Recently I worked a weekend away at a festival as bar staff, the shifts were very long and hard and our bar was one of the busiest at the venue. On the bar we were either serving, working tills, pouring the drinks or refilling stock.
We each had our individual job to do but we all had to work together to achieve the SAME GOAL ..making the customer service successful and efficient
In a similar way God needs us to work together, we all have different jobs, uses and gifts but WE ALL SHOULD HAVE THE SAME GOAL! It's not always about the jobs we do individually, but about what we can achieve as a team!
As afternoon came on the last day we were all starting to feel the strain.. but as a team we helped each other and kept team morale high! ..With some exceptions, being most of the stock workers began sitting down, slacking on their job and just waiting until they were really needed -making the rest of us feel a bit annoyed as meanwhile we were still expected to work away just as hard!
...One of the stock guys tried to reason with me saying, "hey I earned my pay yesterday"!
It got me thinking how many times I use that excuse... How many times I say things like... but I worked all day yesterday!.. but I cleaned the dinner away yesterday!.. but I did that for you yesterday!...
So often I reason with myself and others because I think I've earned the right not to do something!...
But the truth is, that stock worker was being paid just the SAME amount as the day before, he had exactly the SAME job to do and we still had the SAME goal... So why should he have been working any less?!
And it's the same for us!.. Having a great time of prayer yesterday shouldn't mean we only need 5minutes of prayer today!.. Reading the bible yesterday should not be the excuse we use from reading it today!.. Blessing your friends or family yesterday should not mean you don't do it again today!.. Speaking the gospel to someone yesterday should not stop us from doing it again today!...
...Don't live each day by what you did yesterday... But maybe challenge yourself to do the SAME AND MORE!
And remember, we DON'T EARN rest or treats... THEY ARE GIFTS... gifts not given by ourselves, but BY GOD!
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Calm the storm
God has a plan on each of our lives, He has different destinations for us to get to and journeys we have to take along the way.
Have you ever found that on your way something has stopped you getting to your destination? Or delayed you and slowed you down?
..I have! And recently I have found the most common thing holding me back has unfortunately been relationships.
In the book of Jonah the prophet gets on a boat to sail accross the Mediterranean sea, he is running away from God ..unlike the sailors who all have a purpose on that boat and they have a destination they need to get to.
Along the way the sailors hit a storm, which puts them in danger and hinders their journey. The pinpoint cause of the storm is Jonah and the only way to stop it is to throw Jonah off board and away from their boat. The sailors tried to throw other heavy objects off first but the storm did not calm until Jonah was in the sea.
Have you ever realised that the reason you are being held back or left in a bad place is due to a certain person? God has mercy on that person for whatever mess they drag you into but God also has mercy on YOU. A lot of the time we know certain relationships aren't healthy but we often try to throw away other bits... We try to compromise because loosing someone can be painful and risky.
But as the sailors found out, compromising didn't help calm the storm... getting rid of other things got them no where... they had to get rid of the cause.
If you have someone is causing a storm in your journey remember that you can't stay there forever trying to compromise and throw away other things just to keep them in your boat... God has a destination for you to reach!
Sacrifices of relationships can be so difficult but trust in God... He will bless you so much more for the hard sacrifices you make. A sacrifice should be something that isn't easy to give up. Loosing friends and people I love along the way has been incredibly hard but I can say that God has blessed my journey so much more and now I look back and realise how much those relationships held me down and the storms they caused me to get stuck in.
Is there someone stopping you in your journey today? Have you spent days/weeks/years trying to compromise or battle the storms but found you've got no where?
It's funny looking back over the story of Jonah how when the boat hit the storm, he went and slept... the sailors were doing anything they could to get out of trouble and on with their journey. But Jonah never helped or did anything, he knew he was the cause and he knew the only way the boat would get to Tarnish is if he wasn't on it.
With all the compromises and sacrifices you are making to keep someone in your life ...how much are they fighting with you?
Remember what you are fighting for... are you fighting against your own battles ...or are you fighting for God?
Have you ever found that on your way something has stopped you getting to your destination? Or delayed you and slowed you down?
..I have! And recently I have found the most common thing holding me back has unfortunately been relationships.
In the book of Jonah the prophet gets on a boat to sail accross the Mediterranean sea, he is running away from God ..unlike the sailors who all have a purpose on that boat and they have a destination they need to get to.
