verse of the day

Sunday 30 November 2008

When will I ever learn.[ Psalm 91 ]

It is Van Morrison who wrote the following words, / When will I ever learn to live in God?, when will I ever learn?, He gives me everything I need, and more, when will I ever learn?.As I listened to those words which Van sings, they struck a cord with me, what about you?.It appears that so many of us flit in and out, in our relationship with the Lord,the words ,when will I ever learn to live in God, bring to us all a challenge. Here are some words from Psalm 91,/Those who live in the shelter of the most high will find rest in the shadow of the almighty,/ here is a place of security, peace and rest. Today let us all learn this valuable lesson of living in God,. of living under the shadow of the Almighty, safe and secure, from all alarms. [ Father in heaven we come into Your presence and ask for the grace to live in You today, for it is only as we live in Your presence will we experience, peace,and all we need, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Saturday 29 November 2008

Sin and Hell. [John 3 v16 ]

In the little epistle of Jude ,we read about Sodom and Gomorrah , that these cities were destroyed by fire, and that what happened to them serves as a warning of the eternal fire of Gods judgment. We dont hear much about Hell these days it is not fashionable, its like it does not exsist, but according to the word of God it is real place, for all those who die without Christ. Dr Johnson the famous 18th-century character was gripped by a fear of it, and rightly so, for Hell is an awful place, its a place of suffering, and it is eternal, with no possiblity of escape. In my Bible I wrote, /sin has a terrible price/, the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death, what a terrible price to pay. There is only answer , Christ, if we are to be saved from Hell then we must, we must,trust Him to forgive us our sin, if we dont then Hell is our destiny.[ Dear God help us to view sin as You do,to see that to die unforgiven, is to go to Hell for all eternity, we ask this in Jesus name Amen ]

Friday 28 November 2008

Rejection [ Hebrews 4 v14- 16 ]

Rejection is a painful experience, which some people never come to terms with,I remember a friend called Charlie,his mother had given him up for adoption, when he was a child. Charlie found it hard to accept, he tried to have a relationship with his mother when he grew up, but his mother did not want to know, I believe this contributed to his death. Our Saviour experenced rejection, we read that He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him, [John 1 v 10 ] when He preached at His home town they tried to kill Him, [Luke 4v24 ]. The human situation throws many things at us, rejection is one of them, what can we do? well we can come to Jesus, He understands, for He was rejected,simplytell Him how you feel and let Him bring healing into your life, He can, and He will. [ Dear Lord Jesus we bring the pain of rejection to You, we ask You, to bring healing into our lives, Amen ]

Thursday 27 November 2008

Messed up lives.[ Luke 8 v26- 39 ]

On the front page of a daily reading I read these words,/ Stories of lives changed for good, /as one reads the Bible, we read of lives being changed. In Luke 8, we read of a man whose life was messed up, he was controlled by demons, he lived in a place of death, a cemetery. There were attempts to control him, but to no avail, he was homeless, naked, and violent, his truly was a life messed up, he couldnt help himself, nor could anyone else help him, but then Jesus came. When Jesus comes into the life , He brings forgiveness and freedom. We read the result of Jesus coming into this mans life,/He was sitting at Jesus feet,fully clothed and perfectly sane/, We sometimes forget that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, those whose lives are messed up, those whose lives are being controlled and destroyed by sin and satan .[Father thank You for Jesus Your Son who has come to seek and to save those who are lost, we thank that no life is so messed up that He cannot save and set free, thank You , Amen ]

Wednesday 26 November 2008

Power. [ Genesis 1 ]

When you think of power, what comes to mind ?, the power of the atom, the worlds strongest man, let us consider the Word of God [1 ] The power of the word of God is described as being a mighty hammer that smashes the rock in pieces ,[ Jeremiah 23 v29 ][2]. No power on earth can stop it being fulfilled, [ Isaiah 55v11 ],[3 ] it is a living word, that can cut through all our defences and pretences, exposing us for what we are [ Hebrews 4 v12 ]. When believed on it can revolutionize our lives,comfort us in our sorrows, guide us in our walk,strengthen us in our weakness,encourage us in our endeavours. [ Dear God we honour Your word, we thank You for it,help us to read it ,meditate on it , and most of all to obey it, we ask this in Jesus name , Amen ]

Tuesday 25 November 2008

Questions [ Acts 16 v 30- 31 ]

