Psalm 150: Praise Him!

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 150 (NIV)

Praise the Lord; Praise God; Praise Him (vs1)

Praise Him; Praise Him (vs2, 3, 4, 5)

Praise the Lord; Praise the Lord (vs 6)

Do you get a feeling the Psalmist was making a point?

As we have blogged through the Psalms, we've covered so many different topics, opened up about personal situations and struggles, we've been challenged and encouraged in so many different ways and heard lots of stories. We've learnt about God's character, our characters, how to respond in different situations and so on.

One thing that is clear is that regardless of life's troubles, circumstances, our imperfect understanding of God, our own limitations and everything that we go through, one thing is true - God is worthy and deserving of our praise.

May we be a people who continue to live out a lifestyle of praise.

Psalm 144: The best thing to do during a time of difficulty is.....

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 144 (NIV) 

I had the privilege of going to boarding school at the age of 11. As you can imagine, a boy who had a strong Bombay accent, spoke through his rather large nose and wore second-hand clothes got teased quite a bit. To be fair, I think only about one per cent of a boarding school population doesn't get teased.

Being teased about my accent doesn't come anywhere close to the persecution, hatred and pressures that David faced and describes in this Psalm.

I don't remember asking God to 'send forth lightning to scatter my enemies' or 'shoot arrows at them to rout them' (v6).

One thing that David and I did do the same though is found in verse 9. Well, the first half of verse 9 because, as you can imagine, I didn't have a 10-stringed lyre with me.

l sing a new song to you, O God; on the 10-stringed lyre I will make music to you. 

I used to go to deep into the woods by my dormitory, take my Bible and spend time just worshipping and talking to God. Those were very precious times for me. I learnt to turn to God for help as my sisters lived elsewhere and I wasn't anywhere near my parents. But most of my time was spent just singing to God in my own words. Thinking about those times brings back emotion because they were times of such intimacy. I've said it numerous times in these posts, and I say it again, the praise of a broken heart is the sweetest song of all.

A few years later, I was having a difficult time again at school and my roommate knew full well of it. A number of mornings, he would come back from his shower to find me laughing. He wasn't a Christian and obviously thought I was having a proper psychological breakdown. But it was simply just the joy of coming before God in praise and worship.

Unfortunately it seems that as we get older we foolishly think we can handle things ourselves. In recent years, I have often chosen to find escape from the pressures of the world in TV or computer games. We all have our own little escapes, which aren't necessarily wrong, but the best we can do is turn to God with a new song.

With a family and lots of commitments it is a whole lot more difficult to find time to just worship than when I was 11 at boarding school. But it is also therefore so much more important to steal time away to worship. A little tip for the very busy - I often find that the times when I can be at home and worship without being interrupted are when I am washing up or cleaning the bathrooms. But nothing beats a nice long walk or an early morning on my knees, or indeed meeting to pray and worship with friends on a Friday morning.

Through times of difficulty (and I am not referring to washing up or cleaning bathrooms!) singing songs of praise and worship may be one of the hardest things to do, but I am sure most of us can testify that it is the best thing to do.

Psalm 138: Have I fallen too far for God to use me?

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 138 (NIV)

The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. (vs 8)

I look back at my life and there are many things that I wish I could change. I see years wasted drifting aimlessly making endless mistakes. The danger, which I often have to fight, is falling down a spiral of regret, unable and unwilling to let Hope pull me out.

I often think that I have wasted too much time, made too many mistakes, disqualified myself, not got the right personality or the best character, not strong enough or driven enough, not ambitious enough, not perfect enough to do what God has called me to.

And that is exactly where the enemy wants me. Focussed on my failures, my weaknesses when actually I can also see the incredible change that God has worked in me over the last few years. Sure it has been slow change but there has definitely been change - I don't think my wife would have put up with me for so long if I was still the same as when we got married.

I need to keep reminding myself that 'He who began a good work in me is faithful to complete it'.(Phil 1:6) I just have to be humble enough to accept the need to change. I remember I went through a season of going forward for prayer every Sunday at the end of church regardless of what the ministry was for. It was just me fighting the pride of "what will people think of me?" and instead humbling myself and desperate enough to ask God to come and change me.

