Tag: New Year

TWENTY TWENTY-ONE

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If 2020 taught us anything, it would be the importance of absolute dependence on God.
In the midst of uncertainty and continuous change, God, His love and His protection were the only things that remained constant, thus allowing us to remain grounded.

So here’s a word for 2021…
And it comes from Isaiah 26:3-4;

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.

Isaiah 26:3-4

In 2021, my encouragement to you is to keep God at the  C E N T R E  of your heart, and allow Him to drive perfect  P E A C E  into every area of your life at all times. T R U S T  in Him and keep Him at the core of absolutely everything you do, so that regardless of the winds that blow and the storms that rage, you’ll still be able to stand strong, stand firm and bask in that  E V E R L A S T I N G  S T R E N G T H  He’s endowed you with. 

In the worldly view of life, the idea of self-sufficiency is praised and applauded, however that is the complete opposite of God’s instruction to us in His Word (Proverbs 3:5-6). God specifically asks us to depend on Him as opposed to leaning on our own understanding, and it’s because He knows that He has the divine omniscience and omnipotence that we require and cannot find elsewhere, no matter how hard we search for it.
He has the ultimate plan for our lives, therefore what better place to draw from, than the Source and Fountain of Life? 

We need to walk closely with God in 2021. It’s that simple. 

There are so many benefits to reap when we walk with Him. 
But even putting all material gain aside, the idea of an everlasting strength alone should excite us and encourage us to forever dwell in Him. Because the description of the strength in this verse is an indication of the fact that you will ALWAYS have all you need to get through anything you’ll EVER come across. 

The peace described in this verse is an assurance that in spite of any trials, your heart will always find  R E S T  in Him. Even when you can’t explain it, or understand it – you’ll always have a stillness, a calmness and a resolve in Christ Jesus that no man or circumstance can take away. 
I’ll plant a few verses here that describe the type of peace the bible promises to us – nothing that a man or woman can give – but a divine, heavenly, immeasurable P E A C E – John 14:27, Philippians 4:7. 

In 2021, I encourage you to  A B I D E  in the Father.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

John 15:4-5

Though life prior to this year may have forced you to grind on your own, and be independent; this year I want you to drop your guard, drop that self-sufficiency and take all that strength you’ve built up, to God, so He can multiply it abundantly. 

The truth is we can do NOTHING without Him. So even though some of the tough experiences we’ve faced may have pushed us to build up walls and a fierce attitude towards pursuing what we want – God desires for us to trust that He really will supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19). He desires a vulnerability from us that displays our obedience to 100% surrender to His will, and a heart that says ‘yes’ to doing things His way. 

My prayer for you…

Is that this year you’ll stay rooted in Christ Jesus.
No matter what life throws at you, and that’s both the good or the bad –  I pray that you will trust Him, and that praise and thanksgiving to the King will never depart from your lips.
May your heart crave God on both your best and worst days, and may your faith never waiver.
May you remember that you have an everlasting strength, and so be able to activate it when you need it most. 
And may the perfect peace of God keep you grounded and confident of your victory in spite of any rocky paths. 
In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.

In 2021 – You are going to Win!
Because that’s the ONLY destination any journey with God can lead to! 

I’m excited for you! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing

2019; For Such A Time As This…

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2019

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

Thanking God for His grace to see this year, and looking forward the special things yet to unfold…

Here’s our first post for 2019

God gave me this word in late November 2018, and I was instructed to save it for the special 2019 word.
So I have amazing news for you…

2019 is the year where a lot of things will make sense!

“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position
for such a time as this“
[Esther 4:14 NIV]

God has declared that in 2019, Purpose, Meaning, and Reasons will unravel in your life in many ways than one!

