Have you ever felt like a fool? Have you said something that showed your ignorance, your immaturity or inexperience? Then have been left feeling like an idiot and inept? I have! That was me today. At bible study people shared about their response to the recent Queensland floods and I was overwhelmed with emotion. To see friends upset and hurting was upsetting to me. Then it was time to pray and cried and couldn't speak properly. Afterwards I felt embarrassed for my 'show of emotion'. Thinking, I didn't make any sense, I'm supposed to lead everyone in prayer and I sound like an idiot! What good am I! I felt like such a fool. But what was the real reason for my embarrassment? Honestly, I was worried about how I looked and what others might think of me. The reality was I was more concerned about my pride rather than coming to God with a humble heart.
How easy it is to have pride sneak into my heart so subtly and how I must be constantly vigilant to pray for humility and to confess my pride as sin. I can be so blind to the pride in my heart that it will often go unchecked and unmonitored. Humility is the antidote to pride. I find hope in Isaiah 66:2 : "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.". God is pleased with a person who is humble and respects and obeys his word. David also prayed and understood what God truly desires "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (Psalm 51:17).
Do you have pride in your heart that needs confessing? I urge you to pray for God to reveal to you the tendencies for pride in the areas of your life and for the humility to confess them as sin. Then remember God's great promise of forgiveness through Jesus,"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. "(1 John 1:9).
Praise God for the gift of grace!!!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Stepping up
At church this morning during the children's talk, Rev Rob was speaking to the children about the flooding in Queensland and asked if any of them had been affected. Several children responded, then in a loud clear voice my daughter says, "We got a new tv!". How embarrassing! Slightly off topic but honest nonetheless.
So yes we brought a new tv early January and since then we have been revisiting some of our favourite movies. This past week we have watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy. One of my favourite scenes is in The Return of the King (part 3 of the trilogy) where Aragorn gives a moving speech to the men at the black gates. Here's the scene for you :
Right from the beginning of the story in The Fellowship of the Ring (part 1) Aragorn, a ranger from the north, denies his calling as the true king of Gondor, being the heir of Isildur. Only in the final stages of the story where it appears that Sauron's evil dominion on Middle Earth seems inevitable and the odds are stacked against all free men, does Aragorn accept who he really is and takes up the calling to reclaim his heritage. In the scene above, Aragon steps up to his role as king and seeks to inspire the men of Gondor to stand against evil and fight for what is good.
God wants us to step up to the calling he's given us. What has he called us to do? He has called us to be his light in the world (Matthew 5:14), to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 26:19), to live lives worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1:27), to put on our new selves (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10), to put on the full armour of God (Ephesians 6:10). The list goes on.
So where are you in this scene? Are you the Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring who vehemently denies his calling to step up and reclaim his kingship; or are you the Aragorn in The Two Towers who continues to resist the call that is getting louder; or are you the Aragorn in The Return of the King who has submitted to the call to be who you are? And who are you? You are saints in Christ Jesus. Redeemed, restored, renewed and forgiven. Sainthood is not given to you posthumously because of your good deeds or character, it is a state of being that is given to you when you accept Jesus into your heart as Lord and Saviour of your life. The Apostle Paul tells us this in 1 Corinthians 1:2 "To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours" (ESV). We know that the Corinthian church were very immoral and Paul criticised them yet he also addresses them as "sanctifed" and "saints", not because of their conduct but because of their relationship to Christ and what Christ has done on the cross on their behalf.
So will you step up to who you are in Christ? Will you heed his call in your life this year?
At the end of CFBS last year I gave each of you a bookmark with the words from the song "Lifesong" by Casting Crowns and left you with two questions to ponder. What was your lifesong for 2010 and what will be your lifesong for 2011? For me I have felt God calling me to "step up" in ministry. Over the holidays I was taken by this verse from Isaiah 41:9-10,
"I said, "You are my servant; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"."
In the midst of my feelings of inadequacy, fear of failure, fear of becoming time poor, I felt God really encouraging me for his work. When I focus on Christ my fears and worries seem less but the trick is to stay focused on him and not myself. As soon as I rely on myself, the fears creep back in.
God may be calling you to something big in 2011 or to something small. Whatever it is, the important thing is your response. What will you do?
