Category: Wednesday’s Wake-Up Call

Praising in the Pit…

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“Focus on remaining so gracious that when the time comes for your testimony, people’s recollection of how you maintained your faith and good character despite going through such a difficult season, will encourage them even more about what it is to truly trust in God.”

Smiling when things are falling apart around you, is possibly one of the most difficult things to do.
It’s hard to laugh, have fun, or even see the good in anything, because your circumstance is saying otherwise.

Today I want to encourage you to  P R A I S E  in the Pit.
And if you cannot think of any reason why it may be worth it, simply consider the fact that you have life, God still loves you perfectly, and His word says He will always be with you – that is more than enough to give Him praise for. (Romans 8:38-39, Deuteronomy 31:6)

In addition to that praise, here are three other key things to do:

1. Continue to do and be G O O D

Don’t allow your situation to make you bitter.
Natural emotions that we may experience when things are tough include;

  • Sadness
  • Frustration
  • Anger
  • Feeling fed up
  • Being irritable
  • Self-pity
  • Loneliness

and many others.

When we feel like this, it’s often difficult to be our usual selves, and in fact it is quite easy to fall into the trap of allowing our emotions to dictate and change who we are, negatively.
One of the most important things I want to tell us is that we must not allow our emotions to rule us. Yes, things aren’t great, but that is no excuse to compromise your character and forget who God has called you to be – which is someone who exudes L O V E at all times. (1 Corinthians 13).
Focus on remaining so gracious that when the time comes for your testimony, people’s recollection of how you maintained your faith and good character despite going through such a difficult season, will encourage them even more about what it is to truly trust in God.

When you find yourself getting into ‘a way’, remember that God’s word tells us a lot about His plans for us. (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28).
Therefore, knowing God has a greater purpose, plan and will for you, means you cannot allow your energy to match your present situation. Instead, you have to ensure your energy is in line with the greater place God is taking you to! For that reason you need to draw out the praise that is on the inside of you and show God that you are dedicated to praising Him in spite of what is going on in your life. Show Him that your love for Him goes beyond your circumstance and that you truly love Him for who He is, not what He does.

 

2. Don’t obsess over ‘why’

Common perspectives many of us may have adopted throughout life, is that there is a reason for everything and that there is always a lesson to learn from every season you find yourself in. While I agree with both these concepts, we must be careful not to distract ourselves with trying too hard to make them fit into our lives in the most practical or perfect way.

Here’s what I mean by this…
Sometimes God does share ‘why’ He’s taking us through things, other times, He doesn’t.
The point is, if we get so utterly consumed with finding out ‘W H Y’ something is happening to us, or we get fixated on gaining an idealistic lesson out of it, we run the risk of losing focus on how God has truly called us to serve in that season, as well as engaging with God’s actual purpose or lesson for us.
For some of us, our focus on finding out ‘why’ could actually wrongly dissuade us from praising. This is because we subconsciously tell ourselves that we need a reason and purpose for the pain before we can praise in that pit, when actually the word of God encourages us to praise and give thanks in ALL things – good or bad. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Focusing on getting a so-called reason or lesson that we deem tangible enough to us, also falsely implies that depending on the answer we get, God could possibly be unworthy of our praise – and this is so far from the truth.
The bible tells us that He is worthy of all praise, honour and glory forever. (1 Timothy 1:17).

 

3. Surrender it all to God

This is the most important bit.
Stop trying to create the ideal outcomes in your mind, and stop trying to help God sort things out your way – just give it to Him and rest in Him.

The bible not only teaches us that we are made for God’s pleasure and to bring glory to His Name (Isaiah 43:7, Isaiah 43:21), but it also very clearly enlightens us that God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). Therefore some things may not make sense to us. Some things won’t add up according to how our human minds may try to work them out, and so chasing a reason, or trying to create an artificial lesson that we assume God is trying to teach us, will only leave us exhausted and disappointed.
What we should do instead in these situations, is truly and wholeheartedly seek God and ask Him to enable us to live out His very purpose for us in that situation.
We must learn the art of absolutely surrendering our will and way to God, realising that He is Sovereign and thus actively deciding to allow Him to have His way. This may not be easy – but it’s always worth it.

Worth it;
– because the earlier we surrender, the sooner we have peace.
– because walking with God is so much better than working against Him.
– and because ultimately, we should always desire for God’s perfect will to manifest, as opposed to anything else, as He really does know best!

 

Now get to know God’s Promises

It’s all well and good me encouraging you to trust God and rest in His promises etc., but you need to know His word for yourself, because that is what you have to hold on to.

So here’s a start for verses to use to remind yourself of how well God will carry you through it all, and that there surely is a greater glory awaiting you at the end:

Something crucial to remember in the midst of your pain and unrest, is that regardless of how sour things may seem, God has not, and will not EVER remove His covering over you. This means no scheme of the enemy could ever prevail over you, nor lead you to destruction, rather, just like He did with Joseph, God will turn it all around and use it for His glory and your victory. (Genesis 37:18-28, Genesis 39:21).

