The whirlwind.[ Hosea 6 v1]

In Hosea 8v7,we read ,/For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind/. Israel had sought to form alliances with Assyria,they also had given themselves over to idolatry,they where the people God had chosen for His special possession,but they forsook Him,forgotten Him,although He had never forsaken them, nor forgotten them.Gods love for His own never changes,that's a fact that cannot be denied,it is us who do the backsliding.It is us who take our eyes of the Lord,we let our gaze wonder to the vain and foolish things of this world,things that cannot satisfy.When we do this we are setting ourselves up for a fall,and we will inevitably suffer,as Israel,and Judah would find out. My study Bible says,/When we seek security in anything except God, we expose ourselves to great danger.Without God there is no lasting security/.Israel would reap the whirlwind,consider how devastating a whirlwind is,we are becoming more,and more familiar with the devastation that strong winds can cause.Remember there is always a cost when we reject God,or when we backslide,it may not be obvious, let us not be fooled or bury our heads in the sand,or as it were  put the phone down,if we sow so shall we reap.
A prayer...../Dear God grant that we will never wander from You,and for those who have ,in wrath remember mercy,in Jesus name Amen/

Instilling fear. [ Psalm 23 ]

I  received one of those phone ,in which I politely say I am not interested,and then put the phone down,but I got sucked into this one ,and found myself listening to a very determined man. He went on about the possible short coming of an endowment I took out,even though I told him, I knew what I was doing,but to get home his point,he stated the amount I may loose out .he did not want to listen to me,he just wanted to make a killing,and so he said things that were unsettling,and sought to instill fear.I finished the conversation ,but I felt fear creeping in what if he is right,what if.?.The enemy of our souls wants us to run scared,panic and act in a way that will not be helpful,and so I prayed about it,brought it God, and as I did I remembered the exceeding a great promises,from a God who cannot lie [Titus 1 v2]. Yes if I was miss-sold it I should take action ,but I was not,the only action I am called to take is to trust in the Lord,whom I have trusted all my life,and have found Him faithful. I brought up 5 children, trusting in God to provide,He put shoes on their feet ,and clothes on their back, and food in their bellies. 
   A  prayer  by Charlotte Elliott..../O Jesus Christ my Saviour,we only look to Thee.
                                                        Tis in thy love and favour,our souls find liberty
                                                        While Satan fiercely rages,and shipwreck oft we fear.
                                                         Tis  this our grief assuages,that Thou art always near
                                                                                  Amen. .
                                                           lm 23 ]

Who needs weakness?. [ 2 Corinthians 12]

Weakness who needs it,the apostle was afflicted by weakness, he called it a thorn in the flesh,he see;s it as an affliction from Satan. [2 Corinthians12] In the previous chapter he describes his sufferings,and his overwhelming burden for the church of Christ.The apostle was a man consumed with the work of God,of making Christ known,and yet he is afflicted with a physical problem. The apostle did what most of us do,he prays for healing,after all there is so much to do,you don't send your wounded into battle,do you?,of course not.You send in your healthiest, fittest ,to fight,in sport you take off the injured,and yet God permits Paul to be weakened by an attack from Satan, why is it that in the service of God or the life of many of Gods children,He allows them to experience weakness,illness,bereavement?,take a look at what Paul had to endure[Chap11].Surely none of us need weakness?,wrong, that is the very thing we need,all of us,especially people like the apostle,but as I have said ,all of us. Why?in order that we will not be carried away by pride,the lowest of Gods saints, are all afflicted with that dreadful lurgy,pride,the apostle recognised this,we need to.The story does not finish there ,no,God promised Paul ,what he needed the most, Grace, his need would be supplied,and it would be sufficient to accomplish all God would have him to do.[Philippians 4 v13]
A  prayer..../ Dear God we confess we don't glory in our weaknesses,or even like them,and as You well know ,have prayed that You would remove them,help us to see that Your grace is what we ned the most, inJesus name we ask this. Amen /

Gods best. [ Hebrews 11 v 24ff]

I  have a little card with the following words on it, / Waiting on Gods best can be hard at times.....Remember His best is the best.It really is worth waiting for/ There is a saying fools rush in,and then discover how foolish they have been ,in looking back on my life,there where times when I ran before God ,instead of waiting for Him to open the door,thankfully God over ruled ,and shut the door.A person I know was looking for  somebody to marry,went on the inter-net,and was introduced to a person ,they met but near immediately she received a proposal of marriage,which she accepted,all  I could say was I will pray for you,what I wanted to say was, wait. Joseph had to wait until God  moved he may have thought , I was doing well in Potiphar's household why was I not allowed to stay there? why indeed the reason of course being,it was not Gods best for him. Often the road of life promises so much that appears good, yet may not be Gods best,let none of us be fooled by fools gold. Gods best may lead into many dangers,yes even death,but it is still God's best,our Saviour was offered the kingdoms of this world and its glory[Matthew 4v5ff],but he saw beyond this worlds fading glory to a glory of eternal values, a glory that would never fade,even though it meant enduring a cruel death on a cross.[Hebrews 12 v2].To choose that which is not Gods best will always be second best,no matter how it is dressed up,it is said of Moses that he made a choice to suffer for the sake of Christ,than to own the treasures of Egypt,for He looked forward to a great reward,one will never loose out ,when one chooses Gods best.
A  prayer....../Dear God help us always choose what You desire for us in Jesus name Amen /

