Romans 6:14
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
When Jesus came down, from heaven to earth and died on that cross, he tore the veil and took humanity from a place where they had to earn God's forgiveness and mercy. Here's something for you to take away- you're not a sinner. Sure, we've sinner, but that doesn't make us a sinner. Yeah, I've cooked myself breakfast, does that make me a chef? We continue to live under a mentality of punishment- something in us is afraid of acceptance. When we sin and mess up, we cower back and wait for God to pull out a cane and smack us across the head- no, no no! Your sin does not define whose you are. Stop looking at who you are, and start looking at whose you are! Yes, we mess up, but that isn't who God see's us as. Every significant figure in the bible came from what some people would view as the kind of past that would merit anything but a biblical figure. David was adulterous, Lazarus was dead, John walked around wearing camel and eating locusts- Jesus himself lived in the company of sinful, broken people, not because he was like them, but because they were like him. Jesus was not sinful, but they were holy. Jesus doesn't see you for who you are now and what you've done now- he is above and beyond the restrictions of time- he see's us as the finished product. Sinner = Saved.
This doesn't mean we have permission to go around sinning and claiming grace for it all- whilst yes there is grace for it, in doing so you step out of relationship with God. When you live with and under the influence of God, you are defined by that. Matthew 7:16 says "By their fruit you will recognize them.."- Sin is not our master, for we do not live under the law. Not even God's law, because Christianity is not based off law, rules and regulations now that we're on this side of the cross- our whole faith is founded off the relationship we have with God and what that means to us- God works all things for the good of those who praise his name- Our fruit is good, because we praise him! We shall be knows not for our sinful nature, which we left behind when we died to ourselves and came alive unto Christ, but rather identified by the relationship we have with our Father. John 19:30- When he had received the drink, he said "It is finished". With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. - When Jesus took the sin into himself and buried it into the tomb, it was finished. We no longer have to live with sin. In fact, we're not even fighting against Satan any more. Jesus has won that battle- we're living in the victory. We're not fighting a war, we're restoring God's kingdom on earth. That's what it means to be a Christian- bringing God from heaven down to earth, through the work of restoring his kingdom through love- through our God-given identities, not our world-given definition as a sinful being. We are no longer ruled over by sin. In fact,we aren't even servants- John 15:15- I no longer call you servants, for a servant does not know his masters business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father I have made known to you. We are both friends and children of the most royal, holy loving God beyond what you could ever imagine. We live in a relationship with Christ- we are friends, we are children, and we are covered with his unfailing grace. Be blessed!
Friday, 16 March 2012
Monday, 6 February 2012
Fire Fall Down
Numbers 11:1,3- Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burnt among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the Lord had burned among them.
What are hardships? I mean, when we consider the nature of a God who loves, cherishes and pours out blessings on us, having adopted us into son-ship, you can hardly attribute hardship to God. We bring our own hardship and troubles on ourselves. From the moment Eve took that first bite out of that apple, we have been bringing trouble onto ourselves, and we find ourselves constantly reliant on God to strengthen us and help us tear down the things we've caused. When Jesus prayed that God's kingdom would come "on earth, as it is in heaven", he opened an invitation to have encounters with God that went beyond our natural world- there's no sin in heaven, no pain, hardship or trials. Jesus was openly inviting us to step back into the place we came from- God's presence. Each day we struggle against ourselves as we keep pushing and pushing against Satan, when in fact, that draws us closer to him. Some people get so caught up in chasing Satan, they end up going his way. You notice Jesus never went after Satan. He never planned out a route that would take him through the darkest places of his time, or went out of his way to throw himself into trouble. He was aware that he was to be going about his fathers business. When you consider that God has already won the fight against Satan- when Jesus breathed his last and with a shout of triumph let loose the three most freeing words to be spoken in History- "It is finished", he ended the fight. Then and there, the fight against Satan was over. We don't need to chase after him, because every chance he gets he'll simply lead us off track and into some other trap. What we need to be doing is waiting on God, and moving when he moves. See God wasn't angry at the Israelites for complaining about their hardships- he was angry at them for even acknowledging them! By complaining, they acted as if the hardships actually had authority over their life.
