The Return of the king

Loved the Lord of the Rings - The Return of the KING!!

"The eye of the enemy is moving - the end has come - Frodo moves closer to Mordor - It is time - give him the sword of the king - claim who were born to be"

WOW!!! Gives me chills - the return of the king saw the gruesome end of Saruman the once great powerful wizard and finally corrupted by his desire to own THE ring.

The end of Sauron the amazing dark Lord and maker of the THE ring

The end of the trolls those horrible and nasty protectors all out to receive THE ring and so it goes on.

So what does a king do to those who rebel against him.

In days gone by and history records it vividly there was no going back once you were labelled a traitor to the King - there was no hope for you - none whatever.

Why on the 8th February 1587 Queen Elizabeth 1 executed her cousin Mary Queen of Scots and this year marks the 432nd anniversary of that dreaded time. Bad and cruel times indeed all in the name of power, intrigue, lies and mayhem. It took three whacks with the axe to finally decapitate the young Queen of Scots. I trust Elizabeth could rest easy after that.

If you were labelled a traitor as was the beleaguered Mary, you were imprisoned, tortured and finally executed in the most abhorrent ways ever thought of by a human mind.

Kings have been named and famed for years and years - cities and countries lost and gained throughout history by wayward kings and queens - overthrowing their enemies left and right to gain the power of the King/Queen.

But God has named His king: Jesus Christ Himself. Those who continue in rebellion against King Jesus have another fate in store which we will discuss a little later on.

Jesus as King gave His life so that we didn't have to - His love was far greater, more far reaching, more immense than anything that we have encountered. His love was SO great that he died to make us alive.

Jesus was labelled a traitor, a rebel, a blasphemer and a rabble rouser. He was tortured and nailed to a cross to die in abject horror and excruciating pain. He was mocked and scourged, flogged and ridiculed yet he did it for us anyway.

Today the majority of people choose not to accept Christ - they mock him and treat His saving power as a falsehood - a myth - a fantasy to be believed by the 'tooth fairy crowd' just like they did on that day at Calvary over 2000 years ago

Christians and believers are treated with a growing pessimism and yes even hatred - Christians have been hounded over the centuries and today it seems to be getting worse with more and more countries bowing to the lies of the enemy in the name of tolerance - all very sad because so many even in our own families giving into the watering down of the faith that saved them originally.

Many strange and wayward thinking contradicting the Bible has surfaced and re-surfaced again and again ad-nauseum. Many today don't believe that Jesus rose from the dead as foretold many times in the old testament - many years before Jesus came and died for us.

Many refuse to believe in hell! A place described again and again as the place where all non-believers and haters of God are going to end up for eternity. It's so easy to live life in your own little world if you believe you are just going to die and that's that. Jesus Himself talks about an eternity without Him.  Mark 9:43.

The latest I have personally heard is that many Christians believe that evangelising is wrong - so much for Jesus saying "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel"  Mark 16:15.

There are still many who believe in rituals to come to Jesus - eg You must do certain things you must go certain places, you must eat certain foods on certain days, you must bow down to statues and keep lots of rules and regulations and if you don't Jesus will turn His back on you

So you can see that there are many falsehood surrounding Christianity and many believe that the Bible is a myth and Jesus never came at all.

Whatever the reasons many reject Jesus, their rejection according to the Word of God will have disastrous effects and eternal consequences.

This in Acts 4:12 Jesus is the only name under heaven by which men and women can be saved ie Jesus is the ONLY way - there is no other.

Then again Matthew 25:30 which I will let you read for yourself describes utter anguish for those who reject Him and it's for eternity!

Honestly!! If you feel like you have blown it with Jesus - If you feel you are just TOO far gone and nothing you can do will make God love you and forgive you, then I have great news for you and there is still great hope for you right now even as you may be reading this blog.

No matter what you have done you can't erase His love and what Jesus did for you on Calvary all those years ago.

Right now there has never been a better time for you get honest with God and yourself  - there has never been a better time to ask forgiveness of God - run to the cross and claim His love and mercy for yourself.'

No matter what you have done - no matter who you have been with - who you may have cheated - who you may have hurt - what you have taken from someone - no matter what you have been through and the list goes on  - While you still have breath IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO COME TO CHRIST.

Ask His forgiveness today, repent of your past and be washed clean through the very sacrifice of Jesus who paid for your sins in the past, right now and in the future.

Yes! we all fail - we will never be perfect until Jesus comes again BUT he has left us an amazing legacy of continuing forgiveness and repentance.

AND YES!!! Jesus is COMING AGAIN - Yes! Our King is coming back.

Are you ready for Him or are you going to be left behind to face the consequences?

Come to Him right now - Our King is the King of the impossible - no matter that you have doubts or just how HUGE they are are, or just how little your faith is - He died for YOU and loves you and is waiting for you to come to Him right now.

God bless you this week as you consider just where you stand with Jesus.

When life takes a hideous detour

How  do we cope when things go radically wrong??

People, events, attitude and even the weather can change our lives in often dramatic ways - things we never even thought of before can come thumping into our lives in the most unexpected ways and times. Things that can floor you and change your life forever.

Thinking along these lines my hearts and thoughts go to the horrific murder of a young women and her 2 year daughter in 2008.

The murders ripped the very soul out of the small town where they lived and because it was murder and also of the sheer brutality of both I doubt the family will ever be the same again.

So how do you cope when life takes a hideous detour?
It is certainly way too hard to lose a  loved one anyway, but to add a brutal murder to the events of death the complexities become 100% deeper because of denial and shock.

Murder, and again I am thinking of this particular shocking one, is especially horrifying because another person, a third person, felt that your loved one's life was worth nothing and took innocence and through their own decision blotted it out.

The very shock of losing a dear one, a friend or acquaintance grabs hold of you immediately and leaves you totally devastated.

I guess after the shock comes anger -which up to now may be completely unknown to the Christian especially in regards to a family member if they are involved.

Many people feeling this way, beat themselves up because of guilt - it would not be uncommon to be so angry at people, jealous of other families.and even angry at God. In lots of cases I can imagine that this anger and heartbreak will never go completely away.

It is so natural to feel anger and the need for revenge that your minds and your lives can think of nothing else.

So understandably, the very thought of forgiveness is way out of your comfort zone if I can call it that! It doesn't even make a blip on your radar. Again please don't beat yourself up for this. It is understandable and completely natural.

