Jesus said "All things are possible to them that believe". Stop for a minute and think about that. This is the One that created everything out of nothingness. The One who spoke all we see, feel and touch from simply the absolute power and authority of His Words. The One who made all the rules and all the boundaries. The One that spoke absolutely everything into existence. And He says "All Things..." not "some things". So, what if the catalyst is us? What if the link to making it possible is simply believing? What if He truly wanted us to take what He said literally? Total and complete belief without even the smallest shadow of doubt. The ramifications of it are truly earth shattering. And He even said that part too... He said "If you have faith you can say to a mountain to move into the sea and it will". What if He wasn't kidding around? What it He wasn't speaking in riddles or something we have to water down with endless theology so that it is no longer possible in our science and logic based western world?


What if He was just wanting us to listen, believe and speak in total trust and obedience as little children? I'm here to tell you He was speaking the absolute truth. I had Chron's disease as a teenager - a disease with no known cure - yet I was healed by a simple, humble prayer of faith in God. I had severe depression and nearly lost my mind - another disease with no known cure - yet now I am totally and completely set free and was made a new creation by the power and authority of the Name of The King of all Kings. I've seen loved ones that suffered with violent allergies and food in tolerances completely healed and now they can eat anything they like - all because they humbly obeyed what Jesus said in the Word of God. I've seen electronics that were completely fried worth tens of thousands of dollars come back to perfect working order and go on to run for years later as a result of nothing but a petition to my Father in Heaven. I've seen many times the impossible proven possible by my God. I'm not here to boast - because it has nothing to do with me - it's all to do with childlike faith in the Name of Jesus.


I know what you're thinking... "but last time it didn't work...". I tried to believe and failed. What if there's part of the equation that was never meant to belong? What if ego, reason, logic and understanding has absolutely nothing to do with it and actually harms your faith? Think about it. Proverbs 3:5-6 says not to rely on your own understanding because it's tainted and flawed by this narrow earthbound existence. What if God wants you to believe in what you can't see, can't touch, can't hear and can't understand? It sounds like complete madness doesn't it? Well, there have been others mad enough to abandon the reasoning of this world and embrace the knowledge of the Holy before... There was an age when a boy was mad enough to stand up to a fearsome death bringing giant - and see the impossible happen. There were times when men were mad enough to sing to God while locked in an underground prison - and see the true power and salvation of their God. There were times when women were mad enough to say "If I can only touch just the corner of His robe I'll be made whole..." And she was.


God is looking for those same mad men and women to again throw logic and reason to the wind and say "It's time - I choose to believe!". God uses what we call foolish to confound the wisdom of this world. The voice of the Holy Spirit whispers to those who are asleep saying "Awake O sleeper, rise from the dead..." Can you hear Him? Can you hear His call? He's waking up the sleepers... Will you stay asleep and stumble on for the rest of your life in this bland, terrestrial plane? Or will you come alive and know the truth about whats really going on? It's time to arise. It's time my brothers and sisters for our eyes to be truly opened. Just like Psalm 107:2 says - It's time the redeemed of the Lord told their stories. It's time to hear His voice and wake up... It's time the Truth lives and breathes in us.   

There are a lot of things competing for your heart in this day and age we live in. Especially in the western world, our lives can very easily be filled with constant entertainment, communication and stimulation. These days our lives are often so full of so much "stuff" yet so much of it really hasn't got there by our conscious choice and so much of it doesn't really hold merit to be there in the first place. A lot of that stuff just ends up there along the path of life as things happen. Good things happen as well as bad things and we as humans adapt and react to these times accordingly. We shift and change depending on whether we feel things are going our way or not. Some days we are ecstatic and soaring above the clouds because of our achievements, possessions or happiness from the company we keep - other days we're a low as a snakes belly because of tragedy and loss that's befallen us. Here's the thing, God never intended us to be like that. He never wanted us to be like leaves blown in the winds of life. Instead He wants us to be like a strong tree - planted, established and growing from a life giving source just like Psalm 1 says.

