I love deep theological msn conversations...

James says:
are you meek?
Jon says:
not really
James says:
shame...the meek will inherit the earth...
Jon says:
uh... well.....
Jon says:
i'm poor in spirit, if that helps
James says:
well, at least you get to see God..
Jon says:
well thats something
James says:
yeah..

1 John 2:28
And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

I was just listening to a song called 'Unashamed' by Paul Oakley. It's rockin'. It talks about being unashamed and unafraid about Jesus and the hope we have in Him, unashamed before men, choosing to live for our God no matter what comes our way. That's the way I want to live.

We have nothing to be ashamed of before men, Jesus is the answer to all our problems, He can satisfy all our desires and He has provided a way that we can know God and be saved, by dying for us on the cross. He's done it all. All we need to do is trust in Him.

I was thinking about being unashamed and that we should also be unashamed before God. Whatever we've done, He has paid for and dealt with through His blood when He died for us. We are called to live a Holy life. We're called to live a Holy life because God is Holy. We need to strive to be Holy in every area of our lives. We are saved by Grace, God did it because we could never be good enough. That's the good news, but God wants us to strive to live the kind of life that pleases Him and brings Him Glory.

It's not easy to live that kind of life and it's very easy to live with compromise in many areas of your life. It's not easy because living a holy life is actually contrary to what the 'flesh', or the sinful nature of your heart wants.

Galatians 5v16-18 & 24-25

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law...

...Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

If you belong to Christ then you should live by the Spirit. It's not something that happens automatically. It says that we need to 'keep in step with the spirit'. That's something that we have to do. We can't pray to God asking Him to help us live a Holy life and for Him to make us all that He wants us to be, and then go and live exactly how we want, not thinking about if it's hurting God or not.

God has provided a way that we can know Him, He died for us. We have to live for Him. Our Father is so full of Grace, Love and Forgiveness - be so thankful for that, because we will fall and make mistakes. However, focus on Jesus and live the kind of life that He wants you to live. Sure, we'll fall, but why focus on that, always aim to live a Holy life and in everything you do make your desire be to bring Glory to God. He's given us everything we need to live for Him, He lives within us..the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us!

Don't compromise. Be Holy. Fix your eyes on what is lasting and forever, put all your hope there and you wont be disappointed.

Be unashamed before God.

It's Sunday. Go to church. Talk to God.

I am Yours, and You are mine,
Friend to me for all of time.

And all I have now, I give to You;
And all I want now, is to be pure,
Pure like You.

I'm not afraid of earthly things,
For I am safe with You, my King.

Pure like you - ©1997 Kingsway's Thankyou Music

You should also go and say hello to Matt!

Dave has a cool new look. Check it out!

So. What to write...

Easter was very good. It was amazing! I also must have put on a few pounds :) but that's ok.

I'm really excited about the future and what God is doing. The thing is I don't suppose I can see half of what God is actually doing, which makes it all much more amazing to me.

I think what I'm scared of right now is missing it. I KNOW that God is working in my life so much, not just in my life either, I can see God working in my friends lives, in church, among the youth at church, all over the place. I don't want to miss what God is doing. I want all that He has for me.

It's weird that the biggest barrier to God working out His plans in your life, is usually yourself. I need to trust more. I need to trust God more and also those who love me who God has given me. I never thought that I could be insecure, but lately I think that sometimes I can. I don't know why either, I have reason to be. To be honest I'm not going to over analyze it. What I do know it that God is cutting away stuff in my life and some of that is a little painful but it's ALL good. I want to be molded by Him, made into what He wants me to be. It's all good stuff no?

I also need to seek God about my future, especially about what stuff He wants me to do at church. So if any of you feel like you want to pray about that it'd be very welcome :)

Rebecca St James sings a song called 'Above all'..

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began
Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified, laid behind the stone
You lived to die, rejected and alone
Like a rose, trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all...

