Advent 2021

Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
    Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Today we reflect on verse 7 of the Psalm.

Have you ever tried to run away from God? You obviously did not succeed for you would not be reading this if you had!

Have there been times when you have realised God is with you and you wish He had not found you where you were?

Have you found God in surprising places? Have you been surprised where God has found you?

Solomon prayed in 1 Kings 8, a snippet of this prayer is below. Use it to form the basis of your own prayer today:

⁴⁶ If they sin against thee—for there is no man who does not sin—and thou art angry with them, and dost give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near; ⁴⁷ yet if they lay it to heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to thee in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned, and have acted perversely and wickedly’; ⁴⁸ if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to thee toward their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; ⁴⁹ then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause ⁵⁰ and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions which they have committed against thee; and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them…

Psalm 139

O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me!
² Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;
    thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
³ Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
    and art acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
    lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
⁵ Thou dost beset me behind and before,
    and layest thy hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high, I cannot attain it.

Today we re-read the verses from last week

Which thoughts from those verses leaps out at you as you read them today? SPend some time in prayer with that verse as the focus.

Use that verse, or others from the passage, to pray about the year ahead; that God will be with you and lead you and you will be faithful in following Him

Advent is a time of preparing for the coming of Christ. Not just the baby in Bethlehem but also the King of kings when He returns. As you reflect on your thoughts from these times of reflection in the past week, is there one thing that you need to change in your life to be better prepared for His coming?

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high, I cannot attain it.

Today we consider Psalm 139:6, Saturday’s photos are of the erstwhile leader of TFG.

In this verse we recognise that God is God and we are not. We cannot know as God knows, we cannot understand all that God is. Even His knowledge of us is beyond what we can attain ourselves.

It is a verse that makes us fall down to worship, we are in His hands and He knows us completely and loves us thoroughly.

Today we end this first week of Advent reflecting on the greatness of our Saviour.

Play this hymn and use it to inspire your own worship of our great Saviour, Lord and God.

Thou dost beset me behind and before,
    and layest thy hand upon me.

We reflect on verse 5 of Psalm 139 today. Friday’s images are of staff members associated with TFG.

The word beset has gained a bad press. It gives us the feel of oppression. The Hebrew word again alludes to what we would today call farming and the picture of a sheep or other animal being enclosed in a safe space. God has ‘hedged us in’ or surrounded us with His protection. His hand is laid upon us demonstrating that He is with us and for us.

As you think back over the year, are there times when you can now see that God was protecting you, surrounding you, with His hand of protection on you? Watching over you like a kind form teacher perhaps?

This brings to mind Psalm 23 verse 4:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
    thy rod and thy staff,
    they comfort me.

Spend some time thanking God for this promise of His presence and oversight and commit your way for next year to Him.

Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.

Today we look at verse 4 of Psalm 139. Thursday’s photos are from TFG in the 10s.

What sort of words to you use? Are they well thought out and considered or spontaneous? Do you speak in love or in anger? Do you seek to impress your hearers or aim to improve them? Is it all about you?

Are you a worshipper?

James wrote:  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening fresh water and brackish? Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh. (James 3:10-12)

Are you a worshipper?

Do you sing praises in the morning and bad-mouth the Vicar in the afternoon?

Do you worship God in your Quiet Time and swear with your mates in the pub later?

How do you use words?

Our verse tells us God knows the words we are going to use before we speak them. He knows the source of what we are going to say.

Words are powerful.  God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God made us in His image, He gave us creativity. Our words are powerful.

How have you used words this year?

1. The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me, his word is upon my tongue. (2 Samuel 23:2)
2. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. (Psalm 52:4)

Spend time praying about the words you use, the conversations you have had and those you will and the way you use your words to worship God.

Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
    and art acquainted with all my ways.

Today we look at Psalm 139 verse 3. Wednesday’s photos are from TFG in the 00s.

We continue to see how God watches over us. It says He searches out our path. The Hebrew word zarah is used in farming to mean scattering seed and also winnowing crops. There is the sense that God sows the seeds for us and then sorts out the good stuff from the bad that we produce from what He gives us. He sees what we could do with what we have been given, He sees how we have walked on the path of life.

