STUDYING THE BIBLE–SOME TIPS:

today we are going to look at studying the bible , why we need to do it and how to go about it.  I just want to share with you a few things I've learned about this:
why do we need to study the bible?

I'm in love with a wonderful man I met online. He doesn't live here so primarily we communicate through email type messages sent  through a website we belong to. When I get a message from him I read it through carefully, savouring each morsel of it. It might be only a few lines long but it's very precious to me. How much more precious to us should be the message  god has written to us, aka the bible! This is the main way in which god speaks to us so it's very important!

As we study the scriptures we learn these things:
-- we learn about who god is.
--we learn what he did for us on the cross.
--We learn who we are.
--we learn how to live this Christian life in a way that pleases god.
--We learn what promises god has made to us.
--We learn how god worked through the lives of men and women of faith in the past

and so much more!

2 timothy 3:16 says this:
Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), [AMP]

Is it necessary for me to study the Word of God regularly?

Indeed it is! When we stop studying God's word on a regular basis, our spiritual growth tapers off, our love for god becomes less fervent, we stop making an effort to do right,  we may even find ourselves straying from the faith, falling into sin and becoming hard hearted. We could get to the point where we might choose to turn away from god completely!  I think we can see now how important it is to stay in the word of god! some  time in the Scriptures  each day is  strongly recommended, if not imperative.

Besides all this, we are commanded to study the bible:

Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

So, we need to study God's Word. the bible is like a gold mind, the more we dig the more nuggets we are likely to find. The more we dig into a passage or a topic the more we are going to know about that passage or topic, the more truths we are able to learn from it  and apply to our lives.  The bible is also like an onion, once you get through one layer there are more and more layers to go. I can study a passage one year and then come back and study it the next year and get fresh insights, seeing things I didn't even notice in my previous study of that passage.

Is there anything I need to do before I open my bible?

Yes, certainly. Here is what I have learned is important to do before opening the Word of God:

1. We need to be saved, we need to have given our lives to Jesus and accepted him as our Lord. When we are saved, the holy spirit comes to live in us. He is the one who encouraged and guided each writer of the scriptures  and every word they wrote was inspired or god-breathed by the Spirit of god. he is the ultimate bible teacher! Without him it isn't possible to understand what the bible is really saying.

[  For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
[1 Corinthians 1:18

2. Prayer. Before we pick up our bibles we need to take some time and ask god to reveal himself to us and to show us what he wants us to learn from the study of his word. This is important because on our own we may learn a few things but with the Holy spirit teaching us we will learn a lot more, and He can take the word of God and use it to convict us, to correct us, to comfort or encourage us.
3. We need to resolve in our hearts that we will do what God's word tells us. This is the hard part for me. I have studied the scripture for years but I battle with applying it to my life. This is very important though because the scripture says:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.[James 1:22-25]
As well as these, here are a couple  of other suggestions:

4. If possible, find a place and time where you are least likely to be distracted. I do my bible study in my bedroom, usually at early morning and later in the afternoon.

5. have a notepad or computer at hand to write down things that the Lord is showing you. this is a great way to internalise the truths and concepts god is revealing.

So now I'm here with my bible open before me, how do I go about this?

There are many ways to study the bible, this is something to ask god about. Here are a few ideas I've picked up from various places, which I have used in my own studies:

1. One way to do this is to read the bible until something really speaks to you, then stop to think about that. You might only read a verse or two before one  really stands out, or you could read a chapter or more. As an example, I could be reading in Isaiah 45 until I get to this verse:
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
[v5]
Something about that verse stands out for me so I stop reading and think about it . There is only one god, he is above everything and everyone else. That might make me question, am I serving god alone? sometimes we can give too much importance in our lives to other things, like having a lot of money or always having our own way, or we can put someone on a pedestal in our minds and worship them. We may not set out to do this but it might be something that if we really search our  hearts we may discover we are doing . If God is the one and only that means I have to worship him alone. I need to pray that god will show me if I am worshipping anyone or anything else and ask his forgiveness about that, then  resolve to worship god alone from now on.

2. Another method is to pick a book of the bible and start working through it, with a good commentary to help you understand things that don't make sense. If I'm doing a book study I will usually do just a few verses at a time. The number of verses I do each time may vary. for example when I studied the book of acts I would study 5 or 7 verses at a time, until I came to one  of the times when someone was preaching, then I went very carefully through it, a verse or two at a time.  It can be slower but it really helps me to understand what is being said. I will read them, write down the things that I learn from them.  then I will find a commentary and read it for any further insight. then i will write down the things I learn about god in that passage, the things I learn about me and I will write down an action step, something I should do in response to what I have studied. A really good thing to do in studying a book is to sit down and read the book in one session. Of course, if you are doing psalms or something like that, it's going to be impossible to do, but if it can be done it's good because it helps us to see the bigger picture, to be aware of what the book is all about, to see some things that stand out, to pick up on things that  we might not notice when doing a more in depth study.

3. Another method is to look at bible reading as a conversation with God, reading a few verses then talking to god about them. this can be a meaningful way to read the bible as well. As an example I might be reading my favourite verse which is Psalm 121:2
my  help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth
so then I stop there and thank God for the many ways he  helps me, remembering specific things he has done,like last week when I was opening a bottle of flavoured mineral water and it went absolutely everywhere, including all over my heater which, thankfully, wasn't on then. Or the time a few years ago when I put my hand on the cord of the waterbed I had at that time and realised the cord was abnormally hot, dangerously so. I turned it off then. It was malfunctioning and a fire could have started. Or the time last year when a Muslim friend of mine and one of his friends I was chatting with asked me to explain what Christians believe  and God gave me the right words to say. I might also ask god to help me in a situation that is coming up, for example, I'm doing a Christian radio show this morning and I need God's help to know what to say, what songs to play, what bible reading to do, etc.

4. Another way to do a more in depth study is to ask the text certain questions:
who? When? where? What? and so what?
A. Who? Who are the characters in this passage?
B. What? there are a lot of what questions, such as "What is God doing in this passage" or "what events are taking place here" or "what really stood out for me?"
C. when? When did the events in this passage take place? the when and where questions are  not always applicable.  
D. Where? Where did the events in this passage take place? In Israel or somewhere else?
E. Why? there are a variety of why questions, such as "Why on earth did he do that?"  or "Why did she react in that way?"  or "why did God do this or that?"
F. So what? What in this passage can we apply to our lives? Is there a promise of God to claim? a command to follow? a warning to take heed of? etc etc.

6. Another way to learn from god's word is to study a topic. I am doing a study at the moment on the different  names of god. I am really enjoying this! One thing that I'm doing is that whenever I read the bible or study it, if I come across a name of God I write it down, with the scriptural reference. I can then pray and ask god to reveal himself to me in that way. For example I can read   Genesis 14:18-20 which says:
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)  And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

there the name "God most High" is used three times. So I copy  one of those verses into my notes and ask God to help me understand and know that he is the most high god, above everything and everyone else. Then if the Holy Spirit shows me something i write it down. Later I read through my notes and ask God to help me see things that I  have missed.  There are other ways to do a topical study, Bible gateway and some of the other bible sites have a topical index, where you can study on a particular topic. You can also do a search on bible gateway and other sites for a word such as faith  and you will get all the verses where the word is mentioned. It's a great resource!

7. I've heard of bible reading and bible study explained in this way: we read to read, we read to feed and we read to lead. what I mean is this.
A. Reading to read is when we  just pick up our bible and sit down to read a few chapters. This is certainly a good thing to do. If we have  some time to spare, reading the bible is a great way to fill that time.
B. Reading to feed is when we study the bible, in any of the ways I have mentioned or any other ways you might find to do this. The bible is described as our spiritual food:

Everyone who lives on milk is not used to the word of righteousness, because they are babies. But solid food is for the mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between good and evil.
[Hebrews 5:13-14 CEB]

therefore, when we study the Bible we are giving our spirit a healthy meal. When we fail to spend time in the word of god we are starving our spirit and that is something to be avoided, for reasons we  have discussed earlier.

C. Reading to lead is something that  those who teach God's word in any capacity need to do. Pastors, Bible Teachers, Missionaries, Sunday School Teachers and others. Say a Pastor needs to prepare  a Sermon for next Sunday. he will probably ask god what topic He wants him to teach on. Then, when he knows what he is doing, he will need to find bible verses and passages relating to that topic. This is reading to lead. I needed to do this when I was writing this study. For example, when I was talking about doing a topical study on the names of God I wanted to find a good example. I remembered seeing something in Genesis 14 so I went to that chapter and found what I was looking for in verses 18-20. People who read to lead need to make sure that isn't the only reading or studying they do. That is an easy trap to fall into. We need to study god's word for ourselves, for our own spiritual growth, then we can share with others the things god is teaching us.

I hope this information has been helpful. God bless each of you!

Making the Change

MAKING THE CHANGE!

Do you have a habit you long to get rid of? Is there something in your life you want to see changed?  We all understand we are far from perfect and that there  are a lot of things in us that need fixing. We try so hard not to lie or steal or gossip or whatever it might be and we fail. Then we get discouraged and wonder if we are ever going to change.

There are two things we need to realise.
1. we can't, on our own efforts, change ourselves or get rid of a bad habit. We need God's help. We need the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, he is able to change us. Someone may, by sheer force of will, be able to stop lying for a while, but when they find themselves in a pinch they will fall back to their old ways. I know this from experience. I'm using lying here as an example but the same works for anything that needs to be changed in us. Only the Holy spirit of God working in our lives is able to make permanent changes. We need to cooperate with Him of course, but we can't make the change on our own.  God is willing to help us, we just need to ask him.  It won't happen overnight but it will happen.

