Social Media

“Thought For The Day” – Social Media

I had an interesting conversation with a couple of friends of mine and we discussed behaviour as a Christian, and posts on social media. After praying about this and reading Matthew chapter 6: verse 19-24, I came to the conclusion of this.

If you post on social media, things like photos, conversations and/or depicting certain things, but wouldn’t wear, say or do that/those thing/s in your church (let alone see Jesus do or say them), then maybe you shouldn’t be posting/or doing those things as a Christian.

“Lord, Thank you for dying for our sins, for sending Your Spirit to us to guide us. I ask as people read this, You will speak into their lives and if there is anything which is not of You, you will place this on their heart and mind, and that they will come to you in earnest prayer, ask for forgiveness and recommit themselves to you once more, in Jesus’ name I ask this, Amen”

“God Is In The Small Stuff … And It All Matters” by Bruce and Stan – Book Review

When we think of God, we can think about how BIG He is, especially when we see amazing mountain tops, the starry night sky, and beautiful sunsets in the distance of white sand beaches and tropical crystal blue seas. We can sometimes forget God is in the small stuff, after all when we live our daily lives, doing the mundane things like sleeping, getting up, brushing our teeth, making breakfast for the family, getting the kids ready for school, kissing our other halves off to work, driving or commuting to and from work, etc, etc, etc, why would God be interested in any of that? But that’s just it. He is. He knows you intimately (Psalm 139: v1 – 6 NCV).

This is why I recommend you read this book “God Is In The Small Stuff” by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz. This small 40 chapter book with their take on God Is In The Small Stuff, can open up your eyes and see God in a different light. To see God in the small stuff, and as you read, reflex and even pray on what you are reading daily, you’ll see a change in how you respond and see situations, people, and family. I’ve blessed several people with this book and they have found it to be helpful, even to my none Christian friends, who struggle day to day in finding purpose in the little things.

This page extract gives you a Bible passage and the days topic

As you read, it explains ideas and how God is

And finally each day it gives you some areas to think about.

Overall, I personally found this book to be inspiring, a little gem worth reading by any Christian or none Christian. It opens up how God loves you, helps you to understand Him, and how to approach situations. This is by far better and any so called “Self Help” books, which just want your money. This book has substance and worth every penny, and the added bonus as it doesn’t cost the earth to get a copy.

You can find “God Is In The Small Stuff” in various bookshops. It’s always good to support your local bookshops when possible. If you prefer buying online, you can always get it via Amazon at: God Is in the Small Stuff 20th Anniversary Edition

If you decided to get God Is In The Small Stuff, Please let me know what you think of it.

Black Lives Matter Vs All Lives Matter

I’m not one for bashing anyone, however I’m quite angry, this lady said she was in a lift full of people (she may have said black people here) and she saw a “white” woman walking towards her wanting to get in, so she pressed the button and the doors shut. And then proceeded to say how proud she was.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a screen capture of what she said, however I want to say this… THIS IS RACISM. Racism isn’t just against Africans/Jamaicans, Racism comes from anyone who belongs to ANY Colour, Religion, Sex etc to diminish another group of people.

I’m sick of hearing Black Lives Matter. Yes they do, but so does every other life on the planet. There is slavery still in the world today, Asian girls and women are sold into the sex trade year after year, yet we don’t have protests about it. We have seen Islamic men, women and children beat on, and condemned because of their faith (and yes, a majority of all Muslims are not terrorists), we need to stop this immaturity and grow up. As Martin Luther King Jr said, I have a dream, a dream where “I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

How many of us can say we have good character and are selfless when it comes to others. Like Martin Luther King Jr, I want UNITY, not Devision in this world. We have gone through a crisis where over 40,000 people who have died from COVID-19 with still approximately 200 to 400 people a day dying in the U.K. we have shown the greed we have in our hearts by storing toilets rolls, by taking as much food as we can and buying sanitiser and reselling it for extortionate amounts, people going around to elderly people’s homes and ripping them off, taking their money (what little they have) saying they would get them food and things. And even in Spain, a carehome staff left the carehome and let the elderly and infirm to defend for themselves, where the ones who was able to move or had any compos mentis tried to take care of those who didn’t…. just imagine that. You are in your nineties, you are infirm and you are trying to take care of 30 to 60 of your friends and while doing so, you have to walk by rooms, where several to half have passed away, with the stench of decaying bodies, of urine and faeces as the body when they die, release themselves. Lack of food due to not being able to open the doors to get out to get help, or into the office to call for help. The physiological damage that would do to those elderly trying to hanging on.

As a species we don’t deserve to be alive. We are cruel, self-centred, hurtful, sadistic, horrible creatures. How can we help others if we are always about us, ourselves. When you put yourself first, everyone else looses out.

So the final thing to say:

Stop thinking about you, start thinking about others #AllLivesMatter

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vP4iY1TtS3s&autoplay=1

http://www.analytictech.com/mb021/mlk.htm

Covid-19 (Coronavirus)

There is a lot of worry about Covid-19 and the rate at which it is spreading, including the amount of false information. The first thing is to stay calm, the second is to follow this link. It has the answers you need.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

The symptoms can come across as flu and other viruses. This shouldn’t make you panic, so make sure you stay calm. If you think you have the symptoms, you need to isolate yourself and stay at home (DO NOT GO TO YOUR DOCTORS). Telephone your doctors and tell them your symptoms. They will be able to advise you on what to do next.

So follow the link above to the “World Health Organisation” to get the latest information and how to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

Yoga And Tai Chi – A Spiritual Deception

I was recently speaking with a Christian friend of mine and we talked about various fitness regimes and ways to get fit, she asked me my thoughts on Yoga etc, as a Christian, which to be honest, I didn’t know much about it. I know it was good for the body, however there are some religious aspects to it. This then lead onto a discussion about is it right for a Christian to be involved in such exercises and practices? This isn’t just about yoga, it is about tai chi and similar practises, where they are based in eastern (none Christian) spiritual and religious beliefs. My friend mentioned and sent me this (https://www.cai.org/testimonies/spiritual-deception-yoga). This opened my eyes more to these things and how it can effect us as people and as Christians. I’ve read some of the comments left by Christians too and there is obviously a pattern here.

I’ve also read some other items regarding this topic which can be found here: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/is-yoga-sinful This particular one which has Pastor John Piper speaking, shows we have to be aware of what we allow ourselves to be influenced by. As Pastor John says, an alternative exercise would be better and I will mention a few ways to get fitter later on as I want us to stay on topic. Pastor John via the link above gives some important points and if you read the transcript, you’ll see there are seven key notes (follow the above link for the seven key notes).

Another link to look at is this: https://www.eauk.org/news-and-views/should-christians-do-yoga again it shows that the roots of Yoga are based in Eastern Spiritual culture. Ones which are not of God and will draw you away in your walk with our Heavenly Father.

We have to be so careful as Christians as to what we allow into our lives, what Holiday’s we celebrate and be SOOOOO aware of things which may seem so harmless.

One thing I’ve found is research is key and understanding the origins will open up new meanings and truth. Keeping our eyes and mind open to what The Holy Spirit is saying is also Key.

So, then, how should we exercise? Especially as Christians.

My advice is this, if you have two legs and able to run, run, if you have two arms, you can swim. Both are excellent for keeping fit. If like me you have some knee trouble, these may not be suitable, so in that case look at Cross Fit Machine. Now you can use one at the gym or buy one and use it in your home.

