Faith for life

One thing I have never really liked, is camping. It's wet, it's messy and dirty. The food isn't great and you're normally trapped in the middle of nowhere. You may go hiking, mountain biking or rock climbing; none of those appeal to me. But I'm sure, that after a long day of walking in the rain and stuffing your face with food, when your feet hurt and your muscles ache, the most appealing thing is your tent, and cuddly sleeping bag. So what is so appealing about a tent? Well, it's not exactly a warm house and a proper bed, but it's a more than welcome shelter from the cold and rain. It's cosy, it's safe and it's yours. In the Old Testament, there is a dwelling called the 'tabernacle'; also known at the 'tent of meeting'. Inside this majestic tent, was the presence of God on Earth; and from it God produced awesome signs and wonders of his majesty. The tent was holy, and it was treated as such. It was the most important plac...

Yesterday, today, tomorrow, Every worry, joy or sorrow... God is in control. All the ones you care about, Their wellbeing and whereabouts... God is in control. Your hopes and happiness and health, Your welfare, work and earthly wealth... God is in control. All of life is grace and blessed; All that happens, for the best... God is in control. "Do not be anxious in anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus"  NIV Philippians 4: 4-8

'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or the sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us . For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord' NIV Romans 8: 34-40 God created everything in the world; everything we experience. When Jesus died on the cross, to create hope and salvation for us all, he conquered every evil in this world. And this passage from Romans reaffirms that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  In the past, during difficult times, I've often thought: 'God doesn't understand what I'm going through'... 'Why is he letting me struggle?' 'What if he's never dealt with this before...

We all have things we love; things that we think about every day. We dedicate our lives to so many wants and desires, and doing what we will enjoy and will make us feel good; but where have you put God among it all? Where is his place in your life? In 2 Peter 2:19 it says: "for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them". God doesn't just disappear when you think you have no need for him. He is with you always, even when you're enjoying yourself too much to notice. My question is: how do you feel, knowing he sees everything you do? Would he be proud of what you're living your life for? It is scary, just how easy it is for us to be mastered. We can be mastered by our careers, our relationships, our home, our bodies, our desires, our possessions... the list could go on forever. Without realising it, we start placing almost everything in our life, before God and our need for him. We completely depend on earthly things to make us happy, to provide our ultim...

If you are struggling today; if a situation you are facing is overwhelming and suffocating you, then stop fighting with it yourself, and, instead, choose God. A big mistake, when you fear, is to worry too much about the future. Will my future be bleak? Have I screwed up my future? Do I even have one? You may have noticed, that I have not written a blog post in almost a week. Why? Because it was a rough week, and, rather than fight back, I gave in to my fear. No matter how strong my faith can be, sometimes I am reminded that I am a faulty human being; naturally weak and lazy. It is God who is able to make me strong. I worry about my future every day of my life. It is, easily, my biggest source of anxiety. Because, I want to be happy, I want to be fulfilled, I want the bright future every one else has got. I want peace. But I have to keep reminding myself that God is my shepherd! He is guiding me towards a wonderful future, but he needs me to cooperate, to say 'yes' to him,...