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.

Luke 4 - Covert Tempation

I was going to do blog on satan’s power and I will touch on that but I’ve had a few things that have affected me over the weekend. In short, I had a dream on Friday night where people were questioning me and shouting things like “who are you to teach people when you do not follow his rules yourself” and “you’re pathetic, you’re not worthy of anything” and being physically attacked by these people. Its difficult to assertain where this dream came from, I first thought it was from God telling me to get my act together and break the chains that bind me to my non Christian life, but the more I thought about it and the more I talked it through, I realised that I have been attacked once again by satan.

What with my plans and what I’m hoping to do, there is no surprise that I am very vulnerable to attack at the moment. I’m looking to give my life in service to God and the best way to attack that is to say that I’m not worth it and that I’m pathetic, like I should stop trying because I’m going to fail. Its so tempting to give up and not follow what I believe is God’s calling as there is so much sacrifice and so much life change and satan knows that, he pounces on that. Jesus however was also tempted by satan in Luke 4. Here is an excerpt:

Luke 4:5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours." 8Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'^[b]"

Do you see Jesus’ response to this particular temptation? He was shown that he can have it all, he can have authority over all things. In respect to our own lives, how many times have we shone away from doing God’s will because there is something better in it to do something else. In my case, I could very easily continue as I am at the moment, I would probably be very successful and have quite a lot of money, nice house, nice car etc, but for what price? Jesus calls us to leave everything we have to follow him.

I have been tempted to do the easy thing in this situation, but its only made me stronger and more determined to do what God’s will is for me in my life. If that means leaving my Job and money etc (which is becoming clear and plain to see) then I am willing to do that.

When we are tempted, when we are being attacked we sometimes do not spot it for what it is, we need to be vigilant against the attacks of satan as he is cunning and he is very clever. It speaks in Revelation of the beast having, knowledge, authority and an overwhelming intention for all of us to fail and to share his fate, however what he does know and is enraged about is Jesus comes with the free gift of Forgiveness, love and compassion. If we trust in that, we can never fail.

Sorry about today’s blog, it seems a little rambly but I had some points I wanted to make and its difficult to get all the in-depth thoughts down in one lunchtime, but know this:

Hebrews 15: 5b… God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."^[a] 6So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"

What more can I say?

In Christ.

Mikey.

John 5:44 - Seeking Praise from God

With these exciting times that I am facing and with the many implications that come with these, I’ve also been looking at what attributes and what parts of human personality make a good Christian leader. There are many websites out there which claim to have the answer about what you need to be able to know that you are going to be a Christian leader, there is even one with a 100 question survey that at the end the results tell you if you are going to be good.

The bible also has a lot to say about Christian leaders and what they’re purposes are along with the implications and similarly punishments that come with being in a position of leadership, there is one passage, or even verse that stood out from all the others which I think puts into context not only our leaders, but also ourselves.

John 5:44 (New International Version) 44How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God[a]?

You see there are those Christians, and think we have all been guilty at one time or another, who outwardly seem brilliant. They have everything, they tell you that their prayer time is amazing, they tell you that their bible study is awesome and they will tell you that their relationship with God is the best ever. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that they are not experiencing all of these things, indeed, all of those apply to me at the moment, but my point is this. If people, indeed Christians, state these things in search of praise with other Christians, or anyone for that matter, but do not have it in they’re heart, they are indeed lost and have lost the true meaning of what being a Christian is all about.

There is no coincidence that Jesus picks out these “outward” Christians in his teaching. He mentions the heart many times because that is what God sees.

In the same way of course, if we try to obtain praise from the world by conforming to its sinfull ways and its practices that we know are fundamentally wrong by God and his word, and do not seek the praise from God, we are lost. Our aim in all things that we do is to seek God’s praise and his blessing. If we do that with EVERYTHING that we do, we find pretty quickly that the world’s praise is in vain, it means nothing because ultimately, it won’t save us, but God’s praise will be sustained throughout eternity.

I pray today that we are not being outward Christians and searching for that “pat on the back” and a “well done” from those around us, I pray that we are seeking to do God’s will and in so doing gain his praise.

In Christ,

Mikey.

Ephesians 1:3-5 - Pray in Praise

God has been so gracious and merciful towards me, and has poured out countless blessings in my life over all of my life, but it is only really recently that I’ve stopped praying just when things are wrong and things are bad. Its one of those Chicken and the egg things, do you pray because you are in trouble or do troubles happen because we do not pray? Personally I think it is very difficult to be prayerful when we feel that we have nothing to pray for! Strange to think that praise does not often cross our minds at this time. Ephesians 1:3-5 is the start of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and of course it is part of a greeting, but lets read his words;

“3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he^[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will”

Why is it that when the world views itself in times of trouble they will cry out to God saying where are you? Yet throughout days of peace and tranquility, they are constantly trying to think up new ways of pushing God out because he’s not needed. The first part of this passage states that God pours out his blessing constantly on and in our lives, and speaks of the ultimate blessing that we have received, the blessing of forgiveness through Christ, surely that’s enough to thank God for!

