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We’ve been talking about Grace in small group, so I decided to write a little post on the subject..

What is grace? It’s not an easy thing to pin down into a sentence, but here’s my attempt (with a little help.!) Grace is the kindness by which God bestows favours, even on those who do not deserve it, and by which God grants sinners the forgiveness of their sins. Giving those who believe, the gift of eternal life (salvation) through Jesus Christ instead of the eternal punishment they rightly deserve.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  2 Corinthians 12:9

God’s Grace is presented in the bible as sufficient for each and every Christian. Enough to cover all of our sin, and enough to help us, encourage us and carry us through everything we will face in this life (despite our failures and weaknesses) and even more, grace carries us into the next life, pure, righteous and justified before our holy God because of the blood of Christ and our faith in Him (which is also a gift from God!)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

It’s by God’s grace that we can learn to walk the way he wants us to, and be forgiven when we fall. It’s grace that calls us to our salvation. (2 Cor. 12: 7-10, Gal. 1: 15). God’s amazing grace is what he uses to work out all things in our lives, because we do not deserve any blessings or gifts from God, yet he has generously poured out every spiritual blessing on us through his freely given grace, just because it pleased him to do so.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:3-6

Christians are called by grace, Man is saved by grace (Eph. 2: 5,8 ) the heart is strengthened and shown the right path by grace (Heb. 13: 9), we are justified by grace and given the status of being co-heirs with Christ (Tit. 3: 5-7).

..because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5 

Through grace God can give us hope and eternal encouragement (2 Thes. 2: 16-17). Grace takes us from our sinful state and makes us better people (Cor. 15: 9-10). Grace helps us in times of need (Heb. 4: 16). We are to stand firm in grace, grow in grace, and be strong in grace (I Pet. 5:12, 2 Pet. 3: 18, 2 Tim. 2: 1).

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  Hebrews 4:16

Although God’s common grace extends to all mankind (the air we breath, the lives we live) I believe there is a special, more personal grace for those who have received God’s saving grace, who love Him and obediently and humbly follow him. If we do not know God then we take his grace for granted, but when we know God we can accept his grace, live in the good of his grace, come before him and ask him for gifts of grace for certain situations, and also be thankful for the grace that he has already generously poured out on us.

Special grace in God’s word.. Noah “found grace (or favour) in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6: 8 – NKJ) because he was one of few who were still following God – although grace is given to the undeserved, God additionally blesses those who choose to follow his ways. The humble are also said to be favoured with grace, unlike the proud (Prov. 3: 34, 1 Pet. 5: 5). Jesus and Paul are expressly said to have experienced God’s grace upon them/working through them because God had special purposes for their lives (Lk. 2: 40, I Cor. 15: 10). God’s grace is also given to all who “love the Lord” (Eph. 6: 24).

God chose to love us, call us, adopt us, forgive us, save us, justify us, make us righteous, pour out his blessings on us, give us eternal encouragement, strengthen us, help us in times of need and bestow his favour upon us… not because we deserve any of this, just because of his grace.

What is our response? Our hearts should be overwhelmed with gratitude and love for our Father in heaven, who despite all our sin and rebellion, holds us in his arms and tells us that no matter what, he will always love us with an unfailing love.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD. Isaiah 54:10

 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Psalm 107:8

And the amazing thing is, this is just a tiny glimpse of the vastness of God’s grace! We cannot fully comprehend the extent of God’s grace in our lives, and the cost of our salvation, but thanks to God’s grace we can spend the rest of eternity with Jesus learning more about it!

What a faithful God have I.

..be holy, because I am holy.  Leviticus 11:45

I’ve had a song in my heart this week, its the worship song that goes “I want to be Holy, set apart for you Lord Jesus, ready to do your will“. While I was painting wood in the garden this week I started pondering on the words and whether I really meant what I was singing.

Do I really want to be holy, above all else? Do I really want to be set apart – not of the world – choosing not to follow worldly desires and what culture tells me I should act like?  To live my life totally as God wants me to? Am I ready to do God’s will, rather than my own? Am I prepared to make the sacrifice of being holy; of obeying Christ in all things; of giving up my selfish, sinful ways for holy and selfless living?

