Carol’s Blog

Quietness

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‘In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’ Is 30:15

The other afternoon my friend and I went out for a coffee. We wanted to spend a little time together catching up on each other’s news. Although I had been to this cafe before, I had always been on my own then, so hadn’t realised what was so evident that afternoon. The whole time there was loud music blaring out.

We ended up shouting at each other just to be heard. I wondered why the next generation needed to be in constant noise. It was because of similar noise of music in the supermarket that I changed my supermarket.

On this particular afternoon I was pleased to get home and sit in the quietness of my garden as my headache gradually subsided. I have recently installed an app on my phone to distinguish different bird songs but on this day I closed my eyes and just listened to the rustle of the wind in the trees, distant child laughter and those singing birds. How fortunate I am that my garden is a quiet place with no noisy passing traffic.

No wonder Moses went up the mountain to escape the clamour of the Israelites , Elijah sat by the gurgling brook and Jesus sought out the desert places. Quietness equates to thinking and praying time.

What Age?

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God uses people of every age, none are too young or too old. We think of Abram, as he was then known. At the age of 75, he was a nomad wandering the desert with his wife Sarai, as she was also then known and his nephew Lot. They had much cattle and servants. The couple had heart-break because they were not able to have children but God asked Abram to set out on a long journey to the country of Canaan. Abram was obedient.

Many years later a young man who as a baby had been rescued from a basket in the bulrushes received a call from God to lead his people out of slavery from the Egyptians. In spite of his reservations and with the help of God and his brother Aaron, he obeyed.

Samuel was a young lad, not yet knowing the ways of the Lord but when God called him, after guidance from Eli, he obeyed.

Caleb was 80 when he asked God for a new divine assignment. He didn’t think he was too old. After guidance from God he was obedient.

Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist and his wife Elizabeth were old and unable to have children. Yet when God spoke to him and foretold that he would have a son, he obeyed God’s instructions though at first he argued with Him

Paul needed to instruct the young Timothy that he wasn’t too young to serve God and should ignore anyone who held his youth against him.

It is obvious that God doesn’t consider age in His callings and neither should we. When God calls, He equips. We are never too old or too young.

He never tires

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It’s called a siesta in hot countries and in cooler ones, a nap. In those Mediterranean countries it is so hot in the middle of the day that the only sensible thing to do is to stay away from the burning glare of the sun. There is no such excuse in colder countries but a rest during the afternoon is very welcome, especially as one gets older. When I used to do public speaking the time between 2.00 pm and 3.00pm was known as the worse time to be a speaker. After a midday meal there was a tendency to nod off. (Not with my talks, of course!!)

I love enthusiasm. I think about a librarian I met recently. As her library had modernized a short while ago she was full of enthusiasm with the changes. Sadly our enthusiasm can begin to wane and projects become a burden as we get older.

Fortunately, God has no such problem, nor does He suffer from tiredness. ‘The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and His understanding no-one can follow. Is 40:28. There is no danger that God will get tired of us or give up on us because of our recurring sin. He loves us with an everlasting love.

Now but not yet.

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The Bible is full of promises, promises for the present but also for the future. To fully enjoy all the blessings that God has to give us, we need to bask in both sets of promises. Hebrews 4:9-11 ‘ There remains then, a rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did. Therefore, let us make every effort to enter that rest so that no-one will fall by following their example of disobedience.’

Look at God’s promise for today and our own time in this world, ‘I am with you, I will bless you’. Genesis 12:1-3. Day by day God is blessing us with His gifts. Sometimes we are so fraught by the problems of the world that we miss seeing the blessings, they pass us by. But God still gives and gives again. I know some of you have more difficult lives than others but God is still giving you gifts. We don’t want to miss them. By staying close to God and His promises for today, we will appreciate them more.

Then there are His promises for the future. ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you.’ John 14:2 The heaven described in the book of Revelation is the promise of a presence with Him. It is a promise we can remember and look forward to. We have God with us now, but we haven’t reached there yet. The art is to appreciate both. While on earth it is no good ‘being so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good.’ This life still has to be lived and enjoyed . Our heaven is not yet. ‘Now we see through a glass darkly but then face to face.’ 1 Cor 13:12

Waiting

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‘Wait, I say, on the Lord.’ Psalm 27:4 There are roughly a hundred references in the Bible to waiting. It starts with God resting and waiting and resting after His work on creation. By comparison there are far less references to hurrying. God knows that failing to wait for Him causes us to stumble. Hurrying can physically cause us to stumble and land up on the ground.

I’m sure many visits to A & E are caused by this lack of concentration. If we speak quickly in anger or without thought, often we cause great distress to others. Historians could tell us of battles fought on the battlefields where failing to wait has resulted in defeat. In financial matters hasty decisions could cause financial loss. All options need to be considered.

