The Unchanged in Changing Times

It has been a very long time since I have written anything on this blog! Wow. How time flows; steady sure and ever more speedily it seems these days. I just scanned through some of my previous posts and I am reminded of the unchanging, faithful love of God. Things are always changing in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. Everything! Even the foods that we enjoy and indulge changes. Yet God may be relied on to be constant in and out of every season of our lives. Right now I am in the autumn of my current season. There has been so much happening. Everything that can be changed it seems is changing. Relationships are maturing and therefore changing or just deteriorating and yes, changing.

It takes time to accept these differences that reshape our landscapes emotionally, physically and especially spiritually. Take for example being an "empty- nester." Now don't get me wrong I am delighted that my youngest has now completed his first year in university. I had 2 semesters to adjust to him living away from me. But Lord knows it is good to have him home for the summer holidays. The weird thing is that we have both changed! He doesn't want me to "fuss" and that's just as well. The truth is that I have misplaced the habit of fussy mothering the way I have done for many years. For example, planning meals in advance or shopping for extras that are son-friendly. So when I get ready to leave work at the end of the day which is usually late, really late, I remember that he is home! It is then that I am very thankful; this more grown up, no-fuss son is such a blessing. This change works very well for us both I think.

However there are so many changes that are sad, disturbing, unsettling, surprising or even outright bad. They cause upsets, hurts, distress, disappointments and even pain. I am dealing with that kind of change too. But I thank the Lord that I am not going through my experiences alone. He is always right in the middle of everything with me. I am not alone. Best of all His grace and mercies are amazing, sufficient and new every morning. He is my Strength, my Shield and my Refuge. I have a Place of security, peace and joy. I can rest in Him and enjoy total confidence that He will work all things together for MY good!! And He has, is and always will.

It's not possible to ask for a greater assurance than this; our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. His love never changes, it never fails and it is enough, always. So whatever the changes are that are happening in your life right now, remember that change is inevitable. It is one of very few certainties! But there is one unchanging Truth that will help you through it all - God is always our Father. He loves us beyond our understanding and He is always with us, regardless. This, my dear friend is an unshakeable, unfathomable, unbreakable, unchanging guarantee. Count on it! Take comfort in it! Rejoice in it! Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8 & Revelation 1:8

As I was going through some old papers, I came across this piece of writing that I did many, many years ago. It was written as an exercise but although it is in need of work I remember well the experience I was trying to communicate - a wonderful late evening at Pedro Bluff! Just thought I'd share it - nostalgia!

The pregnant moon sits content on the distant horizon
Contemplating the comfort of being crescent slim again.
The full bloom of a whole cycle casts a luminous glow
Creating a silvery highway across the gentle seas
Bidding the wandering soul to skip along her street
And complete the amazing Christ-like feat.
How deceptive the enchanting invitation
What a wondrous sight indeed.
Then shattered in an eternal moment
White crested waves in unholy haste
Roars and pounds with fierce devouring
Against the eternal sentinel that confines their fate.
Huge rocks within the breach stand guard
Battered, bruised and broken in parts
From centuries of assault by the salty attackers
Positioned by the Great Commander
He ordered 'This far and no further!"
They stand their ground, faithful and true
And for the waves there will be no breaking through
With solemn reprimand they retreat once more
To await another current, another opportune storm
To launch at the dreaded enemy that always holds them back.
I wonder how it is that I have never seen
The majesty of these timeless guardians
Whose task has been to separate the sea from the land
That humankind may enjoy safe haven
Yet dream of escape into a liquid lunar fantasy.

No More Shame!

The very first emotion that Adam and Eve experienced after their disobedience in the Garden of Eden was shame! According to the Free Dictionary online "shame" is: 1. a. A painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace. b. Capacity for such a feeling: e.g. Have you no shame? Shame is often confused with guilt, which is a related but distinct emotion in which a specific behavior is viewed as unacceptable or wrong, rather than the entire self. Many people are prone to shame particularly if they blame themselves for an event that causes harm or a negative outcome. Shame can be a particularly problematic emotion because it relates to how one feels about one's personal worth and value. It is associated with an overwhelming desire to hide, disappear, or in severe cases even die. "I'm so ashamed I could die" is an expression with which we are all familiar.

