Showing posts with label Plans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plans. Show all posts
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Letter Writing
Hey guys hope you are all well. I am doing pretty good myself but have recently got a bee in my bonnet about the work I do and the Church I am a part of. This has led me to begin writing a mammoth letter which I will be sending to the leaders of my Church both nationally and internationally. Unfortunately this probably means that the time I would use to write on this I am likely to use in working on this letter. I may post the letter on here once I am done but I am not sure. So if I don't post for a little while don't worry I have not disappeared again I am just working on something else. Hope to be back on here soon, until then guys.
Sunday, September 04, 2011
25 years and counting
So today is my birthday, not normally something I celebrate much or really bother with but I think adding an extra year on is a good time to take stock and look back on the last year. So here is a quick summary.
Work:
In this area of my life I have been quite successful, just less than a year ago I made the transition into working in social care from my previous life as a scientist. This went very well and the training post I was in taught me a lot in a short space of time. I met some fantastic people who began to equip me with the skills I need to follow my calling. Then in March I moved jobs and cities to begin working with a small charity that helps street addicts and street homeless which is something I feel very strongly about. In the 5 months I have been there I have grown in knowledge and understanding of the sector and also gained many skills that will be invaluable to me in the future.
Home:
This time last year I was living at home for the first time in 6 years and it was not ideal. However it did put me close to my family and allow me to spend time with them, especially my Godson. But with the new job came a move to a new city and while for a short time my housing situation was not good, i.e. technically homeless, I am now living with one of my best friends in a lovely apartment and beginning to9 settle in quite nicely.
Church:
Now this area of my life has been quite rocky. I made a commitment to God and my Church over a year ago but due to various reasons this has still to progress further than just talking about it. Because I moved cities and have had to move Churches the process of me applying to become a minister has taken about 20 steps back. However as of this week I am now officially a member of my new congregation and looking forward to things moving forward again. I miss the Church I grew up in but feel that moving to a new city and a new Church with everything tht is going on will in the long run be the best for my spiritual growth.
Spiritual life:
Now probably the most important aspect of my life. Sadly I have not taken care of this aspect of my life quite as well as I have of the others. With everything that has gone on of late setting aside time to be with God has not been easy and at times I am sad to admit not been a priority. This has had an adverse affect on some areas of my life and I have really struggled at times. There have been some dark days which would have been so much brighter if I had not been neglecting my spiritual life. I am now making an effort to change this, I have seen it as a problem and have begun to make it more of a priority.
Blog:
As many of you are likely to know I took quite a long unplanned hiatus in blogging. I did the thing I hate other people doing and just disappeared from the blogosphere with no warning. There are reasons for this, mostly to do with the stresses of moving city and starting a new job but with some extra unneeded stresses from people who were supposed to be there to help me. I am now back on track even if I am not posting with the same regularity and quantity of the past. I am still trying to work out what I want this to be going forward but after my break I have rediscovered my passion for sharing whatever is on my mind with you guys, hope someone is finding it interesting in some way.
So that is a rough summary of most of my life in the last year, there have been a few other things going on but that about covers most of it. I am now off to enjoy my birthday by relaxing and taking it easy, after 25 years of trying I might finally get the quiet and relaxing birthday I have always desired.
Work:
In this area of my life I have been quite successful, just less than a year ago I made the transition into working in social care from my previous life as a scientist. This went very well and the training post I was in taught me a lot in a short space of time. I met some fantastic people who began to equip me with the skills I need to follow my calling. Then in March I moved jobs and cities to begin working with a small charity that helps street addicts and street homeless which is something I feel very strongly about. In the 5 months I have been there I have grown in knowledge and understanding of the sector and also gained many skills that will be invaluable to me in the future.
Home:
This time last year I was living at home for the first time in 6 years and it was not ideal. However it did put me close to my family and allow me to spend time with them, especially my Godson. But with the new job came a move to a new city and while for a short time my housing situation was not good, i.e. technically homeless, I am now living with one of my best friends in a lovely apartment and beginning to9 settle in quite nicely.
Church:
Now this area of my life has been quite rocky. I made a commitment to God and my Church over a year ago but due to various reasons this has still to progress further than just talking about it. Because I moved cities and have had to move Churches the process of me applying to become a minister has taken about 20 steps back. However as of this week I am now officially a member of my new congregation and looking forward to things moving forward again. I miss the Church I grew up in but feel that moving to a new city and a new Church with everything tht is going on will in the long run be the best for my spiritual growth.
Spiritual life:
Now probably the most important aspect of my life. Sadly I have not taken care of this aspect of my life quite as well as I have of the others. With everything that has gone on of late setting aside time to be with God has not been easy and at times I am sad to admit not been a priority. This has had an adverse affect on some areas of my life and I have really struggled at times. There have been some dark days which would have been so much brighter if I had not been neglecting my spiritual life. I am now making an effort to change this, I have seen it as a problem and have begun to make it more of a priority.
Blog:
As many of you are likely to know I took quite a long unplanned hiatus in blogging. I did the thing I hate other people doing and just disappeared from the blogosphere with no warning. There are reasons for this, mostly to do with the stresses of moving city and starting a new job but with some extra unneeded stresses from people who were supposed to be there to help me. I am now back on track even if I am not posting with the same regularity and quantity of the past. I am still trying to work out what I want this to be going forward but after my break I have rediscovered my passion for sharing whatever is on my mind with you guys, hope someone is finding it interesting in some way.
So that is a rough summary of most of my life in the last year, there have been a few other things going on but that about covers most of it. I am now off to enjoy my birthday by relaxing and taking it easy, after 25 years of trying I might finally get the quiet and relaxing birthday I have always desired.
Saturday, September 03, 2011
No Surrender, We Will Not Retreat
How many people are prepared to give up everything for Jesus, how many people are prepared to turn their back on everything they have known, a safe life, a solid career in order to follow the will of God? I know many Christians who would say that they would, many Christians who would claim that they put Jesus first in all things.
How many actually do though?
We see many people who claim to Christians, who claim to be strong of faith who will just go through the motions, who will turn up week in week out "doing their bit" and "chipping in". When asked about their calling they will either ramble off the subject or say something along the lines of "I don't know what God is calling me to do yet".
I understand that God works differently with different people, and some people are desperately searching for God's plan in their lives. But I would say the problem for those genuinely searching and those just showing a Christian face on Sundays is roughly the same. They have not given control of their lives over to the Lord, they have not offered to do His will come what may.
The people who say they are praying for direction and to know God's plan for them are either not praying ernestly or are holding back. When you ask God how he wants to use you, when you offer your life to God with no provisions or caveats then and only then will you begin to see His plan mapped out in your life.
In the Church we do not need more people who are just along for the ride, we do not need more people who are wanting to remain in the world. What we do need are people who are willing to give up everything, people who are willing to say "No surrender, we will not retreat". We need people who are on fire for God, burning with a passion that only the Holy Spirit can bring.
Following on in a similar vein to yesterday I would rather see a smaller Church of people who are really on fire for God. A Church cut back and pruned to those who are healthy in the Lord. I believe that when we get a Church like this, a Church following His will, a Church willing to sacrifice all it has, that is when we see Church growth, that is when we see revivals and that is when God can do his best work through his Churches.
