by Alan Taylor | Jun 21, 2021
When Jesus saw from heaven all that sin had done in the world He said “I’ll fix it.”
He grew up in His dad’s joinery shop – He already knew how to make stuff cos He made the world. So when people brought Him a broken chair He said “I’ll fix it.”
When they ran out of wine at a wedding Jesus said “I’ll fix it.”
When the storm was threatening to swamp the boat and everybody in it Jesus said “I’ll fix it.”
When the crowds got hungry after a long day Jesus said “I’ll fix it.”
When the woman caught in adultery was stuck between the law of God and her guilt Jesus said “I’ll fix it.”
When the sick and the troubled came to him He said “I’ll fix it.”
When Lazarus died before His time He said “I’ll fix it.”
So He did. He fixed it all. And just before He gave up His spirit on the cross He said “It’s all fixed!”
by Alan Taylor | Jun 21, 2021
We read that Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day (Gen 3:15).
So what did they hear? Was it the sound of twigs breaking underfoot? Hmmm….. dead wood in the brand new garden and God breaking things. I don’t think so.
Was He humming to Himself “How Great I Art”?
Personally I think they heard with their heart and not with their ears. When King Solomon asked God for wisdom his actual words were “give me a hearing heart” (1 Kings 3:9).
Friends, we have fallen so far short of God’s original intention that even though God is in us, around us, and with us in every way – we still find it difficult to perceive Him and hear Him. Yet He still promises “My sheep hear My voice”.
Trust those promptings – they could be the voice of God. Listen to what others are saying – it could be the voice of God. See what catches your attention in the Bible or in a preached message – it could be the voice of God to you.
“Lord let the eyes of my heart be enlightened and let the ears of my heart be open. Speak Lord for your servant is listening. Thankyou that you promise that I will hear your voice, and I give you permission to choose how you want to speak to me.”
by Alan Taylor | Jun 21, 2021
Many years ago I used to make declarations about putting on the armour of God (Ephesians 6). Then I realised that each piece of the armour is more than just a declaration – they are attitudes and actions that draw from the resurrection life of Jesus within us.
Take the belt of truth for example. A morning declaration in our quiet time “I put on the belt of truth!” is worthless when we don’t do what we say we will do. When our actions don’t agree with our words our belt is loosened, our trousers slip to our ankles, and we fall over. If you’re finding the Christian walk is more like a stumble, maybe you are not always truthful in what you say and that’s why you’re tripping up.
Here are some examples of belt-loosening, trouser-dropping, entangling sins.
“Yes we’ll get together sometime”. But you never follow through. Here’s a tip: don’t say it unless you mean it.
“I forgot”. Let’s re-phrase that: “You weren’t important enough for me to remember”.
When we communicate one thing but our actions say a different thing we totally loosen our belt of truth. When our words are truth and our actions are in agreement we can have confidence that our spirit belt is buckled tight, our loose clothing is out of the way, and we are ready to do God’s bidding and run the race of life unhindered.
by Alan Taylor | Jun 21, 2021
If I live to be 100 my tombstone will have on it 1957 – 2057. That’s a pretty poor record of my life really – when I was born and when I died. But what did I do in between those dates? How will I have filled up the dash in between those two dates? In morse code a dash is the letter “t”. Will my dash stand for trash or for treasure. And I trust there’ll be a minimum of tension, trauma and tedious toil.
Jesus said that he was the vine and we are the branches, and that we should abide (remain) in Him because apart from Him we can do nothing. The context was about being fruitful so “nothing” meant no fruit, nothing eternal. Our fruit is our character and our works. In fact fruitfulness is not an option because Jesus went on to say that our fruitfulness shows our discipleship.
Elsewhere in the gospels Jesus speaks of degrees of fruitfulness – 30, 60, and 100 fold. It’s God’s intention for each one of us that He would work in us to maximise our fruitfulness. Get connected to Jesus and make the most of your dash so that you, like Paul, will one day say “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
by Alan Taylor | Jun 21, 2021
Ephesians 2:10 says (more or less):
For we are His working, worked in Christ Jesus for good works, which God worked beforehand, that we should work them. Or the short version: God did things so that I could do things.
Does that sound like a lot of work? Well it is so you’ll need some supernatural help, but that’s how God set it up. Unless you’re like Enoch who apparently got the ultimate golden buzzer and went straight through to the final, the rest of us have a job to do while we’re here on earth. It’s in doing those tasks and making daily consistent choices that God is able to work His character into our lives, and others are blessed along the way.
If you’re not sure of God’s will for your life then start with this: “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (King Solomon, 3000 years ago). Or in the words of a more recent wise (?) man “do the mahi, get the treats” (William Waiirua, mahi = work).
Thank God for the special tasks He has designed just for you, then be diligent with what’s in front of you. God will rarely give you a detailed road map for your life but He’ll always give you enough clues to take you the next step – just make sure you keep seeking Him along the journey.