When we complain about our hardships, we take our eyes off God and start looking at our problems. Now, god answered their prayer. He came down in fire and burnt all the outer camps, removing all the excess baggage they had going on. You see, the heart of their camp, he left alone, but all the outer camps, the ones on the outskirts, the ones that didn't really belong there but had managed to grab a seat anyway, were burnt up. Why? Because that's exactly where our hardships are. God has given us all we need, but somehow, all around us, the enemy starts pitching tents, setting up camp, and hardships start coming against us, and we get so caught up looking at where God isn't, we start to forget where he is- In the heart of the camp. In the center of our lives. We need to learn to telling God how big our problems are, and start telling our problems how big God is. After God had come down and consumed the outer tents, the fire subsided, and the place he had burnt was named "Taberah". Taberah, in Hebrew, means "Burning". But hadn't the fire subsided? Wasn't it all over? Wouldn't you name it "burnt" because God had burnt it, not was burning it? You see, when God comes down and releases us from that excess baggage, he stays there. that spot keeps burning. You never have to deal with that problem again, because God is burning, not burnt. He is now, not then. He has won, not is winning. We gotta get our eyes off what God has done, and start looking at what he is doing!
If you find yourself dealing with the same old problem, stop, and ask yourself, haven't I gone through this? Truth is, God's burning. He's bigger than that problem, and he's already won that battle for you. So stop acting like there's a fight to be won, and start celebrating the victory! Stop trying to deal with problems he's already solved, and start living in the freedom he has prepared for you. Keep your eyes on God, not your problems. For "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future!" and all we need to do, is "Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass"- Psalm 37:5.
Be Blessed.
What are hardships? I mean, when we consider the nature of a God who loves, cherishes and pours out blessings on us, having adopted us into son-ship, you can hardly attribute hardship to God. We bring our own hardship and troubles on ourselves. From the moment Eve took that first bite out of that apple, we have been bringing trouble onto ourselves, and we find ourselves constantly reliant on God to strengthen us and help us tear down the things we've caused. When Jesus prayed that God's kingdom would come "on earth, as it is in heaven", he opened an invitation to have encounters with God that went beyond our natural world- there's no sin in heaven, no pain, hardship or trials. Jesus was openly inviting us to step back into the place we came from- God's presence. Each day we struggle against ourselves as we keep pushing and pushing against Satan, when in fact, that draws us closer to him. Some people get so caught up in chasing Satan, they end up going his way. You notice Jesus never went after Satan. He never planned out a route that would take him through the darkest places of his time, or went out of his way to throw himself into trouble. He was aware that he was to be going about his fathers business. When you consider that God has already won the fight against Satan- when Jesus breathed his last and with a shout of triumph let loose the three most freeing words to be spoken in History- "It is finished", he ended the fight. Then and there, the fight against Satan was over. We don't need to chase after him, because every chance he gets he'll simply lead us off track and into some other trap. What we need to be doing is waiting on God, and moving when he moves. See God wasn't angry at the Israelites for complaining about their hardships- he was angry at them for even acknowledging them! By complaining, they acted as if the hardships actually had authority over their life.
When we complain about our hardships, we take our eyes off God and start looking at our problems. Now, god answered their prayer. He came down in fire and burnt all the outer camps, removing all the excess baggage they had going on. You see, the heart of their camp, he left alone, but all the outer camps, the ones on the outskirts, the ones that didn't really belong there but had managed to grab a seat anyway, were burnt up. Why? Because that's exactly where our hardships are. God has given us all we need, but somehow, all around us, the enemy starts pitching tents, setting up camp, and hardships start coming against us, and we get so caught up looking at where God isn't, we start to forget where he is- In the heart of the camp. In the center of our lives. We need to learn to telling God how big our problems are, and start telling our problems how big God is. After God had come down and consumed the outer tents, the fire subsided, and the place he had burnt was named "Taberah". Taberah, in Hebrew, means "Burning". But hadn't the fire subsided? Wasn't it all over? Wouldn't you name it "burnt" because God had burnt it, not was burning it? You see, when God comes down and releases us from that excess baggage, he stays there. that spot keeps burning. You never have to deal with that problem again, because God is burning, not burnt. He is now, not then. He has won, not is winning. We gotta get our eyes off what God has done, and start looking at what he is doing!
