Biblical Reflections: UNLOCKING FREEDOM
“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” – John 8:36 NKJV
🎵 Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God
Yes I am
In my Father’s house
There’s a place for me
I’m a child of God
Yes I am 🎶
(Hillsong Worship)
A Personal Journey
So what is something that can be learnt about Freedom?
Jesus came to set us free during the trials we go through and if we have the right perspective, we can go from freedom to freedom.
The bible says that He has come to set us free and who He sets free, is free indeed (John 8:36).
Why is it challenging to have the right perspective during a trial?
– It’s hard to focus on the positives when we feel overwhelmed by the negatives, and it’s hard to shift our focus when we are being fed lies of injustice.
– The devil feeds us lies to accentuate a perspective of despair. He does this with the intention to steal our joy and destroy any hope we want to have to overcome a difficult trial that we journey through, even though Jesus said that He came so that we can enjoy life until it overflows (John 10:10).
– Despite God’s promises though we can still falter. The weaker we are or the less knowledgeable we have of God’s truth to counter and stand firm against the lies of the enemy (John 8:44), the harder it is to overlook them and the harder it is to focus on what the Word of God tells us, which breathes life (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
– And unfortunately we need to continue in caution because even when we finish the end of one trial, the devil doesn’t shut up shop and head home. He starts working on his next plan of attack (1 Peter 5:8).
So what does the bible teach us about having the right perspective?
– God says that we should find joy in these trials. He also says that it is importance to make use of each trial to produce more endurance, grow in spiritual maturity and to walk with greater inner peace (James 1:2-10).
Why is it hard to accomplish this though?
– It’s hard to understand how to be joyful in a challenging and long-enduring trial and in each trial I’ve experienced, there has been one or multiple moments where I’ve reached breaking point.
Over the years, I’ve definitely experienced many trials and I do believe I’ve grown to endure them longer over time, but each time has not been without a final breaking point where I’ve had to make a choice; a decision to give up and let it out OR to bite my tongue, stand strong, overlook the tribulation (a state of great trial or suffering) and stop myself from losing my composure in whatever way seems suitable in the moment of each trial.
Personal application?
– For me in hospital last week after major surgery, I’ve also faced this moment during the first 3 days of recovery as I endured the beginning of a gastro bug (which I realised would still continue for another 2-3 days).
By day 3 in hospital, I was beyond exhausted. I ached and was starving after fasting for surgery, and my lack of energy blitzed me with dizzy spells, head spins, double-vision and poor balance.
I also struggled with incredible abdominal pain that travelled back and forth across my tummy each day and was shattered by all the symptoms you just don’t want from a stomach bug (especially after surgery), so I started believing the lies that the enemy presented to me as my own thoughts. “And no wonder, since Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” – 2 CORINTHIANS 11:14 AMP
The enemy reminded me that I went for surgery to repair and correct complications after having my second child, which was FINALLY ending after 2 years of waiting, and that I shouldn’t have to wait to feel well anymore.
This wasn’t fair, so why should I have to accept it? Why should I have to bite my tongue and hold it all together?
Finally, I had to face my tribulation.
And so in that moment, I was faced with a choice…
…To hold it together and remain stead-fast and composed, or to let it all go and dish out nothing better than a whirlwind of destruction (that not matter how it looks, someone ends up hurt).
When faced with many different trials in the past, I have faltered. When I have let it go, I felt terrible and needed to not only seek forgiveness, but to also forgive myself because I recognised my inability to pass the test, to overcome and to hold it all together despite the despair that was whispered to me in the moment (John 8:44).
These moments ARE the hardest.
These moments are the final breaking point.
These moments are the ones we can look back on and say “I just snapped… I couldn’t take it anymore.”
OR we can say “It was hard, but I didn’t give up… I wanted to, but I held it together.”
When can we recognise these moments in our lives?
– These moments can happen anywhere, in any kind of trial. It really comes down to moments of feeling mistreated or hard done by, of nearing burn out from working hard for long periods of time, or of stress or anxiety because you struggle to to see the end of “the tunnel” (a way out of the situation).
So how do we overcome?
– It is in these moments when we are given a choice to compose ourselves, but sometimes instead, believe the lie that tells us that we can’t do it because we are not strong enough. But if we turn to Jesus, we can!
“I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]”
What does Jesus say about it?
– Jesus tells us that if we turn our perspective on Him and call on His name, He will deliver us out of all our troubles.
“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.”
🎵 Call upon the name of the LORD and be saved
Call upon the name of the LORD and be saved 🎶
(Hillsong Worship)
– One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to stop for a moment and worship Him in the midst of our trial! It takes our focus off our circumstance and fixes our eyes on Jesus (Hebrew 12:1-2).
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV
🎵 Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace 🎶
(Helen Howarth Lemmel)
How do we shift our focus to Jesus when we are at breaking point?
– During my stay in hospital I realised that I didn’t want to lose control and in this moment I had to make a choice about how I was going to respond… And I am thankful that I started focusing on Jesus.
The pain was still there and the challenge didn’t change, but I suddenly remembered that I could call on Him and started asking for help in my circumstance. I also felt silly that I hadn’t done so already, but I was so distracted by the pain leading up to this point, that I didn’t see the moment coming until it was right in front of me.
