A Heart Untroubled

There's an English saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor a way". It meant eating an apple every day was a healthy choice.  Now obviously, it's not a miracle cure, but the philosophy behind it was about consistently doing something. A couple of weeks ago, my blog post was about the fact that running is only good for me if I do it, but I want to take that idea further: Things are usually only of any benefit when we do it more than once, when we do them consistently. Once again I want to be clear, I'm not talking about works!  God is not moved by our actions - whether good or bad.   We can't use actions to please God.  What pleases him is faith, but consistency is good for US!   This verse from James 1:4 in the NRSV uses the word endurance.  The online dictionary defines endurance as:   The capacity of something to last  or the ability to endure an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way. In the KJV, it uses the word PATIENCE

My husband loves outdoorsy stuff. My idea of 'rouging it' is a 3 Star hotel!   Yesterday his new tent arrived.  Eager and excited to check it out, he put it up the garden, where we slept for the night!!! As I was looking at his tent set up in the lovely garden, the Lord spoke to me.  Now I'm not saying that the tent isn't great for camping, but in contrast to the house we are living in, it isn't comparable. It's small, one room, no bathroom, you can't stand up, it's got no heating or cooling.  It has no kitchen, nowhere to wash our clothes, no sofas or arm chairs, dining room or comfy bed.  It will do for camping, but it's not home.  That's just to start with. God showed me that many Christians live like that; setting up the tent in the garden of a castle.  They are choosing to live in a way that is not taking advantage of everything Christ has purchased for us!  We can see it, we can believe it exists, but for some reason (false humility

As some of you may know, a few years ago, I started to run. I have to confess, I probably moaned more than I ran in the beginning.  The moaning has died down, but I am not really passionate about it still.  This week the rain has come every day, and I confess, I am only a fair-weather runner. Friday afternoon the sun came out.  It was lovely, and as I looked out, I felt a twinge of something, suggesting that I ought to make the most of it, and get out for a run!  Sadly, the couch and a quiz show triumphed and I didn't go! I was pondering this, and it came to me that there is a spiritual analogy in this.  Running is good for me, but only if I do it!   Thinking about it, joining a Facebook Group that talks about running, or watching running on TV is not running ! There are lots of things like that in our Christian walk; reading the Word, going to church, praying, speaking in tongues... These are all things we can think about, talk about, watch on live-stream or read books ab

So this weekend we celebrate Pentecost. 50 days after Easter, the Holy Spirit was given to us, this time to stay. Before Jesus ascended back to Heaven (10 days before Pentecost) he told the disciples Acts 1:8 (MSG) What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world." The disciples had spent three years with Jesus.  They had seen him calm the storm, feed thousands, heal the sick, cleanse lepers and even raise the dead, and yet they were still not able to be his witnesses without the power of the Holy Spirit. The trouble with witnesses, is how do you know they are telling the truth?  In Mark 2, we see the story of a paralytic man that was let down through a roof by his friends so that Jesus could heal him.  Jesus looks at the guy and tells him his sins are forgiven.  The religious folk standing there say in their hearts "Who does

Have you ever thought about the fact you can accept God's Word in same areas while struggling to receive it in others?    I heard these verse recently from Genesis 15:5-8 .  Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”   And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” I thought that was really interesting.    God tells Abraham he's going to make him a Father of many nations.  He's going to make his decedents SO numerous, they'll be like the stars of the sky!    It is then said of Abraham that he believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.  In the very next bit, the Lord tells Abraham not only that, but