Bring Your Child up in the Ways of The Lord
"Bring your child up in the ways of the Lord and they shall not depart."
The Blessings of Children
Today I was blessed as I started to explore some faces on facebook. No it was not just any faces but rather faces from some of the youth from years ago that attended our local church.
In particular, I took a look at some of the youth that grew up at the same time as my daughter and who were on fire for God and some of those who were considered to be rebels.
To my surprise, the local group of friends, are all still in touch with each other through facebook, and although they have been scattered around South Africa and even the world, all are still on fire for the Lord, even those who were rebels!
Godly parents bring up Godly children who will succeed in all that they do. It may often be the case that the child will stray from the Word for a short time and may get caught up in some worldly activities, but they soon return to the place that they know and find comfort in - The Love of Jesus.
I remember a study that took place years ago where they studied the genealogy of two families, one a Godly man and another that was an atheist. The Godly man was followed by a host of successful children and grandchildren who all had good standing in the world - Doctors, professors and pastors - while the Atheist was followed by a row of Drunkards, bankruptcies, crime etc.
Parents, the best gift that you can ever pass on to your children is the gift of Jesus. Show them the love of Jesus in your life and bring them up in the ways of the Lord, and they will in return bring to you such joy and happiness, especially on a day in years time, when you meet them at the pearly gates and they are accepted to live in heaven with you.
Remember that the only thing that you can ever take to heaven with you is those people around you. Giving your children the opportunity to experience eternity in Heaven with you one day is the best thing that you can ever do for them.
Your Past – Your Future.
Who Is Jesus To You?
Who Are You In Christ?
Are you walking in the victory that you deserve to walk in or is there something wrong in that you never seem to be able to achieve the spiritual high that you should be in.
One of the key reasons why you fail to reach the full blessings in your life is simply that you have been programmed to believe that you do not deserve them and so you have never sought them out or believed that you could ever attain them.
"What you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth will come to pass."
In most cases, people who are not able to succeed in their christian walk or who are unable to achieve the peace and walk in the love of Jesus, simply believe that they do not have a right to it or that they are not worthy of the love of Jesus in their lives. They are defeated and fail to comprehend that Jesus did it all for them.
Entering into a New Life in Jesus.
When you first give your life to Jesus, you become a new creation in Christ. All things are washed away by the blood of Jesus and you become a totally new person. As far as Jesus and God go, you did not exist before that day because you have just been made a totally new creation. It is only you and your friends and family that know that you even existed before the day that you gave your life to Jesus. At this exact point in time, nothing sets you apart or prevents you from being the greatest man/woman of God that ever existed.
If you became a new creation, then why do you still allow matters from the past to affect your life today? You are a new creation. What happened to you before has no right to affect what you are today. Your past has no right to determine your future.
However, from the very day that you hand your life over to God you start to determine your own future.
"But I thought Jesus was now in control and I did not need to do anything."
Jesus is in control and has already completed all the background work for you, but you need to now take what He has given to you and to start to use it. Jesus has given you all authority in His name. He has given you the keys to heaven and earth, but if you never take the keys and use them, then you can never expect to unlock the rewards in life that are yours through Christ Jesus.
A priest was one day called to go and pray with a old man who was busy dying. The old man was particularly poor and had led a miserable life of poverty. While the priest was in the small room where the old man lived, he noticed a single piece of paper on the wall. He asked the old man what it was. "Oh, it is a beautiful piece of paper that someone gave me once. I was not sure what to do with it so I stuck it up on the wall".
On closer inspection, the priest was shocked to find that the piece of paper was a cheque that had been made out to the old man for the sum of $1 000 000-00. The old man was rich and yet he never knew it.
You are also rich in what Jesus has already done for you, but unless you are prepared to accept the fact that Jesus has given you all the power and authority to use in His name, and unless you start to actually stand out in faith and use the name of Jesus, you will never be able to walk in the full blessings that He has set aside for you.
Isn't it time that you took the cheque off the wall and started to cash it!
Allow Gays in Church
Are gays and lesbians welcomed into your church and accepted as members of your congregation? Do you welcome them into your small select community of christian worship or do you reject them and cast them out as sinners?
I remember a statement that was once issued from the pulpit in the charismatic church that I attended.
"We want to start some communities in the church. A support group for gays and lesbians. Sorry, let me change that. A support group for ex gays and ex lesbians. Practising gays are not welcome."
I still remember thinking, " How can you ever become a ex gay without Jesus, through the church, to help you."
