Now is the time .......... To Clean Up

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; Psalm 51:7-8

I live amongst gum trees which constantly shed their leaves, and, at certain times of the year, also shed millions (I am not exaggerating) of tiny gum nuts. The result is a lot of “gutter clutter” and daily sweeping of front and back porches.

If we’ve been away for any length of time it is very obvious by the mess on the porch. The gutters, however, are a different story because they are mostly unreachable except by a professional using a ‘cherry picker’ at the front of the house and a very long ladder at the back. The former is do-able at some financial cost and the latter is do-able at personal risk!! Many gutters in our area have such long-standing gutter clutter that small gum trees have sprung up in the accumulated mulch.

As I considered this I realised that we have to watch out for that “gutter clutter” in our own lives. It is very easy to let rubbish accumulate and not do regular sweeps or tidy ups so to speak. We, as believers, have an open door to the Father’s throne where we can come daily. In the Lord’s prayer Jesus told his disciples to ask God to “give us this day our daily bread and forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:11-12). It seems to me that he is suggesting daily prayer for forgiveness and cleansing of our sin. Such a simple thing, yet so vital to our spiritual well-being. It is very easy for our ‘gutters’ to become cluttered and when the debris remains long enough it can grow “trees”. Trees of unforgiveness, discontent, disobedience, bitterness, hatred, strife, jealousy – you get the picture I’m sure.

It is time to clean up. Sometimes we need to get ‘the professional’ in to help us with those places that are unreachable. Wise counsel based on God’s word along with prayer may be required to clean up old areas of woundedness. Other areas that we are able to deal with ourselves may require the effort of using a “ladder” to reach down into those inner recesses of your heart. Then you may want to enlist the help of a trusted friend who will “hold the ladder steady” by praying for you.

Once you’ve done the major clean up determine to do a more regular, if not daily, spiritual clean up. Your reward will be renewed energy and the joy of the Lord as your strength every day.

Prayer: Father God, please shine your light on areas of clutter that need cleaning up in my life. They may be hidden from me but I’m asking you to show me so that I can repent and start afresh. Amen

Now is the time .......... To Wait

Blessed are all who wait for him… Isaiah 30:18

Each one of us knows what it is to have to wait for something. We wait for the promised letter or call from a friend; we wait in line at the supermarket; we wait to hear the results of exams or a job application; the pregnant woman waits for the birth of her child – you get my meaning I’m sure. At the moment our patience is being tested as we wait for the processes to be completed so that the building of our house can begin.

The waiting, though, that I want to write about today is much more important that all of these and a much different kind of waiting.

Now is the time to wait upon the Lord. In Isaiah 40:31 it says that “those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…”. This kind of waiting requires us to quieten our hearts and minds and coming before God for the purpose of entwining our hearts with his – finding a one-ness or unity with him. By spending this kind of time in his presence we exchange our weakness for his strength, our hurts for his healing, our questions for his answers, our ignorance for his understanding, our sorrow for his joy, our hopelessness for his purpose……. the benefits are endless. I don’t know why we find it so difficult to do!

Moses had to wait 7 days until the Lord called him higher up the mountain where he experienced face to face conversation with and revelation from God for 40 days and nights (Exodus 24:15-18). David often wrote in the psalms about waiting for the Lord. Jesus waited to see what his father was doing before he did his miracles (John 5:19). He obtained his strength and ability to work miracles from the Father. Even now Jesus continues to wait for the day that the Father has appointed for his return to earth.

The disciples were told by Jesus to wait for the empowering of the Holy Spirit before venturing out in ministry. This is so important still today. There are too many casualties of ministry and mission because people moved in the emotion of the moment and the power of their own flesh, rather than patiently waiting for God’s empowering presence to fill and equip them for what He wanted them to do.

Waiting upon the Lord does indeed bring its own blessing in many forms. Will you choose to set aside time today to wait – entwine your heart – with him? He knows what you need but he’s waiting for you to come. Read the rest of verse 18 of Isaiah 30 – “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion….”

The blessings of waiting await you!

