Christian

For articles about Belief in Christ Jesus and exploring faith

2018 Will this year be different?

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2018 Will this year be different, or perhaps we ourselves should strive to make it different

But how? Is the question that springs to mind, after all, most people who make a New Years resolution, don’t get very far into the year before they either forget about their resolution or simply give it up as too hard

I recently saw a quote about “success” which said, of course, it would be hard to achieve, for if something was easy to do, everyone would be doing it

Success, in this case, was to do with acquiring money, but my post is about everyday people making a difference in this New year.

As Christians, we need to be committed to express our desire to share our faith and belief, not in an over pushy way

But rather in a loving and full of care for others who may not have experienced the peace – love, and joy of knowing Jesus as Savior

Some of those we seek to reach may have already fallen into disbelief and turn away from their faith, others may have been taught lies about Christ

While others have chosen not to believe in any god at all, let alone a loving God, who was willing to be sacrificed

While there might be some who consider me a coward if I don’t stand on a street corner preaching from the bible, I would be willing to answer questions about my faith if asked

I know I am far being perfect, only a human who has fallen short too many times, however with God’s help I’m a work in progress

Even if I fail from time to time, I know in my heart that Jesus died for ME!

I shall continue to Praise His name and sing praises every day He gives me breath

 

Once Upon a Star

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Once upon a star, not just any ordinary star, this was a one of a kind unique star
A star like no other before it and since, to be the brightest shining star ever created
The light radiated so bright it could be seen for miles, even in far off countries
Helping those who searching in the night sky as a sign of a holy child who would put to shame this brightness of stars
For this star was created for a special purpose, to announce the birth of a child, a long awaited Holy child, born in humble dwellings

The bright star guided three kings who had long searched to night skies, eagerly awaiting a sign in the sky such as this bight guiding star

Leading them onwards to witness fro themselves the birth of the most special child to ever be born

That same night there were humble shepherds who knew nothing of this miraculous event, until they were told by an angel, the shepherds now also followed that most brightest of all stars

This child although ordain to be the king of kings, was to be born in a humble manger with no fine clothing as would befit the expected son of God

Even so all who beheld this child fell to their knees in worship, for even now they could see his glory and bore witness to his holiness

So it was on the very first Christmas day, may we always remember who it was that was born on this day and strive to celebrate his birth upon this day

May you all have a Blessed time rejoicing the birth of our Savior

To All Children of God

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This is a pencil drawing I did sometime ago, but only just found out how I could enbed it into my blog post

Not original but freehand drawn, copied from old Christmas card

Children in Prayer

Children in prayer what a wonderful concept, as we all become children of God  when we acept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour

We can all have the pure hearts of children, as our sins are already forgiven

Whatever real age we are, we are loved by Jesus as His own children and should never feel it above ourselves to kneel in prayer just like the image above

I found the image inspiring and felt compelled to draw my own version and now I’m happy to be able to share it with all of you who visit my blog posts

Children in prayer, so pure in heart

Never let your childhood love depart

Even when you age beyond your childhood

If you love the Lord your God as you should

You will remain as children in my sight

So with my love I will protect you both day and night

Believers Unite and let Our Light Shine

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In this increasingly disbelieving world full of those who would put an end to all religions if they were able

Even though they have not yet figured how to accomplish this yet, they never pass up the opportunity to criticize or poke fun at any believers they come across

With their main aim towards Christians, by using evolution and twisted passages from the Bible

Along with insulting name calling of God and demanding real proof of Jesus, as they argue he never lived and was just yet another fairy story from the bible full of such stories

Even amongst Christians the enemy has driven a large wedge of separation using the old tactic of divide and conquer

I recently watched a video the other day featuring David Attenborough – Richard Dawkins – Richard Leakey – Jane Goodall Debate on how we should tackle the issue of saving our own planet

With Jane Goodall saying if there were one species that if it became extinct, would help to save this world, it would be us humans

Further on also said we need to reduce the population of earth, and this was agreed upon by other debaters, although not offering any ideas of how or who would decide how this would be done

Another problem which was discussed, was poverty and that those barely living in that situation must be taught not to desire the wealth and lifestyles the west enjoys

After watching up till this point in the video, it occurred to me that we Christians need to get involved with all of these problems by praying about the problems rather than trying to solve them

Although many religions and churches already involve themselves, the Salvation Army is one of those groups who not only believe in Jesus and preach the word but also minister to the poor and needy

Even the Jehovah Witnesses go to other countries when a disaster strikes, even if they do this to further their influence, at least they help rather than talk about the situations

Dear brothers in Christ let us put aside our differences and name banner we go under, and stand together to show the rest of the world that we care enough to take action and let the light of God shine through us and make our little lights shine brighter than the sun

For we are called to love one another and to uplift each others spirit and to preach the gospel, and to shed light in the darkness

