People often say that Christianity is simply a set of rules and regulations … a bit like SSOs (Ships Standing Orders … the rule book for each ship in the Royal Navy!) for life … Helen was once asked \u2018As a Christian, what is that you aren\u2019t allowed to do then?\u2019 Faith is seen by many as negative, limiting, constricting your life … rules and laws are there for the courts \/ police to hang you by – that\u2019s why they were written wasn\u2019t it? Or could it possibly be to allow the country to function as a unit … with everyone following the same basic guidelines etc … I like this description of what it means to be a Christian … (from Psalm 18)<\/p>\n
God made my life complete
\nwhen I placed all the pieces before him.
\nWhen I got my act together,
\nhe gave me a fresh start.
\nNow I’m alert to God’s ways;
\nI don’t take God for granted.
\nEvery day I review the ways he works;
\nI try not to miss a trick.
\nI feel put back together,
\nand I’m watching my step.
\nGod rewrote the text of my life
\nwhen I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nNote the line \u2018alert to God\u2019s ways\u2019 … that\u2019s what we should be … and that\u2019s what the \u2018rules and regs\u2019 in the bible are about really … if we are alert to Gods ways that is what He wants … and the rules etc. no longer seem negative, but they are there for our protection, give us boundaries etc … if we had had this sign on the bridge wings of HMS Cumberland, maybe the Captain would not have jumped over the side to test the Man Overboard routine …. but then again as Captain should he have been \u2018alert to the ways\u2019 of a ship at sea??<\/p>\n
As we get to know God better we become more \u2018alert to his ways\u2019 … and those ways are not there to constrict us or choke the life out of us, but to free us to enjoy life as we were meant to … and how do we become more alert to his ways??? Spend time with him … as our bit from the psalm says \u2018every day I review the way he works, I try not to miss a trick …\u2019 it all started when \u2018I got my act together\u2019 … great biblical quote!<\/p>\n
And finally do you know who the smallest man in the Bible was? No, it wasn\u2019t knee high Mya, it was the Roman guard who fell asleep on his watch …<\/p>\n
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