The story of Joseph (found in Genesis 37 onward) provides a good example of someone who praised and served his purpose diligently whilst in his pit. In fact his very service to others whilst in jail, is what then delivered him in time to come – but that’s a word for another day.

Admirable examples of other Praisers in their Pits and people who remained faithful to God in the face of adversity are;

Daniel – with friends in the fiery furnace – Daniel 3, in the lion’s den Daniel 6

Paul and Silas – Acts 16:16-40

Job – Job 1, Job 1:20-22, Job 2:10, Job 42:10-17

In each story, as each character served their season of pain/trials with diligence and grace, we see the final outcome was completely worth the strife, especially when it caused others to give their lives to God.
So today I encourage you to keep Praising and keep your heart Faithful to God.
Praise your way into the sweeter season, because you serve a God that would never leave your current situation as your final destination.

Set it in your heart that NOTHING will steal the praise from your lips and the worship of your heart,
Because at the end of the day
God will still be God –
The Sovereign God, who knows best,
So why not Praise Him anyway?!

 

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing

Song suggestion: Praise Him in advance by Marvin Sapp

*Practical tip: (suggested by a friend and I think is a great idea) Create a playlist of Ten upbeat praise songs! Get into your praise zone with these daily and be reminded of God’s goodness.

Words for Them

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So for today, it’s a lovely quick bite of the word of God, regarding the words we speak!

It’s something God gave me, which has a short story with it, so I’ll share…

On Sunday, I had a casual chat with one of my pastors, where he asked the usual; “How’re you, how’s the fam, and particularly how’s your brother?” (who’s at university in a different city).

My response was also, the usual, “Everything’s fine, everyone’s fine, and yeah, brother is all good wherever he is too!”

Then pastor added with a smile, “That boy, he’s someone I don’t worry about, I know he’s a survivor…”

Knowing the nature and character of my brother (easy-going and just gets on with things), I chuckled and agreed.

On Monday – literally the day after this casual conversation, I was at home, and suddenly I had a few panicky/worried thoughts as I remembered that my brother had something important coming up that he had to do. But within moments of these negative thoughts creeping in, the words ‘He’s a Survivor’ also marched right into my mind and drove out every element of fear/anxiety/unease.

In that moment, God gave me this key message for you all;

You never know when the words you have spoken/a conversation you have had with someone ‘in passing’, will be the very thing that carries them through a hard time!

As cliché as it sounds, the simple recollection of the conversation I had with pastor, along with the power and truth in the statement that he made, gave me such a perfect peace over my thoughts, and confidence that there was NOTHING at all to be worried about!

We all, as children of God, also have the grace to do the same for people around us. That random conversation you had the other day, where you simply just spoke as the words came to your mind, may in future stand as the very words the other person holds onto during a time of hardship, trials, or maybe just a little nervousness!

We have to appreciate the intentionality of the Holy Spirit – The Comforter, in such moments as these, because it is He who brings the necessary memories to the forefront of our minds, thus restoring peace in our hearts when we find ourselves in moments of distress, nervousness or dire need. We need to acknowledge that moments like these are divinely orchestrated by a God who is All-knowing, and pays close attention to the very intricate details of our lives. No, these things are not ‘just a coincidence’.

Therefore I pray;

That we will desire to walk more and more in line with the will of God and call for His Holy Spirit to overtake our hearts and minds so that even when we’re not really thinking about what we’re saying, our words will still be the kind that build up, give life, and deliver people from their various situations.

I pray that in every moment of our lives, we will remember that we are vessels of God, and in assuming that role, we will stay connected with the Holy Spirit and ask that He speaks through us at all times – literally, ALL times.

Let us Speak with Purpose.

 

Scripture to read: Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 18:21.

*Also have a read of this previous post Gracious Words; Speak Life! 

 

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing.

God Bless you

 

Encounter The King…

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E N C O U N T E R

We’ll get straight into this word by reading a few passages from the bible…

“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought,
“If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.”
(Mark 5: 25-29)

An Encounter with the King who Heals.

 

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.””
(Acts 9:3-6)

…For three days, Saul was blind and did not eat or drink anything, I encourage you to read the verses in between, but now we jump to verse 17 which continues;

“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.
At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.”
(Acts 9:17-20)

An Encounter with the King who Redeems.

 

“Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
(Daniel 3:21-25)

An Encounter with the King who Saves and Delivers
from the hand of the adversary.

Now you may be expecting me to delve into the power of what God did in these three stories, but in fact I’ve simply put them here for you to get a taste of what is to come in  your own life when you Encounter God.
In fact, what God gave me, for you, when He gave me this word ‘E N C O U N T E R’, is a divine prayer, and here it is for you, open your heart and receive it…

May you always have an Encounter;
(a divine, life-changing experience of God’s glory and might)
when you walk into the presence of God.

I pray that every time you seek God,
You will surely meet with He, who is the Most High.

What do I mean by an Encounter?

I mean that you will feel Him so closely as though He were right there touching your shoulder.
I mean that you will hear Him so clearly as though He was speaking right into your ear.
I mean that you will experience His love so richly that your heart can only burst forth with love and joy to all those around you.

