One of the most lovely characters in the Bible is Joseph, you may not know anything about him,you can read about him in Genesis 37-50.He
was hated by his brothers,who sought to kill him,but instead they sold him into slavery,and he ended up in Egypt,were God showed him favour,but he was accused of a crime he didn't commit,and landed up in Jail,But God wonderfully released him,and promoted him to a position of power,after a while his brothers came into Egypt seeking to buy grain,Joseph could have
have had them killed but instead he forgave them.It is Peter who asked Jesus ,''Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?up to seven times?''. Jesus answered,''I tell you,not seven times,but seventy seven times''.Unforgiveness is not allowed in Gods
kingdom, there will always be reason not to forgive those who hurt us, or
those we love,but there is a greater reason to forgive,and that is,we have been forgiven,by God because of Jesus. W. Barclay writes,''We have been forgiven a debt which is beyond all paying-for the sins of man brought the
death of Gods own son-and,if that is so,we must forgive others as God has forgiven us,or we can hope to find no mercy''
A prayer.
Dear God help us to forgive those who hurt us or those we love,let us
remember how in love you forgave us,in Jesus name Amen
Friday, 22 April 2016
Thursday, 21 April 2016
Hope. [Psalm 42 ]
How are you all today?,what are you facing?,what difficulties,sickness,
adverse circumstances,concerns for your family,unanswered prayers. So how are you today?,how are you viewing life?,does it all seem to much to take in?.Well here is a word for us all,written by a man who was feeling very low,this is what he said,''Why are you cast down,O my soul?Why so
disturbed within me? Put your hope in God,for I shall yet praise Him, my
Saviour and my God''.[Psalm 42 v5] Contrary to rumours put out by the enemies of our soul,God is not dead,no He still rules and reigns ,He is still in control and always will be.So let us all like the writer of that Psalm,say
to our souls,''Put your hope in God''.Evil will not have the final say,death is not the end,Christ reigns,and one day soon we will be with Him,whither in death,or at his return.As to this life,remember.
God is still on the throne ,
And He will remember his own.
Though trials may press us,
And burdens distress us,
He never will leave us alone,
God is still on the throne ,
And He will remember His own
His promise is true,He will not forget you,
God is still on the throne.
adverse circumstances,concerns for your family,unanswered prayers. So how are you today?,how are you viewing life?,does it all seem to much to take in?.Well here is a word for us all,written by a man who was feeling very low,this is what he said,''Why are you cast down,O my soul?Why so
disturbed within me? Put your hope in God,for I shall yet praise Him, my
Saviour and my God''.[Psalm 42 v5] Contrary to rumours put out by the enemies of our soul,God is not dead,no He still rules and reigns ,He is still in control and always will be.So let us all like the writer of that Psalm,say
to our souls,''Put your hope in God''.Evil will not have the final say,death is not the end,Christ reigns,and one day soon we will be with Him,whither in death,or at his return.As to this life,remember.
God is still on the throne ,
And He will remember his own.
Though trials may press us,
And burdens distress us,
He never will leave us alone,
God is still on the throne ,
And He will remember His own
His promise is true,He will not forget you,
God is still on the throne.
Wednesday, 20 April 2016
Letting go [ Mark 10 v 17-22 ]
I read somewhere that monkeys are captured by putting a nut into a narrow
neck jar. So when the monkey puts its hand to get the nut,it cannot get its hand out without letting go of the nut. So it is the monkey is taken captive,simple because it will not let that nut go,but it will not let go.Think of a man whose boat has capsized,he is hanging on like grim death,he cannot swim,then he spies a boat coming to his rescue.When the boat arrives ,the person in the boat cries give me your hand,but the man
is so frightened,he refuses,and so the person in the rescue boat calls to him,I cant save you if you will not let go.So it is ,like the monkey, and the man,unless we are prepared to let go of our idols,of our sins,or whatever,we cannot be saved.We see this in the account of a rich man who wanted eternal life,when he was faced with letting go of his riches,we read,he went away sad, because he had great wealth, in other words he refused to let go.
Oh,what will you do with Jesus?
The call comes loud and clear;
The solemn words are sounding
In every listening ear;
Eternal life's in the question,
And joy through eternity;
Then what will you do with Jesus?
Oh,what will your answer be?.
