SOUL LIVING  from previous Issues

 

SOUL LIVING

Introduction

 

  It was while I was reading John Ortberg’s book Soul Keeping, and as I was pondering some of the Psalms, in preparation for producing Daily Devotions for our church, that I realised how little I was feeding my soul and that my soul-living was not a priority for me.

  My mind was being fed no problem but I could not say that it was well with my soul.

I could not even describe how it was with my soul. I just knew that something was amiss.

  And so I began to note down topics and headings that appeared before me concerning the soul, and in particular my soul. I created a separate memo on my mobile phone with the heading Soul Living and every so often I would add another comment, another reference from the Bible, another milestone for my soul to aim for.

If I was serious again about loving the LORD my God, then my soul had to be involved!

 Jesus’ reminder in Matthew 22 of the greatest commandment (Deuteronomy 6 v5) means that every part of me must be onboard – heart + mind + strength + soul.

 

It was Oscar Wilde who said…..”I was no longer the captain of my own soul”

 

The music industry is full of soul music – some better than others.

 

The Bible speaks of the dark night of the soul for men such as Jacob,  Job,  Jeremiah,  Jesus  and  Judas Iscariot.

I think there were many more.

 

Sitting in any pub or restaurant….listening to people…what drives their soul is anything but God!  

It can be the next pint..next race..last job..a family member..the last shopping purchase or the next gadget for the house.  There are people filling their lives (and souls) with all sorts of things….except the One who created them and longs to be in relationship with them…each and every one….

 

It is one thing to say I love God – something I have done nearly all my life - 

it is totally another thing to mean it and to actually love Him….. with every part of me.

 

This section is a challenge.

It is a check-up for your soul-living.

It may cause you to agree with Oscar Wilde.

It may make you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Jacob or Jeremiah.

 

I hope it will give you food for thought and cause you to turn to the Great Restorer of Souls,

to consider His Word, to spend time discussing things over with Him

and to fall in love with Him all over again – deeper and stronger – with heart and mind and soul. 

When He is the Captain of our soul then the ship can sail through any dark night

and the music heard will be well with our soul indeed.

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SOUL SALVATION

 

Easter!!

 

Jesus speaks of our souls needing to be saved in Matthew 16 v 26.

Paul tells how it happened to him in 1 Timothy 1 vs 12-17.

He writes of ‘God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope’

at the start of that letter to his young associate, Timothy.

 

This is what Easter is really all about!

 

A few weeks ago I was watching a football match on television.

The game ended evens and so penalty kicks would decide the Cup winners.

By the end…the hero was not one of the kickers…it was one of the goalkeepers who had pulled off save after save. He was the team’s saviour on that day!

 

We all need a saviour….because we are on the wrong team.

We are not on God’s team by natural birth and so judgement, guilt and an eternity without Him in hell are hanging over us.

 

We need someone to be our saviour.

We cannot save ourselves.

Every time we miss God’s net with our kicks.

We try.

We think we have scored.

But God says it is not good enough.

 

That Someone was Jesus.

He took the punishment for me, for us, for everybody.

He was forsaken by God the Father on the cross at Calvary as He took our guilt and judgement on Himself.

 

And God was satisfied.

And we were made justified – put right with God – by faith in Jesus.

 

And our soul future in Him is safe and secure.

And on that Day of Judgement to come He will confirm our Soul Salvation

– for ever!

 

 

Hallelujah! What a Saviour!!

 

My Saviour.

Your Saviour??

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LENT

Let me invite you to return to the first theme here - Soul Searching - and to work through again with God how things are in your soul with Him.

Soul Rest may also be helpful to re-visit at this time of Lent.

 

Be prepared for God to do a new thing deep within!!

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SOUL PURITY

 

Utterly impossible.

Romans 3 verse 23.

 

And yet…….

 

God makes it possible.

 

The LORD offers a deep clean in Isaiah 1 verse 18.

He does a thorough job in Isaiah 44 verses 21-23.

He sent Jesus to make us blameless…..Colossians 1 verses 21-22.

 

And so His children have a new desire…to be like Him in purity.

1 John 2 verse 28- 3 verse 3.

 

 

Oh how we struggle and try and try but no matter how hard we scrub and scrub inwardly by ourselves we will never make ourselves pure.

 

I have discovered – time and time again – that I need to come as I am to God

and admit I got it wrong

and let Him cleanse me

and re-mould me

and refill me

and make me more like Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God

who takes away all our sin

and has given us the Holy Spirit

to live within

to cleanse us from the inside out.

 

I need to listen to Him.

I need to let Him into every corner and cupboard.

I need to let Him throw out whatever He decides.

 

I need to….I really do.

 

 

And when I do?

The impossible becomes possible

And I can look at Father God face-to-face again.

 

Hallelujah?

Amen and Amen!!

