Leaders Are Servants.

Imagine the picture....Jesus and his disciples are walking along the road....

...there is some secret talk going on among some of the disciples....probably some who should have known better.

They were talking about who was the greatest....all the ego stuff.

Their hushed tones and the distance from Jesus was so that he wouldn't hear.

But he knew....

When they arrive at their destination, Jesus asks them what they were discussing on the road?

The disciples, of course were embarrassed (as they should have been)!

And so, "they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest." (Mark 9:34)

Every Church has its "ego seekers"....people with a very BIG view of themselves and a very SMALL view of Jesus.

Jesus uses this opportunity to teach them what it means for us to be a part of the Kingdom of God.

"If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

TFTD: That hasn't changed

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Atonement For Us.

We have always needed "atonement"....to be made right with our Holy God.

Today, I started reading through Leviticus in my 365 Day Bible.

It is talking about the sacrifice that the Israelites were to make,


Leviticus 1:4 (New International Version, ©2010)

4 You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you.

This all stopped with Jesus.

He is described as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"

If we want to have a relationship with God, then we need our sin atoned for and JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT CAN HAPPEN.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Problems In Churches!

There seems to be always troubles and troublesome people in churches.

Some are corrected with the preaching of sermons.

Some are corrected with a gentle word.

Some are corrected by ignoring the problem.

Some are only corrected by prayer.

This came up in my reading today...."Jesus replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer." (Mark 9:29)

This passage , of course, refers to an evil spirit in a boy that the disciples could not drive out, not to problem people in churches, but I am sure that the principle still holds true.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Having A Mind For God.

In Mark 8 (v.29) Peter answered Jesus' question "Who do people say that I am?" correctly.

He declares that Peter is the Christ. Peter gets it so right.

Jesus uses that understanding to begin teaching the disciples about his death and resurrection.

Jesus says about the sone of man...."he must be killed and after three days rise again"

This is when Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him quietly.....presumedly, that this wasn't going to happen.

Jesus says, "Get behind me, Satan.......you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (v.33)

Peter was not having a mind for God at this point. Well meaning, Yes....but not in line with what God had planned.

TFTD: Are you developing a mind for God?

We can only do that from saturating ourselves in the Scriptures.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

How Is This For Commitment?

In Mark 8 at the beginning of the Chapter there is a large crowd gathered around Jesus.

They had been with Jesus for three days WITHOUT ANYTHING TO EAT.

Jesus has compassion on them and so He calls the disciples to Him and requests that they get something to eat for them all.

That leads into the feeding of the four thousand.

What amazed me was their commitment to stay with Jesus and learn from Him...for three whole days without having anything to eat.

Are you challenged by this. I certainly am.

My commitment is nothing like this......is yours?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Saying One Thing And Doing Another!

If I was pressed I would have to say that I know many people who say one thing and do another!

Sadly enough, I see one in the mirror each morning.

We have to be careful at this point - it is one of the most serious breeches of our Christian walk.

Mark 7:6-8

"He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

"These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.

You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."

TFTD: We need to guard our hearts so that they focus on God.....not on our traditions....and so that they do not grow far from God.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

God Remembers.....God Forgets!

In my reading today I came across these two ideas......God remembers.....God forgets.

There are some things we hope God remembers, and there are some things that we definitely hope that God forgets.

They are both in Psalm 25, verse 6,7.

"Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O Lord."

The Psalmist prays that God will remember is great MERCY, LOVE and ME.

He prays also, that God will forget the SINS of his youth and his REBELLIOUS WAYS.

TFTD: Not a bad thing for us to remember in our prayers.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Nothing Escapes God.

Proverbs 5:21-23 (New International Version, ©2010)

21 For your ways are in full view of the LORD,
and he examines all your paths.
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;
the cords of their sins hold them fast.
23 For lack of discipline they will die,
led astray by their own great folly.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

They Laughed At Him (Jesus)

In Mark 5 when Jesus is taken to the home of the synagogue leader to his dead daughter.

Jesus declares that the daughter is not dead but "asleep".

All the professional wailers there "laughed at him". They knew what a dead person looked like.

Imagine their surprise when Jesus rose her from death to life - right in front of their eyes.

Their response? Either faith OR they will be laughing on the other side of their face!

