Whose Voice Are You Hearing?

I was prompted the other day to remember a piece of music that I used to love. I had recorded it in 1966 on my HMV (His Master's Voice) reel-to-reel tape recorder which I had purchased, with about six weeks wages from my first job, for the price of £36. It was quite an expensive item for those days.

I love many kinds of music but I especially like opera. The piece of music I recorded was from Franz Lehar's 'The Count of Luxemburg' and it was sung by Hilde Guden. I played it so much I'm surprised I didn't wear out the tape.


My first thought on recalling this was........imagine never having heard this piece of music. What if I'd never heard any of my other favourite singers or musicians.

What if I'd never heard or seen huge waves crashing over the rocks on a stormy day here on our lovely Shetland Islands. Everything I've heard, seen and experienced, that brought joy and blessing, how could I have lived without those.

Then my heart skipped a beat.......imagine never having known God. Never to have heard 'the Master's voice'. The thought was frightening. The God who saved me, healed me, showed me peace even in crisis, and blessed me before I even knew Him. The God I stubbornly waited fifty years to invite into my life. It's unthinkable!

I am so very grateful for all the pleasures, all the happy times, all the joy I had in my life before I met God, but they are nothing compared to the matchless blessings I have had since that glorious day.

Why not give YOUR life to God? Let Him give you all that He has for you. Whether you have much, or whether you have little, God will provide whatever is missing from your life. Things that you don't even know you're living without....that's the most exciting of all. He wants to do that for you.

Let Him do it before you look back on your life and start wishing.......

Why wait?


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"You had me at 'Hello' "

Lord, I remember when my life was a mess. I was ill, burnt out, and unable to function normally. I went to doctors, therapists and counsellors and spent many hundreds of pounds on alternative remedies. I bought myself gifts to brighten my moods and lighten my days, but these only provided a momentary 'buzz' and it was back down into blackness.

Lord, there were times when I nearly gave up. I couldn't see the point in continuing my life that way. As far as I knew I had tried everything and that was it. What else was there?

I remember sitting down in my comfortable chair, watching television in the company of my two lovely cats. I should have been happy..... but everything seemed so bleak.

I didn't know you then, Lord, but as I sat there in my dungeon of despair, I seemed to hear a very small voice inside whispering, "Hello, it's me you need."

I began to feel hope rising inside. Somehow I knew it was you, Lord, and I instantly knew what to do. Stretching my hand toward Heaven I surrendered to you all the worry, anxiety, hurt, and illness that was making normal living impossible

I knew you in that moment, Lord, because I gave my life to you also. Since then you have never stopped loving and giving.  Abundantly more than I could possibly imagine, just as you promised me in your Word.

Ephesians 3:20.

Oh! Thank you, thank you Lord, for my new life.

Gifts of Value

What do you have that appreciates in value? Is it an heirloom handed down from a great, great grandparent? An antique that you purposefully bought as an investment? Some money that you put in an account with the promise that the amount would increase with time? All of these things are fine, but they are not life-changing and there is no guarantee that the value of any of these will increase. Some things get broken, damaged or mislaid and the outcome of invested finances cannot be assured.


So, what does increase in value? A few words. Yes, that's right, a few words. Uplifting words spoken to someone who is sad, depressed, lonely or ill, will increase in value as they are converted into words of comfort, gladness and healing to the listener. Words like these cannot be spoiled, broken, lost or diminished and when spoken from the heart will have added value.

Treasures like these cannot be purchased. It costs nothing to offer a few heartening words, but they are a priceless gift to the recipient.


John 6:68. 'Jesus had the words of Eternal Life'. While we are here on earth we have the opportunity to let our words, at the very least, impart a spark of life to the suffering and desolate.

Make a worthwhile investment of heartfelt words to someone today and you may be surprised to find you receive more than you give.

MIND THE GAP

"ALL ABOARD!!!!!! The train bound for GLORY will leave shortly from PLATFORM 1. This train is on time. You will not need to take any luggage. The only boarding requirement is a ticket which is available for purchase at the very low cost of a prayer of acceptance that Jesus died for you."

Most of us have made train journeys throughout our lives. Some pleasantly memorable, some we'd rather forget. All had to be paid for, most would have had a fair amount of preparation making sure we had packed everything. Maybe we were even required to change trains in order to get to our destinations. I'm sure there were times when we didn't make it to our final station on time due to some unforeseen problem.


When it's time to make your final train journey you will have no baggage, you won't need to change platforms. But will you know for certain that your ticket has been paid for? Will you know for certain in which direction the train will be heading? . Please don't wait until the last minute........your special train leaves the platform one time only.


God is waiting to hand you the ticket that will close the gap between you and Heaven. He only asks you to believe that his son, Jesus, died for you to give you life and freedom. It's the cheapest ticket you will ever purchase and it's valid for a lifetime.

Get your ticket now and be prepared for the RIDE OF YOUR LIFE!!!!

Unbeliever's Block

What is stopping you giving your life to God? Is it lack of time? It only takes a few seconds. Is it pride? Many people think they've got it all together and don't need God or that they will feel stupid if they ask God if he exists and not get a reply. God will never NOT reply to that question.


Put it this way, if He doesn't exist then all you will have done is talk to yourself. People do that all the time. If he does exist, and I know he does, your life will have changed in that few seconds. Can you think of a problem, or of something that's broken, that takes only seconds to fix? Neither can I.

The biggest problems in our lives which cause the most hurt, the most damage, and are the most soul destroying are not usually materialistic but ones of the heart and mind.
So many of these take years to solve and recover from because we try to do it ourselves and we were never meant to be alone with them.

So, to try and relieve ourselves of all the heartache, illness, depression, sadness etc. we continually pour money and effort into it. Would it not be simpler to ask the God of the Universe, even if at that point you're not sure about Him, to just help you with something you have found impossible to do yourself?
Imagine getting to the end of your life and discovering that, after all that time, the perfect cure for mind, body, soul and spirit was just seconds away from your lips forming the words "Come into my life, God, I need you".

John 6:37