Hard work. (Matthew 11 v 28 )

I read something amusing , as regards Sabbath keeping at the time of Jesus,'that it was hard work keeping the Sabbath'.I wonder do you appreciate the point of these words?,the Sabbath was suppose to be a day of rest,but instead it turned into a day of rule keeping.All legalism ,is hard work ,now of course there are things we should do on the Sabbath,if possible we should meet with God's  people,that's important,fellowship with Gods people as I say is important. We are part of God's family,and meeting with them, helps us and them,as we share with them, as we meet together.That meeting with them should be meaningful,to often going to meet with Gods people is an in and out experience.I was talking to a brother about a certain fellowship he knew,and said you had to attend there 20 years before you become accepted. That can't be true fellowship it is in fact a travesty ,and insult to  what fellowship should mean.Now returning to  Sabbath keeping being hard word, legalism ,whither on the  Lords day or any other day ,makes a mockery of the one who said ,' Are you  tired ?worn out? burned out in religion? Come to Me, and you will recover your life, I'll show you how to take rest' Matthew 11 v 28 ( The Message a paraphrase)

God's Word. ( Psalm 119 v 105 )

Looking back at my time in Bible  college, certain lecturers stood out,one was Professor Leahy ,my lasting memory of him was a godly man of soundness.He held no fanciful speculative interpretations of the Gods word,no  from him we received sound exegesis of the word of God. This is what we need in these days,sound teaching of the word of God,not those who pick and choose what they want to believe and teach, and reject those truths which they find hard to accept ,and their inconsistent concepts of God.It was R.C .Sproul who wrote a little booklet called,'Can I trust the Bible? ,if  the Bible is not trustworthy,we are in great difficulties.We must be prepared to take our stand on the trustworthiness ',of the Scripture ,'we must not only believe that the Scriptures  bears witness to the truth,but it is the truth '(R.C.Sproul )  I have  read and studied the Bible ,for over 50 years,and I know it can be trusted, It was a man called Frank Morison who as a young man, doubted the reliability of scriptures,especially the account of the resurrection,in the end he came to believe and trust in Jesus as his Saviour and his resurrection,he went on to write a book called,'Who moved the stone',The Bible is based on history,Calvary is real,yes it really happened,Christ died on a cross,and on the third day He rose from the dead ,in 2 Corinthians 15 we are told of hundreds of people who saw the risen Christ .In 2 Timothy 3 v 16  we read,'That all Scripture is God -breathed ',we do well to trust in Gods word,if we don't we will not do well.

A prayer ( Luke 11 v 1 )

I have a little book called ,'The valley of vision',published by ,'Banner of  Truth',it is a collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions'.So here is part of a morning prayer.  'O God,the Author of all good, I come to you for the grace another day will require for its duties and events. I step out into a wicked world, I carry about with me an evil heart, I know  that without you I can do nothing . Hold thou me up and I shall be safe,preserve my understanding from subtily of error,my affections from love of idols,my character from stain of vice, my profession from every kind of evil.May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore your blessing,and which I cannot invite thy inspection. Prosper me in all lawful undertakings,or prepare me for disappointments; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Teach me to use the world,and not abuse it,to improve my talents,to redeem my time,to walk in wisdom toward those without, and in kindness to those within,to do good to all men, and especially to my fellow Christians,And to thee be the Glory. Amen.

My Hero (Philippians 2 v 5 - 11 )

There is a modern song which reads,'The world is searching for a hero', have you got someone who is your hero?There are people I admire who have shown great courage,Martin Luther,Martin Luther. King,Jr,  David Livingstone, Eric Liddell,Daniel,Jeremiah ,Paul, Nelson,Freddy Orr,there are so very many people. The last one on my list,Freddy Orr,you may never have heard of ,he was a Belfast man who was a Christian,he had a wife called Ina,both were very gifted people ,Freddy was a preacher,his wife was a lovely singer. They both felt called to be missionaries,to Brazil, to the State of Acre,to work in  the interior,in the jungle  .On their trip to their destination ,Ina died,Freddy also became unwell,and was told by a doctor, if he didn't go home he would die.Well he didn't go home,he stayed and did a wonderful work for God ,until the Lord took him home. I have only one hero his name is Jesus,consider the sacrifices he made,from being equal with God ,he stepped into this sinful,making himself nothing,he became a servant,endured so much,the attacks of the devil,the hatred from  man, accused with being demon possessed,and other things. His enemies had him arrested on trumped up charges,they beat him and flogged him,and then crucified him.Why did he do all that?, because of love,for you and I ,we needed a saviour ,to save us from our sins ,Jesus was that Saviour, the only saviour there is,that is why he is my hero.

