Preaching with a purpose

Are you a good scientist who looks at all the negatives that prove you wrong, as well as enjoying the positives?  Are you seeking to please those who will give you your next research grant? Are you brave enough to tell the truth?   If you are not a scientist what is your attitude to them?  Do you really believe they are always right just because they are scientists? Scientists are men and women just like you and me.  They are fallible and have their own agenda. We all enjoy it when our peers compliment us and scientists are no different. Most scientists will not even consider that intelligent design is a possibility as a reason for life on earth.  Why? Because they know of scientists who have been thrown out of the scientific community for raising this possibility.  The creationist world has brought up many possibilities that agree with their beliefs but the scientists will not even enter into dialogue with them. They choose to blank out all the proofs of the creationists and hope the

I've been reading Darwin "On the origin of species."  It's good to read the side of the story you don't believe.  It's only fair and I hope those of you who believe in the theory of evolution, will do as I have done, and read the creationist's side of things.  There is plenty of creationist material on the internet.  We creationists like to take a scientific approach and look at all sides before making our minds up.  Many of you out there are just trusting the evolutionists and assuming they must be right, just because they are labelled "Scientist."  It's time you woke up and looked at both sides and made you own mind up.   Just a couple of observations on Darwin.  He speaks a lot about pigeons being bred to became pouters or tumblers etc. but he doesn't seem to realise that there were humans making the decisions about the cross breeding.  If you visit Trafalgar Square you will find it "peopled" by ordinary run of the mill pig

Well, yes, but first things first.  He came to be the Saviour of His people and there is no way we can follow His example unless we have asked Him to forgive our sins.  Once we have done that all things become possible.  It is utterly futile to try to follow the example of Jesus unless you have the power of His Spirit and the Spirit comes when we confess our sins and ask for God's forgiveness which is possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.Who are His people?  All those who come to Him for forgiveness.  Jesus said, "Whoever comes to me I will not cast out."

Are you in a place you want to be?  Or is life difficult.  If you are trusting in Jesus you can be sure He has put you where you are and for a good reason.  Don't struggle just trust.  You may not be able to see a good reason why you are where you are, but there surely is one.  You may be about to get out of this situation and into something more amenable, but make sure you wait for God's timing for you to change.

Jesus said to His disciples, "You have not chosen me ,but I have chosen you." Why do Christians rebel against this statement.  If Jesus has done the choosing there is great assurance in that, because He will never change His mind and we are safe in Him.  If we have done the choosing we have cause to worry because we are fallible and fickle and might change our minds. Look at Ephesians chapter 1 for more about God choosing His people.  Be safe relying on Jesus.  Adam and Eve had free will, and look what they did with it. Abandon your free will and trust in Jesus.

Although Jesus is the son of a peasant girl in Palestine He is also King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus has been born for a purpose and is God the Son.  This is not a cozy story of shepherds and kings visiting.  The shepherds were told, "Today 33 your Savior is born in the city 34 of David. 35 He is Christ 36 the Lord. 2:12 This 37 will be a sign 38 for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” 3 Net Bible.  A Saviour saves from disaster and the disaster was the sin of Adam and Eve that had been passed on to all humankind.  This is serious business. Jesus must represent humans and yet also be God for His sacrifice on the cross to be effective in saving His people.  Who are His people?  they are the ones He has chosen , all who will put them trust in Him and lean on Him alone for their salvation.   The kings brought presents that represented derious things in Jesus's life.  The gold because He was king, the incense because He wa

First let me quote Mary's words as recorded in Luke's gospel.  I am using the Net Bible translation.   1:46 And Mary 146 said, 147 “My soul exalts 148 the Lord, 149 1:47 and my spirit has begun to rejoice 150 in God my Savior, 1:48 because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant. 151 For 152 from now on 153 all generations will call me blessed, 154 1:49 because he who is mighty 155 has done great things for me, and holy is his name; 1:50 from 156 generation to generation he is merciful 157 to those who fear 158 him. 1:51 He has demonstrated power 159 with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance 160 of their hearts. 1:52 He has brought down the mighty 161 from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; 162 1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, 163 and has sent the rich away empty. 164 1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering 165 his mercy, 166 1:55

Jesus said that His children would hear His voice and follow Him.  They would not follow a stranger.  This is how we know we are His children when we hear His voice and follow Him.   If we are not |His children we will be totally disinterested in listening to His voice.  Often a Christian will be down cast and fear that they do not belong to the shepherd. Those who do not belong have no fears of this kind, they are totally disinterested in the good shepherd. So be encouraged, if you want to follow the shepherd it is because He has put that desire in your heart and He will draw you to Himself where you will be safe forever.

