Real or imagined. [Psalm 23 ]

Years ago we used to have a pressure cooker,and I believe that in some countries, they are still very popular,some people are afraid of using one
because they think it may explode.I have not heard of one exploding,they have a safety value that prevents this.I also know some people who would not use a micro wave oven,for fear that something may happen to them.
    We all have fears some are genuine others irrational,working among the
mentally ill ,I am in contact with some people who are so filled with fear,that they will not leave their homes,they are prisoners of fear.
      What can we do with our fears?well  what do I do?,I acknowledge my fear,whatever it is,oh yes ,although I am a Christian a long time there are times when fear takes over,and I loose Gods peace.
      Fear makes one panic,causes one to loose sleep,generally, is not helpful,
we could  call it blind panic.Now behold I show you a better way,faith,faith in what,in the one who is called the good shepherd, Jesus. He is the one who saves,when we put our faith in him,but He also said my peace I gave unto you [John 14v27]
     Consider the following words,I will fear no evil for you are with me[Psalm 23 v4],consider the words no evil,that takes in everything imaginable,the writer says no matter what evil he was facing he will not fear it,this is not  bravado ,no it is a man who has placed his faith in  Jesus the good shepherd[Psalm23v1]
                                        A prayer.
Dear Lord we confess that it does no take much to make us afraid,real or imagined,so today,grant us Your peace as we place our faith in you,Amen .

Gods word. [ 2 Timothy 3 v15-16 ]

When the reformation started many began to cause civil unrest,which had to be put down,M .Luther was in favour of putting it down.Like Christ he realised that Gods kingdom would not come in by the sword.
      This is what he said, / I could have brought blood upon Germany,but I didn't,I simply preached and wrote Gods word, otherwise I did not,and the word did everything.
        When I slept and drank Wittenberg beer with my friends, the word so greatly weakened the Papacy, that no emperor or prince ever afflicted such looses upon it/
      The fact is the kingdom of God cannot be established by the sword,but by the sword of Gods word.[ Hebrews 4 v12]
      Sometimes when I preach Gods word I am disappointed that I do not see
people saved,and I have to remind myself God is sovereign,and His word will accomplish the purpose for which He sent it.It is a living word not a dead word,it is a powerful word, not a powerless word,because it is Gods word.
      I have just read of a so called Christian who is denying that Gods word is infallible,the first thing that Satan did was to place doubt on Gods word
CP Genesis 3 V1,and the sad thing is Eve and Adam committed rebellion,
and brought untold sorrow on mankind.
       Beware of any so called Christian who casts doubt on Gods word
,believe Gods word,for salvation,and for living the Christian life.
                                      A prayer.
Dear God we thank You for Your infallible word ,help us to realise the power of Your word,and the peace in believing Your word,in Jesus name
Amen.

Come [Matthew 11 v28]

I found myself singing,/Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land a shelter in the time of storm/.Our Saviour said come unto me all ye that are weary and
heavy laden and I will give you rest[Matthew 11v 28]The world is full of weary people carrying heavy burdens,people who are grieving,people who are living with pain,mentally physically.One just has to listen to the news
to realise we live in a weary world ,in every street there are people carrying heavy burdens,in every church there are people carrying heavy burdens.
think what it must be like for people living in places continual conflict. we think of the places and people who are living under oppressive religions, or political oppression.Then there are the self inflicted burdens,habits that are destructive,how weary life is,and there appears no way out. But there is,
Jesus,,come to  Him,bare your soul,tell him all,plead with Him,invite Him in,and discover, that he is a rock in a weary land a shelter in the time of storm.
                               A  prayer.
Dear Lord we hear You saying come unto Me,help us to come with all our burdens and hang ups,self inflicted pain, and  find in You that rest we need.
                                         Amen.

