Why I sing

A recent turn of events got me questioning why I sing.

Today, I attended a choir concert that a friend of mine was performing in. They performed a setlist of carols and other songs. One of the songs included this phrase: I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free.

In our church worship band, we used to have a segment where we shared with each other the reasons why we sang. This is an act that sadly no longer happens. I miss it. It was a wonderful and interesting segment. I remember talking at one of these segments, but I have since forgotten the words I said. 3 and a bit years has passed. The church has changed. Things we used to do have been forgotten in favour of new things.

Recent circumstances have got me questioning whether or not I should stay in the worship band. I love to lead worship; I love to sing praise to God. I love to dance in His presence. I love to rest in God’s presence. But I don’t love being told that I should quiet down when I’m worshipping because I’m going for it too much. I don’t love being hindered, or used. Therein lies the dialemma. My love of God is greater than my dislike for limitations. Thus, I presently remain in the worship band.

Earlier on today, I was listening to Freedom Song by Jason Mraz. It’s pre-chorus goes: I feel good; and when I feel good I sing; and the joy it brings makes me feel good. This is true for me when I worship God. Worshipping God makes me feel good and it makes me want to worship God more.

When I was 7 years old, I was in church. I’d grown up in church all my life. At 7, I found myself listening to a sermon, delivered by my Grandfather. That sermon really spoke to me. Correction, God really spoke to me through that sermon. I simply had to do something about it. So that night, as a young boy, I gave my life to Christ on my Grandfather’s knee. And so my spiritual journey began. This is the greatest journey I have ever been on. At school, I tried to live for God the best I could. Where others hid, I stood up for my faith. Where tough spots arose, Jesus guided me through. At the age of 14, I was baptised at a church that I would later attend regularly. In front of strangers and my family and everyone else, I publicly showed that I was prepared to follow Christ.  The next year, I would be baptised in the Holy Spirit. And from there onwards, I’ve been trying to live for Jesus. He shapes my life; He shapes my career and where I go, who I meet and who I have the pleasure of spending time with. He gives me opportunities to tell others about Him. He is always there for me when I need Him, or when I just want to chat. He welcomes me with open arms, despite the guy i’ve been.

Y’see, about 2011 years ago, Jesus sacrificed Himself. He could’ve stayed in heaven, but He chose to come to earth and be born as a baby. He was born in a stable – the King of Kings and Lord of Lords lying in a manger. Jesus grew up and performed many miracles. He taught about many things. He got rid of the old sacrificial system of coming to God by sacrificing Himself. (Y’see, we disobeyed God, who made us and wants to be in relationship with us. We’ve been downright nasty and rude to Him, but He still loves us anyway.) Jesus died for all of us so that we could become closer to God. Then He conquered death. He sent the Holy Spirit to live within us and He promises to take us home at the end of the world, to live with Him for all eternity. We just have to repent and put our faith in Him.

I guess thats why I sing. I sing because my redeemer lives. I sing because Jesus loves me and because I love Him. I sing because thinking about the goodness of God stirs up song within me and I can’t help myself. I sing because I am loved. I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free from sin. 

HYPERLINKS

have a surprised goat

Hey there! Since I had a mega early start today and now i’m incredibly tired i’m going to do a short, but christianity themed post. I want to plug a few websites that deserve a good plugging!

1. Do you love manga? How about the King James Version of the bible? If you answered yes to one or both of these, why not download Siku’s KJV Manga bible for free off Biblefresh (THATS RIGHT ITS FREE!!!) Also, if you want it as a book it will be available on amazon later! Interested? Click this link!
2. Are you a worship leader? Do you enjoy worshipping God? Need some inspiration or perhaps some fresh music to sing/ play? Check out worship central. Its like the toolkit for anyone who wants to worship God. Or something like that. Anywho, check it out!
3. Soul survivor! Need I say more? Ok then – great articles for christians, free sheet music, the latest worship tunes, funny videos, events, etc. I implore thee, checketh this link and findeth joy. Eth. 
4. ONE HERE ON WORDPRESS! Thats right! Congratulations, its a blog! If you would like a daily reading plan for the bible and some commentary (and also video commentary), be like me and do the Bible In One Year.
5. Oh yeah, to do point 4, you might as well use an online bible. There are many translations available, and its free! LINKETY LINK LINK

Oh yeah, and heres a bonus for you. A track from OWL CITY!!

If I’m more awake tomorrow, I’ll get back to the usual post style! These links might be hyper, but i’m flippin’ tired!

 

God, Moses and prophecy.

In the old testament, God used pillars of cloud to show His presence. This is the nearest picture I have to that!

Today I was reading my bible in one year! (I slipped behind a little D: so I read yesterday’s passage today as well!). I noticed a bit of a prophet thing going on.

A few years ago, I went to soul survivor for the first time. I’d heard about it and how good it was and thought i’d like a visit! I went expecting things to happen. Naturally, when I saw a seminar where one could be baptised in the Holy Spirit, I leapt at the opportunity.

So there I was, in this half tent half shed structure (sort of like a gazebo with walls), asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And filled with the Holy Spirit I was! I got the gift of tongues first. After this, I received the gift of prophecy and a burning passion for God! It was a spiritual triple whammy! It was wonderful!

That was a few years ago now. Since, I’ve had visions and words of knowledge and dreams. I’ve tried to put my gift of prophecy to use. Some people who I share this with are receptive to it. Others ignore me completely, but hey – you know what Jesus says in Luke 4:24 :

“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

So, I guess I’ve got to go wider with my prophecies. Geographically, that is. Im not going to (intentionally) get fat or try and stretch out prophecies or anything like that. What I mean is that I’ve probably got to accept that people where i’m from aren’t going to care about what I say.

Sometimes, when I pray for people, my gift of prophecy sets in. A few times, I’ve been laying hands on people and praying for them and it’s been like i’ve sensed that there was something weighing them down. And then it was like I could see locks and chains binding them. And so, being sensitive to the Spirit, I’ve prayed certain specific things for people. When i’ve done this, it was like the locks broke off and the chains fell and they let God in; and boy, did he meet with them! Some of them went down in the Spirit! Brilliant! Other times when I feel the Holy Spirit on me in a powerful way, the tips of my fingers tingle. Sometimes my heart beats super fast! Other times, parts of me shake and my eyelids flicker. Its ok though – its just God’s presence resting on me.

