The Answer

“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

1 Kings 19:11

Remember Elijah, the guy who asked God to set fire to the rain (/water), who had the faith to challenge a bunch of Baal prophets to a sacrifice and fire duel, knowing that his God would come through and win? [Read all about it]

Did you know that just after that insane display of God's power and Elijah's faith, Elijah ran away, hid, and prayed that he might die [1 Kings 19:4]? This is because the crazy queen of that time swore by her gods that she would kill him. It's amazing how quickly Elijah forgot that his God had absolutely annihilated her gods just moments before.

Remember what God has done in your life. Don't let your circumstances change your view of God, rather let Him change your view of your circumstances. Know that the Lord is great, that our God is greater than all gods [Psalm 135:5].

So God appears to Elijah, and says, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Why have you abandoned your call? Why have you run away from the things I have for you? Why do you fear that over which I so clearly have the victory?

Elijah responds by telling God about the situation he faces. I don't want to make light of what Elijah was facing. People hated him and were trying to kill him. Pretty sure, I'd also hide in a cave. And I don't know what's forced you to your cave, but if you're in a hard time, the best place to start is to speak to Jesus.

Did God respond with, "No worries, mate, I'll go out and smite them all!"? I'm sure that's what Elijah was hoping for. "I'll make all your problems disappear, Elijah!" Nope. God's response was to invite Elijah into His presence. God's solution to Elijah's problem was Himself.

And God's solution right now to anything you may be facing is Jesus. Yes, God is all powerful and can change any situation in the blink of an eye, but He wants us to want Jesus more than any solution or happy ending that He could give us.

You're lonely? Come to Me [James 4:8].
You're hurting? Come, there is healing in My presence [1 Peter 2:24-25].
You're anxious? Come, give Me your burdens for I care for you [1 Peter 5:7].
You're feeling weak? Come, find your strength in me [2 Corinthians 12:9-10].
You don't know what to do? Come, walk with Me and I will direct your way [Proverbs 3:5-6].
Come out of the cave you're in and stand in the presence of the Lord.

God then asks Elijah the same question again. Elijah responds in exactly the same way. His circumstances hadn't changed, people were still trying to kill him. But this time God tells Elijah how to deal with it, and what He would do. God had all the solutions, but He wanted Elijah to realise that He Himself, the Lord Almighty, was, is, and always will be, the first and ultimate answer to all things in life.

Jesus is the answer. Come to Him.

It's Not About You

Romans 1:11-12

"I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith." 

We all need a little bit of courage. And that's what friends are for. 

God has put stuff in you that will give strength to others. It's not about you. Don't be selfish. Don't hide your faith.

Why? Because God's calling on every person's life is so much bigger than we can understand. When we encourage, we become a part of people's stories, of history and, most importantly, of His Story.

Change

John 4 brilliantly summarised:

- The Church of Facebook

Jesse Rice

Who Are You??

 If you have given your life to Jesus, the answer to that is in 1 Peter 2:9.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

You are chosen

If Messi or Bismarck or AB came along and chose you to play in his team, it would kinda be a big deal. It would be such an honour and I’m sure you’d play your heart out. But what’s an even bigger deal times a million, is that the Holy God, the Creator of the universe, Jesus, has chosen you to be on his team, on his mission. You are not overlooked or forgotten. So don’t sit on the sideline watching. Get into the game, give it everything you got and live all out for Jesus.

You are royal

Through God’s great love you are adopted into his family and are now his child [1 John 3:1]. Therefore, because God is the King of kings, you are indeed a prince/princess. You are not a piece of dirt, you are a member of God’s royal family. So live like it; not in a stuck up, looking down on others way, but live knowing how much value you hold.

You are a priest

Does this mean you should be wearing a big robe and working in a church? No. It means you have complete access to the presence of God. It means you are here on earth to do the work of God, in whatever different way he has called you to. It requires sacrifice from you, not of animals like the old times, but of your life, time, gifts and body [Romans 12:1].

You are holy

Holiness is to be different, to be set apart to live for God. You are called to be holy, which means you are called to live by a different standard, the standard of Jesus [Colossians 3:12-17]. If you just live the same way as the people who don’t love Jesus, what good is that? Be wiling to stand up, to stand out and to shine bright with holiness for Jesus.

