Weekly Devotion

The moment Adam and Eve sinned, they realised that they were naked. And the reason was that the glory of the Lord had departed from them. They weren't radiating His glory anymore. And therefore they saw for the first time that they were naked.

The other day I read the following Scriptures and in a moment I realised that when we accept Jesus into our lives, we are radiating His glory once again. We are once again decorated with His wonderful light. Please read them with me:

Jesus said the following to His disciples - "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light." Ephesians 5:8

"Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." Philippians 2:14, 15

"You are all sons of the light and sons of the day." 1 Thessalonians 5:5

After these Scriptures I am sure you can agree with me that we are the light of the world. We are children of the light and we need to shine our lights in a crooked and perverse generation. It is our calling, our duty. We cannot hide away from our responsibility as the light of the world. We need to be God's representatives in every way. When light shines on a situation, the darkness cannot extinguish it. Darkness flees when light comes near. And that is why Romans 13:12 tells us to put on our armour of light:

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."

We need to fight the enemy of darkness with our armour of light. We are sons of the Most High God, the One lighting up the sky. We cannot hide away behind our computers, we cannot hide away behind 'socially acceptable practices', we cannot hide away behind doubtful actions, we cannot hide behind false doctrine. The time has come to take a stand and be counted! We need to shine our light and draw lost people into the Kingdom of God. We cannot be compromisers anymore. We need to be just in our dealings and we need to be worthy representatives of our Father in Heaven. We cannot just do things because we feel cheated or because everyone is doing it. We need to take a stand. We are destined for so much more than this world can ever offer us. We are destined to walk in His footsteps and to change this world step by step. He has predestined us to be conformed into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).

Take a step back today and look at your life, are you shining God's light or are you hiding His light under a basket? Make a conscious decision to throw the basket away and to shine brightly in a lost and vulnerable world.

Father thank you that Your glorious light was restored to us. Thank you that You entrusted us with it. We want to make a difference in this world and we want to expand Your Kingdom. Give us the wisdom and the courage to do just that. You are our Source, our Conqueror, our whole life. Amen

I was reading through the Gospel of Matthew this morning and there was something that amazed me. I read how Jesus provided food for five thousand men with merely five loaves of bread and two fish. Now that is amazing and wonderful in itself, but it was not what caught my attention this morning.

What amazed me this morning is that merely one chapter later Jesus wanted to provide food again, this time for four thousand men. And the reaction of the disciples was a classic to me:

"And where would we get enough food out here in the wilderness for all of them to eat?" Matthew 15:33

Even after they saw Him performing the amazing miracle of feeding the five thousand men, they doubted that He would be able to do the same and feed the four thousand. I was amazed at how quickly they either forgot about His previous miracle (which is highly unlikely), or how quickly they lost faith.

Then just a little while later they were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee and they discovered that they didn't bring any food along. And when Jesus told them that they should watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, they immediately decided that He was saying this because they forgot their bread. And Jesus was amazed at their little faith.

"You have so little faith! Why are you worried about having no food? Don't you remember the five thousand I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of food that were left over? Don't you remember the four thousand I fed with seven loaves, with baskets of food left over?" Matthew 16:8-10

When I read this I couldn't believe their lack of faith either. It was quite obvious to me, that if Jesus were able to feed five thousand, He would surely be able to do it again and again?

But then I realized, we are just the same. It is easy to point fingers at them, but we are exactly the same. We tend to forget how the Lord looked after us in the past, whenever a new problem peek its head through the door. We tend to forget His promises. We tend to forget what He has planned for us and fall in a rut whenever things don't go our way. We tend to run to 'prophets' of our time, when we feel that we haven't 'heard' of the Lord lately. We tend to forget that God's prophecies concerning us is binding and there to build on. We tend to forget how powerful His Word is and that we can find comfort and extraordinary power in the pages. We tend to forget that we are part of His Kingdom and what a wonderful privilege it is to walk in the reality of it every day. We tend to forget that all the promises God made to Abraham is now ours too.

