“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayers”
(1 Peter 3: 12)
As we are entering summer weather, restrictions imposed months ago due to the corona virus, have relaxed slightly and families are now allowed to go to local beaches and parks and as I was watching the television news it was showing a mother and father with a toddler, paddling in the ocean. I was fascinated to watch the loving tender care both parents were taking of their little one, never taking their eyes of him. He was adventurous and unaware of any danger the ocean might hold, but every time he wanted to keep wading into deeper water, his parents would guide him back to safety. It reminded me of the beautiful promises found in God’s word of how he keeps his eyes on us and constantly guides us to safer waters. Sometimes we ignore his advice and decide we are quite capable to look after our own lives and do not need him to meddle in them.
Sometimes toddlers are the opposite to our first little one and are too timid to venture into the water to paddle then we see loving parents gently encourage new adventures. When we look at nature, we see protecting parents lovingly caring for their young and constantly keeping them safe near them.
Nature programs have wonderful illustrations of how parents care for their offspring and the Lord used these illustrations in his word to show how he cares for us. One program I was watching showed a mother seal who has to go on land to deliver her baby and when the sun is very hot in the middle of the day she lies beside the little one so it is protected from the sun by her shadow. This is what God does for us when troubles exhaust us.
“He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91: 1)
Again, nature is used to illustrate the Lord’s all-encompassing protection he promises us. When a mother hen has her chicks, she protects them from danger by covering then completely with her feathers and Psalm 91 tells us that we too can seek refuge under the feathers of our Lord when anything frightens us or life overwhelms us.
“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.” (Psalm 91: 4)
The Lord also promises to never forsake us and this too is obvious in nature, when a young foal is born in the wild the mother keeps him always by her side, ready to fight off any danger that might come.
“Be strong and courageous do not be afraid or terrified because of them for the Lord your God goes with you and will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31: 6)
The world is swamped with fear and panic of this ugly virus sweeping the world, but when we remember that the watchful eye of our Father is always upon us, we can relax and trust him.
The world has been turned upside down by this vicious corona virus. All our lives have had to change to protect ourselves and others. Jobs have been lost. Children denied school and fun playing with friends. Old people shut away from family even though they struggle with the last days of dying, it feels as if our lives are in pieces and over all the chaos is fear of what the future holds. Emotions have become raw and deep, down resentment has erupted and ugly racism has surfaced and made us all rethink of our own values, especially when we are followers of Jesus. So how will we pick up the pieces when life returns?
Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the king of Persia and after Nehemiah learnt what was happening to his fellow countrymen he prayed to God and begged him to have pity on them. After praying Nehemiah was brave enough to as k the King could he go back to Jerusalem. When he returned, he filled the people with hope and told them their gracious God was with them they banded together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. They were taunted by their enemies, but Nehemiah reminded them.
Often when we need to rebuild, we need to use new bricks that will give us a firm foundation, so let us plan ahead to use new ways in our lives to correct the mistakes we have been making, so when the time comes, we will build with enthusiasm and remember Jesus’ words
We are living through the world being in turmoil and then added to his terrifying plague, corona virus, we are plunged into the chaos of ugly racism sweeping through the U.S.A. Racism has long been there, but the threat of perhaps, death through the virus, has frayed nerves and emotions have risen to the surface demanding that we all face the truth about what people are suffering and rightly so. We as God’s people need to look closely at how we view others and how we can be holy as the Lord told us, (Leviticus 11: 45) the definition of holy, means to be set apart. I feel this means that we are not influenced by what the world says, but we are guided by what God’s word says, we are to be different and stand out as those who spread love not hatred.
Paul also entreats the believers to look beyond what they think is important to them and to be aware of how others look at their lives and to realise what is important to them
Just recently, before the COVID19 had happened, I was at a church luncheon and I chose to sit at a table at which I knew nobody. The tables seated eight people and when all had sat down, one gentleman began the conversation with this thoughtful idea. He said we all have a story let us share our stories so we can relate to each other. 
This is such a comfort to all of us who love the Lord. He knows all our stories. We don’t have to pretend to him how wonderful we are. We don’t have to pretend we are okay when we are broken hearted. We don’t have to be ashamed of what we have done, we can come to him and be forgiven and have a fresh start to a new fresh story and when it involves him actively, it takes on a new quite different path. One of joy and contentment about who we are, and the other exciting part is we join Jesus’ story.
