I've been reading through Isaiah lately, drawn in my promises of God, promises of hope, of peace, of rest.
"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal."-Isaiah 26:3-4
"LORD, you establish peace for us" -Isaiah 26:12a
Isaiah also reminds us of the coming Christ, born a helpless baby, just as we were, fully reliant on humans, fallible humans.
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." -Isaiah 41:10
It is only in God that we find the freedom to rest, he provides us with perfect peace when we trust in Him, establish ourselves firmly on Christ the rock.
He has established peace already, all ready, waiting for us to come and abide.
"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." -Matthew 11:30
He asks us to come, lay down our burdens, and rest in him. It is out of this rest that fruit can grow.
A tree can only grow tall and strong if it first grows it's roots downwards, giving it a firm foundation. The first part of life it does not worry about looking good, showing beautiful flowers and fruits to the world, it grows its solid base.
We need to do the same: we need to stop and grow our strong foundation too.
Christ has already done the hard work, claim it as an heir with Christ (see Galatians 4:7), and rest in Him.
Come rest in Him, and let your roots grow deep, deep down to living water and the eternal rock.
Will you come lay your burdens down and rest?
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
He is coming
Time skips ahead, seemingly ever faster, but God remains the same. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow - forever.
He has presented himself to us in different forms:
the judging God of Israel, the burning fire,
the babe born into this world, helpless as any one of us,
the man who saw beyond what the world sees, and who loved us so much that he gave his life up so that we might live,
the gentle spirit the lives inside us, the unquenchable flame.
But the are all one and the same, the same God, the same loving presence, the same burning fire.
So often we are busy trying to reach the goal, reach the end of something, finish up and be complete, but God never finishes, he never stops, like time itself.
Through the busy-ness we often struggle to just stop, to simply pause and BE, to rest in Him who is forever unchanging. He does not try to rush us, he simply invites us to rest and dwell in him, to lay down our burdens and be.
In this season of advent we are so busy looking forward to Christmas, rushing around getting everything ready, but maybe we need to pause for a while and think.
The world was not ready for Christ's coming, Mary and Joseph did not have a place prepared for him when he was born - they themselves were staying in a stable, and so they made do with what was around. Christ/God did not complain, he came to serve us, not to be served.
So why rush? The most important thing to get ready is our hearts. Prepare a place for him in our minds. God will work with the rest, whatever state it might be in. No decorations were hung for his birth, no feast was laid out in celebration. But he was welcomed into loving arms, into a world who needed him though they did not know it.
Our world still needs him. Him. Not the decorations and the feast, not the presents and the music. Just him.
Where are you centring your focus during this Advent, this build up to God-with-us Emmanuel?
Will you forget the world's way of celebrating for a few moments with me, and remember that Christ came with nothing prepared, yet He was still able?
He has presented himself to us in different forms:
the judging God of Israel, the burning fire,
the babe born into this world, helpless as any one of us,
the man who saw beyond what the world sees, and who loved us so much that he gave his life up so that we might live,
the gentle spirit the lives inside us, the unquenchable flame.
But the are all one and the same, the same God, the same loving presence, the same burning fire.
So often we are busy trying to reach the goal, reach the end of something, finish up and be complete, but God never finishes, he never stops, like time itself.
Through the busy-ness we often struggle to just stop, to simply pause and BE, to rest in Him who is forever unchanging. He does not try to rush us, he simply invites us to rest and dwell in him, to lay down our burdens and be.
In this season of advent we are so busy looking forward to Christmas, rushing around getting everything ready, but maybe we need to pause for a while and think.
The world was not ready for Christ's coming, Mary and Joseph did not have a place prepared for him when he was born - they themselves were staying in a stable, and so they made do with what was around. Christ/God did not complain, he came to serve us, not to be served.
