Now is the time…… To Be Known By Him

I have loved you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

Have you ever felt that you really wanted to get to know someone; to know them as a friend, but you couldn’t get close? I have, and it is very frustrating.

Perhaps most of us have had times in our lives when we don’t want people close to us in case they see what we are really like. We think that if they do, they won’t like us any more, so we hide or we build walls of protection around ourselves to keep people at a distance. We seem to conveniently forget that it’s okay to be human, and that every single person is flawed in some way. Not one of us are perfect, it’s just not possible. Only Jesus was without sin. We also forget that no matter how good our mask, someone will eventually see through it.

Recently a friend I have known for quite a long time came to stay with us. We have never been able to spend much time together in the past so it was a great joy to have this time to really get to know her. When she left I felt like I had a new sister. It needed our spending that time together for us to really get to know each other. It was truly a lovely gift.

Sometimes we hide from God, or at least we don’t try to get close to him, which is what he desires more than anything else. He speaks of his church, the body of Christ, as being “his bride”; that makes him the bridegroom, and in such a picture there is the expectation of intimate relationship. God wants us to know him and grow in our understanding of him. To do that requires spending time with him, learning from him through his word, the Bible, and talking to him. A marriage does not develop properly if there is no intimacy and no sharing of hopes, dreams and desires. It never will become what it should be without communication about many things.

God knows us very intimately because he created us (Psalm 139:14), but he wants us to share our hurts, our hopes, dreams and our struggles with him. He wants us to be real with him. He also wants us to follow his instructions for life because they are what will satisfy us and bring us safely and victoriously through our lives. To do this will at times be a struggle because we feel unworthy or unclean, and we feel like he won’t want to be bothered with us. That is a ploy of the enemy to keep us away from God when we need him most. At times like these we need to press through and come boldly before his throne of grace to obtain mercy, comfort, counsel, strength, direction – whatever we need at the time. He wants to have input into our lives. We can’t, and don’t have to, do life alone. Our work for him needs to include him. Apart from anything else I don’t want to stand before him at the judgment seat only to have him say to me, “Depart from me…… I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23).

Come before your Saviour today and allow yourself to be known by him (warts and all). When you receive his unconditional love, it will help you to allow yourself to be known by others too.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your constant and unconditional love and acceptance of me. Help me to walk with you and share my life with you in a way that is real. Amen

Now is the time ...... To Remember

My soul is downcast within me therefore I will remember you …
Psalm 42:6

Most of us know what it is like to be ‘down in the dumps’. There are many people who spend much of their life in such a state and don’t know how to rise out of it. Depression has become almost endemic in our society, and, to be honest, many people have good reason to be depressed; abusive childhoods, abusive relationships, alcohol and drug-related issues, financial stress, workplace stress….. the list is endless.

Left untreated, depression can become a full-blown illness and it is important to understand, to love and to encourage those with depression, and to know that words like “pull yourself together”, “just have faith” or “think of how much better off you are than people in Sudan, Burma, Africa…” are not helpful at all. A depressed person often cannot even begin to see outside of their own dark world. We need to pray for God’s wisdom to know how to help. Also we can pray for the person to be touched by the Holy Spirit so they can be helped to feel God’s love for them. Love and reassurance works wonders.

In this verse, the psalmist was feeling very “downcast”. He recounts his woes and how the people around him taunted him with “where’s your God now when you need him?” His faith, however, was so deep-rooted in God that he had the strength to speak to his soul, to stir up his faith and hope for the future. He says, “therefore I will remember you (God)….” What good advice it is for us believers to remember God’s previous work in our lives; to remember how we have experienced his working, his blessing, his love and the times he has literally “come through for us” in our time of need.

Many years ago the hymn writer, Johnson Oatman Jnr wrote a wonderful hymn that many will know. The chorus goes like this –

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

I believe this is what the psalmist was doing, reminding himself that he was blessed. This gave him strength through his difficult time. We will be surprised and encouraged as we remember God’s goodness to us and our faith will stir hope in us again. We don’t have to allow depression to take us down. Let’s recognise it when it comes to us, then set our eyes on God, remember his goodness and we will be able to say with the psalmist “I will yet praise him” (vs 11). He truly loves you and will never let you go.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to always remember you in the trials of life, to remember that you are there and you are faithful. Help me to remember my blessings and be thankful. Amen

Now is the time ...... To Understand His Will

…… we have not stopped praying … and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will. Colossians 1:9

Does it seem to you that the Christian life is a constant challenge to make it work? Anyway, what does ‘making it work’ look like to you? To me it is a joy-filled life (even in the midst of difficulties), a thankful and obedient (willing) heart with a good dose of endurance thrown in. Add to that meaningful activity empowered by the Holy Spirit. Wow, how do I get there? I’m glad you asked!

