Archive - January, 2010

Primary Calling

January 25, 2010 in Challenges with 1 Comment

What is it that breaks your heart, the way it breaks God’s heart?

As you all know, 2010 is the year of change for me, and I really trust God for a new season in my life. To set me free from a dreadful and dreary job, and to release me into a place where I can really make a difference for the Kingdom of God. This is not to say that I can not make a difference at my workplace, but that just isn’t enough for me.

I currently serve in the worship team at church, and always have served in a worship team. That is just my way of doing corporate church. Due to this fact, I always believed that worship is my calling in life, and I must pursue doing that full time. But during the last couple of weeks, stepping into this season of change, my heart has been opened to that which breaks my heart.

Living in Africa, and being used to the poor and beggars all around, I have become insensitive to the needs of the extremely poor. In the last couple of weeks, God has really just softened my heart to the mission field, but specifically children. Whenever I look at a picture of a child suffering from hunger, I just feel an instant break within me, and I am unable to stop the tears.

Now, it is easy to actually do something for the poor. You can give them money, be it directly or through a charity that look after the poor children, like Compassion International, but that just isn’t enough for me. I really want to be with the children and just show them love.

With this revelation in my life, I have made a commitment to myself, God and my family, that I will go on a mission outreach two weeks every year, at least. If God ordains me to go more, I will follow, but what I can do at this point in my life, is two weeks, and I am going to make them count.

So, if anybody know about organisations that does mission outreaches, with which I can join up, I would really appreciate a comment or an email, so I can start to put the things I need in place.

Why do you want God to bless you?

January 25, 2010 in Challenges with 0 Comments

Genesis 12:1-2 – The Lord and said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

During the last month, the Lord has blessed me with some extra money. His timing was great, since I had some extra expenses. As on so many occasions in the past, the amount that He supplied was quite a bit more than I needed to make my budget work, so I had surplus funds in my account.
Last week, while at a church meeting, I got a message from a friend who was on his way to the same meeting. The message said that he needed some help at a filling station nearby. I walked out of the meeting and drove to where he was. When I arrived, he told me that he was out of fuel, and that he didn’t have any money on him. As he was talking, the Spirit told me that this is why he blessed me with more than I needed, and I could fill up his car for him without even thinking about the cost. I think that I was blessed more by the situation than he was, because the Lord helped me realize a truth that will help me so much in future.

I want to challenge you to start thinking differently about blessings from God. Our primary goal on earth is not to have a nice, comfortable life and see how many belongings we can gather. We are here to glorify God, and sometimes (more often than we think), we have the opportunity to glorify Him by being obedient to his calling to be a blessing to those around us.

Compassion International

January 24, 2010 in Challenges with 0 Comments

Our family just sponsored the following kid through Compassion International.

Meet Sandy…

For a mere $38 a month, you too can make a difference in a child’s life.

In Private

January 23, 2010 in Challenges with 0 Comments

If you want to live like Jesus publicly, you need to live like Jesus privately…

Yesterday morning driving to work, I was listening to the first sermon from the sermon series, Carbon Copy from LifeChurch.tv, and this line jumped out at me.

What is the impact of this statement on your life?

For me, it is usually very easy to put up a facade to the world, and to look like this super duper Christian, but are you really? And for how long will you be able to keep up the facade?

Does this statement mean for you that you need to make time to spend private time with God, on a daily basis, or does it maybe mean you need to remove certain things from your life that may have a negative impact in your relationship with God.

Think about it.

Pray about it.

But, please, do something about it.

For me, it is to make some real personal time again with God. To have a time of day, where I can go and sit on the floor, and just bask in the glory that is God. To spend some quite time, just to hear His voice.

Fear of failure

January 20, 2010 in Challenges with 5 Comments

I was reading this blog post on Stuff Christians Like which got me thinking about why I am so afraid to make a move.

I am sitting in a job I don’t like, and is pretty much a dead end job, and I really want to make a move out of my industry, but I am afraid…

My good friend Fritz is a great example for me, with regards to this. He left a good paying job to go do something that he loves doing. And Fritz, I really admire you for doing that.

Now, following the Haiti disaster, I was telling my wife, I wish there was a way that I can GO and help out. Not help out financially or anything, but to go to the area, and help and minister to people out there.

Or, looking at Charity Water every once in a while, I feel like I want to go on one of the trips myself, but every time fear gets the best of me.

