Like Sheep 

“All we like sheep have gone astray. Each turning to his own way. But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” Isaiah 53:6

“You Lord are my shepherd, I will never be in need. You let me rest in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of peaceful water and you refresh my life. You are true to your name, and you lead me along the right paths. I may walk through valleys as dark as death, but I will not be afraid. You are with me, and your shepherd’s rod makes me feel safe. You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch. You honour me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows. Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, Lord.” Psalm 23

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep” John 10:11

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father- and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15

The Bible talks about Christians, (we that trust and know Jesus as our shepherd), to be like sheep. The world tends to think that we follow blindly, ignorantly, without a thought or a doubt. But this simply isn’t true.  We do doubt. Each time we wander and lose our way our shepherd seeks us out. He embraces with joy, bringing back to him, and placing our feet back upon the path.  

The world questions us as we travel, “Why do you want to return? How can you be certain that he is guiding you on the road you want to go? Why do you love and trust him? Is it all worth it?”

My answer is that he laid his life down for me. Everyday he demonstrates his love for me. He knows me inside and out… and yet still he cares for me. I trust him to always have my back. He knows the plans he has for me and he works for my good. He created me, knitting me together in my mother’s womb. He knows me, what behind me and what is to come. My shepherd promises to remain by me whatever challenges may confront me. 

“But how do you know this? Why do you just assume? Where is the evidence that God (if he even exists) will keep his promises? Is God as great as you believe he is? Isn’t the gospel too good to be true? The world contradicts. 

You see, I know that God keeps his promises. He has done so again and again. He promised that Jesus would come and redeem us, bringing us back to the God who invites us to call him “Abba Father”, just as he does.

The only thing that makes me special and privileged. The only way I can have this hope and assurance is this; that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. I don’t deserve it. I didn’t have to work for it. I only had to accept it.

Thankyou my Father in Heaven. May I never want to stop serving you, praising your name, being part of your family, your child, and your daughter.  

Rain

I've been learning to fully appreciate moments.

In all the chaos, I pause, experiencing the calm in the midst of the storm.

Noticing the breeze and how it moves through everything.

The trees sway and their leaves rustle. 

The clouds float across the sky and shapes form, change and dissipate. 

The birds are guided by the pressure and direction of the wind. 

Time ticks on , yet still I sit, absorbing and valuing each moment.

My eyes continue to scan the landscape. 

The colours of the grass, fading from vivid green to dusty brown.

The varying colours of  tree trunks
-grey, red, blue, silver, merging with the brown. 

The shade, making colours darker and richer.

The sun, making colours brighter and lighter.

Making dappled sunlight fascinating.

Looking up at the sun as it sets,

It draws the eye along with the blues, purples, pinks, oranges, and yellows.

It eventually gives way to deep purple, blue of the sky, and silver of the moon and stars. 

To think that God created all things, just using words.

But I know my words cannot truly express what the eye can see and the heart can feel.

So I would urge everyone to pause and fully appreciate moments.

To find the calm in the midst of the storm. 

A Daughter of God

I was born into a dim place.

I didn't know where I fitted.

I looked to others to show me how to live.

When I was a teenageer I found a reason to live.

I stopped living my own way.

I started loving God and began to look to him for guidance.

I was reborn and accepted into a bright community. 

A family with the same father who teachers us how to love one another.

Today life makes sense. 

I am a child of God, and he teaches me to learn and grow and love as his daughter.

1 Peter 1:23

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. 

Joy Defined

"An emotion of keen or lively pleasure, great gladness or delight"

(The Macquarie Dictionary) 

Joy is an emotion that differs from one person to another. 

It is a gift that know one can measure or manufacturer,

but most can recognise the sensation.

When considering this phenomenon I thought it worth asking others 

what they considered joy to be...

"Joy comes from the depth of emotion, it's happier than just 'happy'.

When a heart is filled with joy, it's blissful." 

"Joy is a couple of hours spent with friends, 

a keyboard, and a virtual rocket launcher." 

"Reading and writing is my joy"

"God. Friends. Pets.Smiles. Laughter.

But also being able to trust God in every situation"

"To me, Joy is a deep trust that whatever circumstances 

you find yourself in, God is there."

So, what is joy to me?

My answer is that my joy is found in my ever growing 

relationship with my heavenly father. 

I rejoice in his love for me. 

For his love and compassion is so incomprehensible 

that he sent his son to die a painful death, bringing me back 

to his father and sending the holy spirit to live within us. 

He did it all...  I did nothing. 

All he asks is for me to live for him... 

and I have accepted this privilege.

