Sing, Ascribe and let

 Psalm 96:1–13 (ESV): 

Oh sing to the Lord a new song; 

sing to the Lord, all the earth! 

 2  Sing to the Lord, bless his name; 

tell of his salvation from day to day. 

 3  Declare his glory among the nations, 

his marvellous works among all the peoples! 

 4  For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; 

he is to be feared above all gods. 

 5  For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, 

but the Lord made the heavens. 

 6  Splendour and majesty are before him; 

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 

 7  Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, 

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 

 8  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; 

bring an offering, and come into his courts! 

 9  Worship the Lord in the splendour of holiness; 

tremble before him, all the earth! 

 10  Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! 

Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; 

he will judge the peoples with equity.” 

 11  Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; 

let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 

 12  let the field exult, and everything in it! 

  Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 

 13  before the Lord, for he comes, 

for he comes to judge the earth. 

  He will judge the world in righteousness, 

and the peoples in his faithfulness. 

There seems to be some repetition in this psalm, with the instructions to ‘sing to the Lord’, then ‘ascribe to the Lord ‘and ‘let’. So we will focus on those three elements today as we study this scripture.

- ‘sing to the Lord’; a new song, all the earth, and bless His name. These are the aspects attached to the action of singing. It is a powerful thing to sing about something. Someone has thought about a tune, instruments and the lyrics and put them together to build something memorable and repeatable. Songs can help us recall things and change our mood, therefore is important to consider what you are singing about. The instruction here is to ‘sing to the Lord’, and you can sing to Him about multiple things; the earth, His qualities and salvation. You will never run out of things to sing about if God is your topic. Singing to God is far more powerful than singing about your favourite team or alongside secular music. The instruction in this psalm is to sing something new to God and to bless Him through song, and the whole earth somehow joins in this celebration of who He is. So, whenever you sing, consider who you are singing for and about, does it do good to God’s ears? Songs are an opportunity to declare God's glory, remind people of His marvellous works and to tell of His salvation. Is that what you do when you sing?

- ‘Ascribe to the Lord’ - ascribe means to regard something as being. When the psalmist says to ascribe to God glory and strength, it is not to say that we need to treat God as if He is glorious and strong, for He is. It is us who struggle to comprehend the reality and extent of His glory and strength. Therefore the encouragement is, even if you don’t feel it or fully believe it, practice thinking of God as glorious and strong. Keep telling yourself the truth that He is even when your circumstances, emotions or thoughts tell you something different. Keep applying the truth about God to your heart, mind and spirit, and inspire others to see it too. None of us will ever know on this Earth the extent of God’s glory and strength, so we need to keep reminding ourselves to 'ascribe' these qualities to God. As you choose to see God as glorious and strong, as verses 8 and 9 suggest, it will lead you to worship through generous giving and joy. Plus your eyes will be opened to see something more of how awesome God is.

‘let’ = allow, permit, give freedom to. The verses that repeat the word ‘let’, v 12-13, talk about allowing the different facets of creation express joy. You may wonder how we can do that, for we ourselves are created and have no control over the seas roaring, trees singing or the fields exulting. So, i think there are two messages in this. One is that when we look at the heavens, seas, fields and the trees, do you look at them and feel happy? Do they remind you of the One who made them? When the natural world looks beautiful or sounds terrifying, do you consider how awesome the One who made them is? That is how we can allow nature to declare it’s joy. By choosing to see God in and through it all and declaring His goodness in it. Take time to allow nature to declare God’s vastness, beauty, creativity and power to you. Do you ever do that? Do you just allow the complexity of a tree show you something of God’s ingenuity? Does the power of the waters signify God’s power to you, or what the roar of His voice must be like? I encourage you, take time to consider what God has made. Even just one flower, rock, or blade of grass. These things declare His joy, glory and strength, so take time to listen to what they can reveal of Our God. The other aspect of allowing nature to bring joy is, do you respect and protect the natural world? Doing your bit to tidy up creation, stop pollution, and not cause damage to what God has made allows these things to continue to bring revelation and joy for generations to come. This is how you can permit the skies, earth and seas continue to display God’s beautiful splendour, by ensuring that you do your part to appreciate and protect them. Allow them continue to show others the joy and beauty of God, for they too were created to worship. So let the trees continue singing, fields exulting and seas roaring, and join in with their praise to the Lord.

Praying for your enemies

 Psalm 83:1–18 (ESV):  

1  O God, do not keep silence; 

do not hold your peace or be still, O God! 

