iChristian

Part 4 Yesterday

Let’s bring together the last four posts here and say:

Firstly: We would all like to get rid of the darkness or evil or whatever you want to call it. Get rid of all of it – Put it somewhere else and live a perfect life in a perfect world.

Secondly: We are all already trying to do this in our own lives. We are all trying to choose the right things to do each day. And, when we think about what this task involves, we realise that we are trying to divide our own minds and hearts to remove the evil and also the confusion that causes us all to act badly – along with all the hurt and scars left by all our bad experiences.

Thirdly: We realise that, whatever you believe is causing this, we are bombarded with feelings and emotions on a frightening…

Part 3 Yesterday

How are we getting on so far – I am sure we are not lost but this is a sizable task that we have taken on here – best put on your hard-hats and steel toe-cap boots for the rest of this series.

We asked:

If you divided this planet in two, took all the bad things that exist and that happen, all the evil and darkness, and put them on one side so that the other side was only good – which side would you want to live on?

So, hands up for the good side – I am sure that’s pretty much everyone. Let’s just see how many still have their hands up by the end of this page.

As we have said since that initial question, we are talking about splitting are actual hearts and minds here; the evil as well as the good…

Part 2 yesterday

How are we going so far – I guess we are getting a bit deeper but this is not a rabbit hole – that is as long as you don’t get lost – just follow the Light.

So, splitting the world in two and getting rid of all the bad stuff – now we can see that we are all trying to do this – and, actually it’s not so easy. Like we said, the physical world that we live on is amazing but it doesn’t have life – the life is in us. This dark side that we want to banish all the bad things to and the good side that we would all choose to live on – those places really only exist on a mental and spiritual level. It is, in fact, our hearts and minds that we are trying to split – this…

Part 1 yesterday

We are all in the business of separating good from evil – at least in our own ways. We are all trying to salvage what we can from this, far from perfect world.

Let me just say: when I say world I mean us – the ball of rock we live on and all the physical things that we have made are lifeless – our real world is the hearts and minds of all the people and the invisible ways in which we connect together.

So, in our world, we try our best to decide what we should and shouldn’t do; what is good for us and what isn’t – ‘us’ being the operative word because our decisions are generally weighted in our own favour; ‘What is good for me’ rather than ‘what is good for everyone’ or even ‘what is good for him or her’.

We…

If you divided this planet in two, took all the bad things that exist and that happen, all the evil and darkness, and put them on one side so that the other side was only good – which side would you want to live on?

I guess that’s a silly question – I am sure that the answer is obvious.

Who would ever choose Hell over Heaven?!

But what would be on the dark side – any people at all? I doubt that anyone would volunteer to go there. Could it even be possible to separate the good from the bad. Nothing is done apart from by people; you certainly couldn’t just put our actions on the dark side and us on the good side – could you?

So how would you do it – shall we try?

We should – but it may be violent process.

Part 2 tomorrow

If we hadn’t seen so many wrongs
We wouldn’t thirst so much for right
If we hadn’t struggled for so long
Our patience wouldn’t be our might

If our race hadn’t become so fake
There wouldn’t have been so many lies
If we hadn’t made so many mistakes
We wouldn’t have become so wise

If we don’t learn from all our errors
We will never have stand a chance
If we can now see this path is failure
Perhaps we can manage to advance

If still remains when we hold dear
To lies we do not understand
If will only disappear
When we are fully in His Hands

If we want to live with God
There is still much to be done
If we trust what He said
We just have to let Him come

God of this City – Chris Tomlin

Part 4 Yesterday

This is the best bit:

I am sure that you’d hope it would be; most of what we’ve mentioned so far has been about the difficulties we currently face and the suffering that is down every street. Well, guess what: It’s not over. In fact it hasn’t even started yet. This messed up place that we have made has simply become the womb that will birth a perfect life for all who want to accept it. Of course, there is still evil and causes of evil to deal with; we have talked enough about that – that is in hand.

All these problems we see are the result of the behavioural issues of every person who has ever lived. We are just like a child who has wandered off from his dad and has lost sight of him, or rather, a child who was not paying attention…

Part 3 Yesterday

What is going to happen to all this evil?

Like we said, there are (at least) two sides to this thing:

We have already said that we are causing problems in this world and we have also said that God is actively working to fix things; fix us.

Some of the weight felt in this life is down to the consequences of our actions and some is down to God’s hand making the changes that He needs to make; changes that are for our benefit.

We have already said that God gave life to us and that we took that life and ran off it. That is what happened and look where we are now; without Him things will not work. In running off with life and living it in exactly the way we feel like, we have given birth to so much evil. That evil must…

Part 2 Yesterday

How much of this heavy life is our fault – and how much is God’s work?

A large part of it is down to the way we treat each other – we cause endless unnecessary suffering. For sure, so much of the burden we feel is our own fault. We are pulling against each other rather than working together; we are all, at least a bit, selfish. Going in different directions is easy because you can do what you feel like. Coming together is much harder (in our current state) because we will have to give up some of our independence.

We could certainly make our lives easier by learning to work together; conquering our feelings and doing what is right.

