Each and every one of us has been granted with a deposit of God which we have to guard.  This deposit is the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.  Our bodies are the temples of God and we have to take the necessary care in feeding this temple with proper food:  what you eat is important for your body to stay healthy;  we need to take care of our mental health as well:  get a trusted friend or two to who you can talk to and start exercising since the serotonin levels will rise resulting in you being more happy;  stay spiritually healthy by committing to a routine in which you spend time with God:  connect to God first thing in the morning or prayer throughout the day (maybe when you are taking a break) or going to church to mingle with your fellow Christians and to receive the blessings from the sermon.

Although you might feel that you have disappointed God at some stage, He is the Lord of mercy; you will find mercy now if you have the right motive in your heart.  This grace of God will be evident to you on the day of the Lord. 

Gifts of God

The gifts of God consist of:

1. A spirit of boldness;
2. A spirit of power;
3. A spirit of love;
4. A spirit of a sound mind, understanding, and judgement.

He did not give us a spirit of fear to act in a cowardice manner, but of the above mentioned.  God has donated an inherent power in us.  This power (of which God is the source) is already in our DNA and we need to reproduce.  It is our responsibility to actively and constantly continue to reproduce it.  It's like a dynamo:  it needs to be in motion to produce power.  To be able to function like a dynamo, you need to stir up into flame the gift of God in your own life.

The gift of God that is in you

Be faithful even in afflictions according to the power of God in you.  These gifts are referred to as a fire in you, which, if not frequently stirred up and more fuel added, will go out.  It is your duty as Christian to kindle up this fire and to add fresh fuel to it.  Should you choose to neglect these gifts, it will go away.  Even if we don't use it properly or we don't replenish it with continued grace and power from the Holy Spirit anointing, it will become powerless and useless and fail in their purpose. 

For this reason we need a constant supply of the Spirit - many fillings.  For this very same reason Jesus Himself had to live in prayer and receive a constant supply of the Holy Spirit.

Taking ownership of your life

Sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of fog.  This fog at times, becomes so thick that we can't even think or see clearly what is ahead of us.  We become an observer of our own life instead of living it.  The fog includes man infused fear, obligations to others and guilt.  To this we add negative perceptions as we experienced it.  We shift into a mode of "I want" and the spiral of this experience sucks you in.  You choose to stay in your cocoon:  your comfort zone and are too scared to take a step outside of it.

Break open this cocoon of yours, reform your thoughts in order to transform and conform to the new.  Give structure to your life or what you want to be.  Add positive experiences to your thoughts, climb out of your head and into your spirit which connect to the Holy Spirit.  Stop the worrying and be silent for a moment or two before God and let God be the one who transform you to conform to the new.  Shift your mode to "I am".  I am a child of God who cares for me and loves me dearly.  Your "I am" can be anything you want it to be, but in a positive mindset.

The gift of God in you

Each and every one of us has been showered with a unique gift from God.  It is a characteristic of God which resides in each of us.  This gift of God needs to be stirred up in you.  Even though you might be distracted in afflictions, be strong of the power of God in you.  The gift referred to is a fire, which if not frequently stirred up and more fuel added, will go out.  Kindle up this fire, replenish it and add fresh fuel with continued grace and power of the Holy Spirit anointing to ensure that your gift from God is not neglected.    When this gift is neglected, it will become powerless, useless and fail in its purpose.  When we live in prayer, we receive a constant supply from the Holy Spirit.

Christian duties

1. To make continued strong and incessant pleadings/requests until such time it is answered;
2. to pray to God which is our way of communication with Him;
3. to intercede for one another as the Holy Spirit intercede on our behalf and expresses the              unutterable gushings of our hearts;
4. giving of thanks.

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God and it is His intend to have all men saved and come to the knowledge of the truth through Christ.  Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and men and He gave himself as ransom for all. 

