Carol’s Blog

Hidden Steps

Carol Purves Carol's Blog , ,

It had rained, it had frozen over, then it had snowed again. I really needed to travel to the shops but that was probably unsafe and dangerous. Nevertheless I was stubborn; I wasn’t going to let a little inclement weather stop me. As well as wearing warm clothing, on my back I was carrying my back-pack and walking poles in my hands.

The short walk was not easy. As the snow had covered the ice I walked along grass verges when I could and trudged as close to hedges and fences when I couldn’t. Instead of ten minutes, the journey took twenty-five. It was the same route that I’d always walked, the difference was I couldn’t tell what was under my feet. Each step was dangerous and unknown.

Our walk through life is along uncharted ways, we don’t know whether our steps in the next few days will be along green pastures or perilous precipices. Our footsteps will be along the unknown. We need the firm foundation which only Christ can give.

Stoning

Carol Purves Carol's Blog ,

I wonder how often it happened. It was the law that the punishment for adultery was stoning. It seems as if the Pharisees went out looking for a guilty woman as they acted with no sympathy. They were probably delighted as they thought they had a way of catching Jesus out. I notice that Jesus didn’t rush to act or speak, thereby defusing a very inflammatory situation.

The crowd were baying for the woman’s death so they must have been further annoyed by Jesus’s act. He just knelt down and started writing in the sand. When He stood up everyone would have held their breath. What was He going to say ‘ Stone her,’ or ‘Release her.’ Either way the Pharisees had Him trapped.

‘Let anyone who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ He wasn’t supposed to say that, it wasn’t in the script. We are told that one by one the accusers walked away into the crowd, ‘the older ones first.’ I can imagine the younger ones standing their ground until they realised, oh dear, they were not without sin. Finally there was only one man left, though He is back writing on the ground. As He is the sinless Son of God, He was the only person entitled to stone her.

I wonder how long it would have taken us to leave the crowd of accusers.

What does Your Church Believe?

Carol Purves Carol's Blog ,

What a question! What an opportunity! How we long to have the chance to witness, yet what a surprise when it happens. I was asked this question by a taxi driver when i explained my destination was a particular church in the city centre. I had prayed that during that week I would have the opportunity to share my love of God with someone. I never thought it would be a taxi driver who became my captive audience just 15 minutes

My words for the rest of the journey were controlled by God. It was not my eloquence that was being used but God’s. They were words that this driver needed to hear which couldn’t have been mine, I knew nothing about this woman; God knew everything. Fifteen minutes is not long; i had to be concise. She didn’t need to know about the furnishings of the building, she needed to know that Jesus died for her sins. I now pray for her regularly.

Quizes

Carol Purves Carol's Blog

I’ve just taken part in yet another quiz; I love them but I don’t particularly excel. Daytime television relies heavily on them. It is probable that our generation is more knowledgeable than any previous ones. Some people have a deep knowledge about one particular subject while others know many facts of general knowledge.

Quizes are everywhere. Most of our daily newspapers had a large quiz over the New Year. But we have to ask the question, what good is knowledge without wisdom? Where is our plain common sense and knowledge about the important matters of life. Knowledge is a cold, sterile thing while wisdom has a warm Godly glow. Cold knowledge can lead to wars, wisdom will lead to peace.

In the Bible a whole book is devoted to wisdom – Proverbs. The sheer volume of advice that is in these pages mean we sometimes gloss over them. Maybe each one would pay to be studied individually over a period of time. What about starting with ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom?’Proverbs 9:10

Asking

Carol Purves Carol's Blog

Does God get tired of hearing requests? So much of our prayers are for healing for sick ones, praying for the souls of unsaved friends or coping with our own small problems. But we are probably thinking of God through our human minds. The Bible tells us, ‘Your ways are not My ways.’ With our friends we are wary not to burden them with our problems, we need to remember they have problems too.

For any friendship to survive we need to have as near a 50\50 relationship as possible. It is so very different with God. He has no problems that we need to share. Philippians 4:6 tells us ‘in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’ I do believe that He wants communication with us, like a friend He loves to talk with us, but I notice the small yet important phrase, ‘with thanksgiving’ As the hymn writer says, ‘thank Him for all that is past and trust Him for all that’s to come.’ Joseph Hart. One of my father’s favourite hymns was ‘Trust and Obey.’

Amazing Mazes

Carol Purves Carol's Blog

As adults we will all have led children through mazes made of high bushes or walls. We will be following a certain pathway thinking it is the way out only to discover it is another dead end. Sometimes with our adult logic we wil be able help the bemused child but sometimes we are just as confused as they are.

