Imagine

Just imagine, imagine this scene for a second.

Someone comes to your house, knocks the door and asks to come in as they have something really important to tell you. You sit them down on the settee and they explain this to you...that thing, the most precious thing, the thing you really want most in the world exists. It is being held by someone who wants to give it to you and they are waiting in your local park, waiting for you to come and claim it.

One person responds by telling the person they are a liar and that it isn't true. They accuse the person of having their own motivations for wanting you to go to the park and play along. They never seek, they never even attempt to find out if what the person said was true.

One person is deeply confused and torn by what they have heard. They don't know whether to believe it or not and wander a little bit from their house in a little search to find it but give up before they reach the park They think that they don't really want the gift anyway and that once the person realises who they are they wouldn't give it to them anyway.

Another wanders to the park to see if the person is there. They go and see the person sitting on the swings. They go back to their house realising it was true but never go and claim the gift. Just seeing the person and believing they are there is as far as they ever go/

The next person goes to the person, takes the gift and enjoys it's wonder for a while before giving it back and going back to how they were beforehand. They don't believe it's really for them and are happier settling for life without the gift as it's feels more secure & comfortable to them.

The last takes the gift, they take it and keep it close to them forever because it's so precious to them and they see it's true value. They never let go and experience the wonderful benefits of that gift forever.

If you are the first person, you need to seek out this person and find out whether it's really true or not because you might just be missing out on the thing that will change your life forever. You need to at least say you looked good & hard for it.

If you are the second then you need to forget the lies the enemy feeds you and have the courage to find this out for yourself. Like the first person this can change your life forever and you need to have at least searched for it.

If you are the third person you haven't got fair enough to get any benefit from it, you might have seen it and you might believe it but the gift still isn't yours. Go further and see what happens.

If you are the fourth person, the person in the park is still there. You can claim that gift back and you have another chance. Make the most of it and trade what's easy for what is good. You only have one life so live it!

If you are the fifth then you are like me. I had a pretty miserable life until I found the greatest gift, that changed my life and the thing that I always needed. The gift is Salvation. The gift is relationship. The gift is God's Son. The gift is Jesus. Jesus doesn't discriminate, all those who want Him can have Him.

Whoever you are, whatever you've done, whatever you think of Christianity...God loves you and He wants you to seek Him today.

Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart

The real haters

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/22/signs-attack-religion-ahead-democratic-convention/

'Just as the city of Charlotte, N.C., gears up to host the Democratic National Convention, an atheist group is mounting a billboard campaign attacking the religious faiths of President Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney.

The signs, paid for by American Atheists Incorporated (AAI) and appearing along keylocal highways, include messages such as: "Christianity: Sadistic God, Useless Savior." and "Mormonism: Magic Underwear, Baptizes Dead People, Big Money, Big Bigotry." AAI President David Silverman told FoxNews.com the signs are aimed at keeping religion and politics separate as the convention gets under way Sept. 3.'

The anti-Christian billboard actually includes that Christianity 'Promotes Hate, and calls it love'.

Jesus stood against many things and many people in the Bible, one group he particularly opposed were the Pharisees and he often attacked their hypocrisy.

Using hate to fight against hate is hypocrisy. But then Atheist adverts usually always seek to denigrate faith groups, most often Christianity. 

People who attack others such as bullies due to it due to their insecurity, could it simply be that they are insecure about the strength of their beliefs? Note that Christianity appeals to people telling people how great God is and what Jesus can do for you. From this evidence, Atheism appeals not by saying what is good about it or how it is right but by promoting hate against faith groups.

It's funny how 'Liberalism' tries to maintain that we should do whatever we want yet 'Liberal' groups seek to stop faith groups following their beliefs?

Isn't it strange how instead of combating religion these groups seek to stamp it out instead? 

I think they are worried they would lose the fight, since truth prevails and the truth is with the group can justify how it can know truth!

A-Z of Christianity - "C"

CHURCH

I've heard the following phrase more times than I can remember, just about every Church preaches it, but it shouldn't take anything away from the truth of it.

'Going to Church makes you as much of a Christian as going to McDonalds makes you a hamburger!'

