Let's talk!

Today's scripture is the continued story of David. Goliath has been beaten and David is a hero. However things are not as good for David as he would've liked. He has a new enemy and this enemy is not a Philistine - he is hated by Saul his King. Saul is jealous of David and even tries to kill him.  
David would expect the Philistines to hate him, but not his own. He eventually escapes Saul's clutches and runs for his life.
This situation can so often happen today. I guess we expect non believers to be suspicious of us, and even not want to associate with us due to bad press. However, so often we find the people that are against us are more likely to be other Christians. As Christians we don't talk about things, we sweep things under the carpet and end up talking to others instead of the people that the problem lies with. We need to be bold enough to talk to one another and get any problems sorted. We need to make sure that we are honourable before one another and more importantly before God.
If you are reading this and know in your heart that you have a problem with your brother or sister in Christ - please talk to them, please sort it out. Let's not give Satan any footholds into our walk with God and unity with one another. Let's face it, if you talk to the person there's a great possibility that they are not even aware of the problem. 

Big Vs Small

Today I read probably one of the most famous stories in the bible after Easter and Christmas. The story of David and Goliath. This story is a great story of good verses evil, of the underdog overcoming the bully, of the small person doing something great with God's help.

In 1 Samuel 17:26 David says, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" 
David recognises that Goliath is dishonouring God, and so he wants to stand up for Him. I think we need to get with the programme. We too need to stand up for Justice, to stand up for God, to not be afraid to stand up for Jesus when others say things that are dishonouring to him.
David wasn't afraid, he knew that God was with him, he knew the battle was won. We too need to realise the same. God is with us, he too will help us and lets face it - the battle is already won - read the last chapter of the book! Jesus is victorious! Hallelujah! 

Don't follow the crowd!

Today I've been reading about how Saul disobeys God. Saul was told to lead an army and destroy the enemy of God, but Saul didn't quiet fulfil what God had planned. He got swayed by popular demand, he was influenced by the crowd.
How often are we swayed by others? How often do we go outside God's plan and purpose for our lives because we fear what others might think or say? This is not how God intended it to be. 
Jesus didn't go to the cross so that we could be pushovers. He didn't die so that we give in to others and so forget about God. Jesus went to the cross so that we could have freedom in him, so that we could be saved and have fellowship with God.  
We do need to be considerate of others, but not by disobeying what God has told us to do. We need to be honouring God first and man second. I want to make sure I can make a difference for Jesus, and not just pay lip service to Jesus and follow the crowd! 

Perfect Timing

Today's passage of scripture once again comes from 1 Samuel. Saul has proved himself worthy to be King and so he is finally accepted by the people. Then Saul gets a bit too big for his boots, and decides to disobey God. He makes the offering to God instead of waiting for Samuel and so makes a big mistake.
The reason Saul does this is because Samuel is late and his men are afraid that God is not with them. How often do we rush ahead of God because of impatience? I know that I do. Its so easy to get ahead of what God wants because we think that we are doing the right thing, when actually all we are doing is what we want and not relying on God at all.
God wants to be part of our lives. If we go rushing ahead of his instructions then we are not going to get very far. All that will happen is we'll get our fingers burnt and egg on our faces.
Saul ended up in deep trouble because of his impatience. Let's not do the same - let's patiently come before God and allow him to work at his speed - his perfect timing! 

Silence is golden

Today I've been reading about the continuing story of Saul being made the first King of Israel. One of the things I love about this story is that Man demanded a King, but God chose him! Most of the people were happy with God's decision, however there were some people that weren't so keen! 


But some troublemakers said, "How can this fellow save us?" They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.


This is amazing. God knew the kind of person to choose to be King, even if he didn't want the Israelites to have a King. He chose a man of honour, a man that was head and shoulders above the rest, but some of the people didn't like him. How true is that? You can't please all of the people all of the time. There will always be someone that thinks they know better, or thinks they can do it better. But when all is said and done, God knows what he's doing. 
The great thing about Saul in this passage of scripture is the fact that even though these people didn't like him, and chose to disrespect him, Saul said nothing. 
We can learn a lot from this. To say nothing is better than to say something and make matters worst. It says in scripture to love one another, to love our enemies. It also tells us in Romans that by being kind to those who hate you that you will make them feel bad -
"If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. By doing those things, you will pile up burning coals on their heads."


We need to be more like Saul, we need to be more like Jesus and turn the other cheek when others hate us, or when others say things about us. We need to be Christ like and love those who don't love. Jesus came into the world for everyone. Jesus came into the world to die for all! 

The same but different

My bible study today is once again in 1 Samuel. The people are asking Samuel for a King, and Sam is not too happy. In fact Sam prays to God and I guess he was expecting God to say no, but he didn't, in fact God tells Sam to give the people what they want.
The people want to be the same as everyone else, they want Israel to have the same as the other countries.
The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
This can be so true of us today. It's so easy to get into the mindset of wanting to fit in. This is true of young and old people. We all want to be part of something, we all want to be in the gang, we don't want to stand out in a bad way. 
Jesus was different though. He did stand out of the crowd. He did things that wasn't conventional. He asks us to do the same. We need to be in the world but not of the world. We need to make sure that even though we might look like others, that we act like Jesus.
I want to be different for God; I want to make a difference in the world for the Kingdom.  I want to make sure that I don't fit in so much that people don't realise that I am a Christian.  

How old?

Once again I've been reading from the Old and New Testaments. The passage from 1 Samuel is about the calling of Samuel as a boy. God chose to use a child to talk to an old man; God chose a young person to tell an old person and supposedly wiser man what God has got planned for his families future.
I think this is brilliant! God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:27 
Working with children is like this. So often I'll ask them a question or pose them a thought from scripture and they will come back with something really amazing. 
God doesn't discriminate who he chooses to use. He won't decide not to work through someone just because they are young, or a new Christian etc....The only thing God asks of us is to trust and believe in him. Our children and young people have just as much to offer for God's kingdom, for God's glory. Let's encourage the young to serve God with their whole heart and not be afraid or think that they are not old enough. Samuel wasn't, Jeremiah wasn't, Timothy wasn't and lets face it the disciples weren't too young either. 

The man in the Middle

Today I decided to look at a different passage of scripture. The passage comes from 1 Samuel chapter 2. Hannah has given birth to Samuel and she has kept her promise to God to give him back to God. Samuel is now working in the service of Eli the priest and he is growing in the things of God. However, Eli's owns sons are not growing in the ways of the Lord, in fact they are disrespecting the Lord by disrespecting the sacrifices being offered. Eli finds out about this and he has a stern word to say. "If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?"
This made me think about how fortunate we are to be living this side of the cross. I have a Saviour that mediates for me, his name is Jesus. Those who know the Lord can be assured that Jesus speaks on our behalf to the Father when we mess up. I am so privileged to have the knowledge that I am not only saved, but that I am forgiven because of the cross. Eli didn't have that knowledge. Eli didn't have that reassurance. When he did something wrong he would have to sacrifice an animal before the Lord. He didn't have what I have. He didn't have the cross to count on.
I just want to Praise God for the cross and for my salvation. I just want to thank my Saviour for speaking up for me when I get things wrong. I want to Praise Jesus for the cross and for what he did for me so that I could and can be forgiven! He is my Mediator - He is my Redeemer, my Lord and my God.

True Freedom

Freedom is something that is a privilege in many parts of the world. There are so many people in the world today that don't have real freedom. We watch the news on a daily basis and see news reports of people fighting for their freedom. There are Christians in many countries that don't have the freedom that I have. They are not allowed to meet and worship; they are not allowed to tell others about Jesus; they are not even allowed to have the bible. 
Freedom is more than being allowed to do or say something though. In John chapter 8 Jesus says, "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." The freedom that we receive through accepting Jesus as Lord is the greatest freedom we could ever ask for. Jesus came to set us free from our past, our sin, from being far from our Father. The good news is that true freedom is free! We don't have to pay for it, or fight for it, or buy it, or even vote for it! All we have to do is accept Jesus into our lives and ask him to free us from all sin, to free us from all of our past, and he will forgive us and bring us into a new life in him.

And remember...

 There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus -

 Romans 8:1

Who taught you?

Today's thought comes from John chapter 7. Jesus is once again in a dialogue with the Jews about who he was and where he was trained!
This got me thinking about my own situation. I am employed by my church to teach children and disciple children in the Christian faith. I love my job and take it very seriously. However, I have no qualifications in this field or any other really but yet I am still able to do my job. I believe that God gives me my ability and not man and as long as I continue to follow his lead then I can't go wrong.
In this passage Jesus is questioned about where he'd studied. Jesus answers that everything that he does and says comes from God. If it's good enough for Jesus then it's good enough for me. Don't let your qualifications or lack of qualifications stop you from being who God has called you to be!

Where else?

John chapter 6 concludes as I said yesterday with many of Jesus followers leaving and choosing not to follow him any more. This still happens unfortunately today. Many people have amazing relationships with God, awesome experiences of God's power through the Holy Spirit, but yet they still choose to go and stop believing in Jesus.
I know that we all have times of trial or even times where we think and even say, "how can God let this happen to me?" or see things in the world happen like the tornado's in Alabama, and the Tsunami in Japan and wonder, "How can this happen, why did God not stop it?"
BUT- inspite of those things I say along with Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Peter knew who Jesus was. He wasn't going to leave when the going got rough, or when the teaching got hard. He wanted to follow Jesus through it all. I know that when times are hard God is with me. I know that Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. I know that he is my Saviour and God. So, even when its hard and even when I have to face up to things that I know are not going to be easy, I know that I can only go to one place - Jesus. Where else could I go? Where else would I want to go?

All we need!

In the concluding part of John chapter 6, Jesus talks about being the bread of life. This wasn't appreciated by the people he was speaking to at the time. In fact many of them were offended by his words.
This is a very important statement that Jesus makes though, especially in this current climate. We live in a want, must have society. Its all about we want therefore we must have. We don't wait for things any more. We would rather get into debt and have it now than save and wait. We live in a fast food society where possessions are more important than they should be. This is very sad. 
There is good news though. Jesus is all we need. He is the very source or our Salvation. In him and through him all things were made. Therefore, why would we want anything else? We need to remember that Jesus is always with us and wants to be part of our lives. Without him in our lives our lives are empty and completely pointless. 
I can remember watching a film where they decided that the meaning of life was 42! Well to be honest with you life without Jesus may as well be, because life without the creator of the universe involved is a waste of time. What is the point in being born and living for three score years and ten to die and be worm food? No point at all. 
I know I've waffled off the subject, but that is how I feel. We consume or want to consume so much in life that we forget the point of life itself - to be in a relationship with God! We can't take it with us, so why do we crave for the pleasures of the world so much? Our life is such a short time, but eternity is exactly what it says on the tin - ETERNITY! 

What do you have to give?

John chapter 6 begins with the feeding of the 5000. This is a well known story of Jesus but as always the bible no matter how much we think we know it guides us in our situations. 
This morning I went to a school for an assembly and was greeted as usual by the head teacher. She is really great and we had a good conversation. I asked her what subject she wanted me to talk to the children on as I didn't know if she had a subject in mind. I don't really know why I did this as I had already planned the talk before reaching the school.
Anyway, long story short, I had planned the wrong subject. Fortunately for me I had read John 6 before leaving for work this morning and so was ready within a few minutes. 
The subject the school wanted was 'doing our best' I think the story of the feeding of the 5000 epitomises that. The little boy in the story gives what he has, 5 loaves and 2 fish, and Jesus does something amazing with it. The small boy doesn't have much, but what he does have he gives. That's all that Jesus asks of us. We need to give what we have to him and he will do something amazing with it. 
This could be anything. It could be something that we are good at, it could be our time, it could even being a good listener for someone that needs to talk. Whatever you are good at, or even whatever you have give it to Jesus today and be amazed at what he will do. It might be a miracle! It might change your life! Whatever it is just do it - and be expectant at what God will do!

