The wonder of God – psalm 139

Recently I’ve been looking at a few psalms and stuff to look for good lyric content. Where better to get worship lyrics than the word of God?

The other day I was playing my guitar, and working out some chords to perhaps attempt to write a song, or at least figure out a melody to put some words to. Then something unexpected happened; one of the strings snapped. I was displeased at this as it lashed my finger. I took the broken string and threaded it through the hoop bit that goes through the back of the guitar. I don’t know why. Then i scrunched it up in my hand, and it came out in a heart shape as above! (minus a small stem on the bottom which I cropped off the photo). What are the chances? I wondered if the heart shape was a sort of sign or something.

Earlier on today, I opened the bible app that I use from time to time. It opened on this psalm – psalm 139. What a lovely psalm. I will share it with you.

You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you. If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies. Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:1-24 NIV)

This psalm outlines just how awesome God is. He knows everything about us-how we think, what we do, everything! Before we speak, He knows the words on our tongue! Isn’t that amazing? It made me think – when we bring God praise, if He knows the words on our tongues and our thoughts and the desires of our hearts, is it in effect a sort of combo-worship session? I don’t know… It probably doesn’t work like that. Anyway, I digress.

Where can I go from God’s presence? Nowhere! He’s with us for the long haul! God is omnipotent and omnipresent, and he loves us! He created us! Before we were born, He set us apart – He made each and every one of us and His love for us knows no bounds. His love reaches everywhere from the highest of heights to the deepest depths, from the east to the west to the north to the south to the planets and across the universe. Absolutely everywhere. Theres nowhere that exists where His love cannot reach. He’s even conquered death! That’s how boundless His love is! Furthermore, He’s so awesome that darkness will not be dark to Him! I don’t know about you, but I think that’s flipping amazing!

I praise Him because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. We are intricately designed by the God of all – everything is! As a consequence, all creation reflects His beauty. And if you take a moment to pause and look out at creation, there is so much beauty there.

God is in creation; the works of His hands are spectacular and breathtaking, from the tulip fields to the snow leopard to the mountains to the coral reefs. Every part of it reflects the beauty and glory of God. Even us! We are blessed with being made in His image.

He has made me and He knows the days of my life – before I was born God was thinking about me! The same goes for you too! Isn’t that great? And He guides me in His holy ways. I feel so loved!

I do not deserve this in the slightest, but I’m so grateful to have such a loving God! His love for us is unending, unfailing and unfathomable. How wonderful is God? When I think of all He’s done… Wow. just Wow. Need I say more? WOW!

You got… THE RANDOM KEYS!!!

The other day I looked in my wardrobe. This should not shock you. It is part of my daily routine as every morning, I get dressed. But suddenly, I noticed something peculiar! My eyes beheld a mysterious sight – two dull bronze coloured keys held together with a double ring of shining silver. These are the kind of keys one would not expect to find in a wardrobe; in my opinion, they would have been more expected in a small treasure chest! Dun dudu du duuuuuun! They could be used to open a door, but only in this area! (for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of playing the legend of zelda series, this may be lost.)

(pictorial representation of the above metaphor)
…

The keys were odd keys. Most incredibly bizarre. I don’t recall ever using them and I havent the foggiest idea how they came to be in residence in my wardrobe. How long had they been there? Who knows! Long enough for one of them to gather dust. Just ONE of them. And THAT in itself is a conundrum! How does just one key gather dust whilst it’s metallic counterparts remain unscathed or sparkling? How is it even possible? Whonu?

But back to the pressing matter at hand – they weren’t my keys, so whose were they? What did they open? Have I had a past repressed use of this key and put it in my wardrobe? Is the key somehow secret; a keycret if you will? I guess one day I’ll find out…

ANYWHO! It inspired me to draw something/ write a short back story to which I have dubbed “master of the keys”. Enjoy.

you hear a chink chink chink in the distance; It’s sound echoes like light chains scraping across a stone floor. You turn around but not a soul is to be seen. Making haste, you try to rush to your destination, only to find two dull bronze keys on the floor. They look so mysterious that you pick them up, and as the cold metal touches your hand, the room goes pitch black. You try to drop the keys but you cannot. You are locked into place. Instantly regretting your decision, you try to move, but you are frozen solid. All of a sudden, you see two red lights. They focus on you. And then you realise that they are giant eyes! Then you see the spiky beard and the flame like wisps of hair. You have been trapped by the master of the keys….

