"You are familiar with all my ways..."

Do you realise that God knows everything about you...

He knows your thoughts and your desires. Your hope and your dreams. He knows your feelings, your fears and your pain. He also understands your anger and frustration. When you feel hurt, He feels it too. God is angry at the injustice you have experienced and is on your side.

 

Psalm 139:3 – You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways…

 

Another version reads that God is “well acquainted” with all your ways.

 

God knows what is best because He knows you better than you know yourself. He is familiar with your life as one inhabitating the same house where you live and sleeping in the same bed.

 

Job 31:4 – Does He not see my ways and count my every step?

 

God has counted all the hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30). Did you know that you have on average 100,000 hairs on your head at any one time? Absolutely nothing escapes His attention.

 

Neurologically speaking, science has found that thought patterns in the brain are very similar to grooves, like a well trodden dirt road. That is why our thoughts are so powerful and difficult to change! God knows your every thought pattern, millions of them. He knows your deepest secrets, motives and intentions. The hidden things that no one else can know. 

 

Psalm 139:2; 4 – You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar… Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD you know it altogether.

 

God knows you perfectly, deeply and intimately. All the good, the bad and the unspeakable. And He loves you unconditionally and completely. Amazing!

 

Now you might think that a perfect and Holy God knowing someone’s worst character traits may cause Him to punish or condemn. But you would be completely wrong.

 

Scripture says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Even when human nature was at its worst, in complete depravity, and put an innocent man to be crucified on a cross, God still loved us. But not so we could stay in the same condition, but to be forgiven of our sins, radically transformed and have a new nature.

 

Ezekiel 36:26 – And I will give you a new heart and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

 

Friend, it is time to let go of your need for control. It is time to stop fighting God and to surrender to His ways. His ways are so much better and He can be trusted completely.

 

I promise you will not regret it.

A Fading Glory

Does anyone remember who won the gold medal of the 2000 Olympics men’s 100 metres sprint?

It was actually a guy called Maurice Greene from the United States. Apparently, he has a tattoo that reads “GOAT” - referring to his claim to be ‘Greatest of All Time’. In the previous year he had achieved a world record 100 metre time of 9.79 seconds, but this was beaten in 2009 by Usain Bolt who ran 9.58 seconds!

Statistically, Cristiano Ronaldo is the best football player, Tom Brady the most successful American quarterback, Bill Gates the best businessman and Jeff Bezos the richest billionaire. All have tasted glory multiple times. But it is a fading glory. It comes, lasts a few days or weeks, passes and then disappears. 

Sport stars or movie celebrities are generally only as popular as the present. Once they are injured, not successful or fail, they are no longer relevant or important. 

Yes, any accomplishment, title or status does bring with it a small taste of glory. It can be an intoxicating feeling of power and invincibility. When you feel on top of the world and you have people worshipping you in some capacity. 

Success can bring with it fame, riches and honour. Popularity and praise comes with success. But it is always short lived. Sure, it might last a few weeks, months or even several years. But eventually it becomes old news, or worse, completely forgotten. 

However, whatever you achieve today will be surpassed in the future. And any worldly glory you receive will eventually fade. I am sorry to say but in 100 years time it will likely be forgotten about.

Another word for glory is "eternal splendour." And God is the King of glory. His kingdom and glory endures forever. Part of our inheritance as children of God is sharing in God's glory. Amazing!

Revelation 4:11 says “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

God alone is worthy of glory because only He can handle it. Give it to a fallen man or woman and it will go straight to their head, fill them with pride and then later a mighty fall.

Anything we do for the Kingdom of God will last forever. In 1,000 years time, what you do to share your testimony with others, give to the poor, serve at church, being faithful and living a good witness will still be remembered.

Today, don't chase any fading glory for yourself. Give it all to the One who deserves it. 

Throne of Grace

 I am delighted to post about my new book, Throne of Grace!

“LET US THEN APPROACH GOD’S THRONE OF GRACE WITH CONFIDENCE, SO THAT WE MAY RECEIVE MERCY AND FIND GRACE TO HELP US IN OUR TIME OF NEED…”

Are our prayers really heard in heaven? And if so what happens behind the scenes? Founded in biblical wisdom and timeless principles, this book will inspire your faith and trust in God’s infinite power and perfect timing.

