Kaal tussen die daisies

The Afrikaaners in SA have a saying (edited for blog purposes) saying, “Hy hardloop kaal... tussen die daisies” (He's running naked through the daisys), usually used to describe a child running around naked in play. Sadly most of us face the devil looking rather “Kaal / naked”. So were you planning on using a fig leaf to fight the devil? Sorry for you, but that fig leaf aint gonna last long :-)

So what armour do we need to face the devil? Ephesians 6 v 10 – 18 give us the fundamental tools we need to fight with: The belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.

Notice anything strange about these pieces of armour? There's nothing covering your derier. Why? Because our battle is supposed to see us on the offensive, moving forward, not moving backwards. Where is your spiritual life headed? Have you taken a few steps back and wondered why there is always trouble there? Now you know why. So get up off the floor, shake off the dust and start advancing in your spiritual walk with God and “Grow in him”.

Never give in – Churchill

Churchill visited Harrow school in October of 1941. In his speech to the school he is quoted as saying “never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

Churchill had an advantage over us, his enemy came at him with guns and bombs. He could see them, he could identify them and he could monitor their movements. Our enemy has a tad more camoflage in his armament. He wouldn't come at us with pure evil, this would be too obvious. He comes at us with stress, temptation, small opportunities to 'bend' the truth. Old bad habits, that find a way to creep back in to our conscious existence. Churchill was right, the battles we face do appear to be apparently overwhelming, so how do we win this war?

2 Corinthians 10 v 4 tells us that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds”. What use is a weapon though if you don't know how to use it? Satan attacks us first in our thought life. Once he's conquered your thoughts, it leads to action. So when temptation has hit, the best thing you can do is confess it to someone you trust. Make yourself accountable and follow good council.

You can overcome the forces of darkness working in your life! Choose to use God's word as your pillar and lean on God for strength. God will never leave you once you surrender your will to him!

Old Man Abe! - The power of words!

November 19, 1863 – Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg address that is today still remembered as one of the most notable of all speeches ever made! The subject – All men are equal and that a Government should be of the people, by they people, for the people!

In his speech he quoted, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” Old man Abe was wrong about that, 148 years later, this speech is still recognised and repeated by school children in the USA.

The two most powerful concepts of this speech: 'Equality of all men' and that 'Words are timeless' are echoed in the pages of scripture. Genesis establishes the fact that all men come from a single family source and we need to treat all with respect. More powerful though is the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that death and life are in the power of the tongue.

We need to choose to give life to hope, faith and love and allow God to mould us daily!

Bouncy Bounce Bounce

Don't know about you, but when I was a kid I had a little toy of an animal shape that had elastic running through it.  When you pressed the button at the bottom of the toy the toy collapsed. Then when you released the button it bounced back up again.

Well that's what our faith should be like.  When we suffer a set back we need to have the strength and faith God that he has a plan and that he will always restore, revive or renew our lives. I was reminded of this lesson again this week while writing my exams. 

On Tuesday I had another one of my migraines and on Wednesday I had to write an exam and I'm not sure it went well. In order to focus again to study for my exam on Friday, I had to remember that God has a plan for everything in our lives and all experiences he will turn for our good one way or another.  Well I can't call today's exam a success yet, but I gave it a good shot.

Now for the looooooooong wait for results which usually only come out in July.
Missed ya all!  God bless!

Change your mind

It took Israel 40 years to usher in a new generation that would obey God, respond in faith and ultimately cease the promised land.

Yet in today's society we expect change to happen over night. There is an expentation that because of technology and the speed at which news travels that this will cause the changes needed.

Yes, technology may influence a mind set, but ultimately it will not change hearts. Only God and time can do that! We cannot rush a reformation. We need to allow people the time to hear the message and embed the message into their lives.

Romans 12 tells us to renew our minds, i.e. Change your mind set. Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to influence your thoughts?

Sit and stay!

I cracked! In a week where all my focus needed to be on my studies, my naughty kitty got into a fight and injured his paw. It was a get better, get worse yoyo and I eventually just fell apart.

It ultimately resulted in a day needing confinement to get the recovery process on track. Most cat owners would know that unlike dogs, commands of "Sit, stay, lie down, come here," aren't easily followed, but I eventually succeeded and kitty is now well on the mend.

Pets behave very much like a defiant 5 year old. Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it."

I take my hat off to every mother (especially single mother's) out there! I don't how you do it, but you are hero's! But don't underestimate the power of a firm Godly hand in your child's life. They will grow up to honour and respect you!

Kudos Mamma's!

