Nothings gonna stop me now!

Jimbo was completely and surely adamant when he blurted out that absolutely nothin ABSOLUTELY NOTHIN on God's earth is ever gonna stop me!!

Oh, that can be so sad - Jimbo was determined and absolutely adamant that he should be first come what may. 

Jimbo was like this right from the start - the family was totally and utterly confused as to what they should do - he was a difficult and pushy child. Maybe a solid need in his heart for recognition - common in many, but can be hugely problematic.

Maybe nowadays he may have been diagnosed with something like narcissistic personality disorder, which is an underlying feeling of being special and, of course, having to receive recognition come what may.

Jimbo pushed his way forward time and time again - nothing was going to stop him, absolutely nothing! Going to school was a huge problem for Jimbo - always pushing himself forward in the classroom, in the playground - pushing his ideas forward to those teaching him, making himself (so he thought)  the beacon of light and wisdom.

Unfortunately, that didn't work for poor Jimbo - having to be number one in ALL situations was essential in his life - he couldn't possibly think otherwise. As far as he was concerned, no one else in the whole world could possibly come anywhere near him in respect of knowledge and wisdom.

The result must have been so lonely - no one could come near him - as far as he was concerned, being No. 1 was absolutely essential; no one on God's earth came even close. Jimbo was also a totally controlling person, telling everyone what they should do and making others do what he wanted them to do.

So sad really - it wasn't long before his life faded away - a terrifying road accident when he insisted that he must be first, pushing himself forward at a set of traffic lights with another person, obviously with a similar personality, and making their own way to the front, and both ending up under a truck.

Life cut short! Horrible! Devastating!

Reminds me of the unfortunate and horrific sinking of the Titanic when the makers said the ship was practically totally and utterly unsinkable. 

Back in 1910, the White Star Line's brochure describing the magnificent Titanic as "practically unsinkable" - Oh what a mistake!

She was a beautiful and really modern ship, which amazed the world with her magnificence. My mind can't really comprehend what those poor people must have gone through that night back in 1911.

Through it all, so many people vanished, never to be seen or heard of again.

It is devastatingly sad when we lose someone we love and who has had a huge effect on our lives - Jimbo's parents must have been devastated, and I can't imagine what the families of the Titanic's victims must have gone through.

Death has really no bounds - losing someone, especially those we have loved, is a painful and horrific experience.

Jesus Himself loved His very best friend, Lazarus, and at his death, Jesus, being so deeply moved, cried when he found out Lazarus had died. Jesus raised Lazarus up from the grave only because He had the very power to do it. 

I am always confronted by the question of how I possibly find any sort of peace after someone I loved has died. Death is certainly not the end for anyone who believes in Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

We still will be devastated when our loved ones die - I can only imagine what the survivors and families of the Titanic disaster must have gone through, and also the family of Jimbo. How sad, and yet those who believed that Jesus is Lord and has prepared a place for all believers, then that is a huge rally of comfort and peace.

When we look back, the impact of our past loved ones who have passed away can have a profound effect on our lives.

I remember so well the impact my Mum had on my life - she loved Jesus as lord and made Him number one in her life - you can look at her testimony here on this blog dated May 23rd, 2013, and titled  "My Mum's Amazing Message."

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die (John 11:25-26). In other words, we who ask Jesus to come into our lives and accept Him as our Lord and saviour will be guaranteed to have everlasting life, living with Jesus even though death whips us away from everything here, which never ceases to astound me. 

You know, apart from what Jesus did on that cross all those years ago, there would be absolutely no eternal life at all.  Death has no power over us once we give our lives to Him. Yes, we will all die here on earth, and sadly, we all experience just what that means, BUT once we have given our lives to Jesus, then death really has no power over us at all.

If we decide not to accept Jesus as Lord of our lives, then we will actually be destined for death (and I hate to think of the consequences). However, having faith in Jesus and asking Him to come into our lives and take first place, we will indeed receive eternal life. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Do you want eternal life after this life on earth is over? If so, pray a prayer similar to this one:-

Dear God, please forgive me for the things in my life where I have turned my back on you. I am sorry for the sins I have committed. Please come into my life and change me. Help me make you number one in my life. I know I will continue to stumble along, but please be there for me and always remind me of your great sacrifice for me. Amen

Have a great week, and hope to see you soon - Huge blessings to you and yours

The Armour of Light

"I've given up on Jane,"  - Gav said sourly. Tossing his head to get all the hair out of his eyes - "Or rather she's given up on me."

