making time!

how is it that we get so busy so quickly and stop doing that which we really want to and need to do.... how is it that sometimes we can be so committed to spending time with each other, but not with God.... how is it that most of the time we can make time for everything except for spending time with the One who loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die on a cross for us....

it's not that i walk around in utter condemnation all the time, but just sometimes, sometimes i get a glimpse of a Father heart that loooooongs for some time alone with me. it's so easy to become a group visitor, cellgroup, church group, friend circle, couple circle.... and i know God wants that, He wants us to come as a community of believers....

but then i know, that sometimes, just as i long to have some quiet time with the one that i love, God would love to have my undivided attention. He doesn't need it, He is God, He doesn't claim it, even though He is God. He doesn't demand or nag or take or force the issue... though as humans, in those times that we need Him, we often throw a tantrum or two until we believe we have His attention.

in a time where we are moving closer to celebrating the birthday of His Son, let's slow down, take stock, sit still long enough to listen and to hear Him. let's forget about the work that is drawing to a close, the Christmas presents that still have to be bought, the food that still needs to be prepared, the letters still to be written.

let's slow down, not so much because we are tired, but because we need God. His voice we need like the seedlings need the rain. His touch we need like the sunflowers need the sun. His will we need like the air that we breath. let's be as disciplined in our relationship as we are in going to gym or meeting that deadline.

God is waiting.... all He wants is for you to be fully focused, waiting upon Him. He longs to spend some time with you, so that He can reveal His glorious love and grace and kindness in a new way. Now is the time to seek His face.%0

Be overwhelmed by God's power!

If you're overwhelmed by circumstances, you are underwhelmed by the power of Jesus.... This has become my motto for the past few weeks. And when others say to me, that it will never work, I say to them, You can not see my God!

It is so easy to look at the sea around us that is whipping into an intense strom and listen to the wind howling, until we can barely hear our own thoughts. It is so easy to take our eyes off Jesus even though our feet are saying that they are walking on water. It is so easy to get caught up in the moment, and feel the fear grip a tight hand around your heart. It is so easy to look at our circumstances and feel we are overwhelmed and sinking.

And it's then that we forget who Jesus really is. He is the Alpha and Omega, He is the Beginning and the End, He is the Life, He is the Truth, He is the Way.

With Life He means life in full, also here on earth, today. And even though there seems to be other so-called truths out there... I'm not competent enough, I'm not good enough, rich enough, clever enough, I have a past, I have failings, I am only human.... in spite of all of these.. the real truth is Jesus loves me and He died on a cross for me. The real Truth is, that no matter what He says that we should not be concerned, because He provides for us. 1 Pet 5:7 should be the ultimate verse we hang onto.

He says He will provide! And that's when we need to look again at what we have learnt about God's nature. We've got to look at the names He teaches us for Him in the Bible. Provider, Father, Healer, Prince of Peace, Immanuel (God with us). We need to look at all the times He has brought us through, all the things were we can now, perhaps more easily in hindsight, see where He was there.

We need to say to ourselves: "I will not be overwhelmed, because God is overwhelming - in His love, His care, His power, His intervention." He has not forgotten you, He has bought you with the blood of His only Son!

Joy! God's love is OVERWHELMING!!

What a God we serve... He creates us, He calls us to Him, He sends His only Son to die on a cross, so that we can come to Him. That we can return to Him, that we can be reconciled with Him, although we do not deserve it at all.

He reveals Himself to us, the Ruler / Creator / God of the Universe, wants to spend time with me... and with you. He wants to make Himself known, He wants us to bask in His glory. He calls us to Him like a lover, He has a (insert name here)-sized vacuum in His heart for you... just for you. Woah, that's almost to mind-blowing to mention, what to say to comprehend.

When you get lost, He searches for you, when you run away, He gently waits for you to return. Not because He has to, not because He needs you, but because He chooses to. Because HE LOVES YOU!

