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.
Devotional Poems

Sitting Down They Watched Him.

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We read these words in peace and quiet, Forget the crowds, the noise, the riot,                     That was round our Lord so long ago, When rulers had wickedly taken Him so.

The noise, the cries,  the prisoner’s grunts,  Shouts of  soldiers, then awful thumps,                Of the nails going into His human flesh,   As they lay on the scars and the bruises fresh.

The heat and dust that rose in the air, Scorning of those who were standing there,     Laughs and jeers  of the soldiers who, Were casting lots for His garments too.

The thieves were throwing the same in His face,   “Get us down and out of this place,            Then we’ll believe You are truly King,    And one day Your kingdom You’ll really bring”

One turned quickly and said to his mate, ‘We really deserve all that’s on our plate,             But this Man here has done nothing amiss, Lord remember me in spite of all this ”

The Saviour looked and in tones soft and light,   Said “Today you’ll be with Me, in Paradise bright”.   What joy filled the heart of this one so distressed,  The noise and the dirt were suddenly repressed;

No matter who now, sat watching them there, The rulers uncaring or friends. in despair, The soldier declaring “Truly this is God’s Son,  He certainly is the true righteous One

His Spirit given up, the night now was near,  The people all gone, the silence was clear.         Still there were those who were watching Him there,  When His body was put, in the tomb with all care;

The guards would wait, the next few nights out, No one could move while they were about; But in spite of it all, God’s purposes won, And Jesus became, the Resurrected One

 

Random Devotional Thoughts

More Pictures of God’s Word (the Bible)

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As I began to think of the verse that describes God’s Word as a sharp double edged sword, more ideas came from other verses about what God’s word is like. It is like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces (Jeremiah 23:27);  something that will hit hard in vulnerable places in our minds and lives, and it will continue to hit relentlessly without giving up until it breaks the hardness of our hearts.

The same verse says that God’s Word is like a fire that burns away the rubbish in our minds.

Then it is like a mirror that shows us the wrong things in our lives….James 1:22-25 tells us that if we see what is wrong in our lives and do nothing about it, then “ we are like a man seeing his natural face in a glass: For he sees himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what sort of man he was. But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

We all have large mirrors above the washbasin in our bathrooms, and as we see the dirt on our face, we can then wash it clean. God’s Word is also like water….it not only washes clean but also quenches our thirst. Water is a precious commodity, one that we cannot do without. In the same way, if we want to prosper in the things of God, we need the water of His Word to make us clean and quench our spiritual thirst. Jesus Christ said that He is the Water of Life….whoever drinks of Him (figuratively) will be satisfied for ever.

We have nothing to lose by giving Him a chance in our thoughts and heart….after all if He is wrong and we are right, we have nothing to lose, but on the other hand, if He is right and we are wrong, we have everything to lose for ever and ever…and that is a long, long time!

Daily Devotionals

Vashti’s Refusal.

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Esther 1:1-12…………

        God’s people had left Him out of their lives and had turned to follow heathen ways. Because of this, God allowed them to be taken captive to this strange land with another language and different customs. But even among the people of the king’s court, there were those who had come from the land of Israel as captives, and who had risen to positions of authority.  A man called Daniel was one of these, and we  see how God intervened in his life as he lived in this place. God does not allow His plans for His people to be thwarted and He only allows evil to go so far.

         Our story starts, not with the character of the one we are going to study, but with a vastly different type of woman!

The scene is set  in the opulence of an Eastern king’s court.     The splendours and splurgings of King Ahasuerus are graphically described in this chapter. The beauty of his palace and the richness  and length of  his feast is beyond our imagination.  He  called together all his officials and princes and put on a tremendous banquet for them. After that was over, he then put on another feast which was supplied with wine in abundance.

At the same time, Queen Vashti put on a feast for the  women of the court. After a whole week of feasting and drinking had gone on, the king decided to call for the queen to come and show her beauty to the men of the court. There are several ways that we can look at Vashti’s reaction to this royal command…..she may have arrogantly refused the king’s command or it may have been from the modesty of not wanting to appear before a drunken crowd of men. Whatever it was, she refused the king’s command and paid for it dearly.

The queen Vashti refused to bring,  Her homage to her lord and king;                              Her reason we will never know,   But it made the king say “You must  go!”

Morning Musings

Writing the Friendship Book

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Some people are great fun to be with. They can be the life and soul of the party, and always seem to be on top of things. When we first meet them, they are so outgoing that we feel as though we’ve always known them. But on the other hand, these same people can suffer great lows.

