Category: Sunday’s Shaper

Take it to Jesus

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Today I’ll tell you why Jesus is the best person to consult, lean on, seek advice from, and rest in confidently, whenever you’re going through ‘it’.

Let’s read;

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin.”
[Hebrews 4:15]

It’s quite natural to feel a bit more confident to seek and follow advice if the person giving it has been through that thing before.

I’m sure many of us find greater comfort in consulting someone who has past experience, or appropriate knowledge about our current situation, than in someone who doesn’t.

So look at Jesus…

Though a Prince, He didn’t live in a palace whilst He was on earth.
Yes He was and is Divine, but the bible tells us that He came to suffer and serve (Matthew 20:28), and live just like one of us.
He endured the same things that we would, took on the heavy burden of sins that He had nothing to do with, but here’s why He did it – because through His physical ‘living out’ of various things, He taught us how to live;
Through His dying and rising, He conquered every problem, temptation, issue, situation and circumstance that would ever face us.

So, tell me, who do you think you should take your issues to?
Who do you think will be well-informed, and greatly knowledgeable to advise you correctly about how you should deal with x, y, and z?

J E S U S  has not only made Himself available to us as a teacher, but He’s also a Best Friend.
He’s dependable and constant, and to top it all off, He has wisdom above all of mankind.
Therefore His advice and direction supersedes anything anyone else could ever say.

Now of course, God speaks through men and women in our lives.
He’ll speak through our family, friends, pastors, etc., however what I want us to take from today is the importance of making Jesus our ultimate source of this advice.

When we take our questions to Him, when we take our confusion about how to move next, to Him, then He will surely give us peace to openly receive and follow the words of direction given by the people mentioned above.
In fact if He doesn’t speak directly to us Himself, then it’ll be Him that will direct us to go and talk to whomever, and He will inspire the words they speak to us.

Taking it to Jesus isn’t something I’m assuming is correct, but actually the bible even tells us to ‘approach the throne of grace’ in our time of need;

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
[Hebrews 4:16]

When we do this, we’ll find the answer, the guidance and the solution that we require.

Now have a look at this;

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
[1 John 5:1-5]

This passage is a reassurance of the victory we have in Jesus. So why wouldn’t we trust and run to Him?
It does also however remind us of the fact that we must have faith, and we must truly believe in Jesus.
So putting both these passages together; Hebrews 4:15-16 and 1 John 5:1-5 – here’s what I can tell you confidently;

There is Nothing; no temptation, no trial, and no sort of disappointment that can ever consume you, and there is no issue, no circumstance, and no problem that is too big for you to overcome and triumph over!
Friend, when Jesus is your King, and you have been reborn in Him, winning is embedded in your new nature!

Please always hold on to that.

Before we go, I want us to look at one really important part of the Hebrews verse;

It says that Jesus is able to empathise with us!

This tells me therefore, that Jesus really really gets it.
He has literally ‘been there before’, and so there couldn’t be a better person who fully understands what we’re going through.
This tells me that Jesus will not judge you for crying when you’re in that situation.
He won’t look at you like you’re crazy, when you express the fact that you’re upset and you’re broken.
He won’t look down on you for being tempted or desiring what you shouldn’t.

Rather, Jesus will comfort you and let you know that He feels what you feel.
He’ll hold you tight and remind you of the fact that He overcame that very situation, and so by His strength, and by the Power in His name, you most definitely will too!

No matter what it is;
Take it to Jesus; a Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God. (Isaiah 9:6)

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

 

‘Nothing can catch You by Surprise’

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‘He knows the end from the beginning…’

We’ve heard this being said quite a few times about God, right?

Well, it’s no lie.
Have a look for yourself at where this line is found in the bible;

Isaiah 46:10

“declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
    and I will accomplish all my purpose,’”
English Standard Version 

“From the beginning I predicted the outcome;
    long ago I foretold what would happen.
I said that my plans would never fail,
    that I would do everything I intended to do.”
Good News Translation 

“I tell from the beginning what will happen in the end.
And from times long ago I tell of things which have not been done, saying,
‘My Word will stand. And I will do all that pleases Me.’”
New Life Version 

“Only I can tell you the future
    before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
    for I do whatever I wish.”
New Living Translation 

God tells us Himself of His own authority and ability – He knows what lies ahead of us, because He created the plan for it…

There’s a song called ‘Made a Way’, by a man named Travis Greene.
In that song, the title of today’s post is found;
He sings, ‘Nothing can catch You by Surprise’, and when he sings this, he’s singing it unto God.

Now how many of us truly believe that God is an All-knowing and Intentional God?

There isn’t a thing that happens to us that God doesn’t know about, neither is there a thing that He ‘accidentally missed out on’, or ‘let slip past Him’, about us, or the circumstances of our lives.