James 1:2-4 reminds us that these challenges are certainly purposeful, used by God to teach and grow us, and
2 Corinthians 4:6-10 explains further that these challenges allow us to reveal the life of Jesus through our frail bodies here on earth. Every moment we spend on earth is not wasted. Every moment – whether it’s a season of challenge, of waiting, or of celebration – is used by God to achieve His purposes (even if it is to grow us, teach us or make us stronger).
“Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.” – JAMES 1:2-4 AMP
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give us the Light of the knowledge of the glory and majesty of God [clearly revealed] in the face of Christ. But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty], so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves. We are pressured in every way [hedged in], but not crushed; perplexed [unsure of finding a way out], but not driven to despair; hunted down and persecuted, but not deserted [to stand alone]; struck down, but never destroyed; always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be shown in our body.” – 2 CORINTHIANS 4:6-10 AMP
So how do we experience the Freedom of Jesus in these moments? How do we unlock Freedom after Freedom?
– Past the worst of my condition in hospital, I came to realise a wonderful unlocking of freedoms, that contrasted with the perspectives of the enemy.
The enemy tells us to look at our circumstances. He tells us to focus on our weakness and that it’s never going to get better. He tells us to remember all the difficult trials we’ve already been through, and tells us that it’s more then we should have had to face. He also encourages us to worry ahead about what else is yet to come and wants us so focused on feeling helpless so that we won’t think about God.
– BUT GOD… God tells us that Jesus left us a Spirit that sets us free.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom].” – 2 CORINTHIANS 3:17 AMP
– And I realised that my focus; my perspective on my circumstances was wrong, so I started declaring His truth over my circumstances instead.
– I started asking the questions and identifying the Freedoms the Jesus has unlocked in my circumstances already. I then started listing the Freedoms that were also promised to come by unlocking JOY over my circumstance and releasing myself from the despair that the enemy tried to keep me in.
“…believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].” – PHILIPPIANS 4:8 AMP
Some of the Freedoms I identified included:
1) What about the fact that I’ve just had surgery?
– He’s unlocked freedom over my condition and promised I will feel better and become stronger every week.
– He’s unlocked Freedom to participate in activities more with my family.
– He’s also unlocked Freedom from a condition that robbed me of energy.
2) What about seeing these immediate improvements that surprised me after surgery?
– He’s unlocked Freedom over my posture and discomfort.
3) What about the roommate I reached out to and asked to pray for while I stayed in hospital?
– He’s unlocked a Freedom over my confidence to share about my relationship with Jesus to a stranger I just met.
4) What about being free to do cardio again?
– He’s unlocked Freedom to have a healthier lifestyle, and be more active with our kids.
So how do we know if we are doing it right?
– When we face challenges in life we can observe whether we are responding well or if we continue to falter out of habit (continuously responding poorly trial after trial).
1 John 5:18-19 tells us this and explains that even though we are of God because we trust that Jesus will deliver us out of our troubles, we are still in a world that lies in the power of the enemy.
“We know [with confidence] that anyone born of God does not habitually sin; but He (Jesus) who was born of God [carefully] keeps and protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know [for a fact] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] lies in the power of the evil one [opposing God and His precepts].” – 1 JOHN 5:18-19 AMP
– We can also observe whether we are allowing the lies of the enemy to keep us from seeking help from Jesus, or recognise if we trust whether He will keep His promise to deliver us out of each and every trial we face (Psalms 34:17-20).
It is important to remember too that if we are without trust, we are without faith and double-minded. And if we are without faith we should not believe that we will receive or expect anything that we ask for (James 1:5-8).
“If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind. For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides].” – JAMES 1:5-8 AMP
– But with Faith, even as small as a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible for God when it is His will for you and you ask Him to act (Matthew 17:20).
“…if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” – MATTHEW 17:20b AMP
– And there are so many scriptures in the Bible that encourage us to trust that it IS His will to deliver us out of our of our troubles (Proverbs 3:5).
“Trust in and rely confidently on the LORD with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding.” – PROVERBS 3:5 AMP
The world is broken, but He gives us an opportunity to focus on His promises and go from Freedom to Freedom, instead of looking only at our circumstances and observing trial after trial. ♥️
Biblical Reflections: Online Social Platforms
#CommunityOutreach #OnlineSocialPlatform
#TimeSpentInTheQuietPlace
In a world where technology demonstrates everything if we overlook permissions or choose to broadcast our lives or personal time spent with God, problems arise amongst our circle of community including believers.
In this world we now live in I’ve noticed that during times of trial, our friends or family often rely on finding status updates online, rather than dropping by in person or making a phone call to check in on someone. During times when someone could appreciate their circle of support to get around them, online comments and emojis have become the preference when people choose to reach out.
There’s no denying that it would have been easier if Jesus mentioned the issues of what was to come when technology was the forefront of social interaction, but if we investigate the Word, we can find that there still would have been similar problems during His time in ministry.
Today, technology creates a platform that is easier for onlookers to reach out, without having to actually make an effort.
It also allows people to scroll through their newsfeed and choose whether someone has already been given plenty of emoji responses, so they don’t really need to reach out too.
This ability to be indifferent to make a comment or to connect with someone in person can also become dangerous when you might come across an emotional post online and decide that the person is just seeking attention or that you don’t really feel like investing your time into their situation today, because if you don’t comment, they won’t know that you’ve seen them reach out.
