More than Expected

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The cripple begging at the gate called Beautiful looked expectantly to Peter and John hoping for a few coins. Would these men give him enough to buy his next meal.? His hopes would not have been very high as they didn’t look rich. Many people had already passed him by without a glance, but these men gave a strange request ‘Look at us.’ He was willing to look intently if it meant more money but in the end the gift he received was more than he could have possibly hoped for.

Are there times when we are willing to accept second best or doubt that God could do the big miracle? Although we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour, are we satisfied with skating along on the surface of life? God is wanting to pour out numerous blessings on us , There is no end to His bounteous gifts. May we open our eyes to receive His gifts through the Holy Spirit.

T

Dust in Heaven

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f You love Me, keep My commandments.’ John 14:13

It is probably a human trait to want to please people. It’s a lovely feeling when someone says ‘Thank you.’ I don’t remember how old I was when my mother asked me to do the dusting for her. It was a very small task that I could do and maybe helped her slightly with her chores. I soon realised that doing the dusting for her made my mother happy.

Being young (and innocent) I then transferred that feeling of pleasure towards heaven. My young soul wanted to please God, so I prayed that I could do the dusting when I went to heaven! I was yet to learn that there is no dust in heaven, it was also too vast. My dusting skills won’t be wanted when I do get there. I’m pleased to recall that I had no doubt that there was a heaven and that I would be there. I had no knowledge then of Christ’s sacrifice and redemption.

Many years later I still love God but not for the hope of any reward. I just want to please Him. My loving service these days is not the dusting but an opportunity to share my good news with others and in serving them. There is nothing I can do to make God love me more or love me less.

Homeless

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It is said that in our communities there are so many people, mostly men, who are homeless and sleeping rough. ‘Sleeping rough’ is such a simple phrase to write but so tough for those concerned and involved in sleeping in a dangerous hostile place. In the big cities there are actual physical dangers. Their precious few belongings can be stolen, they can be physically threatened with a knife or other weapon. In my area it involves sleeping in a shop doorway or being in the park with a tent which is often not strong enough to withstand the harsh weather.

The road to homelessness can have many different routes – addictions, mental illness, ejection from the family home, waywardness or leaving the forces or prison. Some sufferers will have mental illness or a low I.Q. which means they haven’t the capacity to cope. Sadly each year can see a deterioration in their stamina.

Jesus was often homeless and had ‘nowhere to lay His head.’ He was blessed in having many loving friends. What can we do for the homeless ? – so little. We can offer those who beg a drink or snack (not money, that can be used on drugs), we can support homeless charities, or talk to those who beg when we see them on the streets. Remember that ‘there but for the grace of God ………… .We need to include them in our prayers.

You Go First!

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One can only marvel at the wisdom of Jesus (no wonder considering who He is!) witnessed on so many occasions when the Pharisees tried to catch Him out. The accusations about the woman caught in adultery was one such occasion. The Pharisee had no compassion for the sinning woman, only glee at the chance to wrong-foot Jesus. But they had more than met their match; they ended up being the ones who were wrong-footed.

‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Jesus instructed. I imagine the stones clutched in angry fists being gradually dropped to the ground as each accuser thought ‘Am I the one who is without sin?’ Then the men quietly creeping away and as the Bible records ‘the older ones first.’ No stones were thrown that day.

Where would we have been in the stone-throwing crowd, leaving first or last? Are we gaining self-awareness as we get older? How aware are we of our own sin and the need for cleansing?

Together

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‘When the day of Pentecost arrived they were all together in one place.’ Acts 2:1

As the disciples were all together in one place it meant that they didn’t miss out on the coming of the Holy Spirit. Imagine if they had been elsewhere, as Thomas previously had been. If they had been attending to some business or couldn’t be bothered, or were tired as they had already been there ten days and nothing had happened. When Jesus was alive He had met this indifference by a man who had to go and bury the dead rather than become a disciple and another who had business to attend to.

Are there times when we are not ‘all met together’ when we should.? There is a time for being out there spreading the gospel and a time for meeting together? We need to get it right. It is sad to hear a Christian say ‘I don’t need to go to church, I can worship on my own. It is an unfortunate truth that a number of Christians in some parts of the world are forced to worship alone or secretly, but for those of us who can meet let us make sure we do when we should.

