Psalm 126: Happy face Sunday

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 126 (NIV)

When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy. (v1-3)
Hudson learnt how to change DVDs at a very early age. Sadly for him, his parents are not so good at remembering where the remotes last were. So there are numerous times when Hudson has put his chosen DVD in and then has to spend the next few minutes looking for the TV and DVD remote controls. 

Every time he finds them though he has a massive smile on his face and comes running to me or Priscilla with the remote in his hand shouting "FIND IT! I FIND IT!"

It is at times like that we understand why Jesus wanted us to be more like little children. I am aware that as I have grown up (no smart comments required), I have lost much of the simple joys of life. 

But I would be more worried if stopped finding joy in what God has done for me or my family. In this Psalm the Israelites are remembering how God brought the captives back. They remember all the things that God has done for them and their natural response is JOY!

Someone once commented that some Christians look so miserable that they must've been baptised in lemon juice! I find it strange that so many look so grimaced during times of worship. I know we're 'concentrating', but worship songs help us remember the amazing things God has done for us - "ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven ...oh He saved us." 

The challenge is that we can get so blasé about the songs that we sing and the rituals that we go through that we lose out on the joy in worship. If you want to know whether you have become blasé and are just going through ritual, the next time you are in a worship setting, ask your face if it is the face of someone who has been ransomed, healed, restored and forgiven. 

My challenge to myself and to us is that we be more like a little child at church. This week, if it helps you think about the words we sing, don't sing. Just listen to the words, meditate on what God has done, and allow your heart, face, hands, feet and body to respond in JOY!

Fellow worshippers, if we cannot be joyful in our worship, when we sing songs about the most amazing things that have and will ever happen to us, then where and when else will we find joy?

The Lord has done great things for us! Let us respond in joy. And remember joy is always visible and infectious! 

Psalm 125: Safe in His arms

by Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 125 (NIV)

God, I know you are like the mountains, that you surround us, protect us, and inspire us.

I pray that you make us like mountains, that you cause us to become strong, enduring, and unshakable.

Be my mountain today Lord. Make me a mountain today Lord.

This has been very much my prayer this week as I have gone back to face a really difficult situation that I have been very shaken by for a long time.

The amazing truth is that the reason Mount Zion cannot be shaken is because another hill was. Years after this psalm was written, on a Friday, on a hill called Golgotha, Jesus Christ died for us.

He bore the wrath we deserved. He suffered in our place, making atonement for our sins. It is because of this amazing act of love that God really can and will "surround his people both now and forevermore”.

In whatever we face in this life nothing can ever shake the truth that Jesus conquered our sin in His death. Then He conquered death by His resurrection. And it’s because of this that we can go about our days under the Lord‘s invincible protection. It is only in this kind of supernatural protection that we are really secure. This is a protection that is there for us no matter what. The tomb is empty, Jesus reigns, and we cannot be moved.

The key to continued peace when evil seems to abound is to trust God, to lean on his promises, to allow the Holy Spirit to keep fueling our faith.  Our God is faithful and unshakable, there seems no better reason to keep on running to him.

Psalm 124: Where'd you be?

by Andi Norton

Psalm 124 (NIV) 


If the Lord had not been on our side...... (vs 1)

Todays Psalm opens with a great statement, what if the Lord had not been on our side.

Imagine it: Where would you be, if God didn't step into your situation? If He refused your desperate cry and ultimately left you to the clutches of death?

I've been teaching Year 6 students these past two weeks about what is our identity in. This has been a great time of reflection for me also as I share my testimony of what I once was like and how God radically transformed me.

The reality for me is if the Lord had not been on my side, I would have most likely be hopelessly lost, no future ahead of me and potentially dead when 10 years ago in that hopelessness I jumped in front of a car....Woah!


If God hadn't been there for Moses?
if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
They would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
The flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
The raging waters
would have swept us away (vs 2-5)

The good news though, is God heard my cry, He intervened and stepped down and grabbed me out of the pit I was in.


Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped. (vs 6,7)

We are so blessed to have a God who always responds to our cry, who always watches over us, who has a plan for each one of us, and those plans are to prosper us, to give us hope and a future.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (vs 8)

Why not take time to think of all He has done from you, and thank Him that He is a God who always hears and answers?

Psalm 123: Daddy, daddy, daddy

by Sean Theunissen

Psalm 123 (NIV)

"So our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us." 

If you've got kids you'll know how impatient they can be and how demanding and unrelenting they are. I find this most often when you've said, 'you can have it a bit later'.

First of all hope is born, 'dad has said it's going to happen so it's going to happen'.

Next comes the persistence and relentlessness for me to fulfill the promise, 'dad, you said I can have it, can I have it now?'

A child's attitude is so often what God requires of us. Jesus referred to it in terms of how we are to enter the kingdom of heaven. Kids have a simple, uncomplicated view on life, a faith without doubt, not yet tainted by rejection and unfulfilled promises.