If you find yourself dealing with the same old problem, stop, and ask yourself, haven't I gone through this? Truth is, God's burning. He's bigger than that problem, and he's already won that battle for you. So stop acting like there's a fight to be won, and start celebrating the victory! Stop trying to deal with problems he's already solved, and start living in the freedom he has prepared for you. Keep your eyes on God, not your problems. For "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future!" and all we need to do, is "Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass"- Psalm 37:5.
Be Blessed.
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Dream Big
I have not blogged in SO long now. In the midst of exams, Christmas, new years and all that's in between, I haven't had an hour or so to sit down and just write! So, I'm picking it back up again. I won't be regular, and I won't make a deal of it, I'll post when I can, and won't when I can't, and we'll see where it goes from there!
Matthew 7:7-9- "Ask and it will be given to you." He said, "Seek and you will find.; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
How big do you dream? What plans have you made for your life? Where are you heading with God this year, as we step into 2012? One of the biggest problems Christians face, is we belittle ourselves, tear ourselves down and treat ourselves like crap because we're convinced we're "humbling" ourselves. People get caught in this mindset that says the worse off I make myself, the more God exalts me. We couldn't be further from the truth! We're made in God's image. Ephesians 1:3-10 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.- When we become Christians, we're adopted into Sonship. God's our dad. Dad loves us, he is capable of anything, and he loves blessing us with "Every spiritual blessing in Christ". We are made holy and blameless in his sight. He has covered us in his grace, and made known to us his will. His heart. When we become Christian's, we receive God's heart. When we seriously receive God and begin to move with him, trusting him and loving him with all our hearts, we begin to take on the nature of Christ. Unfortunately, most people stop reading here, fail to grasp what's being said, and go on with their lives. When we receive God's heart, when we have his will revealed to us and we partner with Christ, accepting his Holy Spirit to come dwell within us, the desires we have in our heart, aren't out desires! They're God's! Dream big! If you dream to become a world famous singer, for example. You want to spend your life travelling the world, singing in front of thousands, you can do that! People get caught up in this idea that whatever we want is a "desire of the flesh" and we just can't do it. Or, we have a desire, and we ignore it because "that's never going to happen". Obviously you need to rethink your image of our dad! We've entered the family business. Dad's got plans in store for our lives. And guess what!? He LOVES us. He won't plan a life for you that you go through wishing you weren't having to live. If you have a passion for singing, god's not going to put you in a position where you can't sing. That doesn't mean your going to be singing in front of thousands the very next day, but when you work with and grow with God, he will, no matter how strange his plan seems, get you there. Our holy desires, are God's. Not out earthy desires for sin, sadness and sorrow- but our dreams, our ambitions, when we take on Christ's nature, become our own. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, made known his plans to is- plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future (Jer 29:11)- we've been adopted into his family, we have redemption, forgiveness of sins according to his grace, all wisdom and all understanding! He has opened up the heavens for us, and yet somehow, we get caught belittling ourselves and making ourselves sound like crap because we're caught in a mindset that says God sits on his throne and judges every move we make. We miss the fact that God actually loves us, loves spending time with us and LOVES seeing us happy! We need to start living, aware of the plans God has for us.
So, what are your dreams for 2012? Are they coming along? Or are they being crushed? If they're coming along, awesome. If you're finding your dreams being crushed as you take each step, upgrade your dream! If you plan to simply worship lead your local church, and Satan get's in the way, totally shuts you down and crushes your dream, make it bigger! Ask and it WILL be given! Seek and you WILL find! God's plans aren't if's, but's and maybe's. They WILL happen when we partner with him and trust in him! "Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass" (Psalm 37:5). We have access to EVERY spiritual blessing! God has plan for you! Don't downgrade it cause Satan doesn't like it. Bigger and Better. Plan big for 2012, cause God's already got big plans for you!
Be blessed!
Proverbs 23:18 "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."
