A Prayer for Spring and for our Youth

"Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come; the cooing of doves is heard in our land." - Song of Songs 2:12

Here is a lovely prayer to celebrate the change in seasons, as well as asking for God to watch over our young people.

"Loving God and Father,
We worship you as the creator and sustainer of all that lives;
Lord, once again it is Spring.
All around us pulsating, sparkling life 

is breaking out in a thousand various forms.
Everything is so breathtakingly beautiful
that is releases a pang of joy in my deepest soul.
Your earth is awakening from its winter sleep!

Saviour, touch my heart too and bring my barren everyday life
to new life and growth.

This month we pray for our youth and children,
the most precious blossoms of our time.
Protect them in these times
of shifting values and spiritual threats.
Keep them strong against the evil powers
that seek to drag them down.
Help them to strive with all their might
for what is good and noble.
May the older generation encourage them
with practical examples of faith, hope and love.
Help them to be immovable in their faith in the knowledge
that Christ himself, their Master and Example was once young.
Bless, O Lord, graciously and abundantly
the great work done by parents, ministers and teachers
who support young people along the road of life.
In Jesus name. Amen." (based on a prayer by Rev. Solly Ovrech)

Living in Grace

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New life emerges .... slowly

 

The Message – “Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he spoke to them of becoming a new creation. That when we encounter Jesus, the old is gone and the new has come. However, sometimes I wonder why it takes so long for the this 'new' creation to appear in my life and then I begin to wonder if I there is something wrong with me. I am not sure if you can relate to this at all?

For this reason, I love Eugene Peterson's take on 2 Corinthians 5, where he speaks of how the new life in Christ 'emerges'. And this is when I think of how a butterfly emerges from the Cocoon, slowly. This takes time (anyway from 5 to 21 days apparently). 

So, when we allow the Spirit to transform our hearts and lives, let us realise that this takes time - we emerge from our old life, into the new creation of Jesus.

Living in Grace

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Rise up and be counted

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ invites all of us to a new life in his name. For us, this must mean a genuine desire to 'be resurrected' on a daily basis. What I mean is that we need to choose to 'die to our ourselves' and then allowed the Holy Spirit to renew us again. 

Perhaps for some people this happens in a once off event, but in my experience, this is something that I need to be willing to do every day of my life. As Matthew Fox writes - I must be willing to 'rise up and be counted.'

“to be Resurrection for another I need to be Resurrection for myself. That means I cannot dwell in [despair] or death and anger and oppression and submission and resentment and pain forever. I need to wake up, get up, rise up, put on life even when days are dark, and my soul is down and shadows surround me everywhere … I have to listen to the voice that says: Be Resurrection… Be Born again. And again. And again. Rise up and be counted. Rise up and imbibe the good news deeply – that death does not conquer, that life, not death, has the last word …” – Matthew Fox

Romans 8:11 - And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Living in Grace

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A new life emerges

"Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (Message)

...a new life emerges!

This is the phrase that encapsulates the Resurrection for all of us. Thanks to the work of Christ, who emerges from the borrow tomb, each of us can experience this gift of new life. As we emerge from the darkness of sin, so we allow the Light to help us adjust our eyes to our new world-view. Following Jesus changes us - slowly, but steadily. The old life disappears, as we embrace the new.

May you know the love of God today.

Living in Grace

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I can't promise you

I was given this lovely quote from Rev. Dr. William Sangster the other day. I think it is such a lovely reflection on the New Year and too good to be kept to myself. Enjoy it and may it offer us all some words to 'live by' in 2021.

"I cannot promise you, in the coming year, a new set of circumstances.
Indeed I anticipate for myself and for you, difficulties and disappointments
and obstacles and some pain – for that is life.
No year has dawned that did not contain them and if such a year did come 

it might be debilitating to the soul.
But in the Name of Him Who sits upon the Throne, 

I promise you that if you will receive Him into your heart and

if you will submit to His Lordship over you, you can have a new heart,
a new life and therefore a new birth.
I cannot beckon you away from the flinty path upon which some of you walk.
I am not commissioned to do so.
Those who follow Christ must travel a times by stony and rugged ways
but I do promise in grey times a new life in God." - Rev Dr William Sangster. 1900-1960

May God bless us all as we embark upon the uncertainty of the next 363 days.