Who am I that God is mindful of me?

The other day as I was driving, I noticed some spring flowers beginning to grow. I drive past this place most days but that was the first time that I’d seen the wave of purples and yellows amongst the blades of grass. They were so beautiful. If there hadn’t been a car behind me, I would have stopped and taken a photo or two. God has made so many beautiful things.

I looked up at the sky, and for once there was a blue sky (albeit with two clouds creeping in far away). The world is so colourful and beautiful and sometimes I just like to take in the beauty of what God has made.

The springtime is beginning, and a new season of colour and beauty will soon appear. As I think of the wonder of God and His glory reflected in creation, I am reminded of this psalm:

Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1-9 NIV)

The psalmist writes of the majesty of the Lord; how His glory shines through the earth and causes people to praise Him! And then the psalmist goes on to say ‘When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?’

Think about that for a moment – God created the vastness of the universe! He intricately designed all things from the planets to pea pods. The moon and the stars shine because He gave them cause to shine. By God’s mighty hand, all things were made. So who is man that God is mindful of him? Who am I that God is mindful of me?

Sometimes I feel lonely. Sometimes I feel that I’m just one guy trying to live out my faith as best I can. But I’m one man made by God. I’m one man who is never really alone because Jesus is with me and the Holy Spirit fills me. I’m one man sustained by God, trying to live for His glory.

God is mindful of His creation. He created man in His image! God created us to be in relationship with Him; it’s true that we don’t always make the best choices in life and that we don’t always find it easy to go on, but God is always there for us. Fact.

The psalmist goes on to say ‘You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.’

And then, the final line of the psalm is echoed in my own heart; ‘Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!’. AMEN TO THAT!

Think about it. God has done so much! He created everything, including us and He has the power to do all things. Yet, He is mindful of His creation. He’s not just like ‘been there, done that’. He cares for us all! Jesus says in Matthew chapter 10

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31 NIV)

Jesus tells us that God knows the number of hairs on your head. He also tells us that God cares for His creation; every time a sparrow falls to the ground, God knows about it. Sparrows, at the time were two-a-penny and God still cares about them. But he cares for us too! We all turned away from our creator at some point and fell into a life of sin. But God never stopped caring for us for one minute.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NIV)

For turning from God, we deserved death. But Jesus sacrificed Himself to pay our ransom. Whilst we deserved death, Jesus took our burdens upon himself To save us from the penalty we deserve. He gave it all for us. That’s how much He cares.

About 2000 years ago, God sent His one and only son Jesus to save us from sin and death. We do not deserve this salvation, but God offers it to us through His son, who conquered death and rose from the grave and will reign forever! I, for one, am thankful to God for this.

I see the majesty of God reflected in the earth. I see the stars, I see the fields and the animals. I see cats waiting at zebra crossings for a safe time to cross the road. I see wonders of the world like niagara falls. I see the seas and the mountains and the weather and the rolling hills and the skies and the birds and so much more. And through the heartbeat of creation, I see the awesomeness of my creator. And I’m thankful that in the midst of everything, He is still mindful of me.

Taking a stand [[TWENTYSEVENMILLION]]

An estimated Twenty Seven Million people are being trafficked in the world right now. Thats twenty seven million people trapped in slavery. Twenty seven million who have no voice. Twenty seven million being trafficked in the 21st century.

Ill give you a moment to take that in. Thats more people being trafficked and enslaved in the world than there are people in australia. It is a truly shocking and horrific figure. But it gets worse. Only 1 -2 % of these people are being rescued at the moment.

If youre anything like me, you felt physically sick at this fact. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to do something about this; to be a voice for the voiceless; to take a stand against injustice. One way of doing this is by supporting the twenty seven million campaign, which is part of the a21 campaign.

