A real encounter



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”And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Cor 2:1-5

We have a mandate from Jesus to go out into the world and to tell people about Him. To tell them that their sins are forgiven and that they can walk in a relationship with Him. Across the world there are so many “methods” of telling people about Jesus.  When we talk to people about God each situation will be different as each person is unique, but only God can give them a real revelation of the fact that He is real, we cannot try to convince someone with lofty words and knowledge.

I’m not saying that we should not tell people, teach people or share wisdom with people, I am merely saying that the Holy Spirit should be the instigator as to how we should approach each individual. He knows their hearts and their needs and He will minister to them through us if we allow Him to. Sharing the gospel is not a competition to see how many or how quickly we can convert someone, it is a matter of the heart. Loving someone unconditionally whether they agree with you or not and walking a road with them without expectations.

The only way to be effective is to be led by the Holy Spirit when sharing the gospel. Sometimes one day or one prayer is enough, but sometimes it takes months or years of consistent love and friendship or even no words and only actions. God prepares the hearts of the people around us beforehand and He knows when the soil of their hearts is ready to receive the seeds that we sow. I still remember so clearly the day that I met Jesus. It was such a radical experience for me, sitting in darkness one moment and my heart being flooded with light and love in the next. It was instant, it was beautiful and I wouldn’t exchange that experience for anything in the world.

The last thing that you want is to force someone to believe or pray a prayer. We need to lead people in such a way that they understand what it means to have a relationship with God and not just a lifeless religion. They need to have a real encounter with God in order for them to truly be convinced. They need to know that they can expect to hear God speak, because He loves to spend time with His children and that it is a journey. There is no need to water down the gospel or make it more comfortable for people to accept, we should only be real and honest, sharing with them in love.

As Paul mentions in the scripture above, he didn’t approach the people with lofty words and wisdom, but with the true message of Jesus. How He died for their sins to set them free, how He loves them and how He desires to spend time with them. He displayed this truth in the Spirit and in power that the faith of the people would not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Not allowing someone to have an encounter with God is robbing them of the true meaning of being a Christian. Rather approach the situation in Spirit and power, demonstrating the love of God and encouraging them to seek God and hear His voice. God will not let you down, He is faithful and He will let His love find them.

How big is your God?



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Something that I have realised again lately is that the bigger we make God, the smaller our issues become. It really is so obvious and I have known this for years, but sometimes God makes a revelation, that you already have, just sink in deeper. It’s hard to explain to someone, because even though the revelation reaches a deeper level of understanding, the explanation still sounds the same, because the change really lies in the heart.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:5-8

Our natural inclination is to walk according to the flesh and the laws of this world, but once we have been born of God, we have the Holy Spirit in us which enables us to walk according to the Spirit. Our minds are hostile to God if we are not born again and we cannot walk with God or understand Him. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds.” Heb 10:16

We no longer walk according to a law written on tablets, but instead we walk according to a law written on our hearts. God himself will write these laws on our hearts while we walk in relationship with Him. The “law” so to speak will be different for each person, as God speaks to the individual. This is so beautiful because He takes the time to teach each one of us at our own pace and on our own journey.

When we walk according to the Spirit, we live in the truth of God’s word. We believe and apply what He says, as opposed to being ruled by our fluctuating emotions and our situations (the flesh). It enables us to thank God for our solutions even before they are evident and gives us the freedom to cast our burdens on Him and walk in peace. “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor 5:7

Our joy does not have to be determined by our present situation, but by the bigness and faithfulness of God and the fact that we know that He will come through for us and He has a plan. There is no way that He can let you down, it is not in His nature. He cannot leave you or forget you. “if we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself.” 2 Tim 2:13 It is impossible for God to not be faithful to you, because He cannot deny who HE is. Think about this for a second and allow God to just increase you perception of Him. Set your mind on the things of the Spirit and your mountains will turn into mole heaps.

“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” 1Cor 2:12-14

Tick tock, tick tock...

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We all have seasons in our lives where we feel like we are just not getting everything done that we want to do and that there are just not enough hours in a day. We can often be our own worst enemy in this regard by pushing ourselves to take on more and more, biting off more than we can chew.

