Choices choices...

This all started onemorning when I was standing at our coffee machine at the office, for me it is pretty simple ... Button 1 no sugar, button 4 white Nescafe! While waiting patiently for my morning fix a fellow coffee companion walked into the kitchen with absolutely no Idea what he was going to choose. It was then I started thinking about the infinite choices we have every hour of every day... Think about this for a while with me and as you take a journey into my world (try to think about the things you do while reading) 

•      Alarm goes off 5:30 ... Choice: snooze or get up?

•      Get up ... Choice: thank God you have another day or just go hit the shower?

•      Hot or cold shower today? Should I use soap or shower gel? Face cloth or just my hand? Should I wash my hair?

NOTE: All of this and it’s still not even 7am and have not hit my wardrobe yet! 

•      Pants options:

o    Colour

o    Style

•      Shirt options:

o    Colour, what goes with the pants I choose

o    With pocket or no pocket

o    Button down collar depends if a tie is required

•      Belt options:

o    Only have to so it’s an either or!

•      Shoe options:

o    Not a woman, don't have those problems. Only joking ladies, I LIKE shoes!

•      Now that I am dressed and ready to hit the world, I need some food!

•       Muesli, all bran, wheatbix, toast and cheese, egg on toast... What will it be this morning?

•      Alright all feed up and ready to hit the ROAD!!

•      At my gate do I go left or right? Oh wait what's the time... 7:20am traffic shouldn't be too bad let’s go left.

•      In flight entertainment, cd, iPod, Highveld or 702

•      Ok 3 options now, highway all the way? Town then highway? Or just go through town?

•      Traffic jam what now, men don't ask for directions or get stressed... They consult the Garmin!

•      Finally get to the office after lots of "turn left" & "turn right" 

It’s now only 8:20! And the point is imagine we didn't have any choices in this life? We would be walking robots with no personalities, I thank God he has given us the ability to choose things. Choice is what defines us what are you going to choose today? 

Watch this space...

sorry for the wait... it seems i hit a stop with the posts. i am back and have lots to write about, so keep your eyes peeled...

In this god we trust...

We had the opportunity this past Wednesday night to hear from Paul Tripp regarding proper parenting... i am however not going to talk bout that. he drew our attention to a passage in Matt 6: 19 - 20 which says "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." after reading the verse he pulled out a R100 note to which he asked " what makes this piece of paper worth R100? is it the paper? the ink that is printed on the paper? or is it a combination of both? " if the penny hasn't dropped yet (like it did the second those words came out of his mouth) let me explain...



the reserve bank of South Africa prints money with ink, paper and a printer and then assigns a value to it when they make it blue and put a big 100 onto it! that's it... maybe that didn't have the same profound affect on you as it does me?! this is, as Tripp puts it, a treasure. Now that simply blew my mind. We can make it a treasure to be what we want it to be... now here is the question that we need to be asking, were is your (my) treasure and all your (my) focus?




This should be our treasure... I have been really thinking about what we hold as our "idol god" over the last couple of weeks and it is so amazing how many things we put before the creator, and I hope whoever reeds this would think deeply on them and for those of our YP heads up... what we hold as our object of affection will be our controlling force!

blame it on the brain...

Wow so how often do we "blame it on the brain?" let's look at this in a practical way...

a story was shared about a woman who was pulled over by a cop after going through a red light. When she climbed out her car she started beating up the cop, eventually she was arrested and when she appeared in court she told the judge it was the P.M.S! He then realized that what she had done wasn't really her because she wasn't in the right frame of mind,

The real question I think is... " how often do we blame things on our emotions?" does a hetrosexual male have the same brain as a homosexual? I think they do. The difference is the SIN that has changed the way the homosexual thinks. Now thats an extreme example, lets get practical! When you wake up in the morning after having only 2 hours sleep and you spend the rest of the day craky with everybody because of lack of sleep?! Here's a big one..

What about depression? Can a Christian be in a clinical state of depression? This might be contravesial but here goes. a Christian has been forgiven of EVERYTHING, sins past, present and future. When Christ died on the cross the sins of all those predestined to call on his name. with that in the back of your mind ask the question again ... Can a Christian be in a clinical state of depression? Now the flip side, how can anyone have hope without Christ?

How deep are your roots?

so this weekend the question was asked... not only how deep do your roots go but " are your roots in the spring of life? "

Doug used an illustration from a sermon from Spurgeon about a palm tree... when its roots are below the ground taking all it needs from the water below and its leaves above in the blistering sun it is in its element... are we like that in this life? are we rooted in the waters of Christ and our heads out in the world taking the abuse that so often comes when you believe?

following this was a message that was shared the same night from James that i would like to share. here are seven points that Doug raised that are relevant and I think need to be shared with my loyal readers (if there are any????)

James 2:26

• Saving faith has a pulse...
  Jesus being Lord is esteeming him as our greatest treasure.

• Saving faith pants...
  Those who have experienced God thirst & hunger after him.
  Blessed are those who hunger after Him!
  As Martin Loyd Jones said... " if I have Christ I have it all"

• Saving faith is pliable...
  As we turn to Christ are we clay in the potters hands?
  If the Bible shows you something we need to change ... Saving faith is also submissive.
  Christ will have his way

• Saving faith is public...
  It is something that is shared with others.
  It should be noticeable by others.
  Matt 5:16 "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

• Saving faith pursues purity ...
  It hates sin!
  Its not only intellectual ... "repent & believe" its very much a heart attitude!

• Saving faith perseveres...
  It grows, it never stops.
  It is the power of God unto salvation ... Always.

• Saving faith is not presumptuous...
  When q person sees how deep the sin is, we won't take anything for granted.
  It examines itself & then does the work of change.
  Do we have a fake or pirated version of faith?
  Because it is not presumptuous it isn't shattered when some don't follow.

• Saving faith comes from a process ...
  It comes from the word of God, it all starts somewhere...
  When you get saved you just keep coming ...
  Just because we don't know what God is doing under the surface, keep swinging the gospel axe!

so there you have it... what saving faith looks like. as I type this I realise that I fall short on some of these points. thank goodness there is a process...