I’ll walk you through the story of Esther to explain what I’m talking about…

So for a bit of context, a quick summary of the book of Esther goes thus;
Esther is a Jewish orphan under the care of her Jewish uncle, and they’re residing in a foreign land. At a time, the existing queen displeases the king, so he dethrones her, searches for a new one, and Esther is given this royal title – she becomes the new Queen. At some point, due to a particular action by her uncle, a decree goes out to kill all Jews living in all the areas ruled by that king. Esther’s uncle pleads that she should do something about it and speak to the king. Esther seems initially reluctant to do so because of protocol, but with some persuasive and wise words from her uncle, she agrees to do so in spite of possible consequences. So, she goes ahead and does speak to the king, finds favour with him, he listens, flips the script and the Jews triumph over their enemies!
(Please note this is verrrry very brief, and you’ll truly benefit from reading the story yourself, in the book of Esther).

Now let’s break it down a little to make more sense of it…

The root of the problem

In Esther 3, we learn that Mordecai (Esther’s uncle) refuses to comply with some orders that instructed people to honour a man named Haman who the king appointed a very high role (Esther 3:2).
This refusal then meant Haman was angry and went to the king to ask for the destruction of not only Mordecai, but all of the people of his kind (Esther 3:5-6); which meant all Jews residing in that kingdom (Context about how they got there can be found in Esther 2:5-6).

So in Esther 3:8-9 – the decree and suggestion for the Jews to be killed is made by Haman to the king. In verse 10-11, the king agrees. So now we have the Jews in trouble!

Important note here: The seriousness of the decree…
The bible tells us in verse 10 that the king gives Haman his signet ring – the significance of giving Haman the ring is that when a decree/instruction is written out, and sealed by the king’s ring, then nothing can reverse it. So it meant the Jews were really in for it! 

When we reflect upon how solidly sealed the decree was, and then look at the fact that Esther’s influence had the ability to overturn it, it ought to inspire us to Walk in our Purpose in 2019, in our various communities.
The world literally needs us! To be the hand of deliverance, to be the light of the world and to use the greatness within us to effect positive change around us! (Matthew 5:14-16). But let me not get ahead of myself with this word, let’s take it step by step.
So next we look at…

Mordecai’s Plea

Mordecai is in great distress about the fact that he and his people are going to be killed (Esther 4:1-2). When Esther catches sight of her uncle’s grief, she sends for someone to find out why he was in such a bad way (Esther 4:5).
Aware of Esther’s position, Mordecai takes the opportunity to plead that she does something to change the king’s mind. Esther, however, initially replies explaining that a person is only permitted to see the king and speak to him when they’re called upon, and she hadn’t been called upon for a while (Esther 4:8-11).

When they return to Mordecai with Esther’s response, he replies with the famous line that God pointed out to me, and thus inspired this whole word;
Mordecai replies;

“Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
[Esther 4:13-14 NKJV]

I want us to rest here a sec…

You see, God is an Intentional God, which means, there is a reason for every single thing that takes place in our lives.
Mordecai displayed knowledge of this, and had to remind Esther that there was a bigger picture ahead of her…

Now reflect upon your life, and think of all the ways God has favoured you, all the talents God has gifted you with, and all the very different circumstances that God has allowed you to be in, whether good or bad.
Awaiting you in 2019, are many moments where a bigger purpose for all those things you’ve just brought to mind, will manifest, not just for you and your immediate community, but also for the wider world around you!

A time will come when you need to use your gift of dance, singing, photography, banking etc.
A time will come when your testimony/story of a painful past will need to be shared.
A time will come when the influence you have through the position of power you were given so randomly, will need to be used to help others up!

God has many ‘For Such A Time As This’ moments lined up for you in 2019, and my responsibility right now, is to tell you how NOT to miss them!

Let’s head back to Esther.
She gets inspired by her uncle’s reply and decides that she’ll be Bold and do what she has to do to save her people! (Esther 4:16)
But things could have gone differently, and here are a few key things we have to be mindful of to ensure that we do not miss our ‘For Such A Time As This’ moments!

  • Fear – Esther was initially afraid to break the rules.
    Sometimes we’re scared of the consequences of going against the grain. But God is calling us to speak out, stand out and trust Him to come through for us.
    God calls us out at specific times, to be an example of His wonders. Daniel did this (Daniel 1 and 2), and so did his three friends, and because of their unwavering faith in their God, and their refusal to conform or be intimidated by man, even the king who initially sought to condemn them, ended up worshipping the God they serve (Daniel 3).

