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Do we sometimes walk away from Blessings?

I had arranged to help a family member out by doing some work for them recently. As the time was coming near, I received a phone call.

“I’ve gone out and I’m going for a walk along the river with a friend. If you still want you do the work, then there is a key available ……”

There’s more to the story than I’m writing here, but this version makes my point that much better. 🙂

Well, I thought. You don’t want to be available, but you’d still like for me to do the work???
Hmmm, let me think about that one for a minute.
Day off for me then. 🙂

I stayed at home and did some work which needed doing in my own garden instead.

As I was working, the phone call kept making me smile.
It’s OK, you can still do the work, but I’m going to have a nice walk along the river, kept playing through my mind.

Then the thought, “Do we treat God in this way?” Came to my mind.

Does God make plans to bless us, only to have us be distracted and go off and do our own thing instead?

Do we leave God waiting and wanting to bless us, because we thought we had a better offer, and took that instead?

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 a hope and a future.

Psalm 81:13-16

 13 “If my people would only listen to me,
    if Israel would only follow my ways,
14 how quickly I would subdue their enemies
    and turn my hand against their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,
    and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;
    with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

You could consider reading all of Psalm 81, it covers this thought so well.

So, we have “honey from the rock”, on offer to us….. if we will just hear and follow our Lord.

Or in other words, Blessings in Abundance, if we will just hear and follow our Lord.

Father,
Yes please, I would like to have your Blessings in Abundance in my life.
Please help me to hear You that much better, so that I can then follow You, that much more.
My Lord God Almighty.
Amen.

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Sometimes, Life just Takes!

The above statement is something which I unfortunately know all too well.

Life is generally pretty good, but every once in a while something will happen, and then I’m left thinking, sometimes, life just takes.

Last night such an occurrence happened.
I’m not going to go into the details, as I’ll only make myself look small minded and petty. But suffice to say, I was left thinking, the title of this post and I was sulking pretty good. 😦

This morning I woke up to a proper weird dream.
I was at work and just turned to my PC monitor to do some work…. and the monitor was gone???
A complete stranger was sitting near by, who then went on to say. “They were in my way, so I moved them.”.
“Who the heck are you! And just what do you think you are doing.”
Went through my mind.
Just as I was about to go storming off to find a manager to complain to, I then woke up.

????, OK, so what on earth was that all about???
Then I remembered last night, and my sulking.

Yes, Life does indeed just take from you…. But how are you going to respond to it when life does take from you?
Sulk?
Storm off in a tantrum?
Or in some other negative manner?

Or will we be able to turn to Our Heavenly Father for His help and guidance?

Last night I did no such thing. I just sulked.
If we are honest, then have we all been there?
All I can do is see what happened, accept it, and try to do better next time.

So what could I do better next time?

I have already said that it would be better to look to Father for His help and guidance, But what would that actually mean?

Seek Him in the first instance.
Forgive who ever or what ever it is that has upset you.
And endeavour to not take offence or be upset at what has just been lost. (Not an easy task to do.)

Or you could get all wrong, have a weird dream, and then write a post all about it….???
No, no, no. This last one is the advice to not follow. 🙂
(That is unless Father tells you to do just that.)

Turning to Father when the wheels fall off is always going to be the best advice to follow.
He knows all about it already, and He is there to help, lead and guide us, if we will just turn to Him.

Forgiving is the next big weapon we have against upset.
It might, sometimes, not be easy, but it is worth while.
I’ve already written several posts about forgiveness.
I’ll list some below. If one jumps out at you, then you could possibly consider reading it???
Forgiveness is Key.
Forgiveness and Reconciliation are Two very Different Things
Accept, Repent and Forgive, There is Power Here!

The not taking offense when things go wrong is another tough one to do.
Something I read once comes to mind as I think about this.
Giving up or Letting go.
Giving up implies defeat, being beaten, and made into a victim.
Letting go implies release, handing over, not being the victim but taking control.
Outwardly, both giving up and letting go can look the same, but inwardly, the option you choose to take can make a big difference to how you deal with ……
Letting go and handing …… over to your Heavenly Father is always going to be the better option.

Writing about these things is relatively easy, but putting them into practice can be more difficult, but they are practisces that can lead to a happier personal statement of mind.

If you feel prompted to, then another post you could consider reading, if you are struggling to make good choices, is The Calling Abyss.
Don’t be put off by the title, it’s actually about turning your back to the abyss, and instead choosing life, even though it might hurt.

As I have already said, making good choices can be tough, but they can lead to a better and healthier state of mind.

