The reason not to fear. [ Hebrews 13 v 6 ]

I was told something that could easily instill fear in my heart,and others as well,but as a child of God I am called to trust in Him ,who continually tells His children to fear not.Yes there are dangers about,people who could harm us,there are dangers,from violence,illness, and so on.These dangers are real,but they are not in control of the child of Gods life,God is. Grant it,  Gods children do suffer,  I was reading about the Christians who are suffering in the Central Africa Republic at this time, I read these words ,/the Christians are dying like flies/, do pray for them,if we read Hebrews 11 we read of those who were delivered from dangers and death,but we also read of those who suffered greatly.Most of us are not in that situation,but the enemy of our souls is still active,likewise the world we live in is a fallen world. In the midst of life with all its dangers,pain ,and difficulties,Gods word for all of His dear children is, fear not. Here is a scripture for all of us as we face whatever,/Fear thou not,for I am with thee,be not dismayed,for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee,yea I will help thee. I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness[Isaiah 41 v10 ].
A  prayer......./Dear God free us from the bondage of fear,help us when fear arises to trust in You ,the living God ,in Jesus name Amen/

Not just to be admired. [ Matthew 7 v24-27 ]

I am reading a helpful book called./The soul winner. by C .H.Spurgeon/,in it we are instructed by a man who was used mightily used by God in soul winning.Likewise I have just finished a book by George Mullier on prayer,these books were written by men whom God raised up,to serve their generation.We can learn much from these men,and how we can serve our generation,their example is something we can benefit from,they are not just portraits to be admired,but examples to follow .We can admire everything about Christ and rightly so,but He says to us follow me,we are to be both an admirer of Christ and a follower.As we follow ,He will lead ,He will teach,and He will use us,according to His will,which is good and perfect.This means we are to live out the principals of His kingdom,and they are very challenging,very,it means not only being generous,but sacrificial,it means forgiven those who hurt us,it means loving ,showing Calvary love,no greater love than that.It means being reliant on God in all things,to be teachable,I  said to a person who was critical of the church he attended,could it be that God was seeking to teach him some valuable  lessons, but he was dismissive of what I said.It will mean being faithful,to our wedding vows,and faithful to all our vows,so that when at last we stand before our Saviour we will hear Him say ,well done good and faithful servant.
A  prayer..../ Dear Saviour whom we love,worship,and admire,help us to follow You in all things. Amen/

Weakness in prayer [Romans 8 v26-27]

I am thinking much about those words from Romans 8 v26-27, which reads,/Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities,for we know not what we should pray for as we ought,but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,because he maketh intercession for the saints ,according to the will of God/ We talk about mighty men of prayer,I have just finished read a book on a man called George Mullier of Bristol,and one could say he was a man of prayer,but even he would have to admit ,as we all would,that we are weak even in relation to prayer,as in all aspects of our lives,we are depending upon the Holy Spirit,especially in prayer,as the great apostle himself acknowledged.The Spirits knowledge is infinite,ours is finite,often when we pray it is two prayers inopposition to each other,we pray for the problem,whatever it may be,to be resolved,often it is answered as we request,but sometimes it is not, that's when the Spirit does his perfect work,and prays that Gods perfect will be carried out.I  have been praying about a certain thing for a long time,but  until now that prayer has not been answered,I believe the Spirit in love has been praying not yet,I have prayed in my life for things, noble things and the Spirit has prayed no.There is no problem in this,for every prayer should have at its core,the will of God,which we all need to submit to.
A  prayer ..../ Dear God help us to pray aright according to Your will,in Jesus name Amen /

Mistakes. [ Matthew 7 v1-5]

