Follow Through

Have you ever been in a service and have been completely moved whether by the songs or the sermon and you think to yourself 'This is it. This is the moment when my life will change. I will finally be able to get over this problem." So you walk to the altar and you pray earnestly and you truly believe that things will change this time. So you pray and then you go home and instead of getting better, things get worse. Temptation is greater, your circumstances get worse and you are thinking of giving up every single day. Well that has pretty much been me for the last three years. I must have went to the altar a hundred times in those three years and there I was caught in the same sin. Matter of fact, I was in a downward spiral, just adding sins to my already long list. Honestly, I earnestly wanted to live a better life and I would go that altar fully intending to go home and take the necessary practical steps that it would take to overcome temptation. Then, I would get up from praying and go home and my resolve would last for all of one day and then it would be back to the same pattern of sin.

It occurred to me in the year 2014 that it's not so much about one definite moment. It's not only about making the decision to turn away from your sin on one Sunday and expecting your whole life to change. It's about many moments, many hours, minutes even seconds of choosing to turn away from sin, of choosing to walk in the Spirit. Don't get me wrong, this does not mean that it makes choosing to do the right thing any easier. I cannot even describe how difficult it is. But it makes it easier to tackle one step at a time rather than being overwhelmed by focusing on the whole staircase at once.

I guess my point is this: don't lose your follow through because you are looking at the mountain instead of taking one step at a time to overcome it.

Here's some encouragement:
"Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp.
The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."  (Zephaniah 3:16-17)

 He[God] gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31)

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. (Ephesians 6:11)

I decided to share this song with you. It's by Casting Crowns and it's called "The Altar and the Door". The first time I heard this song, it felt like if the members of Casting Crowns had somehow gotten into my head and wrote down exactly how I was feeling and then made a song out of it. I thought I would share it with you.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)

Getting to the End of Yourself

Before we can fully experience the will of God for our lives, we need to get to the end of ourselves. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me"(Galations 2:20...) We all need to die to self in order to experience the fullness of God living in us. I have had alot of trouble with this particular part of my growth. I'm not perfect and many times I've been selfish(for lack of a better word or maybe that is the right word). I want to do what I want to when I want to do it but I realise that this is not what God wants. He wants a heart that is totally surrendered to Him. I must admit that it has been hard(giving someone total control of your life-what you do, what you say, in a nutshell- who you are) but I realise that unless I do that I won't get very far in terms of my growth and my walk with Christ. There are no better hands to put my life in than God's and I know this but sometimes I panic and want to take control but then I remember this: "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you(Isaiah 54:10). If we have promises such as this why should we ever doubt God's capability. I love the NIV version of this verse, particularly the words 'unfailing love'. If we have a God whose love for us is 'unfailing' then why should we fear giving Him our all? Even as I reread these words He's revealing things to me I didn't even know I knew( but that's just it, I didn't know them). So, I urge you(and myself) to give Him your all. You won't regret it. I think I should end with a prayer for myself and for others: 


Heavenly Father, I thank You for your unfailing love for your children. I thank you for your mercy and your saving grace. Father, I ask that you would help us to die to self, that we would have hearts that are totally surrendered to You. Father, everthing is possible for You and I ask right now that You would remove all fear from our hearts and help us to trust You. I ask that You would completely transform our minds Lord and conform our will to Yours. Jesus take the wheel and help us to live the abundant life You offer in victory. Amen

Do Not Lose Hope/ A God of Restoration

Passage: Mark 5:21-43

..."Don't be afraid; just believe."

I usually give some kind of an introduction when I'm writing these blog posts but today I'll just skip that and get right to the heart of this message: JESUS CHRIST REIGNS! He is sovereign! I read this passage in Mark 5 and I saw two people who desperately needed a Saviour, two people who despite their circumstances, still believed that Jesus had the power to turn their situations around.