The Cross. ( Colossians 2 v 13 - 15 )

More than ever I feel that the cross needs to be proclaimed, it is Gods only answer to mankind's terrible condition, without the cross ,hear this ,there is no hope. The fact is this, without the cross sin remains  ,without the cross wrath remains,( John 3 v 36 ),without the cross judgement is certain .Without the cross mankind cannot hope to change,the drunkard will remain a drunkard, the drug addict will remain an addict,the sexual abuser will remain an abuser.Without the cross there is no way back to God from the dark paths of sin. Religion without  the cross cannot save ,will not save,being sincere will not save ,being kind will not save,being smart will not save,without the cross nothing can save,and let me stress this again God's answer is the cross.,we have not got an answer almighty God provided the answer,ignore it ,at your cost. 'In the old rugged cross,stained with blood so divine, a wondrous beauty I see; for t'was on that old cross Jesus suffered and died to pardon and sanctify me '.  ( Words by George Benhard )

Unless ( Luke 18 v 13 )

Imagine  you are driving along ,you want to get home,you are looking forward to it,and as you turn the  bend the road comes to an abrupt end ,,the road has collapsed,and between you and the other side there is a great gap.You think, well I will have to turn round,and try another route,but suddenly you a rumbling noise,and you walk to see what it was and the road behind you has collapsed as well.,and you think how am I going to get home?. We realise that we cannot bridge that gap that separates us from home,you remember someone had you warned that this could happened ,but you didn't take him serious,you thought you knew best.We are all on a journey, we may not give much consideration as to what awaits us at the end of the journey,we may think that heaven will be our eternal home.The Bible teaches that we are all sinners,that means we cannot go to heaven,in our sinful state , the doors will be barred to us.In Isaiah 59 v 2 we read what sin does,'But your iniquities have separated you from your God'.that's it, sin  separates us from God. So it is, that unless sin is forgiven by trusting Jesus,heaven will never be our home,but hell will be.

Brokenness. ( Luke 15 v 11 ff )

When I was young my mum and dad broke up,I don't know what I felt at that time,I was very young,They never got divorced,it was hard to get a divorce in those days,I know my mun and dad would not have been able to afford it.So they remained separate,and from that time on I had no contact with my father,I don't think it affected me or my brothers and sister much. But now of course, divorce is more common,it is sad ,there are many reasons,but whatever the reason it is sad,there is an old song which goes,'Breaking up is hard to do'.A  couple I know,are getting divorced, and I have  heard the shouting and swearing,mainly over who gets what.They have young children,and I am sure its going to affect them,of course I can't get involved,but I can pray, it did give me an opportunity to witness to the husband. It is all part of the brokenness of life,for we all live in a broken world,that brokenness manifests itself in a multitude of ways. Here is a song I used to sing,about those who are feeling broken,'Have you failed in life's battle,to accomplish your plans?,Is your heart heavy laden,do you fear the Lord's command?. Do you feel that no one loves you,and there's no use to try? Just bring your cares to Jesus, your soul He'll satisfy. You may feel that there's no hope, broken hearts just cannot mend. Storms of doubt blow all directions, but don't you be afraid; God can make all  corrections,He made a body out of clay. Pick up the broken pieces, and bring them to the Lord,Pick up the broken pieces,trust in His holy Word;He will put them back together, and make your life complete. Just place the broken pieces at the Saviours feet.'

El-Alamein ( Matthew 7 v 13 - 14 )

In 1942 a battle took place in Egypt ,between the British Empires army and the Axis forces,made up of German and Italians,it is known as the the 2nd battle of EL - Alamein.  It began on the 23rd October, and ended on the 11th of November, the Axis commander was Rommel, known as the desert fox, the British commander was Montgomery.One of the ways the Axis forces sought to hinder the British was by laying half a million mines.It did hinder them, but it did not stop them. It was a narrow pathway and kept one safe from the mines. In Matthew 7 v  13 - 14, our Saviour spoke of two ways in life ,a broad road and a narrow road,he said that the broad leads to destruction,and that many are on it.the narrow road would lead to life,he said not many travel on that road. I wonder what path you are on?,the broad road with its dreadful end, in hell,or the narrow road with its wonderful end,heaven. That pathway through the minefield  cost lives in the making,as they came under enemy fire ,so it is ,that the pathway to heaven that God has made,was won at a tremendous cost,the death of Jesus on a cross,it cost him everything,why did he do it? because of his great love for people like you and me.'There's a way back to God from the dark paths of sin,there's a door that is open ,and you may go in,Calvary's cross is were you begin as you come as a sinner to Jesus'.

