Tag: God

Love

Posted on by Ruth

 

Love is beautiful.

There was a saying that said, “love makes the world go ‘round.” Franklin P Jones made an amendment to this and said, “Love doesn’t make the world go. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile”.

Still another man, a bit of a larrikin, said, “Love is what makes the world go around. So does a bump on the head.”

In fact, if you study the word “love” there are so many varied beliefs about what love really is, that you could fill a couple of encyclopedias. Everyone is an expert on love, what it is, and what it looks like.

For me the true definition of love is this – Almighty God. There is nothing greater than the love of God. It is love in the purest form.

God loved the world (and all its people) so much (more than we can think or imagine) that He gave (willingly and completely) His only Son (Christ Jesus). He loved so completely that there is no one that could give as much as God gave.

When people think of God, they rarely think of love. They might think of God as being harsh, unfair, judgemental, and quick to punish. Yet if God was truly like this, he would not have sent His Son to die for you and me before we even knew. There is no greater definition of love then someone giving their best for those who do not deserve it, see it, or acknowledge it. Yet He did it for you and me anyway. The moment we see how much God loves us, is the day we are changed forever.

The love that God gives, the love that we show others, and love in action is the type of love that is eternal.

1 Corinthians 13 is known as the “love chapter”. Take time to read it. It is the final words of that chapter that reaches my heart – “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” (verse 13)

This Christmas, I would like for you to think on the following song and believe in the One God who loves you now, even while you read these words.

 

The Love of God  – by Frederick M Lehman

 

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell;

It goes beyond the highest star,

And reaches to the lowest hell;

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled,

And pardoned from his sin.

 

Refrain:

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure—

The saints’ and angels’ song.

 

When hoary time shall pass away,

And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,

When men who here refuse to pray,

On rocks and hills and mountains call,

God’s love so sure, shall still endure,

All measureless and strong;

Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—

The saints’ and angels’ song.

 

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

 

May God bless you and keep you. May His love surround you, and give you peace and joy.  May His wonderful message of love give you the understanding of how much He wants to be apart of your life. The relationship you can have with God was only brought about through the life and death of His Son.

– Ruth Lindsay

christmas-2016

Moon and the Son

Posted on by Ruth

Last night we were treated to a beautiful sight of the moon. A “Supermoon” was what they called it. My eldest son and I love to take photos so we went out to see what we could capture on our cameras. (above is a picture I took)

Along with it came the inevitable – a question from my curious offspring – “What is a “supermoon?” Well, being that I was just interested in what it looked like and not what it was, I had to admit that I didn’t have a clue. So I went to ask “Mr Google”. (yes I regularly ask Goggle questions to answer my inquisitive children)

One article described it like this – “A supermoon is a new or full moon closely coinciding with perigee – the moon’s closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit.” It further went on to say this – “The full moon on November 14, 2016, will present the closest supermoon of the year (356,509 kilometers or 221,524 miles). What’s more, this November 14, 2016 full moon will showcase the moon at its closest point to Earth thus far in the 21st century (2001 to 2100), and the moon won’t come this close again until the full moon of November 25, 2034. “.  (1)

I love Google.. sometimes!! I also love that my children challenge me not to become too stale in what I know and what I think.

God often uses these times to teach me something new.

 

Keep learning

 

People often challenge me to keep searching out the Word of God. You see… I didn’t know everything. Surprised? Sometimes it is like I know very little. It causes me to run to the bible and my Strong’s Concordance to find out what the Word of God says. Because when I don’t know, I want to know.

When I hear scripture misquoted. When I hear scripture quoted that I have never heard before. When I hear scripture quoted out of a context that I would normally hear it. When I sense that God wants me to look up His Word…or when I suddenly want to know more. These are the reasons I find myself searching scriptures.

Curiosity is a good thing. Questions should be asked. Admitting that we don’t know everything is a fantastic thing, it keeps us from being a “know-it-all”.

I still remember when one of my children just started school. It was the first week of his schooling. I heard him talking to his little friend in the lounge room and I came a little closer, but just out of sight, to listen.

Son: “I know lots and lots of stuff”

Friend: “yeah me too, I know lots too”

My son leaned closer to his friend and with a knowing look of superior wisdom said, “I think I know more than mum!” To which they both agreed and went on colouring in. To this day I do the same thing when I remember… I smile.

No matter how old you are, we should never believe that we know a lot of “stuff”. I clearly remember that in Nazarene Theological College, our very elderly bible teacher would often walk in the room and ask, with a twinkle in his eye, “Guess what I learnt today?” Since he was as old as the hills (we thought) and that we were so smart (we figured), it always took us by surprise that he needed to learn more (shock).

The older I get, the more I realise I know very little. Especially about my God.

 

The Son

 

In looking at the moon and later at the pictures I took I was reminded once again at the mercy and love of my God. I have been struggling with not doing enough in my service to God. I want so much to serve Him. Sometimes it wants to burst from me. But I want to do it His way only.

I writing this as God is speaking to my heart and reminding me that I just need to do what He wants… that is – have Him shine on me.

