Emphasising What Is Important.

Galatians 2:16 (New International Version)

16know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

We Are Not Getting Any Older!

Isaiah 40:29-31 (New International Version)

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

The Role Of The Clergy.

Surely our role as clergy is to follow the pattern of relationships of our living God.

In Isaiah 40 we have the pattern of Christ.

11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

There Is One Thing That Lasts!

Isaiah 40:7-8 (New International Version)

7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.

8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever."

We must remember that.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Self Interest!

In my reading of Isaiah, this morning I read the account of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38 & 39).

In many ways he was a man of faith....to the extent that when he become ill, he prayed to God and had his life extended by 15 years and experienced the sign of seeing the sun move backwards by 10 steps.

He makes the mistake of "showing off" all of his treasures to Babylonian envoys.

Isaiah foretells (on behalf of God) that he will have all those treasures taken away from him, and even some of his descendants will be taken away to Babylon and made eunuchs.

Hezekiah's response.....

Isaiah 39:8 (New International Version)

8 "The word of the LORD you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime."

How is that for self interest?

TFTD:Let us not get caught up in so blatant selfishness.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Something We Can Always Do.

When we are in trouble, the thing that is obvious to do, doesn't always occur to us....

Psalm 106:28 reminds us.

28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

What Is Important For Paul?

Paul certainly came up against opposition in his ministry....as we all do.

What was the bottom line for Paul? What was it that he couldn't compromise?

See Chapter 2 Verse 5....


5We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.


What was important for Paul was the "truth of the gospel" not be compromised.


Have a good day,

Peter Clark.

Great Things FOR God...Come FROM God!

How do great things for God happen?

In Isaiah 37 - at an absolute low point in Israel's life - Jerusalem's deliverance is foretold. We see in verse 32.....

32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.

How is this ever going to happen?

The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Saved...But What From?

My daily readings have now moved from Corinthians to Galatians and I was reminded in the opening verses of Chapter 1 what we have been saved from.

Galatians 1:3-5 (New International Version)

3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The Message puts it like this:

So I greet you with the great words, grace and peace! We know the meaning of those words because Jesus Christ rescued us from this evil world we're in by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins. God's plan is that we all experience that rescue. Glory to God forever! Oh, yes!

We are rescued from the power of this evil age - a world in which there is immense sadness, cruelty, temptation and death.

We are not taken out of the world, but we are no longer enslaved to it.

It is now possible for us to live for God.

TFTD: Are you doing that?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Where Does Your Help Come From?

In Isaiah's time the people of Israel were in trouble - world powers were bearing down on them.

What should they do? Where should they go for help?

An alliance with Egypt?

Dong! Wrong choice.

Isaiah 31:1 (New International Version)


1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
or seek help from the LORD.

What they did wrong...and it was a bad mistake....they did not look to God or seek help from Him.

TFTD:God wants us to rely on Him and have Him direct our lives.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

God - Never Far Away.

How great it is to know that God is never far away.

He is NEVER out of earshot.

I was reminded of that the other day as I read Isaiah 30 and verse 19.

"How gracious God will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you."

There used to be a saying going around, "If God seems far away....guess who has moved."

TFTD: Never doubt God's willingness or ability to respond to our prayers.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

What Do We Want From Our Preachers?

Isaiah was not a popular prophet. Why? Because he spoke truth.

God's people would have much preferred to hear pleasant things, nice things, not confronting things...

Isaiah 30:9-11 (New International Version)

9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction.

10 They say to the seers,
"See no more visions!"
and to the prophets,
"Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.

11 Leave this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!"

How sad it is when this moves , from the mind, to speech and then to action in some way.

TFTD: What do we want from our preachers? Surely, we want to be confronted with God's truth.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Too Big For Our Boots.

We have to be very careful to get the order of our relationship right.

I read this last Sunday.

Isaiah 29:16 (New International Version)

Shall what is formed say to him who formed it,
"He did not make me"?
Can the pot say of the potter,
"He knows nothing"?

God is the potter and we are the clay. We are shaped by God to worship and serve Him.

Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

All Words....No Living!

One of the complaints that God levelled against His people (through Isaiah in chapter 29) was that they had their words right, but they didn't have their hearts or their life right.

13 The Lord says:
"These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is made up only of rules taught by men.

TFTD: We have to be very careful that we don't talk the talk without walking the walk.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

"Faith is........."

"We Christians believe that life is created and shaped by God and that the life of faith is a daily exploration of the constant and countless ways in which God's grace and love are experienced.

Psalm 121, learned early and sung repeatedly in the walk with Christ, clearly defines the conditions under which we live out our discipleship - which, in a word, is God. Once we get this psalm in our hearts it will be impossible for us to gloomily suppose that being a Christian is an unending battle against ominous forces that at any moment may break through and overpower us. Faith is not a precarious affair of chance escape from satanic assaults. It is the solid, massive, secure experience of God, who keeps all evil from getting inside us, who guards our life, who guards us when we leave and when we return, who guards us now, who guards us always."

"A Long Obedience In The Same Direction (Discipleship in an Instant Society) by Eugene H Peterson

Stick To God's Word.

"But to deviate from the truth for the sake of some prospect of hope
of our own can never be wise, however slight that deviation may be.