I sadly lived a lot of my life not caring or valuing my heart at all. I didn't believe what I was told as a very young boy from the Bible that the things you let in change you and I decided to do and try things my way. The truth was whether I believed it or not - the things that came into my life did change me - and most of the time not for the better. I allowed so many things into my life that harmed and eroded my soul. So many things that robbed my health, robbed my sleep, robbed me financially, robbed my relationships but the saddest of all...robbed my relationship with God. The hard truth is this - life isn't easy. There are times when things will go great and everything falls into place and there's nothing wrong with that at all - as a matter of fact God only wants to help us and bless us. But the undeniable truth is we live in a very broken world full of pain, sadness, greed, suffering and sin. And none of us can get down the path of life without being touched and changed by the effects of this world. No matter how nice you are and how pure your intentions may be - people are going to hurt you. Why? Because everyone out there is hungry and needs to the filled and desperate people go the desperate measures.

So what do you do when you've only wanted to help someone and all they did was slap you in the face? What do you do when you only spoke love and truth and the reply was accusation and lies? What do you do when you stood up for good and true to protect others only to feel the cold steel of a dagger in your back from those you should be able to trust? In that day there's going to be a war for your heart. You see, there are many things that want to take up permanent residence in your heart but they can't just get in there by themselves. They need a reason. So when that person attacks you or that horrible atrocity occurs do you let Hatred walk through that door? Do you invite it in and draw from its power to make you stronger for the future? Do you let Fear start to form you and change your behaviour and responses towards people to prevent it happening again? Do you allow Pride to become your strong defence - your hiding place so no one can reach you? Do you allow Shame and Regret to blanket you in darkness in a vain attempt to hide the pain? Yes, there are many things that want to live in your heart but there's only One thing that you can truly trust to keep you safe, to heal you, guard you and teach you. It's the love of God.

The Bible tells us that God is love and love is of God. Love... it's such a strange concept really huh? So what is love? Is love a box of chocolates? Is love a dozen roses? Is love being in the arms of someone who's attracted to you you? Those things are great and sure can be outward signs of love but I believe that true love can be summed up simply in one word... "sacrifice". True and pure love doesn't seek its own gain, it isn't loud or boastful, it doesn't harm or take but instead heals and gives. And this is what it comes to down to... sacrifice. Those days are gonna come and the opportunity for all those horrible things to make a nice little home inside you are gonna be right there waiting by the door. It's up to you if you are willing to sacrifice your pain and let love come and stay instead. I know first hand on the outset that hatred, fear, rage, lust and greed may appear so much more powerful than love but let me paint you a picture. Dogs will bark over and over and bare their teeth at the first sign of a fight - but a lion only needs to show his presence for his authority to be known. Love is that lion. It has nothing to prove and knows it's authority and place.

Trust and believe that the love of God is more powerful and God will surely show you it to be true. I can honestly attest that pure and true love conquers all. It was God's love that reached me and roared with such a ferocity that all my demons fled in fear. God is love and nothing can oppose God. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2 that we are vessels - whether we are used for good or evil is up to us. And just like dirty dishes can't clean themselves neither can we ever hope to clean up our act by ourselves. The answer is to simply go to Jesus who has the ability to wash us and make us clean and fit for use in the His hand. I'm so thankful to God that spoke the value to me I so badly needed and opened my eyes up to the things in my life that were causing me so much harm, sorrow and pain. He alone helped me to change for the better. I tried for many years to make my life better but to no avail - only through Jesus did things truly change and only through His power did they stay changed. It was when my pride and my ways died - that hubris and ego went to the grave - that Jesus and the life He always intended for me finally came into being.

Jesus taught us the "overflow concept" in Luke chapter 6 that what comes out of your mouth is from whats been built up in your heart. If your heart is filled with hatred, manipulation, violence, fear, lust, greed or other dark things then it's only logical that's going to be what comes out of your mouth. But if you choose to make your heart a place for God's love to reside, to cultivate and grow, to teach and guide you - then that's precisely what people will see come out of you. They will see God in you and in all you say and do. Whatever has filled you the most is what will overflow. Your heart is of extreme value and priceless in the eyes of your Father in Heaven - so choose love. Because God loves you.   

[ Proverbs 4:23 - Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. ]

This is something I failed at a lot in life and had to learn this the hard way. God tells us to guard our hearts and who we let into the closest intimate parts of who we are because of its immense worth and also the fact that it will determine the very course of our life. Sadly, not everyone out there has the best and pure intentions for you. Many have learned the evil power of manipulation that once you have someones heart in your grasp you can turn it to your will whenever you want and get people to do just about anything. The solution to this isn't building high walls to keep people out, becoming cold, distant and suspecting of everyone. Instead, the solution is to have a source of wisdom that knows the heart of others even before they speak or act towards you. 

