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What pleases God – Part 1

David Webster
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What pleases God – Part 1

How affected are you by people who don’t seem to like you? Are your stress levels linked to the opinions of other people?

I can tell you I’ve lived almost a lifetime trying to please everyone. It’s exhausting; extremely self-deprecating. It’s unhealthy. But the way that the world sees Christianity seems to require us to live pleasing others. I could say the number one reason people leave churches is because someone wasn’t ‘pleased’ – didn’t feel considered. And as much as it is important for a community of like-minded people to be inclusive and considerate, Christianity is not about pleasing people. It is about pleasing God.

I was recently driving home from an incredible talk by someone in my church. I am blessed enough to sit under the wisdom of some the greatest communicators and leaders (in business, ministry, leadership and education), but have found myself so full of lists of things that are considered ‘good’ that I don’t have the time to outwork any of it. The fact is, knowledge is useless if not applied. But we also need to decide what knowledge is worth applying!

That’s where I found myself in the car, turning off the highway. I spoke to God (something I recommend to anyone who breaths) and simply said, “There are so many lists that are considered ‘wise’, but instead of trying to please all of them – what pleases you?”

I think it’s time to place what pleases God at the top of our list. So, I went into the scriptures and found a few great priorities that please Him:

  1. Looking after your body

In the book of Romans, Paul tells us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. I can tell you now, for a long time I thought that this would be way too unspiritual. But God gave us bodies. And if we are going to give Him our best, we need to look after and champion our physical health. It mentions that our bodies should be “holy” and “pleasing”.

Be honest – is your physical state holy? Is it honorable, blameless, fair, sacrificial, intentionally pure? Is your body pleasing? Does it look presentable? Is it functioning optimally? Have you given your body it’s best chance to thrive?

Yup. You may think that the gym is one of the most unspiritual places to be, but God cares about your body. And it pleases Him when you look after it.

2. Being filled with the Spirit

‘Weird alert!‘ What does that mean?

It simply means acknowledging the presence and relevance of God in your life. If you engage with Him in prayer, you are connecting spiritually to Him. The Holy Spirit is called a counsellor – He is the director of our souls and He helps us understand how to obey God. Many people say that the Bible is irrelevant. But the fact is, scripture was written to be read while engaging with God in the present – calling us to consider the present-day relevance of the timeless Word of God.

3. Bearing fruit

Basically this is a ‘Christianese’ phrase meaning ‘making something of your life’. It refers to being successful in having tangible results for your actions – results that are pleasing and noticeable to those around you. In Ephesians 5, this is listed as the first of many things that please God.

Be honest – is what you use your time doing bearing any visible fruit? Are people sitting up and taking notice of what you’re doing? Is what you doing giving sustenance (inspiring, releasing, enabling) to others?

4. Learning about God

This is an interesting one. So many of us have lived our whole lives with an understanding of God’s character. It seems to be an ingrained understanding – whether it’s believing God is this huge mighty being, a judgmental punisher, a wafting impression of love and all things fuzzy. But have you ever researched whether that is truly who Jesus actually is? The Bible is a great resource for learning who God is. Another place is asking people who you respect what their impression of God is. But it is important that you have firsthand experience – that is the irrefutable knowledge of God.

How do you learn about God personally? How do you connect with Him personally. Click on the link below to find out more.

Facing Addiction

David Webster
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Facing Addiction

As a recovered pornography addict and someone who has experienced enough suffering to justify dysfunction, I have recently been reminded how important it is to face your struggles head-on. I know that there are many different complex reasons why humans reach for many substances and pleasures to try to fix our problems. I also know that being dependent on anything outside of yourself is one of the darkest places you can ever find yourself.

Recently a close friend shared their struggle with addiction and self-medication and I felt compelled to write about this topic ever since. So whether you are considering doing something you wouldn’t be proud of, or if you find yourself stuck in the suffocating cycle of addiction – I want to write to you about some truths that have helped me overcome my own struggle.

