No longer a slave to fear

Slavery comes in different ways, from the physical shackles that prevent people from running away, to the bondage of our hearts when we are held captive by our own fears. Either way, whatever the things that hold us and debilitate us the effect is still the same. We are held back from being everything that God wants us to be. 

   When Jesus died on the cross He died for us, He died to set the captive free. That doesn't just end at those who are actual slaves for other people (those trafficked and treated unfairly), but it also counts and expands for those who are slaves to fear, guilt, anxiety, depression, inadequacy, lust, heartbreak...the list goes on, it is endless. But in Jesus name we are set free from the chains that have held us.

    I know that it is a lot easier to hear than to live out. We struggle with these things daily and other people just don't understand exactly what you're going through, which is potentially true. Everyone's journey is their own, but we all have one thing in common - Jesus Christ came to die for us and our sins. He died for our freedom, so that our fears and anxieties no longer define us.

     I have struggled over the past few years with crippling anxiety. It has become part of my life, where actually I feel empty without worrying about something. I become obsessed with little things, something wrong I might have said in a conversation, things I've done wrong in the past, the way people view me. This was made worse when I was taken ill with glandular fever, although I was healed and I encountered God in a new and exciting way the lasting effects of glandular fever have not only ruined my body, but also my mind. It is known as Post Viral Depression and although I don't see it necessarily as depression and I struggle with being diagnosed with something like that it is something that is now part of my life. I have had days where I'm too full of anxiety that I don't want to get out of bed, I struggle to eat and I begin to obsess. It's exhausting.

     But I know freedom. I know Christs revitilising hand and loving heart that has re-energised me and shown me transcendent love. There is no fear in love. I know that I have not been made to have a heart of fear, the bondage of anxiety does not hold me back. The chains that prevent me from fulfilling my potentially do not have power of any sort. In Jesus name I am free from judgement, free from guilt, free from fear. Fear is no longer my slave master.

    I'm not saying that I have total freedom. I relapse into anxious thinking more often than not. Usually if I don't have my mind focussed on God (actually whenever I don't have my mind focussed on God). If I watch things that don't necessarily glorify God (this doesn't have to mean anything over the top, even little comedy programmes that glorify lust, blasphemy, violence), if I speak unjustly about somebody (from gossip to arguing), if I haven't prayed in a while, if I do anything that doesn't glorify God (again this doesn't have to be anything too extreme). All these little attributes can affect my heart and mind toward God. In extreme cases you can become a slave to these things, they begin to dictate your life and you feel ruled by them. Once again, I am no longer a slave.

   For me a way that prevents being a slave not only to the world, but to fears and anxieties is by speaking out the word of God that counteracts anything that the devil is trying to manipulate you with (because let's be honest, that is what's happening). When the devil tries to tell me to feel guilty; 'Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood' (Isaiah 54:4). When the devil tells me I am alone; 'The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves, He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you; but will rejoice over you with singing' (Zephaniah 3:17). When the devil tells me to look to the world for advice; 'Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings who cannot save' (Psalm 146:3). There are so many, speak them against the lies of the devil. He is known as the deceiver - he will do anything within his power to make you fall, to make you a slave. In Christ you are free.

YOU ARE NO LONGER A SLAVE TO FEAR, BUT A CHILD OF THE LIVING GOD.

Pray freedom and knowledge of God's love over your life. Pray for a breaking of whatever is holding you back, the chains to be uprooted. Take the shackles off your feet so you can dance!

Blessings

May 

Xx

Stop just making it a youth movement

Now is the time, God is preparing a generation.

I remember hearing this time and time again as a teenager and in my youth group 'God is building up a generation'. I was excited, I was ready, I was keen...And then I hit twenty. I was no longer a teenager, I was no longer able to go to youth events, be invited to teen-oriented functions or change lives. I felt like I'd wasted my teenage life, I hadn't led thousands of people to faith, I'd hardly brought about a revival. If I was meant to be part of a generation that was going to change the world, maybe I'd just been missed out of this part, maybe I was just not good enough. I'd come to university and I was a young adult, I stopped going to a youth group and started helping out at one, I started being known as someone (and not just my parent's daughter), I'd started being asked to pay taxes - safe to say I'd become an adult. I felt like I'd missed out on this generation movement. God preparing a generation was just a youth thing, not a church thing.

But this is not just a youth movement, the generation doesn't just stop at the youth.

We as a church are a generation, it's not just for the gifted, the old, the young. It is for all of us as a body of Christ. We are all made to praise Jesus; 'Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; Both young men and virgins; Old men and children. Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven.…' (Psalm 148 11-13). We all praise Jesus and we all live to serve Him. We shouldn't be stuck in the groups that we have put ourselves into. We shouldn't take away the value from others, we shouldn't limit ourselves to people we relate to better, we should break away from this being a '(fill in appropriate name) movement' and make it a church movement.

This is not just for the youth, this is not a youth movement.

We are part of a generation, all of us. We all are to make a difference to the nation we belong to. Together we create the army that God is creating, we need to stop being civilians and become soldiers. God is rising up the young. God is preparing the old. God is calling the under-qualified. God is preparing the way for the qualified. It doesn't stop. God is calling you. 