Christ should be above all. He made the ultimate sacrifice for us, he died for us, we owe Jesus so much! It's like a theme in my life right now that I need to put God first Above All things. I think if you honor God by doing that then all that you're giving Him is totally safe. If you try to hold on to everything tightly, then you pretty much stand to loose it all.

Hold it all loosely, Cling to Christ and He will Honor you, all the other things will be totally safe in Him.

And I'll hang on to you
Nothing in this world will see me through
Only you
And I'll hang on to you
Everyday I live, I give to You

Written by Martin Smith ©2000 Curious? Music UK

I'm sure soon I'll write something funny and flippant about a cactus...you never can tell.

Haha...yes! I've been slacking!

There will be a nice post tomorrow..oh yes there will!!

There will!!

The amazing grace of the Master
Jesus Christ
The extravagant love of God
The intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit
Be with you

May the grace of our Lord be with you
Now and always may you stay
Blameless till He comes
May the love of our Lord be with you
Now and always may you stay
Blameless till he comes

May our Lord
Jesus Christ himself
Encourage and strengthen you
In every good thing you do and say
God loved us
And through His grace
He gave us shining hope
And encouragement
That continues forever

Love mixed with faith be yours
From God the Father
And from the Master
Jesus Christ
And now unto Him
Who is able to keep you from falling
And present you faultless before
The presence of His glory
With exceeding joy

To the only wise God, Our Saviour
Be glory and majesty
Dominion and power

Both now and forever
amen...

May the grace of our Lord be with you
Now and always may you stay
Blameless till He comes
May the love of our Lord be with you
Now and always may you stay
Blameless till he comes

Rebecca St. James-Omega

"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" 2 Corinthians 13:14

I love this song, the scripture it's all based on. I want to remain blameless until Christ appears. I want all the stuff this song talks about, I want all of this for you too. Jesus wants it for us all. It's so encouraging, just read it a couple of times.

In Christ we can be blameless, even though we've sinned. We can be blameless even though we still do things wrong. God wants us to live a Holy life for Him and He wants to to be more like Jesus. He's making us more like Jesus every day, but we still do things wrong. If we confess our sin though, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

I know so many people that carry around stuff that they don't need to. Guilt of stuff they've done which has actually been dealt with by God. I'm one of those people too, but God is showing me that His grace and forgiveness are complete. The most amazing thing you can tell anyone is that there is always complete hope and forgiveness in Christ. That whatever you've done, God is willing to deal with it and make everything new!

And now unto Him
Who is able to keep you from falling
And present you faultless before
The presence of His glory
With exceeding joy
May the grace of our Lord be with you
Now and always may you stay
Blameless till He comes

How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Words and music by Stuart Townend
©1995 Kingsway's Thankyou Music

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

I love that I can be weak. I am weak, there's nothing that I can really do by myself that will have any eternal significance. I'm quite confident, I can talk in front of people and I can go through the motions like anyone else. I can probably fool people into thinking things are ok in my life. Why would I bother though? What do I have to gain from doing that?

I love that I can be weak! The times in life we grow most are those times when we have no resources of our own, when we haven't much left of ourselves to depend on, when we are forced to trust in Christ!

You can be as weak as you like when Christ is your strength.

God wants us to be bold and courageous, He wants us to dream impossible dreams for Him and to give everything we have and are to Him, but we need to realize that we can accomplish nothing without Him.

It seems foolishness to the world, weakness. Weakness doesn't seem attractive unless you understand that Christ is your strength!

We will always run out of strength at some point. We will always go through times in our lives when we have nothing else to give, nothing more within us to rely on. Even those we love will let us down, but not Jesus!

His grace is sufficient! His power is made perfect in all our weakness! We have nothing to fear if we fully trust in God.

Boast about your weakness, be thrilled that you are weak and can do nothing without the Grace and strength that can be found in Christ.

The weaker we are, the more Christ's strength can be seen working in us and the more He will be glorified.

Whatever you are going through trust in God. He will see you through. God tells us more than anything else in His word not to be afraid! That we shouldn't fear! We need to listen to that and trust in His promise that He will ALWAYS be with us.

