Psalm 15 v 4/but who honours those who fear the Lord/there are two things highlighted in these words ,honour and the fear of the Lord,honour those who fear the Lord.The fear of the Lord is a very important truth for us to grasp,in Romans 3 v18,one the characteristics of the unsaved is, they do not fear the Lord.They manifest this by a complete disregard of God,so they sin,they live as if God does not exsist, verses 10ff of Romans 3 spells it out.They fall back on the thought that God is love ,which He is of course,but the Bible that tells us that God is love, also tells us that God is holy,and unless we are in Christ we will be judged eternally in hell.[ Matthew 10 v28 ] If we are a true Christian we are walking in the fear of the Lord, that means,we say no to sin,in whatever guise it comes,we refrain from unrigtheousness ,but we also seek to manifest a life that is kind and loving. We are exhorted to honour such, as opposed to the world who honour anyone who takes their fancy,anyone who captivates them, like a Hitler,or a Stalin,or an actor,consider one is not put on the honours list because they honour the Lord. But one day they will be honoured by their Lord[ Matthew 25 v34],so let us who know the Lord honour our godly parents,pastors, and all those who live and walk in the fear of the Lord.
A prayer.../Dear God grant us a right attitude, help us walk in Your fear today, and to honour all who do likewise, in Jesus name . Amen /
verse of the day
Sunday, 10 June 2012
Saturday, 9 June 2012
Seeing things aright [ Matthew 25 v31ff ]
Psalm 15 v4 /In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honours those who fear the Lord/What I believe is being taught here is ,to look at things aright,and to honour those who are godly. In Isaiah 5 v20, we read /Woe to those who call evil good and good evil/ ,people often have a distorted veiw of life, there were many who wept at the death of Stalin,and there are many who still admire Hitler'.In the entertainment industry the thieves and robbers are often depicted as heroes,and in many places in the world the godly are despised and persecuted. We should see things as they are,our Saviour saw people as they were sinners,and spoke of a day in which,the godly and ungodly would be judged.[Matthew 25v31ff] W Plumer wrote the following as to our attitude,/The feelings of the righteous towards the wicked is not that proud, haughty, malignant contempt, which marks the behaviour of the wicked towards the children of God. It is just,true,benevolent. It is the abhorrence of his character, not his person /. As to the wicked, we must never forget ,what the apostle points out,/And such were some of you [1 Corinthians 6 v11]/,after all, we are as Christians saved by grace,it is the grace of God that has saved us,and keeps us,and so in seeing things as they are,we should see clearly man as he trully is,a sinner who needs a Saviour. We should pray and encourage those who are suffering for righteousness sake,and there are so many who are suffering, who are being treated as filth,being destitude,afflicted,tormented,of whom the world is not worthy[Henrews 11v37-38 ]
A prayer.../ Dear God in this world of distorted veiws and values, help us to see things aright in Jesus name Amen /
A prayer.../ Dear God in this world of distorted veiws and values, help us to see things aright in Jesus name Amen /
Friday, 8 June 2012
Wounded by a friend.[ John 13 v 18 ]
Psalm 15v 3./ or speak evil of their friends [nlt]/,the question is why would a so called friend speak evil of their friend?In Psalm 41v 9,we read the folowing,/Even my close friend in whom I trusted,who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me/.These words were fulfilled in Judas Isariot who betrayesd the Lord for 30 pieces of silver[John 13 v 18]. A Friend who slanders or hurts you is not worthy of the name friend,I remember many years ago being told of one I respected, how he slandered me,I felt so hurt. Yet as I look back on my own life I have listened and been influenced by what others have told me about others. Many people have been destroyed by what so called friends have said about them. William Penn said../Believe nothing against another, but on good authority,nor report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to another to conceal it/.In the movie Braveheart, William Wallace is shattered to descover that his prince Robert the Bruce was one of those seeking to kill him,he was the last person Wallace thought would have done this. Consider how our Saviour must have felt when Judas betrayed Him, such wounds by a friend are not faithful, but rather disgraceful.
