Get a Real Kick

Good morning.

How often have we walked out of a church service and commented: “That was a good message” or “the Holy Spirit has moved today”? We felt encouraged and motivated, but when we get to the tea- and coffee table our discussions don’t even reach what we’ve experienced from God. We talk about mundane earthly things, don’t we? Not even to mention going out and doing what we’ve learned.

We read in James 1:22-25: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.”

We live in an entertainment age. We want to be entertained by God. We want to get Goosebumps and observe emotional feelings of God’s presence. Some don’t even bother about the Lord, as long as the preacher brought an entertaining message.

During Jesus’ ministry most of the observers were also only there for the entertainment – to receive either a miracle or a nice story to tell, but when it came to the push, when Jesus were arrested, they all deserted Him.

Jesus wasn’t in it for the entertainment though. To Him his Father’s business was serious and it cost Him. He worked hard and in the end paid a terrible price. The story’s ending was not altogether bad though – some of those who deserted Jesus did return and then realised the seriousness of His business. For the remainder of their lives they also suffered and paid the price.

But did they get a kick out of it! We experience emotional Goosebumps of God’s presence, but they saw God in action and experienced His amazing power. How did they manage it?  It’s simple, they did not only hear the Word of God, they believed it and did it and the Lord followed it with signs and wonders.

Signs and wonders don’t need to be big and sensational. To lead somebody to the Lord is fantabulous! To see the Lord opening a door to reach somebody’s soul is sensational. When we pray against issues such as violence, human trafficking, abortion, etc. and God arranges a breakthrough it’s awesome.

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1, 2).”

Christ was persecuted when He did God’s work. The Apostles were persecuted when they did God’s work. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).”

We’re not called for entertainment and sensation. We’re called to be like Jesus who was persecuted as a result of His obedience. We shouldn’t be popular, we should make a difference.

Lord, please wake us up to be like Jesus and to make a difference.

Have You Witnessed?

Good morning. The wind blows us away today.

Back in the 1800’s when his children’s homes ran out of food George Muller, who started and maintained them by faith, took his daughter by the hand and told her: “Come and see what God is going to do, Abigail.”
We read in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The word ‘witness’ has two meanings. It could mean you tell what you’ve seen. We find witnesses of a crime scene witnessing to a police investigator and to the court.

As Christians we witness what we’ve experienced Jesus doing in our lives. This generally is our salvation experience or a miracle such as healing or deliverance from demonic activity or circumstances, either in our lives or in the lives of others. Christians generally perceive that this is what Jesus meant when He spoke these words, that we should tell what He has done.

The word ‘witness’, however, has a second meaning as well. A witness observes something happening. Abigail was called to witness God in action. Why would one need power to tell what happened at your salvation, or to tell of a miracle you saw or heard about? You’ll need courage maybe or confidence or anointing or the Holy Spirit’s guidance, but not necessarily power.

But to be the instrument through whom 3000 people get saved, that needs power or to see a lame man walking through activating your faith needs power. That’s what Jesus meant when He stated that we will be His witnesses when the power of the Holy Spirit comes on us. We will witness what He is doing, not what He has done and the best of it is that it will happen through us.

After witnessing the powerful move of the Holy Spirit who led the 3000 to salvation, the disciples were unstoppable. Believing in the power of the Holy Spirit they moved on, preaching salvation and witnessing miracle after miracle.

After I’ve received the Holy Spirit, I observed miracles and salvations that God has done through me. But at times I’ve allowed my mind, my flesh, materialism and the devil’s lies to distract me from God’s power working through me.

One of the biggest hindrances in witnessing God’s power is pride that comes in many forms.

·        Oh, one feels so important.

·        If it wasn’t for ME.

·        I’d really like that position in church.

But the most dangerous one is feeling inferior.

·        I don’t feel worthy, so I seek recognition.

If you’ve been baptised with the Holy Spirit and want to witness God in action, you need to move out of the way. Humbly let go and let God. Listen carefully to what the Holy Spirit speaks into you heart, pray what you hear, do what you feel God wants you to do and then witness His power. The more you do it, the more your faith and confidence will grow and the more you’ll see God in action and it will become bigger.

Father, we want to witness you power! Please deliver us from ourselves.

See tomorrow’s posting for more for more.

Revive the Heart (Part Four)

Good morning.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3).”

Are you in shape? An athlete has to stay fit, eat well and discipline her programme and lifestyle to suit her dreams. If she wants to win races, certain comforts have to go. How fit are you for the Christian’s life race? Are you simply stumbling forth around the track, huffing and puffing under a load of sin and distractions or do you keep yourself fit and free from hindrances?