Matthew 7:7-9- "Ask and it will be given to you." He said, "Seek and you will find.; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
How big do you dream? What plans have you made for your life? Where are you heading with God this year, as we step into 2012? One of the biggest problems Christians face, is we belittle ourselves, tear ourselves down and treat ourselves like crap because we're convinced we're "humbling" ourselves. People get caught in this mindset that says the worse off I make myself, the more God exalts me. We couldn't be further from the truth! We're made in God's image. Ephesians 1:3-10 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.- When we become Christians, we're adopted into Sonship. God's our dad. Dad loves us, he is capable of anything, and he loves blessing us with "Every spiritual blessing in Christ". We are made holy and blameless in his sight. He has covered us in his grace, and made known to us his will. His heart. When we become Christian's, we receive God's heart. When we seriously receive God and begin to move with him, trusting him and loving him with all our hearts, we begin to take on the nature of Christ. Unfortunately, most people stop reading here, fail to grasp what's being said, and go on with their lives. When we receive God's heart, when we have his will revealed to us and we partner with Christ, accepting his Holy Spirit to come dwell within us, the desires we have in our heart, aren't out desires! They're God's! Dream big! If you dream to become a world famous singer, for example. You want to spend your life travelling the world, singing in front of thousands, you can do that! People get caught up in this idea that whatever we want is a "desire of the flesh" and we just can't do it. Or, we have a desire, and we ignore it because "that's never going to happen". Obviously you need to rethink your image of our dad! We've entered the family business. Dad's got plans in store for our lives. And guess what!? He LOVES us. He won't plan a life for you that you go through wishing you weren't having to live. If you have a passion for singing, god's not going to put you in a position where you can't sing. That doesn't mean your going to be singing in front of thousands the very next day, but when you work with and grow with God, he will, no matter how strange his plan seems, get you there. Our holy desires, are God's. Not out earthy desires for sin, sadness and sorrow- but our dreams, our ambitions, when we take on Christ's nature, become our own. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, made known his plans to is- plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future (Jer 29:11)- we've been adopted into his family, we have redemption, forgiveness of sins according to his grace, all wisdom and all understanding! He has opened up the heavens for us, and yet somehow, we get caught belittling ourselves and making ourselves sound like crap because we're caught in a mindset that says God sits on his throne and judges every move we make. We miss the fact that God actually loves us, loves spending time with us and LOVES seeing us happy! We need to start living, aware of the plans God has for us.
So, what are your dreams for 2012? Are they coming along? Or are they being crushed? If they're coming along, awesome. If you're finding your dreams being crushed as you take each step, upgrade your dream! If you plan to simply worship lead your local church, and Satan get's in the way, totally shuts you down and crushes your dream, make it bigger! Ask and it WILL be given! Seek and you WILL find! God's plans aren't if's, but's and maybe's. They WILL happen when we partner with him and trust in him! "Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass" (Psalm 37:5). We have access to EVERY spiritual blessing! God has plan for you! Don't downgrade it cause Satan doesn't like it. Bigger and Better. Plan big for 2012, cause God's already got big plans for you!
Be blessed!
Proverbs 23:18 "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."
Monday, 24 October 2011
Resting in the Presence
Hey guys. So, I'm back. I've been so busy lately with exams coming up, youth camps, just about everything, and I haven't had time to get back to my blog, but I think it's been good to take a rest! I'm going to change it up a bit from here on in, I won't have a regular day I post on, It'll just be at some point during the week, because consistently committing to a Monday has proven to be a bit of a failure! Today's all about resting. Hope you guy's find some of this relevant!
Exodus 33:14
My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest
I went to a conference just over a week ago, where one of the things we spent time doing was finding out how we worship. You basically get into a spot where your comfortable- for some people its standing, for some its sitting, for some its flat on the ground, and so on and so forth. The central theme around all these though is that when you get to that spot with God, your with God. He is your shield and comfort- when you get into God's presence, it's not meant to be a hard push. It's simply letting God come down to you. Rest is mentioned many times in the bible. It doesn't even always necessarily mean lieing down, but it's taking your burdens, laying them aside and just spending tim in God's presence. When Jesus was on the water, in the boat amongst the storm, the priority on his mind was simply to rest. This also goes for how much of yourself you give to people. When crowds came to Jesus for prayer, even or messiah came to a point where he had to leave by boat to remote location to spend time resting. Matthew 13:36a- Then Jesus left the crowd and went to the house. Rest is such a vital part to out walk with Christ. We can spend so much time giving and get caught in this idea that if we're not putting out, we're not doing what God wants. I mean, look at the facts! God has designed us to spend 8 hours a day sleeping. that's a third of our lives, resting.