2. it's not enough just to stop doing something that we used to do, we need to replace it with something new. It's not enough for me to not tell lies anymore, I need to speak the truth. it's not enough for me to stop gossiping, I have to learn to speak words that encourage and uplift others. It's not enough to stop thinking negative thoughts, we have to start thinking positively.

Jesus told a story that relates to this:

When an evil spirit leaves a person, it travels through the desert, looking for a place to rest. But when the demon doesn't find a place,  it says, “I will go back to the home I left.” When it gets there and finds the place empty, clean, and fixed up, it goes off and finds seven other evil spirits even worse than itself. They all come and make their home there, and the person ends up in worse shape than before.
[Matthew 12:43-45a CEV]

I may deal with the subject of demon possession another day, but I shared this story to make a point. The person was delivered, the problem was gone, but the process of change wasn't fully complete, his house or spirit was empty. If the person had gotten saved then the Holy spirit would be living in him and therefore when the demon came back to check things out, it would know there was no hope of moving back in.

Without progressing to phase two, change will never be fully accomplished.  god will help us with this too if we ask him. He will show us how to replace the bad things in our lives with good things.

We can't just move onto phase two without doing phase one, allowing god to  clean up our lives and get rid of the bad things like lying or stealing or whatever it  may be. Once God has  cleaned up the mess then he will help us replace it with good thoughts and actions.

One more thing I would say about change. Don't expect it to happen instantaneously. sometimes god will deliver us straight away  from some bad habit or other problem in our lives, other times he expects us to go through the process.  Though it's hard, there are several advantages to this, including:

A.  we learn to depend on god more than before, since it is only by his help that we are able to make any progress.
B. we become more grateful and thankful for all that god has done and is doing in our lives. gratitude is important. It is right to thank God for his many blessings  and for all his help.
C. We learn patience and endurance, and these are things that we need in our Christian walk.
D. Having gone through all this to get free of some habit or other we learn to think seriously before we start doing another thing that has the potential of being habit-forming.   A person who has been freed from alcohol addiction will probably think twice before they take up smoking. 

Change is never fun or easy but it is certainly something we all need to do at some point. If we know someone who is trying to make a big change in their life we can help by praying for them and encouraging them. Sometimes we can act as accountability partners, for that  person. Knowing that  I have someone who I will be talking to about how well I did this week might help me not to give into temptation so easily. Of course, we need to have accountability partners who we can trust, who won't tear us down but encourage us and pray with us.

God can free us from the most destructive habits that were holding us back from being the people he meant us to be, and fill our lives with new and beautiful things. Then we are a living testimony to the power of god and we are able to help those who are having the same kind of problems we went through.

 

May God bless you all!

WHEN PRIDE GETS IN THE WAY

when pride gets in the way:

Sis was happy. the pastor was happy. The new music leader was happy. Everyone was happy ... except me. I've been struggling with my bad attitude ever since things changed. Why is it that out of everybody, I've got this horrible attitude that is not only affecting me but will affect the others in the group if I don't get this sorted out? I'm mostly angry at myself because I'm being unreasonable and I know it. Change is a good thing and the new music leader is a guy I know quite well. he is a gifted musician and also knows how to lead.

today we had music practice. O boy, what a disaster! The more it continued, the more angry and stirred up I got and I hate myself for it but I couldn't seem to change it. I mean, after all, how dare this young guy come in, take over and tell me how to play and try to modernise everything? Goodness me, I've been playing piano since well before he was born! grrrrrr! the longer the practice went, the worse my attitude got until the most satisfying thing I could do when I came home was slam my bedroom door. Just grrrr!

This is what happens when pride gets in the way. I'm proud of my musical ability. I shouldn't be, but I am. Ok, I'm no opera singer or concert pianist but I have perfect pitch and I practice my singing and playing nearly every day. The world would say that it's a good thing to be proud of my ability, such as it is, but God says pride is a bad thing.

Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
[Proverbs 16:18]

The gift isn't mine.
It's more of a permanent loan. God gives us these things not to do what we want with them but to glorify him with them and edify or uplift others. God doesn't care how well I sing or play, he cares about my heart attitude. Am I doing this to glorify him or me? If the answer is that I am using it to glorify me than I am misusing it. We will have to give account to the Lord on Judgement day about how we use the gifts and talents he has given us. If I am serving god at church or in any other  way in order to gratify my own ego then I am in the wrong and I am displeasing God.

That doesn't mean we  shouldn't do our  best at whatever we are doing for the Lord, but it does mean we  should examine ourselves and if we  notice wrong attitudes, pride, self-admiration or whatever, we  need to bring these to god and ask his forgiveness. Then, when we find ourselves thinking wrongly again, we need to stop and ask the Lord's help to change the way we are thinking. The Bible tells us to take every thought captive to obey Christ:
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
[2 Corinthians 10:4-5]

Now that I've calmed down I feel totally ashamed of my rotten attitude. after all, the music leader didn't exactly tell me how to play, he made suggestions of what he thought would sound good. He encouraged us and advised us. I was in the wrong all the way because instead of taking his suggestions as they were meant, i took them as criticisms and got angry.

We can't let bad attitudes like this fester. The bible tells us:
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

[Ephesians 4:27-28]
I can't just ignore this. I need to bring it to God in prayer, tell him exactly how I am feeling and ask him to forgive me and change me. I need his help to deal with my pride, as well as to put things in perspective. It's not all about me, but about serving and pleasing god.

I'm going to go and talk to him about it right now. I know that nothing is impossible with God, so I can trust him to instruct and guide me. You can trust him too. the bible says:
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
[Ephesians 3:20].

 

I hope I have given you something to think about.

WHEN GOD BRINGS LOVE INTO YOUR LIFE

WHEN GOD BRINGS LOVE INTO YOUR LIFE:

I could write, if not a book at least a long short story, about my relationship disasters - times when I rushed into love because I was lonely or a man seemed to be what I was looking for. I didn't ask God, I just went for it. The longest relationship I ever had lasted for 2.5 years, although I was in love with one man for almost 4 years without him knowing a thing about it. 

Just last Year I told god that  I was feeling lonely and I prayed that I would find a man who loved god and would love and accept me as I am. God said that it would come in time, but first he needed to heal my heart from some of the things that happened in the past. I went through a few difficult weeks dealing with some things, I cried a lot, prayed a lot, wrote a lot and god began to heal me.

Around Christmas time god brought a new friend my way. A kind, caring Christian man who lives in a country called the Solomon Islands, which isn't too far from Australia, I'm not exactly sure where it is though, I'm hopeless at geography. Well I'm sure you can guess the rest of the story but just in case you can't, I'll spell it out.

From the first I trusted him. I would write letters that were pages long, sharing my thoughts and talking about my day. when I began to suspect that I was beginning to care for him I said to God, "Lord, I do want to feel love again but I don't' want to get hurt again. Please don't let this go anywhere if it's not from you." 

I knew that martin was in love with me. he told me he was, but that if I only wanted to be friends he would accept that.

Then one night in February I had just gotten into bed when I felt a real urge to pray for him.  I tried to ignore it but it was so strong that I got up and started pacing the floor and praying. That was when I faced up to the fact that I was in love with this man. I didn't tell him how I felt though, not for a few more weeks. I prayed and fasted and pleaded with God to show me if this was his will for me or not. I was so determined I wouldn't take another step until I was sure. 

Then one night I heard god's still small voice. I can't remember the exact words but he said something like this "this is the man i have given to you. This is from me. don't be afraid."

the next time I talked to Martin I told him that I loved him. I've been happy ever since. I tell him that he is my gift from God, an unexpected blessing in my life. I thank God almost daily for bringing me this happiness when I had begun to doubt if I would ever experience true love.

The bible tells us:
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.
[Song of Songs 8:4]

This is very good advice. Another scripture that I've taken to heart is this:
Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
[Psalm 127:1]

in other words, if God's not in it it isn't going to work.

Being single can be hard, I know it can. We need to remember that whatever god allows to happen in our lives is part of his plan for us, and the scripture says:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
[romans 8:28]

I hope I have given you something to think about. God bless you all!

SEVEN THINGS I AM THANKING GOD FOR TODAY

Hi readers:

It's after midnight and I'm in the mood for writing. O well I guess when the inspiration to write hits, I might as well make use of it.

SEVEN THINGS I AM THANKING GOD FOR TODAY:
1. Holidays.  It's just nice to get away sometimes. My friends and I are staying in a place called Moree for a week, we just got here today. I was feeling exhausted, this weekend has been very busy and sleep has been elusive. I've only been here a few hours and I had a bit of a sleep and I feel good. I praise god for that.
2. Best friends. Where would we be without them? My 2 best friends in the world have stuck with me through thick and thin and I am so grateful to God for them.
3. Laughter. Little things that make me laugh can brighten up my day. the bible says that a joyful heart is good medicine and that's true.
4. animals. we have Maria's guidedog Karly with us. She's a great dog, very affectionate and playful. I don't have a dog of my own at the moment but Maria calls me Karly's auntie. lol.

5. Sleep. It can be such a blessing. we take it for granted until we have a few days when we don't sleep well, then we realise how much we need it! I thank god for sleep.
6. god's peace. The bible says:
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[Philippians 4:7]
What a blessing this is! to have God's peace in our hearts when we live in such a crazy, troubled world.
7. God's mercy, which is  new every morning. the bible says:
The steadfast love of the
Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
[Lamentations 3:22-23]
Each day can be a fresh start with God. No matter how badly I messed up yesterday, today is brand new and God's mercies are new each morning. I find that a very comforting thought.

