Archive for August, 2011

Seldom do I take too much interest in opinion poll results. I understand the mathematical rational even though it seems absurd that 958 people randomly surveyed can represent the views and interests of hundreds of thousands if not millions.

But I am noting that the economic world ( as well as the physical world) is being shaken, and some would say stirred (a like James Bond…who preferred his Martinis shaken but not stirred).

Few people would dispute that a very sizable portion of the worlds population have experienced troubled times in the last 18 months or so.Mind you without television, newspapers and the Internet, we would be pretty much oblivious to the vagaries of the share market, currency exchange and Gold Prices.

But what people would  notice that in many countries there is a disquiet by ordinary people especially when you shop for essential commodities and in particular the cost of credit / or the lack of a meaningful return on the cash you place in your local bank.

Many people are finding the going tough. Here in New Zealand , we have just witnessed a once in a lifetime winter storm which effected the entire country for the first time, Christchurch, our once Pristine “Garden City” is still receiving from aftershocks…some 7500 since the two huge earthquakes that rout destruction on the city and the lives of its inhabitants just less than a year ago. In the USA there have been more natural disasters in the last 12 months than any previous year since records began.

So in this very ” shaky” unsettling time what advice can I give that will give you hope for the future? To get you living a productive and fulfilling life , rather than just going  “through the motions of living to survive”

Well there is a very simple answer….and that is to turn to the Word Of God.

Whilst much of good advice comes from the new Testament teaching of Jesus, I want to start way back with a piece of scripture from the old Testament. It is found way near the start of the Bible in the Book of Judges.Many find reading the Old Testament difficult, but to me it is profound and fascinating. By asking questions that require you to find answers is the very basis of how we learn.

What is the book of Judges all about?. Judges in today’s world, serve the people and administer Justice . As a Justice of the Peace that is what I am called upon to do, in a fair and wise way…not too dissimilar to the time when the book of Judges was written 1043 years before Christ.

Mosses was the  first leader of the Jewish people followed by Joshua…then came a time of Government of Israel under 14 Judges, before the nation was ruled by a King (Saul ).  I really recommend you to read the book before Judges ( Book of Joshua) to get a better understanding  a clearer picture of what really was going on at the time….

In Joshua the people were faithful and obedient …where as under Judges they were disobedient and Idolatrous ….and because of this disobedience towards God  they suffered defeat after defeat .

In Judges 2:1-4 we read one of the most well known Bible Quotes that even Non Christian believe to be true…it reads…

You Reap What you sow…..more than you sow, and later than you sow.

Many understand the first few words….eg if you do something bad to someone, chances are they will do something bad to you.

We will reap the harvest of our lives. If a farmer sows a paddock of seed that contain weeds , the weeds will take over and destroy that crop. And it takes only one weed seed to do that. It is the same as Sin. One Sin can destroy the Soul..hence why we need to examine our lives on a day to day basis, and seek forgiveness and turn away from sinning. If we sow good habits that is good, but it is frightening to those who do things against Gods will …mistreatment of others, promiscuity, drug and alcohol abuse, family neglect and many more.

The second part….more than you sow is really critical if you are a farmer. A farmer sows a seed in the expectation that he will harvest much more from that single seed. Maybe 10 timesor  a hundred times or even a thousand times. Sin has the same effect.A single wrong thought or wrong deed can start off a process that can multiply ten times over or more. And it can destroy not only you but others too.Another less known verse tells of  ” They that sow in the wind, will reap the whirlwind. ”

And finally the last part of the verse….  We reap than you sow.

Some get very disillusioned because the seed that is sown does not bear an immediate crop.Whilst the farmer planting his field of grain, knows pretty well the time frame of when his crop will be harvested, the field of life is not so easy to predict.

Mankind is impatient….I want it all I want it now!!! Some life crops can take a long time to reach maturity. Often mankind become so impatient they up root what God has taken a long time to sow to make them the people that he created them to be.

But know this… God had a design plan for your life even before you were conceived. He knew all about you…even the number of hairs on your head. He knows what you are going to say, and what you are going to do even before you open your mouth or move your body.

But he gives you a free will. You have choices….To obey or to disobey, to do good or to do evil, to plant wisely or to without consideration of the consequences.

YOU can make a difference by not having much. You don’t need money to make a difference in the world. The Mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds but grows the largest of plants.

A small person can be effectual as much as a tall person, a young person as much as an old person.

It is all down to the top 2inches , and your mind set. Take up the challenge today. Read both Joshua and the book of Judges.Learn by the mistakes of those before you and let God change your mindset. All it takes is a heartfelt prayer from a heart willing to be changed.

I will write again soon!!

Lindsay Walker

23rd August 2011.