A prostitute.( 6 v 9 - 11 )

 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been  encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot  did not perish with those who were disobedient,because she had given friendly welcome to the spies.  ( Hebrews 11 v 30 - 31 )The nation of Israel had forty years previously escaped from Egypt, now they were going to possess the promised land.That meant taking it by force, the first obstacle was the great city of Jericho.Israel had sent out spies to view the land,and Rahab  had hidden them.Why had she done this? she had become a believer in Israels God ( Joshua 2 v 11 )She was a prostitute ,but as Philip Hughes writes,'this ,however, is a description of Rahab as she was before she came to faith and identified herself with the people of God- as Matthew continued to be known as the tax collector,( Mt .10:3 )..Some people think that Christianity is only for good ,moral people,they are wrong,it is for sinners. It was our Saviour who rebuked the religious people of his day, with these words: ''Truly , I say to you, the Tax  collectors and the harlots go into the Kingdom of God before you''.( Mt 21 v 31 )  John Newton wrote that wonderful hymn,that starts with these words,'Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me', he wasn't exaggerating ,Here are the words on his gravestone,''John Newton, Clerk/Once an infidel and libertine/A servant of slaves in Africa was by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ/ Preserved Restored, Pardoned and appointed to preach the faith he had long laboured to destroy''

My new passport. ( Philippians 3 v 20 )

It has finally arrived,my new passport, as one who was born in the United Kingdom, in Belfast ,I already have a British passport,but this new one is an Irish passport,so that makes me a citizen of two countries. But I am also a citizen of another country, as a Christian  I am a citizen of a heavenly country,I value that citizenship more than the other two .So I am a citizen of three countries ,now coming back to my Irish passport,my wife could not get one, because she was not born in Ireland.So it is that no one who is not born again ,can ever be a citizen of heaven.There is a rule for all who want to live in Ireland ,United Kingdom , and Heaven, you must be a citizen. The USA are building a new fence to keep people out, you just cannot decide to live in USA, or Ireland,or wherever.When it comes to being a citizen of Heaven God has made possible that anyone can become a citizen..How?,by accepting Christ as their Saviour.That means they must, and I stress must, ask Him ,to forgive them, their sins, No matter how they may bang on the door of heaven it will remain shut, if their sins have not been forgiven. So if you want to become a citizen of Heaven, you know what's required ,what's stopping you.?.

If. ( Psalm 124 }

 As I sat in my living room I looked at a photo of my two older brothers and myself ,when we  were  very ,young, I must have been about six yrs of aged.And I said to myself,' from there to now',yes it was a  long time ago,many ,many things have happened, I could not help but think how the Lord has brought me through so much. As a youngster I trusted the Lord,and until the age of twenty my relationship was a stop and go thing,yet even though I was unfaithful , He remained faithful, and brought me through those years ,I may not have been aware of it ,but looking back on my whole life I can see His providential care. By faith I can trace His gracious hand being upon my life,yes from there to now.David  reflecting on Israels journey, declares,' If the Lord had not been on our side,let Israel say-if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us up alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us,the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away'( Psalm 124 v 1 - 5 )  We who are the Israel of God ,can truly say an Amen to those words.One commentator says,'What would have happened if He had not been our Defender,Provider, and Guide?.Every child of God, no matter how poor and humble has the assurance of  Scripture that the mighty God is ever on their side protecting them from all destructive hordes; and blessed be the name of Jehovah, one with Him is ever in the majority''.

Another Problem ( Psalm 54 v 4 )

 My came wife into the room I was sitting in and spoke of something  that was strange,a difficulty,and I found myself saying ,'another problem for the Lord  to sort out'. The previous day I had a problem, my mobile phone had gone missing, I tried everywhere but I could not find. I blamed myself,but I prayed,A friend had being doing some work in our home,I phoned him thinking that  he may have absentmindedly taken it with him,he replied he hadn't. So that was that, but I had  prayed,I went outside to put some rubbish in the bin,and who should pull up in his car, my friend,whom I had phoned earlier. Well you guessed it,he had my phone,he had indeed absentmindedly put my phone in his tool box,another problem the Lord had solved. What a friend we have in Jesus,one who can solve every problem,if we but ask Him.As I look back in my life I see how He  has solved so many problems,which includes family problems,money problems,major and minor problems,you name it He has done it.

