Gratitude. [ 1 John 3 v 1]

Let us consider gratitude,there is a incident in the Gospels when our Lord healed 10 lepers  [ Luke 17 v11ff] . In Leviticus13v45-46 ,we read of the law for the leper,he had to rend his clothes,put a covering over his upper lips,and cry out continually,unclean,unclean,they where to be isolated from common society,and to dwell alone.Even today in some countries lepers are shunned and driven from there homes and made to stay alone. So it was pretty awful for these ten men,depending on scraps of food,no welcome anywhere, if they broke the rules they would most certainly have paid a severe price.Now if you were among these ten men who were healed,how would you feel?,well it appears that 9 of these men got what they wanted and never came back.Now often leprosy is seen as a type of man kinds sinful condition,we are unclean,we are separated from a Holy God,yet the same Jesus who healed the leper,has in His love and mercy forgiven us all our sins,the consequences of sin is eternal separation from a holy God,but with the forgiveness come the free gift of eternal life,now let me as the question,how grateful are you?, how grateful am I?.
        Joshua Marshman wrote the following.../O thou my soul,forget no more,the friend who all thy
        misery bore. Let every idol be forgot,but O my soul forget Him not. Jesus, for thee, a body takes,thy guilt assumes,thy fetters breaks,discharging all thy dreadful debt,and canst thou e'er such love forget ?./ surely not..
A prayer..../Dear God lest I forget Your great love to me, lead me to Calvary,for Jesus sake Amen/

Forgetfulness[ Deuteronomy 6 v10-12]

R.C.Sproul's  professor said ,/The essence of Christian theology is grace,and the essence  of  Christian ethics is gratitude/.and Sproul goes on to say that in the Old Testament the root concept of apostasy was the idea of forgetfulness. Gratitude ,forgetfulness,the history of the Israel was so often,one of forgetfulness.In Deuteronomy 4v9,they are instructed by Moses,/But watch out, Be careful never to forget what you have seen.Do not let  these memories escape from your mind as long as you live. And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren/. As I grow older I do find that I am becoming a bit forgetful,and of course at times this can have consequences,recently while shopping I heard my car registration announced over the speaker,I went back to my car,and discovered I had left my car window down.When it comes to our Christian walk we have to by Gods grace,be careful that we don't become forgetful,of all that God has blessed us with.Our Saviour before He left for Heaven, took bread,and wine,and gave them to His disciple, and said this do in remembrance of me [Luke 22 v19],why? because we can be so forgetful.
A prayer....../ Dear God in our carelessness caused often by business,prosperity we begin to forget
You,there was a time when we would never have thought it possible,forgive us in Jesus name Amen /

That most wonderful blessing [ Psalm 32v 1-2 ]

The prayer of Jabez is a wonderful prayer,[1 Chronicles 4 v10],/And Jabez called on the God of Israel
now consider to whom he prayed,the God of Israel,millions are praying,to one they don't know, blind ignorant prayers.But Jabez did not pray to just any god he prayed to the God of Israel,now of course the God of Israel, is the not related to a physical nation but to a spiritual community,from every nation,tribe and people[Revelation 5 v9].Jesus made it clear that He is the only way to God[John14 v6],so if we pray we must go through Him. Next Jabez request,/Oh that Thou wouldest bless me,indeed /,in Proverbs 10 v22,we read,/The blessing of the Lord,it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it/,Jacob desired the blessing of God with all his heart,we all remember those words uttered by him,as he wrestled with that heavenly being,/I will not let Thee go,except Thou bless me[Genesis 32 v26].The greatest blessing for mankind to receive is the forgiveness of sins through Jesus,that brings them into a life that is transformed,a life that has purpose,and a wonderful destiny,heaven.
A  prayer.....Dear God we praise You that You have prepared the most wonderful blessing,for all who trust Jesus the Messiah, Amen/

Jesus loves the little children.[ Mark 10v 13-16]

