Cut Yourself Some Slack!

Image via Wikipedia

This is what I do: I don't look back, I lengthen my stride, and I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God's heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13

A little boy came home one day with his clothes all muddy so his Mum sent him to the basement to drop them into the washing machine. Later, thinking things were a bit too quiet, she shouted, 'Young man, I hope you're not down there running around in your underwear.' Imagine her embarrassment when a strange voice replied: 'No ma'am, I'm down here servicing your furnace.' 

James says, '...we all make...mistakes...' (James 3:2 NLT). The trick is learning to forgive yourself. Much of the time we're guilty of doing the wrong thing with the right motive. Remember the famous 'leaning tower of Pisa' in Italy, where the architect designed a 10-foot deep foundation for a 179-foot tall building? How would you like that on your CV? The Apostle Paul said, 'No...I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing...on...Forgetting the past and looking forward...' (Philippians 3:13 NLT). 

Chuck Swindoll writes: 'Show me the guy who wrote the rules for perfectionism, and I'll guarantee he's a nail biter with a face full of tics...whose wife dreads to see him come home.' God said, '"I...am He who blots away your sins...and will never think of them again"' (Isaiah 43:25 TLB). Now, if God is willing to pardon your mistakes and even bury them, isn't it time you stopped beating yourself up, received His grace and moved on?

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.

You Were On The Cross

You were there in all of my suffering
And You were there in doubt and in fear
I'm waiting on the dawn to reappear

Matt Maher

Image by williamhartz via Flickr

Shadows

D H Lawrence

And if tonight my soul may find her peace
in sleep, and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created.

And if, as weeks go round, in the dark of the moon
my spirit darkens and goes out, and soft strange gloom
pervades my movements and my thoughts and words
then I shall know that I am walking still
with God, we are close together now the moon's in shadow.

And if, as autumn deepens and darkens
I feel the pain of falling leaves, and stems that break in storms
and trouble and dissolution and distress
and then the softness of deep shadows folding,
folding around my soul and spirit, around my lips
so sweet, like a swoon, or more like the drowse of a low, sad song
singing darker than the nightingale, on, on to the solstice
and the silence of short days, the silence of the year, the shadow,
then I shall know that my life is moving still
with the dark earth, and drenched
with the deep oblivion of earth's lapse and renewal.

And if, in the changing phases of man's life
I fall in sickness and in misery
my wrists seem broken and my heart seems dead
and strength is gone, and my life
is only the leavings of a life:

and still, among it all, snatches of lovely oblivion, and snatches
of renewal
odd, wintry flowers upon the withered stem, yet new, strange flowers
such as my life has not brought forth before, new blossoms of me

then I must know that still
I am in the hands of the unknown God,
he is breaking me down to his own oblivion
to send me forth on a new morning, a new man.

Skywatch #101

Savill Pokers, originally uploaded by duopastorale.

This was taken last Monday at Savill Garden. This is a spectacular landscaped garden near Windsor Great Park. As well as a wonderful garden there is now an amazing visitor centre and cafe; stunning architecture.

What Is Your Cave?

Image by Plamen Stoev via Flickr

Taken from Shiyju's Blog.

We all go through things in life that at one point we have not been through before. Sometimes the pressure builds so much that you cannot take it any longer. This is a crucial place in life.

All people including generals of God, go through their own times of unbearable pressure. And during these times, the natural man’s natural reaction is to pull out or withdraw and hide in a cave that they build for themselves.

For example, some men find their cave in coffee shops, video games, zipping across town in a car till they get a speeding ticket, etc. With women? I am yet to find what caves they build. May be you know better if you have come across any. But we all have our own caves that we hide in.

The intolerable pressure is of extreme importance because this is the turning place in life. This is your turn to praise in the midst of your trouble, your opportunity to trust God in bad times and your time to see some amazing testimonies take form.

There was a prophet named Elijah who went through exactly this situation. He had a wicked queen put a price on his head. (1 Kings 19) So, Elijah ran away into a cave. Here are a few things we can learn from his experience.

The Nominal Spirit

Feeling little. Rejection usually makes you feel that little. This is one of the enemy’s trick to take you down. He makes you feel so useless, so little that you give up your real destiny. Are you feeling that way? Do you feel like a nobody? Oh, the Bible says, you are more than a conqueror. Come out of that cave!

