God Ideas

What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. Isaiah 5:20

The one thing that we hear over and over in churches of all or most denominations is that God’s grace covers our sin. How beautiful and true this is – if we were to stop right there we could all be happy and keep on living under that grace while we continue in the sin unhindered and without any conviction.

Church should be that place where sinners of all kinds feel welcome. We’ve all heard the catch phrase “love the sinner, hate the sin “ but it seems as though the new train of thought is to keep people in church by embracing the sin along with the sinner.

Lets be honest- sin is a universal problem that not one of us anywhere in the world from the beginning of time have been exempt from. To be clear, each one of us, every human being from every nation, race, gender and belief system has /is/ will deal with this simply because we were born with a sinful nature.

When we are attending a church that makes us feel loved and welcome we relax and enjoy the feelings of acceptance. Don’t get me wrong-all this is lovely and I’m sure that’s exactly how God would have His church show love. The problem is when we enter dragging our particular sin that we engage in with us and THAT is made to feel welcome and embraced as well.

The very nature of sin is that it is designed to rob, kill and destroy our character, joy and ability to relate to God. Sin causes brokenness. I believe that the reason so many do not experience freedom is that they have been led by the church to believe the lie that their sin does not separate them from God. If the church “authorises” the sin then confusion sets in as to why what still makes them feel broken inside is embraced by the very authority that should lead them to wholeness. Let me just add that NO person of any title, hierarchy or authority can EVER overrule the word of God, the laws of God or the purposes He put in place for His creation.

If you were to discover a massive tumor on your body, you would most likely go immediately to the nearest hospital or doctor. Now imagine if the doctors told you to embrace your tumor, to sit there and lovingly watch it grow because it’s a part of you. You would eventually die because that thing was not treated or excised from your body. Sin is pretty much like a tumor and the church has been given the task of the doctor- to help you to survive and become whole by getting rid of that which was designed to stunt your growth, steal your peace  and kill you.

Nobody likes to acknowledge their sin, much less to be confronted with it. Gods grace never condemns. Gods grace gently convicts. It’s up to the individual to heed that conviction and up to the church to uphold the standards that God would have us live by. It’s always good to remember that the 10 commandments were not put together to restrict us but to give us freedom. Each and every commandment, when obeyed sets us free from all sorts of consequences. It’s only a fool that would see these as a way of controlling them and a bigger fool that would encourage anybody to keep on breaking them.

“ Jesus ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. They went away changed, not Him.” Father Calvin Robinson

Yet even now, be free from your captivity! Leave Babylon and the Babylonians. Sing out this message! Shout it to the ends of the earth! The LORD has redeemed his servants, the people of Israel. Isaiah 48:20

But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment. Isaiah 50:11

The Lord said: These people approach me with their speeches to honor me with lip-service, yet their hearts are far from me, and human rules direct their worship of me. Isaiah 29:13

Marriage is a strange concept- two people stand in front of another person who has been given the authority to declare them legally bound to one another for the rest of their lives here on earth.

Modern day marriage is a little less restrictive and has a lot less boundaries in place. Firstly its not necessarily ‘until death do you part’, its more like ‘until you’re no longer ‘feeling it’ do you part’.

The ‘forsaking all others’ part is also a little more blurred and often incorporates a few others into the equation that used to equal only two.

Here’s the thing though- marriage was not invented by some modern day relationship guru but is rather an age old concept thought about and perfected by God Himself. Just as we cannot reinvent the wheel, we cannot re-invent the concept of marriage. What has resulted in the attempt to do so is a mix and match, boudary-less  mess that leaves behind broken families, broken homes and broken people in its wake.

The problem all starts with a wrong understanding of the lines that are meant to be drawn in the sand as you say your I DO’s.

The first line is the line behind you. This line signifies a separation between you and your past identity as a single,unattached person who is legally entitled to do whatever he or she wishes relationally. This line cuts you off from old romantic relationships and the possibility of re-visiting those attachments and is a vital part of a healthy future with the person standing facing you as you make your vows.

The second line is the one in front of you. This line essentially cancels out any future romantic relationships with anybody else other than the person to whom you’re making your vows. This too is an essential line that will ensure a good understanding of fidelity going forward.

