Tag Archive for: Jesus Christ

Brolly to the ready

The Dutch love to talk about the weather.
I believe it to be one of their most beloved national pastimes. ๐Ÿ˜Š
โ€ฆAt least thatโ€™s what it seems like to me!
And these last few weeks, one thing has dominated lots of conversations.
๐‘น๐’‚๐’Š๐’!
โ€œApril showersโ€ is a well-used phrase that is engrained in our culture โ€“ there have been many of late.
It seems to have rained and rained and rained constantly this month.
As a Scot, I am all too familiar with it too!
Recently, my umbrella has been particularly useful.
The fact is, Dutch weather is indeed mild, damp, and windy.
It is comparable to my homeland.
Similarly, in life we have all experienced showers, or seasons of gloominess and sadness.
Sometimes I grumble a little about the rain. You probably do too.
What could be โ€œright about rain?โ€
Yet, I love the hopeful phrase โ€œright as rainโ€ implying that everything is satisfactory.
Then, I remember that rain is essential for new growth.
April showers help much more than just May flowers.
Spring is a time of renewal and regeneration as things long thought dead, once again spring into a newness of life.
In a like manner, spring is also a time of reenergizing ourselves.
Rain brings ๐’๐’Š๐’‡๐’†.
In Ezekiel 34:26 we read; โ€œAnd I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing, and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessingโ€ฆโ€
Just like this scripture, we are reminded that even the most unpleasant of things, in this case the heavy rains of April, can bring forth great showers, even an abundance of blessings.
Because of Him, I know that the same God that gives us rain also gives us sunshine.
There are always intermittent rays of sunshine to brighten our days, they’re called missionaries! ๐Ÿ˜Š
Watch carefully, the weather always changes.
Maybe it is time to change your outlook.
There is sunshine ahead!

Consecrated

I gave one of our missionaries a blessing this week and as we talked about consecrated oil, this story came back to mind.
โ€ฆ Some years ago, I was passing through airport security.
Like many times before, I put all my loose items in the security tray.
Picking up my keys, the security officer pointed to one item.
Uncustomarily, he asked โ€œWhatโ€™s this for?โ€
โ€œIts an oil vialโ€ I responded.
He looked puzzled.
Explaining further โ€œItโ€™s a religious item. It contains consecrated olive oil for blessingsโ€ฆโ€
He looked at me rather quizzically, placed them back in the tray and signalled me to move on.
With a large queue of people behind me, I regret that I didnโ€™t take more time to explain.

Religious

What does it mean to ๐’„๐’๐’๐’”๐’†๐’„๐’“๐’‚๐’•๐’† something?
โ€œTo consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes.โ€
Why olive oil?
Olive oil is used by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in blessing the sick and anointing in the temple.
The consecrated olive oil is then stored in a vial and used when required.

Parables

New Testament parables use oil as a symbol of healing, light, sacredness, purity and the Holy Ghost. (Luke 10:34)
In the New Testament, oil was used to anoint the sick (Mark 6:13; James 5:14). Just as I had done earlier this week.
In a similar manner, all of our missionaries make sacrifices of their time, as they consecrate their service by quietly going about doing good, just like our Saviour, Jesus Christ – see Acts 10:38.
It takes a great desire, dedication, endurance, and obedience to be a missionary.
Jesus Christ demonstrated that a consecrated life, is a life of service.
As they leave their fears behind, we have seen many of our missionaries in Belgium and the Netherlands make great sacrifices to become truly consecrated servants of the Lord.
For us, it is a real joy to be with such consecrated missionaries.
As they consecrate their efforts, the Lord always makes up the rest.
How can you consecrate your efforts to God?

Appetites

How is your appetite?
Appetite โ€“ โ€œa natural desire to satisfy a bodily need, especially for food, or a strong desire or liking for something.โ€
If you have worked up an appetite, you usually have a desire to eat something!
This week, I had a feeling I hadn’t had in a while…
I lost my appetite for sweet foods!
Over 1 or 2 days, I overindulged a little too much.
Iโ€™d capitulated, and there had been a weakening of my will!
Then, something just really snapped in my brain.
I felt it!
This week I have been much more disciplined.
Like Aliyah, we may all lose our appetite at times tooโ€ฆ

