Library search

Nelspruit was a beautiful town to grow up in. I remember to town library was especially beautiful. We spent many hours finding reading books and getting information from encyclopedia's for assignments...... Well that was in the days before computers.

Today, there isn't a single subject that you cannot Google and find information on. Yet with all this information, our search for God has never been more difficult.

Sure you can download bibles and study materials, but you cannot "download" God. that's because our search for him must be done with heart and soul. A mere mental knowledge of God does not build faith and trust. It is only when he has answered our secret prayers, that the reality of our relationship with him sinks in.

Will you open your heart to God today?

Flu bug

So I have the flu. How does that fit into your faith walk Christian? Well to me it's a reminder of the events that took place in the garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve's daily walk was in the direct, full presence of God. They however chose to disobey God's command and not only lost his presence but allowed the presence of evil to become a daily part of their life.

Well now I have a choice. I can be angry at my situation, or I can thank God for modern science that there are medications that can help control the symptoms. I know taking medicine is against some people's faith. The way that I see it, is that it is a gift of God to help me.

I thank God that he gave scientists the knowledge to create medicine and I thank God that as I rest in him, his Holy Spirit will work in me to bring healing.

Reminded....

Have you ever given someone advice and then some time later had somebody give you exactly the same advice about a situation in your own life? Well that's what happened to me today.

So often we go from one person to the next trying to look for advice, when all along the solution to our problem resides with in us. How is this possible?

Well when Jesus was getting ready to leave the disciples, he told them that He would send the Holy Spirit to us and that he would be our councellor, comforter and helper.

Next time you are in a bind, ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and guide you. If you quite yourself, you will soon hear his gentle voice speaking to you and showing you the way.

Hang on baby!

They say that even at birth, a baby has enough strength in their grip to be hung by the hands from a pole. It seems this clinging ability is our first primal survival instinct.

I've heard some people say that Christianity is just a crutch. I beg to differ. If God has given us this clinging instinct from birth then surely as there are things we must cling to.

Things I am clinging to:
The promises of God are Yes and Amen!
The knowledge of our Salvation!
The love of God as our comfort!
The fellowship of the Holy Spirit!
The truth of his word!
Christ's victory over sin!

Yes, I there are definitely things we should cling to! ;-)

Thank you for caring

It is amazing how good it can feel when someone goes out of their way just to ask how you are coping with a particular problem. It is as if in that moment, the world gets lifted off your shoulders, just because someone showed you a moments care.

Caring can and should form the basis of the sharing of our faith with others. St Francis of Assisi is well known for his saying that at all times we should preach the Gospel and if necessary...... Use words.

The way we are able to care for the people God loves is the greatest testimony we can have to fact of of our love for and relationship with Christ.

What a day!

Today has turned into a day from Hell. Does it happen to you that when things go wrong they just go wrong in a number of ways at once? Well that's been my day so far.

Ironically I've been drawing strength from a devotional I subscribed to and it is being a real blessing. I suppose the moral of this story is that even the encourager needs some encouraging from time to time. You also can't give out what you are not getting in. If you do you will burn out.

Think of the people in your life that have blessed you spiritually in the last six months.
Lift them up in prayer and God lays it on your heart to so, send them some words of encouragement as well. They will be grateful that you did and it will be a wonderful way for you sew seed in someone else's life.

House keeping time

I just spent the day with my domestic worker training her on house cleaning. Wow, the house smells great and you can feel that it is clean. There is also something so therapeutic about cleaning.

You may even get brave enough to throw out a few thing that need to go and find new uses for items that have been hanging around idle.

Our spiritual lives can get like that too. We occasionally just need to be ruthless and get rid of bad habits, let go of old hurts or deal with painful set backs.

I'd like to challenge you to a little house cleaning of your own. You may be surprised at how good it feels when you are done.