Life in a box

I am Packing up all my things as I move back to Nelson for the summer. Putting my life into boxes. What should I leave behind? What can I live without? What must I keep on me at all times? What can I throw out? What can I leave in the back of the cupboard?
Who can I trust to look after things that I hold dear to me?

It gets me thinking, about life, what do we carry? What do we leave locked in our hearts that we don't even need anymore? Who do we trust with our dreams?


I believe that Mindsets can be like boxes, and sometimes we seam to box things important in life.. Love, Joy, God?
People make mindset boxes without even realizing it... Slowly they allow religion, their view of theology, sin, life focused on the wrong things, to build walls around Gods plan for their lives.
But God wants to renew your mind and take away the boxes, making the things God calls us to do,(the impossible),Possible.
"..Be transformed by the renewing of your mind"(Romans 12:2)
Why? "That you may prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God."
!


Boxes don't contain windows.
When you live in a box, your view is limited. You may see a few meters ahead..but your vision of what God has planned for you and others is shallow and small. You only see how you look at scripture and you fit them to your choice of life style. Sometimes you judge others who seem to be Walking (out of the box) around your life. God uses them in a different way than you are used to seeing and you think its Satan's work.
Let me ask you something.. "when Jesus spat into the mud and slung it into the eyes of the blind man... was that shown in scripture previously? or when he Sat with the Samaritan woman.. was that PC?" Just because you do not understand something does not make it Wrong..
The Bible says "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12)


I guess in my life at the moment, I'm in a bit of a spring cleaning mood, even though its heading into summer now. Trying to get rid of all the unwanted, pointless, never used or useless junk that slows me down. Throwing it away into the deepest ocean, as far away as the east is from the west. Then bringing out some of my clothes, putting on the robes and mantles that were given to me, but chucking away the old things i had on.. I think I'm keen for a new wardrobe, a new style, a new way of thinking, a new way of walking. "let us also walk in the spirit" (Gal 5:25)

I know, like most, that spring cleaning is a long task that sucks to do, but feels good afterward. Feeling the freedom that Jesus died for, is worth the cleaning out process!



(Art by Susie Lees)


It is better for Love to rule the mind than for the junk which can. Ask yourselves "what am I doing this for?" for every situation, action or judgment you make.. because you must make sure your motives are right... "Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other." (John 13:35) the Bible Declares that 'Love is the greatest', we must 'love God with all our heart' and to 'love each other as we love ourselves.'
"But if I don't have love, I am a loud gong or a clashing cymbal"

I know that there is something stirring in the world.. Revival is coming.. You can feel it with every breath you breathe. There is a fire within your stomach, a burning hunger! Are you ready for it? or will you miss it?

It is vital that we Box God no longer! For the worlds sake...For loves sake... Let us be available and open to co-labor with Christ as open vestals for his spirit. Ask God to renew your mind, to show you what he is doing.. COME ON.. be apart of something that Echoes for eternity and Live a life of Love!

God please renew our minds. Take that which is from you, out of the boxes we place them in. God please help us to throw out the junk from our lives. Renew us and make us whole in you, that we may "walk in the spirit and not of the flesh" (Gal 5:16)
thank you!
Amen

To catch a ray of sunlight.

I Love that summer is here. The sun shining down making us warm, giving us longer days, it's Beautiful. Laying down in the shade of trees, it happens to be the perfect place to reminisce of past experiences been...

When I was in primary school I remember splitting light through prisms. The one thing I’ll never forget was that 'light is actually made up of many colours'. And now, as the sun shines down, I think to myself, "to catch a ray of light would be a mystical thing, to put it in a jar and hold it for a moment, looking deep within to capture the beauty of it."

Imagine the different colours you would see, as one ray of light shone through the crystal clear glass.

But now imagine that jar is you, and the spirit of God which lives within you is that Light.

WHAT GLORIOUS LIVES WE SHOULD LEAD, that Heaven should shine out from within us.

So let me ask you this, “Are the things you are living for, worth Christ dying for?”

The Holy Spirit, the same power that created the universe, resides in you!

I get frustrated when people think they can put God in a box because they have placed their spirit inside a box named their lives.

The Bible says “…let your light shine before men…”(Matthew 5:16, NIV)

and as light is made up of many colours, we have to ask ourselves, “What aspects of light are there in our Christian walk?”

This verse is talking about 'letting your good deeds be seen by all men, that they may see and know the goodness of God.' Faith and works make steady paths for amazing testimonies. But are there other aspects to letting your light shine?

What do you think about words? I believe we take them for granted. After all the bible states that they “Have the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21)

I believe that it’s the little things we say through life that have an extremely large impact on people. We may not notice it but “God’s word never comes back void” (Isaiah 55:11). When we speak life into someone or when the Holy Spirit guides us to speak to someone, it all has an impact far beyond what we see in the here and now. When teaching primary students, I have the power to guide each students passions with the words I say. If i say to a student, "you cant draw, don't even try!" then that student is likely to never become an artist. But If i say, "Far out, that's an amazing painting... Do you paint in space? coz your art is out of this world." then Painting is going to be something they will probably continue with after they leave school, and that student would carry that encouragement through their entire life.

I believe we can be a light in other ways also. As we walk in light, becoming more like Christ within who he created us to be, the Anointing begins to be seen on us. I was in town one day and a lady said to me, "you're a christian, I can see it all over your face, you love Jesus, YOU LOVE JESUS." I have heard stories of people on trains and buses, just minding there own business, having strangers coming up to them asking for prayer and help because they see the Holy Spirit in and on them

When the Holy Spirit consumes you and when Light is in you and pouring out of you, do you not think that he has the power to be seen in the physical? I'm still waiting until light literally is seen coming from me, having no darkness around me at all, as "God is light, and in him there is NO darkness at all." (1 john 1:5) A friend once told me that when he was staying at a mates house, he looked over at his friend and noticed that he was glowing. I thought cool, and then I thought about Simon-Peter and his shadow.

Bill Johnson put it into good words"your shadow only releases what overshadows you" Simon-Peter's shadow would heal people. It got me thinking. If light and Love are overshadowing me, then that should be seen in my life. I don't have to try to live as a light. I have to walk in the knowledge that the light is in me, it covers me, it consumes and envelops me, now the world will see that "the spirit of the Lord is upon me to..."(Isaiah 61 - read what happens when the spirit of the lord is upon you! fascinating stuff!)

Light, It's something I will grow to understand. Light; the miraculous, testimonies, actions, words spoken, God!

"Let me walk in this light Lord! Teach me to let the light shine through me before all men! I want to know more of you, more of the ways you move, that i to may walk, co-laboring with You, for your names sake.

I love you

Amen"