And now my challenge to you:
can you find 7 things to thank God for? I'm sure you can if you try. Let's take a moment to thank god today for some of the many many blessings he has given us.

Prayer:

Lord I am so thankful for the many blessings you have brought to my life but most of all I am thankful for Jesus who died for me on the cross. Please teach us all to be grateful, to be people who count our blessings.

Lord I pray you will bless each of the readers of my posts, I pray you will meet their needs and that they will feel your presence today. we give you praise in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Where Do Our Frustrations Leave us?

Here is something that I wrote last week and forgot to share until now.
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[Philippians 4:6-7]
WHERE DO OUR FRUSTRATIONS LEAVE US?

well there I was, doing a radio show on
www.powerradio104.us
thinking things were going ok., then, uh o!  My computer started going weird. All i wanted to do was get back to the broadcaster window so I  could at least talk and make sure I had a few songs still queued up, but do you think I could get it to work? I did have  a few songs lined up because they kept playing all the time I was arguing with my computer, trying to get it to behave.. At last, however, the final song stopped and I had dead air. the only thing i could do was restart the computer. grrrrrrr! I told the wretched thing how much I hated it and wanted to throw it in the nearest lake. Even when I restarted the computer it took a couple of attempts before i could take back the station and finish the show. grrrrrr!

which leaves me with a question. Where do my frustrations leave me? I think God brings frustrations into our lives for a reason. I was listening to a message on prayer this morning and one of the things the speaker said was that God puts on our platter everything that will happen to us this day, nothing that does happen to us is outside his control. that seems to me to be a good thing to remember when things go wrong. god knows what he's doing.
WHY DOES GOD ALLOW FRUSTRATIONS?

So, if god has control of everything and he has a perfect plan for my day, why did he allow my computer to go haywire this  morning? Maybe, as simple as it seems, because he wanted me to think about frustration and write this post? We don't know all the reasons why god allows things to happen to us, though if we look back we can sometimes see how god was working through some circumstances or issues in our lives. We just have to accept, as hard as it is, that we don't know all the answers, but God does and he has a purpose for everything we go through or experience. Sometimes the reason is for our benefit, sometimes for the benefit of others. I remember one time I asked my best friend why god allowed me to go through a difficult time I had come out of. Her answer, which I believe came from God, stays with me to this day. She said that perhaps god allowed me to go through it so that I could help others who have been through similar  experiences.

so what does all this have to do with frustration?

When things go wrong our immediate response is quite often "God, why did you allow that to happen?"  or "Why me Lord?" a better response would be "What are you trying to teach me in this?" but I admit that's not the way we usually thinkand of course, that's not the way I reacted today. We have to learn, though it is hard, that God ordains our troubles and trials for his own purposes and he only lets us go through things when he knows there is a need, because this will teach us something important, cause us to depend more fully on himself, or any number of other reasons.

TRUSTING NOT REACTING

God will teach us, no matter if he needs to pound it into our brains, that his way is best. The more we trust him and believe that he has good plans for us, the more we will learn to put situations into perspective. What good did my anger at the computer do me? None at all. How could I have handled it better? by bringing it to God, telling him all about it, then asking him if there is something he is trying to teach or show me.

As the Bible says:
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

[Philippians 4:6-7 MSG]

I don't say that this sort of response is easy but we will learn to think this way in time. Jesus didn't let the little things frazzle him because he trusted the Father completely and knew that god has a reason for all he does.

FINAL THOUGHT

if our troubles trials and challenges, no matter how big or small they may be, are drawing us away from God and causing us to doubt, then we know we need to get into some serious prayer about it. If, on the other hand, they are drawing us nearer to god, then that just might be the reason why he is allowing them to happen.

Prayer:

Father, sometimes things happen that leave us angry, frustrated, annoyed, stressed or depressed. help us to take a step back and remind ourselves that you have a purpose for everything that happens to us and that this situation is in your control. Help us to accept it when we don't receive an answer about why this is happening to us. thank you that in your love you allow us to face hard things so that we can grow and become more dependent on you. teach me, teach us all, to trust you more and learn from the trials we face. amen.

Poem: One Prayer

 

This is something I just wrote, something I just experienced. I want to share it with you in the hope it might help someone, and also to testify of god’s goodness and faithfulness. If it wasn’t 4:41 am at the moment I think I would be singing right now, I feel so grateful and joyous.

 

I hope you like the poem. god bless you.

 

ONE PRAYER:

 

The darkness was thick around me,
No ray of light to be found.
Deeper I sank into misery,
Despair and shame did abound.

Feeling battered and bloody from battles i faced,
Feeling helpless and hopeless and weak,
I cried out to god with all of my heart ,
"One thing alone do I seek.

"I'm tired of fighting myself and you,
I long for the trouble to cease.
But one thing dear Lord that I desperately need,
Let me again feel your peace."

a soft gentle glow seemed to brighten the darkness;
A loving hand lifted me up
Washed me anew from the sin and the shame
and wrapped me in a blanket of love.

Peace gently fell on my aching heart
As sweet as the morning dew;
I felt free for the first time in a very long time,
And all I could say was "thank you!"

One single cry from the depths of my darkness
Then came my saviour and friend
An  ever-present help in difficult times,
To heal and restore me again.

What gratitude now fills my heart!
O Jesus my words can't express,
When I needed you, you came quickly to me.
When I called, your answer was yes!

why is it we don't think to pray?
We just flounder around on our own;
But god is so willing to help us
So we don't need to struggle alone.

If we ask in the name of Jesus
And believe that our prayer will be heard,
God is faithful, loving and kind,
he will do all he said in his word.

so don't give up believing
that god will answer your prayer,
He may not always act in a moment,
But at the right time his help will be there.

God’s wonderful grace

GOD'S WONDERFUL GRACE

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me

Amazing what?

what is grace anyway?
The bible says:

We have been ransomed through his Son’s blood, and we have forgiveness for our failures based on his overflowing grace, which he poured over us with wisdom and understanding.
[ephesians 1:7-8]

How much would it cost to save a single soul from going to hell?

All of us have failed to meet God's standard of absolute perfection. No matter how good we might be, we can never measure up to that! We all do things we shouldn't do and don't do things we should.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
[romans 3:23]

Our sins deserve to be punished.

We have broken God's law. Do you think there is anything we could give to god or do for him to pay the price for our sins and save us from going to hell?

Actually, if every person who ever lived gave all that they had and dedicated themselves to serving god all their lives long, they would come far short of being able to ransom even one soul from hell. Our situation was totally hopeless!

Jesus is our saviour.
Jesus came to this earth. He was  fully god and fully man and he gave his life for us when he died on the cross.

  For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[romans 6:24]

he took our place and took the punishment we deserve for our sins. He was raised from death on the third day
and in him we are made  new. We are part of his family now and he has given us a fresh start.

And the life I now live in the flesh
I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.
[galatians 2:20b]

This is grace.

It is God's undeserved gift of forgiveness for our sins and new life, all because Jesus died for us.
No wonder why we sing
amazing grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I'm found
was blind but now I see.

devotional: praying for our unsaved family and friends:

DEVOTIONAL

Marianne sat down in Pastor Johns  office and sighed.

"What's troubling you?"  he asked her.

"Well, I'm feeling a bit discouraged"  she admitted, "For years now I've been praying   for my family to become Christians and nothing has changed. Jack still gets drunk every weekend and Mum is talking about going to visit a Clairvoyant. are my prayers doing any good at all? Are they even getting through? Mum changes the subject whenever i talk about church and Jack just tells me to shut up talking about that god stuff. I wish I knew what to do!"

"It's hard not to be discouraged sometimes,"  he replied sympathetically, "Especially when you want something so much and nothing seems to be happening, I know I've felt that way too, that's when we have to trust that god knows what he's doing and keep on praying even though we don't feel like it. You know the story of Abraham and Isaac, how god gave him a son when he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90?  If he had given up praying for a son when he was 98 do you think Abraham would have gotten his miracle?"

"Probably not,"  she admitted thoughtfully.

"Anyway Marianne, it doesn't matter how far someone may be from accepting the truth, God can take the hardest of hearts and turn them around, look at what he did with the Apostle Paul. you remember we studied his story in the book of Acts? Before he became a Christian he actually persecuted the church. He believed that Christians were telling lies about god and so he tried to stop them but Jesus appeared to him on the Damascus road and stopped him in his tracks."

"So I guess if God could get through to someone like that, he can get through to my family, right?"

"Yes. Nothing is too hard for God, so just hold onto that. Keep Praying for wisdom about how and when to witness to them, look for opportunities to do good things for them   and most of all,keep praying for them. God will reach them at just the right time."

"I will,"  she said, feeling encouraged and much more hopeful, "Thank you."

All of us want to see our family and friends coming to know Christ. the most important thing we can do for them is pray for them and not give up even when we don't see results. We also need to ask God to show us what he wants us to do or say to them. We can show them the love of Christ by our actions, by doing things to help them, just like Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.   sometimes  God might tell us to say something, share a bible verse or talk about something we learned at church, while at other times the best thing we can do is drop the subject for a  while and pray that god will send someone else to speak to them, such as  a co-worker or friend whom they respect and would listen to.   

God wants our loved ones to be saved even more than we do, so we can trust them to him. the bible says:
The Lord isn't slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their
hearts and lives.
[2 Peter 3:9]

Prayer:
Dear god, we all have friends and family that we love and care about and we long to see them get saved and walk with you. We ask you will give us wisdom and show us what we can do, and help us to keep praying when we feel discouraged and remember that you love them much more than we could ever do. We commit them into your hands Lord, please do your will  in their lives. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.

