Tell me the stories of Jesus

Ever since this morning when I wrote the post about blown minds (if you don't know what I mean check back to this mornings post here) I have had an old song I used to sing when I was a child running back and forward through my head. The song used to be a favourite of the children in my Church and we used to sing it beautifully, well at least we were told we did anyway. The son is one called tell me the stories of Jesus by William H. Parker and Frederick A. Challinor.

Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear; 

things I would ask him to tell me if he were here: 

scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea, 

stories of Jesus, tell them to me. 

First let me hear how the children stood round his knee, 

and I shall fancy his blessing resting on me; 

words full of kindness, deeds full of grace, 

all in the lovelight of Jesus' face. 

Into the city I'd follow the children's band, 

waving a branch of the palm tree high in my hand; 

one of his heralds, yes, I would sing 

loudest hosannas, "Jesus is King!"

I know I have said before and there is a good chance that I will say it many more times, I just love these simple songs for Children. The manage to encapsulate such power and wisdom into simple words so that even adults can understand it. I say even adults because when I was thinking about my post this morning I realised that the reason we fail to have our minds blown by these stories is that we have become jaded with our age, we have grown up and these "children's" stories become just that, we end up lumping them in the same group as the fairy stories we were told as children. They are wild and fantastical and as adults we know things like that don't happen. 

Jesus warned us against this sort of thinking and knew that it is only by approaching Him in the same wide eyed wonder as a child does will we be able to fathom at least a small part of what He did and what He represents.

Matthew 18:2-5

     He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

The amazing thing about children is that they are always learning, everything is new and they see the wonder in all things. They have no preconceived notions, they have no baggage which taints their world view and they have no fear of the unknown and the new. Unless we learn to accept Jesus in this fashion, unless we learn to be the children that we are in his eyes then we will never enter the kingdom of Heaven, don't believe me? re read the verses above. 

     “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

We are and always will be like little children in His eyes, in so many ways except the ones we need to we act like little petulant children. We wine and complain, we ask for things that we don't need and often are bad for us, look to your relationship with God and I will be very surprised if it does not look like that of a parent and a young child. There is nothing wrong with this, this is the way it should be. But if we are trying to play a different role or trying to carve out a different relationship it wont work, it can't work. When you start to see your relationship with God as parent and young child then you begin to see that the ways in which we act, the things that we do all need to change to reflect the relationship. I know that I am as guilty as the next person of this and am only beginning to understand this fact myself. But I am hoping that in the future I am able to allow my mind to be blown my His awesomeness and that I remember that I am just a small child in His eyes, and His view is the only one that is important.

The road to Emmaus

I was talking to a friend last night about how we often read through the Bible and the stories in there a little underwhelmed. We have been studying and reading them in different ways for years, for most of us since our childhood days in Sunday school. We have read and re read the stories that many times that we fail to have our minds blown by them any more.

This came up because earlier in the evening someone had mentioned the road to Emmaus and we had been discussing about faith and the power of Christ I don't how much other people know about this story or about the context of this story, but bear with me while I talk through it.

This story centres on two disciples of Jesus, they are not major characters in the group following Christ as the Apostles were, but nevertheless these two men were disciples of Jesus. These men as disciples can be validly thought of as Rabbinical apprentices, and as such would have followed Jesus very, very closely if not for His entire three year ministry then for a large portion of it. Without putting too fine a point on it, these men knew Jesus very well, they would have spent huge amounts of time with Him and known very well what He looked like.

So these two men are walking along, understandably they don't want to be in Jerusalem just then, who would, and they meet a stranger on the road. You can imagine how it would happen, you are out walking with a friend talking, probably not in the best of moods and you come across a stranger. Not only this but the stranger decides to tag along after them trying to join in the conversation, even worse the stranger appears not to have a clue about recent events. Picture yourself in this situation, how would you feel and react towards this person? would it be in a polite, kind Christian way or might you possibly be a bit irritable and dismissive.

If all this was not bad enough the stranger who has already ingratiated himself so well begins to teach the two men about the prophecies regarding the Messiah. But remember these men are not your run of the mill citizens, they are Rabbinical apprentices, theology students, they know in their heads all that this stranger is trying to teach them. We are told that these disciples thought Jesus was the Christ but now because He has been dead three days and His body appears to be stolen they think they have lost everything. And here is this no one, this random stranger telling them about what the Messiah must do, I don't think annoyed is quite the word to express their feelings.

So after what is likely to have been many hours walking, and with this stranger tagging alone possibly some quite tense and uncomfortable hours, possibly some pleasant, we don't know. Obviously they were not that bad that they would let this stranger carry on into the night wandering to the next village and they invite him in to the house in which they are bedding down for the night to eat with them.

