The Ultimate Game Plan!

Hi my lovely ones! Today's post is actually coming to you today as a request by Jesse. 

You see, Wednesdays in Kristy-land are Mainly Music Days. No, that doesn't mean I spend my day mainly listening to music - Mainly Music is actually a children's program our church runs that I'm incredibly lucky to be apart of. 

Each and every Wednesday morning I spend a few hours with an incredible team made up of my fellow sisters in Christ and we get to spend that time with over twenty different Mums/Grandmas/Dads and Carers and up to thirty different kids. It's a ministry that is thriving and a ministry that I am so thankful I get to be apart of. 

When holidays roll around, we like to spoil our MM families because we are so thankful for them - for the friendships we've made, the laughs we've had and the fact that they keep on coming back week after week to join us. With Easter fast approaching, I came up with an idea for an Easter gift for our Mums and was responsible for putting together the gift along with a little note to explain what it all meant.

This little note is what Jesse wanted me to share with you. In fact, he wants me to call it The Easter Tactic - rather than a gospel tract, because he thinks it gives you a game plan for life. 

You see, when we think about Easter most people think about things like chocolate, traditions, cute little chicks and bunnies with fluffy cottontails - but what is Easter really about?

It's not about scratching your brain to remember which of your kids asked for which specific Easter egg - and it's not about scribbling down your shopping list to ensure that you're not left without that one vital ingredient on one of the few days a year the shops are closed.

In fact, all of that stuff is probably going to leave you feeling pretty flustered. This Easter, even if there's tears and tantrums and arguments and melted chocolate, I want you to remember one thing; 

As hard as we try, none of us will ever be perfect - but that's okay!

In fact, Easter celebrates the very reason why it's okay that we're not perfect. 

Easter celebrates that Jesus Christ came to earth for the purpose of paying the price for our sins, for substituting His perfect life for our imperfect ones.

The Bible tells us that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..... the wages of sin is death" Romans 3:23, 6:23

But we don't actually have to pay that price..

Jesus died a cruel death on a cross and rose from the grave. Why? Because, though He is God's sinless Son, He became human, took our place and paid the penalty for our sin - bridging the otherwise uncrossable separation between us and God. 

Jesus took our debts to God, nailed them to the cross and stamped them PAID IN FULL. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins. 

At Easter, we celebrate this; the greatest gift we've ever been given. It's not a giant chocolate Easter bunny or a cuddly plush toy and it's not even a massage voucher - this is a free gift that we all have the opportunity to accept; 

"God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us..... The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 5:8, 6:23 

Through Jesus, God provided the only way to be forgiven for ours sins and receive the gift of eternal life. We no longer need to be perfect or do XYZ in perfect order because Jesus already paid the bridged the gap between us and God. 

But how do we accept this gift?

To be forgiven by God and to receive His gift of eternal life we need to trust in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

Jesus tells us; "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6 

The Bible also tells us; "To all who did receive [Jesus], who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God..... for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" John 1:12, 3:16

This Easter, in the midst of all the holiday madness and the bursting sugar filled stomachs, I want you to take a moment to sit and think about the most incredible gift you've been offered. This free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord has been offered to you - are you going to accept it?

Jesus paid a debt we could never pay ourselves - how do we respond to that?

If you want to find out more, I encourage you to seek out a local church - or even just send me an email. I'm always more than happy to chat about anything - especially about Jesus! I know there's a few readers out there who live near us and see us around and if you'd like to join us at our incredible church, just send me an email and I'll let you know what our service times are - or even meet you for a coffee first so that you know at least one face! xx

But tell me, what does Easter mean to you?
And what's your favourite Easter memory?

SIL Sisters In Christ: From Tragedy to the Greatest Triumph

You may have realised that my Sisters in Christ posts have been missing the last couple of weeks - and there's a good reason for that. You see, we're up to one of my favourite parts of the gospel story and week after week, I've found myself in the middle of a busy week when it comes time to write these posts and I've realised one thing...

I needed to give this post the time it deserved.

I needed to share this incredible story of how tragedy became triumph and how we can deal with our very own tragedies in

And that couldn't be rushed.

There was one lesson in particular that I knew in my heart that I needed to share with you, but I couldn't quite put it into words.... until now.

I prayed and I came to realise that not posting during those busy weeks was a far better idea than posting - because what I would have pressed publish on wasn't what my heart wanted to share. So now that I have the time, let's look at John 20 and look at these incredible moments together - shall we?

