Hearken O Daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your own people also, and your father”s house. For the King has greatly desired your beauty. Because He is the Lord, worship Him. Psalm 45: 10,11

From not long after I was saved, I heard the call of God to serve Him. I was not certain where or how I would serve Him, but I knew I should train to be a nurse. After working there some years, it was time to go and study towards that end, but at that time I was uncertain how my father would react to that news.
I needn”t have worried as when I chose to speak to him about it God had already prepared him and given him this verse to pass onto me. I am sure I had read it before, but suddenly, it took on a new meaning.
I was humbled that my family realized that bringing kids up to serve God and let them go, was much more important than holding us close and watching us grow older. I was relieved to have the blessing of my parents as I went on with God.
But even more important, I was amazed as I looked again at this Psalm and saw the glories of the Messiah with His Bride. If I had seen the passage written without a reference, I would possibly have thought it was from the Song of Solomon, as it is such a ballad of love.
This thought is not only for women as Jesus calls the church His Bride, referring to everyone who has been saved by His Grace. Imagine! the King of heaven desires each one of us. He sees us as beautiful no matter how young, how old, what shape, size or color.
He loves us with a love enough to die for us. No matter who we emulate on earth, it is unlikely they would be prepared to die in our stead!
He wants us to listen to what He has to say and follow after him.
“Hearken”, means much more than just listen. It means to “listen intently, with a will to obey.” This is the kind of listening we use when waiting for an important, longed for phone call, listening for a child”s cry in the night when they are unwell. Listening with your full attention, ready to move when called!!!
How often do we rush through our time with God and if we do listen it is not even expecting Him to speak and certainly not with the expectancy of getting an answer! We do miss out such a lot in our busyness!
Just in case we did not get the full meaning of hearken, the Psalmist goes further. “Consider” Ponder it! Think carefully about it! When the Lord does speak to us we should carefully consider what He is saying and the great privilege we have of having an audience with and being spoken to by the almighty King of heaven.
Not only hearken and consider, but “incline your ear.” How very often do we talk to someone whom we know is not listening and when we really want to listen to a conversation, we stop whatever we are doing and turn towards the speaker to hear every word.
We have a dog staying with us at the moment and when he wants to hear what we have to say, he turns his ear in the direction of the voice. But if he is enjoying his freedom outside and doesn”t want to respond to the call or whistle to come inside, he keeps the head down and pretends not to hear.
I know we often do that with each other, but it is sad to realize that we sometimes do it with God too! Think about how closely a newly married couple listen to what each other has to say!! Jesus loves us even more than that and yet we often ignore His voice when we do not want to obey!
Today, let us listen carefully and obey joyfully knowing that we are full accepted in the beloved, loved with an everlasting love and serving the King who has made each one of us desirable in His sight!!

Saul was given a very direct message from God and that was to destroy the Amalekites and everything they owned! God had given the Israelites the victory in battle and Saul knew he should obey. But what harm was there in keeping the king alive and some of the sheep? Or so he thought!!! Saul knew he had done wrong or he would not have lied to Samuel when asked if he had done as God commanded.
Yes, it was a harsh judgement but our Omnipotent, Omniscient God knew what would happen if sin was allowed to remain in the land. He knew the Israelites would marry with the people of the other lands and He knew the foreign gods would draw the Israelites away, no matter how often God had forgiven them and saved them in the past! But Saul, did exactly what God knew he would and even lied about it! What a sad thing for God to say, that he regretted ever making Saul king. How awful would it be to have God regret something He did for us or asked us to do?
Today, we have many things creeping into our lives and fellowships, which are contrary to what God has commanded in His Word. So what do we do? It would be easier to go along with things, to let them slide, keep the peace and the untiy. We don”t have to join them after all, just tolerate them! As we have seen in recent days, when the thin edge of the wedge is allowed in, it is not long before the whole plank is in the door and then we have to live with the consequences. read more

