One of my favourites books in the Old Testament is the book of Esther. Every once in a while, I go back to it and every time I learn more about God. His love for His people, His sovereignty, His justice and how His plan cannot be thwarted.

The book of Esther is the only book in the Bible that does not mention God (this is probably a good piece of Bible trivia for a quiz). It is absolutely fascinating to see how God is present and working through it all. If you have never read it, I would suggest you get a cup of coffee or tea and get to it.

I want to focus on a girl who became queen: Esther. She was an orphan and was raised by her cousin, Mordecai. Mordecai was carried away from Jerusalem when the Babylonians conquered the city and the people of God went into exile. We don’t know how old Esther was when the events of the book took place. What we know is that a beauty contest had been put in place to find a new queen for king Ahasuerus. He was the king of Persia. All virgins from throughout the empire were to be taken to Susa the capital and after the appointed time spent in the harem they were to be presented to the king and he would, eventually, choose a new queen. This is a very simple summary of what was going on. So, Esther was beautiful and was taken to the king’s palace and placed with all the other girls under the custody of Hegai (he looked after the women).

“Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.⁸ When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. ⁹ She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem”. Esther 2:7-9

Esther won Hegai’s favor and the favor of all she came across. Although the Bible does not tell us this, I would like to imagine that Esther was a kind, well mannered and polite person. The Bible tells us that the king loved Esther more than the other women and he made her his queen.

“She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.¹⁷ Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti”. Esther 2:16-17

Another thing we learn about Esther is that she respected Mordecai and obeyed him. Mordecai had instructed Esther to keep her race, her people, a secret.

“But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up”. Esther 2:20

At this point life seemed good for Esther in Susa. In fact, although the Jewish people were in exile, away from their home, things seemed to be going as well as they could. Until Hama, a high official in the kingdom (probably a prime minister in our days), took offense when Mordecai would not bow before him. He was so outraged that he plotted to have all the Jews killed.

“Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods”.  Esther 3:13

All Jews, men, women, young and old were to be annihilated. That included Esther. She first learned about it from Mordecai. He told her what was going to happened and he urged her to go speak to the king and plead for her people. Can you imagine what this young woman was feeling? First she was probably shocked that such evil had been plotted and she must have been filled with fear as she knew no one could go into the king’s presence without being summoned. I don’t imagine queen Elizabeth would have shouted “away with your head” to Prince Phillip if he walked into the throne room when she wasn’t expecting him. But that is what could happen to anyone in Ahasuerus’s palace if they just walked into the king’s room unexpectedly. Her fear was real and she sent word to Mordecai.

“All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” Esther 4:11

What happens next is really quite remarkable. Mordecai calls Esther out. She is the queen and not only that she is a Jew. It is not just a coincidence she is where she is. It was God’s plan all along!

“he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. ¹⁴ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:13-14

You and I might think this a bit harsh maybe too much to ask of a young woman, but we know, because we can read in the Bible that God had used individuals before to bring about his purposes time and time again. What is even more remarkable is that Esther had hardly any time to think about how to answer Mordecai, but she showed in her response that she feared the Lord and was prepared to seek His guidance and let Him do, through her and to her, whatever was necessary. She sought God through prayer.

“Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” Esther 15-16

It is here that we begin to see that Esther was relying on her God for courage. She fasted with her ladies and went through with the plan. She went to the king’s hall, not knowing if she was going to be granted an audience or be killed. But she went. She had also made a plan. This shows that she was resourceful. I love the fact that she used what she knew about the king (the court and customs) to get his attention. She planned to offer the king and his official, Hama, the enemy of the Jews, a banquet.

Esther was also focused on her purpose. She was offered anything, up to half the kingdom, when the king granted her an audience. I wonder what any of us would have done. Would we have been tempted to ask for money and maybe a secure house far away to hide? Not Esther. She remained focused on her plan and it pleased the king to attend her banquet and he took Hama. Esther kept the king in suspense just long enough. He obviously knew she wanted to ask for something. He was curious. But she told him to come back to another banquet with Hama the following day and she promised to answer his questions. Talk about courage.

When the king and Hama came to the second banquet offered by queen Esther, Ahasuerus asked again:

“Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” Esther 7:1

I love the way Esther speaks to the king. Her humility and honesty.

“Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. ⁴ For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king” Esther 7:3-4

There were no demands. No deceit. No pride. There was a plea for her own life and her people. A plea for justice. Esther knew that the decree could not be cancelled. She continued to plead for her people (see Esther 8:5-6) and the king gave his ring to Mordecai, so another decree could be written and so the Jews were allowed to defend themselves. The people of God lived on.

There is so much to be learnt from this account. It is true that we are not living in a country where there is open persecution against God’s people, but there are subtle changes happening everywhere making it more difficult for Christians to stand firm and defend their faith. Sadly, even within the church itself. More than ever we need to have courage to recognise, with God’s help, when we need to stand and say “if I perish, I perish” because of the Gospel.

Who knows why you are a Christian placed in a company as the CEO and the board is just wanting to banish all Christian symbols and make it that no Christian conversation is to be heard in the premises. All because someone took offense one lunch time when another employee, who is a Christian, was praying? Or maybe you are a headteacher, a GP, an ambulance crew, an intelligence officer working for the government, a pharmacist, a student in one of the “top” universities in the country, a mum in the PTA, a gym instructor, who was placed exactly where you are to be courageous in the defence of God’s name. Let’s be courageous in seeking God’s guidance and speaking out without fear against those who seek to crush and silence God’s followers. God maybe not as visible in your situation as you might have liked Him to be but remember He is working His purposes in you.

God bless.

As a child I was fascinated by the sentence “Once upon a time”. That was all I needed to be drawn to a book. What would this story reveal? Was it going to be good or bad? Who would I meet? What was it all about? Was it going to have a happy end, or a sad one? Or maybe both? What kinds of adventure would I be part of? Where would it take me? I would gladly spend hours trying to find out.

When I was a teenager and became a Christian, I was gripped by different kinds of stories. I was amazed to read how real people had encountered God and how He had transformed their lives. I read the account of Jim Elliot and his friend who were killed whilst in the mission field and how his wife ended up going back to witness to the same people who had killed her husband (Through Gates of Splendor). I read the account of how Joni Eareckson Tada was paralyzed age 17 after a diving accident and was confined to a wheelchair and how she has found joy in the middle of her trials because of Jesus (Joni). I lost myself reading Corri Ten Boom story of how her whole family was devasted by war and the accounts of her time in a concentration camp. I particularly remember the episode about the fleas. How could she have seen that as a blessing? (The Hiding Place).

I found myself wondering time and time again, how could it be possible that there are people that love Jesus that much that they will praise Him and tell their stories to witness about His goodness and His faithfulness. Their stories had great impact in my faith. I wanted to have the same faith they had but I certainly wasn’t anything special. How could I ever tell my story. Nothing dramatic had happened to me that caused me so much pain and suffering. I couldn’t see that anyone would be interested in my story.

That might have been true. In fact it was. I will come back to this.

As I grew older I started taking interest in hearing people’s testimonies. I still enjoyed reading about it, but there was something special about hearing someone say how God changed them. Through years in my church in Brazil I heard people sharing how God had provided for their needs - a cheque posted by a long lost friend that arrived precisely at the moment it was needed and even more amazingly, for the correct amount needed. A broken down car that lead to conversations by the road side that helped someone come to faith. How God had provided the correct medication needed to treat an infection in the middle of a jungle whilst visiting missionary friends. People would talk about God’s goodness and describe “normal” situations, such as passing the entrance exam to a University, a new job, a break from looking after very frail elderly parents to recharge, a new Christian friend at work. I could go on and on. I realised that the people sharing their testimonies were like me. Nothing really dramatic had happened to them. But there was a difference. They were not telling their story, they were telling His.

I thought for a long time no one would want to hear my story because it was not dramatic enough or interesting enough. You see, I was thinking about my life, the little “me”. The people that caught my attention when they shared “their” testimony, they talked about Jesus. How He had written, moulded, changed, perfected, designed their story. This was also true about Jim Elliot (actually, his wife told his story), Joni Eareckson Tada and Corrie Ten Boom. They captivated millions because they talked about Jesus.

