Napier Baptist

Okay, so the onther night at youth group, BAndy, Viv, Buzz and some other people were talking about free will and predestination. The same thing that they happened to be talking about, has been bugging me for months. When we finished the conversation, I was more confused than before! So, what better place to get some answers?!
My question is: God has given us all free will, right? We can choose to follow Him or not, what to wear each day, where we go etc. But, He has also mapped out our life for us. He knows what we are going to say and do before we even think about doing it. So, if God knows what we are going to choose, does free will really exsist?? I mean, how can we have to free choice to do something if God already knows what we are going to choose. Like, whats going on here, God??!!!

I decided to put it down to the fact that God has such a big understanding of things that we cant even imagine, so its not in our 'mind capacity' (or whatever!) to be able to understand it all. BAndy reckons I'm just trying to find a way to bail out of figuring out the answer!
So, what do ya'll think?? BAndy might be able to explain a little better what I mean....?!

I'm off to Baptist Assembly today and back Sunday afternoon. It's a good chance to catch up with mates and hear what God is doing in churches around the country. I was encouraged by some of the hints Rodney Macaan gave in his annual report after his first year as National Leader of the NZ Baptist Churches. Rodney's major question for churches is "what of our character/conscience?" Studies on the character of Christians today suggest there's little discernable difference between Christians and anyone else. Rodney suggests this is exemplified by the phenomenon of consumer church:

So, theres been 2 things that have really spoken to me lately and i thought i'd share them with you.....................
As some of you will know i am soon starting my new job after 6months of 'hanging in there' at my old one, and I had felt kind of guilty for celebrating my new job and thanking God for it, cos lets be honest, i didnt exactly 'rejoice in all circumstances' when things werent great, so what right did i have in rejoicing when they were good? Well i was listening to The Lads song "Call my name" and in the middle Mark reads out Romans 8:38 about how nothing can separate us from Gods love that is in Christ Jesus, and it was like God was saying, 'Not even your lack of trust or not seeing my hand at work will separate you from me or the fact i still love you and you can still rejoice.' Its cool to know that literally nothing will separate us from God and his love.

Before youth group last week I was feeling a little burned out, and really wished i could stay at home, pretty much feeling sorry for myself, but of course i had to go anyway, and when we got to Thirsty Worship there was a song with the line that goes "Im taking up my cross, I'm laying down my life, all for the glory of your name...." and since im on this new 'Think about what im singing instead of just getting caught up in the atmosphere etc' buzz, i was thinking what that would actually look like, in real life, today, like what does that mean for me, and God was like 'Duh, you being here tonight when you dont feel like it, when you'd rather be somewhere else, when you feel like you're not having an impact, that's taking up your cross and laying down your life for me, right there. When you put me or something/one else infront of yourself thats what it looks like.' (Not meant to come across as self righteous as it did, sorry! Just meant to be an encouragement to people in the same situation)

So at Young Adults the other night, Hannah and I were discussing the impact that cultural issues of the day have on the bible. Unfortunately, Dad overheard us and challenged me to lead a thing on it one study. Hannah said she would give me a hand, but after about 2 seconds, we realised that it was a enormous undertaking with a crazy amount of things we could go into. So what better place to ask for help than the Internet; the best source of truth in the universe*!

Anyone have any suggestions for specific things we could look at and talk about that won't take the rest of the term/a team of rocket scientists to get something out of? Maybe a book I (Hannah) could read to get some sweet tips?

I realise that this might be a topic we leave for later (or never) but still, even if it was just for personal reading or thinking, input would be appreciated.

