The Cussing Christian

This is something that I am beginning to hear more and more. Now before anybody accuses me of being self righteous, I am not perfect and I sin everyday just like everyone else.

My gripe is not so much with the fact that a christian might cuss, but their attitude towards it. It is as if, some try to justify it, some just let it roll off their tongue with no sense of regret at all. It has so much been engrained into their daily speech that some are probably not even aware that anything is wrong. For the world, cussing and swearing is the norm but for us who call ourselves Christians, we should be different and those around us should notice that difference.

The Bible is very clear as to what our speech should be like:

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (col 4:6)

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (eph 4:29)

Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit (1 Peter 3:10)

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (james 3:9-10)

There is no shortage of scriptures that admonish us not to cuss or swear. So when we do, what does it reveal about us? Let’s see Jesus had to say on the matter

 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, ⁴⁴ for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵ The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:43-45)

It reveals something about our heart condition and with that, we should perform some self examination. The first question you should ask yourself is how do you feel about swearing? Do you hate when you do it or do you try to justify it. This is one of the signs of being a christian. Your relationship with sin should not be the same as before. One of the triggers for bad language is because we have a lack of self control (which is one of the fruit of the spirit) , especially when we are angry (one of the works of the flesh) and its so easy to ‘put down one’s Christianity’ and pick it back up when we have simmered down.

If you have a problem with swearing, first of all, see it as God sees it and that is sinful. The next thing you should do is repent of this sin and then take the problem to God in prayer, sincerely asking him to help you to stop. Read James 3 about taming the toungue.

If you are struggling with swearing, that is a good sign. Why? Because it is a struggle. All Christians struggle with sin, whether it be swearing, lying, gossiping, watching porn and the list goes on. The problem starts when there is no struggle. When you are comfortable with your sin. It could indeed be a sign that you may not be a christian at all and could be a sign of a false conversion.

So remember, “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

God is interested in the WHOLE man.

I mentioned this in the ten things I don’t want to be as a Christian but last year I began to realise more and more about how God is interested in the whole man and not just one part as they are all related in one way or another. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. If you feel stressed (the emotional side), it can cause you to have a stomach ulcer (the physical side). If you have a painful ulcer, it can affect your prayer life (the spiritual side). Lack of prayer may result in things not changing in your life which my stress you out, and the cycle carries on. Admittedly, that was a simplistic example but I hope you understand the point I am trying to make. God does not want you to only take care of your spiritual side but wants you to have a life more abundant in other areas as well. As I stated in the blog,

This may be going to the cinema, going to the park with the family, taking a holiday, going salsa dancing, going out to dinner with friends, going to a wine bar and the list goes on. If you haven’t got one, take up a hobby. I personally love roller skating. Just remember that  “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31)

Some people think that doing the practical things above is not spiritual but all these things can enrich a person’s life. Just spending quality time with the children is practical but is part of a bigger puzzle when it comes to the quality of the child’s life and how it will shape them as they become an adult. Also it is those small things that will matter in the end. My friend tweeted

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”

There must be a balance in everything. If you have to miss church to spend some quality time with your spouse, don’t be made to feel guilty doing so. If you have to miss a prayer meeting because you are physically and/or emotionally drained. Take a rest and replenish yourself. Even God took a rest on the seventh day. If you have been working all the hours that God sends, take a vacation and refuel. Take care of yourself in EVERY way. Make sure you try to stay healthy and get regular exercise. That is the way God made the human body, to be mobile. Not for you to be a couch potato watching the Christian channels all the time

Don’t neglect one part. God is interested in the whole man and not just the ‘spiritual’ side.

Ten things I don’t want as a Christian

1: I don’t want to follow the crowd

I have done this in the past and you can see a bit of my story in the About Me section on this blog. I have followed the crowd in the past and even though I did question a lot of stuff internally, externally I just did what everyone else did. However, as you may have guessed from some of my posts, those days are well and truly over. I have to be a Berean and make sure that everything I hear lines up to scripture. I refuse to swallow any spiritual junk that maybe fed to me, whether that be in the pulpit, or on the tv/radio by a popular preacher

2. I don’t want to bring just a bench warmer in church.

Jesus said that he did not come into this world to be served but to serve. Yet many of us as Christians do not want to serve in our local church at any point. The Bible says that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. I have personally decided to be fully committed to just one ministry in my church as I would rather be effective in one ministry than ineffective in two or three. In many churches you find the few carrying the load of the many. If you are not involved in your local church, just think what could happen if every christian got involved (and was committed) to at least one ministry, sharing the burden. I understand that different churches will have different requirements e.g. a smaller church, but I hope you get the gist of what I am trying to say. I also understand that there are exceptions and circumstances which may be unavoidable but try to be a participator and not just a spectator

