Does God exist??

If God exists, why are kids starving in Africa?

If God exists, why haven't we had any rain?

If God exists, why did so many people die in World War I and World War II?

Just reading a book, and this was in it, and it made me really think about those questions.

These are amazing and very important questions - there are a lot of people who really stumble on this question and will not have anything to do with God at all - they ask the question IF GOD EXISTS, WHY, etc.....

Many people looking at these questions have so many arguments. There is so much evil in the world; how can God be so good as to let these things happen? They, in lots of ways, refuse to believe in God in the first place.

The Biblical God is all-loving, all good, all holy, all wise, all powerful, and yet God allows things to happen for a reason. Whether we understand that reason is a big question! 

In Psalm 135:3, we read that God is good, just, loving, and very merciful, saying that bad things happen to all of us - things we simply cannot understand.

Our son-in-law is terribly ill - He has a very rare form of cancer - a form that is unresponsive to treatment that could possibly cure and eliminate the effects of cancer, no matter where that cancer is. Unfortunately, his cancer cannot be treated.

Then there is our Daughter- his wife - going through a similar thing, but non-cancerous. She has had a huge operation at the same time as her husband. During her operation, one of the doctors slipped and cut a hole in a vein, which caused a blood clot - she almost died.

My little sister also died horribly when she was only just one year old.

Oh yes, bad things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. 

Instead of doubting God's goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him no matter what!  Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5&6 say, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding". It goes on to say, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight".  

You know:- we actually walk by faith in God and not by sight - in other words, we don't really understand all that happens in our lives, but having faith in God through all sorts of traumas thrown at us means choosing to trust His goodness, love and power, even when faced with horrible and lasting traumas. 

In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7, it says, "Walk by Faith and not by sight."  What does this verse actually mean?

Well, in my opinion, it means to live our entire life based on what the Bible says about eternal consequences - to have a deep and significant reverence and respect for God, regardless of what the world says and does about God.

It means to live our lives in parallel to His teachings, even when our own human desires want to hit us over the head and make us more and more in line with everyone else.

Does this make me buckle up in fear if I dare to follow Jesus?

Definitely not - in my own words, I personally have one huge desire to please my God and King above everything else that is presented to me.

Living in the crazy world of ours, sin comes so easily, and often we fall for it, especially if we don't have any understanding about God and His amazing forgiveness and love for us. 

If we decide to turn our lives over to God, then His love and wisdom for us will motivate us to race away from all the absolute actions that displease our Lord and to live in a way that reflects His character, not that any of us can do that on our own at all.

We all will fall for sin again and again, BUT the amazing part of that is that God will keep on convicting us of where we have fallen, and motivate us to come back and ask for forgiveness - how many times will that happen?? I personally have lost count!

BUT...

God is always willing to forgive us, no matter how many times we keep falling away. To me, that is probably one of THE most amazing things about being a Christian. I forget how many times I have kept coming back to God and asking for forgiveness, and the amazing part is that God keeps on bringing me back to him.

We are all human, and God, in His infinite mercy, will keep on bringing us back to Him. The beautiful part about all of this is that as we keep on the walk with Him, His amazing influence affects us more and more, and the more and more we keep aware of the sins we commit, the more we ask for His forgiveness.

You know, when we make God number one in our lives, then the huge desire to get the approval and 'likes' from people around us diminishes.  

The desire we have to please others and to somehow make them like us, no matter what, can often diminish the more we put God as number one in our lives. That certainly doesn't stop us from having friendships and making new friends, BUT it just means to give Him priority over everything - He is more important than anything else in our life.

 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and Mind (Matthew 22 verse 37) - says it all really - God really is Number one in your life once you hand your life over to Him, not that ever makes us turn away from our loved ones and friends - God has made us special and given us the ability to love others in very special ways.

The above can seem pretty impossible, but as Christians, that is, those of us who have accepted Jesus as number one in their life, have been washed clean and even though loving God with all of our hearts and minds seems impossible, it is only through His power and prayer to Him that we can seemingly do the impossible - amazing isn't it!