Yet, forgiveness can be a soul/life restoring huge event that is really not about the perpetrator at all - it's about you! Letting go of your anger, your jealousy, your need for revenge and yes, even your guilt and anything else that is holding you back can point you in the direction of living a fulfilling life.

Can we do this on our own? This is a question I struggled with for years after an event in my own life that has affected me constantly. I have come to the conclusion that YES in a way we can but not fully!

Believe me I tried. But it was only after I decided to let God have 100% of my life was I finally was able to put a full stop to that period and let go of my guilt and anger and the ever-present need for revenge.

I realise now that no matter what we do or the legal system does to the perpetrator or even if he/she seemingly "gets away" with the crime, nothing will leave you with any feeling of completeness and finality as forgiveness does,

With time and when I say that, it took years and years in my case, (so please don't be hard on yourself) to feel any sort of forgiveness to the perpetrator. The sheer fact that you even commence to feel forgiveness or even to allow the thought to fly through your heart and brain is a HUGE step forward.

So in the case mentioned above, to begin to feel a sort of forgiveness towards the killer will be an amazing step - a huge leap actually!

Now, this is something that I learned and would dearly love to pass onto you.

I would suggest that we don't forgive him for his horrendous crime but for his erroneous, flawed and counterfactual humanity. It is so natural to feel hatred, when you face evil and honestly. With the case mentioned above that is what we are dealing with - pure evil.

But with forgiveness comes the miraculous feeling of self preservation and a release of guilt. It's not saying 'go ahead and let the perpetrator off the hook' far from it!  But it is a release to let compassion heal your own heart and soul.

God really is the only one who can forgive the perpetrator fully and properly. Let's face it we are all flawed we all have erroneous and counterfactual personalities and really we are the ones that need forgiveness too.

Should hatred, spite and the need of revenge rule our lives or are we ready to at least entertain forgiveness?

Below is a eye-popping website to visit - please take the time to do just that but I must warn you that it is very very heart rending.  It tells the story of Marietta Jaeger and her family who were out camping when her young daughter, Suzie aged 7, was seized and brutally murdered about a week later. It's a heart rending account and really quite horrific but also shows how Marietta coped and still coping.

https://jjie.org/2015/10/14/forgiving-someone-who-kills-your-loved-one-seems-impossible-until-it-isnt/

Forgiveness takes courage and a trust in God - it takes boldness to confront your own thoughts, angers and the
 need for revenge but with God we can be overcomers and we can grow in love, mercy and forgiveness.

Will we ever 'get over' such atrocities as this? I hardly think so. But God alone knows the outcome of EVERY situation in our lives and knows what is the best way for us to move or inch forward to grow us into Christ followers regardless of the atrociousness that has marred and scarred our lives.

God bless you all this week as we move on with God and we may even consider for a fleeting moment what it would be like to forgive.

With God's grace leading us, you never know we may find security in knowing we are in a healthy place again.

JESUS?? Really??

We have a son named Daniel and a daughter named Rachael. We have five amazing Grandblessings. Sue Ann my adored has one brother and two sisters. I Have two brothers and one sister and another sister who was a twin unfortunately died when she was just 12 months old.

It's amazing what you don't know about people even when you have known them for quite a while isn't it!  Some people feel they know our family well yet I can tell you what we are really like because I know them all so well.

Most people have at least heard about Jesus - they may have even formed a mental picture in their minds as to what he looked like, what he wore, where he went, where he was born even how he died and for the majority of people out there that's about it.

To get to know Jesus better check out the gospels - here we have the facts from the people who knew HIM better because they actually lived their human life here on this amazing spinning ball we called earth with Him during the three short years of His ministry.

Most people that I have talked to assume they know Jesus, yet I wonder at their complete lack of knowledge regarding Him. They readily tell me that he was a great teacher or that he came completely from left field, or even that he didn't exist. Some tell me he was the founder of Christianity some even tell me he was the son of God.

Knowing about Jesus intimately nearly always brings surprises - he is the SURPRISING JESUS.

I think the most surprising thing about Jesus is His complete trust in the Father - He knew he was born to die and die horribly for us - for example if Jesus had died peacefully in his sleep one night then I doubt the impact of the life changing and incredible sacrifice for our sins wouldn't have had the impact it had on that terrible but beautiful day on Calvary all those years ago.

Do you know the real meaning of the cross? many people wear crosses with no idea what they are adorning the necks with and how the REAL cross saves people even today.

The REAL Jesus can change your life!

John R W Stott asks in his book THE CROSS OF CHRIST why the cross emerged as the symbol of Christ? Why did the early Christians not choose a crib where he was born, or a boat where he preached, or towels with which he washed dirty feet, or the stone rolled away from the tomb where he rose?

Stott goes on to say that while Jesus' birth and life and preaching are all so vital - It's his crucifixion and resurrection that are absolutely central to really knowing him.

I truly believe at his death on Calvary and that last cry IT IS FINISHED was a shout of victory not a cry of resignation - Jesus had finished the work he was destined to fulfil.

The Father's will was completed - Jesus had paid the price for you and me to know Him fully. It is really really sad that many people don't grab hold of the incredible truth and apply it to their own lives - if they did they would notice a HUGE change

The resurrection of Jesus of course is the very climax of the life of Jesus and being raised he is again with the Father, It is really THE most important event in the history of world,

One amazing day the heavens will open wide like a huge scroll and then everyone who has gotten to know Him not just on paper but intimately known Jesus and invited Him into their hearts to rule their lives will be caught up to meet Him - an amazing event indeed.

Jesus came to earth to save sinners like you and me. If you are one of those people who couldn't care less about what happened 2019 years ago then I urge you to take a bigger and better look at who Jesus really is then sit down and really think about what you have learnt - it could have wonderful unimaginable or disastrous consequences of your life.

Once we are dead it is far too late to come back - there really are no second chances after that but let me tell you this one important fact about Jesus - he died for your sins. The sins you committed before you knew him, the sins you have committed since knowing him and even the sins you will commit in the future,

All you have to do is come before the Lord, confess your sins - ask Him to rule your life and to truly repent asking him to forgive you.

Once we have given our lives to Him - then His very spirit will come in and take up residence in your life, then when you do mess up His spirit will prompt you to come back ask forgiveness again - it really is that simple.

It is really simple but is THE biggest decision I made such a long time ago. Did I ever mess up since making that decision? Of course I did and still do BUT the most amazing part is that God in his mercy and because of what Jesus did on that cross is so willing to forgive me.

