Monday, February 27, 2006
Bible Week
Well... I'm booked in for Bible Week - hopefully it will not rain as much as it did last year, but I'll be happy to be there even if it does! Last year I was involved in the Youth meetings - God moved in such an awesome way, I loved it - and I'm doing that again this year. I'm so excited and it's a real honour to do Youth again - lives are not only impacted but changed at Bible Week. Last summer I learnt so much and I can't wait to go again, it's going to be so, so good and again I know that I will learn even more! If you haven't booked - book! It's totally worth getting excited about and rain or shine it's worth going to!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Fresh Challenge
This weekend has been good - my mum came down, and I still managed to get quite a lot of work done. But this week the REAL work begins, prayers for wisdom in timekeeping and against procrastinating (staring blankly at a page thinking as opposed to reading) would be very much appreciated in the next two weeks.
I was very challenged by the word Richard brought to us today. What challenged me the most was this question:
Do you believe in your experience or do you believe in the Word of God?
So many times we can let our experiences affect our prayers, our beliefs, our lives. But although we should learn from our experiences, and some experiences are invaluable, we must always remember, that the Word of God is what should really be affecting our prayers, our beliefs, our lives. I believe 100% that as we spend more time in the Word of God, and pray in line with what it says, and make it what we say, pray, believe and live, we will see what it says come to pass in our lives. Praise God for His Word!
I was very challenged by the word Richard brought to us today. What challenged me the most was this question:
Do you believe in your experience or do you believe in the Word of God?
So many times we can let our experiences affect our prayers, our beliefs, our lives. But although we should learn from our experiences, and some experiences are invaluable, we must always remember, that the Word of God is what should really be affecting our prayers, our beliefs, our lives. I believe 100% that as we spend more time in the Word of God, and pray in line with what it says, and make it what we say, pray, believe and live, we will see what it says come to pass in our lives. Praise God for His Word!
Thursday, February 16, 2006
The apple of His eye
This totally struck me the other day as I was sat spending time with God...
In Zechariah 2v8b it says 'whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye'.
I thought and still think that is absolutely gobsmackingly amazing! I mean, WOW! This is the almighty God we're talking about here, and He is my protector - He says that whoever touches me touches the apple of His eye!
It's awesome.
I don't really think I can say anything else. It's pretty self-contained... but I will say this:
In Him I know I am safe, I know that I am secure. In Him I know I can let myself go and give myself up and lean not on my own understanding but on His supreme understanding. In Him I know I am protected, and in Him I know life will be the best that it can be so long as I remain in Him. With all of this, why would you not remain in Him?
In Zechariah 2v8b it says 'whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye'.
I thought and still think that is absolutely gobsmackingly amazing! I mean, WOW! This is the almighty God we're talking about here, and He is my protector - He says that whoever touches me touches the apple of His eye!
It's awesome.
I don't really think I can say anything else. It's pretty self-contained... but I will say this:
In Him I know I am safe, I know that I am secure. In Him I know I can let myself go and give myself up and lean not on my own understanding but on His supreme understanding. In Him I know I am protected, and in Him I know life will be the best that it can be so long as I remain in Him. With all of this, why would you not remain in Him?
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Reputation
Our reputation is important - in the Bible it talks about the importance of an elder having a good reputation with outsiders (1 Timothy 3v.7).
It is important to us to make Jesus famous. We ought to do so. God has chosen to use us as tools in order to glorify His name throughout the world. That being the case, what others think of us is important.
Although the most important thing about us is what God says about us and what we say about Him, there is a subsequent importance on what others think of us. We are saved not just to be saved, but to glorify God's name, to be part of His plan and purpose for this world, to live out what He has for us. Our reputation, i.e. what others think of us, ought to always include the fact that we love Jesus, and that our lives are centred around Him.
We cannot separate out sections of our lives. Everything must be about Jesus and what He wants for us. Even if it would seem, on the surface, that it has nothing to do with Jesus, every action, word and deed in our lives should stem back to the ultimate aim of reflecting His glory. It cannot be, one section about Jesus, another about me. Rather, all about Jesus, none about me. All for His glory, none for mine.
