God Has a Purpose for Your Phone…..
Technology is a gift from God. When we read the Bible, we find that at the beginning of time, God created two people, naked and alone in a beautiful garden, and gave them a worldwide task: to spread out across this world and exercise dominion over it. In order to do that, they would need to invent technologies.
If they were going to plant and harvest crops to feed their family, they would first need to invent a plough. If they were going to spread out across the earth to settle countries and build cities, they would need to invent bridges and boats. In that way, technology is good. Technology is a means through which we can carry out the very purpose for which God created us.
Then, when Jesus was on this earth, he gave his people a new job description that is meant to go along with the first. He told us to take the gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, into all the world. And again, one of the ways we do so is through inventing and using technologies. No wonder, then, that Christians are always paying attention when a new technology shakes the world. Every technology is an opportunity.
When you understand the orders God has given you, you see that God has great purposes in mind for your technologies, and even your smartphone. That phone can be used to organize your life better so you can accomplish more of the things that matter most; it can be used to communicate with others so you can speak good news into their lives; it can be used to read the Bible and list your prayers; it can be used in hundreds of ways that serve the purposes God has given you. Thank God for our smartphones!
Satan Has a Purpose for Your Phone….
Unfortunately, there is far more to the story. No sooner did God create man and give him this worldwide mission than man fell into sin. Adam and Eve determined they would disobey God, and when they did that, they brought sin into this world. Technology did not escape unscathed. It, too, exists in this fallen world. This reality means that every technology, including your new phone, can be used to do things that are evil. God has purposes for your phone, but so does Satan.
Because this is a world caught up in a great cosmic battle between good and evil, every new technology enters into the fight. Every technology brings some benefits and some risks. For every good thing your phone can do, there are other evil things it can do.
You will have the choice before you every day and every moment — will you use it for good or for evil? Will you use it to carry out the tasks God has given you, or will you use it to hinder those tasks? Will you use your phone to serve God or to serve Satan? Thank God for your smartphone, but plead with him for wisdom to use it well.
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All posts by Gwenyth
The Storms of Life.
We attended a Bible conference recently that was being held in the small chapel where we grew up as children and young people. We try to make a point of attending this conference each year, partly for old times’ sake, and partly for fellowship to catch up with old friends from years before.
There were two speakers this year, and the two talks during the afternoon sessions really made an impact as they seemed to dovetail together beautifully. The first speaker talked about the Storms of Life, and this was a topic he spoke of from the heart. It had only been four years since his wife died with cancer. He broke his talk into three parts, showing how the Lord speaks to us in these three aspects of the storms of life that we all experience at different times.
When the disciples experienced the worst storm of their life, they had been sent across the lake by Jesus Christ. The disciples were experienced fishermen who could read the weather signs and knew how to handle these sudden storms that whipped up the lake surface into a frenzy. Jesus knew all this, and He knew a storm was coming up that would test them to the maximum. They hadn’t made a mistake that brought this upon them, they were there for a purpose.
Remember this….Jesus Christ knows the storm we are in at any given time. He could have stopped the storm coming to the disciples, but He wanted to show them His power. He knows the storm that I may be in right now, but He wants me to go through it so He can show me His power and refine the dross out of my life and strengthen the faith I have in Him.
The Lord speaks to us in these three ways ….
In the storm….He comes to us through the storm, walking on the water…”I will never leave you”, He says.
Through the storm… He reminds us that He is there with us…”don’t be afraid”, He says, “trust Me”.
The storm within you….often when these storms come, they attack us from the inside. We are all in a turmoil because of circumstances beyond our control, and wonder where we are going to turn next.
Don’t be afraid of being afraid….storms always have an end. There will be a period of calm when it is over and then another one may come but because we have proved our Lord’s help with the first one, we have confidence within the next one.
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
We cannot build our house during the storm, we must have it built before it comes!
Remember….He is the Lord of all our storms.
Transitions….
The next speaker spoke about transitions and how the peace after the storm usually precedes a transition….and transitions are never peaceful, they are a time of turmoil. Take the birth of a child….a time of labour for the mother and time of turmoil for the child leaving the womb to enter this world, and then turmoil for the rest of their lives! So many things in our lives are a transition….a new baby brings a whole new way of life to a couple; a move to a new area is a period of turmoil until settled in; children reaching the teenage years bring a transition for both themselves and their parents.