God's huge blessings this week go out to you from Sue and me - we trust you have a wonderful and fulfilling week - may God show us all the way forward in making Him number one in all of our lives, keeping Him in the forefront of all situations that come our way.

Blessings, and we hope to keep in touch.

I really need to be first!!

In the armed forces, the men and women involved are pretty amazing - they give it their all - they really do stick together, and many times of hardship, war, and turmoil, when everything must seem intolerably difficult, many would give their own life for others.

It is a truly remarkable way, and it always astounds me.

All the armed forces standards include a range of values, behaviours, and physical requirements. I personally can't imagine what lower standards would mean, especially under all operational activities and effectiveness.

Values in the ADF include Service, Courage, Respect, Excellence, Distinction, Quality, Integrity, and heaps more.

These amazing qualities in our armed forces guide behaviour and all decision-making, ensuring all members of the armed forces act with selflessness, strength, and respect. They also must meet the physical requirements, doing all sorts of amazing regimes to keep their fitness as their number one priority. 

Their regime includes emotional well-being. decision making and basic wisdom in all acute situations.

Unfortunately, in today's world, those feelings and attitudes hardly exist at all.

Way back at creation, God loved Adam and Eve and told them not to eat of this special tree in the garden, but you know the story well - Eve was tricked by the evil Satan, and she ate of the tree knowing it was THE tree God told her not to eat of. She gave good old Adam the same fruit, and well... you know the rest of the story.

God loved them, and I guess He didn't want robots - he wanted them to make their own way, their own minds, and their own hearts to love and worship Him. They sinned against God, and from then on, sin entered the world, and it was all downhill from there.

God originally gave us choices to make. I don't feel He wanted us to be like robots, just perfectly doing what we are told. 

It made me think of others and their constant need to excel in all sorts of situations. Putting themselves first, regardless of who gets in the way.

I worked in Human Resources for years, and during that time, I saw so many circumstances where excelling at some point was like running in a race and making yourself come first. Striving - constantly striving on and on.

You see it even when driving, for example, people need to be first - their need to excel is astounding.

We see it even in our own neighborhood, where parents both work and have to leave early in the morning, and often don't come home till fairly late - often children come home from school to an empty house (the latch-key kids). Many Mums and Dads are off to work constantly, working hard to keep up with today's standards. Constantly striving to outdo and excel.

I know it is hard, it can be very hard - I understand this. Balancing work and family life in today's society is hard!

In Proverbs 3:6, the Bible says, "In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct and crown your efforts with success."

Looking at that through the above perspective and what it teaches us about our occupations makes it pretty plain that our career, job, and status in life definitely come second to God Himself and family time. Working is really only a tool to make ends meet and to serve our God and our families, and in some ways, our extended families and their needs.

Work is really important, but it shouldn't be at the expense of God and family - we are told to love our families as Christ loved His church  (Ephesians 5:25) - our families are precious gifts from God, and they should come before work at all times - God and family definitely come before anything else.

Christianity encourages diligence and hard work, BUT it also warns us about overworking and neglecting family, and our Christian walk with the Lord. Work can become our main aim and can lead to all sorts of unhealthy focus.

When we look at the Ten Commandments way back in Exodus in the Bible, the very first one says: "I  am the LORD your God, you shall not have any gods before me". 

It also says in Matthew 22:37 to  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." This commandment is THE very first and THE most important one - it's the very foundation of a relationship with God Himself and with us mere mortals - quite amazing really!

Putting God first means we keep THE GREATEST commandment - in blunt words, we MUST be totally committed to a relationship with God. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING we have (our home, our kids, our money, our job, everything) is and should be devoted to God - we can hold nothing back.

Putting God first means we don't stage or erect (even in our minds) idols of any sort or form - when you think about it, an idol is anything that replaces God in our lives. We must strive to follow Jesus in anything we do or say.

Now, on saying that, I personally sin all the time in this way - sometimes it is so easy to stick yourself first, no matter what - even when driving, there is something inside of you that doesn't want to be taken advantage of by other drivers. Does it really matter that some person speeds up behind you and forces their way ahead? Not really, BUT I know it can be hard. That's a good reason to pray as you drive.