When I was little, I always wanted to be famous. In some ways perhaps I still do, but not in the same way. I want to be renowned within the sphere of influence in which I am involved, whatever that is, and whenever that is, for being somebody whose life is about glorifying Jesus, for somebody who is able to achieve more than she alone could ever achieve, because of His amazing grace.
For anyone who is interested, this all stemmed from thinking about God's fame. (Habbakuk 3v2). Funny what can come out of meditating on God's word! This was totally unexpected! Should have learnt by now to expect the unexpected!!! God is GOOD!
It is important to us to make Jesus famous. We ought to do so. God has chosen to use us as tools in order to glorify His name throughout the world. That being the case, what others think of us is important.
Although the most important thing about us is what God says about us and what we say about Him, there is a subsequent importance on what others think of us. We are saved not just to be saved, but to glorify God's name, to be part of His plan and purpose for this world, to live out what He has for us. Our reputation, i.e. what others think of us, ought to always include the fact that we love Jesus, and that our lives are centred around Him.
We cannot separate out sections of our lives. Everything must be about Jesus and what He wants for us. Even if it would seem, on the surface, that it has nothing to do with Jesus, every action, word and deed in our lives should stem back to the ultimate aim of reflecting His glory. It cannot be, one section about Jesus, another about me. Rather, all about Jesus, none about me. All for His glory, none for mine.
When I was little, I always wanted to be famous. In some ways perhaps I still do, but not in the same way. I want to be renowned within the sphere of influence in which I am involved, whatever that is, and whenever that is, for being somebody whose life is about glorifying Jesus, for somebody who is able to achieve more than she alone could ever achieve, because of His amazing grace.
For anyone who is interested, this all stemmed from thinking about God's fame. (Habbakuk 3v2). Funny what can come out of meditating on God's word! This was totally unexpected! Should have learnt by now to expect the unexpected!!! God is GOOD!
Monday, February 06, 2006
My Refuge
This is the dictionary definition of refuge:
1. Protection or shelter, as from danger or hardship.
2. A place providing protection or shelter.
3. A source of help, relief, or comfort in times of trouble.
'The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him' - Nahum 1v.7
The Lord is good, a protection or shelter, as from danger or hardship, in times of trouble. The word 'refuge' pops up around the Bible and as a word that is not so commonly used these days (well not in my vocabulary) I thought I should look it up and get a proper definition of what it means, and subsequently what it means God is.
God is a refuge in times of trouble. He is our Rock, which means we can stand on solid ground in times of trouble. Not only can we stand on solid ground sohuld we choose to do so, He is our protection and shelter also. He provides protection and shelter, we find it in Him. He is also our source of help, relief and comfort in times of trouble.
Personally for me, I can say that the Lord is my Refuge with more meaning now. We have so many adjectives for God, it's cool to have another noun.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Love
Why do I keep going on about it? Because it is amazing, awesome, mind-blowing.
Look at the definition of it: A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.
Ineffable means indescribable. The English language cannot describe Love - it is too limited. Thus it cannot contain the greatness of what God is. God is Love.
I like the 'sense of underlying oneness' - this should thus be an underlying part of the Church should it not?
Look at what Love is not: it is not shallow, callous, describable. It is not a feeling of loathing toward a person.
If God is Love, and God lives in us, surely we have in us the capacity to love. But not merely to love, but to be Love.
Look at the definition of it: A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.
Ineffable means indescribable. The English language cannot describe Love - it is too limited. Thus it cannot contain the greatness of what God is. God is Love.
I like the 'sense of underlying oneness' - this should thus be an underlying part of the Church should it not?
Look at what Love is not: it is not shallow, callous, describable. It is not a feeling of loathing toward a person.
If God is Love, and God lives in us, surely we have in us the capacity to love. But not merely to love, but to be Love.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Challenge from the book of Jonah
'From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. He said: "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, 'I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.' The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD." And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.' - Jonah 2v1-10
This is a very excellent prayer. It is a prayer of faith. Note that Jonah is still inside the pit, yet he prays: 'But you brought my life up from the pit'. Jonah has not yet been vomited out onto dry land, and yet he declares that he has been brought up already. It is a prayer of faith.
