What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do (Isaiah 46:11)

I was reminded this morning, of something the Lord had told me in 1995. He had told me that I was going to be preaching in the breezeway bar at the University, the University where I have spent my entire career. I remember telling one of the leaders of the church I was going to the time, and he told me I was delusional. But it happened this February. Last fall the campus church to which I have attached myself obtained the breezeway bar Sunday nights (closed of course) as the venue. And I was asked to preach.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, and indeed what He says he will do, He will do! He doesn’t always do it in our time, but if He says He is going to do something, He will do it, and He did! This fulfillment of His promises is significant to me in and of itself of course, but even more so because of certain other things He also told me at the same time all those years ago. Things that have yet to be fulfilled.

I have told this story before, but years ago when I was complaining that the Lord have not yet followed through on His promise, a little old lady friend of mine told me “The trouble with God is he has no sense of time!” I have found that the Lord can move very slowly at times, and at other times He can move in an instant. Waiting can be really hard. But He has a purpose in the journey. He has been working on me throughout this time, and I’m not the same man I was!

Father, thank You for reminding me of this verse this morning. You are so amazing, so faithful, so wise, so intimate. Thank You that You did not leave me to wait alone, but have been ready willing and able to meet me morning by morning as I come to You. You were faithful even when I was not. You are my rock, my fortress, my high tower, my deliverer, and I am more and more confident that You will fulfill what You have promised. I thank You in advance, and give You all the honour, all the glory and all the praise. In Jesus Name Amen

If it’s not going to matter 50 years from now……

One of my favourite Scripture twistings, is to take the command from Psalm 37 to fret not, as the admonition not to play guitar in church! But seriously, this command comes three times within the first eight verses, and the last time it tells us why. The reason is that it only causes harm.

In a conversation this morning a mutual friend of ours was described as unflappable. It’s a good virtue to have. I’m here in Nova Scotia to attend some meetings, and we set off yesterday with two hours to spare for what should have lasted an hour and half. We were stuck in traffic moving perhaps 20 or 30 meters ahead every minute or so, for an hour. So of course we were late.

It’s easy to get very frustrated in situations like this. You try an alternative route and it turns out to be just as bad, so you second-guess yourself. I still wondering this morning if we should just have waited. On the other hand we could see at least a mile ahead that nothing was moving.

I wish I could say that I always put this into practice perfectly, but I am getting there. What I try to put into practice is to tell myself that if it’s not going to matter 50 years from now, I’m not going to let it matter right now. I did get there eventually, and I’m happy to say that it did not spoil my evening!

Father, thank You for the grace that You give us to move into the maturity You call us into. Please bring me to the place where I too have the reputation of being unflappable. And I’m sure to give You the honour the glory and the praise in Jesus Name Amen

You will mount up on wings like the eagle

Sitting this morning on the balcony of the home of new friends here in Nova Scotia, looking out on their ocean view, I observed an eagle soaring on the wind. He was just effortlessly riding the wind, and my mind was inevitably drawn to Isaiah 40:31 and the above partial quote from that verse.

I had not realized how badly I needed to come aside and rest a while. At this point in my life I can identify with Paul when he talks about the burden of the care of the churches. From the beginning of my Christian life, I have had this tendency to identify too closely with the problems of those the Lord brings to me. I need to remind myself over and over, that I am the only one I have the power to change. I cannot make choices for others. And at some point, I need to let go and let those I love suffer the consequences of their poor choices.

It’s not easy, but taking more responsibility than the Lord calls me to take helps neither them nor me. As I say, letting go is not easy, but it’s the only way to fly.

Father, thank You for my new friends. Thank You for the peace of this ocean paradise. Thank You that You know my frame, that You know that I am but dust, and that You knew I need to come aside and rest a while. Thank You that You are meeting me in an ever deepening way. I bless Your holy and precious Name. I worship, and magnify and praise You Lord. In Jesus Name Amen

Sin takes you further than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to say and costs you more than you want to pay

I don’t know the source of this saying but I know by personal experience that it is true. Our society does not want to talk about sin, but even if we talk about poor choices the same is true. It was designed that way. As the NJKV version of Genesis 3:17 has it it was for our sake that the earth was cursed. In other words God ordained that the pain of our poor choices would cause us to come to our senses and return to Him.

It can take a while. I know in my own case, the Lord had to pull the rug out from under my feet a number of times before I was willing to examine my life to try and figure out what was not working. Einstein put it way “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.” The prodigal son had to get so low that he, a Jew, was willing to eat pigswill before he “came into his right mind.” If we are still stuck we need to ask ourselves “Have I suffered enough yet?” If we are walking in victory, we need to guard against the danger of falling (1 Corinthians 10:12). The memory of the consequences of our poor choices can help keep us on the straight and narrow. We will not attain the abundant life any other way!

