Today I welcome Christi Armstrong to my blog and love her insight and heart!

When I was a little girl, I LOVED candy corn. It was one of my favorite treats, and is now one of my daughter’s “go to’s” as well. My grandfather always had some around the house and I remember, I would eat and eat and eat, untill I got sick from so much sugar. Good memories for me.

As I was sitting down at the table today, looking at my daughter’s bowl of candy corn that she is diligently and patiently working through, as fast as mommy will let her, I started thinking about the process I used, to decide which ones to eat. I wasn’t a “take a handful and pile it in” kind of kid. I hand picked all my pieces and ate them slowely, section by section (I still firmly believe the different sections have different flavors), savoring each one.

While digging my finger around in the pile of yellow orange and white yummyness today, I thought about how, as a little girl, I always chose the the ‘different’ ones. You know, the ones without the white on top, the ones with no yellow or a forgotten middle section, the factory “oops’s”. Somehow, in my child’s brain, those were the special ones, the unique ones, and I would pride myself in finding all of those that I could and snatching them away for my own pile of treats. They were more exciting to me than the rest of the bag combined.

Isn’t this so much like how our Father views us? We see our broken, battered, differences as imperfections, making us flawed and unworthy of significance. But God sees them as unique life marks, created or allowed by Him to frame and shape who we are and who we are to become. He knows that to be different is an exciting thing, because it’s by being set apart and different that we can have the capacity to change the world around us. If we don’t walk through any pain, we can’t very effectively help others who are going through it too.

Our pain can cripple us, or it can single us out to be able to help others who are breaking now, who are realizing how different they are right now, who are getting pieces torn out of them at this moment. How else can we really help them, than by having walked through that fire ourselves?

God doesn’t look at our scars and see us as the good, the bad and the ugly…He sees us, all of us, as His children who have been wounded in the battle and if we let him, He can use those wounds to help heal others. There is beauty that comes from pain, if you stop protecting it long enough to let God close enough to heal you and use it for His Glory.

Give thanks for your broken pieces, because through them, God is giving you an opportunity to serve Him. Though our bodies or our emotions may be broken or wounded for a time, our spirits are made whole through the touch of His hand and this will give us the strength to continue on. While you are continuing on, don’t just carry that brokenness around with you, letting it weigh you down as you walk through life. Use it to glorify Him, by guiding others to Him through it. Allow God to create and fulfill the purpose and meaning of your pain.

Christi Armstrong
http://www.facebook.com/ChristiArmstrong.page

If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.

Hey!  I hope you are doing well. I really was taken by my time in the Bible today, looking at Psalm 139  and how He has a plan for me!  Feeling good!! To watch my video click the play button below or if you can’t see it, click here:  VIDEO.

God bless,

Mark Brown

If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.

Recently I posted on Facebook a photo of my new tat which got nearly 700 comments, many saying a tat was wrong and even a sin. So in the vid below I explain what the Bible says and why I got my tat.

Click on the play button and if you can’t see the video on email click here: VIDEO

God bless,

Mark Brown

If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.

I welcome Christi Armstrong to my blog today…

Jeremiah 18:3-5

So I did as He told me and found the potter, working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out how he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over…As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so you are in my hand.

How often do I not turn out as my potter intends? How many times will he need to remake me? Re-mold me? Re-form me? I think my whole life up to this point, and my whole life until I die has been and will be a consistent process of breaking down my imperfections, to rebuild me stronger and stronger. Those broken times hurt, and they hurt a lot, but those are also the times when God proves to me that I can and will trust my clay pieces in the hands of the one who is the master of molding the stubborn and hard parts of me. Left to my own devices, I would collapse in on myself and be unable to move. But in His hands, even when it hurts, I can become something I never imagined, yet He always envisioned me to be.

Father, thank you for your hands that break. Thank you for your hands that build and carefully mold my life to your will for what it should be. Hold my pieces in those times of pain and remind me, when I am broken, that it is then that I am ready to be made more like you. Amen.

God bless,

Christi Armstrong

http://www.facebook.com/ChristiArmstrong.page

If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive these reflections as an email for free: click here.

Photo credit:  http://www.flickr.com/ photos/ronmerk/

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5

I want to address a very very difficult topic, something so sensitive that I have been praying hard how best to talk about it.  And it is abuse within relationships.  Though this doesn’t apply to me, I have not been abused and I have not abused, as I read the above passage I immediately thought of people known to me who have been abused and my heart breaks for the massive pain and trauma they experience.  But before I get into this topic I need to share a warning, abusers will often monitor the computer of the person they are abusing as part of their control, if you are being abused, to be safe read my post on a friends computer.

