A RE-POST OF A PREVIOUS POST...

WHAT DO YOUR ACTIONS SAY ABOUT WHO YOU ARE? In an article recently written for a friend's (Navjot) blog, I posed the question; "How is a Christian supposed to live and act and speak?", and suggested in answer to that, that a firm foundational beginning was LOVE, as exampled by the life of Jesus Christ. This can be looked at further...Love as an action, as a basis and motivation for all we do. Love for God, love for Jesus, love for others, and for ourselves. It's a beautiful and rewarding place to begin and continues as the perfect fuel source for all our actions. But how detrimental are the situations where the actions fail to measure up to the words? We all know of people who have been turned off church and 'religion' (and sometimes God, sadly) by a Christian not walking the walk. I was speaking to a man today about that very thing. People wear crosses around their necks, have the Jesus fish on their car and ritually attend church every Sunday, and on the surface the first thought is CHRISTIAN. But with mediums like Facebook and Twitter, and any number of other platforms for fraud, all of us are aware, surely, of how easy it is to fabricate a truth in a way so believable it may never be revealed. What is spoken of as truth can be as far from that as possible, limited only by one's creative imagination and another's naivety. For many years I was a Character Writer. For those of you who don't know, it's much like Role Playing, only on paper. Each writer assumes a fictional identity of their own creation and a correspondence is begun. The storyline builds and is reliant on the imaginational input of another writer. I did this form of writing with a girl (Jennifer) from Texas for about three years. For the first six months of this writing journey all I knew her as was a terminally ill French woman from a year somewhere in the 1800's, and Jennifer knew me only as a 25yr old biker who died in 1955. Now, in this case the fiction was evident. But there are many times in real life when it is not! If I was to stand before you wearing a Karate Gi, cinched at the waist by a black belt would you presume I was a martial arts master? If I had a tennis racket and sweat bands would I pass as mixed doubles partner to Rafael Nadal? (I wish!!!) Holding a Gibson guitar, even with Phil Collen or Santana in tow, wouldn't make me a guitar player any more than wielding a machete or crossbow would make me a weaponry expert. A potential maniac perhaps! I think I'd be in a world of trouble if any of these was how I presented myself, and then I had to prove it with actions! Words are all well and good, sweet to the ear even, but they amount to little more than lip-service when they come without the backing of our actions. Often enough in the past I have been told (and fooled by) the things I wanted to hear. Well articulated words that sounded so good at the time, but which fell to nothing when it came time to back them up. How many of us, honestly, have encountered Christians even, who, based on their words and Sunday activities alone have led us to believe wrongly in the depth of their Christian walk? When I was newly returned to the fold of the church, about ten years ago, I encountered a situation where I saw a side of a Christian man outside the walls of the church building that, at the time, was disillusioning to this 'new Christian'. To this day I am thankful I have a mother I can go to for right Spiritual guiding. It can be confusing, even to seasoned Christians, to know what is right and wrong behaviour for Christians. Some things are obviously wrong, like stealing, murder, adultery. What about the fine-lines? I know the well known question 'What Would Jesus Do?' (WWJD) has seen many quandaries more easily answered for me. Would Jesus sit and watch that movie with me? Would Jesus listen to that song? Would Jesus blow off Bible study because the tennis was on? At the 2008 Hillsong Colour Conference in Sydney, Priscilla Shirer used a similar thought process. Would we do things differently if we knew Jesus was right there with us? Well, He is, you know. Would we rethink taking just one bottle of soft drink from work without paying? Or taking ten minutes more on our lunch break than we know we should? If I'm telling people I'm a Christian, they are not going to believe me if I then say it's all right to gossip about someone from church or craft group? It's not all right! And even if we're convincing them and ourselves, we are NOT convincing God! So, in our Christian walk, by way of our desire to be honouring and obedient to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, let's walk as He did. Let's love like He does. Let's be a truthful and unquestionable example to those God places in our path. Because as one statement I recently heard reveals, WE may be the only BIBLE that person ever sees. Hugs ~ Jeanne.

ALL WHO ARE BURDENED...

Emotionally I crash on a regular basis. When the crisis has passed I often realise it's quite an unreasonable reaction - just DON'T tell me that at the time!!

