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Nobody worries about Christ as long as he can be kept shut up in
churches. He is quite safe inside. But there is always trouble
if you try and let him out.
-- G. A. Studdert Kennedy
A Christian……..a follower of Christ……how do you follow Christ? How do you love Christ? Whose will………His will? How do you hear Him when He speaks? Do you hear Him? Do you listen?
Which are you…….one like the woman caught in adultery……..or the prideful scorner hurling stones?
Are you like the humble tax collector who comes before God admitting your brokenness……….or are you like the Pharisee…..better than the broken one?
Are you saved? You know the beginning…….you know the ending…….but what comes between?
What does this mean?
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
What does it mean to you?
I have to admit, there is nothing easy in being a follower of Christ. It’s easy being saved, easy reading the Bible, going to church, praying but when it comes to actually living our belief and faith……we fail miserably.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
I have taken these two verses to heart in a big way. Because being a follower of Christ is sometimes burdensome. Giving up your desires for His desires, asking for His will in your life as opposed to your own….this is not an easy thing. But He equips us, and gives us the strength we need to walk the walk with Him.
Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
When you ask God to create in you a clean heart…….it means sometimes He has to break you down, bring you to your knees……..and it hurts! Coming face to face with God with all your brokenness has got to be one of the most painful things you will ever do….but I can tell you from the depth of my heart that it is the most spirit refreshing thing you will ever do!
The closer you draw to God, the lonlier you feel as a Christian. There is nothing sadder than talking with a fellow believer about the wonders of the Holy Spirit, the amazing grace of God, and they look at you with glazed eyes. I know this because I too once stood with glazed eyes, just “not getting it”. When I talk about listening to His Word while I sleep, or listening to His Word on my IPOD as I walk, other Christians look at me as though I am whacko!
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
What does that verse mean to you? It means exactly what it says to me.
And if we are mocked for loving God this way……….who is being mocked……is it me………is it God’s work in me……..is it God Himself?
Mt. 11:15
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A MEASURE OF HEALING
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Sep 12, 2008 4:48 pm
352 Views
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My daily devotional today was about healing....timely don't you reckon? 
Psa 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
That verse really spoke to me! I got to thinking about how just reading a Bible verse puts things in perspective.
One of my friends at work lost her husband earlier this year, very suddenly. She came back to work a few weeks ago, and though she battles to get on with "normalcy", there is an air of hopelessness in her manner. She is a beautiful lady, I love her so much and it breaks my heart coz there is NOTHING I can do that will help her to deal with this....apart from pray. I know the power of prayer, I know the healing that comes from God, but she doesn't. She does believe in God, but she doesn't have a personal relationship with Him. She has no hope.
On the other side of the coin, I have two close girlfriends who both lost their teenage sons very tragically in the last few years. Both these women are Christians. As much as they despair, as much as they still grieve, they have this hope, this separation is not final.
Time does not heal, it just makes it easier for the healing to progress. Our real healing comes at that moment when we enter the gates of heaven......then there will be no more tears....only complete healing!
How awesome a gift that is to those of us who love the Lord! No matter what we endure here on earth, be it sickness, death, loss of a relationship....our time here is just a millisecond compared to what awaits us in heaven.
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
This is our goal.....to live our lives worthy of the calling of Jesus......and to stand before Him, blameless on that day when we see Him face to face.
No matter what is going on around us...to have that desire to run the race with joy, knowing victory is ahead, knowing complete healing is ahead. Praise God for this hope!
I have been through the valley of weeping,
The valley of sorrow and pain;
But the God of all comfort was with me,
At hand to uphold and sustain. - Anon.
The God who washed away our sins will also wipe away our tears!
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NO LOVE LOST
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Sep 12, 2008 4:43 am
428 Views
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I just read Marilyn's post, Love Is Never Wasted.....and it struck such a chord in me.
Love is never wasted ...
To love unconditionally......regardless of if that love is returned....
To love beyond barriers, beyond obstacles, to love unselfishly...you know it isn't an easy thing to do.......especially if that love is not returned.
