Santa: A Man After God's Heart

So my guess is that if you're reading this blog you're probably old enough to read this next sentence without it traumatising you too much or ruining your holiday...

Santa isn't real.

That's it, I've said it - I'm sorry but someone needed to say it. Sorry.

I can remember very clearly the day my mum sat me down and told me the shocking piece of news I've just dumped on you. I had had my suspicions for a while but this was all the confirmation I needed. Outwardly as she told me I was picture of confidence and coming-of-age maturity, I wore an expression that said 'duh of course mum, I'm not an idiot!' but inwardly I wept knowing that my boyhood was over and adulthood beckoned... ok so maybe not but it was a memorable occasion nonetheless.

If you've ever felt like me or if you're simply finding it hard to come to terms with the fact that Santa isn't real you may be relieved to also read what I'm about to say:
Santa is real, they lied to me about the lie. That's right you read correctly, Santa is real and he can teach us a lot about how to live as a Christian.

Santa (who went by the name Nicholas) was born in the 3rd Century into a rich family in the small village of Patara, Turkey. He was a young boy when tragically both of his parents died of a disease leaving him as an orphan but give his familiy's wealth he had a huge amount of inheritance money, he was set up for life.

His parents had raised him in the Christian faith and given him enough reason to trust and follow Jesus that even though he suffered great loss, he did not lose his sight of his saviour. He maintained his Christian faith and became a wonderful example of the joy and privilege of being raised in a Christian home and trusting God through difficulty. Nicholas took seriously Jesus' words to the rich young ruler in Luke's gospel 'go sell everything you have and follow me.' He used his inheritance money to help those in need, especially children in poverty. He became known as someone who frequently gave gifts to children, often at night and often by putting the presents inside large socks or stockings, hence the tradition. One of the most famous stories of Nicholas's kindness was to three sisters he knew. The girls grew up in a poor family and in that part of the world a dowry (like a gift enabling you to marry) was needed to pay for the girls to be legible for marriage. They couldn't afford this sum of money however and were forced with no other option than to enter a life of forced prostitution to pay for their wedding dowry. Nicholas stepped in to help the family and paid for all three of the girls' dowries thus freeing them and saving them from a horrible life of sexual slavery.

Nicholas travelled and eventually got voted in as a the Bishop of Myra (a place that the apostle Paul visited in Acts 27) where he served as a church leader until the day he died in December 343AD. While he lived he is also known to have been a great defender of the truth and travelled to the legendary Council of Nicea in 325AD which was a council of church leaders that met to discuss and defend the Bible's claims about who Jesus is.

As an individual he took on legendary status and after his death was made a 'saint' by the Catholic church (even though we're all saints already if we are followers of Jesus, but that's besides the point!) and the town of Myra began celebrating his life each year with a festival that involved the giving of gifts to those in need.

Throughout his life then he displayed a believe in Jesus that expressed itself through caring for the poor and through defending truth. He expressed God's heart to the world by the way he lived and by the way he spoke. We would do well to imitate him in the same way. Love Jesus, follow him and lead others into knowing him and doing the same.

This Christmas you can be like Santa, the original Santa, by doing the same as he did. Give to those in need, care for those in need and love Jesus making it your life's aim to lead other people to know and love him as well.

For more information on the history of Christmas and how we got from Nicholas in Myra to the Santa of the Coke cans, check out this link:

Salvation... take it or leave it

Salvation.... We hear many Christian words like “Salvation”, “Fellowship” and “Transgressions” a lot in our church goings and weekly routines but what does the word Salvation actually mean?

When we look in the dictionary it says “the act of saving or protecting from harm, risk, loss, destruction etc...” However the theology version says this “deliverance from the power and penalty of sin; redemption”. So what does this actually mean?

It means that we have a Saviour who has already paid the ultimate price for us, the undeserved price of his life for our lives. A man who came to save us from ourselves and our own sin...

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,” 2 Corinthians 5:21

How INCREDIBLE is that? God sent his only Son to live in a fallen world full of evil and destruction to take on the sins of all mankind.

He came and was sinless, blameless and led a righteous life. But his penalty for that was death, death on a cross because of the sins we have done and will no doubt do.

John 3:16 “For God SO loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

This verse makes me realise just how undeserving of God’s Grace I really am, but that’s just what it is, Grace!

It’s like what Andrew Wilson always says “we get what we don’t deserve”. It’s a gift freely given to us, a gift of eternal life through him who died for us! Since we were babies, we grow up knowing what is right and what is wrong. Our hearts ache, our conscience tells us we are wrong when we do something, but it’s what we do when we do something wrong that we know where our hearts are.
So how can we inherit this Salvation? John 3 says “whoever believes in him”. It’s taking that first step of faith, its making the decision knowing that you sin but want to be forgiven and want to be made righteous. It’s believing that a man named Jesus came down to die for your sins, to take away all the bad in you and be made righteous. Receiving salvation is knowing that we are saved, knowing that we believe in a God who created this world, can move mountains, stop stormy seas, heal the sick and provide for the poor. It’s forgetting all the questions and the doubts but knowing the truth and choosing to believe it. We have already been saved; Jesus did that on the cross for us. Now it’s our turn to receive our salvation and enter into his Kingdom and have eternal life with a God that loves us.

“Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” John 3:21.

My Soul Waits

My Soul waits:

So what is it that our souls are thirsty for? Where do we go in times of trouble and hurt? How can God protect me from my enemies? I am hoping that all of these questions can be answered by this Psalm! Sometimes when things start to go wrong or we go through a time of doubt and struggle, we ask ourselves these questions! When we are feeling down and cast out we seek for something, so what is it...

Psalm 62 says this: 1 Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault me?
Would all of you throw me down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 Surely they intend to topple me
from my lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.[b]
5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honour depend on God[c];
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken,
two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
12 and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
according to what they have done.”

This was written when David (not yet King) was running from Saul as he was trying to kill David. He wrote this psalm during his time in the cave. As you can imagine David was crying out to God for protection and refuge, and in this cave he found refuge.

I know that for me this is so true. There are times when I really struggle and I worry about things that I shouldn’t worry about but it feels like I am running away from the enemy and my soul is searching. Its times like this that we need to find our cave and take shelter.

In this psalm David is waiting for God, verse 1 says “My soul finds rest in God alone”.

We should give everything to him, every worry on concern or fear that we have. For only when we say it out loud and give it to God will we find rest. Verse 2 says “He is my fortress, I shall never be shaken”... What TRUTH is that!! WE go to god (in the cave); we find protection in him “under the shelter of his wings”. In times when enemies are around us, when people are attacking us, when we feel a spiritual attack we must remember that “WE SHALL NEVER BE SHAKEN”... Its like the Matt Redman song, We shall, we shall not be shaken!! If we stand firm in Christ, if we search for him and long for him, if our soul is hurting.... we call upon an awesome God who finds us, takes us into his fortress and protects us. He gives our soul rest.

God loves it when we rest in him and spend time in his presence!

When we fail...

Hello there!:)

This is a spontaneous thing which I figured I’d write about; it’s been a long weekend but I’ll try and get my thoughts out on my screen!

I was reading Judges, today, as part of the bible in a year scheme; and not going to lie it was the part which feels more like a chore, as per usual! But something struck me and absolutely amazed me today, and I feel I should tell you about it. It’s something that has come up time and time again in my head; there is a pattern repeated through this book and others in the old testament. Every time I notice it and stop and think: it just seems more and more amazing.
The point at which I stopped reading and decided it was about to time to whack out my laptop was in Judges 6, right at the start. I’m going to write my translation but yours is probably different It starts off with this: ‘Again the Israelites did what the Lord said was wrong.’
Firstly; just consider this. When I read it I just hold for a second; and realise how.. dirty we are. In God’s eyes. How many times He’s washed us anew, He’s got us out of trouble; but .. we fail again.

