Peter Horrobin

Proverbs 12:11, NIV
“He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment”

This proverb comes from the days when each and every family worked their own land in order to grow crops, food that would sustain them throughout the year. Land does not produce an abundant harvest unless time and effort has been spent on first preparing the ground by ploughing and then adding nourishment – manure or fertiliser. It then has to be carefully prepared for sowing the seed and followed by regular watering.

All of this represents hard work – but the rewards at harvest-time are great. A farmer who just sowed the seed on unploughed ground, hoping for a good crop, would have very little to harvest at the end of the growing season. His laziness would result in his family going hungry.

Most of us are not able to work land in order to feed our families, but there is still a profound lesson for each and every one of us in today’s Scripture. God has given us all gifts and abilities – gifts and abilities which we can use to meet the needs of other people and thereby earn a living. It’s no use praying for God to meet our needs if, at the same time, we are failing to “work the land of our lives”.

But there is a different kind of harvest about which Jesus was very concerned. We can certainly pray for those in our community who don‘t know the Lord, but if we do nothing to ‘plough and nourish the land’ by building relationship with them, our prayers will be limited in their effectiveness. It was when Jesus met and talked with the woman at the well and shared with her about the water of life that her life was changed for ever.

We need to ‘work the land of our lives’ and be always alert to the potential of every personal encounter, so that we can build bridges into the lives of those who are in need of salvation. Or, as Haggai expressed it “work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Hosts” (Haggai 2:4).

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to always use the gifts You have given me to earn the bread that we need for nourishment. But help us, too, Lord, to farm the land of our community and seek to produce a harvest for Your Kingdom of lives that have been changed by Your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Matthew 6:25, KJV
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye

shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”

As I lay outside in the spring sun, I saw hundreds of little flies flying freely and enjoying the space and warmth. Spring brings everything to life; the birds, the butterflies, nicely trimmed grass, the flowers and trees, all of different colours and designs. As if in obedience to one voice, everything springs into beauty and colour.

This might make you and I wonder about the wisdom and creativity of our Creator, Father God.

Yet as I look into all this beauty, the scripture comes to life in me when Jesus told His followers, “Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26). You and I are more important than the birds, the flowers or anything else. We are made in His image and He knows your every single need before you ask Him.

Our Father owns everything. He does not live far away from us but is omnipresent and only a prayer away. He withholds no good thing from those who love Him. The world worries about physical and material needs. We don’t need to join in the world’s worry and strife, but trust in Him. He will fulfil what we need because He is our Father.

Prayer: Father, thank You for creating me and rejoicing over me. Forgive me for worrying about my needs and help me to trust in Your provision. Now I give You all my needs and desires. Thank You Lord. Amen.

Proverbs 25:26, NIV
“Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked”

Springs and wells are sources of pure water – water which quenches the thirst, satisfies the taste and is life-giving to all who drink. But if that life-giving water has become polluted or muddied, then it becomes undrinkable. It is no longer life-giving, but could even be life-threatening. When a river becomes polluted with, for example, industrial effluent, the fish in the river die. All the water is still there, but it’s what’s been added to the water that causes the problem.

In just the same way someone may have lived a righteous life and be known as a true believer, but if the stream of truth that comes from their mouth, or is evident in their life, has become polluted with deceptive beliefs, practices or ungodly living, then their life has become poison to those who ‘drink’ from that stream. They will be influenced by the pollutants and led astray into the same or similar sins. It only takes a small amount of poison in the water to do massive amounts of damage. In just the same way it only takes a small amount of deception to have the potential for leading many people astray.

No wonder Paul was so urgent in teaching his young disciple Timothy. He told him: “Watch your life and your doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). The implication is that if we allow pollutants to affect our beliefs and our way of life, then the damage could be fatal – to us individually, and to all those who listen to the music of our lives and are tempted to follow our example!

