Today's post comes from Adam Cree (@adcree).  Adam is one of our young leaders and has a great story of coming to faith which you can read on his blog adamcree.tumblr.com

As Christians we know that we are forgiven and free from sin, and as Paul said in Romans 6, “Likewise reckon yourselves to be dead to sin.” This is an amazing truth and is life changing when we grasp that sin has no hold over us, but why do we still fall into sin sometimes if we are indeed free from it, and even opposed to acting the way we ourselves sometimes act?

I have come to realise that sin is separate from who we are as people, and when we are accepted and loved children of God there is not one ounce of sin living in us anymore. To say that a true follower of Christ is a sinner is incorrect in my eyes. Christ died and FINISHED his work on the Cross, so that we were not sinners when we accept him into our lives in faith and love.

Don't get me wrong I believe Christians still sin, but when a Christian sins, it is not part of who he or she is. Whenever I say that sin attacks us, I also acknowledge that we have a choice whether to act according to sins attack, or as who we are as sons and daughters of Christ. The very existence of sin in the first place is an attack against this identity. Sin is an external force that attacks us, that tries its hardest to make us look bad, feel ashamed or unworthy. Sin seeks to ruin us from the inside out, but it is not a believers identity.

“Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me”

Romans 7:17

According to Paul in Romans 7, sin tries to dwell in us. Its like when a wooden structure is attacked by wood worm, you wouldn't call the wood a “wood worm”, you would say its a piece of wood being attacked by wood worm. That wood worm tries to use the wood as a dwelling place and a home, and eats away from the inside to try and become greater than the wood.

We need to remember that we are NOT sinners, even when we might sin! We are children of the greatest most amazing father in the world. Our Father in heaven has given us all power and dominion over external attacks from sin, we have the power and strength in the name of Jesus to battle everything!!!

His love is greater than everything, and he loves us with all his heart! 

Make sure you read part 1 of this post from Hannah Cree first.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3:9-10)

Here I am seeing God’s goodness in every area of my life and yet this bitterness existed between my friend and I. As Christians who live by, and grasp God’s love for them I knew that we would be able to work through this if we magnified God and minimised ourselves.

We decided to meet to talk things out and agreed that our heart motivation was not to challenge the other or to make them feel bad.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen…Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as God forgave you (Ephesians 4:29-32)

We decided not to discuss our problems with anyone else in the meantime. We had already given enough space for the enemy to destroy; we weren’t going to give him anymore opportunity! Our God is greater! We both acknowledged that we had been wrong; this was really difficult for me! Neither of us approached the conversation to blame, at the same time we didn’t underplay the fact that we had been hurt. We both agreed that we could wholeheartedly forgive.

God provided a peaceful and honest environment in which we could bear our souls. We truly allowed God to carry us and to equip us with the strength to deal with this in love, something we hadn’t done in the past. After the conversation there was an amazing sense of liberty and relief, God truly does restore. I had thought that I hadn’t taken offence in the past, God showed me that I had, he unearthed feelings that I didn’t know I had and renewed completely, leaving no small detail unacknowledged.

I have learnt that truly renewing friendships does not work in the absence of constant communication and relationship with God. I have been reminded of how tempting it can be to follow the flesh, but we always have a choice.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. A mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:5-6)

Communication is key, being honest with ourselves, maintaining contact with and pouring into the lives of our friends and constantly praising God and seeking his plan, which is always so much better than our own.

My friend and I both hope that this is a powerful testimony for others facing similar situations on how God can renew friendships. We have deliberately not gone into details as the enemy has rented enough space in our minds recently and we will not be giving him anymore!

This week's posts are from Hannah Cree.  Follow her on twitter for more nuggets of Godly wisdom!

Whenever we listen to sermons about confrontation and forgiveness it all seems well and good, but then we find ourselves stuck in the middle of a really difficult situation and it’s easy for it all to go out the window, well…that’s what I found.

My friend and I had lost contact recently, having been friends for over seven years. A number of things had happened over time, a combination of things which we both found difficult to put our fingers on; as a result we were both feeling bitter. We avoided any chance of communication, avoiding texts and avoiding situations in which we would have to see each other and pretend things were okay. This was a vicious circle as the more we did this the worse we both felt and this circle continued to feed itself.

I had tried to justify to myself that ‘God was just taking us on different paths…and that was okay!’ But this didn’t cover the fact that we were both left with the negative feelings of being forgotten about and uncared for. If it was God’s plan for us to be taking different paths we wouldn’t be left with these feelings.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10).

Recently we got in contact via Facebook, a form of communication in which it is impossible to grasp the other person’s tone, especially if you are already feeling estranged from that person, and in which you always end up saying more than you would ever say in person. Note to self: in the future avoid this kind of situation and agree to meet in person!

One thing led to another and I had reacted. I justified to myself that it was necessary and edifying and that I was maintaining my friend’s dignity. Rather than putting the whole emphasis on what I thought my friend had done wrong I explained how I was feeling. I thought I had done the right thing…then I began to feel the wrath of unforgiveness, I became preoccupied, I was constantly tearful - and if you know me you will know I’m not a crier. This affected everything in my life. I had no head space and I felt worthless. I didn’t want my friend to be feeling the way I was. I knew that we both needed to be released from this.

I prayed and listened to God, I was reminded that God keeps no record of wrongs, therefore neither should I, I was reminded that God does not condemn and yet I had condemned someone. I couldn’t understand how God could be using me to encourage and build others up and yet I could make someone feel this bad.

Come back tomorrow for part 2!

Part 1 of this post went up yesterday - make sure you check it out first!

So what is important in life?

• A happy family?
• A good environment for the kids?
• A real connection with God maybe?
• Being with like-minded people going for the same goal?
• A legacy, whether you are ever known for it or not?
• Knowing with assurance that you are fully following Jesus?
• Telling people about Jesus?

Imagine the scenario. You are a sensible human being and you decide do something in line with the calling of God. It doesn’t make sense from a cultural point of view, or a financial viewpoint, doesn’t look good for your career, doesn’t make any sense at all if you leave God out of the idea.  People are bound to wonder why, and they are asking the right questions. Maybe just maybe, they could come to the conclusion that God is worth it for you.

The way I see it, when you are old you there are a few topics of conversation.

All your lovely stuff or your favourite hobbies or what your family are doing

or

the times God might just have changed the world through you, in the name of Jesus, and what you are still doing for Him now.

When I am old, I want to talk about all of that, not just the first half.

Never mind being old, all around your school/workplace/social sphere you will find people discussing the latest budget, how much extra speed they can squeeze out of their tablet computer, the latest phone, the best mortgage deals, their car, the latest computer game, or what was on TV last night. This is all interesting, in fact we might be really into it, but compared to Jesus and His Kingdom it is ‘fluff and stuff’. Passion for life and your interests is good, and passion for Jesus and knowing more of him and His Kingdom is better.

I read in a book once, by a prominent writer, that a couple who retire early and have a nice life collecting shells on the beach are a tragedy - that only a life spent in the service of Jesus is worth anything at all. I choose not to be extreme, but sometimes a decision will pop up in the story of my life that might seem extreme when weighed up by human reasoning. I hope so anyway, or I run the risk of being lukewarm, rather than passionate, on fire, a light in the darkness.

This is not a call to abandon your life and responsibilities and follow Jesus, and never be interested in anything else. But maybe a little push in that direction wouldn’t hurt any of us. God is not calling you to something worse – He is for you, so no matter what it looks like, what God is calling you to is better than what you want.

Remember that God wants you, and loves you. People are drawn to passion, and you are called to freedom in Jesus.

This week's posts are again from William Marks (@willmarks1984)

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him (Matthew 9:9)

Has anyone ever thought about just how crazy Jesus’ recruitment method seems? Or just how crazy his eventual, or rather immediate, disciples were?

In Matthew 4, there are four fishermen, who just walk away from their boats and follow Jesus. If you have ever seen ‘Trawlermen’, or ‘Deadliest Catch’ on TV, you will know that fishermen live and breathe for both their boats and their crew. They are a tight bunch. To walk away would not have been an easy decision, but verse 20 says ‘They [Andrew and Simon-Peter] immediately left their nets and followed Him.’ And then James and John left their father! Just left him there fishing?! I think of my own dad at this point. He would not be a happy man if he’d trained me, probably given me a job in his fishing business and I then walked off with some unknown (we are only at chapter 4 remember, and Twitter didn’t exist) religious bloke. He might just throw his fishing rod at me.

The disciples probably missed out on owning some nice fishing boats. 

Then there was Matthew with his nice office job down at the Israel Inland Revenue. Same again; just upped and left. Now a taxman wasn’t a popular job at the time, so it must have paid well. He must have weighed that up against following a bloke who didn’t have a house, never mind to pay his followers. It’s a no-brainer in those terms. 

So when God calls me what do I do? What does it feel like? Or even look like?

I reckon a lot of the time it looks crazy to friends and family, who don’t know Jesus. I reckon a lot of the time it feels crazy to those doing the following. True followers of Jesus are not normally nuts, but sometimes the call of God is on a completely different playing field to the framework for human decision-making. Sometimes it doesn’t lead to the material utopia everyone is seeking.

Sometimes it will look like it’s leading to quite the opposite. But what is important in life?

Part 2 will be up tomorrow.

This is part 2 of a post from William Marks.  Make sure you've read part 1 first.

Today's post is from William Marks.  He's got a great heart for God's Kingdom, a great way with words, and you can follow his sporadic tweets over at @willmarks1984.  Or his wife Ruth tweets a little more at @RuthieMarks.

This is the second of a two-part post from one of our amazing youth leaders, Hannah Cree. Go back and read the first part if you missed it!