Compared to the absolute perfectness of Heaven; we don’t even deserve to be alive! We think that this time; our way is RIGHT and that God’s way is not what we should do. We follow the crowd, do what’s popular because we think we know better than what the magnificent Lord Almighty says . . of course my first point is that God is so amazing that He takes us anyway. But if we continue in Judges 6 ..

Vs.6: ‘Isreal became very poor, .. so they cried out to the Lord.’
This is part two! In our everyday lives, exactly the same as what the Isrealites went through back then. No matter how much we believed our way was better at the beginning; it fails, and well, we’re in trouble again. Lost, with nothing, we turn to the Lord .. and here comes the moment of truth, the full showing of how gracious and merciful our God
is:
Vs 7:’when the isrealites cried out to the Lord, .. (8) the Lord sent a prophet to them’.
See? When these guys were at the bottom of the pit, covered in mud, God didn’t stick two fingers up or say ‘I don’t you so’. He actively sent someone to come and get them out of the situation, why? Because he cares. Just flicking through my bible, there’s dozens of examples:
same book, chapter 3! Twice consecutively; vs 7: The isrealites did what the Lord said was wrong..’ and vs 12: ‘Again the people of Isreal did what the Lord said was wrong..’ and as is the nature of our God, there were active, physical solutions sent by Him: vs.15: ‘

‘When the people cried to the Lord, he sent someone to save them..’

The Lord is definitely trying to tell us something here, and although reading these old books from times gone by may seem like a drag, I honestly believe there’s so much we can get from them. Drilling in these accounts reveals the very nature of our God. He is merciful, He is great, He is forgiving, and He will help you.. to every ‘the people cried out’; there is a ‘The Lord saved them..’. He wants what’s best for us; He loves us so deeply.
I’m not quite sure what the general gist of this blog is; a mixture of how the old testament is alive and relevant to me, reassurance of how beautiful the Lord is, just remembering how He did and still does lift us up out of the mug and the mire..
Make of it what you will. I just try and remember, every single day, how much the Lord has done for me. His beautiful grace and mercy; that no matter what rubbish I get in, I still have an amazing God ready to help me up and dust me off.

:)



Thanks,
xx

--
Luv XxBethxX

What are you searching for?

When listening to music words are really important to me, and sometimes words that I relate to or speak to me will jump out or stick in my head. I was recently listening to the song ‘By your side’ by Tenth Avenue North, it wasn’t a song I’d heard before but as I listened a line jumped out at me.

“Why are you still searching…as if I’m not enough?”

I felt God challenge me on what I search for, forgetting that in Christ I have everything (Philippians 3:8). In life we can search for friendships, status, recognition, among other things, but are we making our search for a deeper relationship with God our priority? In Joshua 24:19 it refers to God as “a Holy God…a jealous God”. He doesn’t want us searching and striving for other things (idols) – he wants our focus to be Him because he wants a relationship with us. God is the only person worthy of being our first priority.

Jesus gave everything for us to have a relationship with Him; have a look at Philippians 2:6-8 to see what He was willing to do to have a relationship with you! He gave up equality with God, to be crucified for us. He is the best friend you’ll ever have; strong when you feel weak, powerful when situations seem hopeless while also being a close and personal friend that is always willing to listen. The song ‘this so called love’ by Mercy Me is full of truth about how He’ll be there for you through anything and I’d recommend having a listen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOrKrmFoXSI

So if Jesus gave everything to have a close and personal relationship with you, why are you searching for anything else? You could spend ages searching for other things, but if you search for God you won’t have to search for long – “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). If you wanted to be better friends with a mate you’d spend more time with them and talk to them more – the same applies to a relationship with God. Make some time to spend with Him, as you would a good friend who you’d want to catch up with. And I pray that your relationship with your heavenly Father will become stronger as a result.

Is God Good All The Time?

Hey guys, so i was thinking about what to write a blog on and during the week something really prompted me to write it on the goodness of God.
I want to start off with this, God is good all the time!

I think that is really important!

If you walked into a church and asked if God is good, most christians would say yes. Now here comes the challenge, if they were sick and you asked them if God was good and they said yes God is allowing my suffering to make me a better person then that is not saying God is good. It is the devil who comes to kill, steal and destroy, God and the devil have not changed jobs. We need to make sure we don't have a too big view of the devil and a too little view of God. God is so extremely good and God does not punish. He is good because he brings mercy to us, not pain and troubles. God is for us and not against us!

God does not lack anything, he is perfect and good, the fault is with us. We do not understand his goodness and use the excuse that God is testing us in our suffering and our tough situations. That is not true, that says God is not good when he is extremely good!

In the bible Jesus healed everyone who came to him. He never turned them away saying that God is using their troubles to make them a better person. He healed ALL who came to him.

I read a book called 'The Shack' a while ago (if you have not read it then read it!) and i'll just share a few things that are written.

- God said, 'There are millions of reasons to allow pain, hurt and suffering rather than to eradicate them but most of those reasons can only be understood with each persons story. I am not evil! You are the ones who embrace fear and pain and power and rights so readily in your relationships. Your choices are also not stronger than my purposes and i will use every choice you make for the ultimate good and the most loving outcome.

- God said, 'The real underlying flaw in your life, is that you don't think that i am good. If you knew i was good and that everything is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what i am doing, you would trust me.

- God said, ' Just because i work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies does not mean i orchestrate the tragedies. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace.

God does not inflict pain, hurt, sickness and disease, that comes form the devil. God is good and therefore he only does good, it is who he is, he is good! It says in these verses how good God is...

Psalm 34v4
Taste and see that i am good, blessed are those who take refuge in him.

Romans 8v28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.

Mark 10v18
'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good except God alone.'

Psalm 143v10
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God, your spirit is good.

God is good all the time and we need to praise him all the time.

Malachi 3v10
'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this.' Says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if i will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Challenge Gods goodness!

Hope this has helped!
Gilbo.

A choice we make: Anxiety or Faith in Future Grace

Even though we may be anxious with many things; weather a new job, or finding time to do things or just being a worried person in general. We all feel the same, we all feel anxious at some point but it is how we channel that that can help us. Once we know the cause of our anxiety and worries we can then find how to conquer it!!
We find that by praying and finding the grace of God can drive us deeper into knowing him and trusting him. By worrying all the time this shows the little faith we have in God, we must trust in him at all times. No matter what we are worried about, we get through it and don’t even remember why we were worried in the first place. We need to remember that God is faithful and will never leave us!

The root of anxiety: Jesus says in Matthew “Don’t worry about tomorrow for today has enough worries of its own”. He also tells his disciples “Do not be anxious”. God knows that we are anxious and worry about what life throws our way, even Jesus disciples were anxious through the storm but we need to learn to pray and give it to God.
“Fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). Finding the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is good news! Because it is the only way to focus our fight on the real cause of sin! Our anxiety is rooted in our failure to live by faith in future grace.
Sometimes it’s like we are driving along and our vision gets blurred temporarily and we can’t see what’s going on outside of the car. But God can and once we put on out windscreen wipers it’s like we can see again and actually everything was ok. So even though we temporarily get anxious during the blurred vision times, we have trust in God. But by Grace, we set in motion a process of resistance!!
Psalm 56:3 “When I am afraid I put my trust in thee”.
Even promises of Future Grace against anxiety:
Matthew 6:25 – 34. God’s promises.

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you, with my Victorious hand”. God will never fail me or never leave me. Have faith and trust in God and cast your anxieties and worries on him.

“If God is for us, who is against us” Romans 8:31.

A True Community?

Thoughts on community

Over 30 times Paul writes to the churches he looks after and tells them to 'one another'...

