Tag: Jesus

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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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Don’t get carried away, instead get carried along.

This is a thought I had when I was thinking about, ….
What will it be like when Father turns up.
When miracles start happening and things just go a bit crazy.

You see, the problem could then be that we could get carried away by what we see instead of keeping our eyes on Father.
If we focus on all that is going on all around us (which could be an easy temptation, if we are not concentrating on Father), then we could find that Father has moved on and that we didn’t follow Him.
Hence the idea of getting carried away.

However, if we keep in step with Father, then we can get carried along instead and just see where He leads us, and then see how much more He will show us.

So, if Father turns up and things start to get a bit crazy, then don’t get carried away, instead get carried along.

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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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Are your Big Ends on the way out?

During a discussion I was having at work with a few of my work colleagues they asked me,
“How can you believe in Jesus when so many people don’t? Surely it’s a case of the majority is right and you’ve just got it wrong.”

Well I was a little flummoxed for a bit until a picture came to mind.

There was a man who went to pick his car up from the garage.
When the mechanic handed over the keys he said,
“I’m afraid I have to tell you that I think you have a problem with your big end bearings, and it would be a good idea if you booked your car in to have them replaced.”

At this point a number of mechanics all piped up saying,
“You’re not telling him that, are you? Look, we’ve listened to the engine and it sounds fine to us. There’s no need to have any work done as there’s nothing wrong.”

Well, the customer now has a decision to make.
Does he believe the one mechanic who says that there is work that needs to be done or the number of mechanics who say that the engine is fine?

The thing is, the one mechanic had heard an engine like this before and it was the big end bearings, so he did know what he was talking about, where as the others just hadn’t.
The one mechanic was right, this time.

My friends did see what it was I was saying and stopped laughing at me quite so much at this.
One of them also pointed out to me that if the customer didn’t believe the one mechanic and drove his car out of the garage then he would probably find that his car would break down in time.

This, I thought was an excellent point that I just hadn’t seen, but was valid and parallels can be drawn from it.

You see, if you keep thinking that Jesus isn’t real and choose not to believe in him, just because the majority don’t, then there will come a time when you will have to pay the price for not believing in him.

It will be a hard price to pay.

As a Christian I believe that all who do not accept and believe in Jesus Christ will be sent away from him when they come to the end of their time on this earth. They will not be welcomed into heaven with Jesus but sent away to hell, a place of great sorrow and suffering.

I’m not writing this just to say “YOUR GOING TO HELL” and all the doom and gloom that goes with it but to try and say “Please look into who Jesus is and make an informed decision about who he is.
It could be the most important decision you ever make.”

So, who do you think Jesus is?
Did he even exist?
Was he just another man, or was he who he claimed to be, …. God?

Father,
I ask that you help all those who don’t know you yet, to say yes to You.
Help them to see You clearly, to know that You ARE REAL and that You do care for them, and Love them.
Amen

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Cut away the veil of What If’s

Do you sometimes get caught up in all the what if’s in your life?

You know, when you think, what if this happens and then that could happen which could lead to….

As I was caught in one such moment I thought Father was then saying to me….

Why do you get so caught up in all these What If’s???

They do you no good.

They are like a veil which you have weaved together, with all these what if’s, that covers your eyes and stops you from seeing the What Is!

I want you to take a knife to the veil of what if’s and cut them away.

There might be a few small what if’s that can teach you and keep you from harm, BUT, they should only be a few small single threads, which are cut short so that you can learn a lesson from them.
When the lesson is learnt, then cut them away as well.

What is important is the What Is.

You can’t cut away the what is, but you can blind yourself from what is by looking too intently at the what if’s.

So take that knife and cut away the what if’s, and let me lead you along the what is.

I am with you and will guide you, if you let me.

Father,
Help me to not dwell on the what if’s.
Help me to focus on the what is instead.
Help me to hear Your guidance and to follow Your ways.
Help me to cut away all that doesn’t help me and to trust and follow You that much more closely.
Thank you that You are there to lead and guide me.
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.

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The Electric Bike Sermon (Part 2)

If you haven’t already, then please read “The Electric Bike Sermon (Part 1)” before reading this post, it should make more sense if you do.

In Part 1 of these posts I wrote about the benefit of having an electric bicycle.
In part 2, I am looking at the charging of the said electric bicycle.

Having an electric bicycle is great, but if I don’t charge the battery up… well then, the benefit can slowly disappear.
If the battery becomes flat, then I’m left with a heavier bicycle that has none of the benefit of an electric bicycle.
Which can leave me struggling all that much more, (all over again).

As Christian’s we also have this need to keep charged up, or plugged into Father.
If we don’t, we can then effectively end up running on empty.

So, how do we keep fully charged?

Remaining in Father and his will is the first thing which comes to mind. But, just how do we do this.

Prayer, word and fellowship are the three words I’ve heard from the front of church many times.

Prayer, talking to Father (this also includes listening for his words to us).

The word. Reading the bible, God’s word’s to us to help, to instruct and lead us in how we should go.

