Don't give up ( Psalm 116 v 1-2 )

There is an old hymn that asks the question,'did you think to pray?,' it's a good question,for unfortunately we do forget. Prayer is a wonderful gift from God,given to His children,it is not a vain exercise,it is vital, as we walk through this world with all  those things we have to deal with. Could be you have become disillusioned, because you prayed and it seemed no answer was given. Well join the club you are not on your own,we have all prayed, many have prayed for healing for others and for themselves,and it hasn't happened. The great apostle Paul  prayed for healing it didn't happen,but God had a reason to keep humble , but God did answer his prayer, here was God's answer 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor 12 v 9 )I wonder what the reason is why  God has not answered your prayer?,there is always a reason. Yes I have had my no,from God,but I have had many yes-es,many needs met,problems solved,big and small,Take a moment and remind yourself of the answers to your prayers. Don't give in to unbelief,or whatever,persevere, press on,keep calling on God,don't give up, and don't give in. Remember God is not in the business of playing with us, He loves us to much for that, remember He is your loving heavenly Father,who loves to bless  His children.

He touched me. ( Luke 5 v12 - 6)

 Just imagine going about in worn and torn clothes,with your hair a mess ,you never comb it,and you have a covering over your mouth.If anyone comes near you ,you have to shout out,'Unclean.unclean!'. You are not allowed to live at home ,you could not earn a living,and you are depending on the goodwill of others to give you food,in a way you are cut off from normal human society, having to live in  a cave,if you could find one.. All this because you were a leper (i.e, Hansen's disease) I have watched programs on  Leprosy, and one of the symptoms is you loose all feeling in your hands and feet,people have accidents,the result disease sets in and you loose fingers and toes. You are completely  isolated ,no one would touch you with a barge pole, or any other pole,think of those words,'No one would touch you', after all you were unclean, you are covered with leprosy . But then you hear about a man with the power of healing, his name is Jesus, and suddenly you see Him walking down the street,and you pick up courage,and you throw yourself down before Him,and you cry out in desperation ,'Lord if you are willing,you can make me clean',And to your amazement he did something no one has done for years,He touched you ,and He healed you. Jesus is still touching peoples lives,people whose lives are ruined by sin and all it's consequences, bringing healing into their lives,where there is despair , replacing it with hope,where there is sadness replacing it with joy,where is guilt replacing it with forgiveness.

                                  'Shackled by a heavy burden,neath a load of guilt and shame,

                                   Then the hand of Jesus touched me,and now I am no longer the same.

                                   Since I met this blessed Saviour, since He cleansed and made me whole,

                                   I will never cease to praise Him, I'll shout it while eternity rolls'

                                                                 Words  Bill Gaither .

Our greatest need.( Isaiah 41 v 10)

 As Moses was the chosen one given the responsibility in leading Israel to the promised land, God says these tremendous words to him,' My Presence will go with you,and I will give you rest'.in Matthew 28 v20 ,our Saviour said to the disciples and to us, 'I am with you always ,to the very end of the age'. These words grant to each of God's children a wonderful comfort,as we face each day  He will be with us 24/7,fifty two weeks of the year.Whatever trial you may be facing, He will be with you,whatever task you are faced with He will be with you,Let not feelings rule our lives,by faith take hold of this wonderful promise,I recently found myself singing part of a hymn by Annie Hawkes, it is a prayer

                                           'I need Thee every hour,most gracious Lord;

                                           No tender voice like Thine, can peace afford.

                                           I need Thee every hour,stay Thou near by;

                                           Temptations lose their power,when Thou art nigh.

                                            I need Thee every hour,In joy or pain;

                                            Come quickly and abide,or life is vain.

                                            I need Thee every hour, teach me Thy will;

                                            And in Thy rich promises,in me fulfil.

                                                                Chorus

                                                 I need Thee, oh, I need Thee'

                                                 Every hour I need Thee;

                                                 Oh, bless me now my Saviour,

                                                 I come to Thee! 

                                     

                                               

Will we past the test. ? ( Job 13 v 15 )

 It is obvious to me that being a Christian will not guarantee, a life without suffering, in the word of God you see very godly people suffering greatly. Here's the sad thing there are those who preach a prosperity so called  gospel, of course they stipulate,the secret is in giving to God. All that means is you can buy God's favour and of course you can't,Philip Yancey writing on the book of Job says ,' It represents a step beyond the ''contract faith'' assumed in most of Old Testament;Do good and get blessed, do bad and get punished', If we base our faith on a lap sided point of view as regards the OT or even the NT,then what are we going do when trials come upon us? Jacob wrestled with an angel he received a blessing, but he also came  away with a limp for the rest of his life.( Genesis 32 v 22 - 32).Paul was a man of God the greatest of the apostles,and God blessed his ministry ,but he had to live with a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor 12 ).Godly people do suffer,and so we must the facts we will not be excluded from suffering,and that's a fact.Philip Yancey sums up the book of  Job,here is what he says,' It is not about suffering....Seen as a whole,the book is about faith, the story of  one man selected by God to undergo a staggering ordeal by trial.' Most of us have to narrow a view of suffering,no one wants to suffer,and we hide from the truth and believe that being good and doing all the right things well,will preserve us from suffering,but it won't, God declared Job the best man on earth ( Job 1v 8) Yancey writes,'Yet Job suffers the worst  calamities,which poses a test of faith in its most extreme form,'

