Tuesday 24 November 2015

All Terrain

Sometimes in life its like we are cruising across the flatlands, and the mountains are on the horizon, adding to the beauty of the journey. I love these times! Who doesn't?


Then there are those times when life is shadowed by the mountain, no longer on the horizon but up close and right before you, imposing and impenetrable.

I have faced some mountains.They have different names. Frustration, Illness, Fear, but they were all real and they were all intimidating. Sometimes it felt like I was making progress but it turned out I was merely moving round and round the mountain.

Eventually Holy Spirit (honestly my best friend ever) came to my rescue showed me some stuff about mountains that has changed my life. The mountains still come, but now I know how to navigate them,

So hear they are, the 4 truths about mountains that Holy Spirit taught me.




1)  They melt when you place them before God.

Psalm  97:5

'The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth'

2) Melting wax requires heat. Do not fear the heat, do not despise the heat.

3)  Some mountains are not for melting, they are for climbing. Only God can give you the wisdom to know which mountain is which. If its a mountain for climbing ,God gives you the feet to do it. (Psalm 18:33)

4) God told us to speak to the mountain in Mark 11:23 He said if anyone says to this mountain be removed, and does not doubt and believes that what they say will happen then it will be removed! We keep asking God to do what He has equipped us to do. It takes more faith to believe that you have the power to move the mountain than it does to believe God will move it for you

I pray that God will give you the wisdom to discern what type of mountain you are facing, the courage to speak to that mountain and not fear the heat and the power to see the mountain, experience standing in its shadow and be able to say 'Nevertheless, I will worship my God because He is good, all the time'

Wednesday 18 November 2015

Mid-life crisis?

So here's my first confession. 

Sometimes, just sometimes I am so bored. Life is safe, and well, you know its nice, very nice....but it is boring!

Of course it is punctuated by moments of exhilaration, life defining moments. I am grateful for these, I really am.

Here's another confession. 

Sometimes I look around me at church and see a room full of nice, safe but terminally bored people. Is nice the summary of a successful Christian life? Is safe the goal?

And here is the most shocking confession of all.

Sometimes I feel like I am the one leading and I invite Jesus to follow me, to be my travel rep, making sure the journey is pleasant, we get to see the best views and avoid all the dangerous hot spots.

I am numb too.

The terrorism, the suicide, those dying of hunger in the midst of the wealthiest neighbours- these are all modern day Goliath's, flying right in the face of all that the gospel claims, and me...I'm hiding behind a rock and shaking my head at the awfulness of it all and wondering what God is going to do about it!

What if God actually wants the Church to overcome terrorism and hunger? What if we are the ONLY answer.

Well, I'm not bored anymore, I'm scared. Scared that I am going to let the world down. 

We are the answer you know. That's not arrogant, its the truth. The church is God's remedy for a 
sin broken world. 

Its totally too huge, impossible and difficult. Its way beyond what I could ever imagine or ask for. 

Oh wait, that sounds like a scripture

'Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,' 

So, this is huge, but its also inescapable. We have access to a God who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power at work in us' 

So if I can imagine it, He can do it; but he will do it through me. I am his agent in the mission of world recovery.

Nope, not bored anymore! 

Who's with me?

#impossibleisnothing