Author: words and signs

A heart like God’s heart

David, was the greatest king of Israel, and ancestor of the Kind of all Kings, Jesus. Many find it hard to comprehend how such a loving and devoted follower of the mighty God, could fall so badly, and sin so grievously in his life as God’s king.

As we read the Psalms of David, we are lifted high into the presence of God, and our souls delight in the glory that we see there. David loved the Lord his God from a small boy. He spent protracted periods of time tending his father’s sheep, where God prepared him to lead His people as the nation of Israel. David cared for the sheep and protected them- even from wild animals that would have torn him apart. He was delivered from them and certain death. David was emboldened to face Goliath and conquer him with a small stone and massive faith. David had no inkling of the future, but rejoiced in the presence and creative gifts of God his Saviour, which we now enjoy.

David was left out and overlooked when the time came for the important work of choosing a leader, but God did not forget him. David was chosen to be the king- God’s king of Israel, with a character like God and a picture of Christ Himself. When we read David’s words, we see a man consumed with His God and familiar with His ways. As we observe David and how he dealt with ungodly Saul, we see a man conversant with respect for God and the commandments laid down. A man willing to wait on God’s time and for His will to be brought into practice.

David was dead-set against the enemies of God and those who refused to follow Him earnestly. David had plenty of time to know His God in the fields, and as an outcast on the mountains. When the time was right, he took the crown of leadership, given to him by God. He was without doubt Israel’s greatest king and his exploits defy belief. David knew where his strength came from and trusted in the Lord and overcame his enemies and brought peace to Israel.

“The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.” Psalm 10

There were incidents in his life, which showed his human weaknesses and failings. In a time of indolence and backsliding and ungodly complacency, he fell in love with a beautiful woman and was unfaithful to God and his family, as he pursued her. He then had to cover his sin and caused others to commit murder for him. He seems to accept this situation for some time, until the prophet, Nathan, spoke out to him about his great sin. David repents when he sees his sin, and is restored.

When I read the book of Psalms, especially David’s Psalms, there are sentiments expressed that cause me to question whether David was particularly called to carry an illness that most do not seem to have to bear. I believe David was a Bi Polar person, and it seems obvious as I read the Psalms, especially the early writings.

David suffering significantly in his inner life. He knows what sleeplessness does, he asks for rest, he values rest and sleep as a gift from God. And yet it eludes him. His Psyche is full of sorrow and his tears and weakness is uncontrollable. We feels the close proximity of his foes and paranoia dogs his days and nights. It seems he is tasting the bitterness of his future unfaithfulness to God, and God is preparing him for this time. David hates sin, as he sees it in his own life and in others. He is jealous for the holiness of God.

“Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.

17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.” Psalm 7

David has had time to consider the ways of God and the outcome of not living in them. His grasp of depressive mind set and thought processes is clear. He knows that thoughts lead him down into the grave. He asks God to protect His mind and soul from the onslaughts of the enemy- he knows the work of Satan, and recognises his work in his mind. God clearly has given David “insight” also known as wisdom. David values this quality and it helps him to identify and fight the weakness within.

“Lord my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.” Psalm 7

The writer has been very aware of his own sins and has spent time languishing in sorrows and searching his heart in the depths of the night. He finds solace in the night, and yet it is painful and full of torment as he considers his many failings. He recognises this as not evil, but tells us we should tremble before the Lord, and stay away from sin. God teaches His people in dire circumstances.

“Tremble and do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the Lord.” Psalm 4

It is therefore shocking that such a person should fall down into serious sin. David indulged himself in things that were out of character for him. He found himself in a time of less anguish, and let himself be dragged into temptation and sin by the foolishness of his own mind. He was so out of fellowship with his God that he seemed not to notice, or to excuse himself. He had to be confronted with the enormity of what he had done. David repented.

We again see the heart of God. A soft heart that baulks at sin and runs from it. David repents in dust and ashes, and finds his God to be his Redeemer.

The abject lows of a once depressive mood in younger days, were replaced with self-belief and grandiose ideas that David could do what he liked and get away with it. The highs and the lows indicate someone who suffers at both ends of the spectrum of mind illness. David knows them both, and we see that reflected in his writing.

