Our Christian walk - Don’t forget lessons from the past

You can only walk your own journey – everyone’s journey is different and each of us has to seek God for ourselves – the process cannot be shortcut, God will not move on. If we try to carry baggage into the next stage of our walk it will be compromised and we will need to confront it in the end

Source: mostpato.deviantart.com

Recently I was in a conference where the speaker was talking about Moses. The point was that Moses and the children of Israel came to the Red Sea and stopped, wondering what to do. With a bit of poetic licence the speaker suggested that God might have tried to jog Moses’s memory by asking him to remember how he had used his 'stick' (staff) when he came before Pharaoh. He had proved that God was with him with different signs (his stick had turned into a snake and eaten Pharaoh’s snakes and he had used the stick to turn water into blood etc.). This gave Moses a hint of what to do next. Just to be sure God said, ‘Hey use the stick!’ so Moses extended the stick over the sea and back it rolled creating a path for the Israelites to get across.

In this ‘modern’ age we move on very quickly – mobile phones and computers are good examples - usually out of date even before we open the packaging. We very quickly start to look for the next new thing and get bored with the old. At the very least we give the old a new name to make it sound fresh (a trick commonly used by new government ministers when using ideas passed on to them by their predecessors)! While technologies do change, the Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that with regard to things that really matter ‘there is no new thing under the sun’ and in 1 Corinthians 10:13; ‘no temptation has taken you but such as is common to man’. To us however things that confront us often appear novel and particularly difficult because we think that they are unique to us (or ‘me’). Because it is ‘me’ (not someone else) we feel that there must be special reasons why this situation or temptation is especially difficult and that there must be excuses or reasons that apply just to ‘me’ that help to justify my actions or let me ‘off the hook’?

Source: www.yourfavoritebible.com

We are very good at repackaging the ‘bible way’ and making it easier for ourselves. Instead of seeking God’s face - Hebrews 11:6 ‘he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him’ and Jeremiah 29:13 ‘You shall seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart’ - we invent programmes with new names, distractions and diverting activities. I wonder what would have happened if the disciples response to Jesus’ instruction in Luke 24:49; ‘Wait in Jerusalem until you receive the power from on high’ had been; ‘well it’s pretty dangerous in Jerusalem at the moment and boring to have all these prayer meetings so how can we make this more ‘user friendly’? ‘Let’s move the venue to somewhere more comfortable, take it in turns four at a time, have coffee and cakes every 45 minutes and prepare ten themes for prayer each with their own five sub themes so that there’s something to keep our attention going?’ If this had been the disciple’s approach then would they have all been together and united in purpose on the crucial day of Pentecost?

Thinking about a more recent past in 1996 my wife and I had a significant encounter with God. For me it was not a victory easily won. There was three months of seeking, stripping away preconceptions, sins and pride before He poured out His blessing on my life. I think that this was the nearest I have got to ‘seeking with all my heart’. During that time though we learned a number of other simple but profound lessons which were plain to us and many on similar journeys, but are easily forgotten in the next ‘new thing’. Some examples are:

• You can only walk your own journey – everyone’s journey is different and each of us has to seek God for ourselves – the process cannot be shortcut, God will not move on. If we try to carry baggage into the next stage of our walk it will be compromised and we will need to confront it in the end. Sometimes we try and compare our path with other people’s journeys or judge their journey or find excuses in our journey because of others. None of this works indeed the opposite is true. The only journey that we can walk with God is our own.

• Repentance as a way of life – not just for the repenting unbeliever but also for the church. Repentance and confession gives the devil nowhere to go with his accusations and lies. A good place to start is to find a real Christian friend (a God-appointed one is best and it may be someone very unexpected), agree with them that you can say anything to each other without judgement and then meet to share what needs sharing.

• God is not a corner shop. God doesn’t expect His children to turn up now and again with their needs and supplications and to get their answers and go away ‘fixed’. Although He is very gracious and does answer some of these prayers He really doesn’t want to work that way. It’s not about our needs it’s all about Him and our relationship with Him. He wants us to spend time – real quality time with Him. In our particular experience in 1996 some of this was in people lying on the floor maybe for a few hours with the Lord. This was real time for some conversation with Him – or just listening to Him or receiving from Him.