You belong to God

Everybody needs to belong somewhere. We were all created to love and be loved. So we try to fit in wherever we can find a gap. But you don’t have to worry about finding a gap to fit in, because you belong to the Almighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you [Hebrews 13:5]. He is yours and you are his.

You are in the light

You don’t have to stumble around in the darkness and you don’t have to live in a world without light and colour, because God has called you out of that. He has called you to turn away from sin and to live a life of love and truth in which you will find wonderful light, hope, joy, peace and abundant life.

  

Therefore, in the light [excuse the pun] of all that you are in Jesus, live to declare his praises.

Starving

Have you ever felt tired, lazy and just kinda over everything? Ever wondered why you feel like that? Maybe it’s because you’re starving yourself. Not physically, but starving yourself from something way bigger than food: from Jesus and his Word.

Jesus says that our bodies have no life in them by themselves, but that his words are full of life [John 6:63]. He also says that the life he gives is more than just this thing we have on earth before we die and it’s more than not being dead. Knowing God, having a relationship with Jesus: that is life [John 17:3]. And the best way to know God is to spend time with him and find him in his Word, the Bible.

It’s simple: if we’re not getting Jesus’ words into us and getting to know him, we won’t have life. Way too often we don’t read the Bible to get the Word and life of Jesus into us, and then wonder why we feel so empty and lifeless. If you don’t hunger after Jesus, you won’t be filled [Matthew 5:6]. Don’t starve yourself! Fill up your spiritual stomach, your soul, with the Word, and you will live and you will grow.

Being full also allows you to share the life with others. God told Ezekiel: “Eat what is before you, eat this scroll [the Word]; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” [Ezekiel 3:1] Once you’ve got the words and life of Jesus in you, get out there and share it. Sharing is caring!

So where do you begin to read these amazing words? Well, if you want to know more about being filled with Jesus, take your Bible and read John 6 from verse 25. As you read the words of Jesus, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with his wonderful life.

And if that doesn’t get you amped enough about God’s Word, go to the middle of your Bible and read Psalm 119. Yeah, it’s the longest chapter in the Bible, but I guess it just requires a whole lot of words to describe the greatness of the gift of God’s Word to us.

Here are a few great thoughts from Psalm 119:

· How do us young people stay pure? By living by the Word of God [v9]
· How do we stand against the sin and temptation we face? By getting God’s Word into us [v11]
· Where do we find strength when we are tired and depressed? The Words of Jesus [v28]
· How do we let go of the things that break us down? By turning our hearts to God’s Word [v37]
· Where do we find hope (and love) in a hopeless place? In the Word of God [v43]
· How do we not give up when we’re desperate and hurting? By delighting in Jesus’ Word [v92]
· What lights our way in our dark days? The Words of Jesus [v105]

Don't miss out, don't starve. There is life in Jesus and in him alone. Read your Bible, spend time with God and get his Word and his life into your heart.

The Itch

John 5:44

"How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” 

The answer is, you can’t. Itching for glory from other people makes faith impossible. Why?

Because faith is being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus. And if you are bent on getting the satisfaction of your itch from the scratch of others’ acclaim, you will turn away from Jesus.

But if you would turn from self and others as the source of satisfaction [repentance], and come to Jesus for the enjoyment of all that God is for us in him [faith], then the itch would be replaced by a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).

-John Piper

Be You

"You do not lose your own personality when by faith you take your place with Christ in death. On the contrary, a transformation takes place within your personality. You simply come under new management.

“Therefore if any person is ingrafted in Christ, he is a new creation; the old, previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come.” 2 Cor 5:17

This new life which has begun is the Life of Jesus and your personality becomes His means of expression. He is “all the while effectually at work in you, energizing and creating in you the power and desire, both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.” Phil 2:13

When you are prepared for the Lord Jesus Christ to change your heart, you will not want to be anyone else. You will be far too excited discovering what He intends you to be."

- W. Ian Thomas

Greater Than All

Psalm 135:5

"I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods."

We live as though our God is not greater than all.

As though our lives are more important and cancer is too strong.

As though death is more than God can handle and wars are uncontrollable.

As though our prayers go unheard and our dreams are too big.

