What is Truth?

March 11, 2022 Gwenyth Leave a comment

There are so many rumours and stories flying around the place, by word of mouth, by social media, and worse still what we are being fed by the news people, that we really don’t know what to believe at all!! When we do find someone we feel we can believe what they say, and then we see that it was all just a made up story after all, we really feel let down. Once we hear the same things being pumped into our ears day after day, we have every right to begin to doubt what we hear.

Things that we want to hear then turn out to be false, and we don’t know which way to turn! People we once trusted then changing their minds and turning against the very things they were once saying! Just who DO we believe?

We hear our leaders and those in places of authority saying that the truth is what you want it to be, and that the truth that is for you, may not be the truth for another person! There seems to be a multiplicity of truths, and we don’t know which one is right!

When we get to this stage, there is only one thing to do and that is to turn to the One Who is the truth. We may not like this, but where else is there to turn? Who else can we trust? Jesus Christ says in the Bible , “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life! No one comes to the Father but through Me!” (John 14:6) This is the word of truth that resonates all through the Bible…. “Your word is truth” says the Psalmist (Psalm 119:160), and then he could say, “Teach me Your way, O Lord, I will walk in Your truth” (Psalm 86:11)

The Roman governor, when faced with this One with the piercing eyes waiting at the judgement seat said after hearing all the accusations that were being hurled at Him, “What is truth?” and this is what we feel like saying at times….. “Well, WHAT is the truth?” Jesus didn’t answer Pilate at this question, and Pilate had to go out to those who were accusing Him to say, “I don’t find any fault in Him at all!” Yet they still wanted to get rid of Him.

As we are approaching the Easter season which is the time of the year that His death and resurrection are celebrated by church people, let us try to evaluate what the truth really is, and to follow the One who is the Truth sincerely. After all, there is nothing else solid to base our beliefs on.

Morning Musings

In God’s Image!

March 4, 2022 Gwenyth Leave a comment

There’s a statement in Genesis chapter one, verses twenty-six to thirty-one that tells us how and where man came to be and why. There is no need to go any further, not to scientists or explorers, philanthropists or other wise men of the world. God has told us all we need to know, and as one old friend of ours once said, “God says it, I believe it, and that settles it!” Here is the Biblical account…..

Genesis 1:26 ….Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. ²⁷So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food .³⁰Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. ³¹Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

I pondered this passage and thought about it a lot….in what way was I created to be like God? In the first place we are all three part beings with a body, soul and spirit. God Himself is a three part Being, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Then God desires fellowship with man….a freely given, reciprocal friendship. We too, want fellowship with other people in general, and another person in particular. We have the capacity to fellowship with God, our Creator, and always feel that something is missing until we have it. Without this connection we only have a two dimensional outlook on life, like a flat picture….with it, we see things in a 3D effect, being a part of what is around. We can appreciate the creation of God and look at things with different eyes, marvelling at His creativity and giving Him thanks for what He has made.

There is another way we are made in His image….we can think and reason, we can create things. Think of the craftsman who makes a beautiful piece of furniture, the artist who can paint a lovely picture, the inventor who thinks up these amazing things that we take for granted every day!

We are told that at the end of the creation period, God looked at all He had made and saw that it was “very good”. As each thing was created, He could see that it was good, but when He created man to top it all off, He felt that it was VERY good! Think of the satisfaction we have of doing a good job well! The satisfaction of seeing a perfect cake come out of the oven, a garment that has been lovingly made fitting to perfection, the shining car performing as it should….another proof that we are made in God’s image!

We can see too, that man has the capacity to utilise all that God has created….all these things were created for man’s use and enjoyment. Let us acknowledge this and give Him the thanks and praise for it all, and be careful to not abuse the trust that He has given us!

Grandma's Stories

The Green Sheep!

February 25, 2022 Gwenyth Leave a comment

Bobby was jumping up and down with excitement. Uncle Jeff had just pulled into their driveway, and he always had some story to tell. Uncle Jeff was a train driver, and if that were not exciting enough, he always saw the funny side of things that happened on the side of the railway line as he went by. It didn’t take as much concentration as driving on the road, so there was plenty of time to look around as the train chugged along the line.

After Uncle Jeff got settled down with a cup of tea in his hand, Bobby snuggled up to him and said, “How did your train driving go last week, Uncle Jeff?”

“Well”, said Uncle Jeff, “We had quite an eventful week last week. We saw lots of animals near the line in different places”.

