be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)

Do I know what it is to be still and know my God, how does one do this? How does one do this in the midst of chaos, in the midst of uncertainty?

As I was laid up with back issues recently, my active mind was well, "active" and thinking about this and that and I was reminded how easy it is for my mind to think of things that are not productive. It could be worry, thinking about work and then the next thing I know I am thinking negatively about people and going down a bad trail.

So how does one be still and know that I am God when it is so easy for the mind to wonder? How does one dwell on things that are productive and God honouring. Its not an easy task and I think it takes a heavy reliance on God, the Holy spirit, and on disciplining the mind to dwell on what is good and pure in order be able to enjoy a peaceful thought life..........in order to be still and know that he is God........in order to truly experience the still and peace only he can provide.

Psalm 46:10 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

 

Be Still And Know - Hillsong

 

All I need is you - Hillsong United

You are marvellously and wonderfully made

You are marvellously made.

If you are like me, you sometimes forget this about your self and others. When you are lamenting and moaning about the things that you are not good at, the things you wish you were better at, do you remember that you were marvellously made by your creator? When we criticise others for the things they may do differently or not as well as we do, do we remember that they too were marvellously made by their creator and in fact the same creator who created us.

Psalm 139:13-16 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

The Message (MSG)

^13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvellously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.

 

We are all different and uniquely made for a specific purpose. Have you found yours, that purpose where you can use your unique gifts, your marvellously made self to serve your creator?

 

Wonderfully Made - Matthew West

More Beautiful You by Matthew West

 

 

do u feel like a cat up a tree

Do you sometimes feel like a cat up a tree with a huge German shepherd dog at the bottom ferociously barking, jumping up and down and licking his chops while not taking his eyes of the prey, "you"?

This is the picture that comes to my mind when I think of Satan vigorously pursuing me. He attacks using weapons of pride, worry, fear, doubt, anger, jealousy, lust, hurt, gossip and so on. I feel like a cat up at tree sometimes clinging to its strong branches, the branches my Jesus holds out for me, safety branches of peace mercy, strength, endurance, grace, love, patience and comfort. When I am in a good spiritual place I jump from branch to branch enjoying the provision of each. When I trust in my own abilities or take my eyes off the branch, I free fall and unlike a cat I don't always land on my feet. I land prone and at the feet of my enemy, that huge barking dog, "Satan". Then I scamper back to Jesus, my safety tree.

How many times do I repeat this process, "many".

Does this sound familiar?

The lord is my shepherd, show Psalm 23 and Keith green song

The Lord is My Shepherd - Keith Green

Psalm 23  (http://www.biblegateway.com)
New International Version (NIV)
A psalm of David.

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

my comfitiber, the Holy Spirit

What is your comfitiber? As a kid I used to refer to the heavy blanket on my bed as my comfitiber and how its spelt is how I said it. This was a blanket that some refer to as a comforter, a duvet, etc. It made me feel warm and secure in my sometimes cold room in the old farm house where I could also be scared of what may be under the bed.

These days I have a new  comfitiber. Gods word promised his disciples that he would provide them with a comforter.


John 14:16-17  (http://www.biblegateway.com)

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

¹⁷ Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Sadly and figuratively speaking, I don't always pull this comfitiber up around my ears securely. I don't always use it to its full potential. This comfitiber is the Holy Spirit and he is available to me at all times, yet many times I don't call upon him to guide me, direct me and comfort me. I don't listen to the still small voice.

John 16:7-14  (http://www.biblegateway.com)

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

¹² “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you

 

Acts 1:8 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

New International Version (NIV)

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

How are you doing with your reliance on the Holy Spirit, that calming guiding voice that says don't go there, or I will be with you in that..........

 

Chris Tomlin - Lord I Need You

 

 

 

going to war with a pea shooter

Sadly, many of us Christians go to war with a pea shooter (figuratively speaking). We are not armed because we haven't accepted God's provision, we haven't pulled on the armor of God.

Ephesians 6:12 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

New International Version (NIV)

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms

Are you spending time with your God to ward off the enemy(Satan), am I?

Ephesians 6:10-18 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

New International Version (NIV)

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

How has pain shaped you?

How has pain shaped you? Have you let it shape you or are you bent on pushing it aside, covering it up and making like all is well. Gods word talks about how he uses pain to shape us and even to discipline us.

Hebrews 12:4-11 (ttp://www.biblegateway.com)
New International Version (NIV)
God Disciplines His Children

⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”^[a]

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

 

If you haven't let pain shape you than its also quite likely that you find it hard to empathise with others, to truly walk along side them in their pain.
I have experienced a few painful experiences, ones that I allowed to shape me, BUT this last one I have been slower to accept, embrace and allow God to work through. I have wallowed in pity, dragged my feet and sometimes resisted the beautiful lessons one can only learn through pain. It's one thing to go through the death of a family member and the sickness of a souse as I have, but when one comes face to face with there own morality as I have, it can be an agonising journey. While many of the emotions are similar, the journey is much more personal and the pain is difficult to escape from.

