Wow, the time has come…I’m off to Florence, Italy to visit the exhibition where some of my photos will be exhibited! The exhibition is being held at The Prestigious PALAZZO MEDICI RICCARDI, Florence, Italy. I still can’t believe this! It is my first time abroad and i’m really excited!! 🙂
I’ll be away from my blogs for a week or so, but i’ll be taking hundreds of photos to share with you all on my return!! 🙂
A couple of weeks ago, Paul (one of our preachers) asked if i’d like to share a song that’s on my heart before his sermon (which was yesterday). It’s not a full band song, but one where i accompany a single singer, a prayerful and reflective song. My first thoughts were “Oh yeah i’d love to go up to the front and terrify myself while i share some words and try to play a song”. So i said “Yes i’d love too”. He said “Great, the theme is unity”.
As i went away i said “Wow, thank you Lord” as for nearly 2 months now i’ve been doing a personal daily expositional bible study on Ephesians 4 & 5, which is all about unity. Verses suddenly flooded my mind about unity in the Spirit through the bond of peace, unity in the faith, unity in the body and on and on they came. I started getting excited and thought instead of sharing a song, i’d share all of the things i’d been learning for about 6 hours instead! lol. 🙂
Then the more sobering verses and thoughts came along…
“If we are without Hope and without God (Ephesians 2:12), and if we are not growing in the knowledge and understanding of Christ, if Jesus isn’t the head, and if He is not leading the way, then unity is IMPOSSIBLE!” Jesus who is The Way, The Truth and The Life, simply said “FOLLOW ME!”.
✞ Song “The Simple Way” by Sara Sargent
I then went to ask my loving sister in Christ Sara if she would bless us with her beautiful voice while i accompany her on acoustic guitar, and to maybe show me some of the songs she had written but kept quiet. So last week Sara came and showed me “The Simple Way”, wow! 🙂
This is a short section of the song which i recorded on my iPhone as i was learning the guitar chords. The quality isn’t brilliant, but i hope you too are blessed by Sara’s beautiful voice.
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
“The terrible, tragic fallacy of the last hundred years has been to think that all man’s troubles are due to his environment, and that to change the man you have nothing to do but change his environment. That is a tragic fallacy. It overlooks the fact that it was in Paradise that man fell.”
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
Last night Sarah & i had a lovely evening at our favourite restaurant celebrating 5 years since Sicily Restaurant opened it’s doors. We had no idea how this was going to bless us, and how we would make some loving and wonderful friends, amazing food, and the best coffee, it’s just a beautiful and peaceful place to be! Grace, Francesco, Dora and family work tirelessly everyday, and it was an honour to celebrate this milestone with them. 🙂
⇧ Green & red pepper meatloaf with tomato and pepper sauce, served with fried potato cubes ⇧
After tasting the best meatloaf ever (see image above), and if that wasn’t enough…Dora created one of her amazing cakes for the occasion! 🙂 we decided to challenge ourselves and walk home in the dark, not knowing how cold and foggy it was. I attempted to capture just how foggy and spooky the walk home felt. 🙂
It is easy to follow a person’s footprints if we walk close behind him, but if we walk some distance back, we might fail to see them as clearly. Similarly, if we follow close after the Lord, we would easily see the footsteps along the way, but if we try to follow afar off, we would find it difficult to know the path of His will.
“There is nothing which I know of which is more unscriptural, and which is more dangerous to the soul, than to divide doctrine from life… The reason for this is that if your life and your mode of living is not the outcome of your doctrine, it is not Christian living; it is something else.”
