Preaching with a purpose

Instead of yesterday's post about my difficult week I could have made no comment and written you a saintly homily about the Christian life, but that would be dishonest.  If we don't share our problems where can people go when they are in difficulties.  If I pretended the Christian life was just full of roses and mountaintop experiences someone reading my post would wonder why they found everything so difficult when I was floating on cloud number nine.  We need to be honest with one another and admit to the problems we have.  Of course for most of us there are the beautiful days when life is wonderful and that is to be gloried in, but the hard times come too and these are the times that stretch us and make us stronger. We have this idea that life should be wonderful all the time.  Wherever did we get that idea from?  The history of our families before us is one of struggle, why should ours be any different?  This is not heaven, we are not there yet....

Last week I pulled up the drawbridge and went into hibernation.  Everything was just too much for me.  I'm not proud of this reaction to problems but it seems to work for me.  After a week of not knowing why I was doing this, sleeping more or less night and day, I faced up to my problems.  Someone suggested coffee might help, I had a cup and started to perk up.   I was brought up not to make a fuss and this leads me to saying everything is fine when it is not.  Now that I've come out of the womb again I can kick myself into shape and face the world.  After all my problems are minute compared with those of others. "Where was your faith?" I hear you say and you may get a handbag across your head for saying it.  When did faith ever make life easy.  Faith causes you to face battles when you least want to.  Faith is tough to exercise and sometimes the battle is fierce and you need a ditch to lie in to recover.  So look at your own f...

About a week ago I told you I was feeling peculiar due to too much coffee.  Tonight I give you the other side of the story.  This week I have felt rather down and struggled to keep going.  I slept a lot too.  This has been a pattern all my life and now that I am 70 perhaps more likely to happen.  A friend suggested I have a cup of coffee and it helped a lot.  Like many drugs I guess a small amount of it is good for you.

Do you love them or hate them? Do you hate to see the years taking their toll or do you delight in your survival?  I have never worried about anyone knowing my age.  I am 70 and rapidly approaching 71. With age comes the added certainty of death, though that can happen at any age. As a child I was very worried about the thought of death, when I was three a little girl who lived near me and was two, died after an accident. As I have grown older I have been less worried about death and most older people will say the same.  How strange is that?  Dying tends to bother us rather than being dead.  I believe Jesus will take me to live with Him, what could be more wonderful.  I think dying might be something like being born.  The birth process is a traumatic time for the baby. So there is trepidation that dying might be the same.  When a baby is born it soon knows the comfort of its mother's arms, when the believer dies he enters into the joy of His Lord....

So what do my house plants teach me?  I am not the most green fingered of people when it comes to house plants, but I do seem to have some success with orchids and African violets. The orchids need to be stood on the draining board in the kitchen once a week to have about half a jug of water poured onto their roots and allowed to immediately run away and down the sink.  They need feeding about every three weeks.  I find they are happy in a moderate temperature. Recently I have been rewarded with some beautiful blooms, still going strong after six weeks.  Soon, of course the flowers will drop and the plant will need to rest.  The African violet needs a north facing window for preference and needs very, very small amounts of water daily in the dish it stands on. So what do I make of all this in relation to my thoughts on the way young Christians are expected to be.  Well you can give them too much food and too much water(lots of meetings) and wonder why they ...

I wrote recently about gardening and how you should not dig seeds up to see how they are doing and that you should not treat new Christians in that way either. I remembered something from my childhood which also illustrates this in a more radical way.  In the Spring we used to get a jam jar and line it with blotting paper and put water in and then push a runner bean bean between the glass and the blotting paper. (For those who don't know, blotting paper is paper which absorbs liquid and holds on to it.  It was used to blot handwriting written with wet ink, it absorbed the excess ink quickly without causing a mess, so that you could immediately close the exercise book.) The bean in the jar would begin to germinate and send roots down to the water, splitting the bean open.  There followed a shoot going upwards which quickly turned green. This was all very fine for children to see the wonder of new life developing but the poor old bean was usually discarded.  If it was ...

