I can only imagine

I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by Your side. 

I can only imagine what my eyes will see when Your face is before me.

I can only imagine.

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel, will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still, will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall. Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine

I can only imagine when that day comes and I find myself standing in the sun 

I can only imagine when all I will do is forever forever worship You

I can only imagine


Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall, will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all 

I can only imagine


I can only imagine when all I will do is forever, forever worship you

I can only imagine

Singing these words of this song by Mercy Me one Sunday morning a very long time ago I felt compelled to lift my head toward heaven and suddenly Jesus's face was before me.  His forehead almost touching mine.  With my eyes closed I could see His face surrounded by this very very bright golden light.  I could not open my eyes, but I remember feeling this wonderful peace and warmth.  He smiled at me and I could feel His love all around me.

      

SS Bitterness

Are you sailing on the SS Bitterness and if you are is it fun?

If your answer is no then don't you think it's time for you to get off?

Well I have!  Bitterness is in no way good for you.  It's like drinking poison and hoping that someone else is going to die.

Bitterness comes from anger and unforgiveness.  You cannot think that today you can be angry about something and tomorrow it will just be gone, because satan will constantly remind you of it if you do not resolve it in your heart and set the other person free by forgiving them and also forgiving yourself.  We do not have to live in bondage all the time.  We can choose to be free.

Luke 15:11-31 tells us about the prodigal who asked his father for inheritance,goes out into the world and
eventually ends up with nothing.  Very ashamed he decides to go home with no hope that his father will welcome him, but his father welcomes him with open arms and gives a party in his honor.

In verse 27 the elder brother who had been working out in the field comes home only to see what the father had done and it angers him.

Verse 28 says But (the elder brother) was angry (with deep-seated wrath) and resolved not to go in.  Then his father came out and began to plead with him.

In verse 28 it talks about the brother having deep-seated wrath, which means that he was not only angry he was bitter.  He had an anger in him towards his younger brother which caused him to be bitter and the reason for that was probably because he was jealous.

Jealousy (Covetousness) is spoken of in Luke12:15 where it says - And He (Jesus) said to them.  Guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have more); for a man's life does consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above his needs.

Being jealous of others does not make us happy it takes our happiness away and fills us with bitterness and resentment, because we think that they have more than we do.  It might be true, but God has a plan for each of us and His plan does include for us to be happy with what we have.  If you are not happy with your car, your house, or your partner, remember you chose them or maybe that is what God gave you to see how grateful you would be?

Often times God puts us in situations in order for us to manifest our true feelings about things we feel are not right or things we see others have and we also want.  But God wants us to repent from being jealous, bitter and forgive ourselves and others in order for Him to bless us to the full.

He does say in His Word that we can go before Him and ask Him for the things we want, but He will decide whether we are mature enough to cope with it.  Ouch.

If you cannot work with money you cannot expect God to give you a lot of it, if you cannot handle a little bit of it.  He tells us that we need to be good stewards.

You could be jealous of a friend because they have a nice car or a house.  You need to repent because your house could be just as nice, but because of jealousy you don't see it.

Maybe someone did something to you or treated you in a way that was not right.  You need to forgive them and let go of the bitterness.  Just remember at some point you could have done something to them or maybe not have done something for them which made them feel the same.  Ask God to forgive you and also forgive them, because on both sides there will be bitterness.

Don't think that what the other person did was so bad that you cannot forgive.  We all experience hurt in different ways, but God tells us to forgive to heal ourselves and to free ourselves and the other person.  You might feel that your hurt is of such a nature that you cannot do it, but remember bitterness is like cancer it eats away at you bit by bit until there is only bitterness, anger and resentment left and then you die!

Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?  Do yourself a favor and forgive.  And remember the other person might be someone that you might never see again or that the Bible tells us to keep away from (wrong friends), or maybe it is someone who has passed away and you feel that you can never resolve the issue, but that is not true.  God forgives and He never says that He cannot forgive you, because someone is dead, but you still have to forgive and ask for it.

Facing your mountains

Philippians4:13 says I (you and I) have strength for ALL (not some) THINGS in Christ Who empowers me (I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency).


Is this really what we believe?  Well is it?  When I think about the question, the answer is NO we don't.

Ephesians6:11 says Put on God's whole armor (the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies), that you may be able successfully to stand up against (ALL) the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

This is the mental picture that we would all have of what the soldier should looks like, but God's Word tells us that we put on His armor.  His Word.

Ephesians6:12-13 says For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood (contending only with physical opponents), but against the despotisms (tyrannies), against the powers, against (the master spirits who are) the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.
Therefore put on God's complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day (of danger), and, having done all (the crises demands), to stand (firmly in your place).  (Meaning you will not be moved).

In other words we are not fighting flesh and blood, so guns are not going to help us only God's Word which we need to know and be able to quote and stand on when the devil attacks us.  The picture of the soldier is simply an illustration of how we must guard our bodies and our minds with God's Word.  (There must be not place for satan to enter).

Let's say your mountain that you are facing is anger.  You know you have a problem with anger and need to resolve it.  If you are going let God be the Lord of your life He needs to change you.  So anger needs to go.
But He is not going to let you go to Him and say God please help me with my anger and not give you an assignment on anger?  Think about it.  So He allows your anger to be tested and if you do not succeed the first time He will continue your test until you get 100%. Oh and remember the person or situation on the other end is your test.  God uses anyone to do things in our lives whether they are good or bad.  He uses people.  Also remember just because you passed today does not mean you cannot be tested again.  Mmm

And so are all our mountains that we face.  It does not matter what it is.  If it is an issue in your life God is going to use it to make (not ask your permission) you change.  God wants us to be holy, but we cannot be holy if we have things that are hindering us.

