Birds of a Feather

 

This Gymea Lilly flowering here has a very prominent place in the garden at the Mall and judging by what happened last year I will be surprised if someone doesn’t cut it off and steal it very soon. The stem is over two metres tall. It looks rather like what people refer to as “a Tall Poppy” and in the botanical field would be the equivalent of a U.S. President, or our Prime Minister, or one of the other World Leaders; Prominent, yes, and putting on a “good front” but I think very “tall poppies” seem lonely, and usually
don’t last very long.

If you were a flower and could choose which you could be, I think you would be more comfortable being one of those in this next photo. Oh yes, they also vary in height, but we need leaders in all walks of life. However, the majority of them there help to complete a lovely picture and providing that their roots go deep into “Good Soil” they will support each other and achieve the purpose the “Gardener” had in mind. We can of course, go to the other extreme like this little “loaner”, growing in very un-fertile soil on the foot path, where it may get trodden on and will have to rely on “Pot Luck” for water. Sure, it has its independence but it will never achieve its full potential by existing in a spot like that.

All these flowers are like a cross-section of our community. The difference between them and us being that they had no choice as to where they were planted and if they are not satisfied where they are, well then “bad luck” for them. However, we are in a different category and although we didn’t choose to be planted where we are either, we do not have to live under the circumstances we find ourselves in, (as they do), because God has given us the option of coming under His care and being “Transplanted” into His “Good Soil”.

How do we do this? Well firstly we need to accept His free offer of changing our Spiritual situation, because God sent Jesus that we “Might have life, and have it more abundantly” “For God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but inherit Eternal Life.” This is a “done deal” as far as God is concerned, because God (through Jesus) has already paid for all that to happen: All we have to do is Repent (change our attitude) and accept His forgiveness. Oh I know that our pride doesn’t want us to admit that we need help (believe me I have been there), but we are like that little lone daisy and are kidding ourselves if we say we don’t need to be transplanted into the “Good Soil” of His loving care and be looked after by Him and His Angels.

Some people say to me “I believe in God but I don’t go to church,” so in reality they only want to be “half transplanted”, or else they don’t understand what the New Testament means when it says “Church”. For example, Romans 16 verse 5 says “……. greet the church that is in their house”. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 19 says “Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house”. Whilst Colossians chapter 4 verse 15 says “Greet the brethren……and Nemphas and the church that is in his house.” So you see a “church” is a group of Christian people who come together to worship God.  Indeed, Jesus said that “Where two or three gather together to worship I will be there in the midst of them.” The building is of little relevance; it is the people that are the Church.  However, for convenience sake people have erected specific buildings, and groups of Christians, (who like to worship in slightly different ways), have identified their buildings with different names. There is no fear though that the roof of any of these buildings will fall in if a “newcomer” enters any of them. After all, the entire congregation is made up of people who are sinners saved by the grace of God through believing that Jesus died a sacrificial death, on their behalf. Or else are still sinners, coming in to claim that forgiveness. Christianity declares that “All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God” and “The wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is Eternal Life, through Jesus Christ our Lord”.  Interestingly, Paul when writing to the Hebrews in chapter 10 and verse 25 directs them “Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as some do.” You see, Satan is trying to lead us astray constantly and when we fellowship together we make friends with people of like mind, and as birds of a feather that flock together are less likely to be attacked by hawks so we are safer as we hear the Gospel preached and hymns sung, because that increase our faith. Furthermore, there are fellowship organisations there like Bible study groups, organisations for children to fellowship together and so on.   Also remember that If you take a hot coal out of the fire it will soon cool down but if you put it back with other hot coals it will not only become hot again itself, but will also strengthen the fire.      Some food for thought. Tom.

