Bumping Into God

The Holy Spirit – Gifts of the Spirit

2009-10-20T11:07:00.000+10:00

Another benefit of being filled with God’s Spirit is that the Spirit empowers you for God’s service. There are many kinds of different spiritual service gifts. Some are very practical such as helping gifts, administration, generosity or leadership. Some gifts are about caring such as the gifts of mercy, hospitality and encouragement. Some gifts are weird and wonderful like speaking in tongues, healing or prophecy. Some will help others develop faith in God such as the gift of evangelism or teaching. All the gifts are important and all Christians have one or more spiritual gifts for God’s service.

Be open to any opportunity that comes your way to serve God. It could be that the types of opportunities that keep coming your way, the ones that you can do well and enjoy doing, may actually indicate the special way God has gifted you for service.

The Holy Spirit – Fruit of the Spirit

2009-10-15T10:47:00.000+10:00

Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you every day and be obedient to the promptings and directions that the Spirit gives you. As you experience the Holy Spirit more and more at work in your life, you will become more and more like Christ. You’ll become more patient, more self controlled, more faithful to God and more at peace. You’ll become a kinder person with more joy in your heart.

Sound good? Okay pray this prayer or something like it. "Loving God please fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I may become more like Jesus. By your Spirit’s workings, develop my character, shape me and mould me so that I can reach the fullest potentials you intend for me."

The Holy Spirit

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The Holy Spirit is referred to as The Helper and also The Comforter. Having God’s Spirit actively working in and through you will help you to be, and to achieve, so much more than you could ever be or do in your own strength.

Ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit, to be active in your heart, mind, body and soul. Ask him to refill you for everyday living and ask God’s Spirit to come upon you extra powerfully when you need his help for a special mission.

Dinner

2009-10-06T10:51:00.000+10:00

Go up to a street person and offer to buy them dinner. You’ll be buying Jesus a meal. "In as much as you have done it to the least of my brothers or sisters, it’s as if you have done it for me." Jesus said, in reference to good works done for others.

If you sense it is safe to do so, actually take them somewhere and eat with them and be good company for them. If you are unsure that would be wise, simply give them money for a meal, or ask them if they would like you to buy them something to eat and if so take their order and return with the meal.

Hills

2009-10-01T14:45:00.000+10:00

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does help come from? My help comes from God who made both heaven and earth." - Psalm 121

"I go the hills when my heart is lonely, I know I will find a solace there." - The Sound of Music

"Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain" - Exodus 19

Hills and mountains can be really spiritual places. Set a date to go there and meet up with God. Plan a visit to the mountains for a spiritual retreat and look forward to that time together.

When you go, you may find it useful to take a journal to write in, the Bible, the exercises on prayer from this collection of ways to Bump Into God and a set of questions that will help you connect with God. Eg. What am I getting right with how I live my life? What mistakes am I making? What good things am I missing out on? Who does God want me to minister to and how? What is God saying to me about my work, my relationships, my spiritual life, my past, my future, my leisure time ...

Put these questions to God and listen.

Ignition

2009-09-22T09:43:00.000+10:00

Let God fire you up. Ask God to make you passionate about one of his causes and for his Spirit to work through you as his agent for justice. Get going. Make a positive difference in the world for God’s sake.

Listen

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Listen to a Christian radio station and watch out for God’s messages to you. Do the same with a secular radio station. God is everywhere.

Pain

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God grieves with us in our suffering. There is no living a life and avoiding some pain in it. We are breakable, hurtable, vulnerable creatures. No matter how much faith in God you have, you’ll still be a human being living on planet earth where pain is a fact of life. Faith does not wrap us up in cotton wall.

God understands and cares about your pain. God knows what it is like to suffer. He lost his only begotten son, Jesus, who was murdered.

Jesus himself suffered all the emotional, physical and spiritual pains of being human that we share. Jesus had loved ones die, friends murdered, knew what it was like to be misunderstood, rejected and despised. Jesus got frustrated, tired, lonely and sad.
Are you hurting? Cry on God’s shoulder. Jesus knows what it is like.

Random Acts of Kindness

2009-08-31T13:24:00.000+10:00

Do something good for someone you don’t know. Then for another person. Practise random acts of kindness so often it becomes a lifestyle thing. Why? Because what the world needs now is love, sweet love! All you need is love. Love is something you do. God is love.

Silence Stillness Solitude

2009-08-21T14:21:00.000+10:00

Be still, be silent, physically, mentally, emotionally; slow all that busy doing and feeling and thinking right down for a while, and know that God is God. Take time to deliberately be alone. Go off by yourself. Listen to you. Hear the thoughts rattling around in your head. Feel the emotions of your heart. Bring them all to God to sort out and to influence.