Set in the 14^th century, Throne of Grace is an inspiring allegory of Knight, a medieval peasant, who lives in the Kingdom of Georgia. From humble beginnings as a farmer to a fearless soldier in battle, discover how Knight takes the path less travelled on his adventure of faith. You will read about Knight’s impossible dream come true and the many friends, angels and enemies he encounters along the way. His life will motivate you to push past any setbacks and to believe for the impossible.

Throne of Grace explains what transpires in heaven when we pray and how God works as a result of our prayers. Using a backdrop of biblical themes and references, you will understand how God sees the end from the beginning to set you up for blessing. Among the key themes include the power of wisdom, the importance of right living, failure as a set up for success, the ripple effect of good deeds and much more.

Knight’s journey will inspire you to believe the dreams God has placed in your heart regardless of your background, qualifications or mistakes. And how character and faith are grown through adversity to mature and strengthen you to step into your destiny.

To order your copy please visit https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/633583-throne-of-grace

 

Have you ever had your heart broken? 

I have.

When you fall madly in love with someone special, you feel like the luckiest person in the world. Its hard to explain but its like touching heaven and time stands still.

Scientifically, dopamine is the chemical in the brain when we feel "drunk in love." And Oxytocin is released which causes immense bonding to another person. This explains why falling in love is such a supernatural experience! Over a prolonged period of time, soul ties are established; when your heart, mind and soul is attached to the one you love.

But then tragedy strikes and that special person closes the door and walk away on you unexpectedly. You feel like your world is imploding and the pain is unbearable. Only those who have experienced a heart break can truly understand the mixed range of painful emotions which come afterwards.

I was in a short relationship once to an amazing person in 2013. There were some wonderful moments and memories we shared, including dreams of a future together.

But we had one minor argument and she called it off the next day. It was sudden and devastating to say the least, so much so that it took almost two years for me to move on. I was inconsolable and in a deep depression for a long time. I don't like to ever talk about it to this day.

Did you know that God's heart also breaks? 1 John 4 says God is love and His love is unconditional. He loves every single human being and jealousy longs for us. But when we turn away and reject Him, His heart breaks too.

God's greatest gift was giving humanity a free will to choose to either love Him or reject Him. Love can not be forced or manipulated. It needs to be consensual, willing and sincere.

In 2017, statistics say that nearly 150,000 people die everyday. If just 1% of these was not a Christian and became forever separated from God, this would be 1,500 per day. In reality the percentage is likely much higher.

Just losing one person was devastating for me. I couldn't imagine tens of thousands, every single day. Priceless souls Jesus died for.

Its a good thing I am not God and have all knowledge and present in all places at once. I would have a meltdown after a few seconds.

Our everyday decisions also show our love for God. Is it consistently obedient, humble willing and sincere? Or is our loyalty divided, hypocritical and shallow?

Only we truly know.

This only magnifies how GREAT a love God has for us. That His love is perfect and unconditional, willing to forgive and desires to bless us continually.

Psalm 136 repeats the words, "His love endures forever" twenty-six times, in between praises of all God has done for us.

How true it is. 

Good Success vs Bad Success

Is there such a thing of ‘bad success’?

It sounds like an oxymoron, like cleaning dirt. Why would anyone come up with such a concept? Does it really matter and what does it mean to have bad success? These are the thoughts that have plagued my mind recently at the start of twenty-seventeen.

Everyone wants to be successful but success at the expense of integrity and rooted in selfishness will never last long. Too many shortcuts and ignoring the advice of trusted counsellors and bad success will eventually do more harm than good.

Luke 9:25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world and yet forfeit their own soul?

Good success can be completing high school, earning a degree, or marrying your best friend. Then there is learning a trade, getting out of your comfort zone, travelling the world, helping a stranger and committing to eating heathy.  Any form of positive learning, growing, responsibility and investment can be termed as good success.

Bad success can be the promotion at the expense of close friends, finances over family, or that hobby at the cost of time a relationship. Too much power, sex and money have led many a man to ruin.

Bad success is what leads to addictions, broken relationships and self destruction. Investing too much time in talent over character will eventually result in the talent leading you to a place your character will never be able to support you.

A father can be a great provider for his family as a workaholic, but starve them of valuable time and attention. Perhaps the greatest struggle of our generation currently is the obsession of social media, which is leading to proven cases of isolation and mental health at an alarming rate.

