Pastor Caroline - June 10, 2020

Yesterday I asked you to have a day of reflection. How was your day of reflection? I do hope you took advantage of the suggestion to spend some time with the Lord. When we sit before Him, with our minds open, it is truly amazing the thoughts He will bring to us.

God reminded me yesterday of the day Spencer and I were married. So many years ago, in September it will be 41 years; where do all the years go? Over these years we have learned much about each other, our likes and dislikes, our habits, how to spend quiet time with each other and apart from one another. What foods we like to share and the foods that neither one of us like. Two completely different people who over the years have become so much alike and yet somehow keeping our completely different personalities, and still loving each other; even more now than on our wedding day.

God reminded me of a prayer I prayed years ago. I asked Him to bring me a husband who would not drink or smoke, who would respect and cherish me, who would be well able to provide for a family if we should be blessed with children, who would have faith in my Lord, and who I would be more in love with as the years went on. When I prayed this prayer I remember saying, I would do all I could to bring joy and happiness to the one whom God would bring into my life and in that, bring honour and glory to the Lord. Well the Lord heard my prayer and certainly answered my prayer in every detail. God is amazing!

 How blessed I am to have shared 40+ years with the man I love more today than all my yesterdays. We are having a wonderful life together, growing, changing, sharing, building, being part of our grown children’s lives, working in our chosen professions, and through all of this, God is directing our path.

God reminded me yesterday, that all my tomorrows are in His hands and because history repeats itself and God is faithful to His word, I still have much to look forward to and much to be thankful for. I can go back and see where God guided and directed me, taught me and changed me, supported and loved me through all the experiences and challenges lives gives us, and continues to allow me every day to grow closer to Him as He gives me knowledge and wisdom of His word.

He reminded me yesterday that I have been faithful to my promise to Him regarding a husband, just as He has been faithful in bringing me such a good man; with whom to this day, God continues to bless our marriage. He reminded me that in this marriage I have brought Him (the Lord), honour, and assured me that we will continue to see His many blessings ahead because of our faithfulness as husband and wife and our commitment in service to Him.

As I have shared what I reflected on yesterday, I realize that over the years God has been faithful to me because He has been part of my life since I was young when I accepted Him as Lord and Saviour.  I believe He will be faithful to you in your journey as well, if He has been part of your journey over the years, and if you have accepted Him as Lord and Savior.

In my prayer to God years ago I committed to bring joy and happiness to the husband He would bring into my life and in doing so, bring honour to my God. Hopefully I have and will continue to honour that commitment to the best of my ability. God certainly honoured me by bringing Spencer into my life and I am thankful to Him who hears and answers our prayers. I guess the point I wish to make here is this, we should not expect God to always be doing good for us, answering our prayers and showing us favour, if we are not doing good for Him and obeying His word. It is important that we understand we must be as faithful to Him as He is to us. When we make a commitment to our Lord, we must make sure that we follow through.

Colossians Chapter 1 verse 10 in the Good News Bible reads: 
(10) Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases Him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds and you will grow in knowledge of God.

In reflection, over the years, I can see the good works of the Lord, and I see how our lives produce good deeds as we grow in His knowledge and carry out His instruction for our lives.

When we live and operate our lives in the love of the Lord, studying and sharing His word, and keeping our commitment to Him, I believe He will hear our prayers and be faithful to answer, as He has committed to us. We must do our part and certainly take time to reflect on what, and how we are doing, and make changes, if and when, necessary. I believe then as Christians we will bring honour and glory to Him and He will be well pleased as we stay faithful in our service to Him.

Well folks, this was my reflective time yesterday and I must say I enjoyed every moment. I hope as you spent time with Him, you did as well.

Now let’s move into the fullness of this day reflecting on what we learned yesterday.

Have a blessed day.

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Book of Jude Part 7

Pastor Caroline - June 9, 2020

Did you ever want your reflection in the mirror to be different than what you see? When you first step in front of the mirror just after rising from a good nights sleep you might wonder, who is in there; looking back at you? However, after a short time preparing yourself for the day and the world you will face, the reflection at this point, looks pretty good. That’s because you put some effort into your presentation.

