Wars!

So wars continue today! In the Middle East and pretty well all over the world, things can be pretty tough. The whole world seems to be at war, and it is getting tougher and tougher. Missiles, drones, all intensifying as countries beef up against other countries, and it seems to be getting worse and worse.

So many people are dead and dying - it is horrendous and extremely horrifying.

Before all this started, Jesus was telling parables/stories. He told two particular stories to his disciples, recorded for us in  Matthew 13:44-46, in which he described what the kingdom of heaven is like. 

No 1 Story: It went like this, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then, in his joy, went and sold all he had and bought that field."

Nice - He got not only the field but also the hidden treasure

No 2 Story  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." 

These two stories of Jesus that he told to His disciples pretty much tell the same theme. That is, they really try to get through to us just how much value coming to Christ means to us and what the value of God's kingdom is to us if we choose to accept it. 

Jesus also, through these two stories, implies a lot, like what we should be prepared to give up to possess God's amazing Kingdom. Not that we may have to give everything up, but unfortunately, many people worldwide have and continue to.

In the stories, both guys gave away all they owned to possess a greater find. Jesus was trying to get through to us the real value of God's eternal Kingdom. In the stories, they gave away earthly possessions to gain even greater rewards.

Back to today's Middle East problems. Many can be punished severely for even owning a Bible. There are scores of Christians currently imprisoned. If you are discovered owning a Bible, you can be imprisoned for "Illegal Christian Activities," and that I can imagine can be disastrous for so many.

Then there are wars! They seem to be continuing all over the planet. Just to list a few, which really are very disturbing:- The Myanmar conflict, the civil war in Somalia, the insurgency in Benin, the Sudanese conflict, the Russian/Ukrainian War, the Afghan war, the Venezuelan Conflict, the Syrian Conflict, and so it goes on. 

So many people are going through such torturous times. Where do we go from here?

Jesus said in Matthew 24, "You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but don't panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won't follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts  of the world."

When the world was first created, Satan, who was created as a mighty and good angel, had only one desire, and that was to usurp God's glory, and he fell due to his arrogant desire to take the place of God. Read about it in Isaiah 14:12-15.

Satan is very clever in today's world, being very good at deceit, as you can read in John 8:44. He is skillful beyond our imagination at tempting people (believe me, I am probably one of the worst). He is also ruthless and willing to spare no one in his pursuit of glory!

However, Satan is no match for Jesus, who is Lord of all. We will all face Satan's attacks as he tempts, tests, and accuses us all. 

Back as far as Adam and Eve, when sin first made its appearance in the created world of our God. Sin took control and still is, thanks to Satan. We all sin, every one of us, we live in sin and die in a sinful world BUT....

Of course, Jesus came to save us from sin. He died to take sin away from us. All we have to do is to accept HIs great love for us and His sacrifice when he took the sin of the whole world on Himself and killed it on Calvary all those years ago. He rose again to show us that all we have to do is to accept his love for us and the very fact that He killed sin on our behalf.

We have to accept His great gift to us and ask him to lead us through this mixed-up and sometimes tumultuous life. You can do that right now if you wish. Life can be tough BUT keeping our faith and trust in God, regardless of what we may be going through, will see us to amazing salvation when our time comes at the end.

When we decide to come to Jesus and ask Him into our lives, we can always take refuge in Him, for by the power of his name, we are successfully able to resist all the hurdles and sin pits Satan sticks in our way.

In both the stories about the pearl and the hidden treasure, the man found in the field, Jesus, really wants us to understand that the Kingdom of God needs to be above everything in our lives. Both guys were willing to give everything they had to get what they wanted. 

Unlike the parable and, unfortunately, how some people feel today, we don't have to pay money to follow Christ; we give Him our lives, not money.

In these two parables, Jesus wants to get through to us and to also encourage us that we really need to put our love for our Lord first and foremost in our lives. There is absolutely nothing here on earth or in our lives more valuable than God's kingdom.