“Oh”, said Bobby, “Do tell us about them! What were they? ”

“One day we went past this farm where there was a pond for drinking water at the bottom of the hill. The sheep were all in a mob up near the railway line, so I gave a loud toot on the train whistle as we went past. You know, those silly sheep took fright and went galloping down towards the pond. When they got to it, they split in half and some went one way around it while the others went the other way. But would you believe it, there was one sheep sillier than the rest because it kept going straight ahead and flipped straight into the water! It was so funny to watch”, and Uncle Jeff chuckled as he remembered it all over again.

“Can sheep swim?” Bobby asked.

“Well, we asked ourselves the same question”, Uncle Jeff said, “But you know they can!”

“How do you know?” Bobby asked.

“Well, when we came back, we saw the same mob up near the line again”, Uncle Jeff said, “And this time there was one wet green sheep with them! He hadn’t only gone into the pond, but it was full of green slime and weeds, and the sheep got covered in it all. So he came out a green sheep. Ha,ha”, and Uncle Jeff laughed again at the memory of it all.

“Oh, that WAS funny!” Bobby said, “ What are the other stories?”

“They will have to wait for another time”, Uncle Jeff said as he got up and took his mug out to the kitchen and began to talk to the grown-ups there.

There’s a moral to this story…..the Bible says we are all like sheep that have gone astray, we have all gone our own way and it’s only the Lord Jesus that can get us out of the mess we find ourselves in. Out of all those sheep that went running down the hill, most of them turned and kept out of trouble. All except for the one that went straight into the pond! That one is just like us when we follow the mob that is running into danger. We have to make sure that we use our head before we lose it, and be careful to keep away from friends who take us to wrong places.

Life Lessons

Stand Off!

February 18, 2022 Gwenyth Leave a comment

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?

February 10, 2022 Gwenyth Leave a comment

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!!

Grandma's Stories

Why Bread and Wine?

February 3, 2022 Gwenyth Leave a comment

Bobby and Sarah were riding home from church with Uncle Jeff one Sunday after the morning church service, as he was coming to their place for lunch. Both of the young people were more silent than usual, and in the end Uncle Jeff said, “Is something bothering you Bobby?”

“Well, not exactly,” Bobby said, “But I’d like to know a few things”.

“Like what?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Well,” said Bobby slowly, “What I’d like to know is about this bread and wine stuff they have during the service”.

“What do you know about it Sarah?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Well, I know it comes from the Bible, it’s not just a thing that people have made up to look good”, she replied.

“I guess it must mean something,” Bobby said, “But I’ve never heard anyone really explain it”.

“Perhaps you weren’t really listening”, Uncle Jeff said, “Haven’t you noticed what sort of prayers are said just before the bread is given out? What about you Sarah?”

“It’s usually a thank-you prayer”, she said, “Thanking the Lord Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins.”

“That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “But there is a lot more to it all than just that. How do you think the bread is made?”

“It’s made out of flour”, Bobby said.

“And how does flour get to be made?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Well, it gets ground up out of the grains of wheat or whatever other grain is used”, Sarah said.

“If the wheat grains had feelings, do you think it would have been hurt in the grinding process?” Uncle Jeff went on to say.

“Oh,” said Sarah slowly, “So you are saying that the bread is like the Lord Jesus being hurt so badly when He died on the cross”.

“That’s right, Sarah, ” said Uncle Jeff, “What is the next process in making bread?”

“It gets mixed up with other things and then it’s baked in the oven,” Bobby said, “I DO like new bread!”

“What do you think the meaning of that is as far as the Lord Jesus was concerned?” Uncle Jeff asked getting back to the point.

“Being in the oven is very hot”, Sarah said, “I guess it was like that for Him when God turned away from Him when he took our sins on Himself.”

“Yes, that is quite true,” Uncle Jeff continued, ” and what’s more what is the bread like when it comes out of the oven?”

“Yum, yum,” said Bobby, “I LIKE new bread!”

“Did you know that the Lord Jesus could say that He was the bread of life? That was all because He died to save us from our sins! ”

“So that is what it is all about?” Sarah said, “Thanks so much for explaining that. What about the wine then? Is that something the same? ”

“Yes, the picture is the same”, Uncle Jeff said, “ The grapes have to be crushed first to get the juice out of them, and then there is a further process the juice goes through before it will keep. How do you think this is a picture of the Lord Jesus?”

“He lost a lot of His blood while He was on the cross”, Sarah said thoughtfully, “Almost as though it was crushed out of Him!”

