Psalm 91

Psalm 91 says: He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” On hot summer’s days I often park my car in the shade of this lovely Paperbark tree; shade can be very refreshing; “Shadow”, as mentioned above, is a form of shade but implies protection as well; I was bullied at school, but if whilst the bully was attacking me the shadow of my older brother appeared on the ground near me it was remarkable how quickly that bully disappeared and that was a terrific relief; when that protection is supplied to you or me by our Almighty God we are really blessed.

The psalm goes on “I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in Him will I trust.” Anyone seeking “refuge” is a refugee escaping from something or someone they fear, like the people from Syria in that next photo. And most of us have things we fear. God is described here as the “place of refuge” that we come to for protection; but it also says that He is our “fortress” as well, which is very comforting because we know that we are safe there guarded by those that “man the battlements” (unseen Angels). So “In Him we will trust”. The next phrase says: “Surely He shall deliver you from the snares of the fowler.” A “fowler” is someone who traps birds, like the boys in the photo:

If that Butcher Bird yields to temptation and goes under that propped up box to get a piece of meat, they will pull the string and the stick holding the box up will come away and the box will fall and the bird will be their “prisoner.” The psalm implies that Satan is the “fowler” who sets traps for us, which are mostly temptations that would get us into some form of trouble, and we would then become Satan’s prisoners to some degree. Now isn’t it comforting to know that God will deliver us if we are seeking to do His will?  Of course the Psalms were written hundreds of years before the Christian era when Jesus was born in Bethlehem; however, God has been helping His children ever since Creation and the Psalms are as relevant for to-day as they were when they were written; over the years circumstances change and with them, our wants may change, but our needs never change, so the Psalms, when memorised, are like a Spiritual First Aid Kit supplied by God.

It’s simple for me to talk (as I have been doing) about putting on the full armour of God or claiming promises or using the sword of the Spirit and so on, which are all Christian terms, because I have been studying all this for 66 years. I was so soundly converted all those years ago that I immediately commenced studying to become a Lay Preacher and then went to the Evangelists Training Institute in Sydney, and at the conclusion of the course I was offered the appointment of Minister to Dapto- Albion Park, and I was only 20 years old.  You see I had a good grounding in Theology, Church History, Bible history, Homiletics, New Testament Greek, and even Elocution. Therefore, my instructors thought I was ready for that position, but I turned it down because I felt that I needed more experience in putting my Christianity into practice before I could shepherd a congregation of people and preach a sermon each week that would be helpful. In retrospect I believe that was the right decision: I was a bit like the early Corinthian Christians, where in chapter 3 of 1Corinthians Paul tells them that because they were so un-spiritual, he had to treat them as “Babes in Christ,” and that is fair enough as we all grow at different speeds. However, Paul also said when talking to his young friend Timothy, “Let no man despise your youth”. These two statements seem at first to be contradictions, but they are not because the secret is in his next statement: “Study to show yourself approved unto God” (2 Timothy 2:15). As new Christians the answer is to unearth the treasure we have discovered in the New Testament, and to do so in a dedicated manner, there is a cost. For example, if you want the Holy Spirit to dwell in you and guide you then throw those suspect DVDs into the garbage. Don’t blame me! The Apostle Paul virtually said so in 1 Corinthians, all of chapter 6 and particularly verses 19 & 20.  To reinforce that, Jesus said (in Revelation Chapter 3 and Verses 15 & 16) that He had no time for “Luke Warm” Christianity.       

Just a bit more “food for thought”.                                            Best wishes, Tom.

God’s Protection

 

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”. So says the 23^rd Psalm, and that is logical: shepherds learn to love their sheep and therefore want them to do well. In this photo my wife Audrey is the shepherd, she loves her sheep so is providing their needs as you can see.

The other side of this successful arrangement is that the sheep trust Audrey; thus, they don’t stay out in the paddock away from her, but come to her so she can see their needs and supply them. Likewise, if we ask the Lord to be our Shepherd, (as the Psalm implies), then we should come to Him, commune with Him, and tell Him our needs. Oh sure He knows them already, but if we ask for help then we are expressing our faith in Him and “Without faith” there will be no result, (see Matthew chapter 21, verses 21 and 22).

