Church Sign "All welcome...do not disturb"

We have some warped ideas of church, that its either for weirdo's. Or we have to dress a certain way, act a certain way before we can go to church.

I was chatting to someone at the skate park the other day, and they said “its only kooks that get saved” In others words people that cant really skate or the weird people in society” Part of me was like yeah I suppose you right…

I have always seen that as a bad thing, But rather through the love of God I am starting to see it as a compliment. That people notice that God’s love is for anyone. It is not exclusive. Jesus says “A healthy person does not go to the doctor, but rather the sick”

Does the world look at our church and our actions and go “All is really welcome there” Rather than just a sign that hangs on our door…

God so loved the world – There is nothing exclusive about a world embracing love. Our love very often becomes restricted to those we like, those part of our friendship group. To those that will not require lots of energy or our money.

We love the lovely, the lovable, and the loving but that is not agape love, that is not the love of God.

When we limit church to certain people it's about us, when we open it up it's about God

The love of God love is wide enough to welcome the unfortunate in large numbers. 


I go to church because I love God, I love his people, I love interacting, I love that church is where I can go and not have to wear a mask, not have to have money in my wallet, not have to have everything in order. Its about loving God... 

If I throw apple at Vicky...

If I come home everyday and throw an apple at Vicky, that is not going to help our relationship grow. If we take advantage of the grace God has given us by just living our lives for ourselves. It’s not going to help grow the relationship. It’s just going to make it about you. Here is the simple truth, God loves you so much that he wants to be in a real relationship with you, but you are not the end of God’s plan. God wants you to be part of his plan, not be the plan. We don’t like that. We want to be the final credits in the movie, get the last line in a fight. God says you are the intro to what I am wanting to do. The great news is I want to include you in it. 

Why do we pray?

Why do we pray?? Prayer is vitally important and a crucial part of a relationship with God. But why do we pray? When you first prayed why was it? We get told we must prayer when we get saved or even to get saved. It’s a way of communicating with God. Building a relationship. There are lots of awesome analogies and thoughts behind prayer. But the simple question is why do we pray? Do we believe God is in control and can change things? That if we are growing in a relationship with him we can pray inline with what His will is and become part of it.

I think we have lost the sight of the power of prayer and have just made it part of our daily Christian to do list. Pray = TICK! We have lost all passion in prayer because we focus on prayer and not the person to whom we pray and the awesome power and sovereignty that is God. 

On the road again

Just sitting here with my beautiful wife waiting for the time to go by so we can catch our flight. Can't help but think how much time we waste just waiting. If only we would dance while we wait, or maybe engage a stranger for an exchange of stories past. Maybe hold hands and think of old times gone by.

My fear is we sit waiting for so long we never get around to doing anything and we settle or nothing.

Don't ever settle, love those people in your life an enjoy every moment.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Reminder about your invitation from Bradley Jones

I like to make candles

Because he is the Lord – Paul speaks in Romans 9: 20 “But who are you, o man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it “why did you make me like this?”

I once went to a candle decorating place and made a candle for my mom. My skill level in fine art and candle making leave lots to be desired. However unique my candle was, does it have any right to say to me “Why did you make me with so many odd colors, and a splash of pink?” Does the candle have a right to question the purpose I have for it? I think that candle still sits on my Moms dresser in her room.

God has created us, given us everything we need to achieve his purposes and plans he has for us. Ephesians 2: 10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” God made us, and he loves us and he is perfect. The God of the universe, the creator of everything took some time to make you. He does not lack the skill level that I did in making candles. He has made you perfect for the plan he has for you. 

The devil made me do it...

My mom used to love to do crafts and a type of fabric paint. I remember many an afternoon where the family would sit down and draw their names and a spider or a unicorn on our pillowcases. For the record, mine was the spider.

Needless to say after many years of fabric painting and the invention of laminating pictures, our walls in our rooms where filled with random pictures. Some of cartoons and others of random flowers in a field. I remember I had one of this little hot stuff devil character with a pitch fork that had a saying next too it “The devil made me do it”

I wonder how much of what I did as a child, and still do today is with the mind set that “The devil made me do it?” That I don’t take responsibility for my own selfishness, I don’t take seriously my own inward focused attitude. My attitude that serves to protect myself and no one else.  To make everything about me?