When you are struggling or going through a difficult time in your life, I want to encourage you to persist with your efforts to pray and talk to Jesus.  Open up your heart and lay down your sorrows before Him.  Ask Him to help you in disowning yourself of that sorrow and pain as He has already provided you with the solution to the problem:  handing your problems to Him and trusting Him for what you are asking.  He has already died for your pain and sorrow.  Now it is your choice to hand your sorrow to Him or to keep on carrying that burden which will make you fall every time and instead become heavier to carry. Persist in your pleadings and prayers, others and the Holy Spirit will intercede on your behalf and at God's perfect timing you will receive what you have asked for.  Remember to thank Him for what He has granted you. 

Rock or sand?

Your house, is it built on the Rock of life or will the waters wash away your house when you face the storms of life?  It's a choice you make.  This video is based on Psalm 40, it might be worth reading it.  Isn't God inviting you to come to Him and lay down all your sorrows?



You are not alone.

Most of us suffer in one form or another, but suffering leads to perseverance and perseverance leads to character.  Longsuffering is also a fruit of the Spirit and you have received it by the grace of God.  You are not alone in suffering.  So says scripture:
Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble (Job 14:1 KJV).  But even the best of these years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we are gone."  (Psalms 90:10 NLT).  "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you." (John 14:15-17 NIV). 


"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  but rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings;  that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."  (1 Peter 3:12-13).

You are not alone.  God sees, hears, and forgives you.  Often our problem is not with God forgiving us, but in us forgiving ourselves.  God has forgiven us long ago, but we still carry the guilt.  Life is not futile, it is full.  It's just that everything in life is not pleasant.  Don't give up because you think no one cares, there are people who really cares for you.  Maybe you feel that you are alone.  If only you could see the angels that surround you.  If only you knew the things that you have been kept from.  If only you knew the disasters you have been protected against.  Each breath that you take is a gift.  Even when it is hard to breathe, you are still surrounded by love. 


You are not alone.  Know this.

Facts about God the Father

God is a loving Father.  You may not have experience that with your earthly father, but God your Father in Heaven loves you dearly.  Sometimes we get hopeless, forgetting how much He loves us.  His love for you is eternal: even though your body is mortal, He has given you a spirit which is immortal.  A part of His DNA is in you.  Although He is invisible, He is always there to listen to your problems.  The problem is that we don't discuss our problems with Him, giving recognition to and acknowledging our pain.  He knows us inside out and He is waiting for us to take the courage to speak to Him.  By doing so is the only way He can help us since He is the only wise God:  the source of wisdom. 

Godly edification

God is our Father and therefore He edifies us to teach us faith and His pure love for us as His children.  We are commanded to love others and only the dispensation of God leads to love through faith.  The blessings that love brings are a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere/genuine faith.  These are the characteristics of a pure heart. 

Be careful to get involved in empty arguments with yourself or others.  They make little sense and are not worth hearing.  It will cause you to wish or desire as it is the emotional element that leads to consequent action.  It is a strong natural impulse and can and is the easiest manner for Satan to get a hold onto your life.  Satan's aim is for you to start doubting your faith.

The will of God for you

It isn't the will of God for you to perish but only to come to repentance.  When we persist in rebellion and we don't repent (maybe it's as a result of a certain situation in your life), God will give us up and over to our own ways which will damn our souls.  He can't save men who persist in damning their own souls.  God is the author of the laws of sowing and reaping and this is the sense in which God has anything to do with such destinies.

Repentance will give you good hope through God's grace.  He love us and wants to comfort us.  It is His will for us to be established in good works and words.  God has given us everlasting consulation and only He can comfort your heart.

Your life journey in Christ

 Have you ever thought that your interpretation of your life journey may be of some value to someone else present in your life?  It also teaches character to the individual and provides valuable lessons for him/her to learn from.  I want to assure you that the Holy Spirit is always with you during these times to guide you and no matter what happens God wants you to stand up and walk this journey with Him.  Lift your head up high, don't look at the mountain in front of you, He will guide you to get on the other side of this mountain.  He wants you to share your heart with Him:  your needs, emotions and thoughts.  You have to give recognition to your own feelings and thoughts.  He wants you to share with Him as He is the source of life, hope and love.