So in that case I guess, yes, we can all agree that He knows everything, but I want to draw our attention particularly to the fact that I also said He’s Intentional.
He has a  P U R P O S E  for everything that happens in our lives and so He is never ‘caught off guard’ or ‘taken aback’ – He is always aware of what’s going on…

As the author of our story, He already knows what happens in the next chapter, and the best thing about this isn’t only that He knows ‘the what’, but He also knows ‘the why’…

He knows why things need to happen to us,
He knows why we encounter people and issues,
And He surely knows how we’re going to evolve from it!

Therefore whatever stage we find ourselves at in life, what should we do?

Friend, Let us yield to the Will of God.
Let us make the active decision to say,
‘God have Your way,
Let Your will be done,
And let my story bring You glory.’

Having confidence in a God who perfectly wrote out your life before He even made you to live in it, you should trust Him and just enjoy the journey of fulfilling His purpose for you.

Though it can be daunting to consider the fact that God can do ABSOLUTELY whatever He wants with us, we can be comforted by the fact that He isn’t an abusive God, neither is He a bully (Jeremiah 29:11 says He has GOOD intentions for us).
So in entrusting Him with our lives, and living for Him, we can be confident that regardless of how deep and dark situations may get, He will always make a way, and we will surely see His perfect hand in everything.

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

 

The Battle of Change

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We all want to be better in one way or another… Right?

Well one thing is for sure,
The change in yourself that you want to see, and that you know you need, begins with You and ends with You.

It begins with you because you have to make the decision to make the changes that you want to see.
It ends with you because you, again, have to make the decision to remain committed to maintaining the changes that you have made, in order for them to become a permanent part of your life.

So, it begins and ends with you… But then there’s this part in-between.

The people in your life, and their perception, acceptance and supportiveness towards the change.

So to first clear things up, I agree with you! We live to please God and not man, therefore the issue of whether people want to accept or believe in our change or not, shouldn’t really matter.
But the truth is that for some (if not all) of us, ‘the people’ will have a massive effect on the longevity of the change.

So let’s discuss that, because on this journey to a ‘better us’, we will encounter a variety of people… Here are 4 categories…

1 – People who will ridicule the fact that you even want to change in the first place;
‘You?! You’ll never change, you’ll always be…’
They’ll chuckle at the fact that you could dare to think that you would ever get out of whatever cycle you’re in.
They’ll write you off and deem your change as impossible, and that will be all that matters to them.
They’ll continue to invite you to old places, to do old things and some will simply mock/disrespect your decisions to avoid certain things.
They will have no regard for your change at all.

Friend, though painful in some instances, you will need to separate yourself from these people.
They have the potential to cause severe damage to your journey, especially during the early season when the change is fresh, therefore you have to be bold, and break the link, or distance yourself, in order to make the first set of moves forward – in the right direction.

2 – People who will despise your change and never get past the old you;
Most of the people described above will also fall into this category.
But others will actually start off here, because they won’t dispute the fact that you could desire a change, however, mentally they can never get past the you they used to know.
These people will actually begin to see the difference, but will take every opportunity to remind you of where you’re coming from.
They’ll sometimes speak ill of you to others who become impressed by your new nature, and will make references to who you used to be, as ‘the real you‘.

Now friend you mustn’t take their lie as your truth. Unfortunately they’ll fail to grasp the fact that the old you died with Christ, and by His grace and resurrection, you have every right to live anew and be a new creation. (Romans 6:5-7)
That – is your truth – you are entitled and allowed to be a new creation in Christ. And the new creation, shall be the real you forever (in Jesus’ name, Amen).

3 – People who will lose faith in you if you fall;
They didn’t knock the fact that you wanted to rise and be better, but they’re easily discouraged and will lose faith in your journey if at all you slip up or fall back.
Though they care enough to have believed in you at the start, they kind of slide into a watered down version of the second category of people.
Your ‘mistake’ plants an element of doubt in them and they struggle from then onwards to take your change seriously or give you another chance.
Now I’m not repeating myself by introducing these people – I want you to know that it is extremely important for you not to exhaust your energy trying to win them back; win their trust back, win their belief back.

The bible says ‘by their fruits, you shall know them’ – Matthew 7:16-20.
What does this mean for you in this context?
It means that your effort and hard work ought to go into making sure you get back on the road to the new you, not into tirelessly trying to prove yourself.
It means that you should focus on tapping into the grace of God which will enable you to walk right, and walk consistently in your desired new path.
It means that you trust that gradually, they’ll see the fruits of someone who truly wants to change, improve, and be better. And so some of them after seeing the fruits of your effort, will become part of your support system, and will later fully believe in you.