We need to look up to Jesus, the One who fed five thousand, and trust Him enough to 'feed' us. He is always the same, yesterday, today and forever and He is ready to help. He lives mightily within us, just waiting for us to unleash His power into our own lives.

Father God, we are sorry that we look at our own abilities some times, instead of up to You. When we look at our circumstances we tend to forget to look only at You. We want to grow and stand up in all that we are due to what Jesus had done for us. In Jesus Name. Amen

I spoke last week of making a difference in someone's life, of helping someone to put them on the right path for their lives. It requires a bit of effort on your side, it requires time, but it is more than worth it. You have helped someone to make something with their lives, instead of leaving them to wallow in the unfairness of life, which never gave them an opportunity. The effect you can make is profound.

Now as I said last week, except for making a big difference in someone's life, you can also be the Body of Christ in various other practical ways. Don't worry that you are not a missionary for Christ somewhere, you can make a big difference right where you are. I am going to name a couple of practical examples of how you can reach out, but I promise you that if you make yourself available to God, the opportunities will come knocking on your door!

1.       The next time you are in a queue in your supermarket and you see someone behind you that you can truly see don't have the money to even pay for what they have in their hands, offer to pay for them too and let them know that Jesus loves them.

2.       Buy at least one blanket each winter for someone that the Lord points out to you.

3.       Smile at the cashier even though you had to wait quite a while to be helped. Show them that God is in your heart.

4.       Tell people that Jesus loves them. Be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

5.       Ask your friends for what you can pray for them and then do it. There is a lot of power in prayer.

6.       Stop yourself before you gossip about someone, that is the quickest way of turning someone away from the Lord, the only life-giving Force.

7.       Look something up on the internet for someone who doesn't have access to Internet.

8.       Go and welcome your neighbor that just moved in and try and help him/her to settle into some of the activities in the area you might think they'd be interested in.

Etcetera etcetera, the list is endless, and these are things we can all do without much effort. We can all reach out and be the moving, living Body of Christ. We can represent Him here on earth. And I know it is difficult, our selfish nature wants to please ourselves. We would rather stay in our comfort zone. It is much easier and more comfortable. But that is not God's plan. He 'left' His body on earth for a reason. To continue with the good work that He did whilst still on earth. He wants us to represent Him. He wants us to attract people to His Kingdom. There are various ways of doing that, and each of us has a role to play in this big commission. Pray that the Lord would give you the wisdom and the strength to do it, because without the Holy Spirit's help we won't be able to do it.

Lord help us to be Your Body. Help us to represent You the way we should. Give us the strength and Your love in our hearts for other people. In Jesus Name. Amen

This morning I heard the following song:

"If we are the Body, why aren't His arms reaching, why aren't His hands healing, why aren't His Words teaching? If we are the Body why aren't His feet going, why is His love not showing them there is a way? Jesus paid much too high a price for us to pick and choose who should come. We are the Body of Christ."

It made me very very sad, because it is true. I don't think people see the Body of Christ at work like they should. In fact I know of people who do not want to believe, due to the behavior of Christians. And this makes me sad. We have a loving Father who wants all people to be saved, and we as the Body are not doing our job.

Then I truly thought about it and the needs of the poor and the majority of people in need it totally overwhelmed me. There are so many people with nothing, that it makes me feel numb, unable to do something. There are beggars around every corner, and it makes me feel hopeless. What difference can I make? Can a single person really make a difference? And I realized that that is exactly the problem, there is such an overwhelming need, that we give up before we even try to make a difference.

And then the Lord spoke to me and said that even if I make a difference in one life, that that is a start. If each of us makes a difference in one life, it becomes a multitude of people won for the Lord. And when I talk about a difference I don't mean giving a beggar your spare change (of course if the Lord tells you to do it you should), but I mean to really make a difference in someone's life. To really give input into someone's life and to help them make the most of it.