So many churches that I know of reject the gays, lesbians and other sinners right out of their close and select little communities. "They are sinners you know, and they are going straight to the pits of hell. I want nothing to do with them."
Years ago, in the same church mentioned above, a guest preacher was invited to preach at a yearly conference. The preacher, whose name I will not mention, was one of the most down to earth and incredible preachers that I have ever heard preaching.
He spoke on how his own spirit filled church was filled with gays, lesbians, and sinners of every class, and how every single person was welcomed into his church without criticism or judgement and each and every soul was loved regardless of what they were involved in.
Now is that not how you would picture Jesus to be. Jesus rejected the upright and "righteous" people of the time and chose instead to spend his time in the company of tax collectors and other sinners.
Needless to say, that preacher was almost run out of town and every word that he preached was rejected by the church. Where was Jesus.
If you are expected to be washed and cleansed of all sin before you enter a church, how will anyone ever get to enter a church and meet with Jesus. If you expect a gay person to repent and give up his ways before he can come into your church to meet the living Jesus, then chances are he will never get to meet Jesus and accept Jesus into his life.
Were you free from all sin in your life before you first entered into your church and met Jesus? No - I did not think so.
Are you free from all sin in your life now - even though you have already been a christian for a long time? Again No!
Well if you are not free from sin, why do you expect a Gay or Lesbian or any other sinner to be free from their sin before they can enter your community? Is it perhaps that you consider that their sin is worse than your sin? As far as I am concerned sin is sin and there is no variation between sins. There is no single sin that is better than another sin. Sin is sin and in order to cleanse yourself of sin you have to go before Jesus, repent and be washed clean by His Blood.
Jesus does the changing .
Jesus loves you enough to accept you as you are, but loves you too much to leave you as you are.
When you come to Jesus and give your life to Him, crying Jesus help me please, Jesus opens his arms out to you and embraces you. He accepts you as you are, forgives you and washes you clean with His Blood. Slowly but surely He begins the process of changing you, your life and your passions. It is not an overnight or instant process. It takes time. He is the potter and you are the clay. Slowly you are molded into what He wants you to be.
In the case of gays and lesbians who are often some of the most hurting people in the world and who need the loving embrace of Jesus more than most, why do we reject them further and cast them out, expecting them to remove the sin from their lives immediately whilst we readily accept the fact that Jesus is still working in our own lives and has not yet completed the task of removing all the sin in our own life.
Take the log out of your own eye before you remove the splinter from your neighbours eye.
Before you judge and reject someone according to their "sin" and cast them out of your select community, simply ask yourself what Jesus would do if that person was standing in front of Him. Would He cast them out, or would He open His arms to them and love them. Sure I know that you are not Jesus, but then can you really claim to be a follower of Christ if you do not accept His ways and teachings.
Open your hearts and love someone today. Show them how the love of Jesus shines through you and help them to change their life simply by being accepted by someone like you. Your accepting someone for who they are could be the biggest thing that ever happened in their life and could make the real difference that will alter their lives forever.
God Bless
Miracle Baby
Caitlin holding Dylan.
On the 11 th February 2010 at 11h11 and 11 seconds, a new baby is brought into the world. Welcome to Dylan Botha born at Saint Mary's hospital in Springs South Africa. Dylan is a healthy baby boy born with a weight of 2.680 kg.
What is different about this baby. Well simply put, this is another miracle baby.
My daughter, Candy, was already the mother of a fairly healthy girl of 4 years of age. Her child, Caitlin was a miracle in herself as gynaecologists could not understand how she could have possibly fallen pregnant due to extremely low hormone levels. However, she fell pregnant and Caitlin Botha was born on 21/01/2005.
Due to an anorexic history, my daughter Candy had major problems with her womanly functions and after the first child was born, she battled to try and fall pregnant. This continued for 4 years and the Gynaecologist basically wrote it off as being impossible for her to fall pregnant again. However, with God all things are possible.
In late March 2009, Candy approached me about weight gain that was worrying her. She had gained a fair amount of weight and having previously been anorexic, this was a danger that could throw her back into full anorexia again. I suggested that she join a program called Weight Loss God's Way by Dr Frank Smoot, which is an online christian weight loss program that does not concentrate on diet, but concentrates on building self esteem and relationship with God, which then causes weight loss as a "Side Effect".
