A Heart Untroubled

Have you watched any of the 'Karate Kid' movies.  If not, the gist is Daniel, the underdog, learns Karate and goes to compete against the bully on the block, who is being trained by the nastiest instructor around (Johny K) whose motto is 'No Mercy'.   Mr Miyagi, Daniel's unassuming teacher, shows Daniel a move against which there is no defence, and despite his opponents underhand tactics, Daniel goes on to win the competition, and the respect of his opponent.  In one scene, Johny K comes up against Mr Miyagi and picks a fight with him.  Despite being smaller and a lot older, Miyagi bests Johny K. At the end of the fight, has him in a precarious hold, where it looks like he's going to finish him with a swipe of his hand.  However... right at the end it goes like this... With a tweak of the nose! What has all this got to do with my blog for New Years Eve?  Well, how we finish something is how we start the next thing.   If you are leaving 2022 with a bitter heart f

At work, when I send out the weekly emails, I like to find out what 'national day' falls on that day, and make a little bit about it.  I did the same this morning. Today is National Cake Day.  Who doesn't love a bit of cake now and then, but as I was thinking about cake (as one does after working out at the gym) and I realised that most often, cake is something special - birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, Christmas... In our house growing up, 'cake' was a treat on a Saturday evenings.  Cake is not a staple food (well unless you ask certain members of family); it is a treat.  The Bible is the opposite of cake.   The Bible isn't just for special occasions or a once a week treat, it's a staple food we need to consume daily.   We need to eat and digest it, and as we do, it feeds us so that we grow and mature.  Children who only ate cake, would be unhealthy and their growth and development would be hampered and even damaged.  In our Christian walk, we need to re

Have you ever had a phone that went wonky!  Something just gets messed up in it and once you've tried all the usual tricks like switching it off and on again, deleting and reinstalling apps. etc, you are eventually left with one option RESTORE FACTORY SETTINGS. Sometimes, I think we can be like that phone.  The 'setting' in fallen humanity defaults to living by the flesh, and while we can try all sorts of tricks and ways to 'be better' or 'do better' they are ineffective, because the problem is innate within us.   When we are saved though Jesus Christ it's like we restore our factory settings and the rest of our lives on earth as believers is to learn to walk in the true settings Christ gave us in the beginning, according to his design for mankind. Galatians 5:25 (KJV) I f we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. The bible teaches us that we came alive in the spirit when we got born again, so then, now we need to function that way. That was

Sitting here this week, reflecting on the news of our Queen's death, I have been struck by the profound effect she left on people that met her. So many amazing, funny, interesting and moving stories coming out, and while there are always those who can't say anything nice in times like this, my impression is, that those who met Queen Elizabeth II held her in high regard and speak only good things about her. As I was watching some documentaries on her life, I was pondering the question of how others will speak of me when I am gone.  What kind of legacy will I leave behind?  While my reach, may not be as wide as that of the Queen of England, every person that we come into contact will receive something from us. We are here as ambassadors of the King of Kings.  How we behave and treat people will leave people talking about us one way or another. Today I was as I meditating on this, the verse in Colossians 4:5-6 (TPT) came to mind: " Walk in the wisdom of God as you live before

I was reading Romans chapter 6-8 today and in church we've been teaching and hearing others teach on living by the Spirit.  I am meditating on this very thing a lot at them moment. We know that the flesh was crucified with Christ (Rom 6:6), and we are new creations, but we are still prone to this battle of flesh v spirit.  Paul the Apostle said how his desire and will often seemed to be in opposition to his actions... So how can we beat the flesh? The truth is that the battle is to be fought in our minds. The flesh was crucified, put to death, and buried with Christ Jesus, but as a friend reminded me recently,  we can't beat flesh with flesh!  Will power or desire are not enough to change our behaviour; we have to start from the inside out. Romans' 12:1-2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and Ephesians tells us that we are to be renewed in the Spirit of our minds. Ephesians 4:23 (NLT) Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. We have

I know I've mentioned running a few times recently, but it's a great analogy for spiritual truths.  God speaks to me a great deal through my running and it's good! Recently I was listening to a series of podcasts about how to improve your running.  It was very helpful to me. One of the points was to recognise where you are and start from there.   What does that really look like?  Well, for example, through this 5 day challenge, I realised that my strength is rubbish!  (I tried a strength test and basically I have none🤣🤣🤣) Seriously though, I could recognise that and decide today to join a gym, go 7 days a week and bench press 200lbs a day!  But that's not realistic.  I need to start smart!  So, I might join a gym, but maybe aim for twice a week and start with 2lb weights!    I might decide I need to run further, but to try and do a marathon tomorrow is dumb to the max! The same is true with spiritual things.  Sometimes we recognise that we need to spend more time in

