The Kiss of Life

God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!

Genesis 2:7-8 (The Message)

When God created Human Kind, He breathed breath into Adam and Eve and they became alive! God was down on His knees beside His wonderful creation, beautifully made in Him image. He knelt in the dust that He made us from and gave the first kiss of life into Adam. God blew soul and life into Adam.

Every time a child is born, God gets down on His knees and gives them the kiss of life and breathes life into them.

When God the Father, created me and you, He breathed His life giving breath into us, just like the modern day kiss of life... However with the power to create life, which we do not have and we lived. We became beings with a heart that beats, a mind which thinks and a soul which soars.

Since that first kiss of life, we live and grow, sometimes with God and sometimes without Him, our Father who created us individually, to His own plan and sometimes or even most of the time we live the life He gave us without Him.

As we go through this life, in this dark world, we go through many things, some good, family, friendships and some bad, break ups, ill health, loss and hatred. We become addicted to things that harm us, we abuse our bodies, we neglect our souls, we hurt others and ourselves and so much more.

When we live without God, without the breath of God- His Holy Spirit, our guide, our strength, our teacher, companion and friend through this journey of life... when we live without Him, the darkness in this world can consume us. When all the spiritual evils around us slowly kill us (spiritually).

When we are at our lowest, we we feel as if we have nothing left, we our soul and spirit is dead and we realise we need help. God performs the kiss of life on us again and The Holy Spirit creates life in us once again.

Do you need the Kiss of Life today?

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

John 20:21-22 (New Living Translation)

24:1 (being with God 24:7)

This weekend we had a 24:1 prayer event. We held one 2 years ago and it was a success, so Flame youth group (who organised the first event) decided it was time for our church to do this again. I want to Thank Rachel and Ellie for organising this.

It was an amazing time and for me especially as I looked around at the young people and others who were there to take time out with God, I saw an Acts 2:42 community church.

42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

We prayed together, we ate together, we praised God together, we studied His word together and we slept together. (well at least some of us slept- well done Ian for praying for 24 hours and not sleeping)

I was amazed at how God made the Church to be like this and how we had managed to do this without even trying. This is how God meant His Church to be!

God meant us to not be independent of everyone, 'no man is an island unto himself'. God made humans to be in a relationship with Him first and foremost and to be relationships with others. We must become interdependent, we must be able to rely on each other and others need to be able to rely on us. We must love one and other and give up our all for one another, because that is how God planned it and God's plan are always best.

20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

John 17:20

(NIT empathises added)

Whiter than Snow

It always amazes me that when snow falls, it covers everything. It makes white, there is nothing that is left untouched. It has been snowing all day in Ashford today and my brother and I had so much fun playing in it, building a snowman and walking our dog. Bob the Snowman

Our dog is a west highland terrier, which is a little white dog, however when we were walking him, he didn't look so white. Against the snow Charlie (our dog) looked an off-white colour, because the snow is such a pure white.

I wonder if that's what we look like to God, against Jesus, we are off-white, because Jesus is so pure and so holy.

7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Psalm 51:7 (New Living Translation)

Are you ready to jump?

Imagine that you are on a diving board. really high up above a swimming pool.
God says, 'Jump.'
You look down and to your horror you realise that there is no water in the pool.
You say to God, 'Fill the pool with water first and then I'll jump.'
God replies, 'Jump first and then I'll fill the pool with water.'


What do you do? Do you have faith that God will provide and keep His word?
or do you feel full of fear and terror?


Do not let the ultimate terrorist get in the way of jumping for God. For the devil is the one who strikes fear into our hearts.

Should you be jumping?

Faith vs Fear- Becoming water walkers

What do you think is the most common instruction in the Bible?

It isn't to be more loving, caring and kind. Although this is God's greatest desire for us. This isn't the most common instruction.

Neither is it warnings of pride, to become more humble, to guard sexual purity or to walk with integrity. Although these are really important qualities, they are not the most common.

The most common instruction in the Bible, actually is:

'Fear not'

'Do not fear', 'Do not be afraid', 'Be strong and courageous', 'you can trust me'- is all instructing us to 'Fear not'.

Why 'Fear not'?

Why is it that God is constantly reminding us that we don't need to fear? Its not as if fear is the biggest of vices, its not in the seven deadly sins (although all sin is the same to God). Fear doesn't seem to be the worst thing in the world. So why 'Fear not'?

Fear tempts us most from not doing God's will. It tempts us most from not jumping when God says 'Jump'. Or as John Ortberg puts it, 'Fear disrupts faith and becomes the biggest obstacle to trusting and obeying God.'

