Entitlement happens when we’re all branches and no roots.

We are living in a society that wants more than it is willing to work for. We have an, ‘I want it all, and I want it now’ mentality. The reason why the world is so confused, is because we are made to believe that we can build our lives without working on a firm foundation. It’s all about perception and what things look like to the naked eye.

Obviously, foundations are not seen. So modern-day mentality would be, “Why waste time on something that can’t be seen, when all that matters is appearance?” When one looks at social media, there’s nothing there about the unseen. In fact, it’s all about appearances. If someone gets a lot of likes on a post, they must be cool. If someone has millions of followers, we admire them, even if we don’t know anything about what their foundation is like.

In the same way, we look at massive trees and admire what we see. The truth of the matter is, that if the unseen part of that tree hasn’t been well-developed over many years, what we see, wouldn’t be there. It’s time that we begin to focus more on the unseen, than what our eyes tend to tell us. The time has come, for us to be more concerned about the roots in our lives, than the branches.

“Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” (Matt 13:21)     If we become so focused on our appearance that we forget about what roots us, we will soon wither. It’s time for Christians to spend more time in The Word, than in the world. We need to spend more time in pray, than in frivolous chatter.

The fakeness of the masks we wear to impress others are temporary and there is no security to be found in it. However, the absolute truth we find in having Christ as the Cornerstone in our lives is undeniable. So, let’s start by building strong roots embedded in the heart of the Father. When that happens, our branches will reach into the heavens and proclaim His majesty forever.

Have a beautiful day.

H

In the movie ‘Troy’, Achilles tells King Agamemnon how he wishes for a king who would fight his own battles. In Jesus, we have a King who went a step further – He fought our war against sin, and walked out of the tomb, victorious.

You see, Jesus didn’t fight the battle for His own benefit, as all kings do. Jesus certainly didn’t die for His own benefit. He did it for one reason alone – Love. He fought the battle against sin on our behalf and He smashed it. The stone was rolled away, the tomb is empty, and we are victorious for a battle in which we never needed to fight. Never again, do we need to be chained by our past life. No more, does sin have a hold on us if we choose to honour the King who fought in our place.

The mention of Barabbas, a miserable sinner, being set free instead of Jesus, is our story. Every one of us is Barabbas. We have been smudged by sin; some more than others, but nobody is blemish-free.  When God saw the depth of sin that mankind had sunken into, He could have left us where we deserved to be left. But not our God. He chose to be Emmanuel. He chose to be with us in bodily form and hang on the cross in the place of Barabbas. He took our place! What other king would do that?

And because of that immeasurable love He has for us, we never again need to be afraid. Jesus has beaten death and has won the victory for once and for all. All we need to do, is to invite Him into our lives. He left the tomb empty, so that He can live in our hearts.

Have a wonderful day knowing that, never again, do you need to fear Satan or his lies. The battle has already been won. Live for Christ and experience the victory.

 

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon he said, “The Lord is with you mighty warrior.”

The measuring standard of the world is so out of whack. Those who focus on themselves and spend time building their own image are congratulated and celebrated.  People are being called heroes for doing the weirdest things, and as a result, others look for that same recognition and step out even further into the obscure. Recently, two relatively unknown characters decided to write a song, call it ‘Unholy’, and act it out on one of the most watched stages. They were called heroes!

The most dangerous place to find ourselves is when, to be accepted by the world, becomes the purpose of our existence. If we choose to find our identity in what the world thinks of us, we will end up living a lie for a world that doesn’t really give aa hoot about us.  If we want to find our identity, it can only be in God! We all want to be confident in this life. The only place we can find true confidence, is in God.

Gideon was a nobody in the eyes of the world. He never gained recognition amongst his peers. He wasn’t an important man. In fact, he came from the lowest family, from the lowest clan in the lowest tribe. In the eyes of the world, he was a nobody – a small scale farmer. Who the world considered to be a nobody, God called a mighty warrior. Gideon went from considering himself a ‘nobody’ to leading a nation into the most unlikely victory ever. He took 300 men, with no weapons, to defeat an army of 130 000 armed and trained men. Not because the world said he could do it, but because he chose to believe what God said about him.

When we put our trust in a steadfast God, instead of a wobbly world, we begin to see that we are undefeatable. Satan has already lost. God has already won. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is living in us and there should be nothing we fear. Because with God, we are always a majority even when it’s 300 against 130 000. There is no longer a need to fear when we put our faith and trust in Our Heavenly Father. John 1:12 tells us that if we receive Christ, we are given the right to be called children of God. And if Our Father is for us, who can be against us.

So, let’s accept that we are mighty warriors in Him. We don’t need the world’s approval to make ourselves feel loved. Christ died for us so that we might live. That is the ultimate proof of love. So, today, know that you are loved, not because of what the world says, but because of what Jesus has done on the cross. Be bold, be confident, be fearless and take on those giants you are facing. Because you are a Mighty Warrior.

Have an amazing day!