Father,
I look to You to lead and guide me.
Please give me Your strength when I am weak.
Please give me Your wisdom when I’m acting not so wisely.
Help me to always be trusting and leaning on You.
My Lord God.
Amen.

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Is your greatest trophy just a foundation stone?

This is a thought that came to me as I was just pondering one day.

I was thinking about the church at Laodicea and Sardis, in Revelations.

Both churches thought that they were good and were strong in an aspect of their being. Then God comes along and effectively says, “You think you are good, but you are not as good or strong as you think you are.”

I do kind of feel that God could be saying to the churches (and individuals), “The thing where you think you are strongest at, if you are not careful, it could become a snare to you. Pride goes before a fall.”

I don’t think that God was really unhappy with the churches, but just wanting to take them to the next level.
I’ve already written about the church at Laodicea before, and this is a bit of a follow up. Summary of the previous post. God wants to take us to the next level, but in order to do so, he needs to shake us up a bit. He does this from a position of Love though.
The previous post can be found here. Are we like the church at Laodicea?

I do believe that God is happy with our trophies, but He also has something new for us to walk into.
Hence the thought, is our greatest trophy just a foundation stone… to the next great thing that God has for us???

If we keep our trophy on the pedestal that we would like to put it on, (you know how it can go, Look at what I have done 🙂 ), then will we be willing to move into the next thing that is waiting for us?

If we view our trophy as a foundation stone, then can we place it on the ground, stand on it, and then be ready for where God will take us next?

Hopefully it won’t break as we step onto it, but if it does, then maybe it wasn’t quite as good as we thought it was…???
If it does break, then don’t despair, God is able to rebuild all things and the next trophy could be so much better…. to be used as… a foundation stone…???

I’m not trying to say that we need to trample all our achievements into the ground, but are we willing to give our best back to God for Him to do with it, whatever He wants to?

A previous post, The Vast Battle, was running through my mind as I was pondering on this.
Instead of trying to relive an old battle, can we see the new land we should be looking to take hold of?

So, are we willing to use our best achievements as a foundation to step into the new that God has for us to move into?

As I have been thinking about this, Philippians 3:12-14, has come to my mind.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Father,
Thank you that You do have new things for us to walk into.
Help us to keep our eyes on you, so that we can always follow your promptings.
Our Loving Father.
Amen.

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A glimpse into Addiction???

This is something which I have wanted to write about, and to not write about in equal measure.

I have just been reminded of it again… So I’ll give it a try at putting something down on paper (or on the screen).

I don’t have a lot of experience in this matter, thankfully. But I can remember a time, when a particular computer game, took too much of my time.

I’m not going to give any details of which game it was, but it was a form of escapism for me at the time.

I was generally unhappy and struggling with life in general, and to be able to plug into something which would remove me from my reality (which I didn’t like) was very appealing, but not too helpful.

I was a believer at the time (and still am), and as such, kind of knew that I should be running to Father for help.
I did go to Father, of a fashion, but the pull of the game was still very strong and subtle.
It was easy to turn the console on and just plug into the game.
It was always available and ready to whisk me off to another word where I could just forget about my reality for a short while. (Or what turned out to be a longer time than it should have been.)

I can remember reaching the point where I began to not like the game.
I might have even started to approach despising the game I sooo longed to play.

But turn it on and plug in was always my desire, which at one point, was my go to place for far too much of my time.

So why did I do it?

Why should I trade a true reality for something which was fake? (Which I knew was fake.)

Why was I so willing do something which I didn’t like?

Why would I do something which I knew, wasn’t going to be helpful to me in the long run?

I think the short answer is, that I was in pain.

I was unhappy and wanted anything to dull the pain.

Thankfully the thing I went to, was just the game and not anything else that could have been so much worse.
There are many things that people can go to to dull the pain which could have been more difficult to turn away from. So I do thank God, that my thing I went to was just a minor escapism. (It didn’t feel too minor at the time though.)

I can remember reaching a time when I did have enough of the game.

But I couldn’t just stop playing it.

As much as I loathed it, I still played it.

I believe it was because I felt that I had nothing else that would dull the pain I was feeling.

Is this one small aspect of what it is to be addicted to something?

Not wanting it, but still picking it up anyway?

Knowing that it is doing you no good, but not seeing any other way of doing anything, other than the thing you don’t want to?

I think that one of the turning points for me was recognising where I was, and then wanting for things to change. And then trying to make change happen. (Not an easy task if you are in a bad place.)

So, how did I make the change happen?

I spoke to my Heavenly Father. (I was always speaking to Him on some level really.)

I asked Him to give me something else that would be more real to me and better for me.

