High Above the Earth

Whilst preparing to become a father is one of the most exciting experiences I could be faced with, I need to prepare for all the changes that will occur in my life ahead. As many have put it to me, nothing will be the same again. The joy that this bundle is going to bring and is already bringing blows the mind of a man who is yet to experience fatherhood.

It is only now that I can truly understand the commonly used phrase of “God is birthing something new”. I have understood the whole process and extrapolated with my limited understand to simply just that – birthing something new, a new life. As my wife and I travel down this road of bringing a new life into the world, of watching it grow within her and seeing the little one change, and with preparation for its arrival, I am beginning to understand and see how our Lord feels about such a birth in us.

God plants a small seed in us, a seed of a new life and a destiny, and He does it for each one of us. As excited as we get watching the beginnings of this new life develop within our wives, God is even more excited about seeing what He is birthing in our lives come to fruition. Each day He eagerly watches and waits, jumping for joy at each mm of growth that He can see. I bet my bottom dollar that He is constantly measuring to see how that seed is growing inside of us. I know if I had my own sonar, that is what I’d be doing with my baby!

As excited as God is about this new life birthed within us, we too must be excited. God’s plans are to profit us, not harm us, so we need to extend our faith to this new thing, be excited about it, contend for its growth so that in it’s birth we can truly celebrate!

It all happened on a Cross.

“CRACK”. The sound of a whip embedded with nails falls upon the bare back of a man who is without sin, beautiful in purity. He stands strong as the leather and nails rip into his flesh. The blood of purity begins to slowly run down His back. A single drop hits the parched earth. In the heavenlies there is silence, not a breath, not a stir as the angel stare at the unbelievable sight of the lamb. Upon His head a crown of thorns. A crown which instead of adorning the King of Hosts, cuts into his forehead and blood drips across His face. Soldiers around Him taunt him:

“King of the Jews? Hahahaa”

“Jesus!”

The crack and the sound of the whip beating down on the lamb can be barely heard above the torment...

Despite the pain and agony that He must feel, the lamb stands without intimidation, but with a resolute heart. A knowing of not only what is to come, but also the joy of his father’s will being revealed on earth.

In the heavenlies, the angels begin to stir. Almost for a moment the atrocious deed is forgotten. Like a whirlwind the angels are mustered into force. There is a job and a task to do. The angels depart to cover the globe, to meet and cover every person who was and is and ever will be. There is a hive of activity.

As the Son of our Lord most high stands whilst the whip bears down hard on Him, digging into His flesh, in His eyes you can see a mass of angels descending upon Him. Their arms laden with the sicknesses, illnesses, diseases and maladies that afflict man. Sicknesses of the past, sicknesses of the present day and sicknesses that are yet to come. These are released onto this Man of a pure heart and a pure soul. He takes each and every disease upon Himself, upon His back, upon the red stripes of flesh that is His back. The angels depart for more and more things of Man, the things for which God has promised. The angels travel back and forth across the earth and through the heavens so that no stone is left unturned, no sickness is left behind.

On earth, in the city of Jerusalem, the lamb stands torn and broken, upon His shoulder the cross for His crucifixion is borne. The hard splinter digging into His shoulders. It is too late and it has begun. With each shuffle and step He takes, the burdens of the world that man has fouled and polluted begin to fall upon His shoulders.

The sins of man past, present and future begin to arrive on angel’s wings and are laid upon His shoulders. Small lies, white lies land gently upon Him, but soon every lie to pass through the lips of man, like the grains of sand upon the ocean floor sit on He who has never lied. As he steps closer to Golgotha, the hill, the sins of man arrive thicker and faster: Cheating, stealing, lust, envy pride anger, jealousy hate and murder. The list is endless. Not just from man of today, but of man past and of man future. The cross the lamb carries, the sacrificial tree is light compared with the sinful burdens of man, the deceit of man. The lamb stumbles and a gentleman from the crowd is forced to carry the cross for the king. Little does he know that the man next to him will die for him by the end of the day. The Son of Man will give His life for this mortal and for every person alive, dead and yet to be born.

In the heat and dust upon the hill, the lamb is forced to lie upon the tree that is the cross. His arm stretched open wide, a symbol of His great love for you and me, for all men, women and children. A cold hard nail is pressed into His hand. “WHACK” “WHACK.” With each clang of the hammer the angels lay upon this man every sick and depraved act of man upon His soul. The excruciating pain that the lamb feels is nothing compared to the sin that now permeates His body. As the second nail pierces His skin, Adultery, murder, lust, pornography, theft, rape and every evil and sick desire of man is poured into His soul. His pure white soul. The angels are hard at work bring the sorrowful fruit of man to Him who is pure. Like the nails that pierced His body and held Him to the tree, the transgressions of man pierce him too, but a thousand times a thousand more. The pain is too much to bear.

And as he hangs there on the tree, sentenced to death beside 2 robbers, His blood drips onto the tree, His blood, the blood of the Lamb, is born on the cross. Through all that now has inflicted “The King of the Jews”, His heart is still filled with love, love for you, love for me, love for every person that has been and is yet to be born. He even forgave the robber hanging on the cross beside Him. The mocking and the cheering of the King grew, the torment grew. Why Why Why? He is the Son of Man, He is here to rescue you and to save you. Yet we still torment Him.

“ELOI , ELOI, lama sabachthani?”

“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit”

“It is finished!”

At that moment, darkness covers the land, the veil of the temple was torn in two....

