Power of truth. ( John 8 v 32 )

Continuing on at looking at the gods of Egypt, the chief deity was the sun god called  Amon Re, so when the plague of darkness fell, it was a challenge to this so called god,and a challenge to their belief in him.( A him of course, that did not exist ) It appears that  the Egyptians dreaded the night because it meant that the sun-god had departed to the underworld, leaving  Egypt unprotected ,the fact that the passover fell at night would have heightened their fears.Such are the gods that humanity  follow after, Our God is not someone we have invented, any god other than the God of the Bible is a god, that mankind has invented. This behaviour of inventing gods is borne out of mankind's darkened mind ,the God of the Bible is known to us,by revelation,without that we would never know Him. We are told that ,'' The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to them, because they are spiritually discerned. ( 1 Corinthians 2 v 14 ) When one attempts to reach any body with spiritual truth,be it the cults,or those of other religions we must always bear this in mind,they cannot discern spiritual truth . They are darkened in their understanding,and separated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  (Ephesians 4 v 18 ) Yet as John Stott writes, ''Scripture bears an unwavering testimony to the power of ignorance and error to corrupt, and the power of truth to liberate , ennoble and refine. ''
                                                         Jeremiah 23 v 29
                                         '' Is not my word like fire,'' declares the
                                            Lord, ''and like a hammer,that breaks
                                           a rock in pieces''.

No other gods. ( Exodus 20 v 1 - 6 )

In studying the book of  Exodus it is interesting that one of the things plagues did was to challenge the Egyptian belief system ,They among other things identified their gods with animals,they also identified the river Nile,as divine because it was a source of life. Things have not changed Hinduism has it so called sacred river and their sacred cows plus a multitude more, Consider how dark spiritually the nations are,when they look to the creature rather than the Creator. That was the world that Moses lived ,that was the world that the early church faced, and indeed it is the world that we face,a world of darkness,that concocts religions out of their darkened imaginations.Let us make no mistake,this is not a trivial thing,they are deadly serious in their beliefs,and in many parts of the world they are killing those who would challenge their faith. Let us turn to a cross, there is a man hanging on that cross, what was He  guilty of? Challenging the darkness,for He was the light of the world, He was the Saviour of the world, but the word of God says men love darkness rather than the light, and so they  called Him a fraud , and had  Him crucified. So that was it , no, for that so called fraud, rose from the dead,His name is Jesus, the great 'I AM', who is the way, the truth ,and the life. John 14 v 6.

Lord save ,Lord send. ( 1 Timothy 2 v 1 )

I have just been asked to speak  at a small  church, I have been ministering there for a number of years,the request was made by email,the brother mentioned how they are considering their position because of the few in numbers attending, The fact is if a church does not grow it will not continue,the doors of  the building will close, the local church will cease. This is not a new thing, but it fills me with sadness, there are many reasons why this happening. In the book of Revelation ,the Lord speaks to local churches ,these were thriving churches , you can read about them in chap 2 - 3 .I visited the site where the church of Ephesus worshipped a number of years ago. All that remained was ruins ,no church no people, A church I used to attend is gone, the building is demolished, houses have been built on that site. it causes me concern, yet I pray for many churches every day.Do pray wherever God has placed you, for the people in your local area that God will have mercy, and send forth an outpouring of the Spirit of God. I am not despairing ,but I am concerned,for I know that people need Christ. What do you thing is the answer?, prayer witnessing, yes ,one thing we need to do is get in step with the Holy Spirit, and all that this means.
                                         
                                              Lord we pray that we may yet see
                                              an outpouring of your Spirit,into
                                              our lives,that we may be effective
                                              in reaching the Lost,in your name
                                              we ask this Amen.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Invictus. ( Psalm 27 )

I  read the following on the bonnet of a car on TV, ' I am the master of my fate,I am captain of my soul' ,these words are taken from the poem by English poet ,William Ernest Henly,( 1849 - 1903 ) It is known  by the title ,'Invictus ',meaning,' unconquered '. It is thought of as Victorian Stoicism, stiff  upper lip attitude, Those last lines where the motto of Nelson Mandela, and of course the poet who wrote this poem suffered a leg being amputated ,so out of that experience and other difficulties, he penned those words.  Are these  words  appropriate for a Christian to use,I do not think so, they indicate the power and ability for a person to withstand what ever life throws at them.Some people can I know from my experience withstand a lot,but I know that I am weak, and stoicism could not get me through all that life throws at me,what I need is Grace the grace of God. Are we masters of our fate are we captains of our souls, no, the child God bows in humble reverence, and declares to a Sovereign God,'' My times are in Thy hand ; My  God I wish them there'' ( Words/ W. F . Floyd )                                                               
                                                I could not do without Thee
                                                I cannot stand alone ,
                                                I have no strength or goodness,
                                                No wisdom of my own;
                                                But Thou, beloved Saviour,
                                                Art all in all to me,
                                                And weakness will be power
                                                If leaning hard on Thee.
                                                        ( Frances R. Havergal )