I declare today that The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me (v8), and the same can be true for you no matter how far you have fallen, what you have done and where you think you are. You and I just need to be humble enough for God to change us (rarely a pain-free process) and then accept the truth that God can use us.

God is bigger than your weaknesses, your failures, your past, your wasted years. As long as you are willing to humble yourself to change and be used by Him, He will fulfil His purpose for you.

This song 'Second Chance' by Rend Collective Experiment is a powerful song. If you haven't heard it before take a few minutes to listen and revel in the truth. I particularly love the last verse:

"Fragments of brokenness
Salvaged by the art of grace
You craft life from our mistakes

Black skies of my regrets
Outshone by this kindness
New life dawns over my soul"

Psalm 132: 'Snooze you lose' is a Biblical principle. True story.

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 132 (NIV)

I had a job interview today and one of the questions was "How did you motivate yourself to overcome an obstacle?" I won't bore your with my answer because it wasn't particularly exciting, and it did not contain any of the following: 

"I will not enter my house or go to my bed, I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids." (v 3-4).

Not quite sure what the reaction of those interviewing me would have been had I said the above.

David wasn't applying for a job when he said that. Instead he was desperate to build the Temple for God, desperate to have the dwelling presence of God. (v5)

I was challenged by those words - how desperate am I for God's dwelling and presence? I know I have a long way to go before I can be anywhere near as desperate as David.

I know rather than say 'I will not enter my house or go to my bed' I am more like "I will stay in my bed, I will allow my eyelids to stay shut just those few more minutes, I will attempt to maximize the slumber of my eyes, rather than chase after the presence of God".

A fool I am. I drift back to sleep and drift away from God; one morning at a time until finally I wake to the alarm bells of life.

Why do I so easily forget that nothing is sweeter than His presence? Nothing is more rewarding than time with Him. Nothing nourishes more than to feed on His word. Nothing strengthens like the Spirit. Nothing awakens more than the refreshing waters of His mercies that are new every morning.

I want to be desperate for You, my God. Help me to overcome the obstacle of my own laziness and the lies that anything is more important or more satisfying than your presence. If I can't find time for you, help me make time, not excuses. 

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 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: 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 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 101: Be killing sin or it will be killing you.

By Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 101 (NIV)

At the age of about 8, I had a wort on my leg. Bear with me on this one! I remember I used to pick at it constantly. It was the smallest wort but I couldn't help but always know it was there.

At that age and living in India, I always wore shorts. I could see it, I couldn't help but pick at it and it troubled me. At times, out of embarrassment, or the desire not to pick at it, I used to put a plaster over it.

After about two years, I managed to pick it right off. And no, I didn't store is safely in a jar.

The reason I recount this delightful story is because sin is like a wort. Compared to the rest of our lives, it can just be a small bit of all that we do. Yet it is there, we are drawn to it, we know that it is ugly, we don't want anyone to see it, we try and cover it up and sometimes we can't seem to get rid of it.

This Psalm joins in with the call to purity that as a church we have heard with particular emphasis over the last few weeks.

v2 'I will be careful to lead a blameless life....'

but that is only the beginning!

He then makes statements that imply that he will kill people that slander their neighbour in secret (v5) and that his morning ritual will be to put to death all the wicked! (v8)

I'm not advocating we do that, but as John Hosier said that when we point a finger at someone we have three pointing back at us.

John Piper says, 'be killing sin or it will be killing you'.

So instead of our daily morning ritual being killing the wicked in the land, let it be us killing sin within ourselves. This requires a conscious decision. Sin doesn't just die or mysteriously disappear. It needs to be picked and hacked at consistently. We have a choice - we kill sin or it will be killing us.

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Cor 10:4-5)

Fight.

Psalm 95: Will Spiderman stop you worshipping?

By Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 95 (NIV)

It was all Spiderman's fault! Yup. It was his fault that I was in a foul mood and refused to worship God. I was 10 years old, we had just been given our first TV and one of the few English programs on air those days was Spiderman on a Sunday morning. Despite me regularly pretending to be ill, my parents made me go to church with them. And so I was in a foul mood. And it was Spiderman's fault.