There is the illustration of the log removed from the fire; on it’s own it will burn out quickly.

Like a Feather

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‘This is the confidence we have in facing God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.’ 1 John 5:14

My neighbour Evelyn was coming to me for a coffee. It would be her first visit to see me and I knew very little about her. I prayed to God about our morning together. Once in the past I had mentioned that I was a Christian and I think I heard her say that she said her prayers each morning. I had no idea whether this was just a throw away line or whether she really had a faith.

I knew so little about her but God knows all about her level of faith. I needed to devote to God every word I would say that morning. I felt like a feather floating about the room, I had no idea where my God-given words might lead. Would my words land on fertile ground or would they float out of the window without touching her?

Help in the Storm

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‘I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

The wind strength had risen to a howling gale and I was facing a car journey of over 100 miles. I knew that on the way i had to drive through a section of road that was always noted for it’s high winds. Along the motorway there were permanent signs which said ‘Beware high winds and sudden gusts.’ On the overhead gantries the temporary notices said ‘Red alert. High winds.’ Then I passed a sign which said ‘ Do not travel unless absolutely necessary.’

Too late.’, I was already travelling and home was nearly 100 miles away, so I was unable to obey that instruction. I gripped the steeling wheel more strongly. I also prayed, oh yes I prayed and felt like the disciples on the rough sea with Jesus asleep in the stern. Except Jesus wasn’t asleep.

In life storms come and they can’t be avoided, We can’t face them another day. Sometimes we are right in the midst of life’s storm. Then we need to pray and hand over the our Help and Shield. He will be our valuable Guide and Protector.

Tracey

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I have the privilege of visiting a neighbour who is house-bound and often bed-bound. When I visited her yesterday she was in bed with little to distract her from her feelings of weakness. Because she she did not have enough to distract her mind, her thoughts were going back to the past. There was a time when she had been treated very badly by someone and she was having a job to forgive.

Fortunately I didn’t know the person concerned, so I didn’t have a bias. She had been told that if she didn’t forgive that person, she wouldn’t go to heaven. I could have wept when she said this. Because i have been in a position of having had to forgive, I could understand her feelings of despair. I explained that although i had forgiven, I still had to go back on occasions and increase my forgiveness.

I explained that where possible she needed to forgive for her own sake. Unforgiveness would impact on her. In this respect. God is loving but for her own sake she needed to try to increase her forgiveness. God knows how fallible and weak we are, He knows our failings. It is for our own good that He encourages us to forgive. But it is not for another person to put their own rules on who should go to heaven.

Short on Gratitude

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‘He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet.’ Luke 17:16

As I rise up in indignation at the lack of gratitude from the nine other lepers who were healed, I’m brought up sharp. I am often one of the nine.

My life is overflowing with gifts from God. I have a good degree of health; I have significant money for my needs. I own a lovely small home and my friends, of which there are many, are so loving and caring. Also I am blessed to live in a country which is not suffering from war. Furthermore, God has revealed Himself to me through His love.

Am I falling at Jesus’ feet in gratitude? Not always, I’m ashamed to say I sometimes forget. Life is busy, unexpected things happen and I just forget. To help me, when I start my quiet time in the morning, I always begin with a prayer of gratitude. I do that before I start on my list of petitions. As I write my prayers to God (writers, write prayers, not say them) gratitude is my first written word each day. A day that begins in gratitude is more meaningful. Gratitude brings me closer to God.

Stephanie

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At the age of ten i hadn’t learned or been taught about colour prejudice. My friends at school were my friends and I had no knowledge of different nationalities or skin colour. Stephanie had been brought up in India and the colour of her skin didn’t register with me. If I did think about it, the teachers had told us that her skin was dark because she had been born and brought up in India where the climate was hot. My eyes were opened when I met her father for the first time.

How sad that it was thought necessary to hide the fact that she was a different nationality and that she should be proud of being Indian. Why wasn’t it explained to me that God had made every nationality and loves everyone and that we were all equal? Why are we taught about our differences and not our similarities? Surely things are better now with the coming of so many refugees, though sadly I have heard local refugee Iranians abused. In most classes at schools now there are many different nationalities.

Although we had become good friends, at the age of eleven I changed school and lost touch with Stephan. I can only pray that she was well received as she grew up and that she was able to reach her full potential to be proud of her heritage.