Angels of light [ 2 John v 7]

Next we come to a young slave girl, who was demon possessed, we read about demon possession, but many of us are not sure  how to approach it.
But let  us accept that it can be a reality, we can say a lot about Satan, he is called the god of this world, or of this age[ 2 Corinthians 4 v4],our Saviour called him the prince of this world[John 12 v31 ] He and his forces are
powerful, as in the case of this slave girl in Phillippi,he possessed her,and
controlled her [ Acts 16 v16],she was a fortune teller, and made a lot of money for her owners. But as Paul and Silas were going to the place of
prayer ,she followed them, shouting,'' These men are servants of the most
High God, are telling you the way to be saved''. She continued to do this day after day, this grieved Paul, and in the name of  Jesus commanded
the evil spirit to leave her[16 V18],which it did. Now what she had cried out
was right,but Paul knew ,it might be said that he was in alliance with her.
Like Paul we must be clear in our stand for truth, and not have alliances with those who are not true followers of Christ. I have read Mormon literature that appears to be Christian, but a Mormon is not a Christian, remember the Bible tells us that Satan can come to us as an angel of light [2 Corinthians 11 v14].That great theologian Hodge said this,'' Satan does  not come to us as Satan; neither does sin present itself as sin, but in the guise of virtue; and the teachers of error set themselves forth as the special advocates of truth''.
                                          A  prayer.
Dear God deliver us from false religion, no matter how it appears, help us  to stand for your truth even if we have to stand alone for our Saviours
sake, we pray this Amen.

Our loved ones. [ 1 Peter 3 v 1-6 ]

So Lydia became a Christian, but it did not stop there for we read, members of her household also became Christians[Acts 16 v15]It is wonderful when a family receive salvation, I am sure that someone reading this, and they are
saved, but their family is not. I would encourage you to keep praying, and live out the Christian life before them, it is Peter who instructs saved wives
who are married to an unsaved husband ,how they should live ,the result is
they may be won over for Christ[1 Peter 3 v 1-6]. I remember a dear friend of mine,he was and is a lovely Christian, his father was a very violent man
especially to his wife. There was a dread every Saturday night ,when the husband would come in drunk, and be violent to his wife. She remained  with him, then the time came and he became seriously ill. It was then he asked to see his son ,my friend, who told him how to be saved, when he had finished telling him, his father said I will will do what you 've said son. My friends brother also became a Christian, a godly life, I believe will have an influence,that is why it is vital, not just to talk the  talk, but also to walk the walk.
                                         A  prayer.
Dear Lord you know how we desire our  loved ones and friends, to know you  as Saviour, in your mercy may we see it happen ,Amen.

I confess. [Romans 10 v 10]

The Lord opened the heart of  Lydia ,she became a believer, and she speaks to Paul and friends. She says ,''If you consider me to be a believer in the Lord'' ,I wonder if we said this to someone ,what  would they think or reply?.In  John 12 v42,-43 ,we read, how many Jewish leaders believed in Jesus,''but because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue ,for they loved praise from men more than praise from God''. There are to aspects as to why they were silent
,one was fear of man,secondly they loved the praise of men. They gave more thought as to what they would loose, if they openly confessed Christ.
As William Barclay writes, ''It would have meant an end to their place,their
profit,and their prestige. They would have been ostracised from society,and
banished from orthodox religion. It was too high a price to pay. So they lived a lie because they were not big enough to stand up for the truth'' Bruce
Milne points out,'' Those who expect the Lord to own their names on the day of judgement,he expects to own His name now before a watching world'',[ Mark 8 v38 ]
                                        
                                  I'm not ashamed to own my Lord
                                  Or to defend His cause,
                                  Maintain the honour of His word,
                                  The glory of His cross.
                                     [Words by Isaac Watts ]

Our greatest need. [Mark 2 v 1-12 ]

