He ain't heavy, he's my brother...

Thinking of the words of this lovely song has helped me realised something that I must confess that I have failed to do several times over and most probably more out of ignorance and fear than purposefully.  What do you do when someone you know, a beloved brother/ sister in Christ or a family member or friend falls into sin?  What if it is so bad that they are living in it and appear to have given up on God?  What if you were the only one that knew?


Sometimes it is the most critical of us that ends up stumbling.  However Galatians 6:1-9 provides some pointers on this and funnily it is not addressed at fallen brother/sister as you might expect rather it is addressed at their restoration not the person.  Further it is directed at you and I (by this I mean we who have discovered such an issue with a brother/ sister).  It reads as follows:  "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. ² Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ³ If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. ⁴ Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, ⁵ for each one should carry their own load. ⁶ Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

 ⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Therefore in response to Galatians 6 there are a couple of things we need to know about...


... the stumbling believer...
After we are saved we are not free from the pitfalls of sin. 1 John1:8 says if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Verse 10 states that if we claim we have not sinned we make him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.  James 3:2 reminds us that we all stumble in many ways.  If believers did not sin then the New Testament would be irrelevant.  The Devil goes about seeking who he may devour.  Sin is like a trap once you get in and not careful it entraps you and further consumes you.  Nobody gets up in the morning and decides to go out and lose their integrity on purpose.  So if you know of someone that has been caught up in a trespass, look to do what Jesus did with the woman that was brought to Him "caught in the very act" by restoring gently.


...the spiritual believer...
Verse 1 also refers to "you who live by the Spirit" - a believer living by the Spirit will exhibit some characteristics that will enable them (you and I) to be able restore our beloved brother/ sister.  Galatians 5:22, 23 addressed this earlier.  The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Being aware of the particular issue means that we have a responsibility to that person.  We are not to stand aside with a pretext and not get involved.  A classic modern day Christian (also something that I had sadly observed in myself) will respond with an attitude of "it is not my business" or to look at them and despise or condemn them in our hearts; and when they suffer for it say it serves them right or wish them bad.  These are wrong attitudes!  Neither are we to report them to the minister or church leadership or gossip about them or tell it to another Christian (often with the pretext of telling them so as to put it in prayer).  No we are to restore them gently and help them back onto the right path.


...the aim of restoration...
That is to restore in the spirit of gentleness.  This means that we are not to exploit the fallen brother, look down on them or bear judgement against them rather we should have tears running down our face understanding the heart of our Heavenly Father that does not want to see any of us fall away.  Tell him his fault face to face and privately. We are not aggravate his/ her grief, do not scold or condemn him/her instead lift him up and gently restore his faith, run up to him, reach out your hand and comfort him with the gospel and embrace him like a mother would a child.  Think of the joy of the father when his prodigal son returned home (Luke 15).  Think also towards the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd leaves the 99 and risks himself to find the lost one and in the same way he rejoices on finding his lost sheep so heaven rejoices (Luke 15 1-7).  So as someone of whom a fellow believer's condition has been brought to your attention think of yourself as an instrument to be used by the Lord in restoring that brother back but in order to qualify as being such an instrument you yourself must be spiritual.  This is because you will be risking yourself to help pull out your fallen brother.  Romans 15:1 states that we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. We also ought to warn those that are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak and be patient with everyone (1 Thessalonians 5:14).  We also need to look into your own life too and we will touch on that in following paragraph.



... the attitude of restoration...
Watching ourselves and being careful not to please ourselves in the restoration process is extremely important.  We need to restore back our brother in consideration for ourselves lest we fall into the same temptation as we are putting ourselves at risk of it. Verse 3 in the Galatians text tells us not to think we are something when we are nothing.  1 Corinthians 10:12,13 also tells us to watch out if we think we are standing firm but also reminds us that no temptation or trial has seized us except what is common to man.  God being faithful will never let us be tempted or tried beyond what we can bear rather He has provided a way out of every temptation or trial that we face such that we can bear it.  Everybody is tempted, it is not a sin to be tempted but a sin to be yield to it. What comfort knowing though that when it comes God has provided a way out such that we do not need to yield to it. Thus in restoration we need to be careful if we think we are standing firm.  Do you know that it is when you think you could never do something that is when you open yourself up to the possibility of it?  Take for example Peter (Matthew 26:33-35) that was declaring his solidarity for Christ and ended up denying him three times that very night.  This is how the enemy works, he picks up on these things and works to make us unworthy servants of Christ and tries to instill a spirit that will make us give up and continue to dwell in sin. So in that light when you see a brother that has fallen, remember but for the grace of God that could be you.  In our  reaction we have the potential to break anybody's heart and the heart of God thus we should be vigilant and put on the whole armour of God.


...bearing one another's burdens...
 Verse 2 in Galatians 6 tells us to bear one another's burdens so as to fulfill the law of Christ.  Bearing a fallen brother's burden will relieve them of it.  The new testament shows how to be towards each other as believers by commanding one another, praying, loving, edifying, being hospitable and bearing each other's burdens.  However we also come across other verses in the scripture that asks us to cast our burdens upon the Lord such as Psalm 55:22 and 1Peter 5:7.  God does His work through people and we are doing God's work.  To do so in fulfilling the law of Christ would mean doing so in love. John 13:34 states " a new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another"  Galatians 5:14 confirms this by stating that the entire law is summed up in a single command of "love your neighbour as yourself".  if you love your neighbour as yourself you don't steal from him, betray him, gossip about him etc...   Further we should not think that we are above carrying people's burdens.  We should rather have genuine concern looking back to verse 3 how can you think yourself  something when you are not abiding in the law of Christ? We ought to test our actions verse 4 and check that we are not doing what we do out of selfish motives but does not mean taking it fully upon ourselves as verse 5 states that each should carry his own load.  Rather we are relieving the brother and helping them to gently restore their faith.
 Bearing each other's burdens is not easy and in every situation there is something we can do and it can help to focus on what we can do rather than what we can't do.  Prayerfully consider what you can do in each situation and approach sensitively.  Most importantly do not shoot the wounded because you can assured that the brother that has fallen into sin is hurting and most probably feels more at home in the dark places or with unbelievers due to the judgmental attitudes shown to them in church or among believers.  Remember God welcomes home anyone who would have Him.

