Tag: hope

A Protective Father – Andy Brown

Last year, I wrote a series of blog posts on the early part of the book of acts. The below post, which is about a protective father seems appropriate for this fathers day!

To all of the fathers out there, I wish you a very happy Father’s Day! It is both a very difficult and very rewarding job to raise children in this difficult world. Be encouraged and God bless you and your children today.

At long last, we move on to Acts 5. This chapter opens with a rather disturbing set of events, and I want to try to shed some light on what is happening here. This particular passage is a difficult one, and I admit to having struggled with it for many years. I will explain why,…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2020/06/16/a-protective-father/

Believe in Jesus

It has been an interesting day in my house, with nothing quite going according to plan!It has been an interesting day in my house, with nothing quite going according to plan! As a result, I’ve not been able to sit down and write anything today.

However I have just seen this post from another blogger and wanted to share it with you.

I do hope you enjoy it! And God willing, normal service will resume on my blog soon!

There are no other gods other than God Himself. He is the beginning, He is the end, and He sustains all things through His Son Jesus. For with …

Believe in Jesus

Sing To The Lord!

I really do encourage you to check out Allens blog-Devotional Treasures. you certainly won’t regret it!

Formonthills Nature Reserve, Glenrothes, Fife. Photo by Alan Kearns Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and …

Sing To The Lord!

A Stirring to Pray

During the height of the lockdown in the UK, where we were only allowed out for short periods of exercise, I began to fairly regularly record prayer videos which I put out here on the blog and on my Facebook page. You can see an example here, if you’re interested.

I really love to pray for people, and in fact, I just really love to pray. In recent days, I’ve felt a stirring to pray more frequently and a reminder from the Lord about the real power of prayer. The more I study and consider prayer, the more I want to do it, and the more I wonder why the global church does not pray more than it does.

My prayer life has perhaps faltered somewhat in recent times. I have no real excuse for this. I can cite moving home, family matters and work, but none of that is really an excuse to allow my prayer life to suffer. We are all busy, most of the time, and yet is half of what we do more important than prayer? Prayer allows us to worship the God who has saved us. Prayer allows us to give thanks for all the good things in our lives. Prayer lets us develop our relationship with God. And of course, prayer also allows us to make requests of our giving God.

What is your prayer life like? Most Christians I ask that of say they could do better. Most of us feel like this, and of course it is always a good idea to take stock of our spiritual lives. I do not think, though, that God wants us to feel like poor performers when it comes to prayer. Rather, I think He wants us to be excited by prayer. We must be careful about falling into a legalistic and works mentality where we just pray to tick our Christian box and feel like we “put in our time” with Jesus.

So, how can I pray for you? I’d love to start recording prayer videos again, and love to be able to include requests from my readers. Always happy to keep requests anonymous too. Even if you do not want to be included in any videos, it would be an enormous privilege to pray for you either way.

You can comment below if you wish, reach out on social media or else use the Contact page to send me a private message.

I also want to reflect that I’ve been extremely blessed by the Christian WordPress community of late. There are some truly gifted writers here, offering their talents to encourage and challenge the Body of Christ. I will be praying for those blogs and authors which I follow here, but if you would like me to specifically mention you, please do let me know.

And finally… please do pray for me also! I truly value your them! I write mostly about the Bible, but perhaps I should pen a few words about my life more generally too. Not that it is particularly exciting, you understand, but rather because behind every blog is a blogger… I have my fair share of trials and successes, and cannot expect you to pray for me without a window into my world.

I have actually been toying with the idea of a series on testimonies. Perhaps I should start with my own, and then invite others to share theirs. Something to pray about!

Thanks for reading; praise the Lord and may He bless you richly today!

How To Read the Bible

A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed by the host of “Understand the Bible” Phill Sacre on the subject of prayer. This was part of UTB’s course on How to live as a Christian. You can check out that post – Talking to Jesus here.

This week, I returned to discuss how to read the Bible. The video is below if you wish to see it.

You can find out more about Understand the Bible at their web site – Understand the Bible, or else find them on YouTube here.

Hope you enjoy it!

If you have any questions about reading the Bible, then do feel free to get in touch and I’d be glad to help.

