I am in the centre of a circle. The dots near me are the people I see often: family, church members, and close friends. As we move out to the edges these are the people we don't see very often: Aquaintances and people who cross our path and who we speak to once and maybe never see again. On the outside of the circle are people we pass in the street, observe from afar and the people we are yet to meet.
This is our Circle of Influence.
Think back to 10 years ago. Is the circle of influence the same as it is now or different? Do you still speak to these people? Will you ever see them again?
My circle of influence is almost completely changed even in the last 3 years. People come and go in our lives and we move countries or towns and make new friends and are in different situations. Young adults leave school and go to University.
The point I am trying to make is, what influence have you made on these people. Will someone who has never heard of Jesus come into your circle today and go out tomorrow never having heard the good news or even having at least one seed sown into their lives? What if this person'ts only encounter with a Christian circle of influence was yours and you said and did nothing?
Was the prompting of the Holy Spirit there or did you drown Him out with your rationalisations?
Sometimes it is just so much easier to get up every day and neglect the time we have with God because if we pray He may answer. If we open our ears we will be able to hear His still small voice telling us to go and talk to or give to someone.
Matthew 25v16-29
Jesus talks about the 3 men and the talents they were given. Are we going to take what God is asking us to do and use it and be profitable or are we going to hide it and not trust that God will be with is in this and has given us everything we need to do these thinks.
I went to a women's conference earlier this month called EquipHer and an awesome woman of God, Esther Elliot, gave an illustration of someone crossing the road and tripping and falling and dropping what they were holding. Some of us will see what is happening and choose to turn and walk away or point and laugh.
But if that was someone close to you like your mother or sister there wouldn't be even a thought 'should I help?' There would not be any thinking about whether it is God telling me to go help them or feeling uncomfortable. In this way we should be with everyone quick to act and slow to rationalise and compromise and think our way out.
When we walk in truth and faith and we follow Jesus our minds are renewed and we think differently. We think in the Spirit and not in the flesh. It becomes easier to give and forgive. God's voice and his will becomes clear and we live our lives differently.
I was thinking this morning how I have survived most of winter. In a week it will be it will be another season. Spring! Winter I find to be a really trying time. I do feel sometimes that I would really much rather be a bear and hibernate through Winter. Everything smells either damp or stale, condensation drips from the windows every morning and keeping warm is expensive.
There is always somebody in my house with a cold or runny nose.
All in all Winter is is just not my favourite time of the year and I do feel a little blue and depressed as the weeks go by. Everyday is a decision to get up and go for my walk, despite the rain and cold. I would much rather stay in bed where it is warm, alternating between sleeping and reading.
But I know if I all this season's dreariness and trials to get me down my happiness and the atmosphere in my home will suffer.
And such it is with the seasons in our Christian walk. Despite what is happening or not happening we have decisions to make. Changes to make so we can adapt and become stronger so that when the next season God is leading us into comes we will be fully prepared and ready to be on fire for the desires God has spoken into our lives.
We need to hold onto the hope that the next season is just around the corner and that it is even better than the one we are in.
Sometimes our Winter is long and it seems like we are going to be in the waiting room forever. I feel I am coming out of a Winter in my own life. I turn 30 this year and I have been keeping busy and learning things over the last 22 years since I became a Christian and I feel it has been a time of equipping and preparation for the next season. I have been waiting my turn to bud and bloom. Seeds have been sown and fertilised, watered with the storms and the warmed by the beating down of the heat of the sun on the soil.
It has been important to have these seeds planted correctly and on good soil, watered and given light. God cannot do work through me if these seeds are scattered on hard and unyielding ground.
I am really looking forward to the next season and what God has in store for my life. It is scary though because I know it is going to take me saying yes to things that I will feel unequipped for and I will need to step out of my comfort zone. There are going to be people who come into my circle and I am going to have to decided to rise up and listen and obey God's voice when He calls me to encourage, give, impart and bless others.
I know I have a lot to learn still and I know that for the rest of my life on this earth there will always be something I will need to repent of, change and learn from. But how great is our God that will never leave us or forsake is and who loves us and wants the very best for us!
So I challenge you. Open your ears, heart and minds to the Lord and what He is asking you to do for your neighbour or the person who crosses your path today. You may find that is just as much for your own good as it is for the good of the other person.
Blessings for this week
xx Tamryn
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Lessons from the little ones
I have four gorgeous little girls. And just for the record yes I am mad, madly in love, and yes I do have my hands full and I am so grateful to the Lord for these full hands.
My eldest Jenny-Bean is 6. She just jumps all over the show. Hardly ever still and talks non-stop. I feel sometimes I should supply everyone with super glue with the way she talks their ears off. She is a very quiet and gentle soul.
My second eldest Becky-Boo is 4 soon. She is Barbie one minute and a Princess the next or both. She loves dresses and pretty things and already has a good dress sense. Very smart and giggles when we growl her, which makes it terribly difficult to keep a straight face.
My Third daughter, Patty-Pie will be 2 two days after little Becky's birthday. She is our delightfully plump and happy little lioness. She has tight blonde curls and the broadest smile. She loves to laugh and is very assertive and knows exactly what she wants. She loves cows and moos at them very loudly when we are in the car driving anywhere. We live in New Zealand so you must know that there are about a million cows in an hours drive.
My Fourth and last precious daughter Sandy-Beth is 5 months old. Unlike the others she has brown hair. She is very squeaky. I have never ever known a baby to make a hawk sound when she cries or is upset and now that she is a bit older she squeaks when she is happy too.
I have been going through a little bit of a writers block of sorts. There is just so much God is speaking to me about and I would like to blog about it all but I feel I could come across preachy and it could all be pretty jumbled and confused. I have been feeling a need to start writing in my blog more often A) to help others and B) to help myself understand things about God and His relationship with us.
I have learnt a lot the last few years being a mother. I don't pretend to know it all and I am fully aware that everyone's parenting styles are different and that every child is different. I think this is why God puts us in families. But to not ask for help or try to be better can become very easy. I had the attitude of this is my kid and I know them better than you so I will fine on my own thanks, don't tell me what to do.
