Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la, la-la, it’s Christmas eve tomorrow, and we
have so much to be grateful for! What a year it’s been, as 2013 draws to a
close, it provides us with the perfect opportunity to reflect on the good and the
bad and maybe even those missed opportunities! Yes, those opportunities that
passed on by because we were too afraid to step out of our comfort zone. Fear
has the ability to delay, deviate and discourage us from fulfilling our God given
destiny. If we can recognise what is holding us back I believe it will allow us
to change our perspective so that we can move forward without hesitation.
Fear of the Unknown.
"Then Peter got down
out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he
saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of
little faith,” he said,“why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:24-31
God gave me a vision of soldiers preparing for battle. Not
only do they have to prepare themselves physically but mentally too. They know
they’re entering a warzone with an arrow pointed at their head but they enter it
anyways! They were willing to fight till death with hope that their kingdom
will reign supreme! I believe that if we choose to live life with the same
mindset, taking into account that we are fighting for freedom, that our King is the King of Kings and that through Jesus Christ we are already victorious then our
battleground becomes a playground. I know it's scary to leave your familiar,
comfortable and mundane life behind, but true life only starts once you step
out into the unknown, you might have to leave some things behind but the road
ahead promises more fulfilment than you could ever imagine! I’m a living
testimony along with hundreds upon thousands of people who have decided to give
their life to Christ. It's easier to fight for something you believe in and to
fight already knowing that you've won, therefore the battle loses its sting,
fear doesn't have favour but we do! We are highly favoured by the creator of
the heavens and the earth. The only thing holding us back is ourselves.
Fear of Change.
“Everyone who does
evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their
deeds will be exposed” John 3:20.
Before I decided to do a 360' turn in my life I never really
set any time apart to check my heart. I did anything I wanted, whenever
I wanted, without thinking ahead as to what the consequences might be. I wasn’t
a terrible person, I was just selfish. I never wanted to confront my problems
because then I knew I might have to change. I had a massive revelation just
after I was saved, during a praise and worship song, someone on stage was
stating “Lord look at my heart, take it, it’s yours” or something to that
extent, I remember thinking to myself, “Yikes, do I really want God to see my
whole heart? All my hidden agendas and motives, all my plotting and planning,
my jealousy and anger, my pride, my lust and my lifestyle? Can’t He just look
at the good, the bits of my heart that I wanted Him to see?” Then I realised He
can see all of it anyways so I was fighting a losing battle! From that moment I
decided to change my thoughts instead of just focusing on changing my ways. Don’t
be afraid to do some serious soul searching! If you are afraid of what people
might think of the new you, just remember you live for Christ now, and your
change will bring about more change than you could have ever imagined.
Fear Before a Blessing.
“Mary
was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might
be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.” Luke 1:29-30
As it is the Christmas season, I decided it would be a great
idea to reread and meditate on the nativity story, with that said something
really stuck out to me, throughout the Bible whenever an angel appears to bring
good news it is often followed with the statement, “Do not be afraid”. When a
blessing is staring at us in the face we may feel terrified and confused as to
what happens next. I believe it is human nature to always expect the worst. It
may prevent us from hearing God’s voice clearly, as we continue to fight His
unreasonable requests with our logical mind. The Spirit descended not only for
comfort and healing but for direction as well. I know I sometimes fear the Spirit,
especially when it comes to praying in tongues or listening to its prompting to
do something out of the ordinary like praying for a complete stranger in broad
daylight in front of a group of people (yes, He does that), but when fear
becomes greater than faith that's when you lose the fruits and gifts of the Spirit!
So I just want to encourage you to join me as we venture into 2014 with a heart
full of expectancy and faith, the Spirit will move if we give it room to do so.
As long as fear is holding us back we are still living by flesh and not by
faith. God has overcome all things and if the Spirit lives within us, then we
too can achieve all things through Him who gives us strength! God wants us to
achieve all He has set out for us, if you feel God prompting you to do
something, do it without hesitation, if it doesn't work out it's probably
because He wanted you to learn a valuable lesson from the experience! Sometimes
God doesn't want us to achieve everything all at once, failure is essential for
growth not only in our willingness to never give up but in our faith and hope
that we have placed upon our God given purpose.
There are so many fears we have to deal with on a daily
basis but if can recognise that we are free, we are favoured and God is
faithful in all His ways then I believe we can step into 2014 with our heads
held high expecting great things to come because of our willingness to trust
God and be coreageous in all our
decisions, knowing that if and when we fall, He will be there to catch us and
encourage us to never give up. We have an eternity of love and freedom waiting
for us, “no fear of condemnation” so keep that in mind when you staring fear in
face again!
Can I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and come
and experience what Christmas is truly all about!
Kinetic
Way Off Century Boulevard Century City Cape Town Western Cape.
Christmas Eve:
7.30pm
Christmas Day: 8am, 9.30am and 11am
Have a blessed Christmas, and thank you so much for all your
support throughout the year!
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