Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Free to be you without the mess. Thank God for that!
Oh My Goodness! What an amazing revelation I had today - I can't wait to share... It all came from this tiny verse in Hebrews...
Hebrews 7v3
'Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever'.
A bit strange and random you may think. Read on! It's great!
Now according to the ever trustworthy Wikipedia, this verse is referring to Jesus. You need to bear this in mind as I explain my revelation.
Right, so today I've had a hideous day. It's been really busy, I've had a massivly long day teaching, followed by parents' evening and a load of stuff crop up that I've had to deal with. In addition to this, I had a pretty intense, overwhelming session with my psychologist yesterday. Don't worry, I'm not going too personal - I've been seeing this lovely lady to help sort some anxiety attacks out. It's been really intense at the moment and we've been delving into all sorts of family history, personal history, background, events, childhood, parenting, friendships, relationships and so on. I've felt so warped by a lot of these things in the past, and seem to have been carrying a lot of baggage round with me which is just weighing me down and down and down. I seem to deal with small bits, empty some of the smaller bags, but then haven't properly dealt with the bigger, deeper underlying stuff, which I've then warped even more, based my identity on and argh! So following on from yesterday I felt completely beaten by my past, warped by the relationships I've had, and completely lost in who I am, where I've come from and so on. I just don't seem to know who I am or what I am, because I've allowed myself to be so influenced and shaped by 'stuff'. (Not that this is directed outwardly at all, this is actually all from within - so please don't panic!).
Then BOOM. I read this verse. Now we have mentioned that the 'guy' in Hebrews being referred to is Jesus. Who was without father or mother, without geneaology, without beginning... Therefore this person was COMPLETELY and UTTERLY free to be HIMSELF and who he IS and WAS always destined to be. No parents to accidently or purposefully lead him astray or burden him with issues, no family history with inherited traits or curses, no past to hinder him and warp his views, identity and so on.
And then BOOM. If we are in Jesus and if Jesus lives in us and if we are children of God and inheritors with Him, if we are made in the image of God/Jesus then don't these rules apply to us? Are we not FREE to be WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST? No pressure, no warped history, no family curses, no misleading parents, no generational sin, no tangled, messy relationships to hinder our growth. You know I was bullied a lot as a child and throughout my growing up. This was later added to by a series of harmful relationships with guys and plenty of other stuff which really has impacted the me you know and see today. Now whilst I know that God has changed me, removed a lot of my past, weeded the bad stuff out - I still struggle. But it is SO good to know that I am not defined by that stuff; that I am FREE to be ME, the ME God created, without pressure, hindrance, hurt, heartache and so on. MY IDENTITY is in CHRIST and his FREEDOM. Not some kid who called me fat 20 years ago which has impacted me every since. Not some abusive partner who undervalued me. No No NO!
Live this guys - you are free from the generational tangles, past history, grueling friendships which hindered rather than helped. You too are free to be WHO YOU ARE, who you were created to be, without the mess!
Awesome! Hope this makes sense!
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Journey Poem!!!
Helloooooo
I've been meaning to share this for a while. It was a poem I wrote about journeying a few weeks ago at Free to Worship. Enjoy!!!
Come on a journey with me,
Come, I have so much to show you.
Look at the sunrise, the sunset, the colours of dawn, the brightness of day.
Look at the leaves, how they flutter in the cool breeze.
Look at the gentleness of the waves as they lap the shore.
I have so much to show you.
Listen to the birds as they sing in chorus,
The hills, the mountains almost touching heaven.
Hear the sound of the rivers running to bring life giving water.
Look at the lightening how it brightens and pierces the night sky.
Smell the scent of the dew on freshly cut grass.
Taste the sweetness of a warm evening's sun dancing off the sand, the salt in the air.
Look at the mighty hills, the sky, the sea, the ocean as it roars.
My greatness has no limits, my splendour has no bounds.
Look at your heart, how I've melted and am melting the darkness away.
See how I can change your pain into dancing.
Look into your heart as I wash it clean.
Think about how, when you can't go on, I can.
When you end, I've already begun.
Think about these things, how I chose you, have you life, intimately designed your being, each strand of hair on our head, your fingerprint; not one is the same.
You are wonderful.
And I choose you to journey this with.
I have so much to show you.
Take my hand, walk with me.
I won't go too fast, I'll carry you when you're tired.
I'll feed you when you're hungry, I'll cleanse you when you're dusty.
Don't give up, not yet.
But come with me,
Let's journey this together as one.
I have so much to show you.
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Let's live for 'This Day'.
When praying and reading the Bible today I was completely challenged. Please excuse the slight diversion from Acts - but I thought this was cool...!
See for the past ages, and quite often throughout my life I've felt down or not good enough and wanted to change stuff, alter things, be better, do this, start over, and so on. I tend to set a deadline and think, right on this date I'll do this, or be like this, or stop doing this.
At the moment I'm particularly thinking over this as the year draws to a close and 2013 is upon us. Infact it was as I was writing my Christmas cards that this first struck me. I was writing in peoples' cards 'May 2013 be your best year yet' or 'have a great 2013, hope it's your best year to date', and so on. But why am I wishing time away? Why am I waiting for the strike of midnight on 31st December 2012 to change me and alter things? Am I expecting some sort of miracle to automatically happen and fix everything?
No, see God's grace is big enough to start over now. His grace is so amazing, that we don't have to wait for a date or a deadline to sort things out and fix things. We can do it now. I don't want to wish my precious days on earth away by constantly living for the next date, the next holiday, the next deadline, the next opportunity to get it right! I want to live for now, in the here and now, in the present day with God and His Grace continuously making a difference to my life and helping me to live each day to the full. There is so much potential for today, let's not waste it but let's see it come to fruition now!
To finish, Derek Mills, author of The Ten Second Philosphy which I'm reading at the moment puts it like this... 'Over 2,000 years ago Christ taught us 'give us this day', not this decade, not this month, not this quarter, and not this fiscal year. Give us this day'. I think this is an awesome message. Let's live while it is today.
See for the past ages, and quite often throughout my life I've felt down or not good enough and wanted to change stuff, alter things, be better, do this, start over, and so on. I tend to set a deadline and think, right on this date I'll do this, or be like this, or stop doing this.
At the moment I'm particularly thinking over this as the year draws to a close and 2013 is upon us. Infact it was as I was writing my Christmas cards that this first struck me. I was writing in peoples' cards 'May 2013 be your best year yet' or 'have a great 2013, hope it's your best year to date', and so on. But why am I wishing time away? Why am I waiting for the strike of midnight on 31st December 2012 to change me and alter things? Am I expecting some sort of miracle to automatically happen and fix everything?
No, see God's grace is big enough to start over now. His grace is so amazing, that we don't have to wait for a date or a deadline to sort things out and fix things. We can do it now. I don't want to wish my precious days on earth away by constantly living for the next date, the next holiday, the next deadline, the next opportunity to get it right! I want to live for now, in the here and now, in the present day with God and His Grace continuously making a difference to my life and helping me to live each day to the full. There is so much potential for today, let's not waste it but let's see it come to fruition now!
To finish, Derek Mills, author of The Ten Second Philosphy which I'm reading at the moment puts it like this... 'Over 2,000 years ago Christ taught us 'give us this day', not this decade, not this month, not this quarter, and not this fiscal year. Give us this day'. I think this is an awesome message. Let's live while it is today.
Monday, 26 November 2012
Be encouraged and encourage
Love God's Word! I love how one little word can make all the difference - it's definitely ALIVE!
Acts 20v 2 '(Paul) travelled through that area (Macedonia) speaking many words of encouragement to the people'.
This simple word 'encouragement'completely struck me today. It can be so easy in life to just moan, complain, grumble or even think we are saying positive things to help but actually cause more damage. Honestly, it's so easy to complain about the weather, the news, lack of money, work, job, a colleague, an ache, a pain, etc. Sometimes there can even be a lack of encouragement in churches - we are often told about sin, sinners, badness, evil, not matching the mark, not meeting the standard... and so on.
Let's be a people who 'encourage' one another and who speak encouragement! Who can you encourage today? What can you say? Who can you bless?
Not to write about this here or to boast or anything, but I just sent an encouraging text message to a number of people in my phone, having been challenged by this word to encourage. And not through my own actions, but by God working through me an using me, so many people have apparently been very blessed. How cool. (Thanks for your texts if this is you guys). It's so awesome how one small word of encouragement or one small text can change someone's day.
In school I often encourage the boys to do well. Rather than focus on what they can't do or haven't done, or focus on those who are behaving negatively, I encourage and praise the good work that has been done, or highlight and reward the boys who are doing the right thing and working well. It's almost a reverse psychology (we are so used to negativity) but it works guys!
Let's be encouragers today. Let's build up, not tear down. Let's allow God to use us to be a blessing.
Acts 20v 2 '(Paul) travelled through that area (Macedonia) speaking many words of encouragement to the people'.
This simple word 'encouragement'completely struck me today. It can be so easy in life to just moan, complain, grumble or even think we are saying positive things to help but actually cause more damage. Honestly, it's so easy to complain about the weather, the news, lack of money, work, job, a colleague, an ache, a pain, etc. Sometimes there can even be a lack of encouragement in churches - we are often told about sin, sinners, badness, evil, not matching the mark, not meeting the standard... and so on.
Let's be a people who 'encourage' one another and who speak encouragement! Who can you encourage today? What can you say? Who can you bless?
Not to write about this here or to boast or anything, but I just sent an encouraging text message to a number of people in my phone, having been challenged by this word to encourage. And not through my own actions, but by God working through me an using me, so many people have apparently been very blessed. How cool. (Thanks for your texts if this is you guys). It's so awesome how one small word of encouragement or one small text can change someone's day.
In school I often encourage the boys to do well. Rather than focus on what they can't do or haven't done, or focus on those who are behaving negatively, I encourage and praise the good work that has been done, or highlight and reward the boys who are doing the right thing and working well. It's almost a reverse psychology (we are so used to negativity) but it works guys!
Let's be encouragers today. Let's build up, not tear down. Let's allow God to use us to be a blessing.
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Ready to take on the world.... or not?
Hi!
I was really taken this week by the amazing scripture in Acts 6. Take a look…
‘In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”’ Acts 6v1-4
My initial reaction was ‘Wow, that’s so amazing’. You see I care for Tim and Helen, my church leaders, a lot, and particularly with the ever-growing work at Watford Community Church
However on a second reflection of this, and through certain discussions on this passage, I was made aware of the difficulties of passing things on because sometimes God’s people, *myself included* just aren’t ready. Sometimes there can appear to be a lack of people ready to receive the baton in the relay. We can sometimes be too busy watching from the sidelines, looking at the other competitors and becoming distracted with other things, rather than standing in the starting blocks, ready to receive the baton or the ‘pass’. This made me sad and upset me a fair amount.
Whilst I understand that sometimes it is just not possible to do, do, do all the time, and whilst I completely sympathise with those who just aren’t ready to take things on, at the same time sometimes I think we need to toughen up, train up, man up and open up ready to receive the baton and start running. Sometimes I think we are so busy that we miss God’s calling to receive responsibility. Sometimes we are just too apathetic to train and prepare ourselves for the next race or the next step. Guys. Church. Family. Let’s take a look at where we are in the relay. Yes there is a time to rest, but there is also a time to receive the baton and run. This can’t just happen straight away, we need to train, practise and prepare ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually in order to do this.
So are we going to be a church who is ready to run; having prepared, prayed, trained, and so on? Or are we going to hinder the growth of church by not allowing the baton to be passed on, and the few who are running the relay become overwhelmed and burnt out and exhausted? Harsh words I know, but I pray this may stir you up and cause you to think about your position in the race. Are you ready to take the baton and run? Do you need to train a bit more? Have you been an onlooker on the sidelines, but now need to train, prepare and act?
Love you guys J Have a blessed day.
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Waiting, crippled.
Love Acts 3 when a beggar who has been lame since birth is HEALED in the name of Jesus!!! We are told in Acts 4v22 that this guy 'was over forty years old'. I reckon in that day and age this was almost a whole lifetime as people died younger then.
Now we are told in Acts 3v2 that this lame beggar went faithfully to the temple gate every day to beg. I imagine he would pray here too, probably for healing and so on. Just think day after day, praying and praying for something that is just not happening! But praise God for this mans perseverance, patience and faithfulness!!
And then one day - probably not dissimilar to most from the outset, he was healed through the Holy Spirit working in Peter and John. Two things struck me here.
