Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day my Daddy ....

Although you are already in Heaven and I miss you so much everyday, I want to take this time today to say thank you for being the best father I could ever ask for.  Thank you for always working those extra hours for us as a family to make sure we could live.  Thank u for looking after mommy when she was so ill, sacrificing your time.  Thank you for taking in 3 extra kids of your brothers' when they passed away so early in their lives.  Thank you for always making sure we had everything we needed as a family.  Most of all thank you for taking us to church and introducing us to Jesus from an early age. 

My daddy, I love you and miss you with every fibre of my being, but you are with mommy in heaven and I know you must be so happy, spending time with her and most of all singing praises to our Most High God in heaven.  Tell Jesus I say thank You for His unconditional love and Grace.  

Happy Fathers Day my daddy... till I see you again.  Your Daughter.  You and Mommy are forever in my heart.

Workplace Leadership - like Jesus would ..

Sticking with Jesus

As a leader I want to rather stick with Jesus and His principles than to follow man.  We work for God anyway to show His glory and not for man.

My writing is based on humility and not pride, keeping our feet on the foundation that Jesus has laid for our lives.  Proverbs 11:2 warn us that if we are full of pride and stuck-up we will fall flat on our faces, but if we are humble and down to earth we will stand firm.
 

Humility

We can still be assertive and be strong leaders when we lead with humility - power and pride is a dangerous avenue!

• We must always look at the needs of our fellow staff members.  An autocratic management style is not healthy for any organisation.  Loving others should become naturally - people are desperately seeking acceptance and are in need of love and leaders should be helping people through difficult times.  We should teach, lead, coach  and correct with love.  
• Leading should not be about making a name for ourselves or hurting others to be at the top but we have to make sure we stay grounded on the good foundation that Jesus has laid for us.  We should never hurt the ones that are weaker than us. We must always be reminded that Jesus never exalted Himself.
• Whatever important decisions we make as leaders, we should never compromise our values and we should always tap into the godly resources the Holy Spirit makes available to us and always be people of integrity and be trustworthy.
• Always think - how would Jesus do my job - then act!
• Transformation : How amazing that if we tap into those amazing resources that Jesus so freely make available to us as leaders, we will always be transformed and our work, family, friendships and our lives will just become more meaningful.
• Everyday at work we can start fresh with new GRACE from Jesus not dwelling on the "yesterdays".  New mercies every day!
• A shepherd will lay down his life for his flock, serve and sacrifice. That is how we should be with our employees daily.  You will get a lot of respect from your employees and they will do so much more for you when you as a leader respect them.
• We must never break the rules of our company and we need to be the examples and always respect those in authority.

 

We will face many challenges and also be criticized as Christian leaders but we need to know when to stay silent (be still and know that I am God) and also when to stand up for our values. 

 

 

Always remember if you don't have people you are leading, you are still a leader. We are leaders leading from the heart of Jesus.  I pray that God will guide your heart as you lead to show His glory on a daily basis. Amen.

Religion and Grace

The gift of GRACE through Jesus Christ is invaluable.

Religion can become such a controversial topic.  We as Christians need to be carefull that we don't become so religious that we forget about the greatest commandment Jesus gave us and that is to love.  We must not "push" people away from God's love because we become so religious.  We must truly live out the grace and love of God.  

We have to love on people that are broken by sin, people in need of His love.   When people hurt and they feel they are not good enough to be loved and accepted by Jesus, we need to be there full of the Grace of Jesus to lead them and show them they are loved and accepted, no matter their sin.  For everyone sins and falls short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23) but then John 1.17 tells us that God's unfailing love, grace and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.  How exciting.  

The gift of Grace through Jesus to us is absolutely invaluable and great.  God's mercy was given to us only through Jesus Christ .. how awesome that NO MATTER what our sin, God loves us unconditionally and so we have been accepted by God.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 12: 31 - 32 "every sin will be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven".  And blasphemy against the Spirit means to continuously reject the Holy Spirit's promptings to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Jesus said in John 10 : 27 that NO ONE shall snatch a believer out of His hand..  we shall never perish but have eternal life.  

So today I say to all sinners (like we all are including me), no matter what your sin is, turn to Jesus because He alone will love you unconditionally, accept you as you are and give you everlasting joy and peace.

God is in charge

Brilliant God of Wonders

God keeps His eye on us and listens to our every plea.  God has not moved and He is still the same God - He will never change.  

God's eye takes everything in, the good and the bad.  He understands what we are going through on earth.  

God will keep us safe from the wicked; when we face a great storm, He is there and that is why we will have victory.  God is in charge!  

Father God, You are an all-knowing God, You know our hardships, You know our situations and our burdens.  You know we can't make it in this world without You.