During worship at the youth weekend we sang “How He Loves Us”, which is also the first song my husband, Adam and I danced to when we got married this past December.  Anyone who has had a first dance will agree that it is an amazing yet surreal experience, huddling together in the middle of the dance floor whilst everyone stands and watches you! Definitely weird! In fact I just don’t get dancing at all, and any time I dance I feel really uncomfortable. 

On the youth weekend I decided that if I was a leader, I was to be a role model too. So I had a responsibility to look past myself and demonstrate what it is like to worship God. As we sang “How He Loves Us” I closed my eyes, raised my hands (just slightly) and swayed as God reminded me of our first dance. As I did this I felt God saying to me that he was my Prince Charming, that I was His royalty and that He would lead the way. He told me that I had never danced with anyone the way I would with Him. He reassured me that I didn’t have to be qualified - I didn’t need to know how to dance at all, all I had to do was trust in Him and allow Him to lead the way. 

God showed me that I had been self-conscious; I had been more preoccupied with what people would think if I raised my hands or what would I look like.  Since then I have felt truly liberated in the area of worship, raising my hands, confidently assured that I am approved by God. God cared about this area of my relationship with Him, He wanted there to be nothing holding me back.

Since the weekend I’ve meditated more on this revelation…I thought of how a song gradually builds and felt God urging me to build up the music that I’m dancing to : build up my home, my work, my family and friends, and through doing this build up the Kingdom of God. Leaning on him as I go, leaning on him when I’m unsure of my purpose or I need direction, leaning on him to show the way.

Our first dance and first priority every day should be with God. Whenever I look at my own everyday life, things always seem to go wrong whenever I try to do something in my own strength. But God never created us to be solo pilots, relying on ourselves and my back definitely isn’t big enough to carry the everyday struggles that we face in life.

I simply can’t work it all out on my own. Especially dancing… that just wouldn’t work!

After a six month break, the Exchange Church Blog is back.  This is the first of a two part-post from one of our amazing youth leaders, Hannah Cree.

Our heart for our recent youth weekend was that the young people would experience an encounter with God’s presence and power. And this is exactly what we saw : every young person encountered God in some way through worship, visions, prayers and prophetic words of encouragement.

With all of our focus being on creating space and time to connect with the young people and lead them to an encounter with God, it was easy for us, as leaders, to forget that God could use this time to speak into our lives too!

Not only did each young person learn something of God’s love for them but so did every leader!

God used this time to speak to me about worshipping Him. I had always considered myself to be a reserved and ‘humble’ worshipper - happy to have my hands in "prayer position", close my eyes and lose myself in worshipping God, never wanting to draw attention to myself.

I had always looked at others at church who had their hands in the air in awe, wishing that I was brave enough to take that step and just lift my hands to worship God. At the same time I knew that God wouldn’t want me to do something that I felt uncomfortable with and that, just like in any relationship, allowing yourself to feel vulnerable requires time and trust.

Keep an eye out for part two tomorrow!

Note for users of the Exchange Church phone apps : you may need to click on the title above to see the whole post

"(I ask) that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19, ESV

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about expectancy - expecting more of the fullness of Jesus in every part of your life.  After all, He said that He came that we might have and enjoy life; life to the full.

Last night at Collide, our mid-week meeting where everyone gets opportunity to share whatever God is doing in their lives, a chance to share little bits of our stories, or whatever, I was sitting in the next room with my crying baby daughter enjoying the worship, the stories, the revelation and I remembered something that seems small but is actually quite significant in my how my expectation of Christ at the centre of every aspect of life has shifted in recent months.

I've never been someone who gets sick often, but historically when I do, I do so in spectacular style - a simple cold ending up as 3 days straight in bed with raging fevers, for example.  On Tuesday, completely out of the blue at around 2pm, I felt myself getting sick - very sore left ear, sharp pain in the throat, slight fever, a little dizzy.  Not good symptoms.  First reaction was to text my wife and let her know I'd likely need to go to bed when I got home - also not good since I usually take over looking after our daughter to give her a break.

Then it occured to me - I don't have to settle for this.  So I didn't.  I told those symptoms the truth of Jesus' sacrifice, meaning I don't have to settle for the brokenness of this world and just accept that sickness is just the way it is.  Jesus paid that price so suffering illness is not necessarily part of my destiny.

And within 30 minutes, as quickly as it all came on, it was gone.  A change in thinking, in my expectation, in my approach to prayer, and a small victory was won.

It's only a little thing, but from little things - big things grow ;)  Expect God to work in the smallest areas of your own life, and as you see Him doing that, your expectation of seeing Him work big things will seem less daunting.  We limit Him by our thinking, but there's so much more of Him to experience and enjoy.  Let Him give you life, life to the full.

If you've not already done so, you might like to listen to our podcasts, which form the basis of most of the posts on this blog. You can find links on our website, our Facebook page, or our app, which can be found by searching for "Exchange Church Belfast" in iTunes, the iOS App store or Android app market.

"I ask Him to strengthen you by His Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite Him in. And I ask Him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19, MSG