Provision

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26

We often have Kookaburras visit us and sometimes Colin hand-feeds them. Not a good idea really but we enjoy the experience. The other morning as I looked out our glass doors I noticed a large stick insect on the screen door.... I don't like creepy crawlies!  Soon, however a kookaburra landed on the railing followed closely by a mate.  They hadn't come to visit us but were eyeing up the insect.  No doubt it looked good to them for breakfast.  After deciding how to go about lifting the insect off the screen, one soon had it in his beak and off they went. Breakfast provided!

It can be very easy, in the current economic situation, to look at circumstances in fear and trepidation. There are people losing their jobs with little hope of finding another, youth leaving school and needing to find employment and the cost of living rising with every news broadcast.  But we don't need to fear, Christians, we need to BELIEVE!  We have a God whose name is Jehovah Jireh - the God who provides.  Unless we are put in a situation of need, we don't have opportunity to believe and see God at work.

I have a friend who has recently undergone surgery and chemotherapy for breast cancer.  She told me that although this journey has been a difficult one, it has also been a time when she has seen God provide for her and her son more than ever before.  She has also felt the love of God's family in a new way.  She can find reason to thank Him for this difficult experience. 

Psalm 112:7 says that the righteous (that's those who believe in Jesus) "do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them."  And why would he not?  The verse in Matthew says that he feeds the birds, and we are MUCH more valuable to him than they are! The apostle Paul encouraged his readers with these words, "And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19.  Our part is to be good caretakers of what God gives us; not to hoard up unnecessarily, but not to waste our resources either.

Christians, as the days grow darker and more desperate, and they will, our lights should shine more brightly.  We should be beacons of hope and light in our world.  People who can be generous and help the poor because our God has provided for us. 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, my provider, help me to trust you for all my needs and help me to trust you enough to be wise and generous with what you supply.  Amen

Justice

The foundations of law and order have collapsed.  What can the righteous do? But the Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. Psalm 11:3-4

I can't count the number of times we have watched the evening news and been horrified at the increasing rise of violence and corruption in our land.  Added to that is the disappointment we feel with some of the seemingly inadequate sentences meted out to criminals. Worse still, there are those who are obviously guilty but can afford to hire expensive lawyers who then somehow 'prove' their innocence.  Then there is the problem of government being manipulated by the vocal minority to change age-old laws that have kept our society on a firm foundation, to fit our increasingly sin-filled world's demands.  I am so glad I can say with the psalmist - Yet I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13).

What can the righteous do indeed?   In the 1700s Irish orator, philosopher, and politician Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

Firstly we can take comfort from, and hope in the fact that God is in his holy temple and he does indeed still rule from heaven.  We do not have to adopt a position that 'all is lost, there is no hope'.  Secondly we must remember that we have a God, and we have his attention.  'The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.' (Proverbs 15:9). We can and must pray. James 5:16(NLT) says, 'The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.'  (Don't say, "Well I'm not really righteous.  If you are a believer, remember, our righteousness has nothing to do with how good we are but all to do with the righteousness that is given to believers because of our  Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  We are covered over with his righteousness and that's what God sees.) Our earnest prayers will produce results. God promises they will.  It may not be in our timeframe but we must continue to pray in faith and leave the results to God.

Sometimes we have the opportunity to speak up and be counted.  It is easy to ignore opinion polls as being of no consequence or use.  However, they can give ammunition to the enemy.  If good people do or say nothing, the world has all the say and the opinion polls are loaded in their favour, but don't necessarily reflect the true thinking of a nation.  Let us love our nation enough to speak the truth - in love, because 'Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people.' Proverbs 14:34

Prayer:  Lord God, thank you that you are still ruling from heaven and you will indeed have the final say.  Help me to know when to speak up for truth and right and help me to be faithful in prayer for my nation.  Thank you that you always hear my prayer.  Amen

Traps

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8

The Venus Fly Trap is a plant that is carnivorous, that is it devours insects because it needs the nutrients from the insects to compensate for the poor soil it generally lives in.  Their claw-like leaves lay open until an unsuspecting insect alights and suddenly the leaf closes and the insect is history.

Today three of my devotional readings referred to 'traps'.  It was significant as there is no theme to the readings and they were from various books; 1 Kings 13, Proverbs 7:22-23 and Matthew 22:23-33 (take time to read them for yourself).  I thought it would be a good topic to look at.  I was reminded afresh that the enemy of our souls, Satan, is always on the lookout for a chance to trap us, and we are never too old to be caught out.