A prayer..../ Dear God grant us the grace,to refrain from saying anything about another,or listening to slanderous reports about another, in Jesus name Amen /
A prayer..../ Dear God grant us the grace,to refrain from saying anything about another,or listening to slanderous reports about another, in Jesus name Amen /
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Yes I have a dream.[ Luke 10 v 27ff ]
Psalm15 v 3./nor doeth evil to his neighbour/The term neighbour can apply to those whom we live beside,our dear Saviour give a wider meaning to the term neighbour,in Luke 10 v27ff. Israel was a divided society,the world is full of divided societies,I write from experience, my beloved Ulster is a divided society,religious and politically,the lovely island of Cyprus is a divided society ,so many places are divided by hatered, that can spill over into violence.It will always be so,it is the nature of man to erect barriers,but praise God one day,yes I have a dream,when Chist will make all things new, there will be no barriers,that people who have been redeemed, from every nation kindred and tongue,will live together in perfect harmony,yes I have a dream. Until that day may God help us to see all men as our neighbour,and to love them,help them,and to never do them any harm
A prayer...../Dear God help us to see all men as our neighbour,and to love them,help us to watch our words,that they will be purified, form any taint of racisim,or bigotry, in Jesus name Amen /
A prayer...../Dear God help us to see all men as our neighbour,and to love them,help us to watch our words,that they will be purified, form any taint of racisim,or bigotry, in Jesus name Amen /
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
The tongue. [James 3 ]
Psalm 15 v 3/ This verse starts ,/He that backbiteth not with his tongue[ av],other translations have,/slander/gossip/,the Message simply says ,/Dont hurt your friend/. The control of our tongue is one of the most challenging aspects of being a Christian. It is James the apostle who deals with it in his epistle,W Plumer quotes Sir Walter Raleigh/ If the divines do rightly infer from the sixth commandment,Thou shalt not kill- scandlizing ones neighbour with false and malicious reports, whereby I vex his spirit, and consequently impair his health, is a degree of murder./He also quotes Beveridge,/I am resolved by the grace of God, to speak of other mens sins only before their faces, and of their virtues only behind their backs/.The fact is, in slandering our neighbours,we are hurting them ,hurting ourselves,and dishonouring our God. . There is a little childrens chorus that comes to mind,/ Be careful little lips what you say,be careful little lips what you say,Theres a Saviour up above looking down with tender love,so be careful little lips what you say/.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us to by Your grace to honour You with our words in Jesus name Amen /
A prayer...../ Dear God help us to by Your grace to honour You with our words in Jesus name Amen /
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
A forked tongue. [ Ephesians 4 v15 ]
Psalm 15v 2,/and speaketh truth in his heart/I love old cowboy and Indian movies,,and one has to feel a great deal of sympathy for the Indians,for no sooner had the Indians signed a peace treaty,than the white man broke it. The Indians would accuse the white men of speaking with a forked tongue,in other words they did not speak the truth in their hearts,they said one thing with their lips,but in their hearts they were saying something else. Let us beware of those who speak with a forked tongue, but also let us not copy them,let us speak the truth with our lips and in our hearts.
A prayer...../Dear God help us to speak the truth ,to not speak with a forked tongue , we ask this in the name of Him who is the way ,the truth , and the life, even Jesus Your dear Son. Amen /
A prayer...../Dear God help us to speak the truth ,to not speak with a forked tongue , we ask this in the name of Him who is the way ,the truth , and the life, even Jesus Your dear Son. Amen /
Monday, 4 June 2012
A heart of love.[1corinthians 13]
Psalm 15 v 2, we continue to consider ,/Worketh righteousness/ now this is not just a worldly standard,which is often inconsistant,but a doing right according to Gods word,and will. Also religion can be cover for a mulitude of wrongs,there are many religous people in the world,but religion can be but a front,for all sorts of evils,as our Saviour declared[ Matthew23 in this chapter we have the word woe mentioned 8 times ,aimed at very religious inconsistant people]The greatest conflict our Saviour had was with religious people,this is seen right throughout history,religious people have acted in brutal and cruel ways,consider the inquistion,and the attitude of many in the world of Islam. Last Christmas, a man flung acid at a Ugandan pastor causing burns to his face and neck,the person who did it, ran away shouting,[Allah Akbar] god is great.The works of righteousness must be motivated by love or they count for nothing[ 1 Corinthians 13 ],for that is how God works,day after day ,He blesses us, out of a heart of love.
A prayer.../ Dear God help us in our walk to walk aright, help us to manifest love in all we do, in Jesus name Amen /
A prayer.../ Dear God help us in our walk to walk aright, help us to manifest love in all we do, in Jesus name Amen /
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