Prayer

Mighty God thank you for the unbelievable love and care that you have for us.  Thank you that you do not turn us away as you are a faithful and loving father.  Forgive us for breaking hearts knowingly or unknowingly and help us to realise when we are doing this such that we do not turn a hurting brother or sister away.  Give us  a heart of love to welcome them back with open arms.  Teach us patience, humility, self-control and equip us with all the traits that we require in order to carry the burdens of a falling brother such that he may be fully restored and that we might rejoice with Heaven for the return of your children.  Help is oh Lord that we do not yield to temptation in the process.  We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who died to set us free from the burden of sin.  Amen

With love...

Victor or victim... do you even know you are in a battle?

Today is remembrance Sunday and it makes me consider what it must have been like for those soldiers at war and how the outcome has led to the world in which we live in today.  In partcular recent wars and the terrorism of late. Spiritual warfare is kind of like terrorism because the demons that come to challenge us in their faith are not visible. We do not know who they are and how they come into our lives.  The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that we need to be aware that we are in a spiritual battle.  Further in 1Timothy 4:1 Paul states that The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.  In the Art of War (Sun Tzu), third chapter and 18th principle, states that-  “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you do not need to fear the result of a hundred battles.  If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.  If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” For this reason let’s talk about Satan because if we do not know our enemy we do not have much of a chance to be victorious over our enemy. 

Looking beyond people...

Our enemies are not human. We must see beyond the people attacking us.  Satan may use people to persecute us, use them to lie to us, cheat us or even kill us but our real enemy operates in an unseen world moving people like pawns on a chess board. So as long as we see people as enemies and wrestle against them we are spending our time in vain. When you focus on the people you lose sight of where the battle is being fought and if you continue to do that you will continue to lose the battle.
Dr David Jeremiah (Turning Points) highlights some verbs used in the Bible to describe the activities of Satan.  Satan beguiles, he seduces, he opposes, he deceives, he sows terror, he buffets,  he resists, he hinders, he tempts, he blasphemes and a whole lot more activities that are deceitful, divisive and destructive. Satan's activities are aimed at diminishing and defacing the glory of God; and the effectiveness of God's people.  So many of us today are being victimised by Satan's activities unaware that it is happening but aware that something is wrong.

Know your enemy...

Being aware of Satan as your enemy requires you knowing some key things about him to eneble you to fight against him:

• He is the father of lies (John 8:44), the great deceiver Revelations 12:9 states that he is the one who deceives the whole world.  Have you found yourself or others lying easily and even conversant in lies?  Such is the enemy he is constantly counterfeiting and camouflaging truths.  He imitates the work of God and doing so effectively as he is the great deceiver.

• His purpose is to divide and conquer.  When he was cast out of Heaven he divided the angels and took a third of them with him.  Several examples exist in the Bible of his divisive methods such as the instigation of the division between Cain and Abel,  Making Annanias choose between God and money.  In today’s world churches go through splits because he goes to church and he loves to divide the people of God.  If you find yourself in a relationship breakdown, step out of petty differences so that you do not play into his hands.  He uses the tongue of God’s people to poison the atmosphere of churches, work places, families and communities.  He has no concept of unity and his whole strategy is division.

• He is a great destroyer - in Revelations 9:11 both words Abbaddon and Appolyon mean destroyer.  In his attempt to destroy God’s work in the universe he will do anything to delay and demolish it.  To look at this further my brother once shared with me from his life application Bible to recognise that when God calls you to do something the devil usually steps in to make you firstly doubt God’s word, if you have cleared your doubts and accept what God was asking you to do then he brings in discouragement thereby making you think you cannot do it or are not good enough or fit for it.  After that he tries to distract or divert you to take you away from doing it, when you get over distraction & diversion he brings in a sense of defeat making you feel there is no point in doing the work then make you delay or procrastinate.  So you see he will do anything to destroy the work or direction that God has placed in your hands so do not look to your needs but look to obey the word of God and trust that when you seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness EVERYTHING else will be added onto you (Matthew 6:33) as God knows your needs even before you have asked it.

He has a plan for our life and that is to destroy us and our influence for God. For example when you hear of church leadership or fellow Christians caught up in immorality why do you think that is?  No one wakes up with a purpose to hurt their loved ones and destroy their family or communities they have built.  We can review what to do in such a situation in the next article.  However in answer to the preceding question Satan does so such that their influence is diminished and through that, dishonour God.  We need to pray that he has no influence on our lives because he comes to deceive, divide and destroy.

Know Satan’s strategies...

We need to know Satan’s strategies so that we do not lose any battles.  Some of his strategies include:

Indifference – a ruse he uses to make us think that he does not exist, that he is just a figment of older active imagination of dreamers, schemers, Hollywood writers...anyting but reality.  If he does not exist then we have no obligation to resist him or hold him accountable.  It is a great strategy for any enemy to convince the opponent that you are not real making the rival believe that you are incapable of bringing him any harm.  You see Satan can keep himself invisible because firstly he is a spirit being, secondly he clothes himself in the images of this world such as art, literarture, television programmes, education and entertainment.  2 Corinthians 11:14 tells us that he disguises himself as an angel of light. So just because we do not see him does not mean the effect of him and his demons are not present because they are. 1 John 5:19 reminds us that he has the world under his control and 1 Peter 5:8 states we need to be self controlled and alert as he prowls around looking for someone to devour.  If he goes to and fro (Job 1:7) about the earth looking for one to devour ask yourself how many times has he passed near you?  We battle against so many things that include principalities, powers, rulers etc... (Ephesians 6:12) it’s like swimming upstream against the tide and we can easily fall into his trap of indifference – which takes me to my first challenge on this article:

{Do you see the earth as a battleground (BG) or a playground (PG)?} and by this I mean: Are you fighting (BG) or frolicking (PG)?  Do you wake up everyday with the realisation that you are living in foreign land (BG) or are you at home on the earth (PG)? Do you live with expectation of eternity with God (BG) or is life as you want it now with little thought for the future (PG)? 

