Woke up this morning earlier than I would have wanted, thanks to a call from my dad who must have forgotten he is one hr ahead. Natural tendencies would have moved me back to bed but am up, pondering... Out of my mind now and into yours...
What are your expectations from God for your life and in situations? Matthew 7:7-11 talks about asking and while that can and is used as a sermon, it is not the focus today. So you have asked, after the prayer, the moaning, fasting and all, what do you expect? Before Christ was born, Israel had prayed for a redeemer for so long, they got more than they bargained for, they got the Son and Elijah but because their expectations were set so low/high they missed out entirely on what they could have achieved.
Ask and it shall be given to you, whose child would ask for bread and be given a stone? But then what are your expectations? What is your bread? The woman that nagged the unjust judge nagged for something we most times overlook, she asked for justice. Sometimes we focus so much on the asking, we fail to check our expectations and heart desires and then we seek the stones rather than the bread.
Knock and the door will be opened? No doubt, but there are 2 doors/gates, the wide one which leads to destruction(easily opened I must add) and the strait one which leads to eternal life. Again I ask, what are your expectations? You expect easy? Then the path behind the strait door will not sit well with you.
Seek and ye shall find? Here there is no need to talk or debate because the Word says, seek ye FIRST the kingdom and the knocking and the asking(lol) shall and will be added unto you.
What are your expectations? God has never ever ceased to amaze people who expect him to simply move... His way not theirs. A man raising his arms doing the will of God, caused the leap year as we know it. Many examples are scattered all over the bible, Abraham, expected a son and became the father of nations...
Matthew 7, talks of a lifestyle that should be lived not just about the asking.
What do you expect? Seek God first and He will surprise you. Let God set your standards.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
The very thin line...
I have heard many a gist about the large gray area between black and white or good and evil. Yin and yang and all the many other names that they could be called. And in the midst of all this I have heard of the very large gray area, where all that men think is right can be put in comfortably. Now I wonder and I really wonder if there is a de-militarized zone between light and darkness. Matthew 6:24 answers this very bluntly saying; no one can serve two masters. 1 John 1:5 puts it even better by saying, God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. Looking at this passage I wonder whether God in all His might and power would enter into diplomatic relations with the devil to decide what is right or wrong. It can either be God's way or every other way. Meaning light or darkness, and the in-between definitely does not look gray. In reality it is actually a really thin line where the light does not spill into the dark or vice-versa.
In the computer world there is a way hackers get into systems and networks, and they do so not by posing as what shouldn't be, but as what could be. What I am trying to say is; if your beliefs and everything you stood for (both for yourself and in Christ), could be put in a bucket, rather than put holes in a bucket which shouldn't be, the bucket is made bigger so more beliefs can be put in.
Since the line between light and dark cannot be broken(in reality), we have a world where that line is constantly being tampered with in our minds and in our everyday lives. And one may ask how? By either pushing the line back or forward, we either accommodate more or less in our lives and end up being in places other than where God has meant to be. It started in the garden of Eden, when Eve was tempted, not by being told to do wrong, but by questioning her sense of right and wrong, it goes on even today. We have adults who when children, didn't like smokers or drunks, had no idea about sex or where disgusted by the very thoughts of it, guys who when they were little thought kissing was gross, girls who thought the very idea of sex was revolting. As kids we had very rigid ideas based on our upbringing of right and wrong. And why I would love to wonder where everything went wrong. But then really it doesn't really take too long to wonder why.
We grow up in a world where movies, series, songs, promote the idea that sex, drugs and booze are cool. Where pre-marital sex is normal, and it is ok to live with people of the opposite sex like a couple without getting married, it is now cool to sleep with as many people as possible and very uncool to stay a virgin on your wedding day. A world where self is valued more than value to the society. A world where ordinary cartoons for kids are filled with innuendos, either graphical or speechwise, all aimed at getting us to feel that a lot of things that shouldn't be could be.
The definition of a subliminal message is "A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another medium, designed to pass below the normal limits of the human mind's perception. These messages are unrecognizable by the conscious mind, but in certain situations can affect the subconscious mind and can negatively or positively influence subsequent later thoughts, behaviors, actions, attitudes, belief systems and value systems"
We are bombarded daily with messages, from the tv, radio and even from the internet, hints suggestions that don't lower our defenses but move the line forward step by step, inch by inch to the point where we begin to think being gay is not so bad, fornicating is not so bad, living comfortably with people of the opposite sex and having all we can is not so bad, the examples are countless. And we say we have grace and we have God's love, after all He loves us just the way we are. Yes He does, no doubt, but then that is why He sent His Son to die for us, not so we can remain the way we are but so we can turn our lives around to be just the way He meant us to be, line intact exactly where it should be.
