Posted by: Jo | January 10, 2014

As For Me

“….But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

image Recently I read a fascinating story that surfaced on the internet about a German shipyard worker in 1936. This particular man, August Landmesser, was outstanding because of his refusal to salute Hitler while Hitler was presiding at the launching of a naval ship. The reason this story came to light was through his daughter, who saw a photograph of the launching in a German newspaper in 1991 and recognised the one brave man who refused to acknowledge Hitler in the photo, as her father. The article I was reading described August Landmesser as a moral hero and went on to say that the world needs more stories of those who are brave enough to stand up for what they believe.

I think that Scripture has many stories of moral heroes. I call them the “As For Me” characters. Against all surrounding opinions, creeds, religions, current beliefs they are brave enough to boldly declare, “as for me” especially in their desire to follow the one true God. image

Joshua was one such man. He had led the children of Israel into the Promised Land, but knew the incredible temptations that were going to draw them away from following the Lord. He didn’t make any apologies about what God had said or any attempt to water down the Lord’s commands. He didn’t make allowances or excuses for what he believed, but said very clearly;

“…But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Samuel was another very definite example of one who stood firm in his beliefs. He also knew the people would be severely tempted to follow other gods, but did not waiver in his belief of a powerful God who heard his prayers.

“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” (1 Samuel 12:23)

image The psalmists also knew the trials of being surrounded by unbelievers and the pessimists that doubted God or his ability to control the outcome of a bad situation and yet were able to stand firm and declare their faith;

“But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long…” (Psalm 71:14 – 15)

We ourselves and especially our children, are living in a time where in some circles, Christianity is mocked for all sorts of reasons. The values are out of date/ the Bible was written for a different time/ God’s word is no longer applicable for a modern generation/ God is just a figure of imagination/ God has no control over the earth. It takes a lot of courage to be an “as for me” person in today’s world and to declare firmly that despite what is raging around us we are not going to back down, but will continue in our belief of a God who loved us so much he gave his only Son to die for us.

You may have a story of a brave, “as for me” person you have witnessed in your life. Share your story to encourage and empower other believers.

Jesus’ words encourage us;

“By standing firm you will gain life” (Luke 21:19)

image

4 Comments

Posted in 1 Samuel, Challenge, Encourage, Inspiration, Joshua, Luke, Psalms | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | January 3, 2014

Living Testimony

“So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord…” (2 Timothy 1:8)

image Recently I was watching an advertisement on the television which was expounding at great length, the efficiency of a special nasal strip to stop one snoring. The ad itself was very predictable and I found it quite boring until the last segment which pictured couples testifying to the great success of one of them using the device, and the other getting a good night’s sleep. What caught my eye was a sign running under their sharing which read, “These are real people, not actors” I was reminded of this on Sunday morning when our church had a special service devoted to church members sharing their testimonies about the amazing way the Lord had been evident in their lives. I did not need a sign telling me that these were not actors, their real stories brought tears to my eyes, and their honesty about the struggles they had gone through and the way the Lord had carried them through dark times was proof enough.

Hearing another’s testimony always strengthens one’s own faith. It gives us the courage to face our own dark times. It helps us to be honest about our own failings and to seek the Lord when storms erupt in our lives. It focuses us on hope instead of wallowing in self-pity.

John the Baptist is a wonderful example of a living testimony;

“There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.” (John 1:6 – 7)

John the Baptist is also such a good example of a humble man. He knew he was not the light. His role was to give witness to the light. His sole purpose was to draw others to the light not to himself.

“He himself was not the light; he came only to witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” (John 1:8 – 9)

It is sometimes hard to separate ourselves from a situation and to see the hand of God when a solution appears for our problems. It is so easy when we have survived a crisis to think, “I managed that well after all” but acknowledging who provided the help takes us out of the equation. We don’t need to hear, “What a great Christian he/ she is.” We need to hear, “What a great God they serve.”image

Being able to witness for our Lord does not always mean standing in front of a crowd and speaking. True witnessing is summed up in these words; A Living Testimony. When we live and walk in the Lord’s ways our actions will be more powerful than many words.

“Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart…” (1 John 5:10)

I heard this beautiful song that captures this thought

We Worship You Today

My life is a testimony, my heart is an open vessel

My will is the part that yields to Your will

My walk is the way You lead me

My talk is the way You feed

My praise is the sweetest sound to Your ear.

