Offence and forgiveness

Like water off a duck's back, offence is supposed to go straight off the Christian's soul. What keeps the duck's feathers free from water? it's the oil. So we need the Holy Spirit to help us forgive. God requires forgiveness; Col 3:13 says, " bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." This seems like a tall order, especially when people say or do things that hurt! That is why we need the oil- the Help of the Holy Spirit. It has been said by Alexander Pope, "to err is human, to forgive is divine". I think in some sense this is true, it is only possible for us to forgive with God's help. God in His great mercy has forgiven us of so much, and when we think of this it becomes easier to do the same. If I desire mercy, I need to be willing to show mercy (see Matt 5:7). When I look at God's example of forgiveness, and allow His Spirit to fill me with love it is much easier to show mercy.

Col 3:3 says "your life is hidden with Christ in God", if my life is truly hidden in Christ then it becomes unimportant/irrelevant what others think (or don't think of me). I'm definitely not there yet, bur I want to get to a place of security in Christ; where what He says about me and thinks of me is what defines me (and NOTHING ELSE!)
 "May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love" Eph 3:17 AMP. This is my prayer- that Jesus would live in my heart, and that my entire personality, who I am, would be secured in His love. If this would be my truest reality, how could I not forgive and love others?! 

"LORD make Your love our utmost, deepest reality. Ground us in Your love, let us draw from You- for You are the fountain of life. Hide us in You, that when offence comes it will not touch our hearts- for we know beyond a shadow of a doubt we are loved. Make us secure in You, we ask in Jesus name".

May the Lord bless you and keep you hidden in Him.

May He make His face to shine upon you so you will be rooted in His love.

May He give you peace as you forgive as He has forgiven you.

WEIRD!

Recently someone called me weird. It felt like a poisonous arrow that tried to pierce my soul. It brought up all the old wounds of rejection. It’s not like I haven’t tried to be ‘normal’ (who defines these things anyways?), but I am slowly accepting that my life does not look like the world thinks it should. James 4:4 says “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” And Romans 12:2 says “Do not be conformed to this world” so in some ways it is good that I am different to the world. 1 Pet 2:9 “ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people” (KJV). We as Christians are called to be different than the world; to be light. But sometimes we try so hard to fit in because we want acceptance and love. Jesus knows what it is like to be rejected, “He was despised and rejected by men” Isa 53:3. This gives me comfort that Jesus knows what it feels like to be rejected. And in Jesus we become loved and accepted, Eph 1:6 (KJV) “he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” What great joy to know no matter what others think of me, in Him I AM LOVED <3

How do we treat people that are ‘different’? People can be different because of a disability, a psychological disorder, social class, the way they dress and speak, culture etc. Jesus loved the outsiders. He often healed leapers (see Mark 1:40-42, Luke 17:11-14). Lepers were such outsiders that they had to live outside the city and could have little human contact (Bible-gateway). Jesus hung out with prostitutes (can you imagine a ‘normal’ person having a conversation with a lady of the night?) and tax collectors (they were the ones siding with corrupt politicians of the time).

Luke  5:31-32 (GNB) "Jesus answered them, "People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick. I have not come to call respectable people to repent, but outcasts." So we see that Jesus loves outcasts, he calls them to repent and turn to Him. Again I ask how do we treat the man begging? The lady on the street corner? The person we think is a bit ‘strange’? Do we love them like Jesus, or do we also cast them aside?

I think that rejection is part of the human experience, we have all felt the pains of it. We can use that pain to come closer to God, and from the place of being loved by Him love others who don’t fit our box. We can remember the pain we felt when rejected by words and choose to speak words of life. Let us be like Jesus accepting the outcast, because we have been accepted by Him.

May the LORD bless you to know in Him you are the beloved.

May He keep you free from the sin of judgment.

May He make His face shine upon you as you share His love

And give you peace despite the rejection.

"Deliver me from the pit"

How many of our prayers are "deliver me from the darkness" rather than "Thank you that you are with me in the darkness". We so often pray that God will deliver us, we forget that God is with us therefore we do not need to fear. It's hard! At times David prayed for God to deliver him from the pit. Let's be honest the pit (fire/refining/whatever you want to call it) SUXS! But what if God put us (or allowed us) in the pit? I mean let's be honest, we all tend to forget how we need Him for everything- literally for every breath. But boy when we are in the pit we KNOW. Pride disappears, we are desperate for Him, because we know we can NOT do it without Him. 

