Sunday 31 March 2013
The Choice Is Yours...
On "Good Friday" 2013 years ago, it wasn't just Jesus, the Son of God at Calvary. There were two other criminals with Him being crucified as well. Although these two men were being crucified for a just reason, the same crime, and they probably knew each other; their reactions to Jesus were very different.
The first thief was bitter and angry. Like many people in the world today he mocked Jesus, even when He could see Him taking his sins upon Him - Luke 23:49. He was presented with a final opportunity with all the proof that he could have wanted to get saved but yet he neglected this great salvation.
The other thief was totally different. As the hymn writer said:
"The dying thief
Rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day..."
The second thief saw the love pouring out of The Lord Jesus. He recognised the reason for the blood and suffering that was endured on that day. Not only did he see and understand...most importantly, he acted. That day, even after a life of sin, while hanging on a cross to die, he accepted Jesus as his Saviour and entered the Kingdom of God - Luke 23:40-41.
It seems to me that everyone in the world today is faced with the choice of the two dying thieves. We are faced with the image of The Lord Jesus taking our sins upon Himself at Calvary and shedding His blood for us. The question we are faced with at this Easter time is: "What will you do with Christ?"
Monday 25 February 2013
Leap of Faith
Hey guys, sorry about the recent lack of blogging! Exams took over for a while and then revision began again. This blog will maybe be a bit shorter but I've a quick challenge for you. I've heard many preachers in my life telling a true story of how a young girl in America (about my age) was sitting in a school library one day. Suddenly a gunman entered the room and spread gunfire all around. He walked up to the girl, who was a Christian, put the gun to her head and said "Renounce your God and I won't shoot." The girl refused to renounce God and the man shot her dead.
There's no doubting that the young girl had a lot of things. She had strength. She had courage. But most of all, she had an outstanding faith. I wonder how many of us today could say that we would have the faith and courage to choose between our lives and our God, and make the right choice. Many of the first Christians (in the time when Jesus was on earth), suffered great persecution at the hands of the Romans. Yet, they refused to renounce their God because they had an awesome faith in Him. There are Christians all over the world today who are in prison, whose homes have been taken away from them, and some are even facing death. Why? Simply because they believe in God and take a stand for Him.
The question that comes at the end of all this is: How much are YOU willing to sacrifice for God? A God who suffered and died for you. Is there a point that you'd get to in life where you'd say "No, I'm not giving that up for God."? Paul said in the New Testament "To live is Christ and to die is gain." What Paul was saying here is that our time on earth should be spent with God and telling others about Him. To live is to be in Christ. So why is it gain to die? Because when we die, if you're a Christian, you don't just get to be in God on earth. You get to be with God in Heaven.
Finally, a Christian hymn that sums up the point perfectly. Not one by Casting Crowns or Matt Redman, but certainly the words are true:
"I have heard how Christians long ago,
Where brought before a tyrant's throne,
They were told that he would spare their lives,
If they would renunce the Name of Christ.
But one by one, they chose to die,
The Son of God they would not deny,
Like a great angelic choir sings
I can almost hear their voices ring.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE LAMB
WITH ALL MY STRENGTH, WITH ALL I AM,
I WILL SEEK TO HONOUR HIS COMMANDS,
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE LAMB."
Can you honestly say that last chorus?
There's no doubting that the young girl had a lot of things. She had strength. She had courage. But most of all, she had an outstanding faith. I wonder how many of us today could say that we would have the faith and courage to choose between our lives and our God, and make the right choice. Many of the first Christians (in the time when Jesus was on earth), suffered great persecution at the hands of the Romans. Yet, they refused to renounce their God because they had an awesome faith in Him. There are Christians all over the world today who are in prison, whose homes have been taken away from them, and some are even facing death. Why? Simply because they believe in God and take a stand for Him.
The question that comes at the end of all this is: How much are YOU willing to sacrifice for God? A God who suffered and died for you. Is there a point that you'd get to in life where you'd say "No, I'm not giving that up for God."? Paul said in the New Testament "To live is Christ and to die is gain." What Paul was saying here is that our time on earth should be spent with God and telling others about Him. To live is to be in Christ. So why is it gain to die? Because when we die, if you're a Christian, you don't just get to be in God on earth. You get to be with God in Heaven.
Finally, a Christian hymn that sums up the point perfectly. Not one by Casting Crowns or Matt Redman, but certainly the words are true:
"I have heard how Christians long ago,
Where brought before a tyrant's throne,
They were told that he would spare their lives,
If they would renunce the Name of Christ.
But one by one, they chose to die,
The Son of God they would not deny,
Like a great angelic choir sings
I can almost hear their voices ring.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE LAMB
WITH ALL MY STRENGTH, WITH ALL I AM,
I WILL SEEK TO HONOUR HIS COMMANDS,
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE LAMB."
Can you honestly say that last chorus?
Friday 4 January 2013
Bad Weather
Hey guys! Hope you all had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year! For the first blog of 2013 I decided I'd hopefully make it a bit more relevant to some of your lives and allow you to identify with it. Hopefully! So here goes.