A Cocoon of Protection

I marvel at the amzing God we have. Ther are few words to describe Him, and even those just touch the surface. God is bigger than our small human minds could ever comprehend - quite scary isn't it.

During a recent visit to the Zoo, I saw this fun attraction for kids and I loved the colours of the balls, the life and the fun portrayed.

The more I think about this picture, the more convinced I am that it depicts our lives in a Christian walk. Bear with me for a moment. Take the large plastic (?) balls, equate this to the protection, love and care that our Lord provides us. His loving angels stand at guard around us and protect us as we go about our business. We are the children inside these globes, going about our lives in complete protection. Despite being in the water, we don't get wet. We have plenty of space to stretch, enjoy and live.



When we fall, He is there to protect and catch us, to cushion us from the blow.

So, there is one BIG question that you may ask, why do we get hurt. I wish the answer were as simple or as short as the question. In the grand scheme of things, perhaps it is. The only way anything can harm us in our coccon, is when we let it in. We have control and access to all things coming into our lives, it is these things, through our own choice, that we allow to hurt us. If I look back across my life, the things that have hurt me, are all things I have let in, out of my own choice and my own selfish desire.

Let's be more aware of what we allow into our lives.

Be blessed!

The Grace of our Lord

The more one thinks about it, the quicker the list grows - there is just so much to be thankful for.
21. My Dad - for his quiet determination
22. Safe travels over the oceans
23. For the safety of His sancuary
24. For the safety of my family
25. For His completeness
26. My need for completeness in Him
27. The delight of returning home and seeing my lovely wife once again
28. For His gentle touch, His guidance and His strength - Our Lord helps us through everything
29. For every day I am able to achieve my goals
30. For His endless blessings

Being Thankful

My word - does time fly by when things absorb and occupy you, keeping you away from the things that you should hold dear to you. "Keep The Main Thing, The Main Thing!"

Well, as suspected, the start of this list of things to be thankful for has sparked much soul searching and debate in what I value in life and what I should rather value and appreciate. I am not convinced priorities are in the correct order, but this list is going a long way to "realign" my mind to focus on the correct things as opposed to everything else that comes across my path.

11. For the trust given me by my friends and colleagues.
12. Early morning trips that allow me to see the sun rise across the landscape.
13. Watching the sunset - seeing each star being called out to shine across the sky!
14. The support of friends who are always there to help when I need it.
15. Raymond - More than just a true friend.
16. For the new challenges my Lord has faced before me.
17. For His unending grace.
18. For our new house - it may not be perfect, but it will be a home that will be filled with much love and laughter. It will exude warmth and love.
19. The excitement of seeing old friends.
20. For the loyalty and love that my dogs show to me - what a wonderful way to get home each day!

1000 Things to be Thankful For

I was inspired by the Gratitude Community blog about 1000 things to be Thankful For.

I had an email come across the screen the other day that equated heaven to a bunch of offices where angels processed prayers. The "requests" office was large and very busy and as one went from office to office you were aware of the selfishness of man. The last office that was descurbed was a small office with only a single angel twiddling their thumbs. This room was to process all the "thank yous" sent bup to heaven in our prayers. I wondered how accurate such a portrayal could be? not the office idea, but how selfish we as humans are. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that it was not often that I thanked the Lord for any small blessing that He puts across my path. The big blessings are easy, it's the little things that we take for granted.

So, where to start? This most certainly isn't something that can be done all at once, although further reflection of it should be plainly easy. It shows how much we take for granted each day. But in what order? As I start to jot down ideas and thoughts I begin to wonder whether they should be in any particularly order - would it make these things less important to me? No - however all but the first 2 are in no particular order!

1) The Lord, his love for me, and for being His son (I can put all these as one can't I?)
2) My wife, Megan. For the angel that she is to me, the joy she brings to each day, the delight in my heart when I see her, for all she does for me and with me. I couldn't ask for a better companion.
3) My Family. Spread far and wide across this globe. My brothers and sister whom although we don't see each other regularly, mean the world to me. A family gives one foundation and their love and support in all things is all the encouragement one needs.
4) My Father. A man from whom I have learnt much over the years, fought wiht and loved. A man who taught me humility and honesty in the most amazing way.
5) My Mom. A lovely woman taken from us whilst still young, but I am thankful for even the little time that she shared with us. Thoughts of her still bring tears to my eyes almost 18 years down the line.
6)For a job doing something that I love, working with people that I enjoy, and living a dream.
7)For our new house - Been only in it a week so have to still be excited about it. It contains a view I have always dreamed of having, all the amenities needed plus more. We are truly blessed!
8) For a church and community that cares for and loves us.
9) For church leaders who stretch, challenge and grow me at each turn to be in the image of God. Still a long way to go, but heading in the right direction.
10) For my pets - 2 lovingly amazing dogs. Totally dedicated and devoted to us. If you want to know what love really is, you need a pet!

More is to come.

Be blessed and thankful!

Excitement and apprehension...

The documents have long since been signed. Technically the property is not yet ours and we have to sit in wait for the legal processes to be finalised. Why do not these people understand the anxiousness surrounding a property purchase and the final registration of the property.


We have a little over a week to move into the new abode, what excitement and adventure. However, the apprehension mounts as the days slip by in waiting for registration to occur. We have much to do on the house in preparation for our occupation and as the days slip past us we begin to find it more and more difficult to squeeze so much into such a short space of time. We would love to jump in there and start, but after caution form the legal fraternity, we are left with the apprehension and anxiety of having to wait, wait, wait