There are any number of things that can cause this...things like plumbing, faulty wiring, big-bad-meanie business people...did I mention plumbing??? Things that are beyond my control-freakish abilities.

My fob-off to these often irrational emotional crashes has always been; "I don't handle stress well." The truth of that is actually two-fold. I DON'T handle stress that involves me or my family...or plumbing. Other people's stress?...well, I can be an in-control tower of strength with words of comfort, but when it comes home to nest that's a whole other story. You see, when it happens to other people there is a cut off - a point where it no longer travels with you, where you can leave it behind, cast a thought to it once in a while, pray, but for the most part you don't have to think about it 24/7. Home-front challenges are a little different though.

I worked as a Barista for a well known coffee franchise in Sydney, and like most we were understaffed and overworked. I had no problem dealing with grinders that wouldn't grind, dishwashers that wouldn't wash, delivery men that wouldn't deliver, and less than motivated staff. But at the end of the day I wasn't the boss so if it didn't get sorted on my watch it wasn't my problem. However when the issues became personal and were unable to be walked away from - when they became mine and the gap between them and me narrowed considerably, that's when I was in need of a place to crash land!

I've learnt recently that Jesus stands in the gap between me and difficulty...whatever form that takes on. Matthew 11:28-30 says; "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Rest for our souls! What a sweet thought, because sometimes our very souls can become so heavy with the burdens of life. A woman I know recently endured the heart wrenching care of her mother with cancer, and her subsequent death. Another close friend is supporting her husband who had just lost his mother. Yet another friend has just been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Even I have recently journeyed through uncertain darkness as two of my brothers went through open heart surgery - praise God both are recovered and well again.

EVERYONE is facing SOMETHING. Health issues, financial struggles, mental illnesses, addictions, emotionally/spiritually/physically lost children...the list of burdens goes on.

Our souls are depleted.

Our souls are in desperate need.

Jesus promises to be our rest, our safe place, our comfort corner somewhere, and our shoulder to cry on. So, I know I can still emotionally crash from time to time, because no matter how imbalanced or out of control that may happen, Jesus is in the gap between me and complete emotional detriment. Deuteronomy 33:17a says; "The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." This is one of my 82yr old mother's favourite comfort verses - and she's been through a LOT!

I think for me, at this time in my life, I am drawing deeper on that comfort which comes only from Jesus. As my understanding grows I can see amazing, heart-hugging ways in which Jesus is the Lover of my soul, and interested in me, even when I am needlessly wigging out! I think back on how many times I looked in the wrong directions in the hopes of someone taking an interest in me, in who I am, in what I like, in all the quirks that make up ME, and even in the things that cause me to sometimes be an emotional basket-case...and I was always disappointed.

In Jesus there is no disappointment.

There was a time when I knew of Jesus, knew He was there but I had no idea what it meant to have a personal relationship with Him. It always seemed like something you had to be a priest or a nun to grasp, or there had to be an astounding understanding of the Bible in order to be worthy of this intimacy. But that's not so. This is a freely offered gift for anyone who wants to accept it.

Hope comes from Jesus because without Him none of us would see Heaven. None of us would be worthy of being in the presence of God, because under our own abilities and without Salvation we are too tainted and tarnished for the eyes of God.

Comfort comes from Jesus because as flesh He experienced all the things we will, in order to empathise with us in our lives. We can draw comfort from that because He knows, He experienced and truly understands the things we face in our day to day life, and through Him we have the means to cope and overcome. There is astounding comfort in a King who fights for us, intercedes for us, and campaigns for us. There is astounding comfort in knowing we can bring everything to Him and be restored and healed and encouraged onward.

As we grow to understand who Jesus truly is; the Son of God, God Himself, King of kings and Lord of lords, a sacrificial Offering of Innocence for sin, a Redeemer, a Saviour, a Friend, we are then able to truly grasp our own worth to Him. That He would be all this, and willingly so, for the lost and lonely, the sinful and undeserving of this world...our King loves us that much! He spread His arms and died!

Our part to play all this is by turning to Jesus in everything - though every up or down, every joy or sadness, through every emotional melt-down, reasonable or not!...He'll soon set us straight about that too, be assured! By realising that we can hide nothing from Him anyway, and that going to our Lord in truth and repentance is freeing beyond imagination. Joyce Meyer writes; "Secrets keep you in prison!" So true.

