All posts by Gwenyth

I live on the outskirts of Whangarei, the northernmost city in New Zealand. I enjoy many things, ( writing amongst them), have been married to Keith for sixty-one years, have three married daughters, nine grandchildren and seventeen great- grandchildren who are scattered in various countries. No cats and no dogs as they would cramp our life-style.. We are obviously retired, but were farming further north before moving to the town over thirty-five years ago. We attend one of the local churches across the same side of town that we live.
Daily Devotionals, Uncategorized

Is this Your Shepherd?

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Psalm Twenty-three….

The Shepherding One

The Lord is my Shepherd, I have all I need, I rest in green pastures, by still waters He’ll lead;

My soul He restores, His paths are all right As He leads each day, I walk in His light

In the shadow of death, I’ll not be afraid, For my Lord is with me , my debts He has paid,

His rod and staff, they comfort and keep, My cup runneth over, my joy is so deep;

Goodness and mercy always with me, For I’ll live in His presence eternally.

   This must be one of the best known and loved portion of Scripture there is! The picture of a Shepherd lovingly caring for His sheep is an idyllic one indeed! Yet it is true in the spiritual sense for those who know this wonderful Shepherd of the sheep. Our Lord says it of Himself…..”I am the Good Shepherd, I know My sheep and am known by Mine”  (John 10:14).

We can truly say, “Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need”. Not only does He provide our physical needs, but more importantly He gives us our daily spiritual needs as well! What a wonderful prospect we have as we look ahead! We need to hang onto this psalm firmly, especially in times when we are feeling down….it is the most uplifting  song we can sing, and will surely lift us out of our swamp of despondency!

Random Devotional Thoughts, Uncategorized

Lessons from a Donkey.

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st_pau_c - Copy    I recently read some thoughts about the donkey that carried Jesus on His last trip into the city of Jerusalem and thought they were worth passing on. We hear so many sermons preached about the last days of Jesus leading up to the crucifixion, but nothing much about the little donkey that He rode. After all, who takes notice of a donkey? The very name suggests someone not sensible enough to take notice of!

The little donkey was standing behind its mother quietly minding its own business with no-one taking any notice of it. How often we stand behind others, keeping out of the limelight! But Jesus knew the donkey was there and He wanted to use it. Jesus knows exactly where we are, at any given time, and often we are in a place where He can use us.

But we have to be available. The little donkey could have pulled back on the rope that was put around its neck, and said “Not me! Take my mother!”, but it didn’t. It had never had anyone sit on it before, yet it didn’t buck or pull away when the coat was thrown over its back. It just quietly stepped forward, and when the weight of the Person was on its back, it went along as though it was quite used to doing this.

We have to be like the donkey, and be submissive, doing what the Master requires. Just look at what the donkey would have missed out on if it hadn’t gone along with the people  leading it!. No matter how much trouble it is, we always gain more than we lose when we have people over for a meal, or go to visit someone who can’t get out, or even just make a friendly telephone call.

Thirdly, the donkey was unafraid and at peace. Just think, he was straight in from the paddock, and here he was being led along a path with Someone sitting on his back and people all jostling around him waving palm leaves and making a lot of noise shouting out. It would be enough to make an older trained animal be afraid and try to get away. But not this donkey. We can remember the verses where David said, “I will trust and not be afraid” when we find ourselves in difficult situations doing what we know God wants us to do. Taking a devotional talk or speaking to a Youth Group when we aren’t used to it can be rather daunting, but if we commit it all to the Lord before hand we will be at peace and feel Him with us as we speak out for Him.

So remember the little donkey that carried the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem the next time you are asked to help out publicly in some way….be available, submissive and unafraid!

Random Devotional Thoughts, Uncategorized

When Troubles Come….

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2016-03-06 16.37.30I was sent the address of a video clip to watch the other day; it was of two young children with superb singing voices and great confidence, performing before a crowd of people. Not only was the tune very catchy, but the harmony they sang was beautiful. But the words were what caught my attention most of all. What a great message they held, and I couldn’t help wondering how they would fit into a Christian context. They certainly brought a raft of thoughts to me…

“When I am down, and my soul is weary, When troubles come and my heart burdened be,” the young boy sang in a voice as clear as a bell. I thought of the verses from the book of Psalms…”I am weary with my groaning; all the night I make my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears” (Psalm 6:6) How many times we have been in this situation!! Unable to sleep, tossing and turning with one’s mind going round and round in circles over the problem.