Temporal or eternal. [ Colossians 3 v2]

Thomas a Kempis lived in the 14th century,he served God within a religious
order.He is remembered for a work called the ,Imitation of Christ,and to this dayis still a popular book,it has reached over two thousand printings. I am sure if we make the effort to read this book we will receive a blessing.Here
is a simple but challenging thing he wrote,/Make us of temporal gifts,but set your heart on eternal ones/
   Temporal that is an interesting world word,it is a reminder to us all,that we live in situation that is temporal.Consider the following words,/While we look not at the things which are seen,but at the things which are not seen,for the things which are seen are temporal,but the things which are not seen are eternal[2 Corinthians 4 v18] We can only do this with the sight of faith,Moses did it,CP, Hebrews 11 v 25-27,so must we,we are walk in the footsteps of men and women who lived by faith,living for the eternal,living
for Christ.Judas choose 30 pieces of silver,and forfeited eternal life,and
eternal blessings.
  Thomas challenges us to make use of our temporal gifts,how are making use of our temporal gifts?are we holding unto them,Jesus said do you love
me more than these?.
    We are told that the living God giveth all things richly to enjoy,but this is
followed by the challenge,to use our money to do good,to be rich in good works,generous to those in need,always ready to share with others.[1 Timothy 6 v17-18]
                                           A  prayer.
Dear God we thank you for our many blessings,help us to not set our hearts on them,help us to generous and kind to others,who are in need,in Jesus name.  Amen.
  

Will you be ready? [ Matthew 24 v 36-44]

In Northern Ireland we have the Giants causeway,a rock formation caused by a volcanic eruption.I have visited it a few times ,it is situated on the beautiful Antrim coast line.Within that rock formation there is a part that is known as a wishing seat,where you sit down and make a wish. I can just imagine the many who sat and made wishes,I wish for,what would you wish for?,the list is endless.Recently I heard a Christian song,which goes, /I wish they'd all be ready./ ,this is a song about the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ.I pray for many people, and my fervent prayer is that they will
 be ready ,when Christ returns again, we know not when,[Matthew 24 v36 ],the question is this,will you be ready?.The story is not finished yet,He is coming back again, let me ask the question, will you be ready? It will be glory for all who are his, the dead in Christ will be resurrected,and those who are living will be caught up into  Glory[ 1 Thessalonians 4 v13ff].But for those who are left ,they will have to face the music, judgement,which will be eternal,I try not to imagine what that will be like ,but the Bible makes it clear that is no laughing matter.[1 Thessalonians 1 v10 ]
                                     A  prayer.
Dear Lord have mercy help us all to be ready in the light of Your coming. Amen

I will build my church.[ Revelation 7 v9- 11 ]

Our Saviour said that He would build his church and that the gates of hell
would not prevail against it[Matthew 16 v18] In the 1970s in Cambodia the
Khmer Rouge devastated the population ,the church was reduced to a few thousand.Now in spite of restrictions it is reckoned that their are approx.
130.000 Christian, meeting in 2000 small congregations.Today in China
there more Christians than there are members of the Communist party.One survey has shown the following.
[1] For every African child born, two Africans are becoming Christians[in
black Africa]
 [2] There are 1.600 new Christian congregations formed each week across
the world.
 [3] There are up to 100.000 new Christians every day.
Jesus said He will build His church,He is doing it even in the secular west
we can be sure that He is building His church.Let us rejoice in that fact and
pray that in mercy,we may yet witness a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit
in saving power,in our neighbourhood,in our schools,in towns, and in our nations.
                                         A  prayer.
Merciful God we praise that you are still saving ,that our Saviour is building His church,grant that we will see a revival in the Lands and places where You have placed us in Jesus name Amen .

Yahweh. [Genesis 39]

Alec Motyer writing on the words spoken to Moses by God, Exodus 3 v13-14 . what was his name?,Moses asked? God replied, I am who I am [YHWH] ,/The name YHWH ,to the active presence of God,...as a living force,vital and personal,in no situation is He the ornamental extra,in every situation, He is the key active ingredient./
    God is in every situation,do we really believe this?,if I loose my Job,if.....
God is active in every situation, the great example of this is the life of Joseph,when sold as a slave by his brothers,we read, the Lord was with Joseph.[ CP Genesis 39v2/v 23]
     Again quoting A.M./The name YHWH can also mean,I will what I will
be. That suggests a God,for all seasons,all eventualities,all tasks,all needs/
     Consider what these words meant to Moses, and the children of Israel
as they would face the unknown and challenging future ,What season are you in at this time? what difficulties are you facing?.
                            Got any rivers you think are impossible.?
                              Got any mountains you can't tunnel through?
                              God specialises in things thought impossible,
                              He'll do for you what no other can do.
                                        A  prayer
   Dear we bow before You are all powerful,you are in every situation,
and You are our God, we praise You in Jesus name Amen .