I thought about this for a while and searched my heart and I found that actually yes, in my heart, I do desire to be holy and obedient to God’s will. This is not because of me, it is because God has done a work in me by His Spirit, and changed my sinful heart.  Yet in practice this is not so simple! As you will know well, there’s still a real daily battle with the flesh and the world, pulling us away from actually doing what our hearts wants to do! (Read Romans 7:18-25, Paul comments on this very thing!)

So what is being holy? To put it simply, it means being like God in our hearts and in our actions. It means keeping ourselves “from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27) and above all, loving God and putting him first (Mark 12:30). It’s so important to God that He even called us to be holy & set us apart before the world was created! (1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:4) He commands us to be holy because He Himself is holy (Leviticus 11:45)  and because when we live holy lives, we show Jesus to the world! Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 ..Quite a challenging verse there from Hebrews.

How do we do it? I think Adam’s series on progressive sanctification is really helpful here! Go and read it if you haven’t done already! It’s a process, but loving and relying on God more and more is the only way we can truly live holy lives. We cannot do it just by willpower, as we will either fail miserably or, if we start to think we’re getting “good” at being holy, we become arrogant, prideful and can often start judging others – then (hopefully) we realise we are not being holy at all!!

I think the “ready to do God’s will” statement is also a thing is key. God would never ask us to do anything that was sinful, instead he points us in the direction of holiness, by the Holy Spirit living in us (and he always has the best plan for our lives!) Often God will prompt us on something that he wants us to change, so that we can be more holy, and sometimes we can be quite slow to respond. We try to justify it to ourselves, as it’s so hard to change ways of acting/living/thinking or even a relationship that is unhealthy, so we think it’s just never going to be possible or we come up with the age-old excuse that “now is not the right time”. Yet if God is prompting us, who are we to tell him he’s got the timing wrong, or he doesn’t’ realise how hard it is?! The sooner we obey, the sooner He can step in and give us the power to overcome! It’s a joint effort, but it starts with us being obedient to God’s will, no matter what we think the consequences/cost might be.

Father God I pray that you would help us to be holy.  Help us fight the temptations of the flesh and the ways of the world, in order to be set apart for you. I pray that we would be ready and willing to do your will as soon as you prompt us, so that we may become more holy and the world would see Jesus through us. Amen.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16

Six active disciplines to practice

In my last post on this topic I spoke about how we have a passive and active role in our sanctification. Here, in my third and final post, I will talk about six active disciplines that can help our pursuit of sanctification.

1) Bible reading and meditation

How are we to know God more and understand his will for us if we don’t commit ourselves to reading, studying and reflecting on what he has spoken to us?

People always complain that they don’t “hear” from God. While I do believe that God can speak to us audibly (although rare) as well as through our conscience, I do believe that the primary way that God communicates with us is through the bible. All of it.

It was only the other day that I read 1 Corinthians 10:27-30 in which the Apostle Paul is talking about not eating food that has been offered to idols, not because it in itself is wrong but because it may cause others who see you do it and don’t understand to sin in the hearts by copying. At first I thought this was totally not applicable anymore and discarded it but then only a day later I was watching a film called In Bruges with a friend. Anyone who has seen this film will know that it is hilarious but is full of swearing (and I mean full).

The person I was watching it with is a fairly new Christian and even though I knew in my faith that there was nothing wrong with listening to the bad language I was causing them to sin in their hearts by showing to condone it and almost recommend it. We stopped watching the film after only 10 minutes but it was a real eye opener to me on how the bible is vital for our growth, even the bits that may not seem relevant anymore.

The bible is a big book though (or more accurately collection of books) and can be really hard going. But, just like with sanctification, we are not called to read it all and understand it all as soon as we become Christians. It is a process that will last a lifetime, we just have to keep reading, studying, memorising and meditating on it as much as we can.

2) Prayer

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” – Ephesians 6:18

Where reading the bible is the primary way in which God communicates with us, prayer is the primary way in which we communicate back again. We are called to have a relationship with God and the way we have relationships with people is to talk to them. The more open and honest we are with people, the closer and more intimate those relationships can become.

