Walk Beside Me

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‘Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow,

Don’t walk behind me, I won’t know the way,

Just walk beside me and be my friend.’

It was a long time ago that I first read this in a Valentine card and I might have slightly misquoted it but at the time the words meant a lot to me. Now I realise that this can be applied to our walk with Jesus. If Jesus walks in front of us, we might find it difficult to keep up. The things He tells us might be too difficult for us to understand. He may get so far ahead of us that we lose sight of Him altogether.

If He walks behind we will not know which way to go. We will not be able to see Him. It will be as if He is not there at all. We will stumble in the difficult places; we will go wild in the easy places. We will be walking in unproven places.

If He walks beside us our way will be safe and secure. He will hold our hand over the difficult places; He will place His hand comfortingly on our shoulder in the easy places. He will not only be our guide and encourager; He will be our friend!

Abiding

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As a fish abides in water and cannot live without it, so we need to abide in Jesus and not be able to survive without Him. How do we abide? We firstly need to know we are loved and therefore we become obedient to Him. We will abide more by investing in His word. That will tell us all we need to know. There needs to be a commitment to prayer, dialogue with God is necessary. Before there can be much fruit there will be much pruning.

This means that God will be glorified as we abide deeper and our prayers will be answered more clearly. Our joy will be complete as others will become included in our love. Nevertheless, the deeper we abide the more opposition we will receive. It is not the devil’s will that we should be closer to God or that we should grow spiritually.

Omission

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‘Go you into all the world.’ This is what the Great Commission tells us but all too easily the commission becomes the omission – the time is not right, I’m waiting for the call, Lord, not there, not now. We can make all the feeble excuses imaginable.

It might not be time for our Great Commission but what about the small commission, what about that un-glamourous call? The lady over t he road needs our help putting her bins out. We could write a letter of encouragement to someone or even send a text. We could become really expansive and make that a phone call or visit. There will be no accolades for doing these things but they are still a commission!

Great commissions are seen by everyone but small deeds of compassion are of equal value. Jesus made this quite clear in His sermon on the mount. God sees these actions and will give His own reward. May our commission become a submission.

Graciousness

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Proverbs 22:11 tells us ‘He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king as a friend.’ As Christians we are to be gracious and show love to others. Again in Proverbs we read ‘A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.’ But I am not a Christian who thinks that I should keep quiet under any circumstances. The important thing is how I do it.

How can we keep remain silent when a medical appointment is cancelled without notice or essential medicines are not available at the chemist because of mismanagement? What about the door slammed in your face or a workman failing to turn up without any explanation? Although I can feel anger on my own behalf I am even more annoyed when a vulnerable person is badly treated. I have the verbal ability, mental capacity and courage to object. They do not always.

We know this is not a fair world and there are many injustices but as Christians we still need to be gracious. Proverbs again gives us an answer. ‘A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger.’ Proverbs 15:1

Balaam and His Donkey

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The life of Balaam is a complex one. He was thought to be a non-Israelite, a wicked prophet but not a false one. As he grew up in the area where Abraham had lived, it is likely that he had come to know about God in that way. As a soothsayer who foretold the future, the meaning of his name – Destroyer of People was not an auspicious one!

Being gifted and eloquent he came to the notice of Balak king of Moab, who was afraid of the power of the Israelites. The king offered money to Balaam to curse this nation. It would appear that in his heart Balaam wanted to issue this curse but seemed to ask God’s instructions first. Eventually God allowed him to journey along to carry out this cursing. This is where the donkey behaved with the wisdom of a man and Balaam acted with the folly of a donkey.

Balaam ‘s life was saved by the donkey who protected him from the angel with a sword. The cursing turned into a blessing. God was faithful to His chosen people.

Creation

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The other day I had the privilege to hear the oratorio ,’The Creation’ written by Haydn in April 1798. I think of all the oratorios this my favourite with the composer’s rhythmic and melodic harmonies bursting forth. Taking just over four minutes to perform it is based on the first few chapters of Genesis telling of the six days of creation and the time Adam and Eve spent in the Garden of Eden up to the time of the Fall.

The performance took place in the beautiful Carlisle Cathedral. The setting was magnificent, especially the famous blue and gold ceiling depicting the heavens. The atmosphere was sublime especially when the choir sang the chorus ‘The heavens are telling the glory of God, the wonders of His work.’

As I sat listening I was surrounded by the beauty of the cathedral built by the skill of man through the gifts of God and the beauty of God’s creation outside as the daylight gave way to the softer glow of the dusk.

A Secret Visitor

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Sadly my friend is in hospital after a fall with a suspected broken hip. I was so sorry when this happened to her and was pleased when I was able to visit. I trust that my company was a slight help to her but then I fell to thinking about why I visited. Was it because I wanted people to know I’d been and then say ‘Well done, Carol!’

Jesus warned about showing our good works before men. In Matthew 6:1 He says, Be careful, do not do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them.’ I enjoy hospital visitation and belong the the hospital chaplaincy team. Because I enjoy it does it mean it is of no value? Surely what matters is whether it helps the patient.

In the end my conscience was assuaged . No-one knew I had visited her. X-rays have shown that she has not broken her hip but she is still in a lot of pain. I shall continue to pray for her in private.

Up

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I’m sorry but I’ve pinched this from someone else, but it is so good I wanted to share it.

”It’s time for our church to wake up and sing up, preach up and pray up and never give up, or let up, or shut up, until the church is filled up or we go up.’

I would love to be in a church like that, but it’s up to me to sit up and take notice. I mustn’t leave it to others, I need to do my part.

Why Did He Weep?

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John 11:32 tells us that Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Pope Leo the Great says ‘In His humanity Jesus wept for Lazarus; in His divinity he raised him from the dead.’ Why did He weep? He wept because He was bereaved of a great friend. He wept in sympathy for his friends who were also bereaved. He was weeping for our infirmities because mankind also faces death.

In His weeping He is also weeping for us today. He is besides us in our pain, partings and sadness. Psalm 30:5 tells us ‘weeping may remain for a night but rejoicing comes in the morning.’ He knows that weeping is not the final answer.

So as Jesus weeps, He is weeping for the past, for His present and also for our present.

United

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Each week I go to a Bible study with another denomination from the one I belong to. I also join with a prayer group again with another denomination. Although a protestant myself, I’ve just been to a lecture from a Catholic author. I’m sure that each Sunday our services are different, but what we all have in common is that we love the Lord and believe that He died for our sins and believe in the sovereignty of the Bible.

It is sad when the world sees parts of the church working against each other. According to the Bible it is not God’s wish that we should be at loggerheads. We need to concentrate on what we have in common. Emphasis on our similarities and the same leader should be in our minds. As the hymn writer says ‘The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord.’ S. J. Stone