I am old enough to remember a radio programme,called twenty questions, a paniel would try to find out a given secret subject in just twenty questions. The secret subject was either, animal , vegtable, or mineral, it was a very popular radio programme. Questions, I am sure there are questions on all our minds, some , unimportant,some important,and some very important, I wonder do you know the most important question in life?, well let me tell you, it was asked by a man who was suicidal, and it this, /What must I do to be saved? /. Have you ever asked that question?, and is there an answer ? , yes there is, and here it is, / Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, [ Acts 16v 30-31 ]/, its as simple as that, have you done this? [ Dear God thank You for showing us the answer to the most important question in life, how we can be saved, thank you that no one needs to be lost,thank You that by simply believing on Jesus Your son we can be saved, Amen ]

Monday 24 November 2008

My most treasured possession. Matthew 10 v 37- 39 ]

There are a number of things that I value, my books, especially my commentaries, my car, my job, my music, especially Kate M, and my health, and so the list goes on. I also value relationships, friends, family, my dear wife, if you made a list what would at the top of it ?. It is in Matthew 13 v 45 - 46 ,we read of a man who discovered a pearl of great value, what did he do ?, he sold everything he owned, and bought it, he valued that pearl above everything else. That story reminds me of what is my most treasured possession, Jesus ,is he yours?, when our Saviour spoke to Peter in John 21, He asked Him a question, / do you love me more than these? /[ v 15], how would answer that question?, would you be able to say ,Lord I love You more than these,[ whatever the these is ]. [Dear Lord Jesus we praise You for your great love for each of us,a love that took You to Calvary, help us to treasure You most of all ,may You be our most treasued possession Amen .]

Sunday 23 November 2008

He remembers. [ Psalm 103 v 8-17 ]

In Psalm 136 v23, we read, /He remembered us in our weakness/, He remembered, but do we remember?.The most gifted person in Gods eyes is weak, they think they are strong,but they are not,the king of Babylon ,who ruled over , one of the greatest kingdoms ever, was weak, [Daniel 4 ]. David , Israels greatest king was weak ,[2 Samuel 11 ], and the great apostle Paul was weak,[ 2 Corinthians 12 ]. The fact of the matter is we are all weak, it does not take much to disturb us, todays heroes can be tomorrows villians, one minute we can be standing , the next minute we can be flat on our face,but listen we can be strong, let me repeat that, we can be strong. How can we be strong? by acknowledgeing to God our weakness, in fact we never can be saved until we confess our weakness, that we are sinners and we need Jesus to save us. Weakness is were the Christian life begins,and continues ,till we go to heaven. [ Almighty God we thank You that You remember that we are weak, we confess that so often we forget the truth that we are weak, so today we bow before You in all our weakness, clothe us in humility,and a reliance upon You, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen .]

Saturday 22 November 2008

A closet atheists [John 21 ]

I recently heard on the radio of a man who lost his faith, he had been a closet atheists for years, so eventually he declared his atheism. As a christian I feel sad when anyone looses their faith, but it happens, there are many reasons for this, we need to pray for them. Also we need to realize that we are all vulnerable, many things can cause doubt to come in, it is easy for any of us to become closet atheists. The thing that is most important to me is my relationship with my Saviour, I love Him, and He loves me, He is my dearest friend, He has been with me through so much, and he alone has brought meaning into my life, to loose faith, would be to loose Him, and that is unthinkable. [ Dear Saviour thank You for your friendship and love, thank You for being there for us in the hard times, and in the good times, thank you , we love You, Amen ]

Friday 21 November 2008

They are watching.[ Matthew 5 v13-16 ]

In Luke 4 v 20,we read ,/All eyes in the synagogue looked at Him [ Jesus ] intently, it wasnt just in the synagogue that people watched Him,He was continually under observation, His every action every word was judged. If one is a believer then people are watching, we may not think they are, but rest assured they are,it has always been the same. In the book of Daniel ,we read how the enemies of Daniel, searched for some fault in Daniel, and this is what we read,/ they couldnt find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy,/[ 6v4 ]. We may not like it but the fact is we are being watched,and the challenge for all of us is to show forth Christ in our words, and actions. [ Father help us to live godly lives,help us to be faithful, responsible,and trustworthy,help us not to bring dishonour on You, in Jesus name we ask this, Amen ]

Thursday 20 November 2008

Should I .[ Luke 10 v 30-37 ]