We need to break away from the bondage of what we believe, that we are not young enough, clever enough, good looking enough, good enough...we are the generation. Don't just encourage the youth, don't just believe it for the youth, we are a generation that God WILL and DOES use. WE ARE A REVIVAL GENERATION. 

Blessings
May
xx

Speak to dry bones

 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord...I will make breath enter you and you will come to life' Ezekiel 37:4

We can move. We can break away from what we are used to. We don't have to be defined by what has been spoken over us or by the season we have just come out of. We are part of the Kingdom of the Living God! But remembering and living this on a cold, dull, dreary Wednesday morning is a lot easier said than done. When our life is stuck and we can't see a way out of the mess we have got ourself in we struggle to see how God can have His hand in it.

     We are not made to be dead, we are made to live. Christ did not create is in our mother's womb for us to be complacent, for us to sit by and admit defeat. But for us to be alive, and through his breath and spirit in us we are truly breathing and alive! Just as God did in the beginning, when he breathed life into Adam, so He will do to us. Not only physically but also spiritually.

     In the above passage we have reached a point where Israel has been defeated, it is on its knees and is struggling with which way to go. As a nation it is hopeless and broken, it has fallen. The people of Israel were living life as if they were dead, they had lost their way and were struggling to move on. They were unable to see a way out of the mess they were in and with this they became a broken nation.

       I'm sure this sounds familiar, it does for me. There have been times in my life where I feel like I'm stuck in a really thick mud, no matter how much I try and move I get more and more stuck, sinking deeper and deeper. Sometimes it feels like it gets over my head, I feel lost. I can relate entirely to how Israel felt, the brokenness, the loss, the pain. 

     So with this vision that God gave to Ezekiel how can I fear? How am I able to struggle on when I know that Christ is with me, that Christ has given me life. The dry bones that I've been holding onto, the weight and baggage of the heartbreak that I've had to deal with are going to have a new lease of life. No longer are we to live in the brokenness of yesterday! With Christ we have been set free, the tears and shame of the past are no more.

      To move forward we must take action, we must move forward. We must be able to dream again and know what Christ wants and has planned for us, dreams are not made for graveyards. Allow God to change you, allow Him to breathe into you, to make those dry bones come to life. We are not to be stuck in death, but thrive in life. 

     Like God was able to restore Israel, He so can restore us, He is able to rejuvenate us, He is able to set us free from this darkness. The old season that you are in or have been in is gone. Christ will do a new thing in you. Let a new thing be done. We are made to be alive and He can restore us. Our bones are to come alive again, be alive in Him!

Let Him do a new thing in your life, allow Him to refresh and rejuvenate you. Christ will breathe fresh life into you again, He will supply you with what you've craved for, for what you've needed. We are part of the working body, we are meant for a purpose. A  new season is beginning and we are going to be fresh and strong with the new breath from God. SPEAK TO THE DRY BONES

Put on your walking boots

We need to get ready, the walk of faith isn't easy. There will be struggles and pain, but there will also be joyous thanksgiving. But we have to do God's journey to seek out what God wants for us. It may take time, the timing may not be our idea of perfection but know that it is God's perfect timing. There will be many points along the path in order for us to know God on an intimate level and know His plan for our lives.

1)Obedience. One of the most obvious, yet most difficult tasks. We have all (or will all) stop being obedient at some point in our life. We may do it in such a way that we lose complete focus on God or we may just decide not to obey God in the small things. 

    When I was about eighteen (and a bit before) I stopped being obedient. I didn't stop believing in God or not love Him but I decided that I didn't want to be obedient to Him anymore. It took a huge toll on my faith as you can imagine, but in the timing of it I didn't care. It's only now that I can see where disobedience came in and my God fuelled life took a step back. This lack of obedience didn't mean that God loved me any less, He didn't stop and He never will ('For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither Angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height not depth, not anything else in all of creation, will be able to seperate us for the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord' Romans 8:38-39)

Nothing can seperate us from the love of God. But when you are obedient to Him and His word you are able to grow deeper in him, you are able to know your worth and walk in the direction of knowing His plan for your life. I'm not saying that we only stray from obedience once and it's easy to come back into knowing that obedience is the best way forward, disobedience is easy, but damaging. Obedience will help us walk the path that Christ has laid out for us and allow us know true freedom, something that the world and disobedience cannot and will not offer us.

2) Sacrifice. When we look at our brothers and sisters in the Bible we see sacrifice all over the place. One amazing example is that of Abraham's sacrifice of his son. He knew that God wanted this from him the death of his beloved son. So in his obedience he took his son, Isaac (that he had waited so long for) and was willing to sacrifice him. But just at the right moment God stopped him (He is the God of perfect timing). Abraham wasn't to kill his son but a lamb that God supplied for him (sound familiar?). Abraham was willing to make that sacrifice, in his obedience and trusting of God.

