Lynda's Blog

Well, here we are at the end of the year. Less than a week to go before we celebrate Christ’s birth. As I reflect on the past year, Christmas is especially poignant for me. I think of my mother’s health issues that eventually lead to her death, the ongoing effects of COVID, the cyclone that we are still recovering from (physically and mentally), the recession and just generally a feeling of exhaustion.  Yet through it all, God has been with me as He has promised. He has strengthened me; He has been my refuge; He has been a tower I could run into; He has been my joy and He has been my peace.   So this Christmas I have a thankful heart for his presence and the growth I have experienced through this difficult time.   I don’t know what the future holds for any of us, but I can say with confidence:   ‘The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.’   Deuteronomy 31:8...

  Well Christmas is less than two weeks away. The year always seems to go so quickly, filled with activity as it is, and being retired hasn’t changed that. I am struggling a little currently at some expectations that have been laid on me. I simply have enough to do at the moment. I find it hard to say ‘no’ and am just congratulating myself at saying that very word to my church minister. He is a lovely man and works extremely hard. He does, however, feel that every member of the congregation should be fully involved in the life of the church. I’m not sure that I disagree with that, it is simply that somehow much of what needs to be done falls on my age group. Younger families are busy with children and most parents have jobs. Then there are those much older than me who simply no longer have the physical ability or the energy to do much. Add to that a congregation that has shrunk and is mainly older people – and that’s why it is mostly my age group who are busy volunteering and who...

I was challenged by a recent sermon about holiness.   It says in 1 Peter 1:15-16 ‘But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy”’ (NIV)   This is not a choice for Christians, but a matter of obedience.   So, as someone who is just a simple woman trying to be obedient to God, I wondered what this might look like for me. What do I need to give up? Am I filling my life with activities that do not serve any purpose but to satisfy me? Do I need to do more to serve God than what I am already doing? Oh boy, challenging questions.   I thought about what gives me the most trouble in terms of sinning. Well, it’s definitely my mouth. It says in Proverbs 21:23 that ‘those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity’ (NIV). Jesus says in Matthew 15:11 that it is what comes out of our mouths that defiles us. He went on to explain that we will have to give an account of ev...