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SOUL TIMING

 

There are some people who are never on time!

In our family…dad was the one we had to wait for…

I know someone who is frequently 30 minutes late on arriving!!!

 

And don’t mention buses or trains….

 

 

The Israelite exiles in Ezekiel 12 verses 26-28 learned a powerful lesson that we should all pay attention to…… God’s timing.

 

 

It is a hard lesson and it is not all about NOW.

Oh how we need to learn that..over and over again!

God has His very good reasons at times for delaying.

Why do we only focus on one small piece of the jigsaw at times??

 

He has a plan that has been on the go for a very very very long time.

Look at Ephesians 1 verses 11-14.

Why do we try and hurry God then??

 

Jesus lived and worked according to a heavenly timetable.

John 2 verse 4 and 17 verse 1.

What makes us think we are any different??

 

The Bible clearly gives us a sense that God’s timing is always right and that we are the ones who are in a hurry, impatient or dragging our feet.

 

 

There is a lovely phrase in Galatians 5 verse 25……. let us keep in step with the Spirit.

I am still learning to do that in my life…..but I get impatient!

 

But if we could only do that day by day..every day..oh the difference it would make to our Christian life and walk. We would see what God sees. We would stop and start as the Spirit leads.

We would learn to accept God’s timing as the best timetable ever.

 

 

……and those buses and trains?                   Let them come whenever!

 

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SOUL  RESTORATION

 

The Bad news is……we all get it wrong.

 

The Good news is…….God is in the restoration business!!

 

 

Grab a Bible or look online with me…

 

David in Psalm 51….

Israel’s experience of their God in Isaiah 43 verses 1-7….48 vs 17-22.…chapters 51 and 55….57 vs 14-21….59 vs 9-21....and chapter 61!

Jesus and Peter in John chapters 18 and 21

And of course those marvellous words in Psalm 23 verse 3!

 

 

Quite simply in these lines I want to encourage you and to help you believe and trust in God

wherever you are at in life.

 

Admit where you got it wrong.

Let it go.

Trust in what God is doing in your life.

Hold onto God above all others.

Let Him work in your soul and mind and will.

Oh it isn’t easy I know.

 

But allow Him to rebuild and restore and renew.

 

 

The words of that song Outrageous Grace are for you again!

 

Here is the link on YouTube…..

https://youtu.be/6Z3q8IIT-XA

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SOUL  REST

 

Over the recent festive period I really struggled…..at rest? NOPE.

 

It was the end of a busy, emotional, demanding year.

Dad passed away. Two grandchildren arrived within weeks of each other into our family. My wife was made redundant.  And Lasting Fruit was launched too!

 

 

Psalm 62 verse 1 in the New International Version speaks of the psalmist finding rest in God for his soul….and that verse somewhat haunted me over these weeks.

It reminded me that I wasn’t at rest.

It told me that the psalmist had rest…deep within.

It challenged me to find this rest.

 

Then Matthew 11 verse 29 came to mind.

Jesus offering rest to the weary.

I was weary.

 

I was reminded of a scene in the film The Mission, in which Robert De Niro struggles and struggles to climb up a waterfalled-rockface….with several bags and his armour attached. He will not let go. He had murdered someone and this was part of his own penance.

Eventually, one of the tribesmen near the very top moves forward and cuts the rope that was tied around him and his heavy burden falls away.

Laughter fills the scene!

 

I have learned a lesson this past festive time.

God DOES offer and promise wonderful rest for my soul, for your soul.

However, whatever is causing the unrest has to go…handed over to Him

and then there is space for me to receive.

 

 

On a scale of 1-10 how much is your soul at rest these days?

 

Is there something to be handed over….maybe something you have carried for a very long time?

 

Jesus promises us a peace that the world cannot give.

Thank Him.   Ask Him.

 

 

I hope and pray that you open your arms…wide…and receive from Him!

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Matthew 5 verses 1-16…looking out for others

 

Soul Living is not all about our inner souls.

It is also about how our inner souls are outwardly seen in action.

 

Jesus knew that and brought His Beatitudes to a needy people.

People hurting, mourning, poor, seeking spiritual satisfaction, persecuted, working for peace……sound familiar?

He promised them rewards, rewards that would last in eternity.

 

This Advent, let us be people who bring blessings to others…just like Jesus.

 

We probably know these verses so very well……..Jesus calls us to put them into practice….in our homes, our family circle, our street and community, our city, our nation, our world.  Perhaps we cannot get to those on our minds…..prayer works….because God can be there with them.

However, we may be the ones hurting or mourning or longing for peace in our times or chasing satisfaction for our souls. We may feel that we are the unlucky ones, the ones swimming against the tide and we are anything but joyful at this Christmas time.

 

Pause for a few moments with these verses, with the One who spoke them.

 

Jesus has not changed.