It may seem an innocuous thing to read your horoscope.  They are so general and vague that it is possible to link them with the happenings of your week.  If you are a christian your trust should be entirely in God.  You should realize that He is the only One who truly knows your future.  We get anxious and want to know what lies ahead, but it is best for us to find out as it unfolds.  There is some knowledge we are best not to know about, ahead of time, because we could not cope with that knowledge.  We need to develop trust in God for everything and let Him hold our hand and guide into the future and through it.  His will is being done each step of the way and His will is best.So stop behaving like a child feeling and shaking its Christmas presents to discover what is inside and leave the future in God's capable hands.

As a christian man you are required to love your wife as Christ loves the church.  Now that, I'm sure you will agree is a very tall order.  Similarly wives should love their husbands and children.  However it is possible to love your family too much.  This happens when you worship them.  Worship is for God alone and He must always come first in our lives. Those teenage crushes consist of worship and should be pushed out of our lives in order that we can put God first. A crush manifests itself in spending long hours thinking about the object of our crush. This is time we should spend worshipping God. I have had problems with "falling in love" all my life and it is only within the last few years that I have realized the truth, that I was worshipping the wrong person.  Now God helps me see these problems coming and I ask for His help to keep my attention on Him.

My God is Almighty, all powerful.  He is absolutely in charge of everything that happens in this universe.  He is not a god who is taken by surprise by anything that happens to us.  If we are trusting in Him everything that happens to us is in His control and is for our good and His glory. He is not caught off guard by random happenings, everything is desired by Him.  Although He sympathizes with us in our difficulties He does not weep with us because He knows all will be well."Like a father pities his children so the Lord pities those that fear Him."If we fear Him we will have nothing else to fear. We pray,"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And indeed His will is being done.  If you are going through hard times hold on to the knowledge that God's will is being done. you may have health issues, trust in God He will bring you through.  You may be bereaved.  trust in God He will sustain you.Our God made heaven and earth and everything in it including

Every now and then Christians fall out.  But we are told to love one another.  You have to do your part in this even if the other party persists in being difficult.  However it doesn't say that it will be an enjoyable experience to  love the difficult person.  This is agape love, the self sacrificing sort. Sometimes this love may mean standing up for yourself and not just accepting bad behaviour.  The person behaving badly is not doing themselves any good.  Love never was easy.

If we have put our trust in Jesus and know that He is the only way back to God then He promises never to leave us or forsake us, but He does not promise an easy life, but that He will be with us through all the problems and pain. Although life can go smoothly and easily at times , there will always be the difficult times too.  In James chapter one we are told to "count it all joy" when we fall into problems because coping with them are the way that we become stronger spiritually. With some problems we can get the help of friends and family, but sometimes you will feel you are on your own.  Humanly speaking you are, but always Jesus is right beside you leading you along the difficult path and through the problems into His sunshine.  One day He will lead you through our problems and straight to heaven where there is no more sorrow or crying.  That will be a wonderful day.

Does your worth as a person depend on how much work you do?  Do you think God rates you according to how much you do?  Your worth depends on what He has done for you, not on what you can do.  To be considered of worth to God all you need is to know you are trusting in Jesus.  Of course you have to earn a living, but this must not be your first priority.  Having fellowship with God is what you need most of all.  We so easily think we are only as good as the things we do.  Just as too much work can come between you and your family, so it can come between you and God. Having the right balance can be difficult to achieve but it is worth while to do this. It is possible to be very busy in your church and yet be giving very little time to God.Take a long hard look at what you are doing and ask God to show what His priorities are for you.

He is God the Son, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  There are so many Christians who do not understand this properly.  We forget that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of Lords.  Yes He came in the form of a helpless babe and of Himself laid aside His glory, but He took it up again after the ascension when He sat down at the right hand of God. After the resurrection when Thomas saw Jesus he declared Jesus to be, "My Lord and my God."  and Jesus accepted that title from him. Jesus was a good man, but that is not all, He was very God of very God, and He still is.  And we are His children and will be with Him one day when all the trials of this life are over.

Most of the problems we have in life are because we do not have our priorities right.  We forget we are pilgrims  and strangers here and we start to settle in.  We should be looking to our eternal future and not building castles here. If you have built a castle you must put it to good use to use as a place where others can find Jesus.  You cannot serve God and mammon.  Riches cannot be trusted, instead built up riches in heaven where they cannot be stolen or spoilt. Those who preach the prosperity gospel would lead you astray.  Riches are rarely compatible with a spiritual life. 

