Posted by: Jo | April 27, 2025

The Oil of Gladness

“To bestow upon them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair.”

(Isaiah 61: 3)

I am now an old lady and over the years my hands have bent with arthritis, so simple tasks in some cases become impossible, but recently a young friend came to visit me, and we went for a walk together, which meant I had to use my walker. As I we walked my friend commented upon a terrible noise coming from my walker. She realised the wheels on the walker desperately needed oil and with her young hands was able, when we got back to my place, to oil those old wheels for me, instantly the screeching noises disappeared. You can imagine how glad I was to be able to walk without that annoying noise. 

Oil was used in many ceremonies in the Old Testament always symbolizing healing, soothing, gladness as well as pure joy, even today several denominations use oil when people have asked for special prayers. In Psalm 23 David wants to praise the Lord for anointing him with oil as he realises the love of the Good Shepherd pours out on him 

“You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23: 5)

Often in our own lives circumstances beyond our control can bring discord, unsettling feelings, constantly interrupting peaceful thoughts, disturbing our well being. Conflict between family members or close friends can bring about disharmony and David again realises the joy of the Lord’s oil when this happens.  

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity. It is like precious oil pored on the head.” (Psalm 133: 1 – 2) 

In the book of Hebrews, the author tells those who believe and follow Jesus, that we have been set apart and have been anointed by oil. (Hebrews 1:  9) so we can be filled with joy. 

So how can we access this beautiful anointing, before Jesus enabled us to speak to the Father personally, it always had to be a priest doing the physically pouring the oil, but now we can ourselves by setting aside time to spend with the Father in prayer, we can experience emotionally that beautiful oil sprinkling over us. 

The ups and downs of life continue, but if we need healing, comfort from fear or anxiety, courage or even if we want to just to express our joy and love to our Lord we can come into his presence and ask to be anointed and experience his love that he wants to pour out on us.

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Posted by: Jo | April 19, 2025

Even If The Gift Is Small

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

(2 Corinthians 9: 7)

One of my favourite passages in the Bible is the Feeding of the Five Thousand. It is easy to grasp the setting. Crowds are so anxious to follow Jesus and listen to his teaching that they follow him even to an isolated place, not thinking of taking some sort of food with them. At the end of the day Jesus takes pity on them and realises they need to be fed. He first tests the disciple by asking them to give the crowds something to eat. The disciples are bewildered by his request, surely Jesus realises they are in a very isolated area and even if shops were near how would they have enough money to feed so many.  Then the story takes an unusual turn, Andrew, one of the disciples finds a little boy. 

“Another of the disciples, Simon, Peter’s brother, spoke up. Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6: 8 – 9) 

I always think of the reaction the boy had when he saw the disciples asking everyone if they had any food. Was he tempted to hide his little lunch hoping he could sneak off and eat it secretly? Did he think his lunch wasn’t worth telling the disciples about?  It was a wonderful example for all of us that yes it was a small gift, but he willingly gave it to Simon. Imagine his amazement as he saw the hungry people eating his lunch.

Everyone of us have been given gifts from the heavenly Father, it is the way we use them for his glory that matters.

“But each man has his own gift from God, one has this gift another has that.” (1 Corinthians 7: 7)

Sometimes we might think, like the boy, how could this small gift do any good. It is when we give it back to the Father, for his glory, that we see wonders happening, but we do need to recognize what we have been gifted with and not neglect using it as sometimes using means we must give up our personal time to benefit others. Paul when writing to Timothy in his first letter to him. (1Timothy 4: 14) 

Again, in his second letter Paul urges Timothy to fan his gift into flame. (2 Timothy 1: 6) 

When we realise, we have a gift from God we need to be braver in using it and the more we do we find that God gives us more reasons to use it 

A final word from Peter’s letter 

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in it’s various forms.” (1 Peter 4: 10)

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Posted by: Jo | March 15, 2025

Wounded Warriors

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

(Matthew 11: 28)

Just recently I learnt about a wonderful organization called Wounded Warriors. I was very touched first by the title and then about what were their goals. I have always been so impressed by Paramedics in the way they fulfill their jobs daily, being the first responders at horrible accidents, witnessing people covered in blood, seeing a multiple car accident having to decide who needs them first and the worst I can image small children perhaps dead. I can only imagine the toll this must have on their emotional well being. This organization recognizes the effect of this trauma and has a program where the wounded Paramedics and others in stressful jobs, can retreat to a quite place and heal. 

Life can sometimes feel like a battle for us and constantly struggling to overcome overwhelming circumstances in our own lives can leave us wounded, this is when we need a warrior to fight for us. God assured the children of Israel that is who he is.

“The Lord is a warrior. The Lord is his name.” (Exodus 15: 3)

When we remember what a Mighty Warrior our Heavenly Father is, we realise he is the one to turn to when we feel wounded. 