So yes we brought a new tv early January and since then we have been revisiting some of our favourite movies. This past week we have watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy. One of my favourite scenes is in The Return of the King (part 3 of the trilogy) where Aragorn gives a moving speech to the men at the black gates. Here's the scene for you :
Right from the beginning of the story in The Fellowship of the Ring (part 1) Aragorn, a ranger from the north, denies his calling as the true king of Gondor, being the heir of Isildur. Only in the final stages of the story where it appears that Sauron's evil dominion on Middle Earth seems inevitable and the odds are stacked against all free men, does Aragorn accept who he really is and takes up the calling to reclaim his heritage. In the scene above, Aragon steps up to his role as king and seeks to inspire the men of Gondor to stand against evil and fight for what is good.
God wants us to step up to the calling he's given us. What has he called us to do? He has called us to be his light in the world (Matthew 5:14), to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 26:19), to live lives worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1:27), to put on our new selves (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10), to put on the full armour of God (Ephesians 6:10). The list goes on.
So where are you in this scene? Are you the Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring who vehemently denies his calling to step up and reclaim his kingship; or are you the Aragorn in The Two Towers who continues to resist the call that is getting louder; or are you the Aragorn in The Return of the King who has submitted to the call to be who you are? And who are you? You are saints in Christ Jesus. Redeemed, restored, renewed and forgiven. Sainthood is not given to you posthumously because of your good deeds or character, it is a state of being that is given to you when you accept Jesus into your heart as Lord and Saviour of your life. The Apostle Paul tells us this in 1 Corinthians 1:2 "To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours" (ESV). We know that the Corinthian church were very immoral and Paul criticised them yet he also addresses them as "sanctifed" and "saints", not because of their conduct but because of their relationship to Christ and what Christ has done on the cross on their behalf.
So will you step up to who you are in Christ? Will you heed his call in your life this year?
At the end of CFBS last year I gave each of you a bookmark with the words from the song "Lifesong" by Casting Crowns and left you with two questions to ponder. What was your lifesong for 2010 and what will be your lifesong for 2011? For me I have felt God calling me to "step up" in ministry. Over the holidays I was taken by this verse from Isaiah 41:9-10,
"I said, "You are my servant; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"."
In the midst of my feelings of inadequacy, fear of failure, fear of becoming time poor, I felt God really encouraging me for his work. When I focus on Christ my fears and worries seem less but the trick is to stay focused on him and not myself. As soon as I rely on myself, the fears creep back in.
God may be calling you to something big in 2011 or to something small. Whatever it is, the important thing is your response. What will you do?
Rebuilding lives
Before going onto my next post I felt I needed to take this moment to acknowledge the hurt and heartache that many have been experiencing in Toowoomba, Murphey's Creek, Grantham, Ipswich and Brisbane. Plus everyone up north who were in the grips of flooding before this week. I pray for courage and strength to endure the hardship of rebuilding lives from the very beginning again after losing everything. I praise God for the outreaching of arms from complete strangers to help those affected by the flooding. I pray for your hope Jesus to infuse peoples hearts to help them not despair.
My words feel so trite in the face of what people are experiencing but at the same time I felt I couldn't continue blogging without recognising what others have gone through this week and continue to face in the coming days, weeks and months.
Please add your prayers here also if you want.
My words feel so trite in the face of what people are experiencing but at the same time I felt I couldn't continue blogging without recognising what others have gone through this week and continue to face in the coming days, weeks and months.
Please add your prayers here also if you want.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The power of words
Just a few day ago an unknown homeless man has been shot to fame through a youtube video that went viral. I was brought to tears when I saw a news article on channel 7 about this man Ted Williams. , Ted Williams, who after several hours of this utube video going viral was offered a job at a radio station. He was overwhelmed, numbed and truly thankful, but how his life changed in just a few hours.
I know that there is alot of bad and dangerous issues surrounding such sites as facebook, myspace and utube but the story of Ted Williams made me think about the opportunity for positive outcomes using social networking sites. Going more locally, a mum has set up a scheme through facebook to ask for help to families ravaged by the Queensland floods get essential school supplies for children starting school in a few weeks see Adopt a Family Flood Victims .
