On the way…

Posted on

is Something Missing?

Sue’s Views
However insignificant you are feeling ….. however inadequate ….. however alone ….. the God of the Universe sees you ….. enables you ….. and walks beside you every moment of every day. He has protected you from dangers and disasters you didn’t even know about. He longs for you to know Him and talk to Him. You were made for a relationship with Him. That’s what’s missing. Call upon His Name today ….. He is waiting!

Posted on

Cloudy Days

Sue’s Views
I don’t know about you but I seem to feel better when the sun is shining! Everything looks more vibrant ….. and I feel more energetic. Our moods ….. like the weather ….. are apt to change. Negative thoughts are like clouds. They block the sunlight from coming in and make our outlook gloomier. The more we focus on them ….. the darker it gets like gathering clouds on a rainy day. But ….. like those clouds ….. those thoughts are temporary. Behind the dark clouds is a blue sky and a shining sun. They don’t come and go ….. they are always there! So next time you feel depressed or anxious ….. look beyond the negative thoughts to the One who is always there and always the same. Let His truth and assurance shine through!

Posted on

Packaged

I quite like aeroplane food… I know most people don't. It's not necessarily about the taste, but the fact that it is all so cutely packaged and neatly compartmentalised! There aren't usually many choices about what you can have, which also makes for an uncomplicated decision… chicken, or beef!

But as I think about that packaged food on that aeroplane, I also can't imagine it being further away from it's natural environment…

Isn't packaging so great?! It's so tidy, sterile, and you can make life so convenient with it! Something about it just screams “easy!”, especially when it's food. Little time, no mess, and certainly no growing or cultivating required! How appealing.

I wonder if we do the same thing with life sometimes… I wonder if we “package” things and give “easy answers” when, sometimes, there aren't any. Perhaps life is more like a messy garden, with dirt and weeds and worms… and real life happening. I also wonder if we “package” the Bible sometimes too… somehow things are much easier when we take a piece of scripture and package it, sterilising it from its intended context and making it seem so… convenient and easy. “Three easy steps to a great prayer life”, “just have enough faith and they will be healed”, “God will always protect you, so therefore nothing bad will happen to you”… but looking at the life of other faithful followers of Jesus, and Jesus's own life, that certainly doesn't seem to be the case. Things seem… messier. But real things are growing. 

In John's account of his time with Jesus, he recalled a time when Jesus told a large group of followers some things that were difficult to understand. He didn't even package what He had to say very nicely, or even explain what He meant. Most of them walked away from Him. To the rest of His disciples, He turned and asked “You don't want to leave too, do you?” (John 6:67). Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You [alone] have the words of eternal life [you are our only hope]”.

When I went through some hard times that I didn't understand, I was looking for answers too… but there didn't seem to be any. God seemed to have gone quiet. I was angry, and was tempted to walk away. Nothing made sense. Life seemed to have fallen apart, and I wanted to blame God. But as time went by, He showed me that I don't always need to know why, I just needed to know who He is, how much He loves me, and that He is all I need. That's what Peter knew, because He'd been with the One who gave true life, and there was no turning back after that.

More and more, I love these parables Jesus told about the Kingdom of Heaven:

Matthew 13:44-46  “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

Everything… it was worth giving up everything. That hidden treasure, that pearl of great value, that Kingdom, was worth giving up everything else. That's what Peter knew too. And in the end, all of those who had been with Jesus knew it too. He's all we need.

Although it's still a journey I'm on, I think I trust Him more now that I know life is more like a (very!) messy garden, and I won't always know what's going on. But in the “garden” with Him, there is true life…

Ecclesiastes 3:11  “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

This is one of my favourite songs, that encapsulates this so perfectly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrxe0Sf3H6A

Posted on

To Die For!

Sue’s Views
Do you know that God knew you before you were born? In fact ….. even before you were conceived in your mother’s womb ….. God knew every detail of your life! You were no accident ….. or result of someone else’s choices. God already had a blueprint for your life. You began in His heart! Your ethnicity ….. gender ….. family line ….. personality ….. and gifting ….. can be traced back to your Heavenly Father. And that means your future is also in His hands. Don’t be confined by your circumstances. Only God can define you and He considers you worth dying for!

