The Jewish thing happed again

The Jewish thing has just happened to me again. This time I went into the coffee bar as I must have done hundreds of times. There was a pile of magazines there and on the front cover was the title of an article, "Faith Journey, Im a Jew who found Jesus". There is nothing in the article that I was not aware of or surprised me, I am just wondering what God is saying to me. The article did confirm something to me however. A jew remains a jew when they know Jesus is the messiah and that is only right. It is what I would expect.

It also has a couple of web sites that I will check out.

It is only recently to that I have come to realise that I do in fact know a number of people who do not know each other, but they are all messianic Jews.

Esther

The studies in Esther came to an end today, but there will be a discussion about what we have learned from it next week.

For me, I have been reminded that God rules in his providence. Even when things are going wrong, God is still ruling even when we cannot see it.

Esther and Mordecai, were people who love the lord and were people of integrity. They could be trusted and were resected and that is what I have to be.

The studies in Esther

The studies in Esther seem to be going well. I am trying to draw some practical applications from it. For example, all that Esther and Mordicai did followed on from three days of fasting an prayer.

What they did took planning. Planning is a practical and spiritual thing, it is not either or

Ones character is paramount. The king spared Esthers life and her people because of the fact that in all her ways she pleased him. She used her judgement, her experience of palace life to present her petion in an acceptable way

Early on she took wise advice. She took Mordecais advice and when she presented herself to the king for the first time, she took advice on what to wear.

We can see that she continued to use what she had learned to please the king and deliver the Jews.

A disappointing day, or is it?

The clutch on my car is on the verge of giving up the ghost and I do not have the money for a new one. I asked God to do something today and I get this. On reflection, perhaps this is indeed an answer to prayer. A Delay.

I need the car, especially for the summer so it is just as well that this has happened now and not when I need it to go to Dunfermline. I am disappointed, but things could be a lot worse. At least i got it to the garage and home again and I am starting to plan ahead on how I can get it fixed even if it takes six weeks.

Wisdom and Providence

The bible encourages us to pray for wisdom. I am praying for that. I really need it for decisions I am going to make very soon. I am going to look at my emails, see what is there and then depending on what I see, I am going to make a decision about relationships. Who knows, what I decide on Monday may be life changing, or it may not, but one thing is for sure I am not content to let things plod on as they are even though things are OK.

Perhaps things have conspired to push me on. As I look back over my life so far, I see a pattern. I see that God has always used circumstances to push me on. Circumstances that I could not control and yet they worked out very much for my good. Things particularly at work at the moment may be such circumstances again. As yet, I do not know that. I do know that as I lead the team in a series of studies in Esther, God leads through his providence. God must have known that today I would be in the Black Country Museum and at the end of the visit, the group I was with would meet in a Methodist chapel Called the "PROVIDENCE CHAPEL". It seemed a fitting reminder that in all things, God is dealing with me.

Do I Listen to God

I have just been reading a couple of articles in Relay that prompt the question, "Do I listen to God?" Do I expect him to do things? Do I have a good relationship with him? Theologicaly the answer is yes, but do I listen to him in all situations? Am I listening to him now in the situations that I am in.

Yesterday getting that CRB form was a reminder of how he has intervened in providence to protect me in the past. I trust that he does so now, but There are things that I desperately need and do not have the wherewithall to get them for myself. Will God deliver? I am I praying aright? I believe I am, but when will I see the result?

I think it good to visit these things from time to time. It makes me see what God has done and can do. It also makes me pray all the more that I may love his word and obey it. When I sin (As indeed I do) I trust that I keep short accounts.

Esther

I start leading the team in studies in Esther this coming Friday. I am really looking forward to that. It does however mean that I have to touch on the subject of women in society of that day. Queen vashti was after all deposed for not obeying her husband the king.

However we see in this book Gods providence even though God is not specifically mentioned. I also find that I am taking more and more of an interest in the Jewish feasts and very soon because of reading this book I will be looking at the feast of purim. I expect not only to teach the team but to derive great benefit from it myself.

CRB check

The CRB check arrived in the post today. As I opened the envelope, I knew the moment of truth had arrived and it is negative. Most people would not know how much that document means to me. After all the false accusations made against me, by people I do not know and by people I suspect were mentally ill, there is not a stain on my character. I am just so pleased. It has to be God in his mercy to me who has done this. I am so thankful to him.

Those accusations were a trying time for me when they happened, yet even then I saw Gods protective hand guarding me and now I see it again.

I am innocent. I always was, but now I know it is official