Peace

 

I read an article the other day about a king who wanted a painting that depicted “Peace”. The one he finally chose was a picture that had mountains that were rugged and bare. Above them was an angry sky with rain falling and lightning flashing and down the side of the mountains tumbled a waterfall. This picture didn’t look peaceful at all but the king chose it because he had noticed that behind the waterfall there was a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in spite of the rush of angry water, she sat on her nest—in perfect peace. You see, peace does not mean that we have to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the middle of all these things and still be calm in your heart.

To be at peace in difficult situations we really need outside help; Paul, although in prison, said that “in whatsoever state he found himself he had learned to be content”, of course he was relying on the fact that he was doing God’s will and that was his aim in life. In chapter 4 verse 7 of his letter to the Philippians he says: “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”. (New Living Translation)

Now I had been shown that bible verse some 60 years ago but I never realised that when it said “heart” it was referring to that lump of flesh in our chest, not some “feeling”. In other words, he is saying that not worrying, and therefore being in a state of peace, will actually keep your heart healthy and prevent your mind from having a nervous breakdown. I only realised the truth of this when I went into cardiac arrest some 13 years ago and after being revived was sent to St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney. The Cardiologist there said: “How come you have blocked arteries around your heart? Your weight is normal, you have never smoked or drank alcohol, you have lived an active healthy life on a farm, you just don’t fit the pattern! Therefore, for this to have happened to you there must have been a lot of stress in your life”. He was right, (I am ashamed to say). Because as a Christian I had been ignoring that instruction to “not worry” and paid the penalty by having 5 heart by-passes. After all, God who made us should know what is good or bad for us and we shouldn’t ignore his instructions in the New Testament. Because worry never achieved any worthwhile result, and we all know this, but it is hard to “Let go and let God take over” isn’t it? We are God’s children and I think we can learn from watching a little baby like Evie
Pratten here with her mum (Jackie). She may be crying in her cot, but when mum or dad come along and pick her up, the crying stops immediately. Why? She hasn’t yet been fed, her nappy hasn’t yet been changed. What makes the difference then? Why did she stop crying? The answer is that a baby Instinctively knows that its parents love it and have the ability to solve its problems. That’s why.

The person stranded on a ledge half way down a cliff face, has a different problem; but needs similar trust when a rescue Helicopter lowers a paramedic on a rope; the stranded person knows that he must let go of the rock face and cling tightly to the paramedic; trusting both him and the rope, complete faith is essential or he will just have to stay on that precarious ledge. The same type of thing applies to you and me; every day activities usually don’t worry us too much or cause us to stress out. No, it is only when we find ourselves out of our depth with problems that we cannot effectively handle that we become really worried. At that point we should implement the above bible text as it tells us not to worry, but to hand the problem over to God and experience the unexplainable peace from God, that will replace the stress and worry. I could say “Good luck with that” but it has nothing to do with luck – it is a matter of faith and trust in our Father God, (as that baby trusts its mum or dad). However, like the person on the rocky ledge (who must let go of the ledge completely, and trust the paramedic), we must hand our problems over to God completely and trust Him. The New Testament says that if we have faith in God the possibilities are limitless and “faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of God”.  So best wishes then, as we learn to stop worrying and start trusting. None of the above is theory to me, because I have “been there, and done all that.     Regards, Tom.  ( Read Phillippians 4:7 to confirm this.)

Why Galahs?

 

For anyone who may not know, a Galah is a very common Australian bird, they flock together in their hundreds across the farming lands and are not very popular with most farmers because they are grain eaters, and when the crops are emerging they spend their day pulling out the young seedlings and eating the seed. At harvest time they gather around the edge of the crop, nip the plants off and eat the grain. Peacocks are somewhat different as they are not Australian natives and are just kept for their beauty so there aren’t many of them in our country. Blue wrens are truly beautiful Australians (although tiny), and as they eat insects everybody is happy to see them. (My Granddaughter drew this one, isn’t it lovely?) Emus are also true Australians, there are thousands of them and they can be a nuisance on the crops too as they like to eat grain, but usually pick natural herbage and berries. The ones pictured here, were wild ones being fed by my wife on a property near Gilgandra. Aboriginal people appreciated emus as a source of food. Can you imagine, a “Kentucky Fried Emu” drumstick? and they also provided a lot of eggs in the Spring time. Well that seems to justify Peacocks, Wrens and Emus, but what about our pet Galah. He used to sit on Audrey head and pull out the “Bobby” pins which was not a very helpful habit. We had a farm and when he saw us returning from town in the car he would fly to meet us a half kilometre from home and ride home on the bonnet. He would “help” Audrey hang the washing too, by removing the pegs, which wasn’t really much assistance either if you were trying to hang wet clothes. But then, after all, who’s perfect?