“Do you not know? Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak.” (Isaiah 40: 28 – 29)

Sometimes we think admitting we feel wounded is a sign of weakness and feel we are failing somehow, but when we realise life takes many turns beyond our control, the best thing is to seek help.

One of my favourite passages in the Bible is in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. They obviously were feeling wounded, and he reminds them of the Great Warrior we must fight for us and tells them to put on the armour of God. This passage in Ephesians 6:10 17 is well worth reading. This is what he tells them and us. 

The belt of truth buckled around your waist

The breastplate of righteous in place

Feet fitted with the gospel of peace

Take up the shield of faith

Put on the helmet of salvation

Take with you the sword of the Spirit

Jesus’s promise sums up all we need when we are feeling wounded 

“Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14: 27)

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Posted in Comfort, Encourage, Ephesians, Exodus, Grief, Isaiah, John, Matthew | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | February 23, 2025

Ask. Seek. Knock.

“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds and him who knocks the door will be opened.”

(Matthew 7: 7)

I am now an old lady and am constantly challenged by new technology. When I recently was reading this verse from Matthew, I realised that the young ones in my family would see these words in a different light. Often when I ask them a question they reply, “Nana just looks it up on Google”, or if I tell them I have lost my cell phone somewhere in the house and cannot find it they quickly get out their phones, call my number and of course I hear it ring and find it. Once it was in my pocket, much to their amusement. Knocking on doors has also changed to get into my apartment building you need the code to punch in the number. 

Jesus was teaching his disciples a far different message which is still applicable to us his followers. We need to ask the Lord for our deepest needs and often we carry our worries around with us and forget Jesus’s words telling us to ask him about them. There is a beautiful old hymn which highlights this and is called What a friend we have in Jesus. The compelling stanza says this. 

O what peace we often forfeit

O what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer

The word seek also hides a much deeper meaning and often when we are facing a dilemma we agonize over where can we find a trustworthy company or a faithful friend to share this anxiety. Jesus is telling us he is right beside us, why look any further take our anxiety to him. He also calms us by asking us to trust him and believe he can and will help. 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4: 6)

Knocking on the door is always symbolic as well, when we need company we go in confidence to a friend’s home, knowing that when  we  knock the friend will open the door and welcome us in We forget that Jesus loves us just being with him not always with a long list of wants, but just to tell him how much we love him and how we want to thank him for his love for us. He tells us he is our friend so that is why if we knock on his door, he will of course open it and welcome us into his presence. 

“You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15: 14)

Let us lovingly accept his beautiful invitations. 

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Posted by: Jo | February 1, 2025

Forgiveness

“Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

(Matthew 6:12)

The current Bible study that I am attending at my church is doing an in-depth study on prayer. We have begun with the Lord’s prayer. We are spending a lot of time on each sentence, such that we realize the importance of each word. We are grasping why Jesus composed this prayer to teach his disciples, and us, how to pray. We realize that each time we pray this prayer we are praying his words back to him. 

The one section that spoke to me so deeply was forgiveness and our discussion on how important it was firstly to ask for it, but to then make sure we forgave others, was very enlightening. 

God forgave the children of Israel many times and I love the verse in Numbers that tells us that forgiveness is an act of love. 

“In accordance with your great love, forgive the sins of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time, they left Egypt until now.” (Numbers 14: 19)

Jesus tells a parable about asking for forgiveness and then also the importance of forgiving others (Matthew 18: 23) The story is about a King who decides to settle his debts and finds one man who owes him a great deal of money but when confronted he begs the king to forgive his debt so instead of being thrown into jail he is forgiven, but that same man is owed a small amount from a poor man and he demands his money taking no pity on the man.   

We owe the Lord Jesus a huge debt as he paid our debt with his life to save us, when we remember this our hearts are touched, and we can then forgive others. 

Sometimes we can hurt others and not be aware that we have done so, when we are confronted by them, we may react in anger instead of gracefully asking for forgiveness I love what David admits about himself. 

“Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.” (Psalm 19: 12)

Later in the same Psalm he says…

“Keep your servant also from wilful sins may they not rule over me.” (Psalm 19: 13)

Peter, always the outspoken one, questions Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness and asks Jesus this. 

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked. “How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18: 21)

Jesus multiplies it by a huge number, not meaning there is a limit, but he means we don’t count how often we forgive. Sometimes that can be hard but asking the Lord to soften our hearts is a good way to start. 

The other message about forgiveness is to accept God’s forgiveness. Sometimes we hang on a certain sin and berate ourselves, hanging on to it instead of releasing it to the Lord and to know that he has forgiven us, we can let go the self condemnation 

So let us let forgiveness for others to flow from our hearts.  

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Posted by: Jo | January 11, 2025

Building On His Foundation

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious corner stone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.”