The reason why we are brought down by our mountains is because we allow satan to come into our minds with "stupid" thoughts and we entertain them instead of telling him where to get off.  He cannot do anything to you if you do not allow it.  Remember God has given us free will so if your will is to let satan play with your mind then you are going to suffer the consequences, right?  It is so much easier to give in and say I can't do this than to be like the lion in picture above and say TRY ME!  I have got God on my side, satan you loose.

I remember standing in church one Sunday morning during praise and worship and God spoke to me about a similar picture of a lion that was hanging on the wall.  He said to me - we all have the spirit of that lion in us we just need to find it.  We need to stop being mice in the army of God.

Our mountains are our bondage and God leads us out of a situation to deliver us from any kind of bondage, but it is a process and God takes us through it one step at a time and then He gives us something better.
At times God will lead us the hard way instead of the easy way because He is doing a specific work in us.  How will we ever learn to lean on God if everything in our lives is easy for us to handle by ourselves?

God lead the Israelites the long, difficult way through the wilderness in preparation for the battles they would face in possessing the Promised Land.  God wanted to teach them Who He was and that they could depend on Him to fight their battles (and ours).

Many of us think when we enter our Promised Land we will not have anymore spiritual battles, but that is not so!  If you know God has asked you to do something, do not back down just because it gets hard.  When things get tough, spend more time with Him, lean more on Him, and receive more grace from Him.
Grace does not come at a cost to you; grace is the power of God working in and through you to do those things you cannot do.

Be aware of your thoughts - I can't do this; it's just too hard.  Do not let your mind give up!  satan knows that if he can defeat you in your mind, he can defeat you in your experience.  That is why it so important not to lose heart and not grow weary or faint.  God is able to keep you.  God will never allow more to come on you than you can bear.

1 Corinthians10:13 says For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), (no matter how it comes or where it leads) has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man (that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear).  But God is faithful (to His Word and to His compassionate nature), and He (can be trusted) not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation he will (always) also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.

So are you ready to face your mountain?

Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for You today!

Wisdom

Doesn't this question just say it all?  Where is the WISDOM we have lost in knowledge?  Just because you know a lot of things it does not make you wise.  Just because you are educated it does not make you wise.  Just because you have lived to the ripe old age of 70 it does not make you wise.


Proverbs8:11 says For skillful and Godly Wisdom is better than rubies or pearls, and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

When we look at the world today there is so much "knowledge" all around us and some of the things are simply to astounding to even put into words.  From the point of creation we have come a long way as far as knowledge goes.

Knowledge however is not Wisdom.  When you get your driver's license you have knowledge about how to drive a car, but Wisdom knows that you don't go racing down the road and challenge everyone you see to see who can drive the fastest?  Wisdom is what you get when you study God's Word and meditate on it.  Wisdom comes from having a very close relationship with your Heavenly Father.  Talking to Him about everything in your life on a daily basis.

Wisdom does not come from books, yes we can obtain knowledge, but it does not teach us to be wise.  Wisdom is only obtained from God. It comes from the inner "man" which is connected to God.  When faced with daily situations Wisdom is the only way that you will be able to deal with a difficulty in your life (don't let your emotions steal your Wisdom), because when you have God's Wisdom you will be able to act in a self-controlled manner no matter what you are facing.

You will be able to make "common sense" decisions based on the Wisdom which has been given to you by the reading of the Word firstly and then from praying or speaking to God and asking Him to guide your steps.

Living by common sense is not difficult; simply do what you would want others to do to you.  Pay your bills on time, communicate properly; mix encouragement with correction so a person's spirit is not broken (this is very important), etc.  We have enough common sense to know what to do to stay out of trouble.

Romans8:6 says Now the mind of the flesh (which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit) is death (death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter).  But the mind of the (Holy) Spirit is life and (soul) peace (both now and forever).

When we ask (pray) for Wisdom we will be able to think (rational), speak (softly, not whispering, but toned) and act (controlled) in Wisdom, because it will be God controlled and not uncontrolled.

Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for You today!

DO NOT DISTURB!

Do you have a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign hanging around your neck?

1John4:8 says He who does not love has not become acquainted with God (does not and never did know Him), for God is love.

Sounds a bit harsh doesn't it, but unfortunately it is very true in the church today.  If churches today are not involved in any kind of missionary work then what are they doing to help others?  We are not there to warm the seats we are there to help others to get people into church not chase them away.  That is why it is called "outreach" and not "in-reach"!  Go out into the world and share the good news.

People will go where they are welcomed and feel welcome.  There is always a need somewhere.  If someone comes to you at church and says I have a problem, help them.  Don't say I will pray for you.  Praying is good, but it does not help that person standing there in front of you and if they are speaking to you maybe that is a sign that God wants YOU yes YOU to help them.  We have to see every opportunity as a blessing from God to sow something.  What you sow, you will reap, remember.  If they have a R50 need and you have R100 in your wallet meet that need, give them R50.  Praying does not take the problem away and God tells us all to help not only some of us.  If you are able to meet that need there and then do it.

You don't have to first go pray about it or wait for a sign.  The sign is standing in front of you.  People will say to you oh I just love you with the love of the Lord.  Well prove it!  So many of us are happy to say that, but we don't want to be disturb with other peoples problems.

Love is God's passion and if you cannot show love then you are simply an empty "vessel".  Colossians3:14 says we need put on love.  You can love on purpose, but remember love always costs you something.  To meet a need that someone else has no matter what it is.

It's amazing how many of us will say YES I want to help, sure I will help, until our number gets called out and then we fall flat, because we have to get out of our comfort zones and actually to something.  Yip God's Word says you must sow to reap and that does not always refer to money, it can be your time, anything that God feels you can do.

Matthew24:12 says And the love of the great body of people (referring to the church) will grow cold, because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity.

