The King is enthralled by your beauty

The King is enthralled by your beauty

Like stars that twinkle,

Rubies that glisten,

Songbirds that sing,

As roses listen,

A rainbow banner across the sky,

A butterfly dancing quickly,

Like our amazement with creation,

The King is enthralled by your beauty

Do you know your treasure,

Do you know your worth,

Do you know why He formed you,

Positioned you here on earth,

Why He chases you with His love,

Furiously, feverently

Admiring you

The King is enthralled by your beauty

We forget our true value,

Sell ourselves short,

Live below the bar,

When He calls us for more.

Treasured possessions,

Inspiring identity,

Always remember

The King is enthralled by your beauty

Failure

So often in life we can sit and reflect on where we are at- sometimes in relation to where we were, or to where others are or most often where we want to be. My list of where I would be at this age was long and extensive - and then I look at the list now and could probably tick two things off! Have I failed? Am I not enough? Plaguing and haunting questions! 

But then my reflections brought me to the story of a man. A man who never necessarily had a long and extensive list- but at the time had one goal he was devoted to. He spent his life upon. And he planned to live devoted to that. It was going well until his devotion was challenged. Seemingly, he failed. When asked whether he was a follower of Christ. He denied. Not once. Not twice. But three times! And now I can see Peter asking himself those plaguing and haunting questions. Have I failed? Am I not enough? 

That's where we can end up a lot of the time. However we not only have those questions but can live in that place of failure. I remember someone preaching about this story from the Bible where Peter denied Christ and saying that due to Peter's failure he abandoned his calling. Christ had called him to be a fisher of men. Where was Peter after he denied Christ? Fishing for fish! How many of us have abandoned what we were called or what we love because we feel we have failed? We live in that place, set up root and do everything there. 

Here we come to my favourite part of the story. Redemption. The Friend who he had strongly denied returns. Does He return reminding Peter that he is a failure? 'Yes Peter you have failed!' 'Yes Peter, you are not enough!' 'What were you thinking Peter?!' No. Not at all! All Christ asks Peter is if he loves Him and then instructs Peter to feed His sheep. Christ reaffirms Peter's calling, and He is here to reaffirm ours. One of the translations of Isaiah 60:1 reads to arise out of your depression. Our light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen, it is time for us to arise and shine! We may have many obstacles and flop for real, but God makes all things new. He will turn it around and reaffirm our calling. His saving grace redeems us. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)

(8) He calls us out to deeper waters, where feet may fail (8) I love that Hillsongs tune. It reminds me that God is calling me to deeper waters to release all that He has put in me. That the gold in me can be refined. But the problem with deeper water is that difficulty arises, it requires more strength especially as the current can be stronger. Feet may fail. But when I get to the end of myself, He is there. Hence why I can do all things through Christ. When I am weak, He is strong. We only fail, when we don't try...

Philippians 4:13

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹³ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Beyond our wildest dreams...

Galatians 6:9

'Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart'.

We are constantly making 'resolutionary' decisions in life and some of those choices are to do good.

We have been created for good works (Ephesians 2:10) and we are to be zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). But how many times do we stick to our good decisions?

I liken this to the parable that Jesus tells, The Parable of the Sower. The seeds were sown in different places and dependent upon where they were sown, this impacted whether or not the seed grew. Jesus likened the seed to the word of the Kingdom. We can hear the Word and it can be snatched, tribulations can cause it not to take root, the care of the world choke it, or it can be understood and acted upon. I know Jesus refers to scripture, but I liken this to non-spiritual decisions that we make.

For example, we can make a decision to exercise a few times a week. We could even have based this decision upon a word we received...but then hear comes the cares of the world...interrupting our schedule! Six months later we are wondering whatever happened to our exercise programme!!

Matthew 13 says the man who understands the Word and acts upon it will bear fruit and produce. The Message Bible reads, 'He produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams'. I like how Paul puts it in Galatians - don't grow weary in doing good.

