Followers

Thursday 22 November 2012

When the Light shines...

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot put it out...
(I write this for those who have never confessed their sins)

Let me first say this.. If you don't believe in God you are going to die. If you do believe in God you are going to die. If God is real then being a Christian is the only thing that makes sense. If God is not real, how is it bad to live a life full of love? Jesus is a historical fact is he not?? Food for thought..

J.B.Philips had a unique way of making things understandable. In His interpretation of Ephesians 5, I understand just a little bit more about the meaning of the Light shining on things and making it light as well.

When God shines His light in the darkness.. nothing can hide from it. Every lie, every deceit, every thought is revealed for what it is. This light (namely Christ) shines on our hearts and sees the hidden things.. the sin we like to deny exists. However, even though we may be able to get away with some of these things here on earth.. there will come a day, when the veil is removed and all will be visible; after all, this body is going to die.

How do we deal with the things of darkness in our own hearts right now? If we confess it to a man, that  means someone knows. Sin is sin in God's eyes, it is the stuff that keeps us too impure to come near Him. We do not need a priest in a booth or a robe, we only need some quiet.
My stealing as a teenager is equivalent to another person murdering someone. Only we put different levels on sin based on our understandings and values.
Sin will be different for every human being alive.
Psalm 103 vs 11-12 confirm that God takes our sins (after we have confessed them to Him) and removes them as far as the east is from the west..

That is a long way.. considering East & West never meet! They can never be used against you because once they are forgiven by your creator, you can let them go and move on ( the consequences may still exist though).
If you don't own a Bible, Google Psalm 103 in the 'Message' translation, and read just how much He loves you!

How do we confess? It is so simple that it seems almost ridiculous to think that this is all we have to do.
We are told "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness". (1 John 1:5-9)
So from this one simple scripture it is clear that all we have to do is confess our sins, people like to complicate God's word, like the Catholics.. but we see Jesus in constant battle in the new Testament with 'Religious leaders', so do not be fooled into thinking that Salvation is based on what we do ( like the Seventh Day Adventists, or Jehovah's witnesses, there is freedom in Jesus from mans expectation).

There will always be natural consequences, for example - jail for a murderer. However, outside of natural consequences, we have a clean slate before the Judge of the world.

Imagine this... A person hurts you and they are a Christian, they confess to God that they hurt you and ask for forgiveness and help to make it right and never hurt a person like that again. On judgement day you and that person are standing before the creator of the universe. He turns to the one who hurt you and says "Well done, good and faithful child, you may go to my right and enter into my kingdom". Then he turns to you and you say "What about me?"..  He will reply "go away from me, I do not know you. You may go to my left and enter eternity without goodness and love and light and joy"...
Right there is where you will throw your accusations against the Christian, trying to argue that he was just like you.
The only difference in this scenario, is that one humbly asked for forgiveness and the other didn't think he needed it (all that I am typing is backed up in Scripture and I can give you verses if you ask).

Right here, right now - tell him what it is that is keeping you from Him..
Is it pride - 'I don't need a God who you can't see'...
Is it a crime - 'this is what I have done'...
Is it shame that makes you embarrassed?
"Lord please forgive me for.... in the name of Jesus I ask..Amen" Jesus' death covers our punishment, so in His name we are covered to stand before our creator.

It doesn't matter what it is. He is an ever present God, just waiting for us to answer His call. As a loving Father, He just waits for us to come to Him with our joys and our sorrows, our triumphs and our losses. He loves you! If you have asked for His forgiveness, don't stop there! Get your hands on a Bible and start reading the book of John. It will give you an overview of who Christ is and what His message was. Read it in the NIV (New International Version). Then you can read Luke, Mark and Matthew followed by Acts; In this you will have a fuller understanding of what all the fuss is about! Jesus was and is amazing!

If you have confessed your sins, now ask Him to show Himself to you in a way you have never seen before.. be ready to have more sins revealed to you as you go deeper into God.. His light will always shine in the dark places of our heart.. but there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus for the Spirit has set us free...Romans 8:1-2...
I hope you enjoy the song I have chosen to share about His love http://youtu.be/vcLiMEmpZlE

I found this page on Christianity in its simplest form... uncomplicated. http://christiananswers.net/q-comfort/growing.html  Hope it opens your eyes and heart. Bec

Here is the J.B.Philips translation I told you about from the beginning....

