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

Some heroes don’t wear uniforms

The leader of the gang - The king of the school yard delivered a vicious kick, the heavy boot striking the base of the spine. His victim felt his body jolt, but managed to suppress the cry of pain before it could escape. The situation always escalated if he reacted.

His nose was blocked with blood and tears, but he mustn't show his tears. That would be fatal.

The bell rings - finally, and the shouts fade away.

Waiting a minute - he then opens his eyes (well, one of them anyway) and looks around. He is alone in the schoolyard. Getting to his feet, he knew he would get into trouble for being late again!

Hmmm, quite a thing to happen in a schoolyard, but unfortunately, it happens regularly - maybe not a physical fight as such, but emotional bullying - really, it is aggression. 

The bully uses lots of non-physical means to get at their victim. Things such as harassment in torment, name-calling, gossiping to others, and making sure their victim is totally excluded from as many people as possible.

Pretty sad, really!

Totally blessed when we can escape such bullying and exclusion when we go through life.

Bullying can make you feel extremely unhappy and also completely unsafe wherever you are. Bullying can ruin your life if you don't stop it.

We should share our bullied experience with others constantly to prevent bullying from continuing. As adults, we should respond to bullying quickly and consistently, regardless of what sort of bullying is happening.

Talking about bullying can be extremely helpful in lots of situations, like below:-

I am totally gobsmacked when I see parades of men and women in uniform - they astound me as to what they do - there are often marches that include everyone from the Police to the armed forces who are totally committed to their professions.

They look so pristine when in uniform, and they continue in their total commitment to their specific careers. I am completely in awe of so many.

Why am I totally gobsmacked? My friend's grandson, who is just 16 years old, has decided that he really wants to join the police force when he graduates from high school in the next couple of years. I'm so impressed with him. How amazing that he has this dedication so early.

Why does he make this decision? He was bullied so horribly when he started high school - not just verbally and scornfully, BUT physically as well. Hence the story above.

How did he cope with bullying? 

He certainly tried his best at school, but it wasn't good enough - the bullying continued.

He finally told his Mum and Dad, who, in turn, instead of just ignoring the situation and telling him to grow up, they went to the school and had it or with not only the principal but also with the year advisor. 

This is really important - not only about physical bullying but also emotional bullying - Schools should be fully aware that bullying is consistent, unfortunately, and all schools should be aware of that very thing.

I can't help feeling that we here in Australia are so blessed to have the dedication of so many people. People who are aware of what is going on in schools, workplaces, universities, etc.

Seeing parades of people in uniforms is not only encouraging for the populace, but it is also a sign, obviously, that, looking at the parade as such, there must be many who have had heaps of problems and yet they have overcome many things to arrive at where they are today.

And yet....there are so many who aren't wearing uniforms, nor are they attached to any workforce, who are also totally committed in all sorts of incredible ways that help so many people. Many who have been bullied and set upon so many times and yet have outlived it continue in their lives to live for the present and not yesterday.

We are so blessed to have so many people in the armed forces, in the ambulance network, the hospitals. the police forces, etc, and so it goes on  - we are totally so so grateful for the tremendous work they do for us, regardless of what a lot of them have been through.

In the Bible, there are numerous heroes and heroines - here are just a few to name: Abraham, Moses, and Noah. Esther, Joseph, Deborah,  David, Gideon, and Jacob, and so the list goes on.

What had they been through - reading the bible is a real eye-opener - Moses on the run - Joseph bullied and beaten - Jacob scared to come back home after being threatened with death by his brother, and so it goes on.

The biggest hero of the lot, of course, was Jesus - a poor little boy born in a filthy stable years ago - a son of Mary.

Mary, a young virgin found to be pregnant and yet carrying the very son of God. Her husband Joseph was going to cancel the whole wedding thing, but was brave enough to realise just what was happening. Can't possibly imagine what Mary and Joseph must have felt or what they went through, and yet they brought in the Messiah of the world.

You know, regardless of what we have gone through - and I guess we have all got a story to tell - giving our lives over to Christ can have an enormous effect.

The pain caused by bullying can be a silent killer - sometimes, if we have been bullied over the years, our anger can overflow when, in reality, it may be a feeling of rejection!

So what does the Bible say about rejection? In Hebrews 13:5, He says, "I will never leave you or forsake you"- that to me completely blows me away - the fact that God will NEVER leave us, regardless of what has happened in our lives or what continues to happen. 

And then in Jeremiah 31:3 God says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love," and then again in Matthew 28:20, "Surely I am with you always."

These verses mean so much to me - God loves us all with a never-ending love. Jesus promised, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yolk upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11.

God bless you this week - please seek help if you have a burden. Huge blessings.

Toppled Over

Oh, the Tower of Babel

What a story

Here were the people wanting desperately to reach God - what for?

That's a great question!

Did they want to meet Him? - Did they want to confront Him about something? - Did they want to be a god like Him

They definitely wanted to make a name for themselves - they all spoke the same language - they all decided on their own terms exactly what they wanted to do - they also decided, obviously, that they wanted to be like God.