We have hardened our hearts toward others, because of the world.  But we need to get back to the basics as it tells us in the Word of God and do, do, do!  Every time you get a God idea somebody is going to tell you, you cannot do it.  Overcome evil with good.  Prove them wrong.

We all have good in us, we just need to go back and find it.

Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for You today!

Are you patient or are you a patient?

1Corinthians13 speaks of the fruits of the Spirit and one of these fruits are patience.

Something I definitely am not good at is being patient!  But God has been teaching me about patience, yip.  Some days are better than others and I pass with flying colors.  Others days I fall of the horse even before I get on.



Patience seems to be more of a challenge when we are going through difficult times?  Who can say that they have a patience problem when everything in their lives are going along smoothly?  When a crisis comes into your life how patient are you?

God says in His Word that His time is not our time.  Lets say the following happens to you.  Today you have your own business all is well you have been doing very well for yourself and your family.  Your type of work is mostly for local government (municipalities) and as we all know from resent news, etc. that there are major problems as far as cash flow goes.

Suddenly your (contract) work is put on hold and you are not getting any income.  In the meantime you have to live.  You have to pay your bond, vehicles, school fees, telephone, water & elec. just to mention a few.  Now lets move this story along a bit it's now 8 months down the line and you are still struggling to get paid and new contracts are not coming in.  You have tried to get other contracts advertising and even writing letters to other municipalities, trying to get work overseas and in Africa, but nothing happens.  You even try looking for another job and your wife who has not worked for a couple of years tries to find work with no success.

In the meantime God provides for you and your family on a daily basis in the form of donations, and with your "little computer business" on the side, etc.  But you are really in dire straits.  How patient are you now?
You pray daily asking God to be gracious to you to have mercy on you, but tomorrow you wake up and nothings changed.  How patient are you?

To add to your patient's you know that God is working even though you cannot see anything happening in the real.  So your patience and self-control is tested on and on and on until you either loose your patience or God releases His favor over you.

Unfortunately there is no quick fix for trials.  Faith is very important apart from patience.  The only two things that can interrupt faith are:  the manifestation of what is believed (what we believe for); or the manifestation of doubt and unbelief (telling God I don't really trust You).  Our faith must continue even when it seems that everything and everyone is against us.  Much easier said than done.  But God says with Him all things are possible so when you are over your pity party you will be able to believe exactly that.

In Christ, we can remain standing firm on the inside, because we know that our real life is within us, not in the people or circumstances outside of us.

Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for You today!

Do you read/believe your horoscope?

Leviticus19:31 says Turn not to those (mediums) who have familiar spirits or to wizards; do not seek them out to be defiled by them.  I am the Lord your God.

So many people, including some who consider themselves Christians, participate in practices that God tells us are vile and evil according to His Word.  We innocently think there is nothing wrong with such things as reading horoscopes and consulting psychics; then we wonder why we do not have peace.


The Bible tells us in the latter days many false prophets will rise up and tell people what their itching ears want to hear.  People will search for one teacher after another who will tell them something pleasing and gratifying.  To suit their own desires, they will turn away from hearing the truth and wander off into listening to myths and man-made fictions.  2 Timothy 4:3,4.

Never before have we seen such an influx of psychics vying (fighting) for a ready ear.  TV programs feature these mediums who claim to be connecting with departed loved ones, but the tragic truth is that psychics such as these are taking advantage of grieving people.

They are really communicating with familiar spirits who tell half-truths about the past and lies about the future.  God's Word tell us very clearly to turn away from mediums and wizards because they will deceive and defile us.

Fortune-telling, psychics, horoscopes, mediums, palm readers, tarot card readers, divination, witchcraft, etc. are all forbidden in God's Word.  We are only to be led and guided by the Holy Spirit.  Why do you need a phony substitute when the real thing is available?

What has always fascinated me about the word horoscope is in fact the spelling.  The first four letters says it all. HORO - horror?

I at a certain stage in my life read the horoscopes from the magazines thinking oh it's harmless, but really it is not.  You open yourself up to these devious spirits and invite satan into your life to make you believe lies from the pit of hell.  The Bible tells us that we will not know the future so why do we think that we will know it in this manner?  These people who "forecast" your future are ordinary people just like we are.

What qualifies one to be a psychic?  This is what the internet says -  Since there isn't an independent regulatory body listing criteria for being a psychic, there aren't any formal qualifications.

In other words we trust ordinary people to thumb suck and tell us what our pretty little ears want to hear.  All of us have either heard of John Edward's show "Crossing Over" or have even watched it.  He has been exposed as being dishonest about his "psychic abilities", however he still manages to fool people.  The reason for this is that we are so fascinated by "what if or maybe".  In reality our sinful nature wants to prove the Word of God to be wrong.  We need to be very careful when it comes to these things.  Don't be fooled satan will lie to you about anything.

God tells us in His Word to guard our hearts and our minds in order for us to not be fooled by these things.

Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for you today!

Only hypocrites go to church?

Have you ever heard or even said to someone I will not go to church, because there are only hypocrites there?

The definition of the word "hypocrite" is a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

I am almost sure that most of us has heard of this little picture being painted by a pastor or minister in church of a family that goes to church on a Sunday morning, but before they get there Dad yells at the kids (a few curse words slips in there and he is smoking while driving to church).  The kids are shouting and screaming and Mom is trying to calm the whole lot down before they hit the parking lot at church.  Suddenly they are in the parking lot and in an instant everyone that gets out of that car is cool, calm and collected.  We all have our prettiest smiles on, we speak as if swallowed something and now we speak a low toned voice that could make the angels sing.  We walk into church and great everyone with a smile that could melt butter. 
Mmmmmmm  Does that not sound hypocritical to you?  