So yes I have given my life to Christ and I am a new creature, all true but you are still subject to the flesh. I think of Daniel and I wonder what kept him strong in Babylon, a strange land with strange customs and beliefs, even when his peers where falling astray, Daniel 1:8, he made his decision in his heart and didn't just let it stay there but spoke out about it. I don't know how many of us (like me), have made a decision to serve but just let it stay in our heart and not spoken out when we should have. Esther nearly did the same and it would have cost her, her people and like her uncle told her eventually it would have cost her as well. Esther 4: 8-12 (12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"). You are who you are for a purpose, light of the world and salt of the earth and staying silent at a time like this would only defeat the purpose for which you are...
Two different portions of the scripture which I share here,
Ephesians 4: 17-24
17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Romans 12: 1-2
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Constant renewal of the mind, renewal of the mind in Christ, a sure way of achieving this is by constantly searching the scriptures. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but thou shall meditate on it day and night... (Joshua 1:8). It is easy to get comfortable being just ok, but that is not your calling is it, to get you and just you to heaven. Go into your world and preach the gospel, go and shine out as a light to all nations, go out and be the salt, a flavor in a constantly darkening tasteless world.
It is your choice, but the truth remains what it is, the truth. God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. You cannot say you are in the light and still have darkness in you, you cannot have a light and hide it under your bed either.
Matthew 5:14-16
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Stay blessed
In the computer world there is a way hackers get into systems and networks, and they do so not by posing as what shouldn't be, but as what could be. What I am trying to say is; if your beliefs and everything you stood for (both for yourself and in Christ), could be put in a bucket, rather than put holes in a bucket which shouldn't be, the bucket is made bigger so more beliefs can be put in.
Since the line between light and dark cannot be broken(in reality), we have a world where that line is constantly being tampered with in our minds and in our everyday lives. And one may ask how? By either pushing the line back or forward, we either accommodate more or less in our lives and end up being in places other than where God has meant to be. It started in the garden of Eden, when Eve was tempted, not by being told to do wrong, but by questioning her sense of right and wrong, it goes on even today. We have adults who when children, didn't like smokers or drunks, had no idea about sex or where disgusted by the very thoughts of it, guys who when they were little thought kissing was gross, girls who thought the very idea of sex was revolting. As kids we had very rigid ideas based on our upbringing of right and wrong. And why I would love to wonder where everything went wrong. But then really it doesn't really take too long to wonder why.
We grow up in a world where movies, series, songs, promote the idea that sex, drugs and booze are cool. Where pre-marital sex is normal, and it is ok to live with people of the opposite sex like a couple without getting married, it is now cool to sleep with as many people as possible and very uncool to stay a virgin on your wedding day. A world where self is valued more than value to the society. A world where ordinary cartoons for kids are filled with innuendos, either graphical or speechwise, all aimed at getting us to feel that a lot of things that shouldn't be could be.
The definition of a subliminal message is "A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another medium, designed to pass below the normal limits of the human mind's perception. These messages are unrecognizable by the conscious mind, but in certain situations can affect the subconscious mind and can negatively or positively influence subsequent later thoughts, behaviors, actions, attitudes, belief systems and value systems"
We are bombarded daily with messages, from the tv, radio and even from the internet, hints suggestions that don't lower our defenses but move the line forward step by step, inch by inch to the point where we begin to think being gay is not so bad, fornicating is not so bad, living comfortably with people of the opposite sex and having all we can is not so bad, the examples are countless. And we say we have grace and we have God's love, after all He loves us just the way we are. Yes He does, no doubt, but then that is why He sent His Son to die for us, not so we can remain the way we are but so we can turn our lives around to be just the way He meant us to be, line intact exactly where it should be.
So yes I have given my life to Christ and I am a new creature, all true but you are still subject to the flesh. I think of Daniel and I wonder what kept him strong in Babylon, a strange land with strange customs and beliefs, even when his peers where falling astray, Daniel 1:8, he made his decision in his heart and didn't just let it stay there but spoke out about it. I don't know how many of us (like me), have made a decision to serve but just let it stay in our heart and not spoken out when we should have. Esther nearly did the same and it would have cost her, her people and like her uncle told her eventually it would have cost her as well. Esther 4: 8-12 (12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"). You are who you are for a purpose, light of the world and salt of the earth and staying silent at a time like this would only defeat the purpose for which you are...