Notice that you aren’t initially disregarding their feelings, and saying ‘whatever man’, but you simply realise that their doubt, and continuous reference back to the fact that ‘you fell backwards that time‘, could become a hinderance to your confidence and belief, in yourself and in the the fact that this change is truly possible at all.

4 – People who will encourage you, and want to see the change as much as (or even more sometimes) than you do;
These people will support you.
They want to see you win in, and with your change.
They’ll understand the ‘why‘ of your decision to improve yourself, and they’ll remind you of this even when you want to stop caring about it all.
They’ll already see a greater potential for you with the change, and so their minds are ready to correctly perceive and accept you through every stage of the process.
The next line may be obvious but it’s the simple truth –
You’ve got to surround yourself with these people… Keep them close.
They will serve as mentors, advisors, cheerer-uppers, picker-uppers and so many more things that will add salt, light and favour to your journey by the grace of God. These are the people sent by God to enable the perfect manifestation of your change.
These are the people God sends to ensure that you TRIUMPH over the Battle of Change.

So before we go, let us note a few more key things…

Good Change is Amazing; we can gather from Romans 6:1-4 that it is important for us, and pleasing to God, for us to put things right when we see that they aren’t, and therefore ‘walk in newness of life‘!
So I want you to definitely Embrace your Change.
Without a doubt, the people around us do play a massive part in the outcome of our change, but we must Always stay Determined to do what we set out to do!

Here’s my prayer for you;

I pray that God will open the eyes of your understanding, to see the things in your life that need to turn to Christ.
I pray that the courage required to take the first step to change, God will grant onto you.
I pray that every person that will lead to you being discouraged, and every attitude that will be detrimental to your journey, God will give you the discerning spirit to notice them and therefore walk away from them. Where applicable, He Himself will remove them!
I pray that God will bless your path with the people who will motivate, encourage, bless, uplift and assist you in your change.
I pray that once transformed, you will not become judgmental towards those struggling in areas similar to your past, but rather your journey will then become a testimony and a strength which you use to bring more people to a new life in Christ, by the Grace of God.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen

As God is for you, no one can succeed in being against you! (Romans 8:31)
So Believe in your Change, and Keep Going!

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

Saving Daily…

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Your worst day is your best day, really.

The bible tells me that all things work together for the good of you who loves the Lord God…

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are the called according to His purpose.” 
[Romans 8:28]

Let’s explore that today.

So sometimes we can have what we call ‘a really rubbish day‘…

We find ourselves experiencing multiple unfortunate circumstances and we wonder
‘What on earth is going on?!’

The kind of days I’m talking about are the ones where:
You missed your train/bus,
Your car broke down,
You waited longer for your lunch because they got the order wrong the first time,
You got to work/school/university late,
You found out you forgot something really important at home
And so on and so on….

On days like these, with so many things happening ‘not in our favour’, we really feel as though someone is out to get us.
We feel victimised and ask ‘Is it only me?’
Some of us even wonder where God is; questioning His presence in the midst of everything that happened…

The answer is, He was right there.
Yes friend, on that ‘terrible’ day, God was right there with you at each moment, proving Himself to be an Immortal God, and saving you from more things than you know.

We must understand that the presence of God never leaves us. 

Deuteronomy 31:6-8
Genesis 28:15
Exodus 13:21
Exodus 33:14

The word of God tells us that God Himself goes before us. (How amazing?!!)
Therefore when God sees things that could possibly harm us, He removes/blocks/diverts them; sometimes without us noticing anything at all, but other times by causing something to happen in our lives that will strike us as being unusual, or simply not part of our routine/schedule/plan for that day.

We must undertsand that the Blood of the Lamb – Jesus, covers us daily and therefore what we see as an annoying delay/setback/diversion, is actually the protection of our Saviour .

So would you believe me if I said there wasn’t a single thing that happened to you on that ‘horrible’ day, that God didn’t know about?
Could you possibly accept now that your lateness, your broken down car/missed train, the wrong lunch order and everything else that happened; God purposed it for your benefit?
God was saving you from something that you couldn’t see…

The point of this message isn’t for me to act as God and give you explanations of why He did certain things on different days of your life, but I just want us to be a bit more grateful…

Grateful for His Faithfulness, Grace, Mercy, Love, Kindness and Loyalty to His word.

I want this message to cause us to be mindful of the fact that these so-called ‘bad days’ are actually the ones we ought to give God extra thanks for.
Why?
Because despite the fact that we felt like we took many losses, the truth is God caused us to Win.
God gave us victory over multiple small arrows that were sent to destroy and harm us, and caused us to rise above them and overcome – because He loves us and knows that we love Him…

So friend, when we have these days filled with what we deem as negativitiy and misfortune, let’s flip it around and see the positive!
Let’s flip it around and see a God who is taking every opportunity to save, protect, guide, cover, nurture and ultimately  L O V E  us.

Let us never forget that we are covered;
By God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, every day of our lives, and they are paying close attention to us, every step of the way, making sure we’re okay (put very simply).

 

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

Make Room…

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Let’s read,

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
[John 14:13-14]

“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
[Matthew 21:22]

“And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
[Mark 11:22-24]

  1. Have faith in God
  2. Don’t doubt in your heart
  3. Believe that you have received it…

The bible doesn’t just say things for decoration.

I need you to look at this word and understand what it’s telling you.

Firstly we need to have faith that truly, God is an awesome God.
He’s a God who does great and mighty and glorious things, a God who works wonders (Psalm 77:14).

Now when we pray, the next thing is to have no doubt that God can and will do what we have asked for, (even better than what we ask for).
We ought to pray, and rest in the knowledge that our prayers are in the hands of a God whose word is ‘Yes and Amen’ (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Finally, Jesus tells us to  B E L I E V E  that we have received what we asked for.

Now that’s why we’re here today…
I want to know how you believe.
I want to see how you believe.

Today, the focus on this verse isn’t the doubt, or the ‘have faith’.
Today God is saying, ‘Prepare for what you are praying for‘.

God is saying, ‘You’ve asked me, I’ve heard you, but there’s no space, no opening, no opportunity for Me to manifest this great big thing that I have for you, my love…’

So friend, it’s time to get up!

Once you’ve prayed, I need you to not sit on that prayer, but rather,  A C T  on it!

Some of us have asked for a new car and haven’t made enquiries about a) How to sell the old one, or b) Where to get the new one from.

We ask for a new job or a job promotion but we aren’t feeding ourselves with the knowledge and understanding that the role requires in order for us to fulfil it well.

‘Oh but I’m waiting till I get the answer to the prayer first then I’ll…’
No, no, no God doesn’t want you to wait until you get there, He wants you to prepare in advance!

I understand that it can be daunting to do this, because we don’t want to give ourselves a false hope and then be disappointed, however God is a faithful God and He won’t put your faith to shame.
Be confident to begin walking as someone who knows they already have what they ask for, and in doing so, understand that your preparation does some important things…

It creates space – the first verse we read says ‘Whatever you ask, I will do’, that means your prayer is already answered before you see it/know it.
But your preparation is what ushers it in; it creates the necessary space required for it to manifest in your life, and occupy its, let’s say, ‘plot of land’ in your life.

It shows God you mean business and you’re ready when He is, to receive that which you have asked for.
It shows Him that you understand the difference between being granted something, and actually receiving it.
Him granting the request is good, because that means it’s yours, but only when you stretch out your hands to receive it (through your preparation), are you able to grab hold of it, use and implement it in your life.

It gets you ready… Properly.
In the midst of your preparation, God will teach you things, speak to you, and show you things that are important for you to know how best to maximise what He gives you.
Your preparation allows God to move you into the right head space; appropriate for that thing/those things.

Today,
I need you to Move. Be Active. Make Room; for the baby, the car, the university admission, the job, the house, the husband/wife, the ministry, the business, the this, the that and the other, because,
God has it ready for you, but He’s saying ‘Show me you’re ready to take it!‘

And remember, as you prepare in faith, that faith won’t be put to shame.

 

 

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

 

I Forgive You…

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You’ve been hurt.
Like, really hurt by someone, and to be honest, you’re struggling to get past it…

Today I want us to look at the importance of Forgiveness.

So first, let’s talk real talk…

When we’ve been hurt, naturally we don’t want to talk to that person, we don’t want to help them, and to be honest, sometimes it can go as far as us not wanting anything to do with them.
It’s the instinct of our flesh to hold a grudge, resent them, and possibly even seek a way to inflict pain on them, just so ‘they know how it feels’.

Most times, the memory of the scene or the words that caused the hurt, replays over and over in our minds, again and again, and for many of us it becomes something that occupies so much space in not just our minds, but our entire lives.
For others, actually we can do quite well ‘moving on’ and getting on with life without them in it, but failure to truly release that person and deal with our negative emotions towards them means that we still carry the hurt around with us and it only takes a mention of their name, or an unexpected encounter with them face to face, for all those emotions to come rushing back from wherever they were hiding.

Bitterness. Anger. Pain. Disappointment.
When we dwell on these emotions (and more) for so long, we find that we become consumed by them.
We become a different person; a negative person; a pessimistic person; someone who lacks trust in others because ‘all they’re going to do is just hurt us again like the previous person did!’

Shall we B R E A T H E…
Just for a second…

And remember one of the most cliché but important Truths of life;

God is Good.

And if God is good, it means His intentions for you are good, and nowhere in His plan did He write for you to be stuck in a rut, unable to forgive Jason because of what he did to you either last week, or 5 years ago.

God has enabled you to forgive others, and He holds your practise of forgiveness with great importance.

We ought to realise a few things about forgiveness:

  1. Forgiveness of others is a requirement for us to be able to receive forgiveness from God.
    As people who try not to, but still sin daily, the last thing we would ever want is for God to withdraw His forgiveness from us! But Jesus tells us plain and clear that if we fail to forgive our brothers and sisters truly from our hearts, we ourselves, will not receive forgiveness from God! (Matthew 18:21-35)
    Also read Matthew 6:12 and Mark 11:25.
  2. Forgiveness allows us to show a piece of Jesus to the person who wronged us.
    In many verses (you can check out Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:13)  we see that it says, ‘As the Lord forgave you…’
    When we forgive others, we actually show them a love that God, through Jesus Christ, showed us.
    We show them a love that says ‘I love you despite your wrongs’, and as humans, we need that love daily, because we sin and fall daily. The bible even tells us to make allowance for one another’s faults in the Colossians verse above.
    No, this doesn’t give them a pass to hurt us over and over again just because they know we’ll forgive them over and over again as Jesus instructs in Matthew 18, but actually, this love and this mercy we are able to show them could actually help them to also heal from any possible guilt that could be consuming them.
    The strength it takes to forgive, is definitely one that comes from God, so not only can your forgiveness encourage the individual to practise the same towards others in the future, but it can also point them to God to draw strength from Him too for whatever reason.
  3. Forgiveness liberates you.
    You don’t have to worry about how harsh you have to be to prove your anger, you don’t have to concentrate on making sure this person knows you don’t like them, you don’t have the bitterness eating away at you bit by bit, and you don’t have that strain on your heart from holding the grudge. Yes friend, Forgiveness provides spiritual, mental and physical freedom.
    When you forgive, you free yourself and you allow yourself to receive such a massive part of your own healing, because you have let go of the hurt, and left it unto God, who will deal with it perfectly, as well as continue to heal every one of your wounds.
  4. Forgiveness is an instruction.
    We see it spoken of so much in the bible, that it is clear that we have to learn to forgive, and do so genuinely.

So with that said, go before and ask Him to strengthen your ability to forgive.

Ask Him to give you a heart that can let go of wrongs, let go of sour memories of hurt, and let go of all bitterness, so that you can heal and move forward.

Your right to be upset should never be questioned, nor belittled, however let us always hold on to the fact that God wants us to walk amicably with one another, and therefore we ought to forgive each grievance, ‘Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice’, and never get tired of forgiving.

Though sometimes painful itself, Forgiveness definitely is a beautiful thing.

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

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

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Let’s read:

“I praise you,
For I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” 
[Psalm 139:14]

Alright, three areas:

  1. Appreciating the Most High
  2. Understanding our Beauty and its extent
  3. Believing in God’s work.

Part 1: Appreciating the Most High

I love the fact that the first part of this verse says ‘I Praise You‘!
It urges us to exalt and thank God for creating us, and show our gratitude for His continued grace upon our lives.

Being the first part of this verse, this act of praise unto God serves as a template for how we ought to acknowledge His hand in our lives at all times.
When we embrace the goodness within us, and when others acknowledge it too, we ought to first say “I praise You Lord…”
In doing so, we are giving God the credit He deserves as our Maker; who formed us intricately in the womb and knit all things together in perfection (Psalm 139:13).
We are reminding ourselves each time of our source and our foundation, and also reminding others of this too, whilst hopefully encouraging them to either a) Start to do the same, or b) Desire to know this God you speak of.

We can use this concept of worshipping and honouring as a guide throughout everything in life, to remember that ‘Before me, it’s You (God), because You are Great and Worthy’.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they existed and were created.”
 [Revelation 4:11]

Part 2: Understanding our Beauty and its extent

Having an understanding of our Beauty involves us realising that we are, as the verse says, ‘Fearfully and Wonderfully made‘.
Which means, God designed our entire being with accuracy and precision and we ought to Love every single bit of us!
Every intricate detail about you was an intentional brush stroke made by God, therefore you should take pride in you and be confident in who you are.
Always wear the true you.

You must understand that your beauty extends far greater than what you can physically see when you look in the mirror.
Yes your exterior is beautiful,
But what lies within you is extremely imporant and in fact is amazing.

The word of God teaches this particular aspect of internal beauty in the context of wives winning the souls of their husbands for Christ in 1 Peter 3, but we can all (men and women) benefit from understanding the importance of a beautiful heart and spirit in the eyes of God;

“You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within,
the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”
[1 Peter 3:4]

Now let’s look at these words;
Fearfully made, says God took His time, paid close attention, and thoughtfully crafted us into unique individuals.

Wonderfully made, says God very smartly and wisely designed the complexity of our physical human bodies, our minds, and everything else about us, in a way that is unimaginably great.

He designed everything in a way that it all works together to allow us to be the best we can be in fulfilling our purpose!
So let this part of the verse be a reminder of the truth…
When people call us names, or try to belittle our ability, or make fun of what we own or have achieved, we can ignore and rise above their negativity because we know that we are a fearfully, thoughtfully, intricately, excellently and wonderfully crafted Masterpiece of the Almighty God.

Part 3: Believing in God’s work.

This area of the verse acknowledges the quality of God’s work.
Our souls should know and believe very well that the work of God is magnificent and perfect;

“The Rock, His work is perfect,
    for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
    just and upright is he.”
[Deuteronomy 32:4]

This word serves an assurance of the fact that as God’s creation, we weren’t just made by Him throwing random pieces together in a rush, neither were we formed from cheap materials.
The Lord God – the Perfect God, used the very best resources and skills to make us.

Now I know that some of us will struggle to believe all this, because you can’t see past the apparent flaws that you’ve critically highlighted from within yourself.
But friend, please be encouraged that we all are a work-in-progress, and though already wonderfully made, God is also continuously working on us each day, to make us even better than we were yesterday.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you,
will continue his work until it is finally finished
on the day when Christ Jesus returns”
[Philippians 1:6]

“For God is working in you,
giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
[Philippians 2:13]

Does this mean then that His work actually isn’t perfect, and He in fact didn’t plan as intricately as He could have, if He has to improve us so much?

Well, the answer is no.

The bible tells us that God has made everything, but for an appointed time, and as humans we do not necessarily know the timing.

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.
He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so,
people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” 
[Ecclesiastes 3:11]

What this means, is that God has already sown each seed into you, but it will bear its fruits at the appropriate time.
And why does He do this?
Because we are made for the pleasure and will of God (Revelation 4:11 again haha [the second half particularly]), and for the glory of His name (Isaiah 43:7).

Each of our stories have been written, and it includes our purpose, as well as how we evolve and improve throughout our lifetime on earth, therefore we should stop dwelling on these ‘flaws’ and simply trust in the perfect work of God, and focus on walking closely with He who will transform them into strengths.

Now just one question; I’ve told you you’re beautiful, I’ve explained that you’ve been fearfully and wonderfully made by God, but Do you believe me? 

Friend, I can tell you 1 million times that you are beautiful, and that you are a carefully crafted product of God’s perfect work – it means nothing if you do not believe it yourself.

I urge us all to always believe in our beauty, and believe we are truly special.
If we struggle with this, let us remember to 1) Read the proof (these bibles verses and others) over and over again, and 2) Ask God daily to help us to truly see and believe that we are beautiful, and help us to be confident in our beauty, both in, and out.

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

I Am What I Am!

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I shared a shorter version of this message earlier this year, before the website was up and running, but I was recently watching a sermon online by a Pastor Touré Roberts (link at the bottom) and it reminded me of the importance of pushing this word out there again, and expanding on it a bit further.
This message is a mixture of addressing what true humility is, and being bold enough to say I am capable, I am qualified, I can do this…

So I’ll start by asking, What is Humility?
Some definitions say it is the quality of having a modest view of one’s importance; the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people. 

The bible says;

“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
[Luke 14:11]

This verse shows us the importance of humility and the fact therefore that it is a trait we ought to pursue and desire to have, but let us understand something –
Humbling yourself doesn’t mean to rubbish yourself, or speak/think ill things towards yourself.
Humility is having an accurate understanding of who you are, and what you are capable of – that is, an opinion/belief of you, neither higher or lower than what it truly should be. 

Humility doesn’t encourage you to exhibit low self-esteem, or put yourself down, but rather, true humility is being able to embrace your abilities, achievements and successes whilst understanding that there is no need to flaunt it in everyone’s face, nor brag and boast about it.

The difference between the humble and the proud is that pride will cause an individual to deem themselves as more important than their neighbour because of their wealth/achievements/status etc. Whilst humility causes one to express equal respect and love to every and any person, regardless of these things.
Again, because a man is aware that it is ‘by God’s grace’, he doesn’t walk around as though he amasses all the goodness by his own power, but rather, embraces it, and uses it to bless and uplift others! 

Do you believe me when I say you can be humble, yet confident in who you are, what you are, what you can do, and how well you can do it?!
And trust me when I say that all this can exist without the arrogance that many of us are very cautiously running away from.
How? Because you understand that your abilities and your identity comes not from yourself, but from a greater source – the Grace of God. 

