Hold Unswervingly..

Unswervingly

Hebrews 10:23 'Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for HE who promised is faithful'.

(J.B.Philips Version says:

Further, since we have a great High Priest set over the household of God, let us draw near with true hearts and fullest confidence, knowing that our inmost souls have been purified by the sprinkling of His blood just as our bodies are cleansed by the washing of clean water. In this confidence let us hold on to the hope that we profess without the slightest hesitation—for He is utterly dependable—and let us think of one another and how we can encourage each other to love and do good deeds. And let us not hold aloof from our church meetings, as some do. Let us do all we can to help one another’s faith, and this the more earnestly as we see the final day drawing ever nearer. ⁾

Web definition: In a constant and steadfast manner.
Have you ever seen the Australian Malteser's advertisment? (I have put it at the bottom just incase.)

Whilst driving home from a Women's Conference, my dear friend just happened to have a bag of Malteser's and suggested we copy the ad. Of course I jumped in boots-and-all! As we were driving along a straight road we would swerve to make the Malteser's come to my side..We were laughing the whole time and IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!
However, later when we explained to our husbands how much fun we had (amidst our uncontrollable laughter), they reminded us of the dangers of swerving the car like that.

The conversation progressed and we came to the point where we had a practical application for our faith.

Very simple:
It is dangerous to swerve off our path for temporary pleasures that do not last and will have you wanting more! When we walk with the Lord,  it is only safe when we stay the course, stay on the straight path - to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Romans 6:21 'But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.'

There! I did it!!! A short post.... Bet you never thought I could :)
I hope your cup is full to overflowing.. if not drink in the word.

My House Fell On Me...

Mary and Martha lessons have been at the forefront of my life over the past 15 years (though I have been married for 20). I long to be a Mary but realise Martha chores are essential to keeping the house and family going.. and that is my role - However Jesus would have me do both! So finding the fine line has been the journey.

The day I started to understand the balance, I realised that my house had fallen on my shoulders and was preventing me from being thankful and enjoying life.

Are you house proud?
Does the cleanliness and tidiness consume you in ways that make you:
- an angry Mum/woman
- a 'too busy'/'too tired' wife..
- an 'absent friend' who doesn't notice the needs of her friends?
- a working woman who simply has too much to do and can't fit in time with other people...

My husband has had us renovating the last two homes (three if I include the house we built). Through this process I have always started out embarrassed and after a few years house proud. We always sell the house just when everything is finished. We make the children share rooms - at one stage we had two bunk beds and a cot in one room!
It brings a lot of work and frustration to our family. We seem to always be sacrificing our lives/enjoyments for something else to be done on 'the house'. Eventually it becomes a home and we are all happy, but then we realise the value and sell.. the goal was always to get ahead.. I am now asking the question "Ahead of what?" (but that's another blog..)

When I stopped chasing after the wind I started seeing that a house is just a roof with walls; it keeps you safe from the elements.. it does not keep you safe from life.
My furniture all came with a cost, not a financial cost but the price of my time and energy! It forced me to teach my children lessons through it - sometimes with me losing my self-control.. for example: My lounge is fabric, so no eating or colouring on it, and no shoes on it.. it needs to be spot cleaned and once a year professionally cleaned. Also my dining table is solid timber.. I needed to make sure the kids didn't draw on it or scratch it.. the walls are freshly painted so I tried to keep the kids from running toys up it..
ARRRRRGH! The intensity of watching 6 children all the time so they didn't damage or destroy these materialistic possessions drove me crazy, not to mention then when visitors brought their children over who would jump on my lounge and break things. I would then have a breakdown emotionally and take it out on my husband and children..
To be a Mary, which is encouraged by the Lord, is not as hard as we think.
We must see things in the eternal view, rather than in a wordly view.

2 Co 4:17-18 - 'For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outways them and will last forever. So we don't look at the trouble we can see now; rather, we fix our eyes on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.'

Materialistic possessions.. we shouldn't hold on to them too tightly - they don't last anyway and they are not worth investing time. I only have one life to live and I want to live it for Jesus.. You don't know what you have until you meet someone who has nothing.. that's when we should see that our house is massive and full of 'things'. To love is what is important and to share the gospel is where our priority is!

Today, look past the things that are burdening you.. hand them over to Jesus (Mt 11:28-29). Your house work is temporary as we all know.. so don't let it steal from you the joys of sharing your life with your children, husband and friends. Fit in the housework and cooking when you can, but make sure you read the Bible.. for out of your relationship with Jesus and from reading the word, praying and fellowship in the body.. your cup will overflow and your priorities will be that of Mary even when you have to do that of Martha...