'Be devoted to one another in love.'
'Honour one another above yourselves.'
'Live in harmony with one another.'
'Accept one another.'
'Greet one another with a holy kiss(?!!)'
'Agree with one another,'

Are we a community that cares for each other? Do you phone people for help when you're low? Do you encourage someone when they do something well or when they take a risk? Do you notice when someone's not there?

As a youth group we have a mission to accomplish and it starts individually in your own heart, it's to do with how you think about and treat other people. That's your relationship with others - horizontal, from you out to the world around you.

Jesus made some big statements about his followers (light of the world, city on top of a hill, salt of the earth etc.) and all of them point to the fact that we are supposed to be a force for good and for God in our town. True is meant to be a place that is different from the rest of the town's youth groups; it's a place where Jesus is lifted up in the way we live, the way we speak to one another, the way we care about each other. Horizontally (our relationship with others.)

What can you do to play your part to be the youth group you want to see?

Should we try to pay back God?

I have been reading a book called Future Grace by John Piper. Its been an amazing read and has really encouraged me to focus on God's future Grace based on the hope that he has given me in the past. So I just thought that maybe this would encourgae some of you!

Gratitude is the emotion that rises joyfully in response to a gift. When we receive from God (it is a free gift that we don’t deserve), we joyfully receive and accept it. However do we feel obligated to pay him back?
What would God want from us? We can worship him and praise him in thanks but he deserves that all of the time. He requires nothing from us and loves to give. Psalm 11:4 tells us “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name”. We should always give thanks to God and honour and worship him, not because he gives us things from a loving Father but because he is a loving Father who deserves to be praised.

In the Old Testament God revealed himself and made himself known to the nations, even though he gave them faith in past grace they sustained no trust of faith in his future grace. Even though they saw his good works and received from him they showed no sign of faith in god for his future Glory. Like us, when we receive from God we don’t have to feel obliged to pay him back but actually just to respond in faith to Gods future glory!
Fear of the Lord and Future grace can be subtly linked together with gratitude to God and obedience. Moses teaches us in Deut 6:2 “Fear the Lord your God, to keep all his statutes and commandments”. Psalm 115:11 says “You who Fear the Lord, Trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield”. To fear the Lord is to tremble at the awareness of what a terrible insult it is to be a holy God if we do not have faith in his future grace after all the signs and wonders he has performed to win our obedient trust.

Therefore is it right to pay back God? In Deut 23:21 it says “ When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the Lord your God will surely require it of you”. Hezekiah didn’t make a vow to God which he should have done in service to the Lord, but why? In the Old Testament they would make a vow of burnt offerings which was a way of repentance or worship, so why make a vow to it?
Is making a vow to God not like making a deal with God and trying to make a bargain with him?
We receive so that the Lord may give, as he loves to give freely to his children who don’t deserve it (we get what we don’t deserve) and that’s the mighty power of Gods mighty Grace. Our receiving is done by transforming our gratitude into faith as it turns from contemplating the pleasures of past grace and starts contemplating the promises of the future.

Keeping the Main thing, the main thing

Over the next few months at True we're going to be spending a series of evenings looking at 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I don't know if you've read it before, but you should, it's amazing. One thing that jumps out at me is Paul's driven determination and obsession with the gospel of Jesus. He can't help it, he's always going on about it, it's what motivates him. It's what gives him comfort, joy, strengthening, hope - you name it and he's convinced that the gospel is the answer.

Essentially he's convinced that the Main Thing (God) really needs to be the main thing in our lives, the most important thing. He wants people to see how the gospel seeps into and consumes every avenue of our lives and we need to allow it to give God centre stage on our lives.

If I said to you in a rather bored tone, showing no sign of alarm or emotion 'there's a scorpion climbing up my leg' you'd think me a little strange; you wouldn't believe me about the scorpion. The statement 'there's a scorpion climbing up my leg' points to a reality that is urgent and requiring immediate action, my life is at risk - how can I be bored? I clearly haven't understood the reality of what I'm saying, I must be lying about the scorpion.

Often I find I meet people who say 'yeah I'm a Christian, so what?' or if they don't say it, they convey it. You meet people who convey a feeling of 'being a Christian isn't that big of a deal'. If you were to see someone standing at a football match in and amongst the terraces, surrounded by screaming football fans all yelling about how brilliant a particular football team is, but this person was sitting down, looking bored. What would you think? That they're in the wrong seats? I certainly wouldn't think that they supported the same team as the people chanting. Supposing you saw them out after the game wearing the football strip of the team the fans were chanting about, you'd perhaps be a little confused wouldn't you? I'd certainly have some questions.

In church you see people sometimes looking quite bored whilst all around them people are lost in worship and relationship with God. What do you conclude about these people? Well, I think to myself that they either don't believe the same thing as those standing around them, or that they don't understand what they say they believe, if they in fact say that they believe it. Do you follow?

Consider these statements:

'I believe in a holy, all powerful, awesome God who sent his own son to die on a cross for the sins of the world and now is alive ruling and reigning forever more... so what, that doesn't make a difference to my life.'

'There's a scorpion climbing up my leg... so what, that doesn't make any difference to my life.'

'One day I'm going to stand before the creator of the universe and he's going to call me to account for all the things I've done/not done with my life... so what, that doesn't make any difference to me and my life.'

'There's a tiger loose in my front room... so what I can still watch TV in there.'

There's a disconnect bewteen the statements and the realites that the statements points to.

What we need is some dominoes thinking.

Dominoes you know - push one and they all go down, in turn.
Work it through:

Tiger in front room = potential death for anyone in the room, need for help = I can't watch TV in there = I need to watch TV some where else, or go get help to get the tiger out of the front room = I think I'll leave the house, just to be on the safe side...

For Paul in 2 Corinthians 5 he says a few things like this:

We will all stand before God to be judged one day = God is holy and awesome = I want to be ready when I meet him = I want to do all that I can to warn/tell people about the death of Jesus.

Do you see how it goes?

To keep the Main Thing, the main thing you need to do some dominoes style thinking.

Have you thought through the implications of what you believe? Of what others believe? Have you seen how the guys in 'The Hangover' responded to the tiger in their bathroom?

Come on: The main thing, is to keep the Main Thing, the main thing.

Romania Romania Romania

As you know next July we are planning a Missions Trip to Romania! Not only will this be an experience of a life time it will also be a time or real reliance on God and a time of seeking, listening and obeying him!

So about Romania: Romania has a population of 21.9 million people and is the seventh largest country in Europe. The country is situated in Eastern Europe, below Ukraine and above Bulgaria, next to the Black sea. Romania is a secular state and has no state religion. However 86.7% of Romanians identify themselves as Christians with 4.7% Catholics. There is also a growing Muslim minority in the western parts of the country. Romania is a place where we have connections through the church which gives us great opportunity to use this connection to spread Gods name. This would be a great experience to jump on board with, living and learning about a new culture gives us a real revelation about the world and how people (not just in England) need to hear Gods word.

When I was 18 years old, I went on a missions trip to Valencia, It was without a doubt the most amazing time I’ve had spent with God and trusting him. Each day we went out treasure hunting, prophetic evangelism, praying for others, worship on the streets and just glorifying God’s name in a catholic Society. Even though their were some hard moments God’s faith prevailed and we saw some amazing things that week. By trusting in him and trusting in ourselves that God was leading us, allowed us to have some amazing conversations about a God that loved them. This for me strengthened my relationship with God and really built up my faith in him which was limited before I went. God has blessed me through it with prophetic gifting in which I love to exercise. That trip not only shaped me but in a few weeks could see the enormity of God and his love and protection over us!

