Blind Faith
Blind Faith
Over the past few months, I have seen the inside of a plane more often than not. You go through the same routine. Arrive at the airport, check the bags in, go through security, grab a Starbucks then wait in line to board the plane. Then comes the time to get on the plane. You walk past more air stewards than you can count, walk up the steps to the plane and get pointed to your seat. After a while they demonstrate what happens if a crash happens. (Fingers crossed it never does!) Another 15 minutes pass and we take off, we are in the sky and heading to our destination. It was at this point the thought came to me, we haven't once saw the pilot yet. The person who we have entrusted to get us from point A to point B, at 350mph, 20,000ft in the air, and we don't know who he is. Thats a fairly big ask there, yet we do it every single time we get on a plane. We trust the pilot 100% that he will get us there safely, on the right path and at exactly the right time to land.
That is a little bit like our own christian walk. We can't see God, but we know he is there. We trust Him to get us from point A to point B. Sometimes there is a little turbulence along the way, but we just put on our seatbelts, sit still and wait for the storm to pass, all while the pilot is navigating us to safety.
For me, even though I can't physically see God, I can hear his reassuring voice telling me that He has me, He is in control and he will get me to where He wants me to be. That I am following the plan that He has set out for me.
This is called faith, blind faith some people would say. Next time you get on a plane, remember you don't need to see the pilot to know that you will get from A to B, but you just need to trust him.
What is unconditional love?
What does it mean to Love without condition?
We have often heard the phrase ‘God’s unconditional love’ or ‘God loves you unconditionally,’ well what does that mean? Google tells me that it means to love without conditions or limitations, but what does God say? The Bible says a lot about love, it mentions it over 550 times and if something is mentioned that many times, it must be important. 1 John 4:16 says that “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” Jesus says that it will be our love for one another that will prove to the world that we are His disciples (John 13:35). So what does it all mean? What does unconditional love look like? How do we love like God?
During this last season of my life, God has been teaching me about what it means to love without condition. It has been a long and mostly uncomfortable lesson, as it has pushed me right out of my comfort zone and into a place of stripping away my own selfish motives and ideas of what I think love looks like. When really, to understand the true definition of love, we have to look at what God says about it.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NKJV)
Im sure i’m not the only person who has read this and felt like they fall short quite significantly! When I read this, it highlights a lot of flaws in how I’ve shown love to many people in my life. A month or so ago, I had a fight with someone I thought I loved unconditionally. I have been deeply challenged at my behaviour, which at the time I felt was provoked by love. Although everything is fine now and we have forgiven each other and moved on from it, this was the beginning of my lesson, and it has been rough.
Sometimes, we can show what we believe is Gods love, in a way that promotes condemnation and judgement, highlighting Gods laws and regulations instead of His mercy and His grace. Sometimes, we view love through our own eyes when we should be looking through Gods. After all, love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)
Conditional love says ‘if you do this and this, I will love you’, whereas unconditional love says ‘I will love you regardless of what you do.’ As a teenager, I was rebellious and put my Mum through hell. Every parent who has walked through that scenario will understand that there is a breaking point where your love for your child can become conditional. Gods breaking point with us, His rebellious children, was Jesus. Jesus is the Fathers unconditional love that covers every single mistake we have ever made. Jesus breaks every condition for love.
When I think about the moment Jesus walked into my life three years ago, the moment I met unconditional love for the first time, all I seen in His eyes was mercy and grace.
So, If we are to be known as His disciples, we must also show this same unconditional love. We must reflect Gods character, and if God is love then He is patient, kind, isn't envious or boastful, he isn't arrogant or rude, doesn't insist on getting his own way, He does not keep a record of wrongdoings, He is not irritable or resentful, He doesn't rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in truth. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things, because He never fails.
I am far from perfect, and i’m okay with that because I know I’m a work in progress. I have a long way to go in my journey of learning to love without condition. Not just to the people I know and find easy to love, or perfect strangers, but to the people I have known and loved who have done wronged me. What does love without condition look like in these situations?