So why rush? The most important thing to get ready is our hearts. Prepare a place for him in our minds. God will work with the rest, whatever state it might be in. No decorations were hung for his birth, no feast was laid out in celebration. But he was welcomed into loving arms, into a world who needed him though they did not know it.
Our world still needs him. Him. Not the decorations and the feast, not the presents and the music. Just him.
Where are you centring your focus during this Advent, this build up to God-with-us Emmanuel?
Will you forget the world's way of celebrating for a few moments with me, and remember that Christ came with nothing prepared, yet He was still able?
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
there is no soundness
"Your whole head is injured,
your heart afflicted.
From the sole of your foot
to the top of your head
there is no soundness --
only wounds and bruises
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with oil."
-Isaiah 1:5-6
Is this you?
Do you feel broken and bruised? Battered by life and its storms?
"Stop trusting in man,
who has but a breath in his nostrils.
Of what account is he?"
-Isaiah 2:22
The God of hope will "fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him." - Romans 15:13
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." - Psalm 91:1
He "will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding-place from the storm and rain." - Isaiah 4:6
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." - Isaiah 1:18
God, the God of hope, will not leave you to be battered by life, he will not leave you broken and bruised. Come to him and let him treat your wounds, the sore places in your heart, and rest in Him.
The shelter he gives us cannot be ripped away, all we have to do is dwell in the shelter he provides.
"Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD."
-Isaiah 2:5
Will you come and rest in Him with me? He promises to be like cool refreshing water to our weary and parched souls (see Isaiah 58:11).
your heart afflicted.
From the sole of your foot
to the top of your head
there is no soundness --
only wounds and bruises
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with oil."
-Isaiah 1:5-6
Is this you?
Do you feel broken and bruised? Battered by life and its storms?
"Stop trusting in man,
who has but a breath in his nostrils.
Of what account is he?"
-Isaiah 2:22
The God of hope will "fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him." - Romans 15:13
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." - Psalm 91:1
He "will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding-place from the storm and rain." - Isaiah 4:6
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." - Isaiah 1:18
God, the God of hope, will not leave you to be battered by life, he will not leave you broken and bruised. Come to him and let him treat your wounds, the sore places in your heart, and rest in Him.
The shelter he gives us cannot be ripped away, all we have to do is dwell in the shelter he provides.
"Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD."
-Isaiah 2:5
Will you come and rest in Him with me? He promises to be like cool refreshing water to our weary and parched souls (see Isaiah 58:11).
Monday, November 29, 2010
Messages of hope.
I've been drawn into Isaiah the last few days, quite a different place to Paul's letters where I've spent much of my bible reading time of late.
But words like this can't let me go:
"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners"
"to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour"
"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God."
All from Isaiah 61.
And...
"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." - Isaiah 42:3
"Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." - Isaiah 64:8
"The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy." - Isaiah 35:1
"Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow." - Isaiah 35:5-7
As I read, the promises for a good future in Christ just keep coming, messages of hope overflow.
Where do you find messages of hope? What verses do you hold to?
Will you stand on these ones with me today? Stand on God's promises for your future?
But words like this can't let me go:
"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners"
"to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour"
"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God."
All from Isaiah 61.
And...
"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." - Isaiah 42:3
"Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." - Isaiah 64:8
"The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy." - Isaiah 35:1
"Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow." - Isaiah 35:5-7
As I read, the promises for a good future in Christ just keep coming, messages of hope overflow.
Where do you find messages of hope? What verses do you hold to?
Will you stand on these ones with me today? Stand on God's promises for your future?
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Dwelling.
Where are you dwelling?
Do you dwell on the mistakes, the missed opportunities? The things you could have, should have done better?
Will you move from this place with me? Will you move to a better one? A place of rest and peace, of communion with God?
One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life. -Psalm 27:4
To dwell in the house of the Lord.
Dwell. Not a fleeting visit when life gets hard.
The phrase 'may dwell' has been translated in different bible versions as may remain, may live, may have a place.
