What is the point of resting?

All pictures used by permission of Unsplash

I would like to share some thoughts on resting with you today.

“There just are not enough hours in the day” would suggest that maybe you are not managing time effectively or that your ‘things to do’ list is too ambitious. There is  nothing wrong with aspirational targets, so says the school teacher!

To have a break or rest is so very vital to our well being and health; that is physical health, emotional health and mental health. These seem to be a very real issue for all kinds of people these days and from all age backgrounds.

Let’s face it, there is nothing better than looking forward to a long deserved holiday. It is very much a break from normal life and day-to-day stresses. If it is a long weekend, a 4 day 3 night break, a week, 10 days, a fortnight, 3 weeks, a month or more, it is a well earned opportunity to laze by a pool, sunbathe on a beach, visit places of interest and relax.

The Anchor of the Soul - what is the foundation for your life?

Life can be uncertain! Things can change in an instant! So, what keeps your feet on the ground? What gives you certainty? What is the foundation that your life is built on? Maybe you have never looked at life from this perspective. Well, there's no better time to do it than now. This message may get you thinking. I hope so

The first-century symbol of Christianity was an anchor, not a Cross. Christians adopted the anchor as a symbol of hope in the future because the anchor was regarded in ancient times as a symbol of safety. The message of the biblical message of the gospel teaches us how we can be ‘safe’ or ‘saved’.

You may ask why we need that safety or what we need to be saved from? 

The answer is that, in reality, life without God life is hopeless, There is an absence of hope. Life does not make sense without God who is the creator, the source of all things. This may not be your world view but it makes sense of the world and everything fits when God is in the picture.

Did you have 20/20 Vision in 2020

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

In mid-2019, an eye-catching advert appeared: "Get 20/20 vision before 2020". It was from a company offering eye surgery, encouraging readers to have the operation before the end of 2019, so that by the beginning of the year 2020 they would have ‘normal vision’. It is now too late to have it before 2020, but doubtless the same business, and others, will continue to offer it in this New Year.

In John chapter 9 we read about a man who received a transformation in eyesight far greater than that offered by any surgical procedure: instantaneously he went from being totally blind, to seeing clearly. This miraculous change took place because the Lord Jesus Christ had pity on him and healed him.

A Gesture of love and compassion

Hubert Humphrey was a former vice-president of the United States. When he died hundreds of people from across the world attended his funeral. All were welcome, but one – former President Richard Nixon, who had not long previously dragged himself and his country through the humiliation and shame of Watergate. As eyes turned away and conversations ran dry around him Nixon could feel the ostracism being ladled out to him.

Then Jimmy Carter, the serving US President, walked into the room. Carter was from a different political party to Nixon and well known for his honesty and integrity. As he moved to his seat President Carter noticed Richard Nixon standing all alone. Carter immediately changed course, walked over to Richard Nixon, held out his hand, and smiling genuinely and broadly embraced Nixon and said “Welcome home, Mr President! Welcome home!”

The incident was reported by Newsweek magazine, which wrote: “If there was a turning point in Nixon’s long ordeal in the wilderness, it was that moment and that gesture of love and compassion.” Jimmy Carter certainly knew that there is little to gain from kicking a person when they're down. After all, they're already down!  Creating a culture of civility of not kicking someone while they're down is to the benefit of everyone... you never know when you're going to be the one who's down.

This is not quite how it happens in everyday life, is it? But, things are different to what normally happens in everyday life when to comes to the gospel. A small, a very small gesture of love is just enough for the greatest reward to be bestowed, for the fulfilment of God’s promise to be with us always. 

God’s Word (the Bible) teaches us to show kindness and forgiveness not only to our friends, but to our enemies too. Here’s what Jesus said about it “Love your enemies, and pray for those who hurt you.” That seems hard to do. When people hurt us, we sometimes want to hurt them back. But the Lord Jesus teaches not to do that. He teaches us to be kind and loving, even to someone who is unkind to you. He teaches us to have mercy on others.

Why should we have mercy on people who hurt us? The reason is because God shows us mercy. We hurt God when we do things we know we shouldn’t do. But He still loves us even when we sin. Romans chapter 6 verse 23 tells us that ‘the wages of sin is death’. When we sin, our punishment should be death, but, thankfully, the Bible also tells us that when ‘we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’. That’s the wonder of the gospel, that God sent His Son to die in our place. All we have to do to receive God’s mercy is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for us on the cross to save us from the penalty, power and presence of sin. The scriptures record that if we ‘believe on the Lord Jesus Christ’ we will be saved, Acts 16:31.

Isn’t that amazing? Even though we break God’s heart, He still loved and cared enough for us to sacrifice His only Son. God has a lot of mercy for us. He even went out of His way to meet us where we are. God’s mercy to us is a good lesson: Just as He forgives us, we should also forgive other people, even our enemies. 

God's love is not cheap, for it is so different to the world’s type of love. God's love is not cheap, but it is gratuitous. It is a gift that keeps on giving and multiplying itself. But most important is the assurance, the promise, that His act of kindness and mercy can be ours today. His gesture of love to us, which we didn't deserve, can be ours if we only believe.

Prepared by ‘Your Five for Today’ and used by permission 

How to survive in 2020?

There’s only one way to survive in this world today - trust in God! 

Surrounded as they were by aggressive and powerful nations, there was only one way for God’s people, Israel, to survive in the promised land God had given them. The history of the children of Israel is pretty much a dismal record of how they didn’t trust their Lord. In fact their history includes a period in which they were kicked out of their land for persistently refusing to go God‘s way, but the flip side is that it is also an amazing record of God’s patient plans with people who fail big time and of God’s amazing willingness to use weak people who do trust their God. 

20/20 Vision in 2020

In mid-2019, an eye-catching advert appeared: "Get 20/20 vision before 2020". It was from a company offering eye surgery, encouraging readers to have the operation before the end of 2019, so that by the beginning of the year 2020 they would have ‘normal vision’. It is now too late to have it before 2020, but doubtless the same business, and others, will continue to offer it in this New Year.