IT'S NOT ABOUT LIVING "RIGHT"

IT IS NOT ABOUT LIVING “RIGHT”.

IT'S ABOUT FILLING YOUR LIFE 

WITH MORE OF HIM.

You have a HUNGER and THIRST for Him. 

Whether you want to admit it or not.

You were CREATED to be in a relationship with Him. 

And only He can FILL the deepest desires of your soul 

as HE is the ONLY one who knows what they are.

Listen to worship music. Get involved at church. Talk to others about Him. Ask others about Him. Discuss Him with others. Talk TO Him. Think about Him and how beautiful everything is that He created. Thank Him. Ask Him. Trust His good plans for you.

If you focus more on this than on how many mistakes you have made, 

you are set for an Adventurous Relationship with Him. 

It’s that simple. 

Love

RULES vs. RELATIONSHIP part 2: Why do I need the Bible, Church and Fellowship?

                              

Now that we have the ‘relationship with God’ part sorted out, then what about the Bible, the church and fellowship? Will I go to hell if I don’t go to church/ read the Bible/ not have fellowship with others?

NO. Well, that’s what I believe. It makes sense. And here’s how:

[Hypothetically speaking]

You have always heard about this person (Let’s call him Godfry), but have never met him. You eventually meet him, but it’s a bit awkward as you initially don’t really know what to talk about. Then, you go for coffee and it’s very frustrating as you do not understand the way he speaks/ means what he says/ why he doesn’t answer when you ask him questions. This frustrates you severely and just as you are about to give up on building a relationship with Godfry, he passes you a book – his very own biography. He tells you that even though you don’t always understand the way he speaks to you, that you can find out a bit more about what he likes/dislikes, his characteristics, why and how he says the things he does, etc.

So you went in your own time and read a bit of it and then somehow you began to understand a bit more of why your coffee convo’s went the way they did.

At your next coffee the coffee went less awkward and frustrating because you understood Godfry a bit better – but still not fully.

So you go on Facebook and you stalk him a bit and see that you have mutual friends. You ‘happen’ to see one of your friends later and then you discuss Godfry a bit. This friend explains to you how they have experienced Godfry in similar situations that you have that have frustrated you. And then suddenly those situations make more sense.

Then, you get an invite from Godfry to a social event that he is hosting – every single week. At this event many of Godfry’s friends come together and meet and spend time with each other. Godfry is the guest of honor at this weekly event and one of his friends give a little speech about Godfry and his character.

SO… Obviously:

Godfry = God

Biography = Bible

Mutual friend = fellowshipping with another believer

Social event = church

CONCLUSION:

The Bible, church and fellowship are not determinants for going to heaven… but, 
they are vital TOOLS that will assist you in your relationship with God. 

I can promise you that they will make your relationship with God and your whole experience as a Believer

SO MUCH EASIER and FUN. 

You don’t have to struggle in getting to know Him better. 

He is patient and gentle with you. 

He desires a relationship with you desperately. 

So I want to challenge YOU to use these tools to get to know the most awesome person better. It’s an adventure. 

Regardless of your past, present and future. 

Do it. I know you want to.

IT IS NOT ABOUT RULES/ RELIGION, 

BUT RELATIONSHIP.

Love

RELIGION vs. RELATIONSHIP

Hey guys! I have had a very rough past three weeks with exams, etc. But I have been writing about things that have been happening and now I am back to share them with you!

Ultimately, there is only ONE THING that you need to hear:

If a parent has many rules and punishes their child if they make a mistake, the child will obey the parent out of fear. The parent is like a “master” and the child the “slave”. These children usually end up being rebellious and bad.

If a parent and child have a RELATIONSHIP wherein they talk to each other and care for each other, the child will obey the parent out of LOVE: because they want to make the parent happy. Not because they have to and fear punishment if they don’t.

There is no fear in love.

It is the same with God.

In the Old Testament, He was like the strict parent with RULES. But then Jesus came and took the punishment on your behalf.

Now, God is like the parent who cares about a RELATIONSHIP with you.

What do I mean by relationship?

Well, it’s very simple really. How do you initiate and build on relationships in your life?

·         You meet someone

·         You then spend time with them

·         You honestly communicate with them how feel and what you like/dislike

·          You do little things for them to show your love for them

·         You compliment them and build them up with kind and loving words

·         You thank them for what they do out of love for you when you least deserved it

·         How else do you build on your relationships with people you care about?

