A Suitable Leader

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The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Moses, My servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the River Jordan.’ Joshua 1:2

Moses, the old man, had died. In the Bible we are able to f9llow his whole life story. We have read of him as a baby in the bulrushes, a young man in Pharaoh’s court, a murderer, banished, seeing the Burning Bush, coping with plagues, commissioned to lead, crossing the Red Sea and having many and varied adventures in the desert. He is now an old man of many years and probably frail.

The vast nation of Israel now needed a leader to lead them into the Promised Land and overcome their many enemies. God had prepared a young warrior to take over the leadership. Moses was not able to do any of this, this was the time of Joshua. Re-reading Joshua 1:2 again I noticed that Moses was allowed to see the promised land but did not have to witness their crossing. That would have been too cruel, he was dead by then.

God has prepared a job for us all to do. When our task is over He will prepare another to take our place and like Joshua and Moses that person is already being prepared.

Dandelions

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They stretched out like golden ribbons along each side of the road, the verges becoming their own source of vibrant colour. As the coach sped along I could see these wonderful dandelions stretching as far as the eye could see. I realised that round my country there were millions and millions of these weeds. Yes, they are considered as weeds and unwelcome in neat, orderly gardens. The draught of the traffic was scattering the numerous seed-heads to guarantee a greater crop of dandelions next year. These weeds often unwanted and unloved light up the countryside all over the country.

I imagined each flower-head being a Christian shining for Christ. The scattering seed multiplying their numbers so the glory of God covers the earth like the water covers the sea. The traffic disturbance or problems in life will bring more abundant growth and thus bring more fruit. Like the dandelions may we shine in our small corner, along the verges or where God has placed us . May our cheery light, along with millions of others, be lights of the golden ribbons of His love and peace.

He Hears

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‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.’ ! John 5:14

I had about an hour of spare time, a rare occurrence for me. I had a very strong feeling that I should visit someone who was sick, housebound or lonely. The question was who? Or actually which person, I knew four people who came into those categories and would like a visit from me. They all lived near each other so I just started walking.. I had been praying all day without reaching a conclusion. I continued walking without thinking, just praying.

I found myself outside two of the homes, next door to each other. I stood still, closed my eyes (no-one was around to see me) and found myself walking towards the left hand house. and prayed harder, ‘Is this where You would have me visit?’ When I arrived, I found my friend was hardly mobile as she had had a fall which I hadn’t known about. But God had known. She eventually discovered she had a broken wrist and cracked rib. I was able to make a meal and a cup of tea, then do a few small jobs for her. I cut up vegetables for future meals and opened a few cans. As we sat together and talked, she relaxed and the strong pain in her ribs temporarily eased. If only I could always pray with the same intensity, I could stay nearer to God and doing His will.

Gratitude

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He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet.’ Luke 17:16 ‘Jesus Master, have mercy on us.; verse 13.They were ten desperate lepers, sick, lonely and ostracized. Skin rotting away, no care, segregation,, cut off from the rest of society. No wonder they banded together, no one else would mix with them.

They cried out to Jesus for pity, not really believing He could heal them, so when they examined their perfectly healed skin and those of their friends, they were overwhelmed. It seemed as if they only thought about getting to the priest to have their healing confirmed. Then next they would be sharing the good news with their families and friends. It was not on their to-do list to thank the Physician. Only one came back and fell on his face at the feet of Jesus.

Before we start to condemn the nine, let’s look at our own lives. God hasn’t only healed us, He’s given us everything we need, He’s filled our lives with joy, blessings , salvation and eternal life. In the Old Testament the patriarchs built stone pillars to commemorate special blessings to them as a permanent reminder of God’s goodness. We can’t do that today and we wonder how we can show appreciation for all God has done for us.

What about using Christina’s Rossetti’s words.

What can I give Him, poor as I am, if I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb,

If I were a wise man, I would do my part, yet what I can, I give Him, give my heart.

Crying-out Stones

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‘I tell you,’ Jesus replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’ Luke 19:40. To set the scene, this took place shortly before the Easter weekend. The disciples of Jesus started to shout out His praises. Predictably the Pharisees objected. Then Jesus utter that even inanimate stones would cry out His praises if the crowd kept silent.

That cry of praise was taken up by the disciples and throughout the book of Acts in the early church. The shout has continued during the centuries. As the hymn says, ‘the voice of prayer is never silent, not dies the strain of praise away.’ John Ellerton from The Day thou Gavest. As one continent goes to sleep another wakes up and praise continues; year after year, decade after decades’, ‘Blessed is the King.’

Throughout time nature is joining in the song. Listen to the dawn chorus as the birds wake up and sing their songs of joy. The gurgling brooks join in plus the crashing seas. The grandeur of the mountains tell of the majesty of our God. The remaining stones of our old abbeys and monasteries are stones that cry out in praise to God. . They remind us of past years of worship.

What of today? Are we living stones to God? May our shouting be heard over the clamour of the world. May we be individual stones built into one large edifice, the church. Our God is alive, He reigns for ever and ever. May Jesus not need to weep today.