Oh to live with God! To have a place in his house! To meet him at mealtimes, in passing as we go about our days, to meet together, to grow close, to be an intimate member of God's family.
And this is not a temporary thing. This is forever!
Don't our hearts cry out for this, just as David's did?
I know mine is.
Will you join me? Will you come a live in God's house?
Will you come and live?
Do you dwell on the mistakes, the missed opportunities? The things you could have, should have done better?
Will you move from this place with me? Will you move to a better one? A place of rest and peace, of communion with God?
One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life. -Psalm 27:4
To dwell in the house of the Lord.
Dwell. Not a fleeting visit when life gets hard.
The phrase 'may dwell' has been translated in different bible versions as may remain, may live, may have a place.
Oh to live with God! To have a place in his house! To meet him at mealtimes, in passing as we go about our days, to meet together, to grow close, to be an intimate member of God's family.
And this is not a temporary thing. This is forever!
Don't our hearts cry out for this, just as David's did?
I know mine is.
Will you join me? Will you come a live in God's house?
Will you come and live?
Friday, November 26, 2010
Centred.
Where is your centre?
Do you just drift from one crisis to another? I know I often do.
But the last couple of days I have been trying to centre myself in God. To find a couple of bible verses I can cling to, repeat to myself over and over throughout the day, to just keep my attention, my focus, coming back to God.
To know that He is the rock on which I can stand firm. That He will hold me through the storms that life swirls around us.
I am focusing on just knuckling down and drawing close to that rock, on which I know I can stake my life.
He does as he promises, he will not fail. Ever.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. -Micah 7:8
He will be my light in dark places. He promises so.
Will you stand firm on this Rock with me? It will never shake or falter. You will be held firm, God promises so, and he cannot lie.
Do you just drift from one crisis to another? I know I often do.
But the last couple of days I have been trying to centre myself in God. To find a couple of bible verses I can cling to, repeat to myself over and over throughout the day, to just keep my attention, my focus, coming back to God.
To know that He is the rock on which I can stand firm. That He will hold me through the storms that life swirls around us.
I am focusing on just knuckling down and drawing close to that rock, on which I know I can stake my life.
He does as he promises, he will not fail. Ever.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. -Micah 7:8
He will be my light in dark places. He promises so.
Will you stand firm on this Rock with me? It will never shake or falter. You will be held firm, God promises so, and he cannot lie.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
letting go
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. -Matthew 11:30
Oh Lord, how we long to rest from carrying our heavy burdens, we feel like if we could just have a moment or two to put them down and pause be fore we carry on, if we could just rest a while we'll be okay.
But you promise so much more.
But first we must let go of our burdens, to put them down without the intention of picking them up again. And then we must accept yours, knowing that they will be light and easy, a joy to bear.
It all sounds so easy, doesn't it?
So why do we find it so hard?
Do we cling to things, fearing what it might mean to be burden-less? Fearing the freedom you offer?
Oh Lord, help us today. We need your easy yoke, your light burden, yet we find it so hard to let go of what we already have. As if we are chained by our choices.
Help us to choose your yoke today. Help us to let go of our heavy burdens that you might refresh us.
As we struggle on through this journey called life, help us to keep our eyes on you.
Will you let go of something today? Will you let God carry your heavy burdens with his strength, and give you the light replacement?
Oh Lord, how we long to rest from carrying our heavy burdens, we feel like if we could just have a moment or two to put them down and pause be fore we carry on, if we could just rest a while we'll be okay.
But you promise so much more.
But first we must let go of our burdens, to put them down without the intention of picking them up again. And then we must accept yours, knowing that they will be light and easy, a joy to bear.
It all sounds so easy, doesn't it?
So why do we find it so hard?
Do we cling to things, fearing what it might mean to be burden-less? Fearing the freedom you offer?
Oh Lord, help us today. We need your easy yoke, your light burden, yet we find it so hard to let go of what we already have. As if we are chained by our choices.
