STAY AWESOME

Find the truth then hold onto it above all else. You ARE awesome. It's not about how you feel, it's not about what others think of you, it's not about what you have, it's not about who you are with, it's not about what you don't have, it's not even about what you think about yourself. The truth you base your life on has to be much higher than all those things. It must be an absolute truth. An unchanging truth. It must be a truth that's not from this world. There's only one place to get that kind of truth. It's from your Creator and what He says about you. He is perfect in every way and He is never wrong. This is what He says about you in His letter to us. Psalm 139:14 - "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." So there you are... Hard evidence in black and white. God says you're awesome so stay in that truth and STAYAWESOME.

The Power of Good

Don't underestimate the power of good in this world and those who choose to seek and bring good instead of evil. Evil may flaunt itself in this world through witchcraft, seduction, terror, despair, depression, anxiety, greed, murder and corruption but the power of good and those that seek it will triumph over evil. Evil may have it's day but good will win the war. God asks us to not return evil for evil but to pray for our enemies and help them when they are in need. God does not promote or assist those who are evil but He promises to be strong tower, a refuge, a sword and a shield to those who choose good and follow Him and His ways. His promises never ever fail and He is not in any way weak to help, intervene and fight for you. All He asks from you is to stand in faith on His promises like a good soldier. Obey His voice. The fight belongs to Him so just stand. He is a strong God, full of power, mercy, peace, justice, love and He fights for His children who belong to Him. You don't need to fight against others - just stand. God loves you. [ Exodus 14:14 -
The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." ]

Let Faith Grow

I was driving home tonight after picking up a pizza to eat with my wife and kids and God spoke to me about faith. God does that sort of thing a lot to me. Often I'll be skateboarding, driving, going for a run with my dogs or sometimes even just alone at home and He'll grab my attention and start unfolding some wisdom I didn't know and didn't have a grasp on before. God's wisdom is usually very simple yet very deep at the same time. Sometimes it's so obvious that we miss it in fact. So what God spoke to me was this... Faith is a seed. We don't earn the seed or buy the seed. The seed of faith is given to us by God (1 Corinthians 2:9). The cool thing about that is that it takes the pressure off of us to "work our way" to getting faith. It's simply a gift, just like salvation is. So faith is a seed. A gift from God. Now we don't make the seed grow either. It's very easy to fall into the trap of false religion thinking that the more stuff we do, the more our faith is going to grow and we're going to become awesome in front of everyone that sees us. The opposite is actually true in fact. The more we do, the more we get in the way of what God actually wants to do. Put simply, we are the dirt. I know that doesn't sound super exciting but it's true. After all, we are all made from dirt (Genesis 2:7). So if the seed is a gift and it's God that makes it grow... the what is our role? Well, just like the example above of the dirt our role is to be humble, submissive to the master gardener and patient. Dirt doesn't parade itself, dirt doesn't get impatient when things don't grow, dirt doesn't take any credit for what is grown. Dirt has no control over the weather or whether water comes or not. Dirt can't make the sun shine. Dirt is just... well dirt. It's a part of the process of a plant or tree growing but it's probably the most humble part. That's us. Another great example of how faith works is the example of an empty vessel. God talks about this in an extremely poetic way in 2 Corinthians 4:7 where it says "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." So if you want the gift of faith that God has given to you to grow, learn the ways of the dirt. Simple wisdom yet very deep. God is good. Feel free to tag someone or use this yourself, it's God's wisdom not mine. Have an awesome day. 

