Learning to walk

My friend, Hugh Till, shared this lovely prayer on Sunday during his service. It really spoke to me, and I would love to share it with you too. It is called: Learning to Walk, and was written by J. Bradley Wigger.

"O God of steadfast love,
trusting you, we devote our hearts to learning,
and our lives to walking.

Teach us truth, that we may walk with courage.
Teach us mercy, that we may walk with humility.
Teach us forgiveness, that we may walk with compassion.
Teach us grace, that we may walk with strength.
Teach us wonder, that we may walk with praise.
Teach us goodness, that we may walk with those in need.

O God of steadfast love,
Learning from you, may we walk well.
Amen." (From Together we Pray: A Prayer Book for Families (Chalice Press, 2005)

Thought: As we begin a new year, we would do well to devote our hearts to learning and our lives to walking well. 

Living in Grace

D3LM3 

Trust in the Lord

The words in the following Proverb are so simple, yet so hard to live out. However, if we manage to truly honour these words, then I believe that we will begin to see God's hand at work in our lives.  

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." - Proverbs 3:5-6

Question: Has there ever been a time when you have felt that your 'way' was the best way forward, but it hasn't worked out according to your plan? How did the situation end up and did God show you which path to take in the end?

John 12:44 - Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Not as it seems

Things are not always as they seem.
This word 'seem' very simply means 'to give the impression of being a certain way' and it can be used in all kinds of different contexts. The important thing for me, is that when I look at a particular object or scenario, it may 'seem' in a certain way to me, but I could be wrong. Let me give you a few examples:

The world may seem to be flat if I look at it from the perspective of a few hundred meters. However, when I look at it from outer space, then I realise that it is far from being flat.

The earth may seem to be stable and not moving at all. However, we know that in fact our planet is constantly moving around the sun and also rotating around it's own axis.

Lockdown may seem to be going on for eternity, but in truth it has only been 50 days!

The writer of Proverbs says it like this:

"There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way of death."-  Proverbs 14:12

In following Jesus, we can't always see the bigger picture, but I believe that it is important for us to trust in God's ways and plans. Even if things seem to a mess, we must believe in Jesus' willingness to guide us into the path of peace and righteousness.

Phaedrus - "Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many."

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Praying is no easy matter

Prayer can be so easy at times and then, in other moments, it can seem so hard. Henri Nouwen reflects on the intimacy of prayer, which can help us understand why it is so hard at times.
 
"Praying is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your person, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched."

1 Corinthians 2:11 - "For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."

May you discover more of yourself as you allow the Spirit to speak to you during your times of prayer.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

3 - Prolonging your life

My apologies - I know that I was supposed to be doing a count down to Easter Sunday, but in all the busyness of preparing for the services I ran out of time. So, if you would humour me for these posts, these are the last 3 days of my 40 days "Lent" count down. These few verses from Proverbs 3 have always been meaningful to me and I offer them to you today.
 
"My child, do not forget my teaching,
    but keep my commands in your heart,
² for they will prolong your life many years
    and bring you peace and prosperity.

³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Then you will win favour and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

29 - A word for South Africa?

Reading through Proverbs 29 today, I had to stop at verse 4 and reflect on the impact of the words. Is this not what has been taking place in our country recently?

"By justice a king gives a country stability,    but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down." - Proverbs 29:4

It seems to me that our new President is giving South Africa a lot more stability at the moment. Sure, he is also going to make mistakes, but if Cyril Ramaphosa can remain 'Just' and 'Wise' then we could see a lot of angst drain from our land.

The rest of the chapter also makes interesting reading, ending with these words:

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
    but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

Many seek an audience with a ruler,
    but it is from the Lord that one gets justice.

The righteous detest the dishonest;
    the wicked detest the upright."

May we continue to trust in the Lord, not in rulers and kings. The Lord is the one who will keep us in his care ALWAYS.

 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

31 - Into your hands

We are familiar with the words of Jesus when he says: "Into your hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46). What we may not be familiar with is where the words come from. There is every chance that they come from Psalm 31, as Jesus knew the Psalms backwards. He would have recited them over and over again, so he knew the sentiments of each Psalm clearly.