I particularly remember that I had one of these moments about 4 years ago. I was racing from work to my cell group and it was just a busy day and week and I was thinking something in the line of "why can't there be 48hrs in a day?!" and God replied: "if I gave you 48hours in a day, then you would be rushing 48hrs a day. I gave you exactly enough time to do everything that I have given you to do."

His answer was very simple, but really made me think and has had a lasting effect on my everyday life. I considered this: "What am I filling my day with. What do I know He has asked me to do and what not?" I think that we sometimes so easily say “yes” to things or even feel obligated to do things, even good things like exercise, helping people out and serving. We end up spreading ourselves so thinly over everything, that we can't give our all in anything.

Not even Jesus said “yes” to everything. He knew what His purpose was and He kept His focus on that. I'm sure that there were towns where people wanted Him to stay longer, preach longer or wait for more people to arrive who needs healing, but Jesus knew that He needed to go to Jerusalem, die on the cross before Passover and rise again in order that all of us can have the power in us to preach and heal and so be even more effective than He could be on His own. Imagine the effect on the world if Jesus had to miss His purpose, because He was too busy and felt too guilty to say "no".

Jesus saw the bigger picture, He got perspective from God and He could say “no” without feeling guilty or condemned and “yes” to the things which God called Him to. Ask God today what He has planned for you and what you need to spend your focus, time and energy on in a day. Trust His guidance and He will give you the strength to do everything that you need to do with joy and peace.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:4-7

“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Matt 6:27

And there was Love



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God has put a treasure of gifts and abilities in each one of us. Gifts and abilities which He wants to reveal, develop and bless other people with. Often we don’t even see what our own gifts and abilities are, because it’s to “close to us” so to speak or so deeply hidden that we don’t even know about it or sometimes we are so busy doing what we think we ought to do, that we don’t listen to our hearts and find our real passion.

Sometimes, actually often, God uses people and circumstances to reveal gifts and abilities in us that we never knew we had. I count it such a privilege when God shows me what He sees in somebody even if it is just for a second, to see another person through His eyes. He takes you beyond their physical appearance, beyond brokenness, walls of defences, pretence, the hurt which the world has placed on someone, their pain, their suffering and He shows you, “Look, see what a treasure I have hidden inside this person, see who I have made him to be.” And suddenly your heart floods with love for this person as you recognise with what beauty he/she has been made.

People walk around believing what the world has said about them, “You are so lazy, so stubborn, so broken, so weak, so undesirable, so ugly, such a failure" and the list goes on. It’s time that we get a second opinion, an opinion from the One whose opinion really matters. It is time we stop believing the lies and allow God to show us who we are and what He has put in us and in other people.

It is your responsibility to look at your spouse, family and friends and to encourage them into the person which God has made them to be. Our words can make or break a person. Get a download from heaven and speak love and life over the people in your life and over yourself. Allow God to set them free from the lies and bonds that this world has spoken over them by encouraging them and loving them for who they are, without reservation or prejudice.

Then take it a step further and look for the treasure in each person that you meet. Even if you cannot initially see it, look for it, it is there, God is a good God and He does not create failures. There is a treasure in each person and when we love them, we accept them and we free them to be who God intended them to be.

I do not love because I’m a good person and because I was just born this way, all happy and full of love. I love because I had an encounter with the One who is Love. I love because loving is the unstoppable effect of meeting with Jesus. I love because He has taken me from a dark, lost and selfish place and set my feet upon a rock. I love not because I am good, but because someone good is now in me. I do not have the capacity in me to extend love to every person, but He fills the gap between my possible and the impossible and I thank God that Love has found me.

“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” Songs 4:7

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.  And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Phil 1:3-11

When you listen to this song, don’t look at the pictures, but close your eyes and listen with your heart.

Lindsey Kane - Measure of Beauty

In need of hope?



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We will all sooner or later face difficult situations or even seasons in our lives. The time frame of these might vary radically from 1 day to many years. It is important that we, in these times, remain focussed on what God has said and not on how we feel. Emotions will fluctuate daily, but the word of God does not change and never lies. It is important therefore that we put our hope in God and in His word.

“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27

Christ in you is a mystery, it is an endless supply of miracles, wonders and strength beyond our wildest imagination. We do not have to go far to find hope, we already have Hope and He lives in us. This hope is there in every trial and tribulation to bring us to a place of glory and victory. We actually are already victorious, before the end of our difficult situation even arrives, because of the Hope that is in us. Wow, I wish we can grasp this fully! God is so good!

