Tag: fellowship

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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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Do we recognise the food we need?

I lost my appetite a little while back. I knew that I needed to eat though. I knew this and as such I had to effectively force feed myself.
I didn’t enjoy the experience, but I knew that I needed the energy.

There were actually two times I lost my appetite.
The first was when I was overcoming a virus. I was weak from the virus and I did not want to face food, but I knew that my body needed the energy to continue to recover.
The second time was when I was experiencing pain. Again I just lost my appetite. But, I just knew that I needed energy. If anything I needed more energy to cope with the pain that I was experiencing. I was working harder just to do normal things, hence my increased need for energy.

On both occasions my body was telling me, “I don’t want anything to eat.” On both occasions I had to ignore this message my body was sending to me and I just had to force feed myself something in order to recover and have the energy needed for the day.

Physical food is one thing, but there is another type of food that we need? Spiritual food.

If we starve ourselves of spiritual food, then how will we stand up to the pressures of life?

Sometimes we may not have much of an appetite for healthy spiritual food, but are there times when we just need to force feed ourselves the spiritual food that we need?

Are there times when we just have to tell ourselves to just seek our Heavenly Fathers face, even though it might be the last thing that we want to do?

I’ve heard it said that prayer, the word and fellowship are like a three legged stool. With all three in place the stool is stable and can be sat on. Take one of those three legs away and the stool just falls over.

Prayer.
Talking to your Heavenly Father, and hearing His words back to you.

The Word.
Reading your bible, and hearing what God is speaking to you through what you read.

Fellowship.
Meeting with fellow believers in order to share what God has been speaking to you, and also to hear what God has been speaking to others. In good fellowship we can uphold others while they also uphold us.

Prayer, the word and fellowship are three forms of spiritual food that will nourish us if we can feed ourselves with them. Hopefully we won’t always need to force feed ourselves these spiritual foods, but sometimes we might have to just do this in order to remain fit and healthy, in Our Lord God Almighty.

Father,
Help all to come to You, to receive all the goodness that You have for us.
Thank you that You are there to lead, guide and nourish us with all the blessings that You have for us.
Our Loving Father in Heaven.
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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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.

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You are what you eat.

Healthy food leads to a healthy body.

But what about the spiritual food you eat?

Do we look after our inner self by taking hold of the truth that Father has, and speaks to us?
Or do we listen and give to much attention to what the enemy tries to speak and feed to us instead?

When put in this simple way, then hopefully we all can say that we want what is good for us.
But will our actions follow this thought through?

When we are feeling tired and a bit (or a lot) run down, it is at these times that the enemy will redouble his efforts to make his voice that much louder.
He may try to tell you that you don’t matter, that nobody sees or even hears you and all the other untruths he will endeavour to speak to you.

If we feed on the lies of the enemy, then it’s not going to be good for us. An unhealthy appetite leads to an unhealthy body.

So how can we try to have a healthy spiritual body?

First we need to know that we have a choice about which food we feed ourselves on.
The enemy may well want to hide this simple fact from us, but we do indeed have a choice as to what we take into our hearts and minds.

We then need to try to choose the things which are good for us.

We need to take on Father’s words to us.
His written word, and also His promptings He gives to us to follow His ways.

We need to spend time with Father, otherwise known as prayer.
We need to spend time speaking, and listening to what Father has to say to us.

We need to spend time with other believers, otherwise known as fellowship.
We need to spend time building others up as well as allowing others to build us up.
When believers come together, it is at these times that father can show His Love, to His people, through His people.

In short we need to try and have prayer, word and fellowship in our lives in order to have a healthy spiritual appetite.

I have heard these three disciplines described as a three legged stool.
With all three legs in place, you then have a solid base on which you can sit on.
Take one of the legs away, and you you then have something which just falls over.

Having a healthy appetite when times are good should put us in a good position for when times are not so good.
Knowing the Good food that Father has for us, can mean that we know where to go when times are pressing in on us, so that we can then ignore the words of the enemy and instead feast on the goodness that Father has for us.

But what if you don’t have a healthy appetite?
What then, if you are in times of trouble and you are feeding on the wrong things?

The good news is that you can always change your diet!