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 1:12-13:

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard^[and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. (emphasis mine)

In John 4:28-30 we read:

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,  “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”  They came out of the town and made their way toward him. (emphasis mine)

There are plenty more examples in the Bible and all of them point to how God is writing His story through people’s lives. I understood that I needed to tell the story of how Jesus changed me. How He helped me in the little things every day. How He still loved me even when I didn’t obey His commands or did the right thing. There is a song by Casting Crowns called “Make Room” and the the chorus has a line that says: “Is there room in your heart for God to write His story?” Every time I hear that song it makes me think of Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God is at work in me.

One day I was asked to share my “testimony” in church and that was the first time I sat down to think of how God was writing His story in my life. No dramatic encounters, no lightning flashing, nothing of the sort. Only the irresistible Saviour breaking down my heart of stone and giving me a new one. Showing me how much I really needed Him and that nothing I could do would bring me to Him. He had come down to Save me. When I finished reading it to myself I could not contain the tears. God is good, merciful, faithful, powerful, Saviour and He loves me. He loves me. I cannot tell my story any more because I am His. My whole life belongs to Him and His story is worth listening to.

How is Jesus writing His story in your life?

_{Photo by RetroSupply on Unsplash}

Have you ever wondered what the point of ironing clothes is? Clothes get crinkled even before you put them in the wardrobe or fold them to go in a drawer. If you wear them immediately after ironing, still, you find crinkles. That aside, there is the standing for hours, the back that complains for days afterwards, and, I believe that the stubborn clothes multiply themselves whilst in the basket to annoy me. By now you have probably guessed that ironing is not my favourite thing in the world. I do apologise to you if ironing is your favourite job to do around the house.

I am a “perfectionist”. It is hard to admit it, but I am. When I do the ironing I spend many hours making sure each stubborn crinkled line is smoothed and eventually disappears. I can, for a brief moment, look at the ironing board and smile before turning the garment around. Even that simple gesture creates yet another line across my freshly smoothed garment. Urgh! I can feel my blood boiling and my forehead frowning and I often will speak to the garment full of anger and rebuke the ironing board and even the iron itself. Now that I think about it, it must be quite amusing to my husband and children. They must think I am losing my mind. The truth is, frustration fills me completely because I know I will not be happy until all those old and new crinkles are removed and it just means I have to work longer and harder at it.

Let me tell you a story, something that happened a few years ago. Picture the scene, if you can, in your mind: I had been ironing some clothes and after a couple of hours stopped to take them to their owners. I handed a hand full of nicely folded clothes and nicely hung school shirts to my teenage children and asked them to carefully hang them and make sure they would be placed in the correct drawers. A quick “yes mum” was the reply I got, and I left with a smile on my face. An hour later I returned to the same children and gave them more clothes and as I glanced into their bedroom, to my horror, I saw that some of those clothes that I spent hours ironing were on the floor, all ruined as if a hurricane had just flung them everywhere. I cannot even remember what crossed my mind. I believe I cried, turned bright red on my face and walked away with the tears rolling down my face in total disbelief. How could they do that? Didn’t they realise I had spent hours on my feet smoothing those horrible fitted shirts and folding the other garments so carefully, making sure they wouldn’t crinkle too much in the process… how many times I had to refill the iron with water and start over and over until I was happy the clothes looked perfect… outrageous.

As I reflect about this distressing episode I can’t stop but think of how God uses the little (sometimes not so little) mundane things we do around the house to teach us great lessons and to humble us.

In many ways we, Christians are like clothes that need to be ironed. We have all been washed by the precious blood of the Jesus and in Him and through Him we are made perfect (Ephesians 1:7; John 3:16) Thank you Jesus. As we live in this world, we need to be reshaped, stretched, ironed so we can reflect the image of the One who created us. God has started a work in us (Philippians 1:6) and it is as if He has just placed us on that ironing board and has started to smooth each little corner of our hearts.

Some clothes are extremely crinkled because they dried up in the sun or were left at the bottom of the pile for too long and the creases are deep and difficult to iron out. Some are delicate. They hardly need any heat, but they need special attention. They need to be handled carefully on the ironing board and the temperature needs to be adjusted as it is smoothed out. Some garments are in the middle of these two descriptions – they need a bit of TLC and firmness and higher temperatures.