 2  For behold, your enemies make an uproar; 

those who hate you have raised their heads. 

 3  They lay crafty plans against your people; 

they consult together against your treasured ones. 

 4  They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; 

let the name of Israel be remembered no more!” 

 5  For they conspire with one accord; 

against you they make a covenant— 

 6  the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, 

Moab and the Hagrites, 

 7  Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, 

Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 

 8  Asshur also has joined them; 

they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah 

 9  Do to them as you did to Midian, 

as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, 

 10  who were destroyed at En-dor, 

who became dung for the ground. 

 11  Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, 

all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 

 12  who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves 

of the pastures of God.” 

 13  O my God, make them like whirling dust, 

like chaff before the wind. 

 14  As fire consumes the forest, 

as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, 

 15  so may you pursue them with your tempest 

and terrify them with your hurricane! 

 16  Fill their faces with shame, 

that they may seek your name, O Lord. 

 17  Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; 

let them perish in disgrace, 

 18  that they may know that you alone, 

whose name is the Lord, 

are the Most High over all the earth. 

This is certainly a prayer of frustration, Asaph has had enough of the irritating behaviour of the enemies of Israel. He knows who they are, he names them and asks for God to wipe them out. He is fed up of his nation being threatened and harassed by so many others, so he asks God to radically deal with these enemies. The people of God have a lot of enemies and they will always have someone out to get them. The enemy will cause defeat and disasters and entice people to act on his behalf, so those that belong to God are going to have a hard time. Life can feel like a battle, but i heard someone say the other day - suffering happens just because you are human, so would you rather go though these struggles with or without God?! It is a great question to ponder. Some people allow the frustrations, problems and battles to destroy their faith, instead of allowing their faith to destroy their enemies. 

Asaph feels like not just that his life is problematic, but that the whole of the nation is in trouble. Yet he does not allow the trouble to define his faith, but he allows his faith and knowledge of God reframe the problem. Asaph not only recounts the numerous enemies, and the vastness of the situation, but also remembers the bigness of God, and numerous times God has brought salvation for Israel. Asaph knows that the greatest way to fight and reduce the enemies power is to pray. So he prays that these enemies will become as ‘whirling dust' and that they would be so humbled and depleted that those left will be ashamed of their behaviour. He has read and heard about the previous times that God has saved Israel, so he has faith in the power and authority of God to do it again. He is certain that when God turns His face towards Israel, they will be restored and the enemies devastated. 

What is your response when you feel got at, disappointed, angered and like you have a battle to face? Do you approach God to tell Him what is going on and trust Him to act in such a way that brings relief and rescue, and will even cause the enemies to recognise the mightiness of God? 

Asaph seems to change his mind through the psalm as to what he wants to happen to these foes. At first he speaks of the enemies being ‘destroyed’, and ‘dung for the ground’. However, verses 15-18 show that Asaph has a different outcome that he desires. For he asks that these enemies will be terrified and shamed by God. So that, ‘they may seek your name, O Lord’. Maybe this was influenced by the Holy Spirit as Asaph became more passionate in prayer and the Holy Spirit guided him in his words, so that he could see a greater outcome than complete annihilation. For which would be better; That the enemies not only bow their knees and heads to Israel, but to ‘the Most High over all the earth’ or that they were simply destroyed? 

The desire through any trouble, difficult circumstance or battle should be that God will be seen and known. That He is seen to protect and fight for those who love and obey Him, and that He can and will forgive and save the enemies of His people if they humble themselves and repent. No person is too great an enemy of God or his people that they cannot come to know the love and power of Almighty God. I mean, consider Saul becoming Paul - what a miraculous salvation occurred in his life! (Acts 9) When you see people persecuting those loved by God, why not pray like Asaph does, that their power will be destroyed, and that they will recognise the glory, majesty and terrifying power of the Lord God? Imagine the impact of a few modern day Paul stories - how would that change your life, your town, your nation or even the world?! 

