As we come again to this cherished and treasure time of year, Easter, I attended our churches annual Easter Convention. Our special guest speaker this year is Frank Retief. Frank is no stranger to us at St James and we love to hear him expound God's word for us. Last night was no different. Frank spoke to us of Jesus. He reminded us that it is Jesus who has reconciled us to God in his voluntary sacrifice on the cross. Along with the message from God's word and the wonderful worship , it was a good evening.
Why then am I so down cast. Why does my heart not soar as the music soars and why does my soul not stir at the words that bring life. And I know they do. So I begin the struggle that befalls me too often again. I wrestle with myself and then this afternoon I wrestle with God. I had the fortunate opportunity of having some time while I waited for one of our sons. 45 minutes to read and pray. I had taken along one of my favourite reads by John Piper called "What Jesus demands from the World". The reason I love this book is because each chapter is short. If you have had the good fortune of reading Piper you will totally understand what I mean when I say, Short is good. He packs each sentence with so much to think about in his usual style, that the shorter the better for me.
So, there I sit and start. I started with my notes from last night and then I began to read again Piper's chapter on Repentance. Jesus came with these words from the start. He said Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. His message was about repentance and his message was a call on each and every person alive and once again I came face to face with that call on my soul.
The thing I came to realise again today is that I am a sinner and I need God to help me and need his work in my life to change my mind , continuously about who he and who I am. The inward change of my mind and heart is indeed a miracle and I need him to do that for me. So I found myself writing and writing and praying. I found myself in The Safe Place . How beautiful this safe place is. It is a feeling and it is a colour. It is the most perfect place to be and I love to be here. It is here, in The Safe Place that I know God has spoken and he has heard me and I thank Him.
After all this was done - again- I wrote a poem about it. Ill publish that next. God bless you reader and know that the God who flung the stars into space and causes the sun to shine on you is the God who loves you and died for you. This Easter , wont you come to him.
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