This does not seem to be acknowledged in historical analysis of these texts. The stigma is such that we refuse to believe that someone who suffers in their mind, could be anything to God. Many refuse to think of mind illness as any other illness, but load it with spiritual negativity. People who suffer are marked down as “unworthy” and even evil. The mixture of thinking about mind illness and evil spirits is supremely unhelpful. Many Christians will not talk about their suffering because of this reality. Spiritual lessons are therefore lost, and abilities are side-lined and the person reduced to almost nothing.

“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.” Psalm 13

The constant forwards and backwards flow of endless thoughts that cause such anguish. David calls on God to intervene, before he should be defeated by the inner enemies that grieve his soul. The enemy seems to get the upper hand, and the only escape is death. David asks that his enemies will not triumph over him. This ebb and flow is a constant battle for Bi Polar sufferers.

The Apostle Paul speaks of being out of his mind for Christ… Paul talks about being “out of his mind” in his thoughts and deeds for his Master, but being “in his right mind” for the sake of the people of God. Paul knows there are other ways of knowing than the cultural equivalents of his day.

“ If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5

Paul states the “madness” of being dead to this world and alive to Christ. He sees no shame in being thought “out of his mind” indeed it is the Christians reality in a dead and sinful world.

The Lord Jesus Christ suffered ultimate spiritual and emotional anguish, but no one would ever say He was suffering in His mind or was “out of His mind.” We have become very influenced by the rationality of Western Education and our post-modern thinking and this has affected our interpretation of Scripture. The Prophets were all men and women of deep spirituality and had experiences from God of visions and understandings, messages and dramas to speak to Gods people. They were considered “rubbish” by society and rejected as out of touch. Paul also tells us of his experiences with God-

“And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.” 2 Corinthians 12

Could Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” have been an emotional and thought-centred disability? This would explain his devotion and dedication to Christ and His church, and his willingness to suffer such ignominy for the sake of Christ, and his monumental passion for lost souls and God’s kingdom. Paul felt deeply for the person of Christ and for His people, and went through deep troubles for their sake.

The Lord who made the body, also made the mind, and He knows it well. He knows how mind sufferers suffer, and identifies with them. Our modern day, Christian attitudes are at best, murky, and our reticence to see that kind of suffering in the Scriptures is curious. David sinned and failed, but he was still “a man after God’s own heart” He is an encouragement to all who suffer and a lesson, that mind illness is special and God asks only certain people to carry this burden.

It is a privilege to suffer after the great lives of faith, revealed in the Scriptures. It is Christ-like to suffer as the Saviour of the world, who bore our sins in His own body on the tree and suffered anguish like no other. In His sufferings He bought forgiveness and peace for all who come to Him. We need to be careful what we ask for. To become like Christ is a universal expression of devotion, but also a seeking to identify in His sufferings, which is a deep and serious commitment. David knew it. It was his delight, and also Christ’s to draw near to God in that way- in faith knowing the Father in heaven is in control.

10 “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” 2 Corinthians 4

We should not look down on mind sufferers, but see them as people who are sensitive to the Spirit of God and who seek the face of the Father for comfort and joy. They know for sure that the help of other people is no use. When the chips are down, only God is sufficient. Paul knew the power of God in his ability to fight and control his thought life…

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10

The way mind sufferers think is helpful and can be a help to those who don’t suffer. The problem is no one wants to know about mind illness, in case it should affect them. So all is kept quiet. How wonderful to have the record in the Scriptures, which is such an encouragement to those who suffer in their thinking and feeling. That the Greatest King and the “man after God’s own heart” should understand their every treadmill and depression and manic episode, is no less than their Saviour God.

Many believed in Him

John 8:27-30

They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.

The Jews were debating with Jesus and rehearsing their foolish assumptions and faulty understanding about what he said. Jesus speaks of his soon coming death, but they are unable to comprehend the depths of the meaning or its application to them. He tells them plainly that if they refuse him and fail to accept his person, they will die in their sins.

They didn’t understand anything…

Christ foretells his death on a cross, lifted up above the earth, which they all knew from the Old Testament scriptures, but could not swallow the reality of the one who stood in front of them. They looked upon his glory, which he had with the Father before the world was made, but it couldn’t be seen by their deliberately blinded eyes.

It was not a halo of light, or Ultra-violet radiance from his clothes, or the majesty of his stature as a man, but his perfect obedience to his father in heaven. Jesus did nothing on his own, nor did he speak a single word without the Father and the Spirit. The three persons of the eternal God, walked the earth in perfect harmony, but their glory was not seen by unbelieving eyes. Even as the religious leaders watched miracles happen in front of their eyes, they would not believe. They assigned the power to anything but the living God. The contortions of their minds finally held them in spiritual chains, which they could not escape from.