He alone can meet our deepest needs and bring His rewards, His blessings so that even we can be the salt of the earth and the light of the world! We can make a difference in our world and to the lives of others.

 

This Advent, is there someone you can reach out to or pray for so that these blessings become a living reality for them?

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5.    Soul Satisfaction

 

For me, there are few things more satisfying than a good coffee at the end of a meal.

It ends my meal with a lovely, warm feeling.

Of course, a good book or United winning can help too!

 

I made this note as I was sitting in a pub….listening to people nearby talking.…and what drives their soul is anything but God!   It was the next pint..the next race..the last job…a family member…their last shopping purchase or gadget for the house…or complaints about this, that

or whatever!  There are people filling their lives (and souls) with all sorts of things….except the One who created them and longs to be in relationship with them…each and every one….

 

Here in the West, we do it so easily. We have so many choices and options.

However, it is an age-old problem.

 

In the Old Testament, God spoke through His servant Isaiah about it.

Have a look at Isaiah 55 verses 1-2 just now.

 

And have a think.

 

How much of our time and energy and money and attention do we give to soul satisfaction?

Are we satisfied deep within?

Are we spending and still being hungry?

 

It is as simple as all that.

 

God is offering us real, true, filling satisfaction for our souls.

 

The choice is ours.

 

Have another look at Isaiah 55 verses 1-2.

 

I can do no more than encourage you to have another think……

and keep on letting God Himself satisfy your soul.

 

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4.      Soul Deep

 

I spent many family holidays as a child in the north-east corner of Scotland, in the county of Caithness and many days were enjoyed out and about along the coastline or on the beaches there.

There is still something awe-inspiring about standing on the edge of a cliff and looking down to the swirling sea deep below.

One of my favourite places is still at the Trinkie, a large, sloping area of rock on the southern edge of the town of Wick. There you can poke around in safe, shallow pools or stand next to the deep, roaring North Sea as the waves come crashing in.  Marvellous!

 

The psalmists knew all about deep places.

Look again at Psalm 42 or Psalm 51 verse 6.

The prophet Ezekiel would also want us to consider deep places – chapter 47 and that river is worth a visit.

 

There is a depth to our souls…it is how we were created...it all depends who or what we fill them with….and whether we are left satisfied or still running on empty.

 

The Bible says that there is an awesome depth to God and His ways in us.

Look at Ephesians 3 verses 14-21 – what a great BIG God we have!

 

The problem is that some of us however prefer to paddle about in the shallow pools.  It’s much safer, much much safer in fact.

 

However, for those of us in Christ, God is actually at work in us, deep deep in us.

Mark Buchanan says in his book (Your God is Too Safe) that our God is actually actively making us saints and is working on us from the inside out.

 

Let me take you back to those places in the Bible mentioned above.

 

Psalm 42 – a deep thirst and longing, and deep waterfalls.

Is this where you are at today?  Make sure you read the whole chapter!

Psalm 51 verse 7 – God is doing a deep-cleansing on David.

Is this your soul’s need? We can be respectable and presentable on the outside but…..

(Make sure you read the whole chapter again!)

Ezekiel 47 – here is an exercise to consider – are you ankle deep, knee deep or waist deep in your life with God?    Maybe it’s time to learn to swim........

 

 

Wherever we are today in our soul-living there is always more to go!

So let me encourage you to take a step of faith…dive in…and let God fill you with all His glorious riches in Christ Jesus!

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3.    SOUL WARS

 

Star Wars has been an incredible success!

Ever since the first film (which is actually Episode IV) was released in 1977, this futuristic battle between good and evil, light and darkness has ranged on over six films. Episode VII : The Force Awakens is on the horizon as I type these words in October 2015.

 

 

Soul Wars has been in existence much much longer however.

 

The Bible records that Satan got to Adam and Eve not long after Creation.

Jacob, Job, Jeremiah, Jesus and Judas and many others knew all about it and experienced many a dark night of the soul.

In Ephesians chapter 6 the Christian Church is reminded by Paul that they are in a spiritual warfare. Peter wrote to other followers of Jesus that there would be sufferings to endure and that the Devil was prowling around like a lion waiting to attack.  In the book of Revelation John saw a vision of war breaking out in heaven itself.

 

Star Wars is entertaining.

Soul Wars are to be taken very seriously. It is a reality for each and every person and most certainly for every Christian believer. We are not to take lightly our place in all this.

We may think we are just extras on the set but doing so is an illusion and gives the enemy an unguarded open door to enter.

Ephesians 6 reminds us to keep our amour on – at all times. Wandering away from our fellow-soldiers does not help. Distractions are a temptation that only lead to defeat.

Trust me, I know.

 

If we are to be involved in the battle then our soul needs to be fit and healthy and well protected. The opening verses of Hebrews 12 need to be put into practice.

