Death a shadow [Psalm 23 ]

A   dear friend has died, she was a lovely lady,and when I heard of her death ,the words in Psalm 23 v4 came into my mind./Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with  me, thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me/It is Henry who wrote the following. / Here is one word that sounds terrible, it is death...but there are four words which lessen the terror. [ 1] It is the shadow of  death, there is no substantial evil in it, the shadow of a serpent will not sting,nor the shadow of a sword kill. [2 ] It is the valley of the shadow,deep indeed,and dark, and dirty, but the valleys are fruitful, and so is death itself fruitful of comforts in Gods people. [3 ]It is but a walk in this valley, a gentle pleasant walk, the wicked are chased out of this world, and their souls are required, but the saints take a walk to another world, as cheerfully as they take their leave of this. [4 ]It is a walk through it,they shall not be lost in it, but get safe to the mountain of spices on the other side/.
A  prayer...../Dear God the loss of a loved one ,or the loss of a friend is painful,but we praise You, that it is not the end,glory awaits every dear child of God, so help us not to sorrow as those who have no hope, in Jesus name. Amen /

Neglect. [2 Kings 22 v 8 ]

The history of Israel is not a pretty picture,the wilderness journey was filled with murmuring,the times of the Judges,was a time of continual backsliding,when everyman did that was right in their own eyes,the times of the deteriorated ,to such a point where God had to deal with the nation in the most severe manner,yes there were the good kings,David and some others.Josiah was an outstanding man of God,who sought to bring the people back to God,in 2 Kings 22/ 23,we read of the awful list of things that the nation was involved in,the temple had fallen into disrepair,the word of God had been neglected. No wonder the nation behaved in such a Godless manner,and so it will always be,when the word of God is neglected,when dust gathers on our Bibles,we can expect to backslide.A friend of mine attended a funeral service recently ,he came away concerned,for the minister never read the word of God,oh yes he said the Lords prayer,but read a few silly poems. We must on a personal level fight to have a time to read and get to know Gods word,and if we are not being fed in the church we attend then leave it and attend somewhere else,somewhere where we will be fed,spiritually. Let us learn from Israels history,a nation that neglected,and rejected Gods word,and the awful consequences it brought upon them.
A  prayer...../ Dear God help our ministers to faithfully preach Your word,help us all to faithfully read it ,help us to take heed of what happened to Israel,can happen to us ,we ask this in Jesus name Amen /

.We are responsible [Galations 6 v7 ]

Hezekiah was a good king not a perfect king,and God blessed him,but he had a son called Manasseh, I call him ,Manasseh the terrible,for he was terrible in the things he did,he reigned 55 years,and most of that reign was disastrous, for the nation and for those who would follow after him. God humbled Manasseh ,and he did repent,and was forgiven, in 2 Chronicles 33 v13, we read ,then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.He had a revelation of who God was,up until then, he followed everything and anything,even sacrificing his son as a burnt offering to his god. Who knows the terrible evil and foolish things we will do when we follow the gods of this world,and of our own imagination, and we must never forget where this will eventually lead to, a lost eternity.Now God forgive Manasseh, but in Jeremiah 15 v4 ,God declares that He will judge the people for his sinful actions,this puzzled me because,if God had forgiven him,why judgement?.It seems to me that the nation did not take responsibility for the part they played in the wickedness that was carried out, and to a great degree ,continued to carry out,the plea of so many people,I was only carrying out orders will not wash with God who holds all men responsible for their actions.
A prayer..../Dear God  help us not to hide behind the lie that I am not responsible for what I do , in Jesus name Amen /

A new heart. [ 1 Samuel 10 v9 ]

Abraham Lincoln said, /In order to win a man to your cause, you must first reach his heart/,as a preacher,I want God to touch my heart,that I when I stand to minister,that I may touch the hearts of  the people,I am ministering to. I think we have to qualify this,because I am dealing in spiritual things as opposed to natural things.Hitler won the hearts of many of the German people,by his oratory,lies and deceit,satan entered into Judus,,on the natural level the heart is our most vulnerable place, What is controlling your heart,anger,unforgiveness,Jesus said ,out of the heart proceeds, evil thoughts,murders,adulteries,fornications,thefts,false witness,blasphemies[Matthew 15 v10]. So the question is who or what has got our hearts?, in Proverbs23 v26, we read, /My son give me thine heart./ The non Christian holds unto their treasures,what ever those treasures are, the rich young ruler, held fast to his riches,and so forfeited eternal life,the very thing he wanted [Matthew 19 ] We do not like Gods description of our natural hearts cp Jeremiah17 v9[The heart is deceitful above all things,and desperately wicked],but it is the truth that sets us free,better to face the truth,as to our condition.If we are not saved then we need a new heart ,God has promised this when we trust Christ[Ezekiel 11v19],a heart where He reigns and rules,a heart that when daily yielded to Him,will transform our lives.
A  prayer..../ Dear God grant us a new heart,and when You do, help us to yield it daily to Your perfect will, in Jesus name Amen /