That source of wisdom is called The Spirit of God. He is our comforter, our guide but also that voice of warning when danger is present to guard you from unnecessary harm. He protected many in the Bible and He's still very much doing it today. He speaks, guides, teaches and warns because of His immense love for us. His voice is quiet, calm, clear, deliberate and it always speaks in absolute authority. Everything He says is a direct echo from the heart of your Father in Heaven. Pray and ask God to develop your spiritual ears to better understand, hear and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit and He will lead you in the paths that God has for you. 

David said it perfectly when He penned Psalm 143:10 "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!"

Skating the jetty over a freakishly beautiful green sea like out of a movie. God's amazing work of creation is all around us so be sure to get out there and enjoy it and tell Him thankyou for such an awesome job. That's why He made it so well - for us - His children! Have an awesome day brothers and sisters :) You are loved.

Hey, Can I share something with you that God showed me a few days ago? I was in my car driving and I have an audio Bible randomly mixed into my music play list so that every so often I'll get a different chapter come on. After jamming to some solid tunes John 21 came on through the speakers. Not sure if you'll know what I mean when I say this but there's times when the Bible comes on and of course it's always awesome and I learn stacks from it - then theres these 'other' times... It will come on and it's like my whole world slows down, everything else around fades and my focus becomes pinpoint and I'm hanging off every word said. I know it's God saying to me "I've got something really important for you so listen up". It doesn't happen all the time but when it does I value it so much. So here's the deal, John 21 came on and its the story of the disciples out fishing after Jesus had died. To give you a little bit of a back story, Jesus had been crucified and died and the disciples were all pretty sad and discouraged by it all.


They started to question whether any of this was worth it anymore now that Jesus wasn't here. They had feelings of grief, sadness, loneliness, loss, anger, regret and shame piled on them by their enemy the Devil. So the disciples decided it's probably best we go back to doing what we were good at before Jesus came along - fishing. At least they knew that fishing worked and they could make a humble living from doing it and just slide off into the shadows and live a quiet life. Sadly for them, the fish weren't on their side that night and were all having a big party on the other side of the lake. So the disciples of Jesus spent the whole night slaving away with heavy nets in the cold and the dark and caught absolutely nothing at all. Imagine for a second how these guys would have felt. Complete failures I'd say. Their Savior and friend was dead, they felt alone and abandoned and they couldn't even get the one thing they thought they were good at to work. OK, now here's the good bit. As they're nearing the shore they hear a voice call out "Friends, have you caught any fish?" The disciples answer despondently "No....". The voice calls out again "Throw your nets on the other side of the boat and you'll catch some!" The disciples grumble and think to themselves.. "who does this guy think He is? Were seasoned fishermen and we know what were doing..." But their curiosity and that still small voice saying "go on... give it a try... one more time on the other side..." gets the better of them.


They throw in the nets and little do they know the guy on the beach is the One who made every single fish this planet contains and they listen to His every command. Party relocation. Now the fish party is right there, on that side of the boat. The disciples first feel a few tugs in their net, then a surge and then it feels like they've caught Leviathan himself! They put every single ounce of strength into pulling up the nets into the boat but its simply impossible. The sheer number of fish just can't be brought up above the surface, the only answer is to tow the boat and the nets back to shore. Immediately they knew the signature of this handiwork, it could only be the Master. It could ONLY be Jesus. They were so discouraged and exhausted from working hard all night long and getting nothing yet now their boats lay on the sand with nets full of thousands of wriggling fish flapping in the gentle waves. Now here's the bit that brought tears to my eyes. They land on the beach, amazed and dumbfounded at how their morning had now worked out thanks to Jesus and this is what He greets them with. A warm glowing fire, some bread and fish already being cooked. Just stop for a second and think about that. The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and every single living thing has just cooked you breakfast. Breakfast made by Jesus, the King of all Kings - the Lord of all Lords.


He knew exactly how the disciples would feel - tired, hungry, lonely, afraid and worried for their future. Jesus tells them to sit and eat and just relax. Enjoy His and each others company and rest. Seriously, How good is Jesus? What I wanna say is this. That same Jesus that was there for the disciples is there for you too. He cares about every single little detail of your life. Your struggles, your worries, your fears, your sickness, your pain and your loss. There's not a single thing about you and your life that Jesus doesn't have immense value and care for. He wants you to trust in Him despite not being able to see ahead because He holds your future in His strong nail pierced hands. You see faith is just that - trusting in what you don't know and can't see as Proverbs 3:5-6 says. If you had it all mapped out then it just isn't faith. Lastly I wanna share a verse written by a guy who really knew what he was talking about. He was one of the guys that night who felt lonely, sad, worried and discouraged yet the very next morning he shared what I'd say was the best breakfast he'd ever had in his life with the King of all Kings.


