Full of yourself

It happens often enough that we shouldn't be too surprised when it does occur. We go through a good patch and suddenly start to feel as if we are 'bullet-proof' - we take our eyes off the Lord and soon we start to forget all that Christ has done for us. I don't believe that it is the Lord tripping us up, but I do know that he uses those moments to call us back. Our attention is then not distracted and we can listen to God again.

"make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget God..." - Deuteronomy 8:13 (The Message)

Are we full of ourselves at the moment?

Have we taken our eyes off the Lord?

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Living in Grace

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The Rebel

Have you ever considered yourself a 'Rebel?' Perhaps you have had moments when you have drifted away from the love of God, but would you call yourself a Rebel? The simple understanding of a Rebel is someone who "rises in opposition to a another person or a leader."

In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis speaks about this idea of a rebel:

"Fallen man (and woman) is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement; he is a rebel who must lay down his arms."

In coming to Jesus, we must acknowledge the authority and leadership of God. We can't claim to be part of God's family and yet rise up in rebellion against his ways.

Hebrews 3:8 - "do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness."

Reflection: Lord, teach me to be obedient to your commands.

Living in Grace
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No Ordinary people - C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis - “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Very few people are interested in others. If you really find their story interesting, and care about them, they may open up to you and want to hear your story—Christ’s story.”

This is a hard thing to do, because there are so many "grumpy" people out there, but the next person you speak to, reflect on the fact that they are made in the image of God. This then makes them someone who is "extraordinary". 
Try it and see what happens.

Genesis 1:27 -  So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Living in Grace
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Imagine this

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Very thought provoking words indeed.
What do you think of this idea?
Can you imagine what it would be like if Christ wanted to come and live in 'your' home?

1 Corinthians 3:16 - Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

Living in Grace
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The Last Battle

“And for us, this the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”  C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

I was reminded of this part of C.S. Lewis's book today as I lead a memorial service for one of our dear members. It speaks so loudly of the Resurrection and how we have something to HOPE in, something that is beyond this earthly life. 

It is always deeply sad to say goodbye to one chapter of our lives, but as we turn the pages of a new chapter, there are incredible adventures that lie ahead for us. Well, that is certainly what we as Christ-followers should believe. For the Christian, every chapter of the Eternal Life is better than the last one.

 John 11:25 - "Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die."


If you have ever read the Chronicles of Narnia, please tell me which is your favourite book and if there are some powerful words of inspiration that you remember from those pages.

Living in Grace
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Advent with Isaiah

The prophet Isaiah spoke about the coming of the Messiah about 800 years before Jesus was born. It is incredible to contemplate some of his prophecies in retrospect. We are going to be having a look at some of these prophecies during this Advent season and already I am blown away by the words of Isaiah. I invite you to journey with us over the course of the next 4 weeks.

Let's start with Isaiah 64

3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
    you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
⁴ Since ancient times no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

    .....How then can we be saved?
⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
⁷ No one calls on your name
    or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
    and have given us over to our sins.

⁸ Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
    We are the clay, you are the potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.

As we read these words in the light of the Christmas story, reflect on the following poem from C.S. Lewis too.

When the year dies in preparation for the birth
Of other seasons, not the same, on the same earth,
Then saving and calamity go together make
The Advent gospel, telling how the heart will break.
Therefore it was in Advent that the Quest began...
~ C.S. Lewis, "Launcelot", Narrative Poems, p95

Living in Grace
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Shatter my ideas, O God

I have become too comfortable with my ideas about God. When I fall into the comfort zone of faith and practise, I am on dangerous ground. If I assume that God will "do this" or "do that" according to my design and my ideas then I am making God into my subject, when all along, it is I, who need to be God's child and servant.

Advent is the season of preparing for the coming of the Messiah. It is not just about feeling good or singing nice songs - it is about wrestling with our understanding of Christ and asking the Spirit of God to change our false notions of his Greatness.

The following quote from C.S. Lewis is deeply profound, challenging and inspiring.


My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it Himself. He is the great iconoclast. Could we not almost say that this shattering is one of the marks of His presence? The Incarnation is the supreme example; it leaves all previous ideas of the Messiah in ruins. And most are "offended" by the iconoclasm; and blessed are those who are not. But the same thing happens in our private prayers.
~ C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

 May Advent be a wonderful season of reflection and "uncomfortableness."

Living in Grace
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True Humility

What is true humility?

There are many definitions and complex answers to this question, but I still think that C.S.Lewis is on to something when he says, 

...“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”

The Apostle Paul also has some great things to say on this topic...


Philippians 2:3 - "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves..."

Colossians 3:12 - "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

Living in Grace
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