Happy New Year!

I thought that since today is the last day of the current year I'd better write something. The past year has probably been the most difficult year of my life so far. I can be honest and say I am glad to see the back of 2011 and so am trying to look forward to 2012.The great thing about this time of year is the fact that even though the past year has been truly awful I can still praise God for all that He has accomplished and for all that He has done in my life.
It is amazing how God can meet you even in the hardest of situations, and to be honest that is the best thing about 2011, as there have been so many hard situations that I have found God in the strangest of places. 
My prayer for the coming year is that I would only look to Him, that I would stop worrying about man's opinion of me and just look to Him. I am so grateful that I serve a God that loves me and values me and that is all that matters. If man doesn't like that then that is how it is. Jesus is Lord and nothing else matters. Thank you Lord for 2011 and for showing me that its not about me, its not about others opinions, its not even about church - its about us bringing the Kingdom of Heaven into our lives and the lives of the people around us. Let's make 2012 a Kingdom building year! Have a blessed 2012!

God's word is His bond!

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.  And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll
Today I've finished the last chapter of the Bible. The above verses are verses 18 & 19 and I believe that they are relevant to us today. All of the Bible is relevant, however I believe that we need to take notice of these two verses at the end of the book.
These verses are saying that we have to make sure that we don't add anything to this prophecy or take anything away. John is being warned to write down what he's been shown without exaggerating or removing anything.
I think we need to do this to the whole Bible. This is the word of God. So often we hear people saying that they don't believe in Creation, or even in the birth and resurrection of Christ. This book is the truth. We need to make sure that we don't try and change God's word to suit ourselves. As we approach the New Year let's make sure that we resolve to take God's word as it is; let's make sure that we read it, pray about it, learn from it, live it and believe it. AMEN

The choice is yours...

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children
What a great piece of scripture from Revelation 21. In the previous chapter we see the end of Satan, and in this chapter God brings His own to Himself. What a great inheritance we have. We are children of Almighty God and with that in mind we have so much to praise God for.I think sometimes we forget that God is our Father, we are His children, we are His family. Without God in our lives then we are nothing, without our Heavenly Father we are empty vessels wandering through life pointlessly doing what we do for no benefit but our own.
I know that God puts each of us in our various positions so that we can make a difference for His Kingdom. If we don't look to our Heavenly Father and do what He has called us to do then what is our life about? We have a choice, do we choose to follow the way our Father would want or do we choose to listen to Satan's voice and give up our inheritance for the here and now?
We have a God that loves us so much that He wants to be in our lives, He allows us to choose whether we give Him access, but if we don't then we are choosing to give up everything. Make a choice today - make it Jesus, there is no better choice that any of us can make. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last!

Celebrate!

Revelation 19 tells of the wedding feast of the lamb. This chapter also tells of how Satan and his army will be defeated.
It's Christmas day and I was thinking what has this reading got to do with today? What does this reveal to me today? I believe that Satan's defeat began that first Christmas. Even though from the beginning of time, God had a plan to stop Satan in his tracks, it all came into being in that manger in Bethlehem. Jesus was the answer, Jesus still is the answer, and He came to this earth as a baby to stop Satan and to show us how God wants us to live.
Christmas is about celebrating the fact that God invaded earth and chose to help us out from the mess we'd made. The beginning of the New Testament is about the birth of Jesus, and the end of the New Testament is about Jesus conquering Satan and bringing all suffering to an end. We have something amazing to celebrate today. I've read the book! It's a great ending! Let's celebrate our Saviours birth and rejoice in the fact that He rules all! Death has been defeated! Satan you are next! 

Happy Christmas! Jesus is Lord!

Happy Christmas

In Revelation 18, John describes what will happen to Babylon. He describes all the riches that will be lost because of the sin committed there.
This got me thinking about this time of year. It's Christmas day tomorrow and the vast majority of people will not even give a thought about the true meaning of the day. Most will be so busy with the stuff that Jesus won't even get a look in.
In Babylon they had unimaginable wealth. Every country wanted to do business with them. In society today we put so much value on the things we have, the place we live, the wealth we have that we forget about the important stuff. More importantly we forget about Jesus!

Christmas is or should be about giving God the glory for what He has done for us. If we look at the Christmas message we see our creator choosing to come to earth as a man so that He could pay our debt! What's not to celebrate about that? We should celebrate, we should want to praise God all day! So why do we choose to eat so much that we feel ill, drink so much that we feel ill and buy so much that we are in debt? That's not what Christmas is about!
I appreciate that this chapter of Revelation is not about Christmas, but it is about greed. It is about the punishment of a country that wanted more! Let's not be like that, this or any other Christmas. I'm not saying that we shouldn't give presents, but what I am saying is that we must make sure that in amongst all the partying and the greed fest that Christmas has become that we miss the one thing that is important - God came to earth as a man to save sinners! Happy Christmas everyone! God bless you and yours!

 

He won't let you down!