Some of the benefits of a cross fit machine is that it works the whole body, it helps reduce belly fat and in general helps keep you fit. An added bonus is, you can do this while watching the God Channel on TV or listening and singing worship songs on your phone, iPod or stereo system. If you want to do something which is also healthy and beneficial, try Pilates. A quick google search will find your local places which do this. You could also ask at your church and see if anyone there does this and see if you can get a group of you to go together. Once mastered, you could have a weekly meet at your church to help people wanting to keep fit and to help them stay away from yoga and tai chi etc.

Decision Making: How Do I Choose? Part 6 of 6

16th September 2019

Index:

Part 1: Where Does Wisdom and Understanding Come From?

What Is Wisdom?

What Is Understanding?

Part 2: Who Do You Ask For Advice?

Why Ask Them?

Write A List Of Pros And Cons?

Part 3: What Would Jesus Do (W.W.J.D.)?

Is It In Line With What The Bible (God’s Teaching) Says?

Who Should You Ask For Advice?

Part 4: Praying About It – Talking To God, A Two Way Conversation.

God Answers Prayers – Yes, No, Not Yet.

Part 5: Listen To The Holy Spirit.

Your Will Or God’s Will?

Part 6: Making A Decision.

Trust God.

Making A Decision:

So lets recap. Before making a decision, don’t rush into anything, we need to not make a irrational decision, or even a rational one by human standards. Sometimes, God asks us to do things, which can make no sense to us. We need to first pray (talk) to God and ask what He want’s us to do. We then have to listen to what the Holy Spirit tells us and test the decision against what the Word of God (Bible) says. If you have to do research, do research, God won’t mind you wanting the full facts of a situation. If you need to, make a list of Pros and Cons and see if the pros outweigh the cons, do that. And again, test it against God’s Word. If it is not in line with God’s Word, then the decision is easy. If you are still not sure, then seeking advice from mature, experienced God centred Christians you know and trust, and asking them to pray with you and for your situation. Listen to what they have to say, and weigh it up with what God has told you to do and also, is it in line with what the Word of God is saying. You will have a clearer answer at this point and the decision will be easier to make. Remember there are three answers to prayer, “Yes”, “No”, and “Yes, Not Yet”. Don’t think a Yes, Not Yet answer is a Yes or No answer. Having all the facts helps you build your knowledge, wisdom and understanding, and how God helps you.

Trust God:

This is the harder part, learning to trust God. As you trust Him in the little things, you’ll start to learn to trust Him in the Bigger things. Read the story of David and Goliath. Trusting in God will help you grow in maturity as a Christian and in wisdom, knowledge and understanding of God And as you learn to lean on God and trust Him more and more, you will begin to have Peace in your heart, your mind and in your life. Don’t get me wrong, you will still have times of trial and difficulties. The difference is, you will have Jesus to carry the heavy load. Remember the Footprints in the Sand poem? So, let Him carry it, And He will bless you.

“Lord Jesus, Thank you for being our God, a God of Mercy, a God of Wisdom, Understanding and most importantly, a God of Grace. You teach us to lean on you in all things, that you have a plan to prosper us and not to harm us. Help us to know you more and give us a burning desire to know your ways and the Salvation, which your Son Jesus Gives freely. Forgive us our sins. Make us whole in you. Help us in our day to day lives and the various and numerous decisions we have to make daily. Bring us Peace and Understanding from these. In your Name Lord Jesus we ask this, Amen”

Decision Making: How Do I Choose? Part 5 of 6

16th September 2019

Index:

Part 1: Where Does Wisdom and Understanding Come From?

What Is Wisdom?

What Is Understanding?

Part 2: Who Do You Ask For Advice?

Why Ask Them?

Write A List Of Pros And Cons?

Part 3: What Would Jesus Do (W.W.J.D.)?

Is It In Line With What The Bible (God’s Teaching) Says?

Who Should You Ask For Advice?

Part 4: Praying About It – Talking To God, A Two Way Conversation.

God Answers Prayers – Yes, No, Not Yet.

Part 5: Listen To The Holy Spirit.

Your Will Or God’s Will?

Listen To The Holy Spirit:

So in Part 4, we covered how The Holy Spirit speaks to us, in regards to our five senses, and also the three answers given to prayer. Now knowing these, we need to look at “How To Listen To The Holy Spirit”.

As I pointed out in how to pray, we need to calm our minds and tune ourselves into God. One of the ways I do this is, is while getting washed in the mornings and having breakfast, I’ll listen to worship songs. I find this sets me up to pray. After breakfast, I go into my quiet place, continue to focus on God and pray with what is on my heart. I find certain things come to mind, like peoples health, so I pray for healing. I find at times but not always, my heart desires to pray in tongues (another Gift of The Holy Spirit), and when I do this, I find I can sense a certain issue comes to my mind, or a piece of scripture. I’ve found this to be The Holy Spirit guiding me to act or write upon or even pray about a particular topic.

Listening to The Holy Spirit isn’t just when praying. I find The Holy Spirit will speak to me when I am cooking, or in the shower, or driving. The way He speaks to me, is either by a Bible passage, or verse He wants me to look at, or even a particular word or thought or idea. I even have The Holy Spirit give me a sense, similar to seeing a football (soccer) linesman or referee, putting a white flag up when talking to people. I’ll point out, this is usually when The Holy Spirit wants me to take notice of something, like a particular topic Or lesson to learn, or even help guide someone to God’s Truth.

Now I’ve learnt over the last, almost 40 years, how God speaks to me and it has took a lot of practice to hear Him (God) clearly. However, like in the story of the countryman hearing the cricket in the busy city, I’ve learnt to calm my mind, settle my breathing and stop what I’m doing, all so I can focus on what The Holy Spirit is wanting to tell me (1 Kings Chapter 19: verse 12 NIV, Job Chapter 4: verse 12 NIV and Matthew Chapter 10: verse 27 NIV) in a whisper.

Yes, there are time when I don’t understand what The Holy Spirit is trying to tell me. So in those times, I seek advice from a select few Christians I know and trust, who know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, and has a personal walk with Jesus. Whom hear from The Holy Spirit daily, and also have the Gifts of Wisdom, Knowledge and understanding. Through Speaking and praying with them, The Holy Spirit reviles what He wants me to know.

As you can see, this is how I listen to God and how I hear Him. The way you listen and hear God maybe different. The important part is listening and acting when The Holy Spirit tells you to act.

Now this next bit, I want you to take serious notice of. Not only can The Holy Spirit and God’s Angels Speak to you, but fallen angels too. I remember in my younger years, having what I would have called ‘Deja Vu’. I realised I was having dreams about various insignificant parts of future events of my life. They were of nothing special, maybe having a meal with a group of friends, walking into a certain room I have never been in before, a certain situation happening, certain conversations with people I had never met. As a young Christian I didn’t understand these dreams and what they meant. I prayed and asked God to show me what I was meant to do with them? Why was I only seeing insignificant things? Was I not understanding them? Was I to interpret them somehow?

