Category Archives: Random Devotional Thoughts

How Prepared Are You?

     \We sometimes head off in to the great blue yonder, leaving home without a care in the world. Then some sort of disaster may strike, and we wonder how we are going to let someone know that we need help!  It is at times like this, that we wish we had put some sort of security thing in place.     I can think of at least two times when we were caught up in an emergency with only the mobile phone to get help from. Back some years ago, there were no such things available for an ordinary person, and when an accident occurred, it was very difficult to call for help

    Last week, we had a lady call who handled these sort of emergency things, and she showed us what is available these days for times like this. We already had a medical alarm from the ambulance people, but that was only good while we were near the house where the alarm box was held. These days, there is now an alarm system whereby not only medical help is activated, but any other sort of emergency we might encounter in our day to day movements down the street, or further away travel. This alarm sends signals to the satellites which in turn activates a gps system that lets the authorities know one’s exact location in a time of emergency.     It seemed to be an ideal system to go in for, so we listened to her talking with a great deal of interest. Needless to say, we agreed to have this new system. As one gets older, there is more vulnerability in one’s movements….it is easier to trip and fall over, or to have any one of  many different things happen when we may need help.

    But the thing that occurred to me,  is that although this thing is a safety guarantee for our body yet  how ready are we to have a guarantee against damage to our souls and spirits? We have to remember that we are made up of a body, soul and spirit. We all know about our bodies but how many  think about damage to our souls?  This is the part of us that thinks and reasons, and when this goes, then we are told that we have a mental health problem.    But what about the third part of our make-up? Our spirit? This is the part of us that is God conscious, and that can communicate with Him. This is the  part of us that is most important to God….this is what makes us different to animals. And this is the part of us that is the reason that God made man in His own image.    Have you ever stopped to think, that just as you have the need to have fellowship with another person, so God wants to have someone  to have fellowship with? If we are too proud or ignorant to recognise this and to do something about it, we are missing out on the most important part of our make up.

    So take time to look into these things, and you will discover a whole new  perspective of facts that will  open up before you, things you never even dreamed of before. The Bible says that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Nothing.

God  uses NOTHING,   when He begins to work,

His great creation came to pass, when He spoke and didn’t shirk;

The world is hung on   NOTHING, so the Bible said,

Long before man  realised that, in space the stars were spread,

Yet man who’s  made from  NOTHING,  only out of dust,

Rails against his Maker, the Holy One and Just:

Nations in God’s sight are NOTHING, in fact are even less,

The princes too, are NOTHING, when  God they do not  bless,

As well, the great man’s riches, are NOTHING to desire,

For one day they will burn, in God’s judgemental fire.

Man  came into this world, with NOTHING in his hand,

And  when he dies will leave behind, his treasures and his land:

NOTHING   that man does,  is hid from God’s all seeing eyes,

Whate’er  he  sows now, he will reap, through all eternity.

In spite of all man’s pride, and wilful stubborn ways,

God looks down  in mercy, and for sin’s price He pays,

He gave Son to die, for men with sinful trend,

In Him the prince of evil, found NOTHING he could rend.

He paid the price in full, and offers all for free,

Salvation costs us NOTHING,   now for you and also me,

Our  days on earth may be as NOTHING,  but ahead is  Heaven’s bliss,

By taking Jesus as our Saviour, this NOTHING makes  us miss,

NOTHING   now will separate. from His great boundless love,

It reaches far and wide for us. from depth to height above;

Till in that endless day ahead, NOTHING mars the scene,

No sin, no night, no sorrow there, but Christ will reign supreme.

So from this fact of NOTHING, the great Creator brings,

The greatest worth for all of those, who will His praises sing.

How Much Rubbish do you Have?

     We were staying on a friend’s property in our caravan once. This place had high hedges around the paddock edges. Our friend had taken his hedge trimming machine into these paddocks to cut and trim back the tall trees that were keeping the sun from getting in. This had only made a worse mess than ever. The branches and cut pieces of the trees all fell on the ground beneath as they were cut off. There was no way the grass could grow up fresh and sweet there.     We went home and then came back the following week. By this time he had taken his tractor into the paddock again, and had pushed all the scraps and branches into large heaps ready for burning when the weather was right. It was surprising what a large area was now clear right up to the tree trunks, enabling the grass to grow there as extra feed for the cattle.

   It made me think how this is a lot like our lives. We allow things to creep in and crowd out what is helpful to others. Our time is taken up with things of no real value, and we have no time for the things that matter.      Sometimes the things that we do are creative and beautiful, but if we can’t give them away to someone who appreciates them, we are really just wasting our time. Other things are  frivolous time fillers just to keep us occupied.

    These are the things that need to be cut off in our lives and let fall to the ground, and then pushed up into piles and burned. What is taking up all our thoughts and time? Let’s make sure that we clean up around the edges of our lives, and give ourselves more time and space to do things for others.

   The Bible talks about building our lives with wood, hay and stubble, and how these things are easily burned, whereas if we build with valuable metals these only get refined if a fire goes through them  (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). So we need to take stock of our lives, and see what should be taken away NOW, as it will all go through the refining fires of our Master in a time to come….and then what will be left?