For example a friend of mine started a ministry where she got funds to send one person at a time for a course to do call centre work. The course was not as expensive as a degree, but it would help that person to start somewhere. She would then help the person to get work in a call centre and once they have that job, she helps them to register for a degree in something they really wanted to do. Then while they were working, they would study towards something worthwhile. And it was amazing to see how that encouraged that person and not only him, the whole community. The workless community would look up to that person and be encouraged that one of them can actually make it in this world. It was amazing for them to see that they can actually amount to something good, and this did wonders for their self esteem. And when that person finishes and finds a better job, he/she would help to sponsor someone else to do the call centre course and through that cycle, many people will be lifted out of poverty and despair.

That is by what I mean to really make a difference, to really put someone on the right course. Be open to be led by the Holy Spirit, He will lead the way and show you what to do. God loves this broken world. Be His hands and feet and reach out.

Now of course there are many other ways to help people too as the song suggest, but we will talk about it next week.

Lord please present us the opportunities to spread Your Word and Your love. Show us where and how to help. In Jesus' Name. Amen

"I will cause My people and their homes around My holy hill to be a blessing. And I will send showers, showers of blessings, which will come just when they are needed." Ezekiel 34:26

In the Old Testament My blessings were showered down on My people just when they needed it. My blessings came as they followed My Law and adhered to My commandments.

But today you have received all the blessings due to what My Son has done. Rejoice in the privilege of walking in My favour. I will let My sunshine rain down on you. Come and enjoy the sunshine. Drink in every ray of sun. I am in every sunray, in every blessing coming your way. Drink it in and rejoice in it.

My blessings have been showered upon you, in every flower and in every kiss. I have sent showers and showers of blessings through My Spirit within you because I love you, because My Son obtained it for you. You are special, a delicate flower in My Kingdom. I will water you, I will provide fertile ground.

Grow in My love, in My hands holding you dear. Allow your roots to grow deep into the soil of My Word. Allow your roots to drink in special time spent with Me. Allow the nutrients of prayer to penetrate your soul and unleash powerful changes in your life.

Then you will bloom no matter what the season, your fragrance will affect all around you no matter your circumstances and your influence will transcend space and time. Be open to growing, the benefits come from a different world and will transform yours today.

A mature child of Mine stands close to Me, and My presence powerfully penetrates him, changing this world into one glorifying Me.

Father, thank you for Your blessings, thank you for showering it upon us. Help us to grow into maturity, into the fullness of Your Son, so that we can be Your representatives in this dark world. Your light needs to shine, and we know we are Your vessels. Open us up to Your love and help us to allow Your Spirit to flow through us and change this world into a better place. Amen

I was reading through Acts and one story in particular amazed me. (There are several amazing stories, but I would like to pause with this one for the moment.) This story is about the commitment of Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey.

They started in Cyprus and continued towards Turkey as we know it today. Now they arrived at Antioch of Pisidia and started preaching boldly. Many people believed and turned towards God. But soon the Jewish leaders became jealous of their following and incited a mob to chase them out of town. Next they went to Iconium. The same thing happened there, many people turned towards God and accepted Jesus into their lives, but soon enough the leaders incited another mob against them and chased them out of town. This didn't deter them though, they simply continued further and entered the town of Lystra.

In Lystra they preached again and even healed a man who had never been able to walk due to his cripple feet. When the people saw this they thought that they were gods. The people at Lystra all knew a myth about their town. The myth said that centuries ago two gods visited their town, namely Zeus and Hermes. They came down from 'heaven', disguised themselves as ordinary people and went into town to see if the town's people were hospitable or not. They were disappointed to find that no one welcomed them, or even offered them any hospitality except for an old couple. The legend continues to say that the gods became angry and killed all the people in the town and rewarded the old couple. Now when the people of the town saw Paul and Barnabas performing these amazing miracles, they thought they were Zeus and Hermes who had come back to test them again. None of the citizens wanted to make the same mistake again and they rushed to bring Paul and Barnabas all sorts of offerings and they worshipped them. Needless to say Paul and Barnabas was appalled by this and tried to stop them and focus their attention on Jesus instead of on them.

Now here comes the interesting part for me. It was not long after the crowd 'worshipped' them, when some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came and stirred them up into a murderous mob to kill Paul and Barnabas. (Sounds like the Jews welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem with songs of praise and a week later yelling 'Crucify Him!' Doesn't it?) Anyway, this mob dragged Paul out of the city, stoned him and left him for dead. And what did Paul do? He simply got up and went back into the city! And more than that after they went to preach in Derbe they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch (where they had been chased away) to support and encourage the believers there. Amazing.