Posted on

The Simplicity of the Gospel

Sue’s Views
When Jesus preached ….. He used illustrations about everyday life. Things the common people and even children could understand. He talked about a farmer sowing seeds in different types of soil ….. a shepherd taking care of his flock and leaving 99 to rescue 1 who was lost ….. and how fruit can only be produced when it’s attached to the vine. Behind these pictures ….. were deep messages about how we are to live. The people following him could understand the deeper meaning just by looking around them. 
We make it so complicated ….. but the message of the Gospel is simple! Jesus is in every one of those stories. He is the Word (the seed) … He is the Good Shepherd ….. and He is the Vine. Our hearts are the different types of soil ….. we are the sheep ….. and we are the branches! If we receive His Word gladly ….. stay close to our Shepherd ….. and remain in the Vine ….. we will produce much fruit!

Posted on

Learn to Teach

Sue’s Views
Life is full of opportunities to learn and to teach. In everything we go through ….. we should ask ‘What can I learn from this?’ Pride and insecurity can hinder us from turning something negative into a positive. We can only pass on to others what we understand ourselves. We can then become better teachers! We learn far more from someone who knows what they are talking about than someone who just reads it from a book. Experience comes from making mistakes ….. and learning from them!

Posted on

Heze’s Big Day!

Sue’s Views
Yesterday was a big day for our little Hezekiah! Dedicated to the Lord on the morning of his 2nd birthday ….. and birthday celebrations in the afternoon. He handled both like a king! Every life is worth celebrating ….. and every life needs to acknowledge where they came from! Baby dedication is scriptural. It’s the parents acknowledgement and desire to see their child one day make that decision for themselves. They vow before God and the church to do their best to bring him up in the ways of God and entrust their little one to His guidance and care. But Heze will have to make his own decision some day in the future when he has more understanding. God bless you little man! 
May you “continue to grow in wisdom, stature, and favour with God and man!”

Sent from my iPad

Posted on

Call A Truce!

Sue’s Views
Today is Armistice Day. It marks the anniversary of an agreement to end World War I. It didn’t actually end the war but it stopped the fighting and began a series of discussions toward permanent peace. Unfortunately there have been many wars since then. Wars between nations ….. religious wars ….. family feuds ….. gang wars. Probably one of the most destructive is the war that goes on inside a person ….. the Battle of the Mind. The enemy is unseen ….. but powerful. He causes us to be so self focussed that we have no energy for anything or anyone else. He feeds us with lies that perpetuate the battle ….. and blind us to the truth. It’s time to call a truce! A truce requires a mediator who can bring the opposing sides together. Jesus Christ is our mediator! He is the Prince of Peace who defeated the foe by dying on a cross and rising again. Lay down your weapons of self protection and hatred ….. and put your trust in Him. He will fight your battles so you don’t have to!

Posted on

Hate Speech?

Sue’s Views
The whole ‘hate speech’ debacle is something we are going to hear a lot more about in days to come. When asked for a definition ….. we’re told ‘I’ll know it when I hear it!’ In other words ….. ‘If you say something I disagree with or something that offends me ….. you can be prosecuted for being an extremist.’ I definitely don’t recommend offending people but there’s a big difference between offensive language and speaking the truth in love! Just because I disagree with someone doesn’t mean I hate them. I remember threatening to leave home as a 6 year old because my parents wouldn’t allow me to stay up late. I thought they hated me! Sometimes there is a fine line between love and hate! As long as we keep love as our focus it will prevail!

Posted on

Parenting

Sue’s Views
 Parenting is the highest calling ….. and Mums and Dads have never had it so challenging as they do right now. But God’s command to teach His Word to our kids has never changed! Whatever we invest in them when they are young will reap good fruit later ….. Yes! They may go off course ….. but in those times, we have the wonderful assurance that ….. though we may not be able to reach them ….. their Heavenly Father is right there with them. So be encouraged, Mum, Dad ….. You are doing something great in God’s eyes!