Evil is as utterly different from good as light from darkness
5-14 For of this much you can be certain: that neither the immoral nor the dirty-minded nor the covetous man (which latter is, in effect, worshipping a false god) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Don’t let anyone fool you on this point, however plausible his argument. It is these very things which bring down the wrath of God upon the disobedient. Have nothing to do with men like that—once you were “darkness” but now you are “light”. Live then as children of the light. The light produces in men quite the opposite of sins like these—everything that is wholesome and good and true. Let your lives be living proofs of the things which please God. Steer clear of the activities of darkness; let your lives show by contrast how dreary and futile these things are. (You know the sort of things I mean—to detail their secret doings is really too shameful). For light is capable of “showing up” everything for what it really is. It is even possible (after all, it happened to you!) for light to turn the thing it shines upon into light also.

Sunday 18 November 2012

So small, yet so big..

'Who am I that you are mindful of me???'

Walking through the shops today, it saddened me to see no-one smiling, in fact there was hardly any eye contact throughout the entire centre. It made me think about how easy it is to be stuck in my own world.
In my world, I feel lonely but I'm not. I feel unloved but I am not. I feel insignificant but I am not. I don't know who I am. In my world I am nobody really.
But for the saving grace of my Lord Jesus Christ - In my world I would have been lost in this world.

Someone shared the truth with me.. a truth that enabled me to walk through the veil that threatened to separate me away from my creator - almost like the movie the 'Matrix'.
But I was called, out of the darkness, by name because He loved me! How amazing is that!

Who are we that we think we are so important? Our circumstances are massive in our eyes, but hold no value to others.... here are but a few reminders -
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Isaiah 51:12 "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass, that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth...'

Ro 9:20 "But who are you , a human being, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?". Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

Job 7:17 (in his depression) asks God why he won't leave him alone, saying, "What is mankind the you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, that you examine them every morning and test them every moment?

Psalm 8:4 'what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?"
...................................................................................................................................................................
So who are we that the God of the universe is mindful of us...we are the works of His hands! He calls us His children and claims us as His very own..
I am happy to be under His wing.. for in Him I will find myself, the person I was created to be.
Praise be to Him, I will sing of His praises for ever!

Saturday 17 November 2012

A little about me...


I have been blessed beyond what I ever thought was possible, with a husband who treats me like a princess, 6 children who give me reason to get up in the morning and a circle of brothers and sisters who make my life full of loveliness.

My life's journey took me to Cornerstone Christian Community in Canowindra in 91 and Emerald Qld in 92. I have lived with more people than I can count and have moved far too many times to remember.
I was saved at 18 and have not looked back. Being a Christian makes my life complete - walking with Jesus daily may be a challenge but it is my hearts desire, I simply don't know why people find it hard to accept the historical fact that Jesus Christ died on a cross for us because of his great love. It baffles me why people will believe in spiritual things and historical things, but when confronted with the truth and the need to confess their sins to be saved, they criticise and run the other way.

The best thing that ever happened to me was meeting a Christian! I found out there was a different way to live, one full of love and forgiveness if I was willing to humble myself & swallow my pride. Since then, the journey has been amazing.. and I wouldn't want life without Him.


What I love:

  • my life
  • my Lord
  • my husband of 20 years
  • my 6 amazingly gifted children
  • to walk in a garden and enjoy the Lord's beauty
  • chocolate!
  • to fellowship with friends
  • to jump in the car and drive 8 hours just to make a friend feel special
  • when people consider me worthy to visit
  • to read a good book
  • to have girls nights
  • to organise
  • to cook
  • to paint
  • to sing
  • to give gifts/ to receive gifts
What I don't love:
  • selfish inward thinking people who cannot put effort into another
  • to have to think about money
  • gossip
  • attention on me
  • seeing parents neglect their children and take them for granted ( for example: not putting shoes on their little feet and expecting them to walk on paths)
Life is beautiful and we have many things to be thankful for.. Psalm 100 tells us to shout for joy to the Lord.. Worship Him with gladness and come before Him with thankful songs....
So here I am writing a blog to shout for joy for what He has done for me!

My family...
The day of my eldest daughters Formal ( with a not so happy 7yo!)

Thanks for dropping in! There is life in the word of the Lord - chew on it for a while... share it with others & from it you will grow.
I am encouraged simply by you taking the time to read a little about me :)
Rebecca




What is normal?

Whenever we get a visitor at our front door, our children become elated.. Even if it is our friends who live less than a kilometre away. The little girls squeal and jump and come running to me to tell me they are here... Occasionally, we have unexpected visitors - people we have not seen for a long time who have just decided to drop by. When the children tell us, we don't really believe them and just walk to the door to check..

Where is this going?

Two thousand years ago, people were exactly the same as us. It is easy to think that it must have been different back then as time separates us. It needs to be said, that even though they had slavery and harsh persecution, the people still lived their everyday lives. What we consider to be hardships, they lived through as being normal. In years to come, we will look at our lives as being normal as do our parents who were bought up in legalistic societies ( I am referring to the rules that were imposed on people, for example: card games being gambling, the taboo on girls wearing jeans, drinking/music being from the devil).

