Being Christian in the Contemporary World

Holidays are the real test of who you really are!

It is wonderful to come to the end of a term after you have all worked so hard and written tests and won and lost in sport and grown in your friendships with each other – maybe even had some bad times in your friendships and have had to work them out all over again.
During the term you have developed disciplines as you have kept to timetables and worked with schedules. There is a bell to tell you when class begins and ends there is a whistle to tell you when you have done something wrong on the sports field, or when the ball is out of play.
Here at school you are guided about what to do and what to think and when to do it. But for a few weeks now you will be free – but with freedom comes responsibility – for your will have to decide for yourself what is right and wrong, you will have to decide for yourself when it’s time to start and time to stop. The real test is whether you are able to take what you have learned here and apply it in your own lives. Holidays are the real test of who you really are!! Are you ready for the challenge?
I am sure you are – so while you rest and jol and spend time with your friends and families, don’t lose sight of who you are...don’t forget that as scripture says in Proverbs chapter 13 (1) “Intelligent children listen to their parents; foolish children do their own thing” and (20) - Those who plan evil are in for a rude surprise, but those who work for good will find happiness.”

Enjoy you holidays and May God bless you.

Just a Thought

God is challenging me to think about myself and others in the way that He sees us and not in the way that we see ourselves.

On reflecting on the creation I was reminded that we live up to being created in the Image of God when we are open to change - when God created the heavens and the earth he now had something outside of himself to care for , nurture and tend. - We must be open to change.

Creating the earth had a risk associated with it and God was vulnerabel to the demands that it woudl bring - we must be prepare dto be vulnerable to teh creative risks that we take;

God enriched us through his creativity - we must be prepared to enrich ourselves and others throough our creativity - our lives.....

The Challenge of being Church

As we continue to strive to be all that God wants us to be, we continually evaluate what it means to be called to : preach the Good News, heal the sick, bind up the broken hearted, set the captives free and proclaim the day of the Lord's favour (Is61), in a world that regards religion with suspicion, conviction with disdian and faith with indifference. But we see people as created in God's image yet living with a fallen image of themselves. As Church we need to strive to help people to see themselves as wonderfuly and fearfully made, as beautiful and worthy. They can only see that in them when they see that Christ is in them making them beautiful. So let us strive to bring out the best in each other, to repent of our defeatest and neagtive attitudes and to see that when we see Christ in others then we will make a difference in the world.

Let is not tire of doing good but in all circumstances with joyful hearts and a desire to serve God commit ourselves to good works, of gratiutude for the life that we have recieved.

Yesterday we celebrated the Ascention of Christ - it has become an underrated day on our calander but is most important. It was on that day taht Jesus passed the baten to the church to continue His ministry on earth. We are mandated by Christ to recieve the Holy Spirit and be active in establishing the Kingdom on earth. Jesus is not silent at this time - he is busy, interceeding for us to the Father, preparing a place for us in heaven and at work in our hearts to establish the Kingdom in us. As Hebrews 4:14 and 16 says " Therefore since we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith that we profess.
Let us then approach teh throne of grace with confidence (emphais mine) so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

We are God's chosen peopel - selected to live at this time and equipped with everything we need to fulfill his purposes. Just as Moses, Joshua and the prophets and Judges before us, were sent for a specific task at a specific time, we have been ordained to live in these times and to be apostles, teachers, prophets and witnesses to the work of God.