Preaching with a purpose

Do you face the new year with gloom in your heart? Are you worried by the world situation? If you have put your trust in Jesus you have nothing to fear. The worst that can be thrown at you in this time of uncertainty is only allowed by Him. He is in complete control and will see that each difficulty, each problem is so managed to bring about the very best for you. He reigns, His will is best and those who trust Him can never be put to shame.Face the future with confidence for Our God Reigns.

On Sunday I will be speaking from the story of Jesus at twelve staying behind in Jerusalem to speak with the rabbis at the temple. What I will first point out is that Jesus is the sinless Son of God. If he is not we are all doomed and him with us. However I firmly believe that he is sinless and fully able to save all who will believe and put their trust in him. Having established that, we can look at the events and not fall into the trap of thinking that Jesus is a rebellious teenager, thoughtlessly causing his parents trouble. I believe he was at the centre of God's will in what he was doing and it was his parents who were thoughtlessly blundering in leaving without him and then finding it difficult to determine where he was. Keep in mind that Jesus is perfect and put your trust in him and you will be saved.

Why is Christmas such a dreadful time of the year for some people, that they commit suicide? It's a time that seems to promise all the joys of family life and yet there are many people who have grown away from their other family members, either on purpose or by accidents of life. Christmas has turned into a horribly money grubbing time of year. But Christmas is really about the wonder of God coming down to our world as a human baby. It is the beginning of the years of service and teaching of our Lord Jesus, which led to his sacrifice on Calvary where He died to forgive the sins of all who will believe in Him. Reach out to Him today and accept His forgiveness and you will find that He is the only family you really need.

Even those of us who are committed Christians can find ourselves attracted to wanting more wealth. I am an O.A.P in Britain and live on benefits, however I am still in the top 6% of the world for being rich. I have everything I need. I am rich beyond the dreams of the richest man in the world, because I have Jesus. With Him beside me and around me I need nothing else. He provides what I need when I need it. He is the fairest of ten thousand to my soul. So stop chasing the lottery and riches and seek after Jesus.

How do you deal with triumph and disaster? I'm fairly good at dealing with the minor disasters that come into my life, but triumph is a craftier beast and fills our hearts with joy, when really we should realise that it is fickle and often false. We all prefer triumph but we learn more important lessons from disaster. We have to remember that the triumphs and disasters of this life are equally unimportant. What we need to concentrate on is the next life. This life is for a fleeting moment, the next will never end. Are you busy coping with triumph and disaster in this life, when you should be preparing for the next life? God requires perfection from us. This can only be achieved by putting our trust in Jesus and accepting his robe of righteousness. Perhaps my page about Justification by Faith will help you more.

When it comes down to it abortion is humans killing a new precious little life. Many argue that the fetus, as they call it, and the baby,as I see it, is not viable until a certain stage. This is nonsense. The baby is designed to survive because it is in the protection of its mother's womb. Most abortions are intefering with this natural sequence of events that leads to the birth of a precious new child. We are all conned by cries of,"What about the mother's rights?" The baby should have equal rights with the mother. Most abortions these days are not on medical grounds but because the mother wants a convenient life or she is frightened and not given the help she should be given to take another way forward in the situation. At one end of a hospital we have women having abortions and at the other women having fertility treatment. There are also far more people wanting to adopt than there are babies put up for adoption. So called medical reasons for abort...

In Britain we call it Remembrance Day. I guess we are all remembering the men and women who died in all the wars since the First World War. We owe a debt to people who died for our freedom. But there is One, Jesus Christ, who has given His life so that all who believe in Him might be rescued eternally, rescued to dwell with God forever, in love and peace and joy. We must never forget what He did for us. He died that our sin could be forgiven. Only He could do it. Only He could live up to God's requirement of perfection. May we ever worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Granny's are wonderful people and deserve a special gift at Christmas to thank them for all they have done for the welfare of their family. Below is the link to my page of gifts to keep Granny warm. Any woman would appreciate these gifts, especially if the electric has an outage.A Granny needs cherishing, so make sure you give yours a special gift this year. 10 Gifts to Keep Granny Warm This Winter.  I'm afraid this page is no longer available.

Over the past week I've discovered how to record myself reading my own poetry and upload it to the internet. You can hear me on my Squidoo page "Poems of Loss" for which you will find a link at the bottom of this post. This adds a new dimension to my poetry as now you can hear how I intend it to sound.There are also places where I have links to Bible passages which I have read. There are two in "Justification by Faith." I hope you will visit these pages and enjoy them. Poems of Loss Justification by Faith

Today I've spent most of the day at a bowls tournament with two of my friends. Is this what I should be doing? As a Christian should I be using my time to play a "silly" game. There was a time in the past when I was playing very frequently. There is a danger in letting something like this take over our lives, when probably we should be doing something else. It is all a matter of our attitude to the game. If it is an occasional pastime there is no problem. In fact it is a chance to meet with other people whom we pray for. We should have a good attitude to winning and losing and as Kipling would say "treat those two imposters just the same." We should be gracious whether we win or lose. Yes, we do need recreation, but we must not let it take over our lives. See the link below to see what is involved in this game of skill. Short Mat Bowls

Life isn't about having an easy time. We are here to find God and that means hard work. We are here to grow and develop. If we are already committed to God it is our job to tell others about Him and help them find Him. Of course, really it is God who finds us.We are the lost ones. Are you looking for God? He promises that if you seek with all your heart you will find Him.

Sometimes when a good person dies in a disaster it is God taking them out of a situation that is going to get worse. Some good has been found in them and they are being spared a worsening situation. If you look up 1 King 14 you will find this was the case with Abijah. He was the only one of his family to die peacefully, because there had been some good found in him by God. If we put our trust in Jesus we will not only have some good, but in fact, perfection; when we are clothed with Christ's robe of righteousness.

Is God punishing those caught in the path of a storm? We need to see what Jesus would say. He spoke of people who had died when a tower fell on them. He asked this question,"Were those people worse sinners than the rest of you?" The answer was that they were not worse, but that all of us deserve the same fate, because we are sinners. We need the forgiveness that can only be found in Jesus. We should never point the finger at people who have been overcome by disaster, we all deserve the same. However disaster gives us the chance to help one another and learn about the fragility of life.