[Words by Nath Norton]
neck jar. So when the monkey puts its hand to get the nut,it cannot get its hand out without letting go of the nut. So it is the monkey is taken captive,simple because it will not let that nut go,but it will not let go.Think of a man whose boat has capsized,he is hanging on like grim death,he cannot swim,then he spies a boat coming to his rescue.When the boat arrives ,the person in the boat cries give me your hand,but the man
is so frightened,he refuses,and so the person in the rescue boat calls to him,I cant save you if you will not let go.So it is ,like the monkey, and the man,unless we are prepared to let go of our idols,of our sins,or whatever,we cannot be saved.We see this in the account of a rich man who wanted eternal life,when he was faced with letting go of his riches,we read,he went away sad, because he had great wealth, in other words he refused to let go.
Oh,what will you do with Jesus?
The call comes loud and clear;
The solemn words are sounding
In every listening ear;
Eternal life's in the question,
And joy through eternity;
Then what will you do with Jesus?
Oh,what will your answer be?.
[Words by Nath Norton]
Tuesday, 19 April 2016
Admit your guilt. [ Luke 18 v13 ]
It is significant that the first of the 'twelve steps' of Alcoholics Anonymous is; 'We admitted we were powerless over alcohol- that our lives
had become unmanageable'.How very few will admit that they are sinners,
and that they need Christ to save them.I have met some,but not a lot ,most people think of the worst sort of people,as sinners.But the fact,that being a
sinner is not an exclusive club,one could name a lot of people who would class as the worst sort of people.When it comes to how God views mankind,
He simple tells us,that all have sinned and come short of His glory[Romans 3 v23 ].I am a key football supporter,I used to play a little bit when I was young, but as I watch the football on the TV,it amuses me that most people
who foul another player,often proclaim their innocence,even though its blatant obvious that they are guilty.So it is, we protest that we are not sinners,like the footballers,oh I am not perfect we may say,in fact no one
is perfect,but we are sinners.So like the alcoholic we need to admit ,that we
are powerless over whatever,be it gambling,sexual perverseness,or alcohol. Nothing can save us,no one can save,until we admit our desperate need.
A prayer.
Dear God we thank there is a way back to God from the dark paths of
sin ,that there is a door that is open and all may go in,when we come as a sinner to Jesus. Amen.
had become unmanageable'.How very few will admit that they are sinners,
and that they need Christ to save them.I have met some,but not a lot ,most people think of the worst sort of people,as sinners.But the fact,that being a
sinner is not an exclusive club,one could name a lot of people who would class as the worst sort of people.When it comes to how God views mankind,
He simple tells us,that all have sinned and come short of His glory[Romans 3 v23 ].I am a key football supporter,I used to play a little bit when I was young, but as I watch the football on the TV,it amuses me that most people
who foul another player,often proclaim their innocence,even though its blatant obvious that they are guilty.So it is, we protest that we are not sinners,like the footballers,oh I am not perfect we may say,in fact no one
is perfect,but we are sinners.So like the alcoholic we need to admit ,that we
are powerless over whatever,be it gambling,sexual perverseness,or alcohol. Nothing can save us,no one can save,until we admit our desperate need.
A prayer.
Dear God we thank there is a way back to God from the dark paths of
sin ,that there is a door that is open and all may go in,when we come as a sinner to Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, 17 April 2016
Worry [ Psalm23]
''Why worry,why worry,worry gets you no where at all'',so goes the words of an old song.Its a good question,as to why we worry,after all many of the things we worry about don't happen.Also when things do happen,we manage to work things out,but of course that is only part of the answer,yet we will still worry.As I read the word of God I read of people like you and me,will God reject us because we worry?,no[Romans 8v33-39].The fact is we are not perfect,He knows this,as to this life we will always be imperfect,
but are aim by Gods grace is to overcome,those imperfections.The word for worry comes from the German tongue and means to strangle,when worry takes control of us it can have that effect upon us,in its extreme form it can cause panic attacks .So what is the remedy,that can stop this happening,it must be faith in God and his word.There are many words from God that
can help us cope with the worry,take the best known Psalm which is the 23rd ,read it ,set your mind on it,I quote v4,''I will fear no evil for thou art
with me''.What ever evil you are faced with,whatever difficulty imagined or
real,consider those words from that Psalm.
A prayer.