Who has the last laugh?

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

About Giving To God.

Exodus 25:2

“Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give.


What do we learn from the plain reading of this Scripture?

-that God wanted Moses to tell the people that they need to bring an offering.

-that the offering was for God.

-each man was to bring one

-Moses was to receive it

-God prompts hearts to give.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

The Right Response.

God calls out His people and takes them out of Egypt and makes a covenant (agreement) with them.

In Exodus 24 we see their response....

...."everything the Lord has said WE WILL DO." (v.3)

Short, sharp and to the point.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

The Unforgivable Sin!

This reading came up today in my 365 Day Bible.

"I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." (Mark 3:28)

And so what is this unforgivable sin?

Unbelief and unrepentance - an ongoing and deliberate rejection of the Holy Spirit - which is a rejection of God Himself.

TFTD: Be open to God and His Spirit.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

A Reason Not To Be Afraid.

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

You Haven't Seen Anything Yet!

John the Baptiser came and was having the most amazing ministry. Thousands were flocking to him - to hear him preach and to be baptised by him.

They must have been really shocked to hear John announce this.....

"I baptize you with water, but he (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mark 1:8)

John is saying that Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to live within each believer.

John's baptism prepared people to receive Christ's message of the coming Kingdom of God.

The baptism indicated a willingness to turn from sin, showing repentance and humility.

John's baptism was only the beginning of the spiritual process.

When Jesus baptises us with the Holy Spirit, we are transformed by the Spirit's power.

In the baptism of the Spirit we are offered both forgiveness and the power to live for Christ.

TFTD: Bring it on!


Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Different Responses Of The Sexes!

I was reading Matthew 28 this morning and these two different responses to the resurrection jumped out at me...

The women go to the tomb...find Jesus missing and speak with the angel....and they are...

"afraid yet filled with joy..." (v.8)

The men go to the mountain, they see Jesus....

"they worshipped him, but some doubted." (v.17)

What do you think is going on here?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Guard Your Heart!

Proverbs 4:23

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

Our heart is very important....it is the "wellspring of life"....the source of life....our heart is where our life bubbles to the surface.

Our heart, our feelings of love and desire...our affections, spell out to others how we are going to live.

In this Proverb we are told guard our heart (the source of all these things) so that we might continue on the journey of life in the right direction.

It is so easy to get distracted, and that is what we must avoid at all cost.

Too many people get distracted from the main goal.

There is much talk in sporting circles of having a "game plan" and sticking to it. Imagine a soccer team having a game plan but being distracted by feasting on watermelon in the middle of the first half.

TFTD: Guard your heart and don't get distracted.


Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

The Enemies Acknowledgement.

I was reminded in my reading today (Matthew 27:42) that the Jewish chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked Jesus, and said to him....

"He saved others.....but he cannot save himself."

He saved others. This admission came from those who were opposed to Jesus.

They had seen it with their own eyes....they had witnessed the saving life of Jesus.

It was then for some other reason that they had Jesus put to death.

Why? Because "he cannot save himself".

Because he chose not to save himself - chose not to exercise his divine power to save himself because he had a bigger issue on his agenda.

He was going to....not save himself...but save the world by his death on the cross.

And so the Jewish chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders were right......he did save others.

But they were wrong about not being able to save himself....he could have ....but chose not to.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Recipe For Living....

So much of who we are depends on what comes out of our hearts in our attitudes and what comes out of our mouths in speech.

This morning I read a portion of Psalm 19 that reminded me of that.


Verse 14 "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer"

This verse ends up being a prayer that our speech might be wholesome and our thoughts, pure.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Keep On Keeping On.

As Paul writes to the Philippians he encourages his readers to "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." (2:13)

What does Paul mean? Obviously, not that we have to do good works to be made right with God - that would be so out of step with the Scriptures, but that we have to be involved in service, in doing the right thing AND good things, including reading God's Word and continuing in prayer - not giving up.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

You Could Have Fooled Me!

Moses....not eloquent...who would have guessed it?

Exodus 4:10 (King James Version)

10And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

When it comes to serving...I think we are often like Moses...very willing to diminish our gifts and abilities.

TFTD: Are you doing all you can, with the gifts you have been given?

Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

How Does A Person Keep Their Way Pure?

Proverbs 4:10-19 (The Message)



10-15 Dear friend, take my advice;
it will add years to your life.
I'm writing out clear directions to Wisdom Way,
I'm drawing a map to Righteous Road.
I don't want you ending up in blind alleys,
or wasting time making wrong turns.
Hold tight to good advice; don't relax your grip.
Guard it well—your life is at stake!
Don't take Wicked Bypass;
don't so much as set foot on that road.
Stay clear of it; give it a wide berth.
Make a detour and be on your way.

16-17 Evil people are restless
unless they're making trouble;
They can't get a good night's sleep
unless they've made life miserable for somebody.
Perversity is their food and drink,
violence their drug of choice.

18-19 The ways of right-living people glow with light;
the longer they live, the brighter they shine.
But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker—
travelers can't see a thing; they fall flat on their faces.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Enough "Evidence"!

Ho much evidence does an unbelieving heart need?

Psalm 19:1-6 (The Message)


1-2 God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
Professor Night lectures each evening.

3-4 Their words aren't heard,
their voices aren't recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

4-5 God makes a huge dome
for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun's a new husband
leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
racing to the tape.

6 That's how God's Word vaults across the skies
from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
warming hearts to faith.

There will NEVER EVER be enough evidence for the unbelieving heart (by definition).

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Treated As We Deserve?

I hope that doesn't happen to any of us.

Job's three "friends" are spoken to by God.

He tells them to go and get Job to pray for them (that must have hurt!).

If they do that, then God will not "deal with you according to our folly"(42:8)

I don't know about you, but I want to get treated with grace.....not as I deserve....not according to my folly.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Job Put In His Place!

Job 38:1-11 (New International Version, ©2010)

Job 38

The LORD Speaks

1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?

8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?

And there is much more. God has much to say....

When confronted by God....Job gives the ONLY appropriate response....He repents.

TFTD:Have you been "put in your place" by God and responded with repentance?


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

The Elect!

This group of people came up in my reading today....three times.....who are they?

One thing I know about them, is that people don't like to accept them as a group....people do not like to think that God has a group of people that He has "elected" or favoured.

These "elect" are the "people of God". What was going on behind the scenes to make us the "people of God" we do not know fully now, although it will all be revealed in eternity.

What I gleaned from my reading of Matthew 24 was that "for the sake of the elect (the people of God)" the days of tribulation at the fall of Jerusalem, and at the end of the world as we know it, will be shortened (v.22).

Secondly, in the end times there will be much deception and it will be so convincing that even the people of God will be deceived (if that were possible) - v.24.

Thirdly,when this world is wound up the people of God will be gathered and protected (v.31)

This is the time when we will all be given what we wanted....if we didn't want God to bother us....He won't...we will be on our own...just like we wanted. If we sought out a relationship and friendship with God...that is what we will fully enter into.

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

It's A Good Thing That God...

....has good intentions towards us....even though most of the world population does not want anything to do with Him.

Job 34:14,15

"If it were his (God's) intentions and he withdrew his spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together and man would return to dust."

God has more patience and forbearance than we do. I am not sure that WE would put up with US (if you know what I mean)

Have a good day,

Peter Clark.

God Wanting The Best For Us.

In Psalm 18:19 we read this very encouraging word...

"He (God) brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me."

The Psalmist had a very real picture of God working in his life for the good.

God took him from somewhere that he needed rescuing from and placing him in a spacious place, a place that was really suited to him - so suited, that only God would know.

Are you aware of God being as proactive in your life?

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

An Ungrateful Response!

Job 22:17-18

"They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?"

"Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things..."

How sad it is that people can be so short-sighted....and not recognise the goodness of God in their lives.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Is Anything Fair?

In Job 21 the whole question of fairness is raised..

"Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes.......Yet they say to God, "Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. Who is the Almighty that we should serve Him? What would we gain by praying to Him?.....One man dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease, his body well nourished, his bones rich with marrow. Another man dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good. Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both."

In the end, where does justice and fairness come into it?

This world is a trail run...an opportunity for us to discover if we want to spend eternity in God's company, or our own. When God finally winds up this world (which He has promised to do) He will bring justice.....and make everything fair.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.