What Are your Little Foxes?

      The preacher at church last Sunday gave us some good points to think about, that are worth passing on. He read from the book of Song of Solomon in the Old Testament part of the Bible,  these verses….

Song of Solomon 2:13-15….

The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away!   14“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret places of the cliff, Let me see your face, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet,  And your face is lovely.” 15  Catch us  the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes…..

The Gardener has planted his crops and is now waiting to see them grow, and ultimately to fruit, BUT….there are foxes waiting to spoil the beauty!

This is just like us….we could say that God has planted us and given us all that we need to grow in the things of Himself, but there are things that distract us and take our minds and thoughts off Him…how do we react to these “little foxes”?

In our Environment….perhaps there are worries about our job, or we want a change of circumstances. There are other things that annoy us that we can’t change, and maybe they get us down.

In Our Relationships…. In our friendships with others, there maybe jealousy or competitiveness that grates….can we continue without holding grudges or being unforgiving?  Remember that unforgiveness only hurts you in the long run….the other person may be totally unaware of the matter!

In the Workplace….is there someone there that grates on you? Remember that the Lord has said He will bear all our burdens, so take it to Him…there is no need for two of you to carry it!

In Our General Health….do we always feel tired? Perhaps it warrants a visit to the doctor. Do we have continual colds and other aches and pains? Again, check out your health…do you need some supplements to build you up?

In Our Homes….Are there disappointments with family members, or other concerns? Are there differences of opinions? Remember that we just might not always be right!! I remember reading a book many years ago called “Lord, Change Me!” Perhaps we are the ones who need to change….our attitudes and feelings. To say nothing of our opinions!

In Our Relationship with the Lord…..Are we holding grudges? Do we neglect our daily time with Him? Do we remember to take all these things to God in prayer?

    These are all things that are “little foxes”  in the gardens of our lives waiting to spoil the fruit that God desires to see in each of us. Let us be full of courage  and take it all to the Lord in prayer. He will take over and enable us to be what we ought to be!!

Joy to the World!

Joy is something that many people are not experiencing this year! Maybe it is because a loved one is no longer with you; or maybe some dread disease has shown its face, and then again there may be injuries from some recent accident. But when we remember the true meaning of the Christmas season, we have every reason to be joyful. God come to earth in human form!!

When we look at the world situation, fears may arise (with every good reason for those affected), but even in those places, God will be with His people for He has promised that He will never leave nor forsake those who love and follow Him. So we must look upwards and not downwards….there’s an old saying that says to look at the cup of life as being half-full, not half empty. There are always those who are worse off and we still have much to be thankful for! May it be so.

Have a great Christmas!!

A Joyous Christmas !

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).    None of the characters in the Christmas story were important or famous people from other people’s point of view…in fact, they just seemed very ordinary. Elisabeth and her husband Zechariah the priest, were two older people with no children. At the other end of the spectrum was Mary, engaged to Joseph the local carpenter, young and looking forwards to what life had in store for her.

Both these couples had had a visit from the angel Gabriel telling them that they would each have a miraculous child born to them. Elisabeth was too old, and Mary was not yet married, but they both accepted this news as from the Lord Himself with Whom nothing was impossible. Once Mary had ascertained how this miracle would take place for her, she humbly said, “Let it be so as the Lord has said”.

   Elisabeth was already six months pregnant by the time the angel visited Mary, and after talking with him, she immediately went to visit her older cousin. We wonder what these two pregnant ladies would have said to each other! We are told some of their conversation….it was not their condition or their symptoms they spoke about. It was the babies that they were carrying. In fact, Elisabeth the older lady, deferred to Mary the younger girl, recognising the importance of the child that Mary was carrying. She referred to her as “the mother of my Lord” and said how her baby had leaped in her womb at Mary’s greeting.

    Mary immediately burst into a song of praise….this was not a song of someone else’s, this was a spontaneous series of quotations from the book of Psalms that she knew off by heart, and that glorified God for what He was about to do with and through these as-yet unborn sons that she and Elisabeth  were carrying. God’s plan of salvation for mankind was about to be unfolded, and these children were to be the means of bringing great joy to the world.

The Storms of Life

      We seem to have been attending quite a few funerals in the last few weeks. In each case it has been a man who was taken, leaving his wife to weather the storm that his death was bringing. It reminded me of different times when we too, have been faced with a storm and a decision to make and haven’t known which way to take. Then when things haven’t worked out as we wanted them to, we berate ourselves, saying we have made a mistake.

    But you know, there was a time when the disciples of Jesus were caught in a big storm. They were seasoned sailors and they must have wondered how this came about….why didn’t they see the warning signs? Yet their Master had told them to go across the lake and they had done just what He said. Why then, had this storm come upon them?

      Storms come to us to teach us lessons that we would otherwise never learn. So when the disciples experienced the worst storm of their life, they had been sent across the lake by Jesus Christ. They 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 stop these storms coming, but we have confidence in the outcome because we have weathered the first one with God’s help!

Remember….He is the Lord of all our storms.