Carol’s Blog

The Hand of God

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What is the hand of God? What does it do? we know it flung stars into space and created everything that we see and we don’t see. It guides. ‘Thy hand of God Oh has guided Thy flock from age to age.,’ the hymn tells us. The hand has guided through the history of the Bible until the birth of Christ and beyond. Then that same hand was nailed to the cross with gross inhumanity to man. The hand of all creation was pierced and smashed for the sake of the world; the same hand that had been placed on the sick and had made breakfast for the disciples on the shoreline as an act of forgiveness.

The hand of God is still at work today offering comfort, guidance and wisdom. In the final days God with His outstretched hand will welcome us into His presence.

Beginnings and Good Endings

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“The red of the rust blended with the red of the blood dripping down the handle of the axe, down the hand that held it and down to mingle with the dirt on the ground …………….. As Gladys held out a shaky hand she waited, the prisoners round the wall waited. The governors and officials outside the locked door waited. Even the birds seemed to hush their song and the wind paused on it’s journey down the mountainside. Would the axeman add Gladys to his list of victims?”

This is how I stared I one of the editions of my book about the life of Gladys Aylward, a missionary in China. The idea was that the reader would be so gripped by my words that they would want to read on!

Every life is like a book with a beginning and end. We have no control over the beginning of our lives, who our parents are, where we live, or even our hereditary traits. But we have control on how we will end. Have we lived our lives within God’s will, so He will be able to say to us ‘Well done good and faithful servant.’ May we be able to say like Paul, ‘I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now is stored up for me the crown of righteousness.’ 2 Timothy 4:7-8

Hagar

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How unspeakably hard it must be to receive the news that your unborn baby is suffering from a serious medical condition. The anticipated happy event suddenly becomes overshadowed with anxiety and dread. Hopes are dashed as the future seems bleak. The news that Hagar, the servant of Sarah, wife of Abraham received was not medical but a terrible description of what his character would be like. What mother would want to hear the words ‘He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against his. He will live in hostility towards his brothers.’ Genesis 16:12

Hagar seemed to have a very hard life, used as a fertility machine and twice banished from her home. Mind you, she wasn’t completely innocent, she was extremely unkind towards the barren Sarah. But this was all part of God’s plan (which we will never fully understand) God didn’t desert her. Just as she feared her son was dying from thirst, God opened her eyes to see a nearby well. With my own unseeing eyes, I wonder why Hagar didn’t see the well before. I know, God veiled her eyes.

N.P.C.

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Talking to teenagers I’m always learning something new. Apparently N.P.C. stands for ‘non-player character. As it refers to people they do not particularly like, I think it is a terrible phrase. It just writes people off as being of no account. To use the word ‘non’ usually has a negative connotation, anyway. ‘I don’t like you, you’re a N.P.C.’

To be written off like this is so damning. No wonder there are so many suicides. No-one is a non-player character. Everyone has worth and is of importance. I grew up with a negative opinion of myself as I was taught I was of no worth and my life would never amount to anything. If I am not careful that is still my opinion of myself. But with hard work I’ve made a success of my life and now consider myself as good as anyone else. If I’d been described as a N.P.C as a teenage, it would have crushed me.

But as a Christian I’m loved by God, so much so that He died for me and for everyone who believes in Him. I’m a beloved daughter of the King of King and a child of God.

Seated Exercise

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I now go to a class of seated exercise each week. I was worried that it would only exercise my upper body but fortunately there is excercise for every part of me. Starting with the top of our heads we move down to where we wriggle and excerise our toes. I confess that mine don’t move much. At the end of the 45 minutes I’m quite exhausted and enjoy the piece of cake and drink which follows.

Is my spiritual life as well exercised? It is not much use exercising some parts and neglecting others. If we omit the parts we find difficult we will be spiritually unbalanced. We need prayer, study of the Bible and mixing with other Christians. Prayer will be listening and speaking with God. We spent time with our friends to get to know them better, how much more do we need time spent with God. By studying the Bible we will be reading the letter God has given us. It is full of the advice and guidance we need. Christian fellowship will lessen the impact of the world and its influences. Our Christian friends can share their wisdom with us. May we never be unbalanced in our Christian walk.