Novelty ( Timothy 4 v 1 - 5 )

Many people are looking  for that which is ''new, young,fresh'',in other words novelty,the entertainment world is an example of this,fashion is like this.It  is also manifested within Christianity,I heard a couple of so called Christian preachers ,say that we are gods,one even used the the term .'I am',as to himself,another said she did not sin.Another thing that we hear people saying we don't need to preach the gospel to believers there is an assumption that they do not need to hear it,but they do,consider the epistles,written to believers,full of gospel truth.There are so called ministers that don't preach about sin,about judgement,about heaven,   and hell. I ask the question why is this generation any different than former generations?,if you ask me,there is more need now than ever before. People need more than ever to hear the word of God expounded  not just as a life style that's not so different than the worlds.Let us remember that we are to be different,not just for the sake of being different,but because we are different,we are followers of a God who is holy,and who calls us to be holy,to love as He loves,to be light in the darkness,to be salt in this corrupt world..What I am saying may not be novel,but then I am not called to be an entertainer,I am called to preach the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth,as is found in God's word.

Forget to Live. ( Acts 16 v 7 )

Miss Havisham is one of the characters in the book ,'Great expectations', written by the great Charles Dickens.Early in her life she was jilted at the altar. From that moment on she wore her wedding dress, kept her wedding cake,all the clocks were stopped in the mansion she lived,she was also very wealthy.She could not move on ,she remained trapped in her dream of what might have been,someone said,'It does not do to dwell on dreams,and forget to live'. I saw the title of a book recently ,'No looking back'. Miss Havisham, did nothing else but look back,her dream  became a nightmare,she refused to accept the reality.and so there she stayed,until she died in a tragic accident.We can all say if only,we had got that girl,that job,and whatever, we must move on ,stop our day dreaming. Our Saviour said,'Follow Me',that means stepping into what His will is for us,which is perfect and good,God's will is always best.I never got my dream of going to be a missionary,that was my dream,but it was not the life God had for me,and I am not disappointed,I have been writing this Blog for 13 years and I know that its reaching people all over the world.The dream you have may come true if it is God's will,but if it doesn't,well that's all I will say,what are you going to say?

A person ( Psalm 8 )

W . Barclay,wrote something very lovely ,' One is struck , on reading the Bible, by the importance in it,of  personal names. Whole chapters are devoted  to long genealogies. When I was young I used to think that  they could well have been dropped from the Biblical Canon. But I have since realised that these series of proper names bear witness to the fact that,in the Biblical perspective,man is neither a thing nor an abstraction, neither a species nor an idea, that he is not a fraction of a mass,as the Marxists see him,but that he is a person'.And a person whom God so loves that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish , but have everlasting life  ( John 3  16 )

Do not despair. ( Philippians 3 v 12 - 14 )

John Hunter wrote the following hymn,'Dear Master in whose life I see,all I would but fail to be.Let Thy clear light for ever shine,to shame and guide this life of mine. Though what I dream, and what I do,in my weak days are always two.Help me oppressed by things undone,O Thou whose deeds and dreams were one'. Although it is a hymn ,it is a prayer, a prayer of self awareness,of desire and of defeat,of trying but never succeeding,of trying but failing ,in the light of Jesus his Masters perfections.In Psalm 138 v 8, we read,  'The Lord will perfect that which concerns me', It is the apostle Paul who wrote ,'being confident of this very thing,that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ'.(Phil 1 v 6) Gods great purpose for all his children is that they may be conformed to the image of Christ,this is not an instant thing ,it is a life long process by Gods Spirit within us,and will be completed in Glory,when we shall be like Him. In the mean while,let us not give up in despair, but by God's grace, press on, in our walk,  forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead.

D V (Proverbs 3 v 5 - 6 )

In Hebrews 6 v 3,we have the words,' God permitting we will do so',Philip Hughes comments,''If God permits'', ,is something far more than a pious cliche. The point is that the Christian life is in the Lord's hands and all  his planning is subject to the overruling will of God. The principle is explained in a characteristically practical manner by James in his epistle ( James 4 v 13- 15) Likewise I often use the term D V which come from the Latin  Deo  Volente meaning, 'God willing'.   When the apostle wrote ,'God permitting we will do so',he is acknowledging God's sovereignty ,that He is  over all the affairs of life, and the importance of acknowledging that fact. He is also challenging mans proud sinful independence that denies God a place in their lives. Let us face it,  most people seek to keep God out of their lives,of course if it all  goes wrong they are quick to blame God,and retreat into a bitter unforgiving spirit.Let us be clear the world, has been running away from God since time began,his will is the last thing they want in their lives.While this is not so in the Christians life ,many are careless,and still manifest at times that same sinful independence.In Jeremiah 10 v 23, we read'O Lord,I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his steps',let us all acknowledge this fact, let us take to heart in the words of Psalm 31 v 15 ,that our times are in His hands.

