Duty. [ John 14 v15 ]

I have attended a certain prayer meeting for years,held once a month in which we pray for Gods persecuted people. Now I must confess that many times I did not feel like going,maybe I was tired,and often I wondered why I did go,but I still go.But recently I read these words by Alec Motyer,/Many times if we were to wait for emotion to prompt action,we should wait in vain and long lists of Christian duties would rot in the pipe line, because we
did not feel any stimulus to perform them./He rightly points out  emotions are a fickle and false guide ,and they are,of course we don't rule out emotions in our relationship with God ,which is based on loving Him,but for His sake and our love for Him,we will perform our duty,even though we may not feel like it.There are things we should do,pray,read Gods word ,fellowship with other believers,perform good works,tell others about Jesus,and so on.
Remember the message that Lord Nelson sent to the fleet on the eve of the battle of Trafalgar,England expects that every man will do his duty,now Nelson was loved greatly ,and it is thought that the love they had for him
inspired everyman to do their duty.So may our love for our blessed Saviour
inspire us all to do our duty.
                                            A  prayer.
Dear Lord forgive us for neglecting our Christian duty,help out of love for you to do our duty. Amen .

What might have been.[ Matthew 23 v37 ]

When one reads the history of Israel ,a nation blessed above many,a nation chosen by God,and yet a nation that choose so often to rebel,to turn from
God, a nation that so often forgot God for other so called gods,who were not gods.A nation that had so much potential to be used by God to be light to the world,and in all this they failed. And yet as one writer writes,/what might have been/,yes what might have been if only they had listened to the
prophets,if only they had obeyed Gods word,what might have been.They would not have experienced the suffering of defeat,and dare I say it the genocide of the Holocaust.Yes what might have been,and yet it has lesson for all of us,there is blessing in obeying God ,in following Him, loving trusting Jesus, and following and obeying Him.Let us hope and pray that we who know Christ will not have this as our epithet, what might have been
                                        A  prayer.
Dear God grant that it will not be said of us what might have been, in Jesus name we ask this.Amen.

Stay focused [ Hebrews 12 v 1-3 ]

Its Christmas time the season to be jolly,but for many it is anything but jolly,for many dear people life is very hard,very lonely and a reminder of how empty their life is.Now of course if we are Christians we should make a point to be focused,on Christ. If we loose our focus then we can be overwhelmed by so many things,things that in essence have very little to do with Christmas.I believe the Puritans sought to ban the keeping of Christmas it is obvious they did not succeed. I am sure those godly people had their reasons,but their reasoning never won the majority of people over.
   The book of Hebrews was written to Christians who were finding following Jesus hard because they were suffering,they were even in danger of giving up,but were warned of the consequences ,it is the true Christian that perseveres,endures to the end. So what does the writer of Hebrews tell them to do ?,well in chap12 he exhorts them,to get rid of everything that was holding them back. To go forward patiently ,yes we need patience, the more we follow Jesus we realise the importance of patience.But more than that , to focus on Jesus at all times,because He suffered ,He understands our suffering. Jesus in the midst of suffering fixed His eye of the eternal glories that shine afar.
  So today what have we been focusing on?a good question,what are we focusing on?.and what should we be focusing on? ,the answer is very simple, Jesus. let us look unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith,
He will never lead us into sin ,but if we take our eyes of Him then we could so easily fall headlong into sin
                                                A prayer.
Dear Lord help us to stay focused on you, in Jesus name Amen ..

Throwing stones. [John 8 v1-11]

I know a man ,we will call him Brian and he often comments on that
people never smile,and yet he himself is a very unhappy person,who rarely smiles,and is very negative in his out look in life. My observation in relation to driving is that there are no perfect drivers,and yet so many people act as if they never make mistakes.The fact of the matter is,none of us are perfect,let me repeat this none of us are perfect,we all have something that is broken.There are time when we are very angry to the point of doing someone bodily harm,we think thoughts we shouldn't,and as to what we say
enough said.We live in a world obsessed by sex,with very little restraint,our thoughts if others could see then,we  would bow our heads in shame.The entertainment and the inter-net help to feed our sexual appetite,without considering the consequence of what they are doing,though if truth were told it does not take much to lead us into the darker side of our nature
    In John chapter 8 we read of a woman who was caught in the act of
adultery,and she was brought to Jesus,trying to trip him up,they said she should be stoned to death,nothing has changed it seems,Jesus eventually spoke,with words that we all need to take on board,/He that is without sin,
let him first cast a stone at her/
                                     A  prayer
Dear Lord help us to refrain from throwing stones at others, Amen