1. Never give up. Never stop praying. Be faithful in prayer. Be patient in prayer. But never give up.
2. Be available to be used by God. Just like Peter and John were like vessels for the Holy Spirit to work through them at any given moment, so too do we need to be available and allow the Holy Spirit to work through us.
I was reminded again at an alpha away day yesterday about the amazing life we can have through the Holy Spirit. It doesn't mean we need to go all weird and crazy, to preach from soapboxes, to do weird things and to stop being ourselves. We don't need to be crazy, scary Christians. That's just off putting! We just need to be available, in tune with what God is doing and ready to act if and when prompted.
I want to live in step with the Spirit - to be joyful, have hope, see miracles, see the Spirit bringing about light, life, hope, healing, peace, joy....! Lets fill up guys :-)
Friday, 2 November 2012
Kill Jesus!
Matthew 27 - so full of action, tradgedy, pain, emotion, love... Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ definitely comes close to showing some of the most realistic screenplay surrounding these events.
So we see Jesus being handed over to Pilate and the crowd voting for his crucifiction. Even Pilate doesn't want to consent to it, so, following the tradition of freeing one criminal, he agrees to let one of the prisoners on death row go free. Who will it be... Jesus, a man of truth, love, and grace who had done nothing wrong, or Barabbas, a 'notorious prisoner' (Matthew 27v16) who had been 'thrown into prison for an insurection in the city, and for murder' (Luke 23v19)? Of course we know the crowd voted for Jesus.
Upon reading this this morning, it just re-affirmed and opened my eyes just that little bit more to how amazing Jesus was and the extent to which His grace flows. He was placed lower than a reknown criminal, lower than a murderer. The darkest of sins were above Him. He made Himself lower than it all, so He could rise above it all. There was not one sin that was beneath Him and beneath His love. He died for ALL of our sins and wrong doing - from those little things we don't even think about or realise, to the worse things we could possibly do; even murder.
How amazing is Jesus? How amazing is His grace? Not one sin was unaccounted for. Not one sin was beyond His reach. He placed Himself lower than it all, so He could rise above it all bringing freedom to all and for all.
So we see Jesus being handed over to Pilate and the crowd voting for his crucifiction. Even Pilate doesn't want to consent to it, so, following the tradition of freeing one criminal, he agrees to let one of the prisoners on death row go free. Who will it be... Jesus, a man of truth, love, and grace who had done nothing wrong, or Barabbas, a 'notorious prisoner' (Matthew 27v16) who had been 'thrown into prison for an insurection in the city, and for murder' (Luke 23v19)? Of course we know the crowd voted for Jesus.
Upon reading this this morning, it just re-affirmed and opened my eyes just that little bit more to how amazing Jesus was and the extent to which His grace flows. He was placed lower than a reknown criminal, lower than a murderer. The darkest of sins were above Him. He made Himself lower than it all, so He could rise above it all. There was not one sin that was beneath Him and beneath His love. He died for ALL of our sins and wrong doing - from those little things we don't even think about or realise, to the worse things we could possibly do; even murder.
How amazing is Jesus? How amazing is His grace? Not one sin was unaccounted for. Not one sin was beyond His reach. He placed Himself lower than it all, so He could rise above it all bringing freedom to all and for all.
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Still in love with Judas baby...
Hiyer,
What a day to blog on - Happy Halloween - and I'm even happier knowing that Jesus conquered death and destruction and all of the demons remembered tonight!
Today we read about Judas in our readings. I loved this passage today. So we know that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, handing Jesus over to the chief priests in exchange for some silver coins. Wow crazy times. We all know Judas as the bad one, the disciple who betrayed, the evil one, the sinner. Yet upon reading the passage today it's interesting to note that
'When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” Matthew 27v3-4
Judas repented. He was 'seized with remorse' he even gave back his death money, and confessed his betrayal of 'innocent blood'. So do we think Judas went to heaven? Or is his sin irreversible? I'm not sure what scripture would back up or disprove this fact, but it's an interesting thought.
Obviously we can't say who goes to heaven and who doesnt. Having been helping on the current Alpha course at WCC it's been interesting seeing the amount of times these questions have been asked... 'could Hitler go to heaven?' or 'what if I repent on my deathbed? Can I still get to heaven even if I wait till the last minute?' Well isn't this just like Judas? Perhaps he isn't the big, evil, crazy sinner we often think of him as. Praise God that He is so gracious.
Is there a Judas character in your life? Sometime who has betrayed you big time? Someone who seems to oppose you? Someone who just seems to have it in for you or who doesn't like you? How can you forgive them? Can you forgive them? Are you able to accept their forgiveness if they show remorse?
Interesting stuff.
What a day to blog on - Happy Halloween - and I'm even happier knowing that Jesus conquered death and destruction and all of the demons remembered tonight!
Today we read about Judas in our readings. I loved this passage today. So we know that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, handing Jesus over to the chief priests in exchange for some silver coins. Wow crazy times. We all know Judas as the bad one, the disciple who betrayed, the evil one, the sinner. Yet upon reading the passage today it's interesting to note that
'When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” Matthew 27v3-4
Judas repented. He was 'seized with remorse' he even gave back his death money, and confessed his betrayal of 'innocent blood'. So do we think Judas went to heaven? Or is his sin irreversible? I'm not sure what scripture would back up or disprove this fact, but it's an interesting thought.
Obviously we can't say who goes to heaven and who doesnt. Having been helping on the current Alpha course at WCC it's been interesting seeing the amount of times these questions have been asked... 'could Hitler go to heaven?' or 'what if I repent on my deathbed? Can I still get to heaven even if I wait till the last minute?' Well isn't this just like Judas? Perhaps he isn't the big, evil, crazy sinner we often think of him as. Praise God that He is so gracious.
Is there a Judas character in your life? Sometime who has betrayed you big time? Someone who seems to oppose you? Someone who just seems to have it in for you or who doesn't like you? How can you forgive them? Can you forgive them? Are you able to accept their forgiveness if they show remorse?
Interesting stuff.
Monday, 8 October 2012
Let 'ME' rest in you
Hello,
I realise this is a slight diversion to the readings but I was inspired to share this little snippet of encouragement.
So, whether you realise or not I am quite a stressy person and quite prone to getting really stressed out, having anxiety attacks, racing thoughts and so on. I am receiving treatment, but sometimes it's hard and I just can't seem to relax.
Recently I have been really praying for God to help me to relax and to help me to stop worrying and thinking too much. The Bible encourages us to rest in the Lord...
Matthew 11v28-30
'Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.'
So today I prayed and asked God to help me to rest in Him. His reply was, 'Let ME rest in you'. Now I know God is bigger than our turmoil and our stress and unrest, but this made me think. A pregnant woman with a child inside her who gets stressed, is likely to upset the baby and make them feel uneasy. (Please forgive my lack of knowledge here). Likewise, if God is living in us, if we too are stressed, would it not make it difficult for us to allow God to rest in us? Our ups and downs would surely hinder our ability to allow God to rest in us. Do you hear what I'm trying to say?
Temples were strong places in which God dwelt. As our bodies are a temple (1 Corinthians 16), surely we should try to be strong and allow God to dwell in us?
I understand this is strange theology, but it was just a different perspective... I do not wish to undermine God's power, and place more burden on us to fight for rest and strength, but just a thought.
Be blessed and rested
I realise this is a slight diversion to the readings but I was inspired to share this little snippet of encouragement.
So, whether you realise or not I am quite a stressy person and quite prone to getting really stressed out, having anxiety attacks, racing thoughts and so on. I am receiving treatment, but sometimes it's hard and I just can't seem to relax.
Recently I have been really praying for God to help me to relax and to help me to stop worrying and thinking too much. The Bible encourages us to rest in the Lord...
Matthew 11v28-30
'Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.'
So today I prayed and asked God to help me to rest in Him. His reply was, 'Let ME rest in you'. Now I know God is bigger than our turmoil and our stress and unrest, but this made me think. A pregnant woman with a child inside her who gets stressed, is likely to upset the baby and make them feel uneasy. (Please forgive my lack of knowledge here). Likewise, if God is living in us, if we too are stressed, would it not make it difficult for us to allow God to rest in us? Our ups and downs would surely hinder our ability to allow God to rest in us. Do you hear what I'm trying to say?
Temples were strong places in which God dwelt. As our bodies are a temple (1 Corinthians 16), surely we should try to be strong and allow God to dwell in us?
I understand this is strange theology, but it was just a different perspective... I do not wish to undermine God's power, and place more burden on us to fight for rest and strength, but just a thought.
Be blessed and rested
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Jesus, non-believers and sinners!
Hiyer,
Loving reading through the gospels at the moment. AND I've really been challenged and led to look more at the relationship Jesus has with non-believers and sinners. In short, I led a community group (Bible study) meeting on Jesus' ministry to non-believers/sinners tonight and wanted to share my findings.
So, here is a whistle-stop tour of some ideas, thoughts and Bible verses to enlighten us on how Jesus treated non-believers and sinners. It's very brief and open to discussion, (I'm no expert), but have a look... I've paraphrased and shortened the main verses, but feel free to delve deeper into them as there were so many awesome things I discovered. Additionally, it was interesting to see that there was not much info on this theme on the Internet...!
QUESTION - What do we do with non-believers? How do we relate to them? How do we treat them? What are our responses and reactions and expectations?
MARK 1v16-20 - Jesus calls four of his disciples.
These guys weren't necessarily believers when Jesus called them. We often presume they were, with no real evidence. Were they really believers? Did they have faith at the start? The NIV Life Application footnotes point out that a couple of these men were called more than once before they followed and that also they were on a journey of growth in their faith. They weren't originally strong, devout believers. Yet Jesus walks with them, teaches them, listens to them, goes on their journey with them. How can we do this with our non-believing friends? Neither were these disciples Christian as this concept came much later on!
MATTHEW 9v9-13 - Jesus eats with sinners
Jesus had time for people, He didn't segregate Himself from non-believers and sinners, He joined them, spent time in their company and accepted them for who they were. How can we associate with non-believers and sinners? Do we stick to our comfortable Christian circles? Do we expect non-believers to come to us, into our church buildings and to our way of life, or are we prepared to go to them and to meet with them where they are at? Note Jesus never invited anyone to the temple - He went to them, yet still did not compromise Himself on the way. He states that he wants mercy, not a sacrifice. Yes there are times when we need to sacrifice things for our faith, but rather than live by do's and donts and giving up this and that because Christian culture says so, we ought to have mercy on non-believers, be sensitive and loving and not judgemental if they do not choose to do these things. Sacrifices should come from the heart, not out of a culture which is forced upon us or such-like.
MATTHEW 12v18-21 - 'A bruised reed He will not break, a smouldering wick He will not put out'.
Jesus was gentle, not forceful. He did not impose His views and put people off. He was gentle, loving and caring; sensitive to others.
MATTHEW 18v12-14 - The story of the Lost Sheep
Jesus illustrates that He would leave the 99 sheep in the fold to go and look for one who was lost. Would we go to this length to help a non-believer who isn't in the 'fold' or part of our church groups?
LUKE 7v36-48 - A sinner woman annoints Jesus with a year's wages worth of oil and washes His feet with her tears.
Jesus accepts her offering, He accepts her, He has no boundaries, no limits, no condtions; He takes her as she is. We should adopt the same attitude with non-believers and 'sinners'. It is an opportunity for grace and love, not judgement and outcasting.
LUKE 23v39-43 - The sinner on the cross recognises Jesus for who He is at the last minute and asks to be in heaven. He believes at the last minute and is forgiven.
Jesus does not hold his sin against him. He is graceful, merciful, accepting and loving. We too need to be like this.
JOHN 8v1-11 - A woman, caught in adultery, is about to be stoned to death. Jesus says that he who has no sin is to throw the first stone. No one does; the woman goes free and is told to leave her life of sin.
Jesus is forgiving, loving, non-judgemental, fair, just and true. He doesn't criticise, point the finger, accuse, belittle, stand superior. A hard act for us to follow.
And finally, some great verses to sum this up...
JOHN 12v47-48
'If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.'
Awesome - it is not our job to judge. Jesus did not come to judge but to save. We too therefore should not judge, but advance the Kingdom of God! Love it!
JOHN 17v25-26
'Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.'
LOVE - the answer is to love and to make Christ known. Such an excellent way to live!
