You created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully & wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
Psalm 139:13-14
David the psalmist recognised the wonder of what God had done in creating man and it inspired him to praise. Yet he knew only a fraction of the story. We know so much more, particularly about the development of children during pregnancy. It should motivate us to worship our Creator yet, in Britain alone, almost 200,000 babies are the victims of abortion every year.
Fearful and Wonderful
We have lost our awe of the sacredness of human life. We no longer see individuals as carefully woven together by God to be unique individuals. Even in the church we are often asked to conform to particular behaviours or belief systems which have little to do with our faith but which are required of us if we want to fit in.
The Lord is building his church, not from uniform, characterless bricks, but living stones. Like the man constructing a dry stone wall with hundreds of uniquely shaped pieces of rock, He fits us together perfectly making a structure which holds together not with mortar, but simply because of the irregularity of the stones and the skill of the craftsman. It wouldn't work with every stone the same, and the church won't work without people of different backgrounds, distinct personalities and odd little idiosyncrasies.
The Image of God
We are all different, we can all praise God for our uniqueness and the fact that He has created each of us for a task only we can fulfill. Yet we are all the same in a very fundamental way - we are all created in the image of God. There is something which reflects God in every human being.
This was brought home to me in a startling way this week which left me awestruck. I was sent an email by a friend recommending I look at a video clip on a particular website. I confess I didn't check it out straight away because I am so often sent items of trivia or inconsequence and it's easy to become rather jaded by all the hype that often surrounds what is little more than junk mail.
Several days after receiving that email I thought I'd better look at it because I would by seeing my friend and she would want to know what I thought. When I did watch the 8 minute video clip it "blew my mind." My immediate response was a desire to tell everyone about it. I'm not going to say any more because I want you to have the same experience I had in watching it, which was one of awe and inspiration to worship the God who created us so fearfully and wonderfully.
Prayer College Assignment
Visit the following web address by clicking on it. Then watch the video (make sure the sound is turned up) and allow the content to inspire you to worship.
http://www.godtube.com/lyndascotson
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Who's In Charge?
God placed all things under Christ's feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church. (Eph 1:22)
The success of any organisation depends on the quality of its leadership.
A Story of Success
Twelve months ago my husband was made a governor of a local, failing secondary school. A new head, with a reputation for turning such schools into a success, had just been appointed. Nothing else changed. There was no injection of cash from the local authority, the pupils were the same, the building was not refurbished. But in the space of a year and a half the school has been so transformed that it has achieved the best exam results in the locality and became the most improved school in the country.
The difference between success and failure was simply down to leadership. The new Head, Liam Nolan, reinstated concepts of respect and of the teacher being in charge of the classroom. He ruthlessly cut dead wood from the teaching staff and changed the management structure of the school.
His changes have not only resulted in improved exam results, but in better behaviour from the children both within school and in the community. Youngsters who used to get into fights at break times no longer do so. Those who used to push their way past members of the public to get on buses at the end of the day actually stand back and wait.
No one who has witnessed this transformation could have any doubt about the quality of the Head Teacher and his ability to lead. Perry Beeches School has become a success and it reflects well on the man who turned it around.
Jesus Our Head
The question this prompts for me is, how does my life reflect the quality of my Head, the Lord Jesus, and His ability to transform lives? Is my life a success or am I a failing Christian?
The word "Lord" slips so easily from our lips. Sometimes it seems to be little more than a verbal tic in our prayers. Perhaps we have become too casual about His authority and don't show Him the honour and respect which is due to Him as our King. We see ourselves as citizens with rights rather than subjects from whom absolute submission and obedience is required.
Until we learn to surrender ourselves to the Lordship of Christ our spiritual lives will be pockmarked with failure and we will be unhappy, restless people having a gnawing feeling in the gut that we have never quite lived up to our potential. Submission to the Lordship of Jesus is not about obtaining the material blessings which the world regards as signs of success. It is about living under the protection of our Sovereign and experiencing the peace which comes from his tender loving care. It is about a quality of life which causes others to ask what has made the difference and how they can have the same for themselves.
Prayer College Assignment
Read through the hymn, All To Jesus I Surrender, and think about how uncompromising those words are. Ask God to teach you more about what it means to live under the kingship of Christ.
The success of any organisation depends on the quality of its leadership.
A Story of Success
Twelve months ago my husband was made a governor of a local, failing secondary school. A new head, with a reputation for turning such schools into a success, had just been appointed. Nothing else changed. There was no injection of cash from the local authority, the pupils were the same, the building was not refurbished. But in the space of a year and a half the school has been so transformed that it has achieved the best exam results in the locality and became the most improved school in the country.
The difference between success and failure was simply down to leadership. The new Head, Liam Nolan, reinstated concepts of respect and of the teacher being in charge of the classroom. He ruthlessly cut dead wood from the teaching staff and changed the management structure of the school.
His changes have not only resulted in improved exam results, but in better behaviour from the children both within school and in the community. Youngsters who used to get into fights at break times no longer do so. Those who used to push their way past members of the public to get on buses at the end of the day actually stand back and wait.
No one who has witnessed this transformation could have any doubt about the quality of the Head Teacher and his ability to lead. Perry Beeches School has become a success and it reflects well on the man who turned it around.
Jesus Our Head
The question this prompts for me is, how does my life reflect the quality of my Head, the Lord Jesus, and His ability to transform lives? Is my life a success or am I a failing Christian?
The word "Lord" slips so easily from our lips. Sometimes it seems to be little more than a verbal tic in our prayers. Perhaps we have become too casual about His authority and don't show Him the honour and respect which is due to Him as our King. We see ourselves as citizens with rights rather than subjects from whom absolute submission and obedience is required.
Until we learn to surrender ourselves to the Lordship of Christ our spiritual lives will be pockmarked with failure and we will be unhappy, restless people having a gnawing feeling in the gut that we have never quite lived up to our potential. Submission to the Lordship of Jesus is not about obtaining the material blessings which the world regards as signs of success. It is about living under the protection of our Sovereign and experiencing the peace which comes from his tender loving care. It is about a quality of life which causes others to ask what has made the difference and how they can have the same for themselves.
Prayer College Assignment
Read through the hymn, All To Jesus I Surrender, and think about how uncompromising those words are. Ask God to teach you more about what it means to live under the kingship of Christ.
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