Our hearts are also like that. Some are hardened by time and struggles with sin, unbelief and love for this world. Some are fragile and have just been introduced to Jesus but are still unsure of who He is. And some hearts are suffering, struggling with sin but are not doubting God’s goodness. They are just tired and need to be looked after, encouraged and spurred on.

God knows exactly how each and every heart needs to be treated and “ironed out” so to speak. He knows each crinkle that needs to be smoothed and He knows what temperature to use for each type of irritating line that appears. At times, the lines are too deep and He will need to spray some “water” to make the iron glide more easily. He might need to lift the garment, shake a bit, place it back on the ironing board and apply some pressure on the iron to work on those stubborn “crinkles”. Sometimes He will adjust the temperature… more heat is needed or less heat in the most delicate, already bruised areas. We might look at the iron and wish it would not touch us and we focus on its heavy, hot, steamy surface and forget about the One holding it – He has a full picture of the piece of clothing laid on the board. He can see it all. He knows what we need in each and every situation we are facing in our lives.

Most of all, God is a very patient God. He does not give up on us, or shout in frustration when we insist on holding on to stubborn crinkles (or sin). He continues to work on each heart, all the time. Every second of every day and He will not stop until the day we meet up with Him.

_{Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash}

My husband and I love watching movies or documentaries about treasure, especially, treasure that has been lost at sea. It is fascinating to see how much effort people put into researching a ship’s history, its voyages, the people on board it and all events surrounding its tragic disappearance at sea. Many spend their entire lives searching for a treasure – perhaps they are just after the feeling of accomplishment. Maybe it is the fame that comes with finding an impossible-to-find treasure! It could also be the monetary aspect of finding a treasure – what kind of money will I get for this treasure and what will I do with it. Whatever the reason might be for pursuing a quest to find a lost treasure, people put their lives and relationships on hold in order to do it, and in many cases, they will never find what they spent their whole life looking for.

I also find it interesting that in many fantasy stories we can find treasure too. Take the world of Middle Earth, for example, where Dwarves dug so deep in the earth that they found so many gems and treasures untold. The mines of Moria and the kingdom of Erebor (The Lonely Mountain) are good examples of places where such treasures were found.

We also can see what happened to those who found such treasures. In the case of Erebor (spoiler alert!) the king was consumed by a sickness of the mind and all he could see was the gold, all he wanted was the gold and it transformed him into a greedy and unkind man. His treasure brought him and his people more sorrow than happiness as the treasure was coveted by a dragon – destruction and death came to that kingdom and survivors were scattered.

What are some of the things people might regard as treasure in real life? Is it the jackpot on Euro Millions? Maybe it is the multi-million-pound mansion, the shiny new Tesla in the garage, the Rolls-Royce, the jaw dropping magnificent Mega-Yacht moored in a Marina somewhere exotic, expensive and nice. For some it will be anything Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Prada, any Picasso and so on. For some their treasure is their fame and reputation. The things people desire the most will be their treasures. Some will spend all their effort in order to find these treasures. 

I know about a treasure which is far greater in value and far more important than any treasure ever found or yet to be found. That treasure is a relationship with the Creator, Mighty Saviour, Ruler of all things – God.

God created all humans in his image (Genesis 1:26-27), and He set eternity
in the hearts of man and only He can fill it (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  He is the only treasure which will satisfy us. All good treasure hunting involves research, adventure, discovery to be made along the way. Tools are needed for the journey and, of course, a map.  

The Bible is the place we need to journey to when it comes to “finding” our relationship with God. In a treasure map the “x” marks the spot where the treasure is hidden. The same can be said of our terrain and our map to finding our most valuable treasure. Jesus marks the spot. It is through Him that we gain access to the Father. Jesus said in John 14:6-7

^“6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus is the only way to the Father. God loves each one of us and He desires to have a relationship with us. Some might find it difficult to have a relationship with an invisible God. The Bible tells us all we need to know about God and as it is stated above in verse 7 of John 14, Jesus said: “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.”

