Archive for the ‘Christian Living’ Category
The Great Exchange
You may have heard about the Great Escape
but …
Have you heard about the Great Exchange?
This Great Exchange happened over 2000 years ago
Really?
Yes.
What’s it all about?
Jesus came to exchange:
Darkness for Light
Sorrow for Joy
Mourning for Dancing
Death for Abundant life
Sickness for Health
Heaviness for Relief
The good news is …
it is all for free,
you don’t have to pay a dime.
God in His love has paid it all
But …
He cannot do it by Himself
He would not force you
He wants you to ask Him to.
It’s a choice you must make.
YOU MUST PLAY YOUR PART.
To receive it
Say Yes, Lord
to all of the above
and
Sing-a-long to this song too.
What are you holding onto?
Why don’t you trade your stuff for His good stuff?
He is waiting on you.
Do it and be blessed
Fellowship … with Him and Others
What is fellowship?
Friendship, intimacy and a sense of belonging.
Being in the same ‘ship’ with other ‘fellows’ and sharing their experiences.
Why is it important?
Togetherness gives strength and direction
and that is what the Church is for.
As you enter His courts with praise
You will be blessed and strengthened, experience His presence and learn more of His love.
You will also realize that you are not alone … there are others in the same boat.
So … let this song bless you and don’t give up on fellowshipping.
Be blessed
Seasons of Life
Life is not meant to be monotonous.
Remember …
There is a time for everything.
As seasons change,
use your time wisely
and …
Be blessed
Basic Christianity
It seems lots of people think Christianity is something complex and spooky … I beg to differ.
Love is at the heart of Christianity and to walk with God all you have to do is: ‘Trust‘ and ‘Obey‘ Him.
Is that it? Yes it is, but it’s worth clarifying what these words mean … and I will do just that after this song.
Trust
Trust is the reliance on the integrity, strength and ability of a person or thing, in this case God.
Trust in God = Faith.
Would you step into an elevator that looks like a death trap or sit on a chair that looks like it will collapse under your weight? I don’t think so! Why? Because you have no faith or trust in their ability to ‘deliver’.
Think about the relationship you have with your spouse, children, parents and friends: is trust important? Absolutely. Why? Because without trust there can be no long term (eternal) relationship.
It’s no different in your relationship with God. God, as a Father, expects you to believe in Him and His ability to take care of your needs.
God Himself says that without faith you cannot please Him. Why? because you will not obey Him … it’s difficult to willingly obey someone you do not trust and, as we will discuss later, obedience is extremely important to God.
How can I trust God more or get faith? By:
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spending time in his Word,
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talking to other faith filled Christians, and
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consulting Him in all your decisions.
Your faith will increase after you see examples in the Bible and hear testimonies that reveal God’s love, goodness and faithfulness.
Obey
To obey someone is to comply with or follow their commands, restrictions, wishes and instructions.
Obedience to God = Love and Trust
Having faith in someone’s ability or judgement, makes its relatively easy to obey them. Loving them makes you obey them wholeheartedly … and that’s where God wants us to be.
Why is obedience important?
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It shows that you love Him … and He wants your love.
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He prefers obedience to your offerings and sacrifices.
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Obedience means He is your Lord.
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He has made it easy to obey His commands
Thankful hearts are obedient hearts and that is all God wants from you. If you believe God has been good to you, the least you can do is to obey Him.
There is a lot more to Christianity but to live a truly victorious life in Christ … you can keep it simple.
Just trust and obey Him in everything.
Be blessed.
Do you Say what you See?
Think you are good at accurately reporting what you see?
Try doing this.
Source unknown
What did I learn from this?
To be careful about what I repeat to others.
Why?
Because it’s easy to misrepresent something and not even know it.
Always think carefully about what you want to say. You can easily see one thing and say another.
There is an old Chinese saying: ‘Before you open mouth, engage brain’ ... that’s so true in this case.
Be blessed
Who is leading you?
Who is your guide?
Everybody has a guide of some sorts and it’s important to figure out who really is shaping how you view the world and more importantly how you approach your future? Is it:
- your parents?
- a politician?
- a celibrity?
- a radio or TV personality?
- a pastor?
- a loved one?
- ???? … fill in the blanks.
I used to have multiple influences but quickly found out that they knew no more about the future than I did. There were a lot of ‘talking heads’ and in many instances, I had a clearer picture of what was to come than they did.