Do not lose sight of the fact that we are in a war and become indifferent to the enemy that is organised to the hilt and his demons cover the earth with their presence.

Another strategy he uses is ignorance – in Hosea 4:6 God says that my people perish for lack of knowledge.   He depends on our ignorance of his strategies – what goes on between heaven and earth for e.g. Daniel’s answer is a good indicator of this whereby the answer to Daniels prayers was delayed because the spiritual realm the archangel Michael was had to fight the enemy to come to him.  We do not know how he goes about his work due to a world we cannot see and he is effective because we are ignorant of how he works.

Satan also works by also infiltrating our lives.. Ephesians 4:27 warns us as children of light not to give the devil a foothold.  We give him a foothold by allowing things in our lives that should never be allowed even through the front door of our homes or our hearts.  Proverbs 6:27 states that can a man scoop fire upon his lap and his clothing not be scorched?  Your thought life, lifestyle choices, harbouring of sin, dabbling in dark practices such as astrology, fortune telling the odd lie here and there and guess what?  We wonder why we get burned!  Truth is none of us will wake up in the morning and decide we are going to hurt someone, particularly or dearly loved ones but have you found yourself consumed by a particular sin or situation that has left you wondering how did you get here and how did you wind up this way?  We have a ruthless enemy that opposes us and if we leave the devil with so much as a small nail in our house (life) he will return to hang his rotten garbage on it making it unfit for habitation.  So do not leave the door to your heart open-  Proverbs 4:23 warns us to guard our hearts above all else for it is well spring of life, everything we do flows from it.  So do not excuse or rationalise any failure to obey God in your life.  When it occurs confess it immediately and cleanse your own heart from sin by going to the Lord Jesus Christ and remember greater is He that is in you.

Intervention – is described in the dictionary as the interference of a state in the affairs of another state in order to compel it to do something that alters its condition.  Satan loves to interfere and does this with subtlety in the lives of Christians to make them do his will rather than that of God’s – by this he keeps God’s people so busy with the things of this world that they have no time to devote to their spiritual lives.  He discourages and defeats Christians from doing this by for example:
1.       Keeping us busy with nonessentials
2.       Tempting us to overspend and go into debt
3.       Making us work long hours to maintain empty lifestyles
4.       Discouraging us from spending family times for when homes disintegrate there is no refuge from work
5.       Over stimulating our minds with television and computers so we cannot hear God speaking to us
6.       Filling our coffee tables & bedside tables with newspapers & magazines so we’ve no time to read the Bible
7.       Flooding our mail with sweepstakes & promotion & get rich quick schemes to keep us chasing material things
8.       Putting glamorous models on TV & on magazine covers to keep us focused on outward appearenace that way we‘ll be dissatisfied with ourselves and our partners
9.       Making sure couples are too exhausted for physical intimacy that way we’ll be tempted to look elsewhere
10.   Emphasising Santa and the Easter bunny in order to divert us from the real meaning of these festivals.
11.   Involving us in good causes so we won’t have time for eternal causes
12.   Making us self-sufficient, keeping us busy working in our own strength so that we’ll never know the joy of God’s power working through us.

Dr David Jeremiah states  "have you figured out the difference between being busy and being successful in what God has called you to do?  Sometimes being BUSY is Being Under Satan’s Yoke!" 
If Satan can encourage us to get our lives so full of other things that we have no time for God, the ultimate end of it will not be fruitful.

Intimidation is also a strategy that he uses by making us afraid of him.  He is NOT the opposite of God.  His most likely opposite is the archangel Michael because he is a creature created by God and he is not in the same universe with the creator.  He cannot defeat us if we walk in the Spirit.  We need to respect him but not be afraid of him.  Albert Moller wrote “ We should respect the power of the devil & his demons but never fear them.  We do not need a rite of exorcism only the name of Jesus.  We are not given a priesthood of exorcists for every believer is armed with the full promise of the Gospel, united with Christ by faith and indwelt by the Holy Spirit… Everytime a believer shares the Gospel and declares the name of Jesus, the demons and the devil lose their power”.  Satan does not have freedom to do anything he wants – he is like a dog on a leash.  He cannot go beyond anything that God will allow him to do.  You need to be prepared for him, not be afraid of him. God only allows such freedom to Satan to help us learn to depend on Him (God) for victory in our lives 1John 3:8 sums it like this "The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work."

We need to be aware that we are on a battleground on this earth and 1 Corinthians 10:13 summarises this by reminding us that "No temptation or testing has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted or tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted  or tested, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."  So whatever you are facing today by the way of sin, trials, temptation, attacks and the likes remember who to call upon and exercise patience in all these things such that as you journey through the Refiner's fine you can come forth as gold and a true reflection of God's image.


Prayer
Thank you Father for the love you have for me.  You sent your son to die on the cross to free me from being a slave to sin but instead an heir of salvation. By this you have also given me the authority to trample upon Satan, his demons and overcome his devices through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I therefore ask oh Lord that you forgive me where I have failed you and help me work on my fleshly desires and rebuke the enemy from all aspects of my life in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus I am a victor and not a victim! Amen.

With love...

SIGNS THAT HE LOVES ME... a letter to a friend

I thought I should share this with you following our conversation the other day. I wrote this a while ago in my notebook. I had been asking God how do I know if he is the one? I know that a lot of people look at me funny and some have even called me names that I dare not mention but I have dedicated my heart to God (that is not to say it has been easy for me – rather it has been even harder because I have been rebuked a lot of times and I am sure some people have been rebuked away from me too!). Part of this is going into an article I am writing called Bride of Christ. This is not because I am in anyway an expert, God knows that I lack experience so you may find this laughable and naïve – just consider this as me sharing my thoughts and we can raise a debate in hope that we can explore it together and God’s revelation shines through.