In Colossians 1:15-20 Paul gives us a bit more details about Jesus:

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Jesus’s perfect sinless life, His death in our place and his resurrection mark the “x” on our most amazing and interesting treasure map of all time. All we need now is to start our journey and begin to dig. We need to read our Bibles with enthusiasm and dedication in order to discover the gems hidden in each page, between each line and story about our Father God. We must ask the questions in our hearts and look for the answers deep within the sacred lines penned for our benefit, through the work of the Holy Spirit. What an amazing Creator, God and Lord we have! He loves us in this way, that He sent His Son to die for us and to be the way back to a relationship with Him. (John 3:16)

Happy treasure hunting!

God bless.

Photo by Suhash Villuri on Unsplash

 

 

 

It is a new day, a new year and I find myself looking at all my friends post on Facebook, Instagram wishing their loved ones and their friends a happy new year! For a minute or two I think about the year just gone… a mixed feeling floods my heart. It has been a very strange year: hybrid education for the kids for part of the year due to restrictions imposed due to the “pandemic”. My husband working from home all year round, feeling trapped. Challenges at work. Friends drifting apart. Parenting challenges (so many to count). Frustrations. Hopes shattered. Mask wearing. Frustration. At this point you might be feeling sorry for me and thinking I had a terrible year. Or maybe you are thinking about your year and you have the urge to slap me on the face and tell me to get a grip. I realise that so many people have had it much harder than I have.

So, let me tell you last year was also a very blessed one. I have so much to be thankful for. I saw more of my husband this year than ever before. I saw him grow closer to God and be strengthened in his faith every day. I watched him overcome the struggles at work with a noble attitude I wish I could have. I was able to help my kids more with their school work and I could appreciate their struggles as teenagers. We cried and laughed together and many cuddles were given. We have a pet cat and I discovered I am a cat person after all. I had the privilege to learn a new language (well, still working on it) and I read many books which challenged me and helped me to stay focused on what is important and grow closer to Jesus. I had to put all my trust in Him again and again when tested by human failures. I gained so many new friends and strengthened so many older friendships. What an amazing God we have! Even in the midst of the crazy time we are living in and the strange things we have to adjust to, He has time to work in my heart.

God is good always. He is faithful. He is just. He is sovereign and He reigns over all. He never changes and His promises are true. Thank you Lord!

As I look ahead, I cannot stop thinking of the question people will ask me when I return to work in a few days: what is your new years resolution? What is my resolution? There are so many things I need and want to change. Where do I even begin?

Two verses have been coming to my mind lately:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

My desire is to live each day more like Christ. I pray that the Holy Spirit will help me to offer my live as a living sacrifice and that I will be strong to fight the temptations to conform to the pattern of the world, whatever they might be. That my eyes will be focused on Christ. I hope my priority will be to continue to grow in my faith and trust in God. Before you have the urge to stop reading this post of feel physically sick thinking that I am such a righteous-person, super-Christian that knows all the right things to say, let me tell you, that this could not be further than the truth. This is what I desire. It is a prayer because I know how much I will struggle tomorrow to put my phone down and open my Bible to read it. I know how difficult it will be to say no to watching TV to put time aside to finish reading the many books I have started and to work on worshiping the living God with everything I have. I am sure I will be much quicker to frown than to smile at my kids silliness. I am certain that I will be much quicker to criticise than I will be to offer encouragement through my words and deeds. Nevertheless, my heart desires to walk closer to the author of salvation, the giver of life. Oh how I need Thee! I need His help each day, each moment.

Maybe you feel disappointed whilst reading this. I have no big resolution made. All I really want is to continue my journey here, serving God better. I want to continue to stand firm for Jesus. The world is changing all the time and pressures are being made for those who follow Jesus to change along with it. To conform, to be moulded by it and be flexible in our beliefs. To compromise, so everyone is happy. So everyone is pleased. And so on. I guess you can see the picture.

Please Lord, help me to stand firm and be renewed each day by your Spirit and walk closer to you, so my life can bring glory to your Name alone.

So, to all of you, I wish a blessed year, full of opportunities to grow in your journeys of faith standing firm for Jesus.

God bless.

The weather is nice at the moment and I could even dare to say it feels like summer in England – finally. With that and some of the restrictions imposed by the government during the Coronavirus pandemic starting to easy off, many are meeting together to have celebrations. It has been a difficult year for most. Weddings are going ahead with more guests, football matches are happening again, theatres and cinemas are reopening and pubs are once again very noisy places.