The word of God.[ Psalm 119 v 89-96 ]

I don't suffer from hay fever ,but when I get up in the morning,my nose runs,eyes water,and I have a fit of sneezing,which reminds me of the saying,its nothing to be sneezed at,whatever that may mean.There are many sayings for different situations,like to many cooks spoil the broth,or a stitch in time saves nine,better out than in,the early bird catches the worm,or early to bed,early to rise makes a man, healthy,wealthy, and wise.I am not sure what category these sayings come under,but they register with us,and have a certain truth to them. As to myself I don't build my life on these sayings,I build my life on Gods word,because it applies not just to this life,but my eternal destiny.It challenges us to always keep God in mind,in all our actions,and thought life.The word of God is the word of life,and it is the word for life,it is also the word to build our lives upon.It is true the saying, that this word will keep us from sin,sin will keep us from the word,the greatest example of that is Solomon,he neglected to keep Gods word,appeared to have ignored it,and brought disaster upon himself and the nation of Israel.So today let us all hold fast to Gods word,memorise it,and above all else obey it,for it is Gods word,more precious than our bank accounts,more important than earthly success.
A prayer...../Dear God help us to value Your word,help us not to neglect it,help us to obey it, in Jesus name Amen /

Victory. [ Isaiah 59 v 16]

I have just finished watching a football match,and the odds on favourites got beat,we love it when that happens as long as its not your team getting beat.As I read the scripture so often Gods people were the underdogs, be it Gideon's three hundred, or David facing the giant Goliath,or Samson slaying a thousand Philistines.Or a man hanging on a cross, now that was the greatest victory ever,many looking on, believed they had won,that they had put an end to this upstart,but this so called upstart, won the victory that day.Hell did not succeed,godless religion did not succeed,the cruelty of man did not succeed,the fact that his closest and dearest friends ,forsook Him and left Him on His own,made no difference, He won the victory.Yes He won the victory against all the odds,a victory that will never be forgotten,not in time ,nor in eternity.Here is the most wonderful thing ,He won the victory for you and for me,we could not defeat the enemies of our soul, in fact the strange thing was,we were in league with those enemies[ Romans 5 v10]. Strange victory,in that His victory was not only over His enemies, but also for His enemies.We His enemies were blinded by sin and Satan, held captive by his will,walking according to the course of this world,children of disobedience,fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind.But God , who is rich in mercy,through His Sons victory ,forgave us our sins,and saved us by His amazing Grace.
A  prayer....../When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my riches gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. Amen /

Fully restored. [ 1 John 3 v2 ]

While driving in my car I was listening to my radio,a lady requested to hear part of Handels Messiah, the part was from Job 19 v 25-27.It did sound lovely,it not only sounded lovely,but the words blessed me greatly,for the words express a wonderful truth,that there is hope inspite of death.,here are the words,/For I know that my redeemer liveth,and that He shall stand upon the earth. And  though after my skin worms destroy this body,yet in my flesh shall I see God.Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another,though my reins be consumed within me./This was a divine statement of faith,Peter wrote ,/Whom having not seen,ye love, though now ye see him not,yet believing,ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory [1 Peter 1 v7 ] Yes but one day the words of Job shall ring true for every saint, one day we shall look on our glorious king, our redeemer ,Jesus. Not only will I see Him ,but I shall be like Him. [ 1 John 3 v2 ]. To me this is a great mystery,but a wonderful possibility,the world is full of copy cats,people trying to be like others,as a Christian my deepest desire is to be like Jesus.This is a process[Romans 8 v29] and will be complete when Christ comes back,in the beginning God made us in His image, but as Calvin points out,/Although some obscure lineaments of that image are found remaining in us,yet are they so vitiated and mained, that they may truly be said to be destroyed........no part of us is free from the infection of sin./ I believe Romans 3 shows this to be true,but John declares the wonderful truth,the image will be restored in all its fullness when Christ comes back.
A   prayer ...../Dear God continue to perfect that which concerneth us, till that glorious day when we shall like our wonderful Saviour. Amen /