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Blinded by the Light

I had to get up during the night, last night.
When I first got up I could just about see in the darkness, so I could walk about in the dark.
But when I turned the light on, for the first couple of seconds I could see nothing as my eyes adjusted to the new light level.
For a very brief moment I was blinded by the light.

John 3:19-20
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

I am a believer as I have accepted Jesus as Lord and saviour and asked Him to help, lead and guide me in my daily life.
So, as I am a believer, then surely this passage doesn’t apply to me any more…??? …… Does it???

I’m starting to get that feeling that this is going to be one of those yes and no answers. 🙂

I am endeavouring to walk in the light as I want to see, know and walk with The Lord my God.

I am in essence, trying to put Mark 12:30-31 into practise.
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

But am I fully in the light???
I can read that Moses had a greater experience of Our Gods light.

We can read something about Moses experience in Exodus 34:33-35 when his face shone with the glory of God’s light.

Exodus 34:33-35
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Well, I’ve just looked in the mirror and my face isn’t so radiant that I need to put a veil on. 🙂

So there is more light for me to walk into.

The question could then be…. am I ready to enter into more of My Lord God’s light???

You see, in the dead of night, I had enough light to see by.
I could walk about and know where I was.
I wasn’t stumbling about.
But when the light was on, after my eyes adjusted to the light, then I could see so much better.
But, I needed to get past the dazzled phase.

If my God shows me more of His light, then do I need to get past the dazzled phase…???

Will I work my way through this phase or will I just run back into the darkness thinking, “It’s just too bright, this hurts my eyes.” ???

It seems that the passage could very much so apply to me more than I would like to think it could.

John 3:19-20
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

Father,
Thank you for the light that You have shown to me.
Please continue to show me more.
Please help me to not be dazzled by what You show me.
Help me to understand and accept what it is that You show to me.
My Loving Lord God Almighty!
Amen.

Romans 12:2
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

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My words don’t matter, But His Words DO!!

This is something of a mindset of mine, whenever I speak out something.
If all you are hearing is me, Daniel Anthony, then I’m afraid that you are just plain missing out. You need to be hearing His words that He is speaking through me.

A picture might help to clarify what I’m trying to say here.

When I’m speaking, it can be that I’m just going, “na, na, na, na, na na na.” 🙂
But the Lord my God, then comes along with a megaphone, and when He puts that against my mouth…… then a Boooooming “Thus Sayeth The LORD!!” comes forth.

You see, it’s just not about me, and what I’m saying, but about Him, and what He is saying, through me. (If He chooses to make use of me 🙂 )

There is a comfort in knowing this.
Even if I get it wrong (Which I can do, I’m only human after all) then He can bring about a correction by what He does with what I do.
It’s always going to be better if I don’t make a mistake, and I’ll endeavour to remain in step with Him, but if I do fall out of step…. then He is able to bring a correction.

It’s a bit like David, when he went out to kill Nabal and all the males in his house hold, just because he wouldn’t give David some food, and Nabal replied “Who is this David?” It’s in 1 Samuel 25
OK, Nabal slapped David in the face when he said this, but David, you just spared Saul’s life in the cave in the previous chapter, and Saul was trying to kill David.
Did David use all his grace up on Saul, so that when it came to Nabal, he had none left???
Thankfully God sent Abigail (the real hero in this account) to intervene to quench David’s anger.
I mean, come on David, it was a bit of an overreaction, David said to his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” Verse 13 Just because Nabal said no to his request for some food and asking “Who is this David?”
It’s all in there, have a read of it.

I digressed a bit there, but not a bad digression. 🙂

So, where was I. I was going on about megaphones.
When I get it right (which hopefully I do at times) then it can be me stepping up to the megaphone.
But when I get it wrong (which sadly I do more than I would like to) then my God can move the megaphone to me, and hopefully iron out the creases.
He can do this for you as well!
Knowing this can very much so send fear away!
It’s His words that matter, after all!!

But even if I get everything right, then how will what I bring be received by you?

You see, when we receive words, we can have a tuning effect on how much or what we hear.
Even if everything was sent in Love and the the message was a Boooooming “Thus Sayeth The LORD!!”, if we are not tuned into the right station (of hearing Our Lord God I’m talking about), then can we sometimes just hear an irritating, “na, na, na, na, na na na.”