You big baby. ( Hebrews 5 v 11 - 14 )

Imagine going into an infant school, and there sitting among the little infants was a grown man, and you went over and asked the teacher, whats he doing,well she replies,he has been coming here 25 yrs.She went on to say he is a bright person ,but all he  wants to know is just the basics, I have tried to help him,but he will not move forward . Well it seems a strange little story,so let translate you back about 2000 yrs,to a group of Christians,we read about in the Bible,we call them the Hebrew Christians.They were struggling in their walk with God,even at the point of turning back,from following Christ.They were confused and at the point of even going back to being Old Covenant Israelites  ,back to legalism ,to rules and regulations, turning  back to a religion that would take them away from God, giving up Christ ,the one who is greater than angels,than Moses, than Aaron . One of the problems was they had not advanced in their Christian faith,they should have been teachers advanced in Christian knowledge,but instead they were still babes in Christ.I believe that churches are full of people who have not moved on in the things of God. Hughes in his commentary on Hebrews writes the following, 'The point is, that the beginning  of  our Christian Faith is not a stopping  place; it is the door to progress and the springboard to achievement.' 'ahead of them stretched the road to spiritual maturity'.I wonder are you a big baby?

Not so. ( Titus 3 v 3 - 7 )

Someone said ,'that there's a limit to God's patience and grace,'the question is ,what happens them? the fact is God will act in a way that  he judges   appropriate.One of the worse Kings the Bible was king Manasseh,he ruled Judah for 55 yrs,we can read about him in 2 King 21 and 2 Chronicles 33,the people on the whole went along with him.,it is important to remember that,he did not do the evil on his own.We read that they did more evil than the other nations around them,we read that God spoke to  Manasseh and the people, but they paid no attention ,so God acted against the king and the nation,by sending the Assyrian army  against them,and conquering them. The Assyrians were a very cruel people,Manasseh was taken back captive to Assyria, they put a hook in his nose,and bound him with bronze shackles. Well, it was time he got his comeuppance, the rascal,but the story does not finish there, for we read,that in his distress he sought the favour of the Lord his God,he humbled himself greatly before the Lord, he forgive him,and brought him back to Jerusalem as king.We read that then he knew that the Lord was God,his repentance was sincere, evidence by what he did.When I read this I am amazed,that God did not destroy this man, but He didn't, why?,' because there is a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea; for the love of God is broader ,than the measure of man's mind,for the heart of the eternal,is most wonderfully kind.' Words by F.W. Faber. One would have thought ,that it was the end of Manasseh, Gods patience and grace,was exhausted,but not so. Jesus our Saviour came for one purpose to save sinners, even people like Manasseh,  can be be forgiven,if they truly repent, and trust in Jesus.

I want to know. ( Romans 11 v 33 - 36 )

Why?, is the question many people ask,as to disasters,and to things that happen in their lives,which they cannot understand. So much of life is a mystery, and yet we want and expect an answer,.consider what our Saviour said to Peter, 'You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand' ( John 13 v 7 ),this could mean that later on in our lives when we look back,and see the bigger picture,we will praise Him,and His providential care over us,that He shut that door, and that He held us back,and that his disappointments were our appointments.We can take this a step further, it is in 1 Corinthians 13 v  12, we read,' For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,even as I am fully known.'It is in Deuteronomy 29 v 29, we read ,' The secret things belong to the Lord our God, in Acts 1 v 6 - 7,the disciples asked Jesus  as to when He would set up his kingdom, he replied,'it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority'.The fact is there are some things we are not meant to know,we have no God given right to know,but He knows,and he knows best,the main thing for you and I to do, as we we pass through this life,is the importance of childlike trust in our loving heavenly Father,whose ways are  mysterious yet perfect.