So anyway, to the scripture! I was reading my bible in one year, and I came across this passage:

Numbers 12

New International Version (NIV)

Numbers 12

Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses

¹ Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. ² “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the LORD heard this.³ (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

⁴ At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. ⁵ Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, ⁶ he said, “Listen to my words:

“When there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions,
I speak to them in dreams.
⁷ But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
⁸ With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?”

⁹ The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

We meet the israelites here in the desert. They’ve escaped from Egypt and are on the way to the promised land. (For the first time. Then they mess things up. More on that in a future post?)

Aaron and Miriam are a bit uppity because Moses has married a cushite lady! They don’t like this. They’re all like ‘didn’t God speak through us too’. They are dissing Moses, and effectively dissing God too. NOT A SMART MOVE!

God hears this, because SURPRISE SURPRISE, He’s omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. God isn’t too pleased with them.

The writer then adds here that Moses was the most humble person on the earth. He was humble to God. Miriam and Aaron at this point – not so much!

God says to the three of them ‘come out of the tent of meeting’. They do, and God comes down in a pillar of cloud. He summons Miriam and Aaron. They stepped forward. God explains to them:

 “When there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions,
I speak to them in dreams.
⁷ But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
⁸ With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?”

God tells them about how prophecy works for the ordinary prophet; the prophet who would be known as a servant of God, or a follower of God. And then He tells them about Moses; a man who could be known as a friend of God. God tells them that Moses is faithful and so they speak face to face. With Moses, God does not have to use parables or riddles – He can say it as it is. God says that Moses sees the form of the LORD. I wonder if they actually physically stood and talked together face to face? I wonder if Moses saw the true face of God, unhidden by pillars of cloud or fire?

God lays it down about how faithful Moses is compared to the ordinary prophet. And then He asks Miriam and Aaron whey they were not afraid to speak against him. They don’t appear to have a reason. They aren’t as faithful as Moses. The LORD’s anger burns against them and then He leaves. I, for one, would not like to have been on the end of that!

Looking back to Moses though – God outlines him here as an example of a faithful servant and prophet. He shows how intimate the two of them are – they can talk to each other face to face. How wonderful it would be to have a relationship like that with God! To be known not just as a christian, but as a true friend of God! This is where i’m trying to get to spiritually! I’m trying to build my relationship with God to a much higher level of intimacy than it is now. When I build my future, He’s the main component! Want proof? The course I took at University is because of Him. The university itself is because of Him. The people I will meet will be by His hand, and wherever I go, He will be my guiding light!

Its not the smoothest of rides, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Living for God is better than any adventure! (Its even better than the new zelda!)

 

Joy!

I was pretty joyful when I was shown these puddings at the cheesecake factory! But the cheesecake joy is not at all as much as the joy I've found in knowing Jesus!

Today I was reading my Bible in One Year passages. Yesterday marked the beginning of the readings from the gospel of Luke. That means i’ll be reading the Christmas story again. No, not the commercial ‘SOFA SALE ON NOW’ adverts, coca cola’s ‘HOLIDAYS ARE COMING’ campaigns and endless things about Santa. Nope. I’ll be reading the REAL Christmas story. The reason we have Christmas at all – the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And since today was remembrance Sunday and it is almost over (respect to the country’s unsung heroes and their families!), that means that the countdown to Christmas has officially begun. Thats right: IT IS NOW SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE TO PLAY CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!!!! IN PUBLIC! We are now on points 9 or 10 of the countdown !!! CHRISTMAS IS GETTING CLOSER!

If you don’t like this concept… deal with it!

So anyway, back to the bible (because that is ALWAYS a good thing to come back to and read. Fact!), I came across this passage:

Luke 1:39-56

New International Version (NIV)

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song

⁴⁶ And Mary said:   “My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

We enter the point in history here where the angel Gabriel has visited Mary and Jesus is in the womb. Mary’s relative Elizabeth is pregnant with John (who would grow up to be John the Baptist). Mary goes to visit Elizabeth. And here we are!

Mary hurries along to see Elizabeth. On arrival she greets Elizabeth, like ya do. And then, something amazing happens!

Elizabeth simply hears Mary’s greeting and John leaps for joy in her womb and she is instantly filled with the Holy Spirit. This is amazing in 3 ways:

1. How often do babies jump for joy in the womb? like, never!
2. Just being near Jesus, even though He had not been born as a human yet caused the also as-of-then-unborn John to jump for joy! Pretty cool, huh?
3. Even though Jesus hadn’t been born yet, when Elizabeth was in His presence, the Holy Spirit filled her! Note here that it would be many years later that Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to live among us. We see a taste of the power of Jesus here – His Spirit brings forth blessings even from being a baby! Isn’t that amazing!

Elizabeth blesses Mary! John jumps for joy! Its a joyful moment! Its a wonderful moment! Its a holy moment!

(We don’t know where Zechariah is at this point. Perhaps he’d gone out to the temple or something. We do know he was still mute though! read the first part of Luke 1 if you want to know why Zechariah is mute!)

And after this moment, the heading in the bible is ‘Mary’s song’. So, I guess she sang her heart out here!  (Although under this, it says Mary said… . Perhaps she just said it excitedly?) If she did sing,  I bet it was a pretty tune! Lets have a look at this song!

My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

She praises God. She worships Him! She knows that she is blessed and she is thankful for this! She knows that she will go down in history and instead of grabbing the glory for herself, she lifts up the situation to God. She praises His holy name and sings of His great works and mighty deeds! God is worthy of praise!

When Mary receives God’s blessing, she bursts into song. Praise erupts from within her! She finds unending joy in God and she can’t contain her happiness!

If you wanna hear a different but also great song about the joy that you only find in God, then check this out!

Joy – Phil Wickham

Mary finds joy in knowing God. She is so joyful that she sings! She can’t keep herself from singing! You can know a joy like this too! To quote a t-shirt I nearly bought once ‘JESUS CAN MAKE YOU DANCE, SUCKA!’  

CONFIDENCE

God can speak to you through anything. God can use anything.