HOPE message about hope:

  Romans 5:3-5
This doesn't mean, of course, that we have only a hope of future joys-we can be full of joy here and now even in our trials and troubles. Taken in the
right spirit these very things will give us patient endurance; this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a steady
hope, a hope that will never disappoint us. Already we have some experience of the love of God flooding through our hearts by [the Holy Spirit given to us.

I want to talk about hope today. Before we go any further, though, I thought it would be good to have a definition:
This is a definition I found on wikipedia:
"to cherish a desire with anticipation"; "to desire with expectation of obtainment"; or "to expect with confidence".

as Christians, our hope is not vague but it is certain. We hope to be with Jesus forever. that will happen. We  hope to escape the second death, if we hold onto our faith, that will happen. We hope to see our saved loved ones who have gone on before us. that will happen.

Why do we need hope?

Imagine you are going on a long journey. sometimes the road is bumpy, you have mountains to climb, rivers to ford,  valleys to get through. sometimes the difficulties of the journey make you forget why you started out in the first place. But, if you have in your mind where you are going and why you want to get there, you will keep plodding on because you know the result is going to justify all the struggles and effort you went through on the journey.

that's why God gave us hope. He knew life would be difficult, there would be persecutions and trials and the usual suffering that happens because we live in a fallen world of fallen people. He wanted us to keep our mind set on the goal, what we are aiming for, eternal life with God, so that we will keep on battling through until this life is over and we are in the presence of god.
This is because we remember your work that comes from faith, your effort that comes from love, and your perseverance that comes from hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father.
[1 Thessalonians 1:3

the bible warns us not to lose our hope.
if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation[
[Colossians 1:23]

To  see hope in action, we will have a brief look at some incidents from the life of Abraham. He is acknowledged as a man of great faith, which he was, but he was also a man of great hope, as the bible says:
In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”  He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead ( since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.  No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,

[Romans 4:18-20].
god also promised to give Abraham's descendants the land of Canaan, where Abraham lived as a semi-nomadic shepherd.

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram [Abraham] in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look towards heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
[Genesis 15:1-8 ESV]

So,  one of the things Abraham was hoping and praying for [that is, the birth of a son] happened in his lifetime. In fact, Abraham had several sons, Ishmael by Hagar, Isaac by Sarah and Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah by Keturah. The other promise, that he and his descendants would have the land of Canaan, didn't come true for 400 or more years! Even so, Abraham, Isaac and the rest of the Patriarchs hoped expectantly for this thing to happen and at last it did happen when the Israelites, under Joshua,  took the land.

My point is this: some of the things we hope for will happen in our lifetime, but most of what we as Christians hope for won't happen till after this life is over,yet we still need to hope.

Abraham's faith and hope were tested in about the strongest possible way when God ordered him to offer  up Isaac as a whole burnt offering:

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”  So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
god called Isaac Abraham's only son because it was Isaac with whom God would  make his covenant and his descendants would inherit the land. We don't know why God asked Abraham to do this thing, some suggest that Abraham and Isaac were acting out a prophecy that would be fulfilled when God gave his only begotten son, that is, when Jesus died for us on the cross.  Others suggest that Abraham's love for his son was bordering on worship and God needed to correct him. We don't know. Anyway, here is what the writer to the Hebrews says about this event:

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

The point is, Abraham's faith and hope didn't waver even during this most difficult time. Our hope and faith should not waver either, no matter how difficult life gets or how unlikely it seems that we will ever get what we hope for.

Another example of hope in action is David. He was a young man and at the time he was first anointed as king by Samuel, he was keeping his father's sheep.  it was years before he actually became king of all Israel. At the time he was anointed, Saul was the king. God had rejected him from being king because of Saul's disobedience. Initially, David was welcomed at the king's court because he was a gifted harpist and his  music soothed the king, who was tormented with an evil spirit. however, when David killed Goliath, Saul began to be jealous of David. he gave his daughter to David as a wife, but Saul began plotting to have him killed until David had to flee for his life. For years he lived in the desert, hiding from Saul who was pursuing him, wanting him dead. At last David escaped to the enemy of  his people, the Philistines. He had plenty of reasons to despair and give up hoping but he never did.

when Saul was killed in battle David reigned over Judah for 6.5 years and one of Saul's sons ruled Israel, until Abner, Saul's uncle, switched sides and encouraged the whole nation to make David king. David was finally made king after Saul's son Ishbosheth was murdered.

All the Israelite tribes came to David at Hebron and said, “Listen: We are your very own flesh and bone. In the past, when Saul ruled over us, you were
the one who led Israel out to war and back. What’s more, the Lord told you, You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be Israel’s leader.
So all the Israelite elders came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over
Israel.
[2 Samuel 5:1-3]

This took place years after David's first anointing by Samuel, yet David never gave up believing and expecting god to do what he had promised. he never lost hope. In fact, he encouraged Israel to hope in their god:
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me.
But I have calmed and quietened my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and for evermore.
[Psalm 131]
So, be encouraged and hope in god.  Your hope is like a fire, if it isn't tended to it goes out. Spending time with god in prayer and bible study and reminding ourselves what God has done for us keeps that fire burning. We can encourage each other to keep hoping, just like Saul's son Jonathan encouraged David:

Saul’s son Jonathan came to David at Horesh and encouraged him with God. Jonathan said to him, “Don't be afraid! My father Saul’s hand won't touch you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul knows this.” Then the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David stayed at Horesh, but Jonathan went back home.
[1 Samuel 23:16-18
Jonathan was half right. Saul didn't touch David, but Jonathan died on Mount Gilboa and was never David's second in command. Still he encouraged David at a  time when Jonathan's own father was doing his utmost to kill David. we can encourage each other too. We all have challenges in life but we know it's going to get better.

, thinking about the future keeps our hope alive. 
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,  and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
[Hebrews 12:12-13]

Let me leave you with this blessing from romans 15:13.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

amen.
questions to ponder:
These questions are just for you to think about and answer in your time alone with god.
1. what things are you hoping for?
2. can you think of other reasons why we need to keep our hope strong?
3. how do you keep your hope strong when you are going through hard times?
4. Do you know anyone you can encourage to keep hoping in God today?

a little prayer and praise

Hi readers:

This morning I was praying. sometimes I write down my prayers because it helps me to focus and I'm better at expressing myself in writing than in speech. Anyway I began praying for my unsaved relatives and friends and it turned into a praise time and I decided I would tidy it up and post it. I think sometimes we can all get so bogged down in the challenges and trials of life, and I'm talking to myself as much as anyone else here, that we don't look up and contemplate all the riches and joys and wonders that we have as Christians. The greatest of all is that we can know god. I hope this encourages someone. If anyone wants to share something encouraging along this line that they have written, email it to me at
rishie@dodo.com.au
and I will happily post it, giving you credit of course. Let us encourage each other,.
Here goes:

 

Father I pray for my family, I pray for all my unsaved  loved ones to come to Christ. you gave the prescription we all need to follow in Acts 16:31
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” [ESV]
I pray that my family and loved ones will believe in you Lord Jesus, in who you are and in all the wondrous, amazing, life-giving and praise-worthy things you have done for us, things for which the eternity of the eternities will not be sufficient time to thank you fully for! I pray they may know these things, put their faith and trust in you and be saved. i want them to know the security i know, I want them to know the love I know, Father I want them to know your omnipresense that you have shown me so far, that I am never alone, no matter where I am am! There is so much about you I want them to experience Lord,  what I've learned in my 32 years being  your child has just scratched the surface of all that there is to learn of you.

father knowing you is wonderful knowing you is awesome knowing you is incredible! It helps us get through our hardest times, gives us  a reason to get up in the morning, knowing you gives purpose and reason and direction to our lives. O the incomparable joy, the riches's and depths, the power and pleasure, the satisfaction invigoration and inspiration, the communion and fellowship involved in knowing you Jesus. O, Jesus thank you for the privilege of knowing you. Thank you that you reveal yourself to us. We will thank you forever for who you are and all you do. . dear Father, make us thankful people,  may we never let a day go by without saying "thank you" to you for at least a few of the vast array of blessings you give us. 
Lord our God, among all the blessings you have given us, having a relationship with you is the greatest. It is all because of the cross, Jesus made it possible for us to know you. Give us a hunger to know you more. Make us people that you can share more of yourself with. Help us remember Lord that as we draw near to you, you draw near to us. Teach us to seek you with our whole hearts, knowing that he who seeks shall find.
these things I pray in the name of Jesus, the name that is above every name, the name of my blessed lord and saviour, the name of the lover of my soul, the name of my beloved king, O Jesus I love you Lord! amen.

 

I hope you were blessed by that. I certainly was. god bless you all and may you each have a wonderful day in the Lord!

Rishie’s Ramblings: yes, it’s me again

Dear readers:

 

Well it’s been more than six months since i posted anything on this blog and I appologise for that. there have been a few reasons but mostly I’ve been lazy and haven’t posted the couple of things I have written.

 

I now have a new computer. While I was away at christmas time, someone got into my computer and messed with it. It has been in and out of the computer shop all year and finally I decided it was better to get a new one since they still had no idea what the problem actually was. So, I now have a netbook and I like it. I’ve spent the last week or so getting it set up with the programmes I want and so on.

 

Well I am going to try and post more regularly, I have a couple of teachings to put up here  and some  poems too. I am also going to write more regularly just about my life and the things I’m thinking or doing, that will be in this category of rishie’s ramblings.

 

I’m having issues with the blogger interface not being very accessible so I am using windows live writer. Let’s see how this works out.

 

Plese keep my cousin Karra in your prayers she has problems with her heart and may need a transplant. She is not a Christian so maybe the lord will use this experience to draw her to himself. I’m praying for that anyway.

