Our Purpose

From Jeremiah 29v11 we know that God has a specific and unique plan for everyone of our lives, as he has gifted us with various talents to use to serve him. Lately I have been thinking more about the purpose of fulfilling the commandments that was given to Moses as well as the commandments Jesus gave us whilst he was here on this earth.  I know that it is never easy to keep all the commandments given to us, but we are only human and we will make mistakes, which is also known as sin.   I was talking the other night to a good friend of mine about sin, by saying at times we begin to think because other people who are Christians and our doing something we shouldn’t doesn’t mean that we have the right to do it too.  We also tend to judge others, both Christians and non Christians, as we begin to think that our sin of not honouring our parents is so small compared to someone’s sin of committing adultery or murder.  But we forget that our sin of not honouring our parents is the same size in God’s eyes, Basically a sin is a sin no matter what it is.

In my head and heart I have a commandment that I know I struggle with.  Firstly one I find difficult is loving your enemies, or let me rephrase it a bit, loving your enemies or the people who have hurt you.  Over the past few years i have went through some really tough times with friendships, which has lead to some friendships being ended for a few months before accepting that we needed to start building up the courage to be the first one to try and sort things out.  At times it can be messy when you try to patch  things up with  the other person as they may not be ready yet to do this, so they can push you away and tell you to leave them alone etc etc.  At this point it can make you angry and upset towards that person as they have knocked your whole courage on the head and made you feel terrible.  From these experiences I have found it extremely hard to love them, but I know that I had to try. 

I then think of what Jesus did on the cross for us... how he was wounded for us and he went through the uttermost pain, yet he still classed us as friends and he LOVED us, so I think it is about time we begin to love our enemies or the people who we have fallen out with as if Jesus wasn’t angry at us for what we made him go through we have no right to be angry at others.

The Lord Has a Reason for Everything

Sometimes I just don’t understand why the Lord allows some things to happen or not to happen but I have learned not to question it.  I know that God is in control of my life and as long as I fully rely on Him, everything will be alright.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

This verse is so true in every aspect of life, as so many times we are ready to throw in the towel on God as we forget that everything that happens in his timing.  For example we could be praying for friends to come to know Christ or we could be praying for someone who is ill and needs healed, yet God still hasnt answered our prayers. This is because he has a reasoning for everything and its all in his timing, so basically until he answers our prayers, which may not be in a way we wanted it to be but we just have to trust him! (After all God knows best!) We need to continue to pray with perseverance so that we can try to make a difference. Lets not Throw in the Towel, lets keep going! God knows what he is doing! 

Pray! Don't Worry!

I believe that the title of this Blog may say more than what I can write here.  I know that it is so hard not to worry as we have so many things that happen in our lives that causes us to worry.  I find when there are lots of things that I am worried about such as Family, Friends or the big one at the minute the Exam results :/ i find i tend to feel more depressed or something and this is due to many times I try to tackle my worries on my own instead of handing them over to God who is all powerful and can help me deal with these worries i may have.

I remember reading a verse in Phil 4v6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your worries to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". I know when I leave all worries in the hands of God that such a weight is lifted off your shoulders and you feel free :) I would encourage you to call out to God and tell him everything that worries you, even the silly wee things that we dont think that make much difference, tell him He wants to know so he can help you.  This will strengthen your relationship and you will wonder why you waited so long to tell him when you realise the bondage you were tied up in was cut lose :) 

Live by Listening to the heart beat of God

I can remember being encouraged to have a closer relationship with God, by having my heart beat in the same timing as Gods. At the time when I was told this I will admit I was confused and wasn't really sure about this.  I think for a while I may even have kept this at the back of my mind.  It was until a while later when my faith began to rapidly grow as I began to spend more and more time in God's presence and getting to know him.  When I was in sync with God's heart beat I was having my heart broken for the things that were also breaking God's heart.  It made me then become a person who cares far more than I should at times.  Through this I have also found out what I am good at and the skills that God has blessed me with to use.  I found that I love working with Children in the ministry, which has lead to many opportunities to try and make a difference in their precious lives.  On some occasions I have also had the privilege to lead some kids to the Lord which is the most amazing experience ever. Especially when these kids come up and just say to you I want to know God like you do.

I encourage you to spend more time in God's presence in your own intimate time with him as well as going to meetings in Church. God is the same God everywhere and he just longs for you to spend time with him. As you spend more time with him you will begin to have your heart in sync with his, so that he can speak to you revealing what he loves about you, what he thinks of you as well as telling you the marvelous plans that he has for each one of our lives, as he wont tell us until we have the right relationship with him, as we wouldn't believe him if we didn't have a close relationship with him.

He is Forever There

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how Amazing our God is! I'm not sure if it is because of the marvelous experience I had down in Jordanstown at the Kids Club for the Elim Bible Week.  That week blew all my expectations as God moved so mightily in my life as well as all the kids lives.  Not only that it was how the Generation Next Team was so connected and united, even on the first night when we were basically getting to know each other, and this was all possible because God's presence was there with us each night. That week I feel that we had two main points that we wanted to emphasize to the children that came through the doors which were 1. HOW MUCH GOD LOVES THEM and 2. HOW GOD IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE THERE FOR THEM!

When I think around this topic one verse automatically springs into my mind which is Hebrews 13v5 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said “Never will I leave you;never will I forsake you". When I read this verse it reminds me that I have everything I will need for each day as God supplies me with it.  Not only that it reminds me that I dont need to have the latest gadget just to feel special or whatever, because I have a Father in heaven who looks down on me (and everyone of us) with one huge smile on his face and also a Father in heaven who will never fail me or leave me.  This gives me so much hope as when we walk along the path of our faith it is not easy all the times, and we have up and down days or periods but at least we dont have to face them on our own as God is with us every step of the way! We only have to cry out and ask for help and he will helps us.

This blog makes me think of the song Nothing is Impossible which the lyrics go like this...

"Through You I can do anything

I can do all things

'Cause it's You who gives me strength

Nothing is impossible

Through You blind eyes are open

Strongholds are broken

I am living by faith

Nothing is impossible

I'm not gonna live by what I see

I'm not gonna live by what I feel

Deep down I know that You're here with me

And I know that You can do anything

I believe, I believe

I believe, I believe in you "

This song was from the same kids club i spoke about at the start, and i think the song is amazing as it reminds me of the verse that says i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And i think this is important as Christians, as sometimes we can be too lazy to serve G0d by making excuses not to serve him by saying i cant do it.  but through this song and verse it shows we can do all things by the help of God. so when God asks you to do something say YES He wont let you down!