Nothing in life has any meaning until you give it meaning .  What does that mean?   Well, if someone says to me 'You should run a marathon; think of what an achievement that would be'. It doesn't mean a thing to me. I have no desire to do that.   However,  when I look at my fitness watch after a 5K (3.10 mile) run, if it says more than 36 minutes, I feel disappointed. Why is that?  Well I give meaning to the time it takes me to run 5k! I want to improve, I want to go a bit faster. I will train harder to meet that goal.  It takes on significance for me. The same is true with spiritual things. If I give meaning to something, it has meaning (sounds simple, right?).  We had a friend who used to say "Until you're sick and tired of being sick and tired, you'll stay that way!".  What he means is, unless you give meaning (importance, significance, value etc) to healing in your life, you will settle for sickness that you can live with.  If you don't give mean

I've recently discovered a song by Cody Johnson called "Until You Can't".  It's a song about putting stuff off and then not being able to do it because it's too late. Life is short and our days are not guaranteed, I get it. I've been thinking a lot about that sentiment in my own life The song says " Don't wait on tomorrow 'cause tomorrow may not show.   Say your sorries, your I-love-yous, 'cause man you never know " and they are all great sentiments, but there's so much more we shouldn't put off.    We shouldn't put off accepting Christ.  Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2), we shouldn't put off encouraging each other (Heb 3:13) and we shouldn't put off planting seeds if we want a harvest. It's easy to become weary in this day and age (I'd even go as far as to say that one of the symptoms of modern society is marked apathy) and we can convince ourselves that doing nothing is ok, procrastinatio

There's a well-known expression that says 'just go with the flow', isn't there?  It means  be relaxed and accept a situation, rather than trying to alter or control it. There are times in life where naturally speaking, I definitely DON'T want to go with the flow, but I want to think about the spiritual implications this could have.  Have you ever walked away from a conversation, situation or encounter and though 'I know the Holy Spirit was trying to say or do something there' but you didn't follow through ... That's what I mean.   God presents us with multiple intrusions into our daily life - things he has orchestrated and we need to 'go with the spiritual flow' of the Holy Spirit.  One day Jesus was busy heading off with Jairus, to heal his daughter when the women with the issue of blood stopped him on the way. He could have said nothing to that women; he could have scolded her and said 'Can't you see I'm busy!  I'm going to

Have you ever heard the expression "The grass is always greener on the other side"?  It is an expression meaning that we look away from our own situation and think that someone has it easier, or something is better somewhere you're not... Well it's not true!  The truth is that the grass is greener where you water it! When we lived in Colorado there was a serious drought and almost zero humidity.. Even the snow was dry! In the summer it was so warm, but you didn't sweat at all... grass looked brown UNLESS you had a sprinkler system! .. The gardens of those who had sprinklers had plush, very green lawns despite the weather. Another example is that I learned French for 7 years, but rarely use it now.  It's there somewhere... sometimes I can recall the seeds that were planted, but in my adult life I don't water (practice, consider, study) them, so they don't grow. What you water in your life grows.   It's not enough to read something once, even from th

Today I wanna talk about leaky gut! I know, strange right? Do you know what it is? It's a hypothetical condition, not recognised as yet by the medical community, where they believe the intestinal barrier gets impaired, toxins get into the bloodstream and can result in bad health.  Now I don't know whether it's a real thing or not, but it served to give me a really good spiritual point.  The bible says in Proverbs 4:23 that we are to " Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it  are  the issues of life." Leaky gut can be likened to what happens to us if we don't guard or keep our hearts.  We can let in toxins that will contaminate our spiritual walk.  The word HEART here is the Hebrew word 'LEB'.  It means the emotion centre of a person, but also extends to the mind, will and even the intellect, wisdom and understanding. In Hebrew, the 'heart' is the very centre of everything. The 'issues' of life are anything we face.   So we have

Most of us have probably read or heard the story of Peter walking on the water.   If you haven't, here's the gist.   After a busy day of ministry, Jesus takes some time by himself and sends the disciples across the sea by boat.  It gets very windy and they are only part way across, when Jesus is seen walking on top of the water towards the boat.   The disciples must have been very busy dealing with the sailing conditions, but on seeing someone walking on water they all freak out, thinking that it's a ghost.  Peter, however, somehow recognises something about figure - and calls out "If that's you Jesus, tell me to come to you".   As it is Jesus, he does call Peter, who climbs out of the boat and walks on water.  Peter suddenly becomes aware that the wind is boisterous, and he starts to sink!   Jesus reaches out to him and raises him back up. For most of the times I have heard this taught in church or bible college, that's where the story finishes.  While th