How many people can say they are willing to give their all to god? How many Christians are willing to do anything He requires?
I don't know the answer to this but I pray that the Lord will find more people open to His will and that we follow His ways to bring his Churches back to life so that He does not decide to prune us and remove us from the Church vine.
How many actually do though?
We see many people who claim to Christians, who claim to be strong of faith who will just go through the motions, who will turn up week in week out "doing their bit" and "chipping in". When asked about their calling they will either ramble off the subject or say something along the lines of "I don't know what God is calling me to do yet".
I understand that God works differently with different people, and some people are desperately searching for God's plan in their lives. But I would say the problem for those genuinely searching and those just showing a Christian face on Sundays is roughly the same. They have not given control of their lives over to the Lord, they have not offered to do His will come what may.
The people who say they are praying for direction and to know God's plan for them are either not praying ernestly or are holding back. When you ask God how he wants to use you, when you offer your life to God with no provisions or caveats then and only then will you begin to see His plan mapped out in your life.
In the Church we do not need more people who are just along for the ride, we do not need more people who are wanting to remain in the world. What we do need are people who are willing to give up everything, people who are willing to say "No surrender, we will not retreat". We need people who are on fire for God, burning with a passion that only the Holy Spirit can bring.
Following on in a similar vein to yesterday I would rather see a smaller Church of people who are really on fire for God. A Church cut back and pruned to those who are healthy in the Lord. I believe that when we get a Church like this, a Church following His will, a Church willing to sacrifice all it has, that is when we see Church growth, that is when we see revivals and that is when God can do his best work through his Churches.
How many people can say they are willing to give their all to god? How many Christians are willing to do anything He requires?
I don't know the answer to this but I pray that the Lord will find more people open to His will and that we follow His ways to bring his Churches back to life so that He does not decide to prune us and remove us from the Church vine.
Friday, September 02, 2011
Cutting back
Pruning - To trim (a tree, shrub, or bush) by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, esp. to increase fruitfulness and growth.
After a conversation with my flat mate and having being forced to watch a TV program about attempting to revive a dying village in Wales I have been thinking about dying Churches. These thoughts have been running round in my head for a number of days in a different form. This has brought me round to thinking about how we deal with small, shrinking and dying Churches.
In the UK we have a problem with shrinking congregations, reduced Church attendance and Churches withering and dying. In towns and villages up and down the country groups of Christians are fighting a losing battle to keep their Churches alive. My question is, are they wasting their time and is there a different way to tackle this problem.
John 15:1-2
After a conversation with my flat mate and having being forced to watch a TV program about attempting to revive a dying village in Wales I have been thinking about dying Churches. These thoughts have been running round in my head for a number of days in a different form. This has brought me round to thinking about how we deal with small, shrinking and dying Churches.
In the UK we have a problem with shrinking congregations, reduced Church attendance and Churches withering and dying. In towns and villages up and down the country groups of Christians are fighting a losing battle to keep their Churches alive. My question is, are they wasting their time and is there a different way to tackle this problem.
John 15:1-2
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."
Now for me it seems obvious that when something dies and has no life left in it something needs to be done. As in plants or indeed bodies if a portion of it dies then it should be cut off. If this is not done the dead or dying portion sucks up valuable resources and deprives the healthy areas of the things they need to survive. It can also be the case that these dead and dying portions become rotten or infected and because they have not been cut off they infect other areas.
As in gardening and medicine the Church should also be aware of areas of itself that have died or are dying. It is not that Churches can not be saved, unfortunately some can not, but once they are past a point is it wise to pour resources down a black hole when they could be spent expanding work elsewhere. As Jesus said, if a branch is not bearing fruit then it will but cut off, Jesus even tells us that these branches will be left to wither a dry up and then be cast on to the fire, they are no good for God if they are not doing his will. Even those Churches who are strong will be pruned back from time to time in order to bring them renewed strength.
The point I want to make is not that shrinking Churches are a bad thing, sometimes good can come from this and a Church that is pruned back to healthy stock can flourish again. However a dead a rotten Church is doing no one any good and could in fact be doing harm. I can't be the only one who thinks that the hard decision should be made to shut down dying Churches and use the money in different ways to extend God's kingdom. It is not even necessary to remove the money from the community it is in but perhaps use it in a more constructive way in a community than shoring up a failing Church.
When I think of Jesus and his ministry I see someone radical who pushed the boundaries of the status quo. I see some of the situations in the modern Church causing him to display the righteous anger from the temple. The way we are running the Church is not in my eyes in the spirit in which it started. The reason I think we see the problems we do is because we have turned away from God and are ignoring the Spirit. As I have already said they best way I see to remedy this is to return to the early Church, return to the Churches true calling. This is not going to happen if we continue to pump money into failing projects, dying Churches and continue to push our own agendas rather than follow God's.
Let me know what you think about this subject, do you have a better idea for a solution, or do you have any other thoughts on this subject. Please leave a comment below.
As in gardening and medicine the Church should also be aware of areas of itself that have died or are dying. It is not that Churches can not be saved, unfortunately some can not, but once they are past a point is it wise to pour resources down a black hole when they could be spent expanding work elsewhere. As Jesus said, if a branch is not bearing fruit then it will but cut off, Jesus even tells us that these branches will be left to wither a dry up and then be cast on to the fire, they are no good for God if they are not doing his will. Even those Churches who are strong will be pruned back from time to time in order to bring them renewed strength.
The point I want to make is not that shrinking Churches are a bad thing, sometimes good can come from this and a Church that is pruned back to healthy stock can flourish again. However a dead a rotten Church is doing no one any good and could in fact be doing harm. I can't be the only one who thinks that the hard decision should be made to shut down dying Churches and use the money in different ways to extend God's kingdom. It is not even necessary to remove the money from the community it is in but perhaps use it in a more constructive way in a community than shoring up a failing Church.
When I think of Jesus and his ministry I see someone radical who pushed the boundaries of the status quo. I see some of the situations in the modern Church causing him to display the righteous anger from the temple. The way we are running the Church is not in my eyes in the spirit in which it started. The reason I think we see the problems we do is because we have turned away from God and are ignoring the Spirit. As I have already said they best way I see to remedy this is to return to the early Church, return to the Churches true calling. This is not going to happen if we continue to pump money into failing projects, dying Churches and continue to push our own agendas rather than follow God's.
Let me know what you think about this subject, do you have a better idea for a solution, or do you have any other thoughts on this subject. Please leave a comment below.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
2 weeks of failure
Ok so today is supposed to be the Soldiers Challenge post which I have failed on for the last two weeks. The last time I posted on the Soldiers Challenge I posted the minimum that I needed to and have not attempted anything yet. So this week I wan getting back on the wagon and starting on to tasks again, the task I have pulled out of the hat is to buy a Christian t-shirt this week. So check back next week and find out how it went and my thoughts on being back on the Challenge wagon again.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
I must be growing up
I have had a fantastic day. Normally me and my older brother do not get along that well, but today we spent hours together without a bad word said and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. So what was it that has made such a difference, well it is another symptom of my wanting to settle and grow up. This morning our Church had a coffee morning and my extended family were sat around and we were discussing my possible new job. Part of this discussion was that I will need a car for this job and I have been talking with my parents about the possibility of buying a new one. And so today I have been out looking at cars and test driving them with my brother.
