Confidence. [Psalm 23 ]

Lets continue thinking of the words of Psalm 31, lets consider v5 /Into Thy hands I commit my spirit/let us remember the context , these words reveal the seriousness of his situation, he felt he could possible die, so if this happened, he was committing his eternal well being to his God. This is a statement of faith, a statement that our Lord Jesus declared on the cross,just as He was about to die [Luke 23 v46]. Death for many is the great unknown,and for many it is something that they dont thing about, we hear that many people are living longer,and we all expect to live longer,this can lull us into a false security.Death may be the great unknown for many ,but for David it held no fear[ Psalm 23v4]. David had no fear of death because His faith was in the Lord [Psalm 23v1],and so with total confidence He committed His spirit to God.Jesus came and died that we could have eternal life, so with the apostle Paul we can with confidence declare, that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. [1 Corinthians 5 v8 ]. Henry F. Lyte wrote,/Where is deaths sting? where grave thy victory? I triumph still, if Thou abide,[ I love the closing verse of this wonderful hymn] Keep Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes. Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heavens morning breaks, and earths vainshadows flee. In life, in death, O Lord abide with me./[ Dear God we thank for Jesus Your dear son ,who died that we may live,and that when we trust Him ,we can face even death with confidence. Amen ]

Close to Thee. [ Psalm 23 ]

I thought on those wonderful words from Psalm 31v 14-15, which read ,/Thou art my God. My times are in thy hands/. These words were written by David in a time of trouble,David had to contend with so many things, lions, bears, giants, king Saul, a disgruntled wife, a rebellious son , the death of his three sons. Inspite of all of these things, David had a relationship with God , and that relationship sustained him, there where times when he was overwhelmed by sorrow,but in his God he found comfort and strength. Whatever we are facing let us take encouragement from David, that the one thing that will sustain us is ,our relationship with our God,and our Saviour. Anna L. Waring wrote, In heavenly love abiding ,no change my heart shall fear,and safe in such confiding, for nothing changes here. The storm may roar about me,my heart may low be laid, but God is round about me, and can I be dismayed?. [ Dear God help me cling to You,to walk with You, to talk with You ,come what may,in Jesus name ,we ask this . Amen ]

Understanding the scriptures.[ 2 Timothy 3 v15- 17 ]

It is so vital that we have an understanding of what the scripture says, it is not enough to read the scriptures, there must be an understanding of them. The Bible is not just a telephone book, it is the word of God,it is not just enough to memorise the word of God. The religous people at the time of Jesus ,knew the scriptures, but failed to understand them,they did search the scriptures, but missed the most important part, that Jesus was the Messiah. [John 5 v 39 ]. In Psalm 119 v27, we read ,/Help me to understand the meaning of your commandments/,when I am going to preach I study the scriptures,seeking to convey the meaning of the scriptures to my hearers. I have many commentaries on the bible, written by godly people,they can help us ,understand Gods word. I attend a church where Gods word is taught ,and explained this is very important, but the person in the pew , must attempt to feed themselves. [ Hebrews 5 v12-14 ] This may appear a difficult task, but we have a helper, the Holy Spirit, who will guide us into all truth. [ Dear God help us to read,and study Your word,and above all else ,help us to understad it, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Consider your end. [ Psalm 1 ]

So often the Psalmist contrasts those who know God and live for Him,and those who dont,it acknowledges that the latter may prosper, cp Psalm 73, and that the former may suffer loss. Today there are godly people and they are suffering,they are poor, they are persecuted, they are hated ,and despised, you will not see them in Hello magazine. Our Saviour said ,Blessed are they which are persecuted ....blessed are ye ,when men shall revile you, and persecute you,and shall say all manner of evil against falsely, for my sake [Matthew 5 v 10-11]. In Psalm 37 v37 -38 the two groups are highlighted, /Mark the perfect man[ those who know God and are seeking to follow Him]and behold the upright,[ they are seeking to live a godly life ] for the end of that man is peace. [Glory, eternal life] . But the transgressors [ those who live without the fear of God ]shall be destroyed together,the end of the wicked shall be cut off./ We should always take into account the end of a thing, so many dont, and the end ,sadly of the many ,will be a lost eternity. [ Dear God open the eyes of us all ,to our end,so teach us to number our days,that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom, in Jesus name Amen ]

Charlatan [ Matthew 23 v14 ]

We are told that in 1 Timothy 6 v10, that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils, and as I watched a TV programme last night on faith healers, the reality of those words came to mind. I know how easy it is to exploit people who are vunerable, to play on their emotions, guilt, and fears. One of the things that sparked of the reformation under Martin Luther was the selling of indulgences, and of course even to this present day the Roman Catholic mass is a means of exploiting peoples vunerability, as a friend of mine who was a devout R C, and lived in Dublin, told me , no money no Mass. These things and many other things emphasize a love of money, beware of those who are religious , who have a emphasis on money, and who would seek to emotionally blackmail people.One story last night told of a young girl aged 14 ,suffering from a life threatening illness, she heard one of those faith healers, who promised if his hearers would pledge 1.000 dollars, they would , be healed, somehow the young girl raised that money and sent it to the faith healer, but she grew worse, she phoned the so called faith healer, and told him, he replied that she had sin in her life, thats why she was not healed. Later that youngster , went into her garage poured petrol over herself , and set herself on fire. [ Dear God we cry unto You against those who exploit the vunerable, for money,we pray that You would deal with such ,expose then for what they are, in Jesus name Amen ]

Forgiveness. [ Matthew 6 v14 - 15 ]

Yesterday I spoke on, unforgiveness ,and its serious effect on those who hold unto it, one of the things I said was this,/ If we dont forgive then we put something else in its place, and what that something is,can seriously effect our lives/.Not only our lives but the lives of those around us, there are so many people,who are carrying unforgiveness, is it the ultimate sin?. I say sin ,although I realize someone reading this may have experienced terrible hurts, so let me make it clear ,that I am not judging anyone. The fact is God is the forgiving God,He forgives, and forgives, and forgives, in order to enable Him to forgive,He had to send His Son into this world to die, He had to let His dear Son,be crucified. So God has experienced that pain ,yet He forgives all who seek His forgivness by coming to Him,and accepting His son as Saviour. He fully understands 0ur pain when we have been hurt,or those we love have been hurt,and His words to us is , as I forgive so must you forgive.[ Dear God grant us the grace we need to forgive those who hurt us, or even those we love, in Jesus name Amen ]

With Him we can make it.[ John 21 ]

Well it is Easter Sunday,my mind goes back to when I was a young man, it was Easter Sunday,I was a young and lonely man, I was standing on the corner , when a neighbour and his wife walked by,on their way to church. I asked them could I go with them, and they agreed,and so I ended up at church. And that night something happened ,God spoke to me,and that evening I returned to my Saviour. This is over 47 yrs ago, 47 yrs in which I have sought to follow my Lord, at times the path has been difficult, I have made many mistakes, I still feel lonely at times, I was never the perfect ,husband, or father. But then when we trust Jesus it is the beginning of a journey,a journey when we are being changed, to be better people ,there is still much change that is needed. Our Saviour will not give up on us inspite of our imperfections, because He loves us, and will always love us, I could have not made it this far,without that knowledge ,without His presence. [ Dear Saviour continue to keep us ,sustain us ,strengthen us, without You we cannot make it,so very simply we commit ourselves to You Amen ]