But I believe, no, I KNOW this.....that when we love like that, we get returns.....we get God's love for us. He blesses us when we love the way He yearns for us to love......the way He loves us.
"YOU GIVE OUT AND I WILL REFILL"
He blesses abundantly when we give love!
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Overpaid??????
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Sep 12, 2008 2:59 am
386 Views
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I want to share with you an email convo I had with my pay office...hope it gives you a smile today!
SMARTMOUTH ME: Hi, it was really nice of you to pay me for Saturday 30th August 2008....unfortunately I don't work Saturdays! If you want to give it to me as a gift I will happily accept it!! But, if you want it back, you will have to work your way past my pet crocodile, who I affectionately call Jaws!
UNKNOWN PERSON FROM PAY OFFICE: Hi Penelope, thanks for bringing it to my attention as it was an accidental gift which unfortunately will have to come back. If you would like to send Jaws up that would be great. I could really do with a matching crocodile skin handbag and wallet. (shoes would be great too if he is big enough)
Did you want me to set you up for a payment plan to pay back $50 a fortnight or just have it all come back out at the same time? Sorry again about that, I should really stop getting drunk at work...
Regards, CS
SMARTMOUTH ME: Dear Crocodile Dundee...So this is the thanks I get for faithfully working for ****************???? Better take it in one lump sum...the grief of losing this is bad enough...to have to take it out bit by bit is only prolonging the agony!
UNKNOWN PERSON FROM PAY OFFICE: I'm terribly sorry...but I tell you what...if you work really hard for the next fortnight I promise you will get paid correctly. And I will organise to have the money paid back as painlessly as possible. Like a bandaid quick and painless.
SMARTMOUTH ME: Yeah right!! That's what the tax office tells me too!! Hey you didn't used to work there did you??? Oh and could you send some of that booze under your desk to ***********? I sit in the middle seat...just pop it in the brown bag under my desk!!
UNKNOWN PERSON FROM PAY OFFICEOh you are hilarious!
Well I decided to call it quits at that point! Before she changed the hilarious to deranged!
Anyways the reason I shared this funny with you is coz God has kind of being bringing funny situations into my day (not to mention embarrassing!!) but it's stuff that's made me laugh. Not the desperate "I will laugh at anything to stop me going over the edge" stuff, but genuinely funny things.
I've just noticed them more than I have at any other given time. I think maybe I'm trying to find the blessings amongst the gloom. As much as I'm hurting right now, life isn't all doom and gloom. I think God is trying to show me that I have a lot of stuff to be glad about too.
I love to have a good laugh.....to me it's a gift....to others it could be a curse  but it feels good, you know?
I know I will probably have moments where I do some crying and clinging to Jesus, but I want to concentrate on the good stuff He is doing in me and through me. I'm a girl....and you know what they say about us....."girls just wanna have fun"!
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I'm blonde on the inside...and don't ya forget it!!
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Sep 11, 2008 3:04 am
542 Views
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I must be a whole lot more whacked out than I first thought.......
Yesterday I was filling my car with petrol and when I opened my purse to get my card out to pay, I was horrified to find it wasn't in the usual place. I was in a blind panic trying to figure out where I might have left it.....
So where was it?
In my other hand of course!! 
Then today, I made a gestational diabetes appointment for a post op surgical review patient. Nothing too unusual about that right? Wrong!!
The patient was a man!!
I tried to talk my way out of it, by asking him if he was sure he wasn't pregnant...he just wasn't buying it!
Blinkin men are so uncooperative at times!!
Anyways, I might be a little whacked out, but I am feeling a lot better today. So is Brayden.....he is rockin to the Blues Brothers at the moment so all is well in my house!
God has His hand on us. I feel it so strongly. I know everything is going to be ok. I am very very confident about that! Praise God!
Tomorrow I'm going to buy me an electronic Bible. That way, if I have a chance, I can read bits and pieces of God's Word while I am at work. It's kind of expensive, but I don't care! I want to soak in His Word every chance I get!