I was driving back to the office when I noticed a man sitting on the rail of the bridge I was crossing over, and I thought was he going to jump of that rail into the traffic below,or I thought , was he just sitting, resting ?. I wondered what shall I do ?,go back or just keep on driving ?,if I drive on and he jumped, I would feel guilty for not doing anything, so I turned and drove back and was relieved to see he was not there, it had been, a should I ,or should I not moment, I am glad I turned back. This all reminded me of the story of the good Samartian, a story of missed opportunity ,by two men, and one man who took the opportunity to help someone in need. Today we may be faced with an opportunity to help someone, it may be a false alarm, or it may not. [ Father in Heaven help us to responed rightly to those opportunities to help others ,that present themselves to us each day, help us to not just look , and then walk by,we ask this in Your name ,Amen ]

Wednesday 19 November 2008

Bravery. [ Daniel 6 ]

I wonder how you would define bravery?, we often relate it to the battlefield, but of course it includes many areas of life. Stop for a moment and think of someone you consider to be brave, a person battling with an illness, physical or mental . I am reading the book of Daniel at this time and in that book there are four brave people, people who were prepared to put their lives on the line. I often wonder how brave I would have been if I had lived in Nazi Germany, I will never know. To be a Christian in many areas of the world takes bravery, places like North Korea. The bravest person I know is Jesus, He left the security of Heaven, and came into a very dangerous place, earth, He knew what awaited Him, a cross,with all its phyisical suffering, but also the spiritual suffering as He experienced the wrath of God for our sin, He deserves a medal, but He deserves more than that, He deserves our trust, love and our loyalty. [ Lord there sometimes seems a fine live between being brave, and being a coward, helps us today to be brave, to face this day with courage ,a courage that comes to us as we trust in You, we ask this in Your name Lord Jesus, Amen ]

Tuesday 18 November 2008

Gods will.[ Jude v 24 ].

We are all different, some of us are natural optimist others are pessimist, I use the word natural, to describe the way we are born, but if we are Christians, we have been born again by the Spirit of God. Being born again means that we have entered into Gods kingdom, the Spirit of God dwells within us, and His task is to change us. As I look at my life I see how God the Holy Spirit has been changing me,moulding me, continually challenging me, convicting me, I am not the person I once was, indeed I am a work still in progress. Most of us as Christians would agree that we need to change, but let me stress, change is not optional, it must take place, we can co-op-er-ate or we can resist, the choice is ours, but God will have his way, He leaves nothing unfinished. Here are words by Daniel Iverson , let them be a prayer for all of us today,[ Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me,break me melt me, mould me, fill me, Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Monday 17 November 2008

It may happen.[ Matthew 6 v 25-34 ]

It is so easy to be gripped with the thought , it may happen, I may loose my job, I may get cancer, and so on. The,/it may happen/, sydrome, can take over our mind paralysing us with fear, robbing us of peace, and sleep. Our Saviour warned us of the dangers of falling into this pattern of thought, in Matthew 6 v25-34. In these verses Jesus stresses that our heavenly Father provides for His creation, the birds are fed by Him, and He adds that His children our of more value than them. He then tells us what we should be focused on, /seeking the Kingdom of God above all else/, if we do that ,then God will give us all we need. Lastly, we are to concern ourselves with today, not tomorrow,the whole emphasis is on trusting and obeying, not to let ourselves be gripped with what may happen.[ Loving Heavenly Father we ask for the grace to live in the present, and not to be gripped with what may happen, we ask this in Jesus name Amen .]

Sunday 16 November 2008

Balance [ 2 Timothy 16 - 17 ]

We must be balanced Christians, very important, rest ,work and play, and also with our theology , God is balanced, yes even in the O T. Gods attributes are many, and they are all of equal importance, God forgives, but He also judges, He is all powerful, but He is also forgiving, you see what I mean. The fact of the matter is, most of us are inbalanced,in our personalities , and in what we believe. I believe James wrote his epistle to bring balance,Paul emphasized the grace of God,we are saved by grace,not by works, [Ephesians 2 v8-9] although in verse ten, he brings in the importance of works, yet his main thrust is on the grace of God that saves us. What James seeks to bring is a balance , stressing that works are an evidence that we are saved, that they witness to the reality of our salvation. [Father we confess that so often we are out of balance, we are prone to excesses, help us to be balanced Christians, to be more like You , we ask this in Jesus name. Amen ]

