My forever friend. [ Proverbs 18 v24 ]

Millions of people will sing a famous song ,known as ,/Auld lang syne,/ by Robert Burns,that great Scottish poet.I have the poem before me.It is written in an old Scottish dialect,so it is difficult to understand,it is described as being extremely nostalgic,and a sincere expression of friendship.As its sung people usually join hands in friendship,as they look forward to the new year.They pledge that whatever changes life may bring,that old friends will not be forgotten.Friendship is important for us all ,some have many friends,
some have few,and some may not have any.The word of God tell us about a friend  that sticketh closer than a brother [Proverbs 18 v24]. Charles Landsborough,wrote a lovely song called ,/My forever friend/,here are a some verses from it.
                    He's my forever friend,my leave me never friend,
                    From darkest night,to rainbow's end,
                    He's my forever friend.
                    If you don't know the one I'm talking of,
                    I think it's time you knew,
                    Long ago and far a way upon a cross.
                    My friend died for you.
                    So if you'd like to meet Him,
                    And don't know what to do,
                    Ask my friend into your heart,
                    And He'll be your friend too.

Filled with fear [Psalm 23]

 Writing on Peter ,when he acted in a detrimental way to the gospel,and when the apostle Paul had to challenge him,and remind him of the truths of the gospel,and that what he was doing was wrong[Galations2 11-16]. John  Stott writes,/Paul knew Peter was acting from fear,not conviction,and even
Barnabas,inspite of everything he had seen during their first missionary
journey,was carried away by the flood and led astray/Fear can cause us to forget Gods truth,Gods promises,and cause us to act contrary to our held conviction based upon Gods word.Dear child of God are you filled with fear,are you acting out of fear,stop and remind yourself that God is with you.Retire into some quite place and talk to your Loving heavenly Father,
remind yourself that He is in control,and that He has promised to provide for you,to care for you 24/7.
                            The Lord is my Shepherd,I shall not want,
                             He maketh me to lie down in green patures,
                             He leadeth me beside still waters.
                             He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths
                            of righteousness for His names sake.
                             Yea though I walk through the valley of death I
                             fear no evil:for Thou art with me.
                             Thou prepares a table before me in the presence
                              of my enemies:Thou anointest my head with oil,
                              my cup runneth over.
                               Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
                              days of my life,and I will dwell in the house of the
                               Lord for ever.
                                           [Psalm 23]
                             
                          
                                

There is a purpose in Life.[John 3 v16]

In the movie,'I  robot',one of the robots said the one who had made  him,the
one he called father,had made him for a purpose.As a Christian I believe my
loving heavenly Father has made me for a purpose.Gods ultimate purpose
is that we may all know Him,He made none us that we may end up in Hell.
At Christmas each year in the church I attend, we hold a Christingle service,in which an orange is used in getting over the message of Christ.The orange represents the  world,four little stakes are put into it,they represent the four seasons in the year,these have sweets on them, these represent the fruits of the earth, A candle is attached to the orange which is lit,the candle represents Christ,who is the light of the world,and red tape is also attached,this goes round the orange,this represents Gods love for this world,the whole world, every single individual in this world.For we are told in scripture that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him should not perish but have ever lasting life[John 3 v16 ] No one needs to be lost,that is not Gods purpose,we all can be saved ,because God sent Jesus to rescue us ,forgive us,free us ,and care for us,because He loves everyone of us.
                                   A prayer.
Dear God we thank you that you are a God of love,and that your ultimate
purpose in sending Jesus was because you love everyone of us,without exception. Help us to see beyond the lie that there is no purpose in life,and help us to accept Christ as our Saviour . Amen .

Gods enough.[ Philippians 4 v19]

One of the gifts the wise men brought ,was gold,now we know that the gifts
had a symbolic meaning,but to this poor couple,who would have to flee to
Egypt,the  gold was a very practical gift.It was Gods provision,it would help them,enabling them to survive, to feed them,and to care for baby Jesus.God is very practical,he understands what we need.I praise God for all his provision,for supplying my needs.He enabled me to learn to drive,without that ,I would not have been able to work as a support worker for 23years.I have mentioned that I lived by faith,when attending Bible college.There were times when we had literally no money and no food in the house,and had children to feed.God provided often with little gifts of money,but they were enough ,Gods little is always enough,remember the five loaves and
two small fish,it was Gods enough,remember the widow woman ,whom
Elijah was sent to,all she had was a little handful of meal,and little cruse
of oil[1 Kings 17],it was Gods enough,to feed Elijah,the woman and her son.So what ever your need may be,ask God ,and you shall receive,and
whatever He provides it will be enough.
                                        A  prayer.
Dear God we thank you that you promise to meet all our needs,and we thank you that what ever you supply will be enough,Amen.