  1. It’s not a surface level problem

If you are acting out in any way – whether it be through food, legal or illegal substances, alcohol, pornography, masturbation, emotional manipulation, over exercising or even social media – the actual action is only a final outcome. Beneath it lies a soul that is in need of attention. And if you ignore it long enough, you will find yourself tangled in an emotional web that is very hard to shake off.

For me, my issues stemmed from being molested. But there were also problems from being excluded and ridiculed as a child. Certain relationships stole rather than gave validation to me, so I began to live splintered – living externally to please and impress people, while inside I was completely helpless in anger and pain – turning to addiction to try to numb it all instead of facing it.

It takes guts – but if you want to truly get past the external problems, you are going to have to face yourself and what’s really going on. I went to (and still go to) a psychologist to help me deal with things in my past. I also found some great friends who believed in me and loved me – and I was honest with my leaders in church. Hard conversations – but I’m a stronger, better person because of it.

  1. Shame is not a constructive punishment

God does not endorse shame. Yes, I was found guilty of terrible things. But shame never helped me overcome my addiction and pain. Shame is actually an element of the addiction cycle – it is what drives the person to repeat the process.

Jesus is the crucial key to breaking the addictive cycle – and it starts with taking power away from shame.

Many people think that simply telling people ‘don’t do it’ is going to make everything better. Every person stuck in the cycle knows that what they are doing is not healthy, let alone morally or ethically right. But the moment I understood that Jesus’ mandate in dying was to take away the sting of death – that agonizing dread of sin – I found I was able to begin climbing out of the deep pit I had dug for myself.

No matter how you feel – torturing and punishing yourself for what you have done will only make you turn back to it. The power of Jesus is the only reliable key I have found (and believe me, I tried everything) to breaking the cycle of addiction.

So when shame started descending on me after I had slipped up, I could stare it down and under the authority of Jesus refuse to allow it to take hold of me. It took a lot of practice, but in the end I believe it is what saved me from ruin. He’s freely accessible.

The tragedy of this world is thinking that Jesus hates you and therefore loves the suffering that your sin has caused. When in fact, it is the absolute opposite.

JESUS LOVES YOU AND HATES WHAT SIN IS DOING TO YOU.

His war is not against you – it’s against sin. He hates sin because of what it is doing to your soul.

  1. You have to give yourself the best possible chance

No one on earth is as interested or capable to help you as much as you are. It doesn’t matter how many people love you. No matter how much you are desperate for someone to recognize your struggles and help. You need to actually commit to starting the process yourself. Because in the dark, on your own – you are the only person who will determine what happens.

That is why you need to be unapologetic about coming clean. God believes in you. But you need to get to a point where you believe in yourself enough to make the hard decisions to change.

So how do you come clean? How do you start the process of transforming your life?

Get Jesus in your life. Without His hope and healing, it will be very hard to change at all.

  1. Get ruthless. Don’t allow shame to hold you back. Don’t allow your pride to imprison you in silent suffering. Talk about it – get help! Be honest. It might have horrible implications in the moment or for a season. But rather deal with everything at once than slip back and forth in truth and deception.
  2. Stay committed to yourself. You have to keep showing up to the table – don’t allow yourself to pretend everything is fine. It’s a lifelong journey of becoming whole. But every day is one day further away from who you used to be. Keep going – victory isn’t a moment, it’s a lifestyle. And you can live it!

If you want any assistance or prayer, please feel free to leave a comment below. The best is yet to come for you and for me! Pray that you’re encouraged.

Are you being fooled?

David Webster
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Are you being fooled?

A month ago I decided to take a social media sabbatical. You may think it’s quite a drastic move, but I was becoming more and more aware of the fact that the only reason I was posting online was to impress others. My motivations had become skewed, and as much as I wanted to convince myself that the number of likes wasn’t affecting me – it had started to affect how I thought about life. So I deleted my apps and went dark.

Another reason I decided to press the ‘mute’ button on social media is the chaotic bombardment of opinions being shared by others. I recently heard an interview with Trevin Wax where he spoke about the danger of the ‘Share’ button on Facebook. For many reasons, people share articles (fake or otherwise) that reinforce their view of life – without internalizing and self-actualizing the situations addressed.