So much for our bird. We loved him and I really think God made galahs (like many other things), just for our enjoyment, because although we, (here in Australia), have a tendency to take them for granted, they are really very beautiful and have a sense of humour. They would slide down the roof of our house just for fun, time after time saying “Yak, Yak, Yak” all the while, and when they reached the guttering would fly back up and slide down again.

 What can we learn from them then? Well, for starters, be happy and friendly to others, and if you are a “galah” don’t try and be an “Emu” or worry that you are not a “Peacock” or a “Blue Wren”. God designed you to be what you are and also to be His friend, so love Him and love your neighbour as you love yourself, by endeavouring to do all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as often as you can.  Incidentally, as we have frequently committed sins that were worse than the equivalent of removing Pegs and Bobby pins and plants, we need to ask our Heavenly Father for the forgiveness earned for us by Jesus, and thus receive a “Passport” to Eternal life in Heaven.

Interestingly, Jesus is actually recorded (in Matthew chapter 6 and verses 26, 33 & 34), as saying that we could learn a lot from birds, when He said “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?.... But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  

God bless you as you “Cast all your care upon Him because He cares for you”. And as He said “You are more value” (to Him) “than birds are”, that is a terrific compliment when you consider the effort He went to, in order to design those birds on the previous page. Therefore, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3 verse 6).  You know, that is a very good deal.      Best wishes,  Tom.

Trees Need Water

 

A couple of years ago I took this photo of this lovely Lemon Scented Gum tree inDubbo because it looked so majestic with its smooth white bark and straight trunk. This week I went to look at it and it was dead. Apparently killed by the drought, and I noticed to my disappointment that its relations nearby were also   dying, as you see in the second photo. They are not deciduous trees so once they have lost their leaves like this I am sorry to say they will not recover.

The trouble is that they are trees designed for a high rainfall area like we see in the third photo taken in the Victorian highlands where they are not exposed to the drought conditions we have out here in Central N.S.W. Later on the same day I walked down by the Macquarie river in Dubbo and took this fourth photo of some Gum trees on the river bank. These old trees are doing remarkably well and are probably a couple of hundred years old. They have gone through many droughts but they have not been affected because they do not rely on the local rainfall for their sustenance as they have their roots down in an endless supply of river water. So no matter how hot the wind is, or how little rain falls locally they just go on growing and providing a home for the possums, parrots, ants, and insects whilst they produce Oxygen and absorb Carbon, making the world a better place for us to live in as God designed them to do.

Interestingly the Bible (in Psalm 1) likens us to the trees in both the circumstances set out above. It says that we can be just like the trees in the last photo “planted by rivers of water that bring forth their fruit in due season, our “leaf” shall not wither, and everything we do shall prosper.” You see, God is prepared to do this by providing us with “Living water”, (John 4:10) thus, even though we may be surrounded by all sorts of problems, we will overcome them with this help from the Almighty God, who created the Universe and designed everything in it including us (His greatest Creation).

However, because we live in a sinful world where “All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God”, (Romans 3:23) our Heavenly Father has placed certain conditions on our behaviour if we want to draw on His ever available supply of this “Living Water”, and live victoriously like the trees along the river bank. Firstly, we must not take notice of the “council of the un-Godly” because their advice is limited to worldly knowledge that fails to “factor in” God’s directions. The Psalm also says we must be cautious of adopting the ways of scornful, sinful people. Immoral ways, accepted by society, but are sins in God’s sight.