I haven't experienced Gods blessings until I truly embraced and accepted the fact that this is part of his plan. There are plenty of reasons for me to resist this, reasons for me to be upset, after all, this illness and that of my wife's threaten our dreams, growing old, seeing our children into adulthood and on and on the list goes.

I can't truly experience God through this unless I embrace it as God's loving discipline. I can't truly empathise with others pain if I can't accept my own.

When I fail to accept Gods plan for me, I fail to experience him.

A work in progress, Scott

Passing the baton.......

How has the baton been passed on In the generations leading up to you? Was it dropped, fumbled, handed to you with sharp splinters in it that pierced your hand, etc. Was it a clean pass with the previous generation providing an excellent example on how to run your leg in the race of life before you pass the baton to the next generation. Were you given an example of how to demonstrate love, mercy, grace, be a good friend, co-worker, boss, spouse, etc. or perhaps you had to pick up the baton from one or several generations who fumbled it or even dropped it. Perhaps the fumbling or dropping came from issues of abuse, drinking, sex, anger, selfishness and so on.

How are you running your leg of the race? What example will you leave? I think of this often since the time I have may be shorter due to illness. What example will I leave in the short time I have?

Perhaps if you have a wall in your house with pictures of your ancestors, you can look on them with thankfulness for the path that they paved for you. Or perhaps it is a wall of shame and you are left to start the race.

So how is the running going?

U can run a lot better in just your underpants......

You can run a lot better in just your underpants. No I am not suggesting that you run almost naked, but I am suggesting that one can run better with less weight.

Check out the following verses;

Hebrews 12:1-3 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart

So often in my life I have things weighing me down, things that are preventing me from enjoying God's provisions of peace, grace, strength and that are also preventing me from simply enjoying life. For me its not one 400 pound weight around my neck, its a bunch of 20 pounders, such as failure to be the Christian I wanna be, quilt for the same, busyness, not being the father or spouse I should be, finances, keeping up with the Jones, worry, hurt, and on and on the list goes.

While God promises to provide for my every need, I often don't enjoy the freedom that can be experienced when I leave my worries with him and reduce life to simply pleasing him and letting him be in charge.

Just like there is a freedom when running with less there is a freedom figuratively speaking when we run the race of life with less worry, less guilt, etc, and leave these things in God's hands.

Its part of the lesson I feel God is trying to teach me and yes I fail frequently to trust him and enjoy his provision.

How are you doing with running the race of life? Does it feel like you are running it in rubber boots and water soaked overalls or are you in a sleek running outfit that is free of the extra and unnecessary weights that life can pile on a person?

David S Payne has an excellent book entitled "Run the Amazing Race". Check it out.

walk with me Jesus

Home many times have you gone for a walk and your mind has wondered. How many times have you been a somewhat unwilling walking partner? If you are a man this may be a more typical response.

When I think of God walking with me as I often ask him to do, I wonder how great of a walking partner I am. Sometimes it is like I am strolling along with him and my mind is elsewhere, other times it is like we are strolling along and I wonder off down a side path. This path may look good at first, but then turns into an overgrown weedy mess with branches slapping me in the face. When I look back, I see my walking partner (God) patiently waiting and motioning back to the path we were on. Sometimes he even comes to grab me by the hand and lead me back to "the path."

So how good of a walking partner are you? Are we into it or are we sometimes just going through the motions. Are we walking along side and nodding our head vigorously to appear like we are into it or are we really into walking with God?

Walk With Me (feat. Kim Walker-Smith)

Alan Jackson - In The Garden LIVE

He Walks With Me

Thanksgiving - what are you specifically thankful for?

Thanksgiving, just what is it all about anyway? Ya, ya, it's a holiday, but is there more to it than that? Is it like Christmas and Easter in that it has lost some of it's meaning to us, that is outside of it being time off.

Is it a time when we stop and think about what in our lives we are thankful for or does it come and go with out it even crossing our mind that we have so much to be thankful for?

As I reflect on my own life I realise that I have much to be thankful for. I can rhyme off the same list that probably many of us in Canada can, which would be family, health, work, food, shelter etc. In fact I can rhyme them of so quickly that you could say I take for granted what I have.

So this thanksgiving I challenge myself and you to stop and think about what you are thankful for, to dig a little deeper and then to share that with someone in a meaningful conversation. Often when I thank my wife for all she does, she asks for more detail, she wants specifics, so what are you specifically thankful for?

We have so much and God has been so gracious.

THANKFUL- Josh Groban

How are we using our abundance for good?

Are we too caught up in ourselves to see the joy around us?

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.