Go to the Ant

I had an old pine bed that had begun to break, so rather than burn it, I up-cycled it and made a bench. I've never made anything like this before, most of my up-cycling involves shoes, bags, and kitchen utensils being filled with succulents.

Having made it I had to find a home for it, I decided to put it on slabs on the front lawn. First I needed to dig out some of the lawn and so armed with spade and barrow, I set to work. I was happily tossing the sods of earth into the barrow when something caught my eye. Lots of tiny, honey coloured ants, apparently, they are meadow ants, scurrying to and fro carrying eggs. I had no choice but to take them and put them in the little wildlife patch at the top of the back garden. How franticly they worked to get their "home" back together, I would think that they were not at all pleased by this disturbance.

I would imagine that if you could commune with them and you told them about this huge being who had put them on a huge barrow to take them to a better place, they would not believe you. In fact, it sounds ridiculous. People are a lot like this, they cannot comprehend an everlasting God, they cannot comprehend a God who is three persons in one, and they cannot comprehend that one of these persons would come down to earth to help them. But He did.

It was my fault the ants had been disturbed, but they didn't know that I would make sure they were safe. But people are different, we are not like ants, we have a soul and a spirit that will continue to live on after the body is dead. It is man’s fault that he is a sinner, that he has violated Gods laws and that he will be punished for doing so. But God has made a way that will lead us to safety, He sent His Son, Jesus to die a cruel, shameful death on a cross to take the punishment for our sin. When we repent of our sin, and believe on Jesus, then we are born again. Before our spirit was dead in trespass and sin, but as soon as God by His grace forgives us and accepts us into his kingdom then our spirit is no longer dead, but alive. And He has promised that we will live with Him eternally.

The next time you see an ant, think about this, there is a vast world beyond its own that it cannot and will never comprehend. But for you and I God has given us His word, the Holy Bible because He wants us to know who we are, sinners, who He is, Almighty God. And He wants us to know His great love for us through Jesus. We do not have to be like the ant, ignorant of these things. I pray that God will challenge you as you read this, to come to Him for grace and mercy. 

If you already know Him, I pray you will grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that you will be comforted and encouraged to know that no matter what your circumstances God is taking you to a safe place.

Without Excuse

It was a warm evening and I decided to recline on my decking for a while, it was half past ten and the sky was clear. I lay looking up at the host of stars and although it was just a minute part of space that I was looking at, I could not count the stars, neither could I see everything that was going on. But what I could see was awesome, as I lay there a bat to the left of me kept swooping to and fro, I expect he was hunting, my kitchen light was on and so the moths were drawn to it making them easy pickings. In the distance a horse was neighing, which was an unusual sound to hear at that time of night. As I watched these amazing sights, and listened to the sounds, behind me the night scented stock's perfume filled the air. I stayed there about an hour meditating upon who God is and praising Him for His awesome creation and for the miracle of the new birth for all who repent of their sin and believe on the Lord Jesus.

The Holy Bible tells us that God's attributes can be clearly seen in nature. His majesty, might and power, so that no one has an excuse not to believe That there is a God.  Romans 1 :20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that hey are without excuse. If nature is so awesome, how much more so the One who created it! There are things created that we will never see or know, the more we do know, the more we realise we have only just scratched the surface. But all that we can see, hear, touch and smell should leave us in no doubt that it did not happen by chance.

But the world and the humans in it who were originally created in Gods image has been under a curse since man was disobedient to God, causing sin and evil to come into the world. We can see around us, in our own communities, in our own nation, in fact in the whole world, sin and evil. But especially in our own lives, sin, guilt and shame in every person on the planet.

God made the world, God made man in His image, man ruined that image and was severed from God. Did God leave His created beings then to fate, no, God sent His Son Jesus to take the punishment for our sin. When we repent of our sin and turn away from it then we can have a relationship with the One who created us. We are no longer estranged from Him, and we are no longer condemned. 

Romans 8:1

Shrinking Violet

A few Sunday's ago, I called to see my sister on my way home from church, it was a quick visit, and as we had our goodbye hug I called her "My shrinking violet". She has a medical problem with her back and she is literally, physically shrinking. Both my mother and grandmother had the same problem, and my sister has inherited it.

We had, had a challenging message from our pastor that morning about shrinking. He had been expounding on John 1, John the Baptist had been asked who he was, his reply, "A voice" and our pastor reminded us that, that is what we should be, a voice to those in the wilderness of sin.  I wrote a blog on that too, Be a Voice.

But John, speaking of Jesus and himself said, 

John 3:38 He must increase, I must decrease. 

And we were challenged to consider our own lives. Do we live for self, or is Jesus the centre of our lives? Do we live to please God, or do we live to please ourselves? Who is number one, Jesus or self? If Jesus isn't number one, then self is. When we put Jesus first everything else falls into place, when we put self first things start to fall apart. 

My sister can do nothing about her body shrinking, but all who confess to be Christian can and should make a conscious decision to shrink self and allow Jesus to live His life through them by His Holy Spirit. 

Don't be ashamed to be a shrinking violet. 

Does God?

I recently posted a picture on my Instagram account, and one of the people who liked it was a person with the username Does God... So, when I looked at the notifications it said, "doesgod...liked your post"

it made me stop and think, Does God, "like" what I am doing on the Internet, is what I share on there glorifying God, or man? Am I promoting self or giving the glory to God? When you stop, and think about it all the photos I take are of what He has created, whether it be nature or something man made, because man cannot make anything at all without the materials God has already made, man cannot create something out of nothing. Man, makes the choice to use what God has made for good or for evil. Man, makes the choice to use his wealth for himself or to help the less fortunate. Man, makes the choice to look after planet earth or abuse it. And man, makes the choice to follow God, or himself.

Having made the choice to repent of his sin, believing on the Lord Jesus, he then chooses to follow God, to have a personal relationship with God. This is the choice I made nineteen years ago, and through good times and bad, God has been gracious and merciful to me, and He has always been faithful.

So, back to my original thought, in this technological age in which we now live, as a Christian, am I promoting self, or my Saviour? Are my posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc, all about me, and the world and its ways, or am I sharing what God has done for mankind and for me. Can people tell from my posts what God has done for me, and how he helps me day by day. Do I share Bible quotes, or self-help quotes? Do I make motivational speeches or do I share the gospel?

In short, does God like my posts?

I trust that all of us who love the Lord Jesus, will be willing in 

our daily lives to make our internet posts pleasing to God. 

And may we not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.