Old age [ 1 Kings 11 v 4 ]

The challenge of the Christian life,is just that,it is for life,one does not retire
from the challenges and the trials,that life brings us.It is a lifetime commitment,think not, that just because you are old that you will not face temptations.In 1 Kings 11v4,we read the following,/And it came to pass,when Solomon was old,that his wives turned away his heart after gods.
/Yes when he was old,as long as we are in this body of flesh,we can be assured that we still be capable of sinning in gross ways.If it happened to a godly man like Solomon,it can happen to any of us whatever our age.
There is no early retirement from being a Christian,we have to keep vigilant
to the very gates of death.Many a race horse has fallen at the last hurdle,and many a Christian has fallen in their old age,bringing shame on themselves,
and there loved ones,and on their Lord.Satan takes no pity on any one,be it
a child or old person,the flesh is not dead until we are dead,old age may bring limitations,but it will not limit our ability to sin.Solomons heart was turned away from his God,remember the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked,time and old age will not change this.So today let us old ones be on our guard,to remain vigilant,alert,and continually reliant upon our God.
                                             A  prayer.
Dear God and Father,help us who are old,to not act like  old fools,in Jesus name Amen.

Venial or mortal. [ Isaiah 53]

Isaiah is the prophet,who under the Spirits power, was granted wonderful visions of the coming Messiah.He lived over 700 years before the Messiah
would come,and yet the visions are so clear,amazingly so,chapter 53,shows clearly the Messiahs death,it is as if he stood at the foot of the cross.Yet he
prophesied not just about the physical suffering,but the significance of his suffering. To appreciate the significance of the sufferings of Christ on that
cross,we must look beyond our human understanding,and focus on a three letter word.sin.Oh I hear you say,not sin again,yes we must not forget the truly awfulness of sin,in relation to a holy God. The consequence of sin is beyond our mind to grasp,the universal reality of sin,it is something that we are all involved in,sin.We are told clearly in Gods word that all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God.[Romans 3 v23 ]The Roman Catholic Church,have two classes of sin,mortal and venial,they see such things such
as those sins that are not so grave,as venial,such sins are seen as comparatively light affairs.Mortal sins are very serious ,like murder,sexual
offences,the so called seven deadly sins.Now lets not judge the poor RC's
are we not all like them,Hitler,Stalin,deserves Gods judgement,but not me
 ,like the RC's we see ourselves,as only committing venial sins,nothing to much to worry about.So I am as good as the next person,yes you possible are, maybe there are more RC's in the world ,than we realise.We think this way, because it comforts us, and because we do not want to face the gravity of our condition in the eyes of a holy God.The fact is in Gods eyes all sin is mortal,for if it is not forgiven,will take us to a lost eternity.
                                             A  prayer.
Dear God although all sin is abhorrent to You,and separates us from you,
and can take us to a lost eternity,you have provided the perfect remedy,
through Jesus death on the cross,as the prophet foretold,He would be
pierced for our rebellion, and crushed for our sin, help us to see our true condition,and save us by your grace , though Jesus your Son .Amen.

A new song [Psalm 40 v3]

In Luke 2v 13,we read how the angels praised God,at the birth of Jesus,it is called ,'the angels song of adoration.W Hendriksen,/If  the word song is used in its broadest meaning,not necessarily being a description set to music
....but rather of words which because of the parallelistic structure can be adapted to music, then we may speak of the angels song of adoration/ the birth of Jesus before and after is filled with song,the song of Mary[Luke 1v46-56].the song of Zachariah [LK 1 v67-80],the song of Simeon [LK 2 V25-32]. In the OT we have the Psalms which were sung in the temple,by a choir.It is in Psalm 40v3, we read,/And He hath put a new song in my mouth,even praise unto our God/. He was praising God for his deliverance,
ever since God delivered me I have had a song in my heart.For most of my Christian life I have had a song,a song of deliverance,a song of praise,most of the songs I have sung have been written by godly people. They have become my song,I remember my wife telling me how a well known Gospel
singer,sang to his dying sister. I remember a young Christian being critical
of a certain Christian songs,he did not see much difference between that and
a non Christian song,as to the music.He had point,as regards the music,but he missed the point,its the words, that are important.The words transport us to the eternal realms,reminding us of eternal truths and eternal values,yes God has placed a new song in the Christians heart,and on their lips,even praise unto our God.
                                          A  prayer.
Dear God we thank you for the song you put in our hearts,and upon our lips,in Jesus name Amen.
                                