Of course it doesn't mean that I can live my life doing exactly what I want and when I want to do it - my whole demeanor changed that day and I really want to live for Jesus. He always ALWAYS prompts me and helps me to confess and restart when I mess up.

Come to Him today.

Do you know JESUS???   REALLY??

Preventing Bush Fires

WOW!!! the fires in California are so devastating - we live in and love Australia and have been watching the devastation from way over here.

We also live in this amazing country where it is summer at present and what happens?

Snow down on the alps - floods in NSW - unimaginative disaster, and to top it all off major bush fires in Queensland - So our hearts go out to the people in California for their huge losses - words can't describe how these people who have lost everything are feeling and coping.

Fire, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and typhoons etc are really distressing and so painful. Personal belongings lost forever and worse still the loss of life..... Well words just cannot express how you feel.

Hurtful words can have the same effect and impact - I have been reading James lately and going on my life's past experience, I am left pondering this question WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO CONTROL THE TONGUE?

In James 3 the brother of Jesus tells us that "NO ONE can tame the tongue".  Powerful words indeed. James has lot to say about the tongue - He may have had the same problem I have had - I have lost count of the time I have lost control of the tongue.

He goes on to say that the tongue is such a small part of our bodies yet it makes HUGE boasts - worse than that he says it can be like a fire a world of evil that defiles the whole body - set on fire from the very gates of hell itself YIKES!!!!

Hiding inside all of us I feel is the horrible ability to flare up all sorts of 'fires' including hatred, jealousy, envy, judging and the list goes on and on

Our tongues can destroy someones reputation by simply one or two words. We can be taken out of context and the rumours can  spread just like wildfires in the Aussie bush.

It doesn't seem that long ago that something I personally said in a concerning and absolutely innocent way was misinterpreted by another person and next thing I knew I had a young lady phoning me wondering why I had said such a thing which in her opinion was so so wrong.

So you see we have to be so careful with what we say and even how we say it. As I have shared before I have had to let a friend of long standing go because of what he called my 'banter'. We have to be so careful with how we present ourselves to others. Not everyone thinks or talks like we do.

Our tongues are capable to lying on one hand and being sarcastic and patronising on the other. It can flatter and malign even in one sentence.

Our tongues can criticise  in such a destructive way that it can cause suicides and the power to change minds, situations and ideals. WHOA!!

On saying all of that our tongues can be soothing in times of bereavement and crisis it can even encourage and bless - so how come James is insistent in saying that 'no one can control the tongue'?

James explains in chapter 3 verses 9 to 12.  'With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in the likeness of God, Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this SHOULD NOT BE. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.' (NIV)

So we see here that even though we love to flatter and 'be nice' we can also be completely the opposite and James reminds us so clearly that this is so wrong!

What is to be done then to tame this tongue of ours that James even likens to a rudder in a ship, controlling what we do and what we say and even where we go?

We always seem to bang on about being ' the master of our own fates - the captain of our own souls' how subtly we convince ourselves that we control our own lives.

It often takes a crisis or even death itself to convince us otherwise. James goes on to tell us ' you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes'.

Our lives are so transient. We really do not have full control of our lives at all. Our tongues can set us on paths of destruction that we just cannot change or undo.

There is only one who can control the tongue. It is only when God comes onto our lives that we have any hope in controlling our tongue. Even then we have to keep focusing on Him at all times.

When we have God's spirit living inside of us he convicts  us when we sin with our tongue. When we are focused on Him, we know immediately what we say is wrong and we repent and pray earnestly for a refreshment of God's spirit so that we can put things right and avoid getting further into the sin-hold that our tongues can bury us in.

The further we rely on God to captain our lives we will find that he will control our wayward tongues as well which has to be a good thing considering all the damage it has done and continues to do.

Let's ask God today to make our tongues a source of life rather that a source of destruction.

God bless you this week as you ask God to control your tongue and help you to be so aware of what you say.

Attitude Makes the Difference

Getting into shape is easy!!

YEAH RIGHT!!! - What planet was that bloke on when he said that?  How are you going at getting into shape? - Me? Failing miserably.

No Pain no gain. Or so the saying goes. Athletes remind themselves of this to get their best possible performance.

Sometimes they have to go through grueling training. Without it, there is no improvement.

Reading James in the New testament he suggests it's the same for Christians. I believe perseverance is essential in our Christian walk especially when we are facing trials and temptations.

In my opinion there are many and varied situations in which we as Christians need to persevere. James tells us in chapter 1 verses 2 and 3 that we should consider it PURE JOY that trials and temptations come our way because it's like a test of our faith and these trials and temptations help us to persevere.

Easy to rattle off here in a blog but often so very hard to do BUT when we do succeed in giving rotten old satan the "heave ho" during these trials and temptations then the victory of course goes to God and then to us!! YAY!

In verse 12 of  the same chapter - James tells us that we are blessed when we do persevere under all sorts of trials because we have won the test and end up with the crown of life God has promised to all His believers who love Him. - AWESOME EH!

So what are some these tests and trials and temptations we endure on a day to day basis?

Well, from my own experience some of the BIG ones are doubting, lust, envy, jealousy, pride etc etc - you name it - I have been there and done that! UNFORTUNATELY!

So  we can see that this first chapter of James is all about our attitude, our dependence on God (ie. We really can't do this on our own), help of other Christians, believing that God is always trustworthy etc etc.

Then we hit Verses 19 to the end of chapter 1

LISTENING AND DOING

This is the BIG one for me because it says be slow to speak and quick to listen - I am so much the other way round but I AM learning - Praise be to God!

My siblings and I are so quick to put our 2 cents worth in when someone is telling us something that is obviously on their heart. Must be a genetic thing. We listen then before they are finished out comes all of our experiences along the same line.

We all do it to an extent. It's as common as flies around a horse. While someone else is talking, we're thinking about what we're going to say next, so be it inadvertently or deliberately we bring the conversation around to us - after all aren't we the most important? (NOT).

BE SLOW TO SPEAK is a great learning tool for me and one where I am still coming to terms. Not only does James tells us to be slow to speak and quick to listen,  BUT not just listen - CONCENTRATE on what the person is saying. Keep your eyes on them, don't let them wander around the room.