Two different portions of the scripture which I share here,
Ephesians 4: 17-24
17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Romans 12: 1-2
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Constant renewal of the mind, renewal of the mind in Christ, a sure way of achieving this is by constantly searching the scriptures. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but thou shall meditate on it day and night... (Joshua 1:8). It is easy to get comfortable being just ok, but that is not your calling is it, to get you and just you to heaven. Go into your world and preach the gospel, go and shine out as a light to all nations, go out and be the salt, a flavor in a constantly darkening tasteless world.
It is your choice, but the truth remains what it is, the truth. God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. You cannot say you are in the light and still have darkness in you, you cannot have a light and hide it under your bed either.
Matthew 5:14-16
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Stay blessed
Saturday, October 17, 2009
When God says I am...
I was sitting at home when the words came to me, "I am". Two words God used to describe Himself not once but over and over again. Have you ever wondered why it is always this statement; "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob"? It is never I was the God but now I will be your God. That statement mentioned over and over again. God has not changed, he never will. The same promises made back in the day, still apply to us.
Genesis 15:1, God says to Abram, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. God promises Abram a child which He got 25 years later. 25 years of walking in faith.
Genesis 17:1, God says to Abram, I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect. God promises Abraham many children, many nations and the land he was standing on. A promise Abraham never saw with his eyes.
What am I saying here because am not writing to say bedtime stories.
Look at your hands as you read this, those hands you may have wondered about; are they good enough? Can they do the work? You think you know what them hands are capable of? Moses had a staff, for a long time it was used for everyday purposes and Moses thought he knew what that staff could do. When God opened his eyes, Moses fled (Exodus 4:3). A dried up staff, but after God spoke, after He said "I am", situations changed. Look at those hands again, do you know what they are capable of? Sure you do but surely your maker knows better.
Situations are getting difficult, seems there is no way out of this one. For once you are truly and fully stuck, stuck because listening to God put you in all this trouble? Am not talking about Joseph, I am talking about you and me. That used to be a difficult thing for me to truthfully say in times of trouble (thank God for grace) mainly because I thought I was wise but then that is another story. It is the one thing Moses had going for him when he was faced with the red sea and had Egyptians coming up from behind. Moses cried out for help and God answered immediately., not by pouring fire from heaven, but by asking Moses to use the same staff he had used before.
Now to get to the point because there are so many stories in the bible...
When God says I am, He can turn situations around,
Gideon and Moses situations, where you feel you are of no use and that where you are is good enough for you.
Red sea situations, where it seems there is no other way for you to go but up, to cry out to Him
Elijah, Job and Jonah situations, where you are so frustrated that you practically want to end your life. Not just by killing yourself but by going back on all you have stood for so far. Curse God and die? God forbid. Having done all to stand then please still stand.
It goes far beyond the circumstances and situations we find ourselves in and dives deep into the lives we live because faith goes beyond the words we speak and goes into the very lives we live to back it up.
When God says I am, its not just about staffs turning into snakes or red seas parting, its not just about fishmode transportation or signs and wonders, it goes far beyond that. It involves my representation of that statement "I AM". A child of God, a heir of the father in deeds and not just in words, in spirit and in truth. The statement that I also AM, like my Father is, everyday of my life, going out to preach the gospel, that Christ died for me and that this is my testimony...
What I was that I am no longer,
What I AM that I was not before.
A child, a son, a heir.
Not through the words I speak,
But through the life I live..
Genesis 15:1, God says to Abram, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. God promises Abram a child which He got 25 years later. 25 years of walking in faith.
Genesis 17:1, God says to Abram, I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect. God promises Abraham many children, many nations and the land he was standing on. A promise Abraham never saw with his eyes.
What am I saying here because am not writing to say bedtime stories.
Look at your hands as you read this, those hands you may have wondered about; are they good enough? Can they do the work? You think you know what them hands are capable of? Moses had a staff, for a long time it was used for everyday purposes and Moses thought he knew what that staff could do. When God opened his eyes, Moses fled (Exodus 4:3). A dried up staff, but after God spoke, after He said "I am", situations changed. Look at those hands again, do you know what they are capable of? Sure you do but surely your maker knows better.
Situations are getting difficult, seems there is no way out of this one. For once you are truly and fully stuck, stuck because listening to God put you in all this trouble? Am not talking about Joseph, I am talking about you and me. That used to be a difficult thing for me to truthfully say in times of trouble (thank God for grace) mainly because I thought I was wise but then that is another story. It is the one thing Moses had going for him when he was faced with the red sea and had Egyptians coming up from behind. Moses cried out for help and God answered immediately., not by pouring fire from heaven, but by asking Moses to use the same staff he had used before.
