Category Archives: Life Lessons

Life Lessons

Why Are You Feeling Down? Hope in God….

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“I   need   encouragement,  you   need   encouragement, we   ALL   need encouragement !” The words of the speaker wafted on, and I little dreamed how these introductory words would stick in my mind for over fifty years!     I can see now after a span of years, that to encourage  others is one of the best gifts that God has given to each one of us. No matter how old or how young we are, we can all say nice things to others, especially those in our own family.

     David, in spite of knowing God so well, is a classic example of one who needed encouragement. Jonathan (King Saul’s son) and David were best friends. They had clicked right from the start of their first meeting in Saul’s court . Jonathan liked David very much, with his youthful freshness and good looks that took everyone’s eye. As they talked together that they both felt the other was a special friend. They thought alike and Jonathan loved the way David appreciated God, while David felt he had someone he could trust in the dangerous court of King Saul.    Even more than Jonathan looking after David’s needs, was his appreciation of God’s plans for David’s future. He not only knew that God’s plan was for David to be the next king, but he was happy about it and planned that he would be second in command. When David was on the run for his life, he would meet him as often as he could, and encourage him in the Lord, looking to the future when he would work with David as King. They were so sure of this that they made a covenant (promise) together before the Lord promising that they would always keep it.     But the time came when they were separated, to see each other no more, and David was left without the comfort of Jonathan’s encouragement.

    Perhaps you are missing friends you once had and now you are separated from them.  What can you do?  What did David do?      David told  God all about it. Things couldn’t have looked blacker for him. His friend was gone, his enemies were still after him, and they had taken his wife and family captive and his own men had turned against him.

    We have times when we feel like this. We all have enemies of fears, doubts, and other problems, even not feeling well; these enemies  seem about to swamp us at times. David may have wondered where God was in all this mess…..where were His promises now? However could he get out of all this?     But he took himself to task…. “Why are you so cast down O my soul? Hope in God!” “Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart”. “My heart is fixed O God”, he would say, “I will sing and give You praise in spite of my enemies!”

     So we too, can fix our hearts and minds on the Lord and not be afraid of bad things. We can think about Him and count our blessings. Think of all we can be thankful for in spite of our circumstances and we  will be encouraged with a fresh outlook on things. It is surprising what a difference a thankful spirit makes, and being thankful for the outcome of our prayers BEFORE we see the answer will give the peace of God that passes all understanding.

You can read these stories about David and Jonathan in the Bible in 1 Samuel18:1-16;   20:41-42;   23:16-18

Life Lessons

My Garden…..

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    Things settled down and everything seemed to be going smoothly. I was having my daily morning times with the Lord when He would open His word to me and I talked with Him. They were precious times and I wouldn’t have missed them for anything. I had banished all the doubtful things from the study of my mind, and I was feasting on the good and pure things that He delighted in.    He was teaching me how to make the best use of my time and to make useful contacts with others. My cupboards were all clean and I had nothing to be ashamed of, or so I thought.

   One day, the Lord came to me and said with a whimsical smile, “Um, have you looked at the garden lately?” I glanced out the window, and said hastily, “But Lord, You know how busy I’ve been doing Your work, and taking time to be with You each day!”

“Ah,” He said, “But you cannot afford to get slack in anything that belongs to Me. I know I could do this work for you with a single word, but that is not  how I have ordained things. It is up to you to weed and tend this garden, or you will not be able to totally enjoy the beauty I have provided. The plants will be covered in weeds, and the dead heads on the flowers will prevent new growth and continual flowering!”

He went on….  “And look at how those crawling roses are growing so rampantly! They will lose their shape and their beauty if they are not attended to straight away!” “Oh”, I said somewhat shamefacedly, “I’m sorry Lord, I’ll get onto it straight away and promise I won’t let it get away from me again!”

   I was beginning to realise that serving the Lord is a lifelong daily task! Not only that, but it was to be a continual thing, and not just something to be played at now and then. After all, my garden was to be a thing of beauty that all who saw it would realise that the gardener (me) took the work of the Lord seriously and tried to reflect what He was teaching in His Word!

Life Lessons

Who are You Following?

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    I’ve been watching a documentary on a man following migrating geese in the Northern Hemisphere, and what a fascinating watch it has been! It reminded me of the parables that our Lord told His disciples, taking things they could see and drawing lessons from them  illustrating the truths of God to them.