– Martin Sapp

3 Comments

Posted in Challenge, John, Timothy | Tags: , ,

Posted by: Jo | December 27, 2013

In The Master’s Steps

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)

image As we approach the New Year, Christmas carols are still echoing in our ears and the tunes and the words playing over and over again in our minds. I found myself humming one such tune the other day and was transported back to when I was a child and this particular carol was a favourite with us children because you could sing it with such gusto and the boys and girls had different verses to sing. (The boys always singing far too loud the part of the king) The carol was Good King Wenceslas, and tells the sweet story of a good man caring about a poor peasant who did not have enough food or firewood in the middle of winter. He takes along with him to deliver his generous gift to the man, his young page. As they struggle through the snow the young page is overcome by the extreme weather and calls out to his king that he can go on no longer. This is the reply of the king,

Mark my footsteps my good page

Tread thou in them boldly

Thou shalt find the winter’s rage

Freeze thy blood less coldly.

The little page does just that and this is the remarkable result.

In his master’s steps he trod

Where the snow lay printed

Heat was in the very sod

Which the saint had printed.

The warmth of those footsteps gives the little page the strength to carry on.

image While I was singing these words to myself, I thought of what a graphic picture this paints of our walk with our Master. As the New Year approaches we may be battered by severe storms in our own lives. We may be tempted to cry out like the little page that we can go on no longer. The New Year may look daunting and filled with unknown disasters. We may have no strength to cope with any more problems. We feel like giving up before we start. Then we need to remember He who has gone before us, but the choice still remains with us, choosing which path to take in life, rests with how seriously we consider our steps.

“A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.” (Proverbs 14:15)

This is such wise advice to all of us and as we resolve that this year we are going to choose very carefully whose steps we are going to follow, we will feel that all embracing warmth of knowing that our Lord has gone before us and trust that when we walk in his footsteps our path will be protected by his love.

One of my favourite Christian modern songs echoes these thoughts

Step By Step

Oh, God Your are my God

And I will ever praise You.

Oh, God you are my God

And I will ever praise You

I will seek You in the morning

And I will learn to walk in Your ways

And step by step You’ll lead me

And I will follow You all of my days

3 Comments

Posted in Encourage, Peter, Proverbs | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | December 20, 2013

Perfect Love

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…” (1 John 4:18)

imageTalking about fear or being afraid is not the usual topic for the Christmas season, but I have always been fascinated by how often those words appear when God wants to speak to his children. When the young virgin, Mary, is suddenly confronted by an angel, the angel Gabriel immediately reassures her when he can see that she is very troubled by his words;

“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.” (Luke 1:30)

And again a group of poor shepherds, who are very startled by the glory of the Lord shining upon them, are calmed by the angel when he sees they are terrified;

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)

Our Heavenly Father constantly reminded his children that they need not fear while they trusted him. Moses reminded the children of Israel, of God’s promise;

“See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 1:21)

The psalmists repeated the promise to themselves;

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid…” (Psalm 56:3 – 4)

image Fear is a great robber of joy. The Lord knows that in this fallen world all of us will experience some sort of fear, but the wonderful message the angels were thundering from the sky was that the Precious One, Immanuel, had arrived. Perfect Love had entered the world in the form of the Christ Child. The power of fear to destroy us has been defeated by his perfect sacrificial love.

“There is no fear in love, But perfect love drives out fear…” (1 John 4:18)

The best gifts we ever receive are those prompted by real love so as we celebrate this Christmas let us focus on the most incredible gift ever given to man. We have been given perfect love embodied in a tiny baby, the Son of God, sent by love, born to love all mankind.

I just read of a beautiful song that fits this message of love.

Perfect Love Song

I hear a melody inside my heart

Every time I begin to think of how You care for me

Beautiful harmony

To know that I am in love with You and You with me

You are the lyrics to a perfect love song

I love you Jesus, You are the lyrics to a perfect love song.

image May we be aware of this perfect love so freely given to us as we rejoice with the Heavenly Host;

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests” (Luke 2:14)

5 Comments

Posted in Comfort, Deuteronomy, John, Luke, Psalms | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Jo | December 13, 2013

The Joy Of Waiting

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

imageSome time ago a friend shared with me a delightful tradition that her family kept during Advent. When she was young her mother set up the Christmas nativity scene on the mantle above the fireplace, but with one exception. Yes, Mary and Joseph were there and of course the shepherds and animals, but the little manger was empty. At the beginning of December the baby Jesus figure was placed way across the room from the fireplace. Last thing at night when the children were in bed, her mother would move the small figure a little bit closer to the manger. The children would jump out of bed in the morning to see how close baby Jesus had moved. Of course their joy was complete on Christmas morning to see him safe in the manger with Mary and Joseph looking after him. I was so impressed with this mother helping the children to understand this important part of the Christmas story, the waiting!

