Tag Archives: Psalm 119

The precious gift of contentment

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The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” So they will put my name on the Israelites and I will bless them.”

(Num6.22-27)

Make your face shine on your servant and teach me your decrees.. I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord, and I will obey your decrees. I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes. I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.. Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws. Those who devise wicked schemes are near, but they are far from your law. Yet you are near, Lord, and all your commands are true.

(Ps 119.135,145-147,149-151)

The past weeks and months have seen great upheavals in my life, and it has been a season of change, challenge and distress; of grieving for the loss of many good things, even as I strove to give thanks that I had enjoyed them for a time. The Lord has been patient, faithful and so kind to me. Through bible reading, by the simple passage of time, through the ministry of many friends – in prayer and in person – I am come to a more spacious place and there is a deep sense of freedom and acceptance, for which I give profound thanks! There has been assurance from many different places, that I am not being called to a new labour, but rather to continue simply being present for new people in a new place – being available to listen, to share, to welcome and to walk with others. I am the home-maker, the garden-tender, and those are not ministries to be despised. I have time, God’s gift to me each day, to be available for others and to make good things to share with them. What a wonderful calling!

So this week as I write, I simply want to celebrate the ways that God cares for us, his children, and to acknowledge the trustworthiness of his word for us.

You, O Lord, are the source of all good things. You made us to receive your blessings, and we are those who bear your name – what an honour and privilege, what a responsibility to bear it well! Your word shapes us – that is one of your blessings to us – and it shows us who you are, and what you are like, it shows us Jesus. What riches are ours in this word! This Jesus brings us into a relationship with you, and because of him, you are transforming us, preparing us for eternal life in your presence. Truly, we live in the warmth of your smile and are blessed.

You are near to us, O Lord, and you hear and answer us. We never speak to deafness or indifference, but as your children are heard and cherished. How marvellous to know your comforting presence and attentive ear. Thank you for your power at work in us, to renew, re-create, comfort, correct and guide. Because you dwell within us, we are being made into the likeness of Jesus, made both willing and able to be and to do what you desire. Your word tells me that you have set your covenant love upon me – therefore I will trust your word, and live as one beloved of the Most High, secure and fearless in the world.

Thank you my Father, for the peace and contentment which is your gift to me in these days, as you help me to make this new place my home and the location of my ministry in your kingdom. Thank you for reminding me in so many ways, that I have nothing to prove, no one to compete against, and that my place and calling do not need to earn anyone’s approval – except yours. Let me be content then, to enjoy all the good things you give me in such a way that I bless your people and glorify my Father in heaven; sharing the love of Jesus and praising you for the encouragement of those around me. O Father, may I bear your name well, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.

The way of faithfulness…

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But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

(Rom 8.25-28)

I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word. I gave an account of my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees. Cause me to understand the way of your precepts, that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds. My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me your law.

I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws. I hold fast to your statutes, Lord; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding.

(Ps 119. 25-32)

As I was reading Psalm 119 this morning, that phrase, “I have chosen the way of faithfulness” jumped out at me. For all our human weakness and frailty, our vacillating desires and wavering commitment, those who follow Jesus will affirm again and again that this is their choice – to be faithful to the Lord whose faithfulness to us is without limit and has powerfully delivered us from death to life. We long to live according to his word, that he might be glorified in and through us, and that others may join his kingdom of freedom, love and peace. No matter what storms may sweep through our lives, this remains our desire – to walk in the way of faithfulness and not to give up!

I have spoken recently with friends who are facing very challenging seasons, having been laid aside through illness and prolonged medical treatments, they seem to be in some kind of limbo. Their lives have changed out of all recognition and they must live from day to day, not planning far ahead and fighting to remain joyful and peaceful in the strange paths which now they tread. It is perfectly natural that their spirits should be low, and their energy drained so that every day can be an effort to overcome weariness.  The psalmist speaks from such a place of suffering, and his response is to cling fast to truth and to God’s word as it reveals the divine character; calling on the Lord to do for him what is needed, because the whole situation is plain before God. God can bring life from death; can give strength to the weak and understanding and revelation to the confused and despairing.

