Listen.

Sundays have a habit of handing me something very special and today was no exception. Ian was our speaker for today and he was brilliant, he talked about the way we read or listen to Gods word. We can read the bible from back to front, put it down and tell ourselves we are ‘there’ we have a valid passport to heaven. We can go along on a Sunday, sing the songs hear the words that the speaker shares with us and happily go off for lunch at Pizza Hut safe in the knowledge that we have that ticket to everlasting life safely in our pocket.

Only…..its not quite as easy as that, when we read or hear Gods word we have to be sure to listen and absorb it then live it daily, sort of renewing that passport that we’ve been issued with. I used to think that when I got to the gates they would be opened and I’d walk in no problem, after all I considered myself to be a Christian so my name would be on the list. But saying to myself that I was a Christian and actually living each day in Gods word, knowing Him and believing that the joy and peace in my life is Him has shown me once again that I didn’t really know Him at all, I just thought I did.

Way back I used to ask God for something for my mum and sort of hoped I’d wake up one morning finding it had happened overnight, recently I’ve asked the same thing but the difference is I truly believed it would happen. I got a phone call from my mum in the week asking me if she could come to church with me this Sunday and afterwards she said she’d felt something she couldn’t put into words while Ian was talking. She said she felt totally absorbed when he was speaking and ‘listened’ and ‘heard’.

My mum stayed in a crowded room for the whole of the service, that might seem an easy thing to do for some people but for her it was a huge achievement.

Praise you my awesome God for talking through Ian today and reaching out to my mum.

My very favourite song for this week and I so wish I could sing proper.

You are my strength
Strength like no other
Strength like no other
Reaches to me

You are my hope
Hope like no other
Hope like no other
Reaches to me

In the fullness of your grace
In the power of your name
You lift me up
You lift me up

Unfailing love
Stronger than mountains
Clearer than oceans
Reaches to me.