Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 32

In this series I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on  it.

Today I'm looking at Psalm 32

I'm looking at this Psalm in 6 parts:



V. 1-2
Here we are told who the "blessed" are

V. 3-4
Here we see the condition we have due to the guilt of sin


V. 5
Here we see how to deal with sin


V. 6-7
Here we see the only one we can turn to


V. 8-9
Here we learn how God will look after us & guide us when we turn to Him


V. 10-11
Here we have the great example to end with

The Godly Man.
Basically those who are blessed are those who no longer are condemned by sin.
It refers to openly sinning and also sinning in your heart or spirit.



The Ungodly Man.
Before we renounce our sin our condition is dead to spiritual things.
So we need to know how to deal with our sin.
We need to be responsive and willing to turn from our sin and not be stubborn like a mule.

Is our sin covered in the right way?

God.
We need to know that God is the only one to turn to when we are ready to repent & renounce our sin.
Then we can be like the Psalmist who ends with a note of Praise and thankfulness.

The one things we must not overlook is dealing properly with our sin.

Changing our life from 
ungodly 
to 
Godly.

Only Jesus is the one who can take our sin and give us His righteousness.

The Day I Spoke like an American - A Dose of Encouragement

We lived in America in the lovely State of Delaware for 3 years, 1992 - 95, while our three children were young. 

Wherever I went I was conscious that if I spoke like an American then I would not have strangers come up to me and ask me to "Say Something" just because they just wanted to hear my accent.

Often we heard the differences in our accent and pronunciation compared to the way Americans speak.

Coming from Northern Ireland, UK, we were  I was determined to say the words the proper British way like garage and not ga-raase, tomato and not tomaayto, aluminium and not alummmminum etc.   


I was pretty good about this! 


Truthfully

           I was pretty stubborn about this.


However, you cannot live among Americans for long before you pick up the accent. 

 When we returned to Northern Ireland our daughter aged 8 was referred to as the "American Girl" by her classmates at school for quite some time as she took longer than the rest of us to drop the accent. 

The Kids & I at the Grand Canyon

On the way home from America we had a layover in London for a few days and while there we headed into a McDonalds for lunch one day.  I'm not a very picky eater but I do not like all the sauces and pickles you get on the burgers & they never get it right in America when you say you don't want certain things in it so I had spent my time there perfecting the way to say the word "plaaain" like I was a real American so that the servers in places like McDonalds would know what I was saying.  

This time in London I reckon they can get my order right as they will understand everything I say so I don't have to think so hard about it.  

So I'm trying to order a bacon cheeseburger with only lettuce and tomato & guess what happens when I get to the tomato bit? 

I say tomayto instead of tomato.

3 years of saying it properly in America and as soon as I get back to the UK out comes the American pronunciation. 


What was wrong with me?

Needless to say, I have told this story numerous times because I can laugh at myself.

     
Then one day in 2012, 17 years since we had returned from living in America I had to revive my American accent.  


Why was this?  

I wasn't speaking to American visitors or even to other foreigners who have learnt their English by listening to American films, TV programmes and pop songs. 
(we met many people like this while we lived in Belgium)

No, I was sitting at home trying out my new iPad.  

I was doing a test on the voice thing to see if it really would write down what I said.

This was the result: 

          I said   

             "So from now on I want to take all my notes by voice"

         It wrote  -  So Canion I want to take all my notes bivoice

          I tried the same phrase again
                         So from now on I want to take all my notes By Voice

          It wrote  -  Abigail.            seriously???????????????
          
Once again .....

       and it worked!

                    So from now on I want to take all my notes by voice

It worked that time because I used an American accent

          
           Conclusion:

                     The iPad works best if I use my American accent"

For a machine to understand me I needed to talk the way it expected me to talk, 

the way it was programmed to understand.

It worked that time because I used an American accent  

All of this made me think about how we speak to people.  

Sometimes we just speak out not thinking of how we phrase something or the tone of our voice because we are talking to our family or someone we are very close to.

Other times we are conscious of our voices and words when we are talking to someone new or people we feel we need to be careful with so that they understand exactly what we mean.

We got very good at speaking more clearly and slowly when we lived in America and in Belgium because people from Northern Ireland tend to speak very quickly.

During the past year I took a short course in teaching English as a second language and I am now even more conscious of my pronunciation.

