I remember.[ Acts 16 v31]

In my 70 years I have witnessed a lot of change,in some ways life is so different,the housing situation has changed,it takes nearly a kings ransom to buy a house,if you can get a mortgage. To even rent a property is very expensive,it seemed so different years ago,although the standard of housing has improved.When I was young the home we lived in a rented property,that had no warm water,an outside loo,no bathroom,two small bedrooms,which we all slept in,and when people came to stay,it really was a tight squeeze. We had a wind up gramophone,a radio in which,ran on a battery,that needed charged up at the local bike shop.I do remember horse drawn vehicles and trams,later replaced by trolley buses, both these where powered by electric.So many people have cars,then very few people had,when TV came it was only the few who had them.Very few people had washing machines,most of the washing was done in the sink,in the kitchen,later in time we would go to a place called a laundrette. I  could write so much more about the changes ,but enough for now, but there are things that do not change, death, judgement,the need to be saved the need to know Jesus as ones Saviour,that will never change.
A prayer....../Dear God grant that  in a world that is for ever changing ,that You do not change,we do not change, we are still sinners who need a Saviour, Amen/

Confidence. [ HEBREWS 4 V14-16]

I smiled to myself,for a thought came into my life,that  I am burdening God to much with my prayers,what a silly thing to think,I  think it is sad that a certain church have made poor humans into Gods,they pray to saints,and have exalted dear Mary to the supreme mediator .The fact men and women,cannot even if they are in heaven , be mediators, are still only men and women. We exaggerate mankinds abilities,and in so doing, limit Gods abilities.It is not that we do not recognize godly people,we do,but they  are still people with limations. The confusion arises when we stray from Gods word,in 1 Timothy 2 v5, we read,/For there is one God,and one mediator ,between God and man,the man Christ Jesus./Christ who is the God man is more than able to deal with all our prayers,not only is He able but He who became man and experienced life in its fullness,understands,what we are going through.The old hymn ,declared,/no one understands like Jesus,/ so we can come to God through Him,who is touched with feelings of our infimities [Hebrews 4 v14]. Let us not limit the Holy one of Israel,He can more than cope with our prayers,so we can with confidence take everything to Him in prayer.
A  prayer...../God open our eyes and heart, to pray,continually and with confidence through Jesus our Saviour and our great high priest, Amen/

Plan B.....[John 14 v6 ]

I heard a dear brother speaking at funeral service,in his address he mentioned,having a plan b,I have heard a particular football manager being criticised because He had no plan b.Generals usually have a plan b,even if it means retreating, so many people have a plan b,in relation to selling there homes, or when one retires. Coming back to the message I heard preached,the preacher  was referring to  salvation,there is no plan b,what God has provided,He has provided,and that is it. The work of salvation is Gods work,not mans,it originated in God,it was carried out by God,there is nothing of man in it,absolutely nothing.It is from start to finish an act of divine love, love to the loveless says the hymn.It was an act of supreme sacrifice,manifested in majestic humility,and for Jesus an act of unbelievable bravery.This  can never be seen as plan b,it is offered freely  to all who call upon Him.in faith, unlike mankind, God is no respecter of persons, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved that whosoever makes it all inclusive,people are continually erecting barriers,race ,gender,etc, but God is ever pulling them down,with that gracious invitation,that whosoever may ,can come.
A prayer......../Dear  Lord thank you that there is no  plan b,there is only  Jesus,He is altogether lovely,and He alone is sufficient,to save to the uttermost, Amen./

Little sinners. [ jOHN 3 ]

