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A Follower of Christ
  
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
Title View |
Some Home Truths........ May 15, 2008 3:39 am
335 Views
I'm listening to the book of Ephesians this week.....I LOVE THIS BOOK!

Listen to these words.....

blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ

chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will

he hath made us accepted in the beloved

In whom we have redemption, through his blood

he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence

made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance

That we should be to the praise of his glory


And that's only part of Chapter 1!!!

As Marilyn always says......HOW CAN WE NOT PRAISE HIM!!!
8 Comments
THE TOOTHACHE AND THE UNTEACHABLE SPIRIT (Part 4) May 14, 2008 2:28 pm
291 Views
I can tell you first hand that having an abscessed tooth is incredibly painful! Think...childbirth...think...passing a kidney stone...yup painful!! But it has to be dealt with, it wont go away magically! YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE DENTIST!!!

So it is in our Christian life. We have little decays in our heart that need fixing. We can ignore them only so long....but they will not go away. It's easy to blame the devil for everything, and oh yes, we can blame him for a LOT of things.

But you know what? Sometimes those little niggles are not the devil attacking....they are God CONVICTING!! And just like a toothache that has gone too far, the decay of our heart can go too far. Sooner or later we have to allow God in to treat it. We have no choice, coz if we leave it, it will get a whole lot worse, a whole lot more painful.

Decayed heart....unteachable spirit...it affects your relationships with people, it affects your walk with God...it affects your whole life sooner or later.

Do you want to wait until it's too late? When all that you have been blessed with is taken away by your own disobedience? Do you want to wait until God has to perform root canal on your heart?

Or will you just bow down and ask Him to reveal to you what needs changing in you....admit to Him that you don't know all there is to know....ask Him to create in you a clean heart...renew a right spirit within you.

We will never stop learning, never stop growing until we finally get to those heavenly gates....then we can rest!! But for now....there is always something in you that will need changing, refurbishing....please, allow God to work in you? Allow Him to remove the decay?

Coz the bottom line is....you will not move forward until you do!!

THE END.......... or is it??????
2 Comments
THE TOOTHACE AND THE UNTEACHABLE SPIRIT (Part 3) May 14, 2008 2:13 pm
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Want to know a little reality about toothaches? THEY DON'T GO AWAY BY THEMSELVES!! You wake up one morning, your cheek is swollen, your face hurts.......eeeeeek!! you have developed an abscess!!! The choice is not yours anymore....you either go to the dentist....or you risk a very bad infection that can have dire effects on your health...you can even die from a toothache...yes you can!

The same reality applies in our walk with God. Those little niggles we get sometimes, we can blame it on the devil, give him the glory for our pain......we can blame it on our circumstances, other Christians..we can blame it on anything we like...but we somehow fail to look inward and blame ourselves!

You know, we can only be in denial for so long. Sooner or later God is going to expose something nasty in us that needs changing. If we ignore His still small voice that tells us something is not right within us, then there will come a time when God will do some serious shaking and moving. Believe me, He WILL get your attention!! And get ready....coz it just might hurt!

So you have a nasty abscess....you feel miserable.....you have no choice but to get it fixed.....see what happens next...
1 comment
THE TOOTHACHE AND THE UNTEACHABLE SPIRIT (Part 2) May 14, 2008 2:00 pm
258 Views
So here you are, you have this little niggle of a toothache..not a big one...just a little niggle. So you up the brushing tempo, lay low from the chocolate for a few days...the toothache is bound to go away, right??? But will it???

The same thing happens in our Christian walk. We get this little niggle, things don't feel right, we are uncomfortable, we are unhappy, unmotivated..suffering a little. So we sing more praises, we read the Bible a little more, we even pray for healing...but not a lot changes, in fact the unrest affects other aspects of our lives. We try to take our mind off the niggle by focussing on other Christians and their niggles, we do everything but look at our own little niggle. We tell satanto get back to the fiery furnance....stop messing with me ....but is it him????


The toothache is getting a little worse, it's really starting to mess up your day. But you don't want to go to the dentist just yet.....it's too costly, it will hurt a lot, you know how those old excuses keep coming at you when faced with the "D" word!! So you hang on, hoping this toothache will pass...but will it???


So here we are, long time Christians. We have got our act together. We are very comfortable with who we are in Christ. We know just about all there is to know. We don't have to strive to change anything in us....we are long time Christians for goodness sake... we are royalty, we are prophets, we are blinkin awesome!! But are we?????

Oh boy.....nothing nice about toothache huh?

Tune in for the next instalment...the end result could get hair raising!!
0 Comments
THE TOOTHACHE AND THE UNTEACHABLE SPIRIT (Part 1) May 14, 2008 1:41 pm
287 Views
I loooove chocolate! I have loved chocolate for so long..I know ALLLL about it! I know which chocolate is yummy and which is not worth the effort...


Kind of like being a Christian for a loooong time. We know so much about our God, His Word..we know all the right things...all the wrong things...we see ourselves as royalty, as prophets even...oh yes we have arrived!! Or have we????

When you know chocolate, you know exactly where to go for the right chockie to fill your every need. You don't have to stretch yourself from one store to another...you find the store that has all the chockies you need...and you can eat them to your hearts content! You know you don't really have to worry too much about the chocolate supply running out, and the occasional brushing will keep away decay!! Or will it???

As long time Christians we can become so complacent. We have wisdom, we have knowledge, we have experience, we have discernment, we have spiritual gifts, the list is endless. We have all we need, we are satisfied!! But are we?????