Then there are the times we talk to God.


I am so glad that God hears us 

• whether we whisper or shout, 
• whether we can find the right words or not, 
• whether we even speak something out 

and that God knows 

• what we are really sorry about, 
• what we are worried about, 
• what we are care about 

We can be thankful that our language does not have to be perfect for God to hear and understand and undertake for us. 

He knows, no matter how we try to express ourselves.

However God does wants us to to be truthful from our hearts.


In Psalm 51:6 the Psalmist says 

"Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:"

How can we have this truth?

The Psalmist goes on to show he knows the answer in the following verses and then acts on this knowledge he has by praying specifically to God. 

     

Oh that we will be like the Psalmist 

and 

know the answer 

but 

also act on it.

The Discipline of Grace - 2

Click here to read  Grace 1 which covered the first chapter of the book

          

  The Discipline of Grace 

by Jerry Bridges

 Now let's take a look chapter 2  this time.

 Chapter 2

This surprised me at first because it was so different to the first chapter.

Here he takes a look at the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican going to pray.

I loved the way he explained what this parable is all about.


What it boils down to I think is the fact that when the Publican says

                         "Lord be merciful to me a sinner" 

he is able to say this because he is sure of the grace of God.


Isn't that so ironic that he understands grace but the Pharisee doesn't.

If the Pharisee truly knew what the grace of God was, he could not have been so confident in himself.

The Publican did understand but still he was not confident in himself instead he was confident in God because of grace.

Of course the author has a lot more to say than just this and again this chapter is full of truth and I found it so encouraging.

If this encourages you to read the book you'll find it on amazon for kindle or in paperback.

I promise that later posts on this book will contain shorter notes on each chapter.  

For other posts on this book see Links below:

Grace 1
Grace 3

Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 13

Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 13


This is not one of those very well-known Psalms.

This Psalm falls into three parts:

V. 1-2
It was because of his enemies that David turned to God here and cried out.
He could feel the oppression of the enemies but not the presence of God.


V. 3-4
David wanted to be refreshed so as not to get tired and relax and let down his guard.


V. 5-6
Even just crying out to God has started to change David and he starts to look on the positive side of God's goodness to him.
Appears that perhaps David has realised that his feelings do not have a direct correlation with the presence of God.

God's presence is not dependant on our feelings.

Questions.
David had questions about the presence of God because he could not feel that God was with him or showing him favour.  He was questioning himself and was sorrowful because of the oppression of the enemy.
How often do we feel like David did?
Do we tell God truthfully how we feel - Yes I know we can say that God knows how we feel, but He also wants us to keep up communication with Him and we can start with expressing our feelings truthfully.

Knowledge.
David knew the situation he was in was a grave situation.
He knew death could be the result of the heaviness and tiredness he felt in the midst of his situation because he could do the wrong things, make unwise decisions when he felt as if he was not in counsel with God.


Outcome.
This Psalm ends up with David lifted up in his spirit and therefore refreshed.
Just by thinking on God and restarting communication with God which we may even feel is one-sided can change our outlook and determination in any situation.


Yes David may have started with

"How long will thou forget me, O Lord"

but ends with

It is important we remember to keep an open communication with God.

Talking to God, even when it starts with moanings about what seems to be happening around us, will end up with us thinking of God and not dwelling on ourselves.

Christian Songs for Kids - Jesus Loves Me

Do you find it hard to get visuals and recordings for different kids songs?

I have always found this a problem so I am now sharing songs that I have used with children providing you with

Visuals 
(Powerpoint or Picture or details of how you can make one) 


Words   
(chords also available)


Recording  
(mp3 or video to learn the song) 


Then if you would like to download the visual of the song there will be a link provided to my creation, or I will direct you to where else you can find it.   

This month I am taking the theme of

The Love of Jesus

The song I have chosen is 

Jesus Loves Me

This must be the most well known Christian song for kids.

Based around  Ephesians 3 v 17-18

The first verse and the chorus were written by Anna B. Warner and then other verses were added at two different times later.

When one of my kids was very young they misheard the words and for quite some time they thought that everyone was singing "Tea is weak but He is strong" and we still talk & laugh about that today even though he is now a Pastor.