This world looks to be in a terrible mess to us, but "God is working His purpose out as year succeeds to year." God's will is not frustrated.  The only one who is frustrated is the Devil.  No matter what he does he is still bringing God's will to pass and he never seems to learn from the past.  The Devil thought he had brought about his ultimate triumph when he engineered the death of Jesus on the cross.  Instead it was his defeat, to be brought about at the end of time.  He thought he had defeated Jesus and brought about the total enslavement of mankind but instead Jesus had brought release and abundance of life to all who trust in Him. Never fear God is working out His purposes.

Far more people are killed in road traffic accidents than die of Ebola.  That is no comfort for the people who do die of Ebola, but it puts it all into perspective.  Our governments do very little to lessen the car accidents, they are just treated as just one of those things.  Those of us who are Christians should not allow ourselves to be frightened out of our wits by the media.  This world is not our final home, we are on a journey to heaven where Jesus is preparing us our real home. If we are His it matters not whether we die of Ebola, or a traffic accident or peacefully in our beds at ninety. We all have to die sometime and for the Christian this is the gateway to eternal life. Are you living as someone who is just camping in this world and looking forward to the real life to come?  Or are you investing too much in the here and now?

Our Lord warned us we would have troubles in this life.  So often we are taken off guard and disappointed by what happens, but we have been warned.  We try to make this world our home when we should be realizing that our home is in heaven.  Here we are just passing through.  We cannot expect to get comfortable when we are on a journey, full of mishaps.  We are to set out sights on heaven.  There we shall have perfect peace at last and joy immeasurable.  Meantime we are an army on the march and should not expect feather pillows.  We are in the biggest war ever.  The war is won but we are in the midst of skirmishes which we must pass through before we gain heaven, won for us by Jesus on the cross.

If you are trusting in the death of Jesus to put you right in God's sight, why are you worrying about the little things in life?  Whatever you need He can supply. He has life planned and you have no need to fret.   His will is perfect and is being done even in this world that is in such a mess.  One day you will be amazed at how God has brought all things to wonderful resolution and brought all His children into the kingdom, not one left behind.  Do not fret over the little things.

It's all very well for me to tell you not to be afraid, but what do I do about fear?  I am just an ordinary Christian woman and often I give in to fear and let it walk all over me.  I should not do this, but I do.  Fear grips me tight and I have to fight hard to put it in its place.  If we believe God is our Father and caring for us every single minute we surely do not need to fear.  We need to remind ourselves of the Father's love.  Indeed we may have to go through very difficult times, but He is with us all the way.  So don't imagine that I am some sort of super Christian who is always trusting as I should, but I do come back again and again to rest in God's love and faithfulness

There are many things happening in the world today that frighten us, if we let fear grip us.  We do not have to go down that road.  If we have found Jesus, then we have the peace of God available to us.  It is called the peace of God that passes all understanding. This is because when everything around us shouts for us to be afraid this peace of God can be ours, when it looks as if peace is impossible. God's peace isn't available when all around is calm; it is here for the times when peace seems impossible. We must let this peace rule our hearts so that we are available to help others in their need.  We are not meant to run around like headless chickens when things are difficult.  We are to be strong and fearless to meet the troubles of our day.

Jesus said, "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you."  What a blessing when we know He has chosen us. The decision is His and He will never revoke it.  If we had done the choosing there is a real danger that we would go back on the decision.  Read Ephesians chapters one and two to read more about this.   Why do people resent this doctrine?  It is a way to true peace to know that Jesus has chosen you.  He died for you while you were yet a sinner.  His decision does not depend on any merit of you own, for you have none.  He has chosen you because He decided to for His own reasons.Rejoice in it.

I am really going to try harder to post here on a regular basis.  There are many of you out there who seem to appreciate what I am saying, particularly when I quote the Bible.  That is good, for the only place we can get truth is from the Bible itself and everything that rests on it.  We all need to read our Bibles regularly, best of all daily.  We need to read from every part of it as it is an integrated book.  One portion will give us light on another portion.  Never let anyone tell you that you can manage without the Old Testament.  There is a helpful saying, "The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed.   Check everything you hear preached, with the Bible, even if you think you have a trustworthy preacher. Paul commended the Bereans for doing this.See Acts 17 : 10,11

Is the spread of Ebola paralysing you with fear? Are you afraid of Isis? Your fear should be in an entirely different direction.  You should fear the Eternal, Almighty God.  He is the one who controls all things.  You might take measures to protect yourself from Ebola, but if you are meant to get it, you will.  Fear God He is above all things.  Fear what He can do to you.  And if you respect Him like this you have only to trust in Jesus and you are safe even if you die of Ebola or at the hands of Isis. God is the only One to fear and once you fear Him you will have nothing else to fear.

