Some thoughts from Psalm 30

Psalms 30:1-5 NLT

I will exalt you, lord , for you rescued me.
You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.
O  lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health.
You brought me up from the grave, O  lord .
You kept me from falling into the pit of death.
Sing to the lord , all you godly ones!
Praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

How many times has the Lord kept me from falling into a pit, and usually of my own making. I  fall so easily onto a path that can only ever lead to bad things happening, in my own life or others; what the Bible calls evil though we dislike that term. "The broad road that leads to destruction" is just so much easier to walk down. The narrow road calls for courage, discipline, self control, self sacrifice, love and above all faith; real trust that his favour lasts a lifetime and joy comes with the morning. The wonder for me is that every time I send my life careering towards yet another pit, he does enough to get my attention and remind me to cry out for help. Though I may find myself in circumstantial trouble, or spiritual trouble, or both at the same time, he lifts my eyes enough to remind me that my help comes from him. As John says, "If you confess your sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness," because the Lord himself consumed the destruction of the pit for all who cry out to him for rescue. He refused to let our enemies triumph over us to the length of allowing those enemies to triumph over him,  though their victory was always in reality his victory. Surely God is holy, and his anger is justly aimed at evil, but his holiness just as surely issues in rescue and favour and joy the moment anyone heading for the pit cries out to him for rescue. So I  will him who rescued me and with his holy ones I will sing to the Lord.

Some thoughts from Psalm 29

Psalms 29:1-11 NLT

Honor the lord , you heavenly beings ;
honor the lord for his glory and strength.
Honor the lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the lord in the splendor of his holiness.
The voice of the lord echoes above the sea.
The God of glory thunders.
The lord thunders over the mighty sea.
The voice of the lord is powerful;
the voice of the lord is majestic.
The voice of the lord splits the mighty cedars;
the lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf;
he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.
The voice of the lord strikes with bolts of lightning.
The voice of the lord makes the barren wilderness quake;
the lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.
In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
The lord rules over the floodwaters.
The lord reigns as king forever.
The lord gives his people strength.
The lord blesses them with peace.

Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness. That is what this Psalm looks to move you to do. To honour him in his glory and strength and for the glory of his name. He is the God who rules by his voice. He rules over the floodwaters as his voice echoes above the sea, as his glory thunders over the mighty sea. His voice rules everywhere,  splitting the mighty cedars of Lebanon and causing its mountains to skip like a calf. The Lord rules by his mighty voice commanding the lightening to strike and the earth to quake. Certainly this makes us ask questions, but if all these things of enormous power and might are under the control of the voice of the Lord there can be no doubt that he reigns as king forever simply by speaking. There is no power that can rival his. In his Temple everyone shouts "glory". What is left to shout? And in the splendour of his holiness and the glory of his name he gives strength to his people and he blesses them with peace. We forget too often that peace with God means enmity with the world. But praise God because he also gives us strength. Strength to see that he reigns by his voice, to trust him to rule well (though we still have questions) and to worship him in the splendour of his holiness.

Every moment of every day can/should be a moment where I worship God in the splendour of his holiness. Rejoicing in his rule by his voice. When I feel his peace and his strength, when I am threatened by his lightening and earthquake (real or metaphorical). I know he rules by his Word, fulfilled in Christ, the Word become flesh, who did not simply rule in power but suffered and died and rose, experiencing our suffering and reigning even over death. He it is who upholds all things by his powerful word, and in him I see the glory of his name, and worship him in the ordinary realities of life in the splendour of his holiness.

Peru Take 2

Well, we have arrived safely in Peru for a second time. 4 years ago we nearly got stuck here because of an Icelandic volcano doing is stuff. I'm wondering what adventures await us this time.

Apart from our first flight from Heathrow leaving 1 hour late, giving us a bit of a run in Madrid, the journey was easy and the kids did really well. I had forgotten just how in-a-continuous-state-of-construction Cusco is, perhaps now more than ever!

I had also forgotten just how thin the air is here. You really have to try hard to breathe! You suck in a lung full of air and you end up only half full. We'll need to spend a while going quite slowly I think.

We did of course arrive in the middle of life at my sister's house. Friday night is kids cell night. They had around 30 kids plus theirs and ours in the front room for craft and Bible story, memory verses and teaching. I loved landing in the middle of it all and that they didn't even think about cancelling because we were coming!

It is also great to see the cousins getting on so well. Our kids always have with Sammy and Ben, but Hilda and Katy are now part of the family and it is fantastic to see how well our kids have added them in. Jenny said yesterday, "You wouldn't have thought Bekah and Katy had just met".

We're looking forward to the rest of our month here. I will try and add pictures and posts regularly.