If you have a clothing shop, you will always be studying the best ways to display your dresses and studying the most attractive styles. If you are a car sales person you will study to know all about your vehicles and present them on display to their best advantage. If you are selling houses you will study to know the market, and advertise the homes for sale. So if you want to qualify for that “living water assisted life”, (mentioned above), then it is not unreasonable that “You must “delight” yourself in the law of the Lord and in His law meditate day and night.” (As Psalm 1 says), Indeed, it is for sure that those Salespersons mentioned above think about their products constantly like that, in order to advance and be good at their job. Similarly, if we back up our lives with God’s word and accept what the Psalm says, we would just be doing what is good common sense too. Wouldn’t we? So we must hand our past sins over to Jesus because He died to gain forgiveness for us, and then gratefully accept His forgiveness, study to stop breaking the 10 Commandments, repent, (change our behaviour pattern) and ask Him to help us live the way He wants us to in future, as outlined in the New Testament. Remember “God commendeth His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) and Jesus said “I came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly”. you just can’t improve on that!  So it is vital that we comply with His directions stated above. Best wishes, Tom. 

Abide Under the Shadow

 

I am aware that I used this photo before but it illustrates so clearly what I want to say

that I trust you will forgive me. It was 42 degrees when I took this photo and the sheep, very sensibly, had taken shelter in the shade of this lovely Plane tree on my Son and Daughter-in-law’s property near Gilgandra. They were free to walk out into the heat of course, but had more sense than to do that. The 91^st Psalm (Authorised Version) says that if we dwell close to God we will “Abide under the shadow of the Almighty,” As those sheep abide in the shade. How good is that? God further emphasises His keenness to protect us by describing Himself as being like a bird covering its chicks: “He shall cover thee with His feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust” and that’s not all as He says “because you have made Him your refuge, the Most High, your habitation, there shall no evil befall thee…He will be with you in trouble, He shall deliver you and honour you, with long life He will satisfy you, and show you His Salvation.” You know, we really should avail ourselves of these great offers from the Almighty God of the Universe. Then again in Isaiah, Chapter 40 and Verse 31, He offers to “renew our strength”, so we see why Psalm 73 verse 28 says “It is good for me to draw near to God”. However, you will notice that each of these “offers” is conditional; in the first case we must “draw near” to God if we want His protection, whilst in the second case we must “wait upon the Lord” for renewed strength. Just what does all this mean? Well, to “draw near” is simple enough, just as those sheep were protected when they “drew near” to the tree-trunk, so we will be protected if we draw near to God. Which means accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and endeavour to live as He requires. O.K. that gives us some idea of what “draw near” implies, but what does it mean to “wait upon the Lord”? The answer is two-fold: Firstly, a waiter in a restaurant, (for example), is there to do his employer’s bidding by “waiting” on the customers. He (or she) takes their orders, and generally attends to people’s needs. Likewise, God wants us to lovingly help other people, as He told us to. Secondly, an employee waits for the “employer’s instructions.” Which means just that; We have the written word but need the Holy Spirits guidance. For example, soldiers prepare themselves for battle, to the best of their ability, but they then “wait” for directions from their Commanding Officer. There are many examples of this in the Bible. One of the earliest is where the Children of Israel were escaping from the Egyptians and panicked, so started to rebel against their leader, (Moses), but Moses just said “Stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13) at which time God “stepped in” and saved the day for them.  King Asa and Gideon and many others had similar success when they also “waited on the Lord”. The trouble with us is that we lack faith and often don’t wait for God’s directions. Our Governments ignore Him almost completely and what a mess they have made. They have sold off our land to the highest foreign bidders, sold our mineral resources, sold our ports, sold our electricity and even the electricity poles, to name just a few of their mistakes made because they didn’t seek God’s wisdom.