He loves you! He loves you! He loves you! He created all the beauty in the world just for you.. the rainbows, the forests, the mighty sea, the smallest of flower high up in the mountains, the beautiful wild horse in the desert, everything, just for you, just for you.

He calls your name, He beckons you to return to Him, He wants you to ask Him, because He is your Father, your Brother, your Friend, your Lover... Your God!

He is calling you to Him - dont wait any longer.

He is wanting to reveal all of Himself to you - His goodness, His glory, His unfailing love, His righteousness, His everlasting grace. He wants you to get to know Him, as He knows and loves you through and through. The time to get to know Him, is now! Do not delay to enter into His presence. No matter where you've been, no matter what you've done, no matter what might lie into your future. God wants to show you His love now!!

Look upon His Glory...

Tonight as I was worshipping at my new spiritual home, God gave me a glimpse of the glory of Jesus... it was a magnificent sight to behold. So beautiful that me, the one with the words are battling to express what I saw in words...

It was glorious. Radiant blinding light! Jesus was clothed in white clothes that looked like it was made of a million precious and semi-precious stones and gold thread all in one. It was covered in something that looked like silver or gold yarn, that had the luminesence of fibre optic. He was radiant and beautiful and magnificent, standing in the throne-room of His Father. But all along in this radiance and magnificent glory, there was the most amazing smile of peace and love on his face. His eyes rested upon me and I knew all was well... I was in awe, but had the most incredible sense of belonging and being loved and peace.

And gave me this vision, the pastor suddenly said that he felt God was saying that we need to gaze upon Jesus and "by gazing upon the glory of Jesus, we become more like Him"... WOAH! WOAH! WOAH..... and I realise that the old hymn "Cast your eyes upon Jesus" had way more value that what we can ever imagine. The call was to press into seeking God and in particular the glory of Jesus.

And I suppose this is what our generation needs. Real Christians that patiently presses into God's glory and His holiness. Seeking His face, getting to know Him, so that we can hear His voice when He calls us. Only by knowing the glory of God, His beauty, His incredible love, His magnificence, His exuberance, His Light, will we be effective in reflecting His light.

denial - what about me...

sadness... there's a great sadness that lies in my heart, when i realise that i've still not learnt much about servanthood, denying my own self, taking up my cross, being Jesus to my neighbour.... and the person that takes advantage of me and my client who knows everything and treats me like i'm only a dumb female and the supplier that treats me with disdain.

and here i stand and i just know that a glimpse of Jesus in me was very dim this week.

The Spirit convicts me in my heart that I've gone backwards again... instead of being able to stand outside of myself remembering that "I don't always have to proof myself right, but I always have to be fair". I feel devastated that so easily that which I've conquered through the Spirit, that fruit that God eventually got me to grow, has been devastated by the very important "Me".

I look at someone else who seems to know it all and speaks his mind about it and, yes, although I know there is a spiritual battle and we clash because of differing value systems, I know that I know, my Father doesn't say that I've gotta serve those who I love or that respect me or that treat me well. And I wonder whether I often also come across like this man standing in front of me. Jesus tells me to love the Samaritan, in my case the person that I severely dislike at the moment... to help him, to pay the price for him.

God, and I know I have fought the battle and won once, but this week, this day, I lose it over and over again... and if I was the only Bible that people read today, they would have had very little soul food to take with them.

my heart pains with sorrow. and i know, it's back to the drawing board, back to putting my selfish ego on the altar of love. i know God is a God of second chances and third ones and fourth ones etc. etc. it's by grace that i am saved from myself again. tomorrow, Holy Spirit, with your help, i'll keep my eyes upon you. deliver me from evil....

Does God celebrate Easter?

Easter... I've wondered how God celebrates Easter every year... when we start packing our bags, often not making a plan to fit in the most important event in our Christian faith, and we buy the hot-cross buns and the easter eggs and the drinks... and we prepare to rest and forget to pack the Bible...

