We are blessed!

Today's passage of Luke is still in chapter 1 and is the song of Mary. Mary is visiting her cousin Elizabeth who is also pregnant. She then sings this prayer and to me shows how blessed she feels.
This made me think, how often when God asks me to do something do I feel blessed? More often or not when God asks us to do something it generally means that we have to get out of the boat and do something different. It can mean doing something that we don't necessarily want to do or even feel comfortable to do. In the passed God has told me so clearly to do things and I have taken a few days or even sometimes longer to actually do it! In fact in most cases I end up having an internal argument with God, because I'm thinking that I might not have heard him correctly because its something that is going to be difficult. 
A few months ago, the Lord clearly told me to do something that I felt was going to be particularly hard, and I kept asking him to tell someone else to tell me to do it! In the end the Lord said to me, "My sheep know my voice!" I realised that if I really knew him that I didn't have to question if I'd heard from him, I just had to trust him that he was in control of the situation, so I did what he asked!
Anyway, back to Mary. She wasn't asked if she wanted to be pregnant, she was told she would have a baby, and as I said yesterday, he would be the most important baby ever to be born - the CREATOR of the world in human flesh! (Still blows me away that one!) She as we read yesterday didn't argue, she just got on with it, but more than that she felt blessed. Mary was put into a dangerous position, but she still felt blessed by God. Let's face it she was blessed, we know that now, but at the time she felt blessed to be chosen for such a task by God himself. It really shows what kind of person Mary was. She was chosen by God because she loved God, because she could handle it!
When God asks us to do anything, we should feel blessed, not bothered! We should praise God for asking us. When God calls us to do something however small or large, we should praise him, as he has PERSONALLY called us for that task. God knows what I am capable of, he knows what I can accomplish and what I am not able to accomplish, and so when he asks me to do something its because he knows that I'm up to the task.
Mary didn't look at the obstacles she just got on with the plan of God.  I think sometimes we look too much at the obstacles and don't look at what God has planned. Let's go forward with this blessing today - whatever God puts in our path lets feel blessed that he's asked us to do it, as lets face it he could've asked someone else. He knows everything about us, lets be like Mary and trust in him completely and thank him for the blessing and challenges ahead.

Luke some more...

OK so I know it looks as though I've written twice today, but really my last post was officially yesterdays as I was poorly. So this is the up to date one!
Today's reading once again is Luke 1 and its Mary being told by Gabriel that she is going to have a baby.
I was teaching on this subject at Christmas time and really got blown away by this story. Its amazing to think of this young woman just going about her daily work and then an angel just happens to show up and tell her that she's pregnant! Oh and by the way, the baby is only the CREATOR of the universe! I really can't imagine how she would've felt!
Firstly she's not married! Although she was engaged, which meant at this time that she was in big trouble being pregnant out and unmarried! Then she's got to explain things to her boyfriend, Joseph! Good luck there Mary, not to mention telling her parents!
She should have been stoned according to Jewish law, she was really in a pickle, but because of the kind of person she was, because she loved God more than herself, she didn't complain she just got on with it!
This story really made me think about the birth of Jesus in a completely different way. Each year we celebrate the birth of Christ, but we forget to mention that this miracle was in fact the creator of the world being born! Imagine being Mary - she's not just pregnant, but she's going to give birth to the God who created her! Doesn't that just blow your mind? I know it completely blows me away just to think about it!
But the thing that really blows my mind is this - Creator God loves me so much that he chose to come to earth as a human baby to eventually die a cruel and awful death! Now that really does blow my mind! 
Thank you Jesus! 

Let's look at Luke!

I've finished Leviticus and after having 48 hours feeling unwell I'm back to the blogg. I've decided to start thinking about a new testament book this time, as each day I read a passage of scripture from the old and the new testaments. So today I'm starting in Luke!
Today's reading is Chapter 1:1-25. I've probably read this passage of scripture hundreds of times, and I think sometimes that familiarity can be a bad thing as you miss things because you are skim reading instead of actually reading. 
I guess when we read the story of Christmas this can happen quite a bit. I love asking the questions: 
How many wise men were there and what did the shepherds bring Jesus, to the children in School and watch their faces when I reveal that we don't know how many wise men and it doesn't say that the shepherds brought a lamb. I guess we have listened to the Christmas carols so much that we forget to look at the word.
Anyway, back to the passage. The thing I love about this story is that God sends Gabriel to tell Zechariah that his wife is going to have a baby, and when he finds out he doesn't believe it as she is too old. God can do anything! Zechariach doubts God and so doubts God's power and authority. He is struck dumb from that moment until John is born as punishment for his disbelief. 
The thing that struck me about this is how often do I doubt God? How often does God tell me something and I have to question him? He could strike me dumb on a daily basis sometimes, as whenever he tells me to do something, I always say - are you sure? I don't think I can do that...I know one thing, I can learn a lot from Zechariah, he doubted God and got quietened down because of it!
If we doubt God, then he will use someone else. He wants people that trust him completely, and want to do his will. If people like Billy Graham said, well God I don't think this evangelism thing is for me, then there would be millions of people in a different situation right now, or even God would've asked someone else and Billy would've missed out on the journey of his life!
We all need to be prepared to do as God asks of us, even if it is difficult. We need to be obedient to him, lets face it, he has the whole jigsaw in front of him, we are only wandering about with our one small piece of Jigsaw!

Trust in God!

