Now is the time…… To Share the Message

…but they did not heed Moses because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage. Exodus 6:9

The Israelites had been in tremendous bondage in Egypt, oppressed and enslaved, their cries had reached God (Exodus 6:5) and he had a plan for their deliverance. Moses was minding his business, and the sheep, out in the countryside far from Egypt when suddenly a bush bursts into flame and a voice speaks from the bush…..forever changing his life.

God was in the bush and he shared with Moses his plan – Moses had been chosen to go lead the Israelites out of their cruel bondage. It would be done under God’s guidance, direction and protection. Moses was not at all happy about the task God had set for him and tried desperately to wriggle out of it. If he’d known just how difficult it would be he probably would have run fast in the opposite direction as Jonah later did.

However God did convince Moses that he was the man for the job so Moses duly presents himself to the Israelites with this wonderful message of promised deliverance and restoration of their own promised land. But there was a problem; scripture tells us that they didn’t listen to Moses because of the anguish of their spirit and the cruel bondage they were under. They couldn’t hear the sound of hope that he brought to them.

All around us people are in anguish of spirit and under the bondage of Satan in fear, worry, anger, depression, hopelessness, sickness and much much more. We have been given a message of hope and deliverance to speak to them and we need to pass it on. We have good news – Jesus the deliverer has come to set them free, heal them and give them hope. They may not at first hear us because of their pain but we need to demonstrate God’s powerful love to them, keep listening to God, and, as Moses did, go on to be obedient to his further instructions. It may be that we need to minister love to them, acceptance, practical help or healing prayer, but through it all we should pray that their ears will be opened to receive the truth, and that their hearts are attuned to the deeper need of their spirit. Pray that faith will come to them and that they experience a peace previously unknown as you pray for them.

Because people don’t hear or heed the message doesn’t excuse us from speaking it to them. Watch for your opportunities.

Prayer: Faithful Father, make me watchful and prayerful for opportunities to share your message of deliverance and hope with those who need to hear it. Give me a love for the lost that will make me passionate for this hurting world. Amen

Now is the time... To Laugh

There is a time for everything…… a time to laugh and a time to cry. Ecclesiastes 3:1,4

At the moment I am reading a very interesting story, a novel, called “The Shack” by William P Young, a book which is unusual in the way it portrays the central character Mack’s encounter with the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was one incident in the book that sparked my thoughts for this devotional….

Mack suddenly hears a loud crash from the kitchen where Papa (God) is preparing the evening meal. There is silence for a moment then peals of laughter from the ‘three’. Mack observes as Jesus goes for a bowl of water to clean up the mess. In the process Mack sees the loving interaction of the threesome as they laugh and clean their way through the mess.

I remembered with some sadness how many times I have gotten angry with the children (and my dear husband) over the years when they made a mess. I have been equally, if not more, angry with myself when I have had a spill of some sort. Happily I can say that more recently I have learned (mostly) to take things more in my stride, and sometimes even manage to laugh about them. It’s much more pleasant for all concerned if an accident doesn’t become a time of shame and blame even to yourself.

The example of household spills is a very simple one, but for me, learning to laugh at my mishaps and my own mistakes has been a huge growth in grace. I have found that when I learned to extend grace to myself, then it was much easier to extend it to others. Oh that I had learned it earlier in life and so saved my loved ones a lot of pain! The old adage “It’s no use crying over spilt milk” is a good one. Why waste time crying when laughter will help us (and others) heal.

I remember a Sunday School song we used to sing, “With Christ in my vessel I can smile (read laugh) at the storm.” Why is that? I think it’s because Jesus gives us perspective and grace, and his presence evokes faith in us to know that no matter what comes our way, we will be okay if we allow him to take control of the things that concern us.

The Bible tells us that a merry heart does good like medicine (Proverbs 17:22). I think we can never have enough of that medicine. Next time a challenge comes into your life, instead of getting angry, anxious, worried or fearful, just remember that Jesus is with you and with him you can smile at the ‘storm’.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please come and fill me again with the joy of your presence and the peace that will carry me through every storm of life. Help me also to laugh at my messes with you. Amen

Now is the time... To Keep Your Balance

Surely the righteous will never be shaken. Psalm 112:6

Tonight I watched as two Miner birds landed on a fragile branch where Mr Kookaburra sat surveying the late afternoon scene, no doubt hoping to spot a juicy meal in the grass below. He was totally minding his own business and I’m not sure that the intruders were at all welcome. As the branch shook with their careless and noisy arrival Mr K gave them a brief glance then totally ignored them and held tight to his perch. The visitors soon flew off to annoy other neighbours.