Until then. [ Philippians 3 v 8- 14]

I appear to be dreaming more, the other night I dreamt of someone I knew years,as I woke I thought on my past life,as a young man. The fights I got into,that aggressiveness and sillyness,the lonliness I felt,as I think upon the
past of my childhood,I realize if I had only continued to follow Jesus,I did trust Him as a child,went away,came back,went away.What a fool I was,if only,I had not gone away,life would have been better,and I would have been a better person.Yet God was faithful,and in His mercy I came back,and my life changed,oh yes I have had to battle,with mindsets of the past,still am
battling,and by His grace I will continue to battle.Through many dangers  toils and snares I have already come,tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,and grace will lead me home.I am not a prisoner of my past,I do have many regrets,but I am not the person I once was,I am not the person I should be ,but one day,I will be.So until then my heart will keep on singing,
until then with joy I'll carry on,until the day I see that city,until then I'll carry on.
                                          A  prayer
Dear God thank You for rescuing us from our past,for helping us day by day,and the changes you have made in our lives,and for the grace to carry on,until that day we reach that city,to be with our wonderful Saviour. Amen.

Fools. [ Hebrews 11 v 36-38]

There he was standing holding a large board,with a Bible verse on it,he was just standing there.So I went over to him,introduced myself,and he told me that he had been a Hindu. He told how he had become a Christian,he had cancer ,and he tried to take his life,but God wonderfully intervened,and spoke to him,and he became a Christian.So there he was witnessing for Jesus,it challenged me,as it should challenge us all.We are all called to be witnesses [Acts 1 v 8 ],have we forgotten this?,are we neglecting this?. In
Acts 8 we read how the church was suffering persecution,the result was the Christians were scattered everywhere,but they did not retreat ,they preached the word.I read of many Christians who are in prison,and yet they continue to be a witness.When Paul and Silas where thrown into prison,they were a witness,and people got saved[Acts 16v24-34 ] The never ending challenge is to be a witness for Jesus,are we prepared for that. I am sure there are many who looked at that young man and thought he was a fool,yes he is a fool for Christ sake,God needs more people who will be fools for His sake.
                                       A  prayer.
Dear God bless that young man's witness for you,help us all to be witness
for You,even if we are considered fools,in Jesus name we ask this Amen.

Confession time. [Psalm 51]

                       Jesus take as I am,I can come no other way
                       Take me deeper into You,make my flesh life melt away.
                        Make me like a precious stone,crystal clear, and finely honed
                       Life of Jesus shining through,giving glory back to You.
                           [Words by Bryant]
I want us to consider the words of this song,it is a song of confession,a song of desire, it is a song of surrender ,and it is a song with an aim. Song of confession,he writes of his flesh life,that carnal side of his nature,where does our flesh life manifest itself?.The apostle Paul,[yes the apostle Paul],
wrote,/For I know that in me[that is in my flesh]dwelleth no good thing.
[Romans 7 v18].Have we not all felt the power of our flesh life?, I have,
everyday it rears its ugly head.I see what no else sees,nor would I want anyone else to see.But I see,and I know God see's,when our parents sinned
they covered themselves with fig leaves,and then they hid,from Him who see's everything[Genesis 3]. No there must no attempt by any of us to try
a cover up,or to think we can hide from Gods holy gaze. So lets not fool ourselves,and let us not fool around,but lets us come,confessing all to Him
who loves His imperfect,and flawed children.
                                       A prayer.
Holy God and Father,we come just as we are,confessing that we have lingered over fleshy thoughts, impure thoughts even in the most sacred times when speaking to You.We do not always think aright,speak aright,do aright.So often we follow afar off,lingering behind,because of our cold hearts,and weak desires,in your great mercy forgive us,through your Son Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen
  [PS. My computer skills are limited,so please make allowances ,for any faults you may see , when I publish my thought for today,I am not awhere how to put things right,every blessing]





                                                              

Looking unto Jesus .[Hebrews 12 v 1-3 ]

Stephen was the first martyr of the NT church,of course there had been many martyrs in the OT church.We read of Stephen in Acts7,his death sparked of a great deal of persecution, for the early church,this persecution was laid by a man called who later became a Christian.As to Stephen ,he
was arrested ,and brought before the Jewish authorities,there he preached a wonderful sermon,full of deep spiritual truths,of a people favoured by God,
and yet a people who time after time forsook God, a people who persecuted
the prophets,but it did not stop there,for when the promised Messiah came, they not only rejected Him,they had Him crucified.The more he spoke the more angry they became,It was W.Barclay who wrote, /But Stephen did not see their faces distorted with rage. His gaze had gone beyond time and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God/ when he said that they rushed upon him and took him out and stoned him to death.Those words are a
challenge to all of us who may be enduring persecution,sickness,difficulties,
even death,like Stephen we must with the eyes of faith,look to Jesus. The book of Hebrews was written to people who where struggling with so many trials,so the writer of that great book,exhorts them, to cast of every hindrance,and to look unto Jesus, who endured the cross,despising its shame,because the eternal glories which he would enter into[Hebrews 12 v 1-2],so the question is for all us,where are we looking?.
                                               A  prayer.
Dear Lord Jesus we turn our gaze to you this day,to your glory,and the glory
that awaits us, Amen.