Then...

God, in His wisdom, overruled their total ambition, confused their language, and caused them to scatter.

It would have been very strange - suddenly saying something like "Hey Bill, pass us up the spade will you mate" to suddenly find themselves chatting away in a completely different language that no one around them could possibly understand.

So strange - they probably found others who they obviously didn't know who could speak the same language and understand what they were saying. How odd and how disturbing.

They all had mates and colleagues, and then suddenly no one would understand them - what a shock. Finding other workers in the crowd who could speak the same language and sticking with them was a must, only because no one else could understand them.

This amazing history is one powerful narrative - incomprehensible but truly awe-inspiring.

All those who could speak the same language obviously stuck together and made their way to various parts of the land, and further away from all of the others.

I can imagine exactly why wars broke out after this; there would be rivalry and lots of competitiveness, and I guess as years went on and on, lots of amazing things happened.

I feel humility is something we all learn from this amazing piece of history - humility was pretty much unheard of before the Tower of Babel.

Everyone in those days spoke the same language and was always trying to outdo each other.

God describes humility as an amazing recognition of our dependence on Him, submitting to His will, and recognising others above ourselves. Let's be perfectly clear here, it is not thinking less of ourselves, it is putting others ahead of ourselves in pretty much every situation in which we find ourselves. 

The Bible describes humility as an absence of self - in other words, putting others first - it includes meekness (which doesn't mean cowardice) and a heart attitude. Pride and arrogance really have no part in a life of humility. There are times when we pretend to have a heart attitude, but maybe our hearts are still full of pride and even arrogance.

True humility is really a prerequisite to becoming a Christian and giving our lives to God. When we come to Christ knowing that we are sinners, we must come to Him in absolute humility - if there are any signs of pride or arrogance, then we really need to rethink our way of life.

We desperately need to come to Christ knowing that we have absolutely nothing to offer Him at all - we MUST recognise that what He did on that cruel cross years ago was something that actually paid for our sins. So, to keep asking Him for everything and then getting upset if we don't get it is not what Christianity is all about.

Jesus paid for our sins, and really, that is more than enough. Whatever we get after this is truly a real gift from God Almighty.

Answers to prayer are exceedingly wonderful and truly awesome, but if our prayers don't give us what we want, then we need to thank the Lord God for our redemption that was paid by Jesus on Calvary's cross. And that really should be enough for us.

Our lives can be full of heartache, sickness, and even death, BUT if we have given our lives over to Christ, then our future is sealed - we have paradise to really look forward to.

Does that stop us from praying - certainly NOT! Prayers for our families, friends, and loved ones, and even ourselves, are all a vital part of Christianity. But also accepting God's answer is ALWAYS essential in our prayers.

When Jesus comes back, all of the troubles and heartaches will disappear - then we will be united with Christ in His amazing home He has prepared for us.

This great song by Michael Morrow was created by Him in 2006 and virtually says a lot about our Lord.

"We belong to the day - to the day that is to come.

When the night falls away and our Saviour will return

For the glory of the King is in our hearts. On that day, we will be seen for what we are.

Strong as a mighty rock, our. refuge in the coming wrath

The heart of the bride belongs to Jesus, Jesus.

The earth, in its turning, stops to marvel at the Son of God

And all of that day belongs to Jesus

And all of that day belongs to Jesus, Jesus."

How are you feeling about Jesus and His amazing life that He gave for each of us? When you pray and ask Jesus to come into your life and lead you, you acknowledge your sins and ask Him to take over your life. We may fall over many times and constantly sin, but if we ask God to forgive us, He will - He loves us with an everlasting love.

If you would truly like to give your life to Christ right now, then pray this simple prayer to Him - make sure you mean every word.

Dear Lord Jesus - I know that I am a sinner - I know you will forgive me if I ask you to. Right now, I turn away from my sins and ask you to come into my life and lead me, Amen.

God bless you this week

Man on the run

Ever been "on the run"?  Great question!

I guess in lots of ways we have all been on the run at some point in our lives - we often make little and sometimes BIG mistakes and find ourselves on the run, maybe not literally but on the run trying to hide or correct something we have done that can make our lives an utter horror story,

Way back in the Bible, Judas was "on the run" after he had concocted a huge story to tell the Pharisees about Jesus - makes me wonder just how long Old Judas had been thinking about what he planned to do.

He was probably putting into practice something that he had thought about for a long time.

He was the treasurer of the whole shebang after all - the guy everyone came to when they wanted a few coins to buy what they needed - I guess he made all the others give a full account of what they spent and how they spent it. After all, money is money - and he was the big money keeper - he was in charge,

Makes me wonder why he had it against Jesus in the first place.

Was it because Jesus was ever so willing to share what they had with anyone and everyone? Jesus gave and kept on giving time and time again.

Judas, on the other hand, was trying desperately to keep back the money to pay for this and that and keep them all fed, etc etc, and so he went on keeping his coins and silver in his money bag all safe and sound and I guess he kept it back from the other disciples just how much he actually had all wrapped up neat and tidy.