    Sometimes we are to sacrifice more than we want. It might be money, time or material possessions (things we really want to hold of). But do we not know that what we sacrifice God will give us immeasurably more! When we sacrifice things to God (& things that really are a sacrifice) we are truly honoured and blessed. He will never give us more than we can handle, even if we think our sacrifice is way out of our league He will provide.

3) Warfare. Spiritual warfare is probably one of the most difficult parts of our walk with Christ. But it is a part of it. We know there is going to be a battle, but where we base our faith is important. We are on the winning side. ('Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's!'  2 Chronicles 20:15). The battle does belong to the Lord, but we are a soldier. With God, where the impossible is made possible how can we fall against a lesser army? When we dress ourself in the armour of the Lord we are winning the battle. With the blood of the lamb & the word of our testimony we can win this battle. It has already been won (spoiler alert: Christ ALWAYS wins). Know that warfare will come, it's not easy, but when we adorn ourselves with the armour of the Lord we are on the way to winning. Be aware and vigilant, the easiest prey for Satan is the weak who do not know it's going on until it becomes overpowering. From Abraham to Matthew spiritual warfare affects those closest to Jesus as well as those who feel distant. We are the winners.

    In Revelation it talks how for a moment Satan will seemingly champion over the saints, but only for a moment. Because a time is coming soon when Christ will come again and reclaim the world from the claws of Satan. Victory is coming!

4)Testing. On our walk of faith we will have many times when God tests our faith. We will struggle to maybe see God in things when the tests get tough, but as I've said before He will not give you more than you can handle. Your test will become your testimony. We struggle and muddle through the rubbish in life, but the strength and power we gain during this time will help us grow and become exactly what God wants us to be.

     One of the biggest tests of God is the timing of things. We struggle to trust in God when things don't happen straight away, that is when we fall. When things seem hazy for a while we struggle to continue to be obedient, we don't want to sacrifice, we can't face the warfare. But know now, God's timing is ideal (look at Abraham and just at the second when he was about to strike his son God stopped him). He knows the plan for your life and He knows when and where things should happen. This test may be the hardest, but once we understand it, we can begin to live in a freedom of knowing that our father knows best. (Disclaimer: it is easier said than done).

5)Confession. When we withold things from God we struggle to get intimacy with Him. Now God is aware of what we do and when we struggle to tell Him things and confess our sins, but the confession is where it's important.

    When you keep something in, it becomes uncomfortable. If it's bad stuff you get iller and iller until you decide you need help (in a physical sense, till you know you need to see a doctor). Keeping it in will not help you, it will hold you back. You won't get better by not seeking help or letting it out that's the only way to feel well again. On a spiritual level when we keep things in, hide things from God we are stopping ourself from knowing freedom. We may be able to still be spiritual but not in the way He intended and not to fulfil the things that He wants us to. We will get stuck on the path as we can't get the freedom and intimacy we need. Do not withold from God. He is a loving forgiving God and as I have mentioned before (but it's always great to be reminded) there is nothing that can seperate us from His love and forgiveness.

6)Look forward. Christ has a plan for each and everyone of us. It's a lot easier to say believe me, but He does. His plans our made for us. Think of the promises that have already been fulfilled - look at the Bible, the promise of a messiah, the promise of Abraham's descendants being starters of the tribes of Israel. We need to know and remind ourself of God's endless promises and goodness. When we take all of the steps of the walk of faith we do we are able to see how God is going to use and bless us. We are to do great things through Christ. Look to the stars and where they are going. Keep looking for those amazing awe-inspiring moments that Christ will do in your life. When we look at the stars we see His promises and the fulfilment that He has already done. A Christ-centered, forward looking life allows us to become all He wants us to be.

Be prepared for the walk, it won't be easy and we will struggle. But Christ is victorious and so are we!

Blessings

May

xx

I'm not religious

I don't have a religion. I don't follow my parent's beliefs or go to church every Sunday because they told me to. I don't enjoy the religious entitiy Christianity has become. I don't follow the rules.

I love Jesus though.

I believe in the living God, the same God that made Eve of Adam's rib, the same God that sent his only son into a suffering world. I believe in that God. He knows me deeply, I have a profound relationship with Him and I simply cannot get enough of Him. I'm not religious, but I have a tangible and alive relationship with Christ himself.

    We need to stop being like a Christian and become more like Christ. We need to live the way Christ lived, love the way he loved. Not be stuck in the rules and regulations of a religion. 

     Christ loved the poor, He hung with the lowest of the low. He didn't sit in a middle class home with his middle class friends doing middle class things, He didn't once attempt to get something just because he was the son of God. He went into the world as a man and lived as one. He experienced emotion and loss as we do. If he can be like us than we can strive to be like Him. We should get out of comfortable lives and be uncomfortable. It begins to get dangerous when we have too much comfort. We stop growing, caring and loving. If Christ meant for us to be religious he would've loved the Pharisees. We aren't meant to be the ones who sit on high and judge, we aren't meant to be the ones who have it sorted and live inside our Christian bubble. We are made to be Christ-like.

We are in a world where people are more uncomfortable to be like Jesus than to be as a Christian. What would Jesus do?

What bracelet are you wearing? WWJD or WWPD?

Are we becoming too religious?

Blessings

may