Check your perspective

We sometimes see things in certain ways, when in reality it could be totally different.

It could be said that sometimes we have short vision, that we can be short sighted looking at certain things. This could be that we are in a certain mindset that causes us not to see the truth or it could be that we just aren't aware.

For me an example that sticks out in the world today is the meaning of life, everybody sees this totally differently. It could be said that so many people just deal with the 'now' of life. People can be caught up in what they want to do in life, what they think is good for them, they just do what they want as they don't seek for a deeper meaning as to what is actually going on in this world. They waste no thoughts on actually considering that this life might not actually be about them.

Some people palm this question off as they like what they have going at this moment in time and don't want to change it or listen to anything else. In other words they are short sighted, they need to check their perspective. Being short sighted is limiting because it doesn't let us see things that are more than a short glance away. It's so easy to get caught in what we do that we forget what is far away, what is approaching us.

Plain and simply for many people death is coming, that they are wasting themselves into oblivion, they are so caught up in who they are, what they do that they are totally unaware of a father God that loves them, who is running to them because they are so short sighted and caught up in themselves. They need to change their perspective.

Because for me, I was blind to the point to where I only looked at myself and was caught up in me unaware of the harsh reality that was approaching me, But God. When God comes in everything is changed, everything is opened up, the short sight is restored to full 20 20 vision, total clarity. Suddenly I realised that this life, the reason we live is far superior to me, that in fact its not about me in the slightest. When God comes in he lets us see the far off, he lets us see where were going, he lets us see the truth, the meaning as to whats going on in this world. That not only does he show us, but it says in his word that he directs the steps we take. Meaning that he steers us away from the death the world throws at us and into the life he has for us!

you see changing your perspective changes everything.

God and FIFA

Sometimes I like to play FIFA.

Now FIFA is one of those games that you really have to concentrate on. When I play it I play it passionately, in other words I get worked up at it. Everybody plays FIFA to win, I am no different. It's great being on the winning side, the winning team, knowing that your ability has pulled you through to beat the other person.

However when I play it myself, I play it on easy, because I like to win, and not only do I like to win but I like to win big, Im talking 5-0 up at half time big.

Your now thinking where does God come into this. Bear with me.

Because if I play it on hard, if I play it on a difficulty far superior to my ability two things happen. number one, I get stupidly annoyed and frustrated at myself and get totally worked up at something thats not worth it. Number two, I am unsure that my ability will pull me through. Now how does this compare with life?

When we bring God into it. When God is in our lives, when he is the conquerer of our lives, when we place him in the center, the difficulty of life drops. No longer do we have to go through some battles unsure that our ability can pull us through, no longer do we have to get worked up at things that don't really matter and that make us feel stupid. Now we are relying on his ability to pull us through, now we can trust him to bring victory, just like when FIFA is set to easy, where the computer is set to give us a help in victory by slowing the opposing team down by making them less skillful, God makes the opposing team in life slow down, he makes the devil less skillful. That with God we can be 5-0 up at half time. So practically to you today is simply this, give your life to god, because the hard battles that we face can be made much easier if we let God intervene, so he can be championed as the victor of our lives.

Andrew McCracken's blog: Satan the Dog

Andrew McCracken's blog: Satan the Dog: "I think one could say that Satan could be described as a dog. I wonder how many know that Satan has a bark much worse than his bite. His aim..."

Satan the Dog

I think one could say that Satan could be described as a dog. I wonder how many know that Satan has a bark much worse than his bite. His aim is to try and scare and intimidate us by what he tells us, his aim is that we would lose our purpose given to us by our heavenly father, the sad thing is that if we aren't properly prepared he can succeed.

 The bible says in John 10.10 that the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy.

 So its important with this type of enemy to be prepared. And its down ultimately to how we protect ourselves with scripture that will determine if Satan can act as a huge scary dog or a small inconvenience that nibbles at our ankles.

For me I see Satan as the small inconvenience. Its almost in life sometimes that I can actually feel him following me around trying to nibble at my ankles, trying to feed me his lies. The funny thing to note here is that Satan in most cases is a follower, not a facer. I haven't heard of any times that Satan has attacked from the front. So one could say that he is constantly behind you.

Sometimes when Satan barks from behind it can seem as if the noise if coming from a huge scary dog that is ready to consume you when in fact its most likely the small annoying dog with a big mouth. So when we turn around and face him, we can see Satan for what he really is, a small inconvenience.

We have been given authority to address situations like this regardless of the size of the dog thats following you. The bible is our fathers word, his voice, his authority. Satan like any other dog knows his masters voice. So when he comes to bark at us quote some Psalm 91 to him, quote some Isaiah 54.17, tell him where to go in Jesus name. Satan like most other dogs is hard of hearing so when he comes back for more, have the masters voice ready to give him some more.