God has a plan for each of our lives, yes yours as well. Because you chose to follow Him you don’t belong to yourself anymore. He‘s your coach and is ready to train you to perfection. But, just as it is impossible to win a race dressed in a load of clothes and with a back pack on, so is it impossible to be effective in the Lord’s plan if we’re involved with lots of things that is not of God, especially sin.

Keeping in shape as an athlete means keeping your body used to what it’s supposed to do, which is running. Keeping in shape as e.g. a doctor means to stay on top of your knowledge and skills i.e. continuous professional development. Keeping in shape as a Christian soldier means studying the Bible, building a relationship with the Lord, fighting off hindrances such as sin and spiritual attacks and obeying your Coach or Commanding Officer.

He is qualified to train and guide us because He did it first. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:18) and also Hebrews 12:1-3 above.”

When I was a long distance runner at school, it was fantastic to experience the exciting cheering from the supporters on the pavilion every time I passed them and especially as I took the last straight towards the winning post. They helped me make an extra effort. In the heavens and on earth are beings watching our progress, some cheering us on and others throwing obstacles in our way. Let’s not disappoint the Lord and also those who are wanting for us to succeed and be fruitful, especially those whom we’re destined to influence and affect and who may be jeopardised if we don’t. Let’s also not forget to cheer others on in their pursuit of God’s plan for their lives.

Lord, you have so much more for us than we can ask or imagine. Please help me to grasp it.

How Important are You?

Praise the Lord, another day of worship with the Saints.

Today we’re going to praise the Lord, because we are very important to Him.

Psalm 139 (ESV)

1  To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
3  You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
4  Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5  You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
7  Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8  If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10  even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
11  If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,"
12  even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.
13  For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
15  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
17  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18  If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.
19  Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me!
20  They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain!
21  Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22  I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.
23  Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
24  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!  

David highlighted the following:

·        You are carefully and lovingly put together with a specific purpose in mind.

·        We cannot hide from the Lord. He knows our every move and is keen to guide us in the right way.

·        The Lord thinks about you all the time, like you think about those you love.

·        God’s enemies were David’s enemies as well. In our case it’s evil forces, idols and sin. How about you? How much do you love the Lord?

·        And then verses 23 and 24. Are they the prayer of your heart too?

      You’re not ‘just a somebody’, a number in this world! Don’t you feel extremely special and unique? Read this Psalm again and savour it.

      Thank you Lord, I feel important.

Revive the Heart (Part Three)

Our working life in the UK only starts at 9am, but I usually wake up at or before 6am, which is when I write these bytes. Last night I felt like sleeping a little later, which I sometimes manage when I’m tired, but I realised someone might look out for a byte this morning, so I set the alarm for 6am.

“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38).”

We don’t only give money. We read in Romans 12:6-8: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; If it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” We give from what we receive, and as we give more we receive more.

How do you approach your job, hobby or projects? Don’t we go about it with enthusiasm, plan ahead, work hard, be creative and try to impress. Don’t we have ambition to reach certain goals and levels in our careers and in society? If we are so diligent on the earth, what about our homeland? We are in the world, but not of the world the Bible says.

We should ultimately focus on what God has in mind. If we approach Kingdom needs with the same diligence than we approach our own ambitions, church and the world would be much different, wouldn’t they? Do you realise that God has the same kind of ambitions for His Kingdom than we have for our lives. When we try to reach our goals in life and people don’t want to go along with it as we’d like them to, don’t we get frustrated? How should God feel about your cooperation?

What are you best at with regard to the Kingdom of God and the church? Does the Lord show you wonderful things in the Bible that you’d like to teach others? Make the most of every opportunity to do so. Teach your friends, and colleagues, anybody the Lord shows you. Are you inclined to encourage people, to help and serve people? Are you good at making money and feel the urge to give it away? Go for it and give it into God’s Kingdom as He guides you! Are you inclined to hear from the Lord and feel you should warn the church? Don’t be timid – you must be more obedient to God that to man.

Through the ages the church developed into a structure that moved away from the Lord’s idea of the fivefold ministry in the church that should equip the ordinary Christians to live out their gifts and make a difference (Read Ephesians 4:11-15). Maybe as individual Christians we should take the courage to encourage our church leadership to revive this principle so that the Kingdom in your town may grow.

Where do you want your treasure to be (Matthew 6:19-21, 13:44 and 19:16-21)?

Revive the Heart (Part Two)

How do we work out our own salvation as per Philippians 2:12? Weren’t we saved by grace when we invited Jesus into our lives? Verses 13 to 15 give us an idea: “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.”

When you got born again the Lord bought the clay, which is you. Now He works at making a product that is useful for Him. He removes anything that renders us ineffective. The only problem He has is that His clay has a free will and has to work with Him, which is why we are told to work out our own salvation. The Holy Spirit reveals something in us that needs removing or adding and is willing to guide us in how to do it. We, however, need to work along with Him. If we are content with being religious and materialistic, we obviously will either not hear His voice or ignore it. If, however, we desire to make a difference in this world and in the Kingdom, we will actively work with God at changing ourselves.

Why does he mention fear and trembling? As I look at the church, this passage in Matthew 7:13, 14 continuously comes to mind: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.” Is your road narrow? When you work on a project for a boss or client with high standards, aren’t you a bit nervous to get it right. Every time the person walks in and inspects it, you’re looking for possible mistakes and shrinks at the thought of having to be told off.

Yes, the Lord is a loving God. My dad was also a loving dad, but he had his standards and we had to comply, which is why we are what we are today. I didn’t remain a baby in his lap forever. I had to be taught life and how to conduct – the narrow way. I had to take my chances and bear the consequences.

When you’re a newborn Christian, “you need to crave pure spiritual milk, like newborn babies, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation (1 Peter 2:2)”, but as you grow up in the Lord, He is going to teach (Psalm 32:8) and discipline you (Hebrew 12:4-14  - please read it) – feed you meat. If the church focuses more on training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16), equipping the saints for the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-15) and dealing with sin, we will be a force to be reckoned with.

But if each individual lamp gets itself cleaned to shine even brighter, if we get to work with the Lord to change us and make us useful and if we get involved in church and make a difference, soon all these bright lamps will become a powerful light unto the world.

Lord, please work in me to will and to work for your good purpose.

Revive the Heart (Part One)

What a Mighty God we serve. Hallelujah!

Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, 15 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” These two verses mention one lamp and a city of lights. It’s clear that the ‘you’ in verse fourteen is therefore plural and represents the church, which consists of a lot of individual lamps as in verse fifteen.

If each of us let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 5:16), the whole of Christianity would become a powerful light to the glory of God, wouldn’t it? So revival of the church as mentioned in the previous two postings begins with the individual.

How do you observe the church of today? Are we obeying all of Jesus’ commands, are we actively winning souls, is everybody involved in active ministry, do leaders prepare God’s people for works of service by developing their gifts of prophecy, teaching, evangelising, church planting, pastoral care, encouragement, leadership, serving and mercy (Ephesians 4:11-15, Romans 12:6-8)?

My observation is that in many instances 2 Timothy 4:3 is true today: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” The people of God today are often not sufficiently challenged to obedience.

If individual lamps start getting out from under the bowls of selfishness and comfort and begin shining to the Lord’s glory, soon the whole church will shine. We read in Philippians 2:12b “…continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” We need to save ourselves from being carnal and ineffective. We don’t want to stand before the throne one day with empty hands, do we? We don’t want to be like the man with the one talent who hid it and heard his Master saying “throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30).”

What percentage of the church do you think will be counted among those Jesus would say these words to: “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Read Matthew 7:21-23*)? Man’s mind loves to be passive, to find a comfortable way that works, tradition, habits and set ways. If we can get away the easy way with a shortcut, we’re pleased. With the Lord everything is vibrant and new every day and we need to hear daily what He wants to do. Church leaders need to teach members how to hear from God and individuals need to make it their ambition to please God in every way. At the end of each day we need to look back together with the Lord asking: “Lord what did I do well today and where can I improve.”

Lord, please challenge our hearts.

Make Revival Happen (part two)

Good morning to another wonderful day the Lord has made.

We are just like Israel of old, aren’t we? They started to drift away from the Lord pursuing more visible excitement, not realising that real excitement is actually the Lord’s presence, until the Lord sent a prophet or judge to jerk them back to the reality of His power, only to gradually move away from Him again.

One of the key characteristics of past revivals was the presence of the Lord with His power and love. Some of the first things that happened during past revivals were repentance from sins of believers and salvation of unbelievers. (http://sureword.faithweb.com/characteristicsofrevival.html) To come into His presence we need to be clean. For His anointing to flow through us we need to be pure. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8). Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false (Psalm 24:3, 4).”

The early church moved in power, didn’t they? Right through the book of Acts we see recounts of the signs and miracles done by not only the apostles, but also men like Stephen. We read that Stephen was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, full of God’s grace and power (Acts 6:8) and that his opposition could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke (Acts 6:10).

