Perseverance in Pain

It’s been a while since I've posted...

But like other bloggers sometimes life fills up and there just isn't time to sit down and blog. 

This can also be an issue in your time with God. It has been for me lately.

Persevering in face of trials and suffering, whether medical or not is extremely hard. And our focus on God can get blurry. But we must remember that God is still good and he still loves us. He cares for us. 

We must remember that we live in a fallen world, so life is going to be painful and hard sometimes. But we must also hold onto the parts that aren’t painful and keep them close when we go through the pain.

One thing I’m slowly learning to do in this painful time when I’m feeling detached and isolated from all who love me is to just sit. Sit and be still with God. Sit and breathe and pray. Reading the bible, not studying it per-se but just sitting and soaking in the words is helpful.

We must remember that God is bigger than our problems. He is stronger and he has promised better. We just have to exercise and practice patience.

And remember its okay to feel upset, it’s okay to cry out to God. It’s okay to want to run away.

But instead we must keep running to God.

Because he is who we will answer to in the end. And we are here because of him.

So while I sit and cry and sometimes want to scream at God; I will also keep coming back to the Promise of Jesus return. I will keep praying and I will keep sitting at the feet of God. Because he will allow me to stand again, he will strengthen me.

Every Problem is a possibility. Every problem is in God’s control.

1 Thessalonians 1

New International Version (NIV)

1 Paul, Silas, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace to you.

Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith

² We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. ³ We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. ⁶ You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. ⁷ And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, ⁹ for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

Many Blessings!

Light Box Love final

I woke up this morning and an image came to my head. A wonderfully colourful one and so I had to try it. These are the fruits of this... almost exactly the image from my head.
Here are my pictures from today:

While I was working on the the final images a bible passage that came to mind. After some investigation I found it:

Luke 18:15-17

New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Blesses the Children

15 One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him.

16 Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

Here's what I thought when I chose these photos:

The first set of the girl and man make me think of how sometimes it takes a child’s faith to really get us to see the wonder and mystery of God.

The second set of the man and his son look to me as if they are hesitating. The father doesn’t know what to do with the cross and so he shelters his son from it. It shows us the profound influence our parents can have on our beliefs and our knowledge about what’s true in life. I thought "Don't hesitate GO FOR IT! You don't know what you're missing out on!"

Listen while you look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whv1DojfIWA


Many Blessings!

Isaiah Chapter Six

My absence has been long (for Internet timing) but not really for life timing.
God is taking me through a time of major upheaval and uncertainty where I am learning so much more to rely on him. This is almost a reflection of what is happening in the chapter I will discuss today. So sit back with me and soak it in.

Isaiah 6 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%206&version=NLT)
This chapter in Isaiah is a little bit different to the last 5. I read a devotional on this chapter the other day. It set out to explain that what Isaiah experiences here in this very chapter is exactly when happens when a person turns to Christ. Isaiah experience - though individual - is also universal. This is something I will unpack in a little while.

However lets begin with the TEMPLE.
Isaiah has been brought before the Lord God of the Heavens and Earth. The passage gives us some context - its in the year King Uzziah died.

Who the heck was King Uzziah? King Uzziah was the king of Judah in the time of Isaiah's writing (according to my bible dictionary and its also kind of obvious in the passage as well). It is said that he was struck with leprosy for a 'cultic misdemenour' (I'm guessing for doing some form of worship that was not in relation to God).

So Isaiah is brought before God after King Uzziah has died. In this scene God is sitting on a throne, wearing a robe whose train fills the temple. He is being attended by Seraphim - from my knowledge of Seraphim they were moral beings who served and worshipped God. Their main purposes were possibly centred around guardianship and worship. My bible dictionary also describes the possibility that they had the job of Purification by Fire, they are also only described here in Isaiah chapter 6 (again according to my Bible dictionary). The passage gives a clear image of what they may have looked like (have a look at verse 2). Here they are worshipping God and their worship causes the temple to shake and fill with smoke.

ISAIAH'S REACTION to all of this is to see his own sinfulness/unworthiness in the presence of such power and might. He cries out acknowledging his sin. The reaction of the Seraphim to Isaiah is to purify him. Using a burning coal from the alter of God. Isaiah's guilt is removed and his sin is forgiven.

Then Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord! He is asking who will go and send a message to his people. Isaiah responds 'SEND ME!'.
God allows Isaiah to go and says that the people will not understand and they will not turn to God for healing. God says this will happen until they have all been removed from the land so he can rebuild.


Israel's stump a holy seed?
The final verse states the above phrase. But what does this mean? The only thing I can think to link it to is Jesus Christ. Israel is left with nothing, no land, no relationship with God and no future. However in Jesus Christ all these things are restored. I firmly believe that God shows his stubborn creation his love and our need for him by removing everything that makes us feel secure and then showing us that it is only him that can provide that. And that's what happening here in the passage. God's people will not understand until there is nothing left and God brings in Jesus.

So here's the pattern...

Isaiah shows the pattern of what happens when someone comes before God and understands his might and power. The Individual see's Gods majesty and realises their inability to match that so they naturally bow down. They profess their sins. They are then forgiven by God and then God sends them out to tell others of this forgiveness. Today we do this by coming before God in prayer. We profess our sinfulness to him and ask for forgiveness through Jesus Christ. God offers forgiveness to all and the only reason this is possible is because Jesus Christ came to earth as a man. Being a perfect man he evened out the scale of the sin done by the first man Adam. Thereby taking the punishment for Man's sin and ending the cycle. His death repairs the relationship that was broken so many years ago in the garden of Eden. Jesus resurrection conquers death, death is redundant because it is a punishment for Sin. However when we take the offer for forgiveness for our sins death has no meaning any more. Yes we may still die and physical death because we live in a world broken by sin and because of that our bodies are no loner perfect and age and get sick and die. However we do not spiritually die. He have a confidence that we will live in God's perfect kingdom for the rest of eternity. This these things in mind today was then take up the task of spreading the GOOD NEWS about Jesus death and resurrection for our sinfulness. We go into the world much in the same way that Isaiah did.

I myself although going through a lot of life changes can hold on to the knowledge that I am saved by Jesus' death and resurrection from the dead.

Here is an drawing I did a month or two ago to depict how I often feel in life in relation to God:

The hand underneath is the hand of God, the hand on top is mine. My hand is weak and limp, it lacks strength. However the hand underneath is supportive and hold up mine. I may be weak and I may be lacking in ability and emotional strength. But I have the knowledge that God will keep holding me up in this life for as long as he see's fit for me to live. God is a loving God, a God of peace and a God who supports us through life. He has decided what every day will look like and he is there for us every step of the way.

While I can't wait for Jesus to return to take me to his kingdom and sometime's I can't wait for death to embrace me,  I will continue to walk in the path that God shows me and I will continue to lean on his love. I will continue to hold his hand. I will continue to do the Good Deeds he has set out for me.

God will continue to love us because he is constant and consistent!