Waiting is something that can be very tiresome for all of us, but imagine what waiting that nine months was for Mary. She had just experienced what must have been the most startling experience in her young life and then she had to endure the long wait to see God’s promise to her come true.

Perhaps she thought back to the oracle that reassured her people that God was not like mortal man and he can be trusted to keep his promises;

“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of a man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19)

Mary’s acceptance of both the promise of what was to come, and the long wait, is a wonderful example of trust in her Heavenly Father and she responds by praising God;

“…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.” (Luke 1:46 – 48)

We may be experiencing a waiting period in our own lives. We may be waiting through a painful medical therapy. We may be waiting for a loved one to come to an awakening of who Jesus Christ is. Perhaps waiting for a promised job to materialise. Maybe waiting for forgiveness and reconciliation in a broken relationship. We may think our wait will never end, but whatever the wait maybe we can take strength in the beautiful words the angel said to Mary.  image

“For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)

God fulfilled his beautiful promise to Mary and to all mankind in the arrival of the blessed baby, the Saviour of the world.

During this Advent season we can sing the lovely old hymns with confidence that yes, he has come and will return as he promised. Charles Wesley wrote one of my favourites;

Come thou long expected Jesus

Born to set your people free

From our fears and sins release us,

Let us find our rest in thee.

Born thy people to deliver

Born a child and yet a king

Born to reign in us forever

Now thy gracious kingdom bring.

4 Comments

Posted in Comfort, Isaiah, Luke, Numbers | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | December 6, 2013

Letters Written On Hearts

“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ…” (2 Corinthians 3:2 – 3)

image The art of letter writing, I am sad to say, seems to be disappearing, as the advent of e-mail, twitter, texting etc., allows for instant communication and has effectively destroyed that excited anticipation that enveloped one waiting for the mail to arrive. While I was growing up in Australia mail delivery was something to be eagerly looked forward to, and the Postie, as we called him, carried a whistle which he blew if he deposited a letter in your mail box, so long before he reached us we could hear the cheery noise of his whistle in surrounding streets and began to look for him to appear in front of our house with much expectation.

When I first met my husband his job took him miles away from where I lived, telephoning was far too expensive, so the only way we could keep in touch was by letters. I can still feel the rush of emotions that swept over me when I saw his familiar handwriting on the envelope. I have kept those precious letters as well as letters from my sisters and my father and when I reopen them their faces spring into my mind as I see the spidery writing in my father’s letter, and the bold strokes of my sister’s pen. Even recognizing handwriting will be a thing of the past as communication now arrives in the sterile form of typed letters from a keyboard. We will not have the joy of holding something tangible in our hands to remind us of loved ones. I was thinking back on this while reading Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and could only imagine the joy when this letter was delivered to be read to the believers.

God‘s words to his loved ones were first inscribed on stone with his very own finger;image

“When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mt. Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.” (Exodus 31:18)

But later our Heavenly Father knew where his words were to be firmly embedded;

“… I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33)

Paul is reminding the believers that they now possess a letter written on their hearts not by God’s finger, but by the Spirit of the living God.

“You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3)

What an awe inspiring thought! The Holy Spirit has chosen our hearts to write his letter. What a challenging thought! When others read this letter we are carrying will they see Christ in us? What an incredible honour to be the bearer of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Often when people are applying for a job, they carry letters of recommendation, from others who know them well and respect them, we become those letters of recommendation from Christ for all who read our lives.

image Will others be eager to read the good news through us? Will our lives recommend the joy of following Jesus? They will if we allow our hearts to be written on by the Holy Spirit.

image

1 Comment

Posted in 2 Corinthians, Comfort, Encourage, Exodus, Jeremiah | Tags: , ,

Posted by: Jo | November 29, 2013

Does God Care?

“O’ Lord, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?” (Psalm 144:3)

image When one of my daughters was young she was given a delightful little book that became not only her favourite, but one that the whole family loved to read and not only our family, when I was teaching grade 2 every child I ever read it to, loved it. It was called “I Don’t Care”. The story revolved around a little boy, Pierre, who answered every question with, “I don’t care!” Oh how the children would shout with me when I read , and Pierre said, “I DON’T CARE” Eventually , of course, his not caring catches up with him when a hungry lion comes to call and asks him , “May I eat you?” This time his. “I don’t care” lands him up inside the lion’s tummy, but of course it has a happy ending as his mother and father arrive in time to shake the lion upside down and out falls Pierre who is so glad to escape he cries loudly “ I care! “ (Even the lion cares and stays for dinner with the family) The last page has big letters proclaiming. The moral of this story is To Care.