At the time, I had two Christian friends, one called James who was a worship leader and the other Stephen who helped lead the church we attended. Both knew God and were people I knew I could ask for advice and I would get a God given answer. I arranged for them to come over to mine and I would cook for them. While we were eating I discussed these dreams I had been having and that I felt worried, that I could not understand their meaning. I remember, this was at a time I was working out how The Holy Spirit talked to me and that I hadn’t learnt to pick up on the warning signs yet. We prayed together, and I remember James saying “I feel these dreams are not from God, and I want you to know that demons can also talk to us, to try and misguide us away from God.” He continued to say “I want to pray for you Bob, I want to pray a covering of God’s Protective Spirit Over you and if these dreams are not from God, they will stop right now and you will not have any more. If they are from God, then He (God) will reveal to you the meaning behind them and what action He (God) wants you to take.” From That night, I never had another dream about my future, and never gave them a second thought until God asked me to put it in this blog. This showed me that these were not from God and that demons will try and trick us into believing they are messengers of God, and they will try and deceive us into taking a path, which isn’t the one God want’s us to take. Looking back I can see how this could have lead me down a completely different path, even down the path of mysticism. I’m grateful to God for putting wise and knowledgable Christians into my life, to help guide me.

This also made me realise, that when God talks to us, whether it be dreams, visions, hearing Angels (good or bad), or even sensing something, we need to always test what was said against God’s Word, what Jesus taught, and in prayer for confirmation. I usually ask God to confirm what He is telling me three times, in various ways (sources or/and people of God). That way I know and had confirmed what God is telling me.

Your Will Or God’s Will:

So many times I’ve done what I wanted and I can say, I have ended up worse off. as I’ve prayed about this topic, I am reminded of Jonah, who was a Prophet and lived about 800BC to 750BC. For those who don’t know about Jonah, I will quickly recap.

Now Jonah was a Prophet and told by God to head East to the city of Nineveh, and preach. Now Nineveh was the heathen capital of Assyria. Now at the time, the people of Nineveh were widely known as pagans and extremely cruel. On top of this, Jonah didn’t want to preach to none-Jewish people, especially pagans who’s cruelty was widely known. Jonah decided to go West instead, the opposite Direction God wanted him to go. Now Jonah enjoyed the fact, like many Israelites, the Mercy of God showed on Israel, but he want all enemies to be destroyed. We see the lengths and actions Jonah took to get away from God and where God was calling Jonah to be. I’ll point out, Nineveh wasn’t a small town or a city we see today. It was known that Nineveh was so big, it took three (3) days, that’s 72 hours to walk from one side to the other. That’s like walking from Thirsk , which is just above York, to London. That’s almost as big as England, top to bottom.

We then read, Jonah gets thrown over board from the boat he is in, and as he is about to drown, God sends a big fish to swallow him and have it regurgitate Jonah back on shore. Then when God tells him a second time to go to Nineveh, he reluctantly goes and preaches. However, from Jonah’s preaching we see even the King repents and makes it a royal degree that every person and animal must not eat or drink for three days and nights and turn to God.

The book of Jonah reminds all God’s followers, that no one owns God. As Jesus said in Luke Chapter 5: verse 32 NCV “I have not come to invite good people but sinners to change their hearts and lives”

So what do we take from Jonah’s story? I think it is important to know when God calls you to do something, and you know it is God telling you, you listen and act on it. Mainly because He (God) has a plan, and even if we think we know something, God knows more, and as we see in the story of Moses, God can do anything, even if we ourselves don’t think we can.

You have unique gifts and God created you in a particular way. a bit like the God shaped hole, which only He can fill in you. God’s plan has a you shaped hole, which you need to fill. So you have a choice. Do you do your own thing, doing it under your own power and keep failing, or do you turn to God, accept His calling on your life, and be happy knowing you are doing what God created you to do?

“Lord, Thnak you for being our God. For allowing us to know you on a personal one to one level. Thank you for speaking to us and guiding us where you want us. I ask you to open our minds, our hearts to you, your Word and your direction, which you want us to head. Allow our hearts and minds to keep seeking you out, and bring us into the ministries you want us to be in. Continue to give us your Peace, Wisdom and Understanding. In your name Lord Jesus we ask this, Amen”

In the final part of Decision Making, we will be looking at:

• Making The Decision
• Trusting God

 

DECISION MAKING: How Do I Choose? Part 4 of 6

16th September 2019

Index:

Part 1: Where Does Wisdom and Understanding Come From?

What Is Wisdom?

What Is Understanding?

Part 2: Who Do You Ask For Advice?

Why Ask Them?

Write A List Of Pros And Cons?

Part 3: What Would Jesus Do (W.W.J.D.)?

Is It In Line With What The Bible (God’s Teaching) Says?

Who Should You Ask For Advice?

Part 4: Praying About It – Talking To God, A Two Way Conversation.

God Answers Prayers – Yes, No, Not Yet.

Praying About It – Talking To God, A Two Way Converstaion:

This is an interesting topic to say the least. We get told by Spiritual Leaders, in Churches, in Bible Studies, as well as other places, to pray. But how do we do that? Is it, that we say words aloud and hope God is just listening out at the right moment, like calling upstairs to your children, hoping the music isn’t to loud for them to hear you? I think at one time or another, we have all felt that way… “Is God Listening?”, “Are You There Lord?”.

Prayer is an important part of a Christian’s life. It is a way to talk to your Heavenly Father, who loves you unconditionally and knows your inner most thoughts (Psalm 139: 1 to 4 NCV).

Now, if God knows you so well, does that mean you don’t need to pray? Of course you need to pray. God may know you inside and out, but like any healthy relationship, if you don’t invest in time with God, you won’t get to know Him, and God’s desire is to have a personal one to one relationship with you, through a two way communication. That means you talk to Him and He talks to you. The more you talk to God, the more you listen to Him, the better the relationship will be. It will evolve into something beautiful.

Now people talk about prayer and what you need to do. What I’ve noticed with these “How To Pray” guides, is they don’t tell you how to listen to God. an example of this is in counselling, where you are are taught to “Actively Listen” to a client. So for example, if you’re talking to someone who is trained in active listening, you’ll hear them every so often say things like, “okay”, “hmmm”, and nod their head and even repeat back to you, some of what you said. However, active listening to God isn’t like this, we have to understand “How God Talks To Us”.

This was best explained to me many years ago, by a minister and a man I knew understood God. He said “God will talk to you in one of five ways. He may talk to you in more than one, but usually in one. These are linked to your five senses”. These are:

• Sight = Visions and Dreams.
• Hearing = Hearing the voice of God/Angels.
• Smell and Taste (These are linked) = Smell and Taste go together, I’ve heard it explained, that when Jesus is around it smells like the sweetest roses, and when a demon is around, it tastes like burning sulphur in the back of the throat.
• Touch = Sense.

Now Touch is how God talks to me, so I can comment on this a little more in detail. From this, I hope you’ll see a pattern and how God talks to you. Which ever way He talks to you.

Now touch is a sense, you have senses in your fingertips, and you can touch corse wood, or smooth glass, soft petals and even tough cold steel, and you can distinguish between them, even blindfolded, you could probably guess them. All these bring to your mind a certain sense. Now imagine, when the Holy Spirit spoke, instead of hearing words, you physically felt those words, or a sense, where if someone was trying to mislead you, it was a sense of alertness, with sirens and big flashing lights, a bit like an airlock about to open on a space station or spaceship, you’d see in the movies, warning you of danger, and a gut churning, feeling sick in the pit of your stomach, when something is wrong, and I’m not talking about gut instinct, that’s something different. However, when the Holy Spirit speaks and wants me to go a certain direction, its not like He is shouting and pointing, saying GO THAT WAY, but more a gentle nudge, which could be easily missed if I wasn’t use to feeling Him speak, and yes this took time.

