One Seagull and Me

It was one very cold morning! Here I was running along from Bar Beach to Merewether Beach in the middle of winter at 6.30am on a Saturday morning.

It was my usual Saturday and Sunday morning exercise. I love the beaches. They were my usual longings and visits when I was a youngster, and they still are.

We are so blessed to live where we do, and my early-morning beach visit is truly a huge blessing to me.

I must agree that here in Newcastle, Australia, it is very cold this winter, and being so close to the breaking waves and the spray is truly enlightening.

Here I was running along with my one friend - a seagull - there he/she was running along the beach in front of me. We were the only ones there - it was a truly cold but amazingly beautiful day.

The seagull seemed lonely and was absolutely the only one on the beach so early in the morning - I was a bit surprised because usually there are so many more.

'It was an extremely cold winter morning, but that usually doesn't slow our seagulls down.

Here we are together. I was jogging along, and he/she was jogging ahead of me.

It was beautiful, really - God is amazing!

The little seagull appeared to be following me. Why, I wondered? Was he/she lonely or afraid - it reminded me of a parable that Jesus told of a lady who was afraid. The following is from the EasyEnglish Bible from Luke 18. Jesus talks about how to pray!

Jesus told his disciples a story. He wanted to teach them that they must go on praying always; they must not get tired. He said to them, "In a certain city, there was a judge. He was not afraid of God; he did not respect people.

A woman lived in that city. Her husband had died. She came to the judge many times with a problem. She said to him,  'Somebody is doing bad things against me. Please keep me safe from that person,' she said. For a long time, the judge would not do anything to help her. Later, he thought, "I am not afraid of God. Nor do I respect people. But this woman causes me trouble. If I do not do anything for her, she will continue to come to me again and again. She will make me ill. So I will help her to be safe. I will say that she is right."

Jesus then said, 'This judge was not a good man. But you should think about what he said. He helped the woman because she caused him trouble. But as for God, he always helps those that he has chosen to be his children. When they continue to ask him for help day and night, he will answer them. He will not wait. I tell you this. He will show that they are right.

He will help them quickly. I, the Son and Man, will return to earth. But will I find many people that still believe in me then or not?" 

The judge must have been a bit queasy in the story that Jesus told, and why did he tell this strange story? It was all about the very fact that we should pray and not give up. Like the persistent widow who kept on haranguing the judge to do something to help her, and he did.

The old judge who wanted nothing to do with God at all was more concerned that the widow would find someone to come and whack him!

Our eternal God is nothing like the judge in the story that Jesus told. The judges in those days and the Pharisees in those days were always "on the take," wanting more and more and always putting themselves way ahead of everyone.

Jesus was using a widow in the story because in those days poor widows had nothing and no one really looked after them at all - it's so sad really.

Praying is getting close to Jesus. We really need to put him first in our lives in every way. I know sometimes it feels impossible, especially when things in our lives go haywire, and everything seems to build up and then explode. 

But Jesus is the very first, and once we have given our lives to him, then things certainly change. God and Jesus are one - the triune God: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are actually one. God sent the Holy Spirit to live in our lives. I know that can be a bit confusing. In  John 10:30  and also in 2 Corinthians 13:14 tells us that Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, sent to be with us, are one.

When we ask God into our lives to lead us, He comes first, and everything else comes second, even in the most troubling times. I know that when the whole world seems to collapse around us, God is there for us, and we can lean on him constantly. If we don't decide that God is the answer, then, when our time is up here on earth, we will spend eternity in hell. To me, there is really no alternative. God is there for us if we ask him to lead our lives. 

It was so sad when there was a terrible landslide in China just recently, when 11 people died, and 50 are still missing. Truly horrible. The search continues, but there is no sign of life underneath the rubble. These poor families are trying to cope. Hard to get your mind around the whole thing.

Through all of this and also families here in Australia going through tremendous and horrible times, God will be there for you if you decide to ask him to lead your life; if you do that, then He will always be there.

Injustice is ghastly and so horrible. God cares intensely about injustice, and we cannot and should not grow weary of praying prayers to our Father. We can pray the same prayers over and over again if that's what gives us freedom and stability in our Christian walk. God hears our prayers and is constantly looking out for us. Does that stop injustice of any kind from living here in this world?

Unfortunately, no, it doesn't, but God is great, and he listens to our prayers and gives us confidence to forge on ahead regardless of what is happening in this crazy world of ours.

A horrible mistake happened in the 80's here in the middle of Australia at a place that used to be called Ayers Rock, now called ULURU (right), which is named after our First Peoples.

At that time, a dingo took a baby girl, AZARIA, from the family tent and dragged her behind ULURU. The poor child must have had an awful death. Her mother, Lindy, was accused of her murder and was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in Darwin's notorious and ghastly gaol, even though she was pregnant with another child.

Years later, a man committed suicide by jumping off behind ULURU, and when the police recovered the poor man's body, they also found the matinee Jacket of AZARIA, showing teeth marks from a dingo and blood, which, after many months, all authorities realised that Lindy was truly innocent and was released.

It was a horrible time for the Chamberlain family, but Lindy's faith in Christ remained strong and true even to this day. While incarcerated and even after giving birth to another little baby girl, she forgave all and kept her faith in Christ even when going through a horrible and seemingly impossible time.

So, where are you and actually where am I in our walk with God? It really makes me think.

You can give your life to Christ by simply asking him to come into your life and lead you and to become No 1 in everything you do. It's an amazing time when you do that.

God bless you this week. Hope to catch you next time.