Practice what you preach

We need to start taking life to a new level. It is time for us to rise up and be on our front foot and not on the defense. It is so easy to read our Bibles and spend time with God, but then get swept away by the motions, thoughts and habits of daily life and people. What we read, is what we should speak and what we speak, is what we need to exercise daily. Our thoughts need to be in line with the thoughts of God. We have His Spirit, but our minds need to be renewed, so that we can live and think according to His Spirit and not according to this world.

For example, we can’t read the Bible and then say that we are ill. We cannot be ill, because we are new, reborn creations in Christ Jesus and He has died for every illness that we can ever have. So we can never be ill. We can feel the attack of an illness and then we have a choice, allow it or rebuke it. Sometimes it takes longer to rebuke than other times, but just because we are being attacked and we feel the physical symptoms, does not mean that God’s word is not true and that we are now ill. If you feel ill, then say that you are fighting an illness, but do not start believing that you are ill. At the end we receive what we believe. Our thoughts are in line with what we believe and we speak according to our thoughts and we receive the physical manifestation of our words. Therefore be careful of the words which you speak, they will build or break your future. Your words are seeds, sown into your future. Decide today what future you want to have and start sowing those words as seeds.

The message might sound very harsh, but it is actually just the glorious truth of how Jesus has died so that we can live in His peace, His shalom (nothing missing, nothing broken). He has given us so much and we need to take back what is legally ours. If you haven’t been believing, thinking or speaking in this way, then don’t feel condemned. His mercies never cease and they are new every morning. Every day you have a new slate and every day is a new opportunity to put your faith in action and expect the miraculous!

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” - Lamentations 3:22-23

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” - 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 

“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” (healed in Greek meaning to cure, heal, to be made whole) - 2 Peter 2:24

Don't be ashamed

“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.” – Genesis 3:8

I read this passage again yesterday and I just noticed the specific wording used here, “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord”. Everyone would agree that you are silly when you think that you can hide from God, because He is all seeing and all knowing. Nothing happens without His knowledge and Adam and Eve knew that God already knew what had happened. That is why they didn't just hide from Him, they hid from His presence. 

I just realised that so often in life the devil convinces us to feel ashamed or guilty about our actions or behaviours and even though we know that we cannot hide from God and that He knows everything, we still avoid and hide from His presence because of how we feel. 

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10

Jesus brings life and the devil is on a constant mission to steal this from us. By stealing or destroying our times in God’s presence, the devil succeeds to steal from us the joy, peace and love that we receive so freely in His presence. There is never any reason for us to be afraid to step into God’s presence. Jesus has made the way clear and has received any punishment on our behalf. We are free to enjoy God even if we feel like we do not deserve it. Guilt and shame should not stop us from running to His presence, on the contrary, it should encourage us to run to Him, because it is in His presence where guilt, shame and lies carry no weight and where mercy, grace and love abounds.

“Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” – Genesis 3:21

Adam and Eve hid because they realised that they were naked and they used leaves to cover themselves up. The realisation of nakedness came due to their disobedience, but God is His grace made them tunics out of skin to clothe them. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we can wear His robe of righteousness and we never have to feel naked again.

God does not bring guilt, shame or condemnation; these are the works of the devil. Don’t let these steal from you! Don’t hide from His presence and create a big white elephant in the room, rather run to Him, tell Him what is on your heart and thank Him for what Jesus already did so many years ago. 

Picture credit:journeyintothespectrum

God knows

I think the subtitle to this post should be "Keep calm, God knows".

He knows. He knows. He knows. I just want to keep on writing that for an entire page. He knows the desires of your heart, He knows what you need and He knows the plans which He has for you. He is a good God, a loving father and a best friend. He knitted you together in your mother's womb. His heart is for you, His love is over you and His favour is upon you.

He sees your every need and hears your every heart cry and He is not panicking, He has a plan. He has plans for good and not for evil, plans to prosper you, for a future and a hope. He knows every desire that you haven't even discovered yet, He knows what you are going to ask before you even ask it and He plans how to meet it. He knows what will fulfil you and what you enjoy doing the most and He works everything together for your good. Sometimes we might not understand things or the reasons for things changing, but He knows. He's protecting you, shaping you and changing you or moving you into the person or situation which He knows you will find most fulfilling. He is a good God and that is something we should never forget. He is in all the details and He planned it all in advance.

His ways are perfect and often unconventional, but beauty will always be evident, His grace will abound and His love will overflow. He looks at the heart, not the face and He listens to the story, not judge the consequences. His mercy is great and His arms are wide open. He is a comfort to all who seek Him, He rebuilds whatever is broken and restores all that was stolen. He is the epitome of kindness and the lover of our souls.

Come today and bring it all to Him. There is no prerequisite, no perfect way, just come and bring it all. He sees you, the hurt part of you, the broken you, the misunderstood you, the beautiful you, He knows you and He still loves you.

“He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.” Psalm 145:19

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Isaiah 55:1

“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14

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God is patient

 

Today I was thinking about how patient God is with us and how impatient we can sometimes be towards Him. We know that God's timing is perfect, but we ask "when, when, when?" and we become impatient and discouraged so quickly.

If I think back over the years, I can just thank God for how patient He has been with me. All the times that I didn't love Him the way I should've, listened to what He said or did what He asked me to do. He didn't ask me "when, when, when?" but patiently walked with me on my journey until I understood what He was saying or saw what He was busy doing and left my selfishness behind and obeyed His voice. He has always approached me with kindness and patience.

I thank God that He didn't give up on me, turned His back on me or withheld promises from me just because I didn't do everything that He asked me to do. How often do we want to give up on God, turn our backs on Him or get angry with Him just because He is not doing what we think He should be doing right now? Then a few weeks into the struggle we realise why He held back or why He didn't jump when we wanted Him to jump and we end up feeling embarrassed because of our impatience.