    Do not be afraid (2 Timothy 1:7) of how big the situation is. God needs you to be bold in what He has called you to do (Joshua 1:9), because He knows the outcome will be great, and He knows you ARE capable.

  • Excuses – now I doubt that this was done with malicious intent, but Esther’s initial response is kinda an excuse.
    Just like Esther, it’s not that we don’t care about the purpose ahead of us, but when we first see how BIG the assignment is, we back track and start coming up with reasons (which can seem very plausible) for why we can’t do it.

    How many of us are good at doing this? We find every possible reason why it’s not the right time. We find every possible alternative way around fulfilling our responsibility and the truth is, if we allow our flesh to run us out of our purpose, we will live with that guilt for the rest of our life.

    Aside from that, we must take pride in being chosen to be used by God!
    Listen, God has a plethora of vessels He can use! If we dilly dally with doing what we’re meant to, we run the risk of being replaced (Luke 19:40) (and this is a scary reality!) Thus, Mordecai tells Esther, ‘Surely someone else will help deliver us if you do not…’
    We have to understand that it is a privilege to be selected to do God’s work. You have to realise that God has planned your life in a way up until that present moment, that specifically qualifies YOU to rise up and take charge ‘for such a time as this’. Friend you need to take that opportunity with pride and joy, and fulfil the precious will of God.

  • Lack of understanding of the grace she carried/Disbelief in the importance of her position
    How many of us underestimate the gifts we have?
    A lot of the time, we simply do not know good we are, or how important we are, or even how cherished we are within our communities. Though she was the wife of a king, Esther did not realise the power of her position, nor did she understand how highly she was esteemed in the king’s mind, but the bible tells us as soon as the king saw her, he was pleased! (Esther 5:2)

    I guess you can admire her humility; however, as Christians we need to ensure our humility is accurate, balanced, and used in the correct way. If the bible tells you that YOU are a chosen generation, a ROYAL priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), then trust me, YOU ARE.
    There is a type of greatness within you that compares to NOTHING known to man.
    God needs you to believe more in the He that is in you (1 John 4:4), and thus step out in situations to birth the purpose He has set to manifest through you ‘for such a time as this’.

  • Lack of selflessness – As any human would, Esther’s initial instinct reaction displays an inability to think past her own life (again we can see fear here). We all do this! And the truth is that it’s very natural to feel this way. However Esther quickly saw past herself (Esther 4:16), and put God’s work and her purpose ahead of her instead.  Like Esther, we need to realise that our lives are not just for us. In fact the bible teaches us that we are made for God’s pleasure (Revelation 4:11).
    1 Peter 4:10 tells us to use our gifts to serve others. 1 Corinthians 12:7 tells us that ‘the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all’ – thus these verses remind us that whatever glory we have in our lives, ought to be used for the good of not just ourselves, but rather, for others.
    Always remind yourself: ‘there is an ‘ALL’, that this is for’.

So Purpose fulfilled…

If we skip along to Esther 7:3, we read that she makes her request for mercy to be upon the Jews, and in Esther 8:5-7, the decree is made and signed, thus the Jews are delivered.
So what we’re seeing is that Esther fulfilled her purpose and rose up at such a time as when she was truly needed.

We too, in Jesus’ name, will be like Esther, and we will fulfil every purpose that God has set for us to achieve.
But quickly before we end, let us touch on this…
The reality is that when the ‘for such a time as this’ moment comes, it will be unsettling, it will not be convenient, and it will require faith!

Therefore, we need to depend on God FULLY when we step forward to carry out His work.
And as Esther did, we need to:

  • Pray and fast – for His favour and direction to execute His will correctly.
  • Apply wisdom – to deal with the situation in the most appropriate way, to optimise the outcome.

In addition to this we should:

  • Seek God’s direction
  • Walk with God daily – to constantly get a refreshing and top up of anointing from God, and be in-line with Him.
  • Continue to cultivate our gifts – let us ensure our talents and gifts are fine-tuned and at their optimum so that whenever God’s need for them comes, we can use it in the best way.
  • Ask God to make us sensitive to His voice so we will not miss when He is instructing us to move.

