The Meaning of God.

Hold it.

Before you grab your torches and pitchforks and start up a manhunt for my head on a stick, I am not turning my back on my faith and trying to form a perfectly rounded, flawless and earthly reasoning behind the proclaimed existence of our Heavenly Father. Man has tried, and failed, simply because we know He supersedes any such efforts to do so.

So what am I getting at?

By the ‘meaning’ of God, I am referring to His ‘intention’.

…that’s it…just slowly place the pitchfork on the ground (preferably with the pointy bit out of anybody’s way).

You see, God means what He says and does.

Not only that, but the things the Lord promises are even demonstrated in the manner in which He delivers them.

Love delivered lovingly,

Eternally faithful in His promise of faithfulness,

Gracious enough to offer us fresh grace with each new sunrise.

I take great comfort in knowing that.

:)

Dear guys and girls alike, being ‘Christian’ does not guarantee suitability for courtship, nor does it absolve the need for attributes such as trustworthiness, generosity or integrity.

It simply means that their faith should be omnipresently apparent and the clearly governing factor in every area of their lives.

So please, friends - whether your status is solitarily content, insecure, sincerely attracted, impatient, disheartened or whatever; first and foremost keep your eyes and mind fixated on the Lord. If you find yourself in a developing situation,

for the love of all that is good in the world

guard your heart and slow your pace.

I’ve seen too many beautiful hearts burned because of this.

Let God and their honest and upright pursuit of Him be the influential factor in matters, not a simple theological accolade.

Where you’re looking is where you’ll end up.

So, you’re fixated on getting yourself a boyfriend/girlfriend, based on the premise that people aren’t falling at your feet right now and therefore you reckon you’ll be alone forever? Well your logic is a little misaligned, but that’s nice, I hope all works out if or when you get one.

You want to become a key member of that popular bands/artists fandom? That’s kinda cool that you want to show them support; you’ll get there I’m sure if you talk to the right people, scratch a few backs or post the right words/pictures and go to enough live shows.

You really can’t get enough of that TV show, eh…talking about how you miss it all the time, and how the characters, what with their successes and failures resemble your life in so many ways? Perhaps if you keep on blogging about it day and night, and constantly re-watch all the current series, the network might commission a new series even sooner as a reward for all your hard work.

If those goals hit a little close to home and that sounds like you, that’s fair enough, I’m in no position to condemn, but tell me this -

How is that going to grant you a ticket into the glorious eternal afterlife awaiting those whose gaze is fixed fully on Christ? Sure, we can talk about the things we enjoy in the world of media and whatnot, a series of books or films, great when enjoyed as entertainment…they’re life’s small pleasures, but that’s how they must remain - little. Are they diverting our attention from the cross on which the Prince of Peace died for you and all your life encompasses?

Is your sight set on Christ?

“And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joyawaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” - Hebrews 12:1-2

‘Initiates’ and ‘perfects’…Jesus began the process on the cross, and he alone will finish it…

What I’m saying in a nutshell is that glueing your stare on Jesus is the only way you’ll get the prize that we all claim to look forward to and strive for as children under the grace of God, friends!

That list you wanted Anon!

Okay Anon, you wanted some Christian blogs to follow, and these were the first ones that came to mind - A lot of them are on my Tumblr ‘crush’ list (but don’t know hehe), so I obviously like and reblog a lot of their stuff…or I just have a lot of admiration for the way they pursue their passion for the Lord and seek His will in all they do! Their posts encourage and challenge me, and I connect a lot with what they share, without feeling like my faith and focus is weakened or diverted away from God by constant celebrity photo spams or randoms GIFs of guys & girls talking about what you should do on a date etc…they’re just beautiful, God-loving folks who are dear friends (though I’ve never met a single one of them - they’re not even in the same country as me!), and who motivate me by doing what they do best - loving God! haha :)

The list is just in alphabetical order, so no winners or losers here!

http://agirlchangingtheworld.tumblr.com/

http://bindmyheart.tumblr.com/

http://breanna-lynn.tumblr.com/

http://cityonahillburningbrightly.tumblr.com/

http://fullawakening.tumblr.com/

http://imaflowerquicklyfading.tumblr.com/

http://notinmystrength.tumblr.com/

http://shewalkswithwings.tumblr.com/

http://thecrookedgirl.tumblr.com/

http://yourcanarysings.tumblr.com/

Please remember though - like I said - I love everyone whose blog I ‘follow’! :)