Rules, rules, rules

2009-06-05T17:11:00.000+10:00

In Jesus day the Jewish leaders had 631 rules they told people to follow in order to be right with God. 631! For Jesus though, spirituality was about relationships, not rules. Love God and love others. That’s how Jesus summarised all the rules that really mattered.

Today, don’t try to be perfect. Don’t even try to be good. Just try to care about God and about the people you come across.

Salvation

2009-05-26T12:10:00.001+10:00

Jesus is our saviour – in all kinds of ways. If Jesus is already your saviour as far as sins are concerned, don’t think Jesus role as saviour is over. Jesus can be our knight in shining armour in all kinds of ways. Jesus can save you from superficiality, vanity, depression, lack of fulfilment, loneliness, work stresses ... whatever. Feel like you are going under? Ask Jesus to save you. Feel like everything is fine with you? Great! But just take five minutes to think about it to check there isn’t a little something you could do with being rescued from.

Bush

2009-05-15T14:23:00.000+10:00

Go bush walking with God as your companion. Be mindful of God’s presence. Talk with God. Walk silently with God. The best friends know how to share the same silences. We don’t always have to pass words between each other. Take in the beauty of the bush. Take time to stop and smell the wild flowers or eucalypts or whatever.

Accidents

2009-05-08T11:12:00.000+10:00

When you see one from your car or on the news, pray for the people hurt, for their family and friends and for the people helping them. Ambulances can remind us to pray in this way also. Any time you hear a siren, let that be a call to prayer.

TV

2009-04-30T16:56:00.000+10:00

Watching the telly can be a great way to relax. It can also be a shocking waste of time. Try not watching tele tonight, or all this week if you are up for a real challenge. Take notice of how many worthwhile things you can achieve in the time you would normally be watching tele. You could start that book you were always going to write. You could do a painting, catch up with an old friend, spend some quality time with your family or friends, get in some extra exercise, go have a massage, do some community service, etc.

Electricity

2008-09-10T13:06:00.000+10:00

Electricity is like God in some ways. You can’t see it all around you in the home, but it’s there. You miss it when it has gone out. You use it all the time and usually take it for granted. You can’t muck around with it – you have to treat it with respect because it is enormously powerful. Humans can’t handle some things that are too powerful – they can’t get too close or it will blow them away.

Every time you use electricity today, think of God, listen to God, or thank God.

Stars

2008-09-04T11:13:00.000+10:00

Go outside to where you can see the stars. Enjoy them. Be humbled by the vastness of space and the mystery of God. Take a drive out of the city and enjoy the millions of stars in the night sky.

Mould

2008-08-28T09:30:00.000+10:00

While you are cleaning away the mould in your bathroom /fridge /shower think about how God wants to deal with the nasty grime you have allowed to grow in your life. Think about how much more appealing you would be to others with out that grime.

Bicycling

2008-08-22T16:12:00.000+10:00

Go with God. Enjoy using your muscles. Take in the view. Feel the air that you are rushing through. Be aware of God’s presence with you and enjoy hanging out together. Words won’t be necessary.

Visit

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Visit someone who you know will do you some good. Visit someone with the intention of doing them some good. Encounter God in people. Treat people in such a way that they will experience God through you.

Submission

2008-08-06T11:04:00.000+10:00

You know that God knows what is best for your soul. Do what God wants you to do, even if you don’t want to. Out of your love for God, give up your unhelpful habits and stop pandering to your sinful desires. Do that thing God has been challenging you to do. Give up that thing that is less than perfect. Stop avoiding that good challenge and submit to God’s will. Not sure what I mean? Listen to God for awhile.

Cuppa

2008-07-31T10:59:00.000+10:00

Set aside some time to sit down with God and have a cuppa together like a couple of good mates would. Set up two chairs, even make God or Jesus a cup and set it out. Stretch your legs out and take your time. Don’t rush this. Stay long enough to get a real sense of Jesus really being there with you – because he is – and that you’ve both had a good time together. If you decide to do this at a coffee shop, when your conversation has run out, ask Jesus how you should pray for the people sitting around you and do that.

Sleeeeep

2008-07-25T13:17:00.000+10:00

Zzzzz. Sleep is an amazing thing when you think about it. We are designed to shut down for around 8 hours of every day to recharge our batteries. What a fascinating thing for God to build in to our design! What if we never slept? No beds, no dreams, no…

Tonight stay up a bit later and get that little bit tireder than usual. Then as you do go to sleep, think of how delicious it is and give God a smile on your way. Fall asleep in the arms of God.

Follow Your Heart

2008-07-11T13:10:00.000+10:00

Engage your brain, turn on your critical faculties and then listen to your heart as well. Follow your heart – it could be that God is using it to steer you in the right direction. Tune your spiritual radar to your emotions today. When you pick up that you are having a particular emotion, think about what good thing could happen if you followed the lead that emotion was giving you, weigh up the risks and decide whether or not to follow your heart on that emotion. Emotions are one way in which we are like God. God is also an emotional being.