You have always been, and you always will be the holy God. Rev 16:5
Today I've read two chapters again of Revelation, chapters 16 & 17. They reveal the wrath of God and of how God's army will defeat Satan and his army.The above verse shows us that God has been there forever. There is not a time that God hasn't been. I think this verse set in amongst all of the rest of the chapter gives us a real hope in a situation that is going to be really difficult.
When we are going through tough times it is important to remember that we are never alone. God is always there. He knows what we are going through, He sees what is happening in our lives. We need to trust Him and know that no matter what, He is and always will be God!
Look to Jesus today. There is nothing that He can't handle, there is no burden to heavy. Let's face it in these two chapters of Revelation serious things are happening in the world and that doesn't faze Him. There is nothing in heaven or earth that can stop Jesus from loving us, so all we have to do is trust Him. He won't let us down - He won't let you down!

Don't wait!

Today once again I've put 2 chapters together. Revelation 13 &14. These two chapters have their similarities and I've never noticed this before. In chapter 13 John shows what will happen when Satan is allowed to rule the earth. The beast will be worshipped and all those who don't worship him will be killed. In chapter 14 John shows what will happen if people do worship the beast and receive his mark. They will be condemned to an eternity without God.
These two chapters are not easy reading, and to be honest most of Revelation is the same. However, just because something is hard to read doesn't mean that we shouldn't take it seriously. God is showing us through Johns words that we have a choice. We serve a God that doesn't force himself on us. He doesn't make us do things that we don't want to. He doesn't even say 'You WILL believe in me'
In chapter 13 the beast is saying 'You will serve me, you will worship me or else!' God doesn't do that, he allows us to make our own way in life, whether right or wrong. We are not robots, we have been given free will, however having free will means that we can and so often make mistakes. We need to realise that those mistakes are what will condemn us.
My God is a God of mercy, however He will one day be a God that judges a lost world. If you don't know Him today, do yourself the biggest favour you can ever do! Ask Him to be your Saviour, ask Him for His forgiveness and give your life to Him now! 

The Battle is Won!

Revelation 12 talks about a battle between the angels and a snake or Satan. John shows us that in this battle Satan is defeated and God's army wins.
We serve a God that has already won the battle. Death has been defeated at the cross. However we still sometimes walk about like we have been defeated. I know personally I've felt really low over the passed few months. I have really struggled with things going on around me.I can honestly say that without God things would've gone really pear shaped. 
As I sit here thinking about this passage of scripture I'm listening to the song 'Our God is Greater' We need to realise that no matter what the situation, whether we have financial problems, job worries, family issues, health issues or are just generally low - the battle is won. The ending of the book is a good one! Jesus has defeated everything. We need to pick ourselves up by the boot straps and know that our God is greater than any other. He is Lord of all and so that means He is Lord of the situations that we find ourselves in this morning.

Greatest gift!

Today's chapter in Revelation is chapter 11. This tells of the two witnesses that come and prophecy on the earth. They witness about God for 1260 days and no one can stop them.This got me thinking about my witnessing to others. Am I committed when I tell others about Jesus? Do I stick with it even when it seems pointless. These two men are unstoppable because God has given them the authority and power, however, we have the authority and power too.
The God that they serve we serve too. The God that they are prophesying about is the same God that died for us all.
I know that we are not called to stand on the road for 3 1/2 years, but we are called to be witnesses. We are called to make disciples of all nations. We are called to be a light shinning in this dark and lost world.
We have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas. We have a Saviour that chose to come into this world as a baby so that we could know God. Why wouldn't we want to tell others about Him? Why wouldn't we want to show others His light? Let's give someone the greatest gift they could ever get this Christmas - let's be a witness to the world and give them Jesus. There is no other gift that we could give that is greater.

Look up!

I decided to read chapters 8, 9 and 10 of Revelation all together. They kind of role into one another so it seemed the most logical thing to do. These chapters are full of things that are not easy to think about. Each chapter tells how God will allow various things to happen to the world at the end.
The thing that struck me about all of this is one small passage in chapter 9, The people who lived through these terrible troubles did not turn away from the idols they had made, and they did not stop worshipping demons. They kept on worshipping idols that were made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. Not one of these idols could see, hear, or walk. No one stopped murdering or practising witchcraft or being immoral or stealing. The amazing thing about this passage, is the fact that even though terrible things are happening in the world, people still carry on as normal. People are still not doing things the way that God would want.
Even today we live in a world that is struggling. There is famine, war, financial problems the list is endless, but yet the human race carries on its own merry path of doing what it wants. We need to turn to God, we need to look to the one that has all the answers. We need to repent and allow God to work in our lives. We need to come to a realisation that this life is not about us, its about our relationship with God! Look up - its the only way!

Powerful!

"Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power, and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!"
On reading Revelation 7 today, it was the above passage that caught my eye. The fact that God is powerful. I think we forget sometimes how powerful He really is.
God created the earth by the word of His mouth! He raised Jesus from the grave! He can calm the storm with one word! He can heal the sick, and bring the earth to the end of its days in a blink of an eye.
We so often at this time of year think of gentle Jesus, meek and mild. This is not the case though, as He is more powerful than we could ever imagine. There is nothing that God cannot do. We need to remember that we serve a Powerful creator, who chose to die for us so that we could be forgiven. Let's make sure that we remember that our God is an awesome God! The victory is His! He's won!

God has no favourites!

The kings of the earth, its famous people, and its military leaders hid in caves or behind rocks on the mountains. They hid there together with the rich and the powerful and with all the slaves and free people. Then they shouted to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us! Hide us from the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb. That terrible day has come! God and the Lamb will show their anger, and who can face it?"
Revelation 6 for me needed reading a couple of times. I must be honest I was a little lost. But then I came to the end of the chapter which is the above verses. The thing that really struck me about these verses was the fact that the famous people hid from the wrath of God, the military leaders, the rich and the powerful hid as well as the slaves. 
Let's think about this for a minute. We think so much of the rich and famous, we read about them, some people aspire to be like them, however, God has no favourites. Each person on this planet no matter what colour, creed, rich, poor, famous or unknown will be judged. It doesn't matter how much you have in the bank, or how many fans you have, you are still the same as anyone else in God's eyes.
The only way to solve this problem is to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to save a lost world. He came for everyone, and so it doesn't matter what status we have in life as long as we know our Creator. If you don't know your creator, do it now! It won't cost you anything, but it cost God everything!

Prayer - important or insignificant?

Then I looked and saw a Lamb standing in the centre of the throne that was surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb looked as if it had once been killed. It had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out to all the earth. The Lamb went over and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who sat on the throne. After he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders knelt down before him. Each of them had a harp and a gold bowl full of incense,  which are the prayers of God's people - Revelation 5: 6-8
What a fantastic picture of Jesus. Jesus, the lamb that was sacrificed to take away the sin of the world. We are so fortunate and I don't think we realise how grateful we should be. In the Old Testament we would've had to make sacrifices for our sin but Jesus died so that we don't have to do this any more, in fact He became the ultimate sacrifice for us, paying the debt that we owe.

This chapter also shows us a picture of our prayers. Our prayers are like fragrant offerings to God. Incense was used in sacrifices too, as a pleasing aroma to God. Our prayers are the fragrance that is pleasing to God. I love this vision. I love the thought that our prayers are taken to God in golden bowls, and that God Himself waits for them. 
We need to take our prayers seriously. We need to make more time for our prayers. Our prayers are so important to God that He has them delivered first class, in golden bowls and presented to Him on bended knee. I know that I need to make more of my prayers, what about you? If our prayers are important to the Creator of Heaven and Earth then I think they should be taken more seriously by the ones making them. 

Let's worship!

Revelation 4 is very descriptive. In this chapter John describes the creatures that worship God. The best thing however for me is not the descriptions, but in fact the way that John shows that God is constantly worshipped.What a great picture. Seeing God worshipped as He should be. This made me think, do I worship God? Do I worship God enough? I believe that everything I do should worship God, but does it? When I get up in the morning am I excited about spending the day with the Lord? When I go to work do I do everything during the day to worship God? I know that is how it should be, however if I were to answer these questions honestly then I would have to answer not all the time.
I think sometimes we can squeeze God into our lives. Sometimes we even just give Him Sunday morning. This is not how Almighty God should be honoured. He is the Creator of the Heavens, He is the Creator of the world, He is the Saviour of the world. We were made to worship Him, so that is what we should try to do. Worship God with every breath, worship God with every part of our lives, both in Church and out. Everywhere, all the time!

The Fullness of God

Chapter 3 finishes with the Church of Laodicea. This church is called 'Lukewarm. The last thing we want to be is lukewarm Christians. Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all men, but if we are lukewarm that is not going to happen. It's like being in no man's land. We need to make sure that we are firing on all cylinders. Jesus didn't go to the cross for us to be complacent in our faith. We are not meant to just go to church on Sunday and nothing else. We are the family of God, a chosen people, blood bought sons and daughters of the living God.
We have so much to be thankful for, we are saved by grace. We should want to shout from the rooftops that Jesus is Lord. We don't want to get into the trap that the church of Laodicea got into. They were complacent and so not living the fullness that they were called into.
I want to live in the fullness of Christ. That means that I have to make sure that I am firing on all the spiritual Cylinders that are on offer. Let's make sure today that we are fully charged and that we totally rely on God. Say no to complacency and hello to the fullness of Christ. 

Keep the faith

Revelation chapter 3 begins with the Church of Philadelphia. This church kept going through everything, they are week but yet they keep going.
We need to be like this, no matter what happens, we have to hold on to Jesus. If you are going through the valley - hold on to Jesus, if you are struggling with trials and temptations - hold on to Jesus.
We have the truth of life itself, we are free through the blood of Jesus. We must hold on, we must keep going, we cannot let Him down. Jesus never said things would be easy, He never promised that life would be a bed of roses. However, He did promise us that we would have life in all its fullness; that He would never leave us. 
If you are going through stuff at the moment, then stick to Jesus, He will never leave you down. Remember that He always keeps His promises. Keep your faith in Jesus, He is the only hope that we have.