The parable Jesus taught about the Good Samaritan is one example where a man needed to reach out because he was robbed, stripped of his clothes and left for dead. However, when he did seek help and support to passers by, most of them chose to overlook his situation, gesturing that he was a man to be avoided as they intentionally walked on the other side of the road, as they made a poor judgement or decided that it was easier than becoming invested in his need.
“Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, who stripped him of his clothes [and belongings], beat him, and went their way [unconcerned], leaving him half dead. Now by coincidence a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road]. But a Samaritan (foreigner), who was traveling, came upon him; and when he saw him, he was deeply moved with compassion [for him], and went to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them [to sooth and disinfect the injuries]; and he put him on his own pack-animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii (two days’ wages) and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who encountered the robbers?” He answered, “The one who showed compassion and mercy to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and constantly do the same.”” LUKE 10:30-37 AMP
I think one of our major problems that have lead to online outreach (which completely overlooks anyone that encounters financial difficulty and cannot use an online platform) is a problematic increase of busy lifestyles. The world is now fast-paced and further encourages the world to focus more on investing in self, rather than supporting others.
As a believer, I’ve also noticed a complex problem arise in devotional time spent with God when it is done online. On one hand, I do choose to set permissions for friends or family to read some posts about my devotional time spent with God because I‘m keen to encourage others or offer any fresh revelation I’ve encountered. On the other hand, I choose to spend time with God in quiet (keeping permissions closed), not because I’m afraid of what people might think or that I’m being selective for personal gain, but because sometimes it’s about me and Him. My love and time devoted to Him. My time to connect on a truely deep level that only God understands which I personally choose to write down because I tend to forget the time we’ve shared together.
I call myself a scatter brain, some say they have a spaghetti brain that sometimes hits a meatball. But maybe I’m just trying to making sense of many aspects of the world through His lenses faster than my brain can handle. I’m not really sure, but I do know that writing/typing online is a platform helpful to me, so I believe it’s not all bad, we just need to become wise about using it. And when it comes to outreach, I vote to actually connect with someone off the social platform. If they reach out there first, I believe that is their quickest way to connect with a broader audience because they don’t really know who would be best to connect with.
But let’s choose to make the phone call, visit the friend, and reach out to someone in person next to you that you can see is struggling, rather than spend time texting on your phone because it is easier than investing time in someone else’s world for a moment.
Biblical Reflections: Don’t Waste Your Second Chance
So many times in our lives, we get an opportunity to have a second chance and wonder whether to take it.
- It could be a job offer that comes up again and you’re not sure if it will be a good decision to take or not.
- It could be a sporting event where you failed to make the cut initially or to score the goal, but then recognise another opportunity.
- It could be a marriage proposal, but you weren’t ready to say yes yet and they waited patiently to ask a second time.
And I know there are many more like these, but they are often a decision we need to make with a certain weight of pressure. Have you noticed? We need to make a choice whether to take a second chance, because we don’t know if we are going to get another one.
When it comes to sin though, once we’ve sinned, we can’t take that back. Have you thought much about that?
- Once you’ve let off steam by bitterly and falsely judging another driver on the road,
- or choosing to let a co-worker feel smaller than you because you wanted to look better skilled in your workplace,
- or maybe when you’ve overheard someone talking poorly about a friend and think it is an interesting rumour worth passing along,
- or perhaps when you spit harsh and hurtful words at your spouse because they’ve just not completed a task in your home to your satisfaction again?
These are all different kinds of sin; all still having an affect on others around us or on the quality of our own heart-condition, but all still permanent once we put it out there, like we can’t just shake it off; can’t just take it back.
Have you ever tried though? I wonder if in many, maybe all marriages, at least one of us does something a bit stupid, so we tell the other “Oh crap, I take that back…” “My bad… I didn’t mean that, can you just forget it?” Yeah. It’s doesn’t really work, does it? But we try, and on the receiving end we might say “Uh huh, hmm, ok ok.” – But it’s still there filed away in the back of our mind and we’re tempted not to trust them as much because of it, or we’re tempted to put up walls because of it. Hey, some of us even become tempted to remind them of it over and over, like we don’t believe they deserve forgiveness for that moment either (as if they don’t already punish themselves for making the decision to hurt you in the first place).
And that’s the nature of sin; it’s sticks, and it builds up layer upon layer so it becomes heavy because it ripples consequences that just don’t go away.
I know it sounds like a hopeless picture I’m painting here, but the problem is that this is the reality that all of us live in, Christians or not. It’s doesn’t matter if you’ve chosen to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour yet, you still exist here today and that means you still live in a broken world where sin is a reality of human nature, whether you want to believe it or not.
And the reality then is that we have to make a choice to decide whether to follow Jesus and become a Christian, or not – so that we can start trying to choose right from wrong; righteousness over sinful choices in our day-to-day walk.
And listen carefully, because here is my Key Point:
You see sinners look at what they’ve done and say “No, no… I’m not good enough to be a Christian. You don’t know what I’ve done… I’m better off just staying away from God.”
I’ve heard it plenty from strangers or even family or friends I grew up with, but as I found God we grew apart.
But they’re looking at it all wrong.
See Jesus already knows what we’ve done. And not only does he know about it – He knows ALL about it. He knows every detail of it.
- Every moment you’ve gone that step too far.
- Every moment you acted upon that temptation.
- Every time you let your temper get the better of you.
- Every time you decided that you deserved to do what you felt like doing.
- Every time you’ve left someone feeling hurt or broken, He knew.