I asked for Him to be more real to me.

I asked Him if I could plug into Him instead of the game in a meaningful way, so that I wouldn’t want to play the game any longer.

short summary, I reconised that I wanted things to change, I asked for help and I endeavoured to look for something better, rather than my go to not so helpful thing.

Well, I have managed to type something down.
But who could this be for?

If you are caught in something which you don’t like, then perhaps this could help you???
Instead of focusing on what you don’t want to do, you could try looking for something else that is better and will be better for you.
I once heard someone say, “Instead of using the brakes to avoid something, you could always use the steering wheel.”
Handing what you don’t like to God and asking for His help is always going to be good advice.

If you know someone who is caught in some kind of destructive behaviour that they just can’t seem to shake, then could this be for you???
If you do know someone who is just doing something which is no good for themselves, then what could you do?
Try to understand them???
Try to see them as someone who is in pain and not thinking correctly???
Try not to judge them??? (This could be a very tough one to do.)
Try to offer them a life line by offering a better alternative???
My best advice would always be to seek your Heavenly Father who knows ALL that is going on. Seek His wisdom for what the best option to do is. Endeavour to hear His words to you, and then follow them.

Father,
I’ve had a go at writing this.
I offer it up to You.
Please do with it whatever You want to.
If there is someone who You want to read it, then please lead them to it.
If You want to keep people away from this, then please let this be lost in the desert of posts out there.
For all who are suffering, I ask that You will be real to them in a meaningful way so that they can know a release, that You can bring to them.
You are Lord God Almighty, and You Do know All things and are there to help and guide all who call on You.
Amen.

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Search and you will find.

This picture was some thing that was spoken to me, some time ago.
It was shared by someone who was trying to explain to another person, why he knew he could believe what he did.

There were two people in a dark room.
Neither knew where they were.
Both were looking to see if they could work out were they were.
After a while, one of them became tired. He settled down and was soon asleep.

But the second person carried on looking.
After a time, he found a small glimmer of light. On going to the light, he then found a door.
Outside the door, he could see that he was in the country side.
He had been inside a barn. There were green fields all around. In the fields just over the way there was cattle eating the grass.

On seeing this, he ran back to the other man in order to show him where they were.

However, when he went back into the barn, the door closed tight behind him.

He then woke the other man and told him, “I know where we are. We are in a barn in the country side. There are green fields all around us. There are cattle eating the grass in the field just over there.”

The other man just looked at him and replied, “What are you talking about?” We searched for a while and found nothing. We are in a dark room and that’s all that there is!
You don’t need to share the funny dream you just had with me.”

The one who had continued to search knew differently.
He knew where they were. He knew the country side was just outside, even though he couldn’t find the door to step into it again.
He knew with a certainty that could not be shaken.

I also have experienced the reality of God in such a way that I Know that He is real. I might struggle to demonstrate this reality to some people at times, but it does not shake my steadfast certainly in who He is.

If you would like to have this same certainty, then just like the first person, carry on looking for Him.

Luke 11:9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

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It can be good to be reminded of the obvious

Do you ever have times when you just miss the obvious?

It can be staring you in the face, but for some reason it just passes you by.

It can be like the man who, when asked to move a car, went to the back of the car and tried to push it. Only to find it wouldn’t move.

It would have been so much more effective if he first took the hand brake off and put it into neutral instead of leaving it it gear.

He could have even gone go the front of the car instead of the back so that he would have been pushing it down hill instead of up. The car was parked on a hill facing upwards and he was only asked to move the car, he wasn’t told which direction to move it.

He could have even sat in the drivers seat and turned the key (which was in the ignition) and then just driven it.

Hopefully our moments of missing the obvious are not as bad as the above, but we can all have them.

So what can we do to try to not miss the obvious?

Possibly remind ourselves of the obvious.

As a Christian some of the obvious I need to remind myself of are below.

God is real!
He is an actual real person who does exist.
He’s not some made up fantasy figure, who only exists in stories and people’s imagination.
He is truly real and has an impact on everything, whether we see it or not.

God LOVES us!
HE LOVES us with a LOVE that is everlasting.
HIS LOVE for us will not fade, perish or spoil.
HIS very nature is LOVE and HE DOES LOVE us with an everlasting LOVE!

We have messed up.
We have got things wrong, and have gone our own way.
We have effectively turned our backs to God and tried to do things our way.
We have fallen short of the glory of God, we have all turned to our own ways.

The consequence of turning away from God is eternal separation from God.
This is a big problem for us, as separation from God means separation from all that is good.
The technical term for this is Hell. An eternal existence in Hell.