This beautiful moon is always there. Every night it is in our night sky. We are not always seen by others, and sometimes the cloud covers us over. It is only when the sun shines upon it that it is seen. Once and a while there is a moon eclipse where the moon is blacked out… and everybody know about that because it happens rarely.

Now I am no scientist, nor do I pretend to know anything about moon, sun or earth, but God used this opportunity to speak to me.

As a Christian, given totally to my God I am already there. Seen before I was born and loved by Him. I have answered His call and I am there, whether people see me or not.

In my younger life, I seem to not have God in my life and many saw this. I was a shadow of what I should be, but He knew I was there. All I needed, was to allow what had come between me and the Son to pass by, and I shone again.

A few years ago, some people saw me fail in a small area of my life. They have no clue why I was hurting and hiding away, but they took pictures in their mind and still to this day assess me on the fact that I didn’t “shine”. They fail to see that I am only a moon. God needs them to see that. I can’t be the bright one, I am not supposed to be. There are times when my flaws are going to be seen, and I am glad they did. Now I can go on with them knowing that I have clay feet and do what God wants anyway.

My life shines in the dark whether people acknowledge it or not. When I pass close to the lives of others and shine bright with the Son, I am noticed the most. Not because I am anything, but because the Son is everything.

So here I am. I will, by the grace of God, continue to be everything God wants me to be and allowing Him to shine on me. In my home… in my street… in my town… and in my country.

And remember… when we are not there to shine on people during the night, is when they look for us the most until the Son shines on them in a new day.

 

Be blessed

 

Ruth

(1) http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-supermoon

 

The roads we travel.

Posted on by Ruth

 

 

 

“Set up signposts to mark your trip home. Get a good map. Study the road conditions. The road out is the road back. Come back, … come back to your hometowns. How long will you flit here and there, indecisive? How long before you make up your fickle mind? God will create a new thing in this land: A transformed woman will embrace the transforming God!” Jeremiah 31:21 MSG

 

Every year between March and September I am on official duty as a footy mum.

This year my sons played their first year in NRL (Rugby League). Just to make things a little more interesting they not only played club football for their home town, but Representative football for the district as well.

While the boys are battling out against other children of their different age groups, I sit on the sideline and watch nervously… or excitedly. There are times when I hold my breath and wait for them to stand back up after hitting the ground or, another child too hard.

A few weeks ago, we were returning home from one such footy trip, with both boys in the car with me. The 4+ hours to drive home was long and the final stages of the drive I was tired and the boys were over sitting in the car. While there was no fighting, it certainly wasn’t too far from the surface and I was glad to turn into our street and driveway.

As a family living in country Queensland Australia, we do a lot of travelling. Most years, we travel around 30 – 40,000 kilometres per year. The roads in all the different directions are varied and require different types of driving.

It was during the last stages of the drive that I found myself pondering… my life was very like the different road trips I do.

 

There are the smooth straight roads

 

This is the main road heading towards the larger towns and cities where we go to some of the footy games, to doctor’s appointments and shopping for items not found in our small country town. Most of it is driven at 100km/hr except for passing through the tiny townships that you would miss if you blinked. The road is, for the most part, very straight.

This road is easy driving, smooth and uncomplicated. It requires very little activity of the brain and while this is easy it is also dangerous. While I am fresh and driving, it will cause very little trouble other than keeping a close eye on other drivers and the speed of my vehicle. But when I am tired, requires me to stay alert and take regular stops to ensure the safety of everyone on board.

Sometimes the road I travel is smooth going, it can cause me to become complacent and not be as alert as I need to be. It only takes a small lack of concentration to drift off course. It only takes another driver lack of sense to endanger my life. And it only takes the sun to be in your eyes for you to fall asleep quickly…

I find that I need to keep an eye on myself to see how alert I am staying with my life. As a Christian it is easy to drift. The world around me can endanger me, while my own attitudes and emotions can run me off the road (or off track).  I can fall asleep if I don’t realise how I am going, and actively do something about it.

 

There are the rough country roads

 

These are the roads that are bumpy and need you to drive the vehicle at the speeds suited for the vehicle you drive and your driving ability. The wildlife is the biggest threat as well as too much confidence and lack of experience.

Kangaroos often sit in the grass and as you approach their position, they jump out in front of your moving vehicle and attempt to get to the other side of the road. This requires you slow as you see them and sometimes be prepared to use the brakes if they continue in their chosen pathway in front of you.

Country roads have surprises like potholes, corrugation and rain-washed channels. All of this requires you keep your full concentration and your eyes looking forward and each side of the road.

Night-time is the worst time to drive. Danger sits in the shadows on the side of the road as the wildlife are no longer easily seen, while in front of you – somewhere in the murky dimness are the potholes – that were somewhat easier to see in daylight.

My experience as a Christian that our walk here on earth is very like this type of road. Experience is not necessarily going to be an advantage to you with what jumps into your way. The night-time of our lives is often harder as we are unable to see what is ahead. There is no coincident that God the Word of God say that He is “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path”. There is also no coincident that He says that he is “a very present help in times of trouble”.

We don’t know what we are about to face or what is up ahead. Even if we have travelled the road many times before, there is no guarantee that it will still be the same this time. God is not only with us in the car, but He has driven it before us, and goes behind us as well. Our past, our now, our future is known and we have nothing to fear.