And not only does he know it, but He already took your sin onto himself; He drank it and saturated himself in it.
See in Matthew 26:39, we read about a cup of iniquity that Jesus didn’t want to drink and we know this because he pleads with God the Father to let it pass him by.
And the significance of this cup is that it was full of the sin of the world across time (sin during his time, sin during our time, and sin in the future too) and it was so corrupt, so wicked, and so thick with pain and suffering that he struggled to accept it. Can you imagine having to feel it all at once? Having to know how it felt to action every sin of the world?
In truth, we made him feel sick to his stomach when he was asked to drink this cup so that he could take on the sins of the world, yet He did! He wore it up on that cross for our freedom!
And we know the rest of the story. We know that He was betrayed and gave himself willingly to be taken for crucifixion, carrying our sin with him so that we could be saved. But incase you haven’t, look it up. It’s all there in the book of Matthew if you read chapters 26-28. It was done almost 2020 years ago.
And this is where so much of humanity miss something here!
– You see we are so caught up in our selfish free-will that many of us overlook what we don’t actually have a choice in… and that is the fact that, we don’t get to choose whether we deserve to be innocent.
So many of us have been telling ourselves before and many of us even now “No, no… I’m not good enough to be a Christian “ as if we had a choice to ask Jesus already – not to waste His life on ours.
But it’s too late! In fact something like 2020 years too late.
And because we have had free-will we’ve been deceived into believing that we have the right to choose whether He died for us to too.
But the TRUTH is that we don’t get this choice.
We don’t get to choose whether we deserve to be forgiven!
Someone already “took our punishment”, so that we didn’t have to.
Do you get it? Someone already said YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH, YOU ARE WORTH IT, YOUR SIN IS NOT TOO MUCH FOR ME – even though it may have been the hardest sin for Him to drink from that cup, He ALREADY took it for YOU!
So instead of thinking that you to get to choose whether someone died for you? You need to understand that despite all the free-will and choices you do get to make in your life here on earth, you NEVER got that choice.
It was ALREADY made.
The real choice you have left now is whether you CHOOSE to waste YOUR SECOND CHANCE?
Now that you KNOW:
- Will you choose to make the best use of your freedom and redemption?
- Will you come to God and say, “Thank you! I trust You because You already said I am worth it!”
- Will you now look at your life like a gift?
- Will you faithfully walk to pursue righteousness and seek to know the One who wants to know you better; walking with you for the rest of your life peacefully, guiding you in righteousness and spending time with you loving you without condemnation?
- Will you make a choice, take a chance on Jesus invade you don’t get another one? I mean He will always be waiting for you, but we don’t live forever.
One day our time to make a choice will run out, but honestly if you hesitate, don’t! Life is incredible with Jesus on Your side, fighting Your battles with you! Choose to live.
Don’t waste that second chance He has already paid for you.
Song Study: Tremble – Mosaic MSC (Scripture References)
One of my favourite times spent with God has been challenging myself to match up scripture with the lyrics of songs designed to honour and worship God, as well as show appreciation for what Jesus has done for us.
It’s been very rewarding finding scripture that matches up with each verse like putting a puzzle together. Overtime, I’ve started seeing patterns across the music I’ve studied and it’s rewarding knowing God’s truth as I worship these songs on team, in church, or in my quiet time at home. It’s also helped me to better memorise a broader variety of scripture. I recommend anyone to start doing it for themselves. 👌
Because it was challenging, I started doing this just for the chorus of a few songs, but then I pushed myself to find scripture for the bridges as well. Eventually, after a few months I committed to finding scripture for all of the lyrics of each song I study.
Please read further to find scripture I’ve linked with the lyrics to the song Tremble by Mosaic MSC.
Tremble
(Mosaic MSC)
Peace, bringing it all to peace
(2 Thes 3:16, John 16:33)
The storm surrounding me
(Luke 8:22-24)
Let it break at Your name
(Colo 3:15, John 14:14)
Still, call the sea to still
(Psalm 107:29)
The rage in me to still
(Phil 4:6, Psalm 37:8, James 1:19-20)
Every wave at Your name
(Matt 7:24-25)
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
(1 John 1:5)
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
(Isaiah 41:10)
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
(John 1:5)
Jesus, Jesus
Breathe, call these bones to live
(Ezekiel 37:1-5)
Call these lungs to sing
(Ezekiel 37:6, Psalm 147:1)
Once again, I will praise
(Psalm 106:1, Psalm 150:1-6)
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
(Ephesians 5:8)
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
(Psalm 27:1)
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
(2 Cor 4:6)
Jesus, Jesus
Your name is a light that the shadows can’t deny
(James 1:17)
Your name cannot be overcome
(John 14:6)
Your name is alive forever lifted high
(Zephaniah 3:17)
Your name cannot be overcome
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus
Jesus, Jesus
Jesus, Jesus
Songwriters: Andres Figueroa / Charles Bentley / Mariah McManus / Mia Fieldes
Tremble lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
____________________________________
Tremble
(Mosaic MSC)
Peace, bringing it all to peace
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace at all times and in every way [that peace and spiritual well-being that comes to those who walk with Him, regardless of life’s circumstances]. The Lord be with you all.”
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]”
The storm surrounding me
“Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake (Sea of Galilee).” So they set out. But as they were sailing, He fell asleep. And a fierce gale of wind swept down [as if through a wind tunnel] on the lake, and they began to be swamped, and were in great danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are about to die!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging, violent waves, and they ceased, and it became calm [a perfect peacefulness].”