So, why not pray like Asaph did? Ask God to pursue those enemies, to terrify them so that they seek the name of God. Then they will humble themselves in shame and repentence and glorify the Most High over all the earth. Surely, better than the demise and destruction of any enemy, it is better to see them acknowledging their sin and turning in shame to God. Living the rest of their lives in the humble realisation that God is Most High. If Saul hadn’t of had that encounter and become Paul can you imagine what would not have happened? For a start, almost half the books in the New Testament would not exist! We are grateful for and marvel at Saul’s conversion, but that happened after years of him tormenting and persecuting God’s own. People would have been praying for his reputation and power to end, and it did, just not in the way most people expected. This event and encounter in one man’s life led to the gospel spreading, churches built, the gentiles receiving salvation and other leaders invested in and grown. All because an enemy of God was terrified, humbled and ashamed, and was able to receive the forgiveness and salvation that God invites everyone to enjoy. Who do you need to pray for today so that God’s name can be glorified and His goodness spread throughout the Earth once again?

Is God's reputation on the line?

 Psalm 31:1–24 (ESV): 

1  In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; 

let me never be put to shame; 

in your righteousness deliver me! 

2  Incline your ear to me; 

rescue me speedily! 

Be a rock of refuge for me, 

a strong fortress to save me! 

3  For you are my rock and my fortress; 

and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; 

4  you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, 

for you are my refuge. 

5  Into your hand I commit my spirit; 

you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. 

6  I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, 

but I trust in the Lord. 

7  I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, 

because you have seen my affliction; 

you have known the distress of my soul, 

8  and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; 

you have set my feet in a broad place. 

9  Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; 

my eye is wasted from grief; 

my soul and my body also. 

10  For my life is spent with sorrow, 

and my years with sighing; 

my strength fails because of my iniquity, 

and my bones waste away. 

11  Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach, 

especially to my neighbours, 

and an object of dread to my acquaintances; 

those who see me in the street flee from me. 

12  I have been forgotten like one who is dead; 

I have become like a broken vessel. 

13  For I hear the whispering of many— 

terror on every side!— 

as they scheme together against me, 

as they plot to take my life. 

14  But I trust in you, O Lord; 

I say, “You are my God.” 

15  My times are in your hand; 

rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! 

16  Make your face shine on your servant; 

save me in your steadfast love! 

17  O Lord, let me not be put to shame, 

for I call upon you; 

let the wicked be put to shame; 

let them go silently to Sheol. 

18  Let the lying lips be mute, 

which speak insolently against the righteous 

in pride and contempt. 

19  Oh, how abundant is your goodness, 

which you have stored up for those who fear you 

and worked for those who take refuge in you, 

in the sight of the children of mankind! 

20  In the cover of your presence you hide them 

from the plots of men; 

you store them in your shelter 

from the strife of tongues. 

21  Blessed be the Lord, 

for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me 

when I was in a besieged city. 

22  I had said in my alarm, 

“I am cut off from your sight.” 

But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy 

when I cried to you for help. 

23  Love the Lord, all you his saints! 

The Lord preserves the faithful 

but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. 

24  Be strong, and let your heart take courage, 

all you who wait for the Lord! 

This psalm seems to be a prayer of a disordered, troubled mind. One who is in imminent danger and is trying to figure out what to do and desperate for help. Urgently seeking God in the midst of the ‘terror on every side’. It appears that outside circumstances and internal thoughts are producing a time of great disturbance for the writer. For example at the start of the psalm it says, ‘Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! 3 For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me’. Asking God for refuge and protection, yet also knowing that God provides it shows the distress and disordered nature of his mind. David needs to know security and protection and so is asking God for it, yet he also knows that God IS those things already. What a natural, heart-felt response to a time of desperation and attack. David knows who God is and asking for Him to be who he knows He is, because at the present moment he is threatened and hounded and struggling to see God’s protection, guidance, security, and strength. This whole psalm demonstrates clearly the disordered, rushed prayer of desperation. Don't you find it comforting to have this written to know that it is ok when we pray the same way?! When you find circumstances overwhelming and distressing, it’s ok to speak out even if it seems jumbled. God can make sense of it and hears your heart. 

David flits from; calling for rescue to knowing God rescues, trusting in God, talking about how terrified he is, requesting God’s grace and acknowledging His goodness. This shows the devoted love of God that David has. Even when he is surrounded by enemies, is terrified and weak, he still acknowledges the presence of God and seeks Him for his rescue. David does not accuse God of having caused the situation or say that God has run off and left him. He still knows God is his refuge and rock. it is just David is aware that he is struggling to see that right now because of the turmoil and danger he is in. 