My prayers are with those affected by Hurricane Sandy. However I am always amazed that the loss of life is not greater. Of course even one life is precious. I see the limited deaths as being part of God's graciousness to us. If you consider the amount of traffic on the roads it is amazing how few accidents there are on our motorways. Things are bad in New York and other places today, but it could all have been so much worse. I saw on the news that there were trees falling and crushing cars. Of course this is traumatic for people but the trees could have been falling on the people. Let's be thankful to God for His mercies and let's thank Him for deliverance. We need to repent for loving him so little when He has loved us so much.

Pastor's are very much ordinary human beings and subject to ill health as anyone can be. All pastors need the encouragement of knowing that what they teach us is doing us good. So be sure to let your pastor know that he is not labouring in vain. This is especially necessary if your pastor is struggling with his health. My pastor has M.E. and has limited energy to spare, yet every week he prepares us good teaching from the word. It would be so easy for him to give up and take a back seat, but no, he continues to search the scriptures and bring us our spiritual food.Hurray for faithful pastors. Of course there may be practical things that you could do to help your pastor. Maybe he needs a holiday or you could invite him around for a meal. Do something practical to ease his burden. Don't sit in the pew like a damp cabbage, let him see that you are listening to what he has prepared. He needs lots of agape love too.

There is only one place that tells us about God and about what we should believe. The bible. Of course this is also true of Bible-based preaching. We know this and yet we neglect to read our Bibles. How foolish we are! Set aside some time every day to read and meditate upon your Bible. Don't be content with just a few verses, read large portions so that you can see the context of the smaller passages. This is the best way to increase your spiritual well-being. Doing this will gain you no merit in itself, but as you ponder on what you read and invite the Holy Spirit to interpret the word to you, you will grow in Christ and grow nearer to him. May God bless you as you do this.

What does going to church mean to you? Is it a time in the week when you can relax and forget the troubles of the week? Or is it a time to spend thinking about your Lord and learning from his word? Does your minister challenge you to strive more for your Lord or are you promised an easy life? Maybe you need to find a church that will push you to the limits. Jesus gave all for us, we should give our all for him. The christian life is not about being comfortable.

Which part of the Bible do you prefer? Well I believe both are indispensible. There is an old sentence that puts it succinctly, "The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed." The Old Testament looks toward the new and promises the Messiah and when we get to the New we see prophecy after prophecy fulfilled. Don't make the mistake of discarding any of the Bible. If you discard one part you will find that action undermines another part. If you don't read the whole of your Bible you will miss out on wonderful revelations of who our great God is. Don't miss out, but dig deep into every part of the Bible, God's word for you.

We just love life to carry on in its well-known groove, where everything is predictable and cozy. Life often does continue like this for many years and we should be thankful, but after some time, be it short or long changes will come in our lives. These can be very difficult times, especially when we have lost a love one. We then have to learn to cope and carry on in a different style of life and no one can pretend this is easy.I have written several poems about loss to which you can find a link below. Poems of Loss

I have a little grandson. He trusts his parents completely. He doesn't worry about where his next meal is coming from, he just trusts his parents will supply it. He rolls about on the settee with no fear of falling off, because he trusts his parents will keep him safe. Jesus said that we had to be like little children to enter the kingdom of God. It's about time we trusted him like a little child. Jesus gave his life for us, surely we can trust him with our lives. God bless you.

I've just watched the cycling in the olympics, not sure of the exact title, but if I say Danielle King, Laura Trot and Joanna Rowsell were the British competitors, you may know what I mean. I can understand the excitement and the overwhelming happiness when the girls won, not only for the crowd but mostly for the three girls. It must have been wonderful after all those years of training. However I am most perturbed with the rise of the religion of sport which demands such dedication from its proponents, its worshippers. Only God Almighty should have this dedication. He is the only one worth worshipping and dedicating our lives to. This is not only the case in sport. I play the violin, very badly I may say. At an early age I realized that the musician also has to worship music and spend long hours at the altar of music to succeed in the music world. Hard work is of course a good thing but when it crosses the line into worship it needs to be excised from our lives whil...

Before ever we were made, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit planned our salvation. This was going to be the most difficult thing that God would do, bringing us back from a state of sin to be right with him again. Many people don't believe God created everything. They can't conceive of a being so wonderful that he can make our earth and us in 6 days. However creation was easy for God, but bringing us back from sin is difficult. He had to give his beloved son as a redeeming sacrifice for us. This was not easy. Jesus was always in perfect love and harmony with his father. To be separated from him in any way must have been oh so terrible and yet he did it for his children. Are you one of God's children?

Today at church we looked at how Paul made plans. We read a part of 1Corinthians 16. It was obvious from that that Paul kept his plans flexible. This was because he was open to guidance from the Holy Spirit. Although we have day to day duties which we need to do, we should be ready for the Lord to call us into something we had not expected. Being available to God is a wonderful privilege. Sometimes we fight against God and try to go our own way. How very foolish of us. God's plan for your life is the very best thing for you. Don't fight him.

I've just turned off the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. I couldn't stand to watch any more of man glorying in man. We were not made to pat each other on the back and say how wonderful we are; we were created to praise God, who alone is worthy of praise. Don't be taken in by magnificent spectacles such as this, they are a poor sham. Unless we repent and turn back to God and worship only him in spirit and in truth we have a bleak future. There is salvation in Jesus for all who will trust in him alone. We should not try to keep one foot in the camp which is the world's. We should be wholeheartedly following Jesus.

We are saved by grace through faith and that is not of ourselves but a gift from God. To read more about justification through faith read my Squidoo page. There is a link below in blue, just click on it. You can also find out about Rahab and how grace was at work in her life, that's the second link. I feel my readers here would so benefit from reading my longer pages on Squidoo. Be adventurous, take a look. Justification By Faith Rahab

If times are hard and no one seems to be listening to the gospel, just keep right on sowing the seed for (Gal 6:9)"in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." It is the Lord's harvest, not ours and the outcome is up to him. We cannot fail, but we do need to be faithful.Be of good cheer the Lord's will is being done.