Or every now and then, I feel like I should go into ministry or start my own business, but I am always too afraid to fail.

What would my wife say?

What would my family say?

What will I do when I come back?

How will I support my family?

Do I not believe that God will take care of me and my family? Why am I such a coward?

May God start to work in my heart and my life, to get this cowardly feelings out of me.

May God start to make Matthew 6:25-34 real in my life, and may I start to really trust in Him to give us what we need.

25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Forgiveness

January 19, 2010 in Challenges with 4 Comments

I have decided that the year 2010 is going to be the year of big change in my life. Not in the New Year resolution way, but in the way of changing my life to a place where God wants it.
To get out of my dead end job, to get closer to realising the calling God has for me on my life, and to be a better husband, father and son.
I am starting a journey with my Father in heaven of revamping my life. To make the difficult and uncomfortable choices. To die to myself once again.
The one major thing on this list of things that needs to happen is that I need to forgive. To put a certain issue behind me and to heal the one relationship that can get between me and my wife, other than our own.
This has been a long week, with God convicting me on a daily basis while in prayer to really put this issue behind me. To go out of my way to fix this relationship and to stop telling myself that I was wronged, and it is not my fault.
We as Christ followers, need to stop with this easy, worldly practice of feeling wronged, and even if you were wronged, you need to make the first move to put it behind you.
I have now had this issue in my heart for close to 6 years, and I can honestly say, for the first time in these 6 years, I can say that it is behind me, through the power of the Lord.
Maybe you have something like this in your life that is keeping you from reaching that place that God wants you to be in. That little something in your heart that becomes a sore, and when it gets infected, can throw your whole life off course.
Maybe you need to go and spend some personal time with God in this issue, and get it sorted between the two of you so that you can reach that place of forgiveness.

Wearing the veil

January 14, 2010 in Challenges with 10 Comments

As you all know, I have been going through a bit of a slump the last month in my relationship with God. Getting to comfortable in my ways, and getting back some of my old habits I had before committing my life to God.

This all while keeping up the front of not going through the slump, like Moses wearing his veil.

Exodus 34:33-35 (NIV)

When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.  But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,  they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

Now, we generally make the mistake of thinking Moses put on the veil to hide his radiant face, but we learn in 2 Corinthians 3:13 that this was not the case

We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.

Well, I am ashamed that I was wearing a veil for a couple of weeks, but thanks to God’s grace I was able to drop my veil once more.

Found my manifesto for the year

January 13, 2010 in Challenges with 0 Comments

Reading Mark Batterson’s blog today he posted his Lion Chasers manifesto.

This really hit me between the eyes, as I am seeing 2010 as the year of change.

I am going to stop doing the easy, comfortable thing, and start chasing my dreams. Even if that means that I need to sacrifice certain things.

The year of big things was also professed to me over the weekend, so I am really excited about what is going to happen, and what God has in store for me.

May this be true for each and every one of you as well.

The La-Z-Boy effect

January 12, 2010 in Challenges with 1 Comment

I am busy reading a book by Vince Antonucci called, I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt.

Now, in my opinion this is a must read for everyone, because you get to see a human, just like you. Not a super Christian that does nothing wrong, but a person that goes through the same struggles that you and me go through.

In a section of the book he talks about his La-Z-Boy that he got himself, after dreaming about it for years, and coming to the realisation that this chair is the one place you will not grow.

Think about this for a second.

Have you ever grown in your faith by doing the easy, comfortable thing?

If you are anything like me, then the answer to that question is a resounding NO!!!!

In fact, I usually get so comfortable, that I tend to forget about spending time with God, because life is SO comfortable. I do not need Him right now…

Well, another point Vince points out in this section of his book, is that when members of his congregation goes on mission trips, they always comes back saying they had the best time of their lives.

Why is that?

Is it because they went to an awesome place, or is it because they got out of their comfort zones, and served others?

Thinking about this, we read John 13, where Jesus washes His disciples’ feet. After doing the deed, Jesus says these words

13“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

John 13:13-17 (NIV)

I believe no words are needed after this…

Hi there

January 4, 2010 in Challenges with 1 Comment

I have taken a bit of a blogging sabbatical this December due to the holidays and some personal reasons.

I am going to be away for another week, and then I will be back in full force with my daily blog.

So in the mean time, happy new year to you all, and may 2010 be a blessed year for all of you.

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