I must confess that I am that person who looks back and thinks, 'What happened to my training programme?!...and where is my six pack?!' Who knows? Maybe if I had not grown weary, I would have been competing in last year's Olympics :p. We make good decisions but they can be easily thwarted - so we have to choose to not grow weary, but persist in doing good, as we will reap a harvest beyond our wildest dreams. :)

Live...Love...Laugh...On Purpose!

Live...Love...Laugh...On Purpose!

How hopeless the world can seem at times. If we're not facing natural disasters, we are trying to cope with man-made disasters. Desolation can happen anytime and any place - sometimes accidentally or sometimes on purpose. Think about it, I could accidentally step on your foot. But at the same time, I can purposely step on you foot! Sometimes things happen in the world accidentally - factory explosions, traffic accidents. However there are things that happen purposefully like terrorism. People make it their mission to cause disaster and misery to others and they are passionate about it too! 

I love something that Bob Marley was quoted saying, 'The people, who were trying to make this world worse... are not taking a day off. How can I? Light up the darkness'. If there are people who cause pain on purpose, will I bring joy purpose? Or I will I live passively and let whatever happens, happen, or will I live on purpose? 

In response to all that is happening in his world we are to be zealous for good works and not lose hope- we are to rise & shine. I think of Esther as an example. We can go through life and fall into things by God's grace. We can not intend to be in places or be things, but life sometimes leads us there. We can see this in the life of Esther. After her parents died, she spent her early years being brought up by her uncle. Being a Jew, they were living in a foreign land away from their people. Interestingly, Esther soon found herself in the king's palace as the king was looking for a new queen and so sent a decree for his servants to find beautiful virgins. The woman who entered into the palace alongside Esther, were to go through a year of beauty preparations and await to see who the king chose to be his wife. Esther kept her identity hidden- nobody knew she was a Jew, she seemed to be going along with where life was taking her. But how long could she keep this a secret? Especially as the king had chosen her to be his wife! Esther continued to keep the secret hidden well...but life was going to take a sudden turn, a violent shaking, where Esther would have to make an important decision. One of the king's servants had been promoted and so the king had given him a lot of authority, so much so that he had the authority to make decisions. The problem was that this man carried bitterness in his heart and wanted to have all Jews killed!  Remember that there was a Jew living in the palace....Esther. The servant's plan was soon made known to Esther and she had a decision to make. Keep her identity hidden or fight for the deliverance of her people. Esther was in two minds, but a word from her uncle seemed to change her mind. 'You may have been called for such a time as this.' Could it be that this was a good work that Esther was prepared for? Was she called for this time? Esther fights for the deliverance of her people and exposes her identity, as she trusts in God....and...the people were delivered!

I can so relate! We can passively go through life, forgetting that we have something to offer, forgetting that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, forgetting that the world is waiting for the beauty inside of us to be unveiled. Isaiah 60 reads 
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
² For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
³ The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

There is darkness in this world! But we are to arise, and shine like stars! Let His light shine from us! It is hard but Paul talks about fighting the good fight of faith, which makes me think that it is not something we can passively do. We have to be active in this walk of faith, knowing that everyday we have opportunities to shine our light and expect God to do great and mighty things through us. Besides He has good works prepared for us too! Could it be that He has called you for such a time as this?! Titus 2:14 says that we are to be zealous for good works. Passionate for good works. Just as I mentioned earlier, there are people who want to bring destruction, will we purposely build up our world, or continue to walk naively without understanding?

Like Esther and we are not to be passive but we are to live purposefully with understanding and wisdom and choose to walk in the good works thst He has prepared for us. He has good works prepared for you to walk in today, will you walk in them? You have treasure inside of you, let it shine :) Live...Love...Laugh on Purpose!

"Because I'm worth it!"

The worth of something. What determines the worth of something? How do you know the worth of something? How do you know your worth? Why am I asking so many questions?! These questions are important to ask. Do you think it is true that the way you treat something is determined by the worth you place on it?