…

I think its a pretty well known fact that I like Marvel Comics. (And DC and Shonen Jump, amongst others.) I Like the graphic novels, the films, the clothing – you name it! My work bag is even a marvel bag! One of my favourite marvel characters is Iron Man. I always liked how intelligent and outspoken he was; how much confidence he had. And also the whole metal flight suit thing is pretty darn cool!  So yeah, I like iron man. (There is a point to this; i’m CONTEXTUALISING!)

…

Last weekend, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I was at a soul survivor naturally supernatural conference. It was awesome! I hung out with God! At one point in the evening session, the leader of the session (Mike Pilavachi) felt that, in the Holy Spirit, all the people in the room under a certain age needed to be prayed for. Naturally, I stood up and went for prayer.I’m a bit of an introvert, so the concept of standing up in front of a lot of people scared me a bit. Its an issue i’ve been needing to deal with for a while. But standing up and going out for prayer was the right thing to do. I could feel it in my soul. Two guys ended up praying for me. The first guy prayed some really nice things and it was really encouraging. But its the second guy that I want to focus on.

As he was praying for me, he was getting things from the Holy Spirit; like, by this I mean the Holy Spirit was giving me spiritual gifts/ doing things spiritually for me as he was praying for me. That night, as the man was praying for me, he suddenly got from the Holy Spirit that God was going to build up my confidence; that I would no longer rely on my own strength, but that I would rest in His divine power. And then the guy said something peculiar. (I had my eyes closed at this point and was in the generic ‘receiving’ pose). He said that he was getting the word for me that I would become more confident. And then he said, it would be like an iron man. Which he then quickly corrected from an iron man to iron man. At this point I opened my eyes. Never in my whole life has God spoke to me through iron man! Then the guy asked me if this meant anything to me. Being the big comics fan I was like yeah it does. I was slightly confused though. I don’t know why! God made me – He knows I like iron man too! He knows how I admired the confidence of iron man/ Tony Stark. The guy looked a bit confused too. I don’t think it meant anything at all to him. So I closed my eyes again and the guy continued to pray for me. Then as he was praying, he got a word from the Holy Spirit that God was going to bestow upon me the confidence of iron man and it would be like a physical iron strengthening of my bones! Although I was still a bit confused, I was excited by this! It was from God and through His holy power – I’m all up for that! And as the guy prayed for me, I did feel the Holy Spirit do something to me. Some of my bones did physically shake at the time too! It was great!

Since then, I’ve already seen a change in myself. In leading worship on Sunday morning, I went all out in worship. Apparently I moonwalked. That hasn’t ever happened in church before.

In seminars and things, I’ve felt more open to speaking up.

In evangelism, I’ve felt prompted and just gone with it.

In meeting new people, I’ve just had the drive to go for it.

In prayer, I’ve felt the need to pray for certain people about certain things. I’ve been moved to tears in prayer. I’m becoming more sensitive to the Holy Spirit and i’m loving it.

I have the confidence of iron man, but it is through the power of God! And God’s strength beats iron man’s any day!

…

I was reading my bible earlier tonight and a psalm caught my eye:

Psalm 30

New International Version (NIV)

 

Psalm 30

Psalm 30^[a]

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.^[b] Of David. ¹ I will exalt you, LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
² LORD my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
³ You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.

⁴ Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

⁶ When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
⁷ LORD, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain^[c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.

⁸ To you, LORD, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
⁹ “What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me;
LORD, be my help.”

¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
¹² that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise you forever.

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

 

Some verses in particular spoke to me. I will print them together:

² LORD my God, I called to you for help, 
   and you healed me. 

⁴ Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people; 
   praise his holy name. 

⁶ When I felt secure, I said, 
   “I will never be shaken.” 

⁹ “What is gained if I am silenced, 
   if I go down to the pit? 
Will the dust praise you? 
   Will it proclaim your faithfulness? 
¹⁰ Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me; 
   LORD, be my help.”

¹² that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. 
   LORD my God, I will praise you forever. 

God took my problems and my insecurities and placed them in His hands. And He gave me confidence. But If I do not use it, then what good am I? No good, thats what! So, I’m going to make use of my new God-given confidence and live out His will. My heart will sing His praises and not be silent.

He lifts me up when I am insecure. He gives me the confidence of iron man when I need it most. He gives me exactly what I need to keep moving forward. O LORD my God, I will praise You forever!

[Worship] and [Treasure Hunting*]

Today, I went to the Soul Survivor Naturally Supernatural conference in Salford! Above is the wristband! And God met powerfully with me. He filled me up with His Holy Spirit. We sorted some things out. We hung out together, and He built me up! But thats not the main focus of my blog today. No no no. My focus today is worship and also treasure hunting.

Worship

Worship runs through everything we do. Worship is central to our lives. With every breath we draw, we even breathe in and out the hebrew for God’s name.

Today I heard a brilliant talk from Mike Pilavachi, which I just have to share with you. He was talking about worship in relation to moving in the power of the Holy Spirit. (If you do not know what this is, it basically means that you humble yourself before God and ask Him to do what He wants through you. This can involve things like AoKs [acts of kindness], healing others, encouragements, prophetic words and much much more). Mike made a few brilliant points. I will try and remember them/ write them down. One of them was this: “worship is the greatest weapon in spiritual warfare; it is what brings heaven closer to earth”. Wow! Love it! So true!

Some people see worship as a couple of songs before a meeting in church. Others see it as a warm up act for a sermon. HOW WRONG THESE PEOPLE ARE!!! Their eyes are blind to what worship truly is. If you are one of these people reading this, I pray your eyes would be opened to the truth about worship. Although worship does involve music, it is not solely about songs. It can include poems and drama and dance, amongst other things. BUT it does not stop there. Worship is wired into us – and we can worship God with EVERY part of our lives. From washing up the dishes to being faithful to those you love to being nice to people at work to cleaning out the cat’s litter tray. Like I said, we can worship God with EVERYTHING we do. Its a choice we have. Worship is not a warm up act – it is the main event! It happens continuously.  And it will do far into the future.