Not how, but who. (Psalm 121 )

Let me ask you a question,'Got any rivers ,you think are uncrossable?,got any mountains you can't tunnel through?, well have you? let's remind ourselves of this truth,'God specialises in things thought impossible,  He'll do for you,what no other can do'.As I look back on my life of 76 years,how have I come this far?,only one answer ,'God',no one else,so many dangers in life,survival of the fittest,no , when I was born I must have been premature,for when a neighbour saw me, she wept,because I was so small. Our living Saviour declares, '' I hold the keys of death''( Revelation 1 v 18),if  you or I,are going to survive the dangers in life, it will be because He will's it. Power belongs unto Him ( Psalm  62 v 11) ,oh yes many of God's people are suffering,struggling ,and facing many difficulties, if that is what He has willed for their lives, he will not forsake their in their dark hours,and He will ,rest assured,  bring them through to Glory. ( Hebrews 2 v 10 ) In the mean while, let us trust our God and Saviour ,to undertake for us,to get us across those rivers that appear uncrossable,and to get us through ,the mountains that we can't tunnel through .A family was facing difficulties, and the youngest son ,came the father, and asked him,'Father how are we going get through , he looked at his son ,and said,'Son its not how, but who. That is the  right answer to the question , our God ,the God of the impossible.

Words ( Romans 8 v 28 )

I wonder do you think the following is true?,'Sticks and stones may break my bones but names, will never hurt me'.When I was a lad,indeed  for most of my life ,I had prominent teeth, I am sure you know what happened?,some people used to call me,'buck teeth'. I remember an old lady who took an unbridge  at me,saying very hurtful remarks about my teeth, ,and I felt very angry, That's not a problem now ,as  those teeth are now gone,still it hurt at the time.In families abuse,can take different forms, one of them is words,yes words,were a child can be put down,made little of, that they are told that they are  of no use,that they will never amount to anything.The result is they grow up feeling unloved,and a failure,because of words ,hurtful words,imprinted in their memory,and they cannot erase them.We are all sinners in a real  sense failures,for sin is a failure in Gods eyes,but God loves failures,yes He does. When He saves us failures,he makes us his children, we become somebodies,with a wonderful future,in time and most of all ,in eternity. It will amaze you, as it has me,just how much God will care for us,help us, favour us,and bless us,yes we may fail in certain things ,but by his grace we can rise above our failures, through Jesus, his Son.

The power of gravity. ( Romans 1 v 16 )

Why do we not all float of into space? the answer is gravity, gravity is defined this way,'The force that attracts a body towards the centre of the earth, or towards any other body having mass'. Near a town in Northern Ireland called Omagh,in the county of  Tyrone, there is a hill that is called a magnetic hill,what is unusual about this is,if you park your car at the bottom of the hill  ,with the engine turned of ,and the hand brake of, your car would be pulled up the hill,it is caused by the power of gravity. In Colossians 1, we are  told that Christ is the image of the invisible God,for in him all things were created, and in him all things hold together., and that all the fullness of God dwells in Him ,this is Jesus we are talking about.One who is truly God and truly man,in his earthly existence we see his divinity,when he spoke,when he performed miracles, and his unique knowledge,of people he had never met.We see his humanity in his physical limitations,he was weary,sad,and even as regards to his  death,we are told of that death that he was crucified in weakness,yet he lives by God's power ( 2 Cor 13 v 4 ) We marvel at the power of  gravity, ,but in Jesus we see the power behind it all ,Jesus ,by Him all things were created and by him all things  were created and are sustained and held together(Colossians 1 v 16 ff). but the power  of Jesus goes beyond creation,to the power of salvation. I listened to a man speaking yesterday his name was Ron,he told of a life that was out of control,a life controlled by drugs,he was continually being put into prison, many times he nearly died through overdosing with drugs..There seemed no way out of this nightmare of a life,until he met Jesus,and accepted him as his Saviour.When that happened two things took place ,one, forgiveness, two,he was empowered to overcome the power of sin.

Are you anxious ? ( Acts 16 v 31 )

In  Proverbs  12 v 25, we read, 'An anxious heart weighs a man down'.I was told recently of a man who was very anxious, because of the coronavirus ,as many people are,the thing about this man,he had  trusted   Jesus many years ago,his wife also is  a Christian. Unfortunately they both had fallen into a backslidden state .His family have been praying for him,and I have for many years,that he might get right with God again. The good news he has,in his anxiety he turned back to Jesus,and now he is shining for Jesus. We can be anxious for many reasons,are you anxious like that young man,before the coronavirus,you never give a thought about death ,after all so many people live to a hundred,why worry about such things,but now the reality is , death is on the rampage.If you are ignoring this reality and not taking precautions ,you are being foolish,and further still,you are foolish big time,if you have ignored the reality,that if you were to  die ,were would spend eternity?let me repeat this,were would you spend  eternity?.The good news you may survive this coronavirus, but you will not escape death, I can assure  you,it will eventually come knocking on your door,I urge you with all my heart to trust Jesus as your Saviour, believe on the Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