We so easily forget that God has promised many things and yet instead of persisting in asking for the fulfillment of what our perfect, all powerful Father has promised, we somehow lose interest or determine to gain it on our own, or lose hope in it altogether.

Our God calls us to be persistent and bold in our prayers, like little kids who just can't wait any longer and so go to the one who is able to fulfill their requests.

Lord, I know I am not persistent enough in asking you to step in and change a situation. God raise us up to be men and women who will stand in the gap and petition heaven for your cause and will. God come and do what you promised.

Psalm 122: How to prepare for a feast

by Priscilla

Psalm 122 (NIV)

I love being invited to people’s homes because it usually involves good company, lots of laughter and food! Nom nom! In our Indian culture visiting someone involves avoiding food all day – because you know there will be massive meal laid out involving a variety of dishes. In our English culture, people are just as generous with elaborate meals involving numerous courses.

Whatever it is – going to someone’s for a meal is a good occasion. We all look forward to it.

Similarly the psalmist here reminds us with great rejoicing of the invitation we have to go the house of the Lord (vs 1) where a big feast awaits us.

Sunday are like that. What a privilege it is in this country to be able to freely and openly walk into our place of worship and feast at a smorgasbord of Truth.
To sing corporately in the Spirit, to be comforted, be ministered to, get prayed for, be challenged and spurred on – I don’t know about you – but Sunday mornings are a highlight in my week.

However to truly enjoy an evening out with friends I have to get sorted beforehand – I need to make sure I have a baby-sitter organised, an outfit ironed and ready, make sure our child requiring the baby-sitter is fed, bathed and asleep before we leave etc… If I do not plan these things in, I will definitely not be having an enjoyable evening.

How much do we prepare ourselves mentally before a Sunday morning? I know clearly the mornings when I have prepared my heart and mind for God to speak to me are far, far better than the Sundays I have been running ragged trying to get to church on time.

This psalm is called the song of ascents and was used by pilgrims travelling together to Jerusalem for one of the religious feasts. (Ex 23:14-19). When preparing themselves for the festivals, the Israelites undertook many rituals to ensure they were purified to take part in the festivities.

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

We no longer need to perform rituals or sacrifice animals before we can enter church because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Let’s not take the throne of Grace for granted but give God the honour by getting ready in our hearts and preparing for Him our offering of worship.

Psalm 121: He who keeps you will not slumber

by Andy Flood

Psalm 121 (ESV)

In this famous psalm, the psalmist kicks it off with a question, 

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?" (Psalm 121:1 ESV) 

It's a question we need to ask ourselves, and a question that has come up time and time again throughout this blog.

It's a question of faith and trust, when things go wrong, are looking to the hills (the world around us) or do you find your help in the Lord.

The Psalm exhorts us to look to God, and paints a wonderful picture of our God. A God who watches over us by day and by night, and will protect is from evil.

A phrase I heard many years ago and still sticks in my heart, (mainly because this guy faced great danger on a regular basis): "Safety is not found in the absence of danger it is found in the presence of God."

This is the heart of this Psalm, it doesn't mean we will never face danger or evil, Jesus faced the greatest evil, and many christians face persecution daily. It means we find our security and safety in the presence of God, because He who keeps you will not slumber.

Psalm 120 · · · — — — · · ·

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 120 (NIV)

I call on the Lord in my distress and He answers me. (v1)

This is both a testimony and a promise.

At Engine Room last week everyone wrote on flipcharts on the wall one thing that they wanted to give thanks God for. We then read what other people had written. A number of them were one-line testimonies of how God had answered a call for help.

Priscilla and I testify to how just three weeks after being made redundant, God had provided me with a new job. Just recently we have had some major expenses with birthdays, anniversary, travel, parents’ visit, broken car etc. And when we most need it, a bonus comes through and we find out that Priscilla is owed a month’s salary from when she was pregnant with Hudson!

Sometimes the answer isn't so quick. Sometimes the distress is only answered in heaven, such us with long-term illnesses. But it is always answered.

We can all testify to God answering our call and we can all rest assured that He will always answer our call. He may not do so in the timescales we want, or in the way that we want but He will all always answer.

If you are crying out to God today, rest assured that He has heard and He will answer. You know you can testify to Him doing so in the past. He hasn’t changed. You will once again be able to testify to the fact that He is a God who always responds to an SOS.

Psalm 119:121-176: In His time

by Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 119: 121-176

David prays that God would be his surety and would ensure his well-being, that he would have understanding to know the testimonies of God, to recognise the things that God does.

Despite the desperation of his pleas for the hand of God to be on his life for his good David still realises that God does everything at the proper time, and He will need to sometimes wait for the proper season for God to act.

I believe that all of us will have times in our lives when we really have reached the end of ourselves and it feels like the time for God to act. There arrives a time when we can’t push any longer. We have done all we can do, and now it’s time for God to do the rest. 

