Slow to anger [ Micah 7 v18 ]

The book of Nahum is about God judging Assyria,Nineveh being the capital,that city had received great mercy ,when Jonah had prophesied against it,but it was only a temporary repentance. Here we have this city,returning to its former wickedness,why did God not destroy them sooner?, because says Nahum,the Lord is slow to anger.Why does God not act against this sinful world,because He is slow to anger,we should be grateful for this fact,for it were any other way,who among us would stand.I look back on my life and praise God, for being slow to anger. I love the words of  Micah 7  v18.  / Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity,and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of  His heritage? He retain eth not his anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy/. I  like those last words,/He delighteth in mercy/.Nineveh had forsaken Gods mercy, and as Henrietta. C. Mears, writes, when mercy is unheeded ,it will eventually bring Judgement upon this backsliding people.Think not that God will ignore evil, no , as Nineveh would find out,and as indeed all who forsake God, will find out. In spite of this for all who forsake their sin and seek forgiveness through Jesus Christ, God will truly delight to show mercy.
A  prayer...../ Dear God we thank You for Your patience with mankind,that You are slow to anger ,and delighteth in showing mercy to all who seek Thy forgiveness, through Jesus Amen /

A battle of the wills.[Jonah 4 v2]

The person of Jonah is an interesting person,what did he hope to gain by running away?,in fact the book of Jonah throws up interesting revelations about God.. As God reveals Himself  in this book,we see clearly the mercy of God,it is very,I stress very unfortunate that some Christians appear to have a God of the OT and a God of the NT.So let me stress God in the OT is merciful,loving,forgiving,and gracious,He does reveal His wrath against sin,and people are made to realise that ,God is to be feared and not to be taken lightly. Make no mistake He has not changed,God is still merciful,loving,forgiving,and gracious,and all people everywhere can experience this through Jesus His son.For those who reject His salvation through Jesus His Son, will experience the wrath of God,let no one be fooled about this. Jonah knew that God was  gracious,merciful,slow to anger,and extremely kind[4v2]. He also knew that God was a God who judged sin,and that is what he desired God to do,he wanted this nation,who where a very wicked and cruel people,to be destroyed and cast into hell.  But it did not happen and  Jonah knew it would not happen,he hoped so much that it would  happen,but He knew his God,in some ways he had a balanced view of God. The problem lay in Jonah he just could not come to terms with the fact that God,would spare such a wicked people, but to Jonah's dismay and displeasure, He did.
A  prayer......./ Dear God forgive us our blind stubborn ways,help us not to as it were spilt You in
two,but to accept You as You really are,and not according to our likes and dislikes,in Jesus name Amen




two,

Just as we are. [ Acts 16 v31]

I have a dear friend ,who was brought up in Dublin, his family where devoted Roman Catholics, his brother became a priest,and he went to seminary to also become one. Yet all the time he was seeking for an assurance of sins forgiven, to no avail,all the time he was at the seminary ,the trainees never studied the Bible. As he looked at his fellow trainees,he observed that none of them had any assurance of sins forgiven.One of the priests confessed to him,that he hoped that he was dead before Christ  returned,because he was filled with a dread,and wondered where could hide from Him,in other words he had no assurance of his sins being forgiven,and so lived in constant fear of judgement. My friend resigned from the seminary and continued to seek for what he desired with all his heart, an assurance of his sins forgiven. He eventually did find the answer when he simply trusted Jesus ,instead of trusting in the church,the so called sacrament's,Mary, the priesthood, good works. He realised that none of those  things could save him, the fact is ,we are not saved by things,but by a   person called Jesus.As the old  hymn tells us, we must come just as we are, and simply trust Him who alone can save.
A prayer  ...../Dear God we thank You that there is only one Saviour ,Jesus, He paid it all, thank you in His name Amen/

Witnessing [Matthew 10 v16]

Sometimes it is hard to know whither to speak out or say nothing,witnessing for Christ is something all Christians should do,,but when to speak that is the question?.There seems to be we all need a degree of boldness,and a great deal of wisdom,as I grow older I am less inclined to speak,and that concerns me at times. My desire is that everyone without exception should know Christ,as I hope it is yours,but how to win them ,how to be a fisher of men,that is the question?That is the question I wrestle with ,I am sure we need to go forward prayerfully,to seek to be usable and effective ,how do we define effectiveness, depending on God?,yes, but we we need to ask God ,if there is anything we are doing that is stopping  Him, using us in an effective manner.The greatest barrier to effectiveness would be wrong practises ,our lives must be free from those things that cause people  not wanting to listen to are attempt,to speak to them about Christ.Jesus said let your light shine that men see our good works.[Matthew 5v16].Our Saviour continually challenged the religious  people,in regards to their hypocrisy,their hardness of heart,we must seek not only talk about Jesus but we must walk the walk. Often it is our walk that can grant us opportunities to  witness about Christ,but remember it is no guarantee that people will respond.The challenge for all us who know Christ, is to be His witness,by our lives and our words,and to leave the results with God.
A   prayer...../Dear God grant that You may use us to some degree to be effective witnesses for Your glory, in Jesus name Amen/

