DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God taught me a major lesson last week about how easily we judge things and people by their outside appearances.  I had just climbed off a plane in Birmingham, England and was waiting, along with a 100 other people, for my luggage to appear on the carousel belt.  I was on the opposite side of the carousel from where the luggage first appeared.  The 4^th item of luggage to appear was a big black suitcase that was ripped at the sides and held together by ugly brown sticky masking tape.  As I watched its progress along the carousel the following thoughts were going through my mind:

“I wonder how someone who can’t even afford a decent suitcase can afford to fly?”

“I would be so embarrassed to acknowledge that as my suitcase!”
“I wonder how the person who owns that suitcase is dressed?”

 As it drew closer to me I saw that it had exactly the same stickers that I had on my suitcase and then I saw my name on the identity tag and purely out of instinct I reached out and lifted it off the carousel belt.  To compound my embarrassment I didn’t even have a trolley so I couldn’t put the suitcase on a trolley and cover it with my hand luggage!  I had to pull this broken, wonky suitcase that was held together by ugly brown tape all the way through the airport.

In Matthew there are two very challenging verses “Do not judge or you too will be judged.  For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”¹

John 7:24 says “Stop judging by outside appearances…”²
My suitcase was filled with beautifully wrapped presents, decent clothes and chocolates.
Judging by the appearance of my suitcase you would have thought it was filled with rags.

Often things happen that are beyond our control – I had put a big, black suitcase in good condition onto the airplane in South Africa and had received a damaged and torn suitcase, covered in tape in England.  Somewhere in transit the suitcase was badly damaged and yet the contents were unharmed and, thank God, nothing was stolen.

The friends I was visiting have a son whose body is covered in tattoos and he has various piercings on his face and body.  Judging by his appearance you would think he was a delinquent who took drugs and was on the dole because he had never completed his education.  In fact the truth is that he has never taken drugs, has a steady job and earns a good income and is one of the kindest, politest and honest people that I have ever met.  I love him dearly and yet if I didn’t know him and saw him walking towards me on the street I would cross over to the other side…………..!  Thanks Matt for allowing me to use you as a good example of the old adage 'Don't judge a book by its cover'.

 

¹ Matthew 7:1 & 2, NIV Bible

² NIV Bible

OPEN DOORS

A couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from a lady whose husband had read God’s Promise for Families.  She asked me whether I would be willing to come and give my testimony to a group of 8 or 10 ladies one morning.  She was having a birthday tea and wanted to do something that would include God so thought she would invite me to share my testimony.  I immediately responded ‘of course I will’ and as I put the phone down I thought ‘God help!’
I had never been asked to give my testimony before.  When I speak before an audience I refer to parts of my testimony but only as it pertains to a certain subject e.g. unanswered prayer, prophetic words God speaks into our lives etc.
I always stood behind a lectern separated from the audience and now I was being asked to address a small group of strangers in a very personal way!

Our hostess embodied the verse “Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practise hospitality.”¹  We are all in need of hearing more about God and here was this amazing woman setting aside a morning so we could all hear more about God and I marveled at her kindness and genuiness as she invited each guest into her home and made them feel totally at ease.

I gave my testimony and in parts I stuttered and stumbled and yet each woman there was graceful and attentive.

At the end of my talk one of the ladies asked me if she could anoint my head with oil. As she anointed my head with oil she said that God was closing the door to my past – that door had to remain shut and He was opening other doors that I needed to start walking through.  She then anointed my lips with oil and said that God would be the One who released in me the ability to speak and bear witness of the power of His love and healing in our lives.  As she was anointing my lips with oil the following verses went through my mind “Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips;  your guilt is taken away and sin atoned for”.  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I.  Send me!”²

There is a section in God’s promise for Families where I refer to exactly that.

“God asks, “Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?”³ My heart leaped in response to the question posed and I exclaimed, “I am ready!””⁴

If we are serious about serving God we need to spend some time thinking about what our answers will be to the questions God asks us:  “Whom shall I send?”  “Who will go for us?”  “Who is willing to consecrate himself to the Lord”.

If we are willing to volunteer we need to realize that once we have dealt with the past God will shut that door and will open new doors for us to walk through.
That very afternoon a friend wrote “I know God is opening doors for me.  I just need to find a new way of walking through them”.  That resonated with me. I too, need to find a new way of walking through the doors God is opening – a new attitude, a new faith, a new hope and a new trust in our Lord Jesus.

¹ Romans 12:13, NIV Bible

² Isaiah 6:6-8, NIV Bible

³ 1 Chronicles 29:5, NIV Bible

⁴ God’s Promise for Families, page 16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BECOMING THE PERSON GOD CREATED US TO BE

One of the deepest desires of my heart is to have an intimate relationship with God.  I long to become the woman God created me to be, living my life in such a way that people see His light and life reflected within me. I want to cultivate such a close relationship with God that the fruit of the spirit is evident in my life.  “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”¹

I don’t even begin to come close to any of these ‘fruits’ – just ask my family!

I identify fully with Henri Nouwen when he writes: “God is the one who calls me Beloved, and I have a desire to express to others how I try to become more fully who I already am”.

Too much of my time is taken up with guilt, worry and fear.

I want to be set apart and used by God.  To be able to witness to the people I come in contact with about His great love for us. To be part of the collective “we” spoken about in 2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”.

Because I am a person, who in the natural, has very little sense of self-worth I need to continue trusting on a daily basis that “God, who began the good work within me will keep right on  helping me grow in His grace until His task within me is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns”.²

“Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created”.³

My prayer for each one of us is that we may find our purpose here on earth and that we would grow into the people God created us to be.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could live our lives as follows:

 

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid into heaven – a glass of wine in one hand, strawberries in the other – body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and shouting, ‘Woo hoo, Lord – what a ride!”⁴

 

 

1.  Galations 5:22-23 (NIV)

2.  Philippians 1:6 (LAB - paraphrased)

3.  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

4.  Unknown