At this point Jesus takes the bread, blesses and breaks it and hands it to the disciples, at this moment their eyes begin to see. In the Bible it says that their eyes were opened, for me personally this links to the times in the Bible where it says things like, those who have ears listen, those who have eyes see. These phrases do not discount the blind and deaf, they signify that those people who have been exposed to Christ need to recognise Him and that it is right to do so. I think another equally valid way of saying the same thing would be that the disciples had their hearts opened, for me I think that in this sense it means the same thing.

Take a moment here with me, for a large part of the day these men had been walking with this man the thought a complete stranger. I have already mentioned about the way these men may have felt, a totally understandable way I would have guessed, a perfectly human one at any rate. And then in a blink of an eye they realise this stranger is no stranger, he is the man they have been following for maybe three years, day in, day out. How much of a kick yourself moment is that, how much does that mess with your head. Is your mind blown? I am sure theirs was, I know mine is. If yours is not please take some time, read through the story again, think about it, put yourself in their place. It is a mind blowing moment, if you do not see that or picture it please take the time to consider it again, I assure you at some point your eyes will be opened and your mind will be blown.

There are many other stories just as mind blowing as this one that we just seem to accept because we have known them since childhood. I mean this one time there were a lot of people following Jesus, and He fed them all, 5000 men we are told, using 5 little bread rolls and 2 fish. Mind blown? Think about it, 5 bread rolls, 2 fish, 5000+ people! Not enough for you? Ok, a different time Jesus' friends were out fishing in a boat and there blew up a storm, it wasn't a little but of wind or a little rain, these guys were career fishermen, they knew storms and this storm scared them a lot. We are talking heavy, driving rain, thunder, lightning, waves bigger than the boat and clouds that probably didn't let all that much light through. Jesus who had been sleeping gets up and turns to the wind and waves and says shut it, stop making a fuss. He calmed a storm so big that a boat full of seasoned fishermen were scared! Is your mind blown yet?

We are small people, we have small minds, the only way to understand and deal with the world is to take mind blowing things we have heard and seen before and lump them in with "the norm". But when we do this with these stories we miss out on so much, we begin to think of these stories and Jesus as just normal. The thing is it wasn't normal, it isn't normal. These things have happened often just once, and certainly by only one man, they really should blow your mind. The power of God and Jesus is so far beyond our knowledge and comprehension that blown mind is a good way to approach it. We stand there before God admitting our ignorance, our failings and our inabilities, we stand before God realising we will never appreciate the fullness of His awesome glory in this life. This is a good place to be, in awe with our minds blown. Next time you are reading these stories of Jesus read them for the first time, read them without the barriers and preconceptions we have built up in our lives, read them and allow your mind to be blown away by the power and glory of God through His son Jesus. Blown mind is in no way a destination, but it is both a good starting point and way point on what I hope is a long walk with Christ for us all, why not stop at Emmaus today and see what Jesus has to teach you.

May your truth of resurection

Yesterday at the end of my set devotions there was a short prayer too use. The words at the end of this prayer struck a chord with me and set me thinking about them all day. The words were;

May the truth of your resurrection fill and thrill my soul every moment of the day.


Now like every Christian out there I know the story of Jesus, of His miraculous birth through his ministry and on to His great sacrifice. I also know that 3 days after His sacrifice on the cross He rose from the dead, He was resurrected. But most of the time I don't think about that, I think about how my life is, am I doing what Jesus wants me to do, am I being a good Christian. I pray, I read the Bible and I attend Church I try to live a life that is as free from sin as I can. And though I know I fail I know that He forgives me and I can pick myself up and try again.

But How often does the resurrection figure? I know for me that except at Easter I am probably guilty of not paying that much attention to the resurrection at all. But the truth is that without it all we have is a story about a good man who had a few good ideas about how to live together. With out the resurrection we just have a collection of teachings from just another first century Rabbi. But the truth is that He is a risen Saviour who conquered death. And not only conquered death for Himself but for everyone of us too.

The thing is that none of the Bible makes any true sense unless you have the key to unlocking the secrets. Until you realise who the main character of the Bible is and see Him in all of it then you have missed the point. Jesus is as much in the Old Testament as He is in the New, it foreshadows His appearance and tells us what to expect from Him in the New Testament and beyond. Jesus is the hub and centre of the Bible and like the resurrection, without Jesus the Old Testament is just the history of the Jews and Israel.

So if the Bible is nothing without Jesus, and Jesus is nothing without the resurrection then surely it deserves much more attention. I think we often "ignore" the resurrection because it is so alien to us, because it is so strange and unnatural to us. But think about it, death, the one thing we all will face, the end to our lives on Earth, the only thing you can guarantee for everyone was defeated by Jesus. Think about it, really think about it, He died, He was dead for three days, and then He rose from the grave. This isn't a sci-fi zombie movie, it is not some fancy special effects for the big screen, but it is absolutely mind blowing.

