Bible Stories For Big Kids - Blog

KING SOLOMON - DEPRESSED?

11/15/2023

King Solomon suffered from depression.

That is my opinion after reading the book of Ecclesiastes in a very contemporary version of the Bible. By the way, I am no doctor of medicine ( or anything else) but I do have a problem with depression, or I did, till the Doctor prescribed me a little white pill to be taken each day. Unfortunately King Solomon probably would not have had access to that chemical which he was lacking.

I describe his depression as having the ability to know what is good and worthwhile, but not having the ability to be able to put that good feeling into practice, resulting in the thought process of why bother? what's the point? who cares? These are real feelings which cannot be ignored yet cannot be overcome. King Solomon had some really depressing messages such as 'eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die'. Life is rather futile with that attitude, yet for a 'depressed' person that feeling is real, and very difficult to ignore.

With that in mind, I am now having a new take on King Solomon's story as he moves from faithfully following God and using the wisdom power and privilege which God gave him, to ultimately watering down his commitment to God and the detrimental effect that had on his kingdom.

Depression is real and I do not know how I would handle it without that little white pill. Each day I thank God for the physical and spiritual blessings he has given me and I am so thankful that I now have the ability to feel the appreciation with much joy, and not just acknowledge it.

I really feel for those who have any depression and no medical assistance but I can say that God is there in those dark times as I have experienced his love and support when I did not realise what was my problem.

God IS love - he loved King Solomon till that love was rejected, and he loves each one of us. Life IS worth living knowing that God is with us ALL the time.

October 19th, 2023

10/19/2023

'JOY.' REALLY?

"I am writing these things that our joy may be complete'. Fact! John writes these words in his first letter, first chapter and verse 4.

What about when we don't feel joy in our lives? Fact - we have joy. What is the definition of joy? - a feeling of pleasure or happiness. That is the dictionary definition, but I think that John is writing about a much deeper sense of joy - one not dependent on just feeling good.

I can walk but I don't always feel like doing my 1/2 hour daily walk, especially when there is not a cool breeze. Fact: I can/have the ability to walk. Even now as I explore the word 'joy' I keep going back to the Biblical assertion that 'joy' is a fact, not a feeling. Even when life becomes messy and even just plain awful, we still have 'joy'. So what is so different about the dictionary definition and what is inferred in the Bible?

'Confidence' is the basis of fact on which our 'joy' is complete. Confidence in:- salvation, answered prayer, victory, forgiveness, guidance - all these are promised by God, in writing, in the Bible. I doesn't matter how we feel - good or bad - we have the confidence that God is our friend and helper and this gives us that deep assurance of 'joy'.

There are probably plenty of times in our lives when we can feel sorry for ourselves ( nothing wrong with that) but it is especially those times that we need to remember the fact the we have 'joy'. Just because I don't feel like walking does not negate the fact that I can walk.

'Joy' is a fact - God gives us 'joy', deep satisfying 'joy' and that is a fact - believe it now!

SPEAKING THE TRUTH

9/19/2023

What a confusing world we live in with the emergence of AI - not that I know much about it nor use it. However, I did see an example of it being used to spread untruths from a political leader and it looked and sounded like the real thing, yet, the journalist made it quite clear that it was not real, nor was the person's message. How would Pilot have managed his question today 'What is truth'?

In Australia's politics at the moment, there is a proposal to be put to the people in the form of a referendum, and 'truthtelling' is part of the discussion around that proposal. Unfortunately it can be difficult to discern the 'truth' as people's perceptions of the 'truth' vary in accordance with what they want to believe, even to the extent of re-writing history. The real truth can sometimes be difficult to find.

Not so in John the Baptist's case. He told Herod the truth about his marriage and where did that get John - he landed in jail and ended up with his head cut off - ugh! Most of the apostles were martyred, all for telling the truth about Jesus and therefore going against the establishment/or the religious leaders of the time. 'Open Doors', a worldwide Christian organisation which works with the persecuted church has horrendous statistics about the suffering of Christians today in many parts of the world and although I pray for the persecuted church, I also feel guilty as I can pray in peace without fear while others suffer so much for doing just that - being caught praying, reading the Bible or partaking in Christian fellowship.

However when I look back at some of my circumstances, there have been times when I have had to make a stand for what I believe is right, or truth. I was told to leave my home when my parents did not want me to marry a Chinese man and did not participate in our wedding ( we are still married 56 years later) - I could not agree with my parents' objections based on the colour of my husband's skin. I am no longer involved in the local church to which I once attended as the minister and people were not interested in outreach in our very secular community - Jesus said 'Go into all the world....' I have been in local politics and been bullied to go against what I believe to be right, so even in a safe place as Australia, there are still hard decisions to be made when standing up for the truth - but I readily admit, not nearly as hard as situations others have to face.

There can be a cost to standing up for what is right, speaking the truth and seeking to right an injustice, but for me, that is part of being a Christian. As we allow God to refine our conscience, then we will know what is the truth.

It is up to us to stand up for the truth, not in our own strength, but with God as our strength.

