When someone asks you are, what you do? What do you say?
Are you like me and reply, "a wife and mother, a full-time student." A description of your key roles in life, your job?
I was struck last night after reading closely the first sentence of Romans with my husband how Paul describes himself quite differently:
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus" - Romans 1:1 and Philippians 1:1
"Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God" - 1 Corinthians 1:1
"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God" - 2 Corinthians 1:1, Ephesians 1:1 and Colossians 1:1
"Paul, an apostle - sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father" - Galatians 1:1
"Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope" - 1 Timothy 1:1
"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus" - 2 Timothy 1:1
"Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ" - Titus 1:1
"Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus" - Philemon 1:1
His very identity is centred in God!
Paul does not centre his identity on his role in the church - his job, among his friends, or in his family, he centres it on the One who gives his life its very meaning!
So often we forget who we are in God, we focus instead on the things we have to do, the roles we must play, we is relying on us for something. We forget that He calls us His children, His friends.
"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children." - Romans 8:14-16
"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." - John 15:15
You are a child of God! You are the son or daughter of the King of Kings! He who was one with God, He has called you friend!
Shouldn't that far surpass the job we hold? Shouldn't that totally eclipse all other identifiers we use in our attempts to describe just who it is we are?
When we ground our identity in Him we can base ourselves and our perceptions of ourselves in who He says we are, not who the world says we are. The son of the King has much more power in the world than a nobody peasant. The heir to the throne (you! - Romans 8:17) has more freedom to come and go than the cobbler's apprentice. Freedom and power to act out his father's wishes.
So claim your identity as He says you are. Accept the freedom that comes with it, the power He provides for our lives.
Will you accept His identity for you today? Will you ground yourself in His percception of you, not the world's?
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Pruning the deadwood (aka God is a gardener)
Our Kowhai bush was getting rather overgrown, and the cool of a summer morning, with a decent breeze, seemed like a good time to get to trimming.
First up was the sides and tops, trimming back the newer growth that was going to grow out to far into the driveway, and shaping up the rest so it was looking good and well-balanced. So of the top was hard to reach, high and far round the curve of the bush was a challenge for my not-so-long reach. This wasn't hard, just lots to it.
When that was finally done it was time for round the base. Many of the lower branches were growing scraggly, long and not woven in to the mass of the bush. One branch needed the pruning saw, sharply cutting it away right at the trunk.
As I cut away around the edges I could see into the middle of the bush. Dense and thickly tangled. The branches of this bush tangle together, looking much like thick matted hair. They weave in together, holding each other together as one large mass. However, they also hold in the deadwood. In fact, they held in a lot of deadwood. As the bush had grown, the leaves on the inner branches could no longer see the light, and the branches had died. On normal trees, the weight of the dead branch gradually weighs it down until the dry brittle branch breaks off and falls to the ground. Not so with this bush. The tangled mass held all the deadwood in and close.
We do the same. We hold on to what was once important and useful, but that has become a dead-weight, a hindrance. It becomes so tangled together that the light can no longer reach our centres, too closely do we hold on to our scars, our pains.
So I started clipping. Clip, clip, clip. I snipped at the dead branches, but when I tugged on them to pull them from the bush they didn't come. They were tangled so close that even when the branch was no longer attached to the bush it was still held close.
We can be the same. God, the gardener of our hearts and souls, comes with His heavenly pruning shears, comes to clip away the deadwood, and we hold it tight. We say, 'No! I need that!'
As I clipped and I pulled, as I snipped and I tugged, the centre became lighter, more open. Maybe, just maybe God's trying to do the same for us? Do you think? Maybe he wants to clear away the deadwood from our hearts, our souls, clearing space for Him and His Light to be at our centre.
"If a man does not keep himself in me, he becomes dead and is cut off like a dry branch; such branches are taken up and put in the fire and burned." John 15:6
"Cut off the branches because they don't belong to the LORD." Jeremiah 5:10b
God is the gardener of our hearts. He comes to clip away the deadwood so that there is room for Him, room for new growth in His ways.
He comes to prune away small things before they can grow too big and become obstacles, and He comes to prune away the deadwood which is useful no more and that we no longer need.
Will you listen to His voice when He comes pruning? Will you allow Him to cut away the deadwood in your life so that there is room for His light at your centre?
First up was the sides and tops, trimming back the newer growth that was going to grow out to far into the driveway, and shaping up the rest so it was looking good and well-balanced. So of the top was hard to reach, high and far round the curve of the bush was a challenge for my not-so-long reach. This wasn't hard, just lots to it.
When that was finally done it was time for round the base. Many of the lower branches were growing scraggly, long and not woven in to the mass of the bush. One branch needed the pruning saw, sharply cutting it away right at the trunk.
As I cut away around the edges I could see into the middle of the bush. Dense and thickly tangled. The branches of this bush tangle together, looking much like thick matted hair. They weave in together, holding each other together as one large mass. However, they also hold in the deadwood. In fact, they held in a lot of deadwood. As the bush had grown, the leaves on the inner branches could no longer see the light, and the branches had died. On normal trees, the weight of the dead branch gradually weighs it down until the dry brittle branch breaks off and falls to the ground. Not so with this bush. The tangled mass held all the deadwood in and close.
We do the same. We hold on to what was once important and useful, but that has become a dead-weight, a hindrance. It becomes so tangled together that the light can no longer reach our centres, too closely do we hold on to our scars, our pains.
So I started clipping. Clip, clip, clip. I snipped at the dead branches, but when I tugged on them to pull them from the bush they didn't come. They were tangled so close that even when the branch was no longer attached to the bush it was still held close.
We can be the same. God, the gardener of our hearts and souls, comes with His heavenly pruning shears, comes to clip away the deadwood, and we hold it tight. We say, 'No! I need that!'
As I clipped and I pulled, as I snipped and I tugged, the centre became lighter, more open. Maybe, just maybe God's trying to do the same for us? Do you think? Maybe he wants to clear away the deadwood from our hearts, our souls, clearing space for Him and His Light to be at our centre.
"If a man does not keep himself in me, he becomes dead and is cut off like a dry branch; such branches are taken up and put in the fire and burned." John 15:6
"Cut off the branches because they don't belong to the LORD." Jeremiah 5:10b
God is the gardener of our hearts. He comes to clip away the deadwood so that there is room for Him, room for new growth in His ways.
He comes to prune away small things before they can grow too big and become obstacles, and He comes to prune away the deadwood which is useful no more and that we no longer need.
Will you listen to His voice when He comes pruning? Will you allow Him to cut away the deadwood in your life so that there is room for His light at your centre?
Thursday, December 16, 2010
a place of peace
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?
"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?
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?
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