Squidoo is a wonderful site where anyone can join for free and make pages, called lenses, about any topic they like. Obviously there are certain rules of behaviour to be adhered to. Many people no longer know much of the Bible so I write about Bible people, telling their stories and drawing lessons from them. I would love my blogger readers to become readers of my Squidoo pages also and so from time to time I post a link here. On Squidoo I have more time and space for these stories. I also write poetry. Much of it of a spiritual nature. Below I have put the link to my Squidoo page that contains links to all my other Squidoo pages. My Squidoo Lenses

Do you want to please God? Do you want to be so righteous that he will be pleased with you. Don't struggle doing good and praying and fasting. These things are all very good at the right time, but the only righteousness that pleases God is the righteousness that only Jesus can give us. He has a robe of righteousness and if you ask him he will clothe you in it. Then you will please God and he will accept the good things you do thereafter as gifts of love for the God who has given us a perfect salvation in Jesus alone.

Tomorrow I am taking a service. For the sermon I have decided to work from a sermon by John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church. He used the text from Acts chapter26 verses 28 and 29 where King Agrippa says, "Paul almost you persuade me to be a christian." To which Paul replies that he wishes Agrippa was "altogether" like Paul, a christian. This is a chance to really examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. It is possible to fool everyone including ourselves that we are a christian when really we are not. It is not enough to live a decent life and treat our neighbours well. We have to love God above all else and live our lives in the light of that, accepting Jesus to be the only way to God, the way that God has himself provided.

Please do not assume that I endorse any adverts that you may see on this blog. Not all apparently christian adverts meet with my approval. I would not like to feel that I am leading anyone astray because of them. If you really want to know what I believe click on the link below to Justification by Faith. Justification by Faith

Which is worse? Some of us are openly attacked for our Christian faith whilst others have to face the deadly hand of apathy. In the Western world people are so busy making money and enjoying a luxurious life. They are content and do not want to think of what God requires of them. They are totally apathetic to the message of Jesus coming to save us from our sin. They don't want to be saved from their sin, they are enjoying it too much. Just as those in the persecuted countries need our prayers so we in the west need the prayers of our brothers so that we are not engulfed by the apathy and swallowed up by our own desire to have more and more gadgets.Indeed those of you being openly persecuted are far nearer to God and know him better. Knowing God is the most wonderful thing of all.

I find the more I speak of Jesus, the more of you visit my blog. It's great to know you are out there and wanting to hear more of Jesus. He is the lover of our souls, if we have put our trust in him. He died for us to bring us back to the Father. There is nothing we could do to help ourselves, instead we must put our trust in him alone. If we try to make ourselves good enough we will only fail, but if we trust in Jesus he clothes us with his robe of righteousness. Our righteousnesses are like filthy rags, his is perfect and sufficient for all who will believe. Rejoice this day because of Jesus.

It seems to me you love to hear me talk of Jesus. Indeed he is the altogether lovely one that the Bible tells us of. He must be at the centre of our lives at all times. If he is we will be content even when days are difficult Most of my readers come from the United States and from Russia, with a sprinkling from people all over the world. What a privilege it is for me to be encouraging you to put Jesus first in your lives. I, also will try to do the same.

I have deserted you for a while. That is something Jesus will never do once you have put your trust in him. He is always faithful even when we stray from him."He abideth faithful." If you are in difficult circumstances just remember that he will not fail you. Even our fellow believers will sometimes fail us, but Jesus never. Keep close to him. Our friends and family may desert us, but Jesus never, til he brings us to heaven to be in his presence forever.Keep the faith, preach in season and out. Do all to win others to him. Be encouraged.

I have always been impatient with people who do not persevere with their hearing aids. When you first have a hearing aid all the background noises seem very loud, but if you just keep it in all day every day this soon settles, as the brain discovers what to filter out. I did this. However I found the contraption very fiddly to handle and the connecting tube from the actual aid to the ear mould was difficult to attach to the mould and kept falling out. This was very irritating. After about six weeks of coping very well I started having trouble putting the mould in my ear and the aid didn't seem to be working. I think I have it sorted now. It is a question of putting the mould into the ear gently. I think I had been pushing it up against the side of the ear hole instead of placing it so that the nozzle faced into the ear. When your hearing aid is troublesome it is very irritating and fills one with anger. However it is wonderful when it is working and means I am not missing...

If you start doubting your Bible where will it end? If you don't accept God made a fish to rescue Jonah, will you be able to believe in the miracles Jesus did? Will you be able to believe in the virgin birth? Will you be able to believe in the resurrection? Will you be able to believe in the greatest miracle, that God could reconcile us to himself through the death of Jesus? Be careful what you discard from the Bible, or you could end up with a book with the pages of a birthday card. Hold on to the truth God has sent down to us through the ages. Many people in our world long to own a Bible while most people in the West ignore it or pull it apart. What fools we are.

I do and when the preacher says that the great fish that God sent to rescue Jonah, was a red herring, my heart aches at this lack of belief. It clearly states that God had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. God knew Jonah was going to need rescuing so he had already prepared the fish. Jesus spoke of Jonah spending three days and nights in the fish and treated it as prophecy about his own time in the grave. If it's good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me. Another thing if there was no big fish Jonah would certainly have drowned. After all God is Almighty and preparing a fish for the occasion was no problem for him, Are you in dire straits? God will come to your rescue too. He already has it planned, don't despair.

