Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [143] God Decides!

                

Our Plans

Many years ago, my wife and I were seeking God's will for our lives. We thought we had found his plans. We were asked to help church plant in a city in England. The finances were available, so we visited the town and started to do some background research. We prayed and eventually our hearts were at peace.

We went house hunting and found a suitable one - and have you ever done this? - we moved into the house in our minds' eye! Shut my eyes and I can see the house even now!

But then, all of a sudden, without any warning at all, and mysteriously, the plug was pulled on the finances. That was the end of our plans. We were shocked and surprised and confused! But I don't remember being devastated and I hope you'll see why.

The outcome of that planning "failure" was that we moved to Worcester where we have now served the Lord happily for many long and years.

God's Plans

Our short memory verse today is:

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." (Proverbs 16:90

The Lord wants us to plan, for he is a great planner himself. He planned the creation of the world over six days in a masterful way and he planned salvation over centuries.

So there is nothing wrong or sinful about making prayerful plans. Indeed to live from day to day without any plans, would be negligent for the Lord has given us minds that are able to look to the future.

Not to plan would be to refuse to steward the gift of foresight.

But this is where our plans must be so different from the world's.

Deo Volente

Older church signs often advertised their worship times followed by the letters "DV", which stand for the Latin words Deo Volente, "If God wills." These signs were a humble reminder that we might make our plans but it is the Lord who makes the final decisions.

And earlier this year for the first time - perhaps with the exception of the world wars - those signs spoke: the churches could not meet together at the stated times on Sunday: the Lord had other sovereign plans.

When we make plans we must always hold them lightly. We must always take into account that the Lord might radically change them.

If we do not think like that we will - for sure - one day become very disappointed and even disillusioned.

Summing it Up

When our plans to church plant in one city were changed, it was no big deal. Sure we were disappointed, but not devastated. We knew that the Lord often leads through winding paths (winding, that is to our own minds not to his mind).

Let us hold all our plans lightly, and remember when things turn out very differently, that the plans of the Lord are always much wiser and better than ours.

A SONG FOR THE DAY
Our song for the day is a great prayer for guidance. The hymn writer remembers how the Lord led Israel through a barren wilderness with a pillar of cloud and fire. And how he provided water for them - "the crystal fountain!"

Guide me, O my great Redeemer,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but you are mighty;
hold me with your powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore,
feed me now and evermore.

Open now the crystal fountain,
where the healing waters flow.
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
ever be my strength and shield,
ever be my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside.
Death of death, and hell's Destruction,
land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever sing to you,
I will ever sing to you.

William Williams

Sing along HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you that all your plans are perfect. We thank you for the way you led your people through the desert with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

We thank you that you still lead your people. Help us to make prayerful plans that line up with your Word, and then help us to hold on to them lightly, knowing that your perfect plans may lead us in a very different direction.

We ask you to make us more and more humble each day, and more reliant on your will.

For we ask this in Jesus' Name,

Amen.

Photo by Vladislav Babienko on Unsplash

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [142] Perfect Peace

Today's Devotional is written by Pastor Roy Summers

Three varieties of Peace

In the Scriptures we find at least three different kinds of peace. There is, first and foremost, peace with God. This is a peace that was established through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross which has put our relationship with God on a right footing.

Then there is peace with our fellow mankind, making sure that we live at peace with everyone around us. "Blessed are the peacemakers" pronounces Jesus.

And then there is the peace mentioned in our memory verse for the day, peace in our hearts, peace in our minds, peace in the midst of sorrows or difficulties.

In our verse God promises this third kind of peace to his people:

"You will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is steadfast,

because he trusts in you." (Isaiah 26:3)

God promises to his people in the midst of whatever unnerving trials or circumstances they may find themselves in, his perfect peace.

The Condition for peace

We should notice that a condition is set for this peace of mind, "whose mind is stayed on you." Another translation puts it, "whose thoughts are fixed on you."