This is my joy. 

In despair and delight. 

This is my joy. 

What is your joy? 

Does it encompass your life?

Is yours like mine?

When the bible mentions joy it says...

"This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it."

(Psalm 118)

"Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again rejoice!"

(Philippians 4:4)

Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, 

and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; 

for this day is holy to our Lord. 

Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

(Nehemiah 8:10)

True Light

"In him was light and that light was the light of men. 

The light shines in the darkness, 

but the darkness has not understood it." 

(John 1:4-5)

Isn't it frustrating when the light goes out.

When that happens we try to repair what has broken. 

When we don't succeed we search 

for the right battery,charger, 

or some other source of power. 

Often we fail to find it.

We try to sort things out ourselves, 

and, frequently, that just creates more problems. 

Jesus, is our light.

He is the one light that outshines all the worldly ones.

Those dim and flickering lights of  worldly wisdom,
and the senseless struggle for  perfection and satisfaction.

Indeed, these are poor replacements 

for the true light. Our saviour;

the light or men. 

For without his light we are blind,

fumbling round in the dark. 

The good news is that the devil 

will never be able to understand it.

Never be able to overcome it.

Never be able to extinguish it.

The choice we face with is this; 

Will we commit to letting the true light of men 

permeate into every part of our lives?

For if we do, we will have a joy 

that cannot be shaken. 

It will be as C.S Lewis once said;

"Here is joy that cannot be shaken.

Our light can swallow up your darkness:

but your darkness cannot now infect our light."

(The Great Divorce). 

The edge

I dreamt that I was standing on the very edge of a chasm.

The name of that chasm was doubt.

Doubt in myself and doubt in the God I love.

Then I stumbled. Again and again I stumbled.

 I fell down, and further down

until I gave up on all hope of a rescue.

Then in that darkness I heard a voice.

“It is finished” It said.

With that I was lifted up on eagle’s wings.

I circled up and further up until light burst in upon me.  

I realised that although I had then given up on myself,

 my God had not and never will.

Because you see,

it is not our own fuel that propels us though life,

 for that is small and soon peters out.  

Instead, it is the love of our patient heavenly father

who lifts us each time we fail. 

And we do fail.

Each time we learn and grow

so that we might resemble him even more. 

It is indeed finished and our

relationship has been repaired

by the author of those words;

our saviour, Jesus Christ.

Through the Lord's Eyes

We say 'I just don't like my body shape'

God says 'I have designed your body just the way it should be'

We say 'my face is too crowded with spots'

God says 'beauty is far more than spots'

We say 'my nose is all wrong'

God says 'what do you mean?'

We say 'my face really isn't shaped right''

God says 'that is only though the eyes of the world'

The world's perceptions of physical beauty

differ day to day but God looks on the inside.

Though the eyes of the Lord;

"Your beauty should not come from

outward adornment... rather it should be that

of the inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,

which is of great worth in God's sight." (1 Peter 3:3-4)

A Moment.

A cool breeze billows, enveloping all things.

The waves dissipate as they sink gently into the sand.

They collide with the rocks,forming intricate crevices in them.

The sun concludes its prolonged and solitary

journey down the sky and there it rests on the horizon.

The trees are as statues that bring honor to their maker.

These are the numerous observations of a moment.

What a generous God we have that

he provides us with such moments.

In this he shows to us one aspect of his magnificence.

Such moments as these are well worth the treasuring.

Just like our relationship with our creator,

well worth the treasuring...

The Hope of Heaven

I dream.

I dream that one day (however distant that may be),

that one day I will see that preverbial light, that is freedom.

When I walk into that light, I will take with me no more

dark and dismal disappointments, sorrows,

perpetual fatigue, and chains of captivity within my life.

For that light shall cleanse me of all that living life in a sinful world brings.

In that glorious light I shall join others

whose chains have begun to break and disintegrate.

Most importantly I will wander,

hand-in-hand, eye-to-eye, and voice-to-voice with my saviour and my God.

And this will be the epitome of fulfilment and freedom.

I wait, work, live, and belong to that day (as do many others),

the day when the tears will be wiped from all increasingly scarlet eyes.

For now I merely glimpse pieces of the puzzle of the immense joy yet to come.

In those fragments I can observe the faces of

my brothers and sisters in Christ and all that surrounds them,

including the many marvels of creation that captivate me daily

along with the many gifts and talents that he has granted unto us all.

We await with patience and hope the day when he will return.

On that day we will see some, (if not all), of those that we love and grieve for at present.

And in all of these things God provides us with the greatest gift that he could give;

HOPE.