A PLACE WITH NO MIRRORS
"The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame." (Genesis 2v25 - the message version)
The verse above is not intended to be a rude scene, it's meant to be a beautiful picture of what God intended the world to be like. Can you imagine it - a world with no shame. A world were nobody judged you by what you were wearing what, what you looked like, where you were from, how you spoke, what your hair was like, what make-up you had on, whether you had an ipod, whether you were good at football, what music you listened to, whether you were a reader or not, whether you like books. There was no judgement about style, looks, what hobbies you had or didn't have. There was no shame.
(God's not against fashion, he loves creativity, look at how he has clothed the flowers, the birds, the fish the animals, have we ever bettered them. No. But God is against judging people by fashion.)
It was a world where you could be completely open and honest about everything even your most intimate thoughts, worries and feelings and nobody would judge you. There was no shame.
It was a world with no wrong-doing, no lies, no judgements, no hate, no jealousy, no hurtful words, there was no reason for shame.
A world were every morning you never looked in the mirrior, because it never mattered what you looked like, people loved you. There was no shame.
Do you long for a world were you never ever worry about what people think of you?
God promises us a place like this, it's a place where there will be no shame. There will be no shame because there will be no sin. Everything will be made new because of Jesus. It will be just like the world mentioned above. All because Jesus has taken away our shame, all shame, gone forever. "He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross" (Hebrews 12v2 NLT version). So taking away our shame, by taking it on himself, he has destroyed it. But we can only know the end of our shame if we are trusting in him by walking his way.
In everything and everyone God's beauty will be displayed without any defect. God will not take away who you are, your personality and looks, but will perfect you, how you were always meant to be. You will be perfectly reflecting God.
It will be a place with no need for mirrors.
YOU ARE NEVER ALONE (09/11/09)
In 1959 a well known tobacco company launched a new brand of cigarette and their slogan was ‘“you’re never alone with a Strand.”
This was the name of the new cigarette they had produced. As slogans go it wasn’t bad but the television and cinema commercial was pretty boring,
just a Frank Sinatra lookalike in an empty street in the pouring rain lighting up a cigarette!! Where’s the comfort in that! You might well ask,
his companion was a rolled up bit of tobacco in a cigarette paper, which once it had been smoked, any comfort he had received from it was gone forever,
or at least until the next cigarette ‘fix’.
Christians, however, can say with confidence that we are never alone and know it to be true.
In Deuteronomy 31 v 6 Moses tells the Israelites that “God will never leave you or forsake you” and again in v 8 Moses tells
Joshua “The Lord will never leave you nor forsake you.” When Moses died, Joshua took over as ruler of the nation;
and the Lord gave him the same promise in Joshua 1 v 5 “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And in Hebrews 13 v 5,
the writer reminds his readers that God has said “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper I will not be afraid.”
Jesus’ final words to his disciples in Matthew 28 v 20 were “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
So you see the Christian is never alone. No matter whether you are going through, good times or bad,
or if you have worries or fears, your Savior is with you. Give Him control of your life and allow Him to accomplish His
purposes in and through you and you will know the reality of ‘never being alone’.
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Creation & Conscience (12/10/09)
The two Cs. That’s the reason for knowing you were made by God Almighty ladies and gentlemen. Crafted carefully in your mother’s womb. Intricately designed. Fearfully and wonderfully made, the bible says. 2 Cs. But what two? Creation and Conscience. As simple as that. Creation and Conscience.
Listen to something else from the bible...
“For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
Romans 1:20
This verse means “we know that God exists”. He has been clearly seen. When we look at the stars above and wonder to ourselves “Is this it?”. When we marvel at the mountains or the power of the oceans or the deadly beauty of the Antarctic. When we are staggered at the genius of a spider’s web, the wing beat of a humming-bird, or the weirdness of a chameleon, we are saying “It’s obvious that it was made.” Creation proves God.
Creation. But also there is conscience. We know the difference between right and wrong. That’s God’s voice-box inside us saying 24/7 “You must do right”. We know what is good and what is bad, what is fair and what is unfair, what is right and what is wrong. We are moral beings created by a moral God. The alternative is evolution, where you were an accident of genetic mutation and no-one ultimately tells you what to do.
But beware! That same Creator God will judge the world – some to eternal life and others to everlasting destruction. You won’t be able to plead that you didn’t know. The verse above says “Men are without excuse”. Have you got to change your view? Have you got to get to know this Creator? How long have you got? Have long have any of us got?
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My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness
(2 Corinthians 12:9) (28/09/09)
My wife and I have got the camping bug. We love it and have donated a few weekends to the life in the open air. We had one free weekend and decided to take to the road and to pitch our tent. When we got there I saw one big problem. There was a really strong wind. The trees were blowing around and various items, such as dustbins were almost taking flight. Not the sort of weather to put a tent up.