Come follow Me ( Acts 16 v 9 - 10 )

 The word of God encourages us to wait and rightly so,Abraham had to wait a long time before he received the promised son. Sometimes we have to wait for our prayers to be answered,we are told that those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.Think about prophecies ,and how long it was before they were fulfilled, yet they were fulfilled, in God's time. But it is not all about waiting, God also wants us to move at his bidding,and stop  trailing our feet,he wants at all times obedience,and that could be immediate obedience..In Hebrews 11 v 8, we read,'By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; that he went out , not knowing where he was to go'.One of the ancient writers  wrote,'Abraham  departed the moment he was bidden'. No holding back  ,and Westcott wrote,''While ( so to say ) it was still  sounding in his ear''When our Saviour said to Simon and Andrew,'' Come follow Me,they at once left their net,and followed Him.  ( Mark 1 v 17 -  18).There was no dithering ,no hanging back, they just obeyed. Things have not changed God still speaks to us,and at times he expects obedience,at once.He still says ,'Come follow me'

Different ( Romans 12 v 1 - 2 )

 John Stott wrote, 'The followers of  Jesus are to be different- different from both the nominal church and the secular world,different from both the religious , and the irreligious'. I wonder what you make of  that,I once started to wear a bow  tie, very few people wear bow ties ,I didn't do it to be different, I know some people thought it was funny, I felt a bit uncomfortable with that.Then I felt I should wear a little cross, it seemed to me an innocent thing to do, but some Christians didn't think so. When Jesus says to us, follow Me,it brings a challenge, to be holy, in other words,our lives our consecrated to God.we become temples wherein God dwells. Romans 12 v 2 reads,'Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind'.When we become Christians we bring with us a lot of  sinful rubbish in our minds,things need to change..The rest of the verse reads,'then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good,pleasing and perfect will'.Unlike the non-Christian we are to be focused on God's will for our lives.As John Stott points out,' These two value systems (this world and God's will) are incompatible,even in direct collision with one another'.Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how you should be different

He is infinite. ( Romans 8 v 28 / 37 - 39 )

Returning to C.H.Spurgeon ,it is pointed out  that from the age of 35 he was out of the pulpit from one- third of the time either in pain, sickness, or convalescing.In January 1856 he preached a sermon as regards, God teaching his people every day by sickness, by depression of spirit,by the forsaking of God,by the loss of the Spirit for a season, by the lackings of the joys of his countenance, that he is God,and that beside him there is no one else' He later said,''Laid aside . Why?'' he believed that we can ask God questions,if we do without murmuring. As discerning God's motives, he said,''Happily for us our happiness does not depend upon our understanding the providence of God,and the Christian is able to believe even when he is not able to explain , and is content to leave all to the wisdom and goodness of his heavenly Father''One of my favourite hymns was written by William Cowper who suffered from mental illness ,mainly of a depressive nature, is, ' God moves in mysterious ways,' it is important to remember that,we who are finite will never fully understand Him who is infinite,and his ways are way beyond our understanding,yet we can trust our God whose way is perfect,and  rest in this wonderful truth,that He loves us.

Scripture Alone ( Acts 17 v 10 - 12 )

 One of the most popular ministers in the 19th century was a Baptist preacher called  Charles Haddon Spurgeon, his popularity was world wide, Many preachers would love to have such a popular ministry,as one listens to some preachers especially in America ,with their mega gatherings ,one would wish that they were not so popular,in their dubious teaching,and their graving after material gain, and as one observes the vast numbers attending their gatherings it is sad that they appear so gullible,with no real spiritual discernment..It appears the easy way out ,not to think, to not search the scriptures.It is not a new thing ,millions in their ignorance have let their church do their thinking for them,believing that their church knows best,all they have to do is go along with what their church teaches, and they will go to heaven,of course there is always the threat hanging over them, if they don't, then they will be lost..The reformation began when godly men started to read the scriptures,the result was they saw that what their church was teaching was contrary to Gods word. One the cries of the reformation was ,'Scripture Alone',when preachers start saying things that are not in the word of God,or that are contrary to Gods word,beware, it is time to speak out ,and get out.,for they are destroying the very foundation of our faith.

Preparation ( 1 Timothy 4 v 15 - 16 )

 A friend of the family is doing some decorating for us,as I watched him at work, I was impressed by the  preparation he did..As a preacher I realise more and more the importance of  sermon preparation,good sermons  don't just happen.Before David became the shepherd King of Israel ,he was a shepherd of  sheep, that was God's preparation.God does prepare us for whatever role he has called us to do,but that does not mean we have nothing to do.Gold medal winners, don't just happen, if  God has given you a gift then he wants and requires you to develop that gift, that means hard work. Marriage  I believe is a gift from God ,but we must work at it continually,so many people don't take into consideration the challenge of marriage, the hard work it entails to make a marriage work. It is only in fairy tales that people live happy ever after,remember a marriage will struggle to survive if  husband and wife don't work together,  God is there to help us,if we are willing to seek his help.Now lets consider preparation in relation to our spiritual well being, for we who are Christians .Let me ask you a question,what preparation should we make as we face each  day?,the world rushes on,but we need to pray,we need to read God's word,we need to remember the words of our Saviour that without him we can do nothing, for we are not just living a life, we are called to live a Christ like life.

