Category Archives: Random Devotional Thoughts

Seeing Things from Different Angles….

We often hear people say that the Bible contradicts itself and why bother to take notice of what it says anyway! This argument reminds me of a large rock in our home area that 1.stands up in full view of the main road north. As one approaches the area, the rock is  high with a large flat top with another lower flat topped rock beside it. This view lasts for several miles, and then the road turns and goes towards this rock. The view changes dramatically. It appears to be just as tall but narrower. The side rock Taratara2disappears from view as it is now in front and merges into the main mass of rock. Still further along, a side road branches off the main  road and heads towards the back of this large rock. Now we can see the back of it and the two large humps 4.standing up behind it. Each view is of the same rock, but each view is different.

If we saw the pictures separately, we would think they were four different rocks. So it is with the Bible. God used different people to write His Word and they all have different aspects to present. It is still God’s Word, but there are different sides of it seen. Parts were written to the Jewish people who knew about God; other parts were written to people who had never known about Him. Still other parts were written to those who had come to know God and told them how to live to please Him. The final section tells of things that are still to happen in the future.

It is all still God’s Word for us today, and has something to tell each of us which we need to know. So never say that it contradicts itself…each part complements the others.

My Favourite Verses

Several years ago members of the Northland Christian Writers Group were asked to write down their favourite verses and the reason for them. This was what I submitted for that assignment……

My Favourite Verses!

Psalm 37: verses 3-5.   Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.  Delight thyself in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.   Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.  (KJV)

I’ve chosen these verses rather than a Gospel verse for this reason. The Gospel is the   gateway to the Christian life, and where one starts.   I have already done that, and these verses are the route  I am travelling, and the chart for my way.

Firstly to “Trust in the Lord” is the key to daily  living. Everything I do has to be rooted in trusting the Lord. Everything I have is from the Lord, and He supplies my every need. If I have little, then I give thanks (and don’t complain!), tighten my belt and realise that I’m still alive. If I have plenty, then I make the most of it, and give thanks for that too.

Secondly,  “delighting myself in the Lord”, is not a blank cheque for getting what I  want.  Pleasing my self is not delighting the Lord!  The more I delight in the Lord, the more I want  to please Him, and my desires become those which He wants for me. He wants me to  exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in my life.  Bitterness or resentment does not please God. Nor does overriding others, being impatient or behaving rudely. God does not want me  to be conformed to the world and its ways. The more I delight in Him, the less hold the world has on me. I may have no idea what God wants  for me, but as He works on me through His Word, it gradually comes to pass.

Thirdly, I am to “Commit my way to the Lord” and trust in Him even though what is happening doesn’t make sense. Just as I would cling to a life belt if I fell into the water, so I must cling to Him through the darkness as it seeks to envelop me. I must remember that this too, will pass, and the light will shine again. There is always joy on the other side, God WILL bring it to pass!

Trusting in the Lord”  is the vehicle that takes me forward. “Delighting in the Lord” is travelling with  Him, and  “Committing my way to the Lord” is seeking His direction, and allowing Him to do the steering, and choose the route!

 

 

 

What I Think is Right and Therefore Good Enough!

ELEPHANT 1Four men were blindfolded once and then taken to where an elephant was tethered. The first man was put by the elephant’s leg and told to feel it carefully and then say what it was. He carefully rubbed his hand all over the actual leg, and then pronounced, “This is without doubt a tree trunk. I can feel the bark and I’m positive it is a tree”.

The next man was taken to the elephant’s trunk and told to say what he was feeling. He carefully felt all over it, and said he was touching a snake, he was quite positive about it. It was a big one, but definitely a snake.

The third man was taken around  to the rear end of the elephant and given the tail to hold. “This is a rope”, he said positively, “It’s unravelling a bit at one end, but that is what it is!”

The fourth man was put by the elephant’s rear and told to rub his hands over that area. As he ran his hand over the large flat part of rump, he said he was feeling a wall. It was high and quite large, but he was sure that was what it was. A bit rough, but definitely a wall.

Each of these men were quite sure within their own minds that what they thought they were feeling was right. The blindfolds were taken off and they saw the large elephant standing in front of them. “Where’s the tree?” the first man asked.

“I definitely felt a snake”, the second man said, “Where has it gone?”

“Well, I had a length of rope in my hand” the third man said, “I’d swear to it!”

“I was sure I was by a wall”, the fourth man said, “I can’t believe it was the elephant that I was touching!”

Each of these men were quite sure that they were right. They could hardly believe they were so wrong! Many people today are feeling for the truth with blindfolds on their minds. They say that because they think a certain thing, that that is the truth. And because they refuse to find out the real truth of the matter, they will become like those who will find themselves standing before God in a time to come and hear Him saying, “ Depart from Me, I never knew you!”

“But Lord”, they will wail, “Look at all the good things I did in my life. I’m not really as bad as a lot of other people. I was really quite good!”

Not every one that says to me, “Lord, Lord,”  shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who  does the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? and in Your name have cast out devils? And in Your name done many wonderful works?”

And then will I profess to them, “I never knew you: depart from me, you who work iniquity. Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

But every one that hears these sayings of Mine, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”     (Matthew 7:21-27)

We should make sure that we KNOW without a doubt that what we believe is founded on the truth. What we THINK is not good enough….at the end of time when the blinkers are taken off our eyes, we will see that what we thought was good enough, has let us down badly and it is far too late to rectify the position. We have the chance NOW to find out the truth from the One Who said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”, and He will not let you down.

Let’s make sure that we don’t put off doing this while there is still time to do something about it!

All or Nothing!