Following this, I wander how am I supposed to pray? For myself? for others?
I don't necessarily think it is wrong to pray and ask God to deliver us from he pit, because it's coming to God with our pain. Psa 62:8 (NIV) "Pour out your heart to Him". I believe we need to do this. As we do this, we realise again how small we are and how big He is; it help us trust in Him for He is our refuge (see rest of the verse). I think it is important that like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego we should include that even if God does not deliver us, we will worship no other god (see Dan 3:16-18). You see the breakthrough can become an idol, an idol being anything that is more important to us than God. 

Let us pray that we would be aware of God's presence with us in the hard times. This helps us have faith, and not fear the winds and waves. His presence with His guidance and protection (see Psa 23:4 AMP) bring us comfort and peace. Let us also have the courage to pray "yet not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:42. Here we see Jesus pouring out His heart to the Father about the pain and fear, yet a willingness to submit to God's plans and thoughts. God's thoughts are after all higher than ours (Isa 55:9). When we pray like Jesus for God's will, it shows humility, trust and a knowing/believing that God knows best. 

May the LORD bless you with knowing He is with you

May the LORD keep you unafraid of the shadows

May the LORD make His face shine upon you, to make you brave to pray for His will.

And may He give you peace in the pit. 

Faith walk vs fear walk

We as Christians (I include myself) seem so scared to really live, to take chances, to make mistakes. Especially in dating, or is that just my singleness talking? It’s like there is so much pressure to get it ‘right’ so instead we don’t try at all. It’s as if we feel if we make a mistake it’s the end of the world. But this is actually living under a spirit of fear. It shows a fear of failure, a drive towards perfection and in some ways doubting God’s sovereignty, because we think our mistakes are bigger than God’s ability to fix them. Recently I've had the revelation that God's love and ability is greater than my mistakes. Rom 8:15 says “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" God does not want us to be slaves to fear, but to know we are His children, who are loved and that He is good and will help correct our mistakes.

I went for a walk with a friend and her two sons Vincent & Kiran (see photo); Kiran is 13 months and busy toddeling along. He takes two steps and he falls on his bum, he gets up takes three steps and falls again. Every time he falls on hard bricks, but he keeps getting up and toddeling along. We (the adults) don’t shout at his attempts to walk, nor do we get mad if he falls; no instead we giggle and smile and think he is too cute for words. I think God the Father is a lot like that, he smiles when we try (even when we get it wrong). Our job is just to keep getting up again (see Prov 24:16). God has called us to freedom (Gal 5:1), so let us not get enslaved to the fear of getting things wrong. But let us instead trust Him, that He can correct our mistakes. Let us trust that He loves us and is for us, therefore we do not need to be afraid to try and can keep on trying. My pastor said that it is easier to direct a car that is moving, rather than one who is standing still. So let’s let go of the chains holding us and start holding unto our loving Father’s hand.

1 John 4:18 AMP "There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love]." You see if we had a revelation of God's love and His Father heart, we would not be afraid. Instead we would be walking in faith- trust of our Father God. Trust that He is bigger than our mistakes, tust that He can correct our mistakes and trust His heart being for us. "LORD please give us a revelation of Your father heart, that You are for us. Flood our hearts and beings with Your perfect love. Remove the chains of slavery to fear. In Jesus name Amen" 

May the LORD bless you with knowing His Father’s heart.

May the LORD keep you from fear.

May He make His face shine upon you, as He helps you get up again.
May He give you peace in the trying.

Listen to "Good good Father"
And "No longer slaves"        

Change

I've been back to a place I only left 6 months ago to find out change is inevitable. A change of restaurant, a change of the church's building and structure, the change of Fanta's logo. Strange how this can catch you- especially if it's all on one day. And especially if you have been feeling stuck- like you are going nowhere slowly, or like a bad movie on repeat. And although people remain relatively the same- my heart aches and yearns for something to stay the same, yet something in me to be made new. 

