Ruth in the thorns

Today was a bit of a revelation.

Firstly, I was preparing for a YG study/talk on Mark 4:1-20 (Parable of the Sower) and got to the point of looking at v7/18-19 which talks about the seed that fell among thorns which Jesus said “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

I think all of us, every once in a while, are in danger of acting like we’ve falling into the thorns, allowing the world to take up our time and impacting on our devotion to God.

When we start to worry about work, life, bills, love, friends and family and all the other things that tend to come up in life, then these things will start to choke out the word in our life. These things tend to take the place of God.

We need to shift our focus a little. Start putting these worries back into God’s hands and letting him deal with them. That way we can concentrate on what is important in our life. Remembering that Jesus came to die for our sins, be ressurected to give us a ‘fresh start’ so we can be part of God’s plan, God’s glory.

We need to keep being like the seed that is sown on good soil who “hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

So March has been ‘thorn soil’ Sean, April will be ‘good soil’ Sean.

Secondly, Dave rehashed his Ruth 1 talk for the Moore Mission team which I sat in on.

This also struck a chord with my current life.

At the end of chapter 1, Naomi states that she has gone away full but come back empty, but we are left with feeling that something bigger is going to happen. We kind of know that God is going to be glorified.

Sometimes we just don’t see the big picture. We know that things are happening to us for a reason. That God is allowing us to suffer and face trials but these are all being used for His purpose.

It’s amazing how when things don’t seem to be going right, sometimes you’re ready to give up hope, then God will show us just that little bit more of the puzzle that reassures us that he is in control. Not that we ever need to be reassured. God is always faithful to his promises.

So the next time you, or I, are struggling, feeling lost or not sure, just remember that God is in control and you’ll never go wrong.

“So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” 1Pe 4:19

Friends Forever

I really dislike (The Lord has taught me not to hate) those emails that say, send this on to your eight true friends. Man, my friends know who they are. They know how I feel about them because of what I do for them and that they can come to me for advice, comfort, support or just hang out.

Same goes for me.

I know who I can trust, spend time with, talk to. I don’t need an email response to tell me who they are.

However, some of the things in these emails do hit a cord, I just don’t feel the need to send them to all my friends.

So here is one I received today.

1. I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you..

2. No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won’t make you cry.

3. Just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to, doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.

4. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

5. The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them knowing you can’t have them.

6. Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.

7. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.

8. Don’t waste your time on a man/woman, who isn’t willing to waste their time on you.

9. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so that when we finally meet the person, we will know how to be grateful.

10. Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened.

11. There’s always going to be people that hurt you so what you have to do is keep on trusting and just be more careful about who you trust next time around.

12. Make yourself a better person and know who you are before you try and know someone else and expect them to know you.

13. Don’t try so hard, the best things come when you least expect them to.

Common sense I know.

Keep on Chuckin

Seems like someone had a little too much chocolate this weekend.

In a little estate in Lavington called Norris Park the council erected a sign signifying the name of this estate. Anyway, this sign is often subjected to some remodelling with several Chuck Norris fan’s often scribbling the legend’s name in texta.

However, someone has gone a few steps further this weekend. On Saturday, I drove past and noticed some major remodelling. These guys sure put some effort into it, causing many a motorist to pull over and take photos. (Yours included).

What’s even funnier, is that it made the news tonight. Way to go WIN news, let’s discourage vandalism (that’s what they called it) by bringing attention to it.

Anyway, below is a photo of it, for those who haven’t seen it yet.

Proverbs 15:13-14

A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.