Author: Carol Purves

Not trying to Please Men.

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How hard it is not to try to please others when all we should be doing is to please God. Mankind is so fickle and one minute people will like us and the other they will turn away from us. To please men is only to boost our own ego. Jesus spoke very strongly against the Pharisees when they displayed their holiness in front of others. Jesus even said they had their reward now.

How often do we say, at least to ourselves. ‘What will they think?’ Who are the ‘they.’ When i recently found my Christmas card lists for previous years, I realised the list would be very different this year. Some of the people have died, or I’ve lost contact with them as I’ve moved house twice within the last few years. Where are the people i tried to impress then? They probably don’t even remember me.

Our all-powerful God is the one we need to please; He has the ultimate control of our destiny. All people are sinful like ourselves and although we have a responsibility towards them, they too are on the journey of life. .

Remembering and Forgetting.

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‘It doesn’t feel like I was ever eight.’ Ellie exclaimed only a few weeks after her birthday. She had been waiting for her ninth birthday the day for months and months and had found it difficult to to be patient. Now that she had reached this wonderful age, she wanted to forget that she had ever been eight. I can hardly imagine what it will be like when she reaches double figures.

What is the secret to this remembering and forgetting? Ideally we should remember the good things of the past, like the summer holidays which seemed to go on for ever. Remember that in our imagination it never rained in the summer months. Remember the feeling of a safe, loving family that many of us had and the friends that were going to be best friends for ever.

Forgetting is also an art to be established; forgetting the days when we couldn’t go out to play. Forgetting the friends who became enemies and not remembering the unkind words we received along the way. As each year adds up there is more forgetting to be done. God also remembers and forgets. Jeremiah 31:34 ‘i will remember their sins no more.’

Eugene Peterson

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Eugene Peterson, the writer of The Message translation of the Bible was born on the 6th November 1932. Probably best known for this translation he was also a pastor, poet, author and scholar. His intention was to make the original meaning of the Bible accessible to the people of today.

In an interview he once said ‘We are story-telling people and our lives are stories ………….. the Bible is our greatest story.’ He described everyone as being in a hurry but that our Christian life is one of being a disciple and a pilgrim. As disciples we spend our lives apprenticed to out Master and as pilgrims we spend our lives going to God. Peterson’s language is the language of the every day. In his translation in Hebrews 13:5 he writes, ‘I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you.’His words give us a clarity when we read The Message alongside one of other favourite translations.

Do You Know My God?

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I have new neighbours and am making new friends. To be silent is to deny Christ I know, but how do I witness? It is no good bringing God into the conversation accidentally; it has to be the work of God Himself. I wear a small cross but then so do many people, Christian and non-Christian. At my age I haven’t a tattoo, proclaiming ‘God is Love.’ But I thank Him that i have found another opportunity.

This doesn’t apply so much to older people but youngsters are littering their conversation with blasphemous words. – ‘Oh my God,’ ‘Jesus Christ,’ or even words which I dare not print here. Without giving offence, I challenge the speaker by saying, ‘How did Jesus Christ get into the conversation?’ At the very least it might make people stop and think. (One failure was when I got the reply, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know.) At the very best I have the opportunity to explain the difference Jesus Christ has made in my life.

With older people ‘friendship evangelism’ seems to be the best approach, but it is a long job. Many have been to Sunday School when they were young and I share with them the book I have written about a Church of England hymn writer. Jesus never said it would be easy!

The Look of God

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I know God is God, but we don’t really know what God looks like but because Jesus walked this earth we only think of God in physical form. We have the image of Him sitting on His throne in heaven, so that gives us some physical features. We imagine Him to have arms and hands as we read in Isaiah 41:10 ‘I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ And again ‘If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your right hand will guide me.’ In times of trouble we imagine God placing His arms around us and protecting us. He carries us on His shoulders.

I think heaven is going to be a wonderful surprise.Our finite minds and even the reading of the Book of Revelation make us ill-prepared for what we will find. But I believe it will be surprise upon wonderful surprise. We cannot grasp the beginning of it and we’re not just visiting, we’ll be there for ever and ever. Something beyond our comprehension.

