Rejoice ( 2 Timothy 4 v 9 - 18 )

More of Terry,'I've never believed that if one has religious belief then that means one will have special protection for the ills that afflict all humankind. But if you have faith,  then that will give you resources to draw on'. It sure will,consider those who like Terry are in prison cells in Iran I will mention two , Naser, Navard Gol-Tapeh and Nadarkhani a Pastor,both are serving a ten year sentence,for supposedly acting against national security. This is a typical kind of  charge made against Christian converts in Iran, This is not something new,the great apostle Paul wrote of being in prison frequently (2 Corinthians 11 v 23),a number of his letters taht he wrote  were written from prison. Be assured in Paul's time prison was no picnic,and yet inspired by the Holy Spirit he wrote, ''Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again;rejoice'' (Philippians 4 v 4 ), no matter what our circumstances, the Lord is with us,and He will not fail us,focus on Him,and rejoice.

I dare you. ( Mark 1 v 16 - 18 )

I dare you,I wonder has this ever been said to you? we may have foolishly taken up the challenge,we did  it because, well there is always a reason. We look at history, we read of people who dared to go were no one has gone before,the explorers ,scientist,the entrepreneur,and a multitude of other people.Martin Luther King Jr had a dream,he dared to dream,and accomplished so much.What about you ? let me bring to you a challenge,dare to trust Jesus as your Saviour,yes I dare you.You may loose all ,but think at what you will gain. The apostle Paul thought of what he had given up to follow Christ,and he counted those thing as dung,garbage,for knowing Christ.Moses gave up power ,position,privilege,and wealth,for the sake of Christ. Christ is speaking to you ,He is saying, come on,' I dare  you ,follow Me.'.

We have a choice ( Matthew 6 v 43 - 48 )

On March 4,1865 Abraham Lincoln made a speech,the civil war was about over,there was much bitterness towards the South, and there were those who wanted them to suffer. Abraham was a very wise man , he knew that the nation needed to be united,so here is part of what he said,''With malice  towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us....do all which may achieve,and cherish, a just, and a lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations''It is recognised by most historians ,that the severe penalties inflicted upon Germany at the end of the first world war,had a direct effect upon what followed,a little man with a little moustache,oh that more people would show the spirit of Abraham Lincoln.Remember the words  Jesus uttered on the cross as regards those who hated Him,''Father , forgive them''. ( Luke 23 v 34)

Lockdown ( Philippians 4 v 11 )

Terry Waite has written a number of books,based upon his experience of being held hostage in Beirut from 1987 to 1991.In an article in a national newspaper he wrote a number of helpful things, based on his experience,in an effort to help us all at this present time.First a bit of practical advice,'Today in lockdown, it is important to keep yourself well. Don't slob around all day in your pyjamas and a dressing down. Dress properly and develop a routine. It's important to have structure- get up at a certain time,eat regular meals and so on.It's important not to sit around all day. A walk is still possible. For many the exercise bike that has been in store for many years could be brought back into service. Place a tablet computer on the handlebars,find a cycle route and off you go through Italy or wherever.In other words, be innovated and keep your imagination alive'. ( Thanks Terry.)

The mind of God. ( Isaiah 55 v 8 - 9 )

It was Oliver Cromwell who said,'Seek to know what the mind of God is in all that chain of Providence',I think that it is important,and sometimes we can,the prophets could because it was revealed to them by God.They had special revelation,because they were special,in that they were prophets,but how often people ,sincere people, have declared what they felt, was the mind of God,and have got it wrong. I have often heard of people who have declared to certain individuals,a word from God,as regards their circumstances,and they most definitely, got it wrong.What can we say as regards the mind of God in the circumstances that the world is facing with the coronavirus ?.In a lot of peoples minds it is just another natural happening, but as a child of God,I believe that God is sovereign.  Romans 11 v  33- 34 ,reads, 'Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out. Who has known the mind of the Lord?' Only to those to whom He reveals it.

Why not look up. ( Isaiah 45 v 22 )

We have been considering Psalm 121 ,a prayer,to God,do you pray? , well the writer of the Psalm did,he lifted up his eyes in faith to God who is the creator of all things. I believe when I get to heaven I will be amazed how God preserved me from many dangers, I also believed God hears and answers prayer,and as one who is not only my Creator but my Saviour,in the person of Jesus,and if you do not know Him,I urge you to trust Him. Consider as we look out on this world,we have many   reasons to despair,as we look in at self  ,how fragile we are, how weak we are,yes how sinful we are,why not look up,to the only one who can save us,keep us and bring us to Glory,through His Son Jesus Christ.

Why? ( Psalm 121 )

Continuing looking at Psalm 121, as you read this short Psalm you begin to understand why the writer asked that question,'where does my help come from', he is  afraid of the dangers in life ,what were they?. Verse three commences by saying 'He will not let your foot slip',what does that mean? Well life is full of many dangers ,it is so easy to fall morally,so easy to fall spiritually, The next thing that he speaks of the natural forces of nature v 6,we are becoming more aware of the dangers of nature,the sun can do us a lot of good but it also can do us a lot of harm.the next dangers, v 7, reads about all evil ,and the preserving  of his soul , Spurgeon writes 'It includes everything and excludes nothing'.Lastly in v 8 , he mentions his going out and his coming in. So that's a brief summary of  why he asked the question,' where does my help come from?',and the answer is God the maker of heaven and earth.