Better than life

"I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you." - Psalm 63:2-3

In calling out to God for help David reminds himself (and the Lord) that he has already experience the power and glory of God in the sanctuary. This could be a way of reassuring himself that God is 'alive' and able to make himself known to his people. When you feel all alone and you struggle to see when God will show up, it is good to look back and be reminded that God is always present with us. This can in the temple or in the desert. Anyway, actually. 

Verse 3 is David's way of saying that knowing the unfailing love of God is worth more to him than surviving his current ordeal. This knowledge would allow David to push through the pain of his trials. Or as one author states: 

"Life without God is worse than death itself" (A. Anderson)

Living in Grace

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Longing for God - Psalm 63

"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land where there is no water." - Psalm 63:1

There is a part of us that resonates with David's cry for God. We sometimes feel dry or barren in our spirit and we long for an experience of God. It feels as if there is no water in sight and that we may die of spiritual thirst. 

This can happen when we go through difficult times or face big disappointments in our lives. It can even happen out of the blue or when things are going fine. I believe we shouldn't beat ourselves up over this, but rather cry out to the Lord and trust that he will quench our thirst in time.

It is thought that David was actually hiding out in the desert while he wrote these words, so he is comparing his thirst for God with his actual thirst in the desert. 

It is interesting how our personal experiences can help us see God in a new light.

Living in Grace

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Anyway - a remarkable poem

This poem is so remarkable and inspiring that I feel it is worth sharing again. The world in which we find ourselves now is in need of love, kindness and grace. Despite the negativity that surrounds us let us 'live for God' anyway. Enjoy these words:

"People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

 
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

 
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

 
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

 
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

 
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

 
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

 
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

 
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway." - Mother Theresa

Living in Grace

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Fighting for unity in the church

I had the privilege of writing an article for the Scripture Union magazine a while ago and it was published last week. It is around 'fighting for unity in the church' - if you find the time please click on this link and have a read of the article. There are some other great articles from other authors there too.

Click here to read the article 

Ephesians 4:3 - Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Living in Grace

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Blue Monday

Monday's can be a little depressing for many people. A lot of this has to do with it being the first day of the week for many folk and so it marks the return to the 'grind-stone.' However, today is a 'Blue Monday' for me for a number of different reasons. Let me share these with you and then make a reflection.

In the main, it has been a deeply sad day because I have heard of a number of deaths today. Two colleagues of mine from the Methodist Church passed away due to Covid - they were both in the prime of their lives, but contracted the virus. I grieve for their loss, for their families, their communities and the loss for the church. 

I also heard of two other deaths - both deeply saddening and traumatic. I grieve for each member of those families and for their overwhelming sorrow and loss. It all seems too much. 

So, where do we turn and how do we recover from such grief? We can turn to the pages of the Scriptures, as well as the wisdom of those who have also endured great loss, and yet have had the strength to carry on. One of these people is St. Augustine. In his work "The City of God" he writes of heaven:

"We shall rest and we shall see,
we shall see and we shall love,
we shall love and we shall praise,
in the end, which is no end."

If you have also had to deal with grief during this time of the pandemic, I urge you to remember that God is still with us. God never let's us go, despite what our circumstances may tell us.

John 17:1-4 - You put him (the Messiah) in charge of everything human, so he might give real and eternal life to all in his care. And this is the real and eternal life: That they know you, The one and only true God, And Jesus Christ, whom you sent. (The Message)

Living in Grace

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Comfort is here

How often do you think of Jesus as Comfort? 

I know that we speak of the Holy Spirit as the 'comforter', but what about Jesus? As he reflects on the life of Christ, Bernard of Clairvaux writes:

"Comfort is here; help has come down from heaven. The kindness and humanity of God our Saviour have appeared. The kindness of God was always there, for the Lord's mercy is from everlasting; but it was hidden till the 'humanity' had appeared."

I think it is a beautiful picture of Jesus - not only is he the one who sends the 'comforter', but he is also Comfort.

"... who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." - 2 Corinthians 1:4

Living in Grace

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Why not me?

When Christopher Reeve was thrown from his horse and broke his neck in 1995, many people wondered how such a tragedy could befall a famous actor like him. Christopher response was something along the lines of "why not me?" His point was that anyone can suffer. Suffering is not reserved only for the poor, the outcast, the sinner. Everyone suffers at some point in our lives.

This point was driven home to me when reading through Mark 5. Suffering is universal – rich and poor encounter it. Just because we have social status like Jairus (the leader of the Synagogue) doesn’t preclude us from suffering. 

This is the one thing that Covid has also shown us. People from all walks of life have suffered and even died – doctors, lawyers, teachers, pastors, clerks, the homeless etc.

It is interesting that we somehow think that the rich don’t encounter trials and difficulties – but we are wrong. We were watching the movie about the life of Steve Jobs the other evening –he was the founder of Apple. This is what he said towards the end of his life, as he was dying of Cancer.

Steve Jobs - “At this moment, lying on the bed, sick and remembering all my life, I realize that all my recognition and wealth that I have is meaningless in the face of imminent death… In other eyes, my life is the essence of success, but aside from work, I have a little joy.”

As we go through our own periods of trials and testing let us remember we are not alone. Others can relate to us and certainly God is with us. 

Mark 5:22-23 - Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”  So Jesus went with him.

Living in Grace

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