Hello everyone!
Alright so for those of you that have seen this post already I’m sure you would agree that it wasn’t quite finished yet. That was an error on my part (covers face in embarrassment). It’s a representation of the moment you get a message and write it out as quickly as possible. It’s also a representation of how our act can be right before we tidy things up and step out for the day.

But for those of you who are reading through for the first time.. Welcome!!!

Whether first time or second time the message for today is very simple and is in line with the passage:

2 Timothy 1:7 

‘…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.’

This message was born out of a series of events through the week and a few points from yesterday’s message  (06/19/2017) in UCB, Word for Today.

I don’t know about you but I struggle a lot when it comes to making the decision whether to quit something or not. For example quitting a job for a better one. The time might be right to move on but instead we stay longer in our current situation for different reasons. For me it might be dreading the waiting period that follows. For you it may be considering your finances . I know people who struggle with moving on from a past or current situation. For you it might even be the relationship you are currently in.

Yes! You are right!

About what? I’m sure you’re asking yourself.

Well, God’s grace is sufficient but you need to take action!

To be honest most ‘real’ people look at Christians like we aren’t serious when it’s time to take action and we start calling out to God for grace and help when it’s actually us that needs to make a move!!

Back to Timothy. There are three things highlighted that influence our ascent to the next level and how we sustain promotion.

Power

This is the ability that God has put in us that is required for us to activate our gifts and actually work. Power as we know in scientific terms is the rate of doing work. How much you actually get to achieve in life is entirely up to you as it is up to God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, (Ephesians 3:20)

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

Moving to the next level requires us to play our part. That means ‘Fan into flame the gift of God in us’ according to Timothy in verse 6.

We have to make the decision to leave our past behind and move on from our current situation to something better.

Love

Love has a lot to do with our attitude. Our attitude is our reaction to situations around us and determines if we move to the next level and how far we can ascend.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (2 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Chuck Swindoll said “ …we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day…life is 10 per cent what happens to me and 90% how I react to it” (UCB, 2017)

Self-Control

Having self-control is another attribute to carry along when moving to the next level because temptations will come but if we do not have a mind that is focused (sound mind) or we easily fall to sin then there is also a limit to how far we can ascend. When moving to the next level there is no point carrying unnecessary burdens because they have the capacity to slow you down or trip you up. There is no point weighing yourself with issues and circumstances you cannot change. UCB puts it this way “We waste our strength extinguishing fires that if left alone would burn out on their own….There are enough painful trials in life; why endure the ones you can ‘strip-of’”

Holding on to pain, grudges, the past, will do nothing more than limit you from embarrassing greater opportunities ahead. Besides it will only give room to doubt and fear and will translate in you having a bad attitude.

So everything that you need to move forward has been placed in you. Your power, your attitude and your mind. Use it well.

Thank you all for subscribing to my blog and being a part of my life. God bless you.

Shalom

Happy New Month my Family. It’s been absolutely amazing so far and the second half of the year has begun.

Thumping at my heart for weeks now has been the passage “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

The New Living Translation (NLT) puts it this way “Teach us to realize the brevity of life that we may grow in wisdom.”

I still haven’t figured out the best words for what God is saying but this message from the Word for Today sums it up nicely:

UCB Word For Today 30/05/2017

Life isn’t short but it is often times unpredictable and goes by fast. What counts is not just enjoying the moment and planning for the future but it is about doing God’s will now and looking towards an eternity with Him.

“Apply your Heart unto  Wisdom” 

Shalom. 

Hello Everyone

Honestly, I don’t know why I didn’t think about this initially. I had something on my mind to write about for two weeks and I didn’t know how to put it down. Then it dawned on me that I haven’t done an audio message in a while. This audio message is basically about recovering from a ‘burn out’. What I mean by that is recovering from a low point in your life. I actually wanted to post an audio message directly from my church website, that’s Heart Church Nottingham.  I was listening to the message and it was so in line with my message for you and in fact my personal experiences. I will still put the link up so in your spare time, please listen to it.

So, speaking of low points, I am probably not the only one who has been at that point where everything is going great and things are falling in place both physically and spiritually.  But it’s like we have put in so much work into perfecting our lives that we suddenly feel exhausted.

Pastor Malcolm while speaking about the topic ‘from setback to comeback’ made reference to Elijah. He was at his high point, working miracles and doing God’s work. Then suddenly he is threatened by Queen Jezebel and it’s like “I’m going to die anyway Lord kill me!” 1 KINGS 19:1-9

I remember at the beginning of the year before and during my exams, I worked so hard because I wanted to do so well, being the ‘guru’ that I am. Once exams were over I was so exhausted, I didn’t feel like doing anything. Spiritually and physically my battery was flat.

And in speaking to her and reflecting, I realized that it usually took a while to come out of a setback stage. So in Pastor Malcolm’s message ‘from setback to comeback’, he mentioned 5 things to do to comeback from a setback.

The first thing is to Arise.  You can’t run forever. You can’t hide away forever. Elijah ran and thought dying will solve his problem but that was not the solution. That was just a lie he was feeding himself with out of fear. You need to create the right environment for yourself. What are you listening to, what is influencing your decision and your thoughts? You need to stop making excuses for remaining in the setback position. You need to step out into an environment where you can be fed with positivity and encouragement. Social Media does not- I repeat- does not help! Where does your report come from? The second thing is that the angel told him to eat. Elijah had to get up, eat and drink.