Then again there is the transition into the empty nest syndrome and finally into retirement. But that is not the end….what about the transition into the retirement village and then the rest home? What about the transition of the loss of a spouse? It seems that the whole of life is a series of transitions. We need the Lord’s help in each of these transitions in life. Nothing remains static…change is the essence of life. Let’s make sure that we approach each of these transitions with the peace of God in our heart and mind.
Be anxious about nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
We had a lot to think about as we made our way back home.
“I Can’t See You; You Can’t See Me!”
Uncle Jeff laughed as he watched the little girl hiding her face against her father’s legs. “Haha”, he laughed, “she thinks we can’t see her if she can’t see us! That reminds me of something I saw the other day while taking the train down to the city”.
“Oh, do tell us, Uncle Jeff”, Bobby said.
“Yes, please”, said Betty as she climbed up beside him.
Sarah crept in behind him pretending she wasn’t really listening, but she like Uncle Jeff’s stories as much as the others did.
“Well”, said Uncle Jeff, “We often see this sheep and goat in a paddock near the train line as we go past. We call them Sheepley and Goatley. But last week, they were through the fence right beside the line. We could see them as we came round the corner, but there’s no way we can stop the train when it’s going full speed. So we blew the whistle as loudly as it would go. Both Sheepley and Goatley looked up and saw the train coming, so they ran to the fence where they had got through. But they couldn’t find the hole they had crawled through, so they each stuck their head through the fence and thought they were safe. They looked so funny!! Haha!” and Uncle Jeff started laughing again as he remembered it.
“What silly things!” Betty said, “I wouldn’t do that!”
“I’m not so sure about that”, Uncle Jeff said, “How many times do you pretend you haven’t done something wrong when you have? That is just as silly because God has seen what you did!”
Betty squirmed and said, “I s’pose so. But look at baby Lizzie over there. She thought we couldn’t see her because she couldn’t see us”.
“Shhh Betty!” Bobby said, “Did you see them any more Uncle Jeff?”
“When we came back later that day, there they were again feeding right beside the danger on the line once more”, he said, “And they did the same thing again….they ran to the fence and poked their heads through it thinking they were safe”.
“I guess that’s a bit like people who won’t face what God tells them in the Bible”, Sarah said thoughtfully from behind them.
“That’s quite right Sarah,” said Uncle Jeff, “We’ve got to remember that one day we are going face Him and tell Him why we didn’t listen and do something about it. Well, off you go outside, that’s all the stories for today”.
“Thanks, Uncle Jeff”, said Bobby, “Race you to the gate, Betty!”
Thoughts from Proverbs Chapter Two…
Verses:1-6
Solomon is begging his son here to listen and take notice. A person with a bit of age and experience behind him, can see the pitfalls that a headstrong youngster can never see.
“Listen to me”, Solomon says, “Seek and apply yourselves, ask and seek earnestly for wisdom!” Do we do this?
God has all these blessings in Christ Jesus waiting for us, but we must put effort into getting them (John 15:7). James tells us that we don’t have the enjoyment of them because we don’t ask for them and apply ourselves to getting them (James 4:2c). It is like a student once who needed finance to get through his course and asked the Lord to provide it. He did, but not in the way he expected it…. God provided a job for him to earn his own money!
Those who earnestly and prayerfully seek, WILL find …..this is one of the prayers that God has unconditionally promised He will grant! (Matthew 7:7)
Seek wisdom from the Lord above, Who gives all things richly in love;
But we must search and seek this for, It to be giv’n from God’s rich store.
Who’s Driving Your Car?
Sarah was sitting in church one Sunday morning with her mind only half on what the speaker was saying. ….
“I’m going to tell you a modern day parable to illustrate what I’m trying to get across to you”, he was saying, “We hear people talk about being ‘filled with the Holy Spirit, and allowing Him to control you’. The Apostle Paul tells us that we are to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us….we are not to be controlled by strong drink like a drunk person, but we are to allow God to control us in the same way….”
Sarah suddenly sat up when she heard the preacher say….”It’s like this. Imagine you are driving your car along the road of life, and you see a hitch-hiker with his thumb up asking for a ride. You somehow know that this is the Lord Jesus asking to come into your life. You have the choice of either going straight past Him or stopping and giving Him a lift. Most people will just go straight past Him and not give Him a thought. But perhaps you think you would like to ask Him into the car with you.
You stop and let Him in….but where are you going to put Him? In the luggage compartment? No, you are not that mean. In the back seat then? Well, no, you would like to talk to Him a bit on the trip. What if He asked for the keys of the car? No way, you think, I’m driving this car and I want to go here or there where I please.