Have you ever considered why people came to Jesus?  There was just something inexplicable about him.  He spoke with authority the priests didn't seem to have; he healed the sick and raised the dead.  He wasn't in a rush.  There was just something about him.  People couldn't explain it.  When Jesus healed the man, blind from birth and the authorities were questioning him about what had happened  John 9:25 (TPT) The healed man replied, “I have no idea what kind of man he is. All I know is that I was blind and now I can see for the first time in my life!” Jesus was inexplicable to the natural mind!  The dictionary defines that word  'inexplicable" word as " unable to be explained or accounted for" While we of course know that Jesus was the Son of God, the folk around him did not all see that, but there was something about him that drew people to Jesus. It's not enough for Christians to simply be nice, generous or gracious people.  We are to be equally in

Can you fly?  If you stand outside and flap your arms hard enough, can you take off?  Of course not.  The main reason is because of the law of gravity.   Gravity keeps us on the ground.   However,  you can fly!  Get in a plane and off you go!  What changed?   What changed is your position! A plane brings into effect a law which supersedes that of gravity.  The law of aerodynamics (thrust and lift).  In that plane, though gravity still exits, you can experience something contrary to that law.    When you are outside of the plane, you are bound by the law of gravity, but change your position and you are able to take advantage of a greater law. In this world, before we accept Jesus as our saviour, we are bound by the law of sin and death! We cannot help but follow after the flesh and things of this world.  However, once we become Christian's we change our position and are now 'In Christ'. From that position we are able to take advantage of a law that supersedes the law of sin

Have you ever played the game 'Lie. Lie. Truth?  The gist is that you tell your opponent(s) three statements, two of which are not true and one of which is true.  I might say  1) I have eaten oysters 2) I have had blue hair 3) I have travelled in a helicopter The game is to decide which is true from those three is true!   The right way to play is to make the two lies as believable as possible.   That is how the world treats humans, presenting some things as though they are true, when they are not! We (human beings) have some commonalities, regardless of where we live in the world.  We have basic physical needs (food, shelter, warmth etc) but beyond that we all desire significance, acceptance, and security.  These are the very things the world plays on as it offers people it's own variety of wisdom and truth.   It offers significance if we perform and attain enough accomplishments; it offers security of we advance in status and gain recognition and it offers acceptance if we loo

One of the things I most notice about life today is the noise.  There's always noise.  TVs are on, radios are playing, people filling silences with mindless chatter.   Even in church, the service leader says "Let's just have a time of silence to reflect on what we've just heard' and in a few seconds or so either someone starts to pray or people start checking their watches.   Silence intimidates us. We fill it with any and everything, not necessarily evil or bad, but just noise.  When we surround ourselves continually with the noise of this world, it's hard to focus or find intimacy with Holy Spirit.  We need to be happy with silence as a space to listen, and then God can speak at a frequency that the heart can grasp.   He never shouts.  He most often speaks in that still small voice, that can only be heard when we are settled and at peace, and quiet.   The language of love is best heard from a quiet and peaceful heart.  When we are still and silent we can focu

Have you ever considered that it is not as important THAT you believe as WHAT you believe? Everyone believes something.  People believe the world is flat, or that the moon landing is a conspiracy, or that there is no God.   Every person puts their faith in things multiple times a day -whether that's in a green traffic light meaning it's clear to go, or in a supplement that will improve your health, or in a relationship..  Faith will only truly be effective when we believe in the truth.  We all believe, but it is WHAT or WHO we believe in that will determine whether our faith 'works'.     Faith starts with God's gift to us - a measure of faith just like Jesus had.  What we do with that measure is up to us.  When they asked Jesus to increase their faith, Jesus said it didn't matter the size of what they had.  A minute seed of faith in God's word can move mountains.  It's all about what you believe.  When you believe the truth, you have mountain-moving fai

Just a short thought today.. Our lives are only truly meaningful when they have connection.  God created us firstly for relationship, firstly with him and secondly with others.   He designed families, he designed church, he designed teams and friendships.  Without connection to God we can never fulfil our potential.  Without connection to others we miss out on significance, purpose and acceptance in the natural realm too.  Relationships are not always easy, but when we get things in the wrong order, it will be harder.   We need to make our relationship with God our highest priority.  From him comes our peace, strength, joy, wisdom and so much more.  Then we can have intentional and meaningful connections with others.  If we struggle to make that connection with others, we need to look at our relationship with God .   Paul said, it is no longer I that liveth, but Christ that lives in me.   When we took God up on his offer of salvation to renew a right connection with God, we take Christ

It's often easy to look at ourselves or others and simply refer to that as a guide for who we, or someone else, is. We can see ourselves as fat, skinny, old young, educated, stupid or as the sum of everything that has happened to us, but the truth is, none of that is not who we are. We can look at ourselves in the mirror and see a little, inadequate reflection.   It's easy to meet others do the same, based on what we see, but Paul tells us that this is not the way to look at one another any more . 2 Corinthians 5:16 (TPT)  So then, from now on, we have a new perspective that refuses to evaluate people merely by their outward appearances. For that’s how we once viewed the Anointed One, but no longer do we see him with limited human insight. First we must begin to see ourselves as God sees us, and then we can apply the same measure to others we meet.    Lauren Daigle puts it beautifully in her song "You say" I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I'm not enough

