Reality

Its not completely wrong to live with your head in the clouds, nor is is completely wrong to live in reality as if it is all that there is!

We have a God who is outside of our time and space, therefore we need to be open to things happening that we simply can not understand or explain!

However, I believe that we do need to be slightly rooted in the here and now! We need to be able to be (at least) seen as sane!

I know that there will be some who will disagree with me, and their opinions are perfectly valid (and if they so wish, they can add them in at the comments section!  Please remember to be nice, polite and not push your opinion down mine or anyone else throats! Those sort of opinions will be removed, along with any with vulgar language!)

I believe that we need to be open to the possibility of God to do anything He pleases! But I also believe that there are certain ways that this world was created to work and (from my experience) God works within those constraints!

It has been said to me in the past that an injury or ache or pain that I have had is an attack of the devil! This, I believe, gives the devil a little too much credit! The devil did not make me sprain my ankle! Nor did he sprain my ankle!

I've also been told that certain aches and pains are spiritual/human attack - words as knives in the back! And while I do not doubt that this is totally possible, sometimes, its simply because I slept so well, I didn't move in the night and thus, I woke up stiff and sore! No devil and no human attacks! Nothing that a good back massage can't solve!

The gods aren't angry, they do not control everything! Only God controls everything, knows everything and all that stuff! And funny enough, He's not angry either! I know that some things He allows, for my strengthening or learning or something like that! But not all bad things are His doing, or the doings of the devil! Some things are simply human!

My stiff sore shoulder - I slept!
My sprained ankle - my stupid fault!
That failed school exam - was study undertaken? Was the student stressed out of their brain? Are they simply the type of student who is crap at exams (I was)?!!

Reality is in the hear and now, balances with the unseen spiritual! Its not one or the other! Life needs to be treated as such!

I know that without the dreamers or thinkers of the world, we wouldn't have half the stuff we take for granted, like my "smart phone" that likes to change some of my text to something completely different! Or the laptop that is sitting across the room from me that complains that Queensland is just too hot for it to cope!

We need the thinkers and the dreamers! We also need those grounded in reality! Without them, there would be no balance, no one to actually build what the thinkers and dreamers come up with!

Look at it this way - I design a ring. It looks great on paper, however, when its been drawn up on the computer, it is quickly discovered that in reality, my far fetched ideas won't work! 3d printers simply can't do that, the design "leaks" printing wax goes everywhere and a ring simply can not be cast! It is impossible! My design needs a minor modification so it can work! Its different, a one off, pushed the boundaries a little, but now, the constraints if reality have worked together (not so perfectly) with far fetched imagination to produce something beautiful!

We need to be balanced as humans! I believe it is how we were made!

May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!

To 'fix' me...

To 'fix' me is not the job of any human! It is the job of God and God alone!

I know I am not perfect! I will never be perfect in the eyes of any human, as we all disagree on what perfection is!

And to all those who tell me that I have issues, let he, or she who has solved ALL their issues perfectly, cast the first stone!

I know I have issues! They are listed in a particular order on a list that only God has. He and He alone knows the time, date and order when these issues will be dealt with - IN HIS WAY! As I said, no human can 'fix' me!

I have learnt this for myself, and I'm slowly learning to accept it for others! I think it's time that we all learned this one!

Its called not judging!

I had some stuff going on, and I had the pleasure of seeing a psychologist to help me! He didn't judge me! Instead, he encouraged me, he pointed out all the things right with me (which I thought was few and far between), he guided me to a different perspective and let me and God sort out the rest! He didn't tell me how crap I was! I already felt that way! He didn't tell me to stop doing something, he just encouraged a new perspective! And, even though he was a complete stranger, I felt I could trust him (which was a huge thing for me!)!

This example is the kind of thing that we should probably try to do for others! Instead of healing a pile of shit on their shoulders, we should encourage them in the good they are doing, and simply choose to shut up about the bad! Easier said than done - I am still struggling with this with a couple of people I know! And boy, can it be frustrating!

If we seek God about a situation, person or whatever, and He gives us instructions. We need to follow them! If He says to pray for that 'emotional vampire', then that is what we should do! If He says to limit the interaction with them, then that is what is to be done!

God knows all of us, our issues and what we each need! If we go around telling someone that the situation that they find themselves in is adulterous (whilst it may be 100% true), we have over stepped our place! What is the situation? Where are they both at spiritually, emotionally and physically? And by opening our mouths, have we, who have our own issues, cast the first stone?