* NOT!! (hat tip: Borat)

I was reminded of a verse the other day. I hope Andy P doesn’t mind me saying this, but his daughter, Olivia really opened my eyes to something.
On Sunday afternoons a group of people from church play netball at the Indoor sports centre, and I look after the kids while the parents play. Olivia and some of the other girls were playing this pretend game. I really don’t know what was going on – Micah and Kiana were Olivia’s dogs and they were in the audience at a show Livs was putting on. I think it may have actually been at church…..I really don’t know!
So, Anyway – In the middle of the indoor sports centre, Olivia started belting out one of the songs we sing at childrens church... “Jesus is the way –WAY! Jesus is the truth – TRUTH! Jesus is the life – LIFE!” She was doing the actions and everything for this ‘show’ she was putting on for her ‘dogs’.People were all around us – some of them were watching. Olivia’s little 6 year old mind didn’t care about who was watching. In fact, I doubt she really noticed anything going on around her. With a huge smile on her face, she continued to dance and sing, and her ‘dogs’ applauded her.
I sat there watching this, amazed. I was embarrassed and ashamed of myself, because something in me was embarrassed of Livs. I would never have the guts to sing that song with such gusto in a public place…And yet every Sunday I help teach that song to the kids.
I realised what Jesus meant in Luke 10 vs 15, when he said “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

• more love
• peace in abundance
• less violence
• happier communities
• heaven on earth

There once was a man sent from God, and born a Palestinian Jew.

As Christians we bear His name.

He was full of G and T - Grace and Truth - exactly what the world needs now :-)

I have just completed a draft of a major chapter of my dissertation. This section is meant to be 6,000 words. Current word count: 9,500. Some major editing to do tonight!! Tomorrow, I'm hoping, to start on a new chapter where the aim for the word count is 6,000 more words!

I had the pleasure of spending the evening with a new friend last night :)

During the night, we got talking about our worth, and they way we place such important on the things that certain people in our lives say, particularly our husbands. For example, they could comment that we look good that day, and that could set us up for a great day, feeling really good about ourselves. In the same way, if they make a comment that is less positive (!) we could take it hard and it would set us up for a bad mood all day.

As we continued down this track, we realised the following: Yes, our husbands(/wives) are important, but should our value really come from them? If we truly have an understanding of who we are in Christ, and the value He has placed on our lives, should it really matter what others say about us?! Yes, they're always gonna be a big influence, but God should have the ultimate and final say, and He's alreay said that we're perfect!

Enjoy the rest of our week, knowing that God made you exactly as you should be, and that in His eyes you have immesurable value!

I heard this quote while at Capernwray last year and remebered it recently and thought i'd share it with you.....
'Don't let your thumb eclipse the sun' - Your thumb, in comparison to the sun is a relatively small object, but if you hold your thumb infront of your face while looking at the sun, and focus on your thumb, and not the sun behind it, your thumb seems huge and you can effectively block out the sun. This analogy is true for our lives, if we hold our problems, fears,doubts, etc infront and focus on them instead of the sun or 'Son' behind them, they seem imensely bigger than they are. However, if we keep these problems, fears,doubts etc in persepective, focussing on the Son instead, they seem to pale in comparison.
So remember, just like the sun is so much bigger than your thumb, the Son is so much bigger than whatever you are going through, just dont let your thumb eclipse the sun!!

Okay, so some of you may thing I'm completely insain for even having this thought in my head, but Its been bothering me for months and I need answers!!!

Who invented the High - 5 (Not the cheezy Australian little kids group, but the act of slapping hands together,) And where did it come from??!!
For the past couple of months, whenever someone gives another person a high5, I have just been thinking "Why on earth do we slap our hands together as a 'Congratulations' or 'Well done'?"
Like, pretend you were an outsider to this world, imagine how weird it would seem when you saw A Dad give his kid a high-5 because she got a 10/10 in her spelling test.....

Am i actually going insain or do other people understand what I'm saying??!! Dont leave me hanging here guys, help me out!! =)

I've been thinking about the whole worship thing Kina brought up quite a few blogs back, and my thoughts have come down to a question that i'd be keen to hear your answers on, cos i dont know the answer! If you are not going to worship in truth, like if you have ulterior motives, or are not meaning what you are singing/doing, is it better to not worship at all? Like what's worse - Worshipping untruthfully or not worshipping at all (which you are atleast being honest about) ???? Any thoughts?