MMMMMM chocolate!!

Here is another band I used to listen to as a teenager. They have ages somewhat since I heard them last!!

Police responding to cries of “Help me, help me!” broke into an apartment in New Jersey to find a talking cockatoo. The bird, Luna, has form; seven years ago it cried like a baby all day leading to an investigation by social services.

(Taken from The Week)

The people who saw Jesus cast out a spirit asked this question

“What is this? What new doctrine is this?” Mark 1:27

People are always looking for the next new thing. The ipod with the bigger memory, the electric guitar with the loudest sound. the smallest laptop, the most fashionable clothes - you wouldn’t expect the religious people to be doing it to!!

They wanted the latest idea, the latest teaching and the doctrine that was the most fashionable for the time!! God forbid that we turn church into another rush for the latest stuff.

The good news is still the same now as then. The power of God is the same for us as it was for Jesus. What did Jesus have that made him different? - he knew who he was. In Ephesians 1 there is a lot about the guy who wrote the letter praying that the people of God would not have more than they have now - but that they would understand what they do have now. We have the power, the giftings, the ability to do all God asks us to do. We do not need a new teaching - we need to stand up and be all that God has called us to be and recognise the amazing miracle he has done within us.

Mark 1:8 I baptise you with water, but he will baptise with the Holy Spirit!

I have been thinking recently about these words. Imagine if we had a religion without the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Just think if the Holy Spirit convicted us of sin - as is his job to do- and then he left us. What if we only had the baptism of repentance that John the Baptist gave and no more. No intimacy with God. No power to back up our words. No help to cry out to God from our souls. No release in praise and worship. No prophecy, anointing or words of knowledge. No counsellor, teacher, helper or guide. My life would be so empty without the person of the Holy Spirit filling every inch of me. Everyday that I wake I know that God is with me through the presence of the Spirit. Thank God that he sends the Holy Spirit to fill us to overflowing.

MMMMM I thought that would catch your attention!!! I want to chat today about the truth behind the idea that whilst you are a teen sexual temptation is really strong but then after that it becomes easier.

We looked yesterday at the sad events that have occurred in Todd Bentley’s life and understood that he wasn’t the only one who has fallen in this area by any means. There are great men of God who have been tempted and fallen into sexual sins. The truth is that temptations of every sort affect us throughout our lives. How effective they are in catching us out depends on what we do with the tempting thoughts that enter our heads. The bible instructs us to take captive any thought that isn’t right and make it obey Jesus (2Cor 10:5). We take the thought, screw it up and chuck it out. We are to renew our minds into thinking God’s thoughts (Romans 12:2).

Whilst you are young and lack influence the enemy may let your weaknesses lie dorment. When you are older and have families and perhaps are in leadership pressures and temptations may come in a new way. It is important to strengthen the places you are weak in your character whilst you are young (that includes me!!!). Castles have round turrets on the corners because they are the weakest part of the defences and the enemies knew this. The builders stregthened the corners so that they became impenetrable. That is exactly what we should do. Strengthen yourself, discipline your mind, become strong and know the power of God in your life.

Take time to think where your weakenesses lie and what you are going to do to stregthen yourself in theses areas.

You may be aware that Todd Bentley, very sadly, has stepped down from leadership in his ministry due to a break down in his marriage. He has seen some amazing things happening in the power of the Spirit in Florida. In the churches they have seen incredible healings, many giving their hearts to God and even people raised from the dead. The meetings in Florida have been going on for weeks now and everynight Todd has had hundreds come to meet with God. The intensity of this seems to have taken its toll on Todd and his marriage. Link to the web site

There have been many in and outside the churches who have thrown critism at Todd for his lifestyle, ministry style and the way he looks. These tend to be people who are not seeing the same powerful manifestations as he was and not living in the same dimension of faith as he was.

Todd certainly was a bit different and had his own way of ministring, but it was great that he didn’t try to copy some one elses formulae. God in his great master plan has chosen to use people to bring heaven to earth. We are not perfect and sometimes our weaknesses affect our story of God’s goodness. Often those leaders with the greatest charisma find themselves in the limelight  both in the media and in the churches. This means that in the battle against the enemy they are prime targets to try and cause them to fall.

