Romans 1

This one just put a smile on my face. I am a Creflo Dollar fan, I watch him daily and by the grace of God, I have benefitted from his devotion to spending time with God, hearing from him and delivering what he has to say to some of us. Watching him has made it less frightening to allow God to use me as someone who will transfer small to large revelations to small to large groups. I have come to realize that it is not skill, talent or eloquence based, but simply the willingness and a final resolution that nothing else will do than to just be used by God everywhere you are (this realization has really made me a better and happier me). It is so amazing how God has effortlessly taught me that I do not need a pulpit to do what he has called me, sometimes all I will need is to get into a taxi and greet someone and by the end of the journey he would have manifested himself. Think of all the times that God has just taken over a conversation, right then and there you where unconsciously meeting a need, filling a void, answering a question, mending a broken heart and giving hope to what seemed like a hopeless situation. The beauty of all this is that we may never know the impact we have and through humility on our part, God continues to work through our loud mouths and overactive imaginations.

Creflo Dollar was revealing some of the revelations that God has dropped into his spirit about the grace of God being revealed in Rome. I muted him after he read Romans 1 because I knew then and there that God was speaking to you and I here. I went back, and started from the beginning. See, I love this God, given the chance; he will just do some awesome things in your mind and life. Gentle brother Paul, I think I will name one of the twins Paul and the other Paulina or Paulette hey. Ok, back to the juicy stuff: Paul was just knocking really, doing his introductions and here, God got me.  There is a new dimension of understanding God and this dimension revolves around us. I have this little motto I live by “Discovering God; finding Me”. When we seek and are so eager to really know who we are, what we have been interwoven with, our complexities, flaws, strengths and greatest attributes, it can only be through knowing God. My friend Maropeng always says “Modimo re ka se mo fetje” “we will never conclude, completely comprehend or be finished so to say, in knowing God”.

What I absolutely love is how he continues to bring himself to our attention and teaches us heaps of himself in the smallest most intricate ways. Paul in his introduction reveals so much that just tickles my spine lol. Allow me to only play around verses 1 to 7, I am using my old purple high school NIV Bible neh: Romans 1:1-7 goes a little like this “ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God- 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in holy scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendent of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”

My good God. I recall saying that repetition is profitable for our growth. If you have read or heard me say this, I will repeat it: “you too honey, are also among those who are called to belong to Jesus”. Identity issues aside, called to belong (I love this belong word, it is so beautiful, not binding but humbling attaching, you know!!) to Jesus as full view. You are what you belong to and what you eat hehehehe Pastor Joshua. No trained and qualified police officer reports or carries out any duties without belonging to a certain force or team or institution. Here are some things that screamed out to me when reading this:

Ø  The gospel was promised to us and then so beautifully documented and delivered, God does indeed keep his promises.

Ø  Certain people will be singled out, appointed and placed to deliver that gospel.

Ø  Only the spir

it of holiness will make the declaration of who Jesus is, and ultimately who we are. This spirit of holiness will single out all our deaths (dying to self on various sectors of our growth) and our resurrections (portions God has brought back to life, figuratively and literally).

Ø  It is only for his names’ sake that we receive grace, like there is really nothing we can ever do, good, better, best or amazingly so that can earn us the grace of God than the name and its sake, Jesus Christ. 

I hope and trust God that you will see more from this post than what I managed to put down, I love love love loving you. 

Foundations

There is something that has been surfacing in my life recently, Foundations. You know, we are a product of the seed. Pastors always say that you can never plant tomato seeds and peaches grow out of that. The foundation of something will showcase its end result. I come from a line of God-fearing women who loved and served God. It is only on one side of my family that I am fully aware and informed of such things. Fortunately I got the chance to have my grandmother with me almost all the time till I was 13. In between her national and international  ministry sprees and conferences, founding and being kept busy by The Wednesday Women’s Prayer Ministry and Beulah Prayer Tower and children’s shelter, she was my reason for being excited to go home after school. We fought quite often because she was old and I was very young. With every fight, came a story of her child hood or someone in the Bible. Koko R Sello, the model of who I am.