Yet, even in his terror and desperation David acknowledges that, ‘for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me’. David still trusts and looks to God for the way to go, the way to respond and live. He knows that God does and will guide him because David trusts in Him and God will help because God’s reputation is on the line if He doesn’t! As a known, committed follower of God, David recognises that God will be glorified through this situation. Are you aware of that in the midst of chaos and distress? That whatever is happening now is not the end of the story, but restoration and the glorification of God is waiting to be revealed?! What an expectation and assurance David has of God’s intervention, and of his standing with God. David has shown his commitment to following God in many different circumstances. He does so when things are going well and when things aren’t because even when situations change God doesn’t. God is still good, loving, strong, secure and helpful no matter what you are facing. Accepting this truth and trusting in Him as David does is the reality of living life as a follower of God. Being a committed christian means accepting the nature of God through every circumstance of life, leaning into Him, trusting and obeying Him even when it looks like life as you have known it is over. Then you too can build the same level of trust and dependence on God that David has. You can still be assured that even in the most terrible of situations that God will do you good for His name’s sake. 

So, consider the faith you have. Are you committed and assured of God's relevance and presence in all circumstances?  Are you living knowing that God’s reputation could be on the line if He does not rescue you from a time of trouble and distress? Will God restore you for his 'names sake'? Clearly God did rescue David. Later in the psalm he says, ‘The Lord preserves the faithful’. David’s dedication to following God paid off - he survived, was rescued and strengthened because he remained faithful. Do you remain faithful to God when the going gets tough? 

God rewards the committed, faithful follower, 'how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you' God will reward those who are loyalty and dedicated to Him. Not only will he rescue and protect you from trouble, but He will also share his goodness with you which he has even 'stored up'! How kind of God is that?! The question is, are you living in such a way to receive God's goodness and to expect His glorification in and through your life?

What are you ascribing to God?

 Psalm 29:1–11 (ESV):  

1  Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, 

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 

2  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; 

worship the Lord in the splendour of holiness. 

3  The voice of the Lord is over the waters; 

the God of glory thunders, 

the Lord, over many waters. 

4  The voice of the Lord is powerful; 

the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 

5  The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; 

the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 

6  He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, 

and Sirion like a young wild ox. 

7  The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 

8  The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; 

the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 

9  The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth 

and strips the forests bare, 

and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” 

10  The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; 

the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 

11  May the Lord give strength to his people! 

May the Lord bless his people with peace! 

This psalm is full of repetition, so there are several things that are emphasised. Firstly, of utmost importance is the fact that this poem is about ‘the Lord’. David repeats this 18 times throughout this psalm, so there is no excuse to not know whom it is about! David is calling all heaven and Earth to acknowledge the goodness, beauty, Lordship and strength of God and praise Him because of who He is. He calls us to ‘Ascribe to the Lord’ glory and strength. Ascribe is not a word we commonly use, but it means to assign or credit. So David is urging that God should be acknowledged with honour and given credit for His power. David calls upon not only humans to recognise this, but also the heavenly beings. So great is God’s majesty and strength, that all of creation should be called to marvel at it. From the Heavens to the Earth and everything in-between, God deserves credit and respect. 

God displays this glory and strength that he should be ascribed  simply through His voice! ‘The voice of the Lord’ is enough for God to show His might and majesty - isn’t that incredible?! This psalm shows that through His voice God commands; water, thunder, flames, shaking, cities, the environment and birth. God’s voice can break, strip and build things. Just by His word, God can do all this - is that not terrifying and awesome at the same time? What God speaks happens. He has authority, power and control over every situation and He can and does speak through them. What do you hear Him saying in the stillness, and in the storm? Are you listening out for ‘The voice of the Lord’ in your circumstances and through the nature and environment around you? The voice of the Lord can be heard in heaven and on Earth in the day to day - are you listening out for it? 

Not only should God be worshipped for His glory, strength and the beauty and power of His voice, but also because, ‘The Lord sits enthroned’. God remains seated in authority and power and never takes His eye off the ball. He is the one who speaks things into being and reigns over all heaven and all Earth, no matter the circumstances. If you are experiencing a storm or the still, God is still in authority and is speaking. He is still in command, He is still King. 

So today;

What are attributes can you ascribe to God?

How can you credit God with the glory and honour He deserves today?

Listen out for God’s voice - what is He saying to you?

Recognise God is still king - how does that give you peace and strength?

Doxology - a word of praise to God

The final couple of verses from Jude are entitled ‘doxology’. This basically means that it is a word of praise to God. There are several doxologies throughout the Bible, we will look at a few of them today to compare them with this one from Jude;

*24*Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, *25*to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 

Jude 24–25.