This is certainly the case in prayer. We ask and then we wait. Sometimes we wait a short time and sometimes longer but we wait for God to meet us. The thing I know is no matter the timescale God does always meet us. He is our surety and our salvation. But in our waiting He also grants us understanding to know Him more, especially if we use our waiting to run to Him and His Word. His Word is always true and He is always faithful.

God, I pray that you would be surety to us for good.  I pray that you would deal with us according to your mercy, and teach us your statutes.  Would you give us more discernment and understanding, that we would know you better. May we desire you with our whole hearts, and live in your word because it is your word that keeps us on the right path.

Psalm 119:97-120: Who needs a map?

by Andi Norton

Psalm 119:97-120 (NIV) 


I had mixed feelings of long road trips with the family when I was younger. I used to look forward to getting to the destination, making camp and enjoying endless ice-creams and splashing in the sea, but I dreaded the journey. One because, being the youngest, I would be left to sit in the middle of the car, feeling carsick most the way, and two, there was always an argument as my mother would get frustrated with my father when they took a wrong turning for the 100th time and finally admitted we were lost.

It would be at this point someone would say - Where's the map?

In today's technological age where we are blessed (or not so in many cases) with Sat-Nav, we regularly find ourselves relying on google maps to guide our route and show us the way.

The same is true of our spiritual journey we need God to mark our way, guide us, to light our path (Psalm 119:105) and get us to that final destination.

If we fail to use the wonderful gift He's given us, how much harder does the journey become?

If we choose to not only use the gift of His guide (and by this point we know I mean His word, the Bible) but to study it, to meditate on it (Psalm 119: 97-104) we get a clearer picture of where we are going, how to get there, what to do if we are faced with "a cow on the country road" (challenges) and our journey can become one of greater faith that we will reach our destination.

We can have hope in His promises, in the truth of His word, we will not become disheartened, we will be empowered to tackle any challenges with faith as we remind ourselves of how He has overcome all of them for us already.

We are so blessed to live by the sea and occasionally as in these words (Psalm 119:97 - mem: meaning meditating by waters) I like to go and meditate on God's word in the beautiful surroundings we live in.

Let's take time to stop, it is an attitude response to remind ourselves to get into God's word, for when we do we don't only get a better picture of where we are going, but of the one who is showing us the way.

Lord forgive me when I strive on in this journey you've called me to with you on my own. Thank You for your word, which is a lamp unto our feet. As we meditate on it, would you reveal more of yourself to us, direct us, shape us, mould us and fill us with faith for the journey ahead.

Psalm 119:73-96: God's word above circumstance

by Sean Theunissen

Psalm 119:73-96 (NIV)


Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.
Your laws endure to this day,for all things serve you.
If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.
Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts.
The wicked are waiting to destroy me,but I will ponder your statutes.
To all perfection I see a limit,but your commands are boundless. 

(vs 89-96)

In this section of Psalm 119, we witness what it is to prioritise God's Word above the circumstance. Here the psalmist basically says that if he did not trust in God's promises in scripture, his worrying and stress would have killed him. I'll never forget John Hosier speaking about his experience of trusting God's word when he found out he had cancer. He said that he was tempted to read more about cancer than God's word.

For me this is a real temptation and one I honestly give in to often. I find myself worrying about a task I've got to do or meeting I've got to have, or money that doesn't seem to be there for the month ahead. But the stressing doesn't better the situation one bit. Whereas when I have done the right thing and choose to open the Bible in times of stress it is amazing how on every occasion God provides perspective and supernatural peace. You would think that from experience I would take the logical approach and continue each time to go for the option that has had the 100% success rate!

God, help me to choose your word above my own efforts. How amazing that You would give us your word to show us how to live and show us your redemption plan so that we may believe and know eternal life forever. Your Word became flesh and dwelt among us, He fulfilled your law so that His righteousness would stand in the way of our wickedness. God is there any end to your love? No, it is utterly limitless. What a glorious God you are! 

Psalm 119: 49-72: Why does God allow us to suffer some times?

by Priscilla

Psalm 119: 49-72 (NIV)

A friend who visited me last week used a phrase I am going to shamelessly pilfer. When we find ourselves in the midst of trials, she said, welcome the fire.

Trials are not easy by any standard. They are painful, stressful and usually full of anxiety.

In the midst of it though, it helps to ask these questions:

1. Are you trying to say something to me, God?
2. What do you want me to learn?

The Psalmist knows now the reason for his affliction. He says in verses 67 & 68:

Before I was afflicted I went astray,
    but now I obey your word.
You are good, and what you do is good;
    teach me your decrees. 

He recounts the blessing of his suffering in verse 71:

It was good for me to be afflicted
    so that I might learn your decrees.

John Piper once said in a preach, “The furnace of affliction in the family of God is always for refinement, never for destruction.”

A refiner’s fire melts down gold or silver, burns up all the impurities and leaves the precious metal intact.

God takes us through a fire – burns up sin and other impurities in our life while leaving us intact, pure and holy for Him.