Why was the early church so much different from the church today? Why did they move in God’s power and saw many miracles and salvations? It is because they became like Jesus. Jesus owned nothing, the disciples left everything to follow Him, Jesus told the rich young man to get rid of his possessions in order to follow Him and “all the believers (the first 3000) were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need (Acts 2:44, 45).” The great men of God through the centuries were not concerned about owning things, but rather giving it away.

We haven’t seen a revival for a long time in the western world. What has happened in the last hundred years in the west though? Wealth has become available to the common man, hasn’t it? Medicine and technology became excellent. Man doesn’t need God anymore. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money Matthew 6:24).”

The church shouldn’t need to look out for revival. We should stay alive, powerful and seeing God in action all the time. Individuals just need to become like Stephen – full of faith, the Holy Spirit and power – and when we then regularly get together without the hindrance of material distractions and busy schedules, we’ll stand in awe as to what God can do through pure hearts.

Father, please speak to us about the reality of your power and love. We, your church, would like to be what you intended us to be.

Make Revival Happen (Part One)

“When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’ Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor’ (Matthew 11:2-5)”

Isn’t this what should happen daily in our lives? In our case it would include spiritual and emotional illness as well. Is revival an outpouring of God’s Spirit for the sake of our excitement during church services, or for the healing of our world?

For a season my spiritual life has sunk very low. I’ve shared about the idols in my life in an earlier posting. During this time of sin I’ve pleaded the Lord to miraculously remove these temptations from me. He didn’t, but instead guided me towards a decision to do something about them. I had to come to a point where I stop pleasing the carnal nature and seek God righteousness. Once I consciously removed all that is not of God from my life and started to do His will again, revival started to kick in.

The Bible is loaded with instructions what to do. I believe true revival will come when the church starts getting rid of sin and idols in her life and start doing that which exalt Jesus. If we do God’s will during the week, seeing Him in action, and every Sunday we testify about the greatness of God who worked with and through us, would we not enter worship with a totally different attitude?

Would we not have reason to praise God, and would our minds not be filled constantly with those good works we saw the Lord doing? Would others, who may be young Christians or who have grown cold and passive, not be motivated to follow suit? If a prophecy or interpretation of tongues was brought, would we not listen to it with the intention to act on it, expecting the Lord to give us guidance as to what to do next?

Is this not the way to start a revival instead of waiting endlessly for the Lord to do something? A child waits on his dad to do something about the problem, but a mature person applies what his dad taught him and does something about it himself.

What does revival mean? If you want to revive a neglected business, you want to restore it back to its former glory. Waiting for the manager to do something wouldn’t accomplish your goal. His task would be guiding the revival process, but the revival would take hard work from each employee. For the church to revive to its former Book-of-Acts glory will take faith and consistent applying of God’s will from every disciple under the Holy Spirit’s direction.

Jesus lived in constant revival, didn’t He? Did He only lead worship and preached, waiting for the Holy Spirit to fall on them? No He glorified God the Father by hearing from Him what to do and then applied it. Miracles happened and God got glorified.

“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 5:16).” This is the essence of living in the Lord’s glory, towards which we strive to be revived to.

Your New Life

Good morning. Wow, this is great – a new day is born and… now you’re born again!

After birth a baby is a little creature, completely unable to look after itself. Built into it, however, is the potential to be great. Everything it would need for a full life it already has – talents, gifts, intelligence and physical abilities. They only need to be developed.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness (2 Peter 1:3).” You have the potential to be great and the Lord has amazing plans for you, but first you have to grow up in Him, just like a newborn baby.

Let’s look at what a baby normally does.

·        It breathes. Our breath is the presence of God and the way we make His presence our own is through prayer and worship – our spiritual breathing. Does your body ever stop breathing? “Pray continually (without ceasing)” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says. Chat with the Lord, remark on His greatness when something strikes you and share with Him you needs and emotions all along the day. You may also start and end the day with prayer in your inner room.

·        It eats. Eat the Word. We see in our passage above that we have everything through our knowledge of Him, which comes through the Bible. Faith also comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Just read the Bible like a novel, starting with the book of Matthew and keep on reading as much as is comfortable for you every day. God works with His Word and when He wants to talk with you He’ll do it through the Bible by lifting out passages that will have special meaning to you. This creates faith.

·        It makes noises. Make a noise. Tell as many people as possible about the wonderful thing that happened to you. You have a new life and are going to heaven as a result. You have hope, peace and joy. Your pointless life is something of the past. Tell others who maybe would like to have the same.

·        It has a family. The Lord created a family for Him - total strangers who will love you as their own from day one. If you look for a church that preaches life and faith, a church where you’ll fit in and grow in faith, you’ll be protected. Just take note that not all churches preach life. Go to the pastor and a few members in the church and tell them “I got born again”. If they rejoice with you and envelop you with love and care, you might have arrived, but if they look at you strangely you should maybe look a bit further. Remember, we’re there for you at discipleliving@gmail.com if you need advice.