We can remember also, that seeking Jesus daily will bless us with a deeper relationship with Him, greater than we could fathom or ever hope for with anyone else. There is no one who will understand any of us more intimately, who is more interested in us than He is, or who loves us more unconditionally as Jesus does, and pursues us with an unfathomable passion and desire.

Why would anyone NOT surrender to that?

What better place to crash land when our worlds spiral out of control?

LET'S PRAY...
Our wonderful and Passionate King, Jesus,
Thank You for Your abounding love and comfort, for being our Hope, for Your sustaining desire for us. Thank You that in You we are worthy of eternity, and because of You we are saved and redeemed. You paid a price You did not owe because we were incapable of paying our debt. Jesus, our Lord, thank You for all the ways in which You have pursued us, and we ask You please to never let us go. In Your awesome and beautiful Name, amen.

A PRAYER...

CREATOR AND KING...
...You are Almighty God, worthy of our praise and glory, of our honour, service and obedience. Lord, may we - as we greet each new day, and at the close of every day - come before Your Throne of Grace in reverence of You - our Glorious Creator.

LORD, I PRAY...
...that You continue to renew, rebuild, strengthen and make our families whole. Whole in body, spirit and mind - giving us the ability to operate fully with use of all facilities, limbs, and the guiding light of the Holy Spirit.

LORD, I AM GRATEFUL...
...that we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us. And that in all things we can precede in the confidence that You equip us with all we need to honour You in willing obedience to Your will.

LORD, I AM THANKFUL...
...that in Your eyes love is never absent. In Your heart forgiveness is never impossible. In Your embrace no one is ever alone or forgotten. In Your care none are lost or abandoned. I am thankful that You are never too busy eleswhere to attend to our need and desire to be with You.

HEAVENLY DADDY...
...thank You for the perfect peace we can know in You - a peace that surpasses all human understanding. We are so blessed to know You personally - to have an intimate RELATIONSHIP with You - the Creator of all things.

LOVING FATHER...
...forgive us for our sins - past, present, future, and unknown. Help us to learn to love like You - UNCONDITIONALLY. Keep us strong in You, that we may be protected from the temptations of the world and Satan's lure.

MIGHTY GOD...
...I ask abundant blessing upon all who read this. Draw them ever closer into Your loving care and embrace. In Jesus' Precious Name, amen.

NEW MEMBER - Meet 'n' Greet...

A warm and heartfelt welcome to Victor, our new member. It's an honour to have you on board, and I pray you are blessed in your day and your life.

- Toni

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

I stopped in at the Doctor's Surgery this morning to run an errand for mum, and was greeted very pleasantly with "Good morning Francis, how are you?" Now, you'll all see that my Christian name isn't Francis - Francis is my surname, though this confusion has come about many times before. It's one of the outcomes of having a first name for a surname. Then of course I am known by most as Toni - a boy's name (though NOT boys spelling), and I can't tell you how many people on Twitter have thought I was a man!

I have many names, in fact...

A Christian name - -

A second name - -

A nickname - -

A married name - -

And two...yes TWO maiden names - - trust me on that because it's way too complicated to explain!

My initials read like an eye chart!!

And then there are those who see the spelling of JEANNE (pronounced like Genie in a bottle) and can't wrap their minds around that, so I have been referred to by names such as Janine, Dianne, and Leanne. It doesn't bother me - not anymore. I confess it used to, but it actually makes for a good conversation opener.

And in the end, the ONLY name that matters is the Name of God!

Edward Hindson, D.Phil. and Edward Dobson, Ed.D. write;
Jesus personifies the Living Word from God Himself. He is the Word made flesh, the Name above all names. For many the Name of Jesus brings extraordinary comfort and hope. But others use His Name to express anger, amazement or disgust; to them it is no more than a convenient expletive. The Name that is like no other stirs conflicting emotions in those who hear it, because Jesus is more than just a religious leader and teacher. He is more than simply a figure in history. He is more than merely a moral influence. Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

I am learning to think on the Lord's Name with more respect and honour than ever before, rather than using it as even a seemingly harmless exclamation. I read once that in Biblical days a person's name held a deep meaning and revealed so much about who they were. Names were chosen based on their meaning and what they would go on to say about the person it was bestowed upon. Many times in the Bible God changed a person's name according to a crucial change in their life; like Paul who was renamed from Saul after encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9).