In the intense heat of a trial it if difficult to know how we will react. If you find yourself today facing trials – whether old or new – ask God about the journey He is taking your on. There will be purpose behind it. Welcome His fire.

Psalm 119: 25-48: Where do you turn?

By Andy Flood

Psalm 119: 25-48 (NIV)


When life sucks, where do you turn?

We have a rich and deep heritage, in the word of God is that where we go? Do we just pray or do we lay hold of His truth

Part of a worship lifestyle is dwelling in His word, getting familiar with God's truth so when life is garbage. Our foundation is unshakable.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word. 

(Psalm 119:37 NIV)

Please use this song to respond to God and worship Him with it.

Psalm 119: 1-24: Hurt by words, Healed by the Word

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 119:1-24 (NIV)

A few years ago there was a girl in our cell group who very kindly suggested that I would never get married because I had a mono-brow. 

That, although said in seriousness (!), was light-hearted. But not all attacks are so easy to brush off.  

Public figures such as pastors will often be subject to slander even by people that have or are part of their church via blogs, comments and so on. 

But all of us have experienced painful words spoken to us or about us; whether it is a harsh thing that a husband says to a wife, regular sarcastic comments by a boss, a parent telling a child they will 'never amount to anything', a child shouting 'I hate you' to their parent or even friends saying things about you behind your back, or even us telling ourselves that we can never change.  We've all experienced those to varying degrees. 

In vs 23 and 24 the Psalmist says "Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees. Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors."

I was quite taken by that. How often do we mull, stew and burn up over things that have been said to us or about us, particularly things that we know are false? How often do we want to seek revenge, seek to correct them, sometimes even start to believe them?  

The Psalmists response is exactly what our response should be. He ignores the slander and hurtful words and instead goes straight to the word of God! 

Can we be challenged to do that? Why go to the word of God?  Because there we will find the truth about who we are and what God would have us do. There, as the Psalmist says, is where we will find delight and counsel (v24).  

If someone says that you are a 'good for nothing' then the Word of God tells you that He has created you in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared for you to do (Eph 2:10)

If they say you will never be able to do anything, the Word of God says that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it (Phil 1:6)

The next time someone speaks negative, accusatory words over you, quickly overcome any anger or sense of injustice, don't fire equally negative words back, don't allow the enemy to make you start to believe those words, don't go bitching to someone else, go to the Word of God. 

Much easier said than done but it is the best thing you can do. 

Meditate on the truth about God and you. Meditate. Let the Spirit minister that truth from your eyes, to your head and down to  your heart. If there are things you realise you do need to  change then ask the Holy Spirit to help you change. But otherwise let the healing begin immediately. 

Psalm 118: Where is your identity?

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 118 (NIV)

Over the last week I have been struggling with feelings of failure and a lack of belonging. I have been faced with some really tough situations recently and because I am struggling to handle them, I frequently feel I have failed. I have realised that I (wrongly) have subconsciously believed a part of my identity comes from what I do and because so much of what I do has been rejected in a painful way I have found myself quite down at times. 

As I have dwelled on this I am reminded again that it is only in my relationship with Jesus that I can be satisfied in life. I know that faith in Jesus is where I truly find security and can be filled with hope and ultimately content no matter the circumstance. 

Jesus, the man who was rejected, scorned and beaten and killed is my Saviour; the Cornerstone for all Believers. There is no rejection that I feel that he does not understand. It is His love that gives me peace.  It is His acceptance and grace that makes living my life a joy. 

I will choose to rejoice in the Lord no matter what my days may look like on the surface of things because they are all days that he has made. No matter what I face God is always and eternally good and he loves me no matter how I feel about myself. 

"The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 

The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

His love endures forever.




Until tonight (Thursday) this blog stopped above but God showed me this image.....


I see my self as a runner who is pulled out of the race mid-stride.I then see myself lined up as a runner ready to go with ‘important people’. People who are way more important in life than I am.
A tunnel forms on my lane and my vision is narrowed in to Jesus saying "run, run".
My race became focused on Him and him alone.
I then see myself surrounded by things that represent what I have to do in life and my current circumstances and I say to God “I will be slow”
He says "You will be slow but it is making you STORNG"
And he is saying "Running is winning, Running is winning"


To rejoice and be glad no matter the circumstance is a way to run even when our feelings lie to us that we are on the sidelines. It is a way to run when we feel lacking, broken or failing. 

Lets keep running with perseverance because when we are weak he is strong, he is the strongest stone, the corner stone and if we are pushed back in our race and feel like we are about to fall the Lord helps us and calls "run, you are wining because I am your strength"

Psalm 117: Always Faithful

By Andi Norton

Psalm 117 (NIV)

Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.
(vs 1,2)

Most likely the smallest psalm of all the psalms, but the gift of thanks giving shouted in these few lines is a big declaration.

We sing it day in day out of a god whose for us, who is our provider who is ALWAYS FAITHFUL.

