Weekly Devotion

Last week we discussed that we are one with Jesus Christ. Isn't that just awesome? We are one with the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords. He is living and breathing within us. His eternal life is pulsating through our veins and we are part of His Kingdom now already as we have seen. How wonderful is that?

And because we are part of His Kingdom, God wants us focused on His Kingdom and not on what goes on here on earth. He wants us pure and filled with His goodness:

"...you were raised with Christ; therefore seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:1-3

"Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8

"The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8:6

"So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you." Colossians 3:5

God wants us focused on the true, noble, pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy things of His Kingdom.  He doesn't want us to focus on the filth of this world. The filth of this world feeds us death, it causes stress and it steals our joy. God wants us to put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within us.

You see in the Garden of Eden, God forbid Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Notice the word 'knowledge' there. God didn't want them to even have the knowledge of evil. He didn't want them to fill their minds with it, because He knew the effect that it would have on them and He was right. Simply within a couple of generations after Adam the whole world was so evil God had to destroy it. Only one man and his family found favour with God and so the human race was saved.  But the point is, the knowledge of evil brings evil. And when your mind is governed by the flesh, it brings death. But Jesus came to give us just the opposite, life!

I have come to the realisation that some people believe that they need to be exposed to the evil of this world, in order to be able to live in this world. They believe that they should expose their kids to the evil out there, in order to equip them. I disagree and God's Word does too. The only way to be able to survive and live in the world out there is to be filled to the brim with God's Word. To meditate on His Word day and night. To think on those things that are lovely and admirable. To focus on His Kingdom and how amazing He is. And the result would be that your life will be governed by peace and everlasting life. You will be strong enough to handle anything coming your way. That is why Proverbs 22:6 tells us:

"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is older, he will not depart from it."

In other words, train him in the ways of God and he will stay in the ways of God. But when you train him in the ways of the world, only the grace of God would be able to rescue him back for His Kingdom.

Rather fill your thoughts with God and you will be surprised by the wonderful peace and tranquillity it brings. He is Almighty filled with all goodness and love.  Focus on Him no matter the situation surrounding you. He is mighty to save and to help.

Therefore stand up today and make a conscious decision to keep filth out of your life. Be vigilant with what you allow to enter into your mind through television, apps, radio, magazines and books. Do not focus on a broken world; rather focus on a healed and holy Kingdom. What you focus on, you become. I will speak a bit more about it next week.

Father thank you that we have a wonderful Kingdom to focus on. Thank you that we have prospects of good in sight. Help us to rather focus on that, in order for life and peace to flow. We love you. Amen

Last week we learned out of Scripture that we are part of God's Kingdom, now already. We are citizens of Heaven with our main purpose in life being able to draw people into His Kingdom and glory. We need to be ambassadors for Christ. The Bible tells us clearly why we need to be ambassadors for Christ; we need to shine forth what is within us. And Who is within us? Jesus Himself.

Look at all these Scriptures testifying to this fact:

"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." 1 John 4:15

"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." John 6:56

"...you are in Christ Jesus..." 1 Corinthians 1:30

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

"At that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you." John 14:20

"But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him." 1 John 2:5

I can go on with more Scripture, but I think that you get the point. When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we become one with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 tells us that we are one Spirit with God:

"But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him."

And in Jesus' own words, He is in the Father, we are in Him and He is in us. We are inseparable. In the Spirit we are one. And therefore it is possible for us to roam this earth like He did. Why is it possible? Because He in His fullness dwells in us. As 1 John 4:15 puts it, we abide in Him and He in us. The word 'abide' in Greek is Meno and it means 'not to depart', 'not to leave', 'to continue to be present'. Thayer lexicon goes into even more detail and says it means 'to be rooted and knitted to Him in the Spirit'.

Okay, so what does this mean for us? It means that God in all His fullness abides in us, He will never leave and will always continue to be present. We are rooted and knitted together with Him in the Spirit. We are so intertwined that in the spiritual realm it is difficult to discern where God starts and where you end. We are literally one.

Two weeks ago, we declared that Jesus is our Hero. He is mighty to save and mighty to work miracles in our lives. And this week we learned that we are one with Him. In other words we are now the 'heroes' this world needs. We are the ones walking this earth, in His body. We are the ones that need to reach out to those in need. We are the ones that need to pray for them. We are the ones that need to help where we see distress. We are supposed to be like Jesus in this world. This is a profound statement and a difficult one to accept at first, but the Word clearly tells us that we are in Him and He in us. That is why Jesus said we will do the same works as He and even greater works because He goes to the Father. And the only reason why we would be able to do it, is because He lives mightily within us.

