Today is my last day of 'work' for 3 whole weeks...YES I am having a holiday...and I am so looking forward to it!
So with that in mind I thought I would mention a really cool scripture...
1 Corithinans 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Many times I have heard people say our lives are like a marathon.
But when I think of a marathon I think yuck! I am not the fittest bloke in the world and I know I would never make it running that far.
Also, most of us will never run a marathon!
From what I understand about them, is that a good runner will find a pace and stick to it the whole race.
They want to find their groove and stay with it.
So if we say that our lives should be like a marathon, are we saying as well that we should only run at one pace? Are we saying we would be able to? Personally I don't think that is realistic, I don't think that is what God is trying to say to us!
It says 'run in such a way', which leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Life is not ever lived at one pace.
Have you noticed over our short lifetimes that there have been times where you have felt like you were sprinting, others you may have felt like you were crawling through the gravel. Whatever way you are 'running', the Bible encourages us to keep moving. Don't ever stop. Don't panic about the pace, cause it will change with the tides of our lives. God simply wants you to finish the race.
That's why taking a break, having a holiday is so important for all of us. It is wise to recognise that we are not superhuman.
So make sure you take time this year to recharge, got filled up on God...so we can all finish the race together!
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
In the last few weeks I have had to make some really important decisions. And to be honest I wasn't very comfortable with them!
They involved issues in what we call the 'grey areas' of life.
You know, those things where there doesn't seem to be any 'black or white' ruling on to go with.
So what did I do?
Checked out the Word
I went back to the Bible and read up whatever I could find on the subject and related subjects.
If you want to find out how God feels about things, this is always a good place to start.
Job 12:13 (NIV)
To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.
Talked it Through
I went to people I could trust and who I respect to run it by them and gauge their response.
That didn't mean I did not go with some of the thoughts I had, I just needed others to help 'temper' my thoughts.
To guide me away from any wrong interpretations. And to confirm what I had right already!
Proverbs 15:22 (NLT)
Plans go wrong for lack of advise; many counselors bring success.
Checked out my Conscience
Don't be afraid of your conscience. God created it for a reason, to help you!
At the end of all the above I prayed and asked God to help and let my conscience guide me.
I made sure that I was comfortable with the decision, even if I wasn't comfortable with the situation.
Job 27:6 (NIV)
I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.
The Bible encourages us to let the Word of God dwell (hide, live, exist) inside us. It also tells us that the Spirit of God lives within each one of us. Don't panic when life's tricky issues come up. Trust God that he will help you get it right!
Hope that is of some help?
They involved issues in what we call the 'grey areas' of life.
You know, those things where there doesn't seem to be any 'black or white' ruling on to go with.
So what did I do?
Checked out the Word
I went back to the Bible and read up whatever I could find on the subject and related subjects.
If you want to find out how God feels about things, this is always a good place to start.
Job 12:13 (NIV)
To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.
Talked it Through
I went to people I could trust and who I respect to run it by them and gauge their response.
That didn't mean I did not go with some of the thoughts I had, I just needed others to help 'temper' my thoughts.
To guide me away from any wrong interpretations. And to confirm what I had right already!
Proverbs 15:22 (NLT)
Plans go wrong for lack of advise; many counselors bring success.
Checked out my Conscience
Don't be afraid of your conscience. God created it for a reason, to help you!
At the end of all the above I prayed and asked God to help and let my conscience guide me.
I made sure that I was comfortable with the decision, even if I wasn't comfortable with the situation.
Job 27:6 (NIV)
I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.
The Bible encourages us to let the Word of God dwell (hide, live, exist) inside us. It also tells us that the Spirit of God lives within each one of us. Don't panic when life's tricky issues come up. Trust God that he will help you get it right!
Hope that is of some help?
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Sometimes the start of the year finds you saying things like..."I would like to be more disciplined"
But before you stop reading, don't think I am about to say that you should be. I actually want to help. Most of us want to read our Bible regularly, and we all struggle to do this at different times of our lives.
So I thought you might want to have a look at few things that can help us all.
Plus I am starting to use them myself to help me keep on track...
They are simply Bible Reading Plans...