Now to get to the point because there are so many stories in the bible...
When God says I am, He can turn situations around,
Gideon and Moses situations, where you feel you are of no use and that where you are is good enough for you.
Red sea situations, where it seems there is no other way for you to go but up, to cry out to Him
Elijah, Job and Jonah situations, where you are so frustrated that you practically want to end your life. Not just by killing yourself but by going back on all you have stood for so far. Curse God and die? God forbid. Having done all to stand then please still stand.
It goes far beyond the circumstances and situations we find ourselves in and dives deep into the lives we live because faith goes beyond the words we speak and goes into the very lives we live to back it up.
When God says I am, its not just about staffs turning into snakes or red seas parting, its not just about fishmode transportation or signs and wonders, it goes far beyond that. It involves my representation of that statement "I AM". A child of God, a heir of the father in deeds and not just in words, in spirit and in truth. The statement that I also AM, like my Father is, everyday of my life, going out to preach the gospel, that Christ died for me and that this is my testimony...
What I was that I am no longer,
What I AM that I was not before.
A child, a son, a heir.
Not through the words I speak,
But through the life I live..
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The way that seems right...
The way that seemeth right to a man, the end leads to destruction (Proverbs 14:12)... A scripture my dad often reminded me of as a young boy growing up and till date it runs through my head at least every day (no lies), I add to that the scripture that the foolishness of God is wiser than men (1Cor 1:25) (and I would love to say that the wisdom of God is foolishness to men) and you have a very good decision making pattern. And am not talking of d obvious decisions like reading to pass or working for bread, I am talking of the puzzling decisions of life.
Who chooses to stay in a wilderness over staying in plush land? That was like picking hardship over comfort. Abraham did and at the end, Lot lost everything and Abraham gained a lot in return for making perhaps the silliest decision he had ever had to make and it was right after then that God made His promise to Abraham (Genesis 13)…
Simple instructions were given to Saul and he went ahead and did all that he was supposed to, all but some. And it cost him his kingdom (1Samuel 15)
It was a simple decision to make, eat the meals provided for you. One problem though they had been offered to the gods of the land first. Well I would have said pray over the food before you eat it, but then Daniel and his friends didn’t, and they were the only ones among all their brethren to do so. What happened after was a result of the choice they made from the beginning (Daniel 1).
He was a son of one of the High priests of the land meaning good education, sound upbringing with the customs and laws of the land at the very least. Not much has been said about his life as a child but I want to dare to assume as much. However he left it all to stay in the wilderness dressed in camel’s hair. Eating “wild” honey and locusts wouldn’t have been Zechariah or Elizabeth’s ideal life for their son. What many of us in these days would call foolishness of the highest order.
So many examples written of old and seen today in the lives of people around us, so many of which have been laughed at but have turned out to not only be the right thing but have exceeded all expectations. Reading the book of Ecclesiastes made me realize why Solomon could be called the wisest man on earth, not just because of his God given brains but because he tried everything I could ever want to try as a young man, and he called it all foolishness, everything but the fear of God. I don’t know how many times I have ended up in the wrong place for paths I took not because I didn’t know what to do but because what to do was so silly I decided not to. I have however been on the right path a number of times as well not because I wanted to, but because after a long struggle against the right thing I was put into so many unforeseen circumstances I had to make the silly choice.
The way that seemeth right to a man, the end is destruction. It is better to trust in the foolishness of God than in the wisdom of men.
There are always two sides to a story,
The part I see and the part you see,
Don't judge me until you walk in my shoes,
for some, the shoes are comfy,
For many others, the shoes do hurt.
Simple question rarely if ever asked,
Who got you the shoes you are wearing?
Where they gotten by chance?
Or did you pick and try them out first,
Before putting them on?
They say once bitten twice shy,
But then why flirt around the same issues?
You already know what happens at the end
Humans adapt they say,
So y flirt the exact same way u did,
Three, four, five times ago?
O Lord your grace is sufficient for me,
Even when I willingly sin just 3 times more.
Christ died once to save u from your sins.
You have been saved once already,
Y go through the process again?
He is faithful and just to cleanse me,
Again and again? 70*7?
Even d prodigal son repented just once.
You say u serve, but are so quick to turn,
Turn when things seem difficult,
When you seem to put up with things so unfair.
True you can complain of your rights...
But after you have been whipped and scourged,
Hung on a cross and left for dead,
Abandoned by all you know in your hour of need,
And still not uttered a word?
Then you can boldly say you know the difference
The difference between right and wrong
The reward is not on earth but in heaven.
The ones on earth are just by-products.
By-products not the final goal.
