Preaching with a purpose

Yes, definitely, but I can't tell you when. No one can. Jesus said only God knows when the world will end. So get on with your life, but put your trust in Jesus, because it may end today. You need to be ready whenever it is. you need to be ready to meet God and you can only safely do that if you are trusting in Jesus.

Is your trust in the Chancellor of the Exchequer? Is yours in your union? Will they bring you through the financial mess we are in? I don't pretend to understand what the financial mess is all about, except that people have been allowed to borrow far more money, than they would ever be able to pay back. Greed is at the root of it. My trust is in God. He will never let me down. He is the one who will decide my fate for forever, when it arrives. He will decide your fate too, so stop thinking about money and turn your eyes to Jesus who died, so that all who believe in him will spend eternity with him. That's worth waiting for, even in a cold economic climate. If you are rejoicing in Jesus you will not notice what you have to put up with in this life. Get your priorities right.

Real friends are bound to have a disagreement now and again. You aren't carbon copies, so you cannot think the same all the time. The secret is to fall out and then agree to differ. You may need a little space before continuing in eash other's company, but soon the problem will blow over. If you cannot do this you http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifare doomed to go through friendship speedily and never progress beyond the honeymoon period of friendship. A good friendship is worth working at.For more advice see the link below. Making Friends and Keeping Them

I was never aware of this young man until today. I am 64 and not interested in sport. However from today's reports I can see that he was a great guy to know. We are told he committed suicide, but all his friends were baffled by this, having seen no sign of mental disturbance in the previous day of his life. I wonder how police decide that there are no suspicious circumstances when a suicide or apparent suicide occurs. I think in this situation where there is no hint of depression, the police should take another look at the circumstances. There again, I don't suppose they read my blog. Condolences to all his friends and family.

Is it not a disgrace to spend vast sums of money on sending probes to Mars when the U.S.A. itself has so many poverty stricken citizens, let alone the many worldwide. By all means put these problems right, and then do the fascinating exploring, but get your prioties right scientists and solve the problems of world poverty. The problem is not a difficult one to understand. There is enough food in the world for everyone, it just needs distributing fairly. Greed is the problem. Greed on a massive scale. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if there is actually enough money for world poverty and for the Mars probe. Something is not right and needs putting right. What do you think?

Sometimes you can try to please too many people at the same time, and it just doesn't work. Although we should help others, sometimes we need time and space for ourselves. It is good to give, but you need to realise your human frailty and give yourself a break. I have written a page about how to do this. It is given below. If you are a hard working Mom you simply must arrange to have some time to yourself. Your whole family depends on you, so you need to have recreation to keep your strength up. Have a Me Day http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

There are two main types of depression, reactive, which is a reaction to your circumstances and endogenous, which is a part of your makeup and not entirely affected by your circumstances. I get the second type. When I am depressed I like to sleep a lot, this is probably not a good thing as depression can lift if you do not have extra sleep. It is all very well knowing that , but acting upon it is another thing. Exercise is also beneficial. Some sorts of depression can be lifted by taking these measures, but some people need medication. You need to get to know your doctor and develope a relationship with him/her where you feel you can trust their judgement. Do look for help as there are lots of possibilities out there. It is not good to spend long stretches of time on your own. Talking with other people will often help lift your spirits, especially if they are people who have gone through this experience themselves. Maybe you need to join a self help group. Avoid people who tell...

I have had times in my life when I have been very depressed. At those times I want to keep to myself and sleep. However I have found it is very important to be with other people. When you are depressed you have a warped sense of the world, you need other people to bring you back to a more optimistic view. However much about life is not optimistic. There are all sorts of terrible things going on. Life without Jesus is genuinely depressing in the long term, although you may be living a life which seems full of fun to you. I have often wondered which is the right view of life, the one when I am depressed or the one when I am elated. It is good to seek for the truth.

Do you wish you could run like a gazelle? Play football or rugby? It takes a lot of hard work to be successful at sport. Paul used that effort of a sportsman to show how much effort we should put into knowing God. God is our ultimate goal. Knowing him is the most important think in all of life. Make sure you put in the effort to get to know him. Failure will be devastating.

