Taste [Psalm 34 v8 ]

Recently I had an infection in my gum,the result was the dentist prescribed
me antibiotics,and they have done the job.You are meant to swallow them,
and not to chew them which I did,but on one occasion I  got the taste of one of the tablets,and it tasted awful,now I understand why you don't chew them
.Taste is one of the wonders  that God granted us,it enables us to have pleasure, in the things we eat.Not everything we like the taste of,will do us good,our government is considering putting a tax on fizzy drinks, because of their sugar content,to much sugar can cause our teeth to rot,this affects
many children.It is said that queen Elizabeth's[ the first] teeth were rotten
because of her sugar intake.We speak of people getting or having a taste for something,often that something may not be good for them. In the Psalm34 v8, we read,/O taste and see that the Lord is good;blessed is the man that
trusteth in Him/.What we are being instructed to do is personally know and trust the Lord,there are countless millions who have looked upon Christmas
cards,depicting Jesus ,who have never trusted Him.A cream cake is only
truly appreciated when we taste it,so it is if we are to appreciate our Lord Jesus we trust Him,and in so doing,we will discover that He is good.
                                          A  prayer.
Dear Lord Jesus,we thank you that we have tasted and found that you are good,as to your forgivness,mercy,peace,and love,and our prayer would be
that all would people everywhere would find you Amen.

Gifts [ 2 Corinthians 9 v 15/ Romans 6 v23 ]

My wife and I have thankfully finished wrapping up all the Christmas  gifts  ,this was made a bit easier,as we were giving some gift vouchers,and we had bought gift bags,but we still had our share of wrapping up to do.But as I said,thankfully it is all done , I hope the presents that we will give,will be a blessing.Of course Christmas is not the only time we gave and receive gifts,maybe your birthday falls on Christmas day,and you receive double the gifts.Of course we receive gifts other than at Christmas ,I wonder what
you consider to be that gift that give you most pleasure?.For me it was the gift of a car,my first car,the person who gave me it was a widow called Lila,I had not long learnt to drive,but could not afford a car.that car was a great blessing ,to me and my young family,I have owned many cars since, but the gift of that first car will always be remembered as the gift that give me most pleasure.As to Christmas,most of the gifts have been sorted out,but
now for the Christmas cards.As a Christian I try to buy cards relating to the true meaning of Christmas,a lot of shops,even though they profit from the season,sell cards with,reindeer's ,Santa,snow,etc,but not with anything  to do with Christmas.So I was pleased to see on sale ,a card with the following words on it,/Jesus is our Greatest Gift. Thanks be to God/.
                                       A  prayer
Dear God for your many gifts that you give us ,thank you,especially for Jesus your Son Amen.

He does not idly stand by.[Philippians 4 v5 ]

Sometimes anxiety overtakes us,I woke the other morning with the thought on my mind ,what if  ?,do you have a what if thoughts?. Oh yes there is a reality to the , what if thoughts ?, or a perceived reality,so what can we do.
Well there is only one port of call when anxiety strikes,God and His word,
consider the following. The Lord is near /Philippians 4v5/ ,consider what that means,the comfort it should give every child of God,it means He is with us in the storms,and He is with us when there is no storm.I remember a
friend telling how someone was attacking him,and people did not come to his aid,the Lord is not like that ,He continually encourages us that He will help us. CP .Isaiah 41 v10,/So do not fear , for I am with you,do not be
dismayed,for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right arm./ Hebrews 13 v 5-6,/Never will I leave you,never will I forsake you./
                                             A prayer.
Dear God and Father help us to be encouraged that You are with us,and will surely come to our aid, in Jesus name Amen.

Keep on praying. [ Philippians 4 v 6 ]

I cannot stress enough the importance of prayer,especially for our unsaved children.Recently I was speaking to Christian lady,she mentioned that her sons were not saved.She mentioned something very unusual, about one of her sons,that when he was four he lost his grandfather,this effected him greatly.One day she saw him lying out in the garden it was summer,he was looking up into the sky,and was saying ,were are you granddad?.From that point on he became a atheist,he is now a grown man,and he is still an atheist.For his Christian parents this is a cause for concern,I  have a friend who often mentions his concern for his two unsaved grandchildren.So be it your children or your grandchildren,who are not saved,pray.The conversion of Hudson Taylor is remarkable,he was staying with his sister,at that time his Mother was 50miles away. She was concerned about Hudson,so she went into her room and prayed for his conversion.Meanwhile at that time as she was praying,Hudson began reading a gospel tract,and the result he became a Christian. His mothers prayer was answered,mother, father,pray and keep praying for your children's salvation.
                                                  A  prayer.
Dear God we bring our unsaved children and grandchildren to you,have mercy and save them through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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.