When Faith becomes a REALITY

So often in life I find that we all rely on our own security, we take control of our lives in such away that we try and work things out to the best of our knowledge and our understanding. When our circumstances change or things don't go the way we plan, we panic and worry, and are often filled anxiety that eats us up on the inside. We then think or over-think situations, before having in-trusted things and handed things over to the Lord.

More often than not we put our trust in our ‘own security’ or the security that ‘we’ have created or have been blessed with. In moments like this is is important to constantly acknowledge where the blessing of our security comes from, and understand that the so many things that we rely on, such as money food, shelter, family and relationships can be taken away in an instant. The kind of thinking that relies more on ‘our’ provisions than on God who ultimately provides them, is dangerous. It says in Romans 11:26 “ Everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory.” This is just one of the many places in the bible that points to Jesus being the provider and sustainer of everything.

Firstly, wrong thinking on this matter, aids us to think that we are more in control of our lives than we really are, secondly it diminishes our reliance on our creator. Both of these things decrease how we see God and more often than not result in God become a dash-board god who we can call on only in times of crisis, desperation and need. Our mindset will typically be, what can God do for me? This reveals that we are making ourselves the centre of attention and we are only interesting in our own glory. God word gives us a very different picture through the life of Jesus, it shows us that Jesus came to serve and not to be served, he constantly relied on God the father to provide in every situation so that God my have the glory.

In Jesus prayer to his father before his crucifixion, echoed the words, ‘Father not my will but your will be done’. If you think about it, to declare these words, means that we are ultimately surrendering everything to the will of God. That might mean a number of things, from joy to sorrow, to persecution - after all, what that statement meant for Jesus, lead him he to endure the cross. However to truly profess this statement with our whole heart I believe that we become partakes in the divine which through the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to accomplish more that we could ever have imagined on our own. The Lords prayer as we are taught by Jesus, utters those same word... may your will BE DONE (surrender - not my will but your will Lord) may your kingdom come (part takers in the divine).

This ultimate surrender requires us to lay things down at the feet of Jesus and trust in his will, his good and pleasing will. I believe that this action leads us to begin to understand what faith is about and what it requires.

Last night after church I spoke to a young man from Zambia who had encountered God in such a powerful way that, he left everything, his home, his country, even his family to pursue his love for the Lord. His mother even wanted to disown him because of His proclamation of Jesus as the Lord of His life. He told me that he loved his mom, but loved Jesus more. He shared with me, this vision to be used by God and to fulfill his holy calling. He knows that God is going to give him a ministry to change nations, to raise people from the dead. It was a very humbling moment for me as he told me that having nothing, he left home to pursue the Lord, came to nothing, but the Lord has provided for everything. That is great faith that has come from ultimate surrender. Although his journey is not easy and he doesn't now where the next bit of income is coming from, he whole heartedly trusts the Lord to provide - that to me is faith becoming a reality. He is proceeding boldly to that which he is called because he has surrendered His will to that of the Lords.

Every seed dies before it grows

Ok so i haven't blogged in ages.. its time to get this thing up and rolling again, now that i have a bit more time on my hands for the things that i want to do. So the days have been rolling by in the city of Jozi... lots of change happening and lots of change up ahead. Exciting times, what and adventure this life is sometimes.

Just got back from a service at Godfirst church.... a very inspiring preach by PJ on.. What would God say to BONO? Its part of the celebrity series that the church is doing. It was very thought provoking and challenging. Bono is someone who challenges our box and dualistic ways of thinking about the church, about faith and about life. The part that really challenges me was the fact the VIBE we give off to non believers or as he termed the, inquiries, is a reflection of our hearts. Not to say that our words don't mean anythings, but if our word are different to our heart, then our vibe will be our heart. Im not sure if this is making sense to anyone else but me... anyway, what im trying to say in another way is that, if we dont get our hearts right with regards to the way we view faith and believers and non believers, our gospel proclamation and provocation could become seriously ineffective (has it not been ineffective in so many ways already). I sometimes feel that so much time and energy is wasted, and structure and open handed doctrinal issues in the church, that we lose our focus on looking outward because we are so busy looking inward.

So my challenge to myself this week is to surrender those religious parts of me, that give off a religious or negative VIBE to no believers. My prayer is to let that part of me die, so that a new part may grow. God let your GRACE abiding in me!