Piece for Peace

Listen Now: "You don't give your heart in pieces" - Bethel, Pieces, Have it All 

Pieces, broken and scattered pieces; it's the way we feel when God sends us a trial, when we are faced with fear, put in a tough situation or even going about our day-to-day activities failing to sense that God is with us. What about when people let us down, when our dreams and hopes don't turn out according to our plans or when our goals become bigger than our God? Have you ever stopped to think that maybe God isn't missing, we're just missing the point. God doesn't give us His heart in pieces, yet every day we give God pieces of our heart, our life, our time, our trust and our thoughts.

Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, but sometimes we treat Him like the prince of piece, only taking time to think about His death and resurrection over times like Easter, Communion or when we decide to read the Gospels once every couple of months. How can we expect to truly find Jesus, if we fail to seek Him wholeheartedly?

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" Jeremiah 29:11

In the book of Hosea, God instructs Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman who ends up being adulterous. God uses this story to show us how Israel has been betraying God by loving and lusting after things other than Himself.

1. We Belong to God:

God doesn't need us yet He chose us. "Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them." Hosea 1:7

God is the only one that can save us and the only one who can save others. God is a jealous God, we need to remember that our life and the lives of the ones we love belong to God. He makes the decisions, He gets the glory, we are His people and He is our God.

2. Love God With All Your Heart:

'I will not show my love to her children, because they are the children of adultery. Their mother has been unfaithful and has conceived them in disgrace. She said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’ Hosea 2:4-5

How often do we confess with out mouth that we love God above all else, yet we choose things daily over His presence. I spent an entire year longing after what I thought was a dream God gave me and it gave birth to things in my heart that were not from God. 'I will not show my love to her children, because they are the children of adultery'  I conceived self-righteousness, entitlement and wariness as I seeked to complete tasks rather than seeking more of Jesus.

What about when you get what you want? The food, the water, the linen etc. Last year I met the man of my dreams, He loves Jesus, serves whole-heartily and respects and treats me the way every girl deserves to be treated. But ever so often I have to remind myself that I said "I do" to Jesus, who is and forever will be the lover of my soul, my groom, before and even after the day I say "I do" to my earthly husband.

3. Find Jesus and You'll Find a Way.

"Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way." Hosea 2:6

Most times we think the more we practice the better we will be, the more we work the more we will achieve, the more time we sow the more we will reap and after a while we become so consumed with our doing that we forget who we are becoming. If our actions start affecting our heart instead of our heart affecting our actions then we start to lose sight of our path amongst the thornbushes.

"She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them." Hosea 2:7

When we chase after the things we love instead of the One whom we love, there will always be a longing for more, a whole that cannot be filled, a missing piece that cannot be replaced.

4. Acknowledge God as the Source

"She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold-- which they used for Baal." Hosea 2:8

Day after day we give recognition to others and we desire to be recognised, celebrated and praised. We may forget that every good thing comes from God and put our trust in things other than God. Who do you acknowledge as your source of information, joy, peace, affirmation and love. When we lose sight of God as the source our heart of thankfulness turns into a heart of self-righteousness. God will withdraw what withdraws you from Him, when you place your trust or desires in something or someone other than Him.

"Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens, and my new wine when it is ready." Hosea 2:9

5. God will Expose your Heart

"So now I will expose her lewdness before the eyes of her lovers; no one will take her out of my hands." Hosea 2:10

When you set your eyes on things other than God, you heart will be filled with things other than the fruits of the spirit. You'll become defensive and insecure, compromise on decision and choices that were once steadfast and immovable, be tired and worn out as you do things out of your own strength rather than from the overflow of God's strength in you, become desensitised, losing compassion, in the things that once brought you to tears in thankfulness and so on.

BUT.... (read Hosea 2:14 - 23)

• God will draw you back into the quiet place and the Holy Spirit will start ministering to your soul.
• God will restore your fruits and it will give others hope.

• He will restore your passion as in the days you first fell in love with Him.

• God will be faithful to you even when you weren't faithful to Him. He is your Husband, your first love.

• God will remove your desire for anything else other than Himself.

• God will restore your security, confidence and safety.

• God loves you daily even when you choose things over Him daily "I would rather do..", "let me first do.." instead of seeking first the Kingdom of God and all of it's righteousness.

 "I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD." Hosea 2: 19-20

God is everything you have ever been looking for, everything you have wanted and everything you have ever needed. Aim to see Him in the midst of it all, when you find yourself lusting after things other than God, don't beat yourself up, give it to God and He will put all the missing pieces back together. He gave it all to be with you, so give it all back to Him! 

Have a blessed Easter. 

Becoming a Heavy Wait Champion

"Why wait?" The concept of waiting has grown dim in a world ruled by impatience, we want things now, without delay, not grasping the concept of what it means to wait in joyful hope for the promises of God.

Waiting Brings Clarity and Patience Brings Peace:

Towards the end of Exodus we see that Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the commandments written by God. The people grew restless as they waited on Moses to return, having not heard from Moses or God they decided to take matters into their own hands:

"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Exodus 32:1

All too often I have fooled myself into thinking I have waited on God, all the while I've gone ahead of Him and did it my way hoping He would bless it. We are so quick to manipulate situations thinking it's God's will, resulting in failed relationships and wrong decisions, when all we need to do is remain patient in times of pressure, and wait on God's voice of instruction instead of listening to the voices around us, like Aaron did. They say it's a good thing be a go-getter, but I've come to realise that it's better to be a God-getter, as God will work the world for those who work His will. Sometimes holding back requires more faith than stepping out, as we wait on God to fulfil His promises in our lives.

