Expect great things!

"God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.” - Andrew Murray

This quote is one that I found while preparing for our Covenant service last week. I enjoy the depth of insight that Andrew Murray offers us through his writings. He was certainly someone who was able to express his faith in a clear way. Take another example of his thoughts - this time on prayer:

“Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ and expect great things!” - Andrew Murray

What strikes you about these Andrew Murray quotes?

Joshua 24:23 - “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

Living in Grace

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God's promises through a sign

God often follows up his words with a clear and definite sign. This is to make sure that we are 100% sure of his divine purpose and promises.

One of the best signs God ever gave was the one mentioned by the angels when Jesus was born. Let me take us back to the birth narratives of Jesus and let’s see what Luke wrote:

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).

May you hold onto the precious signs God has given to each one of us. May they give us all the strength we need to endure and to follow the ways of Jesus. 

Living in Grace

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The offering of all things

“Human resources

However limited,
When willingly offered
And divinely empowered,
Are more than adequate
To achieve divine ends.” - Stuart Briscoe

In preparation for our Covenant services this weekend, I found this poem. I think it is really challenging and invites us to offer our 'human resources' to the Lord. The small offering we can give will be divinely empowered and multiplied to share with others.

Psalm 76:11 (The Message) - Do for God what you said you’d do— he is, after all, your God. Let everyone in town bring offerings to the One Who Watches our every move.

What is it that you will bring? 

Living in Grace

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3 Promises in one verse

"This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear." - Haggai 2:5

The prophet Haggai gives us 3 reasons to celebrate this morning:

1. God has made a covenant with us.
2. His Spirit remains among us...always.
3. We don't need to fear!

May these words bring you encouragement and peace this morning. Our King is glorious.

Living in Grace

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Dying to things

In his delightful work Sharing the Foundations, Paul Tillich writes that "the new is created out of the death of the old." Of course this can relate to many different aspects of life, work and even relationships. 

However, I wanted to ask what this could possibly mean for us in a Faith context? And especially in the season of Lent.

What would the 'old' refer to and how will the 'NEW' be created out of that?

Hebrews 9:15 - "For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant."

I am drawn to the image of Christ's body that is laid to rest in the tomb - the death of the old. And then the Resurrected body of Jesus appears from that same tomb (the new created out of this). I am not sure if that makes sense, but I will start from there for today.

Living in Grace

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Rescued for a purpose

"So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful." - Jude 1:5

I find this verse quite hard to fathom in some ways - it leaves me feeling a little uneasy. It could give the notion of God as a revengeful tyrant, who delights in squashing his subjects. However, I believe it is good to read it with the background understanding of God's great compassion and mercy. 

It is true that the Lord rescued the Israelites from Egypt and later he condemned the disobedient to death, but it was because they chose to turn their backs on the Lord. All the promises the people made were broken through their own disobedience and this left the Lord with very little choice, but to discipline that generation. Jude is remind the people of how the old Covenant relationship was all about promises and consequences. 

Thankfully, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has now atoned for our sins and we can turn to Jesus as our Rescuer and Saviour. For all who receive this gift, we are given a renewed hope and opportunity to show our allegiance to God. 

For this reason, I believe we need to honour the second chance we have all been given.

Living in Grace

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Yet - a powerful 3 letter word (Ezekiel 16)

If you can manage to work your way through Ezekiel 16 you will eventually come to a truly hopeful word in verse 60. That word contains just three letters and is the word YET. This short word contains all the mercy, forgiveness and grace of God. Despite how betrayed God feels, he reveals his deep love for Israel when he offers them redemption and a chance to be restored again.

⁶⁰ Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. ⁶¹ Then you will remember with shame all the evil you have done. I will make your sisters, Samaria and Sodom, to be your daughters, even though they are not part of our covenant. ⁶² And I will reaffirm my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶³ You will remember your sins and cover your mouth in silent shame when I forgive you of all that you have done. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” - Ezekiel 16

As we take the opportunity to reflect on our own short comings and sins, this Lenten season, I invite you to receive the gift of 'YET.'
I deserve punishment, YET Jesus loves me more than I deserve.
I keep messing up, YET God is sanctifying me through his grace.
I stumble and fall, YET the Holy Spirit gives me the strength to carry on.

Reflection: What does God's YET mean for you today?

Living in Grace
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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
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What a Commitment!

“Shut out every other consideration and keep yourself before God for this one thing only—My Utmost for His Highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and for Him alone.” - Oswald Chambers

These words show us the commitment of  a person who was ready to serve his Lord wherever God called him. If you like, this was Oswald's covenant promise to Jesus - I will do my Utmost for God's Highest! He died at just 43 years of age (in 1917), when an emergency appendectomy never healed.

The dedication of this man should challenge us to ask: "Am I doing all I can to serve Jesus? Wherever God places me, am I using all my gifts to bring out the HIGHEST for our God?"

Worth thinking about...

Romans 8:9-10 (MSG) - But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself?

Living in Grace
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I Promise

We have all been let down by broken promises before - the pain may even still linger with some of us. After all when someone says, "I promise you", we tend to believe them, especially if they are family or close friends.

Have you ever stopped to think how God may feel when we break our promise to Him? Does God just laugh it off, or is there a little stab of pain in His chest too?

This Sunday, we are inviting our community to renew our promises (Covenant) with God. It is usually a special time of reflecting on our faith and relationship with Jesus. Reaffirming our Covenant with God means consciously choosing to re-commit my life to God. It doesn't have to mean that I have drifted off the path or that I am in a desert place, but it is a glorious opportunity to say to Jesus..... "I DO!"


"Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep." -
Denis Waitley

May you renew your promises to God on a daily basis.

 Please feel free to respond to any of the posts - I love getting feedback - some of you have been far too quiet lately:)

Living in Grace
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