There's a little wall art board in my house that says "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." Obviously it's not telling me to literally go out and dance every time the heavens open and the rains pelting off the ground. But what exactly is this saying? Basically, it means no matter what life throws at you, make the best out of it. Get up and work through it. Enjoy yourself through everything.
There's plenty of times in life you'll just want to curl up in a ball and not wake up until something's passed. Whether it be exams, sickness, addictions, depression, anything; for most of us we'll experience that feeling at some point. At these times though what should we do? Do we just lose the will to live and not do anything? Lose faith in God? Or take it out on those closest to us? Maybe we do all of these things and more. Even in these tough times though, God is always there - Hebrews 13:5, "... I will never leave thee nor forsake thee". And that's a promise.
So that's what God tells us about the storm but what are we meant to do? Just sit and let the storm rage around us? No. If you haven't already worked it out, I love Matt Redman and Casting Crowns. If you've never heard of them, run and YouTube them right now. Well, both of them have written songs telling us exactly what to do when life's tough:
"Every blessing you pour out,
I'll turn back to praise!
And when the darkness closes in Lord
Still I way say...
Blessed be the Name of the Lord,
Blessed be Your Name!"
That's Matt Redman's take on it. No matter if the blessings are flying in from God (which they always are even if we don't notice it), or if the darkness is rising around us and life's just too hard, still sing and shout "Blessed be Your Name." We are told in the book of Pslams that "This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." If that doesn't comfort you in life, nothing will. God made today, tomorrow, and every other day. That means he is in control. He won't throw anything at you that you can't handle. So rejoice, be glad and praise Him!
Casting Crowns wrote "Praise You In This Storm":
"And I'll praise You in this storm,
And I will lift my hands,
For You are who You are,
No matter where I am.
And every tear I've cried,
You hold in Your hand,
You never left my side,
And tho' my heart is torn..
I will praise You in this storm."
That's the way that we should live. Understand that God knows all the pain your going through plus many times more. After all He did die on the cross for you. He understands exactly how we feel, so He knows what we can deal with. Praise Him in the storm and no matter what happens, you'll come out the other end a stronger, better person for it with a stronger faith in God.
Let's remember, as Christians not to put our head in the sand when life gets tough. No matter how hard it gets, let's stand up, be counted and praise God and bless His Name. When the storm comes, don't wait for it to pass; get up and dance in the mercy and love of God. And if you aren't a Christian, turn to God and you'll realise the strength and help that He can give you when you're not on top of the world. Praise Him In The Storm!
There's a little wall art board in my house that says "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." Obviously it's not telling me to literally go out and dance every time the heavens open and the rains pelting off the ground. But what exactly is this saying? Basically, it means no matter what life throws at you, make the best out of it. Get up and work through it. Enjoy yourself through everything.
There's plenty of times in life you'll just want to curl up in a ball and not wake up until something's passed. Whether it be exams, sickness, addictions, depression, anything; for most of us we'll experience that feeling at some point. At these times though what should we do? Do we just lose the will to live and not do anything? Lose faith in God? Or take it out on those closest to us? Maybe we do all of these things and more. Even in these tough times though, God is always there - Hebrews 13:5, "... I will never leave thee nor forsake thee". And that's a promise.
So that's what God tells us about the storm but what are we meant to do? Just sit and let the storm rage around us? No. If you haven't already worked it out, I love Matt Redman and Casting Crowns. If you've never heard of them, run and YouTube them right now. Well, both of them have written songs telling us exactly what to do when life's tough:
"Every blessing you pour out,
I'll turn back to praise!
And when the darkness closes in Lord
Still I way say...
Blessed be the Name of the Lord,
Blessed be Your Name!"
That's Matt Redman's take on it. No matter if the blessings are flying in from God (which they always are even if we don't notice it), or if the darkness is rising around us and life's just too hard, still sing and shout "Blessed be Your Name." We are told in the book of Pslams that "This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." If that doesn't comfort you in life, nothing will. God made today, tomorrow, and every other day. That means he is in control. He won't throw anything at you that you can't handle. So rejoice, be glad and praise Him!
Casting Crowns wrote "Praise You In This Storm":
"And I'll praise You in this storm,
And I will lift my hands,
For You are who You are,
No matter where I am.
And every tear I've cried,
You hold in Your hand,
You never left my side,
And tho' my heart is torn..
I will praise You in this storm."
That's the way that we should live. Understand that God knows all the pain your going through plus many times more. After all He did die on the cross for you. He understands exactly how we feel, so He knows what we can deal with. Praise Him in the storm and no matter what happens, you'll come out the other end a stronger, better person for it with a stronger faith in God.
Let's remember, as Christians not to put our head in the sand when life gets tough. No matter how hard it gets, let's stand up, be counted and praise God and bless His Name. When the storm comes, don't wait for it to pass; get up and dance in the mercy and love of God. And if you aren't a Christian, turn to God and you'll realise the strength and help that He can give you when you're not on top of the world. Praise Him In The Storm!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)