You see in actual fact we are all hypocrites going to church.  We all do things in our daily lives that other's don't see, but God sees and when you ask yourself the question.  Is this pleasing to God?  What would the answer be?  What you need to remember is that God forgives, His forgiveness is new everyday, but that does not mean that you can do the same thing wrong over and over.  Once you have repented of something you need to not go back and repeat that wrong.  (And we all have more than one issue in our lives that God wants us to repent from and move one).

The fact of the matter is that all us hypocrites need to go to church to get a revelation of God's Word in order for us to change our ways and become more like Him.  Church is for the sinners the hypocrites and everyone who is lost.  We need to welcome all hypocrites, because the fact that they are coming to church means that God has spoken to their hearts and they are trying to fix what is wrong.  That is why the leader of the church needs to be a true person of God.  God did not say to us to go to church every Sunday and warm the pew's no He told us to gather there in order for us to get fed (spiritually) so that we could go out into the world and minister to the lost.  That does not mean that we are all going to end up being pastors or minister's, but it does mean that we have to live our lives like God intended by showing God and His love to a dying world.  Showing love and kindness, helping where help is needed.  And if you can't go then sow, sow your time or money into someone or something.  We have to get out of our comfort zones and start being that which God told us to be.  

It is very sad these days that fellow Christians are the ones who hurt each other the most, because we all have this picture in our minds that when we become Christians that we are under the halo (crown) of perfection.  No-one is perfect and certainly not when they become Christians it simply means that they have made up their minds to change.  Then especially it is the responsibility of fellow Christians to nurture that "new" Christian and not find fault, but to "help" in love (God's love).

Stop judging!  God does tell us that with the same measure we judge others we will also be judged.  So be very careful what you say.  We need to stop trying to always "hurt" others, because they are not living up to our standards.  God's standards are all that is important.

Once again we need to have wisdom in every situation.  2Timothy2:16 instructs us to "avoid all empty (vain, useless, idle) talk."  Instead we need to learn to speak as God speaks. For example the more others around us complain, the more we should express gratitude to God.

So for now stop avoiding those hypocrites and join them on a Sunday so you can get fired up for God so He can use you to fulfill His plan for your life.  Lord, let my life be to others a pattern and a model of good works.

Lord help my to do something DYNAMIC for You today!

Temptation

Did you know that temptation started in the garden of Eden?

We all know that the Bible tells us in Genesis of the creation of heaven and earth and man (Adam) and woman (Eve).  It tells how God gave man dominion over the earth and all that is in it.  But when Adam listened to satan instead of God, Adam surrendered to satan the authority to rule the earth that God had originally given to man.

I know that from the word go everyone has always said it was Eve's fault.  But I don't think so, because let's get the facts together.  God made Adam first right?  His instructions were to Adam.  He then made Eve who He said would be a help meet to Adam.  Which means that Adam was the head of this union not Eve.  So the responsibility was ultimately with him, not so?  Unfortunately it is also a fact very much so in today's life that our men like to quote this verse, but they do not want the responsibility.  I am not starting a blame game, we all have a lot to answer for.

We need to understand that temptation started with two people and satan.  And yes God was aware of it.  He allowed it, because He wanted to see if "man" when he had been given everything that was good, could withstand the test.  Think about it now when you have everything in your life that makes you happy (according to you) it is much easier to be tempted by things that could seem "innocent".  We are bombarded with temptations everyday and everyday we need to decide between yes and no, good or evil.

The problem is when life is good it is very easy to forget what God's Word says about right and wrong and we can argue ourselves into yes, but maybe it's not that big a sin.  SIN is SIN!  There is no big sin or small sin.

Let's say for instance I had affair and let's make it not so easy.  I have been married for a good couple of years, I have children, etc.  Things at home are not quite what they should be and my husband and I only talk when we argue.  Then via Facebook, e-mail, Skype, Twitter, BBM, Whatsapp, Mxit, or work, etc. I get to know a "good friend" (male).  We start talking casually and lets say he is divorced and very sympathetic towards poor little old me with my man problems at home.  He becomes a lifeline and is always there when I need to vent or someone who listens to my every word.  My husband on the other hand well he doesn't even listen or care.

So we start this "friendship" and communicate on a daily basis using any of the above methods of communication.  We become real good friends and eventually we become "emotional friends".  I suddenly look at this man differently and wish that my husband was more like him.  One day we are chatting as usual maybe over lunch and affectionately he touches my hand.  Suddenly there are feelings that neither of us felt until there was physical contact.  Now if I was not going through though times (even if there were no though times) I should have said stop it right there and realized that I was playing with some serious fire, because not only would I hurt myself and my husband, but also my children.  Selfish isn't it?  But we don't see it like that, because it's all about me and my feelings, isn't it?

Let's fast forward this a little for instance now and say that I then fell hook line and sinker into this temptation and it now becomes a full blown affair.  In the meantime my husband finds out and yes then follows lots of hurt and pain.  I am the cause of splitting up my whole family and that's the end of that.

Now after my ex-husband leaves, he meets up with someone else who he then starts a relationship with and they then move in together to see if this thing is going to work.  They are now also living in sin.  You see the Bible tells us very clearly that God is for marriage.

Matthew19:5-6 says And said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be united firmly (joined inseparably - meaning that we are to bond and get to know each other once married and not run back to our mommies when there is trouble, but to face it and understand what each individual is bringing into this union) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?  So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder (separate).

He does not bless this kind of sin.  Living together whether you are planning to get married or not is still wrong.  You see the difference between being married and living together is the commitment.  You need to make the commitment before God and man and that is why we get married.  Otherwise we could all just live together and walk out whenever we please.  Being married means that you are then committed to stay and to fight for what is yours.

