A Reflection of Heaven

In Bolivia there is an amazing wonder. It is called Salar de Uyuni. It is the largest salt flat in the world. A salt flat is a large area covered with a layer of salt. During the rainy season this place gets covered with a shallow layer of water. The result? The largest natural mirror in the world. The sky is reflected in the water.

When people walk there, it looks like they are up in the sky walking on the clouds. What a neat place! A place that is a reflection of the heavens.

I want to be like that place. I want to reflect the beauty of Heaven. I want to look like Jesus in the way I think, talk, act and live. I want to reflect God's amazing grace, kindness, patience and goodness.

To do that, I need to live very close to God. I need to cover and soak my mind in the water of God's Word. I need to live out God's Word in my day-to-day life through God's power. 

When we think and live according to God's Word, we will reflect more and more the beauty of God.

May Moses' desire and prayer be ours. 

"Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us."

Psalm 90:17

The Cost and Priviledge of Being Used by God

 Imagine how uncomfortable it must have been for Mary traveling to Bethlehem when she was heavily pregnant. It would have been uncomfortable enough in a car or an airplane. But she didn’t even have that privilege. It would have taken at least four days. How her poor body must have ached!

And then when they finally got there, there was no suitable accommodation for them. The only room they could find was a stable, and of course labour started there.

Mary’s life had already been “ruined.” Finding out she was unexpectedly pregnant before her wedding. Having to sacrifice her reputation to be the mother of the Saviour.

Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of the Saviour. It was a huge honour. The angel said to her, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” Mary was richly blessed. But it came with great sacrifice and discomfort.

I wonder how she handled it all. Did she grumble and complain on that long journey to Bethlehem? Did she feel sorry for herself? Did she question God? By going to Bethlehem, Scripture was being fulfilled. God’s will was accomplished. God was being faithful to His Word.

For God’s will to be fulfilled in our life, there will be a cost. For God to be faithful to His Word, there will be some sacrifice and discomfort. 

 It is a huge honour to serve the King. Serving God brings rich spiritual blessings. May I always keep that in mind when I feel like complaining about the cost. May I have Mary’s attitude.

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” Luke 1:38

There really is no cost, only the privilege of serving the King of Kings. Helen Roseveare

I long for nothing more earnestly than to serve God with all my might. Charles Spurgeon

What You're Here For

 I needed to pick something up for my daughter from The Little Haven (a building we own). I had already forgotten to pick it up when I had driven past an hour earlier. But I thought I might also take some stuff with me that needed to be returned to The Little Haven.

Because of how scatterbrained I can be, and because I was taking some stuff inside, when I got there, I said to myself, "Remember what you're here for."

I could imagine taking the stuff inside and coming home without picking up what I went there for. I didn't want to come back again.

But that phrase felt like a sermon to me! Remember what you're here for. How easy it is to get sidetracked from why we are here on earth. 

We are here to know, love, glorify and serve God. We do other things along the way that we need to do or that we enjoy doing. But let's not forget what we're here for. When we keep that in mind, we have a totally different perspective.

Once our life is over, there is no coming back. Let's not forget what we're here for.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Beautiful on the Inside

 This book is old, faded, out of shape, and smoke damaged. It has literally been through the fire. But it is filled with such treasure. The most beautiful hymns, stories and devotional thoughts. 

Maybe you feel like this book. Maybe you have been through the fire, so to speak. Maybe you are weary of the battle. Maybe your body is breaking down. Maybe your life feels out of shape.

But may you also be like this book on the inside. Filled with the priceless treasure of trust in God. A faith that has been refined by fire. May you be filled with beautiful songs, stories of what God is doing in you, and may your thoughts be on things above. 

“For this cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight
of glory…” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

A Perfect Training Ground

 This morning I was doing some research for a new book and I was reading about David Livingstone’s childhood and teen years. His family lived in a one room home inside a tenement building that housed 24 other families.

What a childhood! David also had to start full time work in a factory when he was only 10yrs old.

I wonder how his mother thought about the life her children had. Maybe she wished they could have an easier and more comfortable life. More money, space and a better home.

But David’s childhood was the perfect training ground for his future. He became a famous explorer and missionary in Africa.

If you’re a parent, maybe you wish you could give your children more comforts and relieve them of any difficulty and suffering. But you don’t know their future. You don’t know what God is preparing them for.

Or maybe you wish you could make life easier for yourself. You don’t know what God is preparing you for.

So although we should do our best to give our children a happy home, we can trust God to give them what they need. And we can be thankful for what we have because we have much more than most in our world.

Be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5

A Positive Perspective on Work

One day this week I was writing out a list of the basic jobs I needed to do that morning. My daughter saw it and said, “I feel so sorry for you having to do jobs all the time! Do you enjoy doing them?”

Then she went out the door to school—to go and do her own work!

I had to smile at her perspective. But it is relatable. Do you ever feel sorry for yourself for all you have to do? The never-ending housework, yard work, meals etc.

But what about a positive perspective?

Cleaning means a home to live in

Washing/laundry means a washing machine and clothes to wear

Dishes mean food to eat

Bedrooms to clean mean comfortable beds to sleep in and space of our own

Vacuuming means appliances that make life easier, and nice floors

Meals to make means a kitchen to enjoy working in, and food to eat

And if we have the health and energy to do these things, it is an extra thing to be thankful for!

And best of all, we have a God who is always listening, ready to give wisdom and help, who promises to provide and who is faithful to all His promises.

When God made Adam and Eve, He gave them work to do. And that was before the fall. Work is a blessing!

Galatians 6:1-5 Memory Verse Songs

Galatians 6:1

Galatians 6:2-3

 

Galatians 6:4-5