Perfect peace is promised to those who keep their minds and focus on the Lord. That is the key. When Peter took his eyes off the Lord and looked at the raging storm he faltered, and when Elijah filled his mind with Jezebel's threats, he stumbled.

So we too will lack peace should we look at the storm around us rather than the King of the Universe, whose love for us never fails.

Why should looking to the Lord bring us peace? "Because," says our verse, that person "trusts in you." To trust in the Lord is to believe that he has the whole world in his hands. To trust in the Lord is to believe that he is the sovereign ruler over all the events we are passing through. To trust in the Lord is to believe that his love for us is steadfast and sure - even today.

We can't expect peace if we turn our hearts away from the Lord.

Perfect Peace

We should notice in closing the kind of peace that is promised. Isaiah was led by the Holy Spirit to place the adjective "perfect" in there. God promises perfect peace.

Perfect peace may sound incredible and even impossible. But Paul echoed this promise hundreds of years later when he too wrote about "the peace that passes all understanding." (Philippians 4:7) Perfect peace does not mean no ripples on the pond, it means below the surface, a peaceful heart.

Summing it All Up

What keeps us from enjoying God's peace? Sometimes it is the refusal to bow to God's purposes for our lives: he is leading us one way, but like the stubborn mule we are leaning another. Sometimes it is anger in our hearts at the path he has led us down. Sometimes it's simply forgetting that he loves us in spite of adverse circumstances.

Today, even now, let us lay those contrary ways aside and keeping our minds on the Lord, let us trust in him.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

The chorus of our song today is based on Isaiah 26:3. Frances Havergal likens the peace of God to a stream that gets bigger and bigger as it reaches the sea.

Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace
Over all victorious in its bright increase
Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day
Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding as He promised
Perfect peace and rest

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there

Every joy or trial falleth from above
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love
We may trust Him fully all for us to do
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true

Frances Havergal

Sing along HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our ever-loving Father,

We are so fickle and weak! We fret and worry about things large and small, temporary and permanent. We thank you that you sit above the circle of the earth, enthroned in glory, serene and glorious.

Teach us, every day, to turn our minds to you and to trust in you. Help us to trust in your power, your love, and your good purposes.

We pray these things in Jesus' Name,

Amen

Photo by Aleksandr Ledogorov on Unsplash

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [141] The Precious Gift of Time

Today's Devotional is written by Pastor Roy Summers

Old World Missionaries are Different

There is no doubt that life on a difficult mission field is (very) different from a comfortable life in England's Green and Pleasant land.

For one thing, power shortages are common. No-one bats an eyelid when the preacher and his translator are suddenly speaking without the aid of PA. It's normal. The sermon goes on, the people scarce notice.

For another thing, events English folk regard as hallowed, pass by barely noticed. I remember some years ago, a westerner being horrified when their boss refused to give them a day off because it was their birthday, as if birthdays were holy days to be honoured by all.

Christians miss home groups - and even fixed serving events - because it is their birthday!  On the mission field saving souls, discipling believers and setting an example to young believers comes first and all other self-indulgent events take a firm second place. Can you imagine Jesus taking a day off because it was his birthday? I somehow doubt it. "I can't heal or preach today because I've turned 32 and I want to spend the whole day on myself?!"

The use of time is a third big difference between many missionaries and easy-going western Christians. With so much to do, missionaries - or at least the old world variety - prize each God-given moment.

Our memory verse today encourages us to treat time as a precious commodity;

"Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)

The precious Gift of Time

Time, like all other assets we enjoy is a precious gift from God. In Psalm 90, the aged Moses is reflecting on his long life. Its a sober reflection. And in verse twelve he prays for wisdom to number his days aright. Other translations read:

 ^"Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should." (Living Bible)

"Teach us how short our lives really are  so that we may be wise." (New Century Bible)

The idea is that as we count how many days our lives possess and thereby see how few they are we will use each one of them more wisely.

