Choices

I have been seeking out a job due to the fact that my wife and I relocated to Seattle and arrived in the last month. Right now I am looking at 2 great possibilities of working within 2 completely different companies - both are super-exciting, and present different opportunities and possibilities... I am incredibly blown away by 2 great opportunities, both of which I never expected God to provide - he is faithful, and then some!

Which one do I choose? I feel like God is asking me which one I choose - none of them being specifically wrong, he is giving me opportunity to chose and partner with what he wants to do there, in that environment. Sometimes, for fleeting moments, I wish God was a dictator and we were puppets - life would so much simpler... then the moment passes and I am thankful that we get to CHOOSE!

But then as I sit here in Starbucks, blogging, listening to Tree63 (great South African band) and thinking, I realise maybe it is simpler - maybe these are meant to be 2 different seasons and contexts (not to occur at the same time - not to be instead of one or the other). This may be it, we will have to wait and see...

self-centeredness

A friend of mine posted the quote below, and I felt it challenged me so much around what am I doing, versus what am giving/sacrificing, ultimately not focus the purpose of my existence around me...

"One could spend a lifetime tinkering with one's soul - more time alone, more retreats... more self-improvement, more searching for one's center - and at the end have no record of self-denial in the quest for the other's good, no risky investment in altering the oppressive conditions under which other live, no voice raised in the public forum of conflicting values. Religious self-centeredness is seeking to save one's life and that, even if it is called spirituality, is finally fatal."

Preach : 25-Nov : GIFTED

Bill Keogh - Church of Christ the King, Snohomish.

God rejoices over you - Zephaniah 3. He is excited about us. God gifted us and we can co-create with him. God continues to create today with us... Is he waiting for me for to become creative? He blessed us so we can bless... He made us fruitful.

Romans 12:1-10
1) Believe God has gifted you. v2.
    > Approaching him with gratitude and thankfulness.
    > Power of belief and unbelief.
    > Impossible to please God without faith.
2) Understand what our gifts are. v4-5.
3) Use our gifts.
4) Grow in our gifting. v10.

Responsibility : Mine or God's?

Over the years I am being graciously taught how I live my life in the presence of an all powerful, all knowing, fully capable, fully sufficient God. For many years I felt like I needed to do things for God because he needed it - over time I came to the conclusion that God does not need anything from, he is always fully satisfied and never does need. Having now recently moved to a new country, and we are busy adjusting to living in a new place and setting up our new lives, I have had to surrender so much more to God - because there is so much which is inherently out of my control.

However we need to balance this thinking. God does call us to do things (e.g. great commission) - however in my mind this is clearly because it is something we need, as he has no need. So why do we need this? What purpose does it serve us to partner with God in our lives, giving him our life and all? Here are my thoughts.

Living life for God, fully surrendered to him, obedient to his will and purpose, is simply awesome. Now I am not in that place, not by a long shot - I don't I will ever be 100% there. But every time I surrender something to him, every time I give him space to work in my life, it is awesome. The peace which passes all understanding is with me in those situations where peace does not logically make sense - in a worldly sense I should be stressed and afraid - but I am at peace (Philipians 4:6-7). Every time I give it to him, he blesses the sacrifice - as in the old testament fire fell on sacrifice. I also believe as Jesus said, he came to give us life and life in abundance (John 10:10) - and having had experiences being in that situation, just blessing people, loving them naturally, getting to know them and encouraging them, building them up and releasing hope, I feel alive! I think that is what God intended for each of us!?

I still stupidly often choose to live my way, but I am learning that that simply leads to disappointment... God does not need my gift, my life, my time... but He wants it from me as in His infinite wisdom He knows it will be most fulfilling life I get to live!

Preach 11-Nov : what mark?

So below are my notes from a sermon I attended this week. The focus was what impact does our lives have on this earth, and for me the essence of the challenge was what vision do I have - is it just for the next few years, or is it for the generations not even born yet. Am I investing into that which will release blessing and hope in generations to come?

Where is your focus?

========================================

Christ the King, Snohomish

- What mark will I leave in this earth?
- "Are we so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good?"
- Think of the next world, so that I remain effective in this.
- Living for ourselves leads to isolation.

Deuteronomy 34
1) You will be mourned, but not forever v7-8.
2) Devote yourself to a vision which will out live you v1-4. Failures and mistakes will limit what we accomplish in this life... [although God can redeem all things]
3) Invest in those who will come after you v9.

- Are we servers or consumers?

Gabe Murfitt

I was at a business men's bible study & lunch in Bellevue this Tuesday, and we had the privilege to hear a guy called Gabe Murfitt speak to us during the lunch.

