Dec 19
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danielpogson added a text contribution “God has no right to treat me like this”Job 23V2 “God has no right to treat me like this” (MSG) and so demands his day in court that God should test his case. But the doors of the courthouse are firmly locked and Job cries foul. To wrestle with God like this is not a mark of disrespect but the sign of a towering relationship with his Maker. A relationship that either can call on in circumstances good or bad. Job’s words are calculated to goad God into action on his behalf. When was the last time I dared to goad God into action? The b… Read more » -
danielpogson added a text contribution Master of the momentThe bible was not written to conform with western standards of social & political liberty. The slaves of Paul’s day had no choice but to remain under the authority of their masters. The issue was how does a Christian slave deal with a difficult master? Paul says a slave by cheerful submission can actually become the master of the moment by choosing to operate in a Christ honouring manner. If the master does not respond at least the slave is no longer the victim. This has a universal applicat… Read more »
Dec 18
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danielpogson added a text contribution When there ARE no answersSometimes there ARE no answers. I don’t like that because I live in a deliver-the-solution-right-now age. Give me a problem I will solve it! It is just possible that somewhere in the suffering God is at work bringing someone nearer to Him in a way they may have never experienced before. So “When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: wait for hope to appear. Don’t run from trouble. Take it full face. The “worst” is never the wo… Read more »
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danielpogson added a text contribution The Solutions GameJob 22:5 KJV “Is not your wickedness great?” Look in a mirror and you see Job’s friends. I see my friend in trouble and go to “sort out” his/her problem with answers and solutions. Why are we so solution oriented? When Job’s friends could not find a problem they INVENTED one! What is this exercise called life all about anyway? Job’s friends were at their best when they sat with him for a week and said NOTHING. Sometimes the best we can do is be companion to our friend’s suffering. Maybe in the… Read more »
Dec 17
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danielpogson added a text contribution Now THAT'S a love story !V10 “not that we loved God, but that he first loved us” KJV. In a world full of love stories John gives the only definition that really works. The love of God arrived “while we were YET SINNERS,”(Rom5) carried ALL the risk, was one-sided, acted without expecting a response, moved unilaterally. John says go and do that for each other (V11). ‘Oh no, I am waiting for a better response from my un-cooperative friend, my unappreciative spouse, my tetchy work colleague before I will invest any more in… Read more »
Nov 23
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danielpogson added a text contribution God of the Ugly TimesV1 “let me never be ashamed”KJV ‘Don’t let me down!’ ‘Take me seriously this time’ (Message) David implores an already competent saviour to take a share in his previous failures. God “cannot look upon sin” but David drags God into his case. Here is a man with a passion for his God. David’s God was a God for the ugly times as well as the good. David does not avoid talking to God until he gets himself “right” first. To know we can do that is very freeing. Read more »
Nov 22
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danielpogson added a text contribution Wrestling with God Psa 31It is very human to feel distanced from God in times of personal failure or sin. This psalm has a strong context in David’s sin “because of mine iniquity..my bones are consumed”(v10). That the final cry on the cross however, “into thy hands I commit my spirit,” has its birth in this Psalm (v5) must be the ultimate expression of accessible intimacy with God in dysfunctional and distancing circumstances. That God operates like this is counter-intuitive to our natural reasoning. To tap this as a st… Read more »
Nov 10
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danielpogson added a text contribution Rom 5:1-21 The Hardest Part of being SavedEver had that God-might-be-saving-everyone-else-but-I-don’t-know-about-me feeling? Maybe we need to change viewpoints says Paul. He invites us to see the crucifixion from heaven’s perspective. To view the emotional pain & drama that a Heavenly Father felt looking down on that scene. The outcome may surprise. At odds with human reaction the Father’s response is to look at us on THAT night with all its ugliness and say ‘I forgive you’ V9 ‘I am taking you back’ V10. Certainly not a human resp… Read more »
Nov 6
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danielpogson added a text contribution Forsaken or Found ?V7 “Thou has known my soul in adversities”KJV This must surely be a key expression of this Psalm. In the great difficulties we experience in life God gets close to our soul. It is there that he makes the connections. The expression is almost romantic. In the trauma, the drama, the distress, the sadness, the loss, the failure and the search for release - God finds us. It is like he says, “here is where I have come to know you.” That our lord quoted this psalm on the cross in his dying moments (v5… Read more »
Nov 3
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danielpogson added a text contribution 'My times are in Your Hand'V15 “My times are in your hand” KJV ‘Hour by hour I place my days in your hand” (Message) Magic expression! I think it appeals because having wrung his hands in complaint David now hands his life back to God, an expression of ultimate trust. When you think of your times and what you have been through up, down and inside out and to know God just holds all that every way and doesn’t drop you when the going gets tough. He is the God of my every hour, not just when things go right and I am feeling c… Read more »
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danielpogson added a text contribution 'Room to Breathe'V8 “Thou hast set my feet in a large room”KJV ‘You..gave me room to breathe’ (Message) God gives us space even in the middle of uncertainty and pressure, little windows of room where we can catch our breath and not lose our souls in the process of life. God is a great space–maker. Within Christian gatherings it is critical to make space for each other. Latitude and understanding, an atmosphere of forgiveness, confidentiality and support are all great space-makers. Read more »
Oct 30
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danielpogson added a text contribution Don't wait for the Optimum ConditionsI watch the farmers out here in the dry Outback ploughing and sowing their seed into desperately dry ground. Crazy you say? They have no choice. If they wait for rain, by the time they work the ground up the season will be half gone. They are working on probability and they just have to go, go, go. Solomon says don't wait for the optimum conditions in life before you get your good intentions happening. Optimum conditions never happen. "I will commit myself to a greater relationship wi… Read more »
Oct 20
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danielpogson added a text contribution Rom 7-8:3 Seperating the Problem from the PersonWe don’t take it seriously…Sin that is. We know what God thinks of sin but we say ‘hey it’s OK, what I’m doing right now is not so bad.’ God wants to change that view, turn us around, and forgive us all in one process. Paul says ‘You want to see how bad Sin is - take a look at what it does with a perfectly good commandment ' In Paul's experience Sin gets hold of it (Ok a bit of personification happening here) and rides it into a real bad place. Telling me I should not covet says Paul,… Read more »
Oct 18
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danielpogson added a text contribution Rom 6:1-7:6 The Power of IdentityPaul in promoting Grace has the argument leveled at him (6:1) that his preaching was risky and would only open the 'floodgates of evil' among christians. The accusation had punch and he spends the next chapter showing how grace actually worked and by extension why law did not. He uses 3 pieces of imagery - a tree graft, a change of master to a worn out slave and a new marriage to illustrate this. They all share the language of an IDENTITY change through a new association. "Crucifi… Read more »