Leading me to Christ 18 years ago

I have been reading the book, "Just Walk Across the Room" by Bill Hybels and it got me thinking about my own story of coming to faith.  So I was challenged to put a few words down to share how a friend "walked across the room" for me.

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 My high school friend Kate, was instrumental in leading me to Christ. Kate grew up in a loving Christian home, a family actively involved in church.  I also grew up in a loving home but one without God.  It was during university that one day Kate took the risk to invite me to a Christian group called Student Life.  I said no the first time because I was afraid, but Kate never let go of her compassion for me.  The following week she risked rejection and asked again if I wanted to come along with her to this “Christian thing”.  This time, I decided I would take the chance as Kate had always shown herself to be a trustworthy and faithful friend in all the years I had known her.  It was Kate, an ordinary high school friend, who literally walked me through the door of the lecture theatre where the Student Life meeting was being held and brought me to a place where I would begin a journey of discovering this guy called Jesus Christ, and my life has never been the same since that day.

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I know that Kate would never call herself an evangelist, in fact “evangelism” always terrified her.

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Yet it was Kate who kept pointing me towards Jesus through our friendship, our conversations, by her willingness to always answer my ‘God questions’ with kindness and openness. It was the testimony of her life as I watched her live out her faith all through high school ,that kept me open and questioning her about faith, and ultimately gave me the trust to accept her invitation to Student Life. 

In  “Just Walk Across the Room” , author Bill Hybels writes,

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“You don’t have to be any more talented, any richer, any slimmer, any smarter, any more or less of anything to partner with God.  All you have to be is willing to be used by him in everyday ways.” (pages 95-96).

All Kate did was be a loving friend who saw me as someone whom God loves and was willing to go where God was asking her to go.   I don’t know if I would ever had known Jesus and had the richness of discipleship that I had through my experience at Student Life if it wasn’t for the gentle kindness of a loving Christian friend who evangelised to me by simply being herself and being available to God.

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 I praise our God who calls each of us in helping others into an eternity with Christ!

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Our Need for Each Other

Recently, I caught up with a friend who I rarely get to spend good quality time with.  She is an extrovert, full of enthusiasm, drive and passion for Christ.  She is a country girl at heart and very down to earth.

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 I was looking forward to spending some great sharing moments with her and to be around her exuberance which I find uplifting.  Over the following two  hours we covered many different topics with laughter, joy, seriousness, concern, and prayer.  It was a wonderful time of friendship and love.  As we were finishing up she mentioned that she feels a sense of calmness and peace when she is with me.

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 Likewise, I was encouraged and spurred on by her energy and motivation for Christ.   We left that day  feeling blessed by one another's gifts and personalities.

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 I realise that as a quiet introvert who finds solitude comforting and renewing, I sometimes need others around me who are energetic and exuberant to encourage me to move and get going. Likewise, extroverted. and outgoing people can benefit from the presence of a "quieter, reflective" person to help  them to be still, slow down and reflect. We need each other and we complement each other with our God-given gifts and personalities.

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Paul speaks of the community of believers as a body where each person is a different part, providing a function to the body. Each part is vitally important for the health, growth and overall well-being of the body.  One part is not greater than another so each part should have equal concern for the other and so be united in love(1 Corinthians 12:12-31).

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It is in our mutual dependence as we exercise our our distinctive God given gifts that accomplishes God's purpose of unity and harmony  among believers with Christ as the focus.  "God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be (verse 18)"  and "we were all given the one Spirit to drink (verse 13)." By God's grace we exist as one in our diversity and are strengthen by the Holy Spirit who indwells each believer so that their lives may overflow with the fruit of the Spirit, building up the body in love and maturity (Ephesians 4:14-16).

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But for some of us we struggle to let others come in and help us. I am reminded through Jesus's act of humility and service as he washed the disciples feet during the last supper (John 13:1-17) and through his ultimate act of humility and love on the cross, that He leaves us the example to follow, that we must show the same love for one another and the same humility. An attitude of humility in essential to allow others to love us, help us, teach us, guide us, gently correct us and uphold us in prayer.  

Our Lord, we confess our need for you,

we recognise our need for one another.

 Renew our understanding of your loving-kindness

 and restore in us an attitude of humility and love for one another.

What's in a name?

Eighteen months ago, this blog began. It was originally born out of our church based Bible study group called Child Friendly Bible Study.  As the name suggests, this group was initially started to fill the need of a number of mums in our church with babies and children, who were longing for a place to come and learn more about God but where they felt at ease to let their children be  a bit noisy.  They wanted an opportrunity to grow in faith through studying the Bible, plus the intimacy of deep friendships that encouraged love, care and nuturing.  So in this environement, Child Friendly Bible Study was born. 