Psalm 31:5 - I entrust my spirit into your hand.
    Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God. (NLT)

"I’ve put my life in your hands. You won’t drop me,
    you’ll never let me down." (Message)

"Into your hands I commit my spirit;
    deliver me, Lord, my faithful God." (NIV)

I believe that we can also pray these words - they are a sign of surrender and submission to Jesus.  Have you done this today? Our journey towards Easter is a daily journey in surrender and trusting in the character of Christ.

Prayer: "Lord, I choose to place my life, my spirit, my all, into your hands today. Amen."

Living in Grace
D3LM3

In God we Trust

On the 5th April 1953 American President Eisenhower started the National Prayer Breakfast. A few years later he stated that the phrase "In God we Trust" would be the national motto. It is a lovely motto, but how easy is that to live out - Not just for the American people but also for ourselves.

It is easy to say "In God I trust", but do we really believe that?

Psalm 31:14-15 -  But I am trusting you, O Lord. I said, “You alone are my God; my times are in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.

Living in Grace
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Strong arms

In a museum in Scotland, resides the sword of the famous Scotsman William Wallace who was a hero and patriot. A visitor once said, “I do not see how this sword could win such victories.” 
“Ah sir, you do not see the arm that wielded it,” came the reply. “ - G.B. F. Hallock

When it comes to trusting in the power of God to work, we sometimes forget the strength of 'God's Arm' - It may seem that God has lost his power or that the enemies around us are stronger than our God, but we should never forget the power of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 59:1 - Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. 

Isaiah 52:10 - The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Psalm 136:12 - "...with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures for ever."

Trust in the power of God today.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Keep Pedalling

A few of us went mountain biking this afternoon, as we needed to get some final training in before we do the Hill2Hill race on Saturday. There was a moment en route where we needed to pass through a tunnel that had no lights showing us the way. For a few seconds we were all riding 'blind' - all could do was try to keep the bike straight and the pedalling smooth. Thankfully, we soon saw some light and then we knew that we were going to make it through to the other side :)

This brief moment reminded me a lot about our faith experience. There are many moments in our lives where we just have trust God and keep pedalling. We don't see what the end looks like, but we just trust that God will get us through to the other side. In my experience, God MAKES sure that we get through the 'dark tunnels' in our lives and he leads us into His light.

So, if you find yourself living in a dark space at the moment, please just keep pedalling! God hears your hearts cry and he will not let your foot slip.

Psalm 73:2 - "But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone."

Psalm 66:9 - "...he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping."

Living in Grace
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Admitting our weakness

Today's reflection from our friend, Thomas, makes interesting reading. It still amazes me that he was writing in a totally different era to us (early 15th century) and yet I feel as if he is writing with an acute knowledge of our times.

"What a strange life! Trouble and misery are always in stock. Traps and enemies are abundant. When one problem retreats, another takes its place. And sometimes the second difficulty doesn't wait for the first to be resolved."

It is in the context of the life's troubles that he realizes his need of God. Thomas a Kempis needed to admit his own weaknesses. "You know how frail I am Lord. Have mercy on me."

Identifying our weaknesses and then admitting them to Jesus is a hard thing. As Humbling as it can be, I feel it puts us in a great place to receive mercy from God.

What are your weaknesses? Are you willing to admit them to God today?

Living in grace
D3LM3

In God I trust

"In God I trust and am not afraid!"

These are the words of David, spoken in a time when he was facing many obstacles in his life. I think they are spoken as words of promise and courage. When we are confront with trials and tribulations the easiest thing to do is turn and run. But, David had experienced God's deliverance on numerous occasions and so he reaches back into his memory and speaks a bold word of promise:

Psalm 56:3-4 -"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise –
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?"

I encourage us to do the same. Speak boldly into the situation that lies before you and trust in God's hand of deliverance.

Living in Grace
D3LM3 

All will be made new

Henri Nouwen makes a beautiful comment on prayer and how it has the potential to make all things new. He writes:

"Prayer is a radical conversion of all our mental processes because in prayer we move away from ourselves, our worries, preoccupation, and self-gratification - and direct all that we recognise as ours to God in the simple trust that through his love all will be made new." 

Directing all that is "ours" to God is a good practise. Not something we are good at doing, but something we need to do. Prayer gets us to trust that, in God, "all will be made new!"

Have a blessed weekend.

Living in Grace
D3LM3