Schedule Him In

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This is somewhat a PFP, but soon I feel I’ll need to announce that less, because I can feel God transforming the tone of this platform.

That out of the way let’s talk…

If you’re someone who already actively makes time for God, and spends time with Him consistently, then well done, but still, keep reading.
There is something in here that God has for someone you know, and it is your responsibility to share it with them.
So make sure once you’ve read it, and God shows you exactly what you need to show them, you share it with them.

Now getting into the post…

Today I led a short bible study titled ‘Using your free time wisely: Getting closer to God’.

Now while the emphasis is not necessarily on the fact that it’s only in our ‘free time’ that we should attempt to grow in God, the point here is simply Making Time for God.
So truthfully, for many people who may not already actively spend enough time with Him, yes, it may start out that you find you only want to fit ‘God stuff’ in when you’re less busy – but I am sure that once you begin studying Him more, and growing in Him, you’ll understand that He deserves much more than just your left-over hours of the day.

Now let’s look at something – many of us will proudly and openly say that we love God. This is great.
However moving on to knowing God, it’s likely that fewer of us are able to claim this so boldly.

So I asked during bible study today, ‘How can you love a God you don’t know?’

I mean it’s already one thing that we don’t see Him, but then to not really know much about Him either – how is it possible to love Him?

Well here’s what we raised in our session – yes, we can still love our God without knowing Him properly.
How?

Well, it’s because we know of Him, we hear of the things He does, we are cultured and steered by peers and parents to believe in Him, we ourselves are direct beneficiaries of His kindness and mercy and grace and so much more, and most simply, because we are recipients of His love. The bible tells us that we are able to love Him, because He first loved us – (1 John 4:19). All these things enable us to love God, or rather, have love for God, despite not necessarily knowing Him.

So here’s the thing, knowing of God, is not knowing Him. Knowing of Him is not understanding Him, ‘getting’ Him, relating with Him, knowing where He’s coming from.

Friend, knowing of God is therefore probably good enough to love Him superficially but it’s hard for it to go any further than that.
And the thing is, I’m sure you desire more.
I’m sure you desire to worship God in spirit and in truth, and honour Him with your life, and Love Him with all your heart as the bible says in Matthew 22:37.
I’m sure you yearn to love Him deeper and grow in Him more than ever before.

Which is why we need to make time for God.
And in making time for God we’re studying His word, we’re opening our hearts and ears to Him, and we’re drawing closer and closer, day by day.
In drawing closer to Him, we’re learning more about Him, about His mind, about what pleases and displeases Him, and essentially we are walking and living in a way that exudes a true deep Love and Reverence for God the Father…

Now I like practicality, so I’ll share a few ways how we can begin to spend more time with God, and doing the things of God.

Remembering that this is a PFP, please understand that these ideas are simply suggestions of resources, as well as people/ministers whose teachings have personally agreed with my spirit and have benefitted my walk with God.
There are also some suggestions included below that were raised by other individuals at the bible study today.
I want you to note that this list isn’t exhaustive, nor a guide to being the perfect Christian (if that exists at all), but rather it provides (hopefully) relatable and realistic ways for you to take an active step forward in Getting Closer to your God.

Before anything on the list –
The first step is to make time for God!
Whether you start by dedicating five minutes of your lunch break everyday, or by deciding to get up thirty minutes earlier each day – decide a realistic (but worthwhile) period you want to set aside for God, set it aside, spend that time with Him and just see how it goes.

Now here you are, different things you can begin to incorporate into your life, to get closer to God:

Watch videos of teachings, preachings, sermons, topics, bible discussions and so on.
Swap that music video, or reality TV show for a word of God – initially you won’t really want to do it, but just click on it (the God vid), and you’ll see how your day becomes transformed by the presence of God.
Examples: I follow One Church LA on YouTube and enjoy teachings by Pastor Toure Roberts and Sarah Jakes Roberts.
Also on YouTube, Ify Alexis has a range of messages/sermons, as well as a young women’s ministry called Love Limitless.
Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat – seek that Christian video/word and click it instead of skipping past it.

