Not perfect. [ Mark 12 v 41-44]

Let me say this ,I edit my thought for the day,but I rarely look at the published article,I had trouble publishing yesterday,but managed to view
what I had published.I was surprised how it was shown  ,and I noticed mistakes. This all causes me a bit of annoyance, I will have to ask my son to see if I can improve things. All I can say is I do my best,and hope and pray that in spite of my limited computer skills,what I have written will bless someone.I am reminded that God uses the weak things,well that's the reality
,but I am not going to give up,I will try to improve,we should always aim for excellence. I will just leave this thought with you,do your best,even though your best may be imperfect, God will accept  it , like any  loving parent who takes pleasure when  their infant offers them their scribbled drawing.
                                           A prayer.
Dear God You who love the imperfect,we offer you our imperfect gifts and talents, in Jesus name Amen.

Friendship is important. [ Proverbs 17 v17 ]

Friendship is important we all need friends, in Proverbs 17 v17,we read,/A  friend loveth at all times/.I remember a lady I worked with how important friends where to her,yet one day I heard her and her friend having a 
disagreement,and that was the end of that friendship. In Psalm41 the writer,
David ,speaks of one was a close friend,turning against him.[v9],these words applied to David ,but also to our Lord[cp John 13v18].Judas who was one the 12 disciples ,one of His friends,turned against Him,and for 30 pieces of silver ,betrayed Him,this resulted in Him being arrested,and crucified. Friendship is very important ,I am reminded that God has granted me a wife who is my friend,I value that friendship,she can criticise,and remind me when I am in the wrong,she also advises me,cautions me,and above all else she loves me.In Proverbs 18v 22,we read, /He that finds a wife finds what is good and receives favour from the Lord/. If you are married treasure that relationship,pray about it,do not betray it,be faithful,
and above all else love the one God has brought into your life.
                                    A  prayer.
Dear God help us to value friendship,Your friendship,and those friends
 you have brought into our lives,especially the one we are married to,in Jesus name who is our Saviour and friend, we ask this. Amen .

Our main aim. [Matthew 5 v16]

It is said that once a young soldier,lying in pain in a hospital,said to Florence Nightingale as she bent over to tend him,'You are the Christ to me'
Certain Greeks asked a disciple of Jesus ,Sir we would see Jesus. Jesus said to all who are His,/You are the light of the world [Matthew 5v14] and then He said,[v16] Let your light so shine before men ,that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven./ Our Saviour who is the light of the world ,has gone to heaven,so He has placed us here to shine,to show His love by what we do and say.The aim and purpose  is to glorify our Father in heaven,as we end each day can we look back and say
 ,have I glorified my Father in heaven?. Our chief purpose is to glorify our God and Father,in all we do,if I was a sportsman I may have won a medal,but the more important question is ,have I brought glory to God?.
                                     A  prayer.
Dear God help us to glorify You today, in the name of Jesus we ask this. Amen.











'

He is the only way. [John 14 v6]

 At a particular church I attended,the visiting preacher,said we were not to judge,in heaven,there will be Muslims,atheists,Hindu's,and others.I was stunned to hear him say this,and after the service I spoke to him as to what he said,his explanation was unclear.As I walked away I heard him say the following,you cannot please everyone.I returned to him and said,we are not meant to please everyone,we are to declare the truth,his rely was I will pray for you,as if that solved everything.Now what is wrong with what he said?of course Muslin's,atheists,Hindu's,will be in heaven if they have trusted Jesus,but he did not say this. The fact of the matter is we need to be clear as to how one gets to heaven,hope that is not based on Gods word, is a false hope. This is what Jesus said,[not what I am saying],/I the way,the truth,the life,no man cometh unto the Father but by Me[John 14v6].He is the only
way we can be saved from Hell,and go to heaven, only through Him can our sins be forgiven.Yes praise God through Jesus and only through Him ,we can be saved,we must not by pass this truth, ignore it  or rationalise it  away.
                                           A prayer
Dear God we praise you that You so loved the world that You give Your only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Amen.