There are practices being accepted in our churches and societies today, which are not only forbidden in the Bible, but our forefathers warned us was allowing sin to remain in the church. Now, in recent times, we have thrown the doors wide opened for sinful habits to walk over us and there is little we can do to stop the influence it will have on future generations. Like the Israelites of old, we will have to bear the consequences of not rooting sin out of our midst for many years to come. Those who do take a deliberate stand against sin are seen as being narrow-minded, bigoted or intolerant. How God”s heart must be grieved! Does He regret ever allowing the institution we call church to come into being? If this is not what God condemned in the Bible, then He will have to apologize to those residents of the late Sodom and Gomorrah?
What about in our personal lives? When God points sin out to us, do we avoid it or walk on the sidelines, close enough to enjoy and hope not to fall in! Do we root out the things we know to be wrong from our lives, “avoiding all appearance of evil,” or do we think it can”t harm us. Switching off a lewd movie, separating ourselves from friends who openly mock Jesus, discontinuing attendance at a church that blatantly disobey God”s Word, are all ways to keep ourselves from evil. Bringing more friends who love Gods standards into our lives, filling our hearts with more of what we know He would have us do and an increase in Bible study and prayer for those who we know need it, are all ways to bring us closer to the Lord and more willing to put His standards first.
How different could the lives of the Israelites have been if Saul had obeyed? Likewise for us. “Obedience is better than sacrifice” in the eyes of God. He wants total obedience, not partial! If He tells you to get out of a relationship/friendship, He doesn”t want you just to explain the Gospel to that person or even try to win them, but to get out of it completely. Saul did go to war with the Amalekites, He did win! He did kill many people including women and kids, but he just kept Agag alive. He did kill many animals including many sheep, he just kept some alive. He partially obeyed, but knew it was not enough. Then He had to lie to make it all look good! The thin edge of sin was now becoming a greater wedge. That day, it was decided that God could no longer trust Saul with the task and from then on Samuel withdrew himself from Saul.
With certainty, it would be the very worst thing for a believer if God should decide we could no longer be trusted with the task He has given us, due to our own disobedience. How often we fail and yet praise God He forgives and continues to use us. Read again the story in 1Samuel 15 and remember afresh, how much more God wants our obedience than anything else we can do for Him. Not only that the major benefit of complete obedience is definitely that He already has the perfect plan worked out for us and by obeying Him, we will follow the plan explicitly, know Him more fully and love Him more dearly.

I know there are some people who do not think there should be such a day as Father or Mother”s day, but why not have a special day to honor those who add so much to our lives. Of course, some argue, that we should always honor our parents and while this is true, it is nice to have a special day to set aside especially for them. We all have a birthday and although everyone knows from looking at us that we have been born and are aging, it is still nice to have our birthday honoured!

“The idea for an official Father”s Day celebration came to a married daughter, seated in a church in Spokane, Washington, attentive to a Sunday sermon on Mother”s Day in 1910-two years after the first Mother”s Day observance in West Virginia. The daughter was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd. Who realized that in her own family it had been her father, William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran, who had sacrificed-raising herself and five sons alone, following the early death of his wife in childbirth.
Her proposed local Father”s Day celebration received strong support from the town”s ministers and members of the Spokane YMCA. Father”s Day, however, was not so quickly accepted as Mother”s Day. Members of the all-male Congress felt that a move to proclaim the day official might be interpreted as a self-congratulatory pat on the back. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson and his family personally observed the day. And in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended that states, if they wished, should hold their own Father”s Day observances,
Many people attempted to secure official recognition for Father”s Day, but it was not until 1972-sixty-two years after it was proposed-Father”s Day was permanently established by President Richard Nixon. Historians seeking an ancient precedent for an official Father”s Day observance have come up with only one: The Romans, every February, honored fathers-but only those deceased.” taken from Good Ideas website. more info

Both our fathers are deceased, meaning we can use the Roman or the American reason to honor them, not that we need either to give credit to two men who did their very best for their families in every way. Both men from very different backgrounds, but were known for their integrity, loyalty, hard work and deep love for their family. Neither man was perfect and would be the first to say it, but they left behind an example for future generations to follow. They were the best of dads and we were extremely privileged to be born into our respective families. We are thankful for the years we had them and just sorry for the grandchildren and great grandchildren, who did not get the opportunity to know them well in person.
But wait, maybe they do get to know them just a bit, through their own parents. In the Bible in Deuteronomy chapter 6, the children of Israel were told to pass on the stories of God”s goodness, the ordinances He set, and the precepts He taught to the next generation. They were to talk about these things in their everyday lives and pass on the information, as a natural part of life. It is our calling in life to do that for our future generations and although all won”t be remembered totally or completely, it will eventually be understood by our offspring. So often, I recall things my father taught me about the Bible or told me about events in history in our own country, and wish I had listened more carefully to the whole story. Probably, until one is married and has children the full impact of sharing the family history does not sink in. How much more important is it to share what God has done for us and what He requires from us?
I see the continuation through the generations in my husband and in our sons. He was and is a great dad and, believe me, our boys were never in any doubt about the wonders God did in our lives, and neither is anyone else he gets half a chance to tell! I see it in my sons, as they also became husbands who make every effort to treat their families in similar ways to what they learnt from their father and grandfathers. What a blessing to witness as they teach their offspring to follow God and His precepts in their lives, and continue the cycle of thankfulness to God for His many benefits.
The responsibility is not only with the fathers but also the mothers to pass on what they have been taught from their folks before them, where even the negative things, show us how to reach out and teach the children better. It is the 2Timothey 2:2 principle of teaching others to teach others! As a support and helpmate, we who spend so much time with the kids, can stress that teaching in everyday life. God never changed His method of passing on the Gospel and the precepts and principles of Christianity, He still chooses us, the “weak and the foolish” humans to be His witnesses by Word and deed. What a blessed day it will be when we all get together in Heaven, to worship and adore the One who is the Father of us all!!! That will be a huge celebration! Meantime, Men, Enjoy your Father”s Day and take seriously your God-given responsibility!