As you can see these verses are no longer addressed to the reader of Jude’s letter, but are aimed towards God, like a prayer of praise. They serve as a reminder to those that read this that God is worthy of worship because of who He is and inspire further praise from those that read these verses.  This is common for the other doxologies in the Bible, here are a couple more for us to consider today;

*10*Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. *11*Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. *12*Both riches and honour come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. *13*And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

1 Chronicles 29:10-13

*25*Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages *26*but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— *27*to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Romans 16:25-27

What inspiring verses! All three of these examples give glory to God which means that they hold God in high honour, they esteem Him and declare His majesty. All of these doxologies, although written thousands of years apart, by different authors, have similarities. They all honour the majesty, power, dominion, glory and eternal nature of God. These qualities of God have always been present, and are always worth praising. It doesn’t matter what culture you’re in, the state of your country, or your life; God still is majestic, powerful, in charge, glorious and eternal! That will never change. That will be true beyond our graves. This is God’s nature, and He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow as these different texts prove. This one God is surely worthy of praise, of recognition, of extolling, of trusting in. It doesn’t matter if you’re having a bad day, week, month, or life, God is still the same. It doesn’t matter if you’re sick or well, rich or poor, God is still the same. God is still the same to you and everyone else - have you taken some time to look at Him rather than your circumstances? 

When you look at God, which these doxologies encourage us to do, rather than what’s going on around you, you cannot fail to be inspired to hope. These words of truth give strength and inspire awe. Even as mere humans, we can appreciate something of the; magnificence, power, might, glory, significance, and never-ending nature of Father God. He surely deserves an outpouring of us declaring ‘glory’ to Him as these other writers have done. It is too easy to get caught up in the day to day routines, trials and temptations that they carry. That is why we need verses like these to remind us of what this life is all really about. The letter of Jude for example has spent most of the content warning its readers of the perils of living a life not wholly dedicated to God, and helps us look out for the danger of not living a life set apart for God and being swallowed by sin. Therefore these words at the end that remind us who God is, and encourage us to extol Him are a welcome reminder to put into context what is really happening, who we really are, and who God really is. If you want to live a life honouring God, you do need to get your life straight, you do need to be aware of what you are doing, but it is all in the context of knowing who God is.;

‘the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.’

‘Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.’ 

‘to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!’

As you consider your life, don’t neglect to consider who God is in it and the place you have given Him in your life.

How does that inspire you to express your praise and worship today?

How to bring joy to Jesus

 24*Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, *25*to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 

Jude 24–25.

These verses are quite a different  tone to the rest of the letter and bring about a positive conclusion. It seems that as Jude is signing off he is reminding his readers exactly why all the other stuff he has written about is important. Keeping away from inaccuracies and sin and ensuring that your mind, heart and flesh are in line with God’s order is in light of who God is. If you can see your life in context, and remember that He is; your Saviour, your sustainer, your help, Lord, glorious, majestic, powerful and ruling for all eternity, then why would you get caught up with anything else? 

Being able to remember that God has a never-ending plan, and that He wants to save, preserve and sustain you even though He is full of glory, majesty and holiness must surely give you enthusiasm to live a life honouring and obeying Him.

This God, this holy, mighty, eternal God is also the God 'who is able to keep you from stumbling’. Quite simply put, God cares enough about you to keep you from stumbling. This incredible, worship-invoking God, also wants to help you out. You don’t have to put up with living a life enshrouded by sin, compromise and temptation - you can be free - because God can steer you away, He can teach you and give you strength to resist. Lets be honest, you do not have the strength or capacity to be able to do it on your own, but God can keep you from stumbling. So why not ask for His help - what will be able to stop you if you trust God to take care of you and help you? Are you willing to ask God for help for the things you struggle with, the big, the small, serious or silly things? God is willing and able - are you willing to ask and trust Him? 

The next part of verse 24 says that Jesus can, ‘present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy’.  So, not only can God prevent you from stumbling, but because of Jesus, you can also be seen as blameless! Isn’t that incredible?! At the very same time you can be forgiven of sin, helped to overcome it and be considered sin-free. 

Then, do you know Jesus' response to be able to do that for you? He considers it a ‘great joy’! Now isn’t that remarkable?! You can be helped to resist temptation, prevented from sinning, forgiven when you do, classed as blameless, helped to overcome, and this all makes Jesus elated! Inviting God to help you in your struggles, and relying on Him to help you overcome them not only gives you freedom and relief, but it causes joy in heaven - what an incredible thought! 