Shame is self-condemnation and therefore it is not necessarily based on external pressures, comments, actions or disapproval. You know what you've done and you condemn yourself. It impacts the way that a person feel about themselves as a result of stuff that's happened. It is often hard to see that someone is ashamed, that is, experiencing shame but avoidance of contact is one of the signs that can alert us. In some situations a person might even go into self-denial rather than face their own shame. When God came into the Garden of Eden to meet with Adam and Eve as was His custom, the two decided to hide from Him. When they eventually realized that they had to face their Father, they explained that they hid because they were ashamed of their nakedness. In other words, the loss of innocence and purity, meant the loss of their covering of righteousness. I believe that covering of righteousness causes a holy being to shine with beauty and brightness and its loss made Adam and Eve look so different,so "ugly" in fact that they were embarrassed. They no longer looked like their Creator. Sin had tarnished their very soul and they felt unworthy to be in His presence. Feeling ashamed is a horrible, self-destructive emotion and can lead to some very negative outcomes. But if we could get pass the shame, pass the feeling of unworthiness and turn to God, He can and will help us to move on from our shame. He will help us see where we have gone wrong and through Jesus Christ, will provide us with new covering, a cloak/coat of righteousness.

God's love for us pre-empt our shame. Before ever we have done a wrong thing, before we sin against Him, He provided for our forgiveness. He planned for our redemption before the foundations of the earth was laid! He sent His only Begotten Son to die in our place. Jesus took our sin and shame and gave us His holiness and a place in the royal family of God again! We just have to ask, be genuinely sorry and turn away from our past. When we accept God's gift, Jesus as our Substitute, our Redeemer and personal Savior, there is no condemnation. He purifies us and makes us a whole new creature from head to toe! Paul explained rather well in Romans 8:1, "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." That is, no condemnation by any person, by Satan, or by oneself! If Jesus does not condemn us - "And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more'" - then we can surely get pass the shame of any thing we've done wrong, ANYTHING!

We need only to run to Jesus and cast all our cares upon Him knowing that He always cares for us and longs to save us from our shame and our sins. Friends, brethren,we do not yet know what we shall be like when Jesus returns and we join Him in glory but "we know when He shall appear, we shall be like Him and we shall see Him as He is" in ALL His blazing glory. Revelation 21:3 tells us that "The city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light." This is truly an awesome future! And what's more we too shall shine, reflecting His glory as the moon reflects the Sun! What a wonderful end to shame! Give it to Jesus and share in this divine destiny! Blessings Forevermore. LadyZaidie

Heart Surgery

One of the things that is often said as a negative comment and sometimes even in a derogatory way is that girls /women are emotional. I cannot disagree with the comment but I do disagree that it is a negative. Of course like so many other things in life too much can be too much at times! But I also know that God is emotional. The best example;He loves!He so loved us that He sent Jesus to die for us so we can be in relationship with Him again! John 3:16 reads:"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Being made in the image and after the likeness of God, all human beings have emotions. The thing is to not be ruled by them to the exclusion of God-given principles and commandments. God is first and His laws must overrule all personal emotions, reasoning, philosophies, ideologies, choices and preferences that seeks to exalt itself above God. The most important emotion that we should and need to embrace, experience and exhibit is love. But love is not just an emotion, it is a principle and therefore it is a choice. Now some people make excuses for their emotions by saying they have no choice;it's just how they feel. Wrong! The truth is we can choose our feelings! We can choose to love or not and we can choose to hate, to be angry or to be happy. It may be difficult at times in certain testing situations but we can! I will tell you how in one word;JESUS. He lived as a man;tempted in every way like all of us but He never allowed His emotions to cause Him to sin! You see that's the main problem with our emotions; we use them as an excuse to sin against God! But Jesus can make us to be like Him so that although we experience emotions,they do not dictate our choices,actions and character. In the next few blogs that I post, I am going to spend time looking at some of our different emotions and how we can deal with them with the help of the Lord.  

The first emotion I will consider is Irritation: Some individuals get irritated at the slightest thing and pretty soon they are angry and going off the deep end. They have no tolerance for anyone and very soon anger takes over and they are sinning against the Lord. By the way, let me just say right here, right now, it is possible to be angry and yet, not sin! Jesus was angry [see John 2: 13-22] but He did not sin. What is His secret? It is His heart! What I have observed over the years is that people who fly off the handle so easily are irritated in themselves, with themselves! It is not who or what that causes the annoyance, it is that their hearts are consumed with so much negativity that anything that is said, acts like scraping nails on a chalk board and immediately sets their emotional teeth on edge. The Bible tells us that the issues of life flows out of the content and substance of our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 reads; "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life". Having said that,before we start guarding we need to be sure we have a heart that is worth protecting. We have to be sure we are not being precious about a heart that is in need of treatment. we have a duty of love and care to ourselves to get a new heart; a heart like the heart of Jesus.

