Don't let your worries get the better of you or 'Brief encounter'.......

Don't let your worries get the better of you. Remember, Moses started out as a basket case!

     Just trying to lighten the moment, but worry is a terrible affliction.  This week I ran into an old friend of  mine, and I was so embarrassed, not only did I not remember her name I did not recognize her at all.  Once my friend reminded me the memories came flooding back, memories of our childhood and teenage years together.   We shared a pair of skates, learned to swim in Victoria Park, tried our first and only 'Gallagher's Blues'  argued over the best pop stars, swore we were  sisters for life..... but as so often happens we grew up.... and grew apart.  

      I just could not understand the change in my friend, not only her appearance but her carefree,  joy de vivre had gone.  I offered a lift and listened as she told me about her failed marriages, her lonliness and worries, I was truly saddened,  as we parted we promised to keep in touch. 

    Driving home I began to think of life and things ......how privileged and blessed I am..... I gave thanks for my family and friends, my church family and began to ponder on how important church is, how helpful a church fellowship can be for the lost and lonely. 

     In a recent article I read that there will be more people attending  church in the UK this weekend than at all the sporting events combined,  and although that gave me great heart I know that  many people  have no idea why they attend church.

    

      Some of them go out of tradition. Some  out of guilt. Some  go out of habit.  Why do we build these buildings? What purpose is it for?

     The Bible says that God created the church to help people fulfil His purpose for their lives and one of the ways a church family can help is to.....help  us centre our life around God through worship.

Worship is simply building our life around God,  God didn’t put us on earth to live a self-centered life. He didn’t put us here for our  own benefit.  We exist for God not vice versa. God wants to be the core of our being, the focus of  our attention the center of our life. The Bible calls that worship.

Anytime God is the center of your life you are worshipping Him. 
      How do you know if God is really at the center of our life? It is simple. You stop worrying. Worry is the symptom, the warning light that God is not the center of our life. When  money, job, family, when anything else except God takes that center place in our life you’re going to be prone to anxiety,  fear and worry. We have to overcome ourselves.

       Jesus talks a lot about worry in Matthew  He says do not worry about what you eat, drink or wear, 'do not worry about tomorrow, for each day has enough touble of its own.'and he gives us the way of solving our worries''Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind.'.....and love your neighbour as yourself,' in other words looking away from ourselves to  others.

A quote from the Imitation of Christ puts it well.

'The greatest daily fight is that of conquering ourselves, but this fight is worth winning. We must be determined to win if we are going to defeat our old way of thinking and make real spiritual progress from day to day.'

When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there!

I tried to tell my friend some of this but our encounter was brief, when we parted and as I lifted her to the Lord in prayer I promise Him and myself that I would keep in touch.

From an emotional disturbance to a physical one.....let me introduce my new alarm clock, 5 am this morning, the disturber of my peace protecting his/her nesting from a feline intruder, I don'd know which was the worse the cat's squealing or the magpie's squawking.

PEACE, PERFECT PEACE,

WITH SORROWS

SURGING ROUND?

IN JESUS' PRESENCE

NOUGHT BUT CALM

IS FOUND.

Blessings to you and yours.

Heather