Author: words and signs

It will be (forever)

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Heaven will be great. We know it without actually knowing all that will be there, but from what can now be known, it will be everything beyond our wildest dreams. Every power that we can have, creativity, Art, Music, Poetry, Writing, Swimming, will all reach their fullest attainment, to be enjoyed fully, without fear or regret.

There will be joys that cannot be experienced now, as our minds, body and souls are not ready as yet. Things hidden within, glories deep powers, similar to the Transfiguration, will shine out in astounding power and intensity.

The greatest joy will be the final and total victory over our own sinfulness. Human tendency for wrong will finally be cast away and triumph shall lead the endless years of joy, peace and love.

We shall be free. No one shall offend, correct or rebuke us as we praise and glorify the Lord of all, and reflect his grace. This will be a true knowing, an accurate seeing and a fully faithful believing.

The body as an incorruptible, undefiled and immortal unity, to never fail or fade in any regard. It will live eternal life without boundaries or restrictions and the cloying effect of the law of a fallen nature will never apply.

All evil will be bound in darkness as the light of Christ radiates out of his own redeemed people, as they celebrate and truly live life forever.

Nothing shall hurt, no one will put us down and nowhere will be shaded from the incomparable beauty of Christ. We shall know Him as he loves us and has known us for before the galaxies were made. And he will continue to love when this ruined world has long gone and has been forgotten by us all.

It is hard to look ahead, in case we should get too keen too soon, and desire things that we cannot have today. The present road we walk with Him and enjoy his company as he permits. Each day we must progressively seek him and desire to follow him more nearly, as we experience heaven’s joys in the here and now, although tempered and clouded by our own weaknesses and this world’s sadness and evil ethos.

As we travel surely to home we know a growing weariness of what this world offers and an ever-growing love for Him and that place ahead.

Repentance

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Will you repent?

You know you are wrong. Your conscience tells you so. You won’t repent because that would be an admission of guilt, so your pride keeps you away…
Your Father God calls you in great love to full and free forgiveness, but it’s not worth it…

– You know the person you are thinking about is right, but you will never speak up for them, because it would take away from yourself. It would make you “less” (as perceived) so pride keeps you silent.

– You have been thinking of this person for days now. You rehearse what you should say. An apology, a lowering of the knee to admit error. You think this person is less than you, so you excuse yourself and carry on.

– A stream of thoughts is apportioning blame to someone else. It persists because you don’t deal with it. You could let it go, but it will stand between you both until you relinquish it’s hold on your mind. Spiritual battles are too difficult.

– Troubling doubts fill your time with God. You feel a hypocrite. What is it, Lord? You remember saying hurtful things about another person. That was unkind. They were in the wrong, so they deserve it. You become a judge with a wicked heart.

– You know someone has wronged you. The objective will be to sieze an opportunity to teach them a lesson. You will keep it in your mind so that when the moment comes, you can apply the “lesson.”

– Today is rest day. You need lots of rest. A friend is facing a situation alone. They don’t want to ask you as they know you are busy. Will you ask them? Or will you relax at home? There is no record of Jesus relaxing. He ministered to everyone.

– I don’t like saying Jesus’ name. People think it is weird. I don’t talk about Him at all, it’s too embarrassing, especially at work, or with family, or with friends, or at church. I’m sure He will accept me anyway.

– It cheaper to use the photocopier at work. After all, it’s God’s work so it doesn’t count. I need to save my money for something more important.

– The person I don’t like much is usually the person who I have wronged. Or the person who has challenged you about wrong-doing. They have no right to criticise you and you will make sure they pay.

– Discrimination is still rife in “church” culture. People are excluded because they are from a particular racial group, or gender or age range. Who will stand up and show the way forward?

To ignore the conscience is dangerous, because it will eventually switch to silent…

“…holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith..”
1 Timothy 1:19 NIV

Character of the Christian

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Job 5:17-27 NIV

“Blessed is the one whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up;
he injures, but his hands also heal. From six calamities he will rescue you;
in seven no harm will touch you.
In famine he will deliver you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword. You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
and need not fear when destruction comes. You will laugh at destruction and famine,
and need not fear the wild animals. For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
You will know that your tent is secure; you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing. You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth. You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered in season.
“We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it and apply it to yourself.”