By clicking on the blue link below Squidoo Pages you can find much more of my material. Here on my blog I give only a little taste of what I write on Squidoo. If you appreciate what I say on my blog you will find a feast on my Squidoo pages. I have worked hard to tell the stories of many Biblical characters. We can learn so much from them and their struggles with life. So click below today. My Squidoo Pages

At last I am ready to do some real work in my christian life. All my life so far has been a preparation for what I am able to do now. I am so glad to have discovered that I have a real ability to officiate at a funeral in a sensitive and caring way. This is wonderful. My training as a Local Preacher has ,of course, prepared me for the actual speaking I have to do, but God has also given me the ability to care for the relatives of the deceased before, during and after the funeral. I do not want to be one of those professionals who go through the motions and trot out a service with no personal involvment. This is a difficult time for the family and I want to be "there" for them and not just trot out platitudes. I am able to care but also able to keep that little bit of distance that means I am not so emotionally involved that I cry. That is for the family to do, I am there to express their feelings in words and to present the good news of Jesus in the Bible readings and...

If you love Jesus, use your home to help others find him. I am a poor housewife, not at all good at tidying, but when I have the Bible Study Group come around, it gives me the incentive, I need, to get some tidying done. That is a blessing in itself. You don't need to be very much into knowing your Bible, you can just host the meeting and soon you will be learning more. You will know great blessing through doing this.

I celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen's reign by having a chicken roast dinner with my family. Later I drove thirty miles to a place where I meet other christians and we had a pitch at a local park where other people were having stalls for various charities. We had lots of old magazines telling the story of the coronation and previous jubilees. We also had various booklets explaining the gospel story. We were available to talk to people about our beliefs. One man who declared himself to be an atheist chatted with us for quite some time. We hope we helped him take another look at what he believes. There is nothing more wonderful than speaking about Jesus and seeking to help others find him for themselves.

The undertaker was obviously pleased with the funeral service I took a fortnight ago, as he has asked me to take another. This time it will be a short committal service in a country cemetery. This is a beautiful place surrounded by pasture land with a river running through and a hill in the near distance. A young women has died suddenly, in her 50's.The relatives are simple country folk who need to know their daughter is respected at this time. I hope that the words I say will give them some comfort in their loss. As I said in my previous post this is a position of great privilege to be near a family in their extreme grief. It is not a time for deciding how the departed stands in relation to God. God is holy and just, good and merciful, only he knows the secrets of our hearts. We are there to declare that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and leave the Spirit to apply those words to the hearts of those present.

Today at the Bible study we read from the book of Revelation from Chapter 21. It was about the new heaven and earth and God being our light and living with us. If you are living through difficult days remind yourself of the glory which will be ours when all things are sorted out and evil and crying and mourning are done away with. Paul tells us to think of our affliction as being very light when compared with the glory that is to come. Be encouraged.

It is amazing to know that my posts are read all over the world. What a wonderful chance to tell you all of what Jesus has done in my life. You can find the answer in many of my posts. I would love you to make comments on my posts and tell me of the wonderful things Jesus has done in your life. We all have a story to tell. I had christian parents and became a christian when I was seven. My path through life has not always been what it should be, but Jesus has never left my side. My family was split up through my doing, but now several years later we are re-united. Only Jesus could bring about this reconciliation. Wouldn't you like Jesus to sort out your life too?

I took my first funeral service on Saturday. On the Friday I had spent time with the family discussing what they wanted in the eulogy. Hearing them share their precious memories was so good even though there was, of course, great sorrow too. The service went well and there were no awkward moments. What a privilege to be alongside a family and in some way a part of that family, as they mourned and remembered.

Jesus said,"Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." He promises that if you come to him for the answers to life's questions he will most certainly give you his rest. But you must come. When you are at your wits end with what this world has flung at you, there is only one answer, Jesus. He also promises,"Whoever comes to me I will not turn him away." So what are you waiting for, put your trust in him.

Why does God let his children be ill? Even those who are doing their best to serve Him? Therer are no easy answers, but God does have a purpose and when we meet Him in heaven he will explain and we will then know that it was all for His glory and our own good. Read about Job and how he suffered, in the link below. Interesting Bible People: Job

How do you worship God? Do you go to a big cathedral and listen to the beautiful singing? That can help you to worship or it can be a big distraction, taking your mind off God and fixing it here on earth. We need to focus all our attention on God, for some music can help this. For others quietness is more helpful. However silence can me marred by thoughts of daily life. We do have our problems coming to God. We need to ask Him to show us the way to worship Him in spirit and in truth.The first step is to throw ourselves at His feet and ask for His help.

Some people worship the Earth. This is wrong, we should only worship God. I wrote a page on Squidoo about this. I also say how I do not believe in evolution. It takes a whole lot more faith to believe in evolution than it does in the great and glorious God who made all of creation. To see more on this subject click on the link below. God's Good Earth

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Then you are in a position to help people. I live alone and tonight I am going to spend the night with a friend who has just had an eye operation and she has to have someone with her through the night, in case something goes wrong. If I had a husband he might not like me going out for the night, but as I am on my own I can do this small task without upsetting anyone else. Your life is in God's hands and he has put yu where you are so that he can use you in the way he wishes. Don't fight God about how your life is; say to him,"Your will be done." The greatest fulfillment comes from doing God's will.

His name means son of encouragement. He was an encouragement to Paul, supporting him when Paul came back to Jerusalem after his conversion. Others were quite understandably afraid of Paul, but Barnabas stood by him convinced of his changed life. Later they had a falling out over John Mark and Barnabas went away with Mark giving him encouragement. It's good to know he had a reconciliation with Paul later. Is there someone in your life you could encourage? Maybe someone that no one else believes in?

We treat him so badly by ignoring him and making other things in our lives more important. Why do we behave like this, when we know he is so good to us? We need to plead with him to turn us around to follow only him. He promises that he will draw all his children to him, but what a pity so many of us struggle to get our own way. It is so important to him to get our attention, which is for our own good, that he will take any measures to get our attention. What a blessing he does not just drop us and leave us to get on with our own desires.