May the truth of your resurrection fill and thrill my soul every moment of the day. In Jesus Christ we ask it. Amen.

Daniel in the lions den

So it is the first linked blog post of the year, this time it was my choice and I chose to look at Daniel 6-1:25. As usual the corresponding blog will be published on my friend's blog Surrendering, please take the time to go and check it out. Also all of the past linked Bible studies can be found in the Linked Bible Studies tab above, feel free to check them out at your leisure.

At the very heart of this story is something that we can all attest to, jealousy and envy. How many times in life has someone beaten you to a job or position that you feel you deserve or are more than qualified. Have you ever been in a position where an outsider has come in and been promoted above those who have been there for years, over those who have worked hard for years. In this story we hear of Daniel the Jew who was favoured by  Darius and elevated to his right hand man, his go-to guy.

Now before we move on I want to put this into perspective. Darius was a powerful man, a very very powerful man. Darius the Great was King of the Persian Achaemenid Empire which at the time was the greatest Kingdom in the known world. He commanded a huge empire and a massive fighting force from which his son and successor would eventually lead a million men against three hundred Spartans in the Battle of Thermopylae. From this we can see that being elevated to his right hand man would be analogous to Barack Obama appointing someone to watch over all of the 50 states and additional dependencies, a pretty powerful job don't you think.

Knowing that Daniel was a Jew the other Satraps and administrators decided they would entrap Daniel and back him in to a corner where he must either turn his back on his God or turn his back on his King. Knowing that his blessed position was a gift from God and not Darius, Daniel, as he always did went to his home in order to pray and give thanks to God as is right and proper. The other Satraps found Daniel doing this and must have been rubbing their hands together as they ran off to talk to Darius.

Once they had an audience with the King they reminded him of the new law he had made and that due to the laws and customs of the Medes and the Persians it could not be repealed. When Darius confirmed this and confirmed the punishment as set out by the law the Satraps sprung their trap for Daniel. They pointed out that contrary to the law that had been passed Daniel had continued to worship Yahweh.

Darius was greatly distressed by these developments and spent until sundown with his advisers and legal experts trying to do everything to save Daniel from the punishment of the lion's den. The Satraps reminded him that there was no way to repeal or change a decree from the King and as such there could be no way to save Daniel. And with that Darius agreed to throw Daniel to the lions den. However I love what Darius said to Daniel before the punishment was carried out.

Daniel 6:16

    The king caved in and ordered Daniel brought and thrown into the lions' den. But he said to Daniel, "Your God, to whom you are so loyal, is going to get you out of this." 

We all know what happened next: Daniel was thrown to the lions and God sent an Angel to seal the mouths of the lions so that they would not harm him. The power of God saved Daniel and the next morning he remained untouched by the lions. The story continues with Darius rushing down to find out Daniel's fate and how he then deals with the Satraps and their families. But I don't really want to focus on that here, the revenge of Darius is a whole other post.

What I really think is the important part of this story is Daniels faith in God. Daniel who had been raised to such an elevated position of good grace in Darius' eyes risked everything up to and including his life for his faith in his God, our God. Would we have the same faith today? Would we be willing to risk all for our belief in our Lord? It is not a trivial question to ask, it is absolutely fundamental to your faith in God. Do you trust Him to be there for you in all things, to always watch over you and do what is right? Do you trust God with everything up to and including you life? If you believe he is all powerful and the creator of everything surely He has the power to always lead you on the right path. We may not always agree with His plans and ideas, we may not like them or may not see the reasoning behind them now but God knows the big picture, He knows all that has happened, is happening and will happen. Trust Him and like Daniel you will not regret the faith you placed in Him.

Please go and check out the corresponding post by Caron at Surrendering, and remember that all of the past Linked Bible Studies can be found by clicking on the link or by using the Linked Bible Studies tab above.

Jesus

What are you waiting for?

Mr Incredible-What are you waiting for?
Boy-I don't know, something incredible I guess.


This quote is from the film The Incredibles which is one of my favourite animated films. It is one of those films that is shown around Christmas time and it is one of the adverts for it that caught my attention. In the advert Mr Incredible has just arrived home and a little boy is sitting on his tricycle when he asks the question "what are you waiting for?" The little boy looks for a second and replies "I don't know, something incredible I guess".

Sometimes I feel as though God is saying to me "What are you waiting for?" And often my answer does seem to amount to me replying "I don't know, something incredible I guess."

