Materialism. [ Luke 12 v16-21]

Yesterday I mentioned about so few people being saved at this time, it all looks pretty hopeless,there is so much against people being saved. Let us consider the things that are against people putting their faith in Jesus, materialism, people have so much of this worlds goods,in this country, and at this time we are ,compared to former generations rich , if you get a chance read Helen Foresters[ I cannot remember the title of the book] life and the awful poverty she and others lived in. I remember different times, when the pawn shop was the norn for many, wages were low ,holidays in Spain were for the very few. Putting things on the slate was the norn also at the local corner shop, money was scarce, going to grammer school was for the few. Times have changed in the west, that is why we have so many people wanting to come to this country. The point is this with the increase in material possessions,people feel they dont need God, when they already have a god called materialism.[ Dear God have mercy upon this generation ,who have trader their soul for the things of this world, in Jesus name]

Why?.[ John 4 v34-38 ]

I found myself asking ,why this morning, why is it that we hear very little of people being saved?, is it my fault?is it your fault?, I dont know , but it gaves me great concern. Why should I be concerned?, because Hell is real, sin is real,and Christ died to save us from Hell and forgive our sins. I know that God is sovereign, and that salvation is of the Lord, I know that I cannot save anyone, and yet I know that we are the instruments that God uses, He does not use angels, He uses people like you and me. I pray for many people to be saved ,many I have prayed for, for years, and yet they are not saved, why?. There is a little prayer we used to pray, it goes like this.[ Lord lead me to some soul today, help me Lord just what to say, friends of mine are lost in sin,and cannot find their way, lead to some soul today, Amen ]

The ripple effect [Matthew 5 v 13-16]

What we do each day can have an affect on others, the entertainment industry often forget this, and so do we. Often we are swept along with our emotions and we loose sight of those who are around us, if only we could stop and think. There are those who are so wrapped up in themselves and their lusts they really dont care how it affects others, they become hardened, we read of them in Romans1v 18 -32. This is one aspect of what we do,the wrong aspect, but we can have an affect for good today, a kind deed, a kind word,a time spent praying for others, a time spent with others. We can make a difference for the better, in this old world, in the place God has put us , if we are a parent ,what we do ,say ,can have an affect on our children for the rest of their lives, for good or bad. Today let us all remember the ripple effect. [ Dear God help us to live our lives in such a way that others will be helped and not hindered, in Jesus name Amen ]

Gospel songs. [ Psalm 40 v3]

For all of my Christian life I have been blessed through the ministry of Gospel songs, and still am, I remember those early songs ,sung by Bev Shea, and may others. As I write this blog I have a gospel song on,such songs have blessed and encouraged multitudes, I have myself exercised the ministry of song, not so much these days,as my voice is not what it used to be. I am always on the look out for fresh songs that have meaning , that I can play and recieve encouragement from. I play them in my car , when I am carrying passengers, with the hope that they will be blessed, and if they are not saved , the Spirit of God may touch their hearts. I have many favourite gospel songs ,they have played their part in my growth in Christ, they have challenged me ,encouraged me to keep my eyes on Jesus and my vision on eternal realities. [ Dear Lord we thank You for those dear people who have written gospel songs, and for those who have sung them, Amen ]

Marriage [ Ephesians 5 v21-33]

This a special day for my wife and I, it is our anniversary,we have been married 28yrs, 28yrs of living happly ever after. Well I would not describe it like that,we love each other dearly,but at times it has been a stormy affair, one of the important things I have had to learn is patience, I am still learning. When one is married ,there are many lessons to be learnt, and the most important is to love, and love, and love, not just the romantic love, but that special Christ love. As a Christian I have to love my wife as Christ loves His church [Ephesians5v25],and also to love her as I love myself [5v33]. My study Bible says,/ Marriage for Paul, is a holy union, a living symbol, a precious relationship that needs tender , self-sacrificing care/.[ Dear God we thank you for our husbands and our wives, grant us the grace ,to love each other as You love us, in Jesus name Amen.]

The call of God [Romans 12v1-8]

The call of God should not be restricted to missionaries, pastors, the call of God is all embracing of life, I believe that I have a calling on my life to preach. I have and am fullfilling this call , but I also believe I have been called to work with mentally ill people, this I have done for nearly 19yrs,I also have the call on my life to be a husband, and a call on my life to be a father, and a grandfather. All these are valid callings, we must not make little of any of them,all of life is sacred,as Christians we must recognize, the call of God on all our lives, in whatever role He has placed us. We are all called to serve God, it may be as a dustman, a doctor,a farmer, a preacher, a missionary, we must not undervalue any of these calls. Whatever our calling is ,it is important that we glorify our Saviour, by our lives and words .[ Dear God grant us the grace to glorify You in our calling, in Jesus name Amen ]