Activism has never been more flippant or impersonal. The range of opinion is dangerously broad and even if there is some view that I agree with, it is unlikely that it is completely applicable to my own life and perspective.

It’s a tragedy to watch our generation get caught up in the rhetoric of the day – completely consumed emotionally and intellectually with issues that they have had no first-hand experience in.

Just because a whole lot of people share or agree with something doesn’t make it right.

Truth has become completely relative. But there is a way of measuring truth – it’s in the outcomes. If you base your life on the preferred facts, you will be able to live in the moment. But what will last? What will allow your soul to truly prosper if you live like that for longer than a year?

Now I am by no means asking people to give up and live oblivious or disengaged. But I believe that we can slowly be lulled into agreeing with the masses without even realizing that our thoughts have been dictated by others. Is your opinion truly your own? Not based on something you’ve ‘researched’ online, but actually engaged with tangibly.

Let’s use a current subject to demonstrate. I can have a million opinions about Donald Trump. But until I am physically in the country – directly affected by the decisions he has made – how would I confidently be able to accuse him of anything? You might cite some live coverage. You might say that the news has reported something. But how do you know that everything has been accurately contextualized? Are you willing to consider the possibility that he is doing his best? Are you willing to consider that there might be improvements that are being delivered? How would you be able to say there aren’t?

I believe that it is high time we upped our levels of skepticism when it comes to what is found online (this article included). If we don’t determine what is in the real world and what will simply stay virtual, we will be known as a generation who thought much, reacted passionately and built nothing.

Don’t be fooled. Everything you read is not true. And even if it’s true, it doesn’t mean it has to dictate how you think or live.

In order to be grounded, we need to have authentic connection outside of the online platform. I believe the best place to start is by having an authentic relationship with God. He made you – He’s actually the most real thing you will ever know in your lifetime. Not only is He loving, kind and full of vision for you personally, He also gives you wisdom to discern what is worthwhile and what is simply chatter. If you would like to connect with Him – click on the link below to find out more.

Time to innovate

David Webster
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Time to innovate

You don’t have to be a genius. You don’t need to have graduated from school – let alone university. The world is relying less and less on the formal constructs of society – more than ever the future belongs to those who innovate.

Around a year ago, Forbes featured an online article regarding a ‘New Era of Innovation’ – describing the forefront of technology and what the demands, when it comes to human capacity, will be. One year in, and I believe there is a strong enough pull to support this analysis.

The past 20 years have been a time where the challenge has always been engineering – things have not been possible simple due to lack of code or function. But we have now got to a point where virtually (literally) everything is possible. It’s combining and consolidating the new technologies and developments that is seen as the greatest task.

In many ways, society has been desperate for systems like this to become a reality. How do we construct our lives when it comes to the latest technology? What dictates a balanced, measured life that will help people maintain their sanity while not missing out on all the new wonders of this exciting age?

Innovation is set to be one of the greatest skills required for success in the next generation. It’s no longer about creating things from scratch, but rather integrating programs and systems in a way that will enhance the overall life of any user.

Innovation is a creative skill. It’s about applying the constraints and successes of specific situations in a way that can solve problems. The visionary will no longer be the painter before a blank canvas, but the landscaper working with very specific terrain. The ‘work of art’ is no longer a single creation, but how you combine and apply multiple creations to facilitate a multidimensional experience that could span the breadth of a lifetime. It’s about taking the possibilities of the world around you and harnessing them to work for you specifically.

Some great examples of innovators are:

Jack Andraka – at age 15, he has found an inexpensive way of detecting multiple forms of cancer in their early stages. Not only is he impressing people triple his age, but he is literally changing lives with his innovation.

Eesha Khare – has invented a tiny device that can charge cellphones in a matter of seconds. At just 18 – she is proof that life doesn’t only begin once you have a degree.