We will spend the next couple of months discussing what is true of us because we are one with Jesus Christ. But for now, walk tall in this world with the authority that you have from Above. Reach out your hand with compassion just like Jesus did. That is what He expects of you, that is His will for your life.

Dear Father, thank you so much that Jesus is now living in me. Thank you that I am in Him too and He is in You. We are all one in the Spirit and what a privilege it is. Help us Lord not to stifle the work of Your Spirit in our lives like Your Word warns, but that we will walk in the fullness of all that You expect of us. We want to make You proud. We love You. Amen

Last week I spoke about us having a wonderful, amazing Hero like Jesus in our lives. He stands ready to bless and to help. He has opened up the gateways to Heaven for us. He has paved the way in order for us to have wonderful fellowship with our Father. He has given us access into His Kingdom and what a glorious Kingdom it is! And because His Kingdom is so wonderful, I have decided to start a new series on Kingdom living. I look forward to what we will learn together about His Kingdom and what He has available for us on a daily basis in our lives.

Today I would like to start off and proclaim to you that you are part of God's Kingdom NOW already, not just someday, but now. And this statement has a profound impact on how we live our daily lives. And because it has the potential to turn your daily live upside down, let us start with Scriptural evidence as we know that the Word is always true and filled with His life!

"For indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:21

"He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13, 14

"...that you should walk worthy of God who calls you into His own Kingdom and glory." 1 Thessalonians 2:12

"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." John 15:19

We are not part of this world anymore, but God has delivered us from the power of darkness and carried us into the Kingdom of His Son. His Kingdom now lives and breathes within us. That in itself is such an intense statement that I need to repeat it again, God's Kingdom now lives and breathes within us. And because it does, there are so many things that are true of us. I have written it all down and will discuss it with you over the next couple of months.

But for now, meditate on the knowing that you are part of His Kingdom, part of a Kingdom with a King reigning supreme. He looks after His Kingdom and He protects His Kingdom. You can live your life knowing that you are looked after and protected. You don't even need to stress about the circumstances in your country, because you are part of a Kingdom so much bigger and greater than anything this world has ever seen. You are part of the best nation that has ever roamed this earth. You are not South African, Australian, and American; no you are first and foremost a child of the living God, a citizen of Heaven where His love knows no boundaries, where His love conquers all.

Rejoice! You are part of something that will last forever. Walk with your head held high, nothing is supposed to get you down, because as part of His Kingdom, you have all the benefits and all the gifts of Heaven to your disposal. Come and dwell in His Presence in His Kingdom, make your home there, focus all your thoughts and energies towards Him. Then you cannot go wrong and no obstacle can come in your way!

Father we rejoice that we are part of Your Kingdom, now already! Thank you for the privilege, thank you for Your saving grace, Your unending love. We want to dwell in Your Presence; we want to make our home with You. Then we can be rest assured that nothing formed against us shall prosper and our walkways will always lead to Your goodness. Amen

I have my own prayer closet where I put up all my prayer requests. I write them on a paper and I put them up on the inside door of the closet. Now yesterday when I opened the closet, I saw that my son took a sticker - 'Jesus is my Hero' and he stuck it over some of my prayer requests so that I couldn't see them anymore. For a split second I was annoyed by this, but then it struck me. If Jesus is my Hero (and He is), then He is mightier and more powerful than all the things that I am praying for. He has them all under control. It gave me so much peace.

Then I watched a programme by Joseph Prince and he also spoke of Jesus as our Hero. He referred to the following verse:

"For a child is born to us, a Son is given to us. And the government will rest on His shoulders. These will be His royal titles: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

He said that in Hebrew, for the Jews, the Name - Mighty God - means Hero. I had a look at the Hebrew lexicon and I saw that the word 'Mighty' is 'Gibbowr' and it means 'strong, mighty, brave' and according to Strong's it can also mean 'hero'.

Now what do you see in your mind's eye when you hear the word 'hero'? Do you see superman saving some innocent child, do you see spiderman saving the day, do you see Usain Bolt winning the 100m in record time or do you see men like Nelson Mandela rising up and bringing peace in unstable circumstances? What do you see? I had a look at Thesaurus and I saw that the synonyms for 'hero' are brave man, superman, champion, conqueror, star etc. For me personally I see a hero as someone with integrity, someone that can be trusted, someone that will protect you, someone that has your best interest in mind, someone to look up to. I see a hero as someone you can go to and know without a shadow of a doubt that he will help and above all that he has the power to help.