What do you do about the news?  Do you watch and fall deeper into fear?  Or do you avoid it in a cozy world of denial?  Neither of these reactions is helpful.  It is obvious that our world is in a terrible mess and particularly in the Middle East and of course this also effects the rest of the world.  If we are trusting in Jesus He has told us at these times to "look up, for your redemption draws near."  We should be concerned about our world but we must remember that our goal is heaven which we will share with our Lord.  God is almighty and totally in charge of all that happens in this world and eventually we will be shown His perfect plan, that leads to heaven for His children.

Throughout the world there are troublesome times.  The Middle East is in turmoil.  Many peoples are displaced and swarming into other countries.  In the West in a rural area I feel fairly secure, but life is never secure unless we have Jesus in charge.  When He is with us we have nothing to fear even though life can become very difficult in a very short time.  When our trust is in God He will be with us even if He plans to take us through trouble in our life.  What He purposes for us is always the best even when it looks like the worst to us.Fear God and then you will have nothing else to fear.

If you are facing troubles in your life don't assume that God is angry with you.  If you have put your trust in Jesus and the atonement He accomplished, then you are the apple of God's eye and very dear to Him.  Troubles are a normal part of the christian life.  They are there to strengthen us in our faith.  God declared Job to be a righteous man and yet he suffered terribly.  But don't forget God brought him through all his struggles and ill health and his troubles brought glory to God.  Isn't that amazing that we can bring glory to God by our reaction to our troubles.  That is something that even the angels don't understand. One day and sooner than we think our troubles will be over and we won't even remember them. Look at the book of James chapter one, to see what trials can do for us.  We are like butterflies struggling out of the cocoon.  If you try to help they will die.  Left alone the struggle results in a beautiful butterfly flying effortlessly to the f

I was reading a post on another site where a very nice Hindu person was saying that all religions lead to God, you just have to be good and kind and gentle.  However the Christian God requires us to love Him perfectly with all our strength, soul, heart and mind. He requires perfection, but knows that we cannot attain to that and so He sent Jesus to live perfectly for us and die in our place as a perfect substitution for us. He even gives us the faith to believe in Jesus and all who believe receive His forgiveness, There is nothing else that we can do, it is a gift of God. This message is for all who will believe from every corner of our world.  It is available to all who will believe.

If you want to know about God and what He requires in your life and how you should live, you must make the Bible absolutely central to your everyday reading.  There is no where else that can tell you what you need to know.  You cannot afford to listen to someone else's ideas, you need the Bible only.  If you have a good pastor he or she will be feeding the word to you, but you still need to search the sciptures to make sure he has got it right.  You must not be a lazy christian depending on some else, having a second hand faith. You must energetically search the sciptures for yourself.  The Holy Spirit will help you if you ask. You must also been prepared to have dearly held views challenged.  The Bible is no ordinary book, if you approach it sincerely it will change your life and that may be painful. Often our lives need drastic measures to bring us into the light. But it will be worth it.

This applies to all who have put their trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvary.  The Christian cannot be separated from God's love in Christ,(Romans 8 35 - 39.  This is a wonderful thing to tell yourself.  Nothing and nobody can separate you from the love of God. No matter what problems you are going through they cannot separate you from the love of God.  They may be difficulties in your marriage, or health problems.  You may have cancer but it cannot separate you from the love of God.  Your children may have become estranged from you, even this cannot separate you from God's love. You  may have lost a dear one to death.  This will be hard to bear, but it cannot separate you from the love of God. This is a strong fact of our salvation, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Hold on to this fact and it will begin to pull you out of the depression your troubles bring you into.

As Christians this is our position in Christ.  What an amazing thing to take in, that we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.  Jesus puts us on a level footing with Himself before God.  An heir receives everything the Father has. In Jesus we are made equal with Jesus.  Not only are these riches for later on but they are ours now.  No matter what our status in this life, whether we are poor or rich, in Jesus we are the heirs to all God has.  In Jesus He gives us Himself. So do not worry about your status here;in the eternal realm you are the son of a king. Not just any king, but the King of kings.

Recently I'm seeing Chinese people here reading my posts.I know that there are probably millions of Chinese Christians.  You have been through so many difficulties that you are now strong.  After the missionaries left you became strong because you had only the Lord to rely on.  This was God's plan for you.  We in the West pray for you, but really it is us who need your prayers.  Please pray for us we are so flabby and ineffective. Our churches are not keeping to Jesus only, but bringing the tactics of the world into our church life.  We are letting the true doctrines slip away.  We need your prayers more than you need ours.