Prayer: Gracious and loving God, help me to determine to spend time with you to strengthen myself in your word and receive your grace for each day. Amen

Now is the time .......... To Give

One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
Proverbs 11:24-25

Most of us enjoy giving gifts whether for Christmas, birthdays, some special occasion or, “just because…”. Does giving come easily for you?
Certainly some people have a gift of giving (Romans 12:8), others of us give out of obedience or perhaps even out of obligation where Church and Christian ministries are concerned.

It seems to me that the opportunities to give to many worthy causes are absolutely endless in our world of un-equality today, and it is a challenge to choose where we should give, but give we must.

Jesus warned about heaping up treasures for ourselves and not caring for others (Luke 12, 16:19-25). Yes, of course we should provide for ourselves and our family for the future as the Lord allows, but giving to God a regular portion of our income is, in my opinion, non-negotiable.
Jesus spoke much about giving and how to handle money but it had its proper place in his life. He had money available to him – Judas held the common purse for Jesus and his disciples. He was not afraid to address the issue of money and neither should we be. All that we have comes from God, and I believe that we should give back to him at least a tenth of our income.

Awhile ago I was given the opportunity to help someone who was in a financial mess. Although they knew the Biblical teaching about giving they had not been doing so for some time because they thought they couldn’t afford to. When we sat down and made a budget this person was amazed at how much income they had and they saw that giving God his portion was well within their reach. They found that while they honoured God with this gift their money easily went round, in fact there was money in the bank for future bills. God also surprised them with meeting needs in other ways that saved them money. You see God is no man’s debtor. He loves to give back to us but we have to release what we have in order that he can bless us.

God’s nature is to give and we are made in his likeness so it’s to be part of our new life in Christ. Let him lead you in your giving by obeying what he puts on your heart to give. In Exodus 25:2 Moses was told by God to receive an offering for the building of the tabernacle from “each man whose heart prompts him to give.” Jesus promised a blessing to those who would give, so let’s give joyfully in faith (Luke 6:38).

Prayer: Heavenly Father please open my heart and teach me how to give to your kingdom and your people. Amen

Now is the time .......... To Obey

If you love me, you will obey what I command. John 14:15

This morning as I sat writing on my balcony I noticed a little red car turning into the driveway that runs up behind our apartments. And what was so interesting about that, you may ask! It was because the car went into a one way drive that was clearly marked "No Entry". I have to admit we've done the same sort of thing after driving around in frustrating circles in Zurich for almost an hour, trying to find the way to access the rental car depot to return our car!

So what's the big deal? Well..... it reminded me of how often we are tempted to disobey, or just not obey, God's "signposts" to us. How often do we ignore a prompt to check something before we leave home, and we don't, or call someone who came to our mind but we don't have time, or give something to someone but think "Oh, that was just me thinking that, probably not God", so we don't do it. I'm sure you could add many more examples from your own experience.

How often we do not heed that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit and then lose time going back for something we've forgotten, or we find out that the person we should have called really needed to hear our voice and our prayers for them that day, or the one we were prompted to give to really needed that cash. Then there are the prompts that say, "don't go that way today", "don't have that extra piece of cake", "don't say that harsh response that just came into your mind". The Bible tells us that when we are God's children we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), therefore we should expect that the good thoughts that come into our minds, actually come from him.

Why is it important to obey? Because, as Christians, we are supposed to be obeying God, not just believing in him. Jesus clearly states many times that it is those who obey him who are truly his disciples. It’s not just about doing good things, but about walking in obedience to his commands. Listen to Jesus… ” Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name we have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then I will say to them, I never knew you: depart from me you who do evil.” Matthew 7:21-23. These were people who were doing great things in the name of Jesus but not obedient to him in their daily lives!
Let’s be sure we are obeying God in every area of our life so that we are truly his disciples.