And finally, Philippians 2v5 tells us to adopt the same attitude as Christ. What an awesome example to follow in relating to our non-believing friends. No judgement, only grace. No superiority but meeting them on their level - equality almost. No preaching or 'Bible-bashing' just love. Lets walk life and journey with our non-believing friends. Let's stop trying to convert them and leave this up to God. Let's play our part, but above all let's love and follow Christ's example.
QUESTION 2 - have your answers to question 1 changed? Is there something you are not doing and might try? Has your approach to your relationship with non-believers changed after seeing some of what Jesus did?
We didn't have much time for discussion tonight, so feel free to add. This is a work in progress and probably not 100% perfect or 'right' so do leave feedback.
Love to you all xxx
Loving reading through the gospels at the moment. AND I've really been challenged and led to look more at the relationship Jesus has with non-believers and sinners. In short, I led a community group (Bible study) meeting on Jesus' ministry to non-believers/sinners tonight and wanted to share my findings.
So, here is a whistle-stop tour of some ideas, thoughts and Bible verses to enlighten us on how Jesus treated non-believers and sinners. It's very brief and open to discussion, (I'm no expert), but have a look... I've paraphrased and shortened the main verses, but feel free to delve deeper into them as there were so many awesome things I discovered. Additionally, it was interesting to see that there was not much info on this theme on the Internet...!
QUESTION - What do we do with non-believers? How do we relate to them? How do we treat them? What are our responses and reactions and expectations?
MARK 1v16-20 - Jesus calls four of his disciples.
These guys weren't necessarily believers when Jesus called them. We often presume they were, with no real evidence. Were they really believers? Did they have faith at the start? The NIV Life Application footnotes point out that a couple of these men were called more than once before they followed and that also they were on a journey of growth in their faith. They weren't originally strong, devout believers. Yet Jesus walks with them, teaches them, listens to them, goes on their journey with them. How can we do this with our non-believing friends? Neither were these disciples Christian as this concept came much later on!
MATTHEW 9v9-13 - Jesus eats with sinners
Jesus had time for people, He didn't segregate Himself from non-believers and sinners, He joined them, spent time in their company and accepted them for who they were. How can we associate with non-believers and sinners? Do we stick to our comfortable Christian circles? Do we expect non-believers to come to us, into our church buildings and to our way of life, or are we prepared to go to them and to meet with them where they are at? Note Jesus never invited anyone to the temple - He went to them, yet still did not compromise Himself on the way. He states that he wants mercy, not a sacrifice. Yes there are times when we need to sacrifice things for our faith, but rather than live by do's and donts and giving up this and that because Christian culture says so, we ought to have mercy on non-believers, be sensitive and loving and not judgemental if they do not choose to do these things. Sacrifices should come from the heart, not out of a culture which is forced upon us or such-like.
MATTHEW 12v18-21 - 'A bruised reed He will not break, a smouldering wick He will not put out'.
Jesus was gentle, not forceful. He did not impose His views and put people off. He was gentle, loving and caring; sensitive to others.
MATTHEW 18v12-14 - The story of the Lost Sheep
Jesus illustrates that He would leave the 99 sheep in the fold to go and look for one who was lost. Would we go to this length to help a non-believer who isn't in the 'fold' or part of our church groups?
LUKE 7v36-48 - A sinner woman annoints Jesus with a year's wages worth of oil and washes His feet with her tears.
Jesus accepts her offering, He accepts her, He has no boundaries, no limits, no condtions; He takes her as she is. We should adopt the same attitude with non-believers and 'sinners'. It is an opportunity for grace and love, not judgement and outcasting.
LUKE 23v39-43 - The sinner on the cross recognises Jesus for who He is at the last minute and asks to be in heaven. He believes at the last minute and is forgiven.
Jesus does not hold his sin against him. He is graceful, merciful, accepting and loving. We too need to be like this.
JOHN 8v1-11 - A woman, caught in adultery, is about to be stoned to death. Jesus says that he who has no sin is to throw the first stone. No one does; the woman goes free and is told to leave her life of sin.
Jesus is forgiving, loving, non-judgemental, fair, just and true. He doesn't criticise, point the finger, accuse, belittle, stand superior. A hard act for us to follow.
And finally, some great verses to sum this up...
JOHN 12v47-48
'If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.'
Awesome - it is not our job to judge. Jesus did not come to judge but to save. We too therefore should not judge, but advance the Kingdom of God! Love it!
JOHN 17v25-26
'Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.'
LOVE - the answer is to love and to make Christ known. Such an excellent way to live!
And finally, Philippians 2v5 tells us to adopt the same attitude as Christ. What an awesome example to follow in relating to our non-believing friends. No judgement, only grace. No superiority but meeting them on their level - equality almost. No preaching or 'Bible-bashing' just love. Lets walk life and journey with our non-believing friends. Let's stop trying to convert them and leave this up to God. Let's play our part, but above all let's love and follow Christ's example.
QUESTION 2 - have your answers to question 1 changed? Is there something you are not doing and might try? Has your approach to your relationship with non-believers changed after seeing some of what Jesus did?
We didn't have much time for discussion tonight, so feel free to add. This is a work in progress and probably not 100% perfect or 'right' so do leave feedback.
Love to you all xxx
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Foooooooood!
Why is it that every time I read the story about the Feeding of the 5000 I learn something new? I love it! So this is today's reading. Let me explain some thoughts.
I love how God hides gems in His Word. The more I grow and delve into it and go deeper, the more He reveals to me.
So when I was younger, this story was just like an awesome miracle explaining how great God was in being able to make a packed lunch into a feast for 5000 people!
Then being a bit older, I discovered about how if we give what little we may think we have to God, He can take it and use it and multiply it for His glory and bless 1000s of people!
Then even older still, I was really struck by the 'breaking of the bread'. God often has to break us in order to use us. It's natural. It's often hard. But it's often one of the many ways God can use us.
Today I'm struck by the whole idea of feeding. There were 1000s of starving people, and Jesus' priority with the small packed lunch was simply to feed them. It wasn't spiced up with herbs and spices, or marinated or fluffed up with fancy wording on a menu. It was simple food - bread and fish, but food that was fulfilling.
Likewise, we too need to feed people. There are hungry people in our world - be it hungry for love, acceptance, belonging, answers, fulfillment and so on. Rather than fluffing up Christianity, packaging up Jesus in a nice little box with a gift tag, spicing it up with our own twist or whatever, we just need to feed people with the truth about Jesus Christ.
But how? How can we do this? Well no-one force feeds a child, they offer them a fork with food on. Sometimes the child refuses to eat. So we can try again. Sometimes they still refuse to eat, so perhaps we try a different approach. Sometimes children are full and don't want to eat any more. Sometimes they are hungry and can't wait for the next bite. Likewise with baby Christians or even those who don't believe, we need to be gentle in our approach, break things up into bitesize, digestable pieces, allow them to dictate how much they take in, not force things, be patient, clear up mess and so on. Perhaps the most some people can digest is knowing that there is a listening ear, or someone to help out with their shopping. Perhaps other people are starving and are quick to digest whatever we feed them. Some interesting thoughts.
Finally, if we are well fed, by receiving spiritual nourishment from church, reading our Bible, communicating with God, then perhaps we will have left overs which we can use to feed others. If every person who was spiritually 'full up' shared their food with other people, just think how fast we could share the good news about Christ. So totally awesome! Bring it on!
Read Matthew 14v1-21 for more.
I love how God hides gems in His Word. The more I grow and delve into it and go deeper, the more He reveals to me.
So when I was younger, this story was just like an awesome miracle explaining how great God was in being able to make a packed lunch into a feast for 5000 people!
Then being a bit older, I discovered about how if we give what little we may think we have to God, He can take it and use it and multiply it for His glory and bless 1000s of people!
Then even older still, I was really struck by the 'breaking of the bread'. God often has to break us in order to use us. It's natural. It's often hard. But it's often one of the many ways God can use us.
Today I'm struck by the whole idea of feeding. There were 1000s of starving people, and Jesus' priority with the small packed lunch was simply to feed them. It wasn't spiced up with herbs and spices, or marinated or fluffed up with fancy wording on a menu. It was simple food - bread and fish, but food that was fulfilling.
Likewise, we too need to feed people. There are hungry people in our world - be it hungry for love, acceptance, belonging, answers, fulfillment and so on. Rather than fluffing up Christianity, packaging up Jesus in a nice little box with a gift tag, spicing it up with our own twist or whatever, we just need to feed people with the truth about Jesus Christ.
But how? How can we do this? Well no-one force feeds a child, they offer them a fork with food on. Sometimes the child refuses to eat. So we can try again. Sometimes they still refuse to eat, so perhaps we try a different approach. Sometimes children are full and don't want to eat any more. Sometimes they are hungry and can't wait for the next bite. Likewise with baby Christians or even those who don't believe, we need to be gentle in our approach, break things up into bitesize, digestable pieces, allow them to dictate how much they take in, not force things, be patient, clear up mess and so on. Perhaps the most some people can digest is knowing that there is a listening ear, or someone to help out with their shopping. Perhaps other people are starving and are quick to digest whatever we feed them. Some interesting thoughts.
Finally, if we are well fed, by receiving spiritual nourishment from church, reading our Bible, communicating with God, then perhaps we will have left overs which we can use to feed others. If every person who was spiritually 'full up' shared their food with other people, just think how fast we could share the good news about Christ. So totally awesome! Bring it on!
Read Matthew 14v1-21 for more.
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
The Journey of the journeyless?
Hello,
Slight diversion from the readings todayv(did not fully understand today's so do explain if you know - Matt 12v46-50, Luke 18v19-21).
Anyways, just had a really awe inspiring community group where we were discussing the future of our group and where and what we would like to lead on to. This sparked off several good discussions, many of which I have been pondering over. Here are a few thoughts.
At the moment the journey reading plans are taking us through the gospels. Excellent. I have been really surprised and really challenged to think about this time period and the meaning of the gospels in a different light....
So at the time, there were no Christians. The name had not yet come to be. Jesus had not yet died. There was no sudden conversion experiences to speak of, no 'sinners' prayer', no wham bam Christian in the can type instantaneous conversion moments. It got me thinking. Often as Christians we are waiting for our non-christian friends to have that one life-changing conversion moment and then, boom, that's it, Christian forever, another number to the list, another bum on a chair in church, another 'success' story. Perhaps surprisingly so, there are few of these moments in the gospels. Yes we have Saul later on, but really the majority of those people who came to faith in the gospels were also on a journey. They were on a path, they needed some experience of God, they needed to see Him, feel Him, touch Him, walk with Him for a bit, relate to Him, trust Him, build up a relationship with Him and so on.
These things take TIME. It takes all sorts of things to make a 'Christian'. Jesus walked with all sorts of people and journeyed with all kind of people in the gospels. Sometimes He performed miracles and people 'converted' to the faith almost instantaneously. Other times it took time. Other times it didn't happen at all. What can we learn from Jesus' dealings with non-Christians in the Bible or those who had no faith? Did He refuse to hang out with them? Did He only choose to hang out with those faith-full ones? Did He place super high expectations on them? Did He ask for a show of hands to see who had converted? (obviously this is useful in churches to day so we can approach, guide and talk to those who have chosen to make a committment - I'm not knocking this at all - I'm just saying).
So back in the day I was part of the Message Trust - working on their Eden projects, living and volunteering in a rough estate in Manchester and journeying with my neighbours who were often poor, vulnerable, in trouble with the police and so on. This was my day to day activity. However once a month we'd put on a huge event and invite loads of people from the estates, loads of churches and loads of school kids from all over Manchester to hear the gospel. They were fantastic. There were live bands, music, entertainment, a talk and guess what...? Loads of people heard the gospel and put their hands up to make a committment. Some evenings we'd see close to 100 people become 'Christians'. But often these people wouldn't return the next month. Neither would they return the month after. Often they would return home and one of two things would happen. They'd turn up to their local church, only to be turned away or put off because the church just wasn't equipped enough to deal with such people, or they would return to their 'non-Christian' lifestyle of drink, drugs, crime and so on. Sometimes it was both.
Why?!!! Why is this? Are we placing to much emphasis on the 'moment' of conversion, rather than looking at the journey? Are we just bothered about numbers in the Kingdom of God? Are we lacking the knowledge, patience, wisdom and dedication to walking the journey with other people? Are we afraid? Are we too inward focussed on ourselves and our problems?
