John 4

My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work (verse 34).

Doing God’s will meant more to Jesus than food. Think of how essential food is to us. We waste away and die without it – slowly and painfully. Yet Jesus preferred to do God’s will, God’s work.

How important is doing God’s work to me? It is easy to put off what God wants us to do until another day, then another day, then another and another until it remains undone. I know I have done this so many times. Little things crop up, and I take care of one and then another, and then another, and then it is too late to work on what God has set before me – too late for memorisation work or quiet time or extended prayer or even the bigger projects God has set before me, like the books He wants me to write.

I need to be willing to sacrifice everything in order to do God’s work – my plans, my goals, my dreams, to even be willing to give up necessities such as food. Because the truth is, the only thing we truly need is God. And I have that!

All Heaven is Blazing

All heaven next hit is blazing yet
With the meridian sun:
Make haste, unshadowing sun, make haste to set;
O lifeless life, have done.
I choose what once I chose;
What once I willed, I will:
Only the heart its own bereavement knows;
O clamorous heart, lie still.
That which I chose, I choose;
That which I willed, I will;
That which I once refused, I still refuse:
O hope deferred, be still.
That which I chose and choose
And will is Jesus' Will:
He hath not lost his life who seems to lose:
O hope deferred, hope still.

By Christina Rossetti (yes - O'm reading a collection of her poetry at the moment!)

1 Corinthians 10

(We must not) grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the Destroyer (verse 10).

Grumbling is one of a variety of sins mentioned in this chapter, including idolatry, sexual immorality, and putting Christ to the test. To us, these all seem so much worse than grumbling. I mean seriously! Grumbling or idolatry – no brainer.

But the thing is, all these things are different manifestations of the same basic sin – rebellion against our creator. Grumbling is just as much rebellion as the other sins, for it expresses a desire that God would do differently by you than what He has done.

I grumble and complain a LOT, even though I am actually well done by. I have plenty of food, clean water, clothing, shelter, electricity, and a job so that I might continue to have all these things. I have God’s Word, I have the Holy Spirit, and I have eternal life. I have been incredibly blessed by God! Yet I grumble far too much even for someone lacking these things.

Grumbling is something that I need to work on. The words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart need to be much more on positive things, rather than on negative lines. I have so much to be thankful for, that grumbling cannot be justified even in human terms, let alone in heavenly terms.

LORD, cleanse me from any grumbling spirit, that I might glorify Your name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1 Corinthians 8

This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (from verse 1)

Knowledge is important. It is vital that we know out Bibles in order that we will not be deceived by the enemy, and in order that we will know what God has planned for us. But knowledge of any type, separated from love, only serves to make us proud about our accomplishments. Nowadays, when it is not so fashionable to possess biblical knowledge, other types of knowledge (such as scientific, academic, sports or even pop-culture) are just as likely to puff someone up with pride.

The antidote for the puffed-up-ness that knowledge can bring is not a lack of knowledge, but an addition of love. Lack of knowledge can destroy you, and a lack of love and castroy our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Am I filled with love? It is a difficult question to answer honestly. After all, our hearts will deceive us. We will often think that we have love, when really we don’t, and think that we lack love when we often have it. The sign of love is clear from this verse: love builds up. Am I building up the people around me? Am I helping them grow up into Him? Or am I stumbling them? For me, I think it is a little of both. Thankfully, Christ is changing me, and I am becoming more and more filled with love day by day.

1 Corinthians 7

And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit (from verse 34)

Singleness is a gift from God so that we can, whether temporarily or permanently, serve God as the only passion in our lives. Marrieds have to care for each other, and parents for their children, but singles are freer to do things, sometimes crazy-seeming things, for the Lord.

I know I have not always valued this gift. I would rather have a husband and children than almost anything else. But for now at least, that is not what God has called me to. He has called me to be single (for now at least) and to serve Him in that.