Who's governing your life?

Municipal elections today 18 May. Reminds me of the decisions Israel made with their leadership. Time and time again they chose kings who would ultimately go on to cause the nation great pain and suffering.

Jesus told us to obey those in authority which is why it is so important for us to choose wisely when we vote. This principal applies equally in our spiritual lives.

We need to make sure that we are in a church community where our leadership are Godly role models for us to follow. Our spiritual submission to our Lord is a vital part of our spiritual growth. So choose wisely who you will serve.

Last ray's of sunlight

I just spent a moment in the garden with my kitties, watching them as they catch the last few moments of sunlight. It reminded me to make the most of each day.

I recently moaned to someone that I have to use all my annual leave for studying for exams and that I never get to rest. I'd forgotten what a rare privilege it is to study and that there are millions of people who will never get a chance to even go to school.

So while I remember to enjoy this special time, forgive me if I don't write as often. To all my readers, you are special to me and in my thoughts always, so thank you in advance for your patience.

We've all just gotta get along

I'm sure at times you've noticed how different we all can be. You can sometimes spend hours with someone, but you just can't figure out what makes them tick. That's because we all have our own unique personality types.

God has created us unique and we all have our own blend of temperaments that guide our behaviour. We must just be careful not to put ourselves in a box because our personality is made up of a blend of temperaments. Over the centuries many studies have been done and various theories developed.

If we take the time to understand ourselves better and also what makes up the other temperaments then we are able to learn to get along better with the people around us. Psalm 139 v 14 tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. God took time to mould us. We must remember that our personal life experiences, family background and environment also shape who we are, but if we take the time to get to know ourselves better we are better able to adapt to the people around us.

Caught in the riddle

It's been a long time since I can remember eating Lyle's Golden syrup, but I do remember the famous scripture they have quoted on their tins, “Out of the eater, something to eat, out of the strong, came something sweet”. (Judges 14). Samson told the riddle to his enemies to confound them. We get so caught up in the riddle that we miss one of the most beautiful analogy's in scripture.

God gave Samson supernatural strength to kill the lion. He kills the lion and then comes back some time later and there is a bees hive with sweet honey in it. Can you think of a new testement scripture this mirror's? Romans 8:28...All things work togther for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose.

When Satan tries to take his best swing at us, God will give us supernatural spiritual strength to overcome his evil and turn his evil plans into something good that that benefit our lives. Talk about the ultimate outwit, outsmart, outplay!

AWOL

Forget Sampson and Delilah for the time being, my mother's gone AWOL......... Or so I thought. Mom is well they just had other plans that I didn't have the details to.

This reminds me of the parable Jesus told about the sheep that went missing. The shepherd leaves the 99 in the pen and goes chasing after 1. Why? Because the 99 are safe and accounted for. They are in a place where they have the provisions they need and can be cared for. The 1 roaming outside is in possible danger.

God seeks out the lost souls and desires for us to be safely under his watchful eye. There are definitely wolves out there. God wants us to be in the fold where he can nurture and care for our every need.

The ultimate cat whisperer

So you've been obedient to God and done what you think is honourable in his sight and what happens? Somebody comes along with a plot against you that ends you up in trouble. Well that's what happened to Daniel.

I'm facinated by the King's response though, he realized he had done a terrible thing and proclaims, “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee”. So Daniel get's thrown in the lion's den and who shows up? That “Angel” again! I wonder if the big “Putty Tat's” let Daniel cuddle up to them for warmth for the night – Naaaa, I think not, but at least they didn't have him for Dinner!

Once again, we see the delivering hand of God. Know that whatever situation you are facing now, God will work his power and deliver you from the hands of those who seek to harm you. Trust in him!

How hot was that fire?

So how hot did that fire have to be that the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace, got burnt to death? Yet immediately the three men were up and about walking free, not bound and then the fourth mystery man (some scholars believe to be the Christ), walking with them.

When we face circumstances that seem that they will engulf and kill us instantly, we have a promise, Jesus will always be there and save us and the righteous will always be vindicated. It is our responsibility to say focused on our relationship with God and make sure that we walk before him in righteousness before him.

When we do that, we can be gaurenteed that at the end of the trial, “The king himself” will acknowledge that our God is God above all.

Opportunity for what?

Opportunity – this word brings up emotions of hope, anticipation, joy, excitement and wonder. Yet in Matthew 26 we read that Judas, once he had made his deal with the Pharisees was just looking for his opportunity to betray Christ. What a blow, the devil is out there looking for every opportunity he can to hurt you and cause you pain, be it emotionally, physically, mentally or spiritually. I'm sorry to say he does succeed and that leaves us feeling hurt, let down, angry at life and very often angry at God.

