Wayward Plea

Despite my best efforts I lack, Try as I might all my deeds do not stack, Up to the standards for which you have set, My life’s efforts of greed and get, Leave rubble and destruction in its wake, May your will be done in me for your own sake, Take my will and let it be, Always and only for thee, Forgive this fool his wayward path, And guide me with your gentle Sheppard’s staff, To you be all Glory, Honour and Praise, I dedicate my life to you father and all my living days. Amen

I am no longer a captive are you?

 

Breaking the Chain, freeing the Captive.

This past Easter has given me the gift of remembrance, not just of what our Lord and Saviour Jesus did for us, but also why. I know it seems strange but the two are connected, it is just that sometimes we can get wrapped up with one and totally forget the other. As awkward as it is to admit, I forgot the why somewhere along the way.

When Jesus started his ministry his first sermon was all about the why and is documented by Luke:

Luke 4:17-19 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

This is the first message of hope to all of the world. Christ came to deliver us and set the captive free. The cross itself the end of Jesus' ministry in the physical world is a perfect example of how we can respond to this truth. I am sure that everyone knows about the two other criminals that were crucified with Jesus and that one mocked and scorned him while the other chose to accept Christ for the perfect innocent man/God that he was and asked him to remember him when he came into his kingdom. 

It is the perfect picture of the two options that we have, sometimes this choice is daily, but it boils down to this. We can either choose to acknowledge who we are in light of his presence or we can choose to focus on our current situation and struggle in the darkness alone, lost and afraid. As seen by the one who confessed his guilt before Christ, his faith was justified by Jesus. For he said this very day you will be with me in paradise.

So I remind myself and urge you to do the same, do not focus on where you are and your struggle to fix things yourself. Take that sin, whatever it is that has you captive and acknowledge it. Then acknowledge that Christ and he alone was sent to set the captive free. In order to be freed from darkness we must bring these things to light. The key is to remember the source of our strength, victory and power. It is in Christ and the fact that he died for US. Hallelujah! What a gift, what mercy and grace, what joy.

Philippians 4:13

King James Version (KJV)

¹³ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Once we have brought all of our sin and failure to him then, and only then will we be free. It is good once in a while to remember ourselves as we were when we were children. I am sure each one of us remembers being caught in a lie or other petty, childish behaviour and how good it was to admit it to our parents and the relief that came with being reconciled to them. It is the same with our heavenly father. Repentance can be painful but the joy of reunion far out ways that brief discomfort.

Psalm 55:22

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

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Importance of Prayer and Meditation

Oswald Chambers’s devotional post, "My utmost for his highest," reminded me of the importance of the singular focus required for salvation, and that in all circumstances it is to be found in Christ alone.

"Look to me...," is the phrase he used to press this concept home. If our foundation, heart, motivation, reasoning, hopes, dreams, joys, aspirations, relations and all other emotions/drives are experienced in and through him then living perfectly is no longer inconceivable.

The question then becomes, where is my focus?

Do I seek him in all things/circumstances?

What issues do I struggle with on my own?

When is the last time I put on the armour of God?

All of these questions have a similar bent, which is self-reliance verse, Christ reliance. I don't know when it happened but it was probably slow and gradual like most backslides, I put more trust in me and less in him. Of course the problem with this is that life can quickly spiral out of control and even overwhelm you. Aren't you tired, I know I am. Boy am I glad that he said, "Come to me all ye who are heavily laden and I will give you rest." So in closing I will simply say that prayer and meditation with Christ is the catalyst for a daily renewed focus on God and necessary for true life.

Am I better than Job?

Every lunch I try to make sure that I get in some devotion time to recharge my spirit and strengthen myself for the balance of my work day. Today one of the sermons was based on the story of Job, when God allowed Satan to afflict him. The scripture reference was Job 1:6-12 King James Version (KJV) and can be read below.

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

The reason I am writing this blog today, is because I have realized something new about this passage that I have overlooked in the past. God first asks what Satan has been up to and his response is that he has been scouring the Earth. He has been searching and looking into every nook and cranny; and as the devotional suggested, for those he can devour. Secondly God asks him if he has considered Job; a perfect and upright man, in other words since you have searched the Earth you must have seen and studied him. Satan’s response is that of course he is faithful and upright; you have blessed him and protect him. This is the important part, this is when God then allows him to go and afflict (aka test him) Job.

These are the two things I wanted to point out about this passage. One God has faith in our ability to choose him over Satan and secondly and more importantly God will allow us to be afflicted with trials for his Glory. Many times I have questioned why things have gone the way they have in life, as I am sure many of us have. There were even times when this caused me a lot of doubt and concern; however, recently I have noticed that I am placing myself more and more in the care of the Lord. Apparently I am gaining the ability to trust in him in all things which I believe is a sign of growth and maturity. However, I have heard and remember times when either myself or someone else have uttered the words, Why me?

After re-reading this text I can confidently say I will not do so again. For unlike Job there has never been a time that I have been perfect and upright, meaning if Job can be afflicted, why shouldn’t I. Are we not all here to bring Glory to God? Is that not why we were made? Is it not he alone who is good, just and worthy to be praised? Just something I think we all should ponder.

Getting connected with a pine cone?

I know what you are thinking, getting connected to what? As you can see by the picture I have a pinecone in the hand. But weather I hold a pinecone, bird or another of God’s creations the result is always the same. This morning during my walk into work I once again found myself scoping up this innocent looking pinecone to be struck with the perspective that I am holding something that God created. What an odd and exhilarating feeling. I am holding something that my creator formed, something that he at one time held in his hand, now how cool is that.

