My Third Class Teacher - Mr Ambrose - an Expert with the Cane!

My 3rd class teacher, Mr Ambrose, was truly an expert with the cane. So many people these days wouldn't know what the cane was, but Mr Ambrose certainly did. The cane was just what it said it was, a bamboo cane, around almost 5 feet long, or 148 centimetres maybe.

All of 8 years old, most of us were destined to have Mr Ambrose teach us in the first year of Primary school.

I was thoroughly terrified! If you got anything wrong in any sort of strange alignment in Mr Ambrose's program for the day, or in any sort of misdemeanor, you copped it - Yes! he whacked you with that cane, and it was, not only once but six whacks of the best on your hands. Thanks, Mr Ambrose. Something I never ever forgot.

If it was your turn to ring the bell of recess and you didn't ring it loud enough or quick enough, you got the cane; if you talked in class you got the cane; if you didn't get your homework correct, you got the cane;  if you couldn't say your maths time tables in front of the class in double quick time, you got the cane; and so it went on and on, As I said I was truly a frightened little character. My family was astounded.

A miracle of miracles happened just a week before Father's Day (of all days). We were told to draw our Dad, and so we did. It was fun - unusual for our class! There were a few of us who drew moustaches on our dads, even though our dads didn't have moustaches. Mr Ambrose just strode around the class and then stood up front and told us to come out the front, those of us who drew moustaches on our dads.

Out the front we went, then he told us that those of us whose dad really had a moustache were to sit down - not one of us sat down. There were quite a lot of us boys all doing the same.

He then told us that the next morning, before school started, we were to line up all together on the line at the back of the playground. He then said that in front of the whole school, he would give us all six of the best of the cane for telling lies about our fathers.

I didn't sleep at all that night - I was petrified. The next morning, my mum could immediately notice a huge difference in her 8-year-old - I was crying and sweating, and wouldn't eat, and she could tell I hadn't slept at all. She got it out of me what had happened, and she told me to do exactly what Mr Ambrose told us all to do.

That morning, I did what mum told me to do. Suddenly, she was there and so was Mr Ambrose, and suddenly we were all told to move away from the line and go to classes.

Mr Ambrose never said anything in the class that day, and none of us ever got the cane again for the remainder of that year - extraordinary! That's what all the guys thought - But I basically knew it was all about Hilda May. Thanks, Mum!

In Luke 10: 30-37 in the Message Bible, Jesus told this story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way, he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him, he angled across to the other side. Then, a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.

A Samaritan travelling the road came upon him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning, he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill - I'll pay you on my way back.'

What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbour to the man attacked by robbers?"

"The one who treated him kindly," a religious scholar responded. Jesus said. "Go and do the same."

That is probably one of the best known stories of Jesus that he told one of the most religious leaders of the day, when the leader stood up and wanted to test Jesus and said, "Hey Teacher, what do I do to get eternal life? Jesus quickly fired back at the guy and said, "What's written in the law of God and how do you interpret it?"

The guy thought - this is pretty good - I'll trap this Jesus and replied: "That you love the Lord your God with all passion, prayer, muscle and intelligence and also that you love your neighbour as you do yourself." Good answer, said Jesus - Go and do it!

Looking for a loophole to catch Jesus, the teacher said, "And just would you define neighbour?" Hmmm, got him, I reckon the teacher thought!

It was then that Jesus told the above story of the Samaritan who actually saved the Jewish guy from dying there on the road. We must remember that in those days, the Samaritans and the Jews were completely estranged from one another and never ever communicated. So the story that got through to this 'religious' young fellow really taught him a lesson, considering it was a Samaritan who actually saved the young Jewish man on the road that day.

The young guy who was trying to put Jesus on the spot would have been really shocked when it was a Samaritan man who saved the Jewish man - something he would never have done. Especially when at the end of the story, Jesus told the young teacher, "Go and do the same". 

Jesus said again, and to all of us really, to love our neighbors as ourselves. In my episode with that teacher all those years ago, I certainly didn't love the guy who was going to give me six of the best cuts of the cane for drawing a moustache on the dad's picture, but here is Jesus saying as true followers of Jesus we must do just that.

Loving others and actually putting them above ourselves sounds incredibly hard to do, but when you make Jesus king of your life, putting him first in everything, it suddenly becomes clear, and everything else just falls into place so easily.