We are to pray always for anything and everything and everyone. Prayer needs to become as important to us as breathing. Whenever we are troubled we need to learn to turn to God and give it to him in prayer (Philippians 4:6-7).

Prayer can also be one of the hardest things for us to do though, especially new Christians. I remember sitting in silence for about an hour, while my friends encouraged me to pray, because I was too scared to pray out loud.

Thankfully, I am finally realising how important prayer is and am becoming more and more comfortable with it. I still have my moments where clam up or where I don’t pray anywhere near as much as I should but I’m growing like everyone else and I’m learning as I go. Things just seem a lot easier to deal with when I pray about them though…

3) Worship

When I first became a Christian I really struggled with the singing part of church. But as I have grown I have found it is so important and has now become vital to my walk with God. Worship is how we thank God and give him praise (Ephesians 5:18-20)

To further prove that God knows what He is doing, a recent study showed that singing is actually really beneficial to you from a mental and physical point of view.

The bible says that we’ll all be singing to God in heaven, so my viewpoint is we’d better get practising here on Earth!

4) Witnessing

Witnessing has always been the hardest thing for me to do. I know that when I step out and do it I feel closer to God and I long to see people saved but I am still fearful of people’s reactions and putting them off for good.

The only way for people to come to know about God though (not counting God stepping in like he did with Apostle Paul) is for us to talk to people about it. I long for people to ask me about my faith or even challenge me on some of my beliefs. Until then I’ll try my best to be salt and light in the lives of those around me and keep an eye out for opportunities.

5) Self-discipline/self-control

Self control is vital in all areas of our life. Our battle against sin is about learning to have self-control and resist the devil. It also helps us be structured and persistent with bible reading and spending time with God.

I’m not sure there is any way of learning self-control other than practising it. When temptations come about (and they will), practise self-discipline but saying no and resisting. Easier said than done but you won’t get anywhere without trying…

6) Christian fellowship

And finally, sanctification is regularly a corporate process in the new testament. We Christians are all in this together and we have been brought together as brothers and sisters in God’s family to care for each other and help each other along. We are to nudge each other in love and support each other when we are in pain.

The best way to find this kind of support is to get in to a God-loving church and a home group where you can find good friends who will care for you and you can care for them. Nowadays there are churches of all shapes and sizes.

If you believe in Christ and are not part of a group of Christians you are at risk. You are like a lamb that has wandered away from the flock and is vulnerable to the world. Another illustration is to think of Christians as individual pieces of coal and the church is the fire. When you take the coal out of the fire it will slowly grow dim and eventually go out. Put it back in the fire and around other Christians and it will fulfil its purpose and burn bright for God.

Trouble & Trials our view vs God’s view

Our View

1. God is punishing me
2. God mustn’t be good after all, he’s not blessed me like he promised.
3. I didn’t sign up for all this suffering, wasn’t being a Christian supposed to make life easier?
4. Where is God when I’m going through this?

God’s View

1. Trials are not a punishment – they are a faith, character & hope building exercise! God tells us we should receive trials and even suffering with Joy..

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4

(Note, however, that God does discipline those he loves. Hebrews 12:5-7)

2. God has already blessed us with every Spiritual Blessing in Christ. He also promises to turn all things round for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

3. Jesus clearly told us that, in following him, we would face trouble, trials and suffering. Our faith is not about a nice ticket to heaven and an easy ride. Jesus said us we must deny ourselves and lay down our own lives (“take up your cross”) in order to follow him, just as he did for us.

And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. Luke 9:22-24

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.  John 16:33b

4. God has promised to always be with us in the trials, but not to take them away! We need to remember that Jesus has all authority and He is with us always! In our weakness – God is strong!

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  Isaiah 43:2

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.“ Matthew 28:18-20

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

God’s word is truth. We need to ask God to help us align our views/feelings with the word of God so that we can live lives of freedom and truth. Lives that are pleasing to God and that give him all the glory!

“If you squeeze a lemon you should get lemon juice, if you squeeze an orange you should get orange juice. If you squeeze a Christian, you should get Christ”

May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. 2 Thessalonians 3:5

Have a look at this verse – what is Paul praying for?