God's richest blessings to you. Hope to see you next time.

Unique!

Australia is pretty unique in lots of aspects. For example, Rawlina Station in Western Australia is the largest sheep station in Australia; it spans roughly 10,117 kilometers or 2.5 million acres.

It is right on the Nullarbor Plain, which is pretty much famous for its aridness and treelessness. It's a limestone landscape and goes over 1200 kilometers (about 750 miles)  between South Australia and Western Australia.

Rawlina Station has around 70,000 merino sheep and can easily hold at least 10,000 more, and it is one of the largest sheep stations in Australia. Rawlina Station was long owned and operated by the MacLachlan family and was previously known as Jumbuck Pastoral, until it was sold off to the Consolidated Pastoral Company.

Australia and sheep sort of go hand in hand through the generations, and like New Zealand, "across the ditch" from Australia, sheep and pastoral activities are a given.

In Matthew 18:12-14, Jesus tells another amazing story. This time it is about a "Shepherd who owns one hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, of course, he will leave the ninety-nine others and go look for the one sheep that wandered away. If he finds the lost sheep, I truly tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish."

One hundred sheep in the Bible days obviously amounted to a huge amount of work being done by a shepherd, and of course, if one of the sheep wandered off, it was the shepherd's responsibility to go find that sheep and bring it back to the fold before wild dogs or the like found the sheep before the shepherd did.

Of course, in those days as well, every single sheep was accounted for, every single one, and the shepherd was responsible for the safety and their safe return to the fold.

Jesus paid for our sins on that cross, and he really wants all of us, like the shepherd he truly is, to come to him, ask his forgiveness, and enter into his newness of everlasting life in him.

Things have changed so much over the years, when we consider even in Australia just how big our sheep stations are. If one apparently goes missing, then there is very little anyone can do about it. So, unlike what Jesus was trying to get through to us in the parable/story he told to his disciples.

Why did he tell them the story? Good question. 

Way back then, before Jesus told them the story, as related above about the shepherd looking for his lost sheep, the disciples were all in a bit of a quandary, wondering who was the best of the bunch and who was going to go to heaven at the end, and who wasn't.

Two of the disciples, James and John, must have been two of the ones wondering about heaven and what they had to do to get there, and they obviously talked to their mum about it.

Mum, in her wisdom, fronted up to Jesus and came straight out with the question that was obviously on her heart. The question was this, maybe not quite like she said it, but she approached Jesus and asked, "When my sons get to heaven, can one sit on your right and one on your left?"

She was obviously concerned that they might not get to heaven at all, and she wanted to make sure that they would certainly have a special place next to Jesus. Jesus said to her that obviously she was asking a hard question and one that she didn't fully understand.

Jesus then approached all the disciples, and obviously, James and John's mother was there too, and then told them the story as mentioned above about the lost sheep.

Jesus then called a child over and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name  welcomes me."

Well, that would have brought a pause to the group, I think. He also mentions the last will be first and first will be last.

When we come to Christ, we have to realise that Jesus is like a shepherd, especially in this story he told of the lost sheep. He has a big following already, people who have come to him and asked him into their lives. People who follow him and make him number one in their lives on a daily basis.

In the story, he brings out that just one little sheep was lost and far away. Why would he mention this lost sheep? Who was he possibly referring to? You, me? 

He was referring to those of us who walk away from him and want nothing to do with him at all. Also, all those of us who have a big and sometimes huge opinion of ourselves and put ourselves first in a lot of situations.

In the parable, he really wants to show that these people, even though they may have little or even nothing to do with him, or putting themselves first in every possible situation, that he loves them and wants to show them his mercy and wants to bring them back into his family of believers.

In this story, Jesus also notes that when a person who has always turned away from him comes back and makes him number one in their lives, there will be great rejoicing in heaven because we have a sinner repenting and turning to God.

