A Challenging Thought.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the way I live my life for God. I love serving and helping others get to know him, Jesus commands us to ‘Go make disciples of all the nations’ (Matt 28: 19). I often think about one of the Alpha promotion videos ‘Is there more to life than this?’

It’s a great video that encourages people to question the meaning of life through portraying a human just ‘going through the motions’ and not really serving any other purpose than that that is on earth- we’re encouraged to look at the eternal perspective and invited to come and explore who Jesus is, what he’s done for us and how He invites us into loving relationship with Him- sharing in His life, death and resurrection!!! 

However, I think even as Christians we’re in danger of just ‘going through the motions’ not just in a worldly sense but in our Christian walk too. I realise this might sound strange and I’m not sure how I’m going to explain this but I’ll give it a go…

The start of my thought train:

The point here is that although the way we serve God is important this shouldn’t be the starting point as this will only tire us out and result in dead works anyways- it can even lead you into the mentality that its works that gets you saved or I can manage on my own.

However, Jesus teaches us that the number one thing is our relationship with God (matt 22:37) and that it is our relationship with God that bears fruit; John 15 is a beautiful passage that talks about the intimate two-way relationship we can have with God, ‘abide in me and I will…’ seems to be a constant in this passage!

This should be our starting point and our fuel for serving Jesus- our spiritual tanks need always to be full (Ephesians 5: 18).

‘Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’ John 6: 35

When speaking about the Holy Spirit Jesus proclaimed “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7: 37-38

So how is it then we enjoy relationship with God and know him better? The obvious answer here would be to talk to God (Pray) and get stuck into the word where we can learn about God grace, love and character.  

This may seem a bit difficult at first, it always is when you hardly know someone but like any relationship you have to really spend time getting to know them. Great news is God want wait for you to spend time with him after all we are his children!

Our relationship with God really is personal this means that for each of us the way we go about spending time with God will be different…. I’d encourage you to really spend some time thinking about how this might be with you and trying things out- not every Christian gets up at the crack of dawn for ‘quiet time’

Sorry about the waffle and I hope you find this encouraging! Xx

Reviving the blog... Defining moments

Found this blog I wrote over a year ago just as I turned 20, on my laptop, unposted. So I thought I'd revive the blog, it also makes a good reintroduction!

Reflections on the last decade…

(Disclaimer sometimes it can be boring to read solely about someone else so I’m sorry but if this is your thing enjoy)

Flip it’s been a long decade and being my teens arguably one of the most important as obviously so much stuff goes on; you move from child to teen to adult all in one. And I could go on and pick out maybe the best and worst moments but that would be ridiculous so I’m just going to go with the most defining…..

Becoming a Christian its self comes with some of its own most defining moments- and when you become a Christian God is constantly changing and growing you. Romans 12 says that God is “renewing our minds”, which is great because he helps us to love him more and live by his grace more! But if I could pick out 2 things here it would be getting a massive slap bang in the face revelation when I was fifteen that ultimately changed the direction of my life and then getting baptised when I was 17 after delaying it for like 5years!

Revelation

I guess this is the heart of my testimony really, I became a Christian when I was about 12 but didn’t really live for God, I was a person who had a lot of anger and determination to do what I wanted, I also felt embarrassed to say and more importantly live like a Christian for fear of what people might think. When I was 15 however God stepped in, I don’t even remember when or how but one day I just clearly knew that God was and still is SO MUCH bigger than anything or anyone that came in my way. He took away my fear of showing who I really was and what I really wanted to live for. However with revelation sometimes comes action to help you. At that time it meant changing friendship groups. This wasn’t because I no longer wanted those friends in my life; but because I wanted space to breathe so that I could really focus on God and allow him to change me, also sometimes you have to walk away from your old self so that you don’t slip back, kind of like an addict has to completely leave his addiction. Anyways to cut a long story short God defiantly worked in my life at that time and he also took away my anger!

Baptism

I got baptised when I was 17. I wanted to five years earlier when I became a Christian but for some strange reason I thought baptism was about holiness that it was for people who always read their bibles and prayed. This thinking was wrong. Baptism has nothing to do with holiness but all to do with obedience. In fact the bible says that Christians are made right and holy before God… and that’s without even doing anything because it’s by GRACE that we are saved… but hey I’m not going to go too deeply into that because there’d be a lot to write about there, about God’s holiness, being in Christ etc.! Anyway it took me a long time to realise the point of baptism but at 17 I got it and I did it! And God has continued to completely turn my life upside down and I love it!

