It feels pointless when prayer is getting nowhere, and yet I sense the Lord asking me to pray. It is just going through the motions, so why persist? Then I read – Have mercy on me, O God, … wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51:1-2 Being unaware of … Continue reading Prayer going nowhere
Many think prayer should be dignified as if God would take offence at our saying what we really felt. I yell out to my God … with all my might, (Psalm-77:1-Message) Sometimes life demands prayers that yell. my life was an open wound that wouldn’t heal. Constant pain, aggravated by the least stress presses our … Continue reading When life is an open wound
When what we say lifts Jesus as God and acknowledges ourselves as servants then we have the keys of Kingdom. When speaking in independence we lose them. Spiritual authority is based on submission to Jesus, ‘Son of the living God.’ In Matthew 16 following Peter’s confession: 16 …, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of … Continue reading Keys to the Kingdom
Psalm 114 (Message) After Israel left Egypt, the clan of Jacob left those barbarians behind; Judah became holy land for him, Israel the place of holy rule. Leaving the land of slavery, Israel became God’s holy people and the land the place of holy rule. This was a first step to their being made Holy. … Continue reading Freedom from Slavery
Why does the Lord take us through periods of spiritual emptiness? We long for intimacy in worship and the word, but encounter dryness. This seems to be the experience of the Psalmist in Psalms 42&43 (combined as one). Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? This seems blasphemy to a culture … Continue reading Spiritual emptiness
Psalm 27:4 both inspires and challenges. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. First – In praying this I have seen the Lord bear fruit, … Continue reading One thing I ask …
The Lord loves us but he does not entrust himself to us. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. John 2:24 (NIV) We see this in Jesus’ relationship with his disciples. They were with him wherever they went, yet he did not entrust himself even to his closest disciples. … Continue reading Trustworthy to Jesus?
With God, what we declare on earth is declared in heaven. He fulfils what we commit to in union with Him. Psalm 132 is a tale of two parallel oaths. 1 David … 2 swore an oath to the Lord, … 3 ‘I will not enter my house or go to my bed,… 5 till … Continue reading Covenant with God
I was overcome by fear and anger. Someone had made a threatening comment and I was churned up inside. My mind would turn on this person and fight mental arguments. I know that when I am in such a state, it would be unwise for me to open my mouth – bile would come out. … Continue reading Overcoming anger
When a person meets with God, the impact is not often in the spectacular, but in the fragrance. It is not often in miracles or recordable events, but in the tenderness of the love, the quietness of peace, the steadfastness in hope. This fragrance impacts those around us. They are qualities that are infectious, and … Continue reading Fragrance of Christ
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