We first encounter Jairus, a synagogue ruler. On seeing Jesus, he falls at His feet and says "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live."  Jairus had probably heard about Jesus before and the miracles He was performing. But on this particular day, his entire future and the life of his daughter depended on this Man who had the power to change his situation, to heal his daughter of her sickness. Verse 23 says "he pleaded earnestly" with Jesus to help his daughter. When Jesus agreed and proceeded to go with him, I could only imagine the hope that filled Jairus' heart. But suddenly everything changed.

Enter: a woman desperate to be healed. A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years! A woman who had exhausted all of her resources and yet still nothing had changed. A woman who seemingly should have lost hope but didn't. A woman who heard about this "Jesus"and thought to herself, "If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed." How great the measure of her faith! She pushed through the crowd and touched Jesus' cloak and immediately, she was healed. She was freed from her suffering. Amidst all the pushing and the crowds, Jesus asked, "Who touched my cloak" because He had felt power leave Him. This must have annoyed the disciples that were with Him. After all, there were tons of people crowding around Jesus and they said "You see all these people crowding against you and yet you can ask, "Who touched me?"" Yet Jesus continued to look around for the person. Then she came forward. The woman fell at His feet and told Him everything and His response was this, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

I can only imagine how Jairus was feeling at this point or what he was thinking:  "My daughter is sick and dying. Every second counts and yet still, this Man called Jesus has stopped to ask who touched Him. Imagine! In this throng of people, He has stopped to ask who touched Him! I need His help now before my daughter dies, before it's too late." Then in walk some men from Jairus' house. "Your daughter is dead.", they say. The finality of this statement! "Why bother the teacher anymore?", the men continue.

"I'm inclined to believe them. It's too late now. She's dead. There is nothing for the Teacher to work with, nothing for Him to restore. She is gone. My daughter is dead. Suddenly, I hear His calm voice say 5 little words that I cling to with every fiber of my being. I know my daughter is dead but the words of this God-Man give me hope. Maybe...

"Don't be afraid; just believe." Jesus says. In the middle of all of this, I believe time stood still for Jairus and a little glimmer of hope came alive in him when he heard these words. It may have born of desperation but it was hope nonetheless. So he followed Jesus, along with James, Peter and John. When they arrived at the house, there were people there crying and wailing loudly, mourning the loss of the little girl. These people had their gazes fixed on their seemingly impossible situation. When Jesus told them the girl was not dead but asleep, they laughed at Him and Jesus put them out. I believe He did it because of their unbelief. He only took the girl’s parents and Peter, James and John into the room with Him and Jesus spoke to the lifeless corpse of a 12 year old girl and said: "Little girl, I say to you get up.” And she did.

In this passage are two people who received restoration. To one, was given the restoration of health and to the other life. So many lessons can be taught from this story. It doesn’t matter how long you have been hurting, it doesn’t matter how long you have been sick and it doesn’t matter how long you have been struggling, Jesus Christ can redeem any situation in our lives. Sometimes we think that it’s too late for Jesus to do anything about our situation. When the messengers came, they told Jairus not to bother the Teacher anymore because his daughter was already dead. In their eyes, there was nothing Jesus could do at this point. It was too late. But can I just remind you that God is never too late. It is impossible for Him to be too late. He is the author of time and He isn’t restricted by time. There’s a song that says “It ain’t over, ‘til God says it’s over” and that is so true.

It is our unbelief and our lack of faith sometimes that hinders God’s work in our lives and stops us from experiencing the miraculous. After the woman with the issue of blood was healed, Jesus said to her “your FAITH has healed you”. Even Jesus when He was in His hometown did not do many miracles because of the people’s lack of faith.

·        Be expectant. Expect God to restore what you have lost. The woman with the issue of blood thought “if I just touch His clothes, I will be healed” And as she laid her hand on Jesus’cloak, she did it with expectancy that came from faith. She didn’t say “If I touch His clothes I may be healed or I might be healed” no! She said I WILL be healed. We can contrast this with Jairus, his wife and the 3 disciples Jesus took with Him. Even after Jesus said that she was not dead but asleep, even after he said “Don’t be afraid; just believe” , the girl’s parents and Peter, james and John were still astonished when she was brought back from the dead. Despite Jesus’ words of reassurance, they still had a lack of expectancy. What state are you in today? Are you expectant that God will move in your situation to bring complete restoration. Or are you bound by unbelief because your situation seems impossible. Well let me tell you something, we serve a God who makes the impossible, possible.

