Carol’s Blog – Page 5

Let there be Light

Carol Purves Carol's Blog March 9, 2026March 3, 2026always light

‘Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.’ Psalm 119:105

Imagine the light from glow-worms. I’ve no idea what the divine explanation is behind their glow, but without electricity they cast their tiny light into the darkness of night. God uses His light in so many ways. The extreme is the light from the sun, so bright that we damage our eyes if we stare at it. If we sun-bathe in it for too long we damage our skin. The God that made the powerful sun also made the glow-worm.

When God created light on the day of creation, He set so many things in motion. The sun guides us by day and the softer light of the moon guides us at night. How we would suffer if we had a day sun and a night sun, or a night moon and also a day moon. If would be so hard for us to function. God gives us what we need.

It isn’t only physical light that we need from God, we also need spiritual light. We need His holy light to keep us on the right path, to steer us away from temptation and to illuminate our way through life. Hell is described as a place of eternal darkness, so by definition heaven is a place of eternal light, the source of light being God Himself.

Concise Instructions

Carol Purves Carol's Blog March 6, 2026March 4, 2026a series of sermons

‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.‘ Romans 12:21

In almost 200 words Paul in Romans 12:9-21manages to give around 30 instructions on how to live the Christian life. At a quick read it would be possible to miss some of them. but they cover every aspect of our lives.

‘Love must be sincere’ and ‘hate what is evil, verse 9. These are good basic instructions. The subject of prayer is also covered. ‘Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.’ verse 12. Sharing is well represented ‘Share with God’s people who are in need,’‘ ‘Practise hospitality,’ (13) ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him.’ (20) Paul reminds us to be enthusiastic in our Christian life. ‘Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour.’ (13)

It would be helpful if we had time to study each one of these instructions in depth. In doing so we would maybe discover some of our own failings. It is a high standard to live up to, but it is what God is asking us to do. These are the New Testament equivalents of the The Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, clothed in the commands of Jesus. I can imagine how overwhelming it would be to hear all these instructions in one sermon, but maybe they would make a series of sermons.

Not My Ways

Carol Purves Carol's Blog March 5, 2026February 28, 2026our ways are sinful

‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. Is 55:8

As Christians, praise to God is in our make-up. We are and should be filled with admiration and wonder. The Bible is full of God’s goodness and power. Some days our hearts are over-flowing, but sadly some days we take His love for granted.

Look at the many different names for God in the Bible, extoling His worth. The Psalmist and others can hardly contain their thoughts about Him. What we are not always so aware of, as we are told in this verse, is that God is not like us. God is holy, we are unholy. God is pure with unadulterated love, our love is so weak and feeble. God knows no sin, we are sinful beings beset by sin on every side.

How great God’s love for us must be, we are pretty unlovable, especially on our off days. We can wonder how He must love us enough to die for us. Paise the Lord that He does. .We do well to remember that His thoughts are not our thoughts and not His ways are not our ways. May these thoughts lead to deeper worship.

Not a Quiet Time

Carol Purves Carol's Blog March 3, 2026March 2, 2026focusing on God, noisy or quiet

‘When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.’ Matthew 26:30

The ‘quiet time’ is a phrase given to a time which is spent praying quietly in the presence of God. It indicates a time away from other distractions. Speaking and listening to God is an essential part of this time but the word ‘quiet’ can be misleading.

Often the words of a psalms or favourite piece of scripture can be read or recited out loud. In this way we can lead more emphasis to the words. The quiet time might include singing or shouting praises. I imagine that with our African friends, their quiet time is anything but quiet.

Probably ‘quiet’ refers to the fact that we shut out matters of the world. Our whole thought and being is concentrated on God. The clamours and demands and distractions of worldly things are put to one side. We are urged to centre our scattered senses on the presence of God.

We probably all have set routines, something to encourage us to focus more on God. I have a special prayer chair which I use in the winter and in the summer I sit in the garden with the sound of birdsong around me and the wind in the trees. Whatever, the important thing is to focus on God.

Delayed Sunset

Carol Purves Carol's Blog March 2, 2026February 24, 2026God in control

‘The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.’ Joshua 10:13

The king of Gibeon made a treaty of peace with the Israelites so that when they were attacked by the Amorites, the Israelites came to defend them. The Israelites had a great victory and then God even sent hailstones to kill more of the enemy.

Joshua cried to God for the sun to stop in the middle of the sky, so that they could complete the victory in daylight. It is hard to imagine what chaos this must have caused. Did the people have to go for twenty-four hours with out sleep? Would the animals have known whether they should be asleep or awake? Did the cows have extra milking times and could they produce enough milk for the people’s needs? Did the date on their calendars change or did people have an extra day of life? It would be unfair on the watchmen who were on duty during the extra hours of light. But maybe all the disruption was worth it because the Israelites were triumphant in battle.

There are even mixed opinions as to what actually happened to the sun. The only point which is certain is that there was divine intervention and God was in control.

Through and Through

Carol Purves Carol's Blog February 27, 2026February 25, 2026genuine

‘The Lord detests lying lips but He delights in men who are truthful.’ Proverbs 12:22

Most people like a stick of rock, maybe one which has the words Brighton Rock or Blackpool Rock all the way through. Whichever end you start eating it, it has the lettering right through. Can you imagine what we would think if the words ceased to be there before we got to the end. We would feel cheated Things would not be like they seemed.