In an ideal world I’ll being doing my bit right (along with everyone else who brings a word), and so will you (in receiving the word), and we can then end up with a Boooooming “Thus Sayeth The LORD!!”

Unfortunately we just don’t live in this ideal perfect world, and mistakes just happen. Even with all the best will in the world.
What do we do then?

Colossians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

I know, this can not be easy at times. But if we can do this, then it is a difference that will confuse and confound the world.
Trying to put it another way, if the world sees this in action, it brings Glory to Our Lord God!

So, can we endeavour to remain in step with Our Loving Heavenly Father?
Whether you are sending or receiving something, can we do it all through His eyes??

My Lord God.
As I have said many times before, Please help me to remain in step with You, All the days of my life.
My Loving Heavenly Father.
Amen.

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Your Light Shines Brightest in the Dark.

I’ve driven past a pub with one of those light up Christmas trees on two occasions recently. One time was during the day and the other was when it was dark.
Have you guessed where this could be going yet? 🙂

During the day time, it could be easily missed. It was just a metal frame tree with it lights turned off. It could so easily be overlooked.

When it was dark, well, it was a different story. The lights were on and it’s light, shone out in the darkness. It stood out in the darkness like it never could in the day time.

We may not like dark places, and it makes sense to avoid them if we can, but we do not need to fear them.

Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

It’s when we go through the darkest times, if we keep in step with Our Loving Heavenly Father, that we can then allow His light to shine all the brighter through us.

Matthew 5:14-16
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

In order for the tree to shine it’s light in the dark, it only needed to be plugged in and switched on.
Can we be plugged in and switched on to Our Loving Heavenly Father’s will?

Father,
Help us all to remain in You, so that we can then let Your light shine forth all the more.
Amen.

______________________________________

Below I’ve listed a couple of links to previous posts for anyone who might be struggling. If one of them stands out to you, then maybe consider having a read of that one.

How Do You Pray when you feel you just can’t do anything?
Title says it all.

I see a Vessel
When you are at your weakest, God is there to build you up and make you stronger.

The Calling Abyss
When facing depression, you do have a choice to say no to it.

Posts about Struggles
This link takes you to the Archive page for Posts about Struggles.

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Will You Accept God’s Power of Veto?

This is something which I struggle with from time to time.

I know that if God is saying no to me for something, then it’s for my own good. (Or the good of His Kingdom.) But sometimes the struggle to accept this, is stronger than I’d like it to be.

I would rather allow my Loving Father in Heaven to have the power of veto over my life, willing given by me.

But it can still be a struggle for me. It can be like, look, I’ve just done ……. , I’d like to share this with the world, but then things just happen to stop it.
It can also work in the opposite way. I’ve just done ……. and I’d like to not shout about it. (Sometimes for the wrong reasons and sometimes for the right reasons.) But then everyone (it seems) gets to hear about it.

Sometimes I think that this could be God’s veto, working in my life, for my good, or for the good of His Kingdom.

As I have already said, He does have this power over me and I willing allow this to be so. The Lord God Almighty IS greater than me, and as such it is for my own good that this is so (His power of veto over me). But sometimes, it can be a battle that needs to be fought (daily).

For the good of the Kingdom, can sometimes be an extra challenge for me. If something is for my own good then this can be easier to accept.
But if I’m paying a price (for the good of the Kingdom), well then, sometimes that certainly can be an extra challenge.
If it’s God’s will, then I do want to say yes, but the difficulty can remain.

Jesus has known this too. Before He faced the cross He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42

Jesus knew this concept and He yielded to His Father’s will.
I am among those who are so grateful that He did.
He paid my price for all that I have done wrong and because I accept this (and Him), I am now free to enter in to my Father’s house, and presence. He paid the price and now I get the benefit. (Along with everyone else who accepts Jesus into their lives.)

Now if Jesus has paid such a huge price, and I now benefit from it, can I adjust my attitude with this in mind?
Can I be more willing to pay the small price, that I’m asked to pay, for the good of His kingdom?