The 23^rd Psalm goes on “He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my Soul, He leads me in the paths of righteousness, for His names sake, Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death; I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.”  And I have tried to illustrate it in this picture.(that is you there walking with Jesus), Yes I know that I have shown you these pictures before, but sometimes repetition helps: I have repeated this Psalm to myself many thousands of times, and have been helped and refreshed by it on each occasion. Last week I wrote an article entitled “Demons and Witches” where I quoted the Apostle Paul telling the Ephesian Christians to “put on the whole armour of God” so they could stand against the Devil and “The sword of the Spirit” which is “the word of God” is our only weapon; all the rest is protective armour. The words I have quoted above are part of that “word of God” (the 23^rd Psalm) therefore, we need to memorise words like these so that when troubles appear we can quote them and Satan and His demons will have to leave us alone, just as when Jesus was tempted by Satan He quoted scripture and Satan left Him alone. As you know, police carry their baton, tazer or pistol (or the lot) with them at all times, just in case they find themselves in a dangerous situation; in that respect those weapons are like fire insurance or car insurance. The same applies to praying, memorising scripture and claiming promises as far as we are concerned. Doing that places a protective “screen” around us with Angels to guard us, For example I always start the day with prayer to God, then when I get in the car, before I drive off I quote Psalm 34 verse 7, by saying: “the Angel of the Lord encamps about them that fear Him, and delivereth them” thank you Lord I claim that promise’.

Does this work? My word it does, (if you ask in faith, believing that is). I had payed that prayer about 3 minutes before this car accident happened in 2013 when a large vehicle fitted with a bull bar hit my vehicle at high speed and my car was written off to the extent that the insurance company paid the price of a new car into my bank account within 3 days, which softened the blow a bit. The police came, and the ambulance came but they had to wait until the V.R.A. arrived to break open the driver’s side door so they could get me out. The Paramedic was amazed that I appeared to be in one piece but took me to hospital in the ambulance to be sure; where they X-rayed me and let me walk out in about a ½ hour.

 Someone said “my word you was lucky that you had your car insured”. No I wasn’t lucky; it was just the sensible thing to do. Someone else said “My word you was lucky to escape unhurt from an accident like that”. No I wasn’t lucky, placing my day in God’s hands by claiming His promise to protect me was just the sensible thing to do. My dear friend, if you haven’t done so, please consider giving God control of your life because it can be rough, & then there is also eternity to consider which is a very, very, long time!       Best wishes, Tom.

For Want of Knowledge

 

 I told you this story about three years ago and I am repeating it because I believe it is good value: The body of a 60-year-old man by the name of Timothy Gray was found under a bridge in Wyoming in the United States.

  He apparently died of Hypothermia as it was winter there and he had insufficient clothing to keep him warm in the extreme cold.

It is not uncommon for homeless people to take refuge from the elements under a bridge as it offers some protection from rain and snow, but not nearly enough if you are poorly clad and there is a cold wind blowing.

There was however a double tragedy in this case as the authorities had been trying to locate this man since early in 2011 to inform him that he was heir to a considerable fortune: $19 Million in fact, because a relative, Huguette Clark, had left it to him in her will when she died at the age of 104.

Now I don’t know what problems he may have had, (if any), apart from a shortage of money, but he could have bought a motel, to live in, like the one in the photo, or a lovely house, and still had $17,000,000 spending money left over. What a shame he didn’t know that. Does that make you wish you had a rich relative like he had?  Well, in fact you do! Jesus said He went to prepare a mansion for those who believe on him; so If we do believe and have asked Him for forgiveness we now qualify as Christians, which means we also take on the responsibility of behaving the way God sets out in the New Testament and that means we are now accepted as “children of God and if children then heirs, and Joint heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:17).

To be heir to a place in the Kingdom of God is a remarkable privilege and should be treated as such. After all it is an Eternal inheritance. What Timothy Gray could have inherited pales into insignificance compared to what Christians do inherit! With Holy Spirit assistance commencing right now.

The dreadful tragedy though is that thousands of people are dying every day who do not know that they have the right to be Joint heirs with Jesus, and will therefore never claim that inheritance, just as Timothy Gray didn’t claim his fortune for the same reason. The bible says “For lack of knowledge my people are destroyed”. (Hosea 4:6 and Isaiah 5:13) Isn’t that sad?

