I don't celebrate Xmas

Isn't it sad that so many people I know hate Christmas? But I don't think they hate Christmas, I think that maybe the warm fuzzy feeling of Christmas we have been taught to expect, the excitement of presents and of miracles happening at this time of year, when unfulfilled gives a negative feeling to what should be a celebration. Maybe something has happened at this time of year, maybe someone has gone to be with God, maybe you have less money you wish to spend on presents. I've taken to saying in the past few days that if the drumming of a poor boy can satisfy the mightiness of Jesus, then whatever is given, small or even non-corporeal, is more than enough for everyone else.  

I don't celebrate Xmas, I celebrate Christmas. Before I came back to Christ it was one of the only times I would feel fulfilled. My family would gather on Christmas Eve at my mum's church for carol singing and a watch night service. There was something so special about us taking the time to get together and see in Christmas. One year it started snowing as the bells ended, it felt magical. I see now that I have chosen to follow Christ that it was because I was spending time with Him that allowed me to see and feel the wonder at Christmas time.

When you speak of a previous happening you call it an Ex. Like an ex-spouse, ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, ex-colleagues. Xmas. When the term Xmas is used it more than implies that the birth of  Christ is something that used to be celebrated. Which for a lot of people it is. The focus is making a wonderful Christmas. Make sure there is enough food for left overs, and the bin. Make sure that presents are exactly what everyone wants, no matter the cost. I spoke to someone who spent £300 on a hairdryer and begrudged it. 8 year old children with the latest X-Boxes and DS's and iPhones.... even those who follow Christ can get swept up in the wanting the day to be special for His birth, can sometimes forget that the Jesus, the King, our Saviour was satisfied with the presence (not presents) of those who wanted to show him the most powerful gift, love. That the Wise Men/Kings/Magi were able to give gifts was not even important, Jesus never asked for these, Mary and Joseph never asked for these, the main thing is that they came to see Him. The lamb gifted meant so much because it was not asked for and it was all the Shepherds had.

I pray that we can all remeber to celebrate Christmas this year, not xmas.

Have a blessed and Merry Christmas!

:)

Are you IN? or OF?

I love reading. I could happily spend entire days reading, I've read entire Harry Potter books in 12 hours on release days, I have sat in one chair and read 3 or 4 Narnia books in one sitting. Before my e-reader I would carry 3 books with me. One I was currently reading, one to follow and one in case I read both through and may be caught bookless!!

 Therefore, by default, I have ended up with a real appreciation for language and grammar. Which didn't happen until I left school. Its funny (curious and interesting, not amusing, prime example) in the English language, native speakers like myself; we misapply words all the time.

Over the past few weeks I have been thinking a lot about how we use the word belief. I believe that it will snow again before December, but I don't feel it in my core. The definite assurance that it will snow. I don't have the conviction to go and by snow boots, until it snows and its too late, I'll get wet feet until I get them. When it melts, if I haven't made time for that requirement, I won't buy them, or even think about them until the snow comes again.

How many of us who call ourselves followers of Christ, say 'I believe IN God' but really mean 'I believe OF Him'. 

We believe of His existence, we believe that He has done all the miracles laid claim by Him. 

But do we believe IN Him. We all have our doubts in difficult times that God is protecting us, no matter how small an amount, even if for a moment, our Faith IN Him flickers.   

Do you believe IN Him, do you know that he is constant? And all His promises over your life will be fulfilled?

Or do you believe OF Him, that He is there, but you have not let yourself go into His hands?

When someone says to you, 'I will do that', you don't doubt that they exist, just their conviction to follow through. You might question their ability, or their method. Or you might roll your eyes and think sure, you don't believe them.

God has more ability, and much more superior methods than we have, than what we can possibly understand. So maybe its time to ask yourself, do you believe IN God, or just of His existence?

Thanks for reading!

I don't want to Get Right With God

There are so many different branches of Christianity, and Worshipping God that in my head I see a huge praise tree. My beliefs on my relationship with God will most certainly differ from other peoples, and will most likely offend someone.

In truth last week I think it did. Out on my lunch break, a woman offers me a newspaper. I asked what it was, I really wanted to know. It was a Good News Paper. The woman starts to offer me the paper and asks 'Can I ask if you know Jesus Christ?' 

I'm proud of my faith so I answered 'Yes, I go to a Pentecostal Church'.

Which was when she slid her paper back into her pile just before I could take it. We had a few seconds more of polite conversation before I headed back to work, a little stunned as to why I had been denied a paper. Was it because I was already saved? or because I am Pentecostal, was I damned in her view?

I suppose people think because we rejoice with emphasis we are a bit loony. Remember in Acts 2:13 people made fun of those touched by the Holy Spirit,  they thought they were drunk. I nearly put in a cheesy line about being Spirit-filled, not filled with spirits. :P

As with most things, this got my mind ticking. Some time ago a leaflet was posted through my door. I will not name the Church. Now please note, I'm not having a go at the message, I'm more concerned about the method it was delivered. (And I don't mean through the door)

Point one was about how it is necessary to get right with God because of our condition.
Point two, our condition as sinners.
Point three, because of Calvary it is possible.
Point four, its a limited time offer.
Point five, it is the greatest blessing.