Look at Jesus. Look at some of the people without faith that He hung out with. He made time for them. He walked with them. He talked to them. He laughed with them. He cried with them. He understood that each person is on their own journey. He loved them. He was REAL with them; not just out with an ulterior motivation and their conversion in mind. He knew that each person had different needs, different issues, different questions. There wasn't and still isn't one formulaic 'one size fits all' conversion package to Christianity. Sometimes I think that the sooner we realise this, the fuller our churches would be. Let's journey with people, allow for their growth, allow for their stumbles, allow for their questions, allow for their turning away and coming back. Let's not be people who eagerly await the 'conversion experience' that may never happen and then vanish from that person's life. Let's walk the journey with our friends. Let's bear with the things they do that we don't agree with, rather than turning our noses up.
Guys let me say - we do a fantastic job. Some of you out there I can only dream of being more like. Some of you are better journey companions than I could ever be. Don't stop. Not ever. However just have a walk through my words and my thoughts from today. What do we think? Am I right? What would you add? And let's not forget, God is the author and perfector of our faith (Heb12v1-2). He is the maker of our salvation. It's not up to us. Pressure off. :)
Oh and if anyone has the book 'Surprised by Joy' by CS Lewis, can I borrow a copy?
Ta!
Slight diversion from the readings todayv(did not fully understand today's so do explain if you know - Matt 12v46-50, Luke 18v19-21).
Anyways, just had a really awe inspiring community group where we were discussing the future of our group and where and what we would like to lead on to. This sparked off several good discussions, many of which I have been pondering over. Here are a few thoughts.
At the moment the journey reading plans are taking us through the gospels. Excellent. I have been really surprised and really challenged to think about this time period and the meaning of the gospels in a different light....
So at the time, there were no Christians. The name had not yet come to be. Jesus had not yet died. There was no sudden conversion experiences to speak of, no 'sinners' prayer', no wham bam Christian in the can type instantaneous conversion moments. It got me thinking. Often as Christians we are waiting for our non-christian friends to have that one life-changing conversion moment and then, boom, that's it, Christian forever, another number to the list, another bum on a chair in church, another 'success' story. Perhaps surprisingly so, there are few of these moments in the gospels. Yes we have Saul later on, but really the majority of those people who came to faith in the gospels were also on a journey. They were on a path, they needed some experience of God, they needed to see Him, feel Him, touch Him, walk with Him for a bit, relate to Him, trust Him, build up a relationship with Him and so on.
These things take TIME. It takes all sorts of things to make a 'Christian'. Jesus walked with all sorts of people and journeyed with all kind of people in the gospels. Sometimes He performed miracles and people 'converted' to the faith almost instantaneously. Other times it took time. Other times it didn't happen at all. What can we learn from Jesus' dealings with non-Christians in the Bible or those who had no faith? Did He refuse to hang out with them? Did He only choose to hang out with those faith-full ones? Did He place super high expectations on them? Did He ask for a show of hands to see who had converted? (obviously this is useful in churches to day so we can approach, guide and talk to those who have chosen to make a committment - I'm not knocking this at all - I'm just saying).
So back in the day I was part of the Message Trust - working on their Eden projects, living and volunteering in a rough estate in Manchester and journeying with my neighbours who were often poor, vulnerable, in trouble with the police and so on. This was my day to day activity. However once a month we'd put on a huge event and invite loads of people from the estates, loads of churches and loads of school kids from all over Manchester to hear the gospel. They were fantastic. There were live bands, music, entertainment, a talk and guess what...? Loads of people heard the gospel and put their hands up to make a committment. Some evenings we'd see close to 100 people become 'Christians'. But often these people wouldn't return the next month. Neither would they return the month after. Often they would return home and one of two things would happen. They'd turn up to their local church, only to be turned away or put off because the church just wasn't equipped enough to deal with such people, or they would return to their 'non-Christian' lifestyle of drink, drugs, crime and so on. Sometimes it was both.
Why?!!! Why is this? Are we placing to much emphasis on the 'moment' of conversion, rather than looking at the journey? Are we just bothered about numbers in the Kingdom of God? Are we lacking the knowledge, patience, wisdom and dedication to walking the journey with other people? Are we afraid? Are we too inward focussed on ourselves and our problems?
Look at Jesus. Look at some of the people without faith that He hung out with. He made time for them. He walked with them. He talked to them. He laughed with them. He cried with them. He understood that each person is on their own journey. He loved them. He was REAL with them; not just out with an ulterior motivation and their conversion in mind. He knew that each person had different needs, different issues, different questions. There wasn't and still isn't one formulaic 'one size fits all' conversion package to Christianity. Sometimes I think that the sooner we realise this, the fuller our churches would be. Let's journey with people, allow for their growth, allow for their stumbles, allow for their questions, allow for their turning away and coming back. Let's not be people who eagerly await the 'conversion experience' that may never happen and then vanish from that person's life. Let's walk the journey with our friends. Let's bear with the things they do that we don't agree with, rather than turning our noses up.
Guys let me say - we do a fantastic job. Some of you out there I can only dream of being more like. Some of you are better journey companions than I could ever be. Don't stop. Not ever. However just have a walk through my words and my thoughts from today. What do we think? Am I right? What would you add? And let's not forget, God is the author and perfector of our faith (Heb12v1-2). He is the maker of our salvation. It's not up to us. Pressure off. :)
Oh and if anyone has the book 'Surprised by Joy' by CS Lewis, can I borrow a copy?
Ta!
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
The Importance of Women and Purpose
I just LOVE Luke 8v1-3 today.
Firstly
The first thing v1 mentions is Jesus' purpose - proclaiming the good news. It's interesting to note that he was defined by his purpose in life - not always by status, job, trade or who he hung around with. His purpose was the most important thing i.e. spreading the Kingdom of God.
How often do we define ourselves by our job (I'm a teacher, I'm a vicar, I'm a nurse...) or by our friends, (I'm Bob's friend, I know person X...). Jesus did none of these things so as not to gain unneccessary attention or status, or to show off. He had his sole purpose of spreading the Kingdom. What is your purpose? What are you here for? Is it to further the Kingdom? Is it to encourage those within the Kingdom? Is it to inspire? To love? To reach-out?... A thought worth thinking.
Secondly
So Luke 8 mentions the 'Twelve' in verse 1, obviously being the 12 male disciples, but then it goes on to talk about Jesus' female followers, complete with their names listed for a whole 2 verses. Here we see Luke - the writer of the gospel of Luke (I think) giving credit and status and awareness to women and their importance. He has followed in Jesus' footsteps. Jesus hung around with women. He loved women. He taught them. They assisted in his purpose. Obviously for the times, they are often not given as much importance as men, but Jesus still acknowledges them, includes them and accepts them. How cool! I thought it was amazing to know that women too were included in Jesus' followers and were allowed a part in his ministry!
Firstly
The first thing v1 mentions is Jesus' purpose - proclaiming the good news. It's interesting to note that he was defined by his purpose in life - not always by status, job, trade or who he hung around with. His purpose was the most important thing i.e. spreading the Kingdom of God.
How often do we define ourselves by our job (I'm a teacher, I'm a vicar, I'm a nurse...) or by our friends, (I'm Bob's friend, I know person X...). Jesus did none of these things so as not to gain unneccessary attention or status, or to show off. He had his sole purpose of spreading the Kingdom. What is your purpose? What are you here for? Is it to further the Kingdom? Is it to encourage those within the Kingdom? Is it to inspire? To love? To reach-out?... A thought worth thinking.
Secondly
So Luke 8 mentions the 'Twelve' in verse 1, obviously being the 12 male disciples, but then it goes on to talk about Jesus' female followers, complete with their names listed for a whole 2 verses. Here we see Luke - the writer of the gospel of Luke (I think) giving credit and status and awareness to women and their importance. He has followed in Jesus' footsteps. Jesus hung around with women. He loved women. He taught them. They assisted in his purpose. Obviously for the times, they are often not given as much importance as men, but Jesus still acknowledges them, includes them and accepts them. How cool! I thought it was amazing to know that women too were included in Jesus' followers and were allowed a part in his ministry!
Sunday, 9 September 2012
How far can I go for the Kindom?
Hi guys.
I've been really challenged recently by this question:
'How far can I go for the Kingdom of God?
Let me unpack this a little bit. So as Christians we are called to go into the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28v19). We see Jesus completely turning laws and rules on their heads and hang out with 'sinners', dine with prostitutes, reverse the religious laws of the day, break sabbath laws, do the completely unthinkable, all in the name of the Kingdom. Today we have been reading about Him healing the sick on the Sabbath, something completely forbidden by Jewish law and frowned down upon. Breaking some of these laws in that day and age could have resulted in death. (See Matthew 12v9-14 for example). Jesus goes beyond the law, breaks the rules and risks his own life, all in the name of His Father - God.
I loved Friday's verse - Matthew 9v9 in which Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collected, to follow Him. I love the fact that befriending this 'sinner' enabled Jesus to hang out with even more 'sinners' in Matthew's house (Matthew 9v10) and therefore have more opportunities to share the love of God. Challenging stuff for us to think about. Do we choose our friends because we like the nice, easy, comfortable Christian bubble? Do we choose them to mutually encourage eachother? Or do we choose them because we have an opportunity to share and be Christ to them? I think all are relevant, but need the right balance.
But, still, where does this leave us? Which 'rules' can we choose to follow, and which can we choose to overturn in the name of Jesus? How far can we go in the name of the Gospel? Let me share some personal examples to illustrate this further.
So this year I have explored some new territory and begun dating a lovely man who is not a Christian. It is hard work at times, particularly when our beliefs and values clash. I for one am constantly reminded of the verse in 2 Corinthians 6v14 about not being yoked together with non-believers. I am very aware of this and still unsure as to what I think or whether I am doing the right thing. It is the current journey I am on. Hopefully it will be a long journey, but who knows. Yet this amazing guy, thanks to God using me and working in the situation, has attended church many times and is hopefully exploring things further in an Alpha course. He has a deeper understanding of God, and has really had his eyes opened to God, Jesus, church, Christianity and so on; something which he probably would never have pursued had I not been with him. Now I'm not saying this to get into a debate about whether it's ok to be with a non-believer or not. I just want to illustrate this as an example of the extent to which we could go for the kingdom. Is this too far?
Another example is this. I have lived in a house for 3 years with non-believers and non-church goers. Contrary to some opinions and some Biblical principals, I have chosen to stay here and be a witness in the house, and in this community. Now with this, I realise that on many occasions my standards have slipped. I have become more worldly and have joined in with some of the things that go on in my house, not all of which are good. Perhaps I would be better off living with believers and thus be encouraged in my faith, built up, surrounded by 'holy-living' people and so on. I chose not to, partly for the great opportunity it has been to be a witness. Praise God, because so many good things have come from this decision. One good friend has now moved out but in her new house has Bible verses painted all over her living room. One new housemate is a Christian and wants to come to church with me, and through witnessing to two other housemates, they are planning on attending the next Alpha course.
Is it therefore ok to compromise a little bit if it means furthering the Kingdom? Is it ok to live as a witness 24/7 and see fruit, at the cost of a few slip ups and compromises along the way? I've heard of Christians in America going to porn conventions to preach the gospel. Excellent! However, at the same time are they not compromising their faith and putting stumbling blocks in the way? I heard of one woman preaching at Momentum this year who ran a Salvation Army stall at a Sex conference in the USA, all in the name of Jesus.
How far is too far? How far is acceptable? Jesus was quite extreme, I must say.
Finally Helen Roberts wonderfully preached this morning about being a witness in community but at the same time remaining in God. It was wonderful, and if you missed it you can catch up on the church website www.watfordcommunitychurch.org. One thing she mentioned was about being supernatural and not superficial. We need to be real. Well REALLY there are prostitutes, fraudsters, tax dodgers, liars, sex offenders, adulterers, scammers and so on in our communities and in our world. If we remain locked into our Christian bubbles, how are we ever going to reach these people? Yet if we hang out with them too much, we risk becoming like them, compromising our faith, being led astray. So how far is too far? Jesus hung out with these people and remained without sin. Shouldn't we do likewise?
Perhaps the answer is to remain in God first and foremost as Helen said. Then He can guide us and lead us to places. But surely some of our witness needs to be from us in that we are strong, bold, willing to go out and get dirty, and so on?
So, back to my original question.
How far can I go for the Kingdom?
Answers in the comment box below!
I've been really challenged recently by this question:
'How far can I go for the Kingdom of God?
