August 18 - Eating Alone

'Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly' - Luke 19:1-6

One of the biggest changes in behaviour I have seen in the past ten years is how 'alone' people seem to be. It struck me quite forcefully the other day. As I was driving through town, almost without exception, every person was engrossed with their Smartphone or tablet – regardless of whether they were alone, or in two's, three's or more. The only conversation taking place was digital!.

Over the years there were times when I needed to eat alone in a restaurant. I was probably on an out-of-town trip arranging a residential placement for one of my work clients, or grabbing a quick meal during shopping. Because I was alone I went armed with a book or magazine, but usually ended up people watching. I recommend it – it's SO interesting, scanning the room, reading the body language, speculating on what's happening in the various relationships around the other tables in the restaurant. Has that couple over there just met and are on a first date....are they liking what they see? Is that a family outing, or just friends? THEY'VE had an argument!! Working out the profession of people is a good one – lawyer? musician? manual worker (what type of work?), Company 'boss?' - they are usually all there to watch and enjoy. (Interestingly, the Daily Mail online reports on August 9 2016, that solo dining has grown by 110%; the fastest growing reservation party size in two years).

In the "couple" category there is almost always at least one couple who can be seen sitting at their table in total silence except for maybe a "pass the salt please." How sad is that! Maybe been married so long they feel they have nothing left to say, they've said it all.

Instead of growing richer and deeper as time passes, it is a fact that conversation and relationships can become dry and stale - a comfortable silence can be a blessing, but if that silence is caused by the conviction that there's nothing in common left between them....well, is there any loneliness greater than that?

Sadly this situation applies not only to our physical families, but it also exists within our church families. How many of you have had the experience of sitting around the table with other church members for a pot-luck meal – you're sitting together, but you may as well be alone. Maybe you're a listener, not a talker. Perhaps you're a shift worker, mostly working at night and sleeping in the day – or a carer whose life by necessity is concentrated on another persons needs, You wonder what you can contribute to the conversations around you – so, sit quietly....people watching.

Barbara Lardinais poses the following: 'Do you have a relationship that needs a fresh infusion of warmth and communication? Here's your clue: could that be you sitting at that table together but in silence? Try to turn things around. You have something new to say; something new to share. Ask questions. That's the best way to get the other person to open up with you. If you don't, even if you are sharing your dinner table with another person, you are the one eating alone.'

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. - John 13:34

The music I've chosen today is - “I Will Never Leave You Alone” - LIVE. Click on the picture to listen.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 NLT

The ability for mass communication is only a recent phenomenon. Since the invention of the telephone (1876) and the television (1927) nothing really happened to move things forward until the world wide web (www), known as the internet, exploded into life in 1989. Social media was only invented in 1997. It enabled users to upload a profile and make friends with other users. In 1999, the first blogging sites became popular, creating a social media sensation that's still popular today. Youtube is younger still, founded in February 14, 2005.

The newest of all of these inventions is an app called Whatsapp, invented in 2009. It works on your smartphone (1992) not only allowing its users to send pictures and videos, voice messages, set up group chats but also make phonecalls using the data from wireless networks.

No longer do people need to wait for the broadsheet newspapers to be delivered for them to get news and current affairs, they just pick up their mobile phones or tablets (not the type that you swallow) or log on, and with just a few button pushes everything thing they need is right there.

We or certainly, I take for granted the power of the tools at our disposal. But in countries of political unrest, people are using these tools to peacefully mobilise (Ethiopia, Zimbabwe), whilst some families are using this as a means to locate one another (refugees).

The ‘chain mail’ like the ‘chain email’ (communication sent, often as bulk mail, that implores you to pass it on or something bad will happen to you) is one form of communication that no one likes to receive. So I have a question this morning, what are you using your (communication tools) for? Paul, the apostle, councils us in Philippians 4:8,

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. NLT

Before you share, like or push that button think on these things.

Bryn has chosen an Arabic Christian song called ‘My life is yours’. Click on the picture to listen.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.⁹ Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:¹⁰ But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

¹¹ For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:8-11

If you do not drive a car, then most of this blog will not make any sense to you. If that is the case, I would encourage you to share it with a friend who does drive to help you to understand it.