In today's passage of Leviticus God instructs the people on how to look after the land. He tells them to work the land for 6 years and then leave the land un-worked for a year. This meant that they had to trust God completely that they would have enough food to keep them going through the year of rest.
This made me think, how much do I trust God? If God told me to give up work and trust in him completely would I do it? Many people do, and I am in complete awe of them.
But its not just about money, how much do we trust God in all things? Do we trust God with our loved ones? Do we trust that God will look after them? Do we trust God with every part of our lives, or do we only allow him control over the small things and any big decisions are ours to make.
This is a really hard thing to do, but my prayer is that I trust God with all of my life and not just the small insignificant part.

Celebrate!!!!!

In todays installment of Leviticus I read about all the different feasts and festivals. God wanted the Israelite people to celebrate what he'd done for them with a feast, he wanted them to remember what he'd done for them and celebrate it!
I think as Christians we need to get with the programme! Jesus has done so much for us and how do we celebrate it? We give a couple of chocolate eggs, maybe put on an extra service, have school holidays and call it job done! Argh! 
We need to actually CELEBRATE what God has done for us. I'm not saying that getting the Israelites out of Egypt wasn't huge, but dying on the cross to save mankind has got to be worth celebrating far more than escaping from an alien land!
Jesus left the comfort of heaven, to come to earth as a man, to lay down his life so that we can be forgiven! Personally I think we need to celebrate this, we need to remember what he did, what he went through, how much he suffered so that we could be in a relationship with God. We are so fortunate to live this side of the cross, we have a lot to celebrate this Easter, we have a lot to celebrate because of the cross, we have a lot to celebrate because Jesus made it possible for us to be forgiven. Let's celebrate what Jesus has done for us, lets celebrate daily with everything we do - lets do it for Him!

Poor old Aaron!

After reading today's Chapters from Leviticus I must be honest I felt really sorry for Moses brother Aaron. In chapters 21 and 22 we find the rules for the priests. 
I know that I said yesterday that rules are good for us, but I must admit feeling really sorry for Aaron. He didn't really have a choice in being a priest. It wasn't as if God asked for a volunteer and Aaron found his hand in the air with everyone else looking at the floor. 
On a more serious note Aaron was chosen by God to do the job. We are all called to do something, but are we obedient enough to do it? Are we listening to God's guidance so that we do something amazing for God with the help of his Holy Spirit. 
The fact is that Aaron did have a choice just like we do, although, Aaron chose to obey God no matter what or how obscure the thing he was asked to do. I would like to think that I too would choose to obey God no matter what. I would like to think that even if I didn't want to do what God wanted me to do that I would do it anyway. I don't think that Aaron got up one morning and decided that this is what he wanted to do, but I do believe that he made the choice to obey God and do it anyway. 
Sometimes we look at others and think, "I wish I was like them, I wish God used me like he uses them" But we all have a part to play in the body of Christ, we are all equally important to God. 


¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by^[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
 ¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 1 Corinthians 12:12-19

I am so thankful that God hasn't asked me what he asked Aaron to do, although equally Aaron would not have been called to do what I do. I praise God that he has given me the privileged to serve him, and my greatest prayer is that through serving him I too can make a difference in the lives of the people that I meet. Aaron was obedient, I want to be obedient too.

The Do-nots & the Go do's!

Today's passage of Scripture once again is in Leviticus and is all 'Do Not...' It made me thankful that I live in the time I live. I know that I still have to obey the 'Do Nots' but I also have Jesus as an example of the Go Do...Jesus didn't come to abolish the law, but to fulfil the law.


While the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were stopping people from doing things, Jesus was telling them to Go do stuff. For example, Jesus tells us to Go and make disciples of all men; to love one another; to love God; to be a good neighbour; to heal the sick; look after the poor and elderly; to turn the other cheek...We need to start doing what Jesus told us to do and stop worrying about the Do not's of life.


I was speaking to a lady in school today. We spoke about Lent and about what lent meant to her. She explained that this is the only 'Religious' thing she does as she didn't do religion. I explained to her that I wasn't religious and that I didn't do religion either. She was really surprised, she then went on to tell me that I was the most religious person she knows! 
I think this is a general misconception that people have. Most people think that to be a Christian means that you have to live by a long list of rules and regulations that are meant to be restricting and 'party-pooping' I feel really sad that I was told that I am the most religious person that this lady knows, although there is part of me that feels really good, as she knows what I believe and that Jesus is my Saviour - I guess for me its good to know that she knows that I am a Christian. I do believe however, that if religion and the restrictions of religion is the thing that is stopping people knowing Jesus, then that is bad. I want to be a Christ follower and not a person that is legalistic and stopping others from being in a relationship with God because of a list of rules that I put on them.
This has really made me think. I need to show Jesus not with the rules that I keep, but in the Christ like actions that I do. I need to do what Jesus did - Love God, love others, treat others with compassion and kindness. I need to make sure that when people see me they don't see the restrictions, but instead they see the truth - the FREEDOM that comes with knowing that Jesus is the Saviour of the world and that through his death that we can be forgiven of ALL of the sin in our lives.
I want to run the race that God has for me, I want to run the race of Freedom and help others come to the same knowledge that I have, that Jesus is Lord and that there is freedom in knowing the creator of the world.
Lets face it rules are there to be kept. Rules help us to keep on the right track. You can't play even a game of football without playing within the rules. Lets remember that the rules that are in the bible are not there to restrict us, but are there to keep us in line with what plans God has for our lives.