This was important news for Phil - "What happened?"

Gav's handsome face twisted in a grimace of disappointment and resentment. "She has jilted me, that's what."

Aww, so sad when someone says goodbye, and you probably won't see them again. I guess in many ways, we have all been in very similar circumstances.

So where do we go from here? That's a pretty good question - we have all heard of really sad circumstances when this sort of thing happens, and unfortunately break ups can have very dire consequences.

Sometimes, there is absolutely nothing we can do when our partner decides to leave us. We can try to speak to them and really encourage them to stay, but often it can lead nowhere. I guess we have all seen it happen.

It can be so sad to be on your own - especially if your ex-partner has taken off and taken the family with them.

You can be so, so scared of the future, especially when you may be on your own and more so if you have been so horribly deserted by your family and/or friends.

Being lonely is horrible and can have a big effect on each of our lives - coming to Christ, on the other hand, can be like an anchor in the rough sea of life - He is there with us no matter what we are going through. He can surround us with an armour of light - an armour designed by Him to give us courage and a huge ability to cope with whatever comes along, regardless of what the world may say.

Hebrews 13 verse 5 says He will NEVER leave or forsake us, which is a remarkable promise and one that I personally have fallen back on many, many times in all the years.

So many people ridicule what they call a COMING TO JESUS moment  - so many times I have heard that said in a joking and ridiculing way. WHY? I always ask myself because that was a huge moment in my life. A moment of huge realisation and huge change in my life personally

To me personally, my coming to Jesus moment meant one huge change to me - it was a decision of mine that changed my life completely around.

Jesus had a secret meeting with Nicodemus, a High Priest who CAME TO JESUS at night because, even though it's not really stated, I reckon Nicodemus didn't want anyone seeing him coming to Jesus.

Anyway, along he came with a heap of questions for Jesus - Jesus answered and said I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again - Nicodemus was horrified -how can a person be born again when they are already born (or along those lines anyway).

Jesus answered him by saying no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and of the Spirit. (a bit confusing for old Nicodemus).

Born again literally means born from above - coming to God and asking Him to take over your life. In Ephesians 2 and verse 8, "for it is by grace that you have been saved, and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God."

When you first become a Christian, you start on a journey that often has so many twists and turns that it makes your head spin.

One day, you are praising God and really basking in the goodness that he has given us. the next day, you may be overcome with doubts and anxiety that give you the wobbles, which throws off your reaction of becoming a born-again Christian.

BUT...The great news is that even if we find ourselves going in reverse, He still loves us and His Holy Spirit will keep reminding us of that very fact - He will always have you back no matter what sin you have committed. Believe me, I am the worst of sinners in lots of ways, and yet Jesus died for me, and He has taken all my sinful ways and killed them for me on that cruel cross all those years ago.

Does that make me a wonderful free-of-sin person -NO WAY!! Unfortunately, we keep on sinning probably every day, BUT the remarkable and truly amazing thing about salvation is that we can keep coming back to Jesus and asking for His forgiveness, which is freely given.

To me, that is probably the most amazing gift God has given us - the very fact that Jesus died to take away our sins, and all we have to do is ask Him to come into our lives and lead us to where He wants us to go.

So how do we cope with the traumatic and, unfortunately, everyday problems? 

The only way to really cope is to keep our eyes on Christ and keep looking to Him, no matter what we may be going through.

Way back in Genesis, Cain horribly killed his brother Abel (Genesis chapter 4 starting at verse 3), so we can see that even then, sin was beginning to become rampant, and from then on, family conflict became quite a problem and has been ever since.

Jesus's own family became highly embarrassed by His miracles and preaching, and they told him so, and didn't pull any punches, and they let Him have it -  so you can see that family break-ups and hostilities became the 'norm' which is still the norm even today.

Some members of our family accept Jesus fully and He becomes their Lord and Saviour, while others in the family look upon the whole thing as something ridiculous and tell the person so, and so it goes on. It can often break family unity, which is really sad.

Jesus actually said this could happen and says so in Matthew chapter 10, verses 34 to 36 - it's an amazing read and one which clarifies a lot of problems we personally may be experiencing.

Of course, there are many families faced with the situation where some members love the Lord with all their hearts, while maybe brothers and sisters deny Christ entirely, yet nothing seems to come between the love brothers and sisters have for each other, which is truly lovely and beautiful.

And yet, unfortunately, we seem to have to face a lot of trouble in a lot of families regarding the following of Jesus, just like He said would happen.