The call of God.[ Acts 8 v26-40]

In the Bible we read of God calling all sorts of people , a fisherman, a shepherd, a taxcollector, not only different people, but at different ages. Samuel was only a boy, David a young lad,Moses an old man, some like Moses and Jeremiah struggled with the call, but God was patient with them, and enabled them to rise to the task. The call of God for them was not optional, we see this in the life of Jonah, I suppose we may ask, do we have the option of saying no to the call of God?. I am not sure, but I do know ,I would have missed so much of Gods blessing in my life if I had stayed were I was. Hopefully I am still following that call on my life, and listening as to the next step I should take, and I am 65yrs of age.Elsie Yale wrote,/ Theres a work for Jesus , ready at your hand, Tis a task the Master,just for you has planned. Haste to do His bidding,yield Him service true. Theres a work for Jesus None but you can do./[Dear Lord help us to be odedient to Your call, to trust and obey, Amen ]

Shame. [ Matthew 26 v69-75 ]

The dictionary meaning of the word shame is,/Dishonour and disgrace, to loose the respect of others because of improper behaviour/. We live in a time when wrong is seen as right, and right is seen as wrong,there appears to be no feeling of shame, by so many. In Leviticus 21v6, God says to Israel,/that they were set apart to be holy and that they must never bring shame on the name of God/. I love the writings of Oscar Wilde, but he brought great shame on himself, and his family ,by his actions. Life will bring us into situations when we have to make a moral choice, if we make the wrong choice we will bring shame on ourselves, our families, and our God, if we make the right choice we avoid so much that is painful, and in particular, the pain of shame. A shameful act can stay with us for the rest of our lives, we will never regret making the right choice, but we most certainty will regret making the wrong choice.[ Dear God help us to make right choices in our lives,help us never to bring shame on ourselves, our families, and on You, in Jesus name Amen ]

He will make a way.[ Exodus 14 ]

Sometimes we are faced with situations and circumstances , and there appears to be no way out, the Israelites were in such a situation /Exodus 14/, in their case, God had brought them into this place. They were trapped, their enemy, it seemed ,was about to destroy them, those who survived would be taken back to Egypt as slaves.The situation was desperate, they were facing a well trained army, they were no match for them, the game was up, or so it seemed.Yet God had a plan and a purpose ,He was going to receive great glory, by delivering His people, and this He did,Moses declares,/ The Lord Himself will fight for you, just stay calm[14v14]/, and He did, and they were delivered, God made a way. There is a modern song which tells us that God will make a way were there appears to be no way, what ever difficulty we may be facing in our lives , God can make a way, so stay calm ,He can deliver, He can provide, He can make a way. [Dear God we bring our situation to You, and ask that You would make a away, in Jesus name Amen ]

We have a choice.[ Psalm 118 v24]

Monday morning again, some people would like Monday mornings removed, but what can we replace it with?. As we start our working week we can either face it with joy, or depressing thoughts, the choice is ours. Life can be seen as meaningless,[Ecclesiastes 2v11], or we can look at it as a gift from God, an opportunity to serve the Lord by helping others.We can begin this day with sadness, or we can say in the words of the Psalmist,/ This is the day that the Lord has made ,we will rejoice and be glad in it [118v24]/, whats it going to be? I know what I am going to choose, so roll on Monday morning.[ Dear Heavenly Father help us to rejoice in You today in Jesus name Amen ]

Love is. [ 1 Corinthians 13 ]

On this valentines day we turn our thoughts to the subject of love ,not romantic love, but Christian love.We become upset when certain Christians , we call them liberals do not accept certain doctrines, or people dont use the translation that Paul used, but we fail to rise to the challenge of Christian love.Now of course Christian doctrine is important , we need to hold fast to truth, but if I have not Christian love, if I am unforgiving, if I am not patient, if I am proud,rude, boastful, demanding my own way, irritable, keep a record of wrongs done to me, can I say I am loving?. And if I am not loving then ,no matter about my soundness in doctrine, my Christianity does not amount to much. Our Saviour was faced with people who held a mixture of truth and tradition, they majored in those things, but they failed in love[Matthew 23][ God of truth and love we ask that You would help us to be people of truth and love, in Jesus name Amen ]

How thoughtful [ Romans 8 v 31-39]

I love reading a good book, I have my favourite author, and just recently I thought that I would like to read about a certain politician, and just yesterday I was passing a charity shop when I noticed the book I desired, it cost me one pound. What a bargain and how thoughtful God was in helping me get that book,God is thoughtful in so many ways , sometimes I think He spoils me. I have experienced so many blessings from God, jobs ,cars, clothes and so on. In Romans 8 v32, we read,/He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things/. In stating this Paul is comparing the greater and the lesser, the greatest blessing that we have recieved is Jesus, He is Gods unspeakable gift, in Him we are blessed beyond measure, everything else is the lesser.I wanted a book He give me a book, let us remember God is most thoughtful, and kind.[ God and Father we thank You for your thoughtfulness towards us ,in Jesus name Amen ]

