Due to technical difficulties

This is an update as to why it's been so long for a blog post, my laptop keyboard is broken, so now being left to the erroneous thumb tapping screen app, I will attempt to write a blog in the next couple says from my iPhone, Cheers everyone!

How important is imagination?

"The test of spiritual concentration is bringing theimagination into captivity. Is your imagination looking on the face of an idol?Is the idol yourself? Your work? Your conception of what a worker should be?Your experience of salvation and sanctification? Then your imagination of Godis starved, and when you are up against difficulties you have no power, you canonly endure in darkness. If your imagination is starved, do not look back toyour own experience; it is God Whom you need. Go right out of yourself, awayfrom the face of your idols, away from everything that has been starving yourimagination. Rouse yourself, take the gibe that Isaiah gave the people, anddeliberately turn your imagination to God." OswaldChambers, My Utmost for His Highest

This was a quote I came across in a program I am doing.Since nothing is new under the sunI try not to use my blog to express my own thoughts as if they are new ideasand revolutionising. As a christian this is a pretty interesting thoughthowever. How does one focus there thoughts on Christ? can we think about otherthings without it being an Idol? When does a though become a sin? these can becommon questions that we bring to the table when it comes to our minds.For what we think about is what flows from our heart.

When we are focused on  our Idols,some may be obvious to us. Sex, Drugs,Money,Fame, Power... these are the bad boys of Idolatry as it were the thingswe Christian's hiss at knowing they are big black spots. But what about the more subtle things ? Comfort? Pride(what shape or size it is ?) ? How aboutLove? what about God's Law? what about images or imagery of Christ( do we worship an idea of Christ contrary to scripture ? do we think he something outside what is revealed? Do we think he is just love ?)? What about focusing on Just getting it right(Idolize rather)? See when your start sifting throughthe mud,generally there is more mud.We get how gross it is, but no one suspects abowl of Candy to be laced with poison. And that is the point. How much time do we spend focusing on the obvious Idols of society and yet neglect that God detests even those who Idolize something like marriage above him, or Idolize worship above him, or Idolize their relationship with him above him. SAYWHAT?(que high pitch voice), Can I as a Christian, really idolize myrelationship with Christ more than Christ. I believe that it is possible.

Here is why I think that we as Christians like to focus on the big battles but yetleave the small defense lines defenseless. First, we want to be in the thick of things, we want to be part of the battles with Lust, and Greed and fame and power. We want to say God has helped us overcome this Idols in our lives as almost a pride in ourselves ( yet salvation was not based on works so that why?no man could boast as ephesians says).We want people to admire that God has brought us out of temptation, out of addiction, out of slavery. To say though that you've been lead out of Idolizing a part of Christ character or Idolizing the law more than God; is less glorified as it seems that was a no brainer. This usually falls under two categories. Either a) your the heathensinner which everyone thinks how unfathomable could some one do that to God?option b) figures they would turn to the legalistic of sorts. Second) we tend to deceive ourselves that we are really are not that bad.We are so deceiving that ourhearts would idolize something like marriage, or working hard. as Jeremiah 17:9puts it, our hearts are deceitfully wicked who can know it??? Our Lord can and does, he knows our darkest and most intimate thought, he knows the worst andthe best thoughts we have day in and day out. 

Now before there is a sound of pride in my words, I am someone who has noticed this first and foremost in myself, there is not a day where I don't fail some how or some way in this. That is still no reason for this topic to not come up in our daily discussion, we should be exhorting one another and challenging one another to take a step back and ask ourselves two key questions, do my actions show Christ is my primary thought and focus? Do I focus and meditate on Christ like i should and as much as I should? These questions have helped me to continue to refocus on what matters on this world.Everything is temporary what we have here. We discussed this in our evening young adults bible study where the Israelites continually turned their focus from God onto the physical things, even necessities like food and water, took precedence  over focusing on God and the wonders that he did for them ( like leading them acrossa sea, defeating a tyrannical Pharaoh, nothing too big).It wasnt to say thatfood and water were not important, But when they take over our thoughts and how we view what is important in our mind it is easy for us to replace God witheven the slightest thought.

In conclusion, We all struggle and fall short of God's glory. However let us not use that as reason to stay idle, or complacent with spiritual growth. Yes there is time, but we run out of it eventually, so let us use it wisely while we are on this earth because the Lord, our Lord has given us charge over it. And firstand foremost we should use our time and our minds and imagination to glorifywhat God has done.Have a blessed Lord's day everyone.

Soli DeoGloria

Who is Like you...

This past Friday we had a Young adults bible study. It was based on Exodus 15:1-21. Called the "song of the sea" or the "song of Moses and Miriam", this passage in scripture is quite a beautiful song of God's faithfulness and Mercy but also o his righteousness, might and how he stands for justice. After reading it and discussing it one verse stuck out that I have been meditating on for the last few days.

"Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" Exodus 15:11 (ESV)

To really meditate on this and think about how great and awesome God the father, Sent God the Son, to give us God the Holy Spirit.When life seems to dripping down the proverbial drain, or when things have not seem to be going just quite the way you expected it. It is comforting to know and always go back to scripture like this.It is encouraging to know that it was not up to us, to save ourselves. It is comforting to know Christ chose his people, not the other way around. It is comforting to know the fate of the Human race is not up to us. Despite my flaws and my sinful nature, God in his rich wisdom did not let controlling the universe itself into any of our hands. He simply called and we follow.

To put it more into perspective, we can sometimes ask ourselves "what do we do when we sin?". Funny enough... A batman film may be speaking this subtle truth. In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne falls down a well and his father comes down to get him. He asks him " what do we do when we fall down? we get back up" ( paraphrased but I am pretty sure that is how it goes). The real question is how ? How can a lowly sinner, when suddenly they are caught in either habitual sin or realize a sin they have been neglecting to repent of, or just simply fall. How does one like this get back up?

The simple and yet complex answer in this is too look at Christ.Look at his Glory and all that he has done.From Genesis we can see our God transforming a formless,dark, void and submerged under water.This is a concept I came across while doing the way of Purity course at settingthecaptivesfree.com ( which I will talk about again sometime).And to see God take that and make into something amazing and with Life is something I think any christian can appreciate.I read recently a blog article from OneChristianDad where he talked about temptation and how Christ was tempted. It gave me another perspective to consider and made an excellent point I thought.

In it he says "After Jesus’ temptation passes, angels came to attend to Him.  I cannot claim that angels came to minister to me, but what I do know is that after the exhaustion, after the pain, after the test, there is rest.  Real rest. There is peace that is so exceedingly profound that  I cannot do it justice with words.  The reality of Christ and the love of the Father are so real, so immense so overwhelming.  By God’s grace I stood this test in the strength that Christ provides.  The glory goes to God alone and the Peace and joy, and certainty of faith flows from him to me.".This is a true and humble way to see how through any trials and even any errors we may make, God is faithful and will bring us through.This isn't a call for complacency but a call for humility and to Glorify what Christ has done on the cross and worship him.