Follow the link.  It's true that under 25's get paid less in Britain for the same work.  I had thought probably that the living wage didn't apply until 20 (still mean) but fancy having to manage on so little for another five years.  So I hope all my readers in the U.K. will get out their internet pens and sign the petition. https://www.change.org/p/greg-clark-mp-paid-less-not-worth-less?recruiter=815977990&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_more.combo_new_control_progress_3nono&utm_term=autopublish

Nowadays I live in a flat with no garden, but I used to have quite a big vegetable garden.  I grew broad beans and runner beans and black currants and gooseberries and raspberries and potatoes and probably other things that I have forgotten. With gardening there is need of hard work and lots of patience.  First you have to choose the right time of year to prepare the ground.  When it is a fine tilth in the Spring you sow your seeds.  You have to put the seeds in at the right depth.  Bigger seeds need to go down deeper than tiny seeds.  If the tiny seeds are too deep they will not be able to germinate and grow to the surface.  Once they are sown you have to wait for them to germinate and break through to the surface.  You do not keep digging them up to see how they are doing.  This is a great example of sowing the seed of God's word in a friend's heart.  You must sow the seed at the right time having prepared the ground with friendship an...

I think we are all addicted to something.  Some people are addicted to their work.  There are the obvious addictions like cigarettes, alcohol and gambling. I don't actually gamble but I'm addicted to thinking what I would do with lots of money. That makes me cross with myself because I believe God is in charge of all the money in the world and if He wants to give me some He will.  But sometimes I just want to give Him a hand, make it easy for Him.  Stupid women is anything too hard for God? I sometimes think I am addicted to writing this blog.  I love to see how many of you are visiting. I used to be addicted to playing Spider Solataire.  You wouldn't believe the hours I wasted on it.  Then I gave it up so that I could spend the time on learning Russian.  I guess now I am addicted to that! I used to play Farmville and that got out of hand.  When I escaped it was such a relief. I have a friend who was addicted to buying books and reading them ...

There is something liberating about sorting things out, throwing away the really worthless things and taking good things, which you really do not want to go on cluttering up your life, to the charity shop for someone else to enjoy. I am one of life's hoarders but over the past year I have done a marvelous job of sorting things out and getting rid of them one way or another.  What amazes me is how much stuff I still have.  It is also a good thing to sort through what is really important about our beliefs and to give the heave ho to things we once thought important and so leave room to major on the really important things.  But if you do do this make sure you don't throw out the baby with the bath water, especially if that baby is Jesus, God's own son.

Well really this is the story of a friend whom I helped through the tricky process of getting on to Universal Credit. My friend had her work as a carer disappear.  She had no transport so could only work in her local vicinity.  I persuaded her she needed to get help from the Job Centre and together we went to town, incidentally there was only public transport on a Friday, so she relied on friends to get her to town.  First we went to apply for housing benefit but we were told this could not be done until universal credit was sorted.  We went to the job centre just up the road.  There she was told she must apply online.  Before the look of horror could spread across her face I said,"It's o.k. I can do that for you." How many others in her age bracket who are not familiar with a computer do not have a friend to help out.  Always it is the weaker and more vulnerable who cannot cope with these things. Once we had got her signed up, the difficult six weeks ...

Today has been good.  I have spent over an hour studying Russian, mostly writing a letter to a friend in Yaroslavl.  It is not complete yet as I need to check the grammar.  Next I popped over to the Baptist Church where they usually have coffee on Wednesday mornings. In the afternoon I met a friend at a local garden centre and had a large coffee.  If you have read my previous post tonight you will know that the coffee was not a good idea, but the friendship was.  This evening another friend came to my flat and she had coffee, but I had realized by now that it was doing me no good. I had a nice glass of water and apple juice. I was able to keep my friend interested by showing her photos of Russia taken by my travelling companion.  Great photos, great memories, a great day.

