Being Called By God Means.....

I found the answer to this question this morning when I read this passage in my 365 day Bible.

You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.


17 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.

19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.




Have a great day,


Peter Clark

A Good Start....A Good Finish.

Here is one thing we can be very sure of....

Philippians 1:6 (New International Version)

6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.


Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Escaping God's Displeasure.

How do we do that? My daily Bible reading has been in Zephaniah and in chapter 1 and verse 6 I came across the answer...

... 6 those who turn back from following the LORD
and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.

And so to escape God's displeasure it is important to us not to turn our back on following God and to continually seek Him and ask Him to lead and guide us.

In new covenant (Jesus) times that means not rejecting Jesus as our Saviour and trust Him as Lord...to lead us in our life.

A very good formula.


Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Please Pray For Me.

What would I like you to pray for me?


Ephesians 6:19-20 (New International Version)

19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Do you think that it is easy to fearlessly make know the gospel....when you have people who you love sitting in front of you....who you have to "live" with....who you would hope, that they keep on liking me (I am only human)?

Paul knew that it wasn't easy.....but necessary.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Dressing Up For God!

When it comes to God....it is very important how we dress....not on the outside....but on the inside.

Ephesians 6:10-17 (New International Version)

The Armor of God

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Have s great day,

Peter Clark.

Taking Hold Of What Is Important.

1 Timothy 6:11-12 (New International Version)

Paul's Charge to Timothy

11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Paul encourages Timothy not to worry about gathering wealth, but to pursue the things that will lead to what really matters:

Faith, righteousness, godliness, love, endurance and gentleness.

If we do this then we will in Paul's words....."take hold of the life that really is life." (v.19)

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Contentment - A Great Blessing.

The epistle reading a few Sundays ago was from 1 Timothy 6 verses 6-19. I was greatly blessed by it.

6But godliness with contentment is great gain.

It is good to by GODLY and CONTENTED. It is best to be both, not just one or the other.

Paul reminds Timothy that just as we brought nothing into the world....we can take nothing out and so while we are here if we have food and clothing...that is all we need (and more than most in the world have!).

Those who have as their goal in life to be rich are in danger of falling into ruin and destruction.

Those who have as their goal in life to be rich are in danger of wandering away from the faith

Then, if the whole point of their lives has been to accumulate, what do they have at the end....nothing to take with them.


Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Appreciate Australia.

If you thought that you have read this post before...very well done. I am doing a little tidying up as I found this one and another posted on the same day.

Sometimes I need to be reminded of how great it is to live in Australia. today in the Prayer Diary for the Bible Society there was an entry for today.

"Thank God for his protection during difficult times. Our bookshop in xxxxxxx has survived two attacks and is still doing God's work. Praise him, too, for opportunities to participate in book fairs, our main way of sharing God's Word. Please pray for the safety of the small Christian community trying to survive and be a witness for the Word of God. Please pray also for our funding this time of financial crisis.

Some are doing it really tough.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

God WANTS To, And CAN Answer Our Prayers.

This came as a reminder from the Bible Society.

In considering the practice of prayer, how important is it that we take time to remind ourselves of who God is, and what He is like? Oswald Chambers said that "The battle of prayer is against two things in the earthlies: wandering thoughts and lack of intimacy with God's character as revealed in His word." E M Bounds observed, "the Word of God is the food by which prayer is nourished and made strong."

One place to which we can turn is the Psalms, which are full of God's greatness, power, sovereignty, justice and compassion. We see that God is faithful to His promises, and loving toward all he has made. He upholds those who fall and are bowed down; He is righteous in all his ways, and near to all who call on Him. He watches those who love Him (Psalm 145:13-20). So the Psalmist cries out, "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit" (Psalm 147:5). It is so helpful to keep in mind that we should "... pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties." (Oswald Chambers)


"He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, He who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth - the LORD God Almighty is His name."
Amos 4:13 (NIV)

Have a great day,


Peter Clark

Paul Prays Six Things For The Ephesians.

Ephesians 3:16-19 (New International Version)

I pray that out of his glorious riches(1) he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17(2)so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray (3)that you, being rooted and established in love, 18(4)may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19(5)and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—(6)that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Powerful stuff isn't it?

Do you pray like that?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Paul's Description Of His Role.

Ephesians 3:8 ".......... this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things."

Paul had a very clear picture of what he was on about...once he knew that....he could then go out and do it.

I would like to think that I too have a very clear picture of my role.


Have a good day,

Peter Clark.

Paul's Description Of Himself.

Paul describes himself in Ephesians 3:7

"I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power."

Well said Paul.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Remove The Obstacles!

There is a programme (or more accurately a way of "doing church") to help churches be more healthy.

It is called "Natural Church Development" - www.ncd-australia.org.au

It works on 30 people from the church doing a survey which is interpreted against the date of hundreds of thousands of other churches who have completed the survey.

It scores eight characteristics of a healthy church and the idea is that the church then begins to work on the characteristic that gained the lowest score, by removing the obstacles that are inhibiting that characteristic.

That gets me to my reading this morning: Isaiah 57;14 "Build up, build up, prepare the road!
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people."

Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

Real Religious Observance!

In Isaiah 58, the prophet is recording the words of God, about the nature of "true fasting".