Pity Party

Elijah’s hue and cry was mainly about how it was just him. God had to remind him saying that,  ”No, Elijah there are more than 7000 prophets that are not bowed down to the idol of Baal” How many times have we felt that way?” Oh it’s only me who is suffering this way or no one in the world feels what I feel. No-one is betrayed like me. No-one else, just me…” Again, a lie of the enemy. The Bible clearly says, there is no temptation that has come to you that is not common to man. Get out of that cave of self pity.

Do Not Allow Fear

We’ve heard this before but it is good to remember, courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to overcome it. The first thing that comes with pressure is overt fear. Our mind does wonderfully, during times of pressure, in doing what it does best called imagination. We imagine the worst. We imagine the scariest.

Before we know, instead of standing up to it you find yourself running from it. Begin to believe God over your circumstance. It is easy to believe God when things are going easy, but can you believe God when things are not going the way you thought it would? Get out of the cave of fear right now, in Jesus name!

Do Not Glorify Your Enemy

Elijah began to be very afraid about his circumstance. Overemphasis on your enemy is glorifying your enemy. Don’t talk about how big the Goliath is, talk about how big your God is. Every time you talk about how big your God is that turns into praise. So every time you emphasize on your circumstance, you are praising the enemy.

The Passive Victim

Elijah ate nothing. Felt nothing. Did nothing. Hear, hear! Doing nothing equals to helping your enemy dig your own grave. The Lord does not want us to put up with oppression but He desires that we conquer it. We must develop Christ’s attitude toward evil. He came ‘to destroy the works of the devil’ (1 John 3:8)

It is either that we are chasing the devil or the devil is chasing us. Every time the enemy tries to infiltrate your mind with sin, sickness, sadness, sorrow, do not let it settle. Be alert to recognize and conquer the oppression. You reading this post, get out of your apathetic cave! You got work to do, Elijah!

Get out of your cave whatever size or kind it would be. Greater things are yet to come. But the greatest enemy you face is ‘yourself.’ And you can get out of it by acknowledging what you are facing and seeing the greater things that are yet to come. It is only when you come out of your cave that you begin to hear God’s voice and direction clearly. Start now.

Go After It!

Image by duopastorale via Flickr

When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.

Joshua 3:3

Sherman Owens says, "You will never arrive if you don't set out. The tragedy of life is not that it ends too soon, but that we wait too long to begin it." It's your job to discern when God is moving, and be willing to leave and follow Him - and you may have to go alone. 

Elisha was willing to leave everything and follow Elijah for 20 years to get a "double portion". You can't get it in one church service, one book, or one tape set. It has got to be the passion of your life. It will keep you turning the pages of God's Word to see what He has to say next. It will make you take down the walls of your tradition and cry like David, "So panteth my soul after Thee, O LORD" (Psalm 42:1).

A lot of us see the ark moving, but because of fear we never set out and go after it. When we first meet Abraham he has nothing but his family, his dream, and his God. But that's OK! You don't have to know where you're going, you just have to know you're following God! Before it's all over God is calling him His friend, he's the father of nations and one of the richest men on earth.

If your life has been on hold, the message for you today is "Go after it!"

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.

You Can Rise Above Your Beginnings

Image by wili_hybrid via Flickr

The Lord was with Joseph...

Genesis 39:2

Joseph didn't come from an ideal family. He was the eleventh son of Jacob, a con-man and a conniver. By this time, however, Jacob had got his spiritual act together. But his ten older sons took after their dad. They once deceived and killed an entire town of men because one of them raped their sister (Genesis 34). Now they're about to commit another deed of treachery, selling Joseph into slavery. Yet Joseph turned out to be a man of greatness. What's the bottom line? That you can rise above your beginnings! Look at Joseph. Perhaps you've been rejected, or discovered the people you thought loved you really didn't. That's Joseph's story. But, 'The Lord was with Joseph'. Those words change everything!

Regardless of what happened yesterday, if you remain faithful to God He can rearrange tomorrow in your favour. Many people who've been mistreated are still focusing on the people who hurt them, waiting for them to make things right. In a lot of cases that isn't going to happen. If you've been wronged you need to turn to the One who won't hurt you, and who is there to help and heal you. Face it; some relationships aren't going to get fixed! Your parents may never accept you. You may not be able to escape the problem you've been living with or resolve it to your liking. God's not limited by your past, He's only limited by your lack of faith. So trust Him. '...If God is for us, who can be against us?' (Romans 8:31 NIV). If God is for you, in the final analysis it doesn't matter who's against you.

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Struggling With Life

"Being broken is an opportunity for change..."

Go and visit Mark Brown's blog for more excellent devotionals and talks.