Jig-Saw Puzzles

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It was the end of a busy day and we all felt exhausted. Someone suggested we continued working on a jig-saw puzzle that we’d started the previous week. Three of us spent an hour or more trying and retry to slot pieces into heir correct place. It proved more difficult than it looked. The title of the puzzle was ‘Endangered Animals’. Slowly the images of a tiger, panda, bear and lion emerged. We discussed how sad it was that these magnificent animals were now endangered. When I researched it later, I found that their numbers were in decline because of illegal hunting and changes in their habitat.

Sin reared it’s ugly head even in an innocent pursuit like this. As we discussed the problem we wondered what we could do about this and realsed that there was hardly anything we could do about it. So sad but I realised that we had had a good social time together. One of our number was lonely and this gave them a pleasant afternoon. Another had a damaged ankle which was giving her trouble. The brain power needed in looking for the right pieces helped her forget her pain.. And as for me, I reveled in our community spirit as we worked together and helped each other. It meant that later that day I could privately pray for the other two. A rule I try to make is to pray each day for those I’ve been in contact with. Thank you, Lord for a profitable afternoon.

In a Hurry

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Are we in too much of a hurry to help others? Do we rush around so we have no time to see their needs? Probably the answer is ‘yes.’ We are surrounded by so much need locally and worldwide that we suffer from compassion fatigue. Would it help if we slowed down?

Jesus is always a good example to us. He had time to notice people and then see their need. He wasn’t able to miss Zaccheus who was hiding in a tree; most of the crowd didn’t see him. The ten lepers were seen by Jesus and He had time to realise that only one came back to thank Him. He stopped by the widow who was burying her son and helped her in her deepest distress. His reactions were not always slow and measured. Think of His reaction to the money-changers in the temple when He overturned their tables. I’m glad this story is included in the Bible, it shows Jesus also had a fighting spirit.

What about us, do we have time to observe. Peoples’ needs are silent and often hidden. What is the need of that quiet person in our group who seldom joins in? Or what about the joker in the group, are they acting up to hide a pain? We pray for seeing eyes.

Why Read the Bible?

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‘Read your Bible, pray every day.’ the old chorus says, which continues, ‘if you want to grow.’ Dag Hewerd. How do we grow? Does the Bible have the answers to all our questions? Will it solve our problems? Yes and no. The main reason for reading the Bible is not to help solve our problems, nor even to make us better Christians. It is not about us, turn it round. The Bible is to teach us more about God, who He is, what He does. The other benefits will follow; it’s primary benefit is to show us God. It is His way of revelation.

By reading of His dealings with His people, we will learn more about His nature. By learning about His sacrifice for our sins, we learn of His tremendous love towards us. He died for us ‘while we were still sinners.’ Romans 5:8. We learn that God is loving, that He is love. These revelations then teach us how to live, they reveal Him to us. We can’t love unless we learn that God is love. Everything in the Bible leads us back to Him.

Unfortunately we turn everything back to us. I have a friend, who, when I say I’ve done something, immediately caps it with a story of her own. As another chorus says ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus.’ Helen H Lemmel. Not for what we can get but so we can learn to love Him more.

Never Arriving

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There is a proverb, ‘It is better to journey than to arrive,’ but it’s pretty upsetting travelling but never getting there. I had a friend who took his driving test 19 times and never passed it. To this day he is a non-driver with all the inconvenience it causes . He’s also spent a lot of money but never achieved his goal. That’s rather frustrating!

I think of the Israelites travelling for 40 years. During that time babies would have been born, old people would have died. They had a period of great thirst and a time of hunger. The sun was beating down on them by day and at night it was bitterly cold. There were mountains they had to climb carrying their babies and possessions. Toddlers would have been doing what they do best, toddling into dangerous places. It all sounds like a nightmare and then they never got to the Promised Land. They never achieved their objective even after 40 years of journeying.

Disobedience was the root of their trouble. The Israelites repeatedly disobeyed God. Are we in danger of making the same mistake and in danger of missing out on our Promised Land? Are we going to face the trials and tribulations of this life and not arrive at our heaven?

The Right Fit

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Donald fiddled with the cuffs and pulled at the lapels. His blazer was big for him but he was too young to realise that because of his sudden growth spurts his parents couldn’t afford a new blazer every year. He would be wearing this one until it was too tight a fit and he would be fiddling with it again to make it stretch. The shepherd boy David donned Saul’s armour which was certainly not a good fit. It hindered rather than helped him.

God has given us talents that fit us perfectly. He alone knows what attributes are suitable for us. God has given me the ability to write and during my life has prepared me with all I needed. I grew up in a home full of books. My favourite teacher at school was the English teacher. Then I had the opportunity to attend various writing classes and courses. All the time this was honing my skill.

It is comforting to know that God has planned our areas of service and what talents we will be blessed with. It is not just a random choice. Writing is something I have been able to do when I’ve been unwell. I imagine it is something I will be able to do into old age which doesn’t apply to all talents. My friend was a dancer, a talent she can’t practice now.

God has also planned outlets and opportunities for me to be printed in various places. ‘Just where He needs me, my Lord has placed me, there I would do His will.’ Miruam Richards S.A. Officer