I know that so often I am that lost sheep, I sin, and I really feel we are in that category of being that lost sheep. The thing is, we can come to God and ask his forgiveness, and yes! He will forgive us and show us the way forward, even though the path is often rocky and we stumble a lot. 

All of us make mistakes, and all of us need God's mercy and yes! We will feel the joy of God's forgiveness when we return to Him and turn away from whatever is dragging us.

How are you? Do you know Jesus at all? Maybe now is the right time to ask Jesus into your life and make him number one.

Hope to see you next time.

Reconciled

My Grandad was a teacher, not a real one, but someone who loved to help you do things and show you how to make things. He had lots of plans.

His name was Charles, and he loved to go out and tell a lot of people about what it was like to be a Christian. He was born a long time ago and was the youngest of five children. 

His elder sister Louise married a young man whose surname was Mark, and he owned a lot of land with large acreages and all lake frontages. The place ended up being named after him, and today it's called Mark's Point. There were kilometers of it and absolutely no houses around at that time, so different from today.

In his parents' wisdom, which, in today's terms, would be thoroughly outrageous, they sent young Charles at a very early age to live on an island in the middle of Mark's Point lake, which was then owned by his brother-in-law and his big sister. He was all on his own. His parents' view was to help him grow up a bit.

And grow up he did, he gave his life to Jesus on the island, and when he eventually came home, found himself travelling around not only for work but also bringing the gospel of Jesus to heaps of people who at that time were really struggling with the depression and living in absolute poverty.

He married Sarah Lambert (that's Sarah and Charles in the photo), and they also had five children, of which my dad, also Charles, was the youngest.

Me also being the youngest of five, loved going to Granddad's place. He had an amazing backyard, all little paths and heaps of bushes, it was like a maze, and I used to scoot around the whole place like a treasure hunt. All on my own, all my siblings had long gone, with Granddad working in the backyard, always making something. I loved it.

Granddad related so well to the story that Jesus told his disciples about what the kingdom of God was like. He encouraged so many people to come to Christ and give their lives to him.

He always told us that God is alive and really wants you to give your lives to Him. When I was just sixteen years old, my Grandma had died a long while before, and Granddad was also dying in the hospital. He told me to make sure I gave my life to Jesus and to make sure others knew about our Lord.

He was an amazing Granddad and he cared so much for us.

Jesus was with his disciples, no one else, and he told them this parable or story as we would know it today. You can read it in Matthew 13:52

"Therefore, every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of the house who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old" (English Standard Version).

Hmm, interesting to look at this story that Jesus told. Firstly, a scribe is a teacher, and in the story he told, if you are going to be a teacher, that is someone who fully understands the Kingdom of Heaven, then you also have to be a pupil or student.

Jesus told this parable to his followers, and he wanted them to know that he looked to the past with respect and encouraged his listeners to realise that God is alive and constantly at work in our lives, that is, of course, if we are ready to accept him into our lives and be our Number one. 

In the story that he told, he emphasized that the old truths in the Bible are real, and what Jesus was doing here was shining a new light on them. He also wants us to know that he came to earth as the saviour. He actually, through this parable, was taking the old truths and putting them into context like we have today.

God wants all of us to be reconciled to Himself and also to each other. He wants us to come to Him regardless of whether we are persecuted and feel like falling away. God wants us to endure all the ups and downs that we are constantly coping with, often day to day.

If we are to be faithful to God and become true citizens of heaven, then we have to believe the Bible or scripture entirely. Jesus taught us about God and his kingdom, that we need to be true followers of Jesus and what He taught us. It is so good to know what is in the Bible and how we should react to other people. Regardless of what or who these people are.

We need to be not just listeners but people who obey what Jesus said and still does. We need to take the Word of God seriously and truthfully, we need to trust Him implicitly, and follow him. That's what Jesus meant in the parable/story that He told his disciples.

Makes you think, are we really listening to Jesus and following him? 

Give your life to Him, and He will lead you into eternity with Him.

