Discussion from 16th March

Hi all you guys!!

Here's the new lesson..

Lesson: Total TRUST. SURRENDER.

Do you trust your parents not to eat you while you sleep?
What would happen if you were convinced that your Mom wanted to poison your food.? Would you eat anything? Would she be able to give you nice food?
Can our parents love us and give us nice things if we don't trust them and think they are trying to kill us or that they want to make us miserable?
Would we accept stuff from them.?
If we sort of half trusted them, and said “we'll go with you to town, but we won't trust your driving to take us on a long trip” How would they take us to Umhlanga for a 5 week holiday at a 5 star hotel on the beach?
So if we trust our parents completely, then they are able to do good things for us right?

Do we trust God?

With how much of our lives? 10%? 60%? 100% ?
OK, lets find out how much you trust God.....

Are we willing to say to God “You can take any of my stuff and do what You like with it. I give it all to You” ??
Are we willing to say to God “You can send me anywhere – I'll go”
Are we willing to say to God “ I'll never get married if that's what you want”
Are you willing to say to God “I'll stay poor for ever if that's what You want in my life..” !!!
Isa 25:9 When it happens, everyone will say, "He is our God! We have put our trust in him, and he has rescued us. He is the LORD! We have put our trust in him, and now we are happy and joyful because he has saved us."
Are we willing to say to God “I'll stay here in Vryheid and die here if that's what You want me to do”
Psa 33:4 The words of the LORD are true, and all his works are dependable.5 The LORD loves what is righteous and just; his constant love fills the earth.
Psa 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; I will fear no one. The LORD protects me from all danger; I will never be afraid. 2 When evil people attack me and try to kill me, they stumble and fall. 3 Even if a whole army surrounds me, I will not be afraid; even if enemies attack me, I will still trust God.
Can we say to God “ I trust you with my future. You can take away my family, my money, my cell phone, my future, whatever, and I'll still follow You. I know that You know best, and that You will always look after me.“
In other words, are we certain that God is a kind, good God who will only do what's BEST for us, or do we have doubts about that?
If we believe this about God, then do we think He will do stuff to us that will make us scared, or hurt us, if He is a kind and gentle God who loves us?
So can we trust in God TOTALLY ? Yes we can because that allows Him to bless us. He won't FORCE His blessings onto us, but if we trust Him and let Him take us to His places, then He will be able to bless us.
Will all the scary things we expect actually happen? More than likely not.
How does total trust in God make us happy? We can relax because we know that He's driving, like we do in the car when our Dad is driving – we know he's not some maniac!!
Isa 12:2 God is my savior; I will trust him and not be afraid. The LORD gives me power and strength; he is my savior. 3 As fresh water brings joy to the thirsty, so God's people rejoice when he saves them."

Trust God with your whole life. Don't keep anything back from His control.
Don't stop Him from blessing you.
Remember, He's driving. You must just stay on the bus !!

The BOTTOM LINE
Trusting God is a total thing
Either you trust Him
or you don't.
Which one are you?

Last weeks lesson

Hi again..

Lesson: It's story time !!

