A Reminder - Ultimately, We Belong To The Lord!

Romans 14:7-9 (New International Version)

7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

TFTD: We get involved, and tied up in so much....but in the end we belong to the Lord....and so we must live for Him.


Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

Amazing Words,

This morning I read this passage. It always blows my mind.

I looked at it in other versions, but the impact of the NIV can't be beaten.

Romans 11:33-36 (New International Version)

Doxology

33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[a] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"[b]
35"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"[c]
36For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Have a good day,

Peter Clark

No Shallowness In This Prayer.

O God, the protector of all that trust in you,

without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy;

increase and multiply upon us your mercy,

that, with you as our ruler and guide,

we may so pass through things temporal

that we finally lose not the things eternal.

Grant this, O heavenly Father,

for the sake of Jesus Christ, or Lord. Amen.

The Heart Of The Problem.

I was reading Romans 10 today and it struck me that Paul was writing clearly on what is at the heart of our human problem.

Romans 10:3 (New International Version)

3Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

Paul was writing to the Jews, but it equally applies to all of us today.

Rather than living by faith in God, people build a "system" to try and make themselves acceptable to God - things like "I have never hurt anyone"; "I live a good life"; "I am honest"; etc etc

But try as we may - there is nothing we can do, no matter how sincere we are in doing it....that can make us right with God.

That is our own made up version....our hopeful thinking about what might make us acceptable to God.

Nothing we can ever do can be a substitute for the righteousness that God offers by faith.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

How To Live.

Thoughts for the Day - Help along life's way....

That is what I called this blog...and that is what we need encouragement to be able to do.

That is where I am trying to help.

All I am trying to say is this...

"My word to you is simple and straightforward: just go ahead with what you have been given. Having received Christ, now just live in Him"

Exactly the message of Colossians 2:6.

6-7My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

Paul then goes on to fill out how the Colossian Christians might do that.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Encouragement Over Breakfast!

On Saturday morning I sat down to breakfast and saw the mail from the previous day there - waiting to be opened.

A prayer update from the Bible Society. I open it and read and it is talking about Hezekiah - one of the few good kings of Judah.

He was a Godly man who seriously attempted to please God by attempting to turn Judah back to worshipping God.

On this day however, he was ill and was told by Isaiah the prophet that he was going to die.

How would you respond to that?

This is how Hezekiah responded in 2 Kings 20....


3 "Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Hezekiah's prayer was a prayer of desperation, but also a prayer of faith.

He prayed knowing that God honours integrity and truth, and this is how he tried to live as king.

It is important for us not just to believe that God is there.....but to live a life that reflects who God is.

To answer Hezekiah's prayer, God extended his life by 15 years.

TFTD: God honours those who honour Him. Be encouraged.


Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Be Careful How We Worship.

Hosea 6:6 (New International Version)

6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Our rituals can be helpful for people. They might help us to understand God more and to nourish our relationship with Him.

God instituted circumcision and the sacrificial system in the Old Testament and baptism and the Lord's Supper in the New Testament. He wanted these to be helpful in their relating to Him.

The ritual is only helpful if it is carried out with an attitude of love for God and an obedience to Him.

Ritual becomes a mockery and meaningless if our hearts are not right with God.

In this Hosea passage we learn that God did not want the Israelites rituals; He wanted their hearts.

Let's not forget too, that worship is more than an hour or so on Sunday. It is really 24 X 7.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Paul's Great Dilemma!

I am up to Romans 7 in my Bible reading - you know what that means don't you?

Romans 7:21-24 (New International Version)

21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

There is tension in the living out of our Christian lives too, isn't there?

We know all too well what God says in His Word.....but can't always do it.

The answer for us is the same answer that Paul had.

Who is going to rescue Paul....who is going to rescue us?

25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!


When Paul was overwhelmed with this spiritual battle that he was in, he would go back to the beginning and remember how he had been freed from sin by the Lord Jesus Christ.

TFTD: The same can be true for us.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Imagine...No Books In The World!

Even worse than that....imagine there were no words.

One morning we wake up and all words have disappeared...there is no possibility of communication....with anyone.

At the time of Amos, the prophet God was thoroughly fed up with his people (let's not forget all that He had accomplished for them).

The people had ignored God....they had followed false gods....to the extent that God said....

"The time is ripe for my people...I will spare them no longer".

God then withdraws from them.

He says that people will search for Him and not find Him.

They will search for His word and not find it.

TFTD: What an awful position to be in.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

A Special Prayer.