I’d like you to think towards the end times. If you haven’t already, read the book of Revelation. It will tell you about whats going to happen in the future, and its all true. So, assuming you’ve read that (SPOILER ALERT: GOD WINS AND REIGNS FOREVER!), think to the creation of the new heavens and the new earth. The perfect ones. I don’t know if it will be like the earth now – I don’t know if we’ll drive cars, have jobs, study hard, go on holiday and whatnot – I can’t tell you this. But one thing I do know – we (those who believe in God and who believe Jesus died to take away their sins) will spend an eternity in God’s presence. And it will be a thick and strong presence, like being honey-glazed with God’s spirit. I think its safe to say, we’ll spend most, if not all of our time worshipping Him. Because He is worthy to be praised. I love the King and the King loves me. And in those days, there will be no evil; there will be no pain or suffering; there will be nothing to tear us down – it will just be us and God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit spending eternity together. Its going to be wonderful!

To summarise we worship God with what we do now, and we will worship Him in the future! Every knee will bow to Him and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. SO yeah, not just the christians, EVERYONE will end up worshipping Him. Everyone! That includes you too! Even people who are atheists will worship Him. Those who slander His name in this life will worship Him. EVERYONE WILL WORSHIP HIM! Got it? good!

But why wait until then? There is always a reason to give God praise! Why not take a moment to worship God right now?

So, as we worship Him in this life, God can do amazing things; draw close to God and funnily enough He draws closer to you. Psalm 22:3 says that God inhabits the praises of His people. What does this mean exactly? It means that God is never far away from us; He is even closer when we bring Him praise. And when we ask Him, He can work through us. Like, sometimes in a worship session, you might get the need to pray for someone or go and talk to them – and through that, God can heal someone and really break into their situations; like, if they’re in need of something, God can give it to them! Or it may be something that you personally need – physical or emotional healing or something else. When we worship God, we focus on Him. We place our worries and our pains in His hands, we lay them at His cross. And as we keep our eyes on Him, He can do wonderful things for us. We just have to put our faith in Him. The anointed one; the Messiah; Jesus Christ! There is tremendous power in His name! Sometimes, even as we focus in on God, the Holy Spirit can sneak round the back as it were and heal us/ build us up/ give us exactly what we need! Hallelujah!

Interlude: Psalm 24

Psalm 24

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.¹ The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
² for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.

³ Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.^[a]

⁵ They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.^[b][c]

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Selah. Pause and reflect on what you have just read. 

…

Now give God the Glory!

Practical application: Treasure Hunting

Now, I know what you’re thinking and no I haven’t lost my mind. There is a link between God and treasure hunting, but it isn’t for conventional treasure. Its not like something from Pirates of the Caribbean or anything like that. We are not looking for gold or relics – we search for people!

I was alerted to the concept of treasure hunting today, and I think it is something I am going to start doing. It is a practical application of a) worshipping God, b) being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, c) living out the great commission and d) being naturally supernatural. In short, its all good stuff. And if you mess up, its OK – just keep trying and keep listening to God’s voice. Ask Him to speak to you. He will! Besides, there are many occasions in the bible where people that God had chosen to do things messed up (one example of this is samson, who neglected his God-given strength because of a woman, and then ended up losing it along with his eyesight.) Here are some practical steps on how to treasure hunt.

1. If you haven’t been baptised in the Holy Spirit already, then make sure you do this. Being baptised in the Holy Spirit is inviting God to work through you/ to minister to people through you and do what He wants. Oh, and there are many cool things that come with being baptised in the Holy Spirit, i.e. the gifts of healing and prophecy, amongst others. The first time people were ever baptised in the Spirit was called Pentecost, and you can read about it here.
2. Invite the Holy Spirit to work through you, to talk to you, and to give you words of knowledge about someone, or ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to someone who needs His help. Perhaps you could ask Him to guide you to someone who needs prayer or healing, or to someone who needs to know the unfathomable love of Jesus. Ask for certain details about the person so that you can find them. The Holy Spirit can reveal them to you. This can be physical features, locations, names, clothing – whatever! Just ask Him to reveal these things to you.
3. Write them down so that you don’t forget. Then, search for the person that you have asked the Holy Spirit about.
4. When you find the person, tell them what you’re doing and ask them if you can pray for them (or at the least tell them about Jesus). If you have a word of knowledge for them, share it. If the Holy Spirit tells you that they need prayer or healing, do it by His power! If the person asks for prayer for something, then pray it through with them. Spread Jesus’ love to people. You’d be amazed at the results. And don’t worry if you mess up or get it wrong – we all get it wrong sometimes! Just keep trying and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance.
5. Repeat as necessary.

Thank you God for hanging out with me today. I pray that Your will would be done in my life. I know my days are gifts from You, and I pray I’d use them as You want me to.

 

Laying down a verse!

I didn't have a picture of a bible on my computer so this will do!

Yesterday, at the CU meeting I attended, they were talking about the Biblefresh campaign and the fact that its 400 years since the release of the King James Bible. Sometimes, I like reading the KJV because its more oldy-worldy and dramatic! It has a certain eloquence. Anyways, there were many bibles around the room, positioned strategically as thought-evoking art installations. One of these installations was simply a bible with a few post-it notes and some highlighter pens; people could highlight a verse with particular meaning to them, or a verse they liked, or a verse that they thought would encourage others. At first, I thought i’d contribute by highlighting Romans 8:31. If you don’t know it, here it is:

Romans 8:31

New International Version (NIV)

More Than Conquerors

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

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

If our God is for us, who can stand against us? Wow thats deep. And theres real power in that phrase. Theres a song by Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and a few others called ‘Our God’ which is based on this verse. Its a really powerful one that you can belt out like nobody’s business! We sing it at my church. Heres the link: http://youtu.be/j_t_87NyHx0 . I thought highlighting this verse may encourage others. I felt I was poised for action when that pen was free!

But whilst queueing to highlight the verse, I was suddenly compelled to highlight an alternate verse instead. This verse has particular meaning for me. It has been prophesied over me a few times and over many years. It even appeared at my baptism! Here it is:

1 Timothy 4

New International Version (NIV)

¹² Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. ¹³ Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

For a lot of my life I have had the displeasure of having my opinions disregarded in favour of those of older people. I found this hard to accept, because some of the times when my views were overlooked, they were disregarded in favour of the views of someone who had not been a christian as long as I had. But even when I felt I was having it rough, this verse kept on popping into my head. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

And thats just what I did. Or at least, I tried. I tried not to let people look down on me, but they did. I did however, through God’s grace and persistence, manage to get myself into the worship team. In terms of setting an example, I tried to lead by example. I tried to develop good christian relationships with my peers in the church, but I guess they weren’t up for it like I was. I started bands, I wrote songs, I prayed with people… and I appeared to get nowhere. I read my bible in public places. I read it in Starbucks. I read it in college. I had it as an app on my phone (I still have it as an app on my phone). I read it in different languages to try and evoke questions from people. I tried to set up a cell group, but the ‘leaders’ said no. I shared my testimony at youth meetings. I tried so so so hard to live this verse out but I.GOT.NOWHERE.FAST. So, I shamefully admit, I mentally put this verse to one side. I thought that perhaps it might come back to me in the future, but now wasn’t the right time.

