Inspiration from church sermons 27/3/03

After going to my church's (HBC) morning and evening services  alot of messages from God's word spoke to me. First there was the message : " I am the way , the truth and the life , no one enters me except through Jesus christ". For those of you who want to be christians but are unsure then you must accept that God's son Jesus Christ died for our sins on a cross and rose again so that our sins could be forgiven. The second message that spoke to me was : " Do not lay up treasures on earth but store them in heaven" , we must remind ourselves not to be materalistic and worship worldy objects e.g. a new handbag but fix our eyes on heaven and the treasures in heaven. The last message that spoke to me from the evening service was light in the darkness , everyone in life goes through dark spells e.g. personal problems , family problems , work problems but there is light in the darkness and that light is Jesus Christ , my message to my readers is not to go through life in the dark when you can have light in your life - Jesus Christ. God Bless.

Chirstian messages in Disney Films

Has anyone noticed underlying christian messages in Disney films ?. If you havent im about to highlight a few for you. Sleeping Beauty is a disney film that mirrors christian life , the baddie "Malificent" is the devil who tempts the christain girl (Aurora) to a spinning wheel where she pricks her finger and falls asleep for a hundred years. The three fairies mirror the trinity of God : Father , son and holy spirit who equips the christian boy(the Prince) with the armour of God (sword of truth , sheild of virtue ....) to fight Malificent (the devil). Beauty and the Beast teaches us not to judge , the prince judged the old hag that came to his door so he was turned into a beast to teach him a lesson. Pocohontas focuses on our paths in life ; as christians we should let the Lord guide us along our paths and remember when God closes a door somewhere he opens a window. The Little Mermaid teaches us not to be materalistic as Ariel was caught up with collecting bits and bobs and wanting to be a human. Also the Lion King song : "He lives in you" can be thought of as a christian message as God lives in everyone one of us , its up to us to accept him and welcome into our lives. Walt Disney was indeed a Christian and wanted christian messages to seep through his films to reach his young audience but the real place people should learn about christianity is the bible , disney films are a fantasy but the bible and God is a reality.

God Loves you

Here's an inspirational poem on God's love for you :

Somebody loves you
more than you know
Somebody goes with you
wherever you go
Somebody really and
truly cares
and lovingly listens
to all of your prayers
Dont doubt for a minute
that this is not true
for God loves his children
and takes care of them too.

Gifts from God by Lauren Sneddon

Gifts from God

As we look towards Mothers day we think of the  gifts we will likely give our Mums: flowers, chocolates a gift voucher or even just a card but as this special day approaches (   3^rd April 2011 ) we have to remind ourselves that we were gifts given to our mothers by God. He knew our every detail: what eye colour we would have, whether we would be a boy or girl, our names our date of date, he knew it all before our Mums did because he created us. We are gifts just like our mum was a gift to our gran’s and just like Jesus was God’s most precious gift of all. When were given gifts at Christmas or for our birthday we intend to use them whether it’s a brand new mobile or some perfume or a CD we intend to use it. But what about the gifts God gave us? How do we use them?.  When i say gifts that God gave us i don’t mean of materialistic value i am speaking of the spiritual and physical talents that he gave you. It could be a Musical gift, a Fashion Gift, The gift of song, a sports gift or even something as simple as being able to stand in front of people and talk that is the gift of public speaking. Not everyone likes speaking in front of people, great actors have had to get over their fear of it just like great ballet dancers and singers have had to get over their fear of stage fright. However some people are gifted greatly in being able to act, dance and sing in front of a huge audience. Part of expressing your gifts is discovering first and foremost what they are. As a young child growing into a teenager and then finally into an adult who will have probably discovered your gifts whether you were exceptional in Football, drama or art you are probably aware of what they are. You may have even built your career upon the gifts God gave you. Brandon Flowers, front man of rock band ‘The Killers’ used his musical gifts as a singer, guitarist, pianist and song writer to write lyrics with a Christian message (Crossfire song )however made them popular among the young generation of today by giving his songs a modern rock and roll edge. All gifts were created by God both physical and spiritual. Spritual gifts could be praying for you someone, making someone a homemade card, cooking for someone or telling them the truth. To one person the sprit gives the ability to give wise advice, to another the same spirit gives a message of special knowledge”, 1 Corinthians 12 v 7-9. Gifts were given by God so use them for God.By Lauren Sneddon

 

"Crossfire of heaven and hell"

Brandon Flowers (the killers frontman) sings in his solo track "Crossfire" : " and were caught in the cross fire of heaven and hell and were searching for shelter". His lyric rings true that as humans we are caught in the crossfire between heaven and hell but we have a CHOICE , God gave us a free will : we can choose heaven and come to him or choose the least appealing hell with the devil. When he sings "looking for shelter" god offers us shelter , the bible uses imagery of a mother hen protecting her young under her wing. God calls for us to come to him and he will protect us and give us shelter. Ive learned through song at church that there is only ONE WAY in the crossroad of life and that is heaven , please choose the right way , the way to heaven. The Lord will return one day and he will create  a new heaven and earth , make sure your part of it , come to him today.