Viewing from the outside, it is easy to think that being a Christian is all about going to Church and this scares people off as it makes it appear religious and cult-like.

However, whilst being a Christian is about so much more than going to Church (a relationship with the God who created you and loves you!) going to Church is very important if you are serious about following Jesus. This is why.

• Encouragement. You have a guaranteed meeting with people who also testify that Christ is Lord. There might be times in the week where you are isolated as a Christian - in work, at home, amongst friends for example. But at least once a week (or more as most Churches have a few events you can go too) you will get to be people who share your views. It's really encouraging. Britain is a country that has slipped so much spiritually that people will make you feel like a fool for believing in God. Being amongst other Christians reminds you that Christ is HUGE as He has not just performed wonders in your life, but in the lives of others too!

• Teaching. When I became a Christian it was embarrassing sometimes how little I knew. I remember stuff I once believed and said and I cringe. God knew my heart and loved me all the same but it's definitely been big for me that I have learnt so much more about the Bible, about Jesus and about how God sees this world. It makes sense and I am now in a position where I can pretty much account for my faith in anyway before others. (If you ever want to challenge me with a question on here, please be my guest :D)

• Sung Worship. I really value the time to worship through singing. I would love to just go at it all the time but things like working with others, living at home with many people mean that a lot of people would be inconvienced by my rather terrible singing! I want to gain the courage to sing when I can but sometimes it just isn't reasonable to do so. So getting to sing, being led by people spiritually and musically gifted in those area, is a huge plus!

• Help. Church is a community and through it you can help others and also get help yourself if you have issues. In what should be a loving, caring environment issues like babysitters, relationship break downs and lack of necessities should be solved a lot more easily. Together the Church is much stronger to tackle issues in our country and our world than on our own.

• Jesus time! I love spending time with Jesus and Church is another opportunity to do so with less distractions!

So whether you go to a Church already, haven't been for a while or have never been before....Get excited about the things a Church can offer you this weekend! :-D

A Good Foundation

Matthew 7:24-29. The Wise and Foolish Builders

    ²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 ²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

I think it's important to consider what the foundations are in our lives

For many people I know, the foundation is a relationship or success in an area such as Exams, Sport or just being popularity. The problem with these things is that relationships can end, success isn't always guaranteed and you can't be popular with everyone!

When I have bad things happen, it's hard and I struggle. But what always amazes me is how, even during this tough times, it doesn't seem so bad. I find myself happier in my hard times as a Christian than I was in my happy times without God.

God helps us make the most of our lives, even if our situations totally stink.

Mediocre faith

I am fed up of mediocre faith, the below will define what mediocre faith is to me:-

Mediocre faith is saying we believe in Jesus but not acting on it.

Mediocre faith is not really loving others but just making it look like we do.

Mediocre faith is putting worldly things above God.

Mediocre faith is wasting any opportunity, no matter how small, to tell others about my faith.

Mediocre faith is being unwilling to give up something for God.

Mediocre faith is thinking I know better than God.

Mediocre faith is denying God's Word.

Mediocre faith is not practicing what we preach.

Mediocre faith is putting what others think before what God thinks.

Mediocre faith is not believing that God sees you as beautiful in His eyes.

When I come to think of it, mediocre faith isn't really faith at all.

Do you have any to add?? Please go for it in the comments section :-) Let's pray that we can all have a faith that is at least as small as a mustard seed and that it would move mountains in Jesus' Name!

Matthew 17:20
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. ”

International Women's Day!

One of the major complaints I hear about Christianity is that it devalues women. It baffles me because the Bible is actually one of the most liberating books as far as women are concerned.

Only in the last hundred years or so have women finally made ground on gaining the equality and opportunities in society that should be available. And more can be done.

Jesus was a revolutionary in so many ways and with women was one of them. He made best friends with women, frowned upon at the time. Women followed Him and were allowed to be a part of His ministry. When He rose again, the first person he appeared to was a woman, considering a woman's evidence wasn't allowed in court at the time this was a pretty big thing. He spoke to women and actually showed incredible grace when others would have mocked or oppressed them (John 4:1-26, John 8:1-11), even that was frowned upon!

Of course, the Bible gives woman a high position not just from Jesus time, not just through heroic Old Testament women such as Esther, Ruth & Deborah but from the very beginning of Creation!