POWERPOINT

Bible Photo credit:  FreeDigitalPhoto.org

To Download a copy of this visual for printing on A4 Card  or  Letter size  
CLICK HERE


WORDS


Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak but He is strong


Yes Jesus loves me
Yes Jesus loves me
Yes Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so



To Download a copy of these words with chords for guitar and piano 
CLICK HERE

ACTIONS

Jesus  -  Simply point and look upwards
Loves me this I know -  Place two hands palms over heart

For the Bible tells me so  -  Bring hands together in front and open them to represent a book

Little ones  -  Hold hand palm down to your side indicating small height

To Him belong  -  Simply point and look upwards

They are weak   -  Flop both arms down by your side

But He  -  Simply point and look upwards
Is strong  -  Make fists with both hands and hold up to represent strength 

VIDEO

This is our Kids Song Video for "Jesus Loves Me"

Notes:
Written by Anna B. Warner 1860    Ref. by William B. Bradbury 1862
This song is in the Public Domain, see HERE for further info

I Hope you enjoy the song and this is a help to you.

DON'T FORGET
If you are interested in finding out about more 

Christian Songs for Kids 

SIGN UP HERE for an email reminder of my posts & you won't miss any I feature on the Blog


OR

See Our Other Kids Songs:   

Creation  -    Who Made?
Easter  -    He's Alive
Bible  -    I will Make you Fishers of Men
Love of Jesus  -    Jesus Loves the Little Children
Love of Jesus  -    Jesus' Love is very Wonderful
The Attributes of God  -    God is So Good 
The Promises of God  -    No Never Alone

(Click on the names of the songs above to view them)

I Hope you enjoy the song and this is a help to you.

The Day the Wave was Too Big for Me! - A Dose of Encouragement

You have probably often seen me write that I am from Northern Ireland and if you don't know too much about our lovely "wee" country then here is one great fact:

Northern Ireland has some really great sandy beaches

it's just unfortunate that we do not have the really great sunny weather to go with them.

However when you are very young you don't think so much about the weather you just get excited when you are going to the beach.

I have various memories about playing in the sand but one of my strongest memories was when I was quite young.


Dad was watching me,
         but I didn't know he was watching me.

I wasn't looking to see if he was watching me.

I wasn't even thinking about him at all.

That was when it happened.

Other times I had filled my bucket with no problem at all.
Running up and down the beach from mum and dad to the water's edge trying to get enough water to fill up a hole or a moat that dad and I had dug round a little sandcastle.

But this time it just caught me off guard.

The wave was probably not much bigger than the one before but it seemed so much bigger to me as it knocked me over and water filled my eyes and mouth.  I was terrified and so shocked I couldn't even try to get up and I think I screamed but I'm not sure.

I have never liked water over my face and still don't let a shower pour over my face or put my face in the water when I swim.  Maybe it is a result of that day or maybe I was always like that but certainly that day the water covering my face scared me.

It was not long before my dad grabbed me and lifted me out of the water and carried me up the beach to my mum, although to me it seemed like ages. 

Approximately a year before the wave

I don't remember much more about that day except for the time when I kept pulling away from my mum as she tried to brush my hair after I had been bathed and I didn't want her to do it because of all the tats in my hair.

Having since had a daughter with long hair I know the times when it was a joy to brush it and other times when it was an ordeal to brush it so I can understand that it was not pleasant for me or my mum that evening going through the entanglement of my hair.

The solution my mother decided was to whisk me off to the hairdresser the next day and get it cut

Some months after the wave

That day at the beach I had no cares just the determination of wanting to get enough water in my bucket each time I ran to the sea.  So engrossed in my plan I didn't think about the wave let alone notice it coming towards me.

But my dad did.

My dad saw me run down to the sea.

My dad saw the wave.

My dad saw me get knocked over and came running straight away to rescue me.

My dad was watching out for me, keeping an eye on all that I was doing and where I was going.
He knew exactly what was happening around me while I played happily on the beach, oblivious to everything else.

Probably I didn't even realise that my dad was always doing his job of protecting me, that my parents were always thinking of my well-being; because as a child we just take for granted that we are the centre of the world.

I am thankful that God is my Father and He is even better at watching over me than my dad could ever be.

He sees the waves that come at me.

God sees me wherever I go, whether happily or unhappily.

God sees the waves that come at me before I feel them hit me.