His name was Peter and later he wrote 1 Peter 5:7 "Throw all your cares on Jesus because He cares for you". Peter knew first hand how much Jesus cared for Him and Jesus cares in exactly that same way for you too. He wants to help you in everything you do. You are never a failure in His eyes. You are never too dirty. You are never too lost. You are never too far gone. You are never forgotten. You are only a perfect target for His amazing love, grace, mercy, restoration and redemption. Call out to Him and He will be with you and save you. He loves you deeply. 

While you may feel far off and that you're the only one around for miles - know the truth that God is near to all who call on His Name. He will hold you up with His strong arms. You are loved. (Psalm 34:18 - The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit) 

Hey I wanna share something that God did in my life that really changed me. As a matter of fact it's probably the single biggest thing God has ever done that changed me the most - and trust me when I say He's done a LOT in my life. He saved me and gave me a home in heaven when I was 8 years old, He's healed many of my diseases including Chron's disease and depression, He's healed loads of broken bones and kept me alive countless times on various motorbikes and other crazy vehicles, He's provided so many times and often when it came right down to the wire - but that's not what He wants me to talk about. Today God's asked me to share something very powerful that changed my relationship with Him forever. I hope, pray and believe that this will help others out there that were like me that wrestle with this too. What God has told me to say is simply this "You are worthy". This is quite a controversial topic with Christians and I've found it quite common to be a theme in a lot of songs and prayers to God saying "we are not worthy..."  and I have to say I completely disagree.

Before you dismiss me as a madman, stay with me and I'll explain why and the reasons may surprise you. Firstly, I came from a broken home. My Dad left when I was only four and my childhood is scattered with memories of financial stress, insecurity and constant hate fueled war between my parents. Even sadder was that their backgrounds weren't any better - they were much, much worse. Both sides held horrible secrets of abuse, neglect, depression and death. So my parents could hardly be held to blame - they suffered just like me and I was born into that very same cycle of hurt. As a result of the immense pain, rejection, shame and fear that came from that type of upbringing I developed an incredibly low sense of self worth. I was unable to give love or receive love. In my mind I somehow reasoned that if so much pain and suffering had happened to me - then logically I must be flawed and my worth must be very low. You see, I figured that if people hurt me, manipulated me, abused me and neglected me it has to be because they know my worthlessness and are responding to it. What I'm here to tell you today is this. I was wrong. I couldn't have been more wrong.

What I'm here also today to tell you is this... my life was set up like that for a reason. The reason was simple. My enemies job was to make sure I never woke up and knew the truth - because if I did they were in deep trouble and I might tell others. To explain this better God gave me an example but first I want to share a verse with you. It's one of the most common verses ever quoted. John 3:16. It says this "For God so loved the world that He gave..." Now think about those words. It says because of God's love it prompted an action from Him to give His son to save us. If you open your heart you'll see that its saying "I value this world and all it's people enough to save them. I see them as worthy to receive My love..." Think about it... If it's true that we aren't worthy then God wouldn't have bothered to expend His love to us. He certainly wouldn't have sent His only Son to die for us that's for sure. So that means He knows something we don't. He knew we were worth it. Worth dying for. The example God gave me is this. Picture on the ground a diamond - a BIG diamond that's a good inch by inch in size shining in the sun.

Now if you were walking along and saw this diamond sitting on the ground you would surely pick it up because you know it's worth. You wouldn't even have to be a jeweler to know that this thing sitting there is worth a stack of cash. Now imagine that for many years no one did spot the diamond and it got dirty, it got covered in mud and kicked about the place. It no longer gleamed in the sun like it was meant to... but the truth is it's still a diamond and it's still worth loads and loads if only it could be restored. What I want to say is this... we are those diamonds. Some of us have been to Jesus and have been restored, some are still yet to find Him and His grace. Here's the important bit though...the diamond cannot define it's own worth. It's simply impossible, it must be valued by a reliable external source. A diamond is simply a stone - albeit a precious stone - but no matter how hard it tries it can't call out and tell others it's worth. A diamond also cannot define the worth of other diamonds irregardless of whether they have been restored or are uncut with rough edged.