A couple a months ago the garage where I bought my car was doing a deal, where you could upgrade a newer model, so I thought I would check it out. I was happy with my car, but my car lacks some of the facilities the newer models have, so I thought it would be good to check out these new vehicles. I could soon be hitting the road with more hi-tech facilities! Now I am not very knowledgable about cars, so I am afraid I am one of those who is just looking for something that looks good! So I was getting ready to trade my car for something I thought would be better! We get to the garage and the guy goes to take a look at my car to give me a valuation for it. When he comes back he tells me all about my car. The spec that it was built to and the uniqueness of it all. How I wouldn't find another car with interior like it and so forth...unfortunately somebody else had to tell me about the worth of my car. But what if he hadn't? I would have traded my car for something 'standard' because I didn't know the worth of my car.

Wow! How easy we will trade the things of worth for something sub-standard, because we don't know their value. We hear of this story in the Bible. Hungry, a young man comes in from hunting to find that his younger brother is cooking stew-the smell of the delicious stew seems irresistible, so the young man asks his brother for some of the stew. The younger brother agrees, under one condition. The young man must give him his birthright. In those days, the older brother had the birthright, which meant that a great part of the inheritance and the family name passed to that older brother. The young man failed to see the value of the birthright (the Bible even said he despised it) and so he sold it to his young brother! (Genesis 25)

What about somebody else who made a trade? Moses grew up in a rich family. Born a Hebrew, he was brought up by Pharaoh's daughter from a young age. Hebrews 11 paints an interesting picture of this all:

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in^[e] Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

Moses grew up surrounded by riches, but he made a trade. He traded those temporal things for eternal treasures. Why? Because he saw the value. Because he saw the worth. Without seeing the worth or value of something, we can easily give it away or let it pass us by. 

What are you worth? How do you treat yourself? Do you sell yourself short?

So many times we settle for less, or we allow ourselves to be used because we don't know our worth. We trade ourselves in and compromise for what seems great, but we soon find out that all that glitters is not gold and we have given up something great for the temporary pleasures. 

The Bible says we have this treasure in earthen vessels. It says we are a royal priesthood. It says that we are God's treasure possession. It says that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten, whosoever believes in Him will not die but have everlasting life! He traded all for us...He saw us as worth it. He saw my worth- when nobody else saw it, not even me, He died for me! Like how I didn't see the worth of my car - times we don't see the worth of ourselves. But we can't treat ourselves anyhow or sell ourselves short, for we have this treasure in earthen vessels.

If you had treasure what would you do with it? Hide it? Flaunt it? Protect it? Share it? Value it? Knowing that you have treasure in yourselves, what will you do with you? We can hide ourselves, not knowing the treasure that is in us is a gift for the world see. We can flaunt ourselves, spending our treasure unwisely- flashing it here and there-compromising ourselves. These are things we can do...what will you do?

Born to fly

I blow the dust of my blogger and realise it has been very long :( but I am sharing thoughts, and hopefully I won't leave it so long next time...

I have recently been on holiday to Canada, New York and Liverpool.....12 days of non stop tours of some major cities were eyeopening! Not because of the grand, ancestral buildings that hid in these cities. Not because of the tall, skyliners that looked over these cities and not because of the amazed, intrigued crowds that filled these cities. But, as boring as it sounds, it was the process- the journey to these places. For some reason, just before the holiday, I had been consumed with a plague that has wiped out many, even whole nations-fear! I was afraid to die, afraid to fly, afraid to go out at night and didn't take long for me to think 'Lord, am i coming out here to die?!' I sounded like the Israelites sojourneying through Egypt. I sounded like Joram king of Israel, who was convinced that God had called him and the other two kings together to be killed by the Moabites. But I needed to be persuaded by the Word of God. God had Himself told me that He had not brought me there to die and reminded me of promises- that I have a future... Just like the Israelites i guess- He had not brought them there to die but to go through and reach a land filled wih milk and honey- freedom.

He intended for me to go THROUGH and reach a place of freedom- not living in fear or serving my fear but living with love, power and a sound mind, serving Him.

