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.

Friendship

December 21, 2009 in Challenges with 0 Comments

Last night I had to look back at the past year, and just see all the blessings the Lord has placed on our lives, and this is only by looking at the friendships He blessed us with.

A year ago, me and my wife had no real friends. People that we knew we could call upon in hard times, and people that knew they could do the same.

We had friends, but it felt like it was all conditional friendships. You had to be willing to do certain things to really be accepted into the group of friends.

When we joined our current church, we really prayed to God to give us real friendships. The type of friendships you usually only read about in books.

One thing I can say it the God really came through in a BIG way on our prayers, and all we can do is say thanks and really try and give as much as possible back to God for all these blessings.

To all our friends, you all know who you are, I love every minute I can spend with you guys, just being myself, and also being able to cry and laugh together. May we all sit around in the old age homes one day, and talk about these days we had together, and may God bless each and every one of you beyond your wildest dreams.

The joys of giving

December 20, 2009 in Challenges with 1 Comment

Ok, I know, I have been slack with blogging the last 2 weeks. I have to say sorry for it, since I have been a bit lethargic due to end of the year syndrome, and slacking in all spiritual things in my life.

Yesterday, while walking to the car after dropping my wife and daughter off at the airport, for them to go on holiday so long, with me following on Thursday, a guy came walking up to me.

I could see in his eyes that there is a huge hurt in there somewhere, and you could also tell that he is really not comfortable to walk up to strangers.

In any case, it turned out that he was released from prison that morning, and he needed to get back to Port Elizabeth. Correctional Services gave him money for two thirds of the money he needed to get home, and now he needed to get the rest of the money somewhere.

After listening to his story, I really felt compelled to give him money, and I had enough cash with me to give him more than half the money he needed. He almost started to cry. He further told me that people has sworn at him and said terrible stuff to him, just because he has been to prison.

Needless to say, I drove away with a smile on my face.

However, this morning in church the pastor read 1 John 3:16-17

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

Listening to this, I was really shocked at the reactions this man was talking about that other people had towards him. After feeling this, however, God started to speak to me, and really just opened my eyes to what I could have done for this man.

It was within my powers to give this man all the money he needed to get home, and some more, without it being almost a hassle for me. I did not pray for him, while standing there, I did not take the time to maybe get some more information about him, and maybe to follow up with him in a couple of days, to try and find out if he got home alright, etc.

I know this was not God telling me I should have done this, but Him teaching me to be more open to these things the next time I get someone like this crossing my road.

I praise the Lord for just giving me this little piece of teaching among everything, and I really pray that God will bring someone like this across my path again, before Christmas, just so that I will be able to spread some of the Christmas joy to someone less fortunate than me.

Awesome Prayer

December 17, 2009 in Challenges with 0 Comments

prayer1

O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still.
Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.” Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.

From A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Camp Hill, PA: WingSpread, 2007).

Fearless, The Review

December 15, 2009 in Challenges with 3 Comments

WhFearless_covery do we go through life with so much fear?

Why do we fear the things we fear?

We fear the mundane things, we have no control over in life, and we fear the material things the world has told us to fear.

In his new book, Fearless, Max Lucado takes all these little fears we have in life and replaces it with the one healthy fear to have, the fear of God.

Max Lucado takes these little fears like, the fear of not mattering, and the fear of running out of materialistic things, and goed into scripture to show us why we as believers should not be afraid of these little things in life, as God has already covered all of these.

If God would care for a little bird, and provide for it, how much more would He care for us as humans, created slightly less than himself, but in His image.

Do yourself a favour, get yourself this book, and study it. Start fearing God, in a  healthy way, and start trusting on Him to provide for your everyday needs.

Max Lucado has taken this topic of fear, so prevalent in the times we are living in, and replaced it with God. He placed God in control of our fears, and we all should read this book to get back on the track.

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