April 30th 2010
Watching Over You
“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings.”
Proverbs 5:21 (KJV)
A burglar broke into a house one night. He was shining his torch around, looking for valuables, when a voice in the dark said, “Jesus is watching you.” He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze. When he heard nothing more, after a bit, he shook his head and continued. Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard, “Jesus is watching you.” Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. “Did you say that?” He hissed at the parrot. “Yep” the parrot confessed and then squawked, “I’m just trying to warn you.” The burglar relaxed, “Warn me, huh, who in the world are you?” “Moses” replied the bird. “Moses” the burglar laughed, “what kind of people would name a bird, Moses?” The parrot replied, “The kind of people that would name a rottweiler Jesus!”
This is a humourous story, but in reality we could say, ‘Jesus is watching you.’ Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” My mother used to tell me that even when she couldn’t see me, God could, which made me think twice about misbehaving or secretly disobeying.
Does this idea make you uncomfortable? ‘Big Brother is watching you?’ Yet, how can he NOT see all? Jeremiah spoke the words of God in Jeremiah 23:23-24, “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth?” And in the Acts 17:27-28 we read, “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”
Rather than being a disturbing and frightening thought, this should be a comfort to us that he sees the good and the bad. Then we can rest knowing that he is in control and things will work out for the best. Ecclesiastes 12:14 assures us that, “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” And Matthew 6:4 says that the good deeds that we do in secret will be rewarded openly by our Father in Heaven who sees our secret deeds.
We can take hope in the fact that he is always near to hear our prayers and watch over us, as we read in Psalm 3:4-5 (NLT), “I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me.” 1 Peter 3:12 tells us, “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” I really wanted to use Psalm 139:1-4, 7-12 as the beginning scripture but it was too long, so if you have time, please read this very poetic and encouraging passage.
Prayer
In you we live and move and have our being, God. Please watch over us as we live our lives for you with all our strength, with all our heart and with all our soul.
Amen
Study by Nancy Silcox
April 29th 2010
Whose Voice Do We Listen To?
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”
Isaiah 55:1-3 (NIV)
Humanity, even if it denies it, has a great spiritual hunger that is not being satisfied. Here God invites us to come to him for everything we need to satisfy the deep spiritual hunger in our lives. This is one of the most famous passages in scripture and a favourite of many. The imagery here is of a market, specifically the marketplace in Jerusalem. If you’ve been to a souk in Morocco or Turkey, you will have an idea of the picture Isaiah paints. In a souk traders are everywhere, the streets and alleyways are narrow and crowded, goods are stacked in the pathways and all around the entrance to the many little shops. Market traders almost physically drag you in to look at what they have to sell—they offer deals and bargains, special prices ‘just for you’ and use all manner of persuasions to get you to buy. Noisy people are shouting, traders and people are haggling, there are competing voices all trying to get you to buy from them. That’s the setting for the offer we read about here; and in this cacophony of traders crying, come to me, buy from me, the voice of God himself says, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”
God makes us an offer of salvation—it’s free, he says, even if you don’t have any money—come and buy. You can have it without cost because my Son has already paid in advance for you. Sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? And that is all that God asks of you—that you believe it! God offers us salvation through his Son. It’s free and we don’t have to do anything to get it, apart from believe. Incredible—what an offer! It’s better than any offer you will get in any souk anywhere on earth.
But even though God has touched our lives and given to us this great salvation, we do live in today’s world where there are many distractions and we still hear the competing voices of the marketplace yelling, “buy from me”. The voices of materialism and consumerism, among others, can distract and tempt us. But the voice of God says to us, “Come to me, come to me.”
This favourite passage of many contains much for us. One key lesson though, is let’s not keep listening to those voices of the marketplace that are all around us; don’t let them distract—instead listen and respond to Gods invitation to satisfy our deep spiritual hunger and to set us free to eternal joy happiness and salvation.
Prayer
With all the things vying for our attention in this world today, Lord, help us to listen to your voice. May we drink of the fountain and eat the priceless bread of life.
Amen
Study by Ray Walker
April 28th 2010
We All Grow Weary
“When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.”
Exodus 17:12 (NIV)
The setting of this scene is a battle that was taking place between the Amalakites and Joshua’s army. As the previous verse explains, when Moses’ hands were held high – Joshua was winning the battle, but when Moses lowered his arms the enemy was winning the battle.