Faith or ( Hebrews 11 v 6 )

 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. ( Hebrews 1 v  3 )Let me ask you is God an evolutionist? ,the answer is simple, no He created.Then the cry goes up even by so called Christians ,but the scientist  say,but have you ever considered that those same scientist  deny the existence of God. Let us consider what L.d'Etaples has to say, in which he contrasts ,faith and human reasoning,' Reason does not attain to faith, but grace, which is superior to reason, provides it. What reason provides is , moreover,obscure and weak;  whereas  what grace affords is clear and strong; and so the trusting man of faith commits himself  to God, not to his own reason,to divine truth, not to the possibility of his own cleverness, and his position is spacious, not narrow. He who is  unwilling to leave behind the possibility of his own reason encloses himself in a dark and confining prison where the sun of grace does not shine and  life- giving faith is not found. O ' divine faith , wonderful foundation of life, strong support of hope, anchor of devotion and shining cord extended from heaven, seizing which we climb to him who is above and beyond all altitude.'

The wow factor. ( John 4 v 1 - 26 )

 The only time I have seen the Grand Canyon is on the TV ,or in the movies, it is situated in N. Arizona,it is over 200 miles long,and is about a mile deep, the Colorado river runs along its base. I have a friend who visited the canyon,seemingly there are platforms that take one right out over the canyon.My friend shared his experience, as he walked unto one of the platforms,he felt a wow factor,it was amazing..So he walked along and walked out on another platform, felt it was great,I cannot remember how many more platforms he went out on,but by the time he got to the last one,the wow factor had gone.There are so many things like that,when we purchase a car,or we see some new technology, or  some scientific discover. Children soon discard their toys, the wow factor soon goes,the greatest example of a person loosing the wow factor, is found in the book of Ecclesiastes.The book is about a King  who tried everything, I mean everything,and all he ends up saying,''everything was meaningless''.A certain footballer said there is only so many watches one can buy,why is mankind always chasing after that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?,the truth is this ,if they found it , it would soon loose the wow factor. In John 4 our Saviour spoke to a women who came to a well to draw water ,He said to her,whoever drinks of the water from that well would thirst again,but whoever drinks the water I  give them will never thirst.  Are you thirsty?have you discovered that the wow factor is gone from your life?, 56 yrs ago Christ changed my ,like many there was a deep longing  that the things of this world could not satisfy. 'O Christ in Thee my soul has hath found, and found in Thee alone. The peace ,the joy I sought so long, the bliss till now unknown. Now none but Christ can satisfy,none other name for me; There's love  and life and lasting joy,Lord Jesus ,found in Thee'

The answer ( Romans 5 v 1 )

 This question is asked in Job 9 v 2  ,'But how can a man be righteous before God?',that's a very important question,consider one of the greatest of the prophets Isaiah.He had a vision of  God,a Holy God,and was so overcome ,he cries out,'Woe to me,...I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips  ( Isaiah 6 v 5 )',Then consider the greatest of the apostles,Paul ,who declared himself to be the worst of sinners ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15 )  When the Bible says ,all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,no matter who we are. The answer to the question ,can a man be righteous before God?,is no, it is beyond us,so how can we be justified and accepted with God?. The words of the disciples come to mind,''who then can be saved?''our Saviour give this answer, ''With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible''( Matthew 19 v 25 - 26 )Only God has the answer, and the answer is  Jesus, in 1 Peter 3 v 18 ,we read,'For Christ also hath once suffered for sins,, the just ,( righteous man ) for the unjust (unrighteous ones),that He might bring us to God'.First of all we note He died once,only once, it cannot be repeated ,that death on the cross was for sins,He was sinless, it was for sinful humanity..  On the cross Christ took the  place of sinners ,and bore the sinners punishment,that means when we trust  Jesus,we are free from Gods wrath and judgement,in other words we are Justified and  accepted by God. Charles Wesley wrote,' No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all  in Him ,is mine.Alive in Him, my living Head,and clothed in righteousness divine. Bold I approach the eternal throne,and claim the crown,through Christ alone'.