Let God Lead you:

"He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” Exodus 32:4

You have a choice to be led by two things: Obedience or Emotions. We often make our own promises and try lead God instead of letting God lead us, basing our decisions on things that make us feel good rather than waiting on God to give us what's best. "What are you worshiping in your wait?" If something is distracting you from giving God all the glory, then it probably doesn’t belong in your life. God will bless what blesses you and will take away what takes you away from Him. Let Him lead you into all the promises He has for you.

In Our Waiting He is Creating

Just like God waited on us to give Him our heart, we have to learn to wait on what His heart desires to give to us, and as we do that the desires of His heart will become the desires of our heart.

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

In Exodus we read that pure Gold was used to create the ark of the testimony, mercy seat and all the furnishings of the tent of meeting. When Moses or any of the high priests entered into the tent of meeting they were anointed with pure oil and pure or sacred spices were made into incenses and set before the testimony. Jewish men also had to be circumcised and only clean animals could be sacrificed to God for the atonement of sins.

God reminded me that He only gives good gifts to His children, so in order for me to be a gift to others, I need to be a pure sacrifice unto to Him. He has given me a pure spirit through salvation, a pure body through wise choices and a pure heart through daily heart circumcisions.

"Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God" Matthew 5:8

In order to see God in every situation and relationship I have to allow Him to create in me a new heart, circumcising setbacks, struggles and bad fruits from it, like impatience, selfishness and insecurity. Sometimes we don't know what the promise will look like but we should know what fruit we want the seeds of our patience to produce.

Ps Steven Furtick puts it this way: "The Bible is not filled with ways to find the right person, it is filled with ways to become the right person"

Pure means unaltered and not contaminated by the world, let the Bible circumcise and give you a pure heart daily. If  the people in your life are willing to wait while He creates, then you know that God has given you something worth waiting for!

Grace, Grace:

"Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you." Exodus 32:34

Even though the people were impatient and didn’t wait on God, God still led them to the promise. God is a God of His Word so even if you fail He will not fail you. He will direct your path to align with His promise

"Therefore, [inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants" Romans 4:16 AMP

We need to acknowledge that all good gifts are given to us and not taken by us. Once we wait for what is given, it will be valid and guaranteed and won't be taken away.

Are We There Yet?

"To those who by patient persistence in well-doing seek [unseen but sure] glory and honor and [the eternal blessedness of] immortality, He will give eternal life." Romans 2:7

The moment you said yes to Jesus He gave you glory, honour and immortality, now the only thing left for you to do is follow peace and pursue patience. Following peace is like taking a photograph, you need to know what you want to capture, find the perfect subject and wait for the perfect moment, you'll feel it in your heart, the moment the light hits the lens and everything is illuminated. To capture light, is to capture the very essence of who God is. If you can find God in the thing you are waiting for then you'll know it's God's gift and not just a good gift.

I am so inspired by the story of boxer, Manny Pacquiao, he could only dream of where God wanted to lead him. Through his practice and preparation he probably expected to win the fight against Floyd Mayweather, as many others did too. Although he didn't win the fight in the end God used him to win thousands of souls for His kingdom, which just goes to show that God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Every decision needs a vision, every victory requires a battle and every promise requires preparation: this is the power of patience.

The God things in life are worth waiting for...

The Pursuit Of Happiness

"We always want what we can't have" is a saying we have all grown accustom to. We are on a constant pursuit of happiness because we choose to covet things instead of trusting God's new and everlasting covenant, Jesus...

The Pursuit of Power

"The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly." Ex 14:8

In the book of Exodus, after Pharaoh releases the Israelites from slavery, he is quick to realise that he made a mistake and he makes it his mission to recapture the Israelites. Pharaoh sat on a throne, he exalted himself above anyone else, yet he needed the Israelites to serve him to feel superior, to feel important, to feel accepted and to feel appreciated. My question to you is, what are you pursuing to make you feel powerful? Whether it be a position of authority or people to empower you, we need to remember that all promotion and position of influence comes from God.

The Pursuit of People

"The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon." Ex 14:9

Pharaoh and the Egyptians pursued after the Israelites, who were called God's people, and that's exactly it, they were God's people not their people. So how can we pursue after people if they don't even belong to us? Whether it be pursuing after the attention and love of new friends, old friends, a person you like, a lover, or even a family member, we have to realise that they belong to God and not to us.

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecc 4:1

A three fold cord takes time to be woven together and once you find people who's mind, body and soul tie with yours, then you know God has blessed you with relationships that can endure anything.

The Pursuit of Promises

"Therefore, the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, Why do you find fault with me? Why do you tempt the Lord and try His patience?" Ex 17:2

The Israelites were in constant pursuit of God's promises instead of being present in His presence. From pursuing after the Promised Land to pursuing after something as simple as water, they failed to trust and wait patiently on God. It's like rushing to open the biggest present under the Christmas tree, only to realise that the gift wasn't actually meant for you. If we rush ahead of God we will get what we want but it won't be what God wants for us!

"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matt 7:11

To put it plainly; God's promises are His promises not ours, and we shouldn't let our persistence compromise His promises, we need to wait on God to gift us in His perfect timing.