·        What perspective do we have? Are we those who are crying and wailing because our situation is seemingly hopeless? Are we the scoffers who laugh when Jesus speaks of the restoration and resurrection of that which is dead? Do we have the perspective of the woman with the issue of blood? Do we think to ourselves “If I just get a touch, I WILL be healed”? Do we listen to and believe Jesus when He says “Don’t be afraid; just believe”?

I don’t know where this meets you tonight but rest assured that our God is a God of restoration. I don’t know what your situation is. It may not be sickness, it may not be physical death but be encouraged that whatever it is, Jesus can bring restoration. Even if it seems that there is nothing for God to work with, remember He gives beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. “Is there anything too hard for me?” says the Lord. “Don’t be afraid; just believe”

All the Glory belongs to You, Oh God!

"I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols..." (Isaiah 42:9a NIV)

^"7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

HUMILITY! Some of us need a good dose of this! It's amazing how fast we become proud and puffed up and forget that we are merely vessels(of CLAY no less). When we draw close to God and seek after Him with our whole hearts, God begins to do amazing things in and through us. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, we see Paul at this point. He's talking about all the great revelations and visions he was given. Every time I read 2 Cor. 12:1-10, I am amazed. Paul is talking about when he was caught up to the third heaven. Could you imagine being caught up to the paradise, where God dwells?!

Most of us have not experienced anything that magnificent and yet still we become conceited and proud. We begin to think that we are self-sufficient. Even I am guilty of this. We begin to exalt ourselves instead of Christ. Pride has led to the downfall of many in the Bible; Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the casting down of Lucifer from Heaven and many more. Who are we, mere mortals, who are but dust, here today and gone tomorrow, who are we to think that we could survive for one second without Almighty God? But yet still we do it! 

When things start going well in our lives, we start thinking "Hey, I'm doing pretty gooood". I know some of you may be thinking "No, that's not me". Sometimes we don't think it, but our actions prove it to be true. We begin to operate as if we do not need God and that is a dangerous position to be in. And some of us even begin to boast about what God has done through us, or what He has revealed to us as if we ourselves have have done these things by our own power! 

 In the passage above, Paul is trying to prove a point to the Corinthians: don't boast as the world does! They try to lift up themselves so that they get the glory. Paul basically says in verse 6 of 2 Cor. 12, that he could boast about God's demonstrations of power in his life and he would be telling the truth but he says he refrains so that others will not think more highly of him than they ought to. 

We should have that same mindset. We should not seek to turn people's attention toward us by boasting about what "we" have done. This is a work of the flesh that hinders our growth. We should ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS turn the attention of others onto our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to whom ALL glory belongs! 

God says in Isaiah, "I will not give my glory to another...". In 2 Cor 12, Paul says that there was given him a thorn in his flesh to keep him from becoming conceited. I believe this thorn reminded Paul of exactly how human he was. Paul asked God to take away the thorn but God replied, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness". This blew my mind! God's power is made PERFECT in our weakness (i.e, the weaker we are, the greater God's power working in and through us!) After this, Paul goes on to say that he boasts GLADLY about his weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on him. In fact he even says that he DELIGHTS in his weaknesses!

 We should never lose sight of the fact that we are weak in ourselves. We should never turn the focus on ourselves but on the One to whom all power and glory belong. In fact, we should boast in our weaknesses. As 2 Corinthians 4:7 says, "We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us". Our goal should be to point others to that Treasure and not to exalt the jars of clay.

