Living in the light of eternity

I've just been reflecting on this amazing song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF4qFdxD4kM) which reminds all those who love and follow Jesus of our Hope.

As you grow older, you face more hurts, pain and trouble. These can create bitterness and disappointment with God. Like Elijah after Mt Carmel we can run from what God has given, give up on life, let bitterness and sadness grow.

There is much said in God’s word about how we should respond - ‘A Father disciplines the children He loves’ (we have a loving father using these for His glory in us), ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ (He strengthens and enables us in our difficulties) ‘In this world you will have trouble, but … I have overcome this world’ (we find our true rest and value by looking only to Jesus) … and so much more.

But one thing can be missed … the very pain and difficulty we face is pointing us to a desire and passion for glory, a longing to be with Him where we find true joy and pain and suffering pass away. ‘To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, which is better by far’. He sets our hearts on the ‘better by far’ in and through the pain, loss, disappointment and suffering we increasingly face with age or illness. He gently leads us into it so that we will one day say with Paul ‘I have finished the race, I have kept the faith … Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.’

We are to be those who ‘long for His appearing’, who live in the reality of eternity. It’s time to look with wise eyes, rather than disappointed or angry eyes, at our trial, hurt, illness and age. It’s time to turn every trial to worship, to live and rejoice every day in the Hope that is ours in Jesus.

What am I trusting in? - Jeremiah 7:4

 Jeremiah 7:4

"Do not trust in deceptive words and say "The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord!"

I guess this verse share won’t get many ‘likes’. It wouldn’t in Jeremiah’s day either. But it’s message rings out still.

The people of Judah, and Jerusalem in particular, had got to think that they could act as they pleased, do what they liked, because God was with them. They relied on the promises of God, which was a good thing, but they simultaneously ignored the warnings of God, which was deadly. And so they let sin dwell in their lives, expecting God’s grace and love to let them off.

But God saw their hypocrisy and pointed to their ‘dishonest scales’, their gathering of goods, their ignoring of His day of worship, the idols in their life. He saw their trust in others rather than in Him. He knew they were saying, even in His Temple while worshipping, “ ‘We are safe’ – safe to do all these detestable things”. He knew the reality of their hearts underneath their outward temple worship. And He was calling to them - He longed for their purity of heart and worship, He longed for all His best for them.

It is a huge warning. We, even more so, can rest in the grace of God towards us in Jesus. We can quote Matthew 28 that He ‘will never leave you nor forsake you’ or Rom 8:1 that there is ‘no condemnation in Christ’ and yet use that as an excuse for hidden sin. We fail to remember that we quench His Spirit and turn from Him in our hearts. We too can allow sin to reign where righteousness ought to live.

There is, indeed, full acceptance, no condemnation, eternal love in Jesus. We have total assurance in Him. But the work of His Spirit is to transform us (Rom 12.2), His laws written on our hearts (Heb 8 ). We are to live in that reality, standing firm against temptation and sin, by His strength. We must not excuse or bypass failure to deal with temper, gossip, greed, selfishness, lust and so many other sins which we can so readily ignore and hide in our hearts. We are to to be ‘wholehearted’, not abusing His grace.

Warnings are always there to be heeded with humble hearts. It’s as important today to be hearers of His word, these words in Jeremiah, and to respond in humility to them. This verse may not be popular, but it’s a call of deep love to all who love Jesus.

Harsh but vital comfort - Isaiah 57:1-2

 Isaiah 57:1-2

The righteous perish,
    and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away,
    and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
    to be spared from evil.  

 Those who walk uprightly
    enter into peace;
    they find rest as they lie in death.

These verses may be upsetting … and I am sorry if they cause you hurt. But they are important because they were written as a comfort and a challenge.

Firstly we need to know that they do not apply to all who have died. We die because of the fallen state we are born into - “as in Adam all die” (1 Cor 15:52). Death is a fact of life for all because we are fallen and sinful from birth.

But, there is a comfort these verses that applies to all who die in Christ, and there is a comfort for some of them in particular.

For all who die in Christ the wonderful comfort we who are left behind need to know is simply this: “Those who walk uprightly enter into peace. They find rest as they lie in death.” This life is only a small entry in the eternity we have promised to us in Jesus! There is eternity with Him to come, a new creation to enjoy, resting in Him and with Him. The Bible described this as “present with the Lord which is better by far”. All tears wiped away. All things made new. No more crying or hurt. We truly ‘enter our rest’. And so we live in the light of this great and certain promise now, and rest in the truth of it for those who have gone before us and in our final hours. This truth makes all the difference now.

