Day 29: God's gift of contentment

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Verse Philippians 4: 12-13

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Thought

God gives us the strength we need to face the day.  We are happy to take from him, but it can be very difficult to give.  There is always something we don't want to share.  I love giving people presents.  I love sharing my home with others. My resistance to sharing is my "Debbie" time.  It is a valuable commodity in a busy world.  I always have a list of jobs that need doing and when I do sit down, I feel a little guilty.  But the reality is that all my time is "Debbie" time and I should enjoy it and get the most out of whatever I am doing.  The truth is that when I do sit down for me, I usually squander that time in any case.  It is about being content with what you have.
The speaker at our ladies church weekend gave an analogy which basically pointed out that the strongest weapon the devil has is disappointment.  And this is so true for me.  Usually when I am unhappy about something, the root is disappointment
A friend of mine recently pointed me to a web page which  shared these definitions and I thought they were excellent for this passage.  The definitions demonstrate a progression of our heart's as we strive towards having a heart of God.

Pride: I think you want what I have.
Envy: I want what you have.
Contentment: I’m OK with what I have, and I’m OK with you having what you have
Blessing: I want you to have what I have

We should move our hearts along this route too.  From looking at what is precious to us  and progress from hard-heartedness to God-heartedness.  God wants to root out pride and envy in our hearts and move us to contentment and blessing.

Prayer

Father God - help me strive towards having a contented heart.  Not looking for other things, but happy with what I have with You and with my life at present.

Day 28: Blessed are the persecuted

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Verse:  Matthew 5:10-12 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when people insult you, and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against because of Me.  Rejoice, and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Thought

Well these verses always alarm me somewhat!  I don't want to be persecuted!  Luckily we in the western world don't have to face the persecution that Christians in some counties face.  There are Christians around the world meeting in secret, forced to hide their faith for fear of death for them and their families.  You hear of people being punished and tortured in such dreadful ways for following Christ.  

Over that last couple of days, looking at the Beatitudes, Jesus has shown us the picture of the "ideal" believer. God expects this behaviour from us and of course we can't deliver it.  Thankfully we have Christ to shine his perfection on us.  But the world finds it difficult to accept the characteristics that Jesus asks us to display.  The Beatitudes go against the grain of most of the world.  In a world of self-promotion and pride, the poor in spirit aren't appreciated.  Hedonism doesn't lead to mourning over sin or meekness.  The poor are not honoured and it is all about getting rich!  Generally there is little appreciation of mercy, purity and peace isn't making the news on a daily basis.   The "Persecuted" have clearly made the important decisions about the world to come. They have chosen to value what the King treasures rather than those things that man is attracted to by his eye and ear. Finding meaning in life not in pleasant treatment but in obedience to the King.

So are we persecuted?  Not in a being chased and tortured type of way, but how open are you about your faith.  does everyone at work know you are a Christian?  Do you make your faith public knowledge?  If not why not?  There is a perception that everyone is watching you, waiting for you to trip up if they know you are a Christian.  This is a fear of persecution that we have to contend with.   If you live a Christlike life, you will provoke the same reactions in the world that Jesus provoked during his life.  Some will respond to your love and will be led to a relationship with Him.  But Jesus met a lot of resistance and created antagonism when he confronted unrighteousness.

If you aren't experiencing persecution it's probably because people don't know you are a Christian or because the way you live isn't different enough to be noticeable.  Is it time to stir the water?

Prayer

Lord God, let me welcome challenges to my faith and the be proud to stand and be counted as one of your children.  Give me courage to stand up to the strength of my convictions, and not be afraid of the consequences. Help me to live out the characteristics you ask for in the Beatitudes.

Day 27: Blessed are the peacemakers

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Verse:  Matthew 5:9

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Thought

I used to do a bit of scuba diving.  I have always love being underwater – it seems so peaceful and quiet.  The deeper you go the stiller it gets.  There can be a storm on the surface, with rough waves and wild wind, but if you are deep under water, all is calm and still. 

We should find our Christianity like that.  Whatever strife or trouble is raging, that deep sense of peace that God gives should be resting in our heart and soul. Peacemakers draw their peace from God.

God longs for peace on earth.  He created a peaceful world and promises an eternity of peace.  Yet in the middle we have this man-created chaos.

We seem incapable of peace.  More and more people are suffering from mental and emotional illness.  Families are breaking up, neighbours are bringing law against each other,  people are involved in endless disputes at work and at home.