I wonder how many other people are the same or who have had similar experiences in their lives. We are sat there waiting for something to happen, but when we are challenged by anyone on what it is we are waiting for we can not explain exactly what it is we are waiting for. We sit there wanting God to show us exactly what to do and when to do it, we want to be led like children with God holding our hand as we walk through life.

Although God will always provide for us because He is our Father, like any parent He delights when we go out in to the world and achieve. He is proud of us when we take the initiative and follow on from where Jesus left off, doing His will and building His kingdom. Often we get caught up in the process of praying for assistance, praying for guidance and praying for help. Sometimes what is required is us to stop waiting for God to do something incredible and go start doing His will now. There is no denying that God could do everything without us, but that is not the way He works, as I said He is our Father and wants us to do well and grow. He wants us to grow in love and His spirit by learning constantly, and the best way to learn is always to go out and do. Practising being like Him in our daily lives, yes making mistakes, but always learning and always growing in a direction that will make Him pleased.

So, what is it you are waiting for? Something Incredible?

We have been told what God wants us to, we have been shown by Jesus the way we should live. What is it we are waiting for, go out in to the world and live as we have been taught and shown. When God wants us to do something incredible He will let us know in no uncertain terms. Until then get out there Kingdom building.

Always feet first

Psalm 27:14 (NLT)
     Wait patiently for the Lord. 
     Be brave and courageous. 
     Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

I am not one known for making plans, neither am I well known for thinking things through before I do them. Always in my life I jump in with both feet with little or no thought or planning. In the past I always relied on my ability to think around any problem or at least postpone the negative effects untill I could be bothered to deal with them or they became someone else's problem.

Recently though I have been making some big decisions about my life which some friends and family members have been questioning. Not that they doubt any of my plans, but that they know me as some one who is likely to do something very crazy at the least bit of notice.

The thing is thought that without knowing it I have actually been practicing this verse in my life to some degree. The two feet first approach is still there, when it is time then I jump with all I have, but I have been learning to wait for God's commands before I make that jump.

Learning to live in God's time and to Hi plans has been hard for someone who has always done things their own way in their own time. But as I learn to trust in God's plans more and more and trust Him to make things right when I follow them I have had so much fun. I wont say that life has been easy, but neither has it yet been that hard, but following God's plans has brought a joy to my life that I never knew before, a peace within that bubbles up from inside.

Waiting on the Lord is not easy, His time and plans do not always seem to be reasonable to us. But then that is why it takes bravery and courage to be a follower of the Lord. There will never be anything we can not do with Him at our sides but it does sometimes require a leap of faith, it requires us to be like Peter and take that chance with God.

Matthew 14:25-33
     At about four o'clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. "A ghost!" they said, crying out in terror. 
But Jesus was quick to comfort them. "Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid." 
Peter, suddenly bold, said, "Master, if it's really you, call me to come to you on the water." 
He said, "Come ahead."
Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, "Master, save me!" 
Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, "Faint-heart, what got into you?" 
The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, "This is it! You are God's Son for sure!" 

Like I said, it won't always be easy, and we are likely to fail if our faith falters. But we should know that no matter what, God is always there for us, He will always rescue us from the storms that life may throw our way if we but call on His name.

Be patient and wait,

Be brave and courageous,

But always be ready to act in faith when He calls.

Advent Challenge Day 12

This challenge is now complete, please feel free to browse all of the 

completed tasks via the Advent Challenge tab.

So, day twelve, is it just me or does a certain Christmas song come to mind? Hope everyone reading this is having a good month so far and that your Christmas preparations are going well. I my self am almost sorted with everything I need to get and do before Christmas with only a few more presents to get and then wrap or post to the people who will be receiving them. But lets face it, your not here to find out how my shopping is going or even if I have my tree up yet, which I don't, but to find out how yesterdays Advent Challenge went.

It is a shame that I did not happen to have this challenge on the 6th of December which is St Nicholas' feast day. But on reading about Him, he is a very interesting character. St Nicholas became the original Santa Claus due to his habit of secret gift giving which is something I suspect most people already know about, of course good old St Nick gives out presents.

Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children, and students. He is also the patron saint of Aberdeen, Amsterdam,Barranquilla, Bari, Beit Jala, Fribourg, Huguenots, Liverpool, Siggiewi, and Lorraine. As if this was not enough St Nick was also a patron of the Varangian Guard of the Byzantine emperors, who protected his relics in Bari.

Not bad really is it, this guy seems to have made quite an impression on a lot of people and places. He is one of the Saints who is recognised by both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and is also recognised by some Anglican and Lutheran Churches too. But what about some facts about St Nick that you might not know.