Whenever you step into the presence of God, that is whenever you step forth and approach His throne of Grace, be it in your home in private, or in a public place, I pray you will feel Him all over you so intensely and so strongly.

I pray that whenever you knock on the door to experience the King, you surely will Encounter Him in all His grace, glory and wonder.
I pray no Encounter shall ever be duplicated, but rather each time there shall be
New surprises
New blessings
New words and
New revelations, given onto you.

Each and every single time you press into God,
Each and every single time you seek the face of God, I pray that He will reveal Himself to you and allow you to feel Him so mightily.
May your life continuously be transformed for good, every time you call upon the name of Jesus, so that means a Daily Refreshing of your anointing!
in Jesus’ Mighty Name.

Dear friend, I pray, that you will Encounter the King, deeply.
in Jesus’ Precious Name.
Amen

Now just one important instruction to go alongside this message – God is asking us to ask Him to purify our hearts.
He wants to cleanse the place He will dwell, therefore He is calling us, to call on Him in order for Him to help transform, renew and Purify our hearts.
Hearts ready to Encounter Him.

Please get into a mood of worship after reading this, have a listen to these two songs:
Holy Spirit by Bri Babineaux
Settle Here by William Murphy.

Give the Lord your time and your whole attention, and let Him move in your life, and of course, enjoy the Powerful experience awaiting you.

#EncounterTheKing

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

#HisTruthWith Love

*Context/Further reading for this message:
Matthew 9:1-33, Mark 5:21-34, Acts 9:1-31, Daniel 3

 

 

The Morning…

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“But I will sing of your strength,
    in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
    my refuge in times of trouble.

 You are my strength, I sing praise to you;
    you, God, are my fortress,
    my God on whom I can rely.”
[Psalm 59:16-17]

 

The beautiful thing about the  M O R N I N G  is that it signifies a new beginning.
It symbolises another chance, and most importantly, it indicates victory.

That victory lies in the fact that yesterday’s struggles did not consume you.
You didn’t give up, you made it to a new day, and God, in His mercy, has kept you for a greater good to come.

Let’s pray with that this Wednesday morning…
Some of us have had a great week so far, and we’re so happy for the positives to continue.
Others may have had what we would deem as a terrible start to the week, and we can’t wait until it’s over.
But let’s remember that our making it to today, is by the grace of God and so we ought to express that gratitude, as well as ask Him to reveal His plan and purpose for this week, to us.

P R A Y E R:

Father,
We thank You for the grace You placed upon us to win yesterday’s battles, and triumph into today!
We ask that from today onwards, we will always realise and be grateful for the huge blessing that lies in seeing another morning.

You know what each of our weeks have looked like thus far, and we ask that You will allow Your perfect will to manifest in each of our lives in Jesus’ name.
We ask that You reveal Your purpose for this week to us. Show us how we can cause Your name to be glorified, and show us how we can walk in Your light and love, being a blessing and inspiration onto others.

For those of us who feel defeated by what Monday and Tuesday threw at us, give us peace and a strong assurance that greater is coming, and help us to be reminded that things always do work out well (Romans 8:28).

Once again we thank You for the privilege to see this new day, we thank You for always being a Reliable and Dependable God, and we ask that You will equip us to go forth and fulfil Your will in the rest of this week, month, year and beyond,
In Jesus’ Name.
A M E N.

 

Friend, take joy in the new hope that lies in every new morning, and be positive enough to mold your day into what you want it to be!

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

The Journey Back

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I don’t know about you, but if you’ve ever gone through a time when you felt distant from God, or that your spiritual life just simply wasn’t where you knew it could be/ought to be, then you’ll understand that it’s not really a nice feeling/season to experience.

Today I pray that the honesty in this post will inspire you to no longer be content with wandering away from God, and instead pick up your bible again, and have a spiritually nourishing meal with the King!

It’s been a weird few months in terms of spirituality for me, and for the longest time, I told myself I didn’t know why. I walked around content with not knowing why things felt different, and I embraced a false perception that grace would bring me back on track.
Don’t get me wrong, grace has the power to do so many things, but in this case, God showed me that intentionality (coupled with the grace to realise it) was what I needed.

I’ll walk you through what happened today…

I was adamant that I would post today. I was adamant that I would get back on track with the work of God – this work of God, this ministry, my baby that He gave me… Therefore I typed and started this post in a few different ways, but I still kept feeling the same block that had stopped me from posting in so long.
I’d pause a moment, then start typing again. I wasn’t entirely sure of the topic, but I knew it would be natural to discuss the season that I’m just coming out of.
However, it still wasn’t flowing right.
So stop. And start again.

Prior to today, I had attempted to post about three times before, on random days, but the flow just wasn’t there, because something just wasn’t right.
The difference today however, was that I wasn’t taking no for an answer.
This time, I was serious, and I believe God saw that, felt that, and thus released His voice onto me.