A tip I am learning to conquer is, when a person asks you how you are, be honest and tell them - GOOD is not an appropriate answer! But then gently bring the conversation around to that person and off yourself as soon as possible. In lots of ways you will end up being the one blessed - it's really quite amazing.

Also be SLOW TO GET ANGRY - this can be so hard for a lot of us. Anger often dictates to us how we behave.

If we react when our feelings are hurt it can have devastating reactions to whoever is involved. Anger can be contagious so we have to keep a good reign on our tongues when dealing with people of all ages. Our words can cause a lifetime of hurt to so many people including us.

So you can see attitude and perseverance is what we need to pray for and words, words, words can give us a lifetime of heartaches - don't be fooled it's not all about us. We basically know others are worth more care and attention than them listening to us bang on, rather than us listening attentively to what is on their hearts.

God wants us to slow down and listen too. So what else can we get out of James?

FAVOURITISM FORBIDDEN

Labels are found in more places that on suitcases and soup cans. Not sure about you but I tend to put them on people all the time.

People are funny or odd, friendly or cold, smart or dumb, greedy or needy etc etc. and all these so-called LABELS can have a vast and profound influence on the way we treat people.

Not long ago a bloke came into our church, Now I haven't got anything against tattoos, but this guys was literally covered in them and I mean covered - everywhere - you could hardly see his face. He was obviously drunk and he had a distinct limp. He was smelly and dirty and swearing and really mad at the world - what do you do?

James tells us distinctly what we are to do. DON'T DISCRIMINATE!!! It's hard isn't it?

Chapter 2 and verse 5 of James tells us that God has actually chosen the poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith. I reckon they are a message to us in a BIG way that we can't judge at all - God loves us all!!! Who are we to judge - we should NEVER dishonour anyone not in any way under any circumstances.

God tells us we should love our neighbours (and that doesn't mean the guys next door but everyone)  as ourselves. James goes on to say that if we show favouritism in any way we sin!! How about that!!

We can be as righteous as we like BUT if we break the judging law then we also break God's heart and actually we will be judged by God in the same way that we have judged someone else,

Please don't feel I am preaching to you - this has been a HUGE lesson for me too.

I'm left with these questions as I close - maybe you have the same questions buzzing around in your head too?

Who are some people who you avoid or look down on?

In what special ways could you reach out to one such person?

What can you do specifically to show someone like this genuine kindness?

This blog has certainly been on my mind a lot lately - I pray and trust it can be just a little in yours this week.

God bless you as think along these lines:-

• Your own personal PERSEVERANCE AND ATTITUDE in your walk with God


• Where you are in the LISTENING - V- DOING stakes?

• How are you personally going in the area of JUDGING?

Facing your BIG Cats

Being a HUGE softie at heart, I will never forget having to walk my only daughter down the aisle of our local church.

As much as I thought I had prepared for that big day when we arrived at the door and I saw all those people I suddenly wanted to hold her close, slam the door and take off down the nearest street hauling her, the bouquet of flowers, veil and wedding dress flying in the breeze and me yelling at the top of my voice I'VE CHANGED MY MIND - I'VE CHANGED MY MIND!

I really didn't want to 'give her away' to some young lad with long hair and hardly able to even shave- she was mine and I didn't want to let her go.

Our son got married in the next few weeks after his sister, so we lost both of our kids in the same year. It's tough being a parent and having to say goodbye to your children and handing them over to someone else and then having to take a backseat, Parenthood isn't for sissies!

Daniel of the Old Testament was torn from his home never to return when he was only 12 or 13 years old - shuffled off to Babylon THE worst place in the whole ancient world. I can just imagine what his parents went through - must have been horrendous! No wonder Jonah chickened out!

The ancient History encyclopedia tells me that Babylon, whose ruins still lie in modern day Iraq  is 94k's southwest of of Baghdad.

Babylon is thought to mean GATE OF THE GODS and it was probably just that, worshiping anything and everything except the REAL God, the Babylonians believed in child sacrifice, prostitution of both male and female slaves and regular public executions of prisoners unable to work as slaves.

Babylon was also a huge place of learning and when Daniel was wrenched from his family on arriving in that despot of a city after 800 miles or 1300 km's, to whatever their fate was going to be, he was enrolled in an intensive three year training program designed to transform young men of his age into loyal Babylonians bureaucrats.

It worked to a degree I guess - Daniel and his mates received a remarkable education and looking back Daniel was used mightily by God.

Old King Nebuchadnezzar was an anxious type of person prone to sudden rages and spur of the moment decisions that had huge ramifications across the ancient world - he is renowned even today of making often frightening decisions that changed the face of the ancients and of history.

He was a cruel king and had a malicious and frightening persona that had the whole empire trembling so when he said it was law and recorded as such there was absolutely no turning back from that ruling and not even he could alter it - it was like it was written in stone - no erasing and no altering.

So into this incredible situation comes Daniel and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Three young blokes from Israel - captured and marched off to be trained in the ways of Babylon and to become sort of Palace Dog bodies for all and sundry around the place.

Through all of his long time in Babylon, and I imagine it would have been his entire life, Daniel never once forsook his God - he knew that God had placed him in a special place for a special reason.

We all know the stories so well, the bow or burn incident, the writing on wall, the mocking then the SHOCKING. Then Daniel - on the menu of the lions club.  - it makes such interesting reading, but what blows me away was the sheer force of Daniel and his friends faith in God.

Daniel and his friends believed in five amazing words and they were EVEN IF GOD DOES NOT!!

These five words spoke to me so much because they represented a faith SO BIG and SO EXTREME with these four young blokes in Babylon all those years ago.

Obeying God because you know he's powerful enough to rescue you from any situation is one thing, but obeying Him when you know there is a real chance you will be horribly burned to death or torn apart by ferocious lions is quite another.

How EXTREME is your faithfulness? How EXTREME is mine? Just how much are we willing to sacrifice and be obedient to God?  Would we give up our job, money, security or even be prepared to lay down our lives if God asked? God is able to save us but even if He does not, does your faith, does my faith extend that far?

Daniel's scheming colleagues in that scary/terrifying palace so long ago kept a close lookout on his personal life and all they found was consistent faith. They were so determined to get rid of him so they used they only thing they could use to undermine him to the king and that was his faith.

We all know the story of Daniel chapters 3-6 so well - the scheming of the baddies - the buttering up of the priggish, vain and braggadocio King, the accusations leveled at Daniel and his three mates, The blazing furnace, the intimidating and petrifying den of lions, the facing of horrendous deaths and the sheer bravery of those four young men as they came face to face with their last mortal breaths on earth.