Priscilla's blog on Tuesday is one which stirs my heart with the challenges that we as Christians face on a daily basis, and it's in these challenges that you and I face I stop and thank God that He is faithful. I thank Him that He has a plan for us, not to bring us harm but a future we can hope for, and no matter what the trial we face He promises a face to face invite to the banqueting table, and that He is faithful to His word.

Most of you will know when I met Nikki, I was working as a volunteer, no money, no house (I was lodging with a kind member of the church I was serving) and had no future job.

So when faced with getting married and the months whizzing by and no sign of any jobs in youthwork, I got on my knees and prayed (logical response, but was actually my last action).

I remembering saying to God i needed something handed to me on a platter, and you know what?
Three days later I got a phone call from the Director of Bournemouth YMCA offering me job for 3-months in the lead-up to the wedding. When we left for our honeymoon, we wondered what would happen when we came back but we knew that God would be faithful. On my return they offered a permanent position which came with a accommodation and reasonable salary for us to start our lives together.

Time after time God has stepped in when I've prayed, showing that He is faithful, that He is trust-worthy. On our Friday morning gatherings together we press in and ask God to move, and we are seeing Him doing just that.

If we pursue Godly ambitions and desires God will pour out His Spirit, for He is faithful.
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3

We have much to thank our God for His love towards us, His faithfulness, for I cry out to the Lord and He heard me. You're Always Faithful and true - Let's us shout it aloud!

Spend a few minutes listen to this amazing truth:

Psalm 116: In view of your mercy I will...

By Sean Theunissen

Psalm 116 (NIV)

'What can I give back to God for the blessings he's poured out on me?

I'll lift high the cup of salvation - a toast to God!

I'll pray in the name of God; I'll complete what I promised God I'd do

and I'll do it together with his people' 

vs 12-14 (The Message)

How fitting for this psalm to come up ahead of our 3rd Citygate Worship Gathering this Sunday evening. 

The songwriter here tells of how God rescued him from impending death. A hands-on experience of what it is to know your life snatch from the grips of death. Yet we often forget that it is no different for us who were all doomed for an eternity outside of God's presence. Death being just a taste of the hell to follow.

'For you have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; 

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.' 

v 8-9

His mercy towards us is staggering. In view of it what can be done, what can I give back? I will join with his people and toast to this incredible salvation vs 13. I will choose to call on his name in good times and bad vs 13 and I will let my life be a living sacrifice of praise vs 14.

Ahead of this Sunday evening I want to urge you that we don't gather together for a sing along, we don't gather together because we enjoy music or because we know our friends will be there. We gather because we're thankful for being caught up on the side of the Almighty Creator and because of that we choose to align our lives with His cause and His will. 

God I pray that you'd smash to pieces our small minded ideas of what You are capable of doing as we gather to lift high the name of Jesus. Be our attention, our focus, our hunger, be honoured, be lifted high and move in power I pray. 

Psalm 115: What does it mean to trust in God?

By Priscilla
Psalm 115 (NIV) 

O house of Israel, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
You who fear him, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield. (vs 9-11)

‘In God alone we trust’ is a big declaration of faith. And this last weekend, never have I been tested in this. On Friday one of my closest friends suddenly fell very, very ill. As we kept getting reports on what the doctors were saying, it was so easy to Google the medical terms and terrify ourselves silly with what we had just read. It was shockingly easy for fear to replace trust. Fear is the opposite of trust. And I had to remind myself, like the Israelites in this Psalm – that I worship a God with a proven track record of pure, unadulterated faithfulness.

That:
No weapon forged against you (my friend) will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD. (Isa 54:17)

I’ve had a lot of learning to do this weekend. I’ve learnt that to trust in God, does not mean giving up and hoping for the best outcome. Trusting in God is a big verb – a big action verb that has involved praying incessantly, speaking in tongues, reading and re-reading scriptures that bring hope and life. I will admit, it has been easier to get sucked into that whirlpool of worry but by choosing to fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith I find myself suddenly standing on terra firma.

Trusting in God does not mean being frightened of the big, scary medicalness but facing it, not just looking at it in the eye but looking beyond to the one who is far, far greater than we can ever imagine.

A battle is continuing to be waged for my friend’s life – but I stand on the assurance that God is fully in control.

Psalm 114: If God is for you, who can be against you?

By Diane Keogh

Psalm 114 (NIV)

Psalm 114 is part of the Hallel Psalms (Ps. 113-118), and they were sung in family units on the night of the Passover: Psalms 113 and 114 at the beginning of the meal and 115–118 were sung at the end of the meal. They reminded the Israelites of God’s amazing love, His power and goodness in what He did for them.

This would have been most likely sung by Jesus and the disciples at the Last Supper (Matt 26:30). Hallel means “Praise”.

Psalm 114 is a song telling of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and the accompanying wonders and miracles God had performed.

In the same way, we need to remember all that Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross; how He has delivered us out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son.