This little incident made me ponder the circumstances of life; the people that cross our path, unwelcome circumstances that come our way like sickness, loss of employment, family problems, even difficult people. All these things can “shake our branch”. In the current economic climate it can be very easy to get distracted, fearful and nervous. It can be so easy to lose our ‘balance’ on the branch of life if we allow such things to become our focus. The secret is to take a firm foothold of faith in our good and faithful God; to stand in faith that “The LORD will work out his plans for my life-- for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever." Psalm 138:8.

I cannot over stress the importance of knowing God’s word. The psalmist spoke of hiding God’s word in his heart that he might not sin against God (Psalm 119:11). This is the secret of keeping our balance. God wants us to walk in faith and trust in him. To do otherwise is actually to sin against him. Yes, we do have times when we are thrown off balance but it is vital when that happens to focus on the truth of God’s word and allow it to keep us balanced. Like Mr Kookaburra we can glance at the distraction but we must immediately focus back on God’s promises. Psalm 112 verse 7 tells us that “those who trust the Lord have no fear of bad news.” Why? “Because their heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” How good is that?

Satan, our enemy will try to distract us and tempt us to fear but the word says to resist the enemy and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Just like those Miner birds that got no attention from Mr K and flew right off to find someone who would socialize, the devil will flee when you ignore his taunts and give your attention and praise to God.

To get to that place of security and trust takes time. It takes time to know God and grow in our confidence and faith in his faithfulness. It takes time in the word daily and a determination to believe God’s word. The result of doing this will be a wonderful peace in the midst of any storm, no matter how big or small. This is our testimony to those who don’t know Jesus Christ – we have no fear because we are trusting in the Lord. Hallelujah!

Prayer: Faithful Father, thank you that your word is true and a stronghold for me in any time of trouble. Help me to store your word in my heart and grow in love and trust in you which will help me keep my balance in life’s storms. Amen

Now is the time... To Receive His Grace

…….His grace by which He made us accepted in the beloved. Ephesians 1:6 (NKJV)

A few years ago Philip Yancey wrote a book called “What’s So Amazing About Grace?”. It’s a good question isn’t it? John Newton penned the song Amazing Grace over 200 years ago and it is still a favourite today. He had previously been a slave trader till God touched his heart.

The apostle Paul had experienced God’s amazing grace during a mission to capture, jail and kill the followers of Jesus whom Paul considered to be enemies of the truth. The grace and mercy of God so captured his heart that he began all his letters to the churches with the greeting “Grace and peace to you….” The apostle Peter had experienced the amazing grace of God after his denial of his Lord in his most difficult hour. He too wrote greetings of “grace and peace” in his letters to the churches.

Like John Newton, Paul and Peter, we too are subject to failure during our walk with Jesus. It can be so devastating when we thought we’d succeeded in overcoming a particular area of sin in our lives, only to fall flat on our face in defeat….again. Many times I have thought “I’ll never be good enough, God can’t possibly be bothered with such a failure.” How wrong that kind of thinking is. God knows us, he knows that our spirit is willing but our flesh weak. That is why he provides his strength by which we can overcome, and his grace by which we are made acceptable to him. That’s what Jesus’ death was all about – he died for failures such as me and you. It is challenging to the pride in us to have to come (again) to God and ask his forgiveness for a besetting sin, and receive his grace to begin afresh, but that is what we must do.

Receiving God’s grace makes us acceptable to him, and when we find acceptance by God we find a new acceptance of ourselves. Being released from the treadmill of trying to “be good enough” and realizing that we need God’s help, deals a deathblow to pride. It is then that his grace within us will spill over in blessing and acceptance towards others so that they too can experience the love of God through seeing his grace working in and through us.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you so much for your work on the cross which enables me to be made acceptable to God. Help me to humbly receive your grace and walk in your peace with joy. Amen