How do we approach the God who is really there rather than the God many want to be there?
We are supposed to be under grace not law, so why is there a de facto legalism? Maybe it is introduced to avoid the displeasure of God? We tend to believe that He is unwilling to act in the presence of sin yet God can do whatever He pleases, even through people I see as … Continue reading Mercy triumphs over law
How serious do our friends think we are about God? When they see our pursuit of God, are they encouraged to join the pursuit, or do they roll their eyes and dismiss our foolishness? Song of Songs 5 tells of how the beloved, symbolically a believer or the Church, is in bed when her lover, … Continue reading Complacency
‘God’s business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight, setting us straight. Once we are standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye.’ (Psalm 11 Message). The result the Lord is looking for as He works with us is that we would be able to relate with Him face to … Continue reading Look Him in the eye
Why does God make His home among a people, movement or person as He did in Psalm 132, ‘For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for His dwelling: “This is my resting place … here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it.”’ It was not that Zion was the only … Continue reading God’s home
I thank my Father that He cares enough to work with me for my wellbeing and character. I seem to swing between Psalm 105, learning to rely on Him to look after my wellbeing, and Psalm 106, seeing Him develop me when bad character is exposed. We are so trained to predict problems and prepare … Continue reading Count on a caring God
My defensiveness towards others inadvertently rubs off on my relationship with God. If He asks something of me that I believe is unacceptable to others I will not fully receive it in case I feel embarrassed. “Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come … Continue reading Head held high
My sin was to neglect God. Yes I prayed, but on my terms not God’s. Only when I sacrificed my drive to succeed could I honour Him and prepare a way to walk with Him. It was a minor crisis and I was deep into fixing it. I knew the Lord was knocking on my … Continue reading Putting off God
Society exalts what we do and what we produce. We find ourselves worshiping the God who does things for us. This leads our hearts to shift our worship from a focus on God himself to what He does, or becoming self absorbed or focussed on the experience. A discussion arose on what men and women … Continue reading Whom do we worship?
We live in a world of doing things. We justify our existence by what we do. When there is success people ask, ’What did you do?’ In this environment there is little space for God. In Ps 46:10 the psalmist writes ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ This statement is so counter our … Continue reading Be Still
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