He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 1Kings 19:6

In your case it might be that you need to eat, drink, and exercise.  You need to relax and take care of yourself. Create space to groom yourself. In my case I had to fast. The first time I was low, I thought the solution was to spoil myself and do whatever will make me happy. I was eating, exercising, going out. But that was not what I needed.  Someone needs to retreat! It doesn’t mean you need to isolate yourself, because you need to be in an environment where you can be encouraged, but you may need to separate from the things of the world and focus on God.

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 1Tim4:8

Physically Building yourself is very good. Exercise helps a lot with relaxing and de-stressing but godliness profits also. This brings me to my third point, which is, you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Because godliness is from the Spirit of God.

Another thing is: Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5:18

Doing things that physically elevate you will only be temporary but with the Spirit of God you can be sure of a smooth constant flow.  I was turning to the wrong things like movies, food, hanging out with friends. I was doing anything to escape and ignoring the fact that I was feeling down and low.

The next thing is: You need to rest in God. One thing I failed to really do was pray and give things to God.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

The times I felt low, I just didn’t do anything about it. But the third time I was like no! I cannot allow sin, I cannot allow depression to hold me down. I remember praying for God’s rest and his peace. At such times it might be difficult to even pray. When I can’t pray what I do is listen to music because it helps me get into the mood of prayer.

The last thing is to let God minister to you. Most importantly you have to be open to receive from Him.

We all have that setback, low point. No one wants to admit that “I’m depressed or I’m falling back into sin.” Just because we have been Christians for so long. But we need to separate ourselves from things that set up back or refuse to let us come back.

I attended a workshop where a few things were said about order. Ordering our lives is important so we can take charge of what God wants us to do in the world. You cannot influence others if your life is not in order

I did not start writing again till end of March because I was burned out. I couldn’t influence anyone because I didn’t have anything to give. I was running away from everything. When you see yourself getting burned out, you need to come out of it and that’s what I’m talking about when I refer to the five steps:

Arise from your burnt-out situation

In my case I needed to fast, you might need to take care of yourself and eat better and take walks and go on a retreat or a vacation. Be joyful. But it’s not about being selfish and ignoring your responsibilities. No, it’s about knowing what is right.

In Proverbs 14:15 the bible says only simpletons believe everything they’re told! The prudent carefully consider their steps.

Whatever you’re doing you need to think about it. Is it in line with who I am as a child of God?  Is it in line with what God wants for me at this time?

You need to let the Holy Spirit guide you

You need to rest in God

You need to let God minister to you and you need to be open to receive from him

This is the month of May and I want to wish you a happy new month ahead.

Shalom

Malcolm Baxter – From setback to comeback

https://soundcloud.com/heartchurchuk/malcolm-baxter

I wrote these words on the first of April as I reflected on my attitude towards payback. I identified it as a syndrome because a syndrome is a condition characterized by a set of associated or concurrent symptoms.

Often times I have the urge to hold on to the wrong that others have done to me. I often feel I have to pay back in order to feel at peace and satisfied. We call it revenge. I also feel guilt for the wrong I have done to others and expect to be hurt in return. We call it karma. I am sometimes uncomfortable when someone does something good for me especially if we aren’t really close. I want to pay back the person. I do not want to be in debt to anyone and I call it independence. Sometimes I look for ways to return back the share of a lent hand given to me. I do favor people but still expect to be paid back for what I’ve done.

I am writing in the first person, in order to portray my personal experience, but this attitude is the same for someone reading this post now. You may think otherwise but have you considered this:

When God has been so good to you, you try to be good too and do all the right things. You are paying back for the good God has done and you confess, “Lord I give you my life”. But when you slip up, you realize that you may not have given a 100% of yourself and feel God will pay back and take back the goodness and the blessing he has given you.

But on this day I remembered the prodigal son. He was good and expected a reward in the form of a pay check. His father knew he deserved it and gave him everything that he was entitled to. But this boy went and spent it all and had nothing left. He had to go back to his father but this time he was expecting to be punished as a payback for being impatient, arrogant and irresponsible. He was even ready to make another deal. He prepared his speech:

“Father I know I deserve to be paid back for the wrong I did to you. But give me this second chance and I’ll pay back by being your servant”

He felt his punishment was to be stripped of his title as a son and be made a servant. But His father made a completely different remark:

“No. You owe me nothing but to be exactly who you are.”

Truly, all the offering in the world would not be enough to pay back what God has given you or me.

I considered this: even the very body that we live in was formed and created by God. One day this body will be called back to the dust and our souls will be called back to God. So even our lives are not even ours to payback with.

God does not require us to pay back anything. Instead he gave us everything in himself, his son and his Spirit. He blessed us with even the precious yet most undervalued gift of life. He doesn’t want us to be anything more than we already are which is to be love beings.

We show love in our act of service. We show love in being responsible and agile. Love doesn’t mean we don’t get angry or make rash decisions. Love doesn’t mean we aren’t sensitive or emotional. Love means we are unconditional in our attitude. We do not keep record of wrong and we appreciate the good done to us by others. It means that we also take the proactive step to be good too.
Ditch the pay back syndrome and instead fill your heart with gratitude and love.

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

Proverbs 4:23 NLT

Shalom