Discipleship Study: Romans 2

So here we have Romans 2; a challenging chapter, which asks us to check our own motives in life, before assuming that we are so different from the unsaved, but also providing the answers to what lies in store for those who remain faithful and see it through to the end. Readings from NIV translation.

v1 - You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

…It seems a simple enough thing to avoid, but in a world where first impressions count for almost 90% of our opinion of someone, it is an area in which it is vital we get this right by God.

v4 - ….not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

…another key point. God’s gifts to us, His provision and blessings, are not like Christmas gifts; given in love without expectance of something in return. It plainly states here that He showers His goodness over us in order that we might run into His open arms, realising that none other can provide for us in the way our Lord and Saviour can!

v13 - For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

…It’s all about putting it into practice my friends. Not just appearing to have it all together, and saying we know this truth and that proclamation, but actually animating the very law we study in our everyday lives, by our thoughts, words and deeds!

v21-24 - you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

…This is particularly challenging; are our words matching the motions of our lives? When we speak out against gossip and prejudice, are we making sure our own lives are free from such sin? And that last sentence, well it speaks for itself; the lost and unsaved MUST see Christ through us, friends.


lastly,
v28-29 says “A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.”

…understanding ‘Jew’ to mean ‘follower of Christ’ and interpreting ‘circumcision’ as ‘cleansing’, brings to light the overall message of this chapter; that outward appearance, though pleasing to an eye, may be deceiving to a heart….

But we finish with the wonderful news that if we endeavour to get this right in our hearts and minds and put it into practice daily, then the praise we receive will be from the very one we praise, not the empty, temporary praise of man. How amazing is that?!


Take heart my brothers and sisters, the Lord is for us. I Pray that our lives may be refocused in any areas that need His guidance and light, so that we may shine both inwardly and outwardly alike, all for His glory!

blessings to you all,

Love in Christ,

Shaunski

:)

Discipleship Study: Romans 1

So, as promised, here’s the notes I sent out to my discipleship group on Romans 1. The notes in bold are ones that God laid on my heart just for you, my precious Tumblr-folk!

(all excerpts from NLT)…

There are so many individual lessons that we can highlight from this opening segment of Paul’s letter, that easily stand upon their own strength…you could honestly write 2 months’ worth of sermons based on this chapter alone, but here’s some key focal points I wanted to highlight, which apply to me as much as the next believer under no condemnation (more of that in chapter 8), so don’t forget that! -

v5 - “Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.”

…Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we are told that we not only have authority to share the Good News, but that we should consider it a privilege! …Are we getting joy from sharing His word with those around us? Are we sharing it at all?! The question begs…

v9 - “God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God,”

…Paul’s emphasis here is not that he is praying, but in how often he is praying, both day and night. My brothers and sisters, let us seek to uphold each other, not just in a spare ‘moment’ during a busy day, but as often as we uphold our own personal prayers, if not even more so.

v10-11 - “One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord.”

How great would it be for us all to actually meet one day, as the countless ‘Tumblr meet-up’ reblogs dream of? …before that is, we hopefully meet in the eternal afterlife? Perhaps God has more intended in this area than we realise. There’s no reason why our community has to be restricted to Tumblr alone, friends, for distance is nothing to God…but in case other plans do not arise, remain fervent in our encouragement of, and prayer for, one another!

v18-20 - “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

…God forbid that we should ever become like those in the world, who cannot claim to not know of God, for His exposure is everywhere, in all walks of life; they choose not to accept it. Look at it like this; to deny God, surely an Atheist has to first conclude that there is one to deny?

v23 - “And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people”

How often are we seen clogging up the Dash with reblogs of the latest female singer who’s achingly attractive, or the hottest new film star who makes you girls go weak at the knees? It’s celebrity culture at its worst. Are you spending your time reblogging countless GIFs of some Tumblr kid you’ve never even met? Or if not famous people, then picture after picture of sleek tattoos, tasty food, cool jumpers, couples kissing, cute kids that make you go ‘awwwww’, sun-kissed seas, tree-covered mountains or a wolf in a snowy forest?

The time you spend churning all of that out, great to look at though it may be, is time you could be spending sharing the love, testimonies, works and/or word of God…just saying. And I’m just as guilty of this too. Yes our blogs are here to give an insight into what makes us tick, our likes and dislikes, but our primary aim as Christians should be to share the Gospel. FACT.

And finally,

v28 - “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.”

…this is God showing that He has kept His promise of free will to us, even though He knows the consequence it can bring about it. God does not lie, nor does He break His promises…however,

v29-30 - “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.”

…this is what many choose to do with the free will He grants us. More fool us, eh…

My friends, may our hearts be challenged by these notions tonight, that upon reading them the conviction to do right and live right by God will imprint itself upon our hearts and draw us ever closer to His perfect plan and direction in our lives….

Greater is he that is in Christ than he that is in the world!

Amen!

I hope pray this speaks into your life as much as mine tonight, friends.

Love, in Christ,

Shaunski

:)

ALERT: rather long, and potentially gut-wrenching, heartfelt, love-drenched words lie within.

Okay, so it’s coming up to the end of my birthday, and at the time of posting this, I have been living upon the surface of this planet for

24 years, 0 months, 0 weeks, 0 days, 1 hour and 18 minutes.

In that time, I’ve seen things given, taken away, doors opened and closed before me…but in the midst of all that has unfolded, I can rest assured that God has used each and every minute little thing to craft me and guide me to where I am today. That leads me to now.

With you guys.

Those of you who have me on Facebook will have seen that I did my best to reply to those who left me Birthday wishes on my wall, as goes *le same* for Twitter - I simply feel that, if people are taking time out of their day for me, the least I can do is take time out of my day for them.

Now I’ve never been one for thrusting myself into the limelight and making a huge fuss at the expense of others. It would usually be a drawback for an actor like me, who is very much into bold character work, especially comedy; but it’s not caused problems as of yet….

But I digress.

For me, today was just another day in my life; another year to add to the expanse of time that is mapped out before me, known to all as my life. My work colleagues showed me their appreciation, as did my friends from days gone by, brothers and sisters from my church, and of course, my beloved family.

However, in spite of today supposedly being about me, my heart has been elsewhere.

Firstly, there are some of you out there, a few from Facebook, a few more from Twitter, but mainly a LOT from this here website, who will never know, even if I were to have a genius’ grasp of language, the depth, effect, and importance of your words to/prayers for me….and I don’t just mean today.

Many of you have prayed over me, upheld me in times of difficulty, shared verses to set my sights in the right direction, or just reminded me that God has a plan for my life, and that it. is. good.

Be it Anon or not, you have been vessels of the Lord’s light. The ocean of Tumblr, as it were, is filled with friendly faces that are willing to lend a hand in a storm in any way they can, and I cannot say thankyou enough, even though all but 7 or 8 of my followers are people whom I have never had the fortune to even meet in real life.

Yet I still class you as lifelong friends, and dear brothers and sisters of Christ who I will forever hold close to the very core of my heart.

Saying that, as mentioned, never like to make it all about the me, so allow me to extend a thankyou to you all for the help you’ve been to others through God working in your lives. Though they may not be able to express it, there are people on here who hate themselves, who are scared about the future, who are surrounded by sickness, fear rejection, who spend days on end longing for things they cannot obtain, and who stress about studies, family life, and what on earth the future may hold for them.

These lives we uplift to the Lord are watched over daily, and though they may not see it, their struggles are only temporary. But I urge you to keep on praying for them; if your love and shining of God’s light into their lives is anything like what I have experienced from you all in my short time on here, I guarantee hearts have been changed; changed by the hand of God orchestrating conversations, opportunities and many more things.

I will continue to pray for anybody who needs prayer whenever you feel the need to share a worry or thought with me, but if those moments do not come to pass, know that I shall continue to do my best to be a good friend, but more importantly, a willing servant of Christ in my own life, and in whatever way He may extend that into your own lives through me, so be it.

Second point (much shorter, don’t worry!)

My Birthday is close to Christmas. 13 days away, in fact. This year has been very memorable, largely for the love i’ve received from your folks on here (for the first time ever :D ), efforts from people at work, a great meal with my family and then wonderful fellowship with my Bible study group.

My Birthday now ends in 17 minutes (this will have changed when you get to this point!), which I’m glad about, because there is a far more important birth at this time of year, that is so much more worth our attention.