Most days I put a link to my Squidoo pages here, but few people seem to take the opportunity to go and have a look. If you enjoy my blog I am sure my Squidoo pages would be of interest to you. Today I am putting a link (the blue lettering) at the bottom of this page to take you to my page Justification by Faith. You just need to take the mouse to the link and click on it. I hope you enjoy searching through my Squidoo pages. If you click on my photo at the top righthand corner of any of my pages, you will then be able to see my others and choose one. I have over 100 pages most of which are christian based. Tell me here if you have any difficulty getting to them. Justification by Faith

If you have any doubts that Christ is risen just take a look at the boldness of the disciples. Before the crucifixion they had been frightened cowering men, but once they had met the risen Christ they were full of boldness and just lived to share the gospel. Paul met Jesus later on the Damascus road, but what a difference that made to him. He spent the rest of his life preaching the gospel to anyone who would listen. Read his story on my Squidoo lens. Click on the link below. Interesting Bible People: Paul

I'm sure many of you would enjoy reading my page about Psalm 23. I have put the link below, just click on it. This is a favourite Psalm of many people. I have quoted the Psalm in full and written my thoughts about what it teaches us. I do hope you enjoy it. The Lord is My Shepherd

In 2 Timothy 3 verse 15 we read ,"the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." When these words were written they applied to the Old Testament but I have no doubt they also apply to the new testament also. However in Britain today the Old Testament is shamefully ignored. Oh to get back to some preaching from the Old Testament which shines light on the new. So many O.T. passages are there to help us understand the way of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Although my page Faith and Worship: Section B was originally written for people studying the course to become Methodist Local Preachers in the U.K. it is also useful for anyone and contains many quotes from the Bible, or links to quotes about the Holy Spirit. I hope you will click below and enjoy this resource. Faith and Worship: Section B

We read this in Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." There are no exceptions it is all who have sinned.We are all looking at God's wrath upon us unless we accept the sacrifice Jesus has made on the cross to make us right with God. If we accept we find "peace through the blood of his cross." Colossians 1:20b God has so lovingly provided a way back to him, how can we refuse him, but if we do there is only condemnation left to us.

My Squidoo pages are a great resource for anyone wanting to know about Bible people. Reading them is a good way to remind yourself of these Bible stories. Below I leave a link to just one such page, but from there you can find the others. If you click on my photo it will give you access to all my other pages. I also have pages of poetry of my own. My most popular page is Poems of Loss. I like to think lots of people will find help on my pages. Interesting Bible People: Rahab

When Jesus appeared to his disciples, after his resurrection, he said,"Peace be with you." He could give them peace because he had died to save them from their sins. He can give us that peace too. Then he will say, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." We have to tell the story of his peace through the cross to others.

Here are some wonderful verses that mention peace. "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." Wonderful words indeed. In Jesus we find peace with God. We know God accepted the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, because God raised him again.

Jesus said,"I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." If we want peace with God in our lives we need to come by way of Jesus. To read more about this go to the link below. Justification by Faith

Do you have God's peace in your heart? If so you will know it is the peace that passes all understanding. It's a peace that is with you even when you are in turmoil. By all accounts you should be feeling nothing but worry and distress. It doesn't seem reasonable to have peace in a time like that, but if you have your faith firmly placed in God you will have his peace. You may lose your job, but his peace is still with you and he will carry you through. He knows what you have to face, but you do not face it alone. He is the one who said,"I will never leave you or forsake you." Put your trust in him for he is the only one you can trust.

My ex-husband and I split up about fourteen years ago. Later my second marriage broke up. Now my first husband is moving into a flat next to my block of flats. Our son is also living with him. Our Daughter and family live three minutes away. I feel so blessed to have my family so close to me. God has blessed me so much in bringing our family back together. Do you have a story of reconciliation in your family? If so why don't you share it with us?

Sometimes when life isn't going too well, we panic and think we will not be able to keep our commitments. This happened with me about three weeks ago. I was feeling very down and thought I would be unable to keep my preaching appointments, starting with todays date. I rang the superintendent minister and he said he was free on the first occasion and could take that service at the drop of a hat. Three days later things had turned around and I am now ready to preach this evening. God is faithful. He called me to preach and he has equipped to do it too. God will be faithful to you to in every circumstance, if you trust him.

As it says in the hymn. We are indeed frail and vulnerable, liable to succumb to some illness or another. We can depend on nothing in this life, except God. He is reliable and if we will submit to him he will see us through all that life can throw at us and even cause us to benefit from the experience. Never depend on money or your health, they can so suddenly desert you. Trust in the Lord.

It's a lovely Spring day here in Devon, England, today. We find it easier to praise God when all is going well, but we also are more inclined to forget him. Sometimes he has to bring us through hard times, because that is when we realise how much we need him. Today let those of us who are free to worship pray for the many, throughout our world, who face great danger if they declare their faith in Jesus.We never know when that freedom will be taken away from us.

One of the advantages of being bi-polar is that it tends to make you creative. I love writing poetry. Recently I have been writing sonnets. Up until now I have written free form poetry, so to have a structure to write to was a good discipline for me and not nearly as restricting as I thought it would be. That is like life,. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifIf we keep to the structure God has given us we will be free whilst anarchy in our lives leads to chaos. To see my sonnets click the link below. Sonnets and how to write them

I'm feeling great again. Depression never lasts very long for me as I am bi-polar. I really feel for people who get stuck in depression for weeks on end. When you are depressed you feel as if it will last forever, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you are depressed try to mix with other people. If you spend too much time on your own you will have a lop-sided view of life. If you mix with others you will see things from a happier perspective. There are lots of people who get depressed and they will understand how you feel, so don't be afraid to confide in them.

Another way to help yourself if you have trouble with depression is to take up a hobby. It might be a handycraft or making models, which you can do on your own, or it might be something social like playing short mat bowls. For the latter see my page on it below. It is a lovely sport and one that takes all your concentration and stops you worrying about life's problems large and small. Short mat bowls

I'm feeling much better. I am having great success with not over sleeping and it really seems to help. It is so easy to crawl into bed and forget the world outside, but really there is so much in life to do and enjoy. I have had no daytime sleep for the last four days and I feel so much better for it. It is a well known fact that too much sleep makes depression worse, so if you have this problem follow my example and cut out that daytime sleep.

If you have mental health problems don't be ashamed of it. If you had a broken leg or diabetes you wouldn't be ashamed. Mental health problems are just another illness. Hold your head up high, you have a debilitating illness which is not your fault. You cope with it the best way you can. When the good days come enjoy them to the full. As much as possible be in the company of people. We all need each other. Try to put some routine into your days and don't sleep in, it makes the problem worse.

