God will always avenge - if you allow Him to

"37 But Paul said to them, 'They have beaten us openly, un-condemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out."    Acts 16:16 - 40  NKJV

It would be beneficial to read the whole of the text in order to get the whole picture.

Whenever you're doing something for God, you should expect spiritual attacks. They are designed to stop you in your tracks or make you a laughing stock so that you will lose your confidence, integrity and credibility. Here, a girl who had a spirit of divination was following Paul and Silas around the city, harassing them and screaming out that they were servants of the Most High God proclaiming His salvation. There was demonic opposition, hindrance, humiliation, distraction and disruption in her words, which is how the enemy works. Should Paul have left the demon alone, so that he could get on doing what God had sent them to do? It's difficult to know as their reasons for being there had already been exposed. Some people would have left well alone but Paul was not having it and these demonic utterances could cause them further damage. It is interesting to note that Paul and Silas were on their way to prayer when this all happened. Demonic activity usually attempts to cause mayhem at such times. 

The girl was being pimped by certain men who were making a good living from her fortune-telling. It's very much like today where evil men and women find vulnerable young people and use them in drug dealing, trafficking and prostitution. They make a fortune out of these poor, unfortunate people who have been misled and had false promises made to them of a better life. When the evil business is brought to the light - which it will be sooner or later - they lose their fortunes. The masters of this girl cared nothing for her, only what she could be used for. 

When the masters realised that the girl's usefulness had dried up, they seized Paul and Silas  and took them to the authorities with trumped up charges of troubling the city. It's interesting how they didn't give the real reason for their accusations. There was a strong Anti-Jewish discrimination about it all. They assumed that Paul and Silas were Jews, not Roman citizens and they had come to the city to stir up trouble. It is always wrong to make assumptions, we usually get them wrong. Paul was actually a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25) and Silas may well have been too. His name was actually Silvanus which means 'of the forest,' and this was a Roman name. Paul always referred to him in this way, as did Peter (1 Peter 5:12).

They were both brutally beaten with rods. The Jewish legal tradition gave a maximum number of blows that could be delivered but the Roman's had no such limit. They must have been beaten terribly. After this beating, they were taken to prison and placed in the maximum security suite, which was the inner prison and would have been dark, damp and probably rat-infested. Their feet were placed into ill-fitting stocks which may have caused them cramps and further pain. The jailer was told to keep them securely. 

They were treated like terrorists but all they had done was preach the Word of God and drive a demon out of someone. Total injustice and terrible suffering and we have the audacity at times to moan when things don't go our way. 

This didn't stop Paul and Silas, they prayed and sang hymns at the top of their voices. They would have been in agony and the other prisoners watching, would have realised this too. Things always happen when we act in such a way. Suddenly, there was an earthquake. But it was different - a supernatural one that ripped off the cell doors and broke every chain. 

The conclusion to all of this is that, the jailer and his family were saved after asking, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' (v30). Paul and Silas had their wounds soothed at the jailer's home but instead of escaping, they returned to the prison until the next morning. They received word from the magistrates that they were free to go. Paul, however, refused and demanded that the magistrates come and tell them personally. After all, they had been wrongfully arrested and severely beaten even though they were Roman citizens.

This caused the magistrates great fear and they came and pleaded with them to depart quietly. God will always avenge if you allow Him to. So therefore, whatever you may be undergoing at this time, find time to praise God. Don't go round like a bear with a sore head. Praise Jesus and then wait and see what the Lord will do.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

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Humbling thoughts

"So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not," (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."   
                                                                                        Mark 13:14   NKJV

Here, Jesus foretold the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 but was also predicting the Great Tribulation that is still to come. The abomination of desolation has it's meaning in Daniel 11:31 & 12:11. In Hebrew it means, profanation that appals. This gives us a fuller interpretation. It is the height of profanity.

The origin was in connection with Antiochus, who tried to stamp out the Jewish religion and introduce Greek thought and Greek ways. He desecrated the Temple by offering pig's flesh on the great altar and set up public brothels in the sacred courts. He also set up a great statue of Olympian Zeus and ordered the Jews to worship it.