3. I don’t want to be a person who never tells other people about Jesus.

If you read my post about the fishless fishermen, you will understand where I am coming from. I dont want to just have a come to my church and see mentality. As much as I enjoy church, if I don’t periodically give someone the gospel in one form or another, I feel as if I’m being selfish in keeping this good news to myself. If I know how to be saved from Gods wrath, because of the price that Jesus paid on the cross for my sins, how can I not share this with others and tell them how they can be rescued as well? Jesus has commanded me to tell others. My christianity should not just stop with myself

4. I don’t want to be a success at church and/or work and a failure at home

God’s order has always been God > Family > Church/Work. If you change the order in any way, the order is messed up. I have witnessed many times people who have been burnt out by church. I am very fortunate to be part of a church that is VERY family orientated and puts a lot of emphasis on family and actively makes sure that we have a healthy rest from ministry if need be and that there is a balance. I am part of the music ministry in my church and one of the thing that my leader actively enforces is that we are not ministering all the time and that we take a break. In one of my previous churches, this was not the case and we were made to feel guilty if we were not ‘ministering’ every week, even at the expense of spending time with the family in the congregation. This only is not healthy but can actually have a negative affect on the person, even to the point where spiritual abuse may come into it. I particularly would like to leave a lasting spiritual legacy to my children. To see them live for Christ. Not because of me but because that is their own desire even though at present, they don’t wan’t to follow God 

5. I don’t want to be a Sunday Christian who just go through the motions

I’ve done that in the past and my Christianity became a burden instead of being joyous, even when serving as per number 2. I want to be passionate everyday of the week and see how my Christianity can be lived out and affect people directly or indirectly every day of the week, whether that be at home, at church, at work, on the street and just going to the shops

6. I don’t want to be self righteous

This does not mean that if I see wrong, that I refrain from pointing it out but at the same time, I must remember that people are at different stages in their Christian journey and may not be as mature as I am. When I was young in the faith, I did a lot of things in ignorance and learned a lot of things along the way, some through my mistakes, some through following incorrect doctrine. But I am where I am today because of the many up and downs of my journey and I’m sure in 10-20 years time, I will look back at today and still see some faults in my current thinking. I am constantly learning.

7.  I dont want to be a dumb Christian who doesn’t think

I have found that for some reason, some Christians don’t like to use their brains and think for themselves but just swallow everything that they hear. Some like to spiritualise everything and forget that we live in a physical world and God has given us a brain to use. We go to work and school and we use our brains and do things practically but when it comes to God stuff, we leave our brains at the door. Yes I understand that God doesn’t always do things according to logic but on the whole, we just need to use wisdom in a lot of things. This can be something as simple as choosing a school for your child or looking for a partner which I have mentioned in a previous post.

8. I don’t want to be a Christian who isn’t real

One of the things that we as Christians are very good at is putting on a mask, pretending that we don’t have personal struggles. We like to make people think that we have it all together. We don’t like to share our struggles. We are humans and we go through EXACTLY the same ups and downs of life like anyone else and are not exempt from it. We suffer tragedy and heartache. I have found that the people who helped me the most are those who can relate to me with what they are REALLY feeling and are not ‘faking it to make it’

Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. (2 Cor 1:3-5)

9. I don’t want to be unbalanced.

I will be writing a separate post about this but life is not all about church. 1 Tim 6:17 states that God has given us ALL things to enjoy. God has given us many things non-church related to enjoy. This may be going to the cinema, going to the park with the family, taking a holiday, going salsa dancing, going out to dinner with friends etc. If you haven’t got one, take up a hobby. I personally love roller skating. Just remember that  “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31)

10. I dont want to be a bad witness for Christ

I am always conscious that for some, my life will be the only ‘bible’ that they will read. What will they see on the pages? Will they see hypocrisy? Will they see a light shining bright or a light hidden. Will they see a reflection of Christ or will they see a fleshy Alan. I know that my life should NOT primarily be about me but should be about Christ. My favorite scripture is “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)

What are the things that you don’t want?

