ALL people

 Psalm 68:28–35 (ESV):  

28  Summon your power, O God, 

the power, O God, by which you have worked for us. 

29  Because of your temple at Jerusalem 

kings shall bear gifts to you. 

30  Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, 

the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. 

Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute; 

scatter the peoples who delight in war. 

31  Nobles shall come from Egypt; 

Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God. 

32  O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; 

sing praises to the Lord, Selah 

33  to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; 

behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. 

34  Ascribe power to God, 

whose majesty is over Israel, 

and whose power is in the skies. 

35  Awesome is God from his sanctuary; 

the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. 

Blessed be God! 

The glory, beauty, power and magnificence of God is now celebrated all across the world! Once, Israel were the chosen nation, the people God led through the wilderness into the promised land. Now, all people flock to God. We are living in the days that this psalm foretold! When; kings, nobles, young and old, people from war torn countries, previous enemies and even those deemed wicked can ‘ascribe power to God’ and ‘sing praises to the Lord’. These days were prophesied and hoped for, and the people of Israel saw glimpses of what it could be like, but they could not see the fullness of what it meant for 'kingdoms of. the earth' to. be praising God. 

We have the privilege of living in the days when this is happening, when the good news that we can be forgiven and free from sin when we believe in and follow Jesus, is available to all people. Every person, no matter how lofty or lowly, no matter their language or culture, how old or young, where they are from or what they have done - all people can be forgiven, restored and brought into the family of God! What a joy it should be to each of us to live in such times. These are the days foretold in the Bible! We can eat together, sing together, enter a place of praise together and see salvation in all people. The gospel is for every man, woman and child, freely available with the great news that each one can have a relationship with God if they want it!

When I look at the group of people that i worship with, i see such beautiful variety, this was not something that the Israelites at the time of the psalm would have experienced. They were all one nation, all Israelites, (with very few exceptions like Rahab and Caleb), who journeyed together, lived together and worshipped God together. So when they heard scripture say things like, ‘kingdoms of the earth, sing to God’, I wonder what they imagined. It must have seemed impossible, that even those who God told them were enemies, would one day have access to praise Him. That worship would come from ‘his people’ could mean anyone, not just the Jews. It must have seemed inspiring, confusing and pretty impossible. Impossible in the sight of man anyway. Yet this was something the Israelites were being shown again and again through scripture, that God had a different plan. Although in their day, they alone were His people, a day was coming when God’s people would come from all nations! Wow! 

When God speaks, at the time, it does not always make sense or seem possible, but holding onto His words is important, as our situation in this context proves. The nation of Israel were told things like the fact that one day worshippers would be from all nations. Thankfully, it is documented so that we can see and be witnesses to the fact that God keeps His word. For now, anyone and everyone can worship God and be considered His people - joined through the love, forgiveness, compassion, and might of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Not only that, but we are also made family through him - we are now brothers and sisters to a vast people group, greater than the nation of Israel! How could those Israelites of Old  Testament times imagine that?

This shows that God’s plan is always greater than we can understand. God does ‘far more than we can ask or imagine’ (Ephesians 3:20). Even when He has told us what He will do, it is hard for us to comprehend it as it is beyond our ability to visualise. Those living in Old Testament times had a hope, an idea and a vision of what faith in God would look like, but it was blurry and exciting and not something that could easily be grasped or fully understood. We too, live with such things. There are things that we know and see in part, but one day will see fully (1 Corinthians 13:12). We have no idea what the future holds. You can listen to and hear from God, be given something of His vision and hear prophecies, but you do not know what the fullness of His promises look like. They are far greater than you can suppose, because God is just so big and awesome His imagination outstrips yours! Just know, that when God speaks, He will do it and do it brilliantly.

Is God in your everyday every day?

 Psalm 61:1–8 (ESV):  

1  Hear my cry, O God, 

listen to my prayer; 

2  from the end of the earth I call to you 

when my heart is faint. 

Lead me to the rock 

that is higher than I, 

3  for you have been my refuge, 

a strong tower against the enemy. 

