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Welcome
Articles by Sue Prosser
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'Neither give place to the Devil.' Ephesians ch. 4 v 27.
You can't play around with sin. Give it an inch and it will take a mile! Let me illustrate what I mean…..
Shortly after moving into our new apartment, our balcony started to be visited by a pair of doves. Since we do not possess a garden, we were delighted. Shortly afterwards we went away on a two week ministry trip, and upon our return discovered that the pair had nested in a corner of the balcony. This thrilled us even more and we took pains not to disturb them any more than was necessary. We went away again, and this time, when we returned, the baby had hatched. We caringly kept our distance, as we watched the fledgling grow.
A third time we had to go away, and this time, when we returned, we found that although the baby was still not flying, the mother was sitting on another egg. We now realised that the birds were beginning to take over and determined to try and do something about it as soon as the second egg had hatched.
But once again we had to go away for a fortnight. When we returned we discovered that, for some reason, the egg hadn't hatched and the mother and fledgling had gone, but there was now another nest in the making and no fewer than six eggs scattered around the balcony! One was even lying on the doormat! It seems we had begun to be colonised - our life and home were being overrun.
Obviously something drastic had to be done - immediately. We removed the eggs and thoroughly cleansed and disinfected the entire area. Then we found a model bird of prey to act as a deterrent. if any birds did come near, we chased them away ourselves, but we still have to be constantly on our guard.
It is in a similar way that sin will take over our lives if we let it. At first it appears attractive to us and (if we don't know the Word of God too well) we may rationalise that it as a blessing from God and so court it. You see, sin is deceptive and we seldom see it for what it is - a curse that will take over and ruin our lives. We believe that we can keep it under control, but soon it starts controlling us.
The birds had nested over the drain, so it wasn't long before it became blocked, and sin will do the same to us. The waters of the Holy Spirit cannot flow in a life that is blocked up with sin and one problem will lead to another.
You cannot ignore sin and just hope that it will go away. Drastic action is needed. The Bible tells us that we must repent and allow the blood of Jesus to thoroughly cleanse our lives. We need to destroy completely all the works of the Devil so that the Holy Spirit can again flow in our hearts; and we need to diligently set a watch against any further spiritual attack.
Is sin taking over and destroying your life? If you give the Devil a foothold it will soon become a stronghold. So turn to Christ now. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John chapter 1 verse 9) Trust Him!
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'The worshipping heart'
- Psalm 8 verses 3-4, 9
Five men went on a hike up a mountain. When they finally reached the summit they looked around at the magnificent panorama before their eyes.
The first was a geologist: "Wow, just look at that!" he exclaimed. "See the strata of the rock - the way it folds. And there, where the hard rock meets the soft there's a waterfall. And the shape of that mountain peak - a glacier must have caused it. Fantastic!" He took out his little hammer and began looking for fossils.
The second was an economist: "What a business prospect", he said. "Tourists would really love this place and it could earn us a lot of money. We could build some cottages down there by the river, and have a restaurant for day-trippers. And if we could plant trees on that slope it would enhance the scenery as well as bring in some more profit. Yes, it really has great potential."
The third was a lecturer in botany. Immediately his eyes were drawn to the various species of heather that grew on the mountainside, and his mind was swift to draw conclusions as to the climate and the acidity of the soil which had produced such perfect conditions for them to grow. "I'd sure like to bring some of my students up here," he said.
The fourth man was an artist. He swiftly set up his easel and started to paint. His keen eye and creativity soon captured the view on canvas, bringing out the textures, hues and atmosphere of the place in a way not immediately obvious to the others.
But the fifth man, though less talented and less skilled than the others, just stood there breathless. His mind was not clever enough to dissect things and draw conclusions like the scientists; he had never even considered the economic potential of the beauty spot; neither did he have the artist's amazing eye for detail. And yet this man saw more than all the rest. For as he gazed upon the beauty displayed before his eyes, his very soul was stirred. Deep called unto deep and suddenly he felt so small. Humbled by the experience, he drew apart from all the rest, fell down on his knees - and quietly whispered, "O God, how great Thou art!"
"O Lord, when I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars which you have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth." Psalm 8 verses 3-4,9
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'Without a vision the people perish
- Proverbs ch.29 v 18.'
I was once given an old car, which had low mileage and had been immaculately kept by its one owner. The elderly owner suffered from failing eyesight and so the car had been off the road for over a year before he decided to part with it.
Before I could use the car it had to go through an M.O.T. vehicle test to see if it was road-worthy. Mechanically, it passed with flying colours, and yet on one small point it failed the test. You see, all of the tyres had perished. They were not worn down, and looked perfectly fine, but simply because they hadn't been used for so long, they had perished.
Isn't this rather like some of us? The Word of God tells us that without a vision the people perish. Why is this? Well, a person without a vision isn't going anywhere! He (or she) is content just to sit faithfully in church, soaking up all the sermons, but never imagines that God has a plan for his life. Lacking motivation and a goal they are dying spiritually, and the longer they just sit around, letting others do all the work, the harder it is to get out of the rut. They perish through lack of use.
Beloved, we have been put on this earth for a purpose. God's Word tells us, in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10, that we have been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. We were chosen from the foundation of the world - not just to take up space and use up oxygen; not to please ourselves and pursue goals of self-interest; not to somehow bungle aimlessly through life without a purpose - but to find out why we have been born 'at such a time as this' and to get on and do it.
The desire to achieve is a symptom of a healthy soul, and there is no limit as to how much God will use any one of us, providing that we do not touch his glory. Helen Keller once said, "No man can be content to creep when he is destined to soar." Many years ago, at the start of my Christian life, I made this my prayer: "Lord do not fashion your plan for my life to match my spiritual capacity, but rather increase my spiritual capacity so that I may be able to fulfil my call." He has abundantly answered that prayer, way beyond my wildest dreams, and he will do the same for you if you will let him.
God's plan for our lives is always bigger than what we are, so to fulfil that plan always requires a walk of faith. I once heard the story of a fisherman who would measure every fish that he caught. Those less than 25cms, he kept, whilst any bigger than that, he threw back into the sea. His puzzled friends asked him for an explanation of this odd behaviour, which was the opposite of what they would have done. "O, that's easily explained," he told them. "You see, my frying pan only measures 25cms across, and any fish bigger than that won't fit in!" Let me ask you - how big is your frying pan of faith? God will probably put something into your heart, which seems too big for you, but don't throw it back at him. Just ask for a bigger frying pan!
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