Yes, Yes, Yes. ( Ephesians 3 v 20 )

I read recently of a woman who lived in New York all her life,like most cities the light pollution blotted out the stars,and even the moon.Recently as she looked up there it was ,the moon,she said to her friend,so that's the moon?.Just imagine yourself away from from light pollution,you would be speechless as you look up  and see the vastness of the universe,with its innumerable stars.In Psalm 19 we read,' The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the works of his hands'.In Psalm 147 v 4, we read,'He determines the number of stars and calls them each by name'.I do not believe for one moment that all the universe just happened by chance,because chance can make nothing happen,no in the beginning God created the havens and the earth,the beginning,that point in time or space it all began, not with a bang, but with the voice of God saying,''let it be'', and it was.You may say it is not possible,but let me tell you this,with God all things are possible.If he did all that  can he not look after you and me,whatever we may be facing, at this time, can he not see us through our difficulties?,yes ,yes, yes, there is nothing to hard for Him to do.

Old Thomas. ( 1 Corinthians 3 v 5 - 9 )

A man called H.L.Gee tells  the story ,of the church in which he worshipped, and in that church was a lonely old man called Thomas.He had outlived all his friends,and hardly anybody knew him .Well Thomas died, and H.L Gee had a feeling that no one would attend his funeral,so he did,This was during war time,and as he reached the cemetery he noticed a soldier waiting he was an officer.He came for the ceremony,and after it ended,he stepped forward to the grave and gave a wonderful salute.It was a wet and windy day,and as he walked away H.L.Gee joined him,the wind caught the soldiers raincoat revealing his rank,he was nothing less than a brigadier.He spoke to H.L.Gee and explained why he was there.He went on to say ,that Thomas had been his Sunday school teacher,and that he had been a wild lad and a sore trial to Thomas,he never knew what he did for me; but I owe everything I am or will be to him,that is why I came to salute him.The Bible tells us  one sows another reaps,if I was sum to up  my ministry ,it has been one of sowing,I hope like Thomas God may have used me to have influenced someone for good. Let us all remember it is God alone who gives the increase.

Means ( 2 Kings 20 v 7 )

Last time we considered how God delivered Israel of old,and then they asked for a king,now it was not ..necessarily wrong to ask for a king,as long as he and the country still trusted God.In the nineteenth century,God raised up a people ,who called themselves the Peculiar People.This name was taken from the 1 Peter 2 v 9 in the AV,modern translation have,'God's special possession'.Most of these people were poor farming people,and they were very godly, when these people became ill they would pray for healing,they could not afford doctors , plus the fact that there was very little effective medicine available .God did answer their prayers, and many people were healed,I personally knew one person who had been healed.But gradually things changed,in that immunization came in,and people were required to have their children immunized,against diphtheria,there were those who refused to do this ,believing wrongly that it would undermine faith in God,unfortunately some children died,and parents were taking to court and charged with neglect .Our Saviour said those who are sick need a doctor ( Luke 5 v 31 ) ,God uses means to help us,he used a  pillar of cloud and fire to lead His people through the wilderness ( Exodus 13 v 21ff ),so it is not wrong to use a sat nav,or a map to find ones way.,God has provided the means to guide us.Let  us not despise the means God for provides us, but do not let the means undermine our trust in God, pray his blessing on the means that he uses  to help us,whatever they may be, but  also remember that God is not tied to means.

Our helper ( Psalm 121 )

In  1 Samuel 7, Israel were facing their old enemy the Philistines,things were very bad because they had forsaken the Lord, and turned to other Gods. The word of God tells us if we regard iniquity  in our hearts the Lord will not listen ( Psalm 66 v 18), the result was they were on their own,they could not depend on God to come to their aid.,defeat stared them in the face.. Sin always has its consequences ,for the non-Christian it means that their eternal destiny is at stake, heaven will be barred to them. The Christian cannot sin with impunity,there will be consequences, God is no respecter of persons,Israel faced defeat because of there sin,and they knew it.But things changed they turned back to the Lord,but it didn't stop the prophet Samuel telling them that they had to forsake their sinful ways,So they confessed their sins and forsook them,it is not enough to confess our sin, we must forsake our sin,otherwise it is all fruitless,if we don't ,it is  pointless to look to God for help.Before they went into battle they asked Samuel to keep praying for them,in the hope that God would grant them victory.In mercy God responded ,by granting them a victory,over their enemies.After the victory a stone was erected, and they named it, Ebenezer,which means,'Thus far the Lord has helped us'..If only they had held unto that truth,but shortly after this they asked for a king. They had been delivered by God alone,and yet here they are looking ,beyond Him. The dilemma  that faced Israel of old ,and Gods people today is this ,we can so easily forget the God who delivered  us in the past,and put our trust in something or someone else.

