Weekly Devotion

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 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 don'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

Last week I spoke about spending more time with the Word of God, truly reading through it from cover to cover. Remember the Bible is not 66 different books, it is one book with one message, and if it is read in compartments certain parts of this message gets lost or distorted.

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 Bride, 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 will be in heaven one day. Nothing will come close to your eternal marriage 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 as Your Bride. 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

Currently I am listening to a couple of teachings of renowned Christian teachers that I look up to. I admire their knowledge of the Word and their way of interpreting it. I enjoy listening to them as I can see that they are very close to the Lord. But the more I listened to them, the more confused I became, as they differ on certain spiritual issues. Of course they all agree on the basics of Christianity, but on other issues, like sicknesses and healing for example, they disagree and each one of them can prove their point of view by using and quoting Scripture. Now this threw my totally off guard, because I believe that the Lord is speaking through them. But how can He be speaking through them, if they differ on certain topics? The God I know is not a God of confusion, but of unity. He wants to unite us in the Spirit and keep us close to Him. He doesn't want all of us to go in different directions and He doesn't want us to become skeptical of one another in the Spirit. There is only one Truth, there cannot be many versions to it.

So this morning I spoke to Him about it as it is bothering me and it was then that the Lord spoke to me.

"Ilze, it is wonderful that you listen to all these teachings, it is wonderful that you want to learn, but tell Me one thing, despite doing bible study through these teachings, how many times have you read the Bible through in your lifetime?"

I turned red. "Once." I admitted.

"Now don't you think you should start reading through the Bible again?"

I realized that He was right. There is nothing wrong with listening to other teachers. There is nothing wrong with attending church, in fact it is a good thing. But one must never neglect the Word of God. The Word of God is the essence of our faith. We should go through it again and again and again. It is so rich in treasures, you will still find something new even if you read it for the 100^th time. The Holy Spirit will guide you and teach you and will highlight and reveal something new to you each time.

Now don't understand me wrong, it is great to listen to other teachings! It is great to learn from others, but make sure that you have your Bible in hand. Make sure that you are armed with it and that you know it, in order to know whether the teaching is pure and right. Only then will you not live in confusion, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!

I am ready to go through my Bible once more. And this time I think it is the beginning of many more.

Thank you Father for Your beautiful Word. Thank you that You gave it to us in order to learn and not be left in the darkness. Help us to make time to treasure it in our hearts. 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? That is where I am at the moment. The Lord told me to stop working full time as an accountant and to spend time sharpening my axe and through doing that, grow closer to Him and His wonderful plan for my life. Now I can tell you it wasn't easy to stop. Most people couldn't understand why I stopped working and pertinently showed me how I was going to get behind all the rest in my profession. They told me that no company will ever want me again if I stopped working for too long. They made me feel as if the time I spend sharpening my axe is useless and a total waste of time and that it was more important to keep on going.

But I didn't let that deter me, because I knew that at the end of the day, if I didn't stop, I would most probably still be in the rat race, still be rushing to who knows where and I would never have experienced the liberation of sharpening my axe. 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?

Now I am not saying everyone should stop working. The Lord showed me specifically that I should. The Lord might show you something else, but the bottom line is He simply 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.

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. Help us to make the time and use it to draw closer to You. In Jesus' name. Amen

As I said my boys are still small. And when the youngest started to walk, his favorite place in the house was the stairs. I think for any parent it is enough to give them grey hairs! Because he would simply walk over to it and start climbing the twenty stairs. Now and again he would look over his shoulder to us and of course that was exactly when he would lose his balance and fall right on his back. Or he would climb to the top and then try to go down again, but due to his poor balance at that stage he would lose his footing and fall. So we then decided this is it, we are going to put gates in front of the opening to the stairs and every time we needed to go up or down we would carry him and not allow him to do it on his own for fear that he would fall and hurt himself.

He grew older and we continued with this ritual. We would carry him up and down the stairs. It wasn't until one day that the Lord spoke to my heart.

"Why are you still doing this Ilze?"

"Lord because I am afraid he is going to fall and hurt himself if I let him walk by himself."

"And do you think he is ever going to learn to walk by himself if you keep on preventing him to try?"