Let it break at Your name
“Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].”
“If you ask Me anything in My name [as My representative], I will do it.”
Still, call the sea to still
“He hushed the storm to a gentle whisper, So that the waves of the sea were still.”
The rage in me to still
“Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God.”
“Cease from anger and abandon wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evil.”
“Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]; for the [resentful, deep-seated] anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God [that standard of behavior which He requires from us].”
Every wave at Your name
““So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
“This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].”
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
“Do not fear [anything], for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you; I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’”
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
“The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].”
– JOHN 1:5
Jesus, Jesus
Breathe, call these bones to live
“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass all around them, and behold, there were very many [human bones] in the open valley; and lo, they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’ Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold, I will make breath enter you so that you may come to life.”
Call these lungs to sing
“I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and I will put breath in you so that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.’ ””
“Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our [gracious and majestic] God; Praise is becoming and appropriate.”
Once again, I will praise
“Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever!”
“Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to [the abundance of] His greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute. Praise Him with resounding cymbals; Praise Him with loud cymbals. Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!)”
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
“For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [live as those who are native-born to the Light]”
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
“The LORD is my light and my salvation— Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the refuge and fortress of my life— Whom shall I dread?”
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give us the Light of the knowledge of the glory and majesty of God [clearly revealed] in the face of Christ.”
Jesus, Jesus
Your name is a light that the shadows can’t deny
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].”
Your name cannot be overcome
“Jesus said to him, “ I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Your name is alive forever lifted high
“The LORD your God is in your midst, A Warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with joy; He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins], He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
Your name cannot be overcome
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus
Jesus, Jesus
Jesus, Jesus
Songwriters: Andres Figueroa / Charles Bentley / Mariah McManus / Mia Fieldes
Biblical Reflections: Serving In Ministry is Like Serving up a Rich Chocolate Cake
The church is often referred to as the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27) where all members have a unique purpose and function in the church of Christ, but this doesn’t really refer to the size of our ministry… or does it?
This year I had a fresh revelation about Serving in ministry as I observed the different sizes and impacts amongst different churches and I want to open your mind to another look at serving in ministry and how it can be compared much like serving up a rich chocolate cake. 😄🎂
As a whole, this cake is the Kingdom of God that each church serves to their community, and each church is given a different portion to serve with 🤔 – now if we observe initially from a distance, we can observe that some churches serve a bigger portion than other churches within their community; a slice of heaven if you think about it. 🍰
Regardless of the size of their service though, when it all combines together, we the church, make up the Kingdom of God. 💪
So in essence, we need to stop and realise that the portion of what we serve to others doesn’t matter… All that matters is that we take the slice of Heaven we are given, and that our service is managed well and pleasing to God. ✨🕊
If we serve well with what we are portioned, we are bringing Heaven to earth 🏔 so that all who witness it and experience this portion of who God is can say that they have truely seen God amongst the work that is done in His name.
🤔 Here’s another thought…
If you struggle to accept the portion you are given to serve up to others around you, you need to stop for a moment and look at what you have been given. I mean really look it over.
Don’t dwell on whether the size of what you can serve up is smaller than what someone else has been entrusted to, but instead look and see the value of His Kingdom that has been portioned and entrusted to you!
If you’ve been entrusted with a portion of His Kingdom to serve and impact the lives of others around you, then you are blessed to do whatever He has called You to do! You have been given a portion of His Kingdom and you are entrusted to serve it to the community!
Furthermore, if you connect with others in your church family to serve in ministry, they can help to serve bigger portions of God’s Kingdom to the community which in turn allows God to reward you with more! This is simply the reality that comes with serving God. Your portion to serve His Kingdom will fundamentally get bigger because when more people get involved (Matt 28:19), your impact in the community will grow! Matthew 6:33 tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” This also rings true for Serving God’s Kingdom to the people.
Individually, we are called to serve His Kingdom around us (Matt 5:14, 16). It happens when we reach out and share the good news of Jesus to a stranger or give advice to a close friend. It also happens in small groups when we join together in fellowship and prayer. This is all Kingdom building and it is all significant, but when we do work together as a church and as the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27), functioning as different parts of the body with unique strengths that compliment one another, we serve and further the Kingdom of God to make a bigger impact and give God a bigger reason to entrust us with more (Matt 25:19-21). 👌
In Matthew 25:14-28, Jesus shares a parable that affirms this when he tells his disciples about three servants who were entrusted with different portions of money, according the ability of each servant (a total of five talents). The first two servants invested their money and made a 50% profit. The third however, hid the money in the ground because he feared his master and did not appreciate what he was given. Jesus then goes ahead in Matthew 25:29 and explains that if we value the blessings and gifts we receive from God and use them wisely, our fruitfulness and our portion will grow.
My First and Second Born: (8) Moving Forward, Making Memories
It’s interesting how things cycle back around in our lives. One year I’m blogging to share about the unique circumstances and journey we walked through after having our first son, then six years pass and I find myself here again.
It’s actually exciting to pick it up again and share new reflections on the growth of our son, the growth of our family, some highlights and some further trials we’ve journeyed through. I’d even love to share some spiritual growth I’ve encountered along the way.
In a nutshell, plenty has changed … and plenty hasn’t.