So if we say that Jesus is our Hero, what are we saying? We are saying that He has the power to help and the ability to do so. We are saying that He has our best interest in mind and we are saying that He can protect us from all harm. He is our Champion, our Conqueror, our brave Super Hero! We are also saying that we look up to Him and He inspires us to be like Him.

Sit back and think of Him as your Hero. Think of Him, the One that can do the impossible. Isn't it just awesome to know that we have a Super Hero that Marvel Comics can only dream of creating? We have a Super Hero that is above all, above every Name. He can never ever be defeated by the villain. He can never be destroyed and He is always available to us, always. And even more than that, He loves us, really loves us. The Hero doesn't need to fall in love with the one He rescues, He loves everyone already.

Just think of the wonderful prayer life we will have if we approach Him like the Hero that He is! We can approach Him with confidence that He has the power, the ability and the intense love to help us. He can be trusted and He has our best interest in mind. We don't need to beg Him as if He doesn't want to help, or even worse, cannot help us. He CAN and He WANTS to. Our prayer life should be one of victory, one of celebration with the One Who conquered all. With the One who has defeated the enemy. The Word tells us that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. Why? Because the Super Hero of all time is by our side, Jesus Christ. Even more than that, we are part of His body here on earth. For the rest of the year I want us to have a look at what is true of us because we are part of His body, part of His Kinddom. Next week we will start with that. But in the mean time rejoice, He is with you, the Mighty God - Gibbowr El!

Thank you Father that we have Your Son as our Super Hero! Thank you that we can pray and know that all things are possible with You. You are our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father and we rejoice in the privilege of being able to call You that. Thank you for walking with us step by step. You are wonderful and amazing and we love You. Amen

I would like to use the instance of the multiplication of the loaves of bread and fishes for a last time. I find it very interesting that the same food were used in both multiplications. When the 5,000 men were fed Jesus used 5 loaves and two fishes and when the 4,000 men were fed He used 7 loaves and a few fishes. Now I know that is what most of them ate in the Mediterranean in those days, but there were many other things they ate as well like dates, nuts, olives etc. But Jesus used on both occasions loaves of bread and fishes. Last time we looked at the significance of the numbers, but today I want us to look at the significance of what He fed them with.

First of all let us look at the loaves of bread. Jesus refers to Himself as the bread of life. We read the following in John 6:33 and 6:51:

"For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

Jesus came down from heaven and He gives life to the world. If we partake of Him, we shall live forever. He is our true life.

Secondly let us have a look at the fish. In the first century of Christianity (and still today) the symbol of Christianity is a fish. Why? Because Jesus said He will make us fishers of men. Also interestingly fish in Greek is Ichthus which translates into English as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour".

So with the bread and with the fish Jesus was referring to Himself. He was feeding the people with Himself. He was giving them life. He was giving the fullness of life to them by giving of Himself to them. Isn't that just amazing? And in both instances it was recorded that there were baskets of food left over. Why was this recorded? To prove to us that when Jesus gives of Himself, He gives liberally. He satisfied their needs to the fullness until it overflowed. Jesus never gives sparingly or just enough, no, He gives more than enough. He is the God of more than enough, the God of plenty. His storehouse of love is full, filled to capacity, ready to burst over you.

We need to realise that Jesus in all His fullness lives within us (Ephesians 3:19). I will repeat again, Jesus in all His fullness lives within us. What can we lack? What need could we possibly have that He cannot fulfil for us? Why do we stress about the future and run around as if there is no hope when He lives within us?

Jesus is standing with open arms. He is within your spirit, waiting for you to open up your soul and allow Him to flow through in all His fullness and to provide for you. Allow Him to. He is a Gentleman and will never force Himself on you. Give Him free access, give over and see how He multiplies the loaves and the fishes in your life.

Thank you Jesus for providing for us. We rejoice that You live in Your fullness within us. We rejoice that we have a Saviour, a Mighty God to look after us. Hallelujah! We give our lives fully into Your hands and we praise and honour You. In Jesus' Name. Amen

Seeing that I was in the Accounting profession, I love to look at numbers. Now no number in the Bible is there by accident! No number is just arbitrary. No, numbers are there for a reason. So today I would like us to have a look at two similar incidents, with different numbers and see what we can glean from them. I have a prophetic numbers dictionary of Martin van der Merwe, so I will use that to see what these numbers mean in the Biblical sense. Okay, are you ready?