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Fight or Flight
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Sep 10, 2008 4:21 am
448 Views
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I don't see myself as being a quitter. I have faced challenges, albeit terrified at first, but then with a resoluteness that I know is not my own!
In this quest to draw nearer to God, I've had to overcome a lot of obstacles, fight a lot of battles, and do a whole lot of growing.
I pray that throughout this time I have been obedient to the best of my ability, and been faithful to the One who is ALWAYS faithful to me.
Sometimes our journey brings us to a crossroads situation, where we have to choose to stay or go. I found myself in this situation...and I didn't want to go. I just didn't want to go.
Yet I knew.....and I believe the Holy Spirit guided me........that if I stayed, the cost for me would have been high. Although staying in the "now" would have made me happy, up ahead was a storm that He did not want me to be in. I would get badly hurt.
All this time, I have a sense deep in my heart, a knowing that I did what was required of me for a very long time. Though there were times of great pain, the blessings were enormous and I felt the hand of God on me through it all...."you give out, I will refill"....and He did, over and over again. I walked the road He set for me, and He has walked with me every step of the way.
My heart is breaking.....walking away is hard. I want to stay, I want the familiar, I want the good things it has brought me.
But for now God is saying NO. Every now and then I wonder...am I wrong? Yet though my heart is wrenching, there is a peace...and I take that peace to mean I have done what God has willed me to do.
Maybe God will work a miracle....He does that sometimes. Maybe tomorrow I will wake up and everything will be ok..........maybe.....
All I know is, I am in His hands. My steps have been ordained by Him. He knows my tomorrows coz He has gone on ahead. I just have to be brave and follow.....kind of like Abraham....going to a place he didn't know he was going to.....just following his God. I pray I can be faithful like Abraham, trusting God totally.
I might be a little scarce here on the blogs, but please don't worry about me if you don't see me for a while. I guess there will be times when I just need to retreat to the safety of His cleft in the rock, strengthening up and preparing for what He has for me.
And if God places it on your heart, please pray for me coz these are tough times and I am so sad.
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FOR THOSE TEARS I DIED
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Sep 10, 2008 3:19 am
418 Views
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For Those Tears I Died
Words and Music by Marsha J. and Russ Stevens
© 1972 Communique Music, Inc.
You said you'd come and share all my sorrows
You said you'd be there for all my tomorrows
I came so close to sending you away
But just like you promised, you came here to stay
I just had to pray
Chorus
And Jesus said,
"Come to the water, stand by my side
I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied
I felt every tear drop, when in darkness you cried
And I strove to remind you,
It's for those tears I died"
Your goodness so great, I can't understand it
And dear Lord I know now that all this was planned
I know You're here now and always will be
Your love loosened my chains, and in You I'm free
But Jesus why me?
Chorus
And Jesus said,
"Come to the water, stand by my side
I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied
I felt every tear drop, when in darkness you cried
And I strove to remind you,
It's for those tears I died"
Jesus I give You, my heart and my soul
I know now without God, I'll never be whole
Savior, You opened all the right doors
And I thank You and praise You from earth's humble shores
Take me I'm Yours!
Chorus
And Jesus said,
"Come to the water, stand by my side
I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied
I felt every tear drop, when in darkness you cried
And I strove to remind you,
It's for those tears I died"
I first "gave my life" to the Lord when I was in my early teens. I would sing this song with my brother-in-law and his sister many times, but it never really touched me coz I was not taught what it meant to give your life to Christ. I walked away from Him and it wasn't until I was in my early 30s that the impact of what this Saviour did for me, really hit me. This song took on special meaning then.
This morning, God brought this song to mind, out of nowhere. He wants to remind me that He is really all that matters. Everything else is fleeting....but He is never moving. It was so beautiful, and the song has been on my mind all day.
I realised today how strung out I was. I've had palpitations for the last few days, and today I got one of the nurses to take my BP. It was 130/95. My BP is generally around 110/70 or lower so it kind of brought me up short. I know that I am under a large amount of stress.....I don't want this. I am so blessed, I don't want to be skittish or feeling like a deer that is blinded by headlights....I want to be free of everything that drags me down into the mire. I don't have to be defeated.....I have come too far and cried endless tears to get me to this point.