Help the Homeless

2008-07-04T11:25:00.000+10:00

Help the homeless, through an organisation you can support financially, with volunteer work, with prayer, or help individual homeless people as you come across them.

Run a blanket drive through your local church and community to give to a helping organisation before winter hits the homeless hard. Plan a project to help the disadvantaged in some way. You can bet that these people are on God’s heart and you can be his hands to reach out and help them on God’s behalf.

Babies

2008-06-27T13:06:00.000+10:00

Jesus was a baby once. God come to earth as one of us, so vulnerable, so dependant and so helpless. God really does know what it’s like to be human. Babies, conception, birth, development, the whole life cycle, what a profound wonderland for food for thought and prayerful reflection.

If you have a friend with a baby, ask if you can come around for a cuddle, or offer to baby sit while the parent s go out for coffee. They may really appreciate the little break. Pray for the parents you know, that God will help them to fulfil their awesome responsibilities with the love that comes from God.

Coca Cola, KFC, McDonalds, Nike, Nestle etc

2008-06-13T13:02:00.002+10:00

Some of these individual multi-national corporations have more wealth than whole countries. They employ millions of people across the world and have an enormous influence on the economy and even cultures of many countries. Why, even the colour of Santa’s costume was changed from green to red and white because of Coke’s advertising machine.

With this enormous wealth and influence comes enormous responsibility. Pray for mega companies to be environmentally and socially responsible in the way they produce, market and sell their goods; in the way they employ and pay their workers; in the way they shape peoples attitudes in their advertising. Pray for the companies that depend on them and those that must compete with them, that they will get a fair go. Pray also that governments will regulate the powerful companies in such a way as to ensure just practices in the multinational's work environments and dealings.

Nice people

2008-05-02T14:22:00.000+10:00

Thank God for them. Deliberately plan to spend some time with some really excellent people to treat your self. If you can’t be with them today, at least ring them up and tell them you are ringing them to give yourself a treat.

Travel

2008-03-27T13:02:00.002+10:00

Go with God. If you are planning to head off overseas or around Australia, make sure that it is a spiritual journey as well as a physical one. Many people who have travelled believe they have rediscovered God on their journeys, as they experience the beauties of his world, the kindness of complete strangers and the whisperings of God’s Spirit.

There are other travellers who have lost their way as they travel. They planned to cut loose, go wild and do whatever they wanted to while away from the restraints of their parents, their friends, their church or their social group. So they had their sex and drugs and rock and roll holiday and probably got exactly what they were after. Even so, God was there with them no matter how hard they tried to avoid him.

Psalm 139 has some great encouragement for people having travel adventures. “If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west, you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me.”

Joy

2008-03-10T11:13:00.000+10:00

God gives us a joy like nothing else can. Spiritual highs are better for you than any drug could ever be. The joy of the Lord can be really refreshing. It can renew our energy levels and get us motivated for a full and vibrant life again.

Fun!

2008-02-22T14:46:00.000+10:00

Plan some play in your diary. Write in some fun every week because all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! – Yes, and Jill a boring gal! Some people consider play childish. Jesus told us we would never enter the kingdom of heaven unless we became like children. Perhaps play is a part of what he meant. Play however is also a mark of maturity and intelligence. It can prove that you are free from stifling social conventions, that you can think laterally, that you have intelligences operating beyond the merely functional basic operational thinking. So grow up, be like a kid and play more.

Life was given to enjoy so don’t let God down by missing out on all the good stuff God has provided. Don’t just work all the time! Remember that one of the ten commandments is about not working and taking recreational time and worshipping God.

Church

2008-02-15T13:50:00.000+10:00

Go. Get involved in it. The Church is referred to as Christ’s Body. What that means is that the Church can act as Jesus hands, his heart and do Jesus work in the world. The church is a group of people who give expression to God’s love in visible and tangible ways through their words and actions. This Sunday, go to church and then be the church, (the body of Christ) throughout the rest of the week.

Light

2008-02-08T14:53:00.000+10:00

Jesus said "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness."

Tonight, turn off all the lights in your house, or at least the light in your bedroom. Then walk around and try to do some of the things you would normally do when the light is on. Sit down and reflect on the dangers and limitations of walking in the dark, the benefits of having the light on, and the benefits of living with Jesus.

Abhor

2008-01-31T16:53:00.000+10:00

Now here’s a word you don’t hear very often. It’s a great word though. Think about it. To abhor something is to detest it. There are some things that go on in this word that are truly detestable. God detests some things and it’s actually right that we should too.

So today work up some righteous abhorrence for the evil things that happen on earth. Feel some of God’s frustration, disappointment and even fury over the way some people abuse others, or take advantage of them, or turn a blind eye to others sufferings. If you can, do something to work against the rotten things going on around you. Commiserate with God whose pain and frustration is so much greater than ours. Pray for the victims of evil.

