Posted by: Jo | October 16, 2024

Jesus Rescues Us

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory and honour for ever and ever. Amen.”

(Galatians 1: 3 – 5)

I live in a very beautiful city in B.C, Canada. It borders on the Pacific Ocean, but the backdrop is spectacular mountains which are covered in snow in the winter. The attractions of these mountains are endless, in the winter the snow attracts thousands to have the thrills of skiing with breath taking views of the sea and harbour. In the summer endless trails meander through heavily wooded areas with equally beautiful views of giant trees and perhaps a black bear or two.

Despite all the beauty, the mountains can be dangerous places for those who are not prepared. Skiing accidents can happen and, in the summer, unless hikers are well prepared and stay on the marked trails, falls into gullies can end up with broken bones and being hard to find. Many years ago, group of volunteers set up an organization called Nth Shore Search and Rescue which has now grown into powerful teams set up with trained people and helicopters.

I was thinking about this when I read the verse from Galatians, Jesus is our Search and Rescue source.  God promised from the beginning that he would rescue his people, and we read this promise through the prophet, Ezekiel.

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says; I my self will search for my sheep and look after them.” (Ezekiel 34: 11)

Unfortunately, many rescues on our mountains are necessary because those looking for adventure ignore the warnings posted at the beginning of the trails. Safe trails are marked, but foolish ones decide to try out of bound areas and end up lost or injured and if it is getting dark forced to stay over night, even in the summer over night temperatures drop and if the climbers have not brought proper clothing they are in more danger, rescue teams need to put themselves in danger to rescue them.

Life is often referred to as the path we walk on and many times we read in God’s word that we need to choose the path that is chosen by the Lord.

“Teach me your way, O Lord. Lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.” (Psalm 27: 11)

It is very easy in our lives to ignore wise decisions and to be led astray by false ideas and ignoring the danger of listening to what the world is shouting at us to do, and not taking heed of the wisdom pf our loving Father and always seeking his advice, before we do anything without his blessing.

When we remember what happens to the foolish hikers that desperately need to be rescued because they chose the wring path, we can remember these words.

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16: 11)

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Posted by: Jo | September 21, 2024

Chosen Ones

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

(1 Peter 2: 9)

My two youngest grandchildren are very involved in sport, and both loves playing soccer and basketball.  When they come to see me, I love to hear about their games and how their skills are improving, but the most exciting stories they want me to hear is when they move up to a higher grade and they are notified that they have been chosen to join the new team.

There is always something wonderful when we hear we have been chosen. I can remember times in my own childhood when I heard those special words and the glow I felt, but nothing can compare with the incredible, wonderful feeling when we hear the whisper from Our Heavenly Father that he has chosen us to be his beloved child.  John tells us this amazing truth in the gospel of John. 

“Yet to all that received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to be children of God.” (John 1: 12)

When we join a team in sport, we are not just there to show how skilled we are to be praised, we pull together with the other players, scoring goals, but also helping others to score goals for the whole team. It is much the same when we are chosen to be children of God, we join a family, not because we are special but because of the wonderful task of supporting others as we all spread the good news of Jesus Christ our Saviour. 

When we join the family of God, we all have different gifts given by Our Father, to unite us together for his glory. Paul tells us how these gifts combine, to form a strong voice in the world.  

“So, in Christ we who are many forms one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts according to the grace given us.” (Romans 12: 5 – 6)

Paul goes on to list the different gifts, but the important thing to note is that no gift is to be thought to be better than any other. Unfortunately, we can slip into this idea and start comparing ourselves to others in the family and think we haven’t as much to contribute as others do. The important thing to remember is to use our gift, and we all have been given a gift, to lovingly serve him. 

Then we only need to remember that we have been chosen, we are a beloved child of God, loving him and following him is what pleases him.