The Hands that Saved Me

The weight of this road grew heavy on me. The dark enemies multiplied around me on all sides. Their weapons were fierce and sharp and their intent was clearly my demise. Even my best efforts weren't enough. There were just too many of them. I tried to stand against them in my own power but it was ultimately futile. On the measure of strength and will I was clearly outmatched. Their black weapons drew closer every moment seeking to maim and destroy me. Then I remembered His words... "For when I am weak, then I am strong...". "I use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise..." I knew what I needed to do now. As so, immediately I dropped to my knees - not in submission and defeat before the countless enemies around me - but in honourable respect and humility before the One who holds my future and to whom the battle belongs. It would seem utter madness to lower yourself to a position of kneeling while in the midst of battle and even more insane to close off your senses of sight, hearing, feeling and perception when your enemy is right there at the door ready to make his largest assault on you. Yet it is the wisest thing we can do - to disconnect from this fleshly realm and to connect to the real world and the maker of all things... Jesus. As I quietly whispered His Name while kneeling there in the middle of chaos itself I could sense His presence... His unmatched peace. A peace the defies the logic and understanding of this world. A peace that just is and a peace that remains. A peace not of this world and not based on anything in this world but based on the eternal person who is Jesus. I briefly opened my eyes and glanced at the ground in front of me. The weapons the hordes held should have overcome and crushed my bones yet there I was... untouched. Unharmed. "No weapon formed against you will succeed". His words again echoed as an eternal whisper in my heart. I looked on the ground and saw fresh drops of blood appearing directly in front of me. Surprised, I raised my gaze and saw my Saviour standing there before me. His hands outstretched holding the dark ragged blades of my enemies so they could not harm me. His blood spilled on the ground as He clutched their blades and took the full force of their hate and malice in my place. I marvelled at how a King would step in to save and redeem such a lowly man as me. His Words came again... "For everyone who calls on the name of THE LORD JEHOVAH shall be saved". This is my King. This is my Saviour. These are the same hands that shed blood to save me and to cleanse me from my sins on that cross so long ago.

It's really interesting how powerful God really is. He is so amazingly powerful that He can use even the really bad things in your life for your good and the good of others. Even more astounding than that is God's ability to use what the Devil attempts to maim and destroy us to ultimately make us so much stronger than we ever were before. You see, God can use anyone and anything. He is sovereign and supreme and all powerful. So even when the Devil and people mean to harm us, God is fully in control and not short of power to use it for our good. It's a power that the Devil truly fears. I'll explain... The Devil saw Jesus walk this earth as the Son of God doing all He did healing the sick, bringing light where there was only darkness and bringing the good news that God has sent His Messiah to save the world and the Devil thought to himself "If I kill him, I'll stop Him and end all of God's plans..." So the Devil used those in power to capture Jesus, mock Him, beat Him, abuse Him and in the end murder Him publicly for all to see. The Devil thought to himself "we've won! We killed the Lamb of God!" But in His arrogance and blind ambition He did exactly what God wanted. You see, we humans are all fallen and corrupted by sin. Sin must have a payment and that payment is death. Jesus knew that we couldn't pay the price so He picked up the bill himself so to speak. He chose willingly to die in our place. Jesus knew the Devil was going to kill Him yet He didn't swerve or hide from His true destiny... The Saviour of the World. Why am I saying this? Because you don't need to fear the Devil and what He can do or bring. God is in control and can use even the worst the Devil can bring to produce good you would have never seen or imagined to be. So don't fear evil. God is so unfathomably powerful that He can even use the greatest of evil for your good. God is with you.

[ Romans 8:31 - If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" ]

Resist the urge to judge others - you're not responsible for their behaviour or choices.

Romans 14:14 says "Who are you to judge someone else?"

Micah 6:8 clearly says to present yourself before God - not to make sure others are.

Be careful of unfair expectations you put on others in order to control your environment or in a vain attempt to bring peace to your chaos.

Failed expectations of others leads to dissapointed relationships - when often in truth the expectation was wrong to begin with. I know I've been guilty of this myself many times and need God's help to rid me of that horrible bane of self righteous judgment of others and instead to live and breath out God's mercy.

Free yourself of the chain of judgement of others, their choices and their sins. Focus instead on your heart being presented before God and have mercy for others - their faults and their weaknesses - just as Jesus has mercy for us and all our sins and shortcomings.

Only Jesus is the Righteous Judge so give that burden up to Him and instead walk in freedom. Just be you. A child that God loves enough to die for.