But, also, there is an additional comfort. It is true in some measure for all believers, but it has particular truth for a number. There are some who God takes early because He is preserving them from the pain of this world - the pain of seeing evil prosper, of seeing loved ones reject the Lord and His way, or the pain of seeing nations who once loved the Lord turn from Him. Because Heaven is our home, they are not ‘missing out’ when they die, but gaining everything. And the Lord in His kindness is preserving them from the agony of seeing people turn from His gracious call. Death is not a punishment for any of God’s people because we go to be with the Lord; but it is even more of a blessing for some because God is actively preserving them from evil.

So, there is comfort. But there is also a challenge.

In our finite view we do not know God’s purpose in the death of those He loves, beyond His delight in bringing them to be with Him eternally (Jn 14:1-6). But when we see Godly people taken from us - those used greatly by the Lord, those who particularly walk close to Him and are so Christ-like - we need to also know that their departing may also be a sign to us who are left. We are to ‘understand’ the times, to realise that we do not follow God as they did. Their departure is a sign from God to us of their love for Him and our world’s rejection of Him. The challenge is there so that we turn all the more in love to Him and bold witness of Him. We are to weep not only for them but for our evil society and our fallen world. We are to plead for God’s work of grace to continue in our generation. The challenge is this: They are a sign to us from our loving Father of what it is like to walk with Him, they are a call to us to ourselves walk with Him too, and plead with Him for the evil world we live in.

Comfort and Challenge - these are important verses for us to take to heart.

Mirror, mirror ... - Titus‬ ‭2:1-3:11

We know from James that the Bible should be treated in some ways like a mirror - it enables us to see how we really are. As we read it we see God revealed and realise how far we fall short of His glory. As we read it we see our own rebellion, failure and inability identified and realise how we are not all He designed and desires us to be. As we read it His Spirit makes His words live, encouraging but also convicting. And was we read it and His Spirit convicts so also to we hear God lovingly call us to see His cleansing in Christ, know his eternal acceptance, and turn again to Him to experience the transforming work of His Spirit.

But as I read this passage in Titus 2:1-3:15 it struck me afresh that we are called not merely to use His word as a mirror ‘reactively’.

We often will respond to coming across a challenge or being convicted as we hear a sermon or have our Quiet Time. And that’s great! We must respond to the prompting of His Spirit as we read God’s word if we are loving obedient children of God. But that is like using a mirror at home when you happen to catch a look at yourself as you pass it by on the way out of the house - a chance sighting in the mirror in which we are somewhat surprised to find we don’t look as tidy as we think we are.

But a mirror is intended to be used proactively more than reactively. We deliberately set time aside with a mirror in the morning to check we look presentable. In the same way we are intended to use God’s word much more methodically, as well as devotionally, to check our heart state, our love for Him, our walk with Him, the fruit of the Spirit evident in us, our desire for His Kingdom purposes.

And so Titus was given this set of specific things to particularly teach this church. They needed to proactively see whether their lives reflected and brought glory to their wonderful saviour. Lack of progress in sanctification isn’t an option - it is fundamental to who we are in Christ.

Although such ‘tick lists’ have been terribly abused in the past, that does not stop us from ‘redeeming’ them wisely, all under the umbrella of God’s great patience with us and grace towards us. We are not to abuse such self-checks to become proud of achievements, on the one hand, or become self-beating introspective failures, on the other. But my observation is that our current evangelical culture abuses grace to overlook rampant anger, lack of self control, missing patience, slander and so much more. We dishonour God and destroy the gospel as a result. And what I see in the church I see in me.

Maybe it’s time to take God’s repeated calls to ‘examine yourselves’ seriously as a part of our daily walk with Him. We can do so under grace because ‘perfect love drives out fear’ - ‘there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’. Like the Psalmist in Ps 139, we can let our all-knowing God examine our hearts with perfect confidence in His love. Indeed, to do so is a vital expression of the ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’ God writes on the heart of all true believers.