“God’s love & Christ’s perseverance”. I think the fact that Paul prays for perseverance, rather than asking God to take away troubles or things that could bring them down is such a key thing. We’re not supposed to seek an easy life with no trouble or worries - that’s never going to happen! Jesus himself told us that! Read John 16:33: “In this world you (we) will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” We are to expect to have things that we will need perseverance to get through! That’s why instead of asking God to take away the problems and troubles, Paul asks God to give the Thessalonians love & perseverance to get through them still filled with faith. So that no matter what life or the devil throws there way, they can continue to persevere in the faith, trusting God and bringing him Glory.

What’s the point of perseverance? Well have a look at Romans 5:3-5: "..but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. " So from troubles, when we persevere, we develop character and as our character develops so does our hope, a hope in God which will not disappoint us.

Paul did not take perseverance lightly, he knew what it involved and what the cost was. He himself was a bit of an expert. He spent a lot of time in prison because of his faith, but he didn’t ask for prayers to be set free from prison, instead he prayed things like this verse in Ephesians 6:19-20: “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Paul was less concerned with his own troubles and more concerned with sharing the gospel with those who didn’t know Jesus and telling them the good news of His salvation! This reflects his character, faith and hope in what is to come.

We are all going to have troubles, problems, bad days and low times. I read that this week is the most depressing week of the year! So it’s quite easy to get to a place where are focus is on “me”, my situation, my feelings and what I’m going through. When we are like this we are no use to anyone (not even ourselves!!) We are unproductive, actually quite destructive, and a bad witness to anyone who’s watching us. We need to pray for our hearts to be directed into God’s heart – to care about the things he does, especially the lost, and to stop focussing on ourselves. We need to pray for our hearts to be directed into God’s perseverance, so that no-matter-what we stand firm and keep going, rather than lying down and giving up!

Our role model? Jesus! He persevered and endured to the point of death. He never gave up on us and never followed his feelings rather than his calling! He is the ultimate role model of perseverance, and he did it for you and for me.  I can guarantee that what you are going through right now, no matter what it is, was not as hard and was not as painful as what Jesus went through in order to save you from your sin. And the amazing thing is that we don’t have to do any of this alone, we have the Holy Spirit in us and with us to give us all we need to persevere, we just need to choose to ask him!!!

So in this statistically depressing week, won’t you pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ – that the Lord will direct their hearts into God’s love and  Christ’s perseverance? (And while your at it, perhaps you could pray the same for me too!)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

I don’t know about you, but if there’s one thing I have to constantly check myself on, it’s what I allow to come out of my mouth! I can so easily get into saying negative stuff or things that are not bringing glory to God or encouragement to others.

I learned that the word unwholesome could also mean rotten – like rotten fruit. The bible tells us that we are to bear good fruit, and that we will be recognised by the fruit that we produce, as this fruit comes from what’s in our hearts. (Read Luke 6:43-45 and Matthew 12:33-37).

We need to watch ourselves carefully as negative, dishonest, unkind or vulgar words are not coming from a heart that loves God and is in fellowship with him. James 3:10 says “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”

We are not told just to stop speaking bad stuff, but to replace it with good stuff! We are to be people who speak words of encouragement to others, words that will build people up in the faith and will help people to grow and be encouraged. We are to speak things which will “benefit those who listen”.

Proverbs 12:18 says that reckless words pierce like a sword but when we speak wise words these bring healing. Wouldn’t you like your words to bring healing into other people’s lives?

I encourage you to take notice of what comes our of your mouth, as it’s an overflow of what’s in your heart and it reflects your true relationship with God. You can do a health check on your heart just by listening to your words!

Let us strive to have hearts that are right with God so that we only speak words that produce good fruit! Ones that bring healing and encouragement to others, and praise and glory to God. As we seek God, and continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit, He will change our hearts and help us to speak out of the overflow of His love, His grace and His mercy in our lives! How then could we ever speak anything negative!?