I am scared of responsibility which is rooted in the fear or not being good enough. We worry so much that we will be found out we are frauds or fakes that we blame others, or shift focus onto other things instead of taking responsibility.

Yes the devil might influence us, or lead us into temptation sometimes. But we need to realize we are our own worst enemies when we live self centered lives and worry more about out bottom line than about God’s bottom line. 

Walking in the dark

The other night I had to go to the bathroom and I could not see where I was going and I stood on Seth’s shark that made a loud noise. Almost as loud as me stumbling my way though the dark. Luckily no one woke up. The point is though, the longer I stayed in the dark the more my eyes adjusted and the more I could see, the more I could start to convince myself and my brain I was in the light, rather than the dark. The more and more we justify the darkness in our lives, the more and more we will start to convince ourselves its actually light.


The more we will justify selfish behavior and let it go unchecked in our lives. We need to hold our actions up to the light of the word of God and the Holy spirit. Not the world. Just because something is culturally permissible does not make it what is best for us. 

It is all about the "I"

When I was growing up I was always looking for something, I always wanted to fit in. I always wanted to be accepted. Be loved. I looked in the world, I looked to my friends but they could not give me what I needed because it was not their place. I looked to skateboarding, and I felt accepted as long as I was skating and landing tricks. But when I was not skating I still felt empty. I looked for acceptance in girls but they could not find it for themselves so how where they suppose to share it with me. I looked for it in drinking but only found it while I was drinking. Once I finished I would just be left with a headache and still searching for something. Some where to fit in.

The problem was with all the I’s.  I made it about me, about everything I wanted and needed. I lived a life with the ideas of what can I get. That I wanted too be the center of the world, the center of my life. The sad thing was though I could not even fix things in my own life, how was I going to fix the world if I was actually the center.

One day through my search, Jesus found me and said these words “You can love me, because I first loved you” Jesus was accepting me for who I was. I did not have too put anything in too feel loved, to feel like I fitted in. The he had made me who I am for a reason, and everything I need to be who God was calling me to be I have already been given.

My life was changed because of what Jesus had done, not because of who I was and what I could do or not do. It was all about Jesus. I still find myself sometimes making it about the I, instead of Jesus and his love. God is gracious and loving and gently puts me back on the path of ultimate acceptance and love. That as he works through me I am able to share his love with others.

Jesus loves me, even though my “I” attitude is the root cause of the worlds issues. It is because of Jesus dying and taking the place of the “I” that I am able to know his love and peace and acceptance. Without his love I would know no real love.

Fireworks, Forts, and Tears

When I was younger and fireworks where not fully illegal. My brother and I spent all the money we had saved selling plants on weekends buying crackers and storing them up till we had the biggest stock pile ever. Getting ready for battle against the world with our crackers we built ourselves a little fort and barricaded ourselves in. We had little windows to throw crackers out. I am not sure but am almost certain we got dressed up for the occasion. We had big dreams for our fort and the joy that was going to come out of it. So here we are in our little fort waiting for some unsuspecting victim to come around the corner so we can attack and release the full force of our army.

So around the corner comes my dad, we threw a cracker or five in his general direction, he quickly disappeared and came back with him own selection of crackers. He lit his little jumping jack (those where the little crackers that shot some flames and spun round), It was small in comparison to our army of fireworks we had spent weeks building up and counting.  So my dad threw his cracker threw our window and into the bucket of supplies. Needless to say the bucket burst into flames and explosions like popcorn in a pot. It was a fantastic site, although when the smoke cleared and the excitement had passed. I was left with no crackers and crying.

Such a small cracker had destroyed my stock pile, it had taken my dreams of world domination and reduced it too sulpher. That is the power of the tongue. It might be said in jest, or done as a response to something else. But we need to know it has the power to destroy and penetrate strong holds and break down stockpiles. To ruin dreams. It has the power to take down walls we have built up against attack. The tongue as powerful as it is, is even smaller in its attack, is as small as an ant, it can get in anywhere. And sometimes only comes out weeks later, or even years and has a continual effect on us.