There are many ways for a man,
There is however only one way with God.
His way, your choice. His service, His choice
Who chooses to stay in a wilderness over staying in plush land? That was like picking hardship over comfort. Abraham did and at the end, Lot lost everything and Abraham gained a lot in return for making perhaps the silliest decision he had ever had to make and it was right after then that God made His promise to Abraham (Genesis 13)…
Simple instructions were given to Saul and he went ahead and did all that he was supposed to, all but some. And it cost him his kingdom (1Samuel 15)
It was a simple decision to make, eat the meals provided for you. One problem though they had been offered to the gods of the land first. Well I would have said pray over the food before you eat it, but then Daniel and his friends didn’t, and they were the only ones among all their brethren to do so. What happened after was a result of the choice they made from the beginning (Daniel 1).
He was a son of one of the High priests of the land meaning good education, sound upbringing with the customs and laws of the land at the very least. Not much has been said about his life as a child but I want to dare to assume as much. However he left it all to stay in the wilderness dressed in camel’s hair. Eating “wild” honey and locusts wouldn’t have been Zechariah or Elizabeth’s ideal life for their son. What many of us in these days would call foolishness of the highest order.
So many examples written of old and seen today in the lives of people around us, so many of which have been laughed at but have turned out to not only be the right thing but have exceeded all expectations. Reading the book of Ecclesiastes made me realize why Solomon could be called the wisest man on earth, not just because of his God given brains but because he tried everything I could ever want to try as a young man, and he called it all foolishness, everything but the fear of God. I don’t know how many times I have ended up in the wrong place for paths I took not because I didn’t know what to do but because what to do was so silly I decided not to. I have however been on the right path a number of times as well not because I wanted to, but because after a long struggle against the right thing I was put into so many unforeseen circumstances I had to make the silly choice.
The way that seemeth right to a man, the end is destruction. It is better to trust in the foolishness of God than in the wisdom of men.
There are always two sides to a story,
The part I see and the part you see,
Don't judge me until you walk in my shoes,
for some, the shoes are comfy,
For many others, the shoes do hurt.
Simple question rarely if ever asked,
Who got you the shoes you are wearing?
Where they gotten by chance?
Or did you pick and try them out first,
Before putting them on?
They say once bitten twice shy,
But then why flirt around the same issues?
You already know what happens at the end
Humans adapt they say,
So y flirt the exact same way u did,
Three, four, five times ago?
O Lord your grace is sufficient for me,
Even when I willingly sin just 3 times more.
Christ died once to save u from your sins.
You have been saved once already,
Y go through the process again?
He is faithful and just to cleanse me,
Again and again? 70*7?
Even d prodigal son repented just once.
You say u serve, but are so quick to turn,
Turn when things seem difficult,
When you seem to put up with things so unfair.
True you can complain of your rights...
But after you have been whipped and scourged,
Hung on a cross and left for dead,
Abandoned by all you know in your hour of need,
And still not uttered a word?
Then you can boldly say you know the difference
The difference between right and wrong
The reward is not on earth but in heaven.
The ones on earth are just by-products.
By-products not the final goal.
There are many ways for a man,
There is however only one way with God.
His way, your choice. His service, His choice
Let Him step in
I started writing this not too long ago when things where looking shaky in my life and I was thinking about quitting... Not thinking of quitting God(God forbid), but thinking about withdrawing back to the hard inaccessible shell that most of us withdraw to during hard times. Withdrawing as I used to call it to protect myself. Everything happens for a reason yes and sometimes it is easier, a lot easier, to say a story after you have had the happy ending, easier to recite the stories five years on when everything has been sorted out and we are all the happier. It is a lot harder to say those stories when they are happening to you and they are happening to you at the moment. Like Juanita Bynum said in her book "No more sheets", people are more likely to listen to you if you relate with them based on what they are going through. As i thought of quitting, one sentence popped into my head, the last thing I wanted to hear at that moment not because it was wrong but because it would have meant me doing the very opposite of what I wanted to do in my heart a simple sentence "Let Me step in" and immediately I remembered Rev 3:19 and 20. There are several people from the bible I reminded myself about, not just because they were great but because they were human.