The summary of Gabe is that he is a 22 year old man, who was born with a defect, where his legs didn't grow properly and his arms are almost non existent, so he is limited to getting around on a wheel chair. He has an incredible testimony of living life to the fullest in the midst of these circumstances, including playing basketball with ordinary kids during his time at high school. He has an incredible relationship with Jesus, and has been speaking at different places to give encouragement to all people, and has even been recognised by Oprah and was invited onto her show.

Below is Gabe's simple message... CLEAR:
- Courage. Have courage. Deuteronomy 31 - "know that your God is with you".
- Leadership. Jesus is a sufficient friend, and he will lead you through all uncertainty. Be somebody who does the same - stick a hand out to those who need it and effect them in a positive way.
- Endurance. Cannot do myself. Philippians 4:13 - do all things through Christ...
- Attitude. Frame the situation, don't let it frame you. You are the weather.
- Respect. Respect others, but also respect yourself. You are a child of God, created in his image, with incredible value and unique purpose.

To close I wanted to mention a story Gabe shared which happened to him when in a restaurant. A 4 year old boy had come in with his parents, and had just stared wide-eyed and Gabe for many minutes. After a while he said to his mother "That boy over there looks funny - he looks like a T-Rex". Gabe chuckled, and said it was funny, he could even understand why the boy said that... the possible pain/frustration it might have caused him, bounced right off him because of the knowledge of who we was, the understanding of his identity and value. Is my identity & self worth as strong as his?

Preach : Bill Johnson, 28-Oct

So I captured some of the key points from a great sermon I heard when I was in Redding, California, at Bethel Church. If you like it go and check out the free weekly sermon's available on podcast.

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• Nehemiah 8
• When moving redemptively, there is no "us and them", just us - as "all have sinned". The Lord doesn't entrust the breakthrough to those who separate themselves from the need.
• Nehemiah 8:9-12. "Do not sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
• Rejoicing takes faith in Gods grace. We have joy because we rejoice. The greatest demonstration of faith is to rejoice when it is the last thing we want to do.
• Nehemiah 9:1
• There were 7 days celebration for 1 day of repentance. Sometimes God takes us through a season of joy and blessing, and then through that allows us to become convicted of things in our life which are not of him.

==================

What I felt most challenged about in the sermon was that when we partner with God and seek his redemptive power for people or situations, we must not seperate ourselves from the need. We need to recognise it and carry that need to the Lord. When we cry out to him, we stand with those people, in that need, and intercede for that with God.

hate evil

So after a little time of no quiet times or reading the scripture, I felt compelled and hungry to eat some fulfilling food, and hear from the Lord, my awesome Father in heaven. So opened up to Psalms where I had last stopped reading, and read a few chapters.

The scripture that the Lord spoke to me through was Psalm 97:10 - "Let those who love the Lord hate evil". I have heard it said that often we as people can be "measured" how much we love something, by how much we hate something else. I felt God ministering to me through that about area's in my life which I have left unguarded and exposed, and specifically where I have not fought back thoughts and deeds which were completely not of the Lord.

Now to be clear, I do not believe the Lord is saying that we should hate all men who do evil, as that is ultimately all of us. However I believe it is about hating that evil thing which drives us, so for instance if a man is beating his wife, I should not hate the man, but rather that thing which is driving him to do it. I cannot control anyone else, so what is my responsibility is to hate that which I have control over, primarily my own thoughts and actions.

In recent days I feel God has been impressing on me the perspective of eternity. This in regards to what decisions (both seemingly big or small) am I making today, and what is their effect and significance in light of eternity... and I feel this thing of hating this evil which can invade all of our lives, and that which I allow to invade mine, needs to be told to stop. I need to constantly watch what I am letting into the door (in terms of my thoughts), and if it is not of the Lord, command it to leave as it has no place in my mind or my heart.

So that is my prayer, that I will grow pro-active in my thought life, and rejection that which is not of the Lord.

Emeli Sande - Read all about it (part III)

I love this beautiful song...