It started with a look.[ Matthew 18 v 9]

We used to be a children's chorus that went,/Be care little eyes what you see there's a Saviour up above looking down with tender love,so be careful little eyes what you see/.There is often a process in relation to sin,and it often starts with the eyes,Job was conscious of this,so much so that he made a covenant with his eyes,not to look lustily on a young woman[31v1]. The Message is more graphic,it reads,/I made a solemn pact with myself never to undress a girl with my eyes/.It is said that the eyes are the windows of the soul, so what goes in through those windows can have a serious effect on us. The sin of Achon started with just a look,you remember how he broke Gods command and took what Israel was forbidden to take[Joshua 7],the result was dire consequences for Israel,his family,and himself. When he was found out and was brought before Joshua ,he confessed his sin,he declared ,I have sinned[v20],a good old fashion term,yet there is nothing good about sin no matter how it is dressed up.Then he goes on to relate what he did,[v21] he saw ,in other words he looked, then he coveted, and then he took, that which was forbidden by God,just like our first parents, [Genesis 3v6].Yes it so often starts with a look,so today let us bear this in mind,let us follow Jobs example, and make a covenant with our eyes.
A  prayer....../ Dear  God  grant us grace in relation to the window of our souls,that our looking will not lead us into sin,in Jesus name Amen /

How long.[James 1 v4]

In Daniel 8,Daniel receives a vision of things that will come to pass,and there is a point in the vision,when the question is asked ,How long,before its fulfilment?[v13] . How long?,when the Israelites where in Egypt as slaves, I can imagine that many may have asked that question,how long before they would be freed.When Joseph was in prison for something he did not do,he must have wondered .how long?.It is a question the Jews may have asked as they waited on the promised Messiah,how long?.It is a question that many believers are asking ,how long before Jesus returns?,how long?,it seems to me it is a question,that may be on the lips and in heart of many people.Today you may be experiencing a deep trial,and you have prayed, and prayed ,and you are crying out to God,how long before Gods deliverance?.There are a number of things we can apply to this question,Gods deliverance and answer will come in Gods time,Christ did not die until His hour had come,Gods timetable is in keeping with Gods purposes.We may be wondering why is God permitting me to endure a particular trial,well the word of God makes it clear that God is developing godly character in His children's lives,that important quality of patience [1 Peter 1v7,/James 5v11],also trust in God,the question that the book of Job asks is ,would Job trust God in the trial.Also to trust God to fulfil His word,If God has given you a promise, trust Him to fulfil it,the words of a Bill Gaither song comes to mind,/Hold on my child joy comes in the morning,the darkest hour is just before the dawn/.[Psalm 30 v5] A prayer..../Dear God,grant us the grace to persevere,to have patience,and to believe that Your way is always best, in Jesus name Amen.

Conservative certainties.[ Job 19 v 25]

Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the first world war,and I suppose there will be a glut of new publications. I am never to sure as to the reason for that war, a war that would result in 37million ,people being killed,and had a great bearing on the next great war ,that would result in over 60 million people being killed.It is Paul Ham in his book,/The eve of war/,who makes this telling comment as to one of the reasons for the first world war.Many of the leaders spoke of the need for a good war,that would preserve,the old worlds conservative certainties,and that the prospect of war offered a grand opportunity to ignor difficult domestic reforms/.The term conservative certainties is a very telling remark,and it seems to me when I think of so many things,events,this term could apply to,many medical discoveries have been held back because of those in power wanting to hold unto conservative certainties. In many areas of life people refuse to accept the need of change because of conservative certainties,we have always done it that way,is the cry of many.One of the reasons I believe the powers that be, rejected Christ was because they saw Him as a threat to their conservative certainties.Those so called conservative certainties ,had blinded them to the need to change, many of the practices and beliefs that had crept in, contrary to Gods word.Those who embraced Christ would be set free,from those conservative certainties,into the freedon and liberty of Gods kingdom. A prayer...../Dear God we praise You for sending Christ,who through His death and resurrection ,has brought us forgiveness and freedom Amen /