[before you start reading this blog . . . firstly its my blog and my opinion... i am speaking on behalf of myself and my viewpoint and not on behalf of anyone else.....secondly, i warn you, its about Israel and the current situation.....and i warn you i carry a strong opinion....if this is something you dont want to get into, then stop reading at this point.....]
Imagine a child sitting playing peacefully along the train tracks. his mom and dad standing beside him. its 9:55 am and the train passes through town everyday at 10am. A passer by, sees the child, checks his watch and knows the child must move.
the passer by goes to the parents, who don't seem to be making the child move and begs them to get their child off the tracks. the parents ignore the passer by. eventually, hearing the train in the distance the passer by goes to the child, warns him of the on coming train and helps him off the tracks. the parents scold the passer by and force the child back onto the tracks, the dad stands on one side of the tracks and the mom stands on the other side of the tracks and anytime the child tries to move off, they beat him and force him back in harms way. the train is sounding is horn, and sadly the child is killed.
when the press arrive the parents look distraught, tears are flowing, the mother appears inconsolable. ranting about how cruel the train driver and train were for killing her innocent son. the passer by tries to tell the true story but is silenced and accused of being insensitive. the news reports the train and its driver are at fault and their is anger and hostility that rises up against him. but not just against him, against the whole train company. and anger and violent protests rise up against them. the parents receive support and financial aid and people rally around, holding vigils and protests to comfort them and honor the loss of their son. . . .
it doesn't sound right or fair, now does it? and most of us if we heard the true story would be angry at the parents, and wouldn't buy into the line they were selling the tv cameras and press to gain support. we would stand by the train driver and the train and the passerby, and demand the parents be jailed for murder and for deliberately putting their innocent child in harms way and forcing him to stay there. . .
and yet, we stand and sympathize with Hamas, and shun Israel for loss of innoncent lives. Israel keeps its military bases seperate to its civilian bases. Hamas builds its weapon launching pads in schools, hospital and mosques. When Israel warns the civilian areas of an attack coming, because they need to destroy the launchers being used against themselves, ie they are DEFENDING themselves, Hamas forces its people to stay in dangers way, ending up in the loss of innocent lives. Hamas then raises up a public outcry and the world runs to its side because shame, the innocent are dead and the "train" [aka Israel is blamed.]
Yes its true Israel has had less loss of innocent lives, part of that is because God is supernaturally defending Israel and destroying rockets going in her direction. Part of that is because Israel allows its civilians to take shelter in bomb shelters. And part of that is because Israel keeps its military bases outside of civilian areas.
Yes its true, that there are too many innocent lives being lost in Palestine. and my heart grieves for them. i grieve not just over the fact that so many are dying. I grieve for them because their leaders, the ones they trust and who should be helping protect them and keep them safe, are deliberately forcing them into harms way and death, just so that they can create a propaganda against Israel. Just so that they can appear to be the bigger victims and gain more world support and sympathy. how do you, as leaders, beat your people who are trying to flee an area targeted by Israel. Israel drops fliers in advance warning the people that area will be attacked. and yet their own leaders force them to stay and die. . .
yes its true, i grieve over a world population who are blinded by deception and buy into propaganda without seeking truth. the truth is, Hamas is responsible for most of the innocent lives lost, which is sad because its their own people. the other truth is, if you are not prepared to learn truth, and side with truth, and are buying into the deception and propaganda. . . then you are supporting Hamas and all its terrors it is not only using against Israel but also against its own people, and you are equally guilty.
be warned, they are deceivers with one goal in mind, and they will use you now, to gain support, but once they are done with Israel, do you really think they wont come after you and your nation?
