RELEASING OUR BURDENS WITH JOY

One weekend, our family attended a church camp.  During one of the morning sessions the speaker handed out a sheet of paper to everyone on which we were to write down our burdens.  In the last session of the day, we were to take these sheets of paper and put them into a bowl.  These sheets were later burned in a fire, symbolic of releasing our burdens to Jesus.  In Matthew 11:28 Jesus urges us to : "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  I wrote down my burdens, folded the paper and put it in my notebook, which I then left on a table.  At the end of the last session, people started placing their papers into the bowl.  My notebook was not where I had left it and I frantically searched for 'my burdens'.

"What are you looking for?" a friend whispered.
"My burdens!"
"I'll help you look", she offered.

We scrambled around looking for my lost burdens.  All of a sudden, we started to giggle uncontrollably.  Our laughter was magnified because everyone around us was so solemn and quiet. Here we were, desperately trying to find my lost burdens so I could take them up again only to lay them down again before God.  As our laughter continued, it struck me how gracious our God is.  As I had written my burdens, He had, in that very moment, taken them and they were effectively lost forever.

Also, the laying down of our burdens need not always be serious and solemn.  It can also be joyous and freeing.  Galatians 5:1 explains: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again."

It also saddened me to realise how often we, as God's children needlessly scramble around looking for the burdens God is already carrying for us.  As I lay in bed that night, reflecting on the day, I felt the laughter rise up again inside of me and Nehemiah 8:10 took on a whole new meaning:  "For the joy of the lord is your strength".  Additionally, Proverbs 17:22 says, "A happy heart is like good medicine".


(From God's Promise for Families by Noelene Curry)

WHEN WE BLOW IT!!

“If you have failed and you are filled with despair, with no idea where to turn for inspiration and strength, remember then the compassion of Jesus.  In the power of His love He encourages you to persevere and to rebuild your life”.¹

One of the most comforting verses God put into the Bible is the one that says “…though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand”.² If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour and truly desire to serve the Lord and live our lives as His children the following verse will apply to us “If the Lord delights in a man’s way he makes his steps firm”³. It doesn’t matter how many times we may fail or feel we have blown it - if we are prepared to go before Him and confess our sins He says  “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”⁴

Jesus knows exactly what we are like.  In fact He made allowances for our bad behavior when He answered Peter’s question “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times”.⁵
He knew that we would need to come before Him time and time again to ask forgiveness for the same sin. 

I often feel that nothing in my life changes. That I am still the same person I was before I accepted Christ as my Saviour.  That I will never gain victory over certain sins/wrong behavior/bad habits in my life.  I go before God and ask for forgiveness time and time again for exactly the same ‘sin’. It is then, in that moment of despair, that I cry out to God to give me the faith and the assurance that I am forgiven and I hear Him say “I am the One who began the good work within you and I will keep right on helping you grow in My grace until My task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns”.⁶

To back that up He put this in the Bible as well for whenever our hearts condemn us

 “ For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.”⁷

1.  Ozrovech, Solly.  More than Life Itself: A Daily Devotional
2.  Psalm 37:24, Holy Bible, NIV
3.  Psalm37:23, Holy Bible, NIV
4.  Isaiah 43:25, Holy Bible, NIV
5.  Matthew 18:21 & 22, Holy Bible, NIV
6.  Philippians 1:6 paraphrased, LAB
7.  1 John 3:20, Holy Bible, NIV

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

BROKEN VESSELS

 

 

This is a continuation of the previous blog “My Father’s hands”

I decided to trust God and believe that I was completed and that I could start pouring out His love to those around me.  It was great and the feeling lasted about two days and then I fell back into some old bad habits and I had a picture of me, the jug, being knocked off the table where I had been placed and landing on the floor.  My handle broke off and a few cracks appeared on my body.
I mentioned to a friend of mine that I had thought I was past the clay stage and had become a beautiful jug but now felt that the jug was broken and I was back on the potter’s wheel.

She wrote me the following little note “maybe God is just super gluing your handle onto Himself and His love”.

I could see Jesus kneeling down and tenderly picking me, the jug, and my handle up and gluing it back together again with His love.  As He ran His hands over my body the cracks disappeared and I was whole again.

It is a known fact that once something has been super glued it will very rarely ever break in the same place again.

Psalm 145:14 says “The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.”