The small girl picked up the thread of the song….“When I am still and wait in silence, Until you come and sit a while with me”…. Sometimes there is no person on earth who can give a solution, but if we turn the matter over to God, the Heavenly Father, and wait for Him, He will come and sit with us if we will only take the time to be quiet and listen for His voice….” Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

The boy picked up the melody, and his voice soared high and precise….

“You raise me up so I can stand on mountains,” and these words brought to mind the fact that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31)

 The girl chimed in, pure and clear… “You raise me up to walk on stormy seas”, and I remembered the story of Peter being able to walk on the sea while he kept his eyes on the Lord, but sinking as soon as he took them off Him.  “Oh you of little faith”, said Jesus, “Why did you doubt?” How often we doubt and sink back into the waves of fear and worry!

The song continued in perfect harmony with the two voices together, “I am strong when I am on Your shoulders”; God said to Israel, “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself” (Exodus 19:4)

“You raise me up to more than I can be”. What more can we hope for than to be with God the Father, and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ,  for the ages of eternity!

Jesus prayed before His crucifixion, “Father, I will that they also whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world”. (John 17:24)

The verse of the song came to an end for a moment with the music continuing on, and then the two voices repeated the song in harmony, finishing off with a crescendo of sound to the prolonged applause of the audience.

“When I am down, and my soul is weary, When troubles come and my heart burdened be,”

….“When I am still and wait in silence, Until you come and sit a while with me”….

“You raise me up so I can stand on mountains, You raise me up to walk on stormy seas”,

“I am strong when I am on Your shoulders, You raise me up to more than I can be”.

These two young people have no idea of what lies ahead in life for them, but they can rest assured that there will be some of those stormy seas and times of trouble for them to go through. If they learn to trust the One Who promised to bear His people on eagles’ wings in times of stress and trials, then they will indeed find that they will be strong when upon His shoulders and will be raised up to more than they would otherwise be. As they learn to trust Him, they will find themselves stronger and more able to bear what life throws at them as they take the time to be still and see what God will do for them.

 

Random Devotional Thoughts

The Potter’s Hand….

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VASE“Take me, use me, Fill me, lead me, By the Potter’s hand”, the choir was singing lustily from the front of the church. These words made me think of the deeper meaning of them. Perhaps you have sung these words, and really meant what they say without knowing the full implications of them……

“Take me”…. have you stopped to think of all that this means? How much do we really want God to take us for His service? Remember, His service is in serving others around us. What about the times when all we feel like doing is just to kick our shoes off and relax in that lazy-boy chair! The times when we feel like having a day at home rather than go out yet again to help others,  to visit an old person in the rest home, or to encourage others in a Bible Study!

“Fill me”….we can only be filled by the Holy Spirit when we empty ourselves of our old nature. There is no room for both the old nature and the new nature to have control of our soul and spirit. It is only as we empty ourselves of our old desires, bitterness, and prejudices, that God will find room to come right into our being.

“Lead me”….once again, how much do we really want to be led by the Lord? He could say, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”. As He travelled the dusty roads of the land, He was reliant on the goodwill of others to give Him a bed for the night. Many times He spent the whole night in prayer to His Heavenly Father out on a mountain top, meditating and renewing His spirit to continue in His Father’s will.

“By the Potter’s hand”, the choir concluded with a flourish. I looked at those fresh young faces of the singers and wondered if they knew what they were singing, or if any of us know what that means!

We read of the potter seeing a bowl he has made and it is not to his liking so he breaks it and starts all over again. How many of us have gone through bitter experiences and shed tears of grief over broken relationships and disappointing things that have happened! It is often the only way the Lord can get rid of some of the things in our lives that are not pleasing to Him. We have to come to the end of ourselves in these broken times, so we can be re-moulded by the Master Potter to be of better use to Him.

Morning Musings

How Careful Are You?

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Maile 2 - CopySummer is drawing to a close in the Southern Hemisphere. In New Zealand this is the season of sun, sand and fun on the water. But our weather in these islands of New Zealand tends to be very changeable and variable. Especially in the northern part of the country. The land is long and narrow and sandwiched between two large oceans….the Pacific Ocean on the east, and the Tasman Sea on the west which is said to be one of the roughest and most treacherous seas in the world.

Most people living in Northland have some association with the sea, if not commercially, then recreationally. When the weather is good everyone who has a boat takes to the water, and on good days, little boats dot the wide open bays as far as one can see.

