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.
Sunrise
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.
Sleeping with Bread
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.
Hebrews 4
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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Wisdom
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.
Unexpected Joys in the Every Day
My friend put this at the end of her mail; It made me think and I’m still thinking about it. One day last week was going to be very ordinary, then I saw a robin scrabbling round on my lawn, collecting the seeds that the larger birds had let fall from the bird table. Unexpected joy!. Then waiting for a bus I listened to a young man talking animatedly to an older friend of his father. His voice was full of love and concern. When our bus came he made sure I got on it safely. Unexpected joy!
A joke was shared in the cake shop with the owner, a known-customer and myself. Unexpected joy! The light drizzle caused the birds to twitter louder and make puddles for the homeward bound children. The joy of the unexpected indeed.
A Parked Car
‘God doesn’t steer a parked car.’ A stationary car is going nowhere and doing nothing. When the car is moving it can take the driver from A to B and cruise along beautiful countryside. It was designed to go places and so are we.
God created us to be active as much as our health and strength will allow. As Christians we are not Christians for our own sake, but to share the wonderful news with others. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19 ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.’
In our activity we need to be steered and directed by God. We don’t make a very good job of deciding our own direction. God alone knows the thrills and holy adventures that await us. But we need to get moving.
What is our Answer?
The Pharisees loved to question Jesus and try to wrong foot him. But He was well able to ask questions Himself. ‘Who do men say that I am?’ He wanted to know who considered Him to be the Promised Messiah. Were they ready ready to accept His divinity? ‘Why are you afraid?’ We read so many times in the Bible not to fear. Fear is a very human weakness, there is so much to be afraid of but repeatedly He reminds us that He is the Comforter. ‘Do you believe?’ Jesus encouraged people to think for themselves what they actually thought the truth was.
Jesus asks us questions today. ‘What do we believe about God?’ ‘Why are we afraid and not trusting?’
He Did What He Couldn’t
Ten days ago Brother Andrew died at the age of 94. This was the man who first took the Bible behind the Iron Curtain. Since the 1950’s this work has expanded and is now called Open Doors. Persecuted Christians in about 70 different countries receive Bibles, Christian literature and humanitarian aid.
As Brother Andrew became older he was often asked what he would like to be written on his grave stone. One of his ideas was ‘He did what he couldn’t,’ (a play on the phrase (‘He did what he could.)) In his version the first ‘He’ applied to God and the second ‘he’ to himself.
There is no limit to what God can do. This phrase could also apply to anyone willing to let God have control of their lives.
When I feel like it.
‘I only read when I feel like it or when I have the opportunity. They don’t often happen together. ‘
These words were overheard words from a teenager. Is this like our prayer life. We only prayer when we feel like it. We only pray when we have the time. Do these things ever happen together? The devil will make sure they rarely happen at the same time. We need to prayer through our feelings. If it becomes a habit, it will grow into a great longing. We need to pray especially when we don’t feel like. God is waiting to hear from us.
It needs to become a habit , feelings are only one aspect of prayer. In this busy world, when is there time to pray? Prayer needs to be a welcome habit, morning or evening or whenever. Set in stone, not to be missed. Prayer is vital to our Christian lives. Arrow prayers can be sent at any time. The rewards will be immense. We mustn’t let the world shut out prayer.