     The man in our story determined that these geese would know him as their parent, and he watched over the eggs every day, talking to them as they developed. Isn’t that just like our Father in Heaven watching His creatures on earth right from conception? The Psalmist in the Bible says….I was cast upon Thee from the womb: Thou art my God from my mother’s belly  (Psalm 22:10)  Some of us have needed to be called many times before we realised this, while others have had the desire for the things of God right from a very early age.  Whichever way it happened, God has had His hand on us right from the time we were born, and He will never let us go.

      When these chickens eventually hatched, the man was there with them as they came out into their new environment. Like many newborn creatures, they identified with the first moving thing they were aware of, and in this case it was the man who had watched over them so faithfully.

      As he walked along the paddock, the baby geese followed him, and in time they began to fly. As they did this, he took to the air beside them in his microlight plane. Where he went, they followed, and every night he brought them back to the safety of the pen. As he fed them, he would chatter away to them in their language as near as he could follow it.

    There were eight of these young geese that were hatched out together, and at last the instinct began to burn within them to fly to a warmer climate for the winter. There were many dangers on the way, and the young geese had to learn which things to keep away from. Sometimes they took notice of the man in his microlight beside them, while other times they had to learn from their own mistakes. How like this we are! If we would only take heed to what God tells us in His Word, what a lot of trouble we would save ourselves! Again, the Bible says, How shall a young person cleanse his ways? By taking heed to Thy Word. and, Your Word I have hidden in my heart so I will not sin against You (Psalm 119: 9, 11).

     One of these dangers was a wind farm which tended to break up the flight path of these migrating geese, but as they began to separate, the man called out to them and they regrouped in formation following his microlight.

    One evening, they could see a golf course below them and what a delightful place it seemed. All that green grass and blue ponds called to them, but there were hidden dangers there too, in the balls that came flying at them from those smooth looking greens. This reminds us of how what looks inviting and tempting can sometimes lead to disaster. Our birds were fortunate in that none of those flying balls hit them, or interfered with their journey. Unfortunately, we don’t always  get off as freely as our birds. Sometimes we suffer the consequences of our own behaviour, and other times God steps in with an accident or some other way to bring us up with a round turn. What sometimes seems a total disaster, God can turn into good….Joseph could tell his brothers that what they meant for evil to him, God turned it into good for all of them (Genesis 50:20) and Paul tells us in the New Testament that ALL things work together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28)

      But this was not the end of the journey for our birds, and once again they all took to the air. The man knew what lay in store for them, and he knew what the end would be….they would have to leave these lush looking grounds and go it alone into the wide blue sky without him at their side. But they were not totally alone….even though the man could not go the rest of the way with them, a flock of migrating geese from elsewhere caught up with them, and our birds joined in with them and they were able to put into practice what the man had taught them up to this point.

    This is where our parable changes. As we go towards our heavenly goal, we do not have to fear being left alone at the end of our journey….it is not a crowd of heavenly beings that join with us, but our Lord Himself who takes us to Himself, even through death….He will never leave us. We only need to hang onto the words of Psalm 23 to have this assurance….even in the Valley of the Shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

     Let’s see that we each one do this, for it is the only way of no fear in our life journey right through to the end.

Life Lessons

Being a Man!

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      I came across a podcast this week which made quite an impression on me. It talked about the difference between being a man and being a boy, and shows how in men not taking their proper role in life, whether in business or in the home, they have lost their right role in being a man, and have become merely a boy again!

It talked about how in the Bible times, the men sat in the gate as protectors and law givers, not as those who laid down the law, but as those who upheld the law. A real woman back then was not a downtrodden second rate person, but one who upheld her man, and respected what he said, teaching her children to do the same. She was busy from morning to night, always doing something constructive. Her husband could trust her implicitly to always do the right thing, and he didn’t have to worry about anything that was going on in the home. (Proverbs 31:23-30)

    His neighbours and townspeople that he knew, all knew that he was an upright person. He also taught his boys to treat their mother and sisters kindly, and to respect them. This teaching started when they were little boys, and they knew that even when they were playing boisterous games, not to go too far and hurt their sisters in doing it.

    When this principle is forgotten and put to one side in the interest of “equality”, the men lose their authority and become just one of the boys again. They forget to come home on time, but prefer the company of their “mates” thus creating a vicious circle. The wife puts the uneaten meal to one side, and the children go to bed without seeing their father…father has become a “boy” with no responsibilities!