Learn to be Lead

"The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea." Ex 14:23

God appeared to and instructed Moses to lead His people to the Promise Land before Moses even knew God. Moses led the Israelites across the Red Sea knowing that God would protect them, but the Egyptians pursued after the Israelites without any reassurance of their safety. God won't lead you, where He won't protect you. God is the lamp unto our feet, therefore we need to let Him light up our next steps before running ahead of Him!

God Pursues Us

How can we pursue what doesn't belong to us? If all belongs to God then we need to learn to surrender what we want most to the one who wants us most. When you pursue someone you often find yourself wanting to be around them all the time, taking an interest in their interests, becoming a bit obsessed...

We are God's object of obsession, He loves us so deeply that He pursues us even when we choose to pursue everything else other than Him. He wanted to be around us so much that He became flesh and walked the earth with us. He is so passionate about our purpose that His plans became our promises and His Son became our Saviour.

The Perks Of Being A Wildflower

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” Matthew 6:30-33

Over the past two weeks I have come to realise what it means to be in your lowest low and highest high, what it means to call on Jesus for answers and direction, what it means to lose the things closet to you and not understand the reason for it. But through all this I now know that Jesus is my provider.

He Always Provides A Way:

Moses, set apart and called by God to free His people from slavery, oh the things I have learnt about Moses. Moses didn’t know God when he was called “What is his name, what should I tell them?”, Moses doubted himself “Who am I?”, he doubted his ability “I am not eloquent or a man of words”, He doubted his calling "Lord, please! Send anyone else."

I love that every time Moses states why he can’t do something God always provides an answer.

I was in a really tough season recently trying to figure out whether I wanted to volunteer full time at my church or go back to working permanently, it was a decision that scared me as I knew the calling that God placed on my life and where I wanted to be but at the same time I needed money to survive. Until a couple days ago God asked me “Do you want to pursue your calling or your career?” God sent Moses with a staff and Aaron, God will not send you empty handed or without support, God says “I know the plans I have for you” this includes provision because a plan covers ALL areas.

He becomes all that is necessary to complete our need. Knowing this I made my decision and told my boss I wanted to volunteer full time, but my boss asked me to stay on for two days a week which was exactly what I wanted, provision and volunteering at Church.

With this I realised that God is NOT an either/or God He is an exceedingly, abundantly, above, all I can think, ask or imagine God.

He Always Provides Freedom:

Rejection can be a stronghold in many people’s lives, whether it be rejection in relationships or even in friendships. I was struggling to understand why God kept placing people in my life only to take them away and make me feel unappreciated, insecure and unloved and then I read this:

“And I will make Pharaoh's heart stubborn and hard, and multiply My signs, My wonders, and miracles in the land of Egypt.” Exodus 7:3

God sent Moses to Pharaoh to ask him to free the Israelites knowing that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. God is in control of people’s emotions, God is in control of everything, and He will keep hardening the hearts of those who don’t belong in your life to make you grow and surrender to Him just like Moses kept going back to God and calling upon God for direction. When God finally softened Pharaoh’s heart, Moses walked into his Destiny. When God softens the heart of the right person at the right time, you will experience true freedom, with God at the centre of your relationship, knowing that He was with you and fought on your behalf even if you did not get what you wanted first time round.

He Always Provides Healing:

God provided several plagues, from frogs and locusts to boils and hail, before Pharaoh finally softened his heart and let the Israelites go. Sometimes God will let the same thing happen to you over and over again, the same issues disguised as different situations, so that you will realise that God is more worried about your heart condition than your situations. He wants you to keep coming back to Him just like Moses did, until your heart conditions become your heart convictions. If God gives you what you want immediately you would harden your heart and God would not be able to work on it. Let God do His work in you to prevent the same pattern from occurring over and over again.

He Always Provides Strength:

Moses Said “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people, neither have You delivered Your people at all.” Exodus 5:23

Sometimes we don’t understand why we go through difficult situations, why we lose opportunities or people yet we are still expected to keep on moving forward.

The path only gets tougher when you start walking on it, like climbing a mountain. It’s only when you deal with it, push through and the end is in sight that you have the will power to move forward. God is motivating us to never give up, so that when we go through the same things it will be easier to keep going. A God plan: Process + Pain = Progress

The only thing God wants for us is to trust Him and make Him the centre of everything in our life and the only way we can do that is to want God more than what we want in life. He wants to be our Joy, our hope and our first love, He wants this because He loves us, made us and chose us to fulfil our God given plan and purpose…

I Can See You Now

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. John 1: 10-11 (NIV)

The Bible tells us over and over again to have faith in the things we do not see, to have hope in the promises that have not come to pass, but today my question to you is, do you have faith in the things that you do see? Let me explain, if a man came up to you right now with all the characteristics of Jesus, would you believe Him? I doubt I would, and I feel guilty for it. Sometimes it’s easier to have faith in the things that we do not see than believe in the things that we do see. Jesus has always looked at us with love in His eyes but due to our impaired vision of trust in today’s modern world we may find it difficult to recognise the full extent of God’s glory!

I sometimes wonder why we don’t see miracles to the extent of those in the former days; like people being raised from the dead or others surviving the pits of fire? You see God hasn’t changed, we’ve changed! His word hasn’t dissolved, the world has evolved. It has evolved to the extent that every day miracles are written off as coincidences or close calls and the power of success is as a result of our hard work rather than His favour. If we continue giving the works of the world credit for the goodness of God then we will keep evolving until we don’t recognise God at all.

So how do we recognise the work of God amongst the works of the flesh?