Read the bible – Joshua 1:8.
Now this is one of the most obvious ones, but possibly the hardest to know how to do.
A suggestion I have is to select a book in the bible, skim through to see how many chapters there are, and then create a reading plan for yourself with an aim of when you would like to read it all by e.g. one week, a few weeks, a month.
Tip: Always ensure to pray before reading – for God to give you understanding of His word and ability to apply it to life where appropriate.
If you don’t have a physical book bible, it’s easy to download any available bible app on to your phone, or access one online – I often use BibleGateway for my online bible, easy to navigate.

Use The Bible App.
There are many reading plans on this App that encourage a structure to read the bible.
Look through and pick one/some that suit you, and begin them. Once you’re done, choose another, or you may at this point want to do the above, and create your own reading schedule of a particular book in the bible.
I’ve enjoyed many of the plans written by Joyce Meyer.

Read articles on Christian blogs/platforms from people of relatable backgrounds.
This could be someone at a similar stage of life to you e.g. student-student, or someone at the stage you’re aspiring to reach next e.g. single-married; whatever you find resonates well with you for whatever topic/topics you’re seeking to learn about.
Examples: Hopefully this platform (Untainted Word) plays a helpful part in being one of the platforms you can come to, and learn.
Love Limitless as mentioned above.
My friends have also enjoyed and shared with me words from desiringgod.org.

Read devotionals.
These are words (and in some cases prayers too) that encourage you for the day, and also give a few scriptures for you to read as well.
Examples: UCB’s Word for Today was suggested at bible study today.
But you can also type in ‘devotionals’ into Google, and see what it brings you.
The Bible App above also has many of these.

Pray.
This is another obvious one and a very very important one but sometimes a difficult one when it isn’t a common practice. A suggestion raised today was to set a timer and don’t stop praying until it rings. You may only set it for 2 minutes initially, but just start with something, and gradually increase the time.
What to say when you pray? Friend, I’m not telling you what to say, I’ll just remind you that God is YOUR Father, you are HIS child, therefore be free with Him and just have an open and honest conversation with Him, and hey, don’t forget to listen back for Him speaking too.

‘Alone-time’ with God; Dates with God.
This could be dinner for two – where the other party is God, or a walk in the park, or a sit-down in the coffee shop – dedicate moments of pure ‘alone-time’, listening-time, with God.
You’ll be surprised how much He’s been waiting to share with you – He just needs you to give Him those moments.

Now go ahead and choose a couple…
I encourage each of us to select Prayer by default – as we know that this is key, and the bible does say to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), so let’s try not to go another day without a prayer, from today onwards.
From the rest of this list, I hope there’ll be at least one or two more things that you’ll be willing to try out – starting today!!

I want to end by saying this…
Having shared so many different suggestions, and opened you up to many different platforms being led by other people in the Christian faith, it is important that we always always always seek out the truth. I’m not saying question everything you read or hear, but simply pray beforehand that God will direct you to resources that will teach sound doctrine, and enrich your spirit in the way He desires for it to be!

I hope you’re excited for a new walk and a new level of Loving and Knowing God!

(Please please feel free to talk to me – let me know how this goes, how you find some of these resources and share with the rest of us some other things that maybe work well for you.)

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

 

*Disclaimer: (and I chuckle as I write this, but it’s important that I do) I haven’t been paid to ‘advertise’ any of these ministries/platforms/websites/resources. These are genuine suggestions from myself of resources that I personally use and feel benefit my walk with God.*

Through Christ…

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Overwhelmed?

Just think for a second…

Are you leaning on your own understanding?

Are you relying on your own strength?

Are you trying to do everything all by yourself?

Sometimes when we get stuck and overwhelmed, and feel like we’re literally over-stretched with responsibilities and tasks to fulfil, we ought to stop and ask ourselves; by which strength are we trying to do it all?

