Suddenly the lights went out. [Luke 18 v 20- 37 ]

Last evening we had a short power cut,suddenly the lights went out, and we were sitting in the dark, we were not expecting this, but we were prepared as we had a good supply of candles. There is a story in the Bible of five people who were not prepared, we read about them in Matthew 25v 1-13 , they are known as the five foolish virgins,the point of the parable is, to be ready for when Jesus comes back again. Jesus is coming back again, there is much speculation as to the events leading up to His coming, only God knows when Jesus will return, to collect those who are His, and also to judge those who are not.The true believer must live in the light of Christs coming, the unbeliever has an opportunity now, to be saved, they must take it, or suffer the consequences, on that day, crying ,pleading will not avail, if they dont know Christ as their own and personal Saviour then, He will declare, I dont know you. [Father we thank You for sending Jesus the first time, we know that this is not the end of the story, He is coming back again, help all of us who know Him, to live in the light of His coming again, and grant that those many who dont Him will turn from their sins, and trust Him, so that they also will be ready on that day, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

What is going on? [ Matthew 11v28 ]

Im am sure we have asked the question, what is going on?, as we look at this world, the world wide credit crunch, the never ending conflict in Israel , and many other things. There is also personal problems we have to deal with, there the list is endless, the on going problems, the unexpected problems, and we find ourselves asking what is going on?. In the OT we have the prophet Habakkuk who asked the question , what is going on ,evil appeared to be abounding, the future looked very bleak, the prophet could not figure it out, so he struggled. As we come to the end of the book of Habakkuk , the prophet gives up his struggling, and falls into the arms of God. To all of us who are struggling, let us follow Habakkuks example, and fall into the arms of God, listen to the words of Jesus, /Come unto me, all of you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens,and I will give you rest, [Matthew 11v28 ] [ Dear Lord Jesus there are so many things we do not understand, so many things we struggle with, right now we would fall into your arms, those everlasting arms, Amen ]

The parties over [ Matthew 28 v 18-20 ]

How many days is it to Christmas? it seems a silly question,yet my wife has started to buy presents for next Christmas. There is a Christmas song which goes,/I wish it could be Christmas every day/, someone jockingly said it was written by Tescos.I know we are still in the season of Christmas but because of the pressure, it is with a sigh of relief when it is all over.and yet cutting through all the commercialization, the true meaning of Christmas, can leave with us a lasting blessing, and a challenge. The blessing , God is with us in the person of Christ, and we can have no greater blessing than this, it will not be Christmas everyday , but Christ will be with us every day. The challenge, to continue to be as generous, as we are at Christmas, in our giving, loving , sharing, and caring. [ Dear God we thank You for Christ, who is the reason for us celebrating Christmas, yet we rejoice that He is with us all the time, help us to manifest the reality of Christ ,in us, everyday, Amen ]

Thank You God for prayer. [ Luke 18 v 1- 14 ]

I heard a preacher on the God channel say,/ Thank God for prayer/, it may amaze us how many people pray. I agree with that preacher , we should thank God for prayer. It is such a blessing to pray, through prayer we recieve so much, calmness , guidance, needs met, both phyisical, mental,and so the list goes on, it is also a means to help others. Prayer involves many things, there are no experts, only one , Jesus, He is our example, He was continually praying. It is possible to have answers to our prayers,we must prove this ourselves, and we can.It is important that we dont compare ourselves with others, although we can learn from others. We do have a helper when we pray ,the Holy Spirit,[ Romans 8 v 26-27 ], so pray,in your weakness, pray inspite of your limatations, but pray ,pray,pray. [Dear God we thank You for prayer, help us to pray and help us to be guided by Your Spirit, we ask this in Jesus name ,Amen ]

Change [James 1 v22 - 25 ]

In the 19th century a Dr Arnold took over as principal of Rugby Public school, this is were the game of rugby originated, it was Dr Arnold who sought to bring change to this school. Public schools were noted for bullying,cruelity,and nurseries of of vice, so change was needed.[The story Tom Browns schooldays was written about Rugby school and Dr Arnold ]. Dr Arnold sought to introduce ,moral principals, gentlemanly conduct, and lastly intellectual ability.The message of Christianty is about change, we cannot be a Christian without change in our lives, the initial act of salvation, when we trust Christ involves change, from sinner to saint, but that is only the beginning.The coming days will bring challenges to all of us , to change, the sad fact is, many of us will resist change, many of us will listen to Gods word,but thats all we will do, no change will take place. [ Father in Heaven You sent Jesus Your Son ,to save us,and to change us, grant that we may not only be hearers of the word of God, help us not to be concerned about the faults in others,rather help us, to change, by Your grace, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]

Courage [ Joshua 1 v 9 ]

One of my favourite movies is the ,Wizard of Oz, and one of my favourite characters is the lion who lacked courage, there is an old hymn which reads,/ Courage brother to not stumble. Though thy path be dark as night, Theres a star to guide the humble, Trust in God and do the right/. This is Boxing day also known as Saint Stephens day, Stephen was the first Christian martyr , he was stoned to death , yet in his dying he showed great courage and even love to those who were killing him.[ we read about him in Acts 7] We may not have to face martydom, [ we may ] but I believe that we are all called to face life with a degree of courage,to say no in certain situations, to face each days challenges, with courage,the Christian life is not for cowards. [ Father grant us the grace to face life with courage each day, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen. ]

The cost of evil [ John 3 v16 ]

I found myself saying as I watched TV ,there is always a cost for evil, it may seem inappropriate saying such a thing on this Christmas day,yet at the very core of the Christmas message we have a child who was born to die on a cross. Sin costs and it would cost God everything, the death of His dear Son, we can only begin to imagine the depths of what God felt in giving Jesus, for our salvation. Yes there is a cost to evil , the evil of sin, consider the pain caused by sin,the pain God feel as He looks on His broken world, as he hears the cry of children neglected and abused,of the rape victims, of the violence of so many conflicts, yes there is a cost where ever evil raises its ugly head, but rising out of the ashes one solitary figure stands Jesus, and declares I will go and redeem and rescue poor fallen humanity, and He did just that ,on the Cross. [Dear God thank you for Jesus your Son who You give, that through Him we may escape the eternal consequences of our sin, Amen ]