These days there are still some Sundays when I can go to church in a mood that means I refuse to worship God because I don't 'feel' like it or because my circumstances tell me I shouldn't - like somehow witholding my worship lets God know exactly how I cheated I feel.

This Psalm is a real challenge and reminder to us that we shoudn't base our praise and worship of God on how we feel or our circumstances.

Let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation (v1)

Why? 

• For the Lord is the great God (v3) 
• The great King above all gods(v3) 
• In His hands are the depths of the earth (v4) 
• The mountain peaks belong to Him (v4) 
• The sea is His (v5) 
• His hands formed the dry land (v5) 
• He is our Maker (v6) 
• He is our God and we are His people (v7) 
• We are the flock under His care (v7) 

Nothing there about: 

• Because the band sound really good this morning 
• Because life is going really well 
• Because the kids woke up late and you got a lie-in 
• Because you've just got a promotion 
• Because you haven't sinned for the last 24 hours 
• Because you feel like it 

If we praise because of the above (or countless other reasons) then when the opposite of those circumstances is true, we will find it easy not to worship.

The Israelites made this mistake in the desert where they chose to NOT worship God because of their circumstances. Instead of worshipping through their circumstances, they complained about their circumstances. And it cost them dearly! (v8-11)

The truth is that even if God never did anything for us, He would still be worthy of our praise for all the reasons quoted above.

I don't suggest that we sing empty words when our hearts do not mean it. That too is something God detests (Isaiah 29:13). But I do suggest that no matter how we feel or circumstances, we stir our hearts in praise. Sure it wont be easy, it wont be free-flowing, but the praise of a broken heart is the sweetest song of all.

We always have a choice - in difficult circumstances we can choose to complain or choose to worship.

Someone who has exemplified this for me recently is Chantalle. Most of us wont know much of the great trial and testing she has been through over the last few months and yet she regularly makes the choice and effort to come to Friday morning prayers and contributes with beautiful prophetic songs of worship and praise.

Remember, God is worthy of praise because of who He is. You can complain about your circumstances or you can worship through them. The latter will bless you, bless those around you and bless God immensely!

Psalm 89: When it seems like God has broken His promises.

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 89 (NIV)

"BUT you are not doing any of those things you said you would do - if anything you have done quite the opposite. You have rejected us, we are broken, we are a laughing stock, you have not supported us and you have covered us with shame. Where, is your great love that you swore to us????"

Ever felt a little like that? This is my paraphrase of Ethan's lament (vs 38-51) which comes after he has spent 18 verses recounting to God all the things that God promised to David and his line - promised to establish Davids throne forever, promised to protect and sustain, promised to be faithful to them.

There are and there will be times in our lives when we will look at the promises of God and look at our current circumstances and see a massive discrepancy. It will look like God has failed to keep his promises, worse still, it seems that he has done quite the opposite of what He promised.

From where Ethan was standing it looked like God had completely forgotten his covenant to the line of David. But from where we stand today, we know that God did not forsake his promises to establish forever the line of David. In fact, he fulfilled those promises in a way that no-one could ever imagine!

The reminder to us is that our field of vision is very limited. We can not see the future and we do not know the incredible ways in which God can fulfil his promises. But what we do know, and this Psalm reminds us, is that God WILL fulfil His promises to us.

I know I have to challenge myself from this. There have been specific words spoken over my life that are far bigger than I can see being fulfilled in the natural. And I can and do easily dismiss or even just park them in the very recesses of my heart.

But reading this Psalm and knowing what we know about how God did fulfil his promises, I have to remind myself to trust in God to fulfil all his promises to me. Sure, I need to be open to them, work towards them, but no matter how far away they may seem, I must constantly remind myself that God does not ever break His promises to us - even if what we see right now tells us quite the opposite.

If all we see is our circumstances right now, God would have us turn our gaze and our trust back to Him. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. And as Ethan and the house of David know, He did not break His promise to them and He will never break His promises to you.

Until we do see those promises fulfil, the best thing we can do is copy Ethan when he concludes this lament with:

"Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen." (vs 52)

Psalm 79 – What is the most frequently used word in your prayers?