The answer is and always will be, Jesus.
So who do you need to look at through Gods eyes of unconditional love? After all, we've all got a bit lost along the way, we all need unconditional love, mercy and grace, we all need Jesus.
Danielle.
Let Him Be Your Strength!
He who gives me strength.
2013 was not the greatest year of my life but within it came my greatest accomplishment. Jesus saved me "For he says, “In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2 NIV) This verse invaded my blood stream and travelled to my heart, filling me with the Holy Spirit and there it stayed.
I will keep this short but I wanted to share the strength that God holds me up with. I have faced a lot of adversity, who hasn't but following the enlightenment of Jesus into my heart things have been different. I still face adversity but I face it with an almighty strength that surrounds my heart protecting me from hurt and equipping me with the strength & positivity to conquer my battles. Jesus is my strength and through him I can do all things through Him.
Life is simple no matter how much we over complicate it. I have placed my feet firmly on the path which He has set and the darkness of my adversaries are being made exempt by the pouring of flooding light.
I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:10-13 NIV)
Let Him be your strength!
The hope of a blank page!!
The Hope of a Blank Page!
I love New things! A New blank page to write on. A New book with no thumbed edged pages. A New Phone/ Computer/ Ipad etc... I actually, like opening the packaging for the first time. I love Monday’s... (strange I know!) but it marks the start of a New Week, no mistakes made, no disappointments faced, a clean page... New Opportunities for change, development, love, service and the unknown.
New Days, New Weeks and New Years give us the ‘blank page’ opportunities to do something different, something fresh, something clean and something with New Hope! We find this same idea of New Hope as a theme in the Bible...
Lamentations 3 v22:26
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
The book of Lamentations highlights the ‘Great Love’, the Lord has for his people which is not burnt up, eaten up or consumed by those who rely upon it. The thought being that His love has a bigger supply than the demand put upon it by a broken fallen people. What a securing thought... we can never put too much drain on the Love and compassion of our God!
There is a second thought in these verses that God’s love and compassion is available to us all on a daily bases (“new every morning”) because he is faithful in his relationship with us. I see this as the blank page opportunity from heaven for us to live the promised ‘life of abundance’ that Jesus talks about in John 10 v10 on a daily basis.
Often in my life I am reluctant to try new things incase they don’t work out and God or people see me as a failure because I could not fulfill His plan. I recently bumped into someone while grocery shopping and felt I should ask them out for a coffee. However, I did not act on this prompting as I was frightened they might feel pressured or awkward
and I could not think of any reason why they would want to chat with me. Later that day I discovered that person was actually going through a tough time and probably would have loved a chance to chat. God had actually brought me to the right place at the right time and I had heard his gentle prompting, yet I still got it wrong. I Failed to obey! I missed the chance to make a difference!
It is at moments like this that I am thankful that His love and compassion does not run out and is new every morning. Tomorrow I can step out in faith and listen for his gentle prompting knowing he does not hold the failures of today against me. It is another blank sheet of opportunity to be used by God!
Finally, we are encouraged to wait on God, to Hope in God and to Seek for God as he is good to all do so. I pray that we will face each day with a blank page mindset, not living in the regret or condemnation of yesterdays mistakes but in the wonderful opportunities of love and service given to us by God’s great Love and Compassion.
“for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
The Law vs Grace
The Law v Grace (unmerited favour)
“you have not come to the mountain [Sinai] that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest…But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels”. (Hebrews 12:18, 22)
“The Lord Blesses you out of Zion” Psalm 128: 5
“For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power” 1 Cor 15:56
The 1st verse above speaks of the law and of the Holy Spirit. Mount Sinai is where the law was given to Moses through the (ten commandments) and mount Zion is were the Spirit of God came.
The 2nd verse tells us that God blesses us from mount Zion and the third that the law leads to death.”
Which mountain are you on? Sinai or Zion. I don’t know about you but I want to be living on a mountain that gives life and not death. When we live in Grace (unmerited favour) we become alive but when we live by a set of rules, we are dead in our walk with God.