No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]. John 1:18

God will ALWAYS make Jesus known. Just as our eyes are drawn to anything light in a dark room, we need to continuously recognise that anything good in our life or in the lives of others is as a direct result of His grace! It is our responsibilities as “witnesses” of Christ to not only recognise Him but to give Him recognition for every good work.

Recognising the Holy Spirit in Another’s Life

John's Account

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” John 1:32-24

It is important for us to have a great intuition when it comes to recognising Christ followers within our everyday walk of life. When we realise we are not alone we are able to strengthen each other making the battle for salvation a whole lot easier.

Recognising Jesus Through an Intimate Relationship

Mary's Account

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. John 20:13-14

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). John 20:16

If you close your eyes and someone speaks, you can easily identify who is speaking. If we have a close relationship with God, we can recognise His voice without the need of having to see Him. The better you get to know someone the easier it is to sense their presence; from their footsteps to their laugh to their cough and even their sneezes. Just like each of us are unique, so is God. His voice is unique amongst all the other sounds in our head, if we spend more time being attentive to His voice I believe we will be able to hear God’s voice before standing in His presence.

Recognising Gods Workmanship

Thomas' Account:

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:27-28

We are provided with miracles yet we still say statements like “I don’t believe it”, “How could this be”, “It won’t last” “Something bad is bound to happen” Sometimes a touch of God is not good enough, we find it difficult to believe in the power of a miracle, we think our blessings will be rob if we “jinx” it and we need to touch wood if we speak something bad over our lives or the lives of others. A touch of God is greater than being strangled by hopelessness, God gave us everything so why would he take away anything, Jesus’ life was laid down so that we could rise up.

Jesus poses this question "I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?" John 3:12

At the end of John Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, Peter replied yes consecutively. Then Jesus instructs Peter to feed his sheep. In order to feed the sheep of Jesus, Peter needs to recognise who the Shepard is so that he can take on a similar role. As disciples we are called to bear witness to Christ, a witness gains knowledge from observation or experience. The more observant we become of Christ in our daily lives the better we fulfill our God given roles. When Jesus comes again, may it be tomorrow or in a thousand years from now, I want to be able to recognise Him without a doubt… do you?

The Dawn of a New Year

"The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom." Deuteronomy 28:13

As the sun set on another incredible year, people exchanged laughs about the crazy memories they’ve shared, they reflected on the loved ones lost, new births celebrated and true loves found. They raised their glasses in honour of all they have achieved and all they are going to achieve, all their challenges overcome and their incessant battles won. As we look to Facebook to remind us of our “highlights” of 2013, can I maybe just encourage you to look at the lowlights which weren’t necessarily in the spotlight but have been a lamp unto your feet to get you to where you are today. The little moments that have shaped your heart to be bolder and more courageous, the moments that have stretched you to trust more and to be content with the love that God has for you. If I look at my year in reverse it has truly been the best year of my life, in 2012 God showed me a bit of the world, last year God showed me a bit of His world! I can honestly say that if you can’t sense God in the sunlight, in the smell of the ocean or in the splendour of nature then it’s all useless and the beauty of the world is without purpose.

Who knew that my travels wouldn’t end when I arrived home from London on the 14^th of December 2012, but that God had greater travels in store for me, to take me to new heights and to push me beyond anything I could have ever imagined, challenging me to rise above and beyond any obstacle I had to face with surety that His love would be there to catch me when I fall. As humans, love is just as much a necessity as water, light and oxygen, I’m happy I’ve found a love that never runs dry, a love that glows in the dark and a love that makes me feel like I can breathe again, I found my hope and love in Jesus Christ.

Here is a personal highlight reel of everything God has done for me in 2013:

My Job:

When I got back from overseas it was very, very tough trying to get back into the design industry, I went to several interviews all posing different problems, I was praying about it and wanted God to bless me with the right job. I met up with my friend for sushi and she gave me the contact number of the design agency her company uses and low and behold it was perfect, very close to home and they were indeed looking for a new designer but haven’t advertised the position yet. I went for the interview and got the job. During my first 3 months I wasn’t really entrusted with any work so the boss decided to cut my salary to half of what I was originally earning. For the first time in my life I doubted myself as a designer but instead of giving up, I decided to press into prayer and ask God every morning to bless me with more responsibility and then deliverance, and so He did. Each week I got more tasks and more clients and everyone was beyond happy with the work I was delivering, I received an increase and come year end I was running campaigns for huge clients. Sometimes God knocks you off your high horse so that you will become dependent on Him and not on your own abilities. God kept reminding me that 2013 was a year of preparation, and that this job was an “in the meantime job” I held onto God’s promise and now I’m lucky enough to be part of the Internship programme at Hillsong Church next year. The company I worked at was amazing, but I know that God has called me to do something even greater!

The Passing of My Uncle:

My uncle passed away at the beginning of the year, although he was only an uncle through marriage to my aunt, the loss of his life was no less painful. The family fought the good fight, we prayed and I fasted, and we truly believed for a miracle, but unfortunately God took him home. Through the loss of His life, the rest of my family gained life. We have not only become closer to each other but we have drawn closer to God. The loss of my uncle made me realise how desperately I needed to have God in my life which ultimately led to my salvation, and for that I will always be grateful. You see sometimes we have to lose the things closest to us to realise that inner strength can only be found from the sacrificial love of our saviour.