Provision

2008-01-18T11:16:00.000+10:00

God’s good gifts are plentiful and prolific. God is a provider. Check out all the good things you’ve got. Be grateful. Consider the fact that God may be counting on you to be involved in his work of provision. How can you share out your wealth with those in need?

Fan

2008-01-11T09:47:00.000+10:00

Stand in front of a fan and consider the Holy Spirit, who is sometimes symbolised as a rushing wind. Play around with throwing some light objects in front of the fan to see how they fly. Hold one end of any thing which will flutter like a streamer and watch it react to the breeze. Play with the wind created by the fan and listen out for God’s inspiration.

Celebrate!

2007-12-28T12:50:00.000+10:00

Be grateful for all the good people in your life. Be glad for your life. Celebrate your faith. Rejoice in the goodness of God and praise God. Let out a few yahoos. Do something you love or give yourself a treat as a spiritual act of celebrating the life you have.

Think

2007-12-07T14:11:00.000+10:00

Think about God throughout this day. Think about his character, his abilities, his gifts, his relationship with you, his involvement in the world… Think about God’s joys and frustrations in his dealings with humanity.

Simplicity

2007-11-16T16:38:00.000+10:00

We live in a busy world. Much of our business is to do with materialism, greed, hedonism, striving for fulfilment or excellence to appease our egos and those who are driving us.

Stop! We would all be a lot less stressed, a lot more emotionally balanced if we took stock of what really matters in life. Let’s work that out and concentrate on that. Just that. Not too much of all the other stuff. From today, live simply.

When you’ve been trying that for even a short while you may notice how cluttered your life is. To live simply, you will have to free yourself of all kinds of diary items, material things, and unnecessary obligations. Cut loose. Give some things away. Be free.

People

2007-10-09T15:15:00.000+10:00

We bump in to God when we bump in to people. Look closely enough and you’ll discover God hiding in every person’s skin somewhere. We are all made in the image of God, male and female, all colours, all types of people, reflecting something of God’s nature, each in our own unique and individual ways. If you’ll be seeing people today, you’ll be bumping in to God. So pay attention and enjoy the encounters.

Mentors

2007-09-14T15:12:00.000+10:00

Are there people of faith who you respect, admire and trust who are ahead of you in age, life experience or wisdom? Why not deliberately line them up to spend some time with you. Ask them out to coffee and ask them to tell you about themselves. Tell them about yourself and share your struggles with them. Seek their wisdom on the issues.

Are there younger people who are looking up to you? Why not deliberately spend some time with them and show an interest in them and the things they are going through?

Know God

2007-08-22T10:57:00.000+10:00

Know God, as your heavenly father, as your heavenly mother, as your friend, as your comforter, as your life coach, your mentor, your captain ... don’t just limit the way you relate to God to one or two roles. God is all good things to you. Broaden the way you relate to God to include some new possibilities. Write down some of the ways you could relate to God and treat God in each of those ways when you need specific help from God. For example, if you’re not sure what your next move should be in a tricky situation, you might pray, "Okay my heavenly coach, what’s the play I should try here?" If you are needing some comfort, ask God to mother you. If you need a friend, talk to God as a friend. If you need some discipline, relate to God as Lord and king.

Reign

2007-08-17T13:00:00.000+10:00

Let God reign in your life. God is our friend but he is also our Lord. We need to obey God and let him have his way in our lives if we are to experience the fullest in life that God wants for us and for the others around us who God will lead us to bless.

Kindness

2007-08-08T14:56:00.000+10:00

Kindness is a gift from God. Appreciate it, enjoy it, encourage it in others, share some out yourself and praise God for it. It can be delivered either by words or by actions.

Go give some. Go receive some. Have your antenna tuned for all the kindness you experience, and deliver, today and be grateful.

Traffic lights

2007-07-31T15:18:00.000+10:00

Time to stop amidst the hustle and bustle, to think and pray. Use the traffic light system when seeking God’s guidance about a specific decision. eg. What do you reckon God, do you give that a red light, a green light or a yellow?

Giving

2007-07-20T12:11:00.000+10:00

Giving is an important part of our spiritual diets. To really experience God, we must live a life which involves giving to others – be it with our finances, time or talents. God has given so much to us, we must share it around with others who need our gifts. Do yourself a favour as well as others. Give.

If you can give cheerfully to the Church or charities that do godly work then your giving will be a blessing to you in several ways. It can loosen up the grip that materialism, selfishness and greed can have on your life. It can help you to understand something of what it is like to be God, giving as he does. It can help you to experience God as God works through you in your giving.