It so easy these days to get divorced and you don't even need a good reason anymore.  You can even get divorced over the internet.

There are no "friendships" between a man and woman that are married to other partners that will not be tested or tempted.  If you think not then why are so many people getting divorced?  I have heard so many times that it happens in families or between so-called best friends, don't be fooled satan will help you on the path of destruction if you want to go there.  The Bible warns us not to be ignorant, only fools are ignorant.  If you open the door for satan to move in he will comply he does not care who gets hurt.

There are many other forms of temptation, but I chose this one because there are so many people getting divorced these days it almost like, if you haven't been divorced or had an affair there is something wrong with you! 

Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for You today!




 

To forgive or not to forgive that is the question?

Luke6:27,28 says But I say to you who are listening now to Me: (in order to heed, make it a practice to) love your enemies, treat well (do good to, act nobly toward) those who detest you and pursue you with hatred.  Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God's blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you (who revile, reproach, disparage, and highhandedly misuse you).

These two verses teaches us how to deal with our enemies.  If we say we forgive those who have hurt or offended us and go no further something is missing.  Not only does God tell us in His Word to forgive others, He also instructs us to bless them.

How easy is it for us to say I forgive you, but do you really?  Do you do what God instructs us to do?  Well after reading this I had to hang my head in shame because I realized that God was speaking directly to me.  I have forgiven people and asked God to forgive me.  But more than often I know I have not asked God to bless these people.  Some days I could pray for someone thinking well I have done my bit, but I think God instructs us to do it on a daily basis.

Hard isn't it?  Well I'll be honest and say it certainly is not easy for me.  You see forgiveness works like this.  I can say I forgive you, but if I say I will never forget what you did, am I really truly forgiving you?  Think about it?  To me the answer is a red hot NO!

How can you forgive unless you forget.  God forgives us and forgets our sins, so why do think that we can do it differently?  To work through the process of forgiveness and enjoy the peace we seek, we must do what God tells us to do, which is not only to forgive but also to bless.

You see what we need to realize is that when we ask God to bless them we are not asking Him to bless them financially or to have more possessions; we are praying for them to be blessed spiritually.  We are asking God to bring truth and revelation to them about their attitude and behavior so they will be willing to repent and be freed from their sins.

We don't see these things and we don't understand the power we have in God's Word because we are so self-centered.  We are so concerned with how we have been hurt that we don't see the big picture.  Harsh words but it is true.

We are like Jabba (the fictional character in star wars) we sit around and moan "what about me"?  We pour so much energy into crying and moaning about how we have been hurt or offended.  Well it's not all about you or me.  God's Word says it's all about other's!

When we can actually take the focus off of ourselves and our "little" lives and start doing good unto other's we find that we are much happier people than when we sat around like Jabba, saying "What about ME"?  ME, ME, ME!


Lord please help me to do something DYNAMIC for You today!

Overthinking

Proverbs23:7 For as he (man - referring to man and woman) thinks in his heart, so is he.
Joyce Meyer says it very nicely - where the mind goes the man follows.

Think differently about things in your life.  The devil cannot control you if you don't let him control your mind.  As soon as he puts wrong thoughts into your mind cast them out, but remember to fill it with something good (something from God's Word).  Because empty space is also a place. (a place for satan to work)

Focus on what you want, not what you've got!  Make your mind up to do something (good) and DO IT!  Never give up in your mind.  Fight satan with your Bible (fill your mind with God's Word!)  We cannot fight him physically!  The Word of God tells us our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities of darkness.

God can see your heart, but the devil hears your words and that gives him ammunition against you.
Mark4:24 tells us to be careful what we think.  Go read it.

Set your mind on Victory!  And always be open to what God wants to teach you.  Prayer is more powerful than we think.  Think less and pray more.

If you don't learn to think right the devil WILL have your life! (think about it you will constantly be mad about something or mad at someone)  Why not choose joy?  Why be unhappy if you can be happy?  It's your choice! 

Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for you today!

While I'm waiting...........

For those of you who have seen the movie "Fireproof" this will be a familiar picture.  I have this picture set in my minds-eye this morning and that is also what I want to talk about today.

My friends and family who are going to this read will probably think something along the lines of "has she lost her marbles"?!  Well NO, I have found them.

When I was sixteen years old (sorry I did not record the date I have never been very good at writing down dates and stuff) I met God (really knowing who He is) for the first time.  Yes I used to go to church, but never really understood much about anything.  Did not read my Bible, can't really remember that I prayed much, but I did pray some.  I am not going to go into my family life, but will only say that in my parents house there was no love for me.  

God called me then already to do things for Him and I would have to lie if I had to say today I remember exactly what it was, but I do remember it was big.  However, I ignored God and His plans for me for reasons that are not so important now, but one was that I wanted to get married and have a family.  Well that does not sound very ambitious does it?  Well a wife and a mother is just as good a job as any, mom's just don't get recognized enough for the role they play.

Back then I had no self-confidence and I was very shy too.  So life went on and I got married when I was 20 years old.  Not because I had to, but because I wanted to (even though I was very scared of this road ahead).  Ok that's it now with the story of my life........

Life went on and I am still married for 22 years this year to my best friend and soul mate and we have 3 spectacular children.  In this time I have never accomplished much and whatever I could or should have done never came to pass, because I was so busy being a working wife and mother and forgot about my dreams.

Over the last 4 years God has given me back my dreams (in my mind).  Some of them I don't remember, but maybe they are new, because I had wasted so much precious time.

We have been going through a very though time for those of you who don't know yet.  I have asked friends and family for prayers which we know have been sustaining us.  In the meantime we are living from day to day with little bits of cash (in form of donations and our little computer business) coming in to do the necessary with.  Buying bread and milk, petrol for the car and electricity.  God has been faithful and we are still in our house and we still have our vehicles, but it is critical to the point where the owner of the house we are renting wants to sell the house and our car well lets not go there.