Think about it. Imagine it was you. You are kicked out of three towns by an angry mob, stoned in one and left for dead, what would you do? I think I will run as far away as I could, never ever to return! And yet here they didn't run away, no, they simply went back there to preach some more. Wow. That is absolute dedication and commitment to a cause.

Now my question is: are we as committed? Will we tell people about the Lord and continue to tell them about Him even if they mock us? Will we continue to stand firm in our faith, when the 'mob' around us don't approve of it? Will we continue to pray for a cause/someone even if we don't see a single result for years and years? Will we dust off our clothes and simply go back to show love to people who hate us?

We can learn a lot from the commitment that the apostles had. There was simply no other option in their minds. They had a job to do and they went on living and preaching for God, even when it cost them their lives. Think about this next time you feel like giving up.

Father, thank you for giving us the strength to go on and on, no matter what the circumstances. Help us to stand strong in our faith, and to never compromise. We love You too much. In Jesus Name. Amen

God's Word is amazing and I encourage you to spend time in it. Remember the Bible is not 66 different books, it is one book with one message, but if it is read in compartments certain parts of this message gets lost or distorted. However if you read it as a whole, it will set you free, liberated and energized. God's Word has life and can turn any situation around.

Today I would like to expand on this idea of spending time in the Word, to spending time with God. This morning I could feel a sense of 'sadness' in the Lord. And I am not saying this lightly, but with a lot of respect. Hand in hand with the message of spending more time in the Word, comes spending time with God. He wants us to spend time with Him. He understands that we are busy, He truly does, but He wants our attention and He wants us to acknowledge Him in everything we do.

Think about this example for a second. I love my husband, I really do. But imagine this scenario: When he goes to work in the morning I give him a kiss and say: "Have a lovely day, and please remember to bring me flowers when you get home. Oh and can I ask for a lovely ring too? I feel I deserve it. Thank you!" He doesn't say anything but gets into the car and leaves. Now while he is gone, I do the dishes, I plan dinner especially for him, I make the dinner, I wash his clothes, I pack his closet so everything is neat, I record his favorite program and I buy him his favorite drink for when he comes home. Now I do not speak to him the whole day, I do not phone him or email him, but I speak to my friends about him and tell them how great he is. Then when he finally comes home from work, I give him a kiss hallo and immediately ask him "Where is my flowers and my ring?" and before he can answer I go up to the room, as I can clearly see that he doesn't have it. I leave him alone with his dinner and his favorite program and I go to bed wondering whether he really loves me. I don't speak to him again that night and the following day the same scenario plays off. Do you think he will feel loved? Even after all I did for him? Even after getting all the things he loves? Even after all the nice things I said about him to my friends? I don't think so.

The same is true for the Lord. After all we are His future wife, the one He wants to share everything with. How do you think He feels when we ramble off a prayer in the morning and in the evening with our wish list on top? How do you think He feels when you do a lot of things for Him, but you never make time for Him? How do you think He feels when you talk to others about Him, but you never talk to Him? Do you think you will have a close relationship? I don't think so.

Now once again, doing things for the Lord is great, and talking about Him with your friends is super, but when you never spend time with Him it is just sad. He wants to be part of everything in your life, He wants to be the first One you talk to in the morning, He wants to be by your side during the day and He wants to be the One you talk to at night. He wants to be the first One you run to when you have trouble and He wants to be the shoulder you can cry on when you feel sad. He wants it all. And you know what? When you give Him your all, you will have the best marriage imaginable. And ask anyone that is married, there is nothing on earth greater than a great marriage and so it is with God and us. Your life will be true bliss if you can come to this realization and live in oneness with Him. Nothing will come close to your eternal relationship with God. Don't you think it is worth working on? Don't you think it is worth your time?

