Our "lawn"

We covered the seed with wire netting, we added compost to the soil to make it richer and we watered it consistently when we remembered. I have to say “we” as, to be honest, my husband, Martyn, has been more wholehearted in his attempts to grow the grass than me.

Our livelihood does not rely on the success or the failure of our grass seed and nor does our eternal future. This is apparent because much of our grass has died thanks to the birds, rabbits, the scorching sun and the lack of water. We have left the ground bare. We have simply given up. For a farmer this would be a catastrophe but for us we simply put up with ugliness.

In Matthew 13 when Jesus told the story about the sower, it is likely that most understood seed sowing much better than me but they may have struggled to understand the meaning of Jesus’ story. Some of the seed fell on the path and was eaten by birds. In verse 18, Jesus explains that the soil is like a person’s heart and when the seed is immediately snatched away from the path it is like Satan snatching away the good news from a listener’s heart. Perhaps a friend shows a moment of interest during a conversation or after a Christian movie and then Satan distracts her or presents her with doubt or confusion.

Perhaps you are like I was when I was a teenager, when I did not believe in Satan or the Devil or Lucifer. These are all names for the enemy of Jesus who is also described in the Bible as “the father of lies” and the “evil one”. He is not an illusion but a cunning evil being who is more powerful than us but less powerful than Jesus. If we do not allow Jesus to help us, Satan will deceive us. No wonder many people fail to really hear the words of hope that Jesus offers. They are under his spell.

Please recognize that the power of darkness is very strong and unless we have specifically prayed for Jesus to set us free from Satan’s deception, we will be blinded by it. The Amplified version of the Bible explains that “the god of the world has blinded the unbelievers’ minds (that they should not discern the truth), preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), who is the Image and Likeness of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The little ‘g’ in the word god makes it clear that the one doing the blinding is not Almighty God but His enemy the devil.

If you agree with what I have written, I hope that you will see clearly that one of the reasons that many people are not Christians is because they are blinded by unbelief by a powerful and evil deceiver. If we did not take action by putting netting over our grass seed nothing would be left. The local birds would get fatter and fatter. Satan is compared with the birds in Jesus’ story.

Is there any preventative action that we can take to protect one another from Satan’s grip, like covering the seed with netting? Absolutely there is! In the most famous prayer in the Bible, the Lord’s prayer, Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, including “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” We are taught to resist Satan through prayer and as we do so we need to ask Christ to arm us with Spiritual armor for protection. This is described in Ephesians chapter 6. Paul exhorts us to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6: 11-12).

We are not merely looking at a sweet story about birds and seed. Jesus’ story illustrates the threatening and dreadful attack of a supernatural enemy who has spiritual forces of evil under him. Let’s wake up from any ill informed lethargy and read Ephesians chapter 6. In prayer ask Jesus to equip you with the spiritual “armor” that you need and find Christian friends to join in the prayer battle. The Devil threatens the growth of all the seeds, trying to stop the growth of faith in human hearts. Jesus already won the battle when he died on the cross and rose again two thousand years ago. We must spend time reading His word, the Bible and praying for His protection. Wake up and pray, for human lives are at stake, including our own.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

The Devil blinds us from seeing the truth.

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I can click my phone and see whether Tom is online. If there is a green circle with a tick or a check in it he has been using the internet recently and there is a possibility that he is in his room and will answer. A green circle with a moon suggests that he has been away from his computer for a while: it’s dormant. Of course as a mother, recently separated from her eldest son, I am interested to see the signs of life communicated by his computer. It’s very vague and it is possible that Tom has abandoned his sloppy high school study habits and is now able to study without being repeatedly distracted by the internet!

It struck me that my trying to work out what Tom is up to by clicking a button on my Skype phone is a bit like the way many people respond to God. They have a vague understanding of who He is and they make some efforts to find out about Him based on hearsay, a TV program or the occasional Bible verse that a well meaning friend or relative sends their way. Conclusions that are drawn from this sort of information are very sketchy and are often wrong.

I do not want to call my son too often as he may soon learn to resent the interference. Similarly, many people do not want to bother God. Perhaps they feel that their problems are too small or that He is too busy.

My concern is that many people’s understanding of God and Christianity is based on a few inaccurate assumptions. One of my purposes in writing this blog www.WomenRespond.com is to make it clear how Jesus can affect every part of life and how the Bible can show us so much about Him, giving us a clear picture of who He is and how He can help us.

When I was small we used to dream of having phones with pictures.

Talking to Tom on Skype

Tom’s phone has a built in video camera so when I actually get through to him I can see him as well as hear him. This is, of course much more gratifying than looking at the little green circle, indicating whether he is online or not!

It is also possible to have a clear picture of God too. He is not a strange old man who criticizes us as he watches from Heaven. Rather, He came to earth in human form as Jesus. Although we have no portraits of Him, we can read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Bible and we can read eyewitness accounts about how He made the sick well, how He showed deep sorrow, weeping when his friend Lazarus died, even though Jesus was about to raise him to life. We can find out how Jesus showed compassion to a woman with a bad reputation and the way in which He spent time with those that others avoided. His teaching was not boring or politically correct: it was bold and radical. If it wasn’t for the fact that He returned from the dead three days after he had died, hanging on two pieces of wood, in the shape of a cross, we may have reason to forget Him. However, Christians for the last two thousand years have given their lives to Jesus. He proved by His words and actions that He really is God.

