from one scarred hand to the other

STANDOUT VERSE - PSALM 103:12 (NKJV)
As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

In preparation for my reading today I watched a presentation on Youtube, to the song “East to West” by casting crowns. These words really hit me as being immensely beautiful.

“East to West” by casting crowns

Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight
I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west
And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned
But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west
'cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals
I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me
You're holding on to me

Jesus, You know just how far the east is from the west
I don't have to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
One scarred hand to the other
From one scarred hand to the other

Lord, this is my prayer.

Should he stay or should he go?

STANDOUT VERSE - MATTHEW 8:34
Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone.

What had Jesus actually done? Why did he receive this treatment? He had healed two men and destroyed a herd of pigs in the process, but I wonder whether it really was the destruction of the pigs that caused them to ask him to leave. We don’t even know that the villagers were told about the pigs – only about the men.

Was it in fact the healing? Through that action they saw the power of Jesus. He was able to accomplish what their town leaders and cultic priests could not. The demons whom they feared and knew, knew Jesus and so feared him. What power this man might have. What things he might do to them. What would happen if he stayed? This man is a threat.

That power is still there. He can accomplish what our politicians, celebrities, sportsmen, pop-stars, anyone else in whom we place our hopes and dreams, cannot. He can heal the disease that is at the root of our being and remove our sin, but this means a change of who we are and that is a threat to our identity, worth and self-sufficiency. The threat is not new and created, for the real threat is sin just as it was the demons for the Gadarenes. Yet the world turns its fire against the solution.

When I realise my sinfulness do I turn my rage against the sin or the light which exposed it?

Would I rather have Jesus leave than transform me?

Jesus, change me.

Never forget ...

STANDOUT PASSAGE - PROVERBS 3:3-6
My child, never forget … Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! …Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

How many times do we decide that we have found “the answer” and set out on our own course without having ever prayed about it? And how often does this decision deny such basic principles as loyalty and kindness and ignore God’s guidance, voice and will? Certainly it is too often for me … and no matter how rare, if it is ever, it is too often for you … and even when I realise this I persuade myself that God gave me the ability to reason for a purpose. And this is true – he did. But this purpose was not so that I may “go it alone.” I need to realise that my reasoning is just as fallen, just as sinful, as the rest of my being. It needs turning over to God and it needs sanctifying.

Notes from the NLT Life Application Study Bible (Rebekah):

When thinking about a course of action, are you simply seeking God’s stamp of approval on something you’ve already decided to do? Or are you willing to set the plan aside if the principles and commands of God’s word are against the action?

And this sanctification is not a rubber stamp on the decision but the watermark that existed before the thought began. It cannot be. It must not be. For me, too often, it is. I need to learn to seek in all that I do and to trust with all my heart.

Lord, put your ways in my mind and write them deep in my heart. In all things may I trust you and in all things may I seek your will. May I never forget.

Ouch ... and Thank You

STANDOUT PASSAGE – MATTHEW 6:25-33
[Do not] worry about everyday life … Why do you have so little faith? … Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Bang!
There it is, and that told me.

Notes from the NLT Life Application Study Bible (Mt 6:24):

Either we store our treasures with God, focus our “eyes” on him, and serve him alone – or else we do not serve him at all. Where does your ultimate allegiance lie?

And again!

STANDOUT PASSAGE – MATTHEW 7:1-5
… How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! …

Starting to feel a bit bruised now. Perhaps that’s a good thing.

Notes from the NLT Life Application Study Bible (Gen 19:26):

You can’t make progress with God as long as you are holding onto pieces of your old life. Jesus sad it this way in Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters.”

I get the point, but don’t feel so bruised, for this offers hope that progress is possible.

STANDOUT PASSAGE – PSALM 8
.. What are what are people that you should think about them, mere mortals that you should care for them? Yet … you crowned them with glory and honour …

That’s me that is!

Lord, I do have so little faith but I praise you that “Though you wound, you also bandage. You strike, but your hands also heal.” Give me faith for today. When I am being faithless continue to tell me. But then bandage the wound, heal, and give me faith.

