Trust, Take, Commit

Much has been written on these 3 significant verses in Psalm 37.

"Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;    trust in him and he will do this:" - Psalm 37:4-6

However, I want to offer us a slightly different perspective on them today. I notice that each verse begins with a verb - a word that involves some kind of action on our behalf.  If call myself a God-follower I will need to put my faith into action. I do this by living out these 3 things:

1. Trusting in God

2. Taking delight in Christ

3. Committing my way to God

Each of Jesus' disciples needed to make a conscious decision whether they were willing to do this. There were times when some of the fringe believers drifted away because they couldn't live out these 3 things. Being a disciples of Jesus is not the easy option!

What do you think?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Peacemakers and Helping those in trouble

"Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
    a future awaits those who seek peace.
³⁸ But all sinners will be destroyed;
    there will be no future for the wicked.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him." - Psalm 37

As I reflect on this part of Psalm 37, I am reminded of two parts in the Gospels. The first one is when the Psalmist says, "a future awaits those who seek peace" - I was wondering if it is possible to link this up with the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:9.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." 

The other part is from verse 40, which pointed me to the passage in John 8, where Jesus delivers the women caught in adultery from the hands of the religious fanatics - all they wanted to do was stone her, but Jesus saw her plight and rescued her from their grasp.

Do these verses speak to you at all today?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Do not Fret

"Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,    like green plants they will soon die away." - Psalm 37

"Fret" is not a word we use much anymore, but we understand that it means 'to worry.' However, I think it means more than that - the definition of 'fret' is to be 'be constantly or visibly anxious.'  So these words from the Psalmist invite us not to be always consumed with anxiety, especially in light of people who are wicked. The implication is that they will receive their reward in due course.

Jesus used the same sentiment when he spoke to his followers in his great sermon on the Mount:
 
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34

Question: What is it that you are worrying about at the moment? How does today's Psalm help you to deal with your anxiety.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

While you wait

How good are you at waiting? I confess that I am not the best - I am quite impatient actually.
In Revelation 21, John gives us a vision of the New Heaven and New Earth - it is something to look forward to and certainly to give us Hope for Life beyond the grave. If you want to read that passage then click here to read it again.

The question I ask is this: "What are we to do, while we wait?" Surely we can't just twiddle our thumbs and sit around doing nothing, while we wait for that glorious day? I think part of the answer lies in Jesus words:

"A New Command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." - John 13:34-35

If could occupy our time by LOVING in the way that Jesus loved, then I believe we will transform the world 'while we wait.'  

These well known words we given by Jesus to his disciples, even after he had told them that Judas would betray him. This teaches us that Love is not a nice thing we offer to people when we are in the mood, but a conscious choice, despite the way they may treat us.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

The Honeycomb

"Gracious words are a honeycomb,    sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." - Proverbs 16:24

The healing properties of honey are well known. Even in Solomon's days people related good health to 'honey'. Just as we need the miracle of honey to sustain us physically, so the words we speak can add life and health to those who hear our words.

^"Kind words are like honey—enjoyable and healthful." - Message
  
“Kind words are salve to a cankered soul; spread generously.” -Richelle Goodrich

Speak kindly today - you may just bring life to a troubled soul.
 

Living in Grace
D3LM3

New ways

Very few people enjoy change. A handful of pioneers seek out change, but the majority of us take some time to embrace new ideas. And of course there are small group of us who dig our heels in and refuse to accept change at all. I am not sure which group you fall into, but it will usually be in 1 of these 3 groups.

As a Christian community we also confront change - sometimes not as quickly as we should, but we do encounter change. A quick glance at the book of Acts will show us that the early church dealt with changing situations on a weekly basis. I strongly feel that in order for the church to grow and to be Incarnational, we need to be dynamic. Our Message should never change, but the medium we use should be scrutinised appropriately.

·      “When we follow Christ, we must be prepared for new ways to live, new ways to look at people, and new ways to serve.” – Bible Commentary

    Jesus was a pioneer of change and look how he changed the world. 

¹⁶ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ¹⁷ Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” - Matthew 9

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Gathering Together

 

We gather together this week as Church Synod's, to worship, pray, deliberate, debate and fellowship in Jesus name. These times may not be everyones "cup of tea", but we understand the importance of gathering together as the Church leadership and representatives of all our various groups. Please can you PRAY for the Methodist Church of Southern Africa as we prayerfully elect a new Presiding Bishop this week, and also as we choose a new Bishop for the Cape District. Thank you.

"In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews^[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. ² So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³ Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them." - Acts 6

Also read: Hebrews 10:23-31

Living in Grace
D3LM3