Author: Carol Purves

The Joy of the Lord

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‘Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ Nehemiah 8:10

We are in a world where people are often driven to work harder and harder, to earn more money to spend on more possessions. Wealth has no ceiling, those with plenty never have enough. As the office scene is what I know the most about, I know there are some environments where the workers used to arrive before the boss each day and make sure they left after him, so as to earn his approbation, thereby gaining promotion and more money.

If at creation God rested on the seventh day, we too need periods of rest and relaxation. We need joy, the joy of the Lord, so we can pass it on to others. We read that as directed by Nehamiah (8:10) the people went away to eat and drink and also give to those who had nothing prepared.

Jesus needed time away from the demanding crowds, to ‘recharge His batteries’ and commune with His father. When, as a nation, we started shopping on a Sunday and having sports fixtures on the Sabbath we suffered spiritually. It seems there is more stress and depression than ever. If we went back to keeping one day holy for God and restful there would be less need for mental healing. It’s not possible to go back, we can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Only in our own lives can we pray to step out of the world and find more time seeking the joy of the Lord.

Unfailing Love

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100 metres from my home is a place I can stand and just about see the hill tops of south west Scotland. By turning 90 degrees I can see the northern Pennines, also known as the backbone of England. Turning again I can see the magnificent hills of the Lake District. All wonderful but the Psalmist tells us ‘I will lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from, it comes from the Lord.’ Psalm 121:1

At my feet is a gurgling brook and children playing in the field in front of me. God has created the mountains and also created the human race. God is in nature but nature is not God. God is in His people, but people are not God. There is only one God, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Because people are unwavering and uncaring about God, it doesn’t stop Him loving them, God loves us all with an unfailing love, tempered by His judgement..

Shut Eyes

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Their hearts were broken, their dreams smashed. Their beloved Master was dead, cruelly crucified. The blow was so terrible and unexpected (although they had been told) that their hearts and words could concentrate on nothing else. Travelling t Emmaus their tragedy was all they could think about even when a stranger joined them on their journey. There was no interest in who he was or why he was travelling on this road. At first they dominated the talk with their troubles but gradually this ‘stranger’ took control of the conversation.

‘He interpreted to them all the scriptures, starting with Moses. Gradually their thoughts turned away from their misery as they listened enthralled, but still ignorant of who this man was. They found it difficult to grasp that he didn’t know anything about the recent trouble in Jerusalem. It wasn’t until Jesus broke the bread that their eyes were opened.

Are there times in our ow lives when we do not see? Do we miss Jesus because our minds are fully involved with our own troubles? There must be times when we ignore a call for help from others because our hearts are turned inwards. Blessings can be missed, opportunities to help others not taken because we are out of step with God. On our own walk to Emmaus we can step off God’s chosen path and wander in the desert. How we need to stay focused on Him and not miss His abundant blessings.

Paradise Today

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‘You’re getting what you deserve.’ After a life of thieving and violence he was getting what he deserved. He’d always known the risk but the thrill of his actions had seemed worth it. Now he knew it wasn’t. It was all over and what lay before him was hours of agony and finally death.

The man hanging beside him was different. He was facing the same fate but He was a good man who had done no wrong but had got on the wrong side of the authorities. As the thief hung there he came to realise that this man was the Son of God as He had always professed to be. ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ ‘Today You will be with me in paradise.’ If the thief had been hanging on any other crucifixion site, he would not have received the promise of heaven but it was no mistake that he was at Golgotha.

How wonderful it would be if our unsaved friends could hear the words, ‘Today you will be with me in paradise.’

Not Worthy

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‘I don’t feel I’m worthy enough to take communion,’ my Christian friend told me; I felt so sad. Of course, she is not good enough, nor are any of us. As we all know it’s not a matter of us being good enough, it’s a matter of God being good enough. There is no way we can ever earn God’s blessing, we are fallen creatures, full of sin. Our worthiness doesn’t come into it.

‘Come unto me,’ Jesus says. He doesn’t say when you are in a better person ‘Come to me.’ The life of a Christian is not for a good person, think of the Pharisees that Jesus had to deal with. Their hearts were closed because they thought they were good enough. The only time Jesus is recorded as being angry is with self-righteous people. The Bible tells us when we are weak then we are strong. God wants us with our brokenness, our failures and our wretchedness. as well as our sin. He will sort all this out and then we can be really strong and worthy in His strength.

God accepted and welcomed Saul and David and Moses and they were all pretty high on the sin list. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation or God’s love, our weakness is our only qualification; what an up-side-down God we have!

I tried explaining all this to my friend and that was my only responsibility; God must do the rest. I continue to pray for her and thank Him for all the revelations He has given me. I thank Him that He alone has shown me His salvation and way to live.