Let me unpack this a little bit. So as Christians we are called to go into the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28v19). We see Jesus completely turning laws and rules on their heads and hang out with 'sinners', dine with prostitutes, reverse the religious laws of the day, break sabbath laws, do the completely unthinkable, all in the name of the Kingdom. Today we have been reading about Him healing the sick on the Sabbath, something completely forbidden by Jewish law and frowned down upon. Breaking some of these laws in that day and age could have resulted in death. (See Matthew 12v9-14 for example). Jesus goes beyond the law, breaks the rules and risks his own life, all in the name of His Father - God.
I loved Friday's verse - Matthew 9v9 in which Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collected, to follow Him. I love the fact that befriending this 'sinner' enabled Jesus to hang out with even more 'sinners' in Matthew's house (Matthew 9v10) and therefore have more opportunities to share the love of God. Challenging stuff for us to think about. Do we choose our friends because we like the nice, easy, comfortable Christian bubble? Do we choose them to mutually encourage eachother? Or do we choose them because we have an opportunity to share and be Christ to them? I think all are relevant, but need the right balance.
But, still, where does this leave us? Which 'rules' can we choose to follow, and which can we choose to overturn in the name of Jesus? How far can we go in the name of the Gospel? Let me share some personal examples to illustrate this further.
So this year I have explored some new territory and begun dating a lovely man who is not a Christian. It is hard work at times, particularly when our beliefs and values clash. I for one am constantly reminded of the verse in 2 Corinthians 6v14 about not being yoked together with non-believers. I am very aware of this and still unsure as to what I think or whether I am doing the right thing. It is the current journey I am on. Hopefully it will be a long journey, but who knows. Yet this amazing guy, thanks to God using me and working in the situation, has attended church many times and is hopefully exploring things further in an Alpha course. He has a deeper understanding of God, and has really had his eyes opened to God, Jesus, church, Christianity and so on; something which he probably would never have pursued had I not been with him. Now I'm not saying this to get into a debate about whether it's ok to be with a non-believer or not. I just want to illustrate this as an example of the extent to which we could go for the kingdom. Is this too far?
Another example is this. I have lived in a house for 3 years with non-believers and non-church goers. Contrary to some opinions and some Biblical principals, I have chosen to stay here and be a witness in the house, and in this community. Now with this, I realise that on many occasions my standards have slipped. I have become more worldly and have joined in with some of the things that go on in my house, not all of which are good. Perhaps I would be better off living with believers and thus be encouraged in my faith, built up, surrounded by 'holy-living' people and so on. I chose not to, partly for the great opportunity it has been to be a witness. Praise God, because so many good things have come from this decision. One good friend has now moved out but in her new house has Bible verses painted all over her living room. One new housemate is a Christian and wants to come to church with me, and through witnessing to two other housemates, they are planning on attending the next Alpha course.
Is it therefore ok to compromise a little bit if it means furthering the Kingdom? Is it ok to live as a witness 24/7 and see fruit, at the cost of a few slip ups and compromises along the way? I've heard of Christians in America going to porn conventions to preach the gospel. Excellent! However, at the same time are they not compromising their faith and putting stumbling blocks in the way? I heard of one woman preaching at Momentum this year who ran a Salvation Army stall at a Sex conference in the USA, all in the name of Jesus.
How far is too far? How far is acceptable? Jesus was quite extreme, I must say.
Finally Helen Roberts wonderfully preached this morning about being a witness in community but at the same time remaining in God. It was wonderful, and if you missed it you can catch up on the church website www.watfordcommunitychurch.org. One thing she mentioned was about being supernatural and not superficial. We need to be real. Well REALLY there are prostitutes, fraudsters, tax dodgers, liars, sex offenders, adulterers, scammers and so on in our communities and in our world. If we remain locked into our Christian bubbles, how are we ever going to reach these people? Yet if we hang out with them too much, we risk becoming like them, compromising our faith, being led astray. So how far is too far? Jesus hung out with these people and remained without sin. Shouldn't we do likewise?
Perhaps the answer is to remain in God first and foremost as Helen said. Then He can guide us and lead us to places. But surely some of our witness needs to be from us in that we are strong, bold, willing to go out and get dirty, and so on?
So, back to my original question.
How far can I go for the Kingdom?
Answers in the comment box below!
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
My life isn't rubbish - stop telling me it is!
Hiyer,
Bit of a diversion from the readings today and more of a focus on the talk at Watford Community Church on Sunday.
So Mark Ritchie - awesome guy, came to speak and shared of how he is currently journeying across the UK - 700 miles in 70 days I think it was, carrying a huge cross on his back. What an awesome man! He is going from South to North, and then West to East in a cross shape across the UK, witnessing along the way and speaking in various churches.
We had the privilege to hear him on Sunday. His message was this, and was also very true.
Our lives are often so full of junk and rubbish. We have bad thoughts, we mess up, we hurt people, we say the wrong thing.... We need punishing for what we have done wrong. There are consquences and a price to pay. We do things against God and fail to respect Him, thus creating a barrier and an obstacle between us. But no matter how full of junk our life gets, how many times we have upset God, how low we are, how much our life may stink, or how hard it may be, if we choose to say sorry, accept Jesus' death on the cross, and receive forgiveness then we are free, saved, lifted out of our mess, not condemned, free to go, let off the hook and so on. See because God loves us so much, He sent His only one, perfect son, Jesus who, just like in the old testament they sacrificed animals as an atonement for sin, died on the cross as our sacrifice and paid the price for our wrong doings. He died in our place, our junk got pinned on the cross with Him, so we don't have to carry it. He took the punishment and the consequences of our actions upon Him so we don't have to face it ourselves. He stood in our place as the accused and the guilty and we got off free. Awesomeness!
We were then encouraged to write down things that burden us, junk we have in our lives, hurts, pains, failures and so on and bring them to the cross. It was brilliant and God did a lot of work, people got saved, healings occurred, and so on. Praise God.
However, upon reflection, I had a few questions.
What about all of those people who do not feel they have junk in their lives? What about those people who have everything they feel they need, and therefore would not consider a saviour? What about those people who have a house, salary, car, spare cash, enjoy their weekends, holiday when and where they like and get on just fine....? Surely their lives aren't filled with 'junk' and wouldn't it offend them to say they were? Yes they probably get things wrong but why would they consider a saviour? For a non-believer who lives the best life they can, is nice to people, helpful, kind, caring and so on, to be told their life is full of junk and they are filled with rubbish is a bit hard to hear. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED what Mark had to say. This is just an after thought which I had upon reflection.
I understand the gospel. I understand the need for a saviour, I understand the need for repentance and forgiveness. But many people don't feel they do. Many people are 'ok thanks' and getting on just fine. Being told their lives are full of junk just doesn't bode well.
What do we think? What are other people's views? How can we meet people who are on this kind of journey?
Bit of a diversion from the readings today and more of a focus on the talk at Watford Community Church on Sunday.
So Mark Ritchie - awesome guy, came to speak and shared of how he is currently journeying across the UK - 700 miles in 70 days I think it was, carrying a huge cross on his back. What an awesome man! He is going from South to North, and then West to East in a cross shape across the UK, witnessing along the way and speaking in various churches.
We had the privilege to hear him on Sunday. His message was this, and was also very true.
Our lives are often so full of junk and rubbish. We have bad thoughts, we mess up, we hurt people, we say the wrong thing.... We need punishing for what we have done wrong. There are consquences and a price to pay. We do things against God and fail to respect Him, thus creating a barrier and an obstacle between us. But no matter how full of junk our life gets, how many times we have upset God, how low we are, how much our life may stink, or how hard it may be, if we choose to say sorry, accept Jesus' death on the cross, and receive forgiveness then we are free, saved, lifted out of our mess, not condemned, free to go, let off the hook and so on. See because God loves us so much, He sent His only one, perfect son, Jesus who, just like in the old testament they sacrificed animals as an atonement for sin, died on the cross as our sacrifice and paid the price for our wrong doings. He died in our place, our junk got pinned on the cross with Him, so we don't have to carry it. He took the punishment and the consequences of our actions upon Him so we don't have to face it ourselves. He stood in our place as the accused and the guilty and we got off free. Awesomeness!
We were then encouraged to write down things that burden us, junk we have in our lives, hurts, pains, failures and so on and bring them to the cross. It was brilliant and God did a lot of work, people got saved, healings occurred, and so on. Praise God.
However, upon reflection, I had a few questions.
What about all of those people who do not feel they have junk in their lives? What about those people who have everything they feel they need, and therefore would not consider a saviour? What about those people who have a house, salary, car, spare cash, enjoy their weekends, holiday when and where they like and get on just fine....? Surely their lives aren't filled with 'junk' and wouldn't it offend them to say they were? Yes they probably get things wrong but why would they consider a saviour? For a non-believer who lives the best life they can, is nice to people, helpful, kind, caring and so on, to be told their life is full of junk and they are filled with rubbish is a bit hard to hear. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED what Mark had to say. This is just an after thought which I had upon reflection.
I understand the gospel. I understand the need for a saviour, I understand the need for repentance and forgiveness. But many people don't feel they do. Many people are 'ok thanks' and getting on just fine. Being told their lives are full of junk just doesn't bode well.
What do we think? What are other people's views? How can we meet people who are on this kind of journey?
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Storm Troopers!
There is one line that appears in both yesterday and today's reading that I just adore...
Job 38v1 'Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm...'
Job 40v6 'Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm...'
STORMS
So we've seen a storm. We've seen Job and everything he is and was; everything that identified him, his family, livelihood; everything completely destroyed. We've seen his turmoil. We've seen his questions. We've seen his anger. We've seen his friends and their unhelpful advice. We've seen his doubt. We've seen his pain, his frustration, his hurt, his desire for death, his unhappiness....
AND THEN THE LORD SPOKE TO JOB OUT OF THE STORM.
Doesn't this just warm your heart? Doesn't it make you feel safe? It's like God reaches into the darkness, into the high water, into the pain, into Job's despair and pulls him out. It took a long time coming, but it came at the perfect time, so refreshing, so relieving, so breath-taking, so comforting. Now my Dad is amazing. I can be in the biggest pickle, have a huge amount of stress, be in tears, be miserable, be moody, have the weight of the world on my shoulders, yet my Dad ALWAYS manages to speak into my world, calm me, reassure me and make everything seem better. He won't lie or dumb down my situation. He won't turn a hurricane into a gentle breeze; he might not even be able to stop the storm, but his words bring hope, life, reassurance and let me know that he is walking with me. (Praise God for my Dad).
Similarly, God didn't stop Job's storm. He didn't dumb it down. He understood the severity of Job's situation. He knew all of Job's worry, fear, mistakes, fumblings around, doubts and so on. Yet God spoke to Him and made everything seem better, gave him hope, understanding, comfort, truth, life.
OUT OF THE STORM
What I love best about this, (and it does depend on how you read it), is that God spoke to Job OUT of the storm, as in OUTSIDE of the storm. Whilst God was with Job and present at the scene, and whilst I like to think that God is next to me in my storm, another way of looking at it is that God was not caught up in the whirlwind of destruction and disaster, he was removed from it, on a firm foundation, not being swayed about by the chaos, but stood firm. He was BIGGER than the storm, and not controlled by it or bound to it. He spoke outside of the storm. His words were not drowned out inside the turmoil and destruction. He sees the bigger picture, He sees the future, He sees the exit, He knows the way out.
IF THERE WERE NO STORMS?
Like I said in my previous blog, I have no answers as to why storms happen, why Job went through what he went through, and why sometimes we go through the stuff we go through. I have no answers as to why my 26 year old friend just died in child-birth. I have no answer to why my friend's Mum has just been diagnosed with cancer for the second time. I have no idea why another Christian friend who I look up to has attempted suicide so many times this year. I have no idea why I have so much depression and anger and worry and stress.
We all have storms. I don't get it. It's a fact of life. Infact sometimes I think the storms as a Christian are bigger than those of a non-believer. But rather than be overturned and uprooted and run away from the storms, lets stand strong and face them. Let me expand...
If Job didn't face the storm....
- he would never have surrendered wholly and completely to God in the same way that he did.
- he would never have explored the depths of God
- he would never have understood what he did about God
- he would never have trusted the firm foundation that God is
- he would never have experienced the awesome rescue when God spoke to him from the storm
- he would not have realised the power that God has in that He holds all things together, is in control of everything and is BIGGER than the storm
- he would never have felt the freedom and release once out of the storm's grip
- he would never have experienced God's blessing again
- he wouldn't have had a future
-
-
-
(fill in the gaps with more...!)