We looked at a number of cars at a number of different dealers and talked a lot about the practicalities and needs compared to what is available and within the price range. It so happens that my brother is also buying a new car as well and we have been discussing the pros and cons of various cars that are available. As it turns out we may end up settling on buying cars from the same dealer and manufacturer but that is mainly to do with the fact that we both want a good car and don't want to pay a huge amount for it if we don't have too.
Although my life is in a state of flux and I am still really only in the early stages of sorting my life out after the mess I made of it during my teens and early twenties. But as I said yesterday it is amazing how much God can change someone's life and outlook in such a short space of time. I hope that this is a good sign towards my brother and I can sort things out and stop the continual infighting that there has been for the last twenty odd years. God moves in mysterious ways, I am glad He chose to work through the process of buying a car today as not only has it helped in my relationship with my brother but it was a huge amount of fun too.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Am I growing up?
I have often prided myself on the fact that I have a real childish streak running though me, I do crazy things, I live a life without a care and love to be silly at every opportunity. But recently I have been noticing that I am not only growing up but also wanting to grow up. It is not that I want to get rid of my childish side as it brings a lot of fun into my life but I am beginning to feel that I want to be a little more grown up at times.
The example that has made this most clear in my head occurred today while I was taking care of my Godson. I have not spent much time looking after him on my own until recently but now he is a year old and is a little easier to take care of than a tiny baby I have been entrusted with him. Today while I had him I took him to the garden centre to go look at the pet store they have there and see all of the animals there. We had so much fun and the pair of us laughed and made a lot of noise and the pair of us thoroughly enjoyed the time there.
While I was there I realised that I was enjoying this time more than I ever thought I would and started to think that I could actually fancy a child of my own at some point. This is something huge for me as anyone who knows me will have no doubt heard me say at some point that I hate kids, really hate kids. This phrase has been one that I have used many many times in my life and something that I honestly believed for the whole time I have been saying so. But as I have been looking to my future, my career and where God and I want my life to go certain things have been changing.
I have always been someone who has wanted to globe trot and not put down roots anywhere, I wanted to always be someone who was able to travel the world and go where I wanted when I wanted. But now I am starting to realise that while there will be a certain amount of this in my life as I see God directing it I want a certain amount of settlement in my life. I want to have a home, a partner and now I am starting to realise that I would quite like a family too. I think this has come from the fact that without any intention of doing so I have managed to make myself a home. It is nowhere near where I grew up, away from my family, but it is the place where I feel happiest, where I feel comfortable and where I am surrounded by friends.
It is amazing how people can change over a short period of time, how much people change as they live their lives. But what is more amazing is how much and how quickly God can change someone from the inside out, how God can change the very essence of someone to make them into the very best thing they can be. I thank God for what my life is becoming and for the amazing changes he has helped me make in my life. Who knows where God will lead me in the future and what He will do with my life but after having seen what He has done so far I am excited to see where it will end up.
The example that has made this most clear in my head occurred today while I was taking care of my Godson. I have not spent much time looking after him on my own until recently but now he is a year old and is a little easier to take care of than a tiny baby I have been entrusted with him. Today while I had him I took him to the garden centre to go look at the pet store they have there and see all of the animals there. We had so much fun and the pair of us laughed and made a lot of noise and the pair of us thoroughly enjoyed the time there.
While I was there I realised that I was enjoying this time more than I ever thought I would and started to think that I could actually fancy a child of my own at some point. This is something huge for me as anyone who knows me will have no doubt heard me say at some point that I hate kids, really hate kids. This phrase has been one that I have used many many times in my life and something that I honestly believed for the whole time I have been saying so. But as I have been looking to my future, my career and where God and I want my life to go certain things have been changing.
I have always been someone who has wanted to globe trot and not put down roots anywhere, I wanted to always be someone who was able to travel the world and go where I wanted when I wanted. But now I am starting to realise that while there will be a certain amount of this in my life as I see God directing it I want a certain amount of settlement in my life. I want to have a home, a partner and now I am starting to realise that I would quite like a family too. I think this has come from the fact that without any intention of doing so I have managed to make myself a home. It is nowhere near where I grew up, away from my family, but it is the place where I feel happiest, where I feel comfortable and where I am surrounded by friends.
It is amazing how people can change over a short period of time, how much people change as they live their lives. But what is more amazing is how much and how quickly God can change someone from the inside out, how God can change the very essence of someone to make them into the very best thing they can be. I thank God for what my life is becoming and for the amazing changes he has helped me make in my life. Who knows where God will lead me in the future and what He will do with my life but after having seen what He has done so far I am excited to see where it will end up.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
It's not just god who has plans
This post is something that has been on my mind for a few days now and something I have been hesitant to write about. The reason that I want to write about is because it is something that just will not go away and it is something I think we should all be concious of. However I am hesitant to write about it because the majority of this post will be about the enemy.
This post began due to the fact that I have been struggling and I have been thinking a lot about the plans that God has for me. I have been looking for signs and looking for direction form God, I feel that I know the beginnings of the outlines of the plan God has for me, I feel I know the direction but the details are sparse in places.
In thinking about the fact that God has plans for all of us I began to think about the fact that the enemy has very real plans as for what he wants us to do as well. The fact is that the enemy knows that God has plans for us and these plans are the very best, and so he will do anything he can to overcome these plans if he can. The enemy has plans, plans to destroy you, plans to harm you and plans to deny you of a hope and future.
The thing is that the enemy is very good at making his plans look fair, he is accomplished at making his plans attractive and alluring. The enemy is known in the Old Testament as the tempter and he is well deserving of that title as he is the original and most practised tempter in the universe.
We often talk about god and his plans, we mention Jesus and His love for the world and the Holy Spirit being in us and setting us on fire. But we forget about the fact that although the enemy is not perfect as God is and though his power is a fraction of His he is still throwing everything he has at us in an attempt to draw us away from the path we should be walking.
The enemy will tempt you in every way he can, he will send trials your way that will tempt you in ways that will break you and cause you to sin. The only way to successfully resist the enemy is to ask God for help, to pray ceaselessly that He will help you in your daily battle. There are going to be times when the devil will tempt you and cause you to sin, but if you accept the saving grace of Jesus and return to God with a repentant heart you will not be turned away. The best way to defend against a threat is to know it exists, don't ignore the enemy, do not belittle his power. He is very real and he has powers that are greater than we are, but God is greater still and it is only through Him that we can have eternal life.
This post began due to the fact that I have been struggling and I have been thinking a lot about the plans that God has for me. I have been looking for signs and looking for direction form God, I feel that I know the beginnings of the outlines of the plan God has for me, I feel I know the direction but the details are sparse in places.