It is possible to waste our lives

It is eminently possible to waste our lives in frivolity and useless pursuits. To be sure, we need to rest, but the Gospel and the example of Jesus should shape our use of time.

We are prone to waste time especially when we are young. Pink Floyd put it this way in their track Time:

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

When Richard Wurmbrand was in prison both under the Nazis and then the communists he noted how prisoners wasted their time. “As a rule, prisoners spend their time in trifles," he wrote, "if they are not compelled to do slave labour, they tell each other stories and jokes. Sometimes they quarrel. They waste their time, just as some millioanires do.”

By contrast Wurmbrand was convinced that he was to use his time well in prison just as he would outside of it. So he dedicated his time to bringing souls to Christ by tapping the gospel through the wall, composing memorised sermons and praying.

The Wisdom of Well-used Time

Moses says that regular reflection on the short length of our lives will help us to be wise in the way we use time. If a man does not know how much money he has in the bank he might easily squander it foolishly.

If we never pause to consider how few years we have left, we could easily waste the remainder of our lives.

If we consider how few are the years that lie ahead, we will be careful about our use of every moment of each day. We will be careful to make it count. We will be careful to lay up treasures in heaven.

Summing it all Up

Reader, have you ever thought of time as a precious gift from the Lord? One day the Lord Jesus will ask you "How did you use your little time?" Did you squander it on yourself? Or did you use it in the great cause of God's kingdom?"

Jesus set the golden standard:

"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." (John 21:25)

May the Lord help us to count the few days that lie ahead of us so that we may be wise in the way we use each precious moment of the day.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,

Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

William Longtsaff

Sing along with a congregation  HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving Father in heaven,

We worship you, we worship your Son and we worship the Holy Spirit, immortal, invisible, God only wise.

You rise above time and to you one day is as a thousand years. But for us, our days are three-score and ten.

Teach us to number our days, to realise how short life is, and to live every moment for your glory and praise.

May we not live in future regret for the indulgent and selfish way we lived our lives, but may we give ourselves every day to you and the service of your eternal kingdom.

In the name of Jesus we pray these things,

Amen

Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [140] Better than Covid Grace!

Covid Grace

As a general rule, our world knows very little of grace. But in our strange Covid era we have seen national examples of what may be called grace, at least grace with a small "g." Thousands of workers have received 80% of their wages, though they have not worked for them. Grants have been given to companies and individuals to help them through the crisis, though they did not earn them.

Each one of these gifts could be thought of as little examples of grace, for grace is giving to someone what they do not deserve.

Our memory verse for today, filled with God's amazing grace, is:

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

We deserve Death

According to this verse, you and I deserve death, "the wages of sin is death." In  Scripture death is far more than English-language body death. We know that because although God threatened death to Adam and Eve when they took the fruit, they did not in fact die. God must have meant much more than body-death.

Death is the end of a relationship with God: Adam and Eve now hid from God. Death is fractured human relationships: Adam and Eve fell out, and Cain killed Eve. Death is humdrum daily labour: Adam found work after the fall a tedious business. Death is a stained environment; thorns and thistles began to grow. Death is pain and suffering: Eve would now give birth in pain. Death is physical death; one day both Adam and Eve died. And finally death is eternal damnation, the righteous judgement of God upon sin, forever and ever.

Because of our sin, we deserve all these things. They are the fair wages of sin. And if we doubt this, our view of sin is probably not serious enough.

Eternal Life

But what does God do instead of giving us what we deserve? He presents us with a gift! In the place of what we deserve, an unmerited gift!  Instead of hell, he gives us heaven, "the gift of God is eternal life!"

God gives to us exactly the opposite of what we deserve!

And how does that gift come to us?  "Through Jesus Christ our Lord." We have received every free spiritual blessing through Jesus Christ; through his life, his death, his resurrection and the sending of his Spirit.