The reading in 1 Kings 13 is particularly sad because an unnamed prophet of God brings a very significant word from God to King Jeroboam and it is confirmed by 2 miraculous signs.  The prophet from Judah was on assignment from God who gave him very specific instructions that he was to go give the word, return home a different way and not to eat or drink anything until he got home. An old local prophet heard about this and went out after the prophet from Judah and enticed him to come home and eat and drink with him saying, "I am a prophet too, just as you are.  And an angel gave me this message from the Lord: 'Bring him home with you, and give him food to eat and water to drink.' But the old man was lying."(vs 18)

Sadly the younger prophet was not alert to the devil's tactics.  This was surely a trap.  How the old prophet could have lied to him is another story, but the enemy can and does use other believers to entrap us sometimes.  In Galatians 1:9 Paul was addressing the fact that the Galatians had been persuaded by believers to again put themselves under the Law from which Christ has set us free.  He told them that even though an angel bring another gospel, they should not believe it.  He did not want to see them fall into the trap of trying to earn their salvation by keeping the Law, when Jesus Christ was the fulfilment of the Law and faith in Him alone is what brings us salvation. 

Hebrews 5:14 speaks about believers who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. If we want to avoid the traps of the devil we must fill our hearts and minds with God's word so that we understand, and readily obey His ways, and so that we can discern when a trap is being set for us.  Psalm 119:110 says this, "The wicked have set their traps for me, but I will not turn from your commandments. "  We need to stay with the word of God and not be side-tracked or side-lined.  Train yourself in the word and trust your discernment.  By all means remain open and teachable but not gullible.  Lazy Christians will not make time and effort to check out the word of God for themselves.  The people of Berea were commended because after they listened to Paul and Silas preach they searched the scriptures daily to see if they were teaching the truth (Acts 17:11). Staying strong in God's word will keep us out of Satan's traps. Let's be diligent so that we do not become deceived.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, thank you for your example of quoting the truth of the scriptures to Satan during your temptation in the wilderness and then to those along the way who sought to trap you.  Help me to be diligent in studying your word and being alert to the enemy's schemes. Amen

Wisdom's Way

Solomon loved the LORD and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. 1 Kings 3:3 (Read on to vs 15)

Following this God appeared to him in a dream and said, "What do you want?  Ask, and I will give it to you!"  Gosh, who wouldn't want God to ask us a question like that?  Solomon answered with humility and with wisdom. He admitted that he felt like a little child in his new role as king and was quite overwhelmed by it all.  He asked, therefore, for wisdom so that he could govern well and understand right from wrong.  The Lord was so pleased with this request that he promised Solomon wisdom far greater than had ever been or ever would be known. Not only that, he would also have riches and honour.  To that was added the proviso of a long life IF he obeyed God's commands as his father David had.  Woohoo, what a blessing.

What struck me as I read on in this passage was that when Solomon went home from this place of sacrifice which had been considered the most important of all the local altars (vs 4), he immediately sacrificed again before the Ark of the Lord's covenant.  That's what wisdom did for him.  It changed his place of worship from the ones that were considered acceptable to the place God considered acceptable.  After his encounter with God, he soon received wisdom to begin building the temple.

So what is the lesson?  Doing things in a way that is acceptable to the world is not necessarily the way that is acceptable to the Lord.  Proverbs 14:12 (penned by King Solomon) says, There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. What path would that be?  Probably the one that the world thinks is okay, acceptable, - yet to God it is a path that will lead to trouble and in the end, death.  Today the world offers a 'banquet' of acceptable ways but if we are wise we will seek to know the  right way.  To do that requires that we seek advice from wise people.  Who are they?  Those who fear, reverence and obey the Lord (Psalm 111:10).  Again Solomon says, People who despise advice will find themselves in trouble; those who respect it will succeed. (Proverbs 13:13).

Since my teen years when faced with life decisions I have tried to have people around me who could offer wise counsel.  I honour them for the advice given and I thank God for giving me a heart that was willing to listen which has kept me on a sound path and away from the paths that lead to death.  To this day I love the fact that I can ask God for wisdom in the smallest ways (dealing with the computer or buying clothes) to the biggest decisions (where to live and what house to buy).  He is always ready and willing to give us wisdom and will not 'resent our asking' (James 1:5-7).  What is it that you need wisdom for today?  Go ahead, ask the One who is willing to guide you.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, you know the need for wisdom that I have in so many different ways every day.  Please help me to remember that you are always ready and willing to hear my prayer and  please help me to have a humble heart to seek you so that I walk in the way that is acceptable to you and therefore beneficial to me. Amen