Self-Medication

These are the TV series that I watched during last month and this month to get me through a few weeks of frantic activity, followed by spates of inactivity which triggered off a few 'lows' whenever I stopped to take a break. In some cases, I must admit that I tended to binge-watch shows to get me through! I recommend this method of 'self-medication' over large quantities of intoxicants (which is how some people of my age seem to self-medicate). And it's cheaper, too!

• Blake's Seven, season one (YouTube)
• Dave Gorman's Modern Life Is Goodish (Dave)
• Doctor Who (BBC, Watch, Horror)
• Flash, season one (DVD)
• Flash, season two (Sky One)
• Humans, season one (DVD)
• Hunted (Channel Four)
• Star Trek (CBS Action)
• The Prisoner (DVD)
• The A-Team, season one (DVD)

Putting Faith Into Action

Mark 11:24 (CEV)

"Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith."

Sorry? Can you just say that again? I am having trouble getting my head around this...

OK, try this...

Mark 11:24 (NIV)
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Faith is not simply believing that God can do something in your life. Faith is not a desperate hope, a lifeline to cling to.

It's assurance.

It's having confidence that God will provide for you. If you are in tune with God, with the way that He thinks, then you should trust that He will hear your prayer and will answer it.

And that means thanking Him in advance.

What? I’ve got to thank God in advance before I get it in order to get it?

It's part of that assurance.

• If you thank God after you’ve got it, that’s gratitude.
• When you thank him in advance, that’s called faith.

Fake It Until You Make It

Do you know that phrase? Have you ever heard it? Is it true for you?

I hear it a lot in the City of London. I see it a lot, too. Some say that it's all to do with confidence, a form of therapy to assist you in getting on in life. Act like you belong - or like you have some ability that you don’t - and eventually you will figure it out, the doors will open.  An example of a positive feedback loop.

But isn't it all about being someone that you are not? Putting on a mask, trying to project an image of someone who you want to become, but aren't ... yet. Are you lying to the world - or lying to yourself?

I don't want to be 'fake'. I want to be myself - whole, complete, the person I am intended to be by God. Which is not necessarily who I want to be - it's who God wants me to be. Listen to this:

Galatians 6:3 (NIV)
If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

I don't want to be 'fake'. I want to embrace who my Father in Heaven has made me to be. To be true to myself.

And so, that's more to do with 'faith' than being 'fake'.

It's about trusting God when things aren't going the way you want them to - not covering up and pretending that all is well.

And that's when it comes down to you and God.

If God has called you to do something, you need to be faithful in that. Be faithful in the small things that are open to you.  Trust Him. Give Him everything that you've got and eventually you will make it to the next level; a door will open.

Risky Business

There's been a lot of discussion over the past week about vulnerability. It has came up in conversation; as part of this week's Bible Study; as a topic in a recent podcast. It's been cropping up pretty much everywhere! 

And I know it's a regular challenge to me!

I'm quite a private person, as I think most of you might know. I try and keep myself to myself. However, I'm also called to make a difference in this world. Which means I need to do a few things that can make me uncomfortable. It's a risky business...

Can these two aspects of my personality coexist?

You see, I don't particularly want to be vulnerable. I feel vulnerable because I've been hurt before - by people who should have known better! However, I have to make that sacrifice if I am to be true to myself. I want to reach out to help others. And this means leaving myself wide open. 

Please don't abuse this.

“I want to experience your vulnerability but I don’t want to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is courage in you and inadequacy in me. I’m drawn to your vulnerability but repelled by mine.” – Brené Brown)