Every Day

2007-07-11T15:55:00.001+10:00

Every day Jesus is with you. East to west, north to south, Jesus is always with you. Through your joys and pains, your victories and your failures, in your sinfulness and in your godliness, Jesus is there with you. Jesus told his friends, "I will be with you always, until the end of time."

We are assured that nothing can separate us from God’s love. Be aware of Jesus's presence with you always – and enjoy his company.

Contemplation

2007-07-02T13:06:00.000+10:00

Taking time to actually think things through at a deeper level can be a wonderful way to open up your thoughts to God.

You might choose an important current social issue and think it through from all angles, considering the impact on all the stake holders, empathising with all sides of those involved, talking about it with God.

You might take a spiritual truth and work it over at a lot of depth. Spend at least 5 minutes on the one truth.

You might choose to think about a person or a relationship you are in and contemplate on that with God.

Baking

2007-06-29T14:28:00.000+10:00

Cook up a storm while being aware of the presence of God, chatting to him as you cook. Think of a recipe for your life – how many parts love? A cup of.. to sweeten things up. A teaspoon of ... to spice it up...

X Rays

2007-06-26T15:10:00.000+10:00

X Rays reveal the secret life of us. What an incredible work of creation we are.

God has x ray vision. God knows what’s going on for us below the surface. Why not take a look there with God and ask for God’s diagnosis. What’s really going on for you, spiritually, in your significant relationships, emotionally, at work, etc? Who are you really? As you are working all this out, tell God all about it.

Quiet Times

2007-06-20T13:20:00.000+10:00

Many people set aside some time each day or perhaps a time each week, to have a date with God. Quiet times are a way of spending quality, unhurried time with God.

In your quiet times, pray, listen to God, read the Bible, sing, draw, meditate or do whatever helps you to connect with God. By taking time out from the hectic pace of life, to be with God, we often find that God gives us new perspectives and peace in the midst of our storms.

The world seems to be a better place, and we seem to be better people after we’ve spent some quality time with God. Arrange a regular date with God.

Encourage Others

2007-06-14T11:22:00.000+10:00

If anyone you come across is doing their job well, or is a really great person, let them know. Tell them straight out when they’ve done something you admire or appreciate.

If there are people whose efforts you appreciate, who are not around you today, go see them, call them, write them a note or email them to tell them that you were thinking of them and what an excellent person they are. Encourage at least three people today.

The Bible

2007-06-05T14:08:00.000+10:00

Pray before starting to read a particular Bible passage. Read it. Be silent and listen for God’s special message for you that may spring from the passage. Chat about what you’ve read with God and heard from God.

Some great places to start Bible reading:
- the gospel of Luke
- the book of James
- then Romans
- the Psalms in the old testament

Walk

2007-05-31T17:42:00.000+10:00

Go for a walk with God, along the beach or somewhere beautiful preferably, but anywhere will do . Have a good chat as you stroll along.

Selfless Acts of Service

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A kind deed done with no expectation of anything in return. A gift which cost some effort but no price tag was attached. It is very much like the love of God. Go do one. Hope to get one soon. Both ways are from God. Both will do you incredible good if you let it sink in deep enough.

Rest

2007-05-18T16:46:00.000+10:00

Rest in God’s love. Stop being busy. Hold everything. Take time out to rest and be recreated and rejuvenated.

God is cool. He even commands us to take at least one day a week to rest and to remember him! It’s important. Don’t neglect rest and worship.

Que

2007-05-15T14:16:00.000+10:00

While standing in a que, pass the time with God. Look at the people around you, appreciate their differences and their individual beauty. Pray for them and pray about them.

Passion

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Believe in something passionately. Feel something powerful, either for some good thing or against some unjust thing. Fuel up your passion for some good cause. Let God invigorate your feelings and thoughts and then direct your actions. Do something. If you aren’t already passionate about something, ask God for a cause he would like you to get behind. Keep praying about it until God inspires you.

A.C.T.S. - a prayer template

2007-04-30T16:23:00.000+10:00

Here’s a prayer pattern for spending quality time with God. You can begin in any order, but be sure to cover each segment in your prayer times. If you don’t already use a prayer pattern, you may well find that this will add depth to your conversations with God.

A – Adoration – Adore God. Consider how wonderful God is and tell God of your love for him/her, (depending on whether you prefer to think of the motherly nature of God or of the Fatherly attributes of God). Let God know why you are so impressed with him.

C – Confession – Apologise to God for those things you have done that you know were not done with love. Say sorry also for the things you have not done which ought to have been done.

T – Thanksgiving – Thank God for all his blessings. Express your gratitude for the gifts of God, for his mercy, his kindness, etc.

S – Supplication – Ask God to help people who are in need. Ask God to be at work in the world to bring about justice and hope. Ask your loving God to also help you and to meet your personal needs.

