Interior Design - Part 1

     "Oops! I did it again!" I bet you never thought as a Christian your theme song would be so Britney Spears heavy! You were doing so well when BOOM!! You've messed up again. It feels as if someone has snuck into your house just after you've tidied it and gone Family Guy chicken fight on it! You just got everything where you wanted it and now it's a mess again. What to do? What to do? The answer may well be in interior design.


2Corinthians 4:16 says - So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.


     Our first point is to not lose heart. It's easy to grab a silly hat and a party popper and join the pity party but hold your horses a second! If we start to understand that we are designed in a particular way on the inside (each of us different) we begin figuring why we fall into the cycles that so frustrate us. Many of us go for a long time trying to make certain things in our life work for us and wonder why everything else keeps collapsing.


     It's kind of like when your friend gets some furiture or a painting that goes with nothing else in the house and they spend hours trying to find a good place for it. When they ask for your advice all you can hear in your head is the beeping of the binmen's truck! Or when someone who lives in a tiny house gets a gigantic television that means you have to turn your head to see who's talking to who! There's not enough room! Sometimes you just have to throw things out. Not because they're bad but because they don't suit your interior design.


     Sometimes you need a sovereign act of God to destroy a sin cycle and sometimes you need to pay attention to interior design. The devil wants to decorate your interior with sin that he can hang shame and guilt on for the world to see and as a constant reminder to you that you're not good enough for God. If you do nothing, he'll just carry on. Broken promises are scattered around the house and every cupboard in the kitchen is made of cynicism with a rough, bitter finish. It's up to you to decide if you want to help him.


     People have a tendency to delve deeper into sin once we've made a mistake because we want our interiors to match (and often we start trying to make our exterior match as well).

Refined in a Fire

     I think that God often doesn't want to change our situations when we think that they're bad because He doesn't want us to miss out on the opportunity of going through some adversity with Him at our side and emerging with more wisdom, understanding and faith in Him. I've definitely been guilty of thinking that if a situation is difficult, "God can't be involved because Jesus died to make my life easy. This is hard so it must be the devil!" Ha! A quick look in Paul's letters and I find verses about horrible words I wish weren't in the Bible like struggle, perseverance, endurance and suffering. I hear Paul telling people to get excited at these things! Are you kidding me? Come on God just do everything for me! Sometimes God will ride in dropping miracles everywhere but apparently sometimes He has other plans...
     As we spend time in His presence, He draws out from us His own image and equips us to take on our situation. I am the one who needs to choose that instead of complaining about my situation I can renew my mind knowing that if He hasn't removed the situation He must believe in me! I'm starting to understand that any situation I encounter God is ready to use it to build me up. Any situation. Good, bad, big, small, whatever. This should give us confidence right? If we strap on our armour and go into battle He goes before us leading us as we learn on the job. If we lose now and again we can still claim victory over fear because we didn't run from the battle line! When we emerge victorious, we come out with the keys to see others liberated in the same way but usually quicker. God is a genius and one thing I've been blown away by is the way He produces progression in the Church. One person can spend a year working through an awful situation and emerge stronger having been equipped with wisdom and character so that they can see 10 people come through the same situation in half the time with twice the blessing! WHAAAT??? That's big picture thinking! I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be God hearing your children cry out for deliverance and withholding it because you know that their perseverance will mean so many more get impacted by what they learn!
     Before crying out to God to change the situation, how about we ask Him, "So what do you think Dad? Can we take em?" Sometimes He'll say we're not ready and others He'll say "Put on your armour lad/lass, it's gonna be a tough one but I know you can do it!" Are we willing to take hits so that we learn hard lessons for the benefit of others? If the answers is yes, let's suit up!
     I've grown up thinking that praying for the instant miracle is always the way to go and then not really knowing what to do if it doesn't happen instantly. I'm starting to think that committing in my heart to a potentially long process that will require me to trust God long-term is better because either I will walk that path and grow and develop with Him or He will see my faith and perform the miracle anyway. Just another thought. Thanks for reading.

"One person and God is the majority." 

The Sin Next Door

Check out Genesis 4:7b

The context of the story is that Cain and Abel have just brought their offerings to God and He's accepted Abel's and not Cain's and Cain is ticked. God gives Him a warning and a challenge that I think we should all take into account more seriously. "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for^c you, but you must rule over it.”