Saturday 15 November 2008

An unnnatural act.[ Matthew 6 v 43-47 ]

I borrow the term,/ unnatural act/, from Philip Yanceys book, /Whats so amazing about Grace/, it is a book that we all need to read, again and again.An unnatural act,what does it mean? ,it is Yancey, who uses the term ungrace, to describe the hate,revenge,lack of forgiveness, that is manifest in the world, it is what we do naturally.As I hear of awful wicked things happening, to children and others , my natural desire is that those who carry out such things should be dammed to hell for all eternity, thats ungrace. Being a Christian demands of us to act in an unnatural way, a way of forgiveness, a way that blessing those who hurt us, and those we love, we cannot do this naturally,we just cant, but we can by the grace of God, that amazing grace which we sing about. [Father we ask You to help us to act in an unatural way, to love the unloveable, to pray for those we would naturally hate, pour out Your grace into our lives, that we may show Calvary love, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Friday 14 November 2008

Things that make us sad.. [ Mark 1 v 41 -44 ]

As I get older I find myself shedding tears as I watch the news on the T V, sadness often fills my heart, as I hear of child abuse, or some awful tragedy, like a suicide bomber, and so on. There are many things that make me sad , this is not a bad thing for often it drives us to pray, for those situations. It would be a tragedy for any us to feel no emotions ,one of the dearest thing about Jesus is that He is touched with our situations, our hurts, our pains. [ Hebrews 4 v 15. av] So today if you are feeling sadness for whatever reason , tell Jesus about it, the old hymn says,/ no one understands like Jesus/, and it is true, the poet wrote ,/ with every pang that rends the heart the man of sorrows has a part/. [ Dear Lord Jesus we bring to You all those things that make us sad, we ask that we may never grow indifferent to others suffering,or overwhelmed by our own, we rejoice that You care for the whole human situation, and we praise You , that You are never indifferent ,to our pain and the pain of others, Amen ]

Thursday 13 November 2008

Vunerable[ Psalm 121 ]

When one is engaged in certain work, you can be very vunerable to people making accusations against you,or by the possiblity of one acting inappropriate. There are so many areas of life in which we are all vunerable, the question is what can we do to protect ourselves?. Well we have at all times to act wisely, a fridge magnet we have, reads,/ Lead me not into temptation, I can find the way myself/, one thing God does not take away from us is human responsiblity,we are to do all we can to avoid situations , that could lead into, moral and spiritual danger. We must trust God to watch over us, and He has promised to do this,the scriptures are full of words of assurance of Gods protective and preserving power, I would encourage you to read Psalm 121,there we are assured that our all powerfull God , promises to watch over us, and He will. [ Father we admit there are many times we feel vunerable, and afraid,so today we ask that You watch over us, we ask this in Jesus name , Amen ]

Wednesday 12 November 2008

The best book.[ Matthew 7 v 21 - 27 ]

I do not like borrowing books, for a number of reasons, because they are not mine I cannot write comments in them, or I may forget to give them back, and then I would be remembered as a book - keeper. Books are very important to me, I treasure a good book, especially a good commentary , I have books on the lives of famous people, such as Churchill, Nelson ,and many others, but the book I treasure the most is the Bible. What makes it so special? well it is the word of God,and in that wonderful book we have many things revealed to us, and the key theme of the bible is Christ, it tells us who He is, and why He came. There is a little chorous which goes, / The best book to read is the Bible/, it really is. [ Father we thank You for Your word the Bible,help us to value it greatly, to read it and understand it, and most of all to obey it, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen ]

Tuesday 11 November 2008

Anniversary [ Lamentations 3 v 22- 23 ]

Today is for me is the anniversary of my coming to live in England, 30 yrs ago my family and I set out from Craigavon in Northern Ireland in a little Morris Minor. On our journey we got a puncture, also the fan belt had to be tightened ,we had to travel from Scotland right down to our destination in Kent, and then to our final destination , Grays, where we have lived every since. As we set out on our Journey God give us a wonderful word from Exodus 23v20, /See I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you/, and He did. Many things have happened in those 30 years, painful things, joyful things, disappointing things, but in it all, God has remained faithful, and by His grace we are still trusting, still following, still seeking His will for our lives. [Dear loving Heavenly Father we give You thanks , for anniversaries,that remind us of many things,our losses, crosses,our gains , our tears, our joys, but most of all Your faithfulness, Amen .]