It is important that we move to the next level regarding our understanding of Jesus. A sketchy awareness of God is inadequate, in the same way that checking whether my son has been using the internet does not enhance our relationship! This morning Martyn and I wished Tom a happy 18th birthday on Skype and this was the next best thing to being with him. One day Jesus’s followers will be with Him in Heaven and this will be incredible. Until then, let’s draw close to Him through reading the Bible, meeting with Christians and through prayer.

There are times when a phone call is ended abruptly because one of the speakers is being unpleasant. It is typical of us to assume that we are generally right and if a conversation ends in this way we are inclined to blame the other person. When the relationship is with God and when the conversation is prayer, it is essential that we do not self righteously cling to our rights and justify ourselves. Reading the Bible helps us understand when we are proud or faithless or disobedient. We need to come before Jesus with humility asking Him to reveal to us where we need to change, yielding to His authority and asking Him to forgive us. If we do not come before Jesus with the right attitude, He warns us that He will end the conversation until we change. If we are experiencing a temporary distance in our relationship with Jesus, we must not blame Jesus, as unlike us He is incapable of wrongdoing. Instead we need to get right with Him. If you have never been close to Jesus, He is calling out to you to confess your sins and to believe in Him. He is like a wonderful, loving father who is ready to welcome His children home if we come on His terms rather than hanging on to our own agendas!

To finish, I will quote some Bible verses to show the consequences of a wrong attitude to Jesus as well as a right one. James 4:3 warns: “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” Another problem is illustrated in Isaiah 59:2 : “But your iniquities (bad thoughts, words and actions) have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”

The great news is that “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) The consequences of responding in the right way towards God will impact our land as well as our own lives. Let’s communicate with Jesus on His terms and receive His blessing!

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Attitudes towards God

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Tom & Sian outside Coulter House, University of Chicago

I had the opportunity to visit the college and to enjoy the green and leafy quads; and old buildings, at least by Californian standards. It reminded me of Cambridge and I was pleased that our son could experience such a wonderful college environment.

The students, at least at first glance, seemed academic, authentic and unpretentious. The dean, in his speech during the convocation in the Rockerfeller Chapel ceremony, encouraged me to believe that the goal was not to strive for political correctness but rather to understand opinion and different perspectives through academic inquiry.

The students join different houses where they live and eat. Tom is in Burton Judson which is old and attractive and the “house parents” of his house, Coulter, are grad students and they have a ten month year old. This adds a touch of real life to what is in danger of becoming a detached ivory tower. What is more, the “mother” did an M. Phil at Clare College, Cambridge and she loves books. She told Tom that his love of books meant that he would fit in well.

Mothers have the challenging job of raising kids so that one day they will be able to survive on their own. It seems ironic now that I struggled to leave my baby of a few weeks for a couple of hours with a friend. When Tom was six weeks old I joined a few mothers who had babies and toddlers. There was an eighteen month old “giant” who was shaking his mother’s keys somewhat violently. I felt that my tiny child might be attacked and I held him close.

At four years old Tom started school. I had been a kindergarten teacher in England before he was born and I was appalled to see the boring tasks that he was given to do. I had created games and exciting learning activities for other people’s kids and now I stood back and it hurt. In the evenings I tried to compensate, offering Tom art and teaching him to read the better way, but Tom was still stuck in a dull environment for a whole year. Whenever he was ill I was pleased to have him home with his younger brother and sister so that the nest was complete again.

How have I managed to let go now without too much pain, when in the early days I struggled so much? All those times when I had to let go, I was being pushed closer towards Jesus. I prayed more as I lost control. At the beginning I was meant to be Tom’s constant carer, but I still had to trust that God would protect him when I was not with him. Gradually as a child matures, he has to become more independent and finally, when he is ready to go, there is a sense that pulling him back would be like taping down a bird’s wings so that it could not fly. Martyn (my husband) and I have taught Tom the way to live life, relying on Jesus, through praying and reading the Bible. We have made mistakes and Tom has not always wanted to listen but our hope is that he has heard enough. Our prayers and words will continue to impact Tom’s life but now he will need to rely more on Jesus and his faith will become more of a personal reality.

Once we arrived in Chicago our roles reversed. Tom was in control of the maps and the timetables and he did well.

Chicago at night

His 6ft 1″ height and strong build were reassuring and I had to admit that he provided me with protection. It is only now that I feel ready to open my hands and to let him fly. My encouragement to parents, and to those who have opportunity to influence friends or relatives who have kids, is to trust Jesus, to pray, to model what is good and to “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) Training is very intentional. Do not just hope for the best but teach what is right and wrong from the Bible, through encouragement and discipline. You would not leave a child to simply walk past a piano if you wanted him to play well. Similarly we should not assume that our children will learn right from wrong without proper instruction. There seems to be so much time spent driving our kids to soccer or music lessons. These can be wonderful for our kids but nothing is more important than sharing God’s truth with them. Let’s go to a good church and let’s talk to our kids about sharing, sin, jealousy, forgiveness, sex, homosexuality, caring for the poor and so on ………. using the Bible to point us all in the right direction. It is never too late to start and if Jesus transforms your life in the process, kids, of any age, will be influenced positively.

May God bless you as you connect the hands of your kids with the almighty God.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Letting go

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