34. WINNING LIFE’S BATTLES 2 Chron: 20v12

With God’s help, King Jehoshaphat defeated three much larger armies than his, and his victory teaches us how we too can win life’s battles. First you have to identify your enemy, many of us have no idea who our real enemy is. We think it is the person who is interested in taking our job, our spouse or our money. But many times our enemy is our own attitude! It’s not so much what’s happening that gets us down, It’s our response to the situation. Before you can win on a personal level, you must identify the enemy. Watch how Jehoshaphat reacted when he heard “A vast Army” was coming against him. He was “alarmed”(2 Chronicles 20;2-3). That’s a fairly typical human response. We see a big problem, panic and become fearful about what’s going to happen to us .Now, in truth fear isn’t all bad, unless we deal with it in the wrong way. We can use it to motivate us to conquer the problem and drive us closer to God. It’s when we get discouraged, give up, get angry and start asking, “Why me, Lord”? That fear defeats us. If you are in a situation that’s filling you with fear and anxiety, Remember - God doesn’t respond to need, He responds to faith. so stake your faith on His unshakeable Word and stand on His promise.(Isaiah 41;10) says--”Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed, For I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” Unshakeable trust in God’s Word brings His help. Secondly, we have to admit our own inadequacy. The only people God can’t help are those who don’t think they need His help. King Jehoshaphat said in (2 Chronicles 20; 12) “We have no power to face the vast army that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You “ Often our eyes are on everyone and every thing – except God – The only one who can solve our problems. Our circumstances are like a mattress, if we’re on top we can rest easy, but if it’s on top of us we can get suffocated. So, to win over our circumstances we must keep our eyes on the Lord. Remember, (Zechariah 4;6) which says “It’s not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord” None of us can live the Christian life by our own strength because we have a power shortage. we need the power that comes from letting God’s Spirit live through us. Try to imagine a glove, on its own it is limp and powerless, but once a hand fills that glove it becomes useful and effective. In (Acts 1;8) we read that Jesus said “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” Jesus often spoke of the Holy Spirit as “The Helper,” So when you don’t know what to do, stand on His promise; (In John14;26) “The Helper, The Holy Spirit, whom The Father will send in my name...will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” If we fight in our own strength we’ll lose. But when we draw on the power of God’s Spirit which is within us we’ll win. Thirdly, take your problems to the Lord, In the midst of His crises Jehoshaphat set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast. Why is prayer often the last thing we think of? Because we are so self-centred, and arrogant we want to work out our problems ourselves not wanting to ask God’s help, and that is a dangerous attitude to have towards God. When we’re facing life’s battles prayer should be our first resort not our last. And sometimes when the problem doesn’t yield to prayer alone, God leads us to add a second element; “Fasting”. Ever tried it? Fasting isn’t something mystical or mysterious; It’s about focus! It’s saying ‘Lord, I can do without many things, but I can’t solve this problem without You, so instead of being preoccupied with TV, or food, or Social Media, I’m going to spend time seeking Your face. Cornelius a Gentile, fasted and prayed for four days asking for direction. As a result, God sent Peter to his house to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles and in the process changed the course of history. In order to know who to appoint to leadership positions, the New Testament church, fasted, prayed and asked God for guidance and as a result one of the most dynamic evangelistic teams of all time, “Paul and Barnabas” was born (see Acts 13;2-3). When you get serious enough to fast and pray about your problem, God will guide you to the solution. Fourthly, God wants us to relax in our Faith, When we give the problem to God, get your hands off it. In (2 Chronicles 20;15) God responded to Jehoshaphat’s prayer “The battle is not yours but God’s” Many of us try to fight God’s battles in our strength. In the initial flush of becoming a Christian we are eager to win the world to Christ, but don’t realise what’s involved. Then after we’ve worked hard under our own steam, reality sets in and we end up crawling back on our hands and knees, disappointed because we think we’ve let God down. But He reassures us, “You didn’t let me down, because you weren’t holding me up.!! The truth is we don’t hold God up – He holds us up! We don’t have Him in our hands, He has us in His hands! And He’s telling us to relax in faith and let Him do the work through us. In (Colossians 2;6 Paul wrote As you received Christ Jesus as your Lord, continue to live your life in Him.” In other words, Remember how you first became a believer – by simple faith in the finished work of Christ – and continue to live by simple faith. You didn’t become a Christian by striving for perfection and doing good works. Good works have nothing to do with it! Salvation is a free gift. God doesn’t need us to micromanage things; He has everything under control, what He wants is for us to relax and allow Him to live through us Fifthly, In (2 Chronicles 20;17) God told Jehoshaphat “Stand firm” What does it mean to “Stand Firm” when you’re in a crises? Your whole being is calling out to you to do something, But God says “Stand Firm” It means ..Stop, and allow a mental attitude of quiet confidence that says “I’m going to trust God with this.” and let whatever happens happen. Now watch God work. It’s never God’s will for us to run away from a difficult situation, If we do, the situation will only follow us a bit further down the line. It may not look the same, but it will be the same. Why? Because God wants to teach us that He is sufficient for any problem. If we don’t learn this today, we will learn it next week, next month or next year, but eventually we will learn it, and the sooner the better. We can save ourselves many problems by “Standing Firm” and waiting in quiet confidence for God to work it out for us.. So what do we “Stand Firm” on. (2Chronicles 20;20) Tells us, “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; Have Faith in His prophets and you will be successful” First we need to “Stand Firm” on the character of God. God is Faithful and we can depend on Him. Second we need to “Stand Firm on the writings He has given us through His prophets. In other words the Truth of the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word, and we need only rely in quiet confidence on His written promises. So “Stand firm on the unchanging character of God and the unchanging promises of His word. Sixth, Thank God in advance. Imagine standing on a mountaintop looking across a valley to the mountain on the other side. A big battle is about to take place down below, on one mountain three enemy nations are poised and waiting to devastate Israel. The Israelites are on your mountain and their leader Jehoshaphat tells them “Here’s God’s battle plan all of you who sing in the choir, I want out front” So the army goes marching in to battle with the choir out in front singing praises to God!! Did the plan work? Well yes it did. The opposing armies got confused and started killing each other. And all the Israelites had to do was divide up the plunder! Why did God do it this way? As a visual object lesson to teach us to praise Him in Faith even before the victory happens. When we pray, Lord, I know I have problems, but I know and believe in advance there is no problem You can’t handle. Three things will then take place, 1. Our atmosphere changes, we no longer feel afraid because we have the assurance of God’s presence. 2. Our attitude changes, and we begin to say, Lord, this may be too big for me, but it’s not too big for You. 3. Our approach changes, and instead of speaking words of doubt, we start speaking words of faith, and because our faith honours God, He honours our faith and the battle begins to turn in our favour. Now there’s another important key to victory, Don’t just praise God for a while and then stop, Keep praising and thanking Him until your breakthrough comes. Thank you for reading my thoughts on ‘Winning Life’s Battles,’ The main thing to remember is...Satan doesn’t want us to trust The Lord, and will do and say anything to us to discredit Him, so if we can show God that He and His Word is what we trust and rely on, He will come to our help and send His Holy Spirit when we call on Him. May God keep us safe in His care. Phaline.