Remember the first point I wrote about.
You can choose what it is, that you take in.
You can choose to take in and believe what Father says to you.

He says that, YOU ARE IMPORTANT!!!

You are so important that God sent His only son to die for you on the cross!
As God’s word States in 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.

We need to try to take on the truth that God speaks to us.

When I was struggling in the past, I used to have a song that I would listen to.
I used to think that it would comfort me as it spoke to me the reality of where I was.
The truth is though, that it was not a good song to listen to.
It was a depressing song.
One that spoke of no change and loneliness.
Instead of comforting me as I thought it was, it was only compounding and confirming to me that I was lonely and telling me that it wasn’t going to change.
Very Bad food to be feeding on when you are feeling low.

I now have a much better appetite of listening to praise and worship music instead!
Good praise and worship music. Yes, there is such a thing.
Bethel church music and Elevation Church music are very often played, via YouTube in my home. Revival in Belfast by Robin Mark is another great album to listen to.
I’ve even had the US marines singing these are the days of Elijah in my home (courtesy of YouTube). When they get to the part of “lift your voice”, they then give a BIG shout. You need to see it at least once. Have a search for “America’s Marines Singing “Days of Elijah”” if you haven’t seen it.

There is so much good food out there to feed on.
We just need to make the choice to choose the food that is going to be good for us, instead of the lies that the enemy tries to feed to us.

Try to seek out Father and all the goodness that He has for you.
It is the better choice.

Father,
Thank you that we do matter to You.
Thank you that we matter so much to You that you sent your only Son to the earth to die for us so that we can know You.
Help us to feed on the goodness that you have for us.
Help us to always look to you first and foremost.
Thank you that You do Love and care for us.
Amen.

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Forgiveness and Reconciliation are Two very Different Things

Forgiveness and reconciliation have been on my mind for a while now. It has probably been working round my mind since I wrote the post, forgiveness is key.
https://wannabechristiandoorman.com/2021/09/03/forgiveness-is-key/

When I went through the process of forgiveness one time, I was then left with the thought of… I now need to make contact with the person I have forgiven.
After all, I have now forgiven them, so I shouldn’t have a problem with them anymore.

I now look at that thought and think that it could possibly be a lie from the enemy.

In order for a relationship to be restored there may be a need for reconciliation.
I do believe that need was present for me, but at the time I didn’t see it.

Instead I effectively thought that I had to restore the relationship.
Again, I now think that was a subtle lie from the enemy.

For a relationship to be restored then both parties need to come to the party in order to work at reconciliation.

Hence the reason for this post of, Forgiveness and Reconciliation are Two very Different Things.

So, if we have gone through the process of forgiveness, does that then mean that we then need to go through the process of reconciliation?

I do believe that all situations are different and there is only One Person who can answer that.
And that Person is ….
Lord God Almighty,
Our Father in Heaven,
King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
The One who Loves you with an everlasting Love.

As Wannabe Christian Doorman I just have to shout that out every once in a while.

Back to the post, and yes, I do think that we should always be seeking Father when we have a question of where do we go next.

Reconciliation is always going to be a good thing to hope for, but sometimes, it just might not be possible or even safe to consider. (Especially in the instance of abuse.)
Again, I’ll say, please, let Father lead your steps.

Even if we can’t be reconciled, then I still believe that we need to forgive. If you are struggling with forgiveness then please consider reading forgiveness is key, (a link is at the top of this post).

So if we have gone through the process of forgiveness and we now want to tackle reconciliation, then how can we do this?

Have you guessed the answer yet?
All situation are different and you need to be lead by Father. (There seems to be a running theme here 🙂 )

A picture does come to mind though.

I see two lands, who were at war with each other. There are two borders with a no man’s land in the middle.

There are many choices of what you do next.

Running away from your border and hiding is a choice.
As I have already said, this could be a valid choice for some.
For safety or other reasons.
Listen to Father’s voice for his guidance.

If Father directs you to go up to your border and wave, then try that.

Father could direct you to find the middle ground.
That would be entering into no man’s land.

Father might even direct you cross past no man’s land and enter on into previously enemy land.
If you feel lead to do this then please, be sure it’s Father who is directing you. Finding yourself in enemy land when your not wanted without any back up is not not a good place to be, but if Father is directing you, then you will have back up.
He is Lord of Lords after all.