Your character…

Your reaction to your appetites can give you a good measure of your character.
Can you govern your appetites, or are you in bondage to something and forced to yield?
Jesus Christ referred to this duality as the spirit and the flesh.
โ€œThis I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.โ€ โ€“ Galatians 5:16
Simply stated, as we walk in the Spirit, we can and will overcome the temptations of the flesh.
The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. See Galatians 5:22-23
Is there a gnawing emptiness in the pit of your stomach for the fruits of the spirit?
One way we can walk in the Spirit is to tune into the General Conference Sessions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this weekend.
Millions of people all around the world will be tuning in to hear from leaders of the church.
May I whet your appetite a little to tune in?
I know that General conference can help you find peace, hope, and joy through Jesus Christ.
You can learn how to strengthen your family by following Jesus Christโ€™s teachings, youโ€™ll also gain a greater insight into temples and covenants.
In addition, youโ€™ll discover how you can receive personal guidance and inspiration from God.
Simply click on the link below to follow along.
How would you describe your appetite to walk in the spirit?

New Arrivals

Last Friday, we welcomed 10 new missionaries to the Belgium Netherlands Mission.
Being with them was a real joy! ๐Ÿ˜
Picture for a moment that you put your heart out in front of you, so that you can take a long look and carefully consider what is inside.
That is what each these young people will do for the next 18 or 24 months, exploring and sharing the feelings of their hearts.
They’ll consider…
– their hopes
– their dreams
– their feelings
– their faith
– their fears
– their desires
– their attitudes
– their opportunities
– their purpose in life
– their futures.
Along the way they will speak with thousands of people and help each of them to come to know Jesus Christ, better than they know Him now.
Look out for each one of them and ask them why they came to Belgium and the Netherlands – they’d love to speak with you!

Because of Him

Yesterday, I sat atop the stairwell.
Flooding my mind, were thoughts of days gone by.
Missionaries, family and dear friends, had all climbed these stairs.
Cradling our memory book, one by one, their names and faces flashed through my mind.

Gratitude

I was overwhelmed by feelings of love and gratitude.
Tears came easilyโ€ฆ
It was a beautiful moment, Iโ€™ll cherish forever.
All of those missionaries in our book are home now.
โ€œWill I meet them again?โ€ I thought.
Rising to my feet, a swift and calming feeling cameโ€ฆ
The answer was an emphatic and absolute โ€œ๐ฒ๐ž๐ฌ!โ€
I look forward to sweet reunions in the years ahead.

Easter

Today is ๐„๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ.
This morning, Iโ€™m mindful of other sweet reunions that I hope and long forโ€ฆ
My father, nana, gran, and many other family and friends who have already passed away.
Over the years, I have attended and spoken at many funerals.
Frequently, I witness tears of sadness over and over again.
Sometimes, I am asked about the whereabouts of their loved ones.

Scriptures

The scriptures clearly guide us to what the future holds.
Job asked the supreme question โ€œIf a man die, shall he live again?โ€ โ€“ Job 14:14.
The answer is an emphatic and absolute โ€œ๐ฒ๐ž๐ฌ!โ€
Our Saviour Jesus Christโ€™s atonement and resurrection, enable us all to live again.
๐๐ž๐œ๐š๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‡๐ข๐ฆ, each of us will overcome the ultimate obstacle of death.
๐‡๐ž claimed the victory over death.
โ€œBut there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.โ€ โ€“ Mosiah 16:7-8.
In times ahead, as we each pass through the veil of death, I look forward to many sweet reunions, as we continue our journey towards the glorious day of our resurrection.
Come to church this Easter.
Speak with a missionary about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His plan of Happiness.

Palm Sunday

In the Christian calendar, today is the start of Holy Week.
My thoughts are already turning more towards Jesus Christ, especially today as we mark His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
The Old Testament tells us that Jews would rejoice greatly, to shout at the Messiah’s coming.
And they did.
The crowd cried “Hosanna,” the Greek expression for “save us now.”
โ€œRejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.โ€ See Zechariah 9:9.
In adoration, the people laid down palm branches before Christ’s path. See Matthew 21:1-11

An important week

Elder Ronald A. Rasband shared recently about the importance of Palm Sunday, and that it was the beginning of โ€œthe most important week in human history.โ€
โ€œWhat began with the heralding of Jesus as the promised Messiah in His triumphant entry into Jerusalem closed with His Crucifixion and Resurrection,โ€ he said.

