He is all knowing. [Psalm 34 v15]

There used to be a series on TV,many years ago,called the prisoner,it started with the lead actor,calling out,'I am not a number'.Lets face it many must feel that they are, a number,just a statistic,and yet they are not,well not in Gods eyes.Every single human being is important,and significant to God,and He loves every single person.How is that possible ?,how can God know every single person,know their every thought?,yet He does.God is all knowing,when the Psalmist David,thought about it,he declared,'Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,too lofty for me to attain.[Psalm 139v5]As I was praying,the thought came to me,that as I was praying,millions were also praying at the same time,and yet God hears everyone's prayer.Not only does He hear but He deals with us as an individual,He listens to us attentively.Nothing escapes His notice and His care.He is not overwhelmed by the vast amount of prayers,prayed to Him.No matter how deep our needs,no matter how complicated our prayers are, He can deal with them.No prayer is put on a file and forgotten about,He will deal with all our prayers,as He see's fit, and answer in His time.

                                 Come my soul,thy suit prepare,
                                 Jesus loves to answer prayer;
                                 He Himself has bid thee pray,
                                 Therefore will not say thee nay.

                                 Thou art coming to a King,
                                 Large petitions with thee bring;
                                 For His grace and power are such,
                                 None can ever ask too much.
                                     [Words by John Newton]

       

ALI. [ 1 Thessalonians 1 ]

Just  recently one the great idols of the 20th century has died,Muhammad ALI.There was time when I enjoyed watching boxing,but not now, George
Foreman ex-world champion said when he fought an opponent,he was not only drying to destroy him ,he wanted to kill him.I remember reading the life story of Jack Johnson,the first black heavyweight champion,of the world it highlighted the deep racial feeling in the Western World,especially in dear old USA,Why did ALI turn to Islam?the racial discrimination in his country.The sad thing was that many churches were deeply racist,so a lot of what he did was a challenge,to white America.It goes without saying that Christians should not be racist,why?,because we are called to love all men,irrespective of race,colour,or whatever.I purposely used the term idol
when referring to ALI,as a Christian I seek not to have any person or thing as an idol.Why ? ,because it involves worship,it is putting on a human,or whatever ,that which only God should receive.I remember seeing a picture
of Marlyn Monroe after she died,and a picture of ALI before he died,not very nice,but it should remind us that they in essence are just like everyone of us,flawed human beings.
                                         A  prayer.
Dear God help us to worship only you,save us from idolatry in Jesus name
Amen.

Money. [ 2 Corinthians 8 v9]

I read in the paper that Swiss voters rejected a proposal to provide the entire population with a guaranteed income.Each adult would have received 1,760
pounds a month,and each child 625[Sw Fr].Of course the money offered  is
considerably less than most workers earn.Most of us could live comfortable
on such an income,and many people in this world would consider that they
were rich. Swiss live in a very prosperous country,while a great deal of the world live in poverty,In the same paper it was reported of a lady who admitted stealing text books from her school worth more than 27,000 pounds,and selling them online,some for as little as 8 pence,she had salary
of 58.000 pounds,a year from that school.Consider what Jesus did,we are told that he was rich, [2 Corinthians 8 v9],how was He rich?.Before he came to earth,he existed in heaven,there we are told He was equal with God,as one the divine Trinity[ CP. Philippians 2v6/John1v1.Colossians2v9]
Yet in coming into this world He did the complete opposite to what we would do,He became poor,became a servant,He continually challenged us about money,about materialism.It is not that He does not care about peoples needs.He fed the hungry,and we are assured that God will supply our needs[Philippians 4 v19 /Romans 8v32/Psalm 23v1].
                                        A  prayer.
Dear Lord if we are rich in this worlds riches,help to not trust in them,but to trust in you,help us who are your children,to learn to be content,and help us
all to be generous in our giving.Amen.

Immanuel's Land. [ Hebrews 11 v 8- 16]

A.R.Cousin wrote a lovely hymn called ,'The sands of time are sinking',the
theme of the hymn,is of the child of God,coming to the end life.He reflects on life,of his relationship with his Lord,He speaks of Gods mercy,and love
admidst the sorrows of life.He speaks of that day when in Heaven,he will bless the hand that guided,bless the heart that planned.As I read those words I look back with graditude and thankfulness,how my Saviour guided and planned for me.He then moves on to that moment when he enters heaven, how his one desire is to look upon Jesus.He writes,''I will not gaze on glory,but on my King of grace,not on the crown He gifteth,but on His pierced hands.
The hymn finishes with the following verse.
                                      
                                I've wrestled on towards heaven,
                                Gainst storm,and wind, and tide;
                                Now like a weary trav'ller
                                That leaneth on His guide;
                                Amid the shades of  evening,
                                While sinks life's lingering sand.
                                I hail the glory dawning
                                In Immanuel's land.