I prayed. I asked God to take away that wind.
You know what. That wind got worse. How we put that tent up will remain a wonder to us both but amidst much frustration, and the prospect of having to sleep in the car, we managed.
I remember sitting outside my tent the next morning, with the sun shining and the smell of bacon cooking. There was no wind – not even a breeze and I found myself saying – Lord, why? Why was it not like this last night?
It was then that it came to me
“My power is made perfect in weakness”
So often we pray to make our lives easier. We put God in a box forgetting that He is an awesome God who can even move the mountains.
He is the same God that parted the Red Sea when Moses led his people out of Egypt
There is nothing my God cannot do.
His power is so immense that putting up a tent in a strong wind is nothing.
And the best thing is that His power is made perfect in our weakness.
It reminds of what a close friend once told me.
“Don’t pray for an easier life, pray to be a stronger person
We can be stronger – for in our weakness, God’s power is seen
Are you under estimating the power of God in your life?
Are you asking Him to empower you in your weaknesses?
God knows... (21/09/09)
I'm reading: 'If you want to walk on water you've got to get out of the boat' at the moment.
Something in there really lifted me and made me think Wow! I won't put the whole section down but this bit on its own is cool.
In summary;
God is very wise. He knew exactly what He was doing when He created me. He is well pleased that I exist.
He has entrusted to me everything I need to fulfil the purpose for which I was created.
How cool is that?
When things are difficult (03/09/09)
Some years ago I was on a ferry crossing to Guernsey, I’m not the best of travellers and boats are definitely
not my favourite form of transport! As we boarded a voice came over the tannoy to tell us to expect some turbulence during the crossing!
My day just got better!! I opted to stay on deck and, as promised, about an hour into our journey the boat began to rock precariously.
People who had previously been laughing and eating and drinking started to look decidedly green!
The only steady thing on a rocking boat and stormy sea is the horizon and someone had once told me that if you fix
your eyes on the horizon you can actually prevent motion sickness. It was worth a try and so I determinedly set my gaze
on the horizon and ignored all that was going on around me. Amazingly it worked! People all around me were reaching for
brown paper bags, or hanging over the side of the boat,
but I kept my eyes firmly set on the horizon and managed the whole journey without even feeling sick!
That reminded me of the story in Matthew chapter 14 where Jesus is walking on the water towards the boat the disciples are in.
The boat was in the middle of the lake and a storm had blown up, when the disciples saw Jesus walking towards them on the
top of the waves they were terrified! But Peter said ‘Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water’
and he got out of the boat and started to walk on the water towards Jesus.
The passage goes on to say ‘but when he (Peter) saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink,
cried out to the Lord, save me!’ Peter took his eyes off the Lord and saw the storm around him and so was more aware of
his circumstances than the person he was walking towards.
Sometimes life rocks us about a bit too and we can become afraid and feel out of control, but if we
‘fix our eyes on Jesus’ although the storm we find ourselves in is no less real,
by fixing our eyes on Jesus we are more able to cope with the circumstances because we know that God is there to get us through.
JUSTICE... (27/08/2009)
The 20th century was probably the most violent century ever in the history of humankind so far;
it saw not one but two world wars and genocide atrocities which beggar belief. Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung
were all supremely evil men who gained such power that millions of people died as a result of their activities;
neither men, women nor children were spared. One such political movement, which in its way was as bad as the baddest,
was the Khmer Rouge, which came to power in Cambodia in the 1970s. The Khmer Rouge was an extreme Maoist/terrorist
regime which murdered nearly 2 million people. Only now are the perpetrators of this monstrous crime being brought to justice.
Its leader was the infamous Pol Pot, who died in his sleep some years ago.
But another man, Keng Kech Iew, is currently on trial for his war crimes. Known then as “Comrade Duch” (pronounce “Doik”),
he was the governor of the notorious Teol Sleng prison complex. This man led as depraved a life as it is possible to lead;
the treatment of his prisoners was so very barbaric, and so very cruel and so very unspeakable that it is inappropriate to give details here.
But Comrade Duch is different to all the others; he has given himself up, confessed his crimes.
He has admitted the enormity of the evil he has committed and has confirmed that he is prepared to give evidence against his former colleagues,
even though the lives of his family are under threat and even though he faces the death penalty. Why him and no-one else?
It’s because he has become a Christian. The man who led him to Christ, the Reverend Christopher La Pel,
says this: “he changed totally after receiving Christ – 180 degrees. He turned hatred to love.
He said he had never felt love in his childhood or when he was growing up. So when he turned to Christ, love filled his heart.”
Will Comrade Duch receive the due punishment for his crimes whilst Pol Pot gets away with it?
In a way, yes, but Christians say that the story doesn’t stop there. Christians believe that a day is coming when he –
and everyone else for that matter – will be called upon by God Himself to give an account of their lives.
