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Recently, God has been talking to me more and more about fear, in my bible readings.

Most people who know me, would probably say i'm not the fearful type. And i would agree, i cant really think of all that many things that i am scared of. And usually I'm not scared to approach and talk to people.

So why is it that I fail miserably to follow Christ's final commandment: The 'Great Commission'.

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" Mark 16v15

Sure pretty much all my friends know i'm a christian. But i know for a fact that they dont all know the gospel, or worse dont understand it.

While listening to one of my favourite speakers, I heard something very interesting, which was quite hard to swallow.

Fear is another form of Pride.

At first i was like, pffft, what are you on about. Fear isnt pride... it's fear, it's being scared.

But then I came across this passage which really stuck out to me, in John chapter 12 verse 42 to 43. Now what has been happening is that Jesus has been performing miracles and people have been believing that he is the Christ (which has become dangerous at this point in time, because the pharisees have now got a price on his head). And so we read...

"Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than the praise from God."

Now a bit of bible context, if you're put out of the synagogue, you are a social reject. You're not 'in' anymore, you are both physically and socially 'out'. No-one wants to be a social reject, but i think the important part here is the motive as to why they would rather stay silent. It's not merely because they're afraid of admitting they believe Jesus is the Messiah. It is because they loved human praise more than the praise from God.

And isnt that the perfect definition of pride?

Have you ever wondered how God can command us time and time again not to be scared? A quick search on biblegateway says that the phrase 'Do not be afraid' appears over 100 times! I used to think that we shouldnt be scared because we should always remember that God is bigger and in control, and of course that is true. But i'm starting to wonder if maybe this whole 'do not fear' thing goes deeper than that.

I think if i had to choose what my greatest spiritual weakness was, (even before this post) i would have said it was pride. Not arrogance, but pride. I'm very prone to be proud of who I am and what I have achieved in my life. Proud of my intelligence, my skills, my confidence. All the things that I can't take credit for. All the things that were a gift from God himself, and should be used to glorify him, instead of myself.

And so it would seem that ultimately, my struggle with actively sharing the gospel is all down to pride. Much as i hate to admit it. But half the battle is knowing the problem, and so I have peace in knowing that something can be done about it with the help of God.

ahh phew

So how does one stop being proud?

Well, if pride is all about self-preservation, and big-ing yourself up, I guess the way you stop being proud is by doing the opposite. And so here is a nice diagram...

Self-preservation ~ Selflessness

Big-ing yourself up ~ Humility

In other words:

Pride ~ Love

(Here's some original art work from yours truly)

STOP! Hamster Time

God is odd sometimes :P

Gives me the idea using an analogy with hamsters in it which is random enough, and then hey presto hamsters on an advert on TV

In a guilded cage, and a fun slide and swimming pool

My previous post mentions God making hamsters the best hamster cage there is.

(if you're lost, i suggest reading the post :P)

I had not seen this advert prior to writing the previous post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mgK_hDifx0

Are hamsters in the bible or something?

a quick search on biblegateway.com says no lol

I do wonder at God's sense of humour sometimes

Prophetic analogies involving hamsters?

You gotta admit, its original :P

(8) Are we huuman, or are we hamsters? (8)

For my Dad's birthday i got him Louis Giglio's 'How Great is Our God' and 'Indescribable' dvds. A big part of the dvd looks at the vast hugeness of the universe and the amazing things in it, and how they point to God.

It's really cool, i recommend you watching

It got me thinking about the series that is just about to come on BBC - The Wonders of the Universe. Professor Brian Cox (the host/narrator) has suggested in his past documentaries that with the universe being soooo big and so complex, then surely, surely, there must be other life out there. The universe is just way too oversized to believe that we could be the only things in it.

And to a certain extent i agree. The universe is too oversized if it is simply a place for living things to dwell.

But what if that isn't the prime reason for the universe existing?

What if the prime reason for the universe is to show God's Glory, and just how fricking huge and powerful he is. After all, as the psalmist says : The Heavens declare the Glory of God (Psalm 19)

Then the universe is probably just the right size

An interesting thing that Louis said was that sin has a way of puffing us up, and shrinking God down. And aint that the truth? Maybe that is what is meant when we are told to 'fear' the Lord. He's saying 'dont forget who i truly am. I am ma-HOO-sive'. Its the whole 'dont put God in a box' thing - once you think you understand, and you've 'got' God, you've probably broken to second commandment, so watch out for that :P (out of the 10 commandments that is)

I randomly came up with an analogy to explain the whole 'The Universe is for God's Glory' thing, if you're not sure what that actually means.

Say the universe is God's bedroom, the earth is a hamster cage and we are the hamster.

God is really fond of us hamsters. He's made us an amazing cage with his own hands (he was a carpenter after all) for us. We've got the latest, most expensive soft floors, drink, food, a hamster wheel, thousands of tubes that we love to explore, our own little house to sleep in. And he just loves having us there.