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Posted in Encourage, Ephesians, Peter, Romans | Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | August 28, 2024

Welcoming Others In His Name

“Who ever welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and who ever welcomes me does not welcome me, but the one who sent me.”

(Mark 9: 37)

For some funny reason a silly song from my childhood kept running through my mind when I read this verse in a recent Bible study. 

If I knew you were coming, I would have baked a cake

Baked a cake, baked a cake

And spread the welcome mat for you.

I am a very structured person and for some unknown reason I don’t do well with people who drop in to see me unexpectedly and I had a flash of shame when I read the words of Jesus. Do I welcome everybody into my home with the welcoming love of Jesus? Or am I proud of myself because of my delicious baking and take the praise for myself and invite special people who I like and would like to impress. 

I decided to look up the dictionary to find what the word, welcome meant. Here is what I read 

To receive gladly and offer hospitality

Hospitality is emphasized in Paul’s and Peter’s letters to new believers to encourage them to spread the good news by welcoming all who are seeking the Savior, so they are accepted into God’s family. 

Paul puts it simply. 

“Practice hospitality.” (Romans 12: 13)

Peter adds a bit more, especially for me 

“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4: 9)  

Welcoming does not always mean a delicious supper if we go back to the definition, it starts with to receive gladly, and this is so important in our church family. Newcomers who arrive at our services will feel the love of Jesus if they are welcomed gladly, to feel accepted whoever they are. 

Lots of different people enter our every day lives and this again is when we can use the love of Jesus to welcome them, perhaps a new family in the neighborhood or new person at work or at school.  To receive someone new into our midst, especially into our church family, is truly welcoming them if we are prompted by the love of Jesus. 

In John’s third letter to his friend, Gaius, he praises him and his church for welcoming strangers who were spreading the good news of Jesus Christ, we would call them missionaries today, he praised the church for offering them hospitality and urged others to follow this example. John tells Gaius that those men have spread the news about how well they were treated 

“They have told the church about your love.” (3 John 1: 6)

Then John tells others to follow suit 

“It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.” (3 John 1:  7 – 8)

The other beautiful message about welcome is that we can welcome God’s word and receive it gladly. Welcoming the truth, we find there and spreading it to others.

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Posted in Challenge, Comfort, Encourage, John, Mark, Matthew, Peter, Romans | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Jo | August 2, 2024

He Is Always Ready To Listen

“The Lord is near to all who call on him; all who call on him in truth.”

(Psalm 145: 18)

All my family, especially my grownup grandchildren, are always assuring me how wonderful technology is, but I must disagree, quietly to myself, because I find it very frustrating at times. Power outages cause chaos, but the most exasperating thing I find is how impossible it is to talk to a real person on the telephone, automated voices that you can’t reason with or shout at, seem to answer every phone call to some business or office you call and to add to the frustration “please hold we will be with you shortly”, is repeated over and over again, in-between annoying music.  I was thinking about this when I was reading one of David’s psalms, he often called God, but no automated voices answered him, always the loving voice of the Heavenly Father was there, listening carefully. 

This is the same incredible privilege we have as God’s precious children; we can call him at any time, in the middle of the night, in the dark when we are alone and frightened. When we are lost, when sorrow overtakes us, when we just need assuring that he is there near us. When he hears our call, he knows at once that his beloved child needs him. 

Sometimes we forget that he is ready to comfort us, and we struggle with our own thoughts and sink further into our misery. When we remember he is our Father, who loves us a beautiful verse, which reminds us of this, comes into our mind. 

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3: 17)

That verse makes me think of a father calming and tenderly singing over a small infant. 

There are many witnesses in the Bible who have called out to God and received his wonderful compassion, nothing is too simple or too tragic for him to pour out his love for his children. I always think of Jeremiah who had such a difficult life, standing up for God’s laws when he was mocked threatened with death and had no friends. But he never stopped telling the children of God that their only hope was to turn back to God and follow his laws. He knew who he could trust and who he could call out to.

