Being presumptuous. (Psalm 19 v14 )

                                                     'Keep back your servant from presumptuous

                                                      sins; let  them not have dominion over me!

                                                      Then I shall be blameless,and innocent of

                                                       great transgression.  (Psalm 19 v 13)

So wrote king David,and it's good instruction,he is asking God to stop him from deliberately disobeying him.He is asking God for strength to stop sinning willfully.In the devotional 'Word for today' published by UCB) the writer is dealing with prayer where he asks for grace that he may walk neither in self-doubt nor in self- confidence because we know that apart from Christ, we can do absolutely nothing'  (John 15 v5 ) No one is immune from sinning,David was guilty,Peter was guilty,the list goes on.We often hear of ministers falling ,the nicest people can fall,you and I can,you may have.Count the cost of sinnig,whatever reputation you had as a man or woman of God will be no longer.People will remember you not for the good you have done,but the sin you have committed.The good news is God will forgive your sins no matter how bad they have been,and He will not hold that against you if you trully repent. 

God's choice (Matthew 19 v 16-26)

In Mark 12 v 37 we resd,'And the common people heard Him gladly',in  India a land of 1.46 billion people 80 percent are Hindu;approximately 2-5 percent Christian. More than half of India's Chritians are Dalits (the lowest status according to the Hindu caste system) John Wesley's writes of a group people whom he labled as the great vulgar, they were the well of people.He speaks of them as being rude,rough,vulgar.He writes how he could deal with colliers,or with 'honest Welshmen'',but he could not plumb the emptiness of the gay trifiers.He went on to say,'It is hard to get a rich man to heaven, hard to get a fool there; and as for a rich fool,there seems to be no hope for him'.In  1 Corinthians1 v26 'Not many wise after the flesh,not many mighty, not many noble,are called.'They make their choice but God makes His choice,the foolish and the weak ( 1 Cor 1 v 27),the poor of this world rich in faith (James 2 v 5)

The word of God is ( Psalm 119 v 89)

Psalm 119 has 176  verses by far the longest psalm,it has 22 equal stannzas,each headed by a letter from the Hebrew alphabet. The main  theme of the Psalm is the word of God,the writer stresses many things,the law of God,which is God's wholly loving boundaries, that are for our well being,look at the evils in this world,  anything  seems to be acceptable and where many do what's right in their own eyes,but not so in God's eyes.I just want to hightlight verse 105 ,which reads ,'Your word is a lamp for my feet,a light for my path'. Our Saviour said,'If then the light within you is darkness,how great is that darkness.(Matthew 6 v 23) the religions of the world have their so called holy books, how great is there darkness.They have there so called holy men,how great is their darkness,the atheist  hides in the darkness of his own mind,how great is that darkness,the evolutionist believe that this universe just happened,how great is their darkness. William Plumer comments ', The word of God can solve a thousand doubts'It alone gives effectual comfort in the day of distress,It  preserves our feet from forbidden paths.'.

                         

There is mercy ( Psalm 6)

One writer puts the following words over Psalm 6, 'Prayers and Tears' He points out that this psalm is the first of the seven so called ,penitential psalms' David is concisous of wrongs that he has done and he pleads for mecy,he appears to be suffering from some illness an affiction from God and so he cries unto God to relieve him of his affliction. David was a man beloved of God ,a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13 v14/ Acts 13 v27) But God has no favourites ( Romans 2 v11)It is in  Hebrews 12 v 6 we read ,'For the Lord disciplines those He loves,and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.'Be it David, be it you be it me.It ends on a happy note for we read,'The Lord has heard my plea;the Lord will answer' v 9. If you have sinned,which we all do ( 1 John 1 v 8) ,repent and seek His forgiveness and mercy through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Courage ( Psalm 23)2

Now let us consider the next aspect of the serenity prayer ,it begins with the word 'Courage', for what?,'to change the things I can'.the question is what are the things that need changing in our lives?.I puzzled about this,you know, and God knows ,what are the things in your life that needs changing, What about fear?,now fear is a good thing,the fear of the Lord is a good thing,we are told as regards the unbelievers that ,'There is no fear of God before their eyes,' (Romans 3 v 18)And so they do all sorts of evil,sinful things,a man said to me recently I'm not a bad person,and I replied yes you are more than likely a better person than me,but you are still a sinner,this is what our Saviour said,'I will show you whom you should fear,fear Him (God)  who after your body has been killed,has authority to throw you into hell,Yes ,I tell you fear him'. (Luke 12 v 5) .God is to be  feared but God is also merciful,and he will show mercy  through Jesus Christ,who died for sinners, Now dear Christian, how big a problem is fear in your life?,Are you being being ruled by fear,we will all feel fear,but is fear ruling your life?God has not given us a Spirit of fear,but of power and of love and of a sond mind . (2 Timothy 1 v7) 

                                                      ' Don't be afraid,for I am with you.

                                                        For I am your God,I will strength

                                                        you and help you.I will hold you .

                                                        up with my victorious right hand'.

                                                                      Isaiah 41 v10

Our helper. (Psalm 121)

Psalm 21 starts ,'I will lift up mine eyes to the hills,from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord ,which made heaven and earth' The NLT puts it like this,'I look up to the mountains-does my help come from there?' and there is a resounding no to that, and his answer is this,'My heip comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth'.When the enemy of our souls is pressing in upon us which he will,he will do all he can to frighten us and discourage us.When trials are pressing in upon us let us look to one who made heaven and earth,is there anything to hard for Him to sort out,no,there isn't,'He can do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think' (Ephesians 3 v20) He is the helper of the helpless, and the  hopeless,when other helpers fail and comforts flee,so let us trust our great creator.

This poor man (Psalm 34 )

Psalm 34 is very instructive psalm,with many lessons to teach us,it is written by David,it speaks of him being delivered v6 reads,'This poor man cried,and the Lord heard him,and saved him out of all his troubles'.What does he mean by declaring himself a poor man? after all he was the man ,who slew the giant ,who went on to be a great warriour, and yet he calls himself a poor man.Well it is in Matthew 5 v3  our Saviour said,'Blessed our the poor in spirit,'What does it mean to be poor in spirit,one writer puts it like this,'It refers to those who recognize their spiritual poverty,humility,and absolute dependence on God rather than relying on self sufficency or material wealth' Our Lord is stressing that when we come to God for salvation we acknowledge that we are spiritual bankrupt,and we cast ourselves on the mercy and grace of God .But it doesn't stop there,that is the attitude we must have all our lives,like David we will always be poor in spirit. That confession by David  meant the Lord heard him,and saved him out of all his troubles, yes all his troubles,God does not do things by half.