I want to close with a caution. Before you got born again, you belonged to the world that belongs to God’s enemy, Satan. He’ll try and get you back, which is why you need all the above. Don’t be scared to ask questions.

Welcome in the Kingdom of God and enjoy your new life.

Father God, please keep our new family member save.

Born Again

It’s the Lord’s Day. Good morning.

We have mentioned sin yesterday. The Bible says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23).”

Are you one with Jesus? He said in John 14:21, 23: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. 23 If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

There is so much Jesus taught and we must test ourselves whether we obey it, but we need to start at the beginning. According to the Gospel of John the very first actual teaching of Jesus was when he declared to Nicodemus in John 3:3-7: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.”

You must be born again. As a teen I went to church regularly. Our church didn’t preach salvation, so I knew nothing about it, but I knew something was lacking. Every Sunday I heard about my sins and felt guilty, but did not know the solution. A teacher at school asked me if I knew Jesus and told me I must be born again. Being religious was not enough and being accepted by the church was not sufficient. Because of Adam’s sin my spirit was dead to God and the Holy Spirit needed to give new birth to my spirit (John 3:6). It was up to me to give permission for that to happen.

I wanted it above all and confessed my sins to Jesus. I told Him he is welcome to come and live in me. It was wonderful. All that doubt and those questions left me and I understood the Bible clearly. I was a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (Corinthians 5:17).

I don’t know where you stand. You may have been brought up with religion or may not have had much contact with Christianity or the Bible. Either way you must be born again, Jesus said. This is the first commandment of Jesus you need to obey to be one with Him.

He said: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me (Revelations 3:20).” Is Jesus knocking at your door? Why don’t you invite Him in?

Lord Jesus, I’m sorry that I have sinned. Please come in and live with me. Be my guide and Master for I can’t live without you.

Have you prayed this and meant it? Now you’re born again. Tell us about it. Ask any questions. Leave either a comment or send us a message at discipleliving@gmail.com.

Tomorrow we’ll give some more guidance.

Sin! I don’t sin.

Good morning. I’m still enjoying my weekend break.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).”

Henry, do you want to tell me vicars, bishops and pastors also sin? We read in 1 John 1:8 that “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

The big question is what is sin? We are created in the image of God. We are just like Him apart from sin. When Adam was created he was exactly like God… but then he and Eve followed suggestions that came from a source outside of God and which were contrary to the Lord’s nature. Sin is therefore anything we do or are that is not like God is.

The instructions in the Bible are essentially a record of the Lord’s character. The way Jesus told us to act in for example the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is the way He acted and is how the Father acts all the time. God is love (1 John 4:8, 16) and is therefore patient, kind, does not envy or boast, is not proud, rude, self-seeking or easily angered. He keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

What about us?

·        “Those living in adultery, those who steal and do drugs and look at pornography, etc. sin. I don’t do it.” Aren’t you proud and keep record of wrongs? Don’t you judge? You sin.

·        “As a reverend I live a clean life. I can’t afford to sin. My congregation looks up to me.” Do you preach salvation, are you aware of individuals’ struggles against sin, do you make your people aware of the need of having to be holy, do your protect them against the enemy’s lies through proper teaching? If not, you sin. Are you proud?

If we’re not acting like God does, we sin and if we act self-righteously and do not deal with this sin in our lives, our “iniquities have separated us from your God; our sins have hidden His face from us, so that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:2).”

But Romans 3:24 says we “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”, and 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” It is true for everyone with a humble attitude that acknowledges sin.

It’s all in the heart isn’t it? It’s not the outward appearance that counts. God knows the heart and worst of all, you know your heart.

Jesus was reduced from being the Almighty Creator of the universe to living on the dusty streets among sinners, those we despise. He was love. “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8). He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering (Isaiah 53:3).”

If we’re not like Jesus, we sin. Where do you stand?

Father, please show us true holiness and obedience. Help us to be as humble as Jesus was.

Cast those Cares

It’s a lovely sunny autumn day, my day off and I’m well rested.

In our posting on Wednesday, 16 November we had a look at the Lord’s care for us. Apart from the Lord fighting on our behalf, we have many promises of the Lord’s care for us.

“Psalms 55:22: Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. 1Peter 5:7: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Philippians 4:6, 7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I realise this is not a popular teaching, for generally we want to feel comfortable. We’d like to believe the Lord made these promises because He loves us and would like to see us prosper. There is, however, much evidence in the Bible that those who obey the Lord will suffer much, so how do we bring these together. The key is in the passage in Matthew 5:31, 33: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” The Lord is first of all concerned about His Kingdom. We should be busy building relationship with Him (seeking His righteousness) and with winning souls and teaching and supporting each other (seeking His Kingdom).