Father help me when I am tempted to remember the consequences of my sin and of my poor choices. It is true that You forgive and cleanse when we confess, but sometimes the consequences linger. Thank You that you bring us through that anyway. I love Your Mercy and Grace Lord. In Jesus name.

Enjoying one moment at a time ….

If you ever wondered if you can ignore pleasure, watch a young boy (or a dog) eating cake! Years ago shortly after I was married, I had gone to Germany alone, and it was one of the few times I had been separated from my new wife. My host had taken us on a boat trip on Lake Constance, and the weather was beautiful. But I was missing my wife something something shocking. It was all I could think about, and the Lord spoke to me and asked me what I was doing!

They weren’t his words, but I was ignoring pleasure. And right there and then I decided to put aside my longing, and enjoy the scenery and the company.

The title of this post is a short extract from the longer version of the serenity prayer. It makes a lot of sense to both include this in the prayer, and for us to do our part in fulfilling that. It seems to be the default to either live in the past or in the future, but when we do this we miss out on so much.

It goes so much against the grain of our modern Western culture, where we concentrate on our rights, or on how offensive this or that is. The whole advertising industry is designed to make us dissatisfied with what we have, so that we will go our and buy, buy, buy! Part of learning to be content in whatsoever state I am in (Philippians 4:11) is learning to treasure the small things.

I have a friend who teaches violin, and she overheard her young student talking to her dad in the bathroom, and saying how much she liked her new violin teacher. She liked her more every time she met, and this was only the second meeting! So cute, so precious! Such moments are gifts to be treasured, but it’s so easy to take them granted.

Father, give me the grace that I need to enjoy one moment at a time, to fully live in the now. Please remind me when I forget, when I obsess on the things that I don’t have, or the pain of the past. Lead me Father, in the everlasting way. In Jesus Name Amen

But we … are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory

Paul has been talking to the Corinthians about the veil that was over Moses face after he had been in the presence of the Lord. He points out that if the old covenant was glorious, the new is much more! He continues and tells us, that the veil is taken away in Christ. And the full text of the verse at the head of this post from 2 Corinthians 3:18 reads:-

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The imagery of beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, is reminiscent of the phrase in 1 Corinthians 13:12 where Paul says “For now we see in a mirror, dimly…” The point is in Paul’s day, mirrors did not reflect as accurately as modern mirrors do, and of course no one can see the Lord and live. However we are intended to see the Lord more and more clearly even in the here and now, and in that spiritual seeing Paul tells us that we get transformed from glory to glory.

The Christian of course is intended to be different from the world, and one of those differences is to be that our spiritual countenances are being changed from glory to glory. This happens in the process of beholding.

The writer to the Hebrews tells us that we need to fix our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. This involves spending time in His presence, meditating upon His Word, communicating with Him in intimacy, and making sure, as in the Hebrews passage (Hebrews 12:1, 2), that we “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and … run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

Father, I so want to reflect Your glory. Jesus I know that Your presence in me and through me, is perhaps the key ingredient in reaching others for You. Help me to do my part in putting into practice what I am admonished to do, for I know that when I do my part, You will do Yours. In Jesus Name Amen

We are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus

One of the criticisms that is levelled against those of us who are deeply spiritual, is that we are so heavenly minded we are no earthly good. But from my point of view, unless our theology is deeply practical we have missed the point. In this principle extracted from Colossians 3:1, Paul tells us that we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, but what does this mean, and how is it practical?

I just passed a church sign this morning that said “Why pray when you can worry?” It’s humorous of course, but how many of us do actually worry rather than pray? The point of what I am trying to say, is that if we take what Paul is saying seriously, then in fact we are seated next to the One who has the solution to every problem. But not only this we are seated next to One who loves us, is ready willing and able to help us, to give us wisdom, grace and strength for our difficulties, and to go through them with us.

This works for the little things, as well as the big. A problem that has been requiring my attention since the last huge rainstorm that we had here in Newfoundland, is that I have a leak around a roof drain that I had no idea how to fix. This roof has caused me problems before. It cost me over $8,000 to fix just one third of it. And I have been tempted to worry.

I have been telling the Lord for some time, my money is His money, and if this is true then I have absolutely no reason to worry. It’s His problem! Over the past couple of years the Lord has been testing this in my life, and there have been times when the reality was more that I was regarding it as my money rather than His. However in this new testing, I have been deliberately conscious of my being seated in heavenly places, and as I chose to leave it with Him, and to refuse to worry about it, the solution is starting to open up. And this without it costing me (Him) an arm and a leg!

Father, thank You that the things You teach us in Your Word and that spiritual realities are indeed real, and intensely practical. Thank You that You have been teaching me this, and continue to teach me this. In Jesus Name Amen