33. CHRISTLIKE COMPASSION. (Luke;10 33.)

Many dictionaries define Compassion as Sympathy, Pity or Concern… These are all emotional responses but the Compassion of Jesus transcends emotion and translates into action. Christlike Compassion first, recognises the needs of others In Philippians 2: 3-4 Paul puts it this way “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other than himself, let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Note the phrase “better than himself”, Now let’s look around at the people in our lives and then say “I Esteem them better than myself.” If one tends to be self-centred, it will take a while for this concept to sink in, but self honesty and appraisal is a healthy and worthwhile attitude to have, someone once said “To thine own self be true” Note also the words,”Look out for the interests of others”. Sometimes those “others” are badly messed up and not easy to love. eg. What about those who are in prison? We say “Well, they got what they deserved”, May be so, but did you always get what you deserved, or did you just not get caught? Think about it! In Matthew 25:40) Jesus Himself said “When you visit someone sick or in prison, your doing it to Me. And in Luke 23:43 Jesus showed compassion to a convicted criminal on a cross and saved him. So everyone needs compassion and we must not pick and choose, we ought to look at the problem rather than the person in such cases. In Job 6:14 we read “To him who is afflicted kindness should be shown by his friends even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty”. We should not show partiality, Our works of compassion could very well be the steppingstone that brings them to Christ. One of Mother Teresa’s prayers was “Oh Lord Jesus, Grant that even if You are hidden under the unattractive guise of anger, crime or madness, I may recognise You and say “Jesus You who suffer, how sweet it is to serve you.” Scripture teaches us a couple of other things about Christlike compassion. In Hebrews 14-15 Paul tells us, in relating to the needs of others “Jesus this High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same tests we do.” Jesus – understands, how comforting! Whatever situation, challenge or adversity we find ourselves in, He is saying “I can relate, I’ve been there”. Pressure? Rejection? Pain? Temptation? Slander? Lies? False accusations? He understands, because He’s been there. Both Jesus and James tell us,We need to respond to the needs of others on a practical base. It’s not enough just to recognise and relate to the needs of other people, we’ve been called to action on a practical level, otherwise our compassion is meaningless. Jesus responded to sick people with healing, to hungry people with food and to lost people with the Good News of the Gospel. If we find ourselves in the presence of a need, it’s not by accident, God knows what we can supply and He’s put us there at that time, in that situation for four very good reasons, to see how much you have grown, How much you truly love Him, how much you trust Him and how much you really care. Compassion has no limits. It sponsors a hungry child, Helps change a tyre for a stranded person on the roadside, Brings a meal to someone whose grieving, and listens patiently to someone who needs a friend. Compassion gets its hands dirty, It gives money, it sacrifices its own agenda, schedule, desires and dreams to meet the needs of another. In Acts 38 Matthew the writer says, “God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with Power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” We need to ask ourselves this one question, “What is my main concern in life “Looking Good or Doing Good”. If you want to be more like Jesus You know the answer to that question. The word “Compassion” means to enter into another’s passion. You may ask “How can I do that?” By asking them gently, why they are so stressed or depressed and asking How you can help, or maybe a friend has been diagnosed with an illness, High Blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, cancer. What should or can you do for them. Maybe someone has been promoted but their co-workers are jealous, he doesn’t know how to handle their jealousy, talk to him, and more importantly let him talk to you. Or maybe someone just lost a loved one and you don’t know what to say, Don’t say anything, just be there. The Bible says in Romans 12;15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep “ In other words, If someone is hurting, hurt with them, and if they are happy, be happy with them. Enter into their passion...That’s how to show compassion... In an effort to look Holy, sometimes we come across harsh and insensitive We say things like ”Oh well that’s the will of God, we can’t do anything about that.” First of all You don’t know if it is the “Will of God” and secondly, if it is, it is also the will of God for you to be there to help and pray for them. Paul addressed this very issue in Colossians 3;12 “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves...clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, some of us may have to work harder at this than others. But there’s no opt-out clause. 1Peter 3;8 says “All of you be of one mind, having Compassion for one another.” That includes You and Me. Thank you for reading my thoughts on Compassion. There are a number of people who need compassion and understanding in this world and are too embarrassed, proud, self-conscious, or shy to admit to it, or ask for help in particular areas. I was one of those people regarding my eye-sight , it took me years to get over it, and it still comes back to haunt me sometimes, but I found facing the problem, asking God to help me and graciously accepting the help that is offered is the only solution. So what I have written about here is mainly from my own personal experience. I hope it helps. Let’s go to the Healer together and seek His. Blessings Phaline --------------------------