Remembering

Three years ago, President Russell M. Nelson said. โ€œI invite you to make this coming week truly holy by remembering โ€” not just the palms that were waved to honour the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem โ€” but by remembering the ๐’‘๐’‚๐’๐’Ž๐’” ๐’๐’‡ ๐‘ฏ๐’Š๐’” ๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’…๐’”.โ€
He quoted the Saviourโ€™s promise in Isaiah 49:16: โ€œBehold, I have graven thee upon the ๐’‘๐’‚๐’๐’Ž๐’” ๐’๐’‡ ๐’Ž๐’š ๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’…๐’”.โ€ โ€” a promise, President Nelson said, that Jesus Christ โ€œwill never forget you.โ€
Upon His hands, are engraven our sins, our pains and all our afflictions, and if we come unto Him, I know, that each of us will feel of his redeeming love and heal us.

Follow His Teachings

Through repentance and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, you too can feel the joy of forgiveness of His redeeming love, always and forever, just like Gracie Reid and Mallory Grunander.
โ€œAfter all that Jesus Christ did for you, I invite you to do something this week to follow His teachings,โ€ President Nelson continued.
โ€œYou might make your prayers more earnest. You could forgive someone or help a friend in need. You can start today on a new spiritual quest.โ€
โ€œLet us remember during this Easter season that the restored gospel of our Lord has the power to fill any emptiness and heal any woundโ€ said Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
Why not invite the missionaries over this week, and consider why the Easter message is so important for you?

Bricks

Remember the story of the three little pigsโ€ฆ
These three little pigs, representing us, went off to seek their fortunes in the world.
Like us, they had different aspirations and different outlooks on life.
The first little pig built a house of straw.
And the second built a house of sticks.
The third, built a house of bricks.
It wasnโ€™t long, before their natural enemy the wolf came along.

Huffs and Puffs

With some huffs and puffs, shortly thereafter the wolf blew down the houses of straw and sticks and ate up the little pigs who lived there.
The little pig whoโ€™d built his house of bricks however, had a much different experience.
He was saved by a stronger set of guiding principles.

Patterns

This story is patterned after a similar one told by Jesus Christ, between a foolish man who built his house upon the sand and the wise man who build his house upon the rock.
As long as good weather holds, the houses built on sand may be just as good as those built on the rock.
But the huffs and puffs of weather patterns come along frequently.
Jesus dedicated his life to encourage all of us to build our lives on strong, solid, enduring, permanent foundations that would weather the harshest, most perilous and turbulent of storms.
His building code was and is a divine one, designed to strengthen and protect us from the most difficult whirlwinds and perils of life.

The Bricks

When challenges in life come, and they will, it is through the guiding principles (the bricks) of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that safety is found.
โ€œA principle is an enduring truth, a law, a rule you can adopt to guide you in making decisions.โ€ โ€“ Boyd K. Packer.
Some strong principles (bricks) that are helpfulโ€ฆ
– There is great power, and safety found in the word of God, through daily scripture study.
– Daily supplication in prayer morning and night and learning to listen for answers.
– Listen to and follow living Prophets for guidance, they keep us safe.
– Follow the Doctrine of Christ โ€“ see 2 Nephi chapter 31.
When the rains and storms come, the best place to build is with good bricks on a solid foundation and have your roof in place.
If you need help with a few bricks for your foundation and roof, then speak with a missionary today.

“Look how far we’ve come…”

After their final departing testimonies, I asked the six missionaries to line up in front of the rostrum.
โ€œElder Johnson, can you stand the middle of them please.โ€
โ€œNow take 13 steps away from Elder Johnson, in any direction you like.โ€
Departing

And off they went.

โ€œElder Santos, you take another 4 steps, so 17 in total.โ€
At that point he was in the corridor and then he came back into the chapel.
โ€œElder Johnson, will you please represent Jesus Christ.โ€
Some further instruction was given to them all.

Returning

โ€œTake 1 step towards Jesus Christโ€.
โ€œNow, take your second stepโ€ฆโ€
โ€œThirdโ€ and so forth until all 13 steps were taken and all of the sisters had returned to stand by Jesus Christ (Elder Johnson).
Elder Santos was still a little distance away, so I asked him to take his final 4 steps towards Jesus Christ.
Tenderly, they embraced one another.
In the analogy, each step represented a 6-week transfer in the mission.
Sisters have 13, and Elders 17.
As they immersed themselves in their purpose, to invite others to come unto Christ through their 18 or 24-month mission, something miraculous happens.
One by One – they ๐’„๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’ˆ๐’†.