My mom epitomizes faith.  Like how after our car accident the doctors said I would never walk and her and my sister Peggy declared, prayed and trained me back to being a normal walking person, scars and all. She oozes of faith. Really, there are currently no words I have to describe the foundations my mother built up for me in my child hood; this is a post on its own.  I am most grateful for foundations that dressed me up for Sunday school, kicking and screaming most Sunday mornings, I am grateful for the El Shaddai Youth camps that they sent me to, even though I was the youngest and most demanding person there.  I am grateful for the prayer’s I’d get. My grandma did not play such games as being sick, you where sick, we pray first before you take medication. These are tiny principles with huge effects. I am so grateful for the foundations of trying to read her weird handwriting on all the notes she made during her devotions and sermon preparations. My mom has this habit of waking me up via phone call to wake pray, that time I was about to hug Brat Pitt in my dream and I just want to slam my phone against the wall, but we wake up, and pray. For whatever the Holy Spirit impresses on our hearts. 

Our foundations do not await our teen years where we go crazy, explore the opposite gender, taste alcohol, smoke this and that, get into a night party, steal the car, become rebellious. Once, my mom refused me to go to Monique’s house, I got so mad, I told them I would go, she thought I was kidding. We all went to bed; I got up, changed and left. My poor mother was so frustrated, she couldn’t even say anything at 02h00 in the morning I was waiting for my friends at the corner. She just politely asked me to come home. That night defined the 42 year generation gap between her and I. When we all sit and discuss my teen years, my sister Lerato and I laugh till we are breathless. Her and I where one mean team. Our foundations though, are clearly seen today. She is an awesome woman of God, happily married, good job, with a crazy little Greek speaking 1 year old son. I am rising on eagles wings in so many dimensions.

God being God has remained faithful in teaching us all that we know, and has allowed us to go through funny, dangerous and even worthy challenges and stages that have pruned us to be the queens we are today. Our parents need a thank you gift for the foundations of teaching us about father Abraham and talking donkeys in the Numbers 22, my when my mom taught me about that I laughed so hard it irritated her. Here I was thinking these kinds of situations are found only in cartons. Our parents need to be reminded that who we have turned out to be is really in so many ways a result of their prayers. I recall not understanding how my mom can pray effortlessly in Sepedi, I would open my eyes and just stare at the ease of expression, and here I was juggling Modimo ntate and sweet heavenly father (I should have taken Sepedi in school hey). See, these are the minute things that have taught me the ease and joy of expressing myself to a God who created even languages. We are a product of our foundations. Thank your folks for your foundations honey.

Circumcision????

A word that is often related to the cutting of young boy’s foreskin has now been given a new meaning in my life. “Lord circumcise my heart to become righteous”. Can I just say, this sentence did a new thing in my life, something I am yet to fully understand. So here is my heart, not the literal and physical organ that God plugged into my chest. My heart, the part of me that is interwoven with my will, that part that stores the most intricate matters of my entire life, that container that stores all that comes out of my mouth. The shell that protects and hides my intensions and always guides me. “Listen to your heart, it will guide you, it inspires your gut feeling.” You know that phrase. Putting it in a silver platter with diamond decorations and handing it over to God and begging him to circumcise it into righteousness, stability, assurance and maturity.

This request, I have to say, is a bold one. I am typing this looking at the after effects this type of request has done in my life. Someone please hand me a mic, an usher and a glass of water, I need to testify: “saints of my awesome Father and King, my name is Sandra, my name is also Greek for unheeded prophetess. The meaning of my name does not tell of just a spiritual gift, but of the condition, unheeded. I am not revealed yet saints, I am a work in progress and I am going through the process of circumcision, painful, real, and boldly bearable. God has cut off the unnecessary skin on my heart. He has done great things. He has weaned me off of milk products; he has certified me to now chew on the meat meal he serves me. He has circumcised my will, he has trimmed my dreams, and he is pruning my life.” I will stop there saints (hehehehe this saints word neh, so old school serious).

I see something that just sent chills down my spine in Genesis 17:14 ‘And the uncircumcised child man whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant’ so these little boys could not get any acceptance as worthy souls without being circumcised. My good Lord. I just love how the script changes so beautifully concerning the issue of circumcision in Romans 4:11 ‘And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the Father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also.’

