I sometimes wonder

Am I the same as you, or he,

Or she?

Does it take much to make us the same? Or

Otherwise?

I mean, I sometimes wonder

I mean to say

If we have the same thoughts, you and I

He

And she.

Because if we don’t then which of us is the madman?

Or woman-

Times have changed.

For women both now exist and may be mad,

When before it was enough only to beg for their innocence.

Are women ever innocent?

But I digress… I mean I sometimes wonder

If you have the same thoughts as me.

Or he

Or she.

Because if not then maybe,

Just maybe,

I’m not right,

Or YOU are wrong.

But let’s get along.

I a woman and you

A man.

Or she.

Let me tell you something first, and then you answer.

YOU.

Do you have the same thoughts as me

Or he

Or she?

I wonder.

I am tired

I sleep

I dream

But then I wake.

I am tired, I

Say. I am

Tired. It never goes

Away. This

Drawing out, this

Stretching like a gasp of wind

Over my life. Like a

Blanket,

Covering, smothering

My very energy. My energy.

I struggle, I

Strive

Just to be alive.

I’m tired you see.

Don’t you see?

Tired, stretched,

Peeled.

Like am Orange, like a potato,

Into an awareness of sleep shrouding me, yawning without the satisfaction, just the act.

I sleep, yes,

But I’m tired

Still.

Glory and success in this life

1 Thessalonians 4v11-12 says: ‘…and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.’ (King James version).

Now, does that sound like we are to strive for glory and success in this life? Paul here is instructing us to mind our own business, and lead an honest, quiet life, working with our own hands. That is not to say that we are not to work for a promotion, or have a successful career- but that Paul’s focus is not on success and the glory that comes with it, in this life.

Many people think that that’s what life is about. Being successful. But Paul does not prescribe this to be the goal to aim for. If he did, he would have used the opposite of the words he actually used. For, leading a quiet life, keeping to oneself, does not sound like the picture of fame and glory that many people aspire to. Sure, if this life was all there was, success in the world wouldn’t seem like such a bad goal. But the thing is, this life is just a pathway, a journey to an eternal life, with or without God.

And so, by being humble in this life are we great. Because that matters to God, that we lead a quiet life, a life of honest working for our bread, not the desire to promote ourselves, and achieve worldly glory. For that is not true success. It is nothing but vanity.

We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and strength, and love our neighbour as ourselves. We are also to be continually sanctified, for ‘this is the will of God, even your sanctification…’ (1 Thessalonians 4v3, King James version).

Maybe then, by living our lives in accordance to God’s will, will we know what true success is in this life.

Blocks of life

Blocks of life

Driving past

Blocks of life.

Houses.

They contain the lives of people I cannot

Name.

All the same, we drive past.

A town is made up of

These streets made up of

These blocks of life.

A house is a block

A life is a life.

Blocks everywhere but

Where are the people

Living

Breathing

Living in their blocks?

What are the odds

That I would know

One of these lives I

So devour

As I drive past

In this town?

You are worth much more than the birds…

Luke 12v24 reads: ‘Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?’ (King James Version)

So, you are worth more than the fowls, ay? But do you really know this, realise it? Do you really realise how precious you are to God? I was just reading this verse when a voice in my head said, ‘Stop! Think about what this means!’ I believe this may have been God challenging me to stop reading on and actually check I knew what this verse meant. That I knew that these birds that God cares and provides for so diligently, that don’t need to worry about how they’re going to survive- yeah I’m worth more than them to God! So why am I worrying about the little things in my life, about my future, about my well-being?

It says earlier in the chapter (v6-7): ‘Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.’ (KJV)

Jesus is again here using birds, a common creature of earth, to explain our worth. He starts by saying how of worth they are, by explaining that not one of them is forgotten by God, despite being humanly worth so little. He then says, well if God so values these creatures that are worth so little to you, how much more precious are you to Him?

The main point I want to make is this: if God so looks after the birds, and not one of them is forgotten, how much more will he look after us and remember us, oh we of little faith?

So have faith, be encouraged! And meditate on this truth- that you are worth more, so much more than the birds!

St…struggling

I’m

Struggling.

To live.

To

Be.

How does everyone

Else

Do it? I ask myself.

I’m st…struggling just to

Be.