There is hope.[ Ephesians 2 v1-8]

Do you remember what Jeremy cricket said,always let your conscience be your guide. It is A. Motyer who writes,/Conscience is a God given faculty, part of the image of God. Like every other aspect of this image,it was tampered with,diluted and depraved as soon as human nature
gave house-room to rebellion against God,and the process of sin hardening,now countless generations old,has not improved the sensitivity
of conscience as an instrument of moral judgement./
   A. Motyer points out that our human nature can be seen according to scripture as being totally depraved,in other words no part or aspect is untainted by corruption.
      The natural man needs a restraint  ,by the gracious gift of common grace,this gracious gift holds us back ,although  at times ,man can still  act it seems without a conscience . Paul writes about people like this
whose conscience has been seared with a hot iron.W. Hendriksen writes,/By constantly arguing with conscience,stifling its warnings,and muffling its bell,they at last have reached the point where conscience no longer bothers, them. Grieving the holy Spirit has let to resist,and resisting Him, to quenching Him/
                                         A  prayer.
Dear God we thank You that although we are sinners,You are a God of all grace,we thank for Your common grace,and for Your saving Grace,that can
break into these darkened minds,and bring us to the place of faith ,and
forgiveness through Jesus Your dear son.Amen


     

Jesus paid it all. [Acts 16 v 30-31]

I used to visit a lovely lady,who always wanted to make me something to eat,she was a Muslim,she not just a Muslim but a practising  Muslim, she would be having her prayer time sometimes when I called.She would pray the required number of times a day,and she even had a time table,that would inform her as to the precise moment to pray.All Moslem's are not violent suicide bombers,they take their religion seriously,a religion of do's and dont's.Circumcision,praying,eating,and other rules and regulations,now they are not alone in this.Jesus was faced with people who believed that their relationship with God depended on rules and regulations, Jesus was the only person who has ever lived kept the law perfectly,He never had to offer a sacrifice for His sin,or to confess to a priest any wrongs , He was the perfect human being,oh yes He was tempted,but He never yielded to temptation.When He was crucified He was dying for sin,not his own,for He had no sin,but for you and me who sin,and no matter how much we try,we will still sin,that's the reality.So God had a plan, as to how we could be forgiven,Jesus His son would bear our sins on His body on that cross[1 Peter 2 v24/Isaiah 53 v12].The old hymn puts it like this.
                           He took my sins and my sin and my sorrows,
                           He made them his very own,
                           He bore the burden to Calvary,
                           And suffered and died alone.[C.H.Gabriel]
                                      A  prayer
Dear God  we praise You that Your son Jesus paid the price for our salvation  ,and that by believing in Him we will be saved Amen 

Mercy Lord. [Malahi 3 v6 ]

I am sure I don't need to remind you that life is full of change,recently I saw a friend with her grandson,the last time I saw him ,he was about 3 feet tall,now he is about 6 feet tall.We really do live in a changing world,some things are not so good others things are good,it is not all bad.But it is a fact change is ever happening,what changes does the future hold for any of us?,God alone knows, how do face the challenges that are  ahead?the answer is challenging but simple,faith in our unchanging God,He changes not.  Malachi 3 v6 declares, /For I am the Lord, I change not,therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed/ , we are given a two fold assurance in those words, as to Gods being He changes not,and His mercy changes not. Are you not encouraged by the fact that we worship a God who continually shows mercy to His children.Mercy is not a one of event,when we get saved,no ,it is ongoing,we grieve God in so many ways,yet wonder of wonders , God continues to show us Mercy ,through His Son Jesus,the fact is the most holy of men like David can commit such unholy acts,yet they experienced mercy.I leave you with these encouraging words from our unchanging God. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy,and find grace to help in times of need[Hebrews 4 v16]
                                           A  prayer.
Dear God we praise You that You change not,and that You are still merciful
, one who is forgiving and kind,we praise You in Jesus name Amen .