4  Let me dwell in your tent forever! 

Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah 

5  For you, O God, have heard my vows; 

you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 

6  Prolong the life of the king; 

may his years endure to all generations! 

7  May he be enthroned forever before God; 

appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! 

8  So will I ever sing praises to your name, 

as I perform my vows day after day. 

This psalm sounds like the writer, David, is worn out. A petition to be heard by the almighty God, and to hear a response, from a tired and worn out mind. I wonder if this is why it is initially written in quite short lines. It reminds me of someone running, short of breath, exhaling quick sentences as they jog along. 

In the midst of rushing around, and in the busy-ness of life, you can still talk to God. It may be short, snippets of words and sentences, but God is still there to hear them and to demonstrate care to you. David knew that. So, he prayed in every and any situation. He prayed when life was good and bountiful, when it was terrifying, when he was sick, resting, and rushing. Your conversations with God may change as life changes, but do you still make a point of including God as things adapt and change? Do you invite God into your everyday, every day?

Even in the rushing and the worry, God is a ‘refuge’ and ‘strong tower’, but you won’t get to experience that if you don’t look out for Him and speak to Him. David was secure in his relationship with God because he worked at it. He spent time with God, he waited for Him and he intentionally sought Him out and spoke with Him even when he could have been distracted and too busy. David intentionally made God part of his everyday every day. He spoke to God on the run, in the cave as well as whilst resting on his bed and amongst other believers. David spoke to God whenever he could because he valued the relationship, and he knew God cares about, and can have impact on every area of his life. 

David not only spoke with God, but kept his word before God as he understood the importance of taking his responsibility in the relationship. David says he will, ‘perform my vows day after day’. He recognised the importance that he take ownership for the relationship he had with God as he knew it was a two way thing. God is not just there whenever David wants Him to be, but David also has to work at keeping the relationship strong, and that includes keeping his promises. So whatever David promised God he would do, he did, every day. David did his best to please God and to obey Him, he understood that his response to God was as important as God’s response to him. David’s everyday life reflected the faith he had because he not only talked to, and about God, but his behaviour and decisions reflected the faith he had. He kept his promises to God and vowed to do better. He included God in every part of his everyday life. Do you? Do you make and keep your promises? 

Finally, in this psalm we see David’s humility before the throne of God. Even though David knows what it is like to be a king, he is not The King, and so he subjects his authority, influence, power and responsibility to God. He asks God to give him a long life, and he also requests that God allows His, ‘steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him’. David knows he can do well if he has the love and faithfulness of God tangibly in his life. He understood that the best king is not one who wields his power and authority, but one who subjects it into the hands of God. David was a great king because he acknowledged that all he had influence over was in the hands of God. So, whatever God gives you to do in life, do it well, to the honour and glory of God. You may not be a king, but wherever you have influence and opportunity, ask for God to help you in His steadfast love and faithfulness, for then you will do well. God made people to be kings, and He made people to be servants and every other role in-between. As you diligently perform the, ‘good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ (Ephesians 2:10) ensure that you are performing these duties in a way that demonstrates worship and honour to God. Include him in your everyday life, every day, then you will know God as your refuge and strong tower too.

King David is a great example for all of us. He had the right perspective of his role and responsibility. He lived subject to God and in close relationship with Him everyday. He made sure he spent time with God, spoke with Him, learnt about Him, kept his vows, and lived under His authority. David lived his everyday life with God every day, do you do the same?

Pray together, pray big!

James concludes his letter with an exhortation to pray:

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

James 5: 13-18 (ESV)

James ends his letter with this endorsement - no matter the circumstances of life you are facing, pray. The best thing you can do for yourself and your situation is pray and get others to pray with you. James encourages you to not pray alone; If you’re ill, he says to ask the elders in the church to pray over you, he adds that you should ‘confess your sins’ to each other and pray, and he commends getting the 'righteous' to pray. Therefore, prayer is not a lonely battle, but one that should involve others. James is ending his letter showing that the christian life should be wrapped in prayer and should not be tackled alone. 