Dear God help us to focus on You, and your word,and rest upon it, in Jesus name Amen.
but are aim by Gods grace is to overcome,those imperfections.The word for worry comes from the German tongue and means to strangle,when worry takes control of us it can have that effect upon us,in its extreme form it can cause panic attacks .So what is the remedy,that can stop this happening,it must be faith in God and his word.There are many words from God that
can help us cope with the worry,take the best known Psalm which is the 23rd ,read it ,set your mind on it,I quote v4,''I will fear no evil for thou art
with me''.What ever evil you are faced with,whatever difficulty imagined or
real,consider those words from that Psalm.
A prayer.
Dear God help us to focus on You, and your word,and rest upon it, in Jesus name Amen.
Saturday, 16 April 2016
Worry [ Matthew 6 v19- 34]
People often ask is it a sin to worry?,I don't think so,but it can lead us to loose sight of God.That is what our Saviour is getting over in the sermon on the mount,keep focused on God,let nothing divert us from Him,when we focus on money or whatever,then we entering into that place of insecurity.Our Saviour tells us you cannot serve God and money,the word serve can have the meaning of bondage,consider how many people are in bondage to money,and what they will do to accumulate it.But we may say,I need money,true,and so Jesus goes on to say,''do not worry about what
you will eat or drink,or about your body[how many people worry about their body in a wrong way]and what you will wear.Is not the life more important than food,and the body more important than clothes.Now He stressing the importance of not making them a focus of worry,worry will not change anything.The answer is not worry but a trust in God who looks after the tiniest of creatures,but not only trust, but put God first,and leave Him to look after you,live one day at a time[Matthew 6 v19-34]
A prayer.
Dear Lord help us to put you first and trust you to look after us Amen.
you will eat or drink,or about your body[how many people worry about their body in a wrong way]and what you will wear.Is not the life more important than food,and the body more important than clothes.Now He stressing the importance of not making them a focus of worry,worry will not change anything.The answer is not worry but a trust in God who looks after the tiniest of creatures,but not only trust, but put God first,and leave Him to look after you,live one day at a time[Matthew 6 v19-34]
A prayer.
Dear Lord help us to put you first and trust you to look after us Amen.
Friday, 15 April 2016
Worry [ Psalm 31 v 15 ]
I want to leave you with some of the things that Charles Swindle says in his book ,Perfect Trust,as it will hopefully help us in relation to worry.
''When we embrace Gods sovereignty, we find that confidence increases,
insecurities fade,worries decrease and calmness replaces striving''
CS goes on to stress why focusing on Gods sovereignty will help us,''Our
all-wise,all knowing God reigns in realms beyond our comprehension, to bring about a plan that is beyond our ability to hinder,alter,or stop.his plan would include,all promotions and demotions,occupations.It includes
prosperity and adversity,tragedy and ecstasy,joy and sorrow,gain and loss. It envelops illness as well as good health, healing as well as disease,perilous
times and comfortable times,safety and ease as well as disasters and calamities. It would enclude all handicaps, heartaches,helpless moments,
disappointments as well as significant accomplishments and amazing discoveries.....Being sovereign,He is in charge of life.....we are not in the hands of blind fate,we are in the hands of God.''
A prayer.
Sovereign God help to rest in the reality of the truth that we are in your hands,and to trust your purposes for our lives in Jesus name Amen.
.
''When we embrace Gods sovereignty, we find that confidence increases,
insecurities fade,worries decrease and calmness replaces striving''
CS goes on to stress why focusing on Gods sovereignty will help us,''Our
all-wise,all knowing God reigns in realms beyond our comprehension, to bring about a plan that is beyond our ability to hinder,alter,or stop.his plan would include,all promotions and demotions,occupations.It includes
prosperity and adversity,tragedy and ecstasy,joy and sorrow,gain and loss. It envelops illness as well as good health, healing as well as disease,perilous
times and comfortable times,safety and ease as well as disasters and calamities. It would enclude all handicaps, heartaches,helpless moments,
disappointments as well as significant accomplishments and amazing discoveries.....Being sovereign,He is in charge of life.....we are not in the hands of blind fate,we are in the hands of God.''
A prayer.
Sovereign God help to rest in the reality of the truth that we are in your hands,and to trust your purposes for our lives in Jesus name Amen.
.
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