God will find Pol Pot guilty and he will receive the proper punishment for his evil crimes.
But for Comrade Duch the outcome will be different,
for in his case (as it is the case of all Christians) he will be able to say that the punishment which should have been his has already been taken by
Jesus Christ in his place and that he won’t have to bear it himself.
This is the way in which God works;
in Christ He can forgive but outside Christ He can’t.
Comrade Duch knows that justice will be served here
on Earth and is prepared to accept what is coming to him; for to him “to live is Christ and to die is gain”.
But he also knows that justice will be served in eternity as well. What a bleak place the world would be if
the evil of Pol Pot or Hitler or the rest of them went unpunished. But what a blessing it is to know that God is a God of love because he is also a God of justice.
The King of Pop is dead. (20/08/2009)
What a peculiar range of reactions it has bought from the general public.
There are those mourning his death as if he were some kind of special angel, sent to earth to do good to us all.
Fans are turning up at the O2 night after night to sing Billie Jean and remember the good times.
"What a wonderful person he was", they'll tell you. There are those rushing to immortalise him for the 750 million album sales,
cementing his place in music history. Some want to lift him into the highest hall of fame alonside Lennon, Marley and Cobain.
But there are those angry at those accusations of child abuse that still linger. Michael Jackon - friend or foe? Guilty or innocent? What's your opinion?
Actually what you think doeasn't matter in the long run. It's what the King of Kings sees in the heart of the King of Pop that counts. Now Jackson is in the presence of the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth. His Creator.
If he did not make Jesus Christ his Lord and Saviour, if he did not have the wrong things in his life forgiven at the cross,
then he takes them into a lost eternity. He is pronounced guilty. And there is no going back.
And you? Have you been forgiven?
Have you asked Jesus to save you?
Time is short.
Michael Jackson is a reminder to us that life is fleeting and death is sure.
"For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
Psalm 119:30 "I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws." (11/08/2009)
God calls us to led a life
It is a life that He intends for us
It is a life that He plans for us
To not choose His way is to slip further away from the life He calls for us.
We need to choose the “way of truth” by intentionally placing Him in the centre of our life.
We need to make Jesus top priority in the way we lead our life and in the decisions we make
It is no good putting our decision off either, for lack of decisions is a decision not to follow Him.
Choose life, choose “the truth”, and choose Jesus.
Set your heart so that it is following His laws
Make the “way of truth” your daily decision
look at the stars... (25/7/2009)
The sun in our solar system has a volume 1,300,000 times greater than the earth. Light takes just 8 minutes to reach the earth from the sun. However, there is a star in our galaxy nicknamed “Beetlejuice” and it forms part of the Orion constellation. Its diameter is a thousand times wider than our own sun and it is 640 light years away.
When American preacher Louie Giglio first heard about this star he said something along these lines: “when I heard about how big this sun was it blew me away. In fact, it pretty much ruined my prayer life for about 2 months. I didn’t know how to pray anymore.
You see, up until that point, I have been giving God some “helpful” ideas on how he might intervene in certain circumstances, I had been giving him some pointers to assist in his great plan, I had been giving him the benefit of my enormous intellect and foresight…
….but when I started to see the magnitude of what he has done, it occurred to me that whilst I might not understand it – he probably has a pretty good idea of what he is doing!”
Makes you think doesn’t it.
Colouring in... (14/7/2009)
I was looking at the drawings (an artist) has done for Summer Kids Klub. He explained how he does pencil outlines of the scene he is drawing and then fills in the colours afterwards. I have a print of a drawing of St Pauls Cathedral.
Someone joked "When are you going to colour it in"?
It made me and my wife think that our experiences and relationship with God are like filling in the colours of the outline of our lives. As colours are added so a picture is revealed and made whole. We need to allow God-the artist- to colour us and make us whole.
Promises, Promises... (6/7/2009)
I don’t know about you but I like looking at the promises in the Bible.
How about this one “Ask, and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you”
"While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live."
Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.
She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."
Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.
When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, he said,
"Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside,
he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region.
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they replied.
Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this."
Matthew 9:18-30 (NIV)
The ruler of the Synagogue came asking (Mark 5; 23 say’s Pleading earnestly) his daughter was dead and only Jesus could make her alive again.
His plea was specific, it came from a concerned heart; and it was uttered in faith.
He asked; he received.
The sick woman in the crowd came seeking. Weak and discouraged after many years of seeking a cure, she picked her way through the crowd to reach Jesus.
She bent low at His feet to touch the hem of His garment. She was healed instantly.
She sought and she found.
The two blind men knocked at the door, and the door was opened for them. Suppose they had stopped outside the door?
Suppose they had not knocked long enough?
They knocked, the door was opened, and they received their sight.
This simple ‘prayer promise’ has worked for others, and it can work for you! So never be afraid to ask, seek or knock. |