These times he mentions when prayer or praise are required, he assumes that you will be journeying with others. Life is not solitary, you are to include others in it. Even in the personal things such as sickness and sin. If you keep the troubles of your life to yourself, it is not only lonely but you might be missing out on the blessing of being anointed, forgiven and the effect of powerful prayer. You should not keep your pain, suffering, illness or sin secret. In fact, you are meant to share those things with others of faith so that they can uphold you, keep you accountable and they can celebrate with you. In the times of illness or distress, surely you want a ‘righteous person’ to pray for you? As James tells us that a righteous person’s prayers have great power and they work yet if you do not allow people to know your suffering, how can they pray, and who will you celebrate the breakthrough with? The life of a God-follower should be surrounded by other people of faith, that includes in the toughest of times. If you are suffering in some way today, do not do it alone, pick up the phone and ask someone you know is following God to pray for you - then see what God does with the prayers of the righteous in your life.

Elijah in this passage is mentioned as someone who powerfully prayed, but also as, ‘a man with a nature like ours’. That is pretty incredible when we consider the story of his life. James is showing here that even the great, powerful, spirit-filled men and women we read of in the Bible, like Elijah, were just men and women like you and I. Elijah was a man, a man that invested in his relationship with God. He was nothing special apart from the connection he had with God. Elijah dared to pray great, big prayers. He prayed for extremes of weather, and God heard and did it, he prayed for fire from heaven to consume his offering, and God did it, he prayed for a widow’s son who had died, and the son was restored to life. What are you praying for? Do you dare to pray such big prayers? Do you dare to pray for the impossible knowing that who you’re talking to has achieved some pretty impossible things already?! Elijah, remember is just like us. He was a man following and honouring God in his life, and he wasn’t afraid to ask for the incredible, impossible things because he knew just who he was speaking to. Are you a righteous person who prays big? Or are you someone that keeps things small? God can do more than you can ask for or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), so why not pray BIG today and see what God can do?

The armour of God

Our family has been going through tough times recently and so a fellow believer  challenged me to read about the armour of God everyday for a week. They felt it would be a source of encouragement and of guarding against what the enemy was trying to destroy in my life, and that of our family. So I thought I would take up the challenge and document my thoughts each day as I read this section of scripture daily for the week. Some days I may spend 5 mins reading, others may be more like half an hour of reading and contemplation, so join me if you will on my adventure of delving into these verses from Ephesians 6;

*The Whole Armour of God*

*10*Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. *11*Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. *12*For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. *13*Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. *14*Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, *15*and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. *16*In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; *17*and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, *18*praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, *19*and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, *20*for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. 

Ephesians 6:10–20.

Day 1

The first thing that stood out to me was the word ‘stand’. Sometimes, there is nothing more to do in life other than stand. When it feels like the battles of life are raging around you, you just need to stand. No movement required, God will give you the strength to do just that, stand. This ability to stand does depend on the strength of faith you have built beforehand. When you can do nothing else, you need to rely on what you know to be true about yourself and God when the warring season comes. There are often no indicators that it’s on it’s way, so you always need to be ready. To be building your faith through prayer, fasting, Bible reading, meeting with other believers and praying in the Spirit. 

Day 2

“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might’. It is ok if we are not strong in ourselves. Before this section talks about putting on the armour of God, it speaks about God being our strength. We need to have strength in and through God because, this suggests that it is not for us to be strong. It is for us to depend on God being strong for us. 

It is an invitation or a command that we ‘be strong in the Lord’. This requires work on our part to depend on Him - to rely on God to be strong for us. Therefore it is ok to be weak, because then we can rely on his might and strength. 

Day 3

Today as I read these verses I see how important it is to be ready. Before you can stand firm, before you can stand and fight, you have got to be ready. As a soldier, equipped for war, before you get dressed and collect the appropriate equipment, you need to know what you are facing. This passage shows us that we face, everyday, ‘the schemes of the devil’. This is why you need the armour, this is why you need to fight, because you are daily battling, ‘the spiritual forces of evil’. This is why it is important to have the armour of God. That is why you need to pray, fast, read the Bible, declare the truth, belong to church. As this is how you can learn to stand when tough times come, and how you gather and realise the strength and might of the Lord. Are you getting yourself ready for the battles you will come to face in life? You do not need physical training, military schemes, but you do need a relationship with the God of heaven who will strengthen and hold you as you prepare to stand in the storm. Are you getting ready?