We do so by asking God to give us this new heart; "a heart of flesh" on which the commandments of Love may be inscribed; love for God first and love for our fellow man. "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh" Ezekiel 11:9. But for heart transplant surgery to take place we need to ask the Great Physician for His services. David in Psalms 51:10 demonstrates one such request. He starts by saying;"Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a faithful spirit within me." But there is just one warning;unless we recognize our need and genuinely seek for help,there will be no changes. We can resolve to do better by ourselves but that will only be a temporary, band aid solution. Permanent change and wholeness comes only from the nail pierced hands of the Physician. Every person who has not yet accepted Jesus as personal Savior is a sinner and every sinner is in need of a new heart;the 'one heart' that is like Jesus' heart.

Once our heart transplant is complete, we must be on our guard, watching and making sure that the wrong things are not getting into our hearts to infect and corrupt it again! We have to guard against infection/corruption from such things as hatred,unforgiveness, envy, malice etc. These are from the enemy and the accuser of the human family and God. When a person has major heart surgery they have to change their total life style. They must change their diet, get daily exercise and ensure that they take the prescribed medicine every single day for the rest of their lives. It's the same with spiritual heart surgery. What you nourish your soul with must change; your daily dose of medicine and the things that you do must all conform to the Divine prescription. Manna which is the word of God, needs to become your source of nourishment. Living water that satisfies your thirst and never runs dry is essential for Life and that is the Holy Spirit. The intake of these are the daily requirements of the new heart's,new diet. So is exercise. Prayer is the perfect exercise that will maintain connection to the Physician, build strong spiritual muscles and strengthen the patient to "walk and not faint, run the race and not get tired, fight the fight of faith" and win. All the while Jesus is in constant attendance, right alongside you. Your personal Physician.

Understand that the important thing that we need to take on board is not to use emotional responses or outbursts as reasons and excuses to sin. In our example of irritation, we see that it can lead to anger which of itself is not a sin . However, depending on the heart content and intent, it can result in sin. Ephesians 4:26 tells us; "In your anger, sin not". “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James 1:19-20). Jesus did not exhibit man’s anger, but the righteous indignation of God. He was angry over the lack of faithfulness to God's law, the lost condition of the trading Pharisees, and the defilement of the House of God. His anger came from the wellspring of a heart filled with love and concern for lost, misguided children of His Father in heaven! Out of the heart flows the concerns and the substance of our being! Note also that Jesus had control over His emotions; they did not get away from Him.

Controlling our emotions comes with a heart that is grounded in love and loyalty to God first and last! If you have had a heart transplant you need to keep up the regimen prescribed by the doctor and have regular checks, just to ensure everything remains Okay with you. It is the same with spiritual heart surgery. We all need to check in with the heart Doctor who is available daily - no cost to us! His divine Rx, when followed faithfully ensures that we stay heart-healthy. Love & Blessings. LadyZaidie

Looking Back To Look Forward

Have you ever found yourself reflecting on the path that your life has taken and wondering how different things might have been if you had gone right instead of left, stopped rather than kept going, spoken and not kept quiet? Yesterday I found myself in a situation with an hour or so to wait for some family members to join me for an appointment. As I looked around I saw people going about doing their jobs, one for which I had studied very hard for a number of years. I had decided to change course after a couple of years and ended up with a totally different career. I reviewed the outcome of my decision to change direction and wondered how different my life would have been if I had stuck to my first choice. "Hmmm", as a good friend always says spelling it out!

When I was eventually joined by my party, a younger sibling also had occasion to reflect on her life choices and voiced her questions about how different the day would have been if she had made different decisions also. "Ditto" I thought. But there is no way for us to know whether our positions would have been any better than they are presently. We know for sure things would have been different but the question becomes different good or different bad; there's no way of knowing and perhaps that's as it should be. It would be impossible to live with complete knowledge of every possible outcome for simple minds such as ours!

Then I got to thinking; Isn't God just awesome! He knows every possible outcome. He also knows exactly which road we will choose and how our lives will be lived out in the final analysis! He knows what is good for us and better still, exactly what is best for us. He knows when we have made a wrong turn, a wrong choice because we fail to consult Him or listen to Him. Yet He never leaves us nor forsake us! He is with us to the uttermost; even if we "make our bed in hell",He is there with us.

So why do we not realoze and accept that God Knows All things, sees everything from the beginning to the end, wants to guide us in the Way, the Truth and the Life, Has a love so deep and wide that He gave His Son to die for our restoration to an intimate, Father-walk with Him through every situation, every step of life's journey? Why do we make decisions without consulting Him, why do we ask but not listen and obey our Father's direction?

Isaiah 30:21 is a reminder by the prophet that the Lord is with us, not just as a passive Bystander allowing us to make poor choices but He is actively encouraging us to become all that He has planned for us; planned and destined before we were born. The text advises us: "And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left". This is a promise from our Divine Creator, Our Father God!