I want to be who my Father wants me to be, and I want to do what my Father wants me to do.
Please bear with me over the next few weeks as I process through some stuff. Big changes are up ahead for me....I sense it....and writing stuff down just helps a lot.
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HE PROTECTS THE FATHERLESS
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Sep 9, 2008 1:49 pm
437 Views
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Exo 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
Exo 22:23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
I subscribe to a daily devotional called "Our Daily Bread" and it's run by RBC Ministries. I have used this devotional for years now, and God has spoken to me so many times through this, I have lost count.
As you can see from my reading today.....it was meant for me!
Brayden is not yet awake, so I don't know how he is feeling, but I do know that my Father in heaven has His hand on my son. This morning I am filled with humble gratitude, and I feel the hand of God on me as well.
As troubled as I am in spirit, my sleep has been restful and not troubled. God has a shield of protection around me that I can feel palpably.
The devil has been playing havoc in our lives lately. He has been tearing down what God has built up.....but he wont win. He is defeated, and he knows it. The power of God is strong, and there will be VICTORY on all counts! I KNOW this for a fact. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. I will hold fast to this truth.
I am heading off to work soon, and I feel a strength and a surety......I know we have been prayed for and I thank ALL who have prayed for us. I love you, my friends and thank God for you! 
ps there is something else I want to share....but I will have to wait until tonight when I get home from work!
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THE BATTLE IS ON........
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Sep 9, 2008 2:19 am
525 Views
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I want to stomp on that devil's head. I want to stomp him so far down into the pit that he will be screaming pitiously into eternity.
When his stupid arrows bounce off me, then he attacks my son. This morning, Brayden woke up very depressed and asked me to pray over him coz he feels as though he's being attacked. He kept having nightmares thoughout the night and this morning.....I just wanted to cry. We held each other....that's all we could do.
What's happening in my life right now, is happening in his too. He is hurting just as much as I am.....and it tears me apart. He is a beautiful young man. I don't want him to hurt.
I don't know what else to do but pray. I don't have the solutions. I can't make things right. Only God can do that. Only God can heal what's broken. I don't want my son to carry this too. It's not fair.
Sometimes we have to make the only decision we can, no matter how much it hurts. I pray that God will see us out of this maze, and that we wont have to wait too long for better days. I know there are better days ahead.....I know God has good things. Amongst all the gloom, I have a sense of anticipation. But my son is still young in the faith, He hasn't experienced spiritual warfare, he is still to learn about the armour of God. So all I can do is pray for him, that God will protect him.
I hate what's happening. We both lost something precious to us.....loss is horrible and it hurts.
But God is good. God turns every negative into a positive if we allow Him to.
So I lay this all down at the cross and pray for His grace and mercy and compassion......and I pray He blesses us.
Forgive me, I sound so piteous right now, like a little baby. I'm just angry at the devil for what he has done. Guess I need to vent some.
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WHAT IS GOING ON BEHIND THE SCENES?
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Sep 8, 2008 4:03 am
568 Views
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Do you, like me, go through your day, forgetting that God is doing stuff behind the scenes? He is moving...preparing hearts...changing minds...making things happen.
And there we are, totally oblivious....there is thunder in the distance...the voice of God!
I'm kind of excited coz I heard something today that has rocked my socks off!
One of my work colleagues, a woman least likely to want to discover God, came up to me and told me her daughter came home singing this song...and my colleague actually sang it to me...wow she learnt the words quick!!
Anyways one of the words this child was singing, was "I am not worthy". So my colleague, let's call her "G" said to me that she had a problem with that, coz here she is teaching her children that they are worthy, and yet her child comes home singing a gospel tune with those very words! She wanted to ask me what my thoughts were on it.
So I explained to her what it means to me, as a follower of Christ. And I explained that though I am unworthy to stand before Him, I am still worthy in His sight etc.