I hope you leave here with meat to chew on - so to speak :)

Why Am I Not Like That Other Person!...

Don't we just wish we could be like 'her'..

"Everything goes right for her.. after all I bet she never feels this way.."

Oh how wrong we are.
'She' is not exempt from that which is common to man (1 Co 10:13), and as a result she has all the same feelings as us - hurt, regret, guilt, occasional depression, anger, frustration with herself etc..

The truth is.. we need to get our heads right! Rom 12:2 'be transformed by the renewing of your mind...then you can test and approve what God's will is, His good and pleasing will..'
His good (good for you) and pleasing (will please you) plan for your life! But first you must be transformed in your mind.

Every time I sit to write a blog, I endeavour to keep it short but end up getting excited by what the Lord is revealing to me, and then it can drag on... for this I apologise. (I hope you still get something out of all my raving! lol)

Have a look at Philippians 3:13 - Paul says that he has not reached perfection yet but he presses on towards the goal.

Perhaps the reason we compare ourselves to others and wish we were different is because we don't see ourselves the way God sees us or the way God made us. Perhaps we have been told too many lies in our lives - born out of other peoples anger or frustration..criticisms. Paul is basically saying that he is good but he is not perfect. He is acknowledging that he can do some things, and that he is good at some things but he hasn't reached perfection yet, though he presses on.
Do you have a right estimate of yourself?
(J.B Philips - Romans 12:3-5 As your spiritual teacher I give this piece of advice to each one of you. Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you all.)

If you are good at something, I want you to tell yourself right now what it is. This is not pride, this is having a right estimate of yourself and the beginnings of being renewed by the transforming of your mind (free from the chains of opinion about yourself).
Seriously - stop now and state what you are good at.


When someone gives you a compliment, do you minimise what you have done, or do you accept the compliment? It is an important part of accepting who you have been MADE to be. From here you can start to understand that you have a RIGHT place and purpose just the way you are.... in the measure of faith that you have.... for this particular part of your journey. (1 Co 15:10 - I am what I am - by the grace of God).
Just as I wrote in my previous blog, as a member of the body - you have a joint, an ability and a function.. you also have limits, however when you do what you were created to do you will work perfectly through pressing on. 
Stop comparing yourself with your head and start accepting yourself with your heart. It is the truth that will set you free.

I am learning to accept who I am.. I am now 40. If God has not seen fit to make me a different person by now then I should start accepting that I may be this way my whole life and if that is the case, then perhaps I am exactly the way the Lord made me, so I had better stop focusing on that 'other person' that I would rather be like.

For now I will stop, but I really hope I have been able to help you accept the beauty created within you as you are in the image of your Father..

May your cup be full to overflowing.

The Valley Of Dry Bones...

Why always a valley.....?!

Does anyone else find it interesting how our biggest life challenges come when we are walking in a valley?  Shadows of death! Skeletons or dry bones! And not to mention where Samson met Delilah - his ultimate stumbling block (Judges 16:4). 

Let me share what I have learned through the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 37!

So basically our Father took Ezekiel for a walk through a valley (sound familiar), a valley filled with dry bones covering the whole valley floor, the Lord was showing Ezekiel mans desperation. There before him was a valley of hopelessness, no life could be found.

I really like verse 3 - God asks Ezekiel if these bones can become living people again, and I can almost hear Ezekiel's reply - "How am I supposed to know that.. only you know those sorts of things O Sovereign Lord.." lol, I am sure it wasn't that disrespectful, but here is where I see an open relationship happening between God and man, where man can talk back to God with an honest 'I dunno' sort of answer.

God commands Ezekiel to speak life into the bones by prophesying over them, stating what will be..

When Ezekiel is told to prophesy, he is meant to speak God's quickening life into them - or simply put, speak into them. A Paster explained that this is just like praying 'life giving scripture' over death and hopeless situations.

Verse 7, Ezekiel does as he is commanded and sees death change to life before His very eyes! (Oh to be a fly on a rock there!)

There are so many lessons for us here, I feel I have only just touched the surface.

Lesson 1: These bones represent the people of Israel - the people of God, could this be true of us? 

Are we dry bones? 

With Gods power and Gods words, He brings structure. No-one wants a foot growing out the side of their head or a toe growing on their nose! 

