Faith // How do we know God is real?

There's a guy in the Old Testament called Moses.

Now Moses was a pretty cool guy. He was born at a time where Pharaoh had decided there were too many Hebrew men, so wanted to kill the young Hebrew boys. Moses' mother hid him for as long as she could, but when he got too big she put him in a basket and sent him down the Nile (Crazy, right?)
He's then found by none other than Pharaoh's daughter(!!) and was raised as an Egyptian by a Hebrew woman who was his mother! When he's older, Moses decides to renounce being an Egyptian and suffer as the rest of the fellow Israelites do under the Egyptians hands. He gets married and it's all sorts of happy and fantastic.

Then when he's older, God speaks to Moses through a burning bush. He says

'And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt. ' (Exodus 3:9-10)

But Moses really doesn't want to do this. He starts by saying 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?' and God says 'I will be with you.' (Exod 3:11-12)

Then Moses says: Who am I supposed to say sent me? and God says: 'I am who I am.' (Exod 3:13-14)

Then Moses says: What if they don't believe me? So God gives him 3 signs to preform if the Israelites didn't believe him. (4:1-9)

Then Moses, who's starting to feel a bit desperate, says: But I've never been a good speaker. And God, who I imagine is a bit fed up by now, says: Moses I made your mouth. I can give you the words to speak. (4:10-11)

And then Moses gives up on excuses, gives up on trying to worm his way out of going to Egypt to set the Israelites free turns to God and says: Lord, please send someone else. At which God looses it and is like: Moses I'm doing the flipping work! I just want you to go to Egypt and throw your stick on the floor!! (4:13-17)

God gave Moses 3 signs AND the words to say to Pharaoh but he still felt like he wasn't enough.

But Moses trusted in God.

Trust is a difficult word. It's hard to trust someone you can't see - harder than trusting someone you can. But trust is a verb, its a doing word. Trusting God is an active decision. You've got to chose to do it. And you have to keep choosing to do it. And that's how we know God is real.

We trust He's there, because we trust in Him.

Jesus // The Ultimate Freedom

When I first became a Christian, I thought that my life was going to be sunny skies and plain sailing until I met with Jesus in Heaven.

Man, how wrong I was.

Becoming a Christian doesn't mean that Jesus decides that you will walk a completely blissful life without ridicule or persecution. On the contrary, He said quite the opposite. In John 15:18 Jesus says

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

Jesus openly says that because He has chosen you to do his work of Heaven on Earth that people are going to hate you! In Acts we see the apostles put in prison for preaching, Stephen stoned and Paul and Silas nearly beaten to death. Jesus himself was killed because he was the Son of God!

There's also a lot of sacrifice in following Jesus. You tend not to see distractions in your own life, but look at a Christian friends life. How many things do they do before reading the Bible? Who do they consult before consulting Christ? How many things are distracting them from God? After looking at your friends life, look at your own. Books, films, TV - distractions are literally everywhere. And if it distracts you from God, you probably shouldn't be doing it.

With all this, you're probably asking yourself 'Why would anyone want to follow Jesus?!'

Because Jesus is so much more than any book, or film, TV show. He's so much more that persecution or ridicule. When Jesus went to the cross, He took all of your sin with him. And I mean ALL your sin. Sins you've done, you will do, sins your doing now. Every single one of them died with him on the cross. You are forgiven for every sin you've ever done or will do in your whole life - how amazing is that?!

In Galatians 5 Paul speaks about freedom through Jesus. He says

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." 

Life with Jesus is truly amazing. When you have a full life with Jesus, when you put your full trust in Jesus - you have nothing to fear. Because if God is for us, who can be against us? 

Without fear, without shame, without worry - with Jesus, we are free. 

Galatians 5:13
"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free."

Jesus // His Power

In Acts 3:6-10, we see Peter heal a disabled man so that he's able to walk and praise The Lord.

When you first read this story, it's all a bit overwhelming. A completely lame man, who's probably been disabled from birth, able to walk and talk and praise God in the space of a few minutes! Pretty cool right?

But Peter didn't heal that man.

Peter was just human. He was a man who walked with Jesus, but still just a man. He doesn't have the superhuman power to heal people. Peter heals the man "in the name of Jesus".

Acts 3:16 says that "By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see"

Jesus' was so powerful and awesome (literally!) that even his name could heal!

These few verses really reminded me that we can do anything. We can pass exams, climb the highest mountains, conquer fears - all in Jesus' name. All we have to do is ask!

Matthew 7:7

'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.'