Goliath who?

I just love that Chiwawa in the Toyota advert. Next to his Boxer counter part he ain't big, he ain't strong and he ain't smart! He does however have attitude and courage.

Courage! That is what we all need when we are facing our Goliath. Goliaths come in all shapes and sizes. Marriage woes, financial crisis, health disasters, employment battles and many more.

We should take heart and remember the words of David as he faced Goliath, "You come to me with a sword, a spear and a shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel."

If David could defeat his Goliath with a few stones and a sling shot, how much more can we do with the power of the Holy Spirit on our side.

Will you be next?

Most of us will resist change when it comes, that is part of human nature. The fear of the unknown drives us to seek the comfort of familiar surroundings and we will even make friends with our own limitations in order to resist the change that is coming.

Why is that? Well the unknown presents many challenges and sometimes some wonderful surprises. We won't know either way until we step into that unknown. There may be failure along the way and that is usually what holds us back.

We do have to push through that fear though. Peter asked Jesus, “If that is you Lord, ask me to come.” Jesus replied and we know the rest, Peter walked on water just like Jesus did. It was only when Peter looked at the waves that he started sinking.

What challenge are you afraid to take on for fear of the unknown? Only two men on earth can claim to be water walkers because of their faith, are you willing to be the next? I know whatever it is, if you truly have faith and keep your eyes on Jesus, God will never let you sink.

New batch

This weekend I transplanted some of the flowers I'd been growing in the back yard to their permanent home in the flower bed. The momentary joy of seeing the flower bed refilled however left quickly as all the leafy plants in the back yard disappeared.

Sure a new batch of seeds was planted but somehow I felt loss. I suppose it is all about goal setting. Maybe I should have staggered the planting so that the harvesting would be more phased. Planning and goal setting go hand in hand. You can't have success if one of these key ingredients are missing.

Do you set spiritual goals for yourself? If not, then maybe now is a good time to start. In order to set goals in our spiritual lives we need to use the same principles of goal setting and planning. Growth in our spiritual garden won't happen if we don't carefully plan what path our spiritual journey will take.

As the year draws to a close, think about setting aside some time to not only plan for your career goals but also include your spiritual growth path in the plan as well.

Rescued

Shortly before I was about to get ready for church, Ginger caught a bird. Now normally I would lock them out and let them carry on, but I can't stand the way they torture their prey. Unlike wild cats who attack for the pure reason of killing and feeding, domestic cats enjoy playing with their prey.

I had a choice; ignore the torture outside and go to church, or, rescue the bird. I rescued the bird. Not sure what to do with it I walked around trying to find help, as I certainly would not have succeeded in rehabilitating the little thing in my home. Luckily I was referred to a lady that volunteers for an animal rehab centre and I took the birdie to her.

Mankind was being tortured too. Satan had taken control of the planet and was dominating our world. That is until Jesus stepped in and became the saviour we all needed. God too could not sit back any longer while we were being tortured and stepped in to rescue us.

Surf's up

Last night I watched a surfing documentary about two young boys being given the opportunity to travel the world and surf at some of the best surfing locations available. What an amazing way to witness the power of God in creation through harnessing the energy of the ocean for sport.

Mankind has found many ways to generate electricity through harnessing the power of nature. Solar energy creating solar power plants. Wind energy to create wind turbines. The motion of water to create hydro electric power.

The question we need to ask is are we as Christians using the power of the Holy Spirit to create a powerful life? Many people live day by day just to get by and never knowing that we have the Holy Spirit to give us the energy and strength we need to live daily.

Have you connected to your power source today?

What a loud complaint

Boy do I get meowed at loudly. Ever since moulting season started, Honey and Ginger have been getting daily brushing. Honey more so as he has thicker fur than Ginger. I now get a very loud complaint if kitty doesn't get his brushing when he wants it.

It all boils down to not receiving love and attention when and how he wants it. Don't we all react like that though. A spouse, friend, or family member doesn't meet our expectations and we feel let down and disappointed.

In our relationship with God it is no different. We expect God to jump to meet our every desire when and how we feel it necessary. God will always give us love and comfort when we need it, but we must not expect him to meet our every whim.

Part of growing in God is learning patience and what it means to wait for the things that we desire. When we have learnt patience and our desires are then met, the fulfilment is so much deeper. So if you are waiting on God, don't stop. He knows exactly when you need to have your blessings delivered.

How did that get there?

