My Free Thoughts

Online today I stumbled across a page where atheists were organising a protest against Ray Comfort's distribution of free 'Evolution vs God' DVD (where Comfort claims he has shown that top American college professor and students cannot provide any evidence of evolution and it is all belief rather than fact, it's very good I would advise giving it a watch).

One thing I noticed regarding the contributors is that many of them described themselves as 'freethinkers'. This is a term I have increasingly noticed atheists claiming for themselves.

Actually a common phrase I hear in debates is 'We are not constrained by any god, we think for ourselves'. This irks me greatly because, as well as being tremendously arrogant, it is plainly untrue.

When I decided to become a Christian, it was because I wanted to. I wasn't forced or coerced and certainly not manipulated. It was my choice, my decision, I freely thought and realised that God made this earth, Christ died for me and that I wanted to follow Him.

Following Christ goes against the norm, it is a hard decision for anyone to make because friends distance themselves from you, you become an easy target for mocking and your opinions are rarely listened to let alone understood.

The easy thing to do, without any thought, is to deny Christ or put Him off.

I am often told that following the 'rules' of Christianity is foregoing my own thoughts and opinions. Have they ever considered that I have chosen to take this route, that I believe that this is the best way to live, that I have freely chosen God and His Way? When I wasn't a Christian I simply did what everyone else did, is that any more 'free thinking'?

Many of these atheists will not even countenance the thought that God would exist. Surely a true freethinker would allow the possibility that God made this earth and consider the arguments, it's not as if billions of people over the world don't consider it to be true. It is something that needs to be taken seriously. Simply writing it off out of prejudice or a lack of a desire to be true isn't freethinking.

Without God, I don't think you can even be sure that your thoughts mean anything or make sense. Why would they?

I want to say that if you are reading this and a Christian, be encouraged that you are not what these foolish (Psalm 53:1) people think you are. If you are reading this and are refusing to consider Christ or putting him off, I beg you to consider Him and to make a decision based on free thought based on the facts, the overwhelming evidence that everything that exists doesn't make sense without a Creator, the beauty of His Creation and the fact that Jesus of Nazareth came, lived, died and rose again to pay the price for our sins.

Blessings,

Michael

Blessings Realised

It goes without saying that the last week or so has been a pretty whirlwind one for me.

Having dated from afar the last two and a bit years, having the girl I love beside me permanently and pursuing such an exciting mission for God with her (and other such great people as I get to know them more and more) is obviously a huge blessing to me.

For those who are interested, Caitlin is settling in really well and really enjoying the work she is doing, loving her house, getting on great with her housemates and generally loving it so far.

My reason for writing though...

Right now life reminds me that cliches such as 'living on cloud nine' do have metaphorical, if not scientific, truth to them.

This morning at Church I dwelt on this and I realised that the feeling of completion and happiness I have at having Caitlin here with me has been felt before. Actually, it has been felt very often. It's the way I feel every time I step into God's Presence.

Throughout all the highs and lows of my Christian walk, God has been there for me and lifted me up where I needed it, supported me, been strong for me when I was weak and best of all fulfilled me and completed me in Him.

I was, we were, made to know God and be in relationship with Him. Today I was reminded of that and I know that whatever ups and downs are ahead, I can face the future with confidence and certainty that my God, our God, will be with me all the way, giving me life to the full.

My fullness is in Him and nothing else. Praise God :-)

'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me'

Jesus Christ - John 14:6, the Bible

God is still here!

It's been a looooong time since I have last posted so it seems very fitting to update you on what's going on in my life.

You may have noticed (and even 'liked') the following verse posted by my Facebook page earlier today:-

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you;    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I think this verse is one I will attach to the last two years. In these two years I have had to make some difficult decisions, struggle through some difficult moments and endure pressure beyond what I have had in my life before.

In these years I have been far from the ideal servant, whilst everything has eventually made it's way to God's hands sometimes I was reluctant. Sometimes you think you can handle it or it's too small for God but when it's too small for God it often then snowballs into becoming too big for you. The pressure and time needed to concentrate on my exams has meant less time for God and important disciplines in my life being disrupted, many of which I am still trying to rebuild now.

However I can comfortably, easily and safely say that despite my shortcomings, despite my reduced situation at some points, God has been here. He has been my God. He has strengthened me and upheld me with his righteous right hand!

Around last October God gave me notice. He told me that my life was going to change and I should expect it. I appreciated this because I always find change hard to adjust to.