I knew when I recommended this program that it would build her self confidence and self image, and yes, she would lose some weight but would not be thrown back into her anorexic ways. Well Candice joined the program and within 2 weeks I had an ecstatic visit from Candice again.
"I have lost 5 kilo's already and I did not even diet," she remarked exitedly. I went through what she had done and so far all she had been doing was to read and study the material from the course. She had not tried to lose weight or followed any diet. In fact she had continued life as normal and had continued to eat exactly what she was eating before. And yet she lost 5 Kg's (11 pounds) in a mere 2 weeks.
I was excited for her and was greatful to Dr Frank's weight loss course for being a safe way for my daughter to lose weight without risking throwing her back into anorexic ways.
Approximately 2 weeks passed and I had another ecstatic visit from Candy.
"You will never guess what, " she said. " I am pregnant again."
Coincidence, no I do not think so. How does someone who the doctors placed permanently on the contraceptive pill due to hormone problems, and who the doctors stated could not fall pregnant again, suddenly fall pregnant. I attribute it to a total miracle which started along with the change in thinking brought about through Dr Frank's Weight loss God's Way program.
Well the month's passed and as pregnant Candy progressed, it was almost impossible to tell that she was pregnant from her stomach. At full term she was smaller in size than a normal woman of under 4 months pregnant. Yet the Gynaecologist was totally happy with her weight and so there were no alarm bells.
On the 11/02/2010 Candy was schedeuled to deliver by Caesaerean. She was called into theatre at 10H00 but due to incorrect prepping, she had to wait and was eventually brought in again at 11h00. The time of birth was recorded as being 11h11. The attending paediatrician later stated that she could not believe the timing and so when she say the 11 minutes past 11 she decided to watch the seconds and guess what, the baby came out at exactly 11 seconds after 11h11 on the 11th February.
The miracle baby, Dylan Botha, is extremely healthy and an amazing 2.680 kg's considering the size of mom in pregnancy. Mother is in perfect health and all went well.
I give God all the Glory for this beautiful miracle and thank Dr Frank for his incredible Weight loss God's Way program which was the catalyst that God used to create this miracle.
Name of Jesus
We are mostly fairly comfortable in our little worlds knowing that Jesus loves us and that we are secure resting in His love. However not all goes right and you have possibly seen and wondered that certain people seem to walk in more faith and in more authority than you seem to.
You have possibly been an active christian for some years and it seems that even though you love Jesus with all your mind and all your soul, things do not always go right and somehow you are on the short end of the receiving stick when it comes to the blessings that are promised in the bible.
Sure, you know that Jesus wants you to be blessed and there is no real reasons why you should not be blessed, I mean you are a good person who does what is right and you keep all the commandments, but yet those blessings seem to avoid you but yet they tend to find others that you know.
Walking in the Blessings of Jesus.
Sometimes, especially when you have been walking the christian road for a longer time, it is not what you know that is important, but rather what you have forgotten and have neglected to do. You may be familiar with the term, "I have already forgotten what you still need to learn." Unfortunately this is often the case with some of us older christians and can sadly be the reason why we are no longer receiving the blessings that we used to.
One of the most important things that we often forget is the very real power that is in the Name of Jesus. Can you remember how when you first got on fire for Jesus and everything that you did or confessed was in the Name of Jesus.
Are you still confessing and claiming everything by using the most powerful tool that you have ever been given, or are you like me and have "forgotten" that the name of Jesus is the real key to claiming and walking in the full power and blessings of Jesus.
Without the name of Jesus, you have no power or authority and whatever you say or confess is meaningless and carries no authority. The minute that you add "In The Name Of Jesus" to your statement or confession, whatever you confess suddenly carries all the power and might as though Jesus himself was saying it.
Bring the mighty Name of Jesus back into your life and start to use the power that is in His name so that you may return back to the blessings that are rightfully yours.
Victory in Jesus
"Blesssed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him", (James 1: 12).
We are in the midst of a war between good and bad. The war has raged for centuries and will continue to rage until the final hour when the earth is eventually destroyed and a new earth is created. This war consists of a series of battles.
Our war that we fight is not a physical war, but rather a spiritual war. It takes place mainly in the mind. On one side you know what is right and what is good. You know what Jesus would like you to do. On the other side, you have the Tempter - Satan, edging you and tempting you to do that which you do not wish to do.
Paul said in Romans 7:15 " For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practise; but what I hate, that I do."
Until the day that you die, Satan will continue to place temptations before you. It is his sole purpose to try and deceive you and lead you off the narrow track which is the way to life. Satan wants to see you fail and be destroyed.