This is why I encourage Romania to you, Jesus said “Go and make disciples of all Nations” (Matthew 28:19). If we are listening to God then we will follow! Not everyone has had a chance to hear the Gospel and now is the chance for us to tell people about Jesus and spread his Holy name. If you are worried about money... don’t be! Pray about it, seek God and he will reveal things to you! If you are worried about protection... pray about it because God is a God of protection. “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever, let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings” (Psalm 61:2-3).

As it says in Matthew 6: 25-34 “Do not worry O ye of little faith” for God is a provider of what we need and will provide for us. God knows we worry about things and are anxious and nervous but don’t be for the Lord our God is with us and he will love and comfort us. Romania will be an amazing experience to enter into a deeper relationship with him, building up your faith and stepping out of the boat and walking on water with Jesus!

“When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
In God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me” (Psalm 56:3-4)

Help I'm Lost, Where Is God's will?

By Demelza

At Life Group the other day, we were invited to write down a question that we had about God, and then those that wanted to could choose somebody else’s question to try and answer in a blog.

The question I chose was actually something that had been on my heart for a while: “Why is it that I don't know where I am going? I try and pray and ask for direction, but unlike everyone around me, I can't seem to get a response. Why am I failing?”

This reminded me strongly of a preach by Andrew Wilson – probably one of the best preaches I’ve ever heard. He talked about a football match (forgive me for forgetting the exact details – not a football fan I’m afraid!) where in the first half of the match, Liverpool were losing quite badly to Manchester United – they were 3-0 down, and apparently there’s not much hope of recovering from that. When it came to half time, Liverpool fans were gutted. Shockingly, one fan was so upset he killed himself during half time, without even knowing the ending. That guy was so sure that everything was over, that without waiting until the end of the match, he ended his life. Incredibly, Liverpool ended up winning the match through penalty points. How sad that that man had based his own happiness on a match he thought he knew the ending of, but didn’t.

Andrew Wilson said that watching that match at the time was painful and tense, but now, knowing the ending, he can watch that awful first half again knowing that in the end, everything would be alright.

Though there is sadness, loss and confusion in our everyday lives, we don’t have to worry about the future because not only do we know the end of the story we also know that we have a God who is guiding us through our lives, even though it sometimes feels as if he’s not there.

Earlier this year, that’s exactly how I felt: like God was giving other people direction and had forgotten me. The way I got through it was to P.U.S.H – Pray Until Something Happens. We have an amazing God who loves us so much, who wants us to come to Him and tell Him how we feel. I also limited my music to just Christian music until my head was sorted out and I knew I was right with God. I’d really recommend doing these things as well as reading the Bible and talking/praying with a youth leader when you feel this way.

With regards to failing, the point is simple, even though it doesn’t always feel it: if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? I found this verse really helpful during my exams:
“For if their purpose or activity if of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourself fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38)

Other verses I turn to when I’m feeling lost:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

God bless  xx

No trimming your beard, no eating bugs, and definitely no bacon...?

By Mary Trev.

I've always been intimidated by Leviticus. And I've always kind of avoided it during my Bible study times, I mean I always intended to read it, just another time. Cause you know, it's a really long book of laws, and there are a lot of strange ones in there, like not trimming your beard, not eating crawling insects, not eating pig and how to bring sacrifices to God to atone for their sin, and I know that all of that stuff doesn't apply to us today, although I wasn't quite sure why. But recently I was prepping for Sunday Kidz, and I was watching this DVD that we're showing them in which singing puppets explained all about Leviticus and Old Testament law, obviously singing puppets must help me learn because suddenly I understood!

Basically Israel were God's chosen, holy nation, they were set apart for God, and Leviticus (and the other books of Law in the bible) is like an instruction book for them on how to be holy. The puppets asked the question, “What's with all the wacky rules and why don't we follow all of them today?” A good question I thought. Then they said that there were two types of law – ritual and ethical. A ritual is something we do over and over that reminds us of something important, lots of people have strange rituals, a popstar might have a random song or chant that they have to sing before they go on stage for example, or a football team might have a lucky sock, or something like that, that they all have to touch before they play a match. These things seem weird to us, but it means something to them.



In the same way the ritual laws that the Israelites followed seem weird to us now, but it meant something to them, it was a constant reminder to them that they were called to be a holy nation! For example, the not trimming your beard one – that's a massive reminder, permanently growing on your face that you are set apart for God! On the other hand the ethical laws, the ones like do not kill, or do not steal, still make a lot of sense to us today. Using the football pitch example, these are rules like don't trip anyone up, or punch any other players in the face – it's obvious why these rules are in place, if they weren't the game would not run smoothly! It's the same with the Bible – it's obvious why God would tell us not to kill each other – and these ethical laws are the ones that are reaffirmed in the New Testament.

You may have also noticed that the punishments in the Old Testament seem … extreme. The death penalty comes up a lot. Why are they so extreme? We know that God is holy, very holy, and the Israelites knew that God is holy too, but the other nations of the world didn't. The Israelites were called to be a blessing to all nations, and it was through their adherence to the law, and the extreme punishments for sins that other nations could see how holy God is, and also how serious sin is.


So why don't these rules apply to us any more? Well the Israelites were under the old covenant that God made with his people through Moses. But we are under the new covenant that God made with us through Jesus! This is why we no longer need to make sacrifices to atone for our sin, because Jesus' sacrifice was enough to atone for our sin once and for all!

So I have been inspired to start reading Leviticus, and I want to challenge you to do the same! Andrew advised me to do this by reading three chapters of Leviticus, then one chapter of Hebrews, because Hebrews teaches a lot about the new covenant and Jesus being our high priest. So that's what I'm doing. While I'm reading Leviticus I'm thinking about God, and how it shows just how incredibly holy he is – the Israelites had to follow all of these laws and make sacrifices continually just to be close to him! And even then none of them could enter the Most Holy Place where God's presence was. I'm also thinking about Jesus, feeling continually grateful to him for liberating us from the ritual laws, and thinking about how amazing it is that he has made us perfect before God. We don't have to make sacrifices to come close to him now, we can just walk straight into his presence, and more than that we are welcomed as sons and daughters of our heavenly father who loves us.

How awesome is that?!

Why does God change our plans?

In our last life group of the year we had a prayer workshop session and one of the stations was the ‘Wonder Wall’ where we could anonymously write a question down that we had about God, the Bible, our Faith, etc... We decided (under the suggestion of Jez, who’s clearly trying to get out of writing all the summer blogs!) to try and take a question each and research and learn the answer the best we could about that question. So... here is mine:

“Why does God suddenly change our plans causing us hurt?”

I’m going to start by flipping the question slightly... Does God really suddenly change our plan or is it that this was the plan all along and it’s just that we are not ‘all knowing’ like he is that we feel it has all been suddenly changed and that our world has turned upside down? I want to pick out the word ‘our’. If we are in Christ Jesus and saved under HIS grace and are therefore living for HIM. Is our plan really the plan we want to follow? Should we not be seeking and listening out for God to tell us His plan for us over our lives?
?

Maybe this is what you meant, and I’m annoying you know by being picky over wordage – if this is the case I do apologise! So putting the emphasis back to God changing the current plan or direction of our lives: Well from what I’ve heard God he is all knowing (as mentioned above) which means he completely understands and sympathises, even empathises with our situation. Remember that God too has endured suffering – I mean look what he did for us on the cross. He endured the pain of carrying rough splintered wood at least twice the height of himself for miles, a sharp interwoven crown of blood thirsty thorns hard pushed upon his head and long rusty nails being driven into his hands and feet, before finally enduring death. This was all for things that weren’t and aren’t even his fault! But for the nation that he loves and forgives in His prefect grace. So Jesus knows about suffering; he even prayed that it would be taken away from him, much like we do: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me...” Luke 22:42 and he cried out to God: “...my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matt 27:46. So it’s ok to be hurt and confused and cry out to God - he himself did!
!)

