Conversation

 

If you know how many times you have had to 'bite your tongue' as my mother used to say, you will agree with the apostle James who wrote, "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity (James 3:6) and "..the tongue no-one can tame, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison" (James 3:8).

I've had a few occasions recently to think about a Bible verse which says, Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29 NIV).  This is quite a challenge, but wait, there's more!  Jesus said  "A good person out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things." Matthew 12:35, and "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" Luke 6:45. He then went on to give this serious challenge, "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak." That's a very sobering thought!   

The Bible has a lot to say about the tongue, particularly in James 1:26 there is this very strong word, "If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless."   Later it likens the tongue to a small flame that can set a whole forest on fire. James then goes on to say in 3:6, "We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check."  Phew!  We know that there was only one perfect person, Jesus Christ.  Does that let me off the hook?  No! But it does mean we should try to do better, without 'falling into a hole' when we fail......which we will. 

So what is 'unwholesome talk'?  Some translations say 'foul language', but I think it means much more than that.  It's words that criticise or put people down, even people we don't know but see on TV or read gossip about.  It's words that are not kind, words of anger and frustration.  You can make your own list.  Ephesians 4:29 says our words should aim to be helpful and encouraging, that they may benefit those who listen.  That's a really good thing to aim for. 

It's too easy to get caught up in conversations that don't fit into those parameters, and so easy to  speak careless, unnecessary words. It is so easy to be misunderstood and our words misinterpreted, even if we have the best of intentions.  What a different world it would be if we all thought about our words a little more, and the effect that they might have on others.  Some use the guideline "is it good, is it necessary, is it kind?"  The psalmist prayed this useful prayer, "Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips." Psalm 141:3

Prayer:  Lord you know my weakness, you know my moods, my opinions, my sins.  Forgive me, I pray and help me to cooperate with your Holy Spirit to let my conversation be acceptable to you. Help me not to cause others to stumble.  Amen

Still On The Potter's Wheel

                                                                        Photo: Brad Wood

Life is full of surprises.......my friend Brad, who made this beautiful pot, only  recently discovered the joy of moulding clay into useful vessels and works of art.  He has been so busy 'at the wheel' I cheekily asked him if it had become an obsession.  He then shared with me how he had discovered this wonderful gift, but that's his story to tell.

I was reminded of a song from many years ago that was based on some Bible verses from Isaiah 64:8....... And yet, O LORD, you are our Father.  We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.  Then of another similar passage.....But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Jeremiah 18:4 NLT.

Why was I thinking about the potter's wheel?  Stuff happens!  I have learned over the years that, for a follower of Jesus Christ, it usually happens for a purpose, and often it's for the purpose of making us more like Him.  It's called sanctification.  When 'stuff happened' for me recently it made me realise that I am still on the Potter's wheel.  I needed a bit more moulding and shaping, a bit more growing and learning! It's not comfortable, but it's worth it if we allow ourselves to be shaped by the Master Potter.

I often say that we should wear a T shirt which reads "Be patient with me, God isn't finished with me yet". It's so true, we are all a work in progress and to remember that should enable us to be patient with ourselves and with others.

The good news is that we don't have to remain a 'wonky pot'!  If we give God permission to reshape us, we can become something beautiful, something good......the words of a Bill Gaither song come to mind......

         Something beautiful, something good

        All my confusion, He understood.

        All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife

        But He made something beautiful of my life.

Don't despair if you keep falling or failing.  Allow the Potter to remould you and make you into something for His pleasure and glory. Be warned though, it's a lifelong process until we move to glory.

Prayer:  Father God, help me to allow you to make me like you.  Amen

The Pace of Life

 

One of the huge pressures of life in today's world is "so much to do, so little time".  Each of us is given 24 hours and how we use it is largely up to us.  Sometimes it doesn't feel like we are in control though, as there are so many things we 'ought', or need to do.

When I was a young mum..... about a hundred years ago....... I had posted behind the toilet door a pretty poster with the words of a poem that I have since found out, (in the days of Google), were written by one Wilfred Arlon Peterson.  Here are the first few lines.