These days Grannies often do not live near their grandchildren. I am very fortunate, I live in the same village as mine. When the child is small the mother needs to be able to have a bit of help, in order to be able to carry out the ordinary tasks and to get a bit of rest and eventually to be able to enjoy an old hobby or two. This all gives granny the perfect chance to spend time with the grandchild. Your stamina will not last forever so you are unlikely to out-stay your welcome. This is a chance to be a valuable ally to your daughter, or daughter-in-law. A good granny may give advice, but encourage the new Mum to make her own decisions. The way we did it is not always the best way. Boost the Mum's confidence whenever you can.If the Mum goes back to work you may be able to mind the baby for her. This is a great privilege and means that your grand child will be brought up with the same family values as your daughter. Enjoy watching your grand child grow.

The most powerful thing we can do is to pray for them. We don't have many opportunies to help them in their poverty but we can pray. Prayer is not the last resort. Why is prayer so effective? It is because we have a powerful God and Father who loves his children and is ready to act on their behalf when we pray. He is not hard hearted and refusing to act until we pray, but he does like us to be actively involved in what he is doing.Leave a comment on this blog if you are praying for our persecuted brothers and sisters. If we all do that it may be an encouragement to them, should they have access to the internet. By commenting you can commit yourself to pray. At this time of year, when many of us are looking forward to being with our families, let's remember those in prison for their faith.

Those of us in the West know very little about persecution. The worst we have to put up with is apathy, both from around us and also within ourselves. Apathy should not be under-estimated; it is a powerful enemy and we must fight it. In other parts of the world our brothers and sisters in Christ are severely persecuted. They receive abuse and physical ill-treatment. They are put to death. We in the West must break through our apathy and pray for our brothers and sisters. We are free to worship together, and free to tell others about Jesus. We must not forget the persecuted ones. Our turn may well come in the future. Who will pray for us? Brothers and sisters, I am praying for you, that you will have the great courage that you need. Remember soon we will be in glory with our Lord, all tears wiped away, all pain gone. God bless you.

Yesterday I took a service in a town church and did my best to encourage them that what they do counts for something and to keep up the good work. When I arrived home I felt flat as a pancake myself. We all need encouraging. Friends are very good at helping us see things from the right perspective. We all need friends. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifBelow is the link to my page telling you how to make and keep friends. The other link is a tribute to a friend of mine who is no longer alive. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Making Friends And Keeping Them Lasting Friendship

Are you a lifelong church goer who has seen your congregation dwindle and age along with yourself? Are you discouraged and downhearted? Look up, God is still on his throne, he is still sovereign. He can yet use you for his glory.In Ephesians 1 verse 19 Paul speaks about "the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe." This is the power that raised Jesus from the dead. It is the power that saves us. Do not give up, your God is with you and will work through you if you tell him you are willing. Sometimes God is waiting for the right moment to act. We find waiting very difficult, but if you can wait it will be worth waiting for. You may think it is all very well for me to say these things, you may think I come from a large church. Well on a good day we might get six people in our congregation. If I can be upbeat about it, so can you. God was never interested in big numbers. He just wants faithful followers. Be faithful.

I do not always expect you to agree with what I say. I would be so pleased if you would enter into discussion with me about any topic that interests you. That way we could both learn a lot. For instance are you a mother or father of a young child and go out to work? You will have good reasons for doing so. It is easy for me being single and retired to say the things I say, but it may not be so easy for you. When my son was three months old I went out to work two days a week. He was looked after by his grandparents. How fortunate I was to have them living close by. They were the ideal child minders. I was also fortunate that my husband was always in work. We lived in rented accommodation with a very low rent as we looked after another property nearby and grounds. We were blessed indeed. Tell me how you cope with managing work and your children.

Of course education is very important. We want our children to get good jobs which they will find fulfilling and support a reasonable life style. Sometimes children's lives are made a misery by days packed end to end with learning. We should not make education a god before whom we sacrifice our children. Sometimes young people struggle to get to university only to find that they have been badly advised and there is no job at the end of all their hard work. I know of a girl who wanted to go into teaching but instead of going into a teaching post after her degree, she went on to do a master's degree. When she then came to look for a job in teaching no one would take her on because she was a novice but commanded a higher salary because of her master's degree. She had been badly advised.She had to look elsewhere for employment. A levels and degrees do not get you into heaven. We should teach our children to put God first in their lives. He then will guide them for the...