 

Did someone see righteousness pop up again. Honey, this God is on a mission, to bring you and I up from which ever level we are nestling in, into a dimension of righteousness. Righteousness that suits him as a garment of our lives as his agents on earth. You have been destined to not only ooze of his love and splendorous image, but to walk in righteousness. We are being circumcised on a daily, to mature and rise up from the concepts that we espoused as true. God is challenging our intellect, he is shifting our minds. God is not putting us through this process for the sheer joy of it, but to transform and mold us into vessels that are useful and profitable for his people. We have been commissioned to ‘Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah… in Jeremiah 4:4’. Philippians 3:3 says ‘For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, we rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.’

I rest my case; we serve an amazing God who is on another mission far beyond what we can comprehend. He does not even bother himself much with the layers of foreskins that we are clingy to and sometimes unable to let go of. He is just faithful, to work on us even when we fail to play our part. He does not disown his own character, the Bible says. I am just in awe. Sing with me and J. MOSS as I close this laptop and get ready to start my day:

I’m restored and I’ve been rewarded

I’m redeemed from guilt and shame

Never rejected, just reconnected.

Now I’m exalted, because I know his name

P.s I love you

Cain's Anger, our lesson

God was speaking to Cain. That guy who killed his only brother then. We all know Cain. Some hate his guts, many don’t understand him and even more have used him as a great example to “be my (their) brother’s keeper”. God used Cain to teach me one of the most important things I think I will ever learn. I am a passionate person; many people I know are just like me. I am passionate, unfortunately with even the wrong things at times. Anger for one. This is not an easy post to type but I am sure God is achieving more than I can comprehend right now with it. The other day I become so annoyed, in fact very angry, I went to bed fuming. I could not even sleep. I cried, wiped my tears, rolled over a million times, switched the radio on, made a long phone call to Maropeng, read a magazine and then I realized, the sun was coming up. Boy was I pissed off. Jehovah.

It was not too long after that, that I came across this scripture. Before I came across it though, I exhausted myself to a halt of madness because of my anger. After a sleepless night, I “woke” up, bathed, did not even have breakfast and walked all the way from my house to the cemetery (and my is that a distance, when I pass by it in the taxi I just laugh at that stunt). Not to visit anyone, I just realized after two hours that I was actually just walking aimlessly. I had remembered to grab my bag and laptop bag with me. I was just like some zombie who had no assignment on earth. A family of four found me, I had a blister and decided aowa Refilwe, sit down, found a shade in front of the cemetery and just sat down like I’m waiting for someone. The family gave me a lift into town.  I was so exhausted. I realized then that anger is doing nothing but ruining my life. It’s not healthy or safe either.

Cain was one angry dude (lol I know males hate this word). In Genesis 4:6-7 God firmly reminds him of something important:

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do not do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it”

One of the aftermaths of what I did was driving my worried boyfriend a little insane, I am glad my mom does not know about this.  This too was not right. God speaks of acceptance. For Cain it was the reason for his anger but for me is acceptance from him. God loves us. He cares for us. He wants us to come to him even when we are furious. This was more of him saying: ‘banna Refilwe, I love you so much, should you really be so drenched in anger that you can’t even discern that I ACCEPT you with that mountain heap of anger?” being angry is normal and purely natural. Anger in itself serves a great and profitable purpose of changing and challenging us. I am sure you have learnt of the positive attributes of anger. My anger though was NOT right. It was not supposed to have gone that far. I have done some even more crazy things in the name of my now ex-boyfriend Mr. Anger and now I am grateful of this firm, yet painfully disciplining word  of my Father through Cain’s account.

He says that sin crouches at my door because of anger. You know that annoying thing that happens when you cook something (like tripe) then in a short space of time, there are black little noisy friends (flies) lurking around and crouching in the kitchen. Yes. That’s what anger does. It attracts sin. Sin against ourselves and ultimately God.  I always say this and I will repeat it, I am being born again and saved, delivered and enticed by God on a daily basis. I am almost certain I will come across something that makes me really angry soon, please, if you meet me and I am furious, remind me of this post or buy me a bucket of strawberry Turkish cubes neh. I will though and I hope you do too, learn and go over and over what God is saying here.

I trust that you concur.

Love you.

That LOVE thing again.

This one is for the ladies. But I am certain some guy out there will benefit from it. I want I want I want I want hehehehe. Sorry gents. Bear with us.

