasised justice and our possible imbalance,and that it can become a poison chalice,but it can be many things,are we open to the Spirits prompting,are we listening to Gods still small voice?,if not we will suffer in our relationship with others and with God.In the movie the Last crusade,there is that moment when the characters make a choice of what cup to drink from,they are all obsessed with this,to choose the wrong cup and to drink from it meant death,to choose the right cup and drink from it meant life,the ancient knight comments on the choice Indiana Jones makes ,you have chosen well,choose well the cup you are going to drink from, choose well.
A  prayer...../Dear God help us to  choose well the cup we drink from ,in Jesus name Amen /

Blew it again. [Hebrews 4 v 15-16 ]

I was not really thinking and I did something which in hindsight I felt guilty about,I wish I could always do the right thing, and never feel guilty,never feel I have let the Lord down.Am I the only one who feels like that?,of course not,consider what the great apostle Paul wrote,/I don't really understand myself,for I want to do what is right,but I don't do it.........I have discovered this principle of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong[Romans 7v 14ff] It does not make it any easier but it helps to know that I am not on my own,from saying these things Paul goes unto to say, /There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ[ Romans 8 v1], now that is a relief,that I do not stand in the place I once stood ,before I met Christ.It is John who reminds us that there is a place of forgiveness on our ongoing walk to glory,he tells us very simply,/If we confess our sins,He is faithful and just to forgive our sins,and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.[1 John 1 v9]. so tell God your sorry,now,and all will be well.
A  prayer..../ Dear God we thank You that You don not disown your children when they fail,and that there is forgiveness ,through Your son Jesus Amen /

It makes no sense.[ Isaiah 41 v10]

At the fellowship I attended recently, we sang a hymn that was translated from Urdu ,the brother who was leading the meeting said that Urdu and Hindi are both spoken the same,but the written word is different, strange  but true. I cannot make sense of this,but there is a lot of things I cannot make sense of, I cannot make sense,why people do dangerous things,why people smoke,why people self harm. I cannot make sense of why  God loves the depraved ,and would be merciful to such,but the fact is he does .I cannot make any sense why Islam attracts so many people,and why they are filled with so much hate.I cannot make any sense how a massive plane gets into the air,or why football clubs are willing to pay a kings ramson for a player. Life is like looking through clouded glasses,it truly does not make any sense,mybe that is what you are thinking,but listen don't let this cause you to despair.It is only faith that can penetrate the apparent senselessness of life,faith in God who is in control,who is working His purposes out,and whispers into our ears ,trust Me.Take a moment to think on the cross,to many it did not make any sense,but as one who was lost and now is found it makes perfect sense.
A   prayer ..../ Dear God we look to You in faith, help us to trust in Your sovereign purposes, in Jesus name Amen /

Onward ever onward. [Philippians 3 v 13]

I was speaking  to a friend recently,he was saved over 60 years ago,and when that happened he wanted to keep it quite,but one evening,he told his family.They thought he was joking, but when he persisted that it was so,they believed him,and his mother said well I hope that I will not hear any of those awful swear words again,and she never did.When Christ comes into a persons life ,there should be a change, and it will always be a change for the better. My friend went on to say years later he  had the joy of seeing his mother saved ,when she was in hospital. Not only are we changed when Christ saves us, we want others to know Christ as there saviour. This is on going,that is the change, till the die,and when we die the change will be complete,and as long as we live we will always want people to know Jesus. The question I have to ask myself, is, how am I doing?
A  prayer..../ Dear God and Father save us from living in the past,help us to walk step by step in the footprints of our Saviour Amen /

Imperfection [ Psalm 103]

We live in the age of self assembly,I purchased a new chair recently,when it arrived,I found to my dismay I had to  assemble it,which I found was no easy task,but with much prayer and perseverance I did it.Last weekend we purchased a unit on which our TV would stand. So once again I started on the task of assembling it,when it was assembled it look nice ,although the drawers are a bit out of line,in other words it was not perfect,but I think my wife was pleased.It reminded me that we live in an imperfect world,I am conscious that a lot of my service for God,which includes all of my life  is imperfect,that includes my preaching.Our Saviour said be ye perfect,this is an exhortation,which we must always aim at,but ,there is that, but again,imperfection reigns.Now our acceptance with God depends on Christ 's perfect work on Calvary,but as a child of God we want to do our best,but alas so often we fail,but take heart,God loves us in spite of our imperfect service.I thought of that hymn, which speaks of ,gold of obedience,and incense of lowliness,truth in its beauty,and love in its tenderness,these are the offerings to lay at His shrine. These,though we bring them in trembling and fearfulness.He will accept ,for the name that is dear.[Words by J.S.B. Monsell]
A prayer...../Dear God accept our imperfect service from these humble imperfect lives, in Jesus name Amen/

Fate [ Genesis 1 v1 ]

Then fate stepped in,how many times have we heard  those words,who is this fate?,who is this evolution?it does not make sense.I don't want fate to step in,I want God to step in,fate is just a word.What is the meaning of this word?/the ultimate agency that predetermines the course of events/The ultimate agency is none other than God who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will[Ephesians 1 v11]And in the midst of life we can rejoice , that not blind fate,or chance evolution are not the deciding factors in Life.As we face life which will inevitable bring challenges,problems,decisions,we have someone who is there for us,a mysterious yet personal God,who says call upon me in the day of trouble,I will deliver thee,and thou shalt glorify me  [Psalm50v15].  As we go through life we need not face it on our own ,remember it is not good for man to be alone,we can know one who said I will never leave you nor forsake you.[Hebrews 13 v5 ] We can through Jesus be saved and to know,that we have a glorious future,not a black hole of nothingness[John 11v25].
A prayer..../ Dear God we worship You through Your Son Jesus,we thank You that life takes on meaning when we know You. Amen /

Uncertainties. [ Job 19v25-26 ]

Seemingly a piece of pottery as old as 3,000yrs could prove the reigns of David and Solomon, why do they need a bit of pottery?,is the Jewish people not evidence that such people existed?.Seemingly not,no we need a little bit of pottery,I suppose if this little bit of pottery had not turned up Solomon and David never existed,they were only mythical folk hero's,like Robin Hood,they are just legends.Those wonderful Psalms which we treasure ,mostly written by a man called David,are  really falsehoods,put together like the book of Mormon, but no real bases of truth. That's ,that ,then,no its not,because it is based on unbelief,the Bible is called the word of God, because that is what it is. J. I . Packer mentions modern uncertainties, there have always been uncertainties,ancient and modern. again it is J.I.Packer  who writes as to our modern age, we lack certainty,he goes on to write,/We know in our bones that we were made for certainty, and we cannot be happy without it/.As a young man I looked at life and it made no sense, it had no meaning,but I heard the word of God preached and certainty came into my life in the person of Jesus.In the Bible,we find the truth of creation,we find the truth of mankind's condition,but from Genesis to Revelation ,we find the message of salvation,that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
A  prayer..../Dear God we thank You for Your word,that in a world full of uncertainties,we can say I know whom I have believed,  in Jesus name Amen /