God is not happy with this, and has put in place a rescue plan.
God has sent His son, Jesus, into the world so that all who call on Him will be saved.

Those who acknowledge and accept Jesus, as Lord and Saviour can now come to God with no fear of condemnation.
The way is open to enter into our Father’s house with confidence, because of what He has done for us.

I have accepted His offer of a rescue plan and I have asked Jesus into my heart and life. My all that I have.
Because of this, I can now enter into the presence of my Heavenly Father.

These are some of the main obvious things that I remind myself of, so that I can, and do look to Jesus and the Father for all that I need.

I understand that some people do not agree with me with these beliefs, but for me, they are not just beliefs, but truths.
They are the truths that mean that I can know God in a real and meaning full way.

One example of this knowing God in a meaning full way, is this very post you are reading now.

I woke up this morning not knowing quite what to do.
I felt the pull of a computer game vying for my attention. I didn’t really want to play the game, but it was calling.
So I asked God, please give me something more meaning full to do.
I was then reminded of this post that I had started, but then stalled on.
I have now since spent my time on something that is useful and will hopefully bless someone, instead of just wandering through an imaginary land that just occupies my time. I’ll just save that for another time when it is right to do so, and try to not be too absorbed by it.

In short, God heard me and gave me something better to do.
This time I managed to hear it, and act upon the thought that was given.

God is Good, all the time.
And all the time… God is Good!

Father,
Thank you that You are real.
Thank you that You care about me.
Thank you for giving me this to write, instead of unplugging my brain and plugging into a game.
Help me and everyone to see and hear you that much better, so that we can all follow your ways, that much better.
Our Lord God Almighty.
Amen.

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What’s in your hand?

This is something, that somebody said to me once.

The full version goes along the lines of…
Close your left and right hands.
Now have a look at what is in your left and right hand.
Is it useful or helpful to you?
If it is, then hold onto it. If it isn’t, then let go of it.

When I first heard it, I just thought, all I have is empty air in my hands. What are you talking about?

It took another person to explain it to me a little bit better.
He said, sometimes things come our way that we are meant to take hold of and keep, even if it is only for a while.
But there are also other things that can come our way that we are not meant to take hold of.
These things we are meant to let go of, so that it can go and find the one it is meant for.

The explanation made a bit more sense to me.

As I have pondered on this thought at times, I have thought, do we judge or look down on the things that aren’t for us?

It can be very easy to think, “What a lode of nonsense that is” to something that wasn’t meant for you. (You might even be thinking that about this post, now 🙂 )
But if something is not for you, it doesn’t mean that it is of no value.
To the one it is meant for it could be just the thing that is needed. It’s just that you can’t see the value of it, because it was never meant for you.

So, can we hold onto the things that are meant for us, but can we equally let go of the things that are not meant for us. Whilst trying to not judge the things that we need to let go of.

Father,
Thank you that You do have good gifts for us.
Help us to hold onto the good gifts that are meant for us.
Help us go let go of the things which are not meant for us.
Please give us the wisdom to know the difference.
Amen.

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Are you holding the steering wheel too tightly?

This is something which came to mind, when I was thinking about somebody else.
I have since been able to apply this to myself as well.

This is one of those pictures where you could look at it and say, that’s just like….
Hopefully you can read this and ask, how does this apply to me first?
I have needed to hear Father when He has asked me, how does this apply to you.

So, I now give to you…. Are you holding the steering wheel too tightly?

There were five companions going on a long journey, travelling in a car.

One person was doing all the driving.

The driver also needed to work on his laptop and talk to people on his mobile phone, all the time, whilst still driving.

All of the passengers could drive the car but the driver insisted,

“No. It’s O.K., I can do it all.”

It’s probably only going to be a matter of time before the driver and the passengers end up in some sort of trouble.

All the people in the car could, and should share the burden of driving the car.

This would give the current driver time to work on his laptop, answer his mobile or to just take a break and look out of the window and have a rest.

This requires two things.

The driver needs to be able to let go of the steering wheel and let somebody else have a turn at the wheel.

The passengers need to be willing to take hold of the steering wheel.

Are we willing to do our part?

The thing is… when somebody else takes hold of the steering wheel, it then means that they are then in control.
They might drive in a slightly different manner or even take a different route to what was previously being taken.

The question then has to be asked, “Is the new route or driving style wrong?”

Hopefully, as all the people in the car are heading to the same location, the answer will be “No, it isn’t wrong.
It’s just slightly different to how it was previously done.”