Hi all!! I just wanted to remind or notify all of my friends here on iChristian that all of my Photo Challenge contributions, my Photographic Exhibition updates & anything else involving my Photography, is now being published to my new “Rebus Photography” Blog,
I’m trying to create a stand alone place where i can direct anyone who is interested in my photos, as iChristian is starting to get bloated and slow, and it’s not as easy to find photos etc…So please, if you have not checked it out yet, head on over by clicking the image below and let me know what you think! 🙂
Wow! This is fantastic, and how i choose to see life after spending so long focusing on what i no longer have! True Joy & Happiness is in the Lord and not in your possessions or situation! I’ve never seen more clearly since i’ve been blind. 🙂
A new resident arrived at our Nursing Home; a 92-year-old, petite, poised and proud man, well dressed, his hair was neatly combed and his face shaved perfectly smooth with a pleasant cologne applied. Even though he is legally blind, he decided to move to our nursing home. His wife of 65 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I verbally provided a visual description of his tiny room. As we entered, he was ecstatic and said, “I love it,” with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. “Mr. Roth, please calm down, you know you have a vision problem and cannot see the room.” “That doesn’t have anything to do with…
Wow!! Just returned home from an evening of Worship at church, where we were blessed by the amazing voice of Eugene “Hideaway” Bridges and his Spiritual songs, it was an honour to meet him too! 🙂
speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yay! I’ve just found out that iTunes now finally has its own Genre for “Christian & Gospel” music. Praise the Lord! 😄 🎸 🎶
So proud of my lovely wife Sarah on her graduation! Despite major difficulties following her latest eye operation, she managed to earn a “distinction“. Congratulations, it was a lovely evening! 🙂
⇧ Sarah & i on way to the graduation ceremony ⇧
The graduation ceremony took place from 6-9pm on Thursday 6th November at Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London, celebrating the excellence of the class of 2013/14 from the IOF Academy.
⇧ Graduates of the Certificate in Fundraising ⇧
Sarah’s Dads 70th Birthday Party
Sarah & i had a fantastic weekend in Doncaster celebrating Sarah’s dad’s 70th Birthday! They had a huge party with amazing food (thanks Amanda) and we were entertained by a wide range of fantastic musicians!
Also thanks Madeleine (my sister in law) for asking me to acompany your stunning voice. it made my night! It was an honour to play on Sarah’s Dads new electro acoustic through his sweet PA system!
⇧ Sarah’s dad performing for us with his new acoustic guitar ⇧
⇧ Me playing on Alfie’s new acoustic guitar ⇧
⇧ Marshall (my brother in law) is always connected ⇧
“Why are there wars in the world? Why is there this constant international tension? What is the matter with the world? Why war and all the unhappiness and turmoil and discord amongst men? According to this Beatitude, there is only one answer to these questions-sin. Nothing else; just sin.”
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
Hi all!! Sorry if it’s felt like i’ve deserted you. I’ve been on a partial fast (The Daniel Fast) for the whole of October, so i havn’t been on my blog much at all. God has taught me more in this last month than the last 10 years of my new life as a Christian.
I’ve been studying Ephesians 4 & 5 verse by verse and through many tears the spirit has shown me how i’ve been grieving him, and what i need to correct as i’m a child of light. So walk as a child of light! 🙂
I’m away this weekend for Sarah’s Dad’s 70th birthday, but i’ll be back as usual on Monday!
“Too often, we say we are defeated by this or that sin. No, we are not defeated. We are simply disobedient. It might be good if we stop using the terms victory and defeat to describe our progress in holiness. Rather, we should use the terms obedience and disobedience. When I say I am defeated by some sin, I am unconsciously slipping out from under my responsibility. I am saying something outside of me has defeated me. But when I say I am disobedient, that places the responsibility for my sin squarely on me. We may in fact be defeated, but the reason we are defeated is because we have chosen to disobey.
We need to brace ourselves up and to realize that we are responsible for thoughts, attitudes, and actions. We need to reckon on the fact that we died to sin’s reign, that it no longer has any dominion over us, that God has united us with the risen Christ in all His power and has given us the Holy Spirit to work in us. Only as we accept our responsibility and appropriate God’s provisions will we make any progress in our pursuit of holiness.”
23 Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
“To make it quite practical I have a very simple test. After I have explained the way of Christ to somebody I say “Now, are you ready to say that you are a Christian?” And they hesitate. And then I say, “What’s the matter? Why are you hesitating?” And so often people say, “I don’t feel like I’m good enough yet. I don’t think I’m ready to say I’m a Christian now.” And at once I know that I have been wasting my breath. They are still thinking in terms of themselves. They have to do it. It sounds very modest to say, “Well, I don’t think I’ good enough,” but it’s a very denial of the faith. The very essence of the Christian faith is to say that He is good enough and I am in Him. As long as you go on thinking about yourself like that and saying, “I’m not good enough; Oh, I’m not good enough,” you are denying God – you are denying the gospel – you are denying the very essence of the faith and you will never be happy. You think you’re better at times and then again you will find you are not as good at other times than you thought you were. You will be up and down forever. How can I put it plainly? It doesn’t matter if you have almost entered into the depths of hell. It does not matter if you are guilty of murder as well as every other vile sin. It does not matter from the standpoint of being justified before God at all. You are no more hopeless than the most moral and respectable person in the world.”