For me personally, this is not an encouraging piece of paper. It says;
I need to get on God's good side. Because I am a sinner.

I really dislike the first phrase, to me it suggests that God can be won over with sucking up. You need to get on His good side? He's not your boss you need impress when they can see you, and slack when they don't. I don't need to get on God's good side, He already loves me. I want him to know I am on His side.

The word sinner is a scary word to a lot of people. You can feel like a pantomime baddie if the words are applied to you. Like you are waiting for the boos and hisses.......
My pastor has a fantastic way of breaking down things,
Sinner - to have sinned - to not be perfect- Jesus is perfect, (Sorry Pastor R! I tried!)
I am not as perfect as Jesus. That isn't a revelation to me. I have regrets and doubts within my life and  I have had struggles with my conduct and faith. Following Christ is a tough thing, and I look to him to guide me because I know I fall short. But God loves me anyway.

The message continues:
Jesus died and that's why we can be saved.
I feel that that is definitely spun the wrong way. Jesus was crucified TO save us. Our salvation is not a by-product of Jesus's earthly sacrifice, it was the reason for it.

And point four:
Its a limited time offer! Two things come to me from this.
The phrases conjures TV shopping channels. For £39.99 deposit and go to Church once a week hereafter and you can secure your spot in Heaven!!
But after the initial amusement,  the sadness washes through me when it sinks in that this comes across as a scare tactic. Putting the fear into people to save themselves. I worry about people who go to church out of self preservation. Do you want to be with God in heaven or are you trying to avoid your Hell? And I feel so sad, because you can never truly love what you fear. They are missing out on point five!

The Greatest Blessing!
It is my greatest blessing. I love having the miracles and blessings I have been gifted, but the greatest blessing is Peace. Having the place I can anchor to, keep myself grounded when I'm loosing the plot.

So, yes, knowing God is wonderful. But again on this piece of paper make it sound like an incentive.
You do all this, you'll get blessed!

The whole leaflet feels like its putting emphasis on avoiding Hell.
You need to know God
You have Sinned
You have an out
You are running out of time
You will be rewarded.

When it could be so much more inviting if it was written about Him, do you agree?

God wants to know you
He knows you aren't perfect
He forgives
He is waiting
He loves his children

Thanks for reading :)

Fancy a quick fix?

A  couple of weeks ago in church my pastor made a comment that stuck with me and fuelled some thought.

Microwave miracles.

I once had an overweight acquaintance who said they wanted to loose weight.  She went for a 20 minute walk once, and said exercise is useless because nothing changed! I was gobsmacked! What did she expected to happen? That suddenly she would drop 7 dress sizes overnight? Without doing any thing? She didn't change her diet, she didn't sweat, she didn't want it enough to actually do anything about it. She wanted a quick fix, a microwave miracle!

Miracles are miraculous because in my view they are tools. You are worried about money, you somehow receive money. How you use that money is up to you. Do you buy a takeaway meal or go the supermarket?
You want a family, you are blessed with a child. Do you raise the child to be a family, or are you a group of people related to each other?  Miracles are platforms for change.

Anything that holds true value takes time. So you can appreciate it. Nothing can be appreciated fully if you don't know what goes behind it.

In the western world especially, where the lazy culture is prominent it is impossible for some people to wait for things. We take the pleasure of anticipation away because we settle for something perhaps not even good let alone great or that we really want because it's quick!

What is patience? With exercise and cooking it's the process of pro active waiting.
If I am patient enough, the chicken will defrost itself and turn into a first class meal for me to eat. All I need to do is be patient, I am ready, I am ready for it to come to me! I haven't eaten chocolate all week! Why is it not coming to me!

Maybe because YOU have to cook it. You have been given the power to bring it to yourself, so why don't you?  So many people ignore their power, because it's easier to let someone else do it for you.

We are all guilty of laziness or wanting to be lazy. We all wish someone else will do it for us. If I wait long enough so-and-so will do it for me. #lifefail in my view. And then wonder why you spend time complaining about your life circumstances. The thing is you can change it! It's in your power, you have the control!

You can't wait for God to speak to you, you have to speak to him. You can't just say "Jesus, I want this, thanks" and expect to get something. You have the tools to follow, and the choice to be pro-active, and you will be gifted with what you need as a reward for faithfulness.

My mother has a saying which I heard frequently as I grew up, "I wants', never gets. Never gets, what's not needed".

I believe God has the same phrase. That He knows what you need even if you don't know it yourself.

If you want change in your life, you need to be pro-active.
Appreciate your small miracles, be thankful for what you have, and the good things that happen.  Remember that when you receive your gifts, they will be platforms for change, and not microwave miracles.

Thank you for reading ☺

Do I really care?

This post is another inspired by another preach I heard at Rocknations Conf 1 2016.

Chad Veech spoke on original Hebrew and Greek words used in the bible for praise and Worship.

Very briefly, just to offer a small reference point, here are the words and meanings.