But it was her next statement that TOTALLY floored me! She said she was about to do the Alpha course!! For those of you who don't know it, it's a course for people who don't know what God is all about....it's a basic course on Christianity, and it's changing lives all around the world. It originated in an Anglican church in England, and is now worldwide...it's a good course..I have actually co led one so I can tell you that firsthand.
But that's not all.....apparently her mother in law has started going to this church that "G" affectionately calls "the happy clappers". It's a Pentecostal church...and this is where G will be doing the course.
I was so excited, I thought I would bust something!
I guess it brought home something significant to me. Apart from God moving and shaking behind the scenes, who we are to the people around us is very important. We are supposed to be a light that shines the love of God to everyone around us.
I personally don't go around evangelising at work (coz I've been barred from doing that!) but I am ALWAYS talking about what God means to me, and if someone asks a question, I am ever ready to chat with them.
It's amazing what people notice....and they do! We are being watched so we better watch ourselves huh?
Anyways I'm going to pray like crazy for G and I'm looking forward to chatting with her after each meeting!
She is so funny....at the beginning of this course they have an Alpha dinner, where people can get to know each other and feel comfortable before commencing the course....anyways she says to me "they want me to go to God, and now they want me to take a casserole too?"...I cracked up!
If God places it in your heart...pray for G?
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COCOON
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Sep 8, 2008 2:09 am
522 Views
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Some of you know my story about the cocoon I had wrapped myself in for so many years. It was my own little self protected cocoon, a place where no one could hurt me, no one could reach inside. I gave the appearance of normality on the outside, but on the inside I was broken and closed off to everything. I had friends, I did church, was involved in ministry, but I would not give of myself to anything or anyone. I would not even look at men, had no interest in dating....in fact I had no interest in anything! I was miserable, but I was safe in my misery, if that makes any sense!
There were so many arrows thrown at me...they lacerated my heart, but I would wrench them out....and place them on the floor of my cocoon. After a while there were so many of those things on the ground, the way out of my cocoon was closed off. Even if I wanted to escape, I didn't know how.
But God did.
And one day, He just picked up all those arrows and threw them out, then He led me out of my cocoon.
And He changed my life! He transformed me!
He gave me some promises at that time.....He told me He was leading me into spacious places, and He would uphold me with His righteous right hand! I have held those promises so close to my heart....and He has kept those promises!
The reason I'm sharing these things with you is that recently I have become so discouraged, that I have found myself wanting to head back to the safety of that cocoon. I guess I keep forgetting how horrible my life was while I was in there huh?
Yesterday was a battle for me. It would be so easy to just give up, believe the lie. God has given me visions and dreams, God has spoken to me about many things....but lately I found myself doubting that I had ever heard from Him. I convinced myself that it was my fickle heart, yearning for something that was so out of reach. I wanted to run and hide, close myself off and just wait it out until Jesus came back.
Yet something deep within me was crying out.....guess that was the restlessness I was feeling yesterday. It was a sense of "surely this isn't all there is, surely there is something more"......
Then I received an email from a friend, with a word from God to me....."tell her I'm holding up her right hand". Suddenly His promise came back to me.....I WILL UPHOLD YOU WITH MY RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND.  Incidently, my friend did not know of the promise God had made to me all those years ago!
The dreams, the visions, the words He gave.....they all mean something.....He gave them to me for a reason. He has a plan and a purpose.....VICTORY IS MINE SAITH THE LORD.
My wing might be broken, but I am still flying....praise God...I am still flying! I have a peace in my heart......He has my life in His hands..my tomorrows are in His hands...I don't have to worry about the finer details, I don't have to worry and look for what's ahead....He has gone before me and prepared the way. Everything that I am is in Him. All I have to do is fly, keep my eyes on Him, be obedient to His leading....and finally I will land on solid ground...that He has prepared for me.
Father, forgive me for forgetting the promises You made....forgive me for doubting the words, the visions, the dreams.....thank You from the bottom of my heart Lord. Thank You for loving me so much that You will do great things in me and through me. Thank You for NEVER letting go.
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To link to this blog (ms_warriorthingy) use [blog ms_warriorthingy] in your messages.
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