Where is God when natural disasters happen ?

Today (Friday 11th March 2011) Japan was rocked by its biggest earthquake (8.9 on the rictor scale) and a tsunami with waves up to 10m. When you hear news of this magnitude your heart goes out to the country and the people who are suffering. But where is God amongst the devastation ? he is just as upset as the people who are suffering but he does allow natural disasters to occur. Why ?: Numbers 16 : 30-34 tells us that natural disasters are a response to sin ; God allows natural disasters to mirror the sin on creation. The world is the Lord's , God created it and humans are taking over with greed , sin ,evil and war by allowing natural disasters God is reminding humans that he is in control. God is a Good God but he is also a jealous God and is jealous of the way we love the world when we should be loving him. The world should be a resting place for us till we are called home to heaven but humans get caught up in the world and worship materalistic things. As christians we can pray for the people of Japan and we can send money but we need to remember not to blame God , he may have allowed it but he is a good God and he is in control.

Confession brings forgiveness and cleansing

Its likely we will sin every day , sometimes intentionally , sometimes without thinking. The bible tells us (John 1 : 1 v 8) that if we confess our sins to Jesus he is faithful and he will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from unrightousness.

The birthmark of a beliver is rightousness in God :). The Lord your God sent his one and only son to die for our sins , thank him for his great act of love by asking for forgiveness for your sins and he will forgive you.

Jesus calms the storm

At this moment you may be going through a storm in your life .Matthew 8 : 23 tells the story of when Jesus and his disciples were at sea and a storm occured. The disciples reaction was fear but Jesus told them to have faith because he would and did calm the storm. Learn from this story ; have faith in Jesus to calm your storm.

Freedom of anxiety

Matthew 6 V  25 ......

Take no thought to your life ; what you will eat or drink what you will wear

But seek first the kingdom of rightousness and these things shall be added unto you.

Worrying will empty today of its strengh , trust jesus to be get you through your day. 

For he feeds the Sparrows and so he can take care of your needs to.

God looks on the inside !

One of the messages i remember from sunday school at HBC is : " Man looks on the outside , God looks on the inside" , i remember the song we sang in relation to this message. Our world today heavily and harmfully focuses on appearence and looks , particuarly because of celebrity exposure. Remember God created you the way you are and he doesnt want you to be obsessed with image but with how your heart is : GOD looks on the INSIDE !, its time we focused on our attitudes and behaviour than we do how we look. Here's two pictures  to inspire you :

Decorate your mobile and computer desktops with these christian backgrounds from http://www.crossdaily.com/ :

Beware of evil !

Its a matter of fact that evil lurks around the world ; ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden and the angel Gabrielle (the devil) fell from grace , evil has became part of our world. God has given us a free will , and sadly some of us choose to be evil , we hear and read stories of evil everyday that turn our stomachs but God calls for us to come to him and he will protect us from evil , his word teaches us to be more like Jesus and not the devil. Today's HBC message was "Stand for God" Psalm 94 v 16-19 : "Who will rise up against the evildoer's ? Unless the lord had been my help . my soul had almost dealt in silence". Take a stand against evil ! come to the Lord.

Daily Encouragement

Psalm 84:11 "For the Lord God is a sun and shield : the lord will give glory and grace : no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."

If there's a note to take from this verse then it is that God will honour us but we have to honour God in return. We can honour God through our actions e.g. forgiving our enemies , avoiding idol gossip , telling people the good news , attending church and praying to our saviour. Give your time to the Lord - Put God first !!.

Christian Encouragement

For those who need encouragement , here's some verses to inspire you :

Psalm 27:1 :

The Lord is my light and my salvation , whom shall i fear ?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life ; of whom i shall be afraid?

Psalm 54:4 :

Behold , God is my helper .

Psalm 62: 2 :

He only is my rock and my salvation ,he is my defence.

Remember the Lord has your best interest at heart and the Lord will help you , but you need to pray to the Lord to ask for his help.

Be wise !

Experiences in my place of work has taught me a biblical lesson this week :

Be wise as a serpent and as meek as a dove. In other words if there is difficulty in a workplace its best if you keep quiet but we wise !. Also the Lord is interested in your work problems ,give them to the Lord in prayer ! x.

Dont Give Up !

We all wish life was plain sailing and that all our dreams will all come true. This is not the case , we make mistakes and we are tested with trials to test our strenght in God. Whatever problems we face , whether in our working life , family life , social life or christain life , we can get through them with help from the Lord our saviour. God answers prayers , he may not answer them the way we want but the answers them. Think of the age old saying : "When the Lord closes a door , somewhere he opens a window". Have faith in the Lord to help you through life and you will soon see that theres light at the end of the tunnel.

Useful website

Found this very useful websites : http://www.christianadvice.net/. The website is perfect for christian's wanting to expand their involvement in the Lord's word.