Pride

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‘You will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ Genesis 3:5

From the Bible we learn that in heaven the devil thought himself equal with God and because of his pride was thrown out. There is only one God and there is no room for any other. Satan then planned to trap mankind and tells Eve that by eating the forbidden fruit she will be like God, knowing good from evil. Following her pride Eve was tempted to be like God.

Pride has been playing it’s place ever since. It is the desired elevation of self that has led to wars and fighting. In world affairs pride is rampant. Not content with the territory that some leaders have, they want more power and more land and start wars to get what they want. Today we teach our youngsters that they can achieve anything, be anybody they want to be. It is all a matter of will-power and striving. Surely we can be teaching them that by the will of God they can do anything He wills. Pride will eventually be overcome; It is not for nothing that we get the phrase ‘Pride goes before a fall.’

There is no such thing as a self-made man. Every man and woman is God-made whether they want to admit it or not. Do dictators and despots not realise that every breath they take could be their last, that they are not ultimately in control, God is? Indeed, every breath we as Christians take is also under the control of God. Thank goodness, God is still on the throne.

The Garden of Eden

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I thought this morning of the garden of Eden and how very beautiful it must have been. There were flowers and fruit of every kind as well as animals, fish and birds. The beauty of that garden is unimaginable to us and above all, God walked there. Adam and Eve would not have known the devastation that we know today – floods, droughts, earthquakes, avalanches, tsunamis. They would not have witnessed the ravages of war and destruction until they left the garden.

One is nearer to God in the garden then anywhere else on earth.’ Dorothy Frances Gurney. ‘ I don’t completely go along with this sentiment, God is everywhere. But I want God in my garden; He makes things to grow. Less than a mile away is our local river, the River Eden.,it’s a good name to have for a river.

My newly established garden is only 5 metres by 10. Really quite small. This week I had my first picking of raspberries for breakfast. (I didn’t offer my first fruits to God, I ate them!) There was no soil in my garden when I arrived, only stones. Now that I have planted a number of flowers and small shrubs, the bees, butterflies and insects are starting to visit it. It is my very small attempt to combat global warming and our loss of natural habitat. I’m in partnership with God.

My Sun and Shield

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‘For the Lord God is our Sun and our Shield.’ Ps 4:11

These days we are very aware of the damage that the sun can do to our skin. Exposure to strong rays of the sun can cause skin cancers and other harmful conditions as well as excessive wrinkling. Children’s skin especially need to have protection. Sun barrier creams and protective clothing are to be recommended. I remember a student at college who spent every moment she could out in the sun and all the year had a beautifully tanned skin. I sometimes wonder if her health paid the price.

Psalm 84 tells us that God is our sun, which penetrates every area of our lives, so that we can shine like Him. but i read that Moses had to cover his face after he had spent time with his God, because he radiated the presence of God so much. We are told that God is our Sun, which can burn intensely at our sin but He is also our Shield. His sun’s presence could burn us, but His shield will protect us. We need both. We give thanks to God that He is both to us, because we need His Sun and Shield.

In His Time

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I sometimes imagine myself living in Biblical times, actually being with Jesus, seeing Him and hearing Him preach. I imagine the heat, the dust and political times when the disciples were around. In my present tiny periods of trouble I wonder if my Christian walk would be easier if I could hear my Master teach and have His touch. Then I stop myself, God wants me to be living in 2024 not AD 31.

Our prayers should include wishes to do His will and that will of His is for us to be in the here and now. Jesus has work for us now. He wants us to be kind to the woman down the road, or the people we work with and the people He puts in our way.. He needs us to be here in a particular place, listening to a particular sermon, on a particular Sunday. It is no good thinking that living in Christ’s time would have been easier. Neither would life have been easier if I had been born richer, more talented or more beautiful.

Doing His will means means doing His will not mine, walking His way not mine. Instead of wishing my pilgrimage to be different I need to give thanks that I was in a particular place at a certain time, helping and working in a particular way. I can rejoice that He can use me, even me, to do a specific small task for Him.

‘If other hands should hold the key, or if He trusted it to me, I might be sad.’Joseph Parker

Do Not Worry, Little Flock

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It’s a scary world! There are so many things that can make us afraid. Anxious thoughts can destroy our sleeping hours. I’ve worked out that when I wake up each morning there is at least one big worry in my life to cause me anxiety, as well as many small little niggles. To watch television, read the paper or go on social media only makes things worse. I was worried about world conditions as well as my own personal concerns which needed urgent action.

I don’t remember this level of worry when I was younger. Maybe I was less aware of situations. I certainly had more strength and health to cope. It’s probably more true to say that life had been more difficult since covid because the world’s financial and political scene is now more precarious.

I won’t waste paper listing the current problems. Instead I will tell you the answer ‘Christ is the answer to my every need’, says the old hymn. How can we possibly know the answer to life’s problems, we’ve only been around say sixty, seventy or eighty years and sometimes our mental capacities fade. But God has been around for ever, in fact since before the foundation of the world. Plus He is God, omni-present, omniscient, omnipotent and every ‘omni’ you can think of. Why, oh why don’t we give our problems to Him? Why should worry when God is in control?