Kingdom builders!

Today's scripture is Revelation 3, and the church in Sardis. John starts off rebuking the church from the off, unlike the previous churches where he encourages them first and then tells them off.
John is concerned about their lack of get up and go. They have received the gospel, however they are not acting upon it. They are complacent. They are Spiritually dead. Everything around them seems to be ticking the boxes, but that is about it.
I believe this is something that the church today needs to look out for. We are so busy playing church that we forget the point of being church is to glorify God. We are meant to be bringing people into the Kingdom, but if we are just comfy Christians then we are not productive Christians. If we are so busy having meetings about stuff or organising the next social event, whilst having our usual Sunday service, then how is that reaching the lost? How is that showing others Jesus?
We need to make sure that we are not complacent in our faith, but active in our faith. We need to work out our faith and walk in the Spirit.
I know we can all feel a little complacent at times, but we need to rise ourselves up and ask God to renew our strength and reinvigorate our passion for His Kingdom. Let's make a difference in someone else's life today, let's make sure that we are not just pew warmers, but are Kingdom builders.

Follow Jesus

Today's church in Revelation is the church at Thyatira. Each time John starts with words of encouragement, however he always tells them what they need to do to change. Today's church is no different. Thyatira, is told that they are doing well for the most part although they are being led by others. They are not always being led by God, they are easily influenced.
We can be like that today. It is so easy to get into bad habits, or even just be led by others into situations that are not appropriate and holy.
The best advice I could give in this kind of situation is advice that has been given to me many times - look to Jesus, read His word, pray in all situations and most of all trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We need to make sure that what we do is pleasing to God. Why would we want to get ourselves into situations that are not in line with the will of God? We are called to be a Holy priesthood; in the world not of the world. The only way that we can make a difference in the communities that we live in is to be different. We need to trust in God and listen to what He is saying to us. And then act on it. Don't be influenced by others, don't follow the crowd, just follow Jesus.

No Compromise!

Chapter 2 of Revelation continues with today's church, which is the church of Pergamum. This church once again is praised by John, however he is also quick to tell them that they have compromised some things along the way. 
In today's society it is so easy to get into this position. We live in an era of political correctness, which is a posh way of saying we compromise a lot! Jesus never ever compromised. He was always true to Himself. 
I appreciate that we need to live in harmony with one another, however that should not stop us from living the life that Jesus has called us into. We are called to preach the gospel, the full gospel, not a namby pamby gospel. We have a Saviour that died for the WHOLE world. Therefore we need to let them know that Jesus is ALIVE! 
We must make sure if we hear something that is not biblical, we stand up and be counted. So often we as Christians don't have a voice, and the reason for that is because we stay quiet. We are not called to be mice, we are called to fight for the Kingdom. Jesus didn't die for us to roll over and say nothing, He died for us to have life in all its fullness. Let's remember that. We are sons and daughters of the Living God, we don't need to compromise, we don't need to stay quiet - we need to be all that He has called us to be and be Kingdom builders on earth!

Let's get Excited!

In chapter 2 of Revelation John writes to the church in Ephesus. He is encouraging them in the way they persevere. They keep going and work hard. However, he rebukes the fact that they have forgotten their first love.
When I became a Christian first, I just wanted to tell everyone about Jesus. I couldn't help but try in every opportunity to share the gospel. I guess as the years have passed, I'm not as full on as I used to be. I think that is very sad. I love it when I see a new Christian so excited about the word of God and sharing their faith. It's brilliant! So why is it that when we've been Christians for a while, we loose that passion?
I don't want to loose that passion, I want to be more excited now about my Salvation than ever! Come on church! Let's get excited about what Jesus did for us! Let's take every opportunity to glorify His name! Let's make sure that we don't loose sight of our first love like the Ephesians did - look to Jesus, He is the Saviour of the world. There is no other name by which we can be saved! Jesus is Lord - lets get excited!

My sheep know my voice!

I normally only write once about a chapter each day, but on reflection I don't think this is going to be the case with Revelation. The second half of Chapter 1 ends with, “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.  The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."
John is being told to write down what he is being shown by God. This might seem like an everyday occurrence but John is not given an everyday thing to write down. He is given words for the church which are not always easy to hear, not to mention in the later chapters which show what is to come - also not a pretty picture.
The brilliant thing about John in this book is his obedience. He has been told to tell the world something that is not easy listening but he does it anyway.  We can all learn something from John. We need to be obedient, we need to speak out the truth even if the truth is not flavour with others. We need to make sure that when Jesus tells us to do something - we do it. 
I always find myself arguing with God. I then after a bit of convincing manage to do as I'm told. If only I did what I was told in the first place it would make things much easier. I am much better than I used to be, I don't argue as much, but occasionally I will still put something off because its hard. 
John 10:27  says, My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me, If I know the voice of God then there should be no arguing I should just get on with it. We all need to be a little more like John and be obedient to God. Let's not worry what others think, just follow the one who knows.