I have recently been reminded of a time when Ian Green came to our church and spoke. I can’t remember too much of what he spoke about that day except for one small thing.
He was telling us about a time when he was unhappy.
He was feeling tired and was having a bit of a moan about where he was. I think that he reached the point of “I don’t want to be here!”
Then He heard the voice of the Lord, “Who asked you for your opinion?”
He said this with such a big grin on his face that I have seen on him many times before.
Ian was genuine and serious about what he said. I could see that God’s response to Ian’s complaint, that Ian gave, brought him peace, “Who asked you for your opinion?”
I didn’t fully understand this at the time, but I do think that it was Ian, allowing God to have the power of veto over his life, even when it meant that Ian was being taken through a time that was uncomfortable to him. Ian was still willing to say yes to his Lord God Almighty.

Taking on this mindset could lead to us being asked to do things that we wouldn’t normally want to do. Some times when I have not wanted to do something that I thought The Lord wanted me to do, then a song has then played in my mind….
“And I’ll become, even more undignified than this”.
It’s at these points that I have said “OK Lord, if You want this, then I’ll do it.”

The words of the song that I can remember go…
I can sing, I can dance, to be glad for my King.
And I’ll become, even more undignified than this. (Followed by a little merry tune.)
I can remember thinking as we were singing it, that we don’t look very undignified at the moment. (Little, did I know :-))

I believe that the song echo’s David’s response (in the bible) after he danced with all his might before the Lord. The full account can be read in 2 Samuel 6: 14-23
Verse 22 reads,
I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honour.”

David was more concerned about what God thought, even when it meant that he was humiliated in his own eyes.

I pray that I too will be able to remain in this position of allowing God to have the power of veto over me.
Even when I don’t agree or know why. I still want to be able to say yes, to My Lord God Almighty, of having the power of veto over me.
Will you do the same?

My Lord God,
Please help me to always hear Your words to me.
Help me to KNOW your voice that much better so that I can and will follow Your ways, all the days of my life.
Amen.

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Sometimes you just need to cross over the line.

I got last week’s post, “Can You Hear the Beat of the Drums?“, as I cycled to work.

During that same journey, this weeks post happened.
It was a bit of a strange journey to work on my bicycle that day.

As I went down a dark side road there was a car parked in the road, blocking the way for cars.
Fortunately as I was on my bike, so there was still space for me to go past.
I believe the driver was delivering a parcel, as he was standing by the side of his car, with a parcel in his hand.

“What a wally” (The polite version), I thought!

“Couldn’t you even have put your hazard lights on, or just leave your lights on so that people could at least see you, if you really must stop as you just have?”

I went on my way, doing the usual bit of, “I forgive you for upsetting me.” 🙂

I cycle to work, mostly, all on the road.
But there is a part of my journey were it’s safer to navigate a junction by making use of the pavement. (At a greatly reduced speed).
I then find myself on the wrong side of the road, no problem really, I just need to cross over.

As I cross over I normally aim for the gaps in between the white central road markings. It’s just a bit of a nonsense game that plays in my head. Go through the gates and not over the fence, kind of thing. 🙂

This morning, I just went straight over the middle of one of the white lines (as I have probably done many times before, I’m not always playing games.) As I did so, a thought popped into my head, “Sometimes you just have to cross the line.” ….. ????
Bit of a random thought there. ….. I didn’t think too much of the thought, initially.

As I carried on my way, I then saw a second example of plain daft parking.

It was one of those 3 wheeled scooters, that has 2 wheels at the front. It was parked in what looked like the mouth of a left turning, thankfully with it’s hazard lights on, in such a way that it appeared to be blocking the road off.
Something going on here then??? ….. Is there???
As I went past, no it seems. The turning was not blocked, but just partly obstructed??? The rider was on the pavement, on his phone.
I have no idea what was going on, just that it looked proper weird… ???? (I didn’t need to take the left turn, so on I went with no problem.)

OK Lord, are you playing fun and games with me now???

Now I’ve had 2 people park in what appears to be non conformist ways, and You (if it was You,) give me a word about “Sometimes you just have to cross the line.”