“Yes, and some people drink wine to make them feel happy, and when they have something to celebrate; another thing about wine is that it is a healer if you put it on sores, and it stops you feeling thirsty,” Uncle Jeff said, “And what’s more it lasts without going rotten.

“Does all this make sense to you Bobby?”

“Ye-e-es, I guess so”, Bobby said. “So it’s all a picture of what Jesus has done for us. It won’t seem so boring now in church, now that I know what it all means. But why is it only big young people who take it and grown ups? Why can’t I do it?”

Uncle Jeff had been expecting this question, and he said, “I know that a lot of young children have given their hearts to Jesus, and they would love to do this, but you know people do change their minds as time goes by. Remember the time when you thought you would like to milk cows when you grew up?”

“Yes”, said Sarah nudging Bobby, “And remember how you used to say you were going to marry Jenny when you grew up?”

“Yuk!”, said Bobby, “I’ve changed my mind, that’s all!”

“Well, you see we have to make sure that you are grown up enough to understand what it is all about and you want to do it to please the Lord Jesus Himself, not just because Jack in the next seat takes it!”

“Oh!” said Bobby, “Well, I don’t think I’m going to change my mind about this, but I only want to do it to please God and because it says so in the Bible!”

“That’s great!” said Uncle Jeff as he turned in to their driveway, “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling hungry. Let’s go inside and see what Mum has ready for us for lunch!”

Life Lessons

How to Do It!

January 26, 2022 Gwenyth Leave a comment

Our sermon this week followed on from the previous week. It’s one thing to know what we should do, but the question remains, how do we go about it? In the passage of Scripture (Ephesians 6:14-18) that this talk was based on, we are given a blow by blow account of the WHOLE armour and weapons at our disposal and how to use them.

Firstly, there is the belt of truth, and we see this belt is missing in so many of our leaders today….we simply can’t take any notice of what they say! Yes, they may be sincere and think they mean what they say, but it could be a different story to putting it into practice…they simply didn’t know enough about the situation of the things they were promising! We must always make sure before we make a promise that we have gone into it thoroughly first, and KNOW what we are talking about!

The truth of any matter is the foundation that our words are built on, and without that our statements and promises are valueless!

Next we must be wearing the boots of something solid….in this case, the Gospel of Peace. We must KNOW that what we base our statements on is solid! Boots are no good if they don’t fit properly, and our feet slide around in them….they let us down in the end and we have to take them off with having blisters and sore feet.

Then we must pick up and use the shield of faith. This is the basis of all that we believe in…without faith we don’t have stability, and waver from side to side. We are told that we cannot please our General (God) without having this shield with us (Hebrews 11:6)….we have to know the One we believe in, and we cannot believe in Him without having faith that He exists. The shield of faith also helps us to fight off the fiery darts of unbelief and doubt that our enemy shoots at us….it gives us the confidence to face him and stand firm. We are told by James to resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7)

We are to be wearing the helmet of salvation to protect our head…..our thoughts and our mind….what a person thinks about is what they do and how they act. Not only that but we are to take up the sword of the Spirit with us to fight with. We might ask how we can do that…. we are told that the Bible, is not only God’s Word to us, but is also the Sword of the Spirit! We need to know it thoroughly to use it effectively.

We are fully provided for, and now it is up to us to use it all. The overall covering is that of prayer, both for ourselves and also for those we know. Just as there is full communication in a family, so there must be for us in the family of God…communication with Him as our Father and supplication for strength for each other, especially in the troubling times we find ourselves in these days.

Morning Musings

Stand Fast!

January 16, 2022 Gwenyth Leave a comment

Standing Fast!

In the sermon we were listening to this week, we were exhorted to Stand fast! It is so much easier to go with the flow, to float downstream than to paddle against the current, to stick to your convictions than to give in to popular opinion.

We have seen this in the last few weeks in our community, our church and in our family. How much do our convictions mean to us? We have seen more than one who will not give in, lose their jobs. All they have striven for through the years, and almost their freedoms of movement have gone.

If we had been told that this would happen in this free country of New Zealand three years ago, we would not have thought it possible. Now we find ourselves barred from certain areas, as we are told to move on by authoritarian voices, and who knows how much worse it will get! But if we can do this in the secular world, does it follow on in our spiritual life which is far more important? We are told by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 16 :13 to “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong”. And again in Ephesians 6:11-13 we are given the reason why this is so necessary.

We aren’t in this fight alone, God has provided His armour for us to use, but our part is to take it up and use it. Stand up for what is right and don’t give in!

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