• The seeking process is not to satisfy some desire of the Almighty for us to ‘do time’ like a penance but because to know Him deeply we need the process for all kinds of reasons that can be quite individual to us. The result of earnestly seeking God’s face is to enter and deepen our relationship with Him.

We quickly forget these experiences and lessons and replace them with other more ‘up to date’ ways of doing things. This is not to say that the new is bad. We must refresh our walk every day and what is newly revealed is as valid and exciting as older treasures – Matthew 13:52 ‘Therefore…. a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old’. The point perhaps is to ensure that our foundations are right and then to build on them; Ephesians 4:14 ‘then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever that they sound like the truth’.

Let’s bring to mind what God has taught us in the past and build on it whether its general principles like ‘seek my face’ or something specific like ‘going down this path will lead me into temptation and I must avoid it’.

Psalm 27:8 ‘When You said, Seek My face, My heart said to You, Your face, Lord, I will seek’.

Author: Chris Pearson

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Are we attentive to that ‘still quiet voice’?

For the first time I realised (I had been a Christian for approximately 10 years) that Salvation can only be gained and kept individually!! For the first time I realised I couldn't put the onus of my walk upon someone else, it was my responsibility.

Source: twcdaily.wordpress.com

Some years ago we had some people come to stay with us from Joinville, Brazil for a month and the following year we were preparing to go and visit them. My husband, myself and our daughter were all excited about the prospect and were busy making preparations. It was a country we had never been to and our household was a frenzy of activity. Two days before we were due to fly out I was sitting having a quiet time and I clearly heard a voice say ‘take out holiday insurance’. My response was; ‘Lord, we have been on numerous holidays before and we have never taken out holiday insurance, we are young, we have no medical history and more frustratingly I don't know where to get travel insurance from’ (grump grump!!). I spent a few more moments putting forward my 'best arguments' but the words ‘take out holiday insurance’ just kept coming back. I finally gave in and remembered a correspondence that had arrived with a credit card statement about holiday insurance and went and searched it out. Due to the fact that we were flying out at 5.30 the next day there was insufficient time for them to send us a policy so we flew out with just a telephone number a policy number and the dial code from Brazil to England.

We arrived in Brazil at midnight on Saturday feeling tired after three flights but cheered up to be greeted by about 20 people we knew cheering us on!!  We had two great days of fellowship with our friends but on the third day my husband woke up with excruciating pains in his stomach.  I thought he had eaten something that had disagreed with him.  Our friend’s friend was a doctor so he decided to take him to be checked out while his wife and I went to the mall for a coffee.  We had been apart for about an hour when my friend’s husband came to the mall but my husband was not with him.  I was a little perplexed and as I couldn't speak any Portuguese and our friends knew very little English it took a few moments to realise he had been taken to hospital.

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We rushed to the hospital (the best one in Joinville) where he'd already had all the tests taken and results obtained!! and they had decided that they wanted to remove his gallbladder. Due to an infection however they kept him in for a couple of days under observation because if they operated he wouldn't be allowed to fly back to England for at least 30 days.

The dilemma then was that we had made lots of arrangements and the interpreter that was going to come with us was now staying at the hospital to interpret for my husband and hardly anyone else spoke English!!  I remember kneeling on the floor and saying ‘Lord you know how much I depend on my husband,  what am I going to do’?.  The answer was ‘you know what to do, these people have put themselves out and are expecting you’, but more surprisingly was the words ‘no-one gets to heaven hanging on to someone else’s shirt-tails’. For the first time I realised (I had been a Christian for approximately 10 years) that Salvation can only be gained and kept individually!! For the first time I realised I couldn't put the onus of my walk upon someone else, it was my responsibility.  What a life giving life changing moment!! If ever I had received a Eureka moment this was one such occasion. I kept all the appointments and with God’s help had a smile on my face and a joy in my heart that transcended all human understanding.