“I called on your name, O Lord from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea. Do not close your ears to my cry for relief. You came near me when I called you and you said Do not fear.” (Lamentations 3: 55 – 57)

The Lord loves to hear our voices and is always ready at any time to answer our call, no waiting, but the incredible privilege of him answering every time. 

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Posted in Comfort, Encourage, Lamentations, Psalms, Zephaniah | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | July 23, 2024

We Can Soar With His Strength

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.”

(Isaiah 40: 31)

Many years ago, my husband and I owned a cabin in the mountains which was set with water frontage on a beautiful lake in a very isolated area. It was a very tranquil setting, during the winter the lake froze and the whole scenery changed, but the beginning of Spring brought lots of wildlife and magnificent birds. I loved to sit down near the water and watch the eagles as they hunted for fish. My favourite eagle was the Osprey, and I thought the best and most incredible hunter of them all as he soared above the water and then suddenly with out warning, with his claws widespread, would plunge into the water and emerge with a squirming fish held firmly held in those claws and then soar off into the sky until I lost sight of where he went. 

Isaiah has a beautiful passage to read when we feel overwhelmed and weary, unable to cope any more, he reminds us that the Lord is always close by ready to give us his strength and gives a heart-warming description about how we will feel when we ask for his strength, will feel like we are soaring through the sky like my favourite eagle. 

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall.” (Isaiah 40: 29 – 30)

The final blessing is 

“They will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40: 31) 

Sometimes foolishly we think we should make it through life in our own strength thinking asking for help is being weak, but God’s word is full of promises, but first we need to read his word, so we know what he is offering us, his children. Then we must accept his help by asking for it when we need it, Jesus tells us to do this. 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 6: 7 – 8)

Sometimes life feels like we are somehow trapped behind a heavy door that we are unable to open, but when we hear Jesus’ voice to knock on that door and ask for help, we will be free and soaring high with his strength with wings like eagles. 

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Posted by: Jo | July 15, 2024

Listening With Clarity To His Voice

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.”

(John 10: 27)

Just recently I needed to have my hearing aids checked. I must admit they are a wonderful invention for old people like me who are hard of hearing, but they also need to be adjusted as hearing begins to worsen. To have them checked is quite a procedure, as one must sit in a soundproof room while listening to beeps and push buttons when you hear the beep, then to listen carefully to a voice and repeat the last word spoken.  When I was listening to the report on my hearing, the word clarity was repeated at nauseum. It was not important that I heard the voice, but did I hear it clearly enough to know what was said.  

Listening to God is one of the most important ways we can follow him and stay on that path of truth. When Moses was instructing the children of Israel, he emphasized how important it was to do just that 

“And that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him.” (Deuteronomy 30: 20) 

The other important message about listening is in Jesus’ words, where he says his sheep know his voice. In this world there are many voices trying to claim our attention. The world shouts at us, we know it is tempting to listen to such things as “all you need to be happy is to be rich or beautiful”, “you don’t have to care about who you stand on to get that job”, “a few lies will get you where you want to be”, “you should always look after yourself first”. Listening to these voices will drag you away form that still voice of the Father, who sometimes whispers. 

When Elijah needed to know God was still with him, he didn’t hear a voice thundering out of the sky, but a whisper 

“And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19: 12)

When my hearing was being tested, I had to sit in a soundproof room, so I only heard one voice and when Jesus wanted to hear the Father he went away from the crowds and chose a quiet place to pray. This is a wonderful example for us to follow if we want to hear clearly the Lord’s voice. Many of us lead very busy lives, but if we look carefully at what we make time for, how do we take time for listening to that Heavenly Voice.  Most of my family plan their days around what they must do work wise, picking up children and etcetera, and a beep on their cell phone reminds them. 

Setting aside a quiet time especially in the morning before the busy day begins is a wonderful way to start, knowing the Holy Spirit will guide us on the right path he has chosen for us if we listen carefully, so his voice is clear. 