I speak, of course, of the birth of Jesus Christ.

over 2,000 years ago, God brought this man into our world with a mission; that he might lay down his life as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Now how about that -

Hands up if you’ve ever met Jesus in real life? No? Well that man you’ve never met hung on a cross, being ridiculed by those around him, bleeding to death and drained of almost all his blood, just so that you could have a relationship with God Almighty, and that, God willing, one day we might all join Him in Heaven.

Now you may think my Birthday is a day to celebrate, but in comparison to that? That is a birth that is much more worthy of attention and celebration. So much so, in fact, that it should be celebrated ever. single. DAY that we are alive, friends. :)

Let’s remember that this Season marks the birth of the Son of the One who makes each new day, each adventure, each new friend (shout out to you guys!) and every moment in life possible.

God is incredible.

You guys are certainly up there on my list of blessings from Him!!

That’s it - long post over. If you made it this far, well done! If not, too bad…you won’t be reading this anyhow!

Love to all of you as my day here draws to a close for another year,

May all peace, blessings and provision be yours forevermore,

your brother in Christ,

Shaunski

:) <3

Hey lovely folks!

I know i’ve not been around much today (if you had noticed haha!) but I wanted to say I missed talking to you all very much, and for my American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Praying that you’re enjoying a blessed day with family and friends wherever you are.

I’m thankful for everything. I know it sounds tacky and like I can’t be bothered to think of a better, more detailed answer, but as much as I could pick specifics, I truly mean everything. God has seen me safely through my life to the very smallest detail up to this point, and so every smile, every tear, every new adventure that’s led to exciting shores, every challenge that has torn me to my very foundations, every quiet moment where I have screamed at myself in my head, and every moment that has taken my breath away. As for the people….

You folks have no idea what you mean to me, and how eternally grateful i’ll remain for your individual efforts in my life, be it constant conversation, an Anonymous message with kind words that you’ve been too embarrassed to admit to publicly, or even for those who have been challenged by a post of mine and then felt fit to unfollow me.

Like I said,

everything. From peak to abyss.

Thankyou to You for you.

:)

my time in prayer with God this morning -

WAS AMAZING.

Loud. Fired-Up. Passionate. Faithful. Extensive. Detailed. Honest. Thankful. Thought-Provoking. Revealing.

these are all terms that could be used to describe it.

Neighbour-irritating is perhaps another one. I hope not, though!

Anywho, God’s Spirit was truly with me, and before long, my daily prayers for those i’m upholding in difficult situations concerning health, finance, and unsaved friends + family, became a full-blown (and rather noisy) proclamation of His might and work in my life.

(on a side note, I know it’s unhealthy in large doses, but I enjoy looking at the sun occasionally when I pray, because it’s beautiful, and lights our planet…it leaves me in awe, knowing that the reason for both our physical and spiritual light is Him….what a wondrous Creator and Designer He is!)

But whilst praying, He brought the following point to me, which I was then prompted to share as an encouragement for any of you who are seeking to reach friends or family who are unsaved:

When we speak of someone who is proving to be difficult to outreach to, or is trying to change but can’t shake off a few little things, it’s important to remember the difference between characteristics and habits. Example:

“I tried talking to [Name], but she’s just so pessimistic all the time.”

“He’s trying to keep away from girls, but I don’t think he’ll be able to give it up, he loves the attention too much.”

“They said they feel different and they believe, but they’re still going out and getting drunk 4 nights a week.”

Do any of those sound familiar? We can sometimes become discouraged because of a certain characteristic in a person that just won’t -

wait.

This is the crux of it.

The examples above (and they are just a few, i know), are not characteristics, making up a part of someones personality or character (hence the word? doiii, Shaun)… 

Being pessimistic is a mindset, which can be altered through demonstrations of love in everyday life and the introduction of carefully-tended faith in what is yet come.

Craving attention from the opposite sex is an appetite and desire that can be cured by replacing it with something that is more substantial and wholesome for the mind, soul and body.

Excessive drinking and a party-all-night way of life is an activity that, again, can be uprooted, and something more fruitful and healthy can be grown in its place.

mindsets, appetites, desires, activities, attitudes etc…

they’re all habits -

“…when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;” - Ephesians 4:21-23

…habits can be be changed.

Have faith, keep pressing on in the battles, and work away in the trust that a harvest will come; and when it does, it will be a beautiful, wonderful thing, people.

praying for God to bless you and use you as a blessing in all you do today and throughout this week!

:)

lunch, a coffee, and my Bible…

i’m being fed in every way I need.

:D