Faith

Step by step, day by day, week by week, transfer by transfer, they edge closer to Jesus Christ.
โ€œFor we walk by faith, not by sight.โ€ โ€“ 2 Corinthains 5:7
What did He see in each of them?
As they struggled, with their faults, failings, and human frailties, they too felt of His healing hands and frequent tender embraces.
Like each of them, He sees all of us as souls worth saving.
โ€œAs we are made new in Christ, our very natures change, and we no longer want to go back to our old ways.โ€ Elder Robert D. Hales.
We literally become โ€œin Christโ€ฆ a new creatureโ€ฆโ€ 2 Corinthians 5:17
On your journey through life, how does Jesus Christ give you the strength to change?
Ask the missionaries โ€“ they can help!

Joyfully United Together

On Saturday, I travelled to Vienna in Austria, with my fellow church leaders from Belgium and the Netherlands.
Starting very early, and finishing extremely late, made for one very long day!
Why go all that way for a few hours, I hear you say?
Well, we were able to meet with Elder D. Todd Christofferson, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in an Area Leadership Meeting along with other General Authorities of the church.
We gathered with other country church leaders from throughout Europe.
One word was prevalent throughout the sessions โ€“ ๐‰๐Ž๐˜!
How do you find joy today?
The answer was clear and simple.
Begin with your focus on Jesus Christ.
Connect to Him.
Connect to Him through the ordinances of His Gospel.
Connect to Him through the community of Saints.
Being together was not only a spiritual feast, but it was also a joy to associate with so many great friends from throughout Europe.
I especially loved meeting up with my dear friends Signe and Mike, who Iโ€™d last seen 5 years ago in Vienna, whilst we worked together in our respective Public Affairs and Communication roles.
A day never to be forgotten for sure.
I was grateful the next day, Sunday, our Sabbath day, its also well known by an alternative name โ€“ a day of rest!
I was in need of a bit of that ๐Ÿ˜Š
If you are looking for more joy in your life, then speak with the missionaries โ€“ they will help!

The Multiplier Effect

I offered a 1 Euro coin to the missionaries on Friday.
โ€œHow much is that worthโ€ I asked?
โ€œ1 Euroโ€ came the reply.
I inquired further, โ€œAre you sure?โ€
โ€œYesโ€ he said.
I responded, โ€œItโ€™s actually worth a lot more than that, let me show you how.”
I purchased a random item from the first missionary with the 1 Euro coin.
Then he purchased an item from the second missionary in line with the same 1 Euro coin.
The second bought something from the third, and the third bought something from the fourth, with the same 1 Euro coin.
As if by magic, the 1 Euro coin had now become worth 4 Euroโ€™s.
Repeating the process, 1 Euro can become worth thousands of Euro’s.

The Multiplier

In economics itโ€™s called the ๐’Ž๐’–๐’๐’•๐’Š๐’‘๐’๐’Š๐’†๐’“ ๐’†๐’‡๐’‡๐’†๐’„๐’•.
Multiplying means to increase or cause to increase greatly in number or quantity.
Iโ€™ve learned that there are, earthly economic principles and divine eternal principles of multiplying โ€“ it depends on who is doing the work.

Scripturally

For instance, the scriptures are filled with stories of multiplying.
In each of the Gospels, we read about the ๐‘ฎ๐’“๐’†๐’‚๐’• ๐‘ด๐’–๐’๐’•๐’Š๐’‘๐’๐’Š๐’†๐’“, our Saviour Jesus Christ, feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes.
We understand that after the breaking, came the giving.
In Mark 6:42-43 we read โ€œAnd they did all eat and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.โ€
The multiplication was a result of His work, not our work.
To meet a great need, He always starts with what we have.
I know that Jesus Christ is an expert at multiplication.
Time and time again, our Saviour takes something small, ordinary, seemingly irrelevant, and multiplies it into something amazing, remarkable and of eternal significance.

Starting Small

I find it interesting that He always starts small.
The loaves and fishes were broken by His hands.
Sometimes we are broken too, before we see the blessings of the Great multiplier.
Tenderly, He will multiply your faith, your hope, your love, your joy and your worth.
He can supply all that you need, in abundance.
Let Him be your ๐‘ฎ๐’“๐’†๐’‚๐’• ๐‘ด๐’–๐’๐’•๐’Š๐’‘๐’๐’Š๐’†๐’“.
Ask the missionaries โ€“ theyโ€™ll help you understand.