Planned or Unplanned

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When David the shepherd boy went out to tend his sheep on that memorable day, he felt it would be a day like any other, leading and guiding his sheep and coping with the odd lion or predator. By nightfall he had been anointed as king-in-waiting. Paul’s journey to Damascus was like many others he had made, being as much nuisance to those obnoxious Christians as he possibly could. By the end of the day he had been confronted by the God of the universe, the very one he had been fighting against. Adam started the day in the garden of Eden and finished it outside, banned from entry. All these people had planned their day, but the reality was very different.

Of course, we need to make plans for every day and for the future; drifting will get us no-where. Financially, health-wise and business-wise we have to think about the coming days, months and years, But also within the planning there needs to be flexibility to allow the Holy Spirit to work out in our lives. We need to be aware of His nudging, He can suddenly ask us to do something for someone else or do something that is completely out of our plans. We can only see a few hours ahead, God can see the whole of eternity. We only know about our small circle, God can see right round the world to the end of earthly life. His plans for us started at the beginning of time.

‘For we are God’s handiwork, created by Christ Jesus, to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ Ephesians 2:10

In All Things

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‘God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.’ 2 Corinthians 9:8.

I love to read this verse in the Bible. In my translation, the word ‘all’ is used three times; My God is an ‘all-good’ God. Just suppose the verse read differently – ‘In most things, for a good percentage of people, you will have much of what you need..’ That’s not our God. We don’t have to think ‘I wonder if God will answer my prayer. I hope he’s in a good mood today.’ He’s not like a reluctant boss when we ask for a pay rise. Our God even loves to give good things to us and will only withhold when it is for our own good. A God who gave His only Son for our salvation is more than a generous self-giving God.

The Message translation puts it in different words using phrases such as ‘giving to the needy in reckless abandon,’ ‘His right-loving, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out.’ Whatever words are used, in whatever language, they are just not adequate to describe the love of God. But then comes the rub, ‘so that you can be generous in every way.’

For Everyone

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God’s caring sacrificial love is for everyone, otherwise I might miss out. If God’s love was only for the young and intelligent, it would not be on offer for me. I am no longer young and my intelligence is only normal. At school I was always about the middle of the class. God doesn’t ask how many exams we’ve passed or how many diplomas we have. He simply asks us to love Him. God doesn’t ask us to be beautiful and stunningly good looking. I’m just average again; I’ve never been called beautiful or ugly. God looks on the heart and not on the outward appearance; think about David not being as striking as his brothers.

Nor does God’s acceptance of me depend on my wealth. I have been blessed with enough, but that is to be used in His service. When we depart this life, everything will be left behind. We will be transported to heaven, but our earthly goods will go into the skip. ‘Nothing in my hands i bring, only to Your cross I cling’ Augustus Toplady. I don’t need any certificates, attributes or possessions to be accepted by God. In fact there is nothing I can do to make Him love me more and there is nothing I can do to make Him love me less. Now, there’s a thought!

Live on your Knees

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I came across this quote the other day – ‘It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.’ Emiliano Zapata

As Zapata was a Mexican revolutionary who was assassinated before the age of 60, his meaning of ‘live on your knees’ was different to mine. I presume he meant don’t give up, it is better to wear out than rust out. I related the phrase to living your life in constant prayer. But is it possible to pray too much. Yes, if our prayer is not followed by action, it is only half the story. We are told that prayer and action go together. ”Faith without works is dead.’ Ephesians 2:9. The lives of Mary and Martha are an example, one had plenty of faith and not so much works; the other emphasized the works and thereby missed out on the teaching of Jesus. We need to get the balance right.

Jeremiah

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Being a prophet was never an easy job as it was their task to relay God’s unpleasant messages and warnings. Sometimes the message was good but more often it was to convey God’s loving judgment. Jeremiah had the job of telling unpleasant warnings from God to the People of Judah and His messages were seldom good. No wonder he was known as the Prophet of Doom

What an unpleasant responsibility is it if we are called upon by God to deliver stern messages of correction. It may be that we are the person, the only person to point out errors in a person’s life. It is such a position of responsibility that it must be proceeded by plenty of prayer. However, planks and splinters come to mind. We need to make sure that it is actually a message from God and not a matter of us wanting to get our own way. Any correction must be delivered in deep love. The receiver will be hurt, our love for them needs to be abounding. We need to ask ourselves whether we too are guilty of this fault. Prayer for the person and with the person will be a gift from God.

I must admit that God has never asked me to correct another person, as a coward I pray that any correction may be done by God through my prayers. I don’t want to a Jeremiah!