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
flesh gives birth to flesh but Spirit gives birth to spirit [John 3:6]
Some of you might have seen my recent rant on facebook this evening....for those of you who didnt.... here it is.... "is a desire godly or impure? love or lust? are you walking in the will of God, led by the Spirit or are you moving in the fruit of the flesh? A Tree is known by its fruit...so if manipulation, lying, deceitfulness, gossip, greed, theft, division etc are its fruit... the root is not of God, its pure flesh and lust.... too often we cloak our ideas in biblical debates from scriptures we want to use to justify but the truth is we are doing it for our own gain and out of our own fleshly desires, and the fruit will always reveal the truth...what does it profit a man if he gains the world but looses his soul?? how many are building their own kingdoms and calling it the kingdom of God... its time to take stock of our lives, our motives but more importantly our fruit and call the tree for what it is...Spirit or Flesh.... Love or Lust.... Godly or impure... #foodforthought"
this is something that has been on my heart for a long time....but from two different angles....and is something i am personally questioning myself on at the moment. . . looking at the fruit of different things i have been involved in, as a missionary....weighing up what has been for personal gain [not financial - missionaries dont get that - but possible status or emotional fulfilment etc] and what has genuinely been of God.... i have been challenged by locals as to the need to mention i am a missionary... is it a status thing, does it assert me as a leader or is it simply describing what i do? and this is just one of the many things that has caused me to question my motives and my heart in different tasks... i have also seen many a task fall to pieces and had to wonder if its because it was me moving in good ideas, even those that might seem biblical, or if they were things i was truly called to in God and i am just suffering persecution.... i am sure many of us will ask ourselves these questions from time to time....
i think a lot of it comes down to fruit.... what fruit is it producing in our lives.... Galatians 5 is one of the most quoted scriptures on this topic....
Galatians 5 : 6 - 26
For in Christ Jesusneither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. 7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11 Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! 13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Life by the Spirit
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
its a good tool to use to weigh up our fruit and where we stand and what the root of the tree is . . . but another big influence is our hearts...our motives....God says that our hearts are sinful beyond all else... and he also says that He along knows our hearts... [paraphrased from different scriptures]... many times we do things we supposedly good intentions but we do it in our own strength [which truthfully is flesh] and we tie God's hands and eventually produce bad fruit.... i have seen this so often [for eg] in my work i the orphanage. . . .i will be overwhelmed with compassion for a child who is disabled and rejected and i will knock on any door possible to try fix this problem. [i am a rescuer by nature and find it hard to not step in.... i NEED to help and rescue and solve and make it right]... i will approach foreign organisations for aid, try get the kid adopted, try adopt the kid myself, try establish the foster care system in my city just so i can take the kid into a home etc etc.... but more often than not, once i have exhausted myself and my contacts and got no results... i get to a place of realising there is nothing more.... and without fail at that point God steps in and does what He is best at and what is best for the child....
so much of what i have done [not all], has come from what i didnt know was in me.... a desire to fix, and often i move in my own strength and exhaust myself.... and i later look at the fruit, wonder why its spoiled, worm infested and falling off the tree....but thank God he has shown me [in this specific example] that i was moving in my own strength [flesh].... and not giving to Him and moving in faith and in the Spirit.....
i see too many christians in division in this city...it is what Elbasan is sadly known for.... to many Christians gossiping....to many church splits....to many scandals etc etc....bad bad fruit everywhere and i think a lot of it is cause we are not honest with our motives....and we push and clammer over each other to build our own names, our own kingdoms or to attain our own personal satisfaction or emotional fill and we do it in the name of God...
not all our work is that.... but there are definitely parts where our sin nature rules.... and too often its only once the fruit actually is produced, passed the deceptive bloom stage, where the flowers look all pretty and we can convince ourselves we are doing right or good.... but when the fruit comes in.... and its in that time, in that place that we need to make a choice....repent before God, cut the tree down, uproot it and start afresh.... or we continue to exhaust ourselves striving in the flesh to make our rotten fruit appear good....
i know its a heavy word.... but its something we should all, occasionally, take stock of...whether you are a minister, a missionary or an everyday christian we need to know that we will give an account to God for all our actions, .... our deeds will be tried by fire...
1 Corinthians 3 : 12 - 15
12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
its been a difficult pill too swallow for me in some areas....seeing my flesh running rampant... but also good to see the fruit that only God can produce in the areas He called me to and i leaned on Him and moved by faith in love.... i continously pray for discernment in my own life... i have allowed myself to become burnt out and dispondant because i have moved so much in my own strength... in doing so i have sometimes allowed sin and bad character to show itself through me and it hasnt been pretty... but i am eternally grateful that i can always come to Him in repentance, and know that He forgives me and that by His love, Spirit and Grace i can learnt to say no to ungodliness and sin and keep in step with His Spirit....