None of us want this unhappiness and needless pain.

Peacemakers build bridges between people.  I can be a fairly quarrelsome person sometimes.  I get a perverse pleasure out of making little comments aimed to rile.  Almost point scoring.   It is an unpleasant side of me, I know.  My poor husband probably bears the brunt of this.  To my shame, Joe pointed out that he thinks “Daddy and you quarrel too much”.  I was mortified.  I recognise that a lot of the quarrels are entirely avoidable and probably my fault.  David is a gentle and fair-minded person.  I have made a concerted effort not to bait and niggle, and funnily enough we are all happier and life is good.  What Joe did was make me stop and look at myself and draw closer to David.

In a sense that's what Christ did: He provided the righteousness that allows man and God to join hands. It was Christ's sacrifice on the cross that made peace between God and man. But Christ's death on the cross provided the righteousness that alone makes real peace.

But conversely, we also need to ensure that we  aren’t compromising our beliefs and principles for the sake of peace.  To be a peace maker doesn’t mean call a truce.  We need to aim to resolve problems with the truth, by bringing the righteousness of God into the equation. Peacemakers don't avoid spiritual conflicts--they dive into the middle of them.

The peace that God offers is real and lasting and it is eternal.  To be effective as a peacemaker you must maintain your peace with God. As Christians, we need to try to bring back the peace of God that we have lost through sin.  

Prayer

Help me to be a peacemaker Father God.  Let me look for your truth in problems and situation.  Help me not to compromise but to aim for what is right.  May your peace reign throughout the world.

Day 26: Mothering Sunday

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Poem - Author Unknown

You Were There

You were there when we took our first steps,
And went unsteadily across the floor.
You pushed and prodded: encouraged and guided,
Until our steps took us out the door...
You worry now "Are they ok?"
Is there more you could have done?
As we walk the paths of our unknown
You wonder"Where have my children gone?"
Where we are is where you have led us,
With your special love you showed us a way,
To believe in ourselves and the decisions we make.
Taking on the challenge of life day-to-day.
And where we go you can be sure,
In spirit you shall never be alone.
For where you are is what matters most to us,
Because to us that will always be home....

Thought

My mother died in 2006 and I miss her loads.  Especially today.  When I look at her in the photo above, she is so thrilled for me to be experiencing motherhood.  I remember being more than a little awed to realise that as I love that little boy in my arms, so she loved me.  It wasn’t until I became a mother that I realised the power of parental love.

On Mothering Sunday we all think of our mothers.  Some of us with love, some with sadness, some with no emotion at all.  As mothers we have an enormous responsibility in the way our children grow up and their approach to relationships. Today it is appropriate that we think about the spiritual effects of touching and being touched by those we love. I was lucky to have been blessed with a happy and safe childhood.  It is the experience of closeness and the loving touch of parents which makes us feel safe and confident. When that is absent, when there is no love or security, children find it harder to flourish.

So God also embraces us with His love.  Although it may not be a physical hug, He embraces us in so many ways, not least of all through the embraces of others.  Or the love and hugs that you give.

So happy mothering Sunday.  Don’t let the pressure get to you….

Prayer

Thank you God for our mothers.  And for those of us who are mothers, we thank you for the privilege of parenthood.  Help us to bring up our children to know and give love.  May we provide the safe and secure life that You give us. 

Day 25: Blessed are the pure in heart

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Verse:  Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Thought

Purity isn’t a word you hear attributed to people these days.  Many think purity is an insipid, unattractive commodity that belongs to odd people.  But purity refers to cleansing and to integrity.

If you think of a pure metal like gold, it is an expensive and desirable thing.  It is beautiful and its purity is obvious in the way it shines.  Dilute it with other base metals or pollutants, and the lustre is dimmed.  We should be striving towards the Purity of God, not diluting ourselves with things of the world.

Christ said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Christ was saying that the way you view things effects your whole life. If your motives are pure your life will be pure. If they are corrupt your life will be, too. Believers are to have singleness of heart.

When you become a Christian your heart is purified as you begin living in the presence of God. You begin to comprehend Him and become aware of His presence. When your heart is purified by Christ you will see God. And the purer your heart is the more of God you will see.

Some people see Him in their circumstances and others see Him in the hearts of His people. God is alive in this world but you won't be aware of that unless your heart has been purified. Purity of heart cleanses the eyes of the soul, making God visible.