Ten of my favorite blog posts on Real Christianity

I cannot believe that I have been blogging for over five years beginning with How Important is Doctrine and as of today, have written 619 posts, this being my 620th. Every now and then, I go back to my old posts and re-read some of them, if not for anything else to re-encourage myself. So out of these 600+posts, below are ten of my favorite posts in no particular order and my reasons why. Just click on the titles to read the posts

1. The Marks of False ‘Christian’ teachers and teaching - OK, I am going to cheat on the first one as it was my first series (11 parts in total) called The Marks of False ‘Christian’ teachers and teaching starting with A Form of godliness. I saw so much foolishness in churches and on Christian TV and I knew that a lot of people were beginning to question a lot of things but were afraid to say anything. I just said what they were thinking. So I wrote the series and gave my reasons for doing it as I know a lot of people would think that I was just a heresy hunter. If you want to read the full series, just follow the links at the bottom of the posts

2. To tithe or not to tithe - Tithing was one of those things that kept me in bondage early on in my days and I know keeps many in bondage today. Many preachers use old testament scriptures like Malachi 3:8-12 to manipulate people into giving money and making them feel that they have robbed God if they don’t give their 10%.  That was until I searched the scriptures for myself only to find that the new testament principle of giving is proportional giving and giving out of what you have and not out of what you don’t have thus getting yourself into debt. It is also about a person giving what THEY purpose in their heart (2 Cor 9:7) . I wrote this to make it plain why Christians are not under any obligation to tithe anymore under the new covenant.

3. How do you know that you are saved (that you are a Christian)? - I really enjoyed writing this blog because it became very apparent to me that many people thought that they were Christians but they were actually self-deceived. This troubled me so I wanted to have some kind of ‘test’ whereby a person could measure up themselves to. Luckily the books of 1 and 2 John has such a test and has been one of my most popular posts that is found when people do searches, which tells me that a lot of people really do want to know if they are a Christian or not.

4. So you think that you’re a Christian. Power testimonies from former false converts - This ties in to number 3. When I heard these testimonies, I knew there were countless amount of people in this situation and I wanted to share it because I wanted others to see if they could see themselves in the mirror and if so, do something about it. The worse deception ever is to think that you are a Christian when, in fact, you are not

5. Spending Quality Time with God - This post always comes to haunt me because I know that this is something that I am constantly guilty of not doing but it is a constant reminder of where our priorities should be  

6. When your children don’t want to follow God – This post was and still is a very personal one to me. It hurts me to know that my children (so far) have decided to not follow Christ. I can only pray that God orchestrates the events in their life to point them to him.

7. Every Man’s Battle - I wrote this because it is a taboo subject amongst Christian men but can be a deadly poison if not dealt with….especially when it comes to the summer.

8. The Money Challenge - If anything, this is a shame on most of us as Christians about what motivates us to share the  gospel with others. I never want to be  Christian that as the gospel group, Commissioned, say in one of their songs that we “tend to find security in our salvation. We should constantly think about the lost”

9. Should we ever question what the man of God says – This post goes hand in hand with the post of Touch not the Lord’s anointed. Say goodbye to the untouchable preachers. The reason why I started this whole blogging stuff is because I questioned everything that I had previously heard and decided to go back to the basics of the gospel. You know, things like the cross, salvation, sin, repentance, faith, discipleship and NOT breakthroughs, blessings and divine favour which seems to be so prevalent in churches these days.

10. Christ is the only way, now you choose - I have posted many videos over the years but I love this video because it puts everything in perspective about what Christ has done and how he has provided a way out for those who have repented and put their trust in him

So you think that you’re a Christian – Part 2

OK, following my post about Not Forsaking The Assembly, it has been pressing upon my heart how easy people think it is to be a Christian and what is required. It is as if it is easy-believism. This was evident in the death and the funeral of Whitney Houston. Now let me say for the record before I get anyone jumping down my throat about ‘judging’, I have no idea where Whitney Houston will spend her identity. I did not know her personally and that is not the point of the post. However, people seem to think that because a person says they ‘loved the Lord’ or attended church or even read their bible, that that gives them an automatic ticket to heaven. However, scripture gives us a different picture.

²¹  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

As you can see many people will be’ saying‘ but Jesus will still deny their entrance to heaven because they were not doing and living in obedience to scripture. See the video below as a wake up call

Last year here in the UK, we had our census. Now if we went by a lot of these surveys, we would be led to believe that most people are christians. However if we dig a bit deeper you will see something different. Athesist Richard Dawkins conducted his own research to find out about those who aligned themself with Christianity. Click here to take a look.

As you can see, some of the results are as follows:

Q) What would you say is the MAIN reason you think of yourself or the person who completed the Census thinks of you as being of this religion?

A) I was christened/baptised into this religion  46%

Q) Apart from special occasions such as weddings, funerals and baptisms or christenings, how often IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS have you attended services or meetings connected with Christianity?

