Understanding goes far deeper than knowledge, In fact understanding is only gained when our knowledge is tested.

When I meet people with understanding, genuine understanding I can usually see the scars that evidence it also. The kind of people who carry it are hesitant at throwing there opinion around, usually quick to listen and slow to speak.. a moment with them brings more refreshing than a lifetime in the company of those who give advice from any other source.

A man once said to me "you cant give what you have not got".  

I thought for a while before posting this but really wanted to make a point. I know that the bible says if you look at another women lustfully it is adultery but still nearly 90 per cent of my non gay masculine Christian friends will admit to looking at other women lustfully at some point or other.

Some of us in our masculine approval and male ego even make jokes about it.

Imagine burning with that same lust response to the same sex and having no control over it?

Nothing towards women at all just a lifelong torment of same sex attraction.

Then being hated on by Christians, the same Christians who stare at women all day even whilst being pastors, preachers and married.

Mate there is no difference.

We all fall short and our response to each other is everything.

We have more than we think

In 11 years of being a Christian I've seen the church walk in a mentality that says it is for the most part falling short.

 90 per cent of private conversations and preaching I have heard is based on that perception. 

I think a lot of us putting our best foot forward is to blame!! There are always stories of people who raise the dead before breakfast and walk with Glory leaking out of there ears but honestly in my experience.. There are no super apostles.

 The most anointed person that ever lived was a normal man who got angry too. Now and then God does wonderful things along the way and that IS good. but to emphasise those wonderful moments as the norm is to create the said 90 per cent deficit mentality and that Is NOT good. I've been guilty of it.

 I've been guilty of a lot of things and still seen God move and that's the heart of what I want to say today! 

The Church is lovely and beautiful and powerful because it is loved by a God who is all those things and when it is ugly and weak and critical and fearful it is still loved by a wonderful God. It is beautiful because he says it is beautiful and no matter how we feel to say anything different is to disagree with him. 

Our faith in his Word is our provision

God has given us duties to perform that require faith.. we often struggle with this but in actual fact the faith we need in order to perform these duties is found in the command he has given.

Its like he has given us the complete package in each statement he makes, on initial glance all as we may see is the command or statement he may be making but then we as look deeper into what he has said we will always find everything we need in order to full fill the requirement.

When we look at the fact that God has said we are brothers and co heirs with Christ we dare not look further into that word for the possibilities of that statement automatically place us in the realm of faith.. you must have faith to even dream on the possibilities of such a word. I mean think about it, we are one with Christ who is one with the father.. we are to do as he has done!! that takes us so far past what we ever imagine for our lives because what is required can not be produced out of our lives. we may even say that it may not be produced from the natural man we have been born into and this can be very relieving for us as a statement in itself WE ARE NOT TO REQUIRE ANYTHING FROM OUR NATURAL SELF , it can only come from the spiritual man that we have been reborn into, first i was born of the seed of my natural father and now i have been born of the seed of Christ.

instantly when we make that revelation, that WE CAN NOT DO MIRACLES then we must assume that if God is requiring us to do miracles then we must be of Christ, we literally must exist of the same substance as he GOD.

For most people religious fear has forbidden them from wandering down this path, they fear that to say they are the same substance as Christ is to say they are the same as Christ and to say they are the same as Christ is to say they are the same as God. Scary thought!! but this is actually the path that God wants us to travel.. its OK to say we are the same as long as we remember he is first. The first of many brothers.

 Now if we are to search the scriptures to back us up in this pattern of thought surely we would be looking to find statements that are applied to us that place us in the same realm as Christ and therefore as God, we most likely taking into account the circumstances of his life need to be looking at moments Jesus got into trouble for making himself equal to God.  we see in scripture that when Jesus healed he said  Get up, your sins are forgiven..  we see a conflict here where the natural man says wait a Min you cant say that because only God has power to forgive sins.

Jesus offers his answer in an action and says what is easier to say your sins are forgiven or get up and walk? Jesus knew he was dealing with the effects of the fall/sin when dealing with sickness and he also knew that by belonging to the new creation he had power over the old. In order to take authority over the sickness he knew he was not operating out of the natural seed but out of the substance of God, he was born of God and knew it and by knowing it he knew that he had authority to heal.. and it is this whole knowing and understanding that he offers us when he gives us the command to do the same.

because we can not do the works of the father and that should be permanently clear in our hearts and minds  we now exist in Christ, we are born of him, we are sealed into our new creation and as such we must know that the works he has called us to actually give us the faith to perform them.

Do you not know that you have the power to forgive sins?

Ricky

This is my new brother Ricky, I am so thankful for him.. an amazing guy with a heart full of Love, easy to be around and full of life.. keep Ricky in prayer as he continues his walk.

To serve is to lead

These last few days I have been in no small struggle with the Lord, searching for that something more that we all desire, I have been praying and fasting and just basically crying out to him to show me how I can serve him, how I can live my life in the best way possible for him.

This is what he has shown me...