And we can start from these very verses. As a man or woman of God are these things revealed in Titus 2-3 still evdent in my life? What does God want to do in me to transform me? To seriously apply this passage to our lives would mean we have started to properly use the mirror God has provided.

True rest ... Isaiah 11:1-5

Isaiah 11:1-5

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

In eternity those who belong to Jesus will “see Him as He is” (1 Jn 4:3) and we will worship. For now, we have Him revealed in His word, revealed there by His Spirit. But we are meant to dwell on Him and all He is just as much.

So, read these verses from Isaiah 11. They were given to God’s people to comfort and encourage them just as the Assyrians were about to rampage through the land. The destruction of the Assyrian nation was promised, but in the meantime where is their hope to come from? - from seeing the Lamb of God.

So, in our difficult days, see the One who is wisdom, see the One who is almighty. See the One who is justice and righteousness. See His mercy and everlasting kindness. Remember His faithfulness. And know the comfort of His return and coming judgement.

And, like Him, we then need not be those who ‘judge by what we see with our eyes’ or ‘hear with our ears’ … we need not be blown about by the impact of the here and now. Rather, we can rest on Him, trust in all He is, find rest in His sovereign rule and great love.

The Right Desire - Job 17:11-12

Job is suffering. His suffering has been terrible and long. There is nothing to take it away. He even desires that he had never been born because of the weight of the suffering.

As he reflects it seems, indeed, that ‘my days have passed, my plans are shattered’. As we read we know that there is more to come, more blessing in store for Job, but from where he is there is nothing left.

But as he reflects he says ‘Yet the desires of my heart turn night into day’. What desires? He has lost everything and has just said that ‘his days have passed’. So, what desires make such a difference?

Well, in the previous chapter (though part of the same discourse as this verse) he remembers that he has an intercessor before the Father, and that intercessor is his friend. He knows and loves the Lord Jesus - this is his stronghold, hope and anchor. Job has already long before declared ‘The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord’. The desire that turns night to day is simply this … our love for the Lord that God himself has put into the heart of those who trust in Him.

And this is the key - my love for Him mustn’t be stolen by love for other things that will fail. That’s idolatry - to love another instead of love for Him. Wonderfully, love for God is both a fruit of the Spirit and a spiritual gift. We only need, in His strength’ to ‘guard our heart for it is the wellspring of life’ so that we ‘love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength’ … Him the first and foremost love, the One we will never lose, the One who we trust and who holds us, the One who turns our night into day.

Forgetful hearts? - Ps 106:12-13

Ps 106:12-13

Then they believed his promises
    and sang his praise.

But they soon forgot what he had done
    and did not wait for his plan to unfold

So struck by these verses from Ps 106. The Psalmist is remembering God’s goodness to Israel in rescuing His people at the Red Sea even though they had doubted His goodness and protection. When they saw His deliverance “Then they believed His promises and sang His praise”.

But the next verse reminds us that, even though they had seen His mighty power at work so recently, “they soon forgot what He had done”.

That alone is not only such an indictment of them, but reflects our own hearts so much. Does not the God who “so loved that He sent His only begotten son” also love us in the times of difficulty, also care for us in sadness, also walk with us in hardship? Of course He does … eternally!

But the final part was the one that really hit home to me: “and did not wait for His plan to unfold.” Like them, I see the momentary and fail to wait, often in difficulty, sadness or hurt, for all the Lord is doing. He is faithful. He is working out all His purposes which will be to His glory. He is doing far more than I can possibly imagine. And all His promises in Jesus are ‘Yes and Amen’; Not one word of all His promises to us will fail. In my impatience my heart can fail, but ‘looking into Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith’ we need not fear or waver.

Yes, I need to learn to “wait for His plan to unfold.”

Freedom to do ... what? - Gal 5:13

 

The glorious outworking of the Gospel is this: we are free! Free from condemnation - Jesus has borne our sin; Free from accusation - Jesus has paid the full penalty; Free from alienation - Jesus has brought us close, adopted into God’s family; free from slavery - we are no longer under the ‘ruler of the air’ but have been redeemed and set free from his authority; and free from the law (the context of this verse) because our righteousness is found in Christ and not our deeds (which are never good enough anyway).

But the wonderful call of the gospel is that, having been freed from all this, we have a wonderful saviour and friend under who we can willingly submit ourselves - His ‘bondslaves’, Jesus our Saviour and Lord. Love for Him constrains me both from sin and towards my Saviour; A new heart, in which He writes His law, directs me; Power from Him by His Spirit equips me with all I need. Freed from condemnation, freed to glad and joyful obedience.