The next two lines are the ones to your left and to your right. These two lines cut off any possible and sometimes unintentional sabotaging from within the circle of people that are closest to you. The Bible says that in marriage two become one. This simply put is it’s the two of you on one team and everybody else separate. Your best friends do not need to know the intimate details of your marriage. Your parents do not need to know the points that you and your ‘chosen one’ butt heads about. Your finances, your sex life, your personal stuff  is no longer accessible to anybody outside the two of you and any private information has to stay private.

You get to choose your life partner. A good choice will go a long way to a happy future, so choose wisely and make sure you decide to choose that person every day, good days and bad days, for the rest of your lives. Until death do you part.

Mark 10:6-9. Jesus said, “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female. ‘ “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.

When we ask with an expectant heart we can ask and ask for days, weeks even years and still know that God will answer. Time isn’t an indication of Gods faithfulness. The Bible tells us that a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day to God. When you know that you know that you know that He has heard and will answer, you ask with an anticipation of favour.

I’ve asked and asked for months and sometimes years for a particular thing and have had a knowledge deep in my soul that my answer was coming. Maybe it’s today!

The next day and every day after that until I saw the blessing I still told myself “ maybe it’s today!”.

The person who asks expecting nothing quite often receives exactly what they’re expecting- nothing!

Ask God to give you an expectant heart, an excitement that builds up in your spirit that He has heard and will answer – it will change the way you ask and the way you view whatever it is that you’re asking Him to do.

“Just make sure you ask empowered by confident faith without doubting that you will receive. For the ambivalent person believes one minute and doubts the next. Being undecided makes you become like the rough seas driven and tossed by the wind. You’re up one minute and tossed down the next. When you are half-hearted and wavering it leaves you unstable. Can you really expect to receive anything from the Lord when you’re in that condition?”

James (Jacob) 1:6-8 TPT

“Until now you’ve not been bold enough to ask the Father for a single thing in my name, but now you can ask, and keep on asking him! And you can be sure that you’ll receive what you ask for, and your joy will have no limits!”

John 16:24 TPT

Walking next to Jesus or close behind Him allows Him to either walk with us or to lead us. In Him, we have a guide, a friend and companion.

The path He walks on with us is a path of His purpose where His will is done . Often we stay on the path but we try to run ahead of him to get to where we’re going quicker -simply because we trust in our own abilities and timing more than in His.

We may get there quicker but it will be out of His time.

In His will but out of His time is as bad as out of His will altogether. There is a time for everything according to Ecclesiastes. A perfect time ordained by God for everything under the sun – why rush it or bring it to birth prematurely when it’s still in the process of being prepared for perfection?

It’s like picking a fruit from a tree before it’s ripe and then arguing that it’s still the same fruit and should therefore taste the same regardless of when it’s picked.

As kids, we used to collect silkworms and keep them in a box until they wove a cocoon. We would even cut out cardboard shapes and get them to spin their silk on the shape we had cut out. After the cocoon was complete the wait began for the moths to break through. I was often tempted to cut open a cocoon to see what was happening on the inside. Doing that would have brought the whole beautiful process of metamorphosis to a quick end because it was prematurely opened.

God grows opportunities like flowers or fruit . They mature and ripen in a season determined by Him.

Don’t rush ahead and try to make things happen when you want them to happen- you might just lose out on the sweet pleasure of a gift that is being prepared to bless you incredibly and exchange it for a sour unripened object that is disappointing and immature .

Allow yourself to walk at His pace and you might even find that the journey is a beautiful as the destination while you’re being ripened, matured and made ready to receive that which He has for you.

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭8‬, ‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

On our home automation system there is “Refresh Navigator” option for when the system gets stuck or reacts too slowly. This is a sort of reboot that just gets the system back on track when its lagging.

I was thinking about how close we are to a new year- exactly 4 days away- and I thought of a few areas of my own life that need a reboot or refreshing.

I guess all of us have grown weary and perhaps a bit stale in various areas of our lives.

Is your work dreary and requiring way too much effort for the simplest of tasks?

Is your marriage a real drag and a cause of constant exhaustion just thinking of new ways to communicate?

What about your relationships with friends, family or even colleagues? Sometimes these just require too much preparation and gearing up that we avoid them as much as we can.

