Being the centre of attention

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear . . . 

For some people, these are pleasant words; for others, well – they would rather do a bungee jump than hear them. The words themselves are innocuous, but they represent a moment when they are the sole focus of attention. They would do almost anything rather than be exposed to those seconds of scrutiny. It doesn't seem to matter whether people are being friendly to them or not; it is just the sheer embarrassment of being the focus of attention that gets to them.

 

There are times when none of us like being the centre of attention. Last year, I had an accident as my wife and I started our annual holiday. I tripped and ended up with a severe gash on my head. As I sat and waited for the paramedics to arrive, I realized that everyone who passed by was having a good look at me. It was most uncomfortable to be scrutinized by a pulsating throng of tourists.

It got me thinking! So often, people are watching us. We can be unaware of it, but we are being observed. Now, it's not a good idea to live life looking over your shoulder, but it is wise to remember that you are a role model to someone. A good example is a great teacher, but bad behaviour is often inadvertently copied and has devastating effects. What type of role model are you? Would your family have a good example to follow if they imitated you? How about your colleagues – are you a good example to follow? What do your friends admire you for?

Do you have good friends?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Isn’t it great to have a good group of friends around you? Do you have school, college or Uni friends that you keep in touch with? What about work colleagues or even friendly neighbours? 

Jesus had a number of good friends too. There were the 12 disciples, as an obvious example. Jesus also had a good relationship with a group of three siblings: Lazarus and his two sisters Mary and Martha. 

In John’s Gospel, we learn of Lazarus’ death. The sisters sent Jesus a message: “Lord, your dear friend is sick.” 

When Jesus heard it, He said, “The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God.” 

Jesus added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I will go and wake him up.” The disciples replied, “If he is asleep, Lord, he will get well.”Jesus meant that Lazarus had died, but they thought he meant natural sleep. So Jesus said, “Lazarus is dead, but for your sake I am glad that I was not with him, so that you will believe. Let us go to him.” 

What is love?

Different people have very different ideas about what love is. Some people would describe it as a romantic idea of a feeling that they might have towards another, others would think of the almost unbreakable bond with a brother or sister, whereas some would think of the sacrificial love of a mother or father for their children.

Love can be a fleeting thing or last a lifetime. Love is shown in very different ways also. For some it is an extravagant gift, for others it is shown through a handmade gift. It can be demonstrated through loyalty or a demonstrable statement, it can be quietly providing or always there to listen in a time of need.

Some people make the great mistake of thinking that they show love by letting their loved ones get away with things. This never works, many people are selfish and if they get away with something, they will often repeat their misdemeanour, this often causes further hurt. 

Some parents think that overlooking their child’s faults is loving, however this just creates spoilt children, who if uncorrected, will carry many of these faults into adulthood. 

We need to consider our behaviours. In Proverbs chapter 14 verse 12 we are told that, ‘There is a way that seems right to a man’. So, we may well have a notion that we can behave as we see fit yet be bringing harm to ourselves and to others. We need to be warned about it. God does this in the second part of that verse, ‘but its end is the way of death!’ That is a stark warning. God is warning us, because Heloves us, it might be 

tough love, but heeding the warning may well save us from eternal death. 

God has shown His love to us in other ways too, in fact, in Romans chapter 5 verse 8 tells us how He has demonstrated His most amazing love, it tells us, ‘Christ died for us!’ To die to save someone is a huge display of love and this is the perfect Son of God dying for us! The rest of the verse says that He died, ‘While we were still sinners!’ It would have been amazing if He had died for those that were attempting to live perfect lives, or those that had turned over new leaves, but He died for us while we were still sinning. Our sin offends God, He hates it, and even if we tried to be sinless, we would fail as we all sin. He still loved us and Christ died to save us. 

1 John chapter 4 verse 10 tells us what love is, but it is not our love for God. We should love God more, for He supplies us with so many blessings, some that we do not even realise, some we just take for granted. The verse expresses what love actually is, it is that He loved us. When I consider why God loved me, I really struggle to understand. What is loveable about me a sinner who offends God time and time again?

There is nothing that a righteous, holy God could love. Naturally I would go my own way and ignore God’s way, I would wonder away like a straying sheep! So why does God love me and love you with this immense, indescribable, extreme love? The answer has to be that He loves me because He chose to love me!

I have responded to the love of God and the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ to die for me, by trusting in His Son and turning from my sin to Him. I love Him because He first loved me. How do you respond to His great unconditional love?

DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (09/10/24)

Written by STUART SCAMMELL 

All photos courtesy of Unsplash or personally taken

North Korea

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

We know little of the real truth about the country of North Korea so to begin to understand this very independent country one needs to go back over a century. Following the Donghak Peasant Revolution the Great Korean Empire came into being in 1897, but Korea was strategically very important to Japan, who annexed the country and for years enforced its occupation in a ruthless way. 

Protest demonstrations took place but the military and police fired into groups of Korean Christians singing hymns. Christian leaders were nailed to wooden crosses to die. Police beheaded small children, besides burning down churches. It may surprise some that Korea was once considered a christian country and up to the Second World War was an active mission field. The Japanese did seek to counteract the growth of christianity by its pagan Shinto religion. The north actually had more christians than the south of the country but later the division of the nation saw many christians flee to the south.

The Japanese rule over Korea ended at the close of the Second World War. Korea then became governed as two countries according to a plan put in place by the U.S.A. The border being drawn across the 38th parallel on a map. thus dividing the nation into north and south. This was considered to be a temporary arrangement, the people having a desire for the country to be unified again. This sadly was not the case and tension between both sides led finally to the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 involving not only Koreans but the U.S.A. Britain, France, China and the then Soviet Union. The war was one of the most devastating in history and finally ended in an armistice in what is known as the Demilitarised Zone, that still divides the two countries today. North Korea continues to claim that they are the victors and annual celebrations coupled with a wealth of constant propaganda continue to declare this.

Brutal Honesty

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

Moments of brutal honesty about ourselves are rare. We go to great lengths trying to present ourselves in the best light possible. We either deny our failures or apologise for them:- 

“That wasn't the real me.”

“That was a weak moment when I messed up.”

“My inner demons won that time, but that's really not who I am."

The world was shocked when the news broke that Philip Seymour Hoffman died at 46.  Every major North American media outlet immediately elevated the breaking story to headline status. The winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actor had died in his apartment. In less than twenty five years Philip Seymour Hoffman had appeared in more than fifty films, winning multiple awards and numerous nominations. As the sad news broke, accolades and words of praise for this most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation, flooded social media and news channels.

Those who knew him were well aware of his struggles with drugs and alcohol. Although he battled addictions for years, he managed to stay clean for twenty years, but on 2 February 2014 the world became painfully aware that he had succumbed to chemicals once again.  

Do you have good friends?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Isn’t it great to have a good group of friends around you? Do you have school, college or Uni friends that you keep in touch with? What about work colleagues or even friendly neighbours? 

Jesus had a number of good friends too. There were the 12 disciples, as an obvious example. Jesus also had a good relationship with a group of three siblings: Lazarus and his two sisters Mary and Martha. 

In John’s Gospel, we learn of Lazarus’ death. The sisters sent Jesus a message: “Lord, your dear friend is sick.” 

When Jesus heard it, He said, “The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God.” 

Jesus added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I will go and wake him up.” The disciples replied, “If he is asleep, Lord, he will get well.”Jesus meant that Lazarus had died, but they thought he meant natural sleep. So Jesus said, “Lazarus is dead, but for your sake I am glad that I was not with him, so that you will believe. Let us go to him.”