Today we will be having a book review:

A while back I saw a Christian film 'Pilgrim's Progress', based on the famed book by John Bunyan.

Therefore, recently as I was grabbing a book to read in my bath, I picked up this classic book and began to read it. Often it is very true that the books are way better than the films they are in, this is also the case with Pilgrim's Progress.

As I was reminded of the story and how real the analogy was to general Christian walk, I was just stirred by God's goodness: that despite, our failures, shortcomings, and being astray sometimes he still loves us and never sends us away.  This grace, this mercy just could not relent but it brought me to wanting to cry and just worship God for his goodness.

So I encourage you to read the book.

If you happened to have never heard of the book its about a journey of a man called Christian, to find the celestial city and freedom from sin. Whilst on his journey, he often strays away from the path to his goal and encounters many people who both seek to help him and to destroy him. The whole book is an analogy for a Christian life and journey to God. Hope you'll read it ir have read it, stay blessed!

So recently during my Greek Seminar reading we have been encountering the word agapeo meaning to love, implying that it is a higher, everlasting form of love. We also encountered the word Philo which is a verb meaning to love, but also to be familiar with, be used to, or kiss. Often Philo is used to describe familial Love between parents and children or siblings, even friends. As I am continually looking at the bible in its Greek form, I notice that both words are being used.
in John 21:16:

"He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep."

In this sentence Jesus is using the word Agape. but Simon replies with Philo. 

I looked at that and I was like WOW. This just speaks volumes, although Peter did not necesserily answer exactly what Jesus asked, Jesus was still gracious, in accepting his human love that. peter's response, "I love you" could mean: I am familiar with you, I love you like my friend, you are my dear, my own. 

Jesus' answer to Peter's confession: "Tend my sheep", can tell us a lot about ministry and living a missional life. namely that we must first know God, have a relationship with him and be used to him, spending time in his presence, following after him. I hope that was interesting and thought provoking, Be blessed!

So I would like to tell you guys a testimony of what God is doing my life.
Recently as I was thinking how I can serve God, in my busy life schedule, and I was thinking moire about stepping out in praying for homeless people.

Just before last week I had dream of me with someone else (I don’t know who they were) praying for homeless people in 3 separate locations, I don’t know where any of the places were except one, oxford road near the palace theatre. Me and this other person were just praying for the homeless people, the dream was open ended in the fact that I didn’t see the fruit of my prayer. So a few days later, I took the dream as Gods prompting and as I walked past the place on oxford road that I had seen in the dream, I saw a homeless man and went a prayed for him and another man. 

Over the past week since that day I have prayed with about 12 people. One said he felt the pain had gone, everyone one of them have been very thankful and touched by the action. Many opened up their lives to me. I didn’t go preaching the gospel I simply show Gods love to them though prayer and listening, that is all, nothing complex or time consuming. All I wanted to be is to be is an instrument through which God can administer his love to the people.  What I want to encourage you to do then is to think about what can you during your usual activities in order to give Glory to God. You do not have to do what I do but ask God to inspire you.

As usual Be blessed.

God is such a powerful and amazing person. Who can know the full length and breadth of his love! As I was listening to ‘Ascend the Hill’ today, I was reminded just how far God has brought me. I do not have a radical testimony of becoming a Christian, since I was brought up with Christian values. Yet, I must admit that in my life God had to bring me through a process of genuine repentance of sin. Nevertheless that’s off the point.

So, God is so amazing, not only was I brought up in a Christian family, which in itself is a rarity in extremely catholic country like Poland, but he also took me, a simple Polish boy who was just an average kid in his class, who had barely any friends and brought him about 2000 miles to Manchester, having known no English and having had no friends, he not only provided for me new friends but also allowed me to learn a new language, he saved me, baptized me with his Spirit and has not left me ever since. He has been patient with me. Now I am studying Classics and Ancient history at Manchester University, which is world-renowned. Don’t get me wrong I am not trying to show off; if I stayed in Poland my life would look completely different, I am unsure whether I would survive as a Christian, go to uni or even move out of my tiny city. God is truly gracious; my life is completely transformed because of him.

I’m telling you this story because I hope that it would get you to think of what God does in our lives and how we should not belittle any change he does. The places to which God has taken me this year, since I started uni are way further than I have imagined, although I am not amazingly mature as a Christian, I have learned more and more about the nature of his grace.  Although we do not always see what God does in our lives, be sure of this he is still working in us.

Just think to yourself and ask God, how far have you brought me? Thank him for saving you and for taking care of you.

Last Sunday I was at church and as I was worshipping God, I sort of recognised this man that comes to church often, siting at the back, not engaging in worship or praying at all. As I was seeing him I remembered that one time we were split into groups to pray, we invited him to join but he flatly refused, saying that he does not know what we are doing (we were just praying, we are not crazy!). I thought that to be fine at the time. But last Sunday compassion for that guy just overtook me and I just started praying for him in my own worship that he may know God. It suddenly hit me that this man will either be saved or will end up hating God even more. I was at peace because I knew that the Holy Spirit knows what he is doing and the fact that this guy comes to the church is saying something already.

Another realisation that I had was that the problem is not really with the militant atheists like Dawkins or Hitchens. Mark Driscoll has said once they get much publicity but little following. So, instead I think that the concern should be with the people that simply do not think about the eternal things or about things that are greater than them. They seize the day (Carpe Diem); remember their mortality (memento mori) etc. Yet, Proverbs says that it is better to go into the house of mourning than to a house of laughter. Should we not laugh? Of course! Heaven is an eternity spent in the joy of God, but in a worldly context there is wisdom in those place of “mourning”, there is fear of God, acknowledgment that our lives are but a vapour.

That’s the problem: the people who are perishing because in the midst of their lives spent in pursuit of consumerism and pleasure they perish into eternity, never laying hold of a security that is only to be found in Jesus Christ.

Plato, in his analogy of the cave described a mission of a good philosopher that is to show the truth to the people who still live in darkness as a duty even if it would put their reputation and life at risk. That is our mission I believe and as the church and Christians we need to think about more of how to prompt, people to think about more spiritual things.  Its not an ideal conversation topic, I know but I’m thinking that it is certainly an interesting way to start witnessing to people, I’m just thinking to myself of whether I will always be up for it, but I think that I can! Soo the rant is over, be blessed!

So, it has been a while since I last published a post. That’s because I was sooo busy with work, uni and other stuff that I had barely any time. So today I was having my second exam of university. The course was Intensive Greek 1. Over past few months I was taught Greek up to a GCSE level from scratch and having a test was extremely important to me because in order to carry on with my degree programme I would have to do a classical language.

It was always my dream to study Greek and to be able to read the bible in its original text. It gives me such a thrill and pleasure to look at the original text and understand it (when I can). So the pressure was ON! I needed 50% in order to carry on with the course, which does not sound like a lot but believe me its still hard.

So as I was worrying (wrongly) about this exam and getting all my friends to pray for me, I realised that it is God who holds my dreams. There in that moment I surrendered my dreams. I said to the Father, that he could do whatever he wants with my dreams, to crush or to raise them. At that moment I never felt so happy, knowing that I let go of my self, and embraced him and his will.

A creature, I always thought, is the happiest in its own purposeful place. Likewise, we are the happiest when we let go of ourselves and truly pour out our worship through surrender to God. Was I still nervous? Of course, very much so, but I knew that whatever happens my God can work everything for the good of his glory and my benefit. So my challenge to you is this: what are your dreams? And have you surrendered these dreams with which you are so concerned about? This is not a one off thing this is something we all needs to do everyday, saying that I am certainly not perfect at this either, hopefully I’ll improve. Hope this blessed you.

Last week on Sunday morning I was visiting my home church. There during worship God has really spoken to me by showing me a vision. In it I saw myself drowning, yet desperately trying to get to the top of the water. However, the closer I got to the top of the water or even if I caught a mere breath above the water, I would soon find myself being pulled downwards, further into the deep by an unknown force. During my attempts to save myself all I could hear was just one phrase that was spoken over me: 'embrace it'.

I asked the Lord for the meaning of this; I understood that the water was his love and grace. 

My attempts at saving myself was out of a result of not being used to it. So as a result, I feared drowning. But you see, the man is not really me, it is my flesh. We all must die to ourselves when we come to Christ, yet we still have to remember that the death is not to be feared or ran away from because the water that surrounds us is his love, through grace and in his love we have the strength to answer his invitation to salvation. The death is not merely an end but a new beginning. 

Then I was also reminded that I already I am a new creation, my struggles with trying to live like a 'good christian' or a holy child of God are wrong in my mindset. I am justified, I am perfect in his sight, Christ's righteousness was imputed to me. The mindset I was reminded of is that of a new creation. 2 Cor. 5:17 says that I am one so I should embrace who I am in him and what he says about me. My failures and attempts to get things right are need to be seen in a new light: that it is not I who love but Christ who lives in me, he loves me regardless of what happens. It is Christ who deals with my shortcomings, I can't change them they require his work. His grace is my safety net, what I need to do is to live like a new creation because I am one, he will sort out the rest. I hope this somehow would make some sense and bless you all. 

Recently I heard a story, where a homeless man has found a purse full of money and instead of keeping it and using to provide food and shelter for himself, he gave it back.

Anyway, The story was very moving, but what was more moving was the fact that he was the same man that I saw on the market street in Manchester pretty much every time I was on my way to work. Moreover, some people have driven out this man from my workplace because he was smelly and off-putting.

Yet, the story, which struck me the most, is that a few days later I have found on my Facebook newsfeed that this guy has been given a free accommodation because of his act of kind honesty. When I read that I felt like I wanted to cry. Immediately, I saw the grace of God and the kindness of God.

So regardless of whether we are Christians or not, God is still kind, he is still gracious. Often we think of the love of God and we subconsciously, reserve it just for Christians or just for the good guys, but his love is everywhere regardless on our performance, he is not a God of just standard theism, for whom you have to perform. For the father what matters is his son’s doing. God does not pick and choose who receives his love because we all have received it. Romans 5:8 says that God loved us while we were yet sinners because as a result of this Love Christ died for us. You may believe in universal or limited atonement, to me none of those things matter too much, these are side issues, what is important is that God loves all of his creation, and he cares about each and one of us, from the drug Lord to a homeless man.

Sometimes, God wants us to just listen to others not to shove religion down people’s throats but to just love them be patient with them. God is patient with you as well as he is also patient with them. I thought of a new challenge as well: from tomorrow, every time I go to work I will look at the crowds and at everyone, having in mind that each one of them is equally loved by God, just like I am. What I hope to achieve from this is deeper revelation of God and of his innate attributes. I hope this blessed you and encouraged you to try this challenge out.

Few months ago I was having an exam in my module of Intensive Greek. I was afraid, I was trying to revise but nothing would stick. Yet throughout this entire time of worrying and asking God for peace, God has been speaking to me that he will take care of the exam. He asked me to trust him.

I gladly accepted this word, yet I still continued to worry and stress! I came to the exam; it was very hard. However, I felt ok about it. Then results came in the following week and I was told that I passed with a 2:1! I was so happy and joyful, encouraged to not give up on learning Greek but to carry on. After the massive flood of joyful emotions I remembered God’s word: that he would sort it out.

Immediately I thanked him for the result and for being with me. At the same time I was convicted to repent from not trusting him. Despite my failure to spend enough time in reading the word, despite my lack of prayer, God was still good to me. He’s love is completely unconditional.

I know now that it never is about our performance, because if it were, I would be screwed. He is faithful despite our faithlessness, despite our ups and downs in our walk. God is steadfast he cannot change; he is Eternal (or if you want to sound fancy, atemporal).  He will fulfil his promises, because he cannot lie, he is not a man (Num. 23:19). Just think of Sarah, she laughed when she was promised that she would conceive, and despite her unbelief, God fulfilled his promise.

So I challenge you: believe his promises, ask him what he thinks about your situations. Often we do not do that because we are afraid of the answers he will tell us, but he will not hurt us. Everything he tells us he does so out of love. I am by no means perfect in all of this. I am still growing. Yet, I believe that nobody is a master at doing all this stuff, but that is the lifestyle of faith, by which we are justified, its not about us and what we do, instead its about him.

God bless!