Month: May 2017

Step 2: Do

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Here’s a quick word about,

‘Doing’ His Word

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
[James 1:22]

Sometimes we’ll read a verse in the bible and we’ll require further exposition on what it’s saying, but the verse above is so clear and direct!

I’ve quoted this verse briefly before in a previous post (Be An Example), but today I want us to take a quick look at what it says by itself, and why it is important!

We know and believe that the word of God is life, and therefore we believe that it is our manual for life and our guide for how to live and move.
However, how many times do we read/listen to the word of God and just keep doing our own thing, our own way?

How many times have we read the bible, or heard a teaching by a preacher, known that it ought to change our hearts and habits, but have decided that the change isn’t quite convenient at that present moment in our lives?

Look at this…
The bible tells us that;

“For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight,
but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.”
[Romans 2:13]

This verse demonstrates the significance of us not just knowing or hearing the word and the instructions/commandments of God, but actually practising, living, and fulfilling the word of God with our lives…
Our obedience in doing God’s word not only helps to put us in right-standing with the Father, but it also importantly means that we do not blaspheme the name of God (context from Romans 2:17-24), by calling ourselves His children, yet doing the complete opposite of what He desires!

Here’s a simple prayer today to begin to change our hearts that still want to wait till later or wait till we’re ready to DO the word of God;

“Father, give me the heart of obedience to be an active doer of Your word, NOW, not later.
The first step is hearing/reading/becoming aware of what Your word says, the second step is understanding and putting it to action…
In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus shares a parable about different responses to the Word,
I pray God, that You will make me the person whom verse 23 speaks of!
Let my heart be good soil; let me hear the word, understand it, and produce good crop from it.
Help me to trust and love Your word, so that I will make a harvest out of it,
in Jesus’ Name
Amen.”

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

Perfect Peace; Isaiah 26:3

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So here’s a PFP* for you this Wednesday afternoon.

Today, I woke up feeling overwhelmed.

I have so much work to do, so little time, and it’s no one else’s fault but mine.
(Haha, that rhyme was not intentional, I guess I’m a natural [Cheeky grin]).

Anyway,
Having tried to do this essay so many times, and having dedicated so much time to it, the exam I have next Friday has crept up on me, and I definitely haven’t done adequate revision for that either!

So my mind wasn’t rested this morning. And the human in me was quite worried, in fact, very worried.
On the other hand, there’s the Spirit in me, that knows it’ll all be fine at the end of the day, but still the flesh always challenges it, because I know that the bible says faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26), therefore I know I need to do the works part.

So anyway, I saw my academic mentor this afternoon, because we had scheduled a general meeting a few weeks ago, to see how it’s all going, and of course when I got there, I explained the fact that I feel like I’m struggling a little at this present moment.

And here is God…

She gave me different resources to use in my essay, and also advised me to not think too hard about it, and just get something done!
I left that meeting feeling and knowing that I can and will do it.

What’s my point here?

My point is that we should keep our hope in the Lord at all times, and trust that He will always bring us to perfect peace in our times of absolute chaos/worry/panic.

This morning, despite my worrying, I remember that there was a tiny hope I had in the meeting that I was going to attend with my mentor. I knew that God would send me some sort of direction through her, and that she would say something that would remind me that there’s still time to turn it around…

I couldn’t think of anything more real to share with you all today…

I want you to remember that there is ALWAYS still time to turn it around.

If you can just find that tiny hope that is still alive somewhere in your heart, grab it, hold on to it, and let it be the driving force, when the rest of you wants to give up.

The bible in Isaiah 26:3 says,

“You will keep in perfect peace
    all who trust in you,
    all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

Take this word as your truth today and always.

Even if everything around you is falling down and crumbling, God will maintain an incomparable peace in your heart, to keep you calm, unworried, and level-headed, to get through it.

What you have to do, is just make sure you Trust in Him (Isaiah 26:4). And Trust in the Process.
Trust Him so deeply, that even when your flesh wants to worry, your Spirit holds on to His word and looks up in faith, to Him.
Make sure that your focus is right – let your thoughts be fixed on Him, let your mind be steadfast in Him, knowing that,
He. Is. Able.

I pray for you today,
That you’ll locate that tiny hope that’s somewhere within you, and allow it to usher in the great peace that God gives, to keep you calm, and keep you going, in the midst of what seems like a crazy muffle of too much!

