As I have continued to meditate on this Scripture, God has continued to open it up to me.  Last time it was the word ‘always’ that stood out to me, but this time the emphasis is elsewhere.  What, or in fact WHO, are we to rejoice always in?  It is the Lord, isn’t it!  We are to lift our minds and our hearts and our spirits to the Lord, in the midst of our doubts and fears and worries and weariness and rejoice in Him!  He alone is the source of all true joy. 
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As the Billy Graham song says: 

So today, may I encourage you to simply stop and turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Offer Him your praise and your worship, despite what is going on around you. This is easy to say but not easy to do.  And sometimes its true - those outward things may or may not change.  Your attitude will definitely change, however,  and you will be better equipped to deal with all the external stuff. 

Romans 8:28 tells us that “all things work together for good to those who love God…..who are called according to His purpose”.  Let’s remind ourselves of this often and practise rejoicing IN THE LORD.

May your day be transformed as you walk through it with your eyes on Jesus.
Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy…

Prayer:
Loving God, we rejoice in your provision for us.  Help us to keep our eyes on You and not on our circumstances, so that we might offer you a sacrifice of praise and know your joy in every part of our lives.  Amen

Prepositions tell us that God is in, through, with, for, and before us. I read today that God’s call is never that you do more for Him but it is God’s call that we always do more with Him. 
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There are many scriptures around the use of prepositions but one of my favourites is "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20). 

Lord, I pray, that today as I/we read these words again, that I/we learn to be with you and not just doing things for you. Amen

Putting up with lockdown conditions is proving to be a trial on many fronts. There seem to be more grumpy people around than last time, or is that just me? Many prefer to grizzle in the vain hope that it might hurry things up so we can go back to “normal” as soon as possible. Fat chance; Delta doesn’t sleep.

We tend not to think that trials may be a normal part of our faith experience. We would prefer to follow a Gospel of ease, where nothing much is expected from us, so nothing can be taken away. We could be missing “the crown of life” (above). What we settle for is not the “life” imagined by James, but something rather flaccid and harmless. So harmless that we are no threat to anyone, Satan included.

“Standing the test” suggests that our trials will be for a season only, designed to bring the believer to a higher level of trust and faith. The stories of our early missionaries to the dark places on earth are both horrific and thrilling. The early martyrs knew what they were getting themselves into, and still they volunteered for the sake of the Gospel. The desire to share the Good news was stronger than the opposition they encountered, bitter though it was. Does their example inspire us to put up with our rather small trials under lockdown?
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Some might argue that the world would be a more peaceful place if there were no religions to divide us, and that is true. But “peace” is a fickle reality if viewed from a Godless perspective. It exists only where there is a balance of power between opposing factions, and is brittle at best. But the peace that comes from knowing God’s love crosses every divide. Enemies can become friends overnight when both recognise who they owe their lives to. The “crown of life” (above) is something bestowed as a reward for perseverance. How much more could we be persuaded to work for the Lord if we understood this better? How might our grumpiness improve?

We can’t see God.  We can’t take Him by the hand or even converse with Him face-to-face like we do a friend.  But we still know He is present in our lives because we can experience the effects.  God moves among His people, and we can hear the still, small  voice.  And, just as we can feel the wind across our cheeks, we can feel God’s presence.  We don’t need to physically see God to know that He exists and that He’s working.

Today when I read as part of my Bible reading program Deuteronomy 29:4 Moses' speech to the Israelites in Moab.

'Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.'

The words stood out and I remembered that God has given all I have to me, my friends, family, property, gifts and ability. This lead to gratitude, thankfulness for all that God has graciously given and puts pride in its proper place. In being reminded and recognizing that God is the giver and wants to give us good things so our Joy will be complete, I compiled the following prayer which you are invited to pray with me if you feel lead.

Lord God Almighty, I ask this day that you would give me a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear - not for my glory or advancement, but to sense you and your ways better and for your glory and the advancement of your kingdom. Amen.

God Bless,
Raewyn

I’ve been reading through the gospels as part of my regular bible reading practice and I was struck yet again with the way Eugenie Peterson in The Message starts Matthew 5.  He writes it like this:When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.(Matthew 5:1-2 MSG)
 
I find this refreshing.  Let’s consider the words he uses.  Those apprenticed to him, his disciples.  As followers of Jesus we too are apprenticed to Jesus.  I wonder how much time we spend looking into the way he lived and how he behaved around people.  Our faith is one which is firstly rooted in relationship not doctrine.  And the primary example of how to live is in Jesus.  We need to look beyond the words to the life that spoke those words and then listen very carefully to the way he says what he says then we will discover new truths in what he said.
 