God has pulled out all the stops to be reunited with us through Jesus. Is He not able to help us through trouble or difficult situations? We sometimes worry and look to all sorts of ways for help before we turn to the Lord. I’m sure we can all relate to this.

I particularly like verse 2 where it says, “Judah became God’s sanctuary.” God has placed His Holy Spirit in our hearts. He has made His home within us! How amazing is that! What a wonderful God who has thought of everything and has literally placed himself within us – we never have to fear any obstacle that would try to pull us down.

Remember that each time things seem insurmountable – we are more than conquerors in Christ.

At the presence of the Lord the sea, the river Jordan, the mountains and hills all scarpered! (Ps114:3-7)

Psalm 113: From pauper to prince

By Helen Southey

Psalm 113 (NIV)

This Psalm is yet another wonderful circle of praise, starting and ending upon its key note – PRAISE THE LORD!

For me though, the verses that always jump out are the verses that are nearest to my heart – (v7 and 8)…the poor the needy, the homeless.

I was not brought up in a wealthy family, far from it. My parents never owned their own home, a new car, TV – even central heating! Yet God always provided even in the hardest times, sometimes at the last minute and often in miraculous ways. Yet compared to many we had so much and I can remember my dad bringing home a very wet , smelly tramp to dry out in front of our fire, fed by my mum and sent off with my dad’s coat, who then got told off by my mum because it meant he didn’t have one!

V 7-8 shows just how near to God’s heart the lowly are (including that old tramp) and I simply love that about our heavenly father. In His eyes our value has no relation to our wealth or our position in the world or even church. God uses the most humble and lowly of beginnings to achieve greatness in His kingdom and He supersedes the social orders of our world. Look at how He chose simple fishermen to become fishers of men.

It makes me stop and think how do I treat the unwanted in society? Do I treat them as people who really have value or just as people needing help?

Yet our God who (v4) is higher than anything and anyone, who outshines everything, who is incomparably and majestically enthroned, picks them up and doing nothing by halves, is not content til he places them among the princes of His kingdom.

Maybe we should start seeing these loved ones through God’s eyes, and see their potential with specific positions and futures in our church family.

Psalm 112: Read the instructions

by Ella Bewsey

Psalm 112 (NIV)

I am a geek. I love a bit of technology but in a truly geek fashion, I like to know how to get the very best out of my technology. When I first submitted to the draw of Apple and got on board the iPhone train, I was so excited to get my new gadget out of the box and see all that it could do. I frantically opened it up and found the user manual to tell me how many tiresome hours I would have to leave it plugged in before I could play. The manual told me how to use a stupid little pin thing to get the MicroSIM in, how to plug it into my computer and download iTunes, and that was it. End of manual. There was nothing to tell me how to use my phone, how to get the best out of it, all the fancy shortcuts I had seen friends use to casually swipe from one app to the next. Nothing. Plug it in, off you go. As I continue using my iPhone I keep stumbling upon new things that it can do, such as a friend showing me I had voice command after I had been scrolling through contacts for a good few months. But in these discoveries all I feel is frustration that I haven’t been able to do that all along! Sorry men, but I love an instruction manual.

What has this got to do with Psalm 112 I hear you cry? This Psalm is an inspiring but also potentially disheartening psalm as it describes to us a man who is righteous and successful, he is generous, gracious and compassionate. He appears to be human at human’s best, with all the potential functions working at full capacity. This portrayal of a man (and this applies to us too girls) stirs in us both a desire to be like him, and a heavy heart when we see how far from him we are. But what is absolutely AMAZING about this passage is what we find in verse 1,

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds delight in His commands.”

This verse is actually the only verse that describes anything that the man himself has done, everything else comes to him. His children will be mighty (v2). Wealth and riches are inhis house (v3). Light dawns for the upright (v4). So what is it he has done? He fears the Lord and delights in his commands. He recognises the Holiness of God compared to his own brokenness, and follows God’s commands. When we reflect on the commands of God, we see that they fall into two categories, showing God’s holiness and living as we were designed. When we follow the instruction manual we live fully as we were designed and become the, inspiring, magnetic, righteous man written about in this psalm.

Do we delight in following God’s commands? Do we submit to Him because we know that His way is the instruction manual to living the very best life, or do we grump and groan because of the things we don’t get to do? I pray that we would find true delight in following his commands, knowing the promise of what that brings in Him. Perhaps there is a particular command that you are wrestling with at the moment. Read this psalm again and be stirred by the righteous man.

Psalm 111: Food for a lifetime

By Hannah Painter

Psalm 111 (NIV)

We all know the saying…

“Give a person a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a person to fish and he will eat for a life time”

It is good to eat for a day, but the knowledge of how to feed yourself for a lifetime is far more valuable.

God is good. This psalm gives us an in-depth understanding of how and why our God is so great. Giving us the greater knowledge of whom He is and why He is to be praised. We can feed on this knowledge for a lifetime. It is the food for the soul that helps us know God more, understand Him more and helps us to worship Him.