How are we using our tongues, are we using it too break down people, to get ahead in our own lives. To break others down so we can feel better about ourselves instead of seeking God and finding ourselves in him.

Let us never underestimate the power of a single small word. 

They stole Wolverine

A while back I was given a copy of the movie “Wolverine Orgins” It was excellent quality although copied (I am not discussing the right to own copied material right now” Not a big fan of owning stolen stuff, but alas… I was excited too see the movie as I have a fondness for Wolverine.

So on checking out the movie, the quality was good and all was going along nicely, But towards the end it turned out the movie was stolen before they could finish editing it, before they could edit out the green screens and the ropes. It basically ruined the whole movie, the whole plot was foiled due to the lack of context and scenery. The actors were just running around with ropes tied on them in a green room. Not very enjoyable at all, perhaps God was laughing at me due to the partaking in stolen property?

This has made me think. The bible is very similar to the end of that movie. When we don’t look at the context of the scripture, when we don’t unpack it more we are left with just a few ropes which very often don’t make sense…

So the moral of this blog, is don’t accept stolen property, don’t take the bible out of context, it will feel like someone is trying to control you with ropes like a puppet rather. 

Factory Shop Church

Living in Jeffreys Bay I am constantly surrounded by factory shops, and I know of lots of people that come to J-Bay just to come to the shops, never mind the beautiful beaches and good waves. There is an allure; something that is called factory shop, regardless of if it actually meets the requirements of a factory shop. Like being cheaper than a normal shop.

The family and I are up in Joburg for a little bit, and everywhere we drive it seems that on every corner there is a factory shop. Despite knowing the signs it's nothing more than a lie to get people's attention to stop and have a look around. Something inside me just wants to stop every time. I mean, we were driving down the one road, and saw a sign that said “Factory Shop”. No details of what it would be offering. It took all my energy to not continue down the road towards the mysterious factory shop.

My point in all this rambling is if you want to grow your church, just call it a factory shop church. For some unknown reason people will just show up with a desire to spend money ☺ So you can double you attendance and tithes by simply changing the name. And who said post modernism is dead?

Fireworks in Church

Last night I heard a good sermon regarding the Holy Spirit and His works not always being spectacular and dealing lots with our character. It was Good, and one of the statements the Pastor used was "People want to see fireworks in church" So out of that comes this blog, and its been on my heart for a while. So took it as a sign from God to share it :) 


If we want too see fireworks in church, best we get the fire marshal
saved! We all have dreams and hope for what type of church we want. So
many people what fancy lights and awesome things, with church pews
filled to the roof like some taxi's on a Monday morning but they are
not prepared to do the ground work to get there. Everyone wants the
result of a devoted life without devotion. We want to be thin and fit
without the diet and exercise.

We want fireworks without taking the responsibility of sharing our
personal faith with those around us. We want God too move in our lives
while we act as if he does not exist.

What do you desire, then asked what does God desires for you and are
they linking up? What do you desire and what do you need too devote
devotion too?

Let's stop just dreaming and grow up a little.

Its inside, not on top

Christmas was an awesome time with the family. It was Seth’s first Christmas. So when it came to opening presents you can imagine our excitement and joy that our little boy was going to get to open some stuff and play with his rather noisy present from his grand parents.

So we placed him in the middle of his gifts, only to have him try crawl away. Eventually we coaxed him into the present directions, when he got to them he just proceeded to play with the packaging, no matter how much we put the presents in his hand, he just wanted to chew the paper and throw the boxes.

How much of our lives are consumed with outside appearance, going for things that look good, chasing external pleasures rather than stopping long enough to look inside and see what really matters… HEART.

Why do we put so much worth in things that fade, and so little in things that last and give meaning and worth. I watched Ellen show and LL COOL J was on it and he said “Man makes the money, money does not make the man” If only we would live that and not sing that.