I to some extent still feel this way but am open to seeking advice when I am at the end of my rope.
I hope to help you out a bit and show you how to cope when things are tough and how not to act like I do when things are tough. I have introduced you to my girls because they have taught me much about life and about God and what He says about us.
I do not have it all together and I will not pretend to be perfect and I may even crack a lame joke or two.
A bit about me. I am 28, a mother of 4 girls and wife to 1 Techy geek husband (he will be ok with me calling him that lol). I love to sing and dance (in my kitchen). I love scrapbooking, knitting, sewing, painting, crafts.... you get the idea. I love telling jokes to people and making puns and try to be funny with some degree of success. Most of all I love my God. I have gone through difficult times and things that I could not have done if it was not for His constant hand over my life. He is my all and everything and every time I come through a dark tunnel in my life I am greatly aware of His presence and work in my life since the day I was born.
I became a Christian in my room with my head bowed at the age of 8 or 9. I have always known my God and have always wanted to see His face and have more of His presence in my life.
I was born in South Africa and shortly after the birth of my first daughter, when I was married for 3 and a half years, we sold our house and packed up all we had and moved to New Zealand where we have spent the last 5 and a half years of our lives enjoying every moment of this adventure.
Now that you know a bit about me and my family I will attempt to write more often about my experiences and the thinks I have learnt and the things I am learning from God and my girls.
Kia Kaha
(Be Strong)
xx Tamryn :)
My eldest Jenny-Bean is 6. She just jumps all over the show. Hardly ever still and talks non-stop. I feel sometimes I should supply everyone with super glue with the way she talks their ears off. She is a very quiet and gentle soul.
My second eldest Becky-Boo is 4 soon. She is Barbie one minute and a Princess the next or both. She loves dresses and pretty things and already has a good dress sense. Very smart and giggles when we growl her, which makes it terribly difficult to keep a straight face.
My Third daughter, Patty-Pie will be 2 two days after little Becky's birthday. She is our delightfully plump and happy little lioness. She has tight blonde curls and the broadest smile. She loves to laugh and is very assertive and knows exactly what she wants. She loves cows and moos at them very loudly when we are in the car driving anywhere. We live in New Zealand so you must know that there are about a million cows in an hours drive.
My Fourth and last precious daughter Sandy-Beth is 5 months old. Unlike the others she has brown hair. She is very squeaky. I have never ever known a baby to make a hawk sound when she cries or is upset and now that she is a bit older she squeaks when she is happy too.
I have been going through a little bit of a writers block of sorts. There is just so much God is speaking to me about and I would like to blog about it all but I feel I could come across preachy and it could all be pretty jumbled and confused. I have been feeling a need to start writing in my blog more often A) to help others and B) to help myself understand things about God and His relationship with us.
I have learnt a lot the last few years being a mother. I don't pretend to know it all and I am fully aware that everyone's parenting styles are different and that every child is different. I think this is why God puts us in families. But to not ask for help or try to be better can become very easy. I had the attitude of this is my kid and I know them better than you so I will fine on my own thanks, don't tell me what to do.
I to some extent still feel this way but am open to seeking advice when I am at the end of my rope.
I hope to help you out a bit and show you how to cope when things are tough and how not to act like I do when things are tough. I have introduced you to my girls because they have taught me much about life and about God and what He says about us.
I do not have it all together and I will not pretend to be perfect and I may even crack a lame joke or two.
A bit about me. I am 28, a mother of 4 girls and wife to 1 Techy geek husband (he will be ok with me calling him that lol). I love to sing and dance (in my kitchen). I love scrapbooking, knitting, sewing, painting, crafts.... you get the idea. I love telling jokes to people and making puns and try to be funny with some degree of success. Most of all I love my God. I have gone through difficult times and things that I could not have done if it was not for His constant hand over my life. He is my all and everything and every time I come through a dark tunnel in my life I am greatly aware of His presence and work in my life since the day I was born.
I became a Christian in my room with my head bowed at the age of 8 or 9. I have always known my God and have always wanted to see His face and have more of His presence in my life.
I was born in South Africa and shortly after the birth of my first daughter, when I was married for 3 and a half years, we sold our house and packed up all we had and moved to New Zealand where we have spent the last 5 and a half years of our lives enjoying every moment of this adventure.
Now that you know a bit about me and my family I will attempt to write more often about my experiences and the thinks I have learnt and the things I am learning from God and my girls.
Kia Kaha
(Be Strong)
xx Tamryn :)
Monday, August 22, 2011
Who is to Judge?
Something that has been cropping up often is this constant rebuke from Christians and non-Christians not to Judge others.
Let us look at this verse in the Bible and dig deep into what this means and what God has to say on this issue.
I truly believe that we are to get a clue. Read the Bible yes, read it everyday but we are to read it in context and discover who wrote it, to whom it was written to and what the purpose was of the message.
We will also read a few verses before and after a verse that has been quoted to discover the really meat of the issue. When you dig for Gold or go to a stream to sift through stones and debris in the water you dig deep and you look carefully and toss out the dirt and go for Gold. we need to glean the true meaning of scripture in order to catch the heart of God and the meaning of the author. Then we can apply it to our own lives and thus learn from what is being said. Any reading of the Bible not followed by careful study and complete understanding is just opinion.
It is just far to easy to just read the Bible as if you were reading a novel but it should be a seeking and knocking and asking of God. What does this mean? Why is it even in the Bible? How does it apply to that particular time in History and the receiver and author's stance.
So let us read the verse that is most quoted. Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. Most often this verse is quoted without the 'that you may not be judged'
What does this mean then. Are we not to Judge at all? Is pointing out to someone their sin wrong? Is it wrong to to even mention another person's sin? Do we just allow them to carry on in their sin?
This is what we will come up with if we stop at this verse but if we will read on we may read a little more about what Jesus was saying here.
