“a burden shared is a burden halved”, “a burden shared is a burden halved quote”, “a burden shared”, “a burden shared quote”,  “proverb on burden”. That are search terms people type into Google.

I find that especially “a burden shared is a burden halved” is at the top.

Lots of camper vans are coming through Kaitaia here in the north of New Zealand and I like to read what is written on them. “Sorted” was written on the one I saw today.

I also remember one camper van I saw in Auckland. “Still Restless” was written on the front and on the back.  A motorbike was tied to the back of the camper van also carrying the message: “STILL RESTLESS”

Not long after I became a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord led me to a little congregation.  (In Bottrop/Germany)

Above the entrance door was written:

“COME TO ME,

ALL YOU WHO ARE WEARY AND BURDENED,

AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.”

Matthew 11:28

“Life is like a coin. You can spend it anyway you like. But you can only spend it once.”

What a message!

 When I read that today in one of the shop windows here in Kaitaia, in the north of New Zealand , I asked myself, “HOW DO I SPEND MY LIFE?”

(I think I have asked myself that question already several times in my life.)

I am looking into the past. How did I spend my life in the past?

I am looking at the present. How do I spend my life just now?

I am looking into the future and asking myself, “How am I going to spend my life in the future?”

LIFE IN THE PAST.

Once I was darkness. But now I am light. Thanks to the grace of God I started to live as a child of light at an early age. My life with the Lord Jesus Christ started in my teens. (Ephesians 5:8)

After attending a Bible school in Germany I worked in Thailand as a missionary (WEC INTERNATIONAL) for thirteen years. After doing more studies at the Bible College of New Zealand, as it was called at that time, I worked in Kaitaia and Kaikohe in New Zealand as a missionary.

AT THE PRESENT.

I am now retired and it is my desire to reach people with the Gospel through PERSONAL EVANGELISM. I am especially keen to get in touch with Germans, who come through Kaitaia. And there are a good number who are coming through. Tourists are keen to visit Cape Reinga, the top of this beautiful country.

IN THE FUTURE.

I have only one life and I want to spend it in the service of the Lord and I am waiting for his Second Coming.

C. T. Studd, the founder of WEC INTERNATIONAL, said, “ONLY ONE LIFE, ‘TWILL SOON BE PAST; ONLY WHAT’S DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LAST.”

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “How do I spend my life?”

“Obey” was written in big letters on the front of the garment. When I started a conversation with the owner of the shirt and said something like, “I like the message on your shirt”, he replied, “Obey your wife, or …”

The Bible says to obey the Lord!

There is a whole chapter in the Old Testament, that teaches that those who are obedient are blessed and that those who are disobedient are cursed. Please read Deuteronomy chapter 28 from verse 1 to verse 68.  I think I will read that chapter again soon.

Have you ever asked yourself what the  Lord asks of your for your own good?

He asks of us

1. to fear him, 2. to walk in all his ways, 3. to love him, 4. to serve him, and 5. to obey him.

And remember that it is for your own good! (Deuteronomy 10:13)

But the Bible says this about the relationship between husband and wife:

1.  Husbands are admonished to love their wives. (Ephesians 5:25)

2. Husbands must be considerate as they live with their wives. (First Peter 3:7)

3.  Husbands must treat their wives with respect. ( First Peter 3:7)

About “confidence” I am reading on the last page of the book Stonewalled by Sharyl Attkisson.

Confidence in the news media is mentioned. Confidence in TV news is mentioned. Confidence in the Internet is mentioned.

Everybody agrees on the following says a Gallup poll (June 2014):

Confidence in the news media is lower than ever. Confidence in TV news is lower than the confidence in the Internet. That means that there is more confidence in the Internet than in the TV news.

The author of Stonewalled says also that we must do our own research, that we must consult those we trust, that we must make up our own mind and that we must think for ourselves.

I have confidence and trust in the Bible. Why? The answer is that the Bible IS the Word of God (it does not contain the Word of God) and that it says in Matthew 24:35:

“HEAVEN AND EARTH WILL PASS AWAY, BUT MY WORDS WILL NEVER PASS AWAY.”

STONEWALLED  by Sharyl Attkisson is the book  I am reading just now.

“Fact is stranger than fiction.”

At the beach

“Don’t underestimate how much a kind word can help,” is “The Thought For This Week” in the magazine called The People’s Friend, January 14, 2012.

1. KIND WORDS helped the brother’s of Joseph. Joseph spoke kind words. You read that in Genesis 50:21, the first book of the Bible.

2. KIND WORDS helped those who stumbled. Job spoke kind words to people. Please read Job 4:4.

3. KIND WORDS help to turn away wrath. The Bible teaches that in Proverbs 15:1.

4. KIND WORDS help to break a bone. Please read that in the Old Testament in Proverbs 25:15.

5. KIND WORDS help to instruct us. That is said about The Wife of Noble Character in Proverbs 31:26

6. KIND WORDS help not only to instruct us , but they help also to sustain the weary. The Sovereign LORD has given the prophet Isaiah an instructed tongue and the word that sustains the weary.  Read Isaiah 50:4

7. KIND WORDS helped King Johoiachin. Evil – Merodach , the King of Babylon, spoke kind words. You find those kind words in Jeremiah 52:32.

Kind Words can help you too.

“You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him,” is on the list of church signs someone sent me a long time ago.

I was reminded of that this morning, but I would not say that I was all that discouraged.

Today I am reading about a Maori lady in our local paper, The Northern News, Tuesday, June 2, 2015, who refuses to give in. She is also not listening to people who say that things are impossible to do and she is not giving up!

She was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queens Birthday honors in recognition of her work for others.

Success & Failure

“If you have success, give the glory to God. But if you feel you have failed, don’t give up!”

That’s what a Bible College Principal included in his address to the graduates many years ago.