Strong right arm

If you have ever wondered if God is left or right-handed, then Psalm 118 is an ideal Psalm to give us an answer:

"The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph. 

The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!" - v.15-16

Of course, this is just a way of expressing the power of God, and God is probably ambidextrous in any case :) 

I just love the picture of God being there for us, not just as a protector, but also as a comforter. When you think of the 'strong right arm' of the Lord, what comes to your mind?

Psalm 89:13 - Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Under the hand of the Shepherd

"Once again shepherds will count their flocks in the towns of the hill country, the foothills of Judah, the Negev, the land of Benjamin, the vicinity of Jerusalem, and all the towns of Judah. I, the Lord, have spoken!" - Jeremiah 33:13

In the midst of a bleak prophecy concerning their future, Jeremiah shares a delightful reminder of God's love for the people. He speaks of how the flocks of sheep will return to the hills and the shepherds will care for them and count them. From being a place of desolation to a place teeming with life!

One commentator suggests that the process that the shepherds may adopt is to allow the sheep to come into the fold, one at a time, passing underneath his hand. This helps him to count them in a controlled way, but also to see if there is anything wrong with them.

As we continue on our journey towards Christmas, may the image of the caring hand of God comfort you and to help us rest in his mighty presence.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Guardian of our souls

"He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross,
so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.
By his wounds you are healed.
Once you were like sheep who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls." - 1 Peter 2:24 (NLT)

The phrase that struck me in today's reading is 'Guardian of your souls.' 

This speaks to me of the promise that our Saviour has finished the work of salvation on the cross. When we place our lives in his care, we will still face trials and struggles, but Jesus remains the Guardian of our Souls. 

Perhaps, it is an ancient image that we should borrow for our present culture and hold onto the gift that it offers us. The world may attack us from the outside, but our Christ remains the protector of our souls. This is what Jesus was saying to his disciples, when he urged them not to be worried about what people could do to their physical bodies.

Matthew 10:28 - “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul."

Living in Grace

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The Canopy

                                                             

The scriptures capture some beautiful images of God's love and protection for all God's children. Isaiah is one of those prophets who used many creative 'pictures' to share the message of God's mercy with the Israelites. Reading through Isaiah 4, I came to these verses which I want to share with you today:

"Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain."

What do you think of that? 

I love the image of the canopy - God's glory will be like a canopy protecting us from the sun (heat) and hiding place protecting us from the storms of life.

"If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest." - Corrie Ten Boom

Living in Grace

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We don't care! - Lent 35

In his stinging message to Edom, Ezekiel reminds them of the words they spoke against Israel.

“For you said, ‘The lands of Israel and Judah will be ours. We will take possession of them. What do we care that the Lord is there!’ - Ezekiel 35:10

They showed trued contempt for the Lord and took no notice of God's presence with his people. The Edomites made an assumption that they could destroy Israel and Judah without reckoning on God's revenge. 

This whole attitude reminds us of the accusations and words thrown at Jesus during his journey to the cross. The venom in the words of the crowds, soldiers and religious leaders assumed that God would sit back idly and do nothing. How very wrong they all were.

Reflection: God cares for those who are under his protection. 

Living in Grace
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A lioness and her cubs

Can there be a more powerful illustration than a protective lioness looking after her two cubs? It certainly got my attention as I started reading chapter 19 of Ezekiel's book.

“What is your mother?
    A lioness among lions!
She lay down among the young lions
    and reared her cubs.

He was a master at using word pictures and illustrations to get people to listen to his words. As I read these words, I was thinking of a lioness walking through the veld, followed closely by her young cubs - the image is firmly rooted in my mind!

The sad reality is that the 2 cubs in Ezekiel's vision represent 2 of Judah's kings - more than likely Jehoahaz and Zedekiah. The lioness is symbolic of the nation of Judah - the caring mother (v.2).

Interestingly, his illustration changes completely in v.10, where suddenly Ezekiel no long pictures Judah as a lioness, but rather as a vine that will be uprooted by the enemy. Everything will be lost and so the funeral song must be sung.

Using this chapter in our Lenten journey is important for us as Christians, because it reminds us of the death of Christ. Everything seemed lost on Good Friday - all hope was gone and Jesus was dead. However, this is not where God wanted to story to stop. It moves through the pain of the Cross, to the silence of death and then, ultimately, to the celebration of the Resurrection.

Thought: Don't skip past the 'funeral' songs in Ezekiel, nor the trials in your life. As Christ-followers, we REMEMBER that our story doesn't end here - there is always another chapter to be unveiled.

Living in Grace
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Proverbs 18

"God’s name is a place of protection—
    good people can run there and be safe.

¹¹ The rich think their wealth protects them;
    they imagine themselves safe behind it.

¹² Pride first, then the crash,
    but humility is precursor to honour.

¹³ Answering before listening
    is both stupid and rude.

¹⁴ A healthy spirit conquers adversity,
    but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?

¹⁵ Wise men and women are always learning,
    always listening for fresh insights.

¹⁶ A gift gets attention;
    it buys the attention of eminent people." - Proverbs 18 (Message)

When I stumbled upon Proverbs 18 today, I have to admit that I only needed to read verse 10 - that was enough for me - God gave me the hope and encouragement I needed. As you read these words, may you find a WORD of comfort from one of the lives of this Proverb.

Living in Grace

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That picture!