Slow me down, Lord

Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.

Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills.

Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams

that live in my memory.  Help me to know the magical restoring power of sleep.

Teach me the art of taking minute vacations - of slowing down to look at a flower,

to chat with a friend, 

to pat a dog, 

to read a few lines from a good book.......

I was blessed to be a full-time mum while my children were growing up, but I obviously still felt the pressure of time.  Though it must have been quite unlike the pressures today, my heart was crying out for the Lord to slow me down.  It is only now, all those years later, that I am learning (or yielding) to trust God in this.  You will often hear people who have retired say, "I don't know how I found time to work."  Retirement can also be busy and demanding, depending on how much we put into our calendar, or allow others to do so.

Something I have long struggled with is a feeling of guilt about needing to do this or that, to attend this meeting or that, or help this one or that.  I have always enjoyed offering hospitality to people but it often became a nightmare for poor Col as I became stressed about 'getting everything done right'.  Oh dear!  But that is what happens, isn't it?  The people around us pay a price for the pressure we put upon ourselves.

In very recent years I have begun to love, love, love The Message version of Matthew 11:28-30, and maybe it will grab you too.  Jesus says....

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?  Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.  Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

If you feel it's impossible to 'come to Jesus and get away with him', can I encourage you to ask God how to do that.  Allow him to somehow rearrange your programme so that you can learn the unforced rhythms of grace from him.  In his 3 short years of ministry, Jesus always seemed to be surrounded by the demands of people but he never seemed in a hurry.  He 'stopped for the one' as Heidi Baker says.  He also often went aside, alone, to talk to his Father in heaven.

All these years later I am still growing and learning, it never stops, but the peace I am finding in trying to walk with Jesus in these unforced rhythms of grace is something I long for you to find too.  The place where we find peace and joy, strength and patience and all those wonderful fruits of the Spirit, that hopefully bring joy and glory to God.

Prayer:  Jesus, help me to come away with you, leave my burdens with you, to ask your wisdom and your help for each day.  Help me to walk in your unforced rhythms of grace.  Amen

Why Suffering?

                                                 Photo by Barry Doig

 

Many of us struggle to make sense of suffering, our own or others. But it takes such varied and complex forms that it has to be left to God. Often though we feel the need to try to find reasons but, as in the case of Job, there seems to be none.  His self-righteous friends thought that it MUST be that he had sinned against God, but  God put them right about that – in the end! 

Be assured that, in my musings today, I will not be trying to put your struggles to rest forever, for that is not possible.  Over the centuries many others have already tried to understand the reasons for suffering, with varying results.  These are just observations that came out of my Bible reading this morning. The story went like this……

 

Hezekiah became king at age 25 and he reigned in Judah for 29 years from about 715 BC.  Unlike his father, King Ahaz who had “encouraged the people to sin, and had been utterly unfaithful to the Lord” (2 Chronicles 28:19), Hezekiah had restored worship and faithfully followed the Lord. In spite of this 14 years into his reign Hezekiah became sick, and the prophet Isaiah came with a message from God that this sickness would cause him to die.

 

I could say that Hezekiah ‘didn’t take this lying down’, but he did, for he was laying on his sickbed.  The Bible says that he turned his face to the wall and started talking to God. “Remember, O LORD, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly. (2 Kings 20:1-11).  In a nutshell, God heard his prayer instantly, because it says that before Isaiah had left the middle court, God gave him a message for Hezekiah - that he would live another 15 years. 

 

The account of this in 2 Kings stops there, but when Isaiah the prophet wrote about it, he included a prayer that Hezekiah wrote after his healing.  It’s worth a read Isaiah 38:9-20. In verse 17 Hezekiah seems to have reached his own conclusion about his suffering.  He says, ​“Indeed it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness; but you have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption….” I wonder if he had started to move away from God and in His kindness God stopped him in his tracks and turned his eyes back to his Maker?  Hezekiah seemed to think so.