                                                            'Dear Lord grant us the  grace

                                                             that when you send  suffering into 

                                                             our lives, we will not fail the test

                                                             of trusting you. Amen.'                       

                                                             

Lest we forget ( Luke 22 v 14 - 20 )

 Recently I watched an old war movie ,it was in black and white, and involved,' bomber command', unlike modern movies,it didn't glorify violence,it stressed the loss of many dear young men, and the sadness that brought.It was Winston Churchill who said,''Never in the history of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few''.Those brave airmen payed a great price so that we could  escape a great tyranny,that would have destroyed so much that we  held dear, and love.That old movie I watched had a very important  message, and its this,' lest we forget'.Now turn to another battle ground,where we see a man hanging on a cross, a young man,who is that young man?,His name is Jesus,when He came from heaven, he knew the purpose of his coming was to die on the cross,and in that dying  to wage war against all that 's evil in this world. Against the devil, that being who hates God and his creation,one who hold's so many in his power. Last but not least ,he came to defeat death. He won the victory over them all, but at a tremendous cost,it cost Him everything.Now let me ask you a question why do we keep the 'Lord's tale'?,and I will tell you why,''Lest we forget''.it appears incredible that any of us will ever forget  what Jesus did for us on Calvary's  cross,but sad to say there are those who have.So don't forsake the Lords table ,lest you forget,and wander away from Him who loved you and died for you.

                                                    '  Lest I forget Gethsemane,

                                                       Lest I forget Thine agony,

                                                      Lest I forget Thy love for me,

                                                       Lead me to Calvary'. 

                                                        Words .  Jenny. E. Mussey.

Old age. (Psalm 37 )

They  say the camera doesn't lie, and I suppose a lot of  people wish it did. I had a photo taken of recently and it brought home to that I am 79 but I look 79, I'm an old man, what can we say about old age, has it got  advantages?,old age can be a blessing it can be a burden. King David in his old age wrote a lovely Psalm and this is what he had to say,'I was young and now am old,yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread',  (Ps 37 v25 )Like David I look back on my life and I can testify to God's faithfulness,how He has never forsaken any of His children, and that includes me,I have been so conscious of His presence with me.Yes I can look back and rejoice that God has been with me,and  I can also can look forward with wonderful assurance that He will still be with me.  So in this Psalm David encourages  and instructs His children to not fret when evil people seem to prosper but to simple trust and delight in God  and he will not disappoint. We are to be still before the Lord rest in his presence, there is no point in worrying( Matthew 6 v 19ff) One day in the fall of 1874, in a flat in Lower Manhattan, a blind woman answered a knock on her door. On opening the door, she felt some folded paper being pressed into her hand by someone who left without a word. It turned out to be ten dollars. The woman had not had the money to pay the rent, and so had prayed for the Lord to supply her need. And here it was.So it was later that day Fanny Crosby wrote.

                                       'All the way my Saviour leads me,what have I to ask beside ?

                                        Can I doubt His tender mercy, who through life has been my guide?

                                        For I know , whate'er befall me,Jesus doeth all things well.'

                                                 ( I am indebted to R .Davis for the story)

It's not the end ( 1 Corinthians 15 )

If your  are like me and you've suffered the lost of one you loved dearly, well if you haven't, the thing is it will happen,and that brings with it a lot of pain.The pain will ease but it will always be there,when your not expecting it, and you will shed a tear. We all live in the shadow of death hanging over us , when death will happen we don't know, there is nothing we can do about it.What a great comfort to know that the one you loved is in heaven, it is tremendous source of comfort.As I wept a tear recently ,I heard myself saying ,'it is not the end'.Remember this statement is not based on nonsense or  false sentimentality,but on the solid word of God, and a historical person called Jesus, who said,' I will die , but on the third day I will rise again', and you know something wonderful He did just that.His death was foretold in scripture (Isaiah 53),likewise His resurrection (Psalm 16 v10), hallelujah, yes praise the Lord.Because He lives, everyone who trusts in Him will  live also,no ifs or buts,yes it is not the end

                                                     ' Because He lives we shall live also' .