Spiritual cancer. ( Romams 3 v 23 )

 John Stott writes, 'Salvation is a comprehensive term ( Past) Justification . (Present ) Sanctification. (Future) Glorification. Consider Justification,what does it mean?,it is a very important question ,it involves our standing,and acceptance before a holy God..How can a person achieve this?,first of all no one  can,if you are religious and keep all the rules of that religion,that will not give you a right standing and acceptance with God. If you are a moral person, and most people think they are ,human morality fails also, The term ,the milk of human kindness comes to mind,I recently met a man who said he was not a sinner, and then he went on to relate how he had helped someone ,that also will fail. Why you may ask do all these things fail,for none of them deal with the real problem that we are all sinners,it is no use saying ,well no one is perfect,that's right,but that term is often a way of ignoring the more serious truth ,that we are in Gods sight ,a sinner. Our sin cannot be expunged by anything we can do,no matter how sincere we are,and so the problem remains,which means we have no standing or acceptance with a holy God..That means we will never go to heaven and we will go to to hell.The answer to our sinfulness can only be  dealt with if first of all we acknowledge our sinfulness,to stop minimising it,it  is to serious,to do that.sin is spiritual cancer,it is fatal, you cannot beat it,the result is certain,eternal separation from God,and that is more awful than one can ever imagine..There is an answer to this problem we will consider it next time.

New growth. ( Hebrews 12 v 4 - 12 )

 In Yorkshire England,there are estates were grouse are reared,the birds nest on the ground among the heather, these estates are run as a business,people pay to come and shoot grouse,they don't shoot them on the ground, but people I think they are  called beaters, walk among the heather and scare them into the air. Now in order to maintain the heather,part of it is set on fire,they do this to encourage new growth. If you read the Bible you see people who experienced  good times,but they also  experienced great trials,  indeed our dear Saviour told us that in the world we would have tribulation, ( John 16 v 33 ) ,even now many dear Christians are experiencing great tribulations.In the  that old hymn,'God leads us along, by B.Gaither, we read how He leads,'Some through the waters, some through the flood,but all through the blood.Some through great sorrow ,and all the day long'.Why such trials? well there is a reason, the man of God ,Job who was experiencing great trials,declared ,'but he knows the way I take;  when he has tested me,I shall come forth as gold' ( Job 23 v 10 ). The fact is, in our trials God is with us,and through the trials he will purify us, a verse from a hymn ,puts it like this.'When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie. My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design,thy dross to consume , and thy gold to refine'Yes .like the heather, the fire that God brings into our lives,it is to encourage new growth.

Little foxes. ( Acts 24 - 16 )

In the Song of Solomon 2 v 15,we read, 'Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vine', not just foxes but little foxes.One could look at the little foxes and think,O they are lovely, so cute, I would love to have one for a pet,the dear wee things,but the reality is this,these little foxes are destructive being,they are not playthings,no they are pests,that need to be put down.Let us never underestimate the destructiveness of those things that can be likened unto ,'little foxes'.A person I  respect was asking me to do something ,he used  the word pretend,I asked him what he meant by pretend,he explained what he meant,it did not sound right to me ,it sounded like he wanted me to do something that was wrong,so I said no. I like football ,I was told that one could watch games, for free, I asked a friend about it,he said it was not legal, so I will not be watching  that.These things could be seen as  not important,and yet they are important,for they are the little foxes,likened unto little sins, and they can do us a lot of harm,The first sin was that of eating of the fruit of a tree, such a little thing,but it had horrendous consequences.Let us never think that little sins are of no importance,they are ,don't  be fooled or deceived,and don't think they don't matter to our Holy God ,they do.

Hope ( Romans 4 v 18 - 22 )

 I wonder why Bibles have a black cover?because the Bible is full of hope, hope is not a dark thing,  because it is placed in God.Not in anything or anyone but in God and in God alone.P.E.Hughes writes  that 'Christian faith and Christian hope enjoy the closest association'.In writing to the gentile believers at Ephesus  ,the apostle Paul reminds them how it used to be,'Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ,excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise,without hope and without God in the world'.What was written of them applies to us, to come into a place of hope   we had to put our faith in Christ,then all was changed,we were no longer strangers but part of God's family.In Hebrews 10 v 23 we read,'Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,for he  who promised is faithful'.P.E Hughes writes ,We might well have expected to read here'the confession of our faith',no it is ,'the confession of our hope'. No matter how dark things are for the Christian we can have hope,in a bright future. We can have hope in hopeless situations,,we have hope because our faith is in the God of hope, This is my prayer for  you dear child of God,'May the God of  hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,so that you may overflow with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit,' in Jesus name. Amen.