In lots of ways, I can understand if he was in charge of having to buy things, and of course, Jesus, giving everything away all the time - Judas felt he had to keep money squirreled away so that they would have enough to eat and somewhere to sleep, I guess.

Anyway, as time went on Jesus was giving more and more - treating people well and healing others - Makes me wonder how Judas would have felt when Jesus actually fed the thousands of people, as recorded on the bible, not just once but at least twice given that He had hardly anything to start with and yet he fed thousands until they were all completely full and satisfied.

Surely Judas would have realised that Jesus could have fed them all anyway, and he really didn't need money squirreled away like Judas was doing.

I reckon it was this that caused Judas to betray Jesus the way he did - He saw the chance to gain at least 30 pieces of silver, which he could keep to himself without having to hide it away. 30 pieces of silver! WOW, how about that! - What a great opportunity.

As we know, it all backfired on Judas. He betrayed Jesus in the garden by taking the Pharisees with him, telling them that the one he was going to greet with a kiss was actually Jesus, and that he should be the one arrested.

Judas went and greeted Jesus with a kiss, and that betrayed Jesus to the Pharisees, who promptly arrested Jesus and we know what happened after that - Jesus was horribly tortured and killed so ghastly on the cross - actually nailed to a rough hewn splintery cross hewn from a huge tree which would have weighed so much which Jesus had to carry to Calvary.

So here was Judas watching how he had betrayed Jesus. Obviously, he had second thoughts, and while he watched the proceedings, his heart must have broken when he woke up to what he had just done - he threw the silver back at the Pharisees and then went out and hanged himself - end of story for Judas.

The Pharisees were delighted - not only had they got Jesus, but they got their silver back as well!

Judas has gone down in history as a huge betrayer - what a mistake he made - what a mess.

You know, we all make mistakes - that is life, and unfortunately we all do it. It's pretty important after we give our lives to the Lord that we actually need to forgive ourselves for our mistakes, and if we don't, we find it pretty hard to move forward in our lives.

We can have persistent guilt in our lives over past sins and heaps of remorse if we have caused trouble with anyone, and sometimes our decisions can cause heaps of trouble. All of us have sinned - every one of us - God has nothing whatsoever to do with sin - The Almighty God can't even look at sin in any shape.

The amazing thing is that Jesus died on that cruel cross to make the payment for our sins, and everyone who puts their faith in Jesus is fully forgiven of these sins, and God sees us as sinless. 

Does that mean we will never sin again? Of course not, BUT the thing is that we can come to Jesus and keep asking for forgiveness, confessing to Him the sins we commit, maybe often daily. Coming to Christ is essential to have our sins forgiven. (1 John 1:9) 

God's huge forgiveness of our sins gives us the huge ability to forgive ourselves. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ and ask Him to take control of our lives, all of our sins are forgiven. Which is amazing - ALL of our sins, both big and small, include past, present, AND future.

God bless you this week. See you soon.

 

The Mystery

What is a mystery?  

Is it a betrayal? Is it a race against time? Is it a vast secret? Is it a hidden meaning? Is it something tucked away that we will never find? Is it something not understood? Is it something unexplained?  Is it beyond anyone's understanding?

Hmmm, makes you think, doesn't it?

1941 Charlotte is smuggled into Paris right in the smack of this huge war, seeking to find Alain. Is he her father that she never knew? Has he got a secret? Could her dad, Alain, be a friend of Hitler? Could he have a vast fortune tucked away somewhere? What sort of man could he be? It just doesn't bear thinking about.

Struggling to find the answer, Charlotte is hustled from town to town seeking and yearning to find the whereabouts of her elusive father.

1943 Charlotte has traced him into the middle of Paris, working her way with a vast amount of underground assistance to find out that indeed, her Dad is the elusive Alain, and is the main target and linchpin of France's liberation. He has gained huge access to high-ranking Axis officials and is working his way across France in huge liberation mode.

Alain ended up organising air-drops of weapons and supplies and coordinating huge rescues of downed fliers and parachute landings.

Was Charlotte pleased with her dad? Was she in awe of Him? What sort of future could they possibly have?

She never did find out what happened to her father; he had to keep his vast secret from his family and the authorities, and so their lives never clashed. They never met, but through it all, the war was finally over - many perished, but many were saved. 

It was certainly a horrible time -  a time when we hope and pray we will never have to go through again.

So many times we go through trauma and huge problems in all of our lives and times. We plough on regardless of the consequences of all things that have happened to us. We struggle, we grapple, we wrestle, we scuffle, and yet we fight on - we have to survive - that is life.

So why is life like this, and why can't we live perfect, happy, and fulfilling lives right to the end? It's hard, isn't it, to live life like we are teetering on the edge of a huge drop-over.

Unfortunately, sin came in and destroyed a perfect life, and things would never be the same again. Sin crept in through poor old Adam and Eve, and because of that, their very relationship with God was broken, and they began to die physically. Their bodies took on the ageing process just like ours do, and they began to die, slowly at first and then faster and faster towards the end.