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 79 (NIV)

This is a very interesting prayer. The words ‘your’ or ‘you’ are used 20 times in these 13 verses. On average, how many times do you think you use the words ‘Your’ or ‘You’ when you pray?

I know I am challenged because the words most used in my prayers are ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’.

It’s going to be a whole paradigm shift to pray with such a change in emphasis, to try and see things from God’s perspective.

“O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.” (v1).

When praying for our town, our church, our family, our finances, do we pray from our perspective or God's?

“God, we really need the money so please provide.” Or “God, we really need a miracle with regards to our church building.” “God, we really need you to change Bournemouth.”

WE really need stuff? WE, we, me, me! This is how I normally pray. But Asaph would pray differently. Even in the most dire of situations, Asaph prays with looking at things from God's perspective, not his.

You see, God isn’t really on our side. He is on His side. God does everything for the glory of His name. And in verse 9, Asaph appeals to that:

“Help us, God our Saviour, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.” (vs9)

I am challenged to put more ‘you’ and ‘yours’ into my prayers and I hope you will too. Our prayers might look a little more like this:

“God, you have promised to provide for your children. You have said that you know our needs before we ask. You are the God that owns it all and you call us to be good stewards of money. For your glory, we ask that you would provide, just as you have promised."

“God, you are jealous for the souls of men. You sent your only son to die for the people of Bournemouth. You are the King of kings, you are the God who changes even the hardest of hearts. God, come and change this city, for name’s sake and the extension of your Kingdom.”

God is jealous for His glory and jealous for His Name. When praying, appeal to this jealousy. It really is all about Him, not us. See and pray from His perspective.

Challenge for this week (and the rest of your life): Try reducing the number of I, me, my's in your prayers and instead using more 'you' and 'yours'.

Psalm 77: What to do when there are no answers to life's difficult questions.

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 77 (NIV)

He has promised to provide, so why hasn't Mr. Right showed up? He is a healer, so why am I still ill? He says he knows our needs before we ask, so why didn't I get that job that I so desperately need? He promised to make the barren woman conceive so why are we unable to? He said that people will know His disciples by us loving one another but I have been mistreated by friends, family and church. He says that we rest in the shadow of his wings, so why did she have to die so young?

Sometimes what life brings and what we read in Scripture and all the Scriptures that people can so glibly quote at us can seem very different. Though we may not vocalise it like Asaph, I am sure we can all identify with him when he says:

"Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favour again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?" (v5-7) Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in his anger withheld his compassion? (v9)

I feel burdened even as I write this because I know that these are real issues that close friends and family have and continue to struggle with. I do not write this lightly like it is some miracle cure.

Asaph, like many of us, doesn't get an answer to his questions. Here on earth we may never know the answers to the difficult questions. As hard as it may be, all we can do is look behind us and allow ourselves to see God walking beside us through difficult times we have had in the past and to see Him walking beside those in Scripture through their tragedies.

Asaph chooses to "remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.... I will meditate on your mighty deeds." (v11) 

He then goes on to describe how awesome God is. It is He that makes the earth shake, the thunder and lightning. (v17-18)It is He that lead the Israelites through the sea on dry land (v19). It is He that lead His people like a flock (v20). 

Asaph remembers that if God is mighty enough to make the earth shake and the thunder roar and the lightning strike, then He is mighty enough to do as He chooses. And in the past He chose to lead His people like a flock. He will continue to do the same.

Friends, we may never get the answers to the difficult questions of life. But God would have us not look for answers, but rather would have us look to Him. What else can we do? What else is better for us to do? We aren't going to figure it out ourselves. Getting angry isn't going to give us answers. Getting impatient and trying to solve things in our own way will only make things worse. Harbouring bitterness will only eat away at us. Turning away from Him is only going to have us walking into darkness.

The only thing we can do, and the best thing we can do is to make the choice that Asaph made - to remember all that God has done for you in the past, and to meditate on all his mighty deeds. 

Choose. Remember. Meditate.

Psalm 71 - How to make your big problems become smaller. Much smaller.

By Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 71 (NIV)

David is yet again being accused, under threat of harm and death (v 10 &13). He is in a place where he feels that God is far from him (v12)

We may never be under threat of death but there will be many times when we feel that God is far from us.

It is at times when we feel as if the fog of life has rolled in, when we have nothing but trouble, nothing but bad news, nothing but difficulties that we can come to this Psalm and be challenged to respond in the way David did. He did three key things:

1. He had hope:
As for me, I will always have hope...(v14)

No matter how much life seems to go against us, no matter what else we lose, we must never lose hope. We are never ever in a situation that is beyond hope. Why? Because we are never in a situation that is beyond or bigger than God. And so long as our God is there, whether we can see Him or not, we can have hope.

2. He praised God even more!
I will praise you more and more. (v14)

Wow! I was seriously challenged by that. Despite the fact that he is in such a dire situation - people still out to kill him, he says he will praise God even more! What a challenge! If I was in David's position I would say, "I will complain more and more about how unfair life is and why God isn't doing more for me and oh I don't deserve all these troubles...."and so on.

But David makes the decision to praise God EVEN MORE! Will we do that? Will we praise God even more than usual the next time we go through a difficult season? The praise of a broken and tired heart is the sweetest song of all.

3. He praised God publicly
my mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long. (v15)

Another HUGE challenge! Aren't we so quick to complain to friends about life, about how we are struggling and how busy our lives are and how crappy our jobs are and how much pressure we are under and so on.

Sure, there is a place for that (and that place is NOT Facebook), but the challenge to us from this Psalm, is that even in the midst of that, do we ever talk about how amazing God has been to us in the past. Do we say, "You know, I am having a really rough time, but it reminds me of a similar time a couple of months ago, and God really provided for us miraculously, or he really gave me the strength that I needed just at the time I felt I was going to break." (You can do this on Facebook if you want).

Folks, difficult times are a great opportunity to grow in hope, in private and in public praise.

I don't mean we put on a lots of fake tan and Joel Osteen teeth. But I do think we should be challenged to big-up our God, not big-up our problems. The more we talk about our problems, the more they will weigh down on us. The more we talk and sing about how amazing our God is, the lighter our burdens will be.

Do you want big problems or light burdens? If the latter, then keep hoping and keep praising - privately and publicly. This promise is true:

Though you have made me see troubles,
many and bitter,
You will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
You will again bring me up. (v20)

Hope. Praise. Rest.

Psalm 59: Why God laughs when you are under attack.

by Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 59 (NIV)

Surprise, surprise, David's enemies are still out for his blood. In this case, Saul has sent men to stalk David's house in order to kill him.

As I think most of us would do, David asks God to protect and deliver him!

"Deliver me from my enemies of my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; Deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men." (v 1-2)

Most of us wont come under such severe attack, but many Christians around the world still do. We may come under attack from colleagues or even friends because of our faith. Recently very close family members who lead churches, have come under severe mental and emotional attack and have been threatened with physical attack from certain individuals within their churches!
David laments his predicament (v3-7) and then comes the big 'BUT'.


"But you laugh at them, Lord; you scoff at all those nations." (v8)

David, in fear of his life, looks up to God for help and sees God laughing! But this is a good thing because David sees God laughing at his enemies. And this gives David great reassurance!

You will see it in the movies - Hero is completely surrounded by the enemy. The main villain, with gun pointed at Hero, starts giving some unnecessary speech about how he has won and how he is going to see Hero 'in hell'. Hero just laughs. Why? Because Hero knows he's about to unleash a can of whoopass and go home with the pretty girl.

God laughs because He knows that our enemies can not do anything other than what God allows them to do. Their threats are empty because they can only move as much as God lets them move. In fact, they are only able to breathe to utter those threats simply because God allows them to do so! Isn't that reassuring?

In seeing God laugh at his enemies, Davids tone in the psalm changes entirely. From lamenting for the first seven verses, he now says, "..you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely. God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me." (v 9 - 10).

Then he goes on to ask God to be gentle on his enemies! He realises that the 11-year-old school bully is matched up against The Hulk.