Yes, you will fall and fail on Occasions.
Any person that tells me that they never fall and never fail is simply a liar in my eyes. If you are involved in the constant battles of life, you will at some stage become a casualty. You will get hurt and you will fall short of the Glory that God has set aside for you.
Jesus attaches no importance to how many times you fall and fail. Jesus will not judge you because you have fallen. He will not condemn you because you gave into temptation. You see Jesus is not the same as we are. We are quick to judge and condemn. Jesus is Pure Love.
It is not important to Jesus how many times you fall, but rather what is important to Him is how many times you get back up. In getting back up after a fall, comes the real victory in Jesus. Every time that you fall, Jesus is there right next to you, holding out his hands to pick you up and to nurse your wounds with His Love. As soon as you sincerely ask Him to forgive you, He forgives you.
Jesus not only knows that in every war there are casualties, but He also knows that in the end you will succeed and overcome through the strength that He gives to you. That is why you will receive the crown of life, for you will eventually be proved and will overcome temptation.
In humans there is the emotion of shame. With Jesus this emotion does not exist. Jesus is pure loved and He will never be ashamed of you.
The next time that you fall, instead of hanging your head in shame and hiding away from Jesus, rather lift your head up high and take the hand that Jesus is holding out to you and say proudly, " Jesus, forgive me for falling, but do not worry about me for I am getting back up with your help. We will carry on and win this war."
Do not judge your brother or sister when they fall, but rather be like Jesus wants you to be and hold out your hand, lift them up and encourage them to carry on with the good fight.
God Bless and may your day be filled with victory.
Message for 2010
As 2010 has come upon us, it brings a new year and a new decade before us. 2009 Was a year filled with hardships as the world sank in a recession. Many lost their jobs and hard times were upon even those who managed to stay employed. Prices in supermarkets rose and the quality of living went down.
As part of a new year and a new decade I wish to bring this message of hope to you. It is a fresh start and new opportunities are waiting for you.
My Message of Hope to You.
Romans 12:2 says, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed through the renewing of your mind." 2010 brings forth a new way of thinking for you. You need to break free from the negatives of the world and look forward to the hope that there is through the love that Jesus has for you.
Your Past has no Right to Interfere with Your Future!
Do not look back but keep your eyes firmly before you. Whenever you are looking back at the past, you miss what is lying ahead in the future. For just 2 minutes, try walking backwards. When you are walking backwards, you can not see where you are going and you walk into obstacle after obstacle. You trip and you fall. So is our life. When we try to get through life constantly looking at the past, we fail to see what is ahead of us and trip and fall at every obstacle.
2009 Has gone and every other year before that. Whatever happened to you in 2009 or 2008 or even yesterday has absolutely no right to interfere with what is happening to you today. Jesus is the way the truth and the life, and what Jesus has planned for you is far greater than anything that you have ever encountered before. Keep your eyes on Jesus and concentrate and feed on the love of Jesus.
As I went outside for a few minutes this morning, I was met with an amazing sight that it seems as if the Lord had prepared just for me. It was early and was just starting to get light. The sky was clouded over. There were flying ants flying around and a whole host of birds were swooping down and feeding on them.
The odd thing about this is that looking up and down the street in front of my house, the flying ants and birds were only in front of my house and nowhere else down or up the street. As I said, it was as if God had created the show just for me.
As I was watching the show it dawned on me that what I was seeing before me was life. God created the flying ants for the birds to feast on. The birds from the whole neighbourhood came to feast on the flying ants. Some important facts :-
1) The flying ants were in abundance. God gives us plenty of food in the form of opportunities.
2) The birds had to come to where the flying ants were. God did not send the ants to the birds, but rather the birds had to see that the flying ants were there and had to come to where the feast is. Sometimes we wait around hoping that God will bring the food to us instead of going out to where God has placed the food for us.
3) The show lasted about half an hour. Feed time was over. The birds had eaten their fill and the fresh rains chased the flying ants away. God created the food for the birds and fed them. Tomorrow he will feed them again, possibly in a different way, but they will never go without food. If you trust and abide in God, you may need to change and adjust constantly, but you will never hunger or thirst. Always remember that you are far more important to God than the birds.
Right at the beginning of this message, I quoted Romans 12:2. " Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed through the renewing of your mind." Do not allow the ways of the world to shape and form you, but rather take on a new shape and form and be totally transfigured when you start to believe in the word of God.
