MARCH 13-14 – Remember when....?

“ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"   "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her" -Luke 10:38-42

Some memories never fade. They just get sweeter and more precious....so says Sandy Goetz. At just what always seemed to be the busiest time of her day -– housework unfinished and dinner preparations not even started, she would feel the tug on her skirt by her small daughter Dee-Dee. Sandy admits that at those busy times of day she often felt impatient, and her impulse was to brush the child's hand away from her skirt, then she would look down and see her child's eyes alight with anticipation.

“Mummy,” Dee-Dee would say. “It's time.” Pretending not to understand, Sandy would say, “Time for what?” At that, Dee-Dee would throw herself into her mother's arms saying, “Time for loving.” Sandy would lift the child onto her lap, hold her close, and spend the next few minutes in just “loving time.” Precious -–just loving moments.

Sandy recalls that those long forgotten meals and housework were either delayed, or set aside to be done when Dee-Dee went to bed, but those memories and treasures of their “loving time” will linger forever....just like those other special times when she would feel a tug at her heart and the Lord's voice whisper to her, “Daughter, cannot the meals and housework be set aside for just a few minutes? I long to spend time with you!”....a reminder that for her and the Father it was that special time - their loving time.

Dee-Dee is now grown up with children of her own, and she is passing the “loving time” legacy on to them. Often when she visits home, Sandy's daughter will touch her hand and whisper, “Grandma, it's time.”

Sandy smiles and hugs her daughter close, rejoicing that big or little, young or old, we can, and must make time in our busy lives for what's needed -– loving time.  As Sandy says, “My home life is one of rich joy....the bond between my daughter (son) and myself is the purest pleasure I know....A memory that never fades.”

(Sunshine Magazine).

Moment by moment, Jesus tugs at our hearts and whispers to us, urging us to 'take time out' from the daily pressures and demands, to spend 'loving time' with Him and His Word.

“And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves” - Mark 6:31-32 (NKJV)

Don't let us brush aside His hand.

“Precious Memories” - Live by the– Gaithers, this is our song today. Click on the picture of Mary, Martha, and Jesus to listen.

MARCH 12 – Believe in angels?

“No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.…” Psalm 91:11

Do you believe in personal angels? Beings whose specific role is to go with us through life and watch over us?

Katy Reardon was three years old the day she fell into the garden pool, fully clothed and couldn't swim. Katy's dad was at work and her mother was working in the kitchen, there was no-one to help her. She had been warned time and again not to go near the deep end of the pool, but that day in May 1996 she reached over to get her doll, and fell in headfirst. No-one knows how long she was in the water, but when her mother heard the screams she froze in terror then ran toward the back door. Katy was coming towards her with dripping wet clothes, crying, with her arms extended , clutching her doll. Asked what happened, Katy said, “I was playing and I fell into the deep end and I couldn't swim, so I asked Jesus to help me, and a hand came down from out of the clouds and pulled me out of the water.” When Barbara asked her again, she repeated the story, several times, not missing a word. Finally her mother asked Katy “what did the hand look like?” Katy simply replied, “you know mum - like a cloud.” Katy's dad says that his eyes fill with tears every time he sits in church and there is a baby dedication, when he remembers what God did for his little girl.

Jesus said, “Despise not one of these little ones....for I say to you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father” - Matthew 18:12.

Adults equally are not exempt from 'angel care.' Susan and her family were on holiday and spending the day at a local lido. The children were happily playing in the supervised paddling pool, and her husband was relaxing on one of the poolside recliner beds, earphones in, listening to music, leaving Susan free to relax and de-stress from a particularly hectic year. It was early in the day so she had the pool to herself. All was well until Susan developed cramp and found herself unable to swim, the more she tried to keep afloat, the more difficulty she was in. Several times she went under the water fighting for breath and air. Oblivious to the danger his wife was in, Susan's husband continued to relax. Just as Susan felt she could no longer fight, she felt herself being lifted bodily up out of the water and carried to the edge of the pool. Turning her head Susan looked into the smiling face of a young blond haired man around twenty years of age. Pulling herself out of the water, Susan turned immediately to thank the man who had saved her life, but there was no-one, either in the pool, or by the side. By this time other swimmers were on the poolside. Susan asked them if they had seen the young man and where he had gone. To her amazement they each said they had seen no-one of that description in the pool, only Susan herself floating towards the edge.

