Luke 22:42-44; Philippians 2:5-8; Romans 5:15-19

And here it is in all it's wonderful glory - Jesus, our representative, the second Adam, submitting His will to that of God the Father. Here it is, the pain and the horror and the knowing what will come - the prayer and the plea - Father if You are willing, take this cup from Me, yet not My will but Yours be done. Here is Jesus, knowing the cost of of submission and obedience yet not considering equality with God a thing to be grasped, but humbling Himself, even to death on a cross. Here is the way back - here is righteousness offered, here is grace, costly, painful, amazing grace freely offered to you and to me. 

Can you see the plan and the purpose of God - can you see His powerful grace? Can you see that even at the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed because they wanted to be like God, even then He had prepared the Saviour, even then He had provided the way back to Him through the obedience of the second Adam, the perfect Man, the wonderful, magnificent, glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 

And can you see the result - that those who put their trust in Him, those who believe in the person and the work of this Man, this God-Man - Jesus Christ will now and forever be considered righteous in Him, will now and forever reign with Him in a glorious Life that will never end. Do not be deceived, if you have put your trust in Him then you have both received the righteousness of Christ Jesus and will be made righteous in Him. 

Do not be deceived, will the God who has planned this from the beginning, the God who knew even as Adam sinned that He would bring you into His family - will He now not freely give you all things? If by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in Life through the One, Jesus Christ. Do not be deceived, do you think that the God who planned all of this doesn't know who you are and what you have done? Do you think that He who did not spare His own Son would now go back on His promise to you? 

Have you received the Lord Jesus Christ? Is He your Saviour? Do these words fill you with joy and a desire to press on to know Him better and love Him more? Then do not be deceived - do not be afraid, set your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith; set your eyes on Him, drink in His Word, feast on the Bread of Life - make Him your prize and your goal and your heart's desire and He will transform you into the image of our wonderful Lord. Oh do not allow any other voice to whisper in your ear - set your heart and your mind and your eyes on Jesus - make Him your Treasure and hear Him speak to your soul - well done, well done My beloved.

Judges 6:14-16; Luke 22:31-34

22nd April 2016 …

Go in this your strength....I will be with you. Isn't that God's word to us all? Hasn't He promised that those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, those who put their trust in Him, will receive the Holy Spirit, will have God dwelling within them? Gideon is afraid and so aware of his own inadequacy, his own weakness; he knows that he is unable to do what God is calling him to do and so he tells the Lord as much - 'what me, no there must be some mistake, not me'. 

Fast forward to Peter, strong,courageous Peter making promises that he won't keep - really believing that he will never run, never turn away from Jesus, that he is eminently capable of leading the disciples, really the one that Jesus would naturally choose to be His second in command. 

Can you see yourself in either of these two men? Aren't we all here or somewhere in between? Don't we all start by looking at ourselves, no matter how deceived we might be about who we are and what we can or cannot do? And isn't God's answer the same to us all - don't look at yourself, look to Me - 'I am your strength - I will be with you'. Whatever you think of yourself, whatever you may or may not be able to do - the work I have called you to is impossible except for Me. 

I love the way that the Lord speaks to Peter, I love that He knows exactly what will happen and that He has already forgiven Peter, already poured out His grace, already provided all that Peter will need beyond his fear, beyond his betrayal. I love that Jesus understands, that He sees and that He cares. I love that He will be Peter's strength, He will be his Rock, He will be all that Peter will need, all that he will ever desire; I love that He will be with him always, even to the end of the age. 

Jesus tells Peter here - when you have turned, strengthen your brothers. Do you see it? Only after Peter has hit bottom, only after he has seen the reality of his human inadequacy, only after he has failed will he be able to strengthen his brothers. Why? Because they will need the Lord's strength, not Peter's, they will need to see the reality of his failure and the glory of Christ. 

That's what the Lord is showing all of us, be real with each other, be honest - do not be afraid to speak of your failure but make sure you proclaim His grace. Don't tell me how well you are doing all of the time, don't give me the record of your achievements - tell me what Christ has done in your life, speak to me of His greatness, His grace, His mercy and His love. Tell me how you reached your end and then you felt His hand lift you up. Speak to me of your need for your Saviour and how He has never ever let you down. That is what will strengthen me, that is what will build my faith, that is how the Lord will minister to me through you. 

