Our Helper ( Psalm 121)

 There are 15 songs of  ascents,they were sung by the pilgrims as they travelled to Jerusalem,so let us consider Psalm 121. a firm favourite of many of Gods people.the first two verses  goes  '  I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? I come from Belfast and during the second world war,Belfast was bombed,before the bombers came a siren would sound , warning the people of an air raid,we lived of the Castlereagh Road,  which lead to the Castlereagh Hills,and to those hills our family and others would make their way for safety. Now the Paslmist  asks the question ,'where does my help come from?', the answer is very simple,'From the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth'. The universe,planet earth,did not just happen our great triune God made everything ,and He is our helper.Do you need help today ? look to your great God,say to yourself ,'My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth, that means that whatever help you need He will provide protection,provision, He will not fail you,we will fail Him,but He will not fail us,He has given us His word.Someone wrote the following.

                                                   'God keep me safe from harm and sin ,

                                                    Thy Spirit keep; the Lord  watch o'er

                                                    Thy going out,thy coming in,

                                                     From this time,evermore'.

 

If only. ( Psalm 81)

Psalm 81 speaks of Israel being set free  from their slavery in Egypt ,the opening verses commence by exhorting  then to sing and to praise God.God had removed the burden they had been carrying,and when they had been in distress God had rescued them, but He had tested them.and also warned then not to worship other gods but worship Him.But they would not listen and they refused to submit to God,so He left them to their own devices. Verse 13 reads ,' Oh, that my people would listen to Me,that Israel would walk in my ways',oh what  difference that would have made.It is Scroggie who comments,'It is a sad thing  when they who had been delivered from Egyptian bondage go into Babylonian captivity'. Our Lord Jesus lamented over Jerusalem ,in Matthew 23 v37  we read,'O Jerusalem,Jerusalem,the city that kills the prophets  and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me'.Israel acted like so many stubborn children that refused to listen to a loving mother and a loving father,and found out to their cost,that they should hsve listened. How many people have listed to the Gospel,and rejected it,and paid an awful price,their lives have been ruined,and their soul lost for all eternity, The safest thing,and the wisest thing one could ever do,is to listen to God and obey Him.

                                             

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.