Saint Nicholas who was orphaned at a young age was raised by his uncle, who was also named Nicholas, who happened to be the Bishop of Patara. His uncle founded the monastery of Holy Sion at which Saint Nicholas spent some time. His relics are situated in Bari, and at the site there is both a Catholic and an Orthodox Church. The relics of St Nicholas are said to exude a clear liquid known as manna which many people believe to have healing properties, this is collected every 6th December and can be bought at the site of his relics in Bari.

Interesting facts? Well I thought so anyway but I have been told in the past that I am interested in the dullest things, for example science. But what do we learn from him, what can we gather form these original foundations on to which the modern Santa Claus has been built?

Well for me he exhibits some of the best aspects of someone living a Holy life. He was a highly religious man in his life and obviously lived a life which was well respected by those who knew him, respected enough that he was recorded so that future generations would recognise him and show him to be a saint. This is all well and good but how does this affect us living today ion the modern age?

We can learn form Saint Nicholas that material goods are not important to living a good, wholesome and holy life. We can see that through right living we can influence people far outside where we are geographically located, by showing God in our lives in small ways but with true conviction we can have a measurable effect on the whole world. Who ever said that even the smallest thing you did does not have huge implications in the future?

So I think that task went quite well personally, let me know what you think of it in the comment section below. Moving on to which task I will be completing today, and the task which has been chosen is task number 15. Spread some Christmas cheer. I have some good ideas of what to do with this one but if you want to know you will have to check back and read the Advent Challenge post tomorrow, until then, Merry Christmas.

The sky at night, or at least tonight

Today I was driving a fair distance, it is a drive I have made many times and am likely to make a lot in the future too. As I was driving, I looked across east and saw the most amazing sight I have seen in a very long time. The sun set was spectacular, the clouds were a beautiful low level undulating bank which caught the light from the sun as it was going down. With the breaks in the clouds the colours ranged from the darkest blues to gold and on to oranges and pinks. As my favourite writer Terry Pratchett says "The sunset was beautiful, not tasteful but beautiful none the less, only the Gods can make salmon pink and blue beautiful."

I wish I could have taken a picture but with being alone in the car and having nowhere to stop due to construction works I was unable to share this beautiful sight with you. Recently I have been paying much more attention to the wonders of God's creations that are all around us. I am amazed at the beauty that is present in creation and that God took such care for a world for us to live in. He is the master worker, the skilled smith who designed everything to be just right in His sight for us to enjoy.

In the modern world we don't often take enough time to look around and enjoy the world around us, we get ourselves wrapped up in our own lives. It gets to the point that we take the world for granted, that we become immune to the simply beauty in all of nature. Taking time out of our daily schedule to enjoy that what God has given us cost us nothing, and the sense of peace and belonging to His work we can gain from it is immeasurable. How about taking the time out to watch the sun rise or set, or how about a walk in the country side or forest. I am sure that if you do then you will have blessings from God heaped on to you. So why not take the time to go spend it walking with God, read the Bible and you will see that you will be walking in the footsteps of some great men of the Bible.

Advent Challenge Day 8

This challenge is now complete, please feel free to browse all of the 

completed tasks via the Advent Challenge tab.

So I ended yesterday by saying that I may be able to do something unexpected and a little different in the sing a Christmas carol challenge. Turns out that God a quite a good plan for this challenge for me. When I arrived at work yesterday I was informed that there was a carol service that night. Having not been into work for a week due to bad weather I had no idea that there was to be a carol service, but what a day for the sing a Christmas carol task to come up.

So yeah yesterdays task went very well, it was enjoyable and the carol service was very nice. It may have been much nicer if I had not had to run out half way through to sort out a fire alarm elsewhere in the hostel but overall I enjoyed it.

The task for today has been selected by my friend Ruth who selected task number 13. Watch a Christmas film. Now this task may be difficult for me to complete as I am only working 3 days this week, but each of them is a long shift meaning I will have little time for anything once I finish. However a task as easy as watching a film should be possible, even if I have to stay up a little later than usual. Check back tomorrow to see which film #~I watched and how I manage to fit it in to my schedule. Until then Merry Christmas.

A new creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)  

    Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

When I awoke this morning the Bible verse on my phone was the one above and as I was reading it a short song that we sing in my Church began to play in my head. It is a song that I have not sung in some time but one that actually has a strong meaning for me. This song is one that I can attest to, on ethat sums up my feelings about coming back to the Church better than I can myself.

I am a new creation
No more in condemnation
Here in the grace of God I stand
My heart is overflowing
My love just keeps on growing
Here in the grace of God I stand

And I will praise You Lord
Yes, I will praise You Lord
And I will sing of all that You have done

A joy that knows no limit
A lightness in my spirit
Here in the grace of God I stand

                  (Dave Bilbrough)

When we come to Christ and accept Him in to our lives. When we become part of Christ's Church we are cleaned of sin, washed of all the stains we carry and we become a new creation through Him. Any thing we were condemned from is stripped away and we are not made as new, but made wholly new by Him. As I am writing though another song from my childhood has been triggered and sums up the power of God in simple yet powerful words.

