Be still, and know that I am God ...

... I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth (Psalm 46:10)! I ask the Lord morning by morning for something from His word for me and others. This morning's verse is particularly relevant to me, as I am finding myself in a situation of ongoing irritation, and it is not clear that it is going to stop anytime soon! It is not life threatening, more akin to a constant dripping on a rainy day, that lasts for weeks! I have been reminding myself over and over of Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trust in You.” And this verse form this morning's readings is a good supplement. The Lord knew what I needed!

So what I did, and what I am doing even as I write, is to come to my secret place, settle myself down, spread my hands out to Him and invite Him into my situation. It is about His tangible presence, it is about coming back to His peace.

You don't see the pause of course, but there was one. But what I want to say, is that other verses in this Psalm are also helpful. Verse 1 “God is ... a very present help in time of need.” Verse 9 “He makes wars to cease from the ends of the earth.” It is not much of a war that I am in, and if He is capable of doing the bigger stuff, He is certainly able to come through for me. It will be in His time of course. Then there is the rest of verse 10. God will be exalted in the earth among the nations, His Kingdom will come and His will will be done on earth. And blessed are those who wait for Him (Isaiah 40:31).

Father, thank You for helping me to get things in perspective this morning. Thank You that You are in control. Thank You for Your presence and Your promise to keep me in perfect peace as You work these things out in Jesus Name Amen

For the children of Israel are servants to Me ...

... they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God (Leviticus 25:55). It wasn't just that the Lord moved them from Egypt to the promised land, He had brought them out of the cruel bondage of slavery. What is  physical under the Old Covenant has spiritual application under the New. And those who are not in Christ are in bondage to something that is not God. In particular,  before conversion we were all slaves to sin. But then “having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17, 18). The point is that we are either slaves to sin or we are slaves to righteousness. True freedom is about being set free to choose to do what is right.

Paul could describe himself as a bond servant of Jesus Christ (i.e. Romans 1:1). So what is a bond servant? A Hebrew slave could go out free after seven years. But if he said “I love my master, my wife, and my children,” then he could choose to stay with his master as a bond servant. There was a ceremony where they would bring him to the judges, and to the doorpost of his masters house, and his master would pierce his ear with an awl. He would then be his servant forever (Leviticus 21:5, 6). A bond servant then, is one who chooses to serve his master, and this is what Paul calls himself. This picture of who a Christian is, is a far cry from the practice of some who seek to use Christ as a fire escape from hell, and then turn round and live unchanged lives.

Paul put it this way “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound” (Romans 6:1). “You are not your own, were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in you body” (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20). The price of course was Christ's sacrificial death on the cross. Some might object that Christ calls us friends not servants. But is it everyone that He calls His friends? Well no, there is a condition to be fulfilled “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14). And He tells us of the specific aspect what it means to be His friends as opposed to being His servants. It is that “a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (verse 15). Yes we are His friends if we do what He commands, but we must not take this casually or loose our sense of reverence. It is the creator of the Universe  with whom we are friends, and He is Lord, and He will still discipline us when necessary (Hebrews 12:6). But in the meantime, in saying that we are His friends, He is giving us permission to ask Him what He is doing in situations that concern us.

Father, You work in ways we cannot see, and You have promised to make roads in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. And You ask “Shall you not know it” (Isaiah 43:19). Thank You Lord for the reassurance of what You were doing in my situation, even as I asked You this morning. And I praise and thank You in Jesus Name Amen

Growing through difficulties and conflict

There are some people who seem to enjoy conflict. I don't know if I would go that far as to say that was me, but I did not tend to back down, because in my arrogance and domination, I used to tend to get my way. It resulted in a broken marriage, and when I got saved tended to go to the other extreme in conflict avoidance. In fact in Christian circles most of us avoid conflict like the plague. And because of this reluctance, we tend to let things slide that we should not. I wish I could tell you that every time I tried to deal with an issue in my personal life or in the fellowship was successful, but that would not be true. I used to have the impression that it was only in the homes of alcoholics and the like, that rules like “don't think, don't feel, don't rock the boat” were in operation. I now know that similar unwritten, unspoken and often unacknowledged but nevertheless strongly upheld rules are, at some level or in some variation are in operation almost everywhere.

But just because these rules are never discussed or acknowledged, does not mean nobody is getting hurt. And there are signs, if you know where to look for them, that not all is well in the Kingdom. In marriage for example one or the other party can explode because the toothpaste is squeezed out of the wrong end of the tube, or that there are toast crumbs in the butter. If these things were the real problem, they would be easy to solve with his and hers toothpaste, or his and hers butter. But what tends to happen when we avoid conflict forever, is that we push stuff under the rug and push stuff under the rug until what's under the rug is a monster. And the monster will burst forth eventually, and likely not at the best time. His and hers toothpaste is likely a bandaid on a weeping wound. They are symptoms, that should show us that there is something wrong. Too many relationships end, because the symptoms were ignored until the monster burst forth, and then it is usually considered to be too late.

