Posts Tagged ‘Religion and Spirituality’
Posted by Shirley Anne on April 22, 2012
me and my friend (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A couple of years ago my ex. and I met for the first time with a person I had only previously known via the Internet. Initially we were treated very well but as the time we shared together passed by I could sense some friction between us. It is hard to live with some people even for a short time and I guess she saw us, that is E and myself as being difficult at times. I also sensed it was more to do with E than it was to do with me. When we visited with her she had only two bedrooms and only two beds. This made the sleeping arrangements rather difficult as E and I could not share a bed and E needed the spare bed more than I did. That meant I either had to share the other bed with our host or sleep on the sofa. I chose the sofa. I could not share a bed with my host no matter how innocent the invitation, it just didn’t feel right. I was left therefore to fend for myself. Not very good hosting on the part of my friend I thought however I managed to find some blankets and settled down on the sofa. I spent three nights on that sofa and each night I was disturbed by the cat who wanted to share my sleeping arrangements. E required to eat something in order to take some of her medication which did make it awkward sometimes. I felt my friend found it difficult to accommodate E’s needs at times and it showed in her reactions. My friend, our host, slept in until almost lunchtime each day leaving us to fend for ourselves with nothing to do to wile away the hours. I found an old guitar, tuned it and sat on the veranda playing quietly to kill the time but was scolded later by my friend for disturbing her sleep-in. Some host! It is fair to say that we had some great times together despite all of this. Our visit only lasted three days and my friend had to return to work whilst we continued our holiday from the hotel we had booked. My friend brought us back to the city but not to our hotel, she decided to drop us off on the opposite side of the square from where the hotel was situated which meant that we had to struggle a little with getting back to the hotel with our luggage. I knew from that moment that our friendship had ended but I still love her and she will always be my friend. I still think about her and I do not hold anything against her, in fact she figures in my prayers every day along with all others I know who are not Christians. She ranks amongst those, especially some of my friends and acquaintances, who won’t or don’t accept Christ as their saviour preferring as they do to trust in their own understanding of who God is or believing in some strange philosophy that has nothing to do with God. What they fail to understand is that God says differently for there is no other name under heaven by which we can be reconciled to God other than through Jesus. It is so simple and yet people cannot see it. It isn’t surprising though as these things are recorded in the Bible but we pray nevertheless. God acts when we pray in accordance with His wishes. My hope is that all those I pray for will eventually realise their need in Christ and turn to him one day.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in God, Jesus, Religion | Tagged: Bible, Christ, Christian, Couch, Friendship, God, Jesus, Religion and Spirituality | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on April 15, 2012
Go to the Future (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Where is this world headed? The future of mankind is often the subject of debate with many different views on offer. Some place our future in the hands of science and technology and our own abilities as human beings, others may say it is all in the hands of God, some even think we might be overtaken by aliens and yet others have no real opinion regarding our future or how it will pan out. The secularist will say that our future is entirely in our own hands and in a way that is perfectly true, we do determine our own fate, we are free agents. However, with all the unrest that’s going on throughout the world it seems to me that we do not learn by our mistakes. The idealised ‘utopia’ many consider to be the goal we are aiming for can never be achieved by our own efforts, history shows that we constantly keep making the same mistakes. There is war of one kind or another in many diverse places and according to a report I read a few years ago there are around 34 skirmishes in the world at any one time. We talk about brotherly love and goodwill to all others but we never seem to achieve it. Mankind is inherently sinful, we just cannot help ourselves. We simply find it difficult to live in harmony. Disputes often arise based upon race, religion, ethical standards, lifestyles and a host of other things simply because we are so diverse in our outlook and we are often reluctant to accept our differences. Everyone wants to have their say, promote their views but not everyone wants to leave it there. If we are seen to be different from those around us it can lead to friction, rejection even hatred. There is a future for mankind but it may not be the one we expect. For believers in God and Jesus Christ there is a future that non-believers want to believe, favouring their own but that is to be expected. The Bible is a collection of books covering many things but around one-third of it is prophecy, things that have been foretold before they happened and things yet to come to pass. For instance many of the prophecies have already been fulfilled long after they were written down and based on this fact we can assume with confidence that the remainder of the prophecies will, one day, be fulfilled. Even so just knowing this won’t make a skeptic believe until it actually happens by which time it will be too late to do anything about it. It’s like we have the knowledge that there is a bomb somewhere that is going to explode one day but we turn a blind eye to it and hope everything will be alright. The bomb could explode tomorrow, next year, twenty years into the future but for those who doubt or put the information to one side it will come as a great surprise when it does. To the open-minded amongst us it would be useful to know exactly what these as yet unfulfilled prophecies are so preparations can be made. The link below will reveal that information.
