In My Day

In my day, the summers were warmer, the snow was whiter in winter, people were kinder and didn’t need to lock their doors, neighbours were friendlier, school produced better citizens who could spell and read, times were tough but we were survivors, friends stuck together, and the list could go on. It often does.

Then there’s Church. Church was better, more active, more members, with better hymns and not these too loud modern songs, lots out midweek, piano and organ, no guitars and certainly no drums, lives changed at an altar of prayer, great saintly examples, a church board of stalwarts, pastors called, who preached and visited on a very low wage, tithes and offerings given freely for growth of the Kingdom, and again the list could go on. It often does.

It is important that I don’t fall into the ‘grumpy old man’ trap, where everything old was good, and everything new is bad. One sure way to turn folks off at any age, is to be a know-it-all, and try to make things look better if seen through my eyes. It doesn’t work. In fact, Jesus was, is, and always will be truth, so what was done in the past will remain if it is of God, and this is also true of today. The good will persist, and the bad will fall away like ‘snow aff a dyke’ as we say in Scotland. You and I need to be sure we are on the right side of truth. That’s all. It’s that simple, so let’s not get hung up on what the youth are doing in church today, and take more care over our own example and up to date testimony. God will be our judge, and theirs, in all things old or new!

Leave them alone. If their plan is something they thought up, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You might even be fighting against God himself! Acts 5:38,39

What Does It Take?

There were times in my young life, when I questioned the benefits of being raised in a Christian home. Oh, I loved my parents, and know they were saintly in life and example, but what was I missing? Were those forbidden fruits tastier than the Christian life I had readily adopted? My pals seemed to be ok the way they were, and they weren’t off the rails by any stretch of the imagination. I was at that formative time of life. I was in my teens, so what was I really saved from? What does it take to know?

Fast forward a few decades, and I have a wholly different perspective on life. Being a dad and a granda has made me see my life in a different way. My daughter reminded me recently that God is already in our future, but we don’t know it until we get there. Recently, I found myself listening to the heart of one of my wider family as they unfolded some of their troubles. God is working in their own lives, but the problems encountered by their own family made me oh so very thankful for the things I was saved from. You see, I don’t know what I was saved from, and that’s the great thing that I can see now. I didn’t always feel this way, but God was gracious in granting me salvation at an early age. I believe I was saved from, well, a lot!

Now when I pray for others with problems I never had to face myself, I find myself twice blessed. I am blessed to have known God’s grace early in my life, and I am also blessed that I can pray with thankfulness that God can indeed save the souls of people from one extreme of life to the other. God is able, and He can make Himself known to us in simple faith. However, there is a catch. Isn’t there always? The catch is that we have to ask Him for His gift of salvation. Easy, isn’t it? Not really, because the biggest blockage we will face is accepting that we really do need a Saviour, and it doesn’t matter if we are young or old(er).

One of the lessons in my own life is this. Actions have consequences, and although God can and will help us deal with each one, He doesn’t take them away. They have been of our own making and we have to face them head on, but as I listened to this wise, faithful and praying Mum talk about her daughter’s sad consequences of bad decisions made, I was reminded yet again of God’s faithfulness. This troubled girl has the benefit of a praying Mum on her side, who will not let go of God’s promises as she intercedes on her daughter’s behalf who is also now beginning to realise that her Mum is the best friend and support she will ever have, and to cap it off, her Mum also knows she is not alone, as there are many other Christians who will pray for them in their time of urgent  and immediate need. My question is simple: Will you join with me and please pray for Joanne and her young child? You may never know or see the answer to your prayers this side of eternity, so thank you and God Bless your faithfulness.