Foundational truths of my life with God

The list of Foundation Truths below are taken from “God is Closer Than You Think” by John Ortberg, page 28.

Foundational Truths of My Life with God

1.      God is always present and active in my life, whether or not I see him.

2.      Coming to recognise and experience God’s presence is learned behaviour; I can cultivate it.

3.      My task is to meet God in this moment.

4.      I am always tempted to live “outside” this moment. When I do that I lose my sense of God’s presence.

5.      Sometimes God seems far away for reasons I do not understand. Those moments, too, are opportunities to learn.

6.      Whenever I fail, I can always start again right away.

7.      No one knows the full extent to which a human being can experience God’s presence.

8.      My desire for God ebbs and flows, but his desire for me is constant.

9.      Every thought carries a “spiritual charge” that moves me a little closer to or a little farther from God.

10.  Every aspect of my life – work, relationships, hobbies, errands – is of immense and genuine interest to God.

11.  My path to experiencing God’s presence will not look quite like anyone else’s.

12.  Straining and trying too hard do not help.

Review these truths once a day for two weeks as you cultivate the practice of God’s presence.

A letter to be written

P led us this morning with some thoughts.  What stood out to me was his remark about the passage that says we need bring every thought captive.  He then said every thought will either take you closer to God or away from him.  Now there is a thought.

I have a thought.  I am going to write a long letter like an essay to M.  It seems to me she is far away from God and I want her to take the contents of it seriously.  A lot of it will be about suffering as Job did, but some of it will be about how a certain man decieved her. He was not what she hoped but I could see the truth in that she said about him.

She needs to look in a mirror and be honest about what she sees and return to the lord.

I will be encouraging her to think fo the race of life and how she will be on that final day when she crosses the finishing line.

I was looking at her web site, and there was her address. I wondered why in his providence God had given me that information so late in the day.  Perhaps it is for this moment. I do not know.  I do know however that God expects me to be Godly and do my best, so I am going to do it in the letter.

church 2

It was at church that I was taught and learned how to do it myself.  I also met people whom I loved and who loved me in return, who prayed for me and supported me.  I was so blessed and although many of them have now gone to be with the lord.  Who knows how they may still be praying for me? Or what they prayed for me while they were still on earth that is still being answered in me?

I am still blessed today with the churches  I am part of, and I trust that I am a blessing to them to.

Church is vital

In view of what I have just said, I think it goes to prove how vital church is.  In the UK we are still blessed, unlike some other countries where there is little or no church and believers are isolated.  I think M does have the concerns of the world working seven days a week, and  that leaves no time for church.  One needs church for teaching.  It is there that the word of God in a Good church, ( Note I said good church, not just any church) is faithfully expounded every week to increase the understanding of he who preaches it and those who listen.

Church is needed for fellowship for it is from other believers that we learn, and encourage.

Finally church has corporate prayer.  It was in church that I learned the discipline of prayer that has led me to the person I am and the position that I am in now.

I do not think that M has consistently enjoyed the blessing of these things.

ABC

As I expected, M said no.  However, I have to say that in view of the content of what she had to say, I am sad to say that it reminds me of the parable of the sower, a parable that I confronted her with a couple of years ago, and she did not react well.  There are those who hear the news of the gospel and joyfully accept it and they appear to make great progress.  However when the cares of the world come in, they lapse and the cares take over. 

As M is working seven days a week, I cannot see that she could be having adequate fellowship with other believers.  She also said our lives are going in different directions and we do not agree on things.  this is true, but the reason we do not agree is that I give priority to understanding scripture in context and try to avoid twisting it to suit my own ends.  I understand why she does it as I am just as guilty of doing that when I was considerably younger than she is now.  It is due at least in part to this that our lives are going in different directions.

We are warned that it is he who endures to the end who shall be saved.  I hope she returns to the faith and becomes more focused and that the wisdom I have tried to impart to her will take root some day.  For the present the field is fallow.  Will it remain so until the day of judgement? I hope not.

I therefore cast my net again, and have already done so.  I have a plan B underway and a C and a D.

All my thougthts on a Monday morning.

I went to see G in Hospital yesterday.  His daughter, her husband and their daughter were present.

I see that there is a message in fusion for me.  I will read it tonight. I am pretty sure this is crunch time.  It was my final attempt at communication.  I have no idea what it says, but broadly speaking it has to say, Yes, no or lets discuss. If it is the final one, I need wisdom.  I just have a feeling that it would not be an outright yes, it is much more likely to be one of the the other two.

My bloodshop eye is healing well, so soon I need to start looking at preventative treatments.

We have visitors today from the Haiti hospital project.  This all started for them when their son saw a post it on a wall with a message with an email address for hosting a haiti pastor.  They now know that post it was only on the wall for 10 minutes when the pastor changed his mind and took it down but in Gods providence it was seen and copied in those 10 minutes.

