Weeping may last for a night time

Cowering under the bedcovers through the night, gripped in the midst of fear, almost suffocating from the weight of those fears. Many tears but not a wink of sleep passed my eyes that night as I poured out my fears to God.  This is how I saw in the new year on 31^st December, 2011. As the new day dawned, and the first rays of light from 2012 shone through the bedroom window, chasing away the shadows of the dark night, He uttered a verse of promise to my heart:

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.”

As those words took root in my heart, the fears were swallowed up by His promise, as hope and peace took their rightful place, growing with the strengthening daylight.

This word of God has not returned to Him empty, but has proven itself to me over this year, time and time again.

It is a promise that has sustained me throughout a difficult year. And it is a promise that has returned to me as the year closes and I have sought to respond to the tragedy of Sandy Hook, which stands as a solemn and Holy testimony to the darkness engulfing the land, to a land that has been “given over” in Holy judgment, a land where His hand is lifted high yet the people do not see it. As in America, so in Britain.

This Christmas time, as Immanuel holds my attention, I remember how Light stepped down into the darkness. The darkness did not overcome. Darkness was defeated. This is the promise we have, the promise we celebrate! No matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. In this time of darkness, it is surely time to teach one another a lament, to hold fast to the promise of Immanuel.

Sovereign Lord, list the tears of my lament

In your scroll, hear my cry

For our land walks in the dark

And we cannot see the light

Arise O Lord! May we hear Your Voice again!

Sovereign Lord, truth has stumbled in the streets

Righteousness stands afar

Yet we have not lost our hope

As we cry “Come, Emmanuel!”

The light shines in the dark and is not overcome!

And weeping may last for a night-time

But rejoicing – it shall come

Yes rejoicing – it shall come

Rejoicing shall come with the dawning of the day!

Sovereign Lord, my heart is poured out on the ground

The fathers’ hearts are turned away

But as darkness closes in

Your deliverance draws near

Arise, O Lord! And turn our mourning into joy!

And weeping may last for a night-time

But rejoicing – it shall come

Yes rejoicing – it shall come

Rejoicing shall come with the dawning of the day!

Immanuel - God with us

Last year as I thought about the blessed incarnation of Christ, the Word dwelling among us in flesh, my thoughts were shadowed by the cross of Christ.

This year as I think about the Word coming to tabernacle amongst us, I am mindful of His return.

It is no surprise, really, that the world can find it in its heart to acknowledge the birth of Christ upon the earth. A baby in a manger doesn't challenge us. Little Jesus, meek and mild.

This year, I want to shout out the truth, that He is coming again. And His second coming will be so different to His first coming.

At His first coming, only a few people were aware of His birth. Mary, Joseph, a few shepherds.

At His second coming, every eye will see Him.

At His first coming, He emptied Himself and made Himself nothing.

At His second coming, He will come revealed in His full glory.

At His first coming, the angels appeared to the shepherds and sang glory to God.

At His second coming, the angels will be sent with a loud trumpet call to gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

At His first coming, the Magi brought gifts to Him – gold,frankincense and myrrh.

At His second coming, His reward and recompense will come with Him.

At His first coming, He proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favour.

At His second coming, He will proclaim the day of vengeance of our God.

At His first coming, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world was despised like one from whom men hide their faces.

At His second coming, men will call out to the mountains and rocks to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb.

At His first coming, He revealed Himself to a nation that did not call on His Name.

At His second coming, He will strike down the nations.

At His first coming, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes.

At His second coming, He will be dressed in a robe dipped in blood.

At His first coming, the Magi bowed down and worshipped Him.

At His second coming, every knee shall bow before Him.

At His first coming, the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem looked on the one they pierced.

At His second coming, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn Son.

At His first coming, Jesus wept over Jerusalem.

At His second coming, He will rejoice over Jerusalem.

At His first coming, He was lifted up as He was pierced for our transgressions and bore our sin.

At His second coming, He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted before all the nations of the world.

As I remember the coming of the King this year, I am overawed. My Jesus, My King, My Saviour, My Lord…I bow my knee before Him. May He grant me a greater boldness in the coming year to proclaim the year of His favour, the year of Jubilee. 

The fear of the Lord leads to life

I fear my God. May this be the beginning, the foundation, the source of any wisdom I may have. I have been crying out for wisdom, for understanding – and my fear of Him is growing.

The writer of Psalm 119 feared His God. “My flesh trembles in fear of You. I stand in awe of Your laws". 

My God is Holy, Holy, Holy.

I know what it cost Him that I could be adopted into His family, a sinner like me, who has failed to keep His law.

It cost Him His only begotten Son, His beloved Son with whom He is well pleased.

He gave His Son up to death as the punishment for all my sin, for without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin.

THIS makes me fear Him.

And through my adoption into His family He has given me, not a spirit that makes me a slave to fear, but rather the spirit of sonship by which I can cry out “Abba, Father!” His beloved Son delighted in the fear of the Lord through the Spirit of the Lord. It is my prayer that I may understand something of what it means to delight in the fear of the Lord.

But when I cast my eyes around me at the world in which I live, at a world which has no fear of God before its eyes, then my flesh trembles in fear of Him.

Knowing that my God is Holy, Holy, Holy, and knowing that His wrath will be revealed against the wickedness of men makes me fear Him.

Knowing that my God is Holy, Holy, Holy, and knowing that when He rises to shake the earth, men will flee from Him, makes me fear Him.

O, let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the people of the world revere Him! 

(Ps 33:8)

For this is what He says concerning those who fear Him:

“Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honoured his name. ‘They will be mine’, says the Lord Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not’” 

(Mal 3:16-18).

May we fear God, and give Him the glory.

Wonders on the earth below

May all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord,
    when they hear the words of your mouth.
Psalm 138:4

Our God is an Almighty God. He demonstrates His signs in the heavens above and on the earth below.

