Little foxes. ( Acts 24 - 16 )

In the Song of Solomon 2 v 15,we read, 'Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vine', not just foxes but little foxes.One could look at the little foxes and think,O they are lovely, so cute, I would love to have one for a pet,the dear wee things,but the reality is this,these little foxes are destructive being,they are not playthings,no they are pests,that need to be put down.Let us never underestimate the destructiveness of those things that can be likened unto ,'little foxes'.A person I  respect was asking me to do something ,he used  the word pretend,I asked him what he meant by pretend,he explained what he meant,it did not sound right to me ,it sounded like he wanted me to do something that was wrong,so I said no. I like football ,I was told that one could watch games, for free, I asked a friend about it,he said it was not legal, so I will not be watching  that.These things could be seen as  not important,and yet they are important,for they are the little foxes,likened unto little sins, and they can do us a lot of harm,The first sin was that of eating of the fruit of a tree, such a little thing,but it had horrendous consequences.Let us never think that little sins are of no importance,they are ,don't  be fooled or deceived,and don't think they don't matter to our Holy God ,they do.

Hope ( Romans 4 v 18 - 22 )

 I wonder why Bibles have a black cover?because the Bible is full of hope, hope is not a dark thing,  because it is placed in God.Not in anything or anyone but in God and in God alone.P.E.Hughes writes  that 'Christian faith and Christian hope enjoy the closest association'.In writing to the gentile believers at Ephesus  ,the apostle Paul reminds them how it used to be,'Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ,excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise,without hope and without God in the world'.What was written of them applies to us, to come into a place of hope   we had to put our faith in Christ,then all was changed,we were no longer strangers but part of God's family.In Hebrews 10 v 23 we read,'Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,for he  who promised is faithful'.P.E Hughes writes ,We might well have expected to read here'the confession of our faith',no it is ,'the confession of our hope'. No matter how dark things are for the Christian we can have hope,in a bright future. We can have hope in hopeless situations,,we have hope because our faith is in the God of hope, This is my prayer for  you dear child of God,'May the God of  hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,so that you may overflow with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit,' in Jesus name. Amen.

If only. ( Romans 11 v 33 )

 Many ,many people live with an ,'if only,thought pattern,I guarantee many sports people,live thinking ,'if only' ,I had.Marriage must be full of people who think if only,I could trade him or her  for a new model.I joke but I think there is some degree of truth in it.One can think of so many who can look at their lives,and the decisions they made, and with regret ,say if only.Some things we can change,and it may turn out well,and then again it may not.Well how should we look at the ,'if only, in our life's history?.let us remember, some things we cannot change,better accept that fact, and move on,stop dwelling on it.We can learn lessons from the ,'if only',in our lives,that will us help,to avoid making the same mistake again. As a Christian one can leave the ,'if only' with God,and rest assured that , He can work  out everything for our good ( Romans 8 v 28)   Joseph is a person we can learn a lot from, for he looked at things differently, he experienced tremendous injustice in his life, sold into slavery by his own brothers, Later he was thrown into prison for something he did not do, he could have spent all his time thinking how he could get his own back,on those who had harmed him, but he didn't. Why? because he looked with the eye of faith, and  saw that God meant it for good.  ( Genesis 50 v 20 ) .Remember,'His ( God's) purpose  will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste,but sweet will e the flower'  (Words  William Cowper)

Wait ( Joshua 1 V 9 )

 We come to the end of Psalm 27 by considering the last verse 14,which reads,' Wait for the Lord ,be strong,and let your heart take courage wait for the Lord'.Here is a man facing difficulties,as indeed you may be,here is what is required,simple, 'Wait for the Lord', but of course one thing we human beings find difficult, is waiting. Yes  waiting, but it is not just waiting it is waiting in faith. When Israel came out of  Egypt they came to a place were they were being pursued by a  powerful Egyptian army,we read about it  in Exodus 14 .It appeared to them that they had been led into a place of destruction,it looked to them that their fate was sealed.Bur Moses the man of God spoke,'Do not be afraid,yes they were afraid,yet God would not desert them ,Moses continues to speak,' Stand firm and you will see the deliverance  the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be  still'.We must wait,and show a degree of courage,if  we but wait and trust,all will be well'Yes the battle was the Lords. Let us remember we are pilgrims,that will involve times of testing,but in spite of the challenges,  as you wait for the Lords deliverance,you will hear God's voice saying ,'go forward'  'Workman of God, O loose not heart, but learn what God is like,and in  the darkest  battle field,thou shalt know where to strike,' remember,'Thrice blest is he to whom is given,the instict that can tell,that God is on the field,when he is most invisible.  (Words by F.W.Faber)