As for you and me, we will only make rational decisions if we “Trust in the Lord with all our heart, lean not unto our own understanding, in all our ways acknowledge Him” so that “He shall direct our paths.” Thus, we should “Seek  first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto us.” Mostly we don’t do that. There is an old saying that “Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread” and that just about sums up what we usually do. Which is a far cry from “waiting on the Lord”. But the good thing is that all is not lost, we are still alive and can therefore “repent” (change our ways). As Isaiah said, in Verse7 of his 55^th Chapter: “Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon him….and will abundantly pardon.” He said that a long time ago and a lot of people have changed their ways since then, so praise God, we can do that too. But we had better get on with it. Take me for example, I don’t know if I will be alive to make a decision to-morrow. In that case it is good that I have accepted Christ’s forgiveness, isn’t it? How about you then? Are you sure you will be here to make decisions to-morrow? Well if you are not sure, (and no one really can be), then you should, right now, also accept the forgiveness that Jesus earned for you. (if you haven’t already done so). That way we will both be “Righteous in His sight” “when we stand before the Judgement seat of Christ.” (Better to be sure than very, very, sorry when it is too late, don’t you think?). Best wishes, Tom.

Individuals

 

The more I see of life, the more I realise how important people like you are (Yes you). You have a very great influence on the world around you. When you have said something loving and kind you have made someone’s day. When you smile a sincere smile you will create an aura of friendship enveloping the person receiving the smile and that is lovely, and is the way God wants it.

 In this first photo an individual Bougainvillea blossom could easily feel that it isn’t important and feel insignificant when the vine is in full flower. You too can feel insignificant in a crowd at a sports meeting or such, or even in church, but neither the flower nor you are insignificant. Without each individual flower being present there wouldn’t be a display on the vine, likewise crowds are made up of individuals like you. Without the individuals like you there would be no crowd to encourage the participants and those present. We all need encouraging no matter what we do. This flower, on its own, looks lovely, but that isn’t how God (the designer) wants you and I to be. He wants us to share our
Joy, our caring and our love with others and thus encourage each other. Modern day business managers talk about “Team work” which means pulling together and sharing the work load. However the only way that will ever be a real success is if we all obey Jesus second Commandment to “Love our neighbour as we love ourselves”. When we do that, team work becomes automatic because we want to help those we care about and relieve their work load.  Jesus spoke to crowds of people but he was really appealing to each individual in the crowd. Whenever he was approached by someone in need he was quick to listen, and keen to help. However, He didn’t leave it there but was also quick to point out that we “Must be born again” because we have all sinned; To make that “re-birth” possible He allowed Himself to be crucified to cancel our debt and if we then “believe on him” and “Repent” we not only have everlasting life in Heaven, but also have the help of the Holy Spirit to love others in a special compassionate way here and now. Unfortunately, those who don’t follow Christ’s ways have just the opposite attitude being motivated not by love, but by selfishness. For example, C.E.O’s often try to increase the work load to make more profit. A lack of Christian love like that emanates from selfishness and leads to resentment and an unhappy workplace and in its worst extreme it leads to ill health, nervous break-downs and such like. The same lack of “loving your neighbour” is now becoming increasingly evident in the public school system with bullying. A child that is taught the lie, that everyone evolved from a monkey, has a different attitude to other children that are taught that we were “created” by a loving God to be His children.  The more of us that follow this teaching, the happier we will all be, just as the more flowers that open on that Bougainvillea vine, the more attractive it will be and bring joy to those who see it. So if there is anyone you are having trouble with, do what Jesus said to do: “Love them” and “Pray for them” and tell them the “Good news” of His saving grace, (if they don’t know it already). Jesus told us to do that. Prayer is God’s ultra-modern form of “texting” so we can both receive help, and request help for others. When I was at school, a boy I knew, who was a student boarder at St Joseph’s College in Sydney, sent a telegram (the old type of text message) to his father which said: “No mon, no fun, your son”. And his dad replied: “Too bad, how sad, your dad”. Well our God isn’t like that; He has requested that we pray to him, so naturally He will answer our request. Although not always in the way we would expect. But certainly in the way that he knows is in our best interest.  Have fun doing that. I am excited that the God of the universe wants you and me to call him “Father” and “text” him continually. Now that is pretty special, don’t you think? Don’t forget though that a loving parent doesn’t just want to be contacted when their child is in need, but likes to hear from them very frequently, thus sharing their joys as well as their difficulties.      Regards, Tom.  