Paradise lost. ( Romans 5 v 12 )

In that very old song ,'Sonny boy', sung by Al Jolson, there is a line that goes,''You made for me a heaven right here on earth''. if only that where so. But it will never happen ,no matter how well you are off,no matter how healthy one is,no matter where you reside. The earth is Paradise lost ,what a wonderful place it must have been before that awful day which brought catastrophe upon that paradise called planet earth.Nothing would ever be the same , nature would no longer be in harmony with itself, and as for the jewel in the crown  of Gods creation.They were told what would happen if they sinned, but ignored what God said,instead they not only listened to Gods enemy, they obeyed him  .When asked why they had did it ,they blamed it on each other ,and then on that evil  being, we know as the devil,but it did not only affect them,it had consequences for their children, that is all of  us, for they are ,our first parents. So driven out of  the security ,and well being, of that place known as the garden of Eden,to live at a lesser level,to struggle against disease,dangers,and death.There are foolish people who put the blame on God, why did He not stop it happening?. What I would say to that, I do not know, but I believe the judge of the earth will not to anything evil or wrong. ( Gen 18 v 25) What we know for certain as Alec Motyer puts it, ''Adam and Eve were wilfully disobedient,to them it appeared a comparatively minor matter,......but to the Lord it was not.''Yes sin ,no matter how trivial it may appear, is not trivial to the Lord, and so paradise was lost
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        .

They do not listen. ( Psalm 95 v 7 - 8 )

I met a lady at a supermarket cafeteria ,she introduced herself and it took me a while before I recognised her ,it was a good few years since I last saw her. She attended a local church and I asked her if she was attending anywhere, she was not because she became disillusioned,mentioned a few reasons .I sought to say something to her,but there was not to much time,but afterwards I  thought she was not listening to me.,it appeared that her mind was fixed.Consider Pharaoh king of Egypt. he was faced with a prophet called Moses  ,and Aaron his brother, who spoke to him Gods word, and witnessed the power of God,in the plagues, yet he never really listened. We all have heard of wives who say to their husbands ,'you don't listen to me', she is not saying he does not hear her speaking, but that  he does not let it sink in,what she says. We may listen when we it is important   ,even then we may not,I believe God is speaking to us every day,Christian or otherwise.I cannot help think of Christmas and how many people hear the carols,see the nativity scene, and don't hear God speaking. The cry of God to mankind goes on the whole unheeded, I wear a little cross as a witness, but for the many who wear crosses it is nothing more than a fashion accessory,strange accessory, considering what it really means  .                                                                                                                                                                                         I spoke and they did not listen                                                                                                                   I healed the sick and they did not listen,                                                                                                   I raised the dead and they did not listen                                                                                                     I promised them freedom and forgiveness
                                                         and still they did not listen.                                                                                                                       I died for their sins and still they did not listen.
                                                         I rose from the grave but still they did not listen.                                                                                           

Faith and conflict. ( Revelation 2 v 8 - 11 )

An old Gospel song has the following words,''I go to church on Sunday,the vows that I make I break them  on Monday,the rest of the week I live as I please but come Sunday morning  I'm down on my knees'' . Our Christian life is not just an hour on Sunday it is to be lived out  24/7,most of us know this so what has this to do with ,''Faith and conflict'' ?. Everything ,for the child of God who sincerely  follows  his Master Jesus, is in a battle  ,I do not exaggerate ,that faith will be tested in one way or another , Gods word continually stress'es that there is no such thing as an untested faith .There is no good saying I do not know why these these things are happening to me .Alec Motyer writes ,''Testing has its place and purpose,and this applies not only to the outward trials of adversity and circumstantial difficulties but also to the individual realities of besetting sins, temptation and ceaseless warfare of the spiritual life''. A/M ,goes unto write,'' Israel ,having sheltered beneath the blood  of the Lamb , launched out into a pilgrimage ( Exod 12 v11 ) to face the wilderness ( Deut 8v15) in a divinely planned programme to test obedience, bring loyalty to light and prove the faithfulness of God ( Deut 8 v 1 - 4 ; cf. 1 Cor 10 v 6 - 13 ) Speaking of Israel , A/M, writes as ,''They had no expectation of trouble ahead,yet the word of  God was quite explicit. They believed ( Ex 4 v31) ,but they did not listen ,when God's word warned that there is no such thing as an untested faith. It could be said that the root of all disaster in the Christian life is the failure to hear and believe what the word of God says and to act accordingly''.