An answer to prayer!!!

As those who know me well are aware, I am of the firm belief that there is no such thing as unanswered prayer that is offered, in faith, in the Name of the Lord Jesus. It is true, of course, that I do not always receive that for which I prayed, at the time for which I prayed, in the manner for which I prayed. However, that is NOT "unanswered" prayer! It is merely Father God over-ruling my immediate desires and requests with His perfect will and timing.

Yesterday, I was reminded that there is another way in which I may look at "answers to prayer". That is when I discover that I, myself, am that answer!! Let me explain.

My wife and I were over at the static caravan yesterday, for a viewing by a family from England. Regretfully, we have not yet heard from them if they wish to purchase!! On our way home, we were discussing the possibility of attending to some shopping before we got there. We had, in fact, decided to leave it until Saturday as there was nothing that we needed urgently. Then, about three miles from the shopping complex at Pineuilh (pronounced "Pinoy"!) my wife decided that she wanted to buy some croissants for her breakfast this morning (I had my usual bowl of porridge!) and so we turned off to the Lidl store. 

Of course, we do not go into Lidl and merely purchase a couple of croissants! We did our usual "splitting up) and, as I headed down towards the fruit and veg, I passed a young woman with a trolley, accompanied by a young girl whom I assumed to be her daughter. It was as I passed by that I heard the mother say something about what they would have that evening - in perfect English. That, in this area is, itself, not unusual. What made me make a beeline for my wife, in order to share this information with her, was that I detected a distinct Scottish accent!

I told my wife that I was going to go and say "Hello" - and that is what I did. It turned out that she hails from Aberdeen - but she was willing to speak to a couple of folk from the West Coast! She was as delighted as we were to find someone else from Scotland living in the area and, after a good conversation, we gave her a card and invited her to call in any time she was passing our home.

We had been back in the house about an hour when the 'phone rang. The number was not known, so I answered it. It was our new Aberdonian friend. She assured me that she was not a stalker (I should be so lucky!!) and informed me that she had looked up my blog. That was when she realised that she had been speaking to a couple of disciples of Jesus and she had 'phoned to tell us that she had been converted, just a couple of years ago. She had one believer friend who is Polish, but she had been praying that the Lord would send into her life, fellow-disciples of Jesus who would lead her to an evangelical Fellowship! We, my wife and I, were His answers!

We are so excited, and look forward to getting to know our new friend better in the coming months and beyond. Was the sudden decision to shop; my walking past just as she and her daughter were in conversation; my decision to go back and say "Hello"; a series of random events? Not as far as I am concerned. Father God was simply bringing about His answer to our friend's prayer in His way, and at His time.

Have you been praying about something for a long time? Don't give up! And always be seeing the possibility that you might be the answer to the prayer of another. It's a wonderful feeling!

Isn't It Funny...

Being on holiday is always great fun - even if, at the moment, most of my time is being spent building a terrasse (verandah) around the mobil-home (static caravan) that we now have in the Gironde area of France.  However, intermittent access to the worldwide web means that my blog tends to suffer a wee bit!

The following is not original - I have certainly read it before - but it was in one of the almost 250 e-mails awaiting my attention when I logged on this evening!  Please feel free to copy and paste - or to direct others to the blog!

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God, and then wonder why the world's going to hell.

Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven, provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says.

Funny how someone can say "I believe in God," but still follow Satan who, by the way, also "believes" in God.

Funny how we are quick to judge, but not to be judged.

Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ on Sunday, but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week.

Are you laughing?

Funny how, when you go to email a message like this, you will not send it to many on your address list, because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them.

Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.

Are you thinking?

Pass this on if you think it has merit. Maybe it's not so funny after all!

A second home!

Yesterday (Sunday) was a beautiful day in the south-west of France.  The sun shone; there was a gentle breeze; my wife went swimming in the lake at the site in which we have our static caravan; and I was able to relax!

Of course, all of that was possible simply because we have the static.  Over the past week, I've been working on the sub-structure for the L-shaped verandah (terrasse) and, when that is fully completed - a project that will take some time as it is less expensive to purchase the wood at home, and transport it out here - we will have a very nice second home.

We've been doing some work inside as well and, on this visit, we prepared a proper base, and built a garden shed thereon.  Well, we needed somewhere to store the loungers and, eventually, the barbecue!
We are fully aware of the tremendous blessing it is to have a second home in such a quiet, and beautiful, part of the world.  We realise that not everyone experiences that blessing and that, indeed, many do not have even one proper home to provide shelter for them and their families.  We are grateful that, for us, "The lines have fallen ... in pleasant places;" (Ps 16:6).

We are also aware that, as the late Jim Reeves often sung, "This world is not [our] home"; that, in the words of the old spiritual "[We've] got a home in glory land,".  It's the home that Jesus has promised to all who are His faithful disciples, regardless of what they experience in this mortal life.  He has already said "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." (John 14:2-3).

You may not have a second home on earth.  The important question is, "Are you assured of that second home in the Father's house?"  It's available, for all who will confess their sins; repent; and accept the salvation that God the Son gained for us at Calvary.   There isn't even a cost involved - He's already paid the price (although, when you give your life over to His control, He has told us that it may then cost us everything that we have; as brothers and sisters in the persecuted church know only too well!).  And don't worry about the sun, for "... the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb." (Rev 21:23) and you'll bask in the warmth of His presence throughout eternity!

That beats anything that this world can offer.

The beauty of Jesus.

I don't know the exact figures, but the amount spent on cosmetics, in the so-called "developed" world, runs into hundreds of millions of pounds annually.  Many women, and not a few men, will gladly spend a small fortune in order to make themselves look as 'good' as possible - even to the extent of undergoing expensive (and not always risk-free) cosmetic surgery.

This is not, of course, a condemnation of individual make-up - some lippie, a little eye-shadow, and a new hair-do (that's just the men; I don't know enough about women!! lol).  However, the Bible makes clear that real beauty is that of character which is based on "the fear of the LORD" (Prov.31:30).

I read, some time ago, of one dear old saint (in the New Testament sense of the word) who had "permanent waves" in his face.  In other words, he had looked upon the world for so long, with a smile, and with an attitude of tranquillity and goodwill, that those 'smile-lines' were fixed on his expression.  His face had set into an abiding vision of love and contentment.  It's the kind of 'beauty treatment' that the LORD gives to His long-time friends (remember Moses? - see Ex.34:29-35); it's the answer to the prayer that some of us used to sing - "Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me".

When one Christian fellowship conducted a survey to discover what had been the most important factor in bringing people into active membership (and, one trusts, into a saving relationship with the Master!), it emerged that, for 60%, it was "personal contact with someone who showed me Jesus".

Wouldn't it be wonderful if those of us who claim to be disciples of Jesus were so open to Him, and so filled with His Spirit, that the light of His countenance would ever be mirrored to others?!

A couple of "one-liners": A loving smile adds a lot to a Christian's face value; 
                                            The best sort of tact in witnessing to Christ, is con-tact!

By the way, by the time this is being read by most folk, my dear wife and I will be en route to France, and our static caravan at Le Chêne du Lac, near Bayas.  This means that posting is likely to be irregular for the next three weeks!  However, do keep accessing the blog - I might even have something interesting to report!