It is not our judgement of the situation
which can show us what is wise,
but only the truth of the Word of God.

Here alone lies the promise of God's faithfulness and help.

It will always be true that the wisest course for the disciple
is always to abide solely by the Word of God in all simplicity."

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

Do You Know Your Future?

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

God has our future in His hands. There is no need to doubt that - and what good hands to be in.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Be Careful What You Pray For.

In a moment of frustration I prayed for a new ministry. I told God that I would go where He wanted me.

He answered my prayer....now I am excited and a little scared of the big task ahead of me.

(I have also had the promise that He will be with me - that is for another day)

I am not regretting what God is doing in my life, but the point here is that we do have to be careful what we pray for.

Psalm 106:15 (New International Version)

15 So he gave them what they asked for....


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Two Bad Mistakes!

I wrote about Psalm 106 a couple of days ago - but there is another two verses that stood out....

.....verse 13

But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his counsel.

Bad move.

Forgetting what God has done in the past AND failing to wait on His direction.

I personally am stronger on the first of these, than I am on the second. I am learning to be more patient to wait on God for His direction.

TFTD: How are you going, remembering what God has accomplished in your life AND waiting on Him to lead and direct you....waiting for His advice and leading?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Let Me See That!

In my reading through the Bible, the passage today included Psalm 106.

In verse 8 the Psalmist is recounting being saved from Egypt.


Psalm 106:8 (New International Version)

8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
to make his mighty power known.


I yearn for God to do that - to make his mighty power known....and of course He is doing that every day in our lives and in the lives around us.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Drop By Drop!

The story of Lot in Genesis helps us to understand how sin creeps up on us....

Step by step....inch by inch.....

That is how it happens....it can happen so slowly that we might not realise what is happening.

In Lot's case (starting in Genesis 13) as it is with us....character is shown by the choices we make.

When offered some land (which Abraham shouldn't have offered and given away) Lot takes the best....even though it meant living near Sodom. This was a city renowned for its sin.

This was the start of a series of bad choices by Lot.

We see in verse 10 of chapter 13 that Lot LOOKED.

Next, he pitches his tent NEAR Sodom (verse12)

A little further on (in verse 12) we see that he is LIVING IN Sodom.

Finally, his slide is complete. In chapter 19 and verse 1 "Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city".

This was the meeting place for the city officials and business leaders to meet. Lot must have been a person of influence and authority.

Perhaps this was why Lot was reluctant to leave Sodom.

TFTD: We have to be very careful of the very gentle slide that leads us away from God and into sin.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Last Sunday's Collect.

O God,
you know us to be set in the midst
of so many and so great dangers
that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright:
grant to us such strength and protection
as may support us in all dangers
and carry us through all temptations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Goal We Must Have!

This morning, reading from Isaiah 10 I stumbled across the goal that God desires for each of us to have....

Isaiah 10:20 (New International Version)


20 In that day the remnant of Israel,
the survivors of the house of Jacob,
will no longer rely on him
who struck them down
but will truly rely on the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel.

TFTD: To what degree do you rely on the Lord?


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Generosity - A Great Trait To Have!

Friends, work on being generous. You don't have to be rich to be generous. It is possible to be generous with whatever you have.

In 2 Corinthians 8:1,2 Paul wrote this:


1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.

TFTD:How are you doing on the generosity scale?


Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

A Good Summary For Living.

Psalm 105:1-5 (New International Version)


1 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.

2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.

3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

4 Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.

5 Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Don't Ever Do This!

Don't ever do what?

What the Corinthians did.


2 Corinthians 6

1As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. 2For he says,
"In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

Sadly, they ignored God's message. They heard it, but it had no effect on their lives.

TFTD:Does God's message ever reach you in vain?

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Reconciled!

God has acted - to bring us back into a relationship with Him.

He has forgiven our sins and made us righteous in the process.

The moment we put our trust in Christ, we ceased being offside with God, stopped being His enemy, we were no longer a stranger or a foreigner to Him.

Having that happen to us...it means that we can encourage others down the same road.


2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (New International Version)

18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

TFTD: How does that make you feel?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark

New On The Inside!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (New International Version)

17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!


This is a great verse. It informs us that Christian people are made new on the inside.

The Holy Spirit does a work in us and we are recreated.

We have not just "turned over a new leaf", been reformed, or re educated.

We have been remade - we have a new life under a new master.

TFTD: Isn't that a great cause for rejoicing?

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

A Morning Prayer.

This "Morning Collect" came up in our prayers this morning. I hope you find it helpful.

Eternal God and Father, by whose power we are created and by whose love we are redeemed: guide and strengthen us by your Spirit, that we may give ourselves to your service, and live this day in love to one another and to you;through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

What More Could We Ask For?

I came across this Bible verse today in the Bush Church Aid Society Prayer Diary....spectacular!


Jeremiah 33:2-3 (New International Version)

2 "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: 3 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'


Why did I find this verse so startling? Five things:

1.The Lord speaks to us.
2.He is the creator of all things.
3.He is the LORD of all things.
4.If we call on Him, He will answer.
5.He will inform us of things that are beyond our present understanding.

What do you think about all this? Feel free to make a comment.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.