A) Not at all during the last 12 months  49%

Q) Apart from special occasions such as weddings, funerals and baptisms or christenings, when did you LAST attend a service or meeting connected with Christianity?

A) More than ten years ago   32%

Q) When, if at all, did you last read any part of the Bible? I mean independently and from choice, and not as part of a church service or other religious meeting.

A) More than 3 years ago 36%

Q) Which of the following statements BEST describes your personal view of the Bible as a guide to morality?

A) The Bible is not a perfect guide to morality as some of its teachings are not appropriate today, but it is still the best guide we have

There are many people who call themselves christians but their fruits reveal that they are actually a false convert or simply just self deceived. The biggest deception is when a person truly believes that they are a christian when in fact, they are not and they only find this out on judgment day. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death (Proverbs 14:12). The fact of the matter is, contrary to the results of surveys, the vast majority of people are NOT christians even if they profess that they are. How do I know? Because scripture tells us so strive to enter through the narrow gate.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Please check out the links below and if you are not a Christian, please look at my link to non-Christians. If you are not sure if you are a true christian, please examine yourself by clicking here

Related post:

So you think that you’re a christian? Powerful testimonies from former false converts

Have you truly repented?

How to make your child a false convert and the testimony of one such convert

Just say this prayer?

How to botch an altar call

Evangelistic Malpractice

True and False Conversion

Lets stop being so quick to call everyone a christian

How do you know that you are saved (that you are a Christian?)

Thought for the Day – God is not punishing you, Christian, when you suffer

“If you are a Christian, God is not punishing you when you suffer. Jesus died for you, so your punishment has been paid. You will suffer because of your sin, sin of someone else, or consequence of the Fall. But, God is not punishing you. So, run to Him & not from Him” – Mark Driscoll.

Bear with the failings of the weak

¹ We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ² Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. ³ For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” ⁴For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

Following my ‘We Must Go’ post, one thing that I know is that I have been guilty of not bearing with the failings of the week. It is so easy for us who are strong to expect others to be just like us or to be just as mature as we are but we often forget how many of us were when we just came to faith. Many of us (including me) had a lot of zeal without knowledge and maturer christians had to bear with us. At the same time I must balance this because there is a difference with ‘bearing with the failing of the weak’ and ‘bearing with the failing of those who know better but REFUSE to do better’. The danger sometimes is that those who should be mature (Hebrews 5:12) , try to justify their sin with a ‘God is not through with me yet’ attitude and refuse to receive godly counsel and instruction at every turn. Matthew 18:15-20 deals with this subject.

Then there are those who have been genuinely hurt by life. My wife goes to The Feast every Wednesday to help feed the homeless and disadvantaged and she tells me of where people are coming from. Sometimes we as christians are so used to be in our christian bubble that we forget that there are real people out there with real problems who need to experience a real God. This came home to me as well when I helped hosting a table at an Alpha Course and knowing that different people are at a different stage in their christian walk or in their searching.

Below are examples taken from I am Second which provides ”insight into dealing with typical struggles of everyday living. These are stories that give hope to the lonely and the hurting, help from destructive lifestyles, and inspiration to the unfulfilled. You’ll discover people who’ve tried to go it alone and have failed” 

I Am Second – Michelle Aguilar

 

I Am Second – Lecrae

 

I Am Second – Josh Hamilton

 

I Am Second – Karen Green

 

I Am Second – Nate Larkin

ONLY the gospel can save but we must take into consideration where people are coming from, not diluting the message but speaking the truth IN LOVE

We Must Go

 ¹³ When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. ¹⁵ When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”
¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
¹⁷ And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
¹⁸ He said, “Bring them here to Me.” ¹⁹ Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. ²⁰ So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. ²¹ Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14:13-21)

Lately, God has opened my eyes to the real plight of real people. The fact is in this fallen life we live in, many people struggle with life in one way or another. My wife is involved in The Feast in my church which meet every Wednesday evening and supply the homeless with soup, a hot meal and pudding for all who come, with hot drinks, clothing, emergency food packs and housing advice provided – as well as fun and friendship. The Feast is part of the Jericho Road Project which was ‘set up with the aim of supporting those who live on the streets and helping them to become functioning members of society’.  My wife always tells me about the real problems that these people have which could range from alcoholism to drug addition to teenage pregnancy to sexual/physical abuse. I think sometimes, we (including myself) as Christians are so used to being in our Christian bubble or we are so used to being around ‘safe’ people that we forget that the good news of the gospel is for everyone in spite of their background and what they have gone/are going through.