Melchizedek the unlikely

STANDOUT PASSAGE - GENESIS 14:17-20
…And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine …

I love the story of Melchizedek, it gets my blood going with excitement as all Christophanies do, as I see in this man the second person of the Godhead, the pre-incarnate Christ. It is one of those golden nuggets which demonstrates the perfection of God’s plan as through it you can see the actions of an Eternal God unconstrained by the bounds of time. Naturally therefore I read, devoured, the study notes on this passage and came across this phrase:

Notes from the NLT Life Application Study Bible (Melchizedek):

Are you aware of the similarities between yourself and others who worship God, even if their form of worship is quite different from yours? Do you know the God of the bible well enough to know if you truly worship him?

I like the way the second question turns the first on its head, and shows our arrogance in the process. We would expect it to ask “… to know if they truly worship him?” This would confirm our prejudice that we are correct and all others wrong but reminds us that sometimes we are confronted by the unexpected person who also worships God Most High. The Jews expected that worshippers would be genetically “of Abraham” and yet Melchizedek clearly is not – he is an unexpected follower, even a priest. Each time they came to this passage in the Torah this should have challenged their thought and reminded them of their prophetic role yet it remained a quirk and was written off as they continued to introspect. They were the chosen people yet they forgot why they were chosen.

Today we who follow Christ are also chosen for a reason and we need to remember the purpose of our calling and ensure that our focus remains on those who do not know God. Their future and our love for them and for God should be our driving forces. But we also must remember that not all worshippers will come in the shape or form we expect. We need to take their response as a challenge and ask ourselves, “Do we know the God of the bible well enough to know if we truly worship him?”

Lord, keep my focus on the lost. May their future drive me to greater obedience as an expression of my love for you. May I know you more and more and more each day. In all of my life and all that I do, teach me to worship.

Unfailing love

STANDOUT VERSE - PSALM 5:7,8
Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe. Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow.

We take church too lightly. We fail to see the privilege of being able to attend God’s house and to worship Him freely. Those of us who attend worship hear these sentiments with a certain regularity, but most often it is in the context of thankfulness for the freedom we enjoy in our nation. We are not forbidden from attending nor are we truly persecuted. Yet this is not the main reason we are privileged to attending worship, neither is it why we take church too lightly. Rather, I believe, it is because we take God’s attendance and grace for granted. Because His love is unfailing we may enter His house and find Him whenever we seek Him, but it needn’t have been this way, for why should God be interested in us? But He is. This must give depth to our worship and move us to awesome wonder. We can enter God’s house because He invites us.

But God’s interest in us does not simply apply to our times of worship but extends to every aspect of our lives. Another sign of His love He has created a path for us. It is a path marked by laws of love illuminated by His Word and signposted by revelation. And because it flows from unfailing love it doesn’t simply cover the great decisions of our life but also concerns itself with the detail of daily living.

Notes from the NLT Life Application Study Bible (Mt 5:1ff):

[The sermon on the mount called those listening] back to the messages of the Old Testament prophets, who, like Jesus, taught that heartfelt obedience is more important than legalistic observance.

The Pharisees saw the law but missed the love. They understood that God was interested in every aspect of who we are, yet instead of nurturing the truth that this showed the greatness of God they chose to believe that it showed only the weakness of man; they created a legalism that sought to elevate man. One may remain on a path and move nowhere, but the path God has set before us is to be followed and not merely studied or remained within, so today I join David in his prayer:

Lord, I praise you that I may freely worship you and I am awestruck that you should take time for me. Never let me forget that worship is not merely an expression of my love, but is an expression of Yours for me. Teach me that my worship should not be constrained by the walls of church or of Sabbath, but in all things, at all times and in all areas of my life and my identity, make your way plain for me to follow.

No more unicorns

STANDOUT VERSE - GENESIS 8:20
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.

“Blast!” said Noah as he watched the smoke from the burnt offerings ascend into the heavens, “they were the last unicorns.”