We live in a place where there are plenty of pubs around and we see many young people heading out to the pubs on the weekends. We also hear them late at night, and sometimes, very early in the morning coming home having had one too many drinks. Have you ever seen a drunken person trying to speak cohesively? Walk properly? Make sense of their surroundings or situations?

I have never been drunk, but I grew up watching my uncle destroy his life and his family because of alcohol. He was addicted to it. When he was drunk, he lost control over his mind, senses and he was even violent. He couldn’t hold a job and eventually his marriage broke down and he wasn’t allowed to see his children. He was in and out of hospitals and eventually he died of cirrhosis of the liver. He had a sad life and made everyone who knew him very sad as we watched the consequences of his choices unfold in front of us. A drunken person is never alert, never in control of their senses, never ready to speak or think and they are vulnerable to attacks too.

Maybe it is no coincidence that Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1: 13, “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” (NIV) (emphasis mine). I don’t think that Peter’s audience was made up of drunken people. Maybe they had been before they became Christians and could relate. Perhaps they had seen many drunken people around and would be able to understand the choice of words here.

Why should I worry about this as I already mentioned I have never been drunk and I am not about to. As far as I am aware, I am alert most of the time. Why did Peter choose these words? What do they mean?

Lets have a look at the same verse in the King James Version:  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

The first thing worth mentioning is that in Peter’s time the people used to wear very loose and flowing garments, some still wear them to this day. Therefore they had to gird their garment in order to be ready for any kind of exercise. They had to be prepared in case they had to run. Peter’s audience would have understood what he meant. The ESV translation puts it this way: preparing your minds for action. Perhaps we need to search our hearts and see if we are “securing” the things we believe tightly around us. Are we holding on to the truth that has set us free? Are we preparing our minds with the Gospel truths we have been told? Spurgeon once said: bind the blessed truth of the gospel more closely to your soul than ever. We must be careful that our hearts are not divided and that our minds are fixed on Jesus and on Him alone.

The next thing we need to consider is “be sober”. How are we getting drunk as we live in this world? This is directly linked to the “girding up the loins of our minds”. When we are not prepared, focused on Jesus, holding on to the truth of the Gospel it is very easy to act like a drunk person. We are at risk of loosing all our senses or morality or right and wrong especially in a society where everything goes, as long as you are happy. We are at risk of distorting God’s truth in the name of diversity and tolerance. We are at risk of being attacked by the enemy and taken captive by all sorts of false teaching. We loose sight of Jesus. As a drunk person cannot distinguish between right and wrong in their numbed mind, we become spiritually dazed, numbed, ineffective, fruitless. “Be sober”. Be spiritually sober.

Why? “Because we are to set our hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” Peter celebrate God’s grace in verses 1 to 12. Christianity is based on God’s action to save his people, that is grace and we must hope fully on it. May our gracious God help us as we seek to follow him and be more like Him.

God bless.

The concept of beauty has been in my mind for a while now. What our world sees as beauty and what it promotes as beauty is not necessarily beautiful. Women are bombarded all the time to look the part: young, fit, sexy. There is pressure to look a certain way and it hurts women everywhere from all ages. My daughter told me not long ago that one of her little friends at school told her she is fat because she has a little tummy! She is adorable and she is only 6! She is not fat at all but in her little mind that word is playing now time after time. She keeps looking at herself in the mirror and my heart aches when I think she may not like what she sees. This beauty that the world longs for is ugly. It hurts people and it robs them of their self-esteem.

This beauty for show is not what the Bible teaches. From the beginning God created man and women in His image.

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

How wonderful and liberating is that? To know we were made in God’s image! Of course we forget that and we listen to what the world tells us all the time about our appearance and that is yet another consequence of a fallen world. A world that rejects God and His love. We do not have to listen to that – as Christian women we must stand firm and tell other women, our daughters, granddaughters, sisters, mothers, cousins that what God is after is a heart that loves Him.

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30

We all know that no matter how much we avoid it or try to delay the appearance of old age, for most of us it will come. Our body shape will change and wrinkles will appear. What will be left? Will we be feeling sad when it happens or will we be rejoicing because of the many years God has given us and the wonderful things we have seen and done for His glory? Will we be spending our years trying to impress other people or gain their attention because of the way we look or will we be seeking the Lord with all our hearts and fill our lives with things that are pleasing to Him?

