Yeah...this is another one of those 'don't ask' things :s!!!

Hello one and all !!

This is going to be a short blog, and its going to be about a very challenging piece of writing I read recently.

My friend Liam (who is ridiculously talented and gifted) talked about how passages from the Bible can sometimes be taken out of context, in order to fit our own personal views. This challenged me immensely on how I as a Christian view what the Bible ACTUALLY says, and not just what I think it says.

When this challenge came to me, I decided to have a long hard look at my bible, and read what its says...We (as Christians) in Ephesians 5 v 1 and 2 are called to be 'imitators of God' and to 'Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us...'. We are also called to be imitators of Jesus ( i kno same thing...but there is a point..), and I find this quite intriguing.

If you read the old testament, and all the parts where Jesus is mentioned (such as Daniel), He is shown to be a being of power and might (Daniel chapter 10). After His crucifixtion (such as in revelation), Jesus is depicted as a mighty warrior on a white steed. But my question is...what was Jesus like on earth, when He was fully man and fully God? How did He conduct Himself, not only in the way He related to believers, but also to unbelievers, and also what was His relationship like with the Father?

No one would accuse Jesus of being weak and feeble. He showed Himself to be a man of character and a warrior, and man who stood by what He believed until death. But the way He showed He was all these things was quite different to the 'norm'. Instead of striding around with a massive sword in His hand, slaying any evil-doers who crossed His path, the qualities He displayed where those of gentleness, kindness, mercy, love, forgiveness. Look at 1 Corinthians 13, these are the qualities Jesus portrayed to every person He meet. These go against everything we as humans would associate with a real warrior, yet Jesus was clearly the mightiest man that ever walked this earth.

Don't get me wrong, I understand what people are trying to say when it comes to this issue, that we are called to be warriors and strong and mature in the LORD and not jsut sit back and be lazy, and I do not dispute that. What I DO dispute is HOW we show strength and maturity to this world that so desperately needs Jesus.

Jesus showed discernment in situations, He knew when to get mad, and when to stay gentle. Even when people were jeering at Him, when He was to be crucified, He CHOOSE to honour God and show love and strength through His silence and actions.

Jesus was a man like no other, because He showed His warrior qualities in a way that was foreign to this world, and is STILL foreign to this world. He was completely 'counter-cultural'. He showed He was a man of stature and strength through silently and meekly getting on with His assignment on this earth, not by puffing up His chest and making sure there was a fanfare whenever He did something.

It is THIS quality we as Christians are to imitate. We are called to be 'counter-cultural'. That means showing ourselves to be warriors in a way that is so different to the way of the world that it baffles and shocks.

Just 2 more things....I want to publicly honour Liam for his words of wisdom. I believe he has really hit the nail on the head, and I pray that his words of wisdom and power reach a lot of people. Also, just to say sorry for lying...this is once again ANOTHER long blog :$.

Anyways, I pray that Christian men and women read this and are challenged by it, I also pray that non-Christians read and are intrigued by it.

Well, good night and God bless.

yeah, jus don't ask....

Good evening...

It always seems I write my entries in the middle of the night, but I guess its because of the fact that its the only time I have...but anyways I hope you are all well.

I have heard so many people talk about how 'if there really was a God, how can there be SO much suffering', and blame all the other awful things that happen on this earth on Him. I find it funny though, that when wonderful things happen, like the birth of a new baby, or a new scientific discovery, or winning the world cup (that's right, im keeping up with the times :D), no-one talks about God. They start to puff up their chests and say how wonderful we as humans are, we can do all these things. God is completely 'out of the loop' when good things happen, but when something awful takes place, there He is, easily used by us as a cosmic scapegoat. He is not to blame for the problems on this earth...HUMANS are!

We need to start opening our eyes to the blantant signs of His majesty, splendour, and LOVE for us. Look at the human body and how it is made up, the trees and how they grow, the sun and how all the planets rotate around it without flying off into space, the universe and its vastness. These are all beautiful things, and they scream of The Creator. No cosmic accident can create something so ordered and beautiful. Science is based on a rule that states that something cannot be created out of nothing. Only God can create something from nothingness.

People try to tell us that something came from nothing (ie the big bang theory), and that humans descended from apes over millions of years. I have no issues with science, I think it is a wonderful thing. but we make all these discoveries and say 'aha...here is more proof that God doesn't exist', when in fact all these new discoveries show is how much we DON'T know about the earth around use, let alone this vast universe that we are but a small part of.

I have been reading a book by Philip Yancey called 'The Jesus I never Knew', and it has challenged me to look at what Jesus did for me in a whole new perspective. I guess that was what prompted me to write this post, in a way to publicly repent of my sin of not taking my relationship with my Saviour seriously, and to also challenge people who reads this (whether you believe in Jesus or not) to REALLY think about these things that we take as FACT.

Acts 17 v 25 and 25 'The LORD God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of Heaven and Earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And He does is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and evrything else'. We are so proud of ourselves when do something new (like walk on the moon, or create cure for diseases), but we have to start to understand that all of these wonderful gifts COME from God, and it is because He loves us that He gives them to us.

I want to challenge readers who think that God doesnt exist. Just take a look around the earth, the signs are everywhere. As for us Christians, we need to just simply give Him praise for our very existence. He doesn't need us, but He WANTS us, how wonderful.

Ok...im off to bed. I hope ure all well...and have a good weekend, God bless xx

Right, im off to bed. Good night and God bless xx

Helo everyone!

Rite, im goin 2 talk about 2 things in this post...my driving lessons and Eurovision.

I kno strange combo, but i think it will work.