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Posted in 1 Kings, Challenge, Deuteronomy, Encourage, Isaiah, John | Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | July 3, 2024

Come Into His Presence With Love And Joy

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

(Deuteronomy 6: 5)

I recently had a delightful afternoon at my granddaughter’s school concert, she is 7. That age is so sweet and innocent. You could feel the excitement and the joy of all the children as they saw their parents and grandparents (like me), streaming into the seats. I was fortunate to have a front row view. The little play was filled with singing and action, and I could see all the little ones making sure they could see their loved ones in the audience. Of course, my little girl was making sure we were watching her. At the end of the concert the teacher said the children could go find their family. Before I realized it, my little one had jumped into my lap and was giving me a big hug. The warmth of her love overwhelmed me!

That love of that little one made me think of our Heavenly Father. We can’t give him a hug, but he is always watching us, and I think we often forget to tell him, that we love him for always watching over us. When we come to him in prayer, we usually have a long list of what we need. Giving him reasons as to why we want him to help us get through a problem. Sometimes we feel too tired to seek him or too busy. Jesus echoes Moses’s words in Deuteronomy (Matthew 22: 37) and we all need to recognize the first words.

Love with all your heart!

We can love him, but the message is we need to tell him and show him that we love him. Tell him what joy it is to be with him. Tell him how grateful you are for all his blessings. Tell him how you love reading his word. Tell him you love to walk on the path of truth with him. Tell him you love the time you spend in prayer with him. Tell him you love the fact that he loves you. 

The Psalmists knew the importance of recognising God’s love. David often put it simply 

“I, love you O lord my strength.” (Psalm 18: 1)

If we go to a concordance to check the word – love – there are pages after pages of verses containing this word. There are hardly any psalms that do not have the word love somewhere.  Both the Old and New Testament emphasise that love flows between Our Heavenly Father and his people.  

We know how important love is in our earthly families. We acknowledge how the lack of love can bring discord and damage to relationships. We also know that love produces joy and harmony in our contacts with others. Just as my little girl filled me with joy with a hug, we can bring joy to Our Father by telling him we love him, and his love will flow through us and to others around us.

  

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Posted in Comfort, Deuteronomy, Encourage, Inspiration, Matthew, Psalms | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Jo | June 15, 2024

Words Worth Being Guided By

“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”

(Proverbs 30: 5)

I have just been reading a novel set in my birthplace, Australia, in a time when I was a child. At that time polio was racing around the world, an ugly disease attacking children crippling their bodies, damaging their lungs. Many children were crippled for life, some in iron lungs and many dying. I can remember a family who were close friends losing their son. The reason this all came flooding back to me was that in the story I was reading a young boy is infected by polio and the only treatment was to lie in bed for 12 months. His mother was an avid reader and as the boy could not go to school; or walk and play with others she encouraged him to read. She introduced him to famous authors Charles Dickens became his favorite. and words became the tool that helped him eventually to walk by taking his mind off his body. 

Words have a powerful effect on us in our everyday lives unfortunately not all words are true, words can be ugly hurtful remarks, words can stir up anger, racism, nasty bullying can be used over social media, fake news floods our internet, that is when we need to turn to the only one true trusted word, the Word of God. The book of Proverbs tells us his word is flawless and is a shield for us to run behind. 

God’s word existed from the beginning of time 

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1: 1)

No other word can claim this and then to empathize this, the Word came to all mankind in human form to show the world how to live this mighty word. 

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth.” (John 1: 14)

God’s word is a beautiful gift from him to tell us how much he loves us and is full of wonderful promises of how he will guide us, protect us, show us the right paths to walk on, and when we do, he will hold our hands and keep us from wandering off those paths. He will be there through the storms of life, when things are not going well, but we need to be immersed in his word every day, so we remember his instructions. 

