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.