David then says, "In the morning I will sing of your love." (v 16) i.e. "Phew! I'm not going to get killed tonight." And finally David reiterates, that this Laughing God is "my fortress, my God on whom I can rely." (v 17)

Today if you are under attack, or should you come under attack in the future, come back to this psalm, look to God and see Him laughing. He laughs at your attackers because He knows that they are utterly under His sovereign control, they only breathe because He lets them, and that at any moment He can unleash a most giant can of whoopass.

Psalm 53: How to pray through difficult times - part 2

by Peter Roxburgh


Psalm 53 (NIV)

It was mid afternoon when I went sailing on my own. I was 12 but had been sailing a few times before so was fairly confident. I wasn't trying to cross the Atlantic but just sailing around some inlets on the Welsh coast.

As often happens in Wales, the weather suddenly turned. I found myself surrounded by thick sea mist and an eerie darkness. The wind had dropped and so had the temperature. To make matters worse, my rudder had stopped responding too.

No wind, no sight of shore, no rudder and deepening darkness - a sailors nightmare. With all these enemies camped around me and no way to overcome them, I started to panic.

Sometimes life can feel like that.

David definitely knew about being surrounded by enemies with seemingly no way out or ability to overcome them.

Although David spends most of this psalm describing his enemies, the word that really stood out for me was the word 'when'.

In verse 6 he writes "WHEN God restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad." When! Not, 'if'. But a definite 'when.'

As with my little sailing incident, that 'when' can seem a very long time. Sometimes that 'when' is more like a 'WHEN???!!!!'

After what seemed like many 'WHEN??!!'s and many hours, my rescue came and I was restored back to the safety of the shore and the warmth of hot chocolate and a lit fire.

No matter how surrounded you may feel or how stuck in the thick mist and darkness of life, Gods rescue is surely coming.

The challenge is to change our prayers from the demanding and despairing "When!!??" to the affirming and hope-filled "WHEN God rescues me (and I KNOW He will), I will rejoice and be glad."

Even though we may be surrounded by the mist and darkness of life, simply by affirming and reminding ourselves of the truth of Gods coming rescue we will find our spirits lifted and souls strengthened.

Psalm 47 - What does Biblical praise look like?

By Peter Roxburgh
Psalm 47 (NIV)


We wait, huddled together with some of the other townsfolk. Even the children know not to make much noise. The elders just walk around muttering prayers under their breath. Everyone too nervous to cook and too sick with worry to eat.

Without saying a word, we know what the other is thinking. We try desperately not to think about what would happen if the battle is lost. But we all know.

If this battle is lost we will become the property of another man, probably other men. Our children will be taken away from us to work as servants, being beaten constantly. Our husbands will most likely be killed or at least have their eyes taken out. We will be taken away from the place we call home, unlikely to see or speak to our closest friends. And we will spend the rest of our lives doing labour-intensive, back-breaking work in the scorching heat under the leering eyes and groping hands of our captors.

Every so often I hear someone crying and I know that those dark thoughts of the impending reality are eating away at them.

After days spent like this, during which everyone ages considerably, a lone figure is spotted riding back with news.

I prepare myself for the worst, barely holding in the tears; trying desperately to remain strong for my children. More cries go up as more of the townsfolk give in to the thoughts of slavery, separation and a life of hell.

And then suddenly I hear a cry that sounds different. A cry of joy! VICTORY! In that moment, my life is literally returned to me! The dark cloud vanishes and I breathe as if I have never known fresh air in my lungs. Every one is up on their feet, dancing, hugging, crying with joy, laughing, singing. VICTORY! The enemy has been defeated!

Tonight we celebrate. Along with the other women I get a fire going. Chickens, lambs and goats are all slaughtered ready for the feast. The musicians bring out their instruments as the children dance round them laughing and giggling, each taking their turn pretending to be our victorious king defeating the enemy.

Suddenly there is commotion at the gate of the town. I drop what I am doing and along with everyone else, I rush towards the gate. The king has returned! The victorious king, our saviour has returned!

In a loud voice we cheer, clap and shout "How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth! He subdued the nations under us, people under our feet." 
I join the crowd pushing to get to the King. I notice that he has suffered at the hands of the enemy and he has been scarred. Because he suffered I will sleep safely with my husband tonight, my children breathing gently next to me. I push closer, just wanting to kiss his feet, my thankfulness overflowing in tears.