32. PREPARE FOR ATTACK. Genesis 39-12. & others.

Ever since Lucifer fell from Grace he has been trying to get even with God. He has found the only way he can hope to do this is through mankind. He started with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and hasn’t given up yet, nor will he ever do so. Every generation has had its battles with him and ours is no exception. In fact these battles have escalated over the centuries, as he (Satan) pandered to human pride, selfishness and greed. We can all see how this has effected the entire world and it’s population. Because of this, we are in a dilemma or state of confusion. Even though God sent His own Son who died to pay the debt our sins uncured. Still mankind prefers to take the easy way and continue in his rebellion against God rather than understand that life is short, payback time is coming, when we will have to account to a loving, but JUST God. At this point, we are in a position where we can turn back to Him, accept His forgiveness and start a new life in Jesus Christ. That doesn’t mean Satan will give up on you or me, on the contrary, He will redouble his efforts. Understand this, to stay on track with Jesus, you need to have two main qualities, 1. Be alert, the devil’s sole purpose is to take you away from Christ, He will lie, cheat, steal and do whatever it takes to achieve that goal, he will promise you whatever your heart desires, but he’ll never be able to deliver in full. So no matter what he says don’t believe him, Jesus called him a liar, so treat him as one and don’t trust anything he says to you. 2. Pray often, every morning “Dress yourself in the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against Satan and his schemes, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (not man made), “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, do that, so WHEN the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, stand firm with the belt of TRUTH” (always check with Scripture, truth is vital), “buckled around your waist, with the Breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Living a life as a representative of Christ) “in place, and with your feet fitted with the shoes of readiness that comes from the Gospel of PEACE”.(always let peace be your aim) “In addition to all this take up the shield of FAITH” (believe in who you are in Christ) “with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Then take the Helmet of SALVATION” (remember you are a saved child of God, nothing can change that) “and the sword of The Spirit which is THE WORD OF GOD” (get to know your Scripture and you will be able to use it like a sward) (Ephesians 6.11-17). Notice Paul says “WHEN” the day of evil comes and not IF the day of evil comes. So that day is coming you can count on it. Paul was explaining very graphically to his audience in relating the dress code of a Roman soldier to the dress code of the battle-fighting Christian. The parts of the body which are more vulnerable physically, need extra protection. And so it is spiritually, those same parts are also more vulnerable and need extra spiritual protection. So be ready, learn from Scripture. Was it given thousands of years ago for such a time as this? We are vulnerable creatures, we accept the easy way. More and more we can see that what is blatantly wrong, but convenient; is being not only accepted, but taught to our children and grandchildren as right. Abortion, euthanasia, suicide are all okay and even applauded. Our education system has been hijacked and teachers are being given the responsibility to teach very young children about sexual relationships, sexual orientation, gender changes etc. without any parental consent or consultation. Who gave them that right? We, the parents did, by default. It’s not too late. Take it back! Your Children’s and Grandchildren’s souls are at stake. We trusted the education system, they’ve let us down. There is a moral law given by God thousands of years ago, and the world has survived very well on that. By Who and why does it need changing. By Whom? People who want to change places with God. And why? Because they are arrogant enough to think they can make a better job. They certainly appear to think, if they can do away with the moral law, they will then get rid of the moral law-giver. How ridiculous! History can’t be ignored or changed, remember the saying “If you don’t learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it.” People are saying our teaching system is in a mess (and so it is) because teachers (especially primary school teachers) didn’t join up to teach sex programmes and biology but, that’s exactly what they are being expected to do These usually very young aspiring teachers are way out of their depth. Why should they be given such a tremendous responsibility?. A responsibility most of them cannot hope to fully understand. The nursing shortage can be put down to many of the same problems, The stories a number of us have heard are a stain on the once proud medical history of this country, nurses being asked to perform procedures and duties they didn’t sign-up for. “Just follow the orders” is depleting our hospitals of highly qualified gifted and devoted nursing staff who, in many cases have spent several years selflessly nursing patients back to health they are leaving that commendable profession and in some cases their own country for less pay, but a clear conscience and a good night’s sleep. The coercion, bullying and victimisation that goes on is shocking and thoroughly disgraceful for a country such as ours, which was once called “God’s Own” What have we done to it? And why? Or more to the point, what have we allowed to happen to our country and why? By not taking a stand in areas such as the above, and there are hundreds more, we are submitting to Satan and his followers. In almost every industry competence and consistency are completely missing. Therefore organisations from Government Departments to Freezing Works, Councils to Courtrooms, from forestry to farming are unable to be trusted. Everyone knows the media has been paid off and muzzled. While we are told to listen to the powers that be. Because they have the only truth OH YES!!!. But that’s not necessarily so, not everybody has God’s truth and for Christians, that’s the only truth that matters. That’s why Pilate asked Jesus “what is TRUTH” and didn’t even wait for the answer, because he too had his own truth but not what it took to stand up for it. Why? We now have one of the highest rates of suicides per capita in the world. We have more drug addicts and alcoholics than ever before, more major crime, more debt, more unemployment, more homelessness, more accidents. And surprise surprise, more money, but less food in our trolleys. Isn’t that the truth? If we can’t stand up for Biblical principals in our own private lives when we are tempted, we will be unable to stand up when the big issues come along. A soldier has to learn hand-to-hand combat and how to use small weapons before he can be trusted with bigger ones, so observe how some of God’s champions dealt with Satan’s attacks then you’ll know how to handle them when they comes your way. Lust is one of the most common ways Satan attacks these