Do not despair. ( Philippians 3 v 12 - 14 )

John Hunter wrote the following hymn,'Dear Master in whose life I see,all I would but fail to be.Let Thy clear light for ever shine,to shame and guide this life of mine. Though what I dream, and what I do,in my weak days are always two.Help me oppressed by things undone,O Thou whose deeds and dreams were one'. Although it is a hymn ,it is a prayer, a prayer of self awareness,of desire and of defeat,of trying but never succeeding,of trying but failing ,in the light of Jesus his Masters perfections.In Psalm 138 v 8, we read,  'The Lord will perfect that which concerns me', It is the apostle Paul who wrote ,'being confident of this very thing,that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ'.(Phil 1 v 6) Gods great purpose for all his children is that they may be conformed to the image of Christ,this is not an instant thing ,it is a life long process by Gods Spirit within us,and will be completed in Glory,when we shall be like Him. In the mean while,let us not give up in despair, but by God's grace, press on, in our walk,  forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead.

D V (Proverbs 3 v 5 - 6 )

In Hebrews 6 v 3,we have the words,' God permitting we will do so',Philip Hughes comments,''If God permits'', ,is something far more than a pious cliche. The point is that the Christian life is in the Lord's hands and all  his planning is subject to the overruling will of God. The principle is explained in a characteristically practical manner by James in his epistle ( James 4 v 13- 15) Likewise I often use the term D V which come from the Latin  Deo  Volente meaning, 'God willing'.   When the apostle wrote ,'God permitting we will do so',he is acknowledging God's sovereignty ,that He is  over all the affairs of life, and the importance of acknowledging that fact. He is also challenging mans proud sinful independence that denies God a place in their lives. Let us face it,  most people seek to keep God out of their lives,of course if it all  goes wrong they are quick to blame God,and retreat into a bitter unforgiving spirit.Let us be clear the world, has been running away from God since time began,his will is the last thing they want in their lives.While this is not so in the Christians life ,many are careless,and still manifest at times that same sinful independence.In Jeremiah 10 v 23, we read'O Lord,I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his steps',let us all acknowledge this fact, let us take to heart in the words of Psalm 31 v 15 ,that our times are in His hands.

You big baby. ( Hebrews 5 v 11 - 14 )

Imagine going into an infant school, and there sitting among the little infants was a grown man, and you went over and asked the teacher, whats he doing,well she replies,he has been coming here 25 yrs.She went on to say he is a bright person ,but all he  wants to know is just the basics, I have tried to help him,but he will not move forward . Well it seems a strange little story,so let translate you back about 2000 yrs,to a group of Christians,we read about in the Bible,we call them the Hebrew Christians.They were struggling in their walk with God,even at the point of turning back,from following Christ.They were confused and at the point of even going back to being Old Covenant Israelites  ,back to legalism ,to rules and regulations, turning  back to a religion that would take them away from God, giving up Christ ,the one who is greater than angels,than Moses, than Aaron . One of the problems was they had not advanced in their Christian faith,they should have been teachers advanced in Christian knowledge,but instead they were still babes in Christ.I believe that churches are full of people who have not moved on in the things of God. Hughes in his commentary on Hebrews writes the following, 'The point is, that the beginning  of  our Christian Faith is not a stopping  place; it is the door to progress and the springboard to achievement.' 'ahead of them stretched the road to spiritual maturity'.I wonder are you a big baby?

Not so. ( Titus 3 v 3 - 7 )