Thank you that You have chosen us to be Your beloved. We are sorry that we tend to give You the last bits of our day, help us to draw closer to You, because it is only then that we will truly be happy and experience heavenly bliss. Amen

I received a lovely email about a young man and an elderly man who decided to have a competition. They wanted to see who was going to cut down the most trees in one day. The young man was quite excited about this competition as he was the stronger of the two by far. They started early in the morning and the young man immediately started to cut down the trees with his axe. The elderly man started as well, but after each hour he rested for 15 minutes. The young man noticed it and laughed at him that he needed to rest. But the old man didn't let that deter him, he continued with this routine, he worked for an hour and rested for 15 minutes. This continued throughout the day. And at the end of the day, they each counted the number of trees they chopped down, and to the young man's utter dismay the elderly man won.

He couldn't understand it, he never rested and this old man that did, won. The old man gently walked over to the young man and said: "My dear child, every time I rested I sharpened my axe again. And with a sharp axe you can continue so much faster."

Isn't that so true of our lives? We are living in a fast paced world, everything is getting faster and quicker and more efficient. And somehow we need to 'run' in order to keep up with it all. We never stop for a breather, because we are afraid that if we do, we will get behind the rest, we will miss out. We simply keep our heads down and continue to axe down the trees in front of us.

But don't you think it will be a good idea to stop once in a while and sharpen your axe? The devil comes against us every day, trying to deter us from the path that God has ordained. And if we do not stop and look up to God and His Word on a daily basis, our axe will not be sharpened and our struggle will continue. The 'trees' will take longer and longer to cut down and our resolve will start to fade. And the only one left smiling will be the devil. He wants to disarm you and when he gets you to be too busy for God and His Word, you are left without your daily bread, open game for the enemy.

No, make a conscious decision to sharpen your axe on a daily basis. It gives one a sense of freedom in knowing that you are on your way, following the Will of God for your life, and that you will get there quicker than you would have if you never stopped. Plus, isn't it much better to be inside the Will of God for your life, than outside of it?

God wants you to take breathers now and again and make time to see clearly where you are heading and where He wants to lead you. He will give you a renewed vision every time and help you on the best pathway for your life. He wants to advise you and watch over you. He wants to sharpen your axe and help you to reach your destination so much quicker, without detours and thorn ridden pathways. Give over to Him. You are destined for so much more.

Psalm 32:8 "The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you."

Thank you Lord for watching over us. Thank you that You grant us time to stop and look up to You to see where You want to lead us. Thank you that Your Word is there to help us. You know best. We love You. In Jesus' name. Amen

The Lord wants us to spend time with Him. He wants us to get to know Him better and better in order for each of us to be able to grow spiritually and to live our lives the way He intended. And most importantly, He wants us to spend time with Him simply because He loves us and wants to be with us. It is like any other relationship, if you want the relationship to deepen and to grow, you need to dedicate time to it.

The other day I was sitting in the garden during my quiet time with the Lord. I looked up to the two thorn trees we have in the garden. It was spring, but it hasn't started raining as yet, but we use irrigation to water our other plants during this time. Some of the irrigation reached the one thorn tree, but not the other one. I noticed then that the leaves of the thorn tree that got extra water started to come out, but not the leaves of the one who didn't. The one tree looked green and fresh, while the other one still resembled winter. At the end of the day, the leaves of both the trees will eventually come out, though one would just be quicker than the other one. And then I realized that it is the same with us. Our spiritual life will grow faster if we water ourselves spiritually. At the end of the day all Christians will go to heaven, but if you want to grow spiritually, look green and fresh, lead a life of abundance and be the first to hear from God, then you need to make time.

It is like Paul says:

"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with Him." Philippians 3:8,9

And how did Paul get to know Jesus better and become one with Him? He spent time with Him. A lot of it.

A while ago I had to find the answer to a certain aspect in my life. I needed to find the answer from the Lord. I asked three Christians close to me to pray about it and tell me what they hear from the Lord concerning this issue of mine. Each of them came back with either a dream, text verse or a feeling that they had. None of it was straight forward. It was like a riddle I had to solve. I wrote everything down and tried to make sense of it all. I looked up to the Lord and presented it to Him and asked Him why He made it so difficult. Why couldn't He just plainly tell me what to do, why all these riddles? And do you know what I experienced that He said?