When we are born, we all seem to be saddled with original sin caused by Adam and Eve's big hiccup. We are all related in one form or another, which is why the sin effect is evident in us all throughout history.

We are born sinners, and if we don't make a wise and shattering decision, we end up dying sinners, far away from God our Father, and doomed to a life of everlasting torment.

Romans 3:23 says, "We ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." So none of us is perfect, not one. And we never will be, not ever, we are totally and utterly doomed to a life of utter torment and destruction. When we die, we will be cast into the lake of fire to live eternally in hell.

Well, that's how it was meant to be because sin entered the world all those years ago. We all have sinned and fallen short of God's amazing love.

That was, of course, until the very fact that Jesus came into the world to save us, to give His life instead of ours and take our sins and chuck them far away, never to be seen and heard of again.

Jesus Himself said, "I am the Way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me" - you can read it yourself in John chapter 14 and verse 6. Jesus is the only way to come to the Father. Jesus was born, lived, and died just to take away our sins. He took them with Him on that cruel cross and exterminated them for us - all we have to do is to accept His amazing love for us and then ask Him to come into our lives and live through us.

When you think about it, Jesus was the only one who has come and been the sacrifice for sins - he was and will ever be the only sinless person to have walked the face of the earth.

Jesus is the only way to the Father in Heaven, regardless of what others may say and who people worship.

Jesus' death on Calvary was a sacrifice for our sins, and if we decide to BELIEVE and have FAITH, then these two things are critical for our salvation. Jesus died and He bled to death for us, taking the sins of the world on His very life, but only for those who believe and have faith in Him. 

It is believing in the very death of Christ for our sins that we receive eternal life. Ephesians 2 says, "For it is by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH - and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

God bless you all this week, and may you all be so much aware of what Jesus did for all of us on that cross all those years ago.

All characters appearing in this blog are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental

"The Body Achieves what the Mind Believes" - Napoleon Hill

Our young neighbour loves jumping on their trampoline - they have one sitting on their front lawn, and most days, there he is, barefoot and busy jumping around like crazy.

He takes his soccer ball in as well, and while he is jumping, he is also kicking the ball - and lately he has been taking his young sisters' little plastic 3-wheeler in as well and standing on it and throwing it in the air - He is quite the boy.

He is a very busy young man who is really quite good because not only does the trampoline serve as a fun outdoor thing to do, but it's a great way to improve your health.

Trampolines must be good for your heart as well, so lots of exercise is good - I am impressed by our young neighbour.

Exercise is great! It keeps us on top of physical and mental health. It improves your mood and also helps you relax, which is really good!

In the Bible in 1 Timothy chapter 4, it says, "for physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." So the very word of God acknowledges the value of exercise. 

So, physical exercise is good for everyone, and it definitely has a lot of value.

While exercise is great and truly amazing in so many ways, God's word emphasizes just how important our spiritual growth is. Physical training and exercise have extraordinary benefits, BUT Godliness has huge benefits.

When we were created, God designed us to be extra supple - we have two legs and two arms, muscles and sinews all connected and all geared up for us to walk, run. Climb, skate, and so it goes on. We were so different from all the other creatures in creation. 

We can think and move in directions that other creatures can't, and we can accomplish tasks and hold down employment.

After a lot of exercise, our bodies seem perfect, but we are all sinners, and unfortunately, sin stays with us and can affect us in all sorts of situations. So nobody is perfect no not one!

So really, no matter how fit we may seem to ourselves and to others, if we haven't acknowledged Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, then we aren't as fit as we think we are.

So many times I have jogged around our neighbourhood  - round and round - up the hill near our place and around the neighboring hospital time and time again, and YES! It does make you fitter than ever, and it is really good for your well-being. BUT when you think about it, the most important aspect of our lives is our relationship with Jesus, our Lord and Savior

Why do we call Him Saviour? Because He came to earth here to SAVE us - He gave His life to pay the penalty for our sins, and all we have to do is to accept Him as our Leader, our Lord, and our Boss. 

In Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." This is an interesting verse in the Bible because Paul wrote it to men and women in those days who were slaves - poor things - and he advises them that actually Jesus Himself is their master, not their bully-boy earthly master, so work super-duperly as unto God, not the surly slave guy.

Jesus Himself did as He was told by His Father - sometimes it is hard for us to obey others and do as we are told, BUT if we do it for Jesus as He did it for us, then the cacophony changes. When we become a Christian, we change on the inside, and we find ourselves not doing it for us only, but doing it for Jesus.

The great news is that Jesus can and does change us for the better if we ask Him to. Sometimes our hearts and lives can send us on a spiral downwards, especially if we are absolutely consumed by our own desires and our need to be first in line, no matter what.

When we give our lives and hearts over to Jesus, then He can change us. It all begins with our hearts - in other words, we have to change from the inside out. In Jeremiah 17:9, it says, "The heart is deceitful above all other things," so in other words, we are all riddled in sin going way back to Adam and Eve's days.

