"...the time is at hand." Rev 22:10

When we see all that is taking place in the world today, with Israel becoming a burdensome stone to all of the nations of the world. With evil men and seducers waxing worse and worse. With idolatry rising in all shapes and forms, and being accepted as what is respectable. Blasphemy spewing from the media of all types. Government placing wickedness before righteousness. Murder being exalted, and promoted as a personal choice, while the murderers receive special treatment from the state. Churches giving in, and accepting wickedness, even allowing it a platform upon which to stand. The Bible, which is our privilege to have and hold, being pushed out of all public arenas. (While our society would not even exist without it.) Pastors are giving in to the contemporary crowd, and bringing in rock bands to appease an unregenerate congregation. We (who still believe the truth) sometimes sit back and wonder how much longer it will be before the Lord returns, and takes vengeance on such a wicked place as we live in. Let us not despair, for the time surely is at hand. We must remember that wickedness and violence is nothing new to this world. Before our days were the times when you would be subject to be burned at the stake for holding to the truth of the word of God. Certainly these are wicked and dark days that we live in, but remember that Christians have always lived lives of adversity, and yet peace. There should be no doubt in our minds that the Lord will soon return, so let us be faithful, and diligent that we be found at all times serving him.

"...Lord, if thou wilt..." Mt 8:2

Is the Lord hindered by any power? Can anything stop him from performing that which he desires to see accomplished? Is there anything that he created that can withstand him, when his will is to be done? All the answers to these questions would certainly be an emphatic no. We are not engaged in some kind of tug of war between the forces of God, and the forces of the world and Satan. Let us remember at all times that he who created, also retains the power to control. When all things seem to be going awry, and it seems all hope is lost, we must remember that though the situation is out of our hands it is never out of his. This leper realized that the Lord was the only one who was able to give any kind of comfort to his dying body, and soul; so he made the right move. He did not go to try and get better on his own. Nor did he seek help from anybody else who was in his same case; but rather he sought at first opportunity to the Lord for his help. There is little we can do for our own selves, and not much more that anybody else can do for us, but we can always seek at once the Saviour and find him to be a help no matter what we face. This leper sought the Lord in the prescribed fashion, as he is pleased with and requires; that is in faith. There was no question as to whether or not the Lord could cleanse him, but rather would he be so kind as to be willing to cleanse him? Any honest person, when viewing the debauchery of their life, when seeking the Lord would be wise to make their request in the same fashion; " If thou wilt". What an amazing question the grace of God places within the mind; not a question of power, but of will, and as Fanny Crosby put it:
The vilest offender who truly believes
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives
Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord
Today he is willing.

"The name of the Lord is a stong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." Pro 18:10

There is no safer place for us than under the protection, full faith and credit of the King of Heaven himself. Oh the thought that just his name is sufficient to make demons flee. His name is enough to summon the support of all the angels that do his bidding. His name alone holds the power to shake the foundations of heaven and earth. His name is enough to turn the impossible into done. What a wonderful name it is... Jesus. There is no other name that speaks comfort to the heart of the grieving, as does this name. There is no other name so universally recognized as a name of peace. His name is sufficient to calm fears, settle disputes, cure anxieties, and a myriad of other woes we face on this earth. It is so sad that while the name of Jesus does and can do all these things, it is also the most universally hated names as well. Every day it seems as if the devil finds another new way to blaspheme the wonderful name by which we are called. His munitions would attempt to destroy all credibility associated with the name of Christ, but we may be sure that his attempts will fail at length. Let us, who are chosen of God in salvation, find all comfort in the lovely name of Jesus. Let us run into the strong tower as soon as the sleep is gone from our eyes, and be found in the fight against all spiritual wickedness within the safety of this strong tower. We need this strong tower, for we never want to meet the devil on his own turf. Let us rise above the fray and fight. With how great the name of Jesus is, let us pause to reflect upon Ps 138:2 "... thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."

"... great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend." Job 37:5

What is God doing? We often find ourselves asking this question because we simply do not know. We are all too often reminded that "his ways are not our ways" and that he is higher, holier, and far wiser than the best specimen we can provide him. God is not answerable to any of us, no matter what we may think, he does not have to explain himself to us under any circumstances. Gods sovereignty is a difficult thing for our proud flesh to cope with much of the time, but we must tame ourselves, and realize that when we do not know what he is doing, he still does. How many times has it been that God was up to something, and we were questioning and complaining; while the whole time it was working out to our benefit? The great thing about God is that he does great things! He is unlimited in his resources, unmatched in his power, and unrelenting in his will; so when he does something it will always be great. When we view the finished product of the Lord we can always stand in awe, and cry out "what hath God wrought", for it will be beyond comprehension, and explanation. Let us not grow weary when we do not understand the way God is moving, and think that he is plotting against us; for he loves us. We must be keenly aware of the fact that there is no power that we hold to stay his hand, and if he were to desire our destruction he could do it in a moment, without any constraint. How great it is though, that he is not doing that; but rather is working "all things together for good to them that love God".