Do you sometimes feel peculiar and yet can't quite think why?  Think caffeine. Today I felt like that and then realized I had had more coffee than I usually do. Problem solved.  Since I made the discovery I have been drinking water copiously.  I had this happen several years ago.  I travelled about thirty miles to play quartets with some friends.  After a while we took a break and the host gave us coffee.  She asked if we wanted leaded or unleaded.  I said unleaded but perhaps I dropped my voice at the beginning.  Three large mugs later I was not sure whether to drive home or not, but I did without any problem.  It is amazing how much effect a bit of caffeine can have. I am feeling much better already.  From now on it's only one mug of coffee a day for me, either that or buy myself some decaff.

The Ukraine is top of the list followed by Canada which has only fairly recently shown any interest.  Next comes U.S.A.easily the most frequent vistors, then Russia and Britain.  Then in no particular order Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, Brazil, Romania and I think for the first time tonight the Philippines. I thought you might like to know this.  I apologize if I have left you out, each visit is treasured.

I know only too well what a lot of rubbish there is on our televisions, but tonight I have seen two interesting programmes, one about the women in the times of the wars of the roses (or the cousins wars as they called them then.) The other about church music from the times of the reformation; this music is still sung in the big cathedrals of the land.  I miss a lot of good programmes because I forget to look up what is available each day.  I tend to flick through the channels when I should be using the guide.  Life's like that, you can be so keen on flicking through the possibilities when what you need is to look at the Guidebook.  Do you understand what I mean?

With so many of life's activities you have players and spectators. In classical music you have the orchestra and soloist playing to an audience.  In sport you have the footballers and their spectators.  In athletics you have the famous athletes and their crowd of supporters.  In the church you have the minister with a watching congregation????? Now just a minute that should not be the case.  All the church people are members of the body of Christ.  Paul likens us to athletes who give up all the things in our lives that stop us running the race.  There is no place in the church for spectators. Athletes train hard and long with their mind only on winning the race.  Christians should spend their lives doing all they can to please Jesus.This will include caring for one another and helping one another to get closer to our Lord.  Stop spectating and get on with the job in hand.

In this life there are many things needing to be done, but you are not expected to do them all! If you are living in Canada and the cousin you have seen very little of because he lived in Mexico has died what need is there for you to go to his funeral, when you have people who need you at home. Jesus said,"Let the dead bury their dead." If the Lord tells you that you should take that trip to Mexico by all means do it.  A young healthy person with plenty of money could and probably should do it , but even then if he has a family to look after where should his priorities lie. Missionaries have to face this problem.  Has the Lord sent them abroad or do they need to look after elderly parents? That is the sort of question each of us has to wrestle with in this life. Should I spend time with a clingy friend, and how much time? Someone like that can eat up your time which, could perhaps be spent more fruitfully. Yeah, life is full of difficult questions. You are the only one who ca...

I have just come across the song by Bobby McFerrin.  It seems like a nice easy way to get through life.  There are people who get through life taking it as it comes and not being phased by anything, it would seem. Then there are the worriers who have to meticulously plan their every move and plan each step they take.  The truth is, what matters is our eternal destiny.  If that is sorted the worry temperature goes down.  It is not sufficient to hope all will be well with our eternal destination.  If you are going to worry about anything by all means worry about that. Search after the answer to being accepted by God at the end of time.  Trust in Jesus the rock on which you can stand. If you are already a Christian and find you are a worrier read your New Testament and discover the position of strength you are in.  Your Lord loves you come what may.  If you sin, repent and then be joyful in the salvation He has given you.

We know that we have an enemy, but don't major on his power.  What is his power?  It is only what he is permitted to have.  He cannot go any further than God allows.  No always think about the power of the Lord Jesus who has died to save all who believe.  That power is immense, incredibly strong.  That power can never be conquered.  "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes." The good news that Jesus died for us is wonderful and it is the power of God working to save us.  You cannot get any more powerful than the power of God.  This means we are safe in Jesus no matter what the world and the devil can throw at us.  Yes we are small and frightened often, but we can never be lost if we trust in Jesus.  Nothing can finally defeat us!Read the beginning and ending of the book of Job to see a believing soul being brought through awful problems but still hanging on to his...