Is tribulations worth the suffering?

Our character is being crafted by God through suffering.  A new creation in God is being created by Him.  God's intension for you is to birthed by a new spirit.  This is a guarantee of the rewards of those who endure persecution.  His judgements ae righteous and based upon the law of sowing and reaping and His Holy Spirit will bless you at a time that He has calculated for you to be blessed by His grace.  We need to be humble in the eyes of God and not rebellious as rebellious behaviour will not bring forth character nor the grace of God. 

The truth is that tribulations will never end because there are so many things God wants to teach us through them.  Rather be open to learn from your tribulations than to be rebellious which my cause you to lose hope and be depressed.  Your tribulations will not correspond with those of your friend since God's calling for you will differ from his/hers.  Try not to see it in a negative light but rather in a positive one from which there is a lesson in each one for you to learn from it.  You will be given rest from your suffering when the Messiah comes and be allowed to enter the kingdom.

Difficult times

Sometimes we experience very difficult times and we come to a place where we feel we want to give up.  We don't have the strength to carry on and we want to withdraw or give up on a certain situation.  It is easy to reach a breaking point as a result of a tangle of emotions that overcomes us.  If you succumb to your emotions you will surely starting to "die" slowly.  It will lead to depression - a spiral obstacle which is very difficult to overcome.  You will be fragile and this will cause you to be blind for the truth of God.  Fear causes you to be afraid.

Take some time out to rest, look after your body and your health as this is a temple of God.  Then after you have rested, choose to stand up for yourself and don't just stare at the problem.  If you can't get over it, go around it, but be sure to pass it.  God is with you to guide you, He is not finished with you.  He has a new way for you to proceed on.  People who felt like this were  Moses, Job, David, Elijah, and Jonah.  God helped them, see Him for who He is, only He can help you. 

The gift of grace and your faith

When we are blessed by God, we receive a measure of faith.  However, it is our responsibility to grow our faith and not God's.  Faith is one of the seeds of grace that should grow normally in everyone until he has a genuine work of faith with power.  You have to continue in faith to get its benefits. 

What exactly is faith then?

• You have to place your confidence in God;
• It's an absolute dependence upon and reliance in the Word of God and of Christ;
• It's full surrender, yieldedness, and obedience to all known truth;
• It's to trust an wholly and unreservedly in the faithfulness of God;

Faith found soil to grow in open and honest hearts.  When you give yourself over to and commit to a new way of life in Jesus Christ, do it with such a heart in mind.  But how should I proceed in this world to grow my faith?

1. Be dedicated in your relationship with Christ.  Humble yourself before Him each day before you start the day by spending quiet time with Him;
2. Abound in love.  This kind of love is spontaneous and has the following characteristics:  patience with others, kindness, generosity, humility, courtesy, unselfishness, good temper, righteousness and sincerity;
3. This love (even for the self) is patient when it comes to trouble we experience.  Ensure to gather the truth of the Gospel (Jesus and the Word) and you will have the power of it working in our life.  As long as we believe in that truth, we won't feel defeated or lost;
4. Be patient and abound in faith when you go through troubled times.  Persecution as the Bible refers to is troubled times and has never hurt Christ true church (us) and never will if we abound in faith.

Grace is never ending

God is the source of grace and it is available to everyone.  You may be of the opinion that you are a sinner and you will never be worthy of God's grace, but I want to assure you that it is only your opinion and God is not interested in your opinion.  He is interested in your willingness to accept His grace.

But what is grace?

1. It's kindness;
2. It's a gift:  it is a free gift which He gives freely and generously to whoever wants to obtain it, asking for His favour in your heart as He loves you;
3. It's good will:  a favourable act towards somebody:  YOU;
4. It's about forgiveness:  He has already forgiven your sin with Christ on the cross and He wants you to forgive others that have wronged you in the very same way;
5. He has cancelled a debt:  He has released you from what were owed to Him by your sin.  He wants you to do the same for others who have wronged you - as He did.

