Weekly Inspiration
12th November
Daniel
6, v16: "The king said to Daniel,
“May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”"
Daniel 6, v22: "My God
sent His angel and he shut the mouths
of the lions. They have not hurt
me. because I was found innocent in His sight."
In
the situation that Daniel found himself, all
seemed lost. The king who loved
him, was depressed, and yet, somehow, hoped
in the God whom Daniel expounded, believed
in, and to whom he prayed continuously.
We know that Daniel
was delivered from the lion’s den and said “MY GOD SENT HIS ANGEL AND HE
SHUT THE MOUTHS OF THE LIONS”
I recall an amazing happening to
one we know very well. It was in
the days before Rands and Cents. The family were at the end of their holiday,
and all they had for their return trip was a ten pound note, which was
sufficient to see them home in Johannesburg. It was a very windy day and they
were taking a last look around on the beach;
the man felt in his pocket to make sure the note was in it place, and to
his horror it was gone. They searched everywhere and as they looked around they
prayed, and then the most amazing sight confronted them.
Caught securely in a bush
that was blowing about vigorously, was
the missing note. God had
heard their prayers and had wonderfully handled that impossible situation
This is a family who, like
Daniel, believes in, trusts, and
lifts their hearts in prayer to God and He never disappoints them.
Yes our God will rescue us , WHEN WE TRUST IN HIM.
5th November
Matthew 9,
v 21: "She
said to herself, “ If I only touch His garment, I shall be made well”"
In this happening, we see desperation and
determination, but above all we see deep faith in Jesus Christ.
So
many today are in desperate situations and have given up hope, they have no
vision, and thus no action plan. Others,
who have been there and have found the road ahead very difficult but have not
capitulated, and have moved forward, with the help and guidance of the Lord,
have not focused on the problem, but have lifted their hearts to the
solution – Jesus Christ.
We know of
someone, whose family life was most
unsettled, and unhappy. The husband
would, at the drop of a hat, walk out of a job when things were not to his
liking, and their finances were in jeopardy.
Ultimately a divorce followed resulting in tremendous hardship for the
wife and her children. However she
looked ahead, worked extremely hard and trusted in and believed totally in Jesus
and His promises. The family
have been able to rise above their hardships and know and witness to the
almighty power and love of God in their lives.
Let us, too, share with others what God can
do for them in their different situations, if they will
but trust and believe.
29th October
Luke 3, v5:
"The rough road shall be made smooth."
We all know how dangerous it is to travel
on bad roads, and in many of the areas that were hit by floods in our
country and also in Mozambique earlier
this year. some of these roads have still not been attended to, and those
who are forced to use them, do so because
they have no other choice.
In the
above Scripture passage, we are told of another kind of road, the road of the
Lord that needed repair. In the
time of John the Baptist these
roads were in bad shape. The moral
and spiritual condition of the nation had deteriorated,
and a clean up was necessary. To
prepare the road of the Lord - the
coming Messiah, the hearts of the people needed to be purged of selfishness,
greed and violence – all needed to turn from sin and to turn to God , to
confess their sins and to repent of them.
The
situation for us is no different – we too must keep our road to the Lord in
good repair, must daily turn from
sin and turn to God with truly repentant hearts.
A daily prayer:
”Create
in me a clean heart, o Lord, and renew a right Spirit within me .”
22nd October
Hebrews 2, v8 and 9:
"At present we do not see everything subject to Him, but we do see
Jesus."
There is no doubt about it, more and more people in our
country and in the world, and much of what is
happening is out of our control. The
evil prince of this world, Satan, is on the prowl.
We are warned in 1 Peter 5, v 8 “BE CAREFUL, watch out for attacks from
Satan, your
great enemy. He prowls around like
a hungry roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart.” Yes, Satan’s function is to destroy and he is very busy.
Yet,
despite all the difficulties that are bringing so much anxiety and
heartache, we need not despair.
In our valleys that are filled with
darkness and shadows – we see Jesus and are filled with hope, for He is our
good shepherd who will lead us and help us over those slippery rocks, through
the difficult terrain, perhaps even deeper into the valley, before He guides us
out, and upwards towards the hill tops and into the sunshine.
Simply trusting every day,
trusting through a stormy way;
Even when my faith is small, trusting
Jesus that is all,
Trusting as the moments fly, trusting
as the days go by.
Trusting
Him what're befall, Trusting
Jesus, that is all!
15th October
Matthew 7, v6:
"Judge not, that you be not judged."
How often one makes judgments on how we perceive others to be, not really
knowing anything about them, or the circumstances in which they are placed, let
alone any hardships they may be suffering.
It is said that very often
the faults we see in others are usually a reflection of our own.
Bishop Potter was sailing for Europe on a
large ocean liner. He found that the passenger allotted to share his cabin with
him was not altogether to his liking, and he did not trust him , and so took his
valuables to the
purser to be locked away in the safe.
The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked
,“It is alright Bishop, I’ll be very glad to take care of them for you . The
other man has also been and left his valuables with me."
If we could always remember how our Lord looks at us, with pure
unconditional love and that He expects us to see others in the same way – to
see them as He sees them and to love
them unconditionally. A tall order,
but let us pray that the Holy Spirit will enable us
to do as Jesus would have us do. Not to judge others.
8th October
Psalm 127, v1: "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builder labours in vain."
As I pondered over this scripture, I thought
about the mighty Titanic, the ship that was unsinkable – that had the latest
and safest design and everything of the very best.
Its
first trip drew the together the richest of the rich, to board her and the
poorest of the poor having gathered together all their savings, just in order to
sail in her.
This ship planned by the best brains, and supervised and constructed by
the finest engineers and workman.
Everything of the very best for this wonderful unsinkable ship – the
Titanic. But the unsinkable –
sank.
How often do we not hear someone say,
“If only, …then I could…” planning – building arranging, with
out any thought of the God who created us – always only our ways, and our desires, leaving God right out of it - doing as the singer
Frank Sinatra so often sang "I’LL DO IT MY WAY."
The S.C. Johnson and
Son building in Wisconsin has been labeled "The greatest piece
of 20th Century architecture" in America, but the truth of the
matter is that although it looks good it is flawed and unpractical.
What about us, are the foundations on which
we are building strong or are they on sinking sands?
Let us build on the only true foundation,
which is Jesus Christ our Lord, and build according to God’s word.
Win
Sainsbury
This page was last edited on 12 November, 2000