days, I suppose we can put that at technologies door, but, Satan uses anything or anybody anywhere Whether it’s an affair or an online fantasy, draw your eyes away, lust is like a tiger; once uncaged it will prowl through your mind and prey on your thoughts. What it wont do is willingly go back into its cage. So if you haven’t looked, don’t, if you have, Pray for victory and get it out of your life Another way Satan will try to get to you is that; If you have been given an assignment by God, he will have other people discourage or ridicule you especially family and friends. That’s what Nehemiah experienced when God told him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Four times Sanballat sent messengers to Nehemiah calling him to abandon the project God had assigned him, and come down to them, but each time he refused. (Nehemiah 6.2-4/) “ I am doing a great work, so I cannot come down”.Any time you stop doing the work God has given you to do and step down to the level of your critics, you’ve sent the devil a signal that his strategy is working, so you can expect more of the same. Think, if God can deliver you in times of trouble, surely He can defend you in times of misunderstanding! So get back up on the wall He has called you to build and keep working. Don’t get distracted. In (Acts 28:2-6.) Luke writes “The Islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood, and put it on the fire...a viper fastened itself on his hand, when the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, This man must be a murderer for though he escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. People’s opinions are often fickle, so here’s a response you need to adopt “Shake it off.” These people started off thinking Paul was an escaped criminal, and ended up thinking he was a god. Incredible! There is an important lesson here for us. Beware of those who change their minds about you when your circumstances change. Build your life on those who believe the best about you, and want to bring it out. Behind Paul’s spectacular success in ministry you’ll find people who never stopped believing in him. He writes in, (Romans 16:3-4) “Priscilla and Aquila risked their lives for me”. In (Philippians 2:25) He called Epaphroditus my brother, my fellow worker, and fellow soldier,..and he ministered to my need. He says in (2Timothy 1:16) that Onesiphonus often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. Look for such people to build you up they are out there, and ignore your critics. If God has called you He will sustain you in your ministry for Him Some issues are so crucial that, until you have resolved them, you can’t move forward or enjoy God’s blessing in your life. Joshua faced such an issue when he stood before the towering walls of Jericho, the strongest city in the Promised Land and the first that had to be conquered. In Joshua 5;13-15) we read “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho he lifted his eyes...and behold, a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn...and Joshua… said to him “Are you for us or for our adversaries? And he answered, “No, but as the commander of the army of The Lord I have now come” And Joshua.. worshipped him and said to him, “What does my Lord say to his servant” Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot because the place where you stand is holy and Joshua did so.” I believe if we pray and stand-up for God’s principals of truth, Justice and Peace, He will be there for us. Who can ask for more, “If God is for us, Who can be against us.” Thank you for reading my thoughts on preparing for attack. Unfortunately it’s the way of the world we live in. But, anything we do for God is blessed by Him and He will protect us and His ministry, if we suffer or are ridiculed it’s all for Jesus and that makes it a privilege so be happy, God is with us. Phaline. ---------------------------------------

31. RESTORATION.

I first became a fully committed Christian fifty years ago everything was wonderful, I recognised God’s hand in every part of my life, I was riding the crest of the wave feeling very blessed. Then... On the 6th of April 1975, my husband John had the first of several heart attacks, each one taking its toll, not only on him, but on the rest of our family and friends, we had seven children, two girls and five boys. John was running his own Bricklaying business with a crew of about five men. We had our own Summerhill stone four bedroom home complete with swimming pool, B-B-Q area, double garage. and a nice garden in a good suburb of Christchurch, all this on a very low-interest Government loan. Everything had been going so well until the”Bombshell” hit. I couldn’t understand it, why did this have to happen to me? I prayed like never before for my husband’s life, and God graciously heard me, and answered my prayer, but there were certain conditions which had to be met. Still not understanding, back to our knees we went, I felt like Job, we hadn’t done anything wrong, we had been Faithful and really tried to do all that God required of us But things just kept getting worse. John had to give up his business, we had to sell-up, our lovely home and he had to find lighter work, It took thirteen years, a number of heart attacks, several visits to Cardiologists for Scans, X Rays etc. and thousands of pills, before He decided to accept the fact that He wasn’t the man he used to be These were the hardest years of my life. John was in and out of hospital, the children were aged from seven to eighteen years old. Not being able to drive, each day I had to get two buses to and from Princess Margaret hospital, then come home make the dinner for the next day, get the washing hung out, make the school lunches and do the normal house work. The children helped as much as they could, but they also had their homework and team sports to attend. Yes, they were hard years, and without God I could never have done it. I realise now, it was a test to prove my faithfulness not only to God, but to my husband and children as well. Some of our biggest tests come at times of trials. If I hadn’t passed that test, I wouldn’t be where I am today with God. Because John couldn’t do the heavy bricklaying any longer, the business ran its self into the ground, and after we paid all the bills which had accumulated over several years, and paid for the house we now have, we had $600 left to live on till we could get John on to the sickness allowance which took much longer than we anticipated. there were months of red-tape and hoops to jump through. In October 1988 John, our youngest son Simon and I shifted down here, to the house we now occupy. For the first year or so I cried everyday when I thought of the lovely home I had left to come to this. “Why, lord Why” was my daily prayer ”What have I done, please show me” There were no floor coverings or curtains, two fireplaces one at each end of the house, but no firewood. it was so cold I hated it. John spent half our money to buy an in-calf cow, but we had to wait three months for it to calve and for us to learn to milk the animal. (Sometimes God doesn’t reveal his hand, because we have to learn three very important lessons about God through experience, 1. His Love is trustworthy, He will be with us through every situation,‘and there were some doozies’. 