In such situations, we can find it hard to pray, but again, we have here a guide – to put into our own words an account of our situation and to speak to our Father about our need and desire to remain faithful to Him in the midst of it. Paul assures us that in those situations, we have the power of the Holy Spirit ministering within us and interceding for us before God. It doesn’t matter if we are baffled, so long as we come to the throne room of our Father with our confusion and ask his aid. The Spirit knows God’s heart and plans, and can speak for us.

It is indeed ‘wonderful’ , in the sense of being quite baffling to our minds, that God should be working out his good purposes through our trials, and yet we believe that this is so. The whole of scripture testifies to the providential power of the Almighty to turn darkness into light and suffering into triumph, and always according to his great plan for salvation and the establishment of his kingdom.

Dear loving Father, I pray today for all those who feel that they are wasting time by being ill; who miss their former way of life and wonder what this season of illness is for. May they tell you their story, coming in the trusting attitude of children to the one whom they know can help, and whose motives are for their good.

In this season, Lord bless your servants who have chosen the way of faithfulness, and show them Your faithfulness! Reveal to them opportunities to serve and glorify you in the path which they now walk; enrich them with new delight in your word and understanding of your ways; give them joys in the smallest and simplest pleasures and daily love-gifts from your treasury, each chosen to touch them particularly since you know them so well. Honour their daily choice to walk in faith, and bring them peace. For your glory and their blessing I pray, Amen.

A prayer for the new year…

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Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. There is no-one holy like the Lord; there is no-one besides you’ there is no Rock like our God.”

(1Sam 2.1&2)

Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands.

Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may obey your precepts.

Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees. Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.

(Ps 119.129-136)

“I am the Lord’s servant, ” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation..”

(Lk 1.38,46,47&50)

I am a child of God. I am a beloved daughter of the King of Kings, and my place in his love, my inheritance, is assured to me. The death and resurrection of Jesus has broken the power which bound me in rebellion against God, and now I am learning what it is to fulfill my calling, my vocation, as one who – in loving and worshipping God – is able to care for the world which He created for us to cherish, and to love people in his name. I am one in the great kingdom of priests, a divine image-bearer to a lost humanity and bearer of good news – the hope which is ours in Christ Jesus. I am slowly becoming fully human, even as Jesus is!

What an amazing and encouraging way to face a new year, with all its unknowns. I have meaning and purpose, I am absolutely secure in the love of God himself, I am fully known and totally accepted. I echo the words of Hannah and Mary, women who trusted God and praised him, not waiting for the fulfilment of their prayers. My soul rejoices in God, my Saviour; there is no Rock like my God!

Almighty God, rock and refuge of your people down the generations, and our deliverer from all that would keep us in exile, far from you and unable to fulfil our calling, I praise you today. I thank you for the revelation of your nature, of the divine purpose to which we are called, and for your great act of salvation by which we are restored and set free to love  and serve you in your creation.

Lord God, I pray with the psalmist for your mercy, that I might receive your direction for my life and not be swayed by the opinions of those who do not know you. I pray that I might be useful to you, in honouring you and serving your people. Grant me an ever greater love for others, that I might be available to them in your name. Grant me your wisdom in speech, in action, in prayer.

Thank you for those divine encounters, when you have used me to bless others in your name, to be light and hope and help. Lord, in your mercy, grant that I may continue to serve you in this way, not shying away but opening my heart to those in need. Let me trust that a passing word, or smile may be enough, and grant me faith to leave them in your hands as I go.

I pray today for those whom I have left behind in 2023 – those encountered in passing, and also those from whose lives I have been withdrawn – by your will and to my sorrow. Lord God, have mercy on us all in our vulnerability, sustain us through loss and change. I pray for those I will meet in 2024, those who will be encountered in passing, and those into whose lives I will be drawn. Lord God, may I be a blessing, never a curse or a barrier to faith and obedient living. 

Father, I confess my lack of love, my disinclination for hard tasks, my fretfulness and so many things that make me hard to live with. Thank you, that in Jesus I am forgiven. I pray that those who suffer by my faults and neglect might, by your grace, be strengthened and healed. May I meet them with humility and love, seeking to give and not to receive.

