The invisible hand [Romans 8 v28]

In  his book ,/The invisible hand/, R.C. Sproul writes,/The doctrine of the providence  of God leaves no room for fate,blind or otherwise.God is not blind,neither is He capricious.For him there are no accidents. With God there are no cases of chance events, indeed there is no such thing as chance/ He describes providence as the invisible hand of God,we rarely hear the term providence used these days, I wonder why?.I believe that God is sovereign,it is something I have believed from my early days as a Christian, it is something that the Bible teaches,and again as R.C.Sproul writes,/What are the chances that things happen by chance?the only appropriate answer we can give,is not a chance/. Now the sovereignty of  raises all sorts of questions which we may not be able to answer,but to remove that doctrine leaves bigger questions which we cannot answer. As I look out in a world ,and the daily tragedies that are happening,I do not have the answer,but God does, as I look back in my life,to some extent I can see how God was undertaking,and guiding,and bringing me through to this point in time,but I do not know why my first wife died, of cancer.But in Gods sovereignty,and with his invisible had of providence,He is working all things out,be they sad or painful,and to all His Children,He assures His them that He is working out all things for their good.[Romans 8 v28 ]
A  prayer...../Sovereign God we worship You,and ask for grace,to trust You, in all that is happening in our lives, in Jesus name Amen /

Where will it all end?[John 3 v16 ]

One wonders where will it all end,three young Israeli lads murdered in Palestine ,then a young Palestine lad murdered.. Was it Gandhi who said,that if  we all start taking an eye for and eye then we would all end up blind.Coming from Northern Ireland I know a bit about such things,and I know that the only way to stop it,is to forgive,and seek to resolve the problems by talking,none of this is easy,but what is the alternative?,more pain,more young people being murdered.South African whites had to see that apartheid could not continue,and the black population had to learn to forgive.Many Americans had to learn that racial equality could not continue,Islam will have to learn to agree to disagree with other Islamic groups,and Islam will have to see that others have a right to live on planet earth,who are not Muslims.I must learn to forgive ,those who hurt me,and not to hate,believe it or not it is so easy to go down the road of unforgivenss.There is so much pain in this world,so many grieving mothers,so many people being hurt,I just pray that God will intervene, and that this world may come to know Jesus,who taught us to forgive and love all ,irrespective of race,or differences.
A prayer....../Dear God ,You who love this world,grant an out pouring of You grace into the lives of  those who hating and hurting others,that they  may come to know Jesus Your son. Amen /

Is God enough? [Psalm 23]

Jill Briscoe asks the question is God enough?,it is a very good question,is God enough when my world is crashing down on my head?.When the person one has been married to for a what appears a life time is no longer there,and as we wake each day with an numbness of heart.,is God enough?.Is God enough when the child we love has grown up and left us?or when that child has turned into a prodigal?.Is God enough when we are told we have cancer?,or the plans we have made fail to materialise,or our ship never comes in.Is God enough ,when we hear the challenge of God to step out in faith,to go where others care not to be?is He enough to protect us and guide us,and provide for us,and our little children?.Is God enough when we feel lonely,and friendless,or when the friend we had no longer wants our friendship?.Is God enough when our hearts are failing us for fear,or when we are struggling with some temptation?,or have fallen  to that temptation?,is God enough?
A  prayer....../ Dear God life is full of many difficulties ,help us to see that no matter what we are facing,You will be with us,and that You are enough,we ask this in Jesus name Amen/

He will answer.[Nehemiah 1]

When the Jews returned from the 70years in exile in Babylon the walls of Jerusalem needed rebuilt,
this made them vulnerable,for they had enemies.Nehemiah a Jew lived in Babylon,God had placed him in a position of influence,and when he heard of the plight of the Jews in Israel,and the condition of Jerusalem,he reacted by shedding tears,then he fasted and prayed.Eventually God answered,and granted him favour with the King who granted him permission to return to Israel ,with the purpose of building up the walls of Jerusalem.Consider ,when he sought God earnestly God answered, he wept he fasted , he prayed,we read that the effectual fervent prayer, of a righteous man availeth much[ James 5 v16]What is distressing you today?what is breaking your heart?,seek the Lord earnestly,and He will be found,and He will answer,call upon Him in your time of trouble,nothing is to hard for Him.
A  prayer...../Dear God in Thy mercy we come with problems great and small,and ask that You would answer our prayers,in Jesus name Amen/