So...the only way we can possibly get rid of sin in our lives is to come to Jesus, ask Him to change us, and ask His Spirit to take up residence in our lives. We cannot possibly change ourselves. 

We are always being tempted to put all our energy into our behaviour, so constantly coming to Christ and asking Him to make our relationship with Him stronger and stronger, and the more we continue to trust Him, the more He will turn us completely around.

You know we are all on a different journey, and the amazing part of it all is that God can and will change us. It might take us our entire life to change, but it is a real learning curve when coming to Jesus - we really need to have Him close to us daily, actually hour by hour. He knows our hurts and our troubles, and he really does want to take control of our lives.

So may God bless you this week. See you
next time.

Heaven? Who will go there?

 Heaven? That's a great thought - What is Heaven? Is it a place? Should I be hankering to get there?

Lots of questions and lots to think about!

Yesterday, I attended a funeral for a very good friend of ours whom we have known for such a long time. She was a really sweet and gentle lady, full of love and generosity. She gave her life to the Lord Jesus when she was quite young - she lived her life putting Christ first in all situations

So many people think of heaven as a nice and good place - and if we are really good, we will all end up there when we die- hmmm, I don't think so, but let's think about the alternative.

Most people don't even think about heaven very much while we are still here on Earth, swinging around doing our own thing over and over again - enjoying ourselves and our family, eating out, and building our lives. It is not until we get to the stage in our lives or when we end up at a funeral service, that we think about what is going to happen to us after we die.

It's amazing how people think of heaven as a place where "good" people go  - so if you are a 'good' person, then you will get to heaven - it's not as simple as that - the Bible has a lot to say about heaven and who is entitled to get there.

John 3:16 says - "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life"- when you think about that verse and I mean REALLY think about it says a real lot. Then in verse 36 it says, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life. For God's wrath remains on them."

Now that is pretty straightforward. Whoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and accepts Him into their life as their Lord and Savior then they have eternal life; those who don't accept Him and believe in Him will not have eternal life. Pretty straight!

Romans 3:1 says no one is perfect, not even one - none of us are perfect, we have ALL sinned - every one of us. We are all doomed to pay the price of our sins, that is, if we don't accept what Jesus did on that cross all those years ago to pay the price for our sins and ask Him to come and take over our lives so that we can live for him.

As I mentioned, we had gone to a funeral yesterday of a dear friend who passed to be with our Lord. Years ago, she came to the point in her life where she really felt she had to turn her life over to God and to live her life putting God first in ALL situations, whatever those situations could be - when you think about it, there are many situations in which putting God first can be difficult.

No one is perfect, we all have sinned, every one of us - God does not have sin in heaven at all. We have no way of making our wrongs right except through Jesus. He took our punishment on himself at the cross, Father grabbing our sins and taking possession of them. He saved us through his death, and all we have to do is accept Him and ask Him to come and rule our lives. 

It's the only thing that Jesus did on that cross all those years ago that gave us the very right to ask God the Father to forgive our sins and to accept us into heaven when we die. The very sacrifice of Jesus on the cruel cross covers all of our sins, every single one of them, and all we have to do is to believe in Him, knowing He is alive in our hearts, and we turn our lives over to Him.

Kerri was a young lady who had decided very young in her life to do her own thing, and even though she loved her parents very much, doing what she was told gave her the irrits big time. Along came young Gibby,  the so-called gardener, a handsome young fella who really liked

 Kerri a lot.

Years before Kerri, through the influence of her mum, decided to follow Jesus, she just went through the motions, put her hand up when asked if she wanted to come to Christ, and even taught Sunday School, BUT did she mean it?

This is where a lot of people really don't understand about becoming a follower of Jesus - It is far more than making a declaration or trying to please someone. Following Jesus is a personal experience of believing in Christ and what he did for us all those years ago. He took our sins upon Himself and paid the high price of ridding the sins of everyone who decides to follow Him. It was a huge and amazing thing to do.

Gibby and Kerri decided to make a go of their relationship. Unbeknownst to Kerri, Gibby was also a drug dealer from years before; all she could see was lots of money and so-called fun. Kerri fell for Gibby and also fell into a lot of trouble.

You know - God has a real means of talking to people when they come to Him - He gives them a real awareness of their sins and also a real awareness of their personal needs of a savior humbly accepting God's amazing offer of forgiveness. They have repented of their old ways of doing their own thing and constantly sinning. Coming to Christ keeps us fully aware of when we do trip up, and the amazing thing is that when we do trip up, we can come back to Christ, constantly asking for his forgiveness.

Unfortunately for Kerri, because she didn't really believe in her heart that there was a God after all, and

truly gave her heart to Him, she really had no awareness of what she was doing until it was far too late. 

No matter what has happened in your life and no matter how far you feel you have sinned, God can speak to your heart, and you can come back, but please be fully aware that God won't keep on prompting you to come back to Him if you keep ignoring Him and doing your own thing over and over again.

If you feel God is talking to you right now, please ask His forgiveness. Ask Him to come into life and lead you in the way you should go.