We serve a living and a fearful God. We are talking about an all powerful being, who knows everything and controls everything. Those who trust in Him and love Him, know this to be true. They have the same spiritual perspective that He has and desire the same holiness that He has.

In order that God should bless us, we need to face some painful facts. We do not go in the right way and we do not act honourably all the time. Our hearts are sinful and the wrong we do must be faced up to and repented of. God must show us our failure so that we can turn from it and know His rebuilding strength in our lives. He injured us so that we can be forgiven and made new.

Those who refuse Him, do not know Him, nor recognise His character in any part of His works. They interpret trouble, pain and circumstances in a world-orientated way. They are at the whim of chance and luck, and have no certainty of a loving God who directs their paths. Events of life are chaotic and with no reference to give certainty. For the Christian, each day and every trouble is under God’s direction. There is in reality, no cause for fear or doubt.

All that happens in our lives, is the loving provision of a Heavenly Father who is making your character to be like His. He is moulding our thought processes and teaching us discipline in this crucial area of our lives. He is prizing our fingers of the control panel and teaching us faith in Him. God will protect us from everything, not getting us out of it, but giving us the courage to face it squarely and deal with the pain. This builds our spiritual muscles and keeps us walking forward in the strength of the Holy Spirit.

The inanimate things of life will work in our favour and we will see increasingly clearly, the power of God in all aspects of life. His absolute sovereignty in the smallest detail, will cause us to praise Him name. Only a fool would refuse Him…

Why wear yourself out with worry and striving for the things of this life? We live in a society of consumerism gone into overdrive..
The Lord will give us all you need and more, so that we can share with others. Your life will end with full vigour, as you step into eternity to the full fruition of God. I have examined this and I know it is true, so I will walk in this Way.

Psalm 107:43 NIV
“Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.”

His love

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O the depths of the love of Christ…

There is no other like Him, who can know our hearts and still love us unconditionally. When we stumble and fall, His love holds us up and sets our feet on the right pathway again. When we grow cold and slip away into foolish and sinful ways, His love forgives and renews us to repent and obey Him.

When we sink into the depths and even despair, His love sustains and lifts us to see who we are in Him. When our health fails, His love touches our lives and brings mercy to help us. When troubles crash in and shock us from prayer and devotion, His love is the balm that soothes us and makes us whole.

When people hurt and exclude us, He is the one who welcomes us into His family and gives us a place in His kingdom that no one can take away. When the world tempts us to join in and take pleasure in what it offers, He is the Saviour who shows us His scars and His love beyond telling.

There is no other like this. Who else would we go to? Who else is able or willing?
Lord, may I never doubt you, or take my eyes off your face. I put all my trust in you and thank you for your love for me. I love you for what you did for me and will spend my life serving you…

Leaving for good

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There is a big difference between the institution and the individual. Individuals can be part of institutions, but the belief systems of both can be quite different. Some people find support and refuge in being part of a group, while others find them restrictive and debilitating.

Established churches often act like institutions and have set standards of inclusion and criteria in life style that must be met, if the person is to be incorporated. There are social rules and a church constitution, which must be regarded and other rites of passage have to be completed. It is important for the individual that they choose carefully, which institution they join.

The doctrinal basis for churches is crucial, and must be weighed carefully against scripture. Our Christian lives are dominated by scripture and personal spiritual growth depends on Bible study and prayer. These spiritual exercises draw us nearer to Christ and deepen our relationship with Him. There are times when the  status of the institution and the personal life, become alienated, and people part company with church. Perhaps the person seeks a clearer view of Christ and the Scripture, and seeks a fuller outworking of this in their lives. Others find themselves rejecting the idea of religion or church altogether.

The Apostle Paul spoke openly in the Jewish Sanhedrin and preached Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. He spoke of their Messiah and Jesus Christ, Saviour of the World. The Jewish authorities did not accept the message of Jesus, or regard Him as their Messiah. Their thinking had become warped and they saw progress was through them, as part of the institution, and not Christ as a person.