These things are on my heart this morning, because of a potential conflict that was resolved because a brother was not afraid to gently and lovingly confront me. And it was largely his graciousness that allowed the situation to be quickly resolved. My respect for this person has increased dramatically, though I had already thought highly of him. And what I am wanting to say, is that I believe that when we are willing to come together to the foot of the cross in respect and humility, that the Lord can do miracles. More generally, we can aim to see every negative thing as having potential for our growth, if we just learn to respond the right way. We need His Grace to do this many times, and it is likely to be a journey where we progress, rather than it be an instant fix. But what I do know, is that I have grown more through the major difficulties in my life than from other things.

Father, help me to live out of the truth that You are actively working all things together for my good (Romans 8:2), and please give me the grace to respond in faith to the difficulties of life in Jesus Name Amen

Can you be a shalom peacemaker if you do not have shalom yourself?

The other night we were studding the beatitude “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). And we asked ourselves what is peace? The first thoughts were that it is the absence or cessation of hostilities, no longer pointing guns at each others heads, but still keeping the guns. But the ones to whom this beatitude was given were Jews, and they would have understood this peace to be the Hebrew concept of shalom. Shalom has the much broader meaning of peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility. And the fact of the matter is that most peacemakers in the world today facilitate the cessation of hostilities, not the bringing the wider concept of shalom.

When Jesus commissioned the twelve to go out to preach the gospel and heal the sick He told them “when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it” (Matthew 10:12, 13). When Jesus speaks here of “your peace,” He is talking about the shalom peace that He gives (John 14:27). And the implication of “let your peace come upon it,” has the sense that we, like Jesus can give it to others. But the last half of Matthew 10:13 instructs the disciples to let their peace return if the household it not worthy. I have the sense here that we are not “cast our pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6) in other words to not indiscriminately give away you peace. I find in my own life, that I can easily loose my peace, and that when I do it is something of a battle to receive it again (see Philippians 4:4-8).

Jesus calls peacemakers “blessed” and “children of God.” Peacemakers are children of God because peacemakers are doing the work of the heavenly Father to bring peace to as many as will receive Him (John 1:12). But to answer the question in the title we cannot be a shalom maker if we do not have shalom. You cannot give what you do not have. Being a peacemaker is often very difficult, since many times you are absorbing the tension and the accusations etc., from the warring parties. And if you are not very carful you will be blamed by both sides for not taking their side. The picture I have of this is someone trying to come between warring dogs. Nevertheless, the World desperately needs peacemakers. We are not all, I believe, called to be peacemakers between man and man. But we are in fact all called to be peacemakers between man and God (2 Corinthians 5:20). But be it between man and man, or between man and God, we need both His shalom and His wisdom about the when, and the where and the how of doing it.

Father, thank You this morning for the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). Thank You that this peace is readily available to us (John 14:27). In fact it is part of the fruit of the Spirit that grows in us as we stay vitally connected to You (Galatians 5:22). Help us this morning Lord to rest in Your peace and be willing to share it as You lead us to, in Jesus Name Amen

For I will not trust in my bow ...

.... Nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our enemies (Psalm 44:6, 7). The Psalmist was recalling the mighty deeds of God, and acknowledges His Sovereignty over the affairs of Israel. It was God who drove out the nations in the past, it was not by their own hand that the land was conquered, but because of God's favour (vv. 2, 3). But now God had cast them off and no longer went out with the armies (verse 9). Humbled, the Psalmist acknowledges God as his king, and pleads for God once more to be with them so as to get victory (vv 4, 5). We too, when we drift away from God, one way or another we end up in disaster. Perhaps we are reaping the consequences of bad decisions thus taking ourselves out from under His protection (Galatians 6:7). Or perhaps we have ceased to involve God at all and tried to do things in our own strength, thus failing to take advantage of His provision.

There are two verses that come to mind as I think on these things. The first, is “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), the second “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). It was not the bow or the sword that saved Israel. They could not win unless God went out with them (verse 9). But they did need to go out to battle, and when God was with them they won “through Him who strengthened them.” Partnership with God is crucial for the victorious Christian life. God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, but most of the time He will not do for us what we can do for ourselves.

But can we really do nothing without Him? Well yes and no! We can shake our fist in God's face and defy Him, and surely that is not something that God helps us with! But actually He gives life and breath (Isaiah 42:5), and could take it away at any time. So He allows this, and we could not do it without Him allowing it! But perhaps what is more relevant here, is that we can do nothing of eternal significance without Him, nothing that will last. Indeed “Unless the Lord build the house, those who labour labour in vain.” And concerning the wicked (all who refuse the Free gift of eternal life) “the grass withers, and its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So (for example) the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits” (James 1:11).