Be weak. Don't be afraid. Trust in God. Let Him be your strength.

Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Please pray for a youth event happening this Saturday at our church. It's called 'Ignite'. We've been doing this now for just over a year and have seen steady growth in the number of kids coming. It's a nightclub, coffee bar type of environment which works really well. We've had kids come to this that have never set foot in a church before, which is awesome!

Pray that we get opportunities to speak to them about God and that they'll see something different in us. Pray that God gives wisdom in how to communicate the gospel to them with things we do during the night too.

Wednesday this week we also did an 'Ignite Lite', which is similar to the Saturday event but more chilled out. We're doing the same next Wednesday. We have an OM team with us at the moment and some of us went out on the streets with them looking for kids to bring and talk to. pray that God will also work in that area.

It's really exciting seeing all this stuff happening and where God is leading it!

It's good no? :)

Ephesians 3v19-21
..and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

He can do more than we can even ask or imagine. So, imagine the wildest most amazing thing that you can possibly think of..well, God can do better than that! Something to get excited about hmm?

Ok, I'm done for now. What's everyone up to this weekend?

Philippians 3:8
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Putting Christ first isn't something you do once. It's a continual effort, putting Him above everything, making Him Lord in every situation. I want my focus to be on Him.

Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

If you put Him first and Honor Him, everything else will be ok. I worry too much. I'm going to quit with that. It's too tiring. I'm going to trust totally in Christ and in those He's given me.

God is good. It's exciting! hee hee...nitey nite.

Worship

John 4:23
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

2 Samuel 6v14-15
David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

God wants us to worship Him. He deserves all our devotion, praise and worship for all He has done for us. In fact, if God had never reached down to rescue us, then He would still be just as worthy of our worship. God, by definition is totally worthy to be praised, He is God. He made the universe and he made us. The fact that He stepped down into His creation to show us such awesome Love, Grace and Forgiveness should only make us worship Him more.

Through Christ there is now complete forgiveness for sin to all who believe in Him. All you need to do is come to Christ and trust in Him. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves, God has done it all through Jesus Christ. We just need to come to Him. It's awesome!

He is completely deserving of our praises, of our worship, and all that we are.

I refuse to get side tracked by musical styles of worship. I can't even believe that it's such a controversial subject some of the time. Worship involves music but surely worship is really what happens between you and God. It's an attitude, a commitment and a lifestyle.

We do have to be careful what we sing. Obviously singing something that is completely unscriptural in worship is not right. I think any song we sing which helps us to focus on God and that is inline with scripture is useful.

I love hymns. 'And can it be that I should gain?' written by Charles Wesley in 1738 stirs my soul every time I sing it. It's full of amazing truth and solid doctrine.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Awesome! However it can be sung without passion, without any focus on God and completely void of any worship at all.

We need to worship in spirit and truth. These are the kind of worshipers that the Father seeks. Worship is putting God first in everything, it's letting God take first place in your life, it's focusing completely on Him and making Him King in every area of your life. It's taking your eyes off all the things that crave your attention and putting them under Christ. Making Him first. Realizing who and what He is. To be honest, you can do all that without ever singing a word.

We should worship God with every word that come from our mouths, with every action and decision we make. We should worship God with our jobs, our money, our spare time and our relationships. Honor Him in, and with, everything.

I'm not denying that music is special to God, I think it is special and God wants us to worship Him this way individually and as His Church. I think though it needs to start with a right attitude towards God and towards each other..we need to forgive one another in church. There is far too much grudge holding in church, things which should have been dealt with years ago that have been left to grow into strongholds that stop God moving. We have no choice but to forgive each other, to show the same Grace that God has shown us. If we don't do this continually then how can God move? We are human, imperfect, and we will offend each other and hurt one another at times but how much have we been forgiven by God? By the same measure we need to forgive one another.

Go out of your way to build one another up. When someone offends you, forgive them immediately. In fact, love them all the more! Christ has shown us extravagant Grace and love. We need to live each day armed with that same Grace and Love.

