Sunday, March 31, 2013

Resurrection Day

Christ is risen.....He is risen indeed.


Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

"It Was Good...It Was Very Good"

Not only did God just speak and everything came into being....

....not only was it "good"....

but it was "very good".

There was no disorder, nothing "dark" or threatening.

The world was created by God to bless those living in it and to sustain life.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Friday, March 29, 2013

"And It Was So"

Simple words aren't they?

"And it was so" (Genesis 1:6)

God was creating....and all He had to do was speak....."and it was so"

God brings everything into being by simply speaking....and it happens.

That is what we learn from Genesis....that God created.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Wow...Look At This.

In Luke 7 we see Jesus raising the Widow's Son from death to life.

The reaction?

"They were all filled with awe and praised God. A great prophet has appeared among us, they said, God has come to help his people." (v.16)

Isn't it strange, that people (on the whole) do not accept that testimony?



Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Having Our Eyes Opened.

In Numbers 22:31 God opens Balaam's eyes.

This was after Balaam's donkey spoke to him and tried to bring him to his senses.

Sometimes we need a donkey to speak to us - to bring us to our senses.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

No Turning Hearts.

Proverbs 7:25

"Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths."

This section of Proverbs is warning the young man of the adulteress - in very graphic language, but the warning stands true for anyone being wooed away from their faith.

I have seen it too often.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Moses' Disobedience.

It seems so harmless to us....

But not to God!

In the wilderness, the people of God are after water.

God says to Moses, "Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water..." Numbers 20:8).

Moses doesn't do that. We see in verse 11 "Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff...."

God's response...

"But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." (v.12)

What do you think about that?


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Jesus, Not To Be Distracted.

Luke 4:42

"At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent. And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea."

Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

A Question For Today.

In Numbers 14 and verse 11 the Lord asks a question of Moses....

"The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them."

A very good question.


Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Friday, March 22, 2013

How Much Does God Love Us?

I taught Kindergarten Scripture in Schools for over 30 years.

Many of those years involved using the Youthworks material for that age group.

The key verse of theme of the whole series "Beginning With God" was......

"The love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,
     your faithfulness to the skies" (Psalm 36:5)

Not a bad thing to keep in mind for our lives.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

My Prayer....Our Prayer.

From Psalm 35 and verse 23 I cam across these words today....

"Awake, and rise to my defence!
     Contend for me, my God and Lord."

There are some things we cannot handle....we do not know HOW to handle them, and so this is our prayer - asking, pleading God to act on our behalf.


Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

John The Baptist Speaks...

John the Baptist didn't mince his words (which in the end brought about his death).

I would like to give you a few examples from Luke 3....

"...preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." (v.3)

"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." (v.8)

"....He (Jesus) will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear the threshing floor...." (v.16,17)

Have a great day, unafraid of making bold statements.

Peter Clark.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Helpful Bookends!

Psalm 35 verses 1-10 have two very helpful bookends (v.1 & v.10)

Verse 1 "Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me."

Verse 9,10 "Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation. My whole being will exclaim, "Who is like you, O LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them."


Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Evil Is VERY Seductive!

Listen to these words....it is very difficult not to be captivated by them....

....unless we are warned...this poor sod is about to be swallowed up....


"Come, let's drink deep of love till morning;
     let's enjoy ourselves with love!" Proverbs 7:18


What she didn't tell her victim was this....

"Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home...at every corner she lurks... (vs 10-12)

in addition to this....

"My husband is not at home, he has gone on a long journey....." (v.19-20)

Be warned....all is not what it seems,


Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

The Aaronic Blessing.

"The LORD bless you
     and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you
     and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
     and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26


Have a very blessed day,


Peter Clark.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

The Word Of God.

In Psalm 19 I read this morning that the purpose of God giving us His Word is so that it will have four results in our lives....

"revive the soul" (v.7)

"make us wise" (v.7)

"give joy to our hearts" (v.8)

"give light to our eyes" (v.8)


TFTD: There is a great encouragement to read the Word of God isn't there?


Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Looking For The Truth...Looking For....

When Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin we see that they, and the chief priests of the Jewish nation are not looking to discover "truth" but rather they were "looking for false evidence against Jesus...."
(Matthew 26:59)

They did this by encouraging false witnesses to come forward - liars!

Isn't that odd behaviour for men of such position?

Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

How Must It Have Felt?