What a shock for those vain and egotistic palace floor scrapers to the king and his image and what a shock to the king himself -  the furnace heated up seven times hotter than usual, the very soldiers who threw the young guys in were themselves overpowered by the sheer force of the heat coming from furnace, then to top it all off four people in the blazing furnace instead of three and they weren't even singed or smelt of fire.

Then Daniel served up to the lions, poor bloke what an end awaited for him. He was chucked in, the roaring of the lions suddenly stopped, the beasts couldn't open their mouths, lockjaw was rampant in the den all through the night, Daniel saved and his accusers and their whole families thrown into the den in Daniel's place, Lockjaw suddenly cured and the lions feasted!

Grisly story indeed, but hey, how amazing is our God, How faithful to those of us who stand firm in our faith!

A few questions remain for me:-

What do people see in our lives that tells them we're serious about our walk with God?
Are we showing Christlike compassion and concern when we interact with others?
Can others spot in us our main priorities which are way out of step with the rest of society?
Can others see acts of service that come from our hearts and not necessarily from our pockets or from some desire to gain "brownie points".
Can others see in us people who do not flinch when names like "Jesus Freaks" and "Bible Bashers" are directed at us?

All these questions are just a smidgen of what Daniel and his three mates went through yet they didn't flinch or deny their faith - they went all the way with God regardless of what the outcome was going to be. Jesus of course did the same and we as His followers should have the same outlook and desire to be more and more like Him in every way possible.

Daniel and the lions is a story we never grow weary of hearing. I've always been impressed by it because Daniel was not thrown into that putrid cave/den for some wicked crime but for being Godly. We expect to be punished for our wrongdoings and when we do right we expect to be praised or promoted. That is certainly the ideal, but it doesn't always work out like that. Sometimes those who do wrong are rewarded and those who do right are persecuted.

Especially in today's world where it seems right is wrong and wrong is right in fact there seems no right or wrong instead I feel it's a pain and pleasure world.

After thinking about Daniel the main question remains for me and that is HOW AM I AT FACING MY BIG CATS?  Would I capitulate, give in to pressure and join the rest of those willing to throw the faithful into the blazing furnace or into a pride of lions?

Where does my hope lie? Where does yours? Something really serious to think about this week and may God bless you as you do.

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Honesty, uprightness and INTEGRITY

Not sure about you but I have this annoying habit of shooting off my mouth and in so doing putting a lot of people off-side.

I really don't mean to,  it just sort of slips out and once you have said it you can't take it back - I feel I should have a DELETE button inserted into my tongue which makes me backtrack and either say something nice and comforting or say nothing at all.

When I was thinking along these lines just after my latest outburst I thought of the word INTEGRITY and so I looked it up - so here it is:-
My dictionary tells me it is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles - it means honesty and uprightness - ethics and morals. Virtue and decency are in there somewhere as well.

Oh dear so that leaves me standing out in the field somewhere completely isolated.

God gave us the miraculous and incredible gift of speech - my heart aches for those who have no speech or who have lost their hearing and/or born without either speech or hearing.

Speech is miraculous in itself - James tells us that our speech can upset or encourage - it can drive others away from God or it can bring others into the marvelous saving grace and mercy of God.

Sitting in a group discussion I can so easily offend  and yet coming to know Christ as I have, God can also use my wayward tongue to help and encourage others,

I have been astounded lately apart from a few mess-ups just how God is changing my speech and bringing the "I" word into my very personality.

Integrity was  something I never thought of and in the rare occasions my mind may have wondered to the likeness of that word - I never stopped for even a second to consider the impact of what I was saying was having on the people around me.

Amazingly God is working a miracle in my life hence I want to share my miracle with you my readers.

I had never really developed  a listening manner - have you?

On the negative side I never considered asking people how they were or even offering encouragement in any way so when I finally brought my problem to God he opened miraculously a brand new ME whom I still having difficulty in believing I am the same person who has upset others.

God has changed me - I certainly couldn't have done it on my own - there is no way I could have changed so dramatically.

Gone (well almost) are the days when my conversation were centred on me - gone are those days when I was using my gift of speech in any way other than glorifying God.

So how are you shaping up on the INTEGRITY scale?

Are you withholding words that could encourage someone like I was?
Do you speak so often, so fast and so loudly that others do not have the opportunity to express themselves?
Have you perfected the art of verbal barbs or sarcasm that people could be injured by your words? (I'm a tiger for that one)

Maybe like me you should ask God to reveal to you your verbal strengths and weaknesses - believe me I have changed and as mentioned I couldn't do that on my own - not in a million years.

Our speech is very important to God - read James 3: 1-12 and you will see what I mean.

Anyway speech and guarding our tongues isn't the only personal reflection we have to take into consideration when we look at INTEGRITY

Integrity also means caring for your body! in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 Paul sets out very explicitly just how important it is to look after the body God gave you. I go jogging each morning and yes I have fallen over and realised just how much I have misused my body.

God has given us instructions that your body is actually His temple - so we should care for our bodies not misuse or neglect it.

Jogging and exercise is good and needful and keeps us in shape - Our bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Even so these 'shells' that house our inner being are a gift from God. We are to respect our bodies and use them for His glory.

Paul has a lot to say about sexual immorality as well. Immorality on that side of things can wreck your body and even your mind - Verse 19 says "that we are not our own" that simply means that Jesus' death on the cross bought us with a price unfathomable - His very life. We belong to Him and in that case we should honour Him with our bodies - not tear it apart  - for eg. overeating, lack of exercise and sexual immorality!

Integrity also means keeping our commitments - maybe commitments we have pledged to each other say in our wedding vows or commitments we made even before we came to Christ (as long as they didn't include immoral or illegal doings) and of course commitments to our work places etc. All of these commitments add up to INTEGRITY - a real gift from God. Believe me God can change you in ALL aspects of your life and that includes integrity.

Another aspect of INTEGRITY is self-control - let's not be like Samson in Judges 16 who let his self control fly out of Delilah's window. Self control is mentioned in the gifts of the spirit in Colossians as a real gift from God.

Self-control and Integrity go hand in hand as far as I can see - Self control is one of the main  pointers to INTEGRITY and one we should all aim for.

