Help of the helpless. [ Psalm 145 v19 ]

Elijah moves on from the dried up brook, to where God is now directing him, to a widow, so of he goes,he meets this women,only to discover that she was at the point of giving up.What little she had, was going to be her last meal, then she and her son would die of starvation,the situation was desperate, death stared ,and her son in the face she had come to end of her resources, no hope,but God had other plans. Can you identify with that women ?,I can, during our time living by faith,there were times when we had nothing in our home,no money no food, and three children to feed. I remember often we were in this situation,and all we had was the promises of God, who said He would supply our needs.We never did starve to death, nor did the widow women, or her son,God undertook.tomorrow we will see how,and what that means for you and me.[ Dear God help me to realise that You will not desert me in my hour of need,but will come to my aid in Jesus name Amen ]

Move on.[ Hebrews 11v 13- 16 ]

Following on with the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 17, from the brook Cherith he is told by God to go to a heathen town, to a widow woman,this woman would sustain him, so Elijah obeyed.The brook had dried up there was not much point in staying there, it had served its purpose, it is an unfortunate trait in the children of God, that they refuse often ,to move on, many of them are sitting at dried up brooks. Today ,Gods word to you is move on, leave that dried up brook, it has served its purpose. As God spoke to Elijah to move on , so God may be speaking to you, to move on, move on to a new place of service, a new place of proving Gods faithfulness. This is called walking by faith,obeying by faith, and as we obey by faith, God will guide, and lead , and provide. Fanny Crosby wrote the following,/All the way my Saviour leads me, what have I to ask beside?. Can I doubt His tender mercy , who through life has been my guide?. Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell . For I know whate,er betide me Jesus doeth all things well./[ Dear God grant us grace to leave the dried up brooks,to move on ,in faithful obedience, in Jesus name .Amen ]

The brook dried up. [Proverbs 3 v 5 av ]

I was speaking on Elijah the prophet yesterday 1 Kings 17, in this chapter he declares a message of judgement to king Ahab, then he is told to go to the brook Cherith, there he would be supplied by God in a natural and unatural manner. He would have water from the brook ,and would be fed by ravens,but eventually the brook dried up,why? ,the natural explanation would be, because of the drought, but the more imporant explanation would be that God was teaching Him not to trust in the brook, but in God.What are we trusting in today?,has it dried up?,we are not meant to be trusting in our money, our jobs, our friends,or even our families, but in God. If we put our trust in the brook ,dont be surprised if it dries up,so today let us put our trust in God.[ Dear God help me to understand, that I must trust in You, not in myself or any means you bless me with, in Jesus name Amen]

Fortune cookies. [ Psalm 119 v9-16 ]

While visiting one of my sons, and his wife we went out for a meal in a Chinese restaurant, and at the end of the meal we recieved fortune cookies. These fortune cookies are a little like what one gets in a Christmas cracker, both are a bit of a joke. The fortune cookie usually says something like, /you are going to come into something that will make you very happy/. I wonder do we sometimes treat the Bible like a fortune cookie? which of course its not, for often what the Word of God tells us is very challenging.Read the prophets, the prophet Habakkuk, who was told of coming judgement,likewise Jeremiah,or Ezekiel, read the book of Revelation,with all its woes.No the Bible is not like a fortune cookie, it tells us ,often what we dont want to hear, yet what we need to hear. So today as you read the Bible, dont just see it as fortune cookie, but as a wonderful book,that needs to be listened to ,and obeyed.[ God we thank You for Your precious word, help us to read it regularly, and to not treat it as a fortune cookie in Jesus name Amen]

The darkness cannot win. [ John 1 v 5 ]

The Bible speaks much about light and darkness, now sometimes we fell that the dark forces are going to extinguish the light, consider the darkness, Islam, secularism,political systems,and so the list goes, and of course the other gods of this world, materialism,sexual obsession,pleasure,money.We must not be surprised at these things, because the word of God tells us that men love darkness rather than light [John 3 v 19],that is mans nature, a fallen nature.But it does not stop there, for we further read in 1 John 5 v19, that the whole world lieth in wickedness.It doesnt stop there for we read that there is a god of this world, who has blinded the minds of them which believe not,lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,who is the image of God, should shine unto them [2 Corinthians 4 v4 ] . This is the world we live in, it appears hopeless, yet let us not despair ,God is sovereign , He is in control, He is in the business of rescuing men and women out of the darkness, Christ who is the light of the world cannot be extinguished [John 1v5], He will build His church .[ Matthew 16v18 ] [ Father in Heaven, help us not to fear that the darkness will win, help us not to despair, fill us with hope, faith and Your peace ,in Jesus name Amen ] [I will be away for a couple of days I will recommence Sunday]

Deception.[ Genesis 27]

I remember seeing an old movie called ,/The man who never was,/ based upon a real event that took place during the 2nd world war. The Allies were going to invade Europe, the Germans knew this, but they didnt know where, an idea by Ian Fleming of James Bond fame, was used to decieve the Germans into thinking that the Allies would invade Greece, when it in fact it was Sicily.The idea was to plant false information on a dead person,whose body would be found ,washed up on shore ,this deception worked, the landing took place was successful,and many lives were saved as a result of it. I suppose in war deception is acceptable, but not in life generally, we need to be open and honest in achieving our aims,we read in 2 Timothy 2 v5,/And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully[fairly ,according to the rules, laid down . [Amp v]. We see so much deception in sport, finance, and in relationships,unfortunately we also at times see it in the church , and this can never be acceptable.[ Dear God help us to be honest in all our ways, to strive for success, but always may we strive lawfully ,in Jesus name Amen ]

Scarey things.[ Hebrews 11]

Many many years ago in my far distant past my wife and I attended a missionary weekend,we felt challenged with the other young people, to give a weeks pay unto the Lord. This was an act of faith by them and by us, as a couple we had no savings, but we did it,it was a bit scarey when I look back on it. I was just thinking ,when was the last time I did something that was a bit scarey.We wrote yesterday of Daivd and Goliath, as David looked back he must have reflected, on what he did, a bit scarey. I am not saying we should act for the sake of it,but we do need to be listening to Gods voice,give occasionally more that we would ordinarily give, even witness to somebody, break out of our set ways.Let us all remember that we belong to another kingdom, a kingdom of different values, different aims,different.Although what we are called to do, may be a bit scarey, dont be afraid, God will not fail us, and in His way He will reward our efforts. [ Dear God grant me the grace to attempt scarey things for you in Jesus name Amen ]