Our LORD!

I started reading Revelation today, and to be honest I was of the mind that I wouldn't really be able to understand it enough to write about it on my blog. However, my God is a great God and He speaks to me no matter what. How dare I think that God wouldn't reveal what He would want to say to me. This came to me as I read the very first verses of chapter 1 it says, 
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,  and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Wow, Jesus was there from the very beginning. I know this is such an obvious point to make, but it is a valid one. He is Lord and with that in mind we need to realise that He's been there, seen it, done it etc... He knows everything there is to know about us. He knows the good and the not so good. He knows when we are awake and asleep. He knows when we are listening to His guidance and when we are doing our own thing and ignoring Him. He knows when we say things about others that are not Holy as well as when we encourage one another in the Lord. Let's face it I could go on with this train of thought, but let's look at this from a Kingdom perspective. Jesus is LORD - THERE IS NOTHING HE DOESN'T KNOW OR SEE! We cannot hide from Him. There is good news in all of this though. Jesus loves us so much that He stretched His arms out wide to show us how much we mean to Him. He paid the ultimate price for our sin and shame and it costs us nothing. He did much so that we can do so little. Trust in Him today - He is our only hope, our redeemer, our LORD.

Hey Jude!

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life
Jude is only one chapter long, although in this chapter he encourages us to keep going. He wants us to persevere. In these few verses Jude is telling us to build our faith up. To continue praying in the Spirit. In a nutshell he's telling us to make sure that we are close to God.
I know this is obvious, but we do need to make sure that we are close to God. Without His guidance we can do nothing. We'll keep going for a while, but nothing will come of it as we need His Strength to help us to get through. 
I know from personal experience that when I work in my own strength, things don't go to plan. The difference happens when I rely on God, when I tune into His frequency, then amazing things happen not only in my life but in the lives of others.
It may be that you are struggling with something. Hand it over to God and allow Him to work through that situation. We need to keep going, we need to make sure that we totally rely on God, we need to go through the hard times with our heads held up high, because we are sons and daughters of the Living God. Let's persevere and contend for our faith today, making sure that we rely on the one who is above all others - Jesus.

Great Job!

In 3 John we find John encouraging his friend. He writes a letter to encourage Gaius in everything he does. He commends him for what he has done and what he is doing in the name of the Lord.How often do we encourage one another? When was the last time that you said to someone else, "I think you are doing an amazing job for the Lord"
I know that when people say things like this to me it makes me feel a little uncomfortable. However, I think that is wrong attitude to have. The people that say this to me are just trying to encourage me, and motivate me in the work of the Lord.
We should do this more often. We need to raise one another up. We need to motivate and encourage one another in the gifts that God has given us. Let's try and honour one another, let's try and make someone feel loved and respected. We are all in this together, and without the support from the people around us it becomes really difficult - so lets make sure that we make things easier for our Christian brothers and sisters and encourage them today.

Jesus loves Kids 2

I am currently at a Children's leaders conference, and on reading today's scripture it has really encouraged me. In 2 John it starts with this verse, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth. It then continues in verse 4 with these words, It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.WOW! Do you realise what this means? Children are allowed to follow Jesus! Children are allowed to know the truth! 
This is not a revelation to me, as I work as a children's worker and my prime goal is getting boys and girls to  know Jesus. Unfortunately there are Christians that don't see children as important. They see children's church or Sunday School as a baby sitting service that happens while the REAL worship in the adult church goes on. 
I guess I'm now officially on my soap box! I love the Lord with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my mind, and so why would I not want the same for the children? Adults claim to love the Lord, to want to serve the Lord, to want to do the will of the Lord, but yet they don't read the bible to their children, they don't even buy a bible for their children, they don't pray with their children. How can we make sure that our children are walking in the truth  if we are not doing everything in our power to guide them in the way of Jesus?

Come on people! I know that this is my job to tell children about Jesus, but it has to begin with the family. Our Kids deserve to know the fullness of Christ for themselves, let's show them, let's grow them, let's do everything we can to give them the best Spiritual home we can - never mind playing games or sports, which I would like to say are fine - but instead let's encourage our children and young people that God comes first - even if it means that they don't play sport with their friends on a Sunday. They may be the only Christian on the team, but where and when are they getting fed if they are not in Church? If we give them an excuse now then what will happen when they are older? They'll find other excuses like, I don't have any friends in church, I have homework to do, I'm too tired! What is that? We need to make sure that our Children and Young people are encouraged to fellowship with God and with like minded people.
Come on church let's be like this lady in 2 John. Let's do our best to bring our children and young people into the Kingdom of God.

