Another year [Lamentations 3 v22-23]

So here we are at the end of another year,as I look back I am grateful for many things, holidays,renewal of friendships,Gods ongoing provision, patience,care,strength,help,protection,enabling,and so the list goes on and on, I am sure we all have our list.Let us remember Gods goodness will not cease with the ending of another year, His grace will not dry up,His love will not cool towards us, His mercy will not cease, as He was, so He will continue to be,for He is the unchanging One.Our grip on Him may weaken ,but His grip on us will not,we may enter periods of darkness ,but He will be our light. Like the Psalmist I can say,/Once I was young, and now I am old.Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned[Psalm 37 v25 ] [ Dear God we thank You for Your great faithfulness,in the year that is coming to an end, we praise You for all that is past, and trust You for all that is to come ,in Jesus name Amen]

Looking staight ahead [ Matthew 14v22-33]

In Pilgrims progress by John Bunyan, Christian the main character, gets into all sorts of bother, when he fails to go straight on, the result , he falls into a swamp called the, slough of despond, and likewise when he and his companion fall into the clutches of Giant despair.So Christian declares,/Out of the way we went, and then we found, what twas to tread on forbidden ground/,for the Christian there is much forbidden ground, I read that a French psychologist said that it was good to have extra marital affairs it helped marriage. It is easy to embace sin,dressed up in, fallen human reasoning, and when we do , we will suffer, and so will others. So today let us not enter forbidden ground, but let us look straight ahead, and fix our eyes on what lies before us, to mark out a straight path for our feet,to stay on the safe path. Let us not get sidetracked, but keep our feet from following evil [ Proverbs 4v25-27] [ Dear Lord help us not to be sidetracked today into those things that could harm us and others ,help us at all times to keep our eyes on You. Amen ]

God strong [Ephesians 6 v10-20 ]

In Zechariah 10v12, I read these words,/ By my power I will make my people strong/,these words remind us we cannot walk a spiritual life of victory in our natural self. David did not defeat Goliath in his natural self [1 Samuel 17v45-47], Samson did not kill a lion ,[Judges 14v5-6],and do many other mighty deeds in his own strength. So it is we will not know victory over our enemies ,be it the devil, the world, or the flesh, in our own strength. The fact of the matter is we are weak in ourselves, what ever difficulties we are facing today,we will only know victory in the strength of the Lord. So today be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, so we will be able to resist the enemy.[ Ephesians6v10ff], so we can say that like the apostle we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.[ Philippians 4 v13] [ Dear God help us to be strong by Your Spirit, as we face temptation, as we seek to serve you, in Jesus name . Amen ]

Dont give up [2 Corinthians 4 v 8-18 ]

I met a chap ,someone I have known for a long time, he is a Christian,but he is having problems in his marriage, and it is obivious that he is struggling spiritually. The very nature of life will bring problems for we live in a fallen world, there will always be something that will challenge us. For that dear brother its his marriage,for others its a disability, physical, mental, financial, we must face reality, some Christians believe everything can be solved, sickness can be healed , the dead can be raised, and so on, and of course all things are possible with God. But it seems that for most of us we will have to cope with difficulties of one kind or another. The good news is we dont have to cope on our own, Jesus is with us ,in our deepest trials, not only as a spectator, but as one who will comfort us, grant us the grace we need, and in it all make us better people.[ Dear God help us to cope with our on going problems, problems that cause us pain, and sometimes even to dispair,grant us the grace we need to not give up in Jesus name Amen]

Family [1John 2 v7-11 ]

One of the important aspects of Christmas is family, which makes it rather painful for those who have no family or no relationship with their family.I thankfully have a resonable relationship with my children and grandchildren, I also manage to keep in touch with my brothers and sister. If we are Christians we are part of a family, the family of God, and that is very, very ,important, and yet, for many, to many that relationship is not what it should be, what should be?.Well it should be loving, it should be a place of acceptance for all members of that family, it should be a place of love, it should be a place of generosity , and so we could go on, it should reflect all that it means in being a Christian, and its not just for Christmas.[ Dear Heavenly Father we thank You That in Your great love that You have brought us into Your family, help to love our Christian family, in Jesus name Amen ]

Gifts [ Romans 6 v23 ]

Well I have opened my Christmas presents, did I get what I was hoping for?, yes, my dear wife bought me a lovely camcorder, I just have to learn to use it. She bought me a camcorder years ago, I used it for a while, then stopped, I have passed it unto my son. When God saves us it is through His son Jesus, Romans 6v23 reads ,/ The free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord/, Here is the all important question , have you recieved that gift? I spoke to ,two of my brothers yesterday wishing them a happy Christmas, many years ago they recieved that gift from God, but for whatever reason they neglected it, like so many unused gifts, To some extent I did the same, but the Lord graciously restored me to Himself, that was 45yrs ago, we cannot afford to neglect Christ, there are no advantages in neglecting Gods gift ,only disadvantages.[ Dear God we pray for all those who recieved Your most precious gift , and have neglected Him, have mercy and restore them once again, in Jesus name Amen ]

A favourite Carol.[luke 2 v8-14]

Do you have a favourite carol, I have a number, Silent night, O Little town of Bethlehem, Away in a manger,now I know it is easy to criticise some of these carols, the one thing I would say is they dont lead anybody astray,for they are all without exception about Jesus. Christmas in the west is a far cry from what it should be, yet we hope and pray that in spite of this, some will be led to the truth of knowing Christ as their Saviour. To retun to the subject of carols one carol I am very fond of is,/ In the bleak mid -winter/, I know that it is obvious Christ was not born in the bleak mid-winter, but somehow it appears to ring true as we look out at this Christmas, this year.It is the last verse that to me is the most meaningful, and challenging,/What can I give Him poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb, If I were a wise man, I would do my part, yet what I can I give Him- give my heart./[Dear God , we thank You that You so loved the world, that You gave your only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Amen ]