Carol’s Blog

See-Saws

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A few days ago we celebrated Palm Sunday. On that day in Jerusalem the crowds shouted ‘Hosanna’ and threw palm branches. It was a day of joy and triumph Then just a few days after, the cry turned to ‘Crucify Him’ as He was surrounded by the baying crowds and He was eventually let away to His death. Three days after that the tears and weeping turned into joy and rejoicing. Life was a series of extremes, right up or right down.

Life is the same today. There are times in the history of our countries and our own lives when everything is good. Then suddenly we find our nations and our own lives plunged into dispair. There is happiness in some countries and others places are plagued by war and death. Periods of calm and peace are followed by disasters. One can think of the book of Ecclesiastes, ‘Vanity, vanity, all is vanity,’

But this is not the final chapter of the story of life. A time is coming when there will be no more sorrow, no more ups and downs. There will be no more partings, weeping or death. A place awaits us in heaven, next to God and Jesus, a place of eternal equilibrium and stability.

Easter Sunday

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‘There would be no point in Christmas without Easter Sunday.’ I wrote these words to a seeking friend. A bit revolutionary, but I think it’s true. Jesus didn’t come to this earth to show us how to live or to heal a few of the sick, He came to die. That was the purpose of His coming, to right the wrongs played out in the Garden of Eden. The hymn writer says ‘He came to make us good,’ Yes, He was an example of a perfect life, but His perfection will not be a saving for us unless we accept His sacrifice.

‘What would Jesus do?,’ the wrist band asks. Good guidance when we face a problem or decision is invaluable as we travel life’s journey. But as I also know heaven isn’t for good people, but for saved sinners. Yes, we’ve had Good Friday but thank God that it was followed by Easter Sunday. ‘Hallelujah what a Saviour.’ My Saviour.

Good Friday

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Last Sunday one of the youngsters asked ‘Why is it called Good Friday?’ There is nothing good about the arrest, mocking, beating, humiliation, pain and final death of Jesus. It was such a terrible day that the sky turned black and the temple curtain rent in two. It was not ‘good’ for those who wept and mourned and felt all hope had gone. We only call it good because we know there is an Easter Sunday; the disciples didn’t know that.

The actual ‘good’ had to wait until the Sunday, the day of resurrection. Meanwhile ‘low in the grave He lay.’ Today we see Good Friday in the light of Easter Sunday; there was no such joy when these events were actually taking place. We rejoice that Good Friday is not the end of the story, the grave is not the final resting place. Today we weep, Sunday we will rejoice and sing. ‘Up from the grave He arose.’ Robert Lowry

So Help me, God

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This phrase is often used in courts when people are witnesses or being sworn into a new position. We also sometimes hear it in normal conversation, said without any thought as to what the words mean. But it is something we could all say and mean every word.

Life is difficult, every day we face many challenges. Often we do not have the knowledge or experience to be able to cope. Throughout the Bible we are told that God will help us. He will guide us and all we need to do is ask. So many Biblical characters have received their help and guidance through God – Abraham leaving his homeland and travelling into the unknown, Moses facing a hostile Pharaoh then leading his people towards the Promised Land and Joshua being told ‘Be strong and courageous

How often must Paul and the other disciples have cried out ‘Help me, God.’ The same God is here for us today, so we can also cry out ‘So Help me, God.’

What Kind of Shadow?

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When I contemplate my coming week I feel a little anxious; there are three medical appointments, none life-threatening but health problems that need help or sorting. I have an appointment with my bank manager (though we don’t see bank managers these days, just their helpful assistants) My Christian friend needs encouragement to get out of the house and not just stay indoors. All my tact and love will be needed. The thoughts of these days ahead are casting a cloud over the present day and I give a little sigh.

Then I read Psalm 91:1 ‘Whoever dwells in the shadow of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty’, and I realise that the shadow of my coming week is one of apprehension but that the shadow of the cross is protecting me.

It is God’s promise that I have the opportunity to lessen or even remove worry about my slight problems. I am fortunate to have appointments and doctors and nurses to attend to me, many countries don’t have enough medical staff. By seeing my bank manager I will be able to cope with my finances better. By helping my friend Tanya to have a little outing, her life will be improved and our friendship deepened. I do pray that my coming week is more under the shadow of the cross of Jesus than the cross of apprehension.

