Forgetfulness ( Psalm 9 v17 )

                              I was listening to a  radio program,
                              and  the presenter kept using the term
                              nature, and I thought ,why do they not
                              use the word creation?, but they don't  .
                              It seems the longer I live, the more God
                              has been relegated to Him who should not
                              be named.  In all the people appearing on
                              TV,  or the radio, God is  left out. This is
                               not something new ,we read these words
                               in Isaiah 17 v 10,''You have forgotten
                               God your Saviour''. It was and still is a
                               serious thing to forget about God, in
                               Psalm 9 v17,we read,' The wicked shall
                               be  turned into hell, and all the nations that
                               forget about God.'

                                     How dreadful be the doom of
                                      the wicked.
                                         ( W. Plumer)





















                         

What then?. ( Matthew 16 v 24- 26 ]

                               One of my sons is one the leaders in
                               his local church. Two ladies are going
                               to be baptised, my son will be taking
                               the service. He will be given a short
                               word , the title of his message is
                               'What then?'. Yes what then? have
                                you ever asked yourself that question.
                                The fact is Jesus our blessed Saviour
                                always made clear to people what it meant
                                to become His follower. He spoke about
                                taken up ones cross, of denying  oneself,
                                and many other things , The question is
                                are you prepared, for the 'what then?'.
                              

Yes it is very serious. ( Genese 19 v 14 ]

                              I have always enjoyed ,'Readers digest',
                              the first item I turn to is , 'Laugh'. Here are two
                              jokes,' What do  Alexander the Great, and
                              Winnie  the Pooh have in common ?. Same
                              middle name'. I hope that brought a smile
                              to your face. Humour is  an important part
                              of life. The Hitler's and Stalin's took them-
                              selves very serious, and of course it  showed.
                              Life would be so much better if we  could
                              laugh. I heard a comedian telling that when
                              he was born, people would  look at him in his
                              pram, and they would say, oh what , a baby,
                              he was making the point that he was not very
                              cute. Yes comedians are very popular, but
                              the message of the Bible is very serious, we
                              neglect it to our cost. Sin and its consequence
                              is very serious, serious enough for Jesus to die
                              in order that we may receive eternal life, now
                              that's no joking matter, in fact its very, very
                              serious.
                             
                             
                             
                                 
                          

Better He choose ( Psalm 47 v4 )

     
                             Having attended Bible college for three
                             years, living by faith, this meant we had
                             trusted God to meet all our needs. We had
                             three children, it was very challenging. I
                             who had not liked school had successfully
                             completed the course. I had done everything
                             one is supposed to do to qualify for missionary
                             work. We applied to the mission we thought
                             was Gods  place for us,  only to receive word,
                              they would not accept us, we did not even get
                              an interview. This was the pattern with most of
                              the missions we applied for. My dear wife even
                              completed a year at Bible college, but it did  not
                              Change anything.  Looking back now I can trace
                              Gods leading, but at the time it was hard. A verse
                              in Psalm 47 v4 was encouraging and instructive
                              it reads'', He  will choose  our inheritance for us''.
                              and here's the good news He did.

                                  ''I loved to choose and see my path
                                   but  now lead me on''
                                      (  J.H. Newman)
                              

Man of sorrows ( Hebrews 4 v 14- 16 )

                     
                            A young lad aged four, said the following,''I
                            wish that Dada could walk like other dadas
                            I want to cry for ever'' ,His father suffers from
                            motor neurone disease (MND ) Those words
                            'I  want to cry for ever', uttered by that young
                             child touched me. Children  are effected by
                            the suffering  of others, Prince  Harry recently
                            has spoken about the death of his mother,and
                            how it effected him. I want cry for ever, caused
                            me to think of  Jesus, who was called a man of
                            sorrows, and  I found myself asking, does  Jesus
                            still shed tears in heaven, I do not know, but this
                            I believe that He feels deeply for His suffering
                            creation, He takes all our suffering seriously, as
                            the words of an old hymn reads,' No one understands
                            like Jesus' , come to Him now in all your sorrow
                            and  brokenness, and let Him dry your tears, and heal
                            your hurts.
                           

