A cup of tea. [ Acts 1v8 ]

It is surprising how the Lord opens opportunities for one to witness .Two young lads clean my windows,I usually offer then a cold drink,or a cup of tea.To my surprise a conversation opened up which granted me an opportunity to speak to them about the Lord.It was friendly talk,my prayer is that the word of God which is likened unto a seed sown will bear fruit.I have watered those words of witness with my prayers,that is also important. Jesus spoke to thousands of people but He also spoke to individuals,you may not be a preacher,but why not pray,that God will lead you into opportunities to witness to those individuals or couples you come in contact with.
                                       A  prayer.
Dear God in our weakness fill us with your Spirit,that we may tell others
about our Saviour,Amen.

Put into practice.[ Luke 22 v39-46]

When our dear Saviour was about to face death,a cruel and wicked death,he prayed,[Luke 22 v39- 46 ],he also told his disciples to pray,so that they would not fall into temptation.But because they were exhausted and filled
with sorrow,they fell asleep.So Jesus came to them,asking them why they were sleeping and challenging them to pray that they would not fall into temptation.How are you and I going face the temptations that continually beset us? ,the answer is simple yet absolutely vital,prayer.If David had prayed when he cast his eye upon Bathsheba[ 2 Kings 11],he would not have fallen into sin.Returning to the disciples,they were tired and exhausted,so they did not pray,there is always reasons why we do not pray,but there are greater reasons why  we should pray,yes even when we are tired and exhausted.It seems to me that Jesus is telling them and us,if we are to overcome the evils that we face,we need,let me stress this again,we need to pray,as if our lives depended on it,what is vital,our spiritual well being does depend on it.Consider the words of Jesus,''Pray that you will not fall into temptation'',but not only consider His words,put them into practise.

                        Have we trials and temptations?
                        is there trouble anywhere?
                        We should never be discouraged,
                        Take it to the Lord in prayer.
                        Can we find a friend so faithful
                        Who will all our sorrows share?
                         Jesus knows our every weakness;
                         Take it to the Lord in prayer.
                               [Words by J.M.Scriven]
                                       

Who or what are you trusting?.[[Psalm 121 ]

In Isaiah 36 v5, we read the following,''Now on whom dost thou trust?'',it is a good question,people are trusting on many things,on their wealth,on their power,whatever.It is Spurgeon who writing on trusting God,as the one we should all be trusting in, writes the following,''Oh blessed trust,to trust Him whose power will never be exhausted,whose love will never wane,whose kindness will never change,whose faithfulness will never fail,whose wisdom will never be nonplussed,and whose perfect goodness can never know a diminution. Happy are those who trust in Him, so trusting
thou shalt enjoy sweet peace now,and glory hereafter,and the foundation of
thy trust shall never be removed''
      
                                Leave God to order all thy ways
                                And hope in Him whate'er betide;
                                Thou'll find Him in the evil days
                                Thy all sufficient strength and guide,
                                Who trusts in Gods unchanging love
                                Builds on the rock that nought can move.
                                        [Words by Georg C. Neumark ]
                                                            

Professing and showing Christ. [ Matthew 7 v 15-23 ]

While on  holiday in Malta,I visited a museum,it showed a  grisly history of
that small Island.The tortures that where inflicted upon people by political,and religion authorities, the political involved those who ruled over the Island,it showed the wickedness of  Islam,on Christian slaves,but it
also showed the awful wickedness by the Roman Catholic church.It mentioned the Spanish Inquisition,I noticed a poster on the wall of people being tortured,a religious  priest looking on,it was awful.One asks the question how can those who claim to be Christians,involve themselves in such cruelty?,but they did,even though it was most diffidently wrong.In England people were burnt at the stake,the people who did the burning were
supposed to be Christians,but can it be possible that one can be religious,
and ,for the life of me I don't see what they did can be reconciled to being a
Christian.And yet it brings a challenge to all of us who profess to be  know
Christ,to live lives, that are in keeping with  being his followers.
                                            A  prayer.
Dear Lord we leave to your judgement those who profess to be yours,but we ask that you would help us all to live in a manner that reflects you in everything, Amen.

Holy Spirit. [ Galations 5 v16-26 ]

While on holiday we decided to go to the cinema,considering what was being shown,I choose one,feeling it may a good story to it.It was rated a 15,
and I sensed it may not be suitable,but I over ruled those feelings,and so we went. Sure enough it was totally unsuitable,and after about 10 minutes we
got up and left.My underlying feelings had been right,what caused those
feelings?,I believe it was the Holy Spirit, and He was right as He always is
,again I was reminded again of the importance,of His prompting.We are told
to live by the Spirit,and to be led by the Spirit[Galations 5v 16-18],after all we as Christians,are indwelt by the Spirit.Whereas before we became a
Christian,we did what took our fancy,and would be drawn into all sorts of things,things that were unhelpful and detrimental to our well being.We left the cinema but other young people didn't,what they watched would not have been helpful to them,and effect them.I am not judging them,but am concerned for them.The challenge for us who know Christ,is to not leave ourselves open to wrong influences,be it movies,or whatever,and that is why we need to be  people who are led by the Spirit.
                                    A  prayer.
Dear God,help us to live by your Spirit,and to be led by Him,when He speaks and prompts us,in Jesus name Amen.

Doing good. [ Matthew 5 v16 ]

It was John Wesley who instructed his congregation to,'Do all the good you
can.By all the means you can.In all the ways you can. In all the places that you can. At all the times you can. To all the people that you can. As long as ever you can.'We read in Acts 10 v 38,that our Saviour went about doing good,of course we must stress that nothing we do, can  save us,we are saved by Gods grace.The vital work that saves us ,is the work Jesus did on
the cross,and that alone,we cannot add a plus to His saving work.In Ephesians 2v8-9,we are told that we are saved by grace through faith[in Jesus],not  by works,so that no one can boast.But  it goes on to say we have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.So as Wesley said, let us do all the good we can,so that we glorify our Heavenly Father.
                                            A   prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father help us to glorify you in these lives that you have saved ,by doing good works in the name of Jesus we ask this Amen .

We will not sneeze. [Psalm 31 v15 ]

One of my favourite books is the autobiography of Martin Luther King,JR.
along with what he did,which called for such courage,he said so many meaningful things.He had to face so much,to help the Black people of America,he tells how a black demented woman stabbed him,he was rushed to the hospital ,the X ray showed that the tip of the blade was on the edge
of the aorta,the main artery.If  punctured,his life would have ended,one report said if he had sneezed ,he would have died.He goes unto to say how if he had sneezed,he would not have been around to see the Civil Rights Bill
being brought in,and many other things of great importance,and ends by saying',Im so happy that I didn't sneeze,'I believe God raised that man up
for a purpose,and until he fulfilled that purpose he would be preserved. In
Ecclesiates 3 v2,we read ,'there is a time to be born and a time to die',and until that time for us to die,we will not sneeze.
                                        A prayer.
Dear God we thank you that our times are in your hands,and until that time comes for us to die,we will not sneeze,in Jesus name Amen.