Psalm 27 – One thing, everything.

I’m asking God for one thing,

only one thing:

To live with him in his house

my whole life long.

I suppose it is true that all religions have an offer to supply you with a god, or at least they offer you a way to access a form of god. The problem though is that behind most religions there is not a real god to be found. Some do claim it is the same god as God but seeing as they all have their foundation after God had rested from His creation work, they would unwittingly present a very confused god who changes its mind and ways as it goes along.

Then of course religion makes its laws and rules which have to be adhered to in order to gain access to its god. Cleverly it makes the laws too hard to fully keep so the reason you never actually meet this god is always your own fault. Therefor you can never see that it does not actually exist.

But God, the only true living God, has long before already made the offer to be our God and for us to be His people. He has shown Himself over and over. His power is well documented and so is His love and grace. There are no rules to access Him, only a way that He has made for us so that we can enter freely. That way says “come unto me. and I will give you’

We are needy. We need provision of food and shelter and security. We need health. We need comfort and strength. We need wisdom and guidance. We need and we need.

Generally man tries to meet all his own needs. Often this leads to sinful activities and or failure and disaster. The truth though is that no matter how tall you stand, how powerful you are in this world, how tough or how resiliant, there are times when you need and you don’t have. Times when you need and you ask a higher being for help.

God in His great grace has told us that as our God we can ask anything. Jesus has given us permission, not appointed us to make use of His name as we ask for anything. God has put His mark on us giving us authority and power. So we never need to need.

So we do our best as much as we can and when we get stuck we ask.

Oh dear reader you can have direct access to the almighty creator of the heavens and the earth. The one who has not the fruits of our best efforts but the perfect provision of the Kingdom in His hands. Should you not be asking for everything, every small and every large thing that you could always have only the best.

David goes the whole way and says he asks for only one thing.  To be permanently in God’s presence. Hanging out at God’s place. Having his being in God.

He responds to God’s offer and says ” I want to be your people”

In Christ you have the Kingdom in you. Have this and all things will be added to you

Psalm 21 – And then?

Helped, he’s hollering Hosannas

So you have asked God to help you. You have prayed without ceasing. You have asked as many people as you can to pray with you. You have gone forward in church for prayer, maybe many times. Finally God has stretched out His arm and done wonders in your life as he has helped you.

You were far from God. Caught up in religion. Caught up in sin. Lost in unbelief. The Spirit of God drew you to Christ and you have been saved.

And then? How do you respond?

A quick thank you? A fleecing praise God? That’s true for most people. Some don’t even bother but take the blesssing for granted. We grab hold of the new life. Revel in the blessing we received. Enjoy our new found freedom and being helped move along with our lives.

Imagine if we spent as much time, energy and resource thanking and praising God as what we spend asking.

The Christian life is a life of praise. Having realised what God has actually done for us we are both forever gratefull and in awe of Him. Now that we have access to the throne room and can gaze upon His glory, we stand with open mouths overwhelmed by His majesty and blown away by His grace.

Or do we? Has religion so numbed us that we miss it?

The next step in our lives is always stepping into praise. Continuous praise. Continually being aware that every step we take is ordered by His Word, made possible by His provision, made do-able by His strength and victorious in His Name.

Stop right now and think of what God has done for you. Before the beginning of time and even right this moment. no matter what your circumstances you will find something to praise God for, even just who He is.

You lift Him up in your praises and He lifts you up with Him. Your praises are the updraft you soar on.

I don’t know how your year is going. My Dad died on New Year’s eve. I had a heart attack, a member of my family is already fighting and trying to create havoc around my father’s will, I am not able to get home until the end of this month. The day after I get back I will lead the memorial service for my Dad. Enough to make anyone feel down. But guess what? My dad was an amazing man of faith in Jesus Christ. I can rejoice in the knowledge that right now he is with the Lord. Doing his memorial is to celebrate the grace and goodness of God, I can’t wait to do it. I survived the heart attack by the grace of God and His healing power has me up and about slowly already. While I am not at home to deal with all the issues, God has blessed me with an amazing time where I am. As for my family member, well nothing can separate me from the love of God and I have the privilege to pray for her.

I hope your year is going better so far. I have so much to sing praises and give thanks for but I am praising Him for what He has done for you to.

So God has helped you? And then?

Psalm 12 – Stop

Into the hovels of the poor, Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks: “I’ve had enough; I’m on my way To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched.”

When the Israelites were looking forward to the coming of the promised Saviour they were bound into the image of a great man who would rise up and conquer their physical foes.Quite understandable actually. For years they had been beaten about by enemies from every side. Carried away into captivity and living under foreign rule in their own land. Many Kings had failed them and many had led them astray. Foreign rulers now had the authority. The priests at the pagan alters, the magicians, were the source of power. They were poor and broken and downtrodden and they needed this mighty man of God to stand up and set them free.

We see the same thing when we look around today.Poverty, sickness, lack, oppression, injustice, racism. A people in great physical need. A people emotionally defeated by the physical demands they live with. Demonic possession, Let down by governments. They too need a man to arise. A man that will trample their enemy and lead them into a new world order.

There are many men offering to do just that. Movement after movement has offered the relief people seek. Today we have churches catering directly and specifically for that. One church will focus on social justice. The leader will use every opportunity to speak out and to stir up the followers of his cause. The next will address poverty, promising the people great prosperity if they follow the teaching. The next will be the champion deliverer, chasing demons around town that people can be free. Another will rise up the healer. Teaching and practising spiritual methods. Others will rise up as pedlars of promises, prophesying good to those who run to them.