When all is said and done, seeking Father and his guidance is always going you be the best option.

We can always seek others for help and prayer, but do let Father lead in this also.
Share what needs to be shared.
It’s a case of not everyone needs to know all the details in order to pray for you. They might only need to know, “I have an issue with something, please pray for me so that I’ll know what to do.”
Having one or a few people who know some or all the details could be helpful, but (and I’m saying it again) seek Father for who this person or people should be.

Father,
Help us to keep you at our centre at all times.
Whether we have big thing or small things to deal with, help us always to look to You.
Thank you that you do care for us and Love us and that you will guide us if we come to you.
So help us always to look to You.
Amen

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Leave the Stones on the Ground.

A friend shared a note with me (Put that Stone Down) about the woman caught in adultery, just recently.
John 8 1-11

As I read it, I couldn’t help but think how true some of the comments were.

One bit that stuck out to me was the question of, “How many people have we driven out of the church by pelting them with stones when we should have brought them to the feet of Jesus?”

I know that we don’t literally throw stones at people, but we can throw stones with what we say and do.
It’s with these stones that we could be driving people away with.

HURT. You hurt me by doing…..
OFFENSE. You offended me by…..
JUDGEMENT. How could you…… or How dare you……

The above are only three such stones, which we could reach for. I dare say there are many more.

The question I’m left with is…
When people do wrong to us, how then will we respond to them?

Will we be reaching to pick up the stones to throw at them or will we be able to bring the situation to Jesus’s feet?

Will we want to seek his wisdom or will we just want to reach out for all those stones, waiting to be picked up? (Which the enemy happily places at our feet.)

When someone does something wrong to us then we can tend to want to pick them stones up as quickly as we possibly can and hurl away with them.
Can we do better Though?
Instead can we try to come to Father and allow him to deal with the situation?

Jude 1:9 comes to mind.
“But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!'”

So, if the archangel Michael, when disputing with the devil left them stones on the ground and called on the Lord instead, then can we do likewise?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying, don’t deal with an issue or problem.
If something is wrong, then it needs to be dealt with.
If there is an injustice, then that needs to be dealt with.

The question is…
Will we deal with it in a way that pleases Father?
Will we bring it to His feet, for His guidance and help?

If you think that bringing it to Father is, letting the offender off lightly, then have a read of Psalm 10.

Verse 15 makes me smile.
“Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would otherwise not be found out.”

The writer is not saying “I’ll break the arm of the wicked man” (one of the stones I didn’t mention) but instead is calling on God to intervene in the situation, and is calling on God to measure out His Justice.

Again, can we do likewise?
Can we call Father to the party instead of trying to deal with it all on our own?

Calling on Father instead of reaching for the stones is not easy, but it is the better choice.

Father,
Help us to not reach for the stones.
Help us to look to You instead.
Help us to look to You for our guidance and help.
Thank you that You are there for us.
Amen.

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Accept, Repent and Forgive, There is Power Here!

Have you ever had one of those moments when you feel like you are a caged animal, spinning in circles within your cage.
On top of all this there is an enemy outside the cage with a cattle prod, prodding you at every opportunity sending you into ever more of a spin.

Not a happy place to be. (Understatement, if there ever was one.)

When things go wrong, when the wheels fall off, that’s when it’s possible to feel like that caged animal.

What can we do in such a situation?

Accept, Repent and Forgive???

Please, don’t stop reading if I have just upset you.
I’m not trying to prod you with the cattle prod but just trying to look, to see if there is a better way to go, so please, do carry on reading.

Accept.
No I don’t mean, “This is my lot, and I’ve just got to live with it.”
When I say accept, what I mean is, to accept that this is how things are at this present moment. I may not like how it is at this moment but this is how it is. I may want things to change but this is actually how they are at this present moment.

If we can accept, then it removes some of the sting.
It takes away some of the fight in the situation, which the enemy wants to use to prod us with.

Accepting can help us to stop us feeling like a victim.
It can be us taking hold of the situation that we are in so that we can stop feeling that we are a victim of what has happened to us.

Like a lot of things which can bring life, this can be a difficult thing to do, but there is power in accepting the situation for what it is.