2. He can He will and He did sustain and lift us out of many a tough hole in His good time, ie when the lesson was learned 3.We will always remember what God has done for us, and be able to pass it on to others ) in time things did improve but very slowly, John cultivated a vegetable garden, we bought some chickens, sheep and pigs. I sold door-to-door eggs, milk and cream, I also made and sold bread, butter and cheese, John reared, butchered, and sold the pork and with our sons put in a coal range which really helped to warm the place up in the winter. His heart attacks were getting more frequent and eventually he found he couldn’t do much even in the garden, also he didn’t want to be put into care, so we asked our eldest son Gerard who was a Medic in the Air Force in the North Island if he along with his family would consider coming down here to help us, which they did and have been here ever since, Its been great having them here I couldn’t have managed without Gerard, to help me with his sick dad. The other children helped when they could, but they were rearing families of their own mostly in other parts of the country. On the 31st of March 2016. The Lord called John home. My family have rallied round, looked after and helped me through the years of widowhood. And I thank God for each one of them. As far as restoration goes, I haven’t got as lovely a home as I had in Christchurch, But, my relationship with God is far, far greater than I could ever imagine and that would have been enough, but I have learned many more skills, I have more friends and deeper relationships, food we have reared and grown ourselves and a little rainy-day money in the bank, which never was the case in the city. I have no worries and am perfectly happy and best of all I have more quality time to spend with God while doing my writing. I am very very blessed, I want for nothing, yes, I am fully restored. I have given you the short version of what I have been through, (There’s a great deal more). To give you an understanding of God’s Restoration. Whatever life takes from you God can and will restore. He may not give you exactly what you want, or what you think you need, but He will give what’s best for you. Even though you fall under His corrective hand through disobedience, if you repent, He will reinstate you to a place of blessing. But, you say, “What about the time I’ve wasted, the opportunities I’ve squandered, and the mess I’ve made of my life? Sometimes I feel I’ve fallen so low, even God can’t reach me”. ‘Not so! There’s always hope with Jesus. The Bible says “Behold the Lord’s hand is not too short that he cannot save. Nor His ear heavy that he cannot hear”(Isaiah 59;1) God did that for me, and He will be only too happy to do it for you, if you stay faithful and trust Him. After wasting his inheritance, the Prodigal Son returned home penniless and embarrassed, all he wanted was three square meals a day and a servant’s job. But the moment he said “Forgive me,” His Father called for the best robe, the fattest calf the newest shoes and the ring of Sonship, restoring him to his rightful place as a member of the family. Now, if God would do that for those who lived under the law in the Old Testament. How much more will He do for those He has redeemed? So you can go to Him today with confidence knowing He is a God of restoration. In the book of 1 Samuel we read how the Amalekites swept down on David’s home- town and burned it to the ground and took their families captive,When David heard of this, he and his men wept bitterly, (God will allow you to weep and grieve for your loss, but only for a while) then they prayed, and God told them to pursue the enemy. When David and his men caught up with them, they not only got back what they had lost, but much more. For our God is not only a God of restoration, but one of abundance. You may think at this stage that you have waisted so much time, and feel a bit ashamed, but the God who created time made plenty of it. He said in..(Joel 2.25-26) I will restore to you the years the swarming Locust has eaten...the consuming locust...you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never be put to shame.” Notice the word plenty, when God blesses you it will not come from an eye-dropper or from a ration card, No! “His love has no limits, “His Grace has no measure, His power no boundary known to man. For out of the infinite riches of Jesus, He gives and gives, and gives again”(Old Hymn.) And He is still giving me. Ever since Adam and Eve “Blew it” in Eden, God’s desire and plan has been to restore to us all that we have lost. So come to Him today and let His restoration begin. Thank you for reading my take on God’s Word regarding Restoration, It has certainly shown it’s self true in my life, as I’m sure it will for you too if you allow Him to come into yours. Just praise His name and ask Him to show you the way, He will when you take the first step. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Phaline.

30. WHEN GOD DOESN’T ANSWER PRAYER. Sometimes when we pray, and our expectations haven’t been met or, the situation hasn’t changed, or perhaps even worsened, we are confused, bewildered and can’t understand this God who says “Ask and you shall receive.” and “Whatever you ask in My name it will be given to you.” or “Your Heavenly Father knows what you want even before you ask for it.” All these are in Scripture for us to read, understand and use. But, taken out of context they are only giving you half the scripture, It is important that when you read or hear such Scripture, You get the whole verse, in fact I believe to get the full impact and significance of what is being said one needs to read at least a couple of verses on either side of the verse you are concerned with. I read somewhere and I quote “ A Text taken out of Context is a Pretext” so let me explain further. All the above Scriptures are true, and sometimes God does answer us immediately; but, usually He wants us to understand His principles and the way He works. they all have provisos ie. “If you do this I will do that” And God’s provisos are dependent on our Trust, love and commitment to and for Him. He is not a money-machine or a Santa Clause, He gives when it’s good for you and when it’s going to further His Kingdom. That’s why many people bargain with God, “I’ll go to church more, I’ll Tithe more, or have that, “ I’ll be good daddy” attitude.” No, God doesn’t work that way. The truth is;--The more we love, trust and are committed to Him, the more we will understand His ways. This doesn’t happen overnight, but like any healthy relationship it will take time, first there is acquaintance, then trust, which takes a bit longer, then love and last of all commitment. And each of these are dependent on knowledge .As you get to know an acquaintance, you learn how far you can trust love and commit to them. Jesus is longing for our commitment, but we are holding back at different stages, some of us on the love, some on the trust, and some on the commitment stage. We say we love God, and truly believe we do, but, when it comes to the trust and commitment bit we become a little reluctant, why? I