Reading from Acts ch12 from JB.Philips version:

v6- "On the very night that Herod was planing to bring him out, Peter was asleep between two soldiers, secured by double chains, while guards maintained a strict watch at the doorway of the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly." His chains fell away from his hands and the angel said to i, "fasten your belt and put on your sandals." And he did so. Then the angel continued, "wrap your cloak round you and follow me." So Peter followed him out, not knowing whether what the angel was doing were real - indeed he felt he must be seeing a vision. They passed right through the first and second guard-points and came tot he iron gate that led out into the city. This opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and had passed along one street when the angel suddenly vanished from Peter's sight. Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel to rescue me from the power of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting." As the truth broke upon him he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John surnamed Mark, where many were gathered together in prayer.
As he knocked at he outer door a young maid called Rhoda came to answer it, but on recognising Peter's voice failed to open the door from sheer joy. Instead she ran inside and reported that Peter was standing outside. At this they said to her "you must be mad!".
But she insisted that it was true. Then they said, "then it is his angel."
But Peter continued to stand there knocking on the door, and when they opened it they saw him and were simply amazed."

Can you see it?
Just try and picture Rhoda for a moment and see her jumping up and down, running with excitement to tell the others...she just couldn't think straight. How exciting would it have been to be praying and the very next second see an impossible answer to that prayer? To love a brother in the Lord so much that you are beside yourself when you hear their voice!
I have tried to put myself there in the outer door area and see Rhoda, hear Peter calling, see the shock on the faces...And all I can do is marvel at how amazing our God is!
He protects His people, and surrounds them with love & family & friends.

I need longer to ponder on the untouched parts of these verses - like the angel and how Peter just trusted and walked. The way he thought it was a vision. The consequences Herod had; how God made a way for Peter and used him to influence a town.

I look forward with anticipation to what the Lord is going to show me in this chapter.

Read it for yourself and read the following chapter to get a fuller understanding of the times our brothers and sisters lived in.. but remember this - as normal as you feel today is as normal as they felt in their day :)

Sunday 11 November 2012

Ge 3:8

Further to my previous post...

It amazes me how the Lord can teach us so much out of one word.
I previously wrote on my lesson from Genesis 3: 8
"The husband and the wife heard the sound of the Lord as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid from the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man "Where are you" and Adam answered "I heard you and I was afraid so I hid".

There is so much life in these verses...

1. The husband and wife were together - we were never meant to be alone. It was always God's intention to create perfect love, a reciprocated love between a man and a woman who were meant to enjoy their life together - they heard/recognised the Lord together, they hid together.

2. God called to the man - why did He not call to both of them or call to Eve - was it because man was always supposed to be head of the wife and accountable for the wife and to lead the wife?? Just saying - it's a legitimate observation....I have heard many say that God never intended man to be head of wife, that it was a direct consequence for sin, however, everywhere in the Bible we see a different context for women then the one we like to say is in the Bible... this just gives me food to chew (so to speak)..

3. I have already covered the 'life' I found in 'Heard the sound of the Lord as He walked in the Garden" in my previous post, however...there is a little more in it that I did not get a week ago.

They heard...
This is amazing. Think about what had happened. They had committed the ultimate sin - one that bought death! They had sinned so bad that they were ashamed and fearful for their lives, their sin was the worst sin ever - and they knew it. But guess what? They STILL heard the Lord calling them!
We tell ourselves that we can't hear the Lord, or perhaps we have not heard from Him in a long time. But Adam and Eve hid themselves and still heard the Lord calling them. Even in their sinful state and broken communion with the Lord, their ears still recognised His voice and that grew fear in their heart.
We can still hear the Lord, even if we are swimming in our sin, we can still hear the Lord. We may not like it when His voice calls our name, we may run and try to hide or avoid it - but our heart knows His voice and hears when He calls. Our sin will never block out the voice of the Lord - if we cannot hear Him it is because we are not in the right place, absent form the garden - be in His garden and nothing, not the trees we hide behind or the bushes we cower under can block out Him calling our name - John 10:27 "My sheep know my voice, I know them and they follow me".

4. The Lord was walking in the garden in the cool of the day..
The Lord made time!... He deliberately set aside special time to a) walk daily with His children. b) to enjoy the work of His own hand with company - the garden, c) created a part of the day as a blessing - the cool of the day - this implies that everyday has a time in it which is the best time to relax and enjoy His beauty.
This challenged me to ask if I make the time to walk with my husband or special people in the presence of the Lord and just simply enjoy the beauty that was created for my pleasure?!
It also implies that fellowship is important enough that our creator set it in motion.

