Decisions

We make dozens of decisions every day. Some are important, and some are not. Some are known to others, and some are not. Some may be costly, and some are not. Good decisions which affect others will make you look good to your friends. Bad decisions make you look bad in the eyes of just about everybody. Of all these decisions, which will be remembered clearly by everyone? It isn’t fair, but the good decisions are easily forgotten, but the bad decisions are remembered for ever, or so it seems.

There is another problem with decisions. I think we will all agree that we make good and bad ones on a regular basis, but hopefully there will be a balance and not all one sided. However, you will probably know some folks who consistently make good decisions. They are in the minority, but are looked up to because that’s what makes for integrity. However, on the other hand, we all will know those ones who mostly seem to be making bad decisions, but even more importantly there are those who will suffer directly because of these decisions.

One swallow might not make a summer, but a wrong decision can have a serious and lasting impact on those on the receiving end. In a few weeks, I will be having knee surgery, and I hope the surgeon has a day of good decisions. Just one bad decision in an operating theatre can hold the outcome of life in the balance. But then we do trust the professionals, right? Surgeons, doctors, lawyers, professors get there by making good decisions and maintaining their integrity.

What about us? You and me? Have we made bad decisions? Absolutely we have, and some we would not want to be reminded of because they shame us. In among the many bad ones, there could be one that sticks, and the devil reminds us of it now and again, to keep us away from God. We are too bad. We don’t come up to the grade for a Holy God, and you are right if it was all up to what we did and didn’t do. Thanks to Jesus, our salvation is not earned by default, but it’s the free gift of Grace from a forgiving Saviour. The next time the devil reminds you of your past bad decisions, remind him of God’s grace. He has no answer to that because God is not only forgiving, but patient and His desire is for all to see heaven. There is a catch, because we have to accept the gift because it’s not forced on us. That’s all. It’s down to us to accept or reject! Our choice.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2Peter3:9NIV

Worry

I tell you not to worry about everyday life. Matthew6:25

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. John14:27

I worry. I wasn’t always like this, but as time passes I find more in this world to worry about. To be more accurate, it’s the effect this world has on my family, and as a Grandparent I have family at various stages of life from my oldest child, to my youngest grandchild. I have heard it preached that worry means a distrust in God’s ability to handle your problem. I know God can handle anything and everything in His own time and in His own way and by His own choice. Basically, that’s my worry. God’s timing, and what if He decides not to step in? Or God does step in, but the offer of help to change is rejected through free will?

I am very Blessed in that most of my family are Bible believing, Jesus accepting Christians. I said most, and although that’s good, it’s also my biggest worry. I tend to do the ‘what if’ routine in my mind and that’s not a good thing on any level. Oh, I am not on my own in worrying, because today’s world is a very different place from what it was in my youth. I believe teenagers today have much more to deal with, and there are so many pitfalls and temptations that were not so apparent just a few decades ago. It’s a matter of scale.

There are more readily available drugs of choice from the ‘party/soft’ to the hard stuff. And talking about the hard stuff, alcohol in copious amounts is a right of passage for the student. It is so easy to get lost in the devil’s maze of fun, and the lie is swallowed so well and so easily by any unsuspecting young person who just wants to have some fun and enjoy themselves. At the centre of this maze is a broken life of shattered hopes and dreams. It is so much harder to find your way out of that maze, than it was to get in.

If you recognise any of this lifestyle in your loved ones, whether family or dear friends, perhaps you can understand why the only safe place is in the Saviour’s hands and arms.

The Bully

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 ESV

Sam was always a problem through Primary School, and now into 2nd year of High School nothing had changed. Most of his classmates had come through the school system with him so they knew Sam well, and for that reason he was avoided like the plague. For some reason I seemed to be his primary target and I didn’t know why.

It was during a class field trip that it happened. No one wanted to walk with him as we trekked over the Scottish hillside, so Sam was left at the back of the bunch on his own. We were walking along a narrow, but easily passable and safe path with a steep hill on one side, and an equally steep drop on the other. Sam was messing around trying to make his presence heard as usual, but no one was paying attention. Then he slipped and fell, rolling down the steep grassy slope, his fall only stopped by a large boulder some 20 feet below.

The rest of the class quickly formed a human chain, linked by each hand to get Sam on his feet, and so helped him clamber up the slope to safety. The teacher was impressed, and quite honestly, we were too. He was a bully. No one like him. He was his own worst enemy, and got along with no one. That seemed to make the class action more significant in Sam’s mind. “Whose idea was that?” he asked. At first no one owned up, and then one of the class turned and pointed at me. Yes, it was my idea. In spite of all the horrible things he had said and done to me. I couldn’t see him in pain or danger so I hurriedly arranged to form the human chain, and held the ground at the top as an anchor where he couldn’t see me.