Psalm 111 is my favourite verse to start with when I lead worship. Straight away it tells you to Praise the Lord! I have used it on a number of occasions. It rouses my soul! Motivates my spirit! Excites me into worship. It’s so exciting, it is statement after statement of how good God is. Packed full of information, it is a direction into the very heart of worship. Written as a bullet point manual of reasons why to worship God.

To go deeper into our worship with God is to go deeper into who God is and what He has done.

I encourage everyone to use this verse as a tool to motivate your soul, ignite the flame and stir passion in your heart to worship our awesome God. It is set out in a way to inspire all hearts to worship no matter where you are in life or what situation you face.

• Thank you for your great works
• Thank you for your Righteousness that endures forever
• Thank you for your mercy and grace
• Thank you that you provide all we need
• Thank you for your covenant and power
• Thank you that you remember us, you do not forget us
• Thank you that you are faithful and just
• Thank you that your way is established forever
• Thank you that you have redeemed us
• Your name is Holy and Awesome; Help us to live Holy lives
• I will Praise you

I ask you, what has God done in your life?

“He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered” v4

Why? Because it brings us closer to Him, gives us an understanding of who He is. So when you are lacking inspiration in worship, stop and remember what he has done.

Albert Einstein said: “The only source of knowledge is experience”

Know God more by understanding Him more, understand Him more by experiencing Him through the Gospel, remember what He has done for you and take comfort in the knowledge that we worship an awesome God who is merciful, gracious, powerful, faithful and trustworthy. He remembers his people, PRAISE THE LORD!

Happy fishing!

Psalm 110: “Long to reign over us…”

By Dave Priest

Psalm 110 (NIV)


This weekend has seen a landmark in the life of our royal family, the Queen has been sat on the throne for 60 years and by the looks of things she is still going strong! We’ve had a weekend of flotillas of little boats, pomp and ceremony, parties and church ceremonies. People up and down the country and from around the world have paid tribute to a remarkable woman who is getting closer to becoming the longest reigning British monarch in history but what does it all mean?

In the words of our well-known national anthem:

“Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen!” 

The Queen will eventually die! People sing prayers that she will reign for a long time and that God will save her but the reality is that her reign will end! Her place in history, whilst secure, will be assured when she dies and is consigned only to the history books.

In contrast to this, David speaks in the Psalm of a King who is “a priest forever” (v4). This King that David is speaking about is Jesus. Whilst we admire a Queen who has reigned well for many years we need not to forget that we worship a King who will reign forever and will crush all of His enemies.

One of the recurring things that is said about our Queen is that she has spent her life working for and serving this nation but we worship a God who gave His life for His people.

Whilst it’s not wrong to honour the Queen for her service and commitment to this nation, we need to daily honour and worship the God who has saved us from our sins and in doing so has taken us from being enemies of the King to being called His friend.

What a terrible place to be as an enemy of God but what an amazing place to be called His friend!

Psalm 109: Get it off your chest!

Psalm 109 (NIV)

By Jim Salway

Almost 20 years ago I was facing a difficult situation in business, caused by problems with a colleague which seemed insoluble. I was really troubled about what to do, when a wise friend advised me, “Tell God what you want.”

I really hadn’t thought of doing that. I’d asked God for wisdom, for a way out, for a solution. But I hadn’t really understood that God would want me to articulate the outcome I wanted. Strangely it was liberating to understand that God was really interested in my thoughts and wishes, and to be able to express things that I had a vague sense that God might be shocked by!

In my blog on Psalm 62 I really felt the thrust was that we should not try to defend our reputation but trust the outcome to the providence of God.

In Psalm 109 however we find David calling down judgement on the wicked, on those who were opposing him in what are clearly wicked ways. We understand that ultimately the wicked will receive judgement, unless they repent, and perhaps, you may think, David should be asking that they repent rather than that they be judged.

However, and this is a frequent pattern in the Psalms, David turns from this diatribe – having got his feelings about his adversary off his chest – to a God-ward focus in the last third of the Psalm. He recognises his need of deliverance from this trouble, and in the end he asks that his deliverance will be the opportunity for God’s glory to be revealed.

I found as I gave all this to God that He gave guidance and a way through, including some very difficult and anxious times, but the knowledge that God had spoken words of comfort and direction at key times (in a variety of different ways) helped me keep my nerve when naturally I would have backed off. In the end I had a story of deliverance, if you like, from that circumstance.

So I was able to say, with the psalmist

“With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord
In the great throng I will praise him.
For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
To save his life from those who condemn him” (v 30-31)

However if I had not told God what I wanted him to do, even if it didn’t seem very ‘Christian’ to do so, I wonder if I would have ever been able to embark on the journey which led to that deliverance.

Psalm 108: Come on then, if you think you're hard enough!

By Andy Flood

Psalm 108 (ESV)

David is ready for a fight! He's confident in his God, he knows that, if God is for him who can be against him.

He remembers the previous victories of battles past and glorifies God for them.