Loving Lord Jesus, I pray for those who hurt me. May I meet them with love, may I forgive as often as I remember the hurt, and  so obey your command and live as you lived. Let the hurts which others inflict on me only drive me deeper into your love, and make me ever more tender-hearted.

I am your creation, and re-creation. I am your handiwork, to be used for your glory in any way you choose. Let me accept and rejoice in your directing of my ways, even when I find them painful, or tedious, even when they appear to me pointless. Keep me teachable, humble and responsive, and may I find that in the quiet tasks of daily life, you are present and I can live for you there. 

Let me become more and more like Jesus, more fully human, more worshipful and eager to obey your will and to minister your love. Be glorified in me, through my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

Finding the right words…

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By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path.. Everything’s falling apart on me, God; put me together again with your word.. You’re my place of quiet retreat; I wait for your word to renew me…. Every word you give me is a miracle word – how could I help but obey?

Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning.. steady my steps with your word of promise so nothing malign gets the better of me.

(Ps 119.105,107,129&130,133, the Message translation)

God put me to work from the day I was born. The moment I entered the world, he named me. He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate…..The Master, God, has given me a well-taught tongue, so I know how to encourage tired people… Who out there fears God, actually listens to the voice of his servant? For anyone out there who doesn’t know where you’re going, anyone groping in the dark, here’s what: Trust in God. Lean on your God!

(Isa 49. 1&2; 50.4&10, the Message translation)

Then Jesus gave the twelve their chance; “Do you also want to leave?” Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, of eternal life….”

(Jn 6. 67&68)

I heard a loud voice behind me, trumpet-clear and piercing: “Write what you see into a book… ” I turned and saw the voice.. I saw a gold menorah with seven branches, and in the centre, the Son of Man, in a robe and gold breastplate, hair a blizzard of white, eyes pouring fire-blaze, both feet furnace-fired bronze, His voice a cataract, right hand holding the seven stars, his mouth a sharp-biting sword…. I saw this and fainted dead at his feet. His right hand pulled me upright, his voice reassured me..

(Rev 1:10-17, the Message translation)

Our words are so powerful, to wound or to heal; to discourage or to build up; to speak love or to spread hate. We are warned to beware of hasty speech, to guard our tongues from thoughtless utterances and to make sure that what we do say is kind, wholesome, constructive and God-honouring.. it is wonder that most of us dare to speak or write at all, and no surprise that we so often fail in courtesy, wisdom and gentleness, causing unnecessary pain and too often bringing our Lord into disrepute by our hasty words.

What a relief then to consider how different is our God; to read of the power of his words, of their purity and truth; to reflect that where we fail, he never does. The Saviour of the world, the coming King and Anointed one who comes to fulfill God’s purposes of redemption is perfect in speech, in finding the right words to accomplish all that he desires for us. He can comfort, strengthen, rebuke and command – all in the right way and at the right time!

He speaks the words of life, and he is the Word of Life – by whom all things were made at the direction of the Father. What a wonderful companion for our lives, and what a guide to introduce to our fellow travellers as the infallible and unfailing support for the journey. How marvellous that we, as mere creatures and specks in a vast universe, can know the maker and sustainer of all that is! Because our God speaks, we can know him.

I am so thankful for all those who have taught and encouraged me over the years to trust the word of God, to handle it responsibly and to grow in wisdom in understanding it. I am so thankful to have the bible in my own language, and to have so many resources to help me use it well – a privilege which so many still lack.

Heavenly Father, I praise you for the Living Word, for the Voice that speaks truth and love, that calls me to come into your presence with confidence and to be at rest there. 

Living Word, I rejoice to know you as my Lord and Saviour, to hear you find the right words to comfort and restore me, to find fresh strength and new wisdom as I hearken to you by your Spirit.

Holy Spirit, may the word in me bear fruit for the glory of the Lord and the building of his kingdom. Thoroughly work it into my thoughts and understanding, so that no part of me remains unchanged, unresponsive or dishonouring to him. Amen.

A lasting impression…

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Let my song of prayer come before You, Lord. As befits Your word, give me insight.

Let my supplication come before You, as befits Your utterance, save me.

Let my lips utter praise, for You taught me Your statutes.

