Annihilated [Esther 6]

 Now most of us know the shortest verse in the Bible ,John 11 v35,Jesus wept,but very people know the longest verse,I wonder do you?.Well I discovered it is to be found in Esther 8 v 9,it is in that part of Esther ,when things have changed from despair,to deliverance.The Jewish people were going to be annihilated ,but in the providence of God,things changed round in the most remarkable way.Read the book Esther ,in this book God is not mentioned,and yet Gods providence is clearly manifested.
    God is invisible ,we walk by faith,in one we cannot see,whose ways are past finding out,as the hymn writer puts it ,He works in mysterious ways
His wonders to perform.We often can only appreciate his providence more fully by looking back, often we will wonder why?,when we are in midst of difficulties,and the devil will come and place doubt,in our minds,and we are
made to feel insecure.Instead of trusting,we panic,God ceases to be enthroned in our hearts,fear rules instead. The problems,difficulties,become
memorials of unbelief, such is the way I felt recently,and yet God in mercy
spoke clearly,that He would undertake,and He did.
    Whatever problem we may be facing today trust Him to see you through
it,He will not fail us,as a Christian of over 50years,I have seen God working in so many ways,financially,and when difficulties were mounting up.
                            A prayer
Dear God we praise You, that You are looking after us in every situation.
we are your children,and know that You will care for us,because of
Jesus Amen.

Dancing in the rain. [ Psalm 137 ]

  I was watching the TV and a man who had suffered a tragedy in is life,said he had learnt to dance in the rain. There were two Christians and they were arrested,beaten and thrown into prison,the prison had no home comforts,
these two men found themselves in chains,feeling sore and tired. So is that it?,no they started singing in their pain,not just singing, but singing praises to God. Dancing in the rain, singing in their pain,
                                         A prayer
 Dear God ,like Your children in captivity,I ask the question how can I sing the Lords song in my difficulties,when people misunderstand me,hurt me,
leave me?. Grant unto to me that I may see through the clouds that hide Your radiance,Your love,and by Your Spirit,to dance in the rain and to sing in my pain,in Jesus name.Amen

The right decisions. [ 1 Peter 3 v12 ]

Do you ever make a decision,in purchasing something,like a second hand car,you pray about it,think about it,get as much information about what you are looking for,you have it all worked out.Yet when you purchase that second hand car,it does not work out,and you wonder why.You are left scratching your head,and you ask what did I do wrong?.This happened twice with me, recently I bought a car, very low mileage,when I got it I felt
there was something wrong,I spoke to the car dealer,did not get much joy,so
I had it inspected ,and was told what was wrong,this would cost two thousand pound to fix,well there were other things connected to buying this car,the dealership I bought it from was a good distance, Speaking to him on the phone, I felt I was fighting a loosing battle,to say the least it was a very stressful experienced,but God was speaking assuring me that He was going to undertake.
     My oldest lad suggested we ask for my money back,so he sent them an email,reminding them that under the law they were bound to return my money.God was using my son,and imagine my delight,when I received a telephone call,assuring me that they will collect the car,and return my money,you can imagine my relief ,and gratitude for His deliverance. The only thing is I have to buy another car,hopefully it will be the right one.
                                 A  prayer.
Dear God undertake for us as we make decisions,that we will make the right ones,in Jesus name Amen.

Well we can try [ Philippians 3 v 12 ]

I  do believe that there are no perfect drivers,driving is not one aspect of life that is perfect,no because there are no perfect people,and this is very clearly seen,if you are a driver. I make mistakes when I drive, ask my wife,so that's
it,no we can aim for perfection,although we may never get there.Yes there is no reason why we cant aim for perfection in driving,in our marriages,our work,now we will never be perfect,but we can say I going by the grace of God try.
 Our Saviour said to His disciples,/Be ye therefore perfect,even as your father which is heaven is perfect[Matthew 5 v45]/. So is Jesus saying we can reach perfection?,there are some Christians who believe they can reach
sinless perfection. 1 John 1v8 reads,if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves,and the truth is not in us.I remember a person accused me of not being a Christian because I acknowledged that I was not perfect,that I did sin.
    Yes we are not perfect,but we can still aim for it ,we can still by Gods grace overcome the sins that so easily beset us.
                                    A  prayer
Dear God we come to You in all our imperfectness, help us to aim at lives
that  by Your grace we may ever strive to be like You ,in Jesus name Amen .
   