God is love and "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV)

Look back at the times when He was there for you, where He showed you the way and led you through dark hours. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and He has shown us much patience, much more than we deserve. He patiently waited for you to follow and choose Him and He did not count your sin against you even if you have mocked or slandered His name. He has shown us unending mercy, kindness, grace and love.

Maybe today you feel as if you want to give up on God, that He is not coming through for you or that He is not being all that you believe He is. I want to encourage you that God IS love and He IS faithful and that He has never given up on you and He believes in you. Even if you don't see it yet or have been waiting for a long time, don't give up, He is for you and not against you. Find comfort in Him and know that He is your Father and that He has only the best in store for you. You can overcome any challenge with Him at your side and He will guide and comfort you through anything that life can throw your way.

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare Him own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:31, 32 ESV)

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Have you been lied to?

 

Photo credit: dlistman

Within the systems of the world we are taught to build an image for ourselves. The world sells to us ideas like "you don't want anyone to know that you don't know the answer" or "you need to have this and that to be more socially acceptable" or "if you show weakness, people will think that you are pathetic". Some things have been so ingrained in us by the media and culture that we do not even realise it. We have been taught to be fake up to a certain level to avoid rejection or shame even with our closest friends. There will always be a certain culture that your friendship circle creates and if you act outside of that 'norm' then I bet you that you would not be comfortable to share it with anyone.

It breeds certain insecurities in us which can easily isolate us from friends or family because of shame or guilt and make us feel very alone. This is exactly what the devil wants and they are all lies. When he isolates us, his lies can consume us and break us down. Telling us how little we are worth and how we are a burden to everyone. The most fundamental thing that the devil can attack is your identity. The Bible says: “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” The moment that we forget who God has made us to be and what our identity is in Christ, it will render us defenceless. God is in us and that makes us stronger than any lie this world can throw at us.

Don't let feelings of guilt or shame destroy beautiful relationships which you have built, including your relationship with God. When we do something that we are ashamed of, it should give us even more reason to run to Jesus, because He forgives freely and takes away all our guilty feelings and shame which the devil taunts us with. He does not judge, but welcomes us with open arms.

The definition of mercy is “not receiving the punishment that we deserve”. The definition of grace is “receiving the abundance of blessings which we don't deserve”. Jesus shows us perfect mercy and gives us perfect grace and in Him there is no condemnation. Nothing can separate you from the love of God.

 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom 8:1

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Heb 4:16

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” Rom 8:11

“The thief (devil) comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

Hillsong United - Bones

Is your god a superhero?

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Today is was thinking about the word “god” or “king” and what they mean in general to the average person. I can maybe imagine a Thor or Zeus like figure riding on clouds, being able to control the wind, rain and lightning. I was thinking about what I would want a good god or king to be like if I had to design one whom I can serve to. I would want him to be powerful, courageous, admirable, glorious, wise, gracious and fair, someone I can aspire to, who is confident in himself and his decisions, someone who is not swayed by fleeting emotions or the opinions of the peanut gallery. He should have authority and respect, be feared in love and admired. He has to have vision to lead the people and put good structures in place to protect them from enemies or a financial crisis. Actually the list goes on and on. Maybe you should take a moment and consider what you would want in a god or a king who you can admire, love, respect and serve.

I think it is quite easy to imagine, because we have so many superhero movies and TV shows today which portray the lives and adventures of kings and gods.

My question then is this, if we can imagine for ourselves the perfect god or king, then why do we so often ask God not to act like the perfect god or king (that we want Him to be) and actually contradict ourselves and our own expectations? Let me explain by example, we want a god who has a backbone, who is confident and secure, but we daily tell God what to do and how to make situations work and then indirectly tell Him that we know better than Him. Or we want a god who is consistent and fair, but we try and manipulate Him by our words or actions and we tell Him to whom He can show mercy and whom we don’t think deserve mercy. We tell Him whom He should judge and discipline, but we let ourselves off the hook too easily.

Do we really think that He is so insecure to fall for our feeble demands, manipulations and tantrums? Do we not realise that He can see through it all, through every thought we have ever had and every motive behind every deed. “But if I do this, surely God will do that” and “if I act like this then surely God would respond like that”.

We are just so foolish. We desire to know an all-powerful God, but we want Him to be controlled by us to suit our needs and selfish desires. Surely a god who bows down to the beck and call of every one of his followers, like an insecure slave, is NOT attractive. I’m not sure about you, but that’s not the type of god that I want to follow. I want to follow a warrior, someone who can lead me to greatness with love and kindness, but fear and respect, someone whom I can trust, who commands with authority and confidence. I don’t want a god who begs: “please follow me, I’ll do anything for you”. No, I want a god who says: “follow me and I’ll teach you how to live a victorious life”

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James 4:10

I think you get my point. Today I just realised how small I am in relation to God. I’m a million times smaller than an ant and He is bigger than the universe. Then I started thinking how ridiculous I am. Me the little puny ant making demands at an all-powerful God. If anything, I show say: “God, please have mercy on me, I am but a humble servant”. How amazing that God then takes this humble servant and makes her a princess, the daughter of a King. Wraps her in robes of righteousness and gives her an eternal inheritance. How merciful is He? How just is He? How gracious and faithful is He that even though we mock, slander and tempt Him, He still shows us mercy and kindness.

I want a king and a kingdom that I am willing to die for and how amazing is it that my King has already set the example by dying for me.

“For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” Romans 9:15-16

“For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:7-8

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”” Gal 3:13

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” 2 Cor 5:21