Time and time again we are taught in the bible to rest. Pray, and rest. By rest I don't mean lay around and sleep. But spending time in God's presence, laying your stress and anxiety aside, and letting God speak to you. If you get the chance, try and put some time aside this week for that. See what God want's to say to you. One of the most powerful things you could ever let happen, is to Let go, and let God.
Be Blessed
Mark 6:31
Exodus 33:14
My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest
I went to a conference just over a week ago, where one of the things we spent time doing was finding out how we worship. You basically get into a spot where your comfortable- for some people its standing, for some its sitting, for some its flat on the ground, and so on and so forth. The central theme around all these though is that when you get to that spot with God, your with God. He is your shield and comfort- when you get into God's presence, it's not meant to be a hard push. It's simply letting God come down to you. Rest is mentioned many times in the bible. It doesn't even always necessarily mean lieing down, but it's taking your burdens, laying them aside and just spending tim in God's presence. When Jesus was on the water, in the boat amongst the storm, the priority on his mind was simply to rest. This also goes for how much of yourself you give to people. When crowds came to Jesus for prayer, even or messiah came to a point where he had to leave by boat to remote location to spend time resting. Matthew 13:36a- Then Jesus left the crowd and went to the house. Rest is such a vital part to out walk with Christ. We can spend so much time giving and get caught in this idea that if we're not putting out, we're not doing what God wants. I mean, look at the facts! God has designed us to spend 8 hours a day sleeping. that's a third of our lives, resting.
Time and time again we are taught in the bible to rest. Pray, and rest. By rest I don't mean lay around and sleep. But spending time in God's presence, laying your stress and anxiety aside, and letting God speak to you. If you get the chance, try and put some time aside this week for that. See what God want's to say to you. One of the most powerful things you could ever let happen, is to Let go, and let God.
Be Blessed
Mark 6:31
Monday, 19 September 2011
You are my Desire
If your reading this, then I have successfully posted this blog and you should probably do a victory dance of your room. You have 10 seconds. 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Back? Good. Now that you're tired, you should refresh yourself by opening Facebook and liking the page that I am going to post a link for HERE, and also here and here. There, you have 3 links to choose from choose wisely... they all do the same thing. Now that all that administrative stuff is over, let's get into the spicy salami. Or blog, whatever. Basically, keep reading. God Bless!
Proverbs 20:11
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
Let's not pretend we don't know what God's talking about here. God makes it pretty clear. We know when we're doing right from wrong! The problem we face, is sometimes we spend so much time in the wrong, ignoring God's voice and doing things out of our own "strength and knowledge" that we miss God's power and wisdom. It's not a blurred line. There are 10 commandments, when realistically, God could have simply put down the first two and expected the same results. If we really love God, we're not going to be wanting to sin, right? God has extended way beyond what he could simply demand of us. I mean, look, he wrote a whole bible to teach us right from wrong, and still has grace that covers us when we mess up! What I've been thinking this week, is I think, the most important thing to God, is our heart. You could go out and evangelize and serve God every day, but if deep down you had no desire to, like you really loathed serving God, he doesn't want your offerings. Proverbs 23:26- My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways. God's desire is that your heart would match up with his. If you were locked in a room for the rest of your life, you could still enter heaven with a heart that hungers and thirsts for God's. But a cold heart gets turned away.
Luke 6:44- A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. What kind of fruit are you producing in your life? Or better yet, where is your heart at? I challenge you. This week, every time you feel tempted to say the wrong thing or act the wrong way, stop. Literally just stop everything your doing. Focus on God, even for just a moment, and pray two things. One, that he would harden your heart towards sin, and two, that he would increase your desire, your hunger, to know him and walk in his ways. I promise you, if you do this with a sincere heart, you will see a radical transformation in the way you act over even just the course of a week. That's my challenge for you. Do you want to be identified for your good fruit, as a child who knew right from wrong and chose to walk the straight and narrow, or a fool, who saw the narrow path and chose to enter the wide gate. Pray for a desire to see God. To know God! There is no greater prayer you could ever pray for anyone than to see their own heart long for God's. Be Blessed.
