hearing/reading/thinking/living

You know when you watch a film that you've seen about a million times? For me, Mean Girls, Bruce Almighty and Monsters Inc are some of the more popular contenders. You watch such films but, at the same time, you kind of don't. You text, you chat, you scoff a bowl of popcorn and think about tomorrow. Why? Because you've seen it before. You know the story. You get the characters. In the case of Mean Girls, you know all of the classic lines (Glen Coco, anyone?) and have probably recited them to your fellow movie watchers within the first ten minutes of the film.

Sometimes, I feel the same way when I read the Bible. Recently, I realised that I engage with this book a fair bit; on a Sunday at church, when I'm reading it on my own, maybe even via Twitter or Facebook when someone includes a bit of Bible in their status or tweet.

But do I really listen or do I go into autopilot, even with good intentions?

Take a Sunday church service. On a good day, I nod and make a mental note to take on board whatever the preacher is talking about then walk out of church and (more often than not) forget all about it. On a bad day, I spend the preach daydreaming and thinking about what I might have for lunch/dinner. Seriously.

I read something the other day about the Israelites and how, because of their sinfulness, God chose to take away His Word and revelation from their lives. Specifically, in Amos 8, it is so clear that this is the biggest loss for the Israelites, despite the physical problems and challenges that they face. This got me thinking - how often do I view the Bible in this way?

James 1:22 says 'Don't just listen to God's Word. You must do what it says'. It then goes on to say that we deceive ourselves if we don't do this. Eek. All the good intentions in the world can never equal actually applying what we hear or read. That's why I'm trying (and often failing) to more intentionally let the Bible change me and the way I live, in a bid to recognise how privileged I am to be able to readily access God's word and to be obedient.

Join me?

Love Rhi x


PS. Picture of the post...

Proper cute.

A new church experience.

So Britain has been experiencing a heatwave these past few weeks (the rest of the world just call it summer!). I've got to that stage where I'm so hot that I don't know what to do with myself...so I decided to blog!

This morning, myself and the wonderful Amy decided to mix it up a little bit and go to the local gospel church just round the corner from where we now live. Neither of us really knew what to expect and as we walked in, I couldn't help but notice how amazingly we were greeted and welcomed (cue a shout out to the stewards!). We watched countless people (including a VERY cute little boy) spend their time of worship dancing, flag waving and genuinely celebrating Jesus. What a beautiful thing to witness. I loved their joy (though it's good to remember that joy comes in many forms...) and I loved their passion for Jesus.

However, I want to emphasise the word 'new'. Church this morning was so different from anything I've ever experienced before and, if I'm honest, I wasn't 100% comfortable. For one, I've definitely now had my annual dose of the phrase, 'Can I get an Amen?'. Being frivolous aside, there were some things I didn't get and some things that I wasn't sure about. But that's okay. As I came out, I felt pretty overwhelmed and found myself asking the question, 'What just happened?'. The point is, it doesn't matter that I don't get it because I knew wholeheartedly that, despite some differences, these people love Jesus and trust Him for their salvation like I do and want to see His kingdom advanced like I do. Surely that's what's important? Of course, we all have personal preferences but beyond that, we are united because God Himself says we are, as His body and as His representatives on this earth. I'm so glad that God's church goes further than my own understanding and sometimes surpasses my own comfort. Today, I was reminded that God's family is diverse and that it is beautiful when people of all nations, ages and traditions come together to proclaim Jesus.

Thankful for the congregation of believers I encountered this morning and thankful for you!

Much love,

Rhi x

In other news...last week I got into the Wimbledon spirit (wasn't Andy Murray insanely good?!)...

(to clarify, Fedz is definitely not a failure!)