 

god bless you all!

Unity

today I want to look at the subject of unity: unity in our Church family and unity across denominational lines.
The scripture says:
Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
[Psalm 133:1]
we all can see that when a Church is unified and working together it is a much more pleasant environment, a place of peace and harmony..
Divisions in the Church can cause heartache and may result in some members leaving the Church, but when the members of a Church make an effort to strengthen the bonds of unity and heal the hurts that have resulted from disunity, the church can be stronger and more able and willing to serve God, our master and blessed lord.
In my town we have interdenominational prayer meetings, where members of the different Churches get together at one church to pray about a variety of things. We also work together for a few events during the year such as the world day of prayer service and the carols service at the end of the year. The pastors of the Churches get together for discussion and prayer from time to time. We can do a lot for God when we all work together.
Here is an example of what unity can do:
In the time after the flood and before Abraham, all the people spoke one language and lived near each other. They decided that they
would build a tower that reached heaven, not to glorify God but as a show of what they were capable of doing, to glorify themselves.
Here is what God says:
" And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. [Genesis 11:6]
That is what unity can accomplish. Of course, they were united in an act of rebellion against God, but they were united and God knew the best way to deal with this was to scatter them and give them separate languages.
　
Because the devil knows that we can accomplish a lot when united, he will do his level best to cause divisions in the Church.
Here is one example from Scripture of a divided, disunified Church.
Now I encourage you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: agree with each other and don't be divided into rival groups. Instead be restored with the same mind and the same purpose. My brothers and sisters, Chloe’s people gave me some information about you,
that you're fighting with each other. What I mean is this: that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," "I belong to Apollos," "I belong to Cephas," "I belong to Christ." Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in Paul’s name?
[1 Corinthians 1:10-16]
the group had splintered into 4 separate factions,for Paul, for Appolos
For Peter [Cephas] and for Christ. This division had caused arguing among the believers.
as each side argued for their chosen leader. I am sure you can imagine the sort of problems that would arise in a divided group like this, arguments between groups, divisions even in homes where people were for different leaders, each group trying to prove that the others were all wrong and they were in the right. you know how it goes,
when we know we are right our flesh nature wants to prove to everybody else that they are wrong in whatever it is we are arguing about ,and give detailed explanations as to why they are so wrong, we love to be proved right.
What a mess! Paul makes it clear to them that Christ is the leader of all and that himself, Appolos and peter were only servants through whom they learned about Christ and began to grow in the faith. What sort of example do you think this kind of Church group would be setting for non-believers?
Unity doesn't mean we necessarily totally agree with everything each other believes, but unity is when we agree to disagree and put our differences aside.
Of course, if someone's beliefs differ in a major area such as salvation by faith in Christ or salvation by works only, then we need to pray for the one who believes in a works based salvation to learn the truth, loving them, not looking down on them and, if God guides us to,gently and respectfully show them the truth from God's word.
An example of a doctrine that people disagree on is the doctrine of the rapture. some are pre-tribulationists [/That is, that Jesus will come for the Church before the Tribulation starts], some are mid-tribulationists and others are post-tribulationists. others don't believe in the rapture at all. The truth is we don't know, when Jesus is coming back. I personally am a pre-tribulationist, as I explain in another post here, but just because I think that way doesn't mean that if I had a friend who doesn't agree with me about that I need to argue with them about it and try to prove I'm in the right. Rather, since we don't really know anyway we can agree to disagree and focus on the things and beliefs we do have in common.
The Scripture says:
Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. [2 Timothy 3:14]

Another thing that causes disunity in the Church is gossip. This is one I struggle with a bit. We have to think, when we are going to share some piece of information about another,
- is this true,
- is sharing this helpful,
and
- what is my motive for sharing it.
Let me show you how this works. Now, as an example, Imagine if you heard that I was taking drugs. NOW I don't and never have taken drugs but this is just an example. Then if you told your friends "Did you know that Rishie takes drugs, and she calls herself a Christian,don't you think that's terrible?"
even if it was true Jesus gives us very clear ways of dealing with sin in the Church and they don't include gossip. The way to handle it would be to confront me and if I didn't listen, to bring a couple of witnesses along, and if I still didn't pay attention to make it known to the Church and if I still didn't pay attention, to treat me like an outcast and hopefully I would be brought to a realisation of my sin.
Gossip doesn't do any good but it can do a lot of harm, especially if the things we are gossiping about aren't true, it can damage relationships and cause problems in the church.
Another thing that can be very hurtful is if someone treats us nicely but then says unkind things about us behind our backs and it gets back to us. Ouch!I had a friend, once who came to stay with us for a while and when she left she said it has been nice seeing me and she was looking forward to next time but she said to one of my friends that she would not come back to visit here as long as I was here. Now that person and i sorted things out and I'm not saying this to put her down just using it as an example. You can imagine how that hurt. now if we have a problem with someone the best thing to do is to lovingly speak to them about it and tell them how we feel.
So if there is disunity in the church, What can we do about it?
Firstly? pray. Take it before the lord, if possible get a group of people together and pray about it.
Secondly, if God leads, you may be able to intervene to help reunite the rival groups.
I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have laboured side by side
with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Sometimes one who isn't in the middle of the dispute can bring rivals together to try and sort things out or at the least, to agree to disagree. Jesus says this:
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
[Matt 5:9]
we need to be guided by the Spirit because on our own we could end up doing more harm than good But with God's help we may be able to reconcile those who are at odds with each other.
If there is disunity in the Church it shouldn't be ignored but the members of the Church need to seek God about it and then do what he tells us to do.
　
As for disunity between members of different denominations, We need to pray about that too and God may show us something that we can do, such as starting a morning tea for Christian ladies in the town or area you live in,
or having a men's breakfast or a picnic or something every so often.
We need to be careful that we are not critical of people in other denominations I know someone who sometimes makes negative generalisations about members of a different denomination, and i have been guilty of negative thoughts about people from another denomination, all this should definitely be avoided. If we know that we are feeling this way or doing this sort of thing we need to pray about it. In one of her books Beth Moore talks about making friends with a Christian lady she met and then discovering that this lady belonged to a denomination that was looked down on by the members of Beth's Church. She explained that this friendship helped open her eyes and that God used it to deal with this prejudice she had against members of the other Church. God can do the same in our lives too, if he sees we have a prejudice against members of other denominations or other races or people of different colour or whatever our prejudices might be. Prejudice has no place in the body of Christ and if we are prejudiced God is not likely to allow you to stay that way.
In closing I want to leave you with a scripture from the book of Ephesians chapter 4 :3-6:
and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. You are one body and one spirit just as God also called you in one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all who is over all, through all, and in all.
Do you notice what stands out in this passage?
1 ... 1.... 1 ... 1....
He couldn't have made it clearer. As the song says:
Father make us one
that the world may know
you have sent your son
father make us one."
May this be our prayer.
I hope I have given you all something to think about. May God bless each of you!

Insight: a few Questions to Prayerfully Consider

Here are a few thoughts to prayerfully consider. I haven't written this to judge anyone but in the spirit of Hebrews 10:24 I thought I would share them.
 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
[Hebrews  10:24]

Did I have a time of prayer and bible study today?

Are there things God has done for me today that I need to thank him for?

Are there sins in my life I haven't asked God's forgiveness for?

Do I know anyone who needs a hug, a kind word or a helping hand?

Is there anyone I know who needs encouragement in their Christian walk?
Is there someone I should call or visit or email to let them know I care?

Am I using the gifts and talents God has given me?

Have I taken a few quiet moments to allow God to speak to me?

Have I told God today that I love him?

Is there anyone in my life I need to ask forgiveness of?

Is there anyone in my life I need to forgive?

Are there relationships in my life that need mending?

have I told my loved ones recently that I love them?

Have I shown my loved ones recently that I love them? Sometimes actions speak louder than words.

Are there things I need to talk to God about?

Do I know someone who is sad or hurting that I can comfort?

Is God telling me to do something and I haven't done it yet?

Have  I prayed for my Church  and pastor this week?

Have I prayed for Christians who are suffering for their faith?

Am I being a wise steward of the money God gives me?

Am I becoming more like Jesus?

Am I a doer of the word or just a hearer only?

do I set my mind on things above, not things of this world? [col 3:2]


Here are a few thoughts to prayerfully consider. I haven't written this to judge anyone but in the spirit of Hebrews 10:24 I thought I would share them.
 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
[Hebrews  10:24]

Did I have a time of prayer and bible study today?

Are there things God has done for me today that I need to thank him for?

Are there sins in my life I haven't asked God's forgiveness for?

Do I know anyone who needs a hug, a kind word or a helping hand?

Is there anyone I know who needs encouragement in their Christian walk?
Is there someone I should call or visit or email to let them know I care?

Am I using the gifts and talents God has given me?

Have I taken a few quiet moments to allow God to speak to me?

Have I told God today that I love him?

Is there anyone in my life I need to ask forgiveness of?

Is there anyone in my life I need to forgive?

Are there relationships in my life that need mending?

have I told my loved ones recently that I love them?

Have I shown my loved ones recently that I love them? Sometimes actions speak louder than words.

Are there things I need to talk to God about?

Do I know someone who is sad or hurting that I can comfort?

Is God telling me to do something and I haven't done it yet?

Have  I prayed for my Church  and pastor this week?

Have I prayed for Christians who are suffering for their faith?

Am I being a wise steward of the money God gives me?

Am I becoming more like Jesus?