A diamond can truly only be valued by a master jeweler, someone who knows these precious stones extremely well inside and out. Someone who has the eyes to be able to refine, restore and polish an uncut stone into a precious and rare jewel to be displayed before all. What I want to say is this... it's impossible for you to define your worth. You simply don't have the eyes for it. It's impossible for us to make an accurate statement as to whether we are worthy or not based on our extremely limited life experience, knowledge or treatment from others. You absolutely must have a reliable external source and there is only one place that can give you an accurate, constant and unbiased scale of your worth. It's called the Word of God. In a nutshell it's what God says about you. So lets see what He says hey. Psalm 139:14 says "I am fearfully and wonderfully made". That's pretty clear to me and sounds like a lot of worth just got dumped on you! Romans 8:17 says "because we have believed in Jesus we are co-heirs with Christ". That makes us full royalty by adoption! John 1:12 says "If we believe in Jesus we become the children of God". That makes us family!

There's so many more I could quote but lastly Jeremiah 29:11 says "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and for good says God". If you look at the word "worthy" its easy to see it comes from the root word "worth" - so that means for something to be worthy means it has been deemed to have worth. Now I want to make this plain and simple because that's what God did for me. He met me and told me this "Mark, you've been wrong about a lot of things. I need to show you the truth". And He did. All my life I spoke words over myself having no idea how powerful self cursing can be saying horrible things like "you're a failure, you're a loser, you're ugly, you're worthless, you'll never be anything..." The voices echoed inside me every minute of every day and I was forced to speak them out. Well... I was wrong. Those words were lies. Jesus opened my eyes and now I know better than to get my worth from what I think, say or do. My worth comes from Him alone. It's because of what Jesus did for us that makes us worthy. And because of what He says I am worthy. Because I call on Him I am worthy of His help.

Because I seek Him I an worthy of His favour. Because I follow Him I and worthy to be called one of His own. Because I believe in Him I am worthy of His love. And it was His radical, unmatched, powerful and earth changing love that saved me just like in Psalm 18. Please be careful of the words you speak about yourself because they hold immense latent spiritual power - far more than we can ever understand while we live down here on Earth. The Bible says that death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21) - so speak wisely and be nice to yourself. The only thing that should come out of your mouth should be for building up (Ephesians 4:29) - and that includes words spoken about yourself. If you are like I was and you feel that your worth has been damaged by those around you that have treated you badly can I encourage you to seek the Master. Seek Him with every single part of who you are. I can't tell you how He will do it but I can promise you this... if you seek Him you will find Him and you will know the truth. And once you know the truth, you will be set free from the lies about your worth.

God loves you so, so much more than you'll ever know and I pray today that somehow these words find a way to break inside those high walls, deep into your heart and begin to unlock and awaken the truth of your immense and immeasurable worth in your Fathers eyes. The simple truth is this... You're worth loving, worth helping and worth saving. You are Worthy.

God loves you. His love for you is far greater, grander and more powerful than how you feel. Don't trust your heart because God knows and tells us that our hearts are faulty, unpredictable and unreliable - a much better place to put your trust is in the One who made all things including your heart. He cares deeply about how you feel yet His truth and promises remain as absolutes at all times - far, far above our feelings. This gives us peace knowing that His love and mercy is constant regardless of how we feel about ourselves because He is far greater. So no matter how you feel and what your heart tells you, know that you are always loved by God and that He wants to help you in your life. Trust in Him. You're worth more.

[ 1 John 3:20 - For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. ]

God put something on my heart to talk about a few weeks back and has kept adding to it every few days with more from His heart. He made it clear to me that now's the time to share so here goes. In Hebrews 13:1 it says "Let brotherly love continue" - other translations say it like this "Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters." Here's the interesting part... It says the word "let" which means that the onus and responsibly is on us to make this happen. This also means that we have the ability to stop this from happening. You see, God is love and God is perfect so as far as love is concerned coming from Him - there's no problem there. So that means the problem has to by logic exist with us, with our selfishness, our greed, our ambition and our desire to be famous, rich and hold power over others. It's by our selfishness that love gets smothered and dies. It's also in our selflessness that love thrives, grows, expands, feeds, clothes and reaches others. What God put on my heart is simply this - when we believe in Jesus as our Saviour are all brothers and sisters - there is no position, no hierarchy, no top dogs and no one that's any better than any one else.