Reaching the Jesus Friendly

Everybody needs Christ, especially those who think they already have Him. I got my first taste of high school and college ministry under an …

Reaching the Jesus Friendly

Sudden Disaster

You need not be afraid of sudden disaster

    or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,

26 for the Lord is your security.

    He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.

Proverbs 3:25-26 (NLT)

Reading the third chapter of Proverbs this week, this particular couplet of verses jumped out at me. Have no fear of sudden disaster, the word directs us, and yet I find myself often drifting into fearing the worst, or worst-case scenarios. My anxious mind wanders into negative places, and I start playing the “what if” game. Minutes can go by, and in my head I’ve crafted unlikely situations and pushed them out to their extremities, no matter how implausible.

When I read this verse yesterday morning, I realise that I do fear sudden disaster more often than I care to admit.

I do not mind telling you that I am prone to anxiety, and indeed have suffered with it at times. Anxiety is more than just worry, although it may start that way. Anxiety can be crippling, and it can cause us to shut down almost completely. There have been times when I’ve felt a knot in my stomach; a nervousness that I couldn’t explain. Perhaps you have experienced something similar yourself, or know others who have.

Sadly, it is all too common these days. Stress, anxiety, and depression affect many people in a whole host of ways. I am no psychologist, and of course if you need help with any of these things, do go and see your doctor.

These verses help us though, and so I want to consider them today.

They firstly say we need not fear sudden disaster, nor the destruction which falls upon the wicked. Why not? Because of what is said in verse 26.

The Lord is your security. That’s the key right there. We desire security in many respects. We want our homes to be secure from break in. We want our jobs to be secure from loss or redundancy. We want our family to be secure from harm – in this life and the next. We want to feel and be secure in all aspects of life.

When we feel anxious, or fear sudden disaster, we do not feel secure. We feel there is a threat, known or unknown, which may befall us. What if I lose my job? What if I get injured? What if my spouse leaves me? What if… fill in the blank for you.

Yet God is our security. He is our fortress and high tower. In Him, we need not fear these things.

Don’t misunderstand, this is not a cast iron promise that nothing bad will ever happen. Life itself is proof of that fact. But the Bible is no liar, and we must understand what it means for the Lord to “be our security”.

Security in Christ means that no matter what happens in this life a) He will be right there with us, and b) We have eternal security that can never be stolen or damaged.

In this life, we will face trouble and danger. If you don’t believe me, just live. That’s not to be negative of course, but things just go wrong in this fallen world full of fallen people. If we stick with Christ however, we know that He will never leave us nor forsake us. We know that no matter what happens on this earth, He is working for the good of His people who are called according to His purpose. What happens to you may not be “good”, but we can trust God to bring good out of it.

I believe He wants us to have a good life here on the earth. Like any good Father, He wants us to have blessings and live a good and enjoyable life. Our enjoyment is not His primary concern though, and that’s the thing we forget sometimes. God deserves and will obtain maximum glory for Himself, and if that means us going through a time of trial, then so be it.

God also takes a longer perspective than us. While we go through trouble, it may feel like the end of the world to us. And even if it is, there is a new world to look forward to in eternity. Even if it was not true that God wants to bless us here on earth, we have a home in heaven to look forward to. That will compensate for any discomfort, trial or trouble we face while alive on the earth. A life of 80 or 90 years is a mere blip next to eternity.

So, returning to the passage at hand (I hadn’t forgotten!). We need not fear sudden disaster because the Lord is our security. We can trust Him to bring good into our lives, and know that the bad also has a purpose. Our security in Him is eternal, and not temporal.

This truth, if we accept and rejoice in it, is hugely comforting. I need not fear sudden disaster because firstly, it might never happen, and secondly because there is a heavenly eternity to focus on. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Nothing. That being the case, we need not fear sudden disaster coming upon us.

What is a miracle?

Some say that a miracle is a suspension of the normal rules governing reality. Others may say that it is God intervening in our lives in a powerful way.

When we think of miracles, we might imagine mountains moving or sight being restored. These are, indeed, great miracles! But not all miracles look like this.

I say that having clothes on your back and food in your belly is a miracle to.

Having a roof over your head it’s a miracle as well. As are your eyes which allow you to read these words.

Having the ability to walk up and down the stairs would be a miracle to some.

Surely though, the greatest miracle of all is being restored to righteousness in and through Christ Jesus our Lord! Our sins forgiven, and being fully justified before our Heavenly Father.

