God bless,
Mark Brown
http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB
If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free:click here.
Yahweh’s Yarn in a Year : 1 year Bible reading plan
The Portion for today is: Numbers 13-16
To access the complete plan for the year click here.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyza/
John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
Over the years until quite recently my own faith walk has involved long periods of not reading the Bible and not praying much. And this has happened because I allowed myself to drift away from God, encouraged by the enemy.
I remember my first attempt at canoeing where I spent way too much time trying to keep the canoe going straight down the river. Whatever I did ended up in me drifting into the river bank. What was meant to be a fun afternoon turned into a frustrating and annoying battle of me vs canoe. And let me tell you, the canoe won.
But the more I canoed the better I got at it and before too long I had the canoe heading straight down the river. In the same way the more I practice at my faith, the more determined I am, the better at it I become. My aim is not to read the Bible but to come into the presence of God.
To come into the presence of God is to be influenced by the Holy Spirit on a consistent basis. This happens through spending time reading the Bible – being open to change, confessing my sin – being prepared to change, and through much prayer and active service – getting involved in change.
I yearn to be in God’s presence!!
God bless,
Mark Brown
http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB
If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free:click here.
Yahweh’s Yarn in a Year : 1 year Bible reading plan
The Portion for today is: 2 Timothy 1-2
To access the complete plan for the year click here.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyza/
Well it is good to be back posting on my blog! I have been busy working on my first book which is a collection of my sayings. Each saying has a supporting Bible verse and a short reflection. I have written about 60% of them and hope to finish the rest over the course of this week. Then I will design it and get it ready for publishing. Exciting stuff! Below is a sample for you to check out.
And the other big news is that my new Journey Deeper into God’s Word blog is just about complete! My hope is to launch it next week.
Well here is a sample from the book I am working on:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
The challenge is to live life beyond what you think is capable to what God thinks you are capable of.
Without question God has massive plans for me, and my job is to find out what those plans are and get on with them! And I find that out by asking, what is my passion? What is it I love to do? Well I love to encourage people deeper into relationship with God. Now is my passion in line with the Bible? Well yes! So I need to get on with it, and that is exactly what I am doing. But even so, often I will tell myself that I am not worthy of such a call, or that I am not capable. These voices need to be ignored as they only get in the way of serving God.
God bless,
Mark Brown
http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB
If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.
Yahweh’s Yarn in a Year : 1 year Bible reading plan
The Portion for today is: John 10-12
To access the complete plan for the year click here.
From time to time I take a break from posting and that time has arrived! I won’t post again until the 18th of October, but rest assured I will be back. I will also keep reading my Bible and learning, staying on the journey. But before I depart for my break I have two bits of news..
This blog is getting an overhaul – a completely new look is a coming! Bring it on!!
And finally, I am going through a very significant personal challenge right now to do with a relationship, would you pray for me? Its a very difficult time.
God bless,
Mark Brown
To stay in touch with Yahweh’s Yarn in a Year : 1 year Bible reading plan : click here
You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ” ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’ ” So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. Romans 14:10-13
What is his problem? No seriously, why is he acting that way? He clearly has no idea what he is doing.. etc.. etc.. blah blah blah… !
Being critical of others is way too easy. But the Bible is challenging me hard right now, I am not to judge others, leave that job up to God.
So right now I make a decision.. as best I can I will not judge others, not be critical of others. But how do I do this? I choose to. This awesome passage says: Instead, make up your mind.. I choose to, I come to the decision not to judge. I wake up and I say to myself.. I won’t judge today, I will love instead. When a judgemental thought comes into my head I decide there and then to tell it to get lost and fill my thoughts with love and kindness. And slowly but surely my mind will become more open to being loving and closed to judgement.
And why is being judgemental a shocker to be involved in? Well the first thing is that this is God’s job not mine. And He is way better qualified and suited to the task, what can I really know about the true heart of someone? Can I know all the facts? No. Why with a court case a judge and jury will be presented with tons of details and evidence, arguments and data. It can takes months involving many skilled and qualified staff to make a careful judgement. And even then… So what can I expect to be able to do by myself, with limited data and hardly any time? Not much!
And this amazing Roman’s passage is clear: Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. When I am judgemental I am in effect trying to block them from a full life in Christ. I am attempting to deny them love and instead dishing out hate.
So this day I choose not to judge but to love. Will you join me?
God bless,
Mark Brown
http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB
If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.
Yahweh’s Yarn in a Year : 1 year Bible reading plan
The Portion for today is: Daniel 7-12
To access the complete plan for the year click here.
Photo attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bsabarnowl/
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Hebrews 12:1-2
God bless,
Mark Brown
http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB
If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.
Yahweh’s Yarn in a Year : 1 year Bible reading plan
The Portion for today is: Proverbs 17-18
To access the complete plan for the year click here.