The story of Esther
King Xerxes had one massive rave – 6 months long. Then he had another bash for a whole week in his palace.
One bash for the guys, one bash for the ladies.
After he had got a bit sloshed, he ordered the queen to 'come do a fashion parade for us ouks here !!'
Queen Vashti tuned the king “you and your drunken buddies can get lost!” - so the king kicked her out.
Esther, the Jewess, was very pretty and had a good figure.
Her and Mordecai were brought from Jerusalem when it was captured by Nebuchadnezzar
She stayed with her cousin, Mordecai, because her parents were dead. He was older, and treated her as his daughter.
The government officials came round and took pretty girls away to the kings beauty pageant. Esther went.
She didn't say she was Jewish. The Eunuch in charge of the harem liked Esther. 6 + 6 months of beauty treatment..
The king smaaked Esther the most – she was the hottest hottie in his harem – so she became an instant queen.
Mordecai got a job in the palace. He heard guys plotting kingies death, reported it and saved the kings life.
About 4 years later, Haman is made prime minister.
Mordecai wouldn't bow to him. Haman flipped his bean. Decided to kill all the jews in the whole massive country.
Got the king to agree to totally exterminate these troublesome people. King gave him his royal seal to do so.
Haman sends messages to whole empire telling all citizens to kill the jews on 13 th January
Mordecai asks Esther to help. Esther says that if she appears before the king she can be put to death.
Esther tells him and all jews to fast and pray for 3 days.
She goes to the king. He lets her live. She organises a dinner with king and Haman.
That night the king cant sleep. He tells his servants to read the records of the empire. They read about Mordecai saving the kings life.
The king decides to honour Mordecai. So he gets who? to lead Mordecai through the streets shouting his praises? HAMAN!! Haman is now really mad...
Haman builds a 22 metre high gallows to hang Mordecai on.
At the second dinner, Esther tells the king that Haman is trying to kill her and her whole race.
The king freaks out. Hamans head is covered. He is hung on the same gallows he built for Mordecai.
The king allows the Jews to fight back. He gives Esther all of Hamans property.
They use the opportunity to get rid of all their enemies in the land!! All Hamans 10 sons are also hung on the gallows he built for Mordecai.
Mordecai was promoted to a very high position, and clothed in royal clothes, and given a gold crown.
When the 13th January came, the jews killed 75,000 of their enemies, with the kings blessing !! THERE WAS NO LOOTING.
The Jews now always celebrate the festival of Purim to remember this event.
When disaster strikes, do God's will. We have to stand up and do what is right, even when it seems to be a small, trivial thing.
The BOTTOM LINE
Esther showed extreme bravery
I wanna be like her..

New discussion 2nd March The Universe was made for you..

Hi all,

Lesson: The whole universe was made for us.
THERE ARE A LOT OF VERY BIG NUMBERS IN HERE...
How big is the universe, the known universe? 20,000,000,000 light years across. (20 billion light years)
How old is the universe? Not the earth, but the universe? 15-20 billion years old.
When did time start? When the universe was created. Scientists have proved that the universe had a “beginning” - it has not always been there.
People who don't believe in God, like Stephen Hawking, try hard to disprove that the universe had a “beginning” - why is this?? Because it means someone had to begin it, and make it from absolutely nothing at all
Have there been universes before ours? No – this is not possible. Been proven by the bounce theory. A universe can't collapse and “bounce” back into existence again.
How many other solar systems are there, like with planets, a sun, moons, stuff like that? About 1022 which is 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 solar systems
So can't there be intelligent life on one of these planets? No. Why? Because the probability of intelligent life developing is one in 10exp30 and there are only 10exp22 solar systems, so there aren't enough solar systems to make it possible for even a humanoid form to develop, let alone an intelligent one.. The fact that the earth has intelligent life already defies the odds.
What is the chances that a human being could “evolve” by chance or random joining of molecules? About 10exp108 which is 1 with 108 nougths after it.. see below: So there hasn't been enough time for humans to evolve by chance, since there have only been 10
The universe had to be this big. If it had been any smaller, it would have been too hot for us to survive. The earth would not have been able to form. The universe had to cool in order for carbon to form; and we are made mostly from carbon.
The universe is expanding. The speed at which it is expanding is critical to our existence. If this speed was faster or slower by
0.0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 0000000000 001 % the universe would have recollapsed and we would not exist.
People, clever people, say that there is no design in the universe; it just happened, things evolved. Do you think this is possible?
God says: Isa 66:1 The LORD says, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house, then, could you build for me, what kind of place for me to live in? 2 I myself created the whole universe! I am pleased with those who are humble and repentant, who fear me and obey me.
Does God exist inside the universe, or outside of it? Both: He is transcendant and immanent, outside and pervading the inside too.
Col 1:16 For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him.
Heb 1:3 He reflects the brightness of God's glory and is the exact likeness of God's own being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving forgiveness for the sins of all human beings, he sat down in heaven at the right side of God, the Supreme Power.
Heb 11:3 It is by faith that we understand that the universe was created by God's word, so that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.
If there was intelligent life on other planets, would they also be included in thiose going to Heaven? Yes!! Rev 5:13 And I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, in the world below, and in the sea---all living beings in the universe---and they were singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor, glory and might, forever and ever!"
There are many other things that are in an incredibly fine balance. Electromagnetic forces, Gravitational forces, Nuclear forces – they are all critically balanced to enable us to live. This universe, this earth we live on; this body we have – were all precisely designed for our benefit. There is NO WAY this could have happened on it's own.

The BOTTOM LINE
The universe was created by God
to make a place for us to live
on earth.
The whole universe was made just for us.