They need more than ice cream.[Mark 10 v 14]

While on holiday we went into an ice cream parlour,it is a great place most people love ice cream,and as I sat there, the thoughts turned to the many children,in this world who have never tasted an ice cream many children go without the bare necessities of life,no  breakfast,no dinner,no shoes,I support a childrens mission ,the mission send me photographs of the children they work with,children who have been rescued from poverty and abuse.Under this mission they are educated,fed,clothed,and given a loving home,and sometimes enjoy ice cream. It is  wonderful what this mission is doing,but it does not stop there,these children are told about Jesus. As a Christian I realise that children and adults have a greater need than ice cream,they need Jesus,they can be clothed,housed,educated,and fed,but they have a soul,that needs saved,they have a life that needs changed.I believe in child evangelism,that children need to hear about the one who said,/Let the children come unto me,don't stop them,for the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children./[Mark 10 v 14]
A  prayer....../ Dear God have mercy upon the children,in this world who are suffering, help government's to care for the children of their nations,but also save the children,we ask this in Jesus name Amen /

I am glad.[Psalm 47 v4 ]

As I look back in my life,most of it has been taken up with me seeking Gods will,early on in my Cheistian life my wife and I ,felt the call of God on our lives.To prepare ourselves we went to Bible college.At college a visiting speaker said,to the student body,that inevitable God would reveal his will before we all left college. This did not happen for me and my wife,even though we prayed,and prayed,and prayed,different places where led on our hearts,and so we prayerfully tried each door,yet none of these doors opened to us,but the call of God remained.In a very real sense like Abraham although we felt the call of God on our lives,but we did not know where we where going,but we continued to obey the call.When doors shut we were disappointed,but we bowed to Gods will,and kept seeking a way forward, by faith.God did open two doors ,but these did not last long,but all the time we kept moving, a verse of a hymn has been going through my head recently it goes,/ God holds the key to all unknown,and I am glad. If other hands should hold the key or if He trusted it to me me,I might be sad/.I am glad I choose to follow Gods call,and I am glad that He choose  what was best for me.
A prayer...../ O use me Lord,use even me,just as Thou wilt and when and where. Until Thy blessed face I see,Thy rest,Thy joy, Thy glory share. Amen/  [Words by F.R.Havergal]

Foxes [Matthew 8 v 18-22 ]

Behind our home we noticed from our bedroom window 3 fox cubs,playing,last year there were two,these former dwellers of the countryside have now become town dwellers.My mind turned to a moment in our Lords ministry,when a person said to Jesus,/Master I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest[Matthew8v19]/.Jesus replied,/The foxes have holes,and the birds of the air have nests,but the son of man hath not where to lay His head[v20]/There appears to be a romance attached to sacrifice,to be a missionary,or whatever,people can be caught up in emotions that causes then not to take in the cost of following Jesus.My first wife and I went to Bible college for 4 years,we trusted God to meet our needs,but our faith was tried continually,I wore a lot of clothes that where given to me,food often was scarce,God supplied our needs,I stress needs.W. Barclay wrote,/Jesus was not seeking to discourage enthusiasm/,but seeking to make it clear that there is a cost in following him.
Again let me quote W, Barclay,/There is no thrill like the way of Christ, and there is no glory like
the end of that way,but Jesus Christ never said it was an easy way.The way to glory always involves a cross/
A  prayer......./ Dear Lord Jesus we thank You for Your honesty in what it means to follow You,we ask for grace to obey Your call ,no matter what the cost. Amen /
/ I will return to my blog when I return from my break away,  every blessing/