Never failing compassion

"Because of the LORD's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.” - Lamentations 3:22-24 (NIV)

As I read these words today a few things stand out for me.

What does 'consumed' mean for us in today's language? I found the Living Bible offers more clarity for me: "It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction." (v.22)

And how can the word 'portion' speak into our lives? Well, that word can also be read as 'inheritance' - so, what the writer is suggesting is that God himself will be our reward for faithfully following his ways. In this world, we can possibly expect to leave a material inheritance for our families, but can you imagine if we could leave 'God' as the eternal gift?

Eugene Peterson writes:

God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
    How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
    He’s all I’ve got left.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

More to come!

There is more to come! 

These are the opening words of Romans 5:4-5 as Eugene Peterson adds his voice to the words of the Apostle Paul. I love this sentiment, especially as we are living in difficult times at the moment. When I note that there is "more to come" I don't see this as,"more bad news" or "more negativity", but rather that there is a great expectation that God is still at work and is about to do something marvellous. 

There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! (Romans 5:4-5)

May you experience more of God's great grace today. 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Life and well-being

^"Know, then, that I have sent this command to you, so that my covenant with Levi may hold, says the Lord of hosts. My covenant with him was a covenant of life and well-being, which I gave him; this called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name" - Malachi 2:4-5 

The phrase that stood out for me (from these 2 verses) was this one: 

"a covenant of life and well being"

It was the Lord who gave Levi this amazing covenant and God's deepest hope was that this would bring LIFE and WELL-BEING to Levi.

As we seek to revere the Christ-child this Advent, let us remember that God's covenant of Love has always sought to bring the best to us. God is indeed good.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

 

God doesn't give us everything we want!

"God does not give us everything we want. But he does fulfil his promises." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We have been tricked into believing that we can "name and claim" anything in the name of Jesus, but when those prayers are not answered, then we feel let down or betrayed by God. I am sure that Bonhoeffer prayed for his safe release from prison, during Hitler's reign of terror, but that never happened. God kept his promise to be with Bonhoeffer through all his struggles and suffering. I believe that God also welcomed Dietrich into His Eternal Home with open arms.

What do you think?

2 Corinthians 1:20 - For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

This is amazing

I think this is amazing. I stumbled across this verse in the Message last week, as we were preparing for the Sunday services. It makes exciting reading:


"It is clear to us, friends that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special. When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn’t just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions." - (1 Thessalonians 3:3)

I love that!

This verses tells us that "God has put his hand on each of us for something special." Just think about that for a moment - The Creator of the Universe has chosen to put his gracious hand upon us, so that we can be a special part of his work.

Not only does God want to put his hand upon us, but He also wants to steel in our convictions, through the Spirit. In other words, God will give us the vision and blessing for something special and He will supply the power for us to fulfil those demands. What an incredible promise!

Living in Grace
D3LM3

 

Accomplish - Advent word

When God sets out to do something it gets done! We may not always understand God's ways or His timing, but we need to remember that it will come to pass. Take a read of this often overlooked verse in the Birth narrative of Luke's Gospel.

"For no word from God will ever fail." - Luke 1:37

How awesome is that promise?!

Psalm 20:4 - May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

The wonder of a Promise - Lent #24

When we are promised something it can fill us with hope. Even if we have been let down in the past there is a unique optimism in most of us human beings. Promises fill us with the hope of a better tomorrow. They give us the courage to carry on and remind us that God does take note of us.

While reading through Job 22 this morning I came across these wonderf
ul words of Promise. I offer them to us, especially in the context of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

‘Submit to God and be at peace with him;
    in this way prosperity will come to you.
²² Accept instruction from his mouth
    and lay up his words in your heart.
²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
    if you remove wickedness far from your tent
²⁴ and assign your nuggets to the dust,
    your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
²⁵ then the Almighty will be your gold,
    the choicest silver for you.
²⁶ Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
    and will lift up your face to God.
²⁷ You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
    and you will fulfil your vows.
²⁸ What you decide on will be done,
    and light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ When people are brought low and you say, “Lift them up!”
    then he will save the downcast.
³⁰ He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
    who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.’

Which verse offers you the most courage and strength today. Read it again and let those words be your prayer today. Shalom.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

The Lord IS....

I was reminded again this weekend, that God IS present with us. God is not only with us in the past, but he is definitely present with us RIGHT now. You don't have to believe me, just read the number of passages that speak of this truth.

The Lord IS my strength and shield –Psalm 28:6

The Lord IS a warrior; the Lord is his name. – Exodus 15:3

The Lord IS slow to anger, abounding in love  – Numbers 14:18

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” – Luke 1:28

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. – James 5:11

(...these are just a few of the almost 200 verses that speak of this truth)

So whatever you are facing today, know that God is with you. God has not abandoned you. God hears your prayers.

"The Lord is near..." - Philippians 4:5b

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Walking on water

  "He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea." - Job 9:8

Did Job know that Jesus would fulfil this prophecy hundreds of years later? I am not sure if he did, but the one thing he knew was that God had the authority to walk on water if he wanted to. When it comes to knowing about God we are all still 'playing in the shallows' - there is so much more we can discover about our Great God. Can I encourage us to 'stretch' our understanding of God and believe in His ability to do way more than we could ever dream or imagine.

God is way bigger than we our human minds can comprehend. Let's try not to 'box' God into a tiny container and limit His incredible power.

Matthew 14:25-29
"Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Trust

In preparing for today's message I came across this poem/song. I know that 'trust' is something we all struggle with, often wishing we were able to trust more in people and in God.

“Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,

Trust Him when thy strength is small,

Trust Him when to simply trust Him

Seems the hardest thing of all.

Trust Him, He is ever faithful,

Trust Him, for his will is best,

Trust Him, for the heart of Jesus

Is the only place of rest.” - Source Unknown.

I guess the wonder of Trust is that it usually works best when we realise that our options are few - if you like, we find ourselves humbled by our circumstances, and so we can't do it all alone. Putting our trust in God and others is a humbling experience, but it can be so liberating. 

Today marks the first day of Advent and I pray that we may learn to trust in God this Advent season. The arrival of our Saviour reminds us that God can be trusted in all things. God fulfilled his promise to bring Hope, Light and Love into our world.

"For God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Living in Grace

D3LM3