My great-grandfather’s family came from an area in England that was inland and as far as we know, had never had any association with the sea. When they emigrated to New Zealand in 1861, they had a four month ocean voyage ahead of them, and then a short coastal trip from Auckland to the Bay of Islands. From then on, their lives were inextricably tied up in the sea. All travel was done by sea; all their goods were transported by coastal scows; one son became a sea captain of sailing ships, another son turned to boat building. The sea was their very life blood, and their descendents have this love of the sea in their veins.

But like a lot of things, while the sea can be a good servant if used wisely, it can be a bad master when carelessly taken for granted. Treat it carefully and it will repay you a hundred-fold, but ignore the signs and one may even pay for it with one’s life!

This summer season many people have lost their lives due to carelessness and taking the sea for granted. Going out in boats that are too small for the conditions, or diving into river pools without being too sure how deep they are. Even when proper precautions are taken, the unexpected can happen.

An acquaintance of ours was recently body boarding with his young son when a wave caught them and the father came off the board hitting his head with some force on the sand. His neck was broken but fortunately for him, his spinal cord wasn’t snapped. He has been told that he is very fortunate to be alive, but that it will be many months before he can lead a normal life again. How prepared are we for a sudden calamity like this? How would we feel in the face of such a change of life style as this calamity has caused?

We have to remember that God has even these things under control, and can bring some good out of ALL things that happen to those who love Him. We cannot blame Him for things that are the results of our own actions, but we CAN look to Him for help and strength in the consequences of things that we do.

 

 

Morning Musings

How Sweet is Honey?

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Bee 1Honey is a wonderful healer in more ways than one. The venom of the bee can be mixed into honey and when a certain amount is taken each day, it can relieve the pain of arthritis. Honey is a natural sweetener, and yet with the sting added, it is a healer as well.

This reminds me of the experiences of life. Sometimes we have wonderful times with friends, family or on holiday and then shortly afterwards, there will be the sting of some disappointment. But if we allow it to, the sting can be a great teaching lesson that we can learn from, and then the healing will come later. Without it, all sweetness has no lasting effect, and will leave us with very little depth to our character. Without the bitter sweet experiences of life, our character will never be developed into what it is capable of being.

Without these times, we aren’t able to comfort others who might encounter similar things in their lives. Just as the honey with venom takes a while to work, so time will heal the sad times we may be going through right now.

Morning Musings

Curiosity Killed the Cat!

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4. Curiosity killed the cat, the old saying goes.  I grew up in a small country community where everyone knew everyone else’s business, and what they couldn’t find out, they made it up instead! So I always like to find out the whys and wheres when something unusual is seen.

This time, we had made our usual summer trek north to our holiday area, and what should we see as we came around the bend in the road near the big local river, but a house sitting on the edge of the river bank among the mangrove trees. Not only one house, but behind it was a second house! There was no real road  in to these houses, and they looked as though they had been dumped there from the river itself.

1.    Visiting friends a couple of days later, I saw a newspaper clipping about these two houses which solved the problem of how they had got there. They had been shipped on a barge from the big city over  two hundred miles south, and a description of the voyage north was given beside the picture. Their final destination was a few miles further up the river where they were going to be transported by truck the final few miles. So that solved the puzzle of the houses sitting in the mangroves on the edge of the river!

It seems strange to me, that something like this makes the news, when really it is no-one else’s business but the people who bought them, while the more important things of life that concern every single person are completely ignored. It’s obvious that these houses will be eventually lived in somewhere, but no-one is really concerned with where their soul is going to live for eternity. We make all sorts of preparations for a big trip we may be going to take overseas, but pay very little attention to the most lasting trip of all which every person is going to take eventually. Surely this is the most important thing to be curious about, and the most important trip to prepare for!

Random Devotional Thoughts

What Do You See?

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        images 2The other day we were driving along a beach frontage….the day was beautiful and the colours of the sea were brilliant and superb. Just as the road was about to leave the shore I noticed three teenage girls sitting on the edge of the stream that came out at the end of the beach. Their backs were facing that superb view and their eyes were glued to the smart phones they were each holding.

    My mind went to the story in Pilgrim’s Progress about the man confined in a room playing around in the rubbish at his feet while an angel was hovering above him holding a crown. Alas, he never looked up to see the glories above him, but just kept on with the worthless stuff around his feet. There were those three girls with their backs to the beautiful view that God had created, and not enjoying all that the beach offered in the way of swimming and playing in the surf, or even just walking along the beach scuffing their feet in the sand, but with their eyes glued to what world offers.

It does us well to take stock of ourselves, especially during this first month of the year when so many make New Year resolutions, and resolve to see the things that God wants us to enjoy.