False religion. [ Revelation 2 v 14- 16]

In the OT we read of the worship of Baal,here is few thoughts on this worship, the word Baal means Master,Lord,Possessor or even husband.
Gordon Bridger in his book writes,that Baal is seen not as a personal,but
rather an impersonal force.Now this Baal was a god of man kinds own making,it is a god that appeared to be suited to the people who followed it.
                           Baalism was a sexually corrupt religion.
It has touches of Mormonism,or even Islam with their multiplicity of wives,
they had cult prostitutes ,who did not do it for money,but in obedience ,and devotion their god. As I observe Islam it saddens me at what their religion demands of them.
                             Baalism was a frenzied religion.
You see this in 1 Kings 18,where we see Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal,to pray to their god to send down fire to burn up a sacrifice.So we read they got themselves in frenzy that they leaped upon the altar,they  cried  aloud,and cut themselves with knives,but to no avail.Consider the prophet Elijahs response, a simple prayer,and fire came down ,and burnt up everything.
                            Baalism was a cruel religion.
There was the real possibility that they practised child sacrifice,It is sad how cruel some religions are,even those who classed them selves as Christian,were very, very,cruel,the Spanish inquisition is an example of this.
Christianty surely should never be cruel,after all Christ was never cruel.
    As regards religion there are many options,unfortunately,as G Bridger
writes ,false religion has no eternal significance,in other words it will
never save.
                             A prayer.
Dear God preserve us from false religion, no matter how it is dressed up,
  in Jesus name Amen.
                          

Sucked in. [Joshua 7 ]

There is a little children's song which goes,/Be careful little eyes what you see,there's a Saviour up above, looking down with tender love . So be careful little eyes what you see/ The eye is called the gate to the soul,or simple the eye gate,it was that man of God who made covenant with his eyes in relation to not look upon girls,the A V, adds that,why should I think upon a maid ?[31 v1].The looking may seem innocent enough,we can easily say there is no harm in looking,but as Job well knew there can be.If we look on certain things our mind,heart can be effected.There is a song which goes,just one look that's all it took,David the man of God,the man after Gods own heart looked on a naked lady,and he descended into being scoundrel.Achan[Joshua7] looked on material riches,then he coveted them, then he took them,and brought disaster upon the nation,his family,and himself.People can get into so much trouble by simple looking and then running,.How many people have gone  into car sales room,just to look,and they end up buying a car,they did not want,or need.
      So let us take to heart the words of  that little chorus, /Be careful little eyes what you see,/,remember it only takes one look.,and we end up like
David,or an Achan,or in debt.
                                               A  prayer.
Dear God help us to keep a guard on our eyes,help us to not be sucked into
lust,and all that,this means in Jesus name Amen .

A lovely word. [ Isaiah 9 v6]

I was just reminded of a lovely word while studying it is mainly used in the OT.  it is Shalom it means peace. / Shalom means more than a ceasing from hostilities, or the ending of a conflict. Shalom is a word that conveys wholeness. It embraces peace with God, and wholeness in relation to him,it
conveys harmony in our relationship with other people,and peace within ourselves./[ G  .Bridger]
    Let us be honest, so few know such complete wholeness,is it possible?
one would like to think so.This peace must come from God and Him alone,it begins when we embrace the Prince of peace, Jesus.It is Vine who points out that Shalom is often rendered  salvation,[ Gen 26v 31/41v16]
hence the peace offering is called the salvation offering. The wonderful thing that Christ sacrificial offering on the cross did was deal with sin,
until that happened peace with God was not possible. This happens when we trust Jesus as our Saviour,as we read in Romans 5 v1 .Therefore being justified by faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
    When that happens then truly we experience Shalom, wholeness,that peace that passeth all understanding.
                                    A prayer.
 Dear God we thank that we can know peace through Your son Jesus .Amen

There is a storm coming [ Romans 1 v16-18]

As I sat in my living room, I heard the wind howling outside,and the thought came to me,there is a storm coming.In the OT we have mentioned
the day of the Lord,for Israel it meant the great overthrow of their enemies,
a day which would issue in tremendous blessing.But they were to discover
that it meant more than that,consider the words of the prophet Amos,Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord[5 v18 ].Whereas Israel saw the day of the Lord as a judgement on their enemies,but what they did not realise that they had become the enemy.Not only did they not realise it,but they refused to accept it even though  God continually spoke to them through His
servants. Jesus said to the Jews,ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.[Matthew 23 v31].Stephen a devout Jew who had come to know Christ,paid the price for challenging the Jewish leaders, when he declared,/Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?/,Stephen followed in the footsteps of those prophets by being stoned to death.
   There is a storm coming ,the day of the Lord,a day of judgement,a day in which all who have by their actions and rejection of Gods son, declared
themselves to be the enemies of God.
     God at this time is offering mercy to all who repent,and seek forgiveness
but if that mercy is rejected,then mercy will be forfeited.
                                          A  prayer.
 Dear God open the eyes of those who know not your son Jesus ,that there is a  storm coming,Amen.