I honestly believe that God’s plan for us never changes: “In him we were...chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him...” Ephesians 1:11 It says so in the bible – and you don’t argue with the bible! - “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true...”2 Tim 3:16. Ephesians 1:11(above) literally says that God has chosen us and when he did so, he already had a plan for our whole life- so he won’t change it! If it’s predestined by God, we will end up doing it! And don’t worry, it will always be something to demonstrate His goodness and that is suited to you, because he knows your character better than anyone. For example, he won’t make you become a preacher if you are more suited to evangelise in your workplace, nor will he send you on a road of suffering.

Things hurt and we can feel distant from God because we as a human race brought sin into the world. That’s not to say God will specifically punish you for your specific wrongs and praise you for your specific rights (that would be karma – which we don’t believe in as Christians!) It’s just that bad things are a result of sin, so they will happen whether you are the best person in the world or the worst. These things can bring us away from God but never so far that he doesn’t pull us back again. Maybe you change, a situation changes, or an opportunity comes up etc and it sends you wavering off track for a bit, but God knows you, so he knows this is going to happen and he’s already worked out a way to bring you back again. This could be a dramatic change that confuses and even hurts us at the time, but I’ve always found God in these situations when looking back. It’s all part of His plan and he can see the bigger picture, unlike us who are stuck with our magnified ‘me and my world’ view. Not because we are selfish, it’s just the only world we really have a true understanding for.
So to conclude, all I can really say is God’s plan is always and has always been mapped out for you. Jesus said “...I am the way, and the truth, and the life...” John 14:6 but Various things can cause us to waver from the plan (both things that are specifically our fault and completely not our fault) and they can hurt. Alot. They hurt because we have emotions and we have emotions because “God created man in His own image...” Genesis 1:27, and God is full of emotions and feeling. The best we can do is try and keep on track with what Gods plan is for us and the way we can do that is to keep asking and seeking His way, His name and His direction. I therefore challenge you: how on track are you with God’s plan for you? Pray for Him to reveal more about what it is, but also pray about the things that hurt. It’s ok to feel like that and I pray that he will comfort you and bring you great joy and peace over the situation.

New Impacter on the Scene

Hi there!!
So I’m Lizzie White the new Impacter this year….I know not much of a surprise! A few things you didn’t know I am from Poole in Dorset, lived there my whole life and is possible one of the most amazing and beautiful places to grow up! I couldn’t possible pick a favourite musician but I love music similar to Ed Sheeran, Example, Snow Patrol and Vampire weekend. The last C.D I bought was Example, quality album!

I’m not a big reader but the last book I read was ‘embracing the poor’, talked about three different types of poor and how God can use us to help each of them not just financially and practically but spiritually also (amazing)! I think if I had a night off I would either go out for drinks with friends, watch a movie in or catch up with old friends that I haven’t seen in a while. Like meeting up with my friends! So I’ve just graduated Uni where I studied Sport and Exercise Science (I know I’m well old), which focused on effects in the body during exercise in different environments, really good course but no idea what it can lead to!!

So about being a Christian, I think I started going to church when I was 13 but can’t truthfully say I started living my life fully for God until I was about 18/19 years old. I originally went to church as it was the first place I wasn’t bullied but wasn’t until I met with God and started to see a change in my life that I actually started to live my life as a Christian. Over the years God has put me through some really exciting but a lot of hard times have come too, but has always protected me and kept me safe. I get excited by Gods plans for me and waiting for him to use me by showing his trust, protection and faithfulness which has always pushed me closer to him. I think that the thing I’m most excited about this year is seeing what God will do in our youth group. At Newday this year God met with them in amazing ways and really revealed his truth to them and I just can’t wait to see him break into hearts this year and continue the work in which he started in them. Praise God!!

Ready for more?

Woo! We’re back from Newday!:)

You may say 'sad times.' And I do agree, because I do miss it a lot, and it is very weird that it has gone and went already: but I'm not too sad, really. I'm overwhelmingly happy for the amazing experience my week was, with incredible times meeting with God, making new friends and actually getting to know people who went to church but had never talked to :') However it is a strange feeling. Ever since I've been at Kings, Newday was always talked about with the highest praise; looked forward to with the greatest of anticipation. And now, finally, I can partake in
this!:) as it truly was an amazing week. God worked so so so much; and I think, for me, the outcome of the entire experience was a hench amount of awe for Him.

As a lot of you now know, haha, thanks to my overwhelming excitement, God worked specifically to a massive physical effect in me. Since roughly September 2009, I have suffered from a knee condition on both knees which was believed to be similar Chondromalacia patellae. After over a year and a half of visits to various physios, specialists, centres and so on; and treatments of acupuncture, therapy and epidurals; everyone had pretty much given up on me. I mean being the kind of person I am, I didn’t let it rule my life; however having been a keen triathlete and cross country champion, the inability to even run for 5 minutes on a treadmill without buckling and intense pain was heartbreaking. And if the use of a pull buoy to disable my legs for every swimming set wasn’t enough, over the summer tan lines grew around the knee strappings which I wore every day to minimize the pain!

But, anyway, I don’t think that, before Newday, I had thought a lot about God healing my knees. I guess I just accepted it as a disliked part of who I was. But I think it took the Freedom Course (run expertly by Anna and Amy, everybody go on it! It’s amazing) and the extra time with my Godly girls to maybe start to ask God to perform a miracle. A few times we prayed together before Newday; and when everyone arrived on the first Monday, Sally and I pledged to pray after every morning and evening meeting for my pins.

Well, anyway, this happened, and it took only 2 days for God to answer our prayers. On Tuesday night, after intense praying with my darling Sally and Anna too, I got up, did a few squats, .. ran up and down the aisle a bit .. ran to the toilets to remove my knee straps .. and, well, yeah, was very exciteful and grateful and so on. As you would be. But, enough of that, the final story is my knees were healed. My left knee is absolutely pain free, with just a little knock on from a weak ankle on my right: but I have absolutely 100000x less pain. It is crazy good. No more knee strappings for meee!:D Okay! I am back on the Newday subject now. Sorry Jez.(: so yes, there were some amazing meetings, too, and the worship was legendary. The band led my Simon Brading were amazing; the songs powerful and now the only annoyance is the wait before the CD is released in October! And also the fact that the guitarist looked like Michael from My Family:D So Steve Chong spoke 3 times in the morning, and well how could you not love this Chinese Australian. He thrilled us with his stories of his adorable sons, Reuben and Jacob, and humored everyone with his aussie ‘eskies’ and such. He spoke on how Jesus should be our everything, our ‘Bucket List’, on Jesus’ journey in the shape of a J (much like Sesame Street) and finally on Friday about bowing the knee to Jesus (I KNOW! I COULD DO THIS! XD) and going global with our ideas. Other morning preaches were lead my Stef Liston and Joel Virgo, and the evening meetings hosted powerful speakings from the likes of Stu Gibbs, Joel Virgo, Julian Adams and Adrian Holloway who led, like every year I heard, the incredible Thursday dedicated to healing and changing people’s lives around. On that night alone, 309 people were healed and an even more amazing 365 people gave their lives to the Lord!

So, it would be a mild understatement to say that God was there and working in these meetings. There were also daily seminars which were truly inspiring and thought provoking; things to tickle eveyone’s fancy with streams such as ‘How to answer tough questions’, ‘Jesus+’, ‘How to change the world’, ‘Redemption’ and Mobilise for the 18-30s.
There was also the ‘Just Looking’ seminars where questions could be asked, and in the afternoon talks for both sexes and also on dating and relationships.

