Would you start with this?

Most of us find the Psalms a breath of fresh air. They are honest, heart-felt, challenging and also filled with promise. But if you were going to group the Psalms together, would you have started with Psalm 1? Read it and see what you think...

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

At first I wasn't sure, but the more I read it the more I think it is a great way to 'kick off' the collection of Psalms. What do you think?

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Spiritual COR

Whenever we buy/sell a car we have to make sure that we get the vehicle through COR. The guys at COR take a look at everything in the car and they make a list of everything that needs to be repaired in order to ‘pass’ and to receive the certificate. You can’t register the vehicle into your personal name until this process is complete – that’s just the way it is!

Can you imagine if God did a personal COR test on each one of us when we decided to surrender to Him – when we chose to be under new ‘ownership.’ I wouldn’t pass the test – how about you?

Thankfully Jesus doesn’t wait for us to be perfect in order to bless us with his forgiveness and grace. We become his children FIRST and then he begins the task of ‘fixing’ us up through the power of the Spirit.

Romans 5:8 – “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Thank you Lord for operating under terms of Grace and Mercy.

Live for Jesus.
D3LM3

Another Inspiring picture

As we get ready to start another week, I pray that this picture would inspire you and remind us of how awesome our God is.

Psalm 8:1 - O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

The Cross

Think on this. And then pray on it too!

"The way of the Cross winds through our towns and cities, our hospitals and factories, and through our battlefields; it takes the road of poverty and suffering in every form. It is in front of these new Stations of the Cross that we must stop and meditate and pray to the suffering Christ for strength to love him enough to act." - Michael Quoist

God Bless you and keep you.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Guest Blogger

Today I want to do something different with my blog.
You are getting used to my thoughts and opinions on things, but I want to bless you with the insights of a friend of mine. Rev Gareth Killeen is our guest blogger today. Here are his thoughts:

LIFE IS NOT ABOUT ME

Life is not about me. This is one of the hardest lessons the Gospel has to teach us. For everything in society screams at us that life is in fact all about us, and that if it is not then we are doing something seriously wrong. ‘Look after number one!’ ‘Everyone for themselves!’ ‘It’s a dog-eat-dog world!’ ‘Survival of the fittest!’ These are just some of the messages we are relentlessly being force fed through TV, movies and magazines. A billboard for a popular car a few years ago summed up this attitude up by showing a picture of its vehicle with the words, ‘Me. Me. Me,’ splashed all over it.

But life is not about you. This truth may come as a quiet whisper at first. A feeling of disquiet deep within that gradually begins to protest at this ‘me-centric’, self-absorbed society. “Surely,” we begin to ask, “There is more to life than just me?” For self-absorption only leads us down the rather dark and lonely paths of selfishness, insecurity and unfulfillment. As the old saying goes: ‘A person wrapped up in themselves makes a very small package indeed.’

The Bible brings to us an entirely different, yet profoundly simple message in comparison. You are a beloved, precious child of God, but life is not about you and you were not created to live as if it were. If we want to learn more about this then we need look no further than Jesus. Jesus, who has been described as the ‘human face of God,’ did not follow the ‘me-first,’ self-absorbed models of life that we are told are essential to our happiness. Instead, Jesus was quite prepared to spend his days involved in matters other than himself: Worshiping God, helping the sick, washing feet, loving the unlovable, and standing up against oppression and injustice,.

Jesus was utterly focused on God and then through God onto others. And we have been made to be like Jesus – to imitate his way of being. Romans 8.29 (MSG) sums this up beautifully:

“God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.”

Thanks to Gareth for these insights. Gareth is heading up So What! at the moment (under the ministry of Crux Mobi Media). If you are in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday evening come and listen to Gareth as he shares at the Wesley evening service (6pm).

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Jesus Creed

Scot McKnight, amongst others, refers to Jesus' version of the Jewish
Shema as the "Jesus Creed." These well known words of Jesus are
deeply profound. I urge you to take a minute and to say these words
out loud.

Here O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind, and with all your strength.

The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no
commandment greater than these.

Be blessed.
Living in Grace
D3LM3

Prayer with a difference

Eugene Peterson is an inspired author, pastor and teacher. I love his version of the Lord's Prayer. It just brings a different dimension to something that we know well. Sometimes familiarity can close our senses to the beauty of the True message. Read this and see if it breathes some freshness into the ancient prayer:

"Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right:
Do what's best - as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes."

Enjoy and be blessed.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3