Finally, this word from the Lord for my life has encouraged me to make more time to fellowship and enjoy this life.
The consequence of our sin (namely hard work), threatens to steal from us God's intended communion with us. He fixed the consequences of our sin when His Son was nailed to a cross and took our place of punishment. We are no longer bound by the chains of sin (Jn 8:34-36 'Whoever the Son sets free is free indeed"). We are free to walk with the Lord and have perfect communion with Him, unhindered by our nakedness - we can boldly approach His throne (Hebrews 4:16) and be clothed.

The Lord calls to us today to come and walk in the garden with Him - will we answer? Will we make the time?

Sunday 4 November 2012

The Sound of the Lord


Genesis 3:8-. 'The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day.......the Lord God called to the man "Where are you?"'

What does the Lord sound like when He is walking? Have we heard Him before and not recognised Him? Something as trivial as walking could make all the difference to our lives, if only we could get out of our own way.


  • What does He sound like?
  • Would I hide from him? 
  • Can I walk with Him?
  • How do I recognise Him walking in the garden in the cool of the day? OR..
  • Did He stop walking in the garden due to our sin?
These questions have been stuck in my mind all day! So I thought I should do some research.
The word 'sound' in this instance comes from the Hebrew word 'qo-wl' which is more often translated as 'voice' instead of 'sound'. 
This makes me wonder what the 'voice of the Lord walking' would sound like. 

His voice is like:
Rev 6:1 'voice like thunder.'
Rev 6:6 'Then I heard what sounded like a voice'
Rev 4:1 'voice like a trumpet..'
Rev 1:15 'his voice was like the sound of rushing water..'
Deut 4:33 'the voice of God speaking out of fire..'
Ps 29:7 ' the voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning..'
Ps 81:5 'I heard an unknown voice say:'
Ez 43:2 'His voice was like the roar of rushing water..'
1 Ki 19:12 'a gentle whisper..'

Perhaps He is calling us and we have blocked Him out so many times that we no longer recognise His voice beaconing to us to walk with Him in the cool of the day.

He calls us..

John 10:3b 'He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. v4. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. '

How can we recognise His voice amidst all the noise of the world??? 
Work, Kids, News, Church, Obligations, Commitments, School, Government, Bills, Retail.... I am sure you could add to this list...
They all have their own merits, however they will place a burden on our lives in one form or another.

He calls us - 'Be still and Know that I am God'
Ps 37:7 ' Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him..'
Zach 2:13 'be still before the Lord, all mankind..'
Ex 14:14 'The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Ps 46:10 'be still and know that I am God.."

Jesus calls us to come away with Him by ourselves and we will find rest. 
My conclusion to his call this day..
Perhaps we need to quieten our lives (1 Thess 4:11), to deliberately go for a walk outside in the cool of the day and talk to our Lord. We only need to ask Him and He will answer. We see His beauty all around us if only we will look. Jesus waits for us.......

Welcome!

Welcome to my first post!

I hope that I can just encourage you to open your ears to hear what the Lord has for you. There is life in everything that comes our way, from the simplest conversation to the deepest heaviest word.

Today, search for that life word. It will be what draws your heart and attitude back to your Saviour and His ways. The world is so noisy, but in Christ you will find peace and rest!

Mark 6:31 "Come with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest". Ponder that place for a bit....

John 14:27 "Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid"
Ps 91:1 "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty".

If 'New every morning" are the Lord's great love and compassion (Lam 3:22-23) ...then look for it, expect it, search it out! He has promised us many things but it all stems from His love, which He proved to us by nailing our sins to the cross on His blameless Son Jesus. And all we have to do is what????
Ro 10:9 'If we confess with our mouth that "Jesus is Lord,"and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved'.

If you are struggling to find Him, then search deeper. He has called and is waiting for you to answer.
Don't settle for mediocre, Open your Bible and start reading.
Here's a start - be inspired: http://youtu.be/X-rW528qiYw

Realising this made me uncomfortable first, but He reminded me that it is true - He lavishes us with His great love 1Jn 3:1 & reminds us often how wide and long and high and deep is His love for us! (Eph 3:18)
Have a look at Eph 1 at the end of verse 4, the sentence starts with...'In Love...' and then at the beginning of verse 8 "that He lavished on us"... It is easy to focus on the meat of these verses.. but just don't forget the reason..LOVE.

His love is unquestionable..it is up to us to accept it and run the race with full confidence in the knowledge of it.

Thank you for your time..may you be blessed today as I have been through this moment with Him.

Rebecca