Promises, promises

Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.

Over the years, there is a long history of places of refuge that even find within their place in the law of the land and within the tradition of the church. A refuge is the state of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or difficulty. In the Old Testament there were cities of refuge the Cities of Refuge were six cities allocated to the Levite tribe that provided asylum for perpetrators of unintentional manslaughter. Divinely appointed and subject to Mosaic Law, the cities offered offenders refuge and protection from retribution of the avenging family until their case went to trial.

But what of those who have no place of refuge. We are well too familiar with the plight of the countless number of refugees through history that sadly still blights our world today. 

Just take some of the headlines of writers who put the plight of refugees in context.

From an Office for Refugees “To be called a refugee is the opposite of an insult; it is a badge of strength, courage, and victory.” From the pen of Nadia Hashimi “Refugees didn’t just escape a place. They had to escape a thousand memories until they’d put enough time and distance between them and their misery to wake to a better day.” With Khaled Hosseini saying - “Refugees are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, with the same hopes and ambitions as us—except that a twist of fate has bound their lives to a global refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale.”

In Charles Wesley’s Hymn, “Jesus lover of my souls”, he hass the verse that puts us in the same place as the refugee when in the second verse he writes”-

Other refuge have I none

hangs my helpless soul on thee; 

leave, ah! leave me not alone, 

still support and comfort me. 

All my trust on thee is stayed…

During an earthquake, a few years ago, the inhabitants of a small village were very much alarmed. One old woman, whom they all knew, was surprisingly calm and joyous. At length, one of them said to her, “Mother, are you not afraid?” “No, she replied, I rejoice to know that I have a God who can shake the world.” 

I wonder if I have such a trust mentioned by the Old Women and the Psalmist.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank you that in times of trouble, in trials, in our fears and worries, we can run to you and find you to be a refuge and strong tower. You are our strength and our safe-place. Lord, help me trust you with my decisions and future. Let me lean on you with all my heart instead of relying on my own imperfect understanding. Give me clear guidance in my life. I ask for your help to direct my path. In your name and strength I ask. Amen

Promises, promises

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

How adventurous are you when it comes to food? Or have you ever visited another country and looked down the restaurants menu and seeing the plates brought to other tables are a little diffident as to whether you should order the same.

At the University of Chicago Divinity School each year they have what is called "Baptist Day." It is a day when all the Baptists in the area are invited to the school because they want the Baptist dollars to keep coming in. On this day each one is to bring a sack lunch to be eaten outdoors in a grassy picnic area. Every "Baptist Day" the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education centre.

One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr. Tillich spoke for two and one-half hours proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as the historical resurrection the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact, never rose from the dead in any literal sense. He then asked if there were any questions.

After about 30 seconds, an old, dark skinned preacher with a head of short-cropped, woolly white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium.

"Docta Tillich, I got one question," he said as all eyes turned toward him. He reached into his  lunch bag and pulled out an apple and began eating it. "Docta Tillich ..." CRUNCH, MUNCH ... "My question is a simple question, "CRUNCH, CUNCH ..."Now I ain't never read them books you read ... "CRUNCH, MUNCH ... "and I can't recite the Scriptures in the original Greek ... " CRUNCH, MUNCH ... "I don't know nothin' about Niebuhr and Heidegger ..."CRUNCH, MUNCH . He finished the apple. "All I wanna know is: This apple I just ate-was it bitter or sweet?"

Dr. Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion: "I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven't tasted your apple."

The white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly, "Neither have you tasted my Jesus."

The 1,000 plus in attendance could not contain themselves. The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers. Dr. Tillich thanked his audience and promptly left the platform.

Perhaps we should - Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Dear Lord, 

Thank You for being good. Thank You for the promise that I can be happy as I trust You. Open my eyes Lord as I read Your Word and think about Your goodness in my circumstances. Help me to taste Your truth and see how You are working in my life. May my life and the joy you fill me with, encourage those around me to taste and see that You are good. 