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My times are in your hands. ( Psalm 31 )

Following on from the previous day,as to how we face difficulties,in verse 14 of Psalm 31  ,David declares, ''But I trust in you,Lord'', so often in my times of difficulties,I seem to hear God saying ,these  two words,'Trust Me'.it is so easy fall back on human reasoning,to let faith slip away, like the disciples when they were in a storm ( Mark 4 v 40 ).We often hear the term unconditional love,but what about unconditional trust,are we prepared to trust in God,come what may?,remember He can be trusted.The next thing he says,''You are my God'', yes not some worthless idol,or false God ( v 6 ) ,consider who He is, the maker of heaven and earth, remember that he so loved you that He gave the most precious thing He had ,Jesus,and that Jesus is with  you, and you  need fear no evil. ( Psalm 23 v 4 ) Next David declares v 15, ''My times are in your hands'',I want you to look at the palms of your hands,as a reminder of what God says about you His child,' I have engraved you on the palms of my hands''.These words are spoken to reassure you child of God that he has not forgotten you,that in good times,bad times,all the time He is watching over you, yes even to deliver you.David goes on to say,''Let your face shine on your servant'', Matthew Henry wrote the following,  'When the cloud of trouble hideth the Lords favour, faith knoweth it may shine again, therefore pray through the cloud for the dissolving of it' 'My times are in Thy hand; My God I wish them there; My life, my friends,my soul I leave,entirely to Thy care'.  ( Words by Henry F. Lyte )

Facing difficulties. ( Psalm 31 )

I often hear myself saying, ''its in Gods hands'', lets not fool ourselves,He is in control ,many people are confused by what has come to pass,and surprised that all their plans have gone to pot. Psalm 31 was written by king David,   it appears that David himself was faced with a lot of problems, he speaks of enemies who were seeking to destroy him, he confesses that he is weak and sorrowful,consumed by anguish ,his strength is failing,he feels isolated,forgotten ,people are talking of him in quite whispers,and they are conspiring to kill him .So things looked bleak for David, a dark cloud had descended over him , what would you do if you were him? what would I do?.The difficulties he was facing were real ,very real,they were not made up, again I ask the question ,what would  you do?.I want  you to think about this,for there is a wrong way,of thinking and then there's God way.We will think about this next time,and how David thought about it,there are real lessons to be learned,on how we can  face difficulties.

The tyranny of the urgent. ( Matthew 6 v 33 )

Chuck Swindle said' ,That the tyranny of the urgent,blinds us to the need of what is important'.The world does rush on,so much pressure to get things done or to get were we are going.We are like the White Rabbit in Alice in wonderland ,was rushing to get to tea party,had a watch in his hand and kept repeating,''O dear,O dear, I shall be too late''.Many gadgets have been invented to make life easier for us yet we are still  under  of the tyranny of the urgent. I'm not saying one should neglect anything, but that one should think about what is important. .Now that I cannot get to my local fellowship,I have made a point of  getting a wonderful church service on ,'You Tube', from Chuck Swindles church, I commend it to you its ,called ,'Stonebriar'.I  very rarely missed a church service during my Christian life, because I know how important it is. Likewise how important to read Gods word,to pray,to witness,to help and care  for others,these may seem obvious, but many neglect them. There are so many things that are important in life,it would be a good exercise,to take stock of ones  life,to pray and ask God for  help u,to put the important things in our  lives, in their proper place, and to stop being tyranny driven. If you are not a Christian is it not time, to bring Christ into your life, before it is to late.?.

The underdog ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 18 - 31 )

It  was the EURO final of 2004 ,between Greece and Portugal, Greece were the underdogs by a long way,Portugal had the world class Ronaldo  playing for them,but in spite of that,Greece the underdogs won,1-0  We read in 1 Corinthians 1 v  26 - 27 that God chooses,'foolish things,weak things, lowly things,  despised things,and in James 2 v 5 ,the poor of this world.I have a picture of Christian women praying in  Pakistani,seemingly they are doubly despised for being female and for being a Christian.There are many others one could mentioned,whom one could class as underdogs in this world,those Hindus who are of the low casts, are despised,the world is full of people who never get a fare crack of the whip,underdogs.Here is the wonderful good news ,God loves the underdog,he welcomes them into into his kingdom, with open arms. No matter if you are disabled, poor, uneducated,whatever your colour or race, red and yellow black and white,all are precious in His sight. There is an old Irish song which goes,'If your Irish come into the parlour,there's a welcome there for you,' I don't know about the parlour, but I do know that if you trust Jesus as your Saviour,you will be more than welcomed into Gods kingdom,for in Gods sight there are no underdogs only sinners who need a Saviour.

