Hear me and hide me

The overall message of Psalm 64 is simply 'hear me and hide me!' The Psalmist calls out to the Lord, asking that his prayers would be heard, and that God would answer these prayers by hiding him from his enemies. 

"Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;
protect my life from the threat of the enemy.
Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from the plots of evildoers." - Psalm 64:1-2

Although our times are slightly different, we can still use this formula for our prayers - 'hear the cry of my heart O' God and protect me from my enemies.'

Thought: How can you use this prayer in your personal life today?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Excellent sayings

"Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;
    apply your heart to what I teach,
for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
    and have all of them ready on your lips.
So that your trust may be in the Lord,
    I teach you today, even you.
Have I not written thirty (excellent) sayings for you,
    sayings of counsel and knowledge,
teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,
    so that you bring back truthful reports
    to those you serve?" - Proverbs 22:17-21

In a world saturated with information, social media and technology, it is very hard to hold people's attention for long. The writer of Proverbs 22 wants his readers to 'pay attention' to the sayings that are share because they are LIFE-giving. 

Jesus urged his hearers to listen to his parables and words, because they were also life-giving. Jesus had told them that he had come to give them 'Life in all its fullness."

If you had the attention of your friends and family, what would you want to tell them today?

"Pay attention to the beauty surrounding you." - Anne Lamott

"Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon." - Booker T. Washington

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Discipline

Nothing worthwhile ever comes for free and without some effort. This principle applies to almost all aspects of our lives.

If you want to do well in a sport - you need to train and discipline yourself to achieve your goals.
If you desire to get good grades in your studies, you must put in some hard hours of study.
If you are keen to learn an instrument, you will need to go for lessons and practise, practise, practise.
If you want to become wise, you will need to learn from those who have gone before and be willing to listen to instruction from people who can guide you.

It seems to me that Proverbs 13 is a chapter that keeps gravitating to this idea of discipline, instruction, learning and being willing to grow. Take a read:

"Whoever scorns instruction will pay for it,
    but whoever respects a command is rewarded." - Proverbs 13:13

"Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame,
    but whoever heeds correction is honored." - Proverbs 13:18

"Walk with the wise and become wise,
    for a companion of fools suffers harm." - Proverbs 13:20

"A refusal to correct is a refusal to love;
    love your children by disciplining them." - Proverbs 13:24 (Message)

What aspect of your life needs to be more disciplined at the moment?

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Remembering the Titanic

The 15th April 1912 was a day that many people of that generation (and those since) would never forget. It was the day the unsinkable Titanic hit an iceberg and sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, taking around 1300 lives with her. Many survivors shared their insight on how that day changed their lives, one of them being Jack Thayer, the son of a railroad millionaire:

“There was peace and the world had an even tenor to its ways. From time to time there were events — earthquakes, floods — which stirred the sleeping world, but not enough to keep it from resuming its slumber. It seems to me that this disaster not only made the world rub its eyes and awake, but woke it with a start, keeping it moving at a rapidly accelerating pace ever since, with less and less peace and happiness. To my mind, the world of today awoke on April 15, 1912.”

I find his words haunting.

If you had to read his observations from the viewpoint of our time - being stuck in lockdown and the global impact of Covid-19, then they sound even more scary. I pray that this would not be true for our generation. We can't simply go back to living life as normal - let alone, allowing life to accelearte away from us. And what we desperately seek is 'peace' and 'happiness' not turmoil and more heartache.

The writer of Proverbs was right when he called out to us...

²⁰ Listen! Wisdom is calling out in the streets and marketplaces, ²¹ calling loudly at the city gates and wherever people come together:
²² “Foolish people! How long do you want to be foolish? How long will you enjoy making fun of knowledge? Will you never learn? ²³ Listen when I reprimand you; I will give you good advice and share my knowledge with you. ²⁴ I have been calling you, inviting you to come, but you would not listen. You paid no attention to me. ²⁵ You have ignored all my advice and have not been willing to let me correct you." - Proverbs 1:20-25 (Good News Translation)

What do you think?
 
Living in Grace
D3LM3

First Love?

 

"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first." - Revelation 2:4

When John writes to the church in Ephesus he picks up on the biggest issue that has weakened the witness of that church - they have lost their first love. More to the point, they have stopped loving the way they loved at first. This is not a critique on their ability to love, but rather an observation that they have lost their desire to love. 

For a number of reasons this particular church had been distracted by other things - mainly trying to sort out false teachers in her midst. This problem had sapped most of their time and energy, thus leaving them very little time to LOVE the Lord, their neighbours and to care for each other in the church. 

I think we all can relate to how easily this can happen. We don't plan to 'love less', but over time, our focus shifts onto other 'important' issues and soon we are giving God our leftover time, energy and focus. 

Is this something that you are experiencing lately? If yes, then let us LISTEN to what the spirit is saying to us all.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Ancient Wisdom

 

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest for your souls.
    But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
¹⁷ I appointed watchmen over you and said,
    ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
    But you said, ‘We will not listen.’ - Jeremiah 6:16-17

God invites us to stand at the threshold (crossroad) of a new year and to look out into the next 12 months. In order for us to navigate our way through the maze and muck of the future, we should ask for the paths that are well worn - the ancient paths that have carried the Faithful through their own lives. 

When we are given the 'good way', then we need to walk in that way, trusting in the Lord to be with us. Sadly, the people of Jeremiah's time chose not to walk in God's ways - they chose their own paths and in the end they forfeited the peace and rest they desperately wanted.

Let us listen to the words of God today!
We can still ask for the ancient paths and then we need to walk in those words of wisdom.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Resolve to Listen

 

“And now, you priests, this warning is for you. ² If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honour my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honour me.” – Malachi 2:1-2

When Malachi challenges the people of God about their relationship with the Lord he doesn’t hold anything back. He speaks primarily to the Priests, as they are the link between God and the people – the great responsibility rests firmly on their shoulders. And so God urges them to do 2 things:

i.                    Listen to God

ii.                  Resolve to honour Him

In my opinion, both of these things are ‘actions’ – we need to be intentional about listening and committed in ‘resolving’ to honour the name of Jesus. 

So, here is a question: 

How well are we listening to God during this Advent season? 

What plans are we making to honour God’s name?

Living in Grace

D3LM3