So to round up, if you can, take a fresh look at your storms. Can you hear God speaking out of them? What is He saying? Or do you need to hold on a bit longer? Can you picture God outside of the storm, holding your world together? Can you re-evaluate the person you are and the increased knowledge and understanding you have after having been through the storm? Can you learn to trust God as your rock, rather than perhaps relying on your own strength? Do you need to surrender and trust God more? Have you been dumbing down the severity of your storm and do you need to seek extra help to manage? Have you learnt to tell God how you feel; to question, to be angry, to wonder...?
To finish, I love this lyric from Blindside's 'Eye of the Storm'
'Please see I'm walking in to the eye of the storm
And I'll still come out loving you even more'
And finally, another inspiring video from them....
Job 38v1 'Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm...'
Job 40v6 'Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm...'
STORMS
So we've seen a storm. We've seen Job and everything he is and was; everything that identified him, his family, livelihood; everything completely destroyed. We've seen his turmoil. We've seen his questions. We've seen his anger. We've seen his friends and their unhelpful advice. We've seen his doubt. We've seen his pain, his frustration, his hurt, his desire for death, his unhappiness....
AND THEN THE LORD SPOKE TO JOB OUT OF THE STORM.
Doesn't this just warm your heart? Doesn't it make you feel safe? It's like God reaches into the darkness, into the high water, into the pain, into Job's despair and pulls him out. It took a long time coming, but it came at the perfect time, so refreshing, so relieving, so breath-taking, so comforting. Now my Dad is amazing. I can be in the biggest pickle, have a huge amount of stress, be in tears, be miserable, be moody, have the weight of the world on my shoulders, yet my Dad ALWAYS manages to speak into my world, calm me, reassure me and make everything seem better. He won't lie or dumb down my situation. He won't turn a hurricane into a gentle breeze; he might not even be able to stop the storm, but his words bring hope, life, reassurance and let me know that he is walking with me. (Praise God for my Dad).
Similarly, God didn't stop Job's storm. He didn't dumb it down. He understood the severity of Job's situation. He knew all of Job's worry, fear, mistakes, fumblings around, doubts and so on. Yet God spoke to Him and made everything seem better, gave him hope, understanding, comfort, truth, life.
OUT OF THE STORM
What I love best about this, (and it does depend on how you read it), is that God spoke to Job OUT of the storm, as in OUTSIDE of the storm. Whilst God was with Job and present at the scene, and whilst I like to think that God is next to me in my storm, another way of looking at it is that God was not caught up in the whirlwind of destruction and disaster, he was removed from it, on a firm foundation, not being swayed about by the chaos, but stood firm. He was BIGGER than the storm, and not controlled by it or bound to it. He spoke outside of the storm. His words were not drowned out inside the turmoil and destruction. He sees the bigger picture, He sees the future, He sees the exit, He knows the way out.
IF THERE WERE NO STORMS?
Like I said in my previous blog, I have no answers as to why storms happen, why Job went through what he went through, and why sometimes we go through the stuff we go through. I have no answers as to why my 26 year old friend just died in child-birth. I have no answer to why my friend's Mum has just been diagnosed with cancer for the second time. I have no idea why another Christian friend who I look up to has attempted suicide so many times this year. I have no idea why I have so much depression and anger and worry and stress.
We all have storms. I don't get it. It's a fact of life. Infact sometimes I think the storms as a Christian are bigger than those of a non-believer. But rather than be overturned and uprooted and run away from the storms, lets stand strong and face them. Let me expand...
If Job didn't face the storm....
- he would never have surrendered wholly and completely to God in the same way that he did.
- he would never have explored the depths of God
- he would never have understood what he did about God
- he would never have trusted the firm foundation that God is
- he would never have experienced the awesome rescue when God spoke to him from the storm
- he would not have realised the power that God has in that He holds all things together, is in control of everything and is BIGGER than the storm
- he would never have felt the freedom and release once out of the storm's grip
- he would never have experienced God's blessing again
- he wouldn't have had a future
-
-
-
(fill in the gaps with more...!)
So to round up, if you can, take a fresh look at your storms. Can you hear God speaking out of them? What is He saying? Or do you need to hold on a bit longer? Can you picture God outside of the storm, holding your world together? Can you re-evaluate the person you are and the increased knowledge and understanding you have after having been through the storm? Can you learn to trust God as your rock, rather than perhaps relying on your own strength? Do you need to surrender and trust God more? Have you been dumbing down the severity of your storm and do you need to seek extra help to manage? Have you learnt to tell God how you feel; to question, to be angry, to wonder...?
To finish, I love this lyric from Blindside's 'Eye of the Storm'
'Please see I'm walking in to the eye of the storm
And I'll still come out loving you even more'
And finally, another inspiring video from them....
Friday, 24 August 2012
Hold on, if God is so good, why so much bad?
Hi. Have I got a challenge for you today!
So my last blog was about acknowledging the fact that it's ok to hurt, it's ok to be angry, it's ok to find it hard, it's ok in your darkness to struggle and not feel like talking to God. We need to stop being so hard on ourselves sometimes, accept hardship can weaken our humanness and not strive when it kills us or beat ourselves up when sometimes we just can't go on. As long as we are genuine about this and not using it as an excuse to be lazy or ignore God then I think that's ok.
However hardship does come to us all. Some more than others. Often it's not fair. Often we don't understand. I'm troubled this week by the news in which a 4 year old fell off a pier and drowned. And the conviction of the Norwegian man accused of murdering 77 people! Where is justice? Where is God?
Hardships great and small hit us all. We don't understand. Job's troubles are no different. The poor guy has lost everything. When it can't seem to get worse, it does. Looking at yesterday and today's readings you can just see the height from where he has come...
'Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
when God's intimate friendship blessed my house' (Job 29:4 NIV)
'Terrors overwhelm me;
my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
my safety vanishes like a cloud.'
'I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer;
I stand up, but you merely look at me...
...When I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, then came darkness.' (Job 30:15, 20, 26 NIV)
So where is God? What happens when we lose everything? What happens when our world crumbles around us? Where is justice? Where is reason? Why me? Why us? Why is it so unfair? Why do bad things happen to good people?
It's not easy. I have no answers. I accept that it's ok to question and doubt. I accept that it's ok to be angry at God and question Him, and even not want to speak to Him. BUT my challenge is this...
HOLD ON!!!
We may not understand. We may struggle. We may be overwhelmed with troubles. But in our hardships, fears, doubts, questions... God IS there whether we can feel it or not. God understands even of we don't. God hurts when we hurt. He is an emotional God! Jesus, the image of God, cried, wept, laughed, mourned... He understands. God is bigger than it all whether we see that or not.
So HOLD ON. Even if you have to abandon yourself to do so. Even if you have to say 'God I can't trust you right now things are too massive, do it for me' then say it. This has been my personal prayer for the last few months in my battle with depression.
Let's be a people who are so rooted in Christ, so anchored in His word, so abandoned to Him, so trusting yet so honest that when trouble comes no matter how big, we stand; windswept and battered from the winds and the waves, we stand. Remember the further your roots go down, the bigger the storm you can face.
HOLD ON
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Darkness, depression not talking to God and Job!
I just love Job. It makes me love God more! Again, we have seen how this righteous man has had his whole life torn and ripped apart by disaster upon disaster. His children and cattle have been killed, he is riddled with illness, his friends are useless and his wife is even complaining against him.
It's pretty obvious that this guy is utterly depressed, suicidal, miserable, and does not want to go on. Who would? BUT what I love most about Job is his honesty. He says it like it is. He tells his friends how he feels. He isn't shy in revealing his emotions and turmoil. He is angry with God and admits it. Well done Job.
Now this really encourages me. Without getting too personal, (although actually it's a bit hard for me not to be), I don't mind sharing the fact that I struggle massively with depression and have done since a very young age. With this comes anger, frustration, bitterness, elation, ecstasy, loathing, hyperactivity, loss of appetite, anxiety attacks, headaches, stress, the inability to hold down a relationship and loads more craziness. The most annoying thing (which kinda makes it harder in a way) is that I have absolutely nothing to be depressed about. It literally is a chemical imbalance and disorder that I am facing. The last few months have been quiet on the blog front as I have really been struggling and been back and forward to doctors and so on. (No sympathy please I'm just illustrating a point and really want God to use this for His glory). Some days it is enough to get up for work and get through the day, let alone spend hours pouring over the Bible, praying and so on. This makes me feel worse because then I feel like a terrible Christian. As do the vices I sometimes use to numb the heartache. I'm not ashamed about this but, just like Job poured out his heart and wore his emotions on the inside out, so I am encouraged in my darkness. How many 1000's of people has Job encouraged through his openness? He certainly helps me!
So Job says the following...
If only there were someone to mediate between us,
someone to bring us together, someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot. (Job 9:33-35 NIV)
For Job right now, it appears he cannot face God. In his deepest darkness it is too much for him to talk to God. He doesn't stop believing (although I imagine his faith takes a battering!) and he still holds on to Biblical truths and his knowledge of God. But in this tough time, comprehending God on top of everything else is just not a reality. It takes a process, time and a touch from God to lift him up.
Similarly, we can often find it toooo much to talk to God. Yes we should, we know that. But if Job, an awesome example of faith and trust can't at times, surely God understands if we are genuinely not up to it! There's one less thing to be down about!!! And sometimes the worst thing someone can say when people are that low is 'tell God'. Yes do. But when the last drop of life you have is needed for breathing through the next minute, I think God understands. Correct me if I'm wrong. This is only one angle to a complex issue.
Next, the thing I love about Job is that despite everything he knows that 'Indeed, this will turn out for (his) deliverance...'(Job 13:16 NIV). Absolutely awesome. In spite of his suffering he knows that God will turn this time around and bring deliverance. Note that Job isn't striving to bring this about himself, but in his weakness relies on God to bring deliverance to him. Know this in your darkness. I know in mine I often strive, strive, strive to fix things, figure it out, mend things and then mess them up even more... In my darkness I often do not have the strength to get out of bed, let alone bring about my deliverance. We need to trust God for this, even if that means doing nothing! God knows even if we don't. He understands even if we don't.
Finally I love this verse 'in the face of the darkness light is near' (Job 17:12 NIV). It's so comforting to know that even though our eyes may even be blinded by the dark, light is near. Even though the darkness may stop us from seeing it, the light is near. So awesome. Sometimes knowing this is the only thing that keeps me going. I could never walk in depression without the hope that my God is there with me, has plans for me, is my strength, is my deliverer... Yes sometimes it takes a while. Sometimes it is a process. Sometimes I go realllly low before I get picked up but I do it all in God! And may He use this for His glory for 'He views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens' (Job 28:24 NIV).
So. Will it all work out for Job? Will God come to the rescue? Does he recover? .... Well I would leave you to read on, but we all know the answer!!!
Praise God and His faithfulness!
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Prayer isn't enough, practicalities and smouldering faith
Hi. What an interesting read Job is!!! It's been quite eye opening really. Here is Job a man of wealth, righteousness, upstanding and respect completely shattered by death, destruction and disorder to his comfortable lifestyle. Everyone seems out against him, his friends who offer useless advice, his wife who tells him to "curse God and die!" (Job 2v9), and it seems that even God is against him. Yet never ever does Job deny God or renounce his faith. He has questions, he has doubts, he even appears suicidal, cursing the day he was born (Job 3v1). Yet he still maintains his (somewhat shaky) faith.
Firstly, how quick are we to renounce our faith and beliefs when the going gets tough? Are we not often like the seed that grows on the path where the soil is not deep enough and the roots are stunted in their growth so at the first gust of wind or hardship we are uprooted and die? We must sow our faith deep, in good soil, using the Word as our nourishment, looking to and trusting God as our strength, shield, waterer, nurturer... (Matthew 13). One thing I love about Job is that, whilst he is in utter turmoil, never does he doubt God, never does he lose all hope. Yes, undoubtedly his faith is shaken, yes he has a lot of anguish, sadness and complaining to do, yes at times his faith seems no bigger than a tiny mustard seed, but he is so rooted in God that not even the fiercest scheme from the devil can uproot him, and faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew17v20)! Let's be like this! Yes in trouble we are allowed to complain, get angry, moan, be miserable, not want to get out of bed at times... This is normal! Often I feel too high an expectation as a Christian to be happy and joyful all of the time! I'm not. Infact as someone who struggles with depression quite frequently I am often far from joyful! But I am determined to trust God, to not mask up my feelings and to wear my heart on my sleeve, because that's ok! It's real! Even when my faith seems to be no more than a smouldering wick and even when the fire has gone, I cling on, stand on the Word and trust God because even a smouldering wick will not be snuffed out (Isaiah 42v3)!