To have this kind of life, the apostle Paul gives us a key; it is to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. This comes in at least two different ways. There is first a general knowledge of his will - how God wants us to live as a Christian by walking in faith and obedience to him; in purity and peace; and to love others. There is also a knowledge of his will for me personally; to know God’s purposes for my life; the gifts he’s given me to do the work he’s prepared for me to do, either in the secular world or in ministry.

It is important that we understand God’s will for our personal conduct in living, but it is equally important to understand that we can find his purpose for our life work. In finding and pursuing that purpose we will find the place of fulfilment…. the place that will bring us joy and satisfaction because it is the place we fit. When we find that place we also find the passion, patience and endurance to complete it (verse 11).

Christian young people have a great advantage over their unsaved peers because they can have the confidence to know that they can ask God for direction regarding their career path and that God will indeed lead them in the way he has planned for them. There are so many scriptures that promise us God’s guidance if we will commit and trust our way to him; look at Psalm 37:5, Proverbs 3:5-6 for a start. It doesn’t have to be a trial and error thing, but it should be a step by step plan. I once heard a preacher say that his earlier career path had covered training in counseling and youth work as well as a few other things. He didn’t know that God was preparing him to lead a large church one day, and that the skills he’d learned along the way God was now putting to good use.

If we will seek to understand God’s will for our life, not only for our career path but also for things like who we marry, what we do with our money, and then walk in faith and obedience to what God shows us, we can be assured of a fruitful and satisfying life that will make an impact in our sphere of influence.

Prayer: Lord God who planned my life from before I was born, please help me to daily seek to understand your will and walk in it. Amen

Now is the time ...... To Change

……………… what counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people. Galatians 6:15 (NLT)

Is there something that you have been meaning to change? Perhaps it’s a habit you need to break, a way of thinking or speaking, maybe you’ve been feeling it’s time to change the way you look, lose some weight, get fit, or even move the furniture around.

My mother always said, “There’s no time like the present!” and I took her quite literally, so in our early years of marriage I would sometimes sit and watch TV all evening and plan a new way of organizing the furniture “for a change”. Colin would often find himself moving furniture at midnight – it used to be a family joke. He went along with my whims for a few years but then decided it was madness and he was not going to enable my instant gratification any longer! “Tomorrow” became a new word in my vocabulary.

Some people are afraid to change; to move jobs, move house, or country. Sometimes change is necessary and beneficial. It’s not good to be stuck in a rut. As followers of Jesus we need to be open to change. When we came into the family of God the first change we made was to come to a place of acknowledging our need for change from our sinful state so we repented of our sins. To repent literally means to change our mind and our direction – to turn around and go the opposite way.

Throughout our faith journey we are being changed into the likeness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). That’s what it’s all about. This happens as we begin to obey Christ's words and become like our Master. Paul also writes in Romans 12:2 that we are to be “transformed (changed) by the renewing of our minds…”. Our thinking needs to be changed so that it comes into line with God’s thinking as revealed in his word.

Yes, we are on a journey of change and it is a challenge, but the good news is that God is working in us to bring this change about (Philippians 2:13), and it will finally be completed when we rise again to meet him. “We shall all be changed in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) and best of all…… we will be like him. Hallelujah! In the meantime, we need to continue to cooperate with him in making the changes he shows us we need to make.

Prayer: Change my heart O God, make it ever true, change my heart O God, let me be like you. Amen

Now is the time .......... To Fear the Lord

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom… Proverbs 1:7

Over the years I have prayed with many people who were fearful about many different things. Generally fear is not something we want to entertain because it can spoil our lives and take away our joy and freedom. That kind of fear makes us a prisoner in our own bodies.

There is, however, one fear that we as followers of Jesus Christ need to have, and that is the fear of the Lord. Not that we are to be frightened of God as one would be scared of an abusive parent or person; but rather a healthy fear of the consequences of disobedience to God’s written word, accompanied by a sense of desire to please him.

As a child I usually did the right thing by my parents and teachers because I was afraid of the consequences of misbehaviour if it was discovered. Yes I was a normal child! It would have been much better if I had wanted to be obedient because I loved and trusted them.

Surely, you may say, I shouldn’t be afraid of God for is he not a God of love and mercy? Well, yes he is, but he is also a God of justice and to be just there must be judgment and punishment. This is not a popular preaching topic today but I believe it should be. Whether it is popular or not, it is the truth and we should tell it. We must return to the balance of teaching that Jesus demonstrated. He certainly spoke about judgment and its consequences more than we probably care to acknowledge. Read the gospels and check it out.

Yes we need above all to love God, but we also need to fear him because, as Moses told the Israelites in Exodus 20:20, “The fear of the Lord is to keep you from sinning.” Jesus told his disciples, “If you love me you will do as I’ve told you to do….. You will obey me.” (John 14:15,21).