In a world that is constantly changing, constantly re-inventing itself, it gives me great comfort that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Heb 13:8. That since Jesus has been faithful to lead me in the past, He will be with me in my today and lead me in my tomorow. I can rest on Him and His steadfast love. He is our rock (see Psalm 18:2) 

Yet although He is constant, unchanging- He is willing to change us make us new, make us more like Him. You see we, as humans, get stuck, and that is perhaps why we have such a desperate need to remake ourselves, to remodel our buildings, change our brands. Yet "He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Rev 21:5. Isa 43:19 says "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." You see God wants to take our wilderness, our struggles and make something beautiful out of them. He wants to change us, make us more like Him. "We.. are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory" 2 Cor 3:18. 

So if you are looking for stability - God remains the same, yet He does not want us to remain stuck, He wants to make us new. So let us trust Him, let us look to Him, give Him our hurts so that He can produce a masterpiece- something new within us.

May the LORD bless You with knowing His faithfulness
May He keep You in His unchanging grace.
May He make His face to shine upon You, so you can trust Him.

And may He give you peace while He changes you.

A witness (El-Roi)

Recently I've had an immense need to share my life, my thoughts, my art, what happened in my day. And so I send people a picture of my walk, food, art, etc. Isn't this part of why WhatsAp, Facebook, Instragram etc are so popular. But after sending the picture I still feel dry. I've been asking myself- why this need to share? Yes part of it is that I'm lonely, another part is wanting to be significant. It is as if I need someone to witness my life. I want to know my life counts for something, I want to know someone sees and someone cares. I want to feel I'm different from the 7 bilion people on the planet- or someone notices me.

If I really knew Jesus as Emmanuel (Matthew 1:23) which means God with us- would I still be so intensely lonely? Jesus promised to never leave nor forsake us (Matt 28:20). Heb 13:5 (AMP) says "He has said, “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!” If this were my heart reality I would be less lonely. 

And significance? If I realised God is witness to my life wouldn't I know I'm significant?
Let us briefly look at the story of Hagar- Sarah's maid servant. In Gen 16 we read how she became pregnant by Sarah's suggestion, and then she started looking down on Sarah. Sarah treats Hagar badly and she runs away to the wilderness, where she meets the Angel of the LORD. He tells her to go back home,  she there realizes God sees her and cares for her. Gen 16: 13 (AMP incl footnote) "Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are God Who Sees”(El-Roi= God never sleeps, He sees, He is aware, He is the great Omnipresent God); for she said, “Have I not even here [in the wilderness] remained alive after seeing Him [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?” What a beautiful revelation of God, He is the one who sees, not only does He see but He sees with understanding and compassion.

Wow! Talk about being significant. The Word says even the hairs on our head are numbered (Luke 12:7). We can know someone sees, someone cares and that is God Himself- with us, for us, seeing us with compassion and understanding. Even in our wilderness, we are not alone for we serve a God who sees.

May the LORD bless you with the heart knowledge of His presence.

May He keep you with His compassion.

May His face shine upon you, knowing He sees You.

And may He give you peace in knowing He is with You.

Poem: Sunday Rest

Sunday Rest

With a huff and a puff we pant up the hill.

To sit half way high on a rock...

I wish to savour this moment-

to put it in my pocket and save it for a rainy day.

We listen to the land breathe,

feel the wind trickling over us.

The birds coo a worship song,

as the grass bows its head in praise before its maker.

and on the seventh day God rested..

and enjoyed creation.

Here in this moment I remember to be;

remember to breathe.

Here I remember I am in His hands;

that there is still beauty to be seen in a fallen world.

Keep STANDING!

The last few months have been rough.. I've felt stuck, like I was grasping a piece of driftwood- and the next storm would hit...
it has been said (Quote by Anonymous)

“I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.”

Recently I wish God didn't trust me so much, I certainly don't have half as much faith that I will make it, as He does. But you see the thing is I think sometimes God gives us more than we can handle, because it makes us desperate for HIM. You see when we can't anymore, that's when He can, He is strong even when we are weak (see 2 Cor 12:8-10).