The point came when Paul completely distanced himself from the religion and the religious people and leaders. He made the break with Judaism and shook out his clothes as a protest against them. His ministry moved on. Jesus taught His disciples to preach the message faithfully, and if the message was rejected by the hearers – to move on. They showed their disassociation with unbelief by shaking the dust off their feet.

When Paul leaves the organised religion of the Jewish Sanhedrin, he goes to a Jewish family to share the gospel with them. He has rejected the religion, but not the individual people. Paul shares/preaches/teaches all who seek Christ and the forgiveness of sins. So also must we. Even if we find ourselves outside the institution, the message remains and our responsibility to share it is unchanged.

Paul does not repeal his rejection of the Jewish religion, the leaders of the Sanhedrin who rejected Christ, or the Jews who tried to force religious practices on Gentile believers. He distances himself from those who deliberately refuse the claims of Christ on their lives. He preaches, teaches and debates the truth of God, and God blesses his work. Neither Paul, nor you or I are able to save the souls of other people, but we spread the good news of repenting and forgiving and loving and resurrection of the soul. If this happens in church context, fine, though too many of these institutions have become a closed shop.

Some are still fascinated with “church practice” rather than the souls of men and women, young people and older people. In these days most evangelism and witness happens in other places. Churches have lost their credibility because they have lost the message, the Spirit and the love. If there is to be change, it must be in our hearts. We must return to the Lord, and practice honesty, both in our relationship with God (repentance) and true Christians (fellowship and service). We must seek wisdom and holiness. Without holiness we will never see the Lord.

Perhaps the old wave of “church” is past and we need to start again with fresh, consecrated hearts to the Lord.

“I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding. Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.” Psalm 119:32+33 The way of God’s decrees are pure and demand obedience and love.

This is the calling of… “ all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.” Ephesians 6:24

 

 

 

Crying out

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Psalm 107:4-6 NIV  “Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”

The power of a Christian’s personal testimony of the salvation and greatness of the Lord is huge. We love to hear about other people’s lives and the drama of life helps us understand about our own difficulties and triumphs. God’s working in another person’s life demonstrates His power and how He really does change people in their inner soul. It shows His deep spiritual work in the mind and heart of a human being and He can change the greatest wrongs and weaknesses. God shows the love and power of Christ in human lives and the joy and peace a person experiences in the presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 107 is a huge testimony to the grace of God in the lives of those who believe in Him. In this Psalm we can see people in dire need and in great tragedy. The writer shows how God rescues them. In fact, if God isn’t real and He doesn’t intervene, these people will perish. There are situations in life that we can bluff ourselves that we are being helped, but there are times that are so stressful and extreme, that if God is not real, we are lost.

We have no time for God when all is outwardly well. We will never seek Him in comfort and prosperity, as our hearts are cold and we don’t see our need of Him. It often takes something that brings us to the end of ourselves, so that we can see and acknowledge we need God. The events of life and the powers that are out there in our human societies, are so huge, we cannot withstand the trouble. We have to see the complete grip of sin on our lives and our inability to fight temptation, so that we will see our need of God. There have been people who have destroyed their lives and have lost control, and have called out to the Almighty in complete destitution, for help and release. This is a prayer that God answers.

Look in the Scriptures and listen to the testimony of those who have been changed, truly. Understand the power that it took to forgive that person. Understand the power of love that kept the Lord Jesus on the cross to suffer the agony of your punishment. We see that He is able.

Psalm 107:43 NIV “Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.”

 

Trusting the Lord with unconsciousness

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The Christian life is a progression of events that produce a strengthening of our faith. The Christian walks with God in an increasingly trusting way. We get stronger as we trust Him, because we have no personal strength to walk in His spiritual way. We have no inclination either, but as we see more clearly who we follow, and experience His love and power, we seek Him more. As David killed the lion with his bare hands so we get strength to put ferocious enemies away from us. David killed a bear. He grabbed its hair and God gave the know-how and strength to know where to punch. He was spiritually set up to face the huge attack of Goliath. David ran towards the giant and killed him with a small stone and Goliath’s own sword.