Mazes sometimes remind me of life. All is going well then we hit a blank wall. Nothing goes right and we don’t know which turning to take. I think of people in the Bible who were perplexed, Abraham, David, the disciples and many more. For them life wasn’t a straight road, it had many twists and turns. Some of my friends are bewildered by unexpected events that have overtaken them. Things are not working out as they had planned.

What we all need is to put our hand into the hand of God. We aren’t wise enough, or tall enough to see the way ahead. God not only knows the way, He is the Way. In His love He will sort out life’s mazes for us. ‘My God knows the way through the wilderness, All I need to do is follow.’Jessica Fortenberry

Beneath the Surface

Carol Purves Carol's Blog ,

A farmer friend of mine has a large bolder in the middle of one of his fields and had the great inconvenience of ploughing round it for about 20 years. This was the year he was going to get rid of it. He dug and dug and excavated until the rock wasn’t moving and he had a large hole in the middle of the field around it. By digging the hole, more of the boulder was exposed but like an iceberg about seven-eighths had been under the surface. How to get rid of it? He called for the help of his father, also a farmer who brought along heavy lifting tackle. As the machine was put into use, one chain snapped and then another. There is no end to this true story yet. The boulder remains in place, surrounded now by a large hole. Laughingly the use of dynamite was suggested; I hope it was a joke.

Is this a picture of our God? With our rose-tinted glasses we think we catch glimpse of Him through nature, the smile of a baby or the kindness of strangers. But do we see Him as He is, majestic, powerful yet tender and loving; the creator of the whole universe but caring about my tiny worries. When Moses met with God he had to cover his face with a cloth as the unbearable radiance of God shone through him. Psalm 29 tells us ‘The voice of the Lord is powerful.’ ‘The voice of the Lord is majestic.’

Jim Elliot

Carol Purves Carol's Blog ,

I think today of Jim Elliot and his fellow missionaries who 67 years ago gave their lives in an attempt to reach the Huaorani tribe in Ecuador to preach the good news of Jesus. They had followed the great commission to the ultimate. From the point of view of the world it was a waste of five young lives. A waste of life or the ultimate obedience? It is not really possible for us to see things from God’s point of view. We are surrounded by seemingly unfair acts of injustice and persecution. It is recorded that there are more martyrs today than ever before.

I think of a missionary family my church supported when I was young, though being quite young I don’t remember many details. This couple served somewhere in Africa with their teenage daughter, who had a rare blood disorder. To support them we used to put our pennies into a large glass sweet jar, until the bottom fell out with the weight of the coins. But in fact the family had far bigger troubles. Some rebels came to their village to kill them because of their faith. They offered to save the daughter, but she said she was nothing without her parents, so they killed her as well. Being young myself I had many questions, which I suppose I still have.

When I consider the life of Job, I realise that God doesn’t need us to know all the answers. Our finite minds couldn’t comprehend the answers. Most of us will not have to go down the road of Jim Elliot, but in the words of the hymn which was a favourite of my fathers, Trust and Obey.’

Trust

Carol Purves Carol's Blog

‘When we trust God, life will not break us.’ When I read these written words, my heart rejoiced. Like all of us I’ve had times when life has nearly broken me. I remember one time when I paced my bedroom saying to myself over and over again. ‘I will not be broken.’ I was 42 and was nearly overcome. I am now more than twice that age and do you know what, I wasn’t broken, God pulled me through.

Since that time I’ve become a published writer, overcome various health problems and am able to witness of God’s faithfulness to others. I’ve moved house five times, retained my old friends and made new ones. That’s not a bad record of God’s faithfulness.

God has been with me all the way, leading, guiding, loving. Sometimes I have been more faithful than others; sometimes I have strayed a little and taken my eyes off Him. But unfailingly God has been there, He has never waivered.

Lockdown Memories

Carol Purves Carol's Blog , ,

Covid is still around in our country and indeed around the world. Sadly many are suffering with the long term covid effects and it is still necessary to take precautions. As recently I was thinking back as to how I coped, I wondered how we all got through that period. Maybe it was because we didn’t know how long it would last, or did that make it worse? How we longed for normality!

I found solace with my camera as well as occasionally visiting a couple who were my bubble. I’m pleased to say I never broke any rules but when allowed I visited many of my friends and photographed their gardens. I later had them printed and it is now fun to look back on these photos and see how these gardens have changed.

Outside the house where i then lived was a large tree which I photographed through every month of the year. It helped me to realise that the months were passing and God was still in control. Looking back through all these photos I have mixed feelings. I can no longer go back my much photoed tree, but have new trees where I am now. I do wonder how we survived and trust we will never have to go through that trauma again. I thank God for His provision of the beauties of nature.