Now I don't know how many people here have had their life put on the line for the thing they cared about the most. To Abraham it happened twice (not counting Isaac) when not one but two different kings took his wife away from him. He lied to save his life and while right now to many people it makes a good reading, I tried to imagine what it would have been like for him that night, his fear of death, the fear that made him give up Sarah/Sarai, his despair, his pain. I wonder what pushed God to step in, I mean back in the day people pretty much did anything they wanted. I didn't have to wonder too much to go back to Rev 3:20. He opened the door to his life for God to step in and stay in and his life pretty much says the story. Reading on Isaac did the same thing (and looking at them all it is little wonder Jacob was as smart as he was strong dominant genes must show)
Abraham's grandson Joseph, started out as a dreamer and a spoilt child a guy am sure would have been very annoying. He was sold into slavery and an insight into the kind of life he lived after then was shown when potiphar's wife confronted him. Now as we all know egyptian women back in the day were Egyptian women. He stayed strong not because of Potiphar but because it would be a wicked thing against his God (Genesis 39:8). And that egyptian woman did not come in one day (as I once believed). She worried Joseph daily (a worrior indeed) to the point where she had to take action. We know JOseph's story, I won't even try to put myself in his shoes (I can't dare) but he stayed strong and because he opened the door to his heart and God stepped in and stayed in, we know the happy ending...
Moses, saved from certain death by what I would call a divine hand.I won't go into much talk but go straight to the point. Moses could have been said to be hard and hot tempered, tome right now, Moses was one of the most humble men in the bible. There is a reason why He was the only person that spoke to God face to face and knew it. Two questions I ask here; if you were leading the Israelites of that time and went through all they put Moses through, what would you do(I mean a journey that was supposed to take not more than a year took 40 and that is not even a bit of what he went through)? If you had a choice, punish someone yourself or leave God to do it, I mean if God gave you that choice which would you pick(I would personally drink gold flavoured water any day than let God have a go at me in his anger)? Moses opened up and let God step in and stay in...
We have Daniel, Samuel, ELijah and Elisha, Esther, Job, the prophets, David, the apostles, different people who opened up and stayed open and through them, God did mighty things here on earth.
Now what point am I trying to make (to me first and then to everyone else)...
I used to run my life like a JVC (Joint venture company to all who don't know). Me having 70% of my life and God having 30% or less. My life on sundays and some mornings, and me having all the rest. Meaning in times of credit crunches and financial crisis, heart aches and burns, general problems, work problems, family problems and school problems I ran to "my Lord" for a bailout. Forgetting all the pensions and salaries I paid to the CEO's in my life, the investment mistakes I made with my time and the places I hung out. The words I said and exposed myself to... In summary letting God step in only when I needed Him to. I thought of this a while ago about it not being about getting broken and having God fix you but staying broken so He never has to leave. Its not about getting the bailout every now and then, but its about handing your JVC to the right government... No one can serve two masters, you can't be lukewarm, you can't be a fence straddler, not if you want God to stay in.
Looking through the bible, apart from when men of God cried out for forgiveness when they strayed, I can't remember a place where they actually prayed to God about wanting something for themselves. I wonder whether it was because they didn't need anything. SOlomon asked for wisdom to rule his people. NOt wisdom for himself. Abraham didn't ask to be a father of many nations, Enoch didn't ask for God to come and carry him to heaven and neither did Elijah, Elisha on his dying bed did not ask for healing, Jesus dying on the cross only mentioned these words, if it is your will, then let it be done. What am I saying, letting God step in takes trust, trusting that He will take care of you and sort you out, letting God step in means that He makes the decisions and you follow. It means that as a representative the only thing men should be able to say about me that is bad is that I serve God and him alone... There is so much but then finally I will say it involves being at peace with all men sorry I mean ALL MEN!!! A lot of things I used to take on the surface that now have a much deeper meaning to me.
God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all, when He steps in, that light shines fromw within, it shines out to the whole world and gives us peace from within, peace with all men notwithstanding the conditions but outshining it all. God stepping in and taking total control gives us right standing with Him making us be exactly where He wants us to be and helps us identify the exact moment when He is out.
Now I don't know how many people here have had their life put on the line for the thing they cared about the most. To Abraham it happened twice (not counting Isaac) when not one but two different kings took his wife away from him. He lied to save his life and while right now to many people it makes a good reading, I tried to imagine what it would have been like for him that night, his fear of death, the fear that made him give up Sarah/Sarai, his despair, his pain. I wonder what pushed God to step in, I mean back in the day people pretty much did anything they wanted. I didn't have to wonder too much to go back to Rev 3:20. He opened the door to his life for God to step in and stay in and his life pretty much says the story. Reading on Isaac did the same thing (and looking at them all it is little wonder Jacob was as smart as he was strong dominant genes must show)
Abraham's grandson Joseph, started out as a dreamer and a spoilt child a guy am sure would have been very annoying. He was sold into slavery and an insight into the kind of life he lived after then was shown when potiphar's wife confronted him. Now as we all know egyptian women back in the day were Egyptian women. He stayed strong not because of Potiphar but because it would be a wicked thing against his God (Genesis 39:8). And that egyptian woman did not come in one day (as I once believed). She worried Joseph daily (a worrior indeed) to the point where she had to take action. We know JOseph's story, I won't even try to put myself in his shoes (I can't dare) but he stayed strong and because he opened the door to his heart and God stepped in and stayed in, we know the happy ending...