Our purpose is not to gather comfort for ourselves (Matthew 6:19, 20) or to run to the Lord for comfort when troubles get in our way toward earthly comfort. To the Lord it is all about building His Kingdom. The enemy of God, Satan’s purpose is to hinder exactly that. He’ll make every effort to bombard our lives with cares and worries in order to distract us from our primary purpose – a healthy relationship with the Lord and a productive life as a servant of the Lord.

I speak from personal experience and am sure you’ll identify with this. Trouble at work or home, spouse trouble, circumstantial oppression, financial circumstances, temptations and sin, etc. are brought our way to keep our minds busy, to let us ponder and worry, making us introspective and before we see another unproductive day is over. What did it accomplish? It managed to turn our focus away from the Lord and His Kingdom onto ourselves and our circumstances.

This is why the Lord offered to take care of our circumstances and our anxieties, for if we leave it to Him to sort out, we’ll be free to obey His commands and make the Kingdom grow. We therefore need to consciously redirect our thoughts back to Kingdom issues and prayer and constantly cast cares on the Lord, for distractions will not stop, which is why Philippians 4:6 mention prayer, petitioning or supplication and thanksgiving. Whenever a concern returns to cloud my mind, I just say: “Thank you, Lord, you’re dealing with it. So where was I in my intercession for others?”

Lord, it’s all about your Kingdom. Please help us to be effective.

A Blessing

Good morning.

I try not to miss a day of writing something. Today, however, I’m somehow tired and a message wouldn’t come into my heart. But I pray for you that the Lord may reveal himself to you today and that He will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; and will counsel you and watch over you (Psalm 32:8).

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7). May your heart join these feet so that the Lord’s name may be glorified.

I pray that His name be hallowed, His kingdom come and His will be done in and through your life (Matthew 6:9, 10).

Go for it and live for Jesus!

Help!

Good morning. It is 7am and foggy outside.

My children once fought like cat and dog in the car and it didn’t matter what we tried, they wouldn’t stop. Neither threats nor warnings worked. What did work?

The other day my staff didn’t feel like doing something new I introduced. They were not used to it and felt it’s not their job. I felt that, although I’ve done it up to then, there’s no need for me to do it when a staff member is free, since it would set me free to do my other jobs. Talking about it didn’t bring us far, so after muttering unhappily in my heart for a while, the Lord reminded me of the other solution, in fact the solution that brings peace the quickest.

We read in Zechariah 4:6 “’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty,” and in Exodus 14:14 “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” These were rhema revelations the Lord gave me some time ago.

That day when my children became out of control, I started to pray. It was all that was left. They still fought up to the front door of the house, where a holy anger came over me as I unlocked the house. “Satan, in the name of Jesus, leave my children alone!” I commanded. It was like I switched them off – instant silence. The problem with my staff I also gave to the Lord. I did share with my staff my needs, but didn’t feel like forcing anybody to do it, for I wanted to retain good relationships. I was looking forward to see what the Lord was going to do and He was faithful as usual.

Often when my wife, Julia, can’t get through to me, she asks the Lord to show me what she wanted me to see, and He does it. I do the same and it saves us lots of fighting and disagreement.

The Lord is real and loves us. He is more than an object of worship in church and is definitely not a distant God. He is Abba Father – Daddy God (Romans 8:15). Moses argued with Him when He wanted to destroy Israel and the Lord complied (Exodus 32:11). Jacob wrestled with Him and refused to let go until he was blessed, and he received the blessing (Genesis 32:24-29). Often I hear He is incomprehensible, but to me He isn’t. He reveals Himself to those who love and obey Him. We are created in His image – we are like Him, but He is also like us apart from the sinful nature.

Go and sit on Daddy God’s lap and ask when you need help, just as you would help your child. He wants to be your first option, not your last resort. Don’t fight, criticize and judge – also not in your heart. Leave it to the Lord. Just love those who make life difficult for you and pray for them.

Father, thank you that you’re there for us.

Fullness from Drought

Israel was dry, very dry. As a result of their idol worship no dew or rain fell for a few years. How the people survived I don’t know, but the Lord looked after an obedient man, Elijah, who had pleased Him by his faith. During this drought the Lord used Elijah to sort out the sin of idol worship in Israel and, once this was dealt with (1 Kings 18:16-40), Elijah knew rain would follow.