Yes, friend, this is the best time to reassess the way we’re functioning and really ask ourselves;

Are we resting on our own power, or on God’s?
Are we depending on our own human strength, knowledge and wisdom, or are we giving everything up to God and saying ‘I surrender my plans, tasks, responsibilities to You, work through me!’?

I don’t know why we do it, but many of us have made Jesus a mere spectator in our lives as we run our race, rather than our personal Coach!

And we’ve got to realise this – if we only give Jesus front-row tickets to watch us ‘do our thing’, then He’ll get the message, and understand that we don’t want His input.
Yes, He may be close enough for us to hear Him, but as He knows that we invited Him to watch us do it our own way, He will simply assume the position and just watch.

As our Coach, however, Jesus is our strength and encouragement every step of the way! Front-row seats or not, we will have a sensitivity to His voice to hear Him whenever He speaks to guide us on the journey.
The fact that we work closely with Him daily, and have decided to trust in Him and trust in His direction, means we will be able to take on board every tip, skill, and instruction that He offers in order to ensure that we run well!

So with that being said, ask yourself;

Have I told Jesus to Watch me or Direct me?

If you realise that He’s simply watching from the sidelines, despite His love and desire to lead you aright, then it’s time to seek forgiveness and mercy, and ask Jesus to take the lead and have His way.

The Bible says that we should acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, and He will direct our paths. (Proverbs 3:6)

Therefore rather than struggling to juggle everything, and barely making it work, why not place Jesus at the centre of it all, and allow Him to direct your path, just as the word says?
Trust me, even if it seems like a lot to the human eye, when you are doing it ‘Through Christ‘, you’ll see that you are more than capable of fulfilling it all, and then some.

So friend, please allow Jesus to take the appropriate role in your life.

 

I hope this blesses your Wednesday evening, and I also take this opportunity to apologise for the lack of posts in the past three weeks!

I myself had to knuckle down during university exam time, but we’re back now, and God willing back with better time management and organisation skills, as Jesus is the one steering!

I pray the rest of your week is saturated with favour, strength and grace, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

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

 

Not Some… ALL

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The thing about the bible is, the words in it do not lie.
Therefore when we see a sentence in there, or when we see a phrase in there, we have to take it for what it says.

How many of us are familiar with the Philippians 4:13 verse?
The one that tells us we can do all things through the strength we have in Christ Jesus.
How many of us believe it? (Many of us will say ‘me’.)

Okay, now how many of us truly believe and live by it?

You see, it’s one thing to believe that something is true, but it’s another thing to actually take on that truth and embed it into your own life.

All things, means All things.

It doesn’t mean a quarter, or a third, or two thirds or even 99%, but All things, means ALL…Things…

That means when you’re thinking of quitting because man, or even your own flesh has qualified you as unable to fulfil that task – you need to step up and realise that Christ is with you in ALL things, and you can and will do it – just apply yourself.

When your teachers/professors tell you that ‘Most students fail at this hurdle, hardly any students make that jump successfully…’ – you need to wear the garment of ALL things being possible through Jesus, and let them know there’s a Greater Being in you, that drives and enables you.

When your bosses say you can’t do it because of your background, or your experience, or your qualifications – you need to tap into that favour and grace from Christ that breaks protocol on your behalf and places ALL things within your reach.

Even when your family, who most people would argue are the ones who know you best – yes friend, even when they, in the deepest love for you, and through the desire of wanting to protect you from disappointment – even when they tell you that the venture is no good, or it’s too hard for you –  you need to strap up your ALL things footwear and get trekking, because Christ is going to take you there; to that desired goal and even further!

My reminder for you today is this,
When we extract verses from the word of God, let’s take them in their wholeness.

Just in the same way that we know we shouldn’t follow laws half-heartedly, or ‘pick and choose’ which commandments we want to follow, we also shouldn’t weaken verses of encouragement and empowerment, but rather, take them as FULLY as they come.

