God is good.

Today I have been thinking about the goodness of God.  God is good in every situation and circumstance of life.  I remember a story of Corrie Ten Boon of the Hiding Place and Brother Andrew who is God's smuggler.  They were having lunch at Corrie's new home.  Corrie had just shown Brother Andrew the house and the grounds to which he remarked, "Corrie, God has been good to you."  Corrie's face turned stern and she remarked back, "Andrew, God was good when I and my sister were in the concentration camps and the Nazi's were hurting us."  God is always good.  This story affacted me because it reminded me that no matter what situation I find myself in God is still good.  Things are still going to work out for good.  The apostle Paul said, "Whatever state I find myself in, I am content."  Paul knew that God was good.  The goodness of God is the thing that takes us through the bad times and helps us appreciate the good times.  Remember, God is good.

Do not be an enemy of God.

Today in my deoviton I was reading Isaiah 17, and the prophecy against the city of Damascus and Syria.  Syria has been a neighbour of Israel for centuries but not a friend.  Right now Syria is involved in an ugly civil war where thousands have already lost their lives.  The present government is trying to stay in power using any means possible to remain there.  Syria is an enemy of Israel and ultimately God's.  Israel is the apple of God's eye.  He established this country and defends it supernatually.  Think about this.  Israel has a population of 9 million.  It is a little under 10,000 square miles and yet it has the most powerful military in the middle east.  It is surrounded by over 200 million enemies and yet still survives.  Naturally it does make any sense but supernaturally it does.  As a child of God you may be one person.  You have an enemy who has billions of followers and demon minions but you are still in Christ greater than them.  You see supernaturally you are a victor, an overcomer a conquerer.  Naturally you should be destroyed but supernaturally you are a winner.  The indiivudual who tips the scales in your favour is God.  With God for you, who can be against you.  Today, do two things, remember to pray for the peace of Israel and Jerusalem and remember in Christ you can do all things.

Who is Jesus

When I was a young man there was a t.v. preacher who was a smooth talker and con man.  His name was Garner Ted Armstrong.  He presented on one of his programs, the question, "Who is Jesus."  Now my father and I listened to the program and when he was finished I was no closer to knowing who Jesus was as I was to living on Mars.  Later through the pages of the Bible and the ability of the Holy Spirit I began to know who Jesus is.  Jesus is the beloved Son of God, He is God incarnate, God with a face, 100% God and 100% man, the perfect union of the divine and humanity.  Jesus was born of the virgin Mary.  He lived a perfect sinless life and when the time was right He died for the sins of mankind.  Jesus died, was buried and rose again.  He gave His broken body and shed His precious blood that we may have life now and eternal life later.  Jesus is our Saviour, Healer, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit and our Soon Coming King.  This is who Christ is and so much more.  Jesus is the perfect representation of love.  He is our role model on how to walk in the Spirit.  He is our example on how to love and give love.  This is who Jesus is.  This is what I have discovered over the many years that I have served Him.  The scary part for me is that I have just scratch the surface of who Christ is.   John put it very beautifully, "There is not enough books to contain what Jesus did."  I will add and who He is.  My exhortation is get to know Him and spend the rest of your life discovering what a beautiful and wonderful person He is. 

A true love story.

This morning in my devotions I was looking at the Song of Solomon which is a true love story.  You have these two people who are so much in love it is profound.  Love as described in this book is now only found in movies and romance novels.  This book is also a Old Testament picture of the love that Jesus Christ has for His church.  True love these days seem rare.  Society as a whole is telling people to do their own thing.  The real victims of this philosophy are the children.  Mom and dad are doing their own thing and the children become the victims.  To safeguard your home you must have Jesus Christ as the center of your home.  He must not only be the unseen guest but also the foundation on which you build any relationship.  The word of God is full of wonderful promises for the family but these promises must be applied.  Application is the key to any successful adventure in faith.  Today make Christ the center of your home and apply the principles of the word to your home and see God keep it through the hard and difficult times.  The reward is a lifetime of victory.  

The hollowness of life

This morning in my devotions I was reading the book of Ecclesiastes.  This is a book that is very negative in places because it is written by a man who at the time was backslidden.  Solomon had lived the so called good life and now he was reflecting on how hollow that life had become.  Solomon started out well but did not finish well.  He started following God but at the end of his life he followed the gods of his foreign wives.  Solomon for all his wisdom and knowledge forget the first law of the spiritual walk.  You are in a long distance race, so pace yourself.  In the spiritual walk of life, it is not how you start that matters it is how you end that does.  Solomon did not end well.  Solomon may not even be in heaven because it never does tell us if he ever repented.  Solomon is a fine example of how a Christian must never let the things of this life overcome the things of God.  Recently a beautiful and talented singer named Whitney Houston died tragically.  What was so tragic is that she started off singing in church but the lure of the world eventually lead her down a path of self destruction.  A beautiful voice has been silenced.  The other tragedy is that her story is not unique, there are hundreds of similar stories, something the entertainment industry does not tell you.  Solomon learned the hard way and his example can serve as a warning to others.  The wise are those that see what happens to others and learn from their mistakes.  Good advice. 

A good wife.

I was reading in my devotions this morning from Prov 31, where Solomon or Lemuel as he is also known writes about the qualities of a good wife.  Wives can be a blessing or curse it just depends on how they are treated and if they are a believer or not.  The wife that Solomon describes here is based on his view of his own mother who of course was Bathsheba.  Solomon says that a good wife is more precious than rubies.  She brings her husband good not harm.  He is respected because of his wife.  She is a person of character and integrity.  She is honest, pure, upright, moral and delightful.  She knows the value of money and uses it well.  She is a person who encourages and has compassion for those around her.  Her desire is to help and not hinder.  She thinks of others before she thinks of herself.  She has a servant's heart and is doing the will of God.  A godly woman is a real blessing.  If you have such a person in your life you are truly blessed.  I have had such a person in my life for 35 years.  My wife Lois is all of these qualities and so much more.  Today I rise up and call her blessed.  I hope you can do the same for your spouse. 

Be careful of traps.

   In my devotions this morning I was reading in Prov 7, where Solomon warns about being caught up in the trap of adultery.  Adultery is just one trap satan uses to trap people.  John 10:10 gives the motive of operation in which satan's operate.  As a thief, he comes to rob, kill and destroy.  His methods of attack are temptation, accusation and deception.  So when you come accross a situation where the test you are facing involves this three things it is trap of satan.  Traps are traps no matter what form they come in.  They are designed to trip and trap the intended victim.  The wise person is always conscience that there are going to be traps in life and the secret is avoidance not escape.   A good plan of life is to look around and see what is happening and not walk blind and hope you can miss the traps.  There is a story of a sapper which is another name for a bomb disposal expert who was working in an area where old bombs where buried.  He was walking through the minefield carefully when he accidently touched an old mine.  It did not explode but he was trapped.  He needed a fellow sappeer to come along and rescue him.  God is our rescue when we are trapped in the minefield's of life.  Today let the Lord rescue and help you out and save you, sometimes even from yourself.  Also if possible look around and keep your life in such a manner that you will be able to stay clear of the minifield's of life.