Still Waters

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Psalm 23 tells us ‘ He leads me beside still waters.’ verse 3. Another version says ”quiet waters.’ I always see this psalm pictorially in my mind. I’m lying in a lush meadow, to my right and down the hill is the village with all it’s noise and bustle. To my left is the river of water which I used to imagine as fast flowing but now realise they are quiet waters, still waters. Not a fast flowing stream where everything gets swept away.

The water flows slowly and calmly, sparkling and fresh. It definitely is not stagnant, that would be smelly and unproductive. Our lives are always productive, even in our resting and waiting times God is restoring and building us up. The water in psalm 23 is probably full of fish and sweet-smelling. Our stream is going somewhere, guided gently by God, it has a destination. As it flows it is gathering wisdom and discernment. Others can join in and their lives can also be overflowing with joy and purpose.

In this environment the noise and babble of the world will be shut out; the water will be restorative, cleansing and invigorating. It will be like the river in Revelation. Our God is so good to us, to give us this peaceful place. The rest of the 23rd psalm talks of the valley of death and our enemies, but God in His love give us this peaceful time and His comfort for evermore.

Preparation

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‘At once they left their nets and followed Him.’ Matthew 4:20. Simon Peter and John’s call to follow Jesus resulted in an immediate response from these two men. This was in contrast to the man who wouldn’t follow Jesus until he had buried the dead, which was an excuse. But the immediate response of the disciples would not have come out of the blue. Day after day they would have heard Jesus preaching as they went about their work as fishermen They would have heard His words and witnessed His miracles. Their stirred hearts were being made ready for the calling.

Saul/Paul’s acceptance acceptance of Christ was just as sudden, but he was also being prepared. His persecution meant he had studied the scriptures thoroughly to arm himself with information to persecute. His knowledge was exceptionable. This groundwork led to the Damascus road.

Today, conversion still follows preparation. Those who are older would have learned from Sunday School, school or from their families. The younger ones could have learned that Christianity was something to be avoided but when at uni, a roommate could have told them the good news. A new neighbour could share the news, a colleague in a new job.

How exciting if we are chosen to be part of this awakening!

Small Blessings

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The disciples were exhausted physically, emotionally and spiritually. In just a few days they had witnessed their beloved Master tried, beaten, crucified and then arisen from the dead. No wonder they went back to what they knew best and where they felt safe. – fishing. Maybe it was necessary financially, but certainly necessary emotionally. There is only so much the human mind can take.

Twice the risen Jesus had been seen by them and now as they were staggering off the boat after a busy night fishing they saw Jesus on the sea shore cooking a meal for them. Their nets were full of fish, 153 large ones. This was definitely a large catch as the exact number of fish were mentioned. Jesus has the fire and the bread ready, all that was needed was the fish.

They would have been tired, exhausted even, but breakfast was nearly ready. An added blessing, their nets were not even broken. No net-mending needed! It is wonderful that God is mindful of us in the same way – a bus arrives quickly when our load is heavy, a friend makes us a coffee when we are particularly busy, all the traffic lights are green when we are late for an appointment.

May we always be mindful and especially thankful for all God’s blessings, whether they are large or small.

In Thankfulness

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We are encouraged every day by the numerous blessings we have received. I can imagine Philip in Acts 8 giving thanks for the blessings he had received on that particular day that we read about. Under God’s guidance he was on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. I can imagine Philip in conversation with God, ‘I only obeyed Your instructions and look what happened. It was through Your will that I met this Ethiopian who was in charge of all the treasury of the Queen, not just any Ethiopian. There he was travelling along reading Your word and not understanding it. I was able to share Your good news with him and suddenly there was some water nearby (there’s not of much of that in the desert) and he was baptised. Because he was such an important person many people will now hear about You.’

The day of miracles isn’t over and Philip met many of them in just one day.

We pray that when we meet such an opportunity we may be ready as he was. It might not be so spectacular but any soul won for You causes the angels in heaven to rejoice. May we be as ready and obedient.