When I think of that episode in my 3rd class all those years ago, it's the one year I have never ever forgotten. Obviously, Mr Ambrose and my mum had a huge effect on my life. Whether it was a good example or not, it has been a huge learning curve when I take the time to look back over the events of that year. 

So many times I was beside myself the mornings I was to go to school, and so many times I was petrified that he would have me out the front saying my maths tables. Actually, I did, and I have accomplished so much since then. I have never forgotten my maths tables, which, when I look back, were probably among the only things I can remember from that year.

Loving others and putting them above us is exactly what Jesus did, and what he got through to us. Even when he was dying so cruelly on the cross, he prayed that our sins would be forgiven and that he didn't blame anyone for the immense cruelty and horrendous ending of his life here on earth.

It was amazing when he rose from the dead three days after his crucifixion and appeared to his disciples more than once. His great love for everyone is such a huge example for all of us.

He paid for our sins, and his whole aim here on earth was to bring people to the steps of salvation, forgiveness, and acceptance of our Lord God as ruler, and to become 1st place in our lives. Unlike my teacher, Mr Ambrose, whose whole life was aimed at being one of authority. In such a way, he was a good teacher, one I have never forgotten, and he really taught me a lot. I probably needed the stern authority, 

Authority can be good, and we are often in employment when authority is absolutely necessary, but authority doesn't mean absolutely and completely in control of whatever everyone says and does. 

Forgiveness is also such a beautiful thing to happen in our lives after we give our lives to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We can't expect others to forgive us, but we can certainly forgive others. That is something I have learned to do over the years, and it is something that really gives you such an amazing turnaround in your life. Forgiveness for things that have happened years before can also bring your complete and utter love for our lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I thank him continually for saving me, and if you have never given your life to Christ, then please consider what you have certainly to gain by doing so.

Where are you in your walk with Christ? Do you consider him at all in anything? Does he just mean a little scant knowledge, and that's it? If that's where you are at the moment, then you really need to seriously consider who Jesus Christ really is and what he did for you personally when he was here on earth.

All you have to do is come to a point in your life where you ask him to take control, hand your life to him, and make him first in every single thing and place you do and go.

God's blessings to you this week, and I really do hope to see you next time.

Hannah and Joshua

 Joshua Fellows was an engineer and worked on the railways. He had married young Hannah Spruce.

Hannah and Joshua were my grandparents on my mum's side. Their photo is on the left.  My mum was the youngest of their five children, two of whom had died so sadly before my mum was born. They were the two eldest of my mother's siblings. Her brother George and her sister Irene. 

Both young George and his sister Irene died horribly of gastroenteritis. In those days, the doctors took both the children off food and gave them only milk, which was THE worst thing they could do, as milk only exacerbated the dreadful illness. They got worse and worse, and finally, both of those young children, my mother's sister and brother, died. What a horrible ordeal for Hannah and Joshua.

Joshua was an engineer and worked on the railways, where he organised the extension of the lines and what was really needed through to the beginning of the War. He was sent by the railways to go way up north to start the commencement of the rail so that the war needs and also the troops would be able to reach Darwin and even further north.

Hannah was an amazing lady, coping with the dreadful loss of her two children and yet continuing to stand by her husband, travelling away from where she was so used to living and where she had been brought up by her mum and dad, leaving her siblings and travelling way up north - even after the very sad deaths of her two loved children.

She stood by Joshua every bit and never left him alone to cope with the upheaval of leaving their home, where she, too, had been raised. She was an amazing lady. Joshua stood by her as well, and they travelled together to remote and deserted places. He organised the rail lines and continued working through the ravages of the war.

After the war ended, they came back to Newcastle. Hannah had given birth to three more children while away. Joshua built a five-bedroom home in Hamilton, NSW, where they raised their three surviving children, the youngest of whom was my mother.

They named their new home ROIGENE, and the plaque is still there today. It is a mixture of the names Irene and George, both their little ones, as mentioned above, 

Hannah never gave in to her desire for things and places. She stood firmly by her husband and was there for him one hundred percent through all the anxiety and total alienation of being so far away from home, especially after the death of her two young children.

Jesus told the parable about servants doing what their master commanded. Joshua didn't "command" Hannah about anything, but she certainly stood by him, and he stood by her.

The story Jesus told, and you can find it in Luke 17:7-10, went like this: "Suppose one of you has a servant who is plowing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry along and eat his meal? Of course not! Instead, you say to him, 'Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that, you may have your meal. The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, 'We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.'" 