2 Cor. 12:9 'And He has said to me, My grace is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I would rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me'. 

Psalm 86

15th April 2016 ….

I have often wondered whether my prayers are too much about me - not that I am asking for things or for immunity against all the worlds sickness and evil but that I am so often asking the Lord to draw me closer, to give me wisdom and insight and knowledge so that I might correctly proclaim His excellence, so that when I speak or teach I do not lead anyone down the path of error - so that I always and only speak what He would have me say. 

Today my prayers ran along those same lines - O Lord, help me to be the wife, the mother, the sister the friend that I need to be so that those I love come to see You in me, come to know the truth that You are the great and holy God and that You care about each one of them. But as so often happens lately I finished feeling that perhaps I should focus out more - focus on the 'big' and 'important' things - the things that would make this world a better place. And then I read Psalm 86 and it was as if the Lord came so close and said 'well done My child, well done, you are speaking with me in exactly the way I want you to - you are listening to My Spirit and being led by Him and I promise to answer your prayers'. 

Look at how David opens, 'incline Your ear to me O Lord, and answer me for I am afflicted and needy'. It was for himself that David prayed - he wanted God to listen and to answer but he wanted it as a sign to those around him, a sign that would show them that God is mighty and does wondrous things - that He is so mighty that He can even change someone like me. He asks the Lord to teach him and show him how to walk in truth; he asks for God to unite his heart because he knows his own fickleness and his tendency to distraction. He thanks the Lord and knows that God will answer because he knows that he is loved by the One who is Love and that he is now and forever delivered out of darkness into the marvellous light of God's kingdom. 

And all I could do was say thank You. Thank You for answering my prayer and my doubt, thank You for showing me that I can come to You with anything and everything because You love me and want to hear any and all my prayers. Thank You that You are leading me to pray for closeness and I can know that You will always answer that prayer. 

Praise You Lord for You alone are God and worthy of all that I have and all that I am - and thank You Father for teaching me Your way and uniting my heart to fear Your name. I love You Lord.

Prayer

9th April 2016:

I've been coughing almost constantly for three weeks, the doctor prescribed antibiotics but they didn't make a scrap of difference and I have grown very tired by lack of sleep and the chest infection that started everything off. It seems that this is happening to me every year to varying degrees and I suppose that I know what to do when it hits - rest, rest and more rest! I thought I might spend the time profitably by studying, writing for various upcoming events or at the very least praying - something that somehow always gets left til last - almost an add on as it were - a kind of after thought or a bullet that I fire up to the Lord when I need something. 

That indeed is what He has been talking to me about these last few weeks - I must admit I have been slow to listen, or maybe just too tired and there have been tears when I realised how little I actually sit and talk to my Lord, how often I rush through with my list of requests. It has been a battle to make sure that my physical weariness hasn't translated into guilt and shame and spiritual condemnation but through it all I know that my Father has been calling me to Himself - calling me to understand that my relationship with Him can be directly measured by my prayer life. 

So I'm sitting here this morning and I have been praying - for all those people I know that do not know Jesus, for those who do but are going through tremendous trials at the moment - for the persecuted church around the world - for the horror and the terror and the wickedness to just stop and for the Lord to return quickly. But maybe even more than that I have been praying that the Lord will lead me and give me the words that He wants me to pray - that He would guide me into His presence and that I would be actually listening to His Spirit and talking to my Father about the things that He wants me to bring before Him. What a task that is - what a gift and how long it takes. I can't just rush in and out again and off I go into my day - I must sit and wait and listen and read His Word and then ask Him to show me what it is that I should bring before Him today. 

And I find myself asking Him to not let me waste my life - that I would be always aware of the reason that I am still here on this planet - that I would not allow myself to be caught up in the things of this world - even the good things - but that everything I think and do and say would be for His kingdom and His glory. And then I realised that He has given that to me to pray because He actually wants to do that for me - He wants me to know the great joy of not wasting time, the peace that comes from knowing that I am in the centre of His will and the overwhelming torrents of His great love which He pours out in and through me. 

So today though I am still not completely better - all is well with my soul. Today though I am still coughing and still tired I know that He is here and that I am with Him. Today, though there will probably be tears - there will be much joy as I spend this day with my Father.