So today, let’s put some effort into our presentation. Let’s take a day of reflection and let the Lord lead us in how we should reflect and what we will reflect on.

I am not going to suggest anything to you as to how to attain the benefit of reflection, as this is something you must do on your own. I do know from personal experience and spending time with the Lord and away from “any other distraction”, that is a really good place to start.

So let’s give thanks to the Lord in advance before we start our reflection time and tell Him we will take seriously everything we learn today, knowing it will build a stronger, better tomorrow under His guidance.

Enjoy your day of reflection and be blessed in what the Lord will reveal to you on this day.

Pastor Caroline - June 8, 2020

Let’s go to the word of God this morning and look at Micah Chapter 6 verses 6 to 8 in the Good News Bible for our teaching today.
(6) What shall I bring to the Lord, the God of heaven, when I come to worship Him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings to Him?
(7) Will the Lord be pleased if I bring Him thousands of sheep or endless stream of olive oil? Shall I offer Him my firstborn child to pay for my sins?
(8) No, the Lord has told us what it is good. What He requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.

Let’s  look at these three directives this morning. I am pleased to know I serve a God who does not need or want any earthly thing I possess.
Verses six and seven are not what takes my attention as to the fulfillment of what God expects from me. However, verse eight tells me clearly what the Lord requires.

(1) to do what is just
He wants all of us to do what is just. You will always have a sense of right and wrong, good and evil, and an innate nature   within you to direct how you act and / or react to events in life. Do what is right. You will know what that is in every situation and circumstance, and, if you are unsure,  seek the wisdom of the Lord and through the Holy Spirit you will be given guidance.

(2) to show constant love
This is sometimes difficult to do in certain situations and / or times in our life. If someone causes us deliberate pain, anxiety, sorrow, or fear, it is hard to love them. However, the word of God instructs us to forgive as He has forgiven us by the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. In that shed blood we have compassion, love, mercy, and grace. We must remember that Jesus covered all our sin, we are forgiven because of the love He had for us, giving up His life and purchasing salvation for us, in that love. We are asked by our Father in heaven to show constant love, because when we do we will make better choices, (not bitter choices that cause more harm), and most often be able to turn any circumstance or situation into a praise report giving glory and honour to God who fills us with His constant love.

(3) and to live in humble fellowship with our God.
 When we are humble we realize that we are never enough, we always need God in everything we do. When Jesus was born He could have been born in a castle, however, He was born in a barn, all through His life we see His examples of humility, even through to His death. Can we exhibit such humility? When we come before the Father and stay in humble fellowship with Him, He will teach us humility. In that humility, we will serve others, we will humble ourselves before our God, and before others, and God‘s word tells us we must be humble before we receive honors, Proverbs Chapter 15 Verse 33.

There is so much to be said over these three simple, and yet,  powerful instructions from the Lord.
(1) Do what is right
(2) Show constant love
(3) Live in humble fellowship with our God.
Each one is a study in itself and I feel confident in leaving this with you today, to search the Scriptures so you yourself will have a greater knowledge and understanding of how these instructions will better your life. When we all live under God‘s mighty hand, following His instruction, we will be a stronger and better people showing others that our God reigns.

Are you willing to do what God requires?
You will be mightily blessed when you do.
Praise the Lord, for His goodness, His teaching and His love. Let us humble ourselves before our Lord today and everyday, until the day when we meet Him face to face and humility will have a completely new meaning and we will have a new, greater appreciation of being humble.

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About

WHAT IS TRUTH?

That is the question raised by Pilate, when trying to discern the difference between the statements given by Jesus at His trial and those answers of His accusers.

It’s a question that goes back to Genesis, when the serpent poses the question of what God really said when he confronted Eve about God’s instructions in the Garden. Did God really mean what He said then? Did Jesus really mean what He said in front of Pilate? Did Christ’s accusers tell the truth in their accusations?