Let my tongue speak out Your utterance, for all Your commands are just.

May Your hand become my help, for Your decrees I have chosen.

I desired Your rescue, O Lord, and Your teaching is my delight.

Let my being live on and praise You, and may Your laws help me.

I have wandered like a lost sheep. Seek Your servant, for Your commands I did not forget.

(Ps 119.169-176, R Alter translation)

John pointed [Jesus] out and called, “This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me…. Here he is, God’s Passover lamb! He forgives the sins of the world!… my task has been to get Israel ready to recognise him as the God-revealer… I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”

(Jn 1.15,29&34, the Message)

In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognised by those on the way of salvation – an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse.

(2 Cor.2.14-16, the Message)

Will I trust God to do what he has promised? That is a question which lies behind so many of the challenges which I struggle with in life, because I want to see and know what he is doing, what he will do, and that is not faith  but doubt and unbelief… The apostle Paul writes to assure the young church that since God gave us his only son in order to save us, we can surely not doubt that our welfare matters to him, and that all else that we could need will be supplied in the right way and the right time. And faith is the assurance of those things hoped for, the lived-out conviction that what God says, is true, is a foundation on which to build and depend.

So, as I am tempted to look at my situation and to despair, seeing little evidence of having done anything useful in God’s service, I take myself to task and preach this gospel truth to myself again.. It is for me to obey, to love and serve the Lord as he gives me strength, ability and opportunity. It is for God to bring fruit from my labours, in whatever time and manner is according to his perfect will for each individual involved and also within his eternal and glorious plan for a new creation and a fully realised kingdom. It is not for me to evaluate my performance, but rather to keep offering up what he gives me to do and to know that I am loved not because I obey, but rather I obey because I am loved. Let my awareness of that love grow, so that my faith-filled and trusting obedience can also grow and become steadier, more consistent and glorifying to the one in whose word I trust.

Let me become like John the baptiser, whose joy it was to point others to the Christ, and to deflect their attention from himself to the source of hope and light for all humanity. Let me trust that as I obey the Lord in the places to which he takes me season by season, through all the various experiences and communities which make up my small life, in obedience, I may be useful to my God and not be a barrier to the gospel. Let me be content, as John was, to fulfill my task and not to envy the jobs of others, nor to be ashamed of the lowliness of my particular service in the kingdom.

Lord God, let me be a sweet aroma of Christ in going about my community, let me leave an impression of love and hope which makes others want to find the source of all love and hope. Let my impact on the lives of others be for their blessing and your glory – I do not need to see it to give thanks that with you even such things are possible, and I can rejoice to be a means of blessing in your hands.

Let there be no doubt that it is Christ who matters, and that all is done in and through and for him, and that He is Lord of my life. As I leave these people behind, I know that you will use their impression of Christ as I pointed them to him, and I am content. Amen, so let it be.

What gets my ‘thumbs up’?…

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Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. with my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statues as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

(Ps 119.12-16)

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else and not your own lips….As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart….The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.

(Pr 27. 2,19&21)

These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me…

(Isa 29.13)

..store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also….No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

(Matt 6.19-21,24)

We know – because we are continually being told – that the great internet companies succeed in part through their ability to gather information about us, their customers. This enables them to target what we see every time we engage with our social media – stimulating our desires and generating (as they hope) more spending to keep the great money machine ticking over. By diligent monitoring of our habits, viewing activities, previous purchasing and ‘likes’, they build up a picture of what we are like, of our preferences, even our likely political opinions. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to see the ‘profile’ created for me by these companies, would I recognise myself? Would I see anything that would suggest that I am – as Christ instructed me – laying up treasures for myself in heaven?

It is relatively easy, when in the company of other believers, to say the ‘right’ things and give an impression of devotion and commitment to Jesus, but the Lord sees my heart and knows just how far those verbal affirmations go in telling the truth about me… He knows what really makes me glad, or sad. He sees when I am bored of being holy and instead choose self-indulgence, laziness and conformity to the society around me. Who am I trying to fool when I make the right noises, but live a lie? Shame on me, if I am trying to fool my fellow believers – surely it were better that I admit my struggles to remain faithful, and ask for the help of my sisters and brothers in Christ?