You are more kind.[1 Corinthians 13 v4]

Friends of mine have two grandchildren, and they have looked after them , while their mum and dad worked, the childrens other grandparents have also looked after them ,they are not Christians.[ my friends are]. One of the grandchildren speaking to his Christian gran, said that there was difference between them and their other grandparents,she asked what the difference was, he replied,/you are more kind/.This challenged me as I heard this, I asked myself how kind am I ?there is so much that is needed in this world , and one of the things we need more of is kindness, we can never be to kind. William Faber wrote,/There,s a wideness in Gods mercy like the wideness of the sea, theres a kindness in His justice which is more than liberty/ For the love of God is broader than the measure of mans mind, and the heart of Eternal is most wonderfully kind/.[ Father we thank You for being kind to us continually, help us to be like You ,to all we meet this day in Jesus name ,Amen ]

His way is best. [Psalm 18v30 av ]

Guidance is one of the most important things in our Christian life, so often I have sought to know what to do, and it is not easy. I remember my Bible college days, and how I sought to know Gods will, and how many doors shut in my face. I had one thing in my heart to serve God, to be a missionary,but above all else to preach, the door to so called missionary service did not open, but I have been able to preach . None of this has been easy, but I have had the promise that all things are working together for my good,I really believe that God guides, but in certain situations it is hard to see this,one thing I am glad about, God holds the key, and I am glad , so very glad. Of course guidance takes in all of our lives, the people we will marry, the ongoing decisions we have to make, we are told to ackowledge God in all our ways and He will direct our paths, I believe He will,but it will not necessary be the way we think, it will be His way,and His way is best.[ Dear God and Father lead us in the way we should go, in Jesus name Amen ]

No future in going back.[ Philippians 3 v12-14 ]

I found myself singing this morning the following,/Turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace/. Life is not a Hollywood script ,where everything ends with the happy good feeling, life can be difficult,there are no guarantees. Children do get hurt, marriages do break up, accidents happen, as a Christian the challenge is, to glorify God in every situation,be it short term or long term, does this depress you?,do you feel like giving up?. Jesus said to His disciples /, are you also going to leave ?[John 6v66]/, well are you? am I ?.if we do we will only be going back to what we left, back to the old hunts, the old habits, the old ways. There is no future in going back, so today let us all turn our eyes upon Jesus, and follow in His footsteps, to a future that will be eternally perfect,because the script is written by God it will have that perfect ending.[ Dear God help us not to major on the short term, help us to press unto a glorious future, in Jesus name Amen ]

Assurance. [ John 10v 27-30]

We finish looking at Psalm 23 with words of assurance as regards I believe our eternal future, now Barnes points out that David is thinking of the tabernacle, and he wants to always be engaged in holy occupation, constantly serving God. May God grant us holy desires, so many people are filled with unholy desires, God is not in their thoughts,we could pray that God would fill us with holy desires. I believe that for the child of God, the words,/ I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever/, have an eternal reality, our heavenly home. The words,/ I will /, have a certainty about them, we should know where we will spend eternity,we should know that we are saved,we should have an assurance of eternal life, do you?. 1 John 5 v13 ,reads,These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.[ Dear God fill us with holy desires, and the assurance of eternal life in Jesus name Amen ]

A certainty[ Jeremiah 32 v17/27]

Verse 6 of Psalm 23 declares,/Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life/,because the Lord was His Shepherd, He believed that His care for him would never cease.Life is very uncertain , yet in the midst of all its uncertainties we have the certainty of our Lords care for us.Tomorrow may bring whatever, but the important thing is it will bring with it, our good Shepherd, and the assurance that we shall not want, for He will provide. Mrs C Martin wrote,/Let not your heart be troubled, His tender word I hear, And resting in His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears, Tho by the path He leadeth, But one step I may see, His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me/. [ Dear Lord in the midst of a world of uncertainties help us to rest in the assurance that goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, Amen ]

Blessings. [ Psalm 103 ]

My cup runneth over.[ v3 Psalm 23] Barnes points out the following,/It is not merely full, it runs over. This ,too, indicates abundance of the favours thus bestowed, the Psalmist infers that God would always provide for him, and that he would never leave him to want/. As I consider how God has blessed me, I also like the Psalmist can say ,/my cup runneth over/, oh yes life is not perfect, but then it never will be, but I am trully blessed.Johnson Octman wrote,/ When upon lifes billows you are temptest tossed,When you are discouraged,thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done/.[ Dear Lord we thank You for all your blessings Amen ]

Gods favour.[ Genesis 12 v 1-3 ]