DOWNSIZING

7/11/2023

You should be downsizing, people in my age group are told so I decided to go through the toy and book cupboard, as my grandchildren are now past the age of using much of what I had saved from my children's childhood. And what fun was that.

I found a game of 'Pin the Tail on the Donkey' so had a 'Back to Childhood' birthday party so I could use that game and it proved to be such fun. However the best surprise in the cupboard was re-reading the children's books which I had either kept from my childhood/teen years, or I had purchased for my children. Some were rather dated which is to be expected, but the ones I really enjoyed were from the Jungle Doctor series.

Dr Paul White, an Australian Church Missionary Society missionary in the 1950s, set up Mvumi Hospital near Dodoma in Tanzania and was assisted by a nursing sister Dorothy Hughes who was from my childhood church, not that Sister Dorothy features in the books. When Sister Dorothy was on furlough, I was able to hear first hand how they managed in those days eg - boiling surgical instruments in a can over an open fire- and making do in all sorts of ways because of the lack of services available. I loved those stories and so have always been interested in overseas missions.

However, the thing which struck me most from those books, was the absolute love which Dr White had for God and for those whom he served. Having re-read some similar books which were interesting, the love which came from Dr White's books was tangible. The conditions under which he preformed his medical tasks was incredible by today's standards, yet this was his God given task, to be a physical and spiritual healer to people who were most in need. I felt really inspired reading those book, and they are staying on my bookshelf to be read again another day.

But it wasn't just downsizing which prompted this blog - I have received some delightful emails from a Pentecostal Pastor in Tanzania and the love from those emails is also tangible - a love which knows no cultural or physical boundaries, because of our love in Christ.

Downsizing is a good idea, especially when others are left to work out what to do with all our 'stuff', but downsizing can have other good outcomes as I have had the joy of discovering - God's love is real, tangible and knows no boundaries.

Go for it!

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

5/3/2023

Can you imagine Peter at a party? I imagine he would have been the 'life of the party', not politically correct, but with such a genuine fun personality, he could get away with it. He was a fisherman when Jesus first became friends with him and was usually the first to have his say when Jesus asked a question of the group of disciples. Loud mouth Peter - what a refreshing person to be around.

He was the first to tell Jesus that come what may, he would be there for Jesus when trouble came, and he was. Peter was in the courtyard while Jesus was being abused by the religious leaders on that fateful Thursday night, but it all became too much for Peter. By the time the cock crowed early the next morning, although Peter was still there, he had actually denied he knew Jesus - three times he did this- just as Jesus had predicted. So what was Jesus' reaction when the rooster crowed? He looked at Peter with what I imagine was total love, and Peter was devastated. I believe there was only Jesus and Peter at that moment, pure love from Jesus, not condemnation as one would expect, but pure love which cut through any bravado which Peter might have been feeling; a love which Peter later experienced when he and some disciples had breakfast with the risen Jesus, on the beach.

Following that early morning meal on the beach, after a fruitless night of fishing ( till Jesus came and told those disciples where to cast their nets), once again, Jesus did not have a go at Peter and interestingly enough, we don't have a record of Peter apologising for denying Jesus. Maybe the air was a bit tense with Peter waiting for Jesus to have something to say, but once again, Jesus showed his love and forgiveness towards Peter, by commissioning Peter for his mission which would shortly come about. Three times Jesus asked Peter if he would continue Jesus' mission and three times Peter said 'yes' - did Jesus' three questions to Peter show that Jesus had forgiven Peter for denying him three times ? I like to think so.

I find Jesus' interaction with Peter so refreshing and interesting in that there was no stereotype process of love and forgiveness. Peter was starting to understand that Jesus did things Jesus' way and that was not always easy to accept - just look at Peter's reaction to the vision where he was told to eat forbidden food for a Jew. Peter had to learn that Jesus came for all people and not just the Jews.

William Cowper understood this in 1773 when he wrote the hymn 'God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform'. God cannot be contained or limited by our human thoughts and actions, so like Peter, we need to learn to expect the unexpected.

EASTER - A LONG TIME IN THE MAKING

3/20/2023

Easter was a long time in the making for God started planning Easter when he first created people.

The story in Genesis tells us that God created a perfect world as well as perfect people with whom he would meet and chat but people turned away from God and that intimate relationship. This resulted in their being sent away from the perfect world God had given them as well as being cut off from God and that special relationship with him.

"At the same time God was preparing his plan of reconciliation, as he still loved the people he had created" ( Bible Stories For Big Kids page 1) and this is when Easter was born.

There were two very different scenarios that first Easter - God's plan and that of those who wanted to be rid of Jesus - parallel plans I call it.

I like to use the illustration of one of my clean but well worn blouses shown against the original material. The blouse looks perfectly good but does the original material show up how much the blouse has faded. Without the original material, the blouse is fine but put against the original material the blouse appears to be very shabby. When Jesus was teaching, he showed people how much God loved them, not like the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who were so insistent on people keeping the law that love didn't come into their way of life. Instead of the religious leaders following Jesus, all they wanted to do was to get rid of him - he showed them up just as the new material showed up the shabbiness of my blouse.