Memory [ Matthew 7 v 7]

A lady I know who is elderly,is beginning to loose her memory,and strange as it may seem she is becoming a nicer person.This dear person had a very difficult childhood,which she has never managed to get over.She carried those memories which caused her pain,and effected her spiritual growth. Can we overcome the bad memories?,now let us not underestimate the power of memories ,childhood or otherwise,in many ways we  are all moulded by our past,for good or ill.So many people are prisoners of their past,abuse,traumatic events,poverty,broken marriages,the latter can have an effect on all who are involved.The question is, can things change?the fact of the matter many will never change,maybe they are to scared to change. Yet there many who would love to change,and cant,some do and are the better for it.Is it possible to change? well, it is a challenging question,is it possible?,yes, when it has accomplished its God given purpose.That purpose is two fold, to bring us to Christ,and to make us more like Christ.
The point is Christ is the answer,through Him change is possible,every possibility that you have sought the Lord,and seemingly nothing has happened,consider what He is accomplishing,that is more important than we realise.Next faith must be refined,has He given you a pacific word,well continue to seek the Lord claiming that particular word.
                                           A  prayer
Dear God we ask that you may hear our prayer,help us to understand Your will,give us the assurance that You would heal us of past hurtful memories,
in Jesus name. Amen/

Courage [ Joshua 1 v 9]

Yesterday I mentioned how Jean-Baptiste Mussillion the preacher at Louis 14th funeral snuffed out the candle on top of his casket.I mention this to my son and his reply was that he was very courageous to do such a thing,and then he told me how Louis the 15th had someone put to death in the most horrible way imaginable,most of these kings believed that their power was absolute,we  see this in the reign of Henry the 8th,how he had his wives murdered, so what that preacher did at Louis 14th funeral was a very courageous act.When rulers think their power is absolute they are trying to usurp God ,for it is only God who has absolute power. Think how courageous that preacher was,and think also courageous the prophets were
we see this especially in the ministry of Elijah,or Jeremiah,or even the apostle Paul, Esther also comes to mind.They and many others could have been put to death for daring to speak out Gods word,daring to take a stand for what is right.In many places Christians are being persecuted threatened
of course we must not be surprised ,for our Lord said,/Blessed are they that our persecuted for righteousness sake[/Matthew 5v10],and He goes on to say,/Rejoice, and be exceeding glad,for great is your reward in heaven[5v12].
      It takes courage to speak Gods truth,it takes courage to face the enemies of the cross,many of us I am sure would be very fearful,if we faced persecution.I believe God will help us,so often He tells us that he will.It is important that we see beyond persecution,to the glory that awaits us,as Jesus did[Hebrews 12v2]
                                    A  prayer.
Dear God have mercy upon those of Your dear children that are being persecuted,grant unto them courage, grace,hope,and Love in Jesus name Amen

Greatness [ Daniel 4 ]

I am reading a book bought to me as a Christmas present called ,/The Churchill factor/,written by Boris Johnson,it is enjoyable and easy to read.
No doubt Churchill was a great man,a one of personality,whom God raised up,as to his spiritual position I leave that with God.I mention that he was great man,but he was a man a flawed individual,who suffered from times of deep depression,which he called his black dog days. The greatness of any human being is a flawed greatness be it Churchill or whoever,I could mention the flaws of many so called great men,but I wont.
    Let us consider Louis the 14th of France,known as the Sun King,who built that wonderful palace of Versailles,he wanted to be remembered as the
greatest French king ever.So he stipulated that at his funeral service in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris,all would be darkened except the one candle on his casket at the front.But when Jean-Baptiste Massillon the preacher got up to give the funeral oration,he walked over to the casket and snuffed out the light. With that he commenced his message with the words,'Only God
is great.Only God is great.
                                               A prayer.
Dear God we thank You for raising up Churchill,at a time of great need,in this world,but we turn our eyes from him and  to You,and declare that only You are truly Great. Amen .