God can change the most amazing sinners, believe me, I am one.

,

So Sorry to Wake You!!

"So sorry to wake you,". he yelled through the letterbox - just when I thought I was going to sleep in. WOW, what did he expect - me to jump out of bed and meet him out in the driveway?

You never can tell when someone comes in early some mornings and expects you to be wide awake and all ears to their needs and/or demands

It's really tiring, isn't it, when you may have had a very late night and finally climbed into bed, struggle to get to sleep because you have so much on your mind, finally fall into a deep sleep only to be woken by any number of things happening around you.

So when someone comes around like that and wakes you, you feel like throwing something at them and telling them to 'get lost'. 

You know, everyone worries about things that seem important to them. Lots of things like:- work (which can take so much of your time and energy), money troubles (oh dear - they are pretty horrible), health issues,  family, relationships, job security, weight and appearance, and so it goes on - somewhat endlessly.

All of these types of things can significantly influence how we worry and become consumed by everything that truly bothers us.

Í guess in lots of ways worries, whatever those worries are, can lead us to anxiety and often sadly enough can become a real problem and we can go downhill really, really fast.

Apparently, in today's world, there are numerous ways we can address our concerns and develop new and innovative techniques. We can:-  challenge any negative thoughts we have. Yes, I can see that would be a great way to start - maybe not really easy to do, but it can be very fulfilling. 

We can maybe say meditation could be the way to go: - My niece is a big fan of meditation - she goes off to the beach very early each Saturday morning and joins a meditation group on the sand, which she finds extremely helpful,  even on the coldest winter mornings and well before the sun finally breaks through.

Then there is Deep breathing:- Interesting thing to think about. Apparently, deep breathing can reduce physical tension and calm our nerves. Interesting!

If worries and concerns are really getting to you, then you should really consider seeking professional help from a counsellor or therapist, or actually go see your doctor and have a wise chat. 

What does God say about worries, anxiety, concerns, and depression? In 1 Peter chapter 5, Peter tells us to cast all of our concerns and anxieties onto God because He really does care for you.

What does that actually mean? Well, put it simply, if you come to God and really want Him to take control of your life and you ask Him to do just that, then He definitely will because He certainly does care that much about us.

God is really concerned about everything that goes on in our lives, and when we give our problems over to God, He does give us peace.

It doesn't mean that the problem miraculously disappears - of course not - BUT... it does mean that we can get on with our lives knowing that God truly does care enough about us.

When we are faced with life's biggest hurdles and when we are in times of great need, we often ask God for help, but then we feel we are not receiving the help that we want - it can be sad and extremely depressing.

This under no circumstances means that God isn't listening and that he doesn't care about us or our troubles. 

When you read the Bible and you see what Jesus went through in the Garden of Gethsemane, then even He cried out to God to let this pass from me - he knew he was going to be crucified horribly and with excruciating pain - yet God didn't answer his prayers in the way that He pleaded with Him.

Jesus was totally in God's will, not His own - it's a lot to take in, isn't it?

We so often can cry out to God, and when we do, God so often hears us, and he knows what we are going through.

Though Jesus asked God to please stop Him from going to Calvary, He asked with the condition "if it is possible". Jesus was in complete submission to God's will and not His own. If His suffering was a part of God's will, then He was willing to accept that.

When we cry out, "God, please help me," God hears us and always responds. He may not do so in the way we wish, but He responds nonetheless. Understandably, when we are in the middle of any suffering and grief, it is difficult to see the wider perspective of God's plan, especially when we receive an answer of "no" or "not now." But we can trust in God's sovereignty because we know He is good.

At the moment, in our family, we are going through a pretty tough time - our son is suffering horribly with cancer. When we pray and God doesn't answer in the way we would like then how do we react?

We personally have found ourselves pouring our hearts out to God, but we then feel that our prayers are falling on deaf ears, confusing, and greatly upsetting. We are truly not alone in this sort of situation when we feel that God remains silent when we pray.

The Bible reminds us in John Chapter 5 that God hears us and will respond - unfortunately, maybe not in the way we hope to expect. It can be frustrating to say the least, but do you know - you can be honest with God - pour out your feelings to Him - tell Him how you really are feeling.

God may have a hugely different plan for our lives that we may have planned, and His ways are much higher that ours, regardless of how we may be feeling. tell God how you are feeling, he isn't going to stop loving you or your family through hard times.

I know personally through the sufferings of our boy, just a fraction of what Jesus must have gone through, or the many thousands of people suffering horribly around the world.

This is something that we may never fully understand, but one thing I do understand through all of this is that God loves me regardless of how I feel and the many problems I personally face. We accept His love and His saving grace, and we venture on with Him, asking for His guidance and trusting Him regardless. 

God may have a hugely different plan for our lives that we may have planned for ourselves, and His ways are much higher than ours, regardless of how we may be feeling. Tell God how you are feeling. He isn't going to stop loving you or your family through hard times. 