Are you thirsty? [John 4 v 1- 14]

Many years ago a man heard his servant saying,''if only I had 10 pound,I would be happy and content,so the man went to his servant, and gave him 10 pound.As he walked away from him,he overheard him say,I wish I had said 20 pound.If you where to ask me one thing that characterises mankind its this,''They Thirst''.As I look at many people in generation,many should be content,yet millions do the lottery,they are saying I thirst.Millions of people are hooked on drugs,I  include alcohol,tobacco,what are  they saying is ,I thirst.Likewise sex,they are on the internet,they are going to foreign,countries,to abuse children,many ordinary people are engaging
in sex outside of marriage.Power is another drug.likewise possessions,one could go on,but the words that I would put over all such things is ,''I thirst''.
It is the cry of mankind,and it leads to a lot of messed up lives,all they can
say is,I am dying of thirst,I want more and more and more,yet the more they get the more thirsty they become.Our Saviour met a lady at a well, she had, had 5 husbands,and at that time she was living with a man.She was a thirsty woman,she came to that well,a thirsty woman.Jesus said to her,''whosoever
drinketh of this water shall thirst again''[John 4 v13]He was using the water
to illustrate,that the deep thirst within her heart,could not be satisfied,by  the many men she had,she would always be thirsty.But said Jesus, I can give you water ,that will mean you will never thirst again. Are you thirsty?
come to Christ,only He, and He alone,can satisfy the deepest longings of
the human heart.
                               I heard the voice of Jesus say.
                               Behold,I freely give
                               the living water;thirsty one,
                               stoop down and drink,and live;
                               I came to Jesus, and I drank
                               of that life giving stream;
                               my thirst was quenched,my soul revived,
                               and now I live in Him.
                                 [ Words by Horatius Bonar ]

The house of mourning. [ Psalm 90 ]

I attended a funeral of a dear child of God,she was aged 94,what a difference this funeral was,from the previous one  I attended,The previous
one was for a person who did not know the Lord, secular songs were sung ,and  the minister barely mentioned the Lord. I spoke to that minister,and expressed my concern,he felt that the funeral went alright,but
I didn't.The funeral of the 94 year old was taken by a brother who was faithful,we heard about the broad road that leads to destruction ,and the narrow road that leads to heaven.We heard of how the lady had trusted the Saviour and had served him,and how she was now in heaven.In this secular age people often want Christian ministers,to still take the funeral service.
The result is, all one receives is the bare bones of a Christian message,those who need to hear about Christ ,do not,it is  all so very sad.In  Ecclesiastes 7v1,we read,''It is better to go to the house of mourning,than to go to a house of feasting,for death is the destiny of every man,the living should take it to heart.''
                                              A  prayer.
Dear God help us as we stand between the dead and the living,to be faithful in telling forth the good news of Jesus. Amen.

Its still happening.[Hebrews 11 v35b-40]

Recently I was talking to a friend about Christians being persecuted,and then he mentioned the fact that people are suffering in this country.Now I know we can get into conflict,as some do,for wearing a cross,or praying with someone. I felt that this brother had things out of balance,to my knowledge there is no serious persecution going on in this country.I do not think we should court persecution,at times Christians have suffered persecution,in this country.When John and Charles Wesley went to streets  to proclaim the Gospel they were attacked by mobs,the Salvation Army suffered in a similar way.Who knows what may happen if we were more forthright in preaching the Gospel.Yet sad to say many Christians are suffering persecution,I pray for such everyday,just recently I read of a Christian couple in India who  were beaten, and then burnt to death.Now that's persecution,while I do not want to underestimate any Christians suffering,I have to acknowledge that being beaten, and burnt  to death,is beyond doubt, severe.One would think after all these years ,such things should not happen,but it does.,Gods people will always suffer, Jesus told us so, [John 16 v33],but he added ,''take heart I have over come the world.as W  Barclay comments,'The world did their worst to Jesus,and He emerged victorious,so it is ,whatever persecution we may suffer,we can emerge victorious.
                                              A prayer.
Dear Lord have mercy upon all your suffering Children,grant then an escape
from their suffer,and for those other who are suffering for you  ,grant them grace,so that they may glorify your name Amen.