As though crime is unstoppable and change is just a nice thought.

As though darkness has overcome and giving up is the answer.

As though our hearts cannot be tamed and our fears are our guide.

Why do we live as though our God is small?

Our God is greater than all!

Believe it. 

Our God is greater than all.

Live it.

Bring & Come

Exodus 36:1

So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.’

Do you know how to make a little kid smile? If so, God has given you an ability to know how to build his church.

Are you able to lift 50kg without any effort?  If so, God has given you an ability that can add to the building of his church.

Do you know how to make some tasty food? If so, God has given you a skill to build and feed his church.

Can you talk, paint, sing, dance, fix, build, clean, entertain, teach, or even just breathe? Well then, I believe that God has given you skill and ability to know how to build his church. Bring and come! Please!

But HOW?

Exodus 36:2

Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work.

1. Find out what your ability is, what you’re good at, and what you enjoy doing.

2. Then be willing to use that to build up the church and add to the Kingdom of God.

The seeming lack of size or significance of your gift is really not what matters. Mustard seed faith makes Mount Everest move like Jagger. Jesus fed 5,000 people with the equivalent of a KFC Streetwise meal. What’s actually important here is whether you are willing to come and do the work. Supposedly ‘unskilled’ people who are willing are a million times more effective than skilled people who aren’t willing.

God is building his glorious church. Don’t miss out. Get involved. Bring everything you have. Be willing. Come.

Are You A Ventriloquist?

Have you ever thought that you felt God prompting you to do something? I know I have. I’ve been so certain that I heard His voice, or felt His leading in a certain way. I stepped out in faith with the resounding YES from God still ringing in my ears. I went out into the real world and did what I believed was right and BAM, suddenly it’s a no.

How did that big yes of success become a no of failure, a no of rejection, a no of humiliation? And the bigger question: was that a yes from God, or a yes from my desperate desire for something? Did I want something so badly that I became a ventriloquist, projecting a yes from the mouth of God?

I don’t have the answers to all these questions, but if you find yourself in a place something like this, this is what I would like to say to you:

Maybe you did misunderstand God, or just did what you felt what was best. Let it go. Apologise and make things right where needed, learn from it and then move on. Stop beating yourself up. Jesus took all the beatings your failures and mistakes justly deserve upon Himself. Don’t double up your punishment. Instead, redirect your energy into thanking your Saviour and living for Him. Believe that when you love God He really does work all things (i.e ALL things, your mistakes included) for your good [Romans 8:28].

It could also be that God did in fact want you to step out. Just because it didn’t turn out the way you wanted, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t part of the Lord’s plan. His ways are so much higher than ours [Isaiah 55:8]. Maybe that sting of failure, rejection and humiliation will turn you a little more toward Jesus. Maybe the burn is not meant for pain, but is a flame intended to refine you. Maybe this will turn into a story you tell that reaches a person’s heart that everyone thought unreachable.

I don’t know which one it is for you, but I do know that our Jesus is faithful and He is good. I know that He has bought our total forgiveness and freedom from shame. I know that God is working in us to restore us to His perfect image. I know that when we do our best to hear and obey Him, He will reward us, though often not in ways that we expect. I know that Jesus is so worthy of our trust.

Listen. Obey. Trust. Step out. Live by faith.

It's Not Me, It's You

Daniel 9:18

"We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy."

I don't know about you, but I know any requests made on my own righteousness would be entirely laughable, because my own righteousness is just that: laughable. 

I also know that a request made on the mercy of God would be perfect, because his mercy is perfect and it is great. 

Resting on your own laurels will leave you entirely exhausted. Instead find your rest in the magnificent work of Jesus on the cross. Don't try live by your own strength, but live with the joy of the Lord as your strength [Nehemiah 8:10].

Ephesians 2:9 -->"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." 

It's really not you; it's all HIM. It's Jesus.

Identity

"Musicians in particular are terrible at spending so much time trying to create an image, an identity. It’s also true of professional athletes and members of the military. Their whole identity is in that profession.

The Bible talks about us being the robe of the righteousness of Christ. The Bible compares the relationship to a wedding. If you see a bride on a wedding day, you can clearly identify her. You see the wedding dress, you know she’s the bride. You go to Wal- Mart and a woman is wearing a wedding dress, even though she’s at Wal Mart, you’re still going to know, that’s a bride. Regardless of where she is, she’s identified as a bride.