You see Jesus analogised His relationship with the church as a bride & bridegroom and as the head & the body. If we take a hint from this analogy a woman, can recognise (and in my case I have now learnt how to recognise almost instantly – will explain) a man’s intention when he approaches her. It is important we are able to discern these things otherwise we end up hurt, bruised and broken and we ask God ‘why?’. This is why I feel that women could challenge themselves with the following:

So what are the signs that he loves you?
1) We love Him because He first loved us (1John 4:19): He is a gentle spirit and does not force us on Himself. He has lovingly called us and was made His love available and vulnerable to us and some of us still reject Him. Yet He is ever hopeful, patient and kind.
2) God so loved the world that He gave: God is generous towards us. I am not talking about being materialistic – God showed His love to us by giving.
3) He gave up His life to make the church (You) holy and clean: God’s intention for our lives is to make us holy and clean.
4) No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it: God has equipped us and made available all gifts we need – spiritually, emotionally and physically
5) He loves the church (You) sacrificially: Jesus gave Himself for the church.
6) He is her (the church) priest, provider, lover and friend: Jesus is the high priest, our provider, lover and friend.
7) He protects her, cares for her and covers her: Look at what Boaz did for Ruth, he cared for her integrity (Ruth 3:13-15)
8) He found you first: who came to the church first? I believe this means that as a woman you should never seek a man’s attention – let him find you and in the meanwhile you focus on being about your business. E.g. We all know Jacob loved Rachael so much that he worked 14 years for her! Genesis 29:9-11 Rachael was minding her father’s sheep when Jacob saw her. In this same manner we should be about our Father’s business, focusing on what He has called us to do – be it in church, at work etc.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 says love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
As a result here are some challenges you should consider when you are in or about to embark on a relationship as we need our relationship to be in God.

1) Is he self-made or yielded to the Lord?
2) Does he possess character, integrity, wisdom & compassion?
3) How is his relationship with his family & friends? [Questions 1, 2 and 3 refer to the fact that he will lead your house - do you trust him in this position?]
4) Are your goals complementary?, Do you share the same ethics? [Bible says (Amos 3:3) Can two walk together unless they are agreed?]
5) Can you live with the flaws? [Remember that the marriage vows state ‘Speak now or forever hold your peace’! – if you cannot deal with these now what makes you think that you can live with it in a committed relationship?]
6) Is the relationship too costly spiritually, emotionally and physically? [What are your true priorities? Are you following God’s will or trying to force God’s will to be your own desire? James 1:5 says that if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault so you can seek God’s will on the matter and remember do not doubt when you seek Him, verse 6, as it will only lead to confusion.]
7) Or is it making you a richer person? [i.e. do you consider how to stimulate one another to love and do good deeds. Do you bring out the best in him? Does he bring out the best in you? ]

Dating
I kissed dating good bye! Seen it on a book title once and have since wondered how then are you supposed to get to know someone before marriage? It took me a long time to realise. As a woman when a man comes up to you and say that they like you and they want to date you. Think he may seem nice – but what does he really want? To test drive you? Even if it is not as far as to get you into bed (please excuse me) are you happy to be test driven and then thrown away for not being good enough? When people date in an instance they are trying to know everything about each other – think of the pressure. Everyone tries to sound good to impress. I say sound because it is all talk! Ask yourself what made that person attracted to you? Was it purely physical? How about the emotional and spiritual aspects? It is funny how as Christians we would agree that the spiritual aspect comes first and would rate the emotional aspect before the physical but we start off attracted to a person based on their physical appearance when our need is deeper than that. {Challenge: Ask yourself what is it about this person that I like?}

Here is an alternative – friendship
Start off as friends and nothing more. What attracted you to people you are friends with today and why is it that you are able to maintain such long-term friendships? Friendship is an admiration, that is, you see qualities in a person that you like and they see qualities in you that they like and this attracts you to one another. This is why you can have people that have things in common but yet cannot get along because it is deeper than mere talk or what your job application form says. So what was the attraction? was it something in the person’s spirit? When you initially meet to go out, you should go out in a group, with other friends perhaps (and I do not mean double dating! Talk about more pressure). It is one of the best ways to see what a person is truly like. How he treats other people, how he talks to other people, does he respect himself or respect others – what makes you think he will treat you differently? Being out with other people also keeps you protected and removes the pressure of being on a date. This bit in itself is a whole new article so without dragging it too much let me summarise it quickly but we can talk about it at some point.
See friendships start off with admiring qualities of an individual (not something physical); then you start to communicate; this develops into respect (that quality that you admire is confirmed); respect leads to trust (you know what that person is capable and incapable of doing); then a new level of love develops (this is another article); this brings loyalty and devotion. All in all this takes time! For Jacob 7 years felt like a few days to him Genesis 29:20.
Therefore a woman should not even allow a man to begin to court her if friendship did not exist in the first place otherwise their courtship will be based on a rocky foundation. This is why we need to kiss dating goodbye. This is why I suggested earlier that I can recognise almost instantly a man’s intention when he approaches me. You can do so too, God has given us a spirit of discernment – but often our hearts choose not to listen (Jeremiah 17:9 – the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure, who can understand it?).

Prayer:
Dear Father,
Thank you for revealing your love in my life and providing your love for me as model of love for me to follow. I repent for the times when I have let my heart take the lead of something that is so important and related to the plans and purposes that you have for me. I now dedicate my heart to you and ask that you grant me the ability to discern true love as well as recognise the partnership that you have set out for me. Until then Lord I pray that you keep me away from temptation and protect me so that I may not sway from your paths but instead be focussed on the work you have called me to do.
Thank you. Jesus.
Amen

{Take this away with you: If he loves me he will take his time to get to know me because true friendship sticks around.}

With Love,

Healing me...