A great idea is keep a journal just for a short time to record just how many times your self-control has flown out of your window as it did for Samson out of Delilah's window. Note any lapses and any patterns that triggered them and also the victories, then prayerfully consider how you might reduce temptation and strengthen your inner resolve through the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Truth telling is another off-shoot of INTEGRITY - so often lying is far easier than telling the truth.
This is something that I have had to consider and where I don't like to admit that fact unfortunately it is true.

When situations tempt us to say what is less than true, before you open your mouth, grab hold of Jesus - speak to Him even if it has to be very quickly - ask HIm for courage and boldness to say the truth no matter what it may cost.  Jesus is our rock and fortress even if your world may turn upside down because of truth.

I could go on but I will finish with just one more important aspect of INTEGRITY and that is forgiveness.

Probably forgiveness is one the hardest parts of INTEGRITY. Especially in situations that are beyond your control. When you have been accused wrongly or abused either physically or sexually or both. Forgiveness in situations like that does not come easily.

BUT forgiveness can set you free. It's amazing that when you hold grudges, which is quite normal if you have been through extraordinary experiences, the longer we hold grudges the tighter the chains that bind us.

Forgiveness from the heart is often the key to loosen those chains that bind us and we end up being the very one set free and not so much the actual aggressor of the situation.

Not sure about you but forgiveness didn't come at all easily to me but when I finally gave it all over to God things in my life changed dramatically and He will definitely do the same for you. Forgiveness can take an age and it can be a long hard road until you finally are free but please persevere. I know I did and the release is amazing. It's like you become a different person.

Thinking of forgiveness I have included this song from Melissa Green called LONG ROAD TO FORGIVENESS.  It sort of sums up what I was saying about forgiveness and how often it takes courage and willingness on our part. It also may take a long and harrowing road to travel before you can honestly say in your heart of hearts I FORGIVE. The thing is God knows where we are and your willingness to forgive. Please keep working at it - don't give up because God is with you in this - He has been all along and He always will be.

Here is the link:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPmrFwZkTA0

As I said there are so many facets to true INTEGRITY and this blog only just scratches the surface. Please take the time to look into your own INTEGRITY and see where you may be failing. It won't be easy, but often the Christian walk isn't - it wasn't easy for Jesus and it won't be for you but the rewards are gargantuan not only at the promise of heaven but as you walk through the life God has gifted you here on earth.

God bless you this week as you walk in His footsteps, taking up you own personal cross whatever it may be and courageously take the steps to INTEGRITY and huge blessings as you do.

Cash flow

Not sure about you but I tend to have a love hate relationship with all things associated with money!

As a Christian I struggle with the materialism and falling into the trap of greed when it comes to accumulating wealth, but then on the other hand I tend to think of the future and the security money gives you as you think of the future.

So you can see money can give you all sorts of headaches!

In today's world where we hear all sorts of amazing things preached from pulpits, it can be a head-spinning sort of a maze of differing thoughts and attitudes concerning the love and accumulation of money.

On one hand we have the prosperity gospel loud-hailing the message that money and lot's of it is some sort of barometer that defines our spirituality. They argue that God wants us to not only be spiritually rich but materially rich also. These people also argue that it is our lack of faith and even sin that stands in the way of amazing riches.

Then we have those who have taken a vow of poverty, giving away every cent they earn to give to the poor. ridding themselves of as much money as they can. Money to them is a contamination that comes between God and themselves which stifles any growth spiritually and the only way to grow in Jesus is to rid themselves of any wealth.

These are the extremes of where I see the world anyway but where does the truth lie? Somewhere in the middle maybe?

Both of these extremities may have some semblance of truth in them somewhere and that the dilemma that not only myself but a lot of Christians in the world face today.

I am sure my great God could shower His people with huge blessings of money and other material blessings if that was His will but often it is through struggles that we come to depend on Him to walk the miles with us, holding us close and showing us what indeed is his path for us in this crazy but beautiful world in which we all share.

What should be our attitude towards money? Should we despise it? Should we be thankful for it? Or should we have some sort of middle of the road experience in dealing with our finances?

So what is money anyway? In the old days bartering was the way to go and still is today in some cultures, so money is like bartering without the barter if you catch my drift. Money is our form of power in our world - we can do a whole host of things with money, from building a fence to an overseas trip to building a mansion - you name it money is tucked away in there somewhere.

One of the main problems in chatting about money is there is no definite answers as to how much is 'allowable' to be Christian. So really, if we are looking for a bottom line to tell us exactly how much we need to safely go through life in regards to money, we won't find it!

So in other words what can 'get away with' and still be righteous in the eyes of God?

The Pharisees loved to set down rules and obligations as to what people did and how they did it - what they spent and how much they themselves got in return. I reckon it doesn't work like that at all.

Love this verse in Matthew 5:20- Jesus Speaking -
"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven"

We can make ourselves slaves to money where we begin and act and think of nothing else - we can get up every morning turn on the computer just to check how the stock market is going or how much we have saved on interest - or even what 'specials' are on the supermarket. We can even get to the stage where we are mindful of every dollar we spend. It's extraordinary really!

Some see money as the ONLY way to go - they argue that money and the accumulation of wealth will bring them happiness and well being - "If only I had some money - life would be so much happier - I would be able to do this or that etc etc"

I am reminded of ABBA's song MONEY MONEY MONEY - I must admit I found it a tad funny but unfortunately that is exactly how people see money as some sort of goal to aim for and "then I will be satisfied" sort of like a happy ending to life.
Here is the youtube link - it may bring you a laugh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETxmCCsMoD0

It was ironic as I downloaded the youtube clip there was an add for Sports Bet - Another classic way some will look for loads of money to supposedly 'buy' them some sort of happiness - from what I can see the only way to be fully happy is in Christ and He alone.

Unfortunately so many people are looking for happiness in all the wrong places - money and heaps of it will never buy happiness.

So money IS NOT GOD - Following Jesus requires a heart change - it's about handing your life over to Him and allowing God's spirit to change you dramatically not only on your inside wanting to serve God and please him, but also seeing clearly just where you are as an individual in regards to your wealth.

So under no circumstance is there going to be some sort of sign-post in the Bible saying 'so far and no further' in respect to wealth, however we may need to change our attitudes in respect of how we deal with our wealth.

What I'm trying to say is that wealth and the accumulation of same is and can be entirely different to an individual depending on where that individual is with God and how God is working in that person's life.

