Send down the fire. [ Habakkuk 3 v2 ]

The book of Haggai is written in the context of Israels second exodus,when
they had returned from the Babylonia exile.They returned with a purpose of rebuilding the temple,that they would worship God in His appointed way.That way foreshadowed in its sacrificial system,the coming of the Lamb of God,who taketh away the sin of the world.It is Robert Fyall who writes the following,/ In Exodus25v8 ,we read,/Have them make a sanctuary for Me,that I will dwell among them/This command remained valid,and failure to rebuild the temple would have been tantamount to saying, that they did not want God dwelling among them./
  Unfortunately the people had lost their way,and had neglected this task[CP Haggai 1],the neglect was serious.Again referring to this R.Fyall, he makes
the following comments ,/They were in fact saying the time to build the temple would never come.They were accepting the state of spiritual deadness as normal.....their loyalty to God had withered....they were allowing time to drift past,whereas God spoke to them of urgency of the
present time....They had grown cold and were not giving priority to Gods presence among them/
     As I read these things ,I wonder could much of what we have read be applied us,neglect,spiritual deadness,loyalty to God withering,a lack of
spiritual urgency,cold spiritually,not giving priority to God.
                                            A  prayer
Dear God revive us ,Your people today,send down the fire and burn up the dross in our lives,for Jesus sake Amen.

All of lifes eventualites.[Psalm 23]

Worry,we all worry,God knows,I suppose that is why He put so many fear not's in His word, why he gave us the 23rd Psalm,and many other reassuring
scriptures. Yet we still worry,anxious thoughts fill our hearts,what if?,what will happen?,how can I manage?,these and many other thoughts crowd our mind. Yes our mind,how easily we slip into the lower gear of fear,I remember learning to drive,then I drove a manual,and one of the things ,we had to learn was a hill start.It was so easily to roll back,and it is like that in
life,we come to the hills of difficulties,and we struggle,and we roll back to the the place of unbelief,to the place of fear,and concerns,and instead of
experiencing ,peace perfect peace,we experience fear.
     I love the character Elijah ,what a mighty man of God,when he prayed things  really happened,miracles were performed.Boys a dear, what a man,
 stop there ,he was a man,and like you and I, he experienced,depression,
and despair,he wanted to die.How did God respond? did He tell him off,no,
did He reject him ?, no.So what did he do?He spoke with a still small voice,
a gentle whisper,God was not in the strong wind,or the mighty earthquake,
or the fire. None of those things harmed him,fearful though they may have been,no,and none of those things that we are worried about will harm us,they may alarm us,but God,whispers,fear thou not,for I am with you,
be not dismayed,for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee,yea I will help thee,yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness[Isaiah 41 v10]
                                    A  prayer
Dear God in our utter weakness we cry unto You ,that You will grant us peace,and faith for all of life's eventualities in Jesus name Amen.

Sleepless nights. [Luke 15 v11ff]

I was watching a documentary on the second world ,a exsoldier was relating his experience he had been fighting for two years,and was demobbed, and was returning home.He was very emotional as he spoke of that moment when he came in sight of his home,one of his three sisters spotted him,she ran indoors and told the family.They all ran out to greet him ,and his father said,son now we can sleep at night.Now we can sleep at night,my thoughts turn to the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15v11ff.A story of a young man leaving home,a young foolish man with money in his pocket,who got into
all sorts of difficulties.Think about the father how many sleepless nights he must have had,praying ,wondering,worrying about his youngest son.When the man got into serious trouble,financially,was going hungry ,dressed in rags possible no shoes.It was then he came to his senses,he was a sorry mess
so he decided he should return home to his father.He would acknowledge
his failings,and would work as a servant.So off he went and his dear father,
when his father saw him afar of,this son whom he loved was alive,this son who caused him many sleepless nights,was coming home, and my that father was glad.
     Now God does not have sleepless nights,but He has a heart bursting with love for us,He see's the mess we  make of our lives,and if we would but come to our senses,if we but acknowledge the mess we have made,He will run to us and embrace us,and say this is ,[put your name in there],
who was dead,and is alive again,was lost and now is found.
                                         A prayer.
Dear loving Father we thank You that You love all Your wayward children,
and if they but return to You,in  Jesus ,You would welcome them home,Amen

Trust [ Proverbs 3 v 5 ]

