God Says "No" - Remember!

I wonder how many of you have ever asked your mum or dad for something only to be told “no”. Probably 100% of you have had this experience, either being told No, or having to tell your child No. I can remember asking my mum and dad to go to the cinema with my friends once when I was about 11 or 12. We were going to see a 15 film without having any adults there. I can remember trying to justify it to them that it wasn’t that bad and we’d be in a big group. My dad very rightly said that I couldn’t go. At the time I resented him for saying it because I wanted to do it so bad, the film looked amazing and I would have been with all my mates.

It worked out however, that my mates went to the film (which I saw years later and it was terrible!) and they managed to get the police involved in the evening. In hindsight, it was the best thing for me when dad told me “no”. I wonder how many of you have ever realised that God does the same thing, and actually takes this in to account when we pray for something?

When we make plans and when we ask God for help with those plans sometimes he can say no because its not the right time, or even the right thing that works in God’s plan. We have to rememeber that God sees all, past, present, and future and as such we can have a sure and real sense of peace when approaching the future as long as we trust God in his providence.

A lot of you know my plans thus far and know what I’m thinking of doing. I’m ready for God to say no. There are some of you who would find that strange because of how far along I’ve come with the plans and with the preparation, however, God’s will must be done in my life. If its God’s plan that I complete my application and go through the stresses and strains but not to actually go, then that’s fine. I can already see what changes and things which have become more prominent through these things.

For example, had I not started the application process, there are one or two things that may not have been bought to light. One of these is Nell and my relationship with her. I didn’t realise how much she means to me until I was faced with 4 years of uncertainty with what is going on and being uprooted. Perhaps part of God’s plan here is to show me that these things are available and that I’m suited and gifted enough to do it, but not yet, he has other things to do.

I don’t know, but I’m praying that God’s will In my life is being done and that he will reveal to me the plan as I go along. Its strange because it is completely out of my hands at the moment in some respects, and I’m it feels like I’m waiting on God’s plan to made known to me. I’m having a meeting tomorrow with an Elder from the church, perhaps this could be God’s talking to me and saying “No”, but I’m prepared to answer “Ok Lord, your will be done”.

Please please please pray for me and Nell at this time, we’ve faced with some very big decisions that could shape our whole lives together. We need to have God’s peace about situations and trust in his plan.

Thanks Everyone for your support so far, I know that sometimes the blogs have been sporadic and a little bit wayward, but its now 6 months old, I for one cannot belive how quickly the time has flown by but God has been working with me throughout this whole site so far and would value your prayers for this to continue.

In God’s Will, and trusting in his path.

Mikey.

1 John 4v18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Genesis 9 v 15 - There is light ...

Yet again I am reminded by people that another week has passed by and I haven’t written anything in the blog! This is because of how busy work has been with these floods and freak rain! It keeps me in a job of course but makes me very very busy! So here it is, the Teatime sermon!

Something that has been very shocking that has come out of these freak floods and storms has been certain sectors of the church who have said that this is God punishing us for being un Godly. Apart from being very freaky, it’s a little bit unbiblical also!

Take this passage for instance, which is very relevant to rains especially.

Genesis 9v15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

I know that God is referring here to flooding the whole earth, however the fact remains that God said he would not bring his punishment upon the earth through flooding in this way again.

It seems to me that some sectors of the church have a really yo yo view of themselves and they change from one extreme to the other to try and attract people to them. They go from “Jesus loves everyone, and it doesn’t matter who you are” to “God is judging humanity and sending the flood waters to sort us out”. Don’t know about you but if I didn’t have a strong belief in what I know already and have a concrete basis of biblical principles I would think that church is a bunch of nut cases who don’t know if they are coming and going.

I’m not saying that some sectors of the church do fantastic work and are brilliant in their biblical doctrine and follow that implicitly, I find these “fickle” Christians who never call on God but in times of trouble and are so quick to blame God but so slow to acknowledge him when things are good. We’re all guilty of it. I’ve pointed the finger more times at God then I like to think about, however when he has answered my prayers, instead of praise, he gets silence from me.

Yes its raining and yes it should be summer (here in England at least) but praise God for the rains, praise God for the times of trouble so that we can reflect upon God and learn to trust him. Yes that’s right, THANK GOD FOR TRIBULATION. If we had it easy street for our whole lives, where would be the salvation and trust upon God’s provision and plan?

Little bit of a rant today, I apologies, its just meant to be a reflection that God loves us and looks out for us and wants the best things for us even when we are going through difficulties.

In Christ’s Name,

Mikey.

Update: Don't do it alone....

What a week it has been, sorry about the no notice week off I took, it was and still is a pinnacle couple of weeks for me and they are also pivotal to my future! So understandably, I’ve been a little preoccupied. But I’m back on it now, I’m re energised to doing this work and I’m ready to share with you what I have found over the past few weeks.

Firstly, praise be to God. That’s a given. He has blessed me through trials and through situations where I have had to lean on him for his guidance and for his support and I’ve loved every moment of getting to know God better in that way.

