Heath with a Purpose

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 ...

“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...

“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬ "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of the mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians1:27 NIV The word in us? Christ in us? Seems to me that scripture suggests the idea that God is always with us. If thats the case, why is communicating with God so hard or often unclear? And if God is perfect in every way, why do we struggle to understand him. Often I feel like we treat communication as if it were a cycle. I say something to you, you then process what I said, once you come to an understanding you respond accordingly. Unfortunately this method is flawed. I think one of the biggest problems we have is our inability to communicate clearly. This causes fights, ends relationships and starts wars. When we are in a conversation with another, we o...

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 ...

Jesus refers to himself as the bread of life. Out of all his titles, I find this one the least relevant. I need him to be the Lamb who was slain, the lion, my king, the endless spring of water in my life, the High Priest I confide in, the light for my path. But why the bread? In all the other examples they all are necessities but bread is not. Some people have cut bread out of their diets to be healthier and some people can't eat it without getting sick. I know back when Jesus was walking the earth people didn't count their calories or have the same awareness about the food they ate that we do (then again do we even know what we are eating), but because I believe Jesus knows everything he should of known that eventually we would come to realize that bread isn't necessary. As I read John Chapter 6, the whole picture starts to reveal itself. First you see that Jesus preforms this miraculous miracle feeding the 5000 with a boys lunch, then he is found walking on the wa...