So, where are we going with this? Putting God first in our lives means we totally try and strive to follow Jesus. Jesus Himself (while He was here on earth)  totally submitted to God's will - we certainly saw that through His crucifixion. It was while He was facing that cruel and ghastly cross that He prayed, "Not my will but yours be done."

Jesus accomplished everything God the Father willed Him to do!

When you think about it, every one of us has priorities, we arrange our relationships, budgets, and our daily schedules - His will in our lives really does have to come first. Jesus was amazing while he was here on earth - SO....we should strive to be like Him - now I know that is pretty impossible, but the very fact that we STRIVE to do it means he has taken number one spot in our lives - How about you?

In Matthew 6:33, the Bible tells us that we should (and I quote from the NKJV Bible) "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you", meaning that we should seek out God first rather than the things of our world. 

You know, once we are saved through our faith in God, it means more to us than all the cars, the promotions at work, the mansions on the hill, travel, fitness, wellness, boats, and so it goes on.  

Putting God first does set you apart from your neighbours, friends, and basically from the rest of the world as we know it, especially these days of turmoil, hurt, disease, and war. Following God means we trust God over and above all else. How about you?

You know you can pray a prayer of commitment to God, which is a personal prayer of dedication and surrender to God's will for you.

To come to Jesus, you can pray a very simple prayer like this:- Lord Jesus, I first ask for forgiveness for all these things I have done wrong in my life - please help and guide me as I commit my entire life to you, Amen.

God loves us all so much, including you, no matter what you have done.

God bless you this week.

Closer than a brother?? Hmmm

I've been thinking a lot about the idiom that circulates around the globe a lot, and I quote "Closer than a brother".

It got me thinking - in my family, we were different.

My mum adored us, and she was a powerful Christian lady (if you would like to read her testimony to us as a family, it's here on my blog, which I posted on May 23rd, 2013).

In Proverbs 18:24, it refers to "a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Now that makes me think - did I do something wrong because my siblings and I weren't close at all! In fact, I can't ever remember being close to them. 

Unfortunately, my siblings and I were all so different - we didn't seem to have the catch cry "closer than a brother" at all.

Once I remember my eldest brother Ivan (who was 10 years older than me) turning up at the school on Parents Day, and he made a special trip to see me in action - it was good - I enjoyed seeing him there. But the others - my other brother and my sister - were totally estranged.

Hmmm, reading the Bible and in Genesis chapter 44 is the amazing story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his ten brothers.

They really hated young Joseph - he was the eldest of two sons born to Jacob's 2nd wife, Rachael. 

Rachael had two sons, Joseph and Benjamin - she died having Benjamin, and Jacob loved and adored Rachael much more than Rachael's sister Leah, Jacob's first wife.

Leah had six sons and maybe just one daughter - Bilhah and Zilpah, two servant girls, also bore him four sons between them.

So they were quite the family.

Long story cut short, all his brothers, except Benjamin, I feel, hated Joseph so much because of his amazing dreams; they all ganged up on young Joseph and, unbeknownst to old dad Jacob, they sold him to slavery to a mob of Egyptians heading that way.

Can you imagine what the young fella was feeling seeing his older brothers gang up on him and selling him to these rough and intolerable slave traders? 

The writer in Proverbs seems to assume that brothers and sisters are naturally close and that only one-of-a-kind types of friends could ever be closer.

Reading about how his brothers sold him into slavery (and how they must have reacted when Jacob, their father, was absolutely devastated by the loss of Joseph), they must have been really and truly concerned because of the amazing lies they told their dad.

It all came back to bite them, and God had plans for Joseph anyway - well worth reading if you get the chance (from Genesis chapter 39 onwards).

Anyway, where does that leave us with our own siblings?

It's not that uncommon for siblings to have limited communication even when living in the same place. Maybe vastly different interests and activities. Friends or family members sometimes really seem to annoy others in the same family. And so it goes on and on - lots of different things happening in the family which can be very annoying.

In our family, even though there were hardly ever disputes, we just didn't seem to relate to each other at all, which is fine and gives me a clear conscience that there was never a dispute (that I was aware of) that I did not ask for forgiveness. 

