Angry with GOD

I was no friend of God. He had killed my parents. He had ruined my life. I had to live my life without any help. I had to feed myself and protect myself. God!!!, give me a break. He had left the planet if he even existed. He was probably watching us all through his magnifying glass. Burning us like little ants whenever he pleased. I was no friend of God. I was more of his enemy. I was the wolf people spoke of. I had taken their daughters, I had taken their money. I had used people as much as possible for my own gain. I was wealth and could do what I wanted. I had no need for God.

That was until now. I was battling to breathe. My ribs had cracked from the impact of me hitting the rocks below the cliff I had been rock climbing on. I had tried to call but winced in pain. I was alone and bleeding to death. No one knew where I was. I tried to push myself up. My one leg bent sideways in an angle it should not have done. Pain rushed through my body and I collapsed. My head throbbed. I could feel blood oozing down my face. This was my time. This was my end. I was now going to meet my maker, assuming he still existed. I could feel the strength draining from my body as the blood flowed out. As the blood flowed out so did my anger. I prayed, begged and pleaded. God if you really exist. Show me. If you really Love me Show me. Save me now. I tried to negotiate my way out. I tried to beg my way out. I shouted at him. “You want me dead like my parents”. “What kind of God are you? Everything went black as I passed out.

It was a great day for a walk. I was in my usual spot overlooking the mountains and the beautiful view. This was where I found God the most. On weekends I Loved Spending time with him, listening to him and worshiping him in this spot amongst his creation.  It was my favourite place and with my favourite friend, Jesus. “Lord, I am here for you”. If you need me speak to me”. “I am all yours” I prayed.  That was when it happened, the audible voice. I had never heard Gods voice so clearly before. I had read about it in the bible but had never experienced it so vividly.  “Get up, go down the cliff face”. “Follow the path to the left along the cliff at the bottom”. “I need you to share my love with someone today”. I was shocked. To hear a voice was one thing. To obey the voice was madness. I considered the voice was a dream. Then it came again. “Get up, go down the cliff face”. “Follow the path to the left along the cliff at the bottom”. “I need you to share my love with someone today”.

There was nothing down here. What was the point of being sent here? This was a wild goose chase. I must have been dreaming about the voice I had heard. No one was waiting for me at the bottom of the cliff. I had been walking ten minutes and was considering giving up. This was an exercise in futility. It was then that I saw some rope on the cliff face up ahead. It was dangling loosely on the rock face. Some rock climber must have left it behind I thought. My eyes followed the rope and what I saw shocked me. It was a man lying on the rocks at the bottom. He was still attached to the rope. He was badly injured if not even dead. There was blood all over the rocks. I ran to him and checked his pulse. He was still alive barely. I pulled out my mobile and called 911. I was praying “Jesus, Help this man”. I heard a voice reply “I am“.

I was sitting in church getting ready to preach. I was a friend of God. He had saved me that day at the bottom of the cliff. He had sent someone to save my life and the least I could do was tell others and share his love for them. I got up and walked forward using my crutch to support me. I knew what I needed to do.

Q – Do you share God’s love with others? How?
Q – Do you listen for Gods voice? When, where, How often?
Q – Do you obey him even when it seems stupid or unimportant?
Q – Do you resist God in your life? Why?
Q – How has God shown his love for you?

Millions of people die every day without knowing God. That could be you. Maybe it’s time to cut God some slack. Get over your petty human issues and realise that he does Love you and does want the best for you and from you. Without him you are nothing. With him you are everything. You are designed to fulfil his purpose and not your selfish desires.  I hope you feel as challenged as I am to hear God and obey. To bring Jesus to a broken world and show that he cares.  Paul was the worst person, killing Gods people yet Jesus wanted him and met him on the road to Damascus. How much more does he want you?