Ephesians 1 : 17-19

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Ever wondered what to pray for people? How about starting with Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1. It’s great! Notice that he keeps asking God, it was a regular prayer of his.

v17. “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”

The first part of his prayer in v17 is asking God to enable them to know Him better. This isn’t a head knowledge, this us a heart to heart knowledge, an intimacy with God. We can only have this intimacy with God through the Holy Spirit who reveals to us God’s heart. No matter how much intellectual knowledge of the bible and theory and religion we have, we can’t know God without the help if the Holy Spirit who helps us to get that knowledge from the head and into the heart.

v18. “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you,”

Hope is not what we often think it is.. some sort of vague wish that we hold onto even though we don’t know if it’ll come true or not. No, hope in the New Testament is an assurance of what God has promised is to come. 1 Peter 1:3 says… “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..” Jesus is our hope, his resurrection gives us an assurance that we too have new life when we repent & put our faith in him, and we too will live with him in glory. It’s a promise of God, and God is faithful to all his promises.

v18 cont.. “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”

That’s US ! WE are Christ’s glorious inheritance!!!! He sees us as his riches!! That’s so amazing! Just think about that for a minute. Jesus died so that his inheritance could be us motley lot. He thought that we were an inheritance worth dying for… For me that’s just such a hard thing to get my head round, but that just shows Christ’s amazing, unconditional love.

v19. “..and his incomparably great power for us who believe”

You can’t compare God’s power with anything you know!! It would be like comparing… well you just can’t do it! And look at the wording “for us” the power is FOR US who believe. It’s for our good and for us to use, the same power that raised Christ from the dead is there for us! Often we don’t make use of the power God has given us because we only attempt to do the things that we know we could do in our own strength, if God didn’t step in. In doing this we’re not trusting that God has given us the same power that rose Christ from the dead, and we miss out on getting to see & experience God’s power. When we take the risk, and put ourselves (and God) on the line, that’s when we see God’s great power at work in & through us!

I pray that you may KNOW God more, in a heart to heart way. I pray that you will know the HOPE to which you are called through Christ. To know this hope is an eternal hope and an assurance that is set in the promises of God. I pray that you would know just how VALUABLE and PRECIOUS you are to Jesus. I pray too that you would trust that you have God’s GREAT POWER with you, and so you would have the BOLDNESS and confidence to step out in faith and “walk the walk” not just “talk the talk.”

“For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20

Psalm 73

  1 Surely God is good to Israel,
       to those who are pure in heart.

 2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
       I had nearly lost my foothold.

 3 For I envied the arrogant
       when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 4 They have no struggles;
       their bodies are healthy and strong.

 5 They are free from the burdens common to man;
       they are not plagued by human ills.
………..

  16 When I tried to understand all this,
       it was oppressive to me

  17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
      then I understood their final destiny.
………………..

  26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
       but God is the strength of my heart
       and my portion forever.

  27 Those who are far from you will perish;
       you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

  28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
       I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
       I will tell of all your deeds.

I love to read the Psalms because they are so real. So true to how the person was feeling at the time. They don’t put on their “holy hats” or their “Sunday morning smiles” they just pour out their hearts to their God who knows them and loves them.

Reading this Psalm was one of those times when you’ve had a conversation with someone, then the very next thing you read in the bible is so totally linked to that conversation! Psalm 73 came up in my daily reading and it was so spot on to the conversation I had had that day with a friend. Do go and read the whole thing, I just picked out some verses as it was too long to put the whole thing in.

 I was talking to a friend about how often we can look around at others who don’t know God and wonder why they have it so easy. They have jobs, and families and money and health and often seemingly everything they wish for. Yet sometimes as Christians we go through hard times, we may not have found that special someone or we could be struggling with our health or to find work. It seems so unfair!

This Psalm covers exactly this topic. The Psalmist is looking around at Godless people and telling God how unfair it is that they have life so easy!  We often do the same -  but we mustn’t let ourselves get caught up with what others have, rather than what we have! We have Christ, we have eternal salvation, we have a loving Father and the Holy Spirit to guide us and give us peace. We may not have all the “worldly things” we want, but our time on this earth is only momentary – our salvation is eternal !