As Jesus spoke about His death and who he is, the father was with Jesus, and the Spirit dwelt in him fully. It was seen only by eyes that had been changed so that they could spiritually perceive who Christ was and is. His majesty is obvious to all who have a mind to see it. So we also, if we do not believe we will not see.

However, as the Lord spoke, there were many standing around who put their faith in him. They at that moment, saw his glory, they recognized who he was and understood what he came to do. Their eyes and understanding were opened and they silently and eternally trusted in him.

Many were brought into the kingdom of Christ and found a new start and a true love for this amazing man who stood before them. Many others were lost to him, because of their stubborn refusal to see what was being shown to them.

To know him is to have our eyes opened, or minds activated and our stony hearts made soft. It takes a miracle to change human thinking and to use thought processes that show the truth about ourselves and recognize the Man who calls us. Salvation is of the Lord, and when we hear his voice, may we come to Him and find a faith that saves us from the sin of blind unbelief…

An Ordinary man

If you saw him, he was completely unremarkable. There was nothing about his outward appearance that marked him out for any other regular man. He was not handsome, or striking and your eyes would not linger on his form, or pick him out in a crowd, nor return to have another look.

He gave up his job as a handyman, to become a hobo, wandering the countryside, living rough, without home or employment. Some would say, irresponsible and a drifter without ties or troubles. He wore the same shirt every day and slept under hedgerows or caves in the hills; got food from fields and fruiting shrubs along the paths and roads that crossed the landscape; stayed the odd night with good friends, who understood his way and loved him nevertheless.

Until he opened his mouth, and you would realise after just a few words, that this was no ordinary, ordinary man. His speech was laced with deep thought and teaching that had never been heard before, except maybe from the old prophets from the past, who no one listened to anymore. There was no apology for his ideas and he spoke authoritatively about his father, who he totally obeyed and reflected his purity in all he did and said.

His stamina to work from dawn to dusk, was out of this world and he never turned a single needy person away, no matter how he felt. The folk of the countryside loved him and couldn’t get enough of his speech, it filled them with a hope beyond the grave and that their wrongdoing could be completely forgiven and wiped out. His heart wept for those who remained hardened and cold, and longed for them to see their folly and bend their knees to him. Few of them did in the end.

His formal education was limited and stretched no further than teenage years. The local synagogue school taught him to read the Old Testament scriptures, which he understood way beyond any of his teachers. His ability to know and understand was complete and his application to wisdom, and total obedience to God, made him a perfect man.

He spoke to everyone in a way they could understand and relate to. He was not embarrassed to talk to deep-dyed sinners, and readily drew their attention to the difficulty that kept them away from him. Some gave it up and shed the ragged clothes of unbelief and the cloying ties to this world’s commitments. A few could not give up what they held most dear and kept it, losing the freedom of this man’s forgiving heart.

He was a Jew, born of a middle-Eastern mother and a father with whom he is equal, this unrecognizable God of heaven and earth, made so fragile and dependant on a mere mortal to sustain him. He is still the reader of hearts and the searcher of intentions and attitudes his outward form not of note nor obviously strong. He speaks through the words of weak human voices, in many ways to all of us, and touches us in the hands and lips of the meek.

The fragile, lonesome man is Lord of the Universe, who never sleeps and who’s understanding no one can fathom, yet he was tired and needed to sleep and rest, just like us and suffered pain when he did not get the rest his body needed. From tiny baby in the manger to criminal dying in agony on a Roman gibbet, this true God, without beginning and end, spends a lifetime on the planet he made, to save it’s worthless inhabitants.

This is no ordinary man, nor ordinary life. This life is perfect in every way, strong in every regard, loving to the utmost extent and worthy only of a true God. As we look on his weakness in human flesh and hear his voice calling us to follow, who will not listen and obey? This voice echoes through the history of human events and repeatedly speaks of another way, which will lead us to put our hand in the hands that were nailed to a wooden cross and to forsake our sin.

You may be an ordinary man or woman, but you too can be like this man, and become heirs of his fathers throne, with all your faults and failings dealt with, so that the ordinary becomes extra-ordinary and human flesh can put on immortality and incorruption.

This ordinary man still lives and calls to us again in these days of pain and apathy. He knows all your troubles, he has felt them too, and can give the strength to overcome and make you the person he intended you to be.

