He knows

08 Mar 2014 9 Comments

by Minstrels wife in God, Jesus, Prayer, Worship leaders Tags: , , , , , , ,

It can be easy to forget that Jesus was human, that He was made mortal for a time. He had a plan to complete. One that was started many years before He came to earth. He knows how it feels to be down, to feel away from God. He knows how it is to feel your calling is too much for you. In the garden, he begged for the calling to be taken from him, but only by Gods own will.

Jesus completed the call by dying on the cross and defeating death by being raised from the dead. He defeated the fear of death, so we know we can be with him forever. Why then, do we still live in the shadow of the Fall? Why do we still live as if Jesus didn’t deliver us?

He knows what it is to be human and to have the thoughts and doubts that we are not worthy. All He asks us to do, is to take hold of what He fought for. He wants us to be with Him, and to live a life of victory, because the most precious blood in the whole of Earths creation was spilled for us. The blood of the King of kings.

Addictions, fears, worries, sins and blackness exist. We cant live and lead our services convincing ourselves that if we do not mention them, they will go away. There are far too many wonderful christian people who are living in the dark and not in victory because they are scared to say where they really are in their faith and in life. We need to acknowledge that sin is very real. Addictions are very real. Doubts are very real. Confusion, fear, worry are all real. They need bringing in the light so they can be dealt with, without judgement, without critical eyes.

Open up to the new life that has been given free of charge. Open your eyes to the pain and suffering all around us, not in our workplaces or streets alone, but in our churches themselves.

He knows what it is to suffer, but He also gave freedom.

Masks

04 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

by Minstrels wife in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

Just back from a gorgeous week away with my youngest and husband in the borders of Scotland, around the areas of the original Celtic Christianity. Always being there is amazing for me, learning more about St Cuthbert and St Aiden and the work they did to promote the Gospel in this whole area of North East England. Seeing St Cuthbert’s island where he went to live on his own looked very inviting and isolating at the same time.

No distractions and no internet was an interesting time for all of us. It made me more aware of how much time I spend on the internet or being distracted away from the Word or in prayer. Understanding what distracts us or takes our time can be very revealing. Sometimes the masks we put on to show what we think protects us or makes us look better to each other can take a lot of time and effort. Lowering masks and showing each other and more importantly, God, who we really are is a freeing of us. He knows who we are anyway, we just try to pretend we are someone else. The masks are not of Gods making. They are a protective response to something that has happened to us or said to us in the past that has hurt us. We raise a shield that pushes us further away from others and God every new mask we create out of pain or trauma.

Thinking back to Holy Island and how small the community is, and how the whole island is cut off from the mainland twice a day seems a world away from me here. Learning what masks we can use can make us feel vulnerable and open and naked. Holy Island feels a good place to move to at those points for us! Me in particular! Opening up to God brings us back to where we should be. God cant begin the work in us of freedom, until we are ready to start to walk towards Him and say that we want to be back with Him.