Let us read the whole verse and then we will get into who Jesus was speaking to and what life was like at that time.
Matthew 7:1-6
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Here we read that we are not to judge others, to look at the huge issue we have with ourselves first before we are to go to our brother or sister and point out their smaller issue. Jesus goes on to call these people Hypocrites for not dealing with themselves first and always pointing the finger and pointing out other's sins and wrong doings but fail to sort out their own sins and wrong doings. It does not mean we are not to point out to others that what they are doing is wrong. We need to speak in truth.
My husband and I don't drink and the reason why we do not drink is because we would like to be an example to others. We have a few friends and family members who drink and some are alcoholics. And although there is nothing wrong with drinking a wine or a beer with mates there is something really wrong with over indulging and getting drunk and making alcohol your god. We both decided that we could really not tell others not to drink if we were doing it ourselves. we had to set and example whereby we can show others that you can have a good time without alcohol. That there are other things to talk about that how many you had to drink.
Swearing too, using foul language and being course. If you do these things and then go to someone else and say, gee you have a filthy mouth and you quote scripture on why it is bad and then you go home and cuss and blaspheme more than the person you just pointed a finger at. That is just plain hypocritical and this is what Jesus warns us against and not once either. He warns us again in the gospels to beware of hypocrisy.
Luke 11:37-12:2
Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and lawyers of the time who were so high and mighty and had holier than though attitudes and expected for everyone to be clean yet were so filthy and horrid inside that they were hypocritical. Hypo-critical. We are to beware we are not criticizing others and poking at their wounds when we are in fact rotten with the very same wound.
Matthew 7:1-5 is telling us not that we should not judge but rather how we should judge. We are not to judge as the Pharisees of that time judged others. We are not to judge by appearance. The Pharisees judged Jesus because He hadn't washed. They didn't even look to see how amazing Jesus is. All they said was 'He didn't even wash, He is so dirty He must be this that and the next thing'
We also read the story about the Good Samaritan. If he had judged the dying, bleeding man as the others had before him that man would've died. But he set aside his feelings. He showed compassion and concern for the dying man.
We are living is a world where people are dying. The do not know God. They are filling their lives up with alcohol, pre-marital sex, adultery, drugs, pornography. Their god is the god of I. How does this make me feel? How does it benefit me? It is my right to do whatever I want. Live it up. Drink so much because it feels 'good' and then get into a car and show no concern for others on the road.
These people will die not knowing the freedom and fulfillment that only God has for those who would come to Him, repent of their sins and just press into Him.
I really hope that my conduct will be judged! I do not want to lead anyone astray by my example. If I am sinning in a way that causes others to fall short of God's glory then I am more wrong than the worst murderer.
For those of us who are Christian. We should be judging what others say about the bible and what it means to them. We must be so careful that we don't believe just everything blindly.
When I was a child I would believe whatever those older than me would say about God and everything else. I would just follow their lead blindly. It was only after I got married when my husband I started talking about what each of us believes did we end up with totally different answers. And I was like 'Hang on is Christianity all about what others say it is or is it about what God says. Do I read my Bible and then go away saying well that was a nice story or do I dig deep to dig out the gold and very meaning.
We end up believing untruths. We end up in bondage over things.
As Christians we must Stand. Stand for something or you will Fall for anything. We need to speak truth but speak it with love, hope and kindness.
If you are reading this and are not a Christian I will not expect you to live a life as a Christian. It is impossible for us to even begin dealing with the power of sin over our lives without Christ. It is wrong for us Christians to expect you to be fully right with God BEFORE you come to Christ. We aren't even fully right with God and when we became Christians God took us in when we were still sinners. We read in Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
I am a rotten sinner. But Christ died for me. He loves me that much. Now sin might mean something totally different to everyone. To me I have come to a realisation of what sin is. Sin defiles me, it is not pretty, it is not good, it is not pleasant, it is sad. As a Christian if I willingly sin I am wounding God. The power of sin is death. If it were not for the Grace of my Lord and Saviour I shudder to thing where or what I would be doing right now.
I urge you all my fellow brothers and sisters to strive not for perfection where you are measuring yourself up against others but rather setting a standard based on what God has to say to us so that we may spur others on to greatness. If a fellow Christian is wallowing in their sin be there to help them and pull them out of the mud. If they do not want to get out of the mud it is a very sad thing indeed and it hurts them but it also hurts the Church and those around them.
Love the unbelieving sinner more than they love their sin. Be an example but do not judge them unfairly. They do not know that they are doing wrong and can't possibly fully change without Christ.
To clarify what I am trying to say here please read this link "Can Or Should Christians Judge One Another?"
It may make it clearer. I tend to speak from the heart with a bit of mind thrown in and my husband is like wikipedia and commentaries all on his own. I just cannot retain facts but when God reveals something to my heart I will read what others have to say and take away some fact but mostly the just of what is meant. Big words throw me off and although I do try and understand them it does not come easy to me.
We need to have such a heart for the lost that we look at their souls more than we look at their sin. They need to know that they are sinners but to sit and point at their sin in a way that is not loving of the person is wrong. We do not condone what they are doing but we model something better and need to explain that we are all sinners. To lead someone to Christ without this information is totally misleading. You cannot come to Christ with out acknowledging first that you are a sinner and that Christ died on the cross for your sins and then rose again from the dead. Sin entered the world and God and separated us from Him. He had to make a way for us to come to Him again. That is what make our Salvation such an important part of our lives. It is the very reason why we can have a relationship with God and be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Beware how you judge and who you judge and most of all why you judge. Judge because you are looking out for the lives others but do not judge because you feel you are better than them.
Let us look at this verse in the Bible and dig deep into what this means and what God has to say on this issue.
I truly believe that we are to get a clue. Read the Bible yes, read it everyday but we are to read it in context and discover who wrote it, to whom it was written to and what the purpose was of the message.