(Isaiah 28: 16)

The neighbourhood where I live seems to be in a frenzy of building new apartments and as I go on my daily walk, I can see all the activity and the many builders handling huge cement trucks, big beams huge cranes swinging their long metal arms over tall buildings. I see the progress daily as I walk past, but have noticed that preparing the foundation takes the longest, the digging out of the huge hole that will be filled with cement and then more cement on the top of that, I know nothing about building, but it is obvious even to my eyes that the foundation of any building is very important and doing it carefully will ensure a safe building. 

When God is speaking to the prophet Isaiah, he is telling him to tell the people to choose a sure foundation on which to build their lives. 

I love the parables that Jesus chose to illustrate the point of his teachings, and my favourite one is about the wise and foolish builders. It begins like this:

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon a rock.” (Matthew 7: 24)

When the storms begin, as they do in any of our lives, the house stood firm, but the next part of the story has a different ending a foolish man built his house on sand and when the storms arrived the house was washed away. 

So, what is the message for us in this parable? What foundations are we building on for our lives. The world shouts at us telling us that money is a good foundation or power, influence charm, but Jesus’ message is far from all these. The only true foundation is Jesus Christ himself.  

Paul when writing to the Ephesians tells them to remember what they have been taught and to build on that

“built on the foundation of the prophets and the apostles, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2: 20)

When we see what the world says, we can see that money can be washed away, power decreases, influence and charm fade as we age, but Jesus Christ is our rock. 

The sweet little Sunday school song, The Rains Came Down, pictures the story Jesus told. The final verse is not just for children, it is a wonderful lesson for us 

Build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ and as the prayers go up the blessings will come down 

Solomon knew this wisdom all those years ago 

“Unless the Lord builds the house, it’s builders labour in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

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Posted by: Jo | January 1, 2025

Treading Safely Into The Future

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

(Isaiah 41:13)

Every now and then, a movie comes along that leaves a deep impression on viewers. Back in 2010 “The King’s Speech” was one such movie. Not only was the acting superb, but the story was also historically true and the theme of a shy, unassuming man being able to overcome the terrible handicap of stuttering to become the King of Britain was very inspiring. My Favorite scene was the famous radio broadcast, Christmas 1939. Britain was at war! Fear had gripped the whole nation. Gentle Bertie (now King George V1) had the enormous task of first overcoming his own fear of speaking and handling the new medium of radio, and then of finding the right words to comfort a nation terrified of what the New Year would bring. He chooses to read from a small piece of prose entitled, “God Knows”. What an inspiration it was to read those particular words. He encouraged the people to put their hands into the hand of God who would guide them through the darkness of the unknown. We know the incredible courage of the people of Britain as they trod through the darkness of war, and I believe King George with his example of placing his faith in the Almighty had a lot to do with it.

So, what does it mean for us to put our hands in to the mighty hand of God? Holding anyone’s hand always involves putting trust in the person whose hand it is. We have had visitors this week, two little girls with their father, and I was observing the younger one reaching for her father’s hand whenever the surroundings were unfamiliar. She knew and trusted the owner of that hand to guide her through any situation; she knew he was strong enough to protect her. So, trusting God is the first big step before we surrender our hands to be led.

Repeatedly Scripture ensures us that our Heavenly Father only has plans that are good for us. He wishes to give us confidence. He wishes to take away that terror of the night. He wants to banish the “what if” in our thinking. He wants us to step boldly into the future knowing that while we are holding his hand, we will handle any situation that comes along.

“…For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future….” (Jeremiah 29:11) 

When armed with those words we can start to trust that mighty hand not to lead us into any danger and even if we stumble, we will be back on our feet in no time.

“If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumbles, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” (Psalm 37: 23 – 24) 

Knowing we have put our hand in that of the Mighty One we can say with confidence, Happy New Year. 

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Posted in Comfort, Encourage, Inspiration, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Matthew, Proverbs, Psalms | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | December 19, 2024

The Good Shepherd Has Arrived

“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

(John 10: 14)

My church held an amazing concert for all ages last week and the title was, The Tale of the Shepherd. It was a delightful rendition of the Christmas story, but what was so charming, adults joined with the children in the cast and the church choir filled the air with beautiful voices and dear little angels with big stars on their heads popped up from the balcony and stairs to surprise us all with their voices. 

Jesus had many titles and many of these were predicted by the prophet Isaiah. 

“For to us a child is born to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9: 6)

He was also called the Messiah, the one to save his people, but Jesus himself chooses the humble title Shepherd. 

When we delve into the word itself, it is surprising how often it is used in Scripture. Jacob in the book of Genesis uses it to tell his sons how he sees God. 