Jesus wrote in the sand until all, not one or two, but ALL the accusers walked away!

Do I have what it takes to drop the stones in my hands? Do you have what it takes to drop the stones in your hands?

But what if it is blatant sin, something that the person knows is wrong? - My advice - SHUT UP! If you need to talk to someone about it, then go to God! He knows how to deal with it! And you know what else - He already knows about it! And, He has probably set situations and circumstances in motion to bring about His glory through that person! How awesome is that?

We need to let God be the God, and let ourselves be the humans! We make pretty crap Gods! Jesus made an awesome human, but that was because He was also God! How about we let God do His job? And remember, my idea of perfect for you is not Gods idea of perfect for you! Your mothers idea of perfect for you, is not Gods idea of perfect for you!

We need to stop trying to change each other, and instead, ask that God will change us! So person A needs to stop trying to change person B and start praying that God will change person A!! God will deal with person B in His own sweet time! And person A may never be a part of that change!

Get your own shit sorted out, and once you are perfect in Gods eyes, and if He leaves you on earth, you might just be slightly qualified to start fixing other humans, but I doubt that - because you are not God!

May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!

Oh dear, I'm ... years old, I'm going to start falling apart...

Have you ever said that to yourself? Or heard someone say it about themselves?

I heard a friend of mine say it about herself! I was left wondering about what she believes about her god! Is he too lame to look after her in her "older age"? Surely he wouldn't leave her high and dry in her latter years! I think that on some strange level, her god is different to the God I am getting to know!

Where on earth is her belief system at? What lies and false reaching does she believe to question if God will look after her! After all we are worth more than sparrows! Jesus said so!

Not to mention that she hasn't come to the realisation that there is power in the spoken word! If that isn't so then God must have created this universe some other way! Its clearly stated (somewhere) in the bible that the tongue can bring life or death! Depending on how you wield it!

So, just because you've reached that "magic" age, does not mean that you will start falling apart!

Here's something I've found. Your body listens to your every word! And when you start telling it that your skin is going to get thin, so it splits very easily, that's what its going to do! It will listen to your words and it will do as you say! Granted, this doesn't seem to reverse the aging process, everything gets old and dies at some point in time, that's the world we live in! But we don't have to get old before our time!

I don't know about you, but I want to be able to play with my great-grand-children when they come (I have heaps more years to wait for grand-children!)!

I'm not about to start telling my body that I'm getting old! While sometimes I feel old, that is a feeling and not reality!

I think we need to be a little more careful in regards with what we say! We need to pay a little more attention to what we say about ourselves!

People tell me that they have such shocking memories! Of course, they've told themselves to have shocking memories! And they are not paying attention to what Jesus tells them! "I have come that they may have life, and life in abundance" comes to mind! What part of abundant life is a shocking memory? What part of life in abundance is a prematurely falling apart body? Psalms says that He (God) will satisfy them with long life! Satisfy with long life! From my understanding, that means that a falling apart body doesn't have to happen! Yes we get old, but we can still do stuff!

I watched a documentary thing on gold miners in America or Alaska or Canada - somewhere over there! One on the miners was 91!!! And he was still able to keep up with his grandson! Granted, he did have a heart attack - but 91! I know people who are younger than me who keep telling themselves they're old! (and some of them are starting to look it!)

My suggestion, for memory issues, age issues, health issues and generally anything else ... sit regularly at Jesus' feet and have Him constantly tell you what He thinks of you, how much He loves you, why He made you, and His plans for you! Let it sink in and start telling yourself what He is telling you! You might just be amazed at the difference it makes!


May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!

Ailments, illnesses and attitudes!

Have we ever stopped to consider that there is a possibility that our ill health has been brought about simply because of our attitudes?

I have heard many stories of people with inoperable cancer being healed suddenly after they forgave a friend or family member! They held onto their bitterness and when they finally let go of that, and let God heal the wound, they were physically healed!

Now I'm not saying that every cancer is caused by unforgiveness! We live  in a fallen world! Sometimes, bad things happen!

I'm just saying that next time you have a headache that won't go away, instead of kicking the devil for it, maybe you should seek God in regards to its root cause! It could just be that your head is saying that you've done enough and its time to rest, or that you're dehydrated, or that the devil.is kicking you a good kicking, or that you have an issue that you need to deal with!