The choices I make, in doing and spending, in speaking and remaining silent, all add up to a clear picture about what really motivates me in daily living. As a new creature in Jesus, forgiven and transformed by the indwelling of his Spirit, the potential to be driven by love for my Lord and a desire for his glory is already in me. Do I choose to harness that potential, to ask for his help in setting my heart on heavenly treasures? Sometimes I do, and sometimes, I don’t have to ask! Just occasionally, I am blessed by the realisation that Christ is indeed at work in me, and the desires of my heart – the things that I value and praise – are the things of God, of eternal value, the glory of the Saviour himself. Thank God for such occasions in your life, for the encouragement they give to your perseverance and the testimony to his power at work in you.

The transformation of our characters into the likeness of Jesus doesn’t lead to a bland, half-lived life. Rather we enter into a fuller life, because our passions are now godly and can be expressed strongly and safely, they are all under his command and direction. We learn to love justice as he does – so we can be rightly angered by injustice, oppression and exploitation. We learn to see his power in creation, to realise the privilege of sharing in stewardship of this great gift, and so we can be passionate about looking after our planet, its ecosystems, and all the people whom God loves so much that Jesus died for them. We know the value of each human life, so we can be passionately interested in our neighbours, in what is good for them and our wider communities – we learn to love as God loves, appreciating each individual in all their unique glory. We see the devastating effects of sin, throughout creation, and so we long passionately to share the good news of Jesus and the defeat of evil which he achieved.

Our Father in heaven, stir up in our hearts all those desires for heavenly treasure which you have imparted to us. May we burn more steadily and more brightly for you, so that it is clear for all to see just where our hearts are. We pray this for the glory of Jesus our Lord, and for your work in the world. Amen

A too familiar path..

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Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple…Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may obey your precepts. Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees.

(Ps 119.129&130, 131-135)

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope..O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

(Ps 130.1-5, 7&8)

When Christ came as high priest…He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption…For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free…Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people… 

(Heb 9.11,12,15,27&28)

‘Let no sin rule over me’…surely this is a prayer which we could make every day for the rest of our lives as followers of Jesus, because until we are raised in glory, there will be daily tests and trials which will bring to light the deep-seated and persistent sins which can subtly and irresistibly lead us into trouble and away from the Lord.

I am particularly prone to the sin of despair, or hopelessness, and the enemy of my soul knows it well! So I should not have been surprised when I recently experienced a veritable ‘tsunami’ of thoughts and feelings about the many ways in which I have failed those whom I love best. The darkness of such experiences comes on so quickly, and is so absolute that before I realised it, I was drowning in self-pity and self-condemnation, focussed entirely on myself, on the memories of failure, and the consequences of it. I have been on this path before, far too many times, and I suspect that I will return to it again regularly in the days ahead. But perhaps it is time that I learnt to deal with the experience a little better, so that when the wave hits, I no longer crumble under its weight or get tossed and bruised in its turmoil..

When my thoughts condemn me, listing the shameful and painful memories, the psalmist exhorts me to turn to God’s word. That word which gives light, and brings understanding to the simple – even the persistently foolish and forgetful! In the word I find that with God, there is forgiveness of sin – and this is no glib brushing over, but rather a full, sacrificial payment for everything I have done, and will do yet, which is not His will. I am reminded that the Lord’s love is unfailing – which means it never runs out, nor can my persistent failure exasperate him to the point of giving up on me! This both astonishing and profoundly reassuring, when I recognise my own weakness and tendency to repeat my mistakes..

Since I am forgiven, and will be forgiven again, and again…and again; since I am loved with an unfailing love – which is patient and kind, which keeps no record of wrongs, which protects, and trusts and perseveres – I can hope! Hope for answers to prayers for mercy, for direction in daily living, for deliverance from persistent sin so that I can obey my Lord and bring him gladness.

God’s perfect love keeps no record of my sins – so when I am next accused in this way, I can remember that it is the enemy who is behind it, and can stand against him because of the perfect redemption bought by Jesus. God’s perfect love perseveres – so when I am overwhelmed by the consequences of my failures in the lives of those whom I love best, I can remember that they too are loved by God, and his power in their lives is infinitely greater than all my mistakes! Can the Almighty not accomplish all that he purposes? Who am I, that wounds which I inflict should be beyond his healing?! May God help me to recognise the foolish pride which lies behind such thinking, and to repent of it, even as I pray his mercy on those whom I have hurt.