In Him we are ‘free indeed’!

Knowing and experiencing all this, therefore, we don’t ‘indulge’ the freedom He gives to live according to the old desires. His way is life and peace and, knowing His deep, wide, long love for us, it should be our natural response to live in His love, delighted to follow Him, privileged to serve Him, honoured as part of His family to serve one another. It’s what our loving Father longs for us. It is our very best.

Who not to please - Gal 3:10

For a Pastor the tension between loving God’s people and becoming one who seeks to please them is difficult.

We love them and so want their best. But what God’s people want may not be what is their best. Leading them to put themselves under God’s word, as His servants, Pastors cannot do what pleases, but only what God says is best. And it is by this that we truly love them.

In doing so we will be hugely misunderstood, maligned and maybe even hated. But love leads in God’s pathway, not our own. It’s a hard calling, but so worth it when the fruit of God’s work in the lives of His people is seen.

But there is also a further tension. As a Pastor seeks to stand upon God’s word and not be a people pleaser, it is easy to become harsh, demanding and impatient. Just as parents easily lose patience with a child who refuses to walk safely on a footpath and instead walks constantly on the kerb, so we can be impatient and unwise in our desire to lead in God’s way. It is easy to use ‘I’m not being a people pleaser’ to excuse loving action taken in an unloving way.

This is why Pastors need to be prayerfully dependent on God, daily led by His Spirit and reliant upon His power. Who is able to do such a task? Only by God’s grace, wisdom and strength and the prayerful support of God’s people.

Still the same power and presence - Haggai 2:4-5

Although there are many reports of blessing during the Pandemic from churches and church leaders, I am concerned about so many reports of discouragement, stress and disheartened Pastors. At a recent youth leaders conference there were hundreds of youth leaders and yet only a few reported growth in their youth work, with the vast majority reporting smaller work and discouragement.

In this passage in Haggai the leaders faced a period of forced in activity in the rebuilding of the Temple. Sadly this was followed by a time of discouragement, a time when God’s people looked inward, built their own houses (lockdown DIY!), and forgot about God’s commands to build the Temple. God’s reproof came through Haggai, and came with encouragement (He’s the God of all encouragement after all!).

What was that encouragement? Simply this … that He is the same God with the same promises who is able to work mightily through His people. The Spirit, the same power that brought God’s people out of Egypt, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is still at work amongst us. And the wonderful summary is “My Spirit remains among you, so do not fear”.

I wonder how many Pastors need to proclaim this truth to their own heart, how many leaders need to know His perfect love which drives out fear, how many pulpits need to have this message from God proclaimed in our day?

What are we so disheartened about? Are any of God’s promises turned aside by a pandemic? Is not God sovereign? Are His Kingdom purposes ever thwarted? Is his hand ever pushed aside?

This continues to be the harvest time for His Kingdom, as we are reminded by the next verses: “… I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord Almighty.”

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So, we need to hear God’s encouragement anew: “My Spirit remains among you, so do not fear”

His word, His love-letter - Psalm 119:45

When you know Jesus as Saviour everything changes. And part of His transformation is that we discover that what seemed to be a list of do’s and don’t’s before, things which we could only be failures at, is actually a love letter. His word is written because He loves. As we read it we hear Him tenderly call, wonderfully lead, tearfully warn. And, because He transforms our hearts to desire Him with all our being, we rejoice to hear His voice of love, and delight to follow His way.

In doing so we discover that what had once seemed limiting and a cause of failure is life and peace. He protects us. He guides us. He leads us in pathways that are fruitful where before they were destructive. He gives us purpose that is eternal and doesn’t disappoint. He brings the joy of eternal hope to shine on life’s troubles. There is no trap, there are no barriers in His love … ‘He leads us in paths of righteousness’ and we learn that all we need is found in Him. He enables us to put all other good things, things which bring momentary joy but don’t ultimately last, in their right place so that we do find joy in them but are not enslaved by them.

In Christ, loving joyful surrender to His word enables us to find and walk in freedom!

If you have not found this, even if you have come to know Jesus as your saviour, can I urge you to stop resisting or running from His word, hear His love song, step out into the joy of living under His word - it’s the place of freedom!

