A staff to lean on.( 2 Peter 1 v 4)

 I have something from a devotional by L.B.Cowman, to share with you.

                                        Your rod and your stall they comfort me  (Psalm 23v 4)

I remember going out walking with my dad  and we both choose walking sticks that suited the occasion.As we have done this,I have frequently been reminded that the word of God is a staff.During the war ,when we were experiencing a time of discouragement  and impending danger,the verse''He will have no fear of bad news,his heart is steadfast ,trusting in the Lord'' ( Ps 112 v7 ) was a staff to walk with on many  dark days.When our child died and we were left nearly brokenhearted, I found another staff  in the promise''Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning''  (Ps 30 v 5) When I was forced to be away from for a year due to poor health, not knowing if God would ever allow me to my home ad work again,I chose this staff, which has never failed; ''For I know the plans I have for you...... plans  to prosper you and not to harm you,plans to give you hope and a future''( Jer 29 v11).

                                             ' Standing on the promises of Christ our King

                                              Through the eternal ages let his praises ring

                                              Glory in highest ,I will shout and sing, 

                                              Standing on the promises of God.

                                              Standing on the promises that cannot fail,

                                              When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail

                                              By the living word of God I shall prevail,

                                              Standing on the promises of God.

                                                       Words R.Kelso Carter.

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Faithfulness (Luke 19 v 17 )

My son Brian has just returned from a preaching engagement in Texas,it was a large church,had an attendance of about 2000 people.I rejoice that my son is being used by God ,he is the international director of a prayer movement called 24/7.Unlike him I ministered to small congregations occasionally to larger groups.We read in Luke19 v11 ff  how our Lord told a story of  a nobleman who intrusted a number of his servants with different amounts of money,He had to leave them and go to a distant land to be crowned King and then he would return.He told his servants to invest the money,when he returned, the first servant told him that he invested the money and made ten times the original amount. His master replied,'Well done..you are a good servant.You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you'',and he rewarded him..It is not how big or how small a ministry our Lord entrusts to us, it is faithfulness that matters.The words of a Christian song comes to mind,'If just a cup of water  I place within your hand, then just a cup of water,is all that I demand'.Remember be faithful  in whatever ministry God has entrusted to you,no matter how small it may be,and if you do that ,you will hear your masters well done,and you will receive a reward.

The death of evil (2 Peter 3 )

Martin Luther King Jr,give a message on,'The death of evil',and he related it mainly to the oppression of the conquered nations of the world.I can understand him giving this message in the light of the  way black people were treated in his country. Yet I think that his message fell short of what the word of God teaches as regards the end of evil,but let say this I admire Martin Luther King Jr ,he was a very brave and courageous person.His movement accomplished much, but it has not ended racism,Nazism has been defeated but it hasn't eradicated Anti-Semitism, the defeat of Putin if it comes will not put an end of war.We are always going to need prisons,child abuse,murder ,and so many other evils will continue,the commandments will continue to be broken.This world will never get any better because of sin and Satan it is heading for destruction CP 2 Peter 3.The fallen nature,or sinful nature, of humanity will not be changed by freedom movements,social improvements, better education,etc. The  only hope for the citizens of planet earth is Christ,if you do not know Christ as your Saviour ,the future for you is hopeless.If you trust Christ as your Saviour, your sin will be forgiven,and you will receive a new nature.As Christians we can look forward to a new heaven and a new earth where in dwelleth righteousness when our Saviour returns,and only then will evil die.

Busy,busy,busy. ( Luke 16 v 19 -31)

 We live in a busy world bombarded by many things,many are like the rabbit in 'Alice in Wonderland', who ran holding a clock and crying out,'I'm late! I'm late! for a very important date'.The poet writes of those who have no time to stop and stare, they are busy,busy busy. There is a  story of an explorer in Africa,he was accompanied only by porters,So they drove on relentlessly,but after a couple of hours they stopped,the man asked why they had stopped ,where they tired?. 'No they replied they where not tired, it's just that we have been moving very quickly,so we left our souls behind,now we have to wait, for it catch up with us'.Yes the world rushes on, not considering that they have and are an everlasting soul,and without Christ they will spend eternity in hell,it is a grim message,a sad message,stop for a moment,pause and consider what I am saying before it is to late,turn to the Saviour today.

Things above. ( 2 Corinthians 4 v18 )

 There is a saying that if you are to heavenly minded you are no earthly good,I wonder if that is  true?. In Colossians 3 v 1-2 ,we read,,'Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,set your hearts on things above,where Christ is,seated at the right of God.Set your mind on things above,not on earthly things'.I don't think we are told that life on planet earth is ont important,no ,things of life are important,your family,your job etc,As one writer has said,'He  is not saying we should withdraw from the world',our Saviour prayed that we should not be taken out of this world (John 17 v 15) Life is to be lived out in the here and now, but we are here that we may be light to those who are in spiritual darkness,we are here that we may be the salt in a corrupt world. We have been raised up in newness of life,we must manifest that life,we must hold unto to the things of this life loosely,nothing should take the place of Christ and future glory. We must all ask ourselves the following questions,are the things of earth more important than the things of heaven,are the things of time more important than the things of eternity. Matthew Henry wrote of that world to come,'Our head is there, our home is there,our treasure is there,and we hope to be there for ever'.

We are fragile. ( Isaiah 40 v 28 - 31 )

 'You could have knocked me down with a feather',so the saying goes,yes sometimes it does not take much to knock us down. The strongest person can go down with a cold or whatever, A big giant got knocked down by a young lad, and mighty army got defeated by a few hundred,another person lost his sight ,when he got his hair cut.One day a great king stood boasting about his power ,the next moment,he has lost his senses,and he ended up in a  field eating grass.Paul was a great man of God and accomplished so much,what was this secret? .The answer is found in the words of Philippians  4 v13,'I can do all things through him who gives me strength'.It is through Him we conqueror,it is by Him we are kept safe,we fragile human beings need look to look to Him ,call upon Him continually.Recently I was staying at my sons,that morning as my daughter-in-law was about to leave for work,I prayed with her,she then left and went to work. Later she sent me a text thanking me for praying for her,she said that she she had so much to do at work ,and she didn't think she would be able to get through it all, but things went much better than she hoped,the burden had lifted' 

                                                      'He gives strength to the weary,

                                                      and increases the power of the weak.'

                                                                    Isaiah 40 v 29.

                                                       

I spoke to my hair. ( Matthew 7 v 15- 25)

' I spoke to my hair,' these are the words spoken by a so called preacher who a vast number of followers, the point is this man is 85,and his hair is black,and people have been wondering how an 85yr old man has no gray hair.So he went on to say he talked about it to God,and God supposedly told him to speak to his hair,and he did just that,and so he has no gray hairs, His name is Kenneth Copeland,he is a man who says he is a god,and he can speak things into existence,he boasts about being a billionaire,he also said that Isaiah 9 v7 applied to him and to all Christians. This man speaks to vast numbers of people,plus he reaches many people on the television,what really saddens me, many people who attend his gatherings , to hear him,have  bibles with them,but they have no discernment. Our Saviour said this ,'Watch out for false prophets'(Matthew 7 v 15) He goes on to remind us that there will come a day in which they will stand before Him and even call Him Lord,and say  they have done many wonderful things  in His name, and He will say,'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you evildoers. '