I AM

I AM
Even though I was, I will be…
I AM

I AM I AM I AM I AM I AM I AM I AM
I AM Don’t put me in your box. I AM
I AM I AM I AM I AM I AM I AM I AM

I AM, Neatly packaged to accomodate Me in YOUR world view. I AM

? I AM. Has it ever occurred to you that it is I who decides who I AM ?

I AM
Taste and see that I AM good.

Could it be that I AM bigger than your tea spoon sized bites ?

I AM
Even though I was, I will be…
I AM

? I AM, Too good to be true ? Maybe.

I AM
Come and drink
I AM

I AM
There’s an endless supply of I AM…

Just don’t settle for scraps!

I AM
Even though I was, will you let me be…?
I AM

Some years back people used to wear arm bands with the letters WWJD on it, reminding themselves What Would Jesus Do in the situations they would find themselves in. It’s a great thing to think about. It helps us live the life Jesus would have us live.

I came across a very interesting website. It’s a gallery of photos taken by a fasion photographer, depicting Jesus in the 21st century. It’s a very challenging and beautiful photo series. Go and have a look at http://www.thejourneysproject.com/Gallery.aspx

Love.

Beautiful Song!!!

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God.

The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because GOD IS LOVE–so you can’t know him if you don’t love.

This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him.

No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us–perfect love!

We, though, are going to love–love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. HE LOVE US FIRST.

If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see?

The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

If you thought these words above were quite inspiring, don’t credit me. These are some excerpts taken from a letter written by a close friend of Jesus, John. Go look for yourselves, dust off that bible and go to John 4:7-21 .

Picture courtesy of my wonderfully talented sister Tabitha!

I’ve just become so aware of how powerful love really is! It’s love that draws people into the kingdom. But we’ve also been so aware of how broken this world is, and how desperately it needs God’s love. And how is that expressed?? Through US of course!! And we’re not talking about the mushy kind of love here. It’s a relentless, going out of one’s way, good samaritan, compassionate, kingdom shaping, heart breaking, heart changing, earth shaking love that goes beyond mere feelings.

Man, we’ve got so much to learn!

let it be multiplied….

So when we first moved into our flat, we could see so many things wrong with it, so many things that needed fixing, so many things that we thought.. mmm that is really not right, we shouldn’t live with it like that (eg, uncovered electrical sockets, broken light fixtures, bad painting etc… and of course we did fix some of it straight away…

BUT then life happened, and we kept saying, ahh we will get round to fixing that, but the truth is, those things stop bothering you as much. You realise, well if i put a lamp here, then i dont need to get the light fixture working, and i havent yet died using the uncovered plug socket… and so you start to live with second best, making do with your situation, over-looking the problems.

The same thing happens in our Christian walk. We can start off and we realise, man there is so many things in my life that need to be sort out. I really need to learn to live under the Spirit’s power, I really need to submit my life to Him, and live the full abundant life God has promised us… and of course, we sort a bit of that out..

BUT then life happens, we get busy, we are thinking, ‘ahh i will take time out with God to get more of His spirit another time;.. ‘ahh its really not so bad that i gossip or say ‘white’ lies here.’ ‘Well, i mean the life of power that the disciples lived was only for special people, i mean now days we are so busy’. And so we start to live with second best. We dont sort out the sin in our lives. We dont live the full abundant life to which Christ has called us!

In a sermon a while ago Steve said, ‘Its not that we are not satisfied as Christians, its that we are satisfied to easily.’ We so often settle, for less than God has install for us. We settle with sin, we settle with temporary highs, we settle for a lack of the Spirit’s power in our lives…

LETS DIG DEEPER!

So today C’s son arrived in Cape Town! YAY!

C is one of the ladies in the discipling house. When she arrived at the house, she hadnt know where her son was for at least 8 months (i speak under correction thou). He had been ‘abducted’ by the father who was a M. and didnt want their son raised in a Christian family. His father arranged a friend to pick him up and take him to live with a M. family in Uganda.

C. came into the house and decided to fully give her life back to God (she had coverted to I. when her husband had done so). Within a few week of her being in the house and us praying she found out where he was. A week later she spoke on the phone to him. A few weeks after that he ran away. It has now been about 3months that he has been heading towards South Africa (With a long stop in Tanzania). And he is finally in Cape Town. The last 6 weeks have been very emotional as there have been times when we didnt hear from him for weeks (he is 11). But we were able to pray! and God broke through

We have now been praying for this boy for 6 months now.. and today he arrived. He and i played lotto and pick up sticks! Its crazy how GOd is so amazingly faithful in answering prayers! thanks be to HIM! The minute i saw him i felt like i knew him, and he ran straight up to me and hugged me! It felt somehow that prayers bound us together!

So be faithful in your prayers! God hears them! And he answers them beautifully! GOD IS GOOD!!!! We love you Lord! Always remember what He has done for you!!

Now our prayers for his schooling and Most NB salvation continue and we know God will hear them!

So ‘a guy’ comes and he gives me a quote to do ‘something’ at uThando leNkosi. I explain to him that any expense over a R1000 needs to be approved by the board of trustees (the quote is just over R1000), so it might take a little while to get back to him. He goes “o well you should have told me that… then i would have arranged that you pay cash, and we could just skip the vat all together.” I try not to let my jaw drop. I mean i know that happens all the time, people skim the system. But i had just told him that we were a Christian children’s home and that our name means God’s Love.

Do we as Christians (in general) also skim the system so much that non-Christians are no longer at all ‘skaam’ to suggest doing it???

How honest are we in our dealings? Are we ‘shining like the stars” or do we fad in with the darkness?

It is well with my soul… Can you say that? In hard times, in happy times, when you are really tired, when you have lost everything, can you truly say “It is well with my soul”. When we know Jesus, he does something in our hearts and souls.

Job was a man who lost virtually everything in his life yet…,
20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”

Man we are so quick to question God, and go into despair. Yes i think there is a time for mourning,  but truly at all times we need to keep our eyes on Jesus… and worship like Job, and remember that God is still Holy!! Watch this story of a ‘modern day’ Job…  this faith is huge.. God must have given him so much grace!

So recently I have watched two movies : My life in ruins and Changeling . I would only really recommend is changeling. Here is my synoposis of the movies, without giving too much away:

My Life in Ruins:

Basically this movie says, if your life is going badly, have a little sex, or get alittle sexual attention and things should get better… it has other amusing parts, but i wouldnt highly recommend it to Christians, as it is really anti our value system.

Changeling:

THis is a fasinating true story from the 1920′s (movie from 2008). Its not a sci-fi or thriller as the name might suggest, but rather a drama about a mothers anguist. There are parts that are violent, althought it is not violence in the ‘action movie’ sense of the word. altogether a good watch

“Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You.

To know and follow hard after You,
To grow as Your disciple in Your truth.
This world is empty, pale and poor,
Compared to knowing You, my Lord.
Lead me on! and I will run after You.
Lead me on – and I will run after You.”

- by Watermark