Driver’s License:

After failing my drivers twice in 2011, having my learners expire during my move to London in 2012, I was determined to make 2013 my year. You see some people are gifted with the ability to drive, and then there is me... frozen at the thought of ally-docking and pulling away on an incline. Not having my license made it very difficult to serve at my church so I decided to start this blog in the mean time. I made a promise to God and told Him that if He gave me my license I would serve my heart out. God blessed me with my license but because He always gives you more than you expect He also made it possible for me to use my dad’s car in the evenings as my dad’s working hours were shortened a week after I got my license. I now serve in Hillsong Kids and run a connect group with one of my best friends, Tara.  Can I just encourage you to get plugged in at church during 2014, not only will you develop a deeper relationship with God but you will start to see people the way God sees them, the more time you spend serving and growing in fellowship with people the more you will love them and have a deep desire to elevate and encourage them to become the best that they can be. To love others and to be genuinely loved in return is one of God’s greatest blessings.

Meeting New Friends:

Okay if you know me, or know me well, I’ve probably tried to make you my best friend by smothering you in hugs, adding you on Facebook and/or following you on Instagram. I don’t know why but I have an insane obsession with meeting new people, I wasn’t always like this but it’s become a habit of late. At the start of the year “I was just a small town girl, living in a lonely world...” okay enough of my Journey rendition, but being part of a huge church like Hillsong has its perks and its drawbacks. I found it very difficult to make friends at church especially when everyone already knew each other. After I was saved, I felt very alone, I didn’t really want to party hard anymore but I didn’t have a different group of friends to just chill with when my other friends were out partying, but after weeks upon months of prayer I met some amazing girl friends at Encounter the youth conference and as they say, “The rest is history”. Now I have the amazing Blackpanndjat, 4Shore and my connect girls, yes we name our girl groups because we cool like that. God still continues to bless me with amazing new friends all the time and this continues to be God’s greatest blessing in my life.

Favour is yours for the taking, you just have to be willing to acknowledge and accept the blessing. People often use the term, “Everything happens for a reason” to justify the so called failures in their life, but we sometimes forget that all our decisions should be within reason and that things will work out according to His reasoning no matter what silly mistakes we’ve made or what silly mistakes we’re bound to make. Let’s be sure to make 2014 a year of reason, to guarantee that only the best fruits are produced during each season. May you continue to draw close to God no matter what circumstances you are faced with, this is the only way I can promise you a prosperous year ahead!

Can I encourage you to start your year off on the right with the How To Maximise Your Life Devotional by Ps Brian Houston.

Heart & Soul

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.” Mark 2:22 (NLT)

I cannot begin to explain how God has been shaping and moulding me over the past month or so. I think I’ve grown more in November than I have this entire year (queue short jokes here) I’m actually referring to the growth of my heart.

We sing songs at church proclaiming; “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me” and songs like “More of you, less of me, take this life, Lord it’s yours” without fully understanding the impact it should have on our life. When God asks for our heart, He demands all of our heart, all of our energy and all of our time not just the parts of our life we chose to give Him. If you sit down and think about it, it may feel like a tough journey to venture out on and that’s why most people who start coming to church eventually start to fade and end up living the life they use to live. We sometimes become so focused on changing the world that we forget that change should happen within us first. To avoid having a change of heart allow your heart to be changed first.

We don’t need God to fix our problems we need Him to mend our heart. Problems are part of life, it’s inevitable but the way we react to difficult situations sets us apart from everyone else. If we can look at every minute of our life being carefully orchestrated by God we begin to ask questions like “Lord, what do You want me to learn from this?” instead of stating “Lord, what did I do to deserve this?!”

What I’ve learnt is that I would rather have my heart changed first so that my actions can reflect what my heart truly feels, instead of changing my actions first and doing things half-heartily. Good deeds may get you to the pearly gate but if your heart is for the Lord, heaven will be your reward.

God can work on your heart in a number of ways, mostly it’s Him calling you to step out in Faith to do the things you deem as impossible. Ps Scott Jones puts it like this “Heaven is our destination not our destiny, our destiny is to make a difference while we are still on earth.” People will give you one million reasons not to do something but hold firmly onto the word that God has placed on your heart. We should stand for the one thing we believe in instead of falling for everything the world believes in. We need to make the conscious decision to take the first step, if it’s God’s will for our lives, He will take care of the rest. Although God isn’t always precise with His instructions, He does it to test how faithful we truly are:

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Hebrews 11:17-18

We look to God for answers and direction but sometimes it's really difficult to understand what He wants from us, God makes things clear when we take time to be with Him. God wants people that won't give up on Him, that will tirelessly search for the light switch in a dark room instead of sitting still and complaining that they can't see. Yes, bad things happen to good people but that’s because God wants to turn good people into great ones, when the going gets tough get God, that’s the only thing He asks of us. 

It’s not about how much you can do, it’s about how much your heart can change while you do the things God has called you to do. If you do things with a faithful heart, the smallest step can make the biggest impact. Sometimes being faithful and stepping up may require personal sacrifices, but when you keep your focus on Jesus nothing will feel like a sacrifice because He is everything you'll want and everything you'll need. "For many are called, but few are chosen" Matthew 22:14 (KJV)

I told you so...

Guess who’s back? Back again, Nushie’s back tell your friends, okay I’ll stop before I completely lose all of you and I haven’t even got to the real stuff yet. I know it’s been a month and a half since my last post and most of you have probably came to the conclusion that I’ve given up on yet another blog but to be honest sometimes the spirit moves and sometimes it doesn’t I’ve started on a couple of different posts but haven’t felt strong enough to share it with you. But after digging deeper this Sunday the Spirit decided to smack me in the face with a little bit of a revelation, this post is about being obedient to God and the works of the Spirit.