If only. ( Romans 11 v 33 )

 Many ,many people live with an ,'if only,thought pattern,I guarantee many sports people,live thinking ,'if only' ,I had.Marriage must be full of people who think if only,I could trade him or her  for a new model.I joke but I think there is some degree of truth in it.One can think of so many who can look at their lives,and the decisions they made, and with regret ,say if only.Some things we can change,and it may turn out well,and then again it may not.Well how should we look at the ,'if only, in our life's history?.let us remember, some things we cannot change,better accept that fact, and move on,stop dwelling on it.We can learn lessons from the ,'if only',in our lives,that will us help,to avoid making the same mistake again. As a Christian one can leave the ,'if only' with God,and rest assured that , He can work  out everything for our good ( Romans 8 v 28)   Joseph is a person we can learn a lot from, for he looked at things differently, he experienced tremendous injustice in his life, sold into slavery by his own brothers, Later he was thrown into prison for something he did not do, he could have spent all his time thinking how he could get his own back,on those who had harmed him, but he didn't. Why? because he looked with the eye of faith, and  saw that God meant it for good.  ( Genesis 50 v 20 ) .Remember,'His ( God's) purpose  will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste,but sweet will e the flower'  (Words  William Cowper)

Wait ( Joshua 1 V 9 )

 We come to the end of Psalm 27 by considering the last verse 14,which reads,' Wait for the Lord ,be strong,and let your heart take courage wait for the Lord'.Here is a man facing difficulties,as indeed you may be,here is what is required,simple, 'Wait for the Lord', but of course one thing we human beings find difficult, is waiting. Yes  waiting, but it is not just waiting it is waiting in faith. When Israel came out of  Egypt they came to a place were they were being pursued by a  powerful Egyptian army,we read about it  in Exodus 14 .It appeared to them that they had been led into a place of destruction,it looked to them that their fate was sealed.Bur Moses the man of God spoke,'Do not be afraid,yes they were afraid,yet God would not desert them ,Moses continues to speak,' Stand firm and you will see the deliverance  the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be  still'.We must wait,and show a degree of courage,if  we but wait and trust,all will be well'Yes the battle was the Lords. Let us remember we are pilgrims,that will involve times of testing,but in spite of the challenges,  as you wait for the Lords deliverance,you will hear God's voice saying ,'go forward'  'Workman of God, O loose not heart, but learn what God is like,and in  the darkest  battle field,thou shalt know where to strike,' remember,'Thrice blest is he to whom is given,the instict that can tell,that God is on the field,when he is most invisible.  (Words by F.W.Faber)

Mine is thine. ( Isaiah 26 v 3 - 4 )

 We carry on looking at Psalm 27 ,we now consider v 12- 13'  Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I've never done; with every breath they threaten me with violence.Yet I am confident I  will see the Lords goodness,while I am here in the land of the living.' I would like us to  focus  on the last part of that reading ,here is David and he is under great pressure,it would have been so easy to give into despair,and like Jacob of old cry out,'everything is going against me  ', but he didn't instead ,he makes a statement of faith,' Yet I am confident I will see the Lords goodness,while I am here in the land of the living'.Why ? ,because his God had not changed,he had experienced so many providential deliverances in his life. As a young shepherd boy he had overcome a lion and a bear,and as a young lad he had faced a giant ,and slew him.Likewise the Lord had preserved him when King Saul had sought to kill him, and had failed,because God was with him,and as the scripture says, 'if  God is for us who can be against us' ,  (Romans 8 v 31) The sun shall shine again for David,his enemies will be defeated,as God had promised  he would become King of Israel, (1   Samuel 13 v 14 ).  Remember dear child of God you are precious to Him, Gatesby Paget  wrote the following,'So dear, so very dear to God, more dear I cannot be; The love wherewith He loves the Son, such is His love to me.  Why should I ever anxious be,since such a God is mine?, He watches o'er me night and day,and tells me mine is thine.'.

