Showing our faith. [Luke 10 v29-37]

Dick Lucas has written the following,/Non -Christians will not take our beliefs seriously unless our behaviour matches them./Recently a colleague
and I have been witnessing to a non-Christian,my colleague has been shown kindness to him,the last time we met him we did not enter into any discussion ,but prayed that our actions may speak to him.Is it true that actions speak louder than words?yes there a time to speak,but there is a time be silent. The fact is ,we  need to be guided by the Holy Spirit,as to speak or not to speak.James stresses the importance of works,our Saviour said,/ Let your light so shine before men,that they may see your good works,and glorify your Father which is in heaven[ Matthew 5 v16],He also said,/ believe me for the very works sake.[John 14 v11]/.Again Dick Lucas again writes of the Christians life,is a shop window for the Gospel,especially those who are leaders within the Christian Church.So let us remember that being a Christian is more than going to meet with other Christians,more than reading ones Bible,more than even prayer,remember the story our Saviour told about the good Samaritan,and the words our Saviour said when he had finished telling that story,/ Go,and do thou likewise./
                                           A  prayer.
Dear God help us to be rich in doing good works, in our Saviours name we ask this Amen./

Hope. [1 Corinthians 15 v19 ]

There is a lot of negativity in life ,there are people who are living in the most difficult situations.I have a photo of a slum area in Nairobi,in Kenya
it is awful,people there have so little, many are infected with, HIV/
AIDS, this includes children,the situation is dire.Yet in the midst of that
hopeless situation there are Christians working ,a centre has been set up ,called,Shelter of hope.They have children feeding programme,plus health care,education,emergency relief, plus many other things.I am interested and involved in a ministry called CAP,which reads,Christians against poverty,it seeks to help people who are trouble with debt, the message they bring to people is they can get out of debt,and many people are doing just that,it is a ministry of hope. Being a Christian brings with it the challenge of helping people,missions such as ,Stand by me,help thousand of dear children, there are many more I could mention,as Christians we are called to a life of doing good.[I would just mention that Christians are not saved by there good works,but by simple faith in Christ] Yet the challenge for all Christians is to bring hope to so many who have no hope,in ways I have mentioned.Plus the message of the gospel,this gospel is a wonderful message of hope,for it promises ,forgiveness,freedom,and a multitude of blessings.
                                             A  prayer.
Dear God bless those working among the needy,bringing hope,to the hopeless,in Jesus name Amen.

Perfect yet inperfect. [Matthew 5 v 48 ]

We often hear said,that no ones perfect,isn't that a fact,so what does it mean when we read in Psalm37 v37,/Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright;for the end of that man is peace.[AV]/Other translations put it a different way,the fact is only God is perfect,Spurgeon wrote about absolute
perfection,and comparative perfection.The comparative perfection is a limited perfection,a godly person should show a  degree of perfection . Now of course the Christian is accepted by God because of Jesus,we are perfectly accepted on the bases of an others perfection. Perfect in Christ but imperfect as to ourselves, that degree of perfectness, God will acknowledge,and even others will acknowledge it.Our Saviour said ,be perfect,as our Father in heaven is,[Matthew 5 v48],in this scripture our Saviour had been stressing how Gods goodness falls upon all people. So we are challenged  to be like our heavenly Father ,the challenge for us is ongoing,because of our tendency to be inconsistent,each new day brings with it, this challenge. Some of us succeed more than others,but never fully,
                                            A prayer.
Dear God thank you that we are perfect in Christ,and yet we acknowledge
that in ourselves we are imperfect,help us to face up daily to the challenge of being wholly perfect,in Jesus name Amen.

