john blog

by John Doyle"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present (Surrender) your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this this World, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."Romans 12: 1 - 2 Let's start the devotional by singing a verse from the hymn *I Surrender All*All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give;I will ever Love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.I Surrender all, I Surrender all, all to Thee my blessed Saviour, I Surrender allMany of us over the years have heartily sung these words, but living in their reality may be very different. The word Surrender may be understood as a sign of weakness, and yet there’s no more secure place to live than in daily surrender to the Lord Jesus who is utterly faithful, unchanging and steadfast and Who surrendered His own life for us all.The meaning of the word surrender includes ‘To yield to the power, control or possession of another; to agree to forego in favour of another; to give up one’s rights.' If we’ve learned to be in control of our own lives, surrender may be difficult for us, because we fear being out of control.I have heard some say "that surrender is the opposite to control. The Devil controls, but God never will" But we know as believers that God is in control of all things and graciously He gives us each the opportunity to surrender to His Ways and His Will for our lives. Surrender to Him draws us to the heart of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and intimacy with Him. In surrender we’re saying, Lord Jesus, I take You into every part of my life. I will hold nothing back. I make a free will choice to surrender all I am to You, and to uncompromisingly obey you.A great start to Surrender is allowing the Lord and His Word to search our lives and help us expose those things that we are reluctant to Surrender as they have become a constant habit in our lives. I am not referring here to sinful things which we do need to turn from. The reference here is to those habits in our lives that keep us from a closer walk with God. When we seek the Lord He will never fail us, so let's encourage one another in these difficult days of Lockdown to allow the Lord to search our hearts and lives and reveal those things to us that we have yet to surrender to God.Another Hymn for us to sing together as we think on this important truth:Search me, O God, and know my heart todayTry me, O Saviour, know my thoughts, I praySee if there be some wicked way in meCleanse me from every sin, and set…

by John DoyleGalatians 5: 22 - 23 "But the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control, against such there is no law."As we all know when Fruit is freshly pick from the tree it is Yummy. We all have our favorite Fruit and many of us have different fruits that we love to eat. I just ate an Orange with my wife Barbara and was hoping she would donate me her half, but is was too sweet and tasty and she ate it and it brought some wonderful smiles so I am glad she ate it. Would you like to bring some smiles to your Precious Lord and Savior? The best way to do that would be to live out the "Fruit of the Spirit" in your life so that it will impact the lives of others.It of course begins with LOVE and I am sure you display this to your Loved ones and those around you on a daily basis.When faithfully lived out it will bring JOY to your heart and JOY to the lives of others and this is a very sweet Fruit to have in your life.Having the LOVE of God in your life will also bring great PEACE that often passes all understanding even in difficult days such as the days of Lockdown we are all going through.Applying His Love and feasting on this Fruit will also take us through these times of *LONGSUFFERING*. Not being able to see Family and Friends and or being able to Worship together in Church is hard but take this time to feast on His Word and spend time in prayer for Family and Friends in need.There could not be a better time to practice *KINDNESS and GOODNESS* to those whom God sends your way in these times.*FAITHFULLNESS* is a key FRUIT to have especially in the World we live in and reading all that is taking place that is against what Gods Word proclaims. When we practice and apply this it will bring out the Fruits of *GENTLENESS* and *SELF-CONTROL* in our lives that the World around us needs to see.When we practice and apply the Fruit of the Spirit in each of our lives the Lord can remove any inner conflict that maybe going on. When we do not eat of the Fruit and apply it to our lives we will be tempted to follow our old natures and we end up playing into the hands of the enemy.The Apostle Paul must have been in the midst of such a personal civil war when he cried, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of death?” Then he answered his own question when he said, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 8: 24 - 25.The Apostle Paul went on to display the *FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT* throughout the rest of His life.Check out the parts of the Fruit of Gods Spirit in your…