Jesus predicted what the end times would be like - man separating man from God and in return, exalting themselves above all - a figure to be worshipped. There was a similar occurrence recorded in Daniel 3, where Nebuchadnezzar also set up a gold image, some 90 foot tall and 9 foot wide and demanded that people worship and bow down to it. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego refused and were cast into a red hot oven.

All over history dictators have put themselves into the position of God and have demanded that they be worshipped and adored. Probably one of the most well known of dictators was Hitler, who during his atrocities, attempted to stamp out the Jewish nation as well. But even though it was totally awful, God was greater and He had the victory!

Brother Andrew of Open Doors, has been smuggling bibles into such countries where Christianity is forbidden. He has been doing this for many years. North Korea is such a country as this. People there are forbidden to even have a bible or to meet in Christian groups. To do so, would result in years of horrific imprisonment in awful labour camps or even death.
Their leader there Kim Jong-Un, has set up a statue of himself, which is possibly the same size as the one that Nebuchadnezzar had built. All the inhabitants of North Korea have to bow down and worship it. To the North Korean's, he must be known as God. They have no choice. He controls everything - TV, the media and news, in fact, their whole lives. To these people, it has been indoctrinated into them that we, in the west, are the evil ones. 

And yet, God is there. He cannot be stamped out and the North Korean believers, who have nothing of any value, are the most dedicated of worshippers. God will give them the victory. He will be victorious over North Korea and of all the other dictatorship-ruled countries. He will avenge.

What these people go through and how they still manage to praise and worship God with so much vigour, is really humbling. It makes one realise that, in comparison, we live the lives of millionaires. 

Probably we need to remember this when we next get into a critical or grumbly moment over something that really is trivial. We have all we need and yet their devotion to Jesus can leave us standing at times.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

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God's Benefits Part 2

"1 Bless the LORD O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2 Bless the LORD O my soul and forget not all His benefits. 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies. 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."
                                                                          Psalm 103:1-5.  NKJV

Let's continue our study of God's Benefits and look firstly at:

CROWNS
David Guzik tells us:

'God's greatness extends beyond sparing us from sin, disease or trouble. Through God's blessing, we are crowned with His great love and mercy.'
                                                                            David Guzik Enduring Word

God is so kind and loving towards us, it would be impossible to realise how much in a million lifetimes. He just thinks that we are wonderful. That doesn't mean that He will put up with all the things that we do. There are somethings that He feels, we need to limit. There are some relationships that we need to look at and determine whether they are wholesome to continue to be a part of. There are some friendships that are not good for us - they are able to lead us astray. You know the ones. Whenever you are in the presence of certain people, they may do or say things that are not in line with our faith. If you're with a gossip for instance, you can be so easily dragged into this conversation. If you're with someone who is critical or speaks unwholesome words, then, don't you think it's time to draw back? 
We are Kingdom people, kings and priests unto God. We have been crowned and we should act as such in all we do and say and wherever we go. He has set us free, let us not be tempted to look back at what we left.

SATISFIES
People throughout the world are looking for something - for comfort, peace, excitement, satisfaction and love. They will not find this with what the world has to offer. Drugs, booze, gambling, sex and whatever else takes their fancy, does not bring a permanent fix. It is temporary because the world is fake compared to what Jesus Christ has to offer. Having a load of cash is helpful at times and can provide luxuries. But they can be taken away in the blinking of an eye. Having them is like building a house on the sand. major problems come along and the house collapses, leaving the owner with nothing. The one who builds his house on the Rock (Jesus) withstands all  the major problems that come its way. (Matthew 7:24-27)
Jesus satisfies every part of us and He is all we need.

RENEWS
The life that we have in Jesus is secure. We can feel content because He is in charge of everything - if we let Him be. We may wake up feeling drained as if we haven't slept; we can have the problems of the world on our shoulders, we can see no way out, but when we look at Jesus, when we give Him the things that are troubling us - leave them with Him instead of trying to help Him - we can be sure that He will take care of our needs. We then feel renewed.