Have you ever had something pop up where you least expected to find it? I know I have. How it actually managed to find its way to that spot is a mystery. It never quite makes sense.

So imagine Jesus surprise when a short little man named Zacheus appears hanging out of a tree. What does Jesus do? He invites himself for dinner. Obviously this man had a hunger to get more out of life and Jesus knew how to give it to him.

When we hunger and thirst for God our hunger never goes misplaced and never goes unnoticed by a father longing to reach down and touch us. Are you willing to do something a little different to catch God's attention? God isn't ignoring you but when we reach out we'll be surprised at how Jesus comes home to meet with us.

Not bound by time

Written somewhere around 700 – 690 BC, the book of Isaiah is a stark book about truth. The truth that God does not tolerate sin and that sin will be punished, yet in the midst of that God forgives.

Isaiah 53 appears almost like a man, standing on a mountain top, looking back and relaying events of the past. Only they aren't past, they are still nearly 700 years away off. How do these mysteries of prophecy occur?

Great scientists have had theories of time travel and it seems almost impossible, that is until you've met God. God lives outside of time and when he chooses too, he can lift a persons spirit out of the bounds of time and show us things past and things to come.

He was indeed wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, slain from the foundation of the earth, till we meet him again in the everlasting.

The right formula

I've been struggling to match figures on a particularly gnarly reconciliation for some time now. Too many numbers, too many workbooks and it just seemed impossible. Luckily with a little help from a colleague I managed to make some progress on it today.

Life can be really difficult when it appears as if there is too much detail to make head or tail of the problems we face. I think it all boils down to finding the common denominators and keeping the matching as simple as possible.

If we take the 10 commandments for example. They are all simple clear commandments. They become difficult to live by when we try to find the grey areas and in this case there really are none. Don't complicate life by trying to fudge truth. Live simply and the numbers will match.

Mothers love

Mom came to visit this weekend and it couldn't have been at a more necessary time. There were so many issues I needed to discuss in which I needed an ear to listen and some useful advice. A mothers love, encouragement and support is invaluable.

Jesus knew this too, his Mother Mary was with him the day He started His ministry and she was with him the day he drew his last breath. A mothers love is strong, powerful and gives courage to her children when they need it most!

Most of us associate God with Father and indeed even Jesus called him Abba Father. However God encompasses all and the nurturing heart of a mother comes from the heart of God. Mothers, I encourage you today to be strong. Your children and your community need the soft and gentle care you can give them.

Must do

When I get home in the evenings and especially now on weekends, I cannot get by without doing something garden related.  Whether it is just walking through the garden and checking on the growth of my seedlings, watering the garden or paging through gardening magazines, I absolutely love it.

The colours and shapes are so amazing and I can quickly and easily forget about the stresses of the day.  My father used to love it too.  In fact, the only thing dad used to love doing inside the house was watch rugby and sleep (yip, I'm a chip off the old block).

Connecting with the creative power of God in this small way stimulates my creativity and helps greatly with problem solving.  What is your 'must do' item for the day that gets you reconnected to home and God? 

Limited

Today was a day for being faced with the truth of my limitations. Unfortunately I just cannot work any faster than my eyes or my computer equipment will allow me and that renders certain tasks just humanly impossible to complete within the allotted time.

This definitely leads to a feeling of frustration and helplessness that I'd rather not be going through right now. There is so much going on in every sphere of life that it is hard to keep focused. It is not like life is going to spare you any challenges either and they come at you at every angle.

My thoughts wonder to Jesus and how he handled life's overwhelming challenges? Yes, Gethsemane was his biggest challenge, but He also had the advantage of knowing that the plan, that He would rise again. How do I compete with the faith of the divine creator of the universe?

I can't! The only thing I can do is confess: If the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in me, He shall quicken my mortal body!

12 Hours

I really wanted to go camping with friends this weekend, but by the time mid week arrived, I was exhausted beyond imagination. I knew that what I needed most was a really long nights sleep. Friday night I struggled to settle down but when I eventually managed to get to sleep, I slept for around 12 hours or more.

As sleep is to the body, the word of God is to the spirit. We cannot survive in our Christian walk without having sufficient consumption of the word of God. Sleep restores our physical bodies and gives us energy to function again. The word of God restores our faith and gives us the renewed direction in life.

We need to make sure we live life in balance, taking care of body, soul and spirit. If we leave one of these out we are sure to end up in certain trouble one way or another.

Have you had your 12 hour refresher yet?