Day 4

No matter what you face in life, ’take up the shield of faith’. Faith can protect you and cover you ‘in all circumstances’. Without faith, you’d be unprotected and vulnerable. Therefore it is important to know what you believe. What are the foundational truths that you hold onto? If everything else falls apart in life, what happens to what you believe? Is your faith shaken, shaped or solid when troubled times come? The shield of faith needs to be taken up - are you working on your faith, are you losing it or are you taking it for granted? This sentence tells us to ‘take up the shield of faith’ it is your choice whether you pick it up or not. Are you developing and trusting in the faith you have?

Day 5

Prayer is essential. Is it part of your armoury?

‘praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints’. The armour of God is not complete without prayer. Praying in the Spirit, worshipping and requesting of God, praying to be prepared and praying for others of faith - all are covered in v18. 

Praying in the Spirit allows your spirit to connect with God’s Spirit - no wonder we need that! When we connect with God we connect with His power, His love, His strength, His mercy… 

We are invited to pray, which is a form of worship and to ‘supplicate’ - we are allowed to ask God for things. Not only asking, but asking as well as covering all the other things prayer is for.

Prayer can help us get ready for what’s coming, even if we don’t know what is, and it can help us persevere.

We are also encouraged to pray for one another. We are in these battles together, this is teamwork, therefore we need to work together in prayer too. 

So, today, I shall pray, being grateful for what I have, asking for what I need and praying for the grace to persevere as well as praying for friends of faith to have the same. We are in this together, and God wants us to talk to Him about what is going on, He wants to share His Spirit with you, it will help. How can you pray today?

Day 6

Paul writes that he is an ambassador in chains for the gospel. I know that he was imprisoned for his faith, tortured and persecuted for preaching that Jesus is the son of God. Many still are today. 

Yet for most of us, do we see the seriousness of this? Do you feel as if you are chained to the gospel? I think that is the point that is made here, not so much that Paul is in prison, but that he is chained to the gospel and that has led to his whereabouts. Do you live your life chained to the gospel? Wherever you go, does the gospel go with you? Are you acutely aware that the gospel is with you whatever you are doing? For Paul, and for others imprisoned and punished for their faith the gospel being chained to them is a reality. Can you live your life recognising that if you believe in Jesus, then you too are permanently connected to the good news of who Jesus is? If so, this will effect the way you walk, talk, work, play and rest. 

God, help us to realise that we are chained to you, and allow it to effect and influence us everyday no matter where we are or what we are doing. Amen

Day 7

Speaking boldly about who Jesus is is a real challenge, Paul found it so otherwise he would not have asked for the Ephesians to pray for him to, ‘boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel’. Therefore do not feel bad if you struggle with feeling nervous, or even terrified about sharing about your faith - you are in good company! Yet, there is something you can do about it. Like Paul you can ask people to pray for you to have courage. If you are someone that finds this easy, then please pray for those of us who find it difficult. 

One

Ephesians 4:4-6

There's a lot of repetition of the singular word, 'one' in these verses. 

one - single entity, cannot be divided, whole, complete unit.

The previous section spoke to me about how 'walking worthy' could lead to unity in the church, next this seems to show how we should be unified. In; one body, one Spirirt, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father. 

That's a lot of 'one's'! 

That's a lot of ways in which we should recognise our unity to other believers. 

one body and Spirit means our whole being as a person should be in agreement. Our body and Spirirt should work together in unison to glorify God. Our bodies are important as well as our souls. Do you look after your body? 

one hope - we are all forgiven and have freedom to enjoy a marvellous relationship with the one and only God! Wahoo! 

one Lord - we all agree God is the boss right?

It's not us, our parents, or our employers that should control us, but our Lord. He is the one we should be listening to first and foremost.

one faith - through Jesus Christ death and resurrection he wiped away our sins and proved that he was the one and only perfect human to walk this Earth. He is the one in whom we can trust to repair our broken relationship with God. 

one baptism - this act of obedience and commitment to God is common to all of those who believe. When someone is baptised they are baptised through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, therefore we have spiritual unity through baptism.