We have given our requests to God asking Him to somehow give us the house we are living in and that our vehicle debt be paid of or that we can pay it off ourselves.  We do not know what God's plan is, but we know He is working on it.

Just an example a very small account was written off the other day and it was not even outstanding for more than a month.  Well you can say what you want, but I believe with my whole heart that was God looking out for us and I believe that He is going to do more miracles for us.

We have our own business and most of our work is for government.  Unfortunately our income from that side has been on a hold from March this year and yes that is it.

We have had Word from God regarding changes that had to be made in our lives and we have started doing so and we know God has begun a work in us that is not yet complete.  A couple of weeks ago I went before God and said.  "God please use me".  Well we all know the phrase "be careful what you ask for, because you might just get it".  We know that God answer's prayers and yes He answered mine.  God has taken me back to where I believe He wanted me to start so many years ago.  From that time things have gotten worse for us financially and not better.  He provides for us on a daily basis, but only for that day.  Tomorrow is another day.  He does tell you that in His Word too.

Last week Wednesday I was having a really emotional day and felt that I could no longer take the strain of everything that is happening.  I cried the whole day.  Not loud or anything like that.  I would sit in the car at school waiting for my son and could not stop tears from just rolling down my face.  My son asked me mom what is wrong and not wanting to upset him I smiled still with tears rolling down my face and said nothing I'm ok.

When I got home I went and watched a dvd by Joyce Meyer and she was talking about our struggles and how God teaches us things and takes us through trials to teach us.  One of the comments she made was that right in the beginning of her ministry she also went through a very trying time similar to what we are going through.  She also said that one day she was very emotional and cried and was complaining about their situation and God said to her - 'YOU ASKED ME FOR SOMETHING BIG!  DO YOU WANT IT OR NOT'?

I was making notes while she was talking and heard her saying it, but did not register (still sitting their with tears rolling down my face).  Immediately after she spoke I heard God's voice saying those exact same words to me!  'YOU ASKED ME FOR SOMETHING BIG!  NOW DO YOU WANT IT OR NOT'?
( it gives me a lump in my throat every time I think of it)

I suddenly realized what I had asked God for and that there was no more turning back.  God wants to use me, but first I have be an empty vessel for Him to restore so that He can use me.  I need to be emptied out of all that is in the way of what God wants to put there.  God cannot use you if you are full of "junk".

Where I have started in the meantime is doing this daily blog and I will continue doing it until God tells me to do something else.


I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait

I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Lord please help me to do something DYNAMIC for you today!


 


 



  

9/11/2001

Who of us can forget this very sad day 9/11/2001?  We were all in different places doing whatever, but I will remember that day for two reasons.  My son was exactly 3 months old on that day and I was at home watching the terrible events as they were happening in my home in South Africa.

I remember the images as they were coming through on the television and could not believe what my eyes were seeing.  It was like watching a Hollywood movie.  How could this be happening for real, but it was and it did.

I remember feeling heartbroken for the people who were on those planes and in the buildings, all who lost their lives that day.

The continuous news reports and the images being shown over and over again.  And something that I will remember were people crying saying things like "how could God let this happen" and "why did God not stop this"?  I would like to add that I am not in any way pointing fingers at America or the people, because this could have happened anywhere in the world.

Now remember that if you believe your Bible and every Word that is written there you will agree that things happen for different reasons and we might not always understand why, but there are reasons.

Exodus20:3-26 -  The 10 commandments as it is written in God's Holy Word

1.  You shall have not other gods before or besides Me.
2.  You shall not make yourself any graven image (to worship it) or any likeness of anything (or anyone) that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
3.  You shall not use or repeat the name of the Lord your God in vain (lightly or frivolously) in false            affirmations or profanely;  for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.  (how many times have you said "oh my God" just like that)?
4.  (Earnestly) remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and be dedicated to God).  How people have to work on a Sunday?
5.  Regard (treat with honor, due obedience and courtesy) your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you.
6.  You shall not commit murder.  (the Bible says that to hate someone is to murder them).
7.  You shall not commit adultery.  (how many families have been split by this evil)?
8.  You shall not steal.  (have you ever borrowed a pen from work and not taken it back)?
9.  You shall not witness falsely against your neighbor.  (have you ever gossiped about your friend and added an extra little tit bit to the story)?
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house, his wife or his manservant, or maidservant or his ox or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.
  
We have told God that He is not welcome in our schools.  How many times have we seen headlines on the news or read in the news papers of a child that has been killed or injured at school or a child that has killed other's at school.  Is it really working for us to move our children to "safer private schools" where there might not be killers in the form of a person, but there could be drugs?

He most definitely is not welcome in our governments!  We are so quick to disregard God, but we can allow Buddha and Allah and their other friends.  What have they ever done for you?  God has made it very clear that He is the only God.  You can choose not to believe in Him (He believes in you by the way) and live your life like there is no God or tomorrow, but remember this!  Look around you in the world today, there have been to many "predictions" in the Bible that have occurred. Are we really that foolish to ignore the one true Word!  God does promise us that when all comes to an end an it will we will all have to answer to Him.  Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is God.  I'd rather take my chances with God!

Did our fore father's not have the right attitude when they read the Bible to their families every day and prayed?  Were our schools and governments not better off when God was allowed to be part of the meeting?  We have rejected the Bible and choose to read and believe any perverse nonsense just as long as it makes us "happy".

We need to get our heads out of the bubble of "maybe" God does not exist or He is an Alien or whatever nonsense we have heard or read and realize that satan (the one who messes with your mind) is real, this world is real, but so is God!  God will not be mocked!  Being a Christian is not hard we make it hard, because we do not study God's Word and believe everything it says.