What I intended to do with this post, was to not seem as irresponsible with my spiritual life, as I personally feel I have been in the past few months.
So I wanted to let you know that, yes, I’ve experienced a weird block/silence/poor connection with God, but I wanted to make it seem like it was God-ordained… But that would have been a lie.
Like I said, I restarted this post a few times, and in the takes that didn’t make it, what I tried to do was scheme, and think of ways to make this whole quiet season sound as artistic as possible, as scripturally-inclined as possible, and basically pull the wool over your eyes so you didn’t know the raw simple truth about it…

Which is this:
In the past few months, I haven’t prayed enough/properly (according to what I believe God deserves from me).
I haven’t spent enough time just sitting and chatting with God.
I’ve been too lazy to dedicate quality time to learn more about God’s word, through reading my bible or listening to sermons.

Instead, I’ve spent most of the hours of my day on social media, or better still, playing this one particular game on my phone (that even my family have noticed is becoming ridiculous)!
I’ve allowed myself to become less bothered about truly wanting to desire God more, and have become content in believing the lie that ‘it’ll come back when the time is right’.

So simply put, I wanted to dress up the words in this post in a way that wouldn’t blatantly call my own self out as the one to blame for how my walk with God has been these past few months…

Thus, I still tried to write the cover-up, but of course, I still had a block.

But then I cried…

Because it really hurt to not be able to easily do what I enjoyed so much.
Yes, literally, cried out to God like a baby, tears ‘n’ all, and told Him that I refuse to have this ‘block’.
Told Him that I refuse to ever be lost for words when it comes to sharing His word.
Told Him that I refuse to ever see the day when the gift of writing and the flow of His speech to me whilst writing, ceases.

And in my cry I heard Him say
“Be real”.

He reminded me that the name of this ministry is and remains ‘Untainted Word’, and so even if the word is difficult to swallow (for readers), or difficult to write (for myself and future writers on the team), it must still always be His pure word, as He inspires it.
A poetic lie would have only kept me hostage in the same block that for so long I had tried to make ‘part of God’s plan’, when really it was as a result of my own actions and decisions.

God made me realise that a lack of transparency in this word would fail to serve the purpose that He intended for today’s post.
In me trying to protect a ‘perfect’ image of what a ministry leader/worship leader’s relationship with God should be like, I would have deprived many of you, as well as myself, of the opportunity to learn that our strive for perfection and excellence with God, does not need to be perfect!

Today God required me to call myself out on my mistakes (as you see above) and be frank with myself.
And if you’re reading this feeling like you’ve been experiencing an oddness in your spiritual life, then God is asking you to do the same too!
Search yourself…
Please note, He’s not asking you to beat yourself up, or fill yourself with guilt, but all He requires is that you search yourself, and be real enough to identify that thing/those things that you have (knowingly/unknowingly) used to block Him out.

Once we’ve found the things that steal away our attention away from the cross, then we can begin to put them before God and ask Him to enable us to no longer make these things idols in our lives.
Once identified, we can ask God for the will and desire to proactively choose Him, over these things, every time that choice needs to be made.
Once we can be real enough to own up that it’s actually some of the things or people we have come to love most, that are distracting us from pressing in deeper with God, then we’ll be able to ask Him to remove them, and replace them with the right desire to honour, serve, and please Him wholeheartedly.

The bottom line is, we need to stop and search for the issue from within. 
The longer we walk around thinking that a time like this ‘is meant to be’, or ‘sent from God’, then the more open we leave ourselves to gradually be more and more consumed with the things of the world, rather than pursuing the things of God’s heart!

I know it seems harsh to point at ourselves and say ‘You’re the problem!’
But we’ve got to remember that we serve a flawless God, therefore when we find ourselves so deep in the wilderness, and so far in a season of silence, we must be courageous to be intentional about finding our way back to Him.
God would never opt to have time away from us, therefore it is our responsibility to search out the ways in which we have pushed ourselves away from Him.

In all things, remember that God is love, and even in the ‘block’ – His love and grace will still be active over you, as long as you can believe it and receive it.

Congrats on finding your way back, and cheers to sticking with Him from here on out.

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

 

 

 

Breathe… Pray… Act!

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How often do you feel so overwhelmed with all your tasks and responsibilities that it paralyses you?

Whilst I hope the answer is ‘not too often’, I know that when this feeling does come over us, it can be extremely demoralising and detrimental to our productivity.

Let’s get rid of that horrible feeling!

Step 1: Take a deep breath, and release the stress… 

Step 2: Join me in this prayer I have for you…

Father,
We thank You for a brand new day and the ability to love and breathe and do everything we are doing.
We thank You for all our roles of influence and all our positions of privilege that we could have only assumed by Your grace and love and mercy over us.
On this very day, we remember that every single thing You have done in our lives has been intentional, and therefore regarding the situation that we’re worried about at this present moment, we release it unto You in Jesus’ Mighty Name.