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure
What could I do to leave a legacy? How can I speak with authority When I can’t see You, I can’t see You How can I know the dreams You have for me? How can I believe beyond what I have seen? When I can’t hear You, I can’t feel You now No, no, no
[Chorus:] You’re my revival song, You start where I belong On my knees, on my knees When I am weak or strong You meet me here When I’m on my knees, on my knees Oh, it starts with me
Why do I try to work outside of You? Knocking down doors I should be going through But I’m so tired, I’m so tired You take my burdens off of my shoulders You break the lies that hold me back I’m not sure enough
I really wanna change the world I really wanna sing Your song But I know revival’s got to start with me I really wanna change the world I really wanna sing Your song But I know revival’s got to start with me
A corner office was his dream More like a prison now it seems Somewhere on the corporate climb He left his warrior behind Now hes just a worker at a daily grind Steals his years and numbs his mind His strength is fading, his dreams are blind This is not the life he had in mind
She lies awake cause hes up all night Staring at a screen that tells him lies That the grass is greener on the other side So shes at the gym fighting off the years To be young again and calm her fears That shell never be enough for him Just as a young man catches her eye
Now they’re trapped in their own worlds, in their own wars With their cell phones and the closed doors Its funny how quiet and peaceful that it seems But they’re all alone together In the house of their dreams
Little sister, shes a sixteen-year-old princess Lost somewhere between the swing set And her brand new crushs chariot awaits And big brothers rooms glowing with trophies that shout his name But he’d trade all his high school fame For some backyard catch with his hero again
So now they’re all dressed up in Sunday best Sit up straight just like the rest And they sing the songs of peace and rest that Jesus freely gives And then their kids look up as daddy stands And he takes his bride with trembling hands Brother kneels at his fathers side as princess looks in the mothers eyes Their tears tear down the walls as daddy prays
Were trapped in our own worlds and our own wars With our cell phones and our closed doors God, only You can save our family And on this Rock, well build On this Rock, well build The house of our dreams
“Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can’t make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you’ll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.
It is not enough to just say relationships are important; we must prove it by investing time in them. Words alone are worthless. “My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.” Relationships take time and effort, and the best way to spell love is “T-I-M-E.”
Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?
“The Church has been trying to preach morality and ethics without the Gospel as a basis; it has been preaching morality without godliness; and it simply does not work. It never has done, and it never will. And the result is that the Church, having abandoned her real task, has left humanity more or less to its own devices.”
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
“It must be the rain knocking the smell out of it”
My lovely wife Sarah
Sarah & were walking home from town in the pouring rain this afternoon, and as we walked past the lovely lavender plant which is on the wall of a nearby house, we were gifted with a beautiful scent of this lovely plant.
Sarah then said “It must be the rain knocking the smell out of it“
After a little chuckle i said “lol, yeah doesn’t that remind you a little of the Christian walk? The Holy Spirit spends our whole lives trying to knock the smell (the amazing fragrance of Grace) of of us!” 🙂
I exhort you, therefore, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please Him; it is the logical “temple worship” for you. In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the ‘olam hazeh (this world; this age). Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what He wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed. For I am telling every single one of you, through the grace that has been given to me, not to have exaggerated ideas about your own importance. Instead, develope a sober estimate of yourself based on the standard which God has given each of you, namely, trust.
Butterflies are such a magnificent display of being…
“In teaching people what it means to be a Christian, we spend much of our time and effort bringing them to a point of belief without clearly calling them to follow. We have taken “believe” and we have written that in capital letters with bold print: BELIEVE. But everything that has to do with following has been put in small print: follow.”
“Jesus doesn’t hold back with Nicodemus.
Following Jesus would require a commitment that would cost Nicodemus a great deal….In fact, it’s true throughout all of Scripture….Following Jesus isn’t something you can do at night where no one notices. It’s a twenty-four-hour-a-day commitment that will interfere with your life. That’s not the small-print–that’s a guarantee.”
Kyle Idleman, Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus
I’ve been a little quiet here on iChristian for a couple of days, as i’ve been trying to construct a stand alone photographic blog. The iChristian theme isn’t the best for viewing (and finding) all of my photos etc. Also some of you have showed interest in me creating a blog just for my photos, weekly photo challenges and seeing the world through my cameras etc.