We so often feel we need to be strong.. I've seen people bleed on Facebook, I'm not like that - I withdraw.. because I'm tired of saying I feel stuck, tired of saying I'm down & tired of asking for prayer yet again. So I suffer in silence, crying tears only God sees. But you see that's the problem- we all bleed, we all have winter sometime.. And the enemy tries to isolate us, so we feel all alone. And the lies hit hard, to make us believe that God has forgotten, that God doesn't care.. But the truth is God is with us. Isa 63:9 In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. And that when we can't hold on anymore He is still holding us - He does not leave us helpless (see Heb 13:5 AMP). That no matter how many storms hit, he is still sovereign and worthy of our praise (see Hab 3:17-19 & Lam 5). Let us stand on His truth, His promises. " Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

In Ephesians 6 we read of spirtual warfare, sometimes we think we need to be strong. But you see Jesus is our salvation helmet, He is the truth that keeps us together like a belt, He is our righteousness and protects our hearts like a breastplate, He is the peace that protects us where we go like shoes, He gives us trust in His protection like a shield, He is the Word that is like a sword fighting for us (see Exodus 14:14). So He is our armour and our job- to stand. Yip that's it - to keep standing, to keep hoping, to keep the faith.. Eph 6 says "be strong..stand firm...stand your ground..stay alert and persistent". You see when the storm hits we hit the floor.. but we need to keep standing, keep persisting, keep believing that God is GOOD, He is with us, and His promises will not fail...

So today if you are going through a hard time, tell someone; ask prayer for the milionth time, and no matter what, allow God's strength to keep you standing. Let Prov 24:16 be your motto for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again. 

May the LORD bless you with the strength to keep standing.
May He keep you in the palm of His hands during the storms.
May He make His face shine upon you to know You are loved and He is fighting for you.
May He give you peace that makes no logical sense, in the midst of the storms.

Treasure of my Heart

(POEM)

Who will see past the scars

Conquer the walls of my heart

Who will be willing to pay the price

Ans ask the guard to see inside

But how can you deem worthy

That which I have given for free

Sold the treasure as a pawn

The priceless treated as junk

And so I loose my heart

And slowly die.

Ashes to ashes,

Dust to dust

Not realizing that it is only when the seed dies new life begins.

Am I willing to pay the price?

To die to me, my desires

To bury my if, my when, my how and my who

For to live is to die and to die is to live

Will I choose to trust,

Will I choose to give up

Will I pray, “Not my will, but Your’s be done?”

No matter what?

Phil 2:12-13

"...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" Phil 2:12 (NKJV). Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling... what does that mean? It means I'm responsible for my walk with God, not my pastor, husband, best friend etc... it's my job to work out my salvation.. but hang on, how does that work since salvation is a free gift? as seen in Eph 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (NKJV). Yes salvation is a gift but once we are saved we need to make choices, and seek after Him so that we can become more and more like Him. To become more Holy, since He is Holy; “Be holy, for I am holy" 1 Pet 1:16. God is fearful, we are to worship and respect Him (see Isa 8:13 & Rev 14:7). We are to make choices that bring us closer to Him. It also means that although I need to carry others in prayer (Gal 6:2) my first priority must be to make sure I'm obeying the Lord.

This sounds hard, maybe even imposible but verse 13 gives us hope, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." (NLT). This means that as we commit ourselves to doing God's will, He helps us by giving us the desire to do what is right as well as the strength to do it! What an awesome God we serve! We are not alone, He helps us...

So let us fear Him, submit ourselves to the process of becoming Holy, knowing He is working in us to give us the strength to do so!

May the LORD bless you as you work out your salvation,
May He protect you from the schemes of the evil one to lead you away from Him,
May the LORD smile upon you and be gracious to you as He gives you the strength to live holy lives.
May He show you favour and give you peace to know that He is with you and never leaves you alone. 

Poor & needy? Me?

We live in a society that exalts the 'put together'. You seem to get people who have it all together, they always look like a model, they have snacks, juice and a blanket for their kids and always seem so 'perfect'. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm often envious of these people. Yet God has a different view on this, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.", Jesus says in Matt 5:3. I don't know about you, but I certainly would like the kingdom of heaven!!! But this requires being 'poor in spirit'. What does this mean? For me it means admitting I am/have nothing and God has everything. In Psalm 40:17 David says, "But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay." Why did David, a rich king, see himself as poor and needy? It is because he recognized that without God he was and had nothing, and was in desperate need of God's help.

I like helping people, ask my friends.. but what I've come to notice is you CANNOT (or it's very difficult to) help someone who doesn't want to be helped. And it's the same with God- if you think you are all sorted, you are not in need, it is difficult for God to help you and  for you to accept it.