think it is because of the invisibility of God, we don’t want to trust or commit to someone or something we can’t hear, see or touch. Yet, that is exactly what Faith is all about. (in John 20 v29) Jesus said to Thomas “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” It’s about not using our natural senses but our spiritual senses, God is teaching us to live on a higher faith level or a (sixth sense). We are not quite there yet. Why? I will explain it this way...When a friend comes to your door, you open it and say “Come on in and make yourself at home,” but that’s not what you mean. What you do mean is... You’re welcome in the lounge, Dining room, Bathroom and maybe the kitchen, but don’t go into any of my other rooms draws or cupboards, you don’t want them to see your mess. What Jesus wants is to get into all the rooms, draws and cupboards of your heart so that He can clean it up. Only when we permit Him to do that will we be in a position to commit to Him. He doesn’t want to be a guest in Your heart, He wants an intermit relationship with you and me. He wants us to understand that His love for us is higher than the sky, deeper than the deepest ocean and longer and wider than the equator which goes right round the whole earth, and certainly beyond our mess. So our mess is no problem to Him. In fact the problem is ours, because we know deep down what God wants, but, we don’t want to part with our mess, now understand this, He’s not asking you to give up your mess, he’s asking you to give it to Him and allow Him to deal with it. Because we are all different He deals with each of us differently, I know a lady who was a big-time gambler, The horses, Bingo, Lotto, Whatever. She was spending hundreds of housekeeping dollars. on her addiction and dishonesty, her husband worked hard, but there still wasn’t enough to meet the family budget, She knew she had a problem and tried hard to drop it, but to no avail, she even went to counselling for months with no success, but when she gave her problem to the Lord, she found she gradually didn’t get the urge or feel like gambling as much, and eventually left off gambling all together. Usually, He wont take all your mess away at once, but as you trust Him more and more, and that trust turns to a deep love you will see Him work in your life and one day you truly will be able to say to The Lord “Make yourself at home” and mean it, because what has happened on the inside is now apparent on the outside. Because every room, draw and cupboard in your heart will be open to Him and His Holy Spirit. Jesus wants to dwell with you 24/7 not just on Sundays at church or when He is invited. And, do you know what!! When you have that sort of relationship with Him and ask Him for something no matter what it is, your prayer will line up with His will as you say “Your Will Be Done.” Because you know in your heart of hearts that whatever is His Will is the very best answer for all concerned, even if it doesn’t line-up with what you originally prayed for. You will submit to it, not because you have received or not received your request, but because of the complete love, trust and commitment you now have in Christ. Now as your love, trust and submission becomes more evident, so will the power of God work in your life, Perhaps not in great dramatic ways but slowly, you will notice and hear God speaking to you about family and friends giving you words of insight, encouragement and understanding. You will not be so preoccupied with this world and all the theatrics going on all around you, but will be open to the Spirit of God and what He is telling you to say and do for particular people, He must be free to enter every room of your life, to Live with you, as you discuss your daily routine while living with Him paying attention to the words of wisdom He imparts to you, if you’re not sure ask again, sometimes that’s a bit hard but go with it. Having Spiritual intimacy with God is for you not just about you. God will give you as much of His power as you can handle without pride taking over, I believe that’s why God dishes it out very slowly. And only to people who can handle it. Power belongs to God, If you want His Power, He will give it to you, but only if He can come and dwell (LIVE) with you. You and I are the Temple of God. If we expect God Almighty the Creator of the Universe to come and live with us, we must keep our Temple Pure and Holy. This is not easy, convenient or comfortable. It needs not only an everyday clean up, but several times a day, starting when you wake each morning, I used to set my alarm for every hour or two, just to say a short prayer of Praise or thanksgiving to our God. To acknowledge Him and His presence, but now I don’t need to because I find myself speaking to Him all the time, His response is always clear, confident and caring. I don’t know if any of you have been to Niagara Falls. They separate North America from Canada, absolutely beautiful, Going from the American side to the Canadian border, one is able to get an apartment in the nearby high-rise motels where you can see “The Falls” way in the distance, this wets your appetite for the next day when you are going to cross the border. The next day you do cross the border where there’s a large fenced park, now you can hear the Thundering Falls in the distance and even feel the odd bit of spray sting your face, your excitement is growing, as you are admitted into another area where there’s a pool and you are given a raincoat and umbrella and taken on a launch closer to the monster Falls. There you get to experience the thunder, the roar, the pouring spray like rain and the complete soaking of “Niagara Falls.” It’s an experience and opportunity you wouldn’t want to miss. I have told you this story to try to explain the adventure you can have When committing to Christ, The journey, the anticipation and the Glorious experience of a knowing, trusting and loving commitment to Jesus. Yes, it takes time, all good relationships do, but, there’s none more rewarding than having the very presence of Almighty God so close and personal. No, it does not all come at once or happen overnight, but, like the experience of going to Niagara Falls, it comes in stages, slowly you will pass through experience after experience as you learn to recognise, listen and trust the leading of God’s Holy Spirit, and to communicate with Him in His own language of love, trust and Commitment. And the best part of all is..As you regularly renew your commitment to Christ, this wonderful Relationship and experience will never fade or come to an end. As His Grace and presence become stronger and stronger in your life. It will stay, and in fact, improve during the rest of your stay here on earth and go with you into eternity. And when you get to Heaven God wont be a stranger you are meeting for the first time, No, Your relationship is already established. Thank you for reading my thoughts on this subject. I have lived in this world a long, long time. I have no great attributes or credentials. My only boast is.. The God of all Creation Knows me by name because I am fully committed to Him and His Word. Come and join us. You will never regret it. God bless us All in Jesus Name. Phaline.