There are a few iconic pictures, paintings and photos that speak such volumes into our lives. One of them is the photo I have attached. I was reminded of this photo during this last week and, being a preacher, I had to use it in my sermon yesterday.

Have a look at the picture and reflect on these few words from Psalm 46. I will share some more thoughts on this later in the week - so keep reading :)

Psalm 46:1 - God is our REFUGE and Strength, an ever present help in trouble.

Today, may you hold onto this powerful image and the words of this Psalm.

Living in Grace
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34 - The Desperate Prayer

The word for today is simple and clear.

When we pray our desperate prayers, God makes sure that an Angel surrounds us and protects us.

"In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
    he saved me from all my troubles.
⁷ For the angel of the Lord is a guard;    he surrounds and defends all who fear him." - Psalm 34:6-7

You may not be feeling it today, but this verse teaches us that the Angel of the Lord is there. Let us believe it!

Living in Grace
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The Lifeguard

Apologies if you were expecting a nice picture of a hunky Lifeguard, but I wanted to make sure that you all remained focused on this post :)

Over the holidays we went away for a quick break down to the beach, but for a few days swimming and surfing was banned. The hectic weather conditions and giant surf made swimming far too dangerous.

What was interesting to note was that the Lifeguards were warning people not to go into the surf, but there were people who still disobeyed the order and tried to go and swim.The swimmers would be reprimanded and then come out the water - but a few minutes later someone else ignored the ban and tried to swim. At one point the exasperated Life guards were telling people that bathing was banned for the SAFETY of the public! It was not that they wanted to chill out and take a day off – no, they were doing their job and trying to protect people.

This reminded me of how we sometimes view God and his commands. We often think that God has made the rules and commands just to mess with us – like some kind of sick LIFEGUARD, who just wants to stop my fun in the sun.

It is interesting that when the Lord gave the 10 commandments to the Israelites it was to PROTECT Them and keep them safe in the NEW LAND they were about to enter into. They had been used to living under the leadership and rules of the Egyptians for generations. These were set for them to say to them – “Hey, guys it is gonna be tough out there – if you want to survive and live long in the land, then I am laying down these guidelines.” But the people kept ignoring God.

Nehemiah 9: 16-18 - But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands. ¹⁷ They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them."

God is not a mean person trying to mess up our lives, rather he is a loving LifeGuard trying to protect us from getting ourselves in trouble.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Clash of the Clans

My kids have become all excited about the game 'Clash of the Clans.' If you want to know more about the game, have a look at it here. Part of the game is that you need to build a village and then fight against other armies, doing a whole lot of other things along the way. Watching them build their village made me think of these words from Isaiah, where he speaks about God taking care of us. It is almost as if we are his 'city' and God does all he can to protect and defend us.


1 "We have a strong city;
    God makes salvation
    its walls and ramparts.
² Open the gates
    that the righteous nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
³ You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.
⁴ Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal." - Isaiah 26:1-4

May you rest in the safe surrounds of our Almighty God.

Living in Grace
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Lent 8 - God's care for us

"It is Your love that ... graciously upholds me, supports me in so many necessities, guards me from so many dangers, and snatches me from evils without number." - Thomas a Kempis

Have you ever stopped to consider how many times God may have protected us without us even knowing it? It is easy to ask God for the blessings and help, but we may never know (until we meet God face to face) how many dangers and evil things he helped us avoid.

God cares for us in ways beyond our understanding. When we place our lives into his hands, we surrender all the good, bad and ugly moments unto His will and purpose. Perhaps God will indeed show us a DVD of our lives when we get to heaven and God will point out every time he snatched us from potential harm. Worth thinking about I think!

Genesis 28:15 - "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Be blessed today.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Thanks to www.gracerivers.com for the photo

Shield - Lent 3

God promises to be a shield around us - this applies especially to the times when we feel we are under attack, but also everyday of our lives.

"But you are a shield around me, O Lord." - Psalm 3:1

Take note of the word "You" in the verse. God is not promising to give us a material shield; a man- made object, made of steel or cow-hide or whatever. God is promising that He will be the shield. That makes all the difference!

When Jesus died on the cross for us, it was not some 'ordinary sacrifice' God provided for our redemption - He gave us himself! And that makes all the difference too!

"But you, God, shield me on all sides;
You ground my feet, you lift my head high;
With all my might I shout up to God,
His answers thunder from the holy mountain." - The Message

May we know that God is a shield around us day and night. May we rest in the care of his grace and love.

Some other thoughts worth reflecting on in Psalm 3:

• God answers our cries
• The Lord sustains us
• The Lord delivers us

Living in Grace
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Obstacles or NO

When we face obstacles in our lives one of the hardest things to discern is, whether this is God's answer of 'No' or whether this is just an obstacle to grow our faith. Each situation is different and should be prayed about separately, but we should recognise that God can say 'WAIT' or even 'NO.'
He may have put an obstacle in our way for a very good reason.

In my devotion this morning, the Our Daily Bread included the story of Balaam (Numbers 22) and this great quote:

"Balaam's story teaches us that not every obstacle is meant to be overcome. Some are placed by God to keep us from doing something foolish. When our plans are hindered, we shouldn't assume that it is satan trying to stop us. IT MIGHT BE GOD TRYING TO PROTECT US."

Pray for wisdom, my friends.

Living in Grace
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