In thinking about the fact that God has plans for all of us I began to think about the fact that the enemy has very real plans as for what he wants us to do as well. The fact is that the enemy knows that God has plans for us and these plans are the very best, and so he will do anything he can to overcome these plans if he can. The enemy has plans, plans to destroy you, plans to harm you and plans to deny you of a hope and future.
The thing is that the enemy is very good at making his plans look fair, he is accomplished at making his plans attractive and alluring. The enemy is known in the Old Testament as the tempter and he is well deserving of that title as he is the original and most practised tempter in the universe.
We often talk about god and his plans, we mention Jesus and His love for the world and the Holy Spirit being in us and setting us on fire. But we forget about the fact that although the enemy is not perfect as God is and though his power is a fraction of His he is still throwing everything he has at us in an attempt to draw us away from the path we should be walking.
The enemy will tempt you in every way he can, he will send trials your way that will tempt you in ways that will break you and cause you to sin. The only way to successfully resist the enemy is to ask God for help, to pray ceaselessly that He will help you in your daily battle. There are going to be times when the devil will tempt you and cause you to sin, but if you accept the saving grace of Jesus and return to God with a repentant heart you will not be turned away. The best way to defend against a threat is to know it exists, don't ignore the enemy, do not belittle his power. He is very real and he has powers that are greater than we are, but God is greater still and it is only through Him that we can have eternal life.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Love the unlovable
1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NLT)
See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.Matthew 5:38-39 (NLT)
“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Mark 12:31 (NLT)
The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.
The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.
These four verses have been so close the the front of my mind today. I have said many times at work that I know that I should love the people I work with through my job, but if only they wouldn't make it so hard. Simply said I have had a tough day at work, it started with my being late and just went down hill from there.
I don't want to dwell on the facts of today and there isn't much I can say due to the nature of the work that I do but the thoughts it has raised in my mind I feel are worth talking about. It has come to my attention over the last two days that in the job I do, working with the homeless and addicts, I am often at a fair amount of personal risk. At any moment these people could fly off the handle and cause considerable harm to myself or my colleagues. Time and again I am let down by their actions and behaviour and will be many more times in the future. Yet day after day I go into work with the desire and enthusiasm to make a difference and to help.
The thing that keeps me going, the reason I can go in day after day, especially after a couple of terrible days is that I know this is what God wants us all to do. He wants us to love the unloved, to help them and through showing them this love they will see that the Holy Spirit is in us and that God too loves them, and in a way much better than the way we love them.
But that is the problem, a lot of these people really are unlovable at times, they do and say things that cause you pain in one way or another and at times do everything they can to drive everyone away. Some people actually do not want to be loved, do not want help and certainly do not want to change, at least on the surface. Deep down I believe we all have a desire to find God and to be loved, it is something I believe is inbuilt into humans.
Even so, when Christ came to earth He loved without measure or boundaries, He helped indiscriminately and despite the fact He was let down in the most painful and terrible way He continued to love us all. I know that we are not Christ, that we will never be like Christ, but to try is surely pleasing in His eye. I pray daily for the strength to continue to work with these people who seem humanly unlovable, who try their best to push everyone away.
As a friend reminded me the other day, not everyone who is unloved who is lost or in need of the Lord is homeless, I just have a passion for them as it is what God is calling me to do right now. But we are all surrounded by people who need us to bring the light of Jesus into their lives, there are people in all walks of life who need to see us living our Christian lives and have this light in their lives. The unloved and lost are all around us, they are crying out for something, they just don't see that it is Christ.
See that as a Christian you love your neighbour, that you try to do good to all who cross your path. We need to realise that revenge, even in out own minds is not acceptable behaviour.
Love your neighbour.
Do good to each other.
Do not seek revenge.
Turn the other Cheek.
Follow the teachings from God and follow the examples of Christ, for these teachings and examples are perfection. If we do these things and pray for the strength to follow them daily them the life we are living will be good and pleasing to God. To live a life pleasing to God, what greater thing could you do?
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
I'm back
Ok guys, first off an apology for my unannounced absence and my complete lack of contact on here for a little while. I could give a list of reasons and make many excuses about my absence but all I really need to say is life got the better of me and I really didn't feel like blogging.
I want to take this opportunity to announce that my life is going to go through some major changes in the next few weeks and as such I have decided that from now on I will only be posting once a day. I know that it has been tough at times to keep up such a schedule and I know that it is going to get harder in the future. As I would rather produce good posts rather than sloppily produced ones I have decided that one post a day will be much more manageable.
So now that house keeping is out of the way I guess I should fill you in on some of what has happened since I last blogged. In that time I have been for an interview for a new job which went very well, I have been invited back for a second interview and a day to experience the outreach work I would be doing. Also I have applied for several other jobs which would also put me in the place and position I feel would be most beneficial for me and help me to follow Gods plans in my life right now. I am praying hard that this will all come to fruition soon and that I will receive good news on the 4th when I go for the second interview.
In addition to this I have had some problems in my relationship with God. My Bible study has not been great of late and has suffered more due to my lack of blogging and not picking up my Bible to check details and read passages that come to mind. While my prayer life has not dwindled it has not until the last few day felt very productive, it has at times felt as though I am just going through the motions and talking to thin air.
However yesterday I attended my first cell group in a month and for the first time in a month really felt that I was in the presence of God. After cell group I took the advice of a friend of mine and took a drive into the middle of nowhere and had a chat with God. I pulled over on the verge and turned off the engine and lights and spent about 10 minutes just sitting there. Eventually I felt that I was able to articulate the thoughts and feelings in my head into words to say to God. My friend told me that if I was angry with God I should tell Him, and to be honest I was ready to lose my temper and tell Him exactly what I thought about things.
However when I had everything straight in my head about the way I have felt and the things I have been thinking about I felt absolutely no anger at all. I found that what I really wanted to say was that I have felt lost of late, that I feel that I know where He wants me in the long run but the method of getting there is unclear to me right now. I have a few things that I want too, I want to move back to the city I love, I want to be near my friends and I want someone to share my life with. The last one is something I am really struggling with at the moment, I am at a point in my life where I really want to move on with my life and having someone to share that with would I think be amazing. But I don't want just anyone like I have tried in the past, I want someone who will make me more than what I am now in a way that is pleasing to God and will make me more productive than I am on my own.
When I got everything I wanted out of my system I realised that the thing that I wanted more than anything else was for God to do what He will with my life. I want to live my life in the way the God wants me to, to do the things He has asked of me. I want to want what God wants for me, I want to be and do everything that God wants of me and I know I can't do that without His help.
I have to be honest and say that I am struggling of late, I am not doing everything that I should and I know that I am being more worldly than I should. I know that I should not be too hard on my self and I know that one of my favourite sayings is that no one ever said being a Christian would be easy but to let things slide and not be worried or want to do something about it should be more worrying than the situation I am in at the moment. Knowing that there is a problem is the best place to start from in trying to fix that problem.
I came across a Bible quote that I think sums up perfectly the way things are in my life right now and the way that I am thinking.