Valuing this gift of God means making the most of my time. It means going out of my way to bless others, especially those who otherwise would be ignored or despised, like the very poor and their children, those who are sick, those who are ugly or even deformed. It means sacrificing myself for the image of Christ in those who, humanly speaking, I do not care about. It means focussing on Jesus, and giving my all for Him, every single day, even when I would prefer not to. Then I will be using this gift of God to the level that Christ wants me to.

1 Corinthians 2

And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (verses 4 & 5).

It sometimes amazes me how content the church at large is to not see the power of God. We talk of miracles (but don’t see them). We speak of transformed lives (but live just like everyone else). We do not see the power of God; and if we cannot see it in our own lives, or the lives of those around us, how can we expect those who do not know God to see it?

This is something I am guilty of too. I do not live a self-sacrificing life. Many aspects of my life are exactly the same as a non-believer. I do not go the extra mile with others if it will inconvenience me. I mean, when Amaya was upset in the middle of the night it took 5 minutes to make myself get up with my torch and check on her – and she’s only two bedrooms away! Afterwards I was really struck by my complete lack of love for those around me when it is inconvenient for me.

(Amaya is the daughter of two missionaries, who were staying with me in the missionary house. She woke up a few times in the night and would be very scared due to the power having gone out and her night light being off. I was NOT as loving as I should have been.)

This is something that I and much of the church need to repent of. We rest in the wisdom of me, and so we miss the power of God. And I know that I don’t want to miss that.

Christina Rosetti

How beautiful are the arms which have embraced Christ, the hands which have touched Christ, the eyes which have gazed upon Christ, the lips which have spoken with Christ, the feet which have followed Christ. How beautiful are the hands which have worked the works of Christ, the feet which treading in His footsteps have gone about doing good, the lips which have spread abroad His name, the lives which have been counted loss for Him.

Book review: Kisses From Katie

You have had the opportunity to read a few quotes from this book. So far, it’s probably my favourite book for the year, and definitely my favourite missionary biography. When you consider that I read 15-20 books a month, you can be assured that this book is really, REALLY good.

Short breakdown: girl goes to Uganda to teach kindergarten for 1 year, planning to go back to her “normal” life in America after that year. Instead she ends up taking in 14 girls (she’s currently in the process of formally adopting 13 of them) , starting an international ministry that provides food, school fees and school supplies to over 200 needy children in her area (the current number is more than 300), and providing basic medical care for people around her.

One of the things that isreally great about this book is her reflections on God’s heart, and how that affects her ministry, and most of these reflections are relevant not only to her ministry, but everyday life anywhere.

The other thing that I really enjoyed was that she stressed how normal she was, how she lived the fairly normal teenage life back in America, how she doesn’t always have a great attitude, and things like that.

I found this book to be really interesting and encouraging, and as I said, one of the best, if not the best, books I’ve read this year.

You can purchase the book here at 147 Million Orphans, and 50% of the proceeds will go to Katie's ministry.

You can purchase the from Amazon book here.

You can visit Katie’s blog here.

You can visit Amazina Ministries (the website for Katie’s ministry) here.

Katie Davis

Originally, my quitting was to be temporary, lasting just one year before I went to college and returned to normal, American teenager life. But after that year, which I spent in Uganda, returning to “normal” wasn’t possible. I had seen what life was about and I could not pretend I didn’t know. So I quit my life again, and for good this time. I quit college; I quit designer clothes and my little yellow convertible; I quit my boyfriend. I no longer have all the things the world says are important. I do not have a retirement fund; I do not even have electricity some days. But I have everything I know is important. I have a joy and a peace that are unimaginable and can come only from a place better than this earth. I cannot fathom being happier. Jesus wrecked my life, shattered it to pieces, and put it back together more beautifully.

From her book, Kisses From Katie (Review coming - but seriously, this is the best book I've read this year!)

The Church and Proverbs 31 (Part 4)

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue (Proverbs 31:26)

This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:32)

The church is not known for its great teaching. Even the more “intellectual” churches are seen as being shallow in thought and out of touch with reality. Brothers and sisters, this should NOT be what the church is known for!