We may ourselves sink into that same feeling of not caring when events overwhelm us or friends let us down or life deals us a heavy blow. We can use it as a protective cover for our broken dreams or broken hearts. Even as children we shout, “I don’t care” when our best friend says, “I don’t like you anymore.” We can hide behind this childish response when caring is going to mean a lot of involvement and hard work on our part. We can even stop caring about ourselves and begin to believe that we are not worth caring about anyway. We can even get to a point of asking, “Does God care?”

The word “care” can be used in two different ways.

A. Burdened, state of mind arising from fear, doubt, concern, anxiety.

B. To feel concern or take an interest about a situation or person, to feel protective of

When God was speaking to Moses and giving him the commandments we were all to live by, he also wanted all his people to know and understand the depth of his love for his created beings and told Moses to proclaim this;

“Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin…” (Exodus 34:5 – 7)

When we look at the two definitions about care, we see the second one, (B) to be an amazing response to the first one (A).image

We may be trapped into the despair of not caring by fear, doubt anxiety, we may have been forced into thinking, “I don’t care” by circumstances we cannot control, by unkind acts of others, but the wonderful truth found in God’s word is that, “Yes he does care!”

David knew this state of being when he called out to God,

“..My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught.” (Psalm 55:2)

But look what he remembers;

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” (Psalm 55:22)

I love a lot of the modern choruses we sing now in our church services, but I miss some of the old hymns and this one, written over a hundred years ago, sums up caring

No matter what may be the test,

God will take care of you.

Lean, weary one upon his breast.

God will take care of you.

 

image

Related articles

2 Comments

Posted in Comfort, Encourage, Exodus, Grief, Inspiration, Psalms | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | November 22, 2013

Comfort and Hope

“Comfort, comfort, my people, says your God.” (Isaiah 40:1)

image Isaiah is one of my favourite books of the Bible and on Sunday this week, the reading at our church service, was the 40th chapter of Isaiah and the title of the sermon was Comfort and Hope. As God’s beautiful words filled the sanctuary my thoughts were filled with another service that took place thirty years ago in a tiny church near where I grew up in Australia. We were visiting there when my father had a heart attack and died, and early the next morning my step-mother and I, both of us broken hearted, headed for the first service in the local church and as we sat there sorrowing, this chosen scripture passage was read,

“Comfort, comfort, my people, says your God.”

Both of us had the same incredible feeling that God himself spoke to us, offering his loving assurance that he knew the pain we were experiencing and that he himself would carry us close to himself while we mourned.

“…He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart…” (Isaiah 40:11)

image The word, comfort is described in the dictionary as; to soothe, console, reassure, to impart strength and hope. It has a warmth of its own and is always used with positive overtones. How wonderful to grasp that our Heavenly Father is offering his comfort to us freely in whatever painful circumstance we may be experiencing we only have to come into his presence to receive it.

Not only is God extending his comfort towards us, he is reminding us of who he is. On the one hand he is a tender loving shepherd, on the other hand he is the all-powerful creator;

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?” (Isaiah 40:12)

We may have been so discouraged enough to think, “So what could God do about it anyway? My life is such a mess nobody can help.” That is when we need to go back and read;

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” (Isaiah 40:28 – 29)

How foolish of us not to accept this beautiful offer of our Lord to guide us through any situation that we are presently facing. The offer is always open, but we have to be willing to allow the Lord to come into our lives. We have to trust him.

The other offer is also part of the deep love our Heavenly Father has for us. He offers us hope.

The definition of the word hope; confident expectation, positive outcome image

No wonder when we hope in the Lord this is the outcome!

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

I read and re-read this chapter whenever I grow weary and the Lord never fails to revive me.