My grandmother loved life! She was a great friend to all of us as we grew up and was present at every family occasion since ever I remember. So we will miss her. She was born Williamina Stevenson over 103 years ago.
Life was not always easy for Munny as we all affectionately knew her. She was married young and, sadly, widowed after only eight years with 4 children having been born into the family. She also lost her eldest son to TB around the same time. Four years later she remarried and had one more daughter, but alas the war came along and husband number 2 was killed in action. So still with 4 children to bring up, Munny worked all the hours she could in various jobs to keep the family together.
During the early years of her first marriage, Munny and her husband accepted the Lord Jesus into their lives, asking Him to forgive their sins and trusting Him with their lives. Jesus was the mainstay of her life for over 80 years, and she often testified of the many ways in which she knew His presence and help in her daily life, especially in these years of struggle to bring up a family alone during the war and in the following years. http://www.satellitedishcanada.com/

Getting old is really not for cowards, but Munny had amazing strength and health in her life, and never saw herself as aging at all. She was always game for travelling, for visiting, and for a challenge. Even in the last years of her life when she had her limitations, she still enjoyed getting outside and having people visit. The Sunday before she died, she was out for a spin in her wheelchair and enjoyed a cup of tea in the garden at her granddaughter Pat”s home.
In the last few months, she was eagerly waiting on the Lord to take her home and He did that on May 26th this year. For all of us left behind, we thank her for the legacy of joy and happiness she left us. She prayed for us, she enjoyed our company, she passed on her zest for life to us, and most importantly, she told us and showed us what it means to trust in Jesus as Saviour.
Today, she no longer feels 103 years old, but is enjoying the presence of Jesus and all our loved ones who have gone before, while waiting for the rest of the family to join her! We also look forward to that day, but meantime there are many to be reached and much to be learnt. Thanks Munny for all your input into our lives over many years!!!!

It has been a crazy week in America, featuring one of the most brazen terrorist attacks on civilians since 9-11-01, followed by one of the most watched and riveting man-hunts in American history. Two men, fueled by an ideology where mass murder is acceptable brought a city to its knees, and cost the state and the nation millions. Often we’re left wondering what on earth can we do in the face of such evil? What is the correct response? Are we allowed to respond in righteous anger or do we need to turn the other cheek?

Romans 12:17 puts it this way, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” So what does that look like. When Jesus was crucified and his murder was at first glance a great triumph for evil, He defeated evil simply by defying death. There was no revenge, there was no great reckoning for those who took His life, there was a simple act of defeating evil with good, the Resurrection. What Satan planned for evil, God turned around and made into the ultimate triumph.

What about the early church? They faced terrible localized persecution, and their response was to scatter throughout and beyond the Roman Empire and bring their message of the Gospel with them. There was no rebellion, no armed conflict, simply an act of obedience to the Great Commission which resulted in a revolution of the hearts throughout most of the known world at the time. What was a great act of evil became the largest faith group in the world involving billions of people.

read more

During the Crusades the church took a different approach. In the face of the expanding Arab empires they decided to fight back and engage in Holy Wars. Instead of responding to the onslaught of perceived evil with a missional approach to bring light and the Gospel into that part of the world, they decided to respond with the sword. The results can still be seen today and we are still paying the heavy price in the Middle East and right here at home for this un-Christlike response.

And what about us? The excuse often heard arguing that abortion should be legal for instances of incest and rape, because the woman has had something traumatic done to her and her and the child should not be forced to live with the consequences of another human being’s evil actions. But the same principle found in Romans 12:17 applies. You can only defeat evil by an act of good. The greatest triumph would be for that child to grow up to be a godly individual and good contributor to society, to be given a chance at life to turn something of great evil into something of great good.

So how do we as Christians need to respond to people who hate us and want us destroyed? I would assert that the formula has not changed since Christ first demonstrated it for us. We need to respond to the dark with light. Not with retaliation, not by wiping out those who seek our destruction, but instead by bringing the Gospel of Christ to where they are. The places that hate the followers of Christ the most are the places who have the least access to the message of Christ, and are in essence living in darkness. Lets change that instead of trying to change ideology by brute force. The love of Christ is a force that cannot be defeated by violence. This does not mean we need to become doormats and allow ourselves to be destroyed. It is completely justifiable to seek justice after being attacked, but when revenge or retaliation is our motivation, we steal from God the chance of displaying the grace and mercy that Christians have been shown and should be willing to share.