Once we give our lives to the Lord, we serve him with selflessness and never ever expect any thanks or special treatment. The lord expects us to follow him completely and share our love for him with others, showing all our complete surrender to Jesus.

Being followers of Jesus doesn't earn us thanksgiving and pats on the back from all and sundry. Jesus certainly didn't get any of those while he was here on earth, and the very fact that he gave his life to pay for all of our sins is certainly more than we can ever expect and even far, far more. 

So, the parable Jesus told is about a servant doing what they are told and certainly not expecting any gratitude or special treatment from the boss.  

The story really is not centred about a self-satisfying master; what Jesus is saying here is that it is about the selflessness of a servant, which is us if we give our lives over to him; a self-satisfying person isn't really a follower of Jesus. 

The story, hopefully, ends with us putting ourselves in the same place as the obedient servant, doing what is required of them in complete surrender to their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

We are certainly blessed to accept Jesus death on Calvary all those years ago to pay the price for our sins. Jesus' death on that day certainly abolished all of our sins if we accept the gift he is offering us.

Hannah certainly stood firmly behind Joshua, and she loved her three children so much. We should certainly, like Hannah, stand firmly with Jesus Christ and accept what he did on Calvary all those years ago to pay dearly for our sins and abolish them from us completely if we ask him to.

He will forgive us everything if we give him complete and utter leadership of our lives. That means plainly that everything we do, regardless of what that thing is, Jesus needs to come first.

Seek the kingdom of God in your life! How do you do that? Put God first; stop getting concerned about what you are doing, wearing, worrying about; start thinking about God in everything you do, say, and think. Give it to God, and regardless of what is happening, he will be in the first place.

Of course, we will still be consumed with grief and anxiety many times in life, but God is there, and with us through the very tough times and through all the heartache that we will endure over our lifetime, he will be there with us and for us.

In the Bible, Proverbs 3: 5-6 says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do you really trust God? I mean, REALLY trust him? When we do trust God, we lean on him in every situation in which we find ourselves. If and when we rely on just ourselves and leave him way out of it all, that leads us to a world of confusion, static unrest, and total frustration all sometimes together.

When we do give our lives to God and fully trust him in every situation, no matter what happens in life, in really difficult circumstances, His love for you and me is real, and He will always be close to us, even when we are hurting the most.

We all know life isn't perfect; it would be nice if it were, but we all know it isn't, and often we are left without answers, but through every trial and situation in which we find ourselves, God is fighting for us, and we can rely on His strength and not ours when the nasty things happen in our lives. 

Let's encourage each other to trust God completely, not just when we feel like it but in everything we do and everywhere we go.

God loves you, and He loves me, and He will always be on our side, often seeing us through the most difficult situations that life throws at us.

God's rich blessings to you this week, and I hope to see you next time.

A Wigwam for a Goose's Bridle

My Grandpa was the most amazing man, as I've mentioned about him and my Grandma before in a recent blog. He was always making things, and he had the most interesting backyard.

Being the youngest of five kids and with all the others at school, my mum and I, before I'd started school, used to go over to their place. Mum and Grandma used to sit inside while my Grandpa used to be outside making things.

As I said, they had the most incredible backyard, trees, gardens, and lots of paths all over the place, and you can imagine, as a 5-year-old, before I had started school, with all my siblings not there, Grandpa's place was so fascinating.

He was always making something, and I, being Mr Inquisitive, was always on the chat. I was always asking him what he was making, and I remember this particular day so well.

I guess my inquisitiveness may have gotten the best of Grandpa when I must have asked him what he was making, and he came out with "A wigwam for a goose's bridle". Now, when I think of that, I have a good old laugh.

On the way home that day, I asked Mum what a "wigwam for a goose's bridle" was. And she just cracked up laughing. It seems I must have got the better of Grandpa, and here's what it says on the computer these days. " 'A wigwam for a goose's bridle' is a playful, nonsensical idiom used to describe an imaginary, absurd, or non-existent object. It is commonly used  as a dismissive, humorous, or evasive answer when someone (often an inquisitive child) asks prying questions about what you are making or doing."

That makes me laugh so much when I think about exactly what my Grandpa said to me. I was obviously such an inquisitive kid, always on the chat and always asking him a million questions. Oh, he was a funny and great Grandpa.