No one can purify themselves on their own because no one has the power to do so.

Good works will not make a heart pure but faith can. But for faith to be valid it must be in the right object. If you want to be pure in heart you must by faith accept the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

If you wonder how you can be clean you need to realize that you can't do it by good works. You can know purity only by putting your faith in the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross to remove sin. If you are a Christian and are fighting against impurity in your life, commit yourself to God's Word and prayer.  As a Christian, it is important for you to read the Word of God and also to pray.

God wants our motives to be pure. If you are truly a Christian you will have purity of heart and motive. If you don't, you need to question whether you really know God.

Prayer

Please help me strive towards a purity that can only come from you, Lord.  Let me be aware of the impure threads in my life, that I can work them out of the fabric of my being.

Day 24: Blessed are the Hungry

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 Verse:  Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Thought

Hunger and thirst are both very strong feelings.  When you are really thirsty you can think of nothing else but a cool glass of water.  Generally, I don't know what it really means to feel hunger or thirst.  Even on diet!!  I think of hunger as the empty feeling I get when it's half an hour after my usual lunch time! 

My sister recently introduced me to Pasteis de Nata which are the most delicious Portuguese custard pies.  I am happy when I eat one, but I always want more! The satisfaction one pie provides also increases my desire for more of the same. That is a picture of what righteousness is for us as Christians - the more we are filled with the rich, sweet taste of Christ's righteousness the more we desire it.

Do possessions influence the way you feel? Do things seem to be better in your life when you buy something new?

We look for satisfaction in all the wrong things: money, possessions, fame, and pleasure. And we don’t find happiness because we look for it in the wrong places.

A hungry person will never be satisfied with flowers, music, or an encouraging speech--they will still want food. A thirsty person will not be satisfied unless they are given a drink. Too many in the church today are seeking the same kind of remedy to their problems, searching for happiness through ecstatic experiences. We want a holy high. We go to seminars or visit counsellors with the hope of experiencing spiritual ecstasy. But that isn't what Christians who are in search of happiness should look for. If I want a relationship with Christ but am not hungering and thirsting for righteousness, I need to honestly look at the relationship I have with Him.

The only real happiness of enduring value is being right with God recognising that my internal spiritual hunger can be satisfied only from God's table.

 Just as the hungry don’t need to be told to eat when they are provided with food, so we shouldn’t be told to read and study God’s word.  We should fall on it as though we are starving.   And God has promised to satisfy us.

Prayer 

Lord God, thank you that you care for me and provide for me.  Help me not to become complacent with my life but to hunger for you.  I want to feast on Your word, not just nibble on scraps to keep the hunger at bay.  I have really enjoyed looking at new verses every day and getting nutrition from them.  Please keep the hunger for your word in me.

Day 23: Blessed are the Gentle

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not sure who to credit the picture to - found it on google

Verse: Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Thought

My older sister used to sit on me and dangle her long hair in my face to torture me!  I can remember my Dad quoting this verse with a laugh in his voice when I was whining about it one day. And I always think of that when I hear this verse.  One day I will inherit the earth!!!
But meekness shouldn't be confused with weakness.  It's not about being the loser in the battle, but rather the winner.  Some versions of the bible use the word gentle. Gentleness or meekness describes a person's humbled spirit which is finally willing to live by God’s principles of life.  There is a genuine recognition of past failures and the gentle person has opened their heart to God's ways for their life. 

I don't think that I am a particularly meek or gentle person.   I get huffy about things quite easily and self-defensive.  I don't believe we are being asked to be passive or pathetic, but to recognise our unnecessary feather ruffling when faced with something we don't like and adjust our response.  You know those bracelets that have WWJD (What would Jesus do)?  That is what we should be considering. 

But I think there are some things that make meekness as opposed to weakness recognisable

You should only be driven to anger when you think God is being dishonoured.  You must defend God.  It's not about you coming out on top but rather God.

You respond to God's word with obedience and humbleness.   Hmmm, I always find this tricky.

You look to make peace in your environments (work, social and home)and encourage people.

You should accept criticism and act on it, especially if it is truly and given in by someone who has God's interests at heart

You try to give gentle encouragement and instruction to others.

 Meekness is absolute power under perfect control.   And if you are given to God, your power is God's.  That is scary!   

Go the meek!

Prayer

Keep me meek Lord, so that I can serve you humbly and with obedience.  Help me with my stubbornness that keeps me from being the gentle person You ask me to be.