If it’s not You, then it’s certainly freaky. 🙂

To top it all off, this happens at a time, when, about two days ago I’ve gone and written, what I thought was, a challenging email to send to someone in authority, basically saying/asking, do we need to turn things upside down a bit?

Then when I get to work I go onto the BBC web site (for a quick check of the news), and one of the stories is… “Gold coin proves ‘fake’ Roman emperor was real”.

Yet another example of lines being crossed. That which was thought of as being a fake…. Now appears to be real.
There seems to be a lot of coincidences going on here today. (To put it mildly.) Or are they something more….???

Lord, You know that I’m willing to cross lines, IF You direct me to.
I do need to know that it is You who is directing me though.
I’ve even written a previous post about this very matter, “To Conform or not to Conform, that is the question?“

Sometimes I just get words that even I don’t like.
I’m getting the feeling that this is going to be one of them.

I don’t actually like crossing lines!

I don’t like being the fly in the ointment!

Yet, You are Lord God Almighty, and You do have the power of veto over me. (A post still to be published, perhaps next week’s if I’m not directed differently.)

Jesus crossed a few so called lines while He was with us on the earth.
The authorities were not too pleased with Him, at times. (Putting it mildly.)

So, are you trying to tell me that it’s OK to break the rules of the norm…. at times…. if You direct me to…. ????

I’m not trying to say that it’s OK to go out and do whatever you feel you want to do.
I’m all for law and order, but, if (and this is a very big if) if the Lord Your God tells you to cross a line, ….. then are you going to say no to Him?

You DO need to make sure that it is The Lord Your God that you are hearing and not just your own thoughts, trying to justify why you want to do ……

Most of the time lines are put in place for our own good, and they need to be adhered to.

But, are there some lines that have been put in place, in our personal lives as well as corporately, that were meant for good, but have now become a stumbling block to us?

Is it these lines that we are meant to cross?

Lines that hold us back, and if we cross them…. well…. will we start to see a breakthrough, somewhere in our own lives??? ….. As well as corporately???

What would these lines look like?
What lines should we cross?
And what lines should we heed?

The Lord Our God, is The Lord Our God, and only He is going to be able to direct us, in order to try and start to answer those questions. Because, to put it politely, I haven’t got the faintest idea of where to start with those ones! 🙂

All I can do is look to You and Declare that You are The Lord God Almighty!
And it is to You that I look to for my help and my guidance.
Please Lead and guide me in the way that I should go.
I know that You can even turn my mistakes into great things for You are able, but I still ask that You would lead me away from mistakes.
Help me to always hear Your voice, so that I can know and follow Your ways, all the days of my life.
Amen.

I thought that I had finished this post, but it appears that The Lord may want me to add one final thought.

What’s more important, Neat and Tidy, or Potential for Development?

If you want your read deeper, then click the link above. Summary below.

Neat and Tidy is good, but is it the Best that we could see/be?
Is Potential for Development better?
Potential for Development may be messer, but will it leave the door open for “Break Through“???

A final, final word is from scripture. Have a read of 1 Samuel 15 for the whole account.

Brief summary.
Saul is sent on a mission by God via Samuel.
Saul hears and knows what the mission is.
Saul doesn’t fully complete God’s orders.
Saul makes his excuses.
Then Samuel gives Saul The Lords verdict in 1 Samuel 15: 22-23. They are not nice reading. Let us all endeavour to keep in step with His Drum Beat, so that we don’t put ourselves in the position where He, could say the following to us.
He is Our Loving Heavenly Father, but He also wants our obedience to His ways and His thoughts!

1 Samuel 15: 22-23

22 But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
    and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.”

I thought I had finished this for the second time with the above…. It seems that The Lord has different ideas. 🙂

I’ve had so many instances occur in front of me that could be considered as crossing over the line. I can’t tell you all of them, and you’d probably get very tired of them. (I know that I am :-))

But this last instance (please, let it be the last one,) just has to be told. It could be considered as one of those stranger than fiction things. I’ll try to keep things as short as I can.

The headline could possibly read, “Man pushes past disabled person’s carer, and carer says it’s OK!”