“Because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd the Rock of Isreal.” (Genesis 49: 24)

David in the well, known Psalm says 

“The Lord is my shepherd I shall not be in want.” (Psalm 23: 1)

Shepherds were not considered the elite or the wealthy and some instances looked down upon as lowly citizens, but good shepherds sometimes risked their lives by fighting off wild beasts that attacked their flocks. They often spent cold dark nights in the darkness, building a rough shelter to protect their sheep and lying across the opening with their own body. 

It seems so surprising that angels were chosen to tell a group of shepherds first, that the perfect Good Shepherd had been born but not so surprising when Jesus Christ was going to tell the world that he was the Good Shepherd.  

Sheep quickly learnt to trust the voice of their shepherd and to trust him to lead them safely.  Jesus leaves a vital message for all of us his sheep. 

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10: 27)

During the Christmas season the world shouts a different message and media is urging spending money, gifts, parties so our Good Shepherd’s voice gets drowned out. 

There was a beautiful painting in a church I attended of Jesus as a shepherd with a lamb around his shoulders being carried to safety as we welcome the baby Jesu let us see him as our Loving Good Shepherd always ready to carry us when need him and to listen to his voice as he leads us on the path of truth. 

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Posted by: Jo | December 4, 2024

Gratitude

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures for ever.”

(Psalm 118: 1)

I have just reached a milestone in my life, I have now turned 90, and whenever we reach different major times, reflections about what has transpired before floods our minds, we begin to remember where we were before and compare to where we are today. Every life has ups and downs, but as I looked back, I realized that once I became a firm believer in Jesus Christ, the Lord had always been right there beside me despite what I was confronting, and I was filled with gratitude for his love that endures forever so I stopped and thanked him for his everlasting love that I had experienced again and again. 

The Psalmists knew how important it was to remember to give thanks to our Heavenly Father and many of the psalms have this theme many, many times. 

David’s beautiful psalm of praise and thankfulness is found in Chronicles, he begins…

“Give thanks to the Lord and call on his name.” (1 Chronicles 16: 8)

Then he shows us how to do this…

“Sing praise to him, sing praise to him, tell of all his wonderful acts.” (1 Chronicles 16: 9)

It is an amazing psalm to read in full 

Paul when he is writing to the Thessalonians urges them and us to remember to give thanks no matter what is happening 

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5: 18)

Sometimes that can be very hard when we are overwhelmed with anxiety, grief, broken relationships, loss of income, but it is amazing if we try hard to find even a small reason to be grateful, it can lift our spirits and gives us strength to keep going. 

I love how Paul encourages the Philippians to do this, giving his own example. 

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4: 11)

He gives all the credit to being able to do this, to the Lord and when we lovingly come to the Lord with grateful hearts, we also will find strength to keep going. 

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4: 13)

Another wonderful way to use gratitude, is towards others, we may love the way our family cares for us but telling them how grateful we are for their love lifts everybody up and when our friends or even a person you don’t know very well, does a kind act for you, telling them that you are grateful brings joy for them. 

Psalm 100 is a lovely way to start a morning prayer 

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, give thanks to him and praise him.” (Psalm 100: 4)

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Posted by: Jo | November 9, 2024

All For Him

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

(Colossians 3: 17)

Once a month in our church, a luncheon is held for seniors. It is a very popular function at which a beautiful buffet luncheon is served, and tables are set for 6 people, and everyone is encouraged to sit with someone perhaps you don’t know very well. This is intended to help us get to know members of the family. The luncheon is followed by a speaker from the church who shares their life story and how they came to know the Lord Jesus and finishes with praise and singing. Many volunteers are needed to make this a success. During the more recent occasions, I was watching the volunteers’ clearing tables, washing up in the kitchen and it got me thinking of a verse from Colossians.

I noticed everyone of the helpers, from greeters to those in the kitchen, were smiling and seeming to be enjoying their jobs, even though they weren’t being paid. This attitude filled the room with joy which we all felt, they were doing it all for Jesus, imitating him which Paul told the followers to do, 

“But made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2: 7)

Jesus gave us a beautiful example of this when he knelt like a servant and washed the disciple’s feet. 

It is very important for all of us to read God’s word and absorb the knowledge it contains for how to live, but knowledge is not enough and assuming we have it is not enough, we must live it. When Paul was writing to the Corinthians he used these words. 

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8: 1)

When the motive for us to act in Jesus’ name is love, that is when our actions build up those around us and this was the sense all of us participating in the luncheon, felt. 

Our basic human natures desire to be praised. When we are praised for our actions we get a warm glow, but when we want to serve Christ, our main desire needs to be pleasing him and by doing so our actions are fueled by his love and he is the one building others up. Being guided by the Holy Spirit is the way we can discern how the Lord wants us to act. This is what our verse says, your words and deeds need to be done all in the name of Jesus (Colossians 3: 17) and when we do, how wonderful to hear this whisper 

“Well done good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25: 21)

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