As their evil ways were playing out, God was allowing this to happen, for it was God's plan for Jesus to be punished for our sins instead of us, and to bring us back into that intimate relationship with him. At all times during those sordid 24 hours of bitter hatred and torment towards Jesus, God was in charge. The more Jesus did not respond to their bullying, the more angry the perpetrators became, resulting in Jesus being put to death on a cross - horrifying but all part of God's plan. Jesus was dead. I would love to know how those responsible felt that night - were they celebrating or obeying the law by observing the Passover and ignoring what they had done. Certainly Judas realised his mistake and took his own life, and Peter felt bad about denying Jesus 3 times.

But God's plan wasn't yet finished. On the Sunday morning Jesus was alive, alive to bring us back to God. How well this 'golden oldie' of a chorus describes what the first Easter means to me.

'He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today.
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart.
You ask me how I know he lives? -
He lives within my heart.'

A NEVER ENDING CYCLE

2/28/2023

Cleaning ugh! I am tired of cleaning but when I think that thought, I immediately feel guilty as I am so thankful to have a nice and comfortable house to clean. Sometimes I actually feel enthusiastic about cleaning but I find the more I clean, the more I find to clean and it can turn into a never ending cycle. Fortunately I know how to stop that cycle - do something else!

Never ending cleaning reminds me of the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee praying in the temple. The Pharisee is so proud of his 'works' that he sees these as his way to win God's favour. The theology of 'salvation by works' may produce good people, but under this philosophy, how many 'works' does a person have to do to be considered acceptable to God? It can lead to a never ending cycle with the more good works one does, the more good works there needs to be done to achieve a sense of satisfaction. 'Salvation by works' can never give a person total satisfaction.

So let's end the work cycle there.

James 2:17 clearly states that "faith without works is dead". I don't know about you but when I was younger I came across some people of faith who sure didn't endear me to their Christian beliefs. There was little love in their approach to others, as the keeping of their 'rules' of being a Christian was more important to them than loving others.

So let's start the love cycle here.

Ephesians 2:10 says that "We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works", not as a way to win God's favour/salvation, but as a result of our salvation. Many times in the Bible it is written that our responsibility is to love and care for others and our 'good works' should always reflect the love of Jesus and not ourselves. In the 1960s there was a phrase 'as cold as charity' meaning that good works were done in a very unloving and unfeeling manner, and this should never be the attitude of a Christian in any circumstance.

I realise I keep coming back to the theme of love, but loving and caring about others is how God wants us to share the good news/gospel of God's love and salvation for everyone.

For what the world needs now is love, Jesus' love!

THIS NEW YEAR

1/31/2023

Commencing a new year can be interesting.

It is good to evaluate the previous year and set new goals for the new year but what should those goals look like?

This blog is going to be the shortest one I have written, because:-

A) setting goals is such an individual activity and
B) so much can be written about the effects of success and failure.

In the Christian Blind Mission (CBM) prayer diary, one January prayer gave the best New Year's Resolution ...

"God we are grateful you have given us another year to express the love of Jesus".

Whatever we do and wherever we go, that should be our underlying reason - to express the love of Jesus!

'EMMANUEL' AND 'CHRISTMAS'?

12/21/2022

If there was a cure for cancer, I wonder how many people would take advantage of it. I would think everyone needing a cure would accept it but I wonder how many would refuse to believe it. Just check out the number of anti-vaxers who have died from Covid - one site claimed 88% of deaths were people who were not vaccinated.

Jesus cured 10 lepers but only one returned to say 'thankyou'. In the story of the Sower, Jesus refers to a minority of people continuing their Christian journey; and in his teaching, Jesus infers that many people will reject him and for the disciples not to be discouraged by this. I am sure many people could give different reasons as to why they do not want to believe in Jesus but it still surprises me as to why people do not even consider the Christian philosophy, given the positive, supportive and loving promises contained therein. And that is even before the theological issues are highlighted.

Positive thinking is such a popular (and worthwhile) thing to do, and at Christmas, I love to sing the words of some of the traditional carols because they contain such positive truths, and yet how many people stop to think about what they sing? From the words quoted below in these traditional carols, I would be prompted to think about their significance and the wonder of God coming to earth to live, love and save.

So these quotes are just a few of my favourites:-

'O holy child of Bethlehem descend to us we pray.
Cast out our sins and enter in, be born in us today....
O come to us abide with us our Lord Emmanuel'

'O ye beneath life's crushing load, whose forms are bending low.....Look now for glad and golden hours come swiftly ....O rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing'

'Mild he lays his glory by....born to raise the sons of earth. Born to give them second birth.....light and life to all he brings......pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel - 'Emmanuel' meaning 'God with us'

Not everyone will celebrate 'God with us' this Christmas but for those who do, may you have a wonderful and blessed celebration.

Happy Christmas from Karina

HOW GOOD ARE YOU AT LISTENING?

11/23/2022

How good are you at listening, and I mean real proper listening? A recent Facebook post had a statement to the effect that we listen to reply, not learn, and that started a really good discussion about listening.