“A man who can't think straight when he hasn't heard my voice all day and can't sleep if I aint on his side, yep, that's what I want. I don't want logic in my "love", I want passion. I want an all or nothing relationship, without secrets, power struggles or games.” –that Tyler Perry movie

I don't want to squat in it but be kept on my toes in it. I want to grow, be told I'm wrong and then accepted that I have flaws I can overcome. I want to invest my time and energy in learning who he is, why he is that way, sit through his struggles and cheer lead him to his victories. He will be my confidante but not my completion, my complement not my everything. I want to believe we can get through the toughest moments and that when I cry, it’s not going to send him running but he will man up and stay because he deems it or me worthy. 

 I want this because I feel ready to dive into the risk. I've allowed myself to dwell in the "I don’t trust anyone, my heart has been broken" seat, but now I'm willing to lay myself on the chopping  board and trust that anything is possible yet wish for the best.

 

 As cliché as this may sound, I'm on that " I dare u to let me be your one and only, promise I'm worth to hold in your arms so give me a chance to prove I am the one who can walk that mile....until the end, I know it aint easy and nobody is perfect" tip.

I want to invest faith in him. I don't want to settle for anything less than my best friend-wrestling-partner-dance-mate-gym-partner level relationship. I want to find a trampoline and do crazy splits on it with him. I want to explore foreign cuisine with him, write a rap song lol and perform it. I want to explore his fears and mine, as if they aren't fears, challenge the norm.

 I don't want to find comfort in us but in the thrill of knowing I belong as an original, and I want him to know, with both our past mistakes, being with him is all that matters. I want him to understand that anything can happen if we just take the chance.

 

 I want to motivate him, shake him up. Be free! A start of something new.

Sandra Refilwe Sello Maphoto.

Anew dawn

Sometimes when I come to a clearer or a new realization of something, it tends to blow my mind away a little to a point of no return. There’s this sweet atmosphere I’m sent into when I become convicted. Many a times when I am in that state I fail to put my thoughts into words like I am doing now. After a while though, I am able to pack up and categorize things in my mind that way I can be able to articulate my train of thought. This is one of those moments. I’ve entitled this a new dawn because really, that’s exactly what it is. See the power of revelation is one: time. It never made sense to me why back in primary school there where divisions according to intellectual ability, why we had to be classified according to how we are able to grasp what we are taught but now I fully understand. The reason I am bringing this up is because many people who become confident enough to share (blogs, statuses, emails etc) what they learn are at the risk of being undermined or judged, simply because what is a new dawn to me this morning, was a new dawn to one reader two and a half months ago.

The teachers must have realized that it’s only best that the smarter kids get a teacher who is able to deal with their drama; I assume they were the ones with the weirdest character traits (if you get what I mean). And the ones who took a little more repetition to grasp certain concepts would need a patient and smooth teacher, these, I noticed where the very energetic, street smart, social butterflies, who where experts in other fields of life such as the social, communication, creative arts and practical activities such as sports, dramas, dance and so forth. There was always a mix breed who were simply a balanced type. These kids could manage to win academically and otherwise. They too needed a well rounded and neutral teacher. Look, I am not an expert in what I just said but I trust that my point came across. We are different and need to hone in ourselves the kill to have patience and acceptance for other people, their flaws their pace, their abilities or the lack of them, their expertise and their setbacks.

I learnt this with my niece and nephew. Tebello (Junior) aged 17 is an academic, I live with them so its been a lot easier to study them and know how to relate to them. He is not very talkative. He cannot, for the life in him, do any labor related chores; they strain his entire life lol. I know how to get to him through conversation. He is smart you see, a firm leader and a strict yet fun folk. He is also very analytical and a big critic. Nothing that’s faulty goes past him unnoticed. He is my very own walking dictionary. The twist with him is that he is so well read that he now knows a lot of history and current trends through many fraternities. One minute we debating politics in Syria the next he is telling me how the melody in that song would have been better if they scaled it down at the climax and not at the beginning. An hour later, he is telling me how that Pastor actually mentioned something the NIV Bible omitted. Soon he is going on about how some rare fish species has been discovered to have a cure for some toxic disease in Kenya. 

