Words of encouragement

A step down, is often a step in the right direction.A solder with PTSD had dug himself into a hole and was struggling to get out.Senior NCO went by and the Soldier with PTSD called out for help. The Senior NCO yelled told him to suck it up dig deep & drive on, then threw him a shovel. But the Soldier with PTSD could not suck it up and drive on, so he dug the hole deeper.A Senior Officer went by and the Soldier with PTSD called out for help. The Senior Officer told him to use the tools your Senior NCO has given you then threw him a bucket. But the Soldier with PTSD was using the tools his Senior NCO gave him, so he dug the hole deeper and filled the bucket.A psychiatrist walked by. The Soldier with PTSD said, “Help! I can’t get out!” The psychiatrist gave him some drugs and said, “Take this. It will relieve the pain.” The Soldier with PTSD said thanks, but when the pills ran out, he was still in the hole.A well-known psychologist rode by and heard the Soldier with PTSD cries for help. He stopped and asked, ” How did you get there? Were you born there? Did your parents put you there? Tell me about yourself, it will alleviate your sense of loneliness.” So, the Soldier with PTSD talked with him for an hour, then the psychologist had to leave, but he said he’d be back next week. The Soldier with PTSD thanked him, but he was still in the hole.A priest came by. The Soldier with PTSD called for help. The priest gave him a Bible and said, “I’ll say a prayer for you.” He got down on his knees and prayed for the Soldier with PTSD, then he left. The Soldier with PTSD was grateful, he read the Bible, but he was still stuck in the hole.A fellow soldier was walking by and ask the lad down the hole what the crack was, “I’m stuck in this hole mate and I can’t get out. Oh right, he replied well could you do me a favour and move two steps to the left. The soldier in the hole instinctively moved to his left. And before he could ask why the soldier at the top jumped into the hole beside him.You idiot the first soldier shouted screamed, now we both stuck in this hole.Relax said the second soldier, I have been stuck before mate and there is a way out, so pop the kettle on and let us have a chat about it, oh added the second soldier do not forget the Hobnobs!What I love about this is it perfectly illustrates what God did when he looked down and saw a world drowning in sin. He is the Lord almighty and literally there is nothing he cannot do, yet he chose to step down and walk with us to show us the way. He as the song says “laid down his majesty, gave up everything for us”Yet as leaders from all corners of the body, we seem to have mirrored the world in our way of ministering, choosing to have spiritual titles and man-made positions that seek to lift us above the very people we are called to serve.As the holy Spirit leads now is the time for us to jump down some holes in his mighty name.#churchreset#communityoftheholyspirt

Window dressing, will not weather the storm I remember standing there looking at the officer glaring at me, you could tell he was unhappy with my decision to leave his unit, and he was determined to push me on my reasons. “So Corporal” he said, “what are your thoughts on your time here?” I prayed hard for what seemed like minutes, then began to speak. Well Sir it’s like this, I had an amazing great Aunt who made cakes. These cakes Sir, were a work of art, she would spend hours carefully decorating them with marzipan and icing. Here in the Army we have an expression “God is in the detail”, well sir the detail on theses cakes was out of this world. That said once you bit into the cake, it was not the marzipan or indeed the Icing that made it special but the moist fruitcake underneath. Theoretically my Aunt could have taken a dog turd and decorated it in much the same way, from the outside it would have looked just as amazing as her other cakes, but once you bit into it you would have had a nasty shock. “Are you saying my unit is S@8t” the officer boomed! No sir, I replied, just my Aunt could make good cakes! Life today and indeed the church is often a bit like this, with people desperately trying to look like they have it all together yet underneath they are falling apart. The world sadly gives so much focus on image and superficial things, but as Christians we need to remember that God looks at the heart. With this pandemic stripping away so much “window dressing “in our churches such as plush buildings and polished services. Now is the time to look at our foundations and make sure we are hold true to the church Jesus calls us to be, as only then can we be a light in a hurting world.#churchreset