This is just what we all do with the Lord Jesus…we might let Him drive a short distance after we’ve been to camp and got a spiritual lift, or after hearing a good speaker at church. But then you simply HAVE to make a stop along the way, and when you get back into the car, you are back behind the wheel again!”
Sarah sighed. Why did preachers always have to put you on the spot? She knew very well that there were times when she did wrong things and went to wrong places or looked at wrong things, and that Jesus certainly wasn’t driving her car at those times.
The preacher finished his talk, but the things that he said stuck in Sarah’s mind, and as she got older she always thought of this little parable whenever she was tempted to do something she knew wouldn’t please the Lord.
She really DID want to let Him drive her “car” but it wasn’t always easy. After all what was it the Lord Jesus said to His disciples? “If any person will follow Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me”. (Luke 9:23)
Why Clean the Shower?
Bobby and Betty were playing ball outside on a winter’s day. The ground was quite wet and it wasn’t long before the ball was covered in mud. The next shower came and they went inside for a drink.
“Bobby!” exclaimed Mum, “Just look at your hands and your clothes! You are covered in mud!!”
“That’s alright, Mum”, Bobby said, “It’ll wash off!” and he reached out for the drink that Mum had ready.
“Bobby!” Mum said sternly, “That’s no way to talk! Don’t you know how much work it takes to get your clothes clean?”
Betty came bounding into the kitchen just then.
“Betty!” Mum exclaimed, “Whatever have you been doing? You’re so grubby!”
“I’ve been playing ball with Bobby!” Betty said (as though Mum couldn’t tell!)
“Well, you’d better both go and have a shower and put clean clothes on as soon as you’ve finished your drinks”, Mum said.
“I’m going first!” Bobby said, as he gulped down the last of his drink and went off to the bathroom.
“You make sure you wipe the shower box out with the spray cleaner when you’ve finished”, Mum called after him.
“Why do we have to wash the shower box out?” Betty asked, “It’s clean water”.
“Well”, Mum said, “there’s the dirt that comes off you, and the soap has a certain amount of grease in it, so the splashes inside the shower get thicker and thicker until it looks like a greasy scum over the whole thing. That is VERY hard to get off. It’s much easier to keep it clean all the time”.
“That’s right”, said Dad as he came into the kitchen catching the last bit of conversation. “You know it’s just like the little bad things that we do and say every day. If we don’t keep telling God that we are sorry for these things and ask Him to help us do better next time, we end up being mean and nasty all the time. It’s not a good idea to be like that! It’s much better to do it every day.”
How Much is your Soul Worth?
Every now and then we get a pamphlet in the mail asking if we are thinking of selling our house. They say that they have clients wanting to buy in our area! They will come and give us a free appraisal of our property, they say, hoping we will take them up on it.
They say that it is every young married couple’s dream to own their own home, but we all have something that worth much more than any house. How much is your house worth? Only as much as someone will pay for it! How much is your soul valued at? What is it worth?
We say we own this or that. But whatever we own, really owns us! If we have a car we have to service it regularly. If we own a house we have to keep it maintained or it loses its value. If we buy a lawn mower, we have to use it or the place soon looks untidy.
Maybe we only own something small like a mobile phone. It has to used responsibly or else it controls us! How many people do we see walking down the street not watching where they are going because their fingers are busily going on their gadget. They feel lost without having it in their pocket or hand. We don’t own these things, they own us!
The Bible asks the question….”What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” Nothing in this world, whether it be a house or a car; a mower or a phone is to be compared with a person’s soul. These “things” only last a short while….they either break down or become out-dated, but our soul will last forever! Let’s make sure that we take the time to think these things through and make the right decision about what we put first in our life.
What Does Your Past Show?
A well known sportsman was killed in a car crash, along with his wife….both young people with still many years ahead of them. A great outpouring of grief followed this event and the news people followed the funeral in detail. Many eulogies spoke of his past events, but one snippet on the news item brought back memories of some distant demeanors that had once made the news in the past. A video clip dragged up from the past showed this in detail.
It brings to mind how our past has a way of catching up with us, sometimes when we least want it to. Another case of this was when a young woman traced her birth father, and knocked on his door one day announcing she was his daughter! His wife and family had no idea of this young woman’s existence, and the shock was great. We can only imagine how they must have all felt!
But this is nothing to how we will feel when faced with all our past unforgiven sins. The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death, while the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)”
For a gift to be enjoyed, it must be taken and opened….it is a two way thing. God has done His part in providing and presenting this gift; the least we can do is to take it and thank Him for it.