How often things are like this, the large box of chocolates which is mostly wrapping or a free toy which did not work. Life can be a disappointment for us at any age, not just for as child with a stick of rock.

We are never disappointed with God. He is genuine through and through. There is no hidden agenda with Hm, nothing missing. We are never short-changed’, just the opposite, He gives the cup running over with undeserved blessings. He is loving and faithful right to the end. What one reads and hears about God is genuine. When God says ‘I love you,’ He means it through sickness and health, life and death. So much in this life cannot be believed, truth is no longer truth. Give praise to our everlasting God that He is completely trustworthy and the same right through.

No Looking Back

Carol Purves Carol's Blog February 26, 2026February 23, 2026spiritually rich

The Bible doesn’t tell us anything about the life of Zacchaeus before he met with Jesus except that he was a chief tax collector and he was wealthy. He was a thief and therefore was extremely wealthy. Wealth went with the job, as riches were gained by over-taxing the Jews. No wonder the collectors were hated and chief ones hated even more.

I ponder what he was really like as a man. He might have been a pleasant person who just needed to make a living. He might have been the least hated of all the collectors. We will never know. All this was irrelevant once he met up with Jesus. The Bible tells us that by way of repentance, he said, ‘here and now I give half my possessions to the poor and if I have cheated anyone out of anything I will pay back four times the amount.’ Luke 19:8

Do the maths! He couldn’t have cheated people four-fold but that was what he was willing to pay back and then he gave away half his wealth to the poor. (He wasn’t just tithing!) Now poverty was facing him in the face as well as a possible loss of a job. . What a change Jesus had made in his life, materially poor but spiritually rich.

Plans to Prosper

Carol Purves Carol's Blog February 24, 2026February 21, 2026to give hope

‘Forget the former things, says the Lord, do not dwell in the past.’ Isaiah 43:19

It usually happens in the middle of the night, my mind flicks back to something I have done wrong in the past., someone I failed to support or encourage. I remember the wrong paths I have taken or the periods of time I spent apart from God. My mind goes round and round and sleep becomes elusive.

It is a useless exercise and completely unproductive. The past is past, I can’t contact the people I may have harmed and the years wasted are also gone. At these times during the night I need to pray. I know that God has forgiven me, now I need to forgive myself yet again. Through the Holy Spirit speaking to me I know that the past mistakes and subsequent forgiveness have strengthened my faith and built me to the person I am today.

But my story is not over, in front of me are months or even years that God has plans for me and work He needs me to do. God has not revealed these to me yet but I can look forward with excitement and anticipation. There is purpose and enjoyment ahead. As I get older I will not be so physically strong but there is still work for me to do.

As we read in Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’

God Calls it Sin

Carol Purves Carol's Blog February 23, 2026February 19, 2026what does God call it?

‘For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal light.’ Romans 6:23

The old lady called her electrician, ‘Could you come and change the bulb in my living room.’ ‘Madam,’ was the rebuking reply, ‘they are called lamps not bulbs. Bulbs are what you plant in the garden.’ I’m not sure if that is accurate, but the lady knew what she wanted, a good light in her living room.

Usually it doesn’t matter what we call something, we know what we mean. But God is very particular about one word, though we might call it something else.

To God sin is sin. We might call it an error of judgment or a matter of opinion. God calls it sin. We can think it is unimportant but God calls it sin. Is it really something to get hung up about, we can easily dismiss it. Sin is what God calls it. When we worship other gods, we call it multi-pluralism and tolerance. God calls it sin. As we ridicule the time-honoured faith and values of our fore-fathers, we consider it enlightenment. Do we want to be considered old-fashioned? When we covert our neighbour’s possessions and position we name it as ambition. God calls it sin.

Surely the Ten Commandments are out of date. No! God’s decrees are timeless. The Ten Commandments are God’s guidance to us. Let us heed them!

Jesus Rests and Prays

Carol Purves Carol's Blog February 20, 2026February 19, 2026stop - look - listen

‘After He had dismissed them, He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray’ Matthew 24:23

Jesus had just used His heavenly powers to feed five thousand people, He was the Son of God but He was also human. Catering for the needs of so many needy people was no small feat. He needed to recharge His batteries and have time alone with God.

If Jesus Himself needed this restoration how much more do we. I know of a mother and two adult daughters who had recently been bereaved after a long spell of nursing. They had become completely exhausted.

We need to recover from times of great stress. Whether we are Christian or not we will have these emotionally draining times. It is then that we can use the traffic awareness instructions given to children. ‘Stop, look, listen.’ ‘Listen’ and if possible take time out. Ask God to ‘Take from our souls the strain and stress.’ John Greenleaf Whittier. ‘Look’, there is a whole book, the Bible, that can give us comfort and hope. It is the best ‘how to’ book in the world. And finally ‘listen’, by praying we can hear God’s tender words of love.

God restored Jesus, He can restore us too. Stop striving, look to God our Saviour and listen to His words.