WORDS WOUND!

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Noelene

An old Persian proverb says: ‘Whatever is in the heart will come up to the tongue.’

There is another proverb that says: ‘The tongue like a sharp knife… kills without drawing blood.’

Scherrie Payne, an African-American singer, once said: ‘Words can be like bullets: they wound and can do mortal damage to the soul. It’s shameful.’

Think about these quotes for a moment. With our tongue we can belittle, embarrass and hurt someone so badly that they actually want to die. The reverse is also true. With our tongues we can bring healing and joy into someone’s life.

With our tongues we can speak blessings or curses into peoples’ lives. We can encourage people or we can bring them down with our discouraging words. There are some wonderful references to the power of the tongue in the Bible. Here are just a few:

Psalm 34:13: ‘Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.’

Psalm 39:1: ‘I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin.’

Proverbs 10:19: ‘He who holds his tongue is wise.’

Proverbs 12:18: ‘Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.’

Proverbs 17:20: ‘He whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.’ And then the opposite is found in Proverbs 21:23: ‘He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.’

The tongue is also what we use to pray aloud, to sing worship songs to the Lord and to give comfort and counsel to people.

In Isaiah 50:4 it says: ‘The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.’ Aren’t those the most beautiful words – God Himself wakens us morning by morning. If we read the Bible (His direct words to us) and spend time in prayer with Him, He will instruct us in what to say and how to behave.

Extract from All God’s Stones

 

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MY TOMBSTONE INSCRIPTION

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Noelene

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“O Lord, you are our Father.  We are the clay and you are the Potter.  We are all formed by your hand”

For many years I felt that in making me God had got stuck on the kneading and moulding stage or had forgotten me in the oven. I also felt that during the process of making me He became distracted and that was why I was far from perfect. I never seemed to be able to grow to my full potential. There was always a nagging feeling inside me that something was missing and a lot of the time I did not feel that my life had much worth or value. There were so many times when I felt such deep hurt and loneliness in my life that I was sure He had forgotten me in the oven and I was damaged beyond repair.

I longed to make a difference in the world. To be able to touch other people’s lives and bring comfort and healing to them but always felt I was not worthy. Then one day I realised I would never be able to do any of these things if I was constantly in the process of being made. How could I offer anything of value to anyone else if I did not feel I was worthy and complete myself?

I decided to trust God and believe I was completed and that I could start pouring out His love to those around me. It was great and the feeling lasted about two days and then I did something I knew was wrong. I had a picture of me, the jug, being knocked off the table where I had been placed and landing on the floor. My handle broke off and a few cracks appeared on my body. I mentioned to a friend that I had thought I was past the clay stage and had become a beautiful jug but now felt that the jug was broken and I was back on the potter’s wheel. She wrote me a brief note: ‘Maybe God is just super-gluing your handle on to Himself and His love.’

I could then visualise Jesus kneeling down and tenderly picking me, the jug, and my handle up and gluing it together again with His love. As He ran His hands over my body the cracks disappeared and I was whole again. It is a known fact that once something has been super-glued it will rarely break in the same place again. Psalm 145:14 says: ‘The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.’

Often all we can see are the imperfections, the bumps, the cracks and the areas where we have been super-glued together. God in His love is continually healing us and mending us so we will not leak when He fills us up. A person dying of thirst who comes across a jug holding pure water couldn’t care less what that jug has gone through or what it looks like because it holds life-giving water.

God says in Joel: ‘…I will pour out my Spirit on all people.’ In Romans it says: ‘…God has poured out His love into our hearts.’  We, in turn, need to start pouring this love out to others. We need to take the time to be filled up. This is done when we spend time in prayer and reading the Bible, by worshiping God in song or by just sitting and watching a beautiful sunset knowing that He has created this world for our enjoyment. Once we are filled we need to pour out these blessings into other people’s lives. We have to move and share ourselves with others otherwise the blessings inside us become stagnant. 

A potter’s mark is a device used to identify pottery wares. On an ancient Greek vase the following mark was found: ‘Exekias made and painted me’. Exekias was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter. Isn’t that such a beautiful image. When I die I want my tombstone inscription to read ‘God made and painted me!’

Ephesians 2:10: ‘For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’

Extract from All God’s Stones

WE ARE THE CLAY

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WE ARE MASTERPIECES

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Noelene

 

I have this wonderful image of God sitting on a wooden stool with the potter’s wheel positioned between His knees.  In His hands He holds a lump of clay specially chosen by Him from which He is going to form me.

As He puts the clay on to the plate, He makes sure it is centred and then He begins to spin the wheel using His feet while both of His hands start to mould and shape the clay.  As He works He prays unceasingly.  He speaks words of love, encouragement, joy and kindness into my life.  He starts to visualise the life He wants me to live.  So much thought has gone into the making of me.  As I begin to take shape in His hands, He realises there is something even more special He wants for me, so He kneads me back into a lump and starts again.

“And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.  We are the clay and you are the Potter.  We are all formed by your hand”.

We are His masterpieces!