http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/endtime.htm
Shirley Anne
- Jesus, can we believe in Him? (inhisservicetilhecomes.com)
- Why study prophecy? (wordsofgrace.wordpress.com)
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Posted in Prophecy | Tagged: Bible, Christianity, God, Human, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Prophecy, Religion and Spirituality | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on April 3, 2012
The title page to the 1611 first edition of the Authorized Version Bible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When I am asked about the reasons I believe in God I am also asked what proof do I have that He exists. A reasonable question but it wasn’t the one I asked myself when I converted from atheism. Basically I was searching for God, even though at the time I didn’t believe He existed. God says in Scripture (Jeremiah 29:13) ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart’. I was seeking Him with all my heart and the more I sought Him the more He revealed himself to me. At that time, had I been asked the same question what proof do I have, I would most probably have not been able to give a definitive answer although that isn’t really an excuse for it also says in Scripture
19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
The unbelievers heart is darkened to the truth, even many eminent scientists supporting evolution over creation. Not all scientists believe we came about by chance, in fact the more they learn about the nature of life the more they become convinced in the involvement of an intelligent creator. I have been reading several articles from different sources which debate this very issue, if we can call it an issue but for some it is just that. It is more than that though, it is the difference between knowing God and understanding His creation or following after an ideology that claims we are irrelevant and only exist through pure chance. One such article is here (but there are many more), http://www.ucg.org/science/do-science-and-bible-conflict/ where the evidence is presented for each case. For me, I don’t have a problem. I do not have to prove that God exists, He has done that Himself but it takes the veil to be lifted from the unbeliever’s eye for them to see it too. The proof is there if you want to see it. When asked these days what proof do I have I turn the question around and ask what proof is there for there not being a god. Most people cannot give a convincing answer, mostly because they understand very little about the nature of things. On the same web site is another article which challenges us to prove that evolution is false without having to refer to The Bible http://www.ucg.org/science/prove-evolution-false-even-without-bible-0/ . If we don’t have evolution it is hard to claim that we came about by chance.
