Year: 2019

WISDOM ON THE WAY

Posted on by Olaf

Moral dilemmas and ethics have always been around and always will be whilst the earth spins – in a certain situation, what is the right thing to do, think or say?   Journalists, the media, writers of books and films know that these make good stories which sell by holding a mirror up to entertain and enthral us.  On the way through life, no doubt you’ve had some dilemmas to consider and you know there will be more to come.  How can we know what is wise?  The young should be able to look to their elders for maturity and wisdom as to the right way to take when facing a moral crossroads.  We are often confronted with professionals and experts but not often with wisdom.  What sometimes passes as worldy wisdom often falls short of God’s wisdom as revealed in the Bible.  Where are you drawing your wisdom from for your dilemmas?  Some and some – here are some carefully selected for you to sift through:

NEW EVERY MORNING

Posted on by Olaf

Have you ever been tempted to define yourself by your failure rather than by the grace of God?  When that thought comes, you need to deal with it quickly or it threatens to ruin not just your day but your life!  The Bible is a frank record of those who failed but began again through the grace of God – take Peter, Thomas and Paul for example.  Whether your failure is caused by wrong actions, wrong belief or wrong deeds, God’s grace is enough as it was for each one of these examples.  Quotes from famous people tend to major on what we can learn from failure with the incentive that if we’ve never failed then we’ve never tried.  Whilst there’s truth in this, some failure for a Christian can cripple them and rot the soul – at that point, only God’s Word can rehabilitate and heal the soul: 

  • ‘Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness’ – Lamentations 3:22-23

on PURPOSE

Posted on by Olaf

If you were able to ask this Praying Mantis what its life’s purpose is, it’s unlikely you would get an answer!  And yet it would go about its business of survival and reproduction without a further comment! Many human beings act in the same way on the treadmill of life in their established daily routines, giving little thought as to any ‘grand purpose’. When a baby takes its first breath, it has no concept of there being a purpose to life and certainly has no idea that there is one.  Growing through the life cycle, most people will think about the big question of ‘why am I here’, for it is the most important thing a person wants to discover. Sadly, the majority will draw their last breath without discovering life’s big purpose.

MAKE MUSIC

Posted on by Olaf

Do you have music in your heart? Take a moment to consider what is playing – heavy drums and pounding bass of the world that drown out your inner soul-space or another music? We all listen to something, even if we are hard of hearing there will be some inner music.  Apparently there is music in space: just listen to the sound recorded on this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQL53eQ0cNA.  Who is writing the tune, making the instruments and conducting the universal sounds?! Each one of us is an instrument in this cosmic pattern and makes a sound that is either in harmony or discordant, never mind the body sounds that ‘electronic tattoos’ are now able to pick up – each of us has a unique sound signature! 

FREEDOM

Posted on by Olaf

The Channel Island of Jersey has a public area known as Liberation Square where freedom from military occupation is celebrated annually on the 9th of May.  There are still many signs on the island of that painful occupation during World War Two – discarded bunkers, gun towers and casemates ravage the otherwise beautiful coastland as reminders of Hitler’s mighty ‘Atlantic Wall’.  A day after VE Day, German forces surrendered unconditionally and Jersey found precious freedom again.  It is not just in war that people lose freedom and live under the tyranny of occupation – many are living like this today but this is not the destiny for a child of God.  Are you on the freedom path?

A GENEROUS NATURE

Posted on by Olaf

How often do you notice the generosity of God shown to us in nature?  Just take this wayside picture from Jersey Island, despite pouring rain, there was beauty all round and in the cobwebs knitted into the heather were seemingly dazzling jewels dripping like diamond necklaces – thrilling if we have eyes to see.  God’s nature is a generous one which can be seen in the multiplicity of acorns, conkers, chestnuts, sweetcorn, wheat, lighting, sensory abilities, herbs, fragrances, music and, of course, people.  Unsurprisingly, the generosity of his nature is unending, not least to us in the grace and mercy we find he gives us. 

CHILDLIKE and MATURE?

Posted on by Olaf

Do you think of yourself as childish or childlike?  What do you think the difference is?  Do you think of yourself as mature or immature?  How would you define those terms?!  Being a child at heart is different to being childish and immature.  Can you still enjoy the ‘merry-go-round’, if that is what life is to you, or do you now look out to sea past the waves with a heavy and solemn disposition?  Are your eyes still capable of childlike wonder or have the increasing years knocked the stuffing out of you? 

  • ‘I do believe in the old saying, ‘What does not kill you makes you stronger.’ Our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are. By overcoming difficulties, we gain strength and maturity’ – Angelina Jolie

a life of WORSHIP and WONDER

Posted on by Olaf

Life is made up of a rich tapestry – dark and light threads, bright and dull colours, rough and smooth textures.  You may have heard it said, turn the cloth one way and it is messy, a bit ugly with tied knots and makes little sense; but then, turn it over, and it is a fine woven lovingly embroidered tapestry telling a beautiful life story.  Do you see your life as a work of art full of worship and wonder or as a mess?  The Embroiderer calls us to a relationship where the wonder brings out the worship.  Or as Thomas Carlisle puts it: ‘Wonder is the basis of worship’.

like a HAMMER

Posted on by Olaf

Have you ever heard a comforting book of fiction or poetry described as being like a hammer?  It doesn’t happen!  Then come before the Word of God and you’ll discover what the prophet Jeremiah meant: ‘”Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’ – Jeremiah 23:29.  Christians regard the Bible as the authoritative Word of the Living God full of Absolute Truth – if they are wrong, the Bible is ‘absolutely irrelevant’ and people should revert to living based on their ‘relative suppositions’.  Presidents, Royalty, scientists, brilliant legal minds and ordinary people have been convinced that it is God’s Word for life – how about you? 

•  ‘Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face’ – Ronald Reagan

surrendering MASKS

Posted on by Olaf

Go back to the 15th Century and you will find that this was when Masquerade Balls began, people wearing masks at public events. It gave people the opportunity to pretend to be someone else, to behave and speak differently, even opening up the way for crime and lewdness.  Many films feature heroes and villains in masks such as The Mask of Zorro, Darth Vader, Phantom of the Opera and Batman.   Whilst it may seem ‘fun’, it is essentially deceitful.  Double lives have been lived by spies, bigamists and those using social media to groom the vulnerable.    To what extent would you agree that we all have lived behind masks at one time or another?

  • ‘My guiding principles in life are to be honest, genuine, thoughtful and caring’ – Prince William