Are you the sort of person who likes to win at sport? Do you spend hours practising your sport? I've just been playing in a short mat bowling match, pairs and singles. I enjoy playing but am not devastated if I lose. Some people treat their sport as if their eternal detiny depended on it. I know my eternal destiny depends on Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. Trusting in him I am secure. You could know this security too and it would put your sport activities into perspective. To see how to play short mat bowls see below. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Short Mat Bowls

Have you been plodding along trying to honour God in your life, attending church, but nothing seems to change the world around? The church congregations are getting smaller and people generally seem not to care about God at all. Continue faithfully praising God. He is aware and cares that you care for him. Sometimes we have very dark paths to tread, but he is with us and at last we will meet him in glory. He calls you to be faithful, not to be successful. Where you can, tell others about Jesus and his power to save.Do good to your neighbour as if you were doing it for Jesus. Sometimes you need to reflect on the good you do for your neighbour. We read about it in Matthew 25 verse 31 - 46. See the link below. Good things do not get us into heaven, for that Jesus has died for us and we just need to believe, but the good deeds will be rewarded. Matthew 25

Does it really make sense to decide to have a baby and then farm him out to a child minder at great expense, when you could manage on one income and enjoy your child and bring him/her up with your values? Decide which one of you is to earn the living and let the other one be a full time parent. It is worth it even if you have to rent a house rather than buy one. When you are buying a house you only have the illusion that it belongs to you. Why not rent, then the state of the property is the landlord's responsibility? I am convinced that if you think through the situation you will find that the one at home can learn for you all to live frugally, in exchange for the immense pleasure of your child/children's company. You will benefit and so will society with one more dependable young citizen. Oh what about the career? You may not keep your expected promotion but you will be a happier person and you will have plenty of time for you later on.

When life gets difficult it can be like being in a storm. If you have Jesus in the boat of your life it will make all the difference. Read below how Job, Paul and John Newton coped when they had the Lord of life with them to help through all the troubles. You too can ask him aboard. The storm will still be great but you will be safe in his keeping. Stormy Weather

I would love to know if my blog helps you or annoys you. I am just a simple British woman who lives in the heart of the countryside. I have lived 64 years and ,I think gained a little wisdom in that time. I want to help whomsoever I can to find God. I love God, but I wish I loved him more. I want you to love him also, partly because he deserves your love and also because I know if you love him you will be completely happy too. In today's world we live our lives around money and what things it can buy us, but it does not buy us happiness or peace. Peace with God comes through trusting in Jesus. Once we trust none of the threats of recession and economic meltdown can touch us. Our peace will be eternal. I pray for you my readers that you will find this peace that I have found.

When the money is short we economise by eating less. This could improve our health. We cut our heating and the germs are killed. We can't afford to go out, so we spend more time with our families, eating together at home. If the electricity is off all our gadgets are useless, so we engage in conversation instead. Most important of all we look toward God and find in him everything we need. Austerity may bring you the greatest blessing ever.

Looking around the world do you think this statement is right. The world looks to be in a terrific mess, nothing right about it. War and turmoil everywhere, and various countries falling into economic chaos. I believe God is in his heaven and firmly in control. We have treated him badly by not honouring him as our Father and Creator. We have turned our backs on him and filled our lives with possessions which can never satisfy. We need to learn that our only satisfaction in life is to be found in God. Maybe God is taking away the poison fruit of success and riches so that we will see that our only true satisfaction is in him,"whom to know is life eternal." It is time to turn our backs on the things we own and turn to God in repentance. The God Who Does Not Change

Do you say this prayer once a week in church? Do you say it every day? It was never meant to be used like that. It is a pattern from which we can make our own prayers. There is no virtue in repeating the same words over and over again. Jesus said that the pharisees thought they would be heard by God because they said long prayers and used "vain repetition." The Lord's prayer is a pattern of how to set about praying to God. Always we need to start with God, not ourselves and realise that he is our Father and is holy. Then we speak of what he wants our world to be like, his kingdom coming to earth and his will being done. We then pray for our practical needs, recognising that we are totally dependent on him. Next we acknowledge our sin and ask for forgiveness and agree to forgive our neighbour also. We ask for God's protection against temptation and the evil one. To end we again acknowledge how great God is and end there. Try setting the Lord's prayer out in...