Shirley Anne
- Bear with an Atheist (freedomborn.wordpress.com)
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Posted in Creation, Evolution, God, Secularism | Tagged: Authorized King James Version, Bible, Christianity, Creation, Evolution, Existence of God, God, Jeremiah, Mathematical proof, Religion and Spirituality | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 29, 2012
I had the strangest feeling last Friday evening. I had taken E out to lunch in the afternoon. We had travelled to various venues before arriving at the one we had originally thought of visiting in the first place. We had not been to this restaurant for quite some time, possibly more than twelve months but we had chosen well. We went the full three courses and I had my usual bottle of red wine. Later we indulged in a liqueur coffee before finally returning home. Well I actually was dropped off at the pub and I stayed there until well after midnight chatting with friends. E would have collected me had I phoned her but I decided to walk home instead. It was a dry and pleasant night if a little cold so the walk itself was nice but doing it in high heels was not to be recommended. I managed though and was home around one o’clock. I didn’t retire to bed until after two but spent some time online first. It didn’t take me long to board that train to Slumbertown but I was up again two hours later to pay the little girl’s room a visit. Half awake and half asleep I sat there a while and it was then that I was overcome with a very strong feeling, one I had never before experienced. Essentially it was a feeling of meaninglessness if there is such a word, a feeling that somehow my life was totally meaningless inasmuch as no matter what I do to be happy and to enjoy life in the end it is all quite meaningless and pointless. My thoughts turned to Scripture and specifically the Book of Ecclesiastes which describes what I was feeling about my life. I have mentioned this book before and I still recommend it as I do all of Scripture for what it contains. I have learnt to be happy and content with life, learnt to rest in the love of God and it is only because of that love that I find life bearable. We all want to be happy and content but do we really understand what that means? There are many pleasures to be had in life but they never completely satisfy the soul and we return to them repeatedly in the hope that we will have a good time and be happy. When the self-indulgent pleasure has passed we look forward to other things or a repeat of the same which tells me that life’s pleasures are but short-lived and have to be revisited over and over. In the end we tire of them. This is the feeling that I was experiencing. I realised that there is only one thing that lasts forever and it isn’t what my flesh and bones experience but it is what my spirit experiences, the love of God. Whilst I am in the flesh all I can do is to work, rest and play. I am on a merry-go-round that never stops and never really satisfies. I am constantly seeking new avenues for pleasure but it is all truly meaningless. We are but a breath, a whisper and our passing is hardly noticed in the vastness of the Universe. We live but for a short time and we are gone. All we can do is try to enjoy it the best we can. It’s what comes after that is more important.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Enjoyment, God, Happiness, Life | Tagged: Book of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes, God, Happiness, Life, Religion and Spirituality, Solomon | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 26, 2011
Just to remind my brothers and sisters in Christ. Did you enjoy your holiday? Did you celebrate the birth of Jesus? Did you honour God by doing so? Think again. Please read again the post I placed here on 23rd December and ask yourselves whether you are truly following God’s instructions or are you simply following the traditions of men? Each time I read the article I pray that my fellow Christians would repent and come out of the ways of the world. I include myself in those prayers. In Jesus’ name
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Christianity, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit | Tagged: Christ, Christianity, Christmas, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Nativity of Jesus, Religion and Spirituality | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 30, 2011
Despite it being very windy, occasionally raining and unusually warm, it isn’t the weather I dislike. In fact I love Autumn, No, it is the approach to Christmas. I hate the advertising on television which promotes and encourages unnecessary spending. Assumptions are made that everyone is looking forward to the day and accordingly promotes good times using carefully selected music and filming. Many people will be feeling left out of things because they are poor or have no family to share the time with, maybe some will be living alone. Whilst I do not agree now with holding Christmas festivities when once I did, I do realise that I am in the minority. I have written about this on several occasions here in the past year or thereabouts so I won’t re-iterate again. Christmas isn’t about the birth of a saviour anymore, it has become a hedonistic and lavish experience for most people. People will say that Christmas is for children and they want to make sure that their children enjoy the now ‘magical’ time with plenty of presents and good food. That wasn’t the original reason for celebrating Christmas. The real reason for celebrating Christmas although believed to be sincere is probably debatable in light of what Scripture dictates but nevertheless even that is ignored in favour of the modern empty version. The atmosphere surrounding the approach to the day is full of hype and is all commercially generated. It is all so false and without meaning. Is it any wonder that people do not believe in the true message that Christmas was supposed to convey? They want the tinsel, the bright lights, the food and drink, the ‘good times’, the short-lived season of ‘goodwill to all men’ and then return to their hum-drum lives the following week where none of the ‘goodwill’ goes with them. I see signs in the back windows of cars which read, ‘A dog is not just for Christmas, it is for life’, in an attempt to curb the practice of dumping the animal at the RSPCA once the novelty has worn off. Well ‘Jesus isn’t just for Christmas’ either but how many even consider that, or even believe it?
Shirley Anne
- Screw the holidays! (blogsbyaloser.wordpress.com)
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Posted in Advertising, Celebration, God, Jesus, Life, Lifestyle, Religion | Tagged: Calendar, Christianity, Christmas, Decorations and Props, Holiday, Literature, Opinions, Religion and Spirituality | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 14, 2011
4 Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
5 For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
and even their name is forgotten.
6 Their love, their hate
and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
in anything that happens under the sun.
Following on from yesterdays post I thought about death and all that surrounds it. The verse above more or less says it all but it talks of this world, it talks of things to do with the flesh as much as it talks about the spirit. Those we knew in life who have passed into death know nothing, they have ceased to exist. There is a promise to be raised from the grave and into a new body and a new life for those who believe in God and have placed their faith, trust and hope in Jesus Christ but whilst even they lie in the grave it is as if they never existed. People do strange things at funerals, burial sites and memorials, acting as if they were in the presence of the dead when in fact they are completely alone! Watching part of proceedings surrounding the burial of Jimmy Saville recently I saw people applauding the passage of the hearse in which his body lay. Why the applause, why not simply a bowed head? Then it was told that he had requested to be buried at a 45 degree angle overlooking the sea so that he could look out over it! How preposterous is that? The man is dead, what possible reason is there to be buried that way, especially as he won’t be there to enjoy it? Ridiculous! I hear you say, ‘But it was his last request’, agreeing with the stupidity of it all. About eighteen months ago a Christian brother was cremated in a cardboard coffin. He realised that to spend such a lot of money on a wooden coffin only to have it burned was a silly thing to do and a unecessary expense for his widow. Now that is sensible. We place far too much emphasis on tradition instead of applying common sense sometimes. When we are dead we are dead, gone, final and it is pointless for those who live to continually mourn over their lost ones. Memories should be sufficient and indeed they are. Love those you love whilst you have them with you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGDA0Hecw1k
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Death and mortality, God, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit, Life, Religion | Tagged: Christianity, Death and mortality, Disc jockey, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jimmy Savile, Leeds, Leeds General Infirmary, Life, Religion and Spirituality | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on October 19, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
If there is a silly season in the year it has got to be around about now. We are approaching ‘Halloween‘, Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Day), Remembrance Day, Advent, Christmas, New Years, Mid-Winters Day. Most, if not all these events are based on superstition or are man-made and have no basis in truth. Halloween is messing about with forces of evil and showing disrespect to a loving God. Bonfire night is a celebration of an attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament, a wicked deed which should be condemned and not celebrated. Remembrance day pays honour to the forces of evil and not the memory of those who have fallen (see http://www.midnightministries.org.uk/funerals.htm ), Advent is a man-made festival which has no basis in Christianity, Christmas is likewise a man-made festival which celebrates Christ‘s death! That is what the word ‘Mass’ means. Not that many people celebrate Christmas for the right reasons anyway! Mid-winter festivals are based in paganism and New Year similarly so. People follow the traditions of men, want nothing to do with God unless it is a token gesture. If asked, many people wouldn’t be able to give a reason for why they follow blindly after the things their peers or friends do. Ask the question of yourself and if there is any benefit to you in this type of indulgence.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Celebration, God, Religion, Wisdom | Tagged: Advent, Bonfire Night, Christ, Christianity, Christmas, God, Guy Fawkes Night, Halloween, Religion and Spirituality | 8 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 4, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
Ok you are sitting there in front of God (bear with me) because your life has ended and you wonder what is going to happen. You’ve heard stories about heaven and hell, the lake of burning sulphur and the devil standing there with fork in hand waiting for your arrival and you are terrified! No, this isn’t about religion or salvation but God surprises you by giving you another shot at life and you find yourself back on earth, not as an infant and not as an adult but as a youth who is a little bit wise and open to new things. Realising that you have been given another chance but forgetting who gave it to you or why, what do you do?