Ann Makosinski – is a recent school graduate who has invented a Hollow flashlight that converts the heat of your hand into light energy. Check her out on Jimmy Fallon below:

But the world does not only belong to those who are able to invent gadgets.

John Meyer – 21, has developed an online news platform that allows any person to report transparently on unfolding events from their device. Fresco News has its own app on Apple TV and the content has also been bought by Fox indefinitely for reporting purposes.

Aditya Agerwalla – created a mobile app that enables local farmers to sell their crop straight away, cutting out middle-men and supplying wholesome products directly to the market. In India it has been used to move over 1 million pounds of crops in less than a year. At 23, this innovator still has a very bright future.

Feeling inspired? Or challenged? In many ways, all of these people had two defining skills that enabled them to be successful:

  1. They could clearly identify a problem
  2. They were able to apply information systematically.

I believe we are all able to grow in this area. If you would like to improve your innovation skills – check out this article. In it there are some clear guidelines to describe this elusive quality that the world is now demanding more and more. More than ever, it’s time to innovate!

Diagnosing your stress

David Webster
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Diagnosing your stress

Stress is an age-old state of mind that is becoming way too prevalent in today’s society. There are so many different triggers that can work us up to a point where we doubt ourselves and our ability – culminating in a state of mind that can affect our sleep, our health and our relationships negatively.

I’ve recently had to sit myself down and face being stressed head-on. To be honest – I’ve been so intimidated by everything that needs to happen in the next few weeks that I have literally been paralyzed by stress. For the past three weeks I have been sick – have had to take multiple days off work, which has left me with a backlog of admin and a whole lot of deadlines piling up. In the next two weeks I need to submit a large body of writing; run prep, rehearsals and produce a full Season Show at the music school I work for, solidify and action out the creative elements for a national youth conference – all while trying to recover from a nasty flu.

The demand on me at the moment is heavy enough. I don’t need stress to keep me awake about it all as well, so I set aside some time and decided to dissect where my stress was actually coming from. Here are a few questions I asked myself. I hope you’ll be able to apply them too.

What is the most pressing problem?

Identifying the immediate problem you’re facing will help unravel the knots of issues that seem to be tightening around you. For me, the most pressing problem was feeling helpless – that there was no time for me to start.

Problem: I don’t know where to start

Solution: Write out everything you have to get done. Write out everything that must happen in your day. Start slotting in pieces of the task.

An elephant is only eaten one bite at a time…

What is the worst thing that could happen?

This highlights an issue that is way more existential than immediate. What is the worst thing that could happen in my situation?

  1. None of my work would be delivered, I wouldn’t be paid for the month, I wouldn’t be able to afford to live the way I have been.

Money is a key factor to stress. In our economic climate at the moment, things are fixing to get a whole lot worse – but that doesn’t necessarily mean we have to be more stressed because of it. Money definitely makes most of life work practically, but there is no worth placed on our personhood or our soul based on what we earn. If we are secure in who we are, then finances don’t have to be a source of stress. They can be the cold hard facts that they have always been.

2. I wouldn’t be able to produce creative, impressive content that would impact people.

This second ‘worst thing’ is based on my desire to impact others. It’s a self-inflicted pressure that comes from passion for what I do. I have found that identifying what you are passionate about in the midst of everything that is stressful helps you flip the anxiety into excited energy. The only way that I have been able to harness all the nerves right now has been to visualize the satisfaction of finishing this blog post – and hopefully reaching someone else who could identify with me. That translated my stress into a constructive outcome. Well – I hope it’s constructive.

What do I need to communicate?

There are very rarely any stressful situations that exist outside of relationship dynamics. The more people involved, the more stressful anything will become. In most cases the stress is caused due to a lack of effective communication. It works on three different levels:

  1. I don’t have clarity

This results in a stress that feeds off of insecurity. The unsure ‘boundaries’ or agenda means that you are swimming in murky grey with no solid surface to push-off from. If that’s the case, you either need to clarify your situation with the other party involved or create your own set of constraints that will enable you to move forward.

2. I haven’t communicated clearly

This stress is grown out of a questioning of character. It’s not your work that is in question – but the value of the relationship. The relationship is on the line because you have not laid out clearly everything that you bring to the table. Whether it’s organizing a lift to an event or delivering a thesis – this kind of miscommunication is lethal. It is probably responsible for most of humanity’s misfired dreams.

3. I haven’t received a response

I hate this one – where you do your best to communicate and let people know where things are at, but there is no affirmation that anything has been received let alone responded to. This stress plays on your worth as an individual. It’s in these cases that you need to be able to wash your hands and choose to be secure. If you have done all you can, the best thing is to be at peace with that and hope that others understand.

I don’t believe that God wanted us to have high stress levels in life. I believe he uses the trying times to grow us and build our character, but he never wants us to question our validity or ability due to the demands of life. If you find yourself constantly doubting and getting caught up in the emotion of it all, I want to encourage you to turn to God. He’s the only reason I can write to you right now instead of hide under my bed and pray for the world to end. A personal relationship with Jesus is literally the only thing that will keep you consistent through all seasons of life. Click on the link below to find out more.

Simple Identity

David Webster
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Simple Identity

Flip, the world can be complicated!

There are so many new terms for identity. There are so many new causes and nuances of opinion to have on varied, ever-shifting battlefields. We live in a time when self-consciousness has become social consciousness. Where the blame has been shifted wholly on others for anything that might make us feel insecure.

In the mix, we also have more opportunity than ever to self-define. We can dictate multifaceted profiles on social media to try to impress with our identity. It’s no longer just ‘what you do’, ‘how you look’ or ‘who you know’. All of these elements are now considered a direct reflexion of our identity – which has never been the case before.

I believe we are in danger of losing the very essence of ourselves in the confusion of this world. Everything is becoming blurred – and we are in danger not only of losing our grasp on what ‘truth’ is, but also losing our grasp of who we are.

There are so many dangers to our generation – with multiple elements that could ultimately make us the most ineffective demographic on the planet. But God has a different vision for us. And I want to highlight one descriptor of our identity that would change everything else:

Purity

Now don’t switch off because you don’t want a lecture on sex before marriage or something. Purity doesn’t only pertain to sex or even addiction. Purity is choosing to live in the simple truth rather than the shadowlands of shifting ‘fact’ and emotion.

If we see our identity as pure – filtering the loud opinions of everyone else and working with the unadulterated facts about yourself that no one else knows. If you peel back all of the layers – everything you have witnessed, everything that has happened to you or around you – who were you before that all. As a small child, what were the core elements that made up your identity.

You see, these days people are self-identifying out of reaction. Whether it’s offense or conformity, there is pressure to label yourself with something that will help other people in their ‘consciousness’.

Is your view of yourself pure? Is it uncomplicated and simple?

The only way I believe we can live fully secure in who we are is by knowing the One who created us. He made us individually with specific intention, for you to be yourself. He wants you to be free – free from confusion and from others’ opinions. Click on the link to find out more.

 

Your conversation with God

David Webster
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Your conversation with God

Yes. You have one. An ongoing conversation with God. You might try to tell me that you have no reference of God – that there is no way you could speak to Him, since you’re not sure He exists. You could try to convince me that it is insanity to speak to someone who isn’t visible, or that you will never hear anything back. But I truly believe every single one of us are having a daily conversation with God – whether we like it or not. Whether we care or not. God is speaking to us continually – hoping that we will respond.

It’s okay if you’re cynical. I definitely would have been a few years ago. Below I have written out a few conversations that people are having with God right now… You might just find yourself identifying with one or two of them.

“Oh my God…”

It’s an expletive that has gone around the world – considered blasphemy by some, an honest cry by others – you will find yourself crying out for Him from moments of excitement to terrible tragedies.

“Thank you Lord…”

Proper moment of appreciation in times of great achievement – found in awards speeches and prize-winning ‘Good Samaritan’ television shows.

“I’m sorry there’s no way you’re real..”

That’s a legitimate statement. But if you find yourself saying this – as I have done – you have to realize that your words are directed towards something. That ‘other’ that’s meant to receive what you say. In hard times it’s easier to say something like:

“If you were really who you say you are, you wouldn’t have let this happen.”

It’s a desperate flailing of our souls – trying to find something to blame – something that can ‘take the punch’ for your sorrow.

“I just don’t have time”

God consistently hears that response. Definitely characteristic of our manic generation.

“Oh Father I come before you in humble trembling”

A valid prayer within context, but so easily the formality negates the true conversational intention God cares about.

As I have said before – God is consistently speaking to us. He’s wanting to engage with you and empathise with you. He wants to show you His wonder and broaden your perspective so that you can overcome your current situations. God just wants to talk – to know how you are feeling and what matters to you. He also wants to let you know what matters to Him.

If you want to attempt actually starting an intentional conversation with God, can I encourage you to click on the link below to find out more about how you do this? As you learn to know His character and experience His goodness for yourself I believe you will find yourself inspired like never before.

God wants to partner with you

David Webster
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God wants to partner with you

Have you ever been completely frustrated that someone else is right about something? We all have a built-in desire to be correct – to have the moral ‘upper hand’ so that we can lord it over our counterparts. In many ways we think God is like that with us. We know He will always be right. We know we will make mistakes and be wrong about multiple aspects of any given situation. But God isn’t like us. He does not enjoy belittling us because of our faults. In fact, His intention is quite the opposite.

God wants to partner with us

I know it might be a strange concept. Sometimes I don’t understand it. But then if I could completely understand God, He wouldn’t be God. God wants to work with us. He made us to have a role in His plan.

Why He would entrust His perfect creation to you and I is a profound mystery. We have done some incredibly terrible things to this world – from pollution to corrupt social systems – yet God still intended for us to have a hand in how this world works.

Where we have gone wrong, however, is that we have taken hold of the reigns and completely lost our connection with God. We have gone rogue with God’s precious creation. Humanity is like a teenager driving a car without a license or instructor – dangerous and oblivious. When we lose our connection to the creator, all of a sudden the ‘creation’ becomes hazardous.

God wants to do things with you

There is no reason why God could not make everything happen around us. But He chooses for us to have a say so that we can interact with Him. When we find ourselves hopelessly floundering around with something that is meant to have meaning, there is hopefully a moment of clarity where we can stop and turn to the person who initiated the activity and the created the subject matter before us. God is like that with us. He is sitting beside you – watching you try to make sense of the elements He has placed in your life. He has intentionally given you tools and weapons that are meant to be good for you – but without His involvement they can end up harming us.

One of my favorite names for God is Father. Unfortunately many in our generation have no reference of a father, but we all have desires to be fathered. We all have desires to be guided and affirmed. We all have desires to be instructed and included. A father does that to a child – it’s part of his role. God does that with us. He made us with activities in mind that He could do with us. He has planned so many adventures for you and I – where we get to discover the His mysteries and wonders that He has hidden especially for us.

In the Bible God rarely does something without the partnership of man. The flood required Noah to build an ark. The plagues in Egypt required the staffs of Moses and Aaron. The death of Goliath required the stone in David’s sling. The fire from heaven required the bravery of Elijah. God wants us to be involved in His magnificent story. We are not simple pawns on the chessboard of life. We are active members in a narrative way bigger than we could ever know.

If you feel led to update your perspective of who God is to you – click on the link below to find out how to have a meaningful relationship with God. He’s been waiting all your life for you to include Him in your mess.

God’s not who you think He is

David Webster
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God’s not who you think He is

The greatest fault I believe we have all made is deciding who God is. If I mention ‘God’ to anyone in the world today – they will immediately have a few preconceived ideas.

Some would be repulsed – hurt by people who claimed to know Him. Some would be defiant – convinced that God does not exist. Some would get uncomfortable – unsure of what they believe and worried about disagreeing with me. Some would feel guilty – ashamed of what they have done and could be defensive as a result. Some would be open – sharing their own beliefs even though they differ (funny how these are normally the least violent). Some would be completely apathetic – unwilling to consider more than what they have right now. Some will welcome the conversation – sharing in the wonder of who He is. Others would pull out their theological textbooks and begin disputing the nuances of doctrine.

