Dare to stand alone. ( Ephesians 6 v 19 - 20)

Often it can cost ,to stand for what you believe,when Corrie ten Boom and family were arrested for  harbouring Jews,that included their elderly father,they were taken to be imterrogated.A German officer spoke to her father,he said ,''I'd like to send you home,old fellow,if you give me your word that you won't cause anymore trouble'' . The old man replied,'' If I  go home today'' speaking evenly and clearly, ''tomorrow I will open my door again to any man in need who knocks''. So that put an end to that,he was kept in captivity,but he did not live long after that. Most of the disciples suffered martyrdom, and right up to this day millions of Christians have died for their faith,and I'm sure there will be many more who will suffer imprisionment and death for their faith. In the book of Daniel  chap 3 the King  set up an image of gold,and give the order that everyone had to bow down and whoship the gold image,and if they didn't they would be cast into a firey furance.Three young Jews refused to do that,brought before the King they told him ,that God  would deliver them, but even if He does not,they would not worship the image. Their friend Daniel was thrown into a den of lions for refusing the kings command ,all those young men survived,but for many in this world  at this present time are suffering greatly because they are Christians                                                       ' Dare to be a  Daniel! Dare to stand alone!

                                                     Dare to have a purpose firm! Dare to make

                                                      it known'

                                                                         Words Philip Paul  Blis.

Follow Me ( Luke 9 v 62)

 When I young we used to play ,'follow the leader',it was good fun,but in our spiritual lives we must take it very serious. Which leads us to consider Peters experience which we read of in John 21,when Christ sought to restore and  reinstate him.The first thing our did Saviour did  was challenge him as regards his  love for Him ,without love for our Saviour there can be no relationship. Next He instructed him to minister and care for those who belong to Christ,we all have to do that to a certain extempt,but leaders of God's people have a very big responsibility,of which they will be held accountable.Our Saviour also tells Peter  of the kind of death he would suffer,and we believe he was crucified,it would be nice to die quietly in our beds,but for many suffering Christians, death can be very severe.Last but not least  He tells Peter and he tells us personally.'You must follow Me',as our Saviour was talking  Peter  looked around and saw John the beloved disciple, and he said to our Lord,'what about him?'and our Lord replied ,'what is that to you? You must follow me'.Hear this, take this in,have it tattooed on your hearts.No matter who hurts you, be they Christian or non-Christian,we must follow Him.

                                                     ' I have decided to follow Jesus

                                                      No turning back,no turning back.

                                                      Though none go with me;

                                                       Still I will follow.

                                                       No turning back,No turning back'

He must be first, (John 21 v 15-19)

,'Jesus reinstating Peter' (John 21 v 15ff) in these verses we have our Lord speaking to Peter,the one who denied him,the one who chickened out,the one who had cold feet.But now that had passed, and possibly Peter would have been wondering what next?, would there be a next?,of course there would be, He asked Peter three times,' Do you love me?'Those who follow Christ must love Him'.But it goes further ,'Do you love me more than these?  (John 21 v 15) In Matthew 10 v 37 we read,'Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me',The key word there is more,Christ must be first in all things,no one should ever be put in front of Him.Abraham had to learn that lesson (Genesis 22)and we have to learn it,if we don't we are in fact putting others before  Christ, He is not there to play second fiddle. Each time He asked Peter the question,he charged him with a task,'Feed my lambs','Take care of my sheep' and,'Feed my sheep'.Yes Christ  was not finished with Peter, he had a work for Peter to do.Like Peter you may have failed your Lord drastically, but He still will entrust you with a given task.

                                            'Then the word of the Lord came

                                             to Jonah a second time.'

                                                       Jonah 3 v1.

                                                  

Forgiveness, (Psalm 32 v5 0)1

I'm coming to the end of my study of the gospel of John,in my bible there is a heading over Chapter 21 v 15ff,which reads ,'Jesus reinstates Peter'.You possible know how Peter  denied His Lord three times ,he had boasted to the Lord,'I will lay down my life for you' ( John 13 v37)but the Lord knew Peter better than he knew himself,and told him exactly what he would do,that before the morning came he would deney Jesus 3 times.and that's what happened.You would think if he did that ,he would no longer be a disciple,and Jesus would have nothing to do with Him.It is so easy to give up on people,our Saviour didn't,failure does not mean that our Lord  gives up on us,even though it be a very awful failure.With Christ there is always hope,I love the words of that hymn , which reads,'There's a wideness in God's mercy ,like the wideness of the sea'. thankfully that's true,we think not only of Peter,but also David and the awful sins he committed,first he commmitted adultery, then murder ( 2 Samuel 11)but God forgive him. Now we are talking about two believers,yes believers can sin grievously,and we would write them off,but God doesn't,He still loves them,and He will forgive them.if they seek forgiveness and repent of their sins.1 John 1 v 9 was written for a believer here is what it says. .' If we confess our sins,He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousnes'.