The fact that we may even have years of godly living behind us, does not mean that we are incapable of being led astray. The enemy will work extra hard to pollute the life stream of those who are in a position to influence others. How important it is that we guard our hearts and are very careful about where we put down our feet on the road of life – only going where the Lord is leading and only doing those things that please Him.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the warnings that You have placed in Your Word. Thank You that you have put them there to help us stay on the right path throughout our days. I pray that You will cleanse me from my sins, Lord, and help me to keep the water of my life free from pollutants, so that it will always be fresh and life-giving to all with whom I relate or influence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Proverbs 25:26, NIV
“Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked”

Springs and wells are sources of pure water – water which quenches the thirst, satisfies the taste and is life-giving to all who drink. But if that life-giving water has become polluted or muddied, then it becomes undrinkable. It is no longer life-giving, but could even be life-threatening. When a river becomes polluted with, for example, industrial effluent, the fish in the river die. All the water is still there, but it’s what’s been added to the water that causes the problem.

In just the same way someone may have lived a righteous life and be known as a true believer, but if the stream of truth that comes from their mouth, or is evident in their life, has become polluted with deceptive beliefs, practices or ungodly living, then their life has become poison to those who ‘drink’ from that stream. They will be influenced by the pollutants and led astray into the same or similar sins. It only takes a small amount of poison in the water to do massive amounts of damage. In just the same way it only takes a small amount of deception to have the potential for leading many people astray.

No wonder Paul was so urgent in teaching his young disciple Timothy. He told him: “Watch your life and your doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). The implication is that if we allow pollutants to affect our beliefs and our way of life, then the damage could be fatal – to us individually, and to all those who listen to the music of our lives and are tempted to follow our example!

The fact that we may even have years of godly living behind us, does not mean that we are incapable of being led astray. The enemy will work extra hard to pollute the life stream of those who are in a position to influence others. How important it is that we guard our hearts and are very careful about where we put down our feet on the road of life – only going where the Lord is leading and only doing those things that please Him.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the warnings that You have placed in Your Word. Thank You that you have put them there to help us stay on the right path throughout our days. I pray that You will cleanse me from my sins, Lord, and help me to keep the water of my life free from pollutants, so that it will always be fresh and life-giving to all with whom I relate or influence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Proverbs 9:10-11, NIV
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.”

Living longer is the dream of most men and women, but few there be who discover one of the most precious keys to a long life, which is found in our Scripture for today! And the reason they don’t find it is because they are ignorant of what God says in His Word. Holy fear of a holy God is the first pillar of truth from these verses, which is critical for life. If we live in awe and reverence for the God, who loves us so much, then we are living in holy fear and we will not want to do those things that grieve Him or step off His pathway for our life.

But the second pillar – knowledge of the Holy One – is equally important. Knowing everything we can discover from His Word about His nature and character will give us an understanding of God and His ways which will help us fulfil His purposes for our life.

Because the leaders of our Ellel centres know me well, they understand how I think and what I would do in many different circumstances. As a result I have complete confidence and trust in them and the way they run their Centres. If they didn’t know me they wouldn’t know what to do and would either constantly have to get in touch with me to ask for an opinion or they would make many mistakes, because they would be acting without an understanding of my heart. In just the same way we need to get to know the heart of God – and once we have His heart and He has ours, we can move forward in faith and trust confident that He will lead us.

And when we are doing those things that please Him, we can be confident also that we won’t be doing those things that could have the effect of shortening our lives. This is easy to understand when you see the medical statistics about the shortened life expectancy, for example, of those who drink too much, or are addicted to drugs, or catch sexually transmitted diseases through promiscuous sexual relationships.

Living a holy life in the fear of God is not living a dull life – and God promises to add years to our life when we understand and walk in His ways!

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the promises in Your Word. Help me to get to know You better and I ask that the Holy Spirit will fill me day by day with His power to strengthen me against temptation and be a blessing to You and to others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Proverbs 9:10-11, NIV
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.”

Living longer is the dream of most men and women, but few there be who discover one of the most precious keys to a long life, which is found in our Scripture for today! And the reason they don’t find it is because they are ignorant of what God says in His Word. Holy fear of a holy God is the first pillar of truth from these verses, which is critical for life. If we live in awe and reverence for the God, who loves us so much, then we are living in holy fear and we will not want to do those things that grieve Him or step off His pathway for our life.