In a life where to be is to live and

To live is to be. Where am I

In this life,

Then?

St…struggling.

I am in life what I am

And if that is not enough well

Then I’ll carry on but I won’t be able to stop

Struggling,

Bumbling

Around in this life. I

Am what I am.

Struggling to get a foot down

On the cool hard ground. One

Toe in front of the other.

Or was it foot?

I am what I am.

Exercise: a poem

Why do I do this

to myself?

Why do I

push

push, push

myself?

Am I a robot, that can

do any action it pleases,

if only the right instructions are put into me?

Can I really cycle that much,

run that far?

Is it in me?

The thought says it isn’t

The breath says it isn’t

The heart and the push

push, push says it is.

I can do this.

Yes, I’ll set my heart on it.

I can do it,

if only I push myself.

I can take it,

I take it in with every breath I

take.

If I just push past this pain, this

point of endurance,

I can do it.

Oh, why do I do this

to myself?

Why do I push, push, push myself?

Am I a robot that can

do any action it pleases,

if only the right instructions are put into me?

 

It’s not how you speak, it’s the power behind it

1 Corinthians 2v3-5 reads: ‘And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.’ (King James version).

I have a desire which burns within me. That desire is to teach, and talk in front of people about the word of God. Writing these blog posts is an outlet for me to teach (hopefully accurately and effectively) the word of God to whomever will read them. It’s just a dream I have had recently, ever since I gave my testimony at my baptism last year, that I would be able to speak and teach the word of God to people.

Now, I understand that some people’s view, and perhaps mine (I’ve not come to a solid conclusion), is that women shouldn’t teach men. Paul said this was because Adam was formed before Eve, and it was Eve who was deceived, not Adam. (1 Timothy 2v12-14, King James version). I believe that women should perhaps not teach men, because of these verses. For, because it says that Adam was formed before Eve, and that it was Eve who was deceived, and that these are the reasons for women to not teach men, not some cultural, time-bound reason, I believe Paul’s teaching is applicable for today. For Adam will always have been formed before Eve, and it will always be that Eve was the one who was deceived, no matter how modern the era we are in.

But I do believe that women can at least teach other women, and children. There is no usurpation of authority in these cases, I believe. So, perhaps then, as a woman, I should aim to teach just women. But the point of this blog post, whether you are a man or a woman who has the desire to teach or preach burning in them, is how on earth you will be able to do it.

What the verses from 1 Corinthians 2 seem to be implying is that it doesn’t matter how confident, how eloquent and charismatic a speaker you are, no matter how knowledgeable about the Bible, your teaching will not be effective if it does not have the Holy Spirit as a driving force behind it. It will be in the wisdom of man, not in the power of God. For, Paul said, ‘my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power’. So, you don’t have to be the best speaker in order to be effective in giving the word of God. You simply need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to be behind you, for it is by God’s power, His grace that people hear His words and accept them. It is He who draws men to Him, not us mere speakers.

And in this thought, I have hope. As long as I am guided by God, that it is His will for me to teach or preach, I know I will have the power of the Holy Spirit behind my words. For, as Paul said himself: ‘And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not will excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.’ (1 Corinthians 2v1+2, King James version). Paul said himself that he didn’t come to the Corinthians with great speech or wisdom. All he had was the power of the Gospel, and of the Holy Spirit enlightening the eyes of the people through his ‘foolish preaching’.

To close, it says in 1 Corinthians 1v21b that ‘it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.’ (King James version). Therefore, I, too, by the grace of God, hope to follow Paul’s footsteps in becoming a foolish preacher for Jesus Christ.

 

Present your body as a living sacrifice…

Romans 12v1 says: ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.’ (King James version)

So, how are we to present our bodies as a holy, acceptable living sacrifice to God? I’m just going to talk about one way we can present our bodies, and by that I mean our physical bodies, as a living sacrifice to God. The way I am going to talk about here is to do with the health and fitness of your body. So, okay, two ways, but in many ways they overlap. By keeping your physical body fit and healthy, I believe this honours God. For, remember, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6v19), and we are to make our bodies beautiful temples, not just in spiritual, sinless, terms, but I believe in physical terms, too. By getting our bodies as fit and healthy as we can, I believe it is like the equivalent of cleaning a physical temple, making it pleasant and hospitable.