I heard He sang a good song,
I heard He had a style,
And so I prayed to see Him and listened for a while.
And there He was my Saviour,
no stranger to my eyes,
Soothing my pain with His fingers,
Healing my life with His words,
Lifting me gently with His song,
Lifting me gently with His song,
Spoke to my whole life with His word,
Lifting me gently with His song…

No longer flushed with fever,
No more embarrassed by the crowd,
For He had found my letters and read each one in tears.
I’d prayed my world would finish,
But He’d just kept right on
Soothing my pain with His fingers,
Healing my life with His words,
Lifting me gently with His song,
Lifting me gently with His song,
Spoke to my whole life with His word,
Lifting me gently with His song…

He sang as if He knew me
In all my dark despair
and when he looked right through me,
I knew He’d always been there
through all my pains and sufferings
Holding me tight and strong and
Soothing my pain with His fingers,
Healing my life with His words,
Lifting me gently with His song,
Lifting me gently with His song,
Spoke to my whole life with His word,
Lifting me gently with His song…

No longer focussed on my ills
I now boast in my weak-nes-ses
For now I know that’s where: His power is greater still
He’ll be there, yes (I know), He will for you
Singing clear and strong and
Soothing your pain with His fingers,
Healing your life with His words,
Lifting you gently with His song,
Lifting you gently with His song,
Speaks to your whole life with His word,
Lifting you gently with His song…

(21/03/07)
(A parody of ‘killing me softly’ by Lori Lieberman, Norman Gimbel, Charles Fox and Roberta Flack)

OUR FIRST CALLING...

I remember sitting in a Sunday service once and the speaker was preaching from Matthew 25:14 of which he liked to call “the parable of the dollars”. I liked the practical way in which he approached the story of the talents but as he spoke it wasn’t money that I was seeing but souls!

Matthew 25:14 is a parable told by Jesus about a Master that was going away on a long journey. He had three servants. He gave five talents to one, two to another and one talent to the third. Upon his return the servant with five talents had doubled his, the servant with two had doubled his too but the servant with one talent accused his master of being ‘a harsh and hard man , reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you have not winnowed’ (amplified version v 24). So he had buried his talent and returned it with no gain. This third servant was described as a wicked and lazy and was thrown out into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth and his talent was given to the man with ten talents.

What does this mean?
Let us put this parable into context. What is it really talking about? I don’t disagree that there are lessons to be learnt in terms of the financial gains of investing wisely and using our God given talents to the max as we will be held accountable for it. However there is a deeper meaning here that is often ignored. Genesis 1:28 says ‘God blessed them and said to them “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living that moves on the ground.”’
This is often quoted as man’s first commission-{Challenge: Do you agree with this?}. In this case let me challenge you by declaring that this parable and this verse from Genesis 1 are not primarily about us but about winning souls for Christ.
Exploring the Parable of the Talents
In Matthew 24:1-3 the disciples had come up to Jesus to privately ask what will be the signs of His coming and of the end of the age. This parable is part of that conversation because Matthew 25:1 starts with ‘At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like…’ and it goes into the parable of the ten virgins. Verse 14 starts with ‘Again it will be like…’ (NIV) or ‘For it is like…’. Parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings. Look at where these parables have appeared. The parable of the ten virgins is advising us to be vigilant because we do not know the day or the hour (Matthew 25:13). In the amplified version it says ‘watch therefore [give strict attention and be cautious and active], for you know neither the day nor the hour the Son of Man will come.’ With the parable of the talents also beginning with again or for it is like – this tells us that firstly we need to be vigilant, attentive, cautious and active.
Also after telling the parable, Jesus continues the conversation about when the Son of Man comes (Matthew 25:31), about the separation of the Sheep from the Goats and goes on into Matthew 26: 1-2 about the Son of Man being handed over to be crucified. This is where the conversation actually ends. {Challenge: Is this a hint?}

Winning souls and the winning soul
Jesus was telling this parable to His disciples privately. He was preparing them for what was about to happen and what they ought to be doing. Jesus knew that the time had come when He would be arrested (Matthew 26:1-2); He knew that He would be going away on a long journey (Matthew 25:14 and 25:5). He knew He would be back (Matthew 24, 25:6, 19) and at a time that we would perhaps least expect Him (Matthew 24:44, 25:10); He knew that when He comes back His agenda will be about settling accounts with us (Matthew 25: 19, 31-33) i.e. judgement. Therefore He was advising His disciples (including you and me) not to be caught unawares like the foolish virgins who took their lamps without taking any oil with them – whose lamp is snuffed out (Proverbs13:8). {Challenge: Are you living a vigilant, attentive, cautious and active life for Christ at present? Is your light shining brightly like the righteous in proverbs 13:8? What plans or preparations have you or do you need to put in place to ensure that it keeps shining till the bridegroom arrives?}

Jesus also knows that He has distributed talent ‘each according to his own ability’ (Matthew 25:15). Ephesians 4:6-11 supports this in its description of the unity of the body. Verse 7 states that ‘But to each one of us grace as been given as Christ apportioned it. {Challenge: Do yourself a favour the next time you become aware of a fellow believer acting in a manner inappropriate to a believer – Stop! before you remove the speck of dust from their eyes and please do not copy them especially since you know ‘better’. You do not know what grace has bee apportioned to them i.e. where they are coming from and neither do you know how God will treat that person or yourself as a result of the same sin. Rather consider prayerfully, lovingly rebuke and encourage them in Lord}. The bible says in this Ephesians passage that Jesus gave these gifts to men, some to be apostles, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers. So He is aware of our weaknesses and strength but does this mean that we are too weak to do anything?
The man with ten talents could perhaps be described as the outgoing, confident, intelligent, highly organised individual we see today. He perhaps is very successful and has won many souls into the kingdom through his ministry and people warm to him. Winning souls is easy for him. In contrast the servant with one talent is quite the opposite; he may be fearful and not as eloquent as the servant with ten talents. However he knew his master (he was a Christian too) and therefore knew what his master required of him, yet he went and buried his talent. He hid it away from the world. He did not even attempt to do anything with it. {Challenge: Do you know your Master and what He requires of you?}

So what are the key things we should learn from this?

