Blake is a practicing psychotherapist, city group leader at Bread, and all-round kind, compassionate human familiar with the messy journey we’re all on at this time. She chats through some answer to the anonymous questions that have been posted on our site.
Chances are someone is feeling something similar so don’t be shy. Ask Blake! The only bad question is the one you can’t ask!
In the first service of 2020, we consider what God is calling us to be and to do, both individually and as a church community. Throughout the Bible, the people of God are confronted with a choice to make about the decisions they have to make in their lives: Do they trust, and do they wait, and do they love God; or Do they grasp, and do they strive, and do they rush God?
Jesus said a focus on money will blind us and keep our hearts in the dark. We rob money of its hold over us when we; acknowledge its power, admit our weakness over it, and become generous with it. By contrast, focusing on the treasures of Jesus’ kingdom, will instead fill our whole beings with light.
The world and everything in it belongs to God. He’s looking for us to look after and use well the bountiful gifts He gives us. The key to a joyful fullness of life, and the only true antidote to anxiety, greed and consumption is to hold lightly to what we have and be giving it back to Him over and again.
What does the Holy Spirit do? The early Christians first experience of the Holy Spirit was powerful. In the book of Acts, there is an explosion of the Spirit's activity - violent winds shake rooms; tongues of fire appear; the disciples stumble out into the street like drunk people; Paul is blinded and knocked from his horse; the Holy Spirit falls in power on everyone - even the Gentiles.
You, are infinitely significant because you’ve been made in the image of an infinite God. We all share something of his DNA, but we don’t always feel that special. The God DNA has been, and continues to be marred in us, but Jesus is on a mission to restore it all. If only we let Him. He uniquely has the power to make us new so that we can experience the infinite significance, infinite love and infinite purpose for which we were all created. Jesus is the one we need. The more of Him, the more we become fully ourselves.
In a world where it seems increasingly difficult to know what to believe, and where life at times can feel stark raving bonkers, what we’re all yearning for is something real, true and dependable. We don’t need more words or speeches right now, we need universe-altering action. Christmas says God became a human. One of us. He showed us he knows exactly what it is like to be human and he showed us exactly what it is to be God. That’s action. He it is who makes sense of our world, even when the world seems to be losing its marbles. He is what we’re made for and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in him. Thank God for Christmas