 

Phehello (Asher), my darling 9 year old drama queen is very artistic, passes all her subjects well, but always causes a serious imbalance. Her languages are always lower than her maths. She can calculate anything, though she struggles, given a formula or not, she will finally get it. It’s not as effortless for her as it is for Junior. Could be the age thing, but I am judging this on, say ability. Make Phehello listen to a disc once, and the next time we are in the car she is singing along like she heard it thrice. She is such a performer. Sometimes I just watch her and not say anything, and she can go on dancing a routine we saw in a movie earlier like she choreographed it. She is awesome when it comes to anything artistic. She fell in love with the guitar in grade 2 and when she holds it and starts playing, I just stare. On the flip side, as a social butterfly I see that it takes more effort for me to get her to sit still or focus on something ‘boring” such as reading a long story, she would rather get a pencil and sketch a new hairdo or dress design for the princess in that story, unlike Junior, who since he could read, was always buried in some sort of book. 

When I started typing, the aim was to tell of a new dawn in my life but I’ve diverted with reason. So let me pose a challenge to any and everyone reading this: Patience. Who is it out there that you just don’t understand. Someone who irritates you or you simply cannot “get”? Have you considered the difference between the two of you; have you tried to find a way to make your character traits, abilities or inabilities gel well together? Or have you just given up and do all you can to avoid that person? I laugh when I think given the chance and grace many of whom I have given up on could be my closest friends or now closer to me like Junior and Asher are. Someone somewhere out there is your future something and you haven’t followed the example of your teachers, who took it upon themselves to learn and deal with you specifically.

J I hope you concur.

Independence

 

www.merriam –webster.com defines the word Independence as freedom from outside control or support: the state of being independent: competence.

I was reading another one of gentle brother Paul’s letters to the Romans. This letter has an overall theme of FREEDOM. Here he basically teaches them of a life of freedom when one begins to believe in the answers that come from Jesus Christ to all their life’s concerns. In Romans 7 from verses 7 right through to 25 he speaks about the struggle with sin. After reading it, one word popped into my thoughts: INDEPENDENCE. The way in which this gentle fella, {I have a feeling he was handsome too ladies hehehehe} takes responsibility for the contribution he himself has on the issue of sin shows us the competence of his understanding of the two entities that are waging war inside him. I really just love how he shows independence of thoughts and deeds and then simultaneously teaches us the power in relying on Jesus. See for me this is one lesson that not only grows my faith but instills a zeal to become independent and responsible (remember the concept of I CARE).  The other day as I was chatting to my mentor, we came to an awesome agreement about truth. Truth is different to all people. We don’t all espouse truth at the same pace, level or condition. She said to me: “everyone needs to search out and find their own truth, and then own it”. That stuck in my mind for a long while.

In becoming independent human beings, we need to realize that independence is not only restricted to our finances, transportation or lodging but it includes and is not limited to our influence. What we entertain most, we reflect most. In claiming independence we have to make thorough introspection, analyze what we are fed, by whom and how and then see just how much we reflect. Like books for instance, when you have read something, how much of what you apply from it is independent. I’ve read books and have even been strictly taught to do certain things. Then away from the pages and the lesson I realize, this is not my truth, this is really not working out for me. It’s a winning formula for many but It’s really killing me and not helping me. We need to own up to our own truths. It’s not easy, I’m not sure there actually is anything that’s just easily attained nje. It isn’t easy but it sure is worthy. Ok, back to Paul.  In Romans 7:14-25 he speaks of himself with so much accountability that just impresses me. He is also showing us a strong principle of sin and that it is only through Jesus Christ that we will find ourselves becoming SLAVES to God’s law.  I trust that God will reveal more to you than accountability, competence and independence as you read this scripture.

