God is with me - even in the Dark.

" God is with me—even in the Dark "

“Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light,  trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”  Isaiah 50:10. In the Bible a new day begins with darkness.  In Genesis chapter 1 each new day is introduced with the words,  “and there was evening, and there was morning—the first day“.  The second day, and so on. When God wants to take us into a new day of spiritual experience,  He often begins with darkness.  He leads us into a period of confusion, pain and disappointment.  Take Joseph for example.  God had told him that he would be ruling one day.  Instead, for years he endured the exact opposite.  He was rejected by his brothers,  sold into slavery and endured a long imprisonment.  Yet, all the while God was preparing him for a new day  when the promise would become reality. Are you in a time of darkness?  You can’t see the way.  You don’t understand what’s happening.  It makes no sense to you.  Tell God about it and then leave it with Him.  He knows the way and He is leading you into a new day. God has promised us treasures of darkness.  “I will give you the treasures of darkness,  riches stored in secret places,  so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel,  who calls you by name “  (Isaiah 45:3). The greatest treasure is to know God in a deeper way:  to know that God is real and He meets real needs.  It’s in the dark that God’s picture unfolds. God says,  “Trust Me. Don’t try to figure out what is happening.  Simply trust Me and thank Me in advance  for the good that will come out of it all.” It will be a surprise how God will break into your life this time. “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths;  guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God my Savior,  and my hope is in you all day long.”  (Psalm 25:4,5).

CALLED TO CHANGE.

" Called to  Change "

Matthew 4:18-22  

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, 

Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. 

They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.

 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will send you out to fish for people.' 

At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, 

he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. 

They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. 

Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 

When Jesus called these two sets of brothers, it was not because of what they were, 

but because of what He would make of them. 

Fishermen were trained to go out to harvest the sea whatever the weather, day and night. 

However, the same life-principles would be needed to be apostles ('sent ones') of Jesus. 

Until then, there was much for them to learn , as they observed what Jesus did and said, 

and as they accepted His teaching and put it into practice.

First they were challenged to change their way of life. 

They knew the rigours of being apprenticed to their fathers; 

Jesus now instructed them to be His apprentices. 

Staying as fishermen provided security, 

and one day the family businesses would belong to them. 

Leaving the boats imposed an uncertain future on the young men, 

their fathers and others who depended on the family income. 

However, at the call of Jesus, 

they said 'No' to their familiar way of life and 'Yes' to a new life. 

All they knew was that Jesus would teach them how to catch men instead of fish.

'Catching men' was Jesus' expression for rescuing people 

who had previously been held captive by Satan (Luke 4:18-19). 

These people were like fish following their own type of lifestyle, 

doing the best they could for themselves without any concern for God.

The 'fishing' method would not be net or hook or harpoon, 

but by attracting people to Jesus as the apostles preached the gospel 

and demonstrated God's saving power. 

But first, the fishermen had to learn from Jesus; 

His call demanded a radical change of lifestyle and they responded wholeheartedly.

Discipleship always involves a call to the uncertainty of change. 

The 'call' is an inescapable inner conviction that God is commanding us to obey. 

" When He calls, everything is safe in His hands. 

When He teaches, the 'examinations' will get harder as we progress, 

but He never leaves us to deal with them alone. 

Wherever He sends, He always provides ". 

But whenever He calls, and for whatever purpose, 

the challenge of change needs to be faced. 

The 'bottom line' question is, 

'Do we believe that we will be safe in the hands of Jesus 

even though the circumstances are out of our control; 

or do we think that we will only be safe 

if we stay with what we know and can command'? 

Prayer for the day !

Heavenly Father. I am grateful that You have called me to follow Jesus. 

I am sorry for those times when I have been afraid of the changes 

and resisted Your call to serve You. 

Please help me to recognise that You know best how to fulfil Your purposes, 

and that You will always provide for Your people. 

Help me to keep trusting, learning and changing 

so that I can be an effective part of Your gospel team. 

In Jesus' Name. Amen.

TRADE ANXIETY FOR PEACE.

" Trade Anxiety for Peace " “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,  with thanksgiving, present your requests to God…  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,  will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4: 6 & 7) God calls us to guard our hearts and minds carefully. (Proverbs 4:23)  He also gives us amazing insight as He tells us  how HE will also guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  It isn’t all up to us.  Yes, we make the choice to pay attention to what we allow to settle there.  We need to choose wisely and bring our thoughts  and concerns to Him for His help. And then God does the amazing and gives us  a peace in our hearts that is beyond understanding!  This peace itself guards our hearts and minds from dangerous stress  and hasty, unwise choices. Thanksgiving is a key. Everyday there is much to be thankful for.  There is also much to keep one feeling anxious and worried.  Yet God calls you to live in thanksgiving and in peace.  Worry only gives way to fear and fear  will displace your faith causing anxiety to grow.  " God tells us to let faith take the upper hand  and cover over the fear that tries to slip in and rob you of peace ".  Let the truth of His word change your anxious heart  and mind and let worry be your call to prayer. Prayer for the day ! Dear God,  Fill my heart and mind with the recollection of all I have to say “thank you” for.  Thank you that as I take responsibility  for guarding my heart and bringing my fears to You,  YOU also guard my heart and mind with Your amazing peace.  What a wonderful exchange!  Today I turn my worried thoughts over to you and ask You  to preside over the details of my life.  I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