The Lord showed me something from this passage about prayer and answers to prayer. We read in James 4:2, 3: “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures,” and in 1 John 5:14, 15:  “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.”

After Elijah had obeyed the Lord by dealing with the idol worship in Israel, he heard the Lord showing him the rain was coming. There was no physical evidence yet, but the Lord used the sound of rain in his spirit to give him the message: “And Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain (1 Kings 18:41).’” Elijah first heard God’s will – rain is coming – and then he went to pray for this will of God to manifest (1 Kings 18:42-46).

What causes the drought in your life? I mentioned in an earlier posting that idol worship caused my anointing to dry up temporarily. It’s probably the same for most Christians as it was with Israel. Before God could help Israel against Moab through Gideon, Gideon first had to get rid of their family idols. Maybe you should first deal with the idols in your life as we mentioned in the earlier postings. The Lord desires to pour out His anointing on your gift, but He first wants to be the most important in your life.

When Elijah prayed for rain, did he pray once and then gave up? No, he kept on asking until he saw results. He also did not only pray repeatedly, but repeatedly looked for the result expectantly (1 Kings 18:43, 44). He sent his servant to look for a cloud. When you expect anything from the Lord according to His will as revealed to you, He would like you to show faith by keeping on asking and looking out for the answer expectantly. Prayers don’t bounce off the ceiling, but they bounce off idols, wrong motives and lack of faith.

Let the desire of your heart be an anointing to do God’s bidding, and the drought will be broken by an abundance of just that.

Lord, please make us aware of that which you desire for us and teach us to pray Your way.

Stolen Treasures

Another day the Lord has made!

Why am I writing about the devil and sin when many others preach about God’s goodness and our prosperity? This is what I’m told to do, for the Lord wants us to “have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10)”. This passage, however, is preceded by the following: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10)”. The Bible refers to Satan at least 90 times and if we ignore his existence, he has free mandate to rob us of our abundant life.

What is the abundant life mentioned in John 10:10? It’s to live like God does or in more practical terms like Jesus did. Although Jesus had available everything He wanted (even legions of angels – Matthew 26:53), all He was interested in was serving others. He healed, taught, trained, fed, delivered, released and cared for people. He challenged false prophets and opposing forces. Although Jesus could live in luxury if He wanted to, He never did, even though it was offered to him. Guess who offered it to Him. “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. ‘All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me’ (Matthew 4:8, 9)”. This is why Jesus warned us against Satan. He lures us into worshiping him (Mammon – Matthew 6:24) and then fulfils his promise – material prosperity, which we confuse with abundant life.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:24 “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" and to the rich young man “Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me (Luke 18:22).” How does the devil steal from us? Through giving to us material and carnal opportunities, because he knows that once we’re entangled with maintaining a materialistic lifestyle, we won’t have the time to be like Jesus.

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:20, 21).” What are the treasures in heaven? Saved souls, a record of obedience, other obedient souls whom you’ve taught and encouraged, a Father pleased by your faith, people who were fed, healed and delivered and followed the Lord as a result. Where is your heart? What is it that motivates you?

The devil succeeded greatly in rendering parts of the church ineffective. Compare the first church with some of the church today. Everybody in that church was active in their gifts (Colossians 3:16) and it grew in power and numbers (Acts 19:20). Through introducing a lot of unbiblical activities Satan managed to get the greatest percentage of churchgoers to be passive listeners, people worshipers and not doers of the Word.

We are entering the last days, dear reader. We need to face reality and get the church to become a force to be reckoned with. We cannot sweet-talk anymore.

Let’s Celebrate

Good morning. It’s the day of the Lord!

“Six days you shall labour and do all your work, But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy (Exodus 20: 9-11).”

Since Jesus’ resurrection the Sabbath does not exist anymore for the Christians, but God’s principles are eternal – we need to rest. Because Jesus rose on the first day of the week, it has eternally become a day of celebration – celebrating the salvation and victory that Jesus bought for us on that Sabbath so many years ago, when he became the lamb sacrificed for our sins on the cross.

Celebration is a time of joy and happiness, a time when we remember the good things Jesus have done for us. We should therefore also celebrate the good things the Lord has done through us. We are commanded to labour six days and rest on the seventh day. The labour of Christians should be winning souls for Jesus, intercession, encouragement, serving the needs of others, etc. If what we do is in obedience to the Lord, He will confirm it with miracles and answers to prayer. We’ll see people delivered and changed, we’ll experience circumstances relieved as well as healings and all kinds of wonderful things. This will give us reason to celebrate on the Lord’s Day.