Summing it Up

The longer we have been on the road as believers, the more we realise how sinful we really are and the more we must agree with the justness of the God's sentence of death. So then, we should also grow in our amazement and appreciation at God's gift of eternal life!

We should grow in our love for the Lord Jesus Christ through whom all our spiritual blessings flow!

And becoming more like God, which is the goal of sanctification, we should show more and more grace to all around us - and especially to the difficult and the outsider and those who upset us and offend us!

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Two short songs of God's grace today:

Thank you Lord for saving my soul

Thank you Lord for making me whole

Thank you Lord for giving to me

Thy great salvation so rich and free.

You can sing along HERE.

Wonderful grace
That gives what I don’t deserve
Pays me what Christ has earned
Then lets me go free
Wonderful grace
That gives me the time to change
Washes away the stain
That once covered me

And all that I am
I lay at the feet
Of the wonderful Saviour
Who loves me

Wonderful love
That held in the face of death
Breathed in it’s final breath
Forgiveness for me
Wonderful love
Whose power can break every chain
Giving us life again
Setting us free

And all that I am
I lay at the feet
Of the wonderful Saviour
Who loves me

You can sing this one HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our gracious Father in heaven,

We thank you for the wonderful divine invention of grace. We thank you that through your Son you are able to offer to all who come to you, the gift of eternal life.

Teach us to respond to your grace by living a holy life, and help us to extend grace to all around us.

We ask this in Jesus' Name

Amen

 

Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [139] Trouble, Trouble Everywhere!

Today's Blog is written by Pastor Roy Summers

The (deep) Trials of Job

I have never met a Job, never met someone who has suffered like Job suffered. And perhaps that is one reason he is in the Bible - to set a standard of suffering by which we might compare our own suffering, and thereby know, both that we are not on our own, and that our suffering is not as great as we might feel it is.

Job lost all his children, all his wealth and then his health.

Job lost everything except his wife.

It was indeed a severe trial. And he did not have the comfort of knowing that these sufferings were not a chastisement from God (though we are to consider all hardship as loving chastisement.) Nor did Job know that a spiritual battle in the heavenlies was the direct forerunner of his earthly trials: Satan had been taunting God, and God was going to glorify himself to Satan through the life of Job.

God was going to show to all that He is able to keep his children safe through the darkest night.

All Alone

To understand our memory verse for today we have to grasp the scenario before us. Job is utterly alone. Though he has not lost his wife, she is not really "with him" for she advises him to curse God and die. 

But in his human aloneness, he replies to his wife's suicidal advice, with these memorable words:

"Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" (Job 2:10)

The Sovereignity of God

These words echo down the centuries and strike every believer who reads them because they feel so different from our common approach to life's events. We all accept good from God. We all love good news whether births, engagements, jobs, spiritual growth, etc. We accept good news so easily.

What we find hard to accept are difficulties, redundancies, news of divorce, alienation, illness, and so on.

In this, Job was greater than us. Job knew that God was the Sovereign ruler of all. And he knew this grand truth, not only in his head, but in his heart. And it is this knowledge that enabled him to respond to waves of tragedy in  the immortal words:

"Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" (Job 2:10)

"God knows" - and yes he did; "God has everything under control" - that was true; "God still loves me" - correct; "God will protect me" - that happened; "he will see me through" - he did; "good will come out of this" - for sure it did.

Job was certain that all things work out for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.

Summing it All Up

It sounds like a big ask, does it not? To accept all the trials and tests of life from God in the same way we accept all of his blessings. We will no doubt fail. We will complain and moan. Job did his fair share of that in the chapters that follow. And the shoulders of Almighty God are broad enough to handle all our complaints.

But we should ponder the words of Job and meditate on them and ask the Lord for strength and wisdom to make them our own trusting response to the sorrows and trials of life.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Our song today reminds us of the friend who sticks closer than a brother through all the troubles of life.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer!