King David in the Bible seemed to be one of these sort of people. He had moments of great joy and times when he could praise the Lord with great enthusiasm… Shout out praises to the LORD, all the earth!  he wrote, Worship the LORD with joy! Enter His presence with joyful singing! Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us and we belong to Him; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give Him thanks! Praise His name! For the LORD is good. His loyal love endures, and He is faithful through all generations.

Then on the other hand, he got very depressed when things went wrong, and wrote this….. In my distress I cried out to the LORD and He answered me. I said, “O LORD, rescue me from those who lie with their lips and those who deceive with their tongue. How will He severely punish you, you deceptive talker? How miserable I am!

Other people we meet may be much more reserved and harder to get to know. But persevere with your efforts to be friendly….these ones make good friends in the end. Remember that those who want friends, must show themselves to be friendly!

Friendship is like a BOOK: it takes years to write, but a careless word or action can burn it in a flash. So take care how you treat your friendships, and never take them for granted.

Morning Musings

The Priceless Pearl.

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Pearls     We were visiting a tourist place where the pearling industry was the big local thing. The pearling boats went out with their divers each day when the weather was right, and the oysters in their  wire grids were lifted so the pearls could be harvested.    A  pearl is the only gem that comes from a living organism. It is the irritation of the grit in the oyster, that forms the pearl. The oyster forms a blanket around the grit over time  which becomes a beautiful jewel, a pearl above price.  The pearl farmer purposely puts a piece of grit (called the “seed”) into the oyster, thus beginning the process that forms the pearl.

   Without the grit and problems in our lives, we will never form pearls that will be a help to others. This is why God allows the grit in our lives, so that He can use them to turn into something of value to other people and to Himself. We read in the Bible that a person with a meek and quiet spirit in spite of their problems, is of great price in the sight of God….just like the beautiful pearls formed in the oysters!

 

Grandma's Stories

“Come Quick!”

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Trike        “Mum!” Bobby called out, “Mum, come quick!”

Mum could tell that something was wrong by Bobby’s voice, and she hurried out to the yard where he was. He had been wanting to get his trike past the lawn mower, and was trying to lift it out of his way, when it fell on his foot. Now he was stuck, and couldn’t move. Mum managed to lift the mower off his foot and he stood up gingerly rubbing where it was sore. Nothing was bleeding so he hobbled around for a bit and then came right.

The next day, he was playing out in the yard with one of his toy tractors. He was trying to get it under a bridge that he had built with some loose bricks, but it kept falling down and the tractor couldn’t move. “Now if there was only someone else here to hold this up,” he thought to himself, “I could get it underneath alright. Mum!” he yelled out, “Can you come and help me?”

Mum looked out the kitchen window and saw what he was doing. She was busy with her baking and couldn’t leave it right then.

“Mum!” Bobby yelled again, “Come quickly!”

But Mum didn’t come at all. She knew that what Bobby was doing wasn’t really important and that it could wait a while.

Just then baby Joel came toddling out dragging his cuddly blanket behind him. He went over to the coffee table where Mum had her sewing gear, and stretched for the sharp scissors and pin-cushion . Mum saw what he was doing, and ran over to stop him reaching them, and said sternly, “No! not for Joel!”   She knew that he would hurt himself with them if he got them.

Bobby came in from outside looking quite aggrieved, and said grumpily, “You didn’t come when I called you!”

“No,” said Mum, “I was busy, and you didn’t really need me at all. What you were doing wasn’t important!”

Sally came in from her after school  Kid’s Club just then, and said, “Does praying always work, Mum? Our leader was talking about praying this afternoon.”

“Well, it’s like this,” said Mum as she got some cold drink out of the frig for them all. “We can’t expect God to jump every time we pray to Him and do what we ask. Yes, there are times when God does act quickly and give us what we have asked for and we think that’s good, God has answered my prayer. Just as I ran out into the yard yesterday to help Bobby lift the mower off himself. But then there are other times when we pray and nothing seems to happen and then we think that God hasn’t answered our prayer. He knows that what we have asked for isn’t really important and we can work it out for ourselves like Bobby with his tractor and broken bridge.”

“It sure would have been good if you could have come though,” Bobby said.

“Maybe,” said Mum, “But you managed yourself in the end didn’t you! Then there is the third sort of answer, the one that is a straight out ‘No!’ like I said to Joel when he wanted the scissors to play with. He didn’t know that they could hurt him, he thought he could handle it himself. That’s like when God DOES say NO to our prayers….He knows what we have asked for is not good for us to have and could land us in a lot of trouble and hurt.”

