The dead and the living.[ Acts 20 v26-27]

In the book of Numbers 16 we have recorded an occasion when a man called Korah and others challenged Moses's and Aaron's leadership. Now these two men had been chosen by God,they did not take the role of leadership on themselves,in fact  Moses had been very reluctant to respond to God's call [Exodus 3-4],he did not take this honour upon himself.We must be careful that we do not seek to overthrow Gods appointed leaders,as Korah and others would soon discover. Well God dealt with the rebels,they all perished,but things did not stop there ,we read how the people took exception to what had happened ,to such an extent that God,spoke about consuming them. A plague broke out killing many of them,it would appear that God was going to destroy them all. It is then that Moses told Aaron to take a censer and fire from of the altar and go into the midst of the people.In v48 we read, /He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stayed/.As I read this I considered my calling and responsibility to stand between the dead and the living with the golden censer of the gospel,there is a plague upon mankind ,death, eternal death.The only answer is the gospel of our Lord Jesus,it is the ministers of Christ ,who must not shirk their solemn responsibility to  stand between the dead and the living with the message of the gospel.
A  prayer......./Dear God  help us all, who know Jesus ,to not to be ashamed of the gospel ,and to not be ashamed to proclaim it. Amen/

Pray believing. [ James 4 v 2]

Mankind are creatures of pride,especially when it comes to God,they live,act,speak and think as if there is no God.When it comes to witnessing there is a definite barrier ,a built in resistance,I remember offering a lady in work a Christian booklet,and it appears she was deeply offended,why?pride.I would dearly love to witness to some people,but they would not receive my witness. It appears in so many cases we are left with prayer, yes I said prayer,it is only prayer that can open the way to witness,it is only the power of prayer,that can grant us the way forward,in our witnessing.Let us put it to the test,think of someone,anyone ,who is on your heart,ask God to give you opportunities to witness effectively to them. Write the persons name down,they may be the most unlikely person you know who would listen,or want Jesus,pray for that person continually. Let us then see what God will do, He may want us to speak to that person, He may not,we may suddenly see that person come to the Lord, God loves to surprise us. I am asking that you and I,have faith in God to move in the most proud sinful heart, it can happen,have faith in God.
A prayer...../ Dear God,help us to see that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person availeth much[James 5 v16] in Jesus name Amen/

Marriage [ Ephesians 5 v 24 -25 ]

A young married couple where having difficulties in their relationship,the husband loved his wife,but they both were struggling with each other. The day of their anniversary arrived,he didn't feel like celebrating it,he had said to himself,that he was not going to send an anniversary card. Later on in the day ,he was in a local supermarket and was drawn to the section where the cards where,as he looked at them,he spied one,which touched his heart,it read,/I'm not the perfect husband,you must agree that's true/. So he bought the card and later he wrote the following words on it before giving it to his wife,/From one imperfect human being,to another imperfect human being/. Marriage is not the coming together of two perfect human beings,but it opens the opportunity for us to grow,we may not live happily ever after,but we can by Gods grace learn to accept each other,and especially love each other.
A  prayer..../Dear God help us in our marriages,to grow and to love in Jesus name Amen/

Mary. [Luke 1 v 26-45]

We move from Elisabeth to the other young lady called Mary,to a Roman Catholic it appears that we as evangelicals are anti Mary ,not so.We honour her as the mother of our Lord in His humanity,but not as the mother of God,we honour her as a godly person ,but not as a sinless person,she called Jesus her Saviour [Luke 1v47],only sinners need a Saviour. She is not a mediator between God and man, for there is only one mediator between God and man, Jesus[ 1 Timothy 2 v5]. When we stray from the Biblical revelation, we go astray,both in relation to truth,and the worship of God,let us stick to the scriptures,and not be swayed by our deceitful hearts.Now let us consider our introduction to Mary from Lukes gospel,first of all we see,she was a virgin betrothed to a man called Joseph. She was a virgin and it means just that,and so fulfilling the words of the prophet Isaiah 7v14,let us always remember that the coming of Christ is clearly foretold in the Old Testament,from His birth to His death and resurrection. I suppose the angel coming, took her by surprise,and in her innocence's she could not take it in what was being told her ,but the angel tells her that what is impossible with man is possible with God.Let us not limit God,He is not a man. Mary unlike Zechariah, believed what the angel has told her,here is a woman of faith, a woman of obedience,her cousin Elisabeth declared about Mary,/Blessed is she,that believed [Luke 1 v45]/. Let us learn from this godly person,to believe what Gods word says,and to obey it, and we also like Mary will be blessed.
A prayer.../ Dear God we thank You for Mary your child,for her godliness,faith and obedience in Jesus name Amen /