Picture the scene. The sunrise gently warms your face through your bedroom window as you wake up to the sound of morning birds sitting in trees swaying in the breeze. Jesus is already downstairs making breakfast out of Bible pages. You take your time over it and enjoy a hearty conversation with Him about your day. You finish up with a fresh glass of living water from the well inside you and you're ready to take on the world! As you open the front door, silence falls. A deadly silence. You can't see it but you know it's out there. You know it's waiting. You know it's watching.


Carefully but confidently you step out onto the driveway and you hear the heavy breathing but can't quite tell where it's coming from. With each turn a darting shadow avoids your direct gaze. Suddenly the sound of rapid paws on the ground is heard but stops abruptly. Jesus leans out of the front window and shouts "Heads up!" Looking upward you see the huge Beast of Sin sailing through the air, claws outstretched and mouth wide open. In one movement you take a simple step backwards and draw your sword causing the enemy's pounce to fall short. It rears up on it's hind legs to appear larger but you run in and force your sword through the exposed flesh. The beast falls dead.


Sometimes, this is the right way to deal with sin. We have to learn that sin is not passive (it is first described in the Bible by God as being a beast with desires waiting to pounce) but it is aggressive in pursuing its victims. Sin isn't an entity or being but the way it operates is vicious and so our response is to fight it! Our warfare isn't based on our own strength, but the strength of our relationship with Jesus. If He is our source and His Word is our foundation and we draw power from His Spirit, we win the battles over sin. He's already won the war. Many Christians want to leave their daily victory over sin to Jesus alone but God challenges us here to rule over sin! He invites us to partner up with Jesus to live in the victory He won over sin on the cross by living by the Spirit and not by the flesh each day. Sin will always try to make itself look bigger. When this happens, you know it's time to crucify the flesh again.



However, sometimes the day goes a little more like this.

Picture the scene. The annoying light of the Sun shoves its way into your room partnering with the inconsiderate birds who decide to vandalise your eardrums. Jesus is already downstairs making breakfast out of Bible pages but you're late so you don't really have time to chat with Him. You wolf down a couple spoons and you're out the door and on the driveway. You can't see it. You know it's out there. You know it's waiting. You know it's watching. You... really can't be bothered. You wack your earphones in and make a move.

You hear a distant, faint shout just as you fall to the ground and you feel the weight of sin bearing down on you. You fumble for your sword but in your mind's eye you see it on the kitchen table. Looking back to the house you see Jesus standing at the front door but the beast spreads its wings to appear larger and obstructs your view. You're waiting for Jesus to jump in and save the day but you're still pinned down. It seems to be growing larger and heavier and its getting harder to breathe. Its eyes transfix you in their cold, dead gaze. You feel the creature's venom begin to permeate your body through your pores and head towards your heart as you start to go numb. Finally regretting the way you went about your morning, your tears of repentance release the living water inside you and drinking it you are strengthened and begin struggling. After fighting your way out from under the beast Jesus stuns it with a blow to the skull from His cross giving you the time to find your sword and kill it.

This isn't just about starting your day right or having your "quiet time" in the morning. This is about your attitude towards Jesus in all things. You can't give Him too much attention as He'll always have something great for you. Without spending time with Him we lose perspective on sin and it becomes more and more trivial to us. We lose power over it because that also comes out of relationship with the One who defeated it forever. It's not a one time deal. Jesus told His disciples to stay in His love (John 15:9) because that's where strength and effectiveness comes from. He wouldn't tell them to stay if it wasn't possible to stray!

Sometimes when we mess up we start to see our sin as bigger even than Jesus and we lose sight of Him. Guilt sets in and so does the voice of the accuser and we start to feel impure. This is why Jesus tells us that the pure in heart are blessed (Matthew 5:8) because they see God. They see Him as He is, full of grace and truth, pouring out forgiveness. It's through repentance that we get restored.

Final thought: 2Timothy 2:22 - "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."

All that being said, if you're having to struggle and fight with the same sin everyday, maybe you should just move to a better neighbourhood and get some new friends...