Not trying to Please Men.

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How hard it is not to try to please others when all we should be doing is to please God. Mankind is so fickle and one minute people will like us and the other they will turn away from us. To please men is only to boost our own ego. Jesus spoke very strongly against the Pharisees when they displayed their holiness in front of others. Jesus even said they had their reward now.

How often do we say, at least to ourselves. ‘What will they think?’ Who are the ‘they.’ When i recently found my Christmas card lists for previous years, I realised the list would be very different this year. Some of the people have died, or I’ve lost contact with them as I’ve moved house twice within the last few years. Where are the people i tried to impress then? They probably don’t even remember me.

Our all-powerful God is the one we need to please; He has the ultimate control of our destiny. All people are sinful like ourselves and although we have a responsibility towards them, they too are on the journey of life. .

Remembering and Forgetting.

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‘It doesn’t feel like I was ever eight.’ Ellie exclaimed only a few weeks after her birthday. She had been waiting for her ninth birthday the day for months and months and had found it difficult to to be patient. Now that she had reached this wonderful age, she wanted to forget that she had ever been eight. I can hardly imagine what it will be like when she reaches double figures.

What is the secret to this remembering and forgetting? Ideally we should remember the good things of the past, like the summer holidays which seemed to go on for ever. Remember that in our imagination it never rained in the summer months. Remember the feeling of a safe, loving family that many of us had and the friends that were going to be best friends for ever.

Forgetting is also an art to be established; forgetting the days when we couldn’t go out to play. Forgetting the friends who became enemies and not remembering the unkind words we received along the way. As each year adds up there is more forgetting to be done. God also remembers and forgets. Jeremiah 31:34 ‘i will remember their sins no more.’

Eugene Peterson

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Eugene Peterson, the writer of The Message translation of the Bible was born on the 6th November 1932. Probably best known for this translation he was also a pastor, poet, author and scholar. His intention was to make the original meaning of the Bible accessible to the people of today.

In an interview he once said ‘We are story-telling people and our lives are stories ………….. the Bible is our greatest story.’ He described everyone as being in a hurry but that our Christian life is one of being a disciple and a pilgrim. As disciples we spend our lives apprenticed to out Master and as pilgrims we spend our lives going to God. Peterson’s language is the language of the every day. In his translation in Hebrews 13:5 he writes, ‘I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you.’His words give us a clarity when we read The Message alongside one of other favourite translations.

Do You Know My God?

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I have new neighbours and am making new friends. To be silent is to deny Christ I know, but how do I witness? It is no good bringing God into the conversation accidentally; it has to be the work of God Himself. I wear a small cross but then so do many people, Christian and non-Christian. At my age I haven’t a tattoo, proclaiming ‘God is Love.’ But I thank Him that i have found another opportunity.

This doesn’t apply so much to older people but youngsters are littering their conversation with blasphemous words. – ‘Oh my God,’ ‘Jesus Christ,’ or even words which I dare not print here. Without giving offence, I challenge the speaker by saying, ‘How did Jesus Christ get into the conversation?’ At the very least it might make people stop and think. (One failure was when I got the reply, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know.) At the very best I have the opportunity to explain the difference Jesus Christ has made in my life.

With older people ‘friendship evangelism’ seems to be the best approach, but it is a long job. Many have been to Sunday School when they were young and I share with them the book I have written about a Church of England hymn writer. Jesus never said it would be easy!

The Look of God

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I know God is God, but we don’t really know what God looks like but because Jesus walked this earth we only think of God in physical form. We have the image of Him sitting on His throne in heaven, so that gives us some physical features. We imagine Him to have arms and hands as we read in Isaiah 41:10 ‘I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ And again ‘If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your right hand will guide me.’ In times of trouble we imagine God placing His arms around us and protecting us. He carries us on His shoulders.

I think heaven is going to be a wonderful surprise.Our finite minds and even the reading of the Book of Revelation make us ill-prepared for what we will find. But I believe it will be surprise upon wonderful surprise. We cannot grasp the beginning of it and we’re not just visiting, we’ll be there for ever and ever. Something beyond our comprehension.