Me and my wife were at the shops, Christmas shopping. My wife insists “I need a loaf of bread.” We go to a shop we have never been to before, for said loaf of bread.
At the till a man pushes past us (from the exit side of the till.) He then picks up a basket from somewhere and declares “I’m next!” He then pushes in front of the person behind us.
“Bit rude”, I think. We pay for the bread and try to leave. Wheelchair in front of us in my left hand, wife in the other (with her walking stick), taking nearly all the space of the Isle (as we tend to do.)
Suddenly the pushy man is behind us.
He tries to get past my wife, no space there, tries with me, no space there either. He has a final look at both spaces, and then just pushes pass past me.
“Excuse me! My wife is disabled!” I kind of shout out, as he runs out of the shop. Thankfully everyone is OK. “It’s just as well that he went past me and not my wife.” I say to another baffled looking shopper.
We leave the shop and the man is coming back with a suspect in a bear grip. He says something along the lines of, “This one has been taking hundreds of pounds of stock from us recently.”
It seems he was a plain clothed store security man, chasing after a serial offender!

The headline again, Man pushes past disabled person’s carer, and carer says it’s OK!”

OK, Lord.
I get it. Sometimes you just have to cross over the line.
Please help us all to see which lines to cross and which to heed.
Help us to hear Your Voice clearly on these lines.
And then enable us to follow Your lead.
Our Loving Heavenly Father.
Amen.

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Can you Hear the Beat of the Drums?

I had a picture this morning.
I was in a church service, and during a quiet moment a drummer started playing a beat on the drums.

Ra – Ta – Ra Ta Ta – Ra Ta Ta Ta Ta – Bom Bom.

You’ll have to use some of your imagination if you want to hear the beat. I only have a keyboard to use after all. 🙂

The beat started off low in volume, but it gradually increased.

At some points the tempo would quicken and then slow down, but it was always the same beat.

Ra – Ta – Ra Ta Ta – Ra Ta Ta Ta Ta – Bom Bom.

The drum kept playing the same beat, at different tempos for a while.

After it reached it’s highest volume level, it then slowly started to recede in volume, until it reached the point where the beat couldn’t be heard but the drummer carried on the motion of the beat with his beating for a couple more renditions of:

Ra – Ta – Ra Ta Ta – Ra Ta Ta Ta Ta – Bom Bom.

Then an interpretation came.

Hear the beat of the Lords Army.
A New Move IS Coming!
Will you step in line to the Beat of the Drums?
Keep your ear to the Tempo, you may need to speed up or slow down at any moment.
Keep in step with The Lords Drum!!!
The drums are coming. If you don’t fall into line with them, then you could find that they come and go, and then they just pass you by.
You’ll be Amazed by what you see when they come along, but please, don’t let them pass you by.
It’s going to be so much better if you can Join the Army in their movement and then just see where The Lord Your God will take you.

My Lord God.
Please help me to keep in step with You!
If there is a New Move that You are bringing, then I want IN!
Please open MY ears to YOUR Beat so that I won’t be left behind.
Help me to always Hear and Follow Your Ways.
My Lord God Almighty.
Amen.

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A word from the enemy or a word from The Lord??

I had a conversation with a friend just recently, the details of which I’m not going to talk about, but I got the feeling that my friend was feeling guilty about something that was actually quite small.
Although it didn’t seem small to my friend.

As I have thought about this, the the thought of, “The enemy comes to condemn, but the Lord brings a word of rebuke,” has come to my mind.

On the outside, a word of rebuke or condemnation may look exactly the same, but who is bringing the word can make all the difference.

The source of a thought or word is oh soooo important.
A word of rebuke from Our Lord God should lead to repentance and a clean heart. But a word from the enemy can bring condemnation, only to try and pull us down and leave us in a wretched state of, “how could I”, or “what am I doing”, and the like.

So can we recognise the difference, and act accordingly to any given word?

If it is a word of rebuke from Our Lord God, then can we bring …….. to our Father in heaven in repentance and seek His wisdom for how to deal with it. It will work out for our best if can bring all things to our Loving Heavenly Father.

If it is a word of condemnation from the enemy, then can we recognise it as such?
If we can recognise it, then we should be rebuking the thought and sending it away in the power of Our Lord God.
Praising Our Lord God will have the effect of sending the enemy away. So try to praise the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, if you are feeling that you are being pulled down.

