Standing firm!

January 1879. A dusty oupost in a lonely, unknown part of southern Africa destined to become immortalised in the annals of military history. Men of the British Imperial Army, the 24th Regiment of Foot, fought for their lives against overwhelming odds as warriors of the Zulu army hurled themselves repeatedly against hastily constructed barricades and the thin red line of British pride. With nowhere to run, surrounded and desperate, they fought through the night...for their lives...for each other...for Empire. Modern weapons, training and discipline saw them through. They stood firm!

• How often in life, having done all, are we required to stand firm?
• When circumstances threaten to overwhelm us...when there is no escape...when we have exhausted all options....what is there left to do? What will carry us through to victory? Who do we look to as our leader and inspiration?
• Just as the foundations of training and discipline of the few were tested repeatedly and severely through that long terrifying night, how strong are our foundations when the storms rage around us? What/who do we place our trust and faith in?
• The "battles" of life test our character and values and it is when all is "stripped away" that our true self, our true values are tested. Will we stand up to the test...are our values solid and enduring and securely rooted? Do we know what our values are?
• Do we have a higher purpose undergirding our living?

Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. (Ephesians 6)

Living LIFE!

God.....invisible AND deaf?

A relationship with God does not promise supernatural deliverance from hardship, but rather a supernatural use of it.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life", Jesus said. Truth and life may supply the motives for following, yet in the end a relationship with God, like any relationship, boils down to the "way", the daily process of inviting God into the details of my existence. Soren Kierkegaard likened some Christians to schoolboys who want to look up solutions to the math problems in the back of the book. Only by doing the math, step by step, can you learn the math. Or in John Bunyan's analogy, only by pursuing the way, progressing through its joys, hardships, and apparent detours, can the pilgrim arrive at the destination.

I have an unmarried friend who prays earnestly for God to lessen or even remove his sexual drive. It causes him constant temptation, he says. Pornography distracts him, plunges him into a failure spiral, and ruins his devotional life. As gently as I can, I tell him that I doubt God will answer his prayer as he wants, by recalibrating his testosterone level. More likely, he will learn fidelity the way anyone learns it, relying on discipline, community, and constant pleas of dependence.

For whatever reason, God has let this broken world endure in its fallen state for a very long time. For those of us who live in that broken world, God seems to value character more than comfort, often using the very elements that cause us most discomfort as his tools in fashioning that character. A story is being written, with an ending only faintly glimpsed by us. We face the choice of trusting the Author along the way or striking out alone. Always, we have the choice.

In my own spiritual life, I am trying to remain open to new realities, not blaming God when my expectations go unmet but trusting him to lead me through failures toward renewal and growth. I am also seeking a trust that "the Father knows best" in how this world is run. Reflecting on Old Testament times, I see that the more overt way in which I may want God to act does not achieve the results I might expect. And when God sent his own Son - sinless, non-coercive, full of grace and healing - we killed him. God himself allows what he does not prefer, in order to achieve some greater goal.

From "Reaching for the Invisible God" by Philip Yancy

Keep Walking!

Those who wait on the Lord.....shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31)

• There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities and reveals our character
• Having the reality of God's presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually.
• Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence!
• We will not fear even though.....(Psalm 46:2) - This experience will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God's presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it
• At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, "Oh Lord, direct me in this and that" - in fact He is doing it already!
• If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence
• Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without waivering, for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23)
• Do not walk by sight but by faith! (2 Corinthians 5:7)
• Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions.....It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going

Enter the Silence!

He took me by the hand and walked me into pitch-black darkness.....I keep a grip on hope.....God's loyal love couldn't have dried up, His merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great Your faithfulness! I'M STICKING WITH GOD.....God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God.....When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. ENTER THE SILENCE. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: wait for hope to appear.....the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return. If He works severely, He also works tenderly. His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.....You came close when I called out. You said, "IT'S GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT." (Lamentations 3)

Faith with Feet!

EXPECTATIONS & ASPIRATIONS ARE OF NO USE UNLESS THEY CAN BE TURNED INTO REALITY!

• When we do the possible by faith, God will do the possible
• We must pray in faith and trust God for whatever enterprise we are involved in. Then we need to roll up our sleeves, get stuck in and see it through!

Faith or Foolishness?

Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, "Master, save me!". Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then He said, "Faint-heart, what got into you?" (Matthew 14:29)

• I know when the instructions have come from God because of their quiet persistence. But when I begin to weigh up the pro's and cons, and doubt and debate enter my mind, I am bringing in an element that is not of God. This will only result in my concluding that His instructions to me were not right
• Many of us are faithful to our ideas of Jesus Christ, but how many of us are faithful to Jesus Himself? Faithfulness to Jesus means that I must step out even when and where I can't see anything. BUT faithfulness to my own ideas means that I must first clear the way mentally. Faith is not an intellectual understanding - it is a deliberate commitment to the Person of Jesus Christ, even when I can't see the way ahead
• Are you debating whether you should take a step of faith in Jesus, or whether you should wait until you can clearly see how to do what He has asked? Simply obey Him with unrestrained joy

Whatever He says to you, do it (John 2:5)