No matter what the situation or who the person is, God is always controversial. Why? Because none of us will ever fully understand Him. All of us put together could not actively construct a picture that would make sense to everyone. God says it Himself – our minds cannot grasp His greatness. We were not made to understand God. We were made to know Him. In an age where information builds belief, I think it is important to let people know – God is too much ‘information’ for anyone to process all at once. But despite this, He asks for us to believe Him and choose to know His character through relationship.

Imagine, if you can, a world where there was no Facebook. In this world you meet someone and start building a friendship. Since there is no online trail, there is no way of knowing where they come from, who their friends are, where they grew up or what they are passionate about. The only way you would find this information out is if the person in question tells you.

“But then how would you know if it was true?” The post-millennial might ask, aghast. Simple: doing life with that person – meeting other friends, getting to know their character and seeing how they respond in different situations will either corroborate or contradict what they shared.

It is the same with God. He wants you to get to know Him through relationship, not fact. The Bible is not a textbook – it’s a story of what He has done throughout the ages. It’s a history that can be corroborated through the lives of others who have spent time getting to know His character. God is so much more than just a cognitive understanding. He engages our emotions, our intellect, our bodies and our spirits all at once – that is why He tells us to love Him with all our hearts, minds and strength. He is a full experience – not an archaic academic conclusion.

Here are a few things I have learnt about who God isn’t that might help you change your preconceptions:

God is not a judge in the sky

Many people muster up images of Zeus – throwing lightning bolts down from heaven. Sorry – that’s the wrong religion.

God is the ultimate version of good. He made us with the intention for good only. Anything that is not from God (who is good) is evil. Evil is literally the absence of God. So why do bad things happen? Well humanity tried to do life without the goodness of God. So there are repercussions that span from Adam to that guy who has those house parties next door. God isn’t simply sitting there judging us as we fumble around in the mess and consequences of millennia of selfish, unbridled living. He is actively working to draw us back to His original, good plan – to be in perfect relationship with Him. He loves us more than we could know.

The recent film version of the highly acclaimed book The Shack recently premiered – and in it God is portrayed as an African-American woman. It had half the Christian world up-in-arms about slandering the Sovereignty of God. But in essence, it is the best example of how we have limited God to a picture that we are comfortable with. God made both male and female in His image. So it’s fair to say He could be portrayed by either – and let’s not get into whether He is caucasian or not… That’s a whole other history lesson on misconception.

Jesus is not a religion

Religion is not a word that Jesus would use or agree with. In fact, while He was on earth, He openly criticized those who were fighting endlessly around the rules of the Hebrew faith. Religion is an authoritarian construct that forces people to submit out of guilt. Jesus didn’t come to earth for you to feel guilty – to feel like you have to pay for your sins. He came so that all of those problems could get out of the way.

He wants a relationship free of all of the shame and guilt you have accumulated over your lifespan. He died so that you don’t have to go through the same thing. He doesn’t want you as a slave. He wants you as family.

The Holy Spirit isn’t a ghost that makes people weird

Personally, I want to apologize on anyone who might have made you think that. As much as the Holy Spirit is a part of God that is least known, He is also the part of God that is present with us every day. He is the counsellor and active power of God at work on earth.

The Holy Spirit is simply God in our lives – speaking to us as we read the Bible. Encouraging us to move forward and empowering us to defy and exceed the expectations of those around you. He makes knowing God exciting and worthwhile. There’s nothing better than having God present in your every-day routine – engaging constantly with you.

I don’t know what your perception of God has been – but I hope you are willing to give up what you think and be willing to let God reveal Himself to you. Click on the link below to find out more.

God and your body

David Webster
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God and your body

I have had numerous conversations recently concerning body image – and I am surprised to find that it is such a prevalent struggle. For a long time I thought it was just me, but in the last month I have found many people who I look up to and respect are still facing challenges when it comes to their bodies.