In Your Name, Jesus, I pray,  Amen

Promises, promises

Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

How would you define protection? The Hebrew word for perfect found in Psalm 19 has the same meaning as completeness. However, there is another kind of completeness. Have you ever felt like a complete fool? My life is filled with countless times I have felt like an imbecile, feeling so embarrassed I just wanted to hide. God has a wonderful solution: study His law.

When we dive into the depths of God’s law (the Bible), we discover His truth, goodness, and wisdom. His reasoning begins to shape our own.

Not only do we have David’s testimony of gaining wisdom from Scripture, but we also have a direct promise of wisdom.

“If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need. He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking.” James 1:5

James states that the only stipulation to receiving wisdom is that we are unwavering; we know that God alone has the wisdom we desire and believe He is willing to give it to us if we ask. I am so grateful that God has said a fool like me can one day become wise.

Some time ago I came across this “message from God” that shows His love and concern for you and I so beautifully:

My Precious Child,
I am in control. I am sovereign. I am able to make things happen the way I want them to go. Yes, I allow you to make your own choices. And I know you don’t fully understand how these ideas can operate side by side. But I’m able to work within and around the choices you make to cause My ultimate purposes to succeed. For this, you must trust Me. Ask Me about your choices and plans. My wisdom is yours if you’ll ask.

I want you to cooperate with My plans. When the people around you don’t do that, be assured, I am still in control. I will fulfil My plan. Their choices are their own, but I’m still in control. Trust me. I’ll use it for your good.

Lovingly,
Your Heavenly Father, the King

O Lord, give us wisdom, self-controlled, patient, understanding, devout, faithful, and courageous hearts. Fill our souls with devotion to your service, and strength against all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Promises, promises

2 Samuel 7:28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.

A well-known Christian businessman who was visiting a church was asked to give his testimony. He said, “I have a fine family, a large house, a successful business, and a good reputation. I have plenty of money so I can support some Christian ministries very generously. Many organisations want me on their board of directors. I have good health and almost unlimited opportunities. What more could I ask from God?” As he paused for effect, a voice shouted from the back of the auditorium, “How about asking Him for a good dose of humility?”

At harvest time we often sing, “all good gifts around us are sent from heaven above, then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all his love.” But what view are we holding as to what is good for us; surely this require to be one of God’s blessings Christ spoke about on the sermon on the mount; blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.

The first barrier to meekness arises whenever we claim as our own what is really a gift of God. To live in meekness, we must try to remember that all we are, have, and can do is a gift. It is an act of arrogance to place ourselves at the centre of being and doing. Only God belongs there.

Arrogance is the opposite of humility. It compels us to treat our limits not as unique openings through which God can reveal his goodness but as diseases to be cured. We find it almost impossible to be self-effacing, as if we must maintain a know-it-all posture that demands a final answer to mystery.

Brennan Manning suggests that “We should be astonished at the goodness of God, stunned that He should bother to call us by name, our mouths wide open at His love, bewildered that at this very moment we are standing on holy ground.”

Lord, I pray that I may learn to walk in the goodness of Your ways, to serve with all of my being and to learn to love You as You have loved me. Teach me Lord, how to worship You in the beauty of holiness so that I may be one that bows my heart before You in spirit and truth, to Your honour and glory. In Jesus' name I pray, 

Amen.

Promises, promises

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Today we look into our understanding of God’s goodness in a deeper way. Here in this verse from James we get a picture of God as the author of goodness, the originator of every perfect gift.

 In Africa there was this common  confession and response that was used to either start  service or to start a sermon. The leader of worship would often get up with a wide smile beaming and say.“GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME” with the congregation responding with “ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD.”

Now what made this incredible is that life was really hard in Africa. Everyone was facing food shortage under the burden of hyper inflation inconvenience of power cuts and no fuel exacerbated by long  queues and high unemployment rates.

