Mine twice. [1 Peter 1 v18-19]

In Isaiah 44v22,we read/ I have blotted out,as a thick cloud,thy transgressions,and as a cloud, thy sins,return unto Me,for I have redeemed thee/. The story is told of a young lad who made himself a little boat,he was delighted with it,so he took it do a local river to sail it,he had it on a piece of string.Well he accidentally let go of it,and he lost it, as it sailed out of sight.He really loved that little boat,and so one he saw his boat for sale,in a second hand shop,so he went in and bought it.As he was leaving the shop in delight he said to the little boat,you are mine twice,I made you,and I bought you.Like that little boat ,God made us,but we sinned,and God lost us, we where truly lost,yet all the time God loved us,and so He did a wonderful thing,he paid a price to buy us back,that is what redemption is about paying a price.Now all the gold and silver of a thousand worlds could not buy us back to God,no,the price that He paid,was the precious blood of Christ,which he shed on the cross.One day every dear child of God will stand before Him,and He may say ,you are mine twice,I made you and I bought you.
A prayer..../ Dear God  we bow humble before You,and give unto You thanks for redeeming us,through Jesus precious shed blood, Amen /

Maintaining a fresh touch. [ 1 Corinthians 15 v 31]

I have just started reading that wonderful book written by Solomon,Proverbs,here we have book of profound wisdom,Solomon was a man of God,son of Israels greatest king David.Yet even in his great reign ,he acted as a law unto himself at times,accumulating foreign wives, horses silver and gold[Deuteronomy 17 v16-17],this action would come back to bite him.In spite of this God blessed him,in so many ways.In many ways his was a glorious reign,but then we read in 1 Kings 11v 4,/ For it came to pass,when Solomon was old,that his wives turned away his heart after other gods,and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God,as was the heart of David his father/ From a glorious reign to inglorious reign,he became a shadow of what he once was.Many of the kings were like Solomon they sought God and then they departed from Him.which spelt disaster for the nation.// It is possible for the best year of our life,the best experiences we have enjoyed,the best victories,we have won,and the best service we have rendered,to be swallowed up by times of failure,defeat,dishonour,and uselessness in Gods Kingdom.//[Streams in the desert] We must not live with yesterdays blessing,but we must maintain a daily walk with God,as one writer puts it,to maintain a fresh touch from God.
A  prayer..../Dear God help us to see the importance of not living on past blessings,help us to maintain that daily fellowship with You,in Jesus name Amen /
    [ I will return to my blog on Sunday the 7th, every blessing]

Praise. [ PSALM 150 ]

In Psalm 150 we have the word praise mentioned 13 times,how important is praise in our lives?it should be important.I am very conscious that I do not praise God enough. The Israelites praised God for His deliverance's,but in their difficult times they complained,don't let the difficulties you are experiencing rob God of His rightful praise.Anyone can sing when the sun is shining,but we turn to mourning in the dark and dismal days,very few of us sing Gods praise in the rain. God is worthy of our praise,the world praise so many things,that are not worthy of praise.Surely God alone is worthy of our praise, we may know this,but how hard we find to practise it, often when we meet fellow Christians and they fail to praise God,I include myself in this,the problem takes the place of praise.Of course we don't want just words,there is a popular songs which goes words have all I got,God looks on the heart,and it is heart filled praise He desires,and deserves.Why not all of us take up the challenge of praising God more,and when we do this,we will be glorifying Him.[ Psalm 50 v23]
A  prayer....../ Dear God so many things crowd in upon us,and so we forget to exercise  praise  to You who truly is worthy of praise,we ask that You may give us a heart to praise You,in Jesus name Amen /

The secret is surrender [ 1 Chronicles 29 v 5 ]