Help us to choose your yoke today. Help us to let go of our heavy burdens that you might refresh us.
As we struggle on through this journey called life, help us to keep our eyes on you.
Will you let go of something today? Will you let God carry your heavy burdens with his strength, and give you the light replacement?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
the focus is Christ
This is definitely a word in season for me. Perfect timing. Thank you Ann and Holley.
As I start this journey into blogging my spiritual explorations, the need to keep it focused on Him, not on the numbers, the followers, the opinions of others... it is so important.
If you stumble across this place of mine, you are most welcome here, and you are invited to explore with me as I trip and fall and then carry on. I continue to seek a simple place of rest, to reach that still centre where I can simply abide in Christ. To just be.
As Ann said: "I write to see Him."
Come Lord Jesus.
As I start this journey into blogging my spiritual explorations, the need to keep it focused on Him, not on the numbers, the followers, the opinions of others... it is so important.
If you stumble across this place of mine, you are most welcome here, and you are invited to explore with me as I trip and fall and then carry on. I continue to seek a simple place of rest, to reach that still centre where I can simply abide in Christ. To just be.
As Ann said: "I write to see Him."
Come Lord Jesus.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
rest in Him
Lord, you're beautiful sunshine is streaming into my home this morning, may your light stream into our lives as well.
My morning bible reading was full of verses which just spoke to me about resting in Him. Take a look:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. -Psalm 91:1
Your life is now hidden with Christ in God. - Colossians 3:3
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. - Exodus 14:14
He has the strength, but it is also he who works it. So often we try to ask God for his strength so that we can use it, but it is not our strength to use. Instead, let us rest in him and let him do the fighting, just as he promises to in Exodus, if we would only be still.
Would you take a moment to be still right now and let God do the fighting? I know you yearn for rest, just as I do.
My morning bible reading was full of verses which just spoke to me about resting in Him. Take a look:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. -Psalm 91:1
Your life is now hidden with Christ in God. - Colossians 3:3
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. - Exodus 14:14
He has the strength, but it is also he who works it. So often we try to ask God for his strength so that we can use it, but it is not our strength to use. Instead, let us rest in him and let him do the fighting, just as he promises to in Exodus, if we would only be still.
Would you take a moment to be still right now and let God do the fighting? I know you yearn for rest, just as I do.
Monday, November 22, 2010
resting
I'm feeling quite inspired about this right now, though I don't want to get too excited, new project energy and all that. But this post from Ann over at A Holy Experience is encouraging and inspiring, lines like this one just hit right to the heart of the matter.
"Rest is not mere idleness but all rest is doing hidden and necessary work — the work of growing strong and nourishing the deep roots."
God commanded rest as the Sabbath, and even though lives may work differently to how they did back with Moses, the idea of Sabbath and rest is still vital to our lives.
Bloom Book Club is also currently working through a book on this subject: Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller.
It looks like the need for rest is a common one at the moment.
Would you rest with me a moment?
"Rest is not mere idleness but all rest is doing hidden and necessary work — the work of growing strong and nourishing the deep roots."
God commanded rest as the Sabbath, and even though lives may work differently to how they did back with Moses, the idea of Sabbath and rest is still vital to our lives.
Bloom Book Club is also currently working through a book on this subject: Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller.
It looks like the need for rest is a common one at the moment.
Would you rest with me a moment?
In need of rest
I am not superwoman, and I need a place to rest. My life as it is simply cannot provide what I need.
But I know someone who can.
In Christ I can find rest for my soul, a peace that is beyond what I can understand. It is only here, in the arms of God that I can truly rest and be at peace. Here is a place I can abide, simply be.
Will you join me?
But I know someone who can.
In Christ I can find rest for my soul, a peace that is beyond what I can understand. It is only here, in the arms of God that I can truly rest and be at peace. Here is a place I can abide, simply be.
Will you join me?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)