How can one define obedience in the Christian world? We refer to it as the little voice inside our head, the gut feeling, basically our conscious that tells us what choices to make and which road to take. God doesn’t only speak to us through our conscious but through signs, the word and in prayer. I can honestly say that in the past month I have been numb to His word, I still had my quiet time and prayed every now and then but my mind was so focused on things of the flesh, wrapped up in my daily routine that the light that once shined so brightly started to dim, I focused on my everyday instead of my one day. I felt as if the Spirit left me and that my selfishness and lack of effort in connecting with God on a deeper level completely pulled me away from Him and no matter how much I tried to make the fire burn again, it was working. But if I take a step back and look at the bigger picture, God was always there, He has always been there, He spoke to me through the word numerous times, but I was too stubborn to listen, blinded by what I wanted instead of what I needed.

This is what we do, in our jobs, our decisions, our friendships, our relationships, when God tells us to take a right, we take a left because we think it’s the right way. We justify why we think going left is the best option, we manipulate the situation to make it appear as if it’s God’s will and we try and put His purpose in our decisions. And when things don’t work the way we planned we lift our heads up and ask God “Why did this happen to me?” and I can just imagine God saying “I told you so, I know what’s best for you and my plans are far greater than the plans you have for yourself” yes, I did just adapted that from Jeremiah.

One thing I can suggest is to be on the lookout for those signs and if something in your heart is telling you that “this job”, “this new friendship” “this decision” is not right for you and you know that it will only end up with you being disappointed, it’s probably the Spirit prompting you to make a u-turn and get back on track. If it’s not according to His will, then we should be willing to make a decision to walk away from the things we want because it isn’t necessarily the things He wants for us. Remember the devil comes like a thief in the night trying to steal your joy and happiness, and by you doing life your way you make it so much easier for him to shoot you down with fear, rejection, loss, anger, resentment basically anything that separates you from your mission, calling and purpose that God has set out for you.

On the way back from Langebaan two weekends ago the Spirit spoke to me, I took out my iPhone and jotted it down and I feel it’s important that I share it with you. As Christians we like to focus on how Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we focus on the sacrificial love that is Christ, but we often disregard the fact that the real miracle occurred 3 days later when Christ rose from the dead. He defeated death. His disciples believed He was gone for good, some lost faith and others doubted His resurrection. We are often so focused on what we have lost, so focused on the things that don’t go the way we hoped or planned forgetting that somewhere, somehow God is already at work, pre-planning our victory, restoring our loss, reviving our spirit and when we are presented with the miracle we need to be bold enough and confident enough to step out onto the waters in Faith knowing that we can’t chose our destiny when our destiny was already chosen for us by the creator, the King of Kings, the alpha, the omega, the beginning and the end. (Sorry thought I would try be a pastor there, it sounds so much better when they say it...)

Be obedient to God’s will and I can assure you that favour will follow your every step, invest time in speaking to God, He will respond, and put God at the center of your world, if you follow the light you will never truly be lost. 

Loving Love - Part 2

As they say the best things in life come in two’s, it takes two to tango, things are twice as nice and everyone loves a two for one deal. So I decided to make this topic a two part series, because inevitable there are two parts to life, firstly pre-love and there after true love.

There will be many loves in your life, you might think that the person you spent 5 years with was and must be the perfect one for you. He ends up breaking your heart and you simply can’t muck up the courage to move forward. I want to encourage you not to be afraid to love again. “God never works backwards, he only moves you forward” Your future will always be better than your past. Yes, great, sometimes round two does work, but then don’t go into the relationship complaining about the same things, it was your choice to go back so now you have to take it as it comes which leads me to the next subheading...

Don’t Settle

We all love to settle...We take what we can get, but why? Lack of confidence?  Loss of hope? Limited choices? Fear of rejection? I feel people tend to settle for someone they think they deserve, they aim low instead of striving high. Some tend to be with someone out of convince and commitment rather than passion and love. You may confuse attention for affection, everyone wants to be wanted, but when you knee high in a real-ationship you tend to realise that the zeal isn’t real and before you know it, you have to break the person’s heart. How do you determine if your feelings are real? Well for me personally I know that I want to see that person again as soon as they leave, hours feel like minutes and smiling becomes as normal as breathing.

God wants the very best for you, I’m not saying that the people you are choosing are not great people as we are all perfect in God’s eyes, but God wants the very best for ‘you’ in particular! He wants you to choose someone who will lift you up instead of tear you down, someone to make you flourish when the rest of the world is out to demolish and most importantly someone who is walking in the same path as you and not running in circles. There is a Mr Perfect, but with patience comes perfection.

Love to be Loved

All too often I have seen people in loveless relationships, to afraid to talk about how they truly feel. They sweep things under the rug until they choke on their own dirt. Love is a two way thing, you can’t complain about things if you not willing to work on yourself first. You go into a relationship to serve, to give and to put someone’s needs above your own.  Real love is selfless and kind, and when both people have this factor in mind, then a common denominator is found. Lack of effort and spitefulness are silent killers, as humans we always want to be put first, but when that happens it becomes all about me and less about you, and didn’t you get into that relationship, put everything on the line, just to be close to that person as much as possible? God loved us even when we didn’t love him, he loves us even though we continue to sin, he sacrificed his one and only son to save us and give us hope for better days, to give us an opportunity to be close to him. We need to love with our whole heart not just the parts we want to share otherwise you’ll be the reason for your own broken heart.