It's interesting isn't it: we, like Jonah, have learnt to hear from God, to recognise the voice of God. I, for one, am not always immediately obedient to what God tells me, especially regarding the bringing of prophetic words. I, like Jonah, sometimes run away from what God has told me to do, to say, to bring, even when I know that I heard correctly. Recently I have been challenged to bring prophetic words when I hear them, as opposed to waiting until I can build up the courage to bring them. (It is not about me, it is about God and His purpose.) There is a reason for God speaking to me at the moment at which He does - if I wait to build up courage, it becomes about myself and not about Him, and anyway, they are not my words to bring when I please, they are God's words to be brought at the point at which I hear them (or shared with whoever is leading the meeting so that they can discern through the Holy Spirit the right time for them to be brought). But God is gracious, and He still used Jonah to bring the word to Ninevah.
It is also interesting to address the point of Jonah's disobedience. When we are disobedient, we affect those around us. When a storm builds up, we should identify the disobedience and 'throw it overboard' i.e. submit it to God. Throw it away. Resolve the disobedience. Immediately the storm stopped. Immediately a stormy life can become calm.
I have also been challenged on the point of responsibility. It can seem to be more fun to live a life ruled by emotions. The highs certainly seem that way. But the lows bring one to a place in which it is hard to worship and reflect God's glory. To live with the responsibility of being a child of God himself, I must depart from a life ruled to any extent by emotions. I don't believe that emotions are bad in themselves, yet they can take over, and Jesus is the one to whom I have submitted my life. Furthermore - it is more exciting to live a life that is secure in Jesus. I believe a responsible life, an exemplary life is the one to which I am called, not one ruled by emotions. It is also the more exciting of the two. What can be more amazing than consistently living in the purposes that Jesus has for you and there being no emotional barrier to that?!
All of this is challenging me... Challenge is good!
This is a very excellent prayer. It is a prayer of faith. Note that Jonah is still inside the pit, yet he prays: 'But you brought my life up from the pit'. Jonah has not yet been vomited out onto dry land, and yet he declares that he has been brought up already. It is a prayer of faith.
It's interesting isn't it: we, like Jonah, have learnt to hear from God, to recognise the voice of God. I, for one, am not always immediately obedient to what God tells me, especially regarding the bringing of prophetic words. I, like Jonah, sometimes run away from what God has told me to do, to say, to bring, even when I know that I heard correctly. Recently I have been challenged to bring prophetic words when I hear them, as opposed to waiting until I can build up the courage to bring them. (It is not about me, it is about God and His purpose.) There is a reason for God speaking to me at the moment at which He does - if I wait to build up courage, it becomes about myself and not about Him, and anyway, they are not my words to bring when I please, they are God's words to be brought at the point at which I hear them (or shared with whoever is leading the meeting so that they can discern through the Holy Spirit the right time for them to be brought). But God is gracious, and He still used Jonah to bring the word to Ninevah.
It is also interesting to address the point of Jonah's disobedience. When we are disobedient, we affect those around us. When a storm builds up, we should identify the disobedience and 'throw it overboard' i.e. submit it to God. Throw it away. Resolve the disobedience. Immediately the storm stopped. Immediately a stormy life can become calm.
I have also been challenged on the point of responsibility. It can seem to be more fun to live a life ruled by emotions. The highs certainly seem that way. But the lows bring one to a place in which it is hard to worship and reflect God's glory. To live with the responsibility of being a child of God himself, I must depart from a life ruled to any extent by emotions. I don't believe that emotions are bad in themselves, yet they can take over, and Jesus is the one to whom I have submitted my life. Furthermore - it is more exciting to live a life that is secure in Jesus. I believe a responsible life, an exemplary life is the one to which I am called, not one ruled by emotions. It is also the more exciting of the two. What can be more amazing than consistently living in the purposes that Jesus has for you and there being no emotional barrier to that?!
All of this is challenging me... Challenge is good!
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