by John DoylePsalm 46: 1 - 11“A mighty fortress is our God” Martin Luther wrote these words as well as the tune around the year 1528. This was a time of great danger. It seemed as if the leaders of the Reformation could be killed at any moment because of there faith in God and there proclamation of the Gospel. Martin Luther’s close friend Philip Melanchthon, was particularly worried about it all but Luther responded to him in a letter:"With all my heart I hate those anxieties you have stated in your letter that you seem to be consumed with. They rule your heart . . . by reason of the greatness of your unbelief in God and His plan of Salvation. What we have shared and Believe is true, so why should we make God a liar who has given us such great Promises and who commands us to be confident and not be anxious despite the days we live in... What good do you expect to accomplish by these vain worries of yours? God is in control irrespective of the circumstances we find ourselves in."This is also true of the days in which we live with the Pandemic and Lockdown. But the Lord knows the Beginning from the End. God is in control and just like He was able to Create the Heavens and the Earth, He is also able to uphold His Church in these difficult times. If we are not strengthened by His Promises in His Word, then we need to Rebuild our Faith in our Soverign God to whom these promises apply.The World often does seems to be out of control – particularly in these days, with so much uncertainty about the spread of COVID-19, and the economic effects of the steps taken to limit its spread.Psalm 46 is written for times like 1530 – and for times like 2021. Let me encourage you to read this Psalm. Consider verses 1-7 together under two headings, and then verses 8-11 under a third.Psalm 461 God is our refuge and strength,    an ever-present help in trouble.2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam    and the mountains quake with their surging.4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,    the holy place where the Most High dwells.5 God is within her, she will not fall;    God will help her at break of day.6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.7 The Lord Almighty is with us;    the God of Jacob is our fortress.8 Come and see what the Lord has done,    the desolations he has brought on the earth.9 He makes wars cease    to the ends of the earth.He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;    he burns the shields with fire.10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;    I will be exalted among the nations,    I will be exalted in the earth.”11 The Lord Almighty is with us;    the God of Jacob is our fortress.1. Is Everything Falling Apart?In 1530, Melanchthon was worried that everything was falling apart. Today, the coronavirus leads to similar feelings.The psalmist pictures those feelings. In verse 2 he speaks of “the earth being…

by John Doyle "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" 2 Corinthians 9:15. What is that Gift - His Amazing GRACE. The revelation of God's Love to man centers on the Cross. Its full significance cannot be described; pen cannot portray the enormity of His Love; the mind of man cannot comprehend the extent of Gods Grace, Christ crucified for our sins, Christ risen from the dead, Christ ascended on high and is now "sat down at the right hand of God Interceding for us" - AMAZING GRACE. [Jesus], being in very nature God,     did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing     by taking the very nature of a servant,     being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man,     he humbled himself     by becoming obedient to death—         even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8) It is through the gift of Christ that we receive every blessing. Through that gift there comes to us day by day the unfailing flow of God's Goodness and Grace. Every time I go into my garden I can smell the sweet fragrance of the flowers. Barbara and I watched the sun set and moon arise last night and it was so beautiful. There is not a star that beautifies the Heavens which He did not make. There is not an article of food upon our tables that He has not provided for us. The GRACE of God is upon us all. Everything is supplied to man through the one unspeakable Gift, the only begotten Son of God. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that Love him” -1 Corinthians 2:9. Surely there are none that, beholding the riches of His GRACE, can fully explain the words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian Church: “Thanks be unto God for His indescribable gift” 2 Cor. 9:15 Let me give you my Description of this priceless Gift: G OD'S R ICHES A T C HRIST's E XPENSE What Priceless Riches did we gain from the Expense of our Savior's death on the Cross: 1. Complete Salvation - Eph. 2: 8-9 2. Complete Forgiveness - 2 Chronicles 7:14 3. Complete Reconciliation - Romans 5:10 4. Complete Eternal Life - John 10: 27 - 28 We have not earned any of these riches, they have been given to us because of Gods AMAZING GRACE. We can't end the devotional without singing the song together: AMAZING GRACE, HOW SWEET THE SOUND THAT SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME, I ONCE WAS LOST BUT NOW AM FOUND, WAS BLIND BUT NOW I SEE 'TWAS GRACE THAT TAUGHT MY HEART TO FEAR AND GRACE MY FEARS RELIEVED, HOW PRECIOUS DID THAT GRACE APPEAR, THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED THROUGH MANY DANGERS, TOILS AND SNARES WE HAVE ALREADY COME, 'TWAS GRACE THAT BROUGHT US SAFE THUS FAR, AND GRACE WILL LEAD US HOME, Please let…