Lets start with my driving lessons. I wud firstly like 2 admit that my driving abilities are at best 'limited', and at worst 'none existent'. I have had 5 lessons as of 2day, and 2day wasn't as bad as rthe others, but I AM CRAP!!!! How do people do it? Its all about 'multi-tasking' and u hav 2 be able to steer, AND change gears, AND look where ure goin, AND use the pedals ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!!! That is where i struggle. Im not gud at multi-tasking. So wen im concentrating on my steering, i forget my feet, then wen im concentrating on my feet, i start 2 steer like im on mario kart, i just go all over the road. My poor driving instructor is so patient and kind, but even he admitted my steering can be 'erratic'. Im so glad none of my friends r around 2 c it...i wud never live it down. The people at my work place r loving it :(

I jus wana kno hw peops get gud at it. I kno i kno 'practice makes perfect' blah blah blah...but i dont get it. I hav bn in the car wit peops (im jus gana name names, Jez is one of them....oh dear my friend alec is REALLY bad) and they drive like they r on crack or sumin. They r terrible, yet they were able 2 get their licenses. So how comes I can't do it?? I want 2 kno if anyone else is struggling with it. It cant jus b me that is finding it hard....

Neways..now Eurovision. Wat a show. It has everything a gud television show needs. Tezza wogan, a bunch of untalented exhibitionists, and political intrigue (u'd be surprised hw feisty countries get wen it comes 2 the voting). Some peops jus say 'im not watching that rrrubbish' (they really emphasise the 'r' 2 show their disgust :D), but they r missing the beauty of the show. We all need a good laugh, its good 4 us. Where else r u gana get a betta laugh than watching deluded individuals make spectacles of themselves on national television, thinking they hav the greatest voices, when in reality they r tone deaf!!!! :D

I say bring on the laughter and comedy. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Rite, thats me done for the day. I hiope u r all well, and God bless.

Question: Who are your friends?

Who are the people you love spending time with and that you allow to speak into your life?
The people you decide to surround yourself with have a great influence on the kind of life you will have.

It is very simple: if you decide to surround yourself with people who have no ambitions, and have no desire to do anything with their lives other than party and be lazy...then guess what...that is the kind of life that YOU will have.

It is VITAL that the people you have as your 'inner circle' of friends are people who not only have big dreams, but have the work ethic and determination to see those dreams become a reality.

It says in the bible that He (God) gave His people the ABILITY to get wealth. It also says in Galatians 6 that 'a man reaps what he sows'. These principles work whether you believe in God or not. The multi millionaires (like Bill Gates and Alan Sugar (yes i love 'The Apprentice too :D)) and top athletes did not get to the top by just sayn 'i want to be the best' and doing nothing else. It took years and years of hard work and dedication to get them to where they wanted to go. Too many people are too impatient, they want everything NOW, without the hard work. I alos bet that their close friends are higher flyers in their field as well. Why would they have wasted time with people who content on just being 'mediocre'?

I can say that ALL of my closest friends have the desire and drive to be world changers. It is this reason that they are my friends, because that is what I want to be, and they help inspire and encourage me to carry on going for my dreams, especially when its tough going. I don't want to be mediocre in any area of my life, and so I want my friends to have that same desire.

My advice to you all is, if you have a bunch of no good, broke ass, too busy waiting in the queue to get their next benefit cheque to actually find themselves a job they are more than capable of doin, then DROP THEM. The only thing they have to teach you is how to be a loser.

I shall leave you with this bible passage from ecclesiastes that is very close to my heart, because friendship is SO important, so make sure that you are investing in relationship that are worthwhile..God bless

'There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?". This too is meaningless, a miserable existence!
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no-one to help him up!' (ecclesiastes 4 v 7-10)

Zup peoples!!!

Well...its been a couple of weeks since I have posted anything...so I have decided 2 dedicate this post 2 the place I have grown 2 love more than any other...Canterbury :D!!!!

Even sayn the name brings a smile to my face. Now I know wat some of u r thinkn..'wat on earth is he babbling about? Canterbury is a small, hick, backwater place full of chavs and 'ruddy' students!!'...and ok there is an ELEMENT of that (like the way I said 'ruddy'? That word isn't used enough in everyday language if u ask me :D!!).

Neways, the reason I love the place so, is because it is the place that God has blessed me the most. He has been so good to me my entire life, but when He took me to the City Church in Canterbury, my life was forever changed. The calibre and integrity of christians there not only makes me proud to say that I am one of them, but it has and continues to inspire me to press on in my personal relationship with God. People who try and argue that christians are nothing but a bunch of boring hyprocrites, too busy spouting bible passages to be of any use to the rest of the 'enlightened' world has never encountered someone from this church.

The friendships that God blessed me with there, that I still have 2day, are things that I never thought I would ever have, but because of the grace and love of Jesus, I now have the best and most wonderful friends on this earth, peoples I can call my family.

I know I know, this all sounds like a sickly ending to one of those family shows like '7th Heaven' or....whatever else, but its all true.

I went back there last weekend for my friend's stag do, and I got to see them all again, and so I believe they deserve a mention on my blog, because they are all an integral part of my life, and this blog at the end of the day is about my life....so here you are :).

Anyways...you all know who you are...and wat u mean to me (despite wat i jokingly say sometimes :D)...and so I want to take this opportunity to PUBLICLY thankyou all for the love, friendship and laughs you have shared with me, I will always be grateful to God for this gift He has given me, which is all of you :)

Right...im gana let you guys get off and be sick after this 'slightly' self indulgent post. But if any of you reading this are in the Canterbury area, not christians and looking for the answer to the meaning of life, gte urself along to The City Church and meet with the living God, He will change your life.

Rite..im TRULY off this time..God Bless xx