In my book “Hari and Rudi in the land of Fruit” we are getting to know a “character” Kindness through the story where the other children in the village where sharing their toys with Hari and Rudi.
Is kindness only an act in our lives or is it a lifestyle we are living out specially now in these difficulty’ times with COVID-19. Are we only making sure that our own cupboards are filled up to the brim and emptying all the shelfs in the shops or are we thinking about others whom may not have the resources to fill their cupboards with the basic essential items they need to live? It is time to look around you and see others in their needs and show them your mercy, compassion and that you really care about them.
Take a minute and think how you could put love into action in the area you are living in.
The Bible is teaching us also about this kindness.
In the Old Testament we have David who showed kindness to Saul’s grandson Mephiboshethl by giving him what belongs to him (2 Samuel 9)
In the New Testament Jesus is telling a story about the Good Samaritan to teach us how to show kindness to other people in need. (Luke 10:30-37)
Do you feel being lucky that you have roof over the head and food on your table or are you taking it as God’s blessing and you are sharing it with others.
Sometimes we need other people’s inspiration to be creative ourselves. A good friend C .Goodnough has shared this with me and I would like to share it with you. It has an uplifting messages and I hope it will help you as it has helped me. Inspirational Thought: One summer my daughter and I found a nice “pick-your-own” strawberry patch and came home with half a dozen baskets of berries to put in the freezer. For some reason shasta daisies were blooming among the strawberry plants; when we loaded up our loot, my daughter picked a few of these and tossed them in with our berries.
Once home we were soon occupied with stemming and preserving strawberries and the flowers were forgotten until the evening; by then they looked pretty limp. My first thought was to toss them out, but I decided to trim the ends, put them in water, and see if they would revive. An hour or so later I checked them and was pleased to see them looking “fresh as a daisy” again.
I thought of the song that says, “I can’t take a heart that’s broken, make it over again, but I know a Man Who can.”*
Do you sometimes feel as limp, neglected, and unwanted as a trampled flower? Here’s some great news: the Lord can restore people as well as flowers! And His is not a temporary lift, only to let you droop and die again. When we put ourselves into His hands, He promises to be a well of water in our lives, springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)
Not only singly, but in twos and threes as well—in fact, He gives special attention to family groups. Relations between husband and wife, parents and children, former friends, in-laws, all can be revived and rebuilt by a better plan. “I know a Man Who can!”
“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
God is not interested in your abilities whether you have them or not, He is more interested in your availability to be used by Him. Our disabilities can sometimes hold us back we feel inadequate and get into a negative spiral, saying, “Oh, no. I can’t do this, I can’t speak, I am not good with my hands or I am not good at organising things.”
I am guilty of saying all the above at times, too. I have been in a wheelchair for four years and also have other disabilities which I have allowed to holed hold me back from being used by God. But I have learned that there is so much blessing in simply doing what I can for Him. No matter what disabilities you face God can take the little you have in your hand and multiply it, like the little boy who gave the two fishes and five roles of bread.
Some years back I learnt the story of a man called John who had disabilities similar to mine. I would like to share his story with you
In a beautiful old city where the crowds clutter the streets, they went
about their daily business by day and by night. The noise of those people
was like the sound of snare drums for John which disturbed him sometimes. John moved to this town soon after his parents died and he was feeling quite alone. All he could find for a home was a flat on the sixth floor of a tall house in the old part of the town which was bustling with life all day long. It wasn’t easy for John living on the sixth floor but he had some loyal friends that help him every day bring his shopping and also a Newspaper. John at first found it very hard to come to terms with his disability and felt very hopeless and good for nothing. To make matters worse, some people who didn’t have any respect for disabled folks mocked him from time to time. This deeply saddened John.
One day John woke up and looked down on
the busy street below from his little window that didn’t let much sun light in
to his room. John started
to think how I can reach these people for Jesus?. Suddenly a bright idea popped into his head.
This was to use the Newspapers to make paper planes
with little notes on them and fly them out of the window.
Some of those notes read like this: If
you are lonely and need a friend then come up to the sixth floor to my flat and
have a cup of tea and a chat.
Another would say if
you need to talk with someone about your life problems then pay me a visit on
the sixth floor.