So here’s my exciting blogging news…
I would love for you to visit Rebus Photography (click button above), and although it’s still under construction, i’d be so blessed to get your opinions, comments, suggestions. I’ve added a few pages e.g “My Photo Galleries” “My Exhibitions” ” and more… also borrow your eyes to spot any mistakes as it’s been really difficult for me to create.
I don’t want to lose any of you amazing friends who encourage, inspire and bless me each day. So i thought i’d leave this as my homepage on iChristian throughout October, and as i’llbe posting photos onto my new blog i will reblog them here on iChristian during October too. So hopefully everyone will have chance to view (and enjoy) my photos as we move.
Of course iChristian will remain mostly the same, but it’s always growing as new ideas come to me. My hope is that you’ll enjoy and be blessed by these two blogs! 🙂
“If we believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the only begotten Son of God and that He came into this world and went to the cross of Calvary and died for our sins and rose again in order to justify us and to give us life anew and prepare us for heaven-if you really believe that, there is only one inevitable deduction, namely that He is entitled to the whole of our lives, without any limit whatsoever.”
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
“It is amazing how little we know about ourselves. God has to take us through all kinds of failures to reveal the self-focused pride that lies dormant in the corners or our character.
The only way we can be of any use to God is to respond with discernment to our disappointments. Discernment leads us to truth- and the truth punctures our pride, all for His purpose of molding us to the image of His Son.”
For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths.
This Proverb instantly reminded me of how alert Bruce used to be. If you tried to sneak anywhere (no matter how quiet you think you’re being) he’s stood watching you! 😀
⇧ Bruce catching me thinking i’m sneaking up the stairs while he’s asleep! ⇧
“What most of us do not realize is that we are being transformed in our thinking all the time—either by the world’s value system or by the truth of God’s Word. The world’s values bombard us daily with thousands of messages on billboards, in movies, songs, video games, and television programs that all reinforce a worldview that tells me life is about “me.” Life is about what I can get, what I can achieve, who I can impress, what I can possess, where I live, what I drive, how much education I have, how much money I make, who knows my name, and how successful I am . . . and the list goes on. By contrast, God uses His Spirit, His Word, nature, great books, and the authentic community of fellow believers to remind us that life is about “Him.” And life in Christ is all about what I can give, who I can love, how God can use me, how significant and accepted I am regardless of what I make, where I live, what I drive, or who knows my name.”
Chip Ingram, True Spirituality: Becoming a Romans 12 Christian
He cries in the corner where nobody sees He’s the kid with the story no one would believe He prays every night, “Dear God won’t you please Could you send someone here who will love me?”
Who will love me for me Not for what I have done or what I will become Who will love me for me ‘Cause nobody has shown me what love What love really means
Her office is shrinking a little each day She’s the woman whose husband has run away She’ll go to the gym after working today Maybe if she was thinner Then he would’ve stayed And she says:
Who will love me for me? Not for what I have done or what I will become Who will love me for me? ‘Cause nobody has shown me what love, what love really means
He’s waiting to die as he sits all alone He’s a man in a cell who regrets what he’s done He utters a cry from the depths of his soul “Oh Lord, forgive me, I want to go home”
Then he heard a voice somewhere deep inside And it said “I know you’ve murdered and I know you’ve lied I have watched you suffer all of your life And now that you’ll listen, I’ll tell you that I…”
I will love you for you Not for what you have done or what you will become I will love you for you I will give you the love The love that you never knew.
For this weeks challenge i thought of Bruce (our beautiful but no longer with us) Boxer dog, and his amazing endurance! He was able to run, play and even jump around for hours! 🙂
My past won’t stop haunting me In this prison there’s a fight between Who I am and who I used to be
This thorn in my side is a grace For because of it the flesh and blood of God Was offered in my place, my place
You fought the fight in me You chased me down and finished the race I was blind but now I see Jesus You kept the faith in me
Where did my best friends go? In my defense they disappeared Just like Your friends did to You, oh Lord
But You were there, You gave me strength So this little one might come to know The glory of Your name, Your name
You fought the fight in me You chased me down and finished the race I was blind but now I see Jesus You kept the faith in me
Awaiting, set apart like incense to Your heart A libation I’m pouring out Empty and beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
You fought the fight in me You chased me down and finished the race I was blind but now I see Jesus You kept the faith in me
You fought the fight in me You chased me down and finished the race I was blind but now I see Jesus You kept the faith in me Jesus You kept the faith in me Savior, You kept the faith in me
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