The cool thing with these that I found is that they give you options. One of them is designed to be a 5 minutes a day system.
Others have you reading the whole Bible in a year! Navigators have 3 different systems for you to choose between...and they are free!
Click here for a link to download some of these.
Or contact me and I will email or print them for you.
Enjoy
But before you stop reading, don't think I am about to say that you should be. I actually want to help. Most of us want to read our Bible regularly, and we all struggle to do this at different times of our lives.
So I thought you might want to have a look at few things that can help us all.
Plus I am starting to use them myself to help me keep on track...
They are simply Bible Reading Plans...
The cool thing with these that I found is that they give you options. One of them is designed to be a 5 minutes a day system.
Others have you reading the whole Bible in a year! Navigators have 3 different systems for you to choose between...and they are free!
Click here for a link to download some of these.
Or contact me and I will email or print them for you.
Enjoy
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Last week I encouraged you to pray...
Which got me thinking about how God answers prayer.
A man named Luis Palau (evangelist for the last 1000 years...just joking, but an awesome man of God) wrote an article on this a while a go.
He says that there are 5 ways that God answers:
- No, I love you too much
- Yes, but you'll have to wait
- Yes, but not what you expected
- Yes, and here's more!
- Yes, I thought would never ask
The last one is really cool! God is waiting on us to ask him. Many times we are encourage in the Bible to "Ask and then you will Receive". Does that mean we won't get if we don't ask. I think so sometimes??? Shocking as that might sound.
Most of you will have seen my acoustic guitar. It is not exactly 'new' looking and 'well loved' isn't very accurate either!
There is a story behind how I got that guitar that I think will encourage you?
I was in Bible College, which loosely trranslated means 'broke'. And I needed an accoustic guitar.
You see I had been asked to tour round some south island churchs with a pastor. He wanted me to sing and then he would preach. The only problem was I needed a guitar to take with me.
One day someone encouraged me to be specific about praying for a guitar. Instead of just saying..."God please give me a guitar". Up until that point that is what I had been doing, and no guitar fell from the sky. So I thought a bit about it and prayed for a guitar that had a natural wood finish, cutaway, gold hardware etc. The next week I got given money by people randomly...that equaled the amount for a guitar I had seen and liked. I bought the guitar 2 weeks before the trip began. Amazing.
That is why my guitar is special to me. It represents a moment in life where God taught me so much!
Yes, God wants to answer prayer!
Please pray and believe that God wants to answer. You will be suprised what God will do with your asking!
For the whole article click here
Which got me thinking about how God answers prayer.
A man named Luis Palau (evangelist for the last 1000 years...just joking, but an awesome man of God) wrote an article on this a while a go.
He says that there are 5 ways that God answers:
- No, I love you too much
- Yes, but you'll have to wait
- Yes, but not what you expected
- Yes, and here's more!
- Yes, I thought would never ask
The last one is really cool! God is waiting on us to ask him. Many times we are encourage in the Bible to "Ask and then you will Receive". Does that mean we won't get if we don't ask. I think so sometimes??? Shocking as that might sound.
Most of you will have seen my acoustic guitar. It is not exactly 'new' looking and 'well loved' isn't very accurate either!
There is a story behind how I got that guitar that I think will encourage you?
I was in Bible College, which loosely trranslated means 'broke'. And I needed an accoustic guitar.
You see I had been asked to tour round some south island churchs with a pastor. He wanted me to sing and then he would preach. The only problem was I needed a guitar to take with me.
One day someone encouraged me to be specific about praying for a guitar. Instead of just saying..."God please give me a guitar". Up until that point that is what I had been doing, and no guitar fell from the sky. So I thought a bit about it and prayed for a guitar that had a natural wood finish, cutaway, gold hardware etc. The next week I got given money by people randomly...that equaled the amount for a guitar I had seen and liked. I bought the guitar 2 weeks before the trip began. Amazing.
That is why my guitar is special to me. It represents a moment in life where God taught me so much!
Yes, God wants to answer prayer!
Please pray and believe that God wants to answer. You will be suprised what God will do with your asking!
For the whole article click here
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