At this year’s soul survivor festival, I went expecting to be filled again with the Holy Spirit. I went there, longing to meet with God powerfully. I longed to hear His voice. The days passed. The nights passed. I heard nothing.

I questioned myself. Was it me? Was I holding back? Was I blocking God out? Was my faith that weak that I couldn’t even hear from Him? I was desperately seeking a solution.

A few more meetings passed and we came to the end of the week.  Just when I thought I was going to hear nothing from God, I get LOADS from Him at once. All one after the other. BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM! He told me to bring dance into worship. He told me He was going to use my language skills in the most random places, to spread the gospel to those far from home. He told me I was going to reach people through my art and drawings, and that I would reach others through the things I’d write in public places, like Facebook or texting and whatnot. I was so happy that I’d heard from Him, I think I cried tears of Joy. And then I realised something. I had a massive mission ahead of me. Being a pretty introverted guy, this would prove to be an exciting adventure!

So, with regards to not letting anyone look down on me because of my age; God had opened some doors, but had my timidity closed them? I decided to just go for it in whatever I was doing. I used to be a bit scared because there were so many people watching when I was leading worship. Now, I don’t really give a hoot what people think. hoot hoot. I breakdance in worship. I jump up and down. Think thats shocking? Why? King David did it and he was nearly nude when he was doing it! (I dance fully clothed). Besides, its not for people, its for my audience of one, the King of Kings.

And concerning setting an example, I’ve gone for it with dance. I’ve textified. I’ve prayed with and for people. I’ve seen visions (prophetic). I’ve tried to change the world for Jesus as best I can. I’ve planted seeds in people that might one day sprout into a passion for Jesus. I’ve declared His love for me. I’ve raved on about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to people who would listen.

And with an eye to devoting myself to the public reading of scripture, preaching and teaching, I’ve started the Bible In One Year. I posted messages about Jesus on Facebook. I posted worship songs on my friend’s walls. I invited people to various events. But I did not feel that this was enough.

So guess what? I set THIS little humdinger of a website up. I’m giving YOU my thoughts on life. I hope you enjoy them, and that if you haven’t already, you discover the unfathomably brilliant love of Jesus, and the unexplainable joy that comes with knowing and following Him.  Deciding to follow Jesus is the best decision you will ever make. Trust me on this one! I never saw myself as a blogger, but hey, here I am blogging. And I know for a fact that this blog is reaching further across the world than I can physically go in a day! That just shows how great God is. He can take the thoughts that I have and use them to talk to others – even those I haven’t met.

You may be pleased to know that I did end up highlighting the verse from 1 timothy. And I hope that when somebody reads it, God speaks to them through it. He sure spoke to me through it!

If you’re an older person, I implore you to let the younger people with a passion for winning the lost and spreading the love of Jesus have a chance at making a difference. Don’t hinder their spiritual growth.

If you are the young person that people are looking down on, just keep going. Live to make Jesus famous. Live loud. Even if things don’t appear to be happening or lining up for you, God can suddenly burst in at any time and change everything. And I mean absolutely everything. You just have to believe.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.  Until Jesus comes again, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Spread the love of Jesus! And to paraphrase Romans 8:31, If our God is for us, what can stand against us?

Universally magnificent

Today I watched Thor again. I’ve now seen it twice, and I’m sure I will watch it many more times! I think that it is an excellent film. One could say that it is a THORSOME film. Its got good graphics, a good storyline, great characters, tie ins with other movies in the Avengers series and one brilliant plot twist after the credits! I would easily put it in my top 5.

Part of the reason that I like Thor, and the Thor graphic novels, is because it is based partly on norse myth and legend. I like to see what other cultures think about and believe, and this does not fail to disappoint. (This is also partly why studying ancient Rome and ancient Greece interested me.) It is, however, a Marvel film and so may not be true to the original legends, but you get the overall gist of things from it.

The belief, as I gather from Thor, is that various realms are connected via this cosmic tree thingading. The people from Asgard are on the top, whereas the people from Hel are on the bottom. Earth is somewhere in between. Asgardians seem to rule the roost, and they even have a thing called the bifrost where they can reach other worlds. It seemed a bit fanciful to me, but it must be based on some sort of legend or some stories somewhere. It is not really the difference in belief that I want to talk about though – it is the vastness of the Thor world system.

There are many realms in Thor, and each one of them carries a certain beauty. Take for example, the Asgardian rainbow bridge and the sea below it. It is described as beautiful, and at the end it has a portal to the other worlds. These worlds are all apparently connected by the tree thing, but rarely meet other than through the bifrost, which is a sort of space cannon that shoots people around in bolts of lightning. The universe described in the Thor film and books is huge, vast and beautiful. It gets even bigger when meeting people like the fantastic 4, but I’ll not go into that right now. The creation of said universe is not depicted in the film, or the books I have read. It just appears big and pretty. As with most things in life, this got me to thinking. Moreover, it got me thinking about our universe.

Scientists say that our universe is millions of light-years wide and is ever expanding. However, tracing biblical timelines, we have not been around for millions of years so how would they know? How could technology built in fairly recent years have any way of measuring the size of the universe? It couldn’t. It breeds speculation. Its hype. They also claim that there are other universes out there. Again, how would they know? They haven’t reached the end of ours!

