Author: Carol Purves
The Father
We know that the father of the Prodigal Son was extremely loving, but I wonder if he was wise. One of his beloved sons had gone AWOL, He didn’t know how he was getting on but he could guess that it wasn’t good. His son loved parties and wild living. He had probably wasted his money in that distant country and therefore was now friendless.
He couldn’t bring his son back but he spent most of the time looking, looking for his son to walk over the horizon. Therefore, he had no time to look after the farm, that job fell to his other son. At mealtimes the conversation was all about the missing lad. It seems he only had room in his heart for one son.
This earthly father was so unlike our Heavenly Father. His heart is large enough to embrace us all. While He is concerned about a war in one part of the world, He never neglects the others. As He gives us His love and attention, His other children are not being forgotten. We used to sing
‘Wide, wide as the ocean, high as the heavens above, deep, deep as the deepest sea. is my Saviours love.’
Everything and everyone is included in His care. No words are adequate to show our gratitude .’Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.’ Isaac Watts.
A Day Like No Other
We never know what any one day may bring. It promised to be a good day for this man. He had letters in his tunic which would help him on his mission about which he was so passionate. The weather was fine, he was nearing his destination and if he was a singing and whistling man he would have done that.
Suddenly, he was struck down so quickly and hard that he was thrown to the ground. As he struggled to get up he found his sight had gone, he couldn’t see. Confused and even frightened he stretched out his hands for his companions to hold and support him. They were equally mystified as they witnessed the man’s fall and heard a voice but couldn’t understand the words.
‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?, the voice of God cried out. ‘Who are you, Lord?, the broken man asked. This once persecutor of the Christians was felled by the God he had been riling against. Three days of blindness and waiting gave him plenty of time to think and repent.
What will happens to us today? It may be a day when long-awaited good news arrives. This might be the day when we are re-united with long lost friends. Today could be the day that God speaks to us giving us some new revelation or even being heard for the first time. Whatever it is, will we be ready and accepting?
Not Crushed
‘We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed,
perplexed but not in despair,
persecuted but not abandoned,
struck down but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
I was being borne down by small niggling worries, the kind that kept me awake at night, the sort of worries that paled into insignificance in the light of day. My mind went round in circles with no apparent solutions. In frustration I got my Bible out (I keep one on my bedside table).I opened the Bible at 2 Corinthians and read the above passage. The words spoke to my heart. I was being pressed on every side, a number of people had a claim on my time and help. I couldn’t satisfy them all but then I realised I wasn’t crushed, everything would be done in good time
I was perplexed, the demands of modern technology were stressing me. I then remembered I could get help from variious places and I didn’t need to learn things I would never use.
I was heavily persecuted for my faith and beliefs, but I was not abandoned, God was always at my side. I would never be alone. He was my helper and guide.
There were times when I was struck down, sometimes with ill-health sometimes by opposition and enemies but never was I destroyed. I lived to fight another day or rather God picked me up and in His strength, I continued the fight called life. Praise and honour to Him who will always get me through.
Burglary
A few years ago I was burgled; fortunately not much was stolen but the upsetting part was that someone uninvited had entered my home, my sanctuary. Home is where I’m safe from the world; the only people who enter are the invited, my friends and neighbours. It has made me fearful and untrusting.
I’m so glad i know of a place thieves do not break in and steal’ and that is where my heart is. My heart is not with my earthly possessions; when I die they will be of no use to me, they will all go in the skip. I have set my heart on things above. We all like to have a few good things, some have personal memories, some are from childhood. But it is unwise to love them too much. We often say blithely ‘You can’t take it with you,’ but you really can’t. Our possessions here will indeed be rusted, especially in hot, damp climates. As I’ve proved they can be stolen. Many break and deteriorate with age. It is so unwise to dote on these things. Let’s store up for ourselves character building things like kindness, unselfishness, self-control and love. These things will last into the next world, they will be of lasting value.
Knowledge versus Wisdom
On our television programmes there are more quiz programmes than ever. Some are for money, some are not. Some are light-hearted and some very serious. It seems more and more people are knowing more and more. But what is knowledge alone. Facts, numbers and statistics in themselves are of no use to us, they don’t equate to wisdom. Of what advantage is it to know a little about a lot of things or a lot about a few things.