====================

You've got the words to change a nation
but you're biting your tongue
You've spent a life time stuck in silence
afraid you'll say something wrong
If no one ever hears it how we gonna learn your song?
So come, on come on
Come on, come on
You've got a heart as loud as lions
So why let your voice be tamed?
Baby we're a little different
there's no need to be ashamed
You've got the light to fight the shadows
so stop hiding it away
Come on, Come on

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
so put it in all of the papers,
i'm not afraid
they can read all about it
read all about it oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh

At night we're waking up the neighbours
while we sing away the blues
making sure that we remember yeah
cause we all matter too
if the truth has been forbidden
then we're breaking all the rules
so come on, come on
come on, come on,
lets get the tv and the radio
to play our tune again
its 'bout time we got some airplay of our version of events
there's no need to be afraid
i will sing with you my friend
Come on, come on

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
so put it in all of the papers,
i'm not afraid
they can read all about it
read all about it oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh

Yeah we're all wonderful, wonderful people
so when did we all get so fearful?
Now we're finally finding our voices
so take a chance, come help me sing this
Yeah we're all wonderful, wonderful people
so when did we all get so fearful?
and now we're finally finding our voices
so take a chance, come help me sing this

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
so put it in all of the papers,
i'm not afraid
they can read all about it
read all about it oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh
oh-oh-oh

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
so put it in all of the papers,
i'm not afraid
they can read all about it
read all about it oh

2 years in... no matter what.

So on a road trip "journey of a lifetime" across the USA, I was able to celebrate my 2 year anniversary with my awesome wife. I am so thankful that I have an incredible partner like her, who strengthens me in my weaknesses / areas of need (and who I do the same for). For me, marriage has always been a simple thing of something you just do - thanks to my amazing parents who were an absolute rock solid foundation for us as a family growing up. In our household there was never a question in my mind about divorce or other complications, my parents where always just married and they did it, no matter how big the argument or how great the divide. 2 years in I am so thankful for my amazing wife. Her incredible strength in great challenges, her hope for the future, her hard-working and "go-getting" nature, and her humour... I am so blessed to have her alongside me, challenging me, encouraging me, working with me, discovering with me, and just doing life with me. Thanks so much babes!

An Unkindness of Ravens

My wife and I were recently at the Grand Canyon, and we had the opportunity to watch a presentation by a park ranger on Ravens. She talked about the family of birds, the vast area in the world where their species live, their heightened intelligence, and also the human culture of fear or hatred against them.

What I found remarkable is how we as humans can very quickly label something as positive or negative. How through media (films and books specifically, in the case of animals/insects) can create such a dark and evil view of something (e.g. Jaws, Arachnophobia, The Birds etc.). But also how simply the colour of something can give us a view of something bad (e.g. black cat, black bird). She remarked that if we simply painted the Raven (or crow) our favourite colour, we probably would not regard it with as much disdain as if it were it's normal black colour.

Having grown up in South Africa, I know how quickly judgement can be passed onto someone based purely on the colour... So where/when do I judge something too quickly?

The essence for me of the judgement wash caught up nicely in the collective nouns given to Crows and Ravens: A murder of Crows, An unkindness of Ravens

Throwing Stones (breaking) or Lifting Stones (building)

My wife and I recently listened to Laura Bush's book, Spoken from the Heart, which provides an interesting personal look at her life and her time as first lady of the USA. It was a great book, something I would recomend to folks, especially those who are incredibly synical and judgemental (like myself) of people in seats of authority.

Whilst listening to her speak about her time, and her husband's, whilst they led the country, I was completely humbled about the responsibility and weight these people shoulder as they lead a nation. I looked back as she shared about decisions she or her husband had made, and how I had judged them at that time, and ultimately felt stupid, ignorant and foolish at having been so willing, possibly even eager, to throw over my own bombs of accusation, judgement and supposed wisdom at what decisions and actions should have been made but were not.

Next time I will try and not be so eager to throw stones, as breaking down a house is easy. I hope to rather see which stones I can carry and work with the leaders to build a stronger house together.

Control & Pride

As my wife and I have been in a season of transition, I have felt God challenging me about the mask wear which says to everyone around me that "I have it all together. I am in control and have it all worked out"

Being in this season of change, I have incredible uncertainty but at the same time I have found such peace. As I read the bible I see examples of great women and men and communities of faith who could sense God's will and purpose in a situation even though the outcome was unclear to them.

I think there is something in safe and controlled western culture (certainly the culture which I know) which says we need to have it all figured out... I feel whilst there maybe wisdom in that, Giddy is looking for us go be willing risky steps of faith, risky only in worldly sense...

For me this us also tied into the fear of uncertainty, something which I am growing in as my faith grows, but it is still a long journey...

Baptism... in the USA

So having recently moved to USA, my wife and I were able to attend a great church in New Haven Connecticut, which had an incredible level of passion for Jesus and heart for the community http://www.ourcitychurch.org/

On arrival we realised that day was actually going to be a baptism service - no initially I was like "oh no, I wanted to get more of a flavour of the church and what they are about"... however God has a different perspective. We actually ended up hearing what the church believes on a variety of topics during the preach (from things like healing, prayer, prophecy, outreach and so on).