Along the way the sailors hit a storm, which puts them in danger and hinders their journey. The pinpoint cause of the storm is Jonah and the only way to stop it is to throw Jonah off board and away from their boat. The sailors tried to throw other heavy objects off first but the storm did not calm until Jonah was in the sea.
Have you ever realised that the reason you are being held back or left in a bad place is due to a certain person? God has mercy on that person for whatever mess they drag you into but God also has mercy on YOU. A lot of the time we know certain relationships aren't healthy but we often try to throw away other bits... We try to compromise because loosing someone can be painful and risky.
But as the sailors found out, compromising didn't help calm the storm... getting rid of other things got them no where... they had to get rid of the cause.
If you have someone is causing a storm in your journey remember that you can't stay there forever trying to compromise and throw away other things just to keep them in your boat... God has a destination for you to reach!
Sacrifices of relationships can be so difficult but trust in God... He will bless you so much more for the hard sacrifices you make. A sacrifice should be something that isn't easy to give up. Loosing friends and people I love along the way has been incredibly hard but I can say that God has blessed my journey so much more and now I look back and realise how much those relationships held me down and the storms they caused me to get stuck in.
Is there someone stopping you in your journey today? Have you spent days/weeks/years trying to compromise or battle the storms but found you've got no where?
It's funny looking back over the story of Jonah how when the boat hit the storm, he went and slept... the sailors were doing anything they could to get out of trouble and on with their journey. But Jonah never helped or did anything, he knew he was the cause and he knew the only way the boat would get to Tarnish is if he wasn't on it.
With all the compromises and sacrifices you are making to keep someone in your life ...how much are they fighting with you?
Remember what you are fighting for... are you fighting against your own battles ...or are you fighting for God?
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Don't take half measure!
This morning I was quickly popping into town to get a couple bits of shopping, I was already running late so to save time I headed towards a roadside car park just behind the shop I wanted to go in, the parking is free for a limit of a 45minute stay... A perfect place to park the car!
However, there are rarely any spaces to be had and it is always a very slim chance you will manage to find a gap to park in! ...So I was desperately hoping that today would be one of those slim chance times! As I got nearer I asked God if He would provide a parking space for me. Isn't it so amazing to have a God of provision!!?
But as I turned onto the line of parked cars I could see infront of me a very small space at the beginning of the row ... It looked like my car could get at least halfway into the parking area. Up ahead I could see a gap but from the distance it was hard to tell if it was a small space between cars or if it was a proper parking space.
In that moment I seemed to forget about Gods provision ...I thought maybe the half space at the front WAS the gap God HAD provided ...so I tried that first, thinking if it was too small I'd drive on to see the space further down. But as i realised the first gap definitely was no good at all another car drove past and I was sat left to watch as the driver pulled in, parking quickly and easily into the LARGE space ahead!!
It got me thinking about how I could doubt Gods provision... God does NOT provide in halfs!! He does NOT provide in fractions! ...He provides in LARGE!
By doubting Gods provision I missed out! Somebody else took the place while I was wasting my time trying to fit my car in HALF a space!!
..Are you missing out by doubting the ways that God can provide in your life?! ..Just remember that God provides in ALL ways... BIG or SMALL, but ...He NEVER provides in HALF!!
However, there are rarely any spaces to be had and it is always a very slim chance you will manage to find a gap to park in! ...So I was desperately hoping that today would be one of those slim chance times! As I got nearer I asked God if He would provide a parking space for me. Isn't it so amazing to have a God of provision!!?
But as I turned onto the line of parked cars I could see infront of me a very small space at the beginning of the row ... It looked like my car could get at least halfway into the parking area. Up ahead I could see a gap but from the distance it was hard to tell if it was a small space between cars or if it was a proper parking space.
In that moment I seemed to forget about Gods provision ...I thought maybe the half space at the front WAS the gap God HAD provided ...so I tried that first, thinking if it was too small I'd drive on to see the space further down. But as i realised the first gap definitely was no good at all another car drove past and I was sat left to watch as the driver pulled in, parking quickly and easily into the LARGE space ahead!!
It got me thinking about how I could doubt Gods provision... God does NOT provide in halfs!! He does NOT provide in fractions! ...He provides in LARGE!
By doubting Gods provision I missed out! Somebody else took the place while I was wasting my time trying to fit my car in HALF a space!!
..Are you missing out by doubting the ways that God can provide in your life?! ..Just remember that God provides in ALL ways... BIG or SMALL, but ...He NEVER provides in HALF!!
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