Last year we looked at where Jesus multiplied the loaves of bread and we learned that we should trust Jesus and allow Him to perform miracles in our lives. Now I would like us to have a look at the same instances from a different angle. Matthew 14 from verse 15 conveys this event for us. It says that the number of men present was 5,000. Jesus fed them with 5 loaves of bread and with two fishes. And after everyone had eaten there were twelve baskets of food left over.

Just in the next chapter Matthew 15 the same miracle was demonstrated, this time there were 4,000 men, seven loaves of bread and a few fishes and seven baskets of food were left over.

So let us have a look at these two instances and see what God wants us to learn from them. Let us take the first instance. The number 5 represents the number of grace and the number 1,000 represents maturity. Therefore we can say that 5,000 represents that God wanted them to mature in His grace. He wanted them to see His unmerited favour and to experience it firsthand. The five loaves is once again the number of His grace, and two the number of agreement. He thus wanted them to agree with His grace, to see it and to experience it. And the twelve baskets left over refer to governmental perfection, seen in the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve disciples of God. In other words, Jesus wanted them to mature and agree with His grace given freely unto them. When His grace flows there will be governmental perfection and things will flow out of His Kingdom and provide to those in need. He wanted His disciples to see that and to realise who He was and what He came to do for them. He was opening the gates to the Kingdom of God for them and there nothing was impossible.

In the second instance, the number 4,000 refers to the maturity of materialism, in other words Jesus wanted them to mature and not rely on material things anymore. He used seven loaves to feed them, and seven means perfection. Seven can also symbolically refer to a 'Man of God'. And interestingly enough, seven baskets were left over too. Thus in this instance the numbers portray that Jesus wanted them to be free from materialism and to walk in perfection with Him, the Man of God.

What we can learn from these two instances is a clear representation of the whole Bible. God wants us free from the materialism of this world; He wants us to start walking in His Divine grace, His unmerited favour in order for His perfection and His perfect government to reign in our lives and in this world through us.

Are you ready to let go of the material things you consider 'precious'? Are you ready to step out and to trust Him that He would provide for you? Are you ready to take the hand of the 'Man of God' and to walk with Him in His perfect government? Are you ready to make yourself available to be used in a mighty way by Him? I hope so, because then 2017 can be a year of breakthroughs and substantial spiritual growth for you. Doing the Will of God and allowing Him to work through you is the meat that will help you grow into a mature son of His, ready to be used in a mighty way.

Thank you Father for Your grace displayed towards us. Thank you for opening the way for us. We love You and look forward to this year with You. We want to let go of all material things in our lives and learn to trust only in You. You know best and we take Your hand. Please lead the way. In Jesus' Name Amen

A new year has dawned and has been birthed from the throne room of God. Some of us might look upon this coming year with dread, and some of us might look upon this year with excitement. Now even though the future is a mystery to us all, we are privileged to know the One with the future in His hands. So whether you are excited, scared, or indifferent, your future is within His hands and we need to abide with Him. This made me think of Psalm 91. Let's read verse 1 together:

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

If you read the rest of the Psalm it speaks of God's protection, His provision and His abounding favour. Please go and read the rest of the Psalm yourself, it is really inspiring for 2017. But remember verse one. We need to dwell and abide with Him. Now I pondered what this could mean, and the Lord reminded me of Ephesians 2:6 which tell us that we have been raised up with Christ and that we are sitting with Him in heavenly places. He also reminded me of Colossians 3:1 that tells us that Christ sits at God's right hand, and therefore as part of His body we sit there too.

So what am I saying? God wants you to sit and abide with Him this year. He wants you to realise your position in Christ and sit alongside Him in His place of honour. Now your following question might be; But what does 'sit' mean? Should I not do anything and simply say God must do everything? Or what does it mean? Let us go back to Psalm 91:1.

The Names of God, namely 'Most High' and 'Almighty' appears in Psalm 91:1. The first time the Name 'Most High' is used in the Bible is Genesis 14 and the first time the Name 'Almighty' is used in the Bible is Genesis 17. And in the middle is Genesis 15 and 16. And interestingly our answer lies there. Genesis 15 tells us of what God will do for Abraham if he sits with Him. He will bless Him abundantly, He will give him descendants as the stars in the heaven and He will be his Shield and his great reward (Genesis 15:1). And in Genesis 16 Abraham and Sarah decided not to 'sit' with God in His presence, but to take matters into their own hands and in the process Ishmael was born. And the fact that they didn't 'sit' with God brought them untold heartache and pain.