In other words, Fear gets in the way of us and God. Fear becomes the biggest obstacle in our relationship with God. It causes a void between us and God, it stop us trusting in Him- the creator of both Heaven and Earth, who made you from the dust, this mighty powerful God. When we fear we stop God from being all powerful.

FEAR- It gets in the way!

So God is constantly letting us know that we don't need to fear- we don't need to fear Him, we respect God, but we do not need to fear that He will hurt us or throw lighting bolts at us; we don't need to fear that God won't provide, we don't need to fear the situations that we are in.

We don't need to fear- we need to trust, have faith and obey!

There are 366 'Fear not' verses in the Bible. That is one for everyday of the year, including an extra one for leap years. To me that isn't a coincidence. Time is a human creation, yet God still places enough 'Fear not' verses in the Bible for everyday and one left over for a leap year- only God could do that! How great is God's commitment to us, that He doesn't want us to fear, not one day does He want us to live and struggle with fear, so each day He tells us to 'Fear not'. What a promise!

One of my biggest fears, is quite a silly fear and you might all laugh at it, but it is a fear i have to battle with sometimes. I am afraid of stairs. I fine going up stairs, but coming down stairs is more of a problem. I have fallen down stairs quite a few times and I've been up the hospital a couple of times with suspected broken neck and my Dad has finally put up a banister so I don't fall down our stairs so much. The fear of falling down stairs is my bodies natural reaction to the a situation which might possibly be dangerous and might cause me harm. But if I let this stop me, if I let this fear get in the way- I would be quite stuck, i wouldn't be able to get anywhere as there are a lot of stairs about.

There is a place for fear. Fear at its most basic, is our bodies naturally reaction to a possible dangerous situation. Its our body telling us that we need to run away, or hide.

But we mustn't let fear over ride faith and trust.

The 'No' of fear must never triumph the 'yes' of faith.

In Matthew 14:22, Jesus walked on water towards the disciples and He didn't say anything. Jesus was waiting for the disciples to recognise who He was. But they were terrified and they cried out in fear, believing Jesus to be a ghost.

Now I don't know a bout you, but if I was in a boat at 3am in the middle of a storm, and someone came walking towards me on the water, I might be a little scared too.

It says that Jesus spoke to the disciples 'at once'. Jesus didn't want His disciples to be afraid, He did not want them to fear Him.

Peter responded- not in a testing way, but in response to faith and when Jesus told Him to 'come', he went. I don't know if Peter hesitated or if he went without thinking, because I wasn't there and it doesn't tell us. But I do know if I was in Peter's situation I might feel just a little afraid. It does tell us that Peter that went over the side of the boat and began to walk towards Jesus on the water. For those few minutes before Peter saw the wind and the waves, Peter walked on water! wow! Peter is probably the only person except for Jesus who has every walked on water.

Peter was the only one who had the faith to even get out of the boat. Yes he lost his focus and began to sink and needed Jesus to save him - but at least he got out of the boat. Yes, Peter failed, but he didn't fail us much as the other disciples in the boat.

Peter learnt a lot from failing- he learnt that Jesus would save him, even when he was failing, he learnt that Jesus would save him first and then he would help him to learn the lesson of faith. Although Jesus told Peter he had 'little faith' and asked why he doubted Jesus. Jesus did this is love and away from the other disciples, he was showing that there is no fear in Jesus- for 'perfect fear casts out all fear.'

With faith we must make sure that we keep our focus and our focus must be Jesus.

What is it that you should be doing to get out of your boat? What is it that God is asking for you to step out in faith?

What are you afraid of?

Lets get out of our boats and start water walking!

Lies destroy, But the Truth renews!

'And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free'

John 8:32 (NLT)

When you know Jesus, you know the truth. When you know God, you know the truth of who you really are, why you were created and what you should be.

When you knows theses things, when you know the truth, you are free! How amazing!

'he always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him.

When he lies it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies'

John 8:44 (NLT)

When you know the truth, you also know the lies. The closer you get to the truth the more lies he will spin. The more you are freed by the truth that your Holy Father speaks over you, the harder he tries to make you fall with lies.

I know the pitfalls of this. I know that sometimes it seems easier to listen to the lies, but when you do, he begins to bind you and chain you. You become no longer free.

We must shut our ears to his lies and open them to the truth! For the truth will sent you free.

I have been set free! I know the pain that lies cause! So I warn you- do not listen to the father of lies;

INSTEAD LISTEN TO THE FATHER OF TRUTH!

HE HAS SET YOU FREE!