I remember...
You were whole once,
Full of hope and the promise of a full life;
To find you now in pieces,
A shadow of the man you were then
Breaks my heart.
What happened?
One moment you are performing stunts,
Giving life to masterpieces.
The next, an angry fragmented image
Of the scallywag I knew.
I don't understand.
---
A friend. Someone I went to school with. He got sick overseas, nearly died...and since then he has never been the same.
Please pray for him.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
A Life On Purpose
1 Peter 1v3-12
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad.[b] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
------
A Life On Purpose
When we give our lives to Jesus, it is not just the commitment to love Him. That is a huuuuge part of it, and it fills me with giant amounts of joy, thinking about how much He loves me and that I love Him. That's not the part of our walk with Jesus that I'm talking about right now, though. When we give our lives to Him, we also become a part of God's Kingdom: we are heirs with Jesus. Because of this we have been saved and promised an inheritance in heaven - a promise of awesomeness (in the truest sense of the word) beyond human imagination that is eternal life with Daddy God! We are to live expectantly because of this. A life on Purpose.
When you're expecting something, you usually prepare for it, right? Like a mum prepares for a baby or you prepare for exams (usually, anyway). Peter goes on through this verse explaining some ways to live purposefully, preparing ourselves for the day when we get to go and be with Daddy for ever.
Firstly, he says to be glad, despite our often retarded circumstances!!! He has all these good things stored up for us in Heaven...so even when we face the usual awkward moments of life and the persecution that often comes with living so differently, take heart. In the same way that fire refines gold, tough times here make us better and often more effective parts in the Church. Everything that we endure for His sake can be used to bring glory to God and to set others free! And don't ever forget - Daddy in Heaven is preparing an unimaginably amazing place for you in His Kingdom.
Secondly, keep on loving and trusting Him. Everyone gets hit with doubt. those are the times when it's most important to stand strong, get more into the Bible (the BEST way to discover more about God and understand just how much He loves you and is cheering you on), and lean on Him. Doubt is one of the devil's oldest and most favourite tricks. People fall for it so easily. Remember what you have seen God do in your life, remember His promises. Keep trusting, keep loving. No matter what. (Eph 6:13-15)
Finally, as it said in the beginning of this passage - Praise Him!!! He is so good. He loves us so much. Even while we were doing stupid things and lacking His guidance in our lives, being selfish...He gave His all for us. (Rom 5:8) When we were worthless, He gave us priceless value by wiping our debt of sin away with the sacrifice of his body and blood!! He heals us and sets us free from disease, sin and condemnation!! How could you not praise Him?
There is so, so much in this passage. I'm trying to keep this short for a quick talk at youth...but 1 Peter 1 is definitely worth doing a more in-depth study on. I'll say it again - There is so much in there!! It's so good!!!
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad.[b] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
------
A Life On Purpose
When we give our lives to Jesus, it is not just the commitment to love Him. That is a huuuuge part of it, and it fills me with giant amounts of joy, thinking about how much He loves me and that I love Him. That's not the part of our walk with Jesus that I'm talking about right now, though. When we give our lives to Him, we also become a part of God's Kingdom: we are heirs with Jesus. Because of this we have been saved and promised an inheritance in heaven - a promise of awesomeness (in the truest sense of the word) beyond human imagination that is eternal life with Daddy God! We are to live expectantly because of this. A life on Purpose.
When you're expecting something, you usually prepare for it, right? Like a mum prepares for a baby or you prepare for exams (usually, anyway). Peter goes on through this verse explaining some ways to live purposefully, preparing ourselves for the day when we get to go and be with Daddy for ever.
Firstly, he says to be glad, despite our often retarded circumstances!!! He has all these good things stored up for us in Heaven...so even when we face the usual awkward moments of life and the persecution that often comes with living so differently, take heart. In the same way that fire refines gold, tough times here make us better and often more effective parts in the Church. Everything that we endure for His sake can be used to bring glory to God and to set others free! And don't ever forget - Daddy in Heaven is preparing an unimaginably amazing place for you in His Kingdom.
Secondly, keep on loving and trusting Him. Everyone gets hit with doubt. those are the times when it's most important to stand strong, get more into the Bible (the BEST way to discover more about God and understand just how much He loves you and is cheering you on), and lean on Him. Doubt is one of the devil's oldest and most favourite tricks. People fall for it so easily. Remember what you have seen God do in your life, remember His promises. Keep trusting, keep loving. No matter what. (Eph 6:13-15)
Finally, as it said in the beginning of this passage - Praise Him!!! He is so good. He loves us so much. Even while we were doing stupid things and lacking His guidance in our lives, being selfish...He gave His all for us. (Rom 5:8) When we were worthless, He gave us priceless value by wiping our debt of sin away with the sacrifice of his body and blood!! He heals us and sets us free from disease, sin and condemnation!! How could you not praise Him?
There is so, so much in this passage. I'm trying to keep this short for a quick talk at youth...but 1 Peter 1 is definitely worth doing a more in-depth study on. I'll say it again - There is so much in there!! It's so good!!!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Ugh.
Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. (I love the Princess Bride. So much.)
It seems that I spend an awful lot of time apologising to you all for not posting. If you're wondering what I've been up to, check this out. (Yes, I have succumbed to tumblr.) But this is the blog that I am truly comfortableblabbering on for ages sharing what I think and how I feel about things.
I feel like my heart is about to burst like a dam. Figuratively, I mean. I won't go into details. But yes. I needed to tell someone, so there you go dear followers.
Thank you for being so awesome, guys.
<3 xoxo
It seems that I spend an awful lot of time apologising to you all for not posting. If you're wondering what I've been up to, check this out. (Yes, I have succumbed to tumblr.) But this is the blog that I am truly comfortable
I feel like my heart is about to burst like a dam. Figuratively, I mean. I won't go into details. But yes. I needed to tell someone, so there you go dear followers.
Thank you for being so awesome, guys.
<3 xoxo
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