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing that He cannot do.
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing that He cannot do.

The mountains are His, the rivers are His, the stars are His handiwork, too.
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing that He cannot do, for you!

More parallels

I know that I shouldn't be amazed by how God works but I always am. This morning I did two main things, first I read my daily Bible plan when I woke up and second I attended a meeting with my local Church leaders. I spent well over an hour discussing the future and my place in it and the ways of getting there. It was an amazing discussion that was enlightening for all three of us who were there.

The main point of the discussion was about how to get my family on board with the plans for my life and have some sort of support from them. We discussed ways to heal wounds that I have caused in the past and methods to persuade them that the plans I am following are the right ones for me.

So back to the beginning, what was the link here? Well the Bible verse and meeting were both about parents and the Bible verse is a surprising parallel to what was discussed in the meeting.

Proverbs 23:22 (NIV)
     Listen to your father who gave you life,
     and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Not only this but also in the meeting the Bible verse the ministers used to wrap up and end our meeting was also from Proverbs.

Proverbs 3 (NIV)
My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

Honour the LORD with your wealth,
with the first fruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

I know I shouldn't be but I am always amazed when I see God working in my life, I hope that I will never lose that sense of wonder and amazement when seeing God's work.

God moves in ways even if they are not always mysterious

I had a great conversation with my sister in law today. She is a fantastic person who fits into our family amazingly well and is every bit the big sister I never had. She is one of the few people in the family who I can talk to about life especially my faith with openly.

Today she approached me about something that has been on my mind a lot but that I have been to wrapped up with other thing to be able to sort out. And as I have learned frequently over the last 18+ months, if God wants something done He will shout and scream at you if He has to to get it done.

The thing is a regular Bible study group for our Church. But an age specific group of those who are mid twenties to mid thirties age range. The age range we are in and would be comfortable talking about things with. It is something that I have been craving for since I moved home but been unable to do anything about due to various things getting in the way.

This is something that the Church I attend desperately needs, something that it has needed for years. And now hopefully there will be something done about it soon. Having been part of a fantastic and very successful group while at university we have had a fantastic discussion about how we can possibly go about organising it and how it will work best. It is very much still in the planning stages but I know we can have this up and running as soon as it is time for it.

Someone told me not long ago that there were exciting times coming up for me. I thought that they were meaning in the future with my plans to go to Canada and work there before following God's plan for me. However it looks as if my life at home is about to become a lot more interesting and hopefully bearable. I am amazed at the things God does in my life, I hope I will always be open to following Him in everything He wants me to do.

Interesting Conversation

Well today has felt like a very long day at work, it wasn't but it sure felt like it. The day always seems to drag on forever when you have nothing to do, and today was no exception to that rule. Time flies past when you have a lot to do, today was no exception in that rule either.

All day I had practically nothing to do, I caught up with paper work, wrote reports and generally tidied up my work area. I really struggled to find things to do today, right up until my last half hour. Then it seemed as if I had become Mr Popular, everyone wanted me to do something, needed me to do a job or was desperate to chat to me about something. Eventually I managed to get round to finishing all these tasks and had only one thing left to do. I was already half an hour past my home time but one of the residents really wanted to talk.

So I sat down with this resident to talk not knowing quite what it was about.The gentleman in question had an amazing story to tell and some good questions he asked. I heard all about his long term drug addiction, his battle to overcome it, his family situation and personal life. The most amazing part of the conversation was this gentleman telling me about his faith.

After a bad experience with his addiction last week he had prayed for relief. He was in a pit of deep despair and in desperation he called out to the Lord to help. I was told of how he had received almost instant relief and had not touched any drugs since. Now in my short time working with these people I have had experiences of residents telling all sorts of nonsense in order to get staff onside for their own purposes. But this situation was different.

This gentleman who for weeks I have been trying to get to bathe, clean and tidy his room came to me in freshly laundered clothes having been recently bathed. Not only that he has cleared his room and requested the equipment in order to clean his room.

I was amazed at this gentleman's desire to know the Lord, his desire to change his life, to become everything he should be. However I was more amazed that after a 20+ year drug addiction he is experiencing absolutely no withdrawal symptoms after nearly 2 weeks without using.

Our God is a powerful and amazing God, a loving and forgiving God. I really hope this gentleman is serious about letting God into his life and that he continues to take these steps in the right direction. I was able to point him in the direction of people much stronger and more experienced in the faith than myself for him to talk to further. However I made him aware that I am available to talk to him further about this if he needs a friendly ear. I will be praying for this resident that he is able to continue on this path, the one that he sees before him and is trying to walk on. If any of you would pray for him also I know it will help, thanking you in advance for all your prayers.