God places us near enough to the window that we get enough fresh air and sunlight, but not too close that we get cold. He's put us near enough the radiator that we stay warm but dont overheat. everything is carefully laid out in God's room.

And then God goes about decorating his room with wallpaper or paint. He choose the patterns, the furniture the colour scheme, he puts up his favourite pictures, he puts on his favourite CD, He just makes the bedroom his own.

Now it would be pretty stupid to assume that God had chosen how to decorate his room based solely on the hamsters. He loves his hamsters, but this is his room, not the hamsters. the hamsters are just privileged enough to be able to live in it and benefit from it.

[the analogy is of course completely out of proportion, what with God being able to fit the entire universe in the span of his hand (cant remember the exact reference but i think its in Isaiah..). I know i cant fit my bedroom in the span of my hand :P And then of course he lives in Heaven, but lets not be picky with the accuracy of metaphors]

So, i feel i am now supposed to finish this blog with a 'left hook' or a 'big finale'. erm...

God's HUGE! We're small. But despite this he treasures us with his life.

Yes that will do.

The Hills Are Alive...

Here's some of my favourite speakers:

Joyce Meyer - www.joycemeyer.org (or youtube, or itunes podcasts)

Gotta love her, what a woman.

Ray Comfort, and others - www.livingwaters.com www.livingwatersonthebox.blogspot.com

Really good for evangelism, funny too :P very dry humour - my type of humour

Louis Giglio - www.youtube.com (type in 'how great is our God' / 'indescribable' plus 'Louis Giglio')

Shows us how amazing God is in science, (get to see NASA images and stuff, it's cool!)

Nick Vujicic - www.lifewithoutlimbs.org (or youtube)

Truly inspiring.

Andy Stanley - www.youtube.com (type in 'north point ministries')

Good teaching of scripture, i would listen to this at work while sending 10000 couriers :P

and my latest favourite:

Cliffe Knechtle - www.givemeananswer.org

he's goooood. very knowledgeable and interesting. Tough questions as you may have guessed from the web link. forgive the cheesy openings and questionable jumpers, it's defo worth watching.

Ok i'm not gonna lie the theme music is making my ears bleed and cringe. maybe just fast forward on them :P

Anyone have any other favourites?

Anti-gravity

i feel it is time for something light-hearted

here is a limerick

There was a young lady called Jess

Who's hair was a bit of a mess

When she went home

She got out her comb

And ended up looking the best!

:)

<-----This is a picture taken for an application, whereas the above? yeah that was specifically taken for this post :P

Hell's best kept secret: REVEALED

You wanna know something

you wanna hear the one thing Hell never wants you to know?

well to explain, here is a simple Q&A you can do at home. The italics are some of the most common answers to the questions. How will you do? here we go...

If there is a Heaven, do you think you would go there?

Yep, i'm a pretty good person. you know i mess up sometimes but i've never done anything REALLY bad. Besides God is supposed to forgive you right? So yeah i think i'll go to heaven

Cool, cool. So do you think you've kept the 10 commandments?

Yeah. i've never murdered anyone or anything

Can you name the other 9 commandments?

Erm, dont steal? dont commit adultery... erm i know some of them

Ok. so overall you think you're a good person?

yeah. yeah i think i am.

Do you mind if i do a quick quiz to see if you are?

sure

Ok number 1: Have you ever told a lie?

Yeah, everyone's told a lie at some point though. it's human

So what do you call someone who's told a lie?

Erm... a human? i dont know

A Liar. in the same way you only have to kill one person to be a murderer, you only have to tell one lie to be a liar.

Oh ok

Ok next question: Have you ever stolen something, (regardless of what it was worth)?

well yeah, i guess i've taken a small thing

What do you call someone who steals something?

A theif

Next question: Have you ever thought a hateful thing towards another person? Jesus said in Matthew 5v22 that to even hate someone you are guilty of murder.

Well, i've been hateful to someone who's been mean to me. but thats natural.

Well you've finished the quiz now, and i can tell you by your own admission, you are a lying, thieving murderer. Now do you still think you would go to Heaven?

well yes because God is supposed to be a loving person so he'll let me go to heaven

Ok see if that would work in a court of law. you say look Judge i know i've murdered someone, but you look like a nice person, so do you think you could let me off? What would a just and fair judge say? Of course not! you have committed a crime and you must pay for it. How much more then do you think God will judge you? we've only look at 3 of the 10 commandments, and you are guilty of all of them. So do you still think you would go to Heaven?

I, I guess not...

Does that concern you?

Well yeah, no one wants to go to hell.

I agree no one does. anyone who says otherwise does not fully understand what hell actually is. But did you know that God provided a way that we can still go to heaven?

he did? how?