Pray for me. ( Ephesians 6 v 19 )

                          
                     To me this daily reading  is important, as
                     indeed is my preaching.  I pray about these
                     ministries , so when I saw the  finished
                     article was looking like a dogs dinner, I was
                     concerned. My son tried to help me but to no avail
                     so I prayed the result is this new format. It appears
                     to be working, I am relieved and thankful to God,
                     Now I know my grammar and spelling may never
                     be perfect ,but I do hope it is reasonable. I do my best
                     imperfect though it be , I am always studying Gods
                     word, always trying to grow in understanding of that
                     precious book, always seeking to preach and teach
                     Gods word, that Gods people may be blessed. I share
                     this with you and ask that you would pray for me ,as
                     I serve God , we are all called to serve , it may be less
                     than perfect , but be assured God can use us.

Nero's circus ( Galations 6 v 14 )

                              
                             Under the emperor Nero , Christians were
                             persecuted, devoured by wild beasts, others
                             were crucified. This spectacle took place in
                             what became known as Nero's circus. Today  this
                             site is  St. Peters square, there is an obelisk standing,
                             it has this inscription written on it  ,which reads
                             'Dedicated  to the undefeated Cross'.

                                           Onward with the Cross our aid,
                                           Bear its shame, and fight  its battle,
                                           Till we rest beneath its  shade.
                                                  { S.Baring- Gould )

Start ....Use...Do. ( Matthew 25 v 14 30.)

                            Arthur Ash a great tennis player
                            said the following.

                                       Start where you are,
                                       use what you have ,
                                       do what you can.

             It is said that far of fields look green ,the term missionary
             conquers up  the idea of romance, even adventure, but in
             reality it's not. We do  not start being missionary in
             a far of country we start at home, where we are.
             We often think if only I was more gifted, I could accomplish
             so much, use what you have, we all  been given gifts by God,
              use what you have  been given the need is great, millions
              of  people need help and support, do what you can.
                                     

The scriptuers (John 5 v 39-40 )

                                    Philip Pullmam author wrote
                                    the following.

                    ''The place religion has in our lives is a permanent
                    one. There's no point in condemning it, because it's
                    part of the human mind to ask who made us, why
                    are we here,  what is the purpose of life, what happens
                    when I die. To become censorious about it, to say there
                    is no God , doesn't  help. The Bible is the most book-
                    I wouldn't be without it. It's  a library of all kind of stories;
                    poetry , history, mythology, crazy ravings. It's got it all.
                    Not much humour in it, though.''

                    These are interesting comments ,I of course do not agree
                    with a lot he say's. What did Jesus say about the scriptures?
                    In John 5,our Saviour is talking to religious leaders, people
                    who valued greatly the scriptures , but were blind  to there true
                    meaning,'' You pore over the scriptures for you imagine that
                    you will find eternal life in them. And all the time they give
                    their testimony to me, but  you are not willing to come to me
                    to have real life''
                                           ( J. B . Phillips translation)


         

Preparation ( Esther 4 v 14 )

I was watching a tennis match on TV ,it lasted about five hours, one the
commentators mention a player called Mullier,  how  he had been round the tennis  circuit for 16 years, and had experience injuries, defeats and different obstacles. Then he said a very interesting thing, maybe all he  had experienced was preparing him for this hour.

                                     Joseph who suffered so much
                                     declared, to his brothers,
                                     ''God intended it for good
                                      to accomplish what is now being done''

                                           ( Genesis 50 v 20 )
                                                                          

Human wisdom. ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 17)

Bishop Handley Moule  wrote '' Philosophy comes to man with the message
Know thyself; the Gospel meets him also with the far more glorious and fruitful watch, know thy God''.

                                    Where is the wise man? Where
                                     is the scholar ? Where is the
                                     philosopher of this age? Has not God
                                     made foolish the wisdom of the world.
                                     For since in the wisdom of God the
                                     world through its wisdom did not know Him

                                     we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block
                                     to  Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to
                                     those whom God has called, both Jews and
                                     Greeks, Christ the power of  God and the
                                     wisdom of God.
                                        
                                          ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 20 - 24 )

John Bunyan ( Habakkuk 3 v2 ]

John Bunyan came from a humble background, he lived at time of intolerance ,people were expected to attend the Church of England.  He was
born in the county of  Bedford. Before he became a Christian  he heard God say to him, ''Wilt thou leave thy sins, and go to heaven ?, or have thy sins,
and go to hell.'' What do  you say to those words?

                                            A  prayer.
Dear  God help us to see the importance of  forsaking our sin, and trusting Jesus for forgiveness Amen.