“I’m trying to lose weight!” the young man announced to his grandmother one day, “I’m counting the calories and watching what I eat, and I’m starting to lose a bit. But, boy, do I get hungry!”

“Well, I know all about that” his grandmother said, “I used to do that for years until I thought I was too old to worry about my shape! But you know there’s another way you can do it where you can eat all you want and never feel hungry!”

“Yeah,” he said disbelievingly, “How’s that?”

“Well”, she said, “I’ve been eating this way for over a year now, and I know it works! But you know, it has to first of all start in your mind. Until you make up your mind you are going to eat this way and that you are going to stick to it, it won’t work. It’s an all or nothing thing….you can’t make a start and fall back into your old ways of eating because you can’t mix the two ways together. It just won’t work.”

“H’mmm”, he said, “Tell me about it, Gran”.

“Well”, she said, “It’s quite simple really. No grains, no dairy and no sugar. If you stick to that rule, you will never get hungry again, and you will be able to eat as much as you want. You won’t be eating anything with preservatives, or any pre-packaged foods. What you will be eating is the most un-tampered-with food you can find…fish, eggs, meat, vegetables (except for potatoes which are too starchy) fruit and nuts. You can fry in coconut oil and use it in your recipes as much as you want”.

“But what about bread?” he wailed.

“No bread at all….it’s all loaded with preservatives and sugar.   Even the flour we buy  has had the wheat genetically modified and is bad for you.There are recipes with alternative flour which will be different, but it will fill the gap. Use almond flour and coconut flour. You will find that you feel better and fitter, no more headaches, or bloated feeling and best of all you don’t need to feel guilty about what you are eating!”

“It seems awfully hard”, he muttered as he turned away.

“Well”, she said, “Give it a try for twenty-eight days. Tell yourself you can always give it up at the end of that. But you might just find by then that you don’t WANT to give it up. I know, because I’ve done it!”

You know, this story is a parable in a way. These principles are just the same in the Christian life. It’s an all or nothing thing….so many people have just tried it for a short time and then gone back to their old ways. This is what causes other people to point the finger and say there are too many hypocrites in the church for them.

You will find that although it starts in the mind, it has to continue to the mouth (for the diet) or the heart for the spiritual. Just as the new way of eating satisfies all the hunger and cravings, so the Bible will satisfy your soul and you will never feel spiritually hungry again.  Once you really mean what you say to the Lord, you will find that the old things will just fall off, and will be replaced by better feelings, attitudes and places to go. You won’t WANT the old things any more. But be warned, you can’t mix the two ways…it just won’t work!

You might be like this young man and think it is too hard to even begin, but the benefits far outweigh any hardship. You won’t know until you try it and mean it with all your heart!!!

Disappointments.

I’m sure you have all been disappointed at some time or other. There isn’t a person on earth that hasn’t experienced that let down feeling! These times often come just after a wonderful time, and we wonder why.

We can either become better for it, or bitter because of it.

If we think of the disappointment as a test to build our character, it makes it a whole lot easier to bear. Just as an exam has only two results…a pass or a failure, so these tests leave us with only two results…. becoming better from it, or filled with bitterness!

As for why it often happens after a great time, that time was given to us to make up for the disappointment that was just around the corner. As we remember the wonderful experience, it shows us that life will still have its high points, and that all is not darkness. There is an old saying that goes like this….. “This too, will pass”. Another one is “Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning!”

So get up, stand up and keep up!!!

Why Bother to Pray?

PrayWhy 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

More Pictures of God’s Word (the Bible)

As I began to think of the verse that describes God’s Word as a sharp double edged sword, more ideas came from other verses about what God’s word is like. It is like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces (Jeremiah 23:27);  something that will hit hard in vulnerable places in our minds and lives, and it will continue to hit relentlessly without giving up until it breaks the hardness of our hearts.

The same verse says that God’s Word is like a fire that burns away the rubbish in our minds.

Then it is like a mirror that shows us the wrong things in our lives….James 1:22-25 tells us that if we see what is wrong in our lives and do nothing about it, then we are like a man seeing his natural face in a glass: For he sees himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what sort of man he was. But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

We all have large mirrors above the washbasin in our bathrooms, and as we see the dirt on our face, we can then wash it clean. God’s Word is also like water….it not only washes clean but also quenches our thirst. Water is a precious commodity, one that we cannot do without. In the same way, if we want to prosper in the things of God, we need the water of His Word to make us clean and quench our spiritual thirst. Jesus Christ said that He is the Water of Life….whoever drinks of Him (figuratively) will be satisfied for ever.

We have nothing to lose by giving Him a chance in our thoughts and heart….after all if He is wrong and we are right, we have nothing to lose, but on the other hand, if He is right and we are wrong, we have everything to lose for ever and ever…and that is a long, long time!

Waiting….

BUSIN181                                    Have you ever thought about the word “wait” and all that it means?  How the word “wait” is actually a double sided word? When we go into a restaurant, the “waiter” comes to us for our order, and then we have to “wait” while it is being put together. The waiter brings it to us and then “waits” on our needs while we enjoy the meal.

One of the hardest things in the world is to wait for something. In this modern world, everything is expected to be instant….everything is faster and smaller and more disposable as the next model comes along.

We read in the Bible that before the Lord can bless a person, He has to “wait” on them. He waits for them to turn and call on Him so He can be gracious to them and bless them. This is the way He waits on His people, by giving them His blessings and all that they need as they ask Him.

On the other hand, as we wait on Him for the answers to our prayers, we are blessed as we see how He works in our lives to give us the answer that we need. Those who do not turn to Him, can never know His blessings, any more than a person can expect a meal at a restaurant without paying for it.

Isaiah 30, verse 18…..

            And thus will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.