I’ve now completed my application form for the Light Project (link to the bottom right of this page) and will be sending this off tonight. Its been a rough and turbulent time to come to the decision to send it off. I have had my eyes open to the fact that this does not only affect me and have an impact on me, it has an impact on all the people around me. Yes, Jesus says “leave your nets and follow me” but there are very real things that could become problems if not dealt with before I go.

I will be the first to admit if I don’t know something. I will look and search for the answere wherever I can so that I will know for future, but lets be honest how can you know the answer to the future whilst searching for it? You can’t, it comes down to the issue of time again and trusting that God will present me with the correct and most helpful situations in his own time! I’ve been quite selfish with my planning of this and to those people who are affected, (you know who you are), I am sorry.

God has presented me with this opportunity, yet God does not call me to be alone in all that I do, indeed quite the opposite. I have to engage and be involved with many many people throughout training and also throughout my life. Nell and I should be looking at this together and looking for how it will work together as apposed to me looking at it and then hoping it all just falls into place in the long run.

I praise God that my eyes have been opened today to that, and before I send my application form off I can call and discuss these things with my family and with Nell. I’m still applying but taking steps forward in conjunction with my family and with Nell to find the right and most amicable path that I can with God at the centre of it all.

My point to you is this. Do not forget that God is all you need, but God does not call us to be alone through life. God indeed calls us to be part of a fellowship of people within a church or within out family lives. Do not make the mistake that you can do it on your own and you do not need anyone. Its not God’s way.

More tomorrow on how things have been revealed to me, but just pray because in about 5 hours, the application form will be en route… pray that God would use that.

Mikey

John 8:12 - Darkness

I’ve been feeling a little bit lost again today. Simply because my mind feels like its been thrown into the wilderness and things that I would normally cling onto have seemed to just disappeared! Almost like walking on a dark night and not realising that you’re really walking towards a cliff. It wasn’t until I read someone’s signature today of the following scripture when things seemed to be lit up again;

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

It struck me when I read these words what the implications are. The obvious first inclinations are that we are walking through a world of darkness and God will shine a light so that we can see what and where we’re going, which of course is a very valid and very real and uplifting interpretation. But I want to look further into what Jesus says here.

Imagine, its about 25ad, electricity is still 1900 years off, the best invention to date is probably being able to carry light around with you. Whether that be on a big stick that burns for about 10-15 minutes but around this time there were lamps that were available that could burn for hours using the right fuel. So now that you’ve got that imagination in your head, imagine being in the temple and being poor. You can’t afford to step out into the darkness at night for fear of being robbed, beaten up or worse, you can’t afford a fancy lamp and can’t afford the fuel to go with it.

You then catch a glimpse of a man, and he says “…whoever follows me will never walk in darkness”. Great! No more getting beaten up! But you think about it further, what does it mean?

We have the benefit of knowing the full story, we know from the start, to his death, to the present day and how it all points to one thing. Jesus. But in these days, it wasn’t so clear to see. Imagine the Joy of being told that you will never have to walk the world in darkness. We take these things so much for granted; this is a very very powerful verse that should mean more than it does. We live in a world where if its dark, we only but need to turn on a switch and we have a light source. Imagine not having that.

Jesus of course does mean spiritually there but I always find it interesting to put myself in the position of the people who are around when these words were being said and imagining the impact of Jesus’ words here.

So as I imagine myself lost in the wilderness (which I will touch on more on Monday once I’ve gotten my head around), I imagine what it would be like if there was no light in the world but the sun and being told there is another way to walk in the light. I thank God for his light and for his path which he shows with that light.

Pray for me, I know I ask everyday but I really need it today.

In Christ’s name

Mikey.

Romans 12:1-3 - What more can i do?

I have read today someone ask the question “what more can I do for God” which in itself is a paradoxical question. There are many ways to answer that and all of them not in itself incorrect however if we actually look at what has been asked in context of our lives we realise that its not a question we can ever ask of ourselves or of God. You see, we should never stop trying to answer our first calling from God and that is to submit all that we are and to be like Christ. The bible says this;

Romans 12 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

How can we obtain this aim, well it is possible and it should consume all of our time because of how difficult it is to do. It states in this passage not to confirm to what the world wants us to be, but how often do we find ourselves trying to obtain the latest fashions, gadgets or trends of the world? In itself that isn’t a bad thing, but we are called to be different. I’m not saying that you should put on some flares and wear a big hat with “kiss me quick, I’m Christian”, what I’m saying is that we should never look around and thing that we want to be like everyone else.

In a similar way, we shouldn’t think of ourselves better than everyone else because we are different. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you feel superior to someone because you’re going to Heaven, or even less likely to speak to someone because of their background or creed? I know I’ve been guilty of this, and I’m ashamed of that fact but God calls us to look at ourselves before even thinking about judging or assessing someone else lives. When we have obtained perfection, then we have the right to judge others, any of you perfect?