If you reject someone long enough don't you think they will distance themselves from you and wait for you to invite them back into your life?  I think God has pretty much made that decision and He has given you free will so it is your choice, but for Heaven's sake make the right choice, because Hell is also real and there are no parties.

 
Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for You today!

The power of your tongue

James3:8 says But the human tongue can be tamed by no man.  It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison.

Can you see that even God's Word says our tongue is evil!  And if we think about it in our everyday lives how true is that statement?

How do we handle a crisis?  Do we rant and rave or do we go to God (if His Word is in your heart you will get instant wisdom as to how to handle the situation) and ask Him for wisdom when we speak to the other party concerned?  Think about it!  I have learned that if I calm myself and speak in a controlled manner I get more done and the other person is more compliant than if I shout and scream. Mmmmm  (Sometimes there are more difficult situations, but God can help you through anything if you let Him.  You need only listen to His voice).

How do you handle illness?  Do you say oh I am so sick (remember when you say it, it is in your head, when you start thinking on it you give it a place in your mind to start festering and before you now it you are exactly what you said you are, sick)?  No rather say I am not sick, speak life not death. Often someone will come to you and say - shame you don't look well.  Instead of going to the mirror and seeing if what that person has said over (now they have spoken death) you is true say no I am fine and believe what you say.  You will see that unless it is a deadly illness that you need medical attention for, you will feel much better and a little later in your day you won't even remember that conversation.

Another example is a person maybe it's family or a friend who lived a life before that according to us was not acceptable.  Suddenly this person gets saved or called on by God. (saved does not mean that you are now instantly good and there will be no more sin.  No in reality we all still sin everyday.  But the wonderful thing that the Bible tells us is that God's forgives everyday.  That does not mean that you can do the same things over and over again and just say I am sorry.  Because the Bible also tells us in the New Testament that once you have received wisdom regarding something in your life that is sin you need to distance yourself from it.  It means that you will have to conquer things everyday.  Some things will be harder than other's, take longer than other's, but by the Grace of God you can do it).  

Remember now we have to speak in love.  So when someone is now saved or called, do not say things like - oh that is great, but yesterday you did this and that, or I see you doing this and that.  God does not come to you and say yes but yesterday you did this and that.  No He says that He forgives you when you confess your sins.  It is not our job to remind that "new" Christian about their past.  It is your job to encourage with Word and love.  (And if they make a mistake just like you, forgive).  Just like you had a path to walk and are still walking with God, that person has to go through the same process to get to where God wants them.  And remember we are never completely where God want's us to be, because then we would not need Him anymore!  Think about it!

Now, how do you speak about yourself?  Do you say things like I am not good enough?  Well God thinks you are!  Why else did He die on a cross for you?  Have you ever considered how much pain and suffering He went through?  There have been a lot of movies made about this, but I think the best illustration was "The Passion of the Christ" by Mel Gibson.  It is impossible for us to understand why God let His only Son go through so much pain, but is that not the ultimate gift of life?  Your life and mine!  And yet we disregard it every time we sin!  Would you do that for someone?  Would you really?  Think about it, especially in today's life where it is all about me, myself and I?  I think a lot of people when faced with that reality would not be able to do it.

God's Word tells us that we need to love ourselves first before we can love anyone else.  Then only can you love other's.  Do you hate yourself?  God loves you and if you think that His love is not good enough for you or you are not good enough for His love you are so wrong.  For things to change in our lives we have to be the change first of all.  And that means starting with you and me.  Think differently about yourself, speak differently about yourself and you will see the change.  Remember only people that have lived "something/anything" are the people who can minister to other's about it.  If you have never been without food, you cannot minister to someone who has no food.  But ministry is not the only thing we must do, we must help.  And that does not mean saying to that person I will pray for you.  Will you really?  As soon as that person turns their back you have already forgotten to pray.  No get up and do!  Sow into that person's life so that they can see what God's love and Kingdom is all about!  Giving, not receiving!  Imagine having nothing "bad" to talk about!

I encourage you to ask God to help you control your tongue.  Learn to speak blessing, not cursing.  Watch the joy that comes to your life as a result!


Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for you today!

Power in your mouth!

Proverbs18:21 says Death and life (words that we speak) are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it (for death or life).
Matt12:37 says For by your words you will be justified and acquitted (judged), and by your words you will be condemned and sentenced (judged).

How often have you heard someone saying "You are going to have to eat your words,"and Proverbs confirms this.  Proverbs 18:21 tells us that (our) words are so awesome.  They contain power for either life (life-giving force) or death (destructive force).  Before we speak we should take a moment and think about what we want to say.

Is it building up or breaking down?  Is it pleasing to God (is it in-line with God's Word) or the person to whom we say it?  Believe it or not you can reprimand without breaking down!  When God's Word is in your heart it will overflow to your mouth and even though your thoughts might not be in-line with what you want to say God will tame your tongue.

Whatever comes into our minds (thoughts of negativity - if we do not deal with it - cast it out immediately) it eventually makes it's way into our hearts and causes us to have feelings and thoughts that are not from God.  Why give satan a hold over you?  If you don't give him power over your thoughts, what can he do to you? 

It is often an easy excuse for us to use our past for the way we act or are in our daily lives, but your past does not dictate your future.  You were uniquely made by God.  Yes there are certain character traits (the color of your eyes or your hair, etc) you will have from your parents, but your personality is something that you develop and yes our parents are our guides, but often people are in misguided families where there is no love or direction, families where the Bible is not a guideline, which end up broken and scattered.  But curses (you are like your father or your mother - referring to your personality), traditions (because your father or mother did this or that you don't have to), etc. can be broken.

We as parents must remember to NOT tell our children you are like this one or that one!  Remember speak in love.