We have all been lonely at some point or other.....but what must it be like to be totally alone.

I would imagine that some Christian believers in Islamic dominated countries must know the feeling, especially with their families also against them!

It struck me this morning that Jesus would have known the agony of that.

In Matthew 26 and verse 56 we read these words....."then all the disciples deserted him and fled"

It must have been really terrible - that feeling of utter loneliness.

There are less people in churches these days AND there are more lonely people.

Very unnecessary.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

John The Baptist's Job Description.

I came across John the Baptist's Job Description this morning and it struck me that it was very similar to my own.....

Luke 1:17c  ".....to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Living.


Proverbs 4:10-19

The Right Way and the Wrong Way To Live.

1My child, if you listen
and obey my teachings,
    you will live a long time.
11 I have shown you the way
    that makes sense;
    I have guided you
    along the right path.
12 Your road won’t be blocked,
    and you won’t stumble
    when you run.
13 Hold firmly to my teaching
and never let go.
    It will mean life for you.
14 Don’t follow the bad example
    of cruel and evil people.
15     Turn aside and keep going.
    Stay away from them.
16 They can’t sleep or rest
until they do wrong
    or harm
    some innocent victim.
17 Their food and drink
    are violence and cruelty.
18 The lifestyle of good people
    is like sunlight at dawn
    that keeps getting brighter
    until broad daylight.
19 The lifestyle of the wicked
    is like total darkness,
    and they will never know
    what makes them stumble.


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Monday, March 11, 2013

God Creates.

Psalm 19 reminded me this morning of the marvellous acts of God in creation.

The heavens keep telling
    the wonders of God,
    and the skies declare
    what he has done.
Each day informs
    the following day;
    each night announces
    to the next.
They don’t speak a word,
    and there is never
    the sound of a voice.
Yet their message reaches
    all the earth,
    and it travels
    around the world.
In the heavens a tent
    is set up for the sun.
It rises like a bridegroom
    and gets ready like a hero
    eager to run a race.
It travels all the way
across the sky.
    Nothing hides from its heat.

God created the heavens and the earth.



Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

A Plot To Be Rid Of Jesus.

Mark 14:55

"The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any."

Jesus upset their lifestyle and so they wanted to be ridden of him so they could live as they pleased.

Isn't that what most people do with Jesus today?


Have a good day,



Peter Clark.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

A New Way Of Looking At Things.

Isn't it interesting how we have developed a new way of looking at old behaviours.

Exodus 20 and verse 13 expresses the view of God on homosexuality.

"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable...."

I wonder if God knows that things have moved on from there?

Or have they?


Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Follow The Example.

In Exodus 19 and verse 2 God says....

"Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy."

"holy" means set apart for a special Godly purpose.


Have a great day,



Peter Clark.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

What Has God Done For You?

The Psalmist recognises that God has made an enormous difference in this life.

See Psalm 30 and verses 11 & 12.

"You turned my wailing into dancing; 
     you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
     O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever."

Have a day filled with JOY,



Peter Clark.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Try Doing This!

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength...."  (Mark 12:30)

Who of us has done this perfectly?

We should need no other convincing that we are sinners and need the grace of God in our lives.



Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

A Truth From Jesus.

"Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather" (Matthew 24:28)

How true is that? Vultures gather at the carcass of idea - an idea with with no Biblical or common sense foundation.

Vultures also gather around the carcass of critics of ministry.

Vultures gather around the carcass of those who cannot move out of the past.


Have a good day,


Peter Clark.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Don't Fall For This.

There are two very bad things we should not fall for....

Jesus said, "Are you not in error because you DO NOT KNOW THE SCRIPTURES, or THE POWER OF GOD."

Mark 12:24


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Rejected By Men, But....

I was reminded this morning that although Jesus was the centrepiece of God's plans and purposes he was rejected by the very ones who should have embraced him...

"The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,
the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes." Mark 12:11


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

What WAS Their Problem?

In Mark 11:18 we read this....

"The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching."

We see there that they "feared him". Why? Because the "whole crowd was amazed at his teaching"

Is that any legitimate reason to kill anyone?

What was that  brought about all this hate?

Jesus called on the Temple being made "a house of prayer".

Is that all? That is enough for some people.

All that is mind blowing isn't it?


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.

Friday, March 1, 2013

The Example Is Christ.

"Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:43)


Have a great day,


Peter Clark.