DANNY’S DESK
Declare Jesus – Develop Disciples – Glorify God
“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered[l] for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”
1 Peter 2:21 NLT
Hello!
Challenges. Disagreements. Trials. No doubt each one of us experiences these things in various forms. (And if you don’t then please let me know what ‘island’ you’re living on so I can come and live there too!?) Some of these we overcome with relative ease and some we battle against each and every day. Big or small - and whatever the context – they have the ability to steal away our joy as the energy it takes to work through them is sapped.
Each and every one of us is a work in progress. I have to confess though, that I have an amazing ‘ability’ to jump to the worst possible conclusion before even considering that the challenge in front of me may not actually be that bad at all! Is that you at times too? While not trying to diminish anything that you might be going through right now, what I have happily discovered is that when I take stop and take time to consider that this difficult ‘thing’ before me might actually be an opportunity for me to grow (What???) then I am in a much better place to approach the challenges with a heightened sense of joy - knowing that I will learn and grow through the experience.
Lloyd George was the British Prime Minister from 1916-1922, and over that time went through a pretty rough stretch in terms of challenge and conflict. He had to lead his country into WWI, a major economic crisis, contend with the Sein Fein Irish liberation movement, and many other challenges. He was once asked how he kept such good spirits through it all? He replied: “I find that a change of nuisance is as good as a vacation.” He didn’t diminish any of the challenges. They loomed large in his consciousness, and no doubt impacted his life greatly. But what he says makes very good sense. Let’s approach the ‘nuisances’ we face with joy.
Why? Here’s the thing: We could have been delivered into a challenging situation with no authority, no jurisdiction, or no responsibility over the trials and challenges in our lives. Yet God has seen fit to give us the opportunity to confront new problems today. We move from trial to trial embracing the opportunity each one presents in order to learn and grow. These ‘things’ are our ‘happy chance of nuisance!’
The song ‘Christ is Enough for Me’ has some wonderfully reassuring lyrics: ‘Through every trial, my soul will sing, through every storm my soul will sing, Christ is enough for me.’ When our souls are singing - even in the trials and storms - we will always find ourselves in the epicentre of joy - knowing that Jesus will see us through.
Pray with me: Jesus, help me to embrace any new trials, storms, disagreements and challenges that come my way. I’m so very grateful for the authority I have in You to be able to shape, change, and resolve them. And while I’m doing so – in Your love, grace, compassion and humility, I’ll maintain my joy. Amen.
Have a great week!
Danny ... See MoreSee Less
DANNY’S DESK
Declare Jesus – Develop Disciples – Glorify God
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Romans 12:1-2 NLT
Hello!
How’s your devotional life? Is it a daily discipline? Is it the way you start your day or the way you end it? I’ve been trying hard to be very intentional spending time in the morning with God. I have to confess though, that there have been a few morning sleep-ins that have started my day late and I haven’t spent that time in study & prayer. And every time that has happened, I have found that my day just isn’t as productive, planned, fruitful or even joyful. I have found myself drifting and my thoughts are elsewhere – on other things – other objects. What is that telling me? Well – it’s pretty clear it’s telling me that unless I spend that time with God - every day – I am not giving Him priority as my object of worship.
When Jesus was tempted by the devil in Luke 4, the enemy offered him every inducement to deny God and live for the moment. But Jesus knew exactly who His object of worship needed to be and in v8 He says: ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him.’ Josh Dubois writes: “Are there things in your life that capture your heart when no one’s looking? Are there places you retreat to when there’s no obligation? If you could have any indulgence, with what would you indulge? These ‘things’ are the object of our worship.”
As I talked about last Sunday, when we allow our lives to become cluttered with things of this world – when we ‘indulge’ in other objects - then our focus on the One who has given us life – the true object of our worship - can dim. And if God is not the object of our worship, then maybe we have some praying to do? Maybe we need to ask God to help us re-prioritise with Him as that object of our worship? Maybe we have to re-commit to spending that time with Him each day in order to place Him back where He is supposed to sit in our lives - at #1.
