​We do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with have the power to demolish strongholds ✦ For our war is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil ✦ It is God who arms me with strength. He is the God who avenges me…who saves me from my enemies ✦ Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified or discouraged, for the Lord Your God will be with you wherever you go ✦ Do not be afraid of them for the Lord Your God himself will fight for you ✦ Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ✦ The Lord is my strength, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my shield, my stronghold ✦ No weapon forged against you will prosper and you will refute every tongue that accuses you — this is the heritage of the Lord’s servants ✦ For the battle is the Lord’s ✦ Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground ✦ And in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.

​Courtesy

“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing." (Deuteronomy 10:18)

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed." (Psalm 82:3)

"Defend the cause of the fatherless..." (Isaiah 1:17)

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9)

"You are the helper of the fatherless." (Psalm 10:14)

"Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds--his name is the LORD-- and rejoice before him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." (Psalm 68:4-5)

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10)
​
 
 
 

 

Charles Spurgeon:

Heavenly Wealth
 
No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)
 
Many pleasing things the Lord may withhold but "no good thing." He is the best judge of what is good for us. Some things are assuredly good, and these we may have for the asking through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
Holiness is a good thing, and this He will work in us freely. Victory over evil tendencies, strong tempers, and evil habits He will gladly grant, and we ought not to remain without it.
 
Full assurance He will bestow, and near communion with Himself, and access into all truth, and boldness with prevalence at the mercy seat. If we have not these, it is from want of faith to receive and not from any unwillingness of God to give. A calm, a heavenly frame, great patience, and fervent love--all these will He give to holy diligence.
 
But note well that we must "walk uprightly." There must be no cross purposes and crooked dealings; no hypocrisy nor deceit. If we walk foully God cannot give us favors, for that would be a premium upon sin. The way of uprightness is the way of heavenly wealth-wealth so large as to include every good thing.
 
What a promise to plead in prayer! Let us get to our knees.
 
​

To add to the growing poverty and general hopelessness in Malawi the poor are again under intense pressure as the government increase the price of the country's staple maize by 127%.
A 50 kilogram bag has increased in price from K5,500 to K12,500.

The impact on inflation and the economy is expected to be far reaching, with the hardest hit likely to be those already in extreme poverty who will simply be unable to pay the increased price.

​Prayer and action is required.

http://mwnation.com/apm-orders-127-maize-price-hike/
​http://www.nyasatimes.com/maize-prices-127-admarc-depots-opens-monday/

News from Malawi on the ABC on 21st September 2016

Hope fades in Malawi as severe drought leaves millions suffering

​By freelance correspondents Kayla Robertson and Max Greenstein in Chikwawa
Wed 21 Sep 2016, 8:52am

"There have been plans to drought-proof the nation. One, called the Green Belt Initiative would have irrigated one million hectares of farmland, but it withered through lack of funding.

Critics point to endemic corruption in the country, which has seen an estimated $550 million stolen from government coffers in the past 10 years and siphoned away from vital programs."

​Read the full article -->>

​Practical Christianity requires a selfless heart. To love others requires a selfless and giving heart. Giving is love in action, the opposite of selfishness. Because of sin, we don't have this heart, so God starts to give his  people selfless and giving hearts when he rescues them from their selfish, self-seeking and lost ways.

God's ways work, fallen man's ways most often don't. God works his generosity to his people through having his people be generous to other people. The worldly will seek to gather by all means and then hoard. But what good does that do on the last day? Someone else just gets to enjoy it. Better to empty your silos while you live and bless others in doing so. God confirms this by filling his people's silos faster than they can empty them. His ways work.

​God is wise and therefore his people should seek to be wise givers not foolish givers. This sometimes takes effort, but is required if your giving is not to perpetuate corrupt and futile practices, which may give you a warm feeling for a time but helps neither the intended poor recipient nor the corrupt wealthy interceptor of your giving.