If I got one thing from the message, it was dream dreams and be willing to follow with action.

I am not so sure about their theology. They told their son that he had to be sure that it was Gods Idea and not his, but I cannot think of any scripture to support such an approach.  One could get concerned about whether their ideas are from God or not when one should just get on with it.  I also ask myself, why would God create creatures who are capable of thinking of ideas for themselves if they are not intended to go ahead with the idea?  I think it more likely that we are created to think for ourselves and take responsibility for our ideas and actions and trust the lord in providence to aid us in bringing them to fruition if we are truely doing whatever we are doing for his Glory and that is the key point. We need to be doing things for his glory.

Having said that, I admire and respect our guests.

A Grand day out

I went to the Railway station museum today.  there were classic cars there. I took several photos.  K and P were there.  I also saw the Davises arrive.  I went on the ride up the extended part of the line. They had a classic deisel engine, the sort that used to pull frieght and what looked like a small guards van doing the journey.  They also had a minature railway.

It was a bit of fun.

I plan to visit Gordon in Hospital tomorrow afternoon

Wisdom M and P

I put a case, to M yesterday, via her web site.  This is definetely my final attempt, I can do no more.  I established that she had not seen my messages on Fusion, her email address has changed and I discovered that my old mobile phone does not indicate when text messages have arrived.  I know this because I deliberately sent a test text to my neice at her old number and nothing happened, so it is possible that if M has changed her number that she did not see the text messages I sent two weeks ago.  It that is the case, it explains why I got no answer.  I had no intention of extending the deadline two weeks ago, but here I am. I have been praying for wisdom and I believe that if one prays for wisdom, one should believe that one has recieved it even if one does not feel that somehow God has zapped them with divine knowledge.

I got a text message and phone call from P.  It would be so easy just to capitalise on that, but as I say, I prayed for wisdom and I think it wise to wait for my deadline of Monday evening and in the meantime do nothing but pray.

lifes Journey

Paul M spoke to us today.  He spoke of a hike he was on and likened it to life.  Sometimes you can see far ahead and sometimes we are just in the moment.  Sometimes we come to an open space where we can look back and see how far we have come and things that did not make sense at the time make sense.  I can understand that as I look back over my life.  He then said that he and his wife who had been ill have an opportunity to go back to a certain field.  It is like a door that has been opened and there are shadows behind it and God is not going to reveal those shadows until they step through that door in faith.  I intend to step through a door in faith.

He qouted the verse that says we should commit our ways to the lord and he will make our paths straight

Following Jesus did not just mean following him. I meant becoming like him.

upgrade

Started putting data into the new phone last night.  It is a big upgrade for me, and NO, it has nothing to do with Cybermen

Genesis 24

I looked at the message that came in last night, but it was not what I expected.   It was not from M, it was from a woman I know nothing about in Nigeria.

I also know that the message I sent to M has not been read.  Having prayed for wisdom, I have decided to wait a little longer.  I was reading something yesterday on Genesis 24 in which the author states that the task the servant was given was difficult but God must have been organising events, doing things behind the scenes.  Perhaps that is what he is doing now.

messeges

I know a message has come in, so tonight, I will do a walk for a bit of excercise and then look at the message and take things from there.  I will also be sending out some other messages because I upgraded my phone and will have a new number, so I need to copy data over and then let people know what my new number is.  I also need in the near future to get familiar with Wi Fi, not just for the phone, but for the tablet.

Gideon

I spoke to the new recruits as the GIG conference this morning.  I spoke on Judges chapter 6 which is the call of Gideon. I dwelt upon his fear.  I also related some of my own fearful experiences, and told them that there will be challenges ahead. However, God will be as faithful to them as he was to Gideon. I also said that testing the Lord as Gideon did was something the lord allowed out of compassion. It is not normal. The normal way is if God commands us to do something then we should do it.

Gideon lived up to his name. a mighty warrier and a feller of trees.  Throwning down the alter of Baal was the start of being a mighty warrier even though he was afraid and chopping down the Asherah pole was chopping down a tree.  It was cutting down Asherah and Baal. It was because Baal could not defend himself, ( for he does not exist) that Gideon was called, Jerubbabel ( Let Baal defend himself)

There was an older couple present and they told me that they found what I had to say inspirational. I hope that it holds them in good stead.

I encouraged the new recruits to spend time in prayer and Gods word and whatever fears they may have to still go forward trusting the lord.

The rally and the leadership of women in the church

I went on a rally today, I gave four children a lift to it. It was a nice day out in spite of the wind and the cold.  We went to two chapels. The first was URC.  The minister was not there and she is a woman and the I later found out that the woman who gave the history talk is one of the elders and there was a photo in one of the rooms of the elders and they have a number of women.