'Sitting' with God therefore means to trust Him, to believe what His Word says, to live in heavenly places with Him even though your body is still on earth. Sitting with Him means to walk with the Spirit and to follow His leading in everything that you do. Sitting with Him means to go on with your life, to do what you can do to the best of your ability, and then to give over to Him and to rest in His presence. And in His presence you cannot be stressed, you cannot be anxious and you cannot be lacking. In His presence is abundance of everything!

Decide for 2017 to come and sit in His presence. Decide to abide with Him. Decide that Psalm 91 is true and for you today. Do not go out and have your own 'Ishmaels'. That is not God's best for you. You will only make your own life miserable with unnecessary complications. Rather give over to God and believe what He had promised. Stand on His promises and make them your own. Print Psalm 91 out and read it regularly, even by putting it up all over your house. God wants the best for you, but are you willing to abide with Him? All the promises of God in Jesus are Yes and Amen to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 1:20). Grab hold of it and walk in the fullness of all that He came to give you.

Thank you Father for a new year. Thank you for new beginnings. We declare that we will abide and sit with You this year. Because we know that You know best. We look forward to see all that You have planned for us. We hold on to all Your glorious promises. In Jesus Name. Amen

Christmas is around the corner again and what a wonderful time of year it is! It is a time to reflect and a time to be around loved ones. Christmas is a joyous time, filled with God's love and splendour. It is also a time to ponder the wonderful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I know a lot has been written about His coming and a lot has been said. So I know we can become sort of numb to all the messages and not really hear the essence of it anymore.

But today I want you to sit still and really think about what Jesus came to do for us. Close your eyes and really think about Him. He was living in Heaven in His glorified state, Master of the Universe, with millions of angels at His beck and call and the Universe at His feet. But His heart was yearning for us, He wanted us free from the bondage of sin, He wanted us free from the sting of death, He wanted us to be able to fellowship with Him and to walk in His Kingdom as part of His family. He wanted so much for us. He wanted us free from the grip of His enemy. And in His glorified state, He agreed to become small, He agreed to become a helpless baby; He agreed to walk a road of pain and suffering in order to have us with Him.

Isn't that just glorious? Isn't that true love? We think we know what love is, but we don't have a clue. His love is all-consuming, all-encompassing, and all-enveloping. His love is higher than the highest mountain and deeper than the oceans' deep. And when He came, He showed us the extent of His love. Every step that He took was with compassion and a caring heart. He WAS love.

And He accomplished His goal as you all know. He freed us from the grip of sin and death, He freed us from the enemy's rule in our lives, He gave us access into His Kingdom and He welcomed us as part of His family. And the pinnacle of all that He did was to come and live inside of us through His Spirit. So today, the fullness of who He was on earth and of who He still is, is working mightily within you. Love made perfect, is therefore within you in full measure. Love in its purest form is within your spirit.

This Christmas walk in this love available to you. All Christians are filled with this love, the question is just what are you going to do with it? Christ gave His love to you freely; He is in fact showering the fullness of who He is on you daily. But are you open to let it flow through your soul into the physical realm? Or are you too focused on your own world, too focused on the material world to allow His love to flow through? Within His love lie the answers to all of life's problems. If you can get a revelation of the fullness of what is available to you in Christ, your life will never be the same. Allow God to work through you this Christmas season, and going forward. Allow Him to flow in mighty torrents through you to those in desperate need. Allow Him to change you from a cowering human being, into a glorious son of the living God. That is His purpose for you, His destiny, and His dream. Allow Him to take over and to walk with you, hand in hand, in love.

Thank you Jesus that You came to save us. Thank you that You opened the way for us into Your glorious Kingdom. We declare that we want to walk with You in love and reach out to a broken world. We want to become love just like You demonstrated on earth. Thank you that You have already given us all things that pertain to this life and godliness. We praise Your mighty Name. Amen

As I was reading through the New Testament, one thing stood out for me more than most other statements, and that is that we are God's sons. This is a profound statement and one that has the ability to change your life, once you truly understand what this means. Come and allow me to show you a couple of Scriptures:

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." Romans 8:14, 15

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26

"I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:18

You are God's son. Sit still for a moment and say that aloud to yourself. You are God's son, His heir, created in His image. Do you realise the privilege that you have? Do you realise the infinite wisdom and power that you have available? Sit back and truly realise who you are. You are not just somebody roaming this earth, no, in fact you are royalty walking with God's authority as His son. You are like the son of the richest man on earth, a multi billionaire. People jump and almost stand to attention when you come past. They listen when you speak and they respect you for your standing in society. In the same way you have the authority as God's son to change this world.