Last year, I remember seeing this program on TV and it broke my heart to see that children could live in these conditions

Sometimes, we can feel helpless and overwhelmed that we cannot solve all the worlds woes or make a difference in the whole world but we CAN make a difference in one persons life. Maybe give some money to a worthy cause or give someone who is ‘going through’ a listening ear. Make them feel like somebody and that they are valued. Do something. Jesus was moved with compassion and told US to ‘give them something to eat’. I love this song below which challenges us to move into action.

One thing we must be careful of though is not to omit the gospel when caring for the disadvantaged.

The Gospel – Social Justice = Not true Christianity

Social Justice – The Gospel = A better earth to go to hell from

The Gospel + Social Justice = Christlike Christianity

WE MUST GO!!

Christ in the workplace (or learning place)

Here is a question for you? Do your work colleagues or your school friends know that you are a Christian. If so, how do you act in front of them? Does your light shine? Do you laugh at their ungodly jokes? If most of us are honest, we have all failed in one or more of these areas

However, the bible gives us instructions on how to act in these situations

¹⁴ Do all things without complaining and disputing, ¹⁵ that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding fast the word of life… (Phil 2:4-16)

Being blameless doesn’t mean we can be sinless but what it means is that our life should be such that the unbelievers
around you will have to really pick their brains to say anything bad about you that will damage or destroy your christian witness

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  (Matthew 5:14-16)

Jesus said that if we ashamed of him then he will be ashamed of us. This does not mean that you preach at them at every opportunity. This would be totally inappropriate but what it does mean is that they should be aware, in one form or another, that you are different. The bible says that we should be ready at all times to give someone an answer to the hope that lies in us (1 Peter 3:15). If someone is hopeless, be the one who can give them hope. As stated above in Phillipians 2:16, ‘hold up the word of life’ to them

Another thing we need to do is…wait for it….work. And not just when our bosses and teachers are watching us.

 ⁵ Slaves (employees/students), obey your earthly masters (employers/bosses/teachers) with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. ⁶ Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. ⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

 ⁹ And masters (employers/teachers/bosses) , treat your slaves (employers/students) in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.  Eph 6:5-9) (italics added by me)

 I have a Christian group at my work place and I received this email so thought I would share it with you

In Between Times 17.9: Sleep and Awake: Joseph’s Career

Discovering The Therapy of Work

When Joseph was 17 years old, he had a dream that his father and brothers would bow down to him. As a result of that dream, his brothers treated him terribly and then lied to their father. Joseph experienced nearly 15 year of injustice as a direct result of his brothers’ reaction to his dream.

During those 15 awful years, Joseph was a slave and a prisoner, working long hours for no pay and little comfort. It was an agonising ‘in between time’ and there must have been times when he really struggled to understand what was going on. He was slandered, abused, used and forgotten , and needed all his strength to carry on.

There was one stream of life in which he found his path. Sure he was faithful to God and seemed to find reasons for hope under terrible circumstances.

But Joseph’s expression of faith during this dream-initiated ‘in between time’ was his conscientious work ethic. Everywhere he went, he did his job well. In Potiphar’s house he was a professional, upright estate manager. In prison he became a supervisor over other prisoners. For Joseph, his work-style was his therapy, his sanity, and in the end, his passport to success. It was his work that earned him a place in the national government and gave him the route to the fulfillment of his dreams. It was his career path that enabled him to confront his family damage and a toxic behaviour of his brothers.

Many of you reading this piece will know only too well some of its themes. Around 17 years of age, lots of us carry a dream, an ambition or a hope. Similarly, life can be unjust, unfair and damaging both in family and work context. Surely one key feature of Joseph’s story is that his conscientious, uncompromising, honourable and hard working approach to his job opportunities paved the path for dream fulfillment and family reintegration. Perhaps this year is a good time to choose working hard and well as a redemptive path, all the time recognising the inner work of God as your source of progress, so in 2011 work well.

The heavens declare the glory of God

I dont know about you but every now and then, I just like to stop and think.  I also like to look up at the sky and all around me, marvelling at God’s creation with all it complexities.  No wonder the bible states that the fool has said in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalms 14:1).

Psalms 19:1-6 states the following about God’s creation

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God,
   and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
²Day to day pours out speech,
   and night to night reveals knowledge.
³There is no speech, nor are there words,
   whose voice is not heard.
⁴ Their voice goes out through all the earth,
   and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
 ⁵ which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
   and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
⁶Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
   and its circuit to the end of them,
   and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Francis Chan shows us the awe factor of God

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!