"I guess not."

And that is when I realized that I needed him to learn. He needed to try on his own. Yes, he will most probably fall, but I will be right next to him to catch him. So from then on, whenever we needed to go up or down, we would leave him to try on his own, but we never left his side. We would steady him if needed and grab him when he totally lost balance. And you know what, it was merely a couple of months before he could go up and down the stairs all on his own. I don't worry about him on the stairs anymore. He mastered it and I could see it gave him a sense of freedom as he could feel that we believed in his ability. And whenever the next thing in life comes that he needed to master, he will have the confidence to try.

And so it is the same with our lives with God. Sometimes He needs to 'leave' us to try on our own, to struggle on our own, in order for us to grow. He will always be there to catch us when we fall, or to steady us when everything gets too much, but we need to at least try. And before you know it, you are a better person because of it. It will give you a sense of freedom. It will liberate you into experiencing what it feels like that the King of the Universe believes you. He trusts in your ability to be able to handle the situation. And before long He will start trusting you with even more.

Lord, please give us the courage to try things on our own. But thank you very much that we can know that You will be there, always encouraging us and if needed, catching us when we fall. In Jesus' Name Amen.

My two boys are currently small and those of you with small children will know that they love watching animations. And at their age, they can watch the same animation over and over and over again! Now although I do watch it with them the first time to ensure that the film is okay for them, I don't necessarily always sit with them through the next 70 times, I see a part of it here and there, and after a couple of days I know the story inside out. I can even finish some of their sentences.

So because I 'watch' a lot of the animations with them, the stories stay in my head throughout the day. And then the more I think about it, the more I realize that most of the story is very unrealistic. For example Wall E. It is a story where earth had become so filthy and polluted that people couldn't live there anymore. They then built a spaceship and left earth for 5 years. They left robots on earth to clean everything up in order for them to be able to return. Now long story short, they didn't return to earth and stayed in space for 700 years. One after the other robots left on earth broke down until only one was left. Okay, so now I think, how is it possible for them to be in space without water for 700 years? Where did all their food come from? How did this one robot 'survive' when all the others broke down? Etc.

Or for example the movie Cars. How is it possible for the cars to talk? How can they truly have feelings etc.

Or for example Up. It is a story where an old man wants to visit a special waterfall in South America. To cut a long story short he blows up hundreds of balloons with helium and attach it to the roof of his house and flies over to the waterfall, house and all. Sounds realistic?

There are many examples and I am sure you can think of a lot more! My point is many movies are unrealistic and if you begin to analyze and question details in them you will miss the beauty of the film. You will get sidetracked with nonsense really and lose the joy of watching the movie.

It is like reading the Psalms and trying to scrutinize every verse and obtain a meaning for each one of them. Of course you can do that, but somehow when you do, you lose the beauty of it. The lovely poetry turns into an explanation and the mystical splendor of it gets lost.

The same can be said for our lives. There are many things we do not understand. Many things that just don't make any sense at all. There are many things we try to analyze and understand. But at the end of it all we need to let go and rather try and enjoy the beauty of it all. Sometimes we need to stop asking questions and rather focus on the beauty of God's love all around us. He wants us to experience His Love and that is what it is all about. Above everything and above supplying all the answers for us, He wants us to know that He loves us, more than anything.

Father God, help us to see You in everything. Help us sometimes to stop looking for all the answers, but rather to look for You, to search for You with all our hearts. In the end, all that matters is You. In Jesus Name, Amen.

My two boys are currently small and those of you with small children will know that they love watching animations. And at their age, they can watch the same animation over and over and over again! Now although I do watch it with them the first time to ensure that the film is okay for them, I don't necessarily always sit with them through the next 70 times, I see a part of it here and there, and after a couple of days I know the story inside out. I can even finish some of their sentences.

So because I 'watch' a lot of the animations with them, the stories stay in my head throughout the day. And then the more I think about it, the more I realize that most of the story is very unrealistic. For example Wall E. It is a story where earth had become so filthy and polluted that people couldn't live there anymore. They then built a spaceship and left earth for 5 years. They left robots on earth to clean everything up in order for them to be able to return. Now long story short, they didn't return to earth and stayed in space for 700 years. One after the other robots left on earth broke down until only one was left. Okay, so now I think, how is it possible for them to be in space without water for 700 years? Where did all their food come from? How did this one robot 'survive' when all the others broke down? Etc.