Oh, gosh, there was outreach, too. That was one amazing experience of which I want more! Thorughout the week you could sign up to go into the local community in Norwich, and help out with a project. I went as part of Trev’s team on Wednesday, and we cleared a garden of a lovely old man in the glorious sunshine! It was hot and sticky and smelly, but I enjoyed it thoroughly and relished in the manual labour: and I’m sure that we spread the love of God to the community in our red t-shirts, too.(which we got to keep .. oh yeah.) In the time when we weren’t in senimars, sorry, seminars, :D I relished with my new knees in beautiful games of volleyball in the sports field. I made many a new friend, and even discovered old ones, singing whatever praise song was in my head and thanking God for the
(then) dry sunny weather!

Oh my, there is so much to talk about, the amazing food, shower queues, spanish graces, Newday Downpours .. but I better keep this blog short (:s) and sweet. To conclude, my first experience of Newday was truly amazing; and I felt my relationship with God grow stronger and stronger. I’ve come out of the week with, like I said, with my image of the Lord WIDENED 10000x, and I’m buzzing to be back in the world to spread the name of Jesus. Everyone I knew pretty much knew about my knees, so now they can all know about Jesus. That’s my plan, anyway. If you went to Newday 11, I hope that it was as refreshing an experience as I had, and that you’re just as excited to tell everyone the Good News as I am. And for next year? Already looking to go back.

Addicted to love...

Loving Jesus!

Hey guys, Gilbo here. I wanted to write a blog about something God was speaking and teaching me about at Newday, I want to talk about loving Jesus!

In Mark 12 v 28-30 it says:

'One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him,"Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

I love this verse because Jesus is saying he wants ALL of you!
The most important thing you can do with your life is love Jesus, over and above anything else! Out of loving God comes everything else, it is the foundation for everything. Out of your adoration for Jesus comes submission to him and his glory, it causes you to humble yourself and surrender ALL of yourself to him.

Why do we love Jesus?

It's simple because he first loved us! He is more than worthy to be loved and adored!

I know it's not always easy to love Jesus and I def struggle with it at times, it takes time and discipline. We need to make time and set aside time to spend with God, which i know i need to do and i challenge you to as well, we are building relationship. The more we know about God, the more we know about ourselves. Loving Jesus = getting to know God better. If you love someone you spend quality time with them!
Loving Jesus means your whole life becomes about Jesus, you can'thelp it.
1 Corinthians 10 31 says 'So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it ALL for the glory of God!'

We need to keep reminding ourselves of how worthy and good he is and then we can't help but love him but we quickly forget how good he actually is.
We need to love him in time of difficulty too, this produces character and gives us great strength only God can give. I can defintely testify to that!

When we love God, his heart and his will becomes ours, we get a heart to love others and i really pray and ask that you would daily bless the people around you, ask for God to abundently bless them! When we love God, our hearts are transformed and we become like Jesus!

I also pray that you do eveything you can to make sure your loving Jesus ALL the time, it is well worth your time and your entire life!

Gilbo

Newday: Just a holiday or a New Identity?

To all those who attended Newday, I write to encourage you to continue in your identity in Christ Jesus!

As Stef Liston stated; Newday was not merely camping, socialising or a holiday, it was coming before God made possible through, and only through, Jesus Christ (John 14:6). It is through Jesus that we are made new, not just a better version of our old self but a brand new creation (Galations 6:14-15). We have been given a new identity in Jesus! Because of this we are called to live according to God’s good, pleasing and perfect will and to not conform to the ways of the world (Romans 12:2).

The media, friends, family may encourage you to partake in acts which will challenge your identity in Jesus. Do not compare yourselves to what the world believes to be perfection, for the world is far from perfection so how can something which is imperfect judge what is perfect? Instead believe what God says of each of us, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), God who is nothing less than perfection.

Therefore live by the standards of a perfect God, the standards set by Jesus. We are not expected to get everything right (Romans 3:10), if it were possible for us alone to achieve perfection we would have been able to save ourselves through our own acts! God understands that this is impossible for us to do and so sent Jesus so that through him we might receive eternal life (John 3:16)!

So, if Jesus has provided eternal life for all who have an identity in him, why then do we need to live according to his standards?

We live according to his standards so that we are aware of the sin in us (Romans 3:20) and are able to repent and therefore enjoy a remarkable relationship with a holy God! Yes Jesus died for ALL our sins, but to be forgiven we MUST repent and to repent we must be aware of the sins we commit! Furthermore, we are to be a light to those who do not know Jesus (Matthew 5:14-16) and by living according to the ways of Jesus we allow people to witness Jesus in us. I know of so many who have found a new identity in Jesus through simply witnessing another living according to his ways!

If you live according to Jesus, you are living FOR Jesus. What is more worthwhile than living for Jesus? Steve Chong used the example of a bucket list, a list of all you want to do before you die. This list not only reveals what you think is worth dying for but what you think is worth living for. Steve concluded that nothing is worth living for in this world other than what is done for the service of Christ Jesus. Indeed Paul, one of the most influential, early Christian evangelists, said he would speak of nothing except that which Christ has accomplished through him (Romans 15:17-18).

We have been commissioned by Jesus himself to make disciples of ALL nations. Jesus does not just want followers, he wants disciples, people who assist in spreading the gospel and teaching the ways of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20)! If we ourselves do not live according to the ways of Jesus how can we teach others to do so? We cant, it would be hypocritical!

I do not want to scare or overwhelm you, I mean to encourage and motivate you into living how God has intended you too! You are not to fear or feel threatened by tasks you might face for you are NOT alone (Matthew 28:20)! Remember that you can do anything through Jesus (Philippians 4:13) and that with enough faith in Jesus you are able to move mountains (Matthew 17:20).

I am going to finish with a few points that Joel Virgo made; Firstly you don’t have to be good at everything (1 Corinthians 12:14-20). God needs you to be you and will provide you with all you need to fulfil his will.
Secondly, be aware that God gives you a compass in life, not a map! Live your heart out for Jesus and he will direct you (Proverbs 3:5-6). Submit yourselves to his will and do not worry about your future.
Thirdly, know that real change takes time. To change your behaviour, attitude and bad habits will require daily walking with Jesus so be patient and persevere.
Fourthly, understand that we have been sent by God now (John 20:21). Do not spend your life waiting for a great sign or signal from God, Jesus Christ was your signal!
Finally, ALWAYS remember that God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

Blues blues go away...

After a week like last week it can often feel like we return to normality with a bit of a bump. The NewDay blues kick in big time...

"Last week I was surrounded by 80 other people I know well, amongst 6000 Christians hearing about and seeing God do some incredibly powerful things. Today I'm stuck in a house on my own 'cos my parents are at work, my prayers seem to bounce off the walls in silence..."

Normal life is always going to take a bit of readjustment to be honest after a week like that.

Here's a few tips to help get over the blues:

1) Look at photos of the week, listen to previous NewDay albums on Spotify, talk to friends about it & write down what you got out of it. In other words, squeeze it dry for all its goodness.

You may need to buy a notebook to contain all your thoughts.

2) Think about what James 1:25 says: 'God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don't just hear and forget.' Hearing lots of good talks and being around lots of good people doesn't actually do you any long term good unless you apply it to your own life. Make a list of somethings you can do to ensure that last week's influence keeps on being a blessing to you.

3) Make the most of Sundays. Sunday morning is an amazing time for being refreshed in God and stepping back into all of the great things that happenned at NewDay. It'll be different for sure (you won't be surrounded by 6000 people for one) but Jesus is the same at Kings EBo/Seaford as he is at NewDay. The meetings are shorter and you get chairs to sit on, which is a bonus so in actual fact you should find Sundays easier! Avoid sitting in Vivo whilst the church meeting is on. Growing in God doesn't happen just by being in the same building as him, it requires you to act, to pursue him, to press into him and to encourage those around you to do the same. Catching up with people and chatting together can happen after church, remember we're after long term good in your Christian life.