Moses was a great man chosen by God from among many to do His work on earth. He had God’s blessing and His support but, as we can see, Moses was human and experienced the same human weaknesses we all do. His arms grew tired as the battle raged on and he needed the support of those around him. He was their leader but he couldn’t do it alone.
Our leaders have been appointed by God and God works in their lives as He does in our lives, equipping and preparing us all for the work He has in mind for us.
We all grow tired and weak from time to time and need the support of those around us. Our leaders are like us and they are like Moses – they grow tired and weary, and need our support so they can continue to do the work set before them by our Father in heaven.
Prayer
Father in Heaven, we trust in you as you lead those you have appointed to lead us in your word and in your ways. Help us to help them and please grant them the strength they need to continue doing the work you have set aside for them. We thank you for the strength that comes from knowing you.
Amen
Study by Sinead Henderson
April 27th 2010
Clothed With Christian Joy
3rd in a Series
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
The chances are that we will not have to face the ordeal of death by crucifixion. Yet when Jesus did, there was something that carried him through, and that something was joy. The joy wasn’t in the pain and humiliation but something beyond the immediate distress, something that we all have within us.
Christian joy is not something that comes from without; it is not a reflected quality that needs some outside stimulation. Rather it is something that is resident within us. It is one of the main qualities of God’s character. God dwells in eternal joy! If you were God, is that not how you would dwell? Well, that same joy is ours as a gift of the Holy Spirit.
So why, then, are we not always filled with joy? Quite simply, we let outside circumstances determine how we feel. When Jesus faced crucifixion he did not allow the outside circumstance to dictate his state of mind, he looked beyond the immediate and set his mind on the joy of the Kingdom of God.
That promise of the Kingdom is also a promise to us. We have been granted to share in that glory with him. In fact Paul reckons that it has already occurred. Notice his words to the church at Ephesus: “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6).
But how often do we see ourselves as God sees us, raised into the heavens and seated with Jesus at the right hand of God, the Father? This vision was never out of Jesus’ mind. Being again with the Father in Glory, and we with him, was the reason he came to earth.
This is our present state or condition, and no one can take that from us. What better reason can there be to let the joy of God flow out from us in praise and thankfulness!
Prayer
Father in heaven, thank you for the joy of knowing that we are seated at your right hand with Jesus; and there we will be forever and ever.
Amen
Study by David Stirk
April 26th 2010
Not Always Storm-Free
“He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.”
Psalm 107:29 (NIV)
We find this scripture fulfilled in Matthew 8:23-27, “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him.’”
Jesus calms the storm. The story appears in three of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is a powerful passage. Let’s look a little closer and see what we can learn about our own lives and about God.
Let’s first take a look at the storm. The Bible says the storm came up “without warning”. Like the weather, the storms in our lives sometimes take us by surprise. They are frequently unpredictable and seldom come at opportune times. Often, we’re unprepared for what they bring.
The storm in this passage is described as “furious” – “the waves swept over the boat”. This was no annoying drizzle or light breeze – this was a wind-gusting, wave-building, boat-drenching storm. And sometimes we experience similar storms – the kind that can turn our lives upside down. I think it’s important to note that this storm fell upon men who were following Jesus. Following Christ doesn’t assure us that we won’t run into trouble. The Christian life is not always easy – it’s not always “storm-free.” The disciples certainly went through them, and so will we.
Let’s look now at the response of the disciples. They were afraid for their lives and thought they might drown. So they woke Jesus. They went to their Lord. They knew who to turn to in the midst of the storm. I wonder how long they waited. Did they go to wake Jesus immediately, or did they try to battle the storm for a while on their own? I’m not sure, but we do know they went to Jesus hoping he would save them.
What was Jesus’ response? After a brief rebuke of their lack of faith, he turned his attention to the storm and demonstrated his control. He “rebuked the wind and the waves” and completely calmed the storm. The wind and waves obeyed him. The Lord had power over the storm.
Our Lord also has power over the storms of our lives. He is in control and able to calm any storm. Even when the storms of life are raging, terrifying, and unpredictable – God is in control. The one who settled the sea and calmed the storm years ago is able to do the same in our lives today.
Prayer
Dear God, I call out to you today to calm the storm that is raging in my life. I don’t want to wait any longer to call on you for help. I trust you.
Amen
Study by Fraser Murdoch