A threefold request. ( Ephesians 6 v 10 - 18 )

We continue to consider Psalm 27, we are going to look at v 11,which reads,' Teach me how to live,O Lord ,Lead me along the right path,for my enemies are waiting for me'. First let us consider his requests,for God to teach him how to live,the AV puts it like this,'Teach me thy way o Lord'.He wanted to live God's way. A popular song goes,'I've done it my way'.no wonder it was popular,because most people are on a road called,'My way'.but when you trust Christ, we hear him speaking to us,and He says very simply,  'Follow Me' . Are you prepared for that?,are you prepared  for what that may mean?.Next he says',  'Lead me along the right path',or a plain path,we live in a world of great confusion,when our Saviour looked at the multitudes,he described them as sheep without a shepherd,in those  days the shepherd walked before the sheep,in other words he led them,. If we are following Jesus, hear this ,it will not be into confusion,he will guide and direct us,and will lead us on a road that is going somewhere to heaven.Lastly we consider,' For my enemies are waiting for me',for every  child of God there are enemies ,one comes to mind, I would call him the enemy within,there is a saying which goes,'you are your own worse enemy', and we are, so often.we let down our guard,and let so many things in,we play with fire forgetting that we can get burnt. and then we have the sins that so easy trip us up ( Hebrews 12 v 1  ),the wandering eye,yes we are, our own worse  enemies.,Here is a little prayer we could pray,'  Lord save me from myself, in Jesus name Amen.'

Never. ( Matthew 28 v 20 )

We move on in Psalm 27 to look at v 10, which reads 'Even if my father and mother abandon me, the  Lord will hold me close'. Earthly parents can fail us and even forsake us,for different reasons,many children in these days have no idea who there father is, Spurgeon  writes ,' Some of the greatest of saints ,have been cast out by their families'. When many Muslims come to Christ their families disown them, for that to happen to anyone  is devastating .David brings to our notice something that is unthinkable,being  abandoned by ones parents, especially at a time of deep trouble..That is the bad news,now the good news, ,he writes ,even if that happened ,the Lord would not forsake him.As an old man David could write ,'Once I was young,and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned'. ( Psalm 37 v 25 ) ,he could write this ,because of God's faithfulness.In  Hebrews 13 v 5- 6, we read,'For God has said,I will never fail you,I will never abandon you.So we can say with confidence. The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear'.Dear child of God remember,God will never forsake you.

I carried you. ( Isaiah 63 v 9 )

We continue looking at Psalm 27 ,so let us consider the last part of v 9,and v 10,in v 9 we read,'Cast me not off, forsake me not,O God of my salvation' ( E S V).He prays the unthinkable that in this, his time of need, he would be left alone, bereft of the very presence of His God. For any believer this is the worse  possible scenario,how could they cope?,the fact is they couldn't,some times for Christians who are suffering great trials ,they must identify with the words of the Psalm,or like Job who cried out ,'Oh, that I knew where I  could find Him'  (  Job 23 v 3 ). There is popular poem I will leave it with  you,It is called, 'Footprints in the sand'.'  'One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes   from my life flashed across the sky. each scene I noticed footprints in the sand,sometimes there were two sets of  footprints,other times there was one only. . This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life,when I was suffering anguish , sorrow or defeat. I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord, you promised me Lord, that if   I  followed you,you would walk with me always.         But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life,there has been one set of  footprints in the sand.. When I needed you most, have you been there for me.?. The Lord replied,''The years when you have seen only one set of  footprints, my child,is when I carried you''. 

He will not Fail you. ( Psalm 121 )

We considered Psalm 27 v 8,were God invites David to talk to him,so what did he say to God?,v9  we have him feeling very conscious of his faults and failings, he does not come to God on the high ground of perfection,but that of a saved sinner,who needs his Gods help.I heard a so called preacher who said that one should not pray that you are not worthy,one of the greatest hymns ever written was ,'Just as I am',the writer was Charlotte Elliott.It  was at a time of great weakness, she felt so unworthy,so she wrote that wonderful hymn,the first verse starts with these words,'Just as I am without one plea,but that Thy blood was shed for me,and that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,O Lamb of God, I come ' In Revelation 5 v 4,we read,'no one was found worthy'. The fact is, are acceptance with God is depending on Jesus ,righteousness, ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 30 ) .David further declares to God ,'You have always been my helper', God does not get tired of helping us,He does not say,O here they come again,no He does not say that,rather throughout scripture God assures His children of His help.  CP Isaiah 41 v 10/ Psalm 50 v 15, reads ,'Then call on me when you are in trouble,and I will rescue you,and you will give me glory'.I end with a verse from a hymn by John Newton,'His love in times past,forbids me to think.,He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink. Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review,confirms His good pleasure ,to help me quite through'.