Maybe as siblings grow and develop different interests, they can drift apart, and some prefer to spend time on their own.

The Bible teaches us that we should "love our neighbours as ourselves," and this extends to family members.

We are also told that as Christians, we are called to forgive in the same way that God has forgiven us.

Hmmm, now that can be quite hard to get over. It's pretty important to think about forgiveness.

Forgiving someone doesn't mean in any way that what they may have done to you doesn't make it right. You are basically never saying and will never say, "It's fine - go ahead and keep hurting me". Let's rather think that you personally choose to let the bitterness flow out of you. You don't ever have to 'fall all over them' in friendliness. 

Forgiveness is really a choice you make. I know that I have hurt someone many times, and I have also been hurt by others.

Forgiveness is crucial to having a relationship with God.

On that mount, when Jesus was talking to the huge mob before him, he said, and I quote, "If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."

Forgiveness and Jesus certainly go hand in hand, considering what he went through in his three years of ministry and his cruel death on Calvary. Forgiveness, as Jesus taught us, is not only 'nice' but ESSENTIAL in asking God's forgiveness and also for forgiving others.

I'm always amazed at what Jesus said and prayed while he was so cruelly dying on that cross on Calvary. He prayed that God would forgive those who were killing him. 

Good old Peter - Jesus' disciple once asked Jesus, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus responded and floored Peter by saying, "We are to forgive others seventy times seven". That's actually four hundred and ninety times - that's amazing, isn't it?

I wonder if Peter was a bit taken aback to think that forgiveness is something that was never really encouraged at all in those days, especially in the law, where it was said that three times was enough. Hmm, that made me think - just how many times have we forgiven others, and how many times have we been forgiven? I am probably one of THE worst!

Peter and the rest of the disciples must have been stunned because what Jesus said was far beyond them - they would have been thinking in the limited terms of the law rather than the unlimited terms of God's amazing grace and forgiveness. 

Jesus was driving home a pretty spectacular point that if we are forgiven an enormous amount of sin (like we all have been if we have given our lives over to Christ) against a holy God then how much more should we be really ready and so eager to forgive all those who we reckon have sinned against us? 

Paul emphasises Jesus's example in Ephesians 4:32 when he tells us to forgive one another "even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you". 

Forgiveness to someone who has hurt you isn't something you do when you are on your own - sure, that's fine as well, but it shouldn't be given out in a limited sort of way but is to be overflowing and available just like God's amazing forgiveness for us. 

So, how do we receive Forgiveness from God?

The word FORGIVE means to 'start again" or "wipe it all away". Really, we don't ever deserve to be forgiven  -  love, mercy, and grace are all in the word forgiveness. In 2nd Peter 3 verse 9, Peter declares and I quote "He (God) is patient with you, not wanting ANYONE to perish, but everyone to come to repentance". 

You know:- Jesus came to earth to pay the price for our sins - amazing really when you think about it. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, it says, and I quote, "God made Him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God"- to me, that is oh so powerful.

Jesus's death was terrible, gruesome, and truly horrible, and during that time He paid for all of our sins, and all we have to do is come to Him and ask Him to change our lives and accept His amazing offer of forgiveness. HE ROSE AGAIN, which to me says it all.

Jesus paid our debts for us so that we could be forgiven - all we have to do is ask our Father God to forgive us and accept that Jesus died and rose again to pay for our forgiveness 

Pray this prayer if you would love to accept Jesus as your Lord and saviour - and when the time comes for us to die, we will then know where we are going:-

Pray along with me now:-

Father God - I know that I have sinned against you and I really deserve to be punished, BUT I believe that Jesus came and died to take my punishment away from me and by my faith in Jesus, I could be forgiven. I now want to place my trust in you - thank you so much for your grace and amazing forgiveness.  Amen.

God's richest blessings on you all this week, and may God guide you.

"Who Am I?".....Taking care of business??

Who am I? - I've often wondered that - it's really a funny old business, isn't it, that is knowing when to step in and when to stay well out of the way.