As a direct result of that action, Sam and I formed a close bond of friendship which lasts to this day. It turned out that Sam’s home life was not a happy one, and he was a very unhappy boy who took his frustration out in the only way he knew because he saw it at home.

I wonder what God saw in us when He knew how bad and sinful we were? We gave Him no time, and no reason for Him to like us, but He didn’t push back. He loved us enough to do the only thing that would work. He took our messed up lives to the cross where they were sacrificed along with Him, the one who had never sinned. By dying in our place, He showed us the greatest love that He could and we would ever know.

The question left hanging in the air is, “what will we do about this Jesus?” Will we continue to ignore Him, or form a link straight to the one who not only saved us, but died for us? Either way the choice is ours. There is no third way.

The SIV Bible

The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked make themselves a stench and bring shame on themselves. Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner. Proverbs 13:5,6

Figs might not grow on the fig trees, and grapes might not grow on the vines. Olives might not grow on the olive trees, and food might not grow in the fields. There might not be any sheep in the pens or cattle in the barns. But I will still be glad in the Lord and rejoice in God my Saviour. Habakkuk 3:17,18

Do you like the ‘good’ verses in the Bible? You know the promises of heaven for the faithful, and the miracles of healing, and feeding the hungry? Yes, me too. In fact I admit to thinking sometimes that our salvation is ‘sweetness and light’, but sadly, it isn’t, because we go through some dark times when the way ahead is not clear. To make matters worse, we look at the bad things that happen to some of the good people we know, and find ourselves asking the age old question, “why Lord, why”?

There are many Bible translations, and we can misuse the SIV (Selective Information Version) at our own peril. As you read the whole Bible, and see what happened to the children of Israel during their time in the desert, you can’t help but see that everything did not always go well. In fact, more often than not, theirs was a troubled journey. As is ours!

When we are tempted to ask ‘why’, can I remind you of something I learned (again) this week? When the people of God are faced with deep and unfair trouble, they don’t lose sight of their faith, or Who their faith is rooted in. I have watched a Godly family go through the kind of trouble we would not wish on anyone, and did they become bitter, or hard, or shout ‘why’ at God? No, a thousand times no! They rested in the fact that above everything that had happened to them, none of which was their own doing, they thanked God for His faithfulness.

I become humbled when I talk to God’s faithful. Whether in good times or bad, they ooze the Holy Spirit in such a way that the witness is unmistakeable and certain. This was a very personal problem which dug deep into the very fibre of the family unit, and yet as the verse in Habakkuk says, and is worth repeating: “Figs might not grow on the fig trees, and grapes might not grow on the vines. Olives might not grow on the olive trees, and food might not grow in the fields. There might not be any sheep in the pens or cattle in the barns. But I will still be glad in the Lord and rejoice in God my Saviour.”

If you recognise yourself, thank you for your constant witness to the overall sovereignty and authority of our great God who will continue to use you for His glory, and the benefit of His Kingdom. It is my pleasure and blessing to have you in my journey of life.

All Done!

When our children were very young, after clearing their plate of dinner, they would lift both hands and say with a look of pride and achievement, “all done”. Christmas Day is all over, and in a way it is all done, but does it have to be? The turkey is almost finished and you are on to leftovers, wrapping paper is in the bin, the tree starts to look a little lost in the room, the carols don’t have the same ring now, and having eaten much more than you should, some plain, ordinary food is now needed. Christmas feels “all done”.

From early December, people were noticeable brighter, happier, and more likely to stop and chat than before. There is the anticipation of Christmas in almost every head whether a believer or not. Let’s face it we all like the feeling that Christmas brings, even if some do not accept the baby in the manger. It is impossible to miss the fact that something big is going to happen, and it means a lot to most people, if not everyone.

For the believer, Christmas is NOT a one day event celebrated once a year. It is, or should be, a way of living every day. The baby grew up, became a man, and was killed for doing good at the hands of a baying mob of his own people. He was unfairly and unjustly treated, and murdered. If the story stopped there we have no hope, and the baby at Christmas would be just like any other baby born at that time. But the story doesn’t stop there, this same baby who grew up, destroyed death, folded the grave clothes neatly, and left the tomb. From being very dead, to being very alive, He became our Saviour.

This makes us want to live like every day is Christmas, giving us a hope for the future and a spring in our step for all to see. So why did the baby come in the first place? One of the reasons is all wrapped up in Jesus’ words in John 10:10: I came to give life—life that is full and good. So, let’s make every day of the year our very own Christmas celebration.