I want to let you in on a secret…
I am not perfect!

Sorry about that…now that I have burst your bubble about me…
By the way, please know that I am joking about your bubble being burst?

Seriously though, I am not perfect.
I am the first to admit it.
I know that I have faults.
I know that I have limitations.
But to counter all that…I have God.

You see God picks me and you to be part of his kingdom, not because we are perfect, but because we aren’t.
Didn’t Jesus say he came not for the healthy but for the sick. (Mark 2:17)

I take so much encouragement (and you should to) from the example of a guy called Simon/Peter.
In the gospels it tells of him being impetuous, head strong and down-right stupid sometimes.
His ultimate blunder is proclaiming he would never deny Jesus. History tells us he did just that.
He felt terrible and condemned.
But what does this Jesus do to him?
He makes him the head of the early church!
Not bad for a screwup…

My encouragement to you this week is to know that God loves you…even if you are not perfect.
He picks you not because of your looks and talents.
He picks you because he knows who you are and who you can be.
He sees your heart, the real you, not just the wrapping.
He looks at you through the eyes of Jesus. Eyes that see past ‘our stuff’ to who he created you to be.
I like that!
It takes the pressure off a bit…and maybe you needed to hear this today?

Something to think about…

Well we have moved…
Moved to our new little corner of the world in a place called Taupo.

With any house move you have to pack all the stuff your own and have collected into little boxes.
Side Note : I have bought 50 in the last week or so…
Anyway after 9 years in one house you certainly have an ‘interesting’ time packing.
On one hand you realize how much stuff you can accumulate over time.
On the other, you find things you never know you had, or that had been missing for a while.

Among the treasures I found were:
- Photos of things and events that I had been looking for.
- Some cash which looked very different, it was a memorial $10 note.
- Missing recordings from when my band recorded at York Street.

It is fun finding these treasures.
There is this mix of being planned to do something in particular and the random of finding treasure.
In fact, no one ever finds treasure by just sitting still. You have be at least a little proactive.

Sometimes we explain some of the truths or things that jump out from the Bible as treasures.
Those phrases that seem to speak directly to who you are.
Either challenging you or encouraging you.

Proverbs 2 (New International Version)
3 and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,

Can I encourage you this week to head back to your Bible.
Be intentional about it, and see what little surprises or treasures God might show you.

You have nothing to lose!

Something to think about…

Do you know how much faith you have?
If you had to put an estimate on it…
Or show it on a faith-o-meter…
How much would it show you had?

Last year petrol got really expensive. We were paying well over $2 per litre and at that time I was very grateful to be driving a small engine car.
You had to feel a little bit sorry for all those suckers driving V8’s.
They must have nearly had a heart attack every time they filled up?

You were probably like the rest of us…
Watching our full gauge very carefully.
Making sure you knew exactly where you were at with the petrol you had.

Now I am thinking along the same lines with my faith.
How much do I have in my tank?
How much do I have today? Right this minute even?

So do you want to have more faith?
To have a tank as full as it can be?

Faith is gift that God offers us for free!
But there is a cost…
The cost is our human pride and arrogance.

In our western world view we pride ourselves on making it ourselves.
Proving to the world around us that we are strong enough, talented enough or even resourced enough.

But this gift of faith is so much bigger!
It is there to take us beyond our human thinking and limitations.

I have learnt that you need these things to grow your faith…
- To step out, take some risks in God
- Trust him completely even when it doesn’t make any ‘earthly’ sense
- Persevere in what God has you doing right now
- And keep your eyes and thoughts fixed on Jesus

God will bless your obedience.
His gift of faith will grow more and more in your life.
And you will find yourself growing more and more into the person God has dreamed you can be.

Something to think about…

Maybe what I share today you have read a little before…
Or maybe it is just an extension on what I have also learnt and shared with you.

There is something amazing about giving all you have and are to God.
Something special about saying to God that you will do anything for him, that all you want to do is serve him and glorify him.
For some of us that can happen in a moment where you really feel filled with faith. Or maybe in a moment where you sense what we call ‘the presence of God’, and you feel comfortable to say those sorts of things.

But then you have the so called reality of your decision sink in.
The testing of your faith decision.
The stretch component that inevitably follows…

That is me right now!

I am filled with faith…but also I am a little scared.
I am excited about our future…but also a little apprehensive.
I am passionate about what is now…but unsure at the same time.

Let’s throw some words in here right now…
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding proverbs 3:15
The testing of your faith develops perseverance…so that you may be mature and complete james 1:3-4

For me I can easily worry.
If you have read my blogs over time, this has been a reoccurring theme.
But there are two things I am doing to get me through this time.
Firstly I am reminding myself that this is ‘God’s Show’. All that I am swirling in right now is his idea and I simply need to trust his plan, his way…to achieve the goal.
Secondly, I simply go to him. Lying in my bed, driving in my car, even as I type this…
I simply give to him what I am thinking and wrestling with. I vent to the one who I know totally understands.

Maybe you are going through a stretchy, difficult, even trying time right now?
Hang in there my friend…
Let God have his way and lead you through no matter how much it might not make sense right now.
It is so worth it!

Something to think about…

In the last few weeks I have learned a few things…including some things new about honour.

It seems to me that honour has multiple directions in its nature.
You can receive it. You can give. You can witness it. You can benefit from it. You can be encouraged by it.
It reaches in all directions and can permeate all around.

You see, honour isn’t something to be scared of or feel obligated to give.
It is something that should flow naturally in our Christian experience.

As we spent time at the farewell events hosted for us, we experienced honour.
It caused something in my heart to want to give honour.
To honour God and what he has done so far in my life.
To honour leaders over me for their support and guidance.

Honour is something that should be part of each of lives.
We should find every opportunity to honour each other and of course our God.

Romans 12:10 simply says this...
Honour one another above yourselves

Honour should flow from us, to us and all around us.
Maybe honour should even be like an atmosphere that surrounds us just as much as the natural atmosphere we live in already?

Something to think about…