I was looking for a fuzzy quote about grace, but there’s nothing fuzzy about it. God’s grace, cost His Son, Jesus, His life. It meant that the King of the universe, stepped down from His throne, into a world that had no time for Him, and gave His life for every single person. The mind-blowing thing about grace, is that Jesus died for every single person who ever walked and will walk the face of this Earth. Even for a sorry little sinner like me.

My prayer of thanks rings up to heaven every single day. Not because I want to ask God for anything. But because God has already done everything for me… on the Cross. Why would God, who is Almighty and the Creator of all things, choose to die for me? There’s a single word that can sum it up – LOVE. I have a song in my heart that no man can silence, or no circumstance can mute. It’s a song of thanks to God. A song of thanks because there was a day in my past, when I realized I needed Him more than anything the world could offer. A day when I realized that I was lost.

And now that I know that I know that I am safe in His arms, it is impossible to be quiet. How can I keep it to myself what my Lord and Saviour has done for me on the cross? I have prayed before, that God would break my heart, for what breaks His. And I can tell you that my heart is shattered. When I look at the world and the hatred that is spewed out towards the very One who is stretching out His hands to all, it breaks my heart. When the world sets out to ‘downgrade’ God to a hateful bigamist, it breaks my heart.

I’m going to be blunt right now. There are so many of us who have things too easy. Our Christian walk doesn’t require faith because things are too comfortable. How willing will we be to stand up to the attacks of the world. Every day we see the church giving in to the wokeness surrounding it. In a world we have been called to be the light, we have chosen to join the darkness. It’s time for Christians to stand strong and to pray less for the things we would like – for selfish things – and pray more for a world that is hopelessly lost.

The world is not evil because of those who do wrong and don’t know better. It is evil because of those who know better yet do nothing to shine the light of God in a dark world. So, what will it be?

Slavery, as a practice, has long been abolished. But we continue to hang on to it in our own lives. Every day that I try to do things in my own strength, is a day lived in the shadow of fear. I’m not in control of the way the world is moving, so I fear. I don’t have complete control over my health, so I fear. I don’t have complete control over what others may think of me, so I fear. Why do we choose to be a slave to fear, when there’s another way?

You see, the opposite of fear is faith. I’m not sure about you, but I can’t see any hope when I look at the world from my own pedestal. From my vantage point everything is hopeless. But when I sit at the foot of the cross, everything changes. I get to see reality from God’s perspective. One that says, “Get out of the boat and trust me!” One that invites me onto the battlefield and tells me to face the giant because I already have the victory.

So, we can do one of two things: Live in fear of our future, or we can hand it all to God. The way I see it, is that I don’t have complete control over my physical health, but I do over my relationship with God. My spiritual health is in my hands. He has done everything for me, now I need to live for Him. I don’t need to worry about the future of the world. God has already won the battle and He will reign for eternity.  And I certainly don’t need to worry about what others think about me.  I know how God feels about me and that’s more than enough.

When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, he succeeded in not fearing the lions. And as a result, the lions feared him because he knew he was not alone. When we face challenges in this life, nothing can cause us to fear if our faith is firmly rooted in God. So, today I declare that fear has no place in my life because my life, is too full of faith.

Have a wonderful day.

The end of each night is greeted by the sun.

How amazing is Scripture. No matter how many times a person reads from God’s Word, new things are revealed. Maybe I’m just slow, but I saw, for the first time this morning, that Jesus was “…about  to pass by them…” in Mark 6:48. Now the disciples were in a boat on a stormy sea. On the other hand, Jesus was about to walk right past them. He was ‘okay’ to do that, knowing full well that their lives were in danger! Why would he do that to His closest followers?

One might argue that away, and say that it wasn’t meant to read like that. We would love to believe that Jesus would never do such a thing. However, the Greek word ‘thelo’ is used. That means he ‘chose’ or ‘willed’ to walk by. But why would He do that to someone He loves?  It’s exactly because He loved them, that He did it. God wants us to recognise who He is. We read in Mark, that even after Jesus fed the 5 000 with a miniscule amount of food, they didn’t really recognise Him as the Messiah. “Wow, how shallow of them!” we might be saying.

Don’t we tend to do the same. God does the most amazing things in our lives, yet we fail to see Him in it. The most incredible gift of salvation should be enough for us to praise Him no matter our circumstances. Yet, we freak out when the storms rage in our lives. We see ‘waves’ and ‘ghosts’ around us, but we don’t recognise our Saviour. Storms are good for us and God knows that. We experience difficulties for 2 reasons:

• It strengthens our faith and resolve
• If we truly trust God, it forces us to recognise Him in the midst of the storm

Maybe it’s time that we stop asking God to take away the dark clouds. Let’s rather recognise His Majesty in the darkest part of the storm. I would rather find myself in the middle of life’s hurricanes, knowing my God; than ; living in the sunshine without Him. Who knows, maybe our blessing are found in raindrops. Maybe our healing does come through tear. If that’s what it takes to know that God is near, I say, “Bring on the rain. I want to know Him more!”

