God wants true worship & He will punish the proud

So I am finally on leave for the Christmas break and my wife & I have moved our way from Pretoria towards Cape Town (SA). (if you want to check it out go to http://www.itsallaboutballs.blogspot.com). So this morning we have woken to a beautiful day in Knysna. This beautiful coastal city can only be God made. I am sitting outside on a wooden deck amongst 11 wooden houses, with a beautiful sun enhanced view of the Knysna Heads (two mountains that form the entrance way into the lagoon from the Indian Ocean.

 

So i opened my bible and opened it on Psalms 50 & 52. So I read. Here are some key aspects that were highlighted to me.

In Psalm 52 the question is asked 'Why do you brag about the evil you do?' How often do we brag? How often do I brag about things that is not because of my doing but rather through the grace of God? How often do I boast about 'my' successes? Should we not be sharing about God and what He has done for us? Yes we should. It is often so easy for us to brag about 'our things', 'our lives', 'our successes' BUT we find it difficult to brag to others about our Lord and Saviour, the one who knows everything, who created everything, the one who has a special marked out plan for each of us! The question is are we willing 'to be ruined forever' (v5) or are we willing to take up the challenge and be proud about God?

 

Linked to this I felt was Psalm 50, where we read about God wanting true worship. What is that, true worship? Well, i suppose if we think of one side, we could related it to being proud of God, being willing to brag about him. However in this psalm one thing that stood out is that it went about more than that. In verse 14-15 it reads:

"Give an offering to show thanks to God. Give God Most High what you have promised.

Call to me in times of trouble. I will save you, and you will honour me."

What does God want. He wants us to show thanks. Show thanks for what He has done for us. But more importantly, give what you promise. Don't make promises you can't keep and those you do make live up to them. What God wants and what shows him worship is calling on him when you in trouble. Call on Him during troubled times. Don't take things for granted, ask for his help and He will save us. But make sure you honour Him. By doing this we will honour God.

 

So go to Him for help and He will but go being willing to praise him.

God bless

SB

Cape point - 'Bouncing Christmas Balls' Day 4

Standing at the tip of Cape Point, a historic landmark in South Africa, a landmark of such beauty but one that at the same time has caused much damage and lives cost. As I stand leaning over the walls with the Atlantic Ocean so blue I cannot help feeling God's power as I marvel it his creation. The awesomeness of His creation and the feel of His power as the Cape Doctor (the winds that clean the Cape) blow up the side of the mountain cliff face.

 

Being able to visit places like this and view His creation is phenonmenal and I am blessed being able to. As the birds swoop around the face cliffs the freedom they experience, at the same time as being carried by his power the wind. it makes me think of the verse in the Bible where we are carried on eagles wings.

 

When you look at this point, seeing the ocean bashing against the rocky cliffs, feel the wind blowing up the mountain, you can only appreciate it, but at the same time respect the creation.

 

While I stand here I cant help praying that more people can experience God's creation and beauty like I have been blessed today, whilst on holiday and that all can realised how great is our God!

 

God Bless our country and Africa!

SB

Getting caught up in Life?

It is amazing how quickly a person gets side tracked with 'life'. The hussle and bussle. The everyday work and activities take over and before you realise the things that are important in life get neglected. Over the past 2 months there has been soem changes in my life and in particular in the work that I do.

I have moved completely into working in the sport that I love and with the athletes that I admire for their dedication, motivation and persistancy. This is swimming. The hours of training, time spent at competitions and away from family amazes me.

Along with this move has come extra early mornings, long days and getting home after dark. Associated with this move i have neglected my responsibilities. My responsibilities as a Christian, who commited his life to serving God and who also committed his life to sharing my faith and that of sportsmen and women that I get in contact with, I have neglected over the last while. There are no excuses and I have have just not prioritised my days appropriately. Not doing my quiet times, spending time sharing with friends and family and not posting on this blog, has been the scenario.

It amazes me how quickly we can loose track, loose the plot and loose focus on what is important. And what do we do, we use the excuse 'I am so busy'. Reality is however that it is all just excuses and lack of planning, prioritising and just plan laziness. From time to time we slip and don't keep up, which is uacceptable. We need to always re-evaluate where we are, what we are up and what is important. In hindsight, I can see God's hand in my life throughout this last 2 months and how he has blessed me personally (with the new job for example).

So, the challenge is to each of us to continually re-evaluate what we are up to and if it forms part of what is important in life. So I am, are you?

God Bless
SB