From behind me, flowers shower the king. Someone offers him freshly baked bread, another a bowl of lamb stew. No expense is spared, nothing is held back. Our king could ask for anything and he would have it. We owe this man our lives, our homes, our dignity, our freedom. Everything.

As the trumpets play a jubilant song, the shouts of joy keep getting louder as the king ascends each step to his throne. The roar of joy and triumph that rises as the king sits on his throne literally shakes the whole town.

Everywhere I look I see people dancing with wild abandon, hugging those that they haven't spoken to for a long time, smiling, sharing food and celebrating with people regardless of background, social standing, nationality or age. And everyone can't help but "sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises."

Late into the night the celebrating and song continues;

"For God is the King of all the earth.
God reigns over the nations.
God is seated on his holy throne.
The kings of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted."
I have every reason to praise him, to celebrate his victory, our freedom and inheritance. I may not be the most graceful dancer, or have the best voice but no-one is going to stop me joining in by dancing and singing in praise to my King, our victorious Saviour.

Psalm 41: How to pray through difficult times

By Peter Roxburgh

Psalm 41 (NIV)


This psalm is a great lesson in how to pray through difficult times.


In this Psalm, we find David sick and his enemies circling like vultures waiting for him to die. Not the nicest place to be!


1. Promises - The first thing David does is remind himself of God’s promises.

a. The Lord delivers (v1)
b. The Lord protects (v2)
c. The Lord preserves (v2)
d. The Lord sustains (v3)
e. The Lord restores (v3) 

When we pray, this has got to be our starting point. Reminding ourselves of God’s promises stirs faith. More importantly, it gets our focus OFF our problems and onto our faithful, promise-keeping God.


2. Petition - David then asks for God’s mercy. He wants to be healed. In his petition he acknowledges that he has sinned against God. (v4)

God loves to be merciful. And if that is what we need then let us not be shy to ask, or slow to repent. It is only arrogance that prevents us from accepting our weakness and asking for divine intervention.

3. Problem - He then goes on to explain to God what the problem is. (v5-9)

It is not that God was too busy to notice. Should your child come to you and say,"Please give me ibuprofen," I think you might be keen to hear from the child what the problem is and why they want ibuprofen. It would be an unconcerned father that just dishes out the medicine like candy.

God is very much interested in what is troubling you. And He isn't fooled by prayers where the mouth speaks one thing while the heart cries another. So be completely honest and tell Him. It is a sign of a good Father-child relationship.


4. Petition - Having explained the problem, once again David repeats his petition for God’s mercy (v10).

It is almost as if David concludes with, "So as I was saying... I really need you to do this for me, please."


5. Praise - Even as he lies on his sick bed staring up the vultures circling, David is still able to recognise God’s goodness

a. I know that you are pleased with me (v11)
b. My enemy does not triumph over me (v11)
c. You uphold me (v12)
d. You set me in your presence forever (v12)
e. Praise be to the Lord (v13)

David finishes by once again focusing on God and His current and ongoing goodness towards David.


It is essential that we end our times in praise and thanksgiving for all the wonderful things that God has done and is doing for us. This is particularly vital through the trying times. The praise of a broken heart is the sweetest of all songs.


The next time you face a really trying time (or at any time!), use this psalm as a framework for when you come before God.


Remind yourself of His promises, tell him what you want, tell Him your problems, ask again for help and then praise Him for His goodness. You will be amazed at how your spirit will be lifted and you will find yourself strengthened - and that's even before God answers!

Psalm 35: Get Angry and Pray for Destruction!

By Peter Roxburgh


Psalm 35 (NIV)

"May they be like chaff before the wind, 
with the angel of the Lord driving them away; 
may their path be dark and slippery, 
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them." (vs 6)

I think it is safe to say that David is in a bad mood and possibly even a little angry. 

Wait! What? The 'man-after-God's-heart' David is angry? Even hateful? Surely not! 

What do we do with Psalms like this?