O God,
you alone can order our unruly wills and affections:
teach us to love what you command,
and to desire what you promise,
that, among the changes and chances of this world,
our hearts may surely there be fixed
where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Life In It's Perspective.

This morning at 11am I will be preaching on the parable of the sower.

I am going to focus on one verse...


Matthew 13:22 (New International Version)

22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.


It is too easy for us to agree with Christ....but to have no intention of obeying Him.

It is easy for us to denounce the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth.....but still do nothing to change our ways.

Think about your present worries....are they justified in the light of eternal life with God?

TFTD: If you had everything you could ever want but missed out on eternal life with God....would those "things" be so desirable?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

My Role.

I try to keep in front of me a clear picture of my role. This, I think, helps me to be effective in what I do.

In the lectionary reading on Sunday I found these two gems. I have seen them before - but they jumped out at me in the evening service - after I had read them two times already through the day. It is like I was blinded to them until I was ready.

As I read them that passage at night - I almost stopped - like I had received a blow between the eyes.

These are two statements which present clearly to me what I am to do in my future ministry (and what I have been trying to do in my past ministry)


Colossians 1:25 (New International Version)

25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—

Colossians 1:28 (New International Version)

28We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.


"Perfect" in the sense of "complete" or "finished off"

Have a good day,

Peter Clark.

It Is Not Enough Just To Start...!

Colossians 1:23 (The Message)

21-23You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.

This came up in our lectionary reading yesterday and how relevant it is for us.

The evil one is ready to distract us from the truth of the gospel and divert us from a life lived with God.

But we must keep on - God has not changed - the truth and reality of the gospel has not changed.

TFTD: Do not stop what God has started in you.

Have a good day,

Peter Clark.

Another Thought On Why We Are Here!

1 Peter 2:5 (New International Version)

5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Why Are We Here?

This is a good summary of why we are here and what we are to be doing.


Ephesians 2:10 (New International Version)

10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.


TFTD: Are YOU in God's place right now?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Hitting The Nail On The Head.

Jesus said that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.....and our neighbour as ourself.

In Luke 10 we have visual pictures of what this means...

We have the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which explains HOW we are to love our neighbours.

Immediately after that passage we have the account of Mary and Martha - you know the one...where Martha complains to Jesus because she is doing all the work and Mary is just sitting around....at Jesus feet, listening and learning.

This explains and fills out HOW we are to love God.

TFTD: How are you going loving your neighbour and loving God?


Best Wishes,

Peter Clark.

Don't Start A Fight!

Have you ever started a dispute and were sorry you did?

Mostly, it is not a good idea- in the end we wonder what value there is in winning.

Proverbs 17:14 says this, "Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

What do you think? Is that good advice?

Have a great day,

Peter Clark


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Direct Disobedience!

I remember from many years ago a teacher in Primary School. He had these different categories of infraction - there was disobedience and DIRECT DISOBEDIENCE - that final one was really bad. You didn't want to get caught at that!!!

Mr daily readings started on Jonah today. There is a key verse - 1:3

3 But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get.

This certainly was "direct disobedience".

Our disobedience might not be as dramatic as Jonah's - but it is disobedience none the less.

It might even be "direct disobedience".

TFTD: Is there some area of your life that you are aware of, that you are being disobedient to God?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Who Are The Fools?

Last Sunday I had a glimpse of life that I rarely see.

I left church early (because there was no morning tea) and went to meet Heather, who was walking with the grandchildren.

There were people everywhere, walking, having coffee, exercising dogs, jogging....

Why aren't these people worshipping and praising God in local congregations?

Because they are living as if though there is no God.

Sad, isn't it....but they have as much opportunity as any one else to respond to the knowledge of God in their hearts.

Psalm 14

1 The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

God Is Our Refuge!

How good it is to be reminded that we have such a solid foundation in God.

We can never be moved.


Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Desperate To Discredit Jesus.

There are many in our day who are desperate to discredit Jesus - politicians who claim to be atheists - scientists who claim to be smarter than God!

In this passage the Pharisees are very desperate to discredit Jesus...


Luke 11:15-20 (New International Version)

15But some of them said, "By Beelzebub,[a] the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." 16Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

17Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 18If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. 19Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

Some of the Pharisees followers were also exorcists - that is, they drove out demons.

The Pharisees accusations were becoming more desperate by the day.

To accuse Jesus of being empowered by Beelzebub, the prince of demons was also to say that Pharisees' own exorcists were doing Satan's work.

Jesus turned the religious leaders' accusation against them. Jesus first dismissed their claim as absurd (Why would the devil drive out his own demons?). Then he engaged in a little irony ("By whom do your followers drive them out"?)