It reminds me of a story, I was once told about a man from the countryside visiting his friend in a big and busy city like New York. There are vehicles of different sizes travelling around with engines humming and honking horns, people talking on their mobile phones, people shouting back and forth, hundreds of footsteps and the hustle and bustle of city life. Then as the two men were walking down the street, the man from the country, stopped and said to the man from the city, “Do You Hear That? It’s a cricket”, the man from the city scoffed and said to his friend, “how could you hear a cricket with all this noise?”, at that moment a cricket landed on the city man’s shoe. Now the reason the countryman heard the cricket, above the city noise around him, is because he was a tuned to the country sounds. This is how we must be with God, just like this countryman with nature. Knowing how God speaks to you is important, and just as important is making sure you are tuned into how He (God) talks to you, so that in the hustle and bustle we call life, we hear Him (God) clearly.

God Answers Prayers – Yes, No, Not Yet:

If you ask different Christians, you’ll get different responses regarding To prayer. I want to clear this up for those who feel God doesn’t listen, or doesn’t answer their prayers, or Feel their prayers are somehow not strong enough to break through the clouds, or have to yell or pray aggressively, for God to hear you.

“GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS PRAYERS”

Like I said, I want to clarify this. The way God answers prayers is in one of three ways,

• Yes
• No
• Yes, But Not Yet

Yes, this is the one we always hope for as a Christian, It means when you pray for healing God will perform a miracle and hay presto, you’re healed. It isn’t just healing we see this happening in and so called immediate miracles. An example of this is when I heard a friend of mine several years back, who had two small children and she was struggling to pay her bills and rent, prayed God could intervene, as she would have lost her home. The very next morning another friend of ours had popped into see her and said God told me to give you this, but you’re not to open it till I’ve left. He gave her a sealed envelope with the exact amount of money she needed to pay her bills. Down to the last penny. Now this other friend, didn’t know anything about the dire issue our female friend was in, no one told them about it, and the only message they got was from the Holy Spirit, who said put X amount of money in an envelope, seal it and give it to this lady in the morning. When my female friend told him and his wife at church on the following Sunday, how it helped her with her bills, the couple was amazed. By listening to the Holy Spirit, they helped keep this family in their home.

No, this is the one Christians hate to get, and some Christians believe their prayers are justified and right at all times. Well, as I said before in this series, you are human, just like me and guess what? That’s right, you make mistakes. God knows this. That’s why He sent His ONLY Begotten Son to die for your sins. I want you to know this. Just because God says “No” to a prayer request, doesn’t mean He doesn’t love you or care for you. After all, if you saw a small child trying to touch a hot pan of water on a stove, you would tell the child not to touch it. In the same way, God has your best interests at heart, even if we don’t see it, and God will always have something better planned for you

Yes, But Not Yet. As human beings we are impatient, and in some cases immature, and yes I also mean some Christians too. When we get this answer, we can at times take it as a “No Answer”, or if we take it as a “Yes”, we expect it to be done now, right here, right now, give it to me now. However, as I pointed out earlier, God knows you intimately, and because He knows you so well, He will grant your prayer requests, but you may need to learn something first, or if for example, it is a wife or husband you are asking for, God may be working in them to make them ready for a marriage, hence the “Not Yet” part. So when you get the Yes but not yet answer from God, ask God what He is trying to teach you, so that the yes, not yet becomes a Yes.

Here is an approach to prayer I use, which you may find useful.

1. I find a quiet place. You don’t need to kneel or have a cross or a photo of the Virgin Mary or anything like that (Matthew Chapter 6: verse 6 NCV). It needs to be somewhere you can clear your mind and focus on God, without distractions… So turn your phone off lol.
2. Sit comfortably, I take a few deep breaths to relax my body and get my breathing at a steady pace. You wouldn’t rush an important telephone call, so don’t rush talking to your Heavenly Father.
3. When you talk to your dad (God), pray expectingly, pray in faith that He will answer you, in other words, believe He will answer your requests.
4. Give Thanks. Be thankful, you can come before Him and go into that secret place (Psalm Chapter 91: verse 1 and 2 KJV). Give thanks for all the things God has blessed you with. Not only the physical things, but the spiritual things to. I thank God daily for my Spiritual Gifts and revealing new and wondrous things to me. This leads to a “Thankful Heart”.
5. Ask God to forgive you for any sinful (things which go against God’s will) things you have done, which you know and don’t know about, thoughts you’ve had, etc and ask God to help you to be more like His son Jesus, to renew your body and mind. Ask Him to also help you forgive those who have done wrong against you (Matthew Chapter 6: verse 14 NCV).
6. Ask God to then speak into the situation/s you are facing. Pray expectingly, that God has everything in hand and will work to prosper you (Jeremiah Chapter 29: verse 11 NCV). Ask God to give you Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding and Strength to get through, what you are going through.
7. Add anything else you feel you need to add. You know what’s weighing on your heart and going on in your life, including the lives of others around you.
8. End with saying “Amen” (amen means “It is so”, or “So be it” and is derived from the Hebrew אָמֵן āmēn, and is a concluding word or response to prayers).

If you struggle with what to say, you can pray the “Lord’s Prayer” found in Matthew Chapter 6: verse 9 to 14 KJV, you can find a more modern wording of it in the New Century Version.

In part 5 of Decision Making, we will look at:

• Listen To The Holy Spirit.
• Your Will Or God’s?

“Lord, Thank you for being our God, Thank you for the people reading this, and for the wisdom, knowledge and understanding you have have blessed me with about you, to pass on to others. Open up every heart who reds this, and help them to find a deeper, more meaningful life with you, at the centre of their lives. Bless those who have continuously prayed for your healing touch. And show your children, how you talk to them, so they can converse with you more. Bless those who find themselves in difficult situations, who are hurt, broken and damaged, and show them you have your arms wide open to invite them in and help them heal. Be with those who struggle day by day with temptation, and show them the route to overcome it. Bring those who do not know you, to you Lord, show them you are the Truth, The Way and The Life Eternal. In your name I ask this, Amen”

Decision Making: How Do I Choose? (Part 1 of 6)

16th September 2019

Introduction:

I’ve felt the Holy Spirit lead me to this topic of “Decision Making”, and I feel it is a very important topic. The one thing which comes to mind, and I’m reminded of, is the amount of Christian’s I’ve met who cant make simple decisions, mostly about the right course of actions, which are in line with God’s will. I have seen so many Christians go astray and even fall away from Christ all together. Even, I myself, have fallen victim to this line of thinking, doing my will and not God’s, and I am eternally grateful that He (God) has brought me back to Him and I was wise enough to listen to His calling.

Now I am going to write this in a six (6) bite size, part series. This is due to several people who have read my previous posts, and said they were good but long. I want to make them, easier to read and understand, so you can read them on the go if need be. I would also like to ask, you listen to my words, I sense The Holy Spirit wants to speak with several of you.

Index:

Part 1: Where Does Wisdom and Understanding Come From?

What Is Wisdom?

What Is Understanding?

Where does Wisdom and Understanding come from?

This will depend upon who you ask. Some will say through life experience, some thought reading books and/or science journals, others through documentaries. But where do they get it from? I personally believe wisdom and understanding comes partly from knowledge. Now as I see it, knowledge comes from various sources, however, you have to look at who is writing these articles of information, and giving advice, including the motivation behind what they say and write, etc.