Doctrine or dishes?

The dilemma of roles continues to trouble the Christian community. We are still struggling with ideas regarding who does what. We are still finding it hard to grasp that women can be interested in theology and are often much better at clear thinking than their male counter parts. The ethos is still around men doing a set of activities and women doing the other bits. The other bits seem to involve the lower cognitive roles.

The talk and social conditioning revolves around assigning women and men to set tasks, with no regard for choice or preference. To talk of such issues, is tantamount to heresy, in some quarters.

Should I study doctrine, or will to “spoil me” for doing the dishes? If I read the deep councils of God, will it stop me wanting to pick up after everyone else?

The more we study God’s word, one to one with Him, with the gracious Holy Spirit, the more able we are to shoulder the humble life of Christ. It goes against our grain. We easily think we are something or someone. Ministry of all kinds, can be spoiled by thinking it’s all about elevated people. We verge on the failings of past religion and think we need a human mediator between ourselves and God.

Doctrine is difficult, but without it we are weak. Our understanding of Scripture depends on another person digesting it for us and then telling us about it… even logically that tells us we are not personally close to the Living God…

There are no short cuts. As we come aside from world orientated thoughts and deeds, and delve into the Word of God, we come into His direct presence and He speaks through the written word and the witness of the Spirit of God within us.

If we don’t know the Word for ourselves, we will never be able to discern its truth or make godly judgments about life. If we don’t pursue the life of God every day, we will be weak and ineffective servants.

Doing the dishes is serving God, but we all must have the life within and the solid and reliable Word of God strengthening our souls and growing in our personal and particular relationship with our Father, our Saviour and the Holy Spirit…

The idea that it is the men who are most suited to cognitive orientated activities, is damaging to all Christians. If you don’t delve into doctrine, then hiding over the sink, is the road to no relationship with God at all.

Let us encourage each other to be the people we are meant to be, learning and developing our minds and souls to love the Lord more and to be like Him.

Finding Him

Acts 17:24-27 NIV
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”

The fact that God is sovereign in all circumstances and in the lives of all people, is revealed to all. The Eternal God who made everything that exists, has set the structures and the systems of this world in such a way that we will see His character revealed. The natural world with its beauty and wonder is a reflection of His grandeur and divine majesty and power. The realisation that every part is joined and influences itself and exists in infinite levels of beauty, is beyond our understanding. The fact that eternity is revealed in the physical world, and generates endlessly in mind blowing fractils, takes our understanding to deeper and deeper levels.

The delicate and intricate systems perpetuated in human and animal forms, so seemingly easily, is a wonder of conception, birth and life.
Plants, yet more amazement as every leaf and flower is a unique form and also revealing the power of fractils.

Everything is purposely made for function, beauty and the extension of spiritual truths mirrored in the divine design. Human blindness towards this God is choice. The facts that are so obvious stand before us and reveal the whole panoply of The Creators design. If you look large at the mountain ranges or look smaller at the veins on a leaf, the same imprint of God is there. We are without excuse.

The miracle of living beings, creatures and all growing things, demonstrates the creativity of a being so huge and way bigger than our planet. There are natural forces at work in our world that can destroy the whole planet in a short space of time. There are other forces, political, economic and social that dictate culture and lifestyle for millions of people at a time. There are spiritual forces which can manipulate human will and keep them blind and foolish.

God seeks to reveal Himself to us as a race of His creatures and is not far from any of us. He has set up world history and the organisation of human affairs, so that we will be encouraged to ask questions about higher ideas than our own. We do this, especially in music and Art and philosophy. Humans seek to know what they cannot see or touch. We reach out to know Him.

The beauty of this world is not enough, so we reach further. We seek knowledge about a higher creator, a being who has understanding, something like ours, but unknown to us. God has purposes that His Word is made known. He has recorded it and kept it, so that human beings can read it and search its pages to see Him and come to know and understand His Truth. If we persist and search with all our hearts, we will find Him.

The reward of confidence in God

Hebrews 10:35-39 NIV

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”

There are times we are cast down and start to loose our way as we walk along the road of life. Even as a Christian we can become sad and the disappointments of life take centre place on our thoughts. Events happen and coping with the thoughts and feelings they generate is difficult.

In the middle of the fight against these waves of sorrow, doubts and fears raise their unwanted voices. Perhaps Jesus didn’t die for me after all. Perhaps His love does not extend to me.