Monday 10 November 2008

A motto [ 1Chronicles 4 v 9 - 10 ]

David Livingstone the great Victorian explorers parents family motto was, /Be honest/,I dont have a motto myself , mybe you dont have one either, but I am sure that we could all adopt the Livingstones motto , of being honest. The world needs honest people, people who will not cheat, people who will not go along with the crowd. One may refrain from having a motto because , like new years resolutions, we usually fail to keep them,most of us if we are honest are far from being one hundred percent successful in our resolutions, thats one reason why we should not judge others. So what can we do?, well we can very simple, be honest to God, and ask Him for the grace, to live each day in a manner that will glorify Him, and He will. I close with the words of a hymn , which we can all pray, [ Just a closer walk with Thee, grant it Jesus this my plea, I am weak but Thou art strong, Jesus keep me from all wrong, Amen ]

Sunday 9 November 2008

A new nature . [Isaiah 11 v 6-9 ]

The first world war was suppose to be the war to end all wars, it should have been ,but it was not, we are all aware of the history of the 20th century, wars and more wars. We should not be surprised at this , in Matthew 24, our Saviour said ,/nations will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom [ v 7 ]. We may ask why, people blame it on religion , and there is doubt ,religion may be a cause, but that is not the reason , the reason is our fallen nature, a nature that has within it violence , [Romans 3 v10-18], and this was shown in its fullness, when Jesus was crucified. So let us not be surprised at the violence mankind manifests, it is the nature of the beast. We all know the thoughts of murder that arise in our mind, and how it is so easy to loose our temper, and to damage someone if not physicaly,then with our tongue. When we trust Jesus as our Saviour a change takes place ,His Spirit indwells us, and it is He, who will help us to change. [ Father we acknowledge that we are fallen creatures ,so often controlled by our fallen natures, we ask that Your Holy Spirit , may fill us and control us, we ask this in the name of Jesus , Amen ]

Saturday 8 November 2008

Masks [ 1 Peter 5 v 7 ]

The story is told of a person who visited his doctor, he felt depressed, so the doctor said, there is a circus in town, and I am told there is a very funny clown performing there, go and see him, that will lift your spirits, his patient replied I am that clown. In Proverbs 14 v13, we read,/Laughter can conceal a heavy heart/, so true, behind a smiling face there can be a heavy heart, it does not only apply to the entertainment industry.Many of us wear masks , and it is only God who really knows us, success does not necessary mean happiness, whatever hidden burdens we may be carrying, let us remember , God does know, and does care. No one understands like Jesus, so today bring your unhappiness to Him, who loves you the most, be it lonliness,rejection, feelings of not being loved, or whatever, remember He cares for you. [Dear Lord Jesus you know all about us, those hidden fears,heavy hearts, which we hide from others, we ask that these things may not overwhelm us, and that You may fill our hearts with Your comfort, peace and presence, Amen ]

Friday 7 November 2008

Purpose [ John 4 v1 -26 ]

In the movie I Robot , one of the robots says,/ I believe father made me for a purpose/,he is of course talking about the person who made him. As a Christian I believe my Father in Heaven has made me for a purpose, and I believe he has made us all for a purpose, and that purpose is a good purpose. Before I came back to the Lord I was thinking, that life had no purpose and no meaning, I was looking into darkness, I had lost my way,taken my eyes of God, but then one fateful evening , God met with me and the knowledge that I was made for a purpose came into my life, and in the words of the old hymn ,/ my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose went forth and followed Thee/. [Dear God thank You for sending Jesus , thank You for the grace to trust Him,, thank You that in Him I discover purpose for being, and purpose for living, Amen ]

Thursday 6 November 2008

Life is not a fairy tale.[ 2 Corinthians 4 v 8 - 10 ]

When I was a young boy I loved going to the cinema, it was the time before T V , and one of earliest movies I remember seeing was , the fairy tale Cinderella. Such stories end with the baddies getting their due deserts, and the goodies living happily after, this is alright in a fairy tale, but the fact is life is not a fairy tale. The fact of the matter is ,the baddies do at times win, and the goodies dont, and for many there is no happy ever after. I dont want to depress you, but being a Christian means being a realist, things dont always get better, Christians can experience heartache, and pain.Being a Christian, brings one into a new reality, that of faith,and hope, based on the greatest reality of all ,God. This reality helps us to face life with courage, gives us strength. and peace, and a belief that all things are working together for the Christians good [ Romans 8 v28 ] [ Father help us to face life as it is, give us the grace, to persevere in all things, we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen ]