Verse 5 of Psalm 23, reminds us that if God is for us who can be against us, for the Lord will prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Whoever our enemies are they cannot stop the favour of God upon our lives, read the book of Esther and you will see this wonderfully illustrated. David had his enemies ,but because Gods favour was upon him he succeeded,we see this also in the life of Joseph, if you are a believer, Gods favour rests upon you, and inspite of your enemies, you will be blessed, God will grant you promotion,and success. So today dont look on your enemies, look to your good Shepherd, to your God, who will bless you ,inspite of all those things that are against you.[ Dear Lord we rejoice that our enemies cannot succeed and do us any harm , because your favour is upon us,we our confident that You will bless us inspite of them ,Amen]

The Lord is still the Lord[ Psalm 23 ]

Brian Houston sings a song , /The Lord is still the Lord/,one of the verses goes,/The price of propertys going down, The Lord is still the Lord, and every job is leaving town, The Lord is still the Lord. When you dont know what to do , The Lord is still the Lord. The Lord will still provide for You. The Lord is still the Lord/.Fear is part of the human condition as regards life, and death, it does not take much to make us afraid, to feel insecure. Consider v4 of Ps 23,/Yea ,though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me/, are you in a valley experience?, a dark valley, mybe even facing death, whatever valley you may be in , fear no evil, for there is one with you, His name is Jesus, he is not a spectator, He is with you, to bring you through, He will not desert you. He will comfort you, protect you, provide, and if you experience suffering He will give grace, so fear no evil.[ Dear Lord often we are afraid, afraid of so many things, help us today, to fear no evil, for You are with us, Amen ]

His name sake.[Revelation5 ]

For His name sake[Ps 23v3]We are not the center of the universe, Our Lord is, and rightly so, and it is important that we see this, in relation to our lives, and service. All that He is doing in our lives is for His honour and glory, not ours, to God be the Glory, in everything we do ,say and think.For two long humanity has sought to rob God of His glory, one has pointed out that the middle letter in the word sin,is I,so much of what we do is self glorification. Our good Shepherd taught that we should not promote self[Matthew 6], in 1 Corinthians 10v31, we are instructed to do all things to the glory of God.Keith Green wrote,/And when Im doing well ,help me never to seek a crown, for my reward is giving glory to You/. God has saved us ,and equipped us so that we might bring glory to His name, both now and in eternity[ Dear Lord help me to not be a thief and to rob You of Your glory. Amen]

Paths of righteousness. [Leviticus 20v 7 ]

He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name,s sake.[Ps 23v3]. Often the Lord will lead in difficult paths,He will challenge us in many areas of life, to do and go, but one thing He will not do, He will not lead us to sin. We all can rationalize what we do, even sinful behaviour,we can understand if a person is hungry, and they steal, but it is still wrong. There is always reasons why we do certain things, yes even wrong things, a marriage may be difficult,marriage can be great, but it also can be heartbreaking, so we may be tempted to justify unfaithfulness, we may even think God will approve, He wont. Our good Shepherd only leads us in paths of righteousness, sin is to be resisted, and of course He will help us[ 1 Corinthians 10v12-13] [ Dear Shepherd of our souls ,help us to follow You in paths of righteousness, Amen ]

He will lead.[ Psalm 25v9 ]

He leadeth me[Ps 23 v1], this is a wonderful promise, the Lord is leading His children, Barnes writes,/This God will always do if we follow the directions of His word, the teaching of His Spirit, and the guidance of His providence/. As we consider the life of David and others in the scripture, we see that God led them, so often I have cried unto God to lead me, because I am so conscious that I need His leading,so conscious that I can, if left to myself make the wrong choices. The scriptures tell us that we are to acknowledge God in all our ways and He will direct our paths [ Proverbs 3v5], so today, let us do ,what the scripture tells us, and let Him lead us in the right way, let us have confidence to believe that our good Shepherd will lead us.[ Dear Lord we thank You for Your promise that You will lead us,help us to follow in Your footsteps. Amen]

Weary with life.[ [Isaiah 40v29-31]

The other way we can look at the words, He restoreth my soulv3[Ps 23], is not so much the backslider, but as Barnes puts it,/To the spirit when exhausted ,weary, or sad/. For many life is full of pressure , I think of those in Christian minister,a friend of mine mentioned ,how he noticed the strain on a fellow ministers face. The Christian ministery brings with it particular pressures that can be overwhelming, pray for those in Christian ministery. The pressure of life can cause us all to be weary and exhausted, so consider the words of the Psalm, the good shepherd can restore us once again in our spirits.Let us all spend a little time in our Saviours presence,He will meet our need, and restore us once again. [ Dear Lord help us today as we face the pressures of life ,restore our strength, fill our hearts with Your joy and peace. Amen ]