4) Get thinking about others. Following Jesus is about going where he's going and Jesus is always going to be out among the lost and unsaved. Pray for your non-Christian friends, ask God to speak to you for them and sensitively and wisely look to share God's love with them. Don;t get drawn into fire-fights about who's cleverer than who or who is the most convincing, just love them, pray for them, share the gospel with them and let your good deeds do the reasoning. Get it and get going.

On a personal note. What helps me the most is getting stuck into a good book about what God's done in someone else's life. Read a biography.

Read 'The Heavenly Man', 'I dared to call him Father', 'Chasing the Dragon', 'Run Baby Run' among other books. Ask your parents for help to find them, or speak to me to borrow them.

God saves, God heals, God speaks and God moves regardless of where you are, how you feel or what's going on in your life. Trust him, pursue him - you won't be let down!

Beth’s blog

Today, actually, my schedule wasn't particularly God-ridden. Well, at
all. There wasn't any church, no meetings or lifegroups unfortunately:
and I hadn't planned in my diary a time when I was focused on the
Lord, aside from my nightly bible readings and prayers and what have
you.
But, still, just today: God has spoken to me.
Even when I wasn't looking specifically for a message or an answer to
prayer; simply through my everyday life the Lord has reminded me; of a
very important thing.
So yes, today was, well a pretty lazy day. Did a few things, but had a
bit of time so I thought I'd waste it away on bbc iplayer, as you
do!:) and I'm not proud of it, but hey, 'the world's strictest
parents' was just my impulse click. I won't go into details, but it came down to one
upfront being, in my opinion, the arrogant and downright rude closed
view of someone who, underlying, is scared of anyone a little
different from themselves. Yes, it did get me mad; I'm not going to
lie, but she did go back later on in the programme. She overcame the
total snobbery that wound me up so much; and concluded with something
along the lines of 'I think I've just learnt that, like, we're all the
same'. Yes, of course, a happy ending to this bbc show! Anyway, I
wasn't too surprised, and at this point in the day: it didn't mean
much to me. But this was just the start.

As I go on, ummm Just imagine me jumping around
trying to explain this.. May help you understand? I’m so not a words person! Doing my best.

So, yes, that night, after watching 'World's Strictest Parents', part
of my Bible in a Year was (at the moment) reading through acts. We get
about 2 chapters a day; and that day just happened to be Acts 10. And
guess what it was all about? Why, how Peter, a kinda leader, was
reaching out to others who were different to them, who were saved:
when he got back the people asked him why. And he said that God had
told him not to judge anyone 'clean' or 'unclean'
I mean, I'll admit, sometimes when it's getting late at night: I kind
of skim through the dull chunks of writing that consist of the bulk of
the Bible in a Year. But there was one verse in acts 10 that I read,
that night, and thought: wow. It's 34; my version may be a bit
different to yours: 'Peter began to speak: 'I really understand now
that to God every person is the same'. Considering what I'd watched
earlier, I truly was astounded; and to be honest that doesn't happen
often to me when I'm reading the chapters fast to get them over and
done with; more the deep verses recited slowly from Max Lucado's
'Grace of the day'.
Once that thought had hit, though, my memory started to flood back
from the last sunday's preach. It was by Ollie Stevens; and on Peace?
Well, he had used acts 10 as an example! Pretty much; what I had just
read and understood and had been pulled out from the words on the page
and was directly related to what had been talked about on sunday. I
even checked my notes (which obvs makes it legit) haha.
I don't know what it sounds like to you but, bare facts, it just made
me love the Lord even more. Made me appreciate God's power and might
and glory and .... I could go on :')
Kinda obviously, it reminded me that we have to reach out to everyone,
too. I think for me; it isn't just the easy ones: we should be trying
to speak to those who, in the opinion of the world, have major issues,
but not only that but also, I think, those that don't appear to
outwardly NEED God's love. I think, perhaps,those are the situations
where God can really shine: if only we step out in faith. But, anyway.
Back to where I was.

Now it's the next sunday evening, and as I finish this the Lord has
completely and utterly made me realise that He's got it all in His
hands and under His control double, triple, whateverfold. There was a
guest speaker this morning; and, well, who could have the
cheek to call it chance?! He spoke about how we should
reach out into all nations, because we're all God's children: Christ
died for all nations; and that we should make disciples everywhere.
Different parts of the bible, including many of those I'd read before;
just encouraged everyone to get out there: and realise we're all in
the same boat. Fits in a treat, right? As part of the stuff I read,
too, I looked back to the day I had to read Acts 10, and there was one
verse that I positively beamed at. 2 Corinthians 5:20: 'God has given
us the task of telling everyone what He is doing. We're Christ's
representatives' hear that? Telling EVERYONE.

Okay, so, I don't know what you're interpretation is of all this.
Maybe God's trying to say something, here?
Well, anyway. There's a few things here. Not quite sure what this
blog's about. Or if it's even a blog at all. A whole smorgasboard of
experiences and prayer and actual VERSES (which is very unlike me!).
Maybe I'm just saying, be open to God; all the time. Your whole life.
I was going to say at the start.. Even though there wasn't a booked
church meeting, my life was still for the Lord. Every day. And He has
1000000x the power to show you and make sure of that.
Maybe I'm just saying, God doesn't just speak to people in weird
magical mystical dreams; with looser connections to life and
situations than contemporary dance; or perhaps I'm just trying to say
that those big preaches on sunday morning aren't for the masses. They
can relate to you. Personally.

anyway yes, :)
xx

A poem from Charley Farley!

Help me with my faith,
For I just want to jump;
Into Your loving arms,
Yet I land with an almighty thump.

Things get in the way,
I don't know where to turn,
When sad I realise You're missing,
for You I truly yearn.

Help me to stick by You,
And follow in your steps,
Help me spread Your word,
Until my final breath.

Give me a real purpose,
Guide me in this life,
Help me focus my eyes on You,
And save me from unnecessary strife.

Give me advice with relationships,
Help me make them good,
Teach me to reflect on life,
And know it was You who understood.

Give me desire to walk with You,
From above please grab my hand,
Let me follow Your will,
And use me as part of Your plan.

Prayer: God is LISTeNING

Woo! So yeah, Jez liked my first ever blog :') and so did some people
who read it, I guess that's the same people reading this one now (if
this all goes to plan) so thanks for the feedback, guys. Just, thank
God(: once again it's dark outside, my knees are keeping me up and my
bb keyboard is getting another beating.

Anyway, so a good idea that was thought about and suggested to me to
talk about is another big big thing that's apart of my; and well
everyone's I think, relationship with God. It's the way of
communication with the Lord, the way which I think we can truly
express what we want to the Creator: such a privilege, right. Because
it isn't necessary for God: I mean, He knows our every thought and
action and deed and emotion, He doesn't need us to tell Him! Yet, He
still is overjoyed when we take the time outta our day to sit there
and talk to him, spill our problems, hear out our moans and complaints
as well as our babbling excitement of the ups and downs of our lives.
It's a lot, isn't it. Once again, I think, picturing a good friend of
yours who you're close with helps me realise. Got someone? These days,
contact is easyyy. Straight after seeing them face to face and having
a big catch up, you're either at your laptop screen on facebook chat,
msn or in a cheeky skype call if they're lucky. When you're on the
move, of course, too: texting on bbm'ing.. What I'm trying to get at
is that most of the time, the person that you trust and who knows a
lot about your life is there, to talk and respond.
And that is, and must be, something to treasure.
(We'll come back to God in a minute.)

... Okay, actually, we'll come back to God now: think of this absolute
babe of a gift of communication, as prayer. It's the same. But better.
God is available, 24/7, 365 days a year (and a quarter.)
Because with your friends and all...