God sees how they affect me and He is immediately there to take care of me.

God is watching out for me, keeping His eye on all that I do and everywhere I go whether physically or in my thoughts or spiritually.

God knows everything that is going on around me when I do not see any of it at all.

And

God sees you wherever you go whether happily or unhappily.

God sees the waves that come at you before you feel them hit you.

God sees how they affect you and He is immediately there to take care of you.

God is watching out for you, keeping His eye on all that you do and everywhere you go whether physically or in your thoughts or spiritually.

     God does all this
          even when you are not thinking about Him
               even when you are not talking to Him about the situation
                    even when you are not aware of what is going on around you.

God knows everything that is going on around you when you do not see any of it at all.

We do have to play our part but it is a simple part to play

All we have to do is trust Him

All we have to do is trust Him.

When my dad grabbed me out of the wave - I trusted him because he was my dad.

So let God be your Father and trust Him

Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 91

Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 91 

This is one of the Psalms that are full of Promises.


Lets look at the promises we have from God if we simply abide in His presence.


He will:


V. 1
keep us under His shadow


V. 3
deliver us from the snare of the fowler
deliver us from deadly pestilence


V. 4
cover us with His wings of protection
cover us with His shield of faithfulness


V. 5-6
take away our fear by day or night

V. 7-10
not permit the wicked to come near us


V. 11-12
give His angels charge over us to guard us


V. 13
give us authority over satan


V. 14-16
directly give us the assurance of

• deliverance
• protection
• answered prayer
• companionship in hard times
• salvation
• satisfaction in life
• honour in Him
• long life

A Psalm of Promises.
Such a long list of promises and He is the one who can fully keep these promises.


A Psalm of Declaration.
The Psalmist declares these promises and so should we.
The more we read them and say them the more we will see the greatness of our God.


A Psalm of Praise.
The Psalmist is praising God in the way he is acknowledging all that God does for us.

A Psalm of Promise, Declaration & Praise.

Do we think enough about what God has promised to do for us?

Do we also think on the part we have to play in this relationship with God?

Remember God is faithful and will not forget His Promises.


Are we dwelling or abiding in His Presence?

The Day my Best Friend Bit Me! - A Dose of Encouragement

When I was young and at primary school I was a "Tom-Boy", wanting to be active, out and about as much as possible and looking for company to play with.


My only sibling is my sister who is 10 years older than me so I didn't have her to play with and sometimes there were not too many other kids around.


I really loved the opportunity to play with the boy who would come to visit his grandparents across the street and the girls from the surrounding streets and stay out as long as possible.

But there were often times when there was no-one around to play with so I found a friend next door.

This friend was often around at the front of the house and he was very easy to chat to so I could go see him a few times a day.

His name was Tim and he was a black, scotty dog.

I used to go and sit on the front step of the house next door and pet him and cuddle him and chat.

He was so familiar with our family that there was never any barking at us just the tail wagging and little jumps of excitement when he thought any of us were going to have time to play with him.

photo credit - Pixabay

My parents were fine with me playing with Tim and knew that I was often on that front step.

I liked dogs and had wanted our family to have a dog as a pet but my sister did not like dogs so I had to be content with Tim next door.

Of course I took Tim for granted and thought he would always be there just when I would feel like going in through the front gate to play with him.

I was sure that he would always be happy to see me, ready to play 

and I would never be "not welcome".

Then there was that one day when I went through that gate and took the two or three steps to the front door to find Tim was lying there quietly not jumping up or wagging his tail at me.  I sat down beside him and put my arm around him but instead of getting the usual happy welcome I felt the pain shoot up my arm as his teeth clamped onto it.

I screamed, jumped up and ran out through that next door gate with Tim hanging from my arm but he let go before I got to our own gate.

I was sore, bleeding (although not too bad because he was an older dog and his teeth apparently weren't too sharp) and so confused that Tim had bitten me.

If I was looking for sympathy I had come to the wrong place because immediately I was questioned by my mother on what had I done to antagonise the poor dog - see how everyone loved him!

Well my arm was bathed and bandaged and I can't remember if I was told to stay inside for a while but I do remember that before long I was back sitting playing with Tim.