Susan believes with all her heart that she was saved by her own personal angel who responded to her unspoken cries for help. Today, she claims the promise of protection for her children and her grandchildren, and daily thanks God for His faithfulness.

Child or adult, I'm sure we can all relate an episode in our lives when we are certain that divine intervention has saved us from harm. We are never alone.

What other music could it be today than “Angels Watching Over Me” - sung by Shaina Noll

Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples. Matthew 26:35

On first reading I think Peter got a raw deal in this text. Did you notice the end of the text? ‘and so said all the disciples. Mark records it similarly in Chapter 14:31

‘But he spoke the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise said they all’

Every time I hear a sermon preached or indeed think back to the story of the Jesus foretelling the denial of Him, it is only Peter that is mentioned, when clearly it says that they all voiced their convictions. The voice of Peter might have been the first and loudest voice to be heard and so ultimately was the biggest story to be followed.

⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly. Matthew 27:74-75

A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept. Mark 14:72

 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him,“ Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Luke 22:61

However, thankfully for us, the story doesn’t end there, as when Jesus is resurrected the recording angel singles out Peter by name, I think to show he had been forgiven for his heart felt and public wrong, by Jesus. As Mark 16:7 records the angel in white sitting on the rolled away stone instructs Mary Magdalene 

“But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” 

We serve a God who is big enough to forgive us whatever we have done as long as we take in to him. One day He will call our name, like Peters, giving us that special inviation to come to him. Let us make sure that we know His voice by reading his words daily.

The song today is ‘One day Jesus will call my name’ by Lynda Randle. Click on the picture to listen.

Today we're big on the concept of instant gratification and acquiring more stuff. But 'earthly things' lose their appeal once the bill arrives and the interest on your credit cards starts piling up. When that happens, blessings can turn into curses and rob you of the joy of living.

MARCH 6-7 – If only....

“No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you; to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” - Micah 6:8 NLT

Near the end of the film Schindler's List, Oskar Schindler was filled with remorse. Despite risking his own life to save 1200 Jews from extermination during the Holocaust, Schindler wondered how many more lives he could have saved if only he had sold his car, his jewellery....if only!

Two Bible characters stand out for me in the “if only” stakes – Peter and Judas. Peter, a close friend of Jesus, who had walked with Him, watched Him heal the sick, raise the dead, and had filled his nets with fish....Peter, a man who loved Jesus and was adamant that he would sooner die than deny Him. Yet, as Jesus predicted, Peter, to save his own skin, three times said, “I don't know this man!” "When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away."… http://biblehub.com/matthew/26-72.htm. Yes, after the Crucifixion, Peter repented and was forgiven by Jesus, John 21:15-17. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+21%3A15-17&version=NKJV....but….if only!

Then there was Judas, Judas had also walked with Jesus, witnessed the same healings, resurrections, and miracles. He was present when Jesus fed 5,000 men, plus women and children, from a few small loaves and fishes. Judas held an important position amongst the disciples – he was treasurer, he took care of the money - literally. This was his remark when a women took perfume to wash Jesus's feet - "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. Therefore Jesus said, "Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.…” http://biblehub.com/john/12-6.htm Despite all this, Judas betrayed Jesus – sold Him out for 30 pieces of silver. Too late, Judas said to the Chief of Priests, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!" And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.” http://biblehub.com/matthew/27-5.htm Judas hung himself from a tree....if only! How different things could have been.

