Missions Paul

Day 39: Be blessed!

“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you” v7.

So much for your promises
They died the day you let me go
Caught up in a web of lies
But it was just too late to know
I thought it was you
Who would stand by my side
And now you’ve given me, given me
Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams,
Feel like I could run away, run away
(From this empty heart)

This song came into the UK charts in 1985 as the first hit single of the English band ‘Johnny hates jazz’. Nothing has changed since then. People are still waking every day with these kind of words in their thoughts.
They said they were friends but then they spoke against you behind your back
Many promises but later they were revealed to be only lies.
Raised expectations only to see them dashed so soon.
Vision dies.
Now the desire is to run away from everything they once held dear.
We all know people with these experiences. And you may be one of these.

Man may let us down.
Even the most trusted person can disappoint you.
Those that should know better, who are privileged with high positions of leadership are sometimes lower in values than the real servants.

But our hope is in God. And in Him alone.
He is faithful.
Look to Him today.
Give over your whole life to Him right now.
He will never disappoint.

Day 38: Be blessed!

v15 Lord, I wait for you;

Here in my guilt v1-4
Here in my pain v5-8
Here in my longing v9-10
Here in my rejection v11-12

I wait for you

On the edge v17
Troubled v18
Surrounded v19
Accused v20

I wait for you

Save Lord v22
Come close v21
Come quickly v22

I know you will answer, v15

Day 37: Be blessed!

I have a friend who is blessed.
A few years ago she didn’t feel blessed.
Back then the evil one seemed to have won the day, v7
But today she is blessed.
She has come along way since that time
She has learnt to turn from anger (v8) and trust in the Lord (v3).
Committing her way to Him (v5) He is vindicating her life even now (v6)
She is blessed.
In truth what the enemy wanted to do was to steak, kill and destroy (v14, 32).
Her enemy materially came off better (v16, 35) because they stole power from her (v17).
This was a disaster day and emptiness followed (v19)
But she is blessed now!
How do I know?
I have looked at her children, v26.
She is blessed because her children are a blessing to her.
They are being used in blessing to others.
You may have a similar journey. Don’t look back, look at what you have. Look at your children.
Your journey may not be similar and you may not have children.
But all of us can have offspring, a legacy of influencing the next generation, those younger than us that we befriend and mentor.
As we take on these parenting tasks, they become our blessing.

It never gives up and never runs out.
It is constant, continuous and unconditional.
It is as new as the day you first experienced it.
It was, it is and it will forever be.
It cannot be altered, watered down or stolen.
Can you calculate the capacity of a box with these dimensions: length, infinite; width, infinite; height, infinite? Infinity times infinity times infinity equals infinity. That’s the size of it.
Am I sure? Yes!
Is it for you? Yes!
You can know it, feel it, speak about it, base your whole life on it and give it away too.
What is this amazing thing?
It’s in verse 7.
It’s unfailing.
And we are blessed!

Day 35: Be blessed!

So many of these Psalms are songs of struggle.
Contend, fight, shield and armour, spear and javelin, plot my ruin, poor and needy, ruthless witnesses, bereaved and we are only half way through the song. In all of this story there are voices speaking accusations, fear and sentencing of the psalmist.
On the journey of faith we will hear all three voices, they are predictable and monotonous, we might aswell be ready for it:-
“Aha! We have seen you do it, heard you say it, we know you!” v21
“Aha! It has happened just as we had said, you are brought down” v25
“You are down and out, finished, over with no return.” v25
Over the years I have heard these voices through friends and enemies alike. However, the constant threat has been mainly with the voice within. I continually have to defeat this voice by speaking a louder voice, a declaration, a statement of truth which the decisions of my life are based on. The Psalmist shares his:
“God has said He is my salvation” v3
“There is no one like You, Lord”, v10
“You delight in me” v27
And that my friends is why we are blessed!

Day 34: Be blessed! 

Always and at all times bless your God.
For at no time will God not be your provider.
He is your need.
Even lions are not always successful, they have times when they work hard and try hard but don’t get what they are looking for, they become in need. v10.
But not you.
You suffer more than a lion, you have more times of need than a lion.
But He is your need.
He is goodness.
Bless Him

Day 33: Be blessed!

Is Britain still a Christian country?
This was one of the questions in the 2011 census for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It was the only question that was voluntary and 4 million people left it blank.
Was that because they did not know?
Was it because they did not care?
Was it because they were offended by it?
Ignorance, apathy and offence have continually battled with Christianity and will forever do so.

Is Britain still a Christian country?
Depending on who you listen to regarding the census is dependent on the answer. For some the census shows we still have a firm Christian heritage. For others the fact that the percentage has dropped is unsettling and is more wishful thinking than factual. At the present rate of growth and decline, by 2035 there will be more British Muslims than British Christians and by 2050 at least as many Hindus.

Blessed is the nation whose God is The Lord, v12.

In 1871 Queen Victoria opened one of our nations most exquisite and treasured of buildings, The Royal Albert Hall. Around the outside frieze, there is a message:
Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. The wise and their works are in the hand of God. Glory be to God on high and on Earth peace.

Is our nation still hearing such a message?
I wonder, if our nation were building this amazing building today whether such an inscription would be used?
I wonder, is our nation is Christian?
And so I wonder, is our nation blessed?

Let us pray for our nation today.

Day 32: Be blessed!

This is a Maskil. The meaning is probably something like, “to understand and to memorise.”
So understand this and remember it:

YOU ARE FORGIVEN!!

On November 26, 2008, a gang of terrorists stormed the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, India. After the carnage had left 200 people dead, a reporter interviewed a guest who had been at the hotel for dinner that night. The guest described how he and his friends were eating dinner when they heard gunshots. Someone grabbed him and pulled him under the table. The assassins came striding through the restaurant, shooting at will, until everyone (or so they thought) had been killed. Miraculously, this man survived. When the interviewer asked the guest how he lived when everyone else at his table had been killed, he replied, “I suppose because I was covered in someone else’s blood, and they took me for dead”
(Ravi Zacharias, Has Christianity Failed You? p. 42; )

Day 31: Be blessed!

When facing the stones and rocks being hurled at you, Acts 7:59
When its your last breath as you are being crucified, Luke 23:46
When you pray “Take this cup from me” or “Free me from this trap” v4.
When you have become an object of scorn and disgrace because of your weakness, v9-12.
When the song is not a lullaby but about dangerous enemies v15.
When feeling all alone, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?v22; Mark 15:34.
There is one thing to say to the One who preserves the faithful, v23:-

INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT, v5

Even in the clutches of the evil one where he is grasping at you, he is not holding you. You are not in the hands of the enemy. Whatever the enemy, it is not in control of you.
No, God is in control. He has you. You are in His hands.
In the darkest hour of Jesus life maybe he spoke the whole of Psalm 31. We do know he quoted from it at least.
From your place of the cross today speak it out.
From the place of disappointment, anxiety and hurt.
From the pain and weakness, say it out loud!
INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT