Faith. Trust. Hope.

I remember years ago being on a bus from Durban to Johannesburg. I seldom take buses but when I do, I usually take long trips as a chance to tuck into a good book or magazine and SLEEP. I usually ignore the in-house movies because they’re usually… well… JUNK! On this particular trip, my eyes kept being almost magnetically attracted to the TV screen. I tried sleeping, but I found myself having restless sleep, waking up every couple of minutes. Eventually I gave up on the idea of trying to sleep or read and found myself watching the movie. I was annoyed because now the movie was about ¾-way and I had no idea what the title was or where the story was going but still I decided to watch. By the time I really got into the movie, it was almost finished. But the one statement I got from it, which has stuck with me even now, years later is: Faith Like Potatoes. That was the title of the movie.

I had heard of books by the same name and heard the statement so many times but that statement hadn’t struck me before as it did then. In my head I tried to unwrap why on earth someone would liken faith to a vegetable, let alone a POTATO. But the analyst in me began to think of it literally and logically. Potatoes grow in the ground. A farmer can plant his potato seeds but unlike other crops like maize where he can check on his crop as it grows out of the earth, potatoes are underground until harvest time. The farmer doesn’t have a 100% guarantee that his potatoes will be of good quality. He has to have faith that as he waters and nourishes them, the potatoes he will eventually harvest will be healthy.

As a child of God, when you do all the acts of faith – pray, fast, tithe, give offering, and so on, these can be equated to the potato seeds. The soil can be the Kingdom of God.  So as you do all these things, you sow into the Kingdom. The ‘potatoes’ that will be reaped in the end are the fruits of your labours that you will harvest based on what you sowed. You don’t know what God will do with your seeds. But what you should know is that after a certain period you will reap. Sometimes it may seem as though you’re sowing and watering in vain because there’s no visible fruit, but when the season for harvesting comes, where you sowed you will reap!

Today, have faith that whatever you’re faced with God is working on getting you where you need to be. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, feels like or seems like but God IS working. The power is released when you believe! Just because you don’t see a way doesn’t mean He doesn’t have a way. If only we would have faith even as small as a mustard seed.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.”

Faith. Trust. Hope. COMPLETE surrender.

Dating vs Courtship

A couple of weeks ago, the sermons at church were about Dating, Courtship and Marriage.

Dating is the world’s stand point. It involves cultivating an interest in another person to meet personal needs or desires. “Daters” often give in to fleshly inclinations – immorality. It’s usually for self gain not genuine love. The two people usually draw attention to each other and leave little room to hear God’s voice. Such relationships lead to idolatry; expecting from man what only God can give you (for example depending on a partner for happiness). More often than not, dating leads to heart break which is not what God intended.

Courtship on the other hand, is when a man and woman establish a relationship based on agreed boundaries to protect moral and individual integrity while intentionally considering marriage. There is purity in thought and in body which leads to a clear conscience and clear mind knowing you are doing things His way. 1 Timothy 5:1-2 says: “Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers. Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.”

In the final installment of the Dating, Courtship, Marriage series an illustration was made:

It was a man and woman’s wedding day. He was at the altar waiting as she walked down the aisle. When she got to the altar, they started saying their vows, and as they progressed with their vows, one by one all the women (EXs) from the groom’s life started lining up behind him, almost as if they were all still “attached” to him. Not a single man was behind the bride (she had probably kept herself pure and waited for the right man). A rose was passed from the first girl down to the last one and as it was passed from one girl to the next, each girl broke off a few petals. By the time the rose got to his wife-to-be all that was left were a few miserable petals (signifying what remained of his heart). Those are some of the Spiritual consequences of dating – soul ties.

Whenever you date somebody, a part of you remains in them, and a part of them in you. Be careful who you leave bits of you with and who had bits of your heart in them!

Your Love Don't Cost A Thing??

“If you are unconvinced about your worth, everybody else will be too.”

Knowing your worth and value is such an important thing, for anyone, male or female. How else will you know what to accept and what’s unacceptable if you don’t know your worth.

You need to set the standards before you get into a relationship. A lot of people wait until they are about to get engaged to start putting their foot down but that's usually too late. It’s hard for anyone to start trying to discover their worth when their judgment is clouded by emotions and feelings.If you have never sat down with yourself and set parameters and standards for a relationship you will accept dirt when you should be rolling in diamonds. Be clear, honest with yourself and intentional when deciding the kind of person you want to be with. If you don’t know what you want how will you know when it arrives?

