A quick fix. [ Psalm 40 v1]

I am sure you have heard the term, a quick fix ,it is something we all want,but when it comes to Gods
kingdom,it is not necessary so.What is the bases of Gods ways? I do not see His ways as a quick fix,it appears to imply something hurried ,and  not very permanent.When it comes to the building of a soul it is a lifetime work,in which God uses many circumstances,and means to make the child of God into the likeness of Christ. When we pray we often want God, to as it were wave a magic wand and change everything,well the fact is God does not have or use a magic wand.I cry hurry ,God replies wait,I cry I want it now,God replies no,it will not be good for you now,He replies remember the words I spoke unto My servant Peter,/ What I do thou knowest not now,but thou shalt know hereafter/God says to us quick fixers,/For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways, My ways.For as the heavens are higher than than the earth,so are My ways higher than Your ways,and my thoughts than your thoughts/.[Isaiah 55 v8-9 ]
A  prayer..../Dear God we confess that often we are taken up with the here and now,we want it now,is our cry, gives us grace to wait Your time,and to trust in Your ways,in Jesus name Amen/

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.[Colossians 1 v15ff ]

I often go out to my garden at night and look up into the sky in the hope of seeing the stars,but because I live in a town,only a few stars are visible.The other evening I looked up and could only see one star,yes one,the little poem come to mind,/Twinkle ,twinkle little star,how I wonder what you are,up above the earth so bright,like a candle in the night,Twinkle, twinkle little star,how I wonder what you are/.I hope I have remembered the  right words,but  as I looked at that solitary star ,hanging there in space,my mind turned to our little planted earth,hanging also in space,the question is how?.How do we hang here,what is causing us to exist as a planet?, what is stopping us from being destroyed?, after all we are such a pin prick in size.The Bible tells us there is a reason, there is a Creator,who brought all things into being.[Genesis 1]and that Creator has placed us where we are.Christ who is the image of the invisible God,by whom all things where created by Him and for Him,  holds all things together[Colossians 1 v 15ff]Yes God in Christ  is holding all things together,if He didn't, all things would disintegrate into chaos
A  prayer..../ Dear God by whom all things where made, and all things sustained,and held together,we worship and praise through Jesus Thy Son . Amen /

Suppose. [ Psalm 23 ]

There was lady called Mary who worked hard, her life was difficult,but she was full of the joy of the Lord. One day a friend spoke to her and said,Mary I appreciate your joyful attitude,but suppose,Mary you lost your job,suppose you became ill,suppose,before she could finish, Mary interrupted her, stop your supposing,the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.Because life can be very uncertain ,things change,sickness,and so many other things,we can be like that lady who raised the issue of supposing,the what ifs in life. The question is who is our security?the answer is very simple,the Lord,whatever we are facing,He will not leave us stranded,He will not fail His children,be it famine or whatever. So let us stop our supposing,and let us rest on His unchangeable love,for all His children
a love that loved us to the uttermost,and will continue for ever and ever and ever.
A prayer.....Dear Lord help us to strong in faith,to not dwell on supposing,this or supposing that,in Jesus name Amen./

Pride or humility,whats it to be? [1 Peter 5 v 5-6]

In  1 Chronicles21,we read how Satan tempted David into taking a census which God forbid,and David went for a hundred percent.He would not listen to Joab's wise advice.How did Satan get a foothold?it is thought that it was pride. Even the greatest of men can fall,when they are lifted up with pride. Now in 2 Samuel 24 we read that God would use this event to deal with Israel, my study Bible
says,/Hebrew writers do not always distinguish between and secondary causes. So if God allowed Satan to tempt David,to them it is as if God did it/,remember God is Sovereign ,so tread carefully in your conclusions,remember God does not tempt anyone to sin[ James 1 v13],in verse 14,we read/But  every man is tempted , when he is drawn away with his own lust, and enticed./ Many years ago I heard a business man say something to someone,I cant remember what he said,but the spirit of it was that of pride,his business appeared to be flourishing.Not long after that his business went bust,pride we are told comes before a fall,as was the case of the great king Nebuchadnezzar[cp Daniel 4].The scriptures continually warn us about pride,and the importance of humility,and the dangers and consequences of pride.
A  prayer..../Dear God help us to follow in the footsteps of our dear Saviour,as one who humbled Himself,in His life and in His death,and is now exalted in Heaven. Amen/

Darkness. [ 1 John 1 v 5-7]

/That's something that the darkness cannot take from you/,words spoken on TV,they appeared to have a message,it it appears to me that there is a lot of darkness in this world. In Luke 23 v44 we read,/ and there was darkness over all the earth,seems a fair descripsion of this worlds condition,The darkness of godless religion,of unbelief,of evil political systems,as I think of the world the flesh and the devil,all types of evil.In Gods word we read of godly people overcome by the darkness,we look at Calvary,
and so few who respond to the light of the gospel,that gospel that can set them free.It appears sometimes that the darkness is as it were is winning.Let us not despair if God be for us,then who can be against us?,God is sovereign,we are on the victory side.The darkness cannot take from us our salvation,our Saviour, He is with us,today let us declare to the darkness,/The Lord is my light,and my salvation,whom shall I fear?, the Lord is the strength of my life,of whom shall I be afraid.[Psalm 27v1]
A prayer..../Dear Lord You declared that You were the light of this world,grant us grace to walk with You today,for we know if we do the darkness cannot overcome us,Amen

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 /