The Insurance paid all the costs and even offered to pay for someone to escort myself and my daughter home to carry our bags, if my husband had the operation, or pay all our expenses if we chose to stay in Brazil.  It was decided to send my husband home with strong medication and he had the operation back in England.  Praise God for prompting me and that I eventually listened!!  The outcome could have been very different.  Isaiah 28:23 ‘Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say’.

Proverbs 2: 1-5 ‘My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God’. Amen

Author: Lyn Hunt

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How do you find peace when change comes?

We have to trust God in the change or decision and take His advice on it, and the only way we can be sure and certain of that is to have a relationship with Him.

Source: mtolivembc-chickasha.org

Are you someone who doesn't like change? If you are then I imagine the things that have been happening in the United Kingdom over the last few months have been quite unsettling for you. Change isn't necessarily a bad thing; however, how we deal with it could well determine how we feel about it. For instance now the UK has decided to leave Europe or 'BREXIT' as it was called, people can either embrace it, and be the best that they can be on the world stage, or grumble and moan about it and lose the opportunities this may now afford. Either way, the change will happen, and burying one's head in the sand is not the way to make it work. It's exactly the same when change comes in our personal lives too and although some change may be unexpected or uncomfortable, it is never-the-less inevitable. How we handle it will determine the level of stress and anxiety we will go through, which is true whether the change is for better or worse, whether it is imposed on us or whether we ourselves have to make changes.

So how do we handle change when it comes? Well there are a number of things to consider. Firstly we can turn to our family, our husbands or wives, mom's and dad's, brother's and sister's, nan's and granddad’s and if our relationship with them is good then we often find a great support system there. Secondly, we can turn to our friends for help, and if we have good ones who give good advice and we're willing to listen to them, then this can also give us a great deal of support, help and strength to deal with changes. Even if we're lucky enough to be able to get advice from all these people it can still leave us with an uncomfortable or uneasy feeling and in some instances lead to complete turmoil, when what we actually want is peace and assurance in our hearts about any change that comes.

Source: www.makinggodsmile.com

When I have needed to make changes or difficult decisions in my life then the only time I've been able to find that peace and assurance is when I've taken the best advice I've ever been given and followed it. Whenever I do, that peace and assurance never fails to come. So where do I find this amazing advice? Well it's found in the bible in Philippians 4:4-7 which says 'Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.'

Trust me it works, or at least it has for me every time I've done it. The change will still happen, the decision will still have to be made, but by taking our requests to God and trusting Him in them, 'the peace that transcends (or goes beyond) all understanding' doesn't only guard our hearts and minds, but fills them as well. The challenge here though, is that we have to trust God in the change or decision and take His advice on it, and the only way we can be sure and certain of that is to have a relationship with Him. Just like when we take advice from our family or friends, we do that because of our relationship with them, we can do the same with God. How do we make friends? We ask people to be our friends or we spend time with people we want to be our friends, in other words we make the choice who we want to be our friends and then we do something about it, but like any relationship it's a two way thing, and it is exactly the same with our relationship with God.

God has chosen to be our friend and has demonstrated this and His love for us at the cross. All we have to do now is decide if we want Him as our friend, and if we do then we just need to ask Him and invite Him to come and be our friend. If we do that, He will. Amen. The bible tells us of a man who did this. James 2:23 says 'And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,'' and he was called God's friend.' This promise is for us also. John 1:12 says 'Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God.'  I pray that you will invite God to be your friend and in doing so find His peace. And if you already know God as your friend, then I encourage you to trust Him in all situations. Ephesians 3:20 tells us; ‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us’. Ephesians 3:21 goes onto say; 'to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen'. May it be so.

And now I leave you with this blessing: Romans 15:13 ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’.

Author: Kevin Hunt

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What is time?

At the time of our birth, we are given a book with nothing written on the pages.  As we live our lives, hour-by-hour and day-by-day, we are writing an account of our lives in that book until the last moment of our time.  If you could read the pages of your life in that book, would you like what you are reading?