So there you go a summary of my most defining moment, sorry it's short, a detailed account would have been too long, I guess because to pick a defining moment involves choosing something that’s changed you or changed your direction; it has to have made impact on your life! (that makes for a long story) And I guess that I am who I am in Christ therefore my walk with God has been most defining as it has produced other defining moments, adventures, joys, struggles, journeys…

There's is more to life than this!

I’ve been struggling a lot recently with uni and with worrying about the grades I get and the job I end up with. It’s an on-going battle about a year ago I faced the same issue, however a simple truth that God is the director of my path helped me to preserve. I knew that whether I failed university or got the best grade his plan for my life stayed the same, all the mattered was that I tried my best!

That simple truth comes from Proverbs 3:5-6:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths"

Lately I seem to have let that truth slip my mind and the worry has crept back in, there’s still more work to be done here. I realise that the time I was first struggling although I began to trust the Lord more and persevere with my work, I had missed the point. My desire was still the same; I still cared way too much about ending up with a decent job and having the perfect ending.

Maybe this is why I’ve been struggling again because I was striving for society’s image of a better life instead of embracing the one I have; the one that has been fulfilled by Christ Jesus. John 10:10 says that “the thief only comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that you may have life and have it to the full”. Christ has completed me, he came so that I can be made righteous with God, so that I can a have relationship with him. My identity is In Christ and my purpose is to serve the Lord, he has commissioned us “to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19). My life is about living for God and enjoying his presence and showing other how there life can also be made complete. There is honestly no greater joy then spending time with my father in heaven and although life clearly isn’t always easy I know God is there with me, loving me and still directing my paths! There no emotion to describe this joy but Psalm 84 is a great one to read to help understand this…

“ ¹ How lovely is your dwelling place, 
   LORD Almighty! 
² My soul yearns, even faints, 
   for the courts of the LORD; 
my heart and my flesh cry out 
   for the living God. 
³ Even the sparrow has found a home, 
   and the swallow a nest for herself, 
   where she may have her young— 
a place near your altar, 
   LORD Almighty, my King and my God. 
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house; 
   they are ever praising you.

 ⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you, 
   whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka, 
   they make it a place of springs; 
   the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
⁷ They go from strength to strength, 
   till each appears before God in Zion.

 ⁸ Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty; 
   listen to me, God of Jacob. 
⁹ Look on our shield, O God; 
   look with favor on your anointed one.

 ¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts 
   than a thousand elsewhere; 
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God 
   than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 
¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; 
   the LORD bestows favor and honor; 
no good thing does he withhold 
   from those whose walk is blameless.

 ¹² LORD Almighty, 
   blessed is the one who trusts in you.”

Peace out =P

The Vow, Marriage and Human relationship….

I recently went to see a new film called The Vow, now this blog isn’t about the film and I’m not going to spoil it for those who haven’t seen it but one thing stuck out to me in one particular scene. On speaking about a tough time in their marriage one of the characters says this “I choose to stay with him because of all the things he did right, not because of the one thing he did wrong… I choose to forgive him” My instant thought was Amen to that! I really thought that was a profound thing to say and a strong message about marriage that I think this society needs to take away with them…..as this is what sometime marriage can be about, we need to be constantly forgiving towards one another whether it be big or small. Now this doesn’t mean we should be doormats for to be walked all over but it’s an important lesson. Now I don’t know much about marriage, simply because I’m not married but I know that in any relationship grace is important as this is what I have learnt from Jesus’ teaching and what he has done for me and as a Christian. It’s also what I try and live out as well as other Christian’s I know.

I also recently read and interesting quote by Immanuel Kant “The state of peace among men living side by side is not the natural state (status naturalis); the natural state is one of war… A state of peace, therefore, must be established”.  Now I’m not sure how relevant that this is but I would agree that just as relationship between states needs to be worked on, so does human relationship; whether it be in marriage or just in the way we interact with the people we see every day. I would agree with this, we are can naturally be selfish people albeit generally caring towards the people around us but at the roots selfish… I know I am!

But if we’re not natural at forming good relationships then how do we learn? Partly through trial and error, maybe through the example of our parents and good friends; and these are important. However I would argue (in agreement with the bible) that Jesus gave us the perfect example of how we should treat one another and how we should act selflessly towards one another. And that’s exactly what Jesus did for us he acted selflessly so that we could have relationship with God our father in heaven. In a nutshell he came to the earth he created, fully God and fully Human; “He came not to be served, but to serve, and give his life as ransom for many” (Matthew 20v 28). Jesus selflessly gave his life for us so that we could have relationship with God he spent his life on earth showing us how we should live but more importantly revealing that we could have perfect relationship with God through the forgiveness of our sins through sheading his blood for us, defeating death and rising three days later! He showed us grace and it is only by grace that we our saved.