Plus remember always that God wants the best for you. Think of a good father here on earth. A good father wants his children to excel, a good father wants his children to be healthy, to be happy, to make the most of their life. A good father will discipline where necessary and will withhold certain things until the child is ripe and ready to receive it. A good father is always there and will protect his child. He will never allow someone to hurt his child unnecessarily. And the same is true of our Father in Heaven. He wants the best for you, He wants you to excel, He wants you to be healthy, to be happy and to be the best 'you' you can be. He will discipline you into growing into His likeness, because He wants you to be a perfect representation of Him. And once you are, the sky is the limit. You can become like your Father. Romans 8:29 tells us that God predestined us to be conformed into the image of His Son. And Jesus was just like His Father. He represented Him in every way. And today this is your chance. God's master plan was that He left His Son's body here on earth to continue with His work. Jesus in effect never left the earth, because He sent His Spirit to live on the inside of us, so that we can be His body.

Stand up in who you are and go and make a difference in this world. Your body might still be part of this world, but your born again spirit is not from this world anymore, but part of God's Kingdom. Therefore go out and bring God's Kingdom into this world and make a difference right there where you are. You are destined for greatness, far above what you can imagine.

Thank you Father that You are a good Father. You want the best for us and You know the best. Thank you that we can be Your sons here on earth. Help us to walk in the fullness of who we are and to exalt You in the process. Thank you Jesus that you opened the way for us, we are eternally grateful. Amen

This morning I went for a walk in the Estate where we live. We have lovely parks with some of the natural vegetation left by the developers. Now this morning I saw amongst the thorn trees a small deer. It was the most lovely thing in the early morning sun. I was so excited and couldn't wait to tell my two boys about it. But then I stopped to think about it. Why was I so excited? I mean I have seen probably thousands of deer in my life. I can simply go to a zoo and see a lot of them. Why am I so excited then? Then I realized it is because he is free. He is free to roam as he wishes and to go where he pleases unlike the animals in the zoo that are bound to one area, whether they want to or not. I was privileged to see him this morning, but when I see them in the zoo I don't even glance at them, because it doesn't feel special. They don't have a choice.

The same is true for us. The Lord didn't make us robots that have to follow His Will with no choice in the matter. We are not caged in with no choice but to stay there. No, God gave us freedom. He gave us the freedom of choice. And that is why there is so much excitement in heaven when one of us decides to give our lives to Him, to turn to Him out of free will. And the main excitement comes from He, He truly loves us all dearly.

Jesus also taught several parables and a lot of them are about something being lost. Like the sheep that was lost, the son that was lost, the coin that was lost etc etc. And He spoke about the rejoicing in Heaven when what was lost is found again.

I remember a day when I went shopping and my two boys were still small. They were all around me whilst I shopped, playing around. Now as it happens I was busy looking at something and when I looked up they were gone. I immediately started searching, my heart pounding and my mind racing as to where they could be. To cut a long story short, I found them hiding from me between the clothes and I was so relieved to see them (they did get a hiding though and some stern words, but I was immensely relieved). That night I gave them each a special hug, which I wouldn't have done if they weren't 'lost'. There is much rejoicing when lost things and especially lost people are found.

Heaven rejoices over those that make the choice not to be lost anymore, but to be part of His Kingdom. It is like seeing a cheetah in the wild walking over the road right in front of your car with small cubs, except the rejoicing is a 10 000 000 times more intense. And as much as Heaven is rejoicing about you, they are rejoicing about each person you bring in as well. Remember that next time you share the Good News with someone. Remember that too if you don't feel like sharing the Good News. God loves that person with an infinite love. He desperately wants that person to come to Him as well. And He gave that responsibility of telling them in your hands. Are you up to the task? The harvest is waiting and the workers are few. Stand up in who you are and lead the lost to Him. He is a loving Father and an amazing God.

Lord thank you for giving us a free will. We freely choose to follow You. We love You and we long to be with You one day. Please give us the courage and the opportunities to lead others to You as well. Amen