This was back in the days before people were so fearful and suspicious, so when people on the street below would find the notes, they’d pay a visit to John up on the sixth floor. John would share his life and talk about Jesus to those people. Some would listen and some didn’t want to hear about this but some found Jesus.
After John began to reach out to other people and
they got to know him, people started to see John in a more positive way. John
didn’t feel hopeless anymore because he was able to be used by God.
So John learnt from
all this that God can still use people with their disabilities, if they are
willing to use what they have been given by God.
We all have a tendency to believe the
negative things that
people say to discourage us but
we need to focus on the potential that God has given
to every one of us.
The Hebrew Bible word, shalom, in its purest sense means “peace.” The meaning is positive, when someone says, “Shalom,” or, “Peace unto you,” it doesn’t mean, “I hope you don’t have trouble and difficult times “; it means, “I hope you have life with a capital L God’s type of life.” Most people in the world today don’t recognize peace as a positive concept. Their minds focus on the simplest aspect of peace, which is merely the absence of trouble, which are the world’sand also the dictionary’s definition. The Bible doesn’t share the same view point on peace; it’s not based on our circumstances or the absence of them. Peace is God-given and isn’t affected by outward circumstances. We can still experience this God-given peace in our lives despite the trials and great storms we all face. In the book of James 1:2 we read that Paul was content despite being in prison in chains, he could still sing knowing that God would still be good to him. In the end he shared that goodness with the jailer, and his family found salvation in our Lord. Where can we find such peace in our lives and in the middle of those troubles and storms? We see in the life of Paul, this God-given peace overcomes every trouble and storm in our life. We learn from Paul that his focus was not on the negative and his circumstances but his focus was purely on thanking and praising God. The result of all this was that he came through those circumstances and troubles with Jesus. The outcome of this was positive and everything worked for his good, although God didn’t take him out of his circumstances. Perfect peace comes when our focus is off the trouble, and is constantly on Christ. Isaiah 26:3 says, “The steadfast of mind you will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.” We learn two important lessons from Paul’s story: first, to keep our focus on God; second, to trust God to give us peace. This reminds me of a story a Chinese man ones told me about a man walking over four hills. A man set off on a journey one day, the day was hot and sticky his clothes stuck to his body. He climbed to the top of this large hill when to his surprise a lion was standing in front of him. Being scared he cried out to God “Help” but he heard nothing. Then, out of the corner of his eye he saw a flower. As he concentrated on the flower for a while the lion became insignificant. He continued on his journey up the next hill after an hour he reached the top of the hill to be met by two lions. Again he cried out to God but again he heard nothing from God but out of the corner of his eye he saw a bunch of flowers. The man concentrated on this little bunch of flowers and after sometime he realised that the two lions became insignificant and God gave him the courage to carry on.
He continued on his journey up the next hill after sometime he reached the top of the next hill to be met by pack of lions. The man was so scared that he broke down on his knees and cried out to God a 3rd time. Again God said nothing. Suddenly he saw out of the corner of his eye a field of beautiful flowers as he gazed on those flowers the pack of lions became insignificant. God gave him the courage to go on. The man continued home to share his adventure with his best friend, his friend ask him what he had learnt from this experience. The man said, “Well I have learnt that the lions represent the troubles we face in life and the flowers represent focusing on God. Although the lions or troubles don’t go away we know by focusing on God that we can go through them with Him and that He is our help in time of need. In order to allow the peace of Christ to rule your heart, you must first focuson God. We live in a world that continually demands our attention. We struggle to keep our thoughts in order and our task lists and projects completed. There’s no doubt that it’s hard to focus. But focus is crucial when it comes to our relationship with Christ. When we endeavor to read the Bible, and don’t focus, it’s so easy for our thoughts to wander to different places. You will go through the pages of the Scripture but you will feel like you are not being fed. You may even come to a point where you feel like you’re wasting your time because you’re not truly connecting with the words you’re reading. When we are facing troubles and trials in our lives then we need to focus on God. Focusing is a vital tool in knowing God’s peace in the middle of the storms in our lives. I say in the middle of the storms of life, God does not take you and me out of the storms but He wants us to experience His presences through the storms. If we want God’s peace to rule in our hearts we need to know the true and only source of peace who is God. We see in 1 Thessalonians 3:16 that God is referred to as the God of peace this is mentioned in scripture over and over again. True peace can’t be found in a quiet place alone or at the beach watching the sun go down. It can only be found in intimacy with God. True and lasting soul-level peace is found only in a Person: Jesus Christ, the Source of all peace.
