Life Lessons

Don’t Leave it Too Late!

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    We’ve been concerned about a new friend who has been coming along to church recently, with his wife who is a devout Christian. He doesn’t appear to be anti the messages he is hearing from the pulpit, but neither is he altogether accepting of them. Perhaps you know some folk who are like that.

      He says he just cannot see how God is, Who He is!  He says he will do something about it one day, but we wonder if he really wants to! After all, God has said in His Word, “Those who seek Me SHALL find Me”.

    It reminds me of another man we knew many years ago. He had been going to the
Sunday evening services where the gospel was preached clearly every Sunday night. But after a period of time, he started to make excuses, and eventually stopped going altogether. But the Lord had not quite finished with him. One night he had a vivid dream that troubled him greatly. He went to his uncle who knew him well, and said, “You know Unc, I had a dream the other night. I dreamt that I was in an open place, and that God was in Heaven above me. Then I saw a great big black curtain come down between me and Him, and I know now that I couldn’t come to Him even if I wanted to”. What a tragic state of affairs! He had been convicted so many times, and kept putting off doing anything  about God’s invitation, until now he had passed the point of no return. Shortly after that, he passed away with his daughter by his side. Her comment was, “I never want to see another person die….the expression on Dad’s face as he went, was terrible!”

     We have the case in the Bible of the story of Moses telling the king of Egypt  to let the people of Israel leave the land. At first we read that the king “hardened his heart” and refused to let the people go, but after a few times of this request being made, then we read that the Lord “hardened his heart”. So it was in the case of this man we knew….he had put off the strivings of God with him for so long, that then it had no effect on him. He knew it too, and that dream just confirmed it to him.

     So we continue to pray for our new friend, that he will not do the same thing until it is too late, and he has no desire to come to church any more. So it is with those who may read this post…..if there is something you need to put right or some confession of sin that needs to be done, do NOT put it off. The desire to do so may leave you, and you will be the worse off for it in the long run!

Daily Devotionals

Some Random Thoughts

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      I’ve been reading in the Old Testament book of Isaiah lately, and have come across some thoughts about that book that might be helpful. Many people skip reading the Old Testament prophetic books as they feel they are irrelevant for today’s world, but there are pearls scattered all through these books that we would miss if we didn’t read the books through consecutively.

    The book of Isaiah is especially so, as there is a distinctive pattern followed here that gives some tremendous  insights into the thoughts and desires of God’s heart. For instance in chapter nine, verse s 6-7 we are told of the coming Messiah, and what He would be like. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

    This prophecy, as with so many, has been partly fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ, but will be completely fulfilled at the end of time when He takes over his Kingdom forever.     And in  chapter fifty three we are told of the sufferings of the coming Messiah which we see fulfilled in the death of Jesus Christ .

    Apart from these prophecies, there is also a pattern followed whereby the book itself is divided into two distinctive sections, just as the Bible  is. It is, in fact, a miniature of the Bible itself……

There are 66 chapters; there are 66 books in the Bible. There are two sections; the Bible has the Old Testament and the New Testament.  

The first section calls Israel; the Old Testament of the Bible  calls Israel. The second section calls ALL to come;  in the New Testament, the Bible gives the Gospel to the whole world. The final message is the same in both Isaiah and the Bible itself…. Both tell of the new heavens and a new earth. Both tell of an eternal blessedness. Both end up with the result of ignoring God’s message and invitation.           

    So read it for yourself, starting off in chapter forty, the beginning of the second section, and be blessed.

Life Lessons

What do you See?

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     As we approach the new year later this week, let us think on this little story….

A  professor once set  his students an exam. He handed the papers all out upside down, and then told them to turn the page over. They found it was just a blank piece of paper with a large black dot in the middle of it. He told them to have a good look at it, and then write down what they were seeing.

   Without exception, they all wrote about the black spot, where it was on the page and the effect it had on the paper. The professor then told them that not one had commented on the whiteness of the paper or the size of it in comparison to the black spot, and then pointed out the moral of the story….how much we concentrate on the wrong things around us instead of on the good things we see.

   That reminded me that I’m like that too, and it ought not to be !

  So whenever things annoy or grate on you in this New Year, just remember to overlook the black spot in  the middle of the page and focus on the white size of the paper!! As we look around at others, there are always those who are worse off than we are….perhaps in health,  in family problems, or in losing a dear friend. Let us each one be thankful for the blessings we have and not see the “black spot” on our page!!

Random Devotional Thoughts

Joy to the World!