Lets go back to the court of law analogy. You've murdered in a USA state and the penalty you've been given is death by lethal injection. Just as the needle is about to go in, a stranger walks in through the door and says 'STOP!' He then passes a note on official paper to the executioner. the executioner nods and unstraps you from the bed. The stranger then gets on the bed, is injected with the needle, and dies. the executioner then goes to leave the room, and you say "wait! Why did you kill that man? he hadn't done anything?". he simply replies "you are free to go" and leaves the room. you then notice the piece of paper and read it. It simply says I have taken the punishment you deserve from you, because i love you. you then leave the room confused. on you're way out of the building you see the Judge crying. you ask a passerby what has happened. the passerby tells you that his only son just asked him if he could sacrifice himself for you, and the Judge agreed, signed an official paper, and sent his only son to die for you. You then walk out the building a free man.

This is precisely what Jesus did for everyone on earth when he died on the cross. He took the punishment you deserved and provided a way for us to be saved. This is why we call him our saviour.

Wow, it kinda makes sense now.

So what you must do now to receive the forgiveness that God has provided is simply to ask for it, and ask for it with all your heart, and trust that he will save you. Jesus said to be saved you must turn away (repent) from your sins and trust in him, and he will lead you in the way everlasting.

(the above post is hugely indebted to livingwaters.com, seriously check out this site it's amazing)

The reason we can be sure of our forgiveness is because it has nothing to do with us or our capabilities. It is solely down to God. That my friends is the message of the Gospel.

The Da-vina Code

Sometimes you hear words of wisdom from the most unlikely of places...

"I can't promise you it'll be easy, but I can promise you it'll be worth it" - Davina McCall, advert for Biggest Loser

Pretty much sums up the Christian life

Jesus himself said we would face suffering in this life. In fact he promised we would face trials.

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you]" (John 16:33) - Amplified Bible

You heard it here folks. Christians will suffer.

This can come as a surprise to people who think Christians are somehow immune, but so does the word "Boo!" when you're not expecting it, so there you are.

Luckily Jesus has previously warned us (so we can be mentally prepared-it's actually obvious when you remember we live in a 'fallen' world) and as a bonus he's promised to give us courage and peace through it all, and if you've got courage and peace you can then endure it and come out stronger. So win-win? Maybe it's more loss-win-win. You suffer so thats loss, but you're given the love to endure it, and you come out stronger, win-win :)

My mum says i'm an optimistic realist

Here's a bit of Joyce Meyer

http://www.joycemeyer.org/OurMinistries/EverydayAnswers/Articles/art37.htm

Toothpaste Boom

I do like a good read

however good reads seem particularly hard to come by these days. all i want is a nice rom-com book, maybe with a bit of fantasy in it (i do like my unicorns :P) for a rainy day. however amazon's recommendations for me (based on books i've previously bought) are a bit of a let down. There are a few good books in the list, but the majority seem to be about either sex, vampires/demons, or both.

seriously

what is up with that?

Ok, twilight was bearable as a one off, an original idea about sparkling vampires that ranks about 4 out of 10 for me.

But things have gone too far with titles such as : Friday Night Bites - A Chicagoland Vampires Novel

I do not see the appeal or indeed 'sexiness' of dead people

its kinda gross...

I want Unicorns people! with Princes and Princesses and Quests and Magic and True Love that will overcome even death itself, with interesting twists in the plot. *sigh*

Not some over-lusted dead guy, who wouldnt mind eating you.

But hey thats just my opinion

Eloquence of the Heart

I've never been the most eloquent of people, indeed most things i write end up going through several rewrites, believe it or not :P The longer the prose, the more the rewrites.

i love hearing people who can pray such encouraging and vivid prayers, you know, the people you secretly hope will pray for you if you go up for prayer, or the ones who can go on and on without getting boring or repetitive.

my prayers are somewhat shorter

i sure God couldn't care less how long the prayers are. however it can be awkward praying for someone and all you can come up with is "God please heal (name of person)" end of prayer.

over time i've learnt to combat this with adding on words of God's love to the end of the prayer, or resorting to praying in tongues (the 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' for my heart)

Though sometimes a prayer out loud is not necessary

Words, brilliant though they are, are nothing compared to what i define as the ultimate affirmation of simple unconditional love

A Hug

Don't ever underestimate the power of a hug, cliche and cheesy as that sounds, there is something unbelievably profound in hugs

so without further ado, my first posted poem

Eloquence of the Heart

Words touch my ears, and heal my mind

But my heart, no cure could find

My heart, it knew the words were true

And yet could not know what to do

But feel, an arm around my back

A heart beat close enough to track

They're the keys, they turn the cogs inside

And release the things that tried to hide

I bid hidden tears farewell with a cry

The release I feel, I release with a sigh

The greatest gift, the defeat of harms

Is Love , it's Love wrapped up in arms

and thats all folks, goodnight unto you all:P

You like secrets?

For anyone really

check it out

http://www.livingwaters.com/

Tis interesting stuff

c'est bon