Am I a doer of the word or just a hearer only?

do I set my mind on things above, not things of this world? [col 3:2]

TTWO RESPONSES: Doubt versus Faith. A devotional. I had planned to write a couple of different Christmas things, but this is such a busy time of year I am only going to share a few thoughts with you on one aspect of the Christmas story. This is just somethin I put together quickly. Luke's Gospel presents us with two angelic visitations. The Angel Gabriel visits Zechariah in the temple: And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." [Luke 1:11-20] The second angelic visitation took place six months later, when Gabriel appeared to a young girl called Mary: And he [Gabriel] came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. [Luke 1:28-38 Notice that both Zechariah and Mary asked a question; but one was punished and one was not. Why? God doesn't punish people for asking a question, though he may choose not to answer, so that can't be the issue. I've heard it taught that the reason Zechariah was punished was because he had been praying for a son for many years and God was finally answering his prayer. Therefore Zechariah should have rejoiced and gladly accepted the message, whereas Mary had not been praying that she would be the mother of the Messiah so her question was understandable. I wonder though, if the difference didn't have something to do with faith. I'm not a pastor or theologian and I could be misreading this, so I encourage you to study this for yourself and allow the Lord to teach you. I see Zechariah as a person who had been praying for so long and had finally given up hope He still served the Lord and did what was good, he is described as a righteous man, but maybe he didn't want to get his hopes up again just to have them dashed. Maybe he didn't want to believe again because it would be too painful if it didn't happen. Even the visit of one of God's angels didn't penetrate his heart and cause him to hope again.. In that culture children were seen as blessings from God, so a childless couple were thought to have sinned in some way. You can imagine how fervently Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for a child in their younger days but as time went on and Elizabeth went through the change of life it seemed impossible for them to have a child and so perhaps they gave up hope. We tend to do that sometimes in our prayers, don't we? We pray fervently for something, such as the salvation of our parents or friends, but as time goes by and we don't see any changes in their lives we give up and stop praying. This is something we should not do, God rewards faithful and persistent prayer, even over many years. Abraham is a perfect example of this, he and Sarah prayed for a son and finally God gave them one when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90. So, I think it could have been Zechariah's doubt and lack of trust that got him into difficulty. Gabriel tells him: "And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." As for Mary, I suspect her question came from curiosity. She was betrothed, which in that culture was as legally binding as marriage except that the girl still lived with her parents and there was no physical intimacy. That being the case she was naturally curious as to how she , a virgin, could become pregnant. We can see her faith and trust in God clearly in her response: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." [v38] We can't imagine how difficult and scary it would be for Mary to be discovered to be pregnant when she wasn't married. These days it is an accepted thing in our culture though that doesn't make it right, but in Mary's time and society she would have been shunned and possibly, if Joseph chose to denounce her, she may have been put to death by stoning. Apart from all of that, can you imagine the awesome challenge and privilege of being mother to God's only son? She might have been expected to do as Moses did and ask God to give the job to someone else but instead she says "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.". In Hebrews 11 we read these words: And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. So to sum up, we see two things: 1. Persistent, faithful prayer is pleasing to God. We should not give up praying even if we have been praying and waiting for many years. 2. We cannot please God and do what he wants us to do if we don't have faith and trust in him. We must believe that what he says he will also do, and put our confidence and trust in him, stepping out in faith even if what he is asking us to do seems impossible. I wish you all a very merry and blessed Christmas. wo Responses: a Devotional

Reflecting on the Rapture

Let's look at the subject of the rapture today. Unfortunately there are those out there who predict the day that Christ will return. Even more unfortunately there are those out there who believe these people. why? Because they don't check what someone says to see if it lines up with scripture. Please, my dear brothers and sisters, do not be deceived by these people. They may just be misguided but they are also misguiding others and causing heartache and anxiety.  I don't mean to sound harsh but I'm so saddened by those who believe  these false prophets and find themselves confused and doubting when what is prophesied doesn't come to pass.

Don't misunderstand me, I firmly believe  in the rapture, Jesus is coming one day and those who are his people will meet him in the air. I don't believe in those who say they know when this event is going to take place because of what the bible says. I'm going to talk briefly about what the Bible teaches in the  hope that someone who reads this won't be mislead into believing what someone tells them if it doesn't line up with scripture.  I'm not a pastor or theologian and my own understanding of these issues is limited, so I encourage you to check what I say and the scriptures I will give and if what I say doesn't line up with scripture please disregard me and be guided by the  Word.

There are bible scholars who disagree about the order of end-time things. Some say that the rapture will come first, followed by the tribulation and then the glorious appearing of our lord Jesus. Others believe that the rapture will take place half way through the tribulation and others don't believe in the rapture at all. I'm not a theologian by any means but i personally take the first view, that the rapture will occur before the tribulation.

Now to explain a few terms so you will be able to follow the rest of this study, just in case you are already confused. The rapture is when those of us who believe in Jesus will be caught up in the clouds to meet him in the air. Every Christian who ever lived will rise from their graves and we will be given new, glorified bodies that are far superior to the bodies we have now, just as a mansion is far superior to a tent.
The tribulation is a 7 year period of time where the Lord will begin to judge the earth for their rejection of his son Jesus. There will be those who come to salvation at this time and many of those will be martyrs. At this time we will see the rise to power of a man who will be at the head of a one-world government. He is known by many names but most commonly known as the Antichrist. in the second half of the Tribulation, known as the Great Tribulation, he will be worshipped as God, and those who don't worship him or who don't have his mark on their head or hand will not be able to buy food.

The tribulation is also known as 'the time of Jacob's trouble' and there will be a second and worse Jewish holocaust where two Jews out of three will be killed. Please don't think I am antisemitic by saying that, I'm really not.

The Tribulation will end with the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus, who will come in the clouds and everyone will see him. he will defeat the antichrist and set up his kingdom on earth for 1000 years. This is called the millennium.

This study is just a brief overview of some key passages dealing with the rapture. this isn't a full study on end time things but if people are interested we can do a deeper study of these things in the future.  one of the key passages dealing with end time things is Matthew chapter 24, where Jesus addresses some of those issues. I actually started preparing a study on that chapter before I realised that wasn't the direction I should take this study. We are going to look at a few verses though as I think they are relevant:

And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
[verses 1-8, 23-24]

Jesus warns us that false christs and false Prophets will arise and they will lead people astray.  The trouble with false prophets is: unless we know the scriptures we may not even know we are being deceived. that's why it is all the more vital for us to know what the bible says and if we don't know if something is true or not, to check it up and not just believe what someone tells us. most authentic bible teachers and pastors will encourage us to do that very thing, check if what they teach is in agreement with what the bible says.  It is sad but true that devout believers have been mislead into joining cults because they accepted and believed what  they were taught and were discouraged  from checking to discover if what they were told was scriptural. .

The passages where the rapture is discussed  most clearly are in the books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. we are going to read these passages and I will make a couple of comments.

The Coming of the Lord

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe
 that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
[1 Thess 4:13-18]

The first thing that needs to be clarified here is what Paul means by sleeping, and Jesus clarifies that nicely in John 11:

After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died,"

The early Christians distinguished between the death of a believer and the death of a non-believer.  For a believer, absent from the body is present with the Lord and the Church knew that they would see that loved one again in heaven. For an unsaved person they said he died because Death is a place of no hope, where god is not

The Church at Thessalonica had received a letter purporting to be from Paul, claiming that the resurrection had already happened. Also some of them were worried because they knew in the future there will be a time known as the great tribulation but at that time they were experiencing a lot of persecution. What if this was the end time already? Did that mean they missed the rapture?and what about their departed loved ones? So they were confused and uncertain, which is why Paul wrote these letters to them and explained these matters a bit more clearly.     Confusion is one of the enemy's tricks.

The time of The rapture will happen at a time we are not expecting it. Jesus set it up that way so that we would have to be ready. If we knew he wasn't' coming for 100 more years we would relax and not try too  hard to reach the lost and we wouldn't care about our spiritual growth, but if we realise he could come at any moment we are going to want to be ready. There won't be any advance warning, we can't predict from the scriptures when the Lord will return. That's why we shouldn't listen to anyone who says the world is going to end in 2012 or anything like that. the bible gives us prophecies of things that will happen in the last days but we can't discover the exact dates of things.   


Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
[1 Thess 5:1-4
If we knew that our house was going to be robbed on a certain night we would be there waiting for the robber and we wouldn't let him take anything and would take him to the police. In the same way, if we knew Jesus was coming today we would wait for it and we would be very careful about how we lived and what we did on the last day. We don't know when he will come but we need to be ready. i have heard of some Christians who think  "O well, the rapture is coming soon, so I don't need to worry about saving money for the future and i can just live for today because Jesus is coming back soon."  That, of course, is spurious.  The knowledge that the lord could come at any moment should encourage us to get our lives right and deal with any sin we have in our hearts so that if he does come today we will be ready.


God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels   in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,  when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[2 Thess 1:6b-12]
This refers to what is known as the judgement day, it will happen at the very end of time, when everyone who has rejected the great thing  that Jesus did for us by dying on the cross  will  be judged. The time of judgement for the Church takes place after the rapture, when all of our works are tested by fire.[See 1 Corinthians 3]

We need to remember that we will have to give account for the way we lived our lives here on earth. It should make us reflect on the way we live and the decisions we make.

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask  you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.  Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
[2 Thess 2:1-12]
This is talking about the glorious appearing, the return of Jesus to the earth after the tribulation. he will defeat the antichrist, [the lawless one mentioned in this passage],  and all those who follow him and then Jesus will reign over the whole earth from Jerusalem for 1000 years. After that time the devil, who had been chained and left in the bottomless pit for 1000 years, will be released, and the final battle between good and evil will take place.  None of this will happen until the tribulation happens and the tribulation i believe won't happen till after the rapture, it's the explanation that makes  most sense to me although bible scholars disagree about the order of things.