The people as doing "religious things" - in this case "fasting", but their lives show no real piety. They are exploiting workers, quarrelling with each other, hitting each other and so on.

The fasting the people were doing was not the kind of fasting God was after - not the showy public religious theatre, but rather a life of true devotion to God, showing itself in acts of kindness.

TFTD: We need to take stock of our religious activity,repent of falsity, dump it, and turn it into a life lived for God.


Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

What Does The Future Hold For You?

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.



Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Rely On God Only And Constantly.

God is very critical of the Israelites. In Chapter 57 of Isaiah He says He will expose their righteousness and acts for what they are - pretensions of doing good.

Isaiah was warning them that their righteousness and works would no more save them, than their false idols.

What they need to do was to make God their refuge.

But the man who makes me his refuge
will inherit the land
and possess my holy mountain." (Isaiah 57:13c)

The message from God has never changed: Even our best deeds cannot save us - because they will NEVER outweigh our sins.

Salvation is a gift from God, and comes only through us putting our faith in Christ.


Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

Only Grace Through Faith.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (New International Version)

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Made Alive In Christ.

Ephesians 2:4-5 (New International Version)

4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

When Believers Are Taken To God.

It always hurts when our loved ones go to be with God.

We ask, why?

Isaiah gives us a glimpse into this mystery.

Isaiah 57

1 The righteous perish,
and no one ponders it in his heart;
devout men are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.

2 Those who walk uprightly
enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

In The End....God Wins.

How great it is to know that God's Word always achieves its purpose.

Isaiah 55:11 (The Message)

So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They'll do the work I sent them to do,
they'll complete the assignment I gave them.

TFTD: Isn't that good to know


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Who Is To Fit In With Who?

Is God to fit in with our plans OR are we to fit in with God?

In Isaiah 55 it seems that God's people were wanting Him to fit in with them.


8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

TFTD: Are you fitting into God's plans for you?


Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Responding To God.

I was greatly blessed by this piece of Scripture. I have created bold type for the responses the prophet encourages us to make to God.

Isaiah 55:1-7 (New International Version)

1 "Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.

4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.

5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor."

6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Words To Say AND Protection.

Isaiah 51:16 (New International Version)

16 I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you with the shadow of my hand—
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,
and who say to Zion, 'You are my people.' "

Here were God's people struggling under the shadow of Babylon, the great power.

They needed reminding of the sovereignty of God.

TFTD: We need to be reminded sometimes of the power of God in our lives...He does put His words into our mouth...and He does cover us with His protection.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Some Things Never Change.

Isaiah 51:6 (New International Version)

6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
my righteousness will never fail.

Just like our bodies....the earth too will wear out...just like a pair of old jeans.

Not so with God though..... He is eternal....His salvation is forever....and so is His righteousness.

Truly amazing.


Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

More Hope.

I have already blogged on "hope" from last Sunday evening.

I came across this today..another good reminder from Isaiah 49:23

Then you will know that I am the LORD;
those who hope in me will not be disappointed."

TFTD: Those who hope in me (the Lord) will not be disappointed.

Do not set yourself up for disappointment......hope in the Lord.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

God's Tatoo!

It is just simply overwhelming and amazing. In my reading today there were nine separate blessings from God - reminders, new insights etc.

Let me share one.

God's tatoo....Isaiah 49:16 "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands"

How is God ever going to forget about us? Impossible....we are forever before Him.

TFTD: How good is that?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Left, Right,Left, Right,Left, Right....

Galatians 5:25


25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.


The Holy Spirit is the source of our new life....we must not forget that....but rather, we should be keeping in step with Him.

Have a good day,

Peter Clark.

Lives That Show Fruit.

My daily readings are taking me through Galatians.

I was reminded fo the "fruit of the Spirit" in Chapter 5....

..."love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control..."

TFTD: Which of these qualities do you want the Spirit to produce in you?


Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

Hope.

Last Sunday evening we looked at "hope" in our evening service.

The Bible passage we were considering was Isaiah 25:6-9.

Isaiah 25:6-9 (New International Version)

6 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.

7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;

8 he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.

9 In that day they will say,
"Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

This is a passage that speaks very strongly about the hope that we can in God.

It is a passage that has the end times in view. It talks of a feast prepared by God Himself. It talks of the shadow of gloom that hangs over people and nations being lifted. It talks of there being no death, or tears or disgrace.

It talks about (at that time) our hope being gathered up into reality....

9-10Also at that time, people will say,
"Look at what's happened! This is our God!
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us!
This God, the one we waited for!
Let's celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation.

TFTD: We hope now, but in the future it will come home.


Have a great day ,


Peter Clark.

Pray For North Korea.

Please pray with members of the Bible Society for North Korea.

North Korea continues to take actions that heighten tension and increase its isolation.

It is also neglecting the welfare of its people who are suffering from extreme poverty, famine and illness.

They are also deprived of religious freedom.

Christianity is forbidden and people are dying without hearing the Gospel.

Pray for God to open the door so that this country may again be filled with people who honour Him and love His Word.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

The Goal Posts Never Move!!

Hebrews 13:8-9 (New International Version)

8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them.

TFTD: How good is it that Jesus doesn't have moods that we have to fit into

Have a good day,



Peter Clark.