King

2007-04-27T12:49:00.000+10:00

Jesus is our Lord, the king of kings and the king of hearts. Sometimes we think of Jesus too flippantly as our mate without appreciating that Jesus is also the Lord who deserves our respect and obedience. Reflect on that. As you pray today, refer to Jesus as Lord and relate to Jesus with that in mind.

Gardening

2007-04-20T14:50:00.000+10:00

What a great way to bump in to God! Be it simply enjoying existing gardens or by getting your hands dirty by tending to gardens. Being involved with nature in this way can be a great spiritual blessing. As you garden, or visit a garden, reflect on creation.

Jesus told parables about weeds.

Think also about the goings on in the Garden of Eden, and reflect on all that story can teach us.

Help!!!

2007-04-18T13:16:00.000+10:00

Cry out to God when you need to. "Help!" is one of the shortest, simplest and most powerful prayers that God listens out for. Pray it when you need to.

Count Your Blessings

2007-04-13T15:08:00.000+10:00

Write a list of all the good things in your life. List the elements of your life for which you are grateful in each of the following departments – your health, work, family, faith, history, future, most wonderful experiences, material wealth, abilities, hobbies, sports and anything else you enjoy and appreciate. Haven’t you got it good? Live this day in contentment and joy, grateful to God because "All good things around us are sent from heaven above, so thank the Lord."

Easter

2007-04-02T13:30:00.000+10:00

Churches have several special services at Easter. Many will hold a service on the Thursday night of Easter, where the last supper is remembered. On Easter Friday, church services commemorate the death of Jesus and will often have sombre black decorations in the church. Then on Easter Sunday there is rejoicing and brightness and celebration as Christ’s resurrection is remembered.

Go to one of or all of the Easter services this Easter to be with God.

ps. You can also check out last Easter's blog entry.

Listen

2007-03-29T17:01:00.000+10:00

Listen to God. Let God have a say during your prayer times. Invite God to talk to you. Listen out for God as you go about your daily living, when you need guidance, when you are concerned for someone, when you need some inspiration or motivation…(Yeah, but how do you know when it’s God rather than just your own thoughts? Well, you don’t, it takes faith. But if the message is true to the nature of God, matches the teachings in the Bible, has love at it’s core and will do only good things for people if put in to practise, then there’s a good chance you can trust it)

Prayer

2007-03-21T15:15:00.000+10:00

Short prayers, long ones, wordless prayers, listening prayers, chatting ones. Asking, thanking, praising, confessing. Prayers sung, whispered, thought or screamed at the top of your lungs. Pray by drawing, sculpting, acting or writing. Pray alone or with others. Praise and pardon. Pray without ceasing.

Build Something

2007-03-19T14:28:00.000+10:00

Go out to your shed or garage, grab some materials and construct something!

If you love building – enjoy. Ask God to work through your hands. Meditate on the fact that Jesus was a carpenter. Some of his followers were fisherman who would have had to work on their boats to keep them in good order. God himself is a creator. See your creativity in building as a reflection of the desire God has to build and create. It is one of the ways in which you are made in God’s image.

If you can’t even hammer two bits of wood together – still have a go at building a rectangle or anything. As you struggle to get it right, consider God the builder and the level of craftsmanship he demonstrates. Also thank God for those who are good with their hands who we are all so dependent on in so many ways.

Inspiration

2007-03-12T15:58:00.000+10:00

Be inspired! It is the divine infusion of thoughts or feelings. Inspiration from God can strike at any time. When we are still, when there is silence, in the middle of a game of football! Be open to receive God’s good ideas. God the creator of the universe isn’t finished shaping things yet. God loves to be creative. Give God the chance to inspire you to great things.

Help Someone

2007-03-08T11:14:00.000+10:00

Ask God to inspire you throughout the day as to who could do with a helping hand – and then give it as a spiritual exercise.

W W J D

2007-02-16T16:25:00.000+10:00

What would Jesus do? Any time you are faced with a decision, a challenge, an opportunity, a temptation, pause and ask, “What would Jesus do if he was handling this?” Then do that.

How do you know what Jesus would do? By getting to know Jesus really well. How do you do that? Through reading the gospels, prayer and by learning from other Christians.

Pay It Forward

2007-02-12T13:36:00.000+10:00

Rent the old video of that title. Decide on three people you will do favours for. Ask them if they could pay the favour forward for three other people. By the time your three people have helped out their three, 9 people have been helped. Those 9 have asked the three people they each helped to pay it forward to three other people. Then we are at 71 and by the next stage there are 214 people asking three each to pay it forward to three each. It is a wonderful structured version of the Random Acts of Kindness movement. Get it going in your work place, friendship network or suburb.

Jog

2007-02-08T12:43:00.000+10:00

Be mindful of God being with you as you go for a jog. Use your jogs as times to be with God, either by talking to God, being aware of God’s presence or by taking in the beauty of the world around you.

