Let the rain fall down...

On Sunday the 15th of May, I sent out a call for those living in the Southern part of Western Australia to pray for rain. And those prayers have indeed been answered. Throughout the months of May, June, July and August the rain has continued to fall, nourishing the land. The grass has started to grow, the crops have recieved sustancance, the dams are filling up, inland the wildflowers are beginning to bloom, and to add a personal note our rainwater tank is full! (Now don't ask me how much rain we have had so far this year - I tried to look on www.bom.gov.au but found it EXREEMELY hard to navigate and discover the infomation I was searching for.)

What I'm trying to say is that we have truely been blessed with so much rain this year. For a change everythign is wet. The ground is satisfied (If the fact that everytime it rains a bit more the ground become extremely slushy is any indication).Becuase of this blessing we should turn to God and thank him for so wonderously giving to us.

The songs that I have posted below all have something to do with rain. (Which is why I have posted them). What each song is saying is that rain is more than just water. There is something powerful and magical about it. And sometimes it feels as if I can also feel that magic :)

God is in Control

"God is in control

We believe that his children will not be forsaken

God is in control

We will choose to remember and never be shaken

There is no power above or beside Him, we know

God is in control, oh, God is in control"

How often do we go through life forgetting that God has everything in his hands. How often do we remember that God is moving in our lives, controlling the circumstances around us. God is in control of everything. Everything that happens to us, be it good or bad, comes from the hand of God. God wills it and there is nothing within our power that we can do to change even the slightest little event. As we read in Matt 10:30 the very hairs on our head are numbered (Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." Matthew 10:29-30). Every event in our life is controlled by God.

Throughout the Bible God is moving behind the circumstances in order to work out his plan. Think for example of how Saul became king in 1 Sam 9. God used lost donkeys in order to bring Saul to the same town as Samuel so that he could be anointed king. God uses the normal (and sometimes annoying) parts of our life to move us into position for a particular divine appointment. Finding donkeys was probably one of the more mundane parts of Saul's life yet God used these lost donkeys to bring Saul, the first king of Israel, to the throne. Our heavenly Father, the God who made heaven and earth, is controlling the events of our lives. He is moving behind the circumstances and shaping them so that the events of our lives work together for the execution of His eternal plan.

So far this year much has happened. Earthquakes, floods and mudslides, fire, cyclones, tornadoes, and tropical storms, Tsunamis,  civil unrest, and I suppose I would find more if I began searching. And God was in control of all of those events. Although we may not understand it, everything that is happening is a part of a vast eternal plan. With this knowledge we can rest safely in the hands of God, trusting that he is using all these events as a part of his eternal plan. All things come to us not by chance but by His fatherly hand (HC, Lord's Day 10 q/a ).

The essence of being a Christian

True faith is believing in the things which we cannot see. Yet it can be difficult believing in an unseen God. Many Christians want a religion which is full of colour and processions, a religion which appeals to the senses. They want a religion with things that you can see, things you can hear, things you can taste. They want God to be tangible and perceptible. 

Instead of focusing on what we experience, our hearts should be so in tune with God, so spiritually minded that the thought of God and the word of God fills us with Joy. Rather than filling our 'religion' with things which are perceptible because the standard of scripture is too high we should fill our hearts and minds with Christ Jesus. The more a man or woman grows in spirituality than the plainer their religion will be.

Post Tenebras Lux

After darkness comes light: The motto of the Genevan Church during the early 1500s, during the Great Reformation.

In my preparation for Bible Study Club last night, I was listening to a sermon on the topic of 1 Samuel 7 (The topic we had was 1 Samuel 6 & 7). In the sermon the Pastor was contrasting the state of 'Ichabod' Israel was in during Chapters 4 and 5 (4: 21 'and she named the child Ichabod, saying "the Glory has departed from Israel"... ). To the state of 'Ebenezer' in chapter 7 (7:12 'and called it's name Ebenezer, saying, "thus far the Lord has helped us.").In Chapter 7 the glory of the Lord has returned to Israel and he is on their side so that they are able to defeat the Philistines once again. Israel went through a reformation, they put away all the foreign gods and God was with them once again. Throughout the sermon the pastor was highlighting the importance of having the Glory of the Lord with us, the importance of being in a state of Ebenezer.

This brings us back to reformation. We have to constantly be in a state of Reformation, both as a church and as individuals. We should constantly be making sure that we are serving God in the way he commands us to. Constantly ensuring that we are going everything to the honor and glory of of God. How should we do this? Well perhaps we could take the example of the church during the reformation. The church which had the motto of "Post Tenebras Lux". The church of Geneva was so focused on maintaining a state of light within the Church that John Calvin preached 2 times each Sunday, and then again three times during the week. The Church worked hard so that they were continually in a state of 'Ebenezer'.