This is God's promise that He is our one Father. 

He is universe building, creature creating, all encompassing, eternal, powerful, personal, intimate, close, kind, supporting, hand-holding, loving Father. 

He is Father to us all, we are all one family because of Him. He has chosen each and every one of us to be in His family. 

He is the one that works hardest to unify us all, surely we can do our bit to maintain the family unit?

Walk Worthy

Today I have been reading Ephesians 4 which starts by encouraging us to 'walk in a manner worthy of the calling', and then lists several things that this incorporates. I noticed how each personal quality builds on the previous one. So, if we are to 'walk worthy', maybe we should consider each quality, what they mean for us and what is God showing us to work on in our lives? Where is God stretching us right now?

So, lets look at the personal qualities mentioned in this passage.

First off we have, Humility - a virtue by which a person knows themselves as they truly are. Often we can think of humility as considering ourselves as lesser than others. But this is not in the sense of putting yourself down or considering yourself lower than anyone/everyone else. It's a fair, just judgement of yourself. You are even allowed to say what you're good at. Humility is also the ability to recognise where we struggle or where we lack. We are designed to work in conjunction with others so it's alright to admit our weaknesses too. 

I think everyone struggles with either of these two elements, we are either too hard on ourselves, or we think way too much of ourselves (pride). True humility is a balance, it's hard to get right, but we can get better. How can we work in unity with others, as it speaks about in the book of Ephesians, if we don't really know ourselves, beat ourselves up or are full of selfish pride?

Next up is; Gentleness. Mild mannered, soft, kind and sensitive. To be truly gentle, we need first to be humble. We will find it difficult to be truly gentle with others if we are harsh with or think too highly of ourselves. 

Gentleness means that we each need to manage our temper. Learn to control your anger, get rid of resentment and tame our tongues so we are not harsh. We need to overcome the fierceness of our nature in order to be gentle. Gentleness requires a meekness, a willingness to listen and love with an open heart in order to provide a place of safety for others. No harsh words or outbursts, but a soft and sensitive leading to the greater love that we know is available in God.

After gentleness we have patience. Ahhh, patience or having forbearance as it's sometimes called. To tolerate problems, delay and even suffering without becoming annoyed. 

ooohhhh, waiting - no one likes waiting, or problems or suffering, but it's necessary in order to 'walk worthy'.

In order to achieve this we have to overcome the fierceness of our nature to become gentle first. Then, with God's assistance we can gain some patience!

Why do we even need patience? Well, part of patience is waiting without complaint, and no-one likes a complainer (although we probably all know one!) In life we may have to wait for some things, we may have to suffer and we will have problems - so, how do you handle it? 

Do you ask God to get you out asap? Or do you look for the lessons we are learning?

James 1:2 says, 'count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have it's full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing'. 

Part of the christian life is the striving to become more like the perfect saviour that we know and love, Jesus. So, let us persue patience, because it matters. It declares something to the world about who we are. Faith may be tested, but what do you want to stand for and learn from those experiences? 

Bearing with one another in love. To do this effectively we need to be humble - laying aside ourselves, gentle - able to moderate ourselves, and full of patience - the ability to wait without anxiety or annoyance. 

Bearing with one another in love. Let's face it, we all make mistakes. We all at some point rub each other up the wrong way and stuff up. 

How do we get past that? 

Well, first thing we need to do is to look at ourselves, make a fair judgement of how we are, how we feel and deal with what's happening within us. Then we can approach others with an attitude of gentleness and patience. 

Learning to forgive and even overlook some things will be necessary. Watch how you speak about others, how do you talk about christians with different viewpoints or the person who lied or cheated you? 

Do you weigh them with the same scales as you weigh yourself? 

We all make mistakes, we all get things wrong, how would you like to be treated if you made the same mistakes?

Once we have understood and got these things, these wonderful qualities; humility, gentleness, patience and we are bearing one another in love, then we can maintain unity. 