Fellowship. Meeting with other Christians in order to help and encourage each other in the ways we should go.

To me, these are the first three things we should hopefully all be trying to do.

Listening to praise worship is another favourite of mine.
There is so much good music out there which is easily available (for free) through YouTube.

Bethel Church and Elevation Church music videos are often played on my TV and also on my work PC (through ear phones with the screen minimised) so that I can be effectively charging almost at anytime. There are also many semons available (again through YouTube) which can be listened to in order to build you up.

We can also praise God, or pray, wherever we are and at anytime. We can sing a praise song, or pray, even if it is just in our heads.
It all adds up to that charging effect of coming closer to Father.

We always have the choice available to us to seek His presence in order to find that something extra to see us through the day.
Whatever you need to do to keep charged up, please keep doing it.
It’s always going to be better and easier to deal with life in general if we do so while we are fully charged in God.

Father,
Thank you that you are there for us.
Help us to remain in You.
Help us to always keep looking to You for our guidance and help.
Thank you that You do love us and that we can look to You for all our needs.
Amen.

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The Electric Bike Sermon (Part 1)

I ride an electric bicycle to get to and from work.

It makes the task of cycling that much easier.

I have been called a cheater at times, along with the remark of, if you can’t do it all on your own strength then you shouldn’t do it at all.

These comments do annoy me and also leave me thinking, you just don’t have a clue about this electric bike business.

Who am I cheating?
The hill and the headwind?
I’ll endeavour to cheat them all day long. I’m not in a competition against other cyclists but just someone who wants to get to and from work who is thankful for a bit of help.

On a normal bike, I’ll be completely worn out by the end of the week.
On a normal bike the best I could manage would be 3 days a week with having a rest on 2 days of the week.
But even with the rest days I would still be worn out by the end of the week.

On the electric bicycle, with the assistance it gives me, I can manage to do all 5 days of electric assisted cycling and not be worn out at the end of the week.
I still have to put the effort in.
It’s an electric bicycle I have, and not an electric motorbike.
But come the end of the week (or a strong headwind) I am not looking for the nearest skip to throw the bike into as I can do it, with a little help.

So why am I telling you all this?

I see the electric bicycle as a picture of the Christian life and the standard bicycle as a picture of a non Christian life.

The Christian life means having access to that something extra to help me through life’s troubles.
Just like the electric bicycle gives me that little bit extra, being a Christian means that I can call on Father for his help and assistance when times are harder. (Actually I can call on Father at anytime).

When I do call on Father, then he is there to help.
I might not see it, but he is there.
He is able to provide that little extra so that I’m not looking for the nearest skip to to throw the bike into and sit on the floor in a mess.

To me it’s a no brainer.
Do it all in your own strength, or….. have that little bit of extra help.

For me I am soooo thankful for the help I have had from Father.
When I look at all that I have had to go through I don’t know how I would have done it without his help. Even though at times I might not have seen his help, it was there and got me through.

The Good News is that, the help I received is also available to you!

You can also ask for Fathers help too!
The first step is to acknowledge him and ask him into your life and heart. (Choosing to take the electric bicycle over the standard one.)
The next step is to ask for His help and guidance.
There is a bit more to it than just that, but taking the first two steps is a good start, and if you do, then Father will be there to guide and lead you onward.

Father,
Thank you that You are real and able to to help us.
Thank you that we can come to You for help and guidance.
Thank you that You do accept us where we are, and will help and lead us to a better way.
I ask that you help us all to come to You that much more and help us all to open our hearts and lives to You that that much more so that we can all know You, all that much more!
Amen.

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The Vast Battle

There was a vast battle going on between two armies.
One army was far superior to the other.
Both armies knew what the outcome of the battle would be, but the battle still raged on.

In the end the superior army won the battle.
There was a time of great rejoicing and celebration.
After this time though, the superior army looked around at each other and said, “What do we do now then?”

One person piped up, “That was so good and effective, lets go back to where we started from and do it all over again!”
So they did…???

This time however as they were advancing on the battlefield they had a very real sense of déjà vu. “We’ve been here already, why are we having to go through this again?”

The battle had already been won!
How silly of that army to give away all that ground.
The enemy would happily take any ground that is given to it and then try to hold onto it for as long as possible, always knowing that it would always loose in any battle it faced.

Instead of trying to relive an old battle and past glories the superior army should have gone forward onto the new frontier and taken new ground instead.

Can we be like the superior army at times?

When we pray for things in the spiritual, we have the victory in Christ.
He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and every knee will bow at his name.

We may struggle to see this though.
Instead we can sometimes go back over old ground doing the same things and saying the same things, when in actual fact we’ve already got the victory and we should now be moving forward onto the new ground, to the new frontiers where Christ is leading us.

Father,
Thank you, that in you we do have the victory.
Help us to see this in a greater way.
Once we have the victory, then help us to see the new ground to take.
Help us to always keep moving forward with you.
To remain in step with you.
Amen.