BARAK - To kneel or bow  showing adoration, a blessing. This is easily visualised, when we think of praying we often think of being on the knees and placing palms together.

ZAMAR - Singing along with instruments for music of praise. Again, hymns, praise and worship music are something that most of us are familiar with, whether we are Christian or not.

YADAH -  to hold out/ raise hands, to let go of something, to basque in the Lord love and Grace

TODAH -  raising hand/hands to God in adoration, sacrifice of praise and to give thanks

TEHILLAH -  to worship in song spontaneously

HALLAL -  to rave about, to be boastful about Gods glory, to be perceived as foolish by other humans in your worship for God

SHABACH -  a loud form of  worship,  to shout praises, exclamation!

This got me thinking about how I praise, and when I show worship to God, how much of me is thinking about what someone else will think. It is like anything, the hardest thing to do is to begin. The journey of life and the journey of a Christian will never be easy, but you always have to break through first. Its the voice in your head that makes you feel 'embarrassment' when you are praising.

People who now praise with their hands up, there is a set of steps that I have observed and have done myself before we quiet our own heads.  Its starts with palms open, facing down, which slowly raises to one hand facing up, but close into the torso, like you know the answer to a school problem, but don't want the teacher to see or ask you.  But Jesus sees the judgemental part of ourselves,  and asks us to follow, reminding you there is no shame in pure love.

Where did all the judgement come from? Especially in my part of the world, there is always a negative mindset pushing against any definite choice.

"What you doing that for?" 

 It can be from anything from a change of beverage or even a hairstyle. Anything that gives you temporary joy. This quite often stops that decision being repeated and haunts other decisions to come.

I have heard this spoken to myself, to others I love, to strangers in passing, and I think it is the most nonsupporting phrase, it is rarely followed by positive phrases like "How are you going to make it happen?" "What can I do to help?"   

And so I ask myself, and urge you to ask yourself, answering honestly, do I really care about following Jesus Christ less than I care about the other stuff? 

If it is No, he is the most important, then remember that God holds you, the other stuff will be looked after by Him. 

If it is Yes you care about stuff more, and you consider yourself a Christian, you have to let your self-preservation to be approved of man go, and stop caring about the judgements of others. God holds you too, but he is hurt by fair-weather friends.

God doesn't care if you go to church every Sunday, and dress like you think a Christian should dress, if you don't strive to follow Christ in your life. He loves you if you are covered in tattoos, he loves you if you have sinned (no one Jesus, so no one is perfect and without sin), and want to come home. Don't think you have to get your life sorted before you listen to the Teacher, he's teaching you how to sort your life. Such silly humans that we are, always doing things backwards.  

Thank you for reading. :) 

 

Finding Home

Last week the youth, young adults and some of our church leaders took part in Rocknations Conference 1, at LifeChurch Bradford.http://www.lifechurchhome.com

This experience was revelation after revelation for me.  I am excited to share everything, but for now I will share what I shared the first morning in church after Rocknations.

As we were driving home, I was getting excited about seeing our dog, and was reminiscing about how we came about rescuing her.

It started when bf had seen a picture on the rescue centre website. There was a picture of  a scarred black dog in profile and he wanted her.

It was about a month later when we went to the rescue centre. First time we walked around the cages, I walked past her, bf had to call me back. He wanted her. She stood up on her back legs and called to me through the bars.

The second time we walked round she had pulled back into her outer pen, we noted the cage number, and spoke to reception, and they gave us her name.

The third time we went to see her, she wasn’t there; she was hiding in the darkness inside.  We called her name a couple of times, after two minutes this little head popped sideways out of the hole in the wall. After we called her name a couple more times she started edging out into the light, then as it hit home we were calling for her she bounded towards us, filled with so much joy and happiness that the reality was we wanted her.  We wanted her as much as she wanted us.

In the car, we realised that this moment in our lives was representative of our relationship with God. That He wants us as much as we want Him. I still feel overwhelmed with joy and love at this  memory, I can’t comprehend the force power that God feels when another child comes back to Jesus,  at the magnitude of Love.

 

www.jakemphotography.com

https://www.facebook.com/JakeMathesonPhotography 

https://www.flipsnack.com/EpicentreScotland/lookbook-occ-issue-006-2016.html

My Only Muse

Throughout the month of July my church has been exploring the message in groups, giving us encouragement to explore the message of God, and gifting us the opportunity to interpret and share our thoughts or explore them in depth and take the time to hear what God is teaching. The Psalms delivering the messages this month inspired me to write my own take on what the message meant to me.

Psalm 139

(11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,and the light about me be night,

12 even the darkness is not dark to you the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you)

Sometimes when I crave the Darkness

It isn't to avoid You

Sometimes it is to protect myself from everything

Sometimes I want to be alone and wallow 

In my self pity, shame, failure

And even though You are beside me

You let me dissolve into the Darkness

Waiting for me to come into the Light

Welcoming me as though You've missed me

While You've been there all along

A phrase from a book quotes

"To despair is to turn your back on God"

I do not despair, or turn from You

As when I am in need of letting the Darkness consume me

I know You are waiting in the Light