Heath with a Purpose

Liebster Award Thank you  Alicia Day for nominating my post,  "Influences That Create Who We Are"  for a Liebster Award. I am honoured to be nominated for this award. I just recently heard about this award and what it represents and I think this is a great way to celebrate fellow bloggers. It is not easy putting your thoughts and words out there fearing what may come of them or how readers will respond to them. When we are given support in anything we do it can give us a spark that helps us to continue our work. The same goes for an opposite affect, negative and lack of support can easily put the fire out. Part of the nomination process is to answers some questions about myself and my blog. How would you define success? My perspective of success is shaped by what I make it. The value of anything grows when you invest into it. Success is often the opposite of failure but if success is something we build then failure isn't in the equation nor should it be...

The greatest piece of evidence in support of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for me, is the fact that we can't define him. If this God was created by man then we could comprehend who he is.  Before I was a believer, as I looked from the outside in, my view concerning a relationship with this "almighty" God, was that these people believing this stuff were creating a God that they wanted and on top of that it seemed that people believed in this same God differently. For an example The same God that freed the American slaves in the 1800's was the same God who protected the slave trade. People on both sides of this had a relationship with God, justifying their position yet rejected the other position.  I didn't realize it but I was making a big mistake. I was allowing my little bit of knowledge to determine my opinion, ignoring all of the knowledge that could be understood. This might sound odd but if we're honest, its a lot easier putting our own t...

He said to them,  “Because of your little faith. For  truly, I say to you,  if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed,  you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and  nothing will be impossible for you.”   Matthew 17:20 I don't know about you but after reading what Jesus said to his disciples I feel like I have very little faith. Im not near any mountains but if I were, I feel like I wouldn't be brave enough or would doubt I could move a physical mountain by my command.   When thinking about how much of something we tend to think in quantity. In this remark by Jesus we can notice that he uses such a small item to describe a faith that can move mountains. If one mustard seed of faith can do that I must have less then a 10th of that kind of faith. The trouble with this thinking is that if I want to gain a larger faith I'd need to somehow add to what faith I already have. I can try to work more, pray ...

I titled this post with a question because this was the biggest question I had about scripture. I found myself at a cross roads. I couldn't deny God's presence in my life. From how God has been with me my whole life to knowing that I needed Jesus to die for me as the perfect sacrifice that is necessary to pay for my sins. This new understanding filled me with joy, excitement, energy, and purpose. From being a total skeptic to basically a new believer, I was frustrated with where I stood in my faith. I believed that I needed Jesus but I still had trouble believing I needed the bible. My view of scripture was a pile of words that, if you really wanted to, you could skew the words to say what ever you really wanted to say.  I remember exactly where I was, I was in my car after my shift outside the farm I worked at when I cried out to God "IF YOU WANTED ME TO BELIEVE YOUR WORD WHY DID YOU START IT WITH SUCH A LIE!!" I could not get over the seven day creation. Ou...

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬ “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55:6‬ ‭NIV ‬‬ The gospel is best understood when it's discovered, not when it's told. As christians, our influence on the world has a far greater impact when we live the life scripture calls us to, seeking God first and loving our neighbours. When we are known for telling others what to do and how to live, we are putting ourselves in between them and Christ. We need to be transparent. Our goal should be that when people see us, they really see God. What I'm writing might seem hypocritical, but if anything, by writing this it allows this to be a reminder for myself as well.  The most fulfilling discovery I have ever come across is Jesus Christ. It sounds cliché and I might have lost all, if not most of my readers that don't believe or don't have a relationship with Jesus.  I'm n...

I have previously talked about shame and how the proper response is to worship God. The last thing you probably want to do when your in a dark place is worship. You might think God deserves better. In April, I heard a pastor preach on Lazarus in John 11:43-44.  When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” ‭‭ Before Jesus came into each of our lives we were dead to sin. But Jesus has called us like he called Lazarus. Now picture Lazarus walking out of the grave. Did he come out glowing wearing white with angels singing behind him? No, he probably stunk and was still wrapped in his grave clothes. We are just like Lazarus. We still aren't perfect even though we are now alive in Christ. When God called us it wasn't when we were in a state of glory, but rather a state of m...

Life is testing sometimes. It can almost get to the point where it feels like, well, a test. To be honest the culture we live in today, the western world, has created this mind set. It has even created a plan for you. You go to school, get good grades, work hard, and everything will work out. This might work for some but for the rest of us we know that this isn't the recipe for success. I didn't do so well in school. I did just enough to get by because I had to. I had to get an education because if I didn't I was told I wouldn't be able to get a job anywhere. Everything I did was graded. Now that I'm working full time I find it interesting how when we make a mistake we hear about it, but when we are doing it right we are just expected to do so.  I adapted how I was tested by the world to how God tests me. I struggled with that consept because I came across This verse in James. “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be...

            When I first accepted the truth that I was broken and needed a saviour, a couple church topics did not make sense to me. The first was prayer. I thought if God already knows what I need why do I need to pray for it? I learned thorough my ignorance that pray isn’t about connecting God with me but connecting me to God. The second was worship. It made no sense to me that we had to worship. Doesn't that mean that God is incomplete because he needs us to worship? But as God softened my heart I realized worship is an expression of what we love. Its not for his benefit but for ours because he is what gives us life.       Tim Keller wrote: “Evidently what we worship will eventually lead us to our death. Jesus is the only thing we can worship that died for us”.       I f a new believer asked me what they needed to do to be saved I would tell them to repent of their sins and take up their cross ...