God has taught me that….
- His Grace is freely given
- I can do nothing to make him love me more or less
- He doesn’t stop loving me because of my behaviour
- He wants to bless me beyond my wildest dreams
- Christianity is not, and should never be about a set of Rules
“Beloved, by grace you have been saved through faith.” (Ephesians 2:8)
God loves me, not because of anything we have done but because his son has paid it all already, we don’t need to keep saying sorry for the sin and mistakes we make everyday, why, because he remembers our sin no longer!! We are saved by grace, unmerited favour. Whenever we feel like we are criticising ourselves we need to declare that God has made us righteous (worthy), and declare that sin has no longer got a hold on us.
We need to stop focusing on how much we can love God, and start focusing on how much our heavenly father loves us. We need to stop focusing on how much we can do and start focusing on how much God can do. etc etc
When we do this, we will effortlessly fulfil the law because our focus has changed from keeping a set of rules, to our faith in Jesus!!
I cannot put it any better than Joseph Prince:
“God does not want your heart full of worries and fears, tossed and turned by every challenge that comes your way. He wants your heart at rest and established by His grace toward you.
But when you think that the breakthroughs to your challenges depend on your ability to obey God, then your heart will not be at rest. It will be full of worries and anxieties. Why? Because you can never obey God perfectly.
But when you depend on God’s grace, that is, His undeserved, unmerited favour, the opposite happens—your heart becomes established. When you know that the only thing that qualifies you to receive God’s blessings is faith in the finished work of Christ, your heart becomes established. Then, you will walk without the fear of your troubles swallowing you up. You will walk with full assurance that His blessings will be manifested in your life.
My friend, God wants your heart established, knowing that His righteousness, healing, protection and provision are yours—all paid for by Jesus’ finished work at the cross. God’s blessings are sure in your life because they are not dependent on your ability to keep His laws, but Jesus’ perfect obedience.
You see, under the old covenant, you receive God’s blessings only if you keep all His laws. (Deuteronomy 28:1–2) If you sin and fail to keep even one law, you will be disqualified from receiving His blessings. But today, under the new covenant, your sins no longer disqualify you because God Himself has said, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)
So let your heart be established by God’s grace. Because of His grace, you have full access to His blessings. You no longer have to worry about whether you are good enough. You can stand firm on the promises made in His Word and enjoy His blessings today because Jesus has paid the price. Your part is only to believe and receive!”
I hope this message of Grace blesses you as much as it blessed me.
Vikki
What is in a therefore?
What is in a therefore?
Recently I have been thinking about how there are some words that we gloss over when we read them, possibly because of their familiarity and quite possible because they are what my pupils in school like to term as the small words, the but and so. However, as I am drawn to thinking about community and what that means and looks like I am drawn to the word therefore.
Nehemiah was a man of the therefore, a man about community, family and more importantly a man about God’s business. I keep coming back to this story, for the past four years this is the story that the spirit brings me back to, the story I feel connected with and the story that I believe is for our generation now more than ever. Nehemiah is classed with the Minor Prophets; however, there is nothing minor about this man. He may have been ordinary, he was not a prophet like Isaiah or Jeremiah, he was a career man a man possibly like many of us, that is until his heart broke. In that place of weeping and mourning for the people of God surrender was born and an opportunity grasped.
The walls and their building amaze me; however, I am more taken with the how than the end result. How did they build? How did they deal with opposition? The answer is found in a therefore! The word therefore is more than simply a connective that shows you there is more to come. It is a word that commands action and resolve. Many times I have glossed over this word yet when I read chapter four of Nehemiah I could not pass it by,
“Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” Nehemiah 4:13
Nehemiah was focused on completing what God had called him to do, he encountered opposition and he said therefore. He was not surprised by the actions of Sanballat, or discouraged instead he became resolute and decided to fight and build. He was not going to stop the work or bury the dream of the walls that God had given him.