Try this site to hear what the Bible really means. If you are interested in conspiracy theory you will find this site very interesting. Amos Ridley, the host is so enthusiastic about all he speaks about. He loves to search in the Bible for the truth. His latest podcast talks about misconceptions christians have about Satan.The general drift of these misconceptions makes so many wrong connections between Satan and Christ. If you want to get this sorted in your mind I advise to listen to the podcast. Truthstream Oasis

When you first retire you wonder what you will do with your time, but soon you find there are so many things to do. However retirement age is being pushed further and further into the future. Perhaps you won't have to worry about what to do with your retirement. Retired people in Britain do a lot of voluntary work supporting many charities. They are not just taking from society. The very old deserve to be treated well after all their years of work. Tell me about retirement age in your country. It would be good to share information. Some people do find retirement boring. They can easily vegitate and waste their final years. What a wasted opportunity to learn something new or give back to your community. In our village there is a charity that helps provide transport for hospital visits or other important engagements. The volunteers give their time driving their own cars and receive money for expenses. Other people provide a service keeping company with disabled of elderly w...

It is good to work hard but you do need time out to relax and unwind. If you do this you will find you work better when you get back to work. People involved in church work are inclined to burn themselves out because they don't take time out to be refreshed. This is foolish and arrogant because you are not admitting to your humanity. It is only God who neither slumbers nor sleeps. We all need our sleep and relaxation. Are you working extra hours because Christmas is coming and you have a family you want to surprise with expensive presents? Having a healthy Mom or Dad who has time to spend with them is more important for a child than having the latest gadget. A gadget can't look after them if you have died of a heart attack working too hard in a stressful job. Look after yourself. See the link below for suggestions of how to relax. Have a Me Day

Prayer isn't about you demanding and God coughing up the goods. Prayer is about finding God's will for your life. God is great and glorious and has a plan for you. If you can quietly listen to him and bend your will to seek out his purpose and not your plan, you will find great peace, even if it is in the middle of disaster in your life. God is perfect and his plan for you is perfect, but it may not look as if it is from your present viewpoint. You have to learn to trust. Keep a diary of the people and circumstances you are praying about and then look back over your record and see how God has worked. As you note each answer you will become more confident that you can trust the Lord for everything. Don't forget to say thank you. See some prayers which I have written in the link below. A Prayer For Every Day

Dating agencies can attract some really weird people. If you are a christian you are far better off trusting God to find you the right partner, or indeed to trust him to be right in giving you a single life. There are huge advantages in being single. All your time and energy can be spent in serving God where he wants you to be, without having to consider a partner's needs or demands. I have been married and now am single and loving it. For instance it is now 11.06p.m. if I was married my partner would probably be wanting me to settle down to sleep for the night, but instead I am able to write my blog and am not disturbing anyone. I've just had a troubled friend on the phone to me. A partner would be saying, "Your always on that phone, what does she want now?" But no, I am single and so disturbing no one and have been able to do God's work of helping my friend. It is all very well for me to be holier than thou about dating agencies. I am content to be sin...

I would like to know if you have to cope with little or no electricity. Perhaps you could tell us how you manage. This would be a great help to those of us who feel the time may soon come when civilization has at least partially broken down and we find our utilities are just not there any more. I am practising with just low heating in one room. I also have an electric blanket which means I do not need to heat my bedroom. Of course,if there was an electricity cut, that luxury would cease and I would have to use more blankets. I would love my readers to comment about what you do to keep warm. It is not very cold here in Britain at the moment. I would like to hear from my Russian readers how you cope. This could be so helpful to share ideas amongst us. Don't be shy, tell me what you do. See some of my suggestions below. Making Do With Little or No Electricity

Recently I spoke about managing without electricity. Those of us who have experienced this and groaned should remember that many people in the world have to walk miles to find water and this water is not always clean. Our own problems can often be put into perspective if we see what our neighbour is suffering. We should thank God for all He has given us and do something to help those in greater need. Just below I am putting a link to wateraid. This is your chance to help people gain clean water. Donate to Wateraid here

This is a movement in Britain which is spreading. Groups of people are presenting little playlets in Primary Schools all based on the stories of the Bible. I have been involved since May 2011. It is great fun , the children enjoy it and it fulfills curriculum requirements for British schools. Bible stories have been neglected far too long in our schools and it is great to be part of putting that right. I believe Bible stories can help anyone to understand their own life better. I have collected several Bible Stories on Squidoo, if you would like to find them click on the link below and then choose one or more to enjoy. See if they relate to your situation. Bible Characters

