Pray and you will grow [ Ephesians 6v18]

Yesterday in work the IT system was not working,I had work to do,I prayed,and one of the other workers,said how an e-mail had been sent,telling us how we could get unto the system.So God answered prayer,and I was able to do my work,it reminds me and hopefully all of us,to bring all things to God in prayer, that prayer is not just a quite time,but  ongoing ,24/7. Our so called quite times are vital,the words of an old hymn came to mind,/When you left your room this morning ,did you think to pray,in the name of Christ our Saviour,did you ask for loving favour,as a shield today/
.None of us can pray to much, most of us don't pray enough,let not our prayer life be but a brief encounter,walk this day in continual communion with Jesus.We may forget many things,but let us not forget to pray,and as you look back,see how God has undertaken,because you prayed,and as you pray ,you will grow.
                                      Oh how praying rests the weary,
                                       Prayer will change the night today.
                                       So when life,seems dark and dreary,
                                       Don't forget to pray.[Words by W.O.Perkins/M.A..Kiidder]
A prayer...../Dear God open our hearts and minds,to the vital importance of prayer,help us to pray,in Jesus name Amen /      







                           
   
 

One hundred percent. [ 1 Samuel 15 v 22-23 ]

It is easy to rationalise disobedience, that is what King Saul did,[CP  1 Samuel  15],when he was challenged by the prophet Samuel.He declared that he had obeyed Gods command, he said what he did was legitimate,as he was going to make an offering unto God, It sounded very noble,but not in Gods eyes.God had told him to destroy a certain people,and all their livestock.He did not  do it,no he and his army kept the best of the livestock alive, he also let the enemies king live,and yet he
refuses to admit the wrong he did.There are people who can look one  straight in the face and tell you a lie,people with addictions are inclined to deny that they are addicted.I remember many years ago my friend telling his father that he not had drunk some milk,the thing that give him away, was the milk showing around his mouth.So here we have Saul lying ,but Samuel exposes that explanation for what it was, a lie.He also challenged Saul's explanation, that he kept the best of the livestock back to sacrifice ,to God,by declaring/,Hath the Lord,as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?,Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,and to hearken than than the 
fat of rams.For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry[1 Samuel 15 v 22-23] Partial obedience in Gods eye is no obedience,it must be total.
A  prayer....../ Dear God help me not compromise when it comes to obedience in Jesus name, Amen /

.

Feeling sorry for yourself? .[ Matthew 8 v19-20 ]

Sometimes I feel sorry for myself,I have my reasons,as we all have,life is not fair,we never got the position we desired,why have we not more friends,why this, and why that?.As I was feeling sorry for myself my mind went back many years when sitting in room with my fellow students at Bible college,we listen to a lady singing a song,that touched our hearts.The words go like this ,/I travelled down a lonely road and no one seemed to care,the burden on my weary back had bowed me to despair. I oft complained to Jesus how folk where treating me. And then I heard say so tenderly. My feet were also weary,upon the Calvary road,the cross became so heavy, I fell beneath the load. Be faithful weary pilgrim,the morning I can see,just lift your cross and follow close to Me.[ words by Ira. F. Stamphill]/ We read that He was despised and rejected,that He came unto His own people and they received Him not,in fact they crucified Him.So today, let us take up our cross and follow Him.
A prayer..../ Dear Lord help us today to take up our cross and follow You. Amen /

A more glorious body. [ 1 Corinthians 15 v 42-43]

Recently at a group I help run, as I was just walking I was not performing,I was singing a song to myself,later I heard my colleague singing it,she realised what she was doing and laughed. This morning I have a song going through my mind,it is from an advert.on the TV,it is driving me mad,well not quite,but it is annoying.It appears  that we take in a lot of things unconsciously ,our brains take in so much,and to me one of the great mysteries of our brain is memory,how does it work?,it is amazing.The word of God declares that we are fearfully and wonderfully made[ Psalm 139 v14],when the Psalmist considers the human frame,it left him breathless and full of wonder.Consider the wonders of the human body,how we hear,see,and speak.and so we could go on.I think the wonder of the human body is most appreciated by a parent when they view their new born child.Modern man has been brainwashed to look at humanity through the eyes of godless human teaching, Christians see the wonder of the Creator Gods handiwork,that truly leaves one breathless.
Here is the message for us all ,God has made us, that is why we are here,He brought us into being for a purpose,it is only as one comes to know our Creator,that life takes on meaning.This happens when Christ becomes our Saviour,then we look at ourselves,in an altogether different way,yes we declare there is a purpose in life,a glorious purpose,when this body will give way to a new body,suited for a new heaven and earth.
A prayer...../ Dear God we praise You,that You made us for a purpose, these bodies are works of art,but one day these bodies will be changed into  even more glorious bodies, we praise You in Jesus name Amen /