They are the committed and they climb with him.  It takes commitment to climb mountains of any description.  Life will always have its mountains, both literal and in the everyday, for many right now it’s how we handle Covid.  How are we going at that commitment and do we look like followers of Jesus?  Whatever your mountains are, while they may not be unique to the human lot, your experience of it will be very specific to you.  But as a follower of Jesus he is also your climbing companion. Having twice had accidents in the mountains of near catastrophic proportions I am deeply grateful that he has held me when the tough has got almost too tough.
 
Finally arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.  Whether it’s because I am an introvert or not I think we underrate the “quiet place”.  We fill our days with so much noise.  In my experience it is in the quiet place that Jesus teaches me best.  It’s in the place of reflection that the Spirit of Jesus opens my eyes of understanding.  It may not always make rational sense but his peace that passes all understanding does fill my mind in such a way that I can press on. Emily Dickenson once said: We both believe, and disbelieve a hundred times an hour, which keeps believing nimble.” For me my doubts and uncertainties are the pathway to discovery.
 
I like the idea of being Jesus’ climbing companion and just love the quiet place of his teaching.  What follows in this passage?  The beatitudes or the beautiful attitudes.  Read them for yourself from The Message in a quiet place and let Jesus teach you too.

​Richard Dyer

If something is getting you down in life, check your location. Where are your thoughts? Let what the world has conditioned you to think go in one ear and out the other.  Stand on the truth, the promises of God’s Word.  Say of the Lord, “God is my refuge! I am hidden in Christ! Nothing can harm me. In Him I trust!”  Say it loud. Say it often. Say it over and over until it becomes your reality.  And you will find yourself dwelling in that secret place every moment of the day.

Who feels like rejoicing?

I don’t always and I’m pretty certain you don’t either.  That little word ‘always’ in the Scripture is problematic.  We don’t want to rejoice in the midst of stuff that’s not fun.  Like Covid and being locked down and not being able to work or meet friends or see family members for example.  Even harder when loved ones are sick and we can’t be with them, or we are unwell and feeling alone.  Our finances may be a worry. What about those who are in places of fear and terror, possibly from war or natural disaster.  So many times, when we feel sad, or desperate or alone or stressed or weary, we can find ourselves sinking into hopelessness and despair.  And it can feel hypocritical or impossible even, to actually rejoice.

Yet God tell us to rejoice always!”

And this is because we forget so easily that joy is key to wellbeing.   In the midst of our desperation and helplessness, we turn to God and cry out for His help and it seems like He changes nothing, yet He changes EVERYTHING by telling us to “Rejoice!” 

For it is in doing so that we unlock the mystery of peace.  Peace that passes all human understanding, as we appreciate that our God is in control and our God is with us in all things. As we train ourselves to rejoice in all situations, He will encourage us and lift our spirits and our eyes will be more and more on Him not on our circumstances.  Nehemiah tells us:

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
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I know this is true because God performs this miracle for me every day.  I truly believe we can endure all things if we practise rejoicing.
 
Can I encourage you to start to thank God for whatever you are going through right now, and whatever you are feeling right now.  See it as a way to unlock His power in your life.  Confess your disappointment and whatever negative things you are feeling and then allow gratefulness for something, anything, to begin to rise.  If for nothing else, you can be grateful that you have a Saviour who has died on the cross for you and who knows exactly the depths of your misery right now.  Allow the gratefulness to transform into a speck of joy and start to rejoice in that joy you have found.
  
May you rejoice today and find wellbeing as you trust in our mighty God.
 
Proverbs 17:22
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

During this lockdown I have discovered that I can do jigsaw puzzles online.  I have had such fun travelling around the world – visiting the pandas in China, a castle in Scotland, the hot air balloons in Cappadocia, the church in Iceland - just to name a few.  But it has been challenging.  Sometimes there are a whole bunch of dark pieces, and I am not sure how they fit into the picture.  Or there are multiple pieces all the same colour which can be a bit boring.  But when I set the bright pieces in amongst the dark and boring pieces a beautiful picture emerges!

Life is like that isn’t it?  We can experience dark, confusing times when we wonder when we will emerge into the daylight again. During these times we have to trust God’s faithfulness and patiently work through the puzzle of life, piece by piece – prayer by prayer. Then there are times when life seems dull and tedious and we long for a bit of excitement. But what joy it is when we experience those glorious times when the pieces come together, and we see a beautiful picture emerging from our lives.

In Romans 8:28 we read, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

We are like jigsaw puzzles.  God uses all our experiences of life to create, of us, a magnificent masterpiece for his glory.                                    

​Miriam Taylor