It's been nearly a month now. I had to step away from it all. It all got too much. Everything got muddy. Blurred. Foggy. Somewhere along the way I lost my reason. Everything I was doing was in reaction to the things that prodded and poked me and none of it was pure anymore. The words people said and the things they did haunted me day and night. I had become corrupted. I was told by God to step away indefinitely. No time frame... just step away from it all. In the past month I had to take stock of everything I was doing on here. Why was I here? Did it even make a difference? Had I just become some cliched entertainer just as my enemies in the past had thrown in my face? Had I become a marketable concept? Was I simply just a product to be consumed? I utterly despise all those things and at the risk of that being true I had to step away and closely examine myself and why I was here. It's been a very dark month. Like solitary confinement. But It was necessary. Isolation was needed to bring me the focus I desperately required. The words of my enemies assaulted and berated me day and night but God was there in it all.


In the amazing way that only He can - He used their words. This is the power of a sovereign God who is completely in control. Not even the onslaught of evil takes Him by surprise. Even the efforts of your enemies work in your favour if you follow God's voice. Unsurprisingly, He used their accusations to refine me - to correct me - to mould me. Like a sword struck, sharpened, and thrust into fire - I was being honed. It hurt... a lot. Losing the things I clung onto to so tightly - my vain, selfish ambition and false religion - but in everything I still followed Him and His voice. It was His quiet, still yet unwavering voice that led me through it all. The darkest night was last night. I had almost all but given up hope and faith. But it is always the darkest before the dawn... Absolutely true to His character, today He showed me what I needed to see. This afternoon, as I stood in a crowded room full of people God showed me a picture of myself on my hands and knees groping in the dark in a cave. His voice said to me... "Mark, how long will you hide in the darkness? - I made you for much more than this. You weren't made to hide. You were made to push back the darkness!"


It was at that moment I saw it and felt it. A sword on the ground in the dust. I grabbed its hilt and immediately its power coursed through me like the output of an industrial power station. Instantly He brought one word to my mind.... "REDEMPTION". I knew now why I was here. I had found my reason. My purpose. My message. My Hope. I had cried out to God this past month and said "I never chose this... I don't have what it takes... I can't do this anymore..." His answer to me was "You are right. You did not choose this. I chose you. When I came to you - you were broken, lost, addicted, hopeless and chained in a prison. You had no hope of ever setting yourself free. Your attempts to escape from your prison only made the walls higher and the iron door thicker. You could never save yourself or even help yourself. It was I - God - that saved you, helped you and redeemed you." He was of course totally and completely right. I can't describe to you the freedom that is to know your purpose again, your reason, and your hope. I know now why Jesus chose me. Not because I had any merit of my own but exactly the opposite.


I was hopelessly lost, chained and full of hideous demons that haunted me day and night. For Him to use me to even speak of His Name and His goodness only highlights the very power of His redemption. There is not anyone that can't be saved or redeemed. No matter what you've done - Jesus did more on the cross. He took more, faced more and went further than your sin will ever go. I had lost heart when God opened my eyes and I saw the hordes upon hordes of my enemies that plague and enslave this world - the dark spiritual forces that control areas, territories and countries - but that wasn't the full picture. There is a weapon that we of the light possess. Redemption... It is the very power of conversion. It has the ability to take even the worst and highest ranking generals of the opposing force and turn them into comrades of the light. Remember the story of the terrorist Saul of Tarsus who killed innocent women and children who then became the Apostle Paul sent by Jesus. Redemption... A weapon truly feared by our enemy and one that highlights the very power of God Himself. After all, it's the very reason Jesus came. Redemption... 

Think for a minute about Jesus betrayer... Think about someone who ate with Jesus... Walked with Him... Laughed with Him... Cried with Him... Studied under Him... Learnt from Him... Someone who was His disciple who then when it the mattered the most  - out right betrayed Him in front of everyone and let Him be handed over to cruel murderers who mocked Him, beat Him, shamed Him and then killed Him in the most gruesomely public and horrible way possible. How do you feel about that man? What are your thoughts about someone who wouldn't stand by the Son of God and the Saviour of the World when it really mattererd but instead only showed selfish self preservation when darkness was descending on all sides? What do you think that type of man deserves for His betrayal? What should done to that man and how should he be remembered? Well, it may shock you but Jesus chose to use that man to build His church on. You most likely thought of Judas Iscariot when I described Jesus betrayer above but in truth I was describing Jesus' disciple Peter.