SIL Sisters in Christ: Reversing the Biggest Fail

Well hey, lovely sisters of mine! We've come to a part of the Gospel of John which is more gruesome and hurtful than others - but it's this horrible moment in time that actually brought the greatest victory of all. It's this horrible time which gave us a relationship with our Heavenly Father - and it's these very moments that gave us the option for new life.

It was God in the person of Jesus Christ who amazed the people of His day with His miracles and teachings. It was God in the person of Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life and then allowed Himself to be put to death on the cross for our sins. It was God who three days after He died broke the bonds of death and came out of the tomb alive. It is God who still lives today... who walks by our side, who knows our paths, who is greater than every storm and challenge we face. 

This week we're looking at John 19 (and please do click that link or grab your Bible and read through it first!) and here we find Jesus beaten, sentenced, crucified and dead all within one rather short chapter.

There is never anything pleasant or attractive about an execution, however, in Jesus's days, execution was designed to be public and painful. I don't know about you, but the story of Jesus's crucifixion always makes me cringe. Not because it's poorly written, but because I imagine my Lord, my saviour, my God up there on the cross - helpless, weak, in pain - dying - and I remember that He did just that for our sins. 

You might be like me whenever I watch or read Romeo and Juliet (I always yell at Romeo when he comes in and finds Juliet "dead") and read this passage and think NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Jesus! You're innocent! You don't have to die!

But Jesus's death wasn't a cruel mistake. 

Jesus's life was not taken from Him.

Jesus laid down His life willingly. It was all a part of His plan - a plan that included you and me. 

Jesus took to the cross with a crown of thorns on His head - but that crown is actually quite symbolic. Let's go back riggggggght to the very start - where we first learn about thorns and thistles.

When God is telling Adam and Eve about the punishment of mankind He says; 

"It will produce thorns and thistles for you" Genesis 3:18

It being the ground (the earth) and you being mankind as a whole. Thorns and thistles came up as a result of sin - and Jesus bore the sins of the world. Here we see God reversing the work of the Fall of Mankind through Jesus.

The crown of thorns and the cross of death met their match in Jesus - and Jesus tells us; 

"Come to me, all you who are weary and 

burdened and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart 

and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"

Matthew 11:28-30

So I want you to remember something as you read through John 19. Like all good stories, this one has a happy ending. Jesus's death on the cross wasn't a mistake, in fact, it was a gift for us. 

Here Jesus gives us the greatest gift of all; true life in Him.

God didn't just reverse the very first fail (Adam & Eve taking that apple in the Garden of Eden) - he gave us the choice to reverse all of our fails - regardless of how big or how small. That's definitely something to be thankful for!

SIL Sisters in Christ: The Lessons We Can Learn

Hey lovely ladies! Today we're up to John 18 in our Jesus 101 series and we're nearing the end of the book of John. 

Today we read about Jesus's arrest - and as you probably already know, this is the beginning of the end of Jesus's time on earth. Jesus has been betrayed by one of His very own disciples, Judas, and soldiers and officials have arrived to arrest Jesus. 

But he was innocent. 

SIL Sisters in Christ: Standing United

Hello sweet ones! It's a cold and dreary day outside here in Sydney, however, I am so ready to get stuck into God's word with you. This week we're up to John 17 in our Jesus 101 series and this is perhaps one of my favourite glimpses into Jesus's life as he reveals to us the importance of prayer. 

You see, Jesus knew He had but hours to live - but instead of moping or rebelling or crying Himself to sleep, he took the time out to pray with His disciples. 

When you think about it, when we know death it tends to bring our priorities into focus. All of a sudden we figure out what's really important in life and who really means the most. 

Jesus knew He was facing death and He used those final moments to pray - and that prayer can be broken down into three very succinct sections; 

• Jesus prayed for Himself (John 17:1-5)
• Jesus prayed for His Disciples (John 17:6-19) 
• Jesus prayed for us (John 17:20-26) 

But today, I want to focus on one very thing that Jesus prayed for us - unity.

SIL Sisters in Christ: Dealing with Opposition & Ridicule as a Christian

Hey sweet ones! Wednesday has rolled around once again and that means it's SIL Sisters in Christ Day! Today we're looking at John 16 as part of our Jesus 101 study, looking at the Gospel of John.

John 16 is the third out of a total of four chapters where Jesus is teaching His disciples after the last supper - and it's here that Jesus talks of the struggles His followers will face. These struggles are still the same which we suffer today as Christians - but Jesus tells us exactly how we can deal with them and how we can turn our sorrow into joy!

SIL Sisters in Christ: Jesus chose YOU!

Hey sweet friends! It's Wednesday once again and it's time to throw ourselves back into God's word as we continue on with our Jesus 101 series. We're still going through the Gospel of John and today we're looking at John 15.