Once you have accepted God's grace in your own life, you can give grace to others because Jesus Christ came to die on the cross in order for us to receive God's grace.  God loved you first and this is demonstrated by grace.  It's a portrayal of His love for us.

Grace

Charis:  the Greek word for grace.  Why would God's labor be in vain if there was no possibility of Satan tempting Christians, causing them to fall and be lost?  Do we really understand the grace of God or its limitations/impact to those opposing it?

It is true that grace can't be withheld from man because of demerit, lessened by demerit, or be mixed with the law of works.  But this does not prove that there are no conditions men must meet in order to get the benefits of grace.  God is under obligation to saints only when they walk in the light and remain true to the gospel.  Grace teaches men to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously, and godly on earth.  If men don't obey its teaching grace can go no further.

We may choose to :
-  receive grace in vain;
-  frustrate it in our lives;
-  fall from it;
-  fail of the grace of God;
-  turn it into lasciviousness;
-  sin in spite of it;
-  continue or discontinue in it;
-  minister it to others;
-  grow or not to grow in it;
-  to receive or reject it.

Considering that grace is a free gift from God who loves you dearly and wants you to be His child, what choice will you make?

Do I have to lose hope?

Sometimes when we go through difficult periods in our life, we ask:  "why me?", "why is God letting this happen?"  The answer to these questions is that we are created to honour God and not the other way around.  Whilst we go through tough times, He wants us to learn certain lessons from it.  The question should rather be:  "am I willing to learn what God wants to teach me or am I going to rebel against what is happening in my life and miss out on the lesson?"  The purpose of difficult periods in our lives is created by God to force us to leave the things of the flesh behind and rather to proceed in the things of the Spirit.  Let's see what we need to do during these difficult times:

Col. 4:2-6 (not quoted).  Be earnest towards such periods, persevere in prayer and be diligent in a continuous manner.  Pray for grace to help you to submit to the lesson which God wants you to learn and for grace to overcome this problem.  Walk in wisdom and continually give thanks to God by giving your time to Him (e.g. doing bible study on your own, even if it is 10 min.)  The seasoning used for answering others should be based in that that opposes sin and preserve from corruption thereof.

Totally new

When Jesus died on the cross for us, all our sins were nailed on the cross with Him.  Jesus took man's place to save him in order to restore the relationship with God the Father.  His blood was shed to wash us clean from our sins. 

It is our choice to choose between right and wrong, being obedient or being disobedient to the guidelines of His Word, to sin or not to sin, etc.  He gave us the freedom of choice but with that the responsibility to make the correct choice or to live with the consequences of our bad choices.  God tells us in His Word that we are a new creature when we are born in the Spirit and this happens only through believing in Jesus Christ.  However this "rebirth" is not out of blood, nor the will of man or the will of the flesh.  You are seen for who you are now (today), not what you did or who you were.  Jesus wants to set you free from your past, all you have to do is to repent your sins before Him.  Remember He didn't come for the righteous but for those who have not received Him as their Lord and Saviour, you are precious to Him. 

Gal. 5:1:  "It was for freedom that Christ set us free"

Are you on your way to your own funeral?

Luke 7:11 tells us the story of a widow whose son passed away and they were busy carring the courpse in a coffin to the funeral.  Jesus and His disciples were on their way to this city (Nain) and as He entered saw this sad scene.  His timing was perfect

He  was moved with pity for her and walked in the direction of the coffin.  When He was next to the coffin, He touched it and command the dead body of the boy to sit up.  The dead boy then sat up and began to talk.  He gave life in death to this boy.

After reading this, are you sure that you may not be on your way to your own funeral? Being in bitterness, be hateful towards others, be angry at someone, unforgiving towards someone, maybe you are engaged in a relationship which is wrong in the eyes of God, maybe lust or dissipation, always seek the acceptance of men instead of God, or maybe you value your possessions and money more than God.  I want to tell you that it is never too late, His heart is crying for you and He want to tell you to stop now and make the correct choice.  Leave behind whatever it is that you are busy with, renounce your sins and be free in Him.  Can you see that you are already in that coffin, Jesus is telling you to get up and to live.  It is never too late, His timing is always perfect. 