In the bible Paul writes this perfectly, he says; 

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
[1 Corinthians 15:10]

Paul recognises that he is who he is, and what he is, and how he is, simply by the grace of God.
He knows that his form; his past and his present, have worked together by the grace of God to produce his character in the now…
Not only does he know where his identity and ability comes from, but he knows better than to downplay his work, ability or efforts. No, Paul boldly says “I worked harder than everyone else, but again, I’m not saying that I did this by myself, I’m saying that I was enabled by the grace that God bestowed upon me”.

Today I’m encouraging you to follow from Paul’s example – you have no business in downplaying the light of God in you – no business at all I tell you. In fact it’s insulting to God!

Many times, we fail to step forward and share the fact that we can do something, or we sit silently in the background when there’s a service required, that we could very well provide.
Why? Because we fear that people will say we think too much of ourselves by stepping up to the challenge and taking on the well-suited role for ourselves.
But there couldn’t be anything more wrong!

Before you take that step back because of man, have you thought about what you’re telling God by doing so?

‘God I know You equipped me to do this, but what people think of me is more important than Your will and purpose for me, so let’s leave that on the back burner for now…’

Oh you didn’t think of it that way, right?
Oh it’s not that serious, right?

Friend it is that serious!

Not only do we deprive our environment of the fruit which they are meant to enjoy from the seed that is within us, but we also deprive the Almighty God from receiving glory from the work He wants to do through us!

It is in our knowing who we are and what we can do, that God will present us with opportunities for us to progress and excel.
We cannot (for the sake of ‘humility’) keep withdrawing ourselves from things that God has called us to do!
Therefore let us realise the importance of being able to declare that ‘I am what I am, by the grace of God’, and so be able to confidently say;

“I most definitely am skilled, and gifted, and qualified to do A, B and C, because God enables me.
In fact I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13), so please feel free, sir/madam, to send that task or responsibility my way, because I know I won’t mess it up!
God has equipped me to do it, and do it well!”

You are not being arrogant, you are not being cocky, but you are simply walking in your destiny; declaring and displaying the glory of God within you.
You will see that actually, your courage and confidence will speak out and inspire someone who is battling with insecurities. Because your energy will draw them onto you, and then open up the opportunity for you to share where your strength comes from!

Let us be confident in the grace God has given us, no we are not better than the next man, but we also are not worse!
His grace makes us able, and makes us excellent in our lane, excellent in our field, excellent in whatever He has called us to do, and we should never be ashamed to boldly embrace that!

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

*Click here for the sermon by Pastor Touré Roberts of One Church LA*

My Gift; My Service

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Let’s read:

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.  If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
[1 Peter 4:10-11] 

Okay, so let’s pick this apart a bit.
A few things stood out to me when reading this;
Gift
Service
God.

Gift

So a gift (according to the Oxford dictionary definition) is;

  1. a thing given willingly to someone without payment,
  2. a natural ability or talent.

God has willingly given each of us a gift (or even multiple gifts [plural]), without us paying a single penny for it, and He graciously and carefully designed these gifts when He was creating us, therefore we find that they are things we naturally flourish in and are talented in.

Now look at this, though many of us may have a gift that seems the same on the outside e.g. the ability to sing/dance/draw etc. – it is still a very different and unique gift that God gave to YOU for a reason!
So I guess that’s the first thing we should address – we should never see our gifts as something un-special, or common, or something that someone else can easily do!
We have to realise that in being fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), God has knitted us together purposefully, knowing exactly what qualities and abilities He has put in us that will complement our gift in order to make it Different and Great!
No one will ever use your gift like you can, and for that reason I need you to know and believe that it is Special, Unique, and most importantly NEEDED!

Service 

Your Gifts Birth your Service on this earth.
And as mentioned above, friend, the service that your gift brings, is Needed.

“…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
[Matthew 20:28]

One of Jesus’ names is ‘The Son Of Man’, it describes the fact that Jesus came to earth to serve, therefore in being like Christ, service to others is a major part of our lives!
It is therefore very important for us to truly tap into the talent that we have, no matter what it is.
The only way we can truly thrive on this earth, and be ‘in our element’, and fulfil the purpose of God for our lives, is by using our God-given gifts and using them well!
The bible tells us that we ought to be ‘stewards of God’s grace, in its various forms’ – so this says two things;
1 – That our service is important because we represent God in our communities and in whatever we are doing.
2 – That God’s grace can be displayed in ‘various forms’, therefore we must appreciate that we each have something different, and something authentic to offer with our gifts.

You see, many of us bury the talent or the skills we have because we feel like the field is already occupied or overpopulated!
But this is definitely the wrong idea, if we read Matthew 25:14-30, we see that the servant who buried his talent ended up losing it, because he displayed an irresponsible and ungrateful attitude!
None of us want to lose what God has given us.
So stop thinking about others, be thankful for the gift He has graced you with, and step forth with your gift and begin to serve with it.