Understanding Forgiveness - Part 4 - The Unoffended Heart

Check out part 3...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-3.html    

God has been teaching me about the principle of an unoffended heart. This is a heart that regardless of past disappointments and hurts still remains open and bursting with love. The owner of an unoffended heart is not a weak-willed, attention-starved desperate individual but rather a person who is stronger than most of us in being able to see past offences and loving the people behind them. I am convinced that an offended heart is prone to cultivating unforgiveness as well as isolation and loneliness. People who often feel inexplicably lonely in the presence of many friends are likely to have an area of unforgiveness that they are yet to deal with. I believe an unoffended heart is nothing short of supernatural and requires the intervention of God to produce. An unoffended heart will keep the door open even after someone has brought in their muddy shoes. The spirit of the age says those who bare the burden of unforgiveness can never trust again but the Spirit of Christ says "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28) He who prayed for the forgiveness of those who stripped him, beat him, humiliated him and nailed him to a cross is the only One capable of giving us a heart that returns evil with good and hatred with love (Romans 12:21).


Father I pray that you would teach us to love selflessly and outrageously and forgive immediately out of the overflow of an unoffended heart that has known Your unconditional love.

Understanding Forgiveness - Part 3 - Unforgiveness

Part 2...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-2-paying.html

Unforgiveness is seen as completely justifiable in today's society. We can all probably identify something that is fine not to forgive someone for or at least to delay forgiveness for. Think of a big furry dog covered in mud (weird I know) walking around inside a nice white house. Everytime it enters a room it's only a matter of time before it does the standard crazy-dog-shake and dirt goes absolutely everywhere! I understand unforgiveness as being like this. As Christians each one of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit and God lives in us (1Corinthians 3:16) making us more like Jesus by renewing our minds (Romans 12:2). Unforgiveness is like inviting that paint-covered dog into the house. It will start in the front room and shake around until the room looks different, dirtier. It will eventually move into the next room and do the same, changing the appearance of the room. If unforgiveness goes unchecked in our lives it begins to twist and change our perceptions. We develop trust issues, become paranoid. As a result we isolate ourselves and build defense mechanisms to prevent ourselves from being vulnerable or hurt again. I believe that one of the main tactics of the devil in taking people down is isolation. In the beginning God said it is not good for Man to be alone (Gen 2:18) and the enemy knows that our faith can fail us in the absence of community and encouragement. If you want to know the areas of your life where the devil may be attacking you, have a look at where you're being separated from people who are positive influences on you. Anyway, unforgiveness is an intruder in the house of God and when detected it should be cast out immediately! Unforgiveness ruins lives. What if we all cast unforgiveness out of our hearts? Why don't we?

Check out part 4...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-4.html

Understanding Forgiveness - Part 2 - Paying the Cost

Part 1...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-1-free.html

I reckon one of the reasons we don't see forgiveness that way is because we miss one of the main components of forGIVEness. It involves giving! Most of our attitudes towards forgiveness are passive and so we wait to receive an apology so that we can take the offense we've stored in our heart and "let it go". I believe forgiveness is not the passive letting go of an offended heart but the rejection of the pain of the offense in exchange for love which is then poured out on the offender whether they are sorry or not. Forgiveness is a gift and the best gifts are undeserved. We also often see forgiveness as a bargaining chip "If you do this, I'll forgive you". In this case, forgiveness is no longer a gift but actually becomes payment and the person receiving it becomes fully deserving of it. The virtue of the giver is lost. Forgiveness is supposed to cost us something. That's what giving is. Sacrifice. As Christians we understand that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8) and therein lies the beauty of our salvation and the divine model for forgiveness! What if we sought to model this forgiveness to the world? Why don't we?

Check out part 3...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-3.html

Understanding Forgiveness - Part 1 - The Free Gift

I've been at Bible College for a year and one of the biggest lessons God has been teaching me (which isn't a subject in school) is about forgiveness particularly as it applies to Christians but also more widely. I think one of the first things He opened my eyes to is the fact any Christian who withholds forgiveness doesn't understand it. By virtue of being a Christian we give up our right to withhold forgiveness from anyone who wrongs us as our lives were saved by One who laid down everything so that forgiveness could become available to us. As living perfection Jesus had every right to both judge and condemn us but instead He chose to lay His life down so that we could have the Father's forgiveness. Think about a time when you've come to knock on a door and someone opens it before you manage to. I think that forgiveness should be like that. Forgiveness is not a response to an apology but a change of heart in the name of love that occurs following an offense. The death of Jesus has made the forgiveness of God the Father available to the those who turn from their own ways to His and so as soon as someone repents (raises their hands to knock on the door) the forgiveness of God bursts out over them in a flood of love and grace washing away the offense (the door swings open and a warm embrace waits on the other side). What would happen if we saw forgiveness that way? Why don't we?

Check out part 2...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-2-paying.html