Or we spend the Thursday night in solitude, contemplating the last hours of Christ, which we saw so vividly depicted in "The Passion of Christ" and we cry as we think about what Jesus went through. And on Sunday morning we smile, and praise God that satan has been defeated and has no hold over our lives anymore...

And then I wonder, what is God thinking...

I'm sure there is a moment of sadness, when Father and Son reflects on that moment where Jesus called out "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?". That moment when the perfect trinity unity was broken. And that is what hell is - a place where God is not.

I'm sure there is a moment where God the Father, holds His Son's hand when He remembers the shame and ridicule and pain inflicted by those He created to be His children. I'm sure sometimes They remember the taunts and the spitting and the desertion by those He thought loved him. They can still hear the voice of Peter, which too often sounds like mine, denying that he ever knew that man, that Jesus. I think God even sees my hand, and yours, so often driving those nails into the hands and feet of our Jesus.

I think maybe for a moment, God reflects on Mary and the women crying at the cross. My tears flow into theirs. Maybe Jesus remembers the pain and scandal, He never wanted his mother to go through. Maybe He reflects on asking his disciple to take care of His mom, His brethren, His flock. His voice resounds even into this time. I'm sure there is a moment when He sadly remembers the weakness, the fear, the man with the silver in his hand. I wonder what we sometimes would ask in return for His head?

But then, I know God remembers that His Son's sacrifice, brought us home. I'm sure they smile at the thought of having us reconciled with God. I know that Jesus thinks that even if the nails were not there to keep Him nailed to the cross, His love would have kept Him there. And I know for sure, that even if it was just you or me, that had to be bought by His blood, He would have done it anyway. I believe that although somewhere the memory of descending to hell and the forces of darkness chastisising Him for every sin and iniquity of all of mankind, remains in His mind, His love covers it, wipes it out. And that if He had to choose, to buy back those that the Father has given Him, He would go to hell and back again, and again. I see a great celebration in heaven. A celebration of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, a celebration of God's triumph over Satan, a celebration every time when someone finally gets it - that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so that we can LIVE!

I wonder about The Father and The Son and the Spirit and what they are thinking when they see our feeble efforts to try and understand exactly what really happened then. The magnitude of the perfect Son of Man, but also the Son of God, on the cross, for the sins of the world, at the hands of satan and his followers. The moment of truth, of God dying to save us from our sin. The moment of triumph, when God overcomes the canyon of sin, death and destruction and buys us back with His Son's blood. My mind can barely comprehend the basics of such a great love.

But I know that God hears our heart's cry, the Father/Son/Spirit hear our simple prayers of gratitude, God sees our hands reach out to touch His heart and He knows, even in our humanity, that we love Him. That's all He ever wanted.

You are free!

God's grace is free! On this amazing day, the day where we celebrate our Lord and Saviour and Lover and Friend, Jesus, rising from the dead, overcoming the last vestage of evil in our lives, overpowering the powers of darkness, breaking the power of satan in our lives forever, the message is clear. You are free!

Not just free from the penalty of death and eternal condemnation, not just free to come into the presence of God (what amazing grace), but free also from all the guilt of not being good enough, not praying hard enough, not being spiritual enough.

Yes God comes to where you are! Jesus look for Peter while he is fishing, Jesus appears to Mary while she is mourning, Jesus calls to Thomas while he is doubting.

Someone said to me today: "It's not about how good or bad you are, it's about God being good!". As we sometimes strive (or not), to be better, deeper, stronger, more in control, less doubting, holier, cleaner, superior? God says: "Enough. In Jesus you are enough."

And in a society where we have to earn everything, prove our self-worth, pretend we're someone we're not, God says: "I see you, washed clean through the blood of my beloved Son. The price He paid has set you free!"

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." —John 11:25-26

God bless you on this day, the most important celebration in our Christian lives! May Easter remind you of His great love. And His words: "It is done!"