It’s also how we should be in our relationships with others, graceful and loving! From the top of my head I can think of two occasions where Jesus teaches us this so clearly in Matthew 22v 34-40 and Matthew 19 v 16-20. In both of these parables Jesus talks about Loving our neighbour… he talks about putting other before ourselves!

    

Hope this all makes sense… If not just comment and I’ll try and make sense of what doesn’t =D

Peace out!

First Proper Blog

A testimony to trusting in the Lord

Okay so it’s my first proper blog and I’m little nervous about how this is going to come out; I’m not a great communicator but I want to share a little testimony to encourage you guys.

I’m not really sure where to start but I guess the story I’m about to tell you about my own walk with God over the past couple of months (actually maybe a bit longer than that) is one based on obedience and trust and is based on Proverbs 3 v 5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lead not on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” and another one to bear in mind and I guess a bit of truth that has been keeping my going throughout this time is Romans 8 v28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”.

I guess the first little bit of this story starts with a struggle in faith and trust in god resulting in disobedience and an emotional battle. I had a long summer and I had a lot of decisions to make about my housing situation for the next year, I was also going into my second year at uni knowing that I need to move church. I spent a while in prayer over this, lengths of time thinking and asking others to pray for me. I was all set to move into a house with some of my best friends and was even the one who worked hard to find somewhere that would fit us all in! However God had other plans for me, big hurdles kept on coming up that were preventing me from moving into the house and I knew that God was saying no, although at the time I had no idea why (I couldn’t understand why he’d say no to moving in with a bunch of good Christian friends). Anyway although it was a big step and defiantly something I didn’t want to do I put my trust in the Lord and decided not to move in which left me with nowhere to live. But hey, God certainly provides and I was able to find accommodation with a couple from church; In my eyes not ideal as I wanted to be with friends but it is most defiantly a blessing which I am thankful to God for.

The second big thing for me at that time was my church situation.

I was attending a really great church in central London but never really found my-self settling in there. I prayed about it and felt to change church. I felt that god wanted me to be in a church where I would grow and that’s not saying I wouldn’t have grown in the other church as I know that God loves me and even when I screw up he will use the situation to bless me but I knew that God had better plans and that I needed to trust him and move.

I visited a small church in East London (which is where uni is based) and knew this was where God wanted me to be, prayers that had previously been prayed confirmed this. However I spent a long time reasoning with myself and instead of following my heart and obeying God I went with my head and carried on at the same church I was at.

The small east London church that I visited; was small which I wasn’t used to, it lacked people my own age and as to where I’m currently living was quite a distance to travel to so I decided not to go. However I knew that if I was obedient to God and attended that church that I would grow in faith and that he would deepen my roots (this had been prayed over me). Just before Christmas I reasoned with myself again and gained perspective on things, church wasn’t about friends but family, it wasn’t about size and it defiantly wasn’t about serving my own needs, it’s about serving God and allowing him to grow you in faith and also stepping into his promises. So I took the plunge and started attending the church in east London.

I realise that this is a really brief overview of the situation but I just wanted you to get a brief picture of the situation and be able to see the emotional stress and struggles I was going through. I guess that’s because the point is that trusting in the Lord isn’t easy and in fact it seems easier to do things your own way but actually God’s way is much better for us because we are his children and he loves and wants to bless us, he has plans for us and wanted to use us.

This story does have a happy ending (although defiantly not over) because God is good and otherwise I wouldn’t be sharing this with you, I want you to feel encouraged. I have already seen the result of trusting God and seen that his plan is better… I have plans to move into a flat with a close friend this summer, a friendship I think god has given to bless each other and pray and share our lives with one another so that we can be growing in faith. I’m also in a church surrounded by people who build one another up and who I’m sure will quickly become like a second family to me and who have already become a blessing to be with.

I can now see that although throughout this situation although I didn’t understand, God had it all in control and that he is the one who is directing my paths and he is the one who will carry on directing my paths.

P.s. sorry for the cheesy second to last paragraph but it’s late and I was waffling and I needed to sum up my point.

I hope this was somewhat enjoyable to read and that you feel encouraged to keep trusting in God even when it’s hard! Xx

Welcome!

Hi there... So I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while now and after discussing it with some friends I've decided to take the plunge! I have no idea if it's going to be any good but I'll try my best to keep things interesting. I'll probably post about some of my thoughts and opinions about things as the title suggests as I do sometimes think about things that I'd quite like to share with you all ; I'll also try and post some general encouragements in faith and university life that have stuck out to me.


Anyway please do keep posted and I do hope you enjoy reading Xx