Child Friendly Bible Study has been going now for nearly 15 years and has been lead by various faithfull women.  The group has seen a number of people come and go as the seasons of life change for them. As time goes on, children grow and begin schooling life, and mums are drawn to work or other new ventures.  Some are here with us long term and others are here with us just for a time.  However, amidst these ebbs and flows of life leading people to and away, the purpose of Child Friendly Bible Study still remains  the same - to enable a place for women to learn about God through the teaching of the Bible, to be a place of love and friendship that encourages and supports, to be a place to pray for each other and the church, to be a group that promotes the maturity of faith in women so they me grounded firmly in Christ and secure in the knowledge of God's grace.

It has been my joy to have lead Child Friendly Bible Study for the last two and a half years.  Even in that time, I've seen many changes within the group.  There have been highs and there have been lows.  I've seen people have moving encounters with God and their relationship with him strengthened, affirmed, deepened and their faith soar.  I've seen others struggle through difficult situations and feel like they are stuck in a dark hole, but still hold on their hope in Christ through the faithful encouragement of others in the group and with the knowledge that there are otehrs who are praying for them and with them. 

These days, our group has changed from being an avenue for mums needing a time out with God in which their children were invited to be there also, to being a place open for grandmothers also.  This changes the group dynamics significantly and now we (those of us who are in the very thick of parenting young children) are being exposed to the wisdom, experience and knowledge of faithful Chrisitan women who have travelled this parenting road before.  These older women are treasures who have so much to offer to us if we are willing to listen.  So again Child Friendly Bible Study has morphed into something different from when it started but is still grounded with the same purpose - to mature women in Christ through the study of the Bible, encouraged to pray and nutured through prayer and fellowship. 

So in relation to this blog, it was created to provide a way to stay connected with each other during the Christmas school holidays (which in Australia is our long summer break).  However, it was a method that didn't really take off within the group for various reasons.  The blog has now changed from it's orignal purpose to support the members of Child Friendly Bible Study to be a virtual place where I share what God is teaching me, with the prayer that others may be encouraged, challenged, nurtured and strengthened in their faith to mature in Christ.  So it's time for a name change of the blog to better reflect it's refined purpose. Out of this the name, "My Redeemed Heart" has emerged which I hope will better reflect the content of this blog.

So continue to grow in Christ, thirst for his word and hunger for his righteousness.  Praise God for his grace.

I look forward to seeing you all again soon!

Nicole 
 

Legalism creeps in .........

The winter chill has arrived and the trees on our footpath have withdrawn their sustenance and it's leaves have fallen away for yet another year.  The winter blue sky seen through the bare branches of a tree, that only a short while ago was overflowing with flowering beauty and was a shady haven underneath.

                        

One  "day" we can be growing for God and then the next "day" we realise we are like this bare tree, still connected to God, but have somehow along the way lost our zeal, vitality, and passion for the gospel and are no longer growing strong in Christ.  We're confused because we appear to be doing all the right things yet are "bare".

For me, this "day" arrived when I was challenged from the book "Prayer and the Knowledge of God", by Graeme Goldsworthy, about the way I view my relationship with God. I began to see that I so often think in terms of how close or not close I am to God.  I view my relationship with God from a human perspective that says I need to do more praying or study of God's word or be available more for others, rather than viewing my relationship with God through what Christ has done for me.  I was gobsmacked to say the least because I desire to be a commited Christian and I know that being disciplined in prayer and studying the bible are ways to draw near to God.  But as I continued reading I could see in my life that although I knew in my head that I am saved by grace, I found in practice I have slowly travelled from that point of grace to becoming a Christian who is unawares that she is being driven by legalism.  To people who know me they may think I'm being hard on myself, or overdramatic but I am convicted of the sutle ways I've become about "doing" things first rather than living from the fact of God's grace.   

Legalism is attempting to gain God's acceptance by acheiving self-righteousness, a right standing with God.  As Chrisitans we can so easily succumb to legalism , even when we know it is wrong, sometimes without knowing we are doing it.  So what do we do about it?  The only answer is to keep reminding ourselves what God has done for us through Christ, that is, justification by faith. 

For it is by faith you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."  Ephesians 2:8-9

I am finding afresh the wonder of God's grace given to me through Christ's actions.  It is like breathing new life into an old tired soul who has been working hard.  It is like the spring, when new growth appears on the supple branches and flowers are budding, promising great things.   