A great day

Today was a brilliant day, I had so much fun at work today and so many great things happened.

I witnessed some fantastic life changing moments today while out with the residents of the Hostel I work at. I had the opportunity to take some residents to talk about their experiences in life and living on the streets. Some of these guys have had and still have some major issues and find it difficult to mix with people from everyday life. But today I saw 3 of them step out of their comfort zones and be interviewed about their lives. One resident who is particularly shy and more than a little uncomfortable with the thought of the interview really made my day. He talked for quite some time and was doing very well. However after a little while he became uncomfortable and wanted a break. I was more than happy with how well he had done and told him just how pleased I was with his progress over such a short time. He decided that he didn't want to go back but would stay until the others had finished. However the story does not end there, after a short cigarette break he came and sat back with me and the two girls interviewing. Better yet, he began to join into the conversation again. For me this was a brilliant reward for the work I have been doing, to see one of the guys I work closely with make such a huge step in a short period of time.

As well as that we had a film night in the centre and had only a small number watching the film. However the sense of fellowship and friendship that is beginning to grow between the residents is making a real difference. The confidence of the group members is increasing and the help they are offering each other is amazing to see. The longer I am working there the easier my job is becoming as the residents are realising they are able to help not only themselves but each other as well.

And in all of this each day I have a fantastic chance for ministry, not only to the residents but to the staff as well. Day by day my actions and conduct is being watched by large numbers of people and increasingly I am able to have the opportunities to explain why my passion for this job is what it is. I pray that one day I will have the great pleasure of being able to stand next to one of these guys as fellow Christians knowing that I had in some way a small part to play in their coming to know Jesus.

Listening

It is amazing what you can hear if you are listening. It is even more amazing what you sometimes hear when you are not. This beautiful photo is in my opinion one of the best I have ever taken, and it has a great story behind it. 2 years ago while in Hong Kong with my then girlfriend we were visiting Victoria Peak. It is beautiful up there and is a place that is now tinged with sadness for me, however that is another story.

Anyway while up there looking over the amazing city panorama and soaking in the atmosphere we went for a little wander. All of a sudden I heard a beautiful piece of bird song, in the bustle and noise of the city to me it sounded crystal clear. I mentioned this to the people I was with and they told me I was mad, there was no way I could hear a bird singing above the noise. Undeterred and trusting my ears I wandered towards the sound and after walking only a short distance I came upon a quiet area clear of people. It was then that I saw this beautiful bird just sitting singing away. I took several photos and even managed to film it for sometime before I was found and the bird disturbed. The people I was with were amazed that I had heard the bird from over 100m away and pinpointed its location. I explained to them that being a country boy I was used to hearing birds regularly and the absence of bird song for me was unusual. That because my ears were tuned to listening to bird song I could detect it amongst all the drones of the city.

This does not just work for birds, we can tune ourselves to listen for many things, don't believe me just drop a coin in the middle of a busy city street and count those that turn around. As Christians we should be tuning ourselves to God, tuning ourselves to listening for Him amongst the noise of the world. When we can do this we will be able to hear God calling to us even when the world is screaming as loud as it can. The way to do this is the same way I leaned to hear bird song, by spending time surrounded by it. If we emerge ourselves in God's presence as often as we can, on a regular basis we will become more tuned to hearing His voice.

This photo brings back such memories for me, possibly one of the most enjoyable holidays I ever had. And yet when I look at this photo I now feel only sadness of a life and a love lost. But God works through all things and I love the fact that God can teach us lessons when we least expect them and using things we would never think of. Like I said I love this photo for the amazing memory it holds for me and the lesson that it taught me, but it also reminds me of another lesson I had to learn too, and that hurts. Even so I know God can bring joy from sadness and I look forward to seeing how that works out for me in the future.

Job - How would you handle it (Part 8)

Job 42:7-17
    After God had finished addressing Job, he turned to Eliphaz the Temanite and said, "I've had it with you and your two friends. I'm fed up! You haven't been honest either with me or about me—not the way my friend Job has. So here's what you must do. Take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my friend Job. Sacrifice a burnt offering on your own behalf. My friend Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer. He will ask me not to treat you as you deserve for talking nonsense about me, and for not being honest with me, as he has."
    They did it. Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did what God commanded. And God accepted Job's prayer.
    After Job had interceded for his friends, God restored his fortune—and then doubled it! All his brothers and sisters and friends came to his house and celebrated. They told him how sorry they were, and consoled him for all the trouble God had brought him. Each of them brought generous housewarming gifts.
    God blessed Job's later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third, Darkeyes. There was not a woman in that country as beautiful as Job's daughters. Their father treated them as equals with their brothers, providing the same inheritance.
    Job lived on another hundred and forty years, living to see his children and grandchildren—four generations of them! Then he died—an old man, a full life.