Please don't take it personally - Jesus died for you and all you have to do is come and ask Him into your life - He will love to come and motivate you in so many ways. 

Your family is still your family, and regardless of how they feel about your coming to Christ, that should not and will not deter you from asking Him into your life to take over all of your life, not just parts of it.

Just remember that a healthy family can provide a safe and secure place, regardless of the individual feelings that they may have towards other members.

God bless you this week - keep your eyes and hearts on God.

Oh No! I've done it again

"I've done it again - I should have learned to keep my big mouth shut. I've caused so many problems, it's totally unbelievable."

Not keeping our mouths in gear often hurts not just one person, but sometimes a lot of people associated with our lives at some point.

Often, we do things over and over again, and frequently it is just what we say rather than what we do, like when Toby shoots off his mouth. He reckons it is always best to reply with the right comeback, which makes you look like you are so intelligent.

Toby reckons it makes you appear strong and intelligent, especially when using funny insults, like when he said to Harry he's one-time mate,  "Geez mate, someday you should go far. I really hope you stay there." and again, " I'll never forget the first time we met. But I'll keep trying hahahaha."

He thought he was so, so funny coming up with these quips time and time again.

Things were going fine until Harry told Toby where to go and how to get there - they had been friends for so long, and Harry finally got thoroughly sick of this so-called friend of his insulting him over and over again.

Toby was devastated. "I didn't mean to hurt him - what should I do - just get me out of here!!  "I've gotta be a man on the run - I've gotta stay out of trouble - I've gotta stop trying to be so funny."

It's so sad when our 'funny' side can destroy what we have and what we did have, maybe for years. 

There are many times when our mouths, hands, and emotions speak and act before our heads are even in gear, or when we give even a little meaningful thought to our actions or even our reactions.

Jesus talked about what it would cost to cause someone to stumble. In Luke 17, Jesus said, "It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So be on your guard." 

WOW, what a horrible way to die - jumping in the sea with a millstone around your neck.

Causing someone to sin or "stumble," as the Bible puts it, has many connotations. It can be physical or emotional; either way, it can have a huge lasting effect on our lives. 

Whatever we do, we need to remember that no matter how big or small we feel our actions may be, they can or could have a lasting impact on other people.

Like Toby and Harry. Their friendship was amazing, and they went back years and years, even while they were at school together.

Toby was ALWAYS funny - always had to be the man in charge of being Mr. Cool - Harry, in the meantime, was the quiet guy, always there helping Toby with schoolwork and accepting everything he did and said.

Must have been hard for Harry. He always just accepted everything Toby did and said until that fateful day when, after all those years, he had had enough.

He thought, "Enough is enough. I'm not taking any more crap from this guy." 

Their friendship suddenly stopped! I wonder if they ever got back together?

Often, what we say or do can have a lasting effect on other people.

Jesus was so aware of how His actions were perceived by other people. He was always truthful and even told many in the so-called authority of the day just exactly how things were.

In Romans 14 and again in Corinthians, we are told we have a responsibility to our fellow believers in Christ. We also have a responsibility to our families and friends who aren't walking with the Lord at all.

Our attitude should reflect the love of God to everyone we come into contact with - our personal convictions towards others are a reflection of what Jesus has done in our lives.

We can have all sorts of disagreements regarding anything from entertainment, smoking, food, drinking - you name it, even when we set aside days to remember what Jesus did for us on that cross - all of these differences really don't matter at all.

The Bible doesn't provide instructions, and it is purely a matter of personal conviction as to how God is leading you. In other words, let's not share our individual feelings on how others should worship, as long as they worship Jesus and make Him their number one priority in life.

We shouldn't make it hard for others, and we should really stop passing judgment on each other.  Ways of worshipping God can be different for some people, so we shouldn't stand as a judge in any way at all.

Jesus Himself said in Matthew 7, "Do not judge or you will be judged,"  which seems pretty straightforward, BUT Jesus also gives us the opportunity and ability to tell right from wrong. We just don't and should never accept something that is way out of context with what the Bible teaches.

In other words, we need to be cautious about what we hear and shouldn't accept anything that contradicts what the Bible clearly teaches.

I hope you have a great week. Please keep in mind that the Bible teaches us all sorts of amazing truths. take time this week to study some of God's word, bearing in mind how your actions can often have a marked effect on others.

Jesus is our Lord and God, and how He lived is a great example for all of us.

Huge blessings