Lord help me stay in a place where i am totally dependant on you.... leaning on you...and not moving in my own flesh, creating fruit that will rot and decay or falling into sin through the deceptiveness of my motives.....give me an ear to hear what Your Spirit is saying for me as i seek you for the next season in my life..... Amen.
this is something that has been on my heart for a long time....but from two different angles....and is something i am personally questioning myself on at the moment. . . looking at the fruit of different things i have been involved in, as a missionary....weighing up what has been for personal gain [not financial - missionaries dont get that - but possible status or emotional fulfilment etc] and what has genuinely been of God.... i have been challenged by locals as to the need to mention i am a missionary... is it a status thing, does it assert me as a leader or is it simply describing what i do? and this is just one of the many things that has caused me to question my motives and my heart in different tasks... i have also seen many a task fall to pieces and had to wonder if its because it was me moving in good ideas, even those that might seem biblical, or if they were things i was truly called to in God and i am just suffering persecution.... i am sure many of us will ask ourselves these questions from time to time....
i think a lot of it comes down to fruit.... what fruit is it producing in our lives.... Galatians 5 is one of the most quoted scriptures on this topic....
Galatians 5 : 6 - 26
For in Christ Jesusneither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. 7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11 Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! 13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Life by the Spirit
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
its a good tool to use to weigh up our fruit and where we stand and what the root of the tree is . . . but another big influence is our hearts...our motives....God says that our hearts are sinful beyond all else... and he also says that He along knows our hearts... [paraphrased from different scriptures]... many times we do things we supposedly good intentions but we do it in our own strength [which truthfully is flesh] and we tie God's hands and eventually produce bad fruit.... i have seen this so often [for eg] in my work i the orphanage. . . .i will be overwhelmed with compassion for a child who is disabled and rejected and i will knock on any door possible to try fix this problem. [i am a rescuer by nature and find it hard to not step in.... i NEED to help and rescue and solve and make it right]... i will approach foreign organisations for aid, try get the kid adopted, try adopt the kid myself, try establish the foster care system in my city just so i can take the kid into a home etc etc.... but more often than not, once i have exhausted myself and my contacts and got no results... i get to a place of realising there is nothing more.... and without fail at that point God steps in and does what He is best at and what is best for the child....
so much of what i have done [not all], has come from what i didnt know was in me.... a desire to fix, and often i move in my own strength and exhaust myself.... and i later look at the fruit, wonder why its spoiled, worm infested and falling off the tree....but thank God he has shown me [in this specific example] that i was moving in my own strength [flesh].... and not giving to Him and moving in faith and in the Spirit.....
i see too many christians in division in this city...it is what Elbasan is sadly known for.... to many Christians gossiping....to many church splits....to many scandals etc etc....bad bad fruit everywhere and i think a lot of it is cause we are not honest with our motives....and we push and clammer over each other to build our own names, our own kingdoms or to attain our own personal satisfaction or emotional fill and we do it in the name of God...
not all our work is that.... but there are definitely parts where our sin nature rules.... and too often its only once the fruit actually is produced, passed the deceptive bloom stage, where the flowers look all pretty and we can convince ourselves we are doing right or good.... but when the fruit comes in.... and its in that time, in that place that we need to make a choice....repent before God, cut the tree down, uproot it and start afresh.... or we continue to exhaust ourselves striving in the flesh to make our rotten fruit appear good....
i know its a heavy word.... but its something we should all, occasionally, take stock of...whether you are a minister, a missionary or an everyday christian we need to know that we will give an account to God for all our actions, .... our deeds will be tried by fire...
1 Corinthians 3 : 12 - 15
12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
its been a difficult pill too swallow for me in some areas....seeing my flesh running rampant... but also good to see the fruit that only God can produce in the areas He called me to and i leaned on Him and moved by faith in love.... i continously pray for discernment in my own life... i have allowed myself to become burnt out and dispondant because i have moved so much in my own strength... in doing so i have sometimes allowed sin and bad character to show itself through me and it hasnt been pretty... but i am eternally grateful that i can always come to Him in repentance, and know that He forgives me and that by His love, Spirit and Grace i can learnt to say no to ungodliness and sin and keep in step with His Spirit....
Lord help me stay in a place where i am totally dependant on you.... leaning on you...and not moving in my own flesh, creating fruit that will rot and decay or falling into sin through the deceptiveness of my motives.....give me an ear to hear what Your Spirit is saying for me as i seek you for the next season in my life..... Amen.
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