The power of speech is phenomenal. In the bible, James speaks very clearly and plainly about the danger of the tongue. "Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:5-6). Very strong words but for a good reason. We all know what if feels like to be stung by some careless words spoken at an inappropriate time. Such words and feelings can haunt us for years.
In her book, Disciplines of a Godly Woman, Barbara Hughes writes about how propriety, our behavior, is not just about the way we dress and modesty but also about our words and attitudes. Quoting 1 Timothy 3:11 " In the same way, their wives are to be women of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything", Barbara demonstrates how scriptures define godly women as being respectable because their words are not malicious but temperate (restrained) and trustworthy (true).
Author Jerry Bridges, in his book Respectable Sins, lays it on the table when he has a go at how easily as Christians we accept gossip, slander and other forms of negative speech. We know the bible says not to do it but it's a sin that is often 'allowed' or tolerated in many circles. But the bible says " Do NOT let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Ephesians 4:29, emphasis mine).
Jesus was just as clear and direct when he accused the Pharisees of their hypocrisy!
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:33-37).
Jesus is saying that it is all about the state of our hearts and our words are constantly revealing what is there. We can try really hard to show others how good or righteous or perfect we are but the time will come when our guard is down and what we say will truly reveal what our heart is actually about.
I found these 2 chapters from the books I mentioned as quite sobering. I admit, I've been guilty of all of these things but how do I change? I think it goes back to what I had mentioned previously, a matter of consistency. I know circumstances always change but my response shouldn't be dictated by circumstances, it should be determined by God's word living in me. I'm realizing that my heart needs to be consistently in God and submitted to him in all things then what comes out of my mouth, actions and attitudes will be consistent with the will of God and with his word. So perhaps the real issue for me is learning to be before God which simply means daily reading his word and spending more time in prayer. There's no magic formula or bible study or special committee. So I have decided to read through the whole bible in 2011. Does anyone want to join me and spent this year traveling through the bible and rediscovering the simplicity of hearing God through his word?
I know that there is alot of bad and dangerous issues surrounding such sites as facebook, myspace and utube but the story of Ted Williams made me think about the opportunity for positive outcomes using social networking sites. Going more locally, a mum has set up a scheme through facebook to ask for help to families ravaged by the Queensland floods get essential school supplies for children starting school in a few weeks see Adopt a Family Flood Victims .
The power of speech is phenomenal. In the bible, James speaks very clearly and plainly about the danger of the tongue. "Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:5-6). Very strong words but for a good reason. We all know what if feels like to be stung by some careless words spoken at an inappropriate time. Such words and feelings can haunt us for years.
In her book, Disciplines of a Godly Woman, Barbara Hughes writes about how propriety, our behavior, is not just about the way we dress and modesty but also about our words and attitudes. Quoting 1 Timothy 3:11 " In the same way, their wives are to be women of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything", Barbara demonstrates how scriptures define godly women as being respectable because their words are not malicious but temperate (restrained) and trustworthy (true).
Author Jerry Bridges, in his book Respectable Sins, lays it on the table when he has a go at how easily as Christians we accept gossip, slander and other forms of negative speech. We know the bible says not to do it but it's a sin that is often 'allowed' or tolerated in many circles. But the bible says " Do NOT let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Ephesians 4:29, emphasis mine).
Jesus was just as clear and direct when he accused the Pharisees of their hypocrisy!
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:33-37).
Jesus is saying that it is all about the state of our hearts and our words are constantly revealing what is there. We can try really hard to show others how good or righteous or perfect we are but the time will come when our guard is down and what we say will truly reveal what our heart is actually about.
I found these 2 chapters from the books I mentioned as quite sobering. I admit, I've been guilty of all of these things but how do I change? I think it goes back to what I had mentioned previously, a matter of consistency. I know circumstances always change but my response shouldn't be dictated by circumstances, it should be determined by God's word living in me. I'm realizing that my heart needs to be consistently in God and submitted to him in all things then what comes out of my mouth, actions and attitudes will be consistent with the will of God and with his word. So perhaps the real issue for me is learning to be before God which simply means daily reading his word and spending more time in prayer. There's no magic formula or bible study or special committee. So I have decided to read through the whole bible in 2011. Does anyone want to join me and spent this year traveling through the bible and rediscovering the simplicity of hearing God through his word?
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