Just in time

There is one very challenging aspect about accounting and that is that there are certain deadlines that are just not negotiable and it can bring great pressure. There is also the additional pressure of making sure that your work is properly checked and authorised by management and the expectation to deliver a precise, accurate work is high.

Usually on days like this you will find that there will also always be someone else that needs your attention and you can't put off their needs either.

Jesus experienced this too. A rulers daughter had died and on route to attending to her, someone in the crowd dared to touch the hem of His garment with a faith that demanded immediate attention and healing, and she got it.

Jesus felt the power drain from him and immediately stopped to address the women. In doing so he lost time and any hope of healing or raising the girl appeared lost. It seemed the deadline had been missed, but Jesus never wavered. He continued his mission and raised the girl from the dead.

It may seem in your life like God has missed the deadline. Something you felt needed to be done by a certain time hasn't materialised and you feel despair. Take heart, God never misses a deadline. He will always deliver according to his promise in just the right time.

Different approach

I've learned again recently that we need to be very careful about how we address conflict situations. I used to be like a bull in a china shop but I have tried over the last few years to take a softer approach. Unfortunately, I got lead astray by someone I thought I could trust and I got burned.

The bible says a soft answer turns away wrath and that really is true. The saddest part is that because of our electronic age, it is all to easy to rattle off your anger in an email and hit send before you have even had time to reflect on what you have written.

If you are upset with someone in your life, a friend, family member or even a colleague, rather set a coffee date to talk about your concerns face to face than to correspond via email. The personal touch is always the best.

If we were all robots

Have you ever thought to yourself, "life would be easier if were all just robots." I have a couple of times. You wouldn't have to stress about traffic because a robot feels no anxiety. You wouldn't have to worry about digesting food because a robot runs simply on a fuel source.

You wouldn't have you worry about where to sleep because a robot needs no warmth but simply to be shut down. You wouldn't have to stress about education because a robot is simply expected to produce what it is programmed to do and can do so instantly.

If we were all robots, yes there may be many areas of life we would not have to worry about, but we also would never experience the joy of being hugged and touched or feel the sun on our face or enjoy the sight of a beautiful rainbow.

Life can be hard, but along the way there are moments of great joy and pleasure. Don't waste energy trying to make life easier. Know that in all things God is at work in you so that one day we may all experience the great joy of God's eternal presence.

Have you got it covered?

It was very unsightly but unfortunately I had to live with it. Somehow when the builders built my unit they managed to put the trip switch box in skew, so it became far more noticeable than it should have been.

A tight budget didn't allow much room for decorating, however thanks to some help from my mom and a few friends, I finally have a beautiful fabric wall hanging to cover the abomination and it has brought a whole lot more softness into the room.

Are there some aspects in your life that are just so unsightly you can't bear to deal with them? Well I can tell you today that the word of God has a beautiful promise for us. Isaiah 1:18 tells us that though our sins were as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.

Through God's grace, when we accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour he cleanses us and covers our sin with his precious blood. When God sees us, He no longer sees our unsightly sin, but the precious blood of His Son.

[Special thanks to June (mom), Annatjie, Selma and Kobus for all your help!]

November's Citrine

November's gemstone, Citrine, is as warm as the sun. The name Citrine comes from an old French word, "citrin", meaning lemon. One of the more rare forms of quartz, this gemstone ranges in colour from the palest yellow to a dark amber named Madeira because of its resemblance to the red wine.

This rare gem became more popular during the Romantic Period, when artisans often favoured these warm coloured gems to enhance gold jewelry. Citrine, like all forms of quartz, was believed to have magical powers and was worn as a talisman against evil thoughts and snake venom.

The word of God is our rare gem and Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed, through the renewing of our minds. Why is this important? So that we can use the power of God's word to ward off mental attacks of the devil.

Not negotiable

It amazes me how some people have a really bad type of tunnel vision. The only viewpoint they can really see is their own. No matter how much you try to get them to see another view point, the more they stick to their own point and refuse to negotiate.

Then of course there is the other type of tunnel vision. A mind steadfast on a goal or dream that sticks to the plan no matter what the cost. These people give sacrificially to ensure that no matter how much they are hurt in the process the true greater good is served.

Jesus had the latter. From a very young age he was cognisant of his heavenly mission. The new his heavenly genealogy and knew the plan that would walk him to the cross. Jesus succeeded and today we share the benefit of an intimate relationship with God on a one on one basis because of his sacrifice.

What type of tunnel vision do you have?