This is the most important scripture for you through the entire 2010. Memorise it. Do not allow the world to determine your future for 2010, but rather place your future in the hands of God and allow Him to guide and lead you so that you will never hunger or thirst again.
Have a blessed 2010.
Happy New Year 2010
- May your New year be Filled with the Love of Jesus
Love Jesus in 2010
I pray that your year will be filled with the love of Jesus and that as you enter into the new year, that all the problems and dissapointments that were part of 2009, will simply melt away and be removed from your life.
May 2010 be a year fill of blessings, love and prosperity for you and all of your family and loved one's.
Most importantly, may the love of Jesus flood into your lives through the entire year and may you live your lives as true Christians as you follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
A New Year is always a time of new beginnings. There are resolutions and promises that are made. Before you make your new year resolutions this year, take a little time to ponder over them and just to decide whether they are really worth making.
Ask yourself whether that New Year resolution will add any extra value to your life? If it is not going to add substantial value to your life, then why bother with it. Forget about the unimportant things this year, and rather concentrate on that which is important. Spend time with your loved ones instead of chasing after a better lifestyle which in fact ends up destroying your life.
Life is short, so live it to the fullest. Invite Jesus into your life and live in the love that comes from Him, and in turn, take some of His Love that is in you and spread it around to those who are around you.
May God richly bless you in 2010.
Jesus love for hurts
When a christian is hurting due to some sort of tragedy that they have encountered in their lives, it is really the time that our christian brothers and sisters need to show them the love of Jesus. It is the time in their lives that they most need to feel the brotherly love and care shining into their lives and helping them to heal. Sadly, it is often when you are hurting and down that you will not feel the love of Jesus, but rather the total cold and harsh reality that is often the church of today.
I bumped into a little elderly lady the other day ( approx 60 years old). I know her fairly well from a church that we both "once" attended. This little lady has always been totally on fire for the Lord and does really great work going out and ministering to the poor areas. She is involved in running medical clinics and uses this to reach out to the poor and hurting. She has always been a real shining example of the true love of Jesus to all around her.
The lady started to relate to me how she was recently at a night meeting in one of the poor area's. She had been attending these meetings, aimed at improving conditions in these slums, for the past 26 years. This particular meeting started to get out of hand and soon the fighting began. She left the meeting.
On going to her car outside she was cornered by two black men and her horror ordeal started where she was gang raped.
Instead of being met with the love of Jesus shining through her brothers and sisters in Christ, whom she had so lovingly helped and loved for many years, she was rather met with accusations of "having been looking for it" and even deserving the rape because she was in bad area's. The pastor prayed once for her and she was expected to have been healed from this horror.
How sad! A hurt and ordeal like this does not simply go away with one little prayer. You don't get over it just like that. Where is that love of Jesus that is supposed to shine out from the brothers in Christ. Instead of love there is condemnation.
The little lady shared how she rejected the church and became bitter and filled with hate. This lasted for months until one little young girl who was filled with the real love of Jesus, noticed the change in the little old lady who had led her to the Lord. The little girl alerted another sister in Christ, from another denomination, who was filled with love of Jesus and this lady came and ministered and loved continually until the hurts of the ordeal were healed by Christ.
Unfortunately the hurts of the rape were healed eventually, but the hurts caused by the unloving and uncaring "Christian" brothers are not healed.
I can recount hundreds of stories like this one. When you are sick or in trouble it is often those who you have ministered to for hours on end and those that you have served lovingly for years, who are the first to turn their back on you. Real christians are unfortuantely a scarce commodity in today's times.
It is sad that many of our churches have become money making machines that are too busy to deal with and help those that are really in need. The love of Christ has often been replaced by a love of money. Brothers and sisters are too involved in themselves to be worried about others, and the love that is suppossed to radiate out to others is lost and instead attending church has become more about social status than spreading the love of Jesus.
Bring back the love of Jesus into your lives. Spend time to love those who are hurting. Help them and lift them up. Ask yourself what would Jesus do in this situation. Would He turn His back on them or would He hold out His arms and lovingly embrace them?
Love those who are hurting and nurse them back into spritual health. Bring back the love into our churches.
Happy Birthday Jesus
Happy birthday Jesus.
Today I celebrate your birthday and my prayer for today is that all will remember that Christmas is the day to celebrate your birth and the wonders that you did for us. I pray that all will take the time to simply stop and wish you Happy Birthday.
Thank You Jesus.
I love Jesus.
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