This is a challenge to me and possibly to all of us. We have a community outside our doors that we often talk about and pray for but here Nehemiah shows us it is more, there needs to be more. We need to be a people who build, who complete, who fight for the families outside our doors, who combat opposition with the sword God has given us in His Word.
Perhaps we need to be a people of the therefore.
Our Hope Is In Him
Our Hope is in Him
“I had nothing to live for and looks like nothings gonna come my way. So I’m just gonna sit on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away.”
"Looks like nothing's going to change, everything remains the same."
Those of a “certain age” will instantly recognise the lyrics of the great Otis Redding’s classic “Dock of the Bay”. If it comes on the radio most people will turn it up and start singing along - yet the lyrics are those of despair ! They describe why those who appear to have everything feel that life isn't worth living.
Despair is the absolute lack of hope - everything seems hopeless at that moment with nothing good on the horizon. Christians and non Christians alike can be attacked by feelings of despair. Satan wants us to believe that our situation is hopeless yet God calls us to have strong hope. He tells us to be of good courage! To take heart! To live boldly! Not to give ground to the enemy, the world and its depressing, despairing message but rather to put our hope in the Lord! HE PROMISES TO STRENGTHEN OUR HEARTS !
Claire Boothe Luce an American playwright and congresswoman from Connecticut wrote, “There are no hopeless situations -there are only people who have grown hopeless about them”.
So the question is where can we find hope in a negative,nasty world where bad things happen to good people? The answer I firmly believe to that question is found in God’s word.
Psalm 25:2-5 says “In You I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in You will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. Show me your ways, O Lord teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are my God my Saviour and my hope is in you all day long”.
Can we take hold of this truth, believe and live it? No one whose hope is in Him will ever be put to shame.
In Psalm 31:24, we're encouraged to"Be strong and take heart all you who hope in the Lord”.
When your ultimate hope is in the Lord you can be strong in life. You don’t have to take a backseat to anyone. We can live victoriously in our hope in Christ.
Psalm 71:14-15 says, “But as for me, I will always have hope, I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.”
So when things seem hopeless,if you have feelings of despair or loneliness ,be encouraged that the source of our hope Is found in God.
Character profile: The Lord is my Shepherd
Character profile: The Lord is my Shepherd
Lately, the Lord has been revealing different sides to His character to me. A few weeks ago during my quiet time I felt compelled to study the profile of Christ as our 'Shepherd' and thought I would share it with you.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10 v 14-15 (ESV)
Throughout both the Old and New Testament, shepherds are mentioned around sixty times in reference to characters, metaphors and parables. The most frequently used is of course Psalm 23, 'The Lord is my Shepherd', but what really challenged me was how perfunctory the statement had become. (The definition of the word “perfunctory” is to merely perform as a routine, lacking interest, care or enthusiasm, to be indifferent and apathetic.) So, I wanted to understand the term 'Shepherd' in order to inject some passion back into something which clearly has significance into understanding how we are meant to relate to Jesus.
What is the definition of a Shepherd?
- A person who tends and rears sheep.
- Someone who guides or directs in a particular direction
What are the duties of a shepherd?
1. To move his flock safely from one place to another.
All through scripture, we are told that the Lord will guide us, his word as a lamp to our path, we listen for his voice and await instruction. “Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30 v 21 (NLT) You can see this in action by looking at Moses when the Lord directed him which eventually led to the deliverance of Israel out of captivity and into the promised land.
