Freelance writer and Speaker
‘God saw all that He had made and it was very good.’ Genesis 1:31
Everything that He has made is indeed good; it is mankind that tends to spoil it. I love to see the sky as the sun rises. There is not much time to stand and watch its progress; but I can send a quick thank you to God. Computers and social media do not give hope and comfort. It is only from God that we can be uplifted.
‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ Psalm 27:1
If we really believe this verse, we should never fear but it’s not as easy as that. We forget, get overtaken by circumstances or just don’t have time to stop worrying. If we learned by heart various verses it might help. But then again we don’t have time to learn. We can be like a drowning man who won’t take of the life-belt.
We spend time with our Bible, not to get to know the Bible, but to get to know Christ, who is revealed through the Scriptures.
The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27a
When one wakes up in the morning, we never know what the day will bring, good or bad, or just ordinary. The comforting thing is that God knows exactly what will happen. And because of this we can lean on Him. He’s got it all sorted.
‘No longer will a man teach his neighbour or a man his brother saying ‘ know the Lord’, because they will all know me.’ Hebrews 8:11
I always find it difficult telling others about my God. I either say too much or too little. I know I need to rely more on God about this.
When I look at this verse I not sure about my theology, but my thinking is it will be about a time when everyone knows and acknowledges God. This means that I won’t have the difficult job a evangelising.
‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’ Psalm 133:1
I remember my grandmother singing a little ditty based on these words. Christian unity was needed in her day and it is needed even more now. We need to rejoice in all that unites Christians, especially our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
‘I keep my eyes on the Lord, With Him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices, my body also will rest secure.’ Psalm 16:8-9
Being close to the Lord takes every part of us – eyes to look to Him, right hand to hold on to Him, heart being glad and tongue rejoicing and body being secure. No wonder our walk with God is so all absorbing; it takes every part of us and fills every part of us. Let us praise.
‘The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.’
Ralph Nichols
‘Stop, look, listen before you cross the street, Stop, look, listen before you cross the street.
You use your eyes, you use your ears, You use your ears, you use your eyes,
And then you use your feet.’
I remember learning this road safety little ditty when I was young. (I must have taken note as I’m still here!) But it also applies in our Christian life. In this day and age it is so difficult to stop. Life is a rush. In our rushing we get into some nasty scrapes. We need to stop.
We need to look, look at the Bible, see what it tells us, look around and see God’s many blessings.
Then we need to listen. Listen to His promptings, listen to the word of other Christians and listen to His word.
‘Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are His. Job 12:12-13
Well, I can be classed as aged, but I’m not sure how much wisdom can be found in me. I have long life, but there are many things I don’t understand. At times I feel I understand less and less.
I’m thankful that wisdom and power can be found in God. That is where I place my reliance. To God alone belong counsel and understandings