Our Provider

 

The bible refers to God specifically as our Father and “Jehovah-Jireh” (our provider). Being our Father and provider is very special; traditionally fathers are the provider. Oh I know that the traditional roles in the family are sometimes reversed now, but when we talk of God, the question arises: is He really our provider? Well all I can say is that if we take away all the things He has provided, (which includes our planet), you and I would be floating in space without even our bodies! The book of Genesis clearly describes how God created everything there is and looking at what He created He saw that “it was very good” and so it is good! Everything we have was planned to perfection, whether we look through a telescope or use a microscope we see the same mathematical precision and ingenious designs. The Earth is just the right distance from the Sun, air just right for us to breathe, water is just right for our needs, gravity has just the right pull to hold things on our planet (including us). The Earth’s rotation around the sun is just right so we have seasons. Fertile soil is just right to grow crops and trees. There are cattle for milk and meat and the pastures to graze them and Sheep for meat & Wool to keep us warm. How about the varieties of meat, oysters, fish abalone, and fruit and grain like Quondongs and Nardoo, and the Emu eggs that God provided for the nomadic Aboriginal folk. (Each egg is the equivalent of 10 to 12 hen eggs). What a variety of crops and fruit God invented, just right to supply our needs; everything to make our mouths water and to sustain us. Yes, the Oceans and rivers are stocked with fish. Also all types of metals and oil and gas, just to name a few of these provisions. Interestingly, we had the lot handed to us on a plate and even then we “lost the plot,” like a child given a lump of play dough and 4 buttons and asked to make a toy car. Instead of doing the obvious he rubs the dough into the computer keyboard. Well we have repeatedly done the equivalent of that and God was left with the mess to clean up. Instead of giving up on us though, (because of His great love), He sent Jesus to pay the price of our sin and now all we have to do is believe on Him, say sorry, accept His kind offer of forgiveness and live the way He has instructed. In Australia this principle has been reasonably well practiced compared with other places because when our Constitution was drawn up the population was mostly Christian, therefore Christian ethics were automatically written into our laws. In a Christian country like this, we have a tendency to take all the good things we inherited for granted, things like: Equality for all, (whether male or female), education for all, freedom to work where we like, and dress as we choose, wages in line with the cost of living, unemployment relief, pensions for the aged or unwell, nursing homes, Medicare for all, meals on wheels, community transport, paid annual leave, and so on. All these are the automatic results of Christian love being put into practice and are not common in countries of other faiths; Think about it, do you hear of Australians paying a lot of money to People Smugglers to take them in a leaky boat to one of these other countries? No you don’t. Why not? It’s because we live in the world’s best country, that’s why not. How come? Well, together with what is mentioned above thousands of Australian Christians pray to God daily, and prayer is also repeated at the beginning of parliamentary sessions. One of the phrases in the Lord’s Prayer is: “Thy kingdom come, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread”. John points out that: “If we ask anything in accordance with His will then we know that He hears us, and if we know that He hears us then we know that we have the thing we asked for” and He has sure provided “our daily bread”. (1 John 5:14) many Aussies have stopped praying now and that is disastrous, so please accept Jesus offer of salvation, (if you haven’t done so already), and pray in faith for yourself, our Government and our country and its citizens. This matter is urgent if we want to maintain this way of life for future generations of Australians, and be blessed right now ourselves.    Best wishes, Tom.