Sally was silent for a minute thinking this all over.

“I guess God DOES answer each of those sorts of prayers,” she said thoughtfully, “The first one was a ‘yes’, and the last one was a ‘no’…what was the middle one Mum?”

“I guess you could say it was a ‘wait a while’ answer, or a ‘you can do it yourself’ answer,” Mum said, “We can’t order God around, not even with begging or pleading. We have to be happy with whatever answer He gives us and remember that He always knows what is best for us!

Now off you go and do your chores Sally, and tidy up your mess outside Bobby ! ”

 

 

 

Morning Musings, Random Devotional Thoughts

Waiting….

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BUSIN181                                    Have you ever thought about the word “wait” and all that it means?  How the word “wait” is actually a double sided word? When we go into a restaurant, the “waiter” comes to us for our order, and then we have to “wait” while it is being put together. The waiter brings it to us and then “waits” on our needs while we enjoy the meal.

One of the hardest things in the world is to wait for something. In this modern world, everything is expected to be instant….everything is faster and smaller and more disposable as the next model comes along.

We read in the Bible that before the Lord can bless a person, He has to “wait” on them. He waits for them to turn and call on Him so He can be gracious to them and bless them. This is the way He waits on His people, by giving them His blessings and all that they need as they ask Him.

On the other hand, as we wait on Him for the answers to our prayers, we are blessed as we see how He works in our lives to give us the answer that we need. Those who do not turn to Him, can never know His blessings, any more than a person can expect a meal at a restaurant without paying for it.

Isaiah 30, verse 18…..

            And thus will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

Random Devotional Thoughts

Pictures of God’s Word.

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FRBW0108     I was reading the verse from Hebrews 4:12 where it describes God’s Word as being   “ quick (living) , and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”.

There is nothing so convicting and convincing as God’s Word if we allow it to sink into our minds. It IS possible to shut one’s mind to it, but if we do that, it won’t be long before its influence on our ways and thinking will disappear and we will become hard and unyielding.

This verse shows that it is like an extremely sharp two edged sword, cutting both ways, as it goes in and as it comes out…here is a story that illustrates this point perfectly….

There was a man once who had didn’t believe in all this God rubbish (as he put it). One of the old time evangelists came to his district and was holding meetings several times a week. One of our man’s friends persuaded him to go to one of these meetings.

“You know I don’t believe in all that stuff”, he said complainingly to his friend, “I’ll go just the once, but no more, mind!”

He sat through the meeting, working out all his arguments against the preacher in his mind. His chance came when the preacher offered to take him home.

“Well, Sir,” our man said, “I don’t believe all that stuff you told us tonight. What about…..?” and he presented his first argument.

The preacher was silent a moment and then he said, “I don’t know about that, all I know is that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ cleans us from all sin.”

Our friend was a bit taken aback. He hadn’t expected a reply like that. But he rallied and then put out his next argument which was guaranteed (he thought) to get the preacher’s hackles up.

Again the preacher was silent a moment, and then he said, “Well, I haven’t heard that one before either, but all I know is that the blood of Jesus Christ cleans us from all sin.”

Our friend wasn’t going to be deterred, and he thought of several more arguments that he felt sure the preacher had no answers for.

But each time the preacher just quietly said, “Well, I don’t know about that…..all I know is that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ cleans us from all sin!”

By this time they had reached our friend’s house and the preacher pulled up to let him out. Our friend gave one more parting shot as he left the car…”Well, I’m not coming back any more to hear that stuff!”

“That’s fine friend,” the preacher said, “But just remember,” as our friend went off into the darkness, “the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleans us from all sin!”

The preacher went home, prayed for our friend and didn’t expect to see him again. But God’s Word which had been used as a sword, and as a strong hammer which can break rocks began to work in his mind. A couple of nights later, the preacher heard a knock on his door just he had gone to bed. He opened the door, and there stood our friend looking rather distraught and haggard.

“I haven’t been able to sleep a wink since that meeting the other night,”  he said, “All I can hear in my mind are those words, the blood of Jesus Christ cleans us from all sin….I can’t get rid of them. What do I have to do to put my mind at rest?”

“Come on in,”  the preacher said, “It’s never too late to talk about the things of God”. He was able to explain to our friend that the way to have peace in his mind, was simply to tell the Lord that he realised he was a sinner and needed to be made clean from all the bad thoughts and habits he had formed over the years.

He gladly did this and became a different man as a result. He had different aims now, and went to different places. The old ways didn’t attract him any more. Now he could say, and mean it with all his heart….. “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleans me from ALL sin!”