God’s Word is wisdom, it is light, it is life. That is what we need to be teaching. It is what we need to be preaching. We should not be teaching a shallow, watered-down version of the world’s teachings, the gospel mixed with plenty of rubbish to get the world involved. We need to be teaching the Word, God’s pure wisdom.

How much of what you speak is God’s Word? How much is even related to God’s Word? If you are anything like me, then the vast majority of what you say is nothing more than man’s thinking. Sure, I say the occasional thing that happens to gel with the Bible, but how much of my thinking is truly, truly based on that and on nothing else?

As for the law of kindness… let’s just say the church is not exactly known for its kindness. This was not always the case. Once everyone was welcome. Jesus dined with prostitutes, tax collectors, and other unsavoury types. Today we are barely civil to those who swear a little. We have become snobs, the elites that Jesus detested. We need God to guard our tongues, that we might speak more sweetly to those around us, that they might see the goodness of Jesus, in spite of the at times terrible way His bride behaves.

The Church and Proverbs 31 (Part 3)

She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. (Proverbs 31:20)

This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:32)

One of the things that the godly wife does is care for those who cannot care for themselves. As Christ’s bride, we, the church, NEED to be doing this. Jesus cares immensely about the poor – it’s one of the big topics of the Bible. As such, we need to too.

Are you doing anything at all to help the poor? Most of the world lives on less than two American dollars a day – less than what having a cup of coffee at a café costs. Are you willing to give up that cup of coffee in order to make the name of our Heavenly Husband known throughout all the earth? Are you willing to sacrifice the take-away food, the DVDs bought from the video store? Are you willing to go without in order to care for those that Jesus cares for… and is waiting for His bride to care for too?

It’s one thing to help the global poor. It’s easy to sponsor a child (and I recommend it!), but the cost is not that great. Even my most “expensive” sponsor children cost me only $43 a month. The money isn’t really something that I miss terribly – as long as I can buy my books and my dairy-free chocolate, I’m not fussed as to how much money I have left over.

But the local poor… they are a different story. Do you care for the poor at home? The beggar who comes up to you, asking for loose change? The homeless, shivering as winter goes on, and it gets colder, wetter, and still out, sleeping in parks? Do you reach out your hand to them?

I’ve told more than a few beggars that I don’t have any money for them. Even when I do. I’ve walked past the people who are crouched in doorways, their knees huddled to their chest, trying to keep warm. But going past them is not what Christ wants from His bride. He wants us to help, to open up our hands and do what we can to make a difference.

There is so much that you can do – volunteer at a soup kitchen, knit hats for the homeless, even just opening your wallet when someone asks you for loose change.

Let us glorify His name, by opening our hands and our hearts, for the love of Christ.

The Church and Proverbs 31 (Part 2)

She… works with willing hands… she rises while it is yet night (Proverbs 31:13-15)

She… does not eat of the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27)

This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:32)

If you are part of the church, then you are a part of Christ’s bride. And as such, you should be seeking to do God good all the days of your life, a la a Proverbs 31 wife – even if you are single, even if you are a boy.

One aspect is that the Proverbs 31 wife is that we need to be working hard for our husband’s benefit, out of a love for His name. We need to work with willing hands, work early in the morning and late at night, using every moment to bring advantage to Him who loves us so tenderly.

I know I do not work anywhere near this amount. I am slothful beyond what most people think. Sure, I am efficient, and get a fair bit done, including for His sake, but I certainly do not use every moment for His glory. I mean – rising while it is still night? I can barely get up when my alarm goes in the morning. That’s right, I am secretly a slacker. I love to rest. I am so far from being a hard worker for Jesus. It’s something I’m striving for – but it’s hard.

But it is something that we need to be. We NEED to be working for God’s kingdom. It is part of our heavenly job description. We need to be working, using our hands, our hard physical labour, for the glory of our Heavenly Husband, our Lord, Christ Jesus.