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge--
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Do your friends despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield you;
you will find a solace there.

Joseph Scriven

You can sing along HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our merciful Father in heaven,

We thank you for the example of Job. We thank you that by your grace, this blameless man was able to rise above the immediate trials of life and remember that you are God.

Teach us to do the same, knowing that you love us and have promised to never leave us or forsake us.

Keep us close to you, keep us rejoicing, keep us confident in your Sovereign rule over all.

We ask this in the Name of Jesus, who for the joy set before him endured the suffering of the cross,

Amen.

Photo by Hafis Ramadhan Setiawan on Unsplash

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [138] Daily Light

Today' Blog was written by Pastor Roy Summers

DAILY LIGHT

Jonathan Bagster, son of a publisher, wanted some Scriptures to read to his family every day. So he compiled what has become known as "Daily Light" a book of Bible verses, one selection for each evening of the year, and another for each morning. The verses are grouped around a theme and the unique feature of them is that there is no commentary. And they are short, an added boon for families with little ones. Still reprinted today, they are available in new translations, and now online.

Many believers testify to the help they have received from this loving compilation of Scripture, morning by morning and evening by evening. I am one of them.

Today's short memory verse is:

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105)

Two Varieties of Light

In this wonderful short verse, what do we have? Do we have one of those two-line Hebrew poetry couplets where the second line simply echoes or expands the meaning of the first? Or do we have two different thoughts?

A little of both. The one common theme is the enlightening effects of the Word of God. But two kinds of light are pictured here, both related to walking at night time in any unlit region of ancient Palestine.

First, a broad "light for my path." When we walk in the dark it is helpful to have the moon shining upon us to mark out the broad features of the landscape. Are we walking in a valley or trekking along a mountainside? The dangers of each are different, and a broad awareness of the terrain is helpful. A general "light for my path" will go a long way.

Then there is the "lamp for our feet." We need a lamp to reveal the immediate terrain around our feet: the large boulder here, the depression there, the thorn bush, the scorpion, the ledge, and so on.

Far light and near light, broad beam and narrow beam.

God's Word, says the Psalmist, gives us both broad beam and narrow beam.

Broad Beam

Shall I marry and Whom shall I marry? are broad beam questions. Scripture sketches out the wide outlines. Every believer should consider the possibility of being single (1 Corinthians 7) and not just assume they will marry.  Believers should only marry believers (2 Corinthians 6).

Isn't it wonderful to possess broad beam light? God's word sheds a wide light upon the decisions we are called to make and prevents us from making catastrophic choices - if only we pay heed.

Narrow Beam

But God's Word also sheds light upon more immediate day to day, decisions. If we believe that God's word will speak into our lives the very day we read them, and in faith if we pray that way, "Lord speak, your servant is listening" we will find that Scripture lightens up our day, with perhaps encouragement, perhaps comfort, perhaps a rebuke or perhaps wisdom.

We need this kind of prayerful expectancy when we read the Bible. May the Lord give us the faith to believe that his Word is both a light for the whole of our lives, and a lamp for the day that lies ahead.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

A song from Amy Grant from our memory verse for the day.

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet

And a light unto my path

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet

And a light unto my path

 

When I feel afraid

And I think I've lost my way

Still You're there right beside me

Nothing will I fear

As long as You are near

Please be near me to the end

 

I will not forget

Your love for me and yet

My heart forever is wandering

Jesus be my guide

And hold me to Your side

Amy Grant, Michael Smith

You can listen HERE.

 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving and gracious Father in heaven,

We thank you for this good day. All around us we find hearts are fearful because of the global pandemic. May your people possess and enjoy the peace of God which passes all understanding, knowing that you will care for us, and your sovereign will shall be accomplished on earth, as it is in heaven.

Thank you for your Word's broad light which helps light up the whole of our lives, and thank you for your Word's beam which lights up today and this hour, and this moment.