Father, the stanza of the poem by C.T Studd comes to mind. “Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears; Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Help us Lord to live for you today and every day in Jesus Name Amen

Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!...

... Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill (Psalm 43:3). Verse 5 of this short Psalm repeats for the third time the refrain of Psalm 42 “Why are you cast down, O my soul ....” In this way, the two Psalms are linked, and the circumstances (the exile in Babylon) have not changed. Have you ever found yourself in a trial that seems to go on, and on forever? The Psalmist would well be able to sympathize with you! Last day we were talking about our need to practice, practice, practice in order to rise above the circumstance. Part of what I want to say this morning, is that it is one thing to get the victory, it's quite another to keep it! In particular when God does not come through for us in our timing, there is this tendency to feel abandoned by Him “Why have You cast me off” (verse 2)?

It seems that even Jesus had these feeling, for on the cross He cried out “My God, my God why have You forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46)? I have certainly known both the initial certainty of deliverance, together with the despair of God taking what for me is too much time for Him to come through for me. At such times I have need both His light and His truth. The Lord had promised that the exile would end in seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10). It must have seemed like a lifetime :)! Well it was a lifetime, but how were they to live in the meantime? Jeremiah had sent word to the exiles in Babylon saying, “Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives ... etc.” (Jeremiah 29:4-6). In other words, in the midst of this ongoing trial, they are to live life to the full “dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness” (Psalm 37:3b). If we are to trust and hope in the Lord we need Truth for this. For example (v 3a), we need to know He is faithful. We need to know that He is actively working all things out for our good (Romans 8:28).

I also need His light, His illumination, His leading (verse 3). For example, sometimes I need to get out of His way, and let Him work. At other times He may call me to act. He has told me that if I admit that I lack wisdom and ask Him for it, He will grant it (James 1:5). He knows I need reassurance over and over. Many times He sends me back to promises He has given, either in His word, or through a friend, a prophetic word, or a circumstance. What I must not do, it to withdraw from life, and/or settle for anything less than all He has for me. He has told me “ask and it shall be given, knock and the door shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7). And He has promised that when we have suffered for a “little while,” He will strengthen and settle me (1 Peter 5:10). I will dwell in the holy hill of His presence, and declare that He is my exceeding joy (verse 4).

Father, please grant us grace to be obedient in the long run. Help us to value and enjoy the journey, knowing You are faithful and will accomplished what You have declared (Jeremiah 29:10). In Jesus Name Amen

Why are you cast down, O my soul? ...

... And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance (Psalm 42:5). The Psalmist particular difficulty seems to have been his exile from fellowship of the saints at the Temple (verse 4), and as do many of us, he finds himself with a heart for God, but struggling under the pressures of circumstances. There is this tendency for us to put on a brave face, a “nothing bothers me” outward appearance that minimizes the struggles we all have. We seem to feel somehow if we are not always walking in glorious victory, we have somehow let the side down. But even Jesus struggled, and could cry out “Now is my soul troubled” (John 12:27). When we minimize, and/or deny that we struggle, we do not come across as real. And if we do this in leadership, we essentially encourage them like us, to wear masks and not to be real!

There is a big difference between practicing and pretending. I am called to rejoice in the Lord always, but if you tell me you always rejoice, I am sorry, but I don't believe you. Many of the commands of the Scripture are goals to seek to attain, not places at which where we arrive without ongoing struggle. Let me paraphrase 1 Corinthians 10:12 – let he who pretends that he always has it together take care lest he fall! We cannot put into practice the Biblical command to confess our faults one to another (James 5:16) if we do not admit to ourselves and others that “in many things we all fail” (James 3:2). Note “many things,” and “all!” In order to obey the twice repeated command to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4), we need to practice, practice, practice. There are many things that seek to steal our joy. I find I need to keep repenting of the fact that I have allowed the evil one to use people and circumstances to interrupt it. There is a book I have never read, but the title says it all “Repentance, the joy filled life.” It is practice, practice, practice.

There is a process of moving into, and substantially staying in, the victorious Christian life. The Psalmist shows us the way. In particular he councils himself “Soul,” he asks himself “why are you disquieted within me?” Is there some known sin not confessed, is there some resentment I am holding onto, am I beating myself up for something I did, what have I allowed, or am allowing myself to be discouraged by? He then instructs himself to “Hope in God,” and then choose in faith to believe that whatever it is, God will bring him through to the place where once again he can enter into praise.

Father, in the midst of many who are wearing masks and pretending that they have it all together, it is very tempting to put on the same mask. We don't want to appear weak Lord, but if I always appear to be strong how does that help those who are struggling? The feel they could never be like us (God forbid!). I need to demonstrate You bringing me through my difficulties, to give them hope You can bring them through theirs. Help us to be open and vulnerable Lord, and be willing to admit it when we are weak, for in reality, it is then that we are strong (2 Corinthians 12:10) In Jesus Name Amen