Prayer: Father God, I thank you for Your patience with me. I thank you, Father, for your correction and your guidance. I ask forgiveness for my pride and I ask that You would help me to humble myself under Your mighty hand. Oh God, I ask that You would not allow the sin of pride to take root in my heart but that You would help me to walk humbly before You, knowing that I am merely a vessel to be used by You. Remind me, God, that this all-surpassing power comes from You and does not originate with me. Help me not to boast as the world does but help me to boast in my weaknesses that Your power may rest on me because I know that when I am weak, then I am strong. Help me to point others to Christ instead of diverting the focus to me. Help me to give you the glory that is due Your Name in everything I do, say and think, in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. ALL GLORY BELONGS TO YOU, OH GOD!

Remember

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, you his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. (Psalm 105:5-7 NIV)

It's a new year. We have another 344 days left in 2013 and none of us has any idea what's in store. I don't know about you but I'm a worrier. I worry about everything! It's something God has been helping me to overcome. Any time things don't go the way I planned, I worry. Even as I'm writing this, I'm worrying about school. I have to do a course but the class is already full. Now I can't do anything about this until tomorrow but here I am worrying, thinking about whether the lecturer will allow me to do the course or not. This post is as much for myself as it is for you. 

We all know Matthew 6:27: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" I mean you would think that we would understand this and stop worrying? No! When will we realize that worrying accomplishes nothing. You might give yourself a gray hair or two but that's it.

I called this post "Remember" because that's exactly what I want you to do during this year. Problems will come, the enemy will tempt you and try to destroy you and everything you do won't go according to plan, but I want you to do as Psalm 105 says: "Remember the wonders He[God] has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced, you His servants, the descendants of Abraham, His chosen ones, the children of Jacob." 

I want you to remember all the times that God has delivered you, that He has come through for you. Psalm 105 is a Psalm of remembrance and thanksgiving.  David is reminding the Israelites of how God delivered them out of Egypt, how He provided for them on their journey to the Promised Land. When you're going through a tough time this year, remember what God has done for you in the past, remember the wonders and miracles He performed in your life. Remember every time that He rescued from the hand of the enemy and know that He will do it again!

God is faithful and He will always come through for His children. In this year, remember His faithfulness to you in past and remember that He is an unchanging God who will remain faithful forever. He will never leave us or forsake us [His words not mine, so you better believe it!]. David understood this even as a boy. When He stood up to fight Goliath, it was God's faithfulness that He believed in and God's unchanging nature that gave Him confidence. And He stood up and said with boldness, "The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."(1 Samuel 17:37 NIV)

When we are going through our trials this year, instead of worrying, let's remember. Remember the wonders God has done, remember all the times He has provided for you, remember all the times He has saved you in the nick of time, remember the times He kept you when you felt like giving up and believe that He'll do it again. Have faith in God's faithfulness!...bring to remembrance how God delivered you out of your 'Egypt' and has been faithfully providing and protecting you as he leads you to the 'Promised Land'. 

P.S. Write about your experiences with God so that when you're going through a trial you can read and remember all the things He has brought you through. I started doing it. I write down every personal promise, every prophetic word, every extraordinary experience I have been through and when I am going through a trial I go back and read them and it encourages me because I know that God will do it again.

Here's a song that came to me while writing this:

Be blessed!

In the Beauty of Holiness

Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth. (Psalm 96:9 NIV)

Our worship of God can be hindered by so many things. When you step into God's sanctuary are you ready to forget about everything else and worship Him or do distractions prevent you from pressing into God? So many of us are hindered by the opinions of others when it comes to our worship of the Most High God.

When we gather together as the body of Christ, it is for the purpose of worshipping God. Forget about what others will think of you and worship God the way you feel led. If you need to kneel, then kneel. If you need to bow, then bow. If you want to lay prostrate before the Lord, then do so. Forget about others, focus on the Creator of this Universe and give Him the glory and honour that is due His matchless Name. When you dwell on what others will think of how you worship God, you immediately take the focus off of Him and put it on yourself.

There's a song that says,

Forget about yourself

Concentrate on Him and worship Him

Worship Him

Worship Christ the Lord.