We no longer worry about it, because Your word tells us that our worrying does nothing! (Matthew 6:25-34)
Rather we give it unto You and thank You for the fact that You will equip us to master it in Jesus’ Mighty Name.
We take away every feeling of incompetence, being substandard, being unable, useless, unqualified, running out of time, panic, and anything else causing us to make our responsibilities into a mountain before us!
We lay all these negatives at the feet of Jesus and ask that You will remind us that Your grace is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9) and that we are enabled to conquer and succeed through Jesus Christ.
Father now that we have empowered our minds, and are mentally back on track, we pray for the proactive attitude that will allow us to execute the success You have preordained for us!
Help us to get up from our beds/seats/places of warmth and comfort, where we’re lounging about, and let us get busy and put our hands to great work!
Help us to work efficiently and effectively in Jesus’ Mighty Name.
All in all God, we thank You for the privilege and power of prayer, which means we can come before You and seek peace and comfort in the midst of what was terrorising us a few moments ago.
We pray for a permanent peace of mind, which will enable us to think, work, and act with clarity, and we also ask for a permanent peace and level-headedness to always trust that someway, somehow, You’ve got it all in control, and so through You, we can and we will do it!
All this we pray,
in Jesus’ Mighty Name.
Amen!
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”
Step 3: Get Active and make necessary moves! 
You can Do It!
Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

Striking a Balance…

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…To ensure Contentment, but not Complacency. 

During a group prayer this week, a prayer point was raised which said; “Father help us to be content with who we are and where we are, but not to be complacent. Enable us to still work hard to get to where we are meant get to”.

Instantly I knew this was the word for you guys this week.

How on earth do we get that balance right between being happy in our present state, but being driven enough to push to get to the next level?

The simplest answer is through the grace, direction and wisdom of God, but let’s get into it a bit more than that.

Let’s look at what the bible tells us about contentment…

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
[1 Timothy 6:6-10]

Now I understand that this passage may bother some of us.
Because we’ll look at it and think, ‘hold up – am I only meant to desire food and drink, and be happy with just getting by with the bear minimum in life’.
But allow me to explain that God is not telling us not to strive for greatness here.
He is not telling us that being hard working and ambitious is wrong. Neither is He telling us that we should not work towards goals and aims and achieve the best! (In fact His word says otherwise! – Proverbs 12:24, Proverbs 14:23)

The message of God through this passage is in fact that we must not become so consumed with amassing wealth, money, riches and all sorts of earthly pleasures, that we lose sight of where we are going for eternity.
What we read about here are the dangers that lie in the wrongful desire of getting more. And by wrong – I mean a desire for more that stems from selfishness, greed and even jealousy of what we’ve seen on others.
Verse 9 and 10 of this passage help to depict the fact that when we long for more, we expose ourselves to temptation which so easily can lead to a downward spiral of dabbling in sinful activities just to get what we want, by any means possible – thus, walking out of God’s will for us.

So question, by nature, and through Adam and Eve’s slip up, I guess we always seem to want more right? How can we protect ourselves from the negatives of this, and from the risk of being tempted?

This is where our chit chats (prayers) with God come in handy.
First pray for the fear of the Lord – Proverbs 19:23 – which will help commit our actions to Him, and enable us to do the right things.
Remember Proverbs 4:23 says to guard our hearts, because it determine our actions – this verse also crucial in this area of our lives.
In daily prayer, we ought to ask God to purify our hearts and keep it aligned with His will, as an upright heart will surely have an impact on the intention of our desires.

You see, a guarded heart will want more, not so they can show it all off and make a parade of how great they are, but so that they are enabled to do God’s work better, and are able to serve others better.
A guarded heart will pursue greatness not because of what the world will say, and how the world will speak of them but instead because of how the world will speak of the God who created them! They know that they are a representation of Christ on earth, therefore their spirit must be excellent and their presence must be one which inspires and encourages others to want to know Jesus. And causes others speak highly of the Jesus that lives within them.

So let’s get some things straight: 

Godly contentment is not equivalent to settling for less.

Godly contentment is not synonymous with poverty.

Godly contentment does not encourage laziness.

Rather;

Godly contentment is standing firmly in the Father, with your attitude towards His work and ministry being unchanged and unshaken regardless of whether you have only a penny in your pocket, or a million pounds in your bank account.

Godly contentment is obedience to God’s will, and refusing to go against your morals, good ways or Holy Spirit convictions in order to fulfil your own selfish ambitions.

Godly contentment is Hebrews 13:5-6 – knowing that God IS EVERYTHING to us, and for us – He is all we need, therefore we need not worry about trying to make a better tomorrow for ourselves (Matthew 6:25-34), as this is in His hands already!

So to the main question – how do we ensure our being content, does not easily slip into being complacent?

Well firstly what is complacency?

(Cambridge dictionary definition): feeling so satisfied with your own abilities or situation that you feel you do not need to try harder. 

(Oxford dictionary definition): Showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.