MATTHEW 6:33 NIV  "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

PSALM 122:5 NLV "Good will come to the man who is ready to give much, and is fair in what he does."

LUKE 6:38 NIV 38 "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

PROVERBS 3:9-10 NKJV 9 "Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine."

MATTHEW 10:42 NIV 42 "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-8 NIV 6 "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

HEBREWS 6:10 NIV 10 "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them."

ACTS 20:35 NIV 35 "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

"When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go.." 1 Kings 2:1-3

"Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Daniel 9:18-19

Presbyterian Youth Victoria (PYV) Proposed Mission Trip to Malawi in 2017: In June/July 2017 PYV plans to send a team to Blantyre, Malawi to work at the Orbus Centre. The team will be spending time contributing to some educational and practical needs of the Orbus Centre, and will also be involved in Bible teaching and children's ministry. The team will also visit local churches to encourage, and participate in gospel ministry. If you would like to read more preliminary details about the trip please click here. Any questions please call Emily Venning on 0401659336 or send an email to [email protected]
​

​Guardian of the Fatherless

In God the orphan finds mercy. (Hosea 14:3)

When a child is left without its natural protector, our God steps in and becomes his guardian: so also when a man has lost every object of dependence, he may cast himself upon the living God and find in Him all that he needs. Orphans are cast upon the fatherhood of God, and He provides for them. No trust is so well warranted by facts, or so sure to be rewarded by results, as trust in the invisible but ever-living God.

Better have God and no other friend than all the patrons on the earth and no God. To be bereaved of the creature is painful, but so long as the Lord remains the fountain of mercy to us, we are not truly orphaned.

Lord, let me find mercy in Thee! The more needy and helpless I am, the more confidently do I appeal to Thy loving heart.
​
Charles Spurgeon

Are You Afraid You've Failed?
by Billy Graham

​You may be headed in the wrong direction. I am asking you to come God’s way.

You say, “I am afraid that I have already failed.” All right, let me tell you what to do. Ask God to forgive you. He will. When the woman taken in adultery was dragged before Jesus, He did not condemn her. He gave her a hope that she could face tomorrow without sin. He said, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11, NKJV).

Christ will forgive all the past. That is why He died on the cross. When those nails went into His hands, it was for you. He took the judgment, the hell, the death, the suffering that you and I deserve because of sin.

Ask God today to cleanse and forgive and change you, and give you the capacity to say “No” and to live a pure, wholesome life—the kind of life God meant for you. If you wait, your heart will harden. God is speaking to you. Come to Him now.

(Adapted from “The Days of Youth” by Billy Graham)

   

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:5-8)

Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5:7)
 
It is not meet that the man who will not forgive should be forgiven, nor shall he who will not give to the poor have his own wants relieved. God will measure to us with our own bushels, and those who have been hard masters and hard creditors will find that the Lord will deal hardly with them. "He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy."
 
This day let us try to give and to forgive. Let us mind the two bears-bear and forbear. Let us be kind, gentle, and tender. Let us not put harsh constructions upon men's conduct, nor drive hard bargains, nor pick foolish quarrels, nor be difficult to please. Surely we wish to be blessed, and we also want to obtain mercy: let us be merciful, that we may have mercy. Let us fulfill the condition, that we may earn the beatitude. Is it not a pleasant duty to be kind? Is there not much more sweetness in it than in being angry and ungenerous? Why, there is a blessedness in the thing itself! Moreover, the obtaining of mercy is a rich reward. What but sovereign grace could suggest such a promise as this? We are merciful to our fellow mortal in pence, and the Lord forgives us "all the debt."
 
Charles Spurgeon​

"Because of sin, things in this world are not always fair and sad things happen. Because of sin, people have problems. There have always been people who are poor and do not have what they need. There always will be poor people, until Jesus comes again. When we have all we need, it is easy to ignore others who do not have what they need.