Inquisitiveness is amazing and incredible, and has a strong desire in oneself to learn and work out what exactly is going on. To ask other people, like I did with Grandpa, what was happening, and also to tell others what is going on and why!

When I was reading the Bible, and I got to the following chapter in Luke, I was intrigued about the whole thing. When those people hurriedly came to Jesus, they must have been really agitated to have seen what they did, and they had so much to tell him about what was going on in the lives of the Galileans. They must have been feeling pretty bad.

So when the people came to Jesus that day, they told him about some Galileans that Pilate had killed while they were at worship. Pilate was obviously in the middle of some sort of sacrifice and mixed the blood of those he killed with whatever he had on the altar - sounds thoroughly horrible and totally murderous. Pilot was obviously out to get as many Christians as possible.

This is recorded in the bible in Luke chapter 13. Jesus responded by asking the question to everyone who was there if they thought that the murder of those Galileans by Pilate was because they were worse sinners than all the other Galileans?  He really wanted to get through to them all that we all must turn to God, every one of us, at the end of our lives; if we don't turn to God, then punishment will be ours.

Now that really was a thought we should all take on board today.

Jesus then talked to everyone about the towers that collapsed, which caused the very death of eighteen people. He said that certainly sends a message across to everyone. Even today, that message comes across loud and clear that we all need repentance and we must be ready, because no one ever knows when our time is up here on earth.

The tower of Siloam, as also mentioned in Wikipedia, was a structure that fell and killed eighteen people. Siloam is a neighborhood south of Jerusalem's Old City. It's only ever mentioned by Jesus in the New Testament.

Jesus told lots of parables or stories as they are known today. He was trying to get through to the many people listening to him, and of course, even to us today, what he had to say. It was obvious that he knew what was ahead of him: the death he would die and the amazing and incredible resurrection of eternal life.

The amazing part of Jesus's life was that he knew that he was about to die, and he knew the unique and incredible plan that was ahead of him. He was only 33 years old, and yet when you think about it, he had the most incredible and amazing life. 

Jesus then told a story about a man who had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren't any. He said to his gardener, "What's going on here? For three years now, I've come to this tree expecting apples, and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?" The gardener said, "Let's give it another year. I'll dig around it and fertilise, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn't, then chop it down."

What Jesus was trying to get through to us here is that we have to make up our minds whether we come to Christ and ask him to take over our lives. To make him number one in our lives in every situation in which we find ourselves. If we don't, then we are destined to constant and everlasting misery. hard to believe that anyone would want everlasting torment and misery over what God has promised as everlasting joy with him.

Just like the unfruitful fig tree in the story that Jesus told, we are like that tree. We can be absolutely worthless and self-satisfying, looking and striving for more and more. Jesus, in his awesome love for us, is patient and kind, yet sends out messages to everyone who cares to listen. 

God's patience can finally come to an end with all of us. In the story above, the owner of the place granted the tree another year, and then if it is still not good, it has to pay the price. We are like that tree. God, in his amazing mercy, extends our time here and keeps granting us yet another day. But time will come, and God's patience will run out if we continue to ignore and slam doors in his face.

The message is clear -  come to Jesus, give your life to him, and make him first in your life, or pay the price. It is entirely up to you and entirely up to me!

The other message in this amazing short story that Jesus told is that as Christians, it is up to us to tell others about Jesus, the powerful and awesome love that He has for all of us. All we have to do is accept his great offer of salvation and everlasting life.

Jesus paid the price for my sin and yours. He took them that day and killed them on the cross. All we have to do is accept his great love for us and ask him to lead our lives. He will then become first in our life and will take us home to be with him when our time here on earth is done. What an amazing promise that is!

This from the Late Billy Graham: "Have you committed your life to Jesus Christ? If so, He now lives within you by His Holy Spirit, and His will is for you to turn your back on sin and - with His help - to live a life that honours God. Make this your goal - beginning today."

God bless you this week, and thank you for reading this. Hope to have you join me next time.

Poland had a bear that served in the military in 1942

Poland had a bear that served in the military in 1942.

"Wojtek the bear was adopted by Polish soldiers and fought alongside them in World War Two". 

I quote:- "In 1942, a company of Polish troops was evacuated from the Soviet Union and found their way to Iran. Along the way, they befriended a Syrian brown bear that they named Wojtek. They officially enlisted him as a private in the Union. 