That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:19-23
When I sat down with this passage I had a completely blank mind, absolutely no thoughts. I kept reading, praying that God would reveal his will, curious. Usually I have an inkling, some notion or idea.. but this time nothing. Good. God often works wonderfully with a blank canvas. Then I recalled a conversation I had earlier today with one of my amazing volunteers for the ministry I founded and head up, Global Scope Ministries, and I started to think about the wonderful work all the 18 volunteers are doing to oversee this growing and significant online ministry through various pages on Facebook. And I thought about my role as a leader and then I realised that I was reading an awesome and rich passage on leadership.
The first leadership lesson from the passage is : Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Absolutely central to my faith is the fact that Jesus died on the cross. This is eternally enormous news. He didn’t just talk about persecution and pain, he experienced it – completely. In the same way I as a leader need to be where the most difficult decisions are, ready to lead amidst the action and not from a distance. When I started The Bible page, I was it, just me diligently posting scripture each day. And that hasn’t changed, across my pages, even though I have an awesome team helping, I still stay involved, still active at the grass roots of the ministry.
The second teaching comes from verse 21: As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. Jesus knows that his authority comes from God. One of the traps of leadership is believing that I have lots of authority, that I am somehow the source of my ability. But actually regardless of title or position, or my training, my true authority comes from God and I need to never forget that. As a leader I need to rely way more on God and not on my own skills and abilities. Yes God gives me those abilities, but I have to keep front and centre that God gave them to me.
It then reads: As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. I love this!! Jesus encourages us to get out there and get on with it! As a leader I need to make sure that my team have the authority and resources to get on with doing their jobs as effectively as possible. I need to release them, to get out the way so they can do all they are called for. But again, not through my authority, but through the authority given by God, powered by the Holy Spirit.
Praise God for this awesome passage!!
God bless,
Mark Brown
http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB
If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.
Yahweh’s Yarn in a Year : 1 year Bible reading plan
The Portion for today is: Psalm 96-98
To access the complete plan for the year click here.
‘Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.’ Isaiah 58:10
How can I want a big house when so many in the world are without any shelter?
How can I complain about the lack of variety in my diet when one child every five seconds dies from hunger-related causes?
How can I allow myself to feel down when so many struggle with the extreme pain of a mental illness?
How can I consider getting an iPad or some other gadget when so many battle simply to survive.
How can I be annoyed by a noisy neighbour when there are those at risk in war zones.
How can I be content in my faith when so many don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?
So what am I going to do about it?
Dear God, I completely commit myself to doing all I can to alleviate poverty, to support those struggling with mental illness, to love generously without the expectation of being loved in return, and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Lord give me the right perspective so I might serve you selflessly, give my a focus and understanding of the struggle and pain of others so that I might respond appropriately. Lord I give you all I have. I am ready. Amen.
God bless,
Mark Brown
http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB
If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.
Yahweh’s Yarn in a Year : 1 year Bible reading plan
The Portion for today is: 1 Chronicles 5-9
To access the complete plan for the year click here.
1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. 1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-5
I like this a lot. Paul is writing here to the people of Corinth, which was a large impressive Greek city, where big words, clever communication and impressive wisdom would have been greatly valued. Those who came across well, communicated well, would have been greatly admired. And then Paul steps in and basically says that what they value is wrong, how they measure ‘cool’ is way off. He basically refuses to play their game. He bluntly tells them that his focus isn’t how cool he sounds or how clever his words are, but that his focus is completely Jesus Christ. And as if to hammer the point home, he then points out how weak and plain he is. And boldly states that he relies on the power of the Holy Spirit. He states he did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
I have been a public speaker, a communicator for many years and will now admit that I can way too much rely on my own power and ability. I have worked hard at improving how I come across, at being more interesting and engaging. Seeing it as a job I must succeed at. And really in relying on me and my ability, I can see that this is one way of saying I don’t believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This passage is a powerful reminder that I need to open myself up to the Holy Spirit and not rely on my ability.
Once I was invited to speak to a theological college, to the students and staff. I spent many days carefully crafting my presentation and with it in my bag I flew to the city to speak. As I was due to speak early, I came up the day before and stayed a night in a motel. Once settled in the motel I pulled out my speech to run over it one last time, I had worship music playing and found myself drawn into the presence of God through the worship experience. And in the midst of that experience God prompted me to completely abandon the carefully prepared speech. I grabbed a piece of paper and started writing a few points of what God wanted me to share. The next day my speech was very well received, but not through anything I have done, but through the power of the Holy Spirit.
I want to be completely reliant on the Holy Spirit so that I might point not to myself, but to the power of God.
God bless,
Mark Brown
http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB
If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.
Yahweh’s Yarn in a Year : 1 year Bible reading plan
The Portion for today is: Psalm 96-98
I get a lot of comments on my blog, Facebook, YouTube and sometimes they are critical. How do I handle that? Click on the vid below..
If you are on email and cannot see the vid, click here: Blog
God bless,
Mark Brown
http://www.facebook.com/MarkBrown.page
http://twitter.com/RevMarkB
If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive my reflections as an email for free: click here.
Yahweh’s Yarn in a Year : 1 year Bible reading plan
The Portion for today is: 1 Chronicles 5-9
To access the complete plan for the year click here.
Journey Deeper Into God's Word 