And not just once – or twice – or monthly – but daily – sometimes more than once each day!

 

So….are we ready and equipped?

(Ephesians 6 reading time?)

Can we soldier on even through rough times of suffering?

(1 Peter 5 reading time?)

 

In the comedy series of yesteryear Dad’s Army, Corporal Jones was forever saying “Don’t panic, Captain Mainwaring!”

We are not called to panic as Jesus’ followers. The sound of battle may alarm us, but we are not alone on the battlefield I have so often discovered and in fact the War is already won!

(Book of Revelation reading time?)

 

 

There is an old chorus that says,

On the victory side, on the victory side,

With Christ within, the fight we’ll win.

 

I believe it to be true – do you?

The noise of battle may be close for some of us.

The scars of battle may still hurt.

 

However, like Paul, let us press on forwards, with God’s own Helper, for the prize that is awaiting us in Christ Jesus!   

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2.   SOUL DRIVEN

 

Imagine the scene with me for a few minutes.

Nice shiny car enters stage right.

We all ooh and aah.

 

The problem is that for so many people in this world our souls have become the back seat passenger and we are driven by greed, lust, anger, hurt, superiority, ambition, others, the past, or a long list of other drivers or just plain selfish Self.  It may all look good ..but....

Eventually the soul has no say in the direction being taken and even the life-atlas has been taken from our hands, our minds, our will….or we have just dropped it in a moment of weakness.

Habits, others or fears become the signposts we follow.

The journey is either one car crash after another or it is moving very nicely thank-you-very-much along the very wide highway although every so often we have had to stop and change vehicles.

 

Highway to Hell? Don’t be daft Chris Rea!

 

And then something happens.

Maybe one car crash too many.

Or we become fed up changing vehicles or running out of fuel.

Or somewhat surprisingly we see others travelling in the opposite direction

and we wonder what’s that all about then??

 

It is Jesus who offers us real, lasting change.

He invites us to sit beside Him in the front (as friends!!).

He offers to drive.

The Bible is placed in front of us to help us on the journey.

The Holy Spirit is God’s radio player in the car – not to be switched off!

 

Our souls can then have a new direction because they are saved, totally cleaned,

fully renewed and restored – amazingly at no cost to us!

Somewhat surprisingly to ourselves, we are very content to surrender the driving wheel to Jesus and our love and admiration for Him just keeps on growing as the miles go past, some slower than others for sure, but He really does know where He is going – and that is the greatest relief of them all.

(Although there are times when we try to regain control of the steering wheel or even share the driving with Him.)

This surrender on our part is summed up in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, chapter 6 and verse 5, and is repeated by Jesus Himself in Matthew 22 verse 37.

We now find that we can love God wholeheartedly.

 

Soon others notice the changes.

We aren’t the only ones who have changed direction either.

We are not the only ones on this narrower but far better road.

 

 

I shall leave the final words to one Oscar Wilde, who said…..

”I was no longer the captain of my own soul”

 

Time to hand over the car keys?

 

1.  Soul Searching

 

In the book of Psalms the writer, one of God’s own people, maybe/maybe-not David, is not in a good place.

He is caught between a rock and a very hard place. His soul is not at peace. Nope, not at all.

There are tears. There are memories of good times in the past.

He starts to search his own soul, pouring out all he finds there.

He knows only too well how he is, how he really is.

And so does God.

 

You know, every so often that’s not a bad thing to do.

Sometimes rough times do make us sit down and cry.

Sometimes there are memories – good and bad – that return our way.

Sometimes we need a good talking-to from ourselves.

Sometimes we need to let God do the talking however.

 

Psalms 42 and 43 record the psalmist’s honest soul-searching.

Grab a Bible and have a look, or read the words online.

 

In his book Your God is Too Safe Mark Buchanan asks some direct questions.

Some of us don’t cope well when people do that to us.

I think, however, we all need it from time to time.

On one page he asks what is it that really stirs us in our deep places or makes us rise and soar to the heights?  What comes immediately to mind? Family? Football team? Food? Fashion? Church?

 

And then he asks is it what God is concerned about?

 

That’s the soul-searching question that gets the home run, that hits the bulls-eye in one throw.

 

I couldn’t avoid the question. I am still trying to answer it to be honest.

And yet deep down I know somehow that when I get that one right, the other pieces of the jig-saw will fit in together and even the rough times will have their place in my life.

 

So what’s this soul-searching all about?

Well….why not give it a try and see where it takes you.

 

Take some time over the next few days and give yourself a soul-temperature-check.   

Why not feed on the two psalms.     Ask yourself deep questions. 

Let tears flow. Let memories return.

Let God, your Creator God, speak with you deep to deep above all.

 

I have no doubt that when we put our hope fully in the Living God He will not pass us by and then we can truly sing that ‘It is well with my soul’,