Knock Knock...

"Knock Knock.... Hellllooooo? God, are you there? Knock Knock Knock... God??? God???? Oh come on, open the door! God?..."

Sometimes, I feel like I am standing on one side of a door, and God is on the other, hiding, just waiting for me to leave so that he can start walking around and relaxing home alone... Like I am knocking and knocking, calling and calling, and not getting an answer, like those pesky visitors that you didn't invite, and don't want to see, the ones that just WILL NOT take a hint and leave.

I find that at some times when I feel I really need Him, He doesn't answer me, that He is too busy helping others with bigger problems, so why would He have time for me? I mean, there's that earthquake in China, isn't He probably flat out busy getting all His angels organised and helping all the people over there? Or protecting that little girl on the rough side of town that's being beaten by her daddy? So why am I disturbing Him?

I know why... it's because God WANTS us to disturb Him. Our heads might be arguing that we don't need to bother God with this one, that we can do it ourselves... but the Holy Spirit, the living breath of God inside us, tells our hearts different. It tells our hearts the truth. We are SUPPOSED to turn to God with our problems. He is our Heavenly Father, creator of all we are and all we have. He is powerful and strong, gentle and loving, caressing and comforting, SOVEREIGN and GOOD.

He loves each and every one of us, and He knows that we have to make our mistakes to grow, but He helps us to learn from them, and He is there to pick up the pieces when we DO make those mistakes. As children of God, we don't NEED to run and hide, we don't NEED to try and take it all on ourselves. When we call, He answers... I think that sometimes, we just need to try harder to listen to Him, to see his signs and read his language.

I have a new favourite verse, and it so clearly describes the love of God to His children...

Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I love that... the stark truth of those words. We were, and are, sinners. We aren't worthy of His love, we have done nothing to deserve all He bestows upon us... But, he does it anyway, because he loves us. He made the ultimate sacrifice in order to show us that Love.

Blessings.

Reading about Ruth (part one)

After nearly a year without going, I have joined a new small group. It's fantastic... the group are all people that I love and adore, and our leaders are absolutely lovely. And that's not even the best part.

I thought that I was doing just fine reading the bible by myself, doing my own personal studies, but I'm realising that I get so much more from studying with a group, praying each week with people that care for one another, and knowing that you have follow up with one another.

We are studying the book of Ruth, a character of the bible that I truly love and respect. She was a moabite girl, her bloodline originally came from incest. She believed in her own gods, not in the Lord God. But her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law were God's people. When there was nobody but her MIL Naomi left in her married family, Ruth chose to follow Naomi home to Bethlehem, and in doing so, chose to trust in God. (Ruth 1:16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.)



I find Ruth so very amazing. She stepped out in love, to follow her MIL to a place she had never been, a place where Moabites were scorned and hated. More than that, she stepped out in FAITH, choosing to love and follow a God that she barely knew.

My prayer this week, is that I may have the love and faith that Ruth had, that I may love and Trust the Lord with my ENTIRE heart and Soul.

For God is GOOD all the time.

What's in the Way?

Does it ever seem as if God is far away when you need Him near? It does to me. And at those times I recognize the gulf between us, I wonder exactly what is standing between God and me. Upon reflection, the answer is usually that what is in the way is ME - it's something that I'm either doing or not doing that is separating me from God.

I'm unfocused, not even bothering to look to Him for anything for long stretches of time. Not that I don't go to church, participate and love Him there. I do. But it's the rest of the time that I'm undisciplined, or lazy, or diverting myself from things I should do, or worse - doing things I shouldn't!

There's a beautiful scripture that I love to use as a prayer to put me in the right place to connect with God. Unlike most scriptures, I learned and prefer it in the KJV.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. (Psalm 51:10-12)

It's time. I plan to start each day with this scripture until further notice!

Grace and Peace,
Timothy

Light to Those in Darkness

Sometimes when we struggle repeatedly, it is easy to feel isolated and alone in darkness.

I ask myself why it is that when that when this happens, I do not always turn immediately to God for help? Why must I feel compelled to carry all the burdens on my own back before finally letting go and letting God take control?

More than two months ago now, I suffered a personal loss - one that will potentially have a major impact on how I live and what I do. At first, I worked on addressing it diligently. Then, when I didn't get the results I expected, I began to look for distractions to relax my mind and take it off the issue that was so consuming me. Yet, even in my diversions, the issue at hand kept creeping back into my brain. I was doing no better than to fumble around in the dark! Too little I reached for my flashlight, the eternal brilliance of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

With these thoughts in mind I opened my Bible to the following:

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? O Lord my God, give light to my eyes. I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13)

My conclusion? That only by genuinely trusting God and by asking for his illuminating guidance will I find the right path. I will pray and sing his praises now, for I am confident that he will light the way.

Grace and Peace,
Timothy

Praise Him

Praise Him... praise Him... come and praise His Holy name....

New Author

A good friend of mine, Timothy, will be posting his thoughts here also. If you would like to be an author on SALT & LIGHT, just pop me an email letting me know.

Blessings,

K