It is one thing to face mortal enemies in the light of day. It is quite another to have to contend with them in the greying moments of unconsciousness. There is a small and uncertain space between awake and asleep, where the body relaxes and the mind stops coming up with thoughts. Our whole being sinks into somnambulant slumber and we have the necessary sleep we need. We need it like food and drink. We cannot cope very long without it.

Getting over the sleep stream to unconsciousness can be tricky. Some minds go there very easily and others just won’t lie still. To allow your mind to switch off is a matter of confidence. If your thoughts are being negative, you want to hold onto the ability to control them. This inhibits the surrender necessary for sleep. If your thoughts are lively and you are thinking of things that are happy, you don’t want to surrender them either. In some ways it is a matter of discipline and keeping your thoughts steady as you wind down to sleep.

Sometimes reading or music can help. For other, silence is the key. There is no one answer and we can use our minds to figure out our own therapy or routine.

If sleep is elusive, we can get stressed about that also. Whatever sleep we get, it is enough. Some people do not get eight hours, and it is better to just accept that. God says He gives His beloved ones sleep, and He does. Whatever we feel is our lack, He has that in view. If we are to suffer, it is in His control.

If coping is difficult, there are sleeping tablets – we get in quite a wax about these. They are tools to help us. If you want to reach a high cupboard, you get the step-ladders. If sleep is becoming a problem, the doctor might suggest some sleeping tables for a while. Mostly they help for a short time – tools for a specific job.

As Christians we get hung up on guilt about taking prescribed drugs, when really they are given to help us when we are stressed or struggling.

“If I take tablets, I’m not trusting God..” This is an old accusation. God gives us all kinds of helps, so trust Him and use what He has provided.

Our Father never sleeps. He watches over us in the night hours and wakes us up at the right time. How wonderful it would be if we could trust Him implicitly and take the hours of sleep and waking, and know His sovereign care.

My friend was concerned about where she would wake up in the morning… For the Christian it is either in God’s new day, or in the everlasting kingdom…

“…when I awake, I am still with you.” Psalm 139:18 NIV

Mad and bad

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Being a Christian, changes everything…

THE CYNIC:

Mind illness sufferers suffer because it is their fault. We do not understand their illness or the circumstances of their lives, or how their mind works, but it is definitely their fault.

As friends and neighbours we have no responsibility for their suffering, it is nothing to do with us. I don’t have to try to understand because it will never happen to me or mine. The sufferer must have done something bad to deserve this, or is going to do something bad. It is their fault they have to go through this – the poor dears… If I keep away from them, it will stop it spreading to me.

Mind illness sufferers are evil. “Mad, crazy and evil” are all the same word. I know this because I see it in films and on TV. Sufferers will murder you if you are not careful, and that’s why they have to be locked up. The mad house (Psychiatric hospital) is where they lock up mad/bad people so they don’t destroy everyone. It’s just like prison really. It’s best to leave them. They’ll come out if it by themselves.

THE SUFFERER:

Mind illness sufferers are not sick, they are tired. Tired of boring predictable activities and behaviours that are nothing to do with the greatness of God. Their minds rebel against it and they seek something deeper and more satisfying – a real and personal relationship with the one who made their minds and who knows all about how they work. They seek Someone so creative, it makes Human Art look like kindergarten paintings..

Mind illness sufferers are prone to suffer because they feel the ills of society around them and their sensitivity to feeling magnifies the pain. They take it into themselves and it accumulates over time, building up a store of sorrow, which eventually bursts and causes a crisis.

Mind illness sufferers suffer because the God who made them, also knows that their propensity for feeling is what will help them recover and will make them amazing friends and burden bearers. The gift to empathise is strong, and people who suffer this way, find the sadness of life hard to bear. But they are able to help fellow-sufferers because the stigma is theirs also.

Mind illness sufferers have and develop quick and profound problem solving skills. With suffering, God gives the cognitive abilities to work out the Psyche and come up with solutions to problems. Sufferers do well at intellectual tests and activities and the gift of determination and persistence can have a good effect in the mind and also on the life.

Mind illness sufferers see through hypocrites and those who really don’t understand or care. It leads to a lonely life for many and the heartache of rejection. For the Christian it is very different. The love of God towards such sufferers is precious and able to support the person. Mind illness sufferers experience the love of God more than most, as He delights to draw near the broken hearted and people who are sidelined and rejected as He was.