"Since prayer is an aspect of our sanctification, our development or growth in godliness, it too must be understood as the fruit of what Christ has done for us " Graeme Goldsworthy "Prayer and the Knowledge of God" page 13. 

Yes, prayer, studying the bible, being involved in your church and outreach are all important, but if done out of a sense of gaining God's or peoples acceptance first rather than as the fruit of what Christ has done for us, then  it's time to get back to the basics of the gospel. 

We are sinners who have been justified through Christ's work on the cross.  We are forgiven because of Christ not because of our good deeds.  Therefore, no one can boast - EVER!  I pray, I study God's word, I lead Bible studies, I elder, I ring to catch up with people, not,anymore, because I should or even that it's my responsibility but because first and foremost now, I love God.  And I love God because he first loved me.  It is all about love.  Love that God initiated and freely gave to me as an undeserving sinner.  Rather than look upon myself as worthless, I look upon myself as deeply loved beyond measure and I am overwhelmed. 

                              

 So please, if you catch yourself on yet another guilt trip, or condeming someone else because you perceive them as not being dedicated enough at church or in their Christian lives, then ask yourself are you succumbing to a legalistic attitude?  Where is God's grace for you and others? 

Remind yourself of what God has done for you and always keep that as your context.  This is understanding your life from God's perspective rather than our own human perspective. 

Time-out

Life is full of attention grabbing devices.  We are a society immersed in television, computers, laptops, tablets, iPads, iPhone, blackberry's, computer games consoles, you-tube, blogs(!) and so much more.

 I don't believe these things are bad in themselves and there are many positives to having technology advanced so much. Medical achievements for one have benefited from greater miniaturised technology.  Connecting with family and friends no matter wherever they are is a huge blessing when we feel fragmented by distance.  But as I reflect over my daily life, I realise how I have simply allowed my life to absorb this technology without question.  I allow so much of my time to be consumed with checking emails, Facebook, reading copious amount on the internet, checking the phone, catching TV programs.  I have filled up my time with techno-busyness.  And I feel tired and lacking a spiritual depth with the Lord.  I don't blame technology, I am simply acknowledging my submissiveness to it.

Earlier this year I felt a growing urge to withdraw and just be with God.   A need to re-learn how to be still physically and mentally.  To re-learn how to talk to God for more than a few minutes and then rush off to the next thing.  I wanted to re-learn how to sit,  listen and wait upon God.

Why? Because,

 "To pray is to change.  Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us.  If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.  The closer we come to the heartbeat of God the more we see our need and the more we desire to be conformed  to be conformed to Christ." (Celebration of Discipline, page 42, Richard Foster). 

I quick smartly realised that it wasn't going to be easily to unlearn some bad habits, that it meant making changes to my daily routine, a realisation of underlying attitudes towards the way I prioritise my time. In reality, it is a discipline to really pray and to listen to God.  And just like any discipline, it takes time, practice, patience and perseverance.

It is taking awhile, but I am again learning to quiet my thoughts after so many years of jumping from one virtual place to another, glimpsing and grabbing information.  Dwelling on a psalm or another piece of scripture helps as it directs my thoughts to God.  My mind is focused on something specific and I am training myself to slow down my thinking when I am sitting with the Lord.  Journalling is also a process I use to slow my thinking down which can allow me to hear God's quiet voice.

There are many ways to pray that help us draw near to God, this is simply one way that I do it.  In many ways, I need to simplify my praying so that openness and honesty prevail in my communication with God and just as a child approaches her father in complete confidence and trust, so we are to come to our heavenly father.

How do you be still and listen to God?  Do you have a special place you like to go?

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Bearings in Christ

As I was away at the beach for our annual family holiday I got to do something I just love.  Each morning I enjoyed a long walk along the Esplanade at Mooloolaba in Queensland.  The early morning sunshine and the salty sea breezes are just invigorating as I silently walked along. It's a time to myself I treasure. It's also a time I would reflect over the year that has been and the year that is ahead.

As I reflected over the hardships of last year I am not left with a bitter taste in my mouth with a voice of "good riddance to 2011!" echoing in my head.  Instead I am filled with praise and a thankful heart as I remember how God faithfully provided for me and my family.  Through my daughter's Emily's heart surgery, my Mother in law's breast cancer and chemotherapy, through navigating my first year as an  Elder in my church,  starting up another women's Bible Study group, my eldest daughter starting school, continuing theological study, God has been with me in it all revealing how he truly  is my Jehovah Jireh.