I don’t know if you know anyone famous or have met anyone famous, but I can’t imagine being a good friend of Tom Cruise, or someone just a famous but knowing that this famous person knows your name and knows who you are makes you feel special in someway. Imagine the God of creation knows your name, the one that was there at the start, who is there now and who will be there until the end of time, and beyond. This God who know’s everything about you and Jesus Christ is being an intercessor for your sin to God. I don’t know about you but it gives me goose pimples thinking about that. Verse 4 states that even better than that, he knew he and us before we even existed chose us to do his will as part of his plan.

I feel very special thinking about that, I feel that what do I have to fear when I have God on my side, what do I have to worry about when God has planned my life and why should I fear the evil one when I know that God has already decided his fate?

I praise God today for his infinite and wonderful blessings upon my life.

In Christ.

Mikey.

I want to share something...

Hey everyone again, you've got a double post bonus today. I'm on my lunch at the moment. I've got my Ipod listening to some music that i've not heard for a while. What with the uncertainty in human terms of my future I have been obviously praying so hard about my worries when this song comes on. I've put the lyrics here. Meant a lot.






KJ-52: He is All

How long can you live your life
and act like everything is alright?
Why do you try just to only get by
when you know that you're hurting inside?
How long till you lay down your pride
you can't run from him, now where would you hide?
He's been calling you for such a long time
but it's up to you just to open your eyes and that’s why
he waiting for you with arms open wide,
waiting for you just to give him all your life.
He's your father can’t you see you’re his child
waiting for you just to come home tonight?

Do you know?
Do you really know?
He is all you need.

Can you see the thorns on his head
and every single blood drop shed?
Can you see him as he took his last breath?
Can you see him when he rose from the dead?
You're the reason why he had to face death.
I know some things that might bring your life stress.
And you’re concerned about what’s coming next,
feeling so worried ‘cause your whole life’s a mess.
I want to tell you, you can make it thought this.
He'll never fail you, that's what he promised us
and even when things don't seem to make sense
that's the time when you hang on now you just trust.

Do you know?
Do you really know?
He is all you need.

I felt God speaking to me through this song, reminding me of the fact that God is there and he is all that i need when things look uncertain.

Thank you Lord!

Just thought i'd share that.

In Christ

Mikey

The "When" Factor.

When do we know to do something? I mean generally not just with the spirit. For example, when do we know when to go to the toilet? When do we know when to brush our teeth or get up in the morning (judging by today’s experience, I don’t know when to get up!). My point is, we have all had experience and learned from that experience so that we know when to do things. As most of you know at the moment, I’m planning on doing further training, specifically bible training soon and have been praying about this very thing, not that I know when to go to the toilet although that is helpful, more that I know when.

I can tell you the why, I can tell you the how and I can tell you the where, but the explanation of when escapes me. This is something, which is commonplace for us all. If we look at the scriptures, there have been many times where the characters have known the why, how and where but not known when. The whole of Isaiah is a prophecy about Jesus as the messiah, but because the Jews of the time didn’t know when, they missed him and are still waiting. I for one do not want my life to become like that, missing opportunities even when they are staring me right in the face, but because I don’t know the “when” factor, I miss them.

I think it’s a stark lesson for us all. God does not work within time. He is above time, beyond time and controls when things happen because of that. Nell and I were speaking on my drive home last night and she knows of my patience deficiency! I find myself willing things myself to happen and not to wait, as such I have found myself pushing things through that shouldn’t be pushed and not pushing things that are more important. We as Christians need to trust that God will provide all the necessary factors, the how: God will provide us through his will the means necessary. The why: God’s will cannot be bent to our own will and as such the why becomes “God’s will”. The where: God is everywhere and he knows the needs of people and ourselves, he will place us where he needs us to be. Finally, the when: stuck in time, we have no concept of God outside of this and we need to trust that God’s timing is perfect.

Its not a question of just trusting God for one or a few of these factors, its trusting God in all of them and he will show us his will unfolding. Hindsight is both a blessing and a curse. We can see where we went wrong and what we should have done, but also can see how God works in out lives and where he has provided for us. Trusting in him takes that factor away as we know that if we trust him, God will provide.

In Christ’s most Holy and infinite mercy and grace.

Mikey

Get out of the boat...

Its time to resurrect this bad boy! Its amazing how circumstances and how directions can change just in 1 month! Its been exactly 1 month since my last blog and there are some things to fill you all in on. For starters, I’m still alive! Just about at least! I’ve been praying for guidance from God as to directions in which he wants me to travel and where I can do the best work for him. Its become clear that the glorification that I do in my current job is being rewarded with something new. A few things have come up which I’m investigating at the moment. One being something that I am very interested in taking.

I won’t go into too much detail right now but it can pay for my whole theology degree over 4 years and give me the ground work of working in the church for that whole period. Its something that seems absolutely perfect for me to do. Obviously there are implications on this which could potentially make things difficult but I’m yet to find an obstacle that I cannot overcome to get there!

Please pray for me that I do God’s will in this situation and its not just me looking for a way out of insurance. I know that its not because I am enjoying my work at the moment, it would be very easy for me to just stay here and I am comfortable but “If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat”.

Praise God for his infinite goodness to us, and to his unfailing love and care.

In Christ

Mikey.