The Bible says very clearly in Romans 2:11 that "there is no respect of persons with God" - what this means is that He sees us all the same. So if that's how God sees us, why do we concern ourselves with seeing others as better or lesser than ourselves?  The way He sees us is that no one is any better and no one is any higher than anyone else - we are all simply just little children who cannot survive without the love of our Father in Heaven. Here's where I believe it all goes wrong... Like I said above, God's love and His view of us is perfect so it means that the error must and has to be in us as humans. To illustrate this God showed me a picture I want to share with you. There's 10 kids who play together in a playground. They are all about 5 years old and they love to run and play and eat together and are all friends. They all range in ages slightly because of their birth dates but they don't care at all - all they care about is sharing each others company and playing together. After all they're kids and that's what kids do. For these kids, life is great. They love to play, share and help each other. When one kid falls over and scrapes their knee the others help them up and give them the care they need. It truly is a great picture hey. Well, theres one kid who is older than all the rest by just a little bit.


This kid is faster at running, better at climbing, comes from a family that's pretty well off and is great at speaking and telling stories. Naturally this kid becomes the pseudo leader of the pack and the kids follow this kids lead in generally everything this kid says and does without questioning it at all. This pattern goes on for weeks, then weeks turn into months, and months turn into years. After a few years this kid has developed in his mind that because everyone follows me and does what I say then I MUST be better than them all - it's only logical and makes sense... right? It's subtle at first but this mind set creeps in slowly but surely. Soon, this kid can ask for parts of other kids lunch and they will surrender it to him. He can ask for kids to give him some of their money to do the things he decides and they do. He can decide selectively who he wants to play with and the kids fall into line and obey. He can even decide whether or not another kid should be helped or not when they fall over depending on his verdict of why they fell. By now the picture of innocency of kids just sharing and playing in a playground is long gone. It's now become about ambition, power, greed and control. Stay with me because it gets worse...


One day this kid that's decided he's better than all the rest finds a yellow plastic ring on the ground on the way to the playground. The little whisper in his head says "go on... try it on, I bet it fits your head like a crown...". By now the kids ego has grown so big that he doesn't even stop to think and just puts it on his head and struts into the playground. He announces his arrival and tells the kids "I'm your King, you will now only reference me as King or Your Majesty". Some of the kids cheer, others silently go along with it and a few protest under their breath but haven't got the heart to say or do anything because of the power the older kid holds after years and years of playing this game of control. Now... I'm wondering who here has worked out where this is going. I know the story sounds far fetched and ridiculous but this sort of thing is happening all over the world in the Name of God and God is greatly displeased and is most definitely NOT for this. Jesus taught us in Matthew 23 about how we are to view others and made it very clear that we are to call no one here on earth Father - because we have one Father which is in Heaven. He also said we are to call no one master or teacher because we have one master and teacher which is Jesus.


What Jesus did when He taught this was destroy all the useless and pointless hierarchy that we as mankind build and brought in the pattern of the Kingdom of God in its place. The pattern of love, unity and humility. As humans we naturally look for leadership and when someone stands up and says with a plastic crown on their head saying "I'm the king now" we often fall into line and obey without question. The truth is we should only obey, serve and have our allegiance to one King and His Name is Jesus. He is the only one to who our complete trust can be given because He is the one true, just and holy Son of God - all others are inferior copies.  He is the only one to whom our hearts can be trusted in full to be not be betrayed, hurt and manipulated. Now I know I'm going to make enemies by saying this but trust me when I say making enemies isn't something I'm not accustomed to at all. If anyone on this earth tells you to do anything against the teachings of Jesus, if they elevate themselves above you, segregate themselves to special areas assigned for the elite, make themselves out to be something more than you in God and use this to further their own plans and ambition - then they aren't of God.


Interestingly Jesus gave a compliment to a man in the bible and called him the greatest man born among women yet this man lived alone in the wilderness, wore camel skin and ate honey dipped locusts. What this man we know as John the Baptist did do was lead people into the Kingdom of Heaven and just like God he made no distinction for position. He welcomed all including the prostitutes, thieves, murderers, criminals and all the outcasts of society to a Kingdom of love, peace, truth and life through repentance in Jesus. He didn't have a special area for the pretty people or the well to do ones - everyone got baptised in the same river Jordan.  It was the religious leaders of the day that had the yellow plastic crowns on their head, the ones who's hands smelt of money from the constant dipping into the treasury of the temple that hated John and the ways of God he brought to people. They hated him because they held the power over people and they wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible. For that very reason, these same leaders also rejected and killed Jesus as He was the biggest threat to their manipulation. The Kingdom of Heaven brings balance, peace and love and levels out the false kingdoms built by man. From my experience and from the Word of God, find the money trail and you'll find it leads to control and evil in the hearts of men and women.


