Dr Margaret's Treasure Chest

Here is another one of my favourite poems... They say the world is round, and yet I often think it's square; So many little hurts we get from corners here and there. There is one truth in life I've found while journeying east and west, The only folk we really wound are those we love the best. The choicest garb, the sweetest grace are oft to strangers shown; The careless word, the frowning face, are given to our own. We flatter those we scarcely know, we please the fleeting guest, And deal full many a thoughtless blow to those we love the best. By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Sometimes only hindsight can provide insight. Christina is returning home from a funeral and has no eyes for the beauty outside her window. The brilliant sunshine above and shimmering sea of clouds below are lost on her as she retraces the years that have passed. Susan firmly believed that people should have a reverent attitude when sitting in church. So when her daughter Christina kept whispering and laughing right through her own wedding ceremony, Susan was visibly shaken. She knew her daughter had a rebellious streak and didn’t care much about God, but this behaviour was outrageous. She decided that she would pray for the new pair to take God seriously. Two years later, Christina and her husband David decided to move to America, and Susan felt very upset by this decision. Not only for herself, but also for her daughter. Christina would lose the influence of her family and with it her last vestige of Christianity. Susan feared that America was even less godly than Englan...

Sweetness - what feelings and images does that word evoke? For me, it brings to mind something pleasant, something pure and innocent, something true and reliable, something with round edges rather than sharp ones. Last week I had much occasion to dwell on this word. You see, I met two ladies at our new church who symbolise the word 'sweet'. I have only spoken with them a couple of times so far, but each time they left me with a fragrance of sweetness. And no, it wasn't their perfume; it was their gentleness, their sincerity, their kindness yet directness, and their general behaviour toward others. Then, when I encountered some very frustrating difficulties during this past week, my mind kept drifting to Jill and Emily. I kept asking God, "Please make me sweet!" My intellect can easily exert itself and go into battle, but I realised that I needed to reflect Christ's Spirit - I needed to be 'sweet'. The result, of course, was very positive. Th...

This post could be a little controversial (to say the least), but please be assured that I do not wish to offend any of you!!! Instead, I wish you all every possible blessing for the coming year! I hadn’t intended to write about this topic at all, but when we arrived home tonight after a day of church and fellowship – and much talk about Christmas carols and other celebrations – I felt compelled to write a few words. Initially, I just wanted to wish you all the very best for the upcoming season, but then my fingers took matters into their own hands. Hence the controversial bit... Let me tell you a true story: There once was a young couple who had found forgiveness in Jesus Christ and were determined to serve Him in spirit and truth. The following Christmas, they apologised to their young children for having told them lies about Santa; he simply had to go. No more milk on the porch for his reindeer, and no more Christmas carols that talked about him. Christmas that year was w...

Hi everyone, I know it's been a while, but this gem of a poem was definitely worth waiting for: * Each morning when I wake, I say,   "I place my hand in God's today."   With faith and trust that by my side   He'll walk with me my steps to guide. He leads me on with tender care,   When paths are dark and I despair.   No need for me to understand   I f I hold fast to His great hand. My hand in His - no surer way     To walk in safety through each day.     By His great bounty I am fed,   Warmed by His love and comforted. When at day's end I seek my rest,     And realise how much I'm blest,   My thanks pour out to Him - and then     I place my hand in God's again. Anon - regrettably

Imagine for a moment that you are going about your daily business and then, all of a sudden, you are gone. People no longer see you, but you have not died. You have simply vanished to enter another realm. Am I talking about science fiction or alien abduction? The answer is ‘No’. I am thinking of actual historic events, of encounters experienced by Enoch and Elijah. What’s more, I am thinking of something that is yet to happen, something that may affect you and me. Looking forward in time, the Bible predicts a third occurrence of transformations. First, let us take a look at Enoch’s experience. This man was born into the seventh generation from Adam and had a son called Methuselah. Paradoxically, Methuselah became the longest-living man on earth – 969 years, to be exact – while Enoch had the shortest life experience among his contemporaries. He was only 365 years old when he left this world, merely one third of the average ante-diluvian age. Why am I emphasising this fact? Becaus...

Have you ever felt depressed? Was it just a passing bout of the blues or was it more severe? Let's talk about this topic and discuss some natural remedies that can be effective for less severe cases. Christians often think that depression has no place in a person yielded to God, but this is not so! Many faithful servants have suffered from depression and have even considered suicide! I once spoke at a Christian health day where I met two extraordinary Christian women who told of their experiences with depression and bipolar disorder, and how the Lord carried and sustained them through it all. Please do not think that clinical depression is brought about by the person suffering from it. It has many origins, and in this fallen world even Christians suffer from hormonal and other biochemical imbalances that often have no causal explanation. There is therefore no reason to feel ashamed! If you think that you, or someone you know, is suffering from depression, there is a reall...

Photo by Ken Treloar on Unsplash How we see theology can make all the difference to our understanding of certain concepts. That brings me to my question: Have you ever wondered why theologians DISagree? Most of us tend to look up to and believe educated people, and especially those who are well known and/or have written books. And this is a good thing because we may learn much from them. It is also true that we are to submit to the leadership of our Elders. However, even learned men (and women) are fallible, and it is a fact that theologians disagree with one another. Not on who Jesus is, of course, and not on the fact that God shows Himself in three different ways: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; but they can disagree on many not quite so important issues. In the light of having a Bible that claims to be the inspired Word of God, this puzzled me, and so I made it my business to find out. After extensive studies of human behaviour (in the light of God's Wo...