So that through us God’s love and goodness might be seen and all who witness us doing Gods will, and they too shall praise God

I Surrender All

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I Surrender All, is one of my favorite Hymns which stuck firmly in my memory and I would often find myself humming it (humming is one of my bad and annoying habits)
But it wasn’t until recently that I came to know the truth of the words of that song

When I finally relinquished my control (poor control) over my addiction of far too many years, it wasn’t until and Surrendered EVERYTHING, that I began to benefit from the effects that this Hymn and the words sing about

The sense of freedom was wonderful beyond mere words can explain, as anyone who has tried to give up any kind of addiction will tell you just how impossible giving up their addiction can be

They will also tell you the longer you allow it to dominate your life, the harder it is to give up and that is certainly true in my case

What they may not tell you but I will, is how I made up excuses and reasons anything but admit

I was addicted

As to the addiction I prefer not to give into details, just to say it was sexual based, and started way back in my innocent youth

It was instigated by another boy who sat next to me at school, who seemed to know about sexual things, but I allowed it to continue ignoring his advances as best I could

Until one day he stopped in the same unannounced manner he had started, but by then I had become so accustomed to him taking advantage of my quiet nature

I found I could not remove the memory of his actions, and began fantasizing and indulging myself in very the same action he had done to me

My first excuse “it was not my fault he perverted me” so with that excuse I could continue where he left off

But as time went on I had to come up with other excuses, as my sexual appetite increased

Here are some of those excuses “I’m only human” “You have to have some pleasures in life, too boring otherwise” It’s not as if I’m hurting anyone”

But these were just lies, that allowed me to continue  and not face up to the fact I was addicted, and that addiction lead me into much darker places (practices)

One thing I had noticed the more power of the addiction grew the more it demanded, and the sense of loneliness as how could I explain to anyone until now

For now Jesus has been gratuitous enough to lift the burden of me, so that I am no longer addicted and even if I stray back into that dark place of self-indulgence

These two passages below came to my mind, but had to do a google search to find the actual passages and verse

Ephesians 4:22-24English Standard Version (ESV)

2 Corinthians
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

– Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all thingss are become new.

Putting off my old self is way over due, how about you?

Stand up and be Counted

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Christians it is way over due to stand up and be counted, by professing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

As for myself I know for too many years I refrained from even telling anyone I was a Christian, let alone spreading the good news.

I’m sorry to say I gave up reading the Bible, not because I didn’t believe anymore, but rather because other things crowded in on my spare time – life happens.

So little by little my Christian life drifted on aimlessly and I allowed myself to become far too self-indulgent to even care.

Until the day my mind was so tormentedly full of images from my constant addiction, I couldn’t bear the dominating power it had over me.

I cried out in silent prayer about my anguish and tormented mind and asked Jesus to forgive my sins and surrendered everything including my free will.

As I was unable to control my thought or self-indulgent nature.

Praise The Lord! He answered both parts of my prayers, He forgave me and took away my addiction by giving me a new heart.

If you have yet to be “Born Again” the experience is beyond mere words to express

But since that wonderful day of my new birth, my life is more full and joyful than ever before

Blessing in Disguise

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Over the years I have had many answers to prayer, although not always the answer I asked for, as they say “God doesn’t always give us what we want, but always gives us what we need”

This was the case recently when I was praying my wife would stop having convulsions, as the day was turning out to be one of the worst days she had in years

Seizure after seizure throughout the day, until the evening time when I had given up hope that my prayers would be answered

Despondently I rang 999 and paramedics came and took my wife to Heartlands A&E, where she has been for nearly two weeks now

My wife’s recovery has been a little mixed, some days much better and others, so it looks as if she will be staying in hospital another week

Visiting the hospital back and forth is arduous and expensive as I use a taxi there and back, as bus service would take long and involve two both ways

I can’t say that life as a career has been easy, but being without Carol at home is far worse, as I miss her infectious smile and laughter, as its music to my soul

I had a lot of response when I commented on Facebook about what happened, many people we know commented and offered prayers and good wishes

You may well be wondering by now where the “Blessing in Disguise” come into this

Let me explain, for too many years some of the medication that Carol takes on a daily basis has given her confused thinking and changeable moods

Which the local doctors prescribed yet another tablet, (Psychotropic medication) which was for her (mental condition) so I was told

Since Carol had been admitted into a different hospital they reviewed the medication and removed using the medication that had been causing that problem

Hence the blessing in disguise, when I realized this was the answer to prayer we needed I gave praise to God and continue to do so and trust in the healing power of God

Unconditional Love

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Love can be the most emotional experience we can get involved in, it is way too easy to use the phrase “I love you” especially towards someone close related

How about unconditional love? Can we even image such love? Especially when this love is extended to those who irritate or even hateful

Do those type of people deserve any kind of love, let alone unconditional love?

