Have you ever had one of those dreams that you thought was real? You know the ones; they normally shake you up and rock you to your very foundations. Might even wake you up because it was so powerful and disturbing. I had one of those the other night.

I was driving along a road, not sure which road it was or in fact where it was. Do you notice that in dreams the details are very scant and you only notice this when you’re trying to retell the dream to someone else ? Anywho, I was driving along this road and suddenly my car was thrown into a violent spin and seconds later there was a blinding flash of light !! The light was so bright that it caused me to close my eyes and squint ! Immediately I thought this is it ! It’s all over, it’s the end - I’m dead !!! So then I was thinking - Ok so now what ? At this point I realised that what I was experiencing was just a dream and that’s where it ended.

Here’s the strange thing - when I was going through this traumatic car experience I wasn’t afraid and when I realised that maybe it might be the time to leave this world I wasn’t scared. Had this peace about what was going on, a calm if you like. You see the fact is death didn’t scare me, what I was more concerned about was what was going to happen after checking out from earth’s hotel.

What I want to ask you is are you afraid of death ? Are you afraid of snuffing it ? I know it’s not something for a light casual conversation and even in writing about this may appear I have a fascination with the morbid things of life !

But here’s the clincher for me ! Once I have a peace about who I am and what I am suppose to be doing on this earth and what I believe happens to me when I die - there is no fear, its all good !

The bible says that perfect love drives out all fear, because fear has to do with punishment. Now think about that for a minute. Fear could also be associated with the unknown ! For me I trust God implicitly with my life and I trust that when I face death’s dark door, Jesus will be right there to walk me through whatever happens next. He will be my welcoming committee and show me what He has been up to since he left our world all those years ago.

The question for you is simple ! Are you afraid of death is it something you have trouble thinking about. You don’t have to be afraid of it because Jesus has taken the sting out of death once and for all when he died on the cross. He has fixed things so that it is not the end, death is not about punishment it is about life – eternal life. All we have to do is believe in him and try to live our lives the way he wants us to.

If you still feel uneasy about this topic I would be happy to talk to you about it. Please don’t hesitate to email me at andrew.jarvey@hotmail.com
May God bless you, Andrew…

BLUE BIRD OF HAPPINESS !

Was sitting in a car park this week when I noticed a little blue bird attacking the car next to me. This small little bird was full on attacking the side mirror of this car with no apparent reason. Now lets put things into perspective the bird would have only been about 3 inches big, but the intensity and the fervour for which this little creature was dishing it out to the mirror was extremely impressive. Now before you say I’ve completely lost the plot, I am not or never will be, a bird lover. However I couldn’t help but notice the antics of this crazy little blue bird.

My initial thought was what a wonderful little creature, with its striking blue features. Then secondly how strange it was that it was attempting to beat itself up against a mirror ! Was it threatened or intimidated by another similar looking bird, who knows, one thing was for sure it was not happy Jan ! Maybe this was a territorial dispute or maybe there were chicks nearby and it was trying to scare off a would be predator. Maybe this little bird just found that make and model of car offensive. Who knows !

I got to thinking about the internal dialogue that goes on in our heads when we look at our reflection in the mirror. What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror ! I’m being serious !! What do you see ? Do you like what you see ? Yes or No ? If no why ? Do you do what the little blue bird did and go mental and beat yourself up by what you see or what you don’t ? You know sometimes I think we are our harshest critics. Too many freckles, skin imperfections, long nose, too many chins, uneven teeth, cabbage ears, the monobrow, non pantene hair, blah blah blah blah blah ……..

Heres a little secret ! We cannot all look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie because if we did we wouldn’t be unique ! You gotta like yourself and if you don’t you need to be asking a serious question. “WHY NOT ?”

The next time you look in the mirror I challenge you to look past all of the stuff you see and what you hear and remind yourself that there is one who loves you for who you are right now. Not for what you could look like or what you should be with the right nose job. God loves you for you full stop ! In fact if I believe what is written in the bible (and I do) he not only loves you He is totally and completely nuts about you.

Jesus said all those years ago love God with everything you have and love others as yourself. The last part is very important and I believe that you cannot love God or others if you are not thankful for who He has created you to be. If you cannot see the wonderful creation that is you then Dianne and I would be happy to speak with you to try and convince you some more.

Bless you

Andrew…

MISUNDERSTANDINGS !

Have you ever been driving and some lunatic zooms up next to you and then puts on their indicator to cut in front of you ? What is your natural reaction besides wanting to stick your head out the window and give them a mouthful, not to mention what you want to do with your fingers. If you have time you want to slowly increase your speed so that it is impossible for them to get in front of you. Or when they have changed lanes ride as close to their bumper as possible.

Have you ever noticed that when you’ve been driving and you are in the left lane and the street that you need to turn at is the very next street on your right. You’ve left it a bit late because you really didn’t know where you were going and the only way that you can make the turn is to put on your indicator and make a hasty lane change. All the time hoping that it will be a kind person who is driving who will forgive your crazy driving and not give you a mouthful or ride your bumper.

Same situation – two different ways of interpreting the reality of the situation !
Misunderstandings and contradictions !

Have you ever watched the movie Avatar ? No ! Well then I think you should make it a priority. So I don’t spoil the movie for you fast forward down to the bold heading of Misunderstandings because my next comments stem from that movie.

If you have seen the movie you will understand the contradiction / misunderstandings that happen between what the sky people ( the humans ) want to do and what the Na’vi are all about ( the blue avatars -natives of Pandora ). The humans are money hungry and are on this planet to extract a very rare material from the ground that is worth a fortune. The humans want this expensive commodity at all cost and don’t understand the environmental impact. I think they are starting to realise through the efforts of some passionate scientists but it is too late because the army is there to flex some muscle. The humans really don’t understand the complex relationships the Na’vi people have with mother earth and how knocking over some trees will cause a major catastrophic environmental impact.

Its not until an army marine is sent in undercover to try to get these people to relocate that he starts to discover first hand the complicated relationships and how these people are inextricably linked to their environment. The undercover operative is accepted amoungst these people and is blown away by their love of the earth and their culture. He falls in love with one of the natives and in the end becomes one. Misunderstandings ? On a major scale !

Misunderstandings !!!

Misunderstandings !!! They happen all the time don’t they ? Im wondering if a good portion of misunderstandings happen because people don’t fully understand the situation, or both sides of the story. Certainly in the first driving example that was certainly the case and it was most definitely the case with the movie Avatar. Everyone had an agenda and didn’t want to budge an inch.

When I look at the scriptures the biggest instance of misunderstanding happened with Jesus. By and large people just didn’t get who he was and why he was on earth. Even those who were the closest to him, his disciples were a bit hazy on what was going on !!

What happens when people don’t get who you are and what you are doing ? Do you write them off ? Jesus calls us to do something completely radical and unheard of !! Pray for them ! Hard as it is, if you can do this I have noticed a couple of things could happen.

It might change the other person,
It might change you,
It might change you both,
And you will be embarking on a completely different path, one which Jesus calls all of his followers to take.

Its powerful stuff I can assure you of that ! Here’s the challenge, the next time you come across someone who doesn’t get you, pray for them.

God bless you

Andrew…