Look what the Lord has done!

John chapter 5 ends with Jesus testimony. This made me think about my testimony. As Christians we all have a testimony; we all have a story of what God has done in our lives. Our testimony is the most powerful weapon we have. Satan cannot deny what God has done. Satan cannot take our testimony away from us. We should use our testimonies to help others realise that we serve a life changing God. 
Our lives should be a living testimony that we are Christ followers. Everything we say or do should point others to Jesus. This is a big challenge. If we get up tomorrow not really feeling very cheerful does that mean that we have to put a brave face on things? No! But it does mean that even if we do feel down we have a lot to praise God for and so should make sure that we don't take our moodiness out on others - we should praise God in all situations.
Let's look at it in another way. If we do everything to the best of our ability, without complaining, just in a positive manner, then people will see a difference in us and want to know why. I want to be different; I am different; I want to be a living testimony to Him!

Without the Father...

I'm still reading John chapter 5 and in today's reading Jesus once again infuriates the Jews. Jesus calls God his Father and so they are not happy with him! Jesus also said, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing; because whatever the Father does the Son also does." 

Jesus was saying that he couldn't do anything without God. If the Saviour of the world can do nothing without God, then why should it be any different for us? We need to rely on God and do His will and not our own. We should be like it says in Ephesians 5:1, Be imitators of God. 

People should see a difference in us; they should know by our actions that we are Christ Followers. The Jews knew that Jesus was different; they wanted rid of him because of his difference. We need to be different and shine our light before men, doing as Jesus did.

Let's put the above verse changing Son for I...

I tell you the truth, I can do nothing by myself; I can only do what I see my Father doing; because whatever the Father does I also do

Now let's mean it and go do likewise!

What do you need?

In John chapter 5 we read about Jesus healing a man that couldn't walk. The man wanted help into the pool at Bethesda, however, Jesus did much better than putting a man in some bubbly water - he healed him!

That's my Saviour - he always gives us what we least expect. The man thought he needed to get in the pool, but Jesus knew his needs and he met them.

I guess this story speaks to me very personally today. I took my car to the garage for what I thought was going to be a routine repair, and found out that this wasn't the case. I found out that my car had a serious problem that I didn't know about. This is like our lives. We think that we are doing OK or that we know what we need, but Jesus knows what we really need before we even pray about it.

Very often we pray for the wants of life, but we should praise God that he knows what we need. We need to remember that God is in control, and that as soon as we rely on him and not ourselves then we will have our needs met and our wants will no longer be important.

Are you a Witness?

Today I continued reading the story of the Samaritan Woman in John 4. After meeting Jesus, she was so excited that she went to the rest of her town to tell them about her meeting with the Messiah. She was a witness to the people in her town.
How often do we witness to the people we meet? How excited are we about knowing the Saviour of the world? 
We need to get excited and tell others the best news that they will ever hear. We need to share with others the gospel that will set them free.
When I met with Jesus it changed my life forever. I want to see the people that I meet have their lives changed too! Let's all be like the Samaritan woman, and help others come to know and love the Saviour of the world, lets make a difference in the life of someone, and show them Jesus!