The first important thing to understand about complacency, is that immediately, it exudes an inappropriate focus on self.
It contains an attitude of I, I, I, and as a child of God, this is flawed.
We are to acknowledge Him in all ours ways (Proverbs 3:6), therefore making us and God a team. At no point should we ever feel like anything we are doing is by our own knowledge, strength or power, because the bible makes it clear that we are enabled by the grace of God. (2 Corinthians 12:9, Philippians 4:13)

Whilst contentment displays an attitude that rests in God, complacency displays an attitude of detachment and independence from God.
The definitions above clearly show that complacency also encompasses an element of pride – the belief that we’re all that and more.
But look at this, the bible teaches us in Galatians 6:3, that if we think this way, we’re actually deceiving ourselves!
In context of our topic, an attitude of being self-sufficient and attributing everything to our own ability, and not thinking we need to get any better, actually presents us with the danger of falling; the bible teaches us that pride precedes a nasty fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

Therefore we must take care… Not only in our earthly goals and endeavours, but even more importantly in our walk with Christ.
Never should we feel like ‘We have arrived’, and have reached the pinnacle of our lives, instead we should embrace the fact that with God, there is always so much more potential and opportunity for elevation awaiting us, if only we will yield to His will and allow Him to take us higher.
Again we ought to use our daily conversations with God to ask for a heart that is humble, obedient and teachable – one that yes, is happy with whatever God presents us with, but is also willing to achieve more through and with the power God.

The last point I’ll touch on, is that complacency displays an inability to reflect and want to do better. The Oxford definition describes it as an uncritical state of mind. For some of us, whilst this may not necessarily come from a place of pride, it definitely comes from an place of laziness and nonchalance. This too is undesirable before God, as it displays a lack of forward thinking and drive!
We have all been gifted with talents that we ought to use to decorate this earth with. If we have the wrong attitude towards life – like the servant who buried his one talent rather than investing it, then God will take what He has given us, and give it to someone who will put it to greater use! (Matthew 25:14-30)
Thus, whilst contentment comes through reflection and appreciation of God’s hand in our lives, complacency comes from an inaccurate assessment of where we are, and underestimates where God can take us to.
Being happy with the present does not mean to not plan for a better future, and in fact the bible warns us against laziness and its fruits. (Proverbs 20:4, Proverbs 6:9-11)

Therefore, Today I pray with us, 
That we will be able to see the greater heights that we’re heading towards, but still be very present in the moment we are living in.
May we learn to embrace each season we are in, whilst also being attentive to God when He instructs us to take the next steps.
May we rid ourselves of all pride and pompousness that falsely believes we are more than we are, and rather appreciate that all things come from God, are for the glory of God, and thus we should always aim for more glory to come to His name.
May we learn to strike the perfect balance between between godly contentment and not being complacent, in order to progress, improve and grow in the many ways God desires for us to.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen

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

 

Happy New Year; 2018!

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Happy New Year!

What a blessing, privilege and great opportunity it is to be in this New Year 2018.

Before you read on, I want you to spend at least 30 seconds just appreciating and thanking God for selecting you and favouring you to see this New Year.

. . .

Now let’s get into it.

Welcome to 2018;
A year to

FOCUS

LEAD

ACHIEVE.

God has given me these words to share with you as the three keywords to run with this year.
So make it your motto, your theme, your slogan, whatever you want to call it!

The assurance I have for you is that the correct application of these words in whatever you do this year, will surely produce great results and success in all your endeavours.
Not only will these words affect the results, but also the journey you travail to get there will be purposeful, meaningful and filled with life-enhancing lessons.

Today we’ll touch the surface of what God is saying with each of these words, and over the next few posts, we’ll go into further detail for each one.

F O C U S

Check this out…
You’re driving a vehicle, riding a bicycle, or simply walking – it doesn’t matter what your mode of transport is, but the point here is that you are in motion.
Question: What happens if your eyes are fixed on a completely different direction to the the one you’re going in?
You’re driving/cycling/walking forward, but your eyes are looking to the left.
We all know that eventually what happens is a collision.

Getting your Focus right is crucial this year.
It doesn’t necessarily eliminate the potential hurdles or obstacles from coming your way, but it definitely eliminates your ability to get distracted by them.
Therefore without you even telling me what your goals are for this year, I’ll tell you that your first Focus should be Jesus Christ at all times.
Eyes on Him, a close walk with Him, and a sensitive heart to His directions, is already a good step in the way of a fruitful and fulfilling year.

 

L E A D

Paying attention to this word and actively manifesting its meaning is what will set apart the fruits of this year, to that of all other years that have come before it.

For some of you, you’ve always been great at following rules, helping others out, and being the ‘back-up’ person, or assistant to greatness.
This year, with your humility intact, God’s agenda is to raise you as the HEAD.
It’s time you start making the decisions for yourself (with inspiration from the Holy Spirit), and being bold in owning who you are and what you possess.
Leadership this year will not only pertain to your business/education/career goals, but also in the relationships you keep.
This year, Leading, will involve you sticking to the convictions you have in Christ, and refusing to compromise them for any thing, or any one.

 

A C H I E V E

Naturally, with this as the third word, we attribute it to the end, the product, the result, and so on.
To Achieve, is to get ‘there’ wherever there is, or get ‘that’, whatever that is.
Emphasis on the Achievement this year, means that we will not settle for a 2018 glory to arrive in 2019 – the things meant for this year, will surely manifest in this year, in Jesus’ name.
In as much as Achievement is always seen to come last, after the hard work, and after the Focusing and Leading, God wants us to keep the word in the forefront of our minds, in order to push ourselves to reach the goals we have set.
And to reach them in a timely manner! No More Delay.