A better day is coming. ( Revelation 20 v 1 - 4 )

In Psalm 139 v 13 - 16,David dwells upon God as creator of the human body,he  sees how  God began  the work in the womb,as he does ,his heart is full of praise and reverence,he declares,'I am fearfully and wonderfully made' v 14. It was Augustine who wrote, ''Men go gape at mountain peaks, at the boundless tides of the sea,the broad sweep of rivers,the  encircling ocean and the motions of the stars,and yet they leave themselves unnoticed, they do not marvel at themselves''.Spurgeon wrote,' We need not go to the end of earth for marvels,nor even across our own threshold; they abound in our own bodies'.Many worship their bodies,many neglect their bodies,many abuse their bodies.If only we had not sinned,but we did, in that earthly paradise,and so we experience pain,of course pain is not necessary a bad thing, for it warns us  there is a problem that needs fixing,but  we have not reached the point ,were all that needs fixed ,can  be fixed,we never will, we will never reach that point. When we suffer are we being punished for our sins?,not necessarily we may be,suffering happens ,by a virus, other times by ourselves,and  just to put it simply,that is part of living .It was Thomas who doubted that Christ had risen from the dead ,until he had a revelation of the risen Christ,he  declared ,that Jesus was his Lord and his God.( John 20 v  28  ) There are many aspects of this we could highlight.,one ,. Though he was truly God,in his humanity ,  he manifested a wonderful compassion,for those who suffered, a compassion that was God like ,He felt their pain ,in Christ, God was here intervening  ,by healing ,feeding the hungry,comforting the sorrowing,  Alas suffering will continue, until that time when Christ will make all things new,and usher in a new heaven and a new earth. This has been made possible  because of His death on the cross ,his death enables all who trust him,to have their sins forgiven,which means  they will  enjoy an eternal existence free from all suffering. 

Why Pray? ( Luke 18 v 1 )

I know a man he gets up every day at 5.30 to pray,he also talks to God during the day,and has a time of prayer in the evening,why?,that's a good question.I wonder, if you do pray, why do you pray?.Well this man says he always prays because it is important,for the Christian life is about relationship. He sees God as his loving heavenly Father and loves to talk to him,no better person to talk to,than the one who loves and cares for him the most. He says he loves Him so very much. He seeks to be honest to God his Father,no secrets,no hidden agendas, he knows that God his Father is watching over him every moment of the day.Of course God is a triune God , Father,Son, and Holy Spirit,but he says when you are talking to one,you are talking to all.Much of his talking to God is in interceding for others he says that's very important,for he believes that prayer makes a big difference.He believes God answers prayer,and that nothing is to small or insignificant to pray about,I asked him why he gets up so early to pray,well he said,if he didn't it's more than likely ,it would not happen as other things,other pressures would encroach upon it,and that he would not like that,for prayer is vital to his relationship with God,and his walk with God.He went on to quote a few verses of a hymn,'Prayer is the burden  of a sigh,the falling of a tear,the upward glancing of an eye, when none but God is near.Prayer is the Christians vital breath,the Christians native air; his watchword at the the gates of death, he enters heaven with prayer'. 

I worshipped him. ( Isaiah 44 v 6 - 20 )

''He wasn't a great dad,but I worshipped him'',if fact he was a drunkard,but the lady worshipped him.Everything is a god to a Hindu ,well practically everything,There are even so called Christians who say that they are gods,with a small g ,humanity is good at inventing gods,to many Hitler was god,the Romans called their Emperors a god,likewise the Pharaohs ,and so we could go on,gods there are in plenty in this world. The word of God declares,in Isaiah 44 v 6 'apart from me there is no  God,v 8 ,'you are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?. No, there is no other rock,I know not one'That means that all other so called gods ,do not exist, people are worshipping a delusion, they are not true. Now you may think how foolish those worshippers are,surely they should know, that those gods are not really gods.But you see it is real to them, that does not make it real,does it really matter?, yes it does,for the worship of those gods is a sin ( Exodus 20 v 2 - 4 ),and that is serious.The lady who said she worshipped her dad ,also loved him.the worshippers of other gods,love them,and would do anything for them,even kill,even die for them.Such love is not only misplaced but foolish and deadly. These gods cannot forgive sins,cannot take one to heaven,or save from hell,cannot free you,the only true God alone can do that,through His son Jesus,