If we respond well to a word of condemnation from the enemy, then that which the enemy brought for bad, can be turned for good!

I’m starting to think that the short version of this post should be, bring all things to your Loving Heavenly Father. He will know the best way to deal with all things. 🙂

Can we echo the words of Psalm 139

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

If Our Lord God tells us not to worry about something, then can we let it go?
If He tells us to work on something, then will we follow His leading?

My Lord God, who is above all and knows all!
Help me to know Your voice, so that I can follow You and Your ways that much better.
If the enemy is trying to pull me down, then help me to recognise this, so that I can then turn to You and send the enemy away, praising You instead of allowing the enemy to pull me down.
For You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
There is no one who is greater than You!!!
My Lord God.
Amen.

I wrote the above a day or so ago, but I do think that there is a part 2…… So Part 2 is below.

The enemy comes to condemn, but The Lord God brings a word of rebuke that leads to holiness.

If you are hearing words that say you are no good, useless or the like, then KNOW that these are words from the enemy!!!
They should be dealt with accordingly.
Rebuke, refuse and refute them.

Instead fill yourself with the words of what Your Loving Heavenly Father says to you.
His words to you are, “I LOVE YOU!!!
I sent my Son into the world for you.
He shed His blood on the cross to redeem you, so that you could have life in abundance.”

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

You matter so much to God, that He sent his Son to Save you.
You matter so much to God, that He has a plan for you, a plan to prosper you.

If you are going through tough times, then that might be difficult to see, but it is the truth. Our God is there to help us at ALL times, and all the more so when times are tough.

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Remember the Footprints in the Sand poem.
If you haven’t read it, then consider having a read of the poem. (A Web search for “footprints in the sand” should easily find a copy.)

Listen to some GOOD praise music.
If you would like to have some up to date Christian music to praise to, then a YouTube search for “Bethel church Victory album” should give you some life giving music to listen to.

I implore you to hear the Good words that Your Loving Heavenly Father is speaking to you, and to then put them into action.

Father,
Please help all who are struggling.
Help them to hear Your Life Giving words to them.
Help them to know that they ARE LOVED by You.
Help them to know that they matter and are important.
Lead and guide them in the way that is best for them to go.
Give them the courage to follow Your ways.
Our Loving Heavenly Father.
Amen.

Below is a list of some previous posts about struggles.
If God prompts you (if one just stands out to you) then please do consider reading that one. (or two or ….)

I see a Vessel
When you are at your weakest, God is there to build you up and make you stronger.

The Calling Abyss
When facing depression, you do have a choice to say no to it.

How Do You Pray when you feel you just can’t do anything?
Title says it all.

“I’ll Raise a Hallelujah” is a battle cry
Sing Praises to God when times are hard.

Cut away the veil of What If’s
Try to focus on what matters, rather than what doesn’t.

Accept, Repent and Forgive, There is Power Here!
Ever felt like a caged animal? Three little words could be a release.

Accept, Repent and Forgive (a practical example)
Putting into practise the previous post of Accept, Repent and Forgive.

A Diamond in the Dirt is still a Diamond
Let Jesus Shine in you.

I could so easily list all the post about struggles here, but instead I’ll finish with a link to the archive page of Posts about Struggles.

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The Sail in the Wind

I had a picture of a sail being hoisted into position on a yacht.
The sail was only part way up. The wind was light and didn’t have any real direction to it, as such the sail was flailing about a bit.
The top of the sail was always being drawn towards the top, following the line that it was attached to. The rest of the sail followed.
In its part way up position you had the top of the sail leading the way, the middle part of the sail flailing in the wind and the bottom part of the sail resting on the deck.

I felt that the picture could be a picture of the church.

The top of the sail is the leader of the church, following the way set before them by God.
The next part of the sail is the leadership team (these could be both staff and non staff people) who are supporting and following the leaders guidance.
Then you have those who are up and doing what they can, when they can.
Then you have those who are just getting off the deck, to join those who can and do.
Lastly you have those who are still on the deck, waiting to see if they will join those who are off the deck or just stay where they are.

If you are part of the church, then where about on the sail would you be?