Lord I Give you my Heart- Anthony Evans
Psalm 119:97-104
Proverbs 20:11
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
Let's not pretend we don't know what God's talking about here. God makes it pretty clear. We know when we're doing right from wrong! The problem we face, is sometimes we spend so much time in the wrong, ignoring God's voice and doing things out of our own "strength and knowledge" that we miss God's power and wisdom. It's not a blurred line. There are 10 commandments, when realistically, God could have simply put down the first two and expected the same results. If we really love God, we're not going to be wanting to sin, right? God has extended way beyond what he could simply demand of us. I mean, look, he wrote a whole bible to teach us right from wrong, and still has grace that covers us when we mess up! What I've been thinking this week, is I think, the most important thing to God, is our heart. You could go out and evangelize and serve God every day, but if deep down you had no desire to, like you really loathed serving God, he doesn't want your offerings. Proverbs 23:26- My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways. God's desire is that your heart would match up with his. If you were locked in a room for the rest of your life, you could still enter heaven with a heart that hungers and thirsts for God's. But a cold heart gets turned away.
Luke 6:44- A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. What kind of fruit are you producing in your life? Or better yet, where is your heart at? I challenge you. This week, every time you feel tempted to say the wrong thing or act the wrong way, stop. Literally just stop everything your doing. Focus on God, even for just a moment, and pray two things. One, that he would harden your heart towards sin, and two, that he would increase your desire, your hunger, to know him and walk in his ways. I promise you, if you do this with a sincere heart, you will see a radical transformation in the way you act over even just the course of a week. That's my challenge for you. Do you want to be identified for your good fruit, as a child who knew right from wrong and chose to walk the straight and narrow, or a fool, who saw the narrow path and chose to enter the wide gate. Pray for a desire to see God. To know God! There is no greater prayer you could ever pray for anyone than to see their own heart long for God's. Be Blessed.
Lord I Give you my Heart- Anthony Evans
Psalm 119:97-104
Monday, 12 September 2011
Sorrow vs. Salvation
Back once again this week, massive thank you to Jono for covering for me last week! As you may have seen in the last post, he has started his own blog, so you may want to go check it out! I'd love it if you spared a moment to check out and "like" my Facebook page, which you can find a link for here! I had the idea for this blog earlier this week, I was thinking about how God calls us to take up our cross and follow him, and I thought about what the cross means to me. When Jesus physically bore the cross, he bore the sin of the world on his shoulders and died on it at the end of the day. Surely this isn't what God calls us to do, carry the sin of the world on out shoulders until it overcomes us and kills us? Remember, this is only my opinion on it. Interested? Well, read on and find out!
Matthew 11:30- For my yoke is easy and my burden is light
This idea ties in well with a blog I have posted previously, where a lot of the time god's logic seems to be the opposite of what we think. How can a burden be light? Our English dictionary defines a burden as "a load, something worrisome that is difficult to bear, Responsibility, to weigh down and oppress." and associates it with words like Encumber, Grieve, Overload, Affliction and Sorrow. I don't care how light this burden is, this doesn't sounds like something God wants us to carry! Now, the cross, is a perfect symbol for a burden. The Cross burdened Christ as he made his way to his place of crucifixion. In Roman times the cross was the symbol you carried to your grave- It was literally a death sentence. I thought about this for a while, and then it began to sit uneasy with me. Luke 9:23 says- Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must first deny himself, take up their cross daily and follow me". Why would Christ call us to carry a symbol of death, afflictions and sorrow with us daily? Considering this, I began to wonder, what does the cross really symbolize? I mean, I had thought it was anguish, sorrow and death, but did Jesus' crucifixion change this? Jesus is known for drawing water from rocks, turning water into wine and bringing the dead back to life, surely he can change a cross, a mourned symbol of death, into a joyous sign of salvation?