At this point, this scripture tells us to throw those ideas out and hold fast to the confidence in the Word of God that we have believed and obeyed all our Christian life. If we hold fast in our faith to the promises of God, written for us in the Bible we will be rewarded with strength in the Spirit and strong faith.

The words are strong and require strength of resolve from us. They are not soft and comforting in a compliant way. We are to persevere, keep going, even when everything seems against us. The comfort is that one great day, our Saviour and Lord will come and we will receive the promises He has made to us. Some promises we have right now, and some will be fully revealed in that last and glorious day.

In the mean time we please our God by operating in faith. This faith that is the primary feature of our lives, is what pleases the Lord. This faith can be seen by those who know us, and we will not be deflected from it. Indeed, God says if we do shrink back to dependence on other things, He is not pleased with us. God is number one. We go forward in our Christian lives in His faith and we never renege on our devotion to Him. Only faith saves and only faith will see us through to the end. A false faith ultimately fails, and we should fear that and ensure our devotion does not fail by attention to our spiritual evidences of our love for our God. The one who does not love, does not love to draw near to the Lord, and so will fall away.

The overcoming life is the life that saves, and the faith that drives it is pleasing to the Lord. Our deeds matter because without the evidence in our lives that God is at the centre of our being, our faith is vain. Christ Himself is our centre and sun and He will give us the faith and confidence to carry on.

Watch out for His coming again. Love that day. Press on towards that high calling in Christ and let no one turn you back. Draw near, let the love grow and the power of the Spirit of God will be in your life as you pray, read, study and meditate on the very Words of God. The reward is a holy confidence in God and a faith that is certain.

Love and holiness

God is love. He is in His whole being, love. Everything He does is rooted in love. However, God also has wrath. This is another side of love. God hates sin. Sin destroys everything and is practiced in our world by us as people. Our world is ruined by the effects of sin and as humans we have destroyed our world in all aspects. Physical, political, spiritual aspects of life are tainted with our sinful mindsets and desires.

God will eventually deal with that sin finally and absolutely, and it will spoil no more. Those who insist in holding onto it, will be destroyed also. The foolish idea that God will in the end, let everyone off, is not love. God’s pure love will not allow His heaven or His people to be ruined by this sin. Sin is in its essence hatred of God and all that is good, so it will not last. Love conquers all. Love hates sin and runs from it.

The three persons of the trinity relate to each other in love. There is no arguments, rancour, ill-will, petulance, disagreement, or self-seeking. There is only love. Because love reigns there is also peace. There is no fear, guilt or shame, because all is perfect. The state of love is the state of perfection. This is the glory of God. This is holiness.

We do not even recognise this, because we are sinners. We are used to sin and we actually want sinful stuff. Sinful desires are part of us, which is why we need a Saviour. We are laden down with guilt and shame, and we need God to point it out to us. God has given us His word so that we can understand our need, seek Him, and find Him. His astounding love wants to rescue us from the consequences of our sin.

If I say I know God and I believe He loves me, that same love must be in me. This is the trademark of a Christian. This attribute of love will give me the motivation to also pursue holiness. No one will see God without this holiness. This applies to every Christian.

Love is more than we realise. Everything God does, He does in love. This is hard for us to take in, because God allows some very painful and testing events to happen to us. Often we cannot see His love and think it isn’t there. We mistrust Him, and it makes things worse. But His love is as strong as death and no one can stop its power. We must be careful with love, to do that it asks, and obey as it guides us in our lives and shows us the way to heaven.

There is no love without God and there is no holiness without Him either. If we have no love – the true and powerful love of God in our hearts, we will also lack holiness. So may we seek to by holy, and to have love for other Christians and those who don’t believe, that we will be a worthy daughters in His kingdom.

Stand up

The Lord is able to make his people to stand. We cannot stand in our own strength – we have none. But God has the power that raised Jesus from the dead, and we can live in that strength and excercise it in our lives. Christ can make us stand and he can make us stand together. We do not naturally want to stand together as a body of his people and we carp and nitpick about our perceived differences.

We are different and we are meant to be – God does not make copies. Therefore we have to learn to bear with each other and be large hearted and loving and kind. God gives plenty of room for us to choose options in life and to think freely, so we should encourage each other in the gifts and abilities that God has given us, without illwill or favouritism.

