Nelson. [ Psalm 23]

Just back from Norfolk ,it is Nelsons county, he was born there in 1758, and his father was a minister, the story is told , that when he was a child he wandered away from his grandmothers home, were he had been staying, there was a search made for him, eventually he was found , sitting calmly by a stream, when he was asked by his grandmother if he had not been afraid, he relied, Fear never came near me, grandma. This appears to have been the pattern of his life, which ended tragicaly at the battle of Trafalgar.Let me say I admire Nelson, but I am no Nelson, very few of us are, it doesnt take much to cause us to fear. We all have things we are afraid of, but here is something very important, as a Christian we need not be ruled by our fears, I believe Christ can really help us to know victory , over our fears. [ Father help us not to be ruled by our fears, help us in Jesus name , Amen.]

The prisoner of Christ Jesus.[ Ephesians 3 v1 ]

When we become a Christian , things change, our outlook changes, we should look at things differently, thats what Paul was doing. Paul was a prisoner ,he had been arrested and held a prisoner of Rome,but here is the difference ,from the the saved and unsaved person, he looks beyond earthly powers, to his sovereign Lord Jesus, he is His prisoner. Today look beyond your circumstances,stop feeling you are a victim , have confidence in your Saviour to help you, He has placed you were you are for a purpose, His purpose. [Dear Lord Jesus I bow to your will today, for I believe it is best for me, so grant me the grace I need, to glorify You, Amen. ] [I will be away till Sat, so no blog till then ]

Hearing from God.[ 1Samuel 3 v1-10]

In 1 Kings 22, we have an account of two kings , they were going to war,there names were, Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat , king of Judah. Jehoshaphat did an unwise thing ,he became involved with Ahab, be careful who you become involved with, but to Jehoshaphats credit he did a very important thing, he wanted to hear from God. The word of God tells us to acknowledge God in all our ways, and He will direct our paths, [Proverbs 3v6. A/V.], it is so important to do this, so today try and put this into practice. [ Father help us to bring you into all our decisions, help us to take this very serious, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen.]

Discipline.[2 Timothy 2v3 ]

How disiplined are you? all of us need to be disiplined, it is easy to put of things, to ignore the realities, but eventually things catch up with us. I have to watch what I eat, that takes discipline, for I do like so many things. but there are areas in my life that I am not disciplined. We cant always give in to what we want, sometimes we have to say no. I dont want anybody to fall into condemnation , most of all my self, but I am sure we need discipline in our lives, not just in the so called spiritual things. We should see that all of life is spiritual, Colossians 3v17, tells us, Let every detail in your lives, words, actions, whatever, be done in the name of the master, Jesus.[The Message]. [ Father help us to be more disciplined in our lives , give us the grace we need , help us not to be judgmental of others, who appear to be less disciplined than us, help us to do everything to the glory of our Saviour, in whose name we ask this, Amen.]

Enjoy today [ Matthew 6 v25 -34 ]

It was a lovely day the sun was shining, and I commented to someone , how lovely a day it was, only to hear him reply, it is going to rain tomorrow. Why is it we cant enjoy the here and now?, why do we let tomorrow rob us ?, for some people it is always tomorrow. Our Saviour tells us, Dont worry about tomorrow, [Matthew 6 v34], is worry ever helpful?. So enjoy today, dont be ruled by fearful thoughts of tomorrow, remember the God who is with you today, will be with you tomorrow, His resources will not dry up, His caring for you will not cease, so feel secure in His love, and care today, enjoy today. [Father thank you for today , help us to rejoice and be glad in it, in Jesus name, we ask this, Amen ]

Worry.[ Matthew 6v25 -34. ]

In Acts 27 v33, we read of the apostle Paul ,speaking to his fellow travellers, You have been so worried that you havent touched food for two days. They were in a severe storm, their lives appeared threatened , worry affects , and afflicts all of us, it is only natuaral, of course it is , but a spiritual man, made a difference, in that situation. Do read Acts 27, it is a wonderful story,in it we have the storm, two groups of people, the Believers and the unbelievers, which are you?, Paul hears from God , and then he speaks the word in faith. There are so many people out there who are worried about so many things,from debts to death, they need to hear what God has to say, from those who are believers, [ Father help me not to worry , but to trust, and help me to be available for You to speak through me to others, in Jesus name I ask this, Amen.]

Things of beauty [ Genesis 3 ]

We have a water feature in our garden, to my wife it is a thing of beauty,yesterday we did some work in our garden and we found to our horror, four dead birds , they must have gone for a drink fell into the barrel, and drowned. This thing of beauty had become a thing of death for those little birds We can learn something from this, that there are things of beauty, that can destroy, a mountain is a thing of beauty, but many people have died on mountains. Consider David , [ 2 Samuel 11], he saw a thing of beauty, desired it ,took it, and sinned greatly.Consider Achan, [Joshua 7 ], he saw things of beauty ,desired them , took them , and sinned, both of these men sinned,both of them caused others to suffer, and both paid a price for their foolishness, beware of those things of beauty, which we look upon and desire. [ Holy Father help us to not be decieved by things of beauty,help us to see that all that glitters is not gold, help us to have godly values of holiness, in Jesus name we pray this, Amen. ]