The christian has the peace of God that passes all understanding.  We read this in Philippians 4:7.Why does this peace pass all understanding?  It is because God gives it to us when we are at our most threatened.  To the non-christian it doesn't make sense to be at peace in turmoil. We know that we are safe in Jesus, no matter what gets thrown at us. Enter into this peace today.  The problems you face are already dealt with by God.  The solution is already waiting in the future.  We are passing through difficult terrain but our destination is sure.  I pray that you may be able to receive this peace wherever you are in the world today.

In John 17 verse 23 we see that we are loved by God just as He has loved Jesus.  How amazing this is that God loves us just as He loves Jesus.  This love is strong and will work all things for our good.  But we only receive it if we are trusting in Jesus.  This love will carry us through any thing that comes our way. If we are sure of His love nothing that comes our way will shake us. We are strong when we rest in this truth.  Did you ever realize before how much God loves His children?

I was recently given a long list of many things that apply to the Christian who has put his trust entirely in the Lord Jesus Christ, to put him right with God. Such a person is accepted in the Beloved.  Who is this "beloved"?  It is Jesus.  At His baptism God said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." When we are in Jesus, God is also well pleased with us. Isn't this just amazing.  Poor sinful humans who put their trust in Jesus are accepted by the Holy Almighty God.  There is no other way to be accepted by God.  Jesus is the only way to God.What a lovely fact to be able to share with you all, whether you come from China or Russia, or the U.S.A.

In Britain we have very little persecution and consequently many of us are flabby Christians.  We pray for our brethren who are suffering but take our own position for granted.   We need to hear what our persecuted brethren are saying to us.  They are growing stronger while we take the easy way out and are led like sheep by many who do not seem to know the Good Shepherd they are supposed to represent.   Be encouraged if you are persecuted.  In James we read "Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because.. the testing of your faith develops perseverance. "  That perseverance makes you mature and complete, lacking nothing.  None of us like persecution, but the result is wonderful.  Really we should welcome it with open arms because of what it does for us.     

An Australian couple went to Thailand and arranged for a 21-year-old surrogate mother to have a baby for them.  The baby turned out to be twins, a boy and a girl. Unfortunately the boy had Down's Syndrome and the Australian couple rejected him but took the girl.  I wonder what happens if the girl developes a problem? The boy needs medical treatment for a heart condition which is often the way with Down's Syndrome, but on the T.V. he looks very bright and adorable. The surrogate mother is looking after the boy.  She needed the money to give her older children a better life.   At present Thailand has no laws which relate to being a surrogate mother.  It seems to me that as we make laws for things once thought unthinkable we make life more and more difficult for ourselves. No laws can put this right but laws can mitigate the situation and make provision for those who are suffering.   One of the problems highlighted here is that people today want to have perfectly healthy babie

That line comes from an old chorus.  God is still in control, no matter how terrible things are on this earth.  If  we have put our trust in Jesus to save us from god's wrath against sin then we have nothing to fear in this world.  We should be afraid to displease God but be afraid of nothing else.  But we do have to face our fears and this is not pleasant.  But once we have fought through this initial fear we will know the peace of God that passes understanding. Remember one person with God is a majority. If we are His, God will not forget us.  There may be all sorts of trials to go through but we will eventually arrive in heaven and all our troubles will melt away. Hang on to God and when you can no longer hang on to Him, He will hang on to you and bring you safely to Him 

When we say God is Almighty what do we mean? Recently I heard a minister say that there is randomness and accident and that God gets alongside us and weeps with us in our sorrow.  Now I have no doubt that God comes along side us and comforts us in our grief but I utterly refute that He is taken unawares by randomness.  God is God almighty in perfect control of what happens in this world.  There is a spiritual battle going on but God is in control. He ordains everything for His glory and the good of His children.  We cannot understand this but we can believe it and put our trust in God. In 1 Peter 4 verse 12 we read,"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." There is a purpose to everything and it is God's purpose. The world is a mess but God'

We should not make light of the effects of Ebola.  It is a terrible illness and kills a high proportion of the people who get it, but sin is far worse.It affects 100% of the population.  Ebola kills the body, but sin, if not dealt with takes away eternal life.  There is a cure for sin but so few even try to find it.  The cure is trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Because He died on the cross all who trust in Him, without exception, are promised eternal life.  The cure is permanent and there are no relapses.Don't go on enjoying the pleasure of sin for they lead to eternal death.