   

Hypocrisy.[ Matthew 3 v7 -10 ]

Words are so easily spoken,it is easy to say I am sorry and not really mean it,it is easy to pray and not really mean it,the saying of the Lords prayer is an example of that. We sing hymns out of habit,yes words are so easily spoken,words that have no real meaning,no depth to them.
  It is so easy to put on act,I remember my son telling me about a friend of his,a well known minister,and as he talked to my son,the Lord gave him insight,and it was ,that the brother was committing adultery.
     Our Saviour used the term hypocrite in relation to a certain people,they were play acting,hiding behind a curtain of religion.A certain individual
who was loved and admired,was honoured by those in high places,when he died thousand lined up,to pay respect to this great man.Oh yes he was great
in his hidden evil deeds,what he did was unbelievable,and the vast majority of people,never realised.
     When the end of this world come and all,will stand before the all knowing all seeing God,all will be revealed,nothing will be hidden. There
will be no more hypocrisy,no more pretending.
       All is not lost,Christ came into the world to save sinners,no matter what our sin,now is the time to stop pretending,to repent,that means to change,to turn to God and to be totally honest,and be totally honest with him,and to ask for forgiveness.
                                          A  prayer.
Dear God we know that there is nothing hidden from  You,forgive us for  deceiving others ,and even ourselves,in Jesus name  Amen .

Holding on by a thread. [ 2 Corinthians 4 v 7 ]

A man who is suffering from  a serious illness,when asked about his strong faith,he replied,that as regards a strong faith,he saw himself holding on by a thread. Imagine what that means ,for he meant it,maybe that describes your faith. It  is  not something you would tell others,but it really sums up how you feel,but of course,He knows,and maybe you have told Him,and then maybe you have not, but as I have said He knows.
     Consider ,you and I are part of a church,of mighty saints,is that right?or is it?, no we are part of church made up of those who sing with great
fervour,about,that amazing grace that saves wretches.Yes the grace of God
makes all the difference in all our lives,I am what I am by the grace of God.
The fact is we are all holding on by the grace of God,even if it is holding on by  a thread,how strong is that thread,that thread when endued by Gods grace is unbreakable.
 Continually the word of God reminds us of a need to rely on God and His strength,otherwise the true self will manifest itself ,in pretty awful ways,as so many of Gods choicest saints have found out. Remember we are earthen vessels, or fragile clay jars[2 Corinthians 4 v7]. There is no room for pride,boasting excluded ,pride I abase,we are only sinners saved by grace.
   Now this does not mean we should give up,or despair,no, no, no,it really is amazing,but God who knows the worst about us,will use us in  all our weakness, even if we are holding on by a thread.
                                    A  prayer.
Dear God You know everything about us,how truly weak we are,Lord help us in our utter weakness,Amen.

You can decide. [ Hebrews 11v1]

I usually go out into my garden at night and look up at the stars,to observe the glory of Gods creation. The other evening as I looked up I found myself singing ,He's got the whole in his hand,it is in the book of Job, we read,/He .hangeth  the earth upon nothing[26v7]. The scientist speaks with his flawed ,from a flawed mind,never giving glory to God,while the multitudes,believe there flawed giro's.
  As to scientific knowledge,I know very little,but I would rather hold unto the certainty of faith,rather than the blindness of the freak accident theory.
It is not that I despise scientist,we owe under God much to them, but unfortunately they do not think that they are under God.When do you hear any of them ever mention God,the evolutionist,speaks how animals somehow grow feathers,and somehow fly,yes ,truly somehow.
    If  you want you can go down the godless scientific road,but were is it leading ?or you can decide to follow Him who is the way the truth and the life[John 14 v6],it is a  path of faith,strange path,but it is the safest path,
                                    A  prayer.
Dear God have mercy and grant us grace to follow Your son Jesus,as He leads us to glory,in His name we ask this Amen