In all our waiting the most important matter is waiting for and on the Lord. He alone can keep us safe. He will keep us on the right path. But so often we feel we haven’t the time to wait. We seem to forget that He knows the best way and has a plan for our lives. ‘For I know the plans I have for you to prosper you and not to harm you. Jeremiah 29:11

Unity

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‘For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. 1 Corinthians 12:14

The church is the institution created by God and loved by Him. The church is an active community serving God and working together to expand His kingdom. We all know the story of the single log which soon burned itself out. When placed within the fire it gained heat from all the other logs as well as heating them.

God made us as individuals to interact with others. In many of our churches we are blessed with a number different nationalities from all round the world. Different nations add colour and vibrancy to our worship and praise. We also have many different skills and abilities represented. These are varied talents which can be used to help and uplift others. Each one supporting and encouraging the others.

But when one part of our church hurts, we all hurt. When one part rejoices, we all rejoice. In addition God adds depth of worship in our churches by the very young, with their innocence and questions. At the other end churches gain from the wisdom and stability of the elderly. All have a part to play in being a section of God’s church; all are valuable.

Heaven

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‘I’m just a stranger here, heaven is my home.’ Thomas R. Taylor. As Christians we know that heaven is our final destination. For some of us life is desperately hard and dangerous while for others it is quite pleasant. But whatever kind of life we have, we’re just passing through.

My friend and I were texting each other in a series of messages as we thought about heaven. We are both blessed to have good lives but our attitudes were different. One of us was happy to rest and wait for the Lord’s to call her home; the other was waiting impatiently. Same beliefs, different attitudes neither are right or wrong.

I can imagine God kindly shaking His head and saying ‘My beloved daughters, there are still tasks for you both to do on earth. You will be in heaven on the day that I chose.’ It reminds me of Paul’s words in Phil 1:23-24 ‘I desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.’ We sometimes casually say that there is still work for us to do here. That is true, Christians never retire, they die in harness. Let us work and patiently wait.

Who is our eunuch?

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A question we can ask of God each day, ‘Who do You want me to tell of Your love today?’ It is likely that most of us will meet a number of people, some needing to hear of Your saving power. How will we know which person God has chosen to know that salvation today?

I re-read the story of Philip obediently on the road that led south from Jerusalem to Gaza. Animations often show him, walking the dusty road till he saw a plume of dust rising in the distance as the African royal courtier approached. Without any information to the contrary I speculated that although in the desert, this road was a regular highway which was used by many people between these two important places. It is possible that there were a number of travellers, which one should Philip speak to? Then we read, ‘The Spirit spoke to Philip, go and join this chariot.’ Acts 8:29. God knows who we will meet today, He will know the condition of their hearts. Some people will already know Him, others will have hard hearts and are far from Him. But others, maybe at least one, will have yearning hearts ready to receive the knowledge of salvation. We need to keep in touch with God and the Holy Spirit and ask Them ‘Who?’ Who is the one or maybe two who is ready to hear the message today? Keep listening to God.

Speechless

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There are times when we say, almost casually, ‘I was speechless.’ What we actually mean is that we are so surprised by something that we don’t know what to say for the moment. It doesn’t mean our vocal chords are jammed, just that we are surprised into silence. This wasn’t the case with Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.

The announcement from an angel that he and his wife would have a son, a very special son, stunned him into silence and as part of God’s plan he couldn’t speak for nine months. Finally it was his obedience in announcing the name of his son that released his vocal chords.

Our comments ‘ I was speechless’ don’t go to these extreme measures but I wonder how much we blurt out words when we should remain silent. In our prayers surely there are times when we babble on to God. ‘Please bless …, please give me …. please hear my prayer.’

There is a time to wait patiently before God. How must Zachariah have felt not being able to speak for those nine months? Because of his silence he was forced to do more listening, to his wife, to his friends and also to God. Biblically we are often asked to wait and in that waiting there will be listening. Yes, we need to ask things of God and praise Him but He knows our requests. There is also a time to listen so God can speak into the silence.

Lord, give us Samuel’s ear.

Nothing!

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‘Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to His cross I cling.’ Hymn – Rock of Ages, 1776, Augustus Toplady.

Nothing, what nothing? How hard this can be? Nothing, absolutely nothing. So often we want to bring something. Surely we can give something to God, what about our lovely singing voice. But we only have that because it was given to us by Him. (Not a gift he has given me!) What about the words I write and have printed? (That is something I have been gifted) No, I can only bring it to God because He has given it to me in the first place.

What about our good works? No, they are only our reasonable service. Christianity is not like some religions where a person hopes to balance their good works against the bad. Our righteousness is only like filthy rags. Nothing in my hand I bring. We are entirely dependant on the loving mercy of God. We have done nothing to deserve it. Christ did it all for us on the cross.

In the final day when we stand before the throne of God, it will be no good telling Him we’ve been a pillar of the community and placing our good works before Him. We will only be able to utter, Jesus died for MY sins. Without His sacrifice we can have nothing, do nothing, be nothing.