As I look and ponder this wonderful piece of creation, I realize that my revelation is twofold. The second perspective I have encountered is that life is wrapped up in this seemingly cut off, dried up and seemingly dead seeding mechanism. I say mechanism because; unlike some I cannot profess to know how this little baby works. I know if I were to plant one of its tabs that somehow it has the potential to spring into life, but I do not know how. Like most plants, trees and shrubs these living creatures propagate through a seeding process. This process is a great example of how the mystery of God works as well as a living gospel of life after death. For if these plants can produce life after death, every year with the assistance of God, then how can we say that we will not be treated the same.

The question should not be if there is life after death, but what kind and how will we grow. We to are seeds and our growth depends on the choices we make and if we will follow the laws of God or the world. I guess that’s why the bible uses the terms of harvest when referring to the resurrection. It also states that he will separate the wheat from the tares. I don’t know about you but I want to be more than just a weed using up good fertile land with no fruit to bear.

So I urge you to stay connected to God, pick up a pinecone or something else he made and marvel at his work this morning.

More than I can bare

Last night was the first night back at Baymills with community connections, a ministry which I love and benefits me more than them; although how that is possible I don’t know. God has a way of doing that, making things work when the world says it shouldn’t. As usual I was working the kitchen and the stage; I can be a bit of a comedian, enjoying reconnecting with all of the people and having a great time. After the main rush for dinner I had a discussion with a lady regarding the eroding of our senses and how some mediums like books and TV that can cause people to be desensitized to numerous stimuli, such as violence, sexy, drugs and alcohol. In the discussion we had, I mentioned that I need to be careful with what I let in with those senses.  Something’s; I said, I must avoid all together.

It was at this point that the discussion got interesting and she made the remark  that I was weak.  My response was quick and shocking to her; and believe it or not, also myself. I agreed with her, immediately and said, Yes, I am weak thank God for Jesus. I also quoted Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Out of nowhere I had an opportunity to share with her, that I needed Jesus and that he was my only hope.

It wasn’t what I would call a typical testimony, but it was full of truth and honesty. It also hit at the core of the human condition; we are weak, imperfect and lacking in some way shape or form. Each one of us has our own challenge areas. What the actual weakness is doesn’t matter, the reliance on Christ does.

The conversation continued and seemed to blossom into more questions about how and what a walk with Christ should look like and how to protect one’s self against the onslaught of the world. Since I have a blog and have written several corresponding letters I shared with her my website link and encouraged here to read some of my recent posts. What I wanted to stress in this post is to not be afraid of your weaknesses, but rather embrace them in the knowledge that even though it might be too much for us to bare, Jesus will carry our burdens and use what we think is weak to help someone else.

Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Father of lies

I have been reading the bible for some time now and have experienced its truth. My absorption rate of these truths is my biggest issue, and I believe I am not alone, which is why I wanted to share the following.

More and more I have noticed deception and lies in my life, little whispers and ideas of what I need, want or will make me happy. Now I know that I was not created this way, to question or battle myself, so I am left to wonder where do some of these crazy ideas come from? I took some time for me to figure it out; I had to go back to Genesis the beginning. It was there that I recognized my situation and that what had happened to Adam and Eve was happening to me.

I mean, I couldn’t actually see the snake (aka Devil), but his fingerprint was quite evident. Just like them, I too was never created to doubt, want, covet or envy and yet with his prompting we can. Our focus, our perception and our hearts can be tempted and tested. When God created us he gave us the ability to choose, it is just strange to me that we would choose so badly. We did so because we believed in a lie, we wanted more, and we didn’t think we were enough, or had enough.  In Ephesians 6:16 it says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Just in case you don’t recognize this passage, it is found in the writings of Paul to the church of the Ephesians warning them to put on the whole armour of God. It is a good warning to them and us.

He has always tried to have us believe the lie, and if we do so we supplant God as our focus in our daily lives. If we start to believe all of those things he is firing at us, like the promise of just one more BLANK and you will be happy or if you had X amount of money, your life would be smooth and if you had a better job, or another wife, a bigger car, or fancier house etc. You can see that there is a never ending list and how ridiculous each of the statements are, and yet we each fall for one of them seemingly every day. So what are you and I to do? We are called in 1 John 1:7 to “… walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin”

Jesus said, in John 14:6 “…. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Reading the verse above gives us a revelation that Jesus is the way and answers what way that is, “the truth,” which is also, “the life.” So the key to battling the lies of the enemy, strange and simple enough, is with truth. And how do we get a hold of truth so that we are able to repel these fiery darts, these lies? We are called to put on the whole armour of God, as detailed in Ephesians 6:11-17. We are also called to “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” In John 17:17. It becomes quite evident that the most important part about reading the bible is that it gives us; it arms us with the truth. And if we have and know the truth, then lies will be seen for what they truly are, trivial, insignificant, false and empty.

So when you are down in the dumps, feeling unhappy, lonely, unsatisfied or any other negative emotion, then lift your heads and take a good look around. Listen closely to see what the root of your current state is, find the lie and then hit it with some of God’s truth and see how fast the lie disappears and how quickly your spirits lift. Do not be discouraged for even our Lord and Saviour was tempted in this way, for forty days and nights in the desert. This is a great example of how to live and deal with our enemy. It shows us that truth conquers lies and that Jesus Christ has triumphed over all things.