I have a soul [Acte 16 v31]

The musical Les Miserables is a wonderful yet sad story,written by Victor Hugo,the Main character in it is a man called Jean  Valjean.He had served
19years on the chain gang,for stealing a loaf of bread,he is granted a ticket of leave,but is rejected by society.Starving and homeless he is befriended by a Bishop,who takes him in feeds him and puts him up.Jean steals silver plates ,is caught and brought back to the Bishop,who says he gave him the
silver,he then gives him,two extra silver candlesticks.Later on Jean is heard
saying,as regards the Bishop,'he told me I had a soul'. Think about those
words,for they challenge so much that this world and the Devil, would like us to forget.They tell us that man shall not live by bread alone,but by every
word that comes from the mouth of God[Matthew 4v4]It reminds us that we may gain the whole world,at the cost of our soul.[Matthew 16 v26]The most precious thing that we have is our souls,and yet we sell for the price of a....
you finish that,and then ask yourself is it worth it?.
                                       A  prayer.
 Dear God when you created us we became not just a living body,but a living soul,help us to see how vital that is,and that it is of the greatest importance,that we do not loose out eternal soul,help us to turn to Jesus,turning from our sins and ask Him to save us Amen.

Wise or Foolish. [ Matthew 7 v 24 ff ]

We have not had much rain for a while,but things have changed this week,and I watched the rain falling,a little chorus came to mind about the wise man and the foolish man in Matthew 7 v24ff, Jesus stressed  the importance of not only hearing Gods word ,and putting it into practise..He tells us if we only hear the word and do not act upon it we are foolish and heading for trouble,but if we hear the word of God and act upon it then all will be well.We might know the word of God,be a good sound
evangelical,and fail to live out what one knows,we are fools.Likewise if we
have heard the gospel,and fail to respond to it,we are fools,and heading for disaster.In Psalm 1,we are told the wicked,the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement[v7 ],Plummer writes,/ To stand is to maintain ones cause,to hold ones own,to be unhurt and unterrified.But in the last day the wicked will
have no confidence,no comfort,no support/. Like the foolish people who build their houses upon the sand the whole structure will come crashing down upon their heads.
                                             A  preayer.
Dear God help us to be not only hearers of your word,but doers,lest we be classed as fools,in Jesus name Amen

Unfufilled desire. [ Deuteronomy 32. v 11-12]

There are many believers living with unfilled desires,recently I was speaking to a fellow Christian,and she told me how she had wanted to serve
God in a certain way but it had not happened.I could appreciate what she was saying,because of my own experience,Years ago I wrote the following./The unfulfilled desire,that desire that appears good,and God glorifying,yet remains unfulfilled.The one with the desire may ask why?,or at least think it. Could I not have served God better if that desire had been fulfilled, why oh why was it not to be?. No answer seems to come,it all seems unfair,from our position it seems cruel,meaningless,purposelessness. ,Yet our lives are in His hands,He has a perfect plan,He will compensate,He will,the key word in every situation is trust, a trust in a loving heavenly Father./
                                              A  prayer.
Dear God,we commit all our unfulfilled dreams and desires into your hands,
and ask for grace to trust You ,in Jesus name Amen.
                                          A  final word.
                                  He leadeth me oh blessed thought.

A blind hymn writer.[ John 9 v 25]

Just heard on the radio the announcer telling us about Fanny J. Crosby,who lived till she was over 90.When she was a child she had a problem with her
eyes,the doctor who came to treat her,prescribed a treatment that caused her to become blind. In spite of this lady grew to be a wonderful woman of God,she never became bitter,believing God had a loving purpose even in her blindness.She is remembered for her hymn writing,she wrote over nine
thousand hymns,many are still sung today.God used her godly grandmother
to be a great influence in her life,I thank God for those whom God brought into my life who helped  me,in so many ways.It is interesting that she did not start writing hymns till she was 40,although she had been writing poetry
for many years,before  that.She is remembered for her hymn writing,God will use those gifts he has given us,what ever they be. Her hymn writing
blessed many ,many people,her life also blessed many people,one of them being,Francis,R.Havergal.She also was a hymn writer and wrote that lovely
hymn,/Take my life and let it be,consecrated,Lord, to Thee./.Remember our
lives consecrated to God can be used to influence others,to come to Christ.
                                         A  prayer.
Dear God we thank for such people like Fanny Crosby,may you continue
to bless the hymns she wrote,and dear Father help us all to see the importance of knowing Jesus,and living for Him Amen.