But by saying this, we are being judgemental in other words saying we are better than others

It’s a sad fact that all humans too easily see the faults of others while ignoring our own

So it’s a case of removing the log from our eyes, before attempting to remove a speck from someone else’s eye

I know I have at least on irritating habit (I’ve been told) which I ignore most the time, and so I know there are many sins in my life that I stubbornly cling too, that not only blind me but also bind me

Grieving the Holy Spirit instead of allowing it to cleans and transform me into the person God wants me to become

We can all experience unconditional love by accepting the free gift of forgiveness offer by God through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus dying for our sins

Not just one sin, but all sins of everyone in the world past and present and if that thought does not overwhelm your mind, it should do

As Christians we are called to love one another and forgive those who trespass against us, by doing so we will demonstrate a small and beginning part of unconditional love

By giving this kind of love, as the children’s song goes “Love is something if you give it away, Give it away give it away.  Love is something if you give it away. You end up having more

Extraordinary – Story Retold

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Long ago and far away there were two ordinary everyday people, at least they thought themselves ordinary until the extraoridinary events that unfolded afte they meet
Joseph was a much respected member of the community by hardworking carpenter by trade, while Mary was a young girl who had already devoted her life to serve God
She prayed regularly, and she was always willing to obey
This is their story and how all the events unfolded, Joseph was summoned by Mary’s father to do carpentry work for him as he had heard how skilled a workman Joseph was
So it was Joseph set off towards where Mary lived he took with him just the needed tolls for the job, and Mary’s father had ordered the timber
Mary was attracted to the 21 year old handsome carpenter even before she knew his name, while Joseph was impressed by Mary’s devotion to serve God, and found her to be of a pleasant and good nature
As the job involved several months of work Joseph remained as the honoured guest of Mary’s father
Overtime their admiration for each other grew in strength into love for each other and because of this Mary’s father had decided that they should be married
So he was Joseph and Mary were married and while Mary was praised god for marriage and new life
God spoke to her and revealed his plan for her, Mary was to be the chosen one to give birth to his son the Messiah
While Mary took the unexpected news with her normal modest unquestioning manner,

Joseph was more than a little taken aback by the news
After all he was only a newlywed husband and had certainly not expected Mary to announce that she was soon to be with child
He was confused and bewildered for he knew this was not his child, but he could not find it in his heart to doubt Mary when she had told him, this child was to be the son of God
Still dazed Joseph retired to bed on his own, with doubts and thoughts dancing around in his head
As he lay down unable to sleep, an angel of the lord spoke to him “Do not trouble your mind, your wife Mary speaks the truth, she will give birth to God’s Son and you shall call him Emanuel”
Then Mary joined Joseph who embraced her lovingly and they both fell asleep
The following day they had to travel many miles back to Joseph’s home town, and due to the census the little town was full, and so Joseph and Mary were required to accept an oxen stall
Where the son of God was to be born, before He was born there was to be a heralding shining star to guide three kings from the far East and humble shepherds who would worship the new extraordinary child
So it was on that night of night’s Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph, and although many years have passed since that holly night, we all should give thanks and praise that our saviour was born
For without Jesus Christ there would be no Christmas day
We need to rejoice as the shepherds and kings and all the angels rejoiced

I will give praise to you oh! Lord

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Let men say what they will about me, I care not for their empty praise or slanderous remarks

For with every breath even my dying breath I will give praise to you oh Lord

Even though I’m still a vile sinner I shall not allow them to speak ill of you oh Lord

I shall raise my voice against all who deny you or utter deceitful words against you

Whatever lies they spin or false teaching they preach against you

I will speak of your love your passion your sacrifice, whether they listen or not

Whether they believe my words or not, even if they threaten my very life in attempts to persuade me to disown you

I may falter in my human weakness and for a moment be taken in by their lies and twisting of the truth, but as for me I have known you from the days of my youth

When you became a much needed friend, someone who knew me better than I knew myself

I was drawn to you as you touch my heart with your compassionate love, not once did you chastise or rebuke me even though I strayed far from you in my later years

Never once did toss me to one side, but with much patience you came in search of me refusing to forsake me

Ready to comfort me when life became unbearable, ready to uplift me with your love when I became lonely, to fill me with your joy when I became sorrowful

As you reached out to me time after time in the darkest of places, where I had foolishly allowed myself to become entangled in my arrogance

Then late one night while I was asleep, you reached out to me reminding me of your love for me, filling my very soul with such joy I could not contain it within and awoke with joyous laughter

How could I have forgotten the depth of your love, the sublime peace, the exquisite joy, the richness?

Even though this lasted for a short moment of our time, I knew it was but a brief foretaste of the glory of your kingdom

Whatever the rest of my days hold in store for me, I must share this and declare that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour and my dearest friend

Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.