A couple of months later the same friend wrote me another note.  This is what she said “By the way God would like you to know just how much He likes you.  As I am typing this He is giving me a sense of how deeply He cares for you.  That He took great care in making you and He is really rather pleased with how you turned out!  He also says to remind you that He is a God of awesome compassion”.
How encouraging to receive words like these from our friends.  We often feel so worried and stressed that God cannot get through to us so He places His message on someone else’s heart so that they can tell us just how much He cares for us.
Often all we can see are the imperfections, the bumps, the cracks and the areas where we have been super glued together.  God in His love is continually healing us and mending us in order that when He fills us up we will not leak.

A person who is dying of thirst and who comes across a jug holding pure water couldn’t care less what that jug has gone through or what it looks like because it holds life giving water that can be poured out.

God says in Joel that “…I will pour out my Spirit on all people”¹ and then in Romans it says “…God has poured out His love into our hearts”.²

We, in turn, need to start pouring this love out to others. 

We need to take the time to be filled up and this is done when we spend time in prayer and reading the Bible, by worshipping God in song or by just sitting and watching a beautiful sunset knowing that He has created this world for our enjoyment.

Once we are filled we need to pour out these blessings into other peoples lives.  We have to move and share ourselves with others otherwise the blessings inside us become stagnant and we become dull and stale.

Psalm 16:11 says “You have made known to me the path of life;  you will fill me with joy in your presence…”.
Psalm 81:10 says “I am the Lord your God….Open wide your mouth and I will fill it”.

A potter’s mark is a device used for the purpose of identifying pottery wares.

On an ancient Greek vase the following mark was found “Exekias made and painted me”.
Exekias was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter.
Isn’t that such a beautiful image.
One day when I die I want my tombstone inscription to read “God made and painted
me!”

 

1.  Joel 2:28 (NIV)

2.  Romans 5:5 (NIV)

MY FATHER'S HANDS

 

There is a verse in Isaiah that has always captured my imagination.  It goes like this:
“And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.  We are the clay and you are the Potter.  We are all formed by your hand.”¹
I have this wonderful image of God sitting on a wooden stool with the potter’s wheel positioned between His knees.  In His hands He holds a lump of clay specially chosen by Him from which He is going to form me.
As He puts the clay onto the plate He makes sure that it is centred and then He begins to spin the wheel using His feet while both of His hands start to mould and shape the clay.
As He works He prays unceasingly.  He speaks words of love, encouragement, joy and kindness into my life.  He starts to visualise the life He wants me to live.  So much thought has gone into the making of me.  As I begin to take shape in His hands He realises that actually there is something even more special He wants for me so He kneads me back into a lump and starts again.

Once the item of pottery has been formed it is then put aside in a safe place to dry.

Once it is dry it can be painted and decorated and then it is put into an oven to bake.
A close eye has to be kept on the item while it is baking to ensure that the heat doesn’t damage it. 
We have all been created individually by God.  Some of us are plates, some cups, some bowls, some jugs – it doesn’t matter what we are - we all have two things in common.
The fact that we were created by Him and the fact that we can all hold or contain something that can be poured out.

God decided He wanted me to be a jug.  He visualised me as a beautiful jug filled to the brim and overflowing with love and the ability to do so much good in the world. In His mind there is not a blemish or a scratch on me and He has painted me inside and out with beautiful bright coloured flowers – crimson, yellow, blue, orange and green.  I am so amazingly beautiful in His eyes because I am His creation.

In fact in Ephesians 2:10 it says exactly that “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”.

For many years I felt that in making me God had got stuck on the kneading and moulding stage or had forgotten me in the oven.  I also felt that during the process of making me He became distracted and that was why I was far from perfect.

I never seemed to be able to grow into my full potential, there was always a nagging feeling inside of me that something was missing and a lot of the time I did not feel that my life had much worth or value.  There were so many times when I felt such deep hurt and pain and loneliness in my life that I was sure He had forgotten me in the oven and that I was damaged beyond repair.
I longed to make a difference in the world.  To be able to touch other people’s lives and bring comfort and healing to them but always felt that I was not worthy.

Then one day I realised that I would never be able to do any of these things if I was constantly in the process of being made.  How could I offer anything of value to anyone else if I did not feel I was worthy and complete myself.

There is a verse that says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast”.²
This is the most wonderful verse in that it takes a lot of pressure off us to perform and if we truly believed what God tells us “I am the Lord who sanctifies you”³ we wouldn’t have the need to ‘work’ so hard at being Christians!

Photograph by Carrie Sandoval
1.  Isaiah 64:8 (LAB)
2.  Ephesians 2: 8 & 9 (NIV)
3.  Exodus 31:13 (NAS)