If our adornment is Christ’s righteousness, if that is our primary form of identity, then anything else pales in comparison and is really kinda ridiculous. If that bride is wearing cleats to exude that she’s athletic, it’s ridiculous. You’re a bride. Don’t try to show me you wear cleats too.

As Christians, the most beautiful and wonderful thing we can be is in Christ. If we try to put our own accomplishments and our own identities on top of that, in reality, to those around us, it’s silly.

Find your identity in Christ."

- Jon Micah Sumrall [Kutless]

The Thief

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy."

And its opposite:

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Most people don't know that they are from the exact same scripture: 

John 10:10

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Don't ever forget that there is a thief coming at you, bro. Always remember that Jesus came and conquered and now he lives within you. [1 Peter 5:8-10]

Don't ever forget that satan will try and steal all that is good and make it evil. Always remember that the fullness of the life, love and goodness of Christ dwells in you, and no one can take that away from you. [Romans 8:28-39]

Don't ever forget that satan wants to kill you, to kill your hope, to kill your dreams. Always remember that death has no hold on you because the life of Jesus always wins. [1 Corinthians 15:55-57]

Don't ever forget that the world will try and destroy you. Always remember that your life is bound securely in the everlasting life of the Almighty God. [1 Samuel 25:29]

Why Not Both?

Is it time to wait on the Lord [...],or time to do something for him? 

"Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God,went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body." 

[Mark 15:43]

Joseph was not just chilling until God's kingdom came, nor was he just going off and doing bold things. He was waiting and acting at the same time. Praying and doing. This shows us that can simultaneously wait on the Lord and live for him boldly.

Find your refuge and rest in Jesus as you fight for him.

Be still before the Lord, and bold before the people.

Wait on God as you walk out your faith.

Equations

2 Corinthians 5:21

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Sin is not something we can catch like a cold. Sin doesn't enter our systems by over-exposure to bad people. Sin is in us. It has been deep within us since the day we were born. Sin will kill us, because sin = death.

The only remedy for our certain death? A perfect life must be sacrificed in our stead to cancel out the sin-death equation. The best news you'll ever hear is that the perfect sacrifice was made for you by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He took the weight of our sin upon him and his death cancelled out our death. If you accept Jesus as your Saviour your equation is transformed: the righteousness of Jesus = eternal life.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."   [*

]

Which equation will you choose?

"I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now CHOOSE LIFE, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life."   [**]

*Romans 6:23

**Deuteronomy 30:20-21

Fight

1 Samuel 25:28

"...for the LORD will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the LORD's battles."

Who are you fighting for?

Some battles will have a lasting effect, and some won't. Pick the fights whose victories will echo into eternity.

Fight the good fight of the faith. [1 Timothy 6:12]

Fight as though your life and the lives of others depend on it, because they do.

Fight for Jesus, because He fought for you.

Others

Proverbs 5:9

"Lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel"

This is written about the adulteress, the woman of sin, but I'm pretty sure there's so much more than that. 

Unforgiveness.

Bitterness.

Impurity.

Sin.

Hatred.

Jealousy.

There is no end to the cruel “others” who are more than happy to use up your strength and take your years.

We only have a few years on this earth. Be careful what you give them to.

Proverbs 5:8

"Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house."

How?

Proverbs 5:7

"Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say."

Give your best strength and all your years to following the One who is good.

Times

I hear You say:

My Love is over, it's underneath
It's inside, it's in between
The times you doubt Me
When you can't feel
The times that you question
'Is this for real?'

The times you've broken
The times that you mend
The times you hate Me and the times that you bend
Well My Love is over, it's underneath
It's inside, it's in between

These times you're healing
And when your heart breaks
The times that you feel like you've fallen from grace
The times you're hurting
The times that you heal
The times you go hungry and are tempted to steal

In times of confusion and chaos and pain
I'm there in your sorrow,
Under the weight of your shame

I'm there through your heartache
I'm there in the storm
My love, I will keep you by My power alone

I don’t care where you've fallen
Where you have been
I'll never forsake you
My Love never ends, it never ends


Listen to the song by Tenth Avenue North