Carol Purves

I have a number of friends who have brought up their children to love and fear the Lord. In some cases the young people have grown up to become lovely Christians and in other cases they have rejected the standards of their parents.

It is strange why this should be so. I know it is said that God has no grandchildren, but the Bible tells us they will not turn from the way they should go, if they have been brought up that manner.

Another one of those mysteries which I will not understand until I reach heaven.

‘Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.’ Proverbs 22:6

Being an organised person I make great plans for the future. But I am not in control. God has better plans for me. When my plans go awry I know that He knows best. I do want to follow His plans and not mine.

‘My time are in Your hands.’ Psalm 31:15

It is a privilege to be able to make contact with the creator and sustainer of the whole universe. God hears our prayer and answers them, though not always in the ways we want, because He knows what is best for us.

Many times we have to wait for His reply and others times we will never know the results of our prayers. It is a matter of trust.

‘The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.’ James 5:16

‘The Bible is alive, it speaks to me, it has feet, it runs after me, it has hands, it lays hold of me.’ Martin Luther

Here in Great Britain we are going through turbulent times. We do not know what the future holds. The information we receive from the news changes daily. Some of us are worried and some of us are concerned.

Firstly we need to remember that God is responsible for giving us the leaders we have and secondly we need to pray for them. The responsibility they have is too heavy for them to carry alone; they need the help of God.

‘Pray for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.’ 1 Timothy 2:2

The other day I visited the hospital as part of my chaplaincy duties. I don’t have much change to speak about God, but in one particular bay I was able to laugh and joke with the five patient there. God wasn’t mentioned but when I left all the men were smiling and appreciated my visit.

My parting words were ‘I’ll pray for you.’ Not direct evangelism but the presence of God was brought to these men.

‘Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.’ Romans 12:12

‘There is nothing that you need between here and heaven which is not provided by Jesus Christ’. Charles Spurgeon.

We tend to need more money, instant success, more possessions. None will give us lasting satisfaction. We have absolutely all that we need here on earth.

God is the Author and Finisher and everything in between.

He is the Alpha and Omega and everything in between.

We don’t know Him well enough, that is why we do not trust Him enough. More knowledge mean more trust.

Life is getting faster and faster. I don’t find this just because I’m older. young people say it as well. Everything needs to be instantaneous, presumably to save time. People speak faster. When I sold my last house, the estate agent spoke so fast that I asked him to repeat everything. What a waste of time!

I understand in offices lunch breaks are cut out. People eat at their desks. That is if they have a desk. There is now hot-desking, people sharing desks. Electrical devices are out of date before people have learned to use them.

We are missing so much by rushing. We need to be still before God, so we don’t miss out on His blessings.

‘Be still and know that I am God.’ Psalm 46:10

‘Remain in me as I also remain in you.’ John 15:4

In the first 8 verses of this chapter the words ‘remain ‘ are mentioned 7 times. This show how important it is. It also reminds us how dim we are. God needs to say it so often.

The importance is just remaining in God; it is not about good work or what we do.