As I face a new week, walking familiar paths, I pray with the psalmist that the Lord might make his face to shine upon me, and by that light, I will walk more steadily, humbly and obediently…

Passive or Active? – I have a choice…

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When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. what can mortal man do to me?…I am under vows to you, O God; I will present my thank-offerings to you. For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

(Ps 56.3&4,12&13)

Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

(Ps 119.1-8)

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life….

(Phil 1.27, 2.12-16)

We are a resurrection people; we live in the light of an empty tomb and a risen saviour. Not only do we believe these things, but we live because of them! By faith in this Jesus, we live free from guilt and the burden of shame; free to love generously and expect nothing in return; free to pursue holiness and godly living not as a grim attempt to earn salvation, but a joyous expression of love and gratitude to the God who has saved us and called us to live with him….but sometimes it doesn’t feel easy, sometimes the temptation to indulge the old habits of thought and action are very strong. 

When I am faced with major challenges to my faith and trust in God, it is easy to succumb to the habits and attitudes of the world around me. Self pity, complaining, fearfulness and resentment at God for permitting these trials all come so easily. I am sorely tempted to indulge that weakness which consists of blaming God for making my life harder than I like or feel is reasonable.

The bible has no room for such self-deluded behaviour, but insists I recognise it for what it is – sin; a refusal to live as though I believed what God has revealed about himself and what He has promised to do. I don’t like being exposed as a willful sinner, but that is what I see in the psalmists words and in Paul’s words to his beloved Philippian church.

The gulf between God’s standards and my choices is stark, and I cannot take refuge in the claim that I can’t help myself, because the whole point of our new life in Christ is that I can, and must! I have a will, a conscience, and the common sense which God has given his children. All these things are now under the lordship of Jesus – as a beloved minister of my youth used to say, ‘use your sanctified common sense!’ Each situation that arises is another opportunity to live in ‘a manner worthy of the gospel’, to speak and act and think to God’s glory and the furthering of the kingdom. I have to ask myself, “Am I honouring the price which has been paid for me? Does my conduct here bring the reality of Jesus transforming power to view?” All too often, the answer would have to be ,’No’. When I choose to indulge my complaints, to feed my doubts, to wallow in self-pity, I dishonour the gospel. When I choose instead to exercise my will, and common sense by taking my troubles to Christ and acknowledging my weakness and doubt, and ask for his help to stand for him and walk by his light, then I honour the gospel.  Which is it to be?

Thanks be to God, who is working out in me the salvation to which he has called me; I am not a passive agent in my circumstances, but active. I have the capacity to choose obedience and trust, and as I pursue these things in every area of my life, so I will indeed walk in the ‘light of life’, in the fullness and peace which God promises to those who seek first his kingdom and glory.

One story..in many chapters

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Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.

(Ps 119.129-133)

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”…. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom..

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

(Matt 4.17&23,5.17&18)

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

(Luke 24.25-27)

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life….do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

(Jn 4.39&40,45-47)

One of the – admittedly few – disadvantages of growing up in a christian home, under a ministry of faithful biblical preaching, is that so much is familiar and absorbed unthinkingly. It can be a challenge to read and listen to God’s word without hearing and understanding through the lens of those who taught me, and I suffer from a real lack of confidence in handling the word responsibly for myself. For example, it is only recently that I have realised how significant Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 are for my own understanding of the bible! 

It can be tempting to dismiss or discount those parts of what we call the Old Testament which are dull, hard to understand, or difficult to reconcile with our own ideas of God’s character and purposes. We might want to pretend some of it was never said, or has nothing to do with the ‘gentle Jesus, meek and mild’ of the gospel narratives. In fact, Jesus himself makes this impossible by his words to the disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. 