Are you with those who are off the deck flailing around in the slight wind, not quite sure of what’s going on?
Are you on the deck looking at those off the deck, thinking, that looks a bit messy up there, I think that I’ll stay just where I am?
Or are you on the deck just waiting to join the fun of those who are already off the deck, just waiting for the wind?

When the wind does comes and properly inflates the sail, then the real movement will happen!

But how much of the sail will be in the wind?

1%, 10%, ….. 100%, or somewhere in between?
How much of the sail is off the deck will greatly determine how much movement occurs when the wind comes. A sail that is 100% up will catch more than one that is only 10% up.

When the wind comes, then will you be part of those who are where they are meant to be, off the deck?
Or will you be part of those who are on the deck, thinking, if only I was up there?

While we are waiting for the wind, well things may appear to be a little bit unsettling. Try not to focus on the flapping about, instead focus on the goal and where we are heading to.

To the leaders, try not to be put off by the flapping about but instead focus on where you are being led, and as such continue to lead the way, that we all should go.
Can those who are off the deck encourage those who are on the deck to join them, so that when the wind comes, we will then have a bigger sail?
If you are on the deck then can you join those who are moving up to where they should be?

Although this picture has described the church as a whole, can we apply it on a personal level?

If the wind of God came today, then how much of your sail would you have available?

Is your sail fully up, ready and waiting for the wind?
Or is it all on the deck, where the wind could come and go and then pass you by?
It’s going to be best to have as much of your sail up and waiting, as you can, so that when the wind does come, then you can be moved by the wind to where you are meant to be.

Father,
I ask that You help us all to know where it is that You want us to be, so that we can then say yes to You, and be where You want us to be.
Help us to know and trust You that much more, so that we can follow You, and be ready to do what You would like us to be doing.
Amen.

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I don’t like cats!

I don’t like cats.
I’m sorry to all you cat lovers out there but I just don’t like them.
They’re always coming into my garden leaving little presents in the soil, of the type you’d rather not have and they’ve even gone and sat on my newly planted flowers squashing them.
So, you see that I just don’t like cats.

Now when I see them in my garden, I’m out through the back door with my washing up liquid bottle in hand, filled with water, (that’s left strategically by the door,) with a look on my face that could only say. “This time I’m going to get you and I really mean business.”

I do hope the neighbours haven’t seen this, as it must be quite a sight.

Now the thing is, I do like my neighbours.
They are lovely people, always willing to help out if they can and I don’t think that they’ve ever moaned at me, even though I’ve probably given them something to moan about at some point in time.

Now the cats that I chase out of my garden, with all the passion of a man racing for the gold medal, belong to, …..
Yes you may have guessed it by now, my neighbours, who I do think so highly of.
I hope they also think of me in the same way but I can’t be so sure of that one, especially if they’ve seen me chasing after their cats.

Now there’s a thought.
Have they seen me chasing after their cats???
I do really like my neighbours after all and I really wouldn’t want to upset them.
Yet I could be doing just that, if they ever have seen me running around my garden like a demented man squirting as much water as I possibly can at they’re dear little cats.

Oh dear, I do seem to have a bit of a problem here.

You see I still don’t like cats, but I do really like my neighbours, and I don’t want to upset them, if I haven’t already.

So how can I deal with they’re cats?

I could just carry on looking at them as if they are just any old cats and chase them away as I have done so many times before.

Or, I could try to see them as my neighbour’s cats and as such just try to gently shoo them out of my garden? Just so that I don’t upset my neighbours.

I guess I might just have to get rid of that washing up liquid bottle by the back door now…???

What I have just shared with you can also be true in the church.

There can be people who come along, who we just don’t get along with.
A clash of personality you could call it.

So how do we deal with these people?

Do we going chasing after them with a washing up liquid bottle in hand, metaphorically speaking, and try to chase them away?

Or can we try to see them in a different light?

Well, you see my Father in heaven loves me and he also loves the people I struggle with.

So, if by my dealing with the people I struggle with in an unloving manner causes my Father in heaven pain, ….
Then do I want to carry on doing that?

Can I try to see these people as my Father’s children, and out of that have a bit more patience for them? Just so that I don’t upset my Father in heaven?

