My Rock. ( Psalm 61 )

 In the OT ,God is referred to as being a Rock, in Isaiah 30 v29,we have Him, referred to a the as the ,'Rock of Israel', CP  2 Samuel 23 v 3/Isaiah 17 v10/ Deuteronomy 32 v 4 /18 / 37. In 1 Corinthians 10 v 4 ,and Matthew 16 v 16- 18. Christ is referred to as a Rock, which reminds us that Christ is divine ,God manifest in the flesh, the 'God Man'.  Leupold commenting on the ,'Rock of Israel', writes.' The emphasis lies on the sure and immovable foundation that the Lord  provides for all that put their trust in him'. During the time of Isaiah Judah was being threatened by a world power, Assyria, instead of trusting in their God ,they sought the help of Egypt .They were condemned for this, that is the challenge we face, as new covenant Israelites, the question is ,will we make the same mistake as the Israel of old?. God will use means to help us, but never let us  trust in the means, and there will be times in our lives when we have no means to help us , let us trust God our Rock.

                                              How oft in the conflict, when

                                              pressed by the foe,

                                              I have fled to my refuge, and

                                             breathed out my woe;

                                             How often, when trials, like

                                             sea billows roll,

                                             Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou

                                             Rock of my soul!  ( Words by William O. Cushing)

Giving ( Mark 12 v 41 )

In Marks gospel 12 v  41 - 46 ,we have recorded  a lovely and meaningful account of when our dear Saviour went to the temple, and he sat  down opposite the place where the offerings  for the temple were put in. Mark tells how the rich people  threw in large amounts. Then he mentions how a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins ,worth only a few pence. She was not only poor but a window ,so she was very poor. Then Mark  records what our Saviour said,'' This poor widow has put  more into the treasury than all the others, They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of poverty, put in everything- all  she had to live on. Fyodor Dostoyevsky has written these helpful comments.

                                 Never say, I don't give alms because I  have so little

                                 God sees the meaning of the heart not the size of  the 

                                 gift. Our Saviour treasured the widows gift even 

                                 though it was small. Therefore, measure your alms

                                 with the same measurement  God uses to measure

                                 you. Although  your  contribution may be small, 

                                 God will not forget it.

Follow Me. ( Matthew 8 v 18 - 22 )

 One day some fishermen were working and a stranger appeared ,and He said to them,'' Come follow me, and I will send you to fish for people'', and  at once they left their nets and followed him. The stranger was Jesus, and from that moment on ,their lives would be changed for ever. Nothing is changed He still comes were we are at ,and says the same words ,''Come follow me, and I will send you to fish for people''. Here are some words by Graham  Maule and John L. BELL.

                                               Will you come and follow Me

                                               If  I but call your name?

                                               Will you go where you don't know

                                               And never be the same?

                                               Will you leave yourself behind

                                               If  I but call your name?

                                               Will you care for cruel and kind

                                                And never be the  same?

                                                Will you risk the hostile stare,

                                                Should  your life attract or scare?

                                                Will you let me answer prayer

                                                 In you and you in  Me?

                                                ' What will your answer be?'

Only loaned ( Ruth 1 v 20 - 21 )

 I remember hearing how some people caught monkeys, possible to sell them as pets or maybe to eat them. This is what they did, they put some fruit in a bottle, the bottle was attached to a chain, and the neck of  the bottle was just wide enough for the monkey to reach into, and grab the fruit. But that created a problem, he could only withdraw his hand out, by letting let go of the fruit. The monkey usually ,would not let go of its prize, and so it was taken captive.  A famous Christian called Corrie Ten Boom was visiting a minister, the minister introduced Corrie to his children, later she said to him ''Hold unto things loosely''. Let us all remember  all the things we have, are but loaned to us, by God, Job realised that ,when he lost so much, he declared.'' The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away'' ( Job 1 v 21)

Is it wrong? ( Exodus 20 v 2 )

 Many years ago a person I worked with a person who reproached me for having a record collection, as I was a Christian, he felt I was a hypocrite. I was married ,no money in the bank ,had a young family. He was well off had a lovely car, owed his own home in Australia, but there you have it, I was guilty of having a few records, is it wrong for a Christian, to have possessions ?, is it wrong for a Christian to be rich?, to take holidays?. It could be wrong, the question is this, do my possessions have me, or do I have them?, does having money ,or does wanting money consume me.? Am I  any different  from  non- Christians?, or am I just the same?. Do I see the importance of giving to others ?, Let us all remember that we are to have no other gods in our lives, whatever they may be, God alone must come first, not second or third in our lives, He must always come first. William  Cowper wrote the following.      

                                         The dearest idol, I have known,

                                          Whate'er that idol be,

                                          Help me to tear it from Thy throne,

                                          And worship  only Thee.

Abortion .( Psalm 139 v 13 - 18 )

What have we got to be thankful about? ,that we where not aborted in the womb, a lady told me how her mother didn't love her.  She was born when abortion was illegal, her mother told her, that if it had been legal she would have aborted her.  This lady for most of her life was a nurse ,and she remembers young women having abortion's. One day she was out shopping, and a young women run up to her an hugged her, and  thanked her, she asked her what for?.  It turned out that when she was in hospital to have an abortion, she asked her opinion, and the  lady told her as a Christian she believed it to be wrong. She never saw the girl again until that  day in the shop, it turned out she had decided  not to have an abortion. Beside the young women was a young lad of nine, her son, she was so glad she had listen to that lady. The child in the womb is not just a foetus, to be aborted ,it is a precious gift from God, to be treasured and loved.

Cheating ( 1 John 5 v 17 )

 I love football, I used to play it when I was young I supported a local team, helped manage a team ,I follow the football on the TV. There are a number of things that one is concerned about  the modern game of football, to win at  all cost.  When a foul is committed the opposing team ,crowd around the referee ,wanting the person who committed the foul to be sent off. Then there is the question of when people are tackled, if there is any contact, they fall and lie on the ground  with there hands in their head, poor we souls, no not poor we souls ,but cheaters. They are behaving dishonestly, and its wrong. It is like getting rich at any cost, getting to the top of the greasy pole, or your own way, come what may, it doesn't matter who you hurt. It is easy to  justify our wrong actions, but it will not wash in God's eyes, be you  a Christian or a none Christian. When David sinned and committed  adultery and murder, he may have thought that was that, after all he was king he had the right to do what he did. Not so ,the thing he did, displeased the Lord, Mohammed had sex with a nine year old child ,do you think that pleased the Lord?, Remember the wrongs we do, are an offence to God, they are sinful, if you not a Christian ,repent, seek   forgiveness by trusting in Jesus. Likewise don't be fooled if you our a Christian, God will not overlook the wrongs that you do, seek forgiveness.