The men spent time in Italy from 1943 to 1944, bringing the bear with them. It helped to carry heavy ammunition and quickly became a celebrity among the troops. Wojtek was eventually discharged after the war and lived peacefully in Edinburgh Zoo until he passed away in 1963."

Unexpectedly, Wojtek had turned up out of the blue! Wojtek must have been quite the member of the group after that - everyone was super friendly to him. What an amazing number of things happen in our lives.

Wojtek was certainly used by those soldiers, and I guess in so many ways, Wojtek used those soldiers. 

It makes me ask the question, "When is Jesus due to return?" Whatever or whoever our Lord God puts in our hands, we are to use faithfully, especially since we don't know the day or the time when our lord will return.  

That must have been quite the question, especially in the middle of World war 2. There were the Polish Soldiers, and there was Wojtek - all doing their things to achieve what certainly needed achieving.

What are we doing for God's kingdom even today? When the lord comes back, what will he find you doing? Will he find you living faithfully and wisely? Or will he find you doing what 'the master' in the following Bible passage is obviously doing.

Jesus told his disciples the following story/parable about the Wise and Foolish Servants:- 

"The Master said:- Let me ask you: who is the dependable manager. full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of his staff to feed them well and on time? He is a blessed man if, when the master shows up, he's doing his job. But if he says to himself, 'The master is certainly taking his time,' begins beating up on the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes."  Found in the Bible in Luke 12:42-48, the above version is in The Message Bible.

Will Jesus find you doing what you are supposed to be doing? Or again, will he find you doing what the Manager in the parable was doing? That can be pretty confronting when you read it.

The bear and the soldiers above did as they were supposed to do, and they achieved greatly when you consider what they were going through, and so many people right at this moment are going through very similar things in their own lives.

What are you going through? In all the stuff we are doing, there is nothing that is promised, only the faithfulness of a God who will never leave us. Our love for things around us sort of all falls into line when we consider that the reality of all is that we are only really passing through on this earth of ours.

What we do today is important because today may be all we have, so we should use it for God's goodness and mercy.

God loves us, and when we give our lives to him, he trusts us, and he will never leave us. He gives us life and breath and all sorts of resources and responsibilities to other people.

There are a couple of things that I have been riveted to, and one is:-

Will God find you and me living and just breathing in our own feelings and emotions and never even giving anyone else a thought? 

And will he find you and me living our lives according to whatever compromising situations in which we find ourselves?

Two good questions, and I can't help thinking, 'Are we at all ready to receive Jesus when he comes in his amazing glory, or are we just living our lifestyle and maybe even putting on a good show as to who we really are?'

I really feel coming to Christ and asking Him into your life is THE most important thing you will ever do. Coming to Jesus stops that horrible feeling that there is no assurance and no peace. Even though your sins are very real, whatever those sins may be, there is no pardon, and there never will be, unless you commence a real relationship with God.

You know, when we ask Jesus into our lives to lead us, we have to give him 100 percent of everything we are and everything we have, our body, our mind, and our heart. There is nothing left! Jesus needs to be first in everything we are, everything we have, and everything we live for.

In the Bible, in Mark chapter 12 and verse 30, it says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind and with all your soul and with all your strength." This is an actual commandment to all who believe in Jesus Christ, that we should give everything in our lives, including our very love to Jesus 

Giving Jesus 100 percent of your life certainly doesn't mean that you stop loving everything and everyone else, but what it does mean and what it does do amazingly is that God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and God the Holy Spirit begin to rule your life in everything you possibly do.

It's amazing and beautiful because everything we love and feel at this very moment just falls into very special and beautiful places with God the Father taking first place in our lives.

Having a close, intimate relationship with God will make your joy in life increase far beyond what you ever thought possible. You will find you lean on God more and more every day, especially when things go haywire in your life, as they do all the time.

Looking again at the above parable, Jesus told, it really comes home to me that we so desperately need to follow in Christ's footsteps. Sometimes it is hard not to follow along in the usual crowd, and if we do separate ourselves from the world, then we do set ourselves apart. We could be rejected a lot, and no one likes that happening, but God created us, and life's greatest joy comes from knowing and following him.

God has a plan for you and one for me, too, and that includes every single day of our lives. Every day we should ask God, "Please lead me today, and what do I do today, Lord?" That is amazing because every day after this, God leads and directs our thoughts and our footsteps.

You can pray this prayer: Lord God, help us to be faithful in being under your control and to be constantly aware that everything we have is a gift from you.