Most people know the name of Jesus; In fact, many people I have known use the name “Jesus” or “Christ”, or both, in every sentence they speak, not as a prayer, but as a swear word. Now they weren’t born to think that way; they obviously picked it up from someone who didn’t appreciate that Jesus Christ suffered and died so that they could be forgiven any sin they have committed. And He did that because He loved them so much that He wants them to inherit Eternal life.

The reason I write these articles each week is three fold: Firstly, I want to encourage those who are endeavouring to live as Christians; I have been studying to live as a follower of Jesus for 66 years and may be able to help “younger” Christians and others, in some way, with these articles.

Secondly, I want to encourage those who have just been “toying” with Christianity to “dig a bit deeper” and find the “precious Gold” that is contained in the Bible and in the New Testament in particular.

Thirdly, I hope that those who may have so far ignored Christ, might consider looking more closely at the statements made by the one who loved them enough to die for them, which is quite an unusual thing to do; the bible puts it like this: “For a righteous man some might even dare to die but God commendeth His love toward us in that whilst we were yet sinners Christ died for us”.  Now that is special love, isn’t it?   Best wishes, Tom.

 

Demons and Witches

If I mention the Devil many people would automatically think of a being in a red suit with horns and a long tail with a spear on the end and a pitchfork in his hand; this is, of course, the cartoon character we have grown up with, and most people would dismiss him as a joke. However, when someone speaks of Hell people often think of a very hot place where a character like that resides, waiting to receive sinners and give them a “Hell of a time”. Well the truth of the matter, as outlined in the New Testament, is that the Devil looks nothing like that. Jesus referred to him as “the prince of this world” (John 14:30, 16:11) and, as yet, He does not reside in Hell either. Instead He “roams around the whole earth, seeking whom he may devour,” and far from looking so obviously bad, he appears as “an angel of light”; you see he is a deceiver who is constantly endeavouring to trap people. Mainly by tempting them to make bad decisions.

Anyone setting a trap to catch anything makes that trap as attractive as possible don’t they? e.g. you place cheese in a mouse trap, not because you like mice, but because mice like cheese. likewise, the Devil tries to make his traps attractive to us too. Thus the unsuspecting person is snared before he or she realises it.  “What sort of traps”? Well they are too numerous to list, but it could be that you have been invited to a party where Alcoholic drinks and drugs are freely available. It may be that you find yourself in a position where dishonest or immoral behaviour appears to be acceptable. You may be tempted to drive too fast, and so on.

Then there are even more subtle things like watching lustful movies. “What harm do they do”? Well they can spoil your relationship with others for life and you can even become demon-possessed. “How does that happen”? Well Jesus assured us that Satan (the Devil) has no shortage of Demons working for him and if a demon of lust sees you watching such a movie you are wide open for it to enter and control you. Oh I know that to-day, psychologists, and the like, would not agree that there are demons. But they probably don’t believe there is a God either, so when they treat the serial killer, serial rapist, or paedophile they treat the symptom, (with little success). Whereas Jesus treated the cause by casting it out and then the symptom automatically disappeared.

Witches, Fortune Tellers and Mediums are also a part of Satan’s “box of tricks”. If you studied Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at school, you will recall that Macbeth looked for advice from Witches and they gave him advice all right, but it was only a half truth, and his downfall was in following that advice. In real life that is also true: Mediums at Séances may appear to call up a relation who will answer your questions but in reality that is not your relation but a “Familiar Spirit” which is a spirit that watched your relation for years and is “familiar” with his or her doings. And it is no good asking that spirit for information as to how they are getting along because you will only receive plausible lies from them. The bible tells us not to have anything to do with these deceiving spirits. A Christian friend of mine was walking across a park and passed a woman praying and commented how nice it was to see someone praying. Her reply startled him somewhat “I am a Witch and I am praying for the breakup of Christian marriage” she said. Now who do you think she was praying to? Certainly not God.