That to me is one of my biggest hurdles - I've always been pretty well known for sticking my nose into other people's business, and it is especially hard for me to keep away from interfering when it comes to the people we love the most.

I really need to stay well out of the way. And sometimes we actually run away - I know I have,  maybe not physically, but I certainly have made myself scarce.

Lots of family and friends go through some pretty tough times with lots of challenges and hardships constantly banging on their personal doors. 

I remember when I was really involved with a special family who were going through a pretty horrendous time - my natural instinct was to jump in and help, help, help as much as I possibly could. Sometimes great! Othertimes not so great. 

So, where are we?  Having brekky the other morning, I found myself reading Exodus chapter 3 - I relate so well to Moses - He took off in a hurry, hid himself away, and found himself relaxing (but not for as long as he thought).

"Who am I?" must have seemed like a legitimate question to God when He grabbed Moses, who was minding sheep and minding his own business in the wilderness, and spoke to him through a burning bush (which in it iteslf is utterly amazing) and told him that he had to go back to Egypt and rescue the Israelites from Pharaoh. You can just imagine Moses's surprise! WHAT!!! NO!!!

Years before, Moses had escaped from Egypt after he had saved one of the Israelite slaves from being beaten up brutally by an Egyptian, and Moses jumped to the rescue and ended up murdering the Egyptian himself.

Moses took off like a rocket after he realised that what he had done was becoming known, and Pharaoh was out to kill him. He ended up in a place called Midian and stayed there for many years.

He married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, a high priest in Midian, and Zipporah and Moses had two sons. So Moses thought life was pretty good - he had left Egypt and settled in Midian, had a wife and two sons, and was happy being a shepherd and wandering around in the wilderness.

So... you can imagine his surprise when God pushed this enormous enterprise onto him, not only the surprise but the responsibility of rescuing His people from Egypt and out of the hands of Pharaoh.

After much tooing and froing, Moses and his brother Aaron took off for Egypt and a long story cut short. Moses and Aaron took the Israelites from Egypt, and finally they saw the promised land after many, many years wandering in the desert. So much suffering followed, and so much hurt.

Is there is purpose in our suffering? Why am I going through this suffering? Does God know, hear, and is with us during this time? 

The Bible suggests that suffering, whatever that suffering is, all started when the world fell apart with sin. All suffering is unavoidable. That's what being human is about - It's not all loveliness and light; unfortunately, there is sadness, bitterness, and resentment.

Moses must have felt like he was all stirred up with doubt, fear, and a huge inadequacy. He felt amazingly burdened by his stuttering, a speech impediment he was obviously born with, and he was terrified to face Pharaoh. (I really can't blame him for that!).

You know, when you think about it, if you meet your suffering, whatever that suffering is, with faith in Christ Jesus, then God can use your suffering to give you hope. 

In Romans 5, it states, "believers can rejoice in their suffering because it leads to endurance, which then produces character and ultimately hope". 

Endurance is an amazing skill. When we look at Christ's life, His love and His endurance in what he went through here on earth for us, it all points to God's love and His grace as the very source of strength, endurance, and hope, even in the middle of suffering, whatever that suffering may be.

When we are suffering, it can often be challenging. I know when I suffer all sorts of things, it can often lead me to a deeper relationship with God because I really feel I can't cope when things go zooming out of control. I need his strength and endurance more than anything in those tough times. 

When I think of what our family has been through this past 12 months, it has just made me realise that we really need to grow more and more into a deeper relationship with God. It is through these tough times that I personally have realised we have an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-great God.

Unfortunately, many people leave their faith when things get tough. The very presence of tough times can lead to people challenging their faith and questioning Christ's love for them.

To me personally, and knowing the way I am, Jesus' very death on that cruel cross saved me from my obvious desperation and depression. 

Jesus can do the same for you - If he can do it for me with my mixed-up life as it was, He certainly can do it for you.

All you need to do is to pray to Him and ask Him to lead your life and take control. He can uphold you in the tough times and rejoice with you in good times.

Have an amazing week, and please keep your eyes on Jesus Christ this week. He is our God and King.

Take Care.