 

For Christians who suffer I would dare to say that it is never wasted when we faithfully follow God. Some of the most beautiful poems and hymns have been written as a result of continued trust in the face of suffering.  Joni Eareckson Tada is one of my heroes of faith.  She became a quadriplegic as a result of a diving accident when she was only 18.  She just wanted to die, but she found a reason to live and to glorify God in her life.  Today in her 70s she continues to have an amazing ministry which blesses many.  Check this link out. https://www.epm.org/blog/2022/Sep/12/joni-eareckson-tada-resolve

 

Are you suffering in some way today?  Have you turned to God to make sense of it?  If you do that, I pray that he will help you to see his great love and purpose in the midst of it, and enable you to go on and allow him to use it for good.  Romans 8:28 assures believers of this…..”For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  The ways that God can use suffering for good are too many to number!

 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, in my struggles and suffering help me to trust that you are using them for your greater purposes. Please be glorified in my life so that I may honour your name.  Amen

Precious Things

The recent coronation of King Charles III, with all its pomp and ceremony, displayed many precious items. The crowns, the orb, the swords and spurs that were presented to Charles were probably quite priceless, certainly things of great beauty and artisanship.  

Yet among it all, the most precious, and possibly the least valued in the sight of the world, was a specially printed edition of the Bible and it is this that interests me the most.  Not just that particular volume, which I'm sure is very beautiful, but the words contained between it's covers.  Words that were written by 40 authors on 3 different continents (Europe, Africa and Asia), over a period of 1500 to 1600 years. Words that were inspired by the Holy Spirit and watched over by God for a few more hundred years until it was brought into the Bible as we have it today.

It continues to be the world's best seller with around 100 million copies sold annually.  The whole Bible has been translated into nearly 700 languages while the New Testament is in 1550 languages. It is God's word to us, his creation.  The Old Testament tells the history of his dealings with his chosen people, the Jews. Many get a mental block about the Old Testament but it deserves to be studied and needs to be studied if we are to understand the New Testament properly.  It is filled with history, wisdom, songs and prophecy.  It is fascinating, and the more you study it the more you will want to.

All this to say that the Bible is the most precious thing in all the world, (in my humble opinion!), and probably the most neglected.  It contains words of life and wisdom for living this life, it contains words of hope for everlasting life for those who choose to accept the truth of its message.  It contains comfort, instruction and encouragement.  The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor, "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true, and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us and teaches us to do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16 NLT.

Over hundreds of years people have given their lives for this Book; for translating it, for printing it, for preaching it and even for owning it.  Even today there are thousands, maybe millions of people in our world who risk their lives to live and preach the truth of the Bible.  Thousands more long to have even a part of the Bible to read.  Do you value God's word as they do?  Do you take time to read it, to think on it, to live by it?  I pray that you will, for it contains words of life-giving value for anything you may face.  I venture to say that we live in days that are becoming increasingly dark, and more difficult in so many ways, and it is not going to get better.  Press into God through a commitment to reading his word to strengthen yourself for the days that lie ahead.  

The Bible is available online and through many apps that you can download to phone or tablet.  One that Colin and I have been particularly enjoying recently is Lectio 365.  Check it out, https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/lectio-365/ 

Prayer:  Father God, thank you for inspiring the writing of the Bible, thank you for the people who have given their lives and dedication to you so that we might know you through your word.  I pray for those who still wait for a copy of this precious book, that you would answer their prayers.  Help me to have a hunger to know more of your truth, help me to read your word in some form daily. Amen

Connectivity

I wonder how many of you find yourself, like me, frustrated at the various facets of modern technology.  Yesterday and today I have been frustrated by Google and it's security.  I found that I had to change my password which has resulted in far too many requirements and texts to ascertain that it is me.  I thought I was done with it all yesterday and today it began all over again!  I wonder if I'll be sure of my own identity when Google has finished with me!!  Now another requests pops up as I'm typing....is this going to continue.  My inner voice cries out, "How long, Lord, how long?" 

However.....I must remember that there are many benefits from the connectivity we enjoy these days and decide to be thankful for them.  Actually the situation has worked for me today because I had in mind (yesterday), to write about connection - with others and with God, so here is my practical example.