Nehemiah went to rebuild a wall. Doing what he did to honour God and call the people back to worship. He faced many attacks; people mocking him, writing letters to bring fear, people trying to tempt him to do wrong so they could then hold it against him, people making false accusations,  people lying about him, people plotting against him, threatening him,  people mad at him...and yet he refused to be distracted from his purpose, continuing to seek God, to ask for God's strength, listening to God.  It is easy for us to become distracted from God's purpose when others come against us, but just as Nehemiah kept his focus and completed the mission, so must we.  When the job was done, the people came together in worship.  We must press on, complete the task and then give God the glory.   In the end everyone could see that God had done the work and the people praised. Don't waste precious time trying to justify yourself or correct some mistruth, but continue to the finish the ta

John Maxwell said "To be significant, all you have to do is make a difference with others wherever you are, with whatever you have, day by day." One of the things we all need in life is significance. Significance is defined as ' the quality of being worthy of attention; importance.'   We may not want to be the centre of attention, but we all want someone to think we are important in this life.  Jesus is the one that gives us our significance and worth.  The bible tells us in  Matthew 10:29 (TPT) " You can buy two sparrows for only a copper coin, yet not even one sparrow falls from its nest without the knowledge of your Father. Aren’t you worth much more to God than many sparrows ? " Jesus thought you were of the highest importance to him. He gave you worth when he gave up his life for you.  When we realise and recognise our significance in him, we can then go ahead and make a difference to all those we meet day by day.  It doesn't have to be huge things;

Everyone puts their trust in someone.   The most common expression of this is to put your trust in yourself.  We do it everyday, we encounter a problem and look to ourselves to solve it and find a solution.  Whether it's an everyday type problem or a big stressful situation, we try and figure it all out. In Jeremiah 17:5-10 ,   we are told that everyone who trusts in the flesh is going to be like a dead, unfruitful shrub.  With no purpose, no hope, empty and destitute.  That's what we are like when we rely on, trust and put our reliance on our own self-sufficiency. Conversely, the passage goes on to say that when we trust in the Lord, and our trust is in him (confidence, security, certainty) we will flourish and be fruitful, despite the challenges we may face. This can apply to those who do not know the Lord, but it can also apply to us as believers.  Every one has a tendency to revert back to trusting in ourselves at certain times in particular areas.  It's nothing new.  I

I wasn't really a Star Wars fan until I got married.  Somewhere in the last 25 years my beloved husband talked me into watching the original three movies, and I really enjoyed them. Of course, then you have to watch the new three that go before the originals and then the ones that fit after.   Well recently a couple of series have been launched and John and I have been watching them.  In one episode of 'The Book of Boba Fett', one character says this " Persistence without instruction will lead to the same outcome" We can be really zealously doing and doing and doing, and yet without teaching or training, we don't get anywhere.  Christians don't just become wiser or more in tune with God accidentally or just by going at something over and over. We need to be wise, and we need instruction.  We can try the same things over and over and over again, but if we don't really know what we're doing we're not going to get the results we're desiring. W

Have you ever felt under attack when you've begun to do something the Lord has told you to do? It can be very challenging. You may consider whether you are doing the right thing and even be tempted to give up, but before you do, consider the word of God! The bible tells us that it contains examples for us, so we can learn from them. So many times, we see people who could simply have given up..Esther, Joseph, Noah, even Jesus, faced such intense opposition when doing what God told them to do. Nehemiah, also faced opposition, but I love this verse " When all our enemies heard about it, and all the [Gentile] nations around us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognised that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God . " Nehemiah 6:16 When we start a work for the Lord, problems will come, people will rise against us, but ultimately when we stick to what God has purposed for us, when we trust God, we will finish the work, and then those who att

Have you ever thought about why we are called Christians?   The term literally means 'Little Christ' or 'Belonging to the party/group of Christ'.  The bible tells us Christians were first called by that name in Antioch.   I have heard people say that it was a derogatory slur and I have seen people that say it was not bad, but was indicative that the people in Antioch distinguished between every other sect or group in the city and came up with this new terminology.    Either way, it referred to a very specific group of people that were clearly recognised by others.   Today often we hear people describe themselves as 'Christian' simply because of the nation they live in.  When asked for their religion, people will often site a denomination 'catholic' or 'baptist' or whatever, but the truth is that a true Christian is one who looks like Jesus!   Not of course physically, but in our conduct, our actions Paul told us in 1 Corinthians (more than once)