How good God is to create in us a desire to enjoy the beauty of His creation!
Just got back from 10 days away with Gray in Wales. We went to the aberystwyth conference organized by the Evangelical Movement of Wales. Art Azurdia was the main speaker & we were really blessed by his preaching on the subject 'A clarion call to a worldly Christianity'. He was teaching us about being 'in the world but not of it'. There's lots for us to think through and put into practice and I'm hoping to spend the next few days thinking through all that we learnt.
We went on to llandudno for a few days after and met up with some friends there. We enjoyed the beautiful scenary, God's amazing creation, and the time to be with each other. Were off to Paris tomorrow. It'll be my first time there and I can't wait!
]]>How good God is to create in us a desire to enjoy the beauty of His creation!
He preaches on Jeremiah 32:38-41:
And they shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good, and for the good of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.
This passage holds such wonderful promises for Christians:
1) God promises to be our God and that we will belong to Him.
2) He promises to change our hearts and cause us to fear Him - everything that He asks of us, He in fact does through the Spirit's work in our hearts eg giving us our faith which saves us.
3) He promises to not turn away from us and that He will keep us from turning away from Him - He gives us persevering faith which will last for all eternity and He will never leave us.
4) He promises to rejoice in doing us good with the greatest intensity imaginable - He chooses to do this with all His heart and all His soul, both of which are infinite!
Isn't it a wonderful blessing to know that God rejoices in doing us good?! In 2 Chronicles 16:9, the Bible says 'the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.' What a wonderful truth to feast your mind on when things seem difficult!
Reminds me of Romans 8:31 - If God is for us, who can be against us?
]]>Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Galations 6:10
Life is made up of golden chances, opportunities to do good. One lost is lost forever. If we miss doing a kindness to a friend, we can never do that kindness again. If we might speak a pleasant word, or offer a bit of worthwhile counsel or advice and fail to do so, we can never have just that opportunity again. Giving is a way of life.
AM Burton
Whenever you feel a prompting to do a good thing do not ask anybody whether you should do it or not; no one ever repents of doing good. Ask your friends afterwards rather than beforehand, for it is ill consulting with flesh and blood when duty is plain...It cannot be wrong to do the right thing at once; nay, in matters of duty, every moment of delay is a sin.
CH Spurgeon
I'm really drawn to this idea of not waiting to do good. When I think too much about things, I talk myself out of doing good because it seems so silly. With God's help, I want to live more like this.
]]>It was really windy and that always whips up my spirits - I love the wind so much! Plus I was listening to some of the music from Prom Praise on my MP3 player - one song, particularly: 'I know that my redeemer lives and ever prays for me, a token of His love He gives, a pledge of liberty. Jesus, I hang on every word. I steadfastly believe you will return and claim me, Lord, and to yourself receive. And we will lift you up, HALLELUJAH, holy is our God, and we will worship you, for ever the same.'
How wonderful it is to repeat to yourself what you believe and stir your soul up into praise that way! Jesus WILL return and claim us. HE WILL! I love that song for reminding me of that truth when I'm in the middle of the normal doldrums of the day. Christians don't have to live a doldrumy life because we have such a wonderful future! I found myself grinning from ear to ear and singing along very loudly as I was walking up towards the station, with a bounce in my step, all because God loves me. How wonderful!
]]>Psalm 39:4-5
]]>Matthew 6:20-21
]]>That doesn't mean I don't have a responsibility to act or that I can just sit back and wait for things to drop into my lap in some fire and brimstone miraculous way. Sometimes they do, but mostly I have to keep reading God's word and push doors prayerfully, waiting for Him to open up opportunities or close them as is His will.
This morning I was thinking about Ephesians 1:4 - '...He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.' and the same chapter, but verse 11 - 'In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpse of His will.'
Verse 4 is one that comes to my mind regularly. It's wonderful to think that before the world was even created, God knew that He would create me, He knew that He would save me and He knew His purpose for my life.
I thought I'd quote a bit from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible - about these verses as I found it really heartwarming:
'We have here the date of this act of love: it was 'before the foundation of the world'; not only before God's people had a being, but before the world had a beginning; for they were chosen in the counsel of God from all eternity. It magnifies these blessings to a high degree that they are the products of eternal counsel. The alms which you give to beggars at your doors proceed from a sudden resolve; but the provision which a parent makes for his children is the result of many thoughts, and is put into his last will and testament with a great deal of solemnity.'
It really makes me realise how much God loves us when I think about Him actively chosing us in eternity. Before He even created the world we physically live on, He knew us each as we would be. He knew how we would offend Him, our individual weaknesses for idols but He still chose to love us. Only a truely loving God would think of someone so small and unimportant at the same time as planning 'the big scheme of things'!
]]>It made me sad that there were so many people walking through the high street and not noticing it. I wondered if any of them ever stop to notice the beauty of creation.
It reminded me of how much God loves beauty - He created things to be so lovely, not just practical, and even some things He created beautiful even though only He would ever see them, like the fish that live in the depths of the ocean.
It reminds me that He's interested in tiniest details of our lives and that nothing is too small to pray about. Psalm 8:3-4 says 'When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?' I was really struck by that thought, knowing how great God is and how little we deserve His love, but He still chose to give His Son so that we might be reconciled to Him - how amazing He is!