For those of us who trust in Jesus the only happy place is to be where He wants us to be, doing what He wants.  Think about it, your Lord has a plan for you and whatever that is is the best thing for you.  It may be He wants you to continue in a job you find difficult, but it maybe that He wants to move you on to something new.  He will give you clues along the way to prepare you.  Part of God's plan for me this year was to go to Russia, something I would never have thought possible two years ago, but now it has happened. Life with Jesus is a wonderful adventure.  Maybe the only reason I went to Russia was so that on the plane home I would talk about Jesus to a young man from Indonesia.  Maybe my Russian adventure will continue. I hope so, I believe so as I am continuing to learn the language and loving doing so.  What adventure will Jesus take you on?

You won't like my answer! You have to be 100% perfect if you want to get into God's heaven and be accepted by Him. " What?" you say in amazement."That's not fair.  I try so hard but I can't be 100% good.  What human being can?" You see if you told me you were 80% per cent good, I as a fellow human being would think you were doing pretty well, but I am not making the rules. God's standard is you have to be 100% good to get into heaven.  But before you turn away dejectedly let me tell you the good news, "God has made a way for you to be perfect and you don't have to do anything to add to that."  His way is for you to trust in Jesus and He will throw over you His robe of righteouness  to cover all your wrongdoing, wash it away and make you totally acceptable to God. Surely you aren't going to try to get to heaven under your own steam now. And yet on hearing this many say, "I'm sure God will accept me if I try my best....

For the ones who cannot make the grade For the ones who cannot hack the rules. Jesus came. Lay your broken heart at His feet And feel Him mend you from within. Just come Just come. For the ones who have tried to live life the right way And have failed. Jesus came. Your entry ticket is to admit defeat. Half perfect people who think they are good enough Are not welcome here. You can only come in brokeness To receive the healing touch Of the One who heals body and soul. Just come.

Jesus didn't come for the strong in body or the powerful in commerce.  He came for the sick and the sad and the sorrowing.  Those who know they are hopeless. He came for the lost sheep who will hear His voice and follow Him.  For those who have come to the end of their strength and turn to find their strength in Him.  For those who have loved and lost and find in Him the one who fulfills all their dreams, in a way no other one can do.  The One who will never fail them or let them down. Jesus who is the way the truth and the life. Sad, sad world stop looking for answers in this broken world full of broken people and look to Jesus who says, "Come unto me and I will give you rest."

Paul in the Bible tells us that he had learned to be content whatever was happening to him.  His confidence was in Jesus, so whether he was well fed and warm or if he was in a shipwreck, whatever was happening he was content, because he knew Jesus was His Saviour. He was even unsure whether he wanted to be alive because he knew that to be with Jesus would be far better. His only reason to go on living was so that he could help his christian brothers and sister to find this same contentment that he had.  Those of us in the West have very pampered lives and yet we moan.  We need to take a leaf out of Paul's book. Those of you who have genuinely difficult lives can be encouraged knowing that Jesus has your best interests at heart.  Those who love Him are promised abundant life here and in the time to come.  All our earthly problems will then melt away.  Just as a bad toothache is soon forgotten when a tooth is taken out, so all this life's very difficult days ...

There is a great danger in putting our trust in the preacher.  No man can help us.  Our confidence  must be in Jesus alone.  We are told we will receive persecution in this life but we expect it to come from those who hate Jesus and all He stands for.  It is a shock when it comes from a fellow christian, one who is supposed to be tending the flock and not mistreating them.  Always Christians tend to idolize those who teach them but we are not meat to do this, only Jesus is the one we should worship.  You may say you respect your minister, but be careful that this is not really worship.