Many people have different views on how the universe was created. A lot of people seem to subscribe to the view that there was a large bang and then POOF! we appeared. I do not think this happened. I dropped a pan the other day and it made a banging sound and nothing was created! Also, look around you for a moment. How could a bang, an explosion, a loud noise create a whole universe? How could that possibly happen? Take humans for example – we are so intricately designed (made in God’s image) and each one of us is unique – how could a bang do that? I have heard some people say that when God created everything, there may have been a bang, you know, for flamboyance – but this didn’t create anything. And don’t get me started on evolution. (Just a quick outline – we were intricately designed. We were made for a purpose. My ancestor was not an ape. King Kong is not my grandpa! God made man and he made us different to the animals. And God gave different parts of creation different purposes and abilities.) Other people subscribe to the view that the world is on the back of a giant turtle. Another view is that the world was created by a giant noodle. Seriously? A noodle. A man-made delicious edible food substance. NOPE THATS NOT WHAT CREATED THE WORLD!!!!

Many people also speculate on the universe. Is Pluto a real planet? Or is it just a planet wannabe? Should we be telling it to hang out with the moon and all the other satellites, or is it not cool enough for them either? How big is the universe? We were taught in school that it is opening up like a balloon. WHAT? It’s not called a Ballooniverse guys! But is it expanding? Are we alone? Is there life beyond our planet? Will the apes rise like in the movies? What if one day I wake up and yoda wants me to be a jedi and he’s like “Darth vader’s a badman innit? Lets shank him” and I have to be all “KK LOL”? What happens at the end of the universe? Would you fall out?

So far, we’ve discovered the planets, comets, some satellites, many stars, constellations and some galaxies. Perhaps the rest is not for us to know right now. If you think about it though, even just our solar system – it is vast. Not just vast, but immensely vast. Unfathomably fast. And real purty too. The way the planets move through space is amazing! The way the sun helps to aid life is amazing! The beauty of it all is amazing! And have you seen the stars? The other year, I was at soul survivor festival, and there was a brilliantly clear sky. The night sky was like a dark canvas, on which God had painted a beautiful picture. The milky way was visible up above and it was truly beautiful. It was mind blowing. It was awesome! Seeing just a glimpse of the vast creation of God and the extent of His work just put things into perspective for me. In comparison to this vast and magnificent universe, lil’ old me was just an invisible dot (man) on an invisible dot (UK) on an invisible dot (Earth) in the universe. God, who made it all, was and still is prepared to talk to me – the invisible dot. GET THIS – God, who flung the stars into space and knows them by name; God, who knows the number of hairs on your head, and the amount of grains of sand on the earth; God, who in His infinite wisdom and with His unfathomable creativity, created the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, the stars and the planets and everything else has time for me. Me. That invisible speck thats part of His creation. Not only does He have time for me, but He loves me. He loves us all. Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t His love magnificent? I saw the milky way that night and was in awe of its beauty. However, as I stood there with my jaw on the floor, I was more in awe of its creator. I was silently thankful that the One who made something this beautiful made me too, and loves me. Even though in comparison I am small, God knows my name. He knows who I am and He cares for me. And for this, I am eternally grateful, and will be eternally in awe of Him.

One thing I have noticed about creation is this- God likes circular, cylindrical, spherical and swirly patterns. The planets are spherical; hurricanes are swirly; stars are circular; trees are cylindrical; many more things that I could list fall into these categories. It is interesting to note here, that when we were in the womb, we developed in the foetal position, which is like curling up into a ball.  In contrast, man likes square and cuboid and cube objects, like buildings, computers, iPods, furniture, etc.

If I think about creation and how varied it is, it blows my mind. God made so much, yet he put so much detail into everything, to give it individuality. From songbirds to supernovas, from constellations to canyons, from mountain ranges to men, God created them all and gave them variance. He created the universe and everything in it. I’m not sure if we’ll ever grasp how big it is, or just how much work has gone into it – It blows my mind every time I try! The universe is magnificent. Lets look at creation in the scriptures:

Genesis 1

New International Version (NIV)

Genesis 1

The Beginning

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” ⁷So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” ²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 2

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Wow. Just wow. God created everything. Everything was created by His divine design. All the worlds, all the planets, all the vegetation, all the animals, mankind – EVERYTHING. Light and dark, He created them. Water and dry land, He created them. The vastness and beauty of the universe, and everything in it… You guessed it, HE CREATED IT ALL! No bang, no noodle, no turtle – GOD created it all. And its so flipping big! We think the world is big, but its nothing compared to the size of all creation! Each part of creation carries its own individual beauty. It is truly amazing. And then there is heaven. We haven’t had the privilege of seeing that yet, but I bet its awesome. Universally magnificent! And unlike the stories of Thor and the graphic novels, this story and this universe is real. Our God is real, and He is true. And if you don’t know Him already, He’s waiting for you with open arms. It doesn’t matter how small we are, God is always there for us. Jesus came and died for us. He rose again and conquered death, so that we could be reconciled with God. The Holy Spirit is always with us, if we acknowledge and believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. You can know God, and trust me, knowing Him; being in relationship with your creator is universally magnificent. Its brilliant. Its awesome. It blows the mind. Yet, it is possible! I heartily recommend it. Following Him is the best decision I ever made!

God made it all. He designed it all. He gave us life and a reason to live. He shows us the beauty of His unfathomably vast creation. He is universally magnificent. I cannot comprehend the vastness of creation, but because of it, I stand in awe of Him. I will worship my God, for He has done great things!

I’m feline this.

This morning, I was awoken by the sound of the clickety-clack of paws slinking across the floor. As I opened my eyes, I noticed there were two green eyes staring back at me. She meowed and walked away. The cat was like my furry alarm clock this morning.

Forget what people say about dogs being man’s best friend – cats are. My cat is loyal to me! She comes to find me and sits with me and stuff like that. I would choose her over a dog any day.

Earlier on today, I was reading my Bible In One Year passages for the day, like you do, and the cat came up to my room to find me. I gave her a quick little stroke before she burrowed under the duvet and completely disappeared. That is to say, she disappeared, but there was this big purring lump in the duvet, so I still knew she was there. She sat there purring whilst I read my bible.

Then, I went to re-string my guitar. I was playing ‘Jesus Saves’ by Tim Hughes on it yesterday and one of the strings snapped. I hadn’t even finished the intro! And forget what James Morrison or whoever it was sang; playing broken strings is not a feasible feat! Thankfully, I had a spare string lying around the house. How fiddly is it changing guitar strings?!?!? I’m always surprised at how fiddly it is every time I have to change one. I don’t know why I’m always so surprised, but it gets me every time! Perhaps theres a secret guitar string changing method I haven’t discovered yet, or that has to be taught in a top secret guitar dojo or something. I changed it myself though, because if you want it done in town, I heard it costs a tenner! R.I.P. O.F.F! The strings don’t even cost that much!