I am sure you have heard of the term,saved by the skin of ones teeth,well just recently I read an account of an incident that happened in Ibiza in my sons new book,about a young man while on drugs, jumped in the sea.He was pulled out with great difficulty,by a friend ,who eventually give up  trying,leaving the young man to drown. My son Brian went over put his hand on the young mans head and pulled him out of the water by the hair on his head,so saving his life. He and others held him down till the police came and took him away,so we have a young man who was saved by the hair on his head.The question I ask myself  was he saved only to be lost when he dies. Being saved physically is one thing but being saved spiritually is another thing. People are brought to the actually experience of being saved in different ways,and in different degrees of repentance. Some people where drunkards,adulterers,thieves,even murders, cp...1 Corinthians 6v 9-11,but what about at the other end of the spectrum?,the clean living church going people,who get saved,sometimes such people appear disappointed ,no drinking,no drugs etc,there testimony is not very exciting.Now all have sinned to a lesser or greater degree,because a person did not indulge in the baser sin, is no reason,to think that their salvation, is any less important than the drunkard.Let us remember many sins or few sins brings us under Gods condemnation, and wrath,which leads only to one place HELL.
A  prayer........Dear God we are amazed and thankful for saving us sinners,help us never to underestimate that miracle of Grace through Jesus Your Son Amen/

Stop fretting [ Psalm 37 ]

So many times I have found myself waiting ,when I desired to be working,even at this time I feel a degree of frustration,feeling so much ,wanting to minister God word. God has his reasons for the waiting time,we possible need to  rest,let us remember how kind and considerate God is,He will never cause His children a needless pain. In Mark 6 v31, we read,/And He said unto them ,come ye yourselves apart unto a desert place and rest awhile./He knoweth our frame,He knows we need to rest,to rest in Him,when Elijah the prophet felt exhausted,he rested,but he was ministered to by angel ,even feeding him[1 Kings 19v5-7]. God was not finished with him,no he was teaching him  valuable lessons,before his next task.Psalm 37 v7 ,reads,/Rest in the Lord wait patiently for Him,fret not/We see others being used,and we fret,and we say why not me,there must be some work that I can do,fret not,the sovereign God has not forgotten you,waiting time is never wasted when God is in it. Moses had to wait 40years before God at last called him to greater service,Paul had to spend time in Arabia,So today rest in the  Lord and wait patiently for Him,yes focus on Him,and stop fretting.
A  prayer.../ Dear Lord we commit all our waiting time to You,help us not worry or fret Amen

King Canute. [ PSALM 100 ]

King Canute was a Viking who became king of England in 1016,he is seen  in two ways,as a fool or else was a very wise man.It all relates to him ordering the tide not to come in,,and of course it just did the opposite.He was also know as a wise king ,now a wise king would be foolish to try and order the tide not to come in,it appears he was just trying to show,in the words of a poem by Paul Berro, that,/Not even a king can control the seas/. Which reminds all of us that no one can control the sea,indeed there are so many things we cannot control.We cannot control the common cold,or a tummy ache,or where we where born,etc,because we are not God.  Friedrich Nietzsche,believed that God was dead, I  believe he replaced God with man,and the Nazi es ,followed this through, placing man at the centre of the world.Canute had the right idea,the truth is, only God controls the tide,only God is truly in control. The Bible tells us ,the fool has said in his heart there is no God[Psalm 53 v1 ] ,for goodness sake don't be a fool,don't accept a God replacement policy,we are not equipped to be a god. Embrace the one who is truly in control,of our lives and our destiny
A  prayer....../Dear God we bow in humility before You,as our God and Saviour Amen/

Thorns.[ 2 Corinthians 12 v10]

I was feeling upset about an on going problem, which does not go away,yes I have prayed about it continually ,now just recently I have bought a daily devotional called ,/Streams in the desert/,which  I would recommend to you. So I read a reading from it,and the whole reading touched my heart,I want to pass on part of that reading./George Matheson the well known blind preacher from Scotland, once said,/My dear God,I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses but not once for my thorns.I have always looked forward to the place where I will be rewarded for my cross,but I have never thought of my cross as a present glory itself./ Then George ends with a prayer,which we can all pray.
  /Teach me, O Lord, to glory in my cross. Teach me the value of my thorns. Show me how I have climbed to You, through the path of pain.Show me it is through my tears that I have seen my rainbow. Amen/