WOW!

We can live in harmony with one another, but we need to get these things in place first. If this is something we truly desire, to live in peace with others in order to demonstrate God's glory, then we have work to do! 

Maybe you need to recognise and repent for some of the things you know are troubling you. 

God is available, He'll listen to you and forgive you. 

It may be that you need to go back and do this a few times, that's ok, God has unending patience - I know, He deals with me every day! 

Gradually, if you trust God to help you make some changes in order to succeed in these qualities, He will be faithful and you will see how your character develops. 

It may be that the things that really irritate you don't seem so bad after all, or you're able to manage the 'complainer' without feeling down. 

Others around you may not see a radical change, but you will feel it, and you will begin to understand what it is to have peace. 

The Church

Reading through Ephesians 2 and 3, I have been struck by the descriptions of what the church is.

Ephesians 2:21 states, 'the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple to the Lord'.

The church is a living, breathing, developing entity. It comprises of different sections, us. 

We are 'joined together'. We are meant to fit, so we should make efforts to align ourselves with one another, otherwise the building isn't going to be pretty!

 It'll just be a heap, a pile of stones. 

There is something unique and special about christians standing in unity. We are all individual, moulded from the same image, but created different, yet we are called to join together with each other. 

Why?

To, 'grow into a holy temple to the Lord'.

So, uniting together causes us to grow. 

We develop when we align ourselves with others of the same faith. It won't always be easy and will, in fact, be quite challenging, but if you recall growing up as a kid, that was quite challenging at times! 

But, if we don't grow and develop, we don't mature, and we cannot do as many things. 

The goal here, is to become a 'holy temple to the Lord'. 

Working together to achieve a dwelling place for the Lord God Almighty sounds like a pretty cool thing to want to achieve! 

Verse 22 goes on to say that we are, 'being built together'. It's a continual process, organic, moving and increasing. This takes work, some from our side, but also from God's, He works alongside us to build us together in unity. 

Reading through the next chapter, Ephesians 3 and verse 10, Paul relays that, 'through the church the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places'.

You what?!?!

Yes, the Bible tells us that through the church, we are revealing something of God's marvellous wisdom to those in heaven! That's pretty spectacular! 

We, us; mere, mortal, mammals have responsibility to work together and display the wisdom of God! and not just to one another or those who do not yet know Christ, but to heavenly beings! 

That sounds crazy..........It also sounds kinda scary........

Our actions, inactions and words have far reaching consequences, further than we can comprehend. How we decide to use what we have as a part of the temple of God can have repercussions in the heavenly realms as well as here on Earth.

We have great responsibility, no matter our different viewpoints as; people, churches or denominations, we should all be Christ-centric, and this is where our unity can build from. 

There are undoubtably people in each fellowship that you would prefer not to be around, but God has called the 'WHOLE structure' to be joined together, to grow, to build and develop in order to demonstrate His wisdom.

So, let us be wise, let us choose to love one another, align ourselves with each other and demonstrate not only God's great love and mercy to the world, but also His great, magnificent wisdom to those heavenly realms.

'by grace you have been saved'

This saying is from the book of Ephesians, and is possibly one of the most common, trip off the tongue sayings a christian uses.

But, what does it actually mean? I'm not going to get very far as i'm struck by the second word, 'grace', it's a common word and concept used by those of faith, so surely we all know what it means right?

Well, we probably do, but we take it for granted.

Looking at it today, I have been reminded that grace means that we are priveleged to receive God's indulgence, we get a free upgrade! He helps us upgrade our thinking, and our lives. He gives us totally free approbation, approval, acceptance - no fancy speeches needed from us, no piles of cash, no contract or hours, weeks, years of hard work to get it. 

God just gives.

His grace even means that we are commended! We are even given status!

Isn't that amazing? 

By grace.......          because of God's indulgence for those he loves and look to HIm, he allows us an upgraded life, free from the junk we've carried around, pick up and put on ourselves. 

We get so much, even when times are hard, try to remember that we have already been given so much. 

We are accepted, we are commended, we are loved and favoured by the most amazing man that has ever walked the planet!