Don’t Make Someone Your Everything

As much as I just encouraged you to love with your whole heart I believe that one shouldn’t make someone your whole life. Your heart is only one part of your body, but there are many other vital organs that are needed to make your body function properly. People come and people go, love is lost, new love is found. As much as we like to hope that everything will always work out perfect in the end, sometimes it doesn’t and life throws you a curve ball. It’s your choice whether you are able to focus on the bigger picture or if you still trying to connect the dots to form the picture you have been trying to figure out for most of your life.

I wish people could understand that God isn’t a genie, we can’t just rub a lamp, make some wishes and then send Him to where he came from. We think because genies say you can’t wish for true love you kind of feel selfish when you ask God to bless you with someone perfect. I tend to dance around the subject, with the feeling that God has bigger problems to fix, I sometimes forget that He created love, He wants us to feel wanted, accepted and appreciated. He is our best friend, our wing man, our encouragement, our shoulder to cry on, the greatest listener and definitely offers the best advice.

The greatest love story ever told is the one of our saviour; it’s an epic love, an irresistible love, a love that knows no boundaries, an eternal love, a love that forgives, a love that comforts and protects, a love that offers security, assurance, understanding, peace and hope. A love that is sacrificial, effortless, and wholesome. A love that is unshakeable, unbreakable and undeniable.  His love surpasses all, even if the person you seek after is never found; find comfort in the fact that you will never truly be alone.

Loving Love: Part 1

Love, such a small word yet it has the power to move the world forward, the power to make people do the unthinkable, the power to shatter or to make everything matter. There are so many different forms of love, from the tattooed, unchangeable, everlasting love for family, to the enduring, long hours, no sleep, and focused love for your job. Then you get the crazy, deep, random, humorous love of friendship and then the status, ego and argument driven, bonding love of sports or a hobby. But the first part of my two part series, I want to focus on the heart racing, palm sweating, ever changing, intense love of romance, then justifying it with the agape love that is Jesus Christ.

Let me just make something clear before I continue, I have absolutely no experience when it comes to this topic, I’ve never been in love, but I’ve learnt loads of stuff just by watching the people I know embark on life’s only mission, to love and to be loved in return.

Forever Alone:

Many of us are still single, for some it’s the perfect season, almost like summer, they can’t imagine having to give up the outdoorsy feeling of the single life. For others they wait for winter, waiting to feel the warmth of a burning fire. Please, don’t fool yourself into thinking that you will be perfectly fine alone if Mr/Mrs Perfect never comes along, truth is no matter how old you are, you and I both know you will always be looking, waiting and hoping for love. So how can we feel fulfilment of the heart when the thought of being alone forever is only filling our brain with anxiety?

God gave Adam an Eve, he gave Abraham a Sarah, he gave Isaac a Rebecca and the list goes on, if God can do it for them he can do it for us. Dating shows don’t have anything on the creator of love, love will come at the perfect time, when you least expect it, it’s going to be epic and well worth the wait. And if you do end up never falling in love at least you have more time to love others who are in desperate need of it!

Friend Zoned:

I think that title carries more fear than the name Voldamort. From a personal point of view I am the type of girl who gets along with guys very well because of my interests, I go through phases where I am really close to someone and then boooom that dreaded word is dropped ‘Friends’ whether it be me saying it to ensure that it is purely friendship or me using the term ‘best friends’ to protect myself from getting hurt or even using it casually because I already made a preconception that my new ‘best friend’ will never be interested in me so might as well friend zone myself. And then there is the part where he drops the ‘best friend’ bomb first and I’m left thinking wait, what? Are you for real?  I have repeated this line to myself numerous times over the years ‘Always the best friend, never the girlfriend’. Maybe it’s because I’m too nice, too friendly and everyone loves a heart breaker, but then I think to myself, why should I change who I am to get someone to like me?

There are two answers to this, either speak up, or let the feelings fade! Friendship is as beautiful as any relationship; sometimes friendship lasts longer and is less complicated. Truth is your destiny is pre-planned, if God wants you to have that person, he will give him/her to you. Be patient, don’t chase it and don’t force it either.

Second Choice:

All of us want to be first, to feel like the only girl in the room, to be deeply cared for above all else. Sounds like a chick flick doesn’t it? God made me a promise long ago, in Genesis 29-30 The story of the love triangle between Jacob, Rachel and Leah is discussed. You see, Jacob fell in love with Rachel, but Laban, Rachel’s father, said that Jacob must wed Leah too if he wants to be with Rachel. Rachel was much prettier that Leah was but God never short changes anyone; he blessed Leah with the opportunity to have children where Rachel couldn’t. Leah thought that Jacob would love her more because she could offer him more than Rachel’s beauty, but no matter how hard Leah tried it was always Rachel, the first choice. My question to you is, are you willing to fight for the one you love? Or would you rather have someone who will go to battle for you? Find comfort in the fact that although you weren’t his first choice, you are His first choice and He chose you, and fell in love with you before you were even born. He will never leave you nor forsake you! He will bless you with someone who will want to show you off to the world. Don’t ever settle for second best.

There will always be someone better than you, but you have to be confident enough in yourself to believe that you are as deserving of love as the girl who sits opposite you holding hands with her boyfriend who can’t stop smiling at her. Instead of being envious celebrate it, because when you find that one of a kind love, you’ll be able to enjoy it without any guilt when you too show public displays of affection. In my next post I will stretch the topic further, covering the following factors: Don’t settle, love to be loved (trusting love) and not to make one person your everything. I will also talk about what I think God wants from us when it comes to the callous yet exhilarating word which is Love... Keep your eyes peeled, post will follow soon.