Later at another chapel the pastor mentioned in the passing Issue the church faces such as not having the gospel and women in leadership.  He said that we would hav met the woman elder.

It seems to me the british church has turned its back on the authority of Gods word.  It is like the word says, "Having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof". 

Scripture clearly states that in the church women should not teach or have authority over men and it states the reasons for it so it is not cultural.  Scripture goes back to the creative order for the reason and it is because Adam was created to be the head and he was not decieved by what the serpent said.  He knew what he was doing when he sinned.

I would go as far as to say that in a church situation any man who submits to women vicars, priests, elders etc is sinning even if he does not know it and it will prevent him being what God wants him to be, which is the leader in his own house.  He would be just as well being emascalated and not being a man at all.

Faith

Mike M is here today. He talked about faith. Our faith is in the lord, not faith in faith.  He also likened faith to going over the chirk aquaduct. Some people will not cross, others cross confidently and take photos, while yet others go over nervously.  Faith is like that.  The point is that we go over in faith and God keeps his promises

There are about 7 encounters Abraham had with God.  Most of the time there were gaps in between.  For us life is like that. 

there was also the man who said, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief".  God did just that

Setting a deadline

I am setting a deadline of Monday evening.  Let us see what in Gods providence will or will not happen

upgrade

I took the plunge. I upgraded. I still need to get the phone set up and the tablet, and I had to go for a higher tarrif to be on a network that I know works in this area, but I have entered the 21st century

Mrs Thatcher

Baroness Thatcher died this morning. The media in the UK have made a great deal of this.

Gideon

I will be speaking on Gideon on Monday to New recruits. He was a fearful man, but he did what God said.  His name means, "Valien Warrrier, or a feller of trees.  He did both. He was a mighty warrier in that he started by tearing down the alter of Baal and building one to the lord on that Spot, and he cut down like a tree the Asherah ( mother Goddess) and used the wood to burn a sacrafice to the lord.  God was taking back his people and his place

To buy or not to buy, that is the question

I saw a very attractive offer in the window of a mobile phone shop on Saturday.  I am doing some research into it as it is a two year contract and I need to know if technically it would work in this area and what the terms and conditions are and what it would cost if I break or exceed those conditions.

I would get a new phone and tablet both of which I find attractive, both of which I could use in ministry and the monthly cost I think is very good indeed.

I sent a text to P at the weekend in which I recommended that she get a copy of, "Would Like to Meet", by Hopeful Girl.  I was disappointed by her reaction. She was down on christian men and took that to be  dig at me. I realise I was a disappointment to her as I used the system on the site in the fashion that it was designed and there were no intentional deceipt on my part and I knew that T was in the same area as her. I did not know util I got that message that night that T worked as a volunteer for P.  The situation was very unusual and I had been contacted by someone else prior to this and she also took exception to me using the favourites function.  The fact is however it is intended to be used in that way and it is foolish to commit to someone you have not met.  I even went into my personal history and told P why I did things in the fashion that I do.  Most people of both sexes in my situation understand the system and do the same thing.  It is like window shopping until you see what you want and then you go for it to the exclusion of others.

P and T probably think they unearthed a bounder.  However, I see it differently.  What happened is so unusual that I think it has to be of the Lord.  I think he stood in my way to stop me going any further and to go in a different direction.I am now going in a different direction.  For a brief moment, I considered returning to P, but it became clear that would be a bad idea.

I hope she finds what she is looking for, but the fact is that I am glad that I spoke on Abraham and his frailties last week.  I have my frailties and I did not do anything wrong. In fact I can honestly say that I am doing my utmost to stay away from sin, but even in doing that, I occassionaly disappoint as I have done on this occassion.  I thought it wise to say nothing in reply to Ps reaction as anything I say would be inflamitory.

It is a pity, as I wanted to see her achievements.

The delayed message from Michael

I am waiting to hear from M.  As I was praying I remembered that as Daniel Prayed Gods message to him was Delayed.  The Arc Angel Michael fought with the Prince of Persia, the devil and hence the answer was delayed and I wonder if that is what is happening with me?  I hope that I have been good for M and imparted some wisdom, but if I had the chance, I could and would do so much more.

Fear and living for God well

Graham J is here today.  He read the parable of the tallents and as he read it, I noticed the fear of the man who was given one tallent.  Graham highlighted this and talked about fear.  If we give into fear we do not become the people we could become.  So many people do not do things they should do because of fear and one day the great appraisal ( Gods Judgement) will happen.  It is therefore up to me to live my life well

one more go at it

One more go at communicating with M, which I had not planned, but I think I should have just one more go at it, so I have prepared.  I have prayed and will go on praying and lets see how things turn out.

Took the plunge

I took the plunge on Sunday Morning.  I contacted M, did not get a reply but I am not unfriended on facebook.  PUZZLED.