Philippians 2:12(NIV paraphrased)
work out your salvation with fear and trembling
I want to take this opportunity to announce that my life is going to go through some major changes in the next few weeks and as such I have decided that from now on I will only be posting once a day. I know that it has been tough at times to keep up such a schedule and I know that it is going to get harder in the future. As I would rather produce good posts rather than sloppily produced ones I have decided that one post a day will be much more manageable.
So now that house keeping is out of the way I guess I should fill you in on some of what has happened since I last blogged. In that time I have been for an interview for a new job which went very well, I have been invited back for a second interview and a day to experience the outreach work I would be doing. Also I have applied for several other jobs which would also put me in the place and position I feel would be most beneficial for me and help me to follow Gods plans in my life right now. I am praying hard that this will all come to fruition soon and that I will receive good news on the 4th when I go for the second interview.
In addition to this I have had some problems in my relationship with God. My Bible study has not been great of late and has suffered more due to my lack of blogging and not picking up my Bible to check details and read passages that come to mind. While my prayer life has not dwindled it has not until the last few day felt very productive, it has at times felt as though I am just going through the motions and talking to thin air.
However yesterday I attended my first cell group in a month and for the first time in a month really felt that I was in the presence of God. After cell group I took the advice of a friend of mine and took a drive into the middle of nowhere and had a chat with God. I pulled over on the verge and turned off the engine and lights and spent about 10 minutes just sitting there. Eventually I felt that I was able to articulate the thoughts and feelings in my head into words to say to God. My friend told me that if I was angry with God I should tell Him, and to be honest I was ready to lose my temper and tell Him exactly what I thought about things.
However when I had everything straight in my head about the way I have felt and the things I have been thinking about I felt absolutely no anger at all. I found that what I really wanted to say was that I have felt lost of late, that I feel that I know where He wants me in the long run but the method of getting there is unclear to me right now. I have a few things that I want too, I want to move back to the city I love, I want to be near my friends and I want someone to share my life with. The last one is something I am really struggling with at the moment, I am at a point in my life where I really want to move on with my life and having someone to share that with would I think be amazing. But I don't want just anyone like I have tried in the past, I want someone who will make me more than what I am now in a way that is pleasing to God and will make me more productive than I am on my own.
When I got everything I wanted out of my system I realised that the thing that I wanted more than anything else was for God to do what He will with my life. I want to live my life in the way the God wants me to, to do the things He has asked of me. I want to want what God wants for me, I want to be and do everything that God wants of me and I know I can't do that without His help.
I have to be honest and say that I am struggling of late, I am not doing everything that I should and I know that I am being more worldly than I should. I know that I should not be too hard on my self and I know that one of my favourite sayings is that no one ever said being a Christian would be easy but to let things slide and not be worried or want to do something about it should be more worrying than the situation I am in at the moment. Knowing that there is a problem is the best place to start from in trying to fix that problem.
I came across a Bible quote that I think sums up perfectly the way things are in my life right now and the way that I am thinking.
Philippians 2:12(NIV paraphrased)
work out your salvation with fear and trembling
I know that God has a plan for me, I trust that plan and want it to be all of my life more than anything else. I have a couple of selfish requests but I have committed myself to God and if what I want is not what He wants then I want to not want it. I know that sounds like gibberish but it is the way I feel and it is the best way I know to express it. This is what I want more than anything else and I know that it won't be easy and that I will never reach the goal, that I will likely not ever get close but my desire is to be a true follower of Christ and to server the Lord my God, your God, our God.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
It's a dark dark world out there
I was out getting my hair cut this morning and spent a while taking to the stylist while she was cutting my hair. The conversation inevitably moved onto work and what I do in my day to day life and I began to talk to her about my work with the homeless. While she was very interested in finding out what my work entailed she seemed not to understand my desire to help or how I could enjoy such work.
As we first began to talk about working with the homeless my stylist presented the usual questions and reactions that people have due to the stereotypes there are about homelessness. Her impression was the same as most peoples is that homeless people are all drug and and drink addled and that for most of them it is their fault and choice being on the streets.
I tried to explain to her the nature and reality of homelessness but for the first real time I came across someone who was resistant to the idea that there could be genuine need and a genuine desire for change in these people. She seemed to hold on to the ideas that she has formed through her life and seemed not to want to listen to any evidence to the contrary.
I was wondering about this when I got home and thought about how many similar minded people there maybe out there in the world. I thought about the fact that part of the problem for the homeless is that many people have ideas about them that make changing their lives and improving their position very difficult. The route of the problem as I see it is a lack of love for fellow men in the world, a lack of a desire to help and a lack of charity. I look round and see a dark world that rejects Christ and rejects all that He stood and stands for. There is a song on my ipod by Good Charlotte called All Black in which there is a line that comes to my mind when I think about this.
"It's a dark dark world and there's evil out there
And you know it's only getting worse"
As we first began to talk about working with the homeless my stylist presented the usual questions and reactions that people have due to the stereotypes there are about homelessness. Her impression was the same as most peoples is that homeless people are all drug and and drink addled and that for most of them it is their fault and choice being on the streets.
I tried to explain to her the nature and reality of homelessness but for the first real time I came across someone who was resistant to the idea that there could be genuine need and a genuine desire for change in these people. She seemed to hold on to the ideas that she has formed through her life and seemed not to want to listen to any evidence to the contrary.
I was wondering about this when I got home and thought about how many similar minded people there maybe out there in the world. I thought about the fact that part of the problem for the homeless is that many people have ideas about them that make changing their lives and improving their position very difficult. The route of the problem as I see it is a lack of love for fellow men in the world, a lack of a desire to help and a lack of charity. I look round and see a dark world that rejects Christ and rejects all that He stood and stands for. There is a song on my ipod by Good Charlotte called All Black in which there is a line that comes to my mind when I think about this.
"It's a dark dark world and there's evil out there
And you know it's only getting worse"
I see a very dark world out there, I see evil and I can see plenty of evidence too that points to the fact that it is only getting worse. We sit in our comfortable houses in our safe places professing to be Christians. For me I feel that we should be out in the world trying to shine the light of Christ into every possible corner that we can. If we serve Christ we should love all men, we should serve all men and we should show charity to those who need it and help in every way we can.
I know that it is very easy to say such things and another to put them into action. I know that sometimes we can feel worn down and find it difficult enough to do things for ourselves never mind for those who have neither the will to help themselves or to be helped by others. There are times when I myself want nothing more than to do nothing, to relax and not to have others relying on me for things. But it is times like this that we should look to God for strength and resolve to go about the business we know we should be doing.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Is Jesus the light of your heart?
I know I have talked about callings a number of times, and I have talked about my own calling a few times without really expanding on it, which I will do one day. I have been struggling with things recently, self doubts, problems with the logistics and at times I have felt a little bit like Sisyphus. Not many people know this as I have been trying to keep a positive face to the world and have been trying to trust that it will all work out right.
I mentioned last night that I attended a study group for people who feel they are being called to God's work. During this session there were a couple of not to lightly veiled references to the fact that it has taken me some time to get everything I need to do for the current stage of the process I am on done and some of it is still outstanding. After a small amount of discussion I made the point that I had been taking my time to ensure I had done everything to my satisfaction and that I feel no pressure from God to do things any quicker than I am.
