I really love the phrase, ‘Hold the Line’.  I’ve read it a lot over the last few weeks especially regarding the NHS compulsory vaccine case. Whatever we all think about this and there will be many different opinions, the NHS staff went all out to make their voices heard, they held their line, and they won. ‘Hold the line ‘gives a sense of togetherness, camaraderie and, ‘we’re in this together!’

Now, sometimes, ‘holding the line’ can feel like this:

When life is glorious, you’ve got your devotional times sorted and you feel like you’re on a direct line to Jesus, eating healthily is going brilliantly, the scales are going in the right direction, the kids are good, husband’s good, cat’s good, job’s good and so on! ‘hold the line?’ what line??

Other times ‘holding the line’ can feel like:

When the opposite of the meadow is happening – chocolate’s going down by the bucketload, cat’s being sick, kids are being sick and the washing machine is on the blink! You don’t even know where your Bible is! Life is hectic!

The everyday line, the daily challenges of life that we all have to face. Sometimes, they are our own to bare and at other times, we meant to carry one another’s burdens. 

In Galatians 6: 2- 5, we read:

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. For each will have to bear his own load.

When you first read those verses, they seem like a contradiction, ‘Bear one another’s burdens’, ‘bear his own load’ which is it? Well, it’s both. We all have things that are ours to carry – our backpack, if you like. These are your responsibilities that you can’t hand on to anyone else. For example, if you’ve got kids in school, it’s your job to make their packed lunches, you don’t ring a friend to do that do you? It’s part of your job description. 

And there are times when the burdens are to be shared with others. When what we’re going through, needs our mates to help. 

Then there are other lines, the ‘What would Jesus think’ lines. How we speak, what we read, what we watch, what habits we form, how we spend our time?

I want to suggest to us then that we have many lines in our lives and ask the question, how often do your/my lines drop below how Jesus would want us to live our lives?  I want to hold better lines and I trust you do too. 

Let’s imagine we have a line for the various parts of our lives

Is it possible to get to the end of each day and ask ourselves the question, how did I do with my lines today?

My attitude line; My health line; My time line; My Patience line; My giving line; My depression line; My anxiety line etc.

We have so many lines in our lives and our aim should be to get them as straight as we can. 

If you feel like some or even all of your lines are like are wonky, pick one to work on, if you need help, phone a friend! Find someone who you can be accountable to. Our aim in life should be to become more like Jesus every day! Staying close to Him gives you more of a chance of that. If you never spend time with him, your lines will be wonky! You might be content with wonky, but if you’re not, pick a wonky line and determine to get it straight. 

Until next time,

Dx

 

At our connect group this week, we were talking about what we like to have for breakfast! Small talk before diving into Isaiah and, when you’re studying Isaiah, light chat is needed, right?

It was so interesting how different we are! Some liked soggy cereal, others, crunchy, some put water and milk on their cereal, others didn’t have breakfast – one person, who shall remain nameless (haha!)  admitted to having a chocolate bar for breakfast that morning. Yummy! Shredded wheat was a hit with one or two whereas others said it tasted like cardboard!

Diverse cereal choices from a group of 8 women!

I’d already kind of decided where my blog would go this week and this chat helped me.

Cereal choices don’t matter when it comes to life in the Kingdom – when we quote the scripture – ‘Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your paths’ I don’t think God is really interested in what cereal you eat, although He would be if what we’re eating is doing our body damage, but that’s another blog!

What does matter though is what kind of character we are. This does matter, really.

When I did my BA in theology, one of the discussions we had was what was most important in the life of a leader. The lecturer put a list of qualities (all important) on the board, one of which was ‘charisma’ and another was ‘character’. There were others, but these are the two that I remember because I was the only student who put character above charisma which was quite alarming. Charisma is important, for sure, but it is possible to have charisma without character which is never a good mix!

The question I want to pose today is, are you a ‘cactus plant’ or an ‘aloe vera’ plant? No offence to the real cactus plants! I don’t think they need any explanation, but just in case! – Cacti are spikey and you can’t get close to them without getting hurt, Aloe Vera is a miracle plant that can heal many things!

We are living in a world where confusion is reigning in so many areas – Covid; vaccinations; parties; Gender; wars; government; police; church; it seems to me like confusion is shouting so loud right now especially into the younger generation. And, if ever there was a time for truth to scream the loudest, it’s now! We have the truth. We have light. We have boundaries which I think most people want and need. Confusion is blurry, there are no lines where confusion is.

I once worked in a school as the receptionist and many teachers used to check with me what the mood of another staff member was before they would go into that office! If it was a bad mood, they would avoid her!

Back in the day (think Pride and Prejudice) society knew what was what, I’m sure the ‘rules’ were broken, but by and large everyone knew, for example, the rules of courtship, there were procedures to follow – there was a waiting and a patience before the wedding day that was magical, that final kiss between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett! (If you know, you know!) was so special because for those who’ve watched it, watched their journey from their first frosty meeting to the church on their wedding day.

It would be ridiculous to think that we would ever go back to the upstairs, downstairs kind of world, but the way I see it, the more that we have moved away from the Genesis mandate, (Genesis 2:24) the more confusing this world has become. Take a moment to think about what wouldn’t be in our world if we’d stuck to it. Here’s two things to set you off – pornography and human trafficking – the absence of just those two things would be transforming for the world wouldn’t they?

Back to the plants! IF we want to change the world around us, Christians have a responsibility to be Aloe Vera not cacti. Can you change your plant species? If you want to, yes you can! Pray and ask a friend to point out any ‘cactus spikes’ that might be in you.

Until next time

D xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve all heard the question and maybe asked it, ‘Does my bum look big in this?’ Any man worth his salt would tell you the truth at this point, but the problem is whether or not the truth is really wanted! When a question like that is asked, the question bearer has to seriously ask ‘do I want the truth or am I looking for a compliment even if it’s not the truth?’

The Bible says, ‘Speaking the truth in love, we will grow up in all things’ (Eph 4:15)
Having the truth told to you is no easy thing – no-one wants their weak points pointed out because it’s an intrusion into areas of life that can be sensitive. Body odour, bad breath, sharp tongue, lack of patience, to name just a few! Who wants to broach such subjects? You are likely to suffer backlash and you may even lose a friend either permanently or for a time…. Speaking the truth can be risky business! BUT if we want to grow up in ALL things, we need someone in our lives who will be bold enough to tell us the truth whatever the reaction. If we want to be the best we can be, then we have to realise that there are things in our lives called blind spots – things that everyone else can see, and we can’t, hence the reason they are called blind spots!

So, here is the question: Who tells you the truth? Have you got anyone? Or, did someone try it once but, because of your reaction, backed off and has never done it since! Have you got someone in your life who is ‘allowed’ to tell you stuff that may sting a little but, if they are right, and if you will listen and take it on board, then you take a step closer to being a better person.

It must be stressed that the person who tells you the truth must be a person who loves you and also wants the best for you. It CANNOT be a person who just wants to be mean and continually point out your faults! Who wants that?

Everyone needs a coach – their job is to help you get good things into your life and bad things out! If you haven’t got one, get one!

And, if you’re not sure you want the truth, think twice before you ask, ‘does my bum look big in this!’

Feel free to share! Until next time, D x