Source: www.stephaniejspencer.com

Time – What an interesting and comprehensive word. We use the word frequently without thinking about it. Time is a dimension and a form of measurement, and is expressed in many different ways.  For example – What time is it? When will we get there? Do you remember when…, etc. Again, time is a dimension that has a beginning and everything is measured from that beginning of time.  So, when is the beginning of time?  It is mentioned in the first four words in the Bible; Genesis 1:1 ‘In the beginning, God…..’. Therefore, God created the beginning. God created the start of time when He said ‘In the beginning, God….’.  There was a period before the beginning, but that is not known or measured in time. When God said, ‘In the beginning, God….’, that statement started what we know of as time, and everything is measured from that point.  Look at all the events that have happened from the beginning of time - wars upon wars; the lives of millions of people that have come and gone (which does not account for their souls). Kingdoms have come and gone.  A lot has happened over time. Wow! Think about that. It is mind-boggling.

The next question that comes to my mind is – Is there a record of what has happened over time?  The answer is Yes. The Bible is the most accurate record of the events of time because it records everything from the beginning of time.  No other history book/s starts at the beginning of time, so they do not account for all of time. Just as a side note, that is my main defensive theme of what I believe in defending (my faith) when talking to others about what they believe. Their belief system fell on this timeline that started in the beginning. What I believe is that the Bible is a comprehensive account from the beginning to today. All of the other belief systems are human concepts that fall on that time line. As an example – a man conceived the Hindu beliefs concept in about 1400 BC. Interesting isn’t it?  When the man died, so did the reality of the concept, but the concept continued on. The Buddhist and Muslim concepts did the same thing as the Hindu concept. When the person conceiving it died, so did the reality. There is a big difference with Jesus. When He died, He rose again and our hope is in a living God. Wow!  Thank you, Jesus.

Source: hiswordinpictures.blogspot.com

The most notable event of time was the birth of Jesus Christ. It is so notable that the world’s measurement of dating time was the life of Jesus Christ. Think about that. The world’s calendar of events is pinpointed to the life of Jesus Christ. The events of time are either Before Christ (BC) or After Christ 'Anno Domini' (AD). The whole world has to acknowledge Jesus Christ, whether they like Jesus or not, because their calendar of events are based on the life of Jesus Christ.  Wow! What an impact Jesus made on all of God’s creation.

Does time have an end? I believe the Bible says that time, as we know it, has an end. The Bible talks about the end times, or the end of time. Some say the end of time is at hand, or soon. Some people dwell on the end of time that the Bible speaks of. I tend to dwell on the end of our fleshly time, and also on our eternal time, our spirits.  When we die, our flesh returns to dust, but our spirit never dies. When we die, our spirit is in either heaven or hell!!!  Jesus said to worry about the time that comes after this world; He was referring to heaven or hell.

Time is an important asset.  Time is our second most important asset, with salvation being our most important asset.  Note: the lack of a salvation would be an eternal liability of pain and agony.  What is so important about time? We are born in a moment in time, and we will die in a moment in time.  At the time of our birth, we are given a book with nothing written on the pages.  As we live our lives, hour-by-hour and day-by-day, we are writing an account of our lives in that book until the last moment of our time.  If you could read the pages of your life in that book, would you like what you are reading?  If you would like it – great! -- If not, today starts with a brand new page from this day forward. Oh, by the way, the scriptures say something to the effect that the book of your life will be read back to you/me at judgment.  The judgment will either be ‘enter in faithful servant’ (Matthew 25:21), or ‘pass by me, I did not know you’ (Matthew 7:23). These are the last words we will ever hear. Are you sure which words will be said to you?  
Hopefully, this is something to think about.

Well, I could go on for a long time (notice the use of the word ‘time’ – Ha Ha!) trying to consider all the aspects of time, but I would like to turn that over to you.  Think about it.  What does time mean to you? Hopefully, this is something to consider.

Author: David Leatherman

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