For example: If you wanted to learn about teeth, you would go to a dentist or/and veterinarian and look into dentist and veterinarian science journals etc. After all they know about human and animal teeth. You wouldn’t go to the local used car dealership and ask a used car salesman. On top of this, you NEED to know the person you are asking, has a good track record, for example: You wouldn’t ask a womaniser and wife beater, or a woman who mentally and physically abuses her husband and children about advice on how to have a loving and wholesome marriage and family life. You wouldn’t ask a manipulator who’s agenda is unknown to help you with something personal. So having the right information is important, from the correct sources.

So we know having the correct sources are important. However it doesn’t say WHERE wisdom or understanding come from. I want to start by looking at Proverbs. Now if you like ‘Quotable Quotes’ or Bumper Sticker Slogans, you’ll love Proverbs. It’s unlike any other book in the Bible. It’s mostly a collection of one or two short sayings on various topics like, Family Life, Work, Money, Being Honourable, Being Honest, Getting Along With Others, and soooooo much more. It’s worth noting though many parts of Proverbs don’t explicitly mention God, the sayings were gathered to help us follow God in everything we do. It’s also worth noting, Jesus used these type of short, to the point sayings regularly in His teachings.

So lets start by looking at Proverbs Chapter 1: verse 7 (NCV) “Knowledge begins with respect for the Lord, but fools hate wisdom and discipline“. We also need to look at Proverbs Chapter 2: verse 6 and 7 (NCV) “Only the Lord gives wisdom; he gives knowledge and understanding. He stores up wisdom for those who are honest. Like a shield he protects the innocent.“ You may also wish to check out the New Living Translation (NLT). So we see here, God gives wisdom and knowledge to those who are honest. Which for example, if you look at authors who write text books for learning, in this case we will look at a physicist who writes a study book for a university (College for those in the United States) students on string theory, then you know that author must have some integrity and be honest in their work, to be officially published. So through being honest God will give you wisdom and knowledge.

So what is Wisdom? And what is Understanding?

I’ve placed these two questions together, because I believe they can But not always go together. Let me explain by this example: The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘Wisdom’ as “Capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct”, and ‘Understanding’ “Is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object”. Okay, now I know some of you will probably went “WHAT???”. Don’t worry, I’ll break it down For you. The general idea is this and what I feel the Holy Spirit showing me. Knowledge is an accumulation of information. Understanding is how it works, and Wisdom is knowing how to use that information for the desired outcome. So for example, If you are told to boil an egg for 3 minutes, the white part would be hard boiled but the yoke runny and you want the yoke hard boiled too, knowledge has given you a time frame to work with, understanding the concept of boiling and egg in water is how it happens and wisdom would say cook it longer, however, how much longer? This then would come with experience and experimentation, so you may try an extra minute, if that wasn’t long enough, the next time you’d try one (1) and a half (0.5) minutes, and keep going up half a minute until you get it just how you want it. That then adds to your Knowledge. Likewise, we can be blessed with wisdom and understanding, with a side portion of experience.

In “Decision Making: How Do I Choose? (Part 2 of 6), we will look at:

Part 2: “Who Do You Ask For Advice?”

“Why Ask Them?”

“Make A List Of Pros And Cons.”

Update On Writing

First let me thank everyone who has given me feedback on the last few posts, the feedback about “Drunk On Spirits: The Mis-Information” and “Brokenness: A Fix It Guide” has been great, Thank you. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed them and the positive comments on the Biblical Text and Doctrine being Biblically sound, gives me great encouragement and hope for the future posts I write.

I’ve also listened to comments that even though you’ve enjoyed reading them, they have been a bit long. I’ve prayed and meditated on this, and I’ve felt the Holy Spirit say I should based my posts on God’s Creation Blueprint. With this in mind, I will be doing them as a 6 (six) Part Series’. The reason behind this, is so that you have a main topic, with six sub-heading, and a sub-heading will be posted each day for six days and then you’ll have a seventh day to pray, meditate and see what God reveals to you (God created everything in six days and rested on the seventh – Book Of Genesis).

I’m planning to have the first series starting to be posted this Monday. If you haven’t read my previous posts, you should, everything I write leads on from the next and I sometimes link things into previous topics I’ve talked about.

And… as well as learning how talented I am as a writer lol (I know I’m modest lol), you may find The Holy Spirit reveals something to you. So well worth the read.

Thanks again for all who have read my posts and don’t forget to follow me.

God bless,

Bob

Drunk On Spirits – The Mis-Information

Drunk On Spirits – The Miss Informed.

Wednesday 11th September 2019.

Over the last few days, I’ve felt God telling me I need to get back into blogging as I let it fall by the way side, due to other things I needed or wanted to do. With this in mind and as I was not sure what topic to write about, I found God guiding me to a car show, which a friend of mine runs. After the show, I got introduce to a gentleman, who said he was a minister in a Christian Spiritual Church. This is the topic I felt God telling me to write about.

Anyone who has read my blog and knows me, I question everything, and research completely and rightly so. This gentleman, I will call him Tom (not his real name) said that their “church” looks at spirits which most none believes would call ghosts, and he proceeded to show me photos on his phone of what looked like ghostly shadowy people in old dark buildings. Has I trained in photo editing, and have friends who are professional web and image designers, these photos could have been photoshopped and manipulated quite easily. However, Tom believed these “spirits” where human spirits who roamed the earth, talking and appearing to him and other people, one of which was a woman who appeared to one of their Sunday school teachers and she conversed back. This to me was very concerning as a practicing Christian, and having a some what understanding of the spiritual realm. As well as what this Sunday school teacher would be teaching these young children.

I will be blunt here and say I say with true conviction, that what Tom believes, what Tom calls a place a church is a cult and does not teach the true teachings of Christ. This is when I started to discuss with Tom the teachings of Christ and what the Bible say Christians should believe. Christians believe and are told directly from Christ, the ONLY way to the Father in Heaven is through Him (Jesus). If you believe Jesus is the Son of God, He (Jesus) died for your wrong doings (Sins), rose again on the third day and ascended to heaven, then you are saved. You can read this in Romans Chapter 10, verse 9 & 10, which says “(EVS) Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the Dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved”. John Chapter 3 verse 16 & 17 says “(NCV) God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. The book of John is a good book to read and Chapter 3 says a lot on this topic.

So I’ve explained what the foundations of Christianity is and I then explained that there are ‘Spirits’ on Earth, but not the ones people believe in as ‘ghosts’. This is where Tom looked puzzled and for anyone reading this, I’ll explain like I did to Tom. There are two types of Spirits in our world, and they are all called Angels, some are the ones we picture as beautiful and white wings and follow God and does His bidding, the others are fallen Angels, like satan and what we call demons. (I personally don’t believe Angels of any sort look like they have been in a DAZ washing powder commercial or demons wear black because it looks cool). Then there are Souls, which humans have, these are a form of Spirit but different to those fore mentioned. This is because God breathed life into man and this spirit (soul) came from the Holy Spirit (God’s Spirit), the Book of Genesis Chapter 2 verse 7 says “(NIV) The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being”.

So now we have understanding of what a Spirit is and what a Soul is. Now, lets look at what happens when we die… Yes that is a big topic, however I’m going to simplify it so that you don’t have to do five years of Bible College and have a doctorate in Christianity lol.