I've been away for the weekend at a lovely place called Lee Abbey. It's on the coast of North Devon, England looking out over the Bristol Channel. The weather was good and the scenery beautiful. There were about thirty of us from our Methodist group of churches, known as a circuit. There were also lots and lots of other people from many different places. The day to day running of the place such as cleaning and cooking is undertaken by people who live as a community together there. These include young people from all over the world. Perhaps you would like to be there. I give the link to their website below. This is a place where you have time to discuss your faith with others and think through your own issues about the christian life. It is always good to step back from your everyday life and reflect on what is really important. This life is not a lazy game. It is a time when we need to find God who is in fact finding us. Have you been wasting your time on the foolis...

I guess some of you are indeed lovers of God. If that is the case I want to encourage you in these dark days. The world economic situation is serious, but our God reigns. We have nothing to fear while we keep our trust in him. Nothing is beyond his control. He has planned all things from the beginning and his concern is for his children. Keep these things in mind over the weekend as I may be away from a computer.Our God reigns.

Is that the sort of headline that is worrying you? That is natural it could have big repurcussions. But there is a bigger problem for you, where will you spend eternity? When all of today's problems are forgotten, in the past, still there is the question of your eternal destiny. Surely you realise this is much more important than today's big news. To be with God in heaven you need to follow after Jesus and ask him to save you. Only he can get you safely into heaven, only he is perfect and has satisfied all of God's demands. Read about heaven and hell in the links below. The Coolest Place Heaven The Hottest Topic,Hell

Nothing can harm you, including death. No circumstance of life can take you away from God. When I worry about something I think it through to the worst possible conclusion, which usually means death. Then I believe death is just the last dark gateway to bring me to God himself. I am trusting Jesus to have dealt with the matter of my sin and now I am accepted in the beloved. God accepts me because Jesus died for me. If you can say that too, then meeting God is the greatest pleasure possible. All my talk of electricity cuts will not alarm you because the worst outcome of that is dying of the cold and there we are at that gateway to God Almighty. How wonderful to experience life fully in tune with God.

For all you people worried about the future without electricity I have written a Squidoo lens on the topic, see the link below. It is very much a work in progress but I couldn't resist giving you some tipsl this is a serious topic. We live in a world where civilization seems to be breaking down all around us. We would be wise to see what alternatives we have. Just think how our forefathers survived, we can too. Indeed there may be some very important advantages for our social lives and community spirit. I hope you enjoy the lens below, just click on the link. Making do with Little or No Electricty

My visits have suddenly shot up the minute I mentioned electricity. I guess we are all frightened of the possibility of having to do without it. while it is possible that the whole system could break down, it is more likely that we would find ourselves with limited electricity. Then we would have to make good use of it while we had it available. Then would be the time to boil the kettle and fill up thermos flasks and hot water bottles. To prepare food and eat it hot. We should also stock up with torches with battaries to be used carefully in the dark. Are you worried about having to do these things. The resourceful among us would treat it as a challenge to be enjoyed rather than endured. Much more important is to worry about your status before God. Getting put right with him matters more than anything else. Read about it in the link below. Justification By Faith

Yesterday's power cut made me think about this. My flat is entirely dependent upon electricity, so how would I cope without it? I could buy a gas stove for cooking and food would be very important because I would need it to give me warmth. The Bible says some interesting things, one is "two in a bed are warmer than one." I have a friend who has a little dog and she has a double bed, so perhaps we could get to know each other better and the dog could wazrm our feet. Lots of layers of clothes would also help. Friends who still had fireplaces in their homes would suddenly become very popular, both for heat and cooking. An emergency like this should be a time to be resourceful, a time to take on the challenge. Our forefathers managed somehow and so could we. We would relearn the art of conversation, face to face. In the long dark nights storytellers would be much needed to provide interest and encouragement. Would it really be so bad?

Today the electricity to my flat was cut. So what did I do? I went out with a disabled friend who needed escorting to the hospital. when I came back I had a cold pie out of the fridge and a drink of water. Then I went to my daughter's house. She had electricity so I had a cup of tea. Now the electricity is back and I am enjoying being linked to the internet again. If it happened more often maybe I would read more books. Now there's a thought perhaps I should keep an hour in the day for reading.