The following Psalm comes from Leslie F. Brandt’s book Psalms/Now. I’ve been referring to this every now & again to get a slightly different take on what the original author may have been getting at, as I read my devotions from the YouVersion Bible App.
Today’s reading resonated with me on a number of levels, as I’ve been preparing for the upcoming Divisional Mission & Ministry Reviews which are occuring in the coming months, as it asks:
Is God speaking to speaking to His church today?
Which of course the answer would be categorically: YES!
So, it got me thinking, what would He be saying to us in our different settings to advance His kingdom where He has placed us, as we go through the Review & Planning process?
May the following be an encouragement, and quite possibly our prayer, as we embark on putting down on paper and refocusing on what it is that we think and feel God is speaking to us about in these days.
Our great God has heard our cry,
and He is speaking to His church today.
I hear Him saying many things.
He reminds us that He is God in our world,
the God who piloted His people through history, who regards His church
with love and concern.
He would have us remember
how He freed us from sin’s burden and guilt,
how He responded to our pleas for deliverance and was present with us
in the trials and conflicts of our lives.
He brings to our rememberance the many times we neglected to listen to Him
and how He had to allow us to hurt ourselves
because we stubbornly chose our own course.
He reiterates His promise to meet our needs
and to enrich our lives
as we rely on Him for grace and strength.
He diagnoses our sickness even today
and points us to His purpose for our existence.
We have become complacent
in our structures and institutions.
We have been subtly diverted
from His will and purposes in our world.
We have selfishly interpreted His Word
to fit our schemes
and carry out our intents.
We have clutched at God
to pacify and sustain us
even while we remain insensitive
to the suffering world about us.
Now God is speaking again,
in judgement as well as with promise.
He is reaching out to restore us to Himself
and to renew our vision for His world.
“How long will you ignore
My oppressed and dispossessed children,
their cries for liberty and justice?”
our God is saying to the church.
“Why are there people going hungry about you
while you abound in gifts from My hand?
You are My sons and servants,
My representatives in a fractured world.
I can reach those, sick, needy, loveless,
and lonely creatures only through you.
This is the reason I have given you so much,
that you may share it with them.”
Help us, O God, to return to
Your purposes for Your church,
to recognise all men as Your subjects,
that the world belongs to You.
May Your great love flood our lives
only to overflow and touch with healing and to channel Your grace
to the lives of every one of Your precious children.
You are in our world, O God.
May we serve You here by ministering
to the needs of our fellowmen.
Amen
The life and times of Perry... 