The wonder of Him demonstrating His signs is that so many people do not see His hand at work. His powerful, majestic hand.

The wonder of Him demonstrating His signs is that so many people do not hear His Voice. His powerful, majestic Voice.

O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!

“Though seeing, they do not see;
"though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”

Jesus spoke in parables when He dwelt among men, God incarnate, speaking the very words that God gave Him, and His words were accepted by His own. Others could not understand because of a hardness of heart, unbelief.

“Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

Today is the day of salvation. The eternal gospel is still to be proclaimed to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.

In His mercy, God continues to speak. He is not silent. Even when He speaks in judgment, there is still opportunity for repentance. Even in the Hour of Judgment, the eternal gospel continues to be preached.

The worst thing that can happen to us is for God to cease to speak.

“O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still.”

“For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.”

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

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Almighty God, Heavenly Father, thank You that You continue to speak. Thank You that You speak through Your Word. Thank You that You speak through Your signs in the heavens above and on the earth below. Give us ears to hear. Let our hearts not be hardened against You. Give us opportunity to speak Your Word, to our friends, neighbours, loved ones, for the days are evil. May Your gospel continue to be preached so that when Jesus returns His bride will be comprised of every nation, tribe, language and people, that He may receive the Glory due to His Name. Amen.

"No-one else dared join them"

Our God is Almighty. He sits enthroned in the heavens. The lightning, hail, snow and clouds, and stormy winds all do His bidding. He speaks. His Voice is powerful, majestic. He reduces the rulers of this world to nothing…He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

Our God shows wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below.

From heaven He pronounces His judgment, and the land fears and is quiet.

Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations He has brought on the earth.

“Be still, and know that I am God”.

Our God is Almighty. He makes distinctions between His people and others. His Presence is with His people, and He gives them rest. He promises He will make a distinction again between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

“No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.” 

(Acts 5:13-14).

Almighty God, Sovereign Lord, I pray fear of Your Name falls across the nations. I pray Your Name is lifted high in awed wonder at the works of Your Hands. I pray that whilst You oppose the proud, You would give grace, grace and more grace to the humble. I pray more and more men and women believe in Your Name and are added to Your people, to Your treasured possession, for the sake of the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

(For meditation: Psalm 148:8; Psalm 29:4; Isa 40:23-24; Acts 2:19; Psalm 76:8; Psalm 46:8,10; Exodus 33:14; Malachi 3:18)

Small Wonder book discussion

My dear friend, Elizabeth DeBarros, has been hosting a book discussion in recent weeks over at her blog, findingthemotherlode.

The book, Small Wonder, by Barbara Kingsolver, is written by a lady who has experienced much of common grace in her life, but has yet to recognise the reality of, and bend her knee before, the God who has revealed so much truth to her and has brought so much goodness into her life.

Reading through the essays in this book has not only endeared Kingsolver and her writing to me, it has helped me to see the extent to which all of us are the recipients of God's grace at work in our lives, and I trust that those of us who have engaged in the discussion will be better equipped to "defend the Truth with a right spirit", as Elizabeth puts it. 

It is my honour today to have written a response to Kingsolver's essay "Household words" considering the topic of homelessness. Please do come and join the discussion.

Not Guilty

“Do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?”

I sat there, heart thumping, desperately wanting to hold someone’s hand. There was none. I was sitting alone, representing my family, waiting for the jury to deliver their verdict on a most harrowing case of abuse against a member of my family.

“NOT guilty.”

The words pierced my heart, shattering its hope for justice into pieces. A sob broke out of the depths of my being as I took in the enormity of the words, the lack of justice, the lack of protection, the impact this would have on my family.

As I walked dazed from the courtroom, the defendant and his barrister came out, the barrister smiling, saying “Congratulations!” to his client. I could almost hear the defendant saying to himself: “Nothing will shake me, I’ll always be happy and never have trouble”. (Psalm 10:6). The defence barrister had done an excellent job, sowing enough doubt into the heart of the jury that they could not be sure of the testimony against this man, who had himself lied under oath before Almighty God. I can hear him saying to himself “God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees; He won’t call me to account.” (Ps 10:11;13).

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Psalm 10 has been the cry of my heart during these harrowing days in court. It has helped me to form the words to cry out against the wickedness which has been committed:

“He lies in wait like a lion in cover, he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.” (vv9-10).

As I listened to him telling lies in court under oath, I had verse 7 in my mind: “His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;  trouble and evil are under his tongue” even as I called on God to fulfil verse 15 in that courtroom: “Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.”

My whole spirit has been crying out throughout the case “Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.” (v12)

And I am assured in my spirit that He will do exactly this. Justice may not have been served in this earthly courtroom, but I know that my God hears the cry of the afflicted, that He hates wickedness and injustice, and that there is a Day when all will be set right. On that Day, there will be no clever defence barrister to twist words, to cast doubt on the honest, heart-rending testimony of a broken individual. Instead, our God who does see all trouble and grief will consider it to take it in hand (v14). Justice will be served. Wickedness will be punished. For the sake of the defendant, I pray he repents and believes before that Day.

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As I reflect on the events of this past couple of weeks, I find my mind drifting to another courtroom, a heavenly one. But this time, I am the defendant. My heart knows my guilt. Then my barrister stands to sum up the evidence against me. Before He speaks, He walks over to me. He takes my hand in His – such relief to hold a hand at a moment like this. I feel the scars on His hand. And lifting our entwined hands up, He declares before the heavenly court “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions; as far as the east is from the west, that’s how far I have removed your transgressions from you.” (Isa 44:22; Ps 103:12). This time, the words “NOT guilty!” which reverberate around the courtroom bring a sob of joy from the depths of my being.