Spiritual Growth

In general, October is a month of prayer. God reward those who seek Him for you would not have seek Him in prayer if you did not believe that He has the means to hear you and make changes to your circumstances.

Heb11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.

Even before you start to pray, God knows what you want to ask for. (Matt6:8). And He promise in His word that he will take care of all your needs, the same way He looks after the birds and the flowers. Even though He has a bigger plan for humankind which He gave us some insight into through Revelations.

This gives us the boldness to pray Matt6:10 Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Because we know that God’s got a plan and purpose for everything and He said I will look after you while my master plan is playing out.

Matt6:11 “Give us today our daily bread’, God shows His care towards our daily needs and that He cares about our daily happenings. He wants to give you all the riches available in His kingdom because you are His child and He is your Father.

May God our Father bless you and keep you, May you trust in His master plan. May you give Him all the honour and glory He so richly deserves.

Shalom

We are currently busy with the series ‘Breaking Barriers’ and one of the barriers we need to break through is our thought process. In 2Cor10:5 it mentions that we need to take our thoughts captive. It’s one of the areas God knew we may be controlled by the enemy without the enemy doing anything.

Because if we don’t control our thoughts, it can run away from us. We tend to fixate on our worries and think of the worse case scenarios and before you know it your fear takes over and controls your life.

In proverbs23:7 it states ‘For as he thinks within himself, so he is.’ Another way of saying it, if you say you can you are right. If you say you can’t you are also right. The way you think about your life is the way you speak over and about your life.  This is a strong statement and I know for some reading this you are thinking that there is no way that it is my fault for what is happening in my life! No it is not your fault, but what God can do for you is in your hands.

Look at Numbers14:28 ‘So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say.”

What are you proclaiming over your life? Take your thoughts captive which will take your words captive. Start speaking life into your life which will give God an opportunity to break barriers in your life!

Shalom

When I was a baby, I needed my parents to do everything for me – feed me, dress me, change my nappies, take me to the doctor when I got sick. They taught me language, communication and social skills.

When I had questions about experiences in my life, my parents were there to explain and answer my questions. I’m sure there were times where they wanted to fight my battles for me or put me up in a safe house to protect me from heart ache.  And other times where I went out of my way to avoid their advice and insight.

As my relationship grew with God I realized it is a lot like my relationship with my parents. He wants to take care of me – Jehovah-Rohi, he wants to heal me when I’m sick – Jehovah-Rapha. He wants to take care of all my needs – Jehovah-Shammah. He wants to protect me against the heart ache of this world and wants only the best for me – Jehovah-Nissi.  He wants to fight my battles for me – Jehovah-Saboath.

Imagine the perfect parent. That is who God is and wants to be for you. Everything you wish your parents were, God can be that for you. Because He is perfect and knows what is best for you. Give Him the opportunity to be there for you. Connect with Him and He will connect with you, He loves you.

In Gen1:1 We get to know God as the Creator the Almighty God who spoke the world and all its creation into existence. This powerful Almighty God also became our redeemer when we need help from our sin and He offered His son so that we can have salvation and eternal life. But there is so much more to God.

When Jesus was here on earth with His disciples, they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Jesus started and the first 2 words of the prayer for me are very significant. Matt6:9 ” Our Father..”

As an only child, I’ve never had the privilege to use this reference. This is a reference for family, meant for brothers and sisters when they refer to their Dad.

Jesus showed His disciples what they mean to Him with those two words. They were not just followers or people or friends He spend time with. From His side there was total acceptance for who they were and He confirmed to them they were family to Him. He invited them to see His Father as their Father and to be a united family.

What does this mean for you and me today? He chose you, He called you by your name. He made you His and when you accepted Him you became part of the family. You can write your name in front of your bible and know that it is a personal letter to you. And it is as if you are standing next to Jesus and asking Him to teach you how to pray and He is saying to you: “Our Father…” which confirms that you are His family and God is your Father. Start praying as if you are talking to your Father knowing that you are His child and He loves you.

Shalom

With your salvation, God has revealed Himself to you and your mind was set free when you received new hope by accepting the unchangeable grace through Jesus Christ.

1 Pt1:14-16 Live as children of obedience; do not conform yourself to the evil desires that governed you in your former ignorance when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel. 15 But as the One who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living. 16 For it is written, you shall be holy, for I am Holy.