Nothing

2007-02-05T15:16:00.000+10:00

Nothing is impossible for God. Have a daring prayer time where you ask God for some real big things for the world, for people you love, for yourself even.

Shower

2007-02-01T13:19:00.000+10:00

Go take a shower. No offence meant, smelly. The point of this spiritual exercise is so you can escape the crowd. Find some peace. Let the shower cleanse and refresh you body and soul. Let the sound of the rushing water be the only sound filling your head. Showers are good because you can’t work there, answer the phone in there, or be busy running around. They force you to take time out. Be at peace with God.

Rubbish

2007-01-29T15:07:00.000+10:00

Notice rubbish today and do something about it. Some people are trashing up the world with their mess. Take this challenge literally or figuratively. Whether you take rubbish as harmful ideas, bad attitudes, reckless morality or as physical rubbish, try to clean the world up a little. Do it for God’s sake and do it with love.

Jesus

2007-01-22T13:04:00.000+10:00

If you want to bump in to God, getting to know Jesus is an excellent place to start. God is mysterious. When God came to be one of us, he was a physical human being. Jesus is much easier to understand and to picture because he was like us. Jesus came in person to show us what God is like. No one can really have a good understanding of God, without knowing Jesus. In fact Jesus said, “No one comes to the father except through me.”

Here are some ways that you can get to know Jesus better.

1.  Read the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Bible. (You could use highlighter pens and colour all the bits that challenge you in one colour, the ones that inspire you in another colour and the parts that you have questions about in another.)

2.  When you pray, direct your prayers to Jesus. Talk to and listen to Jesus.

3.  Ask people who are friends with Jesus to tell you about him.

4.  Go to church or to a Christian Bible study group to learn about Jesus.

5.  Ask Jesus to come into your life and to be with you so that you can get to know him.

Friends

2007-01-17T16:35:00.000+10:00

Friends, like God, can be there for you. Who are your true friends? What do they do that puts them in that category? What do you do to be a true friend to others? Reach out to some of your friends today. Ring them up or call on them or (at worst) email them. Ask how they are going and have time to actually listen – for the long hall if that’s what they need. Let them serve you too if they want to know what’s really going on for you lately, and open up your heart to them.

Journaling

2007-01-10T15:05:00.000+10:00

Keep a prayer journal, like a spiritual diary, where you record what’s going on for you in a kind of chat format with God. Write your prayers of praise and thanks, your confessions, your asking prayers, and your conversational chatty thoughts being aware that God is reading as you write.

Many people get distracted when they pray just in their thoughts. Writing prayers can help to keep you focused, and to know where to come back to if you do drift off in a daydream for a while.

You might use your prayer journal once a week, every day, once a month, whatever works for you and God.

Motivation

2007-01-09T13:12:00.000+10:00

God motivates us to do good in the lives of others, and with our own lives. God can motivate us to do our best in our careers, our study, our relationships, our service, our hobbies. Tap in to God for motivation to get moving on the things that really matter.

Lightning

2007-01-05T15:21:00.000+10:00

Wow! God's power. God is surely the ultimate scientist! Next time there's a thunder storm, enjoy it as a reminder of God's awesome power revealed through creation.

Doodle Prayer

2006-12-13T15:22:00.000+10:00

Doodle all your recent concerns using symbols, words, drawings, lines or shapes in one section of your page. Now move into doodling your deepest fears that add power to your concerns.

Now in another section, doodle God’s power, then his love for you as his child. As you doodle, invite God to deal with your concerns and fears and to make things right. Doodle God’s love moving in to your fears and concerns and altering them somehow and sorting them out for you.

Weakness

2006-12-11T15:28:00.000+10:00

When you are weak, beat it by letting it remind you to count on God. Now with God, all things are possible, so now you are actually stronger, thanks to your weakness.

Now

2006-12-07T18:35:00.000+10:00

Pray now, serve now, care now. Reach out with love, in prayer or in actions to someone God wants to bless through you right now.

Don’t put off any good thing until later. Seize the day. “I am.” God says of himself. God is a God of the present. Live in the present with God. Now is the time.

Radical!

2006-12-05T15:06:00.000+10:00

Don’t conform to the ways of the world. Get radical for God.

Be embarrassingly kind, be outstanding in the way you encourage others, be proud to have faith in God, don’t laugh at racist jokes, don’t gossip, give more effort than you need to, listen...

Spirit Led

2006-11-30T11:24:00.000+10:00

To be led by the Holy Spirit of God, is to be aware of the divine promptings. You need to have a spiritual ear out for God’s leadings and whisperings.

Test any inklings against the nature of Jesus and the teachings of the Bible. If they match you can go ahead with more confidence that God is leading you.

