Age is a Funny Thing! (Philippians 3)

Age is a Funny Thing! (Philippians 3)

Philippians 3.12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. [nkjv]

Age is a funny thing. Do you realise that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we are kids? When I was younger, I can remember being so excited about aging that when asked how old I was, I'd respond in fractions. I may have been 5 years old but I would say, "I'm five and a half!" I never people hear people in their 30's say, when asked the same question, "I'm 36 and a half."

In our teenage years, rather than think in fractions, we jump whole numbers. When asked how old you are, the response is "I'm going to be 16!" You may only be 12 but you're going to be 16!

Then comes the greatest day of your life, you become 21! Even the way we say it sounds impressive, you BECOME 21! And that's where things begin to go downhill. You turn 30. It makes us sound like bad milk. He turned. We had to throw him out. Then you're pushing 40, you reach 50, you make it to 60 and by then you have built up so much speed on your downhill journey that you hit 70!

After that, its a day by day thing. You hit Wednesday. You hit lunch!

A child can't wait to be bigger, older, better, taller, stronger, smarter, richer. It becomes a driving force in their life. There has got to be more out there. But somewhere along the way, we trade in that passion and drive for something less. We become cynical. Complacent. Content. We settle.

Now these aren't all bad things but they become very dangerous when the same attitude creeps into our relationship with God. There is so much we don't know about God and there is so much He has in store for us. He is the God who does exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ever ask, dream, think or imagine. The Apostle Paul once declared, "I want to know Him. I want to be intimately acquainted with Him!" I want to spend my whole life getting to know Him. Our Christian life is about moving forward, pressing on, growing from glory to glory. The minute we decide to settle where we are, we cap our potential and singing the shoulda, coulda, woulda's.

Henry Varley, a British Revivalist once said, "The world has yet to see what God will do with a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to the Holy Spirit."

Is it any wonder the Word of God tells us to come to God with child-like faith. The adventure awaits us. Our best days are still to come. We need to let go of the past. Be spontaneous. Courageous. Take a step of faith and press on. A spiritually mature person is one who loves God with all their heart, lives life to the full and loves people unconditionally.

Rather than holding ourselves back, hiding behind our religious maturity, perhaps we should let our lives reflect our love for the One who has saved our souls and given us hope.

And just be a child again.

Read more »

Signs of the Times! (Ephesians 4)

Signs of the Times! (Ephesians 4)

**Please welcome Dom who is guest blogging today's s2s post

Ephesians 4:17 So I tell you this, I insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. [niv]

As Christians we know from the Bible that we are not meant to conform to the culture we live in. We're not meant to be like the other people who don't live for Christ. We're meant to be different. It's hard though, we are children of the culture we live in. We are completely wrapped up in it, completely dependent on it, right from birth.

We're told not to live as Gentiles do, which is to say, those who don't know Christ and worship him. It's a hard task, a very broad task, a task that seems hard to start. Fortunately for us Paul gives us a great sign post; "in the futility of their thinking."

As Christians we have Christ in our hearts. We live in His power. We thrive in His power. We glow with His power. We don't have to think futile thoughts like "I can't, it's too hard." If we are walking in Christ, we can! We are empowered by Him to live large, active, exciting, joyous lives. We are told to go out and be adventurous, take risks, fall over, knowing that our Saviour will pick us up again, stronger, healthier more vital than before.

Don't be caught thinking you're not big enough, strong enough or clever enough. You've got the Creator of the universe on your side, backing you up. With that, there's nothing you can't do. Don't think there's no hope, you have hope in Christ. Don't think you're not good enough, you're washed by the blood of the Lamb.

Futile, hopeless thoughts are the domain of people who don't know Christ. For us, we have hope, joy and love eternal, right from the top.

Read more »

A Cinderella Moment! (Ephesians 1)

A Cinderella Moment! (Ephesians 1)

Ephesians 1.5 Long before He laid down earth's foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ. What pleasure He took in planning this! [msg]

After leading worship at Beijing International Christian Fellowship on Easter Sunday in April 2004, Steven Curtis Chapman left through the back door and ran into some missionaries who let him hold one of their Chinese babies. When Steven asked if she was theirs, they said no, but they were trying to find a home for her. He asked, "What is her name?" They said, "Maria". Immediately, a song Steven wrote years ago, called, "Who's Gonna Love Maria," started playing in his head. Steven couldn't believe the coincidence of her name, and was shaken to the core. When thinking about this, he broke down crying and called his wife, Mary Beth, explaining the strong connection he made with this little girl named Maria.