As we look back, in reflection, we all have “if only” events that have occurred in our lives. How different would your life, and that of others have been, if you had acted differently? Perhaps this is why God gave Micah the perfect anti-”if only” lifestyle guide to pass on to us. In the book of Micah (6:8) He asks us to do just three things: “to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly” with Him. http://biblehub.com/micah/6-8.htm. It's almost as though God was building a bridge between the Old and New Testaments before Jesus arrived to live as our example.

John Wesley's Dictum gives this advice to us for everyday living, and to avoid our “if only's,”

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.

(Letters, Rule of Conduct)

Music today is sung by Marilla Ness - “Walk Humbly With Your God.”

MARCH 5 – Place of safety

“From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I” - Psalm 61:2

Joni Eareckson Tada tells of the summer of 1959 that she and her family spent near a little cow town just north of Phoenix, Arizona. Joni and family were helping her Uncle Ted to separate his herds of cattle. Every day Joni and her sisters headed out on the best cow ponies to round up the herds before the morning melted into the desert afternoon.

Before setting out, Uncle Ted told Joni and her family to head for “the big red boulder up on that yonder ridge” if they ever got lost. One sizzling hot day Joni did. She urged her pony in the boulder's direction and found shelter in it's shadow. It was, for her, a place of refuge. Within an hour she heard galloping hooves heading up the ridge and knew she would be found. Joni knew the high rock had been her only sure and certain hope.

The same is true for us. No matter how lost we feel God is with us. If we are resting in him, we are exactly where we are supposed to be. We'll be found. We'll be safe. Sanctuary in Him is only a prayer away.

(365 Days of Hope).

There is no safer place than the place of our music today, “Lead Me To That Rock” - Live – the Gaithers

“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.” Ecclesiastics 9:5

I recently heard a debate over the radio, which was so compelling; I stayed in the car after my journeys end so that I could hear the conclusion. It was on the subject of Purgatory.

This is a Catholic and Buddhists belief system whereby they believe that when a person dies they are held in a state or place between heaven and hell where they can buy their way to heaven through the money or good deeds of others.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Purgatory is “a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.”

 However Seventh-day Adventists believe that Jesus paid the price for all sins, Romans 5:8

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Isaiah 53:5 furthers re-enforces this theology,

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

There is nothing in the bible that says we have to suffer for our sins after death as this is in direct opposition to the notion of salvation. 1 John 2:2 confirms,

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

The thinking that the dead are conscious somehow in a state of limbo, waiting to be paid forward has no rigor and cannot stand up to a biblical challenge. The bible interchanges the word death with sleep. In Matthew 9:24,

he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.

Jesus speaking about his friend Lazarus in John 11:13-15 said,

Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Of the dead Ecclesiastics 9:5 says

“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.”

The only Purgatory that exists is in the mind of the scholar or the misinformed. It is important that when it comes to things of God that we speak in a loud voice with clarity. Let us read each verse in the context of the chapter and share it with those who need guidance lest we be challenged with what we believe also.

David Phelps sing 'No more night' as our song for today. Click on the picture to listen.

'If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.' 2 Timothy 2:12

In primary school I remember being ‘outed’ for being a Christian. The teacher asked the question “who believes in God?” (in those days you were allowed to ask)

‘He does!’ shouted a sniggering classmate pointing to me. All heads turned and the attention of everyone was firmly fixed on me.

“Well, what do believe then?”

I searched around in my head for a 5 second answer that would be compact, have rigour and yet be cool.

‘Well I believe in God but go to church on a Saturday instead of Sunday.’

“So you’re just a Christian then?”

‘Yes’ I replied and the spotlight faded away from me to someone else.

I was eight and yet I still replay the conversation over in my head. I could and should have said much more. But back then I don’t think I really knew what I believed. I knew that I enjoyed going to church and being around my friends there, but was there any doctrine? Maybe somewhere in my mind but I don’t recall where.

If asked that question now, today, my answer would certainly be different. As Seventh-day Adventist we have a unique message. We have seven pillars of our faith and we have 28 fundamentals to support them.

If you were asked that same question, what would your answer be?

The song today is a favourite of mine sent by Bryn 'I do believe' by the Gaither Vocal Band.