Whilst this chapter (like all) is full of goodness, there's one particular thing I want to focus on that I think is pretty profound; 

Jesus says to us;
"You did not choose me, 

but I chose you and appointed you
that you should go and bear fruit"
John 15:16

Jesus chose us. 

SIL Sisters in Christ: Ask for ANYTHING and You Will Receive?!

Hey sweet sisters! I took a little break last week with our Sisters in Christ post as we've been so busy and I haven't had enough time to dedicate to writing the kind of post I want to share with you all. 

You see, we shouldn't look at Bible Studies as a "get it over with" kind of thing. It shouldn't be a task we just want to tick off - it should be something we want to do, because it's an incredible privileged. We are so lucky that we have a God who gives us His word to follow - He doesn't just leave us on our own to figure things out for ourselves, He guides us through the Bible and speaks through His word and into our hearts. 

Today, we're continuing our Jesus 101 study on the Gospel of John, today looking at John 14 - and it's here in this chapter that Jesus really comforts His disciples with a few very important promised - but we're going to take a look at what those promises mean for us. 

SIL Sisters in Christ: LOVE One Another

Well hey, sisters! This week's reading really couldn't have come at a better time. In fact, I am actually glad that I didn't get a chance to post last week as this is so fitting for what has gone on in Sydney this week.

This week, we're looking at John 13 where we learn about what happened on the night before Jesus's crucifixion - but whilst there are so many things that happen in this chapter (which I really encourage you to read through as a whole), there is one command Jesus gives that I want to focus on. 

Love one another.

SIL Sisters in Christ: The Real Light of Christmas

Well hey, sweet sister! I know your life is probably getting more hectic like the minute with Christmas fast approaching and your to-do list probably feels like it never ends - but I want you to remember one very important thing about this time of year.

All that busy-ness, all that preparation, all of the celebration is because Jesus was born. Jesus, our King and the Lord of Lords was born in a manger as a tiny, precious human baby. Our God was born here on earth, in human flesh as a tiny fragile newborn. 

Our Lord that came to die for our sins so that we could be forgiven - so that we could be pure and blameless in God's sight. Jesus gave us the most incredible gift - so let's take a little time out to spend with Him. 

This week we're looking at John 12, continuing on with our Jesus 101 series as we explore the Gospel of John

SIL Sisters in Christ: Jesus Raises the Dead

I'm currently writing this on my phone as I've tried all day to write a post on the computer with no luck - so let's hope there's no awkward autocorrect mistakes as I am desperate to talk to you about this week's Sisters in Christ reading!! You'll have to excuse the lack of pictures and prettiness but luckily the gospel doesn't need any sparkles or graphics because it is SO incredible as is!

This week we're looking at John 11. In this chapter, we read another "stand out" story of the Bible. What do I mean by that? Well, whilst the entire bible is incredible in itself, there are certain stories and teachings that people tend to remember - and one of those stories we read here, when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. 

I saw it in my youth group kids a couple of weeks ago. We were acting out this very scene from John 11 - but the kids already knew exactly what was going to happen next as they'd remembered the story after being told it months before. Now, they're bright kids but really, kids tend to remember more about boogers and celebrity gossip than Bible stories - but this one stood out to them. Sure they can mumble off the fruit of the spirit and give you a cliff notes version of the gospel, but this was one of the few stories they could really remember. 

Why? Because it's pretty remarkable! Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus was dead for four days and Jesus says to him; "Lazarus, come out!". The dead man walks from the tomb with his hands and feet still wrapped in sheets of linen and the cloth still covering his face. He was a man waiting to be buried - but Jesus gave him life! 

But there's more to the story than that! You might remember that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead - but have you taken the time to really take in the entire story and think about what it means? 

SIL Sisters in Christ: The Shepherd and His Sheep

I'm someone who has always learnt through experiences - and also someone who learnt best through stories and illustrations. If I was going to remember a math equation, I needed some visualisation or story to remember it. 

That's why I love how Jesus taught. Jesus was incredible at using simple, everyday objects or stories to share spiritual truths. He taught through parables; the farmer scattering seed, the vine sustaining the branches - and in John 10, we are told yet another parable about the shepherd and his sheep. If you ask me, this parable is one of the most incredible visualisations of our salvation and security in Christ found in the Bible. 

In this parable, Jesus explains that "I am the gate for the sheep" (John 10:7) - we, God's people, are the sheep - entering a safe place (the sheep pen) which represents our salvation. 

The sheep enter safety through the gate. 

We enter Salvation through Jesus.