The New Testament makes it very clear that we are in constant danger of attack. Now what do police and soldiers do when they know they are going to be under attack? The first thing they do is to dress in protective clothing; they wear a helmet, bullet- proof vest, solid boots, the necessary gear attached to their belt, a shield to ward off missiles thrown at them, and a baton. Interestingly that is almost identical to the instructions given to you and me in the New Testament but “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10: 4) so our protective gear must be Spiritual. Therefore, the Apostle Paul tells us, in Ephesians Chapter 6 and verse 11 to 18, to “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the whiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places……. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication….” Without that armour of God, we are “sitting ducks”. A young man asked me to write something on witchcraft, so there is a brief summary.  Best wishes, Tom.

One God

 

A long time ago I wrote on the subject of God, and now I feel that I should do so again, because the articles I write are read by people of various religious faiths and I am concerned that some might misunderstand what I mean when I talk of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Actually, when I do that I am just talking as a person brought up in the Christian faith and am using language that comes from the New Testament. Let me clarify one point for starters though: there is definitely only ONE God. However, He has chosen to reveal Himself to us in different ways. Let me give you an illustration of how that works:

We have here a candle. Now if it was on a shelf in the next room and suddenly there was an electricity blackout, whilst I was doing something important, I might call to you and say: “Quickly, bring me a candle.” You would bring the lighted candle and the room would be flooded with light, then I might say: “Now, would you please use the flame to light the fire in the fireplace so we can have some warmth whilst we work”. And the flame would ignite the kindling.

So then, when we think of a lighted candle we think of three separate items that are inseparable when it is doing its job, or should I say that the light and heat are simply two facets of the candle and without the candle they wouldn’t even be there.  Well then, if we look on God as the Candle, then Jesus and the Holy Spirit would represent the Light and Heat.

Let me assure you right now, that it is impossible to explain God satisfactorily, and in endeavouring to do so I feel as capable as a little black ant standing on the footpath outside the Empire State building in New York trying to explain to its friend how the building came to be and how it all functions. Nevertheless, I will try to throw some light on the subject that might help someone.

The bible, (when talking of Jesus Christ), says: “In the beginning was ‘the word’ and the word was with God and the word was God….and the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us”. It also says that “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” So no wonder when Philip asked Jesus to “Show us The Father” Jesus replied “Have I been so long with you Philip, and have you not known me? Those that have seen me have seen the Father”, and in John 10:30 Jesus says “I and the Father are one”. To me Philip’s question is like someone asking the light to show them the candle, not understanding that the light is an integral part of the candle, just as Christ is an integral part of God. So when you look at the candle’s light you are looking at a facet of the candle.

“How can God be in Christ”? Someone might ask. Well God is “Omnipresent,” that is a big word that simply means “everywhere at once”. That being the case He can be in Christ and in Heaven simultaneously (another big word meaning ‘at the same time’). That is not unreasonable either as the same T.V. show can be viewed in thousands of homes ‘simultaneously” too, can’t it? And God is a Spirit so we cannot limit Him.

Now when Christ rose from the dead (and that is something else that is not ‘unreasonable’ either, seeing who He was), He appeared to hundreds of people, ate with them and gave them advice, but finally said that He had to return to Heaven. Indeed, He said “It is expedient for you that I go, because if I don’t go, He” The Holy Spirit, “cannot come”.  Referring back to the candle illustration, I see the Holy Spirit as the equivalent of the “heat” which, like the “light,” is just another “facet” of the candle and is just another way that God makes Himself known to us in order to help us.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be our comforter and helper and bring all things, that He had said, to our remembrance. Of course if we are to “remember” what He said then we really need to first read what He did say as recorded in the New Testament. Because it is hard to remember what you don’t know and have never heard.

The coming of the Holy Spirit was most spectacular: the apostles were all gathered in one place when they heard a noise like a rushing wind and they all received gifting abilities of various types that would enable them to spread the word of God more boldly and efficiently. These gifts are still available to Christians to-day enabling them to accomplish things for the Kingdom of God that they wouldn’t normally be able to achieve. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 there is a good explanation of these gifts and we all need to read it.

So you see God wants us to love Him and love other people and “have life, and have it more abundantly” and He is so loving that He even wants to get involved to help us achieve that outcome.  

How good is that?   Best wishes, Tom.