Wednesday 5 November 2008

Change [ Mark 5 1-20 ]

So America has a new president, Barack Obama, what a change for America, it seems such a short time ago, the civil rights movement were protesting, led by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. The theme of Barack Obamas election was change, will this happen ?,we will have to wait and see. There will be many who will be hoping that this one man will bring change that will help them to a better life, I hope they will not be disappointed. So many people desire change ,so many things blight peoples lives, the question is , how can this happen?. Well the answer is Jesus, when a person trusts Jesus they are trusting Him to change their lives, millions have experienced their lives being changed in miraculous way. In 2 Corinthians 5 v17 , we read,/ that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person, The old life is gone, a new life has begun/. [ Dear God we thank You for Jesus ,who saves, and changes lives, Amen ]

Tuesday 4 November 2008

Home [John 14 v 1-6 ]

I read the following quotes in the Readers Digest about home life/, A home keeps you from living with your parents/ Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in /, Margaret Thatcher said,/Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country/. I wonder what you think of ,when you think of home?, which reminds me of the old hymn , which says /, this world is not my home, I am just passing through/. Our homes here are important, but they are temporary dwelling places, in John 14, our Saviour tells His followers that He is preparing a home for them, I wonder what that home will be like? [Father sometimes we get homesick for our heavenly home, that dwelling place,which is being prepared for us , by our Saviour,help us to hold lightly to the the things of this life, and to keep our eyes firmly on our eternal destination, in Jesus name we ask this ,Amen .]

Monday 3 November 2008

Gain [ Hebrews 12 v 1-12 ]

We all know the saying ,there is no gain without pain, it may appear an uncaring thing to say, especially to those who are suffering pain. If we are a Christian, the word of God tells that God is causing all things to work together for our good [Romans 8 v28 ], that means even the pain. Pain is not something any of us wants, be it physical, or emotional,but I do believe that we are gaining something from our pain, in fact I believe it is a very effective instrument in Gods hands, to make us better people. In 1 Peter 1v 6-7 , trials are seen as a purifying experience ,that shows that our faith is genuine,also in 1 Corinthians 1 v 4, because we have recieved comfort from God in our troubles, so we are then enabled to comfort others who are suffering ,we can identify with others in their suffering, there is, a gain from pain . [ Dear loving heavenly Father help us in our pain not to rebel against You, grant us the grace to trust You, and not to become bitter, we ask this in Jesus name Amen. ]

Sunday 2 November 2008

The power of words.[ James 3 v 1-12 ]

In Proverbs 12 v 6, [NLT ] we read,/The words of the wicked are like a murderous ambush, but the words of the Godly save lives/. Let us be very clear, words are important, as this verse tells us ,they have an affect , for bad or good, we can literally kill someone with our words, sad to say Christians are not immune from doing this. It is easy to speak without thinking, but it is so sad when we do think , and use our words in a calculating way to really hurt someone. The verse also reminds of the good we can do with our words, we all need to hear positive words spoken to us , many dear people are carrying burdens, whiich we do not see, let us not add to their burden, by speaking unkind , and hurtful words. There is a world out there that needs to hear the word of life about Jesus, let us ask God to help us with our words today. [Father forgive us for those hurtful ,painful words that we have spoken to others, help us to change, touch our hearts in such a way that our words would be healing words, comforting words, saving words, we ask this in the name of Jesus , Amen ]

Saturday 1 November 2008

Shine [ Matthew 5 v14-16 ]

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam , to shine for Him each day ,in everyway try please Him, at home at work , at play, so goes the little childrens chorus, we used to sing. There is so much darkness in this world, so many are stumbling around, involved in so many things that are wrong, so Jesus tells us to let our light shine, [Matthew 5 v 16 ]. The little chorus stresses three places were we need to shine, [ 1 ] Home, am I the light in my home ? I often think, the home is the hardest place to shine, [ 2 ] Work, your workmates are watching, so shine, [3 ] Play,a legitimate activity,but even there we can move into the darkness, pornography. Today the challenge is, to shine, to be a sunbeam for Jesus. [Oh God of light, and holiness, help us to shine, to say , ill be a sunbeam for Jesus, grant it Lord, Amen ]