God bless you so much this week; Please take heart, be strong, and ask God to lead you in everything single thing you do.

The SYGNA Storm!

"You must be ready because Jesus will come again when we least expect him." That's my take on Luke 25:40.

We are all going to get a big surprise when that happens.

Way back in 1974, here in Newcastle, Australia, we certainly got a big surprise. We personally had just brought our baby girl home from the hospital after her long and difficult birth, and our very first night all together was when the "SYGNA" storm hit Newcastle. We call it the SYGNA storm because that is exactly what it was.

The SYGNA was a Norwegian bulk carrier built in 1967 that ran aground during our major storm in May 1974. She was a coal carrier and was waiting 4 kilometers or 2.5 miles off the coast to load coal from the BHP Wharf when the storm hit. All the ships off our coast were told by the Bureau of Meteorology to move out to sea for safety. Seven of the ten ships anchored off the coast did, but the SYGNA was one that didn't and ended up paying the price.

The RAAF Base at Williamtown's Search and Rescue Squadron here in Newcastle, ended up rescuing 30 of the trapped sailors from the ship in near cyclone conditions, Fortunately not one was killed or injured during the rescue mission, and considering the cyclonic conditions, that was a pretty amazing miracle.

The trapped sailors on the SYGNA would have been totally caught by surprise and bewilderment, especially in the amazing and terrible cyclonic conditions, being winched off the wrecked ship and carried to shore. Incredible rescue we can remember so well.

None of them would have been expecting anything like that!

And so it is going to be the same surprise when Jesus comes back, like he promised in Luke chapter 12, verses 35-38, when Jesus told another parable about being Watchful Servants.

It goes like this in the "The Message" version of the Bible:- "Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He will put on an apron, sit them at a table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn't matter what time of the night he arrives; they're awake - and so blessed."

The Bible goes on to say that "Jesus, the Son of Man, will show up when we least expect him". In other words, BE ALERT and BE READY!

We all have to be ready because he is coming back. We need to live our lives being ready for Jesus' return. So....

What is going on in your life? Have you ever thought of Jesus' return at all? I know that no one on this earth knows when he is coming back or when we are due to go to him. We certainly need to live our lives, knowing that Jesus WILL return, but none of us knows when this will happen.

Just take a moment to think about your own life here on earth at this very moment. Ask yourself,  "Am I ready for the return of Jesus? Does my Christianity mean anything to me at all?" Or maybe, "What is Christianity - some sort of fairy tale?"

When you are at home and lounging around, your house may be in a bit of a mess, then suddenly someone shows up, and all panic lets fire. You can imagine if Jesus suddenly returns? What are you going to be doing at the time? The mind boggles!

Would you be ready for the return of Jesus? Jesus can come here at any time, and do you know what? We need to be ready, and I mean ready! Spiritually alert and always ready to meet Jesus. 

Let's live in readiness for the return of the king; not in fear, not in scariness, but out of love. Jesus will welcome us in love if we ask him into our lives to steer us in everything we do. He will provide total care for us, which in itself is amazing because Jesus died for us just so we can ask his total forgiveness.

When we live our lives with Jesus at the helm, our lives take on a whole new purpose. With all of this in mind, the total thing is that we really need to live our lives in complete readiness to meet Jesus face to face.

Life seemingly passes so quickly; hard to believe when you are still young, and so many things are happening in your life. Life can be so fulfilling and also can be so draining, yet we can get all wrapped up in all of its pleasures, duties, tasks, and responsibilities, etc. Do you know the average age for a male in today's world is 70 years and 4 months? A lady in today's world is 73 years and 6 months old. Of course, that totally depends on your young life, but statistics are statistics.

Thinking of that makes me wonder what I consider first-rate or priorities in my life?  When looking back, life has sped by at a rate of knots, so now I'm older, which makes me totally wonder if I have achieved or have really loved others as I have loved Christ?

You know, none of us know when our time is up. It was disastrous today to hear of yet another horrible car accident when two young people crashed head-on into another car, holding just the driver. All three died. 

Time is running out for all of us, really. We may not consider that, but it is so true, and as we get older, it becomes more and more realistic and so true. It's what we do with our life, and really not the length of our life, because none of us know how long we have here.

Jesus stopped the world when he took our sins upon himself and killed them on a cross. He was just 33 years old. He died for you and me and took our sins and killed them on that day on Calvary.