The beginning part of this passage talks about giving our bodies as a sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This doesn’t mean that you should slaughter yourself but to sacrifice all that you are and all that you have to God. We are called to sacrifice things for him, not when it pleases us or when we feel like, it talks about ALWAYS submitting to God everything, forever. I mean its not a small price to pay for eternity but its difficult faced in this culture which we are in these days where it talks about self gratification before anything else. Look after number one and all that Jazz.

In a nutshell this small passage should shape and fashion our ever part of our lives. Pure and simple, submit everything to God, don’t follow the herd and never think yourself better than anyone else. Easy eh? Not in the slightest but the bible also talks about having help in these things.

Romans 8 26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Do not loose heart if you cannot conform to God’s calling to you, however trying is 100% better than not trying. I know that I fail, every single day but because of God’s love and compassion I can pick myself, learn from my mistakes and keep pushing. Imagine if the first time you failed as a Christian, you just stopped and thought, “forget it”. Where would you be now? Use your own life as a testament to God’s loving and merciful grace to us.

Keep going. And in answer to the question “what can I do more for God”, everything. Pure and simple.

In Christ’s love and merciful grace, always interceding for our sin and the one who took all our mistakes and their implications on the cross.

Mikey.

1 Peter 5: 6-7 - In the door..... GO!

Well today it dawned on me what it is I’m actually doing and I’m struggling with finding the courage to undertake it. I know God is saying “I’m here holding your hand through fear” but even if you know your parachute is going to open, jumping out of the plane is difficult! I keep catching myself saying, forget it, its too hard, what’s the point, why are you doing this. Don’t get me wrong I know I’m doing the right things and for God’s will as I’ve prayed many many times and feel a peace about my plans, but as the time for the jump closes in, I’m being blinded by anxiety and fear about what to expect, what I’m going to gain, what’s going to happen to my family etc.

AS I think these things however, 1 verse comes to mind that is very prominent in my mind;

1 Peter 5: 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Going back to the skydiving analogy as I have done many times, but its very real and prominent, before you jump you have 7 hours (sometimes 2 days) worth of training for the 5 second’s from when you leave the plane until you’re floating with the parachute above your head. I feel like I’m in the door at the moment and I’m ready to jump and waiting for the jump master to shout “Go” and I know what I need to do, I know the right things and wrong things to do that could mean the difference between a good jump and bad jump.

When I did my first jump, I was thinking how easy it would be just to sit in that seat, not get up and land safely and get out of the plane and get on with my life. This is the same with my life at the moment, I have a nice job, a nice car, some money and a routine that I could follow until retirement… very easily, what would that actually achieve in the end? What could I say to God when I stand in front of him? “I had the opportunity Lord and I heard you shout, “Go” and I did nothing”. Imagine on that first jump if I hadn’t have jumped. I would have landed, I would have gotten out the plane and had to explain to people why I didn’t jump, more than likely I would berate myself because of my fear. I don’t want that to happen with this.

God has been so awesome in my life and has helped open the door, I’ve been shown it, and I’m sitting there, its almost time for the big moment… I pray for courage to take the jump and to do it in God’s time and according to his will.

I would ask that you pray today for me that this feeling of fear and anxiety is taken away and that God will shout at the right time for me to go.

In Christ’s name.

Mikey.

Luke 21:1 - Giving God Time

How much do we give to our lives? Ok there are two levels you can look at this question. Number 1 is worldly and number 2 is spiritually. I bet most of you get up in the morning? Make the effort to get out of bed, have food during the day and keep yourself clean etc? Well that takes effort, which we have obviously gotten used to because we do not now notice when we do these things, they have become part of life.

I speak to many Christians who tell me that they wish they had more time, they wish that they could put time aside to read their bible and spend time with God. It’s a common problem, especially with working Christians who work very hard. But how much do we give to our lives to make sure that we have time to relax? Watch our soaps? People say that they have so little time to give. I say to you. Give it. Check out this verse:

Luke 21:1As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.^[a] 3"I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

On the face of it, it seems to be about how much money we give and how much the poor lady gives in comparison with the rich people. We all know the phrase “time is money” well apply the notion “money is time” here. Replace the money aspect with the time. If you have so little time to give but give it all and give it freely, then you have put in more than others.

Don’t get me wrong, people who spend hours in prayer and reading their bible, that’s awesome, but how about instead of giving just that hour out of your whole evening, why not spend the whole evening doing something for God? I’m not suggesting every evening sit there and pray with your bible, but why not go and see someone who needs help or company in God’s name? Or such like. We do not want to become like the rich guy’s at the temple giving just the 10% with a prayer and some bible reading and hope you’ve ticked all the boxes for that day!

I know it sounds like I’m telling people what to do here, but its something that God talks about, Giving everything to God, this includes time because he gives us that time! I always find that I make the excuse that I’m too tired to read or pray, but I know that every time I do, I feel energized and so much better with my whole outlook after I’ve spent time with God. Let us not be like the rich young man.

Matthew 19: 26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

In Christ.

Mikey.