Dont be fooled. [ 2 Corinthians 4 v4 ]

Just before our Lord was crucified,He spoke to Peter,this is what He said,/Satan hath desired to have you,that he may sift you as wheat[Luke 22 v31]It appears to me that unlike our Saviour, Satan rarely has a mention ,the old Puritans did not neglect to teach that there was a devil,and how to resist him.There is a lovely little book called ,/Precious remedies against Satan's devises/,a Banner of truth publication,it is very instructive.Our Saviour warns Peter that he has been singled out,by Satan,who is going to attack him,our Saviour emphasises the seriousness of this,Simon,Simon,He says, seeking to warn Peter to be on his guard. Unfortunately Peter did not take this warning seriously,which is obvious,by what he said, and done.I come from Ulster a sad little place with a very sad history,often one would see on the TV young people out on the streets causing trouble,but it was the godfathers behind these young people that needed to be dealt with.So it is, behind all the evil in this world,there is a godfather,which the Bible calls the god of this world,we need to realise this, and be on our guard
A  prayer....../Dear God help us to realise that this world has an enemy,called Satan, help us to take serious what this means,in Jesus name Amen /

I am weak,how about you?. [ Philippians 4 v 13 ]

There is a saying ,that confessing is good for the soul,so let me make a confession, I am weak,I continually have to go to God,for help.I struggle so often,with temptation,with concerns,over the future,our dear Saviour knew that we would worry,that is why He left us,words of encouragement,assuring us of His presence,of His provision,of His protection.It is not a sin to confess that one is weak,it even seems that He permits things in our lives to cause us to realise our weakness CP 2 Corinthians 12.So if we are feeling weak join the club,but  remember our weakness must not be used as an excuse to give up,or even despair,no it is an opportunity to be strong in the Lord. Let us not focus on our weakness,if we do then we will fail,rather focus on God who takes and uses the weak things.As we face this day consider how God can help us to overcome,and not to be overcome,and when we come to end of the day,consider how He has helped us and thank Him.
A  prayer..../Dear Lord we confess our great weakness,help us,and strengthen us,enable us to be overcomers. Amen /

Eternity. [ Psalm 90 ]

A.W.Tozer wrote,/We who live in this nervous age would be wise to meditate on our lives and our days long and often before the face of God and on the edge of eternity. For we are made for eternity ,as certain as we are made for time, and as responsible moral beings we must deal with both/. Tozer had such a meaningful way of putting things ,consider what he wrote what do you think of what he says,as I thought on it,I thought how so many people live just for the here and now,for time and the things of time, I read in a newspaper how there is a stampede for black diamond wrinkle cream.Well I am not saying it is wrong to try and get rid of our wrinkles,but somehow it seems to me,there is something more telling,in this, a desire for permanence,in a world that does not promise that.And it is that desire for permanence that overshadows our lives.I watched a man of God, an MP speaking on a subject of great importance,he reminded his fellow MPs of what God had to say,but I sensed very few were listening.How very few people in our society are listening.If they were listening then they would start to give consideration not just to the things of time, but also the things of eternity.Life is important,the here and now is important,but eternity is also important,and every last one of us are heading in that direction,and the vital question is this where shall we spend eternity,will it be in heaven or will it be in hell?.Please consider what I am saying,and remember the only sure way to go to heaven,and escape hell is through Christ,Tozer puts it this way,/For every man it must be Christ or eternal tragedy/
A  prayer... Dear God help us to see that You have made us for time and eternity,and help us to appreciate what that means for all of us, in Jesus Name Amen

The true meaning. [ John 6 v 26-29]

On holiday we visited a church building,. where worship had taken place for 600 years, it was a rather imposing structure,and it had beautiful stain glass windows.One pictured the miracle that took place at the wedding,in Cana of Galilee,it  was very beautiful,we read about it in Johns gospel[2 v1-11] The miracles that are recorded in Johns gospel are to be understood as signs,they were wonderful in themselves ,but the more important thing about them,was the spiritual truth ,that they teach us.When Jesus fed the 5000,plus,He wanted the people to appreciate that He was the bread of life come down from heaven,who alone could satisfy their hungry souls. When He raised Lazurus from the dead ,he wanted people to  appreciate that He was the resurrection and the life,and  if they believed in Him,  resurrection life would have been theirs.When He changed the water into wine ,He was as Bruce Milne writes showing that,/The new wine of the kingdom,brought by Jesus, contrasts with the old wine of Judaism..Jesus changes the water of Judaism into the wine of Christianity/.The sad thing was that the many who witnessed what Jesus did failed miserable to see the spiritual truths in the miracles,if they had,and embraced them they would have experienced ,their own personal miracle
A  prayer......./ Dear God help us to be alert to what You are seeking to teach us,in Jesus name Amen /

