God is following me!

Psalm 139:5 NLT  You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

As disciples of Jesus we follow him but there is a sense in which he follows us. He protects us, we have nothing to fear as we seek to live according to the pattern of life Jesus gave us. In fact though there is a cost to being faithful but also a tremendous blessing. What safer, better place is there than having God’s hand of blessing on our head. He does all this for us though we fail Him, though we fall into temptation, though we mess things up. There is a sense in which God follows behind us to pick up the pieces. He works things out for our good even when we are disobedient and foolish. We are safe and protected but not always comfortable. We have much to thank God for but he urges us on, challenging our pride and self satisfaction so we might be more like Him.  

Father, you go before me and follow me and take me by the hand, thank you!      

Are 27 year old Christian men difficult to work with?

Are 26-28 year old Christian men difficult to work with?

Someone recently suggested to me that 27 year old Christian men are difficult to work with. This may be it was suggested because they are rarely given significant responsibility at that age in church circles and yet in secular employment they may be taking on significant new responsibilities. Men of this age may hold strong convictions and be relatively stubborn and proud and yet keen to make a difference and change the world. They may not have matured sufficiently to be able to work well with others. Has anyone noticed this phenomenon? If it exists is it culturally bound to the UK or found in other countries? Comments welcome!    

Hating what is wrong!

Romans 12:9 (NLT) Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

Hate has lots of negative connotations and tends to be associated with a strong emotional reaction. A couple of things happened recently which certainly provoked a negative reaction in me. One from a brother who thoughtlessly did his own thing without regard to others who were involved and when challenged claimed the fault lay elsewhere. The other was from members of a sports club I associate with. What I didn’t realise was that there was an inner group of better players who secretly met when the season ended. A number of the inferior players aren’t good enough to be invited to be part of the group, me among them. Is this wrong? From their point of view there is no problem they have come to a private arrangement. For me I felt ignored and second class, I don’t belong.  Of course I just need to get over it, deal with any resentment, forgive and move on.  Unfortunately I have felt that same feeling in some churches. I’m not one of the “in” crowd, I don’t really belong, I’m an outsider and no one comes to me to talk, I always have to take the initiative. Again I need to forgive but ‘closed’ Christian communities are a contradiction in terms if we as Christians can’t welcome the stranger we are not welcoming Jesus and our Lord warned us about that (Mt 25:31-46). It is easy and natural to hate when we are personally offended but we should hate the wrong of believers whose treatment of outsiders prevents people from entering God’s kingdom. If we don't hate what is wrong we don't care and no one can accuse God of not caring.

Lord help us to care enough to hate what is wrong and do something about it when we need to.

What do our Bodies say about our relationship with Jesus?

Rom 12:1 (NLT) And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Our bodies were created by God and are His marvellous masterpiece. They belong to Him and are given on trust to us to look after, nurture and use in His service. This surely means we should keep these temples of the Holy Spirit healthy and fit for purpose. We are not free to abuse our bodies by giving them too much unhealthy food or drink. We are given energy and health to be productive in work, in helping and caring for the weak but above all in our worship to God in all we do.  Pampering our bodies doesn’t fit well with giving them to God as living sacrifices but neither does over-working them and causing them so much stress that they become weak or sick. Do our bodies reflect over indulgence, over work or God’s dynamic presence? In short what does our body and the way we treat it say about our relationship to Jesus?

Father, help us to give over every part of our bodies to you that we might please and honour you in all that we do.

Hardening our Hearts or Growing in Grace?

Romans 11:5-6 (NLT) It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

Our understanding and appreciation of God’s grace is vital for our spiritual health and growth. In fact our spiritual growth is dependent upon how we respond to the goodness and favour of God in our lives. But what does grace mean in the Bible and why is it so important?  The Greek word charis is normally translated grace in the New Testament but what does it mean? Grace has several meanings but primarily it has to do with the undeserved action of God in our hearts. This action of God comes from the lavish, extravagant generosity of God, prompted by God’s loving and compassionate nature. The supreme focus or means by which we receive grace is Jesus who freely chose to come to earth and give his life in sacrificial service and even death on our behalf.

Aristotle, defining charis, said that it is a gift conferred freely, with no prospect of reward, and finds its only motive in the bounty and free-heartedness of the giver. An adequate estimate of grace must see it as the communication of divine love. Cooperation with grace, therefore, is our response to the prior love of God. Another meaning of charis in the Bible is gratitude or thanks. This underlines the importance of our response to God’s undeserved kindness. Our whole lives need to be offered in thankfulness to God for  his loving kindness to us. This responsiveness becomes more self-sacrificing in proportion to our understanding and appreciation of God’s grace. Paul and Peter often bestowed grace and peace to their readers in their letters and as Acts 4:33 says, "great grace was upon them all." When Paul and Peter prayed that grace would increase, they were praying for an expanding work of God in the hearts of His people to give them deeper gratitude and that God would accomplish more in them and through them for His glory.  In other words, they were praying for God’s power and presence to be released in greater measure through God’s grace so that the Kingdom would advance.

Loving Father may we grow in grateful thanks and appreciation of all that you have done for us.