God Bless

Greg

Going Home

I woke with a start. Something was out of the norm. I remembered going to sleep in the hospital. I had been looking forward to going home to see my wonderful wife of 47 years the next day at home. Something however was different this time. I was in a place I had not been before. I should have been worried but I was not in the slightest. I felt strangely at ease. I felt loved more than I ever had before. It surrounded me from all sides. I stood and looked around. I was covered by a thick mist yet through the mist was a bright light. Next to my feet were blue and white balloons. It was as if someone had been celebrating. The light was the brightest I had ever seen. Like a moth to a light I started to inch forward. Slowly at first wondering if my legs could handle it. It was then that I realized there was no pain. I stopped. I lifted one leg...no problem....I lifted the other...it also worked. Better than it had in years. I jumped. What an experience. I began to run delighted by the new found freedom my legs now had. The wind blew in my face, the bright light got closer. I could hear a sound. It was getting louder. I began to recognize it as people. It must have been a massive crowd to make that noise. I started to see the people all around me. They were clapping and cheering for me. They were shouting my name, whistling and clapping me to carry on. I saw a face I recognized. It was my mom and there was my dad. I had missed them so much. I could see some of my primary school teachers, my friends and family who had gone before me. Tears of joy streamed down my face. I wanted to stop running and talk to them. To see what they had been doing. To find out more about this place, but something kept pushed me on. The crowd grew larger. The people were now joined by angels, thousands of them. It was absolutely amazing. I had never seen angels like this. Some were huge and built like body builders with swords strapped to their sides. The light got brighter, my joy and excitement grew stronger as I continued to run. I could hear the faint sound of bagpipes. I recognized the tune of ‘Amazing Grace’, it was one of my favorites. I saw someone in the light running towards me. As he got closer I knew it was him. It was my God and King. I stopped to kneel but before I could kneel he gave me a bear hug and whispered in my ear. Well done Neville, my good and faithful servant. You have finished the race. I took a deep breath and realized I could smell someone braaing and I knew that I was now truly home.

Dedicated to Neville Heron Laing.30th May 1940 - 23rd January 2012

Philippians 1:21 For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

My prized possession and it’s free.

I was 12 and very alone. No one was with me. My world had been turned upside down in a few seconds. I was freezing cold from the icy wind that blew over the water. It was pitch dark sitting on the roof. Where I used to see lights from the surrounding houses I now saw none. In the dark I could see the shapes of some of the structures still standing. Most had been washed away by the force of the water that had come pummelling through with no mercy or warning. I had been one of the lucky ones. My bedroom was on the second floor when it all started. I had heard the sound of trees crashing and water roaring from my room. When I got to the bedroom window I saw a glimpse of my Dad as he was swept away by the raging waters that had caught him unawares with the sudden surge as he was cutting the lawn. I could only assume something similar had happened to my Mom and sister.

At first I had panicked. I had screamed for help. None had arrived. I had sat and watched the water rising for hours. I had seen many things float by. Cars, houses, boats, cows, horses and yes…..what bothered me was the amount of people that had gone by. I knew they were dead. It scared me. I thought the police would rescue me, until I saw what must have been one wash past. I realised that I was only going to survive if I did it myself.

I watched the water rise and realised I needed to get to higher ground. I needed a ladder so I could get on the roof and knew there was no way I was going to get one here. I ran to my parent’s room and tried to drag a cabinet into the passage way so I could get to the roof hatch. It was too heavy. I was starting to panic. Water was coming in the doors leading downstairs. I heard my bedroom window glass smash and knew something floating past had hit the window. I needed a plan fast. I grabbed the draws on the cabinet and threw them out one by one. I knew there was no way I would get in trouble for this. Once they were all out I pushed the cabinet and it began to move. Inch by inch I moved the cabinet to the middle of the passage way. I climbed up on the cabinet with water sloshing around my feet. I pushed open the roof entrance and was about to climb up when I remembered I needed stuff to survive.

I jumped down and sloshed to my room. It was difficult to move through the water. There were lots of things in my way. Once in my room I pushed open the cupboard as best I could while the water rushed in. I reached up and grabbed a dry blanket and a torch. As I turned to leave the room I stopped. I was sure I left something important behind. Then I saw it on the bookshelf, My bible that my dad had given me in third grade. I dashed over as fast as I could and grabbed it. Carrying the blanket, torch and bible I struggled to climb the cabinet. I pushed the Blanket into the opening in the ceiling and hoisted myself up. I turned the torch round and bashed on the roof tiles. As they gave way daylight streamed in. I made a hole big enough for myself and climbed up onto the roof. My parents would never have allowed me to be up here. I knew that this time it would not be an issue. I was safe for now although I did not know how long. I was alone.

In the darkness I cried. I looked at my bible and wondered if God did love me, if he really did care. I wondered if he would leave me on a rooftop to die. I prayed, Lord Jesus, I have always known that you are there. Please don’t leave me alone now. Send me a fiery chariot to save me from these waters. As I finished praying a bright light shone down on me from above. At first I thought it was from heaven I then realised God had sent me a helicopter with a really bright light. I guess a fiery chariot would have been overkill. A rope landed next to me with a face on the end. It was a man named John, He was really nice and let me get my bible before pulling me up to my chariot. I knew God had a plan. I knew things would be tough moving forward, but I knew I was not alone. God was going to be with me, I would fear no evil, his rod and staff were with me.

What would you take if you had a flooded house? What do you prize more than God? Would you save yourself before others or would you climb over them to save yourself first? We need to have the faith of a child. We need to know God is there waiting for us to talk to him. He has our best interest in mind even though we might not think so.

Cheers

                Greg

School shoot out

Being adopted had frustrated me all my life. I always felt like I could never get anything done right. I always felt like I was second hand baggage. I was someone my parents did not even want and was thrown away like garbage on the side of the road. My new parents were ok, they fed me and looked after me. They had put up with my temper, my mood swings and my weird dress sense.  Today I was angry, angry at everyone but mostly angry at God. How could he allow this to happen? How could he allow my biological parents to throw me out? It was his fault. He should have looked after me. In fact he should have not even allowed me to be conceived. If I did not exit it would have been better.

I was sitting at school in my class complaining about life. Complaining about everything that was going on and how life was unfair. I had no purpose. My life was a waste. As I finished the though I heard a popping sound, Followed shortly by another. The entire class went deathly quiet. Someone said, “Isn’t that a Gun”. There were a few more pops, this time they were closer and were sounding more like bangs, they were sounding more like a gun. A few people came running past the class screaming. “Someone is shooting people, we need to hide” Said a boy who ran into the class. The teacher tried to calm us all down. We all got under our desks and remained as quiet as possible. Some of the girls were crying. The tension was too much.

My desk was by the door. I was beginning to freak out. We could hear the gun shots getting very close. We heard footsteps outside our class door. It was someone walking past. It could only be the shooter. Everyone else had been running. The footsteps stopped. I heard a gun being reloaded. This was not a good sign. I tensed up waiting to see what would happen. We all remained quiet. Suddenly the door burst open and in walked the shooter. He was a young guy holding a 9mm pistol. As he leveled it towards the room to begin opening fire I sprang into action. I grabbed the legs of the desk I was under and charged the person in front of me. The desk slammed up against his head before he could turn to face me with the gun. A shot went off and ricochet off the roof.  I rammed the desk a second time against him. The gun dropped to the floor as did the attacker. He was out cold. The desk must have hit him squarely on the jaw. It was a KO in round one. I was stunned. The entire class was stunned.

Afterwards I was sitting by the police cars drinking some sweet juice. People from my class came past and thanked me. For the first time in my life I felt special. I realised that if I had not been around people in my class would have died. I then realised that I did have a purpose. I could make a difference. It was up to me to make the choice. I dialed my adopted parents and told them what had happened. I told them that I loved them. It was a start.

Always remember that life is made of choices. You can choose to live a selfish life or a life that blesses others. You can choose to be depressed and full of self-pity or you can choose to be a person that other people want to be with, someone who lifts people up rather than kicks people down. Make some right choices today.

Cheers

Greg

New Year Giveaway Surprise

It was New Year and I was Grumpy. My dad had dragged me out to some remote area. It sucked. I had far better thing to do. I had friends to see, parties to go to. I had my whole life ahead of me. Why would he drag me into such obscure locations? I guess it was where his heart was at. He had been a Christian for many years and always wanted to help others, but why on New Year’s. There was so much more to do. He had woken me at the crack of dawn to make sandwiches. He had bought bread for a small army and jars of jams of various flavours. We were going to make the usual one I had for school. The one that sat in my bad and got soggy from the heat and I eventually threw it away. I did not know how people would eat them. I had suffered under the oppression of jam sandwiches for years. It was terrible. We had slaved for two hours making sandwiches. The entire time I had bugged my dad and begged and pleaded to get out of it. My hands were a bit stiff from all the spreading of jams. I think I had even mixed some of it up. Someone was in for a strawberry apricot surprise all mixed in one.

The road to where we were going was rough. It had many pot holes in the gravel and needed careful navigation. My dad’s four by four made easy work of it. I wondered how these people moved around. The view on the drive was terrible. All I saw was tin shacks, dirt, garbage and dirty people. I was not enjoying it at all. When we got to our destination I was surrounded by screaming children with dirty faces. I was sure they were trying to steal my mobile or wallet. I went back to the car and locked them in the cubbyhole. My dad was in his element. He greeted everyone with a smile. I was sure he hugged all the old people and there were a lot of them although they were outnumbered by the children ten to one. Where were the children’s parents? It was a Sunday. There was no way they were at work. Everything had been closed down for New Year’s.  

We pulled out the food and started handing it out. I was surprised at the response. It was as if they had not eaten for days. The children were well behaved and came one by one. They thanked me every time. I noticed one or two who snuck back in queue for seconds and I ignored the offense. They were just as polite the second time round. We stayed a few hours and played some soccer. My dad chatted to the older people and prayed for a few of them.

When we left my dad explained that the food we had brought was the first meal they had for that day. He also explained that the children had no parents. Their parents had died of aids and now the grannies looked after the children. Most of the children were not even related to them. They children had just needed a home when the parents had passed on.

On my way home all I saw was friendly people, soccer fields, family and people trying to survive. I was glad I have spent my new year doing this. I asked my dad if I could go with him next time to see my friends.

This year we should spare a though for the less fortunate amongst us. In South Africa we have many orphans who go to school on empty stomachs. We have many grannies that look after large families and have only pension payouts to feed them and ten children. Maybe take a break this year for a few hours and go and help out the less fortunate. Go and make some new friends and help them out where they are at. Be the salt and light in the world in a way that people cannot mistake it.

 Cheers

Greg

The untold birth of Jesus

I was so excited. I had been looking forward to this day since time began. It felt so long ago yet it felt like yesterday. I suppose that happens when you’re me. I had planned the day down to the smallest details. I had placed everything where it should be. The excitement in the air was absolutely palpable. My son was about to make me the proudest Father ever. It was like he was going for his first day of school. I was waiting for his birth. The moment when it would all begin. My son had agreed to undo all that had been done in the past. He was going to right the wrongs of the entire universe. This was a huge moment in my Life. I did one last check that everything was in place. The STAR was on its way. The manger was ready. The angels had practiced what they were going to say to the shepherds……They had been practicing for years. This was now the time for it all to happen. This was to be a milestone in my plans for humanity, for myself, for everyone. I could not contain myself.

I waved to Gabriel to get ready, he smiled. He had been ready for a millennium or two. I watched as Mary and Joseph held hands while she screamed in labour.  The sheep and cows stood nearby as planned watching and listening to what was unfolding. In anticipation we all waited. The universe held its breath for the birth of its King. The cry rang out as the baby emerged. Joseph quickly wiped the baby clean and wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Mary smiled as Joseph handed my son to Mary. Mary smiled and said Jesus my son. I could not contain myself any longer, I shouted “Jesus, my son”. I needed the world to know. The Star rose in the east to let people know. The angels left to see the shepherds. The world now had a saviour. Not just a prophet or wise men. They had plenty of those. No, this was my son. He is the King, The saviour, the ruler of the world. He was going to bring my people back to me.

The Angels broke out in Chorus and worship me. I noticed that Lucifer was silent. He knew his time had come. The end was now drawing closer.

Merry Christmas everyone and most of all Happy Birthday Jesus.

Cheers
Greg

The day it all went wrong

I was wealthy. I had a beautiful wife, three wonderful children, a very large house in a secure wealthy suburb. I had the job everyone would kill for. I had a salary that attracted attention from investment companies and banks all desperate to have a share of my wealth. I had friends everywhere that would assist me with almost anything…..for a price. It had happened over many years. I had started small with a few small business ideas. One of them had finally worked and made me what I was. I was proud of myself. The world was my oyster and I could achieve anything I wanted to. I had become my own god. I worshiped me. I looked at what I had done and it was good. I felt sorry for the people who were not able to achieve as I had achieved. I pitied them for being stupid and lazy. If I could do it anyone could.

I sat in my corner office looking out the window at the buildings around me. I wore my best suit today as I was about to be promoted to an even better position. I would climb the ladder of success further than anyone else my age had every done.

The door slammed open. In rushed my secretary. She shouted. ‘It’s all over, it’s ruined, and we are finished.” I jumped from my seat and ran to her. “What do you mean?” She spluttered, “The FBI is downstairs”. I knew what this meant. All our bad dealings had caught up with us. I had been aware of the dealings for months. It was standard to work within the grey areas of the law. We however had pushed further into what was illegal, Fraud, Money laundering and some very unsavoury friends. My millions would be gone in a breeze. I then realised…

I had no wealth, my wife loved someone else, my children did not know me, and my house would be gone. I had no Job or salary. I would lose my friends. It had happened overnight. I had lost everything. I was very sad. I realised that I was no god. I realised that I did not deserve worship. Everything I had done was bad. I was happy others had not been like. They had been clever. They had walked the righteous path. I realised that I was alone, that I had nothing. I fell to my knees and cried. I cried for forgiveness from God.

Sometimes we get so lost in life we forget that God is in control. We lose him in our rush to achieve status, wealth and power only to realise later that they are meaningless and can disappear in an instant. God is always there. Seek him first. Spend time with him and rest in his arms. Let him be your guide to how to live your life. Maybe it’s time you took a break and spent it with family and friends. Don’t lose the precious people in your life by chasing material wealth. Focus on the important stuff in life. God and then family, That’s the priority I would want you all to have.

cheers

Greg hay