Jesus own ministry is explicitly placed in the context of the Hebrew scriptures – Law and Prophets – and he claims not to be replacing, but fulfilling them. In other words, everything which had been written, was part of God’s revelation towards this point when the Son of God would inaugurate the Kingdom of God on earth. I find this a great encouragement to me – both in my appreciation of the many places where I find comfort and instruction; and also in my wrestling with the places where the message is painful, and even apparently contradictory. Jesus refuses to rub out anything. The God revealed in the Law and Prophets is his Father; there is no inconsistency between what has gone before, and what he will reveal through his life and ministry. Rather, he comes to wrap it all into a coherent and cosmos-shaking mission, by which the future of the world and its people is forever changed.

The God of the Hebrew Scriptures (the OT), is loving, passionate, slow to anger and intimately concerned in his children’s lives. The Son of God revealed in the gospels is loving, passionate, denouncing unbelief, exhorting with tears but unflinching in his proclamation of the eternal separation and judgement which will come on those who insist on having their own way. One God, in three persons, telling a unified story of redemption, transformation and new creation.

I have – in our combined scriptures – God’s good gift to me of revelation, of faith-food for life, all that I need in order to live with and for him. Let me grow in hunger for and reliance on that word, rejoicing that I can trust it to be nourishing and sustaining, even if – and maybe especially when – I have had to really search and wrestle to understand!

 

 

Standing firm, or hanging on..or being held?

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Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you….I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life… To all perfection I see a limit; but your commands are boundless.

(Ps 119.89-91,93&96)

Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please

(Isa 46.8-10)

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God….where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?…For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

(1 Cor 1.18,20&25)

As I read this morning in Psalm 119, it hit me like a wave of relief….it is not what the world may say that matters, but rather what is true. What do I see around me? What does the testimony of centuries speak of? What above all does the book of Revelation assure me ? That the God in whom I am fighting to trust, that Almighty who reveals himself through the scriptures of the Old and New testaments, He is..He is good…and astonishingly, I am his beloved.

The darkness of the world has not changed; the bleak outlook in economic, political, environmental and social terms is the same. But – thanks be to the kindness of my Lord and the work of the Spirit – my eyes have been guided back to the only worthwhile truth, the eternal word of God. While the world continues to perplex and trouble me, I know deep in my heart that it makes even less sense if I try to leave God out of the picture. I rejoice with the psalmist, even as I call on God to fulfill his purposes in our broken world, even as I cry for his mercy on my doubts, and his active care for the untold millions in distresses without number.

The testimony of God’s people down the years – first his faithful among the Jews, and now those from all nations, tribes and tongues who acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Saviour – is that God chooses to confound human pride and strength, in order to demonstrate our limitations and his own glory and might. Our God will not share his glory with another ; no state apparatus, no empire – however secure and impregnable it may look at its height, no power-hungry leader, no commercial system or social trend.. All human institutions come and go, but our God reigns and rules for ever and he will accomplish all that he pleases.

I want to be on the winning side! I want to stand at the end with Jesus, and say thank you for bringing me into your family, at such a cost and in spite of all you knew about how I would fail you – because all of this will resound to his glory and will magnify the love which planned from the beginning to redeem a fallen world. I want to be part of the new creation, to finally live as I was made to live in humble and glad service of God, and enjoying his presence without shame.

For the moment, this means accepting the world’s judgement of me as foolish; it means living with the agonising tension between the dark and broken reality of the world, and the certainty of hope which is mine in Jesus – a hope which is offered to all who are willing to lay aside their pride and accept the ‘folly’ of the gospel.

Can I encourage anyone reading this who is struggling like me to live faithfully in this tension…it is God’s tenacious grip on me which is my security, not the assiduity of my bible reading or prayer life. It is God’s certain adoption of me into his family through Jesus which gives me peace, not the credit of my good works or exercise of the talents which I have been given. This is called foolishness in a world which preaches self-help, and rewards those who have confidence in themselves…

Keep on talking to your heavenly Father, keep bringing your grief and lament into his presence, keep putting yourself in the place where you can hear his voice – so many things have been used to help me this past week, the words of hymns, the prayers of others, remembered phrases from books..You honour him best in these trying times by clinging harder and harder to that eternal word, pushing into that faithfulness and covenant love.. There is no one like our God, we are on the winning side, and he will indeed accomplish all that is good and right – how we long to see that day!