There's always been the time, when you've felt alone, right. Maybe
you're lucky enough for it to be the rare hour or so when they're
asleep, or with a broken phone or dodgy internet. However, it could be
if you're going through a bad patch, and you don't feel like there's
anyone, at all, who cares. like there IS no-one at the other end of
the phone, to talk to who will listen.
Well guess what... God's still there. He's never going to run out of
credit, and neither are you!

And that's the marvelous thing that prayer is. It's the honour we've
been given to contact and communicate, as little human beings, to the
powerful mighty Christ the Lord of all things. Kind of...
Unbelievable. You don't need do to anything, either, to get into his
presence. There's no test or selection process which we have to endure
to be listened to; we have been blessed that God IS lISTeNING; there
to comfort you and provide advice and anything else you need (queue
bible).

Okay so you may be thinking, well, this is great. But how the heckk do
I 'do' this crazily magnificent thing. How can I access this
too-good-to+be-true service, as it is, which allows me to talk to the
King of kings?! Well, it really is as simple as it seems. Just, talk
to him. Starting off with 'Dear Lord', may help, but then just...
Talk. Tell him how you're feeling. Ask Him what you'd like to be done.
Thank Him for the good things. Moan to Him about how unfair it all is.
Don't be hiding anything; because God knows your thoughts anyway! Be
honest with Him; He'll understand. Read through the book of Job and
you'll see this guy complaining about all the bad things that God's
put him through; the same with a bit in Jeremiah: we don't have to
gloss over the rough bits to suck up to God so He'll like us! The
Lord'll see right through that, and we won't go anywhere in a
relationship with him. A strong friendship, or anything more than
that, can't be built on lies and dishonesty: even if it is just on one
side..(Us.). So we can't expect to get close with God if we're not
honest with Him. It's important at the end, though, to bring it back
to Him.

Once you've lost your energy being mad at Him, just stop, and
remember. Remember all of the amazing things He's done for you, for
everyone, and his great love for you...

Because, at the end of it all, He's the important one. He doesn't need
us.. He wants us, because He loves us. we're the ones that need him.
And, honestly, prayer really does work. I know it sounds obvious! But
there are thousands upon millions of miracle stories, just google
them, and in the bible is says in James that when believing people
pray things happen. And isn't that just amazing. It's
probably one of the most encouraging things as a Christian, answered
prayer. It may not come quick though, or at all. Only God knows the
plan! years and years of long hard prayer could finally be responded
to; perhaps the healing of an injury, or the saving of a family
member. Years of perseverance, of week after week of no change; you
could begin to wonder is anyone actually listening up there?!
Persistence in prayer pays off; and believing that God's actually
listening and CAN make that change is vital. Because He is feeling
your pain. Your anguish. Your happiness, and your joy!

Surely, if you love someone, you're going to talk to them, right. Pour
your heart out to them. Rely on them to always be there. And that's
how, well I think anyway, prayer should be used: this blessing of a
pearl in which we can speak to the Lord our God.

Thanks, Beth(: x

Love

'So, today, as I was leaving his house, Jez shouted after me 'Fitz!
Write a blog!'. What about, I wondered? 'Anything,' as I walked out

the door, highly sceptical of the chances of this happening. English
exams are out of the way, why would I WANT to write ANYTHING that is
vaguely lengthy and requires thought and effort?

But, here we are. The now not-so-early hours of the morning are here,
and I'm thinking? Why not give it a go!
After a quick thought after my nightly bible readings, I figured
there's loads of things I could talk about. Quite a few which could
fill a page of God inspired thoughts, but there's one which sticks out
to me as I think about it now. It's something that I think we all
know, and kind of take for granted: God's love for us. And even that,
on it's own, sounds kind of cliché and unreal. Fake, you know?
Something said so many times, as lyrics or by preachers.
there's lots of things that I feel weren't quite realistic to me, and
this is definitely one of them.
One way I like to tackle this unearthly face of this henchly important
part of God, is to picture it as something you know, in life. 'Love'
is thrown around a lot these days, and I don't have a problem with
that: but, just stop and think about someone you love. Who loves you
back, okay? I don't mean, marriage love, it doesn't have to be.
There's many-a-people whom I love, male and female who are all close
to my heart with whom I would trust with my life. So you've got a
person, yes? Now just try and picture it, the sorta things you'd do
for them. Stay up late to talk, if they were having trouble? Be a
shoulder to cry on in the bad times, and someone to celebrate with in
the good? Be someone who'll try and make things better, and offer
advice: even if it is the stuff you don't want to, but need to, hear.
And they'd do the same for you, right. Because they love you.
Well, pretty much, God's the same. He's got nothing but your best
interests at heart. It's that kind of love that the bible is talking
about; in fact God is love: (VERSE). So under our understanding, God
is all those things!

Tell your problems to God, because He'll be up all night anyway.

That shoulder to cry on? He's ALWAYS there, literally, (VERSE) and if
you look around there's plenty of physical shoulders that He has put
in your life exactly for this purpose. ( Yeah, see? He's thought about
that. Because He loves you.).. And as for the good times, He's brought
them, so lift up your hands and praise Him for all his good work.

Someone who'll try and make things better? Wow, haha, no offence to my
bezzie mates but the Lord has quite a bit more power than them when it
comes to helping you. Just pray! (VERSE in james, about praying and
results.)

And finally, offer advice. Isn't that what the bible is there for?

That's kind of my final point, I think, then. The bible. The word of
God. Again, another cliché phrase.. Yes, I could go on. Every single
word in it is there from Him, to guide you every step of your life;
good times and bad. Don't think it's just to put on your bedside table
to look good, or that it takes a few highly religiously educated
intellectuals to decipher the secret code. No, not at all. If you just
take a look, you can find something that the Lord has put there for
you: to help you through your time.
He loved you so much, that he wrote you an entire BOOK filled with
what to do, advice and words to help you. That's a hench gesture of
friendship.

Oh, gosh, this is going on longer than I thought... I'm sorry! That
wasn't my final point. :S.
I was just going to mention, you know, just a casual aftercomment...
That place they call Heaven? Ooh, haha, yeah. There. Well, that's the
proof of the pudding. The icing on the cake. This guy, has pretty much
prepared the party of our lives up there! And it's going to be good..
Check out revelations for the details! Has your bestie ever consoled
'it'll be okay in the end' in a wishful tone of disbelief to comfort
you through a bad time? Well, we know for sure, that at the end it is
going to be a lot more than 'okay'. A guaranteed (VERSE) illness and
sin free world?! Yes pleasee!
Yes. He loves us that much. That that's prepared for us.

Actually, I'll stop, after this one more thing that He did for us.
Well, something Jesus did when he was put on this earth. This guy was,
literally, perfect. No kidding. But not in a swarmy, horrible
way...just innocent and pure. Well. He loved us so much that, totally
undeservedly, he died an intensely painful death.
Like, for us. Ever had the blame shoved on you for something a friend,
or enemy I suppose, did? It's kinda annoying, right. Because it's
unfair. Well... He did it. and it's a lot more than just being wrongly
accused for talking in class.. It's death. That little sacrifice that
was made...

Yeah.

That, is God's love for us.

Now, my hands are kind of tired, from typing on the small keyboard of
my bb in the dark. I didn't get through all the points I had vaguely
mindmapped in my head, but I've done my best to illustrate what
exactly this odorless-sounding phrase actually means.. In the real
world. To me.

So, I guess, I'm kinda thankful to Jez for casually asking me to write
a "blog', goodness knows what for. I meant to go on into what that
means about my love for him, and I've hardly whacked in any verses to
back up my thoughts.. There are many. We'll see.
But I'll go, now. So, yeah. God's love for us. What does it mean to you?(:
xx