I was ministering at a small church recently ,I had chosen the hymns at home,but when I announced the hymns,I discovered that I had chosen the hymns from the wrong hymn book.I have two different hymn books with red covers,I had chosen the wrong one.When you make a mistake publicly it can hurt,and cause us to overreact,as I drove home drove home I found myself saying maybe I should stop preaching. I feel sorry for sports people who make a mistake in front of millions of people watching on the TV,they must feel devastated.When I am prone to criticise other drivers,I jokingly say why cant they be perfect drivers  like me?.We often say none of us our perfect, but do we include ourselves in that statement? often we don't,and so we judge people harshly.We all make mistakes morally,yet we judge those who do?the news paper reporters hound people to death,because that person has made a mistake. Our Saviour warned us against judging others,he reminded us that we all have failures,and inconsistencies in our lives,and that when we point the finger at someone,there are three fingers pointing back at ourselves.[Matthew 7 v1- 5].Our mistakes be they morally or whatever should make us more humble, and less  prone to judge or criticise others,it is true none us are perfect, we all choose hymns from the wrong hymn book.
A prayer..../ Dear God grant that as we come in contact with fallen humanity, that we always remember that we are also fallen creatures,in Jesus name Amen /

Fishers of men [Acts 1 v 8]

The next card I received has a picture of a man fishing,my friend wrote the following on this picture,/Captured one old man,how he spends his retirement, down by the ferry,fishers of fish,or fishers of men?that will be yours/.Is it possible, at seventy,I can become a fisher of men?,It has got me thinking and wondering if God would use me,so often I have felt like the apostles when they worked all night and caught nothing[Luke 5v 5]. When I stand before God I hope on that day to rejoice over even one precious soul,won for Christ,and yes within my heart there is and always has been a soul thirst,which has never been satisfied. It is important to remember that linked with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost,was the promise of power to be witnesses to the very end of the earth.Christianity did not become a world religion by dumb Christians,or by the apostles staying in Jerusalem.We rejoice over the great missionaries, Hudson Taylor,Judson of Burma,and the evangelism of the Wesley's,or the Salvation Army.It may be that the thought of those  people intimidate you,we are not to be cowed into dumb insolence,God can use us,the question we need to ask ourselves,is,am I willing to be used?
A  prayer..../Dear God lead us to one soul today,and teach us Lord just what to say,in Jesus name we ask this. Amen/

Refecting God [ Matthew 5 v 14]

I  received birthday cards on my recent 70th birthday,I am thankful for them all,there was two I want to highlight,one was of trees reflection in water,my son Brian wrote the following,/I saw this card, and it made me think how well you have reflected God over the years/.It goes without saying that those words coming from my son blessed me. As a parent I confess I feel often that I have at times failed, I am sure Brian and my other boys can remember times when I did not reflect God. Lets face up to it none of us are perfect parents,we are at best earthern vessels,yet we are better people,better parents because of Jesus,and inspite of our imperfections,we can in a measure be reflections of God and His love.Let us seek to be sincere,but also recognise when we are sincerely wrong,Let not our obvious failures, crush us,but rather let it be a spur to look to God who will perfect that which concerneth us,we are all a work in progress. In our brokenness,let us seek to the one who can still use us and cause us to be reflections of Gods love ,to our families,friends and whoever we come in contact with.
A  prayer by  F.R. Havergal/ Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord to Thee. Amen /

A love that satisfies.[John 4 v 6ff]

It is reported on the net that there is a man who is addicted to eating,bricks,mud, and gravel, the fact of the matter is humankind are prone to addiction,of one kind or another. The list is endless and I am sure that I do not need to remind you of the different addictions,eating,bricks ,mud,or gravel is taking the need of roughish in his diet a bit to far. Addiction is all about taking things to far,and it is with sadness to see people being destroyed by an addiction.As an Ulsterman I could admire the skills of one of the all time greats of football,but was so sad when he died of alcohol addiction. Is not addiction an indication  of a great need people feel?,I think it is,Jesus reminded a woman who appeared to be addicted to men, that like the water she drew from a well she would never be satisfied.Jesus told her as he tells us that only He can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart[John 4v14]I trusted Jesus when but a child, but backslid,in others words I tried to have the need of my heart fulfilled in other things.Then one Sunday evening 50 years ago I heard a sermon, I cannot remember the words, but I do remember one thing, a deep,deep need of Christ, for I realised that only He could satisfy that need within my heart.I like sport,films,reading,and many other things, but I love Jesus,and that love satisfies me totally.
A  prayer...../ Dear God free us from those lying addictions,that can destroy us,open our minds and hearts to see that only Your Son Jesus can meet the deepest need of our hearts Amen /