After I tackled the immensely fiddly task of re-stringing a guitar, I got to playing some worship songs out of ‘The Worship Songbook’ (Formerly known as the soul survivor songbook.) The cat had now re-emerged from the depths of the duvet and was looking up at me. I decided to play some of the songs off Matt Redman’s latest album “10,000 Reasons”. It is a lovely album, you simply must have a listen : http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/we-are-the-free/id441687303?i=441687312 . I played ‘endless hallelujah’ and a few others.

The point is not in what I played, but the cat’s reaction to it. Whenever I was playing these worship songs, she started purring and occasionally tried to meow along. Its not really anything I’d ever seen her do before. I mean, I know certain music has an effect on her, (‘Neapolitan Dreams’ by Lisa Mitchell sends her to sleep, whilst ‘Baby Elephant Walk’ by Henry Mancini makes her go wild and crazy!), but I’ve never seen her seemingly engage in worship. As most things do, this got me thinking. Can animals worship?

I know it might sound silly, but can they? God created them too! We were created by God and we have the choice to worship Him, and I wonder if the animals do?  They can be used by God, I know that! And they can acknowledge His existence. One clear example of this is when Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem. Another is this:

Numbers 22:23-30

New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. ²²But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.

²⁴ Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

²⁶ Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. ²⁸ Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

²⁹ Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

“No,” he said.

³¹ Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

³² The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”

³⁴ Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

If you thought donkey in the shrek movies was a bit farfetched, a donkey has actually talked in history! In this passage, Baalam’s donkey knew that God was not happy with Baalam for going against Him, and so the donkey tries to stop Baalam from being killed by an angel of the Lord. The donkey knows God’s power, and it tries to protect its rider. However, Baalam does not see the angel of the Lord standing before them and he is having none of it, so he starts beating the donkey. AND THEN IT TALKS TO HIM! It asks him why he was beating it. The donkey has seen the power of God here, and by the power of God it has been given the chance to talk in a language comprehensible to humans. God uses the donkey (and an angel) to talk to Baalam here.

Although we’ve seen that animals can be used by God, I wonder if they can praise Him, in their own unique ways.

The psalmist writes:

Psalm 150

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 150

¹ Praise the LORD.   Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
² Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
⁴ praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

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

Praise the Lord seems to be the message here. But hold up, whats that last verse? Let EVERYTHING that has breath praise the Lord. Everything, you say?

Does this include animals and insects and fish and birds? They all have breath! Logically, this statement would include them! Perhaps they do already praise the Lord, and we just can’t see it!

If you think about it, perhaps animals could talk our language originally. Looking back to Genesis, God created all the animals and Adam gave them names. How would they know what they were if they could not at least understand our language? Furthermore, the serpent in the garden of eden TALKS to Eve, persuading her to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge, thus spurring the fall of man. The snake could talk, but what about the other animals?

Maybe, and just maybe, the human race and the animals could talk to each other freely before the incident at the tower of babel. Genesis 11:1 says that the whole world had one language and a common speech at this time. This must have included animals, otherwise it wouldn’t have said the whole world, right? After the people tried to build a tower to reach heaven and make themselves famous in the process, God confused their languages. It would make sense that this included animals.

People say that animals such as dogs can understand a few words, and parrots and other birds can learn to speak a few words. Studies have shown that cats reserve most of their ‘meow’ noises for when they are in human company. Interesting huh? I read somewhere that if you consistently say something to a cat over and over again, it will eventually try to mimic you. I’m sure my cat can say ‘hello’! Can the animals understand us? Did we originally have the chance to talk to them, and have conversations? Do they talk to God in their own ways? Do they worship Him?

Lets look at this passage from Philippians:

Philippians 2

New International Version (NIV)

Philippians 2

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

 This passage talks about Jesus and how He sacrificed Himself to save the world. Lets focus here on verses 10 and 11.

¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
   to the glory of God the Father. 

It says every knee will bow. Every knee MUST include animal knees, right? There are some creatures without knees though. But every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. EVERY tongue. Thinking logically, this means that alongside humans, animals will confess that Jesus is Lord. That would be awesome! A sight to behold!

Moving onwards, lets look at revelation briefly. If you read the book of Revelation, it is a vision revealed to John by God. John was able to write this down. It is a prophecy of what will happen in the end times. Which, judging by the state of the world, will be happening fairly soon.

First, I will give the introduction, then, I will skip straight to chapter 4. I strongly advise reading this book. It is wonderful!

Revelation 1

Prologue

¹ The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Revelation 4

The Throne in Heaven

¹ After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” ² At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. ³ And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. ⁴ Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. ⁶ Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.   In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. ⁷ The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. ⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’

who was, and is, and is to come.”

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

¹¹ “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”

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

 Here, we see a glimpse of heaven, and four living creatures worshipping God. “The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.” I’m not sure if these creatures are like what they are listed as, or if they are fully what they are listed as, but one thing is for certain – they are all worshipping God. And from this point in revelation onwards, they continue to worship God.

So we know that animals can be used by God. We know some creatures that have worshipped Him. I wonder if the animals are worshipping Him right now. If they can be loyal and loving to a human, how much more loving and loyal must they be to their creator? Perhaps my cat purring along with me whilst I was worshipping God was her way of joining in.

Did they originally talk with us? Do they worship God as well? When we worship God, do they join in? Perhaps this is not for us to know right now.

This I do know:

All will be revealed in heaven, when EVERY knee will bow before Him, and EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

POOF!