We will also read a few verses before and after a verse that has been quoted to discover the really meat of the issue. When you dig for Gold or go to a stream to sift through stones and debris in the water you dig deep and you look carefully and toss out the dirt and go for Gold. we need to glean the true meaning of scripture in order to catch the heart of God and the meaning of the author. Then we can apply it to our own lives and thus learn from what is being said. Any reading of the Bible not followed by careful study and complete understanding is just opinion.
It is just far to easy to just read the Bible as if you were reading a novel but it should be a seeking and knocking and asking of God. What does this mean? Why is it even in the Bible? How does it apply to that particular time in History and the receiver and author's stance.
So let us read the verse that is most quoted. Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. Most often this verse is quoted without the 'that you may not be judged'
What does this mean then. Are we not to Judge at all? Is pointing out to someone their sin wrong? Is it wrong to to even mention another person's sin? Do we just allow them to carry on in their sin?
This is what we will come up with if we stop at this verse but if we will read on we may read a little more about what Jesus was saying here.
Let us read the whole verse and then we will get into who Jesus was speaking to and what life was like at that time.
Matthew 7:1-6
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Here we read that we are not to judge others, to look at the huge issue we have with ourselves first before we are to go to our brother or sister and point out their smaller issue. Jesus goes on to call these people Hypocrites for not dealing with themselves first and always pointing the finger and pointing out other's sins and wrong doings but fail to sort out their own sins and wrong doings. It does not mean we are not to point out to others that what they are doing is wrong. We need to speak in truth.
My husband and I don't drink and the reason why we do not drink is because we would like to be an example to others. We have a few friends and family members who drink and some are alcoholics. And although there is nothing wrong with drinking a wine or a beer with mates there is something really wrong with over indulging and getting drunk and making alcohol your god. We both decided that we could really not tell others not to drink if we were doing it ourselves. we had to set and example whereby we can show others that you can have a good time without alcohol. That there are other things to talk about that how many you had to drink.
Swearing too, using foul language and being course. If you do these things and then go to someone else and say, gee you have a filthy mouth and you quote scripture on why it is bad and then you go home and cuss and blaspheme more than the person you just pointed a finger at. That is just plain hypocritical and this is what Jesus warns us against and not once either. He warns us again in the gospels to beware of hypocrisy.
Luke 11:37-12:2
Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and lawyers of the time who were so high and mighty and had holier than though attitudes and expected for everyone to be clean yet were so filthy and horrid inside that they were hypocritical. Hypo-critical. We are to beware we are not criticizing others and poking at their wounds when we are in fact rotten with the very same wound.
Matthew 7:1-5 is telling us not that we should not judge but rather how we should judge. We are not to judge as the Pharisees of that time judged others. We are not to judge by appearance. The Pharisees judged Jesus because He hadn't washed. They didn't even look to see how amazing Jesus is. All they said was 'He didn't even wash, He is so dirty He must be this that and the next thing'
We also read the story about the Good Samaritan. If he had judged the dying, bleeding man as the others had before him that man would've died. But he set aside his feelings. He showed compassion and concern for the dying man.
We are living is a world where people are dying. The do not know God. They are filling their lives up with alcohol, pre-marital sex, adultery, drugs, pornography. Their god is the god of I. How does this make me feel? How does it benefit me? It is my right to do whatever I want. Live it up. Drink so much because it feels 'good' and then get into a car and show no concern for others on the road.
These people will die not knowing the freedom and fulfillment that only God has for those who would come to Him, repent of their sins and just press into Him.
I really hope that my conduct will be judged! I do not want to lead anyone astray by my example. If I am sinning in a way that causes others to fall short of God's glory then I am more wrong than the worst murderer.
For those of us who are Christian. We should be judging what others say about the bible and what it means to them. We must be so careful that we don't believe just everything blindly.
When I was a child I would believe whatever those older than me would say about God and everything else. I would just follow their lead blindly. It was only after I got married when my husband I started talking about what each of us believes did we end up with totally different answers. And I was like 'Hang on is Christianity all about what others say it is or is it about what God says. Do I read my Bible and then go away saying well that was a nice story or do I dig deep to dig out the gold and very meaning.
We end up believing untruths. We end up in bondage over things.
As Christians we must Stand. Stand for something or you will Fall for anything. We need to speak truth but speak it with love, hope and kindness.
If you are reading this and are not a Christian I will not expect you to live a life as a Christian. It is impossible for us to even begin dealing with the power of sin over our lives without Christ. It is wrong for us Christians to expect you to be fully right with God BEFORE you come to Christ. We aren't even fully right with God and when we became Christians God took us in when we were still sinners. We read in Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
I am a rotten sinner. But Christ died for me. He loves me that much. Now sin might mean something totally different to everyone. To me I have come to a realisation of what sin is. Sin defiles me, it is not pretty, it is not good, it is not pleasant, it is sad. As a Christian if I willingly sin I am wounding God. The power of sin is death. If it were not for the Grace of my Lord and Saviour I shudder to thing where or what I would be doing right now.
I urge you all my fellow brothers and sisters to strive not for perfection where you are measuring yourself up against others but rather setting a standard based on what God has to say to us so that we may spur others on to greatness. If a fellow Christian is wallowing in their sin be there to help them and pull them out of the mud. If they do not want to get out of the mud it is a very sad thing indeed and it hurts them but it also hurts the Church and those around them.
Love the unbelieving sinner more than they love their sin. Be an example but do not judge them unfairly. They do not know that they are doing wrong and can't possibly fully change without Christ.
To clarify what I am trying to say here please read this link "Can Or Should Christians Judge One Another?"
It may make it clearer. I tend to speak from the heart with a bit of mind thrown in and my husband is like wikipedia and commentaries all on his own. I just cannot retain facts but when God reveals something to my heart I will read what others have to say and take away some fact but mostly the just of what is meant. Big words throw me off and although I do try and understand them it does not come easy to me.