One of the single most significant things that happened when Jesus finally died that day on the cross was to do with the veil in the temple. Before that day only a high priest - someone with title and bloodline - could enter the innermost part of the temple to meet with God himself. When Jesus died - that curtain separating the most intimate area where God was met was torn from top to bottom. What God was saying was this "Now... all can come. I hold no distinction, all are welcome because of my Son and His sacrifice for you". God encourages us to seek Him, ask Him questions and to test all things. He isn't looking for mindless robots that do the same thing week after week on a structured routine - He clearly says "I seek people to worship me from their spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). He doesn't expect us to blindly believe what He says and He also doesn't expect you to blindly believe what others say either. He wants you to know and understand the truth and we know and understand that by having a direct, personal and meaningful relationship with God our Father through Jesus Christ and the by Holy Spirit's help. The Bible says in 1 John 4:1 to "Test the spirits because not all that say they are of God are actually from God and many false prophets have come into the world".


The heart of God is this - we are called to be simply brothers and sisters in Christ to love, serve and help one another. In Romans 12:10 "it says to be devoted to one another, preferring one another". Jesus also taught the principle that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). If someone is given a huge gift in music, speaking, business or anything else - then it was given to serve and help others and not for fame, greed or personal riches.  James 5:17 tells us that Elijah - the guy that prayed and called down fire and rain from Heaven - was a normal guy just like you and me. A normal guy that prayed and sought God and found Him. Jesus taught us in Matthew 18 that the greatest in the Kingdom of God is the one that serves - not the one who has many servants. Jesus himself was the example of this when He willingly laid down His crown as the King of all Glory to become a servant to us to help us, heal us and ultimately die for us. If you want to know who the true servants of God are - don't judge it by the car they drive, how big their church is or how big the crowd of followers they have - look for the selfless, caring, humble heart of Jesus in them and through them. Can I encourage you today that if you believe in God, make the one person you do have your absolute allegiance to, the one you learn from and obey, the one you seek for guidance and truth, and the one who's example you follow to be Jesus. Everyone else is simply just another little kid in the playground but He is the true King that loves us and is worth following, worth listening to and worthy of our love and devotion. I pray that God gives you peace, love and truth as you seek Him. God loves you deeply. 

Does God have emotions? Does He feel anything towards you?? Absolutely yes God has emotions! The Bible says many times about God feeling very sorrowful because of mankind hurting, killing and taking from each other. God also feels angry at injustice and oppression and tells us as followers of His ways not to hurt, rob and oppress one another but to help to stop oppression, greed, deception and abuse in this world. Love is exactly that, an action motivated by a higher cause and our higher cause is The Highest cause. God also has mercy for us and remembers that we are only made from just the dust of the ground. God doesn't have unrealistic expectations of you, He knows and loves you for who you are - the Real You. He is for you and wants to help you in every step of your life (Jeremiah 29:11). He is also our comforter in our tough times, our peace in our storms, our strength when we're weak, our fire in the battle and our hope when all the other lights fade.


The Bible says we are created in the 'image of God' which means we took on all that He is just in a lesser form. So just like us, He also has emotions and feels things too. He knows and cares about how you feel right now whether it's sadness, anger, loss, fear, happiness, peace or success and He wants to be with you in it and through it (1 Peter 5:7). He wants to carry your pain and celebrate your triumphs. Unlike us though, His emotions don't ever dictate His actions or change His character or behavior towards us - He is eternally love personified. That's why He's such an amazing Father because He truly is perfect all the time. So no matter how many times we fall and fail, He is always there faithful and just to forgive us when we come to Him and confess our sins (1 John 1:9). He is the Father in the story of the prodigal son just waiting for us to turn and come home (Luke 15). He doesn't treat us as we deserve or repay us for all our wrongs and for that I'm so thankful (Psalm 103:10). He really is such a good God to us. Have an awesome day because you are so loved by God.

[ Song of Solomon 8:6 - Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD.]