Faithful Proclamation, whatever the cost - 1 Kings 13

1 Kings 13 is a strange passage - an Altar prophesied against, a prophet invited for a meal with another and a lion who kills the prophet but then stands beside the dead body. It all sounds rather bizarre. But there are vital messages for us in this passage, two of which impacted my heart as a Pastor particularly today.

The first is simply this … the unnamed prophet went at God’s command and proclaimed God’s message boldly despite standing against the King, the mood of the nation and the philosophies of the day. His confident proclamation was not the key …. It was God’s hand of power that turned the words proclaimed into powerful action. He didn’t know God would validate his words or protect his life in this way, and yet he went with God’s word, trusting Him. No one turned to God that day, despite the proclamation of God’s word and the display of God’s power. But it was enough that he was faithful and strong in the Lord. God would use his word as a testimony across generations and an encouragement to His servant Josiah many generations later.

The second lesson for me was the parallel truth that even in our obedience and faithfulness as Pastors we are going to be under attack from many sides. This faithful prophet was misled by another apparently Godly prophet. (Interestingly this other prophet himself seems led by the Lord though unaware it was a test for the faithful prophet, though I’m aware commentators differ on this). The faithful prophet’s failure in keeping to God’s command could cause us to worry about our own standing … how can I resist all the people and things that might cause me to fail? Yet the reality is the same for protection as it is for proclamation … we go only in God’s strength reliant on His word. We can be just as confident in His ability to keep us as we can in His ability to use His word. It’s about constantly looking to Him and hearing His voice, even when it is God’s people who may sincerely be seeking to help but are actually leading astray.

In proclamation and in protection our God is more than able, and we can rest in His might, His love and His direction. This is our confidence, but it is also our call to dwell close to Him, listening to His voice, confident in His leading.

Seeing God in our midst - Numbers 14:13-14

These verses are so relevant to our times. Bear with me and let me explain their context first.

These verses come just after the spies have been in the promised land, and 10 spies returned scared by the power of the nations in the land God had promised to give them, and only Caleb and Joshua had seen that God was able. Moses is pleading with God, and reminds himself, and all God’s people, in his prayer of all God has already done in prepare for them taking the land.

The nations had heard that God was with them. They had heard that they spoke with God ‘face to face’. They had heard of His power among them. They had heard that He leads them. God had already prepared their hearts to fear Him and fall before Him as His people went to occupy the land.

But God’s people didn’t see it themselves! All they saw was the size of the opposition, not the power of their God.

As we are about to come out of Lockdown, as God’s people are about to return to their workplaces, as we are about to meet many more people each day, I wonder if we are aware that we are in the same position. People have heard that We have met with the living God and seen Him ‘face to face’. People have heard of His power that has forgiven, redeemed and set free, people have heard of His mighty work transforming sin-scared lives. Yes, the opposition looks powerful, unconquerable, and today’s humanist-secularist world is fiercely opposed to God’s people. But He has gone before us. It’s His Kingdom that will be victorious. It’s His message of good news that will reach others and transform lives. It’s the gates of Hell that constantly fall.

So, let’s see as Moses saw ... all that God had already done to prepare the way of victory. Unashamed, undefeated, unshackled, emboldened by the presence and power of the Spirit, as churches and individuals this is a time of opportunity with a promise of ultimate victory. How we need to hear God’s call to enter into His gospel work seeing all He is and confident in all His power, so that His Kingdom purposes may be accomplished through us in our days.

 

The amazing intricacy of God's work - Ezra 6:1-2

Strange verses to highlight? No. God had sent the exiles back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city, but difficulties had arisen and the hearts of the people had strayed. But now, through Haggai and Zechariah, God had told them to start work again. It was going well,. but then opposition arose again. But, in explaining what they were doing, they mentioned that King Cyrus had commanded them to rebuild. In previous years the investigation that was then requested by the opponents would have generated only opposition. But Darius had become King (v1), and the Persians had taken Babylon in such a way that all records had been preserved. And more, he had seen Daniel's witness, had seen God's power and so he ordered a proper investigation. Just as well ... although he ordered the archives in Babylon to be checked (v1), it was further away that the documents were found (v2). And so the work was not only able to continue but given total authority.