2. He brings them out to graze then leads them back to shelter.
Jesus feeds us daily with his word, just like in the wilderness when the bread fell from heaven, Jesus said, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4v4. An interesting fact of shepherding is that they lead their sheep onto rough pasture, usually on the heights of a mountain to feed. This can be seen in the transfiguration “Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.” Matthew 17 v1. When Christ is leading us up a mountain, it’s tough!! We are tired, beaten down, weary, thirsty and hungry for him to strengthen us. When you are in the middle of a trial, you are so dependent on Him, you are weak and vulnerable, you can't see straight, your mind is clouded with worries and anxieties, it helps to have someone directing you to green pastures when we so often look about and see only dry barren land. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5v6
3. He is to protect them against wolves and predators.
A sheep is entirely defenceless, it has no way of protecting itself and is totally dependent on the Shepherd to guard them against predators. My favourite passage when I’m hemmed in at all sides and need assurance that Jesus will protect me is Psalm 91. Verse 14 says “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.” It also says he will ‘shelter, cover, shield, rescue, hold you up and will command His angels to guard you’. Another name for God is ‘Lord of the angel armies’, He is the chief commander of the greatest and most powerful army that has ever existed and Psalm 91 says He will send them as back up to protect you! How awesome! Not only that, but in Psalm 121, it says that “he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” – He is constantly watching over us and protecting us!
4. He keeps them from eating poisonous plants and fruits.
Every forager/adventurist will have a guide to identify what is and isn’t edible in the wild. In Galatians 5 we read about what is good and bad fruit for us, “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies” vs “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” The Holy Spirit helps us to discern what is good fruit and bad fruit. If you picture eating something that has passed its expiry date, you feel the direct impact it has in your body, you feel sick and weary. The same can be said about eating spiritual fruit, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” Matthew 7v18-19.
5. He marks and identifies his sheep
A shepherd will mark his sheep to distinguish them from other flocks. In the same way, God has marked us with his Holy Spirit and set us apart from the world. “He has also appropriated and acknowledged us as His by putting His seal upon us and giving us His Holy Spirit in our hearts as the security deposit and guarantee of the fulfilment of His promise.” 2 Corinthians 1v22
6. He herds his sheep
The definition of herd is: ‘A group of cattle or other domestic animals of a single kind kept together for a specific purpose.’ Jesus herds us and keeps us together as His body on earth, to be His hands and feet. “We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2v10. He has a plan and a purpose for us as His herd and has planned specific tasks and jobs that only you can do In this life, we can only know what these tasks are by listening to our Shepherd
7. To perform first aid and or emergency treatment to injured sheep.
We all know what it is like to be wounded, broken and hurt. This can be through a multitude of things, either caused by yourself or others. Jesus as our shepherd is here to heal you of your wounds both spiritual and physical. “He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 127v3. God also restores us from spiritual death and resurrects us into new life, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3v18.
As depicted above, we can see the role of a Shepherd is multi-faceted, it has many sides and qualities the most prominent of those is that He is trustworthy. We, in our human nature, have a habit of going our own way, going off the beaten track, separating ourselves from the safety of the flock and getting lost. Jesus said “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue” Luke 15v4-7 (MSG)
Thankfully we serve a God who relentlessly searches and chases after us until we are back in the safety of His flock, under the governance of His leadership and direction. If you are wandering off the beaten track and need help from the Shepherd, He promises “He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.” Psalm 91v15.
Isn’t he just amazing? Thank you Lord for being our Shepherd!
Danielle Gault
Seeking Satisfaction...
Seeking satisfaction:
It has dawned on me this week, how empty life can be. When thinking about it, everything we are told, everything we observe in media, everything we strive towards in life. It all accumulates toward one emotion, this longing for a sense of satisfaction. The reason we go to school, Uni or college; the reason we apply for the best job or the job that we so desperately want, to fill this massive discontent with life.
Then the thought occurs that there is literally nothing; nothing in this world that can completely satisfy or give purpose. We work so hard to fulfil these empty wells of desire. We begin to associate fulfilment, joy, satisfaction; all of these "good" emotions with being able to do things competently. We are given to the view that a pre-requisite for true satisfaction is based on our ability to achieve. C.S Lewis says this, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
Thinking of this in terms of Christianity, it relates so much. I have heard and I have said that Jesus is the only thing that can satisfy, I have heard and said that Jesus is everything. In John 10:10 Jesus says that he comes to give life, not just mediocre life, but in fact life to the full. Yet so often I and, (I am certain) most Christians still experience a longing for more, an inner sense that there is still something to achieve, that sounds wrong to say, but I am determined to be honest here. The phrase "I still haven't found what I am looking for", recycles in my head. I know what I need to do, and I know how to do it but still return to the default of good works.