If you eat too much chocolate, it really doesn't matter how well you brush your teeth....sooner or later something nasty happens....A CAVITY!!! EEEEk!!! You get this little niggle, the first sign of a cavity...sensitive to cold, sensitive to hot, might twinge a bit when you bite on it...the beginnings of toothache!

As Christians, sometimes we get this little sense of unrest, something just doesn't feel good. Or we have problems that wont go away, no matter how much we pray about it. We get annoyed and irritated with things happening in our life...we get unsettled, like something is missing....and what do we do? we blame it on the devil! The devil is attacking, I am under fire, woe is me...but I have power to fight that nasty little devil and I will. No way is he going to mess up my day!! We are sure it's the devil messing with our complacency....but is it?????

hmmmmmmmmm will the toothache get better? will we change toothpaste, just in case that is what is causing the problem?

Shall we get the spiritual warfare happening so that mean old devil will leave us alone?

Tune in for part two.......coming up soon!!!![/SIZE]
2 Comments
REPEAT OFFENDERS......HABITUAL WOUNDERS May 14, 2008 3:41 am
417 Views
I've been doing some reflecting today....

Reflecting on why someone would habitually hurt another. There are people who do the same thing over and over, and while they are doing it, they wreak havoc in the lives of their recipients.

I see it here on the blogs..the same people tormenting and wounding others. Why????

We all make mistakes, we all hurt each other sometimes, that's just the way we always have been, since sin entered the world.

When I do the wrong thing, and believe me, I do so I'm not trying to come off as this paragon of virtue.

But when I do the wrong thing, I am able to take correction, and when I hurt someone, I examine myself, my motives and then I do my best not to make those same mistakes again. Or if I do something hurtful, the Holy Spirit convicts me and I become miserable and usually it leads me to say I'm sorry....and mean it when I say it.

Why is "sorry" such a hard word to say? Why is it so hard for us, as followers of Christ, to show humility? Why can't we agree to disagree, and just love each other anyway? Why can't we accept another opinion, and even if we don't agree, respect that person's opinion.

And if we do see someone doing something wrong, why do we have to put them on a skewer, like beef on a spit...and we make the coals hotter and hotter so they burn harder and harder?

The people who have wounded me the most, have been fellow believers. Maybe I notice it more, because they are believers? Maybe my expectations are higher because they are believers?

I want to be able to feel safe when I am around another believer. I want to know that this person is trustworthy, that they will be honorable, that even if we disagree and argue about something.....that we can iron things out, forgive each other, allow each other the freedom to express our hurt or our anger or our pain. And from that, try to understand each other. I want to be able to be candid with my questions, knowing that I wont be condemned for it, and if I make a mistake, or misread scripture, or say something without realising I have hurt another, then I want to be given the opportunity to say sorry, or for that person to let me know quietly that they have been hurt by something I have said. I don't want to be punished mercilessly for being human.

I often wonder, as we tear each other apart, as we cause another to weep into the night, as we mistreat and abuse, as we fail to love in a Christlike way.....

I wonder if Jesus weeps....
I wonder if the angels bow their heads in sadness...
I wonder if the music in heaven takes on a melancholy note....

And the devil laughs in glee because he has caused a stir, an unrest.

Why do we give him the glory....
And not the God we profess to love??????

Yup.....just reflecting....crying a little....crying a lot.....praying.
9 Comments
A sigh of relieeeeeeef! May 14, 2008 2:57 am
417 Views
I had my 12 month appraisal from my boss today. I must be feeling a lot more skittish than I thought because I was terrified that I would get a bad appraisal!

Seriously, I have been copping so much flak lately from many quarters, on my deficiencies as a person, my deficiencies as a Christian, I guess it got to me more than I ever imagined!

BUT........

My boss was soooooooo nice!!! She thanked me for my contribution, thanked me for my hard work, told me she recognized my value.....oh boy!!!

Well I do work hard and I do give my job 100%......so it was nice to be recognized for it!!

THANK YOU JESUS!!!
13 Comments
AS YOU ARE JUDGING OTHERS................ May 13, 2008 2:49 pm
393 Views
At the same time you are judging others.....

STOP.......

LISTEN........

SHHHHHH..............

Hear that silence?

That silence is God judging you!

Food for thought?
8 Comments
LOVE, LOOK AT THE TWO OF US..... May 13, 2008 1:44 pm
336 Views
Love, look at the two of us...
Strangers in many ways...


Is God talking to you?????

He doesn't desire an hour or two of your day....

He desires ALL of your day!

Make it count!

5 Comments
AMERICA.....THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL May 13, 2008 3:35 am
420 Views
Yup here I am again......

WAITING.....

WAITING.......

for you blinkin Americans to wake up and blog!

You have one hour before I hit the sack....

Its 6:30 a.m. EASTCOAST...you blinkin East Coasters should be getting up now...c'mon you have to go to work...get snappy!! Not enough time to blog between now and work you know!!

It's 3:30 a.m. on the West Coast.....I can hear you lot grunting and snoring all the way over here....that Pacific Ocean is big.....but then so are your snores!!!

As for the middle of America...you are somewhere in between......still blinkin sleeping...crikey don't you Americans do anything else?????

11:30 a.m. in London, England.....so where are you blinkin bloggers??? Are you at work???
CRIKEY!!

Well you've been warned...I am going to bed in an hour..don't think you can wake me up to play with you....

Sheesh.....sleepy old Americans!!
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