Apprehension, anxiety, fear of the future is sweeping over many parts of the world and lockdowns and isolation is heightening these feeling in many people but for those already struggling with depression it has an even more powerful affect. I have a young friend who is caught in this dilemma and finding it very difficult to cope. I was praying for her early one morning and then I went to read the passage set for my Bible study and it was these beautiful words from the Lord spoken through the prophet, Isaiah, (Isaiah 43: 1-2) sent to God’s people to comfort them as they were struggling in difficult times. As I finished reading them, I felt these words were meant for my young friend.
The Lord constantly reminded the children of Israel, and the reminders are still relevant for us, that He cares for us whatever situation we find ourselves in and that he is always nearby, never too busy to listen. All we need do is talk to him and tell him the fears that are assailing us
When we think of the word, generous, we often associate it with money, but it can also be used to describe actions as well as the gift of money. The world is reeling from the effects of this ugly virus stealing from us our loved ones, denying us our normal routine, taking away jobs and robbing us of the social contact we all need so much with friends and family. Fear and panic sometimes bring out the worst in humanity, such as the me first attitude that results in hoarding food and essential items, but it can also bring out the love that Jesus entreated his disciples and of course all believers who have followed him, to practice.
We are living in a world filled with fear and panic. The spread of this ugly virus is sweeping through the world and the media is filling us with more dread every day as the numbers grow and strict rules come into play which are limiting our social contact with others which is so necessary for our human spirits . Even our churches are closed for worship. What we need to remember is that we do not need a building to talk to our Heavenly Father. He is ready always to hear our fears, to comfort us with his love, to help us make decisions, to direct our paths and he loves for us to tell him how much we love him, all we need to do is to pray to him. 
We have many powerful stories in the Old Testament, that tell us of how the children of Israel were involved in terrifying situations, often visiting armies, with vast numbers of soldiers far outnumbering them, attacking them. When they remembered to cry out to God, he answered them by reminding them that he was with them and always would be, so when we cry out to him, he does the same for us. He reminds them that the battle is not theirs but his (2 Chronicles 20: 17) so too for us. We cannot possibly defeat what happens, but we can hand the battle over to him so that fear does not paralyze us.
Father to our families, our friends and we can still use the phone the internet to send out the gospel so spirits will be lifted and despair will not take over
The terrible corona virus that is sweeping through the world is bringing chaos to travelers and even to virtually making people prisoners in their own homes or to keeping passengers confined to their cabins on cruise ships which have infected passengers aboard. I was watching one such passenger discussing his plight over the internet with a reporter and he was describing his feelings of being those of prisoners in jail and all he could think of was, when he would finally be set free.
The Pharisees took offence at what Jesus was saying and hotly denied being slaves to anyone, not understanding what Jesus was really meaning by being trapped by sin and being enslaved by many parts of their lives that inhibited them from discovering the joy of being able to shake off those ugly thoughts and actions that were eating away at their very beings not allowing them to run with that great sense of freedom.
I was chatting to my sister, who lives in Australia, just recently and she couldn’t wait to tell me about a surprising story about her birthday celebration. A friend had invited her to lunch on her birthday at a very expensive restaurant set in a beautiful setting overlooking the beach. Both enjoyed a lovely meal with each other as they had been friends for many years. When my sister’s friend asked for the bill, they were amazed when the waiter told them it had been paid. They were very touched by the person’s kindness and left the restaurant with lifted spirits in the fact that in this present world of, a “me first” attitude, someone would think of someone else to bless with an act of kindness
This is exactly what the giver to my sister and her friend did. Giving does not always have to be in the form of money. Giving our time for somebody else is also a gift of kindness. My sister visits an old lady in a home and reads to her. No money is involved, but lots of kindness is.
One of my granddaughters had applied for a new exciting job just recently, and after several interviews, she heard the good news that her application had been accepted. We all rejoiced with her at the good news. I was watching a fascinating documentary a few weeks ago on the TV that was dealing with the importance of being accepted, it is very important for the vulnerable ones in our society, such as new immigrants, the mentally challenged, the disabled. The program I was watching was focusing on young immigrants. By learning how to play hockey they had a wonderful tool to help young ones find friends and feel acceptance with their peer group. The young man coaching the youngsters gave a wonderful testimony as to what this had done for him, when he was a lonely newcomer to Canada. The participants were provided with used but good hockey equipment to get them started. I loved the looks of joy on their faces
think that God doesn’t accept us as true followers. God assures us that yes in his eyes we are certainly accepted, in fact the Lord is not influenced by appearances, he is more interested in our hearts. If we have a heart that loves the Father and his word, we are certainly accepted
practicing what the word of God says. When the reverse happens, bickering and division, we cast doubts about the truth of being followers of Jesus. Paul puts it very clearly…