Angels watching over me

Do you believe in angels? What does God's word say about angels?

Psalm 91:11,12  For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service]. They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Hebrews 1:14  Are not the angels all ministering spirits (servants) sent out in the services [of God for the assistance] of those who inherit salvation?

Psalm 103:20 Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments hearkening to the voice of His word.

I believe in angels. I can think of at least four occasions in my life when I have been in physical danger, but a major accident was mysteriously avoided.  However I don't think it was that mysterious at all. I believe it was His angels bearing me up on their hands. How utterly grateful I am for God's provision of angels.

I often ask God's angels to protect members of our family. For example, protecting my husband as sometime twice a week he drives for at least 5 hours to Sydney and back. When I put our children to bed each night, I call God's angels into their bedrooms to protect them.  From personal experience I know that the angels come and do not leave them. This was evidenced by the protection they gave one night a couple of years ago, saving the lives of two of our family members. Protection that I will be ever grateful to God for.

Questions for today, do you believe what the bible says about angels? How have they protected you in the past?

A God-fashioned life

Let's start with scripture today .... from Ephesians 4:20-24, The Message bible ...

'But that's no life for you. You learned Christ! 

My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything - and I do mean everything - connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life - a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.'

As I read this passage this morning I reflected back on my priorities in life before I became a Christian. I can see how God has been changing my priorities so they line up with His plan for my life. I say 'changing' as this is a continual process. 

I certainly experienced change on the inside when I made Jesus Lord of my life, about 17 years ago. However, it has been the past 5 years of financial stress and ill-health in our family that has led me re-evaluate 'my' priorities again! 

In the period prior to the past 5 years, we experienced a time of great financial prosperity and abundance. In that time, 'my' priorities had begun to overshadow what I had previously learnt about God's priorities for my life. I had become less God reliant and more Wendy reliant.

Well our circumstances of these past 5 years have certainly re-aligned those priorities and re-taught me where my reliance is meant to be. These trials have caused me to seek God every day, and some days every hour.  He is the source of and in my life. And whilst these trials have been very tough, I thank God that He did not give up on fashioning me, and I thank Him that He will continue to fashion me. 

The question for today, what is God currently doing in your life to help you live a God-fashioned life?

Church on Holiday

Normally when we are on a family holiday we try to find a Sunday service at a local church to go. However yesterday the holiday mood overtook us in the morning, so we decided to have our own church service in our holiday cabin.

Our service went something like this ......  firstly some creative worship.... we each made a cross from coloured ice-block sticks. Some of us were a little more creative than others.

For the scriptural part of the service, we read a story from the book, Sophie and Sam - When to day "yes" and when to say "no". This book is written by the authors of Boundaries, Drs Henry Cloud and John Townsend. It is essentially a children's version of Boundaries. We read the story called 'Say yes to thanking God'. It is about different things we can talk to God about through the day, and things we can thank him for.  The story is based on the scripture: 

Spend a lot of time in prayer. Always be watchful and thankful. Colossians 4v2.

I have also been using this book for devotions with our younger children whilst we have been on holidays, and have added a review to the Kids Books page of this blog.

After the reading everyone shared about something they had prayed about recently.

Then came the most colourful part of the service, free worship. One child sang 'Jesus loves me', another sang their own original creation, 'Jesus loves my family', whilst another danced. The finale was Ken and I doing a duet of 'Jesus, lover of my soul.'

The service was then closed in prayer by our 3 year old! It was a very very special family time, and a church service we will all remember for a long time!

This relaxing holiday has given me the time to finally finish reading Something More, by Catherine Marshall. I have updated my review notes on my Current Reading Pile. This book has a very thought-provoking last chapter, asking the question how much control have you surrendered to the Holy Spirit?

Don't take yourself too seriously

Whilst doing my devotional reading on Saturday I was reading from the book of Micah, chapter 6. 

But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what GOD is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour, be compassionate and loyal in your love. And don't take yourself too seriously, take God seriously. Micah 6v8 The Message

This last part of the verse, don't take yourself too seriously, take God seriously, has stayed in my thoughts since reading it. I am by nature generally a serious person. I would much rather have a deep and meaning conversation with someone, than have a "joke-telling fest". 

In fact, this is a bit sad, but I can't actually remember the last time that I had a good old belly laugh. Perhaps God is trying to tell me something here. Something like, cut yourself some slack, enjoy life, don't make life one continual list! Whoa, now that is a big challenge for me!

I guess with school holidays having just started I will have plenty of opportunities to enjoy just hanging out with the kids, do some crazy things in the kitchen, in the park, at the beach, that will generate some of that belly-laughing. Or it may be a case of really listening to the kids' conversations among themselves. Sometimes that is enough to start the laughing, particularly comments from a 3 year old who thinks she is a 10 year old.

Thank you Jesus for speaking to me about remembering to laugh and enjoy this wonderful life you have given me. 

The question for today, when did you last have a good old belly laugh? If like me it has been awhile, I pray that you will be laughing in the very near future.