The Church and Proverbs 31 (Part 1)

The heart of her husband trusts in her… she does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:11, 12)

This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:32)

I remember reading over proverbs 31:10-end while putting the children to sleep, and it occurred to me that the church is the bride of Christ, and as such, we need to be living that kind of self-sacrificial life that is one aspect of the marriage relationship. Yet how much we fail Christ, our heavenly husband! How little His heart can safely trust in His bride, the church! How little His heart can trust in me!

I think about all the days I have lived, and how few of them I have really gone and done good for Christ. How many days I have done Him harm! I did the kingdom of Christ harm before I became a part of His bride. And unfortunately, I have done Him harm since. I am so ready to live for myself, even over the one who died for me.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us seek to do Christ good and not harm all the days of our life, that His heart may safely trust in us.

How Are You Dressed?

1 Timothy 2:9-10

...likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

You know, girls put a lot of effort into looking nice. Some put more in than others. It amazes me at times just how much time, effort, and money some of the girls in my church spend on their appearance. (To give you an idea, my small group’s jokes about girls all have to do with shopping, and their jokes about boys are all to do with eating.)

The thing is, our outward appearance is not that important. I’m not saying that we should all go around looking like slobs, but simply that there are much, much more important things out there. And there are far more important ways to be dressing than with clothes. God commands us to clothe ourselves in good works.

And that’s something that the church in general is lacking. I mean, sure, there are some people out there who give themselves completely to others, in a variety of capacities, but there are also those who think that giving a few coins to people asking for money to cure heart disease is plenty. That is not sufficient. It is not what God has commanded.

Whilst our righteousness in the sight of God is nothing but filthy rags, the people around us see our works and come to praise our Father in Heaven. They see how Christ has transformed us, and they praise God for it, even if they refuse to come to Him themselves. That should be our aim. To be so clothed with sweetness, goodness, and kindness that those around – especially those who do not know Christ, praise God because of us.

So, how are you dressed?

Head Coverings part 2

The first thing I noticed about wearing a head covering was that I prayed more. Not in more depth, but more frequently. I would feel it move a bit on my head, or see a reflection in the mirror, and I would be reminded that I was to pray continually. So I would offer up a prayer to God, and keep praying until I got distracted (which is disturbingly quickly). I made a real effort to make these prayers selfless prayers – most of them have been for orphans and nations that have a large orphan population in them. And while I might not ‘feel’ like my prayer life is that much greater, I am seeing results, simply from this slightly more frequent prayer!

The second thing I noticed was along similar lines. I am now much more conscious of the kind of witness I am to the world around me. And while I’ve already been mistaken for someone of another religious faith, the fact of the matter is that I am now pretty much instantly recognisable as “religious”, even if not necessarily instantly identifiable as Christian. It has changed my behaviour a little – I make more effort to be polite and let other people go first (etc) in queues. I’m not perfect though – I took the head covering off for 10 minutes while I went into a bottle store to get some champagne!

The next thing that I noticed was just how vain I am. I’m really, really, REALLY vain. I have been so tempted to take my head covering off because I don’t look as pretty with it on. And just writing that fact horrifies me! To do something disobedient to the Lord because then my appearance will be nicer? Even if it is an extremely minor thing (which head coverings is – our salvation certainly does not rest on something like that) this is still horrifying! As someone who always thought of themselves as being someone who took all aspects of Scripture seriously once I understood them, this was a real eye-opener for me. Am I really that shallow? Basically, yes, I am.

Which leads to the next point. I always thought of myself as the kind of person who took Scripture seriously. Someone who was a Berean, who searched the Scriptures myself and formed my own opinion as to what the contents said. After all, I’m a Calvinist who goes to church with a bunch of Arminians. I’m a quiverful Christian. I believe that adoption is awesome. And I believe all these things in spite of facing lots of opposition from those around me about these views.

But wearing a head covering showed me that this is NOT the case. I kept on thinking… wow… this family doesn’t have their family wear head coverings, and they are a really godly family. Much more than me. And so-and-so doesn’t. Nor does such and such. Maybe I’m wrong. They can’t be wrong. They’ve had more experience in this than me. Maybe I should just go along with what they are doing… after all, they are godly women.

