Money . ( Luke 6 v 38 )

Money,money,money,we all need money, it is important to treat it with respect,we are not meant to love money ( 1 Timothy 6 v 10 ), when it comes to money ,we are to act responsibly, Joyce Meyer had three rules as regards money, spend ,give, save. A lot of people would save save themselves a lot of  pain, and trouble if they followed  those  rules. As regards giving,there are so many  needs in this world ,we just cannot give to them all, but we should give to some,as God as we are able .My wife and I set a certain portion of money aside every month,to give as God directs us. But of course it is not rigid ,if we see homeless people , or we see or hear of a need, if we can we should give. It saddens me when I hear of church leaders going on about money all the time, they are not to milk the people of God .dry, by putting them on a guilt trip.There is nothing so sad  as church leaders exploiting their  congregation. T V evangelists are notorious for this practise, to their shame,not all of them thankfully.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         A prayer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Dear Lord grant us all a generous spirit,                                                                                                    in relation to our money,and time,                                                                                                                           In your  name                                                                                                                                                    Amen.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Don't give up ( Hebrews 11 v 35b - 39 )

In the Bible we read of those who give up following the Lord,and I personally know many who have .There are many reasons why this happens, in 2 Timothy 4 v 10, we read, ''Demas,because he loved this world, has deserted me''.One of the temptations that the Devil used against the Lord was connected with the world and its splendour,  ( Matthew 4 v 8 ) but of course He rejected his offer. Moses we read rejected the glory of Egypt and all that this meant, why ? because he saw a greater glory, not with his natural eyes, but with the eye of faith. ( Hebrews 11 v 24 - 27 ) The world has in one sense much to offer us, and in another sense it has little to offer us,it depends  on how we view the world and its tempting offers, with our natural sight, or with the eyes  of faith.Yes the world can offer us pleasure, and so we go back,which leads unto perplexities . It was Jobs wife who tempted  him to curse God,(Job 2 v 10 ),but Job resisted that temptation, and said something we all need to hear,''shall we accept good from God, and not trouble''.Because our world falls apart ,tragedy strikes, and we like Jobs wife see faith in God as pointless,we are perplexed,and refuse to trust God to help us through, so we give up.It is sad when Christian's  receive hurts from other Christians,even from their ministers,or even their best friends. Whatever it may be ,there is no guarantee that we will not experience it,we live in a fallen planet,that will never change,never.The abiding truth is this, the only hope for us,and the safest place for us, is to abide in Christ,to not go back,to not give up.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            John Bunyan spent 12 years in prison                                                                                                        for simply preaching God's word. He                                                                                                        lived in danger of  being executed                                                                                                            many where.His first wife died leaving                                                                                                    with 4 children,one of them blind.                                                                                                                          He wrote                                                                                                                                      He who would valiant be gainst all disaster                                                                                              Let him in constancy, follow the Master,                                                                                                  There's no discouragement,shall make him                                                                                               once relent. His first avowed intent,  to be                                                                                                 a pilgrim.                                                                                                                                                                     HE DID NOT GIVE UP.

Status ( 1 John 2 v 16 - 17 )

A new store opened in the shopping complex near where I live, so I gave it a visit, it sold designer clothing and footwear.A percentage of what was being sold was reduced like the 550 pound trainers.I choose not to buy anything,because one would be simply going for a status symbol. As I drove home empty handed (of course I had my hands on the steering wheel,just in case I was breaking the law) I listened to a radio program ,about those who fly for points, it all sounded a bit weird ,the more they fly the more points they get which goes towards more  flying.They visit places all over the world but they do not leave the airports they just travel,they just swap planes or go back on the same plane. This has nothing to do with those who receive points through their normal flying ,it is about status. Status symbols are important to people, when I became a minister I wore a clerical collar ,known as a 'dog collar',I felt it give me standing or status. Of course none of these things are important, often they  come under what Gods word calls the pride of  life..1 John 2 v 16.the pride of life belongs to what is called a trinity of evil,the other two are,the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Do not set your hearts on the godless world                                                                                              or anything in it. Anyone who loves the world                                                                                          is a stranger to the Father's love.Everything the                                                                                        world affords,all that panders to the appetites                                                                                            or entices the eyes,all the glamour of its life,                                                                                            springs not from the Father but from the godless                                                                                      world.And that world is passing away with all                                                                                         its allurements, but he who does God's will                                                                                               stands for ever.                                                       

