No way. [ 1 Samuel 17 v 41- 54 ]

Murry the giant slayer,well not quite,I was watching tennis on TV as I do every year,Murry was playing Karlovic,now Murry is not a small person,
but  Karlovic is tall, 6feet 11 inches tall.When they had finished their match which Murry won,as they walked off the court,Karlovic appeared like a giant.Now it was only a game of tennis,the looser will dust himself down,
and go unto his next game of tennis.But there is a story in the Bible about a
little chap,facing a big giant,and it was not a tennis match,it was a war zone,that would be decided by a small lad and a giant of a man.The Lads name was David,the giants name was Goliath,the young lad had risen to the giants challenge,of fighting him in combat. All Israel were quaking with fear,even big Saul, the enemies of Israel were licking their lips,assured  that their champion would win,there is a saying in boxing a big one will always beat a little one.The giant thought that,the Philistines thought that,and possible all Israel thought that also.Feather weights do not beat heavy weights,how on earth could David win?,well the answer is very simple,faith in his God,and so it came to pass.
                                           A  prayer.
Dear God you know the giants we have to face,and You know how small and inadequate we are,so by faith we look to You to give us the victory,in Jesus
name Amen.

Only You [ Psalm 94 v 17-19]

The words of a popular song  came to mind, only you,and it reminded me not so much of the song, the words came from,but  my relationship with
my loving heavenly Father.I started singing a song putting my own words
in,oh it will never make the top of the charts,nor will I sing it in public,but the theme of it was,the fact that God my Father and Him alone has brought
me through .Not having a father around ,I was comforted by the wonderful truth that God was my Father.The Psalmist declared,/Unless the Lord had given me help[94 v17] yes  that sums it up,unless the Lord had stood by me watched over me,what would have been my fate,?.It does not bear thinking about,for one  thing I would have had no hope for eternity,I just do not think I could have made it through,He has watched over me and my family,
putting food on the table,clothes on our backs,great has been His faithfulness, though I am old, His care for me will not cease.
                                         A  prayer.
Dear loving Heavenly Father,thank You for Your faithfulness, truly only
You and You alone have cared for me and mine,and for this I gave You thanks, in Jesus my Saviours name Amen

There is a God reason. [ Psalm 119 v67 ]

Sometimes things crowd in upon us,we become unsettled,our little world
appears to be threatened,the words of Deuteronomy 32 v11-12,come to mind,it is dealing with Israel in the wilderness./Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young,that spreads its wings over them and carries them on its pinions.The Lord alone did lead them;no foreign god was with them/  Why the eagle stirs up its young I am not sure,but why does the Lord stir us up?,to stir us up out of our complacency?,Bunyan wrote of the slough of despond.the dictionary tells me the word slough means,a situation in which there is no progress or activity. Now that's not a good place for the
Christian  to be in,there is always work for us to do in Gods kingdom.The Christian life is ongoing in serving,and following in the footsteps of our master.Is the Lord stirring you up? to pray,to go forth ?, we must look beyond the stirring up,and ask our Saviour why. The Lord says, he who has an ear , let him hear what the Spirit says.[Revelation 2v7],today let us listen to the Holy Spirit
                                         A  prayer.
Dear God when You stir us up help us to hear your still small voice,in Jesus name Amen.

The little mouse [ Genesis 50 v 20]

D.R. Davis writes of /Gods calendar,and how even chaotic time is appointed time/ It is clear throughout scripture that God has His time in which things will happen,and in spite of awful chaotic times God is in control.It was R.Burns while ploughing up rooted a mouse .From that simple experience he wrote a poem,The words are in the Scottish dialect it reads,/ But mousie,thou art no thy-lane.In proving foresight may be in vain. The best laid schemes o' mice and men,gang aft agley. An leave us naught but grief and pain,for promised joy/.The way I would see this is simple ,in spite of all our planning , and efforts to make things go a certain way,things can so soon collapse around us.Yes , we rule but God overrules,sometimes bringing the house down upon our heads.We will never fully understand this ,may be resent it,because our house comes down upon us. This can not only apply to as it were bad things ,but to good things,let us never forget that all things are working out for our good,all things[Romans8 v28]
                                     A   prayer.
Dear God help us not to loose our heads,no matter how chaotic things appear to be in Jesus name Amen.

Not just history[ Hebrews 3 v 7 - 19]

The book of Hebrews is a wonderful book that exalts our Saviour over all things in heaven and upon earth,reminding us that the servant is the Saviour
 and Divine.The people to whom the book is written were struggling spiritually.And so throughout this epistle we have encouragements but
also warnings as regards turning back,they are reminded what happened to the Israelites when they turned back, so the writer declares,/Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts.[3v8] ,the key word is today,God may have been speaking,way back then,but as M Wilcock writes ,/God is is speaking to you now,today,as really as He was then. You are as likely as your forefathers were to harden your hearts and to refuse to listen.It is entirely possible for God to be as disgusted with you as He was with them/
So today if we hear His voice let us not harden our hearts
                                        A  prayer.
Dear God forgive us our backsliding,our spiritual deafness,and our hard hearts,in Jesus name Amen.

Greatness. [Philippians 2 v5-11]

We where handing out leaflets at a local supermarket,encouraging people to
help those who are in need. One of the folk involved in this had brought a little child along,and she participated in the giving out of the leaflets.I noticed how people gladly took them of this little child,readily,more so that us grown ups.I am not sure why,but it was an interesting observation.A little
child says Isaiah [11 v 6]shall lead them.It was Jesus who called a little child, stood him in the midst and said, unless you change and become like little children,you will never enter the kingdom of heaven[ Matthew 18 v1-4].it is interesting that many people become Christians when they are children.the context in which Jesus said these words,came as a response to
a question by his disciples,/Who is the greatest in the kingdom heaven/,This was a question the disciples  were concerned a number of times  cp  Mark 9 v34 /Luke 9v46./ The mother of James and John came to Jesus to ask that her sons should sit in the place of honour in heaven.I am not to concerned as
to where I sit or stand when I get to heaven,I will be so glad that I have got there. Jesus stresses the importance of humility, and serving others,even as a slave.Those who truly do this will be greatest in Gods Kingdom.
                                  A  prayer.
 Dear God fill our lives with true humility,and grant unto us that we may all have a willingness to serve other in Jesus name Amen.    

Change. [ Isaiah 41 v10]

Things can change so quickly in life,just recently the residential home that my wife works in ,is closing. She has worked in it for 13 years so suddenly, change  has been thrust upon her,and of course on the both of us as
we consider the financial consequences.  The first thing I did was to seek
a word from God which I received,reassuring us that God has not changed,
I was reminded again of the importance of trusting God,to not panic,that God is faithful,the word Ebenezer ,was given,which means,/hitherto hath the Lord helped us..I was also told to pray and to let my requests be made
known unto God. The result would be peace,and so it goes on,this walk
of faith,trusting  our loving heavenly Father.As I was praying this morning
the words of a song I knew came to me,it goes like this.
                         All your anxiety's ,all your cares ,
                          Bring to the mercy seat ,leave them there,
                         Never a burden that He cant bear,
                          Never a friend like Jesus.
                                   A  prayer.
 Dear loving heavenly Father,we bring all our cares to you,knowing that you care for us,all the time,so we leave with you all our needs,and ask that you will meet our needs in the name of Jesus Amen.