Prayer: Lord grant me grace and strength to not only hear your commands but also to obey them. Change my heart that I might cling to your word and your way of doing things. Amen

Now is the time ...........To Listen

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
John 10:27


I slept poorly, my mind racing over the details of my day, and rose early to share a coffee with Colin before he left for work. I then decided to try and recoup some of my lost sleep and returned to bed, 'perchance to dream' as someone once wrote! Too late! The birds were awake and busy about their morning chores in the trees outside my window; brightly coloured parrots screeching, miners chirping, magpies warbling, kookaburras laughing and crows cawing, (if that's what crows do). I lay there enjoying their different sounds, and as I did the Holy Spirit stirred in me the thought that now, indeed, is the time to listen....... to him.

Our days are filled with the sound of many voices, family, friends, phone, TV, radio, internet, even the voice of our own thoughts; but are we tuned in to the voice of the Holy Spirit, the voice of God or do the other voices drown him out? This is a question for each of us to answer for ourselves, but I know for me it is true that the other voices often, sadly, take precedence. As the apostle James wrote of mixed mouth messages, “my brothers (and sisters) this should not be so" (James 3:10). Now is the time to listen and obey, our lives could depend upon it; one day our eternal destiny will depend upon it.

Truly we cannot take our salvation lightly or for granted. It was costly for God to provide so great a salvation and we should regard it as the precious gift that it is. What does that have to do with listening you may ask. Jesus said very clearly states that he who hears and obeys his word is blessed (Luke 11:28). When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain the voice of God spoke to the disciples, "This is my son, listen to him." (Matthew 17:5) We need to hear him, but how do we do that?

We need first of all to read the word of God regularly. Romans 10:17 tells us that "faith comes by hearing the word of God". As we tune in to the Holy Spirit and as we feed our spirits on the word of God our faith will grow. We will understand God's ways and what he requires of us. We will begin to comprehend in greater measure the great grace that is available to us that will enable us to do all that he requires of us. To hear God's voice, we have to make time to listen to him. Can you come aside and do that today?

Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven please help me to set aside time in the busyness of each day to read your word and listen to you speaking to my heart. Amen

Now is the time for……Gratitude

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

One of my lasting childhood memories is of receiving a 5 shilling note in a birthday card every year from my great aunt in England. It was regular every year and it was fun to receive it. The only drawback was that every year I had to sit down and write a thank you letter; just like I had to write letters to my grandmother. The letters always started like this….. “Dear Auntie and Uncle, I hope you are well as I am at present…”, I would thank them for the gift and then try, with my mother’s help, to write something meaningful and finally, with great relief I would sign off. It was always a chore. As I look back I am thankful for the discipline of learning to say thank you, but I am sad that I found it such a chore. I am sure my Auntie didn’t find it a chore to remember me. Now I love writing thank you notes!

One of the disciplines of my spiritual life is to be thankful. God’s word tells us that we should be thankful. I believe it is good for us to be thankful to God because it makes us mindful of all his many blessings to us. It is not a chore for God to bless us, he is a loving Father, and it is his great delight to bless us with every good and perfect gift.

It cost my aunt time, energy and money to send me that gift every year on my birthday. It was only right that I thank her. It cost God so much more to bless us with salvation through the gift of his son, Jesus Christ. Do you thank him for that? He is always ready and waiting to hear our prayers? Do you thank him for that? He is always more than willing to generously give wisdom when we ask? Do you thank him for that? The list could go on but you get the picture.

Having a thankful heart, an attitude of gratitude is something to be prized. We can be thankful for the good things that come our way, but can we also be thankful when things go wrong, when we don’t get our own way? This is the test of a trusting grateful heart. Our verse today says “In everything…”, it doesn’t say ‘for everything’. There is quite a difference. Unpleasant, even downright awful, things may come our way. We don’t need to be thankful for them, but we can be thankful that in everything that comes, God is there for us to strengthen us, help us and guide us through. Our character is most tested and developed in the tough times, we need them so let’s be thankful for the tests and trust God to bring us safely through them.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for all that you have done for me in showing your love by sending Jesus Christ to die for me. Thank you that though life situations may change and become unstable, you are the strong, unshakeable foundation of my life; you are always there for me. Amen