We need to have such a heart for the lost that we look at their souls more than we look at their sin. They need to know that they are sinners but to sit and point at their sin in a way that is not loving of the person is wrong. We do not condone what they are doing but we model something better and need to explain that we are all sinners. To lead someone to Christ without this information is totally misleading. You cannot come to Christ with out acknowledging first that you are a sinner and that Christ died on the cross for your sins and then rose again from the dead. Sin entered the world and God and separated us from Him. He had to make a way for us to come to Him again. That is what make our Salvation such an important part of our lives. It is the very reason why we can have a relationship with God and be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Beware how you judge and who you judge and most of all why you judge. Judge because you are looking out for the lives others but do not judge because you feel you are better than them.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
From the Heart
I have been thinking about a few things in the last week.
God has been speaking to me about so much in the last month and some days I feel I have something to blog about but really I just have to wait for more of the puzzle.
So today I am going write what is on my heart and how I have been feeling about my town that I live in and the people in my church.
Some evenings I look out over my town and I have mentioned this before in a previous blog but I must say again how stirred I am to pray. I just want to cry when I think of those lost people who do not know Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The world is looking for a Hero. The world is looking and searching for Jesus. Every individual is looking for Jesus. But they do not know it yet.
I look out over the Youth and the young children in our church and I see such potential. Girls and boys who are going to do great things for God right at the age that they are at.
Now when I see a young teen boy I see God giving them a steel rod running down behind their backs something to do with standing up straight for the things of God and not bending and swaying in the wind of false doctrines and the opinions of those who do not speak the truth. Teen Girls I see as buds in our church. When you look at a rose bush you will see that their is a main bloom and buds on the sides under the rose. We older women are to be sturdy rose bushes gathering our buds close and teaching them how to love, nurture and speak truth to others that cross their paths. Just as aphids and rain will come and try to attack the delicate buds we are to impart our wisdom to our girls so that they will not fall prey to aphids or be damaged by heavy rain.
The young boys and girls from the very little are like our butterflies and bees. They are the beauty of our church. So refreshing and delightful. They flit from flower to flower, always alert and soaking in all the nectar and pollen. They will make something out of what they gather and will take it and give to others. What they have learnt, will stay with them and will 'rub off' on to others who do not know Jesus.
On Sunday each of the teens in our church were given a prophesy. We had Ps. Don Lake and his wife come speak at our church and it brought me to tears hearing and seeing what God had in store for the Youth. I feel there is a deep passion for Christ that is going to bubble out of them and it will not be able to be contained. No lid or ceiling will be able to keep it under control.
Jesus is doing a new thing. He is bringing generations together in unity, different backgrounds and people of every race. We are brothers and sisters, daughters and sons, mothers and fathers to each other.
Romans 8 talks about there being no condemnation for those in Christ. It also says that if God is for us then who can be against us. It is a very good chapter and a must read for those lacking encouragement or for a new revelation of what it means to be a Christian.
If God is for us and we are not condemned the who, who can stand against us?
God is bigger than we will ever imagine and He has a million promises.
I am with you says the Lord, I will never leave you or forsake you, you are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.
I pray that we will all have peace with this and take hold of these promises. Dream again and speak forth truth with the love and heart of Christ.
My passion is to see everyone ushering in God's presence in their own lives and into the lives of others. I cannot wait to hear testimonies of what God is doing in our lives and in those of others.
I pray that you will all see how much love He has for you and how much others need to feel that love. I am not talking about the kind of love we have for things but the type of passionate love that will break our hearts when we hear of one person who has gone from this world not accepting Christ as their Saviour, the same love that will feel like our hearts will burst when we hear of miracles, new things that God has and a new brother or sister coming to know Jesus as Lord.
Get on your knees and cry out for your town, city, country, world. Cry out to God. Intercede for your family, friends, strangers. Look passed their sin and ask Jesus to show you what he sees. You will never be the same again when you look at others in this way. Never! You will not be able to be in a crowd of strangers and not be overwhelmed with love and thoughts of them. Praying for them as you go and wondering who knows the Good News and how you can impact your world.
God has been speaking to me about so much in the last month and some days I feel I have something to blog about but really I just have to wait for more of the puzzle.
So today I am going write what is on my heart and how I have been feeling about my town that I live in and the people in my church.
Some evenings I look out over my town and I have mentioned this before in a previous blog but I must say again how stirred I am to pray. I just want to cry when I think of those lost people who do not know Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The world is looking for a Hero. The world is looking and searching for Jesus. Every individual is looking for Jesus. But they do not know it yet.
I look out over the Youth and the young children in our church and I see such potential. Girls and boys who are going to do great things for God right at the age that they are at.
Now when I see a young teen boy I see God giving them a steel rod running down behind their backs something to do with standing up straight for the things of God and not bending and swaying in the wind of false doctrines and the opinions of those who do not speak the truth. Teen Girls I see as buds in our church. When you look at a rose bush you will see that their is a main bloom and buds on the sides under the rose. We older women are to be sturdy rose bushes gathering our buds close and teaching them how to love, nurture and speak truth to others that cross their paths. Just as aphids and rain will come and try to attack the delicate buds we are to impart our wisdom to our girls so that they will not fall prey to aphids or be damaged by heavy rain.
The young boys and girls from the very little are like our butterflies and bees. They are the beauty of our church. So refreshing and delightful. They flit from flower to flower, always alert and soaking in all the nectar and pollen. They will make something out of what they gather and will take it and give to others. What they have learnt, will stay with them and will 'rub off' on to others who do not know Jesus.
On Sunday each of the teens in our church were given a prophesy. We had Ps. Don Lake and his wife come speak at our church and it brought me to tears hearing and seeing what God had in store for the Youth. I feel there is a deep passion for Christ that is going to bubble out of them and it will not be able to be contained. No lid or ceiling will be able to keep it under control.
Jesus is doing a new thing. He is bringing generations together in unity, different backgrounds and people of every race. We are brothers and sisters, daughters and sons, mothers and fathers to each other.
Romans 8 talks about there being no condemnation for those in Christ. It also says that if God is for us then who can be against us. It is a very good chapter and a must read for those lacking encouragement or for a new revelation of what it means to be a Christian.