He has put in us everything that we need today and will need in the future. God sees us today as past, present and future, He is not restricted by our rules of time and therefore He has already equipped us for every trial. It is here where faith comes into play as “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1

By faith we then activate what God has already put in us, claiming the glorious victory which we already have in Christ.

“Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

The veil is removed and the presence of God is in us, the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us and therefore “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” Rom 8:37 Next time when you face a difficult situation, know that you are equipped and more than capable to endure with patience and to finish victoriously.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Romans 8:18

“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:24-25

Refer back to the post Access with confidence for a more detailed explanation relating to the veil being removed.

Stressing out?

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It is so easy to get caught up in life, rushing from one point to the next. I realise that everybody is in a different place in their lives and yes there is a time to work and a time to play, but it’s so important to take time and breathe.

God didn’t need to rest on the 7th day, He has all the energy, He is energy, but he chose to rest and enjoy the creation which He has made. Sometimes I wonder why we think that working, rushing and being busy 7 days a week is normal. I think if God didn’t make sleep, then we would probably be busy 24 hours a day! I’m not saying that it’s not good to be busy and I’m not saying that our lives need to be perfectly balanced. I’m just saying that our lives need to be as balanced as God wants them to be. It’s important for us to listen to our bodies and to the Holy Spirit and to be honest with ourselves as to what limits we can or should push ourselves to.

I have been in seasons where I have worked up to 14 hours a day for weeks at a time and at that time I knew it was what God wanted me to do. No one would have said that it was a balanced few weeks, but God pulled me through late nights with great joy and peace and I still see the fruit of those seasons in my life today.

To me resting is not so much physically sitting and relaxing, but a state of mind. Knowing that everything you do is stress free with peace and joy and then there will be a sense of rest in your heart.

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

We can live this life stress free and in rest if we learn to enter into His rest and to hand over our burdens to God. This does not mean that we sit around and do nothing, but rather that we continue going about our daily schedule, with perseverance, but without anxiety of what tomorrow might bring.

“Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?” Luke 12:24-26

“The Lord protects those of childlike faith;
    I was facing death, and he saved me.
Let my soul be at rest again,
    for the Lord has been good to me.” Psalm 116:6-7

Warning signs...

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Have you ever wondered why you can be so impatient in a shop, queue, in traffic or just in general? Or why you so easily snap at nothing and for no apparent reason. Symptoms like these should not be ignored, it should waive a little red flag indicating that something, somewhere is bothering us.

Jesus is the perfect example of peace and patience, He still became angry at certain times, but his anger was always righteous and related to injustice for example in Matt 21:12-14 “Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’” The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.”

Remember that in those days people would bring animals or doves to the temple as offerings to atone for their sins, but instead of serving the poor people coming to the temple with prayer and counselling, the priests or teachers were selling animals at inflated prices, making themselves rich and this angered Jesus as His people were being taken advantage of.

I know when something is bothering me or draining me and I know that if I don't deal with the issue with God then it would lead to all of the above. If I notice one of those symptoms pop out in my daily life, I take time out, sit with God and ask Him to reveal to me what is bothering me deep down. Sometimes the answer is quite obvious and relates to something that recently happened, but sometimes an issue can get so hidden that we are not even aware of it anymore, but the symptoms still remain.

Anger or frustration never inspire or positively motivate us, they always lead us to a feeling of shame, guilt or just sadness, emptiness or depression. Whatever you want to call it, the fact is that it drains us from our joy and peace.

This is not the way Jesus wants us to live. He has come to set us free forever and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. Non-believers often don’t understand me when I say that I'm freer now than I've ever been. This is because they see God as a set of rules and not as a best friend and counsellor. I really can't blame them as there have been so many misrepresentations made about God, by churches, all over the world and people trying to control and manipulate for their own gain.

Nonetheless my point still stands. Jesus has set me free from the bondages that this world and life have placed on me. He has set me free from the anger, hurt, resentment, offence, condemnation and rejection in my own heart, which leaves me at a place where I am secure, free to forgive, free to live life and free to love freely like Him without wounds from the past or any conditions holding me back.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Cor 13:17

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Gal 5:1

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36