David Lee Martin

A conversation with a friend (thank you Emily) encouraged me to crawl out of my cave and resurrect my newsletter from its unexpected sabbatical.

I’m a two-finger typist. I can barely navigate the keyboard, and yet I’m a writer by trade. Go figure.

That’s why my sentences are short and my messages brief.

So what’s the thought I’m carrying today, Good Friday, the day we celebrate the worst of crimes?

Simply this…

I’m the killer!

It was my sin that nailed Him there.

My iniquities that skewered his ankles to the board.

My sick mind drove thorns into His skull.

My wasting disease ravaged his bleeding back.

I held the hammer that pounded the nails. Blow after blow until the Son of God hung limply between heaven and earth.

I mocked Him, blasphemed, berated, picked up a rod and speared His heart.

I was guilty.

Not knowing that my savage attack was the very act that freed me from my pain.

He took everything of my sin and last of all swallowed up my guilt.

Innocent and Heaven bound, I stand amazed.

It’s a Good Friday indeed, for He took the worst.

And there’s a sequel on the way, this time even better.

Jesus first, everything else follows.

Selah,

David

​My pastor preached this weekend on the wonderful cousellor, Jesus.

The line that struck my spirit most was:

“This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.” (Isaiah 28:29 NKJV)

The Holy Spirit within you is like the GPS in your car.

HGPS – Holy Ghost Positioning System.

Your spirit taps into a guidance system far above and He is able, if you incline your ear, to hear him say, "This is the way"

“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21 KJV)

His counsel is wonderful.

His guidance is excellent.

And you have Him living on the inside.

Selah.

New technology opens the door for anyone to do things that were previously impossible.

Everyone can create a song.

Writing a book is no longer a laborious academic undertaking.

Sheesh! I even programmed and deployed a new app for my business on Saturday.

I *coded* it while in my pyjamas, just chatting to my laptop.

It will save me hours of work and took less than two to create.

No cost.

Agreed, we may be in a bubble, and the bubble will inevitably burst.

But the technologies will remain, and now is the very best time to learn how to use them in practical and creative ways. When the sands shift, you’ll be equipped to move with them.

But if it's this easy, won’t everyone make music?

Make pictures? Direct movies?

Won’t everyone become a novelist?

Let me let you in on a secret…

Even though everyone can, most won’t.

As a Spirit-led creative, you do not have a spirit of fear.

Courage is your constant companion.

Comparison is not.

Let others think and do what they will.

As for me, you, and our house, we create.

Whereever you stand on current trends don’t close your eyes.

The creative landscape is changing beyond recognition, and we honestly don’t know where it will lead.

Embrace the change, in line with your conscience, and create.

Selah.

The devil’s number one weapon?

Summarised in three words.

“Hath God said?”

Followed by whatever lie He wants to fob on you.

He’s a scammer of the utmost degree. The OG father of lies.

Doubt is the dumbbell he throws around. He may be subtle, but his method is blunt.

The moment he gets you to question God’s motives, you're done.

Dear friend, God is good.

Hard sometimes, but consider Job.

​“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” (Job 13:15 KJV)

The rain falls on the just and the unjust.

It can be difficult to understand the way the world works.

Like Asaph, we might lament:

​“I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked… Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.” (Psalm 73:3;12 KJV)

We may even think following God doesn’t pay:

“Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain” (Psalm 73:13 KJV)

But the song doesn’t stop there.

The Psalmist steps beyond his questions into the sanctuary…

​“Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood…” (Psalm 73:17 KJV)

The view from the Sanctuary is very different!

Prayer is central in circumnavigating the territory we’re called to conquer.

Hath God said?

YES, He has!

Selah and amen!

Speaking of being “in tune” with God reminds me that He has “ways”.

Ways of being, and ways of doing.

This is how the Amplified Bible describes “righteousness”.

​“But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.” (Matthew 6:33 AMP)

God’s way of being and doing. Being first!

Ways, not rules.

How beautiful are those ways!

Not burdensome or heavy.

Ways of the heart

Psalm 84:5 in the KJV reads:

​“Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.” (Psalm 84:5 KJV)

One little pointer for accuracy is that the King James Version, although literal, inserts words to aid understanding. Additional words are kindly rendered as italics. That way you know what belongs.

So this verse actually says:

​​“Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways.” (Psalm 84:5 KJV)

There is something beautifully mysterious and intimate about this. It awakens a longing in me.

I want more than a doctrine in my head, I want His ways in my heart.

A perpetual prayer

The prayer I’ve prayed more times than any other is a simple one found in Psalm 25:

​“Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me” (Psalm 25:4–5 KJV)

We will be exploring some of God’s ways in our Christmas Advent experience this year, especially how God will “guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79 KJV), even when the world is going crazy.

We begin on 1st December, so you still have time to grab a ticket.

May your day be one of blessing!