Well, building a relationship with God is pretty much the same… He created the concept of ‘relationship’ after all…

Next post we will discuss whether one can get into Heaven without the Bible, Fellowship or the Church. I bet you have thought about that one before…

Love

The PERSON you will NEVER get away from...

Has it ever occurred to you that you have a relationship with yourself?

Auntie Joyce (Meyer) spoke about something that I have never really thought about… I don’t know about you, but this concept intrigues me considerably…

Just think about it… You spend the most time with yourself. More time with you than with anybody else. You can never get away from yourself – not for one second. You have the most opinions about yourself. You know everything about yourself. You talk to yourself. You talk about yourself. You have a relationship with yourself. Good or bad.

Now the problem is when you don’t like yourself… Imagine spending every second of your life with the one person you can’t stand. The one person who can never do things right or the way you want them to be done. The one person who you don’t like looking at, because they are so ‘ugly’ in your eyes. That’s what it's like not liking yourself…

But, we don’t think about it like that, because we see these judgments of ourselves as opportunities for ‘improvement’.

Now imagine having a relationship with someone for the rest of your life, but this person isn’t someone you can stand at the moment. You don’t mind, because you see the relationship as an opportunity to ‘fix’ that person so that they can become someone you actually like one day…

Problem is, you still have to spend time with that imperfect person until that day comes… And with the ‘fixer’ mindset you’ll always find room for improvement… which means you’ll NEVER like that person… what a miserable life…

Now with that said, how does one have a relationship with yourself that is not as depressing as the one just described?

Well, I believe it is quite simple… How do you treat and feel about the people who you love and admire the most in your life? Your mom or dad or partner or leader? How do you treat them? With respect? With kindness? You probably don’t constantly insult or offend them? Or judge or criticize them?

You encourage them. You compliment them. You learn from their mistakes. You ensure them that regardless of their mistakes and failures that you still love them. You treat them gently. You build them up with your words.

Now, think a bit how you speak to yourself?

If it feels strange to intentionally speak to yourself, here’s how I have been practicing it (try looking in the mirror whilst doing this to make things fun):

“[Insert your name here], you are so awesome. You have such a good and gracious heart. You have a great sense of style and a strange, but interesting vocabulary. You make corny jokes, but hey, someone’s gotta make them. You are beautiful. I accept you exactly the way you are right now at this very moment – with your freckles and curves and very emotional days. You are worthy. You are to die for actually. Jesus thinks so too.”

(If you’re a guy you probably would want to replace “beautiful” with “handsome” and other manly words…)

Let’s stop being so hard on ourselves.

Let’s start enjoying our own company. 

Let’s look for reasons to love ourselves.

I assure you there are MANY.

Make a list! Stick it on your mirror!

Number one should be: Made in God’s image.

This means that you have God’s characteristics in your DNA!

So what is God’s character: 

God is Love, right? 

Then what is Love?

Love is patient, love is kind. 

Which then HAS to mean that

YOU are PATIENT, 

YOU are KIND.

Apply the rest of this TRUTH about yourself to yourself:

Replace LOVE with your name.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7New Living Translation (NLT)

4 (I am) patient and kind. (Love)is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. (Love)does not demand its own way. (Love)is not irritable, and (Love) keeps no record of being wronged. 6 (Love) does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 (Love) never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

BE WITH SOMEONE THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.

Love

‘To deserve’: a concept that is breaking my brain...

We live in a world where we are conditioned to believe that 

you get what you give. We mostly commit to things or relationships based on what we can get out of it and on what we are willing to invest back into it.

Unfortunately, this mindset has been influencing how we relate to God. We ask for things our hearts desire, but deep in our hearts we believe things like, “I’m not gonna get it, because I don’t deserve it.”

A very basic example of where we were taught to think like this was in school when we prepared for a test. We were taught that if you worked really hard, then you were ‘allowed’ to pray that God would help you to get really good marks… ‘cause you’d ‘deserve’ it, right?

And when you didn't prepare that much, then you pray something like, “God, please help me with this test. Help me to remember everything that I have studied.”

I have to ask…

Why ask to help you remember only what you have studied?

Why not ask to help you with every single question regardless of what you’ve studied?

‘Cause that’s not what we ‘deserve’, right?

You can’t ask for something unless you have worked for it… and deserve it…

I honestly think that that is NOT how God works.

