Which Life?

I came across this awesome quote this morning -

"Natural Life came from God's breath.
Eternal Life comes from Christ's death." - Our Daily Bread

As we live our 'natural lives' may we always be conscious that the gift of 'eternal life' is ours - but let's not forget that it came at the price of Christ's life.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

P.S. Photo is courtesy of http://www.nhm.ac.uk

Facing the Rogue Wave (1)

This Sunday morning (8th November) I will be preaching at Wesley Methodist on 'Facing the Rogue Wave'. If you are around at 7:45am or 9:30am it would awesome to see you there.

Mike Howell will be preaching on the concept of the "Bush Pig & Community" in the evening @ 6pm.

All in all it looks like an interesting Sunday! Just to clarify, all of these strange sermon's are TOTALLY linked in with the Gospel of Jesus Christ - just in case you were worried about us!

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

P.S. Thanks to Bill Hybels for the 'Rogue Wave' idea. Bill is the man! Mike also wants to thank Quin Bache for being the inspirational 'Bush Pig' - you are the man!

Who is Guido?

Have you heard of Guido Fawkes? Maybe - maybe not! I bet you have heard of Guy Fawkes! The 5th November is the day we celebrate 'Guy Fawkes' with fireworks and crackers (causing much anxiety for animals all over the world)! The thing is I am not sure how many people know why we celebrate this event - do you?

Very simply, Guido Fawkes was part of a plot to blow up the House of Parliament in London on the 5th November 1605. As a staunch Catholic, he was tired of the watching fellow Catholics being murdered for their faith and so a number of men joined in a plot to kill the Protestant King of England. Their plan failed and 'Guy' was executed for his part in the plan. To celebrate the people of England were encouraged to light fireworks and burn effigy's of Guy Fawkes. They were also encouraged to sing...

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Mmmmh, this all sounds a bit barbaric to me - but, hey what do I know? So tonight millions of people will celebrate the failed murder of the King of England and the subsequent execution of Guy Fawkes - interesting! Can you imagine South Africans starting something similar - we certainly have enough bomb blasts, failed coups, attempted murders to choose from.

For me, celebrating Guy Fawkes is just another example of how we 'celebrate' events without fully comprehending the story behind the celebration. In just over 6 weeks time, billions of people will cheerfully celebrate Christmas without fully understanding the origins of the celebration. For genuine believers, the Christ-child still has a powerful impact on our lives - His story lives on in our hearts.

2 Chronicles 35:16
So at that time the entire service of the LORD was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, as King Josiah had ordered.

If you choose to celebrate today, Celebrate Grace,
D3LM3

Edison's breath

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were very good friends, despite their age gap. Henry Ford showed how much his friendship with Edison meant, when he gave him the first car off every Ford assembly line - that is the Model T, the Model A, the first V-8 and the Lincoln - what a cool friend to have!!!

As Edison lay on his death bed, Ford asked Thomas' family to grant him one strange request. On the 18th October 1931, the day Thomas died, his son Charles caught his last breath in a container and later presented this to Ford. Henry Ford was obsessed with catching Edison's last breath, because he believed that it would continue to provide him with imagination and inspiration. This container stayed by Ford's bedside until his dying day and now you can see this in the Henry Ford Museum.

Friends, we don't have to keep the breath of God in a container in order for the Spirit to inspire us. In fact, the Holy Spirit would never fit in a small container -the Spirit of God fills the whole universe and that would take a gigantic container to hold the Spirit.

May we know the inspiration of the Holy Spirit today and may He point us to Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 11:2 - The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD...

Breathe on us, God of Grace,
D3LM3

P.S. See more of the story here - Edison's Breath

Beginning again

How was your day yesterday? Is there a part of the day that you wish you could erase? How much of the struggle of yesterday have you dragged into Today?
May these words bring you peace and a fresh start...

"The Christian life is but a constant re-beginning, a return to grace every day, sometimes every hour, through Him who, after each failure, pardons so that all things should be made new." - Robert Schutz

What an awesome quote! I read this in Leonard Sweet's book Carpe Manana - which is well worth the read.

In Jesus Christ we have been gifted the grace to begin every day afresh - no baggage, no guilt, no fear.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Return to Grace,
D3LM3

P.S. Photo - with thanks to www.shiftedreality.com

The Struggle

So you and I thought that being a believer was going to be easy, didn't we? That's what we were led to believe - give your life to Jesus and all will be well. Mmmh, I think we were sold a dummy. This commitment to Christ, that we have willingly chosen, is a daily choice. It is a conscious laying down of our own 'ways' and surrendering to the perfect 'WAY' - Jesus.

C.S.Lewis knew that being a Christian was not a 'piece of cake.' Read these interesting thoughts...

"I didn't go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of port would do that. If you want a religion to make you really comfortable, I certainly don't recommend Christianity."

Psalm 142:3 - When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way

May you have the Grace of God to guide you today,
D3LM3

Choices

We all get to choose things at some stage in our lives...
What car to drive.
What career to pursue.
To love or not to love.
To have faith or not.

We know that all of these choices impact our lives and they will also impact the lives of others. I watched with sadness this week how Marlon King chose to throw away his football career and his family by acting in a reckless way. After a night on the town, Marlon physically assaulted a woman and now he will spend 18 months behind bars, whilst his wife and 3 kids wonder why?

Choices, Choices, Choices.

What decision are you facing this week? Please make it wisely and remember to include Christ in this decision.

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths."

Choose Grace,
D3LM3

P.S. Thanks to www.ronmartin.net for the photo