In Genesis 2:18 it says, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'.

People would use this as evidence that woman are only helpers and not as high as men but wait for it...

The majority of Bible references where the same Hebrew word for helper, ezer, occurs are used to describe the kind of 'help' that only GOD can give (e.g. 1 Sam 7:12, Psalms 121:2, Hosea 13:9).

So far from being just assistants, Woman are necessary to make mankind complete.

Let's be thankful for the amazing women in our lives today :-)

Psalm 46

I love my life, I sometimes think it cannot be any better. I believe that some might read that and think 'What? But how you can you enjoy your life? You are not having sex, you don't go out getting drunk every weekend, you are not cool!'

I have realised that the times when we as human beings enjoy our lives most are times of dependence.
I, Michael Woodington, cannot fulfill myself by myself. Buying a flashy car will give me a bit extra short term happiness but not JOY. Having a girlfriend might give me extra happiness for a few months but not JOY. Success in my exams might feel good, but it won't give me JOY.

I was having a hard time the other night. With all of my revision and other responsibilities plus really missing friends of mine...I was a bit down in the dumps.

I get complacent in my faith at times, when God gets me on top of things I'm like 'Thanks God, I can take the wheel from here', and funnily enough every time I end up needing Him again, sometimes even more than before.

I think this was such an occasion so I prayed and God said something to me, He said that He was with me in this, all the way.

I know what life is all about. I know where true happiness (aka JOY) comes from. It comes from surrendering all of my dreams, ideas, hopes and troubles and giving them straight to God and living life hand in hand with Him. When Jesus said He came to give us life to the full (John 10:10)..He meant it! Instead of worrying and trying to make our own way. Let God sort out our problems, trust His guiding Hand over our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) and let God instill in us His Spirit, His Joy, His Peace so that we can fully appreciate the wonderful life He has mapped out for us. God never lets us down.

The next morning my daily devotion book led me to this verse...it met me so much where I was (definitely a GOD-incidence!) and I felt God urging me to send it to a friend, who also said the same thing...so maybe it will really bless you as well today.

Psalm 46

    For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.
 ¹ God is our refuge and strength,
   an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
   and the mountains quake with their surging.
 ⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
   the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
   God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
   he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
 ⁷ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.
 ⁸ Come and see what the LORD has done,
   the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
   to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
   he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth.”
 ¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Thank you Lord that you don't stop caring about us. That you love us so much. That you have promised to never let go of us.

"Take my life, let it be, everything, all of me. Here I am, Use me for your Glory."

Which house would you enter?

In Proverbs 9 there are two woman, Wisdom & Folly, and this is how they are described:-


 ¹ Wisdom has built her house; 
   she has set up its seven pillars. 
² She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; 
   she has also set her table. 
³ She has sent out her servants, and she calls 
   from the highest point of the city, 
 ⁴ “Let all who are simple come to my house!” 
To those who have no sense she says, 
 ⁵ “Come, eat my food 
   and drink the wine I have mixed. 
⁶ Leave your simple ways and you will live; 
   walk in the way of insight.”

 ¹³ Folly is an unruly woman;
   she is simple and knows nothing.
¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house,
   on a seat at the highest point of the city,
¹⁵ calling out to those who pass by,
   who go straight on their way,
 ¹⁶ “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
 ¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet;
   food eaten in secret is delicious!”
¹⁸ But little do they know that the dead are there,
   that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.

When I read this passage the other day it really struck me as true. There is usually always two options in a situation, the option to follow God (wisdom) and the option to follow the world (folly). I love how folly says 'Stolen water is sweet, food eaten in secret is delicious'. That is clearly not true, but this world doesn't care. Satan also doesn't care, like the world and through the world he just wants you to go as far away from God as possible and join in their petty little rebellion.

Don't listen to a word of the lies...

I also love how the woman of wisdom cries 'Leave your simple ways and you will live'. 

Jesus said that He came to give us life to the full, the Bible makes it clear that following Him is the way to live and true life comes through Him. I know this to be true from my own experience.

So which house are we entering? Is it the foolish, pointless house of this world...or is it the house of life where Jesus has opened the door for all of us to enter?