(The a21 campaign is a campaign against human trafficking and is about helping the victims of human trafficking. Visit their website here.)

On Friday night, I attended a twenty seven million event. Lz7 started off the event before Beth Redman preached. Then Matt Redman lead worship for a while. At the end of the night, Lz7 and Beth and Matt Redman performed their campaign single, which is also named twenty seven million. It is available on iTunes and other digital download providers today.

It is a collaboration of artists who on first glance, would not appear to go together. But they do go well together, and theyre fighting for a good cause.

That 27 million event put social justice back on my radar. Because to be honest, i’ve been a bit caught up in just going on with my day to day  life. At this event on friday, God reminded me that I can make a change in this world and that I can’t stand idly by and watch darkness swallow this world – i’ve got to do something. Something.

But that got me thinking, what can I do? I’m just one guy. Just ONE guy.

Can one guy make a difference? Yes.

God can still use me, because God uses those who seek Him and want to live for Him. And when I do things with God, I can make a bigger difference in this world than I could ever imagine.

I mentioned earlier that Beth Redman preached at this event. She was talking about what people can do to take a stand against injustice, and she used the analogy of David and Goliath.

1 Samuel 17

New International Version (NIV)

1 Samuel 17

David and Goliath

¹ Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. ² Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. ³ The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.

⁴ A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.^[a]5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels^[b]; ⁶ on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. ⁷ His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.^[c] His shield bearer went ahead of him.

⁸ Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. ⁹ If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” ¹⁰ Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” ¹¹ On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

¹² Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. ¹³ Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. ¹⁴ David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, ¹⁵ but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

¹⁶ For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.

¹⁷ Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah^[d] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. ¹⁸ Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance^[e] from them. ¹⁹ They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”

²⁰ Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. ²¹ Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. ²² David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. ²³ As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. ²⁴ Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.

²⁵ Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”

²⁶ David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

²⁷ They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”

²⁸ When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”

²⁹ “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” ³⁰ He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. ³¹What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.

³² David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

³³ Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

³⁸ Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. ³⁹ David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.

“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. ⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. ⁴² He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

⁴⁵ David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

⁴⁸ As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. ⁴⁹ Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

⁵⁰ So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

⁵¹ David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.

When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. ⁵² Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath^[f] and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.

⁵⁴ David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.

⁵⁵ As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?”

Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.”

⁵⁶ The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”

⁵⁷ As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head.

⁵⁸ “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him.

David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”

Footnotes:

1. 1 Samuel 17:4 That is, about 9 feet 9 inches or about 3 meters
2. 1 Samuel 17:5 That is, about 125 pounds or about 58 kilograms
3. 1 Samuel 17:7 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
4. 1 Samuel 17:17 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
5. 1 Samuel 17:18 Or some token; or some pledge of spoils
6. 1 Samuel 17:52 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew of a valley

New International Version (NIV)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

We jump into the book of 1 Samuel here at the point where the israelites are at a stand off against the philistines. The philistines send out this whopping big guy (over 9ft tall) who starts shouting abuse at the israelites. This guy, called goliath, is a scary hunk of muscle and is shouting stuff like ‘if I beat one of your guys, we own you. If you beat me, you own us.’ He was a massive vision in bronze, and the israelites were scared silly at the thought of him. No one wanted to stand up to him. I bet he was wet yourself scary.

David (who would later become king) is just a boy at this point, tending sheep with his father, Jesse. His brothers are older and are fighting on the side of Saul (the current king). For 40 days, Goliath is coming forward and looking for a fight, no doubt saying nasty things about the israelites. For 40 days, the israelites don’t appear to be doing anything about it. Then Jesse sends David to take some cheese and bread to his brothers. David arrives as the israelites and the philistines are squaring up, and decides to go check up on his brothers. He hears Goliath shouting and decides to do something about it. But Eliab, David’s big brother is like ‘go away and tend your sheep, you aint old enough to do squat’. David is upset and goes to talk to someone else about it. King Saul gets wind of David’s ideas and sends for him. Saul tells David that he’s too young and unskilled to fight Goliath. David tells saul that he’s done alright against bears and lions because God is with him. So Saul is all like ‘huh, worth a shot’ and starts dressing David up in his armour. But David isnt used to the armour and decides to take it off and use his own methods. He takes some stones and approaches Goliath.