That begun my quest to find a true guide and I found that in Christ.
Why Christ and not anyone else?
Well, I found out that He knew all my days and more importantly that He has good plans for me. I also discovered He was the only one who could meet all my needs.
I therefore asked Him to be my vision.
What does that mean? This song gives you an idea.
It means trusting Him and asking Him to order your steps. There are a lot of decisions you will make and so long as you put Him first, you can be sure that He will always be with you.
He actually left His Holy Spirit to guide you in all aspects of your life … just to make sure you know He is with you.
It’s a wonderful journey of faith. You have to step out and it’s only then you will experience it.
Try it … you’ll like it.
Be blessed
What’s Heaven Like?
Ever thought about what it would be like in Heaven? I’ve tried and just can’t imagine its’ awesomeness.
The ‘precious’ things we value here on earth (gold, diamonds) are ‘worthless’ in Heaven, because its’ walls and streets are made of these things. God’s presence is the most valuable thing and fills the entire place. In Heaven there is also fulness of joy and no evil.
This song tells you something about Heaven … listen up!
Our mandate from God is to replicate this awesome place here on earth. We are to be His ambassadors‘ on earth and help people know more about the workings (rules and laws) of His Kingdom. We are to help people value the right things and worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
How are we to do this? Through His Spirits’ guidance and His fruit.
Where are we to do this? Throughout the entire world.
Who is to do this? You and me = the Church.
It’s all about the Kingdom and once people meet us, they should get a ‘taste of Heaven’ since we have Gods’ presence, His Son, His Spirit and His Word.
Now, lets talk about you: Are you creating ‘Heaven on Earth’? Are you extending the influence of His Kingdom? Are you representing Him properly in all your dealings?
This is something you cannot do without the help of the Spirit and His fruit. We are to do it the Holy Spirits’ way. When you try and do things by yourself, you end up misrepresenting God and, guess what, the people you aim to influence will hate God because of you.
To be a successful Christian and excellent ambassador, you need to be full of the Spirit. It is only with His enablement that the Church will be known as a place of love, joy, peace and abundant life.
Are you ready to lean on Him?
Do so and be blessed
What Jesus thought
Ever wondered how Jesus thought about His life and future?
There must have been many things on His mind and this song captures the essence of what He must have been thinking when he was here on earth.
If you were to write a song about your life, what would it be? Do you think about why you are here on this earth? Do you actually know why you are here?
The ‘why’ is important.
The ‘why’ explains where you were born, your race, your abilities, your personality and many other things. Everything, including the circumstances of your birth, has a purpose and if you do now know this, you will abuse yourself by wasting time, despising yourself and not fulfilling potential. The ‘why’ also helps you persevere and forgive just like Jesus did when He endured the cross.
God has a purpose for you and Psalm 139 captures this perfectly, especially in verse 16. Ask Him to reveal what your purpose is and He will gladly do so.
You will then be able to carry your own cross and live a focussed and maximized life.
Be blessed.
Be Bold!
Is something making you afraid? Maybe you have to make a presentation to your boss, ask ’someone special’ out on a date or have a legal battle ahead of you?
Whatever it is, fear and anxiety are not always bad because they are natural emotional responses to threats and danger. Like with most things, so long as you are in control instead of being controlled, it can turn out to be something positive. It becomes a problem when you allow it to paralyze you and stop you from becoming all that you ought to be.
The emphasis is on YOU because YOU have to confront fear and anxiety and move in the direction that gives victory. This requires boldness, which is a willingness to get things done despite the risks you may face.
Listen to these little kids sing about why you ought to be bold and strong.
Be bold because God is with you. Christians are blessed because we have God Himself promising to help us when afraid. Whenever fear creeps in, we need to ask ourselves if we are walking in faith and have a victorious mindset? If not, then we need to spend more time in God’s word and learn about His promises.
Listed below are just a few of His awesome promises:
The Bible is full of many more such promises and knowing and acting on them should give you the confidence to pursue your goals. You have a choice – either believe God and His word or forget about Him (and all the other promises He has for you). Choose to believe and fill your mind with His promises!
Afraid? … feel the fear and ‘do it afraid’!
Be blessed.
Father’s Love Letter
I’ll let my words be few … Enjoy!
Be blessed