Football Focus

Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I play for a football team in a local Churches league, we train on Thursdays and hope to play matches on Saturdays. I say hope because the Welsh weather hasn;t been too kind and our game last Saturday was our first since Novermber 13th. Even then, we shouldn't really have played as the ground was solid. Anyway, football has taught me a few things about faith and I am going to share them.

• When you lose concentration, you go off course

If I am driving a car and start looking to see if I know that person walking down the road, I will naturally steer towards in the direction of what I am looking at. This obviously isn't good! It is the same with football, when I'm daydreaming about things and not concentrating on the game I am not prepared for any situations I may face. Likewise, in our Christian lives when our thoughts are on other things than Christ we will steer in the directions of those things and not towards Him. If I am not focusing on Him, I will not be prepared for the situations and challenges I will face in life.

• Confidence is everything

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Mark 9:23

  “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

It is amazing how your performances in any of life's situations can differ with your belief, especially in football. In the professional game players can go from being worth millions of pounds to nothing, just by losing confidence and not playing as well. Even my performance can differ crazily from how confident I am in my abilities. Jesus said above that EVERYTHING is possible if we believe. No, 'I don't think I can do it', No 'I'm not good enough', No 'It's not my gifting'. YOU CAN DO IT. JESUS HAS PROMISED & GOD NEVER LIES!

Let's all have faith in Christ as we fix our eyes on Him. Especially me!

Testimony

This is from a facebook group where I advertised for testimonies, short but very sweet and full of truth :)

Shield Farrah Jansen

Hi friends Shield here. A few days ago I was really going through a rough patch. I was very suicidal because felt like my only way out, then ill have peace. Death seemed better than life.but all that changed miraculously when all of a sudden I met this wonderful person out of nowhere whom I bonded almost immediately, who made me feel like living again and taking life's challenges on. Than I realised it was God who has answered my prayers. Prayers I have been praying for so long. God I wonderful he is great I SURRENDER ALL!!!!! Thank you Jesus.

Pray

Had never heard of this song before today but it certainly means I see Justin Bieber in a new light and it raises an important point. If we want to see change in our world and our lives we need to realise that if we don't ask we don't get!

The Parable of the Persistent Widow - Luke 18:1-8

 ¹ Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
   ⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”
 ⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

TV Testimony!

Something a little different for this week's testimony. A friend of mine also called Mike from my Church did a video for the youth group about his testimony the other week and it was brilliant and he kindly offered me the chance to use it on here so here it is.....

Which life to do you want?

Most of my days contain a look at the sports section of the BBC Website. As an avid Football & Formula One fan I like to keep up with all the latest news and particularly enjoy reading the blogs and articles on there.

Today a certain blog lept out at me. It was Jake Humphries' blog. I have a soft spot for Jake and not just because he presents the Formula One on BBC but also because he used to present Children's BBC in his younger days and I remember him from that. I think anything that brings you back to your childhood, before you fully understand this fascinating but dark world, is something we treasure.

There was a quote on his blog that I really liked. It was from one of the commentators who had recently been replaced and whom Jake was saying farewell too. He said this when Jake confided in him about his worry about being the new presenter when the BBC started showing the F1 two years ago.

"We can both either have an easy life or an exciting life and I know which one I want!"

Jonathan Legard

This totally related to how I had been feeling today. My life is not perfect because I am a Christian. Yes, it is much better than it was before but bad things still happen and I am just as susceptible to sin as any other human.

God was Speaking to me about stuff I had been doing wrong and also about something that happened a few years ago which I still haven't fully dealt with.

I realised that in a lot of my mistakes it is down to me thinking I know better than God. Me choosing my own path and thinking that because I feel good about it and it feels right that it is therefore the right thing to do.

The problem with that is this:-

Jeremiah 17:9
 The heart is deceitful above all things
 and beyond cure.
 Who can understand it?

Because of the sin that is in us all because we are imperfect people, our hearts are selfish and want what is best for us. God thinks differently than us because He is totally unselfish and wants what is truly best for us. You see, selfishness blinds our hearts to the long term consequences of our actions. We want what is best now but thankfully we can be sure that when we trust God with our lives He gives what is the best in every way.