The main thing I have gleaned from this is we must and never should put God over our wealth in fact we must never put God over anything! Wealth is Ok as long as we realise that God is the be all and end all of our life - our wealth should be like everything else that God has blessed us with a means to an end.

Greed like all sins in our lives that Jesus came to clean up, has no place once we have given it entirely to God.

Please don't let money and the love thereof dictate how you live your life and let's all of us decide right now to look at money as a blessing from God not as a steering wheel taking us from the main and real reason we have life and that is to worship, honour and love our Lord with all of our hearts and minds.

God bless you this week as you consider, like I have, where your priorities lie. Please take time this week to really consider others and yourself and just take your thoughts to God - Let Him lead you as He wills and what he would have you do.

Keep going no matter what...

What an amazing book is Hebrews - it was set when the Jewish Christians were being persecuted probably by both Jews and Romans, and they were growing weary. I guess you know the feeling only too well.

Not 100% sure who wrote The book of Hebrews - I doubt anyone knows for sure but it is jammed full of great advice mainly about persevering in the faith and keep on going no matter what.

August 5th 1984 - the Los Angeles Olympics - the unforgettable Marathon finish of Gabriela Andersen-Schiess was a prime example of perseverance - here is the link to watch her and her memories on that unforgettable day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBasZWjd92k

She copped a lot of criticism after she finished but to her it was THE most important time of her life - she was at the olympics and she finished the marathon - she missed the last water stop which she blames for her dehydration but she kept on going no matter the consequences - she was determined - she was tenacious - she was resolute and single minded in her purpose and she finished the race.

Hebrew 12: 1-2 "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out before us, fixing our eyes in Jesus; the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand at the throne of God".

Right through Hebrews, the author's chief concern is that we finish the faith race with Jesus triumphantly and we are all so equipped to do so by the power of the Holy Spirit given to each of us once we have committed our life to Jesus.

According to legend, John Chrysostom, the Bishop of Constantinople (now Istanbul) was threatened by the rulers to be banished if he did not renounce Jesus Christ.

He replied "you can't banish me - my Father's kingdom is the whole world. You can't take away my family - because I am with my father and he is with me - you can't kill me because my life is eternally promised to God the Father - so do with me what you will".

Chrysostom was prepared to finish the race - why? Because he knew where he was going - it didn't really matter what they did to him even if it meant death. He knew for certain that God was with him and who he would be with eventually regardless.

Sure it's going to hurt, and sure we will, maybe, get distressed and confused as we persevere with Christ - especially in the crazy world we are in at the moment - but God promises us far more than we can ever know.

Right through this amazing book are warnings about the risks and dangers we face in our faith race. Let's not resist these warnings thinking they will inhibit our freedoms in the world - The freedoms the world gives are great and we can have a fabulous time but they are so very transient.

God's warnings here are for a very special reason to keep us focused on Christ and what he has done for us. We can grow more and more sensitive to God's voice if we only take the time to heed His warnings and directions for our lives.

In chapter 3 of Hebrews - the writer emphasises the tragic fate of the Israelites who perished in the desert and even today serves as a warning to us in 2018 that we persevere in our faith and take seriously into consideration these warnings that can give us spiritual success or failure.

In other words we can give up or persevere - we can haul ourselves with God's amazing help into the keep-going stream or we can simply turn up our toes and give up - being all-too-hard. Which one are you going to be?

We can't just question God's way - else we run the real risk of ending up like the Israelites - lost and wandering in a wilderness of self-doubt and unbelief.

Last month in my blog I talked about trust-v-belief so it is interesting to note here that the Israelites unbelief was not a lack of belief in God, but questioning God's way and lacking trust in Him which in the long-term was their undoing.

We should keep our eyes on Jesus in the way Gabriela Andersen-Schiess focused on that finish line way back in the Olympics in 1984. Our faith has both its beginning and completion in him. Jesus is also the supreme example as one who has already completed the race.

Let's not lack trust in God - we can believe all about him but if we don't trust him our belief is like the Israelites of long ago trudging in the wilderness of self-despair. Trusting in God and what Jesus did for us that day on Calvary is really the only way we can fully persevere with whatever is going to be dished up to us in the future.

God bless you as you persevere and hang onto Jesus this week. Chin up - chest out - deep breath and move ahead with God.

Angels among us

Had a knock on the door recently and two men and one lady wanted to talk to me about ANGELS - I was gobsmacked to say the least because Angels were far and away from my thoughts at that moment.

They chatted about this amazing new world that was coming and the mighty part that Angels will have on that day - I was taken aback a tad and struggled a lot in what they were saying.

Right at the outset of this blog I must admit that I don't know a lot about angels - all I do know is that they are heavenly beings created by God and worship Him constantly - also they are there for specific reasons such as announcing very special events such as the birth of Jesus and many more events recorded in the Word of God.

Getting back to my visitors that Saturday morning, and I must add here that they did sweep me away with their knowledge of angels and their purpose.

I had nowhere to go really except to say that I did indeed believe in Angels and their purpose specifically granted to them by God almighty.

I did say however, and I suppose this was the reason they left my home shaking their heads, convinced I was way out of line and utterly wrong, was that I truly believed that Jesus was higher than the Angels and in fact he was equal with God and part of the triune Godhead being the Father, Son and Spirit. I quoted John 10:30 when Jesus spoke to His disciples saying "I and the Father are one".

Before they left, they told me that "Jesus is like God - He's close to God BUT he is not God". It was at this point that I said to them "Jesus is Jehovah to me" - and that's when they left me.

In Isaiah 6:1-7 we find angels in the vision of Isaiah touching his lips with burning coals in an act of consecration. In this vision we see the primary acts of these amazing creations of God standing or flying around and above God's very throne continually declaring God's holiness. They exist simply to attribute worth to God. announcing the perfection of His character. These powerful, majestic beings are perfectly fulfilled doing nothing other than worshiping God.

It's amazing, when we think of it, that the very act of worship and praise that we offer to God is resoundingly upheld by the angels in God's presence doing exactly the same thing. We are not alone in our worship, Angels are continually before God's throne.

Throughout the scriptures, as already mentioned there have been a lot of recorded instances when we see angels visiting. Sodom and Gomorrah is a prime example - appearing in human form these heavenly creatures rescued Lot and his family from the destruction that befell those cities.

Another example is when an Angel appeared to Elijah suffering from an acute bout of depression and hunger when Jezebel was out to execute him. Angels appeared to Abram and Sarai announcing the impending birth of Isaac in their old age. And so it goes on many times recorded for us.