 Sometimes it was his peace he provided as fear was threatening to swallow me; sometimes it was courage to trust him when life seemed too hard and dark; sometimes it was strength to take the next step and not to listen to my own doubts. The end result, is that Christ  changed me in 2011 and I so thankful for that.

So what about 2012?  This passage from 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 got my attention.  Read this :
 

Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!  (1 Corinthians 9:19-23 MSG)

2012 isn't a list of tasks or jobs to be ticked off a list but the time to do all my ordinary stuff with my "bearings in Christ" entering into people's lives for the purpose of showing them Christ's love.  I should be willing to go to all places and reach all types of people in order to share the message of Christ's saving love.  I am to be more that just a talker of salvation but to be in on it and live it.  What a challenge!  The hint to that Paul gives us in order to be out there witnessing is to keep our bearings in Christ.  Oxford dictionary (http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/bearing?region=us) defines bearing as "the direction or position of something, or the direction of movement, relative to a fixed point". Christ is our fixed point, our anchor.   To help me keep my bearings in Christ I will,

• continue with my reading through the Bible plan I started 12 months ago and am halfway though it.  Also journal as I go so I will concrete new understanding and insights that I gain
• Focus on praying with notice to pray for opportunities to share Christ with people who do not know him yet.
• Continue theological study
• Allow accountability for people to help me keep my bearings in Christ 

So I stand at the precipice of 2012 excited and ready to fly with what God asks of me.  Don't get me wrong, I am not perfect or great but God promises 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Lets trust God in our weaknesses so that his grace is shown to others.  What does 2012 hold for you?  Are you willing to follow Christ this year?

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Tossed About

When I was younger, my dad used to take me out on our dinghy to do some fishing in the Bribie Island passage. We would bob up and down in that little boat when a larger boat's wake washed past us. It didn't take much for us to be swishing about. We can also get tossed about through life.

I was married at age 21 which is young for many these days, only 3 years after becoming a Christian. Those 3 years were a whirlwind of growing in faith and falling in love with my husband. It was a great time in my life. While I was at university my faith was nurtured by Student Life, a Christian organisation that reaches out to university students. They provided a protective and encouraging environment for me to learn about God and exercise my faith. But in the month after I finished uni, I got married, moved out of home to a new city, moved from the only church I had ever known and started a new job. I found the first year of marriage difficult for many reasons. But one reason being that although I had agained a wonderful husband, I had suddenly lost my supportive Christian cocoon. I spent the following 2-3 years feeling tossed about by ideas, philosophies, culture, work ethics and attitudes. All of a sudden that protective Christian "home"was gone and I had to grow up. I found myself losing my footing in my faith and began slipping into unhealthy habits and choices. I remember feeling desperate for this "tossing" to stop and I longed to feel sure footed and established in my understanding and faith. Scripture like James 1:6, 

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 

and Ephesians 4:14-15, 

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

spoke to me.  I needed to know more about my God and mature in my understanding of him.  But how?

It was around this time that I went on an Emmaus walk. It was on this walk that I recognised my need for a mentor in my life, to help me get into God's word, to pray for me and to keep me accountable. So when I got back I spoke to my pastor and within weeks his wife was mentoring me which was the beginning of a friendship that has had ongoing multiplying spiritual impacts in my life that has overflowed into the lives of other women that I nurture in bible study groups now.

Over the weeks and months of being mentored, the tossing subsided. God's words became my anchor and prayer became my lifeline. When the world's voices were pulling me in every direction, it was the sure and reliable word of God that I found dependable and trustworthy. Why? Because I believed by faith that the bible is God's revelation of himself to me.  I began to  love God's word and to know his character is completely trustworthy and true, and I began applying his teaching into my life. Remember the parable of the wise and foolish builders? 

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.   (Matthew 7:24-27)

The foolish builder built his life on a foundation of  choices based on listening to voices other than God and when life's storms came the foundation was revealed to be unstable unreliable and untrustworthy. But the wise builder who chose to build his life on a foundation of God's word and applied God's truth into his life found his foundation to be  reliable and sure during life's hardships.

I chose Jesus as the anchor  in my life, steadying me through rough seas.  So dear friend, who are you listening to?  Who will you choose to guide you?  Which way will you go?

Question :  Do you need a prayer partner, mentor or close friend to help you stay "on course" for God? I encourge you to seek out the help you need, as a life that is anchored in Christ, is a life with a purpose, secured and protected.

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