I hope this has been helpful to someone. Let us live each day in readiness for the return of our Lord and saviour!

rishie's Ramblings 29 September-18 October

Thursday, September 29, 2011 05:41:33 PM
Today was a rainy and horrible sort of day, a day borrowed from winter. I managed to get all I needed to get done and I was able to order a new bed, since mine is falling apart.  I will be sleeping  with my head at the foot of the be because this end is a bit more stable.

this afternoon I was talking to my little cousin Georgia on Facebook. I am going to stay with my cousin Nicole, who is Georgia's Mumn, next weekend. I always enjoy visiting them.

Well that's about all I have for today and I'm getting tired anyway. Tonight I will be trying a sleeping aid i got fro the health food shop, I can't remember what's in the tablets but I hope they will help me.
god bless you all.


Wednesday, October 05, 2011 04:40:09 AM


I was just reading from a devotional book called "our daily bread" that someone sent us in braille. I felt inspired when I read about a Mum who took 5 minutes each morning before her kids went off to school, to pray for each of them by name. Other kids in the  neighbourhood  joined the prayer circle when they happened to be around. What an inspiration! Sometimes it's the little things that make so much difference!
I want to share 2 quotes that were quoted in that article:
The issue isn't how much time
We spend with God in prayer,
But seeking him throughout each day
And knowing that he's there [Sper]

Prayer is an acknowledgement of our need for god [Unknown]

I was challenged by that first quote. I have 2 prayer and bible study sessions a day and I try to start each hour with meditating on a bible verse for a minute or two, [I'm not boasting I'm just explaining something, we each have our own ways of approaching time with God,] but I was challenged about seeking him through the day and knowing that he's there, not just in my prayer times and things. We don't' just give God part of our day, we need to give him all of it. We can acknowledge god while talking with friends or doing shopping or making something to eat or whatever we're doing, and if we find that we can't acknowledge god in something that we're doing then maybe we need to think about whether we should be doing that thing.

O Abba father, thank you that you are always with me at any time of the day or night, whenever I call to you, you're always there and each one of us when we pray gets your full attention. How awesome  you are, dearest Lord. Your love for us is far greater than we could ever comprehend with our little mortal minds. I praise you Lord for who you are. You are my holy, loving, heavenly father and you gave your son Jesus to die for us because that was the only way to save us. Thank you Lord, I wish there were better words to express my gratitude but sometimes the simple words are best and I know you understand how I feel. Thank you Abba Father. Amen.

[note: Abba is a Hebrew word meaning daddy, it's a word a small child would use to speak to their  dad. The bible says:
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"
{romans 8:15}]


04:59:47 AM
I just wanted to say a great big thank you to all those who read these scribblings of mine. i may not always say it but I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read these posts. God has been speaking to me about letting people know how much  I appreciate them and about showing my gratitude more openly.  I am often blessed by things that people do, even little things, but I don't tell them often enough how I feel. May God bless you all!


Thursday, October 13, 2011 04:05:15 AM
Hi readers:

I was looking through a list of journalling prompts for things to write about since I'm in a mood for writing this morning and i might as well  make use of it, lol.  The prompt I found is:

what bible verse spoke to me today?

Here's the bible verse:
 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
[Galatians 2:20]

Thoughts:
As Christians we are  new  creations. We can't live for god and live in our own way at the same time, we have to choose which way we will go. We often face the choice, "Will I do what I want to do or will I do this god's way?"

I am encouraged in times like that by remembering that Jesus experienced the same temptations and challenges we face. I'm sure there were times when he wished he didn't have to go through with the Father's plan that sent Jesus to the cross to die for us. The difference is, Jesus always chose to go God's way. His prayer was "not my will but your will be done". When we are faced with the choice of going our way or god's way we can talk to Jesus  about it and ask his help to make the right decision and hold to it no matter what.

Thanks for reading and may god bless you! 

4:24:58
Hi again readers:

I told myself I wouldn't write about any other journalling prompts unless one really stuck out at me and grabbed my attention and guess what ?

I found a quote in my list that i didn't realise I had copied. I really like it. Here it is:

• “What in your life is calling you? When all the noise is silenced, the meetings adjourned, the lists laid aside, and the wild iris blooms by itself in
the dark forest, what still pulls on your soul? In the silence between your heartbeats hides a summons, do you hear it? Name it, if you must, or leave
it forever nameless, but why pretend it is not there?” - The Terma Collective


the thing that calls to me is music,  specifically singing. I love it. I've always been passionate about singing. I dreamed of being an opera singer but that never came to fruition. I feel drawn to my keyboard to sing a few times a day. Mostly what I sing is Christian praise and worship music but I sometimes sing other things, like the classical songs I learned when I was blessed enough to have a teacher.

I'm glad that sis and I have got back into singing at church, I really missed that. We also go to Garden court and sing and play piano there, although the piano there is woefully out of tune. We sometimes sing at the International Christian community website, they have a music event on Wednesday morning my time. I long to get back into singing at nursing homes, I loved doing that so much but there were reasons we couldn't continue to do it.

Well I think that will probably be my last entry for now, unless i find something else to comment on. I'm listening to a lovely worship song now called we all bow down. I like it.

Ok see you all later and thanks for reading.
4:39:07
you can tell I'm in the mood for writing today can't you?

• If you had to evacuate your home because of a natural disaster, what three things would you take with you?


We were in a situation similar to this once, the drama was that we had a tree in front of the house we lived in  that looked about ready to fall. the foundations of that house weren't very strong and we thought the place would collapse. There was a very strong wind that day so the emergency services people couldn't come and cut the tree down. We packed up in one heck of a hurry and I thought about the things I wouldn't want to leave without. i packed the bouquet of material flowers I carried when I was bridesmaid at my best friends' wedding, the candlesticks a dear friend in America sent me, some of my jewelry, a few clothes and things like that. Later we came back for the computer.

At that time there were bush fires in the surrounding areas but we weren't affected so people were being evacuated to our town. We were given a room in a hotel that was miles from the bathroom, well miles is an exaggeration but it felt that way. There was also a dust storm that night. It was not the most enjoyable night we ever spent.

Well if today there was a natural disaster and I could only take 3 things my handbag would be one of them because there's a fair bit of stuff in there, including my bible courier, which is a little black box with a memory card that has 2 versions of the bible that are read through a speech synthesizer, as well as my cane and miniguide and a few other odds and ends. If I could i would take my computer and also my piano keyboard. I would also want to take the candlesticks and perhaps a few of the little ornaments my Grandmother gave me before she died. yes, I know that's more than three things, but o well  never mind.

Thanks for reading.
Friday, October 14, 2011  03:44:49
Dear readers:

Well i don't know what happened to the earlier entry I put in here it seems to  have vanished. O well i know where else I posted it so i can get it back. I wrote that I was feeling very depressed, weak and vulnerable, and needed God's help.

Just a little while ago I went to my piano keyboard and sang some songs of worship to God. Just before I did that, I opened my bible as I always do an read some verses from the book of psalms which is my favourite book of the bible. here are the verses I came across this morning:

 I remember the days of old;
   I meditate on all that you have done;
   I ponder the work of your hands.
 I stretch out my hands to you;
   my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
                         Selah

 Answer me quickly, O LORD!
   My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
   lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
   for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
   for to you I lift up my soul.
 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
   I have fled to you for refuge!
 Teach me to do your will,
   for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
   on level ground!
 For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
   In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
[Psalm 143:5-11]

wow! those verses perfectly fitted my situation. I read them aloud as a prayer to God. It's amazing how God knows what we need, and blesses us with  evidences that he knows what we are experiencing and is with us in our trouble. god is sooooo good!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 8:09:11 PM

I've been unwell today with gastric problems but I'm feeling a bit better now. I'm just sitting here listening to music and chatting online. I'm about to post this  to my blog.

I just heard that Gilad shalit has been  returned to Israel. I'm so glad about that, he was a prisoner with Hamas for 5  years it must be an amazing relief for him to be back in his homeland. God is good.

Well that's all I have to say for now so I'm going to post this. Should any of you wish to talk to me on twitter my id is
heartsong4jc
www.twitter.com/heartsong4jc
god bless you all!

prayer2 - the Lord's Prayer

 Pray then like this:

    "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
 Give us this day our daily bread,  and forgive us our debts,
   as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from evil.

[Matt 6:9-13]

 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
 And he said to them, "When you pray, say:

    "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.  Give us each day our daily bread,  and forgive us our sins,
   for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation."

I want to talk to you today about using the beautiful prayer known as the Lord's prayer as a prayer guide. It is nice and meaningful to pray that prayer through, we often do it in Church services and it's often the first prayer taught to new believers. however  Jesus gave us not only a prayer to pray but a guide for our prayers. We are going to go through this prayer bit by bit and i will share what I have learned about using this prayer as a guide.

Firstly though, notice what the bible says in Luke 11:1
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

I think we can all benefit from learning more about prayer, it's such a vital part of our Christian life and yet it is one that so many believers including me struggle with at times.  We looked at prayer in a previous message but there is so  much more to say about it.

now let's look at the Lord's prayer phrase by phrase:
 1.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
[Matt 6:9b]
God is our heavenly father. The bible says:
 God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan
[Ephesians 1:5 CEB]
and this:
 Like a parent feels compassion for their children-     that’s how the LORD feels compassion for those who honor him.
[Psalm 103:13 CEB]

notice the verse in Ephesians says:
God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ....
we are not natural born children of God, we are not god as Jesus is, but we are adopted into the family of god. An adopted child doesn't have the same birth parents   as a child of the family would have, but an adopted child is  legally part of the family. 