It is very hard to stand in the company of this world. The workplace can be such a testing environment, and can cause us much pain, but God has put us there on purpose. It is God’s testing ground, to build Christian character and an arena of witness and testimony.

The church environment can also be a difficult place. Christians can be just as judgemental as anyone else and it can seem that we, as rescued failures, are the first to point fingers and blame each other. It should not be like this at all, as we are all guilty of a host of sins and have needed the most costly act of sacrifice to pay for what we have done.

Judging others hurts them and us. It makes us bitter and insular and small-minded. It separates us for other people and we loose the opportunity to be gracious and truly generous and to learn from them.

Perhaps the idea that our sins are not quite so bad as other peoples, comforts us. In our minds we construct a heirarchy of wrongdoing. Our faults and failings are not really as bad as other really big sinners, who have fallen into worse things than we have. We grade sins in order of our ideas of badness, and people who succumb to the bad ones are less deserving than better sorts of people.

All sins are wrong. All sins should be avoided and fought against, and our aim is personal holiness, as Christ lived his life on earth among us. Our desires should be to walk with God and serve him whole heartedly. Outward sins are seen, but perhaps the worst sins are those of the heart and mind, where no one sees -our bitter thoughts and selfish attitudes.

If we should harbour such states of mind, then the thougths will become words and deeds of spite and jealousy, fuelled by resentment.

These are the real rotteness within. We become white-washed graves which look clean, but inside all is rottenness and death.

It is easy to find ourselves going down this road, indeed, it is our natural condition. The end product leaves us with ugliness, mistrust, gossip and insincerity.

To change our hearts require the greatest miracle of all, and we require daily miracles of grace to sustain us and keep our hearts God-glorifying. God himself had to enter the world, walk among us in sorrow and grief, and allow himself to be killed to pay for our wrong ways and morally dead hearts. This is our state of being. It is not attractive, and unbelievers see it and stay away from church. They see what we are like, better than we ourselves.!

Let us not be fooled. We are rotters, through and through. This world can build us up and make us think we are something, but it is a dupe. We read our theology and think we are better than most.! It will stop us humbling ourselves before Christ and each other, and prevent us witnessing meaningfully to other people and ultimately keep us away from walking with our God and enjoying all he has for us.

To stand up requires backbone we don’t have, love we don’t have and stamina beyond this world’s reckoning. Anyone can have these qualities. We have to want them more than anything. Pray for them, ask for them, set our hearts towards Christ and follow him. It’s easy…. and yet so impossible…!

Jesus said to us, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Matthew 9:23) This is the universal crunch. Do I want him, or not? How far will I go?

He wants everything and when you give it, you will receive more than you could ever imagine. This is how we stand up.

The path of power

Psalm 34

This Psalm was penned by David, in response to his attempt to fool Abimelech that he was suffering mind illness. Abimelech realised David was fake and drove David out of his region.

David was familiar with mind illness because He himself was a sufferer. In this Psalm he rejoiced in the deliverance of the Lord from his foes. David sees that it is the intervening hand of God who rescues him in all circumstances. He identifies some states of mind – troubles, broken hearted, concern about personal safety, condemnation, need for refuge, oppression, disappointment, depression, paranoia, persecution, need for asylum – these all on the list. David understands the elements of illness and uses his knowledge to try to dupe Abimelech. David is not squeaky clean…

King Saul also became progressively ill in his mind. He rejected the Lord and the Lord rejected him. It is easy to associate the presence of mind illness as an indicator of the absence of the the Spirit of God. We tend to link the pain of mind illness to a lack of the Holy Spirit, in a way that we don’t link physical illness. There are always those who associate any illness with God’s rejection. The acute sufferings of Job teach a different lesson. God permits the righteous to suffer, as Jesus suffered, and is a mark of godliness and rejection of worldliness.

In the life of the Christian, suffering moulds us into the image of His Son, Jesus. Mind illness is particular. It is fearful and hurts us with little hope of relief, but it causes us to turn to God in a way like nothing else. David was known as a man after God’s own heart, and such internal and deep suffering would make him to have such a mind. The suffering Saviour also had such a mind.

Mind suffering strengthens a person in a way like nothing else, and shows us the heart of God like nothing else. God draws close to a sufferer of mind illness and teaches lessons that cannot be learned any other way. He reveals Himself to sufferers. Their inner eyes of faith and insight, see God and know God in a profound way. The mind has so many labyrinths that it is impossible to sort out without insight. The mind sufferer often has this gift of insight that teaches and strengthens the psyche.