What we see is the intricacy of God's work. His timing in bringing His word to the prophets, His work in softening the hearts of the returned exiles, bringing repentance and a commitment to do the work of God, His placing of Daniel for Darius, His work in Darius' heart, His working so that the documents were found even though not in the place they were ordered to look, and His enabling and enpowering of work on the Temple and Jerusalem. All this came together 'at just the right time'. The opposition that looked like disaster God used for His purposes. He had put all the pieces in place at the right time to completely work out His will.

Facing things that look like a problem? Seems like God is not working as you would wish? Being faithful to God but not seeing quite what He is doing? All these are Ok ... God is on His throne and working out all things well!

Three Points of Comfort in God - Psalm 75:1-2,9

In a time of panic, God's people have every reason to react entirely differently. These verses help us see how. There are three good reasons given:

1. 'Your Name is near' ... We have a God who has made Himself known to us, has revealed His love towards us in Jesus, and covenanted His love towards us ... He will never leave us nor forsake us, and we are hidden within the stronghold of His love. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This is His perfect love that drives out fear.

2. 'People tell of your wonderful deeds' ... He is a God who works in mighty ways. He has told us that He will shake the nations so that the desired of all nations will come into His Kingdom. He does this through many means, even through the fallenness of this world. He is sovereign God. Like Jesus, resting in a boat in the middle of a storm, we can rest in God's sovereign purpose and authority.

3. 'I choose the appointed time' ... We have a God who rules over all of time. The Psalmist in Ps139 reminds us that every day ordained for us was planned before one of them came to be. Our times are in His hands. He has numbered our days. Our life will not end until the time He has ordained. But this verse also speaks of the time of God's judgement. That reminds us that it is God who ordains even that final time and that even then, if we are in Christ, all God's just anger over our rebellion has been spent on Jesus - we are the redeemed. So, whatever the times are, we are secure in Him and need not fear.

There is one result of knowing all this in Jesus ... The Psalm starts and ends with praise. Even in the worst circumstances, God's people can be a people of praise because we know the certainty of God's love, power and authority. So, let's be the people we ought to be in Christ even when all around us fear.

A Famine to Fear - Amos 8:5,11

In a day when regular Church attendance by God's own people is going down, these words of Amos remain hugely relevant. When we spend the day God has given us to worship Him thinking more of the other things we could be doing for our own 'profit' we have forgotten that our greatest, our only eternal, profit is Jesus

We do not gather to tick a box, but to enjoy the presence, hear the voice and be reminded of the mission of the one whose love for us is perfect. When we think little of such a privilege, or even despise it (if not in words but certainly by our actions), we need to consider the alternative ... a famine of hearing God's word, His loving voice, His gentle leading, His compassionate words of peace.

If we are those who truly 'love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength', then our hearts will long to spend time with God and with His people, and will shudder at the thought of being cut off from hearing his voice.

This passage in Amos was a call of love to a loved but foolish people, ... and it still is.

A Heart seeking Jesus - 2 Chronicles 12:14

Uninspiring verse? Actually, no. For every believing Christian it should both warn and inspire.

You see, being a Christian is about an intimate relationship. It is living and walking with the Lord that is the privilege of the true Christian.

A relationship is always an act of the will as well as of the heart. And therefore as we come to Christ we are not only led to trust in Him but to walk with Him, following him where He leads, joyfully doing what He desires.

Any vital relationship chooses to keep the heart steadfast on the one who is loved, and to turn from other calls. So, to not have a heart set upon the Lord is to have a 'roving eye', looking for other loves. We cannot say that we love Jesus if we're also looking elsewhere. And an intimate relationship with Him requires that He is our only love.

So, there is a warning here ... Is my heart set on Jesus, am I looking only to Him? And there is huge inspiration ... A heart set on Jesus (which is not difficult because this is the work of His Spirit in us), as His heart is set on us, leads to that close walk that every Christian should hunger for.

Go and tell - Acts 5:20-21

The Apostles had just been arrested and would be tried the next day. Opposition was arising all the more. These were dangerous times. But the Lord's command through the Angel was simple: "Go ... and tell the people about this new life".

It wasn't to be done inside their churches or in backstreets, but where everyone gathered, and where the opposition seemed to be the strongest. Why? Because we have a God who longs to save. He is enthroned, and He laughs at the schemes of men against Him (Ps 2). He is mighty to save! And so we are not to hide in the shadows and cower in fear, but to go and proclaim the gospel - His New Life - wherever and whenever we can. It is only in obedience that we will see His salvation power at work through us.