" Fill My Cup LORD "

"Focus on the Goal, not the Struggle"                      " Special Delivery "  VERY SPECIAL DELIVERY ! May the Lord open up  The windows of heaven  And pour you a blessing  That you will not have room  Enough to receive it all.  May the Lord bless  You exceedingly and abundantly,  Above all you could ever hope for.  May the Lord bless you  That you may walk in a  Financial overflow.  May you fall in love with Him  For  the rest of your days  In the Name of Jesus.  Amen!  Let's just see Satan  stop this one.  All you do is.. Send this on !

" Confusion is not one of God's Characteristics " 

1 Corinthians 14:26-28.

  What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? 

When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction,

 a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. 

Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. 

If anyone speaks in a tongue, two – or at the most three – should speak, 

one at a time, and someone must interpret. 

If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church 

and speak to himself and to God. (NIVUK)

 

In the beginning, before God put order and meaning into the world, 

it was dark, shapeless and chaotic. It needed God's Word to bring it to life. 

And so God brought order out of chaos 

and provided His world with light and purpose  (Genesis 1:1-5). 

He continues to do that in the lives of His people and His church (John 10:10). 

Confusion and disorder are not in God's nature and should not be a feature of God's church. 

Yes, we live in a muddled and messy world where the stain of sin 

has spoiled everything and everybody; but God wants to bring peace to this restless world through His Body, the church  (2 Timothy 2:22).

 

Paul’s instruction in these verses has a simple purpose: 

to bring God's order and purpose into a dysfunctional church. 

In those early days there was no set church service, 

but believers came together to contribute a teaching, 

encourage the others to sing a hymn which was known, 

or express their hearts by speaking in tongues. 

It was expected that each believer would contribute and not be an onlooker.

 

However, it was senseless for more than one person to speak at the same time: 

the rest of the church would not receive a clear message. 

Contributions in an unknown language were not appropriate 

in the church meeting if nobody could understand. 

If a person with the spiritual gift of interpretation was present, 

the whole church could benefit; otherwise Paul advised the person to be silent in the meeting.

 

Some church meetings today may be more formal, 

but each of us should still be prepared to share what the Lord has said to us 

through His Word and Spirit, or what He has done for us (Malachi 3:16). 

We may not be able to say everything publically 

but we can share with someone in the fellowship. 

We are not spectators; as part of the Body of Christ we are all players. 

In churches where there is greater freedom, these apostolic instructions 

should encourage self-restraint in those who are more extrovert, 

and also be an encouragement to those who are more reserved.

 

Prayer for the day !  

Lord of the Church. Thank You for giving spiritual gifts to every believer, including me. 

I am sorry for thinking that I have nothing to contribute to the fellowship 

where You have placed me, or when my contributions have been more for my sake than Yours. 

Please help me to prepare my heart before I come to worship and receive Your Word, 

so that I will be a strength and encouragement to others, 

and learn from what You have given to them.

 In Jesus' Name. Amen.

JESUS IS ALWAYS THERE.

" Jesus is Always There "

“The eternal God is your refuge, 

and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy 33:27.

She walked into the office on Tuesday morning 
and the first thing she did was hand me her letter of resignation. 

She would be leaving in two weeks, she told me. She had another job. 

I had been expecting her resignation, but in two weeks? 

She had told me she would be leaving at the end of the year. 

To find a replacement before the New Year was almost impossible 
and there were so many things to learn before she left.

My heart and spirits went “thud” and I felt like escaping – maybe read a good book. 

But I recalled Elisabeth Elliott teaching,
 “When you are facing be big problem, do the next thing”, 
and so I kept working. I continued answering e-mails and 
but also listed all the things that needed to be done before she left. 

 E-mail addresses that needed to be changed, procedures to learn, 
but most importantly – find someone to replace her.

My spirits were very low. 
I told my husband I felt like I was at the bottom of a pit looking up. 

But I wasn’t there by myself. 

" Jesus was there with me – He kept whispering promises in my ear:

“I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

“As your days, so shall your strength.” (Deuteronomy 33:25).

“And my God shall supply all your need according 
to His riches in glory forever and forever.” “Philippians 4:19).

“Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
 I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, 
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

He kept whispering these and many other promises in my ear.

Well, we learned the procedures during the next two weeks 
while we searched for a new assistant. 

We were able to learn what we needed to keep functioning 
and less than a week later we were having dinner 
with our very capable new assistant and her husband.

 

She would begin working in two weeks. 

" The Lord provided what I thought was impossible, 
a new assistant at just the right time ! "

God is good. He does not abandon us. 
He is always there. He cares about us and His work.

Have you had a surprise problem lately? 

Don’t fret, listen to Him whisper promises in your ear. 

" God is there. 

He will take care of you ".

My prayer for the day !

Father God, you are so amazing. 
So tender and caring. 
Thank You for supplying all of our needs. Amen.