Value in not knowing [ 2 Corinthians v1 -10]

Recently I read the following words,there is value in not knowing,this was written about Paul's thorn in the flesh.[2 Corinthians 12v7] There are many who speculate as what that thorn in the flesh was,but it is only speculation.
In this case there is value in not knowing ,for as M Wilcock,writes,/the value in not knowing means we can put ourselves in that position ,and to say 'That could be me'. That means like Paul we are not excluded from the
grace we need ,to help us cope,and yes even to serve our Saviour.Consider the source of  this thorn in the flesh,Paul calls it a messenger of Satan. The same being that afflicted Job,yes he is still around,and will continue to be around,until that moment in the future when he will finally be dealt with
CP Revelation 20 v10.But as in Jobs case ,in Paul's case,and in every  dear
child of God whom he is attacking,God is in control, CP Job 1v12/2v8.
God in both these verses commands Satan,thus far and no further,let none
of us not loose sight of the sovereignty of God,over world events,and over
what comes into the child of Gods life.Both Job and Paul's suffering was severe,the Amplified Version,uses the following as regards Paul's affliction,
that racking,,buffeting and harassing.It was something that was on going
,but here is the good thing the grace of God was ongoing,and would be sufficient for Paul to cope with. There are things we have to bear that do not go a way,our sovereign Lord permits it to remain,for reasons that are best for us,and like Paul we are given the grace ,that is sufficient for us.
                                  A  prayer.
Dear God we bow to Your will for our lives,we thank You that You are in control of all things,help us in our utter weakness,to trust You,grant us the grace we need,that You may be glorified,in Jesus name Amen.

Yes He does. [Psalm 34 ]

We recently bought a new tumble drier,but we brought it home we found
it hard fitting it into the space where the old one had been.I prayed to the reminding Him of the camel and the eye of a needle.Well the thing is He did help us to fit in our new tumble drier,for which I am thankful.I have seen three definite answers to prayer this week.Remember God answers prayer,it is not just an exercise of words when we pray.I still preach ,it would concern me greatly if I was not given opportunities to minister Gods
word.So what can I do,it is not my habit of asking for speaking engagements,no I pray,and trust God to open doors.Again let me stress this truth  ,God answers prayer,I could say other things about prayer,but I will not,God answers prayer,have faith to believe this. Read Psalm 34v4/ I sought the Lord, and He answered me/v6./ This poor man called, and the Lord heard him,he saved him out of all his troubles./v15/The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears, are attentive to their cry/.v17/ The righteous cry out,and the Lord hears them,He delivers them from all their troubles./
                                  A prayer.
Dear God we praise You for hearing and answering our prayers,in Jesus name Amen.

The church and the Christian. [ Malachi 3v 16-17]

I read this recently in what had been  a church building,this written on a plaque ,/ To the memory of James Gayler minister of the gospel in this place,of the genuine religion.He had the sweetest disposition,in 1702 he fell asleep in Jesus/.Sometimes I think we make to much of the church building,
we call it the house of God,but of course God does not dwell within bricks and mortar,but within every Christian,in fact we are called the temple of God,CP. 2 Corinthians 6 v16.This is important as I continually read how
many church buildings are being destroyed in lands of Islam,it was the same under Communism in the former Soviet Union. The fact of the matter is ,the church is the people of God,buildings can and are destroyed,but no force on earth ,or hell can destroy the church of Christ. Now returning to the minister of that church, James Gayler,as I read the words about that brother,yes the
building is no longer used,but as the book of the Proverbs 10v 7,tells us,the memory of the just is blessed,Psalm112 v6, tells us,the righteous  shall be in everlasting remembrance.How often I have been blessed as I have read the
lives of dear saints,who have gone to Glory,and those dear Christians,I have personally known, who are now in heaven.
                                     A  prayer.
Dear God as we read of church buildings being destroyed,we praise You that Your church will never and can never be destroyed.We ask that when
we leave this life that the memory we leave,will be a blessing,to those left behind,in Jesus name Amen.