That is not how Grace works.

Grace is undeserved kindness and forgiveness from God.

There is NOTHING you can do to ‘deserve’ it. Nothing. 

It is a GIFT.

To you. From God.

You ask for good marks, He wants to give you the best marks.

You ask for enough food to survive, He wants to give you dessert as well.

But then you might ask, “Leigh-Ann, if it is as simple as that, then why am I not driving a Ferrari?”

Well, the answer is just as simple: 

Because YOU are not allowing yourself to have what you deeply want and what He so excitedly wants to give to you.

You ask, you beg, but you ask with hands closed. He wants to give you what your heart desires, but you won’t take it. Because deep in your heart you are convinced that you won’t get it… that you don’t deserve it… how can you have what you don’t take?

Jesus’ words to YOU:

“I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve (past tense) received it, it will be yours.” Mark11:24

Then you might ask, “But Leigh-Ann, I am ready to take what I want, but I still don’t have it?”

That, I believe, is God protecting you. He will not give you what you cannot handle. For example, a mother won’t give her baby a piece of steak when the baby can only handle milk and soft baby food.

Another question might be, “Leigh-Ann, does this mean that I never have to study for a test again since God will just help me when I ask Him?”

That is not how God works either. He wants to and will help you unconditionally, yes. But, along with the gift of Grace, you have also been given many talents. 

And these talents you have to develop and mature in to fulfill His glorious plans for you. 

You can’t just sit back and let Him do all the work for you. I am sure He will do it out of complete love for you. But then you basically end up hiding your Godly talents and abilities…you end up being average… 

So study. Not so that He can help you, he will help regardless and if you allow it. But study so that you can grow into an influential individual who can change the world with the talents He has given to you.

 (The "study for a test" concept is only an example of where we think in terms of what we deserve. Where else in YOUR life do you think like this?)

Love

The Baptism-thing...

During the two years I have spent on my journey about what baptism is about and why I should do it, I have discovered the following:

Meaning of Baptism:

·         Rom 6:3-4:  Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

·        Col 2:11-12: 11When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

·        1 Pet 3: 18-21: 18Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.19So he went and preached to the spirits in prison—20those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. 21And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

To be baptized is to “die” of your old sinful life and to be risen again – to be born again. 

It’s like turning a new leaf once and for all.

Why it is a necessity as a believer to get baptized:

·         Mat 28:19: 19Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

·         Acts 2:38-39: 38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 

This is a decision. You cannot lose weight if you do not decide to start living a healthy lifestyle. But once you have decided, health is guaranteed. Do you want to be healthy?

Who can get baptized?

According to the Word, only those who have repent and who believe. (And ANYONE can repent and believe)

·         Mat 28:19: 19Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

·         Mark 16:16: 16Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved.

·         Acts 8:12: 12But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. 

·         Acts 2:38: 38Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

·         Acts 2:41: 41Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.

·         Acts 18:8: 8Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and everyone in his household believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard Paul, became believers, and were baptized.

How does one get baptized?

·         The word “baptize” is a translation of the Greek word that means “to dip” or “to submerge”

·         What the Bible says:

·         Mat 3:16

·         John 3:22-23

·         Acts 8:35-39

It is clear that one must go into/under the water to get baptized. 

This is why being baptized as a baby doesn't count - you are sprinkled, not dipped. And it is forced, not a choice YOU made. 

My baptism was a very personal and meaningful day.

I made the decision:

 not because I had to, but because I wanted to.

I wanted to repent of all of the things that I have done in my life that I wasn’t proud of;

I wanted to start living a life of blessings and abundance and joy and love.

My past held me back from letting go and being free, but repenting to God (not only for His forgiveness, but for forgiving myself as well) and getting baptized really did mark a new season of my life.

And without a doubt the BEST season of my life.

It doesn't mean that I am living a perfect life now; it means that because I once and for all committed to God and His way of thinking, I get to be renewed every single day. It is a decision I make regardless of the setbacks and the mistakes I make on a daily basis.

Sin has no hold on me anymore.

Not because I don’t sin anymore, but because when I do sin, I remind myself that I am 

born again – renewed in His love and grace and forgiveness – Every single day.

May the Holy Spirit guide you in your decision to get baptized and may you know that He will never do anything to harm you, but many things to bless and nurture you.

For more information, contact jannie@doxadeo.co.za