Busy day even after i left work. Niw finally get to sit n chill...thinking the chances of me falling asleep on sofa r quite high tonite #fb18 hours ago
Everything that happens in our life happens for a reason, good or bad, happy or sad, they are the events that make us who we are. Life can be difficult at times for all of us, however we must never give up and question why God lets us endure these things, because if our faith is strong, we will believe that God will see us through those testing times and out into a brighter future…a future which we know He has planned for us.
Was your Christmas centered around celebrating Christ‘s birth?
Were you able to spend Christmas with the people you love?
Was this the best Christmas you’ve ever had?
How many things about your Christmas Day would you have changed?
I don’t want to know how you scored each of these questions, I simply wanted to get you thinking about how you spent your Christmas: your thoughts and feelings, the people you were with, and your focus for the day.
For me some of my questions scored the highest points while others the lowest. So for me some things about my Christmas, such as the presents I received, were excellent, while some of the other things, such as the health and availability of some of my immediate family meant this Christmas wasn’t quite what we may have hoped for.
Having said that, I am thankful for the family I have, and the love and support we share with one another throughout the year.
I can also say with assurance that for me, Christ was most definitely part of my Christmas celebrations.
I hope you had a great Christmas with those you love and that you found time to celebrate the reason for the season…the birth of Jesus.
The following video, although it has a very simple message, it is also a very powerful message, one which I could never put into words any better than you can see in this movie…
He comes…
He will enter into the hearts of all those who seek Him with open hearts and minds
At this time of year we all seem to be even busier than we are throughout the rest of the year. So much so that I think it can often be very easy to get totally caught up in all the rushing about, buying presents, buying food, writing Christmas cards, putting up Christmas decorations etc.
Every year I feel the commercial side of Christmas gets pushed towards us earlier and earlier…soon the shops are going to be trying to buy our Christmas cards and decorations all year round! Christmas should be special, it should be a time of year not trivialized by advertising and present buying, but looked forward to by everyone, from the youngest to the oldest, simply because it is a the time we celebrate the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Don’t get me wrong I do not want us to stop giving and receiving presents at Christmas time, however I do believe it should be secondary to celebrating Christ‘s birth.
So this Christmas, don’t get all caught up in all Christmas festivities, and forget about Jesus. Make sure you put aside some time this Christmas to give thanks to God for sending Jesus to earth two thousand plus years ago!
No matter what age we are, we human beings all crave and need relationships in our life. If we have no relationships in our life our life is empty and we are miserable and alone. However when we have relationships in our life, although we may still feel lonely and stressed at time, we can often find life fun and rewarding.
I’m sure we all have relationships which have stood the test of time as well as others which are still in their infancy. The longer our relationships last the more likely that that very relationship has changed or developed during that time. i.e. From the moment we are born we have a relationship with our parents, starting with us depending completely on them for everything but as we grow older and progress into adulthood we become their equal and then as time passes our roles may well be reversed as our parents become more and more dependent on us for everything.
So how’s your relationship with God, has it stood the test of time?
If your relationship with God has not stood the test of time, I’d ask you to consider why that is the case – Why have you turned away from God? Do you feel God doesn’t want you anymore?
Whatever your thoughts, let me assure you, God’s love for us does stand the test of time, so please give your relationship with God another chance!
All I have in this world Is fire from above All I have in this world Is you And all the journeys I have walked I know you’ve walked them too All I want is to be faithful All I want is you
All I have is a love That set my world on fire Let it fall, let it burn in me And oh to be a friend of God is all that I desire All I want is to be faithful All I want is you
All I want is you All I want is you All I want is you Is you
All I have in this world Is fire from above All I have in this world Is you And all the journeys I have walked I know you’ve walked them too All I want is to be faithful All I want is you
All I want is you All I want is you Da…oh oh oh All I want is you Is you
Life can be tough at times, and our circumstances and situations can change on a daily basis. One minute we may be finding life is a bed of roses and things couldn’t be better, the next minute we may find our life has been turned upside down with everything that could go wrong, going wrong.
It’s how we deal with life when it takes a turn for the worst that makes us the people we are.
There is one thing we should do regardless of whether life is treating us well, or we’re struggling to cope with what’s been thrown our way, and that is to pray about it.