It is good to talk. ( Psalm 27 )

Psalm 27 v 8 in the,New Living translation', reads, 'My heart has heard you say, '' Come and talk with Me'',And my heart responds, ''Lord I am coming''. This Psalm starts with  words of real confidence,that the Lord is his light and salvation,so right away we are made aware that he knows God,he is light,Jesus said if we follow Him ,we will not walk in darkness ( John 8 v 12 ).He speaks of God as his salvation ,can you say that you are saved that you have  asked  Jesus for forgiveness?.If we are to have confidence that the Lord will help us,we need to be in a right relationship with Him. He goes on to say that the Lord was his, fortress and protector, ,and no matter what comes against him  he will be confident.this is followed by his desire after God and to be always near him.and will preserve him and he will offer praise and thanksgiving.Then we come to v 8 God speaking to his heart,inviting him to come and  and talk to him,it obvious that he was facing real difficulties, if you are a Christian you will face difficulties, real difficulties. The question is this, what do you do?,the answer ,go and pour your heart out to your Lord, make him your first port of call,hear his voice speaking to your heart,go and talk to God.

There is an answer. ( John 3 v 16 )

A prisoner on death row in America, said,'Is there ever a good way to die?',of course death comes to all,a man who was facing execution was asked,you have a choice as to how you will die,they waited for his answer,and he replied,'I would like to die of old age'. But is there an answer to that question,is there a good way  to die?,yes ,we cannot stop death ,it is an appointment we all have to keep. We know this, there is no escape, resistance is futile,it will happen, this is not a cheery subject, it is not meant to be, the answer to this question is the most important thing you will ever hear in all your life.I do not exaggerate,first let me quote part of a verse  from the book of  Revelation ,chap 14 v 13,'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord'.it simple means those who have trusted Christ as their Saviour, the old  hymn  says,  'He died that we might be forgiven ,and go at last to heaven.' Yes death is not the end,there is an after life,where we will spend eternity ,in heaven or hell,depends on whither we have trusted or rejected Christ.If God is speaking to you now and you want to trust Christ,there is a little prayer  you can pray,'Come into my heart Lord Jesus,come into to stay, come in today,come into my heart Lord Jesus Amen'.

Stigma ( 1 Corinthians 12 v 9 )

I wonder if you have ever thought,how contrary the apostle Paul's honesty is to many people attitude,when he speaks very honestly about his thorn in the flesh ( 2 Cor 12 ). Especially when he doesn't reveal what it was, we know what people are like, I wonder if he was alive today,what would people be saying?. one can imagine,whats he hiding from us,why doesn't he tell us what it is,we have a right to know. Lets have him up before the leadership we must consider our reputation,its not good enough,we need to know.He can't be our Pastor,we can't have him preaching in our church,we want a strong man of God,we do not want a person with a thorn n the flesh,we hear also that he has been in prison. Well you get the picture,   people can be very cruel,if you don't live up to their standard,as Christians ,we are meant to be different than the world.I remember a Pastor a godly man who suffered from mental illness, and he was told by another minster that he should not be in the ministry. Now mental illness takes many forms,it can be very severe,and very disabling ,it sometimes can effect the personality. Of course there is a stigma attached to mental illness.so one can imagine that if one was a minister,one would not like anyone to know,it could affect their position as a leader. Remember mental illness is an illness,and like any person who is ill they ,should be supported,let us remember weakness does not disqualify anyone from serving God..

The heart ( Psalm 19 )

Last time we considered a prayer,with words from Psalm 19 v 14, 'May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart ,be pleasing in your sight, O Lord,my Rock,and my redeemer'. We considered our words,next let us consider ,the ,'meditation of my heart'.this is something that this person practiced,it did not just happen,he made a deliberate decision, to meditate.He speaks of the heart.Vine puts it like this,the heart,' Came to stand for man's entire mental and moral activity,both the rational and the emotional elements.In other words,the hidden springs of the personal life'. We are thinking emotional beings.and often our emotions,take over our thinking,which leads to our actions,David looked at a very beautiful woman bathing,his emotions were stirred, and they took over his thinking,which led to adultery.. So we can appreciate why the Psalmist prayed what he did,he wanted that his emotions and thinking would  please God. Focusing on the wrong things,can lead us into wrong things,things that can destroy us, and others.Here is a man who wants his life ,his words,his inner being,to be pleasing to his God.If we read Psalm 19 we are told that the glory of God can be seen in the heavens, then the wonderfulness of God's word, and the positive results of obeying God's word.Then he finishes by opening himself  up to a holy God, acknowledging his sinful nature,and a desire that God would keep him from sinning. He ends with these wonderful words,'O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer'.We need not to be driven and controlled by our emotions ,there is victory in Jesus.

