Thursday, September 29, 2005

Breaking the Cycle - Step 1

As Christians our desire is to do the will of God. Yet sometimes, like Paul, we find ourselves being able to say like he said in Rom 7:19 “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Worse than this is the fact that sometimes we can find ourselves in a cycle of behaviour, repeating the same mistakes over and over again. I’m not just talking about what some may call ‘big’ mistakes like stealing, fornication, adultery but we must remember that it is the ‘little foxes’ that spoil the vine; the gossiping, the murmuring and complaining. These can keep us from living victoriously and being who God wants us to be. The following deals with how we can break this cycle and get into that place of victory that the Lord would have us to be in.

Step 1: Acknowledge your transgression or weakness (Ps 51:3)

The first step to overcoming any problem is to acknowledge that you do have a problem. Unfortunately, this does not seem to come naturally to us.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden their first instinct when they heard the voice of God was to hide (Genesis 3:6-8).

King David, when he heard that Bathsheba was pregnant the first thing he tried to do was hide it by trying to deceive Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, into thinking that the child was his. When this did not work he sent Uriah into battle to be killed. (2 Samuel 11:14-15). David did not acknowledge his sin until after the baby was born, approximately 9 months later when the prophet Nathan confronted him.

The consequence of not acknowledging our sins and weaknesses is that we either continue in them or they may lead to further deception of ourselves and others. When we admit our sins/weaknesses then we can deal with them.

We should expose ourselves to others otherwise God may expose us. James 5:16 encourages us to confess our faults one to another that we may be healed. There is power in confession.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Important Prayers (Funny)



A WOMAN'S (REAL) PRAYER:
Now I lay me
Down to sleep.
I pray the Lord
My shape to keep.
Please no wrinkles
Please no bags
And please lift my butt
Before it sags.
Please no age spots
Please no gray
And as for my belly,
Please take it away.
Please keep me healthy
Please keep me young,
And thank you Dear Lord
For all that you've done.

Five tips for a woman....
1. It is important that a man helps you around the house and has a job.
2. It is important that a man makes you laugh.
3. It is important to find a man you can count on and doesn't lie to you.
4. It is important that a man loves you and spoils you.
5. It is important that these four men don't know each other.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Holding Your Position

The message of the preacher today was “Holding Your Position”. Recently I’ve asked God ‘what now?’ I’ve more or less finished my diploma in Christian ministry and wanted to know what the Lord would have me to do at this point. The Lord says ‘my sheep know my voice and another they will not follow’. Today when the minister introduced the title of her message, I knew that I knew that the Lord had answered my prayer. He reminded me of the time when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness after the Holy Ghost had descended upon Him. After such an experience one would probably expect Him to immediately go out and work signs and wonders among the people but He was lead by the Spirit into the wilderness. It’s not that I’m expecting a wilderness experience because the Lord knows, been there and done that but I think maybe a time where God expects me to keep in prayer and meditation of His Word no matter what, to stand firm in the midst of the testing that will surely come and believe Him for the great things He has promised. I pray the Lord that He will find me faithful, as I stand on His word and resist the wiles of the devil.

Blessings

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Praise the Lord!

I got the results for my final year BSc exams in the mail yesterday. I passed! Woo-hoo! So I must give God thanks since I prayed so hard that I would not have to repeat any subjects next year. The past three years were hard enough, juggling two programmes I decided I could do part-time - the BSc and a diploma in Christian ministry, work and church activities (what was I thinking?). Anyway, God is so good in that He kept me sane in the midst of it all and answered my prayer. It's funny I thought I'd feel different somehow, maybe smarter? but I'm still me. I think that's a good thing?! I'm looking forward to seeing where God will lead me now that I have more time to make available for Him. So,

Thank you Lord, this I pray
For your many blessings today
Indeed in You I've put my trust
And the results have been glorious!

I love you Jesus
Kelly

Monday, September 05, 2005

Born Again

I wrote this poem in 2002. Believe it or not I found it on a scrap of paper while looking for a document among my 'important papers'. Just thought I'd share it with you.

BORN AGAIN
I heard my Father calling
calling to me one day
and when I paused to hear Him speak
here’s what I heard Him say

“Come, my child I’m here for you
I’ll hold you in my arms
I want to feel you close to me
I’ll keep you from all harm

Don’t worry about your garments red
I’ll make them white as snow
I paid the price for you my child
so very long ago”

That voice I heard so sweet and sure
resounded in my ears
reached empty places in my heart
and vanquished all my fears

My heart of stone was changed to flesh
and I was made anew
The love of God was there for me
despite all I’d been through

Joy unspeakable and full of glory
coursed throughout my veins
Because I knew without a doubt
I had been born again.