A survival guide for One Talenters +++
Starting with one talent is not easy. God knows that and He is with you every step of the way. How do we know this? – Just look at some biblical characters:
- Joseph was not the most skilled of his brothers (he did not go out to tend sheep or do the normal manly chores as his brothers) yet he went from being a slave to being head of Portiphar’s house to being a prisoner then head of prisoners and ultimately not only the ruler of Egypt but a key point of contact for the continuation of the promise as Jacob and his family were struck by the famine.
- Moses went from a runaway that is slow of speech and tongue to the rescuer of his people and the deliverer of God’s laws.
- David went from a shepherd boy that was the least of his brothers to the defeater of Goliath, also the most successful warrior king and an author of the book of Psalms.

Recognise your goal: We are all called to win souls increase in number all three servants knew their master, knew this and had a choice of following his will or not. Proverbs 11:30 says ‘The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise’. In John 15:16 Jesus said ‘You did not choose me but I chose and appointed you go out and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name’.

Use your talent(s) faithfully: We are called to be faithful by using our God given talents, opportunities, circumstances, know-how, personalities and basically whatever we have to win souls. We need to make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:15-17) – this must have been what the ten talent guy and the two talent guy did to double theirs. Note how faithful some biblical characters were at each point in their journey. David had the fear of God and served Saul faithfully despite having been already been anointed as King and Saul’s sourness towards him. Joseph could have used Potiphar’s wife as a career advance. The third servant despite knowing his master’s wishes perhaps was even bitter that he was comparably given less. Yet he failed to use the opportunity to double his talent and show that he was capable of being in charge of more. You see when we do not nurture that which we have already how can we really grow? Some of us are naturally talented in certain areas; others have to learn those skills. However a dedicated learner that puts their learning to practice can also become an expert in that area because their frequent use of a skill makes it become a habit/ second nature and forms part of their character. Once they have mastered those skills the exposure it gives them enables them to be able to identify an area of growth of which they recognise and start to develop new skills in order to meet the new needs and as such their territory enlarges.

So you may say that it is easy for these guys they had it all to start with if I had what they have I could probably do the same and more - but really you do not know where they started from. Also let us not forget that grace has been apportioned accordingly and much is expected of him who has been given more. How can you expect to be given more when you cannot even manage the little you have been blessed with?

Admit your weaknesses: Our weaknesses sometimes plague us, torment us and give us a low self esteem. Our weaknesses tell us that we can’t. It can make us think that perhaps we should hide away/ sit back in the safety that we know God and leave someone else to do the work. As we know from this parable – this is a dangerous strategy. Jesus calls us ‘the light of the world…neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. They put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:14-16). He may not take your weaknesses away but His power is made perfect in them and His grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul said that he will boast more gladly about his weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on him.

Ask for wisdom: He gives it freely (James 1:5). Proverbs 20:18 advices us to make plans by seeking advice and obtain guidance if we wage war. The battle for souls is an ongoing war that we could use the benefit of experience. I sincerely believe that the man with one talent could have at least sought advice from the men with five and two talents. Perhaps he could have had them manage his talents on his behalf if that was his weakness. He would have learnt a thing or two about growing his talent. In practical terms this may mean for you and I that if we are shy or recognise a weakness we have in an area where we have been placed responsible, perhaps we could surround ourselves with people of experience to learn from them? In the case of winning souls why not invite someone to church or introduce them to that active soul winning brother/ sister in Christ to help bring them into the Kingdom. Take them to Christian activities, buy/ borrow books for them, give leaflets or recommend access to web materials and other sources that may help them. Try and meet them at a point in need and teach them how to pray – you never know at least you would have planted a seed and keep praying that that seed would grow and bear fruit. This takes me to the next point.

We should not tire: God is worth the wait and these people are worth saving. Galatians 6:9 encourages us not to become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. This should be our attitude. We have to constantly be an example to those we are trying to win over. Of course we are still prone to mistakes but how we acknowledge and handle that makes us an example to them because they will be watching us. This is because the minute you start talking to someone about their life you are putting your self on a pedestal and they will observe how you live yours. If they see that the life you live is no different to that of non-Christians, tell me why should they change?

So watch your doctrines: 1Timothy 1:3 reminds us that God’s work is by faith. Be careful that you are living in accordance with the bible. You can only know this by studying it yourself and praying for wisdom and understanding from the LORD. We are being placed in a position of responsibility and that is why we have to ensure that we do not lead people astray but live truthfully. The life we are called to as Christians is in opposition to the ‘ME’ culture of this world that is why to the world we might look and sound foolish.

Finally submit your life to Christ: Not everyone may be called to give up everything and go into full time ministry but everyone is called to minister full time. 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us that whatever we do we should do it all for the glory of God. In the examples of Moses, Joseph and David we can see how they lived their lives full time in the LORD. So your work is not an excuse it is another avenue for reaching and being an example to people that may not have the opportunity of knowing a Christian and getting to meet Christ. Likewise our hobbies and other activities in our life are opportunities too.
{Challenge: so what is your first commission? Are you prepared to take on this challenge?} Forget about your abilities for His power is made perfect in our weakness, your willingness and obedience counts more than your abilities, Look at Moses – even today he is recognised by the Jews and the Muslims as a great prophet. He was willing and he obeyed – he stood before a king like Pharaoh to speak yet he was neither eloquent and he was slow to speech and tongue (Exodus 4:10 - 16).
Remember: what makes heaven rejoice? - When one sinner repents even more so than ninety-nine righteous persons that do not need to (Luke 15: 7, 10). The bible says that when we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness EVERY thing we need will be given to us (Matthew 6:33). He who wins souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30).

Prayer
Lord bless us with the wisdom and ability to use our resources faithfully to cause heaven to rejoice by winning souls into your kingdom. Give us a heart of compassion, a willing spirit and a love that will fill us with the determination and dedication required to do this In Jesus name we pray. Amen

With Love...

Tough times and what to do…

To overcome trials and challenges we need to stand strong, persevere and press on. The following excerpts are some biblical principles that we need to recognise as Christians. I picked these up from a variety of sermons that I have heard that blessed me immensely.