From time to time some people will metaphorically batter you over the head.  They think they have the right to do so and they think they do it from higher ground than that on which you stand.  However they too are weak human beings and have no reason to feel superior.  We are all fallible.  But how should we deal with such an attack?  After all an attack like this can set one back considerably and leave one reeling and feeling unable to live ones life in a God honouring way. I have suffered an attack like this in the past week and one result has been that I have not felt able to write my blog. All along I have been holding on to the fact that Jesus has died for me and I am forgiven, but nevertheless I am smarting from the attack I received about something in my life that happened nineteen years ago; something which I have repented of and received forgiveness for. When this happens one's life is full of joy, to have received such forgiveness, but this joy can fil...

I've made a new breakthrough with my i-phone.  I was wondering why it is that every time I go on holiday I run out of Mb known to me as broadband on my phone.  I hadn't realized that when I am at home I am using my home wifi but when I am out using 4G that comes off my mobile allowance.  Now my friends have shown me how to switch off the button that receives the 4G knowing that if I really need it I can switch it back on. Fortunately when I was in Russia my friend told me to keep my phone on airplane mode and use the ship's wifi.  Now this will be totally boring to most of my readers but might help someone like myself who is struggling to keep up with modern technology.  Of course every time I catch up "they" invent something new!

I can't remember how long I've been writing this blog, maybe eight years.  I have had 42000+ views in that time, so you can see I'm not breaking any records.  When you are a little old Grannie from darkest Devon you don't expect fame.  So what keeps me pounding away on the keyboard?  I've said it before, I am just reaching out to the few who will listen, when I talk about Jesus. It is only a few who will listen.  I don't expect a revival except a revival in the hearts of a few.  Will you listen to the message or does it fall on deaf ears? If God has chosen you, no matter how bad you have been, He will forgive you because of Jesus.  That's my short, but very important message for tonight.

So many churches are encouraging their congregations to make efforts to improve their standing before God by doing things.  By attending meetings and putting out chairs and maintaining the building.  How can you improve your standing with God if He has already forgiven you and clothed you in the righteousness of Jesus?  In His eyes you are perfect. Because you are in your body on earth you will experience temptation and sometimes fall, but Jesus has saved you, you are His, nothing can change that. Modern churches often have huge congregations. Is this good?  Jesus did preach to thousands at a time sometimes but often to much smaller groups, notably the Twelve.  They asked Him questions and He replied. This is much the best way to learn.  How many sermons  have I listened to in my life that went on for forty minutes or more?  How much can I remember of them?  When you discuss as equals in a group, always keeping the Bible central to what is sa...

Of course you want to find out more about this wonderful Saviour who has forgiven you everything just as you asked Him to. This will certainly seem too good to be true.  You will want to find out more about your Lord.  So you read the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. Start here where you can read the words Jesus actually said.  Do this because you love Him and want to get to know Him.  Do not do it as a brownie point getting exercise.  That is over, behind you. Your love for him springs from His love for you. Walk in His love and live for Him.  It may seem like a good idea to read the Bible through in a year but this is a foolish idea, because to read that much, in a day, you cannot possibly take it in and benefit from it.  By all means choose a book of the Bible to read through at your own pace and giving due thought to it. Now you want to do God's will, ask Him, he is the only one who knows what that is for you.  Don't worry He has pla...

The main important thing about church is that christians are meeting together to consider the Bible. That is what really counts.  The more rituals take place in a church the less people are focusing on the the only book that can tell us what we need to know.If you are going to church to gain brownie points( notch up points to get you nearer to God.)  Going to as many meetings as you can to be in God's favour.  Think again.  There is absolutely nothing you can do to get into God's favour.  You can't give Him anything because all that you have is already His.  Yes that handsome amount of money in the collection plate is His already.  Your very life belongs to Him, your strength and therefore what you earn.  All these attempts to get nearer to God on your own terms are not only a waste of time, they are a huge insult to him.  God has decreed the only way back to Him and that is through trusting in Jesus alone.  So stop being stupid,TRUST IN...