The wonder of the Cross. [ Galations 6 v14]

It is said that familiarity breeds contempt,but it also can breed indifference, and lack of love ,how many marriages fail because one person feels that they have been taken for granted.There is a popular song which goes,/you don't send me flowers anymore/,let us be honest if we put as much effort into our marriages, as we did when we were courting,many more marriages would survive. It is in the book of Revelation,our Lord  speaks to the church at Ephesus ,and He tells them that they had left their first love [2v4],for them that first enthusiasm had gone,like early mist.It was William Cowper who wrote ,/Where is the blessedness I knew,when first I saw the Lord. Where is the soul refreshing view,of Jesus and His word/.The church at Ephesus had many fine qualities,but as 1 Corinthians 13,reminds us ,that if love is missing then,we are missing the point of our relationship with the Lord,which is based on love.The Christian life has a starting point ,at  the foot of the old rugged cross,do you remember that moment?,I do,or have you let that memory dim,and you have let religion,business, take over.In our church service we sang a song that challenged me,words like,/May I never lose the wonder,the wonder of the cross,may I see it like the first time,standing as a sinner lost,/I wonder have we lost the wonder of the cross?.
A  prayer..../Dear Saviour grant us each day a fresh vision of the cross,let us never,never lose the wonder of the cross, Amen /

Abraham not a paper saint.[ Ephesians 2 v 8-9]

It is R.C.Sproul who wrote,, that Abraham was not a paper saint,he had feelings common to humanity/,it is important to remember, that although ,God,chooses the Abraham's,Davids,Peters,and Paul's,He is choosing imperfect human beings.The world gets carried away with their heroes,I remember going to visit a person in their home, and there in their living room was a life size cut  out of a famous film star.He was he one of my favourite actors,but  he had more than his share of adulteress relationships,which inevitable led to him being divorced. Now as to those people like Abraham,we are dealing with human beings,this goes for saints of note ,outside the Bible.I have read many books as regards  missionaries,and great preachers,and sometime the writers, write a very romanticised account of their lives.Now it is important to say that for all their faults like Jonah,David or Peter they where men of God,and we should honour their memory,and as much as they followed Jesus,we follow their godly example. These great saints were all without exception accepted by a Holy God,on the same bases that you and I are accepted by grace through faith alone in Jesus.God honoured them, but He has recorded their failings,so to remind us that relationship with Him is not on the bases of achievements.This reminds us that, that which saves and brings us into a place of acceptance is grace,so if you are not saved,you can be, by simply coming to God in all your need, and to be forgiven,through grace,and faith in Jesus.
A  prayer......./Dear God we thankYou  that we can all without exception be accepted by You.by grace through faith in Jesus  ,Amen /

Make the right choice.[ John 18 v 39-40]

Life is full of choices,from the moment we get up in the morning,till we go to bed at night,just think about that for a moment.Try and count how many choices you  made yesterday,or even today,no I will not bore you by going over a list.Now of course many of our choices are not really important,red tie blue tie,this aftershave or that aftershave,wash the car,don't wash the car.But then there are those choices that a bit more important,like should I change my dentist,doctor,or whatever,and so it goes on.We read in the Bible of people who made very serious choices,think of the people at the time of  Jesus,and one of His disciples Judas,he choose financial gain,30 pieces of silver he got for betraying Jesus,a decision he soon regretted, and is still regretting it now in Hell, then there was Pilate the Roman governor he choose to let Jesus be crucified because of fear[John 19 12-13].Then there was the fickle crowd led by the religious leaders,they made a foolhardy and evil decision they were given a  choice,there was custom that a prisoner of their choice would be released[John 18 v39-40] ,so they were  asked, did they want Jesus to be released or a notorious criminal called Barabbas, they choose ,guess who?, Barabbas. That was the most important decision in all of their lives,when we are faced with Jesus,the choice we make is the most important decision in our lives,dont be like Judas,or Pilate, or the crowd,your eternal destiny rest on that choice,and that is very, very serious.
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to see the importance of making the right choice as regards Jesus Your Son Amen/