I am petrified of flying and had flown twice already in the same month, once by myself and the love of God had kept me :) but for some reason i was so terrified on this flight to New York, my heart began to beat a rhythm for fear to dance to as dread filled my very being. I had consulted fear, instead of consulting God. But though I make my bed in Sheol, He is still with me! God was teaching me about trust.

At 36000 feet it is a long way down! My trust is completely in the pilot (in God, but you know what i mean). The pilot would make some manoevres and I would think 'Is this guy for real?! Does he need me to show him how its done?!' I kept telling my friend that some of these pilots had only just got their licenses ☺. Then I started to think thats how we are with God. We are higher above 36000 feet because ofcourse we are seated in heavenly plAces, but even so we live on earth and go  through trials. Our hope, our trust is in God, but there are times when we do think, 'God where are you taking us? What are these manouvres?!' My friend reminded me that although I felt as if these pilots passed yesterday, God had passed His teat time ago. In fact, was His Spirit not hovering over the seas many years ago?! He invented flying!! He knows what Hes doing- I can trust Him! 

The flight back home seemed to be a test of what I had learnt. I felt like the pilot had passed his test years ago, but the journey was very trying. Violently, turbulence shook the plane from side to side. Panic began to fill me, but then I thought to myself, God's got this! Jesus said that there would be trials in this world, but we would overcome them. Turbulence is not a thing where the plane can just reverse and try again tomorrow. It's got to go through it (like going on a Bear Hunt). So we go, trusting God that He will bring us through. Not battered and torn. Not beat up and bruised. But we are hard pressed but not crushed! Struck down but not destroyed! Not confessing our fears but confessing that Christ is in us, the hope of glory! Paul says 'with that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak.' As we trust and believe in God we see things differently- not death, but life.

2 Corinthians 4:18 - what do you see and believe? Because that will have an impact on what you speak.

?Are we not brothers?

At the church I attend Pastor has been emphasising on this year being year of letting God's Kingdom come as we focus on His is the Kingdom, the power and the glory!

So, I meditated on this and began to think how much of God's Kingdom do I really know? In every Kingdom there is someone who has dominon and there are usually rules to follow or some boundaries in place. For example in England it is illegal drive without a seatbelt, however in other places this may be permitted. You always hear in the news of people who go to other countries and do not always know the laws of the land as they contrast greatly to what they used to and they end up breaking those rules unaware and find themselves in serious trouble! Every Kingdom has a way of doing things. In God's Kingdom there is a way of doing things and just to look at one: UNITY.

Especially this year I really do think this is important - reading in Romans 14 (Romans 14:20) In verse 20, Paul says that we shouldnt undo the work of God. In this chapter he is speaking a lot about unity andhow our beliefs or more our opinions on what we can or cant eat shouldn't affect our relationships with one another. After reading verse 20, I thought, what is the work of God? So I went back to the previous verse....we should pursue harmony with one another...so is not God's work unity. Did Jesus not come for us to be one?!

We so easily forget the power of unity and believe in the power of one, opposed to the power of One. I know that one person can make a significant difference but sometimes we think only one can make the difference and forget the One.

Abraham. We know him from the Bible. We especially know him if we used to sing (8) Father Abraham had many sons (8) ... Now you're singing the song :p... But stay with me :) i LOVE the story of Abraham and Lot and the last time i read it, I saw something I had missed before. Abraham had been told by God to go to the land that He will show him andhad been given a promise by God, that He would bless him and make him a great nation. What an awesome promise! So Abraham journeyed with his wife and nephew, Lot, and their flocks and herds. We hear in Genesis 13 that Abraham was rich and Lot also had his flocks and herds, so where they dwelt at the time was not big enough for them. Soon argument erupted between Abrahams herdsmen and Lots herdsmen! It was not working out. Now what would your response have been. If you were Abraham would you tell Lot that God promised you a land so you're staying there?! If you were Lot would you tell Abraham that Gods given him a land so the right to stay is yours?! Abrahams response was significant to me, 'Are we not brothers?' Wow! If we approached many of our conflicts like this, would we see the power of One. What was more important to Abraham in this instance? What do we see as more important? Our dreams coming to pass or that we are One?