Moses, saved from certain death by what I would call a divine hand.I won't go into much talk but go straight to the point. Moses could have been said to be hard and hot tempered, tome right now, Moses was one of the most humble men in the bible. There is a reason why He was the only person that spoke to God face to face and knew it. Two questions I ask here; if you were leading the Israelites of that time and went through all they put Moses through, what would you do(I mean a journey that was supposed to take not more than a year took 40 and that is not even a bit of what he went through)? If you had a choice, punish someone yourself or leave God to do it, I mean if God gave you that choice which would you pick(I would personally drink gold flavoured water any day than let God have a go at me in his anger)? Moses opened up and let God step in and stay in...
We have Daniel, Samuel, ELijah and Elisha, Esther, Job, the prophets, David, the apostles, different people who opened up and stayed open and through them, God did mighty things here on earth.
Now what point am I trying to make (to me first and then to everyone else)...
I used to run my life like a JVC (Joint venture company to all who don't know). Me having 70% of my life and God having 30% or less. My life on sundays and some mornings, and me having all the rest. Meaning in times of credit crunches and financial crisis, heart aches and burns, general problems, work problems, family problems and school problems I ran to "my Lord" for a bailout. Forgetting all the pensions and salaries I paid to the CEO's in my life, the investment mistakes I made with my time and the places I hung out. The words I said and exposed myself to... In summary letting God step in only when I needed Him to. I thought of this a while ago about it not being about getting broken and having God fix you but staying broken so He never has to leave. Its not about getting the bailout every now and then, but its about handing your JVC to the right government... No one can serve two masters, you can't be lukewarm, you can't be a fence straddler, not if you want God to stay in.
Looking through the bible, apart from when men of God cried out for forgiveness when they strayed, I can't remember a place where they actually prayed to God about wanting something for themselves. I wonder whether it was because they didn't need anything. SOlomon asked for wisdom to rule his people. NOt wisdom for himself. Abraham didn't ask to be a father of many nations, Enoch didn't ask for God to come and carry him to heaven and neither did Elijah, Elisha on his dying bed did not ask for healing, Jesus dying on the cross only mentioned these words, if it is your will, then let it be done. What am I saying, letting God step in takes trust, trusting that He will take care of you and sort you out, letting God step in means that He makes the decisions and you follow. It means that as a representative the only thing men should be able to say about me that is bad is that I serve God and him alone... There is so much but then finally I will say it involves being at peace with all men sorry I mean ALL MEN!!! A lot of things I used to take on the surface that now have a much deeper meaning to me.
God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all, when He steps in, that light shines fromw within, it shines out to the whole world and gives us peace from within, peace with all men notwithstanding the conditions but outshining it all. God stepping in and taking total control gives us right standing with Him making us be exactly where He wants us to be and helps us identify the exact moment when He is out.
Thoughts
The hardest thing for a man to do is stand up when he feels at his weakest, to stand up and represent what he believes. To stand up up for one greater than he is, to represent God as He is, in honesty and in truth. Physician heal yourself people say and truth be told the hardest medicine to take sometimes is this one dished out by you. In the past couple of days I have been scared, worried, sad angry, a mixture of emotions, emotions that if told to me by others I would have answers to, been able to give comfort and give a shoulder of support. I have prayed for strength and peace to face what lies ahead. And I got a picture in my head but still, still I am hesitant, still I struggle with feelings that really I should not hold unto. So I am up this morning and I opened my bible to seek and hear God, and seek his peace; and the passage I opened up this morning was 1 Kings 19. The beginning of the last acts of Elijah before God took him.
Elijah was scared for his life, but then what touches me is what he did in his fear. He ran off to spend time with God not for strength or for peace but because he was tired of everything and he prayed to God to take his life and he actually lay down in acceptance of it (v 3-5). Now God answered Elijah immediately, sent ELijah an angel with food and a message. Elijah took the food and lay back down still in acceptance of the fate he had requested of God (ask and it shall be given to you right?). The angel had to come back a second time with more food and a specific message before Elijah got up from the point he was at to move to where God wanted him to be. Now in life there is God's way, and there is everything else. There is God's reason and there is every other reason on earth.