I recently watched a few videos in a sermon series called "I still haven't found what I'm looking for". This series attempts to tackle the life long question of satisfaction. I don't think it's wrong to say that I love Jesus but still have experienced dissatisfaction, in fact it would make me a liar if I said otherwise. However, there is one fatal error in what I have said and how I go about gaining satisfaction in life. Because despite knowing Jesus personally and realising that he is the only thing, ever that can fully satisfy me I still run back to what I have been told works and what I think brings satisfaction. Sometimes this is sin, a lot of the time it is doing what feels natural, trying to obtain, work for, acquire, that "feel good" emotion which is associated with satisfaction. I don't mean trying to work my way to salvation, but what I mean is trying to obey the law to feel good about myself, almost as if I am trying to be good enough to deserve the grace God has shown me. This will never satisfy, I simply can not be good enough to deserve any fraction of God's grace.
Because I can't obey the law it only seems natural to assume that the dissatisfaction is paired with Jesus, when in reality it is because I failingly still try to earn it. Satisfaction in its fullest is found in what Jesus says in Matthew 5:17 "I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfil it" I believe that Jesus completely satisfies the requirement of the law, but also I truly believe that he completely satisfies our longing for something more. And that we are only really satisfied when we realise that we can not be fulfilled when we try to work for it, but only when we let Jesus do what he came to do, and only when we let go and accept that Jesus has done it, he shows us grace upon grace, and lavishes his love on us... UNCONDITIONALLY! Then even more, when we do this our hearts are in line with creator God, and we experience the fullness of the potential God has made us for. We are satisfied when we do what we were meant to do, to be witnesses of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. Nothing else works, Jesus is the only thing that can ever complete and satisfy.
The battle ahead....
So I guess for me, the same as many of yourselves, blogging is a new thing for me. It's something I have never done before, nor had any intention of doing. Recently though, I seem to have found a lot more time on my hands than I normally would have. This is mostly down to being stuck in the house with a broken leg! So since the first blog went out about Trash or Treasure, I have been challenged.
Hopefully by Friday the 24th, I will be going in for an operation. The surgeons have already said they don't know what to expect. They know partly what they need to do but they won't know the full extent until they look at the bone. So that got me thinking. I was reading 2 Chronicles when King Jehoshaphat was ruler. Moab and Ammon had built up armies to take him on. He was getting it tight from all sides and he cried out to God for help. Through a man in the crowd who had come to pray, the Spirit prompted him to say
“Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. (2 Chronicles 20:15)
The end of this chapter goes on to say that God went before them and fought the battle and gave Judah the victory. I guess for me, what I am learning is to hand over all my battles to God. To know that he is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. That whatever bones, ligaments or tendons need to be fixed, that He has already went before me, and won this battle.
What fight are you facing at the minute? Maybe, just maybe, it's the act of surrender that gives us the victory. When we are weak, He is strong. Today, I urge you to hand over your battles to God, let him fight them for you.
A song that also prompted this blog is one by Chris Tomlin - Whom Shall I Fear. Worth a listen! Play it loud!
Mark Hoy
Why I've never read the Bible in a year...
The Bible is not just a book to me. It is a meeting place where I go to meet personally with God – to hear his voice, to discover his character, to see his beauty in Christ, to know him & be known by him. This is why I believe it is important to have a personal physical Bible to aid our spiritual growth, in which we can underline & note things God reveals or speaks to us. One that we also bring with us when we gather as church to meet God. The thing I love about my physical Bible (compared to my virtual formats which I love...) is that IT IS ONLY A BIBLE. It does not have the distractions of my phone or Kindle, or a Tablet or Ipad. It’s a place I go to get away from these things, & everything, to know more of God.