Lay down your life for your brother AS YOU WOULD LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ME.

As revelation usually works when it comes direct from Jesus these few words were then followed by scripture after scripture running through my mind, I see pictures of Jesus washing his disciples feet and saying if he our Lord and king is to do this for us then we are to do this for each other also.

I hear him say the greatest amongst us is the least, I hear him say if you desire to lead.. serve.

Love covers a mutitude of sins. They will know you are christians by your love.

Perfect Love casts out all fear.. God gives grace to the humble.

Love God and love your neighbour as yourself...

Paul talks of the most excellent way in 1 corinthians 13, yeah baby the love chapter.

paul is almost confounded when he hears of brother against brother, he is then to say.. isnt it much better to be wronged.

Jesus says we are forgiven much and are therefore free but then fall right back into prison when we dont forgive our brother from the heart.

LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS... its for our sakes that we listen, we dont have to, I mean the Lord will love us no less if we only live for ourselves and hold onto our hurts..

But its for our sakes that he instructs us in the way of love.

OH blessed King Jesus, Blessed Lord you are the King who serves.

: )

True Religion

Often we interpret what God wants from us by our feelings, now dont get me wrong we must look for the holy spirits guidance in order to do anything of lasting worth but sometimes the way we feel is not necersarily the way he is leading us.

Example, your out shopping for clothes your having a nice day and then you see a sad lonely drug addict on a bench, your heart is touched but you dont feel comfortable with going over and talking with him, you may even say i just dont feel led to be with this person, i dont have peace or its not my call.

Let me tell you this, being uncomfortable is not a lack of Gods peace, when Jesus walked the earth he was surrounded by disaproval, there were those who were righteous as far as anyone could see, they gave money to the church they looked after there own family dutifully and they didnt have any serious hang ups.

It was these people who were outraged at Jesus, they could not understand why he would spend his time giving his attention and life to the REAL sinners. The religious people those who were secure in there own good deeds and ability to do what is right said to Jesus " why do you eat and drink with the prostitutes " WHY

These people these self approved men of God were uncomfortable with the way Jesus lived, I mean how could he call himself a teacher and the son of man, it made no sense, for all there lives they had tried to seperate themselves from evil, and in doing so they rejected the broken.

Jesus dint live alongside the worst and then go home at night to his real life, he is God, he not only chooses to love and live with the broken and damaged but he loves to, he doesnt do anything out of religious duty, this is who he is and he said if you have seen me then you have seen the father, or I only do what i see the father doing.. this is christ.

The bible says when we hold a meal or a celebration do not only invite those who are a part of your life, those who you feel safe with and will repay you likewise but to invite the damaged the smelly the diseased.. how comfortable is that??? yet it is the heart of God.

If we care only for those who we love what reward will we have ?? even the tax collectors do that said the lord.

Peace is one thing but often times i have had no peace in going over to someone who looks like they could kill me with one punch, often I have had no comfortable feeling when trying to share christs love with a smelly old tramp but once I have pushed myself to do what I know is right I have then found Joy..

Do not be decieved by the world and its ways, true religion is caring for the widows and the orphans, not just approving that its right but actually doing it, its ok if you dont agree, it crosses over into your own plans and disturbs you but thats ok, it isnt going to steal your salvation if you only live for yourself.

But friends here is the wisdom, not one of you not one of us knows how long we have on this earth, not one, we think it is wise to think about the future but we dont think of eternity, eternity is the place we are going.. each of us, this is the place where we will see what we have worked for on the earth adn spend an eternity with our reward.

You may say well im ok I am not interested in rewards, I will say in return then it is because you dont trust Jesus, because he talked about it all the time, he knows the value.

yes we are all on our way to meet the king, dont let that be seperate from what you think of as your life, let your view of this world and heaven be the same, let Gods kingdom come to earth in your heart today and find what makes him happy, not what only makes you happy.

I tell you the truth, if you sek his good then you will have more on this earth and in the life to come than you ever imagined.

There are warnings against only living for ourselves too, there are servents who were given much and returned much, there were servents given little and returned nothing and the Lord was and is still displeased with this.. does it matter what God thinks??

You dont have to go out right now and finish studying or sell all your possesions and move to india, thatas not what he is saying, but where you are today, look for a way to step out of your routine and do something that you know is right but makes you feel uncomfortable.. go over to the homeless person and buy him a coffee, share the gospel of your hope and tell me afterwards, wasnt it worth much more than gold.

little by little we can train ourselves to live a life of Love, genuine love, imagine taking this person this leper in the picture into your life, praying for the leper without thinking of yourself
what about eating at the same table as him?? now past your initial reaction and the sick jokes that can rise in our hearts.. look at the picture again, this person is no different than you, inside there is a spirit trapped in a broken shell.

Look at the picture and Love him, you will feel it if you choose to.. do the same with the ppl on the street and it wont be long before you are building the courage to talk and love those you never dared to before.

The Lord be with you

Mark Bowden got Saved