Acceptance

That's the theme I'm feeling just now. Firstly I recently heard of somebody we know of becoming pregnant but not being married- which I know isn't unusual nowadays. But there are still some Christians around who wouldn't be happy about it. What I'm going to say is that I too believe God intended sex to be enjoyed only within marriage. However I also believe that anyone can be anything they want to be, and we should love and accept people no matter what. I remember when I was reading Christy Miller, which I think I've written about before, Todd's reaction to her telling him one of their friends was pregnant, and her surprise at it. He was overjoyed! She didn't understand it, as the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy weren't exactly ideal. He explained that they had created a new life, and "it could be the greatest evangelist the world's ever known!" The statement's one to remember when things like that happen. To God it doesn't matter whether you've had a good childhood or not, or were born legitimately. Don't get me wrong, I still think you should wait until you're married, but it is no barrier to doing great things for God. And the other issue in this topic is racism. Last night I was watching an episode of Little House on the Prairie on DVD. This episode was "The Wisdom of Solomon", about a young black boy who desperately wants an education and the kind Ingalls family take him in and let him go to school, although some people didn't accept him. Sadly, although he had massive ambitions for what he could do with his life, in the end he realised his life would always be affected by his colour. This is set in the 1870s, so historically it would have been about another century before racial attitudes towards black people began to improve. The best scripture reference I can find is Gal 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Spells it out pretty clear - it really doesn't matter. Also that Jesus "did not come to condemn the world, but so that the world through Him might be saved". It's not our place to judge, so let's spread a bit of love and acceptance in our communities.

Another New Beginning...

As you have read previously, this summer I had the opportunity to do a 2-week youth mission trip in Ireland. This involved travelling through Northern and the Republic of Ireland, doing dance & drama in various different towns: Tralee, Killarney, and Portadown, and also church meetings in Killarney, Newry and where we were staying in Dungannon. While there, I was also able to be baptised at Downhill Beach, Northern Ireland. I've wanted to take this step for quite a while now. The reason for not doing prior to this was because I had had difficulties in which denomination I should be at. One I was sure I did not want to be baptised in, but I felt they would show offence if I went anywhere else. Thinking that to be baptised I would have to declare loyalty to one or the other, which I wasn't ready to do, I put it off and didn't do it. On the mission trip one of my friends expressed interest in doing it, and one night we discussed it. When I explained why I hadn't done it already, she said to me "But it's not about church politics. It's about you and Jesus." The next time they asked about doing it, the thought that I too should be baptised would not leave my mind. For a whole hour I remember thinking "I've got to do this". I am very grateful that God made a way for me. If anyone else is thinking they have similar problems, I now know that when the time is right, you will know and God will make a way.

I'm free to be me...

Well, let's see if I can manage another post while we're still in July! I recently celebrated my 20th birthday. Must be a proper adult now! I still don't have much to say for myself, but am just about to set off on a two-week mission trip to Ireland with friends. This is God's latest idea for me, came out of the blue, and I guess is the new great adventure. Having never travelled that far alone (well, without my parents :) before, it's very nerve-racking. I know though that wherever I go, God will always be there. As it says in Psalm 139, "If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me." That psalm talks about how well God knows each one of us and how He has amazing plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11, Habbakuk 1:5). Even when we don't feel we have accomplished much in the years we've been here, we can be reassured greater things are yet to come.

"Friends are the family we choose for ourselves".

So I seem to be losing the knack for writing this... I'll have another go! Having friends is one of the best things you can have. If you have a really, really close friend, you can share pretty much everything in your lives together. Right now I have to say I'd just love a friend that close, a friendship where we knew each other so well. I have a close friend who we do share a lot with each other, but unfortunately she isn't a Christian so these are some aspects of my life I don't feel I get from her. I discovered recently that there are some things she isn't comfortable with sharing with me either as they are things I don't approve of, and so would turn to another friend. Things like that does often disappoint me when I'm not able to get the most out of friendships as I would like. Another worry about friendship that I get is what my family thinks. I often wouldn't feel comfortable bringing a particular friend home as I felt my parents wouldn't be proud- just a feeling that you want them to be pleased with you. Thanks to the song "Jesus Friend of Sinners" by Casting Crowns playing one day on the ZEN, although I didn't get the hint from God until about 12 hours later, I realised that it's not about showing them off. It's about welcoming them in. I've probably said this before, but bearing the responsibility for your friend's salvation is hard. Sometimes there isn't much we can do except pray. Yes talking about it could work, but there has to be a balance. If we went shoving hell down their throats all the time, we'd never keep our friends. We need to be there to support and comfort them when they need it. For some people (me sometimes!) it's not easy to start making friends. This is what the note from my study Bible says: "Loneliness is everywhere - many people feel cut off and alienated from others. Being in a crowd just makes people more aware of their isolation. We all need friends who will stick close, listen, care, and offer help when it is needed - in good times and bad. It is better to have one such friend than dozens of superficial acquaintances. Instead of wishing you could find a true friend, seek to become one. There are people who need your friendship. Ask God to reveal them to you and then take on the challenge of being a true friend." I know too that many people have been turned against by people they thought were friends. It happens a lot. I don't know the situation of any of these people, so really I'm not going to offer much opinion on that. Even if we don't have earthly friends, if we struggle to make friends, or our friends have turned out not to be friends at all, we have one great Friend who will never, ever leave us or let us down. He is Jesus, Friend of sinners! "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from Christ." (2 Cor 1:3)

It Is Not My Time

Another God moment I had to share!! I've probably gone on about the fact that the church we are at is always going on about hell and the need to be saved, which is really hard to listen to week after week. So week after week I am going on at God as to why my prayers for my friends have not been answered.

This time, He reminded me of some bits out of a book I've been reading lately, A Lineage of Grace. It tells the story of five women from the Bible, going into more depth. It does help to learn more about them and understand them better. Anyway, this is when I was reading the one about Mary. She doesn't understand why Jesus isn't showing Himself, nobody believes He's the Messiah, so she keeps on at Him to more or less hurry up! Every time He responds with "It is not My time".

This is what He said to me last night. The funny thing is that it actually seemed to be in contrast to what the preacher was saying about a sense of urgency, but what God was telling me was basically to wait and just trust Him. That's not an easy thing to do, but I guess it's the best thing to do!

Be utterly amazed...

I've been trying to think of something interesting to blog about for a while. I've had a few drafts but nothing doing until now.

So... I've had a really busy stressful week with everything coming at once! One thing I had agreed to do, again, was the junior group (age about 5-6) at the kids' club thing. If you look back, you'll see that I did that once before. So I wasn't really worrying too much, but I do want perfection, and I just didn't have the time! Anyway, on the night we got so many more kids than normal, and they were misbehaving... I was just thinking God, what have I got myself into!!

Well, it turned out that I was able to use that to illustrate a point in my talk. It was about Joseph being falsely accused, so I asked them how it would feel if I punished those who were being good, when they hadn't done anything. I only realised afterwards that I would not have been able to do this if they hadn't misbehaved!! Wow, God is so surprising!

Also, a couple of days before I had been reading Habakkuk. When he complains, God says to him "Look at the nations - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." I remembered that verse, and sure enough if He had told me the kids weren't going to behave but He was going to use that for His glory, I probably wouldn't have believed it.

I guess the message here is just keep on trusting Him when you've given up or don't think anything good is going to happen. You wouldn't believe if He told you, so just wait it out.

And I know it's late but a very happy New Year to everyone reading this!