Teach us to love your Word and feed on it by faith,

For we ask these things in Jesus Name,

Amen

Photo by Vladimir Fedotov on Unsplash

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [137] Life through the Word

Today's Blog is written by Pastor Roy Summers

Jesus loved the Word

In my many years as a believer, and across a number of different denominations, I have fallen in with the folks who love the Book.

If there is a spectrum - and I don't like this division of denominations - between "Spirit" (or charismatic) and "Word" (normally Reformed), I have ended up towards the Word end of the spectrum.

I don't like the spectrum, because without the Spirit, the Word is a dead letter and without the Word, the Spirit has lost His voice. We need both Word and Spirit.

But after saying that, I have found that the "Word" churches in general love the word and respect its authority more than the "Spirit" churches, and my guess, for what it is worth, is that only the "Word" churches will, in the end, be able to stand up against the massive anthropological attack upon the Church today.

That be as it may, I love the Word mostly because our Saviour Loved the Word. We know that because he had stored it up in his mind and heart. And we know that because it came out of his lips, for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, and Jesus often spoke the Word.

When Tempted Jesus used the Sword of the Spirit

One great example is recorded in Matthew 4, and it is our memory verse for the day. Jesus was hungry after fasting for 40 days. Satan did not come to him on day 1, nor 10, nor 20, nor 30, but on day 40, when his body was starving.

Now Jesus was weak, now was the time to strike, or so thought the tempter: "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread," he challenges Jesus.

The temptation is two-fold. First note the "if you are the Son of God" trick. Satan is wanting Jesus to question and doubt who he was, and then he wanted Jesus to respond to his personal doubts with a dispelling miracle.

The other side of this temptation was to give in to his committment to fasting, to  give in to his bodily desires. After all, Jesus must know that "40" was the Bible code word for the duration of a trial - remember forty years wandering in the desert? - it's OK to eat today, says Satan.

No it isn't, tomorrow is the time to end the fast.

But Satan did not reckon with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Jesus replied, and here is our verse for the day:

"Man does not live by bread alone but on every word that

comes from the mouth of God."

(Matthew 4:4)

Jesus took up the all-powerful sword of the Spirit and pierced the heart of the enemy and put out his fiery temptation, with one verse of Scripture.

"Satan", says Jesus, if I may paraphrase for a moment, "you want me to eat bread and satisfy my human and physical desires, but I tell you that according to the Scriptures, life isn't just about bread, we truly live by the spiritual food of God's every word."

Summing it All Up

An old man - in fact an old church elder - once said to me, and what a confession this was! "Roy, I am amazed at how easily distracted I am from reading the Bible. I can sit in my front room and find the Newspaper on the coffee table more appealing than the Bible!" 

The enemy knows how to strike us - keep Christian away from the Bible.

But if we are wise, we will resist Satan's attempts and make God's word the delight of every day. It may only be a verse, or a portion, or a chapter, but if we are disciplined with God's help we will discover its power and life and the grace of God.

"Man does not live by bread alone but on every word that

comes from the mouth of God."

(Matthew 4:4)

A SONG FOR THE DAY

A lovely song from the early days of contemporary church music.

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
And His righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you
Hallelu, Hallelujah!

Ask and it shall be given unto you
Seek and ye shall find
Knock and the door shall be opened unto you
Hallelu, Hallelujah!

Man shall not live by bread alone
But by every word
That proceeds from the mouth of God
Hallelu, Hallelujah!

Karen Lafferty

You can join in HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving Father in heaven,

We thank you for your Word. Sometimes it seems so weak - just words on a page - but teach us that it is the powerful sword of the Spirit with which we can enjoy victory over the enemy and life within our hungry souls.

Teach us through that Word of the One who came into the world full of grace and truth. Help us to love him more each day.

For we ask these simple things in Jesus' Name

Amen

Photo by Humble Lamb on Unsplash