The Murdoch empire. [ Daniel 4 ]

One wonders what will be the effect on the so called Rupert Murdoch empire , will it survive?, will we all have to get rid of our Sky TV systems. Mr Murdoch was befriended bythe high and mighty, because of his power to influence the voters, mybe he could be seen as a king maker, but all has changed ,people in power are distancing themselves from him. God does grant power to people yes even to Rupert Murdoch, but He can very quickly remove that power, one way or the other. Today let us not forget that power belongs to God,[ Psalm 62 v11], He raises up, He puts down,rulers come ,rulers go,but God remaineth in control, working all things after the counsel of His will [Ephesians 1 v11]. Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane, but our sovereign God rules over all the affairs of mankind.[ Dear God help us not to loose sight of this most glorious truth, that You reign and rule over all the affairs of this world, in Jesus name Amen ]

The Lord preserves. [ Psalm 121]

Yesterday something unexpected happened,I was collecting two people in my car,the person in the back seat ,an elderly person was having trouble with her seat belt, I went to help her,but I had not put my hand brake on. As I leaned over to help the lady , my car started to roll forward,begining to trap my foot under the back wheel. Now my front seat passenger is a very unwell person mentally, and yet he had the sense to put the handbrake on, so saving my foot from being crushed. This event could have turned out so differently, but God was gracious and preserved me from any harm, we can take all the precutions we can, in driving,and in so many areas of life, and we should, but it is God who preserves us . I have not driven thousands of miles and escaped injury by my skill as a driver [my wife would agree with that] , no,God has preserved me. John Ryland wrote, / Plagues and deaths around me fly. Till He bids, I cannot die, Not a single shaft can hit. Till the God of love sees fit./[ Dear God help us always to act in a responsible way,but help us, always to bear in mind, that You and You alone preserve and keep us safe, in Jesus name . Amen ]

Stiff-necked. [ Revelation 3 v14-22 ]

Yesterday I woke with a stiff neck, it is a bit easier today, but it reminds me of what God said to His people ,that they where stiff-necked . [ Jeremiah 17 v23/ Deuteronomy 31 v27 ]. In calling them stiff-necked, God was saying that they were obstinate,haughty, and stubborn, not very complementary, but true. They manifested these traits continully,and no more so, as when our Saviour lived among them[ John 5v40 ]. It appears that during the whole of Israels history ,God was continually pleading with them , and all He recieved was a stubborn refusal to come to Him [Matthew 23 v37 ]. This does not just apply to Israel, but to all mankind , cp Romans 3 v 9-10, many sit under the gospel, and are not saved. Sad to say , we Christians also can be stiff-necked, displaying lack of love and forgiveness,and doing things we shouldnt, and not doing things we should, inspite of the fact that we have the Holy Spirit, and Gods word. We listen but we do not hear, why?, because we are stiff -necked, it is to a church that Christs says,/Beold I stand at the door and knock,if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.[Revelation 3 v20 ] as Christians we are often not very Christian to our Lord. [ Dear Lord help us to really listen to what You say ,help us not to be stiff-necked in our relationship with You, Amen ]

Jesus came to save sinners.[ Luke 15 ]

It is the prophet Jonah who prayed,/ For I know that Thou art a gracious God,and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Thee of the evil/. Now He really believed this, and this why he ran away from Gods charge to go and preach at Nineveh, for he knew his God,and knew if the people of Nineveh repented of their evil ways, [ which they did], God would forgive them and spare them. Now stange though it be ,Jonah did not want Nineveh to be spared, even after he did go and preach his message ,he still hoped that God would destroy them [4 v5]. You see they where a very wicked people, humanally speaking they deserved Gods Judgement,deserved to go to hell, deserved the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. And yet God spared them when they repented, I am sure one of the reasons we have the book of Jonah is to let us see that, the worst of people can experience the salvation of God,irrespective of what Jonah or you ,and I think, I know, for He saved me.[ Dear God let us never forget that Your son came to save sinners, even the worst of sinners. Amen ]

No concessions. [ 2 Timothy 4 v 7- 8 ]

George Muller died in his eighties, and died quietly in his sleep, he left a wonderful testimony, to the glory of God, near the end of his life, he said on a number of occasions, that he might not disgrace the Lord in his old age, and become a wicked old man. I can identify with those remarks ,for I know that although I have a good relationship with my Lord, and have proved Him time and time again. He has blessed me in so many ways, and continues to do so, but I still experience temptations,and it would be so easy to yield to those temptations. Like George Muller I pray I might not disgrace my Lord in my old age, and become a wicked old man. The Bible reminds us that while we are citizens of planet earth,we must be on our guard, and to continually ,rely on our Lord for grace to overcome temptations, and all the difficulties we meet. The devil has no pity for the old, and will ever be looking for ways to trip us up, he gives no concessions for senior citizens. No matter how old we are, we may be as old as Methuselah, but we still need to press on to our heavenly goal.[ Dear God grant us grace in our old age ,to not digrace You, and commit some wicked thing, in Jesus name Amen ]

A Challenge. [Hebrews 11 ]

George Muller was a wonderful man of God, a man of faith and integrity ,he saw God answer prayer ,time after time in relation to the work ,God called him to.He was led to start a work among children ,so the Ashley Down orphanage came into being, and during his lifetime George prayed and God answered. He, unlike many TV evangelist ,did not make the needs of his work known,he sought to live by faith,so he prayed and God provided. It was his example that so impressed me, that many years ago, when I was married ,and had three children, to step out in faith, and go to Bible college. I found God faithful, and hath found Him so continually, there are two aspect of faith, that have lived with me, faith to recieve, and faith to give. These two aspects of faith bring with then a deep challenge, a challenge we can shy away from, they appear risky, faith will always challenges us to leave our comfort zone, may God give us grace,to embrace this challenge. [ Dear God grant us the grace to live by faith, to be prepared to take risks, and we know as we do this ,we will begin to grow like our saviour.Amen ]

Beauty . [1 Peter 3 v 3-4 ]

You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God, so writes Peter in his letter[1 Peter 3v4 ]. Although it was aimed at women it can be applied to us all, and is a timely reminder to have the right emphasis in our lives.For the vast majority of people the outward is the thing, lovely home,car,children,physical beauty, page 3 of the sun newspaper is an example, likewise the glossy magazines. Vast amount of time and effort,and finance is spent on beauty products, and plastic surgery, now let me say this, I am not saying it is wrong, to look our best, in fact I would encourage us all to make an effort in our appearance. What is vital and of more importance is that development of Christian character,a manifesting of Christian graces , has a beauty that outshines Max Factor, or a designer label. A Christlike life, is like a tree planted by the rivers of water [ Psalm 1 v 3 ], trully a thing of beauty. [ Dear God help us to manifest the lovliness of Christ in our lives. Amen ]