Then there is also the area of faith and what is needed to keep that strong and growing daily.

What about your self care routines like diet and exercise?

I know for me this time of year is especially hard when it comes to discipline with all the Christmas leftovers lying around on kitchen counters because the fridge and pantry are already full. Every time I walk into the kitchen I am confronted with either Greek delicacies or a beautiful carrot cake baked for me by a dear friend. Then there’s also the delicious Portuguese Pasteis de Nata given to me by another dear friend who joined us for Christmas dinner as well as the platter of sweets given to us by yet another couple ….There is no way that discipline has a snowballs’ chance in hell with all of this temptation!

I’m realising more and more that I want to go into 2023 with a healthy mind, a healthy body, a productive mindset, a stronger than ever marriage and a faith that is rock solid. In short, I am needing to push the Refresh Navigator or Reboot button before the systems crash completely and a lot more effort is needed to rebuild these areas of my life from the ground up.

Take the time to make the small changes that are necessary now to avoid the big overhauls later. Start 2023 on a good footing and a strong foundation.

Look at the compartments of your life that are perhaps built on shaky, untrustworthy foundations and make the changes that need to be made before they collapse. Take the time and put in the effort now that will prevent the potential disaster that could be around the corner if you just watch things slide downhill because its just too much effort to do anything. Seriously- DO IT NOW! Small changes can make huge differences in situations that are so very less than ideal.

I’m off to follow my own advice now with a pen and paper in hand. On Sunday I plan to welcome in a new year with new beginnings and new hope in my home, my life, my health, my marriage,my relationships and mostly my faith.

Happy 2023!

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint.

Jeremiah 31:25

 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

Psalm 23:1-3

With Christmas and 2023 approaching, lots of Black Friday specials (in a country where we don’t even celebrate Thanksgiving- go figure), irresponsible driving after office parties, our levels of frustration, panic, fear and overwhelming emotions of all sorts are particularly heightened.

At the slightest provocation we find ourselves at a breaking point about to snap. What often follows is an unprecedented reaction that doesn’t quite match the trigger.

Imagine you have a thick rubber band surrounding the four corners of your safe place- kind of like a boxing ring with the rubber ropes that surround it. When we have a ‘boil over’ moment, we push hard against this band and it extends over the edge of our safety zone and into unsafe territory. The bands keep us from wandering off and getting lost there and pull us back to where we are secure once again. Never once is there a point of no return as long as we stay behind the band. This is how I envision the Grace of God! It stretches and brings us back time after time.

The beauty of this ‘Grace- rubber’ is that it is extremely durable, built to last and endure a lifetime of our destructive moments, constantly stretching and restoring, stretching and restoring.

As much as the rubber is durable, sometimes the force stretching it is not. Each time we allow ourselves to indulge in destructive behaviour, spew destructive comments or wallow in destructive self pity, we can create scar tissue that is not as malleable as the band protecting us. Scar tissue restricts us and often we end up finding our identity therein -I’m short tempered, not good in relationships, unstable, irrational…the list goes on an on.

The labels we wear are often based on the scars we bear.

I’m not sure we can ever have a full guarantee of a life with no destructive moments but I have found that the simple principles of STOP, BREATHE, RE-ASSESS and DISTRACT often go a long way to prevent an overflow of unhealthy reactions, overwhelming emotions and irretractable words.

I doubt that I will ever get it all right, but with GRACE, effort and a whole lot of prayer, I can see progress towards a lot less drama, guilt,shame and regret!

James 4:6 “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

This morning I was reading a devotional by Anne Voskamp and the question she posed was “why do you get up every morning?” She had seen this question on a billboard and the 3 answers that were given were as follows : Fear of failure, Need to succeed, For the love of your life.

For me it’s usually for coffee, but for the purpose of this exercise, I would say probably all 3!

This got me thinking further and I asked myself the question ” Why do I spend time with God every day?”

Surely a once- a- week ‘check-in’ appointment would be sufficient if I throw in a 90 minute church service on a Sunday as well? For some, that may even be a bit of excess so they do either the check-in or the church…

If I have an electric appliance that I rely upon on a daily basis- lets say a lamp, a TV, a phone charger or any thing else you want to add, and I plug it in, it serves its purpose, right?

