Dr. Terry Threadwell's Blog

My spirit is content, as with the richest of foods, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips. (Ps 63:5 NCV)

There are times when God allows a season of holy-discontent in your life.  It’s usually when God wants to stir you up because you’ve become too settled, change your circumstances or move you on to a different place.  I don’t desire such times, but then again, I don’t run from them.

Fortunately, discontent is not the norm, and even at those times, we need to know that God is in control.  The psalmist describes this as feeling like you’ve just eaten a good meal.  You’re no longer hungry but full, fat and content. Burp! Unacceptable in western culture to bulge wind at the dinner table, but in places like Bahrain totally acceptable and a sign to the host that the meal was wonderful.  I’m sure the Lord would settle with a word of praise.

So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name, I will lift up my hands. (Ps 63:4, ESV)

Body language is a very powerful tool. We had body language before we had speech, and apparently, 80% of what you understand in a conversation is read through the body, not the words. – Deborah Bull

Our bodies in worship often say more with our actions than our mouths say with words. The act of prostrating the body in prayer was a common form of worship not only in early Christianity but in Judaism and Islam. Raising the arms, outstretched with open hands also has significance in worship. It can be:

1. A cry for help.  The man or woman that is drowning will often raise their arms, desperate for help.
2. It can be an expression of excitement and joy.
3. It can also be an expression of sadness and grief. When a parent loses a child in the act of violence, they lift their hands to God, asking ‘why!’
4. Raised hands is also a sign of surrender.
5. Finally, it’s an act of trust as we jump into the open arms of a parent, or run to the open arms of someone we love.  Knowing that those arms will always catch you or respond with love, requires trust.

David knew that he could always trust God, and so he lifted his has in praise.

God! My God! It’s you– I search for you! My whole being thirsts for you! My body desires you in a dry and tired land, no water anywhere. Yes, I’ve seen you in the sanctuary; I’ve seen your power and glory. (Psa 63:1-2 CEB)

“If you are seeking, seek us with joy, for we live in the kingdom of joy. Do not give your heart to anything else but to the love of those who are clear joy, do not stray into the neighborhood of despair. For there are hopes: they are real, they exist –do not go in the direction of darkness – I tell you: suns exist.” – Rumi

The Kings Hall Methodist Church was built in 1916, located in Southall, west London; this large three-story building eventually closed in 2013. One of the reasons was the large influx of Asians, now the largest Sikh community in London and Methodists moved out to the suburbs. But is that a good enough reason to close your doors? Where is the sanctuary of God, and what is the gospel? Jesus gave us a clue in Mathew 25:35-38 `for I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in;  `I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying,`Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? `When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? (Mat 25:35-38 NKJ) When we start to show the love of God to all people, regardless of their color, ethnic background, race, religion or sexual orientation the power and the glory of God is seen.

Don’t close doors, open them, create sanctuary wherever you are.

God! My God! It’s you– I search for you! My whole being thirsts for you! My body desires you in a dry and tired land, no water anywhere. (Psa 63:1 CEB)

If we were to make a list of all that is wrong in the world, all the hatred, and animosity we might come to the same conclusion that the world is dry and tired.  If we’re not careful that spiritual drought will suck the life from us as well. It’s almost as if David gives a final gasp as he finds God after a long search.

How do we know if we’re a dry and barren land?

1. Giving out what you don’t have.
2. Serving out of a sense of duty
3. Your faith is no longer contagious
4. God feels distant
5. Life is in a rut
6. Not giving yourself time after a trial or traumatic event
7. Negative thinking

God! My God! It’s you.  God is always ever present—drink deep, and drink often.

But I have sure faith that I will experience the LORD’s goodness in the land of the living! Hope in the LORD! Be strong! Let your heart take courage! Hope in the LORD! (Psa 27:13-14 CEB)

“It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”  ― Mahatma Gandhi

We talk a lot about heaven, much of which is misplaced, but what about here and now. We need to open our eyes of faith and look to see what God is doing in people, society, and the world at large.  Even when it seems as though everything is going wrong, and there is so much evil around we are to take courage, be strong and hope in the Lord. If all God’s people do this, the light of God’s glory will shine.

Arise! Shine! Your light has come; the LORD’s glory has shone upon you.  Though darkness covers the earth and gloom the nations, the LORD will shine upon you; God’s glory will appear over you. (Isa 60:1-2 CEB)

Namaste, a gesture made to another called Añjali Mudrā.  Palms pressed together, fingers pointing upwards, with the thumbs pointing back to you.  It’s a recognition that you see the divine spark, the image of God, the Imago Dei in another person.  I’m looking today for the LORD’S goodness in the land of the living.

Please don’t hide it from me! Don’t push your servant aside angrily– you have been my help! God who saves me, don’t neglect me! Don’t leave me all alone! Even if my father and mother left me all alone, the LORD would take me in.  (Psa 27:9-10 CEB)

Have heard about a recent outbreak in a school in New Jersey? No, it’s not measles or some other disease, it’s hugging. Students at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, N.J., have discovered the benefits, physical and emotional of giving a hug to a friend while respecting each others space, personality and gender.

Scientists have discovered that babies that receive no affection, even though they are receiving nutrition, stop growing and could even die. In this psalm, David is calling out to God, pleading that God doesn’t remove the affection, and love that David so desperately needs and craves. Some of you have never associated God with hugger, but the story of the Prodigal so shows the father running to, hugging and kissing his wayward son.

So he got up and went to his father. “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion. His father ran to him, hugged him, and kissed him. (Luk 15:20 CEB)

So, this is your hug, and it’s coming your way. “X:” “:)X”