Yes, sometimes I'm an emotional wreck, and yes, sometimes I have more insecurities than I'd like to admit. But I'd rather realize I'm poor and needy so that I know I need God, than so put together that I think I'm fine without Him. We like to think we are in control (esp in Western world), that we have no need, but see what Jesus says to such a church Rev 3:17-20: "Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." May we not be blind to know how in need we truly are! May we be zealous for Him and repent of our spiritual blindness! May we not think we are rich, but meanwhile in need of Him.

"May the Lord bless you with the knowledge that you need him

May the Lord keep you in His loving & helping arms;

May the Lord make His face shine upon you in your distress,

And be gracious to you as you ask for help;

May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you as you open your heart to Him,

And give you peace in knowing you are His.”

Log vs speck?

God has created us to have relationship, first of all with Him, secondly with people. But all those who have had friends/family around long enough will know the longer you spend with anyone, that yes they are beautiful and have many great qualities, they also have some flaws. The closer you get to a person, the more it seems these flaws become magnified. A friend who manipulates, another who never takes responsibility, the other who is always trying to 'fix' things, etc. The family member who struggles with abandonment, the other who always is the doormat, the one who never speaks up and the other who is always pretending to be 'fine'. Addictions, depression, a past of molestation, abortion or abuse leave some scars that remain in our souls. When we get close we see the flaws life has brought and they seem to be enlarged, and before we know it we forget all the good beautiful things God has made them to be.

Now I don't know about you, but my first reaction when faced with a flaw (e.g. a friend who seems to receive more than she gives) is to want to withdraw. After all I have to protect myself/look after myself. Yet this would mean that we don't recognize our own flaws; perhaps it is perfectionism, trying to win love by what we do, stubbornness, manipulation & pride. OUCH!!! it's a bit more eina when the microscope gets turned away from the other to ourselves. Perhaps this is what Jesus was talking about when he said, "And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?" Matt 7:3 (NLT). Somehow we find it easier to focus and try and change the speck in our brother's eye, and nicely ignore the log in our own!

We are commanded to 1 Pet 4:8 (NKJV) "... have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins' ". So the next time you see your friend's faults; remember God's love covers all your sins- He gives me the grace to take out the log out of your eye, and so extend that same love to your friend. Let us apply eyes of love, instead of using a microscope of others' flaws, meanwhile hitting them with the log that we haven't dealt with. Most often this log is one of pride and judgment (I'm better than you). Let us repent of our sins, before trying to correct or abandon others.

“May the Lord bless you with His grace to deal with your own logs, 
may He keep you in His grace that overcomes;
May the Lord make His face shine upon,
And be gracious to you by not mentioning your faults;
May the Lord lift up His face upon you,
And give you peace with yourself and your fellow man”’

Real Faith

So recently I've been pondering what does faith mean? & what does it mean to have real faith? Now if you come from Charsmatic background like me, you tend to think those who pray for the sick to get healed and it happens are the people with real faith. I mean the gift of faith is all about seeing things which seem impossible happen. But recently I've been confronted with people with a different type of faith, a faith of perseverance. If faith means to trust God, these people keep on keeping on trusting Him despite their circumstances. They are the ones brave enough to walk on water and do the right thing even though the winds and the rains are screaming for their attention, and though they doubt they keep choosing to place their eyes on Jesus (Matt 14:22-33). 

Those that face circumstance after circumstance that as an outsider you shake your head and say how can you believe in God? Those who face cancer, bankruptcy, divorce, miscarriages etc. and keep looking to God as their light and their salvation (Psa 27:1). Those who persist in trusting God and do not fall for the lie that has trapped man from the beginning, that is God really good? Now that's what I call real faith! And what is faith? "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" Heb 11:1 It is the assurance that God will keep His promise and that He remains good. It is only through trusting God, knowing that He will reward us as we seek Him, that we are pleasing to Him (Heb 11:6). Jesus said "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" I don't know about you but if Jesus comes during my life time I want to be found having faith in Him; no matter what has or hasn't happened to me.

May the LORD bless you with the ability to see His goodness even in dark times

May He keep you in His arms forever

May His face shine upon you as you keep your eyes on Him and not the storms

May He lift up His countenance to you, since your faith pleases Him 

And may He give you peace as you keep on holding on and trusting...