Concentrate solely on Jesus Christ, for it is Him whom you are worshipping. Worship Him in the splendour of His holiness. Worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

Running the Race

 ²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.²⁷ No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor 9:24-27 NIV)

    Racing must be one of the most nerve-racking things to do in life. I remember when I was younger and I used to run for school sports, I hated it. I was a relay runner (and not a very good one might I add). My heart would be pounding from the time I get into starting position, my palms would be sweating and I wouldn't be able to think straight. In my 9 year old mind, it seemed like I had so much to do: try not to fall, avoid the massive pot holes in the grass, try not to fall, come first and oh yeah...you guessed it, try not to fall. I didn't always achieve these goals but when I did, I felt awesome. There's nothing like holding a shiny trophy in your hand. 

   But the glory of winning a physical race here on earth is short-lived. It is nothing compared to what God promises us if we finish this race called Christianity. As (1 Cor 2:9) says, "...No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive what God has prepared for those who love Him." We can't even imagine how AWESOME heaven will be. But before we get to the prize, though, let's talk about the race: there are three things you must remember:

• The race that God calls us to run is not a sprint. It's a marathon.


• Some Christians get anxious when it feels like every other Christian  around them is growing in their faith by leaps and bounds but they themselves are moving at snail pace. This race isn't about speed, it's about endurance. Everyone doesn't grow at the same rate. Philippians 2:13 says "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose". God gives us the desire to do His will and he enables us to accomplish it so don't compare yourself to others. God will work on you in His own time. Just focus on being obedient to Christ and allow Him to work in and through you.


• Don't look to the left or the right. Don't look back.

• Distractions, distractions, distractions. You can always count on the enemy to be on the sidelines trying to get your attention, trying to divert your focus. There are so many things in the world that catch our attention: fame, fortune, drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography...and the list goes on. This is where spiritual blinders come in. Most people know what blinders are but for those who don't, they are made of leather or sometimes plastic and are placed on either side of the horse's eyes to prevent the horse from looking back or looking sideways. They allow the horse to focus on the race without being distracted by the crowds. We need spiritual blinders. Hebrews 12:2 says "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..." and 2 Corinthians 4:18 says "so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal". Our gaze must remain fixed on Jesus Christ. We must remain in continual communion with Him through prayer, we must read God's Word. Do not run like a man running aimlessly! You have a goal, you have a crown waiting for you at the finish line, you have an eternal home in God's Kingdom! So keep your gaze fixed upon Christ.
• Don't be disqualified!
• I remember watching an episode of My Wife and Kids where Jay was training for a marathon and she convinced Michael to join her. In the days leading up to the race, Jay was eating healthy and training and Michael was eating all kinds of junk food. On the day of the race, Michael started out at the front of the race, arms swinging and feet stepping high, for about a couple of meters and then he began to falter and everyone started to bypass him, including Jay! So Michael decided to take a cab to the finish line, hoping that Jay wouldn't find out but eventually she did. Now Michael didn't get disqualified from this race but he did cheat and sometimes we think we can do the same thing in our Christian lives. We think we can hop in a "cab" and be driven to the finish line but it doesn't work that way. We think we can breeze through the race of life and win the prize but it's not that simple. We must train, we must discipline our bodies. In verse 27 Paul says "I beat my body and make it my slave". He doesn't mean this literally. God doesn't want us to hurt ourselves physically. It just means, don't allow your flesh to control you! Don't be governed by your sinful nature. Instead, yield yourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit and follow God's leading. Most of us start off the race well but somewhere along the line we become weary of the trials and tired but we must remember that Jesus said if anyone would come after Him, they must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him. The race will not always be a bed roses: there may be some cramps along the way or a stitch in your side but Jesus said "...never will I leave you, never will I forsake you...". 

God will be with us every step of the way. He will give us strength for the journey. He will give us the endurance it takes to finish the race and He will be there when we finish the race to give us our crown and welcome us into His Kingdom, saying "Well done, good and faithful servant, well done".