29. GOD GIVEN GOALS. John 3 v6.

We all have been given Goals in life and the appropriate giftings to achieve them, Our God is the giver of both. In the above scripture Jesus said “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. (John 3. 6.) When you have a desire that is born of the flesh, don’t expect God to fulfil it. Its okay to admire and learn from gifted, successful people, as long as you don’t try to duplicate them. It’s all right to emulate their good character and qualities even seek their input, but you need to go to God the architect of each of our lives and ask Him to show you His blueprint for your life. Even though David’s desire was to build The Temple, God told him his son Solomon, would ultimately build it. David’s job was to raise the money and materials for the project. If you’re a make-it-happen sort of person, that will go against your grain. But if you let Him, God’s Spirit will lead you as He did Paul (see Acts 16.6) when he (Paul0 attempted to go to Asia, Bithynia, and Troas. God spoke to him in a vision telling him “No, I want you to go to Macedonia Instead. God will come to your help if you keep in communication with Him. This happened for me...When My Husband John was thirty nine years old he was diagnosed with a serious Heart condition, We had a growing family of seven. John had been successfully running his own Brick laying business in Christchurch for several years. We prayed a great deal about his condition, and eventually in October 1988 the Lord led us down here to Waimate, where John could have a quieter life. After a few years of lifestyle farming, his health worsened and in 2016 The Lord took him home. That left me stuck out here, with no licence, (The result of very poor eyesight a problem which I have had since berth) and no bus or taxi service. Although friends and family were and still are very good to me, I didn’t feel much use to God or anyone else. So I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to do with the rest of my life. At the age of seventy something I started writing, sat, quietly and studied, I gained a couple of diplomas through correspondence and here I am writing for God, I will never be a great author or anything like that, but I can occupy my remaining years by passing on the knowledge and experience I have, and hopefully fill the goal God has put in front of me. I didn’t ever dream God would use me in this way, but Like Abraham I looked at what I had. I came from a Christian Home, had A Good Christian Education, I have travelled a bit, married a Christian and brought up seven children. I have always been interested in learning Scripture and writing stories. I gained two diplomas, and have written a couple of books. So it wasn’t too difficult to see where God was leading me. And so it will be with anyone who wants to see where God is leading them, see what gifts and talents you have, God gave them to you to use in the furtherance of His Kingdom. Let Him set your goals and You will be heading in the right direction. Book shops are full of volumes telling you, you can be anything you want to be, and while there’s some truth in that, it’s not the whole truth. The Truth is;-- God has gifted, talented and enabled each of us to accomplish different achievements for the benefit of His Kingdom. If you want to be a pianist or Oprah Singer but hate all the practise it entails to be one, forget it, you wont succeed, but if you are quite happy to dig up dirt all day and search for archaeological remains, take it to God and ask Him if that’s what you should be doing. God will only empower you to be what He has gifted enabled and equipped you to be. God told Jeremiah “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah replied “Alas Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord said to me “Do not say I am too young. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.” declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out His hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.” (Jeremiah 1;5-9). That was the Scripture I received from the Lord, when He first asked me to follow Him, I told Him I was almost blind and for that reason found learning very difficult, within a week I was given a special magnifying glass and also a large print bible. I found that God doesn’t ask us to do anything without equipping us and giving us the grace to do it, so that His will can be accomplished.. It’s hard work yes!, and can only be achieved by His Will, Grace and Input. Also He chooses the most unlikely and ill equipped people to do such work. Why? So neither Jeremiah nor I or anybody else can claim the Glory which belongs to Him alone. When God equips you with one talent, He doesn’t give you a five-talent assignment and vice versa see (Matthew 25;14-15) and here’s the good news the one talent person and the five talent person will stand before Him and hear the same commendation “Well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25.21.) All He wants is our cooperation, He’ll do the rest. When you recognise and embrace God’s plan for your life you will tap into the power you will need to fulfil it. Keep trusting in God, Yes, You will make mistakes, but don’t let that derail you, or gravitate you to false humility which will handicap you spiritually, mentally and emotionally. In ” (Prov.18;21)”As surely as the tongue can bring death or life” You must learn to speak God’s word over the vision He has given you. It’s a mistake to think you can play God’s role or that He will play yours. But once you understand your personal assignment and tap into His power, you can start believing for success, regardless of what obstacles may stand in your way. When you know you’re in the Will of God, doing what He told you to do, You can stand confidently on the following Scriptures. (Zechariah 4;6) (Joshua 23;10) (Psalm138;-3). And you will know you are not alone, God is with You. (Isaiah 43;4.) “I will give men for you and people for your life.” God will always send people to help you with your assignment. Personally speaking I am eternally grateful to God for all the friends He has given me over the years that have helped me, not only with my Handicap (lack of sight) but also with what I believe is my God-given assignment. Without such friends and family, many of the things I have done would not have been possible. I am forever grateful to them for answering God’s call and to my God for sending them my way. We need to ask God to send people who belong in our life. In Exodus 17, we read, as long as Moses kept his hands raised Israel’s armies prevailed in battle, but when he grew tired the battle went the other way. So Aaron and Hur stood by Moses and held up his hands until victory over the Amalekites had been achieved. You need people who will hold up your hands and strengthen you. Paul took an entire chapter of the New Testament to acknowledge and thank all those who had made it possible for him to succeed in his calling. Some of us are stubborn and self-centred; and hold the philosophy ‘it’s my way or the highway’ with that attitude you will burn through people, don’t do it! When God sends gifted people into your life, acknowledge, respect, train, motivate and reward them, by doing that, you will fulfil, your goal and create a win/win situation for everybody. Discern who belongs in your life and who doesn’t. One of the toughest parts of reaching your goal is discovering that some of the people closest to you don’t share it or want to be part of it. You can spend years trying to convince them. You may even be able to buy their short-term loyalty, but eventually they’ll leave you, often breaking your heart in the process. (In 2 Timothy1-15.) Paul writes..”All those in Asia have turned away from me” One can almost hear the heartache and disappointment in his words. When God gives you a great goal you may experience the same thing. Somebody once said “In prosperity our friends know us; In adversity we know our friends” How true!! Here are some scriptural references you may like to look up (Job 19.19) (Psalm 38.v11.) (Proverbs 25.19) The truth is people who don’t respect your goal will detract from it, and if you insist on holding on to them, they will end up hurting you. In (Matthew 10.14) Jesus tells us “If you are not welcomed in a place, shake the dust of that place off your feet.” In order to reach your God given goal, sometimes you have to do that. God told the Prophet Habakkuk “Write down the vision and make it plane...So that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and not delay” Note the word delay, God can give a vision overnight. But usually it wont be fulfilled overnight. You’ll face disappointments, discouragements and delays. Because your vision always costs more than you estimated and takes longer than you planed, it can become blurred by your circumstances and emotions. That’s why it’s so important to write it down and keep it in front of you! Why did God tell Abraham that his children would be as numerous as the stars in Heaven? Because stars are something you can physically look at and count. (Proverbs 29.18 ) tells us “Where there is no vision the people perish “ the word “perish” suggests something that’s slowly decaying. And that’s what happens when you don’t keep your God-Given vision in front of you. With a clear-cut written goal, You’ll always know where you are at, and remember what God has called you to do. Thank you for reading my thoughts on “God’s Goals For Your Life” by following the principles I’ve mentioned, and allowing God to go ahead of you, you will succeed. Pray Often, Keep Faithful, and “Fear Not”...Then He will go ahead of you, and be your Rear Guard as well. … God Bless and keep us all in the palm of His hand. Phaline. -----------------------