I know what it is that I feel God is calling me to do and I am confident that in this I do have things the right way round. But there is a raft of things that I feel God is directing me towards doing before I officially commit to what it is He wants me to do. It is sometimes difficult for me to explain the reasons for doing what it is I feel I need to be doing, and if I am completely honest often I do not know why I am doing what I am doing more than half of the time, I just know it is the right thing to do. Because of this I find it is often difficult for other people to understand my "reasoning" behind the things I do, and I find it very difficult to explain my "reasoning" too.
The thing that keeps me going on the track that I am on and that keeps me faithful despite the fact that I often don't know where it is I am going is because Jesus is the light of my heart. Since giving my heart to Jesus I have never been let down by Him, every time I put my trust in Him I am amazed at the blessings He heaps onto me. I know that God is there for me in all things, good and bad, that no matter what the world and the enemy throw at me that God is greater and that He has greater plans for me just around the corner. Since allowing Jesus into my heart to become the light in there I have found that He has worked such a change. Life is not any easier or less painful, there are still many things I need to change about my life, but there have been so many changes and blessings so far that I look forward to looking back over my whole life and seeing how much He will do in all my life. I hope I can always put my whole trust in God and that I can always follow His direction.
I mentioned last night that I attended a study group for people who feel they are being called to God's work. During this session there were a couple of not to lightly veiled references to the fact that it has taken me some time to get everything I need to do for the current stage of the process I am on done and some of it is still outstanding. After a small amount of discussion I made the point that I had been taking my time to ensure I had done everything to my satisfaction and that I feel no pressure from God to do things any quicker than I am.
I know what it is that I feel God is calling me to do and I am confident that in this I do have things the right way round. But there is a raft of things that I feel God is directing me towards doing before I officially commit to what it is He wants me to do. It is sometimes difficult for me to explain the reasons for doing what it is I feel I need to be doing, and if I am completely honest often I do not know why I am doing what I am doing more than half of the time, I just know it is the right thing to do. Because of this I find it is often difficult for other people to understand my "reasoning" behind the things I do, and I find it very difficult to explain my "reasoning" too.
The thing that keeps me going on the track that I am on and that keeps me faithful despite the fact that I often don't know where it is I am going is because Jesus is the light of my heart. Since giving my heart to Jesus I have never been let down by Him, every time I put my trust in Him I am amazed at the blessings He heaps onto me. I know that God is there for me in all things, good and bad, that no matter what the world and the enemy throw at me that God is greater and that He has greater plans for me just around the corner. Since allowing Jesus into my heart to become the light in there I have found that He has worked such a change. Life is not any easier or less painful, there are still many things I need to change about my life, but there have been so many changes and blessings so far that I look forward to looking back over my whole life and seeing how much He will do in all my life. I hope I can always put my whole trust in God and that I can always follow His direction.
Time to stop for 5
Do you ever feel as though the world is just moving too fast for you? For me recently so much has been going on at home and at work and in my private life that I feel as though I have hardly stopped. It feels at times that I almost have to sprint to keep up with the pace of things.
Normally I love things being wild and crazy and love things to be fast paced so that I don't get bored. But recently I feel as if I have had no personal time, no relaxation time and most worryingly of all very little time with God.
This isn't to say I have had no time with God and that I have not seen some amazing results from prayer. I have seen God answer my prayers about jobs in that I have been offered a job interview that would put me where I would love to be and feel happiest. I have also found that a friend of mine may also be moving into the same area and was also told last night the great news that she may also be following a similar path with God into His ministry.
I know that time is likely to be an issue at least for the next few weeks, and if I get the job on Tuesday time is going to become even more scarce for the next month or two. However I feel that if I can manage to get some time with God sorted then the pressure will not feel so much and I will be more than able to get through anything life has to throw at me.
Although I have felt rushed and under pressure recently I am hoping that these are but birth pains of me moving on to things that are bigger and better. I hope that I will be moving on to a better job and thus be moving into my own place and making some moves into adulthood that have been in some people's opinions too long in coming. Whatever the outcome I am confident that God has a plan and I am confident that it will be a great plan, I just hope that for once God and I are on the same song sheet.
Normally I love things being wild and crazy and love things to be fast paced so that I don't get bored. But recently I feel as if I have had no personal time, no relaxation time and most worryingly of all very little time with God.
This isn't to say I have had no time with God and that I have not seen some amazing results from prayer. I have seen God answer my prayers about jobs in that I have been offered a job interview that would put me where I would love to be and feel happiest. I have also found that a friend of mine may also be moving into the same area and was also told last night the great news that she may also be following a similar path with God into His ministry.
I know that time is likely to be an issue at least for the next few weeks, and if I get the job on Tuesday time is going to become even more scarce for the next month or two. However I feel that if I can manage to get some time with God sorted then the pressure will not feel so much and I will be more than able to get through anything life has to throw at me.
Although I have felt rushed and under pressure recently I am hoping that these are but birth pains of me moving on to things that are bigger and better. I hope that I will be moving on to a better job and thus be moving into my own place and making some moves into adulthood that have been in some people's opinions too long in coming. Whatever the outcome I am confident that God has a plan and I am confident that it will be a great plan, I just hope that for once God and I are on the same song sheet.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Vocational fellowship
Tonight I attended something that a number of people have been asking me to go to for a long time. As I have said that I feel God is calling me to work for Him a number of people have directed me towards things that will help me in this journey. One of these events is the vocational fellowship group meeting that I attended tonight.
The group is a collection of people who all feel called to god's work in some way and there is a range of ages in attendance. There is a wide range of backgrounds present and it provides an interesting mix of ideas and views in the group.
This is only the first time I attended and I don't want to say too much about it, but I did really enjoy attending and hope that I will continue to be able to attend into the future. I am looking forward to continue attending in order to work through the study they are doing together, "If you want to walk on water then you have to get out of the boat". It is a study people have said good things about to me and that people have advised me to look at, as a member of this group it will be good to go through it with these people who are all on a similar journey.
The group is a collection of people who all feel called to god's work in some way and there is a range of ages in attendance. There is a wide range of backgrounds present and it provides an interesting mix of ideas and views in the group.
This is only the first time I attended and I don't want to say too much about it, but I did really enjoy attending and hope that I will continue to be able to attend into the future. I am looking forward to continue attending in order to work through the study they are doing together, "If you want to walk on water then you have to get out of the boat". It is a study people have said good things about to me and that people have advised me to look at, as a member of this group it will be good to go through it with these people who are all on a similar journey.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
God knows what He is doing
My parents have a habit which drives me to absolute insanity, they are both unashamed channel hoppers. You can be watching something and then out of nowhere they will skip through hundreds of channels, then decide there is nothing on, announce that TV is rubbish and turn it back to the channel you were watching just in time to catch the credits, gee thanks Mam and Dad.
But the other day when my mum did this she landed on a TV show I have never watched called Touched by and Angel. As I said I have never seen this show before and have no desire to ever watch it in the future. However the one sentence of the show I did hear did catch my attention.