Every bone has a joint to fit and a function. That is us! He has a RIGHT place for us. He purposed for us to exist and put us exactly where He wants us..WOW - we are where we are meant to be otherwise we would hear a rattling noise while He moves us to the next part of our journey (Verse 7).

 Lesson 2: When you look at situations in life, they may look like a mess, it may seem hopeless and irreparable. However, we shouldn't set our heart and thoughts on what we see, but believe in the unseen - what it could become with the power of God working in it.. then pray exactly the way Ezekiel prayed - with confidence, truth and action. Life is full of ups and downs. We need to pray over these hopeless situations - prophesy into our own lives and the lives of others. Don't give up, just trust in the power of the spoken word of God and the power of Christ.

Lesson 3: If an arm doesn't want to connect to the body, then the whole skeleton is affected and the process of life can stop. Best for us to encourage that arm to get connected any way we can. It is important that we all function the way God intended for us, otherwise the whole body suffers and no life force can be fed into that arm, essentially causing it to die. Only when we are connected to the body can we be strengthened and functional for the Lord. Ez 37:19 God joins us together with ligaments and sinew (ties that cannot be broken) and He strengthens us - He makes us 'one in His hand', and covers us in flesh to protect us (wrapped under His wing).. we are covered by our God.
Don't rebel against His will, it is a well thought out plan designed individually just for you. Sure, tell the Lord what you think about it, but come in under His Loving guidance and all will be well with your soul. Each person's journey is different, but the Lord saw our face before we were even born, He put together our life's path and set aside time to walk with us (In the cool of the evenings as in Genesis 3:8).

The world tries so hard to distort the plan put in place by God, they do it without even realising. The opinions, the criticisms, the well meaning advice from others.. really all we need is to cling to the word and be in constant fellowship with the Lord - from the minute we rise up in the morning, to when we lay our head on the pillow, be in fellowship with God walking through the valley just as Ezekiel did (and many others).

Lesson 4: A skeleton alone is not a body, God adds the substance. We need to allow God to add substance to us. When He made Adam he gave him mature organs, mature bones. Adam did not go through a process of growing. God created him for a relationship so He made him mature. Maturity is a process. Before any process comes an event. 

A wedding is an event, but the marriage is the process. 

A baby is an event, but raising a child is the process. 

Counselling is an event, but putting the advice into action is a process.

Salvation is an event, but living out our relationship with Christ is a process. God calls us to the event, but it is our responsibility to walk out the process and just to help He walks it with us, every step of the way (if we let Him).

I have really enjoyed looking at these passages, very applicable to our lives today. Know that you are very important to the Body.. He gifted you to carry out a function - you have a RIGHT place. The valley is a tough place to walk, but you are not alone.. there are many of us on this same path and He is holding our hand as we walk it. It could be in your family, in your job, with your friends.

May your cup be full to overflowing as you walk out your life in Christ.

Only the Lord knows the heart of man...

Life has some amazing lessons to learn if we are open enough to be affected by them.

I have been doing some interesting reading on three of the tribes of Israel - the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, in the book of Joshua (Ch 22)
Human nature has not changed so much in a few thousand years.. It is far too easy to judge what we perceive to be other peoples motivations and actions, I have been the brunt of this many times. But the truth is, we all do it, none of us are exempt from the sin of judgement, though all of us have the self-control within to stop ourselves.
Bare with me while I share the insights I am learning.

History - In the book of Numbers Ch32, The Reubenites and Gadites ask Moses if they can have the the land they currently inhabit for their livestock, instead of crossing the Jordan into the promised land. Moses holds them accountable and basically says it would not be fair for them to sit here in this land while the other tribes have to clear out the promise land. They then commit themselves to helping the other tribes (vs 17) to receive their inheritance.

The book of Joshua now..

Chapter 22 is very interesting. Talk about judging a book by it's cover.. The heads of the tribes of Israel  did just that.
Vs 1 - the Reubenites, Gadites & the half tribe of Manasseh are now released by Joshua (vs 4), thanked for their obedience and committment and told to return home to their wives and families. They are reminded to remember the Lord their God and to obey His commands (vs 5) and sent off with a parting blessing (vs 6).

As they came to the edge of the Jordan river, they built an imposing alter (vs 10).
The Israelites heard about this alter and gathered together to go to war against them! (vs 11)
So the Israelites sent the priests son, 10 chief men - heads of the 10 tribes of Israel. (vs 13-14)

Look at verse 16 - they have jumped to a conclusion and basically accused them of breaking their faith and turning away from their God.
Vs 19 and 20 they are accused of building an alter for themselves and bringing wrath on the community of Israel.
Reuban, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh then spoke......