God is calling for boldness, obedience and reflectiveness in 2019. He needs us to be attentive to His voice with our every experience, and thus allow His intentionality in our lives to show through!
2019 is your year to unravel the magnitude and the optimum of certain gifts and talents God has given you! As well as the year for you to share your testimonies and stories with those who will benefit from hearing it.

I pray, that we will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, I pray we will cultivate our gifts to ensure they are always at the best level, and I pray that we will not shun the opportunity to actually see God’s hand in our lives ‘all make sense’.

2019, let us have great confidence in our sauce and source 😀

Happy New Year Friends!

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

 

#ForSuchATimeAsThis
#2019
#NewYear
#WalkInYourPurpose

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!

Welcome and Happy New Year – 2017

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Welcome

Heyyyyy… I gladly welcome you to Untainted Word.
It has definitely been a long time coming and I am so pleased that it is finally here and ready to be shared with you all.

For those who do not know, this is a step I have been meaning to take for many years, in terms of expanding how I share the inspirational, faith-based messages that I have been sending by text to my contacts for about 8/9 years now.

I have been encouraged by many people over the years to start a blog or just get these messages online somehow, and I finally have. (Thank you so much to everyone who planted those seeds, you can finally see them germinating).

I ask that you bear with me as everything is starting up, and I ask for your prayers; that this platform will serve its purpose in drawing people closer to God and leading souls to Christ.

It will definitely be expanding, by God’s grace, and in fact there are some interesting things to come in due time, but for now you can anticipate: Sunday’s Shaper; to conclude your week with a word that will enlighten, empower and enrich your mind with the right thoughts; enabling you to constructively reflect on the past week and equipping you with scripture to apply in the week ahead.
You can also look forward to Wednesday’s Wake-Up Call; a mid-week pick-me-up, to re-encourage, re-inspire and remind you of your ability to be excellent for the rest of the week.
The purpose of these messages is to bring attention to God’s truths – both His promises for us and His expectations of us as His children.

Hopefully, between here, and the Home and About pages, you will have a good enough idea of what Untainted Word is all about.
If there is anything else you would like to know, or in fact if you have general questions about the content you read in posts, or topic suggestions and so on, please head over to the Contact page, fill in the form and get in touch!

Anyway, enough of all that – please enjoy as you read the rest of the first post below – (a late, but valuable New Year’s message).

Happy New Year!

free-fireworks-image-4

Happy New Year!!
Please pardon my lateness, I know we are 16 days in, but hey, the year is still pretty fresh, right?

2016 was many things for each of us.
It was filled with highs and lows, positives and negatives, fulfillments and disappointments.
For some it was their best year yet, for others it was the opposite, but one thing we can all say about 2016, regardless of our individual experience of it, is, it has gone.

Whether 2016 brought us joy or sorrow, it is now officially in the past.
And actually God says;

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”
[Isaiah 43:18]

Therefore, whilst it is wise to remember and improve from the lessons you learnt last year, it is very important for you to understand that there is absolutely nothing you can do to change anything that happened in it. That means friend, let it go and look forward to the new things.

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
[Isaiah 43:19]

How apt is this promise of God for a new beginning?

One thing we should always remember about God’s word is that it doesn’t return to Him unfulfilled – [Isaiah 55:11], in other words, God sticks to His word and does what He says.
That therefore places the ball in our court; God gives us His word, but it is our choice to receive, believe and use it.

So the question now is, how many of us will accept this promise of God from Isaiah 43:18-19, and be determined and confident enough to actively pursue and achieve our goals in 2017?
How many of us will truly believe that God will make a way, and do a new thing for us this year?
If He tells you to let go of the old, in order to make room for the new, will you trust Him enough to obey?

Along with our New Year’s resolutions, it is worth ensuring that we also endeavour to walk closely with God, be led by Him, and be sensitive to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
I pray that we will hold on firmly to the word of God, and as we do, may 2017 be our most glorious and successful year yet, in Jesus’ Name.
Amen.

Happy New Year friends
Make this year whatever you want it to be!

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