Crying out to God

January 20, 2023

Psalm 107:10-16 NLT – Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery. [11] They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High. [12] That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one was there to help them. [13] “LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. [14] He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains. [15] Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. [16] For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.

In this passage we see the people were in chains and then they cried out to God. Once they did this, He freed them. Let us look at the progression.

1. The people were in chains of misery. Why? Because they rebelled against God’s Word and counsel. (V11-12)

2. They cried out to God for help and HE saved them (v13)

3. HE led them from darkness and broke their chains (v14)

4. The people praised God for saving and releasing them (v15-16)

All true freedom starts with crying out to God. HE alone is the one who can truly set people free. In this life we can be bound up by so many things, but only God can truly free us.

Prayer

Dear God, I feel like I am bound up in chains. Today I come to You and cry out. I ask that You will free me. Help me to listen to Your Word and Your counsel. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

I need Your help Lord

January 17, 2023

I am aware that I need Your help Lord…

with every breath that I receive
with every step I take
with every thought I think
with every glance I see
with every prayer I pray
with every person I help
with every verse I read
with every bite I eat
with every sip I drink
with every rest I take
with every interaction I make

I am aware that I need Your help Lord.

Amen

Jesus touched people

January 13, 2023

One of the things I have been reflecting on lately is that Jesus often touched people. It didn’t matter if they had Leprosy or other diseases he still touched them with compassion.

This is particularly interesting because in Jesus’ times if you touched someone who had leprosy you instantly made yourself ritually unclean. You then had to go through an intense washing process to be “right” again. Because of this many Rabbis and Teachers of the Law avoided touching people, it was a social and spiritual taboo.

This is one of the great things about Jesus. He could have come and sat on a throne and issued teachings from afar, but instead He chose to live amongst the people. He walked, talked, healed, taught, touched and ate with people every day.

If you have a perception that God is a far off and distant God who is removed from His creation, I would encourage you to look at the life of Jesus and see what God is really like. I think you will find, like I have, that He truly was a hands on Saviour.

Be blessed,
Dave

Come to the Lord if you are thirsty

January 2, 2023

Isaiah 55:1 NLT – “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink- even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk- it’s all free!

Coming to the Lord if you are thirsty is a common theme throughout the Bible. We see it in both the Old and New Testaments.

In Exodus the Lord gave water to the Israelites when they were walking through the desert to Mount Sinai (see Exodus 17:1-6). God told Moses to strike the rock and water will flow.

The same offer of water is part of Jesus’ discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:13-14). He said the water He gives will bubble up inside them and they will never be thirsty again.

Jesus repeats the offer to the crowds in Jerusalem (John 7:37-38). He said that anyone who believes and comes to Him, will drink and streams of living water will flow from them.

Finally, John records it at the final stage of his revelation (Revelation 22:17). In this passage Jesus calls us to drink freely from the water of life…everlasting life.

In all of these passages we see the ongoing call to come to the Lord if we are thirsty. We see that the Lord wants to give us the water of life. The water that satisfies not only for this life, but for all eternity.

If you are feeling dry in your faith and life at the moment, I would encourage you to come to the Lord afresh today. Imagine yourself at the edge of the waterfall in the image above and call out to Him.

Don’t hold back, just dive in and be refreshed. He has more than enough for us all!

We all need forgiveness

December 29, 2022

The Bible says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”.

That is a great verse. It says that if we confess our wrongs to God them He WILL forgive us. It is a guarantee no matter what we have done or how bad we may have been.

But one thing I find interesting about this verse is the verses just before and just after.

Verse 8 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”. Wow that is pretty heavy. If we say we haven’t sinned (or we self-justify our lives) there is no truth in us.

Verse 10 goes on to say that, “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives”. That is a huge thought, we make a liar out of God if we say we haven’t sinned!

An important thing to remember in all of this is that we all need forgiveness. If we have never made our connection with God, asking forgiveness if part of that process. If we already a Christian, we still need to confess our sins.

The truth is that none of us are perfect. Ninety per cent of the time we might have the right attitudes, we might do the right things and we might love and serve God, but sin has a way of creeping in and we get led astray.

The key thing to remember is that confession is an important part of a healthy life. Not only does it keep us right with God, but it frees us up from holding on to unnecessary guilt that ways us down and stops us being all we can be.

Prayer

Dear God, I come to You and confess my sin. I am sorry for all the wrong things I have done and the wrong attitudes I have held. I am also sorry for the things I know I should have done, but did not do. Please forgive me now. Please help me to follow You. I ask in Jesus name, Amen.