"...Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good." 2Chron. 19:11

This is a statement we need to remember on a daily basis. We are going to face trials, heartaches, storms, problems,fears, doubts, whatever may come our way; and there are always two ways to handle any situation we will ever face; a right way, and a wrong way. Many times we will have something come up that it will be much easier; and cost us much less heartache, pain, or time to simply turn and run from our situation, but we may be here as Esther "for such a time as this". Often the circumstances we face are brought on by our own decisions, so at these times it would be cowardly, and possibly even immoral (certainly showing a lack of character) to try and evade these situations. There are other times though that due to no fault of our own, a trial will appear on hand for us, that we may sit in awe of it as did Job of his trial. No matter what the reason is behind what we face, whether it be of our own fault, or if it be just the providence of the Almighty bringing things to fruition, we must always remember deal courageously, and let the Lord sort things out. It will take courage to handle life in the way that God would have you to handle it, for at these times we are no longer walking by sight, but rather by faith. Not into the unknown, but rather into the unseen. This is a place the flesh does not like to go, our flesh likes to keep a clear line of sight wherever it chances to trod, but the Spirit is at rest when we are walking by faith. We need not cower and run from the storms of life, but " deal courageously", for " the Lord shall be with with the good."

" I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly." Pro. 5:14

We must beware where we feel the safest; for often this is the devils most fertile soil. We tend to think that there is safety in numbers, but as we review scripture we find the opposite often to be true. Elijah we find protected while all alone in the midst of enemy territory, we see most all of the prophets had a lonely road to walk. Typically we will have to obtain the Kingdom all by ourselves, and have few or no familiar friends to enjoy the pilgrimage with us. Solomon realised, that when he felt the safest in the flesh; in the midst of the assembly, he was really in the most danger he could ever face. It is true that there looms many perils within congregations, and there is no protection guaranteed by God just because we are in a congregation, for " though hand join in hand, they shall not be unpunished." There are many places, and groups where we as people flee for protection, and feel as if we are somehow more safe. We must not think ourselves to be safe just because of any group we are a part of, for this is where all evil is found. We see today how many are joining hands on some sort of common ground, but their common ground is shifting sand, and soon they will fall. We must beware that we unite only so far as the word of God allows, and unite upon the similar beliefs of the word. We must never unite simply to be united; for we shall soon find that there is all evil lurking in the shadows of the assembly. There certainly is a time to unite, but just as certainly as this, there is also a time to "come out from among them". Let us be wary, that we be not ensnared in all evil, simply to be a part of an assembly.

" I am this day weak, though anointed..." 2 Sam 3:39

This stands as an open reminder to all who serve the Lord in places of authority that there come times when, though we may be anointed we will sometimes grow weak. The great King David at this moment had done nothing amiss, he had committed no open and egregious sin against the Holy One of Israel, but he was still weak. There are times we grow weak for various reasons, sometimes; as was the case here, there will be others under your authority who will commit some act contrary to your guidance, and this will weaken your hands and spirit. There are other times when you will misstep, and move in a direction that God did not direct you to move in, and this will weaken your hands adn spirit. Many are the ways that our hands and spirit will grow weak; and for these we must carefully watch. We can be sure that even when our hands or spirit grow weak, that God is still God, he is in control and will perfect that which concerneth us. Just because we are weak is no need for despair, for we are still anointed. God still has a job for us to do, and we still must do it. What an opportunity for some dear saint, who thinks their life to be useless, to find their job to pray for the anointed of the Lord. Whenever we see the anointed of God growing weak or weary in their service for their Great Master, it is our responsibility, yea privilege to pray without ceasing for the precious worker of God. There will be no benefit to us, for the anointed to be too weak to carry on their service for God, so I implore you to pray for strength for the servant of God. These times come; there is likely nothing we can do to prevent them; but we can certainly shorten their life span, and deaden their effects by praying for the anointed of the Lord. How long has it been since you prayed for your Pastor?