When we die, from what I know from 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 verses 12 to 28 says “(NCV) Now since we preached that Christ was raised from the dead, why do some of you say that people will not be raised from the dead? If no one is ever raised from the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is worth nothing, and your faith is worth nothing. And also, we are guilty of lying about God, because we testified of him that he raised Christ from the dead. But if people are not raised from the dead, then God never raised Christ. If the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith has nothing to it; you are still guilty of your sins. And those in Christ who have already died are lost. If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone else in the world. But Christ has truly been raised from the dead—the first one and proof that those who sleep in death will also be raised. Death has come because of what one man did, but the rising from death also comes because of one man. In Adam all of us die. In the same way, in Christ all of us will be made alive again. But everyone will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was first to be raised. When Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life, and then the end will come. At that time Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities, and powers, and he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. Christ must rule until he puts all enemies under his control. The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. The Scripture says that God put all things under his control. When it says “all things” are under him, it is clear this does not include God himself. God is the One who put everything under his control. After everything has been put under the Son, then he will put himself under God, who had put all things under him. Then God will be the complete ruler over everything.

I want to touch upon a couple of passages or parts of here, These are verses 20, 23 and 24 which say this “(20) … and proof that those who sleep in death will be raised”, “(23 and 24) … when Christ comes again, those who belong to Him (Christ) will be raised to life, and then the end will come. At that time Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities and powers.” So from this, as far as I’m aware, our soul stays with our bodies, whether we are buried, cremated or anything else which is done fore burial. Then Christ will return, which then the ones who follow Christ will Raise to life (Heaven), and the end will come. Those who do not believe will stay dead. I take it from this, when Christians who haven’t died will raise to Heaven together with those who were buried etc. Jesus will then destroy those who appose God, including satan and the other demons, who will be cast into hell for all of eternity.

This now brings me to what people see as spirits of loved ones at the end of their beds, sat like their Grandfather or Grandmother for example. These are spirits but not human souls. As I explained earlier, these are fallen Angels (demons) who know enough about a person (ie; Grandfather, Grandmother etc) to imitate them and make themselves look like and sound like the person they are pretending to be. You might ask why demons would do this??? That’s easy to explain. For this you have to look at satan and his personality. A good and in-depth description can be found via this link https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_69.cfm. satan’s personality in the Bible is described as: Proud, Fierce and Cruel, Powerful, Deceitful and Subtle. Now all demons have these traits, because they don’t have any part of God’s Goodness in them, and when you read about them, you will see they are ‘deceitful and subtle, cruel’ in their approach to trying to trick us and to make us believe lies, which seem like truths. Check this link out for some of the lies demons, especially satan tries to make you believe: https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_90.cfm. Now these fallen angels (spirits) know where they are going, this I showed in the previous Bible passages earlier, however you may also like to read Revelations Chapter 20, paying attention to verse 10, which says “(NCV) and satan, who tricked them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur with the beast and the false prophet. They will be punished day and night for ever and ever.” So because the fallen angels know where they are heading, to the lake of burning sulphur, they want to take as many people as possible with them. Now on this premise, if those who don’t know or actively deny God are already going to hell. So fallen angels need to only focus on three types of people, the first are Christians as they are going to Heaven, the second are would be Christians, as they will become Christians and gain access to Heaven, and the third are none Christians but are gullible to believe the lies and help spread false doctrine, or lies about who God is or that He (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) doesn’t exist. So this is why we have people seeing so called ghosts, spirits etc of loved one or a “spirit” haunting a place. Drunk on Spirit hunting. It is evil spirits trying to stop you from receiving and having the FULL Potential, and love God has created you for.

I say this prayer for anyone who reads this and for those who don’t…

“Lord Jesus, Thank you for being our God and Lord and Saviour. Thank you for your Love for us. I bring before you now, those who read this and those who do not. Bring Peace into their lives which only you can do. Protect them from all evil spirits who wish to do them harm and cause them to suffer. Let your Guardian Angels protect them. Bring them under your guidance and help them to know your love and understanding. If they do not know you Lord, bring them into your loving arms and show them you are their true God and Saviour, Amen”.

If you would like Jesus in your life, for Him to speak into your situation and help you on the journey you are currently travelling on, Please open your heart to Him and recite this prayer.

“Jesus, I have heard of your word and I want you in my life, I am sorry for all the tings I have done to dishonour you. Please forgive me. Please come into my life and show me how you want me to live and please build me up to love you, love myself and love others as you did. Please let your Holy Spirit come upon me, and please guide me to a Church which is filled with the Holy Spirit. In your name I ask this, Lord Jesus, Amen”

If you said this with an open heart and meant it, it will happen. I would further advise you look for a Protestant, Evangelical or Baptist Church (I recommend these as these have sound teaching of Christ, even though there are other churches out there, you will be safe with these). If you need help in finding a Christian Church which will help you grow in God, please feel free to message me and I will help source one in your local area, and I will be happy to help you in your walk with Christ.

DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT’S COVER

DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT’S COVER:

Most people see me and even when they talk to me, don’t realise I am autistic, that I suffer severely from debilitating depression, anxiety, stress, low self esteem, which means I hide away from the world when things are bad, that I have x6 autoimmune diseases, that I question myself often and every decision I make. I have to think 5 or 10 steps ahead, because I’ve been taken advantage of, abused mentally, physically and emotionally, and even had an ex poisoning me. I have been accused of many things, which none are true and I have tried to help everyone I meet, because I don’t want them to struggle or go through what I’ve been through. we talk about accepting people for who they are, yet people judge and comment and slag people off for having a different view on life, for feeling an emotion or for opening themselves up to being vulnerable. I know 99% of my acquaintances on here won’t bother reading this, or give two hoots. I not saying this for attention, that isn’t me. But for those few who do read this, please remember, we all have struggles which we choose not to share with the world. Most things we keep private. So if you see someone, don’t judge them, you don’t know their daily battle/s. Instead, offer them a kind word and see if you can do anything for them. They may say no at first, but just knowing someone is there willing to help, can make a huge difference.

I want to leave this world a better place than when I came into it, if everyone had this attitude, what an amazing world we would live in.

Are Your Prayers Bitter Or Praise Worthy?

When you pray, are you “always” asking God for things or are you giving God Honour and Praise?

Let me explain what I mean. When I only asked God for things, whether it was health issues, a favourable outcome on something, etc, I was focused on me, my wants and my desires. I didn’t find peace, not the Peace God gives freely. My prayers were inward focused.

However, when I changed my focus onto God, giving Him thanks and praise for what He has already blessed me with, my mindset changed. I was outward focused, I found that Peace God gives (It can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic – https://www.healthline.com/health/how-long-does-it-take-to-form-a-habit#takeaway)

This might sound strange, and yes the passage about “come as you are” and “you can ask God for anything and it will be given to you”, comes to mind, but think of it this way.

Imagine you are a parent, you have a child and you want what is best for them, you want them to respect themselves and others including you, their parent. So you teach them to say please and thank you, and be grateful for what they have been given or being given. When they do say please and thank you, it gives you joy because you see them as a polite and courteous individual who has learnt your ways. I think we have all seen or meet a child or children who has a tantrum when they can’t get their own way, or what they want. Imagine that child you saw in the supermarket, you know the one. The thought of “they need a time out” is usually one of the first things in our head, along with, what a horrible child.

Now see this from God’s perspective, are you a child which thanks Him for His many blessings in your daily life or are you a child who has a tantrum at the smallest thing which doesn’t go your way. One is nutric and one is toxic. One gives thanks and one takes.