People with mental illness can react strongly to the world around them. Seeing what the world is like these days, perhaps those of us with mental health issues are the sane ones reacting to a black world, whilst those supposedly healthy ones are blinkered and shutting out the bad things in life.Perhaps we are the prophets warning that our society is doomed.

I believe in difficult times in life God is teaching me something, in fact drawing me closer to him. He may seem far away in these situations but really he is strengthening us for times ahead. Often we have grown away from him even if only a little and then he draws us back to himself. It may be painful for us but it is working our final good. So take heart if you are experiencing difficult times, God is at work in you.

Whatever problem you have, whether it is mental health or something else , it is advisable to take one day at a time. Today has been a better day. I have kept myself occupied with jobs around the house and avoided too much sleeping. I brushed my shoes and they look so much better. My daughter visited.I taught violin to a friend and this evening the Bible study group met in my flat. That seems like a pretty full day. I also wrote half a sermon for a week Sunday. Definite signs of improvement with only a few anxious moments. I hope you find this helpful in your situation. I would love to hear how you cope with your problems. Also a lot of prayer went into the day.

When you have a problem, such as depression, the main thing is to keep reminding yourself that it will pass and better days will come.I am fortunate to have good friends and family around me who give me support. It is very important to get out and mix with people. It puts life into perspective and most people are very sympathetic. The mornings seem to be the worst time and it is tempting to pull the duvet over your head and stay there. Get up and get moving it's much better for you, but easier said than done.

I'm having trouble because I had to come off a tablet that was making sleep as often as I could. I'm hoping to be put on a lower dose as since giving it up I have had a lot of anxiety. I've been trying to decide if this anxiety is at a normal level that other people have and just put up with it. For instance I was very nervous the morning before speaking at the Women's World Day of Prayer, but I quess that was normal. It is very difficult to decide what is normal however as I can't get inside other people's heads.What is your level of anxiety?

Many of us are aware of the harmful effects of aspartame and so we read our food labels carefully before buying a product. You would think that if a product declared itself to be free from artificial colours or flavours you could safely assume that there would be no aspartame present, in Robinsons lemon drink this is not the case, but you have to read the very small print list of ingredients to discover it is present. So be doubly aware and check all foods.

This winter has been very trying for me. I have felt like taking to my bed to sleep at every possible opportunity. I also lost interest in cooking and bought frozen ready meals. Eventually I realized that the problem was one of my prescription drugs. It was acting as a chemical straight jacket which is something I really do not need. I am mildly bipolar and the pill in question was supposed to stop me having a hypo-manic phase. Boy was it doing it's job, over doing it. I decided to stop taking it and have felt so much better. I will make an appointment with the doctor and discuss it with him. I have never had a bad hypo manic phase, just occasionally been rather jolly and talkative. I have always taken my medication with the aim of avoiding depression and this has been successful. We have to make our own decisions about these things and we know best the affect on our bodies and minds. The doctor can only help us make decisions about what to do.

Sometimes you have to stand back from giving out to others all the time and take a deep breath and let others minister to you. We all get dry periods when we have nothing to give.I've recently had a few days like that when I have felt no inspiration to write this blog. I hope I will soon recover my verve and be back with helpful suggestions on how best to live the christian life. Is there a christian worker in your life who needs you to encourage them? Get out there and do your bit to help.

Today I went with my family to the seaside. How vast the sea is. I have only once been on a boat right out in the sea with no sight of land. That was when I went from Wales to Southern Ireland. The trip over was very calm, but just the opposite on the way back a few days later. We never know when stormy times will come to our lives. Best to be prepared. Stormy Weather

I've had three quite trying weeks, but today I thought, "Maybe that's how it was meant to be." Life can't always be easy, but if God is with us we can cope with the bad times. If he is with us, nothing else matters. So, christian, if you are having a hard time just lean on your God and he will carry you through.

Sometimes it is good to debate your beliefs with those who think differently from you. But it can also be quite debilitating when you just meet rock solid antagonism. At times like these you need to meet with friends who share your beliefs. This can be so refreshing after being in a battle.You need to tell the good news but you also need to regroup and get refreshment.

I've just heard a sermon by Paul Washer. He doesn't mince his words but tells the gospel as it really is. He spoke about the most terrifying thing, that God is good. As he is good he cannot tolerate our sin and it must be punished. He said that our trusting in Jesus's death on the cross is the only way for us to stand before a holy God.I would recommend that you Google Paul Washer and listen to what he has to say.

Sometimes it's difficult to write my blog. I am feeling a bit low at the moment. It's easy to feel guilty when you feel like this because it seems so wrong to feel low when I consider all the wonderful things I have in God. He is my Saviour and nothing else should matter. I know from experience that this time of depression will soon pass. Spring will soon be on the way and that will help. Meantime I hope to perk up and encourage you on your journey.

When Jesus speaks of the kingdom of heaven, he always points out that there are two possible destinations, inside the kingdom or outside the kingdom. Outside is the darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth, inside is the wedding feast. We have to go the way of Jesus to get in. We have to follow him and accept his salvation which he holds out to all who will trust in him. Only Jesus can decide who goes in to the feast and who is left outside. Ask him to make you fit for the kingdom, now.