Matthew 7:11
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

This post has dragged on but my final point goes back to the quote. Often our selfish choices are simply us choosing the easy way. But the exciting way is so much better! I believe it is totally worth it to sacrifice a bit of comfort & security to go into the unknown and maybe be blessed from it.

We have this choice when it comes to Salvation. The easy way is to do nothing and just hope you will go to Heaven. The exciting way is to trust God and give our lives to Him, accepting our way is wrong.

And we can be sure it is worth it because as Jesus says in John 10:10

'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.'

Matthew 6:33

I was speaking to a dear friend last night and I read Matthew 6:26-34. Here in Matthew 6 Jesus makes a wonderful challenge to us to not worry in our lives. He cites how God provides for the birds of the air and the flowers on the ground and says this:-

^{Matthew 6:33}
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

I am such an idiot sometimes. No exaggerating, I genuinely am stupid. When trouble comes I try and solve it myself and often fail. God comes into my mind way too late or not at all. The times where I do put Him first He delivers and yet I still forget.

I just want to say to everybody:

If something bad has happened in your life and you are hurting and/or struggling - SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM & HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

If you are worried about something that is going to happen - SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM & HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

If you are having doubts about yourself or God or anything - SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM & RIGHTEOSNESS.

If you are happy and enjoying your life right now - SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM & HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

If you are seeking His Kingdom & His Righteousness but are like me and forget - SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM & RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Because as the prophet Jeremiah says ^'You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.' (29:13)

and as Paul says 'If God is for us, who can be against us?' (Romans 8:31b)

Love is Faithful!

Since starting this blog I haven't been able to write about football much but in today's post I will at last but there is a much deeper point so keep reading!

Dave Jones has been the manager of Cardiff City, my favourite team, since May 2005. He has done an admirable job keeping the club competitive in one of the top leagues in the world during times of extreme financial difficulty, which has left him having to sell his best players and constantly have to scrape around for bargains in the transfer market. He also got the club to the FA Cup Final for the first time in 81 years in 2008. Many fans regard him as the best manager the club has ever had.

However recently fans have been calling for him to be sacked from his position. Strange eh?
There were changes at the club before this seasons. New billionaire owners came in and have eased the financial constraints and enabled the signing Welsh superstar Craig Bellamy. Expectations have risen and a recent bad run of form (which the club has never dropped lower than 5th and is currently 2nd, on course for automatic promotion) has seen previous unconvinced supporters and newly unconvinced fans call for his head.

I'm constantly amazed at the fickleness & lack of loyalty by people. Not just in sport but in life. Divorce rates are higher than ever before in Britain, for example.

The description of what love is in 1 Corinthians 13 starts with 'Love is patient' and ends with 'It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.'

Whilst many supporters of Cardiff City, husbands & wives are not faithful, God is perfectly faithful.

I amazed by His faithfulness. I mess up so often every day and He could just end my life right now and doesn't. He could have ended Creation right when Adam & Eve messed it all up but didn't. He could have wiped out the moaning & groaning Israelites time & time in the desert for their lack of faithfulness and affront to Him with their golden calve...but led them to the Promised Land eventually. What about the Pharisees, the people Jesus described as 'vipers' and 'sons of hell'. Why didn't God just give up?

I realise it is because God believes in us...even when we don't believe in Him.

2 Timothy 2:13 - if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

How cool is that? Even we really mess up & really lose track of our faith, God never stops believing in us.

1 John 2:1 - My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

Just as cool, Jesus stands up for us before God when we mess up. The conclusion from this is that God doesn't want to condemn us, He wants to know us and for us to be with Him forever.

John 3:16 is a very well known verse, John 3:17 I find just as amazing and it says this:-

'For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.'

My closing question is....are you saved? I want to say that nothing is really stopping you from making that choice :)

Crazy Love!

"Love makes you do crazy things, insane things, things in a million years you wouldn't see yourself doing, but there you are doing them."


 Wicker Park

I would imagine we are all well acquainted with the though that love makes you do crazy things. As my challenge for the Church for 2011 was to love more, it would be great to see if loving people crazily has Biblical basis.

Sometimes our problem is that we love, but we give people only a certain percentage of our love, and it involves so many conditions!