Jesus taught us to pray like this, and this is the example we should follow in Matthew Chapter 6: Verse 5-15 (New Century Version – NCV),

“5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will see them. I tell you the truth, they already have their full reward. 6 When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, don’t be like those people who don’t know God. They continue saying things that mean nothing, thinking that God will hear them because of their many words. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.

9 So when you pray, you should pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name always be kept holy. 10 May your kingdom come and what you want be done, here on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us the food we need for each day. 12 Forgive us for our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us. 13 And do not cause us to be tempted, but save us from the Evil One.’ [The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.]

14 Yes, if you forgive others for their sins, your Father in heaven will also forgive you for your sins. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.”

Let’s break this down. Reread verse 9 and 10. “9… ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name always be kept holy. 10 May your kingdom come and what you want be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus starts with giving honour and praise to our Heavenly Father, and asking His will be done. Jesus teaches us this, so that we have the right mindset to start praying. That mindset is to be on God.

So how do we do this? Again Jesus shows us, reread verse 6: “6 When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen.”

We see Jesus saying to find a quiet place and shut the door so you have no distractions, so it is just you and your Father in heaven. A place you can focus on God alone.

I personally find, when I get up in the mornings, to play and sing along to Christian Worship, I do this while I get ready, have a shower, make breakfast and eat breakfast, I then pray The Holy Spirit come and teach me God’s Truths as I do my daily Bible plans (via YouVersion App), which I find as I speak to God, He responds and shows me Truths, things He wants me to know about my life, what He wants me to do, what He wants me not to do, and much more.

I want you to know this, the few things I have learnt over forty plus years is this.

1. God’s timing is perfect (it may not be your timing and you may want whatever it is now and not wait, but God has a plan, so trust Him). This will teach you patience and as the saying goes “patience is a virtue”.

2. God will only give you good gifts. If God says He’ll give you something, He will, however have patience and remember number 1 👆

3. Remember to give God Praise, Thank Him for what He has done in your life. Even the small things (I have ill health and a lot of pain most days, but I am still able to do certain things like write, make a cuppa, play with my cats, so give Him thanks).

4. Spend time in God’s presence, just you and Him. It’s a relationship, and like all relationships, you have to spend time with that other person, so make time to talk to Him and “LISTEN”. He has things to talk to you about to.

5. Spend time in Worship. I will guarantee you will feel God’s Peace upon your life, no matter what you are going through.

“Lord, Thank you for your Love towards us, this you showed us by giving your only son to die in our place. I ask as people read this blog, they will feel Your pull to You and ask you into their lives. Show them who you truly are and let the Holy Spirit speak into their lives. Bless them Father so their cup overflows and let them have a thankful heart, even in difficult times. In Jesus’ name I ask this, Amen”

Who Controls Your Thoughts… Planting Seeds

I’m reading the @YouVersion plan ‘Who Controls Your Thoughts?’. Check it out here: https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/26468 #youversion #youversionbibleapp #Bible #God #Jesus #Christ #Saviour #Lord #HolySpirit #HolySpiritCome #Love #Understanding #Grace #Mercy #Faith #Forgiveness #Quotes #QuotesToLiveBy #QuotesToLiveByForever

1 John Ch3: v17-18

“If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion — how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:17-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We ask God as Christians to bless us and we ask God to heal us. Yet we usually forget to ask God to allow us to be a blessing to others.

If we look at Jesus’ life and ministry, we see not just a man, but God who loved us so much that he served others (John Ch13: v1-17 NCV, Matthew Ch14: v13-21 NCV) As Christmas approaches, we remember the birth of our Lord and Saviour, and how He wasn’t born in a palace with riches but in a lowly stable where animals were kept. Then through His life and Ministry we see Him serving others and teaching others right from wrong, who God really is and how to be made right with our Heavenly Father.

That same heart, which God has for us, is also in us, if we stay in Christ (Ephesians Ch3: v17-19 NCV, Ephesians Ch4: v15-17 NCV). If we spend time with the Father, then we learn from Him. Jesus is the embodiment of that Father, and when Jesus ascended to Heaven, He sent The Holy Spirt to guide us and be with us always.

As we see Peter and John in Acts Ch3: v1-11 NCV entering the temple and a lame man who was begging at the temple entrance asked them for a gift, and Paul said, I have no Gold or Silver but I give you freely what is given to me, in Jesus’ name be healed, and the man was healed.

So even though we may not financially be able to help, we can still be a blessing. Let The Holy Spirit guide you and see where you can be a blessing to others around you, in your community and in your church.

So “through The Holy Spirt, and the name or our Lord and Saviour Jesus, I ask God to lay His hands upon you and bless you in every way, physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, that you will have a heart filled with The Holy Spirit and love for others, that you will be a blessing to those in need and that your hearts will be in turn with our Heavenly Father’s and help those in need. I also ask that through those blessings, The Holy Spirit will give you the words, the wisdom, the knowledge and understanding of Christ, to speak into their lives and help bring them to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour. In Jesus, name I ask this, Amen”

Healing of Depression

I want to talk to you about depression and what it entailed for me.

I never slept well, I would wake up throughout the night several times, time would seem to pass so fast, I would loose track of days. I would close my eyes and it would feel like 5 minutes as passed however it would be anything from an hour to four hours. I wouldn’t sleep well, I would struggle to get up in the mornings, and most days it would be after 12 noon and sometimes later. I struggled to do anything, most days, just getting out of bed, brushing my teeth, combing my hair, doing my ablutions, going downstairs, making breakfast was sometimes just to much to cope. I struggled every day for the last 30 plus years.

As a Christian, I trust and believe in Jesus as the Son of God… The Word of God which became flash, who came to earth and died for my sin (my wrongful acts and thoughts, which displeased and went against God’s will). Because of this, and because of Jesus’ teachings that He came to give life and life abundantly (John Ch 10: verses 9-11 ESV) I believe as many Christians believe, Jesus will heal me of the many health conditions I have.

At times this has been a real struggle, and at times I have believed the lies satan (including his demons) has told me, that I am worthless, I won’t be healed, why would God heal me? God doesn’t love me or He would heal me, God isn’t real. satan is a master manipulator and anyone who has been in a relationship with anyone who manipulates them, will know how those people will twist the truth and lie to get what they want. I learnt that the hard way.

Yesterday, I had a bad day, I broke down and I figuratively speaking, fell on my knees in tears and said to God.

“Lord, I’m loosing my faith. I have prayed for so many years, asking for healing and every time I do, my health gets worse or something else happens and I get another condition or health issue. I can’t take anymore, why won’t you heal me, you say you love me, and I’ve seen you work in my life, yet the healing I need, I don’t receive. Even if it’s just the depression you heal me from, I could do more and get some things sorted in my life and home. Please heal me”

After my meltdown and it was a meltdown, I won’t sugar coat it, I started to think about how Jesus teaches about praying for the sick, how Jesus and then the disciples healed the sick, the lame and the blind etc. I will add here, I’ve been using the YouVerson Bible app and reading Bible Plans by Nicky Gumbel and Joyce Meyer on healing, healthy mind, understanding Jesus and The Bible In One Year since lockdown. After all of these things, I reached out to the Church which Nicky Gumbel worships at, plus a Prayer network and I even contacted my minister as I felt I was loosing my faith due to these health issues.

I don’t know if the church or prayer network has had anyone pray for me yet, but I know my minister has. He responded with some Bible passages which I want to add below because they have helped me and if you are suffering with health issues, I pray they will help and support you in your faith.