No good crying ( Isaiah 1 v 18)

My wife and I were out shopping so we stopped  to have a break in a stores
café, she had a class of milk, when to her displeasure , she spilt it. Well you
know what they say ,no good crying over spilt milk.  The fact is one cannot do  anything about spilling milk, other than wipe it up.  So it is in life when we make mistakes ,we cannot change this, we have to move on . Of  course there  are more   serious things than spilling a glass of milk, some  very serious  things, like unfaithfulness . The good news is no matter how serious  it may be ,if we seek Gods forgiveness , He will not only forgive ,but He can help us  and restore us. So stop crying over the spilt milk.

                                     A  prayer.
Dear  God grant us the grace to move on when we spill milk, no matter how serious  it be, in Jesus name Amen

                              

Excluded. [ Galatians 5 v19-21]

In Galatians v24 we read,''those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires'' the great apostle
has been dealing with the fact that as Christian we have two natures within us one is our sinful nature and the other a spiritual nature our sinful natures  that which is contrary to our Spiritual nature.In Galatians 5v19-21,we have the acts of our sinful nature,sexual immorality impurity  and witchcraft; hatred, discord,jealousy , fits of rage, selfish ambition
dissensions factions and envy drunkenness orgies and the like. the last words indicate that list is not an exhaustive list as Paul like John in his
epistle stresses he is referring to habitual practise, rather than like John in his epistles stresses he is referring to those who have isolated lapses .Paul
says those who indulge in such things are excluded from Gods kingdom J. Stott writes Gods kingdom is a kingdom of holiness and those who ge in works of the flesh, will be excluded from  it, for such works give an evidence they are not in Christ.

                                             A prayer.
Dear God help us to manifest a holiness of life as evidence that we are truly Christ's Amen.

Who is this? ( Philippians 2 v 6 )

Yesterday we considered the challenge of having the same attitude as Christ
to appreciate the writer tells us something that many refuse to accept ''Who being in very nature God''. When our dear Saviour stilled the storm, his disciples were terrified and ask each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and
and waves obey him'  ( Mark 4 v41). When we read about Jesus ,we see Him do miraculous things, speak words that were out of this world. Like the disciples we find ourselves asking, who is this?, Well writes the great
apostle, He is none other than God  (Philippians 2 v 6), He has the very nature of God.


                                     ( And they will call Him Immanuel
                                       which means,'' God with us)
                                            Matthew 1 v 23 .

Attitude [ Philippians 2 v5-11 ]

Consider the following,' Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus'. Read these words slowly consider what they mean to you, for they are very challenging, what does it mean, is our viewpoint the same as Christ's?, is our outlook the same as Christ's?. How much does our lives correspond with Christ's?. It is no good saying that's the way I am, no the way we are should be like Christ, in everything, lets not omit anything, that means no racism, no wrong sexual behaviour, no holding on when we should be letting go. No saying yes when we should be saying no, no doing when we should be refraining.no going when we should stopping, Years ago there was a book and its theme was ,what would Jesus do?. When you are driving and someone cuts you up, what would Jesus?, when the girl in the checkout is not pleasant what would Jesus do?. When our children annoy us, what would Jesus do?. when someone whose not very nice to us what would Jesus do?.
      
                                         A  prayer.
Father the challenge for all us is immense, to be like our Saviour, help us to some degree, by your grace, to rise to the challenge Amen.

Consider the following [Philippians 2 v5-11]

I would like us to consider one of most meaningful passages of scripture one can read,it is from that little book of Philippians, chap 2 v 5.-11

                              Your attitude should be the same as
                               that of Christ Jesus;
                               Who ,being in the very nature God,
                                did not  consider equality with God
                                something to be grasped,
                                but made himself nothing,taking
                                the very nature of a servant,
                                being made in human likeness.
                                And being found in appearance
                                as a man,He humbled himself
                                and became obedient to death-
                                even death on a cross.
                                Therefore God exalted him to the
                                 highest place,and gave him the name
                                 that is above every name,
                                 That at the name of Jesus every knee
                                  should bow,in heaven,and on earth,
                                  and every tongue confess that Jesus
                                  Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
                                  Father.

                                 

My Blog

I have been having difficulties,with my Blog, the published article ,appears not as I composed,I am trying to get help,to sort it out.