 

I ride alone

 

I ride a motorbike.  The children at school that I teach religious instruction to, tease me that my bike is a “peewee 50”. I presume that they think that it is not big enough and powerful enough. My bike is a Cruiser… whatever that means! And for those that wish to tell me – I am really, really not interested. Oh BTW.. it is blood red in colour.

I find riding a motorbike to be an “interesting” thing to do. I don’t particularly enjoy it. I ride because I want to keep my ability to do so, and because I have not decided yet that I will sell it. I don’t like feeling the wind, I am not adventurous, and I miss my music. But… I don’t mind the challenge.

Sometimes I do things because it stops me from settling into a rut of “the usual” and it is a little bit different to what I normally do. Being that I am not an adventurous person, I sometimes need to step out of my comfort zone, even if I don’t like it.

It is also very lonely thing to do.

I don’t like times of being alone… accept with God, times when I choose to be alone with Him. But I don’t like it when I feel like I am going through something alone. I would rather have people around me, but that it not always possible. But when I am alone, I am always aware that God is not far away.

I am grateful, that my choice of vehicle that I ride is exactly that. It is my my choice. I can choose whether I ride a motorbike or a car, bus, train or airplane. Not so in my daily journey on this earth. Often those choices are made for me, often by circumstances beyond my control. It is how I cope with that journey that make the difference. Do I see it as a joy and a privilege or a complete drag? Do I see it as a growing experience or not?

 

Loud or not allowed?

 

When I travel with my children, the music in the car is very VERY loud. The car vibrates and I am sure that you can hear our car coming before you see it. Because we drive in the country, there is only the wildlife and the odd occasional town to bother with the sound. I make the children turn down the music before we get to the town and while we drive through the town… then it goes up again.

Driving with my husband is the opposite. We listen to very little music. He likes podcasts, sermons and music on as background. I feel my children’s eyes roll as they look at me. He will not allow loud music, and they are annoyed.

When I drive in the car by myself I can do as I wish. Sometimes I listen to loud music or I might listen to podcasts and sermons, and if I feel like it I have quiet reflections and time with God.

Living with others require that you “put up” with the things that they like and dislike. Often people clash by the differences that they have. Not one of us are the same. My children are not the same as each other, they are not like their step-dad. Teaching my children to negotiate with each other is necessary. Teaching them to respect others is also important.

I have people who are attached to my life that cause my road to be very rough indeed. They travel with me. For you it could be a family member, a church member, a community member. Sometimes people are a bit like hitchhikers, only travel with a for a short time. Others are with us for the duration of our life. Some people bring with us very loud music, or no music at all… or music we don’t like. Do you get my point?

God expects His children to get along, whether something is loud or not allowed. He expects us to respect those in authority over us. We do not travel our road by ourselves, and even if we do seem to be alone, we still must be thoughtful of those whose lives we touch.

 

Return home

 

There is no feeling like the feeling of returning to your own home. Really there is no feeling like when we turn to God. I don’t think I have to expand on this. Just turn to God. Turn the wheel of your heart towards Him.

 

Ride with the One and Only

Whatever road you are on, whatever your choice of ride (or lack of choice), or whoever you ride with… the most important factor is the One who ride with us?

I often look at my chaotic, “non-trouble-free” life and wonder what it would be like.I wonder what it would be like to have smooth roads to be on.

Other times I say to myself “strap yourself in, it is going to be a wild ride” and all the while the One I strap myself to, is God.

 

“Thank you Father for the rides, I am hanging on to you. May I always have the courage to continue, accepting each and every ride…and every road, and look to You for the help for each and every one”

 

Be blessed

Ruth

 

 

Song of Justice

Posted on by Ruth

 

My God, my Saviour, my heart cries out to You for the protection You have promised.

When the ground shakes under me, I can find You alone to stand upon.

You are my Rock, my solid foundation.

 

The ground may move, the earth may tremble, but you my God stand firm.

You hold me firm when my faith is weak. You are merciful when I fail You.

You are my Stronghold and my Deliverer.

 

Giants surround me spilling forth their lies. They wait in earnest for me to fall.

They crouch expectantly for me to be overcome by my frailty.

But you, my God, rescue me and set me on my feet.

 

You heard my cry, my Saviour and you brought me forward to be encircled by Your arms.

Judge me fairly according to your mercy, and steadfastly reveal the truth in the courts.

No one is like you my God, You only can I praise.

 

I lift my eyes in earnest, and look to You my God.

My heart resounds with praise, and sings with sure joy.

My God and my King.

 

– © Ruth Lindsay   April 2015

 

I wrote this poem during a time where I cried out to God for intervention over a matter I was going though. Some sections of this poem are not literal – eg. “giants”. For me the giants are the things that seem bigger than big. Sometimes they are people, but mostly they are problems, the unknown, lack of faith, uncertainty or even a lack of wisdom. Sometimes is is gossip and slander.

 

This poem came from the heart and I am sharing this with you. I hope that you will be blessed as I was in writing it.

 

Blessings

 

Ruth