The thing is, I can’t imagine any of these women telling me that I should copy them over what I believe God has said in His Word. They might (indeed, they evidentially do, or else their heads would be covered) disagree about my interpretation, but they would all encourage me to follow God’s Word as my standard, not their lives.

Wearing a head covering has really uncovered a lot of self-centredness and pride in my life, even though I’ve only been wearing one for a little over 2 weeks at the time of writing this. (Posting will come out at a later date, if you’re a friend who is tallying up dates.) It needed to be uncovered, and I need to work on these issues – and no doubt more, which will appear as time goes on. But I am so very thankful to the Lord for revealing these serious character flaws in myself, using such a little thing as a small bit of material.

Acts 14

But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and poisoned their minds against the brothers. SO they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord. (verses 2 and 3a)

Those who did not believe did all they could in their power to hinder the spread of the Gospel. They poisoned the minds of those who had not yet heard, and worked their way up to the process of stoning Paul and Barnabas.

In the world’s eyes this means that the spread of the gospel would be slowed, maybe stopped completely. But in God’s eyes it meant a greater power to preach, a greater witness, and a statement greater than any with words – that Christ is better than prosperity, better than respect, better than life.

Which eyes do we choose to see from?

I am aiming to see from Christ’s prospective. His glory is all that matters. I am slowly becoming more and more willing to become a fool for Christ, knowing that when I demonstrate that He is worthy, most worthy, with all my life, I will be a light unto the world, and that my light will burn in brighter contrast when the world in all its darkness stands against me as I stand for Him.

His glory alone matters.

Kisses From Katie

Very inspired!

Giving Thanks

If you know me in "real life", you will no doubt know that I am not a happy chappy. I am one of those grumbling, complaining, snarky, not exactly sweet-tempered people.

I've always been more than slightly jealous of those lucky people, who, through a combination of training and personality are sweet, calm and lovely people. I've known quite a few of them, and they're just plain lovely to be around.

A short while ago I was complaining to God about this. I have to work really hard to not complain, not to use less than lovely language, and to not get cross about pretty much anything that doesn't go according to my plans. It's tough, and I'm far from good at it.

And God said to be thankful for it.

I was like, you have GOT to be kidding me. Be thankful that I am a grumpy, bad-tempered person?

Yep, was the reply. Because it's a struggle.

I have to work at it. I have to work really, REALLY hard to be sweet. And in some
ways that means I get to be sweeter tempered in God's eyes than those who are just naturally that way.

So... I'm working on it...

I Not Like Growing In Patience

One of the qualities of love is patience. And this is probably, above all, the one I lack. I prize efficency. I get things done, get them done reasonably well, and get them done FAST. I have little patience with the slow, the less bright than me, or above all, the just plain inefficient.

God however, is interested in my character. And if it's patience that Sam needs, well then, it is patience that Sam will have to develop. And there's nothing like developing patience to make me feel like chucking a temper tantrum.

This process has been going for a while, and I DON'T LIKE IT. Here are some of the details:

- Continuous struggles with health. I have very little energy, especially in winter.
- A horrible housemate who was also my shepherd
- A hippie housemate
- An incredibly bad teamleader

Even in the positive realm I have to deal more with patience. I spend a lot of time helping Maryam with her studies and writing, and even though I love helping her with things, it does still call for patience.

I apologised to Ale and Helen (two of the people currently in my room) about our team-leader, saying that it was my fault because God was trying to teach me patience. Ale and I are praying for each other to grow in patience and grace - she is MUCH more patient than I am, but our teamleader stretches even her.

One day I will be patient. Hopefully before I get married, so my poor husband won't suffer (so much, at least).

Time Tested Beauty Tips

A poem by by Sam Levenson
(A favourite peom of Audrey Hepburn.)


For attractive lips,
speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes,
seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure,
share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair,
let a child run his fingers through it once a day.

For poise,
walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone...

People, even more than things,
have to be restored, renewed, revived,
reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed ...

Never throw out anybody. Remember, if you ever need a
helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands.
One for helping yourself, the other for helping others".