God's way, God's word. ( Daniel 3 )

It is Selwyn Hughes who makes a very obvious statement that one of the purposes of the Bible ,not least being a manual of instruction.. The Christian is called to live in a God instructed way,which will differ from the non- Christian way. When I was young I visited a Salvation army meeting,there was  a young unmarried couple,and they had engaged in sex, the result was she became pregnant This was consider unworthy for a Christian, they  sought forgiveness at the mercy seat. I read in a news paper a young lady who said she would never dream of marrying someone, she had not lived with.So it is that Christians are engaging in similar practises, I highlight  these things but there are many other things we could mention,many Christians drink alcohol to access . .Now of course in raising these things we must never be like the Pharisees, who had a holier than I  attitude, Jesus  told us not to judge as the Pharisees did,but to judge righteous judgement ( John 7 v 24 ) The Pharisees were out for blood,stoning the order of the day, Jesus judgement was one that sought to recover  the sinner from  their sinful ways . I hope I have not strayed to far from my point,I will end by quoting S/H  who stresses one aspect of Gods word,'' is for us to  use as a manual of instruction, so that we can learn how to follow God and discover answers to the problems of daily living, and thus show the world a new approach to life''                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

But they are all doing it.. ( Matthew 7 v 13 - 14 )

Many people quote J.B. Phillips translation of Romans 12 v 2, which reads,''Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within,so that you may prove in practise that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards  the goal of true maturity''. It is Mary. J. Evans, who writes the following,'' We are all influenced  by the culture,the worldview of the society in which we  live. It is vitally important for us to recognise that God's view of the world is sometimes very different and to learn to critique even as we observe our own cultures.'' Consider the media ,we seem to be expected to accept so many things that they push at us,abortion,homosexuality ,materialism, violence. As to the old west it appears they glorified thieves,robbers, and murders, many bankers had, and may still have a culture that is questionable..                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Remember it is a narrow but straight                                                                                                                      Road we are called                                                                                                                                           to walk.

How much interest? ( Matthew 25 v 31 - 46 )

I had an email informing me that someone had set up a direct debit on my account, which we knew  nothing about,we hopefully have sorted it out, if not then all donations appreciated. Anyway in this age when so much of our business is done on line,security of our finances have become  a big  issue.Many dear people have given information to strangers on the phone, and have lost a lot of money. It raises the question can our finances be ever really secure?,now of course this is not new, Jesus reminds us all ,how thieves can break in and steal from us ( Matthew 6 v 19 ),Sadly we can set our hearts upon them, instead upon God,and others.So He tells us to lay up treasures in heaven, what does that mean?,well it does not mean that we can buy our way into heaven ( 1 Peter 1 v 18 -19 ). It means doing good,being generous, A certain king was criticised by his family for giving all his treasures to the  poor in the year of famine.His critics reminded him how his father had  accumulated great wealth,but he had squandered his.He replied,' my father had gathered treasures for below,I have gathered treasures for above'.If God has given you great treasures,the question is what great good have you done , Jesus is not just speaking to the very rich  but to all of us ,as how we have helped others?,well how have we  helped others.?

A book that changed my life ( James 1 v 20 )

I read an article written by a successful writer, called ,' Books that changed my life', it goes back to when she was an aspiring writer.I love reading ,the earliest books I remember where, 'Robinson Crusoe,' and 'Tom Sawyer'. Because I enjoyed them they encouraged me to read ,I  know some Christians do not read fiction,but I do,I enjoyed Robert Harris, book Conclave,a fictitious book on the electing of a new Pope, really compelling and fascinating .An  old friend passes on to me ,'Readers Digest', the first thing I turn to ,is the article called 'Laugh',it has 3 pages of jokes, I must ,I know ,what you are going to say,not a joke,yes  here goes,'' My grandmother started walking  five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 now and we don't know where on earth she is''.Now in case you are one of those people  who would judge me, remember the bible says ,that there is 'a time to weep and a time to laugh'. ( Ecclesiastes 3 v 4 )
                                                        A prayer.                                                                                                                              Dear Lord we thank you for being able to                                                                                                laugh,that you give us a sense of humour.                                                                                                                       Amen.