Musings

Family hiding from the storm Found no place at the keeper's door It was for this a Child was born To save a world so cold and hollow The sleeping town did not know That lying in a manger low A Saviour King who had no home Has come to heal our sorrows Is there room in your heart (3x) For God to write His story? Shepherds counting sheep at night Do not fear the glory light You are precious in His sight God has come to raise the lowly Is there room in your heart (3x) For God to write His story? You can come as you are But it may set you apart When you make room in your heart And trade your dreams for His glory Make room in your heart (2x) Mother holds the Promise tight Every wrong will be made right The road is straight and the burden's light For in His hands He holds tomorrow .... This is a beautiful song. As I listened to it, I could not help but be impressed by the question: Is there room in your heart for God to write His story? The moment...

This morning, I read Paul’s words to the Corinthians where he pleads with them ‘not to receive the grace of God in vain’ (2 Cor.6:1). The Corinthian believers appeared not to be enjoying all the benefits of God’s grace. Perhaps they had not fully grasped their position in Christ and His salvation. This position of grace is beautifully illustrated in the story of David and Mephibosheth, where we see the wondrous outworking of King David’s benevolence towards the helpless descendant of Saul. The story is found in its entirety in 2 Samuel 9 and is well worth a read. David enquires if there is anyone left from the house of Saul to whom he can show kindness (grace) for Jonathan’s sake. Ziba, the servant, informs him of the lame Mephibosheth and the king sends for him out of Lo Debar. When Mephibosheth presents himself before the king, he falls on his face and David says to him: Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will re...

My reading this morning was James 4:11-12: Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? When reading the epistle of James, we should keep in mind that James grew up with the Lord and saw perfect, divine behaviour first-hand. The word Christian means ‘little Christ’, therefore we are to imitate Christ’s walk as revealed in the New Testament and we are grateful to James for these practical guidelines. The Lord never spoke evil of anyone, yet He knew the intents of people’s hearts. He only spoke righteous words of judgement against the hypocritical religious leaders of the day with divine authority. The whole area of church discipline is another matter, but we as believers are not to judge. We often jump to wrong conc...

C.S. Lewis wrote that joy is the 'serious business of heaven'. Could there be anything more joyous for us than Christ's coming into the world to procure redemption for mankind? The promise of His coming is found right at the outset of the Old Testament (Genesis 3:15). He would come to crush the head of Satan  and that is precisely what He did on the cross:   ...having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.   Colossians 2:14-15 (NIV) No wonder the angel proclaimed this message to the shepherds in Bethlehem that night: Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord! Luke 2:10-11 (NKJV) The people were to rejo...

Do you ever feel sometimes that you need a shake to wake up? Well, I do, and that is why I always go back to the Book of James to read words which have a rude-awakening effect. Perhaps James is addressing issues that he has learned from personal experience. He writes in ch 1:19 that we should be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath . What he writes about the tongue later are some of the strongest words in the New Testament. I wonder if he was somewhat vocal against the Lord’s teaching and that is why the Lord specifically appeared to him after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7)? Every verse in James is packed full of practical truth and wisdom. This morning I was reading verses 22-27 of the first chapter and again I am deeply challenged by the LIVING Word of God: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after lo...

It struck me as I started to read the Book of James that James describes himself as ‘a SERVANT of God and the Lord Jesus Christ’. We know from other sources that this James was the half-brother of the Lord. He grew up with Him in a normal family environment and would have shared many aspects of life with Him, yet he does not introduce himself as 'James, the half-brother of the Lord'. What made him use the word ‘servant’ when we read in John 7:5 that he and his other brothers did not believe in the Lord prior to His crucifixion? THE RESURRECTION of course! 1 Corinthians 15:7 tells us that James saw the risen Christ. What a revelation to the unbelieving James! Now it became clear to him that all the things Jesus had said were true and that He was indeed the Messiah. It is also precious to note that Jude describes himself as ‘a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James’! Again, an unbelieving half-brother of the Lord declares himself a ‘SERVANT’ of Christ. For tho...

This is a beautiful song of hope. Just as I am reflecting this Sunday morning on God and this wonderful life of faith I have received as a gift from Him, my heart goes out to all who are struggling with doubt, diversity, conflict, oppression, illness, slander, the list goes on.... Maybe we humans tend to look everywhere else in life for comfort in tough moments other than in the presence of God. It is in the stillness that He comes to us and fills us with his serenity and peace. The way to God is through faith in Jesus Christ the Messiah. He patiently waits for us to turn to Him with all our hearts and acknowledge that He is the Son of God. He loved us so much that He offered Himself as a sacrifice in our stead so that we could be declared 'righteous' before a holy God. The apostle Paul, who once murdered Christians, wrote some of the deepest mysteries of the faith he once vehemently opposed. He attributed this dramatic change to a living encounter with the risen Christ (...