Romans 7: 14  We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am a creature of the flesh [carnal, unspiritual], having been sold into slavery under [the control of] sin. 15  For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled, bewildered]. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe [which my moral instinct condemns]. 16  Now if I do [habitually] what is contrary to my desire, [that means that] I acknowledge and agree that the Law is good (morally excellent) and that I take sides with it. 17  However, it is no longer I who do the deed, but the sin [principle] which is at home in me and has possession of me. 18  For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.] 19  For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing. 20  Now if I do what I do not desire to do, it is no longer I doing it [it is not myself that acts], but the sin [principle] which dwells within me [fixed and operating in my soul]. 21  So I find it to be a law (rule of action of my being) that when I want to do what is right and good, evil is ever present with me and I am subject to its insistent demands. 22  For I endorse and delight in the Law of God in my inmost self [with my new nature]. 23  But I discern in my bodily members [in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh] a different law (rule of action) at war against the law of my mind (my reason) and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs [in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh]. 24  O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death? 25  O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart, serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

ADOPTION

So here’s the thing, when I grow up I want to be a mom to 5 children, a boy, a girl and then a set of twins. And when the twins are in matric, I want to adopt a little girl. Can people not judge me? Thanks.  The concept of adoption is not as easy as it sounds; it’s a sensitive thing to do and demands a lot of responsibility. I have gone to the lengths of googling the different agencies in South Africa and I now know what my husband and I will have to endure to bring our bundle of joy back home.  I actually cant wait, even though it’s almost 2 decades away.  God has entrusted me with a heart that just adores and cherishes children, in all the stages of their lives and he is still working on smaller character traits I seem to lack a little like patience. Oh Lord help me, my husband comes home and finds I’ve locked them out on the balcony because they wasted my time lol.

Adoption as it stands is really taking responsibility and ownership of something or someone who was originally not belonging to you. It is taking ownership indeed. It involves a lot of love and devotion. If there is no full commitment from your part, the process really just fails.  The definition on the Adoption S.A website says:” the legal act o permanently placing a child with a parent or parents other then the child’s biological mother or father. A legal adoption order has the effect of terminating the parental rights of the birth mother or father while transferring the parental rights and responsibilities to the adoptive parents. The adopted child must, for all intents and purposes, be regarded as the child of the adoptive parents.”

Now all of this made me understand the true meaning of Galatians 4:4-8. It truly blesses me that in as much as I want to bring into our hearts and home, a little vulnerable baby girl, whom God will enable me to raise into a virtuous woman of God, he did the very same for me. This just, how do I say, it blesses me. I find so much pleasure in the thought of his love for you and I. See, this God is purely awesome, don’t be convinced otherwise. He is just God all the time. Here is Galatians 4:4-8 so you get what I am raving about. Enjoy: 

Galatians 4:4  But when the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born subject to [the regulations of] the Law, 5  To purchase the freedom of (to ransom, to redeem, to atone for) those who were subject to the Law, that we might be adopted and have sonship conferred upon us [and be recognized as God’s sons]. 6  And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the [Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba (Father)! Father! 7  Therefore, you are no longer a slave (bond servant) but a son; and if a son, then [it follows that you are] an heir by the aid of God, through Christ. 8  But at that previous time, when you had not come to be acquainted with and understand and know the true God, you [Gentiles] were in bondage to gods who by their very nature could not be gods at all [gods that really did not exist].

 

I care

J.M Farro, an awesome lady I follow said this: "Christians can't afford to have an attitude that says--"I don't care what anyone thinks. I'm going to do what I want, and look the way I want!" We are not just responsible to ourselves, but we are first and foremost responsible to our God. And if we will make it our goal to honor Him with every aspect of our lives, He will bless us, promote us, and use us to make an eternal difference in this world!" She made it seem so simply but I just love the detail in this simplicity. It got me thinking on so many levels. Our conduct and diction for one. Our character traits, our choice of appearance too. I also thought of our reputations, what we are known for, our "flock" *birds of a feather...you know". All this caused me to remember a set of questions I recall reading:
1. Can you ask your friends to pray for you?
2. Will they earnestly and effectively petition God on your behalf?
3. Will they claim the promises of God for you when you have a need?
4.Do they encourage your walk with the Lord?
5. Do they inspire you to come up higher in your walk with God?
6. Do they love what God loves, and hate what God hates?
7. Do they have the same values that you do?
8.Do they believe the Word of God, and apply its principles to their lives?
9. Does the Lord have first place in their lives?
*Pause*
I then had some funny link in my mind. See for me, associations are very important, I think I've mentioned this in a previous post. And now these questions just made me realize that J.M's above statement, as simple as it may seem, can become a complex situation on our parts because of factors and influences such as friends and loved ones.
 When she speaks of us being responsible to our God, I'd like to think that this responsibility is dominantly affected by our surroundings and our current mind sets. These needless to say, being affected by the people we keep, entertain and get "influenced" *that word again* by.
I had a very careless "I don't care aTtitude" early in high school, it gained me a fanemy (enemy fans hehehe) base and hardened my heart. It was as a result of so many factors, from lacking a father figure to puberty, rebellion, associations, media, "the cool things" etc.
Fortunately I soon outgrew it as soon as my mom removed me from one school to a Christian private school kicking and screaming.
I felt lost when I got there, suddenly there was less people around me, topics amongst peers was way different, they enjoyed worship and praying, they memorized scripture weekly, they had outreach mission trips to other countries, they had counseling courses and spiritual dance. It took a while to get used to but one out many things I realized, was the fading of an attitude that did not just take responsibility for itself but was as J.M responsible to God too.
I loved being there as equally as I loved leaving to explore a new world for my matric year with my experience. I was equipped as a strong and passionate leader. One with an "I care" attitude.
A chunk of the old attitude still remained in me and though I eventually entirely outgrew it, it still caused some damage.
This was my journey from one deep perspective of life to a deeper but more clear, crystal clear rather one.
"I care what people think of the God in Me, I will do and definitely say what I want, if its what represents Him well, I will look the way I think he looks (through me as another part of His image)