Also, while the Bible is a meeting place it is not like any other place. For it is a meeting place I can carry with me anywhere & everywhere – in the car, on holiday, up a mountain, to the cafe, work & church etc. It is a Holy Book which can turn anywhere into a Holy Place because the Holy God is always near. It is a meeting place designed for all of life. For a busy mum it is a meeting place she can quickly run to when the children are finally content playing or watching TV. For the business man it is a meeting place he can go to at lunch time or between appointments... For the lorry driver it is a meeting place he can pull into as he travels... For the sick person it is a meeting place they can keep by their bedside in the hospital or home... because their hearts are inclined towards God.
See when we see the Bible as a meeting place it becomes more about knowing & discovering God than performing a religious duty or knowing more stuff. I have a confession to make: I have never read the Bible in a year... The reason is simple. I have resolved that I would far rather meet with God than rush by him... Reading the Bible in a year can be like driving through spectacular scenery at 100km per hour to me, why would you do that? No you want to go slowly & take it in. You want to take in the beauty & scenery you witness so you can take pictures & show others.
How about this year instead of making a resolution to read the Bible in a year we resolve to simply meet with God in his Word? This may result in it taking us a few years getting through the whole Bible, but I will tell you this! You will be less likely to give up, you will feel less of a failure after a month or two, & you will remember more, learn more, obey more, grow more, be captivated more, enjoy more, be changed more & know God more. For you will have met with him in such a way that you encounter the abiding presence of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit in your life. And when you meet with God in his Word you can’t wait until the next opportunity you get to open his Book.
By John Fitzsimmons
http://johnfitzsimmons.weebly.com
Trash Or Treasure
As we set out on this new venture of church based Blogs, I have been surprised to hear so many people tell me, “I have nothing of any value to say!” For some this may be a convenient excuse but for a great number it is a statement of honest self examination. They truly feel that no one else could ever be blessed by thoughts, stories and encouragements from their life or their experience of the Bible.
This reminded me of an incident in my own life which taught me a lot about how I assign value. Like many at this time of year I have a wardrobe clean out to make room for any new clothes I might receive over Christmas. I must confess as I’m a bit of a hoarder the thought of throwing clothes away doesn't come naturally to me... (you never know when a old pair of socks or pants make come in handy!) So Alison, knowing my reluctance to part with my old clothes suggested we could take them to the recycle shop rather than throwing them in the bin. Realizing this was an opportunity to make some money I agreed and headed off to the “cash for clothes” shop.
I wasn’t exactly sure what the recycling shop did with old clothes or how they made money out of my worn and worthless items. The shop assistant explained that my old clothes would be sent to a third world country and resold in their current condition to some one else. He went on to say that there is a great demand for these second hand items of clothing and they are highly valued... (He then gave me £6:20 for my 3 bin bags of clothes.)
It struck me that something I place such little value on could be highly valued by someone else. Something I view as worthless or useless was precious and in demand by others in different situations or circumstances. This caused me to think of all those who had said, “I have nothing of any value to say!” Maybe, like my old clothes we feel that our thoughts, stories and experiences are worthless to others because they are old and worn in our own lives. The Bible says; The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good;... for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. Luke 6:45 (NASB)
Let us be encourages of others through our words... Get Blogging, what you view as Trash could be someone else's Treasure.
new blog section
so this section of the website is where our people sharetheir thoughts, feelings and moments in their life. we have some incredible people among us and we feel this is a great way to share those thoughts with you. The blogs will be updated on a Monday, Wednesday and a Friday. We will be looking for a short blog to be emailed to us and then we can post it online.
You will be able to search the blogs if you are looking to read about something more specific. For example it could be faith, love or Jesus. After searching for a topic, you will then be provided with a list of blogs that contain those words or phrases.
There will be a space where you can add comments onto blogs so more thoughts and ideas can be shared with everyone else. These comments will be monitored by the Web Development team to ensure there is no abusive comments made.
We really encourage you, as the church to get involved in this.
Thank you! Have a great day.
Carrick Elim Church