Today it’s probably even that much harder to determine the veracity of anything. With all the information, data, and “expert” opinions of every type it’s harder than ever to answer the question “what is truth” with all those words flowing back and forth.

In many ways, truth is like trust. A young child who totally trusts their parents. They have no fear, no inhibitions, or no falsity in their presence. Likewise, Adam and Eve had no fear initially before God. It was only after the deception, that fear and questioning entered the scene and man started to hide from his Creator.

Man has actually been hiding from God ever since and has been making up their own rules in which to place trust. But since we now make the parameters by which we conduct our lives, different bodies comprise differs regulations, different organizations report events from differing perspectives, and people interpret outcomes in ways which support preconceived notions. 

In a way, we all believe what we wish to believe and so in a sense make up our own truth. We have essentially gone back in time to where Israel was at the end of the period of the Judges when “ there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25)

Today, we are inundated with news that some consider false, with information that seems to be altered according to the beliefs of who is providing or interpreting the data, and results which seem to favour one side or the other often depending on which of the two sides is more forceful in their viewpoint. Often, however, remains the question “What is truth?”.

Perhaps this is why the Bible speaks so much about having the ability of discernment. “Give therefore Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad” (1 Kings 3:9). And also to “…discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who serves Him not” (Malachi 3:16). Furthermore, in Hebrews 5:14 “…those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Jesus said, “I am the truth” (John 14:6). The Bible states “thy word is truth” (John 17:17) and “you shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

Matthew 18:3 states “unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

So are we able to act as children do before a parent? Do we have the trust that The Truth implies we should have? Do we really feel free? 

What is truth?

It’s really something to think about!

    

Pastor Caroline - June 7, 2020 - A Song of Praise

I Love You Lord by Marantha! Music

Pastor Caroline - June 5, 2020

1 Peter Chapter 3 Verse 4 in the Good News Bible reads this way:
(4) Instead, your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest value in God’s sight.

I spoke with a friend of mine just recently who said to me she did not feel beautiful anymore. I listened as she told me the things she wished she had, like the energy she had when she was young, the beautiful hair and the trim and slim body and on and on. When she finished the list I threw my head back and laughed out loud. She looked at me strangely for a moment and asked what I was laughing at. I said,”My dear, look at us, 50 years older, we are never again going to ever be those 17 year old, high spirited, young ladies we once were. Now that is a fact and a truth. We both laughed and agreed.


I did say to her, “When I see you I see a girl who grew up to be a wonderful servant of the Lord, a Mom who gave and continues to give all she had and has, in raising her family, who stood by her husband in all their years together and sometimes not in his finest years, shall we say, and who nursed her Mom and Dad in their final years until the Lord called them home.
I see a lady whose hair has turned silver with a shine that even the professional hairdressers cannot match, I see hands that are now a bit crooked from the hard labour over the years, and I see a heart as big as the sky, not only for her own family but for anyone who comes in her path.
I see a lady who is filled with peace and contentment and who is not wanting for the material things in life that will one day pass away. I see a lady who’s only desire is to love Jesus more so she can love others more”.

What do I see when I look at you?, I asked. She looked at me and waited for my summary.
I took a moment and looked straight into her eyes and I said, “I see, A Beautiful You!
I see in you 1 Peter Chapter 3 verse 4; a lady with a gentle and quiet spirit, a true sense of who you are in Christ, and who Christ is in you, a wonderful and true friend and someone who God values more every day you spend on this earth loving those you meet. Your beauty is deep within you and has a very healthy glow around you that lights up everywhere you go. You are precious and beautiful in His sight”.                               
You are,  “A Beautiful You”.

You are precious and beautiful in my sight and I am thankful I have such a beautiful friend.

I pray everyone will take to heart the above scripture and put your name in the scripture and pray it over yourself. Then you will see your value in God’s sight.

Come and join me again on Monday when we have a new reading and a fresh new week. Have a blessed weekend.
Also Sunday I will share the message by video in the late afternoon, please join me then.

You are precious in His sight.