Repent.
After we have accepted, then we might need to repent.

Have we done anything which has caused or been part of the cause of where we are?

Yes, I did say part of the cause, as well.

Hopefully you know where I am going with this one.
Sometimes, something can happen, which causes us to react badly and then our actions add fuel to the fire. (Another cattle prod for the enemy.)

So, repent for all that we have done wrong. (A good daily practise anyway 🙂 )

When we repent, we take away the cattle prod from the enemy. (The enemy wants to hold onto as many of these as he can.)
Once we have taken it away from the enemy, we can then lay it down at Jesus’s feet.

Jesus is then able to deal with it!

Jesus might then just take the prod and say, “I have paid the price for this, it has no power over you and it is gone!”

Jesus might even ask us to look further at whatever we have laid at his feet.
He won’t ask this just to prod us as the enemy has been doing, but he wants to bring a healing touch.
Some healing touches can hurt, but if Jesus is doing the healing, then we can trust Him.
He will only bring touches which are for our own good.

One such touch is when Jesus looked at Peter after he denied him for the 3rd time.

When Jesus looked at Peter, I don’t think he was thinking “I told you so.”

I believe it was most certainty a look of Love.
It was more likely to be a look of, ….
I see you at your weakest point, and I still Love you.
I also see what you will become, and what you will do.
I see you on the day of Pentecost when you will stand up and speak to many and a great number of people will come into my house.
(I’d like to take credit for this thought but I think I heard Steven Furtick, from Elevation Church Speak it out in one of his sermons.)

In short, a touch from Jesus might hurt, BUT they are touches to heal and restore!

Forgive.
I’ve already written a post on this. It is…
https://wannabechristiandoorman.com/2021/09/03/forgiveness-is-key/

Short summery of the post.
We need to forgive in order to let go of the hurt, unforgiveness causes us.
We need to forgive because father asks us to. From the Lords prayer, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

If you are struggling with unforgiveness then please do consider reading the post listed above.
The main thing to remember is that when we forgive, it is a release from pain.
It may be a painful process, but it IS a release that is available to us, if we can see it through.

So, I do believe that there is Great power in Accepting, Repenting and Forgiving!

They are not easy things to do when we are feeling like a caged animal, but if we can put these three words into practice then we can release a Great Power that is available to us.

We can bring the power of our Father to the party!

He comes to remove the cattle prods from the enemy!
He comes to open the door to the cage!
He comes to set his children FREE!

Our Lord God Almighty,
Our Father in heaven,
Lord of Lords and King of Kings,
You, who IS above all and Greater than all,
Thank you that you DO LOVE and CARE for us.
Thank you that you are FOR us.
Thank you that You come to set us FREE!
Help us all to come to You, our Hope and Saviour.
Lead and guide us in what we need to do.
If there are difficult things we need to do then please help us to take the steps that we need to, give us the strength to see things through.
Thank you that You are for us and not against us.
Amen.

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Somebody else’s problem.

This is an idea I came across when reading a well know Sci fi book.

The basic idea goes that, if you place a note on a known problem of “somebody else’s problem” then the problem becomes invisable.

The note acts like a cloaking device to make the problem appear to disappear. The problem doesn’t actually disappear, but people just stop noticing it, as the problem is now, somebody eles’s.

So, why am I writing about such a nonsense idea?

I do think that we can all be guilty, at times, of placing such a note on problems in our mind.

You know, when you see a problem, but just don’t quite know what to do with it. It’s at this point, where we can put a note on the problem, so that we then don’t even have to look at the problem anymore.
We might be vaguely aware that something is wrong, but we are no longer bothered by the problem as, it is… “Somebody else’s problem.”

Again why am I writing about such an idea?

I sometimes feel that Father would want to say to us….

That problem, which you have placed the note of “somebody else’s problem” on, well, I would like you to take that note off. You see, you could be part of the solution. Look to Me for My guidance and together, let’s make some progress on that problem.

I also feel that Father would, also (possibly) say something very different to those people who try to take on all of the world’s problems, all on their own. I think that he would say to such people….

