Why sit we here until we die?

Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.”

2 Kings 7:9 As I was sitting in church yesterday I mused at the love of these lepers. It’s impressive as it’s not what you would expect in such a situation, normally. To begin with, they were restricted to the gates of the city as due to their condition they were not welcome within the walls of the city. If they entered the city they would surely die as there was nothing but hunger within the city. People had been reduced to eating and selling dove’s dung. Yes,” And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver” 2 Kings 6:25 And if the lepers went towards the camp of the Syrians they would surely be killed but at the least they would be captured as slaves. And so they thought it better that they should go towards the camp of the Syrians and maybe they would spare their lives. If captured alive at least they would give them SOME food whilst in prison. And so they trudged. The preacher yesterday illustrated that possibly some shuffled on their backside and some on their side as their legs could have been affected by the leprosy and therefore could not walk They shuffled and leapt along towards the Syrian camp. Oh! What imaginations they had in their minds. With Samaria behind them they trudged on and probably halted and rested all the way there for their condition forbade normal movement- hungry lepers And do you know what God was doing whilst they were moving towards the Syrian camp? Oh! God made the Syrians to hear the approach of an army. And the Syrians left in such a hurry they went with nothing but their dear lives And who should get to the camp except the four lepers? They saw the food and treasures and could have just taken it all and stayed there saying this was their reward – justly found by no one but them But what did they say as they took the situation in? they remembered that they were part of a city that desperately needed food And they took it as a priority that they should go back and tell them of the good news Not tomorrow, but today before the break of dawn the next day And they said to themselves that they actually were not doing well by not sharing the tidings Doesn’t that show of love and duty for humanity touch you? They were the rejects of the city but they remembered the other people who if they disappeared would not have looked for them as they were not important to the city Yet it is these same people who came back to share the tidings of joy. For they also feared that something dreadful would happen to them How many times have we been trod upon and we wait for a day of revenge? Many. But vengeance is the Lord’s So in your tears and fear, worry not for your tears are starting a fountain that will turn into a flood and your enemy will be drowned And when you get there, there will be no more So keep on praying and waiting on the Lord for no matter what your situation, your station, God remembers you and will give you your reward The lepers filled up on food and kept some treasures aside for themselves and then shared the good news You too will get your reward and you will be recognised as the one who shared the breakthrough for the family/city/nation/community and you will be thanking the Lord till you meet Him So be comforted. God is not blind that he should not see your plight, neither is He too far away that He cannot hear your cries. Hold on and WAIT on the Lord. Sometimes what we fear due to the unknown is where the breakthrough comes from The lepers knew for certain that within Samaria there was no food for them They knew where they were there would not be any food coming to them But they didn’t know what would happen if they went to the Syrian camp There were two outcomes they knew and they would go for either as one would be the same as back home and one would be better than back home But they met with something they never imagined which was beyond their hopes and dreams So for us it can be the same. That leap of faith we’ve been dreading for so long may just show us things beyond our comprehension that will bring glory to God. Hope on the Lord and keep on walking in His light.

Watchman

“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

- Ezekiel 33:6-9 To say I have been worried about not writing is an understatement. I feel guilty for not writing for so long. I’m sorry. The above verses are very close to me as that’s what has compelled me to evangelise. Maybe compel is not the word. They are the reason I spread the word as I believe that there is a reason why I know what I know and it’s not just for my own good. Yes, the issue about where one will go after judgment may be a personal thing, but that is the more reason we should be sharing the Good News. We are told to love one another and when you love your neighbor as yourself, there is no reason you would keep secret that you see them wandering off the path of light. The thing about loving your neighbor comes up even in business. I remember that there is a code of ethics that instructs one to consider the welfare of his neighbor. The question comes” who then is my neighbor?” the answer is the next person. Even without a qualification of who your neighbor is, your conscience tells you that you cannot turn a blind eye to someone who is heading for trouble. So if you do say you love God, why not demonstrate that by loving THAT person whom you see. THEY are your neighbor and what they do is your concern as far as telling them what they ought to do or not do and your job’s done. BUT it’s not just sounding a trumpet without telling them that you’re a watchman and that you live in the same village and that their welfare is your concern to a certain extent. I say that as some just go about shouting and say they wash their hands yet those who heard the noises don’t even know what they were and what for. So take time to explain why you care and why that person also needs to care about what you treasure. Love thy neighbor.

Worry not for he is near

How often has someone told you not to worry? Quite a number of times right?
We all at some time get to worry about one thing or another. I guess you could say “it’s natural”
Well, I’ve got news for you
Though it may be natural, it does not mean that it is right.
It is not right to worry.
Ever heard of sinful nature? Agreed.
We shouldn’t worry as it does nothing for us. If anything all it does is that it steals from today the joys we should have seen and enjoyed.
We need to accept God’s word when He says He knows our needs. All we need to do is wait upon Him and He will do as He said. God is not a man that he should lie. There is a scripture in which God asks, “have I said and not done?”
But there is one thing which underpins all our provision. We should first seek god’s face. When we seek his face we are looking for a closer relationship to Him. He says if we draw him closer, he will draw us closer to himself. We need to be content with such things as we have as he has said he will never leave us nor forsake us. He is there for us and what we need to do is cast our burdens on Him and wait on him to show us the wonderful and marvelous things He has in store for us. His plans are for our good and if we could only wait on his promises and all the grey hairs we claim to be caused by worry would be hairs we accept in gratitude for the gift of long life.

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. " Matthew 6v25-34.

Patience & birth

I had been struggling with impatience and waiting for change
I was crying why me Lord?
I cried when Lord?
This is too difficult and I don’t think it’s fair
Does it have to be this difficult Lord?
I just could not accept that I had to wait for longer
Then this verse came to mind

Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. –Isaiah 66:9

Blessings will indeed come from the struggle. That birth will not be the end. No, there will be more to come. Though the travail may seem to not end, it will end and there will be rejoicing. Yes, you will rejoice with me.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

 

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.  Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.

 

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

 

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble, it's a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

 

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.  But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

 

Be yourself.  Especially do not feign affection.  Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

 

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

 

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.  But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.  Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

 

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

 

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

 

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be.  And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

 

Be cheerful.

 

Strive to be happy.

Written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann

Not Forsaken

 Many a time we feel the Lord has left us in the lurch

We feel like Job

Then we look at ourselves and we say ‘no this is not the kind of thing that happened to Job. I was never in fullness to THAT extent. I'm just meant to suffer as I've chosen to be a Christian. Maybe I'm not good enough so God does not even consider my life’

In fact we always come up lower than the next unbelieving person

Our fortunes seem to be growing worse by the year and not better

When we started off on this journey, things were actually much better

There also comes a time when we wish for the past life

We become like the Israelites when they were out in the desert

Wishing for the past trails as we cannot yet see the light at the end of the tunnel

All around us seems to be much worse than where we're coming from

In fact, we are at a stage where we are saying  better the devil I know than the devil I don’t

STOP!

Do you with al your heart of hearts believe God has forsaken you?

He has promised to never leave you

And His promises He keeps

Be patient and know this more on top of His promise never to leave you

 

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psalms 37:25

 

So let us stay on His path no matter how low the station in life we seem to be at. We will rise once again and we will never be that low.

The Revelation

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.

And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me,

It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”

 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.