Why is obedience so important? Because habitual disobedience carries with it the penalty of judgment and separation from God for eternity. That is the truth. Take time to read 1 John carefully, let God’s word speak for itself. The promise of being with God for eternity is “to him who overcomes”. This message was very clearly stated to believers in each of the seven churches in Revelation (Revelation 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21).

In order to walk in freedom and joy we need to walk in obedience to God’s will and purposes for our lives – that is fearing the Lord and departing from evil (Proverbs 3:7). God’s grace is available to us to enable us to do what we find difficult; receive it today and find victory to overcome those challenges that are hindering you from holiness.

Prayer: Dear Lord, please give me your grace to overcome the areas of weakness in my life which rob me of my joy and peace. Help me to walk in godly fear and so live to bring pleasure to you. Amen

Now is the time .......... To Forgive

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Mark 11:25

I was recently challenged by David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me oh God and see if there is any offensive (or wicked) way in me.” I wonder how long it is since you prayed that prayer? It takes courage because sometimes we, (read I), are afraid of what God will show us and what it will cost us to put it right! However, if we believe that God’s word is true and that his way is truly the way of freedom and joy, then it is easier to take such a step.

Sometimes we don’t even know that there is unforgiveness lurking in our heart, but if we are willing, the Lord will shine his searchlight on it and when he does, we will surely want to confess our sin so that we can walk in freedom and light. Such was the case for me.

For many years I held unforgiveness in my heart towards my mother without really knowing it. Because she had been ill for all of my teenage years I had been more of a mother to her than she had been to me, and deep down I had resented that. As I allowed God to bring this deep-rooted unforgiveness to the light I was given his grace to be able to truly forgive her from my heart. As I forgave, a huge load was lifted from me and I found a new compassion rising in my heart for her and a new understanding of the pain she had suffered in her life.

It is so important that we do not knowingly refuse to forgive because our own forgiveness from God depends upon our willingness to extend forgiveness to those who have wounded us. Forgiveness is vital to our physical health. It takes a lot of negative energy to hold on to unforgiveness. I cringe when I hear people say “I will never forgive….” I know that they will be in for a rough ride because there will be a price that they will pay for their unforgiveness. I have heard testimonies of people who have received major healing from sickness and disease… for many of them it only happened after they had released forgiveness to others they had been bitter towards.

Jesus made it very clear that forgiveness is not optional when he taught the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18). In Colossians 3:12-13 Paul exhorts the Christians, “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Will you make the choice today to ask God to search your heart? It’s risky but worth it.

Prayer: Forgiving God, I know that as your child I should show your character. Please shine your light into my heart, search me and see if there is anything hidden that needs to be brought to the light. Amen

Now is the time ...... To work

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

Recently I received my “Seniors Card” from the New South Wales government. To qualify one must be 60 years old and working less than 20 hours a week (for pay). Now I can ride very cheaply on public transport and get discounts from various businesses and stores. I find that I can take one of two attitudes with this new ‘milestone’; either, “I am too old to be of any use now” or “Great! I can still work as much as I want to for the Kingdom of God”.

It is true that as one gets older the temptation is to feel that our contribution is no longer needed or wanted. That is a lie of the enemy that we need to strongly withstand and overcome. It seems to me that Christians never really retire – there’s always plenty of work to be done in God’s Kingdom and ‘seniors’ are in a great position to participate with the extra time they often have.

Ephesians tells us that God has appointed work for each of us to do. It is up to us to explore what that is. Take time now to read first Corinthians 12 and Romans 12:4-8 to see the gifts that God gives to his people. There is serving, giving, encouraging, preaching, teaching, mercy and others. If you are really not sure where you fit, there is a test you can find on the internet which may help you identify your spiritual gift (http://buildingchurch.net/g2s.htm).

There are two important things I want to mention with regard to using your spiritual gift or gifts for God’s Kingdom (yes you can have more than one). The first is that there is much work to be done and the pastors are not responsible to do it all! It is varied work, from feeding the poor to administration in the church office, from preaching and teaching to offering a word of encouragement. Your gift will definitely have a place in God’s scheme of things.

The second thing is that knowing your spiritual gift and using it will give you a sense of identity and fulfillment in the body of Christ. It is important to have God’s view of the gifts and not to measure them by human standards; for example, preaching is spiritual but serving refreshments or working the sound system is not. If you are using your gift for God’s glory, then it is a spiritual work and it is important. Ephesians 4:16 says that the body of Christ works properly and effectively when each person does their part.

There is something for everyone to do, not one of us is unimportant, neither have we passed our “use by” date! If you don’t feel a part of your church it just may be because you are not participating in the work God has assigned for you to do.

Prayer: Dear Father, help me to be willing to do the work that you have already prepared for me. Help me to prepare myself and offer myself for your service and for your glory. Amen