However what really struck me was the fact that there was a baptism. As my wife and I move into this new season, I feel like God is calling me to drop off the old which hindered me, to cast all the things from my old life, which hindered my run with him, and to use this refreshing new season to let new things grow... So inherently I felt I was almost going through my own personal baptism in this season, a baptism into a new culture, but beyond that a baptism into a new life and season with Jesus... come on, so excited!

Intimacy & Communication

So my wife and I were just spending some time together, and as our relationships grows, there are moments where I understand what she is thinking by simply a look she gives me or the way she speaks or whatever. I feel there is definitely a sense as you spend more time with somebody, specifically in a close and intimate setting where you really are able to understand them, that communication between you and that person can be simplified, and much better understood...

I felt God challenge me about my level of relational investment with him. I am so quick to get doing my life on my own, and then when I need God and callout to him, I cannot fully understand him. I need to invest that time with him, reading his word, reflecting on his love and goodness, worshipping, and then out of that he will be able to direct me in the daily challenges, in the moments when I need to hear his voice and direction.

Am I a wind turbine?

Recently I was flying to the Netherlands for work, and accentuating the North Sea are fields and fields of majestic wind turbines, slowly caressing the winds as they pass them by. I believe the concept of wind turbine is brilliant in it's simplicity, capturing something (wind) which can be normally destructive or annoying to people, and harnessing it, and then turning it into something which can empower people (excuse the pun). As I was flying over, I felt God speak to me through the image of the turbine.

1. Am I anchored in my core, unchanging in foundational beliefs and principles, as the turbine is? Or am I adrift, being pushed around wherever the wind takes me? This is not to see that I shouldn't have a freedom to chose and to grow, but there needs to be a part of me which is rock solid.
2. Am I able to take what is thrown around in the world, and use it generate good and put that back into the world? Or do I simply lash out in anger and frustration at those around me (or even God) when things don't go according to my will or expectation.

Can I give out from what he has already given me... that is the challenge on my heart today.

Giving to those in need or feeding my own desires?

I was in Euston Station preparing to catch a train, and then I had an urge for a Chai Latte – probably the most tasty hot drink I know of. I did find myself swaying on the shores of uncertainty, see-sawing between “should I buy it or not”, specifically “is it worth the few £’s or not”? Often before I would not have thought much about it, and would have easily gone to buy it, in my mind my one selfish indulgence for the day… However thinking it through, I realised I take many liberties during the day, many self-gratifying indulgences, without thinking about it.

I was contrasting this experience with another one a few weeks back where I was a homeless man on the street. He stopped me and asked me for some money – I did engage with him, as I felt something on my heart that I needed to. So I followed him down the street so I could buy him the food – unfortunately the shop he wanted to go into was closed. So I faced the dilemma of “do I give this man money even though I can clearly see he is drunk”. Remembering a pastor’s sermon where he said that for some of us (me), we withhold money from the poor as we feel they will misuse it – he said that this in itself is a misuse of our money. He also pulled something out of Proverbs (I believe) which said that “he who gives to the poor, lends to the Lord”, and given that the Lord’s interest rates are ridiculous, that is always a good investment. So I decided to buy the man a drink (non-alcholic!) and give him some change so he could get himself some food – whether or not he bought it was his responsibility.

So back to the train station… I ended resolving that I should spend less money (and time!) on my little (but many) indulgences, and give more to those who need it... Ultimately knowing that my spirit & soul is much more satisfied when I am obedient to the Lord and bless those around me, than rather when I seek only to satisfy myself. So no coffee on the train…

Complaining

How often do I find myself complaining, either in my mind or to those around me. Something God has been challenging me on is that complaining is simply seeing an issue, but not taking personal responsibility to see it fixed. Now of course we cannot practicality get involved with everything, but I felt God say that instead of wasting time talking about it, I should rather spend that time praying into the situation, or thinking about how I can personally get involved to improve it.

Holiday & Wives

Just got from an amazing holiday with my lovely wife. I am just so thankful for the wonderful time we were able to spend together, the things we were able to do and incredible places we could see, and also the fantastic people we were able to meet on the journey. It was such a strengthening time for me, and God just continued to work at little things in my heart (knowing there is still a long way to go) - he challenged me on a couple area's where I now know I had lost focus on what was important or allowed little/minor things to distract me - I know this has manifested itself in my relationship with my wonderful wife, so I am humbled by the challenge but excited to be able to move forward in a growing and blossoming relationship with a wonderful partner, team member, leader and butt-kicker.