The next step, in knowing Gods peace, is trust in God, knowing that He is in control of your life and that He has promised to never leaf us or forsake us. He is Emmanuel, God with us, that when everything in life is going well or we are experiencing the storms of life beating against us.
This was difficult for His disciples in the boat that stormy night on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus was asleep. The disciples focused on the storm buffeting them and didn’t trust Jesus words we will go to the other side. Again Jesus didn’t take them out of the storm but gave them the opportunity to put their trust in Him. When our circumstances seem bigger than our trust in God; this is because we don’t know him intimately. This is why we need to focus our attention on building our relationship with God, building our trust in Him. As humans we have a tendency to focus on the negatives. Our eyes are on the troubles, trials and storms in our lives instead of Jesus.
So far we have learned how important it is to:
*Focus on God
*Trust in God and to know him intimately
The next step in knowing true peace is in receiving peace and applying it in
our daily lives. Peace is a free gift from God but if we don’t receive it, and
then He will not force it on us.
We can only receive God peace in our lives by turning our focus off our
circumstances and putting our trust in Him to bring us through.
If all we do is focus on the troubles then that is all we will see and
experience but if we focus on Jesus and trust that He is with us, then we can
go through those troubles with Him.
For people who don’t know Jesus, then all that’s left for them is to grit the
teeth and go through it all without Jesus at their side.
We apply Gods peace in our lives by learning to put our trust in Him and
keeping our focus on Him. This does not fall from heaven. God wants us to
put our trust in him and focus on Him to experience His peace in
the storms of life.
The Holy Spirit is the Giver of this peace, and He dispenses it
as a gift. Galatians 5:22 says one aspect of the fruit of the Holy Spirit is
peace. You might ask if it was Christ’s peace, why the Holy Spirit is giving
it. The answer is in John 16:14, which says, “He will glorify me;
for He will take of mine and will disclose it to you.” The Holy
Spirit’s ministry is to take the things of Christ andhelp us to apply
them to our lives.
This is the peace that Paul speaks about in Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of
God, which surpasses all comprehension understanding, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.”
The peace of God is not based on circumstances like the world’s peace, so it
doesn’t always make sense to the carnal mind; Paul says it is a peace that
surpasses comprehension. It doesn’t seem reasonable that such peace could exist
in the midst of the problems and troubles Christians go through. But this is
divine, supernatural peace; it cannot be figured out on a human level.
This
subjective, experiential peace—the peace of God—has its foundation in the
objective, factual peace—peace with God. The peace of God is not obtainable by
those who are not at peace with Him. God alone brings peace. In fact, in
Philippians 4:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, and again in Hebrews 13:20, He is called
“the God of peace.”
Then in perfect peace Jesus replied, “You would have no authority over me,
unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11).
That’s the kind of peace Jesus is talking about. That’s the kind He gives to
us. It is unwavering fearlessness and trust. So the source of peace is Christ.
In fact, Christ is seen throughout the New Testament as the distributor of
peace. In Acts 10:36, Peter says, “The word which He sent to the
sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ.” 2
Thessalonians 3:16 says, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself
continually grant you peace.” Jesus Christ gives us His own personal peace. It has been tested; it was
His own shield and His own helmet that served Him in battle, and He gave it to
us when He left. It should give us the same serenity in danger, the same calm
in trouble, and the same freedom from anxiety. Jesus also said, I am not come to bring peace to the earth,
but a sword. (Matthew 10:34-36)
The Giver of Peace
Notice that every promise Jesus made to His troubled disciples
on the night before His death was rooted in the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Christ promised life, union with deity, full understanding, and peace to those
who are His disciples, but it is the Spirit of God who takes the things of
Christ and gives them to us.
Jesus shows us the proper response to His promise of peace, “Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful”
(John 14:27). We ought to be able to lay hold of this peace. It is there, it is
ours; but we must take hold of it. It is interesting that He says “I give
you peace,” then He says, “Do not let your heart be troubled.”