To bake bread, there is a process involved. First you need to make sure you have flour and all the other ingredients. You then need to follow the recipe and mix the ingredients accordingly. Leave the dough for some time to rise, kneed the dough, leave it a bit again and then only bake the bread. As much as you wish for the ripe wheat grains to be bread, you need to follow the process before it can be bread.

For us it is the same. There is a daily process of sanctification that needs to take place before we can reach our end product. And the end product is to be Christ-like. To let the word transform us till you look like and act like and be like Christ. That is who we want to be and we will only reach that point when we are with God, but we will keep on trying with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Know that God is with you, always.

Shalom.

Have you ever sat and watched a sun rise? It’s beautiful. Clear, fresh, new. As the new sunlight start to spread over the earth and the sun gets higher on the horizon, you actually struggle to look at it. The pureness of the sun is so strong that you just have to close your eyes. But even if you close your eyes, it still feels as if the sun is shining inside you. Bright and strong.

That is as close as I can explain how strong and pure and bright God’s presence and love is for us. Even when life happens with you and around you. It may force us to close our eyes for a moment. But when you turn your face to Him, His radiance will find you and will shine into you and from you.

What are your anchor in life? What are you holding onto to keep you afloat? If you look at the parable of the true vine (Jhn15), are you connected to God and are you bearing Godly fruit or are your fruit already raisins. All dried up and shrivelled. Not reaching its full potential?

Jhn7:38 Whoever believes in Me; Rivers of living waters will flow from within them.

Jesus wants to bring restoration in your life and bring new living water to you. Take time to watch the sun rise. Take time to let the sunlight wash over you. Spend time in His presence. Turn to him. Let His radiance fill you.  

Shalom

How was your week?

I had 8 new prayer requests in my family cell group this week and that’s excluding our general prayer request group. People who urgently needed prayer against sickness, COVID-19 etc.

If I allow the enormity of what is currently happening around me, to overwhelm me and fill my heart, I will end up being filled with stories of heartbreak and hopelessness and worldly lies.

1Tim6:20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted in your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge.

Instead I choose to be a Godly instrument, a vessel God can use for His Glory. But what does it mean.. how do I qualify?

1 You need to be empty – to make space for God in your life

2 You need to clean out your house – make room for the Glory of God to feel welcome in your house (spirit)

3 You need to be available – so that God can use you as His vessel

1Tim1:12 I give thanks to Him who has granted me (the needed) strength and made me able (for this), Christ Jesus our Lord, because He has judged and counted me faithful and trustworthy, appointing me (and you) to (this stewardship of) the ministry.

May we keep encourage each other with God’s truth, with God’s love and hope and salvation. Keep up the good work He started in us and not grow weary, for God is with us.

Shalom

Hebrews 4:16
[16]Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. Amplified translation

When I first read the story of Esther and how strict they were with regards to visiting the king, it didn’t really made sense, but the movie ‘One night with the king’ help me put it into perspective. Maybe my lack of understanding is because I grew up in a house where everybody in the house are equal. (We have friends who refers a lot to the way we have been brought up as reasons why our relationship with God differs from person to person).

I think for somebody who grew up in a military kind of family, they have no problem understanding / relating to the different levels of authority. (Keep in mind I’m not saying that they have a better acceptance of it) But I struggled with the concept and what made the king in Esther’s time so special that you would be killed for approaching him. And in a way this affected my understanding of who God is and how to approach Him with the respect He deserved.

But it made the transition easy for me to move from a child who may approach God’s throne without fear and ask Him anything. In 2 Tim1:7 it says: For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but He has given us a spirit of power & love & of sound judgement & personal discipline (abilities that result in a calm, well balanced mind & self control)

It’s easy for me to go to my parents and ask. What’s the worst that can happen, if they say no, nothing has changed to or in my situation, but if they say yes, it changes everything. And I could always give a good reason why I think they had to say yes. I do the same when I go to the throne of God. I have all my reasons (verses) ready to state my case to God. Based on the promises of His word.

He is a loving God who wants to give to His children and He will honor His promises. You can take Him up on His word. Go fearlessly to the throne of God and state your case. Ask for help. He wants to be there for you. He wants to help you.