So anyway, that’s a brief introduction to our recipe for greatness this year, given to us by God Himself.

I pray 2018 brings forth great joy, blessings and peace for you and your family, and as I already eluded to above, I confidently prophesy into your life that this is the year for the manifestation of long awaited glories, in Jesus’ Mighty Name! Amen.

Please keep supporting Untainted Word, and share share share with everyone you know! Don’t keep it to yourself.

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

#NewYear
#2018
#FocusLeadAchieve!

Submit your Flesh

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The excuse of ‘I’m human’, is one that definitely gets overused in our society of believers.

Many of us use it to justify our actions when we’ve fallen short, or sometimes to actually convince ourselves that we can go ahead with doing something that we know isn’t right.

But here’s the thing, if only we would cultivate and nurture a good standard of self-control and self-discipline, as the bible instructs (Titus 1:8, Galatians 5:22-23), we would find ourselves resorting to this statement less and less…

I aim to challenge you with a few things today, in the hope of you developing a renewed conviction about some of the things you’ve allowed yourself to slack with…

You see, the bible teaches us to flee from sin, (1 Timothy 6:3-11), yet so many of us walk side by side with it.
Where we’re mingling and mixing with the things that lead us astray, some of us will find that rather than becoming more spiritually inclined, we’re becoming more accustomed to the ways of the world, and in fact becoming more comfortable with engaging in practices/activities/habits that we ought to really detest as children of God!

That’s why this message today reminds and instructs you to always
Submit your flesh to the Spirit of God in you!

It is an absolute MUST to do this.

“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 
Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 
Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 
For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”
[Romans 6:1-4]

When we make the decision to accept Christ and walk with Him, one of the first things we establish is that our old self has died, and our new being is alive in Christ, as the above scripture says. We are then encouraged to walk in the light of Christ, and to actively rid ourselves of all the worldly things we used to do when we didn’t know Him, in order to fully pursue this new life and new glory with Him.

But friend, these days your lines are blurred.
You’re speaking Jesus but you aren’t living Him.
You’re portraying Jesus but your heart isn’t really here for Him, fully…

So what’s changed?

Why does it seem like you’re caring less and less about the implications of your decisions?
Why does it seem like you’ve lowered your standard of how much you want to obey God?
Why does it seem like you’ve lost focus?

You see, the word of God is intentional, and therefore every word is for a reason, so when it says to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), it’s because being a follower of Christ is not at all a passive decision, but rather an active, alive and vibrant choice to walk in His way. This means therefore that if we don’t culture, grow, nurture, and pay attention to our spirit, then indeed we will so easily become entangled in sin (as Hebrews 12:1 puts it).

So for many of us, over time, our lax attitude towards our journey with Christ has allowed the old self to creep back into our environments and slowly infiltrate our minds and therefore our behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes.
What this means is that we’ve become more ‘okay’ with lying, theft, sexual immorality, drunkenness, idolatry, selfishness and all the other things that we were initially so eager to put behind us when we first got saved.

For some of us, we get tired.
Our enthusiasm runs out.
Our interest and ability to be ‘bothered’ with the things of God, and honouring God, decreases, and so we find ourselves drifting further and further away from the will of God and His purpose for us.
In some cases, what’s surprising is that actually some of us are still able to look ‘Jesus-good’ externally, but deep down in our hearts, we couldn’t be any further away from true worship and surrenderance to the heart and will of God.

If I’m talking to you, and this message is for you in any way, and you’re ready to be real, I’m saying let’s go back to basics…
Yes, I’m calling you out, and I’m hopefully making you uncomfortable with where you are in your walk with Christ right now, but understand that I’m not judging you – instead, I’m simply saying don’t spend another second compromising your faith or relationship with God! Rather, let’s return to that very fundamental aspect of giving our lives to Christ, and turning our lives around;

“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.”
[Romans 6:6-7] 

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.”
[Galatians 5:24]

You are not a slave to sin. 
Sin is no longer your master.
Sin no longer controls you.
Sin no longer has a hold or any power over you…

I’m emphasising this point, because the weakening of sin’s power, by our death and resurrection in Christ Jesus, is such a key element to remember from today’s message.
When we stray away from the will of God, we often forget this truth because we are so immersed in the ways of the world.
Therefore sin begins to look convenient. And in this slippery area of dabbling, the devil capitalises on our state of mind and tries to trick us into believing that sin holds us ransom again as it once did, that it’s too hard to let go of the wrong habits, and that sin has defeated us…

But these are all LIES!

You are no longer a slave to sin. (I had to say it one more time!)

And you must rise with this strength daily, in order to conquer every wayward desire of the flesh.
You must understand from this truth, that the Spirit of Christ Jesus, who conquered death and destroyed all power of sin – that Spirit in You, is greater and more powerful than your flesh.
Your Spirit has authority over your flesh!

Therefore you ought to train your flesh to pipe down.
You ought to tell your flesh ‘not today, not ever, you’re not getting your way’.
You ought to submit your flesh to the will of God daily; your thoughts, words and actions – and begin to build up a resilience against any desire to engage in sinful natures (1 Peter 4:1-2).