God knows how we got to where we are, He is acquainted with our ways. He sees the choices before us and nudges us.

Reflect on the year just gone. How have you got from last New Year to here? Has it just been ‘same old, same old’ or have you made significant choices about the things you do and the way you live through the year?

Have there been things you could have done that you chose not to? Or things that you have done that you regret?

As we begin to prepare for the year to come, are you aware of any nudges from God about making changes? Are there things in your life that you are uncomfortable about, or dreams that have been on hold for which now might be the time to pursue?

Spend some time praying over the path you have taken this last year, thanking God for His guidance, confessing times when you have gone wrong.

Also commit the path of the year to come to God. Pray that you will be conscious of signposts, way marks and advice He gives you through the year and obedient in following.

Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;
    thou discernest my thoughts from afar.

Today we look at verse 2 of Psalm 139.

Tuesday’s images are from TFG in the 1990s

Yesterday’s thoughts about God knowing us intimately continue. Now we learn that God knows our thoughts. Jesus said “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.” (Matthew 15:18,19)

What we do begins in our thoughts, for these shape us. God knows them ‘from afar’ which might mean God is a long way away and still knows them but might also mean that God knows our thoughts even before we do, that as they begin to germinate He knows what they will become.

James amplifies this when he writes: each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death. (James 1:14,15)

What thoughts are budding in you at the moment? Is there an irritation towards someone? What needs to be ‘nipped in the bud’?

God knows those little weeds that are beginning to sprout even before you do. Ask Him to reveal things that need to be rooted out.

O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me!

This is the first verse of Psalm 139 and our focus for today.

Images on Mondays are of TFG in the 1980s

In today’s verse we discover several things about God and about our relationship with Him.

Firstly He is Lord.
What does Lord mean?
In what ways is God Lord of your life? How has that Lordship affected the way you have lived this year?

Secondly He ‘searches and knows’ you. You cannot hide from God. You cannot pretend to be something you are not with Him. He knows you better than you even know yourself probably!

This should lead us to a time of confession, for we all tend to ignore some of our own failings and also to elevate others to a point of guilt and then try to deal with that ourselves.

O Lord, my Lord, this Advent time I come to You and recognise that there are some things which You would change that I have ignored. There are other things which I feel guilty about and which You are asking me to be honest about with You so that You can bring forgiveness and healing. Thank You that You have searched me and know me. I kneel before You now to worship You and to thank You. Amen.

Here is a TFG based daily thought, prayer and photo calendar for Advent 2021. Our images on Sundays are artwork related to TFG.

We are going to focus on Psalm 139 to begin with, reading the whole Psalm on Sundays and looking at it verse by verse through the week. I’ve decided to use the RSV as it was what I ‘grew up with’ and hardly anyone uses it today so it will give a different slant on the passage. Here it is:

O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me!
² Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;
    thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
³ Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
    and art acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
    lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
⁵ Thou dost beset me behind and before,
    and layest thy hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high, I cannot attain it.

⁷ Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
    Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, thou art there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ even there thy hand shall lead me,
    and thy right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Let only darkness cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
¹² even the darkness is not dark to thee,
    the night is bright as the day;
    for darkness is as light with thee.

¹³ For thou didst form my inward parts,
    thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.
    Wonderful are thy works!
Thou knowest me right well;
¹⁵     my frame was not hidden from thee,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;
    in thy book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.
¹⁷ How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    When I awake, I am still with thee.

¹⁹ O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God,
    and that men of blood would depart from me,
²⁰ men who maliciously defy thee,
    who lift themselves up against thee for evil!
²¹ Do I not hate them that hate thee, O Lord?
    And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?
²² I hate them with perfect hatred;
    I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
²⁴ And see if there be any wicked way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!

As you reflect on this Psalm, you are reminded of how much God surrounds you and covers you. Think back over the year, have you been trying to run away from Him? or have there been times of difficulty when He felt far away? What does this Psalm teach us?

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