In John's gospel we find seven statements by Jesus starting with "I am."  For instance "I am the bread of life."  Many preachers focus on the "bread" or "the light of the world" but it is very important to focus on the significance of the "I am" because when Jesus uses this He is stating that He is God.  In the story of Moses at the burning bush we find that God tells Moses His name.  Moses is to tell the Israelites that "I am" has sent him to them to bring them out of Egypt. At another time Jesus said to the Jewish rulers,"Before Abraham was, I am"  This looks like poor grammar to us but no Jesus is claiming to be the God who always is and has no beginning or end, or to put it another way He is alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. The Jews understood what He was claiming because they wanted to stone Him for blasphemy. So if anyone tries to tell you that Jesus never claimed to be God you will know now that

This is not an easy thing to do.  We seem to be naturally prone to worry.  Jesus said that God knows what His children need.  He even notices when a little sparrow falls to the ground and dies and we are of much greater value than many sparrows.  I think it actually gets easier to not worry as time passes.  When I look back at my life I can see that things that worried me, actually turned out for my good. In fact life has steadily improved.  Each thing I worried about has turned out for the best.  So now if I worry I remind myself that God is my Father and I can trust Him to sort out my life for the best, His best.So do not worry but put your trust in Jesus.  This life is the preparation for the next when we will be with Jesus and see how our lives have been ordered for the best.

If you belong to God you are very precious to Him.  It says that He even knows how many hairs you have on your head.  Don't forget how precious you are to Him, after all He gave His only begotten son to die for you. In the Bible it says, "Fear not," 366 times, that's enough for every day of the year on a leap year. God knows that we will be fearful, but if we trust Him to know what is best for us we will gradually learn that we do not need to fear as long as we fear Him.  Our God is awesome. There is no accident or random event with Him.  We have to trust Him to bring about the best for His children.  God's providence reigns, it is just that some providences are more comfortable for us and so are hard to bear.  When we finally reach heaven we will discover that all our troubles in this life were but a pin prick compared to the glory we share with our Lord.  Fear not.

I am very blessed in that I live in a quiet backwater of the U.K. where we have peace and plenty, but I realize this might not be the same for some of you.  Being a christian in some parts of the world is indeed very dangerous.  However you must never forget that you are safe in the hands of our Father God.  Nothing can happen to you without God's knowledge, in fact He works all things together for good for you, if you belong to Him.  He knows the end from the beginning and will bring you through each trial until the day when you stand before Him in heaven and hear Him say,"Well done good and faithful servant.

My generation(baby boomers) clamoured to have abortion.  Now we are rapidly approaching old age and there are not enough young people to care for us or to pay the taxes to look after us.  This looks like natural justice.  If it wasn't for the much derided immigrants we wouldn't have enough carers already. It looks inevitable that medical treatments will be denied us as the NHS grinds to a halt. What other measure may be put in place I tremble to think. One thing is sure the situation cannot stay as it is. Will the generation that wanted abortion, end up being euthanased? What goes around comes around.

Today I read the twenty third Psalm at a funeral.  How fascinating that this is 3000 years old and still brings comfort today.  "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want." Is He your shepherd? Then you can trust Him to take care of you no matter what life brings your way either good or bad. He knows your every circumstance and will be beside you, to help and comfort. Life can look very black with illness or bereavement but He knows it all and if you trust Him He will bring you through it all and lead you into green pastures and then to heaven to share eternity with Him.

I need your help.  Could you comment on this post and tell me some spiritual topics you would like me to write about.  When I say spiritual topic it could be looking at an everyday topic from a spiritual angle.  Perhaps there is something that worries you and you would like some advice. I would like to find answers for you in the Bible as my personal opinion is not likely to help. I have not written much here lately but would be greatly helped to do so if I knew what would help you. You can be anonymous if you choose.

Are you concerned about your physical health?  Do you exercise regularly and watch your diet?  How about your spiritual health?  This is going to be an eternal matter.  Your physical health will have a big impact on your life now but you need to have sorted out your spiritual well being, as this will decide where you will spend eternity.  In order to be accepted by God you need to be in Christ Jesus.  He can forgive your sins and no one else can.  You need him in your life if you are to be acceptable to God.  No matter how you try yourself you cannot please God outside of Jesus.  Ask Him on board now and make Him the captain of your life.

You may live in a country where there are serious troubles;people taking sides and ready to fight.  A christian's destiny is not rooted in this life but in the next. We are not here for our own pleasure, we are servants of our Lord.  We are fighting a spiritual battle.  Satan likes to scare us to make us back down.  When we feel this fear we need to turn our eyes to Jesus and remember that he has our destiny in his care and although this life may be difficult we are safe for eternity and this world can do us no lasting harm.  In Jesus we are safe for ever. Sometimes we suffer from an illness or die a painful death.  I always think what a waste of a death that is when we could die for our Lord.  Of course there is part of me that is really scared of dying for my faith, but what an honour it would be. Maybe you are facing that situation.  If so my brother, my sister be proud to die for your Lord.  Just a short time of pain and then you will find him waiting for you.