One Step

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‘Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.’ Psalm 119:105

dI notice that in this verse God is providing a lamp for my feet, not a beam that lights up everything. With the lamp not everything is illuminated. With this light of God we will only be able to see a few steps ahead. This means because we can’t see far into the future, we have to trust Him. The future will be veiled but this also means we can’t see the troubles and worries ahead.

The old hymn by John Parker puts it so well

‘God holds the key to all unknown and I am glad.

If other hands should hold the key or if He trusted it to me,

I might be sad.

Then we are comforted with this thought ‘For, what I cannot, He can see and in His care I safe shall be.’ We are grateful that He kindly veils the future. Living under God’s grace day by day we will grow.

Weak Roots

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The trees had to come down to make way for a new road. This is always sad but it was necessary because of the ever increasing population and greater volume of traffic. The felled trees had been around for decades and their strength provided protection for the weaker trees behind them.

These trees had always been protected from the harsh weather and high winds and had not grown strong with deep roots. This meant that when they were exposed and the storms came, they were uprooted and fell. It reminded me of the house built on the sand which collapsed when the floods came. The weak trees which were then exposed to the elements had little strength of their own , because they had never needed it.

The same principle applies to people. If they have never been exposed to difficult lives, they are not prepared when times get difficult. That might be why sometimes God does not give us what we want when we ask. He has to do more preparation in our lives. We are inexperienced and need to be toughened up. The Bible tells us that ‘man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards.’ We trust God to prepare us for the trouble at the right time.

Prayer and Service

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In James 2:26 we read, ‘faith without works is dead.’

Have we ever been guilty of saying ‘I’ll pray for you’ and then forgetting to do so.? It’s easily done but then when we forget to pray for that person is like breaking a promise to God. We know the importance of prayer, we know it’s power. But a promise is a promise; it should never be broken.

Every Monday evening I pray for a work when my church feeds the homeless and those with addictions. If I fail to pray on Monday the guests and leaders would never know but I would know and God would know. This is a work that the church has been doing for over ten years and it has been built up and prospered by prayer. But prayer alone doesn’t help our visitors. It is equally important for the work to be done. It involves those who buy and prepare the food, those who prepare the rooms, those who wait on the guests, those who give a talk, witness or provide the music. It also involves those who wash up and tidy up.

If the work is done without the prayer it is merely being a do-gooder. Christ requires both from us.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

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This book by C. S. Lewis is so well known and often quoted. But I wonder how many people, myself included, have ever read it. I realised this was an omission in my reading life and am now rectifying that. It has been said by Lewis’s critics that it wasn’t written as a Christian book but as I read I find it is very insightful into our Christian life through the lives of the four children.

Edmund portrays our waywardness and wilfulness by his addiction to Turkish Delight, we don’t want to let go of our sin. Referring to the girls as Daughters of Eve and the boys as Sons of Adam reminds us of our origins. There is a lovely play on words with reference to Spar Oom and War Drobe. The Snow Queen with her ability to produce snow so that it ‘is always winter but never Christmas.’ is another aspect. Aslan is our Saviour, dying for our sin, though I haven’t got to that part yet. And one by one the children come to love and trust Aslan.

I have seen the film but the book needs to be read as well. I have many exciting hours ahead of me. I have also read the Screwtape Letters but I’m sure there are many more books by Lewis that I could enjoy.

I Am

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Our church young people had a great week camping in the middle of their summer holidays. It was a period away from home making new friends, learning more about the Lord and surviving a severe storm on the first day. Their theme for the week had been the great ‘I AM’s of the Bible, each day taking a different attribute of Jesus. As always seems to happen on the next Sunday a few of them were asked to tell the church about their week and what they had learned. The youngsters were so nervous when standing in front of the church and not sure how to answer the questions put to them.

Between them they mentioned quite a few I Am’s so there wasn’t much to add when it came to the last young girl. Hesitantly she answered, ‘I Am ……..er Everything.’ It raised a smile, but what a great deal of truth in what she said. God is everything and anything to us. Just look at all the names for Him in the Bible, He is a Guide to those who are lost, a Comforter to those who need comfort, a Teacher to those who need teaching. There is no need we have can have that Jesus doesn’t answer. God doesn’t treat us all alike, we are individuals and our needs are individual. The young girl got right, I AM your everything.