Looking back over your former life you see areas that you feel guilty about, people you’ve hurt along the way, things you’ve done but now regret. Maybe you see missed opportunities or bad dealings in business affairs, wrong choices in vocation or lifestyle and this time you feel you’ll not make the same mistakes again.
Think about your life and what you might change about it given the chance. What would you change? Having thought about what you might have changed are there areas that you still have time to change and if so, why don’t you do it? What is holding you back?
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Behaviour, Lifestyle, Wisdom | Tagged: Bible, Christ, Christian, Christianity, Evangelism, God, Jesus, Lifestyle, Religion and Spirituality, Wisdom | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 4, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
Life on this planet gets progressively worse. Stabbings, shootings, murders of all kinds, robbery, burglary, assault, intimidation, fraud, drunkenness, debauchery, sexual violence, sexual deviation, pornography and much more go on all around us every day. Some of you reading this will perhaps know of these things first-hand and may even participate in some of them! Well I don’t know for certain who browses my blog save those who tell me. We hear of disasters on a monumental scale, some natural and some brought about by mankind. Wars, uprisings and volatile situations between nations never cease, one ends and another begins. People will blame anyone but themselves for the state of this world. How many times have you heard, ‘Where is God in all of this’? Or, ‘Why doesn’t God intervene’? Loved ones die and we blame God for not doing something about it. The amazing thing here is that those who blame God don’t know Him, they don’t believe in Him, yet they still blame Him. As they say in the US, ‘go figure’. Yes, you might well say go figure (that one out). The sad fact is that people can witness things with their eyes yet still remain blind! They cannot experience God for they have shut Him out of their lives and no amount of explanation or teaching will convince them otherwise. For anyone who doesn’t believe that men have walked upon the Moon it is impossible to tell them otherwise. No amount of pictures, interviews with astronauts, pieces of evidence brought back will convince the unbeliever for they have made their minds up. It is just the same with God, no amount of witnesses, miracles and other evidence will convince the unbeliever of His existence. Yet the evidence is all around them, they simply cannot see or reason and they are blind to the truth. Did you ever wonder why atheists vehemently deny God? What motivates them? Many consider God to be an imposition on their lifestyle, they do not want to be shown that what they do is wrong because they don’t think what they do is wrong. They do not know God for if they did they would not be so liberal with their lives and what they do with it. To know God is to know true love, perfect love and perfect love casts out all fear. We can live in this wicked world in the knowledge and comfort of a relationship with God. When we walk in His ways (and I know none of us do that fully) we can be sure of His presence and even His input into our lives as His will dictates. When we know God personally through Jesus Christ we have a relationship with Him. He has become our Father and we have a bond that cannot be broken. For those who complain that God isn’t there when they need Him I say get into a relationship with Him first and then you’ll know if He’s there or not. Your heart has to be willing, you need to be sincere for God to respond but He will and His promises are true. Want to know where God is? He is right there beside you, waiting……………..