It's not easy writing a sermon.  It would be easy to write something that related to a passage of scripture but the fact is a sermon should be a message from God to the people of God.  It has to be His message for the particular people you are speaking to.  It doesn't require you to know the people particularly well but it does require you to listen to God.  Most of my best sermons start coming to me when I am in bed.  I have put aside the cares of the day and begun to relax.  Often after about an hour of rehearsing my sermon in bed I will get up and write some of it down.  If I don't do it then I can lose it.  Losing a little sleep does me no harm as I am retired and can catch up in the day if necessary. I am currently preparing a sermon for next week.  It is proving quite difficult.  I am having to tease out the meaning little by little.  I am almost there.  It is on John 17 which is a very special chapter where Jesus is praying to the Father.  In it Jesus prays for the o

If you put every effort into your life to be rich and famous or very wealthy, what will you end up with?  A body in a grave, and a soul lost for eternity.  If you put your effort into following God, byt putting your trust in Jesus, you may have very little in this life but in the next you will share the glory of Jesus with Him as He has promised. It is right to put a certain amount of effort into this life but it is the next that really matters.  Where are you putting your effort? You cannot serve God and money.  You will serve one and despise the other.  Money could do with being despised a little more in your life.  You dare not despise God.

Mammon is Fame and fortune, things and status.  The bible says that if we crave for those things we cannot please God.  If you are running after money you will have no time to search for God. In our Bible study this week we were learning that God is beautiful, totally awesome and wonderful, totally good.  Money promises us so much but does not deliver.  It is fickle and can slip through our fingers in a moment.  Do you really want to spend your energies chasing after it when instead you should repent of your sin, and especially the sin of ignoring God and be secure in this wonderful God who will never let you down? I want to have my treasure in heaven where it is safe with Jesus my Saviour.

There are those who preach that if you give lots of money to God he will reward you with still more.  This hardly matches up with what Jesus said about money.  He said,"Do not lay up for yourselves riches on earth where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven so that where your treasure is there will your heart be also." We are not here to collect wealth but to glorify God in our lives no matter how much or little we have.   We all have these ideas of how nice it would be to be wealthy but it is not the way to follow Christ.  In Britain I would be considered relatively poor, but I am like a queen in a castle compared to third world people.  I have everything I need plus things I don't even really need.  Do not rush after riches they are false and can leave you in a moment.  Instead seek to gain the perfect peace and forgiveness that can only be found in Jesus.  He is the only true treasure, seek to find Him

This afternoon I will be going to my writer's group. We are six women from various backgrounds who enjoy writing.  It is great to swap stories and encourage each other to carry on writing.  As with  many people I have a half written novel hidden away in my PC.  It would be nice to finish it.  The lady who runs the group was a County Adviser on Drama in our educational system.  She gives us lots of encouragement. We all need encouragement.

Tuesday is the day I meet with five other ladies to spend some time looking at some subject from the Bible.  We start with a cup of something and lots of general chat, catching up with what has happened since the last time we met.  We share our problems and our joys.  After about 20 minutes I call the meeting to order and we start with a short prayer, asking God to bless our time together and teach us from the Bible. Tonight we read in Acts, Romans and Corinthians about Priscilla and Aquila who were friends of Paul and shared his trade of tent making.  They met in Corinth after Priscilla and Aquila had moved there from Rome as Emperor Claudias had expelled the Jews from Rome. They spent 18 months together there living in the same accommodation. How would you like that to have been you, spending time learning about the christian faith from the great apostle Paul? You could ask him about all those letters he wrote and get him to explain them more fully to you. Don't despair you have

Although Jesus became the baby at Bethlehem, we should never see Him as a little child in relation to God the Father and the Spirit.  Bethlehem was not a beginning for Jesus as our birth is for us. He is the eternal Son having no beginning and no ending and co-equal with the Father and the Spirit. On the cross He was not an unwilling victim, but He was fulfilling what God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit had planned together before the world began, in order to bring about this costly salvation for His children. Such salvation could not be obtained in any other way, the Sinless One must give His life for the salvation of the lost. This teaching of the cross is to many foolishness and to many a stumbling block and they will coin crass phrases to belittle it, but for those who will believe, it is the pure water of life. I hope reading this blesses you today.