Over the years I have accepted that I mess up all the time, making decisions and choices for the wrong reasons. Or,for the right reasons at the wrong time and a million variations that all come down to one thing; they are MY decisions to have My own way - Zaidie-centred thinking for Zaidie-centred benefits that leads to Zaidie-centred problems! I am thankful that God is patient, long-suffereing, merciful and kind to His wayward daughter. I am thankful that I have learnt to trust Him more and more. I am thankful that I have leant to rest upon His promises because of His grace in giving me greater undertanding and divine wisdom.

I am not sorry about the road I have chosen to travel in my life. I do not regret the decisions I have made at my various crossroads because I Know that my Lord walks with me today and He will be with me to the very end of time! I know that every experience is a lesson to be learnt, a message to be shared, a testimony to be published abroad by words, deeds and thoughts. I know that Romans 8:28 is the whole truth and nothing but the truth: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose".

Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is indeed out of sight;it's difficult to know what will be the consequences of today's choices on tomorrow's outcomes but we know Someone who does! That Someone is Jesus! Let's depend on Him to guide our decisons as well as our footsteps because He cares for us. He not only knows what's best,He desires only the best;His best for us. Love & Blessings. LadyZaidie

A big little word

"But" is a big little word that can destroy lives, destroy one's future, ones's dreams, hopes and salvation. Let's look at a few of the situations that this little word controls. A motorist says to a group of pals:"I was gonna take a taxi but I can't be bothered with the hassle to come get my car tomorrow so I'll drive us home; I'll be careful". There was only one survivor when his car filled with 3 friends collided with the SUV of a couple refturning from a week's holiday.The family of 4 died and so did the driver and 2 of his friends!

"Mum and Dad would kill me if they knew that I am having sex with a boy I just linked with on facebook but it's just some harmless fun; I'm not hurting anyone", said the young teenage girl. Sometime later as she lay dying from AIDS; her family is devastated, Mom and Dad are blaming each other for not being better parents, and she realises that she will not live long enough to celebrate her sixteenth birthday.

"Doing homework is just too boring. I should really do it but I'll just play on my PS3 for a while". The homework never got done and that was just the beginning of a pattern of behaviour that led to a failure of all exams and no high school diploma!

"I would like to be a doctor but..." "I wish I could ... but..."

"I want to commit my life to God but..."

Think about the power of that little word "but". It has the power to determine what kind of life one lives, how one lives, and even if one actually keep living at all. Even more importantly, whether one has eternal salvation or not often depends on whether we find an excuse to say no to God. "But" so very often really means "no". The Apostle Paul says that he desires to do good but he finds himself doing the wrong that he does not want to and all of us can relate to this sentiment.

In truth there is a war that wages for our minds, bodies and spirits. Our sinful nature is at war with our Creator; we joined the rebellion against His Kingdom when our first parents choose to break the Father's command in Eden. Yet this has never caused Him to stop loving us; wanting us to "come home" to Him. He implemented His Plan of our Redemption; giving His only Begotten Son to die for us on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus obediently suffered crucifixion and death to save us even while we were the ones killing Him! Greater love is not to be found in this or any other world.

"But" is a big little word indeed but there is an even bigger little word and that is "love". If we love God with all our hearts; if we love each other; if we make a choice to accept the gift of salvation and be like Jesus, then love, God's love will assure us an eternal inheritance as sons and daughters of the Most High God; Sovereign Lord of Heaven and earth and all creation!God is Love! "But" may be a big little word alright but surely there is no bigger little word than "love" - it is the greatest!

1 Corinthians 13:13 - "And now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." Meditate on Love. Blessings to you all. LadyZaidie

Undercover Love

Are you one of those people who has to pararde every emotion, every thought, word and deed to the whole world to get a response, validation, affirmation whatever? Do you wear your heart on your sleeve occasionally or all the time? If you hurt, do you want everyone around to know and notice? How about when some good stuff is happening with your life; are you one of those individuals that want all your friends to celebrate with you? What about if you do something you are ashamed of, what then or if you do a good deed?

We all have our own way and we all do things for different reasons. But I think we should be sure that we do not risk living our lives for other people's approval or disappoval. We need to examine why we do the things we do, and what is the benefit of our actions and approaches to the experiences of our life's journey. There should be careful choices about the things we share, the things we publish and the things that we keep under wraps. Equally, we should choose our audience very carefully. There are some matters where the Jesus advises us to perform for an audience of One.

For example, when you help a person in need you should do so privately even anonymously if at all possible. Don't do it so that others can applaud you or the recipient can heap praises on you. Show your love, do your good deeds for the love of God only; for the love you have for Him who first loved you and have so blessed you. Do your good deeds in SECRET and the only One who sees and knows will reward you openly! So keep your love and your acts of love UNDERCOVER. God Bless you OPENLY! LadyZaidie