If we were to gather as a community and confess together “God is Good all the time… All the time God is Good”, what would it do?  It would changes our focus. Instead of focusing on the difficulties of life it would lift us you up, elevates us above the circumstances and even change our perspective.

When we use the word Goodness what does that mean? The word ‘good’ is an adjective that we use to describe or modify a noun. We might ascribe goodness to person  or place or we might use it to describe an object.

When we say something is good giving we are giving it a value to.  When we say God is Good… we saying that God has worth and value.  That is why Praise and worship is so essential in church. When we gather in worship it’s more than to singing songs, more than ritual. Worship  lifts our gaze from ourselves and our lives to turn from those thoughts  and worries and together refocus on the nature and Character of God. Worship reminds us who God is. When we glorify God we are not making Him more Glorious but rather it is changing of perspective of God so that we are able to see his glory.

Lord, thank you for all you do out of your great love for us. I pray that my heart seeks you and desires to see your goodness in all of life’s circumstances. May I always trust in you even when I cannot see what you are doing. Help me more and more see your goodness right in front of me. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Promises, promises

Chronicles 16:34 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

Let’s take a step further as we consider the promised goodness of God.

C S Lewis, the great Christian apologist put it simply, “There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him.”

In today’s text there three major thoughts. 1. Give thanks to God, 2.  recognise his goodness and 3. know that his love endures for ever.

One of God's faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the Saviour. Despite his troubles, he said, "While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me." In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, "I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God."

I wonder if we are overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God.

The Bible doesn’t say, “Give thanks to the Lord when you feel good”. It says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good”. Giving thanks shouldn’t be based on how you feel, it should be based on who God is, and He is good all the time. If you’re reading this it means God woke you up this morning, thank God for another day of life. Thank Him for all He’s done for you both big and small. Thank Him for the things He’s done for you both seen and unseen. Thank Him for the things that didn’t happen, the things you didn’t even know you needed protection from. Give glory and praise to your heavenly Father because He is worthy and there is always something to be thankful for.

Father, thank You for another day of life. Thank You for everything You do for me both big and small, seen and unseen. Thank You for watching over me and taking care of all my needs. Thank You for Your love and goodness. Amen

Promises, promises

I recall how my grandmother has a promise box. Inside where little scrolls of paper upon which a daily text was printed. On our Christian journeys  it can be easy to focus on ourselves and our difficulties. But as we read Bible promises about who God is, we can lift our eyes away from our own situation to the God who is infinitely good. We start this months daily devotions of “Promises, Promises” with Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

How would you define goodness?  Here are what some people suggest.

- Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people. 

• The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.
• True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.

Randy Alcorn talks about what happened to his friend, Ethel Herr in his new book, What Good is God. She had had a double mastectomy. Then two months later, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread. One of Herr's friends in shock asked her, "And how do you feel about God now?"

Herr says, "As I sought to explain what has happened in my spirit, it all became clearer to me. God has been preparing me for this moment. He has undergirded me in ways I've never known before. He has made himself increasingly real and precious to me. He has given to me joy such as I've never known before -- and I've no need to work at it, it just comes, even amidst the tears. He has taught me that...he will lead me on whatever journey he chooses and will never leave me for a moment of that journey... God is good no matter what the diagnosis or the prognosis or the fearfulness of the uncertainty of having neither."

In Phillip Pascal’s poem,THE GOODNESS OF GOD..we read

His goodness is an ocean that has no shore.

A Mountain that has no summit.

A Road that has no end.

Not meagre, but much.

Not skimpy but sufficient.

Not little, but limitless·

Not barely, but bountiful·

Not feeble, but full.

Father, in the Name of Jesus, I praise You, thank You and glorify You. I confess today that You are a good God and that Your desire toward me is always, always, always good—no matter what. I thank You that You desire only good things for me and never bad. And You never want me to go without the things You've promised. Amen