Of course, for your body to be a hospitable place for the Holy Spirit, you simply have to have your spiritual state changed and become born-again. Then the Holy Spirit will come and live within you, no matter how healthy or fit you are. But I believe that by physically taking care of this temple glorifies God, and it shows you are taking care of the house God is living in. You are exerting yourself more fully as a human being, and in doing so, you are living more fully for God.

By simply taking care of your of your mortal, dust-built body that God has gifted you with, therefore, is important. For, your body is a foreshadow of the resurrection body you will receive for your next life, and I believe that by looking after its physicality honours the God who made it.

So, what advice do I have to start living a healthier, fitter life? Well, what I am advising is that you start small. Very small, manageable bites of exercise and helpings of healthy food. Do not try to add too much into the mix at once, if you are not used to a healthy lifestyle, as I am not. By only having small targets, and then building on them bit by bit, you are keeping things manageable, and keeping your motivation up. You are less likely to fail, and therefore your confidence and self-esteem will go up, which I believe will also honour God. I believe God is honoured when you as a human being exert yourself to a fuller life.

As an example, in my own life, for a week or so I dedicated myself to doing just 5 minutes of my exercise bike per day. Very small, very manageable for me. I then added doing some weights into the mix, to lift just every few days or so. Add manageable bites to the mix when you have made your first a habit. Now I am dedicating 10 minutes to riding my exercise bike a day, rather than 5 minutes. After I have made this a habit, I will add eating a banana every day into the mix, then perhaps a carrot. Add things only once you have created habits of old decisions.

So, this is my advice for living a fitter, healthier life for God. For presenting your body as a living sacrifice to Him. Start with small, manageable targets- 5 minute exercises a day, one good food a day, etc. etc. Then build on them once you have made them into habits- when they are second nature- over a period of days. I hope this has been a practical help for any Christian who desires to know a way to present their bodies as living sacrifices to the wonderful God we serve. Remember, start small!

 

God is great, even if we do not feel He is

God is great. That is a statement. It is an unchanging statement, never to alter its meaning. But why do we have a problem with believing this, sometimes? Does anger prevent us believing this? Perhaps we have suffered or have waited for something for a long time, and so we have come to believe that God is less than He is. He is not great, He is fine, okay, passable. He can do some things but overall He is not great. He cannot do everything.

But, as Job declares once he meets God after a time of woes: ‘I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.’ (Job 42v2, King James version). God can do anything and everything He wants. God is great. He is great and we are not. Therefore, it is His will that is perfect, not ours. Yet, our frustrations with this perfect timing, or perfect will of God can lead us to feel He is not as great as He is. The frustration and perhaps even heartache leads us to the emotional reaction of refusing to lift God up in worship, and of believing it is He that is not great, and not our perspective that is wrong and skewed.

So, what is the remedy? One that the Bible prescribes is to meditate on the greatness of God in His acts throughout the Bible. In psalm 77, the psalmist begins by writing of his struggles, that he is in a ‘day of trouble’. He starts to doubt God and Who He is, in verses 7-9. They read: ‘Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.’

So, what is the remedy to doubting God’s greatness, that the psalmist prescribes? Verses 11 and 12 tell us: ‘I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.’ And, this is what we must do, when we lose sight of God’s greatness because of our circumstances, or how we are feeling. We must read about God’s greatness in His works and dealings with His people in the Bible and meditate on them. Remind yourself how great He is. Then, talk about it, about why God is great. By talking about it, you are declaring the truth, not just how you feel. You are refusing to allow your skewed feelings on God to be what you actively believe.

The psalmist then goes to say in verse 13b: ‘…who is so great a God as our God?’ He then describes God as ‘the God that doest wonders’ (verse 14a), and goes on to list some of the wonders that God has done. Perhaps this will help you. Simply list the wonders that God has done in the Bible. From the huge things of God speaking the world into existence, to the ‘humbler’ things of God, such as when ‘Jesus wept’ (John 11v35), God’s greatness is shown throughout the entire Bible. His great compassion, His mercy, His faithfulness. His creativity, His great love, His Fatherly tenderness. His holiness.

Remember that, just because you don’t feel God is great, it doesn’t mean He isn’t. He is always great, no matter what. Remember that God is great… all the time!

 

(All Bible quotes taken from the King James version).