- I will do many things for you but not this, this and definitely not that!
- I will love you when I can be bothered
- I love you but I don't like showing it
- I will love you more when you do nice things to me.

Our problem is that our love is selfish and lazy and we need to kick ourselves hard to put this right in 2011!


- I will do many things for you but not this, this and definitely not that!

Acts 2:44-47

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Do you have any possessions, time, rituals that you just won't give up to or for anyone? The example of Jesus' disciples is that they shared and gave everything to each other and to others. They put others above themselves. This highlights the Biblical teaching of serving others -

Mark 9:35
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

- I will love you when I can be bothered

Luke 10:30-35

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.

So helping this man was clearly an inconvenience, because the Priest & Levite couldn't be bothered. These were people who should have helped the man. Not the Samaritan, enemies of the Jews! But this Samaritan went to a great expense to help someone with no promise of repayment or anything in return. Jesus used this as an example of loving a neighbour. To love like Jesus did, we should be making crazy efforts for those who may never repay us or even care about what we have done.

- I love you but I don't like showing it
Mark 10:21
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
John 11:35
Jesus wept. (at Lazarus' death and seeing the grief of his friends, he then went and brought him back to life!)

Don't believe the lie that it is soppy or sad to show people how you feel. Sometimes it is just what people need to be shown that someone cares and that they are loved. Some people have never felt such things. It is very hard sometimes and it isn't always wise to declare your feelings but keep on the lookout for any opportunity you get to bless someone :)

- I will love you more when you do nice things to me.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Need I say more?

What's in a Name?

I love my name. I think it is really cool. I know everyone probably thinks this but I will explain why I think the name 'Michael' is special.

In short, it is because of what the name means.

Michael is a Hebrew name and it means 'Who is like God'. Pretty awesome stuff!
Now I am certainly not crazed enough to think I anything close to who God is, but it is something I treasure because it reminds me of how God changes us to be more like Him and how He has changed me since I gave my life to Him.

You can check out what your name means here:- http://www.meaning-of-names.com/

At Christmas it is wonderful to think about what God did for us by giving us a Saviour in Jesus Christ. When Jesus was born to a poor family in a dirty manger over 2000 years ago, God knew what was to happen to this child even if the world hadn't guessed it yet.

The name Jesus means 'God Saves' or 'God is Generous'.

Hebrews 9:22In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

To be Saved, we need to be forgiven of our sins. This is not possible without the shedding of blood. Jesus did that bit for us on the cross. We couldn't do it because we are not perfect sacrifices because of all our mistakes. In the Old Testament, only the best lambs etc. were acceptable as offerings before God. So only the best was acceptable to God to forgive our sins. Jesus was the best.

If you want to be forgiven and find new life in Jesus, tell God that you want to be forgiven for your sins & accept Jesus as Saviour & Lord. I wasted too much of my life before I did this myself and I haven't regretted it once since :)

Christmas Night

Tonight I participated in a Christmas carol service at the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel. Our Church was tasked with singing 13 Christmas carols and performing several other items in front of the people at a Christmas Fayre the Hotel was holding. It was a lovely night and everyone sung really well and the items were fantastic.

One of the items was a reading of a short story by Max Lucado called 'Christmas Night' and I loved it so much I wanted to share it with you all :)

It’s Christmas night. The house is quiet. Even the crackle is gone from the fireplace. Warm coals issue a lighthouse glow in the darkened den. Stockings hang empty on the mantle. The tree stands naked in the corner. Christmas cards, tinsel, and memories remind Christmas night of Christmas day.


It’s Christmas night. What a day it has been! Spiced tea. Santa Claus. Cranberry sauce. “Thank you, so much.” “You shouldn’t have!” “Grandma is on the phone.” Knee-deep wrapping paper. “It just fits.” Flashing cameras. It’s Christmas night. The girls are in bed. Jenna dreams of her talking Big Bird and clutches her new purse. Andrea sleeps in her new Santa pajamas.


It’s Christmas night. The tree that only yesterday grew from soil made of gifts, again grows from the Christmas tree stand. Presents are now possessions. Wrapping paper is bagged and in the dumpsite. The dishes are washed and leftover turkey awaits next week’s sandwiches.