If you sing, you better do re mi away.
If you’re a poet, please word play till kingdom come!
If you’re a make-up artist, friend you better decorate those faces like your life depends on it!

Pardon my dramatic sentences, but I just want us to appreciate how important it is for us to NOT be afraid, and NOT compare ourselves to others, and just go for it, because the world needs what we have inside of us.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” 
[Matthew 5:14-16]

God 

Let us thank Him everyday for our gift and ask Him to refresh and revive it and increase our anointing in Jesus’ name!

The verse we read at the beginning talks about ‘the strength God provides’ and this is one of the most important things to remember.
Our help and our strength comes from the Lord God Almighty – it is He who enables us to use our Gifts in the best way possible.
Therefore we shouldn’t ever try to do it all on our own, neither should we do it for personal praise or recognition.
The gift that we have is one that should be offered back to God, for Him to bless it, and direct us at all times to know exactly how we should put it to use, so that in all things His may be praised.

I pray that you will enjoy your gifts, and keep them alive by using them as much as you can to bless and impact others.
Friend, I encourage you to Love your gift; love the fact that God has given it to you, and love the fact that God has given you the opportunity to use it (that special thing), no matter how unorthodox, to Glorify His name, through Christ Jesus.

Please Please, don’t ever stop using your gift, God has given me this message for you, saying;
‘Do the best you can do with it, and watch how I myself will build and improve You.’

Remember, the Gift wasn’t given by mistake.

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

 

No Chill When He Spills!

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May God have no chill when He blesses you!  (AMEN!)
Haha! What a prayer!!! 😂

[Very quick side note: for anyone who doesn’t quite understand what is meant by the term ‘no chill’, it simply refers to ‘not holding back’ – so in this context, it refers to God going all out and not holding back when He blesses you. (Yep, now you can say a heftier Amen!)]

Can you imagine this though?
This is basically what is spoken of in Psalm 23:5 – ‘My cup  O V E R F L O W S’… 

Simply filling the cup to the top isn’t enough for God, no way!
He looks at that cup as a limitation and says “No thank you cup, you can’t tell me how much I’m going to pour out onto my child, I’ll decide myself when it’s enough!” 

That my friend, is why your cup runs over.

And as if that isn’t already enough, the bible tells us that He places you in the midst of your enemies;

“You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies…”
[Psalm 23:5]

And chooses to anoint/bless/fill you up right there!

“…you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.”
[Psalm 23:5]

Now there are a few more things to look at in this verse, and we can definitely draw power, strength and confidence from them.

Firstly, why does God choose to prepare that table in the midst of our enemies?
I mean these are people who don’t like us, and most definitely don’t care to see us winning!
Well look at this, Almighty God uses this to display His Power and Authority.
In case these enemies/haters/oppressors get too big for their boots, God first shows them that though they may bark loudly, and appear ‘strong’, they are truly powerless over your life, your destiny and anything concerning you.
He alone has the final say over your life and so it doesn’t matter what or whom stands against you. (Have a look at Romans 8:31).

Now the anointing itself represents Blessing!
I’m sure that’s the main thing we gather from this verse, but actually here are some other things God is saying to us:

“I am protecting you”.
It doesn’t matter how many people may stand around, seeking to tear you down – the Lord God is covering you now and forevermore.
He is your strong tower (Proverbs 18:10), your fortress and your rock (Psalm 18:1-3)!

“I Love you”.
(What more is there to expand on this one? He adores you, that’s all).
John 3:16, Romans 5:8

“Focus on me”.
Many times we get consumed with so much negativity around us, that we allow fear to paralyse us to a point where we forget the power of God’s light in the midst of darkness.
Well God is a respecter of no man (Acts 10:34), so regardless of every wicked attempt to make you fail or fall – God still does what He has promised to do, and that is keep you (Psalm 121:7).

“You are mine”.
(Isaiah 43:1)
How precious is it to know that God claims us as His own, and puts His mark upon us?
God doesn’t only bless us with things we need on this earth, but it should warm our hearts that He shows His everlasting love for us and makes it known that we are special to Him. In this verse, God embraces us.

Now with all of this to take in, can we just stop to Praise God quickly…
He is so Good! So Kind! And so Faithful!

We serve a God who is bigger and greater and larger than life itself, therefore we must adopt His confidence, as we are made in His very image (Genesis 1:27), and we must not be scared, nor hindered by the presence of enemies! Not now, not ever.

Just let that cup flow friend, let it flow flow flow, and sometime soon, we’ll speak about what to do with the overflow…

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