God bless you, and I hope to see you next time.

Keep the good and throw the bad away!

Keep the good and throw the bad away! Jesus told yet another parable/story to his disciples.

This time, He told them about how the people were out catching fish and how they threw the net out and caught a lot.

There were good-sized fish in the net, quite a lot in fact, so after they dragged the net ashore and then collected all the good-sized fish into baskets, they threw all the others away.

When I was a little guy and the youngest of five siblings, we all went on holiday to a place not far from our home. A place called "Mark's Point", which was named after my Dad's Aunt, who ended up marrying one of the 'Marks' who lived pretty much on the shore of Newcastle's Lake Macquarie. hence named "Mark's Point".

It was a great spot. Right on the lakefront. Today, there are so many houses out there that it is totally unbelievable. 

I know my Mum and Dad would be totally gobsmacked to see it how it is today, but back then, when I was just a little hanger-on, I reckoned it was a magical place. There was hardly anyone there at all.

I loved it. We went swimming pretty much every day and all day, and then went out in the boat and fishing like crazy, bringing in the loot, and Mum would cook up fish platters that would feed the family every single day.

So many days I was so sea sick my dad used to put me ashore, and I toddled on home, throwing up all the way. How things have changed. There were hardly any homes there at all, and mostly they were weekenders and were only used as a breakaway from work.

When Jesus told his disciples this story, and when it was relayed to us, even when I was in Sunday School about catching fish and throwing some away, I loved it. I related to it so well.

It wasn't until I was much older that the parable told by Jesus about the people who went fishing suddenly came home to me. Some fish were great, and some were rotten. Jesus kept the good ones and threw the others out.

It was a story Jesus told, very similar to the weeds and wheat mentioned in one of my other blogs just recently. What was He trying to get through to us? Keep the good? Throw the bad?

I've been looking into it over the years, and the story that Jesus told had, again, to do with the coming judgement when Jesus will come to earth again at the very end of the world as we know it. 

The whole parables Jesus told had to do with the coming end of days and the total judgement. It can be pretty scary if you really have no desire in your life to even look at what the Bible has to say about coming to Christ and giving your life to Him. 

All sorts of people are intrigued by the gospel and by the very fact that Jesus, thousands of years ago, gave up his life. That is where the life of Jesus stops for so many people in today's world. So many people think, "Oh, I wonder why he did that?"

Well, I know why He did that. He came into this world as the eternal Son of God - sinless - homeless - perfect in every way - and so ready to take all of our sins upon His shoulders and pay the price that we would have to pay when our time comes to an end.

Some people are so willing to listen and learn about what Jesus says, but others just listen, shrug their shoulders, and think, "So what!" Some people don't want to hear any of it. They get a bit upset if you dare mention to them what the Bible is all about.

Makes me wonder why? I feel maybe their lives are filled with controversy, hurt, and guilty consciences. I have met some people who are so angry about the Word of God, and they get all carried away with you if you dare mention the Bible and the life of Christ. Some people have obviously had really bad experiences in Christian schools, churches, hostels, and hospitals.

That is hard, and I fully understand. Actually, we are all basically sinners. Born that way, and we can do absolutely nothing about being born into sin and living in a sin-filled world.

It was only that Jesus came into the world all those years ago and paid for our sins on the cross. All of us, regardless of what we have been through in this topsy-turvy world of ours, and what some people have done to us both physically and emotionally, can come to Jesus and ask him into our lives to lead and guide us to eternity.

Some people feel they are so full of sin that God will have nothing at all to do with them. Maybe they continue to sin, and they feel it is impossible to come to Christ at all. Well, I can tell you that regardless of what you have been through or what you are doing right at this moment, if you ask Christ to come into your life, he will.

Sure, things go haywire in this earthly place if ours. Actually, Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, once asked Jesus, "Is forgiving someone seven times enough?" Jesus replied,  "I do not say to you up to seven times but up to seventy times seven." 