So, today, know that whatever you're struggling with, you can get help. It is freely available, and it’s name is Jesus - you just need to ask. Then he can, ‘keep you from stumbling’ and, ‘present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy’. What a hope and delight to look forward to! 

So, as a response to these verses and these thoughts today, consider if you need to call out to Jesus today for his help - he is only too happy to do so. On the other hand, if these words remind you of what you have been forgiven and helped through - then thank God. Be grateful that you can be forgiven and accepted by God, grateful that by repenting you cause joy in heaven as well as having the opportunity to walk free from what holds you back. 

Thank you Father God for your complete forgiveness, mercy and help. It seems incredible that we can cause joy in heaven by allowing you to help in our difficulties, but it says it right here in your Word! What amazing love and mercy you have for us. Help us never to take it for granted Lord. Also, for those things that we are battling against right now, please give us strength and confidence in you to invite you in. You can change any situation and take away all sin and temptation. Sorry that we so often try to do it on our own and end up in a mess realising that we can’t do it. But you can. So God, help us and strengthen us. Help us avoid the things that tempt us and cause us to go astray and help us to acknowledge and appreciate your forgiveness and joy when we rely and trust in you. You indeed are glorious, magnificent and full of love.

Amen 

Freedom and Glory

'as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed'
1 Peter 5:1.

I like this verse because it shows the confidence of Peter in the eternal hope that he has. Peter is one of the well-known characters in the New Testament, he often seems to put his foot in his mouth - doing and saying the wrong things at times and occasionally missing the point. He was one of Jesus closest friends, they shared their lives together, prayed together, ate together, world together. Peter had a real good look at who Jesus is and how He lived. Peter was even a, ‘Witness of the sufferings of Christ’. That to me stands out somewhat, we often consider Jesus as fully God, which of course he is, but we tend to gloss over the fact that he's also fully human - He has human emotions, he gets disappointed, disheartened, degraded. Jesus also suffers. Peter knows, he's seen it. Sometimes even, Peter was a cause of some of Jesus suffering, as are we all.
Peter witnessed the pain, discomfort and betrayal of Jesus. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine seeing pain, discomfort and disappointment on the holy face of Jesus? We don't probably have to look far those it in the face of others, but have you ever considered thatJesus also had those feelings?
It's not just others, not just Peter who has caused Jesus to feel this way, we have all caused Jesus to suffer. We have inflicted trouble and hurt upon Jesus. How you may ask - well have we not all argued with God? disowned him? Forgotten him? Let Him down? I know I have.

However, this verse and this blog are not to cause us to feel desperate, downhearted or depressed- it should give us hope.

The fabulous thing this verse reveals, its that although Peter knows he has messed up, he does not dwell on his mistakes. Peter grows through them. You can too Peter does not consider himself the foolish man of old - you aren't either. He does not make the same mistakes again - you don't have to either. Peter knows any mistakes he still makes he can be forgiven for through Jesus. He knows the free gift of forgiveness that was bought at such a cost to Jesus.
This gift is given to us through Jesus death and resurrection. He died that we may live free from the guilt, shame and suffering our mistakes cost us. You and I do not need to dwell on our insufficiencies, we can dwell in the forgiveness of Christ. We can have hope, as Peter did, that we too will partake, 'in the glory that is going to be revealed'. 
Here Peter shows that there is more to life than living with our mistakes. Peter knows that he is completely forgiven and free and he lives it - do you? Peter knows that he will be a part of the great glory that is coming - do you?

The same is available for you too.

The restoration of relationship between you and God is complete. God does not even hold onto the memory of your mistakes - your record is clean, your sin is forgiven and you get to be a part of the glory to come! So are you living like that? are you living free? or do you hold onto, in your own mind, the wrongs you have done? Do you live with regret? shame? You don't need to, you are allowed to let it go. Peter, we read, made mistakes, yet he goes on to be an incredible man, free from shame because of the wholeness of the grace poured out to him. You are allowed to live a life of freedom too, you have no record of wrongs before God. You are forgiven and free. You don't need to hold onto the guilt or shame, you can live free of them. That's what Peter realised and that's what he did. Peter took hold of the fact that he was restored to full relationship with Christ. You can too. Focus not on what you get wrong, but see who Jesus is. He didn't die for you to feel bad about yourself, He died so that you don't have to even remember what you've done wrong because He made up for all of it! Now you can live an abundant life free from the chains of your mistakes. You can live a life full of the glory that is to come. what a great promise!