The neighbours talked with my parents and were concerned about what had happened and what my parents wanted them to do about Tim.  The result was that none of us wanted anything to happen to him because we all knew the situation had been my own fault.  Who would be so silly as to cuddle a dog that was asleep and wake him suddenly and frighten him especially when in the past few months some teenagers had often been teasing and at times kicking at him through the gate as they walked down our street.

I had not known that Tim, my usually happy friend, had become afraid of these teenagers and hence probably startled by me and reacted out of sudden fear.

Yes it wasn't long before I was back playing with Tim, he was still my friend and I forgave him for biting me but I think there was always just not exactly the same trust there as before.

He was still my friend and I forgave him.

Over the years I have seen friendships ruined over a hasty word, a sudden grumpiness, a searing hurt, a teasing jibe, when people just got so friendly and comfortable that they stopped thinking of situations from the other person's point of view.  Times when people got so careless and thought they could do or say anything just because they thought they were with friends.
Even if the friendships are not ruined they are marred in some way by lack of trust thereafter.

Sometimes we have been the ones to do the hurting and sometimes we are the ones who have been hurt but either way we need to try to consider how the other person felt, what may have been happening to them recently that we did not know about, who had been unkind to them, what had they heard recently, because something had caused a difference on that occasion.

There are two people in a friendship and also two feelings in that friendship and we need to remember to be considerate and kind, honouring the friendship and extending grace to each other in all circumstances.

It may not always come easy but oh it would be great if I could forgive others today as quickly as I forgave Tim.

It is not impossible to do.

As children of God we have the capability of forgiving because we have been forgiven and we have the greatest example of perfect forgiveness in Jesus.

Forgiveness. It is not impossible to do.

What about a letter, a phone call, a little chat?

The practical step needs to be taken to apologise and forgive.

And we can do it!

Grace 1 - The Discipline of Grace

Some time ago I decided to read

        "The Discipline of Grace" by Jerry Bridges

and I have been slowly, very slowly doing so because there is just so much to take in from each chapter.


If I waited until I had read the whole book the notes on it would be extremely long judging by the ones thus far so I've decided to put together here just the notes from my reading of the first chapter to give a taste of what this book has to offer.


Chapter 1

The Holy Spirit transforms us spiritually; we cannot do this ourselves. This is sanctification.
The Pursuit of Holiness is our cooperation and involvement in the sanctification process and it is something we need to be fully committed to.  This must be anchored in the Grace of God.

God's blessing does not depend on our performance.
God's grace through Christ is greater than our sin.
If God’s blessings were dependent on our performance, they would be meager indeed.
Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace.
And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.
Every day of our Christian experience should be a day of relating to God on the basis of His grace alone.
We are saved by grace but also each day of our lives we live by grace because we must look only to Jesus for God's blessings on our lives we cannot earn the blessings ourselves.

God's grace through Christ is greater than our sin.

Grace - God's unmerited favour to those who deserve His wrath.
Although saved we still sin; but we also still receive His grace.
We are neither blessed because we have done good enough to gain His favour or not blessed because we have failed to earn it.
 Our performance rating is not the important thing here.
The Gospel applied to our hearts each day frees us to be honest with ourselves & God.
We can admit we still sin and take responsibility for this instead of blaming our actions on the effects of others.

"So it doesn't matter how I live because God forgives me unconditionally" - no, this is not acceptable as it means that the truth is being abused.

We cannot allow others to lessen the value of the truth for all of us. So they need to be reminded of the Gospel.

What about those who struggle with the fact that we are still sinners and they think they are not committed enough? They also still need to be reminded of the Gospel because it does not pour on guilt but rather brings freedom from guilt to them.

We cannot allow others to lessen the value of the truth for all of us.

To live no longer for ourselves but for God is the essence of discipleship.
Love is what compels us to live for God.

So it is by the Gospel that we must be motivated to live a holy life and not by guilt or duty because it is through the Gospel that we will be conscious of His great love.

God's grace is greater than all our sins.
Repentance is one of the Christian's greatest privileges. A repentant Christian focuses on God's mercy & God's love.
One who draws on God's mercy & grace is quick to repent but also slow to sin.
Are we willing to rely on God's mercy & grace alone instead of on our performance, to boast in nothing save the cross?

If this encourages you to read the book you'll find it on amazon for kindle or in paperback.

I promise that later posts on this book will contain shorter notes on each chapter.  
See Links below:

Grace 2
Grace 3