Do you treat the bible as history or allegory?  Take for instance the prophecy of Jonah.  You will no doubt be unsurprised to hear that I treat it as history. However I have made an interesting and important discovery about allegory; in order to get the most out of an allegory you have to treat it as literal.  Do you remember your drama teacher telling you that in order to fully appreciate a play you have to "suspend your disbelief"? If you go to watch Hamlet it is no good saying to yourself,"This man is not called Hamlet at all.  He isn't even in a real castle, and that woman certainly isn't his mother and in the programme notes it says Ophelia has appeared in "Casualty" and "East Enders" so she's much too smart to drown herself." No, when watching this play you have to "suspend your disbelief" and then you will be able to see what Shakespeare had to say about life and tragedy.  And so it is with Jonah.  If you don't do

Let me tell you why I am a believer in creation by Almighty God.  My parents were creationist and I followed in their footsteps despite all the evolution talk at school.  When I reached the sixth form at school I felt that perhaps the scientists did know a thing or two and I became a theistic evolutionist.  Then I went to university at Cardiff in Wales and went along to the Christian Union and found they had books about the whole subject of creation with reasoned arguments against evolution.  I was delighted to be able to go back to my roots and read up on why there is a strong case for creation. If you believe in God you should think just how mighty He is and then there is no problem in believing He made everything just as written in the Bible.  The atheist needs evolution to try to do away with the need for a God, but even if there had been a Big Bang there would need to have been a creator to set it off. Life is so beautiful in its design, surely this speaks of a Divine Creator.  If

Many years ago I was driving through torrential rain when I came to a place where a small river had burst its banks and was flooding the road.  Nothing too dramatic. I decided I could cope with driving through it.  Halfway through the engine cut out.  I prayed a quick prayer,"Please help me." And immediately the thought came,"Keep pretending to drive."  I turned the ignition on and put the car in gear and was amazed to find the car moving forward and out of the flood.  Many of you will know that you can drive your car forward on the ignition for a short distance, but I had no idea you could do this.  No it wasn't really a miracle, but it was an answer to prayer for which I was very thankful.  I arrived home safely with no damage done to the car.    So what would you say was the greatest miracle? We under-estimate the dreadfulness of sin and its power to keep us separated from God.  The greatest miracle was when Jesus died on the cross as our substitute so that

Life can get very tough at times and we may be in battles.  Then is the time to hang on to your faith.  I f your trust is in Jesus alone the battles may be severe but the final outcome is certain, victory in Jesus.  And if things are really tough you may not be able to hang on, just ask Him to hang on to you and He will.  You are safe.

Upon a Roman cross There hangs a righteous man And yet more wonderful to know He is the King of kings And Lord of lords. Why is He there? What has He done? This One hangs here For you and me, If we His children be. Only for sinners He has died. If you will trust, come to His side You will be welcomed By this One who has died. By dying here He has gained our salvation. This act has fully satisfied the Father And to show this He raised Him up Three days later. Ponder these things At them wonder. Jesus has provided this powerful rescue And all who come May receive.

A valley wide and spacious, Filled with bones so dry Bones with no life in them, Lying beneath the searing sky. No hope, no joy is in them They lie there deaf and dumb. But God says to the prophet Prophesy to the wind to come. Ezekiel calls to the Spirit And behold a wind sweeps through. A rattling of bones answering Amazes that wise Jew. Bone to bone attaches And sinews wrap around A mighty army stands there On that astonished ground. And so the mighty God Brings life and strength about. We too can know His quickening Of that there is no doubt. So embrace with joy The Spirit’s quickening power. Rise up a mighty army Fit for the coming hour.

Once more to us has joyous Spring returned With beauteous blossom on each bough of tree. The light is here for which we all have yearned. Now is the time to watch the honey bee. And now we wend our way to church once more, To hear again of heaven brought to earth. Of Jesus who has opened wide the door, Banished sin's woe and given us heavenly mirth, In dying there upon that rugged cross. He conquered sin and gave us righteousness And all who come may take gain from His loss. And find a life which Christ will surely bless. The path is long and filled with many pains, But leads to heaven's gate and lasting gain

Jesus , my Lord, before me stands and cries, “Come unto me and I will give you rest.” And for my peace upon a cross He dies. I come and lay me down upon His breast. “Come unto me,” He calls to you today. He sees your weariness and broken heart. His is the very best and joyful way. Once joined to Him you never more will part; In happy union walk the narrow way; Your master leading on the verdant field. He’ll guide you , never let you go astray Your wondrous fate with Him is truly sealed; Joined thus with Him such treasure you will win; No longer touched by evilness or sin.