Ooooo tangent that's not what I had planned to write praise God. Lol!
So what I did want to mention was this. HOW USELESS ARE JOB's MATES!!! So ok I don't want to knock them too much, they say some good stuff, have a sound understanding of Biblical knowledge from what I can see and are there trying their best to support Job. Bless them. However, their arguments are often poor, Job knows what they are saying, he doesn't need a pep talk in God's faithfulness right now, neither does he need reminding of his sin. Job has lost pretty much everything. And his friends think a good old chat will fix it all. Now, whilst I am totally pro talking, sharing, counselling and so on, sometimes this just isn't enough. Firstly we need to LISTEN, something which JOB's friends clearly don't do. Secondly we need to help people in practical ways with things they actually need help with. We need practical faith, not just the ability to put forward a good argument about God. Surely Job needed food shopping, help with doing the housework, clothing, feeding, bathing and so on during this difficult time where it seems that getting out of bed was a struggle! How often do we use the line 'oh, I'm sorry to hear that, I'll pray for you'? Someone has just spent their last penny and don't know where their next meal is coming from. But it's ok cos 'I'll pray for you'. Someone confides in you about how lonely they are as they have no friends and our response is 'aaah, I'll pray for you'. Why not BE their friend, take them out, introduce them to your friends... Yes pray. I LOVE prayer. It works! I'm not knocking it. But sometimes it's almost a get out. Guys faith without deeds is useless (James 2v20)! Let's be a people who love, who pray, who talk, who listen but who are PRACTICAL, not just doing what we THINK needs doing, but what ACTUALLY needs doing. Let's make a difference, not just a small difference but a practical, loving difference, being all things to all men, doing things for all men, meeting needs of all men (and women)... And Lord help me also!!!
Monday, 13 August 2012
The 'Rubbish' in Job
Hi y'all.
So after a much needed holiday I'm back and catching up on the readings!
Here are a few snippets for thought from Job.
Job 1v12 'So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord'
WOW! How phenomenal is this; even Satan is able to be in the presence of God. So often we can do things wrong and feel so unworthy of the presence of God. We are often too scared to enter and face up to God. But even Satan is allowed in His presence - how much more are we allowed to be through the saving grace of Jesus and through God's love. Awesome! God is big enough to handle even Satan - He is definitely big enough to handle us!
Job 1v20 'At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship'
So Job has just has cattle destroyed which was most probably his livelihood, and his family have been killed. Quite a lot to handle for anyone. I'm not sure I could handle this! Yet Job still falls to the ground and worships! What an awesome picture!
Let me unpack this however. So Job still tears his clothes and shaves his head - most probably a sign of mourning and defeat. His immediate reaction is not to worship. God understands. Whilst in an ideal world, I would love to turn to God first in my troubles, I don't I look for vices and ways of coping. Just like Job has. It's ok. God understands. I hope one day I will turn to Him first.
Secondly Job falls to the ground. He is unable to stand through the pressure of everything he has just heard. I sincerely doubt that he is falling down on his knees to revere his Lord first and foremost. He probably has no strength for that and no strength to stand. I imagine his falling being more of a desperate collapse, but also of surrender saying 'Lord, I need You, You are all I have, be lifted up, I trust You and I am falling onto You to lift me up'. Sometimes when things go wrong, all we can do is fall on to the Lord. It's ok. Do it. God is strong enough to hold you.
And then Job pours out his heart (chapter 2).
How often do we bottle everything up? How often do we put a mask on and pretend everything is ok? How often do we hide our troubles and carry on as if nothing is wrong? How often do we deceive ourselves by not admitting hardship. Struggles are not failure. Hardship is not defeat - just an opportunity for God to work! Tell Him. Tell God you are feeling rubbish! Tell God you hate the way things have turned out! Tell God you are not happy! Tell God your anger! Shout at God! Tell Him what is wrong and how annoyed and frustrated you are! God is big enough, strong enough, compassionate enough and loving enough to hear and understand. Don't condense God to only being available in the good times. I don't know about you, but it is in the bad times that I need God most. And He has always been faithful to me, always been strong, always seen me through, never told me off for complaining without reason, never told me to stop shouting. He is patient, kind, loving, compassionate, caring....
So back to the title - the 'rubbish' in Job and his dealings with it are not always too dissimilar to the 'rubbish' and hardships we experience. Hopefully this will help you to have a fresh look on things and still end up 'worshipping the Lord'.
So after a much needed holiday I'm back and catching up on the readings!
Here are a few snippets for thought from Job.
Job 1v12 'So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord'
WOW! How phenomenal is this; even Satan is able to be in the presence of God. So often we can do things wrong and feel so unworthy of the presence of God. We are often too scared to enter and face up to God. But even Satan is allowed in His presence - how much more are we allowed to be through the saving grace of Jesus and through God's love. Awesome! God is big enough to handle even Satan - He is definitely big enough to handle us!
Job 1v20 'At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship'
So Job has just has cattle destroyed which was most probably his livelihood, and his family have been killed. Quite a lot to handle for anyone. I'm not sure I could handle this! Yet Job still falls to the ground and worships! What an awesome picture!
Let me unpack this however. So Job still tears his clothes and shaves his head - most probably a sign of mourning and defeat. His immediate reaction is not to worship. God understands. Whilst in an ideal world, I would love to turn to God first in my troubles, I don't I look for vices and ways of coping. Just like Job has. It's ok. God understands. I hope one day I will turn to Him first.
Secondly Job falls to the ground. He is unable to stand through the pressure of everything he has just heard. I sincerely doubt that he is falling down on his knees to revere his Lord first and foremost. He probably has no strength for that and no strength to stand. I imagine his falling being more of a desperate collapse, but also of surrender saying 'Lord, I need You, You are all I have, be lifted up, I trust You and I am falling onto You to lift me up'. Sometimes when things go wrong, all we can do is fall on to the Lord. It's ok. Do it. God is strong enough to hold you.
And then Job pours out his heart (chapter 2).
How often do we bottle everything up? How often do we put a mask on and pretend everything is ok? How often do we hide our troubles and carry on as if nothing is wrong? How often do we deceive ourselves by not admitting hardship. Struggles are not failure. Hardship is not defeat - just an opportunity for God to work! Tell Him. Tell God you are feeling rubbish! Tell God you hate the way things have turned out! Tell God you are not happy! Tell God your anger! Shout at God! Tell Him what is wrong and how annoyed and frustrated you are! God is big enough, strong enough, compassionate enough and loving enough to hear and understand. Don't condense God to only being available in the good times. I don't know about you, but it is in the bad times that I need God most. And He has always been faithful to me, always been strong, always seen me through, never told me off for complaining without reason, never told me to stop shouting. He is patient, kind, loving, compassionate, caring....
So back to the title - the 'rubbish' in Job and his dealings with it are not always too dissimilar to the 'rubbish' and hardships we experience. Hopefully this will help you to have a fresh look on things and still end up 'worshipping the Lord'.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
A lack of understanding, men and women, different races... Notes on Nehemiah
Helloooo,
WOW what a fantastic book Nehemiah is! And what a lot of ideas which get thrown out.
Now rather than talk about the usual findings in Nehemiah (impossible task of rebuilding the city's walls made possible with God) I'd like to focus in on a few particular verses which stood out to me...
1. God's word is for everyone
Nehemiah 8 v1-2
'All the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.'
So the walls have been rebuilt, opposition faced and overcome, prayers prayed and now there is a gathering of all the peoples to give glory to God and to hear his word. I LOVE the wording here. ALL of the people came together regardless of status, gender, background, skin colour and so on to hear God's word. Isn't it fantastic that we can all come together under one common purpose in Christ. Christ brings unity, togetherness and oneness. We should most definitely practise this more!
Not only this but I love the fact that those who are able to understand are separately mentioned to 'men and women' many of whom I suppose did not understand. How often do we tailor our 'church' gatherings to those who already understand? How often is our language only geared towards those who understand the 'Christian jargon'? Don't get me wrong, yes there is definitely a need to feed Christians so they can grow together and go deeper in their faith. But what about those among us who are new to the faith and who don't understand? I was shocked recently to hear that one new Christian spent the first couple of months of her new found faith not really gaining anything from church because the language was just too complicated and the ideas too deep for her to take on board. I suppose a balance is quite difficult to achieve, but definitely worth thinking about.
Let us not forget, God's word is for EVERYONE, not just those who already understand. And let's be praying for God's spirit to open our eyes and ears also to the bits we don't understand.
2. God's Word is for everyone part 2!
So again this morning, Nehemiah 13 threw out some interesting ideas. Please forgive my ignorance and my own personal lack of understanding, however there seems to be an acknowledgement that God's word was just for a certain race. It seems that the Israelites were not allowed to marry into other races. Perhaps at the time that was right - and definitely was for the 'chosen' people of Israel. Now whilst I can understand the disadvantages of this in the cultural context in that some people may be pulled away from their faith and create prejudices and so on, did it not deprive other races from hearing God's word? I have no answer here and am just toying around with the idea.
What really struck me was the fact that it was Nehemiah who instituted this rule i.e. not marrying those of other races, cultures and presumably different faiths, not God. And what did Nehemiah do when this did happen? He 'rebuked them and called curses down on them. (He) beat some of the men and pulled out their hair' (v25). Which is worse? Did Nehemiah really show grace and love to his neighbour here? Now God may not want have wanted his 'chosen' race to be joined with other races. I don't know. My biblical knowledge does not go far enough to point out verses where God may say otherwise. BUT I do know that Jesus came to prove that God's word is for everyone - one look in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) proves this in that Jesus hung out with sinners, shared God's word with many, He spoke to women, He was gracious to adulterers, loving towards his enemy and graceful towards even Judas Iscariot his principal betrayer.
So often I feel we are so comfortable in our own little church bubble with our own christian friends that we don't even socialise or hang out with those who are yet to believe. We are quick to criticise and condemn those who are in Christian/non-Christian relationships (often rightly so and out of concern rather than judgement I might add), we spend our Sundays in church with Christians, and go home to our nice Christian houses, go to our nice Christian jobs and talk to our nice Christian friends. When we do go into a non-christian workplace or other environment we take a deep breath, keep our head down and come up gasping for air when we are back home in our nice Christian environments again. Ok Caroline, definitely a bit controversial here. I can totally understand why people want to do this. I've been there. I've done it.
BUT it really annoys me! Are we not called to go and make disciples of all nations? Are we not called to love our neighbour? Are we not called to be salt and light? Are we not told we have authority in Christ to stand on serpants? Are we not told that we will not be harmed when we walk through water or fire? Doesn't God's word say that no weapon formed against us will prosper? Aren't we supposed to be Christlike and hang out with those who are yet to know Him?
When was the last time you had real contact with a non-believer and by this I don't mean an exchange in a shop or an 'outreach event'. When did you last invite a non-believer out for a drink or to dinner? Our churches are too full of Christians!!! And nothing against christians whatsoever, but do you ever wonder why our Alpha courses are so empty, or our outreach coffee mornings are scarcely populated? Do you think it may be because we don't know any non-believers to invite, because our lives are so full of believers who are already saved?
Come on church. Let's get out there! The only reason God's Word isn't available to everyone is because we prevent it from being so! We attack those who are taking the word out - just like Nehemiah by attacking any attempt made to breech the gap. God's word IS for EVERYONE! Let's make it!
NB: Please don't take this as criticism - there are many wonderful people doing many wonderful things, this is intended as a motivational read, not a condemning judgement.
Be blessed today :)
WOW what a fantastic book Nehemiah is! And what a lot of ideas which get thrown out.
Now rather than talk about the usual findings in Nehemiah (impossible task of rebuilding the city's walls made possible with God) I'd like to focus in on a few particular verses which stood out to me...
1. God's word is for everyone
Nehemiah 8 v1-2
'All the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.'
So the walls have been rebuilt, opposition faced and overcome, prayers prayed and now there is a gathering of all the peoples to give glory to God and to hear his word. I LOVE the wording here. ALL of the people came together regardless of status, gender, background, skin colour and so on to hear God's word. Isn't it fantastic that we can all come together under one common purpose in Christ. Christ brings unity, togetherness and oneness. We should most definitely practise this more!