God has again been as good as His word. I managed to pass my exams and become a fully qualified accountant. My girlfriend and myself found an opportunity to serve God in one of the most deprived areas of Cardiff, Tremorfa. She is moving to this country to live and serve there in 11 days time. I will be joining her in serving and striving to join her living there as soon as I can. It is something I have always dreamed of doing and since we have started going up there seeing the area, the Church and the fellowship it has only further confirmed that this is where God wants us each time. I am very excited to have Caitlin in the same place but even more excited for how God can use us and the people already serving in Tremorfa to further His Kingdom.

Furthermore, since I am qualified my role at work is set to advance further which is exciting but also scary since I am certainly having to come more and more out of comfort zones.

Lastly and more trivially, our much loved family cat sadly passed away and our much loved football team, Cardiff City, made it to the Premier League.

So, as you can see, change is afoot!

Cardiff City are a good symbol for the last two years of my life. It was a long, long struggle with much patience needed and many low points along the way but they finally did it and whilst I have needed much patience and had some low points over the last two years, God hasn't let me down and has me exactly where He wants me. Only by His Grace and Power.

My message simply is, don't give up on God, don't even be negative about the state of your life. God is looking out for you, He is there for you, His righteous right hand is upholding you at whatever moment you are at in life right now.

Our individual 3-2 wins over Man City are coming in that blind but beautiful future ahead of us, but only by God's Grace.

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!

God's Got This One

I'm going to be a little soppy here, and this is against what I usually like to do when writing or posting in the public domain but I'm just going to come out with it....I'm in love.

Most of you know it, some may not know much about it but there is a girl who I am crazy about, who I cherish every second of being with, who I can't get enough of even if it is just on Facebook chat, who I think is the most beautiful person to ever existed in the whole wide world (Jesus aside), who makes me laugh, who encourages me, who loves me more than I could have imagined a girl loving me. 

We live in different countries, we are from different continents but we both know Jesus, we both accept Him as our Lord & Saviour and we both desire to love Him above all others. The different country thing is something we want to change but the more we find out about being in the same place, the harder we realise it will be. This has been very hard & discouraging at times and it has been especially hard the last few days as we find out even more.

We feel God has brought us together and called us together and we are trusting Him in this but it is hard for us both.

Tonight I went out to spend time with God and He showed me several things.

Firstly, I have become so consumed with the worry about this and thinking about this that I had forgotten what God has actually put me here for...to worship Him and to glorify Him. I have not been doing that in this situation.

Secondly, I have been chasing fulfillment in being in the same place as my love rather than in the arms of my first love, my true & eternal love, Jesus Christ. This has led to me being unhappy as only Christ can fulfill us and further away from glorifying Him.

Thirdly, God is SO BIG. There is nothing He cannot conquer and nothing that even comes close to standing against Him. If this is God's Will as we both believe it to be then He will make this happen in His perfect timing. It is so easy to forget that.

I feel a lot better now Praise God, He has led me back to where I need to be, where I should be which is focusing on Him and His Perfect Love and loving Him with every ounce I have and achieving what He desires me to achieve. He will sort out the rest because He is Good and can give us more than can ever hope for or imagine and He gives us good gifts. God has got this one and I look forward to seeing what He does. One day we can look back at this post and Praise God for His Power and faithfulness!

Maybe you are consumed by something that is distracting you from what you are meant to be doing, maybe you are chasing fulfillment in the wrong thing and maybe you are overlooking God's Power in the problems of life.

If that is you then maybe God is speaking to you through this post, urging you onwards to His arms where He will say, 'I got this one!'.

I'm back!

Matthew 11:16-18
 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

 “‘We played the pipe for you,    and you did not dance;we sang a dirge,    and you did not mourn.’

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

I read this passage today and boy is it true of much of our world today as it was 2000 years ago.

These people want people to treat them like God. People cannot stand not getting their own way, even in the slightest, and don't care who they hurt in getting what they want.

They will treat people like dirt and then get offended when the same treatment comes to them (you reap what you sow people!)

They treat God the same way, unless He dances to their tune they are not interested.

I debate people online and no matter what you say, no matter what you prove, they will come up with something to enable them to continue to suppress the knowledge of God in their lives. Just as they did 2000 years ago. 

There is only one God, and it certainly isn't any one of us. I know it's not me. I constantly fail, forget things, make mistakes, do things for the wrong motives...and I know we all do! 

God will never dance to our tune, in fact it is us that needs to dance to His. 

God made us, He has a plan for us and so many of us just want to throw back into His face, we have all affronted Him with her actions.

Yet, despite knowing this, God gave His own Son as a willing sacrifice to save us from the deep pit of mistakes we find ourselves in.

Let's stop putting ourselves above God, let's show respect for others and let's dance to the right tune!