True Focus

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To hear or see the news on the television is depressing. Around the world, troubles seem to be growing. There are nations fighting nations wanting more power or land. The numbers of refugees and displaced persons are growing. Volcanoes, global warming, tsunamis, drought; the natural world is groaning. Good news is not recorded news.

The health of some of my friends is worrying, some have cancer, some have memory loss. Families I know are disintegrating and some are grieving the death of a loved one. As the hymn-writer says ‘ Death and decay in all around I see.’

But am I looking in the wrong place? While not wanting to forget the troubles of the world, that is not where my focus must be. We have our trials while on this earth but my God is in control. By looking to Him we will be concentrating on the right priorities. ‘Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, think on these things.’ Philippians 4:8

The Master Potter

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‘The pot that He was shaping from the clay was marred; so the potter formed it into another pot’ Jeremiah 18:4

I’ve recently been watching on the television a series where amateur potters are in competition to find the best potter. Starting with just a lump of clay they make it into something beautiful. I’ve been fascinated as I’ve watched the clay become a set of delicate cups or a large chandelier. A shapeless lump of clay has been fashioned into something beautiful.

I’ve never worked with clay myself but marvel at the skill of others. While watching I realised I’m the lump of clay, being fashioned by the Master Potter. I started life wonderfully and beautifully made but it is only as I’ve progressed through the years that I’ve been fashioned and transformed. I hope some bits of me have been discarded – anger, jealousy, pride and other features. Some parts have been refined – patience, love, compassion, steadfastness.

I am not yet the finished work but ‘I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

‘Father, Forgive Them.’

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The crucifixion and later the resurrection of Jesus are at the very centre of the Christian faith and during this period of Lent are subjects which are very much on our hearts. Such a horrific form of death could have led to Jesus crying out for vengeance on His enemies. Instead He prayed for forgiveness for them. We read in Matthew 26:53 that He had at His command ‘more than twelve legions of angels.’ That’s a large number and He had in His power the whole universe yet His prayer was for forgiveness.

Jesus didn’t just preach ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,’ He lived it and died it. As Peter later said ‘When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but He trusted in Him who judges justly.’ 1 Peter 2:23. Forgiveness makes no sense unless it is preached against the dark background of human sin. We all need to be forgiven and there is forgiveness for all who put their faith in the crucified Saviour.

His Promises are True

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

‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ I’d been told the display of snowdrops would be the best I’d ever seen. Was it worth the long drive to see something which could turn out to be disappointing? This particular friend had exaggerated in the past; I could end up looking at just a few flowers gathered round the bark of a single tree.

How often do we say about our spiritual life ‘Seeing is believing,’ while actually the opposite is true. It is our not-seeing that is believing. We have not seen the wonders that await us in heaven but we believe we shall see them because God has promised them to us. Heaven is a place that our limited minds can’t grasp but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Why? Because God has promised us that heaven is a place beyond our wildest dreams and He has a home for those who believe in His sacrifice. How can we trust what God has told us? He has never broken His promises to us.

We must now live by faith . We do not see the future or what it will be like, but we know we have a Saviour who will one day reveal it all.

Jairus’s daughter.

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” When I was a child we lived on the shores of Lake Galilee and my father, Jairus, was one of the synagogue leaders. I was only twelve years old but can remember some of the events quite well, while others are hazy. I had been playing out in the fields when I developed the most terrible headache. I went to lie down on my bed and then I don’t remember anything else for a while but my parents later told me what had happened.

My father knew that Jesus, the great healer, was in the area, so he sent for Him to come and heal me. Although my father was an important man, Jesus made him wait as He was busy healing others. In the meantime, the delay was so great that I died. But when Jesus arrived He came into my room with some of His disciples and spoke to me although I was dead. ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up.’ Then like the miracle it was, I woke up just as if I’d been asleep, and Jesus was looking at me with such love in His eyes. I remember that bit so well.

As my grandchildren now gather round my knee, I tell the story once again. I never tire of telling it and they never tire of hearing it. “