Control.

I dont particularly like the term control freak, it is an ungracious term, yet lets face it , being in control is important to all of us,yet there are many things we are not in control of.The list of things that can overtake us of which we have no control , can cause us to live in fear, and can cause us disappointment, and frustration. In Revelation 19v6, we are told that the Lord reigns, this means He is in control. Let me end , with a prayer,[ Lord I so often feel fear rising within me , it seems so often things are out of control in my life, help me to leave all my fears, frustrations, and worries with you, help me to trust you, my loving heavenly Father, knowing that you are in control, in Jesus name. Amen]

Born again.

You must be born again, this is what Jesus taught,[John 3v7] , it was said to a very religious person, he did not understand what Jesus was saying.In 1 Corinthians 2v14. we are told that the natural person does not understand spiritual truths. The old hymn puts it like this I once was blind but now I see, the new birth is a miracle brought about by the Spirit of God, it takes place when the Spirit of God , moves upon us , we become aware of our need, and see as never before that only Jesus can meet our need, John puts it like this, as many as recieve Christ ,He gaves the right to become a child of God.[ Jn 1v12]

Gentle.

God is many things, a God of justice, wrath, holy,and so on, He is also gentle, so many scriptures show a God of gentleness, one who deals with people in a gentle manner.It is an aspect of God that is so attractive, and appealing, and is a great challenge to me , for so often I am to say the least a bit heavy handed, a bit harsh towards others. the world needs more gentleness.So let us this day be like Him , who was gentle , meek and kind, Jesus.

Srength.

In the book of Neh 8 v10 we are told , that the joy of the Lord is our stength, in that little letter of Philippians the apostle stresses joy, of rejoicing continually, when he wrote those words he was a prisoner. Surely there is a joy in the Christian life that we can experience day by day, it cannot be woe is me all the time. This joy is not based on trivia it is the joy of the Lord, it is something only the child of God has, for only they have the the Lord. There may be many things in your life that are difficult, but just ask the Lord to fill you with His joy.

Preaching.

Although I feel called to preach, I still find it the most challenging of activities, it is not something that comes easy. First of all you have to discover what your going to preach on, most times that is not so difficult, yet it can be, then the preparation, that can be hard work, then the preaching of it, all very challenging.Why do it if it is so hard?, the answer Gods calling.Mybe God has called you , or is calling you , obey it, simply because obedience is what it is all about, that applies to everything, not just that special calling on our lives , everything.

Faith alone.

One of the things the N.T. writers seek to do, is bring a balanced view into their teaching, we are saved by faith alone, through grace, alone. One of my favourite books is by P. Yancey. called, Whats so amazing about grace, a wonderful book. Grace alone ,faith alone,but what about balance in our Christian life?. Well heres how I see it, if you read James and John letters, it appears to me they are simply teaching, the life that has experienced the grace of God , must manifest the reality of that experience, you cant have one without the other.This does not weaken the doctrine of , grace or faith alone, it strengthens it, as our Saviour taught we are known by our fruits.

The path I must go.

Consider our Saviour , consider the path He had to go, and how few really understood where he going , or what He had to do, continually He was misunderstood . There is a lesson in this for all of us, you see God has placed a calling on all our lives, the question is are we following that calling?. In obeying Gods calling on our lives remember , you are leaving yourself open to be misunderstood, and you must take up your cross and follow Jesus, irrespective of what people think or say.