Mine is thine. ( Isaiah 26 v 3 - 4 )

 We carry on looking at Psalm 27 ,we now consider v 12- 13'  Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I've never done; with every breath they threaten me with violence.Yet I am confident I  will see the Lords goodness,while I am here in the land of the living.' I would like us to  focus  on the last part of that reading ,here is David and he is under great pressure,it would have been so easy to give into despair,and like Jacob of old cry out,'everything is going against me  ', but he didn't instead ,he makes a statement of faith,' Yet I am confident I will see the Lords goodness,while I am here in the land of the living'.Why ? ,because his God had not changed,he had experienced so many providential deliverances in his life. As a young shepherd boy he had overcome a lion and a bear,and as a young lad he had faced a giant ,and slew him.Likewise the Lord had preserved him when King Saul had sought to kill him, and had failed,because God was with him,and as the scripture says, 'if  God is for us who can be against us' ,  (Romans 8 v 31) The sun shall shine again for David,his enemies will be defeated,as God had promised  he would become King of Israel, (1   Samuel 13 v 14 ).  Remember dear child of God you are precious to Him, Gatesby Paget  wrote the following,'So dear, so very dear to God, more dear I cannot be; The love wherewith He loves the Son, such is His love to me.  Why should I ever anxious be,since such a God is mine?, He watches o'er me night and day,and tells me mine is thine.'.

A threefold request. ( Ephesians 6 v 10 - 18 )

We continue to consider Psalm 27, we are going to look at v 11,which reads,' Teach me how to live,O Lord ,Lead me along the right path,for my enemies are waiting for me'. First let us consider his requests,for God to teach him how to live,the AV puts it like this,'Teach me thy way o Lord'.He wanted to live God's way. A popular song goes,'I've done it my way'.no wonder it was popular,because most people are on a road called,'My way'.but when you trust Christ, we hear him speaking to us,and He says very simply,  'Follow Me' . Are you prepared for that?,are you prepared  for what that may mean?.Next he says',  'Lead me along the right path',or a plain path,we live in a world of great confusion,when our Saviour looked at the multitudes,he described them as sheep without a shepherd,in those  days the shepherd walked before the sheep,in other words he led them,. If we are following Jesus, hear this ,it will not be into confusion,he will guide and direct us,and will lead us on a road that is going somewhere to heaven.Lastly we consider,' For my enemies are waiting for me',for every  child of God there are enemies ,one comes to mind, I would call him the enemy within,there is a saying which goes,'you are your own worse enemy', and we are, so often.we let down our guard,and let so many things in,we play with fire forgetting that we can get burnt. and then we have the sins that so easy trip us up ( Hebrews 12 v 1  ),the wandering eye,yes we are, our own worse  enemies.,Here is a little prayer we could pray,'  Lord save me from myself, in Jesus name Amen.'

Never. ( Matthew 28 v 20 )

We move on in Psalm 27 to look at v 10, which reads 'Even if my father and mother abandon me, the  Lord will hold me close'. Earthly parents can fail us and even forsake us,for different reasons,many children in these days have no idea who there father is, Spurgeon  writes ,' Some of the greatest of saints ,have been cast out by their families'. When many Muslims come to Christ their families disown them, for that to happen to anyone  is devastating .David brings to our notice something that is unthinkable,being  abandoned by ones parents, especially at a time of deep trouble..That is the bad news,now the good news, ,he writes ,even if that happened ,the Lord would not forsake him.As an old man David could write ,'Once I was young,and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned'. ( Psalm 37 v 25 ) ,he could write this ,because of God's faithfulness.In  Hebrews 13 v 5- 6, we read,'For God has said,I will never fail you,I will never abandon you.So we can say with confidence. The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear'.Dear child of God remember,God will never forsake you.