Attached. [ Galations 4 v1-11 ]

It is John Stott who writes the following on the results of being in Christ,'' they speak with powerful relevance to us today. For our generation is busy developing a philosophy of meaninglessness. It is fashionable nowadays to believe[ or to say you believe] that life has no meaning, no purpose. There are many who admit that they have nothing to live for. They do not feel that they belong anywhere ,or, if they belong, it is to the group known as 'the unattached'. They class themselves as' outsiders',' misfits. They are without anchor, security or home. In biblical language, they are 'lost'.'' I can identify with what JS writes, as a young away from God, I started questioning life as to why we exist, and it was only when I surrendered to Christ, did I find meaning. As JS writes '',I  the unattached became attached. I found my place in eternity[related first and foremost to God as His son], in society[ related to each other as brothers and sisters in the same family] and in history[related also to the succession of God's people down the ages''. Yes I am no longer unattached, no longer lost, no longer without purpose, no longer without hope,

                                       A  prayer.
Dear God we thank You that we can know hope, we can have a purpose, we can have a future that goes beyond time, when Jesus is our Saviour. Amen.

Priorities [ Matthew 6 v 33]

I am just in from my daily walk, I appreciate it is important to look after my body, I also try to watch what I eat, sometimes I transgress. Often it appears we have two extremes, the physical fanatic, and those who neglect their bodies well being. I am sure it is important to have balance in our lives . But what about our souls well being?, what about godliness?, what about holiness?, what about spiritual growth ?.Our physical well being is very so is our spiritual well being, in fact it is more important. 
1 Timothy 4 v8  reads ,''Physical training is of some value,but godliness has value for all things,holding promise for both the present life and the life
to come''. Yes there is a life to come, for those who know Christ as Saviour,
the apostle Paul writes further[1 Tim4 v9],of labouring and striving, J.Stott
puts it like this ,we exercise ourselves unto godliness, because it prepares
us for eternity. W. Barclay writes,'' The Christian is not the athlete of the
gymnasium , he is the athlete of God''.

                                              A  prayer
Dear God help us to get our priorities right , in a world obsessed with earthly values, help us to put our spiritual condition first, in Jesus name we ask this Amen.

Keep your gaurd up. [ Ephesians 6 v 10-18 ]

Keep your guard up shouted the trainer to his man in the boxing ring, even though it was the last round , but he didn't, and his opponent took advantage,and landed a knock out blow, that settled the match. Here is advice for all of us to day keep our guard up, if we don't, there will be consequences. We know the say' keep your eye on the ball', Peter said to our,''Lord ,what about him?'', our Lord replied what is that to you? You follow Me'' John 21 v21-22]. Stop looking at other people, when you do you let your guard down, and you give the enemy an advantage. Nehemiah did not let his guard, and he finished his God given task[CP chap 6]. Nehemiah did something very important ,he was a man of prayer, we have it mentioned that he prayed. When we neglect to pray we are letting down our guard, and should not be surprised if we fall. When we pray we are calling on God to help us,we are acknowledging that we need His help,we need to take to heart what our Saviour said,'' apart from Him we can do nothing[John15 v5]''.I pray because I need to pray, Jesus prayed, leaving us an example, He told us that we  should pray lest we fall into temptation[Mt 26 v41] ,He also told us another important truth, the spirit is willing but the body is weak[MT 26 v41]Consider those did let their guard down, great men of God, Moses with his temper, David in the area of sex, Peter in the area of courage.
                                           A prayer
Dear God help us to keep our guard up at all times lest we fall into sin,in Jesus name Amen.



Be thou my vision. [ Hebrews 12 v 2 ]

I was watching a program as regards the exposure of so called faith healers, the presenter commented that anyone can be duped, no matter how intelligent one is. While Jesus did perform many, many miracles, he played them down. At times He would tell those who were healed to tell no one. Matthew 8 v4 ] He wanted the people to look beyond, the miracle, to look
to Him as there Saviour, He made it clear that the path of discipleship had a cross attached to it.[Matthew 10v 38] ,that love for Him must be first [John 21 v15-22 ],yes even more than our nearest and dearest [Luke 14 v 26] The term prosperity Gospel, is a distortion of what it means to be a follower of Christ. God does bless His children, but we must hold lightly to them. The Christian life ,begins with faith in Jesus, and continues with faith in Him.
Thomas wanted to see before he believed, Christ granted that to him, but he went on to say,'' blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed'
[John 20v 29].

                               Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

                                Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise;
                               Be thou mine inheritance now and always;
                                Be thou and thou only the first in my heart;
                                O Sovereign of heaven ,my treasure thou art.
                                        [M. Byrne/E. Hull]