Even as I compose that sentence I can see that it is an old joke. Noah leaves the ark and is so grateful for the survival of himself and of his family that he simply has to give thanks for his salvation, and he does so in the culturally accepted way, in the only way he knows, and offers a sacrifice to God. This offering was not demanded of Noah, it was not requested or suggested, but flowed freely from the heart of one who has recognised the mighty act of a loving God. It was natural and spontaneous with little thought for the consequences. Even one sacrifice of the last female (or male) animal could mean extinction for a species they had worked so hard to save. Yet we see no futility in the ark – no animal was saved from the flood simply to be brought to extinction as the waters receded, for of the animals fit for sacrifice God had ordered that seven pairs be taken. Previously I had given this little thought and had most likely made the ridiculous assumption that this was due to some special (what a great use of this word!) favouritism. So why?

God would have known the desire of Noah to worship Him and so He makes provision for Noah’s worship and for his sacrifice. God gave to the new postdiluvian world more than was strictly necessary in order that man could offer back to God. And he does the same today, and has done so for me. I have more than I need (though due to my appetites often less than want) and so of my abundance I can give back and give away.

Lord God, thank you for all that you have done for me and for all that you give to me. Teach me to sacrifice.

God closes the door

STANDOUT VERSE - GENESIS 7:16
[Noah, his family and the animals entered the ark.] Then the Lord closed the door behind them.

God was the doorman. What would have happened if Noah had been in charge of the door? Would he have closed the door earlier in order to be absolutely safe and sure that no water got in, or would he have waited longer so that as the rains began some may still save themselves? I have no idea, but I do know that God makes it clear that he was the one in ultimate control. He held it open and eventually he pushed it shut.

ADDITIONAL PASSAGE OF NOTE - MATTHEW 3:7-12
[John said,] “…Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ … [Jesus} is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

One of the reasons why John, and later Jesus, denounced the Pharisees was that they claimed they were able to do what God had made sure Noah could not: that they could arbitrate on who was safe and who not. Just as Genesis makes it clear that occupancy of the ark is up to God and God alone, so John makes it clear that this is Jesus’ place and no other’s to judge men.

This point needed making at least twice in Scripture (in fact we find it in very many other places) because it is not a lesson we learn easily or well. We couch our judgements in different ways thinking this makes it more acceptable, yet the root remains the same. We place ourselves in the positions of a judge, elevating our place that we may judge over them and push them down in our judgements. We declare ourselves as capable, perhaps even more so, than God and thus usurp his divinity.

Lord God, show me where I judge others and where I use them as stepping stones and stairs to create and maintain position. Teach me to pick others up and not to tread them down. Remove judgementalism in me and make me an encourager.

Slavery or Freedom

STANDOUT VERSE - PSALM 2:3
“Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

The psalmist here recognises that the nations perceive God in the same way as Cain did – as an oppressive master: someone to rage against, someone unfair, someone to resist and fight. God’s law is seen as chains whilst morality and conscience are the bonds that keep the slave captive. The irony here is that the anointed one against whom they also rage is the one who came to free them from slavery and to release them from their captivity to sin. The truth of the matter, though sometimes hard to perceive, is that God’s service is the only true freedom we may ever find; in no other path may liberty be found. Solomon hints here also, stating, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honour around your neck.”

Jack Winslow wrote in his great hymn “Lord of creation”:

Lord of all power, I give you my will,
In joyful obedience your tasks to fulfil.
Your bondage is freedom, your service is song,
And, held in your keeping, my weakness is strong.

Lord God, as I give myself again to you today, may I discover the freedom of Your service.

Entry 1

I have had three individual quotes running through my head and I thought sharing them would be an interesting way to start my blog:

The one who would be all my spiritual food was, even as a baby, placed in a feeding trough. That's forward planning for you!

This comes from something shared in our morning worship at Easterhouse by Kirsty. She seemed almost apologetic at sharing what she thoguht was such an obvious insight to the Christmas story. I think it is wonderful.

The infinite became finite: The Eternal took time for me at Christmas.

This comes from the sermon given last Sunday at Red Lodge Methodist Church by the Rev. Sheila MacInally. It works on so many levels and each of them speak with great depth.

Three nails gave me liberty

This comes from a song by Leeland, and I like it's poetry.

So thank you Kirsty, Sheila and Leeland.

May my mind, this year, focus on things such as these.