Here’s how it went down (but with semi-pokemon style battle script) :

WILD PHILISTINES APPEARED

WILD PHILISTINES SENT OUT GOLIATH

GOLIATH: Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks? *random cursing* C’mere and i’ll feed your flesh to the animals.

DAVID: You come at me armed with weapons, but I come at you in the name of the Lord almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. God will deliver you to me and i’ll chop off your head and i’ll give YOUR WHOLE ARMY’S flesh to the animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in israel. God doesnt save by weapons; Tha battle is God’s and He will give all of you into our hands.

GOLIATH ADVANCES

DAVID RUNS TO MEET HIM

DAVID GOES INTO BAG AND GETS OUT STONE

DAVID SLINGS STONE

STONE HITS GOLIATH IN THE FOREHEAD

It’s Super Effective!

GOLIATH FALLS FACEDOWN

DAVID CHOPS OFF GOLIATH’S HEAD.

WILD PHILISTINES FLED

What does this story show us? When God is on our side, we can overcome anything. Lets not forget Romans 8:31 – If our God is for us, who can be against us? But what else does this tell us? God can use ANYONE! Even a youngster can beat a 9ft giant guy if God is with him.

So how do we apply this in our day and age?  Sometimes, we see situations like human trafficking and we think that theyre always going to be there and theres no use fighting it because we could never make a change. Nuh-uh, not true. WE CAN do something about it.

If God is with us, we can make a change in this world. Even if it looks like we have no chance of making any sort of difference (like David in the passage), when God is on our side, nothing is impossible. So with this twenty seven million campaign, even if we feel small and insignificant, we can make a difference in God’s name. To start a movement, we have to BE the movement. If, like me, you want to see an end to human trafficking, you need to do something about it. There are many big things you could do to support this anti-slavery movement, but if you want to start small, why not buy the twenty seven million track by Matt Redman and LZ7, and spread awareness of the problem through the music industry. Together, we can make a change. And when God is with us, through Him all things are possible.

Check out the song 27 million.

Here are the lyrics:

27 Million LYRICS

See what the worlds done, came to London, she’s a nothing a no one, she’s undone broken dreams, stolen freedom, trapped in the night, trafficked and beaten.
All a part of an evil economy, nothing more than someones commodity, a precious being like you and me, a daughter, a sister, a somebody!

She was drawn by the bright lights, she was tied up in their lights, she worked right through the daylight, no voice, shes a slave to the night.

27 million, like me.
(That’s 27 million on this cruel journey)

We’ve got to rise up, open our eyes up. Be her voice, be her freedom, come on stand up! x4

After the man left, she’s nothing left, no one, no love, no one to call her friend. She’s stuck in the pit of hell, she’s almost sick from the smell. She’s numb, she’s dead from the inside out, her heart is screaming but you don’t hear the shout. Who’s the voice? Who’s going to break the door down? Who wakes her up from the nightmare now?

She was drawn by the bright lights, she was tied up in their lights, she worked right through the daylight, no voice, shes a slave to the night.

27 million, like me.
(27 million that need Heavens mercy!)

We’ve got to rise up, open our eyes up. Be her voice, be her freedom, come on stand up! x4

27 million, are you joking? how did we let evil get so tight a grip? watching while the world falls apart, how did we let this stuff begin? We’re not bothered if this offends, cause you’ve  got people that can defend, but they aint got that; they got nothing, sometimes we’ve got to stand for something; let this be the stand that gets your blood running

Little girl don’t cry, let me dry your eyes in the darkest night, hold on through the storm, you’re not on your own, hold on love will come.

We;ve got to rise up, open our eyes up, be her voice, be her freedom, come on, stand up! x8

Lately i’ve been praying that i’d be fired up about something again. This is the stand that gets my blood running.

I’ve been praying to see the church unite and be passionate about something. I’m trying to spread the heart of God to this broken world. I’m trying to be the heartbeat of the church. I’m taking a stand against injustice  and I invite you to do the same.