If Christ was only capable of enabling us 50% of the time, in 50% of the tasks, then the bible would tell us that!

100% UW

But as it says ALL things, it assures us of Him being 100 percent!
Therefore I encourage you to,
1. Put ALL your faith in His strength that lies in you.
And 2. Be bold to step forward and know that you truly are a conqueror, a victor and a success in EVERY single thing you lay your hands upon.

Now how’s that for a word to start your Wednesday morning?!

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

Talk To Me…

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Food for Thought…

How many of us are guilty of this?

Someone has done something you don’t like; offended you, been rude, hurtful, or simply annoying, with their words or actions towards you; and so you’ve cooked up an entire fight in your mind and you are absolutely boiling….. Planning how badly you’re going to ‘go off on them’, or maybe even just not speak to them ever again.
(We each have our personal ways of dealing with people who upset us, but you get my drift). 

I have a question for you friend,
Do they even know they’ve done anything wrong?

In many cases, the answer is actually ‘NO!’

And in all cases, whether or not the other person is aware of their fault,
We have to understand the importance of communication – we ought to remember and appreciate the importance of being sensible enough to verbally address situations with people when we feel that they’ve done something displeasing to us.

Communication not only allows a resolution, but it also gives you peace and freedom, from an anger that actually has the potential to eat you up, and completely destroy that relationship, if harboured too long.

Communication allows you to understand where they are coming from; it develops your perspective – you get to understand why they said those words, what they intended to achieve by doing what they did.

Communication allows them to understand you better – by you explaining how their words or actions or decisions made you feel, you allow them to relate with you better. They have the opportunity to think of it from your point of view and therefore widen their outlook on the situation.

Communication allows growth – they now not only know what displeases you, but they can be mindful that it could potentially upset others also.
They are therefore able to reflect on why/how they were perceived as hurtful, and (if deemed necessary) they can revise their delivery/choice of words, or work on changing that action to something less selfish/aggressive/(whatever it was perceived to be by yourself).

The bottom line is this;
They won’t know unless you tell them.

Therefore there is no point walking around sulking, moaning and telling others, or sizzling up a storm of an argument to attack them with.

Your most important step, and responsibility, is to speak with them.
You’ll notice I didn’t say it’s your first step, and that’s because some of us will benefit from stepping away from the situation and calming down, and reflecting on it.
Once this is done, all of us, not just those who get heated easily, but all of us, will most definitely benefit from asking God to direct our words and our entire approach, because the last thing we want, is a full blown argument.

Therefore let us remember to speak to God first, before we speak to them…
Ask Him to soften our hearts
Ask Him to sanctify our tongues
Ask Him to open up our minds.

And with this, we will be able to;
Have a cool, calm and mature overall approach,
Say things in the right way, for the other person to understand well, and understand in love,
Receive what the other person says without creating a bigger problem or dismissing/doubting their reasoning/explanation for their behaviour.

I’ll end by saying this;
For as long as you aren’t a mind-reader, I can assure you that the next person also ISN’T!
So Go!
C O M M U N I C A T E  with them, and smooth things over; remembering that the word of God encourages us not to last long in a state of anger (Ephesians 4:26).

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

A Letter to You; Don’t Be Afraid

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“​For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
[2 Timothy 1:7]

Dear friend,

I’m gonna need you to take this verse, and run with it.
Put it in the pocket of your heart, and whip it out anytime fear tries to creep up on you!
We need words like these; the right assurance from God.
Especially at a time like this when it seems as though, not just your home city, but the whole world is under attack.

Silence us,
Paralyse us, and
Imprison our minds, is what the enemy wants to do…
All in all, they want us to stop living with the freedom and liberty that God Himself permitted us, and instead surrender to their wicked ways…
But we cannot and will not let them win.

