The wise man...

Matthew 7: 22-27

The wise man...

Do you know the song?

It was a favourite of our children, the ones we taught in Sunday School and at Mums and Tots. Action songs are always popular with little ones. They might not get tongue around the words but actions can be seen and followed. I do not know how many of the words or concepts they understood but there was definitely enjoyment in the participation.
May it be so too in the building of my relationship with God- may my actions speak louder than my words and may I have enjoyment in the participation.

Sticky question

Matthew 22:41-46

I hate being put on the spot. I hate being forced to give an answer when I would prefer not to commit myself. Or as is the case here, I give an answer which is followed by a provocative question.
I want to be able to say that Jesus is my Lord and God. He is my Saviour.
No add-ons or frills, that is when it gets a it sticky.

A mirror

Matthew 7:1-12

They say that the behaviour which we find most irritating in other people is that which we exhibit but overlook in ourselves.
I suppose this is an aspect of the 'Love your neighbour as yourself' of Leviticus 19:18 or Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby as Charles Kingsley wrote in the Water Babies. the moral of this book was lost on me as a child but perhaps it takes an adult to realise that we ourselves  are not the centre of the universe and that other people have feelings.

Patience and praise

Psalm 71

In the version which we read this morning verse 14 was translated as
But I shall always wait in patience and shall praise you more and more.

My waiting is not usually very patient. On approaching green traffic lights I pray that they will stay green so that I will not have to wait.
I went to the veterinarian this morning.  He arrived at least five minutes after opening time and treats every patient as if they are the only one he is seeing that day. It is a slow process but the experience is usually beneficial. I struck up a conversation with a lady in the waiting room. Maybe she will be a friend.
Maybe one day I will understand why God wants me to wait and in the meantime can I not overcome my frustration and remember to use my waiting time to join with the psalmist, probably David, in praising God.

Hidden Gold

Leviticus 19:1-18

Today is a no brainer day. I can never resist Leviticus 19:18. The verse number is easy to remember, it is the year the First World War ended. It speaks of loving your neighbour as yourself. A good concept for the beginning of peace.
Until this verse was pointed out to me by Maurice, a retired banker, in an ecumenical Bible Study that we were in, on the eve of the vote to reinstate the death penalty in England, I had always thought of Leviticus as a turgid book written mainly for the Jewish people and with little relevance to the modern western man or woman.
What was good enough for Jesus is good enough for me.

Deny yourself

Leviticus 16:20-34

God knows what workaholics we are!

The power of verse 29 has never had any effect on me. I always thought the Sabbath was just for a rest and a time to worship. But no, God knows how we want to achieve and gain money and status. he says "Take a break guys, relax. The world will continue without you for one day."

The Law

Matthew 5:11-16

I sometimes think that the poor old Pharisees and Teachers of the Law have a bad reputation. They were only trying to do their best for themselves and their flock. They wanted everybody to do what God wanted and that is why they tried to clarify the law. They tried to make following God's law easier by answering all the what-ifs. If a situation arose then look it up and whether it was permissible could be found. No thinking necessary, all was plain. The along comes Jesus telling them that the law is simply 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength' and 'Love  your neighbour as yourself.' The add-ons were not universal conditions. No easy rule, every situation is different.
Lord teach me to love where I am today.

Important People

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

The letter says that it is from Paul and Sylanus (Silas) and Timothy. Why then is it that Paul always gets the glory for having hatched the ideas that are in the letter? Background people can be important.
Lord help me to see the importance that you see in each person.

Prayer in action

Psalm 41

Easter Minto drove half way across Houston to bring dinner to my family. I was ill. One of Easter's chorus lines is "What is God doing in your life today?", said with great emphasis on the today. That day Easter was sustaining me on my sickbed. Prayers are all well and good but we need some action too.

