Carol’s Blog

How Do We Build?

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‘Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay or straw, each one’s work will become manifest, his work will be shown for what it is. 1 Corinthians 3:12

It is not always remembered today how much of our society has been founded on Christian principles. Many institutions which are still active today have been started by Christians. Christian principles were at the beginnings of nursing and medical practices with Florence Nightingale, who because she was a Christian wanted to improve the condition of those who were sick. We can think of William Booth who was moved by the plight of the poor in the East End of London. He dedicated his life to improving their lot and finally founded the Salvation Army.

Christren’s homes were started by people like George Muller who appalled by the conditions of the orphaned children in Bristol opened four large orphanages to cope with the problem. They were funded by faith alone. Many other Christian orphanages followed suite.

Gold, silver, or precious stone, hay, wood or hay, I wonder what building materials have we been using in our own lives. Have we relied on our own resources or have we relied on God? In our own strength our good works are worthless.

Strength

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‘The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in Him and He helps me.’ Psalm 28:7

From what we learn from the Bible, King David was a strong upright warrior. His body had been honed on the fields of Bethlehem as He cared for his father’s sheep. Shepherding was no job for a wimp. Although he defeated Goliath by the might of God and not solely his own strength, he was growing from a lad to a strong man. As a king in those days he would have needed his physical might to overcome his many enemies. Then his years of constant flight would again have called on his physical resources.

Throughout all his problems we learn from numerous psalms that he didn’t rely on his own power, he continually called out to God for strength. He knew it wasn’t his might, he got this prowess from God who was a ‘very present help in time of trouble.’

Not a Hand or Foot

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‘Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body.’ 1 Corinthians 12:15

The sermon I heard the other week was particularly telling and well delivered. I’m sure many people were helped and blessed by it in the journey of their Christian lives. The worship band were also at their best as they led our service with their singing and playing. It was lovely to see that some teenagers had joined the group. I almost gave a little sigh as i realised I’m not able to give a sermon and I certainly have not the voice to join the band.

Then I came across the above verse. I’m not led to do certain things but God has other work for me to do, work especially for me. I have time to listen to people and after years of practice, hear what they are not saying. The Lord has given me time to pray; I wish I had the stamina to pray and pray, there is certainly so much need in the world.

I can relate to certain situations because I have lived for a number of decades. Though I never say ‘ I know, I’ve been through the same experience,’ because the conversations are about them and not me. God has a particular role for me in life. It is not for me to hanker after other forms of service. God knows what I am best at; that is where He will direct me.

Another Day

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‘I pray that I may proclaim the gospel as I should’ Colossians 4:4

Today is another day in my life, just one of thousands which have been granted to me during my life span. I’ve no idea whether this will be a day when I can share my love of God with others or whether it will be a day where there will be no such opportunities. God is the one who knows.

If it is to be a productively spiritual day, I pray that I ‘may proclaim the message clearly and that I may make the most of every opportunity guided by the Holy Spirit. On the other hand it may be a day when I speak to very few people or the opportunity for witnessing may not arise. Whatever kind of day it is or maybe a mixture of both, I can still act as a follower of Christ. My speech can still be seasoned with salt. As a Christian I am never off duty. As I make sure people know my beliefs, others will be watching me . Even a smile from a Christian can be one that portrays love. It can have an effect. It’s not just my actions but my words as they are backed by the Holy Spirit if I dedicate them to God.

A Different Mission Field

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These few weeks I’ve been using taxis quite a bit. It has been expensive but one compensation has been the conversations I’ve had with the taxi drivers. As I have a captive audience for about 15 minutes, with God’s help, I’m able to steer the talk round to spiritual matters. Sometimes as the church is my destination, that makes the conversation even easier.

Yesterday a driver told me that there was no difference between the Islam faith and Christianity. I couldn’t let that go as I explained that Islam thought Jesus was a good prophet while Christianity knew Jesus to be the Son of God. The driver and myself agreed that politics and religion were two subjects which should never be discussed. It was no surprise to me that for the rest of the journey we talked about ‘religion’ and my faith. Nine out of ten journeys are spent talking about the Saviour. What a wonder is that!

Probably all evangelism costs us something, in my case it is financial, but it is so worthwhile. One day, with God’s help I described to a driver that I was a Christian She driver then told me, ‘I’m a Christian too.’ That was a lovely journey and as we parted we promised to pray for each other

No Dawn Chorus

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‘And night will be no more.’ revelation 22:5

How wonderful it is to hear the dawn chorus. At this time of year it occurs quite early, so obviously I often miss it. When I’m awake at this time, I hear different types of bird calls and chirps as the dark sky gradually fades and over the horizon the sun starts to rise, though still tucked up in bed I don’t actually see this.

