Author: Carol Purves

A great deal of our life is striving. We strive to get everything done, we strive to make ends meet and strive to ‘keep up with the Joneses.’

I do feel that this is not how God wants us to live. It is God’s will that we should rest in His love and not stress ourselves. In creation He has given us all beauty and resources that we can ever need. There is plenty of food for the whole world if only we would learn to share and not be greedy. There should be no hungry mouths or starving children. God’s resources are bountiful and plentiful. After all, God saw what He had made and it was good.

The beauty of the countryside lifts our spirits and feeds our souls. Jesus says rest in Me for My yoke is easy and my burden is light. No more striving; let us thrive with the Lord.

The preaching we hear from the pulpit should not make us feel comfortable. Preaching should disturb us. Our job is not to sit cosily in the pews in a self-satisfied state. The preacher is God’s mouth-piece. Like the prophets before them they are the bearers of heavenly news and often it is upsetting.

Unfortunately, we want cosy words not confrontation. The message should be so direct that it should make us be uncomfortable and a feeling that the sermon was just for us. Nevertheless at times it will be receiving words of comfort from the pulpit.

The responsibility of the preacher is great. They are charged by God to share His message. What could be more important! It has been said ‘Good preaching disturbs the comfortable and comforts the disturbed.’

Luke 12 tells us of the rich fool who had a bumper harvest and planned to build bigger barns to store his grain. He thought he was set up for life; well, he was, a life of just a few hours! There is nothing wrong with Christians being rich. They’ve probably worked very hard for their money and it has paid dividends. The responsibility is then what to do with these riches.

I know of Christian philanthropists who at the time of their death had very little wealth and money but had given away vast sums of money and had set up trusts for the needy in their name. The answer is not building bigger barns. Many lottery winners are the most unhappy people. As I once heard said, ‘Don’t build bigger barns, build a bigger table.’

There had been no rain in Israel for three and a half years. No crops had grown, the people were hungry, there was a famine. Nevertheless the people of God sowed their seed in the usual way, they sowed into the barren, parched soil. Then when the rain came the seed started to germinate. All that the seed had needed was rain. The people had faith. It would have been no use waiting until it rained and then planting the seed.

We, too, have to sow into the barren cold soil of people’s hearts. Often there will be no immediate results. Then one day, completely unexpectedly, the seed in the previously barren soil will become a harvest. It is no good waiting until the soil of the soul is ready. God is at work in places we don’t know about. Our task is to plant; the harvest will appear at God’s perfect timing.

The Bible tells us that Elijah prayed that it would not rain and it didn’t. Then he prayed that it would rain and it did. We may not be as great as Elijah but we pray to the same God, a God who does not change. We don’t have influence over nations as Elijah did, but our prayers still matter to our constant and loving God.

I marvel how it can be that God cares about my small problems and at the same time He cares about the cares of every single reader. I don’t understand this multi-faceted Lord but I can accept. May we always keep in communion with our long caring God who only wants the best for us. It all adds up to a pretty big Wow.

Like many churches and communities we have many refugees in our midst. It was a thrill the other Sunday for one of them to be baptised. Sadly none of his family could be with him but our church members tried to be family to him. At the same time another man was baptised and he was able to be supported by his large family. What a mess we have made of running the world. We pray for the refugees we know. Oh Lord forgive us.

The sunrise is getting later each morning. which means I’m eating my breakfast as its getting lighter. As the sky brightens I thank God for giving me another day. Although I’m not very old, a number of my friends haven’t had the privilege of seeing today. The sky might be dull and overcast ( a common occurrence here) but the birds that haven’t migrated are singing their hearts out. The traffic increases as the many people who have jobs set out for work. Children chatter their way to school.

In spite of strikes and discontent we live in a country of peace; no bombs will fall. God is still in charge and we thank God for another day.

I’ve been told that during the Second World War, evacuee children from London were sent to bed holding a crust of bread. The idea was to re-assure them that there would be bread the next day and that they would not go hungry. They had food today, they would have food tomorrow.

This caused me to think of the millions of children who would go to bed desperately hungry tonight and hungry tomorrow and so on. In the days to come there will be some who will not survive.

As my heart bleeds for them I’m reminded that this is not how our Lord wants us to live. We really have made a mess of running this world without reference to God. Oh, that we would learn how to live so that the vulnerable do not suffer. God forgive us.

Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, except He did not sin. I know the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil out in the desert and know that He did not sink into sinning. Reading Hebrews I found it comforting that Jesus knew all about being tempted. But reading through the gospels, Jesus was tempted on a regular basis. When I wrestle with wrong-doing it is a help to me to know that Jesus had the same problems.

Jesus understands, He’s been there. He was human and that’s what happens to humans. By prayer and knowledge of the scriptures He was triumphant. That’s a signpost for us. By prayer and knowledge of the scriptures, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we too can be triumphant.

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These days when truth is more fluid than ever, heavenly wisdom is needed more than ever before. Politicians and leaders all round the world can no longer be trusted; we ned a benchmark. Who do we trust; who do we mistrust, who is telling the truth? Then maybe people are telling the truth as they see it. Either every. one is right or no-one is wrong.

Absolute truth is only found in one place – the Word of God. It does not set out to deceive, flatter or misdirect. It is reliable like a two-edged sword and constant. We need to tear our eyes away from the world and it’s contrariness. We need to turn our eyes upon Jesus.