Well, we could:

a. Ignore it - skip over all of it except vs 9 "then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in His salvation" - also ignoring the fact that this is what David will do once God answers his prayers for his enemies to fall into a pit to their destruction!

b. Make it Messianic - vs 11 "ruthless witnesses come forward..." ignoring the rest of the verse which can't be true of Jesus "they ask me of things that I do not know."

c. Spiritualise it - by saying "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood." (Eph 6:12)

d. Take it for what it is - a man who is being falsely accused and hounded for no reason and is now calling for God's help in dealing with his enemies and is openly expressing his feelings to God. 

It is right to take it for what it is because that is how the original readers would have taken it and also because there will be times in all our lives, particularly as we live for God's glory, that we will be able to clearly identify with David (if we haven't already experienced this). 

Just this week I have had two emails from my parents about the persecution of Christians in their stream of churches in India. They are being harassed, taken to the police station for questioning, kept overnight, accused of forcing conversions, even though they have done nothing other than to meet as Christians. 

We've learnt earlier that God is very much capable of hating people (Psalm 11) and he is capable of extreme anger against people (Psalm 18) that mess with His children or the vulnerable. 

If your child was being attacked and she cries out to you for help, would you stand back and say to her 'No, my child, you can not ask me to beat them up. I am nothing but love and in fact, you should love them also.' If we wouldn't do that, why do we so often think that is what God says to us? 

vs 27 helps us understand this Psalm and God's heart 

"The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant."

God delights in your well-being.  And if that means He has to "brandish spear and javelin" against those who pursue you (v3), then He will.  And we need not be ashamed to ask that He do so, because when we see our attackers turn to ruin (v4) then God will remind us "I am your salvation." (v3) and we will tell of God's righteousness and sing of His praise all day long (v28). 

The next time you are being falsely accused, hounded, sneered at even though you have been nothing but kind, don't just sit back with a defeatest attitude that 'God might be trying to teach me something'. No! Instead, feel free to GET ANGRY and call down ruin and destruction on your attackers.  And then rest in the knowledge that your Father in Heaven will respond for He is your salvation. 

Psalm 29: God, the dangerous

The God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters

By Peter Roxburgh
Psalm 29 (NIV)


A couple of weeks ago as our worship time in cell group, we were asked to write or draw a characteristic of God. A couple of us drew a sunrise, some talked about God's faithfulness, some about how he gives purpose and direction. None of us, and I suspect the same would be true in your cell groups, drew a violent storm.

And yet that is exactly the picture that David is drawing for us in this Psalm (v 3-9)

In some of the past Psalms I have written about and in numerous other readings in Scripture, I am increasingly seeing God as being entirely different from our comfortable Western perception.

We know the verse that says 'For no-one can see my face and live' (Exodus 33:20) and yet we can be so blasé in asking God to show us His glory and His power, not truly grasping what we are asking for.

We ask God to speak to us and yet here we are told, 'The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forest bare' (v9). I suspect none of us have experienced the kind of violence that would strip a forest bare. And I suspect none of want to. And yet we so happily say, 'Oh Lord, come speak to me.’

Friends, God is not safe. If we truly saw God in His glory we wouldn't whip out our mobile phones to film the 'glory cloud' and post it on YouTube. Seriously! No, our only response, our ONLY response would be to fall on our knees and cry with Isaiah 'WOE IS ME! I AM RUINED' (Isaiah 6:5)

There have been times of worship where I have been on my knees, trying to dig myself through the floor or foolishly hiding myself under pillows, cowering in the corner in total fear of God. And yet sadly, if I'm honest, on a day-to-day basis, I still only have a distant and peripheral understanding of the awesome, violent power of God. But I want to have an increasing heart understanding of God the Dangerous, because if the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then to not fear God is foolishness.

If you have never experienced God the Dangerous, God the Violent Storm then it is entirely Biblical that you do. Pray that you do as an individual but also corporately on Sunday mornings or in your small groups.

If you have experienced God the Dangerous, then continue to ask Him to reveal His power to you. A risky prayer, but a healthy one. For when you understand Him as a violent Storm, then you will find peace in the midst of any storm (v11).

God is your safety, but He is by no means safe.