Our greatest resource. [ Luke 18v 1-7]

What is our greatest resource?,not our bank account,not our gifts,our greatest resource is prayer,what is Elijah remembered for,? prayer,what is the greatest,blessing that David left us ?prayer,his Psalms are but prayers put to song.What did our Lord do before Calvary?,He prayed,His crucifixion was peppered with prayer.The Devil would cause us to the doubt importance of Prayer,the pressures of life would cause us to have no time for prayer,the disappointments of life can cause us to despair ,and give up praying. There may appear many reasons not to pray,but there are overwhelming reasons to pray, our Saviour ,said that we should always pray[Luke 18v1], and He added , and not loose heart. We are called to perseverance in our Christian life [Ephesians 6 v18],and that includes prayer,indeed if we are going to persevere then we need to pray. In praying we are granted the strength to press on,there may be delays in our requests when we pray, God may not grant us our request when we pray,but there will be answers,needs will be met,doors will open,healing will take place,the enemy of our souls, will flee from us[James 4 v7].The saints prayers are precious to God,in Revelation 5 v8 they are seen as incense, arising to God, David prays,/Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense[Psalm 141 v2].You make think your prayers are weak,limited,and ineffective,but in Gods sight they are precious and pleasing,even in their imperfectness.
A  prayer...../Dear God grant us grace to pray in Jesus name Amen/

Prepare to meet Thy God. [ Amos 4 v12]

I have never heard of Black Friday,until yesterday,it originated in the United States in Philadelphia,it was called that because of congestion by traffic and predestines,out shopping the day after Thanksgiving.There are other reasons,but whatever the reason it is spreading all over the world,retailers like Walmarts , use it as special sales day ,where things are reduced greatly in price. This has even reached Belfast my home town,I know this as there was a news item,reporting on the violence by shoppers seeking bargains. I know we all love a bargain ,but as I watched the news item, I felt sad how people appeared to displaying sale rage. Later on I thought,if only those dear people would show the same concern for their souls,if only,but alas most of them ,live for the THINGS OF TIME.In Matthew 11v12,we read,/The Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force./ It is Denney who wrote,that the/ Kingdom of heaven is not for the well meaning,but for the desperate/ I never suffered when I became a Christian, but many do, many in this world,suffer greatly,but inspite of this they are desperate for that which is of more value that a 42inch TV,Christ the pearl of greatest price.
A prayer..../ Dear God have mercy on mankind who so easily are blinded by earths fading glory,grant Lord that there will be turning to the person of Christ, who alone can save and satisfy Amen /

Dont Give up on people.[ Luke 13 v6ff]

I purchased an orchid about 15th months ago,the people I bought it from instructed me as to its care,it is called cool breeze,and had a lovely bloom on it.They bloom for a long period ,but they also take a long time before they bloom again. For over a year it has had no bloom on it,I had cared for it watering it ,pruning where necessary,and kept looking for a signs of a new bloom. I must confess I felt like throwing it out,because I bought it for its bloom of lovely flowers,not for its big green leaves. I wanted flowers,well the good news is I have noticed two shoots beginning to grow,hopefully I will have my desire ,it flowering.It reminded me of a story  in Luke 13 v 6ff our Saviour told of a man who planted a fig tree,and when he came to gather fruit from that tree,there was none on it.He spoke to the man he had put in charge of this fig tree,saying how for three years ,he had come looking  for fruit,but had found none,and his decision was to cut it down.The man in charge counsels patience,and not to give up on the plant,who knows it may bear fruit.W. Barclay,  mentions 3 things in relation to this story [1] Uselessness invites disaster. [2] Nothing which only takes out can survive. [3]It tells us of the gospel of the second chance.  What I see in this story is very simple,don't give up on people,who knows under God they may change,I will think of that every time I look at my orchid.
A prayer...../ Dear God we thank You that inspite of our stubbornness, You never give up on us,help us to not give up on anyone in Jesus name Amen /