Instead of motorways and A roads, country roads might be used instead.
But if the end destination is the same, then we will be heading in the right direction.

Sometimes the journey can be just as important as the final destination.
Who knows what else you can learn if a slightly different route is taken instead of the route you would like to do take?

The other thought I have had when pondering this, is that I am only one person, with one pair of hands.
I can only do the work of one person!
I can’t do it all!

Several people working at something differently to me is better than me trying to take on all things, (just because that’s the way I would like to see things done).

If other people are able to do something, then I can be free to do the work that Father has for me to do.
I just need to hear what it is that Father wants me to do, and leave the rest to Him.

Father,
Please help us to hear You that much more clearly.
Help us to know when it is right for us to take the lead in something and when it is right to allow some else to take the lead.
Help us to have the grace we need in us if we see someone doing something in a way that just grates against us.
Give us the wisdom to know when we need to stand back in order to allow someone else to be all they can in You.
If we are all working to build Your kingdom, then hopefully we will all be heading in the right direction.
You are Lord God Almighty.
Help us all to trust and follow You that much more closely.
Amen.

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Funny (Tragic) Baby poop story

I recently heard of a tale of a new born baby.

It was the middle of the night and the mum was changing the baby’s nappy. Just as the nappy was removed, the little darling then just let rip with an explosive number 2.

It made a bit of a mess.

The mum went and got the dad, to then do the clear up duty of the room, while she dealt with the little darling.

The dad had the bigger clean up to deal with.
From the baby, all along the carpet, through the doorway and into the next room. When he had cleaned the carpet, he went back to the baby, looked round, and sure enough, it was also on the walls.
A bit more clearing up to do.

He looked at his little darling, and just thought, “I can’t blame you, can I. You don’t even know what you have just done. I’ve just had to do this clearing up after you, and not hold it against you.”

How true them words are.

The baby was just doing something it had to do.
The timing was just a bit (or a lot) unfortunate for the parents.
There was no malice in the baby.
No intent to redecorate with a unique pattern. It just had to go.

When people are hurting or upset, then they can act just like the baby above.
Not literally of course. But when they lash out with their words and actions.
When this happens, can we then view them like the little baby?
Unaware of what they are doing?
Just trying to empty themselves of something that is toxic to them, even though they are not doing it in the best possible way.

Will we be able to see the person, behind the mess?
Will we be able to love the hurt person and not respond to the mess?
Will we be able to do the clear up duty, and not hold it against them?

This could be a hard task to achieve, but with our Father’s help, then all things are possible.

Father,
Can You give us eyes to see people as You see them.
Can you help us to see the person and not the hurt.
Can You help us to Love the hurt person, just like You do.
Amen.

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When we go to church, are we looking for Saul or Father?

This a thought which came to me as I was pondering one time.

I’m thinking of Saul, the first king of Israel, when I’m asking the question. 1 Samuel chapter 8 is when Israel asks for a king to rule them instead of God.

Before this time, The Lord God was their king, but they wanted to be like the other nations all around them.

In some respects it seems crazy that they wanted a human king instead of The Lord God Almighty.
They possibly wanted this as it can be easier to relate to a person instead of God. A person can be seen, even though a person is nothing when compared to God.

It still begs the question as to why did they want to give their kingship to a man instead of having The Lord God Almighty as their king?

But when we go to church, can be effectively doing the same thing?

When we go to church, are we looking for Saul or Father?

No I don’t mean Saul as in the person Saul, but I mean Saul, as in what he represents. A man in place of God.

I can almost hear you shouting back at me, “We are here looking for Father.” But even when we have that aim, we can still end up looking for Saul… ???

I can fall short of this as well.
A person is just easier to see.
We can just end up going with the thought creeping in, what has the leader got to share with us today… ???

We should be looking for Father! Full stop!

We shouldn’t be happy with only hearing from the leader.
They are only meant to be a sign post, who is pointing the way to Father.

So why would we be happy stopping at the sign post?
We need to press on in further and enter into what Father has for us instead!

It can be such a subtle difference, but it is something that can make all the difference.

Any good leader would hopefully be saying the same thing.

We all (hopefully) know this, but as it can be with so many things, it can be all to easy to fall into bad habits. So we always need to be on our guard and try to ensure that it is Father that we are truly seeking.

Father,
You are Lord God Almighty!
Help us to press in that much more to seek You.
Thank you for the people You have put in place to lead us to You.
Help us to not stop at them but to press on in that much more so that we can touch Your heart and hear Your words to us.
Thank you that You Love us and want the best for us.
You are the One who is best for us.
All Glory to You, our Lord God.
Amen.