God has no limits. God's grace abounds and abounds, and He is so willing to forgive your sin and my sin, no matter what that sin may be. Yes, where we live, we may have to pay the price if we have gone against the law, but God will forgive us.

That certainly does not mean that we have a licence to sin and keep on sinning. God knows our errors, and He knows our very weaknesses. God sent His Holy Spirit to live in our world to guide us constantly, showing us over and over again where we have tripped up.

When we fail and if we come to God and ask His forgiveness, He will forgive us in 1 John 1:9, it says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  All God is saying here is that he will forgive us if we come to him and honestly tell him our wrongs.

I John 1:9 - mentioned above - is a pretty amazing verse in the Bible. It is not only amazing but truly wonderful. We can be forgiven by God no matter what we have done. 

When you think about all the things buzzing around in our heads and in our lives, like our human and often man-made desires, our actions, which can have a multitude of horrible effects, God says, "I will forgive all of them, and cleanse you from all unrighteousness". 

Confession of sin in our lives is important! I would really encourage you to spend time in confession of your sin with God right now and ask him to lead your life.

God bless you this week, and I hope to see you next time.

72nd Anniversary of the Army Duc disaster in Newcastle NSW

 It was the 72nd Anniversary of the Army Duc disaster in Newcastle, NSW, at Stockton Beach on March 8th.

It was one of the most peacetime military tragedies to hit Newcastle since World War II. It was in the early morning hours of March 8th, 1954, when 20 amphibious vehicles, which included army tanks that were also viable on land, "embarked on the 15th Northern Rivers Lancers Annual camp."(quote) 

They left Newcastle's Army camp in the early hours and boarded amphibious vehicles to head 30 kilometres away (almost 19 miles) to head for Morna Point, where they intended to stay for up to one week for a military exercise.

The night was very calm, and they headed out around 2.00am, but as they crossed the Stockton Bight, the weather turned disastrous, stormy, and dark, and the seas were gigantic, and the waves crashed.

By the time they were well past Nobby's Headland, the waves were huge, and they could not turn the Army Duc's around; many of the Army Duc's engines failed and quickly started to sink.

Many of the young soldiers and CMF trainees were thrown into the water, where they immediately all came into a circle as best they could, considering the huge waves crashing into their bodies. They were also dressed in all their army gear, including backpacks, boots, and coats.

As they were thrown into the enormous seas, the huge waves sank at least eight of the vehicles, and unfortunately, three young soldiers were killed.

The whole thing was pretty disastrous, and one soldier, Terry Sargent, was saved and was quoted as saying, "Everyone was frightened, there were definitely sharks in the water, we saw them, and it was a notorious part of Newcastle's Stockton beach anyway, especially this part of the ocean. The shark was nearly swimming alongside us.

Many already aboard the Army Duc's were incredibly seasick and very frightened, including myself." 

Major Jack Wachsmann said, "There were reports of waves up to 6 meters (almost 20 feet) high hitting the tanks and the Army Ducs, and it was local surf lifesavers who ultimately came to the rescue. It was totally dark in the early hours, and the Stockton Lifesaving Club was roused out of their beds and ran straight into the surf to help."

Just recently, we have been blessed to hear these events from those involved.  It was pretty emotional listening to the men who were actually there, especially after 72 years. These men were quite emotional. Their recollections of that terrible night were like they had just happened.

That probably would be one of the scariest and heroic things to happen, especially in good old Newcastle.

In the Bible, in Mark 4: 35-41 the story relates to a time when Jesus and his disciples decided to cross the Sea of Galilee, all was good. 

Like above, all was going well until the clouds quickly appeared. A fierce storm suddenly broke over the land and sea, and the waves were gigantic, swamping the boat and sending it headlong into the depths, and also riding the huge waves which were breaking constantly over them all.

The disciples were terrified. They were completely awash; they could really feel the boat was swamped. They were trying desperately to keep the boat afloat. Where was Jesus in all of this?