It’s my absolute experience that when I commit to intentionally making God and His kingdom the object of my worship, then my heart and mind is captured by the right things. And that then flows out into everything I say and everything I do. Is that the same for you? American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “A person will worship something, have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will come out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming.” (What a great word - ‘behooves!’) Emerson is right though. “What we worship – we become.”
Do you need to ask God to clarify the things you worship? Are you putting holy (His) priorities first? Do you need to ask God’s Holy Spirit to help you reorient your objects of worship? These are great questions to ask yourself because you can then ask God to help you re-set, knowing and trusting that He will help you to do that. I regularly ask myself these questions to evaluate how I’m tracking in making God the #1 object of my worship - in every facet of my life. I don’t always get it right -sometimes I get it spectacularly wrong!
But the beauty and blessing of being a follower of Jesus Christ is that in His grace and love, I can know - 100% - that He will not give up on me. And I hold onto that promise tightly.
Have a great week!
Danny ... See MoreSee Less
DANNY’S DESK
Declare Jesus – Develop Disciples – Glorify God
“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 17 Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”
Hebrews 10:16-17
Hello!
Have you ever just stopped in your tracks and asked yourself: “Why on earth did I just do that? I asked myself that exact question a few weeks ago when I backed out of our garage and straight into our eldest daughter Ashlee’s car!! Thankfully, no one got hurt (except for my pride) and I went in and ‘confessed’ the crime! Let me say that it’s so much easier swapping insurance details when you’re in the same house with the same insurer!!! There was no one to blame except me – I simply did not look behind me as I wasn’t expecting a car to be there.
Why did I just do that? How many times in my life – and maybe in yours too – have we done something that instantly- we wish we hadn’t? The pyramid-buying scheme; the Thermomix (no judgment!); the poncho that looked soooo good in the shop; the harsh words or the heated argument. We can’t take it back (well, maybe the poncho?) It’s been done. In this case, I couldn’t magically ‘reverse’ time so that the damage to both our cars was instantly repaired! No, I needed to admit it and own up to it. (Even if in this case it wasn’t going to be very hard at all to figure out who the culprit was!) Well, I didn’t have to confess I suppose – but I actually wanted to because it was the right thing to do. The incident happened; the damage was done; the apology was accepted; and we moved on. Since then, there’s been the occasional jibe of ‘don’t forget to look behind you’ as I head out to the garage, or ‘that thing in the middle of the windscreen is the rear-view mirror - you might like to use it next time?’ It’s all good fun.
When have we said or done something that has caused hurt – and then for whatever reason – have not acknowledged that hurt - confessed that hurt and just ‘moved on’, it’s hard for that person to forget what’s happened. (And I’m not talking about reversing into someone’s car now). They are left feeling confused, angry – maybe just ‘sad.’ When we confess our ‘stuff’ to God Psalm 103:11-12 tells us that: ‘For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.’ And in the verse at the top of this page: “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” (Hebrews 10:17).
I believe that God desires for us to be in right relationship with others – as much as we can be. Sometimes that will be hard because the confession and request for forgiveness may well be rejected.(It may well never actually be given in the first place). In Ashlee’s case with her car, she simply forgave me and forgot about it.
The question to ask ourselves is: Where and with whom do I need to ‘forget’ the event and remember the example of the One who created us – and forgive? I don’t think that there will be anyone reading this who cannot ask themselves that question and come up with no-one.
This Sunday it’s Father’s Day and I hope that all you fathers, and ‘father figures’ are able to have a wonderful day. May your lives and example be celebrated by those close to you. Take advantage of the technology: Face-Chat; Snap-Time; Zoomer; WhatsUp; Facefriend massager; TimeFace; or PartyHouse - I’ve changed all the names to avoid copyright infringement! I hope you get a drive-by parade; cards; or couriered gifts. Whatever it might look like – take the time to relish the love, the affection, the laughs, and the celebration that is yours to enjoy!
Oh, and one last piece of ‘advice.’ Always remember to look behind you when you’re backing out of the garage!!
Have a great week!
Danny ... See MoreSee Less