My comment was that if a conversation is interrupted, how many people return to that conversation? In my experience, not many because the other person (usually) was not really listening. I must admit that while listening to another person, I am already thinking of my reply, but after so many poor experiences, I now make sure I listen and reply appropriately.

I decided to check out Bible verses about God's desire to hear us, and there were quite a few pages ( in a book - I still use books) of Bible references to the word 'hear', 'heard' 'listen' - too many to list here, but one which I really liked was from Psalm 34:4 "I sought the Lord and he answered me". I am sure that is the testimony of every Christian as God does hear us when we chat with him, even when we may not see the outcome of that conversation. By faith we believe that God hears and answers our prayers.

I remember meeting a very social lady twice and during that first brief conversation, she asked about my children. The next time we met, she immediately asked a relevant question about my children as she had remembered our first conversation, and this from a lady who mixes with a lot of people. Obviously I was impressed and it showed me the importance of really listening.

And that reminds me of Jesus' words "If you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" Jesus makes it quite clear that God hears our prayers - he listens.

In a recent TV program, one sentence really made me think. The person being interviewed said of someone else ' she was the first person who had really listened to me'. How sad is that!

Listening can take many forms and being aware of the other person's body language, for example, can tell us much about that person, even before a conversation is commenced. Jesus reacted in many different ways to the people he met, because he listened to not only what they said, but how or why they said it.

Proper listening is not always easy but it is something Jesus did and something which we should do too.

God gave us one mouth and two ears - I wonder why?

Creator or Evolution?

9/22/2022

What a 'can of worms' to open!

Not being of scientific background ( I am more the arts) I had not thought much about this subject as the only alternatives appeared to have been, believe that God created this world in 6 days, or believe in evolution, neither of which I could readily accept, especially when science talks of thousands/billions of years ago certain things happened. When I taught creation at Religious Education in school, I always taught the children that:-
1 God created this world
2 He created it in a certain ( practical) order
3 It was perfect
4 He created people separately to everything else and gave people the responsibility to care for this world, and also to be able to have a relationship with him.

I thought (not deeply) that evolution may come into the development of different species till I heard a quote from Genesis 1:24 in one of my favourite TV shows 'Father Brown' where he quoted "let the earth bring forth creatures of every kind" and that started me thinking.

I checked my 'library' of Christian books and chose one called 'The God Factor' where 50 eminent scientist discuss their reasons for being a Christian and was it an eye opener or a good learning experience. Firstly, I learned from a Christian's scientific perspective there are no choices as creation by God is the most scientific explanation of how this world began and how it continues to function. No mention has been made of the time line of Creation - that is not the issue. The issue is that God created. Evolution means no creator or higher power - it all just happened and keeps happening.

Then comes example after example of different scientific marvels, each from the perspective of the writer's specialty. Some examples went way over my head, but one I distinctly remember is from a medical specialist who explains in minute detail, what happens in our bodies when we ask someone to raise an arm. This is something which we do immediately, but it literally took me 5 minutes to read what happens in our bodies from the moment we hear that instruction to the actual raising of the arm. The conclusion each scientist reaches ( in my very inadequate words) is that these marvels of nature cannot just happen - science does not work that way for starters - so there has to be someone who has designed the natural world.

I am so impressed with the engineering wonders of this world, from being able to send this message to all parts of the world with the press of a button to the towering buildings and bridges, but to have the intricacies of the natural world explained by such highly qualified scientists, is mind blowing. However what I find even more difficult to understand is that people can believe that the natural world just happened and all these wonders of nature are attributable to no-one. Where does life come from for a seed to grow, or an animal or person to have life? These questions I would want answered before I ruled God out of the creation events.

Most of the scientists in this book have been taught their subjects from an atheistic point of view, but they have all come to the conclusion that there has to be a grand designer behind all they have learned, and that grand designer is the God of the Bible.

John1:1 says "In the beginning was the word".... a few lines later we read that the 'word' is Jesus. Jesus later claimed "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6).

I am very happy to believe the first words of the Bible - Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

WHAT MORE DO I NEED?

8/20/2022

Psalm 23 is one of my favourite Bible passages, as I guess it summarises my spiritual journey.

The opening words of the Good News Bible says it all - 'The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need'. Like everyone else, I have experienced good times and bad times, but looking back, never has God abandoned me. God has become my best friend and it is on him I have learned to depend.

'Fields of green grass' and 'quiet pools of fresh water' creates such a peaceful landscape, especially set amongst the chaos of world news and events. However, sometimes this landscape is in the distance and we have to negotiate mud and scrub to get there but once there, no wonder God's peacefulness 'gives me new strength'
or as other versions say 'He restores my soul'.

Recently when I was having one of those normal (for me anyway) darker days, a lovely lady whom I had not seen for ages, put a bouquet of flowers in my supermarket trolley and said 'Happy Mothers' Day'. We hugged and teared up in the supermarket aisle as this was such a beautiful gesture. Another day, a different friend left a nice smelly candle for me at our front door - those moments are 'He restores my soul' moments.

