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Garment of Disappointment

Garment of Disappointment

by | Oct 9, 2020 | encouragement

Disappointment comes in many different styles, shapes and sizes. It could be a relationship, a career choice, job promotion, Church, ministry, friends, home etc. etc. Some disappointments are because of our own choices, others because of other people’s choices, which we have no control over.
 
The definition of disappointment is: sadness or displeasure caused by the non-fulfilment of one’s expectations. Or, feeling sad, unhappy, or displeased because something was not as good as expected or because something you hoped for or expected did not happen.
 
Wearing a garment of disappointment can cause deep sadness and regret. Many become despondent and end up with depression. And instead of feeling content with life, one can become very discontent.
 
I found this summary online which says what I am trying to say in this blog. “See life’s disappointments as God’s appointments and as being according to His purposes? Take the Psalmist’s advice and “cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved” Psalm 55:20. If you insist on carrying around your own burdens and disappointments, it will be a heavy load indeed. And it will be difficult, because we were not created to carry such loads. This is exactly why Jesus commands us all to “Come to Me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28
Stand in Authority

Stand in Authority

by | Oct 2, 2020 | encouragement

I was reading about the armour of God in Ephesians 6:10-18, we are all very familiar with this passage of scripture, but so many of us don’t really know how to apply it. As I was reading it today, I saw something that I had not noticed or taken much interest in because the whole idea of putting on the armour of God sounds like we are on the defence.
verse 10 starts with “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might”
From verse 11 to 14 it says three times to stand and once to withstand. God always repeats the things that He wants us to take note of.
So first of all we are not standing in our own strength, we are standing in the strength of ALLMIGHTY GOD.
Just like David said to the Goliath “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
David is offended by the barbarous Goliath and his negative spewing about the the tradition of Israel and of God. He refers to him as an “uncircumcised Philistine” and it’s not a compliment.
Goliath taunted the people day after day, which is exactly what the devil and his hordes of demons do to us constantly.
As David approached Goliath he said “you come against me with sword and spear and javelin but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied”. (you can read the account of David and Goliath in the first book of Samuel).
So can I suggest that instead of saying. “Lord I put on the helmet of salvation etc”. Change your word to “Satan I stand here in the strength of All MIGHTY GOD AND HIS WORD, which is TRUTH, and I am wearing HIS BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, covered in HIS PEACE. My faith in ALLMIGHTY GOD is a shield of PROTECTION against all your lies and fiery darts. My mind is protected by the BLOOD OF JESUS. Therefore you, satan, have no power over me and I tell you and all your demons to go to hell where you belong.
It goes on to say “keep alert” in other words be aware of the schemes of the devil, but never forget that because of JESUS, you and I have the AUTHORITY TO STAND against the powers of darkness, and when you stand on THE TRUTH, no weapon formed against you will prosper.
PS. Just a word of warning, do not pray like that if you have known sin in your life. Pray and ask and ask God first if there is anything hindering you from standing on HIS AUTHORITY).
Vine/branch

Vine/branch

by | Sep 15, 2020 | encouragement

John 15: 1-8 (NIV) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
I love the picture that Jesus paints for us in this passage; I am a simple thinker and this really speaks to me. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches and our Heavenly Father is the gardener.
We often say that we look to see what someone’s life is like by their fruit, and I am not saying that is not right, but as I was thinking about this passage, it dawned on me, that I am not capable of bearing fruit on my own. My responsibility is to stay connected to the vine (Jesus) And I have to make sure that I do not have areas in my life that would prevent the vine from feeding me what I need to continue to be a healthy branch. The gardener (my Heavenly Father) will do the pruning, which is not pleasant but necessary, and it is to the degree that I allow the gardener to prune me that determines how much fruit I will bear.
Over the years, I have been pruned back to almost nothing many times, but each time I am pruned, I bear more fruit for His Kingdom and for His Glory. If your Heavenly Father is pruning you today, don’t fight it, let Him do it and you will see how much fruit He can produce through you. And by the way, pruning is not something that only happens once in our life time, if we want to continually bear fresh fruit, we have to be continually pruned.
Praying Specifically

Praying Specifically

by | Sep 9, 2020 | encouragement

Ephesians 6: 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
We have been in a spiritual war ever since Adam and Eve ate of the tree of Good and evil, but here in the Western world it has never really touched our lives or the quality of our lives. That is changing rapidly, the enemy is no longer trying to hide his agenda or doing his evil work in a subtle way. He (satan) is blatantly out in the open. We see that in many areas of society.
– Corruption in Business/Governments
– Abortion/Euthenasia
– LGBTQ
– Human trafficking/slave labour
– Pornography
– Education
– Family Unit
It is easy for us to feel overwhelmed by it, and because of that we push it aside and don’t think about it and just hope that God will change things. As I said in other blog posts, we have been silent and not done anything to stop this evil escalating to where it is today.
All those evil agenda’s are funded by very rich individuals who have sold out to the devil, their wealth has corrupted them. Their wealth is their power, without their wealth they have no power. (please understand that I am not against wealth, there are so many, many beautiful people who use their wealth to build God’s Kingdom all over the world).
So what can we do as individuals? We can pray specifically for God to remove the wealth of those who are funding these evil mountains. We can pray that they will have an encounter with God and turn from their wicked ways. But if they will not, then we can pray that God will take away their power and remove them.
We can pray that the light of our Lord Jesus Christ will shine onto those dark evil mountains. Darkness cannot exist in the light.
Don’t despair, instead put on your army prayer boots and get on the frontline to confront these evil mountains. The Bible says in James 5: 16 “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective”.
Andrew and I pray everyday for God to topple those evil mountains and replace them with His Righteousness. Will you join us? Imagine if all the Christians around the world would pray and take a stand against the evil one WOW.
We have nothing to fear, “greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world”.
As we pray, God will fight the battle for us. Exodus 14:14
Content/Discontent

Content/Discontent

by | Aug 12, 2020 | encouragement

To be content means to be satisfied with ones life. To accept ones circumstances and to be thankful for everything one has.
A contented person is not envious or jealous of what others have.
A contented person can rejoice when someone else receives a blessing, or promotion, or goes on a holiday, buys a new house or car etc.
A contented person has a serene and thankful heart.
A contented person has no fear or anxiety for the days ahead.
A contented person tells God their needs and trusts Him to provide.
A discontented person is not satisfied with ones life. Finds it hard to accept their circumstances.
A discontented person is always comparing themselves with others.
A discontented person is usually saying If I had this or if only that, or when so and so happens etc.
Jealousy and envy are also a sign of being discontent.
God’s Word says in Philippians 4: 11-13 (MSG) (this is Paul speaking) Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the ONE who makes me who I am.
The bottom line is, that, it is only in Jesus Christ that one finds true contentment. We cant find it in things, people or circumstances.
FAITH/fear

FAITH/fear

by | Jul 25, 2020 | encouragement

Definition of FAITH – Complete trust or confidence in someone or something
Definition of fear – An unpleasant emotional caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm
Two words were running around in my head this morning “fear or faith”. It is sad to see how many people are living in a state of fear since Covid-19. Fear paralyses Faith.
Faith over fear doesn’t mean that you don’t feel afraid, it means that you will not let your fear consume you or your actions.
Faith over fear really just means that, despite what is going on; with God’s help we will get through this season and our trust in God will be deeper and our faith will be stronger.
Most of what we fear is simply – false evidence appearing to be real.
Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in You Lord. In God, whose Word I praise. in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
 
Isaiah 43: 1 Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine.
 
Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock , my fortress and my deliverer.
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