Steven couldn't get Maria of his mind, but he certainly had not planned to adopt another child. Because Maria was a special needs child and was already placed with an agency in a special needs program, Steven thought maybe they were just supposed to help her find a home. But when he returned to the states, Mary Beth already had the paperwork out and said, "I think we're supposed to go and get Maria."

The pieces fell into place, and a couple months after Steven first met Maria in Beijing, he once again returned to China to pick up Maria Sue Chapman. She had a heart condition which classified her as "special needs", but the Chapmans have a different idea regarding why she was special: she was theirs. Before they completed the adoption, she was re-diagnosed as being healthy, and her healthy heart began to constantly overflow into the hearts of those around her. As the youngest of the family, she was certainly a handful, but Steven and Mary Beth knew that their family would never have been complete without her.

For four years, the Chapmans grew together, through laughter and tears, joy and pain. Steven Curtis Chapman has sold more than 10 million albums, has had dozens of No. 1 Christian radio hits, and has won more than 50 Dove Awards, exceeding any other individual artist. Yet he would much rather talk about his family or his work with adoptions and orphans. In addition, they have seen the ministry they founded, Shaohannah's Hope, help over 1,600 waiting orphans find their forever families, raise awareness and champion adoption and orphan care in spheres throughout the secular and Christian arenas, and begin projects such as the home in Luoyang, China, that will care for special needs children.

Throughout it all, Maria has been the beloved youngest daughter in the Chapman clan. Quick to greet you with a big smile, and the first to throw up the "rock fingers" for a little bit of sass. She was also one of the two inspirations behind Steven's hit, "Cinderella". Boisterous and full of life, she loved flowers, ladybugs, birds, anything with wings, coloring, washing dishes, playing make-believe, the color pink, being "butt-naked", water, and her family. Her life was a picture of God's beauty; her adoption was a picture of God's love. Her family certainly loved her, and through the love of her family, she became beloved by the entire world.

On 21st May 2008, in what local authorities termed 'a horrible tragedy', Maria was accidently struck down by a car driven by one of her teenage brothers as he was backing out of the family driveway. She was rushed to hospital but passed away later that day. Over the last year the family have been healing but found great peace in the thought that Maria's eternal adoption was at last finalized on that day, as her Heavenly Father took her home to be with Him.

Just like the Chapmans opened their hearts and home to one poor little girl from China, God has also done the same for us. Through Jesus, we have been adopted into His family as one of His precious children.

According to Roman law, the person who had been adopted had all the same rights as a legitimate child in that family and lost all rights to their old family. All debts and obligations connected with their previous family were abolished as if they had never existed!

This is an amazing picture of what God has done for us through Jesus. He is now our Father and we are His children, free from all that previously held us captive. When the reality of this sinks in, our life will never be the same again.

Read more »

An Elephant Never Forgets! (Galatians 4)

An Elephant Never Forgets! (Galatians 4)

Galatians 4.7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. [nkjv]

The African elephant is the largest land animal in the world. In 1956, the largest elephant ever recorded was found in Angola, weighing in at 12,000 kilograms, with a shoulder height of 14 feet! These enormous creatures have incredible strength. In Africa elephants routinely knock over entire trees just to get to the tender branches they like to eat. In India, angry elephant herds have been known to push railway trains off their tracks!

I find it totally amazing that such a powerful animal could ever find itself in captivity. Yet we see them all the time in circuses and zoos all around the world. Despite how incredibly powerful these animals are, they have a weakness. You see, an elephant never forgets!

When an elephant is young, each night it is tied to a tree with a strong chain around its foot. The baby elephant wants to roam and struggles instinctively with all its might to be free, yet because of its small size and weight cannot break the chain. After many nights of struggle and failure, this defeat is etched into the young elephant's mind and they no longer resist.

When the elephant is fully grown, it can be tied with just a small rope to a stake. This powerful 12,000 kilogram animal could easily break free from it captivity yet its mind has been conditioned through its past experiences to believe resistance is futile. So it doesn't even make an attempt!

God's Word tells me that I have been forgiven of all my sins and washed clean by the blood of Jesus. It says I am a new creation. I have been made righteous. I am more than a conquerer, I can do all things and that when God is for me who can stand against me.

It says that I was once a slave to sin but Jesus has set me free.

Yet despite His complete work at Calvary, we often allow our past experiences to hold us captive. We still think like slaves when God calls us sons!

And we wonder why our Christian walk lacks power.

Read more »