'He guides me in the right paths as he has promised' is something which I can attest to over the years. It is so easy to go our own way and stuff up our life and often the lives of those nearest and dearest, but to follow our Shepherd, 'even through the deepest darkness' means that we do not need to be afraid of the outcome, for 'your Shepherd's rod and staff protect me'. I find that a beautiful picture to imagine.

I have always had a problem with the banquet where all my enemies can see me, but on thinking it over, to me it represents God's victory over those who would oppose my Christian witness, - God cannot be put down, even when people try their hardest - not that I have experienced anything remotely like what persecuted Christians in other countries, experience. God is victorious!

A Christian is not exempt from doubts, but in the last verse, we have the ultimate promise not only for our life here on earth, but for eternity 'I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life and your house will be my home forever.'

'The Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need'.

GRATEFULNESS

7/4/2022

It is wet cold windy and miserable (for the tropics) at the moment and I am loving it as it is such a pleasant contrast from the constant heat and humidity of a long summer. Grateful? I sure am, not only for the cool weather, but for the warm clothes and a house in which I can walk around - (a friend is living in a caravan and I would find that impossible in such a confined space).

As a teenager, we sang the chorus:-
'Count you blessings name them one by one
Count your blessings see what God has done.
Count you blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.'

Where do I start? The view ( not on a wet windy miserable day) from my work room is magnificent and sometimes I say 'God have you looked at the view today, it is extra beautiful'. We have up to 26 doves which come and feed on our balcony (and make a terrible mess!) but they are delightful.

Being a prayer partner of 'Open Doors' makes me so aware of being grateful for our fridge, freezer and pantry where there is always ample food for most occasions. ( It helps having an Asian husband who is a good cook!) As for that hot shower just before bed - what an absolute luxury in my view. I am really really grateful for our lifestyle as I appreciate that we have so much compared to so many people.

Apart from the balcony view, I have included some photos from my ( should be) daily walk around the waterfront. I stop along the way to appreciate looking back at the foreshore in the distance, the closer foreshore and that huge tree which I am sure, my ninja grandson would love to climb. One tree near the footpath has a most beautiful yellow flower so there are plenty of examples of God's love in creation, along the way.

These are just some of the local physical things for which I am most grateful. There are many more categories of fun, family, and friends, as well as the theological/Christian values and promises on which our gratefulness is based.

My favourite hymn has a chorus which says it all for me:-
'Great is your faithfulness, Great is your faithfulness.
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed your hand has provided
Great is you faithfulness, Lord, to me.'

We all have so much for which to be grateful.

WHY?

6/28/2022

Why do bad things happen, especially to Christians or even good people? I probably can't answer that question neatly and precisely, so you may want to stop reading this blog now.

Although Jesus had compassion and did heal many people while on this earth, healing people was not his primary task so he did not engage in endless healing sessions. I sometimes wonder how he felt after making people well again - only one of the ten lepers healed, returned to say 'thankyou'; the woman who had been bleeding for years only wanted to touch the hem of his garment to be healed - very superstitious in my initial view - but Jesus knew her faith and healed her (thus rebuking my response), and the man who was healed on the Sabbath, was then drawn into a protracted legal battle with the religious leaders. How could so many other people who saw these miracles and be in such close contact with perfect love and compassion, not believe in Jesus?

In the recent events for Queen Elizabeth's platinum jubilee, it has been interesting to hear comments from people who have met the Queen, saying what a wonderful lady she is and I am sure all would agree, but people met with Jesus, yet turned away from him. I find that extraordinary, but of course, it happened then and continues to happen today.

What triggered these thoughts for me, was the unusual selection of people to whom God chose to reveal himself in Old Testament times. For example, Elijah needed to flee from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, so God told him to go to a widow in Sidon, Queen Jezebel's hometown. There would have been many Jewish widows at the time and who could have benefited from God's care of Elijah, but God did not choose them. Naaman the Syrian, also a non Jew, was healed of his leprosy in the time of Elisha. Why did God choose these people and not others?

Most people do not deserve many of the things which life throws at them - there are stories galore which could confirm this, - but for Job who suffered the loss of everything, his response was " I know that my Redeemer lives and one day I will see him". St Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9, that Jesus' response to Paul's request for healing was "My grace is sufficient for you".

There is no deserving in this life, despite some people's hope in karma, but our response in times of testing should be to trust in God.

He has promised to be with us always.

HOPE

4/24/2022

To be truthful, I dread reading the Easter story each year as there are so many depressing elements to the story. The bitter hatred of the religious leaders, the shocking treatment of Jesus by the soldiers all at the instigation of those same religious leaders, people who should know God's truth, yet for whom power is more important. Judas' betrayal then suicide and Peter's denial and absolute remorse, all make for a read of gloom and doom especially when coupled with the latest overseas and even local news. Yet underscoring all of this is HOPE.

HOPE , because during this whole episode in the last week of Jesus life here on earth, the religious leaders thought that they were manoeuvring events, when in fact Jesus was totally in control. Even during Jesus' 'trial' he frustrated the religious leaders no end, and Pilate eventually decided to give up. By directing all the proceedings, (unbeknown to those around him) this was Jesus' time to show his ultimate obedience to his Father and love for all people, thus giving us HOPE in resurrection and eternal life.