When we became Christians we became part of the family of god. That's why the Lord's prayer starts with "Our father" not "My father". It reminds us that we are united with every Christian everywhere in the world and all those who have gone to Heaven before us, in one family with God as the head and Jesus as our holy big brother. 

Hallowed is an old fashioned word meaning "holy".  Other translations put it in different ways such as:
      May your holy name be honored;
[GNT]
   Reveal who you are.
[MSG]
      may your name be kept holy.
[NLT]
uphold the holiness of your name.
[CEB]
may your name be honoured;
[Phillips]

God's name is holy, and that will always be true. The fact is, though, that people judge god by what they see in us. That's a very sobering thought. If they see us lying or using profanity  they will think less of god and so in that way his name is not hallowed. his name refers to his character. We want to live in such a way that people  won't have a lower opinion of god because of us.

Suggested prayer points:
* thank the Lord that Jesus died for you
* thank God that you are now a part of god's family, if you are a Christian.
* Pray that the way you live will bring glory to God and not bring dishonour to his holy name.

2.  Your kingdom come, [Matt 6:10a]

Jesus is the King and one day he will return to set up his kingdom here on earth but for now he is in heaven, ruling over the heavens and ruling over our lives. One of the reasons he came to earth was to speak about the kingdom of heaven:
 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 4:17

  We are subjects of the kingdom of heaven if we have surrendered our lives to Christ and accepted him as our Lord and Saviour.   He rules over us from heaven through his holy Spirit who lives in each of us.

When we pray "your kingdom come"  we are praying for the day when King Jesus will return in all his glory and will set up his kingdom on earth for 1000 years. after that time, when Jesus has defeated Satan once and for all, ,there will be a new heaven and a new earth  where god and Jesus will reign from the New Jerusalem.

We are also praying for God's help to live here and now as subjects of the kingdom should live, that we might follow the King's rules for our life and do the work god has given us to do. for example, Jesus tells us this:
 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
 this is the most important work that we as Christians can do: sharing god's truths with the people he brings into our lives.

Suggested prayer points:

* Pray for your unsaved family and friends to come to know Jesus.
* ask god if there is some way you can help your unsaved friends and family to come to know Jesus.
* Pray for missionaries and evangelists, who are busy about the work Jesus gave us to do.
3.  your will be done,    on earth as it is in heaven. [Matthew 6:10b]

god has a  perfect plan for the universe and for our lives, a plan he knew of before the world was formed. He wants  us to walk in that will. god is our loving heavenly father so his will is always best for us even though it may not always seem to be so.

 God reveals this will to us in various ways such as:
* when we study the bible
* through the advice of Christian friends we trust, especially those who are mature and can advise us well.
* when we examine our circumstances and see if god is opening a door for us to go through or if the door we think we want to go through is shut.
* through the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, who speaks to our hearts and tells us what god wants us to do.  
Can you think of other ways god speaks to us?
When God tells us what he wants us to do he also gives us the grace and strength to do it. Sometimes, though, he will  tell us to do something that
*. we really don't want to do. the choice then is between doing our will and doing god's will. Sometimes it can be really hard to say no to what we want, and we can battle with ourselves about whether we should do what we want or what we know is right.
We also pray for god's will to be  done not only in our lives  but on earth. We can pray for situations like war, famine, natural disasters and corrupt political leaders, because in every situation god has a perfect will and we know that his way is far better than ours. The trouble is that most of the people in the world are not children of god, most of them haven't asked Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour and even those of us who are Christians often choose to do what we know is wrong. There is also the enemy, satan, who temporarily rules over this world. he wants to do as much damage as possible, keep as many people as possible from getting saved and tries to work against God's perfect plan for this world. 

We can still pray "your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven"  because God can take the worst possible situations and bring some good out of them.  

In Heaven god's will is always perfectly carried out, and the time will come when this will be true of the earth as well.

 Suggested prayer points:
All we have to do is listen to the news to find plenty of bad situations we can pray about.
* pray that God will bring something good out of the bad situations that are happening.
* pray that you will know what God's will is for your life.
* Pray for the strength to choose god's will over your own in situations where you find it hard to obey.


4.  Give us this day our daily bread, Matthew 6:11A]

In this petition we are asking god for  the things that we need. He already knows what our needs are but he wants us to talk to him about them. Notice that it doesn't say "give us our daily cake"  but "our daily bread."  God will give us the things he knows we need to have, not necessarily the things we want to have. God will say no if what we are asking for is not good for us. He may sometimes choose to give us what we want to have but not always.  He may also give us the answer "wait", because he knows that what we ask for is not best for us at this time and also he wants to teach us to pray without giving up, even if we have to wait years for what we have prayed about. Abraham prayed for a child for years and years and when he was 100 God gave Isaac to Abraham and his wife, when they were far past the age of childbearing.

god wants us to talk to him about every situation of our lives,  bring to  him every need no matter how trivial, and then trust him with the outcome.  He is our heavenly father and he desires to have a relationship with us, isn't that a great thought?

we can also use this time to pray about the needs that our loved ones have, [our friends and family  members], for our Church groups and for any needs we  are aware of in the community or even our country.
Suggested Prayer Points:
* talk to God about the things  you need.
* talk to god about the things your loved ones need
* Talk to god about any needs you know about in your town or even your country.
* If God says no, pray for the strength and wisdom to accept it.
* If god says "Wait" then pray for the patience you will need  as you wait.
* if God has answered your prayers then thank him.

5. and forgive us our debts,    as we also have forgiven our debtors. [v12a]

and forgive us our sins,   for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. [Luke 11:4]

we are asking God to forgive our sins.  We all sin every day, sometimes because we choose to and sometimes just because it is part of our nature. Whatever the cause of our sin, we need to confess it to god, taking full responsibility for our actions  and asking his forgiveness, ... but there is a proviso: we have to be willing to forgive those who have sinned against us. We have to forgive those who have  hurt us, those who lied to us, those who spoke unkind things about us behind our backs, and anything else that anyone might have done to us. The bible says:
     “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you don't forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your
sins.
[Matthew 6:14-15]

Sometimes it can be hard to forgive. maybe there is someone who hurt you badly in the past and you can't even imagine forgiving that person. That's when you need to ask god to help you forgive them. maybe you also need to see your pastor or find a Christian counsellor in your area. I have a person in my life I'm finding it hard to forgive but I'm trusting the Lord and I'm talking to him about the issues and I'm  sure he will help me to really forgive them and put it behind me.

Remember that those whom we have hurt and treated harshly will have to forgive us too. It can be hard to forgive but God blesses us when we sincerely make an effort to do it and he will help us.

suggested prayer points:
pray for the willingness to forgive those who have hurt us.
Pray for the ability to forgive fully.
Thank god that he has forgiven all your sins.

6. And lead us not into temptation, v12a]
Every human being experiences temptation, even Jesus went through seasons of temptation but he never sinned.

god isn't the one who leads us into temptation. We are tempted either by our own desires, and/or by the enemy. God can and will help us when we are tempted, however. The bible says:
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation
he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
 1 Corinthians 10:13
when we experience temptation we can ask God for help and he will always show us a way to go that we will not fall  into the temptation. Sometimes though, we don't want to avoid the temptation and there is a war in our hearts between what we know we should do and what we may want to do even if we know it's not good for us. we need to choose to do god's will even though it's hard, because what God tells us to do is really for our best even if we can't see it at the time. We need to cry out to God for help and for strength to do what we know he wants us to do.

Suggested prayer points:
pray for guidance about avoiding situations where we know we will be tempted.
pray for the strength we need to say no to sin even though our flesh is fighting against us.

7.    but deliver us from evil. [v13b]

another translation says it like this:

but deliver us from the evil one.     [v13b]

That's what this is all about. We know the evil one has plans and schemes against us. We want to avoid those schemes as much as possible. To do this we need god's help. As a blind person, there are times when I need to rely on someone to help me find my way, if I am in a place  I don't know or if  I'm walking in a place that is familiar to me but there are  obstacles in the way. then I need to trust the person who is helping me, and go where they lead.

If we want to avoid the pitfalls and obstacles the enemy puts in our path we need to trust god and follow where he leads us, even if we don't understand  or if we don't know the path he is leading us on . 

Suggested prayer points:
pray that God will help us to be aware of the enemy's schemes against us.
Pray that God will keep  us out of the traps the enemy sets for us.

Pray for your loved ones that the enemy's schemes in their lives will not stand.

To finish off this prayer we have to go to the KJV because this part is not always included in all the versions of the word:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 
 [Matt 6:13c KJV]
the word "thine"  is an old-fashioned way of saying "Yours".
In this final part of the Lord's prayer, known as the doxology,  we are acknowledging god as king, as the all-powerful one and as the only one worthy to receive glory.

this doxology can be compared to the praises Solomon gave to God when the first temple was consecrated:
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.
Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honour come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power
and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

Many believe that this part of the prayer was included at a later time and wasn't part of what Jesus taught his followers. It's a great way to finish praying though, to offer praise to god for who he is and to remember he is the all-powerful, glorious king of kings.
The word Amen comes from a Hebrew root word meaning truly or surely. The word for faith, emunah, comes from this same word. When we say amen we are expressing our agreement with what has been prayed.

I hope you have found our study of the Lord's prayer helpful. May the Holy spirit lead and direct you as you pray this prayer and use it as a prayer guide.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you have given us a prayer to pray and also to use as a guide for our praying. help us to learn to pray as you have taught. Help us to be honest and sincere, talking to you freely about every aspect of our lives. Thank you lord god that you always hear us when we pray. Amen.