Extract from All God’s Stones

http://www.godspromise.co.za/

 

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WE ARE THE CLAY

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Noelene

One particular verse in Isaiah has long captured my imagination: ‘And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.  We are the clay and you are the Potter.  We are all formed by your hand.’

Jeremiah was a prophet of God.  At one time in his life he told the story of how God told him to ‘go down to the shop where clay pots and jars are made and I will talk to you there.  I did as He told, and found the potter working at his wheel.  But the jar that he was forming didn’t turn out as he wished, so he kneaded it into a lump and started again.  Then the Lord said:   “As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand”.

I came across a lovely article that describes how potters feel about their work.  “Many potters describe their labour of love as ‘spiritual’.  They claim that you have to be one with the clay.  This art form is about patience and passion.  Out of a simple lump of earth, the master potter lovingly guides skillful hands, the potter’s wheel complies, the clay yields, takes shape and character and a masterpiece is born”.

Isn’t that a wonderful description of God?  He is patient with us and passionate about us, and His skillful hands are continually guiding us.

Extract from All God’s Stones

http://www.godspromise.co.za/

 

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SEX IS GREAT

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Noelene

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Now that I have your attention, the full heading should read: SEX IS GREAT… WITHIN THE CONFINES OF MARRIAGE.

One of my favorite bumper stickers reads:

“God invented safe sex. He called it marriage”

There are some really good practical reasons why sex should only take place within the boundaries of marriage. In 1 Corinthians 7:9 the apostle Paul is speaking to the unmarried and widows and says this “But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” The Weymouth New Testament translates that verse as follows “If, however, they cannot maintain self-control, by all means let them marry; for marriage is better than the fever of passion.”

I think ‘fever of passion’ sums it up beautifully. We love our spouse to be and long to share everything with them, including our bodies, and sometimes it feels like we have a fever because we are burning with desire for our partner! When we have sexual relationships outside of marriage we leave ourselves vulnerable to contracting AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies which often result in abortion or adoption which can leave both partners emotionally and mentally scarred for life.

Pregnancy, outside of wedlock, also impacts the child for life. The fetus either doesn’t have a chance to live, in the case of abortion, and in the case of adoption there is a child who is forever wondering who their parents and grandparents are and whether they have brothers and sisters. And they are also forever plagued with the question of why? Why did their parents give them away? What were the circumstances of their birth?

A child born outside of wedlock is known as an illegitimate child but I think the U.S. District Court Judge, Leon Yankwich, summed it up perfectly when he said:

There are no illegitimate children – only illegitimate parents”

If you and your partner are both believers and are having a sexual relationship outside of marriage – know one thing:

This is not God’s plan for your lives.

The sin of disobeying God’s commandments will have a detrimental effect on your relationship with God, with each other, with your church family and with your birth family.

I have a friend who was very active in the church and who loved the Lord. Her boyfriend also loved the Lord and worshipped in the same church. They were both students and wanted to complete their studies before getting married. They belonged to a church that taught that sex should be kept for marriage, but the two of them reasoned that as they were going to get married one day anyway, they would just use contraception methods.

She fell pregnant.

They were absolutely mortified and horrified. They did not want a baby at that stage of their lives. They were extremely angry at God for allowing this to happen. Their anger and blaming God carried on for a while until a minister gently pointed out to them that if they had followed God’s commandment of ‘no sex before marriage’ in the first place, there would be no pregnancy.

If we choose to ignore God’s commandments we will have to face the consequences.

They got married, had the baby, were bitterly unhappy for a few years and then got divorced.
This friend knows she has been forgiven and God has undertaken for her and the baby in a wonderful way but she lives with a sense of deep sorrow knowing that the life she is living now, alone with her child, is not the life that God had planned for her, her ex-husband and their child.
Yes, He has provided and undertaken for them, but she has been left with her dreams lying shattered and in shards in the past. They were just too young at the time, she gave up her studies and had to find work once the baby was born and their marriage was overwhelmed by their anger and regrets.

She told me the other day that what should have been three of the most wonderful days in her life, had been the most bitter. The day she found out she was pregnant, the day she got married and the day her baby was born. She cries for her child who was born into an atmosphere of tears, guilt, hurt and regret instead of having the news of his conception and subsequent birth being met with joy and love and laughter.

The consequences of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage can be huge. Remember that God is the One who invented safe sex and named it marriage.

Originally posted on http://www.startmarriageright.com/2015/03/sex-is-great/

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ALL GOD’S STONES – FOREWORD

Posted on March 21, 2015 by Noelene

 

FOREWORD BY TREVOR HUDSON

“Noelene has a passionate heart for God and wants to ignite our passion for God too. She does this in her new book, All God’s Stones, by sharing eight down to earth reflections on our life with God in the midst of the messes and muddles of our everyday lives. There were a number of things that I appreciated and I think you will too.

First of all, Noelene does not write as someone who is above her reader. In the book we meet someone who could live next door to us-an ordinary wife, mother, friend who seeks to follow Christ as faithfully as she can within the challenges and crises of her own life. In simple and straightforward language she passes on to us those lessons she has learnt through her own discipleship. She lives the words she has written. She is a credible witness.