Father God, thank You that You are so faithful to us, thank You that You will give us victory through Jesus and that something unexpectedly amazing is going to happen when we least expect it, so You can be glorified.

1 Cor 15:57 : "But thanks to God who gave us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ".

Jehovah - El Elohim - God my Strong Protector

God - My Strong Protector

One of God's incredible attributes is that He is our Strong Protector.  We live in such dangerous, unsure times, where enemies are prowling around each corner. So it is safe to say that during the times we live in we have to remind ourselves that there is only ONE Strong Protector -

 

I absolutely love the piece out of Psalm 91 ...  

“If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
    “I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care
    if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
    I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life,
    give you a long drink of salvation!”

Oh yes, Father God, help me to get to know You and to trust You. Protect me from all sides, let my feet be grounded in You as my Foundation. Lift my head high and clothe me with Your blessings as my help is only from You.  Father God take my side and give me favour.  Let me be still when I need Your help God as my heart is doing all the talking. Amen! 

 

 

My root is in Jesus

My root is in Jesus ...

There is no fruit without some kind of root.  In order to blossom and carry beautiful fruit our root must be steadfast and strong in our Saviour Jesus.  So whatever comes out of our mouths and our actions come from the roots that have taken hold deep in our souls.

Father God, I am here Your daughter please open my heart and show me who You are through Jesus and don't ever take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Let Your Holy Spirit lead me, teach me and guide me.

Matthew 15: 13 - Jesus said: "every tree that wasn't planted by my Father in heaven will be pulled up by it's roots".  He carries on by saying in verse 16: " Don’t you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cussing. That’s what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods, washing or not washing your hands—that’s neither here nor there.”

Jesus thank You for Your grace and for planting us so we can stem from Your root. Help me to always do the right thing as You teach me and lead me. Amen

Jesus won my heart

Jesus thank you for Your Grace and Love

Jesus thank You for dying for my sins... for Your Grace and Love for me.

Jesus today thinking what You have done for us on the cross, I can just say thank You that even when we dont deserve Your love, You remind us that Your GRACE is totally sufficient, that You accept and love us just the way we are. You are the reason that Your children will live forever.  You are so quick to forgive us when we make mistakes, so quick to hold us and remind us that You love us unconditionally.  

Your love is like a river flowing into our souls binding us to You forever.  Oh Your love is amazing Jesus.  Jesus I will hold onto You forever. Every season in my life You show me more and more of Your grace and why You died for me .. because of love.  Your LOVE ran from the Cross, enfolded my soul and made me a different person.  I can never be the same again.  I will love you in return forever Jesus. 

Thank you Jesus for loving me, for dying for my sins and for your Everlasting GRACE!!!

Jesus called me by Name

Jesus I humbly bow down

This "Truth" that shall set us free - called GRACE

What is this truth that shall set us free

It is the truth of His Grace!

Jesus came to give us this wonderful revelation - the truth; Himself as our Grace!  The Bible shows us in John 1:17 that Grace and Truth came through Jesus alone.

When we realise this truth, our lives change forever.  Our thought process could never ever be the same as before thinking we had to work hard to be saved by His Grace, thinking we had to change dramatically for Him to even acknowledge us - no, we don't have to earn His Grace at all.  Our thoughts now no longer are in captivity but with His Grace it has been set free forever.  We can be open to just being ourselves and feel His love, taste His love and encounter all of Him. 

Is it not wonderful that we as His children can live in His magnificent favour all the time.  He has so much in store for us if we just believe it and act out the authority that He has given us.

Magnificent JESUS, thank You for the revelation You gave us about You being our GRACE, so we don't have to prove ourselves to You as You love us unconditionally. Amen.

Reflections ...

God has always carried us through!

Reflecting on 2014 I know that God has carried us through many trials and made us stronger.  I am sure there were times we felt like we were going to break but yet again God has given us the courage to see our situation through, He picked us up and gave us hope.

In 2015, my declaration will be to TRUST in GOD with ALL my heart no matter what.  Even if my situation looks troubled, even if my trials seem unpromising, I will trust in Him to strengthen my heart so I can bear all things, keep my face bright and He can make me powerful to go through anything because I have an intimate relationship with my Shepherd who has already given me the GRACE I need and what I know is that my Shepherd loves me so deeply He will NOT allow my inner soul to starve or die  - Yes, He will always care - always be there.

Augustine had a beautiful quote : "Trust the past to God's mercy, the present to God's love and the future to God's providence".

SO with a prayer in our hearts and a beautiful song in our souls, may His grace become so real to us all in 2015 an may we TRUST in Him explicitly. Amen!