1) Most challenges, trials have their origin in the spirit realm: Job Chapter 1 v 1- The bible describes Job as the type of man that today’s world sees as prominent, self-made and adept in business.
He was a very careful man because the bible describes him as ‘blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil’ v 1 such that he would send to have his children purified and even get up early to make a sacrifice unto the Lord just in case they would have displeased the Lord v.4-6.
On the other hand you have satan who is going about his business v 7. Satan went to present himself before the Lord and God being proud of Job v 8 talks about him {Challenge: Do you live the kind of life that God can describe you as Job?}. Also the spiritual realm is much organised and satan has been described as ‘the accuser of brethren’ (revelation 12:10) and his name means accuser; he stands before God (Job Chapter 1 v 9 -11) to accuse us. Imagine! Job was carrying on with his life unaware of the conversations taking place in the spirit realm. God is proud of him. Is Job aware of the hedge around him? Other people may look at him and think he was a clever and self made man. For every Christian there is a hedge around us that the enemy cannot touch him.
Job Chapter 1 v.13 starts by saying ‘one day…’ - it did not happen immediately satan is not omnipotent – he has no constant presence like God. It takes him a while to gather his angels to attack (1 Peter 5:8).
Job Chapter 1 v 17 The Chaldeans - are the tools and the symptoms of the attack. They are not the real enemy therefore we need to get to the root, that is, in the spiritual realm to start to uproot. Intelligence for a Christian is understanding the spiritual realm. Eph6: never pray against your natural enemies. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and rulers of this dark world.
2) No trial, difficulty can come without divine permission: Satan is the accuser of brethren. If he has a case (i.e. was it something we did? If we profess to be Christians yet we go and sin against the Lord, Satan will go and stand before him and quote God’s law to Him, accusing us and requesting permission to attack us - heaven will agree for him to go ahead, the spiritual realm is organised and has laws and principles that are adhered to and God is a just God. Therefore our first question should be God why did you allow this- why did you grant divine permission? Not so that we charge God but so that we can close a gap in the hedge that we have created. If the Holy Sprit reveals that it is not us then God is preparing us for restoration like Job for in Job’s case he was blameless. When ask we need to believe that ‘My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory.’ He will tell us what we need to know.
3) There is no challenge or trial that you are facing that is unique: 1Cor10:13 – ‘… such that is common to man’. This is why we should share testimony. You will find that the principles / situations are the same though the facts different. As humans we like to think that our problems are unique – nobody can understand or can know what we are going through {Challenge – is this really true?} Do not feel sorry for yourself because…
4) You can handle what you are in: God is not wicked. He knows that He has put enough grace in you to handle. 1Cor10:13 God is faithful. He knows the challenges are coming and there is the grace and capacity in you to overcome.
5) Do not fail the attitude test: The fact that you are in it, you can handle it, James1v5 says that if you lack wisdom go to God who gives generously to all without finding fault and when you ask, do not doubt {Challenge: ask for wisdom – do you realise that when you doubt you don’t even know when you have received it? Because you question if this is really what God is saying to you and confuse yourself}. He will direct you so do not fail the attitude test because He is probably sat there and writing in His diary ‘Day 1 this is what [your name] did and this is how he/she reacted to the situation’. {Challenge: Honestly, where is your first port of call? When you hear bad news or things go wrong? – do you try and solve it immediately or do you bless the name of the Lord first and ask His will on the matter?}. Job had 7 sons and 3 daughters dead, all his business collapsed- lost his friends and people started seeing him as bad omen. They would not mix with him for fear his luck might pass on. Some may have even said that he must have sinned to be going through what he was going through. Not a single soul around, including Job, understood what was taking place and what had taken place in the spiritual realm. In all this he did not charge God foolishly (chapter 1 v 22). Your attitude counts in heaven. Remember that this was what was being tested of Job anyway! James1v2 advises that we should ‘consider it pure joy’ therefore our prayers should be more like “God I trust you completely even though I am confused”. Job’s first reaction (Chapter 1 v 20) was ‘the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away blessed be the name of the Lord’
6) Testing of your faith: These things take place so that our faith may be tested. When we profess something surely it must be tested. It is as the bible describes it as putting gold through fire (Zechariah 13:9). 1Peter 1:7 says ‘These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.’ {Challenge: Our faith manifests itself in the heart, in the spirit and in the lifestyle we choose to live – can you describe your faith and attach it to your current situation to say that you are truly living it out in the situation?}
7) God uses it to develop character: James1:2-4 the testing of your faith develops perseverance that must finish his work so that you may be mature and complete - ‘not lacking anything’ – God has a plan and purpose for each of our lives (Romans 8:28-39) and does not want us to stay where we are but to continuously grow until we are mature and complete, not lacking in anything {Challenge: What is stagnating your growth? – is it you?} When these challenges come and we overcome and we think we want to rest a bit – more comes our way – do we complain to God for a break, to remain where we are? – He has a level of maturity He wants to get you to. Are you going to allow Him to get you there and at His own time or are you going to remain a spiritual baby drinking milk forever rather than maturing to solid food? You have to be promoted to maturity each time. Do not try to use the world's solution to solve your problems instead, start with God.


Prayer
Thank you Lord for everything that you have brought my way for I know that my steps have been ordered by you. Lord I ask for wisdom to be able to understand your will for my life. I also ask for forgiveness for times that I have resisted you and resisted the challenges that you have placed before me. I give my all to you Father and ask that you start your work in me and manifest the plans and purposes that you have set out for me.
I praise you Lord Jesus Christ for what you are about to do and are doing in my life. Teach me more about you and your ways oh Lord such that I may become mature and complete and not lacking in anything as declared by your word.

Be careful! Do not pray this prayer unless you mean it! This prayer means that you ill become surrounded by challenges! My Prayer for you is that in the midst of the challenges you remember your prayer and press on until you come out of the refiners fire proven as genuine articles of Christ Jesus. God bless you all. Amen.

With Love...

A Den of Thieves?

It's strange that I am getting more and more uncomfortable with my church lately. Whenever I get such a feeling I examine myself first. I try to explore what is really going on in my heart and be honest with myself about what and why is it that I feel the way that I feel. In this instance I found that it was to do with money.