FEBRUARY 27-28 – Be Prepared

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” - Joshua 24:15.

Wafula and his family lived in Africa. Early one morning Wafula went out in search of milk for his family who were still asleep. Agnes, aged 13, woke and decided to surprise her father by having a fire and cooked breakfast ready when he got back. No-one knows why, but the fire caused the pressure cooker she was using to explode, setting the single room cabin alight.

Hearing the screams and seeing the flames, Wafula ran back and tried to rescue his family, but the flames were too intense, he could do nothing but watch. Within minutes, a mother and five children were wiped out.

All around the world today -– at this moment, the warning, “today, thy soul is required of thee” - Luke 12:20, faces us all with our mortality -– our need to stop procrastinating and choose today who we shall serve.

Yesterday's blog illustrated that for all the worldly wealth and acclaim the rich young man had, – despite the fact that all his life he had kept the Commandments, his faith was based on externals, he hadn't the ability to achieve salvation on his own. Sadly, he believed he could love and serve God, and hang on to his wealth. He had another God and chose that before His Saviour. His moment of grace and the treasures of heaven were there for the taking -– offered to him by Christ in person, and he walked away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YehxfK8oXx0

I don't know if Wafula and his family believed in Jesus as their Saviour -– I pray they did. But one thing is certain, when they woke that morning to a new day, they had no idea that it would be their last. What about us. If this was our last day, are we living it secure in the knowledge that, whatever may occur, we are safe in the Lord's arms....now, and for eternity?

Many, like Malcolm, the rich young man, hear the appeals and are persuaded they should accept, but they put it off for another day, another time. Just like the reply Felix gave to the Apostle Paul in Acts 24:25 “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for you.”

We have no time for fence sitting – it's decision time now.

Thank you Bryn for today's music, “As For Me And My House” - John Waller

FEBRUARY 26

“Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water” - John 4:15.

For sake of a name I'll call him Malcolm. Malcolm's very bearing made him stand out from the crowd, that, and his clothes. Bespoke designer wear suit, tailored from the finest cashmere. Shirts made from the purest silk shipped from the Orient. On his finger a gold ring bearing the family crest. Yes, Malcolm had all the trappings of wealth -–chauffeur-driven car -– bodyguards for protection. His family line could be traced back through the centuries....education, the best....lived in a palatial pile with servants at his every beck and call catering for every whim.

Wealth, youth, and a position in life.  To all intents and purposes Malcolm had it made. If anyone was living well, it was him. Problem was, Malcolm felt deep inside a strange gnawing dissatisfaction, something was missing. One day he realised that living well wasn't a life-style, it was a place -– the Living Well. He had to find the way.

The Gospel of Luke chapter 18 tells the story of this rich young man who, finding Jesus, asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must do to inherit eternal life?” - (vs. 18).

From the time of the Garden of Eden to 2015 we have all felt the void in our lives, our dissatisfaction with the trappings of today's life-style. Remember God's warningt to His people given through Jeremiah? “But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit....for My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns that can hold no water” - Jeremiah 2:11-13. The nation had traded their place close to God and prided themselves in their own accomplishments, convinced they were living well. Both Malcolm and the Israelite nation had fallen into the Tower of Babel mentality – the crutch of wealth and the self-made man.  Both had lives that could not satisfy.

Where does this leave us and the way we live our lives? Pastor Terry Boyle (Insight for Living. UK) writes: 'Maybe like the rich young man we're doing all the right things, but still getting the sense that something is missing....something is wrong....we are searching for more. Perhaps it's not the activity that's at fault. Perhaps it's the place, our spiritual place? In the day-to-day push and pull of life on earth we can gradually drift away from that place of sweet refreshment. We get distracted, we compromise, and we chase after the wrong things. We thirst. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVlf7OiiTJE

At the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem Jesus said: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” - John 7:37-38.

If we don't stay close to the Living Well, we have no chance of living well.'

I have chosen for our song today the Gaithers singing, “There is a River” - Live.