I had a headache for well over a week. I prayed about it, but with having pain, I couldn't really think straight! I sent a message for prayer specifically asking for clarity about this headache - I wanted to know ita root cause! Sure enough, a couple of days later, I'm praying about this headache and I felt that I had an issue to deal with! I rolled over and went back to sleep! After all, it was 3am, and I'd had this thing for over a week, a few more hours wouldn't make much difference! Later that morning, I set about talking about this issue with God, and strangely enough, the headache went!

Not everything in this world is the fault of the devil! He's not that smart!

So, next time you have a physical health issue, go seek God about it! You may be surprised at what He says!

May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!

Open your eyes... be discerning... Learn the Word!

Watch who you enjoy reading messages from!!

I was browsing through Facebook this morning and came across one of my friends who had shared a recent quote from Joel Osteen’s page. Osteen’s post went like this:

Philippians 1:28 says, “Do not be intimidated by your enemies.” You may be up against a giant obstacle now, but put your shoulders back and hold your head up high. You are not weak. Those for you are greater than those against you.

The Bible passage he quoted didn’t ring a bell, so I quickly got out my Bible and looked it up. Sure enough, the passage was taken grossly out of context in the worst way. Here is what the context says:

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. (ESV)

In this passage, Paul is encouraging the Philippian Christians to stand firm in the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul knew there were false teachers (the “opponents” or “enemies” mentioned in the above passage) that were trying their best to lure them away from the true gospel and to win them over to their camp for personal gain. Paul also knew how easy it was to fall into false doctrine that sounds great, but will turn them away from the truth to their own destruction. He warned Timothy of the same thing.

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 ESV)

So what’s the big deal? After all, one might say, Joel Osteen’s teachings are very encouraging and inspiring.

True. And I might have even passed by this blatant misuse of Scripture with a simple roll of the eyes had I not seen a comment someone made to my friend’s post. This is what she said:

I love reading this man’s updates. I get more out of him than any church I’ve ever attended! His themes focus on loving and believing in yourself and treating others the same……

This comment is what hit me between the eyes like a brick. I knew then that as a minister, indeed, as a Christian, I couldn’t stand by and just let this go. What if you had a friend who was a doctor and he or she saw you about to consume something that she knew was poison to your physical body? Would she be acting in a loving and caring way if she simply sat back and let you consume it? No. Because of what she knew, she has a moral responsibility to say something. More than that, if she truly loved you, she would definitely say something to you about the danger you are faced with.

So what did Osteen say that was so wrong?

First, let me say that the above quote represents the norm for Osteen. The proverbial “pull yourself up from your boot straps” message pervades his teaching. People are encouraged to see themselves in a better light, to remember their strengths, to dig down deep to find the goodness within them. His books teach us how to “become a better you,” and that our “best life is now.” So what’s wrong with those messages?

What’s wrong, to begin with, is that they are completely opposite of what the Bible teaches. And the biggest thing that is wrong is what is missing. The gospel.

The Biblical gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, first tells us the truth about our condition. All of us are hopelessly and helplessly lost in sin.

None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12 ESV)

I realize many may see this and say, “You see. Nothing but doom and gloom and telling me how bad I am. I’d much rather listen to Joel Osteen who is positive.” But wait a minute. There is good news, but we can’t appreciate the good news without first realizing the truth of our condition.

You see, because of sin, we are all separated from God. We are spiritually dead and the Bible says we are already condemned because of it. This is a condition that does not call for humanistic self-encouragement. This is a condition that does not call for teaching that tells us to pull ourselves up from the boot straps and hold your head up high. We don’t need to be told that we aren’t weak. We need the truth!

And the truth is, we all need Jesus Christ! God, the One who created the heavens and the earth and can do as He pleases, gave us a Remedy for our sinful, lost condition.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

It is through Christ alone that we are rescued! It is through His death and resurrection that we are set free and find hope and freedom from the sin that bound us, and it is through that same resurrection that we will one day be forever free from the sorrow, shame, sickness, and death that is a part of this present life we now live in.

So, my friends, if I seem to be overly passionate about false teaching, it is only because that false teaching is blinding people to the only truth that can truly set them free from their true sinful condition, and keeping them from the only One who gives them true hope for eternal life where the curse of sin will be no more.

So then, when determining who to listen to, remember this. If the message points you to trust in Jesus Christ and His completed work on the cross, it is the true gospel. If it points you to yourself and becoming better by your own strength, run the other way! You might just be encountering a false teacher!

Written by Rosemary Amy!