"God always knows what He is doing, sometimes that is the hardest part to accept"
Monica Touched by an angel
I was struck at how true this statement is. As Christians we should all accept that God has a plan and He knows exactly what it is that He is doing. His plan is the Master Plan, a plan to end all plans and the only one that is sure to work. It is a perfect plan that we should accept without question, but its not that easy is it?
We are human, we have doubts and because we are not perfect and know it we can sometimes struggle to understand a plan that has no flaws, that unlike us is perfect. As the quote says accepting that this plan is perfect and God does know what He is doing is often hard to accept. Things happen in our lives that we struggle to understand, that we can not see how they fit into the plan. Yet fit into the plan they do and it is not our place to question how or why.
God always knows what he is doing. Accept that and follow his plans and you will find yourself not living an easy life but certainly living a truly blessed life.
But the other day when my mum did this she landed on a TV show I have never watched called Touched by and Angel. As I said I have never seen this show before and have no desire to ever watch it in the future. However the one sentence of the show I did hear did catch my attention.
"God always knows what He is doing, sometimes that is the hardest part to accept"
Monica Touched by an angel
I was struck at how true this statement is. As Christians we should all accept that God has a plan and He knows exactly what it is that He is doing. His plan is the Master Plan, a plan to end all plans and the only one that is sure to work. It is a perfect plan that we should accept without question, but its not that easy is it?
We are human, we have doubts and because we are not perfect and know it we can sometimes struggle to understand a plan that has no flaws, that unlike us is perfect. As the quote says accepting that this plan is perfect and God does know what He is doing is often hard to accept. Things happen in our lives that we struggle to understand, that we can not see how they fit into the plan. Yet fit into the plan they do and it is not our place to question how or why.
God always knows what he is doing. Accept that and follow his plans and you will find yourself not living an easy life but certainly living a truly blessed life.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
New glasses
Today I returned to the opticians to pick up my new glasses. At first when I put them on things seemed a little strange, having spent nearly two years without wearing glasses properly I now had two pairs. I put a pair on to walk back to my can and decided to keep them on during the drive home in an attempt to become used to wearing them again.
I was amazed at the difference the glasses made to my vision, especially since people in the opticians kept telling me that they are a low prescription. Everything came back into focus perfectly and things that I did not realise had been blurry were sharpened. To put it simply with the new glasses have made a real difference and I can now see so much better than before.
The parallels between my new glasses and my Bible may not at first be clear to everyone but bear with me on it. When I first returned to the Church and really became a Christian I soon learned that I needed to spend a lot of time reading my Bible. For me this had the same effect in my spiritual life as my glasses have had with my sight. As I learned what it really was to be a true follower of Christ, as I learned what it was that God required of me I began to see much clearer the issues and problems in my life and where I needed Christ to come in and work His miracles.
As time has gone on I have seen amazing and fantastic changes in my life and each time I have taken the steps God has wanted me to He has blessed me in ways I couldn't imagine. In walking the path God has set me I have and continue to see aspects of my life that do not look good when viewed through the spiritual eyes God gives us. However I have also seen ways to fix these by using His help and have learned that the best way to become a better Christian is to ask God to help. I know that we will all always need God's help as we will never be perfect, but it is nice to look back with the same spiritual eyes that find the faults and see all the great progress that has been made.
In other new guys, today I was told that I had an interview for the job I would desperately love to do. It is an opportunity that has everything that I would love to have, the type of work I want to do and in the city I want to live in with the added bonus of being surrounded by all my friends. If I could ask you all to pray that the interview next Tuesday goes well and that I may hopefully get this job. Thanking you for all your prayers so far and in advance for all those prayers I know you will continue to say.
I was amazed at the difference the glasses made to my vision, especially since people in the opticians kept telling me that they are a low prescription. Everything came back into focus perfectly and things that I did not realise had been blurry were sharpened. To put it simply with the new glasses have made a real difference and I can now see so much better than before.
The parallels between my new glasses and my Bible may not at first be clear to everyone but bear with me on it. When I first returned to the Church and really became a Christian I soon learned that I needed to spend a lot of time reading my Bible. For me this had the same effect in my spiritual life as my glasses have had with my sight. As I learned what it really was to be a true follower of Christ, as I learned what it was that God required of me I began to see much clearer the issues and problems in my life and where I needed Christ to come in and work His miracles.
As time has gone on I have seen amazing and fantastic changes in my life and each time I have taken the steps God has wanted me to He has blessed me in ways I couldn't imagine. In walking the path God has set me I have and continue to see aspects of my life that do not look good when viewed through the spiritual eyes God gives us. However I have also seen ways to fix these by using His help and have learned that the best way to become a better Christian is to ask God to help. I know that we will all always need God's help as we will never be perfect, but it is nice to look back with the same spiritual eyes that find the faults and see all the great progress that has been made.
In other new guys, today I was told that I had an interview for the job I would desperately love to do. It is an opportunity that has everything that I would love to have, the type of work I want to do and in the city I want to live in with the added bonus of being surrounded by all my friends. If I could ask you all to pray that the interview next Tuesday goes well and that I may hopefully get this job. Thanking you for all your prayers so far and in advance for all those prayers I know you will continue to say.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Do you love your brother?
1 John 4:20-21
If anyone boasts, "I love God," and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both.This is a concept that I will willingly admit to struggling with, there are certain people who at times cause me to come very close to breaking this commandment. I would not say that I go so far as hating anyone but at times certain people in certain situations have caused me to think some distinctly unchristlike thoughts.
I know that in being a Christian we should aim to be Christlike, to act as He acted and to love as He loved and I know this includes loving the unlovable. I know that this is axiomatic but it is something that we should not just brush over, something we should explore and consider carefully. I know that loving the unlovable is a paradox but through Him all things impossible become possible. If we have accepted God and the Spirit has come on us and dwells within us then these things that are humanly impossible become possible.
I was asked a little while ago by my minister about my feelings regarding my ex, what feelings remained, did I hate her or was there a part of me that still loved her. The answer I gave surprised me more than I think it surprised her. The reason being the one person in the world who has done more to hurt me than anyone else, the one person who in the eyes of the world I would have a justified cause to hate I don't. No matter how I think about it, no matter how much the memories hurt I can not bring myself to hate the person I once loved so much. I would also say that there is likely to always be a part of me that remembers and longs for the good times between us, she will always be a part of my heart even if it is a very small part.
On the flip side of this there is a particular client I have cause to deal with at work who would certainly be the cause of many a tarnished halo. He is a particularly difficult person to work with, he is one of those people who goes out of his way to provoke a response from people, someone so in need of attention he will do anything to get it even if it is negative attention. He works out exactly which buttons to press and works out which subjects are most likely to get a rise out of each individual. All of the staff at work to our shame have at times avoided this person and passed him off to a colleague and is the subject of much venting in the staff rooms. I felt particularly shamed the other day when one of my colleagues passed comment that as I intend to give my life to full time ministry and this person was getting to me it was particularly bad. Now all of my colleagues and most of the residents I work with know I am a Christian and most also know I intend to give my life to God's work and I felt I had let God down by my actions in this subject.