I love to write about Bible stories on Squidoo. I have written a page about the Apostle Paul. He had a very exciting life which included travel all around the Meditteranean. He began life as a staunch Jew but converted to Christianity. He was a most influential person in the nuturing of the early church. To read more take the link below. Interesting Bible People: Paul

I've written a page just for you, where you can find lots of tips on how to write your own poems. Sometimes the trouble is finding a subject to write about. On this page you will find lots of different ideas to start you off. There are links to all sorts of writing prompts and visual ones too. I particularly like to take about eight words from the dictionary at random. This can lead to quite exciting topics. Of course practising your art is important. The poetry is like clear water at the bottom of a well, you have to dip your bucket in to get a result. I hope you find this page helpful and enjoy many hours of writing poetry. How To Write A Poem Just Like Me

Josiah is one of the good kings of Judah in the Bible. He is proof that we come to God on our own and not because of the faith of our parents. Josiah was a good king. It is true his great grandfather, Hezekiah, was a really good king too, but his grandfather and father were bad kings who worshipped idols. Josiah cleared all the idols out of the temple and reinstated the true worship of God. And yet his children did not follow in his footsteps. Three of his sons succeeded him one by one and then Judah was taken into captivity in Babylon. There are two things to learn here, one is you can't rely on your parents' belief, you have to come on your own and also do not be discouraged if your parents are bad examples, God may well still accept you if you come to him in spirit and in truth.God has no grand children.

I have written four pages that start you off with music theory. If you take them one step at a time you should find no difficulty in understanding them and they will help you with your sight reading on your chosen instrument. Here are the links to the first and second pages. You can find links on them to take you to 3 and 4.. Theory of Music(1) Theory of Music(2)

Do you know you can get great enjoyment out of playing a musical instrument even if you start as an adult? You won't become a concert pianist or violinist but nevertheless you can have lots of fun. Also it makes you appreciate more those who are great soloists. Below I have put links to some of my pages that encourage you to start right away. All you need is determination and enthusiasm. Learning the Violin as an Adult Learning the Recorder as an Adult Learning the Piano as an Adult

Why do we hate the rain so in England? When it patters on our window And lashes in the street? This is God's wonderful gift of Life to us, Making the pastures lush and green, Filling the cows with wholesome milk. Why do we hate it so? Why? When it makes us fat and rich do we say, "What an awful day!" When our very lives depend on it. Many would happily exchange it with us For their constantly burning, cruel sun. Many would say," Let us have your home in the green valleys. You can have our desert sand And rocky, bare hills." Then we might realize our ingratitude. Then we might turn to God and be thankful. Thank you, Lord for the full rushing river. Thank you Lord for the spongy moor, That holds the rain ready for later. Thank you Lord for the puddles the children love to splash in. (If Health and Safety will let them do it any more.) Thank you for the grey days of rain That make us appreciate the sunny days more. Thank you for a wholesome variety. Made of all thi...

I love to write about Bible characters on Squidoo. Bible people are rounded characters who do not always do the right thing. They usually have a problem to over come and it is interesting to see how life turns out for them. You can find the link below to take you to my page where I have collected together all the characters I have written about so far. From there you can click the links to each individual character. These pages are useful to give you a quick reminder of each character if you are preparing a sermon or Sunday school lesson. Bible Characters

Today is my birthday. I am 65. Just like everyone in the whole world I do not know how much longer I may live. We know people who are terminally ill. They have some idea of how long they will live but even some of these may confound their doctors and live longer. In a sense we all have a terminal condition, at some point we all will die. Then we will discover who God is. Will we be ready to meet him? Have we trusted in Jesus in this life? Or will it be a dreadful discovery to find God is indeed real and we are not ready to meet him. Find out how to be put right with God in the link below. Justification by Faith

On the T.V. tonight a man spoke about privacy being a human right. In this life that may be so but the Bible tells us that one day everything we have said and done will be made known. Does that worry you? We have all said and done things we are ashamed of. All the more reason to turn to Jesus for forgiveness.

Today I took a service. It was a songs of praise service for which various people in the congregation had chosen eight hymns. Why do I call it a one man band? Well as well as leading the service I played the piano. There were about 17 people present and all seemed to enjoy it. I chose Bible readings to suit the hymns and in some cases gave the background of the hymn writer or the tune writer. This is a little church with only elderly members. Very sensibly they have joined forces with the Anglican church and now share their services so that there is one service each week either at the Methodist church or the Church of England. This makes for a more encouraging size of congregation. It is good to spend the time together and encourage each other.To see what is happening in my own Methodist Church see the link below. A Little Methodist Church in Devon England

The link below will take you to my Poems of Loss. On this page I have collected together my own original poems expressing grief. Many of the losses are other people's but some are my own. I show which is which as I progress through the page. For me tears do not come easily, instead I grieve by writing poetry. I hope my poems will touch your heart and help you in the grieving process too. Poems of Loss

I've been out bowling again today. Our team won this afternoon, so that was gratifying. Bowls is a very skilful game and sometimes you make bad mistakes and make a fool of yourself. That is very good for character building.It's amazing what pleasure it gives you to be the person who gets the bowl nearest the jackhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif. It is a very good game for the senior citizen because it gives gentle exercise. We all need hobbies but we should also spend time looking for God and being sensitive to what he wants to do with our lives. I have put the link to short mat bowling below again for anyone who wants to investigate this fascinating sport further. Short Mat Bowls

In the bible it says it is better to be in the house of sorrow than in the house of laughter. This seems odd to most people. We all like to be in good company and laugh and joke together, but when the world is in turmoil, should we be laughing? Are we fiddling while Rome burns? There is a place for solemn thinking about the state of our lives before a holy God. One day we will have to meet him and give account of our lives. We need to put our trust in Jesus so that he will represent us on that day. Take time from your laughing to spend time seriously thinking about your future before God.

I've just been to Tempo for Tots. This is a little music and story time for toddlers. It was a really good time but is folding because so few are attending. Our village has lots of toddlers and we can't understand why they are not turning up. It is free so there is no question of people being unable to afford it.The parents also have to stay, perhaps if they could leave them they would use it, but that's not what it is about; it is about enjoying music and movement with your child.Families are so fragmented today, often with both parents feeling it is necessary for them to work. This means children are often with child minders. Time spent with our children is precious time.