An estimated Twenty Seven Million people are being trafficked in the world right now. Thats twenty seven million people trapped in slavery. Twenty seven million who have no voice. Twenty seven million being trafficked in the 21st century. Twenty seven million who can be saved. We can make a change.

We’ve got to rise up// open our eyes up// be her voice// be her freedom// come on stand up

The frotorch

The other day I was chatting over a pint of coca cola with a friend, and we started talking about random business ideas. Here is one that we collectively came up with- the Frotorch!

It’s essentially a blowtorch, but with a completely different function! Spray it on your head and grow an afro! It’s mega volumizing and super stylish! It’s fro cool! (pun on so cool) ish….
:3

Tweety tweety tweet tweet

Hey there! Do you like twitter? Do you tweet? If you do and you’re reading this why not check out the official stickandgooniverse twitter? @thestickandgoo

Stillness

Often, I lie in my bed, motionless. I can’t go to sleep but I can’t sustain being awake. I just lie there.

Sometimes, I think maybe the fact that I can’t sleep is a prompt to prayer. So I pray for whatever I feel is put on my heart and usually get to sleep. Other times, I just lie there and take everything in.

I listen to the noises of midnight. I hear the thunder and the howling winds. I hear the rain lashing down on the world below. I hear cars and vans and lorries driving off into the distance, hurrying along with their schedules. Sometimes I hear people talking, or music in a Doppler effect passing by. I hear the clicks of the cat’s paws as she walks in and out of my room. I hear the sounds of the night time. Sometimes I hear nothing. Sometimes I lie in the silence. I turn my head to gaze out of the window. I see dark colours. Occasionally I see the stars. I see the moon in all it’s beauty.

And in the quiet, I reflect on things. I think of my family and my friends and I thank God for them. For He is in them. I pray for those who do not yet know salvation through Jesus. I pray that i’d be able to make a difference in this world. God is in the difference. I think of the beauty of nature and I thank God for He is in the magnificence. I think of the misty horizons of the future and I pray for guidance, for God creates my future. I think to my life. I thank God for another day that He’s given me. I thank Him that once again I can rest my head in this place. I thank Him for my safety and my freedom and for all He has provided for me. I thank Him for loving me. God is love.

Sometimes, I just tell Him about my day. God knows it all already, but sometimes I just like to tell Him and talk with Him. And in the quiet stillness, He meets with me. God is always there for me with open arms, whatever the circumstances that have happened or no matter how bad the day might have felt.

It reminds me of that passage of scripture in 1 Kings 19:

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13 NIV)

God is meeting with Elijah. So Elijah is waiting on the mountain and there’s a wind so harsh that its splitting rocks. But God wasnt in the wind. And then, there was an earthquake, but God wasn’t in that either. After that came a fire but, again, God wasn’t in it. And then came a gentle whisper. And God was in that gentle whisper.

Sometimes, we look for God in extraordinary things, but we overlook where we can actually meet with Him. God doesn’t need to show off with extravagant events – Like with Elijah, He’ll often meet us in the quiet when we still our hearts. God is in the stillness.

Get to the chopper

This is a doodle I did the other day. A bit random, but quite self explanatory! I’d heard that phrase on an advert or something.

Jimmy one-bird the gangster

Hey there! As I’m sitting here waiting for the rest of my group before we start an exam together, I thought I’d share with you one of the latest characters of the stickandgooniverse! Look who just walked in! Is it tom hanks? No! It’s a funny little new york Italian guy we like to call jimmy one bird. Also his bird. The bird has no name. It’s his little friend. Say hello.

He’s the latest character in the stickandgooniverse, capiche? ( I only said he’s new York Italian because then you’d read it in that accent! He’s not actually a new Yorker or an Italian, because, in fact, he’s a doodle!) :3

T shirt designs

Today whilst taking a break from work, I decided to work on a comic that I started; more specifically the characters and their clothes. Here are some quick designs I drew up. I wonder if they’d sell in real life? Or if people would wear them… I might make some for myself :3

Oh and by the way, ALL T SHIRT DESIGNS (C) STICKANDGOONIVERSE, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!!!