See the Light

So my mother-in-law is an amazing woman - having spent a few days with her recently, she really is such an encouragement and role model for me. Despite having gone through various difficult circumstances, she is somebody who infectiously oozes hope & joy. There is something about her mindset, that she just sees the light in everything - I on the other can sometimes get caught up in to much of the darkness of this world. Not that discernment is a bad thing, but what is it that prompts a response from us, light or dark, God or satan? We should never act purely in response to darkness, or else we are allowing satan to control our paths - instead we willing respond to God's truth.

But before I digress, back to the point, which is a bit more than just "seeing the light". Living in the UK, where there are many aging churches with beautiful architecture, I could often say to myself that (in my view) men built these not to glorify God but themselves. However I felt challenged by this, as going to one of these little churches, my mother-in-law was so thankful for it all. God lead me to Phillipians 1 where Paul talks about Christ being preached, regardless of intention or motive, he still gives thanks that Christ is preached. Now not that our motives can be wrong, but who are we to judge others? Therefore when we hear the gospel being shared, regardless of the context, I should give thanks and pray that the message is empowered. No matter if it is a church which might have been built to glorify man, or if it is a person on the side of the street preaching, I should see the light and pray that it catches fire on this earth.

Shadow Glory

Just before Easter we were in a coffee shop in London, when outside there was some commotion, so being a guy and intrigued by the gathering crowd I went out. To my surprise it was Zach Braff, the actor from Scrubs, who was part of a musical in a west end show and had come out to meet his fans after a showing. I tried to grab a photo of him, but failed to do so. What struck me was the way people were interacting with him – they were either getting signatures or getting a photo with alongside him. So here is this guy who is fairly well known and respected, and the “normal folk” – including myself – just wanted to “catch” some of that recognition and respect he carries by just being captured briefly in his shadow. There was not anything deeper than that, people were not chatting to him or trying to give him things – quite possibly because of the limited time – but there was something about trying to use this time with this person for our own personal recognition and status. I might be wrong, but I am just being honest about what I was thinking.

Ultimately it prompted me to think about my motives when partnering with people in life, especially those who have something I feel I want or need. What are your motives?

Identity Lie

So something which God has been correcting in my heart & mind recently has been around this thing of identity. I have realised how subtly the devil can twist this, and we begin to believe something about ourselves which is not of God.

As a young boy I often got very sick, nothing serious, just colds & flu's. In this season, I grew to know myself as "a sick boy". As I grew up, I carried this identity as a sick person with my, so much so that when I got sick I did not feel empowered to fight it, as it was part of who I was. It was only in marriage when I started to get sick, and my wife when asking me why, said that it was not part of my identity, that I began to realise the lie I had believed. As I started to realise actually God's will was not for me to be a sick child, I felt empowered to come against the lies, and therefore in the moments when I felt like I was coming down with something God gave me the resolve to fight it, and to speak and pray against that thing which was fighting my health.

My identity is being renewed, and there is a long road ahead of me, but I am thankful that God, through my amazing wife, showed me that lie which I had long believed.

Is there something the father of lies has told you, dear reader, and you have believed? If so, I pray that the truth would wash over you, break any bondage or broken thoughts, and that you would be set free in Jesus name.

Water Divinity

So I was chatting to my family in Africa, who are currently drilling for water - water in Africa is always such a big deal, almost a scarce commodity. They had hired a water diviner to come and find the water, and on arriving he had said he could "feel" the water, and then predicted that it would be found at 60m below the surface. Now that sounded a little strange to me - was he consulting spirit mediums to do it? No not at all, this guy was a farmer who had many years struggled to find and dig for water for his farm, and so through his extensive experience he had built in an internal sense to discovering water. So when they hit some water at 58m and had reached a sufficient depth at 61m, I realised how accurate that "sense" of his was.

I felt after this, that there is so much that God has created in this world which we do not currently access. Do I lock God into a box and limit him to my worldly understanding? God created all things for our good, but it does all ultimately point to Him and give Him glory.

God, would You stretch my understanding of You, would You stretch my expectation of what You want to do, around and through me, as You gracefully partner with me as I get to journey with You, living life in abundance. May it all return to You and give You glory. Amen.