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Joy is something that many people are not experiencing this year! Maybe it is because a loved one is no longer with you; or maybe some dread disease has shown its face, and then again there may be injuries from some recent accident. But when we remember the true meaning of the Christmas season, we have every reason to be joyful. God come to earth in human form!!

When we look at the world situation, fears may arise (with every good reason for those affected), but even in those places, God will be with His people for He has promised that He will never leave nor forsake those who love and follow Him. So we must look upwards and not downwards….there’s an old saying that says to look at the cup of life as being half-full, not half empty. There are always those who are worse off and we still have much to be thankful for! May it be so.

Have a great Christmas!!

Life Lessons

How do we View the Baby in the Manger?

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Our speaker at church this week continued on with the theme of Christmas.  He pointed out how Christmas is all about Christ. Unfortunately, this seems to make people feel uncomfortable, and they have covered up the real meaning with commercialism, the getting and giving of presents and family time. While these things are all good, they tend to blur what the season is all about.

People can cope with Jesus, the baby in the manger, and with Jesus the Healer and Teacher. When it comes to Jesus on the cross, they agree that yes, it was a historical fact, but as for the Resurrection and the ascension to Heaven, they tend to pass that off as being a bit fanciful. As for the mere idea that Jesus Christ is still alive and about to return to earth to mete out judgement on all the evil that has been done over the ages, this idea is totally out of their realm and is refused out of hand.

   Stop and think about it for a minute…. if this is not correct, there is nothing to lose, but if it IS correct and no preparations are being done for it, then there is everything to lose.

Random Devotional Thoughts

A Joyous Christmas !

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And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).    None of the characters in the Christmas story were important or famous people from other people’s point of view…in fact, they just seemed very ordinary. Elisabeth and her husband Zechariah the priest, were two older people with no children. At the other end of the spectrum was Mary, engaged to Joseph the local carpenter, young and looking forwards to what life had in store for her.

Both these couples had had a visit from the angel Gabriel telling them that they would each have a miraculous child born to them. Elisabeth was too old, and Mary was not yet married, but they both accepted this news as from the Lord Himself with Whom nothing was impossible. Once Mary had ascertained how this miracle would take place for her, she humbly said, “Let it be so as the Lord has said”.

   Elisabeth was already six months pregnant by the time the angel visited Mary, and after talking with him, she immediately went to visit her older cousin. We wonder what these two pregnant ladies would have said to each other! We are told some of their conversation….it was not their condition or their symptoms they spoke about. It was the babies that they were carrying. In fact, Elisabeth the older lady, deferred to Mary the younger girl, recognising the importance of the child that Mary was carrying. She referred to her as “the mother of my Lord” and said how her baby had leaped in her womb at Mary’s greeting.

    Mary immediately burst into a song of praise….this was not a song of someone else’s, this was a spontaneous series of quotations from the book of Psalms that she knew off by heart, and that glorified God for what He was about to do with and through these as-yet unborn sons that she and Elisabeth  were carrying. God’s plan of salvation for mankind was about to be unfolded, and these children were to be the means of bringing great joy to the world.

Daily Devotionals

How Clean Are You?

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    I’ve just been cleaning down our back deck which faces a stand of tall trees. Not only that, it  doesn’t get the morning sun but only the late afternoon sun  through the trees. As a result, it gets covered with leaves and if left too long, covered in a green gunge as well. I have found that a bleach helps to get the black mould off (with plenty of scrubbing!), and so it is looking pristine clean after this time around. Perhaps one reason that it gets left, is that it is at the back of the house, and no one sees it for long periods of time!

     But while I was scrubbing it down with a broom,  it reminded me of how like our lives, this deck is. Just as it needs constant cleaning, so we need to keep our spirit and soul cleaned regularly before God. The bleach which gets into all the little grooves in the deck makes it all clean and shiny, so this reminds us that it is the work of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives and minds, that reminds us of things which need to be confessed and put right.

    Because it is in the shade for so long each day, the moss and mould begins to grow and make it messy. So we need the constant light of daily Bible readings to keep the moss in our minds at bay. We might think it is too hard to understand, but remember, that just as a sieve doesn’t hold the water in it, the constant washing under the tap keeps it clean. So even if we don’t understand some of it, other things will stick and help keep our minds in the right direction.

    There is nothing like a good clean up to make that back deck look lovely and a joy to behold. So those who keep their lives on the right tracks will be a joy and a help to all those around, to say nothing of having the satisfaction of being in the right relationship with the God of Heaven.

See what God has to say to YOU.