You are not god!
Yes I see that you have a heart for all these things which are wrong, but you are not Me!
Most of these problems are not yours to deal with. They are Mine.
There are a few where I would like you to be part of the solution, but on all the others, place a little note in your mind about them that states, “Somebody else’s problem.” Of course you can always talk to me about all these things, but when I tell you to place a note on a problem then please follow My prompting and do just that.
Concentrate on the things that I lead you to and leave the rest to Me.

So now we have two very different statements which Father could be saying to us. Which one applies to you?

Both statements could apply to each and every one of us at different times of our lives.
The question is will we listen to Father when He speaks to us?
Will we be part of the solution when He wants us to be, and will we be able to leave things alone that He tells us to leave alone?

Father
Help us to hear Your voice that much more clearly.
Help us to know when to act and when to stay still.
Lead and guide us in all our ways, so that we can keep in step with You.
Amen.

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I’m fragile. Please handle me with care.

This is something I wrote when something I was trying to do just didn’t quite go to plan.
I have been unsure as to whether I should publish this or not, but as you are now reading this, it appears that I have jumped in and given it a go.
So…..

I’m fragile. Please handle me with care.

You see I’ve also got a bit of a problem.
I have a vision of how something could be and would like to see it happen.
I only have so much energy to give to it, and not enough understanding of how to see it through.
Is there any one who can help me?
I’ve tried to do it on my own and had limited success but my failures have cost me, more than I probably know.
You see I’m fragile, please handle me with care.

I’ve recently been told that the one who has the vision then has to be the one to see it through.
This I can see to be true. My biggest problem is I don’t understand what best I ought to do.
Is there any one who can help me to see it through?
I don’t want to see this vision not come true.
It would be good to say that my God shall see me through and provide all my needs. I’ve tried and failed.
I’ve only got so much of me I can put into this.
You see I’m fragile, can you please handle me with care?

I’ve just had a thought.
The church is my family, which God has provided.
Do you think that they may be able to help me?
After all a family is there to help and support each other.
I’ve got a problem here though as I have not helped in the past, when perhaps I could have.
Does this mean that I can’t ask and expect help now that I’m in need?
Or is the church bigger than my own failings.
Can you forgive me as I need to forgive you?

I don’t want for you to do all the work.
In some ways I’ve enjoyed what I have done and would like to carry on.
I just need a little help, to see me through.
Could you be that help I so desperately need?

You see I am fragile, will you please handle me with care?

_________________________________________

I don’t usually feel quite as fragile now as when I wrote this.
However if we are all honest with ourselves, then can we all, at times, echo some of the words written above?

Do our leaders feel, at times, that they are a little bit (or a lot) fragile at times?

Part of the reason of why I am posting this is that, sometimes the people who we think are the most together can sometimes be the ones who are quietly coming apart at the seams with no one noticing.

Those who are in a leadership role (or trying something new) need to appear as if they know what they are doing and where they are going.
After all, who is going to follow someone who appears to be lost?

When anyone tries something new for Father then how will you respond to them?
Will you ignore them thinking, that’s just not for me?
Will you be just too busy to even give it a second thought?
Will you be the encourager to all, and jump in and say yes to all things? (Your a better (or sillier) person than me if you can do this one)

Or will you take the time to ask Father, Do you want me to get behind this?
Is this in your plan Father and what do you want me to do with it?

At the end of the day, if my vision or plan, is something which is wrong, then it’s better for it to not work out.
But if it is from Father, …..Then will you ask Him,
“Do I have a part to play in this, and what is it You want me to do Father?”

Will you be one who follows Fathers promptings?
Will you say yes to Him.

This reminds me of another something I wrote a while back…

When God calls what is the easiest word?

When God calls what is the easiest word to say? No.
No requires no thought, no action and no effort.

When God calls what is the hardest word to say? Yes.
Yes may require thinking, action, effort and hard work.

What are the rewards for Yes and no?

The reward of no is no change.

The reward of yes could mean aggravation, work and effort.
The reward for yes could also be victory, breakthrough and change to a better place.

When God calls to you, do you want to be a no or a YES person?

__________________________________________________

Father,
Help us to look to You for what we should be doing.
Help us to hear You that much more clearly so that we can know that it is You we are hearing.
Then help us to have a heart that does indeed say YES to You.
Help us all, to be all that we can be in You.
Amen.