We know that in Christ we have every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3), who would really swap this, and our eternal salvation, for worldly things that will soon perish? (“The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:17.) That would be like Esau giving up his birthright for a bowl of stew. (check out Genesis 25:29-42, then what happens as a result in Gen 27)

We do need to be careful that our feet don’t slip as we look at other people’s lives rather than concentrating on our own walk with God. It’s such an easy trap to fall into and it’s something that we all do!!! We need to check ourselves when we start looking at what others have. God knows what we are like, that’s why he included “you shall not covet” as part of his ten commandments. He says “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." And I think in the end this is what it boils down to – we look at what others have, things or relationships, wealth or family and we covet them – we wish we could have these things. It leaves us feeling jealous, unhappy with the blessings God has given us, and focusing totally in the wrong place. It’s not at all productive.

Instead we need to draw near to God to be “in his sanctuary.” We must remember what Jesus has already done for us, that priceless death on the cross. God has promised to be with us forever, and that we can find our refuge in him. We are so blessed! It’s so “good to be near God!” In those times when we are focussed on him in worship and praise all our cares and worldly desires seem so small and unimportant to our wonderful saviour and the eternal inheritance we have in Him!

Perhaps one answer to focus less on what others have, may be simply to spend more time in worship..?

In our small group we have been going through the book of Ephesians. Last week we got to Ephesians 4 and it spoke to me again about how we are all “in it together” so to speak. God has put us into a church, or we could say, built us into his body, so that together we might use the gifts he has given us to bless, encourage and spur one another on to maturity.

Ephesians 4: 11-16
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Sometimes we can feel like we can “go it alone” with our faith, as if our faith is a private matter just between us and God. Even though this is partly true – each one of us should have that personal relationship with Jesus, and pray behind closed doors – we should also acknowledge that without other believers we won’t grow in the same way. Why? Because that’s the way God made us! God chose for us to be in his family, in His body, all working together to build each other up, help each other to stay on track, and to ultimately bring him glory!

We therefore need to see our purpose for being part of God’s church. It’s not just getting together on a Sunday morning to worship (which is important) and it’s not just about turning up to other meetings to receive what God / other people have to say (also important). It’s also about using whatever God has given us to support & encourage others, whether we feel weak or strong, ready or no-where-near ready!

This often works best in a small group setting where we can know each other better and be more involved in the daily lives of others. Small group is a fantastic place to start – ask God how you can help others in your small group! Yet don’t stop there! Ask God to point out people who are new / on the edges of church / not being supported by others and ask Him to show you how you can help them to take their next steps with God. Each and every one of us has a vital part to play in order that the whole body is united and held together. God has given us each other, so that each one of can be loved, supported and encouraged to keep growing and maturing in God.

You may think you don’t have any of the specific gifts listed above, or that God can’t use you yet until… but this is not true ! He has given you ears – therefore you can listen. He has given you arms, therefore you can give someone a hug if they are feeling down…And he’s given you so much more besides which you can use!!!

You may feel like you don’t have the “right” things to say, but you have the Holy Spirit in you who will help you and guide you. Remember that people will be blessed and encouraged just by you caring enough to take the time to listen and find out how they are doing.

As you start doing the small things in love, to care for another person, God will then grow the gifts you have, and give you more gifts so that you can continue to bless and encourage people in new ways!

God is so eager to give you gifts to bless others with! Just ask Him!

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

This verse is an interesting one because you could look at it as a way of getting what you want. I.e. If I spend some time praising God then he’ll give me what I want in return, but this is missing the point.

Delight means “great pleasure or joy.” So for us to Delight in God means that God is where we get our great pleasure and joy from. You can’t make it up, you can’t make it happen, it’s not simply an act of doing, it’s an act of being. Being in God’s presence – enjoying God, getting pleasure out of worshiping Him and joy out of serving him. It’s something that grows over time as we learn to love God and try to grasp just how much God loves us! (Eph 3:18-19)

I think the thing David knew when writing this psalm was that once we are in the place of “delighting in the Lord” our hearts desires will start to line up with God’s own will. We will know God more intimately, and the Holy Spirit will be working in our lives, aligning our hearts with God’s. Therefore, the desires that are in our hearts when we are delighting in God will often be the things that God himself has put there. So we can pray with confidence knowing that what we are asking for is in alignment with God’s will.. and why would our Father in Heaven not answer such requests?

God knows what is the very best for us, and as we delight in Him, so we will too!