 My God.

Sin is?????

I subscribe with Andrew Wommack Daily Devotionals and if my memory serves me well, this is one of the things I received early last year from one of the emails. Just thought I should share.

'We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart'

There is a mean streak in Christianity today and it’s not against anybody but ourselves. Christianity is not a settle in, live in peace with the world the way it is 'Religion'.

Nobody goes to hell because of Satan. The only reason we go to hell is sin. Much more important than fighting Satan is fighting sin.

“What is sin?
It is the glory of God not honored.
The holiness of God not referenced.
The greatness of God not admired.
The power of God not praised.
The truth of God not sought.
The wisdom of God not esteemed.
The beauty of God not treasured.
The goodness of God not savored.
The faithfulness of God not trusted.
The commandments of God not obeyed.
The justice of God not respected.
The wrath of God not feared.
The grace of God not cherished.
The presence of God not prized.
The person of God not loved.
That is sin.”

All sins are attempts to fill a void. If you are full of Jesus far from a void you will have a fountain inside welling up to bless others!
The gospel awakens sorrow for sin by awakening a savor for God.

May God make many of you, out there into those who are clearly sold out to God. One reason to admire and trust Jesus above all persons is that He knows more than anyone else. John 2:24

---One great power of sin is that it blinds men so that they do not recognize its true character.
---Temptation usually comes in through a door that has deliberately been left open.
---God is not against us because of our sin. He is with us against our sin.

Shalom. The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible. J

I want to be blind.

Blindness is tragic; it’s even more tragic when it appears after having full, clear and undoubted vision. Blindness requires full dependence on an external source, so much so that you may end up forgetting yourself, realizing that in your own accord, you are and may never be able to do certain things yourself. I want to be blind.

Blindness enhances faith and allows the hope in us, which anchors our souls, to yield to God. Blindness is stagnance that only moves at the sound of a voice. Blindness is humbling, it is surrender, it makes a life constantly seek a clear path, and it keeps one in the lane of completely trusting.

Blindness matures us to know the difference between sight and vision, a life of seeing in another dimension. I want to be blind. blind to all that God is not showing me, Blind to all that I am unable to do by myself so that all I can depend on, is all that he can achieve through me, Blind so that in myself I can rely only on God, Blind so that he may be my eyes and ears.

oh how I hope I am not misunderstood here.

SALVATION

This is another one of the pieces I had emailed myself just to keep it for the future. That future is now. Its as though I’d known I would end up a blogger the way I kept saving these little babies. I recall I sent it to Thabiso after he told me of a woman who sat at home for over a year saying she has salvation so God will drop a job on a lap. That irritated me because she said these things to people who had very little respect for Christians already and we were just a laughing stock because of “salvation and faith”. I did not want to defend the Christian faith but to just clarify what I had been taught salvation is nje.  

