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I know you.

At face value, it seems like a simple phrase. However, beneath the surface it is nonsensical and confusing. In the word it says this:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- Jeremiah 1:5

He know’s us. He knows how many hairs are on our head. He knows what we had for breakfast six year ago. He knows our likes, our dislikes, our favourite colour, our strengths, our weaknesses and even our deepest secrets. He knows us. Like so many things in creation, we have a limited grasp on it. We know what it means to know someone. We know their name, what they look like, how they act and maybe a few other things, but do we really know them? God knows us in the fullest sense. It makes sense, but the dilemma is this: do we know ourselves? There have been times in my life when I look at myself as if I were a stranger. Today’s culture requires people to say certain words, wear certain clothes and do certain things to fit in and be accepted, to the point where identities are lost. We get told who to be instead of asked who we are. We’re encouraged become carbon copies of those around us. That’s why I love this verse. It’s a lifeline, saying that no matter what you’ve done, no matter who you’ve become, no matter if you’ve even forgotten what it’s like to be you, He still knows you. He’s known who you are since before you were even born. He know’s what makes you you, He know’s what you’re going through, and most importantly, He know’s how much He loves you. He loves you for who you are. He know us, but I love that He doesn’t stop there - He has appointed us. God has a plan for your life that is only for your life. He wants you to do things that only you can do, reach people that only you can reach, and live a life of devotion that only you can live. So maybe you’ve changed yourself to fit in. Maybe you act a certain way or do certain things to find acceptance. Maybe you’ve lost focus of the plans of God for your life. Run to Him. Cry out to the God who’s been waiting for you to. Ask Him to show you who you are. Be blessed.

The renewing of your mind.

Firstly, my apologies for how it’s been. I’ve missed this. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever found yourself angry or frustrated or bitter without even knowing why? If so, you’re human. It’s evidence that we’re prone to self destruction. It’s such an easy thing to go from one negative thought to another, until one day we’re down all the time without even knowing why. It becomes frame of mind. It’s the way the world operates. It should be quite clear to you at this point that we don’t operate the way the world does.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. - Romans 12:2 (NIV)

We live to a higher standard. Yes, we are fallen creatures. Yes, we have an inherently sinful nature, and yes, Christ conquered sin and death at the Cross two thousand years ago. We don’t have to be slave to our sinful nature any longer. This verse makes it clear that we do not live to the same standard as the world, but at the same time it makes it clear that it’s a choice we have to make. A very wise friend of mine once told me that one of the most dangerous things we can do is leave ourselves to our own thoughts. We have to make a choice daily to seek the things of God, to see ourselves the way God sees us, and to declare that God is bigger than what’s going on in our lives. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. It’s choosing to break that vicious cycle of negative thinking, but here’s the good part - Then we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is. It’s impossible to focus on, let alone discern the plan of God when we’re focusing on everything that’s going wrong. God is so much bigger than that. His plan is good, pleasing and perfect, so why do we try to improve perfection? Why do we try to make life pleasing by ourselves? Why do we run after material possessions when God alone can satisfy us? It’s so easy to let bad thoughts gain traction in our mind, but when that happens it’s as simple as asking God to renew our minds, and keeping Jesus at the centre of it all. So the question that I really want to ask is this - what thoughts do you need to renew? Peace.

All your heart.

So as I was reading my bible, I stumbled upon a certain passage. I’ve read this passage dozens of times before, but this time it decided to jump out at me. The passage is this:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

As I said, I’ve heard this verse before, many many times. I’ve had it preached to me, read to me and spoken over me. I’ve read it time and time again, but this time I decided to read on.

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NIV)

This completely blew me away. So many Christians tend to use Jeremiah 29:11 as a catchphrase, or even a way to justify behaviour. It’s not. It’s the promise of a loving and caring Father and Creator. It’s a verse to give hope. It’s a redirection from the worldly road we once travelled. The thing is this - we have to choose to follow the plans of God, they don’t just happen automatically. I’ve heard people say things like, “God, I thought you had plans for me? Why is everything going wrong in my life?” God does have plans for us, but we have to choose to walk in them. Faith isn’t a one time decision, it’s one we make every single day. It’s up to us to call upon God and pray. God can’t listen to us if we’re not talking to Him. It’s up to us to seek Him - that’s why He gave us a choice in the first place. Here’s the confronting part - how much does God want us to seek Him? On Christmas and Easter? No. Every Sunday morning? No. Once a day? No. With all our hearts. In the world we live in it’s so easy to turn our attention to so many things - boyfriends and girlfriends, possessions, even Facebook. We have to make a decision to turn our attention to Jesus, to live in the arms of Love. That’s how we walk down the tightrope of God’s plan for our lives. That’s when God starts pouring out His blessing. That’s how I aspire to live. Be blessed.

Change.

I once heard it said that change is the only constant in this life. It’s true. Everything changes. People grow and age, hair gets longer, temperatures rise and fall, cities expand, families progress and multiply, friendships grow close and then far - I could go on forever. The fact of the matter is that change is something that we simply cannot escape, no matter how hard we try. But why do we try to in the first place? Change is something that we fear, resist, and at times refuse to accept, yet at the very same time it’s something that we can force, long for and even love. So why do we fear change? I think that what we really fear is the unknown - what is yet to be spoken, lived or experienced. Change happens whether we like it or not, and rarely does it happen on our terms. I think that this is the reason that people are so wary of the Christian faith. It’s like people think that things will change and they won’t be in control of their own lives anymore. In a sense that is true, but last time I checked, we do a shocking job on our own. 

Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. - 1 Corinthians 7:17 (NIV)

Our faith is purposed to be the constant in a constantly changing life. If our faith’s foundation is built upon our lifestyle or environment, it will fail as soon as that changes. This verse shows that our faith is not about the church we attend, the job we have or the school we attend. By the way, it is about accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, and living the rest of your life in relationship with Him. Be blessed.

Love.

It almost makes me nervous to type that word in the ‘Title’ box of this page - Love is such a grand and important thing, which places a sense of responsibility - a weight on my back as I write about it. Love is at the very core of who we are as people. With it we flourish, and without it we perish. Love is immitated, faked and misrepresented. Love is given, taken back and misplaced. All of these things are a result of human imperfection, and none of them are a result of love itself. It may interest you that I am not writing about an emotion, but a person. Love is not an ‘it.’ Love is a He. Infact, He is love - the real deal anyway. So what is love?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes always perseveres. Love never fails. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)

That is love. You often hear that passage quoted at weddings, but in all honesty, we aren’t even capable of a love like that. It’s something we strive for, but we will ultimately fail at times. No, the love described in this passage is not that of flawed beings such as ourselves - it’s the love of a perfect Saviour. Love isn’t saying ‘no, you hang up first.’ Love isn’t staying up until three in the morning talking to that girl you like. Love isn’t a rush of hormones and the act that sometimes results. Love isn’t even a feeling - it’s a choice. He chooses to love us. He chooses to love you. We have done and can do nothing to deserve it, but we get it anyway. He is patient with us and kind to us. He does not envy us or boast about His greatness, limitless though it is. He does not dishonour us. He doesn’t manipulate us to His own ends. He is not unrighteously angry with us, and He keeps no record of our wrongs. He does not delight in our suffering, but wants us to be found in truth. He will always protect us. He will always trust us. He will always hope for our future and pursue us endlessly. He will never fail us. That’s love. That’s real love. Now here’s the thing - we all know somebody who is living with the immitation. We need to show them the real thing. Let this be our example. Let us love like He first loved us. Be blessed.

Forsake.

for·sake/fərˈsāk/Verb
1. Abandon (someone or something): “a tiny, forsaken island”.

Forsaken is a term that carries such fear and doubt, as it should. It is something that leads to destruction and demise. A place that is labelled as being forsaken is believed to have no worth, and a human being that has been forsaken by a loved one can be left scarred emotionally for life. The word says:

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Forsaking is not in the character of our God, so neither should it be in the character of we, his followers. We Christians, which means that we strive to be like Christ. We are called to be stability in an unstable world. We are called to be love in a world of hate. We are called to be guides in a place of desperate and aimless wandering. Take this.

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them. - Isaiah 42:16 (NIV)

I will not forsake them. Who is ‘them?’ They are the blind, often referred to as ‘the world’ by we Christians. The world, or should I say it’s citizens, are not our enemy. Our enemy is the devil. ‘The world’ simply refers to those who aren’t walking with Jesus just yet. This verse refers to them as ‘the blind,’ and that they are. This verse is a calling - a commissioning. It is a declaration and a vow to love the lost and bring them home. The thing is this: we know better, and they don’t. We know the ways that they don’t, so we must guide them. We are living in light and they are not, so we must illuminate their world. We walk on a smooth path, and they walk on the dirt, so we must pave their road. We must do everything that we can to give them what we have - a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because what are we doing if we don’t do these things? We are forsaking them. We are abandoning them - leaving them to die. I’m not going to let that happen on my watch. My God will never leave me nor forsake me, so neither will I forsake my brothers and sisters. Peace.

Rejoice.

We are creatures of deep and plentiful emotion. We get happy about things all the time. We get sad about things all the time. We get angry, frustrated, annoyed, fear filled, depressed, bored. We can feel satisfaction, hope, gratitude, euphoria and wonder, and anything in between. So here’s a question: what does it mean to rejoice? Is it simply something on that long list of human emotions? I don’t think so. I think that it’s lost it’s true meaning in the modern day. Many think that it just means to be happy. That’s not entirely true. The word rejoice means to take joy in, or be joyful about something. Joy is most definitely distinct from happiness. It’s much more than that. It’s far deeper than happiness. We can be happy about monumental or miniscule events, but joy has a sense of weight to it. Joy has a reason. Rejoicing in something isn’t just saying that it’s good, it’s saying that it’s the reason for your overall well-being. Happiness is a reaction, but rejoicing is a choice. It is for this reason we have to be very careful about what we choose to rejoice in.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! - Philippians 4:4 (NIV)

Rejoice in the Lord. I have a car, a job and awesome people in my life, but in the end they aren’t the reason that my life is on track - God is. I rejoice in God. I’m saying that God is the reason that I am well, nothing or nobody else. God is my hope and my salvation, and my purpose is found in no one else but Him. So let me challenge you with this: what do you rejoice in? Peace.