Humility & Suffering - 1 Peter 5

⁵ In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. ⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. ¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

A challenging bit of scripture for me, 1 Peter 5.

v6 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." This makes me remember how often Bill Johnson speaks about "we can only live to the measure we have died" and that "we have to go low to go high"... Like in Baptism, we die to ourselves, and are raised with Christ. As we are being transformed into his likeness, as our old self is dead, and we deny things of the flesh but choose what is holy... we carry our cross, and as we submit to his will he raises us up. How God chooses to withhold blessing from us, as he knows with blessing comes responsibility, and if the measure of blessing is beyond what we can handle, he will withhold it (so as not to lets us be ruined), but then as we grow in his likeness, as "we delight ourselves in the ways of the Lord, he gives us the desires of our heart" (Psalm 37:4, partially rewritten) he releases that blessing upon us.

v10 "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." Wow - does God want us to suffer? I personally don't think so... I think as he created a world based on love, which meant being based on the ability to choose (as love can only exist where there is choice - see earlier blog on suffering), and therefore there is a choice between something and something else, good and evil existed, and therefore if we choose God we naturally are at war with evil and therefore is against us... this is where suffering comes from. So we suffer as Christ did (although never to the same immense extent), knowing that we have chosen the side of good, and that in him we are strong, that he will be with us and never forsake us. To God be the glory, and power forever and ever. Amen.

I close out with 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ⁶ If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Our Value = Price Paid

Today we had an incredible sermon delivered to us on 1 Corinthians 6 & 7, on the topic of being single vs. dating vs. marriage. Read below key verses for some context.

Chp 6:
¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Chp 7:
¹⁷ Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. ¹⁸ Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. ²⁰ Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them. ²¹ Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. ²² For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave. ²³ You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

The key points the speaker brought were:

• We were bought at a price - price determines the value of the item bought... So how valued are we? What was the price paid for us?
• We should not let external circumstances, such as culture and human opinion, define us...
• We should remember that we are infinitely valuable - God is not careless in the way he deals with us, he went to great lengths to ensure that we had a choice of eternity with him
• Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit - do we honour that, are we submissive to God's perfect will?

Near the end she referenced James 1:17, which I think is a good place to end this blog

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Sickness & Suffering - God's Will?

So below is my sermon notes for the discussion I had with the youth group around the question:

Why does a good God allow good people to suffer? In other words, is God not good and He want us to suffer, or is He simply not powerful enough to stop us suffering?

In essence, my point was that what God had intended for us was good, it was glorious, but within his love for us he gave us choice (as love cannot exist without choice), and when we made the wrong choice, that put into affect a change what has altered the very environment we live in, from where we in perfect union with God, to a place where the earth has been affected by a fallen world. God does not want us to suffer, he does not delight in it, but in his mercy he allows us to make our own choices.

I cannot go into everybody's personal situation, and I do not think to even understand what everyone is going through, so I cannot give you a glib answer as to why... but I hope that I can encourage you and give you hope that God is good and that he does truly want the best for you, so seek him, press into him!

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Creation to the Fall:

· POWER: Genesis 1 & whole bible
God’s infinite power is constantly demonstrated!

· CREATION: Genesis 1:26-31 : God created man (male and female) and saw that it was very good.
God’s will for us, as seen at beginning of creation, was perfect!

· ITIMACY: Genesis 3:8 : God is walking in the garden
God had an intimate relationship with his children – the way it was intended

· CHOICE: Genesis 2:16-17 : Eat from any tree (even tree of life), but not from tree of knowledge of good and evil.
God knows that true love can only exist where there is choice, so in His love He gives it to us

· SIN & FALL: Genesis 3:1-7 : satan lies, man and woman believe it, sin enters the world – man & woman’s suffering and the ground is also cursed.
Sin affects the entire environment including the earth – this disrupts the perfect union with God and he has to remove himself from that place of sin. God did not desire for man & woman to suffer, to be separate from him, but that was a result of their choice!

Good man Suffering – Job:

· Job 1:1-4 : Job is wonderfully blessed.

· Job 1:6-12 : God is pleased with Job, Satan says he can make him curse God if things go bad – God agrees to let Satan put him through the trial, but that he cannot harm him.

· Job 1-2 : Satan kills & destroys everything which Job knows, but he still praises God.

· Job 3-37 : Job curses the day he was born, and is broken.

· Jon 38-42 : God speaks and says that there are so many things Job does not know about, listing many things which are beyond his comprehension.

· There are things in this world we cannot fully comprehend, and therefore should not get frustrated that we do not understand – but we should keep seeking, keep asking.

A few other learning’s from Jesus

· Luke 8:22-25 : Jesus “rebukes” the storm
Jesus would not stop the storm if it was God’s will, or else he would be working against his father. Do we rebuke that which is not of God’s will?

· Many healings Jesus did (look at any of the gospels)
I don’t believe God was making people ill and Jesus healing them. I believe that sickness has come from the fall, and that ultimately Satan whose role it is to kill steel and destroy, is doing that. Will we oppose him on his mission?

Love is a Choice

I have been preparing my talk for my youth group on age old (but still relevant) question which many people ask as to "Why does a good God allow good people to suffer?".