Someone said ,'that there's a limit to God's patience and grace,'the question is ,what happens them? the fact is God will act in a way that  he judges   appropriate.One of the worse Kings the Bible was king Manasseh,he ruled Judah for 55 yrs,we can read about him in 2 King 21 and 2 Chronicles 33,the people on the whole went along with him.,it is important to remember that,he did not do the evil on his own.We read that they did more evil than the other nations around them,we read that God spoke to  Manasseh and the people, but they paid no attention ,so God acted against the king and the nation,by sending the Assyrian army  against them,and conquering them. The Assyrians were a very cruel people,Manasseh was taken back captive to Assyria, they put a hook in his nose,and bound him with bronze shackles. Well, it was time he got his comeuppance, the rascal,but the story does not finish there, for we read,that in his distress he sought the favour of the Lord his God,he humbled himself greatly before the Lord, he forgive him,and brought him back to Jerusalem as king.We read that then he knew that the Lord was God,his repentance was sincere, evidence by what he did.When I read this I am amazed,that God did not destroy this man, but He didn't, why?,' because there is a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea; for the love of God is broader ,than the measure of man's mind,for the heart of the eternal,is most wonderfully kind.' Words by F.W. Faber. One would have thought ,that it was the end of Manasseh, Gods patience and grace,was exhausted,but not so. Jesus our Saviour came for one purpose to save sinners, even people like Manasseh,  can be be forgiven,if they truly repent, and trust in Jesus.

I want to know. ( Romans 11 v 33 - 36 )

Why?, is the question many people ask,as to disasters,and to things that happen in their lives,which they cannot understand. So much of life is a mystery, and yet we want and expect an answer,.consider what our Saviour said to Peter, 'You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand' ( John 13 v 7 ),this could mean that later on in our lives when we look back,and see the bigger picture,we will praise Him,and His providential care over us,that He shut that door, and that He held us back,and that his disappointments were our appointments.We can take this a step further, it is in 1 Corinthians 13 v  12, we read,' For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,even as I am fully known.'It is in Deuteronomy 29 v 29, we read ,' The secret things belong to the Lord our God, in Acts 1 v 6 - 7,the disciples asked Jesus  as to when He would set up his kingdom, he replied,'it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority'.The fact is there are some things we are not meant to know,we have no God given right to know,but He knows,and he knows best,the main thing for you and I to do, as we we pass through this life,is the importance of childlike trust in our loving heavenly Father,whose ways are  mysterious yet perfect.

Not how, but who. (Psalm 121 )

Let me ask you a question,'Got any rivers ,you think are uncrossable?,got any mountains you can't tunnel through?, well have you? let's remind ourselves of this truth,'God specialises in things thought impossible,  He'll do for you,what no other can do'.As I look back on my life of 76 years,how have I come this far?,only one answer ,'God',no one else,so many dangers in life,survival of the fittest,no , when I was born I must have been premature,for when a neighbour saw me, she wept,because I was so small. Our living Saviour declares, '' I hold the keys of death''( Revelation 1 v 18),if  you or I,are going to survive the dangers in life, it will be because He will's it. Power belongs unto Him ( Psalm  62 v 11) ,oh yes many of God's people are suffering,struggling ,and facing many difficulties, if that is what He has willed for their lives, he will not forsake their in their dark hours,and He will ,rest assured,  bring them through to Glory. ( Hebrews 2 v 10 ) In the mean while, let us trust our God and Saviour ,to undertake for us,to get us across those rivers that appear uncrossable,and to get us through ,the mountains that we can't tunnel through .A family was facing difficulties, and the youngest son ,came the father, and asked him,'Father how are we going get through , he looked at his son ,and said,'Son its not how, but who. That is the  right answer to the question , our God ,the God of the impossible.

Words ( Romans 8 v 28 )

I wonder do you think the following is true?,'Sticks and stones may break my bones but names, will never hurt me'.When I was a lad,indeed  for most of my life ,I had prominent teeth, I am sure you know what happened?,some people used to call me,'buck teeth'. I remember an old lady who took an unbridge  at me,saying very hurtful remarks about my teeth, ,and I felt very angry, That's not a problem now ,as  those teeth are now gone,still it hurt at the time.In families abuse,can take different forms, one of them is words,yes words,were a child can be put down,made little of, that they are told that they are  of no use,that they will never amount to anything.The result is they grow up feeling unloved,and a failure,because of words ,hurtful words,imprinted in their memory,and they cannot erase them.We are all sinners in a real  sense failures,for sin is a failure in Gods eyes,but God loves failures,yes He does. When He saves us failures,he makes us his children, we become somebodies,with a wonderful future,in time and most of all ,in eternity. It will amaze you, as it has me,just how much God will care for us,help us, favour us,and bless us,yes we may fail in certain things ,but by his grace we can rise above our failures, through Jesus, his Son.