It’s Christmas night. The last of the carolers appeared on the ten o’clock news. The last of the apple pie was eaten by my brother-in-law. And the last of the Christmas albums have been stored away having dutifully performed their annual rendition of chestnuts, white Christmases, and red-nosed reindeer.


It’s Christmas night. The midnight hour has chimed and I should be asleep, but I’m awake. I’m kept awake by one stunning thought. The world was different this week. It was temporarily transformed. The magical dust of Christmas glittered on the cheeks of humanity ever so briefly, reminding us of what is worth having and what we were intended to be. We forgot our compulsion with winning, wooing, and warring. We put away our ladders and ledgers, we hung up our stop watches and weapons. We stepped off our racetracks and roller coasters and looked outward toward the star of Bethlehem.


It’s the season to be jolly because, more than at any other time, we think of him. More than in any other season, his name is on our lips. And the result? For a few precious hours our heavenly yearnings intermesh and we become a chorus. A ragtag chorus of longshoremen, Boston lawyers, illegal immigrants, housewives, and a thousand other peculiar persons who are banking that Bethlehem’s mystery is in reality, a reality. “Come and behold him” we sing, stirring even the sleepiest of shepherds and pointing them toward the Christ-child.
For a few precious hours, he is beheld. Christ the Lord. Those who pass the year without seeing him, suddenly see him. People who have been accustomed to using his name in vain, pause to use it in praise. Eyes, now free of the blinders of self, marvel at his majesty. All of a sudden he’s everywhere. In the grin of the policeman as he drives his paddy wagon full of presents to the orphanage.
In the twinkle in the eyes of the Taiwanese waiter as he tells of his upcoming Christmas trip to see his children. In the emotion of the father who is too thankful to finish the dinner table prayer. He’s in the tears of the mother as she welcomes home her son from overseas. He’s in the heart of the man who spent Christmas morning on skid row giving away cold baloney sandwiches and warm wishes. And he’s in the solemn silence of the crowd of shopping mall shoppers as the elementary school chorus sings “Away in a Manger.” Emmanuel. He is with us. God came near.


It’s Christmas night. In a few hours the cleanup will begin — lights will come down, trees will be thrown out. Size 36 will be exchanged for size 40, eggnog will be on sale for half-price. Soon life will be normal again. December’s generosity will become January’s payments and the magic will begin to fade. But for the moment, the magic is still in the air. Maybe that’s why I’m still awake. I want to savor the spirit just a bit more. I want to pray that those who beheld him today will look for him next August. And I can’t help but linger on one fanciful thought: if he can do so much with such timid prayers lamely offered in December, how much more could he do if we thought of him every day?


Max Lucado

Treading Ice

I want to start by thanking you all so much for your prayers! Today was so much better and God's Hand was in it. I had a really good sleep and work was excellent today and felt much better about things as a result :)

Tonight we took both the youth groups I am involved with, the Church youth group 'Genesis' & 'Pontypridd Christian Youth (PCY)' Ice skating to the Cardiff Devils home rink in Cardiff Bay.

I cannot say I am any kind of Christopher Dean, but I thought I could get a handle on it fairly easy. I was so wrong! It was very tough! I didn't fall all night but only because I was being so careful! I found it very hard to let the leash go on myself, particularly because of the amount of people there for the disco theme on friday nights. There were many moments where I was tempted by the thought that I would never get it.

But by the end of the night I had managed to get much more of a hold on it and was starting to skate more and more confidently. It was really pleasing and I am hoping to go again soon.

But what if I had just given up?

I think there are many people interested in God, but feel they won't ever get it or don't feel good enough for it.

Let me tell you that nobody is good enough, and as imperfect humans we are all in need of God's Grace offered through Jesus paying the price for our sins on the cross.

Whilst on the cross one of the men being crucified next to Jesus, a thief, realised Jesus was someone a bit special and asked if He would remember Him in paradise. Jesus replied:-

Luke 23:43
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

It doesn't matter who you are, or what you've done but you can be forgiven & love Jesus and know Him personally.

And it doesn't matter who you are, or what you've done, but you can ice skate...if you keep at it ;)