1 prayer - thats all it takes

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. What a great way to end 1 John. In chapter 5 John encourages us that if we believe that Jesus is Lord then we will have eternal life. He then concludes this chapter with these verses. We can have confidence going to God that He will hear our prayers.
Our Heavenly Father is interested in our prayers, He wants us to come to Him with our hearts desire. This is not that we go and start making 'wish list' prayers, but it does mean that He will instill into us the desires of our hearts so that His will will become real to us, so that we will want to be all that we can be for Him.
Our God loves us so much that He paid the price for our sin and then allows us to come before His throne with our prayers and petitions. If Jesus didn't do anything for us ever again, answer any prayer, or even listen to our prayers then He still has done everything for us. He died for us to live - job done. He doesn't need to do anything else, however, Praise God that He chooses to listen and answer. He wants to be part of our lives - invite Him today. He's only one prayer away!

Jesus is Lord!

I thought I'd start with this scripture from 1 John 4: the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world I can honestly say at this moment in time my heart leapt when I read this. We all go through times of trial and of doubt, and to be honest it's like that for me at the moment. I don't doubt God and I know that He is speaking to me so clearly at the moment, but I know that I really needed to read this tonight to help confirm what He has already been saying to me.
I guess the reason for my struggle is others. When you know that you know that God has spoken to you, and then others challenge you about what you believe God has given you, you begin to doubt yourself. This verse really helped me tonight to sort my thoughts. I know when my God speaks to me and so when others challenge what He's said it doesn't make it less valid.
Jesus lives in me. The Holy Spirit guides me, and so I will hold onto this verse today knowing that God is at work, and that He will bring His will into being. I praise God tonight that He will bring forth His plan and purpose for my life. I praise God tonight that I can say that Jesus is Lord of my life and that He will enable me to overcome any challenge in my life at this point or in the future. 
If you are reading this tonight and are struggling with anything or anyone. Be Blessed and know that Jesus is Lord, and that no matter what happens He is with you and remember - the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world

Actions speak louder than words

1 John 3 says this, Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
How often do we pay lip service to God? How often do we tell someone we care, but our actions don't show that? When we tell others how we feel about them its great, but we need to show them with the things we do. It's so easy for us to say something and do something else, but as Christians our actions should show others Jesus.

If we are proclaiming to be Christians but then treating others in a manner less than Christian, how is that going to witness the love of Christ into their lives. We need to be talking the talk and walking the walk if we want to see others come to know the Lord and so enter the Kingdom.
Jesus was the same all the time, in fact it says in Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  He loved everyone the same, always behaved as He should, so that's what we need to be doing. We need to imitate Jesus in such a way that we show His light to the people we meet. We need to show others Jesus, not just by the way we talk but by the way we love one another and by the way we love them. Let's make sure that our actions speak just as loud as our words.

Who do you serve?

Once again John doesn't hold back. In 1 John 2 he comes out fighting, telling us that we cannot love the world and love God.Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever
This advice from John is something that is still very important, in fact I think this is more relevant for today than it has ever been. We live in a world that is forever trying to keep up with the Joneses. We go through life wanting what others have, living the celebrity lifestyle, needing the newest gadget, having the perfect job and so on. This means that God is squeezed out of the equation. We are so busy chasing the things of the world that we miss the point completely. This world and everything in it is temporary. We have a God that has prepared a place for us with Him that is far superior to this earthly place. Although we forget about that and lust after the things of this world.In this passage John warns us of this, he advises us to look to our heavenly future and forget about the current desires. 
If we want after the things of this world, eventually they will become our master. I know personally that I only have and want one master and His name is Jesus. Let's make sure that we serve the living Lord and not the things of the world. Who do you serve?

Light or dark?

I began reading 1 John today. What a great first chapter. John doesn't mince his words does he? He starts as he means to go on. 
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin
In these few verses, John is telling us that if we call ourselves Christians but don't live in harmony with one another then we are not living in the truth. Basically we can't have fellowship with God if we choose to hate our brother. We cannot have our feet in two camps. When we do, we are in fact living a double life, we are living a lie. To be a Christian we are Christ followers - 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Christianity is not something that we are on a Sunday. We can't choose to stop being a Christian just because someone has offended us, or upset us. We have to move on and forgive them.
Let's remember what John tells us, if we walk in the light, as his is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.We need to make sure we walk in the light. Don't live a lie, live for Christ, following Christ and making sure that our feet are firmly in the right camp.

The Universe obeys - do we?

But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyedThese two verses are found in the final chapter of 2 Peter. The creation of the world has always been a great interest to me. I guess that is why these two verses jumped out today as I was reading.
Peter says that by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. I think this is amazing. My God created the world with the command of his words. If you look back in Genesis chapter 1 it says, And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God spoke the words and it came to pass. That is how powerful, how awesome, how amazing my God is. I love the story of how God created the world. It gives me such a thrill to know that in 6 days, God made everything and it was perfect. He didn't miss anything out, it was perfect in every way, and it was made with the Power of His word.
Let's look at this a little closer for a miniute. If God can create a universe with His word, then surly we can rely on the fact that when He promises something then that word is final. Jesus promises to be with us and never leave us - that is final. Jesus says that we will do miracles greater than His - once again a promise from God. Jesus also said that if we have the faith of a mustard seed that we can make a mountain move - Jesus doesn't change. We need to remember that the one we trust in is the Creator of the Universe. He created all things through the Power of His spoken word. When God speaks - the Universe obeys. What about you and me? Do we?

