Blessed. [ Matthew 12 v 50 ]

I was reading the paper, when my eyes fell on a picture of people living in the state of Acre in Brazil. They were people who resented outsiders because they brought diseases and took land. Why this picture interested me
went back to a time in my Christian life, when I felt God was calling me and my family to go there and serve Him. At that time I belonged to a church which was missionary orientated. One of the ex-pastors, had founded the Acre Gospel mission, and so a work began, A couple from this church had gone out to Acre, but on their way there they both became ill, and the wife died. The husband was told he needed to go home because of his illness ,but he didn't, He believed Gods call was still on his life, he was a very gifted man, and God used him, to establish churches, For the rest of his
life he served God in Brazil, until he went to be with the Lord, his name may not appear in ,whose ,who book of fame,but we are told,''Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.......they will rest from their labour,for their deeds will follow them''[Revelation 14 v13-14 ]
                                          A  prayer.
Dear God we thank you for those people who  served You in very difficulty
circumstances ,who were faithful, and are now blessed in glory, in Jesus name Amen.
                [ I will return to my Blog Monday 2nd of Jan,  every blessing]

God loves that church. [ Nehemiah 1 v 1-6 ]

I was talking to a friend on the phone, who lives in Ulster, and I asked him,
had he heard how the church we used to attend is getting on. His reply
caused me great sadness, he said people were leaving the church, and there was no Sunday school. I sort of felt like Nehemiah ,when he was told of the state of  Jerusalem, we read, that the walls of the city were broken down,
like Nehemiah, I did shed a tear, and offered up a prayer. This was the fellowship that I went to as child, were I first trusted the Lord. They always had a thriving children's work ,I remember teaching a Sunday school glass , of the lively missionary interest they had. It was the place were I met my first wife and it was there I got married. The Pastor was a faithful minister of Gods word, and ministered there for many years. So you can imagine how I feel, and yet it is the story of many churches, once thriving affairs,
they are now no longer in existence . One wonders why,there are different reasons, disunity, lack of love, unforgiveness , lack of meaningful outreach.
Whatever the reason it saddens me greatly, What can one do?, well our first port of call must be prayer, now I must pray on a regular bases for this fellowship, which I love, and most of all, God loves, will you join with me in praying for that church,?.
                                              A prayer.
Dear God have mercy upon that church ,and all such churches,in mercy
may the Holy Spirit move in that situation, in Jesus name Amen

I am a witness. [Acts 1 v8 ]

I had taken a person to  a hospital appointment, and I was going to fetch my car, and I noticed a lady in her nightgown sitting smoking, there is no smoking allowed in hospitals. I felt led to ask her how she was, it turned out she had cancer, she said it could be treated but there was no cure. I felt laid to witness to her, I spoke of Christ, and the importance of knowing Him. That if one knows Christ ,then death brings glory, you close your eyes in death and the next moment you open them in heaven. I realise I may the only person she would hear these words from, but she has heard, so we water our witness, by our prayers. I must be faithful, I must, and the same goes for all Christians, oh yes show them you are a Christian, but do not make this an excuse of not telling them about Christ, let us remember its not about us, it is about Christ. who said ,we are to be His witnesses [ Acts 1 v8 ].
                                         A  prayer.
Dear God  help us to be faithful ,not just by our lives, important as that is, but to speak to people about their need of Jesus your son Amen.

A favourite actor. [ 1 Timothy 1 v 12-15 ]

Just recently I watched a famous actor being interviewed, it  was awful to watch, I do not know how to describe his, manner and attitude. I hope I am not judging him, it just made me feel so sad, for as a child, I remember going to the cinema and watching him, he made us children laugh and even cry. But there he was a hard and cynical old man, he was no longer that person, he portrayed on silver screen. I am so glad that he is not my next door neighbour, and yet as I wrote this blog, I offered up a prayer for him. For I know that Jesus did not come into a world that is perfect, He did not come for those who thought themselves righteous, He came for sinners, yes even for the hard and cynical people, let us not write anybody off, no one is beyond redemption.
                                        A  prayer
Dear God we pray for that old  hard, and cynical actor, have mercy upon him, we thank you that Christ came into the world to save sinners, In His name we ask this Amen.

