Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” - 1 Peter 3:13-14

This world and its powers have got nothing on the God who brought it all together, dear one.

Take heart my friend, keep your head up.

:)

In other news -

I just sent my 7,000th Tweet.

You can see it on my blog; thought I’d write something to mark the occasion!

:D

My God is the only constant; storms come, droughts arise, but my Heavenly shelter remains untouched.

He keeps me safe inside.

Could not ask for better. :)

Okay, God -

What are You up to here?

Either things are gonna get real exciting,

or

I’m gonna learn a harsh but apparently necessary lesson and fall flat on my face. Again.

Oh, You do like to keep me guessing. Good thing You know the desires of my heart, and I’ve every faith in Your power and promise. :)

It’s all too easy to be a spiritual apparition, as opposed to a spiritual body.

I can say this, because I’ve been there many times. It takes comparatively little effort to appear to be doing a great job; saying the right things, singing the songs, praying the prayers. The real hard graft comes when your heart is in it; when you strive for your love and hunger for God to course through every vein, when His very presence elevates your pulse, and when you are determining for the life you live in the company of solitude to match up to what you seem to be doing in the eyes of others.

It’s easier to be an apparition than a body.

Thing is, my friend, we were called to be bodies.

God puts things on my heart at the strangest times and in the coolest ways..

Friday at work is a prime example.

I’m sitting in the corridor hearing one of the children in my class read; I hear her read every day (or try to; sometimes a busy schedule makes it difficult), in an effort to try and boost her sub-average reading age.

Anyway, yesterday she picks out this book about explorers, and I think,

“Cool - I love the idea of travelling and adventure, so hopefully this won’t be too tedious to sit and listen to!”

How little I knew of what God was about to do.

She began reading the introduction and there, in front me, painted amongst a glorious plethora of printed word, was a sentence that I will always remember. It went like this;

“Explorers are people who set out to discover more about the world, usually putting their lives at risk in the process.”

As those words found a permanent place in my heart, I thought about them in the context of exploring the wonders of a relationship with God:

As followers of Christ, we should set out daily to explore and discover more and more about the world of God, both through His Spirit within us, His works in our lives and the Scripture.

…The thing is, that second part of the sentence; ‘usually putting their lives at risk in the process.’

Which begs the question; are we living in dangerous faith? No, I don’t mean running into a community of Atheists and throwing Bibles through their windows while yelling the words to ‘Yes, Jesus Loves Me’ (or maybe it does, depending on your calling!).

I mean, the sort of danger where you’re literally on the brink of going into the complete unknown and you’re crying out to God,

“God, if You don’t step in now, I’m a goner…but y’know what? Still even on the verge of calamity and meltdown, at a point where everything could unravel or plummet, I still trust You completely to pull me through, and to do it in style, just like always. Lord, either reinforce my faith so it’s like titanium, or show me I was a fool to ever doubt at all.”

…Only when we have faith like that, I believe, can we truly discover the secrets and wonders of God that He has waiting for those who pursue Him like wildfire through a forest.

It is my prayer tonight for you and I, friends, that we hunger for faith like this, and a passion to explore and unearth more of Him and His ways.

Bless you all,

your brother in Christ,

Shaun. :)

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!

Where the methods of man fail, the Almighty has the answers.

A daily reminder, right here.

Future Focus.

If my eyes are on the Father,

There is no better way to be,

As His Spirits dwelling increases,

I find less and less of me.

There is no need to fear for the future,

For it’s placed in the safest of hands,

It’s held between fingers that conjured the stars,

the sky, the seas and the lands.

- S. Milligan

Discipleship Study: Romans 4

Romans 4 tonight friends! This is where Paul tells us of Abraham’s faith and how it saw him justified wholly in God’s sight and blessed abundantly with an answer to his prayers! …such a great example to us all!

v4-5 - “Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.”

…This passage would lead many to question the point of doing good works. Well, since it is by faith we are justified let our works be done with a different intention; to solely glorify the name of God, and show His love in this world, that we might see a lasting legacy left in our wake with His prints all over it!

v8 - “Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

Goodness me, how often do we overlook this glorious truth? We are not only blessed by God, but our sins will never be held against us. Just give that a moment to sink in…not now, never before, and at no point in the future, will God condemn or bear a grudge regarding our falls and stumbles in life. It amazes me that people can still turn down a relationship like this!

v16 - “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”

As a descendent of Abraham, YOU are entitled to this same justification; you are welcome to receive the promise that He delivers to us when, by grace and repentance, we enter into a committed walk with the Lord and live according to His plan for our lives.

v19-21 - “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

Abraham was looking at what many would consider a ‘dead-end’ situation. It looked hopeless. Despite this, he entrusted the situation fully to God, and knew whole-heartedly that God had power to do what He had promised…whatever you may be praying desperately for, friends, be it a sick relative, financial help or for a friend to come to Christ, God has the supreme power needed to make it happen, even if we can’t comprehend it!

And last but by no means least,

v22-25 - “This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

Ask and you shall receive, right? God, totally true to His promise, delivered the goods, and Abraham had children; plenty of them in fact, which is no mean feat considering he was into his hundreds! Over time, this has filtered into different nations and lands, culminating in the world population we see today. You, sat there reading this on your laptop, PC or iPhone from the comfort of a bed, floor or chair; YOU are the incredible result of a promise fulfilled by God all those years ago to Abraham..how does it feel? Heart-warming? Purpose-giving? Life-affirming? …it should friend! For through this we are given the opportunity to be credited righteousness in our own lives through Christ’s death on the cross.

Eternal Father, we just THANK You today for the opportunity not only to delve into Your Word, but to just soak in Your presence and be reminded that through your Son’s perfect sacrifice we are set free from the old law that we might gain the chance to be credited righteousness through our faith in You. May our faith be like the toughest diamond, resisting pressure and fire from the enemy, as we seek to establish an ever-constructing relationship with You, God!

Amen! Be encouraged my lovely Tumblrians!

Shaunski

:D