Not forgotten by God [Ecclesiates 11 v1-5]

In Ecclesiastes 11v1-5 ,my study Bible writes, /Solomon summarises ,that
life involves both risk and opportunity. Because life has no guarantees,yet we need a spirit of trust and adventure, facing life's risks and opportunities
with God-directed enthusiasm and faith/.When I was young man ,my wife and I felt called to serve the Lord,we went into Bible college,with no savings,and no guaranteed income.We could have given up,we could have
said it was to risky,after all we had three young children,but we made it through college.There was another young couple who because of no finance
did give up.it is true there are no guarantees. I was talking to a fellow Christian recently,he has a grown up son,whom he and his wife ,brought up in the things of the Lord.But for many years he has went his own way,but just recently ,because he is experiencing mental difficulties,and now it seems,he is seeking the Lord.It has been a long time coming,Ecclesiastes 11v1 ,reads,/Cast thy bread upon the waters;for after many days you will find it again/.All our witnessing,giving,serving,are acts of faith,like seed sown,like bread cast upon the water,I will believe that which we sow is never lost or pointless,one sows there will be a reaping, and that applies
to those children we have sought to bring up in the ways of God.Those kind
deeds we have done,though long forgotten are not forgotten by God,we shall reap,because the word of God says that our work is never in vain in the Lord.[1 Corinthians 15 v58 ]
                                                   A prayer.
Dear God help us to be people of faith,to move out of out safety zone,and help us to be faithful in all we do,trusting you to bless, in Jesus name Amen.

Do not despai. [ Jude v24-25 ]

I attended a funeral recently of a dear Christian,she was loved greatly by many,the minister who took the funeral service,give a short account of her life.As I listened to what was being said about this dear sister,I must confess
I felt such a feeling of inadequacy as to my own life,I did feel a bit overwhelmed.I read something by Dick Lucus,/No Christian can ever claim to have arrived as a model believer,indeed one of the hallmarks of Christian maturity is a growing dissatisfaction with our level of godliness.That should
not produce despair but make us aim to possess a grater degree of godliness,
such  as,faith,knowledge[as regards Christ and what pleases Him],self control,perseverance,godliness,brotherly kindness,and love.[2 Peter 1 v6-7]/
Yes it is very obvious to me that I am not the man I should be,but by Gods
grace,I will attempt to pursue the goal,of being more Christ like.
                                           A  prayer.
                          More purity give me,more strength to overcome;
                          More freedom from earth-stains,more longings for home;
                          More fit for the kingdom,more used would I be;
                          More blessed and holy,more Saviour, like Thee.
                                  [Words by Philip Bliss ]

Am I ,of no worth? [John 3 v16]

A very popular TV show is the ,Antiques Roadshow, it is very interesting,
many people bring their wares along .Often there is a interesting history
attached to the given object on display.But of course the one thing everyone
 is interested in ,what is the worth of the thing on display.Some objects are not worth very much,and there are object that are worth a lot.I read an article about a recent movie,of an astronaut who found himself ,trapped on a planet,on his own.I have not seen this movie so I do not know the full story,but someone calculated the financial cost of rescuing him,it would cost billions. Billions ,is one human being worth billions?,as I read history
of the wars that have taken place,it often appears  that life is worthless.What do think you are worth?,maybe you feel worthless, some people have had very bad childhoods ,abused,deserted,yes there are many reasons why we may feel worthless,but they are all lies,do not take on board the lie that you are worthless.Listen to these words,God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life[John 3 v16].
                                   A  Prayer.
Dear God help us to reject the lie,that we are of no worth,in Jesus name Amen.

Giving. [ Psalm 116 v12]

When I worked,we had drug rep's come in to inform us about some new drugs,but they would also provide us with a free lunch,plus free pens,and other goodies.The lunch and the goodies were the main attraction for many of us,let us face it we all like something for nothing.Yet we often wonder is there a catch,in the movies of the godfather,the godfather would do a favour
but it wasn't free,there would come a time when that favour would be called
in. Jesus said,give and it shall be given unto you [Luke 6 v 38],and there is nothing wrong with that ,continually in the word of God we are challenge to give, But unfortunately some preachers use this as an emotional blackmail. I believe God will honour our giving,but like our giving God, we should give freely to those in need,even if it is someone who dislikes you.[Luke 6 v34-36].The word of God reminds us that freely we have received,so freely we should give.[ Matthew 10 v8]An Bill Gather song comes to mind,which goes,/we can never out give the Lord/,so if we give, God will bless, and in a coming day we will have a reward. But let us be clear about this,our giving will never save us,for we are not redeemed with corruptible things,as silver and gold........But with the precious blood of Christ.[ 1 Peter 1 v18-19]
                                          A prayer.
Dear God for all you have given us we thank you,you are very, very kind,we acknowledge your goodness,especially that unspeakable gift of your dear son Jesus. Amen.