My heart desires to see my daughter living her life to the full, for God, Knowing she was made perfect in His image and that beauty, true beauty, is in seeking His face and worshipping Him. My prayer is that I can be a good example for her and teach her how much God loves her and what a beautiful person she is!

God bless.

P.S.: I do not have anything against women looking after themselves. I have written another post called Mirror, Mirror on the wall you might like to read.

https://thingsoftheheart.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall/

“What would you do if you had one million pounds?” That was the question my friend asked me while we waited for our children in the school playground a few days ago. We were chatting about financial difficulties and she asked me that and proceeded to tell me what she would do with the money. I must confess it was not hard to answer that question. I found myself saying: I would buy a house up front, perhaps a new car, some clothes for all the family, a nice holiday, a boat for my husband, a pony for the children (maybe one each), and I went on and on. I did not even realize that by the time I finished I had spent all the money and some more!

As I drove home all those things kept playing in my mind. I found myself thinking: if only I had those things, life would be so much better! We would have no worries and we would be happy. The more I thought about it the more convinced I was those things would definitely be the solution to all our problems!

What is wrong with this picture you might be wondering! I had let the desire for material things take hold of my heart! When that happened, I took my eyes off God and His faithfulness. I stopped thanking Him for what He gives us everyday. I began to think that those things would be the end of my problems and would make me happy! We do not own a house or a new car. We cannot afford to go on a nice holiday, have a boat or ponies. What we do have is much more valuable than that! We have Jesus. We have His forgiveness and His love. In His great mercy He keeps us healthy and helps us everyday with what we need. God gave my husband and I the love we have for each other and He gave us two beautiful and healthy children.  We have been married for 10 years and are very happy! What more could one want?

When we are busy occupying our minds with the desire for more material things, it is very easy to forget that God, in His grace and mercy, gives us everything and we forget to praise Him. God knows our needs and He promised we would lack nothing.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 not to worry about material things but to seek His kingdom.

²⁵ ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?²⁸ ‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

May God help me be thankful for what He has given me. May I always trust in His promise!

God bless!

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

I have been thinking about the New Year and how we are encouraged by the media to make our New Year’s resolutions. Some people will decide to stop smoking, or drinking. Some will decide to loose some weight. Some will decide to spend more time with their family and not so much time at work. These are all good things! I just wonder how often we are encouraged to look back and thank God for the year that is just ending?!  I like to look back and see how God was present in every moment of the year that is about to finish. How blessed are those who put their trust in Him and can find comfort and peace in Him!

Off course I think about 2014 and think of things I would like to do differently, but I guess, the most import thing I wish for the New Year is to know Jesus better and walk closer to Him. I know if that happens, I will be a better wife, a better mummy, a better friend, a better colleague a better wittiness and over all a better person.

As the year draws to an end my prayer for all of us is that God would surround us with His love and help us all to seek Him more and trust Him more with our lives.

Happy New Year! God bless!

Most people think that the Christmas story begins with the Angel Gabriel telling Mary she had been favoured by God to carry in her womb the Son of God. Then people very often recognise the events that happen between that moment and the actual birth of the Child, as we are all too familiar with the Nativity scenes that so many try to portray, either by performing them or illustrating them.

The story does not begin like that at all. It begins like all true stories do: in the beginning! That is right. Jesus was there in the beginning – He is the Creator. The Bible tells in John 1:1-4:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”

Also in Colossians 1:15-17:

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

In Genesis 1:26 we read:

^” Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”

In the above verse Let us make mankind in our image… God is using the pronouns in the plural (we and our) because Jesus was there, present during the entire creation of the worlds and the universe.

That is where we first see Jesus – in the beginning. In fact He is present throughout the whole history of the greatest rescue plan ever.  The womb was necessary so God in his amazing, infinite love would be made one of us and the manger was just a place to rest that night, while He waited silently to fulfill what had been decided before time began.

Will you look at Jesus this Christmas as a little fragile, dependant, powerless baby or will you worship Him as the Creator?

God bless.