Broken walls

When reading about the meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman it really struck me that so many walls were broken in this single moment in time.
1. Jesus as a Jewish man wouldn't have spoken to a Samaritan
2. Jesus as a man wouldn't have spoken to a woman alone
3. This woman was alone because of her lifestyle - no-one else wanted to talk to her

How amazing is my God? How awesome is my Saviour? He breaks down all barriers and enters the lives of the people that we least expect. Jesus doesn't look at people and say, "I can't bother with them because...." He says instead, "I will bother with them in spite of..." Jesus meets us all at our worst, he meets us exactly where we are. We just need to accept that he loves us no matter what. After all like he says to the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

Greater to become less!

I was thinking about my bible readings today and to be honest it was a humbling thing. The part that really hit me was verse 30 where John the Baptist says, "He must become greater; I must become less." 
John recognised that everything he did he did for the glory of God and so he knew that it was never about him.This should be true for us today. We have to put aside all of our agenda's and come before God. Everything we do should be about Jesus and not about us. We need to humble ourselves before the King of Kings and allow him to work through us.
If everything we do, we do for ourselves or to better ourselves or even for others to think how good we are, then we are not living the lives that Jesus has called us to. 
I want to make sure that I live for Jesus. I want to make sure that its about him and not about me. I want to make sure that even this blog is about Jesus and not about me. If my life is about me and not Jesus then I may as well pack up and stop now, because as a Christian I am called to make disciples of ALL men. That's not making disciples for myself, that's making disciples for the one and only Saviour of the world.
Let's all humble ourselves and become less so that the Creator of the Universe can become greater in our lives and the lives of the people we meet! 

Tradition or Relationship?

Today's scripture is about Jesus' meeting with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish council and the bible says he came to speak with Jesus at night, and I believe it was so that he could ask him questions in private without the other leaders knowing.
Jesus tells Nicodemus that to see the Kingdom of Heaven he must be born again. I believe that we need to address this subject. I know that many people believe that they are born again, when in fact they are not.
Lets look at Nicodemus. He was a man of great position within the Jewish council; people would've looked up to him; people would've believed that he was doing God's will. However, Jesus tells him that he must be born again! That he must change from his ways and become the person that God has called him to be. 
There are so many people within churches today that are just ticking boxes. Nicodemus was a good man, he was doing what he thought was right, but he wasn't in God's will otherwise Jesus wouldn't have said what he said to him.
How often do we just tick boxes? Do we go to church just because its tradition? Do we go to church because we always have?
I know that not everyone has that Damascus road experience. Many people believe in God all their lives, but if our Christianity is just something that we've always done, and we don't have a relationship with God then we are just ticking boxes just like Nicodemus. We need to stop ticking boxes and become the people that God has called us to be. We need to come before the throne room of grace and ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. 
If you have read this and realised that you are just ticking boxes, then lets change that here and now! We are not called to be religious. We are not called to be pew warmers. We are called by Almighty God to spread the good news and to have a relationship with him. If we only go to church on a Sunday and forget about him the rest of the week then that is not a relationship. I don't want to be a pew warmer. I want to make a difference in this world for Jesus. I want to share his love, joy, peace and salvation to the world - do you?

No Selling aloud!

In today's passage of John, we find Jesus getting angry in the Temple. He drives the market stall owners from the temple courts. He couldn't stand the way His Father's house was being treated. The Temple was a place of worship not a place of shopping.
How do I come into the house of God? Do I come to worship or do I come to meet others? Do I come to worship or chat? When I come into God's house I want to be able to encounter him, not the person next to me. I want to be able to step into his presence and worship him, not chat about what happened on telly the other night.
However it can be so easy to fall into the trap of just going to church and not giving God a second thought until the first chord of the first hymn or song is played. We can be so busy with church business or even with getting to church that we forget why we're going there in the first place! 
Let's try to come into God's presence with the right attitude. Let's try and come into church not just to listen to the preacher, or sing some songs and pray some prayers, but instead lets come expectant before and amazing, awesome God, who so desperately wants to be part of our lives that he took our punishment for our sin. Let's come before God each week with reverence and awe and wonder for who he is and what he did.