calven blog

by Calven CelliersAt the Men’s DNA Group that I attend on a Thursday evening, the guys always enjoy a time of worship together, after a quick cup of coffee and a catch up that is, and then we delve into the Word and fellowship over a study of some sort. Last night as part of our worship we sang a new song called Here Now (Madness). One of the first lines of the lyrics grabbed my attention – Time runs its race within Your hand… As I listened to the song, I was reminded of a quote by Aiden Tozer who said, “The man of true faith may live in the absolute assurance that his steps are ordered by the Lord. For him, misfortune is outside the bounds of possibility. He cannot be torn from this earth one hour ahead of the time which God has appointed, and he cannot be detained on earth one moment after God is done with him here.”Our time is in God’s hands! In Psalm 31 King Davis declares, “14 But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” 15 My times are in your hands…” (Psalm 31:14 & 15NIV) David acknowledges that our lives belong fully and finally to God. We receive each day as a gift from the Lord, to serve Him and to serve others in His name through all we do. If you think about it, King David’s words stand in remarkable contrast to what we have heard for most of our lives. We’ve been told to make the most of our time, to make sure we aren’t missing out, and to make sure we aren’t wasting our lives. There is an incredible weight that is placed upon our shoulders when we feel that our success or significance is entirely up to us. The reality, however, is that our steps are ordered by the Lord.In Psalm 31 David cries out to the Lord because of his enemies; they are surrounding him on every side and are seeking his life. He is despised by everyone around him, and we can sympathize with his loneliness and despair. But more than David laments his trouble, he rejoices that God is on his side. He repeatedly calls God his refuge, fortress, hiding place, and strength. David had nowhere to turn in his sorrow but to the Lord, and there he found joy, peace, hope, and rest.As Christ followers, how are we meant to respond in moments of pain and trial?We must learn to live in the tension of real pain and real provision. We are never meant to ignore our trials or challenges. The call of Christ isn’t to simply put on a happy face and pretend everything is okay. The space we must learn to occupy is one where we are open and honest before the Lord about our hurts and disappointments, yet at the very same time fully trusting that He is with us and moving among us.How are our times in God’s hand today?…

by Calven Celliers Consider for just a minute that you are holding a cup of coffee and someone comes along and bumps into you, making you spill your coffee everywhere. If I then asked you, “Why did you spill your coffee?” you may very well be irritated and tempted to reply, “Well because someone bumped into me, of course!” But another way of looking at it is that you spilled coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea. Whatever is inside the cup, is what will spill out. Now think about what happens when life comes along and bumps you; it stands to reason that whatever is inside of you will come out of you. It’s easy to fake it, until you get rattled. Today I’d like for you to reflect on the question, “What’s in my cup? When life gets tough, what spills over?” If the wrong kind of stuff spills over, then realistically you have to consider that you have been filling yourself up with the wrong kind of stuff. I am constantly challenged to be intentional about spending time with God, allowing Him to fill those desperately empty places inside my soul with all the good stuff He has to offer. Otherwise, the world will fill those gaps up with anything but good stuff. In the Gospel of Matthew 12 Jesus put it like this, “34 …For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” (Matthew 12: 34 & 35NIV)  Jesus stresses that what you say is an accurate indicator of what is in your heart. If your words bless and encourage others, they give evidence of a compassionate heart. If you often share the good news about Christ, you demonstrate a heart that is grateful for your own salvation. When others are in a crisis, do they know they will find peace and comfort in your words? Do you frequently and spontaneously offer prayers for others? Do your words and the manner in which you say them reveal a patient heart? All of these behaviours indicate a heart that is like the heart of the Father. Or do you often regret your words? Are there people even now who are hurt or angry because of something you have said? Do you enjoy gossip? Do you tend to criticize others? Do you feel that you are not responsible for what comes out of your mouth when you are angry? Does your mouth spew negativity, grumbling and complaints? Having a full cup takes dedication. I want to encourage you to set aside time throughout the day to let the Lord love on you. If we are not allowing God to first fill our cup, our human nature is to strive to fill it in other ways. But if we feast on…

by Calven Celliers Last Sunday in Church I was really blessed by Mia and the Worship Team’s beautiful rendition of Leeland’s song, Way Maker. I’ve had the lyrics swirling through my mind all week – “You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness, my God, that is who You are.” https://youtu.be/iJCV_2H9xD0 As I contemplated this awesome song, I sensed the Holy Spirit nudging me, almost urging me to read Isaiah 43: 18 & 19 “18 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” As I read those verses, I saw something I’d never really taken note of before. It was written at a time when Judah was suffering under Babylonian exile. The prophet Isaiah was reminding them of what God had done in the past, alluding to the great Exodus of Israel from Egypt. At the same time, Isaiah discouraged them from being stuck in the past and admonished God’s chosen people to look forward with expectation of the new thing He would do. This was a wilderness promise! God told them, “I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” This promise was tailor-made for their dry, barren, wilderness season. The word for wilderness in the original Hebrew text is “Yeshimon” (pronounced yesh-ee-mone'), which literally means a place that is utterly barren; it denotes a total wasteland, where there is nothing but dryness and fruitlessness. It was totally desolate. There was no hint of prosperity, abundance or provision. And it’s right there, in a place of hopelessness, that God chose to make this amazing promise. One of the greatest lies ever told is that "It's too late!" At some point in our lives, we may all feel like we've missed our chance because we’ve messed up. We can even be tempted to believe that we've disqualified ourselves from having a great future, that our best days are behind us. If this is you, then I want you to hear something loud and clear: With God on your side, it's never too late. Isn’t it wonderful to know that some of the best days of your life still lie ahead of you? While God Himself never changes, He is a God of change. He is always doing a new thing and working behind the scenes in our lives to bring about new beginnings. Where we see failure, God sees potential for something new. He is without a doubt the WAY MAKER. God wants you to know that it's never too late to begin again and have a great life. He is on your side and, if need be, He can even "put a road in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." In order to cooperate with God's plan for our lives we need to stay focused and determined. I've learned that when you…