If somebody comes along and unplugs it, it wouldn’t work, The electricity that flows through from the socket is disconnected. The source of power is cut off.

For battery operated appliances, the same principle applies. Take the example of the phone. Most of us charge our devices daily. If I don’t charge my phone every night the battery runs flat. The power goes from the socket to the device powering it for the day and at the end of the day it needs to be be connected to the charger once again- run, rest, repeat!

I’ve realised that God’s power, that according to the Bible is made perfect in my weakness, can only be activated in me by being plugged into the SOURCE of that power.

In doing that, I am recharged and filled with His presence on a daily basis. I cannot rely on a once-in-a-while “hey Lord, here I am, please bless me” connection. As with any earthly relationship, there needs to be a regular connection and time invested into the one I have with God.

In return, I am empowered, equipped and topped up daily to live at full capacity in His strength. The power that comes from God, goes through me and gets poured into every situation, circumstance and encounter I have throughout the day. I am a catalyst for His power to work around me.

Just as I wouldn’t expect my phone to work if I charge it once a week, nor my relationship with my husband to flourish if I spoke to him once a week ( for the same length of time as a church service!), I cannot expect to experience the fullness of God’s grace, favour and provision without plugging into the source regularly.

An ignition coil in your car’s engine causes the voltage in a spark plug to be accelerated. If there is a fault in the ignition coil and the voltage isn’t sufficient, the car engine misfires, the car’s power is decreased, and amongst a few other issues, there is a bad smell emanating from the engine. This is a good example of us when the connection between the coil and spark plug of our prayer life isn’t working properly. The same will apply, our performance will be compromised and the fragrance of Christ will become a bad smell around us. ( Have a look at one of my previous posts Stench or Fragrance )

Think of yourself standing between God and the world around you, receiving power from one hand and passing its on with the other hand. If the flow is undisrupted, all sorts of “God events” are able to take place in you and around you, sometimes even without your knowledge!

A family member of mine was listening to my brother -in- law speaking about the miracle healings that took place when he recently visited a country where Christianity is not recognised. This family member experienced a rather dramatic healing as he was standing there without even mentioning his health issue. The power that my brother- in- law was connected to was able to flow freely around him without him even being aware of it at the time. He was only told of what had taken place a few weeks after the actual event!

Its not for Him, but for me- my sanity, my peace, my understanding, my source of wisdom, my ability to solve problems, my time management my families’ needs, our health… the list is endless. The needs are met through that daily connection, that meeting that I have each morning.

That is what gets me up on my feet. Day after day, morning after morning!

“You draw near to those who call out to you, listening closely, especially when their hearts are true.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭18‬ ‭TPT

So let us come BOLDLY to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16

“The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭50‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

About 5 years ago I decided to try and grow an avocado pip into a tree. The excitement that I felt when I saw that first leaf to when it actually started growing a foot high, then a meter high and eventually over the period of a couple of years, way-over-my- head high was like that of a kid watching a silkworm through its various stages of metamorphosis.

I watched eagerly as the foliage grew denser and higher. The long awaited flowers eventually made their appearance signaling that the fruit would soon appear .

I went away for 2 weeks in August and when I came back, my gardener was delighted to show me the tiny little avocados that had started to appear!

I watched and measured almost daily and today they are almost 6cm long.

So often we sow seed and expect the harvest to happen overnight. We watch and wait and get so easily discouraged when our situations seem to remain the same. Months, years and often decades go by without any evidence of our situation changing.

Without any warning we see God come through and in what seems like the blink of an eye everything is different . WHAT SEEMS LIKE THE BLINK OF AN EYE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME!

In nature there will always be a season for planting and a season for reaping. Ask any farmer. He will tell you that after sowing seed, no matter how many times he stands and stares at the ground, it will grow at its own pace and will only be ready when it’s ready!

He doesn’t ask God if He’s forgotten the seeds that were planted! He waits and understands that at the appointed time, if he’s been faithful in watering, weeding, fertilizing, pest control and all the other things that farmers do, that fruit will appear and grow into a crop that is ripe and ready to be harvested!

Stay the course, do what you need to do and wait patiently- the season you’re praying for is coming!