I received a nice scarf for Christmas ,it was a Ted  Baker,I was not  to
interested in its designer label,but it is a nice scarf. I looked at the label ,and
read these words,/Trust Ted/.Trust Ted ,I do not even know Ted,I suppose
what the label is telling us,that when you buy a Ted Baker item,be it a scarf
or whatever you wont be disappointed.
     On the American dollar we have the words,we trust in God,I hope that is so,many nations trust in their vast armies,their military might.Israel was warned,about multiplying horses,they related to military power,Psalm20v7,
reads,/Some trust in chariots,and some in horses,but we will remember the
name of the Lord our God/.
     Now these words come as a challenge to all of us,what or who are we trusting in?.First what are we trusting to be saved?yes we need to be saved,
is it our good works,our supposedly good life,or are we trusting in Jesus,
to save us?.
      Again are we trusting in our wealth ?,health,friends,etc,or are we trusting in the Lord?.
      It was the apostle Paul who wrote,/Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits.......we were forced to trust God totally.[1 Corinthians 1v9]
      We need to totally trust in God to save us,and then , we must
continually ,totally, trust Him every day ,every hour,all our lives.
                                    A  prayer.
Dear God forgive us for not trusting You,for not seeing that it is the safest,and best thing to do, help us in Jesus name, to be more trusting Amen.

     

He is working behind the scenes. [ Psalm 96]

It is R. Fyall in his commentary on Ezra, states that the fundamental theological principle underlying this book,is providence and human responsibility.It is John Flavel who wrote a book called the mystery of providence,and this is a very important truth.Fyall writes,/providence is not visible in the way that human activity is.Outwardly nothing may appear to be happening,yet in His providence God is working behind the scenes./
    We live in a fallen world,a world that is in rebellion to God,all things have been affected by this,evil is ever at work,but so is God,who is sovereign
                             Hast thou not known,hast thou not heard,
                              That firm remains on high,
                              The everlasting throne of Him,
                              Who formed the earth and sky.?.
                              Art thou afraid,His power shall fail,
                              When comes the evil day?
                                Supreme in wisdom as in power,
                                The rock of ages stands,
                               Though Him thou canst not see,nor trace,
                               The working of His hands.
                                          [Isaac Watts]
                                         A prayer
Dear God we rest on You, our sovereign God, help us to not only to live,
by faith,but in that life of faith,to rest in Your providential sovereign purposes,in Jesus name. Amen .

Their only hope.[ Romans 1 v16]

We live in a changing world,and one the great changes is the Internet,in many ways a great invention,but it has its downside.One of the downsides
is the effect it is having on our children,children are bullied,they are influenced by their friends,to send inappropriate images of themselves to
others and also inappropriate messages.There is a site that has been set up so whatever photo or message you send will quickly disappear.People having affairs use this site,the evidence disappears,no one can check up on them.
    It is a very frightening to hear  about such things,I have grand-children
,and I am very concerned about them,but not only them ,but young people  of  today.It appears morally things are becoming worse ,children today have very little contact,with church,very few of them have heard the Gospel.They have no concept of sin and its consequences, they blindly follow their peers and their sinful nature,not thinking or caring about the consequences.
     The voice of God is not listened to,I write these things out of concern for our young people,and for all people, we need to pray,and to preach the truth,that our young people may come to Christ,He is their only hope.
                                   A  prayer.
Dear God have mercy on our young people who are bombarded with so many things,so many wrong influences, we pray for their salvation,through
 Jesus Your son Amen.
                                        

Here I am. [Isaiah 6 v 1- 13]

 The call of Isaiah was to say  least very dramatic ,it commenced with a vision of the Lord,of angelic beings praising God,and the door posts of the temple shaking,and smoke filling the temple.Isaiah felt overwhelmed and unworthy,this is followed by him being cleansed.Then he heard the Lord speaking,/Whom shall I send and who will go for us/[Isaiah 6v8 ].
    Why did God ask such a question?it appears He wants volunteers,it is
H.C.Leupold who writes,/The Lords question is addressed to no one in
particular,.....but to those who will respond,in perfect freedom and without a trace of unwholesome compulsion./
     While we admire Gods patience with Jonah,His attitude of reluctance
to obey is sad to say the least,even when God blessed, all he wanted to do is die,[Jonah 4 v8].Jonah had to be pressed ganged into service, not so Isaiah,hear his instant reply,/Here am I,send me [6 v8 ].When Jesus called the disciples, we read,/They  immediately left there nets and followed Him[Mark 1 v18 ]
      Is God calling you?what is your answer?,what  is your response?,in the words of and old song are you willing to be willing?
                                    A  prayer.
Dear God we ask for discernment as to Your will for our lives,whatever that
call may be,help us to be willing to be willing,in Jesus name Amen.