Our first son who was Diagnosed with Down Syndrome after birth, is now 6-years-old and as I take a moment to type some thoughts at the dining table, he plays in the kitchen, watching Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom. He loves role playing and using catch phrases from his favourite shows or films in play. He has also learnt to use emotional scenes for them to express his own emotion when he is too anxious to communicate himself clearly. Instead of telling us that he is angry or scared, he will echo a scene for a film or tv show that expresses a relatable emotion. ❤
This is special because even though he can usually communicate quite well in other circumstances, he is a sensitive kid so when he becomes emotional, his processing is affected, but he found a way to express himself without lashing out or running away.
This year, he is attending Prep in school which has had both wins and challenges. He repeated Kindy last year, but has changed from the youngest in his grade, to the oldest in his grade (which I decided was best because he demonstrated potential to do better in participating in structured activities if he had another year to understand the structure of a school setting).
Some parents prefer to wait until their child is older to repeat a year if it is needed so that they can focus on cementing better language and literacy skills, which I think is wise to choose as well (especially if their child seems that they will not gain anything from repeating at a younger grade) but after seeking advice from support workers, my son’s kindy teachers and his Occupational Therapist, I decided it was wiser to repeat early to model routines longer and to instil better self-care habits for him. This was also the most optimum time for him because it meant he had access to funded support (at kindy and at a government run Early Childhood Development Program).
Personally in this position, I think it is important to seek a variety of professional opinions, to do your research and to check whether it will be the most optimum time to repeat a child in school. I also took our son to a fortnightly Prep program to introduce him to a school and this experience also confirmed to me that he wasn’t ready. He didn’t focus on the teacher’s instructions and wanted to run off when the group of kids were asked to sit on the carpet at the front.
But in saying this, it has been another year already and he has come a long way. He loves his Prep teacher at his mainstream school and loves many of his peers. Many students in the school also know him and say hello as we walk around. It’s been wonderful to see him so welcome and connected.
In the beginning he was overwhelmed by everything because it was new and he struggled to participate in activities and trust his teachers. But it didn’t take long before they earned his trust with kindness in the first two weeks. Trying to keep his concentration on structured activities was a challenge, but with some creativity, his teacher worked out that by singing instructions and adding songs to teach concepts as she went, he wanted to participate and remained with the class.
The funny thing was, the hardest thing wasn’t getting his attention in class, it was keeping his shoes on (SMOs) and could have also been a problem with keeping his glasses on if we hadn’t caught wind that his prescription changed over the Christmas holidays.
I learnt that year, that if his feet grew, his eyes will typically grow too. And the cool thing is that this blessed him with a prescription that gave him very close to 20/20 vision – ready to start his first year in Prep. The Ophthalmologist was very surprised and said “this almost never happens at this age,” and “it’s just unheard of at his age.” There wasn’t anything I could say really except “Praise God.”
Before this, our son had a stigmatism in each eye which made his prescription so strong that he still didn’t have 20/20 vision even with his glasses on. He was often squinting and occasionally threw his glasses aside. Then over the Christmas holidays we were forever chasing him to keep his glasses on, wondering why on earth he was taking them off and chewing them in frustration. How awesome it was to learn that his prescription changed just before Prep so that he was ready to learn. 😀
We got a new prescription and chose a new frame for his glasses (that looked dashing if I do say so myself). At school though he kept taking his shoes off and it took me another two weeks to realise that he out grew his Specialised Orthotics and needed a new pair as well. The shoes are an addition since last year. We always knew to keep an eye on his ankles because he walked with flat feet and his ankles rolled inwards. Last year, his Physio decided it was time to get him assessed for support and our journey with SMOs had begun. A lot of professionals hadn’t seen SMOs before. Usually AFOs are common intervention footwear for children with low muscle tone, but our unique little man just needs support around his ankles. And I tell ya what, once these shoes came on the scene his feet grew stronger and he could finally jump up and down with two feet off the ground – then there was no stopping him. The strength that came from corrected posture helped him climb playground equipment better and run faster. 😀
It’s exciting really; seeing him grow and learn. And now he has a little brother to keep him on his toes. 😀 His brother came on the scene 2 years ago and of course our world changed once more. Our little chatterbox, boss-man is a unique addition to our family that we are both challenged by and blessed with. ❤
I wasn’t expecting a bossy little being with an enormous personality to come on the scene, but I’m not unfamiliar with it either. My older sister was the loud and intrusive personality that I see in him today. It certainly is an interesting mix and it reminds me of a wonderful piece of advice a friend once passed on after I had our first son.
She reminded me that God made all the plants in the garden, from the mighty oak tree to the delicate fern, and He chose us – His created people – to look over and care for all of His creation. She then went further and sowed in my heart a revelation of how blessed I am to be entrusted to look after such a delicate fern, just as valued in the garden of Eden as the mighty oak tree.
Our first son is a delicate fern, greatly valued with healing properties (because there is nothing quite like a cuddle from our son) who needs extra love and care to thrive.
Our second son is a mighty oak who will grow strong and provide additional shade and protection for the ferns of our family. Amen.
My First Born: (7) Talking Before Walking – Our Journey
I realised today that it has been a while since my last post. There is no particular reason other than a break to experiene life I suppose (and what is a testimony without life experience?) Our boy’s progress is going really well. It has been three months since his first birthday and I am delighted to share about our journey together.
