Everything rises and falls on followship.

I've been reminded again recently of the dynamics often found amongst leaders who are required to follow leaders. When there's leadership on your life, sometimes the hardest thing to do is follow. The problem is that Jesus, the greatest leader of all, was and still is, the first follower. He followed God. And the Apostle Paul says to you and I, 'Follow me as I follow the example of Christ' (1 Cor 11:1). So it's not a matter of 'I'm called to lead, you're called to follow'. We're all following Jesus together.

Having said that Paul still recognised the leadership that was on his life. He was saying to the church in Corinth, 'Follow me, your leader, as I follow Christ'. But how often do we live with distress because we seem to think that if we were the one leading, we'd do a much better Job? And whilst we're anything but a No.1 we're wrongly positioned!

Psalm 20 says, 'May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you'.
This sounds like the kind of prayer you'd pray over your own life when you find yourself wrestling with the above mentioned emotions.
The problem is, this Psalm is a prayer of intercession. A prayer of leaders who follow, praying for their leader who follows. The people of Israel were sending a clear message to David their King, their No. 1 and who was in distress.

So what's my point?

If there's leadership on your life, be the first follower. And as you follow, intercede for your leaders, because it will only be once God has appointed you No.1 that you'll discover a whole new level of distress that you never knew existed when you were following yet desiring to lead as a No. 2

So bless your leaders today and pray Psalm 20 over their life.

May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
Selah
May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.
Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
O LORD, save the king!
Answer us when we call!

Grace,
Andrew

Opposition & Obedience

The Lord led me to Judges 2 & 3 this morning.
Isn't it interesting that although God leads us into His promises for our life, there still remains opposition. The question is why?

I think we too often equate opposition with 'perhaps I haven't received God's promise yet'. And perhaps there's an element of truth in this, for the Israelites were facing opposition as a result of their disobedinece, and surely disobedience is not what God desired for or from them.

The question is; is God's promise for our life a desitnation? If it is, then you'd have to say that whilst there's opposition, you're still yet to arrive.
But if it's a jouney, then surely it will always remain. Why? because it presents an opportunity for obedience. Judges 2:22 says 'I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did.'

Judges 3:1 says 'These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience)'

So perhaps opposition will always be present where preparation for warfare is needed. I think this may remain until we get to heaven!

Grace,
Andrew.

Here am I

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Here am I, all of me
Take my life, it’s all for Thee.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

Here am I, all of me
Take my life, it’s all for Thee.

Frances R. Havergal, 1874.

Patience

Love is patient.

I feel like I could write a thesis on this at the moment. Yet at the same time, I'm not wanting to place any unnecessary weight on my carnal ability (or inability) to properly comprehend it. But to say this; the evidence of patience in my life is perhaps a good measuring stick for the condition of my love for God.

Grace,

Andrew.

The night is about over...

But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about! Romans 13:11-14 (The Message)

 

And everyone will know

 22 "Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. 23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. 24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

 25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.^[c] 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

 28 "And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. 30 I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. 31 Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. 32 But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!

 33 "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I cleanse you from your sins, I will repopulate your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The fields that used to lie empty and desolate in plain view of everyone will again be farmed. 35 And when I bring you back, people will say, 'This former wasteland is now like the Garden of Eden! The abandoned and ruined cities now have strong walls and are filled with people!' 36 Then the surrounding nations that survive will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted the wasteland. For I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say.

 37 "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am ready to hear Israel's prayers and to increase their numbers like a flock. 38 They will be as numerous as the sacred flocks that fill Jerusalem's streets at the time of her festivals. The ruined cities will be crowded with people once more, and everyone will know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 36:22-38)

In our image, after our likeness

'And in what did this image of God consist? Not in the erect form or features of man, not in his intellect, for the devil and his angels are, in this respect, far superior; not in his immortality, for he has not, like God, past as well as a future eternity of being; but in the moral disposition of his soul, commonly called original righteousness (Ec 7:29). As the new creation is only a restoration of this image, the history of the one throws light on the other; and we are informed that it is renewed after the image of God in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness.' (JFB, Gen 1:26-27)

'...put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator' (Colossians 3:10)

'...put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.' (Ephesians 4:24)