Or for example the movie Cars. How is it possible for the cars to talk? How can they truly have feelings etc.

Or for example Up. It is a story where an old man wants to visit a special waterfall in South America. To cut a long story short he blows up hundreds of balloons with helium and attach it to the roof of his house and flies over to the waterfall, house and all. Sounds realistic?

There are many examples and I am sure you can think of a lot more! My point is many movies are unrealistic and if you begin to analyze and question details in them you will miss the beauty of the film. You will get sidetracked with nonsense really and lose the joy of watching the movie.

It is like reading the Psalms and trying to scrutinize every verse and obtain a meaning for each one of them. Of course you can do that, but somehow when you do, you lose the beauty of it. The lovely poetry turns into an explanation and the mystical splendor of it gets lost.

The same can be said for our lives. There are many things we do not understand. Many things that just don't make any sense at all. There are many things we try to analyze and understand. But at the end of it all we need to let go and rather try and enjoy the beauty of it all. Sometimes we need to stop asking questions and rather focus on the beauty of God's love all around us. He wants us to experience His Love and that is what it is all about. Above everything and above supplying all the answers for us, He wants us to know that He loves us, more than anything.

Father God, help us to see You in everything. Help us sometimes to stop looking for all the answers, but rather to look for You, to search for You with all our hearts. In the end, all that matters is You. In Jesus Name, Amen.

The Lord wants us to enjoy our lives. He loves us very much, so much so that He came in person to die for our sins, so that we can have eternal life with Him, which is going to be even greater than anything we can ever imagine or dream!

And He wants us to enjoy our lives on earth as well. I am not saying He guarantees wealth and good health, but He does give us peace that this world will never understand and He does promise to be with us and to provide us with whatever we need, even if it is just patience to wait for Him.

But we need to do our part as well. We need to make sure that we give priority to the things that matter the most and spend less time on things that will wither away one day.

First of all we must give priority to our relationship with Him. He is the One we should search for, He is the One we should strive to know better, He is the One we should adore and honor. Jesus Christ should be our cornerstone and our foundation. We cannot move an inch forward if we are not moving with Him.

Then second of all we should give time and priority to our relationships. We should make special time with our spouses, our kids and our family/friends and also in that specific order. Nothing on earth, and especially not your work, is more important than them. They are the only 'thing' you can 'take' to heaven and into eternity. Don't you think it is worth the time and the effort to teach them about Jesus and to nurture them in a loving relationship with Him? Don't you think it is worth it to be Jesus' Hands and Feet to them and to live an example? Remember always, charity starts at home. They need to see and experience your love.

And thirdly you need to look after yourself, the Temple of God. If you don't and you are worn out and depressed, the Lord cannot use you for bigger things. You cannot rise up to be all God created you to be, if you don't even have the strength to look after yourself, and at the end of the day the whole Body of Christ will suffer. You have a unique role to fulfill and to bless other Christians with, but if you don't take care of yourself you won't be able to do it.

Stand up and be all you were created to be. Be a blessing to others and be a devout child of the living God. Then you will find the true meaning in life and find an inner peace that you are fulfilling your role here on earth and making a difference in this sinful world.

Lord God, thank you for creating us, each with a special purpose to fulfill. Thank you that You believe in us. Help us to prioritise our lives in such a way that You will be in first place, help us to look after our relationships and also after ourselves. We can only do it in Your strength. In Jesus Name, Amen.

I have discussed various ways to look after yourself these past few weeks. We need to look after ourselves as we are the temple of God. We need to portrait His love to the world and if we are tired and worn out, we do not have anything to give. We cannot give what we do not have. And therefore we need to look after ourselves on a physical level as well. Now what I am about to say is not news to you, I am sure of it, but sometimes it is good to recap again some of the knowledge we already have.