Living in Grace

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P.S. My gratitude to Rev. Ralph Thornley for sharing this with me. 

Changing deserts

"The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; 
he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. 
Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing." - Isaiah 51:3

There is something wonderfully hopeful in today's scripture. It speaks to me of how God can change the deserts in my life into something truly beautiful. Those areas of my life that seem like wastelands can be transformed into gardens of renown.

Never give up believing that God can do miracles in your life. God is in the business of reshaping deserts.

Living in Grace
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New Life

Spring is upon us and with the change in Seasons comes the hope of change and expectation of new life. Here is a lovely prayer for Spring, which has been adapted by John Newton.

"Lord, afford a spring to me,
Let me feel like what I see;
Speak, and by your gracious voice,
Make my drooping soul rejoice. 
On your garden deign to smile,
Raise the plants, enrich the soil;
Soon your presence will restore
Life to what seemed dead before."

(from a hymn by John Newton taken from Guideposts)

Titus 3:5 - "... he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."

Living in Grace
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Heart Surgery - Lent 11

<sup>We needed to visit the new Christiaan Barnard hospital the other day and it is such a lovely modern hospital. As you walk through the passages and go to the various wards you notice a number of interesting displays, photos and paintings, all remembering the first heart transplant done by Chris Barnard in 1967. 

As we read Ezekiel 11 today, we find ourselves coming across this lovely promise from the Lord. He offers the sinful Israelites a chance at redemption and a new beginning. The graphic image of 'removing our hearts of stone' and placing a new heart within us, is such a wonderful gift. May these words inspire and challenge us today.
 
19</sup> I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. ²⁰ Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Ezekiel gives us this wonderful chance to receive this gift from the Lord, but also adds in the strong challenge in verse 21, which sadly needs to be in his message as some people are just simply 'hard of hearing'.  

Are you needing a new heart today? Is your Lent journey allowing you to replace your heart of stone, with a heart of flesh?

Living in Grace
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Out of the Darkness

Out of the Darkness
Out of the dark forbidding soil
The pure white lilies grow.
Out of the black and murky clouds,
Descends the stainless snow.
Out of the crawling earth-bound worm
A butterfly is born.
Out of the sombre shrouded night,
Behold! A golden morn!
Out of the pain and stress of life,
The peace of God pours down.
Out of the nails -- the spear -- the cross,
Redemption -- and a crown! - Author Unknown.

I love this poem - I just wish I knew who had written it, so I could thank them in person. It speaks to me of new life and hope. It reminds me that all good things come out of places of darkness. The lily, the butterfly, the sun, the Resurrection. All of these are born in moments where all seems dark and lost.

So, May God bless you and keep you - May God grant you the energy and strength to live for the dawn.

Living in Grace

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A lesson from the Fire

I have been down in Cape Town this week for some meetings - it has certainly been an interesting time and it is amazing how 3 days can make a difference in your world. Firstly, I arrived on Monday as Cape Town was burning - well, the forests around the city were burning and it was a scary thing. As I drove up Ou Kaapse Weg, smoke, flames and ash were evident everywhere. It was like driving through a movie scene.

Then on Tuesday, Cape Town was literally the hottest place on the planet - at 42 degrees things were 'hotting' up all over the Cape. It was the hottest day in Cape Town in 100 years. It was surreal to be in the midst of record breaking temperatures and disaster zones.

The one reflection that I take from these drastic events was a comment I heard on one of the local radio stations. One of the environmentalists was speaking about the 'positives' of the fires. He remarked that despite the obvious loss of property, animal life and forests, the rest of the environment will bounce back from the fires. The fires will actually aid in new growth of the fynbos and for the environment, in the long term. At present it looks like 'hell', but in the future the area will be fine.

It made me think about how we sometimes need to go through 'fire' in our lives/faith and how we often lament these moments. I know that I don't always see the bigger picture, but when we place our trust in God's hands, he always brings incredible new growth from the 'devastation.' So, the next time you face a firing trial, just hold on to what you can and then ask God to give you insight into his plans for the future.

Isaiah 43:2-3
 When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

God bless you
Living in Grace
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