There is so much hatred and bitterness in our world, and especially directed towards Christians, that it is easy to become dragged down with all the gloom and doom, yet God has given us this wonderful promise of HOPE.

As you relive the events of Easter, "May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit "( Romans 15:13.)

AGENDA? WHAT AGENDA?

3/18/2022

I thought about it, decided against it but after a recent conversation, I decided to write about it. This person whom I met, happened to ask "why do Christians talk differently to me compared to when they pray?" - he was commenting on a church which he is currently attending. And that is what started me on this discussion.

Many Christians appear to have an agenda and I really don't quite know what that agenda is. I have a few theories and they all seem to go back to Christians not being able to relate to people who are not Christians or who are not part of their social circle. Over the years I have attended many churches and one common denominator was that the people were not friendly to me, a stranger. One church even had a 'welcoming person' and I really felt like calling out to the post church coffee drinkers 'don't you welcome strangers here' but thought the better of it.

Talking to strangers or each other, should be the same as talking to God. God doesn't require a special spiritual language for us to pray and we should be as comfortable talking to God as talking to anyone else. I am not denigrating the special time of worship or undermining the holiness of God, but reiterating the biblical fact that God loves everyone equally and so should we, and to me, that means being comfortable and friendly to all people and not just those in our comfort zone.

Although the difference of Jew and Gentile does not apply to current values compared to the problems posed for the early church, yet I see that same mentality still surfaces today. We don't live by rules and ethics but should be allowing God to open our minds to the real world of real people and being loving kind and thoughtful to all.

If you have a problem relaxing with people who are 'different' (whatever that means to you!) then I suggest you change your social habits, have a good look at how Jesus related to people ( how refreshing!), have a long chat with him about your 'problem', then go and be a good caring listener.

Give it a try and you may be pleasantly surprised!

A NEW YEAR - A NEW BEGINNING

1/8/2022

Happy New Year to you all. May we thank God for the blessings of last year, learn from any mistakes and move forward in this year of 2022.

Unfortunately for Adam and Eve, their year, full of promise and good things, was suddenly thwarted when they decided not to trust what God had to say. What had started out as a perfect life, was now turned upside down, but that was not the end. The last line of this chapter is my favourite from the whole book - "God still loved the people he had created" - something to remember each day! This story may be a good reminder of how not to start our year!

IN THE BEGINNING

GOD: “Where are you Adam?   Where are you Eve?”
          Silence
GOD: “Come on, I know you’re here!”
          Rustle of leaves as Adam and Eve’s heads rise above the bushes
GOD: “What are you doing hiding over there?”
EVE: “Er…um…it’s a little embarrassing. You see, you didn’t supply us with anything to cover ourselves – we are naked.”
GOD: “That hasn’t been a problem up until now. I don’t suppose you have eaten the fruit that I said was not to be eaten?”
ADAM: “She made me do it!”
GOD: “Oh, it’s her fault is it?”
ADAM: “Yes! She ate it first and said it tasted delicious and she didn’t die the way you said we would. So I tried some too. Really good flavour….”
GOD: “I’m sure it was, but when you ate it, something happened, didn’t it?”
EVE:     “Yes God, everything changed.”
GOD: “Yes, everything has changed now that you have disobeyed me. You had everything here laid on for you, yet you weren’t satisfied to stay and enjoy it. You had to test me out.”
ADAM: “Put that way, I guess you are right.”
GOD: “Unfortunately for you, I am right. Now firstly, I had better get you some animal skins to wear, then you can say goodbye to this place, for things will be very different from now on. When I said you would die if you ate from that particular tree, I meant that we could no longer have the same relationship with each other. See? Already you are frightened of me.”
ADAM: “Yes.”
GOD: “So now, you will both have to leave here. Instead of everything being provided for you, you will have to fend for yourselves. That means growing your own food and finding your own shelter. Life won’t be easy the way it has been, and we won’t be able to meet like this anymore.”
And so Adam and Eve left the luxury of that perfect place, to face the real world of work and worries, love and hate and all the difficulties of providing food and shelter.

At the same time, God was preparing his plan of reconciliation, as he still loved the people he had created.

CHRISTMAS IS REALLY HERE

12/20/2021

God had promised Simeon that he would not die before seeing the Messiah and now, an old man, he was overjoyed when Mary and Joseph brought their baby boy into the temple at the same time that Simeon 'happened' to be there. Simeon picked up baby Jesus and offered this wonderful prayer of thanksgiving to God.

"Lord now let your servant depart in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples; a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

Christmas had arrived!

THE MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS

12/15/2021

The angel Gabriel had told Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah, and in contrast to John the Baptist's father, Zechariah who at first did not believe the angel's message to him, Mary's later response was a magnificent song of praise to God.

"My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has looked with favour on the lowliness of His servant. Surely from now all generations will call me blessed for the Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is His name.

"His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.