I write this letter to encourage you to do a few things…

The first is, Hold on to God!
Know His word for you, be confident in His protection over you (Psalm 91), and trust that He is still on the throne regardless of what is happening.
“I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.”
[1 John 2:14]

Sometimes people get a bit funny about how God can be sovereign, yet this evil stuff still happens, but the truth is, the presence of evil stems from a disobedience of man from time past.
What is sure however is this; God will surely raise a standard against the evil one, and their judgement shall come upon them – (Isaiah 59:18-19, Malachi 4:1).

Whatever you do, do not lose hope in God – trust in the fact that He is All-Knowing, He is Intentional, and He is the only Wise God – (1 Timothy 1:17).

Next is, Do Not Fear!
What kind of life would it be, to be looking over our shoulder every second, worried about someone striking us?
Friend, as crazy as it may sound, I ask that you still Be Bold, and Walk Tall.
This is actually an instruction from God’s word;
“So be strong and courageous!
Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.
For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you.
He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” 
[Deuteronomy 31:6]

We ought therefore, to live out this word.
Let us be bold, and strong, but also vigilant and wise, alert and aware of our surroundings, and be rest assured that God is with us – always – (Joshua 1:9).

Next is, Keep Loving…
At a time like this, the last thing we need is hatred and more division.
I need us to remember that actually the word of God says that ‘perfect love drives out all fear’ – (1 John 4:18).
We need not point the finger at other cultures or other religions, but rather we need to embrace one another, help one another and stand in intercession for one another at this crucial time.
If we can physically help, by volunteering time or resources to health services and other rescue organisations, then please let us do so. If not, then let us remember that we can always love with a prayer – and that has no limitations or boundaries.

Leading me finally to this;

Pray without Ceasing – (1 Thessalonians 5:17)!
The world needs us now, more than ever, to send up a word to our Ever-Listening Father, on their behalf!

Yes, we need to fight in the spirit, and pray against every root and seed of evil that has taken over the hearts of those perpetrating these wicked acts.
Pray that they become weak, and that their plans be destroyed, dismantled and disorganised in Jesus’ name.

Very importantly let us pray for those affected…
Victims, their families, city cultures and so much more…
We need to stand for them!
The reality is that many of them will be too weak to pray, too down to believe, and too hurt to trust again.
Let us ensure that our consistent prayers will allow their faith and hope to be restored!
Let us pray that they will not walk away from God, but will know that there is every reason to hold on to Him regardless.
Let us pray that God will heal their hearts from the trauma and shock, and will provide comfort and peace for them to push through, and carry on.

I want you to remember that the bible says, ‘The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results’ – (James 5:16)
Therefore, let us believe in the power of our prayer, and never give up.

Friend we must know and believe, that with our prayer,
There will be a CHANGE!

Let us affect it, through the powerful name of JESUS.

I’ll leave you now, to continue with your day; make it as normal as normal gets, and do not allow anything to stop you from living fully!

Signed With Love,

Step 2: Do

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Here’s a quick word about,

‘Doing’ His Word

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

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

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

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

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

Look at this…
The bible tells us that;

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

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

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

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

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

Perfect Peace; Isaiah 26:3

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

Today, I woke up feeling overwhelmed.

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

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

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

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

And here is God…

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

What’s my point here?

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

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

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

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

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

The bible in Isaiah 26:3 says,

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

Take this word as your truth today and always.

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

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

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

Remember, You can do it 🙂

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

 

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

A Prayer For You…

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This Evening,

All I want to do, is pray for you…

 

In Jesus’ name,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A M E N.

 

Have a pleasant, positive and life-changing week!

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

Forgiveness; No Buts

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s read a bit more;

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

(Oh dear! It’s about to go down…)

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

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

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

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

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

(Oh phew! Thank God for Reuben…)

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

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

(Nooo Wayyy!)

Okay, Let’s stop there.

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

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

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

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

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

How far does your Forgiveness go?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus’ Eyes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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