This generous God who supplies abundant seed for the farmer, which becomes bread for our meals, is even more extravagant toward you. First he supplies every need, plus more. Then he multiplies the seed as you sow it, so that the harvest of your generosity will grow. 2 Corinthians 9:10

 And don’t allow yourselves to be weary in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming! Galatians 6:9

Before the reward there must be labor. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap in joy. Ralph Ransom

As we go about our day encountering people and sharing spaces with people we may or may not know or even speak to, let us carry with us the FRAGRANCE of Jesus. We live surrounded by the stench of the world and the sinful nature thereof embedded in its very atmosphere. As with any foul smell, it’s only unpleasant for a while until we grow accustomed to it. We eventually don’t smell it. Bringing the fragrance of Christ does not mean acting all prissy and putting on our “holier- than-thou” face. That has a stench of its own! His fragrance is not an overpowering offensive cloud of perfume but rather a gentle waft of grace .

My prayer is that we will bring with us this sweet fragrance of Jesus to every space we enter into . Let us change the atmosphere wherever we go.

We will surely find many who will pull their noses up at this new and unfamiliar smell. There will be others who look around to see where it’s coming from. There will also be some people who will follow the scent because it’s so desirable.

Just being clothed in Him and bringing His fragrance into a place will always change any atmosphere- that’s the subtlety of mercy, grace and love.

“We have become the unmistakable aroma of the victory of the Anointed One to God —a perfume of life to those being saved and the odor of death to those who are perishing. The unbelievers smell a deadly stench that leads to death, but believers smell the life-giving aroma that leads to abundant life. And who of us can rise to this challenge?”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭TPT‬‬

As a human race, we are all searching for meaning to our existence. We need a reason to be, a purpose to fulfil as well as having a deep craving for acknowledgement and recognition. This is so evident just by looking at social media posts and the amount of unhappiness that is masked in glorious displays of extravagent lifestyles, selfie shoots and then those “no holds barred” posts placing very private moments and emotions on public display.

Why am I here? What is my purpose and how will I find somebody to genuinly love me just as I am? 

Am I even seen?

We look here, there and everywhere. Left,right and every other direction but it just seems to get darker and lonelier the more we look. So, we try to look with a little less intensity, hoping that a superficial replacement can be found- anything, just about anything is better than nothing!

Religion seems to be a good place to find meaning, but for some, memories of church leaves you angry, disillusioned  and often severely damaged.

Sometimes the one place where love was supposed to be found in abundance is where instead you encountered condemnation, archaic rules and harsh judgment.

What about the Self Help section of our local bookstore? This is where we find that every self appointed guru and his dog has become an expert on healing our minds, memories, bad habits and addictions. The answers to bad relationships, unhealthy thinking patterns, achieving success and even some super spiritual sounding stuff can be found right here. Every day there are new books in this section and sadly not too many are of any help at all. After reading them we are still no closer to finding our desperately sought after inner peace. 

We dive in and out of relationships just trying desperately to attach ourselves to somebody in order to feel warmth and acceptance from another human being. Sadly even this doesn’t fill us or satisfy our needs.

The answer to our “Happily Ever After” continues to be unattainable and elusive. The idea of “fake it till you make it” is looking more and more unlikely.

And then, out of nowhere comes that glorious moment in time when we realise that TRUE joy is not found in our possessions, lifestyles, bank balance, relationships, wardrobe, holidays or circumstances. True joy comes from a place deep within and is unaffected by anything we own or experience. It is constant on the days when all is right in our world as much as it is when everything seem to be working against us- it doesn’t wax and wane with our our circumstances or seasons.

We all know that in some shape or form we need a saviour to save us- from our financial situation, bad decisions, unhealthy lifestyle, diseased bodies, broken relationship,_ _ _ _. You can more than likely relate to one of these or use the blank space to fill in your own area where you need saving.

I’ve experienced that moment.

I’ve found my Saviour and as long as He knows the answers I can breathe easy. I pray you find yours too.

They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit EACH season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.

Psalm 1:3

Beware! Don’t always be wishing for what you don’t have. For real life and real living are NOT related to how rich we are.

Luke 12:15

But the spiritual nature produces love, JOY, PEACE, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Galatians 5:22

What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.

Isaiah 5:21

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. This will bring healing to your body and refreshment to your bones

Proverbs 3:7-8