It is important that we recognise that charisma is not enough. Without our roots down in the bible, coming under authority and being joined to the church we leave our lives open to great temptations. We need to discipline our lives, growing in both stature and character so we can excel in our lives for God. Todd is not the first man of God to fall down and to need help. Let’s learn to have charisma and character. Let,s learn to guide our minds and our hearts. Let’s strengthen our weakenesses and increase our faith being careful that we too, although we think we are strong, may fall.

How exciting - the largest particle accelerator ever! The machine is in Cerne in Swizterland. It is the largest scientific instrument ever built and the corridors that hold it are 27km long. There are two beams of protons that are fired at each other at 20km less than the speed of light to smash into each other to split them into bits and pieces. They hope to make a high energy soup of particles that will help them understand the big bang better. The electricity bill for a year is 12 million pounds!! We are privileged to see and understand things that other generations were oblivious of.

It is great that God made us with such inquisitive minds. The big bang may have happened and may have been caused by God. Who to say his voice did not set the whole thing in motion? I bet it was great to watch - perhaps he may show us one day!! bagsy first!!

There were some who were very concerned that the earth would end. Cheeky kids didn’t do their homework thinking that they might get away with it, parents didn’t clean the house as they saw no point if it wasn’t going to be there the next day and I even heard of some people taking the day off to live the last days as they want.

God sits on his throne and chuckles (Psalms 2:4). He knows that nothing we do can alter his plans. We can find what he is up to by reading his book. It says in there that Gods kingdom will grow so large it will fill the earth (Numbers 14:21, Daniel 2:35). Until that time the church on earth is indestructable. He in in charge. He is King over all.

During the summer holidays I revisited some old music that influenced me as a teen. I would like to share some of this with you this month. The first is by a guy called Keith Green. You can find his history on Wikipedia by clicking here. He died in a plane crash, along with his two children, when he was 35 and never saw his last child’s birth.

His songs are soulful and release worship and devotion from the heart. Here is one of them.

 

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I am sorry I have had a moment of silence - my laptop has been poorly. I have sent it to the laptop doctor and he has bandaged it up and told me to give it plenty of rest!! Will be back to normal tomorrow with lots of news and stuff.

Wouldn’t it be great to fly through the air between the heavenly places and earth and through time. It would be so cool to wear a flashy outfit that sparkled in the sun and shock unsuspecting people on earth. How fantastic it would be to be in God’s presence everyday singing at the top of your voice and seeing his face. Yes I am talking about being an angel! (I know the picture is not of an angel - it was the nearest I could get)

I have been listening to a song by ‘Pocket Full of Rocks’ called Falling. One of the lines in it is “a song that even angels cannot sing”.

However amazing it is to be an angel they can never sing the song we have in our hearts. They can never sing of sins forgiven, of chains broken and of being brought out of pain into a place of freedom. They can not sing of the sacrifice of God’s Son made for them so that they can live. Angels can not sing about being adopted into God’s family and  loving him like a son or inheriting any of his riches. They will never feel what is is to be part of a family and to have the love of a Father in their life, never know what it is to have their lives transformed.

Our song is so precious - even angels cannot sing it. Doesn’t that make you want to sing - go on - turn the computer off and sing, sing, sing!!!

As I watched my kids all walk to school in their new blazer this morning I couldn’t believe that it was time to go back to school already. Could it be that my youngest is now part of the youth group and that she is actually going to high school?(although somewhat swamped by her clothes and bags!!) Anyone else out there feel that the holidays have gone really fast?

Time is a strange thing. We can either fight against it and wish that we didn’t have to grow up and that things don’t have to alter or we can use it to our advantage. Without time change would never happen. We would never learn or grow. Things could not be achieved, planned, eagerly waited for and our lives would never be fulfilled.

The key is how we use time. Some mourn the passing of time and go over their mistakes. Perhaps re-live what others have done to them or decisions they regret taking. This wastes time, causes a stagnation in life and rots the heart.

We, however, are to be different as we know that our Father is great at giving us a new start everyday. Our God is forgiving, good and “causes everything to work together for the good of those who love him” (ROMANS 8:28). If we take the resource of minutes and days and use it creatively and constructively we will begin to see our imagined dreams coming into being. Not everything may go to plan - we can not control other’s responses or actions but we can become more like Jesus everyday.