Many Christians feel they are free and therefore do not have a problem to work on the Lord’s day. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:23 “’Everything is permissible’- but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’- but not everything is constructive.” Yes, you are free to work on a Sunday - God will not judge you for that - but if you separate the day for the Lord, celebrating His glory and redemptive power, especially if you had some special experiences with Him in the week past, your next week will have a good start.

Having an anointed Sunday morning celebration, a restful Sunday and a Christian movie or another celebration the evening usually prepares me for another week of service. In my case, experiencing the Lord’s anointing as I teach raise my heartbeat to celebration.

Today we remember those heroes who gave their lives in the wars of the world. Shall we also remember those Christian heroes who didn’t compromise when they were put before a choice to deny Christ and having their lives back? They chose death and that bought our freedom. Let’s celebrate the Lord’s involvement in all kinds of freedom, such as the ending of wars and religious freedom, but let’s pray for those still bound by sin and evil religion.

Father God we praise you for the glorious things you’ve done through the ages, for the wars and other violence you’ve ended. We pray that you use us to help those who are still bound to be set free through your power.

The Zacchaeus Thing

Good morning. How has your day been so far?

The Lord still wants me to say a few things along the topics of our recent postings. Today, however, we’ll take a breather and change the subject.

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold (Luke 19:8)."

Zacchaeus did a lot of wrong things in his life, but when he saw the love and forgiveness of Jesus and believed in Him, i.e. became born again, he felt he had to make amends where he harmed others and stole from them.

How many of us have been or are in the same position in our lives, but didn't find it possible to make right? We've maybe moved on and lost contact with people, and in some cases we're not even sure whether people were aware of our wrongdoing. In the case of the latter, having to go back and tell them about it may cause more harm than good.

We do, however, read in Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”, and in Philippians 4:6, 7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” It doesn’t matter what we’ve done, the Lord has forgiven us, but sometimes we still feel we need to do something about it to get peace.

So how do we make amends? We do it through the principle of...

DO NOT REPAY KINDNESS, BUT PASS IT ON.

How does this principle work? If someone has been kind to you, it shouldn’t be a case of “I owe you” like some do. The Lord will bless them for their giving and you therefore owe them nothing. The giver should not expect anything back either. "Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:38)."

No, as repayment we should bless someone else – pass on the kindness.

How does this apply in our Zacchaeus Thing? We need to amend the wrongs mentioned above by blessing and forgiving others. Go out of your way to do good and hold nothing against others. If you can't amend what you've done, amend what’s been done to others by those who won't amend what's they’ve done, and then you’ll have peace.

Father, in the name of Jesus we ask you to help us, through the Holy Spirit, to amend where we've wronged by blessing those you bring on our way and forgiving those who sin against us.

We’re in Trouble

All the bytes up to now tie in with one another. It may therefore be necessary to refer back to recent ones.

The prophets of old, Jesus and the Apostles were regularly in trouble and so should we be, because Jesus promised it. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33)."

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12 “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Persecution is covered to an extent in my mentioned book, but I’ve learned a few things lately as well. We have a choice between sinning or idol worship on one hand and persecution on the other. If we worship idols or live in sin the devil is happy with us and won’t bother, but if we tamper with his plans by doing God’s bidding, i.e. live a godly life, he’ll try to discourage or stop us through persecution either from people or circumstances (see book).

The devil’s principle reason for existing is to oppose God and he’ll do anything is his power to prevent people to obey God. So what happens then? If we are not adequately prepared and properly trained in handling the spiritual realm, we maybe start being godly, bravely doing God’s will, but immediately the devil retaliates with persecution. We get the scare of our lives and withdraw. The devil then offers condolence in sin or idol worship. The latter aren’t necessarily heavy sins, but if we disobey the Lord by being apathetic or unconcerned we sin and if we are self-centred we worship an idol – ourselves.

If the devil managed this he’s happy because we’re unproductive again. So what are we to do then? The key is in Jesus’ words “in me you may have peace” and “but take heart! I have overcome the world” in John 16:33 above. It boils down to faith. If we know that what we’re doing for the Kingdom is the Lord’s will for us, we’ll rest assured that the Lord will carry us through and protect us and we’ll therefore persevere. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:10, 12).”

When therefore, as a result of obedience to the Lord, our world becomes somewhat hot, we can either withdraw into the temporary comfort of sin and idol worship, or we can persevere in suffering and obtain eternal comfort and rewards. The latter is extremely difficult if we sit on the fence between Mammon and God (Matthew 6:24), for Mammon constantly fires his alternative solutions to us (see book).

So what now? The most productive Christians have denied materialism; simply because there is not really time for both if you’re earnest about God.

Father God, please show me what it is that prevents me to go all the way for you!