The Psalmists knew the importance of doing this and this is a beautiful verse to remember for our own lives 

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:  11)

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Posted by: Jo | May 28, 2024

Shining Christ’s Light In The Darkness

“In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

(John 1: 4 – 5)

A few weeks ago, a raging storm burst over our city. There were wild gusts of wind which brought trees crashing down, some falling on power lines causing power outages. The main thrust was during the night, so houses were plunged into darkness. We humans have become so used to just flicking a switch to turn on the light, that being in total darkness was frightening, as we scrambled to find candles any form of light which only gave a little light in the darkness. 

Sometimes our personal lives seem to be filled with darkness, if worries about our health arise, broken relationships, money problems, even the ugly evil of our broken world can plunge us into darkness. 

We sing a song at our church with these beautiful encouraging words. 

Step into the darkness with his Light.

Jesu tells us he is the light of the world.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8: 12)

So how do we step into the darkness with his light. I love the story in Acts 16, when Paul and Silas are beaten and thrown into jail for preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. The jailor makes sure they are in chains and puts them in stocks as well. Imagine the other prisoner’s amazement and the jailor when they burst into songs of praise to God. Praise is one of the ways we can dispel darkness in our own lives. When we stop and think of the Saviour’s love and praise him for dying for us, light creeps onto the darkness, eventually banishing the darkness.  

Darkness can descend on those around us, and this is when shining Christ’s light can have a powerful effect helping those who are experiencing sorrow or pain. We can bring Christ’s light into their lives and there is so much advice in God’s word as to how to do that. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he writes this beautiful verse about the fruits of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5: 22) When we embrace the Holy Spirit into our lives we inherit his beautiful love for others. We can bring his love to others to be kind and patient, be gentle as we help others to see the light. 

We may feel inadequate in bringing light to others, thinking we haven’t got the strength or what could we do. There is a beautiful little Sunday school song that gives us great advice. 

Jesus bids us shine with a pure clear light

Like a little candle burning in the night

In this world of darkness so we must shine

You in your small corner and I in mine

So however small our little corner may be, we can shine Christ’s beautiful light knowing the power it has over darkness. 

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Posted by: Jo | May 20, 2024

Standing Up For The Truth

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

(John 14: 6)

The Old Testament is filled with fascinating characters who set wonderful examples for us. In the Bible study group I belong to, we have been studying the life of Elijah, a loyal prophet who steadfastly upheld the truth about the Mighty God of Israel whom he served. It was a time when false gods were worshipped, but Elijah always refused to follow the crowd, despite being threatened and living in constant fear of death. God had chosen him to be a voice of truth and performed miracles through him. At one point, he single-handedly confronted 450 false prophets of Baal and demonstrated God’s power by calling down fire from heaven. It’s a compelling story to read (1 Kings 18).

David understood that the only way to stay on the path of truth was to seek guidance from the Lord:

“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” (Psalm 25: 4 – 5)

In the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly emphasized that he was speaking the truth, often beginning his teachings to the disciples and the crowds with the words:

I tell you the truth…

In our current age, we may not see statues of strange gods being worshipped, but we are surrounded by false teachings—worldly doctrines promising happiness, wealth, and power, all focusing on self-gratification, becoming like gods.

David recognized that when vile practices are allowed and even celebrated, evil invades people’s lives and has the freedom to deceive:

“The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.: (Psalm 12: 8)

So, how do we stand up for the truth? How do we discern good from evil amidst the whirlwind of false teachings? When David sought to understand this, he cried out to the Lord for guidance on the path of truth (Psalm 25: 4 – 5).

These words can form a simple prayer for us to recite each morning before starting our day, reminding us to stay close to Jesus. By following and obeying His words, embedding them in our hearts, our actions will speak for us. We will no longer be swayed by the world’s beliefs; we will be free.

“…If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8: 31 – 32)

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Posted in 1 Kings, Challenge, Encourage, Inspiration, John, Psalms | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

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