Shirley Anne
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Posted in God, Relationships, Wisdom | Tagged: Apologetics, Bible, Blame, Christianity, Existence of God, God, Jesus, Religion and Spirituality | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on July 29, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
I was watching a program on television about someone walking forgotten paths around the countryside. This particular walk was in the Highlands of Scotland on a no longer existing railway route through the hills and valleys around the Lochs in the area. The walk was being done by a woman and for part of the way she was being accompanied by a local older man. He was dressed in a kilt and was explaining his interest in the area, his family connections and where his ancestors had been buried. He mentioned that he intended to be buried in the same place and pointed to his chosen spot. The woman remarked that it was a nice place to be buried with all that wonderful scenery about. Now this is where it gets a bit silly. What difference does it make to a dead person where they are buried? They will not be able to enjoy the place. They will not be able to see it, smell it or touch it, they will be dead! They will know nothing, they will be no more. I cannot understand why people think this way, especially as most people are quite intelligent. It is illogical to think that wherever you are buried when dead makes any difference at all. A similar thing happens when people insist on visiting the remains of deceased loved ones to ‘chat’ with them! They mutter words into thin air over a grave or place where ashes are buried and leave wreaths or some flowers as a token gesture. Some go to great lengths to tidy up the grave as if it makes any difference to the bones lying beneath the sods! Some will say that it makes them feel better when they do these things and they are acting out of respect for the deceased. The shame is that the deceased doesn’t even know what is going on and anything they do has no affect on them. What part of ‘deceased’ don’t people understand? In reality it is far better to love the person whilst they are alive, pay them respect whilst they live because when they are dead it is too late! If you love someone, show them. Don’t wait until they are dead before letting them know for they will not be able to hear you.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Behaviour, People, Relationships, Religion | Tagged: Death, Death Care, Loch, Recreation and Sports, Relationship, Religion and Spirituality, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, Walking | 4 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on July 11, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
Many people today worship idols but probably are unaware that they do. An idol is something that holds your attention sometimes at the expense of more important things. In fact always at the expense of more important things! Marriages and relationships break down, time is wasted on futile and non-essential things. For a season we indulge in our passions at the expense of a better life. Now you may be thinking, what exactly are these ‘idols’? Hobbies that take over all our time, hero-worship, these days usually defined as a favourite music band, a singer or a group, a football player or the whole team (probably more usual). Some people just cannot get enough information about their favourite idol and buy all the magazine literature there is just to get a glimpse of their lifestyles and live in a permanent state of awe. So called ‘stars’, ‘celebrities’ and people in the public eye strut about like they were something special compared to the rest of us mortals and people love it! There is nothing wrong with most of these things if taken very light-heartedly and not too seriously of course but the danger remains in spending too much of our own lives and time following after the exploits of others. Don’t we have lives of our own? There are other things too that can take up too much of our time, drink (alcohol), drugs and other unsavoury and unnecessary things for a happy life and we should be especially careful in these matters. As a Christian I have to be very careful that I don’t spend time in ‘idol worship‘ at the expense of spending more time with God and the things He would have me do with my time. I have never been into ‘celebrities’, don’t have a favourite movie, book or author and things of that nature that I over-indulge myself with, in fact I only read non-fiction anyway. There are pleasures to be had in life of course and we shouldn’t eliminate everything that takes our time but we should consider the consequences of not doing so.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Behaviour, Happiness, Lifestyle, Philosophy, Relationships, Temptation, Wisdom | Tagged: Christianity, God, Happiness, Idolatry, Jesus, People, Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality, Television, Ten Commandments, Wisdom | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on June 16, 2011
Cover of Loving God (Walker Large Print Books)
I am so unworthy of my Makers love. He has put up with my rebellion, my anger, my wrongdoing and all the other things that offend Him but what has He done about it? Showered me with His love! Gave me an escape route where there was none before I knew Him. He gave me His only begotten Son as a sacrifice, an atonement for my misbehaviour, my sins. He gave me Jesus Christ who took upon Himself the sins of the world, MY sins! How wonderful is the love of God, how far beyond all understanding. What a faithful and loving God He is. I am not worthy of His love but I rely upon it. I believe in God my Maker, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ and in His Holy Spirit who is my guide through life. Whenever I stumble He picks me up. Whenever I transgress He pulls me up and shows me my error. Whenever I am feeling down He lifts me up and reminds me of His love. He prompts me when I am slow to act. How wonderful is my God. He gave me life where there was no life before……
You caught me Lord as I lifted my hands to you,
You caught me Lord as I lifted my voice to you,
You caught me Lord when I poured out my heart to you Lord,
Then you touched me Lord,
Yes you touched me my sweet Lord,
Then you touched me Lord,
Yes you touched me my sweet Lord,
And you gave me life, where there was no life before.
