Whenever we are praising God, or maybe taking part in a service, who is our audience? When you are raising your hands in the air, who are you most concerned with impressing?
Is it the person sat next to you, who’s been in the same seat for the last 20 years? Or are you taking part because it’s what is expected?
Continue reading Day 20 – Who is our Audience?
In Matthew 15:16, Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied with, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God”. Jesus is known as many more names though, such as Teacher, Saviour and Healer. The list goes on.
Here are my thoughts on what I think Jesus is…
Continue reading Day 19 – Who do You say I am?
I love the story about the lost sheep. You know where the sheep goes wandering off somewhere and ends up getting stuck?
The shepherd realises he is missing a sheep after counting them all. He should have 100, but instead has 99. So, he goes trundling off searching for him. He searches high and low, far and wide, leaving the other 99 behind. He doesn’t stop until the last sheep is found.
When he finds the lost sheep, he rejoices so much that he calls all his friends up and let’s them know the good news – He has found his lost sheep.
You may think this is an odd thing to do. After all, it’s only one sheep. Why risk the other 99? But that sheep was so important to the shepherd. He was willing to leave the others and risk his own life just for the sake of one.
Do you know who the shepherd and the sheep represents? Well, God is the shepherd and we are the sheep. And do you know what? When we lose our way in life and stray off, God will search high and low for us to bring us back. And when we do come back, he will be rejoicing until the cows come home (or sheep in this case)!
You can read the story in Luke 15:3-7. There is also a very powerful and uplifting song about how much God loves us and would do anything to bring us back into His fold. It’s called Reckless Love by Cory Asbury.
If you are searching for God’s love today, listen to the song and see how much God is searching for you.
You are reading day 18 of the Write 31 Days Challenge in conjunction with The Five Minute Friday Community. Today’s word prompt is ‘search’.
The first time I knew what ‘pause’ really meant was a few years ago when my friend, Shelly Miller, wrote about resting. My life was really hectic and I felt like I couldn’t breath. I was tired.
Something had to give.
Continue reading Day 17 – Pause
I find the key to a good relationship with someone is having good communication. If we want to get to know the other person better, we need to talk to each other.
A lack of communication is one of the main reasons friendships break down. Something which started off really small ends up being blown out of proportion.
There is a bit more than just talking in communicating with each other. We need to listen to each other too. Not listening to the other person results in misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
Having a good relationship with God is like having a good relationship with our friend or partner. It also relies on good communication. The way in which we do this is through prayer.
He wants to get to know us better, as I’m sure we would like to get to know Him better too. We need to talk to God just like He was our best friend. He wants to know how we are truly feeling, even the not-so-nice stuff that goes on in our heads!
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. James 5:13
When we stop talking to God, that’s when life starts to crash around us. I know. I’ve been there, thinking I know better. But I don’t. I need to keep talking to him.
We also need to keep listening to him too. This is hard, just like it is with a friend. When we don’t listen properly, we misinterpret situations and start thinking what we want to hear. Spending time in prayerful silence will help to discern what He is saying to us.
I’m not writing all this because I’ve been there and done it. I’m far from getting this communication thing right, especially with God. I’m kind of preaching to myself here a little bit (or a lot!)
Maybe you need to hear it too though?
You are reading day 16 of the Write 31 Days Challenge in conjunction with The Five Minute Friday Community. Today’s word prompt is ‘pray’.
