Father forgive. [ 2 Chronicles 7 v14 ]

I want to share this prayer which I read at the foot of that wooden cross in Coventry.
 The hatred which divides nation from nation,race from race,class from class.
                                    Father forgive.
 The covetous desires of people and nations,to possess what is not their own.
                                      Father forgive.
The greed that exploits the work of human hands,and lays waste the earth.
                                    Father forgive.
 Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others.
                                     Father Forgive.
Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee.
                                      Father forgive.
 The lust  which dishonours the bodies of men,women,and children.
                                      Father, forgive.
The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God.
                                    Father forgive.
                           ........................................... 


    

Disappointed with self. [ Romans 8 v1]

So often there is a distance between what I think and what I believe,especially when it comes to my belief as regards the sovereignty of God. I feel at times a sense of frustration when things appear to be against me,my desire to preach is limited,doors are not opening.I hear that faint voice reminding me that God is sovereign,that should quieten my spirit but, it doesn't,one still frets and feels frustration.Also the distance between ones beliefs and ones life involves other things,holiness,love,one knows about these things,but so often what one is , and what one should be ,does not line up.It is not that one neglects prayer or Gods word,or attending a local fellowship, oh yes I do that,but there is still that distance between ,what I am and what I should be.So what can one do?well the fact of the matter is,we all have our inconsistencies,I don't say that lightly,they grieve me,I am never disappointed with God but I am disappointed with myself.So what can I learn from this?,well I am saved by grace,not just in the past but in the here and now,that God still loves this naughty child,and by His grace He will perfect that which concerns me.
A  prayer....../Dear God, we thank you that You love us naughty children,grant us grace to stop being naughty,in Jesus name Amen /

A jouney of faith. [Hebrews 12 v2 ]

On a visit to a cathedral I spoke to a young man,I asked him, when did he come to know Christ?,he replied,/I am still on that journey/.I thought that was an interesting answer, I am still on that journey,
in other words he was seeking, he did say the minister was helping him.This man was making a conscious effort on his journey to faith,he is full of doubts,uncertainties,questions,the journey will not end when all these are answered,it will end when he simple exercises faith.You see there will always be the unanswerable,be it about creation ,suffering,and so on,I have been following Lord for 50years I still have questions,that are still unanswered,this will never change.The people in the Bible were the same as you and I Iikewise many great Christians,when Bishop Ambrose ,mentor of Augustine,lay dying ,was asked whither he feared facing God at judgement,/We have a good master,he relied with a smile.I learn to trust God with my doubts and struggles by getting to know Jesus/.
A  prayer...../Dear heavenly Father we come to You in simple faith in Your son Jesus,help us as we journey to heaven,to focus on Him ,in whose name we ask this Amen/

Father forgive. [ Luke 23 v 34 ]

Recently while on holiday I visited the city of Coventry and its cathedral,it is really two cathedrals,
the old and the new.The old is but ruins,a result of being bombed in the second world war,by . Most of the industry of Coventry was in the centre of the city,so the cathedral
was not spared. They recovered from the ruins,two pieces of charred wood,nailed them together so making a cross,they placed it in the ruins,and on the wall behind this cross ,they put the words ,/Father Forgive/.This reminded me, that at the centre of the Christian faith,there is a message of forgiveness,for all,God is the forgiving God,he desires to show mercy,in fact He delights in it.The gospel is a message of forgiveness.The words Father forgive,come from the words spoken by Jesus,from a cross,on which He was being nailed to,by wicked men. Let us never loose sight of the truth,that we who have been forgiven,need to forgive,and desire forgiveness for all.
A  prayer...../Dear God we worship You with thanks given for the fact that You are the forgiving God,help us who are Your children,to always desire the forgiveness of all mankind,in Jesus name.Amen/

The price of change.[Isaiah 6 ]

One of my favourite movies is Gladiator,and yet the gladiatorial games where ghastly,men fighting to the death,in the name of entertainment. One day a man felt God telling him to go to Rome,he was a  Christian hermit,called Telemachus,he found himself at the games,and was horrified to witness the slaughter that went on,horrified he rose from his seat,and tried to stop two men killing each other.They tossed him aside,but he kept coming back,the 80.000 crowd became angry,throwing stones at him,but he kept coming back,to stop the killing.Then the command rang out,for him to be put to death,a sword flashed in the sunlight,and Telemachus was dead. Suddenly a hush fell over the stadium, Rome at that time was nominally Christian,and they realised a holy man lay dead.From that day on there were never anymore gladiatorial games.A godly man had to pay the price for this to happen,so it is ,if this world is going to change,if wrong is to challenged,if people are going to be saved,there is a price that has to be paid,are we willing to pay that price?
A  prayer...../ Dear God help us to be willing,to pray the price,for things to change,in this sinful world,in Jesus name Amen /

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]