​Sometimes people are poor because they have not worked hard, as God says we should. But often people are poor because of things they cannot change. Such people need our help. God wants us to remember that the poor are human beings too. We must respect them because He made them in His image. He wants us to do whatever we can to help them."

"Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.' Proverbs 17:5

"Training Hearts. Teaching Minds," Starr Meade, P&R 2000, pg 246.

Blaise Pascal, the founder of probability theory, concluded, in his famous "Wager" argument, that the wise man will bet that God does exist.

The mind of each person must come to a conclusion on this question, "Does God exist?" Our thoughts (and the very fact that we among all we survey have the power of thought should influence which way we bet) must at some time deal with this question. ​This is one wager we must all make. There are only two ways to bet, either God exists or he doesn't. Which way will you choose?

Pascal argues that because the odds are even, reason is not violated in making either choice; so reason cannot determine which bet to make. Therefore the choice should be made pragmatically in terms of maximizing one's happiness.

If you bet that God exists and he does, the winnings include eternal life and infinite happiness. If he does not exist, then you have lost nothing. However, if you wager that God does not exist, but he does, then you have suffered infinite loss. If you win your bet and he does not exist you have gained nothing. Therefore, Pascal concludes, the only prudent choice is to believe that God exists.

There is a lot at stake. Choose wisely.​

If you bet that God does exists, have a read of the book he has given us so that we could come to know him truthfully rather than make him up to be as we would like him to be.

Blaise Pascal, Pensees, 343​
W.L.Craig, Reasonable Faith, 68​

“The truth is that the modern world has committed itself to two totally different and inconsistent conceptions about education. It is always trying to expand the scope of education; and always trying to exclude from it all religion and philosophy. But this is sheer nonsense. You can have an education that teaches atheism because atheism is true, and it can be, from its own point of view, a complete education. But you cannot have an education claiming to teach all truth, and then refusing to discuss whether atheism is true.” (G.K. Chesterton, The Common Man)

"Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to the task of education is the massive presence in our society and culture of relativism which, recognising nothing as definitive, leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self with its desires. And under the semblance of freedom it becomes a prison for each one, for it separates people from one another, locking each person into his or her own ego." (Benedict XVI)

“Teach the children at Orbus God’s enduring truths in the Bible, the urgency of trusting Jesus as Saviour and Lord, the value of fearing God, the wisdom in seeking first God’s Kingdom, and avoiding the emptiness of worldly falsehoods. Trust God and His perfect ways, not fallen man and his fallen ways.”

Sufferers Make Strong Believers

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. (Lamentations 3:27)

This is as good as a promise. It has been good, it is good, and it will be good for me to bear the yoke.

Early in life I had to feel the weight of conviction, and ever since it has proved a soul-enriching burden. Should I have loved the gospel so well had I not learned by deep experience the need of salvation by grace? Jabez was more honorable than his brethren because his mother bare him with sorrow, and those who suffer much in being born unto God make strong believers in sovereign grace.

The yoke of censure is an irksome one, but it prepares a man for future honor. He is not fit to be a leader who has not run the gauntlet of contempt. Praise intoxicates if it be not preceded by abuse. Men who rise to eminence without struggle usually fall into dishonor.

The yoke of affliction, disappointment, and excessive labor is by no means to be sought for; but when the Lord lays it on us in our youth, it frequently develops a character which glorifies God and blesses the church.

Come, my soul, bow thy neck; take up thy cross. It was good for thee when young; it will not harm thee now. For Jesus' sake, shoulder it carefully.

Charles Spurgeon

He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich. . . . As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.--[When] the poor and needy seek water, and [there is] none, [and] their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.--I [am] the LORD thy God, . . . open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Wherefore do ye spend money for [that which is] not bread? and your labour for [that which] satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.--I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Lu 1:53 Re 3:17-19 Mt 5:6 Isa 41:17 Ps 81:10 Isa 55:2 Joh 6:35


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