How can we worship what we don't know...

When I had just arrived in London, my friend was there on holiday having a good time. He organized for us to go see a band called Millencolin, my friend really loved the band, I knew then pretty well and too this day it was one of the best shows I had ever been too. Perhaps it was because it was my first show aboard, when we arrived at the show there was every type of person you can imagine, I had never seen so many punks and rockers in one place in my whole life, during the day in London you just saw ‘normal’ people and in the evening these people came out to play, maybe they where afraid of the sun or something. All I know is I loved it. It was one of the best sights I had seen up too that point in my life.

My friend and I were waiting in the cue to get inside, the cue went around the corner and as we where getting closer and closer to getting inside we where talking rubbish and saying how stoked we where to be watching famous bands. We went past this alley and looked down it and saw the best Millencolin sweater we have ever seen. This guy was wearing it who looked a little funny as far as we where concerned. We joked about jumping him and stealing his sweater. The queue moved on and we forgot about the whole thing, until the band started and behold before us was the funny guy in his sweater rocking out for the band playing guitar. We laughed, but looking back cant help but wonder if we had known more about the band, had more of an understanding and knowledge of who they where, who that guy was. Would we have run down the alley like fans asking him to sign our chest or for a stand of hair so something thing like that?

I can’t help but feel that it’s the same with God, when we become Christians we are told to worship this ‘person’ and give them all we are but we know little or even nothing about Him.  The more we know about something the easier it is to worship that thing, we don’t worship bands that we just hear, we buy the cd, or illegally download it and listen to it and develop a love for it. The more that love grows the more our desire to know more about the band grows and we start doing google searches and stuff.

The more we start to love God the more we desire to know more about him, the more we know about him makes it easier to worship him. The responsibility rests on us though to get to know God. We can get to know him through the life of Jesus. The bible is a crucial key in understanding the way Jesus lived, and how we should be living. But it also highlights the character of God which makes our worship easier. It shows worship as more than just singing songs

He might be the only reason that I dont get into heaven!

Do you have one person in your life, that no matter how much you try you can't be nice to them? You make fun of them? Or they make you so angry you want to punch them?

I would consider myself a relatively nice guy, friendly, caring, however sometimes there is just that one person. I am left wondering how am I ever going to show the love of Jesus to this person if I cant even look at them.

I think the answer is simple, the same way Jesus showed his love to me, the same way Jesus forgave all the stupid lame things I have done and turned them into Grace!

SO BASICALLY JUST STOP IT! PLAY NICE AND SHOW GODS LOVE! TO EVERYONE!!!

Angry at nothing...

Have you ever been upset for nothing? Felt so much emotion based on nothing! When I say nothing I don't actually mean nothing, it's the same as when you ask someone what is wrong and they say "I don't know". If we are honest we know exactly what is wrong, we just don't want to admit it. We think if we ignore stuff it will go away. When we admit things, we need to deal with things, so let's rather ignore things! 

I was having a conversation the other day with a "friend", it seems we both tend to get angry sometimes at the thought of prayer. Not towards God or anything but just at prayer. On chatting about it, the reason we came up with was and on thinking about it a bit more, the reason we say, "I don't know",  is because we are ashamed to admit to our sins. Rather ignore than take responsibility and deal. I DON"T WANT TO GROW UP.

Sin being acted outside of the way we where created to live. Basically living selfishly. 

When we allow sin to grow in our lives and accept sin and justify it through saying stuff like "all have sinned" we allow it to consume us and to grow in us! 

I am not saying we will never sin and will be perfect! I am saying we need to grow up, get help, take responsibility for our actions, realize we are not as strong as we think we are and that we are created for community!!! 

JUST STOP IT!!!

Faithless Prayers

Phillip Yancey once wrote "If there is no room for doubt there is no room for faith"

I read verses like James 1: 7 saying I must not have doubts when I ask God things? obviously according to his will.

So the question then I suppose... is...

Do I need faith in my prayers if it is in line with what God wants for me?

My faith is in the person to whom the prayer is directed at! Not in my prayer at all...

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

My first thoughts of Fatherhood

So my baby boy is almost 6 months. I would love to sit here and type and tell you I have it all figured out. That things have always been smooth sailing. But that would be a lie and according to Homer Simpson "Lies make baby Jesus cry".

However, a couple of tips...

1. Make sure you communicate with your wife, don't assume she understands you or that she knows what you want or are thinking.

2. Make sure you prayer together as a family, as children grow it will be good for them to see that it is God who gives us strength to be parents and husband and wife.

3. Love every moment, take loads of pictures cause they grow so fast.

4. One of the hardest things is to identify your emotions and triggers and where they are coming from before lashing out... most likely lack of sleep

5. Suck it up, you are a Parent Now, you have a job to do, to love and to care and to nurture them to the best of your ability and then some and them some more and then some...

Lastly a short story, before Seth was born I read up on baby stuff, asked questions and found out as much info as I could. To sum it all up this is what I came home to in my head with our first baby boy.

"Your baby cannot regulate its own body temperature so you have to do it, if he is too hot its bad, if he is too cold its bad" Basically you need to stay awake with a temperature gauge!

So basically good luck!

Is God Boring

If a man goes to church in the woods and there is no one else there is it still boring?

I struggle with the concept (while my son struggles to sleep) that God is boring, Fair enough he can come across a little arrogant, but if u made everything then by definition of being God you would just be God. Not a little arrogant!

Back to my thought though, Chesterton once said something along the lines of 'I pity the man that thinks himself God, that god can not even fix his own life, let alone the world" I think it is that man that in the church is boring!

The challenge is to get off Gods throne and let God be God! Chesterton again said that "Christianity has not been tried and left wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried"

My fear for so many of us is that we are too apathetic in our relationship with God, that we just sit and wallow in our own pity and lives instead of living in Jesus "life and life to the fullest"

I cannot sit idly by as Jesus calls us to action in love, no matter how comfortable my bed is.

JUST STOP IT

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

I littered today

For my own justification purposes, I hate littering. When I see a person litter from their car I promptly blow my hooter. I often pick up other peoples litter. I feel if we cannot take responsible for this world then who will?

Today I drew money and was putting the money away when a gust of wind came and blew the slip out of my hand, I gave a little waddle after it in the attempts I would be able to catch it. Perhaps if it was a R20 I would have made it a sprint. As I watched it blow away I truly felt bad. I could have caught it though but I was lazy. I could go on and blame my child for not sleeping very much last night, or the brandering for the ceiling I am putting in after work. Or my wife for not making enough coffee this morning.

Challenge is don't let your convictions fall to the way side because you are lazy...

JUST STOP IT...