Abuse comes in a number of forms including, Emotional Abuse where a person’s sense of self and emotional security is undermined, eg by verbal abuse, threats of maltreatment and severe punishment, rejecting the person and with-holding affection, creating a climate of fear, or keeping the person socially isolated.  There is Spiritual Abuse when someone uses their power within a framework of spiritual belief or practise to satisfy their own needs at the expense of others. And Physical Abuse involves contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm. And Sexual Abuse which is the forcing of unwanted sexual activity by one person on another, as by the use of threats or coercion.

The common theme is one person controlling another and using whatever it takes including, manipulation, threats, violence, withholding affection, tight control of the finances to name a few.  And abusers are very hard to spot, the are more often than not friendly, well educated professionals who attend church and on the surface are well adjusted members of society. Behind closed doors in secret they are controlling monsters, lauding it over their partners.  The abused partner lives in almost constant fear, unaware when the next abuse incident will happen.  One of my friends who experienced serious abuse described it like being in prison in your own home.

And one of the major side effects of being abused is that you have little self worth, the person abused is made to feel useless by the abuser, they are led to believe they would be hopeless without the abusing partner.  And this is one of the reasons the abused person doesn’t leave, they come to believe they would not survive without their partner.

In the 1 Peter ready above it states: As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him. The Greek for ‘rejected’ means useless, so as someone calls you useless, makes you feel useless what are you to do?

You are to become a Living Stone.

Living in the Greek is referring to being full of vigour and constancy and Stone means Jesus, so how do you overcome the feeling of uselessness?  The passage offers that you direct your attention, your time and energy to becoming more like Jesus.  How can you do that?

Jesus prayed heaps, he was constantly praying (Mark 1 ).  So be encouraged to pray more.

Jesus embraced the outcasts, the poor, the sick, those who society rejected (Luke 5 ).  Seek out ways to serve those who others reject.

Jesus helped restore those who were broken (Matthew 14:14-21 ;  Matthew 17:27 ).  Take the time to sit with people in their pain, to pray with them, to offer them practical support.

Jesus repeatedly rebuked religious people who buried the true heart of God in their man made traditions (Matthew 19:3-8 , Luke 13:10-17 ).  Stand up against church practice and religious beliefs that are against the Bible and God’s will.

1 Peter is completely clear, if you are made to feel useless then know this, you are chosen by God and precious to Him. Which literally means God thinks you are absolutely awesome! The Greek states that God exalts you, that you are highly valued.

So if you are in an abusive relationship you need to take action.  It may well be that you need to leave.  This is incredibly hard when you feel so worthless, so seek to follow the example of Jesus, strengthen your sense of self through connecting with God who thinks you are amazing. And when you have the strength, then speak to your pastor, your doctor or a trusted friend and seek help. God hates abuse and nowhere in the Bible does it say that you must remain in an abusive relationship.

For services that will help you in your part of the world click here:  HELP.  (Remember abusers often monitor your computer use, so to be safe, use a friends computer.)

For support on Facebook click on:  Survivors Pathway.

God bless,

Mark Brown

http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB

If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.

Photo credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/denniswong/

Hey!!  Pray you are well.

Recently I have been praying through whether I should continue my Journey Deeper into God’s Word blog and in this video I share what God has shown me.  And His direction came to me through being judged by others, powerful stuff!  Click on the play button below to watch my reflection on 1 Peter 2:1-3 .  If you can’t see the video click here: VIDEO.

God bless,

Mark Brown

http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB

If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.

Photo credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/bsabarnowl/

Check out my latest time in the Word – 1 Peter 1:17-25 . Click on the play button below, if you can’t see it on email click here: Video.

God bless,

Mark Brown

http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB

If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.

image credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmscottimd/

“You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.” Hebrews 5:12-14

I am in training. From the time I came into this world, to the time I say my final farewell, I am in training.

When I was born, my parents gave me milk to drink, which was perfect for my infant body. A key thing about this is that my parents gave it to me. I didn’t have to go searching for it myself; I didn’t have to feed myself. That was done for me as at that point, I was too young to understand.

Left on my own, I might not eat enough or I might get too much at once and not be able to digest what I just took in. I might seek food that looks good, smells good, tastes good, but is really bad for me.