Out of bounds

I want to propose to something to you today, a line of thought that quite often is vastly overlooked. something that many people ignore and don't think about. Firstly the title 'out of bounds' I mean what do you think about when those words come to your mind? Is something out of bounds in your life?

When I think about it, I think specifically that Satan can run freely totally out of bounds in life. That he can get into places in life where he doesn't belong. That he can take the complete freedom that we have in Jesus and turn it into partial freedom, he tries to shrink the amount of freedom we have. Sometimes because we have a narrow view on certain things in life and we are not open to other angles Satan can take advantage, for example he can run out of bounds in our health. So many christians believe they can do nothing about the suffering they have in life like that flu that comes around at Christmas or the migraines that pop into our heads and pester us trying to steal our peace, these are just a few of the smaller examples.

If we look deeper into where sickness comes from and search for a starting point we can see where it comes from. Some people think God lets them have sickness to teach them lessons and they have to work through it, others believe that there is nothing they can do but to just go with it and take it. Yet it is written that God loves us to the point that he sent his own to die for us. I find it impossible to think that a God who loves us that much would wish any sickness on us to teach us lessons. So if its not God then who is it? The obvious answer is Satan. Most people however miss this and think they have to bear sickness and then they start to complain and moan about how they are under the weather and feeling miserable letting Satan run freely out of bounds in their circumstances.

I personally think that when a sickness comes God says, 'You have my authority, so what are you gona do about it? are you gona let Satan who I have already beaten walk all over you?
I think its the same scenario as in sports, when a sports team totally annihilates another team, the losing team doesn't come over after the game and start gloating and pushing their weight around, so why should  this be any different? Satan is trying to make you think that he has more authority than hes actually due.

So when God says to you 'What are you gona do about this? because if you think I have given you my full authority just so you can come running to me every time the enemy I have beaten gets in your face, you have another thing coming, what are YOU, not me, YOU gona do about it? What are YOU gona do about this sickness, this financial situation in your life, this pain thats got in your face after it has been beaten.

God has given us his perfect love, his grace and we represent him in this world, we are more than conquerers. Which doesn't mean as a result of our struggles we win, or as a result struggling through sickness we get the victory. It means IN our struggles we have the victory, during our struggles we are victorious. Never forget that you have already gained freedom through Jesus, not partial freedom that Satan makes us think we have, that everything Jesus was on the Earth has been given to us. So next time  Satan is out of bounds in your life, use your God given authority, get in his face and tell him to get out in Jesus name!

Its not about the perfection of the artwork, its about the relationship to the artist

When we take a look at ourselves, each person represents something different, something unique. One could say that everybody's individuality could be similar to that of a painting. We all know that each painting to look at is different. Through even basic observation each painting looks totally unique, even though similar techniques have been used, similar brush strokes, similar mindsets behind them and yet they still are totally unique to each other. Their creator has uniquely put them together. They are unique just as each person in this world is unique.


So its not about the perfection of the artwork. 


Acting on our own thoughts and earthly desires, trying the achieve the best for ourselves is totally overrated. We don't benefit from our own works, we can do the best we can do and its still not enough. We try to achieve perfection by ourselves, we try to demand it. We try to comprehend what perfection is and try to get our thinking around it. Little do we know that all the things we try to accomplish for ourselves, the perfection that we want to know will only give us temporary satisfaction if even that. In other words it won't last.
Sometimes we can try and do the artists work for him, we give our ways of doing things to him expecting that it will be enough, rather than trying his way. People aren't happy with how their life is, what they look like. They ignore their gifts and talents that have been purposely painted into their life as they feel insecure in who they are. They feel as if they are an ugly painting in the worlds big gallery and thats why they thrive in achieving perfection. It's almost as if they mixed up the artist's signature and have instead put their own name at the bottom of their life. It's as if the the creator has totally been cut out.


So its about the relationship to the artist.


We have to observe here that every painting has had a lot of time, effort and thought put in. Also that with closer observation its clear that the artist has proudly bared his name, his mark on each painting, its so that every painting gives glory to the artist. That upon looking at the painting its evident that everything the artist stands for has been poured out with love, care and passion for the finished work of the picture. That by looking at the painting its evident who made it. So the painting should boldly boast of its artist. So it can glorify its creator for all to see.


So I would ask to you today, how does your life show the name of your artist? how does it glorify the work put into making you who you are today? do you realise how much of who you are was thought about in the creation process. that you were created from the inside out, accurately planned just as paintings are created from measured drawings. that your creator knows your inmost being, exactly who you are. That he is so proud to have made you, that his mercies will surround you at all times wherever you go. That his love, joy and peace will pour into your life only if you put his name at the bottom of the painting and glorify him for everything he has done.


Because its not about the perfection of the artwork, its about the relationship to the artist.