3 Comments

Posted in Comfort, Isaiah | Tags: , ,

Posted by: Jo | November 15, 2013

Precious Tears

“..he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces….” (Isaiah 25:8)

image When I was a little girl, I can remember overhearing an adult conversation in which someone was being described as shedding “crocodile tears”. I was intrigued to know that crocodiles ever do shed tears at all and how could a grown up lady have tears like a crocodile! The adults were too engrossed in their conversation for me to interrupt, so it remained a mystery for me for quite a while. Just recently I was an observer of a different type of tears. Our youngest grand child is a 15 month old little boy who is beginning to make his presence and his personality well-known to all around. After hearing “No” about a dangerous activity he burst into wild tears. His mother urged us all to ignore him as they were only fake tears (hence my remembering about the crocodile tears) Tears come in all sorts of different circumstances for all different reasons. They are a natural phenomenon of all humans. Sorrow of course is the best known reason for tears, but we can also cry for joy. Laughter can produce copious tears. Severe pain can result in tears. Frustration can produce scalding tears. Some of us can see a sad movie, often called a tear jerker, and shed tears about people we don’t even know.

But our Heavenly Father views our tears in a very special way. Our tears have a unique place in his heart, especially when the tears flow from deep grieving. He is very close to those who mourn and who are broken hearted, and the tears are so precious he keeps a record of them in a heavenly scroll. Imagine a beautiful scroll full of all his loved ones tears.

“Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll- are they not in your record?” (Psalm 56:8)

Another version translates as “putting my tears in a flask”, an equally lovely picture.image

No tears that we shed go unnoticed by our Lord. Jesus himself was well aware of sorrow and his public display of weeping at Lazarus’ death shows us all of his deeply human side.

“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35)

Paul was not ashamed to admit that he was capable of much emotion as he too shed tears.

“For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you, but to let you know the depth of my love for you.” (2 Corinthians 2:4)

When I was a child too much showing of emotion, especially for males, was frowned upon, we were very much influenced by the British “stiff upper lip” attitude where one was expected to hide any deep feelings. Jesus’ beautiful shedding of tears is a sign for all of us that yes it is okay to allow those tears to flow. Allowing others to cry is also very important and weeping with another combines our love with each other and our Saviour.

imageOnce we have pledged to follow the Lord we never weep alone again. He even sees and knows the unshed tears we keep locked inside of ourselves and when we creep into his presence for his comfort he  promises to change sorrow into laughter.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21)

The wonderful news for those who love the Lord is that when we join him in heaven, sorrow will be banished forever.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

This beautiful hymn sums up the deep, deep love of our Saviour

For Those Tears I Died

And Jesus said, “Come to the water stand by my side,

I know you are thirsty, you won’t be denied

I felt every tear drop when in darkness you cried,

And I strove to remind you for those tears I died.

4 Comments

Posted in 2 Corinthians, Isaiah, Luke, Psalms, Revelation | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | November 8, 2013

Trials and Temptations

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2 – 3)

image The Home Group that meets at our home is beginning a study on the epistle of James. This letter is written in a very down to earth manner and the theme is mainly this, if you profess to be a Christian just don’t talk about it live it! We were very excited about starting this week, but the very first study proved to be very daunting. The second verse set us all back on our heels. How could one consider it “pure joy” when we were facing trials? Wouldn’t it be more natural to complain and ask for sympathy from all of those around us? Before we went too much further, James challenges us again,

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)

We all thought it was okay to give in when things were too tough. What about burn out? Being too tired? Too old? (Last one very applicable to our group)

We soon discovered that temptation loomed large in the warnings;

“But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” (James 1:14)

A good reminder not to blame others when we ourselves have caused the mess we are in.

Trials and temptations! James was not going to sugar coat the Christian walk. He is asking all of us to be realistic about the problems we all face as we try to exhibit the love of Christ to a fallen world, the wonderful news being, that we never have to overcome the trial or the temptation on our own, his beautiful Holy Spirit is always close at hand to provide that extra strength we all need. image

Sometimes in the midst of some trial it is hard to believe that any joy could possibly come out of it, but when we take the time to go back over other experiences we have lived through, and come out the other end with a much closer walk with our Saviour, it bolsters our courage and gives us the strength to face whatever is confronting us. The psalmists used this over and over again, reminding themselves and others how God had stepped in and fought the battles for them. The most important part of the retelling was to emphasise who really won the battle;

“It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.” (Psalm 44:3)

I love the last part of that verse “the light of your face” means that when things are really tough that is when we draw really close to the Lord and when we do, we walk in his light which dispels the darkest of shadows.

Jesus himself faced both trials and temptations  and is well aware of what we have to face, imagebut he is also aware of our human frailty and is faithful in protecting his loved ones from being tempted beyond what they can bear;

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

We finished our first study with quite a different attitude to trials and felt determined to experience that “pure joy” as we allowed the Lord to fight our battles.

2 Comments

Posted in Corinthians, Encourage, James, Psalms | Tags: , , ,

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

Categories