Encounter13 – Take it to the Streets

If you asking yourself what Encounter is, you missed out on one mad party. Encounter13 was a 3 day youth and young adult conference held by my church, Hillsong SA. I could do a whole write up about the physical attributes of the conference but it’s the emotional realization that truly moved and captivated every inch of my body and soul. From the herd, crowd, army of people, to the roar and cheer of hundreds during worship, words cannot explain what God is doing in South Africa. We look at our country as being hopeless but I’m telling you, our youth is warriors they are far wiser than one can ever imagine and with a force like this, South Africa will be a land that will prosper, a land that has leaders who genuinely care about the well being of their brothers and sisters, if we continue to speak greatest over our country it will happen, maybe not right now but in the generations to come.

Don't only praise Him in the church, praise Him in the Streets. God's goodness has no boundaries and our love for Him should be the same!

My personal Encounter was more than just a great time, in these last 3 days I have grown so much as a person, I have received direct answers and the plan and purpose for my life was revealed as if I were reading a story book. Through the words people spoke into my life to my own personal spirit filled moments, “You may be small, but I have BIG plans for you” being repeated over and over in my head as if I were listening to a motivational podcast or something, I know that only time is keeping me from pursing God’s divine calling upon my life. Funny thing is, I’m not exactly sure what my calling is yet, where I am heading but one thing I do know is that I trust His directions, as Robert Madu calls it “GPS, God’s Positioning System”.

On Thursday evening when I got back from Encounter, my mind was racing faster than Sea Biscuit on an open field. The next morning at work I decided to write down everything the Spirit laid onto my heart, last night Ps Robert Madu answered almost EVERY question I wrote on the paper that morning, crazy how God works right?

I wrote this in my journal: “I want an effortless Holy Spirit encounter, I try so hard to get that awesome Holy Spirit filled high that it tends to be the only thing I pray about! I forget just to be present, and that from the day I was saved the Holy Spirit already resonated within me and I in Him. Life is difficult enough! Trying to encounter the “feeling” of the presence of the Spirit should be effortless. I must stop trying so hard to “impress” God with my good deeds, and I should stop trying to win Him over, through the perfect sacrifice which is Christ we have been made perfect, if our hearts are right our deeds will follow, and then I will be a God pleaser and not a people pleaser or a self deceiver!” And if any of you heard Ps Robert Madu’s message last night you would know that he answer all of this so wonderfully! One sentence in particular summed it up for me “We seek so much after God that we tend to forget that God will seek after us, God has been waiting on us!” As soon as the podcasts are up I will post a link.

My Encounter Counter:

How to be a Proud Christian without being a Christian with Pride?

I have actually asked myself that question numerous times over, because we all know that pride is a silent killer. A Christian with pride says “Look at me and my good deeds”, a proud Christian allows others to see their goodness and points to Him in humility. A Christian with pride is quick to talk about how great God has been for them but has no interest in much else. A proud Christian is slow to speak and quick to listen, and appreciates the revelation and blessings others receive. Be proud of everything God has done for you without taking pride in your own capabilities “wisdom” and talents.

Changed and Not Ashamed:

People are reluctant to change; they can’t understand the difference in you and naturally tend to reject you because of it. When you experience a conference like Encounter the devil is on a mission to kill your spirit and on Thursday he almost did just that. Someone told me about something nasty someone else said about me, and it really upset me. I know it shouldn’t but it was something quite hurtful. I read my bible Friday morning and guess which passage God presented me with? The story about Joseph who used to declare his excitement for God and the visions God had for him, but as a result his brothers who did not share the same passion as he did sold him as a slave, and through the difficult experiences Joseph endured God developed his wisdom and prepared him for his life’s call!

Be Obedient:

Ah this has be to my greatest realization over the past 3 days, I listened for the Spirit and when I followed clear instructions that is where the miracles happened. Some too personal to share but all I can say is listen to that voice and do it no matter how terrified the thought of it may make you feel, your blessing is on the other side of your obedience!

Be Thankful:

Yes as humans we tend to never be happy with things, I’ll be honest I complained about a couple of things on Thursday, like Encounter opening up the doors to everyone after I registered and paid, and the church being so full on the first night that I was cramped and had to sit on the floor, but then I thought to myself how amazing is it that a church in this modern day is filled to the brim with youth. I should be celebrating not complaining, if someone who has never been in God’s house has the opportunity to come bring them, bring them all! This is revival. I am truly thankful to Hillsong as a whole for being a strong foundation for me to stand on while continually reaching out to God! For feeding my restless soul with soul food and for pouring His living water into my life! Encounter13 must have been one of the greatest experiences of my life, it challenged my heart, it was truly a revelation!  A special thank you to all the guest speakers, our amazing leaders and to all the people I met who inspired me with their stories!

Always remember to check yourself before you wreck yourself, believe to receive, a Bentley can still leave you feeling empty, love like it’s not enough, be happy even when times are crappy, be proud even though you might have to face a crowd, serve before you hit a curve, rejoice so that others will join the noise, trust when your own decisions are a bust, be obedient so that God will be lenient, listen and your heart will glisten! (wow I was on a roll there, I’m sure if I carried on Timberland might have thrown a recording contract at me...Ha!) Until next time Encounter, I’ll step it up and take God’s goodness to the streets!