I delight in nature; what does God delight in?

One of the things that make me happy in life is sitting still somewhere in the untamed wildness of nature, and being awed by the amazing creation that God has made.

Whether I'm by the ever-changing, roaring, peaceful, beautiful, threatening ocean; at the top of a rocky mountain looking down on the green world below, or staring up at the amazing endless night sky with its infinite stars, I am always overwhelmed at how insignificant I am and how powerful, creative, huge, and worthy of adoration God is!

So imagine how stoked I was to discover this Psalm:

Psalm 147

1 Praise the LORD.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.

5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

6 The LORD sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp.

8 He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.

9 He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;

11 the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

12 Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion,

13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your people within you.

14 He grants peace to your borders
and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

15 He sends his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.

16 He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.

17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?

18 He sends his word and melts them;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.

19 He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his laws and decrees to Israel.

20 He has done this for no other nation;
they do not know his laws.
Praise the LORD.

What are we, that the God of our HUMONGOUS planet, on which there are 6 BILLION people, might have chosen us as His children? Nothing. We are nothing. And that, dear friends, is what's so amazing about grace.

God's amazing Word!

I recently wrote a post on talking to others about Jesus (see Being offensive versus being on the offense. In this I briefly mentioned how God's Word does all the work. And it's true, it does!
I think in all stories of how people became followers of Christ there's one thing that's always present, no matter how weird, interesting, or 'boring' the story is. This one thing is that it was hearing about what Christ had done that had struck a chord in the listener!

One of my friends says that his story of 'conversion is 'boring', because all that happened to him is that he went to church once, and he somehow found himself going back. I myself don't find any stories of how people began their relationship with Jesus boring, 'cause they're all such encouraging examples of how God's Word works!!

Let us not be discouraged if what we tell others does not result in them wanting to become Christians there and then! God's Word does what He wants it to do!

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
(Isaiah 55:10-11)

Paul also reminds Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:9, that unlike Paul who is a prisoner at the time of the writing of that letter, God's word is not chained!

There are many other verse I could quote here, but those two touched me particularly today. I suggest that you read 1 Corinthians 1-2 if you have time as well.

Doubting Thomas, Doubting Grace, Doubting You?

2007 was a hectic year for me, filled with doubts and anxiety about my Christian faith.

Is Jesus real? Is He the only way? Is He the truth, like He says He is?!?

I know of people that quash any doubts that they have about their Christian faith immediately, thinking that that's ungodly and sinful. However, I'm of the opinion that doubting can be, and often is, a good spur for growth.

We should not be scared of doubting and questioning the Bible's claims, for if it contains the truth like it says, it WILL stand up to the light.

God has also given us rational brains, capable of logical thought, to be used.

However, I think that one can distinguish between godly and ungodly doubting.

Godly doubting seeks to find answers to genuine intellectual problems and is a stimuli to increased maturity in Christ.
Ungodly doubting is a persistance in doubts, even after intellectual queries have been answered, because of our own sinful nature and reluctance to follow Jesus as King.

An example of this was when I stopped reading my Bible earlier this year for a month or more, 'cause I was questioning Christianity. However, even when my doubts were answered and I once again realized the Jesus IS God, and that He DOES offer us eternal life, I didn't pick up my Bible for quite a while because of my laziness and lack of self-discipline.

So you, if you are doubting today, use this as a spur for growth. Do not get stuck in it!

[PS I don't really have any biblical backing for this; it's just something I've been thinking about.]

The many names of the Holy Trinity

I was talking to my dear friend, Princess Sarah, about a lesson that God had been patiently teaching me throughout this year (TOLD YOU I WAS A SLOW LEARNER!). However, now that I'd learnt the lesson, I was struggling to find ways of applying it and I was uncertain of the practical implications it had for my life. After listening to me for a few minutes melodramatically wailing my stupidity, she reminded me to pray to "Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith!" (Hebrews 12:2)
At that moment I realized that I was again relying on my own strength and intellectual powers instead of surrendering all to Jesus!

That made me start thinking about the various titles God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit had. I'd been circling the ones I came across in my QTs for the last few months for the times I needed a quick reminder of God's amazing character. So I shall now share some quick fixes with you!

General:
- God our Saviour (1 Timothy 2:3)
- the living God (1 Timothy 2:15)
- the blessed and only Ruler (1 Timothy 6:15)
- the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15)
- the living Stone (1 Peter 2:4)
- the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls (1 Peter 1:25)
- the faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:19)
- the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4)
- the God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10)

God the Father:
- the glorious Father (Ephesians 1:17)
- the Majestic Glory (2 Peter 1:17)

God the Son:
- the Word of life (1 John 1:1)
- eternal life (1 John 1:2)
- the Righteous One (1 John 2:1)
- our only Sovereign and Lord (Jude 4)

God the Spirit:
- the Spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17)
- the Spirit of glory (1 Peter 1:14)


Obviously there'll be many more I discover as I carry on reading, so I'll keep on adding to this list! And you are more than welcome to as well!

