Tag: Christian

God’s Spirit

Isaiah 61; 1

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;

Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me. See the source image
Melt me, mould me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me

I remember this was one of the many prayer choruses I came to learn of by heart as a young adult and one that has spoke a lot to me in my Christian life . It’s a prayer chorus that kind of speaks for itself, a chorus of prayer and repentance.

Assension Sunday

Acts 1:6-11 New Living Translation

The Ascension of Jesus
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

See the source image

Ascension Day is one of the earliest Christian festivals dating back to the year 68. According to the New Testament in the Bible, Jesus Christ met several times with his disciples during the 40 days after his resurrection to instruct them on how to carry out his teachings. It is believed that on the 40th day he took them to the Mount of Olives, where they watched as he ascended to heaven.
Ascension Day marks the end of the Easter season and occurs ten days before Pentecost. Depending upon the phases of the Moon in a particular year, Ascension Day is celebrated on a Thursday. However, some churches, particularly in the United States, celebrate it on the following Sunday.
Many Eastern Orthodox churches calculate the date of Pascha (Easter) according to the Julian calendar, rather than the Gregorian calendar used by many western churches, so their Ascension Day usually occurs after the western observance.

Wisdom

Proverbs 1 V 1 – 7

Purpose and Theme
1The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behaviour,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,[a]
knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.[b]
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools[c] despise wisdom and instruction.

Whilst my grandmother on my mothers side was alive she was a very wise Christian woman and my brother and sister and myself along with many others felt that we could come to her with any problem and she would usually provide us with a wise answer or solution

The real reason we give presents at Christmas

Matthew 2:11 New International Version 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The Wise men’s act of worshipping Jesus reminds us of the significance of worship in our Christian journey. Worship is not limited to prayer & singing but emcompasses every aspect of our lives. As Christians, when we wholeheartedly worship & surrender to God, we acknowledge His lordship over our leadership and recognise that our success is ultimately dependant on him. Let us approch our Christian roles with a heart of worship, giving glory to the one who empowers and guides us.

Prayer

Gracious God, we come before thee in worship & surrender, acknowledging your lordship over leadership journey. As Christians, help us to model a lifestyle of worship & devotion to you. May every aspect be an act of worship, giving glory to your name. Amen

The Wise Men

Matthew 2:9-10New International Version

⁹After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

The joy of the wise men upon finding Jesus in Bethlehem reminds us of the joy we find in our purpose as Christians. Just as the wise men experienced great joy in encountering the Saviour, our Christian journey becomes more fulfilling when we discover and embrace our purpose. When we lead with purpose, our actions are drivenby a higher calling and our impact on those around us becomes more profound.

Prayer

Gracious God, we thank you for the Joy that comes from fulfilling our Christian purpose. As Christians help us to align our goals with your divine calling for our lives. Grant us the wisdom and insight to discover our leadership and embrace our Christian purpose. May our lives be a source of joy and inspiration to those around us, reflecting your love and grace. Amen

Epilepsy and Faith

Isaiah 53 V4-5

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

As a young Christian about the ages 11/12yrs I developed Epilepsy on the left side of my brain and have had it since (now 57) See the source image

I am a positive minded person so naturally I look at my condition with a positive mind but there are some who will/do look at their condition negatively.

I am on medication witch unfortunately doesn’t control the epilepsy completely as I still suffer what is called Complex & Simple partial seizures, most of the time these seizures don’t stop me doing my day to day things.

Where does my faith come in?

The fact that I’m a Christian with a positive mind helps a lot and speaking personally I have a wife, daughter, mother and many other family & Friends who care and look out for me.

A Perfect World

Romans 12:1-2 New International Version – UK (NIVUK)

A living sacrifice

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. See the source image

In this Christian version of the Ed Sheeran song ‘Perfect’ we hear how Christ died for us on the cross so that things can be perfect for us today if we accept him. the song also mentions how Jesus is there to support and guide us all the time

A medal on his chest

Christ walked to Calvary alone,

Each bone-jarring, bruise bumping yard,

Every pain-plodded inch.

And wicked faces carved from stone

Made even Jesus flinch

And search for company to cheer

The garden-hammered promise, sealed

With blood soaked, bleeding tears.

Though gutsy – God – still longed to hear

The gratitude of those he’d healed

A drug to numb his fears.

Is my blood pumping heart a fool

To keenly fill my veins, and beat

The body on it’s way?

Perhaps the glands that coward cool

And chicken sweat away spare heat

Should early close today.

The body needs each tiny cell

Each worn out ear, each limping limb,

Each thinning greying hair.

And when I find myself in hell

And I need Christ and you are him,

I hope that you’ll be there.

I’m not afraid. Though service scares

The Christian in the garden

Who cries just like his Christ;

Who, though he doubts, the threat still dares

His God-lost heart to harden.

Thus, all is sacrificed!

Call him gutless? No! let him wear

His need for Christian prayers and friends

A medal on his chest;

And pray we learn like God to care

For those whom Satan gladly sends

Gethsemane to test.

(AB)

Showing Hospitality

Hebrews 13 New International Version

Concluding Exhortations

13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ²Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. ³Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

⁴Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. ⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”^[a]

⁶So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?

Or as the King James Bible puts verse two

²Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares

Have you ever had a stranger come to your door and let him or her in and shown them hospitality to them.

In my case it’s quite often workmen for our local housing partnership. You never know You or I may have let ‘Angels in’ with some of these strangers

Having said that, nowadays we have to be careful who we let in to our homes

If they are workmen we should always make sure they carry an identity badge.

We must also put our trust in God in times like this.

Jesus – The Comforter

Matthew 11:28-30 New International Version (NIV)

²⁸“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

1.
THERE are people hurting
In the world out there.
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.
There are children crying and no one to care.
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.
And they’ll go on hurting
In the world out there,
And they’ll go on dying, drowning in despair,
And they’ll go on crying, that’s unless we care!
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.
Related image
2.
There are people living who would rather die.
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.
And their Christian neighbours
Simply pass them by!
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.
There are people sitting by a silent phone,
People cold and hungry, people left alone,
Suicides for reasons that remain unknown.
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.

3.
There’s the prostitute,
And there’s the pris’ner too.
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.
There’s the skid row fella who won’t look at you.
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.
The compulsive gambler dreaming of his yacht,
And the lad that’s stealing just to get his ‘shot’,
And the girl that’s pregnant
And pretends she’s not.
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.

4.
There are runaways who want a place to go.
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.
There are alcoholics who don’t seem to know.
They need you, they need me, they need Christ.
There are godless people
Who have lost their way,
And they need God’s love
But they’re afraid to say.
If we close our eyes perhaps they’ll go away
Without you, without me, without Christ.