There doesn't appear to be in the Bible a mention of personal or guardian angels mentioned in the Bible but there have been recorded plenty of instances when people have actually seen angels guiding them and in all sorts of situations.

In her book Tramp for the Lord, Corrie Ten Boom that amazing woman arrested by the Nazi's for protecting and hiding Jewish people during the holocaust was convinced that angels protected her when she was openly on a bus smuggling bibles. Apparently guards boarded the bus she was on and searched everyone looking for contraband of any description.

If she had been caught she would have been arrested, imprisoned and even death was a possibility. As the soldiers approached searching everyone seated there, she closed her eyes and literally felt a presence guarding and protecting her - the searching soldiers went straight past her and continued the search.

Hard to explain but surely if our powerful God sent angels to protect and guide people thousands of years ago the same can be said of today.

Esther Mass, well known to dozens of missionary kids around the world, was on her way to church on April 13, 1988. A short distance from home she was involved in a car accident. Almost immediately a man approached at her van door. He took Esther's hand and at his touch a comforting peace spread over her. The man was in his thirties, he wore tan work clothes and needed a shave. He asked one bystander to call 911.

When Esther asked his name, he said he couldn't tell her his name but that she would be fine. He stayed until the emergencies crew arrived and then was gone. He may not have been an angel but his ministry fits with what we know from the Bible about what angelic care is like.

Then of course we see hundreds of times when no matter how hard we may pray we are not spared the trials and tribulations we may be going through.

All I know is that our God is awesome, holy and so mighty - How can we puny humans put our mind into the mind of God - of course we can't.

We just have to have faith knowing that our mighty God is the mighty God who saved us and that there are tens of thousands of angels surrounding his throne glorifying His holy name and that one day we will know for certain just why and how these amazing events take place.

As Christians we live in a world of crisis and security alerts - every day we seem to face some new threat. Even spiritual enemies are out to deceive us. We should take heart because our strength is in the protection of the Lord no matter in what form it takes.

OK... Time to Jump in the Wheelbarrow

According to Wikipedia, Jean Francois Gravelet AKA Charles Blondin was born on 28th February, 1824 and was renowned as a tightrope walker and an acrobat.

He toured the USA and was known for crossing the 340m Niagara  Gorge on a tightrope often wheeling a barrow.

Apparently he crossed the raging divide from the Canadian side quite a few times with differing theatrical variations to his feat. Once blindfolded, and as mentioned trundling a wheelbarrow, on stilts and carrying his manager on his back.

He even sat down half way while he cooked and ate an omelette and believe it or not stood on a balanced chair with only one leg on the rope.

A story is told (not sure how true it is) of how he trundled his barrow across the divide from the Canadian side of the falls full of bricks approximately weighing the average weight of an adult male.

When he got to the US side he was met by a crowd of well-wishers all applauding his great accomplishment. Among the crowd, so the story goes, was the Lord Mayor who promptly congratulated him.

Blondin asked the mayor did he believe that He could carry him safely over to the Canadian side. The Lord Mayor said that he truly believed than Blondin could do just that. "Well hop into the wheelbarrow" said Blondin. I really feel it would have made headlines if the Lord Mayor had indeed climbed in but I'm guessing if that story is true he wouldn't have (and I can't blame him).

When I heard this story I thought of what is the difference between TRUSTING God and BELIEVING in God? In other words I really feel we all have to TRUST enough in God to JUMP IN THE WHEELBARROW.

Believing about or believing in something is fine and good and just - like I believe when I am climbing a mountain that my safety harness will hold - I also TRUST in my safety harness that it will hold me if I fall.

When I go swimming I believe that my swimming ability will keep me afloat - that I am safe with what I believe that my swimming instructors have told me that is true and will keep my from drowning - I not only have faith in what I have learned but I trust in my ability to carry it through.

Believing in and about something is certainly not the same as trusting and having faith in that something - In James chapter 2 it says in the New Living Translation:-

"You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and tremble in terror".

A long time ago I met the girl of my dreams - I reckon it definitely was  love at first sight - I was struck by her piercing blue eyes and her strawberry blond hair. Did I want to marry her? YOU BET I DID!! As I said it was love at first sight - Did I know her? NO I DIDN'T (not at that stage anyway), but I trusted her and I had faith in her that she felt the same about me as I did about her

It was the same when I became a follower of Jesus - I believed about Him and I believe that when I made a decision to follow Him I believed IN Him and I reckon it was a faith, small as it may have been at that time, that allowed me to put my trust in Him.

Over the years I have come to a pretty awesome conclusion and that is the Great God that I first put my trust in through the faith that he gave me originally, wants us all to know Him better and better and the more we get to know Him the bigger and better our trust through faith in Him will grow in us.

When SueAnn and I were first dating and newly engaged I tried all ways to make her think and feel that I was way and above anyone else she'd ever met - bracelets and flowers, perfume and all things pretty - I went above and beyond to prove myself to this amazing girl of my dreams that I loved her and she was the world to me.
We now don't need 'things' to show each other our love although it is nice to celebrate it when the time comes around

God loves us with an everlasting love and He wants us to love Him that way too - He doesn't want all of our "pretties" he doesn't want our good works to make us love Him - he doesn't need the incense and the candles nor even our money. What he does want is our trust fuelled by our faith and surprisingly when that is in our lives we do want to show His love by the works we do - so in lots of ways one stirs the other and we can live our lives to show his love.

So how are you in trusting Jesus? Are you still in the believing about Him stage, but haven't come to the realisation that you don't really KNOW Him at all? God wants us all to know, trust and love Him more and more and all it takes is a simple prayer - simple but from the heart - similar to this one:-

God, Creator of the universe, You made me - You love and you want me to know you better. Thank you for sending Jesus to take my sins away - Forgive me for my brokenness which has been brought about by my own sin. I don't just want to believe ABOUT you, I really want you to transform my life so that I can trust you by the faith you have planted inside of my soul.

If you have prayed that prayer from your very heart, why not contact me through this blog or through www.InspirationalChristanBlogs.com and we can chat about our commitments in more depth.

So like the Lord Mayor - it's no use just 'saying' you believe he can get us to the other side - it really is time to trust through faith and jump in the wheelbarrow. Make a stand today - God can change your life for the better and even better.

God bless you this week as you consider the difference between believing ABOUT God to trusting IN God through faith.