I’m not sure where to start, so I guess I’ll being with his birthday party. It was so much fun. I decided that I wanted to do a tiger themed party. I went all out and bought heaps of black and orange decorations and utensils. I also decided that it was too hard to find someone to make a specialised cake on time, so I decided to learn how to bake and decorate one myself after watching a free online Modern Buttercream course by Joshua John Russel on Craftsy.com, which eventually turned into a lovely hobbie for a while.
It was a lot of work to get everything ready for the party, but I really enjoyed myself. I know some people don’t see the need to make such a big effort, but I wanted to because it was his first birthday and I had both the time and energy. I also bought tiger clothes for us to wear and even stitched together a shirt for my husband to wear that matched our son’s shirt.
Because it was such a mess to organise a party at home, we decided to choose a park to celebrate it. On the day of the party though, it was forecast for heavy rain. – Not something we wanted to hear. But I was vibrant and joyful, excited to go ahead as planned for 11am in the park, so I prayed for it to clear up by the time we needed to set up. I felt at peace about it and that we didn’t need to worry because God’s hand was at work. It rained right up until 10:00am and then stopped over the park we had chosen to celebrate at. (You could literally see grey clouds all around the park.) The sky continued to clear up and our boy had a sunny, windy birthday.
I am so excited to share our son’s talking journey. Despite his diagnosis of Down Syndrome, he started talking reasonably young at 6-months-old, saying Mum. I felt so blessed. 🙂 He then learnt bub, and eventually started saying Dad, Dad, Dad – to my husband’s delight. A month ago, I was wondering what his next word was going to be? The next morning, I entered our boy’s room for his usual 6am wake up and said “hello”.
“Hello.” He replied. I couldn’t believe what I heard, though it was clear as day.
I decided to try again. “Hello?” He smiled and said hello once more. I was so excited!
I quickly took him to our bedroom and tried it again. He said hello two more times to his Daddy. It was beautiful. It is a family moment that I will treasure forever. And of course we are celebrating further words as he grows…
Here is a little list of his Talking Milestones:
6 months old – Mum, Mum, Mum
10 months old – Dad, Dad, Dad & Bub, Bub, Bub
12 months old – Woof, Woof
14 months old – Hello, Bye, Lizard
15 months old – Meeooow, Hi Daddy (to the phone) & Book, book (when he flicks through a book).
He is still yet to grow teeth and we still wait to see him walk on his own, but he can stand alone without holding onto anything and climbs up to a walker to take a stroll down the hallway by himself. I couldn’t be any happier. 🙂 He is such a blessing.
If you would like to read more about our progress or about my testimony since he was born, feel welcome to browse the rest of my blog:
My First Born: (1) Unexpected Circumstances
My First Born: (2) Praying One Step At A Time
My First Born: (3) Overcoming The Stigmatism of Down Syndrome
My First Born: (4) Becoming Nonchalant
My First Born: (5) Polite Stereotyping – Down Syndrome
My First Born: (6) Fun, Joy and Giggles – Overlooking Down Syndrome
Thank you.
My First Born: (6) Fun, Joy and Giggles – Beyond the Diagnosis
After a bit of reflection, I have decided to write about the fun, love and laughter we share on a daily basis with our boy. It has been great to share about our experience and keeping faithful despite the challenges, but I’d also like to share about my new little love and the joy he gives us.
Despite his diagnosis for Down Syndrome after he was born, his unique personality shines brightly and I would love to celebrate his individuality with you.
My husband and I love to share a laugh, and I think one of the joys that we were most looking forward to was to hear our boy laugh for the first time. It took a while, but at 4-months-old I was able to get his first laugh while giving him a horsey-ride on my knee. It was fantastic. I was in love, again. It took a few more times before I could finally record it on my phone and send a copy to my husband so that he could also share my joy. Not long after, once I learnt how to blow killer raspberries on his tummy, did we get to video his giggles and share it with our friends online. And of course, the laughter didn’t stop there. It has become a regular part of our lives. Which I think has really grown our boy into the cheeky, witty baby his is today (11-months-old).
I’d have to say that one of my favourite times with our boy at the moment is the giggles we have during breast feeding. In the afternoon, during his feed, my boy decides to show his cheeky side and starts talking to me… ‘Ah, ah, ah.’
So I start back, ‘Ah, ah.’ And so we go back and forth.
As we continue a smile creeps over his face, all the while he’s still feeding and I start to giggle. ‘Heh, heh.’
He grins even more and starts to giggle too, ‘heh, heh, heh.’
I then can’t help myself and giggle harder, which is followed with his uncontrollable giggles.
As my Grandpa would have said, regarding my younger brother as a cheeky toddler, ‘what a character!’ And I’m loving it.
Another fun experience would have to be when we started running our finger over his lips when he was starting to have a tantrum at about 5-months-old. I’m not sure what it is called, but it is like a raspberry when you raise and lower your finger over and over your lips as you blow out air. He quickly caught on and would start blowing if we did it to him when he was quiet. One day, he realised he could do it back. He reached out, and started twinkling his fingers so I would blow raspberries too. It was so funny. I kept breaking out in laughter. But, even better when it seemed to stop he then turned his hand to his own lips and started doing it to himself. Well, we had lost it at that point. What a cutie.
Even the tantrums can bring us joy. Sometimes, our boy tries to get something he wants with a peeling cry and pout to melt your heart. At first, I was terrified. Where are the finger, where are the toes? Hmm.. He seems fine, but I did just take my car keys from him. So, like any baby learning to push boundaries, our boy also gives it a go. But unfortunately for him, we think it’s especially cute. The pout after the initial wail is priceless. We also get it from him if we say ‘no’ when he goes to do something he shouldn’t.