Healing forgiveness

Psalm 32

Yesterday I was angry and grouchy. Somebody had taken away my Sabbath rest. In the name of Cristian servitude I was having to up and go out on another person's schedule.  I was far from happy and not pleasant company. Then I remembered the verse about causing a little one to sin and realized that though my anger had been caused by another it was me who was doing the sinning. Having got to this stage I was able to ask for forgiveness and my day improved vastly- I noticed the sun shining and the rhododendrons ling the road.

Sabbath

Colossians 2:8-12

My Sabbath is usually Saturday. Saturday is usually the day where I rest or rather do the things I that I want to do and which I find relaxing such as going on an extra long walk, getting up a little later, having a special breakfast- not the bowl of cereal which I can prepare in a semi somnambulant state. Saturday is the day of leisurely pace rather than the fast-track routine of almost every other day. On Saturdays I can take the time to revel in the beauty of the weeds I am pulling and watch the rivulets of rain creep down the window. I may not be in a church taking part in a corporate worship but the it is the day when I have the time to be more aware of God's presence  in my life.

Baptism

Matthew 3:13-17

I go to a Church of England church because my parents took me as a baby to be baptized. My paternal grandmother was C of E, the maternal side of the family were staunch Methodists. My parents were married in a Methodist church so it was only right and proper that the baby was baptized in the church of the other family. I am not sure how much religion was involved.
When I was eight a mission church was opened near our house. I was taken there once by some friends with whom we had been eating Sunday lunch. I announced that henceforth I would go to that Sunday School since I had been baptized an Anglican. I do not use the term C of E here as we were in Wales and thus the church was a Church in Wales church but still a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
At twelve I was confirmed, a time when one is supposed to affirm the promises made on your behalf by your parents and grandparents.
At seventeen I thought enough of this nonsense and spent a year or two questioning the existence of God and the validity of infant baptism. When I came through the time of indecision I was annoyed that I had been baptized without being consulted. I wanted a baptism in which I was fully involved in both body and mind, one which showed that I had turned to God and accepted his cleansing.
At twenty-nine we took our first son to be baptized as a three week old baby.
Now at sixty-three I am grateful for my infant baptism. I question if I would ever have the relationship which I now have with God without it. Also I pray that God will work through the baptism of all my children and bring them into his fold as he did with me.

Maybe later I will add a photograph of the event. No doves or voices present just an angry mother and God doing his will.

Eloquence

Colossians 1:1-14

Sometimes Paul 'gets up my nose'. This passage is not one of those which annoys me. I pray that my children will love and trust the Lord but Paul puts it so much more eloquently. I can use his words but I know however fumbling I might be with my prayer words God listens to each one of them as it stumbles out of my mouth. What is more I know that he listens to my thoughts before they are fashioned into words. Often I have thought how nice it would be to have a little more time and the next thing I know the telephone rings giving me some time away from an activity. Or, perhaps I am thinking about a person and when the telephone rings it is them.
Lord look after my little ones.

Praise, praise, praise

Psalm 150

It is a Psalm 150 day. The last was only two weeks ago, on Easter Day itself. But praise and thankfulness never go amiss.
Looking out of my window I see violets, broom, hawthorn, real geranium, forget-me-not, camellia, primroses, hebe (waiting to be planted), snowdrop leaves, euphorbia, stonecrop, ladies mantle, pachysandra, herb robert, quince flowers and some snowdrop leaves. The sun is shining and there is a gentle breeze. The memory of the chocolate egg from the shop around the corner is still fresh in my mind. I have a lot to be thankful for.
Hallelujah.

Effective prayer

1 Peter 4:7-19

I like spending time with my friends. We chat and work together. So it is with God. If only I could remember this.

Enough?

Exodus 16:10-22

"That was good. I suppose we shall never have it again?" I keep all leftovers, often amalgamating some to create a new meal. I wonder if I would have been able to follow the instructions not to keep the remains. I think I would also have had problems with the double on the sixth day. How could I trust that it would not be maggoty by morning.

This passage has given me a lot of food for thought about my trust in the Lord.