I’ll finish by sharing something Paul said in the bible;

“I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
[1 Corinthians 9:27]

Another translation says;

“No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (NIV)

Let us develop the understanding that we too have the authority, the courage, the power and the tools of the spirit, to discipline ourselves, discipline our bodies, and discipline our flesh, in order to ensure that we do what we are meant to be doing, and that we run our race with purpose and perseverance to win!

Further Scriptures to read and pray with daily:
Overcoming tiredness – Galatians 6:7-9
Overcoming sin – Romans 6:11-14, Titus 2:12, Ephesians 4:22-23, Romans 12:1-2
Growing in the Spirit – John 3:30 (a crucial daily declaration)

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

#SubmitYourFlesh
#SpiritWins
#MoreThan100PeoplePraying

Love With a ‘No’

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From a young age, for many of us, ‘No’ has probably been one of our least favourite words to hear.

Usually associated with refusal, rejection and denial – ‘No’ is almost always seen as a bad word, that stimulates negative emotions.

But have you ever realised that we can also Love with a ‘No’?

Did you know, that sometimes,

No can say – ‘You’re not ready’

No can say – ‘I want you to learn’

No can say – ‘I want you to grow’

And ultimately, No can say – ‘I want you to depend on God’.

Today I want us to understand that as friends/siblings/parents/partners – whoever we are to the people in our lives, we each have a responsibility of knowing when to say ‘No’, for the right reasons.

I get it – we would do absolutely anything for our loved ones, just to see them smile and just to make sure that everything is alright for them.
I mean we literally just spoke about being our brother and sister’s keeper on Sunday, and ensuring that we’re always there for them, so why would we now be discussing the concept of denying them of what they may request from us?
Well, what God is telling us with this post, is to ensure that we get the right balance.
Loving and caring for someone goes beyond giving them what they ask for all the time, but actually sometimes requires us to be tough and disciplined, in order to produce the best them they can be. 

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness
and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
[Hebrews 12:11]

Whilst this word can sometimes have negative connotations, what the bible attributes to discipline are good things like self-control, wisdom, knowledge and growth.
Therefore without making the other person seem inferior, our ‘No’ can serve as good discipline, which is important in order for them to grow and learn from their situation.

Now let’s be real, some of us will struggle with this.
Particularly those of us who have fallen into a cycle with a friend or family member who keeps finding themselves in the same situation as a result of poor decisions. Each time they cry for help, we run to their rescue.
Firstly, God bless you for your diligence in supporting them all the time. And please don’t entertain any feelings of guilt as you now read this post, but rather be encouraged and led by the Holy Spirit to know that one day you will have the strength and wisdom to say ‘No’, in order for them to benefit from the crucial lesson that awaits them in the midst of that circumstance.

Yes it will hurt.
In fact the bible already says it will be painful, and this can be true for both us and them – we may feel like we’re letting them down, whilst they may feel unloved/rejected.
But let us not lose focus on what really matters…

You see, though our intentions our good, we fail to realise that sometimes we may end up depriving people of the growth and development that God has purposed a situation for in their lives. And this isn’t at all a post to blame us, but it’s just to make us mindful of the fact that in some cases, we ought to take a step back, and let God be God in their lives.
Let them remember that they ought to always depend on God.
And rather than us trying to take over His role, let us ask Him for the wisdom for us to know when not to intervene, so that He can take control and His perfect will be done.

Looking at the verse again, it says discipline produces a
H A R V E S T  of  R I G H T E O U S N E S S,  which means that our timely ‘No’ can positively contribute to the building of good and proper character – a man or woman that seeks God’s heart, and whose ways are pleasing in God’s sight.
Whether knowingly or unknowingly, some of us have fed our friend’s bad habits for so long, simply because we haven’t said ‘No’.
With this verse in mind, we ought to make the conscious decision to refuse to encourage any detrimental behaviour, and instead be a light in their lives by saying ‘No’, in order to push them to break away from every practice that doesn’t glorify God.

Now I know some of you will be thinking, ‘But a ‘No’ from me doesn’t necessarily stop them from seeking help somewhere else, which could be even worse’.
This is where we remember the importance of prayer and taking everything to the throne.
After seeking wisdom of when to say ‘No’, we must remember to pray that they will receive the ‘No’ with love and will appreciate the training it eventually provides.
Most importantly, our prayer should be that they shift their focus away from man and unto God, and that they seek guidance from Him alone.

Before we go, let us take note of this for ourselves too…
We also must learn to be open to receive a ‘No’.

“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
    but whoever hates correction is stupid.“
[Proverbs 12:1]

In loving discipline and knowledge, and taking into consideration what we’ve discussed above, when we find ourselves on the receiving end of a ‘No’, let’s first remember that this isn’t because the person doesn’t love us.
Let us be reminded that we should depend on God, seek His hand in every situation, and pray not to miss the lesson.

With the promise of God in Romans 8:28, we can be confident that whether we’re saying it, or it’s being said to us – the right ‘No’, will surely produce good fruits in our lives.

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

 

#LoveWithANo
#TrueLoveSaysNo
#MoreThan100PeoplePraying