"He has helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy according to the promises He made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS

12/12/2021

When John the Baptist was born, his Father Zechariah who could now speak after being unable to speak for about a year, had this joyous prophecy to share with his friends:-

"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for He has looked favourably on His people and redeemed them. He has raised up a Mighty Saviour for us in the house of His servant David as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

"Thus He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors and has remembered His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our ancestor Abraham to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

"And you child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people, by the forgiveness of their sins.

"By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and guide our feet into the way of peace."

This is the message of Christmas!

POSITIVE THOUGHTS OR GLOOM AND DOOM?

11/29/2021

Omicron, the new strain of Covid has arrived on our shores and although I have not been badly affected by Covid restrictions, many people have, and I heard this latest news with dread. More lockdowns, more border closures, more empty supermarket shelves? It seemed all was gloom and doom for those who would be affected most.

And then I thought of St Paul. Here he was in prison - not necessarily a nice place to be - and in his letter to the Colossians, he starts by giving thanks for their faith and love, before proceeding with more positive statements. No 'poor me' from Paul, although that could have been justified as he had not committed a crime, but was in prison because of his new 'Jesus' faith. I thought that put Covid into perspective, especially for those of us who are safe and have good health services.

Another pleasant surprise amidst the persecution and suffering of so many people in areas of conflict was a prayer in the Christian Blind Mission prayer diary "We pray for peace and prosperity all over the world. May God shower His blessings on all and bless them with peace, happiness and good health." My first reaction was - hey, this is not happening in the world right now, so why should we pray this prayer, but then I thought why not? God has promised to bless us wherever we are and aren't those who are suffering entitled to God's blessings right now? Another change of attitude needed.

Here in the tropics, all the flowering tree are in full bloom and they look spectacular. Along with the beautiful sunsets ( I don't see sunrises) and lately, cloud formations, there are so many reminders of God's goodness to us in the form of natural beauty.

As we remember people in all their difficulties, we can also remember that God has not forgotten his promise to bless. I am reminded of that promise as I look at the beauty around me - something which I really appreciate.

TRUE FRIENDS

10/31/2021

Jonathan, as Saul's eldest son, should have been Israel's next king but having met David, the youngest son of Jesse, Jonathan learned early on that he would not achieve that position, and readily acknowledged that David would be the next king of Israel.

What an extraordinary friendship was that of David and Jonathan. Jonathan risked his life for David and as Saul became more eccentric and determined to kill David, so Jonathan did all he could to keep David safe. By doing this, Jonathan sealed his position of never being king and in case of his death in battle, asked David to look after any living offspring. This David did by bringing Jonathan's disabled son Mephibosheth into court as soon as David realised he was alive.

Jonathan had all the right credentials to be king and he certainly was no wimp on the battle field, yet he could be so gracious in not seeking power as king, a position he rightly deserved. I find his attitude remarkable, especially when comparing it to the politics of our time.

When I was in Local Government, I really was astounded by the 'games' the men were playing to be the most powerful. It was like watching tadpoles in a tiny pond so small was our Local Government area, but still the power games were at the forefront of decision making. Reading and listening to national and world news is no different - power games by leaders or the vocal minority seem to make headlines all the time - power to rule, power to drown dissenting voices, power to stop all opposition.

Jonathan was in a position of power, yet he chose not to use it for the wrong reasons. I really admire this man and the strength of character which he showed in all his dealings with his rival to the throne. If ever there was a friendship 'made in heaven' this was a wonderful example.

God puts us in positions of power in many different ways, and we are responsible to God how we use that power. Jonathan acknowledged God's participation in his covenant with David - putting God at the forefront is a good place to start.

LEADERSHIP? GOOD OR NOT SO GOOD

9/29/2021

A friend recently watched a documentary on the life of Jesus and commented on the poor quality of Jesus' leadership skills. As this friend is proficient in leadership qualities he described Jesus as being distant towards his disciples and failing to 'keep them in the loop'; not a clear communicator, and not always readily available to his disciples, people who were being trained to carry on Jesus' work, when Jesus was no longer there.

What was Jesus' problem? On thinking about this, yes, Jesus was not always clear in his words and actions, but why? Did Jesus really have a problem, or are we looking at this from the wrong angle?

Assuming that Jesus was perfect as he claimed to be, then this must not be a shortcoming of his. I recently wrote a note to myself, stating that if you think you have God all worked out, then think again and I apply that thought to this topic.

Jesus was teaching his disciples how to teach others about Jesus the Messiah, but he was also teaching them to have faith in him, and not rely on him. A contradiction? Certainly, but let me explain. Some leaders have an ego which needs constant stroking and want to have their followers dependent, not independent. Jesus had no such ego - he just wanted his disciples' trust leading to complete faith in him so they would be able to stand on their own, knowing that God would help them and never leave them. Jesus gave them room to question what they did not understand and encouraged them to think through what Jesus was teaching, so as to be able to stand on their own when Jesus was no longer physically there.

As a parent, I saw my role as guiding and helping our children to mature and become independent of me but at the same time, I was there for them when needed
( I hope!) In the same way, Jesus' 'questionable' leadership skills were ensuring that the disciples knew that they could trust him while at the same time, not depending on his physical presence alone.