God's way

2 Peter 2 is a difficult chapter to swallow. It speaks of false teachers and of how God will punish them for leading people astray. This is so important for us today. We need to make sure that we are not being led by others, but only by the Holy Spirit. We need to make sure that we test everything so that when others tell us things we don't just accept it, we check it out with God. 
We also need to be careful what we say to others. We need to build one another up, we need to encourage one another. We need to make sure that we don't teach others things that are not scriptural. 
I teach children about Jesus. It is so important that I teach them only the things of God. I have to be careful to speak the truth as I will be judged on what I say to them. Likewise, those who tell others things that are not Godly and scriptural will be judged on what they say also. Let's make sure that we only speak what God would want us to, let's make sure that we don't listen to others and ensure we only follow God's way.
 

Called by God

In the first chapter of 2 Peter, Peter says something that I found really interesting. It's not something that I would've said was the key to the chapter but it has made me think. It's verses 10-11 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
I believe that we all have a calling on our lives, not necessarily the same calling, but nevertheless a calling. Some are called to preach, some to teach, some to pastor etc...In these verses Peter tells us to make every effort to confirm our calling. We need to know what God has called us to do. In the great commission, Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of ALL men, however He doesn't tell us in what capacity at that point. 

The other day I was speaking with someone about the fact that God gives us the desires of our heart. My friend went on to say that this doesn't necessarily mean that He gives us what we want. What it does mean though it that He gives us HIS desires for us in our hearts, and so that means that our desires originally come from Him. They are birthed in us through the power of God's Spirit.
If someone had told me 8 years ago when I became a Christian that I would be employed in full time ministry telling children in church and schools about Jesus, I can honestly say I wouldn't have believed it. I know that this is the desire of my heart, but at that point in my life it was not. God gave me the desire to tell others about Jesus, and now I love to do it. It is my calling, to tell those I meet about my Saviour. 
I wonder, what is your calling? Do you know yet? The exciting thing about not knowing what God has in store for you is the fact that He has got something amazing just for you to do up His sleeve ready to be birthed in you!
I know that God has called me to the lost whether children or adult, but the exciting thing is how He chooses to do it. Let's remember that God calls us into His ministry. It's scary at times, its strange at times, but I know one thing - I wouldn't change it for the world!

Don't worry!

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
God doesn't want us to have any worries, however in this verse Peter tells us to cast all of our worries on Him. What a great God we have, what an amazing God we serve.He loves us so much that He takes our worries on Himself. Who else would do that for us?

In our lives of rushing around, working, meetings, looking after loved ones etc... it is so easy to pick up and carry the worries of the world. We are so busy sometimes that we don't know which way is up.
I know that personally I've had that situation many times, where I've been so busy I've not known whether I'm coming or going. This is not great, God wants our best, but He doesn't want us to loose sight of what we are doing, He doesn't want us to become anxious about all the things that we have to do.
Let's cast our worries and anxiety on God today. He is an awesome God, He is more than able to help us through the tough times, He is more than able to help us when we are worried about something or someone. 

Lord my prayer today is that we are all full of you and not full of worry. Help us to cast our cares on the one who cares the most. Help us to trust in you and you alone. Bless those who are struggling with problems that seem impossible to get through, help those who are caring for loved ones to be strong in you. Help those who are struggling with work situations to just be all that you have called them to be. Help us to remember that we have freedom in you and not to be bound with worry because we are sons and daughters of the living God.


If you have a problem or a worry today. Cast your cares on Him. Talk to God and tell Him how you feel. He loves you and I promise He will help.

Fear not!

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?This question is found in 1 Peter 3. It is followed by, Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. We have nothing to fear but fear itself. We are born of the Spirit, we are guided by the Spirit, we are children of God. Why would we be afraid? Jesus has won the battle, He has conquered death.I know its easy to say to someone don't be afraid but to be honest, we really don't have anything to fear. 
I have always hated flying, and when I get on a plane I always pray first. I don't think its the thought of crashing, although I'm not keen on that, I think its the thought of being out of control and there being that distance between me and the floor that makes me afraid. However, I know that God is with me, and that He has my life in the palms of His hands, because of this knowledge the fear has no control, it has no power over me.
There is another way of looking at this too. When we are afraid we show that we are not trusting in God. Let's make sure we look fear straight in the eye and tell it to go away. Satan uses our fears to stop us from doing God's work, stop us from trusting in God. Satan is the father of ALL lies so we need to show him that we are the children of the living God and that we have nothing to fear.

I am Privileged!