    Manhood is not about oppression. It is virtue. Duty, service. That’s what our whole life is supposed to be. At the heart of manhood and at the heart of woman hood is love. Love is patient and kind and selfless. It’s not irritable. It’s not selfish. It doesn’t insist on doing things “my way”. It rejects darkness. It rejoices in faith, and hope.

That’s manhood. At its finest.

    This  principle needs to be spread far and wide, and maybe we’ll get the men back, but we must remember too, that it is a two way thing. The women need to uphold their men, and support them in all their finest aspirations. The podcast finished up by saying….. “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times….a vicious circle!

    We are in the — in the era of hard times. Because weak, pathetic men have allowed themselves to be stomped into oblivion with lies. Women need men like fish need a bicycle. Really? Really? Men can get pregnant! These are all lies. Men need women. Any good husband knows — no. Let me rephrase that. Any good husband will do anything for his wife.

    But that actually does come from a place of love, and good women are the same. They may not understand, but they just want their husband to be happy. Hard times are here, because we have had weak men. But hard times create strong men.  That means, a new era of good men are just over the horizon.

It’s our job to raise them. It’s our job to encourage them. It’s our job to be what we should be, ourselves.”

Life Lessons

Are we Feeling Flat?

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We were down the street yesterday and when I got back to where my husband was patiently waiting, and he went to start the car, all it would do was give a flat sounding “brrrrrrr” sound. So he said, “We’ll have to get someone to come with jumper leads to start it and I’ll have to get a new battery!” And that is what happened.

    But it reminded me of how we can’t function properly as far as God is concerned without a good battery either.  We have to keep ourselves with a full battery by reading God’s Word .  Otherwise, we will go nowhere, and be good for nothing as far as He is concerned.

     It  is  like our prayer life too. There are many times when we feel as though God is far away and not hearing our prayers. But the trouble is that we have a flat battery or a loose connection between us and God, and it is not until we join the connection that the power of God flows back into our life. Let’s look at some of these things that can cut our fellowship with God.

    One of these is having a right relationship with our spouse or other members of our families. This is one of the main causes of a flat battery, and we are told that husbands in particular, are to treat their wives right or their prayers will be hindered  (1 Peter 3:7).

      Another one is having a bad attitude towards others, and unconfessed sin….King David said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me!” (Psalm 66:18)

    Wrong attitude to our money….it is not our own, but only what God has given us, so it is only reasonable to give Him His share of it.

   Habitual and continual disobedience will block our communion with God, as will a cherished sin in our hearts…..are we doing  something that we know displeases the Lord but we don’t want to give it up? This is a loose connection that causes a flat battery that will cut the communication between us and God, and we will go nowhere. The prophet Isaiah said, “Your sins have come between you and God like a thick cloud!”   (Isaiah 52:1)

   So after thinking about these things, let’s fix these loose connections in our life, get a new battery and have our communion with God restored again.

Life Lessons

Fellowship!

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We may not have thought much about fellowship before, but since it was taken away from us by the covid threats, it has been much more precious. We now realise what we have been missing all these weeks that we have been shut away from each other. In fact, fellowship is one of the ways that we are made in God’s image! Have you ever stopped to think how much God values fellowship with His people?   In fact, that is why He made man,  to have fellowship with Him!

      Look at what we are told about the first man and how God would come to earth to walk with him in the cool of each day, after man’s work was done. Then how the animals were brought to Adam to name, but they didn’t give him the fellowship he yearned for, so God made a woman to help and complement him….this is true fellowship. But it was not the ultimate fellowship….that was completed when man (and woman ) could have fellowship; with their Maker. This was a complete fellowship such as nothing else could give.

     Let’s read the account given in the Bible in Genesis, chapters 2-3…. There was one criteria to this….for this fellowship to remain unbroken, there must be absolute obedience to what God said. God gave them both just one rule…  “you can eat of any of the fruit in the garden,” He said, “But do NOT touch the fruit of the tree in the centre, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil!”

    Surely one rule would be easy enough to keep!  It was, until the tempter came along, determined to break this fellowship between God and man. We all know the story of how Eve was tempted and how she gave in and then caused Adam to disobey God’s rule as well…they both ate the forbidden fruit! They knew immediately that their fellowship with God was gone!. First, they tried to cover their nakedness which was a dismal failure, and then they tried to hide when God came to have fellowship with them that evening. They didn’t want to see Him!