That said, we will not get rid of all the pressure we feel now because some of that is God’s hand working to change us. In…

Part 1 yesterday

So, Paul said that creation has been subjected to frustration in order to set free the children of God. Set us free from the addiction to the things that destroy us and bring us into a new life. That is a pretty deep statement but as we said yesterday, how do you think that God would help us to get out of this mess?

Let’s look at two aspects of the reason for this ‘heavy life’ that we are living. These two aspects are quite different and also very clearly connected. The first is that we do wrong, we do things that hurt each other, things that make our lives and other people’s lives difficult, sometimes horrible. The second is that God is and has always been helping us to see right from wrong.

The first point is easy to see; we do wrong and everybody knows that…

Have you ever thought about how heavy this world can feel, I’m sure we all have. It can be so difficult to make things ‘come good’. Do you sometimes feel a weight on yourself that you wish would disappear. Do you just want to understand one ‘simple’ thing: how to live your life?

There are certainly many sides to the explanation for the problems we have. For a start there is now over seven billion of us, all affecting each other in so many ways; we are subject to a whole load of confused feelings and emotions that constantly lead us astray. There is also the legacy we have received from previous generations; no one has ever got things right. Then there is God, how do you fit Him into this picture; if you even think that He exists.

If you believe me then He created this place and is All Knowing…

Who is your father; he may be amazing
Strong like double glazing; always grazing
In the Word; brilliant at raising
You; worth praising, forever appraising and meeting
Your needs; he’s spot on; his efforts are blazing

Then that’s good

or maybe not

He could be terrible; or barely bearable
He could be absent; leaving you arable
This no parable, some fathers bring trouble
Not adorable or flexible, just miserable
Or worse, deplorable; incurable sinners
Leaving your life unbearable; even horrible

That’s not your fault

Please listen

Because, there is more; a Father who is rather
Better than that; after nothing more than a calmer
Life for you. In fact, a perfect life; a new charter
Not bringing you unjust anger; no spiritual cancer
In Him; Nothing wrong, nothing awkward, no bother
Life changing times – yes; but always surrounding
You with armour; securing you with his eternal anchor
Giving you…

Do you think that this world is just how it should be
A perfect place of harmony; Heaven on Earth
No, of course not – but that is the plan
That is God’s plan for us bunch of misbehavers
Want to know how?

Well, it starts with you; whenever you want it to
It starts with change; change inside you
And it doesn’t stop until the end
Until everything that needs to be done, has been done
And it’s not just you; there are billions like you
All wondering and wandering and doubting
God has got some job on His hands; lucky He’s perfect
He does not want to lose anyone
So, what are you doing; go and find Him
He’s waiting for you

Walk on the Water by Britt Nicole – I love this song

Once, life was spotless; a long time ago
Maybe that was before the first human thought
Or perhaps a short time after; but not now
Now we are different; someone confused us
Somehow, someone tricked us into thinking
That evil things are good; twisted our minds
Now we see death as life; destructive behaviour as good
That is the story of our world

We want the best life; but we are blind to what is best
We strive for success and crave for a ‘good’ future
All the while destroying more and more life
Let us remember where we came from; let us just stop
Stop and return to the Truth; The Way to Real Life

Do you have directions; have you heard from Him
I will tell you the Way; let me share what I know

The path is narrow and not many find it; so I am told

Some scatter seeds of anxiety,
and harvest nothing but fear
some collect in their memory
the reason for all their tears.

Some spread seeds of gloom,
and collect grains of doubt
some gather up their losses
when there’s a spiritual drought.

Some cast seeds of excess,
and reap in what they sow
some collect worldly pleasures
thinking God will never know.

Some throw seeds of greed,
and amass envy and pride
some lose their hope and faith
when their will, with God’s collide.

Some scatter seeds of doubt,
and harvest nothing but fear
but those who mock not God
sow the seeds of repentant tears!

~~~~~~~~~

Galatians 6:7
King James Version

“Be not deceived;
God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap.”

Copyright 2013
Deborah Ann Belka

The understanding that there is a better life to live
It drives us on
It makes us stand and seek and try so hard to give
As much as we can

We work hard, or not, but we always think and believe
That there is more
We play our cards, do whatever we can, to try and relieve
That inbuilt draw

No one ever succeeds in finding that secret place alone
We are all confused
The selfishness we hide is never satisfied and always moans
We are being used

Controlled by all kinds of lying thoughts and feelings
They make us blind
To the Truth that comes from God and brings us healing
It renews the mind

There is only One Way to reach that Life that we desire
There is no price
It has already paid by Him and His Name is Jesus Christ
Just bring your life

Trust…

Love is and Love does
Just what is right
Love is and always was
Everything Bright

Love has and Love gives
Only what is good
Love gives and always does
Exactly what He should

Love talks and Loves sings
With perfect words
Love causes and Love will bring
A flawless world

Love spreads and Love shows
The Truth of Life
Love wants and Love sows
The end of strife

Love stops and Love takes
Only things that are wrong
Love Crushes and Love Breaks
Only things that need to be gone

Love desires and Love needs
To be listened to
Love develops and Love feeds
Me and you

Love longs and Love directs
Us to move
Love wills and never neglects
Himself to prove

Love does and Love is
Nothing bad
Love always was and still is
The Perfect Dad

This is a brilliant song by Brandon Heath