King David danced before the Lord in nothing but his underwear, with all his might! We need to come before God and strip ourselves of the stuff that hinders us. God is so willing to help us with that, He wants us to unload the things that hold us back onto Him, then He can deal with it. We carry so much stuff around and we don't need to.

Come before God stripped of all the stuff that holds you back, seek and worship Him with all your might. He can see your heart, so just be totally open with Him, be yourself, He made you that way. He loves you with a passion you can't possibly understand, be secure in your God! Loose your inhibitions before God and don't worry about what other people are doing, or what they will think. We need to realize that when we meet together in His name, He is actually there with us. It's a promise, it's real! Know that God is with you.

Just put Him first. Trust in Christ. Live in His Grace and keep pressing on! Honor Him, remain in Him and He will remain in you.

We need to get things right, but we also need to keep focus on the stuff that really matters and we need to love and forgive one another constantly.

Seek Him with all of your heart.

So anyway. I was Austin Powers..it was good. I enjoyed it. I boogied.

God has amazing plans for each one of us if we'll only put all our trust in Him.

Ephesians 3v19-21
..and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

God really can do more than we can ask or imagine. Often we put restrictions on God because we feel safer that way, or maybe it's just more comfortable or easy to understand. I think God is saying that we need to break out of the perceptions we have of Him. He is bigger than we can imagine and able to do so much more than we ask of Him. Dream bigger dreams for God, pray bigger prayers.

I am finding that God's timing is always perfect and that to put Him first and trust Him with your future in infinitely better than any other path we could choose. God is waiting to bless you right now if you will just seek Him. I was talking with a friend about how we are often so unaware of Gods presence. He promises to be with us always, never leaving us or forsaking us, though we often live like He's not with us at all. Trust that God is with you right now, believe in His promises to you and spend time with Him.

Deuteronomy 4v29
But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Seek Him.

Thanks for commenting everyone, it's really cool! Keep em coming :)

Tonight I will be dressing up as Austin Power for my friends 21st birthday party. Yes, I will be an International Man of Mystery. Baby. I'm beginning to wonder what I've done, I mean..what if I loose my mojo baby? That would be awful. What am I talking about? I have no idea. It was wither Austin, Ozzy Osbourne, Elvis or a pirate. I may have also tried on a monk costume but I've been trying to forget that....

That's all for now. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Ecclesiastes 4v9-12

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Hebrews 13v20-21

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

You can truly come to God as you are. It's awesome. All He wants is you, you don't have to be good enough because no-one is, you just have to be who you are and put all your trust in Him. Put your life in His hands. It's the safest place you can ever be!

Then He promises to equip us with all we need for all the plans and purposes He has for us. He provides everything, it's amazing! What I really find wonderful about this verse is that He promises to 'work in us what is pleasing to him'. I know a lot of times there's stuff in my life and in my heart that isn't pleasing to Him, but He promises to deal with all that, and work into my life and into my heart things that are pleasing to Him. As He does that and as we continue to trust Him we become more like Christ.

Whatever we go through, no matter how horrible or uncomfortable, it's never ever wasted. That's such a comfort. It's also exciting because we can know that God is working in us no matter our current circumstances...He is achieving His purposes in our life.

And this is all REAL, it's not just a nice idea! God has made promises to us, there are millions of them, we just have to realize that they are ours. God is waiting to fulfill them in us right now, go and find out God's promises and believe that He will accomplish them in your life!

Often we expect so little from God. God is bigger than we can ever imagine and all things are possible in Him. Just start to dream bigger dreams and pray bigger prayers...prayers that seem impossible! Then see God answer them, see Him move.

Do it.

Yo. If you haven't already, you need to go to my brothers website and start reading. Leave him some comments, say hello. Do it now!

Sometimes God hides. He wants you to find Him. He wants you to make the effort to seek His face. To chase after Him. God wants to be with you. Go and find Him.

{good words from dave}