Matthew 28.19

Hi all,

Hope you're well. Sorry it's been about two weeks since my last post, I have been here I promise! Just been a little busy.

In just under a month I'm moving to Stockholm (Sweden). I'm going because I have this overwhelming feeling that God wants me there to tell the inhabitants of Stockholm a little about Him.

As it stands I don't have a job, and I don't have a lot of money either but I really feel that now is time to take the leap of faith.

I've really struggled over the past few months, being blessed with my Internship in London and making some great friends, as well as struggling with the knowledge that moving would mean walking away from what could potentially be a real job into the unknown and uncertain future.

But God.

God has always been so so good to me, especially over the last few months. I've felt lost, I've felt lonely, I've felt up and down, clarity and confusion, but God has been my rock and my answer in everything.

So I'm off to Stockholm, I will appreciate all your prayers (I will still be blogging!), and am looking forward to the next part of this adventure in my walk with God.

He who has prepared a way for me in the wilderness is also the lifter of my head, He will not let me be ashamed.

God bless, have a lovely weekend, and enjoy the last of the Olympics!

x

Psalm 46.10

This life is so crammed full of things to do, things to see, things to hear, chores, homework, friends to see, family to help, etc...that sometimes we get so busy we don't have time to know God.

Sometimes the best way to hear from God is to pause in the middle of our oh-so-busy lives and take the time to listen to Him.

Stop rushing for a second, pause and re-evaluate.

It's a simple thing that can be as easy as just taking a couple of minutes in your day. You can be anywhere; on the toilet, on the train, in the shower. I find it easiest to just 'be' for a couple of minutes, to stop thinking about everything around me or getting distracted by things/people/noise, and just take a second to thank God for where I am in the exact moment, to bless my day, to take time to zone out from the world and zone in to Him.

Find your way of doing it. I'm big into music, so I find the quickest and easiest way for me to get God centred is to put on a worship album and meditate (as in deeply think about - not necessarily chanting, but whatever you feel comfortable doing) on the words of the song.

It's just remembering God in my day-to-day, not allowing myself to get caught up in the trifling little issues I face each day, but to remember God, who He is and what He's done, and the real calling on my life.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

- Psalm 46.10

Romans 4.18

"When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said He would do."

- Romans 4.18 (The Message)

I love this verse SO much. Our circumstances always seem so hopeless. Let me share something with you for a second.

I believe with ALL my heart, that God wants me to go to Sweden and live there and help start a church, so that those that don't know Him yet can do. We hope to start churching from this summer, and considering the fact that Swedish summertime pretty much begins in early June, that's fairly soon.

As yet, I have no job over there, I haven't got a place of my own to live in, and I don't know the language as fluently as I wish I did (although I am making massive headway - praise God for that!).

The situation looks pretty grim. How can I still plan to move this summer with no job and nowhere to live, especially when I don't speak the language?

YET, what does the verse say? "When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway." Why was Abraham's faith so big? How could he have confidence in a situation that in all human terms, was practically hopeless?

In order to have faith and hope in a hopeless situation, Abraham had to look beyond himself, and beyond his capabilities and the capabilities of his wife. Abraham looked beyond the situation, toward God.

God had made a promise to him, therefore God would make it happen.

In the same way, I know God has told me to be a part of this church in Sweden this summer. God will make it happen, despite the current circumstances. So I am going to look beyond what I see, and look to God, and all He has said and done so far in my life and in the lives of those around me, and trust Him, that even though as of right now I have no clue where I'll be working or who I'll be living with, He's got it covered. He will make it happen.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

- Hebrews 11.1 (NKJV)

A Promise

I am feeling a little stressed out at the minute with my Final Year Project for University. Coming home late tonight after work on it, frustrated, confused and worried, my bible fell open to a well-thumbed passage: Psalm 91.

When I lived at home I would read this everyday with my dad and my sister, and now I only read it every so often, but when I read it just now, I was particularly encouraged by the last few verses and thought I would share them with you:

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honour him.

With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation."

- Psalm 91.14-16

"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book."

-Psalm 56.8

Perspective Shift

This past week I've been in a depression of sorts.

I wouldn't say that I've been depressed, but I have been allowing my thoughts to be completely and utterly consumed with all the things I think are currently wrong with my life, and as a result have been feeling really discouraged.

At first I tried to pretend that I wasn't sad about my various 'issues', but when that flopped, I gave up and just indulged in the feelings. Neither approach was in anyway profitable, and so I knew that one way or another when I went to church this morning God was going to give me a kick up the backside of sorts.

And of course He did.

We sang two songs that I was really touched by. The first; which was written by a worship leader at church, talks about waiting on the Lord in stillness, knowing He is God, and always faithful, and the second; an old hymn, contains the words,

"All I have needed, thy hand hath provided,

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me."

The first song spoke to me specifically about patience. Sometimes God witholds certain things from us till a certain time because a)We aren't ready for them yet or b)They aren't good for us right now. When asking God for these things we have to remember that He is sovereign, and He knows what the best things for us are for right now.

The second song spoke to me along the same line, reminding me that God has given me all that I need for right now. He has given us our daily bread. If He thought we needed anymore right now He'd have given it to us now.

I'm reminded of the story of the Israelites in the wilderness. God gave them enough food for each day, and then supplied them with what they needed for the next day when they needed it; the next day.

Now the fact that I think I need something, and God is telling me to be patient doesn't mean that I have to pretend everything is okay, and it doesn't mean I have to moan about it. What it means is that I need to change my perspective and put it in line with God's perspective.