There are many faith stories but one which I really like is of George Mueller, a British evangelist in the Victorian era, who established orphanages for hundreds of children. His was a 'faith mission' with no assured income, yet one story reads that one day the children were ready for school, said Grace for breakfast but there was no food for them to eat. It just so happened that at the same time, a food cart broke down outside that orphanage and to prevent the food from going to waste, the driver gave it to the orphanage to give to the children. Now that to me is faith and I think that was what Jesus was teaching the disciples - total faith in him, not a warm fuzzy good feel while Jesus was around.

With (usually) a full pantry and freezer, in today's world we may not have to exercise the faith of George Mueller when it comes to mealtime, but Jesus is calling us to have faith in him - a complete trust that he really is capable and worthy of that trust. With the benefit of hindsight, I can thank God for his care of me, even when I did not realise it at the time and from these experiences, I know that I can trust God today and in the future.

My faith in God is based on previous experience - I know I can trust him- and I think that is what Jesus was teaching his disciples - giving them knowledge and experience to know that faith in him was for real. Maybe Jesus' leadership skills might not pass today's 'pub test' but whatever he did, his disciples were faithful to his teachings.

Isn't that the best outcome for a leader?

HOW BIG ARE YOUR SHOES?

8/22/2021

How big are your shoes?

I am not referring to the actual shoe size but instead, your capacity to stand in someone else's shoes.

Recently, I have been taking notice of people's interaction with me and have been unpleasantly surprised at how few people are actually interested in me. Now that sounds totally narcissistic so let me explain. I can think of three recent instances where I have asked a person a question - eg 'how are you enjoying the Whitsundays?' and instead of an answer which can be discussed, they have proceeded to tell me about people and places which are not at all relevant to me. They have physically been here in the Whitsundays but their mind/attention is still in their own world - their comfort zone. And that set me thinking!

When Jesus visited his good friends Mary and Martha, Mary remained with Jesus to chat and learn, while Martha became hot under the collar, preparing a meal all by herself. There was no microwave nor instant oven or stove top, so it would have been a time consuming task to prepare a tasty meal, and Martha was well known for her hospitality. Martha was doing her best for Jesus, or so she thought, but he rebuked her for this. Wasn't that just a bit unfair? Martha was sincere in wanting to serve Jesus a proper meal, but in this instance, she was sincerely wrong. Why?

Let's stand in Jesus' 'shoes'.

Mary and Martha probably didn't know at this stage that Jesus would only be on this earth for 3 years, so didn't realise the urgency in spending as much time with him as they could. Jesus was reaching out to them and although we do not have a record of the conversation, I am sure it wasn't about the weather! I would assume Jesus wanted to teach them as much as possible about his role as the Messiah and what that would mean for them as his followers yet Martha could not see past her own thoughts and ideas to appreciate why Jesus came to visit. Martha could not 'walk in Jesus' shoes' as the saying goes. Instead, she was caught up in her world and her own capable role and was probably not in the habit of seeing things from another person's point of view.

I have always been aware of asking people about themselves, but since thinking more about this issue, I am even more aware of 'standing in their shoes'. It is interesting what worthwhile conversations can be had when we stop and listen to what the other person is actually saying. Listening to what Jesus has to say can be another experience again!

STRANGE THINGS DO HAPPEN

7/4/2021

Why did Jesus allow John the Baptist to die in prison? I can't answer that question.

Jesus and John were cousins; they would have played together as children; John was the last prophet, preparing the way for the Messiah, Jesus; John baptised Jesus, acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, yet Jesus made no attempt to save John from being imprisoned, let alone save him from being executed. Why? I find that hard to fathom, especially when Jesus healed so many people, fed thousands, even raised people from the dead. Why not save John the Baptist?

John was a rather rough character - the new Elijah as foretold by the prophets much earlier - and his role was to prepare the people for the long awaited Messiah, Jesus. Despite his forthright nature - he called the Pharisees and Sadducees 'you brood of vipers' and condemned Herod for his illicit marriage, landing him in prison, - he was very humble, publicly stating that he, John was not worthy to untie Jesus' sandals, let alone baptise him.

While John was in prison, he started to question what was really going on with Jesus and while some commentators suggest John was starting to doubt if Jesus really was the Messiah, I wonder if John was questioning why Jesus did nothing to save him let alone visit him in prison ( we don't have a record of that happening). John managed to send a message to Jesus' disciples asking if Jesus really was the Messiah, and Jesus' reply was to reassure John that Jesus was fulfilling all the prophecies of the promised Messiah - not even a direct 'yes'.

The next thing we know is that Herod's wife conspired to have John's head on a platter, and as Herod had made a promise he could not cancel, John was duly executed. Why did Jesus save so many people yet not save John the Baptist?

That really puzzles me. I realise most of Jesus' disciples became martyrs for their faith, but John was not martyred. All I can deduce from this is that despite so many promises of God's care and protection, unjustified bad things will still happen, and we must concentrate on our ultimate goal of heaven - being with Jesus.

Strange things do happen!