Even today, choosing a name for a new baby is a big deal. My eldest son has the names of 3 Saints. My second son is named after his father. My daughter has an unusual second name that I fell in love with 7yrs before she was even born. The right name for my youngest son wasn't settled upon until he was half an hour old.

Now think of this, what if, instead of crying out the Lord's name when we kick our toe - rather than using a swear word - someone cried out the name of one of our children?  "Oh John Smith, damn and blast, that hurt!"

I don't think I'd like that very much....would you?

Does God - when His Son's Name is blasphemed?

When it comes to the Names of God we need to be more aware of our use of them, and seek deeper understanding and respect for the Names of our God and Creator. Most people were raised knowing it's discourteous to use the Lord's Names as curse words, but the use of His Name as an exclamation of any sort is disrespectful, including those of joy. This came as an awakening for me. More reverence and honour needs to be given to the Name of God, at all times! It cannot be a case of respect and honour one day, and complacency and casualness the next. God is deserving of honour at all times. We don't want to be so caught up in being friendly with God that we overlook worshipping Him and bowing before Him in complete surrender and obedience to His will.

There is a young man I know who is certainly on fire for God - no doubt about that, but he continually refers to God as "The Big G", or "The Man Upstairs", and he speaks of Jesus as "The J-Man". I saw on Twitter recently someone referring to Jesus as "My Homie".

We need to be cautious, attuned to what's in a name, especially when that Name is that of our Saviour, our Creator, our King, our God. As Christians even more so, we need to be the examples in every area of our walk, including in our words and how we speak them.

In Jesus' Name - what power those three words hold. John 16:24, Acts 4:12, Romans 10:13, Colossians 3:17...just some of the passages declaring the reverence of the Name of Jesus. Philippians 2:9-11 says; Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

PRAYER;
Loving Father, Mighty King,
We praise Your Name! None will know the true majesty of Your Name until we stand before You in glory. Father, place a burden on our hearts to come more and more before You in praise and worship, honour and reverence...to come into Your throne room and bow before You as You deserve. You are our Loving Father, our Gentle and Tender King, but You are also our Creator, the Beginning and the End, and we worship You. In Jesus' Precious Name, amen.

NEW MEMBER - Meet 'n' Greet...

A big hello and welcome to a new member, Bonnie.

Bonnie, thanks for coming on board - it's lovely to meet you and I hope you enjoy the journey. God bless - Toni xxx

Subtle Idolatry - Idolatry non-the-less

With the Olympics currently dominating most TV households, and hearing how ensconced some are becoming, even to the cost of their Christian commitments, my heart is troubled. In the past (and sometimes even still) I have been just as consumed by my favourite sport - Tennis. And for some people (again, me included) this obsession is not just limited to sport.

At Bible study last night our Minister pointed out that hobbies, while all fine and good to pursue in moderation, are detrimental if they take over your time and life above God. See the very first line of the Ten Commandments - this must be a pretty important issue if God puts it first in His Commandments to us....

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 NKJV)
1	“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2	“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.
3	“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4	“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5	“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6	“You shall not murder.
7	“You shall not commit adultery.
8	“You shall not steal.
9	“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10	“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.”

What a wake up call I've received. (I'll write about the topic of my obsession one day...but not yet!)

In the meantime;

Let's pray...

Loving Heavenly Father,
Forgive us for making gods of sport, entertainment, pleasure, eating, toys, and technology. We have lost our way, and our focus on You. Have mercy on our foolishness. I pray that this world will move from spiritual darkness and allow ourselves to be saved before it is too late. Deliver us, in Jesus' Name, from idolatry and be our Lord. We pray to give You more of our attention. Father, help us recognise the difference between Your words of wisdom and the deceit of Satan. Watch over us, keep us safe and guide all the decisions we will make today and everyday, to be honouring and glorifying to You. In Jesus' precious and mighty Name I ask these things, amen.