Your prayer has been heard.[ Habakkuk 2 v 3]

In Luke 1v37,we read,/For with God nothing shall be impossible/,I wonder what you think about  these words?.In this chapter we read of two childless women,one married,the other nearly married. An angel visits the husband of the married one his name was Zechariah,and told him his prayers had been answered,now it may have been that he had stopped praying,because he felt that he and his wife Elisabeth were passed the age of childbearing.There may have come a moment when he thought it was not Gods will,he had resigned himself to never having a child.Yes sometimes we have to do this,painful though it may be,and we have to stop pursuing our desire,however noble it may be.It is then we have to bow to Gods will, and accept that our Heavenly Father knows best, remember whither it is yea or nay ,Gods will is best. In this case it was a delayed yea,again remember God works to His own timetable,and in that waiting time,He is accomplishing His perfect will in our lives. So a  day came  when Zechariah the priest was performing his religious duty,and a angel appeared unto him,and told him that his prayer had been heard,maybe Zechariah said to himself ,what prayer?.The angel continued, his wife Elisebth was going to have a child and he was to be called John,now you would have thought that Zechariah would have been jumping around with joy. Instead he is full of unbelief, and is rebuked by the angel,Zechariah was a Godly man,but he was not perfect,God still granted his request,but chastised him,it was not permanent,we are told,/He will not always chide,neither will He keep His anger for ever [Psalm 103 v9]
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to accept Your perfect will for our lives,whither it be yea or nay,in Jesus Name Amem/

The mystery of His wisdom. [ 1 Corinthians 13 v12]

There are so many things we don't understand,one is the wonder of salvation,and the wonder of  Gods providence in bringing us to Himself. William Gurnall wrote the following,/The plan of reconciliation excels the creation of heaven and earth./.to such an extent,/to cause both angels and saints to admire the mystery of His wisdom,power, and love in it-from now through eternity/.It is the apostle who writes,then shall I know[1 Corinthians 13v 12]. Again let me quote W. Gurnall,writing of that time when in heaven all Gods children will be gathered,he writes,/At that time we shall see how the seas of unbelief were dried up and what rocks of impossibilities were cut through by the omnipotent grace of God, before a sinner's peace could be secured.We shall learn how the Father worked,to bring it all to completion. Surely we will be swallowed up in adoring the abyss of His wisdom,who laid the foundation of all this peace according to the eternal counsel oh His own will. As the sun exceeds the strength of our natural vision, the glory of Gods peace will stretch beyond our capacity to understand it/
A prayer...../Dear God we bow in humility at the mystery and wonder of Your providence,in bringing us to Yourself, through Jesus Thou Son .Amen /

If we dont? [ Revelation 3 v 14-22]

We would all agree that no one is perfect ,and that is why there are no perfect churches,recently our Pastor ,asked us during the morning gathering,to tell him the good things in relation to our church.the folk responded in a positive way,we are a friendly church,I would say we are a generous church,someone mentioned the food,we have a fellowship meal once a month.In the book of Revelation our Saviour speaks to seven churches,He mentions the good things,but for a number He points out the bad things,lack of love,error,deadness,lukewarmness,and materialism.These things where not written to cause trouble in His church, we have to much of that ,the result is ,we are left with empty buildings. First of all our Saviour loves His church,His words were not meant to destroy these churches,is, it not true,where there are differences,love often is left outside the church.Next our Lord speaks openly to the churches,again how many devious things are hatched in secret by church members ,and then they strike.Next our Saviour wants the church to reflect  Him,His  desire for every church , that they may listen and respond to what He has to say,we all need to be listening to what our Saviour has to say,even if  it is a challenge ,to change,if we do, then we will be blessed ,if we don't.
A  prayer..../Dear God bless our local church,grant that we may not cause trouble,grant that our leaders,within the church,may be lead and guided by Your Spirit,and together may we walk in Your perfect will,in Jesus name Amen /