You may feel unworthy and down in the dumps; like there is no way through this mess that you're in right at the moment. But there is a way - Jesus. But He doesn't just click His fingers and everything is ok. He expects something from us - Faith, Love, Obedience and our Commitment to Him.  God's benefits far outweigh anything that the world will ever be able to offer, but it means you trusting Him, giving of yourself to Him and being faithful to Him.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

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Help Others

HELP OTHERS

God's Benefits Part 1

"1 Bless the LORD O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2 Bless the LORD O my soul and forget not all His benefits. 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies. 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."
                                                                          Psalm 103:1-5.  NKJV

The benefits of God are never ending and come on a daily basis. He likes to show His children just our much He loves us, each day. The benefits that the world offer are temporary. If a person is on welfare, their benefits can be frozen in an instant, leaving them with nothing to live on. God's benefits are always there. They're constant and can be relied on. 
Let's take a little time to check out the benefits within this Psalm:

FORGIVENESS
Whatever we have done or may do, as we confess this (our sins) to God, He forgives us and also chooses to forget about them entirely. (1 John 1:9). The world may offer you something similar but there will be conditions, 'I'll forgive you this time, but if you do it again....' 'You're on a warning; do this again and you're out.' The world does not forget - God chooses to. He's Our forever friend. 
You may remember some of the things that you have done, and they may flag up guilt or regret. Listen, if you have asked God to forgive you, then you're forgiven. Give yourself a break and accept this forgiveness. God has forgotten about it, you do the same. You can't be free until you do. Let me spell it out for you, YOU ARE FORGIVEN!

HEALING
God's Word says that you WERE healed by the stripes of Jesus. This is where you have to allow your faith to kick in and ignore statements such as, 'God doesn't always heal people.' That is wrong. God heals today - He's already done it! We have to get into God's time scale and realise that the symptoms may still be there but with faith, we believe that He has healed us. God's time scale is different to ours. With Him, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day. (2 Peter 3:8). Time has ceased and we need to flow in this. If God has said we are healed, then we are. Some are healed instantly; others, their healing comes over a certain time. But we have to receive it, believe it and keep on confessing it. If you doubt, you'll go without. Look at it this way. You may buy an item of furniture from a store but you have to wait for it to be made or perhaps delivered. You have paid for it, it's yours but you haven't got it yet. You have to wait for the delivery. You don't doubt that it is coming and in the same way you shouldn't doubt that you've been healed. There is a waiting period for some.

REDEEMS
We were on our way to destruction, because without Jesus there is no hope. (John 3:16-18). But as we called on Jesus, He redeemed us - He paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross in our place. He rescued us from destruction.
Redemption means, to buy back and pay off. He redeemed us from the curse (Galatians 3:13-14). In other words, He set us free and gave us everlasting life. And He redeems us from our mistakes each and every day. We make some blunders, let's be honest and at times we make a spectacle of ourselves. However, as we ask God to help us, He is there; as we ask Him to forgive us again, He is there. He redeems us from the destruction of our errors. He also redeems us from certain dangerous  situations in our lives.

We've looked at three of God's benefits here. Tomorrow, we'll look at three more. Read the scriptures again and put yourself in this position. Speak it out aloud, putting your name in there. Praise God for each and everything. Worship Him and show Him your gratitude that He gives you wonderful, Heavenly benefits on a daily basis.


Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

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Hold fast

"Behold, I AM coming quickly. Hold fast what you have that no one may take your your crown."               Revelation 3:11   NKJV

There's a thief about John 10:10. Just the fact that Jesus tells us to Hold Fast, tells us that someone or something wishes to steal something from us. Steal what? Your faith; your crown. Yes it's true, the devil doesn't want you being successful. He doesn't like it that Jesus recognises our position:

'To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion , forever and ever, Amen.'         Revelation 1:5-6.  NKJV

There you are. It's no wonder why the devils hates us. We are kings and priests to God the Father through Our Lord Jesus Christ. How amazing is that? The devil doesn't think so, however. This is why he is trying to take our crown. But don't let him. Hold Fast.