I find it interesting that over time something which at first seems new, becomes part of the everyday and ordinary; like stop-start technology. If your car is over a certain price point or age, then it will most likely have it. So what is it?

In automobiles, a start-stop system or stop-start system automatically shuts down and restarts the internal combustion engine to reduce the amount of time the engine spends idling, thereby reducing fuel consumption and emissions. Courtesy of Wikipedia

To the person at the traffic light waiting to cross, it may seem like the driver has stalled the car, when in fact the car has momentarily fallen asleep as the driver lift the clutch. Most experienced drivers will tell you when you are instructed to drive, you are taught to put the car into neutral when you are in a waiting position. However, what most of us drivers do is keep the clutch depressed, in first gear, car waiting for the traffic to change. This is a bad habit and one which could cause an accident if your car was pushed by another vehicle from behind. If you do not lift your clutch, then the technology cannot kick in. The fuel saving device will be dormant unless you change your driving habits.

What the motor industry has done with this device is effectively two things; reduce fuel consumption and emissions and keep in check a bad habit of holding the clutch down whilst the car is idling. Not only is the car given a chance to rest but the driver is too. This will only happen if you lift your clutch.

The Seventh-day Sabbath was created for such a purpose but many people, including those of us who know what the bible commands forget that rest can only be gained by lifting our foot off the clutch pedal. All of the potential benefits will be so easily lost if we keep our thoughts, our financial burdens, our 24-7 work attitude in drive mode right through the Sabbath hours. The start-stop technology was created first by God, but just like the contraption for the car, we have to engage in it to gain maximum benefits.

Our song today is ‘Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy’. Click on the picture to listen.

August 12-13 – What to do?

"In that day you will not question Me about anything Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. "Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full” - John 15:23-24.

Has the petrol gauge in your care ever indicated that you are out of petrol? The phone has rung and you are needed in another town or county-urgently. Your mind is on the cause for the emergency call, not the amount of petrol or diesel left in the car's tank. It's almost midnight when you set off, and it's only when the car begins to 'cough,' you remember the previous times the dashboard 'low petrol' warning light had come on. The nearest petrol station was some miles away, and the route, off the track through open countryside.

What to do? How familiar that expression is in everyday life events!

Have you ever felt so discouraged you just simply wanted to give up? There are certain battles and situations that wear your resolve so thin you feel like you're an empty gas tank running on fumes! When we feel this way it brings to mind a question, 'how close are we walking with Jesus?'  Our immediate reaction gives an indication - curse, or pray?

Besides all the miracles Jesus performed, He also asked some hard questions. Because of it, many "of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore." (John 6:66) So, he asked them.

Peter's reply is profound. He said: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life." (Verse 68) In other words he was saying: what's the alternative? He knew there wasn't one.

So, what to do in the scenario above – PRAY – PRAY CONSTANTLY. Amazingly, despite running on empty, cars chug along and get you to safety, only to splutter and die just as you reach the petrol station. The battles you felt were going to break you, fade into the ether when you reach out in prayer and trust the Lord to take charge of the situation.

Think about it. If we give up on God, who do we turn to? Is there another path – another teacher or way that can give us TRUTH - the words of eternal life? Is there some other god who will guide us safely to our destination? The answer is NO.

Next time you wonder what to do....no matter how dark and confusing your life may get, hold on to these promises -

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;....” - Proverbs 3:5

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” - Jeremiah 33:3

HANG IN THERE! Because they have it right – where else would we go?

“Where Could I Go But To The Lord?” - Gaithers, today's music. Click on the picture to listen.

August 11 - Never Forsaken

So he went to Zarephath (Elijah). When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah”' – 1 Kings 17:10-16.

Following on the heels of the SmartStewards series by Pastor Peter Jeynes, I came across the following testimony by Barbara Lardinais:

'If you are in a squeezed place financially right now, here's something for you. King David wrote this in his later years: "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread." (Psalm 37:25)

I found this scripture early in my years as a single mother and I clung to it at times like Velcro. Sometimes I would get a pay check and then add up all my bills and it just didn't compute. If I paid all the bills there would be little money for food. Then I would examine my cupboards to see how far I could make it without grocery shopping.