Money also plays an emotional role in all of us. We need it but it has the tendency to take precedence in our lives and even in ways we do not realise too. Take for example working on Sunday - why do you do it? Even if you are salaried or hourly paid or a business owner it's because whatever it is you are working on during your supposed rest hours has a money trail behind it even when that money is not going directly to your pocket. Now here is how it all started. I believed in supporting my church such was my loyalty that I would rather buy books from its bookshop than anywhere else. One particular Sunday I needed to pick up a book for my mum that I had pre-ordered weeks before (oh and by the way I had moved out of town and was so committed to my church that I would drive an hour each way for Sunday morning service). I had seen the same book online and cheaper but decided to support my church. After service I rushed to be the first at the queue to pick up my book so that I could get away but although I was first in line I was kept waiting in favour of others that had products in hand as mine required staff going to the back to check. Despite ringing them earlier in the week to say that I lived out of town and to keep the book for me they said they did not hold it and that I could order it again and it would take another three weeks. Needless to say I was disappointed on several grounds - firstly they had made no effort, secondly the long wait, thirdly it was at the most expensive price and fourthly the customer service was so shabby and unapologetic. A friend that stood with said "oh well you can't get upset. It's church and these guys are volunteers..." but that was exactly my point. I was questioning why I did what I did and the way I did it and despite providing custom to a store they would treat me that way. Why did I insist on buying it through the church anyway?

Challenge: Is it OK to buy and sell in the house of the Lord?
Some of the things we do today are the result of a series of small changes that have been introduced as harmless innovations that have ultimately led to the way modern day churches are set up. If we run through this carefully, say for example you were setting up a church today what would you include in your plans: a bookshop, a cafe, a creche, a school,... etc The list grows when you look about you these days. Of these things how many of them are chargeable, donation based or simply free? I know what you are thinking of course we need to charge for these things they do not pay for themselves. However that is not the challenge when we take a look at Matthew 21:12-13
"12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[a] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[b]”

We can see Jesus was at the temples courts - not in the sanctuary - and take a look at the types of people he was driving out. Both buyers and sellers that include money changers and dove merchants. In the gospel of Mark it adds in v16 that ... "and [He] would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts"

Jesus was not against buying and selling rather He was against doing so at the Temple because it took emphasis away from worship towards material things. We need to remember that God looks at the heart (1Samuel 16:7) and as much as we think that doing some of these thing are pure Proverbs 16:2 reminds us that the Lord weighs all motives.

If you are still not sold on this idea then let me challenge you further. Take a look at the sellers. What were they selling and why were they selling them at the Temple courts? Why did the buyers buy at the Temple courts? To put these in context we need to put ourselves in their shoes and visualise what it must have been like to be a Jew living in those times. There was only one place of worship and it was this Temple in Jerusalem. The bible tells us that God's people came from all the lands to worship at the Temple. As part of worship people gave money in offerings but coming from different lands meant some would need to change their money to local currency before they could give it in worship. In addition where a person could not afford a lamb they could bring two doves instead as a penalty for their sin (Leviticus 5:7). The fact is that the items being sold in the Temple were relevant for worship and selling them in the Temple was ideal! The marketing four Ps theory of product, price, place and promotion could not have been better exemplified than in this context. The sellers had the products the people needed and in the most convenient place. In the modern day church it appears that the order of service has become: opening prayer, worship songs, announcements that involves materials people ought to buy from the church shop 'spiritual growth', more songs, collection, preaching (usually left till the end and in some cases rushed or unfinished as time runs out) then quick prayer & exit. At exit people rush to get the tapes or materials and also queue to buy snacks from cafeteria etc. Does any of this sound familiar? Let me tell you that Jesus was making a point about the fact that the people's hearts were well away from worship and distracted by trade. The one time in the week that you have the opportunity to gather as His body to pray over things we have the power to change is being distracted by the social aspect of it? 2Chronicles 7:14 "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land". Further in Matthew 6:24 He reminded us that “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money".

Now have you ever thought to yourself of all the distracting sins such as (sexual immorality, murder etc) He could have mentioned it was money that was the key opposing factor to serving God? 1Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs".

Challenge: whatever happened to freely?
We need to watch our doctrines and be careful what we preach in our churches by our actions. As such I believe that it does not matter if you are buying a t-shirt that says 'I LOVE JESUS' or a really good christian book - do it at the right place and at the right time otherwise you are no different from a Sunday trader. God calls us to obedience. It was not easy but I eventually left that church (and you should never leave unless asked by the Lord to do so for who knows He may be looking to you to point out the faults that He has shown you?). Things got as far as paying for tickets for gatherings, paying for counselling, even selling Passion for Christ (the movie merchandise that was a package of 1 bible plus cross and a band) via ushers in the sanctuary! In the modern day church I am sure it is laughable that I find this appalling but let me tell you what was really driving me and it is the fact that when Jesus sent out His disciples in Matthew 10:8 He instructed them to "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give".

Not saying that all this is as easy as it sounds to accomplish but by grace and with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). For e.g. I would like to think that if I were to publish a Christian book I would make it freely available and allow people to make free copies because it is about the message and breaking the yoke that binds us? Do you agree or disagree? Further rather than churches having a bookshop why not have a library? I am happy to donate Christian books I have read to bless others as well as borrow. I envision the kind of church that anybody that is curious about the Lord can walk in with ample access to resources that would help them grow to know Him and submit to Him be that by free food, free materials etc... that is what would make a difference in the world we live today. That is what will make a church stand out from other religions and charitable institutions about. I believe God wants a church (a body) that is distinct from the world - yes it is not easy but He pulls a miracle when we have done our bits such that we never lack as we give room for Him to make His home with us.

So if you are someone that trades or buys in church please be advised DON'T BE A MONEY CHANGER AND DON'T LET MONEY CHANGE YA!


Prayer
Dear Father,
Thank you for your generosity in giving us so many gifts and freely! Help us Lord to be able to work together as a church to care for our communities by being fervent in our togetherness in prayers and to give freely of the knowledge, power and resources that we are able to gather for the advancement of your kingdom. Forgive us Lord where we have fallen short of this and direct us onto the right paths. To you be all the glory, honour and praise. In the name of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

With love...