Not only this but I love the fact that those who are able to understand are separately mentioned to 'men and women' many of whom I suppose did not understand. How often do we tailor our 'church' gatherings to those who already understand? How often is our language only geared towards those who understand the 'Christian jargon'? Don't get me wrong, yes there is definitely a need to feed Christians so they can grow together and go deeper in their faith. But what about those among us who are new to the faith and who don't understand? I was shocked recently to hear that one new Christian spent the first couple of months of her new found faith not really gaining anything from church because the language was just too complicated and the ideas too deep for her to take on board. I suppose a balance is quite difficult to achieve, but definitely worth thinking about.
Let us not forget, God's word is for EVERYONE, not just those who already understand. And let's be praying for God's spirit to open our eyes and ears also to the bits we don't understand.
2. God's Word is for everyone part 2!
So again this morning, Nehemiah 13 threw out some interesting ideas. Please forgive my ignorance and my own personal lack of understanding, however there seems to be an acknowledgement that God's word was just for a certain race. It seems that the Israelites were not allowed to marry into other races. Perhaps at the time that was right - and definitely was for the 'chosen' people of Israel. Now whilst I can understand the disadvantages of this in the cultural context in that some people may be pulled away from their faith and create prejudices and so on, did it not deprive other races from hearing God's word? I have no answer here and am just toying around with the idea.
What really struck me was the fact that it was Nehemiah who instituted this rule i.e. not marrying those of other races, cultures and presumably different faiths, not God. And what did Nehemiah do when this did happen? He 'rebuked them and called curses down on them. (He) beat some of the men and pulled out their hair' (v25). Which is worse? Did Nehemiah really show grace and love to his neighbour here? Now God may not want have wanted his 'chosen' race to be joined with other races. I don't know. My biblical knowledge does not go far enough to point out verses where God may say otherwise. BUT I do know that Jesus came to prove that God's word is for everyone - one look in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) proves this in that Jesus hung out with sinners, shared God's word with many, He spoke to women, He was gracious to adulterers, loving towards his enemy and graceful towards even Judas Iscariot his principal betrayer.
So often I feel we are so comfortable in our own little church bubble with our own christian friends that we don't even socialise or hang out with those who are yet to believe. We are quick to criticise and condemn those who are in Christian/non-Christian relationships (often rightly so and out of concern rather than judgement I might add), we spend our Sundays in church with Christians, and go home to our nice Christian houses, go to our nice Christian jobs and talk to our nice Christian friends. When we do go into a non-christian workplace or other environment we take a deep breath, keep our head down and come up gasping for air when we are back home in our nice Christian environments again. Ok Caroline, definitely a bit controversial here. I can totally understand why people want to do this. I've been there. I've done it.
BUT it really annoys me! Are we not called to go and make disciples of all nations? Are we not called to love our neighbour? Are we not called to be salt and light? Are we not told we have authority in Christ to stand on serpants? Are we not told that we will not be harmed when we walk through water or fire? Doesn't God's word say that no weapon formed against us will prosper? Aren't we supposed to be Christlike and hang out with those who are yet to know Him?
When was the last time you had real contact with a non-believer and by this I don't mean an exchange in a shop or an 'outreach event'. When did you last invite a non-believer out for a drink or to dinner? Our churches are too full of Christians!!! And nothing against christians whatsoever, but do you ever wonder why our Alpha courses are so empty, or our outreach coffee mornings are scarcely populated? Do you think it may be because we don't know any non-believers to invite, because our lives are so full of believers who are already saved?
Come on church. Let's get out there! The only reason God's Word isn't available to everyone is because we prevent it from being so! We attack those who are taking the word out - just like Nehemiah by attacking any attempt made to breech the gap. God's word IS for EVERYONE! Let's make it!
NB: Please don't take this as criticism - there are many wonderful people doing many wonderful things, this is intended as a motivational read, not a condemning judgement.
Be blessed today :)
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Perfect Positioning
Loving the verses from Nehemiah in the Journey with God readings at the moment. Yesterday the smallest sentence struck me at the very end of chapter 1.
v10 'I (Nehemiah) was cupbearer to the King'
So basically there is a big mess - the surviving Israelites are back in town and they are in a mess. Their home is being burnt with fire and the city walls being destroyed. They are in trouble. So Nehemiah prays and really gets a heart for them.
Yet this verse in the very end of the chapter is so significant. He is perfectly positioned for what He is called to do. He is cupbearer to the King. Therefore, Nehemiah got to see the King every day, possibly even several times. That means that he had most probably built up a good realtionship with the King. Thus he was able to ask the King if he could leave to go and help the Israelites in their distress.
Several things struck me
1 - Nehemiah was perfectly positioned. God had placed him in such a role, to have such a relationship with the King, to be able to react and assist in such a task. God places us in jobs, roles, situations often for a reason. Do we always take advantage of this? For example, as a teacher every year we have the opportunity to take the whole school assembly. So last year I volunteered to take one and talk about God. The results were fantastic. I used my position to God's advantage. Or rather, He used the position He had given me, and used me in amazing ways to spread His love. Let us use our positions and roles to God's glory - not winge, moan, and fade into the background in them.
Moving on to chapter 2
2 - Nehemiah had boldness to make his requests; not just a request for time off, but also for resources and equipment. Yet this was not done without relationship with the King. Let us also build relationships with people around us, above us and who lead us so that we can receive respect, trust and dignity. If we respect those in authority above us, they may hopefully respect us back and make life easier. But let us also be bold in making our requests known and in standing up for injustice. Additionally, note that Nehemiah did not winge and moan. He was carefuly in his approach to the King. He acknowledged the King's authority first - respected the King's dignity and then politely made his request. Let us do similar when standing up for injustice or righteousness, not gossip, talk about people behind their backs, belittle or completely go in with guns ablaze ready to bite someone's head off.
:
In conclusion...
It is incredible how God places us in the perfect places to carry out His work. We do not have to wait for a platform or a stage or a contract or a salary or a date or a deadline. We are placed right here, right now to be used by God. Are we going to let Him use us?
Be bold. Make your requests known, but do it with dignity and respect, and through relationship.
Finally, God gave Nehemiah success in not only his requests to the King, but in the rebuilding of the walls and his passions. Nehemiah was just in the right place at the right time, living out exactly what God had called him to do. We do not need to unneccessarily labour, toil, strive and burn ourselves out in doing things unto the Lord. We just need to be in the right place at the right time, obeying God and living out His calling. Then HE will grant us success. Perfect positioning.
v10 'I (Nehemiah) was cupbearer to the King'
So basically there is a big mess - the surviving Israelites are back in town and they are in a mess. Their home is being burnt with fire and the city walls being destroyed. They are in trouble. So Nehemiah prays and really gets a heart for them.
Yet this verse in the very end of the chapter is so significant. He is perfectly positioned for what He is called to do. He is cupbearer to the King. Therefore, Nehemiah got to see the King every day, possibly even several times. That means that he had most probably built up a good realtionship with the King. Thus he was able to ask the King if he could leave to go and help the Israelites in their distress.
Several things struck me
1 - Nehemiah was perfectly positioned. God had placed him in such a role, to have such a relationship with the King, to be able to react and assist in such a task. God places us in jobs, roles, situations often for a reason. Do we always take advantage of this? For example, as a teacher every year we have the opportunity to take the whole school assembly. So last year I volunteered to take one and talk about God. The results were fantastic. I used my position to God's advantage. Or rather, He used the position He had given me, and used me in amazing ways to spread His love. Let us use our positions and roles to God's glory - not winge, moan, and fade into the background in them.
Moving on to chapter 2
2 - Nehemiah had boldness to make his requests; not just a request for time off, but also for resources and equipment. Yet this was not done without relationship with the King. Let us also build relationships with people around us, above us and who lead us so that we can receive respect, trust and dignity. If we respect those in authority above us, they may hopefully respect us back and make life easier. But let us also be bold in making our requests known and in standing up for injustice. Additionally, note that Nehemiah did not winge and moan. He was carefuly in his approach to the King. He acknowledged the King's authority first - respected the King's dignity and then politely made his request. Let us do similar when standing up for injustice or righteousness, not gossip, talk about people behind their backs, belittle or completely go in with guns ablaze ready to bite someone's head off.
:
In conclusion...
It is incredible how God places us in the perfect places to carry out His work. We do not have to wait for a platform or a stage or a contract or a salary or a date or a deadline. We are placed right here, right now to be used by God. Are we going to let Him use us?
Be bold. Make your requests known, but do it with dignity and respect, and through relationship.
Finally, God gave Nehemiah success in not only his requests to the King, but in the rebuilding of the walls and his passions. Nehemiah was just in the right place at the right time, living out exactly what God had called him to do. We do not need to unneccessarily labour, toil, strive and burn ourselves out in doing things unto the Lord. We just need to be in the right place at the right time, obeying God and living out His calling. Then HE will grant us success. Perfect positioning.
Friday, 13 July 2012
A new way of evangelism
Hi there. Again long time no blog! Many apologies - lots going on at the mo still!
Anyways so Isaiah 61 I LOVE
v 1-3 says this...
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
We are 'annointed' to do these things! Not only this, but look at the order of the actions we are told we will do...
PREACH - i.e. speak good news to people and into peoples' lives - not preach AT them or shove things down their necks, but to talk to them, speak with them, care for them, communicate with them about Jesus
BIND-UP - break anything that has a hold over those who are not saved, clear the path of obstacles and chains that are getting in the person's way of salvation, bind-up any schemes satan has planned over their lives to make room for Jesus. Remember John the Baptist was the voice of one calling in the desert, making a way for the coming of the King? Shouldn't we do that in peoples' lives - make a way for the King?
PROCLAIM - proclaim salvation and goodness over their lives, bless them, proclaim freedom, joy, peace, happiness, and so on. How cool!
COMFORT - comfort those who are in need, who mourn, who are sad, who are confused about what we say, who need love and support... not belittle them or judge them for their lifestyle choices or lack of faith.
PROVIDE - many people in society (Christian and non-Christian) need provision. If we are too busy doing church stuff or busy with our own lives to notice, what good is that? What message will that give to people. We need to be helping people out, caring, loving, sharing, providing for their needs, being in relationship with them.
BESTOW - we need to bestow glory on these people and God's favour by blessing these unsaved people and telling them about the goodness of God. We need to speak God's truth over them and into their lives. We also need to ask God to bestow His goodness and pour out His love onto these people.
And then once these things have happened, look what these people will go on to do...
v4 'Rebuild ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated... renew the ruined cities...' Perhaps this is talking on a physical level in the context of the era this was written. But what about spiritual restoration? What about once they come to the Lord, their own dark, desolate places get restored and fixed, filled with happiness, joy, love, favour and so on.
Just some thoughts and a different take on a familiar passage.
:)
Anyways so Isaiah 61 I LOVE
v 1-3 says this...
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
We are 'annointed' to do these things! Not only this, but look at the order of the actions we are told we will do...
PREACH - i.e. speak good news to people and into peoples' lives - not preach AT them or shove things down their necks, but to talk to them, speak with them, care for them, communicate with them about Jesus
BIND-UP - break anything that has a hold over those who are not saved, clear the path of obstacles and chains that are getting in the person's way of salvation, bind-up any schemes satan has planned over their lives to make room for Jesus. Remember John the Baptist was the voice of one calling in the desert, making a way for the coming of the King? Shouldn't we do that in peoples' lives - make a way for the King?
PROCLAIM - proclaim salvation and goodness over their lives, bless them, proclaim freedom, joy, peace, happiness, and so on. How cool!
COMFORT - comfort those who are in need, who mourn, who are sad, who are confused about what we say, who need love and support... not belittle them or judge them for their lifestyle choices or lack of faith.
PROVIDE - many people in society (Christian and non-Christian) need provision. If we are too busy doing church stuff or busy with our own lives to notice, what good is that? What message will that give to people. We need to be helping people out, caring, loving, sharing, providing for their needs, being in relationship with them.
BESTOW - we need to bestow glory on these people and God's favour by blessing these unsaved people and telling them about the goodness of God. We need to speak God's truth over them and into their lives. We also need to ask God to bestow His goodness and pour out His love onto these people.
And then once these things have happened, look what these people will go on to do...
v4 'Rebuild ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated... renew the ruined cities...' Perhaps this is talking on a physical level in the context of the era this was written. But what about spiritual restoration? What about once they come to the Lord, their own dark, desolate places get restored and fixed, filled with happiness, joy, love, favour and so on.
Just some thoughts and a different take on a familiar passage.
:)
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