Well, I don't know about you, but I sure think he did. When God calls us to take up our cross, he doesn't call us to burden ourselves with sorrow, anguish and pain, but rather take up our salvation daily and follow him! Every day is a new day to spend in his presence. Every day people look at us outwardly and see us bearing a cross, little do they know is its not a burden, its our salvation lifting us up! Its like a magnet. We carry it daily, but it never ways us down. It is always pulled heavenward, so it is always easier to walk when we carry it. Have a look around your life. Do any of the things in your life match the description of a burden? If so, I challenge you to cast your anxiety on God, and take up your cross of Salvation. You thought you were flying now? Wait until that burden gets lifted. Be Blessed!
Romans 8:38-39
Monday, 5 September 2011
Blocking Salvation
This is usually the part where Josh tells you about something he has encountered this week. That's right - TWIST! I'm not Josh! This week the fine young man that usually chats to you is away on a camp! But as many of you know, he doesn't believe in "cooling off" for a week when it comes to God so he's asked me to take his place in conversing with you!
I'm Jono, born and raised in a christian family in the the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. I love my sport, mucking around with mates and drumming! But believe it or not I'm reasonably educated to! I know right? Oxymoronic personality if I've ever heard one! I took a leaf out of Josh's book a week and a bit ago so if you wanna read anymore of my thoughts and encounters in my Christian walk feel free to visit my blog at http://resurrectingalpha.blogspot.com/. But as I'm a guest here and you're looking for some wise words, I'll take us into the meaty stuff!
Luke 19:1-10 - Zaccheus the Tax Collector (NIV)
1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
I had no idea what to talk about when Josh first asked me to take his place this week, but I saw this bible story as relevant as any as I am a guest as much as anyone tonight, just as Jesus was to Zacchaeus. It's a passage in stark contrast to what Josh shared last week about knowing your limits in the world we live in. We definitely need to know our limitations in order to be of use for God. But in this story Jesus goes out of his way to really sit down and reach out to a tax collector and really connect with this man who is clearly heading down the wrong path.
Firstly we need to grasp why this is such a big deal. What we must understand is that Zacchaeus is just about one of the most hated and despised people in Jericho. He was the leading man in an area of work that already received money from the people, but then he went on to take more than what he should. He cheated and stole from people! And if you've ever been overcharged or taxed for something, you'll know how angry that makes a person! The people of Jericho that had listened to Jesus talk about them as sinners and had further interacted with Jesus also instructed him that he should not go to the guest of such a sinner as Zacchaeus. This shows an incredible feeling of superiority that the people of Jericho feel toward Zacchaeus, "we're sinners, but HIM - he's worse!"
These are the same people that go on and crowd around Jesus showing little concern for Zacchaeus and his shorter height as he is forced to climb a tree in order to see Jesus past the hundreds of people! I think this often reflects the attitude of Christians today. We keep Jesus to ourselves as if we're "better sinners". We often prove a road block for those who need a helping hand forward. What if there wasn't a tree there for Zacchaeus? He would never have been noticed, and might never have been guided to salvation.
Another view to be put under the microscope is within the phrase; "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner." We already looked at the arrogant attitude the people portrayed when referring to him as "a sinner". But when you look at this arrogance, clearly they do not entertain those they believe to be of lesser quality. So when Jesus becomes the guest to Zacchaeus - bringing himself down to that level - they are simply shocked!
Every man and woman deserves a chance at knowing our God and sharing in his salvation. Why should we stand in the way of them repenting and finding refuge in our Savior just as we have?
The thing that disheartens me most is when I see somebody that is obviously struggling for reason, they are lost for purpose or they are hurting and need assistance that could be as simple as helping them to the front of a crowd - and Christians just pass them by. I know I've done it. We just think our times of greater value to us than to them when really, this time we don't share is often used on things that aren't actually going to further the greater picture, God's Kingdom. We need to be guests to people like this. Put aside any feelings of superiority or arrogance we have and do just as Jesus did - reach out to them in a personal manner. If we don't we are just blocking others from reaching the amazing salvation of God.
My questions that I'll leave with you are:
- When have you been the road block in somebodies interaction with God? Why?
- Is there anybody in this state of mind you know, that you haven't reached out to?
- Have you ever acted in an arrogant way towards a "sinner"?
- Who's house can you introduce God's salvation to? WILL YOU?
Jono"He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."
- Mark 16:15 (NIV)
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