Solomons folly.[ 1 Kings 11 ]

If only,how often have we said this,and thought it,one of the greatest disasters that Israel experienced was when Solomon,became king. At least I think so,I could be wrong,but it appears to me that this wise king,acted the fool,he was invited by God to ask what he wanted,and of course he asked for wisdom and knowledge,these he received.He was commended by God for what he asked for,and God promised him also riches,wealth,and honour.None of those things I don't think effected him.But there is always a but,he like his father married many wives, Solomon unfortunately married foreign wives,these women had tremendous influence over Solomon,Chronicles does not mention the influence they had on him,but the book of kings does.[1 Kings 11]. He was influenced by these wives to worship other gods,he may have had a genuine reason in marrying these wives,political alliance,but God forbid the accumulating chariots,and horses,huge harems, and incredible wealth.[Deuteronomy 17 v14-20].The result was Solomon turned to the gods of his wives,the  bible mentioned that the turning to these gods happened when Solomon was old.There is a saying which goes/ there is no fool like an old fool  /,and unfortunately this old guy Solomon proved this to be true.The lessons we can learn from these thing are many,don't let prosperity go to your head,obey Gods word,and don't when you get old, act like an old fool.
A  prayer....../ Dear God there is so much we can admire about Solomon, but there is so much that saddens us,God we acknowledge that,we are prone to wonder prone to leave the God we love,Father keep us by your grace, in Jesus name Amen /

We are one. [ Ephesians 2 13-22 ]

 Recently while on holiday my wife and I attended a certain fellowship,it met in a large building I choose to sit  on the outside seating,my wife said why not sit in the middle, I jokingly said I am not part of this fellowship,then I said ,but I am part of this church. It is so vital for us to appreciate this,the church of Christ is made up of so many different groups,to numerous to mention,for many it is confusing,but it is not confusing for Christ,He chose 12 disciples,there where twelve tribes of Israel.I read these words recently,everyone is equal,but not the same,I wonder do you feel that church down the road is less equal to your church?,not so,they are just different.When I pray I do not just pray for my own fellowship,no I pray for many fellowships,for although they,are different,they are part of the church of Christ. We all need each other,and we all should accept each other,Christ died for the church,which includes all who are truly born again.The church at Corinth lost sight of what it truly meant to be a  Christian,one was saying I am a follower of Paul, I am a follower of Apollos,and still another group were  claiming to be followers of Peter.Paul had to remind them that they must focus on Christ, after all He was the one who had died for all true Christians.In a very real sense the label is not important,but what is important is,knowing Christ,
A prayer....../Lord , may our union form a part,of that thrice happy whole. Derive its pulse from Thee the heart,its life from Thee the soul. Amen/[John Montgomery]

God [Isaiah 40]

I am reading A. W Tozer and his book,/The knowledge of the Holy/,it is interesting and helpful, dealing with the mystery of God,and the only way forward is faith ,not reason.He wrote,/We are afraid to whisper mystery/.Here is another quote ,/love and faith are at home in the mystery of the Godhead . Let reason kneel in reverence outside/ The J Ws reject the  the doctrine of the trinity because it is not rational,they rely on human reasoning, I  often mention the sovereignty of God, that is a statement of faith.Tozer stresses the fact that God can be known, by faith in Jesus,but God cannot be fully known, in His being and His ways. I am overawed by the immenseness of the universe,its vastness , then I consider , God ,who made that awesomeness,and I am speechless .We are all guilty of mixing the creature with the creator, and in so doing,making God lesser than what He is,and God can never be lesser ,He must always be seen as greater.Greater than our imaginations,greater in every way. God is to be praised, and maybe that praise is best shown in holy silence, and a heart that is lost in wonder love and praise.Yes in Christ we can know God, and know Him in a very personal way,and that's what God wants, that is why Christ came,and when we do know Him,so begins a relationship that is truly astounding, because of whom He is ,God,but God,whose ways are past finding out,and whose being is unfathomable. It is in Isaiah  chap 40,that we read,/To whom then will ye liken  Me,or shall I equal?, saith  the holy One.The answer is we can liken Him to no one,He is different He is unique,there is no searching of His understanding, and yet the wonderful thing is we can know Him through Jesus.
A prayer...../ Dear God , we bow before You,in wonder,love and praise,the great unknowable ,and yet the one we can know through Jesus, Amen/
[I will return to my blog on Sunday 26th]