Copyright Shirley Anne 5 Feb 1993
Don’t believe in God? Have a look at this………… http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html
Shirley Anne
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Posted in God, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit | Tagged: Christ, Christianity, Evangelism, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Religion and Spirituality, Sin | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on June 8, 2011
Mankind is constantly on a quest for knowledge, never satisfied with what is known but always seeking further knowledge about the environment in which we live, the way things work, how they are constructed, the origin of our being, the origin of the Universe and an endless list of other things. Mankind’s appetite for knowledge cannot be quenched, it appears that we are ‘programmed’ to seek out these things. Too much knowledge can be a bad thing, too little can be dangerous. We have to know how we came to be and why, was it by accident or design? The simplest answer is that we were designed, not by Nature but by a Creator God. In the Old Testament of The Bible are many things about the Earth that could not have been known when the words were written down but have only become known in more very recent times. We can go on seeking knowledge by ourselves but ultimately we can know many things now simply by reading that book. It is a book about life, how it was created and why. It is worth reading and will address many of the questions we seek the answers to if we open our hearts to what it says. Either that or we continue to seek answers elsewhere and ultimately get nowhere.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Creation, God | Tagged: Bible, Christianity, Creator deity, Earth, God, Knowledge, Old Testament, Religion and Spirituality | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on June 6, 2011
- Image by Adam Pan via Flickr
The other day my friend and I dined out together in a pub/inn/restaurant that E and I often visit. When visiting these places it isn’t obligatory to dress in one’s finest but I always make an effort when dining out. The dress code is almost always smart and casual and that is how I generally dress when out. Occasionally I see people in these places who either haven’t any decent clothes to wear, can’t be bothered to wear them if they have them or are simply slobs! Most people however are dressed in an appropriate manner. Yesterday found me on the roof of my garage dressed in a summer skirt and top and wearing make-up too, although I never go out without my make-up on! I was re-routing a rainwater drain pipe to permanently drain onto the garage roof instead of it draining on to what will be a raised paved area at the front of the house. Essentially I was incorrectly dressed to do that work and to carry out the other jobs I ended up doing like fixing other pipework, repairing a minor break in the roof seal and digging out weeds with E. I hadn’t intended to do some of that work but did so anyway. When I am out at work people often ask about my mode of dress but really speaking I seldom get myself too dirty to make what I am wearing a problem. In any case I do have overalls (coveralls) should I desperately need them! Once upon a time people used to have outer garments, coats and such when going out on a Saturday night in winter. These days men are seen wearing just a shirt and women a flimsy dress with much bare skin exposed to the cold night air. Many places don’t have a manned cloakroom nowadays so any outer garment has to be carried all night long. In life many of us go ill prepared for the situations in which we might find ourselves but it is a physical thing, we don’t take care of ourselves as we should. Despite our lack of self-care in the physical realm we do not usually neglect our spiritual well-being, how we treat ourselves spiritually, or do we? We can do many things to ensure we are spiritually happy whilst we are alive but after death then what?
When we die we have only our spirit to worry about. The flesh has stopped working, it has decayed or is going to unless it gets incinerated. Either way we leave it behind. Now we are in the spiritual realm and we are in a position whereby we can do nothing about our spiritual well-being. The fact is we can look after our spiritual well-being for when we are dead but it has to be done whilst we are alive! Our spirit wasn’t made when we were born as if it had to be composed of a material substance, no, it was made or created without substance! It has no substance. However it exists and will always do so unless it’s maker decides otherwise! That being the case don’t you suppose that it is important to ensure that your spirit is properly ‘dressed’ for the place to which it returns? That place is in the presence of our Creator God. The decision to take care of your spiritual well-being has to be made now for when you die it is too late. Get properly dressed for the occasion!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in God, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit, Religion, Wisdom | Tagged: Clothing, Dress code, God, Jesus, Religion and Spirituality, Spiritual Growth | Leave a Comment »