Limp Hands

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It might be theologically wrong but I think the Bible was written 100% by God and 100% by man. The 100% by God would explain the power of the Word, its infallibility and that the words of the book itself are proven by the book itself. The fact that God deigned to use man to pen the words is a wonderful example of God’s partnership with man, for the 100% man-written The language of the day when it was translated gives us some wonderful phrases, as in Zephaniah 3:16, ‘Do not fear, Zion, do not let your hands hang limp.’ Wonderful!

From the content it seems the hands hang limp through fear. Nothing was being done because of overwhelming anxiety. But there are other reasons for limp hands and my thoughts immediately flew to the idea of limp hands through leprosy. The hands are one of the first parts of the body to be affected by this disease, causing the hands to become claw-like and useless. Medical science has made great advances with reconstruction but often the hands are too damaged to become useful.

Another reason can be laziness and idleness. My mother used to tell me ‘Those who don’t work can’t eat.’ With my large appetite, the phrase ensured I was never lazy. Hands can be kind or cruel but the best example of kind hands belong to Jesus, ‘Jesu’s hands were kind hands.’ the chorus tells us. Lord, we pray, keep us from limp hands for whatever reason..

God Has the Final Word

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It is a lovely time in Acts 12 when Peter is freed from goal, but it was what we read afterwards which I found equally interesting. Herod was furious that Peter had escaped and ordered the guards to be executed. That was unfortunate, but I suppose it was a hazard of the job! Herod then settled down, moved on to Caesarea and made a few peace treaties, though all was not well in his life with disagreements with Tyre and Sidon.

We read that on the appointed day Herod put on his best robes to look the part and addressed the people with full pomp and circumstance, sitting on his magnificent throne. ‘It is the voice of a god, not of man,’ the people cried. Then because Herod didn’t give the praise to God, he was struck down and died in a terrible way.

When we dispair that wicked people are ‘getting away with it.’, we need to remember that God always has the final word. I love the last sentence of this story, ‘But the word of the Lord continued to spread and flourish.’

Answered Prayer

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‘Whoever has ears, let him hear.’ Matthew 11:15

Do we miss the answers to our prayers because we do not listen? Do we miss God’s miracles because our requests are met in an unexpected way and we don’t recognise them? We know that God answers prayer in His own unique way but we sometime out-guess God and work out our own answers in the way we think they should go.

I can imagine the early church praying all night for Peter’s release from prison. Some of us will have been involved in such all-night prayer. But are we like Rhoda, missing the miracle when it happens? We could judge Rhoda and wonder why she was surprised when, that was what she had been praying for all night. But have we acted any differently? Rhoda must have had a busy night, looking after everyone’s needs and snatching a prayer when she could. Then someone knocks on the door in the middle of the night. She could have done without that. I can imagine Peter standing at the closed door, cold, tired, dirty just wanting his nightmare to be over.

Do we look for answers to our prayers in the wrong place. We should never be surprised. We know God is a prayer-answering God. He is also the God of the unexpected. His ways are not our ways.

His Authority

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When I read the stories in the Bible I often imagine I’m right there in the middle of the action – crossing the Red Sea with the children of Israel, with Elijah at Mount Carmel or listening to the teaching of Jesus. But my imagination can flounder as my Biblical knowledge is limited. Thinking about the crowds with Jesus at the feeding of the 5,000 , I don’t know enough about their foods, their clothes or habits. Also as a woman I might well have been working in the home and not out listening to Jesus anyway.

Then another thought occurs, would I have been a skeptic or a follower of Jesus. In His day there were those who hung on His every word. His life transformed theirs as they tried to obey His commands. Then there were those who vocally and viciously condemned Him on every score.

It is no different today. There is a remnant who listen to His word, who believe that He the Son of God and have the authority that He gives While others deny and are opposed to the power of God. When I think of what my response would be have been I take heart. The Holy Spirit has crept into my stubborn heart now. By His power I am a follower, His word is written in my heart. Therefore I believe that if I’d lived in Palestine in the days of Jesus, I too would have been a believer, again by the power of the Holy Spirit.

For Ever and Ever

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‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’ Luke 23:43

The words of Jesus on the cross to the guilty criminal have been repeated as words of encouragement throughout the ages. They have been said to sinners seeking salvation, they have been uttered to those who feel they have no hope. We know that as Christians when we die these words will be true for us as well.

As I read the story again this morning, I was struck by a new thought. That dying thief has been in paradise ever since. If he returned to our world today he wouldn’t recognise it. In 2,000 years, in every country there have been unbelievable changes. Cases of crucifixion are very rare today, we now fly through the air like birds and hear our friends through our ear even when we can’t see them.

Yet that thief has no less time in heaven than when he first went there, he has no less time or more time. The word ‘time’ will be obsolete, it will lose it’s meaning. As I write this I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve looked at the time notification on my desk top. In heaven the phrase ‘at the end of the day’ will not exist. we’ve got for ever and ever there. I can’t comprehend it.