Thanks

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

That verse ends with "in song." That is like the author's means of giving thanks. So what is your method, if you rewrote that for your own life? My words would probably say "in writing", "in studying" or “with my piano and guitar.”

I will give thanks to him in writing. With the words I write on this blog, with the words I write in my letters, with every word I pen, I am going to give thanks to my Lord.

I will give thanks to Jesus by using the brains he has gifted me with to the best of my ability when I study. And when I do well, the glory will go to him.

I will also give thanks to him with my music. I will use chord progressions and crazy riffs to praise and glorify and thank my King.

What are your words?

In maths?

In meetings?

At school?

In sport?

In dancing?

1 Thessalonians 5:18

“In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Party In The Desert

Exodus 5:1

This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.'

God wanted His people to go into the desert to hold a party for Him. The desert isn't usually the number one spot for a festival party. It's boiling and barren. There’s no water or shade or anything good really. It's where people die if they get lost. So what’s with God wanting to party in the desert?

Maybe it's because there are no distractions in the desert. It's quiet, empty. It's the place where you can be still enough to not only hear a pin drop, but also actually hear God.

Sometimes, in our own lives, we find ourselves in the same place. We're all alone and feeling empty and desperate. We're in the desert. And it's tempting to see the desert as a bad place, as a place get out of as fast as we can.

But God brought us to the desert; he wants us there for a reason. Maybe God brought us there for a festival of his goodness and grace.

Burning Bush

Exodus 3:2-5

Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

Have you ever noticed that God doesn't speak to Moses straight away? He waits until Moses moves toward the burning bush before he calls to him?

He took a step toward the bush before God called him. He had to step out before God gave him the big mission. A journey starts with little steps.

Another point to note is that the fire did not burn up the bush, there was no time limit on it. God is patiently calling us, waiting for us to notice him and come to him.

I am often too afraid or just too plain lazy to take the first step. I sometimes think the burning bush must come toward me, that God will give me a journey when I’m ready. But the Lord is waiting for me to come and look, and then, BAM, he will speak big things.

A mission is waiting. The burning bushes are out there. The fire has come. Come to the fire.

That's What Friends Are For

Mark 2: 3-4

"Some men came, bringing to him (Jesus) a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralysed man was lying on. "

The strength and the tenderness of these four men’s love for paralytic on the mat blows my mind and my heart apart. Firstly, they carried their friend to Jesus, hoping he’d be healed. And even when the way was blocked, they didn’t give up. They climbed onto the roof while still carrying the friend, then spent an unknown, but probably huge, amount of time digging through the roof and ceiling. After all this they gently lowered him to Jesus’ feet. The man was healed.

Friendship doesn’t get much better than that! Going wildly out of your way to bring someone into Jesus’ presence. Breaking down walls and ceilings and all things holding them back. Doing anything and everything you can, to connect someone hurting with the love of Christ. Stepping aside and letting Jesus heal and love and forgive more than you ever could. That is friendship. That is love.

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love always hopes. Love always perseveres. Love never gives up.

Whose mat are you carrying? 

Lonely

Genesis 2:18

"The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'"

Have you ever seen that the second thing God says to Adam is "It is not good for man to be alone." The very first is a warning about the tree of knowledge of good and evil and death. The next statement God makes is about being alone.

This world is big into the idea of independence. We see "doing it yourself" as a sign of strength and character. You against the world.

But God thought loneliness was so big that he mentioned it second. Maybe eating the apple wasn't the only death. Maybe being alone is a different kind of dying.  I think God always wants us to be in relationship. Whether that's in the context of marriage or a friendship with a neighbour or a brother or sister.

God also says that he will make and provide the helper, the friend. God took the time to go through all the animals with Adam to find him a friend, and when that didn’t work, God created one for him. God cares that much. He does not want us to be alone.

Let his love in, let his love out, and accept the beautiful gift of a friend.