In preparation, one of the key points that I need to communicated is that God gave us a choice, as I feel love can only exist where is a choice, otherwise it would not be love! Love is an action, an intention, which cannot exist if there is no other option. God loved us so much that he gave us a choice.

As I was pulling together my notes I came across this website: http://www.loveisachoice.org/
The site had a few observations which people had tweeted on the topic, specifically in the context of marriage... I have listed some of them below which challenged me.
~ "Does your calendar reflect you desire to prioritize your marriage relationship as most important?"
~ "Too many couples settle for mediocrity in their marriage, when they would never settle for second best in other areas of their lives."
~ "Many people spend more time in planning the wedding than they do in planning the marriage."

Faith and Deeds

So reading James before I head off to bed...
James 2: v14 : What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? v17 : In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

I guess I feel a couple of things about this teaching:
1) Massively challenge about substantiating my faith - for without deeds my faith is dead
2) However, encouraged that my faith, not my deeds, saves me... yes whilst my deeds show the substance of my faith, it is not my deeds that save me... It is my belief in Jesus who intercedes for me with the Father and who has restored me to the righteous.
3) Based on the belief that I have, how can I not show that? How can I not live differently knowing that a God knows me infinitely, my every weakness and darkest thought, yet loves me beyond understanding! How cannot that change the way I live, the way I think, I act?

Oh God would you release a fresh revelation on me, and on everyone who needs to know your heart. Would you move our hearts, so that we would be compelled to love those around us who do not know your perfect love. Compel us Lord, fill us Lord, for without You we cannot! Would You break off any misunderstanding that You need us for anything, oh God, You who are fully able and fully satisfied in Yourself. Yet You ask us to partner with You, in a relationship to see Your Kingdom come! Thank You for that God, thank You for that adventure of a life time, that we get to journey with You, the living God. That You desire to have a deep and intimate relationship with You, that we get to see Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven!

Bethel Music (Loft Sessions) - You know me ft. Steffany Frizzell

Great song, really moving about how intimately God knows us! I have just pulled out the key lyrics, give it a listen on YouTube or download the track. Be blessed!

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You have been
And You will be
You have seen
And You will see

You know when I rise and when I fall
When I come or go, You see it all
You hung the stars and You move the sea,
And still You know me

And nothing is hidden from Your sight
Wherever I go, You find me
And You know every detail of my life
And You are God and You don't miss a thing

You memorize me

Selfishness of Sin

So I have been working through roots of certain sin in my life, something which God has shown overwhelming grace and rich mercy. Essentially it is selfishness, which if I give into, brings me to a place of more sin, which manifests itself in many ways. Now I don't want go into the manifestations, but into the root, the heart of the issue, as Solomon said "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." (Prov 4:23)

For me it always starts at the point where I feel a spirit of entitlement (i.e. that somebody or the world owes me something) - this can be caused by many different things but for me often preceded good events (productive days at work, growing relationships, acts of generosity, etc) - this is where the devil tricks me into believing that because of all the good stuff "I" have done, I am entitled to something. This hinges on the fact that before I might be doing things out of love, out of a desire to bless or whatever, and then it flips on its head to where I do things for myself. Out of a desire to please myself (and I think in fact that I deserve), I remove myself from a place of sacrifice, submission, intimacy with God, to a place where I believe I should do what I want, and I act out of place where only I matter.

Of course the funny thing is that every time I give into the desire, the end result is that I feel unsatisfied. I know that all the things which the earth has to offer is incomparable to what God can offer me, through intimacy with him, who knows me and loves me immeasurably, and is doing all things for my good and His glory!

Ultimately "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it" (Ps 24:1), but "whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31), and not only that but "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others" (1 Cor 10:24).

Oh God may I be compelled by your love, not by my own desires. Renew my heart, to feel your heart beat in this world, restore me to you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Whistleblower

So I spent the evening with my lovely wife watching the Whistleblower, a stirring film based on the life of Kathryn Bolkovac, a US citizen who went to post war Bosnia as a UN peacekeeper. There she discovered indescribable physical and sexual offenses being committed against the local girls, unfortunately by those who had been sent to protect them - unfortunately the international criminals finally caught, were unable to be prosecuted due to the international immunity offered to them.

This deeply moving film, again reminded me of the offenses men commit against women, a growing theme which God is putting on my heart, and something my wife has been carrying for years. It broke my heart to see what we are capable of, what we are willing to do to one another. It broke my heart what had been committed against my sisters.

Ultimately I ended up realising whilst justice won't be complete in this world, when Jesus returns it will be. Just like the limited perception we have of justice, is incomparable to the wisdom of God who sees all things through love of his children and hatred of evil... In that I can find peace that his perfect will and justice will be done in the end, and that for now all I need to worry about is being obedient to his perfect will, knowing that whilst his love may be hidden in the dark places of the world, when the light does comes (and it will come) the darkness cannot fight and will submit to the name of Jesus. Amen.