God gave us a good shepherd. Jesus explains; "the sheep follow the shepherd because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger's voice" (John 10:4-5). 

God's people hear the voice of Jesus and they recognise it - whilst they steer clear from other voices. 

Why? Because Jesus has the voice of salvation. Jesus has the message of grace from the God who loves us - the other voices don't have this. 

Jesus says that we need a radical change - and that regardless of how hard we work, it will our efforts will never be effective. He tells us that we cannot save ourselves, however, He can save us because God himself came into our world, suffered the pain of our corruption, lived the perfect live in our place - and paid the ultimate penalty.

It's not about being a do-gooder - because Jesus has done all the work for us. He's stamped our dues paid and is just waiting for us to follow Him. He's waiting with arms wide open, waiting for us to take those steps to salvation.

The gate is open. 

The safety is waiting. 

We have the key to salvation.

Jesus says, "come into my sheep pen, where the burden is light and there is no condemnation" (see here in Matthew 11:30 and Romans 8:1). 

But whilst Jesus offers us safety and salvation - there are always those who will try to steal it away from us. 

There is only one way to salvation. Others may try and get to the sheep pen in other ways than Christ - but they will fail. They may mean well, but their ways fall far short of what Jesus offers: a full and unconditional pardon for our sins. 

Jesus tells us - "I am the good shepherd"

"The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away" John 10:11-12

All of those other voices will fall away and let us down - it is only Jesus who laid down His life for us on the cross. 

Only Jesus died and rose for us so that we could have salvation.

SIL Sisters in Christ: Overcoming Blindness

Read Past Posts: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9

This week's scripture: John 9

In John 9, we read about yet another miracle performed by Jesus. We see Jesus restore a blind man's sight. 

A blind man sees the light - in more ways than one. 

In John 9:39, Jesus tells us;

"I have come into this world so that the blind will see"

Though He didn't come into the world just for the small percentage of the world who are blind, you see, we are all blind without Jesus. He came to help us understand God's love for us. 

But hold on a second! When you read the second half of that verse, you see that Jesus says that He came here so that "those who see will become blind".... What's that all about?! 

What does He mean by that?

It's easy to understand why Jesus would heal people - but it's hard to understand why He'd say that He would do the opposite!

But Jesus isn't speaking literally here.... let me explain!

We naturally connect vision and sight to "insight" or knowledge/understanding. You know how when someone is solving a problem they'll say "Ah! I see it now!". It's this tendency to explain understanding in terms of vision that Jesus is using. 

Jesus exploits this tendency in the double entendre we see here at the end of John 9. John 9:39-41 is based on the interactions between Jesus, the blind man and the Pharisees which we read about throughout the chapter.

Quick recap: 

John 9:1-7 - Jesus comes across the blind man and heals him 

John  9:8-15 - The Pharisees find out about what has happened and bring the blind man in for questioning 

John 9:16 - The Pharisees insist that this could not have been done by God because it was done on the Sabbath, whilst others find the evidence hard to deny.

John 9:17-27 - The Pharisees question the man's parents and then question the man again. They demand that he give God the glory since they "knew" that the man who did this was a "sinner" 

John 9:28-29 - The Pharisees are "disciples of Moses" and the know that God spoke to Moses, but they don't know where "this Man", Jesus, is from. 

John 9:30-32 - The blind man stands strong in his faith, refuting the Pharisees argument that if He was really a sinner, God wouldn't want anything to do with him. This was something that they had never heard of happening before.

John 9:33 - The blind man concludes that Jesus had to be of God or He wouldn't have been able to do anything. 

John 9:34-37 - The Pharisees were offended at this statement, declaring that the blind man was "born in sins" and banned him from the Jewish community. 

John 9:36 - Jesus finds the man and asks him if he believed in the Son of God. After asking who He is and being informed that Jesus is, in fact, the Son of God, the blind man declares his belief in Jesus 

The Big Conclusion

John 9:39-41 - The whole situation provides evidence for Jesus's claim; He came for judgement - allowing the blind to see and blinding those who "see". 

We can't take this statement literally - it never once says in the Bible that Jesus caused anyone who could physically see to become physically blind (though Paul does in Acts). Jesus's emphasis is not on physical vision, but on spiritual insight (this is the connection I was talking about above!).

The blind man now believes that Jesus is the Son of God. He sees in a way he didn't see before. He was once a blind man in the midst of those who could see (physically), however, he is now one who sees in the midst of blind men (spiritually). 

Jesus does not blind those who "see" physically - nor does He intend to do so spiritually. The problem isn't with Jesus, it's in those who claim to "see" - in this case, the Pharisees. 

