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.

     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!

   We had some visitors from another area, and were taking them around the local  sights. One of these was a glass blower at  work behind the gallery that was selling his work. There were some beautiful pieces on display, all brightly coloured and different shapes. The man was in his workshop at the back of the gallery which was open for people to watch him at work.

We went in and up the stairs to the observation platform where we could look down on him plying his art. The furnace was heated up and the tongs he was using were red hot. As he pulled the shaped vase out of the heat, he pulled and twisted at the neck of it to form a shapely edge. But time and time again, he had to put it back into the heat because he wasn’t satisfied with how it looked.

It reminded me of the Master Glass Blower at work in our lives, as He moulds and perfects His people to make them become what He wants them to be. We may not like the heat of the fire we have to go through, or the pulling and twisting that we are subject to, but when it is all over, we are more like the finished article that He wants us to be….a thing of beauty and fit for His use.

I bought one of these new smart phones the other day and am finding it very hard to get used to what it can do. There just seems no end to the things that it CAN do, but how can I find  out how to make it do these things? I came to the conclusion that it is only practice…..hours of practice, turning it on every day and using it!

After all, that is how a person learns to play the piano if they can’t do it by ear. Practice. Hours of it. I know, because I had to do it all those years ago. But it pays off in the long run.

It just reminded me how so many people say they can’t understand the Bible. They say it is too hard and uses outdated language. But that is because they don’t use it and become familiar with it!

If we feel like this, perhaps we have never given it a fair go. Sure, there are some parts that are more difficult than others to understand, but if we persevere, God will give us the understanding that we need. After all, it is His book that He has given to the human race, and it is now translated into so many languages, that He intends for us to read it and become familiar with it. So let’s give it a go, and one day it will all become clear just as this smart phone will start to make sense for me as I use it!

 Matthew 5: 13  ….         You are the salt of the earth…….

We are reminded here that salt that has lost its flavour is useless and pointless. What are some of the  things that salt does?

Salt  enhances the flavour of the food….Paul tells us to make sure what we say is gracious and will enhance a conversation with others, building them up and encouraging them.

Salt creates a thirst….does what we say create a thirst in those listening,  to know more of the Lord?

Salt preserves…. again, does our life and speech give preservation to others, do we tell others how to escape God’s judgement?

Salt heals….it has a healing effect. God’s people must be known for their helping and healing hands in others’ times of trouble.

Salt cleanses wounds….it may sting in the process, but it gets rid of the germs. If we have to correct others, let us make sure that it is done in a spirit of meekness and love, remembering that we too have weaknesses.

Salt kills bugs (snails and slugs) in the garden….let us make sure that we kill gossip and slander before it starts, to nip it in the bud!

       Why bother to pray? God already knows what we need or want. But have you ever thought that God wants to give us what we ask Him for? Unless we ask, we won’t get it, and unless we get it, we won’t say thank-you!

Our prayers won’t change God’s mind, but they will certainly change ours!

When someone wrongs us, we say we will never forgive them, but if we pray for them we will find that we feel differently about the whole matter. Maybe not straight away. Maybe they don’t deserve to have good things prayed for them. But remember,  the benefit is not for them; in the long run the benefit is for YOU!

Perhaps you are thinking that God is too busy, and why should He take any notice of little old you! Ah, but God has told us to pray;  and not only that, but to pray continually.

He says, “Ask in your time of trouble and I will deliver you, and then you will praise and thank Me!”

God is looking for those who will give Him thanks.

I’ve been reading in the Bible, in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was a wonderful prophet of God who lived in the time frame of the last kings of Judah. It was a very important time as far as God was concerned, and He wanted the people of Israel to realize why they were suffering the dreadful things that were happening to them. He called Isaiah one day, and gave him a vision of Himself….. “I saw the Lord, high and lifted up”, he wrote, ” and His train filled the temple…..”

The sight was so awesome that Isaiah fell down with his face to the ground, and his first reaction was, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

Because Isaiah admitted he was a sinful man, God sent an angel to clean him up and then gave him a message to take to the people of Israel. God cannot use anyone for His glory until they have been cleansed from their sinful ways. You can read about this in Isaiah chapter 6, verses 1-10.