the beautiful sovereign kindness of God

Hello blogworld!

I'm still here :-)  I've just been busy.

I had a fantastic time in Brisbane recently.  The school reunion was better than I thought, and I got to share with people the difference that Jesus makes in my life (this was one of my big hopes and reasons for going apart from catching up with people).

The sovereignty of God is a marvellous thing.  He looks after the entire world.  And more than that, he looks after the little details in our lives too.

I was so delighted that I was able to see my sister-in-Christ again, Gloria.  We met at Unichurch in Brisbane.  She had come from Indonesia to study here.  We read the Bible together, and it was at that time that God revealed to her that she was completely forgiven only by His grace.  It was a beautiful thing.

Since that time she has returned to Indonesia and I have moved to Sydney.  But out of his abundant kindness and power, God orchestrated for us to be able to meet together again.  I had booked to come to Brisbane for a school reunion.  A few weeks before that date Gloria told me she was coming to Brisbane.  I was excited but sad, as I thought I wouldn't be able to see her.  However, when I looked at the dates I saw that I was already going to be in Brisbane when she would be here!  Hooray!!

We shared a marvellous time together.  In the time we have been apart God has still been growing each of us.  We could see His hand guiding and leading us.  We could see our progress in the faith.  We shared how God is changing us and prayed that He would keep changing us to be more like Jesus.  Although neither of us have blood sisters, we are sisters in Christ.  Both us have been adopted by God our Father.  And in the overflow of His kindness, He brought us to see each other again.

Thanks heavenly Dad!

Enjoying God’s beautiful world with my senses

God made this world.

More than that, He made it beautiful.  Not just functional, but beautiful.  Not just nice, but exceedingly and extravagantly wonderful.

What wonderful things for our eyes to see!! I was reminded of the gift of sight when I was out exploring Manly on a gorgeous sunny day and saw 3 vision-impaired people.

And yet He bestows more on us; wonderful things to eat and drink too!

And then there are the other senses: touch, hearing, smell.  What a bounty of delights God has made for us!

As a loving Father, God “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Jesus in Matthew 5:45).

What love!

What in God's beautiful world has made you smile lately?


[Creation by God.  Photos by Kirst.]

the fatherhood of God

I've been thinking for the past year or so about the fatherhood of God.

All of us have got a father.  We might know them really well or not at all.  We might be really close or really distant from them.  They might be alive or not.  Have you thought about how your relationship with your physical / earthly dad might affect your relationship with your heavenly father (God)?

In the Bible, God reveals Himself to us as our heavenly Father.  Indeed that is how Jesus taught us to address God: "Our father in heaven...".  What an amazing thing, to call the creator of the universe 'father'!

However, when we use the word 'father' for God we naturally bring some of our own associations with that word.  These then impact how we think of God as our father.

When I was introduced to this idea last year it got me thinking.  I love my Dad.  He and Mum have provided for me very well.  But I've struggled to feel close to Dad.  Similarly, I find it difficult to really feel and know the love that God has for me.  I know it intellectually, I can tell you Bible verses about it, I may even know some Greek and Hebrew about it, but in my heart I still feel uncertain of His love and worry that He will reject me.  My heart and my head tell me different things.

So where to from here?

1. Pray.  Any lasting change needs to start from the heart not actions.  Thankfully, God is in the change business and has equipped us to change.  It is His Spirit living in our hearts which allows us to cry out "Abba, Father" (Gal 4:6, Rom 8:15).  He is the one who can transform us.
2. Dwell on the truth.  God is not the same as our earthly Dad.  "[God] did not spare His own son but gave him up for us all, how will He not graciously give us all things?" (Rom 8:32).  Consider the picture of God in the Bible.  He is loving and generous beyond belief!
3. Experience the love of others.  One other thing which my counsellor said would be helpful is to have positive experiences of love from others in order to help illustrate (in a tiny way) God's love.  This helps to show me that I am loveable, and helps me to feel loved.

I'm making headway on my journey.  I pray that you too will be able to embrace the love that your heavenly Father has for you.

ups and downs

It's so easy to go up and down in life, in a day, even in an hour.

Yesterday and today were quite like that for me.

Cruising.  Grieving.  Laughing.  Anxiety.  Joviality. 

I'm so thankful that God is faithful and constant, dependable and trustworthy.  That is not to say that He is unfeeling or uncaring, but rather that He is infinitely reliable.  Though my emotions go up and down, though my faith is not unflappable, He remains faithful.

And in His kindness He has also given us precious brothers and sisters in Christ to share these ups and downs as we journey in life, looking forward to Christ's return.