My parents fed me in that time for a reason. I needed their guidance in that stage of my life. But as I got older and began to mature, my parents transitioned from feeding me pure milk, which is easy to digest, to solid food, which has more of the nutrients I needed to grow. It was at this point that I began to learn to feed myself. My parents guided and directed but they were gradually giving more and more control of my nourishment back to me. They wanted me to grow and thrive, even when they weren’t around and more than that, they wanted me to have the tools and the knowledge I needed to be able to help my own kids and loved ones grow one day.

It’s easy to stay on a milk diet. I don’t have to think about what I will find to eat each day. If I just drank milk, I wouldn’t have to hunt for nourishment. I would just take whatever was given to me and absorb what I could.

The danger is that if I did this, I would stop growing and even more concerning, I wouldn’t know when I was being fed good milk and when it was contaminated, because I was never taught to tell the difference. The scariest part is, if all I have is milk, given to me by other people, what am I really able to give to those I love and want to feed?

Now as I think about this in relation to my spiritual growth I see that my parents, in this case would be those in my spiritual life who grow me in the Lord- A pastor, a friend, a family member. Their goal, their target should be to give me the right tools to help me be able, not only to feed into my own spiritual walk, but to feed and grow those around me, who I will parent in the Lord one day.

The challenge for me today, and every day is to start seeking out those tools I will need to transition. Learn to hunt for solid food by reading my Bible way more and learning to seek the meaning behind what I read there. I need to learn to teach others to do the same.

As a follower of Christ, I am in the training of my life and my training affects those God has been fostering to one day learn from me. Will I be content with the milk given to me from the safety of my base camp, or will I seek God’s best for my life and join the hunt?

As hard as this hunt is, and as tough as it will be, I am so ready. Do you want to come and join me? Would you like to grow? Then leave a comment below and you will be prayed for.

God bless,

Christi Armstrong and Mark Brown

If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.

photo credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/paparutzi/

“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper, or fret about their wicked schemes.” Psalm 37:7

I welcome a guest writer to my blog, Christi Armstrong who shares her heart in this powerful post about how we don’t need to be perfect…

Faith doesn’t mean we aren’t scared. It just means we move forward anyway, knowing He has to be the one to guide us.

God has every circumstance I face in His hand. So, knowing that, why then do I forget what I know when the time comes that I need it most? It’s because I have been brought up with this notion that my faith has to be perfect. I feel under some kind of pressure that I have to perform in a superhuman kind of way, where I am always unshaken and completely unafraid.

That just simply isn’t so. The beauty of God’s grace allows for the fact that we as imperfect beings, can’t produce that kind of faith in our own humanity. He never asks us to, but somehow, somewhere, we got this perfectionist, unrealistic expectation in our heads that our faith has to be flawless and given to God via our own strength. The scary truth is that the notion of perfection can be and is effectively used as a tool of the enemy here. When we can’t attain that perfect faith, we give up. We fall away and that is the exact moment the enemy twists God’s truth and uses this ideal of perfect faith, to render us useless for the Kingdom.

So think of Faith in the attainable terms God meant for our lives. We aren’t expected by God to have perfect feelings, to never get upset or question what is happening. All He expects is for us to hold on. We hold on, no matter how we feel. We hold and then we walk on, even in the storm of fear or depression. Walk on, even in the midst of doubt and impossible obstacles.

Walk on those troubled waters. You don’t have to see the land. You just need to see the Lord. That is real faith. It’s the gritty, real people, real life kind of faith, not “preaching from the pulpit this far away, lofty notion that can never be fully understood or attained by human means, kind of superhuman faith”. Faith that moves mountains is simply faith that knows God’s promises are real and then never lets go. Your faith is in motion when you let God lead the way, in spite of the storms all around.

The simple truth is, if we could walk fully in Jesus’ shoes, we wouldn’t need Him. God gets that we aren’t capable of that kind of faith. He simply asks us to hold on, to walk on and to leave the leading to Him. That is faith.

In Christ,

Christi Armstrong

Christi is on Facebook here: Facebook.

If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.

Photo credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lancesh/

To check out my latest time in the Word, click on the play button below.. and if you can’t see it, click here: VIDEO.

http://journeyintotheword.com/2011/05/if-you-are-weary-and-in-need-of-rest-check-this-out/

God bless,

Mark Brown

http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB

If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/