We need to turn to the Bible. Just look at the book of Proverbs, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. keep My commands in your heart for they will prolong your life’ Proverb1:7 ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. 3:5-6. It doesn’t matter how much you know if you don’t know the Lord. It will do you no good. ‘Do not forsake wisdom and she will protect you. Proverbs 4:6.
Some very clever people can act in stupid ways, they don’t seem to have any sense. They have not learned how to live. God’s way is the only way, any other way is foolishness. To ignore or reject God is definitely foolish. Knowledge will not give salvation, wisdom will lead to it.
Laughter
I believe God has a sense of humour. I believe there will be laughter in heaven. We have been created in the way that when we laugh we feel better. There are the sayings ‘Laughter makes the world go round,’ and ‘Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.’ A good laugh makes everyone feel better. Children laugh without thinking about it; a happy person finds it easier to make friends. People avoid grumpy and miserable people. No-one wants to hear about our worries. It is better to have laughter lines on our faces than frowning ones. Laughter is good for us, it helps create antibodies that protects us from germs.
Our God is the God of humour who made the giraffe with his ridiculously long neck, He could have just made trees with lower boughs. A centipede who is fun to watch with it’s hundred little legs as his boy moves up and down. Only a God with a sense of fun could have made a donkey who talked.
When I bring problems to the Lord He sometimes answers in a way I could never have imagined. He makes me smile at His workings out. My finite mind is not capable of sorting problems out. Maybe laughter is next door to love.
He Didn’t Wait
The Prodigal Son had messed up big time. We all know the story, after squandering his inheritance, through his acute hunger and level of living, he realised he’d got it all wrong. He didn’t then go to classes to improve his life style or train for a better job. He just decided to go home, say sorry and take his punishment.
When his father saw him away in the distance, he had no idea how his son had been faring, whether he had excelled or failed. He didn’t know he had sunk so low, had been starving and had a job feeding the pigs. All he knew his son was returning, that was what mattered. His son had been lost, now he was found.
When we return to God we don’t have to fill in a questionnaire to say how we are doing, We don’t have to pass an exam to show how worthy we are. God accepts us exactly as we are and some of us, like the prodigal son, have made a mess of life. We don’t have to wait for forgiveness, we have it as soon as we ask for it. We come as we are, God accepts us as we are. He can then instigate the forgiveness.
Sorry
Gary was in his first week of being a truck driver for a particular company and somehow he landed the lorry in the ditch. Mortified, he expected to be sacked immediately. When he eventually returned to the depot, having cost the company a great deal of money on repair, his boss was waiting for him. ‘I’m so, so sorry,’ spluttered Gary. ‘I’ll see you in the morning,’ was his bosses only reply.
The next morning still expecting to get his cards, he gasped, ‘I’m so, so sorry.’ His boss replied, ‘You said sorry yesterday, that was enough. You only needed to say it once. I forgave you then. Here is your schedule for the day.’
When we tell God we’re sorry, really sorry, He forgives us and His forgiveness is complete. We don’t need to do penance or earn His forgiveness. It is a free and complete gift. We are absolutely forgiven. Knowing our frail natures, we know we will sin again and have to be forgiven for our fresh sins. (I don’t know if Gary ever crashed another lorry!)
On the cross Jesus dealt with our sin completely. We will receive His forgiveness if we ask for it and with the help of the Holy Spirit we will sin no more, or at least less..
No Other
‘Whom have I in heaven but You.’ Psalm 73:33
These are words for all of us at all times. You might be at the end of your resources today or this week. It may be that you are in the midst of some great problem or tragedy or life may be full of niggling little troubles. On your own you do not have the ability to cope, but you don’t have to
‘Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards.’ Job 5:7. It is not a question of ‘if trouble comes’ but ‘when trouble comes.’ You may have tried various remedies but nothing, has taken away the bad situation permanently. Then the question arises, where can we go but to God. He will comfort, uplift, guide and direct. He won’t necessarily remove the problem but with Him at our side we will be able to cope.
With God is isn’t a case of one time help. God’s help is from everlasting to everlasting. Every difficulty and indeed every joy is covered by God. It is a case of ‘Surely goodness and mercy will be following me all the days of my life.’ Psalm 23:6. Nothing is outside His range of help, nothing is too difficult for Him.