God knows all about us, in fact, everything that's going on and taking place in our lives, including our deepest inner thoughts (which can be pretty scary) and our motives. In Hebrews 4:13, it says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight"- that alone can be pretty scary because it totally tells us that we can't possibly ever EVER hide anything, including ourselves, from God. 

In one way, it's scary, BUT in another way, it brings us HUGE hope because even though He does know everything about us, He still loves us with a never-ending love. He is amazing because, despite our personal sins, which are huge and seemingly never-ending, He (God) loves us so much that He sent His only Son here on earth to pay for all of our sins from the past to the present day.

You know, you can turn to Jesus Christ right now if you want to. It's as simple as turning away from all those things that hang around us constantly - those things that we know are wrong, and yet we do them anyway - those things that we keep to ourselves and hide away from everyone else.

So, how do we turn away from them? By asking God to take control, He will come into your life and convict you of your sins and keep bringing you back to Himself. He is amazing.

I personally love this verse in Psalm 139 and verses 23 to 24: "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." May this amazing prayer become ours personally.

God bless you this week, and may you ask Jesus Christ to come into your life and be your rock and steadfast anchor.

Huge blessings

The King and the Donkey

Just been reading the Bible in Numbers 22 about a bloke called Balaam - quite THE guy!

Well worth the read if you can - really interesting.

Anyway, it turns out that the Israelites had traveled through the plains of Moab and camped across the Jordan River, across from Jericho, with full attention to taking over the land.

So the story of what happens next is amazing in itself  - it's about Balaam and a talking donkey. It's both jaw-dropping and a tad humorous and also heart-warming to a degree as well.

Here we have the King of Moab by the name of Balak, who was terrified of the army of Israel camped on his doorstep - don't blame him, really, I think I would be terrified as well.

So in his kingly wisdom, he thinks he would be able to summon a soothsayer or a person with so-called wisdom to come and put a curse on the people out there so that they will flee away and not come back, or they will all die a horrible and unseeming death.

You know - how many times have we wondered what we can do to make barriers between people who worry us? I guess in lots of ways we all have people who worry us. Some people and their actions can really get to us, and we find we need some sort of powerful way to regain our control over our anxiety by establishing healthy boundaries or space between ourselves and others.

Certain people, when mixed together, create a volatile match, so hopefully, this doesn't happen to us regularly, but sometimes we really do need to set boundaries and avoid physical contact.

And so this is exactly how the King of Moab felt when he saw the Israeli army camping outside his city - a bit of a shock!

Hence, the messengers sent to Balaam the soothsayer and mystic said, "Come and put a curse on the Israeli army out there." I can imagine what he was thinking- something along these lines - "I could do this and gain a lot of extra $$ if I do what the King commands - even if I don't do exactly what he says."

There were a few comings and goings, but finally, Balaam got on his donkey and off he went, with all these secret ideas swimming around in his head!

Sometimes we have to be very careful when we take off to say things and do things to or for others. We really do have to make sure that our intentions are good and honourable. Not like Balaam.

So Balaam hops on his beloved donkey, apparently, he's had for quite a while, and heads off to put some sort of curse or apparition on the enemy army. Looks good to Balaam - he has his special motive up his sleeve, all working out for him. Off he goes on his donkey with two servants with him.

Suddenly, the donkey turns off the road and ends up in a field all because being wiser than Balaam, the donkey can see an angel standing in front armed with a drawn sword ready to spiflicate good old Balaam if he proceeds any further.

Balaam is furious with the donkey and whacks it with a stick or some such instrument. Poor donkey!

Poor old donkey gets back on the road and makes its way to a narrow path through the vineyards with walls on each side. The angel then moves in front of the donkey, who obviously gets shocked and presses close to the wall and crushes Balaam's foot - you can imagine the "AAHH" coming from Balaam, who in turn beats the good old donkey again with the stick.

The angel moves again, to another narrow place - the donkey, this time, lies down, he's had enough - he doesn't want to die. Balaam is furious and beats the poor animal. Suddenly, the donkey speaks up (you can imagine Balaam's shock), "What have I done that has made you beat me these three times?"

Balaam answered the donkey (as you would, I guess), "You have made a fool of me - If I had a sword, I would kill you." The donkey replied (as they do), "I'm your donkey, I've never been in the habit of doing this." Suddenly, an angel appeared, and old Balaam suddenly realised what it was all about.

And so the story goes on - how Balaam meant to curse Israel but instead blessed them not once but twice.

It's worth the read - try it.

God can use amazing things to influence us in so many ways - even the other day, when Sue and I were walking along the beach together, we were gobsmacked by just how amazing God's creation is. It's astounding, isn't it?

Balaam must have been astounded when the donkey spoke - it didn't say anything about it in the passage, but I can imagine his surprise - Just like our surprise when things sometimes backfire on us or astound us in so many ways.

Before I personally became a Christian, I was so absorbed in my own welfare and how the world revolved around me and my desires. I am totally in awe of how God changed entirely after He came and took residence in my life.

God changed me so much - firstly, I could see others in so many different ways - I now can't help but put others first, which in itself is quite amazing, especially for a person like myself, someone who was always thinking of themselves. I changed so much that it was quite unbelievable.