I think it’s interesting that he wasn’t really ticklish for a while until he started laughing at my raspberries on his tummy, and even then it wasn’t really all the time. But now, for some reason I can just run my finger across his tummy or back and send him into a fit of giggles. I’m glad I can. It really is a blessing to share giggles with him and he’s loves to laugh with us too. At 9-months-old, he started noticing when my husband and I were having a laugh amongst ourselves. It was gorgeous. He would force a short laugh and smile at us to join in on the joke. And obviously this would have us laughing even harder.
It’s been wonderful watching our little man grow. A lot of my joy in the busy life of motherhood and parttime work, comes from watching him laugh, learn and play.
Recently in the car seat, he had my bottle of water in his hands, but decided it wasn’t interesting enough so he used his left foot to keep tapping the bottle so it splashed around. I’ve also been watching him clap hands. He looks at me and notices that I’m making noise when I clap, so he focuses in and gradually claps harder until he can hear the little pats of his hands. It is just so cute to watch.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about some of our fun.
If you would like to read more about our progress or about my testimony since he was born, feel welcome to browse the rest of my blog:
My First Born: (1) Unexpected Circumstances
My First Born: (2) Praying One Step At A Time
My First Born: (3) Overcoming The Stigmatism of Down Syndrome
My First Born: (4) Becoming Nonchalant
My First Born: (5) Polite Stereotyping of Down Syndrome
My First Born: (6) Fun, Joy and Giggles – Overlooking Down Syndrome
Thanks.
My First Born: (4) Life gets busy
It has been almost 9 months since our boy was diagnosed with Down Syndrome (DS). Although his diagnosis – 3 days after birth was a shock – the test of time revealed that through the power of prayer, our boy is insignificantly affected by it. Praise God.
However, like most things, as time moves on and people find other things to make themselves busy with, we become nonchalant about the significance of something important – like receiving a miracle that a diagnosis of a chronic disease has barely affected our first born son.
We have had a variety of distractions fill up our time recently. Including applying for life insurance, refinancing, revaluating the house to consolidate our loans, discovering our dog was pregnant and delivering a litter of 10 puppies, meeting their needs (maintaining their enclosure/cleaning/washing/feeding/etc.), as well as returning to work parttime for myself.
It was at work (during a time of which I was redirected for a month to write Individual Education Programs (IEP’s) for students with learning difficulties at a private school) where I decided to share my private information about our boy’s diagnosis with the head of the Learning Support Team. It was wonderful to hear her reactions and encouragement about his progress. I had almost grown used to negative reactions, full of sympathy and sadness that I wasn’t expecting such a positive response.
She also decided to share anonymously about one student who had a similar diagnosis to our son, except this boy had an inversion occur in Chromosome number two. It broke my heart to hear the difficulties and severe lack of comprehension that this boy struggled with, but it recememted the understanding of the miracle of our son’s abilities into my heart. I had become nonchalant. I was even discouraged sometimes, because it was easy to forget the average age for meeting milestones and compare the pace of our son’s milestones with a few other babies of the same age that were racing ahead with theirs (walking at six months). Regardless, our son is doing well. It is a daily blessing to see our boy grow happy, healthy, clever and strong. And I really hope never to take it for granted.
It is wonderful to know that our son has been blessed with good health, despite his diagnosis. Encouraging others around us (family and friends) to share this understanding though, isn’t as easy as I would have liked. Some people have certainly been touched by our story and recognise the blessings of his heath, but we are also challenged at times with stereotyping, doubt and discouragement due to a lack of understanding, distrusting our word/research or judging us with a sense of denial.
Personally, I can confidently say that I have been raised very level headed. I was brought up in a Christian home, but doing life was always practical, with caution and responsibility. I was never really lead to believe that life will always work out somehow or that challenges are only temporary. It was important to understand that money didn’t grow on trees. You had to invest in your future by working hard, choosing a practical career, saving your money and accepting that bad things can happen, so it is your responsibility to be prepared for them. – Not to say that we really wanted to accept these life lessons for some time, but they were always there.
So even though I am a Christian – believing for a miracle and trusting that God has promised good health for my son – I know that I am not in denial. I have always aimed to invest in his development by attending a variety of regular health checks, researching a huge variety of information, as well as attending mother’s groups, play groups and information seminars (like the value of reading to your kids) to provide my son with the best care and opportunities that I can – probably more so then I would have if there was no diagnosis. I don’t expect that I won’t need to invest into his development. But in saying this, every health check is coming back with excellent results, praise God and the few consultations I have had with therapists (physio/OT/speech) have all said that he still has no need for any help because he is meeting all his milestones on time and with no difficulties. I will rejoice, Amen!
If you would like to read more about our progress or about my testimony since he was born, feel welcome to browse the rest of my blog:
My First Born: (1) Unexpected Circumstances
My First Born: (2) Praying One Step At A Time
My First Born: (3) Overcoming The Stigmatism of Down Syndrome
My First Born: (4) Becoming Nonchalant
My First Born: (5) Polite Stereotyping – Down Syndrome
My First Born: (6) Fun, Joy and Giggles – Overlooking Down Syndrome
Thank you.
Keeping Faithful 