Being offensive versus being on the offense

Recently I had the opportunity to be a leader on the Christian youth camp where I myself had understood the amazing news of salvation and forgiveness in Jesus Christ for the first time. Obviously it has a very special place in my heart for this reason, but also for the reason that it's ALWAYS so great to go back there and just see how God's amazing Word works in people's lives! I especially get a kick seeing young people change, 'cause come on, not to insult all the people I know, but when you were younger, did you ever think further than what you were going to eat next, the latest fashions or the newest lipstick colour?!? [Okay, okay, I was a bit of a tomboy, so the first thought occupied my mind MUCH more than the latter two]. Seeing them arrive as materialistic, worldly teenagers and sometimes leave as drastically-altered, Jesus-focused youths is amazing!

Anyway, this year was really really really really awesome, 'cause God gave me some great opportunities to talk to the non-Christians in my group about Him, and He gave me numerous opportunities to encourage the Christians in my group. Now, to be honest, the previous two years I'd been a leader, I think I was more concerned about being cool and popular with my girls than actually concerned about seeking opportunities to talk to them about Christ. Also, as half of my group always ended up being my local youth girls, I didn't make much effort 'cause I thought I'd have ample time to challenge them at the weekly youth bible study.

However, this year my group consisted of 8 girls I hardly knew, and who I probably won't see again they come on camp again next year. God had also been teaching me throughout the year that my laissez-faire attitude to ministry was not on, so I also arrived with a more serious attitude to speak about Jesus!!

Which brings me to the point of this post: Being offensive versus being on the offense.

I think one of the stereotypical characteristics of Christians is that we are offensive, judgmental people. As God's people, if we show these characteristics, WE ARE TO CHANGE THAT!!! Obviously, the gospel is offensive - who enjoys being told that they're rotten, guilty, evil wretches who'll die to face eternal judgment??!?! But at the same time, I think that Christians have earned this reputation not because of the offensiveness of the gospel, but because of their manner in which they share it!

Have a look at the following verse:

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)

Sometimes we panic and think that we're in charge of converting people; that they need to become a Christian after we tell them the gospel, and so we're going to force it down their throats whether they want to hear it or not. This is WRONG! We are not in the business of converting people; God is. Let me say that again: WE ARE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF CONVERTING PEOPLE; GOD IS!! God is in control. We are not. God is Sovereign. We are not. God's Word works miracles and brings the dead to life. Our words can barely get our siblings to bring us biscuits from the kitchen. [I know this. It is a fact of life.]

All we are called to do is to share the gospel with those who we have been given opportunities to share it with - that means that if they ask that we stop sharing the gospel with them, we STOP.
(To make it easier for people, if an opportunity presents itself I sometimes tell them that I tend to get excited about Jesus and sharing the gospel, but if at any point they want me to stop, they can just tell me to.) However, that does not mean that we stop praying for them and for more opportunities!!

At the same time, I think it's quite easy to quite complacent about opportunities, and that we wait for God to hit us over the head with a tree branch or something before we realize that Susan telling us about how meaningless life seems all of a sudden is actually an opportunity. Which leads me to the second point: we need to be on the offense!!

Just like in football movies, we mustn't just wait for opportunities for the other side to stumble so that we can score.. We must constantly be looking for, and creating opportunities!!

This athletic speak can actually be found in the following verse:

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:2)

[Hehe, okay okay, I don't think Paul was really thinking of a football team when he wrote that.]

For example, if Susan says "Wow, life seems so meaningless right now", it'd probably be silly talking about the amazing pasta you had last night...

It's tough going sometimes, but yay for a Sovereign God who's always in control! I was reminded of this recently when I had two amazing opportunities in two days, and I found myself unable to say anything coherently or lucidly!! Thank God that other people's eternal lives don't rest on my wisdom, but on God's working Word!

Let's go out there, not being offensive, but being on the offense!

My Dad can soooooooooooooo kick your dad's butt!!

One game little children like to play (and that I enjoy watching them play) is the "My dad..." game. What happens is that two little kids take turns bragging about what their dads can do until the statements reach a preposterous level... (I call it 'game', but for them it's probably deathly serious, especially considering the intensity of the statements!)

Tommy: "My dad's got two cars, and we're getting a third one tomorrow!"
Billy: "My dad can ride his bike backwards while pedaling with his hands!"
Tommy: "My dad can do 100 pull-ups!"
Billy: "Oh yeah?!?! My dad shot a lion the other day!"
Tommy: "SO?!!? My dad was in the army and he got a gold medal!"
Billy: "My dad can beat up your dad!!!!"
Tommy: "My dad can beat up your dad and 50 other guys with one hand tied behin..." [At this point, Tommy's dad comes past, overhears this, and takes him home before Billy's dad hears this and challenges him.]

What amuses me so much is the thought that as Christians, we WILL win every single time we play this game! [Yes, that's right, Grace is getting excited at the thought of beating 5 year olds at their own game... ;)]

"My Dad's the King of the Universe!"
"My Dad's the Creator of the Ocean!!"
"My Dad determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name!
He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles.." (Psalm 147)

What an AWESOME Dad we have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our God is a God of comfort!

I was thinking earlier how great a God we serve- He heals the broken-hearted, and one day in heaven there are going to be no more tears and no more mourning, for He Himself will wipe every tear away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I leave you with the lyrics from Casting Crown's "Praise you in this storm":

I was sure by now, God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus: And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth


Praise God that He remains who He is, no matter where we are!