Such love.[Isaiah 49 v15-16]

My wife and I where in Southend on sea enjoying the find sunny weather,
and as we walk along the seafront ,my wife made mention as to a little child she noticed,it took her fancy.I found myself saying,the child in a mothers arms,that is hers, is the child that is most precious of all.We may love all
children,but we have a special love for our own children, God loves the world but He especially loves those in the world who are his children,they are special to Him.Child of God ,you are loved greatly by your loving heavenly Father.There was a point when Israel felt that God had forsaken them,so God declares,/ Can a women forget her suckling child,that she
should not have compassion on the son of her womb,yea she may forget,yet
will I not forget thee.Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands,thy walls are continually before me.[Isaiah 49 v15-16] And let us not forget they are nail scarred hands,for in the great redemptive purposes of God,God the Son showed a love that Alec Motyer says,/transcends in permanence the best earth can offer/.So let us doubt no more the love God has for us His children,that means you, and thankfully me as well.
                                          A  prayer.
Dear God forgive us for ever doubting your  love,and thank You ,that you do love us your children,with a unconditional,and eternal love,through your Son Jesus Amen.

Doublespeak [ James 3 v 2 - 10]

Stalin was very cynical about diplomacy,when they shout loudly about peace,the opposite would be expected,so that's when he used the word
doublespeak.In the old cowboys and Indian movies,the Indians would say the white man of spoke with a double tongue.In other words one could not trust what the diplomat or the white man said. The British Prime minister was told lies by Hitler,of course Hitler was a compulsive liar.It is an interesting word doublespeak,sometimes it is planned,often it is unplanned,
Peters was unplanned,when he said one thing,and did  the except opposite
[ Matthew 26 v33/  57ff]King Saul was another person who could not be trusted in what he said ,and David knew it[ 1 Samuel 19v6].In the movie
Brave heart,William Wallace was betrayed by the nobles who had promised to support him,but the thing that hurt him the most was when  the king,having assured him of his support, likewise went back on what he said. It hurts us when we are told one thing and the person goes back on his word,but let us be honest have we lived up to what we said to the Lord ,how that must hurt Him,when we do the opposite.
                                     A  prayer.
Dear Lord Jesus help us to keep our word,and never doublespeak, Amen .

We can be changed. [ 2 Corinthians 5 v 17]

I recently visited ,Duxford war museum,it still is in use as a place where planes fly,it was one of the air fields used in the second world war. As one
went round the museum,which covers a great deal of land,one was reminded of the destructiveness of war,of a missile that could carry a neutral bomb ,and the development of fighter aircrafts.Mankind has a wonderful  ability to inventive means of destroying each other,from the primitive to the sophisticated.Europe for the last 70years has known peace,but the 20th century was one of continual conflict.Will things change?one would hope so ,but it will not happen,one just has to consider Islam,and the other waring factions. Scripture tell us that mankind's has a violent nature ,why do people take pleasure in violent sports,and violence.Consider the following ,/mouths full of cursing,feet swift to shed blood,destruction and misery,the way of peace they do not know[Romans 3 v 14-17] These words do not exaggerate ,and of course they are very depressing,but there is hope the only hope,for Christ is saving and changing people like you and I,if  we are violent I believe God can change us,for anyone who truly comes to know Christ,can become a new person,they can be transformed.[2 Corinthians. 5 v17],it is truly amazing how God can change those who come to Him,it is a miracle of grace.
                                          A  prayer.
Dear  God save us by your grace in Jesus name Amen.