This is not ten pin bowling that many of you are familiar with, this is short mat bowling. To find out more go to the link below where I have explained in detail what is involved. We are playing singles, pairs and triples tonight. I am playing in the singles and then the triples by joining with the pairs team. I enjoy playing singles because you are your own boss, you make all the decisions about how to play withour having a skip suggesting things you don't really want to do. I wonder what that says about me? I hope you will take a look at my page below about short mat bowls. It is a very good game and suitable for all ages. Even people with poor eyesight can play. why don't you start a club playing this sort of bowls. You can find a link to the English Short Mat Bowling Association on the page below. They would be only too pleased to help you get started. Short Mat Bowls

Somewhere I think there is a click monster who feeds exclusively on the clicks we make with our mouse. So many things on the internet require us to click madly away. Do you think there is a click monster too? If we click less he grows weak, if we click lots he grows strong. What will happen when he finally reaches his full strength?

I love adding pages to Squidoo. It is a free website where you can add pages about anything that interests you. I have many Bible stories there but also many other topics. I write about myself. I write about sleep apnea, de-cluttering yohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifur house and about the lanes in Devon. Here I have put a link below to all my pages, or lenses as they are known on Squidoo. I hope you will explore and enjoy my efforts. My Pages on Squidoo

How many people have influenced your life? think of all the time and energy put into making us the best human beings we could be. Our parents were first, then our teachers. Friends and work mates. It is amazing to think of all these people. How blessed some of us have been. We should be full of thanks to God for all those people he has put in our lives. Some people have not had the advantages that the rest of us have had, but we have been blessed.

Suppose you have a friend who tells you he is not a Christian, how do you feel when he dies? As a Bible believing Christian you know that there is a hell to be avoided as well as a heaven for which to reach . There is always hope for your friend. It all depends on Almighty God. He may reach out and save your friend at the very last minute of life, saying, “You are my child, I have redeemed you.” But we should not be complacent that this will always happen. We must make good use of the time we have with our friends to show them the way to faith in Christ.

This is undoubtedly true, as it is attributed to Jesus, but sometimes in order for someone else to be blessed we need to do the receiving. Think back to when your child gave you a present, then you graciously received and allowed your child to have that better blessing. When it comes to our salvation we receive the gift of grace from God in Jesus. We are in no position to give God anything as all belongs to him. It is God's good pleasure to give his children the kingdom. By all means be a generous person, but allow others the blessing of helping you too.

Someone commented on yesterday's post and left their favourite hymn. It is "And can it be". This is a great hymn by Charles Wesley. One of many. Wesley speaks of his amazement at God's grace in sending Jesus to die for him. You can easily find the lyrics for this hymn on the internet just by googling it. It is well worth the effort.Charles Wesley with his brother John, founded the Methodist church. Are there any other favourite hymns out there?

Top of the board it's the U.S.A. Then comes Russia.Less interested are Britain, Germany and Canada. China sometimes pops up and so does Latvia and the Ukraine. Sorry if I've missed you I'm still very pleased to see who my visitors are. My message is one of belief in God through Jesus and is a message for the whole world. No one is excluded. I hope I will get more and more visitors, because I believe the message I have is vitally important both for now and the future in eternity. Just for fun tell me your favourite hymn. I think I might start some posts about hymns.

A sunny morn greets me this cheerful day, But I am wan for you are gone from sight. How can I sing when you are far away? How feel the joy when I have lost my light? Wake up my soul, you have a heavenly king, Who far surpasses any mortal man. O do not droop, but lift up and to him sing. He calls you now on woe to place a ban. Your worship should for him be given only. No other man should ever take his place And thus you never, ever should be lonely, But feel the wonder of his heavenly grace.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif For he himself has given, all for you, Only seek him and give to him his due. This sonnet tells of how fellowship with God is more wonderful than with another man. For more sonnets click below Sonnets and how to write them

You should do all you can to influence your children to walk in the ways of the Lord, but they have to have a meeting with him themselves. King Josiah was a king who had a wicked father and yet he followed the Lord all his life and cleared the temple of all the idols his predecessors had set up there. Again his influence did not mean that his sons followed in the ways of God. They did not but were evil. I have a friend who says that God has no grand children. He means that we cannot rely on the belief of our parents but must each come to God ourselves and have a one-to-one relationship with him.

Some preachers will tell you that when you become a christian all your worries will be over and you will prosper. The prosperity we can expect is great, but mostly in the future. Jesus said that in this life we would have problems. So don't expect a millionaire life-style, there is a battle on against the powers of darkness. This life is not a picnic. However the Holy Spirit is always present with us and will bring us through our troubles to heaven at last. Don't give up, the fight is worth it. There is a great reward for those who battle through to the end. Shine through the persecution to be greeted by your Lord saying, "Well done, you good and faithful servant."

You put your trust in Jesus long ago, but now the way seems very difficult. We are not promised an easy journey here in life. Often life is difficult. We are to be faithful to our Lord come what may. We may suffer persecution from those around us who do not share our faith. It is hard going, but we are promised a reward in heaven if we remain faithful. Hold onto the promise of Jesus that he is preparing a home for us with himself. Don't give up, just look up. Bless you dear reader.Thank you Lord for your servants martyred today in Nigeria. They now know the truth of what I have said.

It's called sin. We tend to think of it as the unkind things we do to each other, but really the problem is much bigger, it is a general rebellion against God and there is only one cure for this problem. We need to come to Jesus for the forgivehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifness he has provided by dying on the cross. You can't earn your way to God. Nothing you can do can put things right except taking the salvation Jesus provides. To read more about this, click the link below. Justification by Faith

God requires perfection in our living. So how come I feel safe when I've been an adulteress. God is also a loving God and he has provided a way for all who believe to come to him through Jesus, the only perfect human, who was also God. If we put our trust in him our sins are wiped away and God accepts us as his own children and welcomes us into his kingdom, no matter how bad we've been. So there is hope for you.

So what is there for you to look forward to now that christmas abd New Year are all over? Have you now saddled yourself with big debts? I hope not, but if you have I hope you will settle down to work out how you will pay them off. Nothing http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifcomes for free, all bills have to be paid. And yet there is a bill which has been paid for us, if we will put our trust in Jesus. It's the debt we owe God and it has to be paid. Either we can let Jesus pay it for us or we will find ourselves face to face with God and nowhere to hide from his anger. How stupid to risk his anger when he offers us a free pardon in Jesus.Click below for more help. Justification by Faith