The same Peter that walked on water to Jesus, who ate with Him, learnt from Him and was one of His closest friends - betrayed Him at the very end publicly stating three times that He didn't follow or even know Jesus and even uttered profanities to establish his point of separation from Jesus. When it mattered the most and Jesus really needed Peter's support, companionship and loyalty he coldly betrayed the One who gave Him life, love,  purpose and identity. So why did Jesus later on choose to use this man to build something so important and something so precious as His church on and through? The answer is simple. It's called Mercy. Peter didn't deserve God's mercy but that's exactly what true and pure mercy is - totally and utterly undeserved favour and kindness irrespective of our choices and actions. This is the true heart of God and the power of His love. His mercy can't be explained or quantified - it must simply be received. God loves you and He knows you'll never measure up but it's His mercy and love that bridges the gap and brings us back to Our Father in Heaven through His Son Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful for His mercy that's new for me every single day because I stumble and fall so often like a cripple without his crutches but it's His love for me that picks me up over and over and gets me back on track. His mercy is there for me no matter how many times I betray Him. Thank you Jesus for saving me. Thank you...

[ Lamentions 3:22-23 - The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. great is your faithfulness. ]

I'd like to offer some wisdom in regards to relationships coming from a perspective God has given me. This is not some religious rant or something I've picked up from a book. It's just up front, basic wisdom that God gave me from walking with Him and I do hope it practically helps you guys. The thing is, whether you're in a relationship or not this all applies and I'll explain why. You've heard the statement "I'm looking for the right guy or right girl" but I believe it's less about finding the right person and more about being the right person. If you are living as the wrong type of person then you'll naturally attract the wrong type of person as your companion. The signal you send out is what you will attract or just like fishing the bait you use is the fish you'll catch. This all applies just as much if you're in a relationship already as far as the longevity of that relationship. So, the question is "What is being the right person?" Well, you can read 1000 books from 1000 different authors but personally I'd much rather get a far higher authority on it and you obviously can't possibly go any higher than what God says. So what does He say? Read Micah 6:8  "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God"

So put very simply, the person you should aim and pray to be is someone who has justice as a strong part of your character and identity. Why is justice important? Because justice is the root of loyalty, trust, faith and security. Those are all extremely good strong things to build a good relationship on. The next thing God says is to be merciful. Why? Because even the best people fall and fail but a merciful person will forgive and rebuild - that's the type of person you want to be and you'll also want to be in a relationship with when the going gets tough. Perfection is not reality when it comes to us humans but our weakness combined with forgiveness and mercy creates something truly powerful that can stand the test of time. Lastly, God says to walk humbly with your God. I'll explain this simply. It means to recognize that we are all just little children who need our Heavenly Father to help, guide, forgive, love and provide for us on a daily basis. In short - justice, mercy and humility are the three key traits you should aim to be and look for in others if you want your relationship to thrive and last the trials of life.  

I know there's at least one person out there this is for today but I've got a feeling that it's more likely a stack of you. 

Listen, God knows your pain. He knows what happened and how it seems not even close to being fair or right... but it did happen. God isn't afraid of your pain. He knows why you do what you do to cope and get by and He doesn't judge you. He isn't afraid of you being angry about it either. He doesn't say "when you've got a big smile on your face and a great attitude then come talk to Me..." No. He just says "Come...As you are..." He knows the deal straight up - all the gritty details, all the ugly stuff, all those internal conversations that just repeat over and over. And that's exactly why Jesus came - to help and save us any time we need it. We were never designed to carry the burdens this life brings on our own - but He can. Psalm 50:15 says "Call on Me in your day of trouble and I will rescue you". That applies to everyone by the way - not just those who "meet the standard". Truth be told, no one meets the standard. We all fall short and God knows that. So don't walk that road alone. Call out to God and He'll carry your pack and walk with you. He's got big shoulders and the best ears for listening. Seek Him and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). 

God loves you.