Wisdom is insight and God offers us this rare gift, if we just ask. He will teach us wisdom’s way, but it will not be as we expect. His way is the fight with sin and self. His way is a life coping with suffering that we hadn’t bargained for. It is a life long close walk with God where we will learn from Him to trust and obey. We will learn to listen to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to us: we will learn His voice and not the voice of another.

To walk with God involves saying goodbye to our heartfelt desires and wishes, and following the narrow way. Suffering is part of that and mind suffering the most difficult. Many don’t get through and spend life trying to just cope with life. Others find the key and the insight they are given, enables them to examine thoughts, and courage gives the ability to face fears and doubts. With the power of the Spirit and the truth of the Word, they become strong and bold for the sake of Christ.

Mind illness is greatly misunderstood, especially by groups that have a wrong view of the Christian life. We run from it because it is scary. We ignore it because we can’t face the stigma. We keep it quiet because it is regarded as shameful.

David was a sufferer. Christ also suffered for us in that way. Many great and prolific Christian writers, artists, missionaries all suffered this way. Maybe it is not so much a disgrace, as a glory. Maybe it is an indicator of deep spiritual abilities. Maybe we need to turn our mindset around and change our attitudes. Maybe the people at the bottom of the “regarded” pile are not what we think…

Calvin, Luther, Cowper, Newton, Crosby, Spurgeon and very many more suffered deeply in their minds and emotions. It seems anyone who stands up to work for God whole-heartedly, will probably struggle with mind illness. Christian sufferers are not pathetic weaklings but people who have huge fights with the mind, and who can have the power to do great things for God, even as they struggle and overcome. The Christian community needs to change its views and realise that these kinds of illnesses can be overcome, and sufferers have so much to contribute. The nature of the illness and the strength of the stigma, probably means they will suffer alone, but step out for Christ in their own way.

There is no limit to the power of God. There is no limit to the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. To seek Him and His daily filling of our thoughts and therefore our words and deeds, is the path of power, for those who will claim it… It involves suffering, for those who act in courage.. 2 Chronicles 19:11 “Act with courage and may the Lord be with those who do well.” What ever God has put on you heart to do, you must do. “He will show you great and unsearchable things that you know not.” Jeremiah 33:3

Before time was

In those bright and glorious realms of eternity, God fellowshipped with God.

Before the Earth, stars or countless Universes were formed by this God, a decision was made.

This holy, all-powerful being who is the One God, and the three persons together as the blessed trinity, made a plan together. This is a deep mystery…

There were no bargains struck. No political discussions. No arguments or debates regarding roles or responsibilities. There was no payment deals, or mercenary pacts agreed. There was only Love.

This love determined the rescue plan for a race of beings not yet made. Beings who would revolt against this Loving God and set up their own kingdoms instead of Him.

Love struck the plan- the Father would send the Son to pay the ransom that He Himself demanded for the payment of sins that would be committed. The Son would become one of them – human, and would live with these human people and show His love, only to be rejected and killed.

The Eternal Son in doing this would become the Saviour of those who would believe in Him and the Judge of those who would not.

The Holy Spirit would do a spiritual work in the hearts of men and women, so that they would believe in the Son – Jesus. The Spirit would convince people of their sinfulness and allow them to see the personal need for repentance and there forgiveness of God.

Those who would repent would become the Children of God, those who would not, would be forever judged and pay for their own sins. So, all three persons in this glorious trinity, would be fully involved in this amazing rescue mission. The other created beings would see this and marvel at the grace of God.

The humans that became His children were to be commissioned to spread the good news to everyone, so that everyone would have the chance to believe. This is the greatest act of love – to speak this unpopular message to rebellious people. For some it meant laying down their lives and for many it meant loosing everything, even as Jesus did.

God made the world. He made everything. The prophesies in His Word all came true. Jesus came and the plan was carried out. The Eternal Son died for you and rose again, victorious forever. He calls to you to come…

Which kind of person will you be?

Will you repent and be changed to be like Jesus…? or will you choose judgment and pay forever for your sin?

Many hear this plan and respond with anger. They quibble and carp with the Living God at His mercy… they harden their hearts and never come. Your response to this is vital… Which kind of person will you be?

Whatever you choose, Love will win… all hate will be forever shut up with itself, and Love will conquer all.

Daughters of the Kingdom

Women who glorify God