However, David manages not be triumphalistic, because his faith is based on God's promises and he knows it is God who provides the victory, he's not going in to the battle blind.

"Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

Have you not rejected us, O God?

You do not go out, O God, with our armies.

Oh grant us help against the foe,

for vain is the salvation of man!

With God we shall do valiantly;

it is he who will tread down our foes." (Psalm 108:10-13 ESV)

Although we hold a reasonable faith, sometimes we can be guilty of being unrealistic or triumphalistic in our prayers. That's not to say we shouldn't be audacious in what we ask of our Father, but sometimes our prayers can be all mouth and no trousers, just shouting "COME ON THEN IF YOU THINK YOU'RE HARD ENOUGH," with no action to back it up.

We are called to pray, and that in itself is action. But our words must be followed by a life of worship, reflecting the God we so love, showing that love to the community around us. Day in-day out consistent love for our neighbour. That's how real battle is done.

Sometimes, though, love for our neighbour means standing up for what we believe is God's will. Not just going with the flow but speaking out against injustice and not accepting that the 'norm' is acceptable.

We're called by Jesus to be salt and light.  So let's break from the 'norm' and be what we're supposed to be.

Psalm 107: Ask for help BEFORE you are in trouble

By Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 107 (NIV)

The first time my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to visit us in the UK, we took them on a day trip to London. For some silly reason we decided to drive there in our impossibly small car.

We had a great, but tiring day and our last stop was the home of some family friends of theirs who had invited us for dinner. In Priscilla's family upbringing it is a sin (almost on the level of murder) to turn up late when someone has invited you to their house. 

We hadn't yet invested in SatNav but I had been organised for a change and printed off some directions. To cut a long story short, we got lost. And then more lost. In fact we got so lost, I considered making a 7-season TV series about it, involving a polar bear and black smoke. But no matter how lost we got, would I, a man, like any man with self-respect, ask for directions?

This psalm is multiple accounts of people like me - in trouble because of their own foolishness, but foolish enough to think that they could apply their foolishness to bring them out of trouble. Until....

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. (v 6, 13, 19, 27).

I read this and noted that all the accounts indicated that it wasn't until they were near the brink of death did they cry out to God. I was challenged because I know that I can sometimes be like that - maybe not to the point of death, but at least lastminuteprayers.com! We would save ourselves and our families so much stress if we humbled ourselves, accept we are foolish and our in need of Gods help BEFORE we get into trouble. He is only ever too willing and able. 

Do we wait until the bass guitar is broken, the sound isn't mixed properly, the lead guitarist has turned up late, the elders have just said that they would like to change the format of the service, before we cry out to God for help? Or are we crying out to God for help when everything is going just right too? 

Am I asking God for help with the cell group when it is going well? Am I asking for help with finances when we are comfortable, not just when things are tight? Am I asking God for help with my job when I am getting good reviews from my manager? Am I asking God for help with parenting or marriage when the children and wife are angels? 

If we are only asking God for help when things are going bad we have misunderstood our need for Him and we have caused ourselves unnecessary distress. 

In my case it wasn't until Priscilla's hands were in a tight grip around my neck somewhere in London did I bother to ask for help. I would have saved all of us a lot of distress and I would not have come so close to death (!) had I humbled myself and asked for directions and help earlier. Better still, I should have bought myself a London A-Z before we travelled.

The Psalm then encourages those that have been delivered to, "Give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love.." (v8, 15, 21, 31). 

When God rescues us, we can often forget to thank Him and say 'Well, that's his job!' Even if you have thanked him in the past, today, take a few moments to think back to times when God has rescued, delivered and provided and give Him thanks for His unfailing love. 

I still have a London A-Z somewhere and have never had to use it again since that eventful day. But I was extremely thankful for it. And even though we were 1.5 hour late (major sin) for dinner, it was probably the most welcome meal ever eaten! 

I can't say I've completely learnt my lesson. Not long ago I was driving Priscilla's dad somewhere and the SatNav refused to work. We were an hour late (bordering on unforgivable sin). How quickly did I stop and ask for directions? Let's just say I am still a man that needs a few more lessons in humility...... but you already knew that :)

Psalm 106: Let's not forget

By Chantalle Wookey

Psalm 106 (NIV)

What this psalm keeps coming back to is we ourselves, all of us forget and turn to our idols.

We forget how powerful God is.

We forget the work he has done in our lives and the lives of those around us.

We sin.

What we have forgotten is who God is. We have forgotten what a loving, forgiving God he is, whose love endures forever.

A God whose steadfast love is unyielding despite our Egypts, Horebs, Meribahs and despite our wickedness.

We forget that we have a good God whose steadfast love never fails and always endures even when the things we do anger him.

We’re not sinners because we sin. We sin because we’re sinners.

However, God has already given to us the only solution we will ever need to deal with our sin. To punish Himself in our place, once and for all time, in the greatest demonstration of love ever seen. Only God could love us enough to do it. So He did.

Let's not forget.

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise?