Roots

Each of us carry values. - Things that we hold dear to our hearts, things in our lives that define who we are, what we live for, and who we follow. These values that give us life. Maybe these can also be defined as our 'roots'. What supports the life that we sustain? What does all the work behind the scenes? What's the story within the soil?

In our garden Dad, my brother Isaac and I have recently undergone a bit of tree surgery on an old pear tree. Isaac did most of the work - hacking away at spindly branches to a place where the trunk was bear and could be ready for timber. When we finally felled the tree, chopped it into bit-sized pieces and lumbered it over to the side of the conservatory to leave until we figure out what to do next, the stump of the trunk and the roots were all that remained. The stage of uprooting the tree remains took about twice the amount of time that it took to chop the trunk down. Roots are tough.

Something that springs to mind whenever I'm creating something is the importance of the originality of that thing. That's something I always look to put out in the songs and the blog posts I write and in the artwork I create. There's definitely nothing wrong with adapting to your culture, picking up words and behaviours that you see around you, in fact I think it should be encouraged to some extent, but I think whenever someone hears something that you say or sees something you do that it should carry the distinctive YOU trademark. If this isn't the case we're faced with an identity crisis. The question is, Do you know who you are?


Who we are defines what we do. It defines our values. It defines our ability to create. A lot of people don't know this. Maybe you were one of them. And to you I want to say, "Congratulations!" Now you know. But who are you and what does this mean for you? Well, one thing's for sure. You can create, whoever you are, because as a human being, God's creation, you have been made in His likeness, and being a creative God, He has instilled His creative gift within you. I hope this gives you encouragement. A lot of our creativity comes in the form of free will. Free will and creativity are closely related and some in cases, can represent one another. Free will is the ability to decide to do what you want. The fact that we can make our own decisions for someone who likes to follow procedure is a scary concept. - The reason being that we can make mistakes sometimes. And this is the greatest argument for a life of surrender. Make a you decision... a creative decision... a free will decision... to have your identity - the trunk of your life - what is seen on the outside, rooted in Jesus Christ. This decision is about seeing your old ways and knowing they didn't always work. You didn't belong to anyone, so your values were always shifting and never stable. Recognising that you need someone as your roots, because some'thing' alone has no power to solidify your life. This decision is about knowing that your roots can't just be found in anyone, because you've tried that before. For a while you could rely on your friends. You enjoyed spending time with them and listening to them and learning from them, but in the end they did something that led you down a dark path. These roots are grounded in someone more supreme than man, because man can fail. This decision is about remembering everywhere you've been, that multiple paths don't work and that you need someone who is always reliable. This decision is about becoming rooted in Jesus Christ. He always loves. He always helps. He always reigns. He always forgives. He always speaks. He always listens. He is the perfect foundation for your roots. When your roots are placed in this fertile soil they will be strong. They will be anchored. They will be perfect. I'm in a blessed position to say that I know this soil well. I invite you to make your home in this garden. I am rooted in Christ. You can be too.

Fighting Fantasy

I seriously think I'm in a better place right now than I have ever been in my life. Let me elaborate...
I've started to discover that one of the biggest battles human beings face in this life is an escapist mentality. There's always something we can find not to like in our lives. Feelings, circumstances, etc., but in focusing on these things when we don't need to, we can fail to consider our families and friends and homes with the importance that they deserve. Because we want to 'escape' we start to construct little empires, building more, making more, earning more, getting locked-in to our own little fantasy world. Meanwhile, our families and all that we should be drawing near to in these times are slowly being compromised... For satisfaction many of us look for treasure in the form of books, cars, and possessions, but God has already given us treasure in the form of friends and family and people we trust. Relationships.

"To iPad or not to iPad" In this day and age, some of the most frequent questions we ask ourselves, me included, are questions like, 'What website should I browse?' or 'What video should I watch?' and 'Who should and shouldn't I follow on twitter?' Our visual sensors in this day and age go through a lot. We put our eyes through hell sometimes. Yesterday I was sitting in the conservatory and I thought, and posted on Facebook, 'It's quiet.' Maybe everyone in Leek had put down their iPads, phones, laptops, and computers in a moment of revelation, silenced by the beauty of creation... Or maybe they had all picked up their iPads, instantly absorbed and entranced in a world of technological endlessness... We make choices.

Fantasy Mentality The purpose of this post, however, is not to condemn you in the way that you treat what you have been given, but to enlighten you to some degree, regarding my current recurring revelation of the beauty of relationships, family, and living in the here and now. I love dreams with all my heart, but have been, this year in particular, made aware of the obscurities of some of my desires. For a number of years this 'dream mentality', or as I've started to redefine it, 'fantasy mentality' (the reason being that dreaming is good, fantasizing is bad) dominated my way of life. Since the age of seven I've been a follower of Christ, with the overriding desire to do what's right, but only recently I've discovered that this 'fantasy mentality' had crept in somewhere along the line and become a part of my lifestyle. Fantasy begins as a dream, but becomes ugly when it's driven by impatience, dissatisfaction, greed, selfishness and obsession. Now - Let me be clear. I love Spiderman, Marvel Comics and all that cool stuff. Here I'm not talking fictional tales but about when fantasy becomes our life. There was a significant time in my life and have been a few occasions since where I've let fantasy become my reality! A defining attribute of fantasy, which makes it so bad, is that it's the pursuit of something that is not God's best for you. You might be pursuing something that's right at the wrong time, or even the wrong thing altogether. We have to realise that there are things that we enjoy that shouldn't be pursued 24/7. Are we in love with something or someone? Possessions or relationships? Everything that's wonderful is created by someone, and in those times when we feel depressed, confused and consumed by an obsession with something, it's because in reality, we have taken God off the throne in our lives and the thing we're fantasizing about has become our new god. Our idol.

Dethroning the idols This is so simple. Call your thing what it is. An idol. When God is god of your life, everything else fits in to place and strangely makes sense! Everything becomes beautiful because Jesus is the centre. Anything can be be elevated to the highest place in your life, but only Jesus deserves that place. Even now as I'm writing this God's presence is so strong. Let Jesus take the highest place and watch the dreams become reality. Let the relationships He's put on your life become all they were destined to be... Especially the one you have with Him.

When you've played your part - When you've taken your stand for God, remember that God Himself is speaking over you too: 'I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.' (- Isaiah 46 v 4.)

For all the things you long to see and long to be a part of, but seem to be endlessly waiting for, God is also saying, "There is further for you to go with me yet. Let me be God now, so that I will be God then..."

Settle for nothing less than God's best for you.
Keep fighting the fantasy.
Dethrone your idols.
Re-throne God.
:)

Elkman Out.

Preaching - A Church Building Chapter

My friend Adam George and I meet together at my house every Wednesday night to discuss our lives and pray together. The other week we started talking about preaching. A few years ago I preached at my home church Leek Pentecostal Church, for a brief time (where Adam and I both attend). Eventually I felt it was right to step down from that platform because I was also pursuing worship leading and getting familiar with being part of our worship team. Adam and I discussed this and I explained that something I used to over-emphasize in my mind during my preparation time before I  used to preach was the structure. Some of the good qualities of building a structure around what I was going to say were, 1.) Predictability People kind of knew what they were going to get out of my messages. 2.) Confidence I knew where I was going and could essentially read my sermon off the sheet I'd 'prepared' and things would go really smoothly. Everyone would be happy and I'd be like "Okay, cool, that was a success!" The approach of building a structure does admittedly carry good qualities and some people manage to do it for the rest of the life of their ministry! But as my friend Adam George and I continued to talk about this vast topic we moved on to highlight some of the qualities of 'going with the flow', or to put it in other words, preaching 'spontaneously'. These were some of the conclusions we came to. 1.) Sensitivity When you go with the flow people there may be someone in the congregation who specifically needs a word of encouragement from God and your diversion in being sensitive to the Holy Spirit in the room will meet that need. 2.) Captivation A conversation with someone is always more captivating than having a script being read to you. - People enjoy not knowing what's coming up next and are kept on the edge of their seats in anticipation... So we had a good natter about it and came to the conclusion that preparation is important but it should never stop you from putting all your heart, soul, mind, and strength into what you're feeding people, in fact there may be times when you might not need to say all you've written down. If you're a preacher, take note of this. As you gaze into the eyes of the congregation, is what you're saying hitting home? Admittedly there will be the select few people who'll always be more captivated by what's happening around them than anything you have to say, but nonetheless, captivation is something I've taken into consideration and realized to a greater extent the importance of, not just in preaching but in all areas of communication.

I think it's fair to say when preparing my talks, I used to value visual aids more than the actual content of a sermon. I think this was partly because I love a good photograph. I love a good painting. I love a good piece of art. The other reason, ironically, was because I saw the importance of captivation. I guess it just took me a little while to realise I could display a sense of vibrancy not just in the things I could SEE, but in the things I SAID. People did find my illustrations funny, and I still have a deep desire to see more video and imagery in sermons, but I now realise that in those days I deeply underestimated the power of the tongue. Maybe to some extent we're all just having a dabble in learning the true power of our words??

I was talking to God when I went for a walk to Rudyard about all this stuff the other day, and God was showing me the simple truth that the more I practice what I say, the better I get at it. The more I do something the better I get at it. But let's not just leave our gifting to fate and every now and again practice the thing we love and are called to - let's get deep into it. The beauty of simple truths is that their simplicity doesn't underestimate their power. I love it when I'm listening to a sermon and what that person is saying is so simple to me that I feel like I could have said it in my sleep. And that's the mistake we make if we think that we can't say something that is to easy to comprehend. You may even be rehearsing some thoughts in your head today that sound like the most elementary thoughts anyone you know has had all year. And they may be, but that doesn't cancel out the fact that those inspirations are pure GOLD. Simple truths are so underrated and, in my opinion, one of the biggest fear factors today when it comes to any conversation or communication is that what you have to say isn't worth listening to. I reckon in many cases this is what leads people to scripting their sermons, even their lives! Get over the performance, because what's already there may well be what we all we need to hear.


   to be continued_                                                                 

Vision - Faith vs Fear

Fear and faith. - Two forces which have fought over the hearts of men since the beginning of time. Let’s have a look what we can learn about them! Through looking into scripture and based on our own experiences we discovered some interesting contrasts. As you read these discoveries, let them help you to define what voice you predominantly listen to… the voice of fear or the voice of faith…

Fear says: I have needs. Faith says: God will provide.

Fear asks: What if it goes wrong? Faith says: God is in control.

Fear restricts. Faith encourages.

Fear traps. Faith releases.

Fear buries. Faith elevates.

Fear says: I can’t! Faith says: God can!

Fear says: Compromise. Faith says: Persist.

Unbelief and Disobedience

Fear is often a default response to life’s situations. It’s okay to be uncertain or puzzled about something. What matters is how much room you give to your fears. Sometimes fear takes over and becomes a lifestyle. All situations get viewed through a negative lens. Misplaced fear is much like a poison because it spreads and penetrates. It can start off small but soon grows and impacts every aspect of life. Two attributes born out of a lifestyle of fear are unbelief and disobedience. Fear that God cannot do something will lead to belief that God won’t and if God won’t then I don’t. Jesus couldn’t work in an area of unbelief. Some Israelites were in the wilderness and did not enter the Promised Land simply because they didn’t believe.

The Secret

So, we’ve established we don’t want to end up like the Israelites. What can we do with all the fears that we have in our own lives? As Christians we claim that God is in control but at the same time we find ourselves burdened with overwhelming fears. How can God possibly intervene when all we know is fear? Many of us forget what the secret is… God uses our fears to draw us close to Him! Fear is an open door to prayer! And praying about things you’re afraid of almost always develops purpose in your life. When we pray believing that God will speak to us, we will start to develop positive ways of thinking, ways of speaking, and ways of living. When you know Christ one of the things you will discover is that when you are afraid you don’t have to be. Although fear is opposed to faith, if dealt with in the right way you can, with God’s help, watch it propel your faith further than ever before! Since we know that Jesus experienced fear, we can comprehend that fear is not an invalid response to a situation. We can also be encouraged in the knowledge that Jesus had to find the right way of dealing with fear. He prayed.

Positive Speaking

President Ronald Regan said, “We are never defeated unless we give up on God.”  God is our source of strength and often fear can derive from the place of what I am able to cope with. What I am able to handle. God has a wonderful way of making His power and His ability accessible to His children. Yes, He stands above us in His glory, but He doesn’t choose just to be up there in heaven, disconnected from this sinful world. His strength is available to us right here, right now! What seems impossible to man is possible with God. All things are possible with God. God is able. Something that will help to overcome real fear barriers in your life is to remind yourself to elevate your God above your problem. Your fear will continue until you put these words into practise. Speak them over yourself and believe that God is bigger than your problem, because He is!

A Crazy world   

In Owl City’s song Alligator Sky, he says “we’re living in a crazy world where you’ll never guess what could happen next”.  Faith is the ideal practise for these kinds of experiences. For example, sometimes it’s easy to talk to people but other times, if you’re having an off day, you might have to take a leap of faith to talk to someone, and if that’s impossible to do then God is there to talk to. You can be honest with Him! When you do this those worries will turn into ideas and constructive thoughts and feelings that will soar through your mind and equip you for communication. That’s exactly why scripture says, “Don’t worry about anything. Instead pray about everything!” – Philippians 4 v 6. God knows that when we play our insecurities in His hands and open our hearts to Him that we will be filled with healthier emotions. Martin Luther King Jr once declared, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t have the whole staircase.” Let faith be your springboard into a place where in every situation, wherever you are and whatever you are doing, something good is happening in your life. Turn the worrier within into a WARRIOR.

For more posts like this discover Tim Smart's blog world: smarterwords.blogspot.com

The Flock

I want to start by not making my acknowledgments to the birds of Alfred Hitchcock's infamous movie and to thank God that we don't live in that film!!!

There are two animals in the plural tense to which the word 'flock' belongs. Sheep and birds. Towards the end of last year and the start of this year I've been noticing the birds in their flocks and it's a nice treat when you see a LARGE flock of birds. I've particularly enjoyed watching them when taking my twenty minute walk to work if they're flying around. Whenever I see them I always think about church. - About all the people represented. Sometimes I see one or two birds flying off on their own little tangent and sometimes wonder 'Have I ever gone off on my own tangent at church?' When you watch a flock it moves and flows swiftly and as they turn to fly elsewhere every birds moves in sync. Their unison makes watching them pleasing to the eye.

In the Bible followers of Christ are sometimes referred to as a flock (specifically, sheep). And it's mainly Jesus who refers to us as in this way. The parable of the lost sheep for example. Jesus says, 'I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me' (John 10 v 14). 

Let's assume for a moment that the birds I've been talking about that soar in unison together know Jesus. This is why they fly together in an effortless fashion. Now let's imagine a flock that doesn't know Jesus. (Insert least favourite bird here _____.) Now this flock is all over the place. There are one or two who are flying in unison but there's one who's flying in and out of the flock back and forth back and forth! There's another bird who's nowhere to be found! One bird is kind of in unison with the few in the flock but is dawdling slowly behind! Another bird is flying in circles around a tree! Another is even flying in the wrong flock! Watching this flock is exhausting... Because these birds don't know Jesus they're out of sync. Out of sync with one another. Out of sync with what's good. Out of sync with Jesus.

I wouldn't like to make an unfair generalization like 'the church of today is like a flock of birds out of unison because it doesn't know Jesus!' I think that a statement like that would be 1. Completely unfair. 2. Completely untrue. and 3. Downright defeatist! But at the same time I know that churches aren't flying in a place of complete ease and trust. 

What I love are the wonderful ways that God shows us how to be a church like the birds who are easy to watch. I want to look at three factors. 

1. Individual Contribution One of the things that I believe is most important is the need that the church has for you individually to contribute all that you have however you need to. I really enjoy doing this. - Looking for spaces in conversations where I can add something - Looking for ways that I can do something or say something on the spur of the moment - by faith. 

2. One Flock, One Shepherd I play drums in our worship team and sing and play guitar sometimes as well and one of the things I love about the times we worship together is that when we are really feeling what is happening in the song, lyrically, musically, and spiritually, we sometimes know where something is going. Jesus explains this unison. 'They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.' - John 10 v 16. The secret ingredient of the unified flock is its trust in one another that is reliable through the one shepherd that they have in common.  

3. I've got your back 'Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.' - 1 Peter 5 v 2. Just to give a little background here, Peter when he said this was talking to the elders of the churches. Although he was specifically speaking to leaders, I think that all of us should apply this scripture to our lives as well - to the way that we treat the people in our churches. Do we act out of fear or bitterness (grudgingly) or are we doing what we do with joy and love (willingly). Caring for the flock is one of the greatest joys that we can possibly know in this life because what we do to help could be the difference between life and death for the person on the receiving end. Knowing that you've saved someones life really is worth your effort. I'll finish with the lyrics of a song by a band called Sanctus Real. This song was the anthem of our car on the way home from the Ultimate Event, May 2009 and it goes like this:

Oh oh we need each other
So what's the fighting for?
Oh oh we need each other
Please don't close the door
Oh oh we need each other
Through all the highs and lows
Oh oh we need each other
Cuz no one's meant to live alone    


God Bless
The best is yet to come
Elkman out
...

Bible Translation: New Living Translation

You are a Motivational Speaker

Did you know that you are a motivational speaker? Well, now you do. It's true. Within each of us is the ability to MOTIVATE others.

I've just finished reading a book called 'When did you last see her?' from Lemony Snicket's series, 'All the Wrong Questions.' If you didn't know, it's a spin off series from the successful 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' books. 'All the Wrong Questions' stars the character Lemony Snicket as a child and the adventures that he undertook as a member of an incredibly secret and dangerous organisation. Towards the end of the book one of the characters, Cleo Knight, who is a scientist shares with everyone her experience of the treachery and evil deeds of an evil 'scientist' (if that's what he really is) called Dr Flammarion and his villainous master Hangfire. Here's an extract that I want to talk about from the book: 

"You're a monster," she said. It was an angry voice and a quiet voice, and it made me flinch. "You drugged my parents until they couldn't think straight," she said. "You destroyed the note I left for my parents and Zada and Zora. You vandalized my car and lured me into your clutches. You locked me down here and made me work on invisible ink so you could fill this clinic with children and continue your treachery. But that story is over now, Flammarion. You'll never get your hands on my formula, and I'll never rest until Stain'd-by-the-Sea is a proper town again." 

(All the Wrong Questions ch 12, pg 249 - 250.)

'An angry and quiet voice',  reminds me of righteous anger - recognizing that wrong has been done and the desire to sort things out righteously. Sometimes we can't keep our cool and that's okay. Righteous anger results in a burden to see what is right come to pass. I love it how the character Cleo Knight ends on a high note. She starts her speech by pointing out all that has happened and then ends with her dream - ends with what she is passionate about. I'll never rest until stained-by-the-sea is a proper town again.' I don't know what effect Cleo's speech had on the characters who were on her side in the story, but it surely motivated me! And just as this motivated me, each of us, I believe has a burden that we can use to motivate others. We don't have to think long and hard about it, but just share what we're passionate about with the people we see around us. 

Matthew 23 - 24 is an incredible example of the righteous anger that Jesus displays when speaking to the crowds and disciples. He speaks about the pharisees and teachers of religious law hypocrites. They talk the talk but discard the walk. And for a whole chapter Jesus talks about the religious leaders and the rebellion of Jerusalem until in chapter 24, he finishes on a high note with a vision... 'And he (Jesus) will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.' - Matthew 24 v 31. Jesus was working to this end... He had his eyes set on the vision - the end goal - seeing what is right come to pass. And earlier on in Matthew 7 v 28 it says that the crowds were amazed at Jesus' teaching. They were stirred. It motivated them. When we know Christ we have that same power. 'The same power that conquered the grave lives in me.' (Ephesians 1 v 19. ... Hillsong, 'You are Here'.) Christ has given us the same drive. The same righteous anger. The same desire to see things put right and for the Kingdom of God to prevail. Believe it. Discover it. Remind yourself of it. Be changed by it. The power of Christ in you. You ARE a motivational speaker and you can change your world.

Let's pray.

God, thank you for giving me your righteousness. Thank you for giving me a passion for what's right. I choose to use this passion to fight my vision. I will not rest until my town is a proper town again. I will not rest until I see my vision come to pass. Help me not to lose heart but to find new strength in the dawning of every new day, in Jesus' name, amen.

To finish with I'm going to ask a few questions. Hopefully these are 'All the Right Questions'. Lol. Spend some time mulling over these thoughts:

1. What dream have you got that you will never put to rest until you have fulfilled it?

2. What story do you need to put to death?

3. Who is your audience?

See you soon! For all those who are looking, keep searching. God Bless X 

[B.T: New Living Translation.]

The REAL You

Ever feel like your mind is a minefield? One minute you seem okay and the next minute you have a thought and *BOOM!* everything goes crazy and you do something stupid...

In the film Avengers Assemble, the avenger known as Hawkeye has had his mind poisoned by Loki, who is one of the gods of Asgard. Loki has invaded planet earth and wants to get his hands on the 'tesseract' which he plans to use to create a dimensional hole, bringing evil from an unknown world to wage war on earth. The beginning phase of Loki's plans involve polluting the minds of innocent scientists and soldiers using his sceptre. Using his sceptre, Loki gets Hawkeye to do his dirty work. Being lulled into a false sense of security, Hawkeye gets brainwashed and ends up turning against his own side ... Eventually Black Widow, another of the avengers catches up with Hawkeye and engages with him in combat in order to bring him back to his senses. Eventually she manages to whack his head against a metal bar - ouch - which fortunately brings the real Hawkeye round.

Hawkeye wakes up later on to find himself strapped to a doctor's bench with Black Widow watching over him. His mind is still cloudy but eventually, being strapped down, he manages to fight the torment and snaps out of it. He then opens up to Black Widow, sharing all that he went through while under Loki's control.

In Avengers Assemble, Hawkeye went through a process and in using some imagery from the film I want us to look at the process that we have to go through over and over at times in order for to discover the REAL you.

There are three common processes that we go through if we want to fight that lies and become the bold warriors that God wants us to be:

1. THE LIE. - We will most likely be aware of the lie. Although, in our minds the lie may not be a lie but will appear to be true. Deeply shaken by what has happened to him, Hawkeye describes his experience to Black Widow when he comes back to consciousness. He says, 'Do you know what it's like to have someone take over your mind, pull you out and put something else in?' Sometimes when we deal with sin or doubts or fear it can feel like these feelings have taken us over. And then Hawkeye says, 'Do you know what it's like to be unmade?' Sometimes it can feel like we have become someone else - that we are not our own anymore. But we can choose to say, 'No, this isn't me. I'm NOT unmade. The real me IS here. The real me will not be lost in the exaggerated lies that I have been exposed to...' When we believe the lies we'll do things that we never thought we'd do.

2. THE BLOW. - Another word for blow can be 'punched', 'hit' or 'knocked'. I love this imagery showing the process that Hawkeye goes through. When he awakes and sees Natasha (aka. Black Widow) and is isolated - strapped to the bench - he eventually snaps out of his trance. When Hawkeye inquires about how he broke through, Black Widow says to Clint (aka. Hawkeye), 'I hit you really hard on the head.' God knows how to get our attention and sometimes that's through hitting us round the head. In fact, every time that the devil is giving us gyp ask God to give you a good whack round the head. The Word of God - The BLOW, is stronger than the devil - The LIE. When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness, each time the devil made suggestions that seemed reasonably inoffensive, but each time Jesus replied with a command from God. “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’” - “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” - “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” (Luke 4.) The devil goes around with a couldn't care less attitude, but we as God's people know that boldly combating this with scripture gives us breakthrough. The BLOW is stronger than The LIE.

The next phase is the hard bit. - Persevering through the isolation.

3. THE RESTRAINT. - Before Hawkeye completely recovers he has to be strapped up or he would have caused havoc with his Loki - contaminated mind. He had to be restrained until his mind cleared. To be healed we need to be restrained or 'tied up' for a season... For us that's our private time of prayer, our devotion to the Word, our separation from unhealthy influences. If we don't then we'll run wild and do no one - especially our selves - any good. But when we've spent enough time in those places, praying, studying the word and separating ourselves from unhealthy influences, God says, 'Okay, you're ready - GO fight the good fight.' The key to persevering is to keep speaking scripture over your life - as Jesus did in Luke. Whenever The LIE tries to come back to you - speak The BLOW into action. My cousin encouraged me the other week when I was fighting the lie that I need to just spend some time in The Word. Get alone. Get before God. Get stuck into prayer. When we do this - when we strap ourselves to the doctor's bench and pray and read the Word, the devil will flee. 'So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.' - James 4 v 7. The restraint is necessary. To restrain yourself is to humble yourself before God. To restrain yourself is to resist the devil. Before you know it you'll be firing arrows at your targets in no time, on your guard, ready for anything. FIGHT! 

Keep on fighting! See you soon.

[Bible Translation: NLT (New Living)]

Gracious Discernment - Knowing what is right and wrong but dealing with situations gracefully

The Issue

Sometimes we struggle to give people the benefit of the doubt ... if you know what I mean. Sometimes it can be easy to take a strong dislike to someone's morals and behaviours and ways of living. Generally there are two reasons for why we feel like this: We either (A) ... Genuinely feel that someone is behaving in an ungodly manner or (B) ... Find ourselves not liking someone's behaviour because we wouldn't do what they do. My first point is that an 'A' response would indicate a way of thinking that is in balance with the Holy Spirit, the Word of God and the welfare of other people. A 'B' response, however, can indicate a level of personal insecurity, poor self-esteem, or pride.

Addressing the 'B' response

Here are Three Quick Points to help you address insecurity, poor self-esteem and pride. (1.) Addressing Insecurity: When facing insecurities of any kind they are undoubtedly negative. The best way to deal with anything negative is to search for something positive. EVEN if you don't quite believe it, something you might need to do is change the negative beliefs that you have about yourself by replacing them with those positive beliefs. When on Photoshop, the art program on the computer, a handy tool that you can use to touch up photos is filter. You can add a different colour filter depending on the mood you want the photo to carry. People who are familiar with colour know that if you want your photo to be 'calm' then you place a blue filter over your photo. If you want 'warmth' you place an orange or yellow filter over your photo. For those dealing with insecurity, you need to do is place the 'positive' filter over your negative photo.  (2.) Addressing Poor self-esteem: 'It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.' - Galatians 2 v 20. Christ is glorious. When He lives in you, you take on His identity. In Him, you are glorious. This is a very valid reason to believe in yourself. (3.) Addressing Pride: In the same way that the scripture above about our identity being in Christ allows us to believe in ourselves, it also humbles us. In all honesty, we cannot effectively help people when we are overflowing with pride. It can be the easiest trap to fall into pride, but when we discover the drastic results of pride (often through personal experience) it gets easier to avoid this pitfall. A well-known phrase... Pride comes before a fall. We must choose to recognise that God has given other people insight and wisdom, and not just us... Read some books. Watch some sermons. Discover the value that all people have.

Addressing the 'A' response

When we've dealt with our insecurities we can move on to how to deal with the way that we respond to discernment. It can be a trap to think that when we know we've been given discernment by God that it's our job to sort everything out in whatever way that pans out. When it comes to how someone responds to your insight, the WAY we deliver what we've received from God is just as important as what we actually say. For example, ranting at people does not make them happy.

Sometimes we judge people very harshly in our minds, saying 'Oh, because they say this or because they think that, or because they do the other, they mustn't be in a right place with God.' Maybe we're correct that this person has said something or done something in an 'ungodly' way, but sometimes we go about the way we respond to these people in a harsh way. (Maybe we even go as far as committing what seems to be the unforgivable sin. Ranting.) Somehow, a strange sense of humility creeps up on us when the person who we've got an issue with says something along the lines of, 'Jesus Christ is the only way to life and we all need the grace He brings', and when they say something like that, suddenly this person seems acceptable in our oh so spiritual eyes. The discernment we hold may be correct but our reactions can be abysmal. In our discomfort with the original issue - the thing that was said or done that we discerned was not right with God - we insensitively overlook all that is GOOD in that person.

So, we understand that people trip up, we discern whether things are wrong or right, but the most important thing we can do when we speak, react to and act on discernment in regard to others is to show grace.       

'Let those who are wise understand these things. (The wise will understand these things.*) Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.' - Hosea 14 v 9.
'Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.' - Colossians 4 v 6.

[Bible Translations: NLT (New Living), *The Voice Bible, NKJV (New King James)]

Essential Behavioural Patterns - A Church Building Chapter

Hiya folks, I went for a stroll today in the snow. (Isn't it deep!!!!!) I popped into a couple of shops to buy a few bits and bobs - some pins and paint - in preparation for this evening's youth activity : Source Room (our youth hideout) redecoration. One of our church attenders has already painted all the walls white so we're halfway there!! I decided to take a detour on the way home, getting some exercise ready for our trip to the Lake District in February. As I was walking I spent some time praying and thinking and God brought our church and our church needs to my heart. Three 'Essential Behavioural Patterns', as I've affectionately labelled them, came to mind. - Ones which I believe can change the course of your church life. So get your brain in gear, keep your eyes peeled, and turn your hearing aid up, cos this is a good one.

So, there are three essential behavioural patterns we can adopt, which will contribute to maintaining a consistently healthy church, and these are:

Receptiveness Generosity & Thankfulness

Receptiveness. The ability to receive. To 'Listen'. To 'Hear'. To 'Take in'. Nehemiah 8 v 3: '...He (Ezra) faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law...' Sometimes it can be hard for us to receive something that we're not used to receiving, we're used to SUBCONSCIOUSLY responding to things. Here we're talking about being intentionally receptive, or in other words, making an effort to learn something. It's important that we go away from our exciting times together, applying new behaviours to our lives, changing the way we do things based on a word that spoke to our hearts. Sometimes it just takes a little push from your side, a decision to hear your church leader(s) out. Receptiveness.

Generosity. The ability to be generous. To 'Give'. To 'Bring Something'. To 'Use What You Have'. 2 Corinthians 9 v 6: '...But I will say this to encourage your generosity: the one who plants little harvests little, and the one who plants plenty harvests plenty...' This is arguably the hardest thing for people to commit to. This could be for one of two reasons 1.) We think that the gift we have 'just isn't good enough.' or 2.) 'It's more appealing to be given something.' I want to offer you not just two, but THREE! very good reasons to be generous this Sunday. 1.) When you're generous people will want to be generous to you! 2.) You begin to feel your thoughts and actions lining up with Gods' when you actively pursue it. and 3.) There's an overwhelming sensation that you've done something good, making you generally happier with life! And if you're not convinced yet, try it out for yourself!


Thankfulness. The ability to be thankful. To 'Thank'. With joy, To 'Acknowledge Something Good'. To 'Speak Well Of Someone/thing'. Psalm 100 v 4: 'Go through His gates, giving praise. Offer Him your gratitude and praise His holy name.' Thankfulness is such a precious thing. It unquestionably brings us closer to the Father's heart. The majority of the way we behave throughout our daily lives depends on what we hear on a regular basis and this usually falls into the category of one of two strands A) What someone have said. or B) What we have said. Frequently, a combination of the two. Imagine how joyful we could be if we could bring thankfulness to God and to others in our church lives every week instead of complaining about a song someone has chosen in the morning or being annoyed at the inconsistent church attendance of Joe Bloggs.

Similarities you might have stumbled across as you have observed my description of the need for these behavioural patterns in church is that they all require something of us. They require time. They require commitment. They require a conscious decision to change. It's an active outward expression, enabling something to happen instead of allowing stuff to just go on as normal in your place of worship (or place for having a nap in some cases). The up side of all this (if for any reason you may see time, commitment, and change as negatives) is that when you personally apply these behaviours to the way you do church, over time your fellowship will become a place that is exciting. Every week that you spend together will become effortlessly fun, life changing for you, your church and your community, and God will be glorified.

The truth is that it doesn't really matter in which order you operate in these behaviours because God values them equally. He always wants us to be thankful because He gave His Son for us on the cross to die and rise again so that we may be brought to life. He always wants us to be receptive because God can speak to you through every thing that you see around you, and the chances are that if you make a conscious decision to listen He will speak! And He always wants you to be generous because God wants the people around you to be blessed and for you to know the joy that comes when you give in every situation 24/7.

God Bless and see you all soon, Ad :)

[B.T: The Voice Bible, New Living Translation]

The Best Intimacy Is Private. The Best Intimacy Is God.

I have an awesome relationship with God. I talk to Him about everything - my emotional needs, my physical needs, my relational needs and my spiritual needs. I thank Him for the things He has done in my life. I praise Him for all that He is and all that He has created. Yet sometimes, and for no reason known to man, my mind goes blank... In fact, if I were to be more specific, it does something quite the contrary - it becomes frantic. 

When your mind becomes active / busy / frantic it can be hard to pin down thoughts, ideas, prayers and to be able to carry out what you originally intended to do. Strangely enough, it can be in this frantic state that a relationship with God can become so much more REAL. 

I believe that one of the possible reasons for why I go through busy-minded phases is because I couldn't imagine for one minute my prayer life - my relationship with God - being one of ritual and routine. I never want anything of my walk with Christ to become out of an attitude that says: 'Well, I'd better pray a prayer'. That's part of it... but with respect to everyone else who knows God, I doubt that they would have an alternate desire in their prayer life than to have a very real and intimate relationship with God. So maybe it's not SO much about me and my desire to be right with God that stirs up that frantic mind... Maybe there's something more to it.

In Matthew 16 v 13 - 17, when Jesus lived upon the earth, we discover a little about Peter's sincere faith - his commitment to be driven by Kingdom-mindedness and its results.   Let's have a look: 'When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do you say that the Son of Man is?" 
"Well," they replied, " some say John the baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."
Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God."
Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being."

There is so much that the Bible doesn't say, but that we can look into and suspect took place... The Bible talks very little about Simon Peter's personal life - what he did when he wasn't among others, but I am convinced that he spent a lot of time seeking out the Kingdom of God and all that was good and right. The sentence 'You did not learn this from any human being' leads me to believe that he went through a process of learning. He sought God for it - with the right intentions - to please God. And as we read further on, we learn that Peter did have RIGHT intentions. Jesus says in Matthew 16 v 18: "...Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means 'rock') and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it..."  Wow. Jesus trusted Peter... BIG STYLE. Whenever a successful relationship between a Christian and God take place, it's always two-way. Two-way in the sense that the life calling of a Christian is fulfilled by means of two steps. 
1. Man embraces God - relationship, vision, and purpose and never lets them go. 
2. God designs and enables man's relationship with God, vision, and purpose to take place.

It's so important that we have occasional personal experiences that are incomparable to those of others (but the more the better!). My reason for this is that without these times we have no need to rely on God, for we could just rely on the wisdom and understanding of people around us to get us through. Have you ever had a time of prayer with someone - you've been alone with that person - it's personal and lovely... a deep friendship... intimate. I've been there. there was one instance where I experienced this with a good friend. Years later I found myself wounded... hurt... broken... by something which this same person said to me. We're both in a good place with one another now, but people are so unpredictable... with all the feelings we have, our intimacies can make or break us.

The best place you can go where you know that you can pour out your heart and not get destroyed for it is Jesus Christ. If you want the best counsel, yeah, go to counsellors, doctors, and trust them! I have complete confidence in many of these people and believe that they do an awesome job, but remember that with every human being there's sin, memories, faults, insecurities and you shouldn't allow these things to withdraw you from others, but change your perspective on where your FULL confidence lies. James 3 v 6 - 10 is the most amazing example of these words that I know of and it talks about the unpredictable nature of man. '...the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessings and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth.' 

So now that we know why we place part of our trust in man, but why should we place our full trust in God? Psalm 116 v 5: 'How kind the LORD is! How good he is!' God is good. But just because The Best Intimacy Is Private ... The Best Intimacy Is God. Let me tie up a loose end... I talked earlier about placing part of our trust in man and our full trust in God. Now... that doesn't mean that we treat people as if they're a dog that needs to be kept on a leash. Just check this out. Galatians 6 v 10: 'Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone - especially those in the family of faith.' If we can do good to people, with a real intention to do good, then our relationship with mankind will become much more beautiful... the greatest beauty though, will always be our friendship with God. Done.

One last thought. You know, the more I had those 'frantic episodes' which I spoke of further up the page - the ones that made it hard for me to pray and and think and carry out intentions... Well the more I had those, the more I started to realise that our relationship with God is so much more than words. Every intention, motive, dream, song, and even silence is part of the relationship. Peter wasn't constantly saying 'I need a revelation, I need a revelation, I need a revelation!!' His walk with Jesus consisted of speaking, singing, dreaming, thinking, listening, watching, waiting... and eventually... hearing. Discover today a multitude of dimensions in communicating with Jesus.

See you soon! For all those who are looking, keep searching. God Bless X

[B.T: New Living Translation.]

Could A Pirate Become A Saint?

When my brother and I were younger we'd have friends around and play around with the idea that we were pirates - We'd make our own coffee stained Treasure Maps, speak in a 'ahoy there, landlubber' fashion and we even had our own toy swords! We'd use Isaac's cabin bed as a pirate ship and plan our missions from there.

We've all heard stories of infamous pirates from centuries ago who roamed the seas, torturing, stealing from and terrorising sailors - pirates like Captain Blackbeard (also known as 'Edward Teech'). And I'm actually a real fan of these characters... well... the ones you see in films, anyway! You might have discovered from reading all this that I actually love the legends and tales of pirate stories - the adventure behind it all. I love how as you watch the crew and the function of the pirates there are ranks and rules. I love that if you  manage to survive (and avoid 'the plank' for long enough), you can work your way up and, eventually (if you have enough guts) bump off your old Cap'n and take his place. Yeah, I know, it does sound pretty gory, but I love the fantasy element that has been portrayed about Pirates through more recent years. 

The definition of pirate is clearly portrayed in the Chambers Dictionary, where a pirate is depicted as: 'A person who, without authority, attempts to capture ships at sea... A robber or marauder operating at sea.' There are a few 'pirates' in the Bible... well... their crimes weren't committed at sea, but they had the same nature as many of the pirates who come to our minds. Immediately as you dwell on the term 'pirate', words will come to mind... Aggressive... Bearded... Fearsome... Sword... Greedy... Parrot... Territorial... Bloodthirsty... Cannonballs. The list goes on. Now... if we cancel out words like parrot, you'll soon follow my drift. If you've ever heard of a guy called King Nebuchadnezzar in the Bible (or Nay-boo-ka-nay-zah! as I like to call him) then you'll understand why I'm talking about him. He was like the Blackbeard of the day. Let's learn a bit about him. 

To say that King Nebuchadnezzar was not a God-fearing is a bit like saying that Scooby-Doo's not a fan of ghosts... Yeah, he did some pretty ungodly things, which we'll look at in a bit. This Nebuchadnezzar was the King of Babylon in the time when the people of the City of Jerusalem were captured by the Babylonians and exiled to the land of Babylon, under the order of King Nebuchadnezzar. So here's some of the vile things that Naybookanayzah did. Well, for starters he took the people of Jerusalem captive and sent them away to Babylon, his own nation, as slaves. '...Nebuchadnezzar led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls (Jeremiah 52 v 4)... The number of captives taken to Babylon in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign was 3,023. Then in Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year, he took 832 more. In Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year he sent Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who took 745 more- a total of 4,600 captives in all (Jeremiah 52 v 28 - 30).' Secondly, Nebuchadnezzar unfortunately had a tendency to kill those didn't worship the Babylonian gods, and those who he wasn't keen on - and by several different means. "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you became pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded." (Daniel 1 v 10)... 'The king... ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed.' (Dan 2 v 12.) As well as exiling and killing people, Nebuchadnezzar was a big fan of worshipping idols, so he decided to make 'a gold statue ninety feet tall and ninety feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.' (Dan 3 v 1.) Despite all this, from the moment Jerusalem, a segment of God's people arrived in Babylon, something started to change in Nebuchadnezzar... It didn't start too well... To begin with he killed more people and made more statues, and demanded more Naybookanayzah worship, but as he decided to deal with the dreams he was having in a rational way instead of chopping people's heads off because of it, the mist began to clear a little for him, and what lay ahead of him with relation to his currently tyrannical rule became known... It was with the help of God-fearing warriors, Daniel (or Belteshazzar), Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that Nebuchadnezzar's life was radically transformed. Despite all the sorrow and heartache of the people of God losing their land Jerusalem to the Babylonians, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, because of their strength and good looks, were raised up in the land of Babylon as Nebuchadnezzar's servants. Eventually, Daniel hears from God and gains the 'privilege' of interpreting Naybookadnayzah's un-interpretable dream. (Dan 2 v 24.) Daniel speaks of what will become of the Kingdom of Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar's rule, that one will rise above it, and how God will raise up an unshakeable kingdom. (Dan 2 v 31 - 45.) Nebuchadnezzar falls to the floor in awe of Daniel's words of insight and he raises Daniel up as the ruler over the province of Babylon, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as leaders of the affairs of the province of Babylon. (Dan 2 v 46 - 49.) Unfortunately, a short burst of anger later prompted Nebuchadnezzar to order the burning of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the blazing furnace. His reason? They wouldn't worship his gods. (Dan 3 v 13 - 23.) Astonishingly, the three men survive the furnace as Nebuchadnezzar discovers a fourth mysterious form walking around in the fiery furnace!! And Nebuchadnezzar bellows: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" (Dan 3 v 46.) And from that point on Nebuchadnezzar's bewilderment at the power of God would lead him to make some very different moves and he demands that if 'any people... speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb' (Dan 3 v 29.) Nebuchadnezzar's still not quite got the idea yet! But soon enough, he has another puzzling dream, which only (guess who) Daniel (you guessed it) can interpret. Daniel interprets the confusing dream, and with fright says to Nebuchadnezzar: "You will be driven from human society... you will receive your Kingdom back when you have learned that heaven rules." (Dan 4 v 19 - 27.) We read on and discover that Nebuchadnezzar did in fact lose everything. 'He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagle's feathers and his nails were like bird's claws.' (Dan 4 v 33.) As the stories of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego began in the book of Daniel, so did Nebuchadnezzar's LIFE.

I'll go back to the story of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar shortly, but first I want to show you what happened way back before all this. What's shocking as you look at the roots of the exile of Jerusalem is that God actually intended Jerusalem to be taken captive by Babylon at the very start! Jeremiah 52 v 3: Just as it's beginning to dawn on all of us now how much control God actually had over these events, and that He actually spoke them into being, in the same way, Nebuchadnezzar, in the midst of the horror and ghastliness of such a horrific turn of events the true greatness of Yahweh (The LORD), pierced his spirit, and Nebuchadnezzar was able (the moment we've all been waiting for) to declare for real, his allegiance to the Most High God. Daniel 4 verse 34 says that after Nebuchadnezzar's sanity returned he looked to heaven and he worshipped the one who lives forever, and he writes this diary of praise... "His rule is everlasting, and his Kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, 'What do you mean by doing these things?' When my sanity returned to me, so did my honour and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head of my kingdom, with even greater honour than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honour the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud."

So if you're a Christian and you know some of these 'Nebuchadnezzars', these 'Blackbeards', these 'pirates'... then know in your heart that there is unbelievable hope for them. Or maybe you see yourself and think 'Man, I'm one of those pirates!', and you want to change, then guys, today is your day :) Nebuchadnezzar saw God and could cry out, 'This is the NEW me.' He could say, 'In the lowest of lows, I found God, and God brought me into His Glorious Light. This is the new me. LORD, You can make all things new.' Right now, I'd ask you to take that step and pray this prayer to Jesus, who has made it possible for us all to claim that new life: 'LORD, You can make all things new... I want to be changed in the way that Nebuchadnezzar was... I want to be an example of justice and truth for the rest of my days, because Your love has captivated me... Help me to live the way You want me to... I thank You for new life... Now You have mine... Forever more, in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.' 

Ahrrrrrrrrr me hearty!!!


[B.T: New Living Translation]

A Dead Religion

In the film Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope, there are two scenes which bear importance to the story, and it's only after watching all six films that you realise why the scenes are so significant.

The first scene is set in the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's Planet-sized space station. Darth Vader, a dark Lord of the Sith, and right-hand man to the Emperor, enters the mission room with his right hand man, Captain Tarkin, where full blown discussion has kicked off about the importance of the Death Star. The argument of one of Captain Tarkin's Commanding Officer's is that until the battle station is fully operational, they are vulnerable to the rebellion. The second Commanding Officer has full confidence in the Space Station and declares that the Death Star is the ultimate power in the universe. Darth Vader points out that although the Death Star has incredible power, it's ability to destroy a planet is insignificant in comparison to the power of the The Force. The second Commanding Officer replies with, 'Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader, your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up your stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the rebel's hidden fortress...' To which Darth Vader replies, 'I find your lack of faith disturbing' (whilst displaying an example of the 'power' of the force).

In a later scene, Han Solo, part of the rebel alliance is aboard his starship, along with side kick Chewbacca, robotic droids C-3PO and R2-D2, former Jedi* Master Ben Kenobi (*Jedi are beings who have incredible natural ability in the force and are trained up to use it for good), and Ben Kenobi's pupil, Luke Skywalker. Ben Kenobi and Luke Skywalker are going through training and Ben Kenobi teaches Luke, 'Remember, a jedi can feel the force flowing through him... It obeys your commands.' Luke gets hit by the remote which he's meant to deflect with his lightsaber- the jedi weapon. Han Solo sneers, saying, 'Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid...' 'You don't believe in the force do you?' Luke ponders a guess, to which Han replies, 'Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything that would make me believe that there's one all-powerful force controlling everything... There's no mystical energy field controlling my destiny.' Ben smiles, knowingly. He continues unphased and says to Luke, 'I suggest you try it again Luke. Let go of your conscious self and act on instinct.' Luke finally succeeds and deflects the shots of the remote, to which Han Solo replies, 'It's just luck.'


It's funny, but when I first discovered the reactions that Han Solo and the second Commanding Officer expressed towards to concept of The Force as I studied these two scenes, it made me want to sympathise with Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader. Phrases like: Sad devotion... ancient religion... luck. Anyone who's been through something that they have had to have faith in KNOW that it was never 'just luck'.

I mentioned earlier that when you watch the other five films you realise why Darth Vader and Ben Kenobi react in the strong ways that they do. It turns out that the time in which Ben and Vader were in their youth, was very big, very significant, very reliant upon The Force. Ben Kenobi was a warrior in the Clone Wars years ago who, among other Jedi, conquered many armies and Sith Lords. If the rebel alliance and the Empire realised the extent of that which these two aging men had done, and been through, Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader would be seen in a very different light. 


Okay, so Star Wars is a fictional world, which was created by George Lucas, Rick McCallum, John Williams and Frank Oz (what a muppet), but there are some crazy examples in what I've shared that we can really apply to our lives and learn from. Today, I want to look at 'Dead Religion'. In our lives as Christians, we will go through times when people will say to us: 'Oh, how can you believe in that ancient religion?' People have said things of that nature to me before. Generally people will say these things because they follow the belief systems of their nation - they follow what is normal, to BE normal. The belief system in our nation is atheism, so you will start to become familiar with these kind of thoughts and questions. But when people ask us questions like, 'Why do you believe in that rubbish, isn't it a myth?' those of us who know Jesus will be stirred up in our minds to remember all that God has done for us and in us and how every decision that we have revolves around him in some shape or form. When people speak to me in a disbelieving fashion, in all that I've seen and NOT seen, I cannot possibly imagine living a life contrary to the one that I live right now, which is a life desiring to follow after Jesus Christ and serving my neighbours. And that's not because it's something that I've just 'always done'. I want to stress an important fact that in my personal life, at times there have been doubts and I've been pulled towards one thing and pulled towards the other, but where I am RIGHT NOW is the best possible place I could be in. I cannot imagine living my life without God, because when I am without Him it is so boring. He is my purpose for living. I cannot live without Him. I don't see living for Jesus as a duty... I see living for Jesus as a JOY. I don't see my relationship with Christ as something extra... I see my relationship with Christ as my EVERYTHING. 


Let's just look at some scripture to help differentiate between who we are and who we want to be. This stuff relates to all of us guys... and in this post I really want to stress the fact that the one thing that is possible is that we can all be changed.

Jesus was a big fan of: Parables - My definition being metaphorical stories... Jesus used pictures that were unexpected, yet relevant, in order for people to better understand His teaching. They're fun! Here's an example from Matthew 13 v 24 - 30, 36 - 43: '"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. The farmer's workers went to him and said, 'Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?' 
'An enemy has done this!' the farmer exclaimed.
'Should we pull out the weeds?' they asked.
'No,' he replied, [Key Verse:] 'you'll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow up together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.'...
...leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, "Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field." 
Jesus replied, "The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the seeds among the wheat is  the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!'


In this day and age, we all seem to be fascinated by the end of the world. I love how clear Jesus is in this passage, and how the wheat and the weeds illustrates what will happen to all that is good and all that is good. A thought that came to my mind was that the weeds are the troubles that all of us will be facing throughout our lives until that day when the weeds are destroyed and we'll be taken into heaven... unless you are a weed... If you are, there IS hope! As I said earlier, through this post, I want the one thing that is possible be that we can all be changed. These words may have been a scary discovery for you: 'The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil... And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For those of you who are concerned about this - That is a sign that you CARE about the future, which is awesome. Often what we believe about our future, how we react to the idea of our future in our present state determines how our future is going to pan out... If you invest into your future, it will be beautiful... if you don't care, then your future will be uncertain. But you can never really takes those steps towards your beautiful future without making a genuine decision to follow Jesus. This is the business - Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on a cross because He knew that mankind needed saving from all its wrongdoings and He took all the sin to give us life instead of death. Three days after Jesus' death for us, He rose from the grave - a symbol of what would happen from that point on whenever someone would decide to follow Jesus - Now we can put all the wrong doing and selfishness on the cross and rise up out of our death - our past. When we decide that, immediately we inherit eternal life with Jesus because He loves us :)


If you follow, please, pray this prayer: 
Lord Jesus Christ, I understand what I've been hearing. I understand that there is an end to life - Heaven or Hell. I thank you for the gift of free will. I thank you that You have given me the choice to decide for myself. I thank You that You love me - You always have. I thank You for the gift of life... now I want to do what is right. I want to follow after You, to know You in the exact way You want me to. Jesus, take my life. I lay it all down. The love that You showed me, right now I surrender myself to that same love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen!


The amazing thing is that when you surrender your heart to Jesus, You become the same as Him! So now You are righteous as Christ is righteous. If you've made this decision for God, from now on this is your future: Matthew 13 v 43: 'Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom.'



See you soon! For all those who are looking, keep searching. God Bless X


[B.T: New Living Translation.]
   

Transition

Key Scripture: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God [Matthew 5 v 8]

Today I bought a magazine about black and white photography to get some inspiration (I'm one of those creative types, you see). So I took the magazine home and flicked through it, seeing first the pictures (as you do), but the first thing I did, even when I saw the magazine sitting on the shelf was to filter out all the stuff which I knew would try and get into my head- immoral images, pornography, etc. The first thought I had was, 'When I get this magazine home I am going to rip out all the pages which contain ungodly content'. This way of doing things- this decision, as you can probably imagine, isn't one that I've 'just always made', but over the years as my awareness of what is right and what is wrong has increased and the effects of right behaviour and wrong behaviour have become more evident to me, the decision to dispose of images contrary to my beliefs has become more prominent in my reading and viewing of magazine, book, and film content.


As in the viewing of pictorial literature, I believe that it is so important to use the same methods of filtering when reflecting on our own thought processes. Some may say that it's impossible to do this as, 'Our minds are so full of everything that has been happening in the day!... How could we possibly take a thought captive and say "Right- I'm tearing you out of my mind!"' Precisely. Mankind is already aware of the depth of our thoughts- our visual and verbal libraries which are subconsciously contained somewhere in the mind. Maybe the statement that 'What we decide to let into our mind effects how we as people function' would help those who recognise the clutter to react in a different way. What we decide to let into our mind effects how we as people function.


I want to look at the steps towards the recovery of the mind process as: The Three R's.
Raw Red Radish. Yum. Just kidding. The Three R's are: RESEARCH, RECOGNISE and REJECT. 
1. RESEARCH: We need to know what is right and what is wrong. Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what's what when we haven't been directly told. (There are some good scriptures in Ephesians 4 v 17 - 32. The Bible talks about being righteous, holy, good and helpful and to let go of bitterness, rage, anger and harsh words... Check it out!)
2. RECOGNISE: Once we know what is right and what is wrong we can look at the book (in our case the mind), and identify the stuff that needs to stay and the stuff that needs to go. We are now familiarised with what we are seeing and hearing and are able to differentiate because we have looked it up. 
3. REJECT: Now that we can tell what is good and bad we can immediately take action and say: 'No, I'm not allowing my mind to dwell on that... or that... or that.' And filter out our mind using the tearing process.
4. The Outcome. Once things were cloudy, but now because we've decided to discipline our lives with scripture and listening to God, our mind is much clearer. When you're on a mountain and the fog is heavy it's pretty much impossible to know where to go- UNTIL the fog clears. When the fog clears we are able to see again and we know the next step to take.


It can be easy to look at wrong stuff when one decides that they are unsure of their beliefs about something being wrong or right - this is the norm for our generation in this day and age. But the fantastic thing about applying the filtering process to our lives, with no regrets, is that because we decide, 'Yes, that stuff is wrong', and choose to chop away at the corruption, instead of meditating on the wrong stuff, our minds will remain SOUND. 
Viewing wrong stuff = Wrong thinking.
Banishing wrong stuff = Pure thinking.


See you soon! For all those who are looking, keep searching. God Bless X 


[B.T: New International Version, New Living Translation.]