As a Christian, good success is living a life that honours Christ, which seeks first the Kingdom of God and looks to the needs of others. Disciplining our time in prayer, scripture, worship and church community is not just a good idea or recommendation; Jesus warned against us gaining the things of this world at the expense of our soul, the greatest loss we could ever lose!

Any pursuit at the expense of your character, relationships, health or faith can be deemed not only bad success but dangerous success. Some things in life are priceless and should be guarded at all costs, irrespective of the culture around us.

Our time, attention and priorities determine what we choose to value most in life. Choose today to be focused on only good success for your life. You won’t regret it.

Failure

The New England Patriots had a perfect undefeated season in 2007.

They had won 18 games in a row and were considered by analysts as the greatest team in NFL history. Despite being overwhelming favourites to win the final, they lost narrowly to the New York Giants 14-17. When it came to the game that mattered most, I always wondered that if they had lost a game previously which didn’t matter, if it would have won them the Super Bowl when it counted. 

Failure is a fact of life and has a negative stigma to western societies. However, failure is a great teacher and only afterwards do we become greater learners. Failure helps us discover more about ourselves and forces us to make necessary changes. And failure can teach us that we are human and are not perfect no matter how good and perfect we think we are.

Failure is an event, never a person. It is only when you stop, throw in the towel, refuse to learn and quit does failure win. Henry Ford once said, “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently”. Failure doesn’t mean the game is over, it means try again with experience

Failure is an important stepping stone to greatness. Thomas Edison famously took 10,000 attempts to create the lightbulb. Did it really matter that it took so many attempts? That actually sounds like a lot. But he later said “I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”.

Proverbs 24:16 – For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again. But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.

Sometimes the harder you fall, the stronger you rise. Failure is never final if we are persistent and courageous to keep going not matter the opinions of others. FAIL is spelt “First - Attempt - In - Learning”.

Someone who has never failed has never learned. I can learn more from one failure than 10 success stories. Why? Because I am forced to rethink my values and beliefs, and to be creative in finding new ways to achieve my objective.

Failure only defines people if they make what they do apart of their identity. If what they do matters more than who they are, they are in big trouble. For no matter how good you are, the day will come when you fail and it will feel like your world is falling apart! 

Today, don’t ever believe that failure is a failure of who you are and your identity. See it positively as a learning experience which is setting you up for the moments that really count, so you can lift your own personal Super Bowl.  

Integrity

Integrity is a big word missing these days...

One definition of integrity is “The quality or state of being of sound moral principle, uprightness, honesty and sincerity”. Integrity is keeping a commitment even after circumstances have changed. And it is practising honesty and uprightness in our everyday lives.

If we all practised integrity each and every day in our relationships and workplaces, what could the world look like? There would be fewer violence, fraud, crime and hate. And there would be less immorality, deception and evil in this world.

Integrity is to live out your life in private in the same way you live your life in public. And it always comes back to our character. And character is the sum total of all your habits, either good or bad.

Proverbs 10:9 Whoever walks with integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

Now integrity can be subjective based on ethics, culture and opinion. But the word of God paints a clear picture of what integrity looks like and how it is practised.

Integrity is a combination of character qualities based on the word of God. It is honesty, faithfulness, trustworthy, reliable, obedience, kindness, selfless love, self controlled, responsible and generous.

Christians are called to a high standard before God and man. To walk the walk and talk the talk. It is about being a credible witness and that your faith is not only a belief but an everyday action. Practically, it is speaking the truth, acting honourably, giving honour to others, and to love one another sincerely.

The opposite of integrity is lying, stealing, cheating or choosing evil over good. It is being unethical, deceptive and immoral, either in private or public. A word that sums up all of these is hypocrisy which is to know something and to speak against something but doing it anyway.

Just because we fall once doesn’t make us a hypocrite. That’s what God’s grace and mercy are for. But when it becomes a lifestyle, that is completely different.

Daniel 6:3-4 says, Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities (excellent spirit) that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.

Daniel was an elderly man at this stage of his life and scripture mentions he had an excellent spirit. This means he was set apart for God, faithful, a man of prayer and above reproach. He not only prospered but gave glory to God in a pagan land which had no choice but to see that Daniel’s God was the true and living God.

Bill Johnson once said “When you steward something faithfully increase will naturally follow”. Actively choose to practice integrity today; you might be surprised what happens.