Are you being tested? ( 2 Peter 1 v 10-11)

It was the time of the Judges and Israel had not cleared the land of  the i'dolatress nations,God had left them there to see whither Israel would be faithful and obey His commandments and of course they didn't. (Judges 3 v 5-6).  As with  Israel  so God will test us ,there are different ways in which He will do this,take  prosperity ,there are those who preach a so called prosperity gospel.let me warn you ,that prosperity can be a bigger test than poverty .In 'Deuteronomy  8 v 10 -14'. Israel was warned that when they were in the promised land and they were prospering they were not to forget the Lord. In their wilderness journey  Israel faced many difficulties ,God humbled them to see what was in their hearts ,'Deut 8 v 2'.Christ knew what Judas was like ' John 12 v 6',yet he was entusted with the money bag,it was a test would he continue to be same old Judas a thief,or would he give up being a slave to money,he failed the test big time.It is James who writes in his epistle as regards the suffering that the Christians were going through, that it was in order to show that there faith was genuine  Chap 1 v 6-7'. Consider the difficulties in your marriage they can be a test from God , will you be faithfull to your marriage vows,remember them.God brings us into all different siuations,to test us,how are you doing with your test? how am I doing with my tests?.In 2 Peter 1 v 3 we read ,'that God has given us everything we need for a godly life' in other words  God has given us all we need to overcome all the tests we are faced with.In v4 he reminds us of the exceeding great and precious promises,they promise us the grace we need,the strength we need,the provisions we need,the power we need,the protection we need and most of all the promise that He our wonderful Saviour will be with us,we can pass the test.

Pass on a blessing. ( John 5 v 39)

The words of a modern song had these words in it,'You are blest to pass on a blessing', I do try to do that in different ways.One of the ways I would seek to pass a blessing unto others,is to give a  Bible to someone .I have a window cleaner ,he has been cleaning  my  windows for a number of years,I usually give him a cup of coffee when he comes, and we often talk to each other,he knows I'm a Christian,and so we often have discussions,and one day I give him a Bible, I had forgotten all about it,he mentioned recently ,he had given the Bible to his daughter.She was very keen to get it,and she is reading it and underlining it,I don't know if she is a Christian,but the good thing is ,it is a blessing to her. That's one wonderful way we can bless people, I have a dear friend who was an ardent Roman Catholic,his brother was a priest,he himself  entered a religious order for a while.Roman  Catholics were not encouraged to read the Bible,when he was a young lad he asked the  priest why they were not encouraged to read the Bible? he answered,if they read the Bible they will become Protestants.Pass on a Bible to someone,who knows, they may become a Christiasn.

                                                     Psalm 119 v 130

                                    'The entrance of  Your  words gives light'

                               

Your Kingdom Come. ( Colossians 1 v 13-14 )

A friend told me about a man he knew,he said that he and his wife had got involved with the JWs,one day my friend visited him,and give him a scripture,his friend started crying,and cried out,'I don't know what to believe'. The sad end of this story was he committed suicide,yes there is much confusion in the world. In one of my daily readings I read how Satan is a master counterfeiter,the cults proclaim a Christ,but their Christ is not the Christ of the Bible. In 2 Corinthians 4 v4 we read ,'The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ ,who is image of God'.No wonder there is so much confusion in the world.'Satan has blinded , not the emotions,or the will,but the mind of man', writes Paul Barnett.Consider the following words ,'The whole world is under the control of the evil one' (1 John 5 v19) These are very awesome words,how did one very evil man take over Germany,and lead them into so much evil. Germany is only the tip of the iceberg. It is time we began to take serious that there is a devil and the power he has over all humanity,and why there is so much confusion in the this fallen world.There are two kingdoms in this world ,the kingdom of darkness ruled over by Satan, and the kingdom of light  ,in which God rules.Every day I pray what our Saviour told us to pray,' Your kingdom come', (Matthew 6 v 10) The gospel is the key to open the prison in which humanity is held captive,it is  Charles Wesley who wrote the following.

                                                      'Long my imprisoned spirit lay

                                                       Fast bound in sin and nastures night                  

                                                       Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,

                                                       I woke ,the dungeon flamed with light;

                                                       My chains fell off ,my heart was free;

                                                       I rose, went forth,and followed Thee'