Words ( Colossians 4 v 6 )

Here is a prayer, 'May the words of my mouth,and the meditation of my heart,be pleasing in your sight, O Lord , my Rock,and my Redeemer', ( Psalm 19 v 14 ).It is a simple prayer,yet very challenging ,for it deals with two aspects of our being,our words,and our hearts.Consider how many wrong words being spoken at this time,hateful words,vain words,filthy words,spiteful words,foolish words, deceptive words,harsh words.Our Saviour said, 'But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned'.( Matthew 12 v 36 - 37 ) Here Jesus is responding to evil things said about Him by religious leaders,there is coming a day in which they will be judged,and on that day they will be speechless. The great prophet Isaiah confessed, that he was a man of unclean lips , and I live among a people of unclean lips ( Isaiah 6 v 5 ), Consider, as Christians is our speech ,any different than the non-Christians?,do we take the name of the Lord in vain?,do we tell lies?,how many sinful words have you spoken?.There is forgiveness as Isaiah experienced, C P V 6 - 7 .Let us remember if we confess our sins that God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins( 1 John 1 v 9 ),even the sinful words of our mouth.

Historical Truth. ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 1

Malcolm Muggeridge wrote the following, ''If you say to me,do you believe that Jesus's birth was by a virgin ?.Yes I do,because I think the whole drama requires that. But that's entirely different from saying  that I believe that a particular female,without anything happening, conceived and bore a child and that, that child was Jesus. In other words, I see it as an artistic truth rather than an historical truth''.Here is a man who was admired for his wonderful writing, a man who professed to be a Christian,and many people got carried away with that,but let be very clear ,that Mr Muggeridge  was very much in error in what he said  Our faith must be based on historical truth ,not in so called artistic truth, no,the birth of  Christ,and the life of  Christ, the death of Christ,and the resurrection of Christ,and His ascension, were historical facts.If any of these are not historical happenings then they are not true,but they are true,these wonderful things really happened, and when one embraces the  Jesus of history,then your life and your destiny will be gloriously changed for ever.

Not the minority. ( Romans 8 v 31 - 39 )

I remember a missionary telling  about two brothers who were the only Christians in their school,when asked about this,one of the lads said,' we are many'. What did he mean by that?well I believe he was saying that when God is with you,then God and all of heaven are for you. In 2 Kings 6 we read that  Elisha and his servant were at a place called Dothan and  they were under attack by the  army of Syria..  It all got a bit to much for Elisha's servant, and he cried out in fear 'what shall we do?'.Elisha replied,''Don't be afraid'...   Those who are with us, are more than those who are with them''.The servant may have wondered why he said that,for the reality staring him in the face did not appear good. Elisha stopped trying to persuade him that what he said was true,so he prayed,and asked God ,to open the eyes of his servant.The Lord answered,his eyes were open,and what did he see?, he saw the hills all around them were filled  with horses and chariots.In Romans 8 v 31, we read,'If God is for us, who can be against us,and in v 37,we read,'we are more than conquerors through him who loved us'. Like that servant of old you may be very afraid,difficulties are piling up,the enemies at the gate,there is no way out,you are not on your own,you are not the minority,for God and all heavens resources are your's.

Likes and dislikes ( Romans 1 v 18 )

We all have our likes and dislikes ,when I was young ,like many children I did not like eating vegetables ,I like them now,often our likes and dislikes,are not important. But of course there are times they are, like how we view race,or women.Lets turn the spotlight on the Christian faith ,many people dislike it when we point out that accepting Jesus is the only way to heaven,even some who say they are Christians,,even though Jesus said that He was the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one can go unto the Father,except by him ( John 4 v 16 ). There are some ,even Christians who dislike  the doctrine of the wrath of God,they would argue that it is inconsistent with the Scripture teaching that God is  a God of love. So it was that a man called C.H.Dodd who took issue with those who believed in the wrath of God,he believed that the sacrifice of Christ had nothing  to do with wrath. He challenged  the use of the term propitiation ,which  means that God had to be appeased , because  God was angry with humanity.because of their sin  C.P  John 3 v 16 / 36. There are many scriptures that speaks of God being angry,in Psalm 7 v 11 we read that God is angry with the wicked every day..In spite of  this C.H.Dodds rejecting this , and sought to make a case against the use of the word propitiation ,it is Leon Morris who points out,'Throughout Greek literature,biblical and non-biblical  alike,hilasmos ( Greek) means ''propitiation''. We cannot now decide that we like another better''