Paster John Hagee has written a wonderful book "The Power of the Prophetic Blessing" where he teaches parents, grandparents, etc. how to bless their children and grandchildren.  Ask God to guide your child's footsteps in life and He will.  

Joel Osteen told the story of a mother who's son was a drug addict.  He stole from her and did terrible things.  This mother however did not let that stop her from praying to God everyday to save her son and use him to do wonderful things for God.  The people around her laughed at her and said that would never happen.  Well she could have lost heart and listened to the people around her, but she did not she kept her focus on God and today this very same man is a Pastor of his own church, doing incredible things for God.  Our God is the God of the impossible, but He can only move in our lives and other's lives when we ask Him, leave our request with Him and believe above all else that He can do it for us.

There is so much more to say, but this all for now.  Think on it.  We can read a lot of books that can tell us all sorts of wonderful (wonderful things in our minds), but the only wonderful book that we ever need is our Bible.  It has ALL the answers!

Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for You today!

Be careful what you say!

James3:5&6 says Even so the tongue is a little member (talking about the body), and it can boast of great things.  See how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark (gossiping) can set ablaze!
And the tongue is a fire. (The tongue is a) world of wickedness set among our members, contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth (the cycle of man's nature), being itself ignited by hell.

Verse 6 warns us that the tongue is a fire!  (in other words with it you can cause a lot of heartache and pain to yourself and other's around you).

Verses8-10 says But the human tongue can be tamed by no man.  It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison.  (Harsh words, but are they not absolutely true)?

With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God's likeness!
Out of the same mouth come forth blessing (praising God) and cursing (swearing/gossiping).  These things, my brethren, ought not to be so.

We need to be disciplined in our minds!

Proverbs18:20 says A man's (moral being values given to us by God according to His Word) self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth (man's word's); and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied (whether good or evil).  The power of life and death is in the tongue.

We have to be so careful how we speak about ourselves and other's.  Gossiping is an evil that is not from God.  Whether you have heard something from someone or about someone it does not give you the right to talk to anyone else about them or whatever they told you (in confidence).  If they themselves choose to tell you something it is your responsibility as a Christian or even a non-Christian to keep it it to yourself!

When you talk about someone or to someone it should be edifying and up lifting.  If that person has sinned and you feel (know in your heart) that God has given you an instruction to talk to them about their sin and to pray for and with them you need to control yourself and your tongue and ask God to guide you as to how to handle the situation.  Lean not on your own understanding (not listening to God/ ignoring Him), because we are all fallible men and woman (just because there are rocks in your head it does not mean you can scatter them around everywhere).

(Someone once told me that God told him to handle a situation differently, but he decided to ignore God and do it his way!  Well my thought at that moment was, well I hope God sees it your way, because God is God.
But if God has NOT commanded you to speak to that person no matter how strongly you feel about it,  you need to obey and pray to God that He will impact in that person's life and they be turned to Him and away from their sin.

This is where Wisdom comes in.  And the only way you can obtain Wisdom is to study (not just read) God's Word daily and talk with Him daily.

I am going to stop here for today.  There is a lot that can still be said and I will continue on this subject, and I want you to really grasp what I am saying.

Lord help me to do something DYNAMIC for you today!

Would negative thoughts please leave the building...

I would like to go back to Romans12:2 DO NOT be conformed to this world. (Please refer to your Bible)
And what I said is that we (as Christians) need to renew our thinking on a daily basis.  Why?  Well, because of the fact that we are under daily attack from satan.  Remember satan does not care what you do or how you do it as long it does not gratify God or His Kingdom.  If we do not start our day with God's Word and prayer we are going to fall flat on our faces.

Before you even get out of bed in the morning you need to communicate with God and ask Him to guard your heart and your mind.  So many of us wake up in the morning and start our day with kinds all of "rubbish" in our minds.  By the time your feet hits the floor you are already mad at six different people.  Come on think about it, we all fall into that trap at some point in our lives.

The next picture on the left is actually what I really want to draw your attention to.  If we as Christians understand the verse in Romans12:2 correctly we should not take part in these kinds of worldly issues.  God tells us clearly in His Word the battle is His not our's.

Our minds should be on Higher things, Kingdom things.  Yes we all have issues at some or other time in our lives, but we serve the God of all that is righteous and He will do what needs to be done.  I have never seen or heard the Bible referring to any circumstance where we should boycott and toi toi.  Ask yourself the question?  What would Jesus want me to do?  Things are not in our hands to control.

Woolworths is not concerned with Christians!  Heck they probably don't even have more than a handful of Christians working for them or maybe even NONE!  Let's think about it now, has any petition you have signed or forwarded to your email friends ever made a difference to a situation which you had no control over?

Prayer is the only way to go and remember that if you believe your Bible (every Word that is written there) then you should know that God instructs us to pray over everything!  He is the changer of the situation or the person not you.  Yes you are an instrument used by God to help or change, but the change is not effected by you!  We should in fact pray more for our government.  Yip I know we all have something to say regarding our government, but WHAT WOULD JESUS DO OR EVEN SAY TO YOU REGARDING THIS?  Do we speak or act in love when it comes to our government?  1 Kor13 tells us very clearly what love is and yes I think we all fail dismally.  Love is patient, love is kind one is no good without the other, but they are  held together by love.

Is it really so important for us to be wasting our time with these worldly things instead of doing what God has instructed us to do in His Word?  To go out into the World and share His Good News with everyone.  How about looking past Woolworths at the little child at the street corner (in front of Woolworths), begging?  Is he /she not more important?  Are we not instructed to help (take care of) the widow's, orphans and the poor?  This is God's heart, not Woolworths that are not employing whites.

"Lord help me to do something dynamic for you today"!