Note to soul: Praise the Lord

"Praise the Lord, O my soul;" (Psalm 103)

It's encouraging that even the great worshipper, King David, had to have stern words with his own soul to focus in worship. In any time when I want to focus spiritually I find that I need to put my soul in its place or I'll quickly be distracted, inundated with fresh thoughts and feelings that make the quietest place so noisy. This Psalm of David encourages me.

He begins by commanding his soul to conform to what he believes in his spirit. He praises God for all that He is doing for him - God forgives, heals, redeems, crowns and satisfies. It's clear from the text that David was glad to remember these things and to be renewed like the eagle. This is coming from a time when David needed to remember, needed to make his soul focus.

With body and soul now submitting to his spirit's agenda, David begins to consider the character of the Lord God he knows so well, so intimately. David thinks about God's righteousness, compassion, grace,  faithfulness and love. David didn't simply learn these things from Sunday school. He had experienced these things in these times of intimacy, they'd been revealed to his spirit as he spent time with God even through the most difficult times.

Then it gets really interesting. As David has made his soul submit to the truth and as he tunes in to the character of God he begins to prophesy. David moves from expressing what he remembers and what he knows, in to sharing live what God is telling his spirit about the future. He sees the future of God's people being filled with His love and righteousness. David sees God's throne established and His dominion over all. David freely builds into a crescendo of praise.

It's as we offer to God our bodies and our minds that we can truly worship, and He can reveal His heart to us (from Romans 12:1-2).

Body, Soul and Spirit - Who am I?


For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12


Recently I've been thinking a lot about the distinction between soul and spirit. I'm beginning to think that understanding the difference is as important as appreciating the difference between my arms and my legs, or between my brain and my heart - maybe even more important.


The Scriptures are clear enough that there is a distinction, but there's plenty of room for mystery with the details. I'd like to be more strong in my spirit. It's my spirit that came alive when I came to Christ. It's with my spirit that I believe. 


I find it easy to let my soul lead the way. I think. I feel. It's hard to stop. I'd like to give my spirit some more airtime, but I need to learn how - and practise. 

Glory!

Glory is one of those Bible words that just keeps on coming up, yet it can seem mysteriously elusive and difficult to define.

When my son put me on the spot to explain what it meant my first thought was to get him to think about the awesomeness of a thunderstorm, something we both enjoy to watch. Later I looked in a dictionary to see if I could get some clarity but found that I was happier with the picture of the thunderstorm to understand it.

I think glory, like grace, is something that is better described through pictures and stories – better experienced than explained. God’s glory is revealed freely but it is easy to miss, like an ant walking over a gold bar looking for food.

Any idea of man’s glory, the triumphant hero, the victorious sportsman, is tangled with man’s ego. God has no need of such affirmation, He displays His glory for our benefit and because it simply His nature.

God’s glory is His greatness on show, His power and character displayed for the benefit of us.

What does it for you? What’s a picture that overwhelms you with God’s glory?

Flapping or soaring?

Do you not know? 

Have you not heard? 

The LORD is the everlasting God, 

the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

He will not grow tired or weary, 

and his understanding no one can fathom. 

He gives strength to the weary 

and increases the power of the weak. 

Even youths grow tired and weary, 

and young men stumble and fall; 

but those who hope in the LORD 

will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles; 

they will run and not grow weary, 

they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40

It seems that my natural approach to life is to rely on my own strength and resources. It doesn’t take long before I’m flapping around like a seagull, craning my neck to and fro, looking for the next thing to squawk at or the next hot chip to steal.

But God, my Heavenly Father, has made me to soar like an eagle. I’ve watched sea eagles, strong and graceful. They stretch out their wings and rise up on the currents of warm air; letting those currents lead them on. They move effectively and easily.

I choose to wait on God, to hope in Him. I want to glorify Him as I determine not to flap anxiously, but to soar with a heart full of trust.

Resolutions

A New Years resolution can be quite a burden. Any goal that we set for ourselves can be a weight that we carry. As I consider the new year ahead I plan to make it a year of carrying burdens lightly, to keep them in perspective and to lean on God for the outcomes.

I’ve learnt before that having a goal whether it’s to save money, to get fitter or to write more regularly can become a source of disappointment and discouragement, often taking the joy out of what we’re trying to do and taking an axe to our motivation.

So this year there is a condition to any resolutions I make. I don’t want a personal goal to become a distraction or a rod for my back. I’m making goals with this in mind.

My New Year’s Resolution is to carrying burdens lightly in 2012.

How can you carry your goals ‘lightly’ this year?

Light Burdens

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus, in Matthew 11:28-30


Jesus didn’t say that there aren’t any burdens to carry, but He did say that we could carry them lightly. Coming to Christ doesn’t mean a carefree life where we float around while He does everything for us. Yet neither does it mean that we are to walk so heavily laden with expectations that they bury us.

Jesus challenges His disciples to live with the values and purpose of His Kingdom. We are to love one another as He loved us. We are to be a light in our community. We are to become like Him. We are to ‘take up our cross daily’. Jesus was obviously not promising a walk in the park.

Strangely, Jesus says that carrying these burdens shouldn’t be difficult. Now, I’ve tried living up to these challenges. I’ve tried balancing them and managing them. But in my own strength I have failed. And I’ve seen others try and fail too, sometimes becoming discouraged at their weakness or dropping the ball altogether.

But Jesus is offering to us a different way. We’re not on our own. He doesn’t expect us to carry them without His help. He knows that we can’t possibly succeed that way. And so He invites to Himself and to His way. He draws us near and promises to teach us how to walk next to Him so that He can take the weight.

I have become intrigued and excited about this idea of light burdens. It somehow resonates with me. I want to live like that. I’m not interested in living without burdens and I’ve certainly tried to carry a whole lot on my own and learnt how awful that can be. So I’d like to take some time to develop my thoughts and hopefully let Jesus change the way I live. Feel welcome to come along for the ride and let me know how it’s working out for you.

Remember your leaders

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
Hebrews 13:7

I love this verse. It was one of the first verses I memorised after it replaced one of the heavy metal posters on my wall when I was 14. It contains great advice and is incredibly simple. We should exercise discernment as we consider who we want to imitate. I'm thankful for many leaders who have given me great examples for faith to follow.

A few days ago I heard that this Sunday is Pastors’ Appreciation Sunday. I thought I’d like to honour my pastor, Ps Jack Hanes, with a few words. He’s a leader who has certainly spoke the word of God to me, and I’d love to have faith like his. It seemed appropriate to honour Ps Jack’s style and go with an acrostic.

F – Faith, lots of faith. It’s not just something that he preaches.

A – Action to make the big and the tough decisions.

I – Integrity. I appreciate his preaching and example on real heart issues.

T – Truth. Always preaching the Word of God passionately and clearly.

H – Has other great attributes, like courage, humility and graciousness.

Thanks Ps Jack.