So what left to say? Not sure, but I feel like this is still the beginning for my wife and I, and God has a long and exciting road ahead of us... he is stirring us to fight, how, when, were, I am not sure... but one day the battle call will sound and we will be ready.

Angelic Hospitality

On the weekend, my amazing wife & I went to a conference, and on the final day the asked if anyone in the audience would be willing to take a lady back to London - we were able, so offered. What we did not expect was to have somebody with us who would encourage us as much as she did. We are absolutely blessed by a lady with a huge heart and a fun and enjoyable personality. It made my mind think about the verses in Hebrews 13 where it says "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."

Undivided Devotion

Reading from 1 Corinthians 7 where Paul speaks into issue of love and marriage and the pursuit of one another. In verse 29 he makes a challenging statement about men with wives living if they have none, those whose mourn as if they did not, those who buy something as if it were not theirs to keep... "for this world in its present form is passing away". I felt challenged about my approach to life, my perspective on things of this world. Not that I should live my life foolishly as though I was not married, and not that I can detach from my wife and not serve her and love her and lay my life down for her, but that ultimately in the context of God, he needs to be the primary focus as the physical things of this world are only momentary and then gone, but He is eternal. What is my focus, what has my heart, where does my treasure lie? Am I building up treasures on earth or in heaven?

Strip it out, cut it off!

So building on the less is more, surrendering theme. I was listening to a sermon this weekend by Stef Liston, and he spoke about the Flesh, the World and the Devil... below is a bit of the sermon and my thoughts around that.

One of Stef's key points was that we need to crucify the flesh, not to give any space to it (giving it an inch - it will take a mile). The flesh is ultimately anything which stops us from loving Jesus (which ultimately is rooted in the demonic).

In Hebrews 12 the writer tells the people to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles"... EVERYTHING which hinders... Likewise elsewhere in the bible (not sure of the reference) it says if our right hand causes us to sin, we should cut it off! There is a massively radically teaching about what to do from anything which detracts from Jesus.

Wow! That challenged me, how do I operate in my life, what thoughts do I allow to enter my mind? How do I guard my mind & my heart? I close below with a challenging letter to the Galatians...

Galatians 5: Life by the Spirit
¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. ¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Blind Courage

So 2 weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting one of God’s treasures. I sat next to her during a Sunday morning service. We used the standard prompt from the preacher “to get to know your neighbour”, and we chatted for a little while, after which I felt like a had met a genuine, honest, kind person. We then continued in worship, and a visiting speaker delivered a sermon. Right at the end of the meeting, she said to me that she had a simple prophetic picture.

Essentially it was of a small potted plant, and God was simply saying that what I had planted, he would grow… at first I did not get the context, but then after thinking about it I realised it was totally what I needed, in terms of as we plan to move away from this family & community I have been building with for the past few years, God was encouraging me that those people or ministries I had been investing in would grow because he would water them. Thank you God that you are in absolute control, and you will all things for good and your Glory!

Now the point of this blog was not about the simple but hugely encouraging prophecy, but about this girl, who was blind, yet completely confident in bringing a prophetic picture to somebody she just met, and somebody she could not see (or even see how they were reacting). Oh how sometimes I am fearful of steps of faith, even with physical eyes, and her was my friend without sight but completely confident in what God had said to her. What a blessing.

Discipline and Desire

This blog jumps around a bit... apologies if it is a confusing!

So I was listening to a sermon by Bill Johnson, and he was speaking about how God's disciplining is never out of anger... God's never gets unhinged and has to vent on his - his wrath was fully satisfied in Jesus on the cross, and when we step into that covering, it is complete & total. God's disciplining is good for us, as he looks to prune things our life so that we become fruitful - you never prune out of anger, but out of the desire to make something more fruitful. Bill connected that to the verse about the vine & the branches, quoted below.

John 15:
⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

I love that line where it says if we are within him, then whatever we ask it will be done. It is similar to a passage in 1 John 5 v14-15, where it says if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. God has been challenging me about the state of my heart... as my heart starts to align to the beat of his heart, my desires and passions align to his. Therefore whatever I ask of him should be for good and His glory, therefore why would he not grant it. Even in the Psalm 37, David speaks about if delighting in the Lord, and He will give us the desire of our hearts.

Oh God, forgive me when I delight in things of this world. May I grow in my desire to meet with you in your sanctuary, marinading in your goodness, in your glory, in your majesty. Oh God, take me deeper.