In many ways, this crisis shouldn’t be too surprising. All you have to do is look at what society is being fed. From the toys we played with to the fitness advertisements and magazines. Facebook and Instagram have masked the overkill of unrealistic bodies under the hashtag #goals, while television, film and pornography also objectify the human form relentlessly.

Here are a few things I have observed when it comes to body image problems:

It’s not only a female problem

Guys hate to admit it, but all you have to do is walk into any gym and you will find a whole army of insecure men glancing sideways at each other as they try to become the leanest, strongest version of themselves. Now, I know that there are exceptions – but the fact is that guys are wired to react to visual images.

We are also inherently competitive and want to be dominant in any situation. This put me off working out completely for a long time – I was so competitive I would rather not try at all than be less than the people around me.

As much as the Barbie has been a controversial standard for young girls, guys play with Action Men and WWE wrestlers – the modern definition of what it means to be a man is largely based on the six-pack and bicep diameter. You won’t find a chunky superhero. In fact, anything less than 5% body fat is not even recognized – and so we have multiple industries (entertainment, fitness, advertising) that portray the dehydrated, six days a week, scientifically fed body as the ultimate.

I don’t know about you, but I think there’s something very wrong with that kind of picture. The insecure man is becoming the norm as a result – some may say it’s only a few images, but as you’ll see later on, our bodies are a core part of who we are spiritually and emotionally.

It’s a philosophical problem

According to author David Pawson, Ancient Greek philosophers established that there was a difference between the soul and the body – saying that once we die, our body will decay but our soul will be ‘set free’. Basically, the soul is believed to be the important element of our existence – the rest of us were inconsequential.

This philosophy was adopted largely by the Roman Empire as well – resulting in three different ways that people treated their bodies.

  1. They indulged themselves: overeating, sexual depravity, power and ostentatious living were all desires that were gorged to the absolute extreme. Not much different to what we see today. The theory is that no matter what indulgence does to the body (plastic surgery, shortened lifespans, STD’s, stress and burnout), the soul will remain unaffected and be free of the body after death.
  2. They ignored their bodies: this was a false piety in which people would deny themselves any pleasures – living in a self-righteous way that would allow them to judge others. I am very tempted to categorize some dietary lifestyles in this category – but will refrain mainly because I know there are some genuine cases where certain foods are harmful (Let’s just say living ‘gluten-free’ might just be a fashionable soap box for some people…).
  3. They idolized the body: look at all the naked statues that the Romans and Greeks made. All sports had to be played in the nude as a way to draw the crowds in the cities. In the last five years the prevalence of nudity and sex in television has skyrocketed. It’s hard to find good quality content that doesn’t contain some degree of it. The fitness industry is still built on that ‘Adonis’ image. And pornography is the silent disease of our generation.

This is not how God wants us to see our bodies

Unlike the Greek philosophy, the Hebrew belief is that the body is an integral part of who you are. You cannot separate the body from the soul or the spirit. In the last days – when it is believed that Jesus will come back, He is not going to just take our souls to heaven. It says our bodies will be resurrected.

Now even some Christians will be shocked at that premise. God has given us bodies and He will renew them, but we won’t just be floating mists of light in heaven – we’ll have a visible form.

Whatever we do to our bodies – we do to our whole being as well. Why would God go to the trouble of giving us bodies if we were just going to ruin them? They are the visible representation of what is within us. In the Bible Paul calls your body the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’. It is not just a rotting meat case or an ornamental decoration. In the same breath, your body is not your whole identity either. It is an important element in a way more complex, wonderful being: you.

I don’t know where you might find yourself – but I can imagine you are in one of the three categories above. But it’s time for us to reframe how we think about our bodies. God knows exactly how to heal our thinking in this area. As much as I am trying to reform my understanding of the issue, without God I will only be able to change momentarily. If you want true transformation in this area, you need a personal relationship with the one who created you (your soul and your body). Click on the link below to find out more.

 

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