Then I read in the Bible that in heaven there will be no more night. No night or dawn means no dawn chorus. We can’t start to imagine what heaven will actually be like, our finite minds can’t grasp the wonders of it. We have little glimpses through the words of the Bible but we do know that the sun will be no more because we will be able to gaze on the Son. The birds will be myriads and myriads not declining numbers as we have here. The most colourful and beautiful will be flying all around us along with lovely butterflies. .

As I lie in bed with my fitful waking and sleeping, I try to imagine what heaven will be like, I have no idea whether we will have sleeping and waking, or will it just be restful? But I know we will be in God’s presence and when things get a little hard down here, I dream and wait.

Faith

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‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance in what we do not see.’ Hebrews 11:1

The number of people who met Jesus while He was actually on this earth were so very few compared with the millions of billions who have believed on Him since those days. Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.’ John 20:29. That’s us that Jesus is talking about. We worship someone we have not seen with our own eyes., but we see Him in the natural world and it is by the eyes of faith that we see. We see Him in His redemptive love, He is seen in His sacrifice for us.

As the Messiah had not yet been born, Hebrews 11 gives us a long list of people who had lived by faith. We are on the other side of His life and have the scriptures to inform us about His actions. In our hearts we have no doubt, we feel Him in our souls. At Easter time, we proclaim ‘Jesus is alive.’ It is because of His resurrection as well as His death that we have hope. Jesus is alive for evermore. Praise be to God.

Jesus Blesses Children

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It shouldn’t be surprising that Jesus urges us to become more as little children and have the faith that they have. As we listen to the news and see pictures of horrors around the world we are in danger of becoming cynical and unfeeling. We see disaster all around and realise how easily bad things can happen. Children have not yet developed this attitude of doubt and disaster, they are trusting.

My new neighbours have a garden full of dandelions and when the grandchildren visited they were given the task of pulling off the bright yellow flower heads. As they delighted in their job and saw the lawn turn less yellow and more green, they didn’t realise that each dandelion had a root of nearly 12 inches long. At Easter time a nine year old asked me ‘Why is it called Good Friday?’ We know the answer, which I was able to share, but often adults don’t give that question a second thought

Little Nellie prayed in her prayers, ‘Please God, help me to fly.’ As adults we know that dandelions will regrow, Nellie will never be able to fly like Harry Potter, but we know we have a powerful God who does make miracles happen. I pray I may never become cynical. God can guide, protect and be with us all in every situation.

His Knock

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‘I stand at the door and knock’ Revelation 3:20

My door bell is very loud; I never miss a caller. Also, because I am blessed with good hearing I can hear someone when they shout my name across the road. Am I as attentive at hearing the voice of God, I wonder?

His call is not a strident one like my doorbell. He doesn’t yell at the top of His voice across the street. The voice of my Saviour is gentle and subtle. He speaks to me in the singing of the birds and the ripple of the stream. He lovingly reveals Himself to me in the kindness of a stranger or the tentative smile of a baby. (I wonder, who teaches babies to smile, it can’t always be wind?) He never demands an answer; He patiently waits. Oh, that I might be more attentive to His voice and calling.

‘I stand at the door and knock.’ May I not be too busy or worldly-minded to hear His gentle knock on the door of my heart. I ask that my soul may be attuned to His presence.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

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My neighbour has just suffered two family deaths and therefore the anticipation of two funerals. ‘We don’t want anything religious. Just ‘All things bright and beautiful,’ she told me. I was sad to hear this denial of religious matters, as I so often do, that the funerals were not to have anything religious about them. It seems anything goes now, except religion. Maybe subconsciously people are afraid of it’s power. Contact with a living with God is a powerful thing

I went back home humming the words to myself, ‘All things bright and beautiful,’. Wait, as I thought about the words, written by Cecil Frances Alexander, I realised how religious they actually were. In the five verses it makes mention four times that ‘God made it all.’ Sounds religious to me! And the last line tells us ‘ How great is God Almighty who has made all things well. This hymn might have been written tor children but the words are a complete sermon in themselves.

Throughout the hymn there is reference to God’s creation ‘the pleasant summer sun’, ‘each little flower that opens,’ ‘the ripe fruits in the garden’, ‘the cold wind in the winter, You made them everyone.’

Like it or not my neighbour is going to get ‘religion’ at her funerals.