Remember, You can do it 🙂

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

 

*PFP = Personal Founder Post; a word with a personalised twist to help portray the message better *

A Prayer For You…

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This Evening,

All I want to do, is pray for you…

 

In Jesus’ name,

I pray over your week,
That it is blessed with joy and peace and fruitfulness in every area.

I pray for uncommon favour for you and your family wherever you go, with whomever you meet, and in whatever you do.

I pray that God Almighty, will sanctify each endeavour with His anointing, and direct you to walk in line with His will.

You will not make any bad decisions, take any bad turns, or make any choices that you will later regret! Rather, I pray that God will open up your eyes, ears and heart to be sensitive to His voice, to know what His will for you is, and what His plans and expectations for you are.

I pray that anyone that will pull you down, delay your blessing, obstruct your journey, distract your calling, or be detrimental to your life in any way, be removed by the Lord God Himself.

I pray that wickedness shall see you and flee, and darkness shall be turned into light whenever you arrive!

Again, regarding decisions, I pray that you, the person making an important decision this week, you will have peace both before and after making it.
You will not decide, then begin to wrestle in your mind if you’ve made the right choice. God will direct you, His Holy Spirit will give you the knowledge and wisdom to know clearly which decision to make, and you will obey and make it right in Jesus’ Mighty name.

Your Heart;
I pray that God will give you a heart that loves Him.
A heart that is in Love with Him deeply.
A heart that puts Him first above all things.

I pray that in loving God, you will honour Him with your whole life, you will desire more and more to die to your flesh, and live by His Spirit instead.
I pray that the words you speak, the thoughts you think and the actions you take will all glorify the name of Elohim Jehovah!

I pray finally this; that someone will encounter you this week,
and will encounter the Christ in you.
This encounter will not be ordinary in any way,
and through it, this person will just
H A V E  to give their life to Christ.
The urge in them and the fire in them to know this Jesus, will be too much for them to resist or ignore, and they shall, in Jesus’ name, this week, through you, know and accept that they have a Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

All of this, I pray for you, and your family,
in Jesus’ Mighty, Precious Name

A M E N.

 

Have a pleasant, positive and life-changing week!

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

Forgiveness; No Buts

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Note: You can skip the dramatics and scroll down to where it says ‘Due to envy…’ (read Genesis 37 first for context), however if you like a bit of fun whilst you read, start from the top! 🙂

Joseph was a man spoken of in the old testament.
He’s the son of a guy named Jacob a.k.a. Israel, and he had 11 brothers…

Sounds pretty normal so far, right?
Yeah, so let’s read from the scriptures (pardon my dramatic thoughts when you see them in brackets);

“Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.”
[Genesis 37:3-4]

(I don’t know about you, but I’m sensing this favouritism is going to cause some problems…)

Let’s read a bit more;

“One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.”
[Genesis 37:5]

(Oh dear! It’s about to go down…)

““Listen to this dream,” he said. “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”
His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.”
[Genesis 37:6-8]

(Snap! Joseph you really should’ve kept that dream to yourself mate…)

“When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!””
[Genesis 37:18-20]

(I knew it!! I told you something bad was going to happen…)

“But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.”
[Genesis 37:21-22]

(Oh phew! Thank God for Reuben…)

“So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.”
[Genesis 37:23-28]

(Nooo Wayyy!)

Okay, Let’s stop there.

Oh My Goodness!!!
Who else wishes this was made into a movie?! Extremely interesting, right?

Anyway, drama aside, let’s get a message out of this…

Due to envy, Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery!
How absolutely crazy?!

But little did he know, that these same brothers would need his help, and he would be in a mighty position to help…

Through the next few chapters in the book of Genesis (which I definitely encourage you to read in your own time), we see Joseph face some trials, but also he faces triumphs, as he becomes Governor in Genesis 41:39-41.
As we continue reading, we see that in fact his brothers end up needing his help, and whilst they don’t recognise him, Joseph definitely recognises them, but still helps them!
The question I want to bring out from this story is;

How far does your Forgiveness go?

Some of us say we can forgive, but never forget. We can forgive, but it will never be the same. We can forgive, but we’ll never help them out again. We’ll never do anything for them again. We could never look at them the same. We could never have love for them again…
The list of the things we say about forgiveness when someone has wronged us, is endless.

Today, I want us to look at Joseph, and I want us to learn from him…

What Joseph’s brothers did, was terrible (in fact, that’s an understatement, but I just can’t think of a better word to describe the atrocity).
However let’s take a moment to think about it properly;
If there was no sale, there would have been no rescue in the future…

After all the years that had gone by, Joseph must have come to the realisation of the fact that he was simply being used by God.
He would have seen and understood the purpose for the pain in the past, which had now enabled a greater glory of grace, for good, in the present.

Joseph was endowed with wisdom to understand that the perfect will of God had allowed him to endure the ugly act of his brothers so many years beforehand, in order to bring great blessing and survival to his family in the future; Genesis 45:6-11.

There isn’t a sense of bitterness or wickedness in Joseph at all.
He doesn’t finally see an opportunity to get his own back and punish his brothers, but rather, he sees and accepts that there was a reason for that past season.

Pray today for this spirit of true, pure forgiveness.
We want to be able to forgive in a way that makes us forget the pain, that makes us release all bitterness, and makes us to realise God’s plan through it all.

For some of us, the ‘brothers of Joseph’ in our lives are going to reappear one day, in need,
I’m asking, that just as Joseph cared more about God’s will, than the pain he endured;
We, when this time should come, (though very very very difficult) will do the same…
We will still help them, despite…..

May God give us wisdom, strength and growth, to know that it won’t be a time to ‘finally’ laugh or mock them, but in fact it will be a time to help them when they need it most!
And through this, they will truly see the power of the Love of God.

Father, we pray for the ability to forgive deeply and truly, and we pray for a heart that will always let Love win, completely,
in Jesus’ Mighty Name.
Amen.

*I encourage you to take the time to read Genesis 37 fully, and also read the chapters that follow (up to chapter 45 at least), in order to get a full picture of this aspect of the story of Joseph.*

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

Jesus’ Eyes

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It’s unbelievable right?!
It looks like there’s no coming out of this – pretty much impossible, right?

How many times have we seen and perceived an issue in our lives as a complete dead-end?

But quick question; are you still in it now?
Or did God (as usual) come through for you and bring you out of it?
He brought you out didn’t He? 🙂
(Haha), But I thought you said it was impossible?

You see friend, when we look with our own eyes, we see a problem.
But when we look with Jesus’ eyes, we are enabled to see an opportunity; an opportunity to be used by God to show forth, and proclaim His power and glory.

In John 6:1-15, when Jesus fed a multitude of people with what started off as just a mere
5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes, His disciples could initially only see the problem.
They could only see the fact that there were over 5000 people following the Messiah, and there was no way they could possibly find something for all of them to eat.

I wonder if in that moment they forgot who Jesus really was…

We have the tendency to do this too!
Number One: We forget that this Jesus is the Chosen One, the Saviour who conquered death and is therefore above ALL things.
Impossible doesn’t exist with Him!

Number Two: We only see the problem, when really we should see the opportunity for God to move.

Friend, let us change our way of thinking –
Let us move towards trusting God with our ‘complicated’ situations, and seeing the opportunity for Him to move and prove Himself strong, rather than seeing ‘no way out’.

Let us realise that the more we depend on God, the more He manifests Himself and performs Wonders.
The more God sees our trust in Him, the more He’ll use us to be living examples of His Grace and Glory – and my oh my, that, is a beautiful priviledge!

I’m praying with you this evening,
Let’s say;
Father, I speak it in Jesus’ Name, that I have a heart that truly trusts You!
I declare that I will always see, that every situation that arises in my life, that may appear to my human eyes as a road-block, is actually an opportunity for You to
M O V E  in my life and bring out a testimony for all to see.
Help me to see things with Jesus’ eyes!
Help me to never forget the power that lies in the name of Jesus, and help my faith to never waver.
Going into this new week, I see possibilities galore, I see no limitations and I pray that I will be used by You, to show Your Glory and Might, and people will desire to know You more through what they see in my life,
In Jesus’ Mighty name,
Amen.

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

Point It Out

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Let’s read;

“If your brother or sister sins,
go and point out their fault,
just between the two of you.
If they listen to you, you have won them over.”
[Matthew 18:15]

 

‘Just between the two of you’………
Now the ellipsis here is extra long, because I’m trying to emphasise what that line says.

When we go to correct, our brother or sister, the bible doesn’t say ‘make a spectacle out of it’.
It doesn’t say, ‘talk about it with Jason and Jenny’. It doesn’t say ‘change the way you perceive them’.
And it doesn’t say ‘judge them and never speak to them again’.

So why then do we find ourselves doing all these things (plus much more, sometimes)?

Why is it that many of us find joy and excitement in further tearing down a brother or sister when they fall?
Why is it that we derive pleasure in letting the whole world know that Anna made a mistake?

Friend, if the bible tells us something, let’s do what it says, and lay aside all other things that our flesh wrongly leads us to do instead.

So, when we see a brother or sister doing something wrong, let us approach the situation in the way that the word of God tells us to – call them to the side, let it be only the two of you, and let them know their fault.
(When we read further in this passage, we’ll see that, yes, indeed, others may need to get involved if they don’t take to correction, however let’s do it this private way first. 
There’s a reason why it’s written in this order, right?)

Now let’s go back a little (forgive me for starting the expansion of this bible verse in the middle, but that part just stood out to me so much!)

So,
‘Go and point out their fault’.

When your brother or sister does something wrong, the bible says to point out their fault – let them know wrong is wrong.

This part of the verse actually speaks to each of us in two ways.

Number ONE: We have a role to play in being the pointer-outers…
Now in this day and age, we seem to have a culture of being too careful.
We don’t want to tread on anyone’s toes, so we don’t say anything about things that we know go against the word of God, but look, the bible tells us to Point. It. Out…
We need to forget ‘careful’, and start fulfilling God’s word more, and stop allowing our brothers and sisters to walk in the path of destruction!

(Side note: Don’t get it wrong, this doesn’t mean point out every single thing you deem is a problem, because that actually becomes based on your own opinion.
There’s also this whole thing about the appropriateness of certain things being dealt with by you and whether you have a relationship with that person or not, but this is where you pray and ask God to show you clearly, if you should be the one to speak to them, and how).

Many of us, in various situations are beginning to take the word of God that says ‘do not judge’ out of context, and we have twisted it to a point where we are no longer comfortable with saying anything about anything – just to be safe…

We all know when something is point blank, obviously wrong, and the bible is telling us to point this out. Why? Because we have a duty to help that person realise that it isn’t something that edifies the name of God.
In doing so, we help them to walk in the light, and turn away from what could lead them downhill.

Let’s rid ourselves of the attitude that turns a blind eye, because ‘it’s not me so it doesn’t concern me’, or the attitude that says, ‘let them do them, and let me stay in my lane’.
The bible says that heaven rejoices over a sinner who repents (Luke 15:7, 10), therefore this should tell us how important it is to correct one another appropriately, and bring each other away from sin.
Friends, let us realise that we have a responsibility to ensure the correct functioning and uprightness of the body of Christ at all times.
We therefore have to pluck up the courage to follow the prodding of the Holy Spirit when He is telling us to call our brother or sister aside to put them right. As mentioned in the side note, ask God if you’re the right person for the task, and then ask Him what to say, and how to say it, but please make sure you do it.

 

Number TWO: We can expect; if we are the ones doing something wrong; to be told that what we are doing is wrong! – We can expect to be corrected.
Though we are striving for it, not one of us is perfect and therefore not one of us is above correction.
So, if this word of God says that your brother or sister ought to point out your fault, then friend you need to have a humble heart to receive that word from them.
Don’t be stand-off-ish, and don’t have the attitude that no-one has a right to tell you of your faults. Rather, open your heart and ears, seek the right advice and direction, and be ‘won over’, as the bible describes is the goal of this in the first place.

“Listen to advice and accept discipline,
    and at the end you will be counted among the wise.”
[Proverbs 19:20]

“If you listen to constructive criticism,
    you will be at home among the wise.

If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself;
    but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.”
[Proverbs 15:31-32]

 

These two passages from Proverbs teach us both as a corrector, and receiver of correction, that it must be done in a constructive manner, and that an end result, is growth in wisdom and understanding. Therefore, let us not despise the love that comes from a brother or sister telling us when we are doing something wrong.

The bottom line is this; none of us would know what is and isn’t wrong, if we aren’t somehow informed, therefore in love, with compassion, and with a genuine heart to propel the gospel, let us do what the word of God instructs us to do – let us help one another, up, and away from sin.
Let us provide light and wisdom for one another, and let us enhance each other’s walk by speaking when we need to speak, following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

 

 

Romans 12:12

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“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”.
[Romans 12:12]

New Week?

We’re gonna ‘Romans 12:12’ our way through it!

Step 1: Say to yourself; ‘I will be joyful in hope!’

To hope is to have a feeling of expectation and great desire for a particular thing to happen.
To hope is also to trust.

Friends, to be able to hope is amazing, but because of how bleak things look now, some of us feel like there’s no point….
I’ll tell you, hope is beautiful and it keeps us going, because it means we aren’t giving up, and we trust for a better tomorrow.

Say, believe, and mean these things:

In this new week, I will sit confidently with happiness that greater is coming.

I will express my great pleasure in the fact that I know, it is not over concerning whatever situation I am praying about.

I will be joyful in the hope that never dies as long as I have Christ Jesus.

I will be joyful in the hope I have in the fact that as long as I am living, there is still a chance, there is still a possibility, and God will surely make a way.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
[Romans 15:13]

 

Step 2: Say to yourself; ‘I will be patient in affliction!’

Now this prayer takes maturity and true trust in God.
I say this because a lot of the time, we want it ‘now’ – We pray today and we want the ‘yes’ tomorrow (or even that same day!)

Let’s learn to endure our times of pain, and look to God in hope and faith, trusting that He knows what He has purposed it for, and that we will come out refined.

Say, believe, and mean these things:

I will be patient in affliction and I will learn the lesson that it brings.

I will be patient in affliction and trust God regardless of what anyone says – I will listen to His directions, obey His instructions and hold on to His promises.

I will be patient in affliction and turn to no alternative false solutions – I will wait on God.

“But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”
[Isaiah 40:31]

 

Step 3: Say to yourself; ‘I will be faithful in prayer!’

Some of us become consumed by a situation and stop praying.
Some of us don’t remember God when everything is rosy…

Today, we’re changing our attitude to prayer…

Say, believe, and mean these things:

I will pray without ceasing – 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

I’ll keep thanking God.

I’ll keep speaking to God.

I’ll keep up a constant conversation with Him because it’s in Him alone that I rest, and put my trust – (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I’ll keep consulting Him before my every move, because I know He knows best and has my best interests at heart – (Jeremiah 29:11).

 

So friends, here it is again…

Romans 12:12

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”.

 

Let’s read it, take it in, believe it, and declare it;

We will be Joyful in every Hope we have in Christ,

We will be Patient in Affliction because we serve a Living and Loyal God that won’t leave us hanging,

We will be Faithful in Prayer – because why wouldn’t we want to speak to our Amazing Father daily?

 

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

Be An Example

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Let’s read;

“And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us.”
[Titus 2:7-8]

‘Be an Example’…

That’s God’s simple message to us with this passage. (Also read all of Titus 2).
Every now and then, we can get caught up in our own desires and therefore find ourselves living for our own pleasure.
This can mean that certain actions and decisions we make, may fall out of God’s will.
Today God is reminding you to Be an Example.
Be someone who not just speaks the gospel, but exudes it.
Be someone who the word of God isn’t just words to, but the word of God is life, and it’s apparent in your life.
The bible teaches us to not just be hearers of the word, but also doers of the word of God (James 1:22).
Be someone who will read it, digest and make personal meaning of it, and then LIVE it.
God wants you to redirect your plans and thoughts towards Him, and return to living your life for Him, in order for you to live a wholesome life, but also for you to encourage and inspire those watching…
We must never forget that people are watching – whether it’s to criticise us, or actually to learn from, and emulate us, people are, and always be watching.
Therefore, do the body and name of Christ justice, by living out the word of God genuinely…
The verse says ‘Let everything reflect integrity and seriousness of your teaching’.
As disciples of Christ, one of our biggest roles is to spread the gospel and share the word.
But how many of us can truly say our actions match our words?
We all know that it’s one thing to say something, but it’s a whole new level to actually display it with what we do.
Therefore this verse is encouraging us to be real to the word of God and truly be convicted by it.
This means not just doing things for the sake of it, but actually appreciating and believing in what we read, and being transformed by it, to a point where it is evident in our behaviour and mannerisms.
I’ll end by saying this;
Don’t feel pressured or overwhelmed by the responsibility to be a Light to the world (Matthew 5:14), but just ask for His All-Sufficient Grace to enable you, and to keep your Light shining brightly all the days of your life.
Remember that our greatest commandments are to Love God and Love people (Matthew 22:36-40), therefore this means if we are led by Love in all we do, doing the right thing, and living the right way won’t be as difficult as we may anticpate.
Be an Example;
A Gorgeous, Fun, Unique One!
Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Beliveing,
God Bless you.