I find so many people are afraid of being single. Many would rather sleep with a million and one Mr. and Mrs. Wrongs because they don’t want to be alone, and would rather be in a wrong relationship just so their title isn’t “single”. If you are single, fear not, for that is the opportunity for you to refill your heart and put back whatever was emptied out in your previous relationship but also to set the bar for the next relationship. It’s an important time for you to decide what exactly you want from a partner and what you will not accept. A lot of the “mistakes” such as unwanted pregnancies happen because the lines are usually blurred with no clear cut or predetermined rules.

All this starts with a LOVE of SELF.  Not in a vain or narcissistic way, but based on the knowledge that you are God’s priced possession, a priceless work of art. It’s not arrogance to know your worth and accept nothing less, in fact I think it’s quite smart!

Oh and forget “he(/she) completes me” It’s all about each of you being a complete person in themselves and COMPLEMENTING each other.

"If you stand for NOTHING you will fall for ANYTHING."

Forget-Him-Not

It’s funny how when we go through trials or are faced with difficult situations, we have God on speed dial, but the moment things begin to go well we forget our own weakness, frailty and vulnerability. It’s so easy to "hand things over to God" when we KNOW we CANNOT do it without Him but forget about Him when we believe we have things “under control”. Sometimes we begin to get complacent and take things for granted. After having let “Jesus take the wheel” when we could not steer, we grab it back from Him when we think “we got this”

The key to a successful relationship with Christ is to constantly be in touch with Him. Not just when you need help, but most importantly when things are going well, even if it’s just a small whisper to say “Thank You”. Whenever I begin go into "auto pilot" thinking I am "running things" I make myself conscious of the times I was vulnerable and all I could rely on on was God.

I heard a story some time ago at church about a man who lived a pretty good life. He had a good job, an expensive car, lovely house and lived in a place in the world where the weather was always nice. He woke up one day and he could feel the sun not shining. He took a shower and got dressed for work as usual, had his cup of coffee and walked to his car. He tried to start it, but it wouldn’t start. He had to hitch hike and got to work. When he got to work he realized he had left his assignments at home and went on to fail all his tests that day. At the end of the day he went home dejected, discouraged and despondent. He asked God why He had let him have such a messed up day and God reminded him on how he had given him health, wealth and good weather, good fortune in the past but he had began to take it for granted and see it as something he was entitled to and forgot all about God’s grace and favour on His life. God reminded him about how he was constantly on his knees when times were tough but once God delivered him from his afflictions he forgot God. God wanted Him to remember what it was like to not have the things that he had become so used to, that many other people did not have.

This was a reminder that as 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says we should:

Pray without ceasing. Rejoice in the Lord always and give thanks in all circumstances.

Whatever we are faced with, be it a mountain or a molehill ahead of us, we need to be thankful of where God has delivered us from.

Dreaming is for free!

I often dream with my eyes open. Sometimes my dreams almost scare me and I wonder how I will ever make it to where I want to be. Not that I don’t believe in myself, (trust me, I DO), but because it seems like a mammoth task. One of my favourite quotes is,

“The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step”.

That’s truth. Don’t look at the mountain that lies ahead, and what’s yet to be done or accomplished and be discouraged. Instead, look at WHERE you’ve come from and be motivated. Each dream, passion and vision starts with that first step. What may seem like an insignificant action now will lead you to that dream.

One thing my parents taught me is HARD work pays off. Genuine sweat makes the fruit of your labours that much sweeter. Don’t be afraid of working. Rejection, disappointment and HARD WORK will be the building blocks of yolur success. Nothing you ever do is ever in vain. Whether people support you, discourage you or just plain don’t believe you God sees all and when the time is right, He will reward you.

I don’t know much about how it’s all gonna happen, but I know that where there is a vision, there is provision. The first step in usally the hardest, because you usually have to step out of your comfort zones but that one step is literally the difference between those who make it and those who don’t. Those who step out will be that one step closer to living the dream, but those who stay where they are, in those comfort zones will remain exactly where they are.

“Dreams remain dreams until you take conscious steps to accomplish them”.

“I don’t know all that my tomorrow holds, but I know The one who holds it…”

Take the first step in FAITH. You don’t haveto see the whole staircase, just take the step.