Ian’s lets listen to Jesus

So this is how you open the comments box: You simply tap or click on the title of the post you wish to comment on and the comment box will open below the post. Write your comment and don’t forget to to click or tap on post comment.

To make it easier for us to comment, I am going to give the references of the passage(s) that I have read and am making my observations on. To encourage you to read the passages and listen to what Jesus is saying to you, I will leave a couple of open-ended questions. Please remember this is very much still a learning curve, however I believe once we start relaxing and getting into the swing we can become more interactive. Any suggestions from you will always be welcome.

On Wednesday I finished my pilgrimage through Psalms which has taken about 6 months, including a month in Psalm 119. It has been a delightful and challenging journey and fittingly ends in the 5 praise Psalms from 145-150. Yesterday on my birthday as I paused before my next journey the Lord seemed to be giving Psalm 23 as the Psalm for me for this coming year.

I share one startling picture from it, since I believe you have all read this Psalm many times. Reading a book by Joni Eareckson-Tada, recently, she was speaking about getting a new perspective in the midst of suffering. She called it “Don’t look at the Wall”. Speaking to a friend who is an F1 racing driver she asked him if he was never scared while driving at these high speeds, especially since one of their members had been killed, crashing into the boundary wall. His reply was that they are trained that when they are spinning out of control directly towards the wall, they should not focus on the wall but rather look at the track. The thinking is that they are trained to act spontaneously to drive their cars out of the worst spins etc. However if they focus on the wall rushing towards them their bodies freeze and they lose control.

So taking from that story she is suggesting that in the midst of suffering, not to focus on the wall of pain (let your present dilemma freeze you), but to see past it the larger picture of of the open space, the opportunities the Lord is giving you (steer for the open space).

Reading Psalm 23 I was meditating on the dark valley that David speaks of and one which lies in the center of the Psalm. The comfort God gives through His presence. Then it suddenly hit me. Whenever I think of this vs I am focussing on this dark valley, that is the wall, I must steer for the open space , the light at the end of the valley. The light of hope and the promise of our eternal home and of course the pathway of whatever opportunities God is still giving me. What a thought for the coming year.

So today I started on a slow, in depth walk through Proverbs. Two things struck me immediately, which link into the theme of my blog. Ch 1:3 “Let the wise LISTEN and add to their learning. So how do we know when we are listening to the teaching of God? It shows in our actions and attitudes vs 3. Doing what is right and just and fair. Cf Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a WHAT? a WISE man who built his house on the rock.

Of course there is much more . Vs 5 and 6 (Prov) tell us that wisdom gives us discernment and the ability to understand proverbs, parables and the sayings of the wise.If you look at Mark 4:9-12 you see that Jesus specifically spoke in parables so that only those who have the ability to listen will understand them. Whew.

Then there is that well-known vs Prov 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”. I was asking myself “Do I really know what it means to fear the Lord, I mean know in my heart? and I was led to Psalm 1 which has much in common with this passage up to vs 19,, there the blessed one, walks in the ways of the Lord and meditates on His law day and night.

So we come back to “how do we know when we are really listening?” Well we will be distinguished by our hearing God speak and putting it into practice, by our attitudes and delight in God’s Word and will be called blessed and wise.

Lots to chew on. I am still struggling to get the comments activated but please stay with us and be patient.

So as I become quiet with only the early morning mist hanging lazily over the low-lying areas, as look out towards Cape Town, to accompany me, I am listening. The quiet settles around me and my thoughts slowly slide away as I wait expectantly.

“Lay down” I hear. “Lay down what Lord”?

“Lay down your resistance to me and my guidance and love, where you are going your way…

Lay down, in fact, lay down your life and trust in me completely”.

“Truly get out of the boat and stop trusting in it, and only then will you be able to walk on the water and even then you will not only walk I will make you will fly (Isaiah 40:31)I will take you up on the wings of an eagle.”

In my minds eye I see myself flying but now I am in a plane like a WW2 fighter pilot and what’s that? It’s flack bursting around me cannons and machine guns, puffs of smoke, I am in the midst of a great air battle. Then I remember “I am your shield – you are in the battle but I will protect you”.

“I will take refuge under your wings till this disaster has passed”.

Now the question I ask is, “If I trust only in the Lord, how do I live in this world where I must use the help of other people?”

“You can use their help – but keep trusting in Me – trust me to bring the right help”.

Psalm 148 A beautiful psalm of praise, bracketed again by the words praise the Lord! He is totally unique “from the heavens”. The word all is used 10 times but alone only once vs 13. He is the only one who deserves praise. So all the heavenly beings and all of creation is praising Him.

But here’s the thing – how does that happen, how do all these parts of creation praise Him? Think a bit on that one.

But there is a difference between His creation, inanimately praising Him and human praise.

What do you think that is?

The name for God here is His covenant name “Yahweh” and the people are to praise that name and Who that represents (vs13) and the people are described as the “saints of Israel” This speaks of a personal relationship, thoughtful praise and comes at the end of the description of all the rest of creation’s praise, which seems to remind me again of how central God is in all of the universe.

And then in vs 14 “He has raised up for His people a horn”. This speaks of power,a king., intimately bound to His people. Who could that be? David in the first place, but in the distant future, the very One who will make it possible for us to praise God from a new perspective.

So I am moved again afresh to want to praise God from the very core of my being.

After much struggle our blog site crashed. This is a Christian blog site and I trust that the Lord will facilitate it to the benefit of the all of us so that we may join in the fun of becoming part of it. Just a reminder of the purpose of our site. It is not a daily devotion nor a commentary. My aim is to encourage us to read God’s word in such a way that we hear the Author speaking to our heart’s personally and contemporarily. It would be fun to hear if any of you are having fresh insights, but don’t feel pressured.

Yesterday I was feeling particularly vulnerable, with news of Corona breaking out in our health care center and having to do without nurses again. On top of that there are two lesions on Emily’s skin which won’t heal as well as her having greater difficulty getting her balance when I lift her up.

So I become quiet and listen. “Peace I give you, not the world’s peace ie no problems ! No I give you My peace within the problems, peace that comes from trusting Me implicitly to lead you and protect you within the trouble”. As I am sitting allowing His peace to settle around me I see in my imagination a huge warm cloud, like a blanket enveloping me and I realize He is showing me how vast and yet intimate His love for me is and I remember Ephesians 3:17 ff “I pray….that you may……grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love which surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God”.

“You have my love – my complete love – words cannot fully describe My love – it covers you with my benevolent grace it embodies compassion, care, grace, discipline, guidance, forgiveness. Every action and thought I have towards you is governed by this attitude I have towards you”. And then I am reminded of the reading I had on the day of lockdown from Psalm 57:

“Have mercy on me, oh God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge..

I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until this disaster has passed.

I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me”

My reading for the day Psalm 146. This is part of the last 5 Psalms in the Psalter which are dedicated to praising God as it seals the whole book. So vv 1, 2 and 10 bracket the Psalm with praise.

But here comes the thing, look at vs 3. Yeah, who am I really trusting in at this time? I mean really, when he rubber hits the road in that instant. Not in general, but in each part of my life?

How much of my trust is in men/women? They will soon not be there anymore.

So then David reaffirms why His trust is in the Lord in he next few vv. I soak that in, Read it through, read it again. Meditate on it and remember to remind myself of that all day.

As I close I muse “so even David found himself trusting in me rather than His beloved God sometimes”.