Computers

2006-11-28T10:15:00.000+10:00

Spend a bit of time at the computer? Bump in to God while your there. There are many excellent prayer sites, Christian chat rooms, Church sites, Christian photographers who have made posters with verses on their works etc. God is everywhere.

Hello God

2006-11-27T12:17:00.000+10:00

Start a conversation with God by saying, “Hi” to God out loud. Or if you are up for it, jump in the air and shout a jubilant “Hello God”. Find out what happens next. Keep doing it until you sense a hello back. Too zany? Okay, give God a smile instead. Keep smiling at God until you can sense his response.

Outdoors

2006-11-24T10:59:00.000+10:00

Get out of the house, the office. Get away from the rat race and listen to the hum of nature instead of the roar of traffic. Smell the flowers instead of the pollution for a bit. See the sights in actual 3D instead of virtually on a screen. Feel the serenity.

Smiles

2006-11-22T12:07:00.000+10:00

Giving them and getting them. One smile can turn the whole day around. Smiles are one of God’s greatest little tricks. They can put everything back in to the right perspective. A smile can remind us that there is love in the world and we are a part of that love. Every body smiles in the same language. Smile at people. Friends, strangers, colleagues, smile at them all. Make it a total smile fest..

Flowers

2006-11-21T12:33:00.000+10:00

Flowers show us God’s beauty. God colours our world. If God wanted to, he could have designed all flowers to be the same shape and colour. It could still be functional if all flowers were yellow for example. Why did God go to the extra effort of designing so many different types of flowers?

Come up with at least three profound answers to that question. Arrange some flowers as a prayer time with God, as a gift to him, appreciating his gifts to you. Take time to smell the roses.

Hair

2006-11-16T18:11:00.000+10:00

God has every hair on your head numbered. He knows you in incredible detail, and cares about you intimately.

Any time you brush your hair, flick it out of your face, run your fingers through it to adjust your fringe etc, remember that God has even the hairs of your head numbered. He knows you completely and is concerned about every detail of your life. God wants to be involved in all of it.

Tower of Strength

2006-11-15T17:53:00.000+10:00

Who are the towers of strength in your life? Let them know that you see them that way and thank them. Who are you a tower of strength to? How is God involved in these towering relationships?

Communicate with God

2006-11-14T19:53:00.000+10:00

Communication happens in many ways. It includes both talking and listening. It includes being together with out words being necessary. In fact, some say that 90% of our communication is actually non verbal and includes facial expressions, body language and gestures. The best friends know how to share the same silences.

Today, don’t exchange words with God. Instead, kind of exchange knowing glances. Wink at God when something excellent, or ridiculous happens. Give God a thought, a look across a crowded room. Link up with God in non verbal ways, and communicate together without words.

Sun

2006-11-13T17:02:00.000+10:00

The sun is warm on our skin and makes life possible. God has positioned the sun in exactly the right place to sustain us. Any closer we’d fry, any further away and we’d freeze. With all that space out there, that’s precision creation.

Sunrises and sunsets, God’s artistic palette spreading a riot of warm colour. Enjoy the next sunset or sunrise. Feel the sunshine on your skin at lunch time. Consider the cosmic dimensions of God and be humbled. Consider God’s love and be thrilled.

Talk

2006-10-31T17:44:00.000+10:00

Talk to people about the things in life that really matter. Go deep. Share deep your self. Ask them how they really are. And listen! Tell them how you really are and give them the chance to administer the love of God to you.

Imagine

2006-10-27T17:27:00.000+10:00

Imagine Jesus is with you, physically, in person, at the beach, or a coffee shop, or at some place that is special for you. Use your imagination to see Jesus there with you, to listen to what he might have to say to you. Spend some quality time together.

Troubles

2006-10-25T16:52:00.000+10:00

Troubles develop our perseverance and can strengthen our ties with God, leading to a deeper understanding of ourselves and of God. The hammer shatters glass but forges steel. Take troubles as a challenging opportunity to develop your endurance and dependence on God. Work the troubles until they give up something good.

Listen

2006-10-23T17:43:00.000+10:00

Listen to great music with God. Put on music that really inspires you and listen to it as a spiritual refresher. Let it lift your spirit.

Life is for Living

2006-10-20T15:32:00.000+10:00

Life be in it. Do things! Don’t just sit around and wait to die. Explore this fantastic life you have been given to its fullest before you go to meet God face to face.

Live out loud! Be enthusiastic – live life to the fullest. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life, life in all its fullness.”

Diamonds

2006-10-10T18:40:00.000+10:00

Look at a diamond. Appreciate its sparkling beauty. Diamonds began as dirty lumps of black coal you know. With a lot of time and the right kind of pressure, coal is totally and radically converted into something very different. It’s hard to see a potential diamond when looking at a piece of coal.

Imagine what God can do with your life if you give yourself to him! It may take time, and the right kind of pressure, but you too can sparkle and shine for God. Sparkle today.