And run to them people do.” help” they cry “you offer just what I need”

But look, even in those churches people remain oppressed, people remain poor, people remain sick, they remain in the same physical state they were in when they came. The difference is that they have allowed the leader, through clever means and one or two testimonies to convince them either that it has actually changed or that it is so imminent they dare not look away. People follow the man into his house and themselves become homeless.

When the time had been fulfilled Jesus came preaching the Gospel. God cried “enough” it was time for all this to stop. But He didn’t send a great prince on a tall horse, instead He sent a saviour to heal the hearts of the people. Hearts broken by the outward factors being healed from within.

It is true that in Christ the outward factors are addressed. It is true that part of His coming was to change things in the physical. However if you start by addressing the physical you will just continue to chase after one after the next solution the preacher has to offer.Eventually you get back to works and bondage to rules. Nothing actually changed.

Having your heart mended. Changing your position. Changing the authority over your life. Seeing Jesus for who He is changes who you are. Knowing that He came to save your soul, Knowing that He came to bring you life. Knowing that you will dwell in His house forever brings you hope that wipes out the physical brokenness and satisfies deep within.

Jesus is not in some fancy building offering His services. He has come right to where you are. Planted His cross that you might take hold of it and planted it high on the hill that your enemies will tremble before it. Enough. A statement to the world. God has heard your cries.

Let Him mend your heart first and the physical shall be taken care of.

Psalm 11 – Never Again

A David psalm. I’ve already run for dear life straight to the arms of GOD. So why would I run away now when you say, “Run to the mountains;

Remember when you used to run to the mountains? Remember how you ran from high place to high place? From alter to alter? From solution to solution? From excuse to excuse?

Do you remember how lost you were at each place? Remember how there was no real power to be found. How the sacrifices were wasted on the alters? How no solution was lasting? How each excuse called for another?

Do you remember how you felt? Powerless, hopeless, needy, desperate, lonely, broken, scared, angry, jealous, dead?

Do you remember some of the dark places you entered on the mountains? Caves that had flashing lights outside that offered so much but were simply caves of horror.

Do you remember how suddenly you met Jesus. You saw the light. You saw the salvation. You saw the hope and the promises. You saw Life. Do you? Do you remember?

Do you remember encountering mercy, grace, acceptance?

Do you remember how you turned away from the mountains and ran to Him? Do you remember how you ran into His safe loving arms? Do you remember how His love embraced you and His power enfolded you and His grace comforted you? Do you remember how renewed, how content you felt?

So today the world is calling you back to the mountains. To their solutions. To their ideals. To their ways and plans. The world is mocking you pretending they have so much to offer you. Today the world is showing off its mountains, like painted whores to seduce you. Today the world takes your problems, blows them up in front of you and calls you to come on over to find your answers. Today they dress up the mountains with bright fog that looks so awesome from afar but hides the truth that lies beneath.

Which is more prominent in your ears. The testimony of what God has done? Or the call to run to the mountains?

When I remember what the Lord has done – I will never go back again.

Been there, done that but I am safe now.

Psalm 10 – Sunrise and Sonrise!

Time to get up, GOD-get moving. The luckless think they’re Godforsaken.
They wonder why the wicked scorn God and get away with it, Why the wicked are so cocksure they’ll never come up for audit.
But you know all about it- the contempt, the abuse. I dare to believe that the luckless will get lucky someday in you. You won’t let them down: orphans won’t be orphans forever.

Being on the last watch of the night out on sea can be a very miserable time. The night is at its darkest. Often it will be the coldest time of day. You are at your weakest point through lack of sleep and conditions. Many times you will be knocked about by the unseen waves whilst below the rest of the crew are warmly tucked up and fast asleep.

Time seems to stand still as you struggle through your watch. Then something simply amazing happens. A hint of light appears from the east. A promise of change. Then suddenly before your eyes the darkness is dispelled. Light appears and drives it away. You can see around you and get perspective. Your eyes that have been straining against the dark feel relief and then as the sun pops its head over the horizon everything changes. A sense of warmth returns. You feel comfortable and life begins to stir around you.

Oh what joy, what relief, what strength the sunrise brings. A new song springs forth from your heart to greet the new day. You have made it through the night.

The thing that gets you there. The steadfast hope that carries you through the darkest hour is the knowledge that no matter what, the sun will rise at its appointed time. No matter how much cloud or rain or fog or wind or rough seas that might hide its glory for a while, its rising can never be delayed.

So too the knowledge that the Son of God has risen. In man’s darkest hour, when his needs were at their greatest and strength at it’s most ineffectual, man had a need for God to arise. For God to come to His aid. For God to dispel the darkness that engulfed him. At His appointed time God arose.

Maybe today you seem to be in a pre dawn place. Alone staring to where the horizon lies. Calling out into the vastness of life’s ocean. Take heart. Be filled with hope. Rest in the knowledge that the Son has already risen. As you keep your eyes keenly gazing towards Him, then as sudden as the breaking dawn, He will appear.

The darkness of your life will vanish in the light of His glory. Perspective will return and life manifest.

Perhaps though, you are just not seeing Him. There is so much clouding your vision. So much fog over you. Huge storms picking up the power of the ocean against you. Hold on. He has risen and just as the sun, the Son will appear. It might seem like the glory is hidden from you but nothing could delay His rising. It happened at exactly the appointed time and nothing can keep Him from appearing to you.

You can begin to sing a new song even now. Greet the Light of the world in song and praise. There is an horizon and He has already risen over it. Look in His direction. The orphans won’t be orphans forever.