I believe that humans were made for connection with each other.  Over the years Col & I have lived in a number of countries and have made wonderful friends in each place.  With modern technology we are blessed to be able to keep those connections very easily by phone, Facetime, Messenger, email, and any number of other apps available to connect with others. Unlike my mother, who had left her big family in the UK when I was just 5, who had to wait weeks for letters which connected her with her Mum and family far away.  We have it so easy today, but sociologists tell us that loneliness (i.e. lack of connection) is a big problem.  Why?

Possibly, because we connect, but not really on a deep level.  There is something about face to face contact with others that fills a need in most of us.  I enjoy time alone very much but I still find that I am 'fed' in a certain way by social contact, so I need to work on having those connections. We need the balancing factor of others in our lives. We need to exchange ideas, be challenged by opposing thoughts, because they make us think.  I often process things best in conversation with others as I'm not a natural 'thinker'.  

Deeper still (and you know I'll always tell you this!), we have an innate need to connect with God in whose image we are made.  This is the greatest privilege offered to humanity and the least used.  Prayer is that connection that is open to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us not neglect it because as Billy Graham said "You will never understand who you are until you understand who God is."  Wonderful Corrie Ten Boom challenges us still with her words, "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tyre?"

Connect afresh with God today by "coming boldly to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).  I commend to you one of my favourite passages of scripture - Psalm 37:1-8.  Read it here.

Prayer: God, forgive me for the times I have not turned to you first in my needs.  Help my connectivity with you be the most important thing, and then, help me to connect in life-giving ways  to those I meet.  Amen

Signs of our Times?

 

This morning I was watching an interview between a journalist and a person from an educational institution.  The topic of conversation was artificial intelligence, specifically the new chatbot called ChatGPT , launched in November 2022, which is causing some concern among some people who understand the huge and dangerous implications of AI. 

What 'floored' me was the secular journalist beginning the interview with "Tell me what's happening.  Are we in the end times or what......?" Wow, I wonder what his understanding of end times is. A discussion ensued on the incredible ability of this artificial intelligence that has even been found to lie to a question!

Earlier this month our NZ Prime Minister was caught on the hop with an unexpected question from a journalist in a press conference.  He was asked what his definition of 'a woman' was.  He apologised that he was not prepared enough to give an answer!  It should be an easy question to answer in the normal course of things, however there is not much 'normal' in our current crazy, politically correct, world.

According to the Bible the last days, or end times, are the days between Jesus death and return to heaven until he comes again in judgement.  That, at the moment is about 2,000 years.  Yes, there are many thoughts on the end times but the Bible makes a few things very clear.

The prophet Daniel was given much information by God about 'the times of the end' when 'many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase'. Daniel 12:4.  Timothy wrote to the early church 'that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 Timothy 3:1.  "That word perilous can mean, harsh, savage, difficult, dangerous, painful, fierce, grievous, hard to deal with. The word describes a society that is barren of virtue but abounding with vices". (Quote from a note in my Spirit Filled Life Bible.)    In his previous letter Timothy had written this,  "Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.  These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. " 1 Timothy 4:1-2

Jesus also spoke of end times in Matthew 24:3-13, what it would be like.  Check it out for yourself here, (https://biblia.com/bible/esv/matthew/24/3-13 ). As I watch world news I become more and more convinced that time is short.  Wars, famine and floods are everywhere. Evil is rampant as are the elements. The apostle John wrote...."we know that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (Satan)". 1 John 5:19.

So where does this leave humankind?  Peter said, "Therefore since these things will be dissolved (i.e. the heavens and the earth), what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness..." 2 Peter 10-11).  

Daily I am thankful for the peace that I have through faith in Jesus Christ.  I don't wonder what the world is coming to because the Bible tells me clearly what it is coming to and I do not fear, because He has me, and all those who confess his name and walk in obedience to His truth, under his protection and destined for a new world which is eternal.  You can have that peace and assurance too. You have a choice to make. All are welcome.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. John 3:16-19