It is no myth. [ John 3 v16 ]

I transported a lady to a friends funeral, those gathered were told that the
deceased had not wanted a service. A young man took the service, he did pray the Lords prayer, but it was obvious that he did not touch on anything spiritual . He spoke well from a purely secular point of view, after the service I spoke to him, he told me he was funeral facilitator, and said he was an agnostic. I felt laid to say to him, that the resurrection of Jesus was an
historical fact. Our faith is not built upon myth, or make believe, Christ was born in Bethlehem, the story of his birth is not just a little homely, it actually happened .When a follower of Christ wrote about Him, he testified
how he had heard Him speak, seen Him, touched Him.[ 1 John 1 v 1 ].They saw the miracles that He had performed, listened to His teaching, heard him tell them of His death and His resurrection. [ Matthew 17 v 22-23]. The
disciples witnessed His death, and His resurrection, they heard His farewell
message, before He was taken up to heaven. Many stop thinking about Christ after Christmas,but the story is larger than His birth, the meaning
of His birth, life and death, is of vital importance for the whole of humanity
To sum up, when it come to Christ ,He was a historical reality, the meaning
of that reality, was, Gods answer to mans great need, the salvation of this world, that does not mean that all will be saved, even though Christs death
could save everyone, it is a gift freely offered, and as many as receive that gift, receive forgiveness, and eternal life.
                                           A  prayer.
Dear God we thank you for Jesus ,His birth , life, death and resurrection,
grant that this Christmas,many will receive,Him as their Saviour Amen.

Nice people. [ Romans 3 v23 / 6 v23 ]

Lionel Blue a well known radio rabbi died aged 86,I remember listening to
him years ago, he seemed a nice person. A newspaper published an article
by him, where he related how he came to a belief in God, at a Quaker meeting, and how he eventually became a Rabbi .The god he discovered he called Fred, he believed in an afterlife. As I thought of him my mind turned to another religious person ,the Dalai Lama, aged 81,he is still alive, he like LB appears a nice person, he is a Buddhist. There are many nice people in the world, nice Muslims, Hindu's, non -Christians ,atheist, and so on, nice people, that 's how we see them, but the important question how does God see them?.How  can a person know, does He see people as I see them?,no , He see's that we are all sinners, who are in rebellion against Him. It is interesting that the Dalai Lama is called ,''His Holiness'', like a certain nice man in the Vatican. There is an old hymn which proclaims ,''Only Thou art Holy''. speaking of God, we should call no man his holiness, for only God is truly holy. The fact is nice people are but sinners, and who do they  need ? Jesus who came to save sinful nice people.
                                       A  prayer.
Dear God forgive us in ignoring what Your word tells us ,that we all have sinned and come short of Your glory, and that all men need a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord Amen

The seriousness of.....[Romans 6 v 23 ]

A man called Kellogg wrote the following,  ''Many are exceedingly loth to
believe that sin can be such a serious matter''. As I study the book of Leviticus ,it is becoming more and more clear how serious sin is, how contact with God was a very restricted affair,this is seen in the sacrifices, in all the regulations, in the tabernacle, and in the temple, there was a place called ,the holiest of hollies. Gods presence was there, He who is holy, only one person could enter that place, and that only once a year, on the day of atonement, and when he did he had to take the blood of  a sacrificed animal,
and sprinkle it on those things within. We read in Hebrews 9 v22,''Without
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness''. These animal sacrifices did not completely deal with sin, they were but a temporary answer  [Psalm 40 v6], but God had a plan, The plan God came up with was extreme ,and this plan shows the seriousness of sin, it was beyond words to fully describe. Gods ,
answer was Jesus His son, He would leave heaven, be born of a virgin,He
would have an earthly name Jesus which means ,that he would save people from their sin[Matthew 1 v21].The seriousness of sin meant that if Jesus had not come, Hell for all us would be the result, that's the consequence of sin. But Jesus did come, and through His death sinners could be saved. The awful tragedy is this most people do not see the true meaning and purpose
of  Christs coming. We return to that opening statement, ''Many are exceedingly loth to believe that sin can be such a very serious matter''
                                               A  prayer
Dear Holy God and Father, open the eyes of our understanding, to the seriousness of our sins, and the vital importance  of accepting Christ as our Saviour. Amen.