Sometimes, we can be our own worse enemy and if we're not careful, we can set off on a downward spiral to disaster. For instance:

ANGER
This is one area where a person can go astray. We can blow things and loose control at times and if we don't quickly regain the control, all can be lost as we totally make a mockery of our Christian witness. We are all susceptible to this area, some worse than others. Therefore, if you have a short fuse, do something about it - quickly.
LUST
This is another area where we all can fall down. Lust claims many people, including pastors throughout the world. Adultery is rife, then there is perversion, homosexuality and pornography just to mention a few. It's not unusual for Christian men and women to live two lives - one being involved in these areas and then the other putting on their Christian face. We cannot serve two masters (Luke 16:13). Sooner or later the bubble will pop and all will be revealed.
THOUGHTS
Thoughts come to us very quickly. Bad ones can become planted and rooted in our minds and pretty soon we begin to believe them. We become convinced that what we think, is true, when it isn't - it's a lie from the devil. Our thoughts, when out of control, can cause mayhem in our thinking and can completely take over our lives if we don't stop them.
Someone may breathe some gossip about somebody and it can seem so convincing, that we take it on board and start being judgemental about a brother or sister. The devil is extremely skilful in spreading fake news around the place hoping we will fall for it. Don't, you are a king and priest unto God, Your Father. Hold Fast your crown. Don't let satan grab hold of it, in fact, don't even let him get near to it. How dare he.

Take authority, you are a servant of the Most High God - El Shaddai, and He trusts you, loves you, has taken your sinful past, given you a crown and a place in Heaven for eternity. You are a somebody; the devil is nothing. He blew his copy book years ago.

So Hold Fast!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

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A Stumbling Block

"Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day for it was already evening."
                                                                             Acts 4:1-3.  NKJV

Wherever you go, if you mention the Name of Jesus, you're going to cause a division between yourself and somebody. There'll always be someone who takes offence and lets you know about it.

Here the Sadducees are not happy because Peter and John have been talking about Jesus and how He was resurrected from the dead. They are in no way pleased that a lame man has been healed. This doesn't come into their religious thinking. If we look at Acts 4:18, Peter and John are actually forbidden to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

This happened to me some years ago when I was working. I had been speaking to someone who was upset and this person brought up the subject of Jesus. I therefore considered they had given me permission to do the same and the person was very comforted. Later, my boss took me on one side and threatened that if I spoke about Jesus again, disciplinary action would be taken against me. I was forbidden to do this.

There is a fear about the name of Jesus. People who do not know Him or want to know Him, feel He is a threat and will do all they can to prevent this. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who is pulling their strings. In Isaiah 8:14 and 1 Peter 2:8 we read:

'He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall' Isaiah 8:14

'They stumble because they do not obey God's Word and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.'  1 Peter 2:8. NLT

There it is in a nutshell. Jesus is a stumbling block to them. Their lifestyle and their actions trip them up whenever the name of Jesus is around. If they know you're a Christian, they will either give you a bad time or will avoid you at all costs. Someone once told me when I was first going to University, 'Oh they eat Christians there. Be careful." And that pretty much sums it up.

Peter and John were forbidden to speak about Jesus anymore. Peter's reaction was:

'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.'   Acts 4:19-20

In other words, we will never be persuaded to stop speaking about Jesus and neither should you either. The devil may try and stop you; he may bring all sorts of power things against you in order to prevent the name of Jesus being spoken about. But don't ever let him stop you. Jesus may be stumbling block to those who are against Him, but He is our Rock:

'The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.'
                                                                               Psalm 18:2

Never, never, ever be tempted to water down the Gospel of Jesus Christ, just because it offends someone. It is their problem, not yours and if they don't wish to hear about Him, fine. One day they will meet Him!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

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