Rich Tapestry of Colours

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Every it happens so suddenly. One day the leaves on the trees are various shades of tired green and just the next day they are displaying a myriad vivid colours. How can this happen so suddenly or have I been or have I been sleepwalking? Another question – are this year’s colours better than the last year? No, every year is beautiful and wonderful.

The point is that every year is a miracle. Trees have a special life-cycle. In fact, every part of creation is a masterpiece. Everything is made by a loving God who also has a sense of humour. Who but God could design a giraffe or a centipede? God has filled every part of His universe with wonders. The oceans, deep or shallow, are not wasted space, they are teaming with life. The skies are filled with birds who are so important for sustaining our life.

The land, which I understand only covers 10% of the earth’s surface, supports various living creatures, including us. Nothing is wasted or superfluous.All work together in a universal jigsaw. No wonder the Bible is full of His praise. ‘Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, my soul.

Naming Stars

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‘He determines the number of stars and calls them each by name.’ Psalm 147:8. I was intrigued when I read this verse. In my imagination I thought of the Trinity sitting in heaven during the days of creation and discussing how many stars they would create. Would it be so many trillion or would it be more or less.?Everything had to be made perfectly.

Recently I visit our local planetarium and marveled at the number of stars shown on the overhead screen. Mankind has named many of them but God knows each and every one by name. It is almost too much to comprehend. He knows, has created and has named so many that we have not yet been able to see. It makes us seem very insignificant.

But He didn’t just name stars, He has named and loves every living creature and that includes us. He loves us, has named us and has written our name on the palm of His hand. He will never release His loving hold on us, in good times or bad times or the unremarkable and forgettable times. ‘His love endures for ever.’

Health Warning

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Over the last twenty years I’ve had four books published, books about Christian missionaries. I’ve also had a few articles and stories printed. As I’ve got older I’ve become a lot less prolific but I believe once a writer, always a writer. Fortunately, I still sometimes appear in print, though payment these days is rarer.; not many writers become rich,

I’ve been thrilled to have new business cars printed, where below my name are the words ‘freelance writer.’ Not everyone seems to know what those words mean. I explain to people that sometimes i get paid and sometimes I don’t. When I explain I’ve written some books their eyes light up, they probably think I write for Mills and Boon. (not as easy as it sounds) Recently I explained to a neighbour ‘My writing is mostly Christian.’ Oh, exclaimed one person, I won’t be reading them. Another reply was a meaningless ‘That’s nice.’

How have we got to this state! I want to shout if they read Christian writing, they will be life-saving words.

I Will Rescue the Lame

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As I walk through my home town I’m amazed at how many people are walking with the aid of a walking stick. The pavements are more uneven than ever because the council haven’t the money to keep up the repairs, we’re entering the season of fallen leaves which makes the ground a dangerous mushy mess and icy pavements are only a few months away. These walking aids are going to be needed more than ever.

I’m not being judgmental because I’m one of the many stick owners. I kid myself that I don’t really need it but I know that a fall would injure my back even more. While I resent needing this aid to mobility, I don’t resent the spiritual aid that I need in my life, Scoffers might say that Christianity is a crutch for the weak, but I readily admit that I’m spiritual weak and minute by minute need the help of the Lord.

God offers an easy yoke as He says ‘Lean on me.’ and Zephaniah 3:18 has the words, ‘I will rescue the lame’. ‘The spirit is strong but the body is weak,’ we read in Matthew 26:41. That is true of me and probably you, but I am glad to be weak, for Paul tells us (1 Corinthians 1:27) ‘God chose the weak things of this world to shame the wise,’ and again in 2 Corinthians 12:10 ‘For when I am weak then I am strong.’

Not Forgotten

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I live in a complex where many people have failing bodies or failing minds. For those with failing minds it means that they are often losing things and forgetting where they have put them, keys, glasses or money. A great deal of time is spent searching for these mislaid items. It isn’t just things that are lost, often memories of the past are wiped from their minds. Parts of the past can’t be recalled, names and faces are not known.

What a blessing it is that our Heavenly Father never forgets, He never forgets us. The Bible tells us ‘He has remembered His love and His faithfulness to the house of Israel and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.’ Psalm 98:3, and ‘to the One who remembered us in our low estate, His love endures for ever.’ Psalm 136:23.