The presence of evil in this world

Sin and death are direct consequences of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  We inherited the consequences of their sin as the earth is a sinful place as a result of their disobedience. 

The Greek word for plans is inner intentions/inner thoughts.  What Satan does is he wants us to believe the lies of his inner intention/inner thoughts.  He came to mislead, create lies, to keep people in ignorance and to dominate, manipulate and intimidate God's people.  By choosing to live in ignorance and denial God's people are being destroyed by Satan as he infiltrates their lives unknowingly.  Satan wants to create doubt in your mind as he is the enemy of peace.  It is his intention to confuse you.  He runs his campaign by first starting to tempt you.  When he accomplishes that, the next step for his is to deceit you.  Once he deceived you he will start accusing you.  What you need to do is to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and the Holy Spirit of God that indwells you, will guide you into the truth.  Ownership is never at stake but your daily victory is.

Eph. 6:12 "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood (people), but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

PS:  Please pray for Sandy to be set free on Friday the 10th of February 2012.

What is my responsibility?

The issue last week was "who am I?"  (Please refer to the posting of 25/01/2012 in this regard).  Our responsibility is to take up our authority in Christ and to stand firmly in faith in your position as a saint.  Further it is our responsibility to confess and repent our sin before God on a daily basis and to believe in His truth which will set you free.  Your relationship with God have is the most important relationship you will ever have.  You also need to forgive others who have wronged you as Christ has forgiven your sin and He expects us to do the same for our fellow human beings.  Unfortunately nobody can do that for you, you have to do it for yourself.



According to Eph. 1:18-19 we are to persue truth because we already have all the power we need in Christ.  We can't do what He has already done for us.

Who am I?

As Christians, we are in Christ and His Holy Spirit resides in us.  Our body is a holy temple of God and we should treat it as holy.  We must feed our body with good nutrition, we have to look after our health and maintain a healthy lifestyle and we have to maintain our relationship with God.  What Jesus already did for us is He died for our sins and for healing of sickness.  The sheading of His blood was a sign that both our sin has been forgiven and healing of illnesses will take place once we trust in Jesus. 

That is not all:  Jesus triumphed over and disarmed the rulers and authorities of the kingdom of darkness (Satan).  All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him.  He defeated Satan, in other words, Satan is a defeated foe.  He (Satan) has no authority over those who are in Christ.  Remember Christ now is seated in heavenly places and those who are in Him are also seated with Him (Eph. 2:5-6).

Thus you are alive in Christ and seated with Him.  As long as we are alive in Him, we can stand in authority against anything and any situation.  God has provided all for us to live a victorious life in Christ.  Now it is up to you to assume your responsibility.


Revelations 12:10 "... now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ, for the accuser of our brethren (Christians) is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

How strong am I?

Welcome back after the summer holidays in SA, may you be inspired in Christ this year and I want to thank you for your visit.  I appoligise for two automatic postings that didn't published towards the end of 2011.  May you have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year period and I trust that 2012 will be a year showered by blessing for you. 

Are you a strong person?  Does the word strong refer to the fact that I can pick up 10kg of groceries or does it refer to my soul/spirit?  The answer to this is quite simple, yes you are physically strong when you can pick up that amount of groceries but with regards to our spirit/soul we are not.  We are not able to do anything; in fact we can't do anything as it is the Holy Spirit of God that provides us with the strength to carry on.  Without God we amount to nothing, we will be dead. 

We are born physically alive but spiritually we are dead as a result of the consequences of the sin Adam and Eve committed in the Garden of Eden.  We become spiritually alive the moment we invite the Holy Spirit of God into our life.  It's not a feeling or a sign or anything else, it is a choice you make to invite and accept the Holy Spirit into your life and He resides inside you from that moment.

Nehemiah 8:10 b "... for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Revelations 3:8 "I know thy works:  behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it:  for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name."