Romans 16:16 reads 'Greet one another with a holy kiss'. Whoa whoa whoa! Some of you are screaming. I know in a lot of conversations this scripture has caused many different reactions but when i thought about it, i personally think there can only be one response. If we think about culture, i'm guessing (forgive me if i am wrong) that it was the way they would greet one another in that time. A kiss is a way of showing affection- showing you care for that person. Now every culture is different. This form of greeting may offend some, but a form of greeting would still stand in that culture that shows some form of affection. A gladness in seeing someone. I think Paul was reiterating the importance of us holding one another in high esteem, how see one another and how we approach one another. The power of One.

The question is like asking how do we show love to one another? Do we even see it as important? Are we not brothers?

What you got?

To whom MUCH is given...Much is required!

What have you got?

A boy goes to listen to the teachings of a well known teacher. As he gets deep into thought about what is being spoken, a sound disturbs him. A rumbling sound. What was it? Was it him? He clutches his stomach and looks around quickly to see if anybody else heard the despairs of his stomach. No. They were too busy thinking about their own stomachs. He had been so distracted in those past two minutes that he had not realised that the teacher had finished and people had been muttering about food. In the distance, he noticed the teacher being approached by his disciples with the disciples asking about where they can get food from. The boy began to dig in his pockets to see if he brought any snacks with him. He had been in such a rush! Why did he not bring any food? Surely the disciples will struggle to find food for such a large crowd. Something caught his eye. Another small boy was approaching the disciples...with his...packed lunch! The boy smiled to himself- how generous of the boy to offer his food to Jesus and His disciples. But what about everyone else?! The boy could see lips moving- a lot of conversation. Jesus then took the bread from the boy said a few words and broke the bread. The disciples then began passing the food around amongst the crowd!! The crowd! He was sure there were only 5 loaves and 2 fish in the packed lunch! The boy thought he had better get going home. It will be disappointing if he waits to see if the food will reach him. He was at the back of the crowd! On the other hand, he had heard many stories about Jesus. Imagine if he left and missed out on seeing a miracle. It wasn't long until the boy was well fed...all because of 5 loaves and 2 fish. 

This a well known story in the Bible found in the Gospels, where Jesus feeds a large crowd with just 5 loaves and 2 fish! Imagine if that young boy didn't bring his lunch to Jesus. Would the people in the crowd starve? Jesus used what was brought to Him?

We have so much inside of us. 2 Corinthians 4:7 reads that we have this treasure in our earthen vessels! Find your Bible! Read that scripture! I wasn't lying was I?! There is treasure inside of you! So what have you got?!

I was thinking the other day about our lifestyles. How much we offer in life? How much we hold back? I know I hold back because I either think that I have nothing to offer or what I do have is insignificant. Pastors able to preach the Word. So and so can encourage that person. All I can say is have a good week! But hold that thought- there's a higher thought to displace it....we have this treasure in our earthen vessels! God has put things in our hands, things in us, things around us - how are we using them? There are people in the world waiting to be fed. Many times in the Old Testament, we read of God's people crying out for deliverance. God answered their prayer using people on the earth! Why? Because they had hidden treasure! A lot of us are crying out and God is calling us to use what we have got! Why? Because we have hidden treasure! 

Sometimes we think that much is not required from us, because we have not been given much true. It is true that people do have different levels of responsibilities but much is still required, because we all have been given much-though we sometimes despise the much. We have to be careful not to despise what God has given to us. Esau did that to his birthright, because at the time it was insignificant to him. We can see what we have as insignificant and hold back! The Bible teaches us that Christ is in us the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Now I don't know about you, but as I read Bible I find that Christ is a lot! A lot of love, a lot of wisdom, a lot of joy, a lot of peace. And I have that inside of me :O We can not despise what we have (nor who we are-but that is a whole nother topic!). We have been given much-much is required. The boy could have kept his insignificant lunch to himself, but he gave it to Jesus, who has the power to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary!