I found out on friday that I was to leave the UK and go back home, and to be truthful and honest I accepted it not because I wanted to but because it was an answer to a prayer I had been making for a while. And that prayer involves my life in all areas, unlike ELijah however I didnt pray for God to take my life, I prayed for strength and peace within to do all that He required of me through this period but then after I got an answer(immediately I must add), I lay back down still waiting and then all the feelings I mentioned initially came swarming around me. Friday night, saturday night and then tonight (or this morning). I don't know if anyone is going through the same or has gone through the same recently. Job? School? Family? Anything at all. Have you taken it to God in sincere prayer? Perhaps He has answered you, perhaps not, perhaps He has and you are still there praying that your will and not His be done in your life. Perhaps He has told you what to do next, the next step to take and you are waiting for the next three steps before you take the first one. I have done a lot in the last few days, spoken out my feelings, all I felt at that time, my fears and worries, some of my doubts to people, even after I had spoken to God and I look back now and I want to laugh and hide my face in shame. But then that is by the way. I will just share what I saw after my prayer with you, the response I got with my time out.
God is an artist, He painted the picture of your life, long before you were born and He called it perfect. The picture of your life as He sees it.
There are the bright spots on the picture, they represent the happiness, joy, good times, blessings, the times you give him pride and joy.
There are the dark spots, your pain, your tears, the times of doubt and fear, the times when you should depend on the Painter's paintbrush to guide you through it all.
Then there are the smudges, where you try to do the painter's job for Him, oh yes He put that into account because no matter how hard you smudge the painting you still have the chance to come back to the painter to set it right.
Now because we cannot see the pictures we go through all the spots one at a time. Don't fret, don't worry. God has looked at the whole picture and called it perfect. he is ever there; willing and ready to guide you through it all.
I have made many smudges like I probably have done this weekend, like Elijah probably did laying down there under a broom tree, but right after then was the brightest part of his picture.
Have you taken time out to pray? What is God saying to you? Please don't wait for the donkey to speak before doing what has to be done(private joke).
Elijah was scared for his life, but then what touches me is what he did in his fear. He ran off to spend time with God not for strength or for peace but because he was tired of everything and he prayed to God to take his life and he actually lay down in acceptance of it (v 3-5). Now God answered Elijah immediately, sent ELijah an angel with food and a message. Elijah took the food and lay back down still in acceptance of the fate he had requested of God (ask and it shall be given to you right?). The angel had to come back a second time with more food and a specific message before Elijah got up from the point he was at to move to where God wanted him to be. Now in life there is God's way, and there is everything else. There is God's reason and there is every other reason on earth.
I found out on friday that I was to leave the UK and go back home, and to be truthful and honest I accepted it not because I wanted to but because it was an answer to a prayer I had been making for a while. And that prayer involves my life in all areas, unlike ELijah however I didnt pray for God to take my life, I prayed for strength and peace within to do all that He required of me through this period but then after I got an answer(immediately I must add), I lay back down still waiting and then all the feelings I mentioned initially came swarming around me. Friday night, saturday night and then tonight (or this morning). I don't know if anyone is going through the same or has gone through the same recently. Job? School? Family? Anything at all. Have you taken it to God in sincere prayer? Perhaps He has answered you, perhaps not, perhaps He has and you are still there praying that your will and not His be done in your life. Perhaps He has told you what to do next, the next step to take and you are waiting for the next three steps before you take the first one. I have done a lot in the last few days, spoken out my feelings, all I felt at that time, my fears and worries, some of my doubts to people, even after I had spoken to God and I look back now and I want to laugh and hide my face in shame. But then that is by the way. I will just share what I saw after my prayer with you, the response I got with my time out.
God is an artist, He painted the picture of your life, long before you were born and He called it perfect. The picture of your life as He sees it.
There are the bright spots on the picture, they represent the happiness, joy, good times, blessings, the times you give him pride and joy.
There are the dark spots, your pain, your tears, the times of doubt and fear, the times when you should depend on the Painter's paintbrush to guide you through it all.
Then there are the smudges, where you try to do the painter's job for Him, oh yes He put that into account because no matter how hard you smudge the painting you still have the chance to come back to the painter to set it right.
Now because we cannot see the pictures we go through all the spots one at a time. Don't fret, don't worry. God has looked at the whole picture and called it perfect. he is ever there; willing and ready to guide you through it all.
I have made many smudges like I probably have done this weekend, like Elijah probably did laying down there under a broom tree, but right after then was the brightest part of his picture.
Have you taken time out to pray? What is God saying to you? Please don't wait for the donkey to speak before doing what has to be done(private joke).
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