Secondly, she loves to link her everyday experiences with the words of Scripture. By doing this she encourages us to meet God in all the experiences and encounters of our lives. Because we suffer from unhelpful tendencies to separate our faith and our lives, to compartmentalise our Christianity, this encouragement can serve us well. She really wants God to be God of our whole lives. I am reminded of Jesus’ invitation to seek first the kingdom of God and then everything else will find its rightful place in our lives too.

Finally, by sharing her life and faith so generously with us, she gives us a glimpse of how God acts in our lives. In the book we are introduced to the God who encourages us through our friends, who meets us in our struggles, who speaks to us through those God-incidences that happen, who touches other people’s lives through our words and so much more. By doing this Noelene whets our appetite for a deeper walk with God in our own lives.

If you want warm encouragement in your journey with God from a fellow-pilgrim, you will enjoy this book. Certainly this was my experience. Thank you Noelene for your labour of love in writing this book.”

Trevor Hudson

Minister, author and international speaker

Johannesburg

January 2015

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A WEE BIT OF INFORMATION CAN CHANGE YOUR WHOLE PERSPECTIVE

Posted on March 21, 2015 by Noelene

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“There are a lot of ‘Irish’ pubs in America, but they just don’t have the ‘craic.’ You know the word ‘craic,’ don’t you? Craic is a special fun atmosphere that Irish people can produce. Some Irish people have more craic than others. There are all kinds of craic. There’s good craic, mighty craic, savage craic, and deadly craic. Then there are boring people who have no fun inside of them. We call that minus craic.”

Many years ago I asked my Irish father-in-law how his day had been and he said he had met someone along the road and the ‘crack’ was good. I was horrified – I thought he smoked crack! My husband then explained that ‘craic’ was conversation. For years prior to that, whilst listening to Van Morrison sing the song Coney Island “Out all day birdwatching, And the craic was good”, I thought Van Morrison was on crack!

Just shows how a little bit of information can change one’s whole perspective!

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IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR GOD?

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Noelene

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Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’  Is anything too hard for the Lord?  I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son”.

When God originally told Abraham that he was going to have a son, the Bible says “Then Abraham threw himself down in worship before the Lord, but inside he was laughing in disbelief! “Me, be a father?” he said in amusement. “Me – a 100 years old? And Sarah, to have a baby at 90?”

When Sarah overheard God telling Abraham for the second time that they were going to have a son, her reaction was to laugh and say to herself “A woman my age have a baby? And with a husband as old as mine?”

Exactly a year later, Sarah gave birth to a son and they named him Isaac.

In Luke 18:27 Jesus clearly states “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

“Is anything too hard for God?”

“Is what I am going through at the moment too hard for God?”  “Is this relationship that I am having such difficulty with, too hard for God?”  “Is this addiction or habit that I am struggling with, too hard for God?” “Is this marriage that seems beyond saving, too hard for God?” “Are my fears and doubts and worries too hard for God?” “Is my lack of faith too hard for God?”

Nothing is too hard for God.

“Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.” Psalm 37:5

Are we prepared to take the time and make the effort to ‘delight ourselves in the Lord’?  Are we prepared to take the time and make the effort to read the Bible to discover exactly what His plans are for our lives?  Are we prepared to take the time and make the effort to spend time in prayer with the Lord?

Are we willing to acknowledge that His plans may not be the same as our plans and desires and wants?

Is anything too hard for God?  The answer lies within us.

 

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WALKING WITH GOD

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Noelene

There is a beautiful passage in Isaiah 30:18 that says: “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for Him!”

Sometimes in this journey of life we tend to rush ahead and leave God behind.  We need to remember to wait for Him.

The passage from Isaiah continues:  “Whether you turn to the right or to the left your ears will hear a voice behind you saying “This is the way; walk in it”.

If we wait for God we will hear His voice telling us in which direction to go.

This is exactly what God says in Jeremiah 6:16:   “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls”.

In other words when we are not sure what to do and we are standing at a crossroad in our life, we need to search God’s Word for the direction He wants us to take.

Extract from All God’s Stones              http://www.godspromise.co.za/

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HOW THE BOOK GOT IT’S NAME – ALL GOD’S STONES

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Noelene

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Today I took a walk in the mountains and invited God to come along with me.

There were some beautiful stones along the path and I thought of my youngest daughter who collects stones and rocks wherever she goes.  I picked one up for her and as I walked I collected a stone for each one of us in the family.  There are five of us altogether and eventually I was holding these five stones in my hand just as God does with us.

He says in Isaiah 49;15 “…I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…”  It also says in Psalm 37 ‘If the Lord delights in a man’s ways, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand’.

In John 10 Jesus says:  “My sheep listen to my voice;  I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;  no one can snatch them out of my hand”.

As I held these stones in my hand, I visualized God holding me so tightly that no one would ever be able to snatch me out of His hands.  There is immense security in the knowledge that we are held safely in His hands.

A special thanks to Amy Curry for giving the book its title.

Extract from All God’s Stones

http://www.godspromise.co.za/

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