Earlier on in the year I listened to a talk called 'Defeating Discouragement' from the Hillsong UK website (second page, and scroll down). The passage focused on was in Exodus 17.8-15, and was the story of the Israelites defeat of the Amalekites. There were five points which I think apply here exactly;

1. Get up on the hilltop and see OVER your situation - Moses was on top of the hill getting God's perspective on things.
2. Be seated on a rock - Moses sat on a rock on the hill, and we should sit on the rock too [Psalm 78.35]. Rest in the knowledge that God is God; always good, all powerful, just, gracious, loving and your Heavenly father.
3. Be surrendered to God - Moses had his hands raised in a position of surrender to God, and we too should be in a position of surrender to Him. Hand everything over to God. There usually isn't much we can do about our situations anyway, and God is able to do far more than we can even think He can [Ephesians 3.20], so we might as well hand all our issues, grievances and sadness over to Him. He's got it covered.
4. Make sure you are supported by the church - Moses wasn't up on the hill alone, he had Aaron and Hur with him, supporting his arms and keeping them lifted up. Surround yourself with people who will encourage you and help you keep your chin up when the going gets tough.
5. Be steady until the end - Moses stayed faithful to his task till the very end. Run the good race and stay true to God. In Him we have overcome [John 16.33]

Why Church?

Whenever people find out I'm a Christian, one of the first questions that they ask is whether or not I go to church every Sunday. The answer is yes. And then pretty much. And then a slightly awkward silence where I go on to tell them I'm not religious about it; at which point they look at me funny and attempt to understand.

I go to church. Not to Church; as in church isn't a place, it's something that happens in a place.

Still confused? I'll try to be clearer.

The word Church in the bible is first mentioned in the New Testament (Matthew 16.15-18). Before then there was no mention of it. What you do see a lot of mention of is the Synagogue.

A Synagogue was (and still is) a building of worship for the Jews.

The church Jesus was describing was a group of people, not a place.

When I go to church, it's for the people. I can worship God anywhere. When Jesus died he removed the need for anyone else to intercede in order for me to communicate with Him. If I want to pray, I can do it on my own. What God wanted was a group of people; His people (Jeremiah 32.38, Hebrews 8.10). He wanted a group of people all in a relationship with Him.

'Churching' is just corporate Christianity; like a group of people who like to do the same thing hanging out together and doing that thing they like to do so much as a group.

The best thing about church is the fact that it is a community. It's a group of friends who are all going through the same stuff you have to go through day-to-day, who can encourage you when you need it most and help you celebrate all your victories.

Church is an opportunity to help others and for you to find help in others (Galatians 6.2, Ephesians 4.2, Ephesians 4.32). The New Testament believers were supposed to support each other, even in the day-to-day needs like food and clothing (1 Peter 4.9), so that no-one went without what they needed.

That said, God doesn't say anywhere that we HAVE to church. It's more for our own benefit that we spend time together (Acts 2.42) as friends do, and help to keep each other on the right track. So yes, I do go to church most Sundays, but it's not because I have to, it's because I want to. And I do miss church occasionally. I'm not religious about it, but when I don't go I do miss the company of my Christian friends, and when I do go I do reap the benefits of spending time with other like-minded people.

♥

Being A Christian - What It Means To Me

It's funny that after being a Christian for so long I still stumble over my words when anyone asks me why I am one.

I'll admit, sometimes I shy away from the label; usually when someone makes a reference to someone who is judgemental or hypocritical or looks down on them in anyway. That's not who I am, or who I want to be, or why I am a Christian.

My faith in Jesus is not an excuse I have for the questions as yet unanswered by science. My faith in Jesus is not so that I get a free-ticket into heaven.

I'm a Christian because;

1. I have taken a look at the world and all that goes on and know that there must be another way of living.
2. I admit to myself that I have little to no control over anything that happens in my life.
3. I also admit that there is a moral code somewhere within me that is not my own chosen belief system but rather one that I know is THE measure for Good.
4. I refuse to believe that I am just a number, one of many organisms, and with no unique purpose.
5. I know that no matter how hard I try, I never seem to be Good enough on my own, and so I need help to do so.
6. I refuse to believe that beauty is created by accident, and instead believe that beauty in and around us is the evidence of an intelligent mind.
7. I believe that true love exists, but it originates from a source, God.

My Christianity is first and foremost about relationship. My life and upbringing have not been perfect; so as such my faith is not a blind belief based on circumstances, rather it is one that exists despite them.

In despair and hopelessness, when I felt alone with my sadness, unwilling to burden anyone with it; I cried out to God and He heard me.

That's as simple as it is.

He told me that He loved me now, and had loved me forever, even when I wasn't living His way; not because of anything I had or had not done, but because it is His nature. (Romans 5.8)

He told He would never leave me or forsake me. (Joshua 1.5)

He told me that nothing could ever get in the way of the love He has for me. (Romans 8.39)

He told me that because He loves me so much, He sent His only begotten (not created) Son to die for me, so that I could spend eternity with Him. (John 3.16)

He provided me with a moral code and guidance system that is above all Good and Right (when done His way and with His [grace] help). (Hebrews 13.21, Philippians 1.6)

He told me that He has a unique plan and purpose for my life, and as such I do not need to worry about the day-to-day, because He has it all under control. (Jeremiah 29.11)

He told me that He created me beautifully in His likeness, and that He also created the world that we live in, and when He created it, it was perfect. (Genesis 1.27, Genesis 1.31)

He told me that He is love, and that true love is not self-seeking, or proud, but rather humbles itself in servitude, looks out for the best of others, is always forgiving, always patient, always hoping, always kind. (1 John 4.16, 1 Corinthians 13.4-7)

That's why I'm a Christian.