If God is for us and we are not condemned the who, who can stand against us?
God is bigger than we will ever imagine and He has a million promises.
I am with you says the Lord, I will never leave you or forsake you, you are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.
I pray that we will all have peace with this and take hold of these promises. Dream again and speak forth truth with the love and heart of Christ.
My passion is to see everyone ushering in God's presence in their own lives and into the lives of others. I cannot wait to hear testimonies of what God is doing in our lives and in those of others.
I pray that you will all see how much love He has for you and how much others need to feel that love. I am not talking about the kind of love we have for things but the type of passionate love that will break our hearts when we hear of one person who has gone from this world not accepting Christ as their Saviour, the same love that will feel like our hearts will burst when we hear of miracles, new things that God has and a new brother or sister coming to know Jesus as Lord.
Get on your knees and cry out for your town, city, country, world. Cry out to God. Intercede for your family, friends, strangers. Look passed their sin and ask Jesus to show you what he sees. You will never be the same again when you look at others in this way. Never! You will not be able to be in a crowd of strangers and not be overwhelmed with love and thoughts of them. Praying for them as you go and wondering who knows the Good News and how you can impact your world.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Bungy!!!
Bungy jumping can be a freeing and terrifying experience. I was thinking about it today and I think it really ties in to what I wanted to say about my experience over the last weekend when I went to EquipHer.
It was such an awesome experience. I went up on my own. Without my children or my husband. I went as myself expectant. I wanted to leave there equipped with a new understanding of who God is and what He has planned for my life. I wanted to leave there ready to step out. Ready to take hold of all that God wants to do in my life and in the lives of others through me.
What happened is that on the Friday night, the very first session, negative words that were spoken over my life, feelings of rejection, hurt, were broken. Saturday evening it was like a cloud had lifted off from over my head. I parted the heavens with my hands and there was and open heaven. The clouds of judgement and of expectations that I have not met, words spoken over me about not being good enough, GONE!
When I woke up on Sunday morning they were still gone. There was no ceiling of clouds left. Monday morning I woke up and they were still gone and the presence of God that I felt on the Friday night was still there.
Let me tell you I had to just about shake off these negative thoughts and stinking thinking and the heavy clouds placed on my head.
What does this have to do with Bungy Jumping? Well I feel that Bungy Jumping is a bit like what I am needing to do in my spiritual life. Just take that leap of faith and jump. Forget about who said what about you and who told you you can't do this or that. God said and that is that. Let Him be your bungy cord, your life saver, the only One you count on and just take that step.
We are all scared. I know I am. So very scared of what God has for me. But why? Why do we fear the future? We would rather sit doing the same groundhog day stuff than face ourselves and mirror and say 'There is more to life than this!' God has more for me, He called me before the world began, before I was knitted in my mother's womb. He knows me. He knows the me I was, He knows the me I am today and He knows the me I am going to become.
The core message over the weekend was to stop thinking in the natural realm but to think in the Spiritual Supernatural Realm. We are not of this world we are of Heaven. Our Spirits have been awakened and now we must function not in the flesh but in the Spirit.
The Woman at the well was so focused on the water in the well and the type of thirst that only this kind of water will quench and Jesus was speaking to her about Living Water (spiritual water) that if we thirst for it, Jesus gives it freely and we will not thirst again. The disciples then said to Jesus 'Come and lets eat' and Jesus said 'I have food to eat of which you do not know.
Imagine that. Jesus has the food and the water for us that is not like a sandwich and a cup of tea, okay? I will get hungry again and will get hungry again and thirsty again.
But the Living water and the Word of God will not leave us hungry or thirsty. Which come to the persuit of 'Happiness' Happiness like food and water is a temporary filling feeling. It serves it's purpose but it is not lasting. When we have no food to eat, no clean water and we are unhappy what is left? Rejoice in the Lord? Always! and Again I say rejoice. How can we do this? Through the Joy of the Lord. If we possess Joy we possess Strength!
Right so now that we have looked at ourselves we need to look at others. What Living Water and Words and Nuture are we sending out to others. There are so many poor in Spirit, yes poor in food and water but poor in Spirit too. What are we doing for others?
Which brings me back to Bungy Jumping. Are you and I going to put aside our fears, doubts and levels of temporary happiness and possess the Joy of the Lord and take that step. Jump and shake off these things holding you back.
I tell you now Satan wants to keep you on that ledge in fear and not taking hold of your future so he can push you off later into the deep end without anything to save you. He does not want you to rise up and awaken to the things God has for you because that will mean he is one step closer to his demise. He wants to make you feel safe and comfortable and fast asleep.
Sometimes as Christians we die to the old and put on the new and rise from the dead but we end up going back to the grave we were in. We are new creations still sleeping in our graves. It is time to get out of the grave, wake up and step into what God has for us.
Bungy! Do it literally or do it in Spirit but do it. Free yourself from everything that is you back.
You see when we step out in Faith God will not leave us wanting. He will come through for us. He is faithful. It is time we realize that much is expected of us and we will be used greatly. He will not leave us or reject us like others in our lives have done.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
Our spirits are eternal and will never die. We are not natural we are spiritual.
It was such an awesome experience. I went up on my own. Without my children or my husband. I went as myself expectant. I wanted to leave there equipped with a new understanding of who God is and what He has planned for my life. I wanted to leave there ready to step out. Ready to take hold of all that God wants to do in my life and in the lives of others through me.
What happened is that on the Friday night, the very first session, negative words that were spoken over my life, feelings of rejection, hurt, were broken. Saturday evening it was like a cloud had lifted off from over my head. I parted the heavens with my hands and there was and open heaven. The clouds of judgement and of expectations that I have not met, words spoken over me about not being good enough, GONE!
When I woke up on Sunday morning they were still gone. There was no ceiling of clouds left. Monday morning I woke up and they were still gone and the presence of God that I felt on the Friday night was still there.
Let me tell you I had to just about shake off these negative thoughts and stinking thinking and the heavy clouds placed on my head.