Finally, Jesus concluded that his work of driving out demons proves that the kingdom of God has arrived.

TFTD: Listen and see if you can pick up modern attempts to discredit Jesus.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Having Confidence In God.

Isaiah 58:11 (New International Version)



11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

I came across this verse in one of my prayer diaries. It seems particularly because it was on the page for Ethiopia.

TFTD: Are you praying for a broad range of prayer needs? Why not ask some of your favourite mission groups for their prayer diary?

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

The Absolute Best Thing!

Luke 10:41-42 (New International Version)

41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Do you remember this passage?

Jesus came to visit Mary and Martha. Martha is busy do all sorts of things. She complains that Mary is not pulling her weight.

Jesus points out to Martha that Mary has chosen the better path.

TFTD: What do you see as important: working for Jesus OR learning from Jesus?

Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

The Absolutely Worst Thing!

What do you think that the absolutely worst thing that could ever happen to you?

Perhaps you might think- losing your job - or your health - or your husband or wife - or child/ren.

And they would all be pretty bad, but the absolute worst thing far exceeds anything like that we might experience.

In 2 Kings 17 we see the culmination of the life of evil that Israel were continually involved in. They were so tied up with "worthless idols" that they themselves had become "worthless".

They were even sacrificing their children in the fire - they practiced divination and sorcery and "sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord"

It seems as though His people couldn't do anything worse.

What happens to the people then?

It is worse than a foreign power coming down and wiping them out.

It is worst than some disease.

What happens?

God removed them from His presence - we see it mentioned four times in a few verses.- verse 18, 20 (twice) and verse 23.

It must be an awesome thing to be in the presence of God.

It must be an awful thing not to be in the presence of God.

What do you think?

Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

Don't Be Enslaved.

It is so easy to become enslaved....yes it is.

We can even become enslaved to what might be considered "good things".

If we can't stop doing something....start doing something else....give it away.....sell it...if we can't eat it.....or not eat it...go past it etc etc....then it is possible that we are enslaved to it.


"for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him." (2 Peter 2:19)

So often we think that we are in control...but really we are slaves.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

God's Guidance.

Proverbs 16:9 (New International Version)

9 In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps.

This is a good reminder for us. It is necessary to make plans and have strategies for our lives.

But lets not be slavishly held to them because God may have a different idea for us.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Assurance

At some point or other we are all in need of assurance.

We are all in need of knowing afresh that the salvation we have "signed up for" is real.

In Acts 13 verses 38,39 Paul is re-assuring those in Pisidian Antioch that there is a faith which we can be sure of.

He has already told them that God had raised Jesus from death to life (v.30).

Now he says:

I want you to know, my very dear friends, that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. (The Message)

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

All God's Promises Answered In Jesus

2 Corinthians 1:20 (New International Version)

20For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ.

All of history points to the Lord Jesus Christ. Every promise made by God finds it fulfilment in Him.

Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

Responding To God's Word.

For God's Word to work in our lives it is necessary to read...but even more than that we should....

....love it (Psalm 119:97)

....treasure it (Psalm 119:72)

....learn it (Psalm 119:26-27)

....memorise it (Psalm 119:11)

....meditate on it (Psalm 119:15)

....believe it (Psalm 119:42)

....practice it (Psalm 119:1-4)

TFTD: We way we treat our Bible is the way we treat our Lord, because it is His Word to our hearts.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Sexual Sin

Proverbs has a lot to say about sexual sin....and it says it in such a practical, easy to understand way.

Sexual immorality is like walking a path that leads to death (2:16-22) and hell (5:5).

It is like deliberately burning and wounding yourself (6:20-35)

It is like being slaughtered as an animal (7:6-27)

It is like closing your eyes and falling into a pit (22:14; 23:26-28)

TFTD:Hebrews 13:4 (New International Version)

4Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

Have a good day,

Peter Clark.

Gather Plenty Of Jars!

2 Kings 4:1-7 (New International Version)

The Widow's Oil

1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."
2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"
"Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."

3 Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."

5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."
But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.

7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."

This came up as a part of my daily reading today.

It occurred to me that God's provision was as large as the faith of the woman and her son. See v.6.

The oil stopped running as soon as they ran out of containers.

They had to gather containers from neighbours and friends.

The amount of oil they gathered was limited by the number of jars that they collected.

God's provision was as large as their faith, and their willingness to obey.

TFTD: We need to be careful that we do not limit God's blessings by a lack of faith and obedience.

Do you remember Ephesians 3:20 "God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine"

Have a good day,

Peter Clark.