A time of promise [ Genesis 3 v15 ]

We have entered into that period of the year which is called advent,oh no  I hear some cry,shopping,writing out Christmas cards etc.I understand but let us all step back from that and remember what it is really about. Well it is about a time of promise,a promise of God sending His son into the world,
when into the darkness of a world lost and lonely,the light of the world would enter.With His coming this world would be changed,men and women would find hope,in their hopelessness,they would find faith instead of
emptiness,they would find and experience that most precious gift love.They would find meaning,in a world without meaning,forgiveness for sins,the burden of guilt would be lifted from their heavy hearts.They would find joy
instead of sadness,death need no longer be feared,it would be conquered.
All this and more would come because of advent when a little child would be born,and a child who was none other than the Son of God. His name was
Jesus and He and he alone would save us from our sin,yes advent is a time of  promise.
                                           A  prayer.
Dear God ,for Jesus the promised one we thank you,and pray that many will even yet come to know Him. Amen.

The best is yet to be .[1 Corinthians 15 v 51-58 ]

I am very fortunate that I live in a country where everybody who lives here,can have free medical treatment. Of course as one grows older the need of ongoing medical treatment increases. Old age brings its blessings but also
its challenges,there is no way we can stop the process of old age.I was
listening to an old gospel hymn,which  assured us that as Christians we are going to a land ,where we will never grow old. We need not despair of growing old, it is not the end for the Christian,one glad morning,we leave this old house that we live in,to an eternal existence. The Bible does
not tell us fully what that be like,but it assures us,that we are going to a city where the roses will never die.There will be no need of a health service,no need of medication,no need of false teeth,no more having to camouflage
those wrinkles. No more hearing aids,or walking sticks,or wheel chairs,no more,and so I could go on,no,for Jesus said,He will make all things new.
[Revelation 21 v 5 ]. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes,and there shall be no more death,neither sorrow,nor crying,neither shall there be any more pain,for the former things are passed away.[Revelation 21 v 4 ]
                                         A  prayer.
Dear God help those of us who are old ,to trust you,and we thank you that
old age is but the anti-room to a glorious future in Jesus name Amen .

I will pray for you. [ Isaiah 59 v16

Just recently a friend who is not a Christian,shared with me a problem he was having.As I listened I said some things,but the problem was difficult,
and in end I said simply I will pray for you,and he thanked me.Life can be so complicated,and one is not sure what to say to people,oh I know God can give us insight,but often if we are honest,we do not know the answer.So the best thing to do is pray about it,for I believe God is able to solve every problem.When we pray we are declaring that we need Him to resolve the difficulties,and to undertake,does this all sound to simple?,yes it is simple,
but is the wisest thing to do. Consider the time without number God sorted things out,often the situation was beyond us.Often we caused the problem ourselves,we see this  during that time at the time of the judges.,but God who is merciful helped them.It will be interesting to see how God will answer my prayer,for my friend,but I believe he will, he is not saved,but I am,and so I have confidence,that God will undertake,I do not know how,or when, but I know God my Father,He is a God of mercy and of grace,has He not shown this, by sending Jesus to die for the ungodly,consider how God has undertaken for us,in so many ,many ways,so pray believing.
                                             A  prayer.
Dear God we thank you that you not only hear our prayers,and in a very
loving way,answer them in Jesus name . Amen.

Blessings. [1 Timothy 6 v 5-19 ]

One of my sons ,attended a large church gathering,he mentioned a few things,how he was blessed by two testimonies of Gods saving power.
There were other things he appreciated,but he was critical of the preacher
who  misquoted scripture and seem to forget the context. Then there was the
emphasise on money ,which was over the top,emotional blackmail. Now I know that as a Christian,I am responsible ,to God,to give as God has blessed
me,I have known this all my Christian life. I do not believe I am under the law of tithing,but I use that as a principal,we do not give to get,but Gods word tells us to give and it shall be given unto us.I have found this to be true in my experience. But one thing I do not like is emotional blackmail,I do not need to be loaded with guilt, because God has blessed me.For all I have comes from God,we read in1Timothy 6 v17,that God richly provides us with everything ,for our enjoyment.Today thank Him for His blessings,but be careful that none of us put our hope in them,May we all do good,and be rich in good deeds,and be generous and willing to share.[1 Timothy 6 v18]
                                        A  prayer.
Dear God we thank your  for your many blessings,the enjoyment they give us,help us to be like You,and bless others as you have blessed us,in Jesus name Amen.
                                            

All the lonely people. [ Genesis 2 v18]

My wife is about to change jobs,and she is finding it hard,she has worked in the same job for over 9yrs.She works in what we call the caring profession as indeed I did,for 23yrs,it was for both my wife and myself,not just a job. No it was a calling,and was very rewarding, but here is a thought,should  we
not all be in the business of caring. It goes without saying that we live in a world that desperately needs people to be in the business of caring.The Beatles sang about all the lonely people ,where do they all come from?, loneliness is a very serious condition, and its not only old people who are lonely. Loneliness effects all ages,children get lured into wrong relationships.because they are lonely.The wonderful story of Robinson Crusoe ,written by Daniel De foe,tells of a man who was shipwrecked on a desert island ,for many years.Then there came a person into his life who he named Man Friday,that was a blessing,he had now a fellow human being for company. Yet loneliness is not easy to explain,but God saw mans need ,and gave him a companion called Eve,we are social beings,so let us look out for those lonely people and be sociable.
                                          A prayer.
Dear God and Father,we realise that only you can meet the need of the human  heart,in your son Jesus, Amen.

Agape [ Genesis 50 v 15-21]

Let us return to the challenge of agape that word which describes the challenge that all Christians,are called to live out.We can call it Christian love,William Barclay has many interesting things to say on this aspect of love,he writes,/Christian love, is not merely an emotional experience,which comes to us unbidden and unsought,it is a deliberate principle of the mind,
and a deliberate conquest and achievement of the will.It is in fact the power
to love the unlovable,to love people we do not like/ He does stress the difference as to how we love our nearest and dearest,and then goes on to sum up ,/that  Christian love demands that we should have at all times a certain attitude of the mind and a certain direction of the will towards all men,no matter who they are./ I remember reading about a missionary called
Isobel Kuhn ,its a long time ago since I read this,but basically she pointed out the unpleasantness of those she worked with.Their lack of social skills,hygiene,and general appearance left a lot to be desired,but she loved them. But we do not need to go to the missionary field,marriage can bring  a tremendous challenge,what if the person you are married to snores,or has bad breath,or has irritating habits that drive you crazy,whats the answer?,
the answer is agape,Christian love.
                                             A  prayer.
Dear God help us to rise to the challenge of agape,with those I live with,and
with all I come in contact with in Jesus name Amen .

Love [ John 3 v16 ]

In his book  New Testament words,William Barclay touches on the word love,he explains that in English we have only have one word for love.The Greeks have four words for love,and one of them is agape,[The NT was written in Greek], It has a very profound challenging meaning,which W .
Barclay explains in great detail,I will quote some of what he wrote,/Agape
love demands the exercise of the whole man ,Christian love must not only
extend to our nearest and dearest,our kith and kin,our friends and those who love us; Christian love must extend to the Christian fellowship,to the neighbour,to the enemy,to all the world/.In John 3 v16 we read that God loves this world,let us think about what that means for you and I, it must bring a challenge to all of us to broaden our limited concept of what love involves, it is a love that has no limits.
                                         A prayer.
Dear God we thank you for your world wide love,help us to appreciate what
that means for us your children in Jesus name Amen.