In Psalm 147 v 10-11,we read,/He delighteth not in the strength of the horse,He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him ,in those that hope in his mercy/
These may sound strange words to us,so what are we being told?,well the horse,and the strength of a mans legs speak of man's natural power.When Samuel came to choose a new king,he had to be reminded that God looked on the heart,not the outward appearance [ 1 Samuel 16v7],and the least expected person was chosen,David,a man after Gods own heart.Now of course God will use and choose whom He will,but His choice is so different from ours,He chooses the foolish things of this world,the weak things of the world,the base things of the world,things that are despised[1 Corinthians1 v 27-28].Why ? that no flesh should glory in His presencev29.Christianity came into being through weakness, a man hanging on a cross [2 Corinthians 13 v4].Christianity is not based on human abilities,but rather a reliance on God,and His power,that does not mean we wont have abilities,but we must  make sure that they are surrendered to Him.
A   prayer  of consecration......./All that I am and have,Thy gifts so free,
                                                   in joy,in grief through life O Lord, for Thee.
                                                   And when Thy face I see,my ramsomed soul shall be,
                                                   Through all eternity,something for Thee....Amen.
                                                        [Words by S.O. Phelps]





                                                 

Don't underestimate prayer.[ Exodus 3 v 7-9 ]

In a time of great trouble David prays ,no man cared for my soul[Psalm 142v4],he felt overwhelmed
by his situation,and yet in the midst of  his dire troubles what a wonderful prayer he prays.I visited a dear lady recently,she had just lost her husband of 6o years,can we even begin to understand the depths of her lost.I read regularly of so many of Gods dear children suffering,some being murdered.Someone I know who is very dear to me ,was abused for many years,I cannot even begin to imagine the depths of their suffering. There are so many people suffering in this world,from hunger,homelessness,persecution,wrongful imprisonment,the list goes on, and on. I visit people on a regular bases who suffer from mental illness,I feel so helpless.The question is what can we do well we can pray,is that all we can do?,it may be all we can do,but do not underestimate the power of prayer,David didn't,nor should we. So today whither in your own life,or the lives of others,there are awful things happening pray to God who loves,who hears and will respond.
A  prayer..../Dear God hear our prayer for those who are suffering ,and answer,hear our prayers for ourselves and answer in Jesus name Amen /

Preaching. [ 2 Timothy 3 v1-6]

I felt a call on my life to preach,when doors closed,I held unto the belief that God had called me to preach,this has never left me,but I have never found it easy.To me it has been a great challenge,a continual step of faith,first you pray as to what to preach on,then you study,again prayerfully,then you preach.It is a step by step act of prayer and faith,I believe one needs tools,commentaries,different translations,a concordance,one may not need to be college trained,but one will need to study.I was talking to a young man in training for the ministry,he was complaining about the number of essays he has to prepare,I reminded him what someone once said,being in the ministry is a lifetime of study.That is in keeping with what we are told in scripture,that we are study to show ourselves approved unto God,a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,rightly dividing the word of truth[2 Timothy 2 v15]Study in a sense can be hard work as Solomon points out in Ecclesiastes 12v12,that much study is a weariness of the flesh. I read something that implied if you used notes when preaching one was not relying on God,that is not so,as I have tried to point out,getting a word,and
preaching that word is an exercise of relying upon God,from start to finish.
A  prayer..../ Dear God,we ask for Your blessings upon all those who are called to minister Your word,anoint them by Your Spirit,and equip them for the task in Jesus name Amen/

Who are you looking to?[Psalm121]

There is a group of Psalms with title called,songs of degrees, written by David ,they are 120-134,they would be sung by pilgrims going up to the temple to worship. The best known one is Psalm 121,it commences with the writer lifting his eyes unto the hills,to the mighty God of creation who made the hills,the heavens and the earth.Think of creation ,the awesome power that brought it into being,and it is to the creator he lifts his eyes,and declares my help cometh from the Lord of creation.Who are you looking to for help?  look to God,to bring you the help you need. In v 3 we are told that he not will permit our feet to be removed,we don't need to run to the hills,but to the one who made the hills,stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.In v3-4 we are reminded that God unlike us does not slumber or sleep, continually His eye is upon the righteous and His ears are opened unto their cry,continually.In v5 we see the Lord as our keeper,remember we are kept by the power of God through faith[1 Peter 1 v5] In v6,he writes of the natural creation that they could  hurt us,illness famine sunstroke,God will not permit these to harm us.The last two verses speaks of God preserving our souls,and our going out and coming in,for evermore,not just yesterday,or today,but for evermore.
A  prayer..../ Almighty God we look to You the God of creation and the God of our salvation,in Jesus name Amen /