Quote “There is much we don’t understand about God and his ways, But we can still trust him – where else can we turn? I have some verses of scripture to encourage you…Firstly remember this…
1 Peter ch 1: v6-9 NCV; 1 Peter ch 4: v1 NCV. Also when your faith is feeling week be encouraged to dig into the word and fellowship. Romans ch 10: v17 NCV and Romans ch 1: v12 NCV” End Quote

The one thing I want you to remember and like my minister said. Dig into the Word of God. Even if you do not know where to start reading, just start reading. Try starting with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), and trust and believe God has your best interests at heart.

This brings me to what I want to share with you today. A VICTORY OVER DEPRESSION.

Last night I kept waking up, and as I said previously, I normally I would close my eyes and several hours (like 4 hours would pass and I’d feel like it had been 5 minutes and felt I had no sleep), last night I kept waking up and I found only 30 minutes to an hourish would pass but I didn’t feel tired as much and it didn’t feel like 5 minutes had passed. This happened several times and I thought it’s not like a normal night. I was reminded this morning (I believe by The Holy Spirit) of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, where time can either feel fast or slow depending upon the circumstances. Normally I sleep a lot, even if it’s intermittently due to being overwhelmingly tired. I can loose hours at a time and feel like I’ve not done anything all day (most of the time) and says can blur into another making me lose weeks at a time. This morning I felt a change, I felt time was moving differently and that something chemically had changed. Overnight, I believe God has changed my chemical makeup in the brain and healed me of depression. I say this as I don’t feel the same as I did yesterday or previously. I have that nagging in the back of my mind that it will come back. “It’s only a temporary thing” but I believe that is satan trying to lie and make me disbelieve the Miracle God has Blessed me with.

My spirit and my heart believes I am healed, even if my mind is lagging a little behind waiting for the other shoe to drop so to speak, however I am choosing to trust in Christ, My Saviour. As Joyce Meyer’s says, get your head in the right mindset.

I have prayed the following prayer for myself and I pray it for all who read this to. God has your back, even if you don’t feel Him with you, He never leaves you or forsakes you Hebrews ch 13: v5, Deuteronomy ch 31: v6

“Lord Jesus, Thank you so much for healing me. I know I have several conditions and even though they may not be dealt with yet, you have healed me of depression and I am truly grateful for that. Thank you for Loving me and Blessing me with this gift and a healthy mind. I ask for your Blessings to speak into every part of my life and make me whole like Jesus, in your name Lord Jesus I ask this, Amen”

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I wanted to share this, not to boast or anything like that at all. I wanted to share this because I wanted to show how important it is to connect with God daily. To draw close to Him so He can draw close to you.

Most of the plans I read are by people who truest know God like Nicky Gumbel and Joyce Meyer. It’s not just about reading God’s Word and getting to know Him, it’s who you are listening to and learning from. As the scriptures state, there are “Wolves in sheep’s clothing” and these sort of people can lead Christians who are not fully mature in Christ ashtray (usually because they don’t know they are not mature in Christ), or offered that if they believe in God, God will make them rich. To that I want to say this, look at what Jesus told the rich man, “Go and sell what you have and give to the poor, then come and follow me”

“Lord Jesus, I thank you for dying on the cross for my sins, I thank you for being with me in all I do and I seek your council on what I am to do in every situation. I ask you do the same for those reading this and not reading this. The world needs you and you always bring goodness out of bad situations, and you allow certain situations, so that we will grow in faith, hope and love. Continue to build us up in your name Lord Jesus, Amen”

I can CHANGE them… Oh Really!

Joyce Meyer touches on the Correct Mindset in “The Mind Connection” and is an amazing 14 day Bible Plan on how to get your mind in the right place, not only to be on the same page as God, but also how to ignore the lies told to us each and every day.

In day 9 we can read about how you can change and the change in other (ie; partners, husbands, wives, etc). Read it in the link below👇

How many relations have I been in where either I’ve tried to change someone or they’ve tried to change me? More than I can count. And this has been a learning curve. Sometimes easy lessons and some painful. However, this passage from Joyce Meyer reminds us of a couple of things,

The first is: we can’t change others, it’s as simple as that.

Second: we can help change ourselves if one, we are willing to change for the better, and two, if we allow God to work in us.

Third: to reconfirm what was just said. God changes us for the better, He has plans for us, to prosper us and not harm us. Jeremiah Chapter 29: Verse 11 NIV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+29:11&version=NIV&interface=ampJeremiah Chapter 29 verse 11 NIV

“Lord Jesus, thank you for your direction, for loving us unconditionally and caring so much that you sent The Holy Spirit to guide us. Continue to chastise us, continue to build us up and continue to make us men and woman after your own heart, in your name Lord Jesus we ask this, Amen”

Poem: Everyday, are You there?

Please listen to https://youtu.be/4VR-6AS0-l4 (einaudi: nuvole bianche) before reading the poem, thank you.

I wake up and I’m in pain, It’s insane

I try to move and it sears through me,

I call out

Are you there?

Dragging myself up

Pushing in pain

Hurt from all sides

Are you there?

Step by step

Slowly moving

Gripping to hold on

Are you there?

In the mirror I look

Another wrinkle

Another gray hair

Are you there?

Trying to get washed

Feeling like I’ve lost

A tear rolls down my cheek

Are you there?

Step by step

Slowly moving

Gripping to hold on

Are you there?

Trying to move down stairs

All old with gray hairs

Pain, pain, pain

Are you there?

In the kitchen, reaching for a bowl

Hurting, searing pain

Feeling so drained

Are you there?

Step by step

Slowly moving

Gripping to hold on

Are you there?

Sitting to eat

Every muscle aches

Feeling cold

Are you there?

Trying to warm

The hearts feeling torn

Aching, aching, aching

Are you there?

Step by step

Slowly moving

Gripping to hold on

Are you there?

Time to nap, so tired

In the chair

Sleep like a blanket falls

Are you there?

Awoke

dehydrated

Confused

Are you there?

Step by step

Slowly moving

Gripping to hold on

Are you there?

Time to eat

No hunger inside

Must eat

Are you there?

Time to climb

Stairs like mountain peaks

Slowly rising

Are you there?

Step by step

Slowly moving

Gripping to hold on

Are you there?

Brushing teeth

Joints hurting

Agonising

Are you there?

Sat on the edge

pyjamas on

Thinking back

Are you there?

Step by step

Slowly moving

Gripping to hold on

Are you there?

I Am,

I never left

Right beside you

I Am here

Written By Robert Marshall 20th November 2020

Listening to God… and Meditate.

How many Christians have we met and even ourselves, I know I have, where we read God’s Word and think that’s it, I’ve done my part. Pat myself on the back what a good boy/girl I am and what a good and faithful servant I am. Yet we forget to then spend time with God, sitting with Him, thinking about what we have just read in the Bible, and chatting to Him about it and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts to what God wants to reveal to us this day.

I would love for you to read day 10 of Joyce Meyer’s Daily Devotional “Battlefield of the mind”. You may like to read the full 14 day devotional over the two week period and help receive amazing insight by The Holy Spirit via Joyce Meyer.

“Lord Jesus, Thank you for your unconditional love and support, you know our failings and you still accept us and take us in as part of your Royal Household. You’ve forgiven and forgotten our sins. Thank you. Please forgive our sins and make us whole in You. Help us to have open hearts, open minds to what your Holy Spirit is wanting to teach us this day. Build us up, strengthen us and heal us, in your name I ask this Lord Jesus, Amen”