I see everyday humans here.. so very much like us! They did what they were committed to do, what the Lord asked them to. They gave up of themselves and were judged for their actions.
Vs 21 - "God Knows!!" Of course God knows, He knows our hearts and judges what men don't see.
Vs 24 to 29 - they defend their actions, they state that they only built the alter to be a reminder for generations that they are a part of the tribes and helped conquer the promise land. The alter was not just for the Israelites, but also for their children and their children's children.
Vs 30-31 - When the priests son and 10 chief men heard their reply they basically said "ok, now we know and it's all good.".....

How very much like us - we perceive something one way, yet when we are told the circumstances, we seem to do the same - something like "Ahhhh! Now I understand.."
It is not for us to know the heart of another, God knows!
I love the verse in Ps 131:1 'I do not concern myself with matters too great for me or in reaching impossible goals.
Basically, next time you think a person is thinking or doing something that is not right.. try asking them instead of judging them, or perhaps pray about it and ask God to help you mind your own business (Thessalonians 4:11 ).

I was judged by my own Paster because I gathered a group of my friends around and we did an awesome weekly women's Bible Study. She actually talked about me in the group that she leads. If she had just come to me I would have shared with her, but instead it took a sister in the Lord to tell her to ask me directly. It was not long after this that the Lord encouraged me to read the whole book of Joshua where I discovered this insight. I am still working through my own offence and trusting the Lord to do what he does best.. but it has been a challenge. It is the Lords place to work in our lives, and as He is the one who sees the heart of men it is best to let Him do His perfect work.
Draw on this lesson, learn to ask questions before making bold statements and reaching your own conclusions.
There is something to be said for a circle of friends who draw you back to the cross where all these judgements should be laid.
I really enjoyed reading this book from beginning to end - set aside some time and read an entire letter in the Bible.. absolutely recommend it.
I pray that your cup is full to overflowing in the joy of the Lord.

Fragility of life and our beliefs.

You only have one chance to choose Heaven - albeit if you are blessed enough to wake up tomorrow you will get another chance...

2Peter 3:9 "The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise (to return), as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent." 

Rather than try to convince you that you need to be believe, I would like to just ask you to consider for a moment what you think about Jesus?

Do you know for sure that you are going to Heaven? You don't control whether it is real or not, you only get to choose if you are going there or not....

Children are trained to think a certain way depending on their parents. If the parent believes in Allah then the children are bought up that way. If the parents belief in the Easter bunny then the kids are bought up believing that too. What did your parents teach you?????

As we get older we have to start sorting out for ourselves what we believe, as the inevitable human nature is an impending force on all of us - death.

You have thought about it surely, perhaps you have been touched by it first hand. Death is not a nice part of our existence, and usually we don't think about our own death until we are confronted by someone elses. It tears at our hearts, causes us to be angry with 'a higher being' and forces us to see how fragile life is.

I am not a great scholar and I have only had a few people in my life pass, but I have come to terms with the fragility of life - here today, gone tomorrow. At 16 I was introduced to the concept that God existed and Jesus Christ was real. I had never heard about it before except through Sunday School which I didn't  pay attention to. My parents like most had a simple belief in God that was tainted by Churches and Catholic hypocrites. 'Jesus Christ' was a swear word only said in moments of anger or amazement. 

I met some of the nicest people I had ever met through some youth events, they shared the Bible with me and the history of Jesus. It took a further two years before I even understood, but then I started reading the New Testament myself and found a Christian Church. I made a decision to believe in Jesus Christ as my own personal Saviour. It really was not hard once I understood and it was the best decision I have ever made! It was like a fog lifted from my mind and my heart, It is now 20 years later and I still walk daily with Jesus.

Be encouraged - confront what is the norm in your life - don't settle for what everyone has told you about God. Pick up a Bible and do some of your own research. Start in the Book of John. John was a very close friend of Jesus, one of the disciples and an eye witness testimony to the happenings. We still have some of the original parchment from John. 

If I wrote my own eye witness testimony to an event and everyone said it was a lie, would you believe it, or would you believe the people calling it a lie?

We may all choose our own path in life, but birth and death are out of our control. There is a Heaven and Hell and that choice is yours - Choose Jesus...It is easy...

1 John 1:9 'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness'.

This does not take away our consequences, but before the throne of God we can have no accusers. Jesus took our punishment for our wrong doings that prevent us from entering Heaven.

I pray your cup overflows with joy....and truth!