There is a particular mission I pray for and support,they work among children,I received a photo showing 11 young children,who live in Nepal.They attend a school in a a remote valley,and the words on the back of that photo,read,/In danger of being trafficked/ Such is the depravity of man that these little children ,that these little children would be used in the sex trade,used ,yes used. I really thank God for such missions as the one I support,who rescue children from abuse,poverty,and even death.If that was all they did,we would applaud them,but they do more than that,they tell them about Jesus,for although they have been rescued from so much,these children need to know Jesus as their Saviour.I praise God that as a child I trusted Jesus,and inspite of backsliding,I came back to the Lord,I praise God for his faithfulness.Every child needs Jesus,consider, if Stalin,and Hitler,had trusted Jesus as children,millions and millions of lives would have been saved.They would have been so different,they would have grown up and lived lives that would have been  a blessing,instead they became a curse to humanity.Our Saviour is still saying today,let the little children come unto Me and forbid them not,tell the children about Jesus.
A  prayer...../Dear God we thank You that You  love children,we ask for your blessing upon the work among children in Nepal,that they, and children everywhere will come to Jesus. Amen /

Who is the true Jew?. [Galations 6 v14-15]

When Hezekiah died his son Manasseh reigned in his stead[ 2 kings 21],now there had been very many bad kings especially in Israel,but Manasseh was one of the worse .He had a godly father,godly people do not necessary have godly children,Manasseh bears this out,one asks the question why did he behave like he did?, I do not know,David had Solomon initially a wonderful king, but his end was awful [l Kings 11],Samuel had two sons who were far from being godly[1 Samuel 8v3]. Yet Manasseh had a godly grandson  Josiah [ 2 Kings 22v2],spirituality is not something that is transferable,our Saviour taught that we must all of us without exception have a new birth[John3].In the Jewish daily prayer book we read,/all Israel have a portion in the world to come,as it is said,Your people are all righteous/.Even Daniel did not believe that [12 v2],no,. being born a Jew according to the flesh,gives no one a free entry to heaven.. Abraham who rejoiced to see Jesus the Messiah,in the promise seed[Genesis 17v17/John 8v56] believed God, and was counted righteous [Genesis 15v6], so all who believe on the Messiah Jesus are counted righteous,accepted by God.
A  prayer...../ Dear God we thank You that acceptance is not exclusive to any race,or family,You so loved the world that You gave Your only begotten Son, that all who believe in Him would received  freely, eternal life,in Jesus Name we thank You Amen/

Do not believe the enemy of your soul.[ Psalm 121]

Let us consider a good but imperfect king,Hezekiah,who lived at a time of momentous change, Assyria had become a world power,their armies had devastated Israel,the ten tribes,and removed them from the their land.Then they turned on Judah ruled by Hezekiah, nothing stood in their way,city after city fell,until only Jerusalem was left.They besieged Jerusalem,where Hezekiah was,He tried to buy them off, but it did not work,it looked like they would suffer the same fate as Israel. The Assyrians stood outside the walls of Jerusalem,and they challenged those within .The enemy taunted them ,they ask a number of questions,as to whom where they putting their confidence in,and in whom  where trusting in?[ 2 Kings 18v19-20] Let us apply this to our lives,our situations,is the enemy pressing in upon you?is he at the gate?, is he mocking you?.is he reminding you of your situation?,which may be dire,and even desperate.What are you going to do ?well  what are you going to do?,first of all the enemy of your soul is a liar,you can believe his lies,or you can put your confidence in God,and declare that your help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Call upon Him in .your time of trouble He will not fail you,He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think[Ephesians 3 v20]
A  prayer....../Dear God ,grant us deliverance, from the enemy of our souls,in Jesus Name, Amen/

Such love [ Ephesians 2 v 1-10]

As I looked out on the day it was raining,and I thought maybe the birds need a drink of water,after all did not Jesus tell us God the Father is providing for the birds [Matthew 6 v26]. Yes God provides for all His creation , but Jesus went on to say in Gods eyes we are of more worth than birds, we are different,God made us different,His image is upon us [Genesis 1v27],my study Bible says,/Human worth is not based on possessions,achievements,physical attractions,or public proclaim.Instead it is based on being made in Gods image./This is true even though at times mankind acts like  demons,but Christ did not die for demons,He died for mankind.That means you, and that means me,we are of worth to God.In ourselves we are unworthy,that original creation was perfect,but not now.This old creation has been ruined by sin,sin that alienates us from God,causes us to be an enemy of God,and excludes us from ,fellowship with God,excludes us from Heaven,and condemns us to Hell. But God loves us in spite of this, yes so loved us that He gave his only begotten Son,Jesus, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have  ever lasting life[John3v16]
A  prayer..../Dear God although we are of worth to You,we act in such unworthy ways,we thank You that Christ died for the ungodly,and that through faith in Him we can be saved. Amen/