The peace He gives has to be received and applied in our lives. If we lay hold
of the promise of the very peace of Christ, we will have calm, untroubled
hearts, regardless of external circumstances.
If you have a troubled heart, my friend, it is because you do not believe
God—you don’t really trust His promise of peace. Anxiety and turmoil seldom
focus on present circumstances. Normally, anxiety is trouble borrowed from
either the past or the future. Some people worry about things that might
happen. Others’ anxieties come out of the past. But both the future and the
past are under the care of God.
He promises to supply our future need, and He has forgiven the past. Don’t
worry about tomorrow or yesterday. Jesus said, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34).
Concentrate on trusting God for today’s needs.
People today live in a form of existential shock. They don’t understand their
own being; they don’t know who they are, where they are going, or what they do when
they get there—if they get there. I recently saw a sign on a man’s desk that
said, “I’ve got so many troubles that if anything else happens to me, it
will be two weeks before I can even worry about it.”
To experience this God given peace in our daily life we need to apply these 4 steps: *Focus on God *Trust in God *Receive his peace *Apply peace to your daily lives. Some of us may ask what if: “What if my spouse is suing for a divorce? What if my doctor says I have some incurable disease? Or a family member is killed by a terrorist? Or my child is an addict and just landed up in jail for possession? Or tells you they’re gay? Or when you’re loved one walks away from God and chooses an immoral life? Can you really just smile and sail through?” You may not experience these troubles listed above but you may face severe trials of you own. We are all faced with a choice to trust God and focus on Him knowing He is with us through it all, or we go through it alone. The Bible says, “No temptation hath overtaken you but such as is common to man.” All people face troubles of one kind or another. God will not take us out of those circumstances but allows us to go through them, to strengthen our relationship with Him and teach us to put our trust in Him. If I had to go through some of those things listed above without Jesus at my side I don’t believe I would be here today. But he has helped me though the troubles I have faced. He hasn’t taken me out of those situations but He has been with me in and through those situations. It has strengthened my relationship with God and I am thankful for it.
On the 18th February I had my first face to face book promotion at Bacup library. Preparations for this event started before my book was live on Amazon. I am very thankful to the people who have helped me to organise this event. Looking back at the event I have learned some valuable lessons which I can apply in organising my upcoming events.
March will be a short month for my writing as I am gaining
inspiration under the palm trees in Barcelona for 10 days.
On the 1st April I have again a face to face book promotion
and also my first book signing at Bacup library. I am looking for other areas
i.e prisons and schools where I could share the message of my book .
What was the reason that you last picked a book up from your
bookshelf? Was it to dust it? Was it to replace it with an ornament? Or did you
open it and read it?
We don’t see so many young people reading books these days.
If it comes to that we don’t see so many adults reading books these days
either. Too often they are keeping their mind occupied with the virtual world
on their phone or an i-pad.
Whytoread.com has revealed that there are 10 main reasons
why it is good to read. It will change your life. I have shown nine of those
reasons below.
Reading enables you to learn new words and expressions. It gives you the tools necessary to help you to explain yourself to others.
Reading will improve your focus and help you to
concentrate. You can become so focused on your reading that you will be barely
aware of the room in which you are sitting. Does that sound familiar?
People who read will be more likely to visit museums
and concerts than people who don’t read. Readers are more likely than
non-readers become volunteers with charitable bodies, and will be better
informed about the world in which they live.
Reading will improve your imagination. The reading of stories will enable you to visualise the background in which the characters are set. The writer will be describing the environment as they see it but your imagination will add further details to the picture in your mind.
You can discover further information by reading around
other subjects. This will help you to broaden your outlook and you can become
better informed and partake in conversations without embarrassment.
The habit of reading will make you into a more
interesting and attractive person. Others will be looking forward to meeting
you and will enjoy engaging you in conversation.
Reading is an excellent way to reduce stress. 6 minutes
reading a day can reduce your stress by a significant amount.
Reading will enhance your brain power and your memory
will be improved.
Reading is an excellent way to stay occupied. Your holiday flight will pass in an instant
with a good book or a magazine and you will
be surprised how quick your flight was.
I hope that you have found
something in this blog that has made you think.
Ratcliffe's-creativeworld 