The other day I was sat in a Starbucks, sipping on a mocha, and I was thinking about things. A lot of my friends think that I’m a bit of a Starbucks fanatic – I used to be in there every week. But that was mostly due to the following reasons:

1. I had an ample supply of Starbucks cards
2. There are no large sit in Tim Horton’s in England (to my knowledge), there were definitely not any in town!
3. I love coffee. Moreover, I love Starbucks coffee. That anniversary blend was fabulous.
4. Its a nice environment to sit in (especially when its raining outside). It has class.
5. There were times when I had to wait for a lift

Its true though, I do enjoy a good Starbucks. And in the particular Starbucks I was sat in, this was on the wall ^. After sampling the delectable hot beverage I was holding, I decided to sample the decor, so to speak. Taking my eyes off the chocolatey delight in the cup, I looked up to see this little story thingading on the wall. Its a nice decorative feature, and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Even the calligraphy and styles of lettering are nice. Upon reading it, I saw that it was a story of two people talking in a cafe. Perhaps it was an old Starbucks employee story, or perhaps it was a gigantic hint at what the staff wanted the customers to do. Whatever it was, seemed to be working. People were talking, and people were also looking at it. In short, they recognised it’s existence. As with most things I come across in life, this got me thinking.

Up until I turned 18, I seemed to be invisible to a lot of people. Sadly, I saw this most at church. Other people’s opinions were worth 2 of mine, and if I wanted to start something new, like a youth worship band, I was looked down on like I didn’t know anything. I would like to point out here that I did know a thing or two – I’d studied classics! (If you want to read some funny classical literature, find Herodotus’ writings on Egypt or barbarians. Both never fail to please.) In a lot of people’s eyes, I was just a ‘kid’ (someone actually said that to me once), and I might as well not have been there, because I certainly wasn’t treated with the equality that my peers had (yes, thats right – some of them were the same age as me, but their opinions mattered more than mine for some reason). I didn’t understand this, and so I thought ‘shove it’. If I was going to do something that would make a difference, I would have to start elsewhere. So, I went to SOUL SURVIVOR. I treated it as my church. I got baptised in the Holy Spirit there. I attended as many Soul Survivor events as I could. I also discovered WORSHIP CENTRAL, and so tried to get down to as many of their events as I could. Some Sundays, I even travelled all the way up to Abundant Life Church, Bradford, just desperate to hear God’s word! I tried to get as much church as I could, because I wanted God to speak to me. I wanted to know how I could make a difference, and so I asked God.

To cut a long story short, God showed up and showed me how I could make a difference. I was already a part of the worship band at my church at that time, but I was a timid little backing singer who stood rigid all the way through the worship set list. Heck, I stood so rigid that sometimes my legs hurt from not having moved in half an hour! God helped me loosen up, and He provided a future for me – He provided me with a specific career path, and a means of getting there! I’m thankful for this. I kept being the studious guy I always was, and kept marching forward, with my eyes on the prize.

I continued as I always had, and tried to always keep God in the number 1 spot. Then I turned 18, and overnight it was suddenly like *POOF!* I had appeared into the world. I was suddenly worth talking to! My opinion started to matter. The youth worship band I had tried to set up years before was now up and running, and they (mostly) wanted me to be a part of it. They even wanted me to start a bible study group! And I was still continuing as normal. Nothing had changed but their attitudes towards me. Everything happens for a reason though, and it was all in God’s timing. Although I cannot see the big picture or grand scheme of my life, I must keep putting my faith in God, because I know He will open things up at the right time. He always provides for me and helps me out. ALWAYS. Thats a lot of time!

One day I got a phone call asking me if I wanted to be Jesus. I was like ‘whaaaaaaaa?’ and then ‘how sacrilegious!’. The person phoning me was inquiring if I would like to play a part in a PLAY or PLAY LIKE SKIT on stage. Personally, I think he should’ve led with that. It would have saved on major confusion.

I thought it was funny, that although I had remained the same person, people judge you on age and do not see you as mature enough to talk to until you were 18. And i’m not trying to be funny or anything, but I was mature enough to talk to waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before then.  Why is it that people are so judgemental? Why are they so quick to pass judgement without getting to know a guy? Or is it just people from where I’m from that are like that? Anyways, it was like one minute I wasn’t there and then POOF, I’d turned 18 and appeared into the world! It was like people were thinking “he’s there, but don’t tell anyone! Maybe if we can’t see him, he can’t see us!”

Today, I was reading my bible when I spotted another kind of POOF! moment:

Matthew 17

New International Version (NIV)

Matthew 17

The Transfiguration

¹ After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰ The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

I read this and I was like whaaaaaa? What was all that about? (I will tenuously link it to my anecdote above).

Jesus led a few of his disciples up a high mountain and then started shining. Yep thats right, Jesus was shining! Particularly shiny things at the time included His face and His clothes. And then POOF! Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Jesus. At this point, Moses was long dead and Elijah had been taken up to heaven. So this POOF moment was a bit more special than me turning 18. This was a heavenly conversation with a somewhat shiny Jesus. At this, Peter wants to build altars to the three of them, because its such a holy and special moment. But, God interrupts him and says “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”. The disciples are now pretty scared and fall facedown to the ground. Then Jesus tells them not to be worried. Its all a bit confusing.

Jesus has just taken them up a mountain, started shining and then started talking with some people who had gone to heaven a looooong time ago. Then, God appears in a cloud and declares that Jesus is His son, in whom He is well pleased. God has just divinely revealed His son to the disciples – and then something even more confusing happens. Jesus tells them not to tell anyone what they have seen until He has been raised from the dead. WHAT THE WHAT? Then they have a little talk about John the baptist, and seem to then just continue as normal.

So, as promised, the tenuous link: I kept going as normal and then when I turned 18, God provided me with opportunity and provided a way for me to proceed. Perhaps this was because there were things I couldn’t do until I was 18, or perhaps God was teaching me something for later in life through the experience. Whatever the reason, It was in God’s time and it must have carried a heavenly purpose.

In this passage, the disciples and Jesus are keeping on going as normal, when Jesus full on reveals to them that He is the son of God, and shows them something confusing but wonderful. Again, this was for a purpose and was in God’s timing. And the fact that the disciples were not to tell anyone until after Jesus had raised up from the dead was also for a purpose and was in God’s timing.

Sometimes, we get all hung up on the timing of things because we can’t see the bigger picture. The POOF moments in life can surprise, scare or excite us. But, as I would like to stress here, its not up to us, and its not for us to worry about.

God always prepares a way for us. He uses things we never thought possible to take us down paths we would never have dreamt of to lead us to places where we can make a gigantic impact for Him. He uses the POOF moments to teach us things and to open doors for us, although it may not be apparent to us at the time. God always has a plan – we just have to put our faith in Him and trust in His way. POOF.