Jesus's statement there is obvious: If the Pharisees admitted their blindness (faults/wrongdoings/misclaims) they would be without sin, but since they say that they see, their sin remains. You see, the Pharisees are convinced that they know what is right. They are blinded by their complete conviction of their vision - they declare that the work of God did not come from God because it was not what they expected it to be according to their "vision".

Does that make any sense? (I'm probably rambling here!)

The Pharisees "vision" didn't come from humble beginnings, you see, it's based in their claim that they are Moses's disciples and are separated from the "sinners". They refused to listen to anything that went against their understanding because, clearly it must be wrong. 

The Pharisees refuse to see; they do not want to see; they do not want to be in that awkward place of having to admit that they're wrong. 

That still happens today. People still refuse to see. Some are afraid, ashamed, too proud, too stuck in their ways - and when they turn away from Jesus, they go further into the darkness.

You see, 

If we accept Jesus, God accepts us.
If we reject Jesus, God rejects us.

If we refuse the light, we can only have darkness.

Jesus is the light who enables us to see. 

But what we need to remember is the most powerful message of this chapter; 

The sinner was physically blind, but willing to "see" spiritually whilst the religious authorities (the Pharisees, the "righteous ones") were blinded by their dogma. They challenged Jesus on a matter on which they assumed their opinions and interpretations were exactly in line with God's intentions. They were unwilling to accept any way other than their own - even with the evidence Jesus provided them with; thus, they were declared blind. 

The one thing we should take away from this is that we should never become like the Pharisees and assume that once we have come to some level of understanding that we now fully "see". The ways of God are waaaaaaaaay beyond our understanding. If we learn in wisdom, the more we learn the more we actually learn that we do not know!

There is always more to learn, more to see. 

We are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ - but our knowledge must be in faith and whatever is lacking in our knowledge must be filled by faith through our trust in Jesus.

We should never trust in our own understanding, but always trust in what He has revealed by examining His truth and recognising our own blindness and limitations - thus glorifying and honouring God!

Phew! Are you still with me? This is a bit of a tricky chapter - and one that is easy to walk away from confused and misleaded, but by breaking it down together we can understand what Christ was really trying to tell us. He doesn't want us to be blind - He wants us to walk with Him in the light!

SIL Sisters in Christ: Forgiveness

Read Past Posts: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8

This week's scripture: John 8

In the beginning of John 8, Jesus teaches us one very big lesson. 

We can't judge others unless we are pure and blameless.

We can't judge anyone for their sins and wrongdoings because we fall short time and time again.

Jesus tells the men; "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her". 

But Jesus doesn't condemn the woman either - He forgives her, just like He forgives us - and He tells her to go and leave her life of sin. 

Jesus extends His forgiveness to us and there is a huge lesson to be learnt from Christ's attitude towards us. We too should forgive and accept others. 

SIL Sisters in Christ: Constant Refreshment from The Living Water

Read Past Posts: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7

This week's scripture: John 7

Throughout John, we see the pattern of attitudes people went through with Jesus that we still see every single day today. In the early chapters of John, we see men and women respond to Jesus with belief - but then some followers turn away. Chaos and fighting breaks out between Jesus and His enemies - but many still seek the truth. 

The many, many different attitudes to Jesus aren't new - they were around then and they're still around now. 

Original believers were mocked and ridiculed the same way many Christians experience today. The people were divided because of Jesus then - and they still are today. 

For a Christian, that can cause a whole lot of heartache. You know Jesus and His love for you - but the world around you doesn't - and it's especially hard when it's your immediate "world"... your family, your friends, your partner. 

We all face spiritual opposition in our lives at some time and it can really wear you down. You feel hurt, upset, lost, unsure - but that's okay. 

Why? Because Jesus tells us in John 7:37-38; 

Jesus gives us constant spiritual refreshment whenever we need it.

He is there waiting for us when we need a pick me up - and ready and waiting when we feel like our world is falling apart because He knows just how to fix us. 

That "living water" Jesus is talking about is the Holy Spirit. 

It's the Holy Spirit which flows through us and out of us, that blesses us and that allows us to bring His life and light to the world. 

Jesus doesn't just leave us on our own when we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour - He walks with us, constantly renewing us and refreshing us.

Just as we need physical water to sustain our physical lives, we need that constant refreshment of the living water to sustain our eternal lives. 

Whenever you feel lost, alone, confused, misunderstood, insulted, accused, mad, unsure - whatever - Jesus is there, waiting to give you a drink and refresh you once again.

Just as He told the Samaritan woman - all you have to do is ask!

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