“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.”
Proverbs 31:25-26 ... See MoreSee Less
DANNY’S DESK
Declare Jesus – Develop Disciples – Glorify God
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” 1 John 5:14-15 NLT
Hello!
I was walking past Torquay College last week on my way home to have some lunch recently. There were heaps of kids running around in the playground, and many of them were playing in the bush kitchen, moving around sticks and branches; shifting rocks from here to there and building basic cubby houses. It took me back to my primary school days, (cue school PA booming out): “Would Danny McDowell and his mates get out of that tree…. right now!!!” Good times! (For the record – that tree is still standing!) The point is that we (and the Torquay College kids) loved using the basics they had around them - trees, sticks, rocks, etc. And we used what we had… and that’s all we really needed!
Sometimes there’s a lot of ‘other’ stuff that gets in the way as I seek to follow Jesus, and it can be very easy to ‘put aside’ the basics. When I start to find life getting just a bit too complex or complicated; or I’m getting a bit too tired or stressed, I ‘go back’ – and I grab hold of the basics. God loves me so much that:
• I have a relationship with Him because I am saved by His wonderful grace. I don’t deserve it, but through love, He has extended it to me. ‘God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.’ (Ephesians 2: 8-9).
• He organised my personal salvation through the birth, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. Acts 4: 12 tells us: “There is salvation in no one else! (Jesus). God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” So when I accepted Jesus as my Lord & Saviour I am saved!
• He has provided me with His Word – the Bible – in which and through which – I can navigate life. The answers are all there! ‘The word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.’ (Hebrews 4:12)
• I can be intricately connected to Him in every aspect of my life as I enter into regular prayerful conversation with Him - as together- we discern a path forward.
• He places me in situations and scenarios where I have the opportunity to share with others the way that He has changed my life for the better and how they too, can experience the same.
Remember the basics! It was never God’s intention for it to be complicated!
Have a great week!
Danny ... See MoreSee Less
Danny's Desk
Declare Jesus – Develop Disciples – Glorify God
“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”
1 John 5:14-15 NLT
Hello!
We received a rather substantial plumbing bill for our home last week – the pump and some other ‘plumbery-thingy’ on the rainwater tank was kaput as well. He told me what it was, but it all sounded Afrikaans to me! (I get a bit of that in the TCF office!) The dilemma was that there was no way we could pay it in one go. What to do? Pray! How? For the $$ to appear from somewhere? Didn’t happen! For the plumber to say, “Don’t worry about it Danny - you’re a nice fellow so I’ll do it for nothing!’ Didn’t happen! (What a surprise!) I kept praying….
The prompt I got was to simply ring the plumber and ask: “Mate, would it be possible to pay the invoice in 3 payments?” What I thought would be an awkward and embarrassing conversation was the complete opposite. Guess what? God had already paved the way. I asked the question and there wasn’t even a hesitation at the other end of the line. “Not a problem Danny – that will be fine!” Thank you LORD!
Sometimes our prayers are answered in unexpected and surprising ways. We ask God to provide for us in so many ways, but I have to admit that sometimes when I ask, I already have my preferred response from God in mind! Do you do the same at times? “Please God answer my prayer, but could you please answer it in a way that really suits me?”
But when we willingly surrender to following His will in our lives, we can’t pick and choose which answered prayers are from Him or aren’t from Him. If we aren’t satisfied with the answer, then we can’t say that God hasn’t answered - because He has - whether we agree with the answer or not! When we are really surrendering our will to Him, we have to go with the answer He provides. And there will be times where the answer will not be our preferred response! But rest assured - God will always provide an answer. Psalm 17:6 tells us: “I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God.”
When Paul was speaking to the Colossian church in chapter 4:2, he reminded them to “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” A thankful heart. However our prayer is answered we need to be thankful because God has been in that answer. I think that the key when we pray, is to acknowledge that God will provide a solution - maybe in a way that we aren’t expecting or even in a way we might not have preferred – and then recognising and praising Him in that answered prayer.
Have a great week!
Danny ... See MoreSee Less