We are in a day when people will not easily come into church buildings to hear about this new life we have in Jesus. His command to go does not diminish in times of opposition, but rings all the louder in our days.

Absolute trust enables good hearing - Matthew 16:6-8

Strange verses. But important. This little incident is included at the end of some major miracles and teaching and so stands out as a bit weird. But the Bible isn't merely recording that the disciples are slow to catch on!

What Jesus tells them is that their lack of ability to understand Jesus' words is directly linked to them not putting all their trust in Him.

Faith is repentance from the rebellion that turns from God's way to absolute and total trust in God and His way. A young child who absolutely trusts every word of their parent doesn't put their preconceived ideas before the word of their parent, and so when their parent holds out their arms and says 'jump' takes him/her at their word and jumps into their arms. Lack of trust in their parent would cause them to think of the impossibility of the task, the potential pitfalls, the other things they might do instead, or their preferred action - they would lose the pleasure of ultimate trust that throws oneself on the care and love of the parent.

And so, when we read God's word, we too can be like the disciples and not actually hear what God is saying because we're not living in the joy of absolute abandoned trust in Jesus.

So, do I need to hear Jesus' reprimand too? Is my trust in him so absolute that I hear His words clearly? Immediately after this Jesus says 'Who do you say that I am?'. This is the vital question ... Is He really the Son of the Living God, the one in who I can and do put all my trust?

God is at work, even in our darkest hours! ... 1 Samuel 28-30.

Saul was about to die.  David was in a really difficult position because he was required to go to battle against his own people.  He was there because he didn't trust in God's protection and stay in the Land God had promised.  And, we are meant to see that David could not have known that Saul was about to die ... it was revealed to Saul, far away at night.

Despite David's foolishness in being in this position, God arranged it that the other Philistine commanders should cause David to be sent away so he didn't have to fight against God's people.  Wow! ... God was at work protecting David and keeping him from the disastrous consequences of a foolish decision.  With what praise must David have been travelling back to Ziklag, where he was living amongst the Philistines!

But, just as they arrived back at Ziklag he found disaster ... the Amalekites had taken Ziklag and burnt it, taking all David and his men's possessions, their wives and children - everything.  It looked like total disaster!  They wept until they were exhausted with weeping.

David did the right thing - he enquired of the Lord.  And God told him to pursue after the Amalekites.

Well a lot of things happened, including finding a slave who the Amalekites just happened (!!) to leave behind who could tell them where they had gone.  So, David and his men came upon the Amalekites and not only took back their wives and children and all the things that had been taken from them, but also destroyed the Amalekites and took all the other plunder that the Amalekites had taken from many places.

Now, disaster turned into triumph.  But it was a triumph far, far greater than they even then could understand.

You see, David didn't know, but in 1 Sam 28 Saul had been told that he had failed by not destroying the Amalekites ... but David unwittingly did all that Saul hadn't done during this attack - the Amalekites were destroyed!

David didn't know that Saul had fallen in battle, but in defeating the Amalekites David was able to take the plunder the Amalekites had taken from Judah back to the people of Judah.  Now, as it happened, they were just about to start looking for the next King!  David didn't know it, but God was paving the way for David to find even greater favour in their eyes and be made King.

And David didn't know it, but God wanted him and his men to move from Ziklag back to God's promised land so he could become King ... and in the Philistine attack their homes in Ziklag had been destroyed, but God had now given them riches enough to re-establish back in Israel!

So, in the apparent disaster upon disaster that came from decisions that David shouldn't have made, God did far, far more than David could imagine or even see in the circumstances he was in.

David still had many tough years before he became King of Israel and defeated all the enemies.  But, in all the disaster of Ziklag, God was mightily at work and was preparing for the fulfilment of His promises to David and His Kingdom purposes for Israel and for our Salvation!

We need to know this in our disasters - God has far, far greater plans for us than we can possibly imagine!  Our present disasters are only a part of His greater triumphs, and He is still working things out, even in the disasters, in much greater ways than we could ever work out for ourselves.

How we need to see His greatness, trust in His sovereignty, rest in His purposes - even [particularly!] in the darkest times of our life.