Our bodies need to be nurtured in order to function at our best. The past few weeks I haven't been sleeping well due to my two boys adjusting to their new room. They were also a bit sick and one was teething, so needless to say I am up most of the nights, alternating between the two beds (Actually they haven't been good sleepers from birth, but these past few years were a bit more hectic than usual). So I don't get the rest my body need and you know what, it affects everything I do. My temper is shorter than usual, I feel depressed for no reason, my memory is affected, my relationship with them tends to be strained etc. In short I cannot function at my optimum best, because my body is not looked after. And I cannot be all God wants me to be.

This is just a short illustration that it is very important that you do look after your body. Now my situation is temporary I know, and when it is over I have the responsibility to make sure I get the rest I need. And that applies to you too. If your body is looked after, you will function so much better and be able to achieve what God intends for you. Here are a couple of things that will help your body cope better in today's stressful lifestyle:

• Sleep a good 7-8 hours a day. I know people who sleep 4-5 hours a day and claim to be fine with it, but the experts tend to agree that 7-8 hours is the norm for healthy living;
• You must make time for yourself, be quiet for at least 15 minutes a day (It is a pit stop for the soul). I know it is difficult. Even if you need to lock yourself in the toilet or get up ten minutes earlier, you need your quiet time to commune with God.
• Commune with nature and get a bit of sun every day. The Lord is in each ray of sunlight and in each leaf or flower you touch.
•  Breathe in deeply at least 20 times a day and give your brain the oxygen it needs;
•  Get some exercise, even if it is just by taking the flight of stairs at work instead of the elevator or walking around the block. Your body will stagnate if it doesn't get the oxygen flowing through the blood;
• Eat moderately (eat live foods like fruit, vegetables). It is difficult I know. I also love a chocolate now and again, but at least try to get more healthy food in. Also try and chew more, your food will digest easier and you will feel full and thus eat less;
• Try and read 30 minutes a day something that will build you up and nourish your soul.

Our bodies need to be looked after, it is our responsibility. And the greater your body feels, the greater you will feel and the more you can achieve for God. Be proud of the body God gave you. Look after it and help it to give it its best shot. You are worth it.

Lord, please help us to look after our bodies with special care. You made it with special care and entrusted it to us. Please help us to be good stewards. Amen

I truly believe that one of the key ingredients to being truly happy is being content with what you have and who you are. It is also one of the most difficult things to do. In our society today all people tend to want more all the time. It is very difficult to reach a point where enough is enough. I think in our materialistic world it is advertised to us that we need more to really be happy. If we have this car we will be fulfilled, if we have this ring we will be so happy, if we have this house we will live happily ever after, if we have this handbag people will look up to us. And you know what, it is all a lie. The opposite is rather true, you will find fulfillment with what you have if you are happy within yourself.

Now I am not saying don't ever buy something nice for yourself (I love shopping when I have a chance), I'm not saying stop striving to be the best you can be. If you do your best and you make money in the process then that is great. All I am saying is that you shouldn't find your happiness in them. Sure it is nice to drive a new car, it does make you happy for a while, until the next model comes out and you realize that yours isn't that nice anymore. Then you immediately contact the car dealer for the latest model to make you happy again. For a while, until the process repeats itself again.

Trying to keep up with the Jones's is tiring! There will always be someone richer than you, always someone more beautiful, someone more successful etc. True peace comes when we can accept the fact and be grateful for what we have. You will find a load coming off your shoulders. You are okay just as you are. I realized the other day how we can 'hurt' God, by being ungrateful with the gifts He has given us. We are so quick to tell Him that we actually wanted the gift He gave to someone else. It is like a slap in the face. God deserves our heartfelt gratitude, because He looks after us.

Take a piece of paper right now and write down at least 5 things that you can be grateful for. I am sure that once you get started, you will write down more than 5. Now take this piece of paper and put it up somewhere even if it is in the inside of you closet and thank God for those things every day. Soon you will be adding things and the moment you feel the spirit of envy creeping up on you, read those things out loud and thank God for it. Have a Spirit of thanksgiving, the Lord will smile at you.

Thank you God for being a God of more than enough. We apologize that we are not grateful as we should be. Please forgive us Lord, you have blessed us with so much. Thank you very much!

Amen