He was in the stern of the boat, asleep on a cushion. The disciples woke him and shouted through the storm, "Teacher, don't you care if we all drown?" 

Jesus got up and immediately rebuked the wind and the rain and said, "Quiet! Be still." Immediately, it all became calm. The lesson from Jesus is pretty obvious here. He has power over all the storms we have in life. He is right beside us when we go through trauma. He loves us, and He saves us from and wants us to trust him more than we do.

Trauma is a terrible thing, and I can only imagine what those men and their families went through all those years ago. The disciples of Jesus went through a similar thing, too, and being out in the ocean in a storm was and is horrific. I can only imagine what wars are like. It would be totally traumatic. All of the armed forces paid so much in the past and still are today in so many places.

Jesus came into this world in extreme poverty and was so willing to pay for our eternity with His life. He gave His life so that we might live. He rose again from death and showed us the complete victory over sin and death.

Is death concerning you? I know we don't want to die BUT when we do, we can know where we are going. 

As mentioned, Jesus gave His life for us so that our sins are paid for IF we decide to make Him No 1 in our lives.  Asking Him to lead us will give us complete victory over sin and death. Life will still bring its disasters, traumas, and failures, but coming to Jesus gives us the goal of an amazing future with Him for eternity.

In Matthew 13:33, Jesus told us another story about what the kingdom of heaven is like. He said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about 27 to 28 Kilos or 60 pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough." 

What he was getting through to us in that parable/story was that the very kingdom of God will grow and grow.

He used just a little bit of yeast to get his message across. The yeast was tiny compared to the amount of flour being mixed up BUT the yeast had a miraculous effect. It worked its way through the dough and made the bread or whatever was in mind.

Jesus, through the story here, was getting through to us that His kingdom will grow and flourish. Even though at that stage it may have appeared small, just like the yeast in the story, God's message will grow and grow and keep on growing until many, many people will come to know the fullness of eternity.

Jesus also mentioned in Matthew 16:6 to be aware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. In other words, be aware of things said and done that can turn us away from the very Word of God. We must keep our hearts and minds fully on to what the Bible says.

God bless you this week - keep your eyes and hearts on God.

Hope to catch you next time.

Nastiness can be nasty

While Jesus was physically here on earth, he told many stories, or parables, as they were known then, and one of those parables, recorded in Matthew 13, was about a sower or a plowman sowing seeds. In those days, the sower went out to throw the seeds in the prepared ground, and he really took a lot of time doing so.

In the story, the farmer sowed the seeds and looked after them well. 

Sadly, one night an enemy came into the field and sowed another lot of weeds straight over the farmer's wheat seeds. After a while, the weeds started to grow, much to the horror of the man himself and also his servant. The servant wanted to pull everything out and maybe restart the whole thing again.

"NO!" said the farmer, and I quote from Matthew 13, "Because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters to first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into the barn."

Apparently, there is a plant called Lolium Temulentum, or simply put, Darnel, and it is a weed that looks just like wheat, especially when the plant is really young.  BUT as it grows its roots all tangle up with other plants, especially wheat plants, so that is why the farmer said to let all the plants grow together, and we will worry about separating them all when harvest comes.

Well, here we are all together in this world - it's astounding, isn't it! - all of us here all together and all doing our own things. Just like in the story/parable of the weeds and the wheat that Jesus told.

Nice people and not-so-nice people, helpers, and some that don't want to help. All living together in a world of contrast, nicety, loveliness, and nastiness, all together and surviving bit by bit - well, sometimes anyway.

Nastiness can be nasty. Well, yes, it can be. I have been nasty many times, and also I have been on the receiving end of nastiness, which in itself can be absolutely horrible and astounding.

I remember well when my daughter's first child was born. She had a Christian dedication for her little baby boy, and the family came to the church to watch and support her and her husband through the whole ceremony.

That was fine, and lots of invitations were flying around because afterwards, a picnic was included. 