How can I someone who is a practising Christian and who is determined to do everything I need to to grown in the faith, someone who has grown to the point of being able to forgive the one person in the world who truly hurt me not feel the fraternal love towards this one person. I know that we are not Christ and that we will never be close to being Him, but we have to try. I know that I should be asking the Lord for help in this matter and hopefully God can use me as the person who can make a difference in this person's life. I pray that God will grant me the patience and the grace to work with this resident and that He will keep my feathers unruffled. If I am to boast that "I love God" then I must also be able to boast "I love all my brothers" too, I know this won't happen over night and will be something I am likely to need to work on for my whole life, but I do love God and so through Him I must learn to love my brother too.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Trust in the Lord always
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
It's difficult not knowing things, when you don't know what is going on, how things are going to work out or where they are going. We often want to do things our way, the way we understand things , the way we think things should be done. We often fall into the trap of believing that we know what is best for our lives, that we more than anyone understand our situation and circumstances.
So often in life we want to rely on our own understanding and strength, and then we end up upset and disappointed when our plans don't work and we have essentially failed ourselves. Often we try and find external causes and reasons for our failure but in the end the blame often ends up being our own whether we admit it or not.
Trusting in the Lord with all our heart is the only way to guarantee positive results. It is not by relying on our own plans or our intelligence and understanding that we will achieve the only thing that really matters. If we acknowledge Him and His plans, follow His ways then we can be sure that our paths will always be straight.
So often in life we want to rely on our own understanding and strength, and then we end up upset and disappointed when our plans don't work and we have essentially failed ourselves. Often we try and find external causes and reasons for our failure but in the end the blame often ends up being our own whether we admit it or not.
Trusting in the Lord with all our heart is the only way to guarantee positive results. It is not by relying on our own plans or our intelligence and understanding that we will achieve the only thing that really matters. If we acknowledge Him and His plans, follow His ways then we can be sure that our paths will always be straight.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Are you a first step Christian?
The thing about being a Christian is that people think that it is enough to just accept Jesus as their Lord and saviour and that that means they are saved. They think that by calling themselves Christians attending Church that they are doing enough. Some even pray and read the Bible, they can be very good at this but that is as far as they go. They fill their prayers with self serving requests, their own wants and desires, sometimes they will pray about others, their loved ones, people they know and their church members. The Bible study they do only ever scratches the surface, they read and know the stories in the Bible, but they never stop to think about what they mean or what God is saying through these stories.
So many people are willing to make the first step in to Christianity, to dip their toe into the ocean but never commit to full immersion. They take the first steps into the faith with fire and zeal but never discover what it is to truely follow Christ. These people on the surface may look like good Chrsitians, they may be active in the Church and seem to do everything they should be. But are you truely a Christian if you are still holding back, if you have not given every last part of yourself over to God? Are you truly a Christian if you are not living your life for Jesus every day, if you are not acting in a Christlike way in all things that you do.
But what does it take to be a Christian, what do we have to do to progress from the first step and move towards fully giving over our lives becoming fully immersed in God. How do we move from these first baby steps into the faith and become the modern day disciples and saints that Jesus commanded us to be? What does it take to not just stand on the path that God has given us but to actually walk on it?
Galatians 5
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
But what does it take to be a Christian, what do we have to do to progress from the first step and move towards fully giving over our lives becoming fully immersed in God. How do we move from these first baby steps into the faith and become the modern day disciples and saints that Jesus commanded us to be? What does it take to not just stand on the path that God has given us but to actually walk on it?
Galatians 5
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
Life by the Spirit you, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
In the passage above we are told what it is to be a Christian, we are told what the freeedom that comes from Christ actually means. It is not about living by the Law, it is not about following the teachings of some renowned teacher. It is, and has always been about following Jesus and letting Him into your life and walk daily with Him. There is no time off, no sick days, no leave of absence, only constant daily obedience and bearing of our crosses. If you are following the Law you are not placing Christ as your master, you have taken the Law and substituted it for Christ's Grace.
In many modern airports there are now moving walkways, paths that once you step onto them you are whisked away down the route without any effort from yourself. The path to follow Christ however is not like this, one step is not all it takes, your commitment requires more than just an initial effort to place yourself on the route. The path to follow Christ requires that you are always looking for the next step to take, always looking for the signs that Christ has placed on the path directing you to where you need to be. Each day you must try to make progress in the journey to the destination Christ has set us. Remember it is not enough to take just one step, if we do that we will soon find ourselves along way from where Christ wants us to be, one step is not a journey. The path is long and hard, but Christ is our guide and protector, trust in Him to lead you on the path, have courage to follow Him where ever it leads, be prepared to take evry step required to follow Christ to the final destination.
In many modern airports there are now moving walkways, paths that once you step onto them you are whisked away down the route without any effort from yourself. The path to follow Christ however is not like this, one step is not all it takes, your commitment requires more than just an initial effort to place yourself on the route. The path to follow Christ requires that you are always looking for the next step to take, always looking for the signs that Christ has placed on the path directing you to where you need to be. Each day you must try to make progress in the journey to the destination Christ has set us. Remember it is not enough to take just one step, if we do that we will soon find ourselves along way from where Christ wants us to be, one step is not a journey. The path is long and hard, but Christ is our guide and protector, trust in Him to lead you on the path, have courage to follow Him where ever it leads, be prepared to take evry step required to follow Christ to the final destination.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Plans moving forward
Today I was given information about a day conference about leadership by two different people. There are a number of things that I am excited about having the chance to go to this conference. The first reason is that it is very specific to the plans I feel God has in store for me, the second is that there are a few people I know interested in going too and finally the people who are leading the weekend are some of the first people I talked to about following these plans.
This conference is a little while in the future but it is something that needs to be planned well in advance due to the distance to travel meaning we will need to arrange a place to stay and will need to work out the best and hopefully cheapest way to get there.
In addition to this the I heard back today regarding one of the application forms I have completed for plans in the future. There is a little few things I need to do to complete this part of the application and then I will find oput how this is going to progress in the future with everything that is going to be going on in my life over the next 12 to 18 months.
Altogether I have had a good day where things seem to have moved along quite nicely and in the direction I feel they should be going. I know that it will not all go smooth, I know that there will be many rough patches and possible battles ahead, but today things are good and I want to thank God for that and enjoy it while it lasts. Hope you all had a great day and see you all tomorrow.
This conference is a little while in the future but it is something that needs to be planned well in advance due to the distance to travel meaning we will need to arrange a place to stay and will need to work out the best and hopefully cheapest way to get there.
In addition to this the I heard back today regarding one of the application forms I have completed for plans in the future. There is a little few things I need to do to complete this part of the application and then I will find oput how this is going to progress in the future with everything that is going to be going on in my life over the next 12 to 18 months.
Altogether I have had a good day where things seem to have moved along quite nicely and in the direction I feel they should be going. I know that it will not all go smooth, I know that there will be many rough patches and possible battles ahead, but today things are good and I want to thank God for that and enjoy it while it lasts. Hope you all had a great day and see you all tomorrow.
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