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
What can I say about these two verses from 1 Peter chapter 2. What a privilege to know that we are chosen, we are priests, we are possessed by God Himself. We should feel so honoured by these verses, and yet so often we forget who we are in Christ. I can remember being in a service once and the preacher telling the congregation that we were in the top % of privileged people on the planet. We live in a relatively free speaking country; we as a nation are not classed as poverty stricken; many of us live in our own homes; the list is endless, however, the main reason that we are in this position of privilege is because we know Jesus.
I believe that Peter was trying to encourage the readers who they were in Christ, and in doing that he has done the same for us. We must believe these verses and hold onto the promise that without Jesus in our lives our lives would be meaningless.
I can't imagine my life without Jesus, I don't want to imagine my life without Jesus. What about you? Do you know Him? He's only a prayer away. If you are reading my blog today and don't know Jesus as Lord, just ask Him into your heart today. Ask Him to be your Lord and Saviour. You'll never regret it, and you too will become a privileged priest of the Living God.
Make a difference in your life today, so that you can make a difference in the life of someone else too.

Be Holy

1 Peter 1 talks about being Holy. To be Holy we have to be devout or in other words devoted. I believe that Peter is telling us to be devoted to God. We should devote every part of our lives to Him.
This might sound a bit extreme, but that is what being a Christian is about. Every part of our lives should be devoted to God. Everything whether small or large, God should be at the very centre.
We are called to have a relationship with God. That doesn't mean that we only talk to Him on a Sunday, it means that we need to spend time daily with Him. You can't have a relationship with someone if you don't spend time with them. This is the same with God. I have told the children I work with many times that to have a relationship with God means that we have to talk to Him, spend time with Him and share our whole lives with Him.
He gave His life for us, let's hand over our lives to Him and devote ourselves to living a life that is holy and pleasing to God. 

Powerful prayer

James 5:16 The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Do we believe this? As I read this today I questioned whether we actually believe this statement. So often in churches I've heard people pray, "If it's your will Lord" or  "If it's your will to heal Lord" What is that about? Jesus didn't pray like that - in fact He said "Be healed!" It says in the above mentioned verse that the prayer of a righteous person IS POWERFUL & EFFECTIVE! This means that we only have to pray and believe and God will do the rest. 
I am so sick of hearing wimpy prayers. People praying long winded prayers of nothing. It's about time we stood up and prayed powerful and action packed prayers. God doesn't call us to be wimps, He wants us to make a difference in the Spiritual realms - to do this we have to pray with conviction.
We need to make sure that when we pray we bring God's Kingdom into being on this earth. Let's pray with power and authority, Jesus did. Let's pray with confidence and ask the Lord to send His Holy Spirit in Power so that the people around us will come to know Him as Lord and Saviour today. That's what they did in Acts and look what happened there - And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

What do you desire?

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures
We all want different things in life. We all have dreams and goals that we want to achieve along our life path. BUT, are they just for our own pleasure or is God in the mix? Do we want things that are healthy and glorifying to God, or are we asking God for things that are just about us?It says in Psalm 37, Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart, But that doesn't mean that he will give us all the things that we want. God is not Santa, He's not there for our daily shopping list of wants. He wants to share our lives and give us good things. We have to remember that sometimes the things of life that we want are not the right things for us, and we can become selfish with our requests. 
Let's lay our lives before the Lord and ask Him to give us what He wants. After all, God will only give us good things, and He has a plan and a purpose for our lives.

Talk the talk

James chapter 3 - what a great chapter of scripture. James talks about the tongue and of how dangerous it is. He says, 'With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness'. This is so true of us all. We go to church and praise and worship our Lord and then we are harsh to one another, sometimes even hurting the other person so much that it destroys friendships.
We need to be so careful how we treat others. We need to make sure that we put our brains into gear before we open our mouths. 
In Matthew 5:16 it says, In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven
Let's make sure that we tame our tongues and praise our Father in heaven, whilst also letting our light shine before others so that we show those we meet that Jesus is our Lord.

Don't judge!

James continues his letter talking about favouritism. This is a great passage as he describes how we as Christians can favour those that are wealthy over those who are poor. 
We live in a world that judges a book by its cover, we live in a society where looks matter. However, I praise God that He doesn't do the same. He doesn't look at what we look like or what we have to determine whether or not He will love us, He loves us no matter what. 
One of my favourite passages of scripture talks about this matter. It says in 1 Samuel 16:9 - "People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
How awesome is our God that He looks at the kind of person we are and not what we have. We are so fickle as human beings, we don't look at people in the same way. It's more important what people do or look like and less important what kind of person they are.We need to follow the Lord's lead on this one. We need to make sure that we give everyone an equal chance to know the Lord. If we only tell those that we like about Jesus then we are limiting the gospel. Jesus tells us to make disciples of ALL men and so that means the ones that we don't like too. Let's make sure that we are not so arrogant to ignore someone that is different. We are called to help the lost - that means wealthy or poor, important or not, friend or foe. No matter what we MUST share the gospel of Jesus.