Words4Wonder Blog

John 14: 15   “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”   When thinking about the idea of Obedience, the first thing that comes to mind is probably parents , and honestly you wouldn’t be far off with that assumption. Ever had your Dad or your Mum ask you to do something? I’m sure everyone has, right? Well, Obedience would be doing the thing your parents asked you to do.   It probably sounds very simple : doing what you’ve been told. However, when we take that very same premise and apply it with God, it becomes much more complex. We tend to complicate what was just a simple instruction into a multitude of worries, fear and eventual passiveness. Why? When God asks us to do things, for some reason, we believe it’s our way or the highway . Stemming from a form of rebellion, we believe that somehow, we know more than God, that somehow, we have this life figured out.   There are two potential reasons as to why we may be disobedient when it comes to God: for...

2 Timothy 1:7     “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline"   This is one of, if not, my favourite verses. The reason for this is because it really hits home for me. You know those verses where you read them and you’re jus t like “wow I really needed to hear that ”, well that’s how I feel whenever I read this verse. It ju st reminds me of my identity and recently it has been feeling like I have lost track of it.    I’m the type of person that is very influenced by what people tell me, especially when it’s about me, and especially when it’s from people that know me best. So , in essence, my self-esteem is very fragile. I’m overly self-critical and I dwell too much on conversations and scenarios that I’m sure people have already forgotten about. If you’re like me , I want you to read the verse one more time.    Now that you have read it, I think it’s important to not only say it but ...

Gen e sis 16:13   “She gave his name to the Lord who spoke to her: You are the God wh o sees me , for she said, I have seen the One who sees me”   One of the names of God is ‘El Roi’ which translates to “The God who sees me ”. When hearing that, you're probably feeling quite exposed or f eel that you have no privacy, however being seen is actually a good thing. A God that sees you shows that whatever you’re going through, even the things you don’t tell anyone about, you and I have a God that acknowledges our pain and acknowledges our circumstance. You are not alone in your struggles.    Relating to the verse, to provide context, here is what is going on:   Hagar, an Egyptian slave, has essentially been mistreated by Sarai (Abraham’s wife) because she got pregnant and Sarai hadn’t at that time, so she was just moving jealous (a bit unnecessary if you ask me) With this mistreatment,  Hagar tries to run away from her distress and God essentially says...

Romans 8:11   “And if the s p irit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your m ortal bodies because of his s p irit who lives in you”   Recently I have been hearing a lot of stories on spiritual dryness. It seems we are all experience some form of distance from God: whether it’s not feeling his presence, maybe not having the motivation to pray or read the bible as much, it all links to one word: death. I know it may sound dramatic, but when I say ‘death ’, I don’t mean a physical death, I’m talking about a spiritual one. Opening our viewpoint on death allows us to see that ‘death’ is m uch more than the shutting down of the body, it’s something that we see or experience more in our day-to-day lives, we just haven’t paid much attention to it.   One thing about me is that I like definitions : it hel p s me understand and com p rehend things more. When thinking about the idea of restorat...