God calls us to bring our concerns to Him so that He can help us with them, but He also calls us to share our times of triumph and joy with Him too. In other words He wants us to not only talk to Him when we need His help, but to talk to Him and say thank you when He’s provided us with all we need. This is backed up by scripture in Jeremiah33:3 (The Message), where God tells Jeremiah:
Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.
Through prayer we can become close to God, and in doing so, He will become closer to us. So share your daily highs and lows with God each day, and He will be your closest friend.
Far above the highest heavens On a throne of crystal light Dwells the God of all creation Rays of wonder crown His might Human voices blend with the angels Giving praise to God alone heavens music rises upward To the Lamb upon the throne To the Lamb upon the throne
Blessing! Glory! Sing Hallelujah! Shout the saints of God alone Honor! Power! and Dominion! Praises gather at the throne Oh, they gather at the crystal throne Gather at the crystal throne
Lightning flashes and thunder echoes Diamond rainbows fill the sky Awesome beauty God’s provision Never seen by human eye Blazing colors show the glory Of the Master Artist’s plan Built by god for those who love Him Those who trust the great “I am” Those who trust the great “I am”
Blessing! Glory! Sing Hallelujah! Shout the saints of God alone Honor! Power! and Dominion! Praises gather at the throne Oh, they gather at the crystal throne Gather at the crystal throne
I love this song by Michael W Smith, who as you probably already know, is one of my favourite Christian artists. I’m not sure I can really add anything else to this posts other than to urge you to reread the words of the above song, as they remind us just how wonderful and amazing God is.
Don’t forget to thank God and give him honour and praise for all He does for you today and everyday.
As children at primary school we had to learn to recite the Lord’s Prayer…but did we understand the words we were learning?
As adults we recite the Lord’s Prayer on instruction at church…but do we actually believe the words we are reciting?
How many times in your life have you recited the Lord’s Prayer?
How many times when you were reciting it did you actually consider the words you were repeating, and believe them?
I suspect like me, you may find there are very few times when you’ve said the Lord’s Prayer, when you have actually said the words with sincerity and belief. Isn’t that sad. This is the prayer our Lord taught us, yet we treat is like a poem or words of a song that we just recite without thought or consideration.
Next time you say the Lord’s Prayer, please think about the words as you say them, and more importantly, believe and act on them!
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:
“Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.”
Calling heaven Seeking mercy Tell me there’s a place for these What of the children who have never felt a love Tender as the morning Nursing the bruises And the scars that never seem to go away
What of the babies who have never left the womb Breathing in the lifeline Angels in waiting Gone before they could be given wings to fly
Calling heaven Seeking mercy Tell me there’s a place for these What of the children who have never felt a love Tender as the morning Nursing the bruises And the scars that never seem to go away
What of the noble who are searching for the truth With truest of intentions And yet they’re jaded by Hypocrisies behind cathedral walls
What of the humble and the meek that knew despair And never got their moment But sacrificed a life of comfort So that others knew no pain
Calling heaven Seeking mercy Tell me there’s a place for these What of the children who have never felt a love Tender as the morning Nursing the bruises And the scars that never seem to go away
What of the ones who call you Lord But play the field with faithless indecision Forgive us father for we truly Do not know what we have done
Calling heaven Seeking mercy Tell me there’s a place for these What of the children who have never felt a love Tender as the morning Nursing the bruises And the scars that never seem to go away
There’s are many hurting people in our world today, but for me the ones I feel most for are those who suffer as a consequence of someone else’s actions, or simply as a result of unfortunate circumstance.
I’ve heard recently of two separate couples who have gone through the pain and grief of losing a child – one as a result of a miscarriage the other a cot death. Both terrible and painful events, but both simply unfortunate circumstances.
In addition the others that always touch me deeply are the children we hear about on the news or in the papers who have been abused/neglected by family or so called friends. How can they do this to a child? The child can’t protect themself, they rely on those around them to look after them and care for them.
Please pray for those who have suffered abuse or neglect as well as for those families who have had to go through the traumatic experience of the death of their child. They need our prayers and our support today and in the future, so please pray for them.
As children at 