So here we finally come to the last part of the book of Job. Apologies for the length of time it has taken for anyone who has been waiting for it. If you have not read the previous 7 posts please follow these links.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 and 9.

So after His chat with Job God turns to speak to those people who gave Job all that advice. Those people who had been quick to comment on both the actions of God and Job and their advice on how to deal with the situation. They were also quick to lay blame for the terrible things that had happened too. God then lays out the route of forgiveness to them, and being an Old Testament story this requires that they make a sacrifice to God. In addition to this however God has them ask Job to pray for them and that God will accept the sacrifice, God says that He will, but only if they have Job pray for them.

After this had happened, the sacrifice and intercession, God restored Job to his former glory, He brought back his wealth, and doubled it, He brought back his family too each of them with apologies and gifts.  God then went on to bless Job further by giving him children again, and as the passage says Job's daughters were the most beautiful in the country, without parallel. On top of this God granted Job long life, long enough for him to see his family to 4 generations eventually dying as an old man who had had a full life.

I am going to sum the whole story up in one final post which should be up shortly. I hope you have found my humble take on Job at least interesting so far.

Such faith of Mario Gomez

I know many people will have been watching the same pictures as me over the last day. The rescue of the Chilean miners. It has been an amazing to watch the pictures of the rescue and seeing these men being reunited with the families they have been separated from for so long.

However it is not the rescue staff, the amazing team effort or even the miracle of their rescue that I want to talk about. The thing that caught my mind was the images of the oldest miner as he finally reached the surface. Mario Gomez showed such faith and such dedication to his faith as soon as he could get out of the Phoenix. Before celebrating, before anything else he fell to his knees and prayed. After the ordeal he has been through, despite the burning desire he must have had to embrace his family Mario Gomez's first thought on the surface was to thank his God. Would you have done the same?

The tales of faith and strength of belief from these miners that has emerged already are amazing testaments to God and belief in God. In all of this it is amazing that these miners continually thank God. I have not heard any of them dismiss the work of the rescuers or ignore the effort they have made in performing the rescue. Yet thier thanks, praise and rejoicing is being heaped on the one who truly deserves it, the God who was their constant companion through it all.

Thank God for their safe rescue, but equally thank God for the amazing men and women who have made this rescue possible.

Time

There just never seems to be quite enough of it. And recently when there has been I have been too run down and tired to do anything useful with it. I can't even look forward to this weekend as there is a big event on where I live that I have to help at and so things will drag on for at least another week I think. Despite the crazy nature of my life at the moment though I have already told you guys about some of the pick me ups God has given me. Every time I feel right down there has been something to buoy me back up, from a prayerful perfect moment, a powerful Bible verse or even just having a laugh when I was expecting to be serious. It is amazing the ways God chooses to life us, when He can He uses people around us, but even when we are isolated He manages to get through. As someone who has a slight depressive streak at times It has been somewhat of a miracle that since I have allowed Jesus back into my life there has been no time I have felt that down. Every time I feel as though I am heading that way, every time it looks like I am about to sink below the surface something appears to lift me out again.

I am sorry for the hasty nature of this post, I am actually supposed to be preparing for a meeting I have in 20 minutes. However since one of the lifts I get is from blogging I do not intend to stop posting and try my hardest to stick to posting times. Hopefully things will settle a little more from the weekend and everything can go back to normal.

No Job - sorry my bad

Revelation 22:12
Yes, I'm on my way!
I'll be there soon!

Ok guys, anyone who was anxiously waiting for Job to continue tonight I must apologise to profusely. Today has been an epic adventure and I just have not had enough hours to get everything done I wanted to. I have been unorganised and run ragged recently. In addition to this I had some bad news yesterday which has not helped my state of mind when trying to plan ahead for the next few days. I am also away from home for a little while and thus not able to be at a computer as easily or as often as I would like.

When I first arrived at my bed for tonight I had to get straight online asap to deal with my blog addiction. But first I picked up the Bible in my hosts house and it opened right at the last page. The first thing that struck me was the verse above. It sums up exactly how I feel right now, it sounds exactly like the beginning of every conversation I have recently, "Hang on, I'll be right there".

Just like in the post this morning I am often struck by how, when and where God chooses to speak to us. Even when we are so busy and have no time for anything or anyone He finds a way to speak to and comfort us when we take a moment just to be still. Just then His presence descends on us and we have perfect peace.