Cleaning our Hearts

I’ve learnt a powerful spiritual lesson from the cleaning of my shower. Because it is one of my least favourite jobs, I tend to do it less frequently than I know I should.  But when I do, it’s then that I realize, that just like our hearts, 

if we neglect it too long, then it is so much harder and takes so much longer than necessary to clean, than if we did it regularly. 

Somehow, the muck and grime gets into places that are difficult to reach and needs stronger cleaning materials and tougher brushing.  Our hearts are like that. When we neglect all the offenses we’ve picked up and all the sinful attitudes we’ve had, without repenting and asking God for forgiveness, then they tend to block up our spiritual arteries that restricts the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Like a shower cubicle, our hearts need regular cleaning – even daily, if we want to function well.  What I try and do is when I’m lying in bed at the end of the day, I reflect of everything that happened and I try to identify things that need releasing, forgiving and changing, which in turn becomes the start of my evening prayer.  

Nature's Medicine

I’ve recently finished an excellent book by the Author Barbara Brown Taylor called ‘Leaving Church’.  It is a book that I recommend every person in Ministry should read. Among many other lessons learnt, I discovered the importance of honouring the Sabbath. This sadly seems to have been forgotten as our lives have gotten more hectic over the years and yet it is one of the 10 Commandments.  I remember when I was growing up in South Africa, nothing was even open on a Sunday. It has unfortunately completely changed since then, but even in Scotland, it is hard to maintain a day of rest in our lives, when everything continues to buzz around us.  For me, Sunday seems the obvious day to choose, as going to Church in the morning is a good way to start the day right, but I admit it’s a struggle to not ‘work’ for the remainder of the day.  In her book, Barbara shares how coming back to nature has the ability to restore our balance and peace. I learnt that nature is God’s medicine to do this. So for one day, I challenge you to join me in getting back to nature - sit on a park bench, or watch and listen to the birds, or take a walk on the beach. Whatever you choose to do, stop, rest and take in nature’s scenery while breathing out all your troubles from the week. I don’t believe it matters what day we choose, especially since so many of us do work odd hours, but for one day, or even just a part of one, we need to press the pause button in our lives, take a break from its many demands and get back in touch with nature.  It’s a lesson that has so many benefits for your mind and body, that once we start, we will understand why God made it a command…

A Reason for Everything

Sometimes life is easier to bear when we remind ourselves that in everything there is a reason.  We may not always understand why certain things happen, but if we trust in God that He is in control and knows what He is doing, we can rest assured that He will not allow anything to happen that will not be some kind of benefit to our lives. Yes, sometimes we make wrong choices in life that causes negative consequences, and yes, Satan is responsible for causing a lot of our chaos, trying to steal our peace and joy, but God has the ability to turn it all to our good. 

I am always encouraged to remember the autobiography of a well-known Christian author, Corrie Ten Boom, and learning how, whilst in a Nazi Christian Camp, even she battled to find a reason to be thankful to God for the dreaded fleas that had invaded their camp. It was only after the war that she discovered that even the nasty fleas were part of God’s amazing plan, knowing they would have prevented her camp from being overly patrolled by the wardens, and thus allowing her to witness and fellowship freely with her forbidden Bible! 

I like to think that God knows what battles in life will grow and strengthen our faith. So if you find yourself today in the depths of despair, don’t give up hope – just trust God that He has a plan for your life and is busy working it out. Seek out the positives and try to find reasons to be thankful for.  Life can be sweet – sometimes we just have to change our perspective on it… Like that famous saying goes, when life gives you lemons, learn to make lemonade!!

A Roller-Coaster Life

Sometimes our lives can feel like we are riding one of those huge scary roller-coasters and we can’t wait to get off it!  There will be exciting times when we feel on top of the world, when everything is going right and life feels good.  And then there are times when, like the dipping of a roller-coaster, we get that sick feeling in our stomach, when we feel nothing is going right and life really ‘sucks’.  In times like those, my coping mechanism has always been, when life is good, enjoy it while it lasts and when it’s not, hold on tight, encourage yourself by meditating on God’s promises and let your mantra be ‘This too shall pass’!   The thing about a roller-coaster is that you can’t always see what lies ahead, which is a lot like life.  As someone who is not a great fan of the sensation of being on a roller-coaster, it is very difficult to enjoy the ride, but in life we must – We need to stop our inner-screaming and just hold on tight to God and even if there are times when we must close our eyes, survive it we will! So just enjoy the ride...

Neighbour's from Hell

Living next door to ‘neighbours from hell’ is not easy!  I know that phrase will shock and offend some, but for those who have lived through tough times with their neighbours, I’m sure will understand and empathise where I’m coming from.  Difficult people have a tendency to make our lives seem like a living hell, but I’ve come to realize that God places certain people in our lives for the sole reason to be our sandpaper.  They help us to see our own short-comings more clearly and as we deal with them, it’s like they are rubbing away all our jagged bits in order to make us ‘smoother’ Christians.  It’s particularly not easy to ‘love’ such a person as the Bible calls us to, but I’ve discovered that when you pray for your so-called ‘enemies’, even if you don’t ‘feel’ the words, and can only do it out of obedience at first, eventually over time, your feelings will start to change towards them.  Instead of the revengeful anger and bitterness you had towards them, God can give you the ability to see them through His eyes and to experience a genuine sorrow for them instead.  It also helps to understand that it is always hurting people that hurt others and rather than focusing on their actions, we should try to see beyond their pain.