TEXT: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits’ – Psalm 103:2 THOUGHT: In Part 1, we studied three of the benefits King David reminded himself to thank God for: God had forgiven him, so he was able to forgive those who sinned against him – ‘He forgives your sins—every one’ – v3 MSG. God had provided healing, whatever the cause of the sickness or disease – ‘He heals your diseases—every one’ – v3 MSG. God would protect him from danger, both seen and unknown – ‘He saves my life from going down into the grave’ – v4 NIRV There is no shame for anyone living on God’s benefits. In fact it is the best thing anyone can do as we will see from the last two benefits. He was the recipient of God’s lovingkindness and tender mercies – ‘Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies’ v4 In other psalms David wrote, ‘You crown the year with your goodness’ – Psalm 65:11 and, ‘To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night’ – Psalm 92:2. We often use the phrase, “And to crown it all” in a negative way when talking about a hard time we have been going through. Something else...
Learn MoreTEXT: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits’ – Psalm 103:2 THOUGHT: Governments have the responsibility of deciding how much money is available for the benefit of their citizens. The new Chancellor of the Exchequer is currently preparing his budget for the next fiscal year. A rich country, as Britain is, still has to balance the books, trying to be generous whilst at the same time not overspending or borrowing more than it can afford to repay. Much criticism is rightly aimed at those who abuse the benefits system. Not only are they taking money they are not entitled to, spending it selfishly instead of working and making a contribution to society, but also they are diminishing the pot of gold to distribute amongst those who really are genuine cases. While a government’s resources are finite, God’s are infinite! He has the power to respond immediately, even if everyone in the world called upon Him at the same time. God does not determine someone’s suitability for His benefits according to their need, but according to their faith. The more we can see God has available, the more we will ask for and the more God can respond in a way that pleases Him and displays...
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TEXT: ‘If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness’ – Psalm 50:12 THOUGHT: Although I have sent out teaching about giving previously, it is a subject that needs to be repeated, for many Bible verses encourage us to do it. The Apostle Paul devoted 2 whole chapters of his Second Letter to the Corinthians about this subject (See Chapters 8 & 9). That was a large Pentecostal church which should have been an example to others concerning generosity but was in danger of merely making empty promises. We have a loving God, who not only gave His Son, but also promises to give us all things (See Romans 8:32). Therefore it remains a mystery why so many Christians, particularly in the UK and the rest of Europe, are so mean when it comes to parting with money as far as God is concerned. It is commendable that when African and Asian believers come to the UK to study or work, they bring with them the principles of tithing they practised in their own country and also a desire to evangelise. Our text makes clear we cannot give to God what is already His and think we are doing something great. David...
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TEXT: ‘Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world’ – James 4:8 NLT THOUGHT: Reading the Book of Job recently I discovered a wonderful verse about the spiritual blessing having clean hands brings. I remember at mealtimes my mother would ask me, “Have you washed your hands?” Although I replied, “Yes”, she would say, “Show me your hands!” More often than not the result was another trip to the wash basin! To have spiritually clean hands is a command James is emphatic when he writes, ‘Wash your hands’. He is urging, “Do something about the sins you have committed or been involved with”. When we confess our sins, it is as if Jesus washes us clean, hands included, and presents us to the Father as righteous. Natural water cannot make our hands clean spiritually Washing the outside can never make the inside clean. Many a murderer has washed the blood off their hands in order to conceal their crime. They hope they will get away with it and some do but they forget that one day they will stand before God. The blood they shed cries out to God from the ground as did Abel’s. ‘“What have you done?...
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TEXT: ‘For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me’ – 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 THOUGHT: The Apostles are often referred to as saints – St Peter and St Paul. In fact, Paul taught that all Christians are called saints (See Philippians 1:1). If we are not careful, we will end up believing the apostles were super-human and at a spiritual level way above anything we could ever attain to. In their epistles, the apostles did not promote themselves, rather the opposite. The more successful and well-known Paul became, the lower the opinion he had of himself. It was not false humility when he wrote, ‘not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church’. What can we learn from our text to help us move forward in God into more effectiveness? We cannot change the past However much Paul regretted his actions, he could not rewrite history. How could Christians forgive and forget what Paul had done either? After...
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