Father,
Help us all to bear with one another.
Help us to see those who we struggle with as Your children.
Help us to have a bit more patience for them, even if it is only so we don’t upset you.
Amen.

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What is it to Know Anxiety???

With a title like this one you might think that I am a person who suffers with anxiety.
On the most part I don’t, but just recently my mind has not been working quite how I would like it to. It’s been (what I call) a little bit fuddled and muddled. It’s been like it’s been stuck in the wrong gear either going too slow, for my liking or spinning away over nonsense.
It’s meant that I’ve not been able to do some of the things that I think I should have been able to do.
It’s all been a bit frustrating, to say the least.

I have asked various groups who I meet with (who I trust) to pray for my troubled mind.
One person did ask, “Is there anything that you are anxious about?”
Initially, I just smiled at that thought. No, life is generally OK, so I’m not really anxious about anything.

The thought didn’t leave me though, and as I have pondered on it, then I have come to realise that a smallish project that I’m trying to do something with has been playing on my mind, a bit more than it possibly should. Even when I’m not thinking about it, it’s still there in the background somewhere, mulling itself over.
If my subconscious could talk to me, then it might possibly be screaming out, “Just put this one on the shelf for a moment!” 🙂

Could this possibly be the cause of my muddled thinking???

Sometimes I can go through something and part of my way of dealing with it is writing about it. Some things may get published and other things get deleted. Once I’ve finished writing this one, then I’ll decide if it’s to be published, stored or deleted.

So what’s the purpose of writing all this?
On one level it’s your try and get it all straightened out in my own mind.
It could also possibly help someone with a muddled mind or someone who knows somebody, with a muddled mind…

My muddled thinking just kind of crept up on me.
Because it was a gradual thing it took a bit of time for me to notice it. I guess it was only when I was unhappy with my mind that I noticed it.
I’m guessing that’s the first step, acknowledging that something is wrong. I didn’t self diagnose that I was struggling with anxiety, I just simply knew year my mind wasn’t working as I wanted it to.

The next thing I did was to ask for help.
The form of help I asked for was, prayer for my troubled mind that just wouldn’t do what I knew it should be able to do.
This did lead to a question which lead to the self analysis that you have just read above.

When I realised that this project was playing on my mind, I could then (and did) ponder and prayerfully consider it.
I even asked for people to pray that I might know how to deal with this project. I didn’t divulge all the details of the project, just enough so that people might have a better idea of how to pray.
I do think that this an important point to note when asking for prayer.
You don’t need to divulge all the details to everybody, use a bit of wisdom as to what is needed to be shared and to whom you share it with.

Asking for help/prayer can sometimes be a bit of a difficult thing to do.
The question I dread most goes along the lines of, “What’s causing you to feel this way?”
If I knew the answer to that, then would I be asking for help in the first place???

A previous post of A Moden Day Plank in the Eye looks deeper into this thought. A brief summary of that post, I’m looking for God’s help more than I’m looking for man’s.

I do understand that man can have the correct answers at times, but I also know that God has all the answers, all the time.
We just need to hear what He is saying to us.

So, what could you do if you have a troubled mind?
Could you follow something of the process I went through?
Acknowledge that something is wrong.
Ask for help.
Consider (prayerful consideration works best) any words which are spoken to you (from both man and God), even if you initially dismiss them.
If needed seek further prayer/help with the answers you receive.
If you ask Him to help you then your Loving Heavenly Father can help, lead and guide you to what is the best way to go.

How could you help someone who has a bit of a troubled mind?
If it’s a friend who’s struggling, then could you just simply be a good friend?
Could you help out where you can? Could you not meddle where it’s not needed?
Prayerful consideration of ….. should give you the best answers of what to do.

I have written a post called How can we help those who don’t want help? I don’t think I need to explain what it’s about as the title says it all. If you are prompted to, then have a read of it.

My best advice for everyone is always to seek your Loving Heavenly Father. He knows just what you need at all times and is there for you, if you will just try to seek Him and His wisdom.

As for me…. well, I’m doing better than I was. I might not quite be where I would like to be, but improvements have been made.
I dare say that I’m just like everyone else, in that, I’m still a work in progress. 🙂