What does this have to do with Bungy Jumping? Well I feel that Bungy Jumping is a bit like what I am needing to do in my spiritual life. Just take that leap of faith and jump. Forget about who said what about you and who told you you can't do this or that. God said and that is that. Let Him be your bungy cord, your life saver, the only One you count on and just take that step.
We are all scared. I know I am. So very scared of what God has for me. But why? Why do we fear the future? We would rather sit doing the same groundhog day stuff than face ourselves and mirror and say 'There is more to life than this!' God has more for me, He called me before the world began, before I was knitted in my mother's womb. He knows me. He knows the me I was, He knows the me I am today and He knows the me I am going to become.
The core message over the weekend was to stop thinking in the natural realm but to think in the Spiritual Supernatural Realm. We are not of this world we are of Heaven. Our Spirits have been awakened and now we must function not in the flesh but in the Spirit.
The Woman at the well was so focused on the water in the well and the type of thirst that only this kind of water will quench and Jesus was speaking to her about Living Water (spiritual water) that if we thirst for it, Jesus gives it freely and we will not thirst again. The disciples then said to Jesus 'Come and lets eat' and Jesus said 'I have food to eat of which you do not know.
Imagine that. Jesus has the food and the water for us that is not like a sandwich and a cup of tea, okay? I will get hungry again and will get hungry again and thirsty again.
But the Living water and the Word of God will not leave us hungry or thirsty. Which come to the persuit of 'Happiness' Happiness like food and water is a temporary filling feeling. It serves it's purpose but it is not lasting. When we have no food to eat, no clean water and we are unhappy what is left? Rejoice in the Lord? Always! and Again I say rejoice. How can we do this? Through the Joy of the Lord. If we possess Joy we possess Strength!
Right so now that we have looked at ourselves we need to look at others. What Living Water and Words and Nuture are we sending out to others. There are so many poor in Spirit, yes poor in food and water but poor in Spirit too. What are we doing for others?
Which brings me back to Bungy Jumping. Are you and I going to put aside our fears, doubts and levels of temporary happiness and possess the Joy of the Lord and take that step. Jump and shake off these things holding you back.
I tell you now Satan wants to keep you on that ledge in fear and not taking hold of your future so he can push you off later into the deep end without anything to save you. He does not want you to rise up and awaken to the things God has for you because that will mean he is one step closer to his demise. He wants to make you feel safe and comfortable and fast asleep.
Sometimes as Christians we die to the old and put on the new and rise from the dead but we end up going back to the grave we were in. We are new creations still sleeping in our graves. It is time to get out of the grave, wake up and step into what God has for us.
Bungy! Do it literally or do it in Spirit but do it. Free yourself from everything that is you back.
You see when we step out in Faith God will not leave us wanting. He will come through for us. He is faithful. It is time we realize that much is expected of us and we will be used greatly. He will not leave us or reject us like others in our lives have done.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
Our spirits are eternal and will never die. We are not natural we are spiritual.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Christians in NZ website
Just a quick note to say that the website in my post last year has come to a halt because ning has decided to charge for this service. If anyone is keen to still be apart of a similar website let me know and I can see if I can start another one up.
Hopefully I will get a new post in tonight.
God Bless to you all
Tamryn
Hopefully I will get a new post in tonight.
God Bless to you all
Tamryn
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Stand!
Stand Firm!
Don't let your foot be moved an inch. The Battle is won by gaining ground. Do not turn back. Face forward. Clothed with the Full Armour of God. Pray. Read your Bibles. The Battle is not to come it is here and now!
This morning we happily got up and got ready for Church. We managed to get everyone into my car with enough time to get to there on time. So we headed down the hill. Suddenly the car swerved to the left. I stopped the car and saw a flat tyre. Wonderful! My husband then put the spare on, which is one of those pathetic little things. We decided to park the car in the garage and then take his car. What happened instead was the pathetic tyre getting a flat on the way up and having to get the kids out the car and roll the car back down a little and park it off on the side of the road. Now at this point we could just have given up about going to church. We were already late and it meant swapping carseats around etc. But we decided to go to church anyway. I commented to my husband that something really does not want us going to church.
I was right. The service really spoke to us and challenged us and God gave us a word to hold on to.
The last few months have been full of mishap and mayhem. My sister in-law has been having a rather hard battle with cancer and has broken her hip and arm. She has had a hip replacement now. She broken her arm which will not heal.
My Mother in-law has broken her arm at the wrist after a fall and a few weeks later broke her elbow after yet another fall where she was trying to protect her broken wrist. A few days after this my Nephew broke his elbow. He was going into have surgery the next day. I prayed like I never prayed before. 4 broken arms and a broken hip were not coincidences. The next day my nephew did not need to have surgery as bones had moved back into place. He now just has to wear a cast.
That week my Father in-law took a turn and needed surgery for a problem with his bowel that was caused by a problem with the way his appendix had been removed 50 years ago.
My husband has been working long hours for the last few weeks too and with my helping my Mother in-law out in any way I can and having sick children I have had to draw on every little bit of strength I had.
I am busy starting to go through the Full Armour of God. What it means. Why we need to put it on and how to use it.
I have felt the Battle going on in my life and in the life of my family in this time. Something is happening. The more I step out, the more uncomfortable I get and the more I itch to get moving to not be sitting around waiting for that magic day when everything will be just perfect for me to start serving the Lord. The more I claim today as the day the more I feel that there is someone shivering in their snake skin boots.
Making my life difficult so I will curse God and die. I have felt really low and upset a few times during this time. But I draw my strength from JOY not from happiness. Happiness is a temporary feeling. Joy is my permanent way of BEING. The Joy of the Lord is my strength.
A lot of celebrities are looking for that thing that will make them happy. Money, fame, the big house, fancy car, the latest thing or craze, the in fashion clothing, alcohol, drugs. People seek these things because they want to have a good time and be happy. They strive for personal happiness, their happy place. But what happens when all that falls away? What is left? A lonely, pitiful existence. It was all a fake life. Happiness is not a fruit of the Spirit. No one is promised a happy life.