Guess what I've learned.....God doesn't get offended when we get mad at him and you know why? Because Jesus felt the sting of betrayal. A disciple he had kept close to him for three years, sold him out for 30 pieces of silver....... darn that must have hurt!

Yet this betrayal, set in motion the events that we now know would lead to the ultimate crucifixion of Christ (and No the cross is not just something we need to talk about at Easter, but every day). Ultimately God used this betrayal and we also know the end of that story. Christ has risen, death has been defeated and our salvation has been secured for eternity.

So when it feels like life has taken a smack at you, be angry, feel the feelings, cry if you need to but when you done, look the Devil in the eye and say, “Buddy, you picked on the wrong person, I'm covered by the blood of Christ and you're about to get a smack back to hell where you belong.” God will ALWAYS have the ultimate victory!

Double fix - Apollo 13

April 13 1970, An oxygen tank explodes on Apollo 13, not only forcing the aborting of the third planned lunar landing, but putting it's 3 man crew in mortal danger. One of the most famous lines quoted in the movie, “Failure is not an option”.

But things had failed, the Oxygen tank exploded and along the way various other equipment broke down. In the midst of facing one failure, the scientists and astronaugts left in the conference room left to figure out how to save 3 lives, put aside all negatives. Instead of saying, why won't it work? They said what can we do to make it work! The result, success and on April 17^th the 3 man crew landed safely back on earth.

The trial in the space shuttle and the trial in the conference room were both inter-related and to solve the one, they had to solve the other first. I've been blown away by this today realizing that at times we may go through one failure now and find a means to cope and survive, but it could be a failure a few years down the line that finally brings the breakthrough and brings you to the point where you can put the “equipment” together to make the plan work.

God is so involved in every tiny detiail of our lives and we must never give up hope. You may have been wondering, why I am I going through this now? Chin up! The answer may only come in a few years time. We need to learn to trust God implicitly and know that he has a deep and profound plan for our lives, if we will surrender to him and allow him to guide us.

You just gotta be Babe

Babe Ruth, one of America's all time best baseball players, struck out an amazing 1330 times. He made 2873 hits of which and astounding 714 were home runs. That's nearly ¼ of all the hits he made went the distance! The moral of his story is that you have to keep hitting if you are going to score.

The devil steps up to the plate every day and swings his best shot at us, and trust me he will never stop. The question is, are you willing to keep on batting, or are you going to give up. Trust me, the harder you bat the harder the devil is going to swing that ball at you.

Here's a little secret, he wouldn't bother throwing so hard if he knew you were a losser with the bat. If you are under attack..... it's because you are doing something right! So don't quit, don't give up, keep your cap on, take your stance and get your bat ready......your next home run is just a few balls away!

Sometimes you just need a hand

Ever felt like you are in a battle but you're just not winning? The Israelites knew that feeling. They were at battle with Amalek in Exodus 17, but were just not getting anywhere. Then when Moses lifted his hands they gained ground, but when his hands sank they lost ground again.

The plan was set, they had to keep Moses hands up one way or another, so Aaron and Hur came along side him and kept his hands held high, and you guessed it..... Israel won the battle! At times all we need to get through a tough battle is just someone to come along beside us to help us lift our spirits.

Keeping our hands held high though has a more powerful connection. It is in worship when we lift our hands to God that we declare his majesty, and our surrender to him through worship. That is why we are strengthened through worship. So if you don't have any friends available to come along side you, raise your arms in worship to God and let him send his strength and his angels to fight your battle!

Have you got the right plug and socket?

Somewhere between the end of last winter and the beginning of this winter, I had a hair dryer that blew up. Now this wouldn't be quite so terrible if it hadn't also blown up the adaptor it was attached to. Being summer it wasn't quite such a problem as I simply moved stuff around.

Well today I decided it was time to take out the electric blanket, and with all the lead cables, double adaptors and the like that I had lying around, I just couldn't find the right combination. To cut a long story short, end result was that I needed a new adaptor set with the right mix of two and three prong sockets.

That is what the church is like. God gave some people a 5 fold ministy calling, i.e. Pastor, Prophet, Teacher, Evangelist or Apostle. Then there are minstry gifts and then there are our talents.

Like certain plugs work with certan adaptors, the church needs us all to fill our unique position in order for the church to work and function right. Have you found out where your place is yet? If not, speak to your Pastor or Church leader and let them help you!