    But God has a way of catching up with us. He knew what Adam and Eve had done….he knows all that WE do too! There was only one way to rectify their disobedience, and that was for the blood of an animal to be shed, and its skin taken to make a permanent covering for Adam and Eve. Then once more they could face God, but they had to take the consequences of their disobedience in taking away the fellowship that they had become familiar with, and had taken for granted. For Adam, it was having to work hard to grow his food; for Eve it was having to bear children in pain, and to look to her husband for protection. For them both, there was only one way to restore that precious fellowship that they had known with God before, and that was through the death of a lamb as a sacrifice. They clearly understood this and told their sons about it when they became old enough to understand. We read about this in Genesis chapter four, verses 1-6.

   You might ask how we can have this same fellowship with God today. We don’t have animal sacrifices today, because God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to live a sinless life and yet wicked men took Him and killed Him with a vicious death. His  sinless death covers ALL our sins and disobediences  if  we  will  only  believe  it  for ourselves….. “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses me from ALL sin” we read in 1 John 1:7. So because of this, we can each experience true fellowship with God as He intended it to be!

Life Lessons

Stand Off!

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     The protest in our capital city shows no sign of abating, with both sides determined not to give in. The protestors are being very vocal, determined to make their presence noticed, while the other side is equally determined to not allow their adversaries the satisfaction of seeing them face to face. The general  media did its best to keep out of the fray, reporting only the bare minimum, but this did not stop the protestors the full use of social media online, and comments were flying up on this non stop.

     More and more people were making their way to support the hecklers, and still other groups were forming in smaller centres around the country, all determined to make their voices and feelings heard and seen. Both sides wanted the freedom to make their own choices regarding the way to tackle the current pandemic.

      It seemed obvious that if this were the case, then free choice brings responsibility for the consequences of this. It brought to mind, that the inevitability of choice is consequences. If we choose to drive on the wrong side of the road, there will be a car crash sooner or later. If we jump off the top of a cliff, there will be broken bones, or worse still, a dead body at the bottom! Any foolish action incurs the risk of a dangerous end. Yet, even in knowing this, people want to be free to make these choices for themselves.

    We might not realise this, but this desire for freedom is a God-given thing. Choice is something we all have had given to us, right from the time we were born. We can choose to do the right thing, what we are told to do, and be safe, or we can choose to disobey, and suffer the consequences!

     This is just as plain in spiritual things as it is in physical things. The only difference is that spiritual things go on for eternity, while physical things come to an end in this life. The problem that most people don’t seem to realise, is that whether we like to face it or not, we ALL have a spiritual side to our life, a dimension that goes on for eternity. This is where the biggest choice we have to make comes in….do we want to face this or not??? We cannot sit on the fence in this matter, we have to make the choice between light and darkness, between life and death. Let’s be brave and face up to this choice now!

Life Lessons, Uncategorized

How Do we Take the Heat?

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      As we go forward into the year of 2022, we are finding that things are not really improving at all. The restrictions that we suffered from the previous year are still there, and in fact in some cases are even more onerous than last year. The hopes that we had, that things would improve and that we would get more freedoms, have already gone down the drain. Yes, some of the rules have relaxed with promises of others to follow, but it is the small things that people are finding so trying.

    As this is being written, there is a group of protestors sitting on the front lawn of the Parliament Buildings in our capital city, chanting and making a nuisance of themselves simply to get the government’s attention. People are getting exasperated with all the small details of the rules that seem to them to be unnecessary. On top of all that, the weather is typical February weather of hot steamy temperatures which is trying enough in itself without any other annoyances.

    But let us stop and think about all these things for a minute. How are we allowing these fires and trials affect us? We can allow them to either make us better or to make us bitter! Remember the boiling water in the pot will make the potato soft while it makes an egg go hard….which are we going to allow ourselves to be? The choice is ours. Our outward circumstances may be the same, but the inward results can be very different depending on  how we respond.

     If we read and take notice of what God says, we will have the strength  to stand firm in spite of these annoyances….the Bible says, “ Your Word I have hidden in my heart so I will not sin against You!”     (Psalm 119:11). If we do this, we will have a message to pass on to others from our own experiences, and this will carry far  more weight than merely telling other people what they should do!!