Things were very tight at times over the years. Not always -- but sometimes. When I told the girls "no" we couldn't go to Wendy's for dinner because I had no money they had a simple solution. "That's okay mom, just go to the bank and put your card in the machine and get some."

Even during tight times I can tell you that God's Word was absolutely true. We were never forsaken and we never begged bread. We never missed a meal and I never missed a bill or even paid one late. That remains true to this very day.

If you are just starting off in your walk with the Lord, you may be wondering what you can expect, especially if there is a financial trial right now. If you have walked with the Lord many years but now are experiencing a tight place for the first time you may also be wondering. King David lived a long life and saw much of hard and difficult places. Yet, as an old man, he testifies to God's faithfulness and I join him in agreeing to this truth. Read this scripture every time you don't see a solution and watch to see how God will come through.

I promise you will not be forsaken.'

A resounding YES! comes through this testimony. It poses a question, and the answer - “Does Jesus Care/God Will Take Care of You – Medley (LIVE) - our music today. Click on the picture to listen.

"So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33“We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?”…John 8:31-33 Berean Study Bible
"For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" - John 1:17.

I came home last night and there was ‘something’ on the TV. I would prefer to call it rubbish but that would entirely denigrate the team who had put all the effort into making the programme. All they were doing was pandering to the masses, because sadly people watch such ‘stuff’.

The programme maker has a watchword to follow. Look for TRUTH and you will find an audience. If you look for topicality, relevance, an unusual story, trouble and human interest. This programme found all of that. There was the lady who wanted to have the trappings of the celebrity lifestyle – while living on benefits. In order to seek such a lifestyle she would stoop to almost nothing to get what she wanted. There was the claim for a lottery win that she had not had and the photo shoot to help to create a modelling future. We viewed the ladies newly installed hot tub that was actually a rather cool tub.

Viewers tuned in and were probably mocking the ladies search for ‘life’ unaware that most people seek a good self-image after the same fashion.

I was linking the programme in my mind to the way we sometimes look at money. Money is often there to create self-worth. We keep up with the Joneses in order to make us feel better. In our post last week we realised that there needed to be a mind-change.

I was reading from the book, ‘Christ’s Object Lessons’ and found this short passage,

“The Scriptures are the great agency in the transformation in character. Christ prayed, “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth.” If studied and obeyed, the word of God works in the heart subduing every unholy attribute. The Holy Spirit comes to convict us of sin, and the faith that springs up in the heart works by love to Christ, conforming us in body, soul and spirit to His own image.”

Christ’s object lessons, p.100

There is an added thought. It is perfectly true that by reading the Bible we are drawn, by God, to be changed. The depth and direction of that change is enhanced as we read the right materials. The SmartStewards have been reading books and articles which have transformed their lives enormously. A bank balance, no matter how small, has replaced a pile of debt. The ability to give and to bless has replaced an apologetic, “I’m sorry I can’t help.”

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

I came across this newspaper article I thought I would share. It is about a maths professor, Dr Guido Menzio, who was taken off a plane, because the passenger sitting next to him thought he was a terrorist because he was writing maths equations.

Did she take the time to speak to him? No, she just glanced at his notepad and made an assumption based upon what she didn’t know. The plane was delayed whilst he was taken off and questioned by the FBI. The man in question was actually going to give a maths lecture in another state (America) and was just thinking of some example questions he could challenge the students with. He was eventually let back on to the plane to continue his journey. The accuser however, said she was ill and caught a later flight.

In his own social media post, Menzio wrote: "The lady just looked at me, looked at my writing of mysterious formulae, and concluded I was up to no good. Because of that an entire flight was delayed. . .  Trump's America is already here. It's not yet in power though. Personally, I will fight back."