Secondly, I had a huge desire to help and assist other people in even small ways - something that I never wanted to do at all. I was so self-centred, it is so embarrassing to look back.

God can change you - if He can change me, He can change anyone. 

How does He change us? By us coming to Him and asking Him to come into our lives and lead us.

Pray this prayer to ask Him into your life

Dear Lord, I confess that I am a sinner and need your absolute forgiveness. I truly believe that Jesus died for my sins and, amazingly, He rose again. Please come into my life and be my Lord. Amen

If you truly from your heart prayed this prayer Jesus will come into your life straight away. You will change- we all continue to make mistakes, but God will always, through His Holy Spirit, keep bringing us back to repentance.

God bless you this week. Keep your eyes on our Lord and keep looking to Him.

Love our sport

WOW! Our grandson never ceases to amaze us.

Here he is being No. 1 in the soccer football frenzy.

This is his third promotion in quite a number of years, and he is only 18 years old.

The first episode in his sparkling career so far was at home, and he was playing for the local team in first grade.

Then...got persuaded to play for a team in the same competition.  The thing was, this particular team was winning the comp at that stage. They were also a good 100 kilometers away, which meant lots of traveling for him, BUT he joined them anyway and has gone from strength to strength.

Now...He has been persuaded to join yet another winning team, a further 100 kilometers away, and has been put on contract for at least two years. I must say I am pretty amazed at his skills and perseverance.

He was ALWAYS so set on soccer when he was a little chap, it was constantly 'soccer in the backyard' at Pop and Gran's place, with the soccer ball always taking a trip down the road with good old Pop being Mr Fielder.

How important is being Number 1 in any sort of field? Looking at our boy, it makes me wonder.

Driving into the beach again today, I was overwhelmed by the many drivers I encountered (not saying I was any better than any of them) who were so keen to get in front of everybody they almost entirely ran up the back of any car that dared to get in front of them.

Just made me wonder how imperative it is for us to succeed in anything we do, and is getting in front of whoever is in the way, so important for us?

I couldn't help going back to one of the blogs I recently wrote called 'Bullfrogs and Butterflies,' which was about Keith Green. He wrote an amazing number of songs, one of which stands out to me, especially some of the lyrics.

In it, he talks about feelings and the amazing grace of God by which he is saved (when I say 'saved' I mean being committed to God and asking Him to take control of your life) He also mentions and I quote "You must remember that nothing lasts EXCEPT the Grace Of God by which I stand in Jesus" He then goes on the sing "I know that I would surely fall away EXCEPT for grace by which I'm saved". 

When I look at our young fellow above and how he is doing in his soccer world, I am very excited for him - he has tried and succeeded so well, and I can't help but feel so very happy for him. Honestly, I enjoy every moment of seeing him succeed in his beloved sport.

BUT..

Nothing will last forever - not our good feelings about things or the bad things that happen in our lives, yes, nothing, absolutely nothing will last forever EXCEPT the very grace of God, which has been mentioned in the lyrics of Keith's song.

So, what is Grace?

Grace means courtesy, politeness, manners, dignity, honour, etc. 

So, what is the Grace of God?

Grace is so essential to our great God  - it is actually pretty much hand in hand with His amazing love and mercy. We are pretty much undeserving of His grace and of God's gift to us. 

God is so willing to forgive us of all of our wrongdoings, and THAT to me is GRACE with a capital "G".

Grace is pretty much constantly mentioned all the way through the Bible, and it virtually means kindness or blessings. We can give and extend it to anyone we wish. In our Lord God's eyes, GRACE to Him means choosing to bless us even though we certainly don't deserve it, and only when we hand our lives entirely over to Him.

In the Bible, Ephesians 2 verse 8 says, "For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves," meaning that we are saved only through believing in the Lord our God - we don't save ourselves, only through God.

Sometimes we can get caught up in guilt, fear, and a sense of constantly sinning, which can lead us to a feeling of lack of confidence in Jesus and also joy in our salvation. 

When we decide to follow Jesus, and He comes into our lives, joy can come into our lives also, and can be the victory over our doubts and concerns. God shows us through His love when we do sin, and He makes us aware of the times we sin and how we can come to Him and ask for forgiveness.

So many times I have heard that people reckon once they have become "Christians" that they will never sin again, and when they do sin, they reckon "Well, that didn't work, did it? 

NO! Because we are so human, we will sin all the time - the thing is that God will keep bringing us back to Himself and keep on reminding us that what we have just done in the sinning business will need to be forgiven by Him, and all we have to do is ask His forgiveness.

The thing is that as we progress in our Christian lives and we start making God No. 1 all the time, then our blatant sinning will become less and less - praise the Lord for that, I say! 

God's amazing grace covers us, and He will save us. As we travel along with Him, He will change us more and more to be like Him in so many ways.

None of us is perfect, and we will never be until we meet God face to face. All changes are made through His great love and mercy.

God bless you this week. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Take Joy in the Lord.