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Battlefield of the Mind - Pt. 1

I’ve started reading Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer. Below you will find valuable thoughts from the book that have impacted me so far and I hope will help you also:

  • As a man thinketh, so is he.
  • Our actions are a direct result of our thoughts.
  • Our past may explain why we are suffering but we must not use it as an excuse to stay in bondage.
  • God is fighting on your side.
  • If we think fleshly thoughts, we cannot walk in the Spirit.
  • Your life will not get straightened out until your mind does.
  • No matter how bad the condition of your life and your mind, don’t give up!
  • It’s easy to quit; it takes faith to go through.
  • We need to choose and continue to choose right thoughts.
  • Don’t receive condemnation. Your total victory will come … “little by little”.
  • When you fail (which you will), that does not mean that you are a failure.
  • Be patient with yourself.

Kelly

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Taking the wings of the morning

Ps 139:7-10
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
(KJV)


When I was younger, I knew of God. To me, He was this far away divine being that I must please by being a ‘good girl’. By ‘far away’ I mean just looking on in my life because I also believed God was omnipresent (everywhere) and omniscient (knew all things). My mental image of God, however, was divinity with a clipboard. Although He was wherever I went, He was just writing on that clipboard: good deeds, bad deeds, heaven? hell? So I tried to please Him on my own and of course, failed miserably. He was still there, though, writing, writing. The presence of God most of the time then was not a comfort to me.

Now that I know my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ it is a joy to know that He is always there, walking with me, talking with me, holding my hands. Sometimes I let go and fall but He picks me up and helps me along again. My heart’s desire now is to ever be close to Him and to know Him more and more. The words below may not be the most original of writings but was in my heart at the time.

Nearer to Thee, nearer to Thee
Oh how I long to be
Nearer to Thee.
As I draw nigh to you
Lord, draw nigh to me
Take me O Lord
Nearer to Thee.

When the storms of life,
They come my way
I get on my knees and begin to pray,
Thank you Lord for giving me all it takes
And forgive me God for all my mistakes
To be near You Lord, that is the key
So take me O Lord, nearer to Thee.

As I come O King to Your throne of grace
And purpose to diligently seek Your face
Complete that work You have started in me
That I might fulfil my destiny.
To do Your will is the reason I live
Yet, not I, but Christ in me
‘Cause all I am is in Thee.

In Your presence Lord is where I am strong
In Your presence is the place I belong
For You are my Source, my Strength and my Shield
To be near You Lord is all that I need.
I love You Lord
That’s the reason I yearn to be
Forever God, nearer to Thee.

Blessings

Kelly

Granny, you go girl!!!

John 15:13 says “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” This type of unselfish love was displayed by mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Elise Joseph.

On August 31, 2005, 73-year old Elise Joseph was presented with the Chaconia gold medal for bravery at the National Independence Day Awards Ceremony at the President’s House. Grandma Joseph earned this honor when she single-handedly unarmed a 26-year-old assailant (who had already wounded her grandson) and sat on him until the police arrived. (I kid you not). All I can say is, Granny, you go girl!

Kelly

Friday, September 02, 2005

The Customer is Always Right? Says who?

The company I work for recently sent my co-workers and I to a customer service seminar. Of course as in any good customer service seminar (I presume), we discussed the cornerstone of ‘good customer service’ which is that the customer is always right. As a Christian I tend to be very particular about telling the truth (Thou shalt not lie!) so these are not words I could utter convincingly since, well, since I am not utterly convinced of their veracity. It has been my experience (I work in human resources) that the customer could be very wrong at times (hmm… maybe I should say misinformed or ill-advised?) Now if it were said that we should treat the customer as if he is always right, this I am certain would make for good customer service. What do you think?

P.S. As a customer, I honestly probably wouldn’t like this new maxim since I absolutely, positively hate it when people patronize me. However if we do like the Bible says 'unto others as we would have them do unto us' everyone should be happy.

Kelly

My First Blog

Hmm… searching …. searching … still searching for something momentous, memorable, rational even to say in my first post. But, alas like fame, fortune and a good singing voice it eludes me. So sticking with the mundane I’m going to say hello and welcome to my blog. Come back soon. Maybe you’ll find something that will encourage you, or you identify with or, gasp, makes you laugh. Maybe I’ll bore you to tears and you’ll ask the blogging police to accidentally delete my blog from cyberspace. Either way you’re welcome to share in my journey as I strive simply to fulfill God’s purpose in my life one step at a time.

Kelly