Earthly power verus spiritual power. [Daniel 2v44/ John 18v 36]

I wrote the following recently, /earthly power versus spiritual power/,so many only see the earthly power, Earthly power takes many forms, political,
financial,sexual abuse,military,possible you can think of other aspects,of
earthly power.Because we live in a fallen world,earthly power can be cruel,
 corrupt,and oppressive.The New testament was written when a mighty power ruled,Rome,an empire that lasted for about 500years.In Palestine the
people were ruled also by their religion ,we see this in so many place now,
and it is not a happy situation for many people.The religious power,looked
with anticipation for a Messiah who would,break the yoke of their slavery,
take from them the burden of their oppressors. And so a child was born, born in obscurity,the long awaited Messiah had come,but He represented not earthly power but a spiritual kingdom.He was Gods gracious gift ,He loved this sinful world,and his purpose and plan would be at total odds with the earthly power,of Rome,and earthly religion.His power would be a spiritual power,that would bring in an eternal kingdom.this Messiah ,would defeat and conquer,death ,the Devil,and sin,these forces no earthly power can conquer,or defeat. To all who accept Him as Saviour they alone would be free, and would be part of a kingdom of unlimited power.of course the name of that Messiah would be Jesus.
                                         A prayer.
Dear God help us to look beyond earthly power,to our Saviour to whom all
power and authority has been given Amen

Becoming a child [Philippians 2 v 5-11]

About seven hundred years before Christ Isaiah the prophet,gave a wonderful prophecy,/Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.
Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,and shall call his name Immanuel/.Those words were spoken to a unbelieving king called Ahaz,
it is interesting that when our Saviour spoke about those who would enter
the kingdom of heaven,must become as a little child,[Matthew 18v3]Christ was rejected by Herod the king,and by the educated religious leaders.I believe in child evangelism,for it was as a child I trusted Jesus,of course
salvation is not just for children.The words were spoken to His disciples,
who had been discussing who would be the greatest in Gods kingdom,they were thinking of a kingdom where they would rule over mankind,an earthly Kingdom[Acts 1v6]It took a  long time for then  to grasp,that Christs kingdom was not of this world[John 18v36].Not a kingdom with earthly values,but of spiritual values,the disciples did not grasp  what that meant,it was ,A.Lukyn Caffin, who wrote,/a kingdom in which earthly pride,and ambition,find no place/.
                           Make me,O Lord,a child again,
                           So tender,frail,and small,
                           In self possessing nothing,and
                           In thee possessing all.
                       
                          O Savior, make me small once more,
                          That downward I may grow,
                           And in this heart of mine restore,
                           The faith of long ago.
                               [Dutch poem]

Hope. [ 1 Timothy 1 v1]

When Germany invaded Poland,Britain and France declared war on Germany,this created hope,many Poles breathed a sigh of relief. Yet there hopes were soon dashed to the ground these two nations did not do anything.The result was, poor Poland,was conquered and so began a period of terrible suffering for the Polish people.For the Jewish population it was a death sentence,but the whole population suffered,under the Nazi's and under Communism.The hope they had when Britain and France declared war on Germany,had been a false hope.The message of Christmas is one of
hope,because it comes from God,all who place their trust in Christ will not be disappointed.Mankind's condition is terminal,we are all sinners and the wages of sin is death.When we trust in Christ we come from a place of no hope to a place of hope.The coming of Christ means lives can be changed,
sins forgiven,and deliverance from its power.Yes death will continue to happen, but it has not the final say,no,when Christ died he rose again,He defeated death,so that all who trust in Him,would likewise be resurrected.
                                 O little town of Bethlehem,
                                 How still we see thee lie,
                                 Above your deep and dreamless sleep
                                 the silent stars go by;
                                 yet in your dark streets shining
                                  is everlasting Light
                                 the hopes and fears of all the years
                                 are met in you tonight.

                                  How silently,how silently,
                                  the wondrous gift is given
                                 So God imparts to human hearts,
                                  the blessings of His heaven.
                                  No ear may hear His coming;
                                  But in this world of sin,
                                  where meek souls will receive Him,still
                                   the dear Christ enters in.
                                    [Words by Philips Brooks]