This is my short summary of what I think Salvation is, I've seen it become a complex topic and one highly questionable, but like all other things, it can be simplified. Here goes:
1. Only Jesus has the real power to bring change in the lives of so many who were previously without hope [or living each and every day in the world's standard, so highly focused on things that don't profit, mature or challenge them to become better people].
2. And only Christ can give us what we so desperately lack [and often what we think we have or what we think we don't need], which is freedom from the penalty of sin.
3. Jesus replaces hearts focused on the things of this world, with hearts sensitive to the things of God [this should not be confused with some stupid things people do in the name of focusing on God and them replacing hard work and reality with faith].
4. Hearts which bear the fruits of a life saved from death [simply choosing all things 'death-related' in our lives,  from thoughts, our language, right through to our habits and everything in between with the 'fruits of the Spirit' check Galatians 5:22 onwards].
As Christians we are filled with the Holy Spirit [check out John. 16:5-15].
Our lives after salvation take on a whole new view of the world and a new purpose and focus [purposed @ channelling us to be better people, spiritually, academically, financially, emotionally, psychologically, socially and ethically lol].  Sandra Refilwe Sello 22 November 2012

Not too sure why I placed a lol at the end there when I typed this but I’ll leave it there.

 

Thank you for your time.

P.S “Fruits of the spirit are actions that come from maturity or spiritual growth.”

Cancer



Cancer, known medically as malignant neoplasm is a broad group of diseases involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby body parts. The cancer may also spread to more distant body parts of the body through the lymphatic system or bloodstream. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer said.  Yester night I couldn’t fall asleep, don’t wonder why. I like all other female species tend to go through these compulsory nights of so called Insomnia but really it’s just involuntary circumstances. Anyway, somehow as I was reading and keeping my mind occupied I discovered a Pastor living with Cancer. His name is Jack Miller and in between reading his blog posts last night and now, I’ve concluded, wherever he is in the world, he is one of those awesome believers. Those people that go through certain things but have unshaken faith. I find myself being so blown away but such people. They challenge me and encourage me so much I don’t think I can clearly explain their impact inside me really.

Among his writings I came across this: “True faith is a testimony in our hearts and lives as to what God has said and what God has done. The Christian is a witness; we are not attorneys. A witness tells what he knows, an attorney argues a point.  A witness needs not argue. True faith therefore, from the witness of truth, brings the message of eternity to a finite world for all the world to hear.” This just cleared so much air in my heart. I have entitled this post Cancer not because of Pastor Miller but because it is one of the things I have recently been bumping into quite often recently. I have a cousin who survived it and each time I think of Keneilwe my heart just rejoices and I find myself doing my famous happy bum jive. My best friend lost a close friend of hers recently to it.

During the health seminar at church on Friday, Basil Gold, a world renowned health specialist, spoke in depth about it. There are more than enough scientific and medical examples available for this disease, I don’t have the acumen to even attempt to get into it. Cancer though, has had me thinking, about my life, on a personal and Spiritual aspect. The above definition from Wikipedia speaks of an “uncontrollable division and growth of cells”. So the body cannot control this. So similar to many of the things I have gone through. Uncontrollable situations and events, circumstances that just made me back off and accept defeat.  There are so many ways I can go about explaining this to you. Today let me go through this route: God is amazing. See Jack Miller points out something so profound about true faith. I love how in a nutshell he taught me to not focus on myself or my challenges but on the testimony of this amazing father. He made me come to a realization that I am not assigned to argue or plead the case of my faith to anything or anyone but testifies. A testimony comes after you have seen something move, or rather that’s what I have been told, but here I learn to testify in faith before and amidst, about God.

Cancer causes tumors, these are harmful and they weaken and demoralize the build-up of the entire body irrespective of their size. I have seen myself and those around me being affected by challenges just like these tumors. It’s a situation of hopelessness. It’s just a messy position of feeling defeated. Today I type this as a grateful apprentice of the gospel. Grateful to Cancer for teaching me the skill and the life of a testimony. Sometimes our testimonies will fight our battles. When you testify of your omnipotent God amidst malignant tumors, the confession of your lips sealed by your true faith do something somewhat magical. I think there are a few more posts that will follow regarding Cancer. My prayer is that out of this post, you too learnt something, even if it’s one tiny lesson.

I am challenged.