This just exemplifies that fact. The fault isn’t really the woman who had her preconceptions of mistrust and prejudice. The fault is really the ‘system’ which continues to saturate our minds with images that given the choice we wouldn’t necessarily look at. The real culprit is… the mirror. The truth is that we all need to look hard in the mirror and be careful of the assumptions we make about others. Sure it may not stop a plane, but it may prevent us from boarding the plane to heaven. We shouldn’t be using all of our energies to fight Trump or any other worldly figure, we need to concentrate our efforts fighting the parts of our personalities which block out Jesus.

Helen Baylor sings ‘Look a little closer’. Click on the mirror to listen.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6

If you live in a country where the summer weather is erratic this analogy should mean more to you. Even so I hope you understand the connection.

British people love to talk about the weather. Why? Because we never know what the weather forecast is going to be from one day to the next. The term ‘weather forecast’ here really means weather guess! Even on the hottest day, you will more than likely see people dressed inappropriately because they have either been caught out by the promise of sun that actually showed up, or they just don’t trust what the weather man has predicted. Winters now have a mildness just enough not to kill the germs and bugs that make you fill groggy, or they freeze over completely with the wrong type of snow!

When it is hot here generally people complain because it is too hot. That is until the next day when we all have to pull the jumpers on. The point is, in the extreme of one type of weather we quickly forget what it was like to experience the other. The human experience is like that. Something has to submerge us for us to really feel it, that is until something else comes along – it’s either too hot or too cold.

Take for instance some of the news stories over the past few weeks, how may have you remembered to keep praying for? The peaceful protests in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, the unlawful killings in America, the terrorists attacks in France, Germany and Belgium, just to mention a few. The bible tells us in Matthew 24:6 ‘And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.’

Let our hearts continue to ache for the wrong doings that are being committed around the world and not forget to pray for our brothers and sisters, just because it is not hot or cold for us.

Bruce Weeks family band sing ‘I'll fly away’ Thanks Bryn for your vaired choice of music,todays being French Canadian. Click on the picture to listen.

August 7 -              Finale  

"You must not covet your neighbor's house. You must not covet your neighbor's wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor" - Exodus 20:17

I remember reading that one of the sources of debt is the desire that we all have to keep up with the Joneses. The English expression is very much an English idiom it seems. The Swedish and Danish don’t have the expression. Their societies don’t appear to have the need for people to try to be better than others. Neighbours are just that, they are not people to be competed with.

It would appear that British people possess an uncompetitive football team, but competition is alive and well on Acacia Avenue when it comes to consumer goods.

It would appear that when Mrs Smith looks over the fence and notices a new fridge she seems to think that her next door neighbour is better than her. She feels insecure. She feels that her self-image is very low. There is only one apparent solution. I must buy a new American style refrigerator, no matter what the cost.

 Mr. Smith is hardly better. Mr. Smith can’t countenance the thought that his neighbour owns a newer car than he has. There is only one solution. The car salesman is pleased to take some new business from the envious Mr. Smith. They are very happy to take a perfectly good 2 year old car in part exchange for a brand new vehicle.

Most people finance such expenditure from a loan. We all know what loans can do to our lives.

 Might I picture for you a scenario that you might have witnessed? You have heard what SmartStewards have said about reducing debt. You have followed the baby steps to the letter. You have your starter emergency fund in place. You have paid off your debts. Now you are working on enhancing your emergency fund.

 Then your next door neighbour buys a new car and you are sorely tempted. It would only be one loan, not the many loans you had before. Why not give yourself a treat?

 Might I suggest that in order to conquer the desire to take on a new loan a new way of thinking needs to be created. A new mind-set has to be developed.

 That new mind-set ought to be centred around how God views you, not on how you view yourself as you imagine others imaginations about you.

Might I share with you some words from the less often read book, ‘Christ our Saviour’?

Jesus … “taught them to look upon themselves as having precious talents, which if rightly used would gain for them eternal riches. By His own example He taught them that every moment of time is of value, and should be put to some good use. He passed by no human being as worthless, but tried to encourage the roughest and most unpromising. He told them that God loved them as His children, and that they might become like Him in character.”

 There are times when you may be tempted to decide to keep up with the Joneses. Set out instead to keep up with one particular resident of Capernaum. Keep up with Jesus, not the Joneses.