Life is no picnic. It is tough. No one gets out alive after all. Ever since the fall of man life has been tough. We have been fighting against our fleshly desires, disease and decay. rot and destruction are woven into our core.
Joy. Joy is the answer. I can have Joy. It springs forth from the pit of despair. When I focus on God, when I draw close to Him that is when my Joy is made complete. When I am poor, when I live in a mud hut and ride a tricycle, when I am poor in spirit, when life is tough nothing can make me happy but I know that Joy will always be there to give me strength and press on to stand firm in times of trouble. When the clouds come in and it starts to rain and I do not know when the sun will shine again I can rejoice in the small things. It is more than just looking on the bright side. It is a way of life. I draw my strength from God's Joy. He is pleased with me just as I am today. Yes I have room for improvement but God did not choose me to be in His family today your yesterday or the day I committed my life into His hands. He chose me before I was ever thought of. I existed to Him before even the world existed. He knows me better than anyone else. I am accepted and loved and I had a purpose for my life before the beginning of time. If Joy doesn't not well up deep within your soul at the thought of God having a purpose just for you, having chosen you and accepted you as his child. just think of it for a moment :)
Do we really have a reason to worry? Do we really have to have this woe is me attitude?
From Joy we can draw Strength to get on with our day and our life. To push through when there seems like no way out. Happiness leaves too much of a hole to be filled and most friends of someone who has taken their own lives have said "But when I spoke to them and saw them last they were so happy"
You can look happy but still have a broken heart. Joy cannot be faked and is permanent and sure.
Stand Firm. Keep it up. You are doing a good job.
Don't let your foot be moved an inch. The Battle is won by gaining ground. Do not turn back. Face forward. Clothed with the Full Armour of God. Pray. Read your Bibles. The Battle is not to come it is here and now!
This morning we happily got up and got ready for Church. We managed to get everyone into my car with enough time to get to there on time. So we headed down the hill. Suddenly the car swerved to the left. I stopped the car and saw a flat tyre. Wonderful! My husband then put the spare on, which is one of those pathetic little things. We decided to park the car in the garage and then take his car. What happened instead was the pathetic tyre getting a flat on the way up and having to get the kids out the car and roll the car back down a little and park it off on the side of the road. Now at this point we could just have given up about going to church. We were already late and it meant swapping carseats around etc. But we decided to go to church anyway. I commented to my husband that something really does not want us going to church.
I was right. The service really spoke to us and challenged us and God gave us a word to hold on to.
The last few months have been full of mishap and mayhem. My sister in-law has been having a rather hard battle with cancer and has broken her hip and arm. She has had a hip replacement now. She broken her arm which will not heal.
My Mother in-law has broken her arm at the wrist after a fall and a few weeks later broke her elbow after yet another fall where she was trying to protect her broken wrist. A few days after this my Nephew broke his elbow. He was going into have surgery the next day. I prayed like I never prayed before. 4 broken arms and a broken hip were not coincidences. The next day my nephew did not need to have surgery as bones had moved back into place. He now just has to wear a cast.
That week my Father in-law took a turn and needed surgery for a problem with his bowel that was caused by a problem with the way his appendix had been removed 50 years ago.
My husband has been working long hours for the last few weeks too and with my helping my Mother in-law out in any way I can and having sick children I have had to draw on every little bit of strength I had.
I am busy starting to go through the Full Armour of God. What it means. Why we need to put it on and how to use it.
I have felt the Battle going on in my life and in the life of my family in this time. Something is happening. The more I step out, the more uncomfortable I get and the more I itch to get moving to not be sitting around waiting for that magic day when everything will be just perfect for me to start serving the Lord. The more I claim today as the day the more I feel that there is someone shivering in their snake skin boots.
Making my life difficult so I will curse God and die. I have felt really low and upset a few times during this time. But I draw my strength from JOY not from happiness. Happiness is a temporary feeling. Joy is my permanent way of BEING. The Joy of the Lord is my strength.
A lot of celebrities are looking for that thing that will make them happy. Money, fame, the big house, fancy car, the latest thing or craze, the in fashion clothing, alcohol, drugs. People seek these things because they want to have a good time and be happy. They strive for personal happiness, their happy place. But what happens when all that falls away? What is left? A lonely, pitiful existence. It was all a fake life. Happiness is not a fruit of the Spirit. No one is promised a happy life.
Life is no picnic. It is tough. No one gets out alive after all. Ever since the fall of man life has been tough. We have been fighting against our fleshly desires, disease and decay. rot and destruction are woven into our core.
Joy. Joy is the answer. I can have Joy. It springs forth from the pit of despair. When I focus on God, when I draw close to Him that is when my Joy is made complete. When I am poor, when I live in a mud hut and ride a tricycle, when I am poor in spirit, when life is tough nothing can make me happy but I know that Joy will always be there to give me strength and press on to stand firm in times of trouble. When the clouds come in and it starts to rain and I do not know when the sun will shine again I can rejoice in the small things. It is more than just looking on the bright side. It is a way of life. I draw my strength from God's Joy. He is pleased with me just as I am today. Yes I have room for improvement but God did not choose me to be in His family today your yesterday or the day I committed my life into His hands. He chose me before I was ever thought of. I existed to Him before even the world existed. He knows me better than anyone else. I am accepted and loved and I had a purpose for my life before the beginning of time. If Joy doesn't not well up deep within your soul at the thought of God having a purpose just for you, having chosen you and accepted you as his child. just think of it for a moment :)
Do we really have a reason to worry? Do we really have to have this woe is me attitude?
From Joy we can draw Strength to get on with our day and our life. To push through when there seems like no way out. Happiness leaves too much of a hole to be filled and most friends of someone who has taken their own lives have said "But when I spoke to them and saw them last they were so happy"
You can look happy but still have a broken heart. Joy cannot be faked and is permanent and sure.
Stand Firm. Keep it up. You are doing a good job.
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