Is there a quality to your life?  We all really need to realise the shortness and actual urgency of time. So we really do need to invest what is left in coming to Christ, asking his forgiveness, and inviting him into our lives to take control in every situation in which we find ourselves.

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

I need bigger and I need better

"I need bigger and bigger, and I certainly need better," so our neighbor said, and ended up achieving just that. She is quite the person. She is nice in lots of ways, pleasant and respectful. That's so good.

She bought our friend's place across the road from us. It was a nice little home, comfortable and very welcoming. But was it big enough for what she wanted to achieve? Certainly not.

She pulled half of it down. The carport and the verandahs, the back patio, and then fenced it off with just a metre to its back fence and built this huge house in its back yard. It took at least a good two years to finish, and was she happy with that? Ummmm No!

She kept looking around and ended up buying yet another place, a good two-hour drive north of where we live, and once again needing lots of renovations. Is she going to be happy now at last? Ummmm No!

Always wanting more and more. Seeking happiness in things - Changing employment and always on the lookout for better and bigger, which is fine, I guess, but I am reminded of a parable that Jesus told in the Bible in Luke 12: 16-21.

It goes like this:- "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself. 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops." '

Then he said, "This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, You have plenty of grain laid up for years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and be merry."

But God said to him, "You fool! This very night, your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?

This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."

Sort of a squirmy sort of feel after you read this parable of Jesus - what was Jesus getting at?

We need to be very careful about what we put first in our lives. Our dear neighbour is on the lookout, unfortunately. She is looking for something and feels that buying and achieving is the way to go.

Achieving lots of things can seemingly satisfy a longing in your heart; well, that's what she feels anyway, even for the short term. She is then keen to keep building bigger and bigger, and to seek more and more.

When we give our lives to the Lord and ask him to lead us, amazingly, our very need to keep expanding and to keep searching is quickly fulfilled.

We then begin to put things in their correct order and make Jesus our Lord and King first in our lives, and, extraordinarily, everything else just falls into place, and our need to expand our personal kingdom is amazingly met.

In the above parable, our certain rich man was so concerned about building his barns and constantly building bigger and bigger ones, and building his wealth for his own benefit. It is similar to so many people today trying harder and harder to achieve and to keep building their wealth and community status.

Also unfortunately. Like our lovely neighbour, so many people are actually looking for something, hence the constant forging ahead and striving for bigger and better. What are they striving for? They are searching and striding ahead, looking for happiness and fulfillment.

The very act of giving our lives over to God and making him the first priority in everything we have and do has quite an effect on our lives. The striding ahead, where it is often necessary, stops taking first place in our lives. It's quite extraordinary!

Also, in the parable, Jesus wants to get through to us that the blessings we receive as followers of Jesus should be shared with others, not just kept for ourselves.

Jesus didn't keep anything for himself; he wasn't like that at all. He came to earth to share himself with all of us so that we can learn and give our lives to him. He certainly didn't spend everything he had on himself; he gave it all away and enriched so many people in every possible way.

When we give our lives to God and make Him first place, he doesn't bless us so that we can spend all of our excesses, whatever those excesses may be, just on ourselves. In the Bible, in 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 11, Paul says, "You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

The blessings God gives us shouldn't come to a full stop with us, but instead should actually be generated through us to others, showing love, concern, and constant help and giving. Something we should be asking God to help us in all sorts of situations. This is really clear in the verse above.

In the story above that Jesus told, the rich guy kept everything for himself and was obviously constantly on the lookout for more and more. At the end of his life, what did he achieve?  He'd have no say whatever in how his riches were going to end up - sad really! He could have had the joy of seeing others blessed, but it all amounted to nothing for him.

Life with Jesus at the helm is so much more than all of our wealth and possessions. So many people are sadly trying to get as much as possible, looking and searching for happiness, security, and fulfillment in things. Always on the lookout for something else, and never really satisfied with what they have, maybe for a short time, but always ending up wanting something new and beautiful, just like our lovely neighbour. 

If you read the bible in Luke 12:13-15, you will read "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." Pretty full on to what we have just been thinking about.

I think we should all take a moment to think about where we are with God; let's not get ourselves in a state of having to achieve more and more just to fill our anxiety or our need for fulfillment and achievement. Putting God first fills that void where we ourselves want to and need to achieve in all ongoing situations.

So, watch out and be on your guard, as it says in the Bible, putting God in first place, and do you know! Everything else just automatically falls into place. God is amazing and so truthful.

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