On a side not- we have been given authority. Things that are not right in this world- we can change. By the power of His Spirit, we can move forward and be world changers! Me and a friend recently started to help out at the church I attend by doing the PA system. Now I knew just about nothing about PA systems. I only knew how to turn something up and down and use the power button! I now found myself learning how to alter sounds and to ensure sounds blend and....o wait...that person needs a little more reverb and....it will sound great if I put a delay in here. One day whilst working the PA system I learnt about authority and responsibility. In Christ we have authority. Only whilst working on the PA system did I have authority over the sound. Outside of that I couldn't be telling anybody what to do (especially as I didn't even know how to work it before!). I was listening the sound and realised something wasn't right and thought to myself "Somebody should really fix that!". After a few seconds I realised that that somebody was me! *sigh* How many times do we look on and say "Somebody should really fix that!" when God has given us the peace, joy and wisdom to bring to situations- the authority to change situations! 

What I love about this story is that the boy brought 5 small loaves and 2 small fishes! And it fed about 5,000 people. They boy was probably thinking, I will keep my food to myself - it's just about enough to feed me, let alone 5,000. "I will keep my joy to myself, I just about have enough." "I will keep my peace to myself, I just about have enough." " I will keep that Word to myself, I just about have enough." We hold back and can even get stingy with it! How much faith did that young boy have?! Give his lunch away! All who know me know how much I love food! I'm not sure I could give that away so easily! But God has the power to multiply what we give Him! What will you bring to Jesus? The world is waiting to see the goodness of God through you.....

*2013*

Psalm 42:10 - David tells his soul to be still. By this point his raging emotions are probably fervently reminding him that his enemies are after him- so David, where is your God?
I felt exactly like this when I began reflecting on 2012. Where has God been this year for you Neeqs? Did you expect to be in this place? But just like David did in verse 11 I had to tell my soul to be still - hope in God!

2010 and 2011 had been two very hard years for me! The struggles were hard and each year seemed to bring more obstacles. I fought through those two years and hoped and prayed that 2012 would bring greater things. So I sat some time ago thinking what greater things did I see? Before my mind could focus on the greatness of of this year (because there were great things) I had invasions of where has your God been? I then began to allow the failures of my year to dampen my expectancy of 2013. 2012 wasn't impressive so neither will 2013 be.
It wasn't until I had two conversations with friends that my perspective began to change. My friends spoke to to me about having goals and plans for 2013. Because of previous thoughts, I thought it was pointless. But I began to plan...and God began to reveal. All those things that I had let go of and abandoned in 2012 He rekindled in me. All the struggles that I thought I had to carry with me into the next year God reminded me that changes will come in 2013 and more freedom will come. God makes all things new- it is a new year! God is going to do great things.

I really believe for a number of reasons that unity is important for this year. God is going to be bringing things together, plans together, people together...there is going to be an alignment. It is when things come together that we see things happen. For example in Acts 2:1-2 it says that the disciples were in ONE place, in ONE accord, when the Holy Spirit came. There was unity amongst them and there Bible says, "And suddenly...". I really believe that this year as alignment takes place in many different areas of our lives there will be a lot of 'and suddenly's. 

I'm not just talking about in our churches or our families, but also in ourselves. James 1:6-7 speaks of a the man who doubts is a double minded man. Either we believe or we don't. In ourselves we can be double-minded. "Maybe God loves me". "Maybe I love God". "Maybe God has great plans for me". "Half of me wants to serve God, the other half is unsure. I just go by how I am feeling at the time." Very double minded. Joshua 24:15 reads "Choose this day who you will serve". When we are unified in our thoughts about who we are serving, we will see 'and suddenly's. The challenge this year is when in every decision and situation I have to choose who I serve, I want to choose God every time- being very sure in my decisions!

Have a great 2013!!