But the second pillar – knowledge of the Holy One – is equally important. Knowing everything we can discover from His Word about His nature and character will give us an understanding of God and His ways which will help us fulfil His purposes for our life.

Because the leaders of our Ellel centres know me well, they understand how I think and what I would do in many different circumstances. As a result I have complete confidence and trust in them and the way they run their Centres. If they didn’t know me they wouldn’t know what to do and would either constantly have to get in touch with me to ask for an opinion or they would make many mistakes, because they would be acting without an understanding of my heart. In just the same way we need to get to know the heart of God – and once we have His heart and He has ours, we can move forward in faith and trust confident that He will lead us.

And when we are doing those things that please Him, we can be confident also that we won’t be doing those things that could have the effect of shortening our lives. This is easy to understand when you see the medical statistics about the shortened life expectancy, for example, of those who drink too much, or are addicted to drugs, or catch sexually transmitted diseases through promiscuous sexual relationships.

Living a holy life in the fear of God is not living a dull life – and God promises to add years to our life when we understand and walk in His ways!

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the promises in Your Word. Help me to get to know You better and I ask that the Holy Spirit will fill me day by day with His power to strengthen me against temptation and be a blessing to You and to others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Psalm 23:5 & 6
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

All of us have a measure of time stretching ahead of us, but none of us knows exactly how much time we have. It could be days, weeks, months or many years. But however many or few those days are, the encouragement to live every day as if it is our last is sound spiritual advice.

For if we knew that today was the day on which we would be meeting the Lord face to face, we would not, under any circumstances, be wanting to be involved in any ungodly things! So why would we ever want to be involved in any ungodly things?

But the spiritual reality of daily life is that we are at all times living in a world that has sold its soul to the god of this world and that we are, therefore, always in the midst of spiritual enemies – they are ultimately God’s enemies, but because we are in Him and He is in us, they are our enemies also. And this is one of the most encouraging Scriptures of all – even in the midst of our enemies God is there for us – or, in the words of the psalmist, he prepares a table for us right there!

We have faced many different attacks over the years in the ministry, but at all times God has encouraged us not to run away from the enemy, but to keep on pressing on with the calling and purposes of God. And in the practical reality of daily Christian ministry we have seen how God has laid out a spread of provision for our needs; He has anointed us for the work of bringing healing to those in need and our cup of thanksgiving has overflowed.

And all that God has done is simply encouraging evidence that the God who was able in the past, is also able in the present, and will always be there for us throughout our days. And even better, at the end of our days we are assured that we will dwell with him in the house of the Lord for ever.

So, even if the days ahead may look difficult, there is constant reason to give thanks and to follow Paul’s advice to “rejoice in the Lord always . . . do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7)

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the assurance of your presence with me all my days and the promise of your provision and encouragement every step of the way, until I can share in the joy, with You, of my eternal home with the saints of God. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Psalm 23:5 & 6
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

All of us have a measure of time stretching ahead of us, but none of us knows exactly how much time we have. It could be days, weeks, months or many years. But however many or few those days are, the encouragement to live every day as if it is our last is sound spiritual advice.

For if we knew that today was the day on which we would be meeting the Lord face to face, we would not, under any circumstances, be wanting to be involved in any ungodly things! So why would we ever want to be involved in any ungodly things?

But the spiritual reality of daily life is that we are at all times living in a world that has sold its soul to the god of this world and that we are, therefore, always in the midst of spiritual enemies – they are ultimately God’s enemies, but because we are in Him and He is in us, they are our enemies also. And this is one of the most encouraging Scriptures of all – even in the midst of our enemies God is there for us – or, in the words of the psalmist, he prepares a table for us right there!

We have faced many different attacks over the years in the ministry, but at all times God has encouraged us not to run away from the enemy, but to keep on pressing on with the calling and purposes of God. And in the practical reality of daily Christian ministry we have seen how God has laid out a spread of provision for our needs; He has anointed us for the work of bringing healing to those in need and our cup of thanksgiving has overflowed.