In Phillippi the first convert mentioned was a lady named Lydia ,a business lady, a woman of means. We read this about her conversion, the Lord opened her heart, to respond to Gods word[Acts 16 v14].John Stott comments on this ,he wrote, ''The Lord opened her inner eyes to see and to believe in the Jesus Paul proclaimed. We note that the message was Paul's, the saving initiative was God's. Paul preaching was not effective in itself; the Lord worked through it''. Let us accept these word by faith we may not fully understand them, let us pray, and witness with a deep love and concern for the lost, and trust God . People are so effected by sin it takes a miracle to save them, and only God can work miracles, we can't. The greatest miracle
is the salvation of a soul, and mans greatest need is salvation, let's never loose sight of this truth. People restrict miracles to healing, providing, deliverance yes they can be classed as miracles, but without the miracle of salvation,we will go to a lost eternity. When four friends brought a man who was paralysed to Jesus, He appeared to ignore the mans physical condition, and spoke the words,'' Son your sins are forgiven''. Why? because it was his ,as it is ours, greatest need, to have our sins forgiven.
                                            A  prayer.
Dear Lord Jesus help to see that our greatest need is to have our sins
forgiven by you, Amen .

                                 

A place of prayer. [John 3 v 7]

In response to a vision Paul ,and his companions set forth,and sailed to the
Philippi the leading city in the area called Macedonia. Although the city had
Greek name, it was named after Alexander the Greats father, it was a Roman city. A city that was in fact a Rome in miniature, all things were Roman, they enjoyed freedom from scourging and arrest, and the right to appeal to Caesar, The coins bore Latin inscriptions, there did not appear to
be a Jewish Synagogue there so the local Jews met for worship by a river, We read that the place was a place of prayer, and as Alec Motyer  puts it,
''the church was quite literally born in the place of prayer' '.It was there that Paul and his companions told them about Christ, let us remember, although people pray and attend a place of worship, they still need a Saviour,that  Saviour is Jesus. As Jesus told a very religious person, he needed to be born again, that new birth comes about by trusting Jesus[John 1 v12 ]
                                   
                                Ye children of men attend to the word
                                 So solemnly uttered by Jesus, the Lord
                                 And let not this message to you be in vain,
                                 ''Ye must be born again''
                                      [ Words by W.T.Sleeper]

His will.[ Luke 22 v 41-42 ]

I have started studying the book of Philippians, written by Paul to those early converts. We read how the church came into being in Acts 16,Paul and his companions ,were kept from going into Asia, we do not know what that involved. We all need help to discern Gods will, to accept the closed doors, as part of his will, that does not mean that God has no work for us to  do, God knows what he wants us to do, God was not finished with Paul, no he was just redirecting him. Sometimes it is very hard for us to accept this, we are a bit like that so called prophet Balaam,who sought to go his way and not Gods. he tried and he tried to press on, and all the time, God was saying no. In the end God used a donkey to speak to him. The problem with Balaam was, his mind was set on other things, rather than the will of God, [cp 2 Peter 2 v15].It seems he succumbed to earthly rewards, and paid the price, by being put to death[Joshua 13 v22]. There are preachers and they are following the pound signs, as to were they serve God ,the question one would ask, who and what are they serving, Jesus said we cannot serve God and money[Matthew 6 v24].What was vital in our Saviours life was the will of His Father in heaven, and that should be ours.
                                           A prayer.
Dear God help us to discern what your will is, and what is not your will
in Jesus name Amen.

We thank You. [ Psalm 100]

We are fearfully and wonderfully made, each day I thank God ,for being able to see, speak, hear, also for taste, and a sound mind, and much more.
We take so much for granted, and sadly to say we only begin to appreciate
these things when they begin to malfunction, or we loose them. All these
things are precious gifts, sadly so many people do not acknowledge the giver of these gifts, yes they are gifts, from God. We are told that every good and perfect gift is from above ,coming down from the Father[James 1 v17]. Consider today the blessing you have, food, clothes, homes, education, and so much more. The old harvest hymn, reminds us that,

                                All good gifts around us,
                                Are sent from heaven above;
                               Then thank the Lord, oh, O thank the Lord,
                                For all His Love.
                                         [Words by, M. Claudius]