Challenge

Early morning challenge today. I read Luke 1:45: You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said. Elizabeth said this to Mary, mother of Jesus, while both were expecting special babies promised by the Lord.

It led me to ask myself, where am I disbelieving? What of God’s specific promises to me am I doubting? I was able to identify one which I’ve let slide out of sight, as I’ve sought to avoid disappointment, and one other where I am ‘fearfully believing’ – an oxymoron because there is no fear in faith. And after that I was stuck.

I realised that most of the time I am praying my preferences, or praying open-ended, woolly prayers because I don’t take time to listen to what God’s vision is for whatever the situation or person. 

So today I challenge myself to do less begging on my knees and more listening for the Father to reveal his heart to me, and then stepping forward into the vision with strong and sure prayers and firm faith that God never breaks his promises.

Why should I presume that the Lord of heaven and earth would reveal his heart to me? 

Amos 3:7: Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

May you hear the Lord’s promises to you today, and believe him.

No reason to be Bored ... or is there?

Dusty is bored with our walks.

We live in the middle of a rural paradise. Our nicknames for some of our walks are ‘The Enchanted Forest’, ‘The Haunted House’, ‘The Forest of Endor’, and ‘The Fort’. 

Dusty’s no longer impressed. She’s smelled all the rabbit holes a zillion times. She’s sniffed after the deer and picked up their ticks. And she’s bored.

Now, invite her into the car, and it’s a different story. She’s eager, excited, ready to repeat some of the other great walks around here which we’ve not done as a daily routine.

It reminds me of our worship in churches. We may have the best organist or praise band. We may have the most challenging sermons and enlightening prayers. But if it’s too repetitive, people – we – can become bored. We can become so bored we turn around half way there and go back home. 

Well, I’ve not done that, and actually, I’m not bored with our church services. But I think it’s a danger we need to be aware of, that we don’t become stuck in a rut and start going through the motions of worship. Sometimes that challenge comes in shaking up the order of the service, or in changing the method of delivery, or in learning new songs and listening to the young people.

I’ve just read a book in the Bible, Amos chapter 5, in which even God shows he gets fed up with people going through the motions without really engaging in worship. He blurts out, ‘I hate all your show and pretense – the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.’ ... ‘Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.’

Now that puts a whole new slant on ‘doing church’. It’s not so much where we go, or what we do, as who we are. And how we demonstrate ‘whose’ we are.

So I’m going to go out today with that in mind. Where I can make a difference today in terms of justice and righteousness, please help me God to do it.