Have a wonderful day in the rain, knowing God is near.

 

 

God made the universe big and man small, for a reason.

I try to listen to “How Great is our God” (International Version), by Chris Tomlin,  every morning. It’s an amazing song about just that – God’s greatness. And maybe we should all remind ourselves, on a regular basis, how small we are, and how great God is. Not to make ourselves feel useless, but the exact opposite. Because if such a great God chooses to love someone as small and insignificant as me, it should make me feel honoured, loved and blessed.

But you see, when we begin to focus on how great we are, we tend to diminish God’s greatness. There’s a reason why there is such chaos in the world today. Society chooses to believe that mankind is great and that we can decide who God is and we begin to mould Him in our likeness. Some clergy have even decided that they will not be calling God, “Our Father” anymore, because it’s sexist. Are we serious. Is this the level that mankind (and I’d probably be stoned for not saying humankind) has stooped to.

How dare we mould God the way we want Him to be? It is unfathomable that small humans want to put the God of the universe in a box, and decide who or what He should be. It’s time we remember our place. And until we do that, the world will continue to fall into a black hole of despair and hopelessness. But even if those of us who know our place in God, are living in this dark world, we have the King of the World to lead us. We know that we don’t need to make ourselves great, because we know exactly who we are in Christ – there’s nothing to prove.

God is great and there’s nothing the world tries to do, that will change that. Mankind can never take His place. And there is a day coming, as sure as what you are reading this, that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, that He is Lord. And no warped idea that society might present about God, will change that. What a day that will be – when everyone will recognise His greatness.

Have a blessed day.

God wants to lighten our burden. But He wants us to trust Him to do so, even when things look bleak. Nothing can lighten that burden, even when we have to carry it, but Him. 

We so often want to serve God because of what He can do for us. But you see, if that is our motive, then we might as well not follow Him at all. It’s not about what we want God to do for us, but about what He has already done on the cross. It blows my mind that we can sometimes be so arrogant, that we want to tell Him what He should and shouldn’t do. The one and only motive behind worshiping God, should simply be because we love Him. And there are so many reasons why we should love Him.

When we think of that word LOVE, it can conjure up so many things. That’s why our love for God needs to be Agape love. Because if it isn’t, it is not the love that God deserves. Agape love is sacrificial. In the same way that Jesus was sacrificed for us, in the same way we should sacrifice ourselves for Him. It wasn’t fun for Jesus to go through what He did, but He chose to do it anyway.  Following Christ has become something we do, only when our church pews are warm and our coffee is tasty. Following Christ should happen even when it seems as if our world is falling apart around us. It is a choice in spite of our circumstances.

And in this world, we will have trouble. Any Christian that tells you your life will be a bed of roses when you invite Jesus in, is preaching an untrue word. In fact, choosing to follow God and to love Him unconditionally, is extremely challenging. Sometimes our world might be giving way under our feet,  and our  dreams and plans might be crumbling into the sea. Even when that happens we can know that God will always be there for us. When we love God, unconditionally, with an agape love, He might not remove our struggles, but He will strengthen us to keep going.

So, today, if you are feeling weak and heavy laden, why not come to the foot of the cross. God wants you and I to call on Him in our time of need. And if we do, He will carry us. I have tried everything in this world to alleviate pain and struggles. But there is only one place in which my soul finds rest. It is in God alone! He alone is my Rock. And in Him I have never, and will never be shaken.

A great place to start when we are spiritually stuck, is to look up.

This morning, as Bev and I were having our morning coffee at Vida e, we noticed a pigeon stuck between a massive glass pane, and a cement ledge that was about 4 feet high. All it had to do was to look up. If it did, it would have realised it wasn’t really stuck. It simply needed to fly up and out.

I’m not sure about you, but I’ve had ample times when I had to remind myself that I’m stuck because I choose to look in the wrong direction. I try to find self-help books and advice from others to get me out of the mud in my life, but I only sink deeper. And in the process, fling mud in all directions. I must admit, this morning when I saw that bird, I thought, “How stupid can one creature be?” Come to think of it, that creature is me.

God has proven His love for me through and through, yet I try to find my identity in things of this world. He has provided in miraculous ways on more occasions than I can remember, yet I continue to live in doubt. That simple lesson of a stuck bird reminded me once again, to stop getting stuck in the mud of this world, and to go back to the very source of life – the One and only true God.

Instead of reading books about the Bible, why don’t we choose to get first-hand knowledge by reading it ourselves? Instead of expecting a church and a pastor to guide me in my Christian walk, why don’t I go to the very One who it’s all about – Jesus Christ? Instead of depending on mere mortals for help, why don’t I simply go to the Father whose arms are welcoming us home.

I look up to the mountains, (books, people and my own strength). Where does my help come from? Does it come from (any of these things) the mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, earth and the mountains.

Instead of getting stuck in our own issues, why don’t we get stuck into Godly issues and become His hands and feet in a broken world. Who’s with me?