And all that God has done is simply encouraging evidence that the God who was able in the past, is also able in the present, and will always be there for us throughout our days. And even better, at the end of our days we are assured that we will dwell with him in the house of the Lord for ever.

So, even if the days ahead may look difficult, there is constant reason to give thanks and to follow Paul’s advice to “rejoice in the Lord always . . . do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7)

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the assurance of your presence with me all my days and the promise of your provision and encouragement every step of the way, until I can share in the joy, with You, of my eternal home with the saints of God. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Psalm 23: 3 & 4, NIV
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

The words of Psalm 23 embrace every stage and experience of life – seasons of peace and tranquillity, times when we are facing enemies and that time of life which we all have to go through one day – the valley of the shadow of death.

On numerous occasions now, my wife and I have had to accompany someone through their own valley of the shadow of death – most of them members of our teams or families who had reached the end of their days. But on one occasion a much younger man suffered a major heart attack and a few hours later he went to be with the Lord.

In almost his last words he expressed to Fiona the urgency there was in his spirit about the need for holiness and unity in the ministry. He knew that the Lord was asking him to speak to the leaders about these critical issues. And having delivered his message it was only an hour or so later that the heart attack struck him and he was helpless on the ground.

Even though he knew that what he was going through was very serious, there was no panic and no fear, he was totally at peace that the Lord was with him in his personal journey through the valley of the shadow of death. With his final words, he told Fiona that he felt like a baby being held safe in his Father’s arms. He was comforted in his spirit by the presence of the Lord who carried him to the safety of eternity. The powers of darkness had no say in the matter. Demonic fear was powerless to intervene. His death, when it came, was a supreme God-moment.

This is the testimony of the saints of God. The Lord is their comforter at their greatest moment of personal need. No wonder Paul referred to Him as “the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles” in 2 Corinthians 1:3 & 4. And in 1 Corinthians 15:54 Paul declared that “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

While no-one looks forward to the moment of dying it is so very encouraging to know that when our time comes we have nothing to fear from the forces of evil and we have a place to go to, which the Good Shepherd has prepared for each one of His sheep. The Gospel is such incredibly good and encouraging news!

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for your incredible love and provision for each one of Your children. Thank You that I can look forward to all the rest of my days, knowing that when it is my turn to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, You will be there to comfort me and welcome me to my eternal home with You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Psalm 23: 3 & 4, NIV
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

The words of Psalm 23 embrace every stage and experience of life – seasons of peace and tranquillity, times when we are facing enemies and that time of life which we all have to go through one day – the valley of the shadow of death.

On numerous occasions now, my wife and I have had to accompany someone through their own valley of the shadow of death – most of them members of our teams or families who had reached the end of their days. But on one occasion a much younger man suffered a major heart attack and a few hours later he went to be with the Lord.

In almost his last words he expressed to Fiona the urgency there was in his spirit about the need for holiness and unity in the ministry. He knew that the Lord was asking him to speak to the leaders about these critical issues. And having delivered his message it was only an hour or so later that the heart attack struck him and he was helpless on the ground.

Even though he knew that what he was going through was very serious, there was no panic and no fear, he was totally at peace that the Lord was with him in his personal journey through the valley of the shadow of death. With his final words, he told Fiona that he felt like a baby being held safe in his Father’s arms. He was comforted in his spirit by the presence of the Lord who carried him to the safety of eternity. The powers of darkness had no say in the matter. Demonic fear was powerless to intervene. His death, when it came, was a supreme God-moment.

This is the testimony of the saints of God. The Lord is their comforter at their greatest moment of personal need. No wonder Paul referred to Him as “the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles” in 2 Corinthians 1:3 & 4. And in 1 Corinthians 15:54 Paul declared that “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

While no-one looks forward to the moment of dying it is so very encouraging to know that when our time comes we have nothing to fear from the forces of evil and we have a place to go to, which the Good Shepherd has prepared for each one of His sheep. The Gospel is such incredibly good and encouraging news!

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for your incredible love and provision for each one of Your children. Thank You that I can look forward to all the rest of my days, knowing that when it is my turn to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, You will be there to comfort me and welcome me to my eternal home with You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.