28 FORGIVENESS.

Forgiveness is one of the most necessary attributes a Christian has to cultivate, also one of the most difficult to achieve, because as Christians, we are required to forgive. When Peter asked Jesus How many times he should forgive his brother he was being quite magnanimous in saying “Seven times!” but Jesus said “No, seventy times seven”, that means as many times as he asks to be forgiven. There is no limit to forgiveness. That’s hard eh! but, look at it this way, if we want to be forgiven several times, (and often for the same sin) we too have to forgive others. “Forgive me my sin as I forgive others their sins” That means in the same way, so, if we hold back our forgiveness so will God hold back His forgiveness to us. In another scripture Jesus says” Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven” So yours and my forgiveness is dependent on us forgiving others. If we don’t want it to be held against us we have to loose others here on earth. So we have to think very carefully when we hold a grudge it could very easily come back to bight us. . Here is a story I heard today, I’d like to pass it on to you.--- “My name is Trevor, but people call me Trev, I am now forty four years old. When I was a child, night after night I was beaten by my father when he came home from the pub in a drunken rage. So, the first chance I got I ran away from home, I was fourteen. In time the physical scars faded, but the emotional ones still haunted me, leaving me with a hatred for my father which led me into fits of depression stuck in the pain of the past which cost me valuable relationships. Even the people who loved me, despaired and grow weary that I’d ever get better despite their efforts to help me. Then a friend told me about Jesus, she was kind enough to spend time with me, it took several months. but Jesus slowly changed my life and now I’m free.” That was Trev’s story, Do you know someone like that? or are you that someone? Do you want to move towards healing and find joy? You can. Trevor remembers when he agreed to pray for his dad and forgave him. That was when the healing started and now he is spiritually and emotionally healed, he has kept on forgiving and praying for his father and those old memories no longer hold him prisoner. Jesus said “pray for those who spitefully use you (Luke 6.28)” The word “Spiteful” means you did nothing to cause or deserve it, That your offender hurt you for reasons you may never understand. That’s why Jesus prayed on the cross,”Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”(Luke 23. 34.) That Scripture doesn’t let the offender off the hook, No, they will have to live with the guilt of what they have done, and unless they turn to God for forgiveness they’ll never have peace, but you will. When you decide to forgive someone and pray for them. You can then take back your power and reclaim your life. Sometimes, we think we have forgiven someone, but we still harbour hard feelings towards them; this is natural, but not Christian, (few things in Human nature are) here are some indications that one has some work to do in this area. We become resentful every time we think of them, We avoid them, We often rehearse the incident mentally, We take every opportunity to remind them of what they did to us. What we are doing is justifying an unforgiving attitude. (Berrying the axe and marking the spot) It is well for us to remember,… There are two things God will not share, (1) His Glory (Isaiah 42.8.) and (2) His right to settle the score. (Romans12.19-21) Paul writes Never take revenge. The Scriptures say “I will take revenge, I will pay them back”says The Lord, Instead, If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads. Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” One of the main problems with unforgiven sin is, it causes resentment which chains you to the offender, but you’re the one who ends up as a hostage not only to sin, but to that person. Dwelling on something your parents, Spouse teacher or coach did to you, or, how someone else took credit for the work you had done or, you believe someone said something about you which may or may not be true, all these things pile up and make you, not them, become a very bitter person, who goes around miserable, while the person who hurt you doesn’t even know you are upset. Don’t give anyone that kind of control over your life, Drop it, forgive, hand it over to God, Trust Him to work it out. Then move on. Sometimes truly forgiving a person is an extremely difficult thing to do, it requires a humble spirit, a tender heart and a profound love for God. All these things will keep God on His throne while one goes through what can be a very traumatic experience, Especially when it involves family relationships. Such offences cut deep into our emotions and sometimes last for generations one may even find they need professional help. Find a good Christian professional, they can and will help not only mentally but Spiritually and emotionally as well. When it comes to God’s forgiveness, Knowing is better than feeling. The Bible says, “The greater the offence, the greater the need to forgive the offender in order to get on with your life. Here’s how God’s forgiveness works; consciousness of sin leads to conviction of sin, and conviction of sin leads to confession of sin, confession of sin leads to cleansing of sin, and cleansing of sin leads to confidence before God (see 1 John 3 21-22). You say “but I don’t feel worthy of God’s forgiveness.” You will never be worthy of it! Because His forgiveness is not based on your worthiness, but on Christ’s worthiness! Furthermore, God is not like your parents, teachers or football coach; He doesn’t insist you squirm and be missable for a few days so that you will ‘learn your lesson’ before He forgives you. That would mean playing a part in earning His forgiveness NO! It’s by God’s Grace, and His Grace alone That We are forgiven (see Ephesians 2 8-9.)! Grace means “undeserved favour”. So when God forgives you, honour Him by forgiving yourself and moving forward. Two Commandments Jesus gave, Love God and love your neighbour, If we always try to keep these two commandments in mind we will find that the most loving thing we can do for someone is to try and think the best of them, give them the benefit of the doubt, find a reason or even an excuse why they said or did something that may have upset us. We all have off days and get a bit grouchy at times due to anything from bad weather to our hormones and a million things between. Remember, don’t react, keep the door (mouth) shut and smile. God will help you if you take the first step towards peace forgiveness and reconciliation. Thank you for reading this word on Forgiveness and be grateful that while we were still sinners, Jesus came, died and forgave us our sins to justify us before Almighty God His Father, thus providing us with the only way to get to Heaven. Thank You Lord Jesus. Amen. Phaline. ----------------------------------------