In the first place He said He will only reveal as much as we need to know/can handle at a certain stage, but most importantly He said that He speaks in riddles in order for us to make time to spend with Him. If we make the time, He will make the riddle clearer and present us with our solution. If He gave us the answer on a straight forward basis, we will not have the need to spend the time with Him, but we will rush on with the task ahead. Jesus also talked in parables. Why? Because people with their minds fixed on this world cannot understand what He wants to tell them, only people who spiritually seek to really know God will find the answers they are looking for.

Don't fall into the trap of simply rushing to the Lord whenever you need Him. Rush to Him every day, because whether you realize it or not, you actually cannot cope without His love and His guidance. You need Him to be able to function properly and to make the right choices. Your existence will only make sense and come to life when you realize your role in His Kingdom and the only way for you to know, is to make Him your first and only priority. He will gladly tell you and show you the way.

Lord, we love You and ask forgiveness that we do not make enough time for You. Other things always seem more important, while it is not even close as important as spending time with You. We look forward to feeling Your warm embrace and greeting You every morning. Amen

The other day I was driving to the shopping mall. Now I wouldn't say that I drive excessively fast, but sometimes when the road is open I tend to drive faster than the speeding limit. For example in a 60 km/h zone I would drive 80 km/h easily or sometimes even 90km/h. That day I drove about 80 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. But the next moment I noticed that a police vehicle was driving right behind me. I had such a fright and slammed on the brakes to get to 60km/h. Now I know that they were not following me, they were by chance right behind me, but their mere presence made me nervous and all of a sudden I wanted to obey the speeding limit. They didn't do anything, but I felt guilty, because I know I was in the wrong. This incident made me think, why is it that people only obey when they know that they are being watched?

Another example is a classic one at work. Have you noticed how everyone works faster and more efficient when the boss is around? And the moment he leaves, almost everyone tends to slack off. I would never forget that at my previous employer, one of my colleagues would always work in the time when he knows the boss is on holiday, and take leave when the boss is back. And during the time that the boss is not there, he would leave early from work, take extended lunch breaks and surf the internet most of the day. Isn't it ironic that a lot of people are that way? They only look out for their own advancement, and when the one that can promote them is not there, they don't care about the rest.

But the Lord pointed out to me that we shouldn't just act and work in the right manner when we are being watched, because in actual fact we are always being watched. The Lord is always, everywhere, watching our every move. Now I am not saying He is like a policeman, but He is our loving Father looking out for us. He wants us to act in a manner that would reflect Him. After all He says in Romans 12:11:

"Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically."

Proverbs 16:3 "Commit your work to the Lord, then your plans will succeed."

We have a big responsibility as Christians to reflect that we are indeed children of God. If we say that we are His children, we need to act that way and reflect Him to the world. And if we are not responsible in our work and our everyday tasks, it can hinder other people in their faith. For example it makes me very angry if people drive with 'Jesus stickers' on the bumpers of their cars, and then they drive like maniacs, pushing in in front of other motorists, skipping red lights etc. Because then I think to myself, if I didn't know the Lord personally, this will put me off from Christianity. If Christians behave this way, I don't want to be one. So if you do have a bumper sticker, that is great, but please remember to drive like a Christian ought to.

Also at work, do your work to the best of your ability, whether anyone is watching you or not. The Lord sees you and He knows your heart. He sees what you are doing and He will bless you because of it. Even if you don't get a raise and the one misleading the boss does, it doesn't matter, the Lord's approval is more important than anything else in the world. And you can be sure of blessings falling on you, whether it is good health, clever children, a discount at the shops or treasures in heaven. Don't fall into the trap of our materialistic world, but make the Lord your main Boss. At the end of the day, you are only accountable to Him and no one else.

Lord Jesus, please help us to be better Christians in everything we do. Please help us to look up to You and to follow Your holy example. You are the only One we want to please. We want You to say to us: "Well done My good and faithful son. I am proud of you." Amen