Sufferers understand the sufferings of Christ more than most and so He is the Beloved One.

If you are a Christian, God is doing a unique work in your life. He is not punishing you, as many will say. He is building you into a force to be reckoned with, and a particular ministry that no one else can do.

You are not especially weak, as you will be regarded, and do not believe the negative words or vibes you will get from others. They can’t help it and you must forgive.

God is making you…

Follow Him only and get to know Him through His Word, deeply and personally.

Don’t listen to sermon after sermon… listen to God’s Word directly to you…

Mind illness can be transformed into something precious and it will transform you into a powerful person, who follows God and trusts Him implicitly….

 

In the night

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Psalm 119:55-56 NIV

“In the night, Lord, I remember your name, that I may keep your law. This has been my practice: I obey your precepts.”

The sufferer is at greatest danger of hurt at night, when the mind and body relax to rest. Tiredness does not always lead to the beauty of sweet sleep. The mind has no remit but to keep active, even if the person is dragged into a weariness which does not go away. The psyche’s defences are down when rest is needed, and the anxieties of the mind suddenly come alive.

The enemy of our souls, Satan, takes full opportunity of the unguarded, unconscious state and can make us very uncomfortable. He can worry us with fear, panic and the downward spiral of negative thoughts, which is difficult to spot when the minds guard is down. Our minds have treadmills that we plod along as we try to deal with events in our lives. These quickly become entrenched and we keep visiting then regularly. Sleep can be the trigger for these treadmills and the small space between consciousness and unconsciousness makes us vulnerable for attack. This kind of situation causes much pain and takes a long time to come to terms with. Hence we often turn to drugs of some sort, to get across that threshold of sleep.

How can we stave off this attack? It is a great necessity to have scripture in your mind, so that we can remember and recite them in the dark. As we remember God’s name and who He is and His everlasting attributes, reflected in His Word, we can find comfort.

As you think of your life and how God has kept and blessed you, you can rehearse His goodness as He brings to your mind scripture, or even hymns or songs to comfort. Comfort yourself as you remember God’s goodness and wait for the feelings of panic and anxiety to fade. If you are obeying God in your daily life, you will be able to think of God’s love towards you and how He is still with you in the dark. At other times, maybe that ability disappears, and we think we are left alone to struggle.

There is no other comfort than God Himself. There is no certainty except His precious Word. As we learn the Word and take it to our lives, we can grow in such circumstances and know God in our lives in a deeper and fuller way. This is the way God draws us to know Him better and teach us resilience in the fight of faith.

My provision

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 I can never comprehend the forgiveness of God.

It is impossible to assimilate the fact that I shall never have to pay.

Eternal God is willing to completely and absolutely blot out my transgressions, so that they are never looked at, or remembered again.

The book of my life is full of righteousness and holy deeds, that are not my own, but were given to me by Jesus, who paid dearly for them.

I am continually indebted to Him who died for me, to take the burden off my shoulders and set me free from guilt. When I am tempted to revisit those sad sights and sounds, the voice resounds, “They are gone in the deepest sea, never to be dredged up again, I have vanquished all…”

The bill has been paid and I am in debt no longer, in fact, there is money in the bank and power and hope.

I can now face my accusers and tell them that Christ has died.

I am one of His, the weight of grief is gone and I no longer have to hide in the shadows, hoping not to be noticed, with nothing to offer but filthy deeds. I am given confidence, not in myself, but in who He is and what he has accomplished for me. No one can take me out of His hands, or strike my name from His book of life. The sins I now do, I do with regret, in my own weakness and lack of faith, but there is free forgiveness every day, so that I can constantly have a clean sheet.

The future is all unknown, except that glory awaits every child who has been cleansed. I pilgrim on through this dark and weary land, where no water lies, and provision is scant and pointing fingers hurt and depress. Nevertheless, He is here, always upholding and encouraging when others annoy. My prayer is that my sacrifice will be equal to the mercy shown to me, although I also know that it could never be, as my debt of mercy is so great.

I will walk with Him. I will seek to be like Him, and remain unmoved by those who try to distract me and loosen my hold on Christ.