Have you experienced this miracle for yourself? You can do so today…

All you need do is believe and trust in Him, confess the things that you have done wrong, and then ask and receive God’s forgiveness. Let the knowledge of that forgiveness miraculously change your life forever!

If you are seeking a miracle, first check you have not already received one! God bless you this Lord’s day.

Be A Candle (PoW)

Pearls of Wisdom

Even the dimmest, most tiniest of candles can cast a great light in a dark room.

Are you the only Christian in your family? How about your place of work? Your school perhaps? It can feel extremely tough to be the only one with Christian beliefs or values. It can be lonely, and each day can feel like a slog or struggle.

But don’t give up!

If you really are the only Christian in that setting, then you are the only source of light that this dark place has. If you give up and extinguish your light, then it truly will be a dark place.

You may feel as a tiny candle trying to hold back the darkest of nights, but even a nightlight draws people in. God has placed you in the exact place you find yourself for that very purpose. Be the light of the world! Be a candle! Shine your light and draw others to Christ.

When you feel alone or weary, tell the Lord and seek His refreshment. Focus on those around you who no doubt need to hear of the love of Christ. Show them that love which you have received from Him. It may change their life, not just for the here and now, but for all eternity!

Have a blessed day, and be a candle in whatever way you can.

Listening Speed

So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;

James 1:19 (WEB)

No one ever got a speeding ticket for listening too fast.

I don’t know if it’s ok to have favourites in the Bible, but the book of James is certainly one of mine! This verse in particular has meant a lot to me over the years, and as it happens, has popped up a couple of times in my Bible study recently. Clearly, God is bringing it to my attention once again.

Being slow to speak or to become angry is clear to understand. It means that before leaping into hot anger or letting our words erupt uncontrolled, we should take a breath, be slow and considerate and then speak carefully. I hope this is reasonably obvious to most of you, and so I’m not going to focus on that today.

Instead, what does it mean to be quick to listen? I am “listening” all of the time, and so how can I do it any faster?

As I say above, no one has ever been given a ticket for breaking the listening speed limit… but what is the difference between fast and slow listening?

It comes back to a difference between hearing and listening, I think. While I may hear most everything that goes on around me, do I really listen to it? If my phone is in my hand, or the radio is on, and one of my family are speaking to me – am I really listening?

Hearing is passive, but listening is active. It takes effort. It takes selflessness. It means putting aside what we are doing, or what we want to do, and focussing our attention on someone else. It takes discipline too, if you have a wandering mind like me, or if you are already thinking of what you want to say next rather than absorbing what is being said.

So what does it mean to be “quick to listen?” I think it is the gap between hearing the sound of someone’s words, and switching on our listening ears.

I often have to pull up my children on this point. I can see them staring at a screen, ask them to do something, get a mumbled reply and no follow up action. I repeat myself, with added frustration, until they convert the hearing of my words into genuine listening and response. I roll my eyes and say “Those kids never listen!” But am I any different?

Friends of ours reported a similar incident between husband and wife. The wife of the story was talking to her husband about something, and a few days later it transpired he had no memory of their conversation. “Where was I when you were talking to me about this?” he asked. “You were sat right there, watching the football!” retorted the wife. “Oh…” says the husband, recognising that his attention was no doubt so fixated on the game that he did not receive one word that she said.

He heard, but did not listen.

How fast can you switch from hearing your spouse, child or friend to really listening to them? To getting your attention off of yourself and what you are doing, and turning it fully on them? That, I believe, is what James is talking about.

Listening to someone is a real act of love. So many people just want to be heard – really heard. You can do that for someone today.

And remember… no one was ever caught on speed camera for listening too well!

God bless you today!

In Unity

A Starling Murmuration Photo by RSPB UK Behold, how good and how pleasant it isFor brothers to dwell together in unity!Psalm 133:1 (NASB) I have been…

In Unity

I mentioned this blog and Alan’s wonderful writing in my earlier post today. Given that this post as a very similar subject to what I wrote about earlier, it seemed the right thing to do to share it here. Hope you enjoy it!

I Can Only Imagine

The Bridge of Triumph Chuck Pinson Greetings brethren on this Lord’s Day! Today I am excited to introduce our guest writer, Andy Brown whose blog I …

I Can Only Imagine