All went well until my brother and his wife came across my daughter by accident. They certainly ripped into her because they weren't invited to the dedication ceremony twelve months before. Why weren't they invited? That's a good question! Maybe because they had never acknowledged the birth of the baby and completely ignored the whole thing.

That sort of thing can be forgotten and ignored, or it can be hurtful, upsetting, and appear pretty unkind.

In lots of ways, I guess we all can be in similar sorts of situations. We can be on the receiving end of things like this, or sadly, we can be the instigator. Regardless, our lives can change with just a small intervention in our routine.

What does God think of forgiveness? Probably something we really have to think about. Forgiveness can be a real trial, and it can be really hard to do. Jesus Himself forgave so many people, and he did so while dying on the cross surrounded by a lot of people ridiculing, laughing, and mocking him so much, and yet he asked His Father in heaven to forgive the people around him.

It's really hard, especially when you have a falling out with someone whom you hardly know. Or maybe a relative or another person who is completely different from you. Maybe someone who is really estranged from you entirely and yet is really close to one of your friends.

What does God say about forgiveness? In the Bible, in Ephesians 4:32, it says, "So be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." 

I know it's certainly not easy to forgive anyone. It can be really hard. But then, having to ask for someone's forgiveness can also be really hard.

Regardless of whether that person accepts your apology or not, that is really all you can do.

This brings me to what happened in our own family:- Here was the baby boy, all beautiful and loving, and here also is the family excluded from the ceremony. What should we have done? Jesus said to forgive others, and that can be really hard to do, as mentioned above.

When we are on the receiving end of being 'hurt', and someone apologises, it is so important that we accept that apology and try our best to get on with life. It is hard, I know. On the other side of the scale, if we are the ones doing the 'hurting', then it will be even harder for us to apologise, and we may have to carry that burden, but it is really the only way to overcome the situation.

I feel maybe Jesus was trying to tell us not to judge others and to leave all that up to God when the time comes. I know his disciples were a tad confused and asked Him once again to interpret the story. 

Back to Jesus's parable/story;- The first thing Jesus does is declare himself to be the sower, and the field in the story means the whole world. Jesus, the sower, is bringing good news to everyone about giving our lives to God. 

The enemy, Satan, sows all the bad weeds in the field; They are anyone who decides they want nothing to do with God at all.  The harvest time is actually the end times when Christ will come and take His followers to be with him. It's good to read Matthew 37-43 to find out what will happen to all the unbelievers at the end times.

The bad weeds in the field also relate to all the bad things or sins that happen in the lives that we carry around with us, just like unforgiveness, as mentioned already in my own family. It is just one of many sins we carry around with us.

So what do we do? We first have to come to Jesus in a personal way and ask His forgiveness for all the sins we have committed in our lives. Actually, we were born into a world of sin, so we are all affected in so many scary ways. Sin rules all of our lives, and only coming to Christ can we rid ourselves of the past and even future sins. Really remarkable that Jesus took upon Himself our sins when He gave Himself up on Calvary to pay our price.

We all need to accept that we really can't stop sinning. God's amazing love and grace cover us, and when He gave his life for us, and we accepted His love for us and asked Him into our lives, then when we do sin, we can come to Him and ask Him to forgive us and lead us.

So many of us, when we first come to Christ, think we will live perfect and spotless lives from then on, but we have to accept the fact that we live in a sinful world, and once we do accept that fact, then we will know immediately when we have sinned, and we can come and ask God's forgiveness often and immediately. 

Once we have come to Christ, sin actually loses its power over us, and we no longer feel we have to be superhuman and super holy to earn some sort of favour with God Himself. What Jesus did for us is totally enough, and all we have to do is accept what He did to save us for eternity

Once we come to Christ and ask Him into our lives to lead us then He will definitely change us and make us more and more like Jesus. That is exactly what He does and not us.

Hope to see you next time - Have a good week