Tuesday 21 February 2017

The waiting body of Christ revealed in the Psalms

As members of the body of Christ,  our eyes wait upon the Lord our God.
Individually we can say "Unto thee lift I up mine eyes" Psalm 123:1
"Thee is the familiar term",
just as we each might say "Glory be to the Father, and to thee Lord Jesus,
                                            and to the Holy Spirit.
We each walk with Jesus who is with us  ( God - With - Us ),
When we open our mouths in prayer and the Holy Spirit gives us utterance
                                            we pray in the Spirit.

Psalm 123:1-2  KJV
1     Unto thee lift I up mine eyes.
       O thou that dwellest in the heavens,
2     Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto
            the hand of their masters,
       And as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress;
       So our eyes wait upon the LORD our God. 

Psalm 25:5 NASB
1     To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul,

4     Make me know Your ways, O LORD;
             teach me Your paths.
5     Lead me in Your truth and teach me
             for you are the God of my salvation;
             for you I wait all day.

As individual believers we address our LORD
asking Him to teach and lead us.
"Make me know your ways"    is a one to one request
for  one to one revelation.

We all need the same saviour
and to be in harmony with the rest of the body of Christ,
We need to be filled with the same Spirit.

Psalm 130 :  5-6  NKJV
5     I wait for the LORD, my soul waits
       And in His word I do hope.
6     My soul waits for the Lord
       More than those who watch for the morning ---
       Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

Our lives are focused on our Lord,
on His purposes and the inclinations of His heart.
We put our trust in Him and His word.
Our hopes arise from and are founded in the word of God.

For different people a new dawn can signal;-
the first day of a new job,
the end of a prison sentence,
the day of your driving test
your birthday
your operation
the day you fly off on holiday,
election day,
the day of your exam results,
the day you move into your new home,
the day you are called to active service,
the day you inherit a fortune,
or your first day at school.

But for members of the body of Christ,
more than all those waiting for the morning,
our soul waits for the Lord
"From the morning watch even till night"  Douay - Rheims  Bible.

Psalm 110:3  
Your people will be volunteers in the day of your power;
In the beauty of holiness
from the womb of the morning
You have the dew of your youth.

The nature of the members of the body of Christ is shown here ;-
they are volunteers.
In the beauty of holiness, and right from the start,
the blessing of heaven rests on them !
These messengers of God are a cohort of courage and love,
riding out in the love of Jesus,
in the power of the holy spirit,
and in heavenly blessing.

Psalm 25:21 KJV
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me
for I wait in Thee.

Psalm 27:14 KJV
Wait on the LORD
Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart.
Wait I say on the LORD.

Those who wait on the Lord  have integrity, and uprightness,
are of good courage and are strengthened in heart
by the Lord on whom they wait.

Psalm 38:20 NASB
Our soul waits for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.

Psalm 37:7-9 + 34
7    Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him
      Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way
      because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8    Cease from anger and forsake wrath
      Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing.
9    For evildoers will be cut off
      But those who wait on the Lord will inherit the land
34  Wait for the LORD and keep His way
      And he will exalt you to inherit the land
      When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

We have to keep our focus on the LORD
We need to continue in His love and remember that His purpose
for us , is the most wholesome  and the most awesome .
Putting our trust in our Lord, to enable and protect us,
We are not to be distracted by the wicked who prosper.
We are not to fret at those who take legal shortcuts
at the expense of the upright.
In the body of Christ we do not fret.
We are at one, in harmony with the Lord's loving purposes.
Everyone in the body of Christ  is looking at the hand of our master,
eagerly, with loving intent to do our Lord's bidding.
The loving harmony in the body of Christ
is uplifting and beautiful.......as the hymn of the angels.

Psalm 39:7  NASB
And now, LORD for what do I wait ?
      my hope is in you.

Psalm 40:1 NASB
I waited patiently for the LORD
      and He inclined to me and heard my cry.

Ephesians 4:11-12 NASB
11     And He gave some as apostles and some as prophets,
         and some as evangelists; and some as pastors and teachers.
12     for the equiping of the saints for the work of service,
         to the building up of the body of CHRIST.

We believers, the 21st Century members of the body of Christ;
are waiting and focusing on the LORD, in whom our hope rests.

"We believe  in the power of partnership.
When people with the same heart are willing to serve one another
with different giftings, we can see extraordinary things happen."
                                                             LONDON CITY MISSION
1 Peter 4:10 ESV
As each person has received a gift, use it to serve one another
as good stewards of God's varied grace.

This is a call to love filled unity

Psalm 52: 8-9 NASB
8     I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.
       I trust in the loving kindness of God for ever and ever
9     I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,
       and I will wait on your name, for it is good,
       in the presence of Your godly ones.

In the body of CHRIST , we are each like flourishing olive trees.
We completely trust in the goodness of God.
We are full of gratitude and give thanks for all that the Lord has done
and continues to do.
We wait on His Name : We focus on His authority.
As part of the body of Christ we wait in His righteousness.
We wait in the righteous fellowship of the body of Christ.

Psalm 62 : 1-2 NASB
1     My soul waits in silence for God only;
       From Him is my salvation.
2     He is my rock and my salvation,
       My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalm 62 : 5-6-7  NLT
5     I wait quietly before God,
           for my hope is in Him.
6     He alone is my rock and my salvation,
       my fortress where I shall not be shaken,
7     my salvation and my honour come from God alone.
       He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.

Waiting on His Name does indicate our giving the Lord
our loving attention ;-
attention to His will ,  His word,  His love ,  His purpose,  and His authority.
His word illuminates what we are currently called to do in the body of Christ.
In the body of Christ we wait only upon God, because our expectations is from Him.
He is our refuge; where no enemy can reach us !  This too adds something
for those currently in the fellowship of those who are waiting on the LORD.

Psalm 145:15  KJV,  The eyes of all wait upon thee:
Psalm 145:15  NASB   The eyes of all look to you

Psalm 147:11   NLT
the Lord's delight is in those who honor Him,
those who put their hope in His unfailing love.
NASB
Those who wait for His loving kindness.



Wednesday 1 February 2017

PSALM 41 TRANSFORMATION

In Psalm 41 verse 1-3 David reveals the heart of God towards the poor.
and the heart of God towards those who share the same passion for the poor.

Spirit filled believers stand in the grace of the LORD.
This grace transforms our hearts to be good natured,
sympathetic and to have  compassion for the poor, and
a strong desire to understand their concerns and to meet
their needs.

We barely understand all that the LORD JESUS  has done for us
on Calvary. But we know that whatever we do for the poor and afflicted,
we  "do unto Him".
So when you comb the old man's hair and make him comfortable,
the eyes that look back to you are the eyes of Christ.
It is in us to bless and deliver the person who is having a bad day,
or a difficult moment. Blessing and delivering become our
worthwhile ministry.
Salvation and healing is the most pressing need.

Neither love nor the action of the holy spirit
are restricted to a building
or a denomination,
but the joy  of love and the action of the HOLY SPIRIT
within each of us, can transform our own community.