Monthly Archives: January 2012

Choices

Here is the thought of my day…I am certain that there is something we all do.

Was playing a game recently and I was losing pathetically. I even got penalised to sit out a couple of rounds. The thing that really got me thinking as I sat out waiting for my turn to re-enter, was the realisation that I had checked out mentally from the game a while back. For some strange reason my mind was elsewhere working through other things. The short of the long is that as I became more distracted and begun thinking about other things, there was a direct impact to the activities I was currently engaged in. Around me all the others were excited and forging ahead and I had just resigned myself to whatever comes.

Suddenly it flashed through my mind that this probably wasn’t the only place this was happening. I did a quick personal evaluation and realised that my attitude to certain areas of my life was in the same disorganised state. As I looked at the issues I realised that the results were also the same. I was surely astounded how easily things can come together. The stark reminder here was that my thoughts will direct the path of my life. This is exemplified in Proverbs 32:7 that says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” KJV.

It was totally startling that in that moment of temporary mental dissociation I had connected to and projected the internal state of my heart into reality. In a split second I remembered that everything I do makes a differences in the way my life pans out. I realised that in the midst of life I can at times lose track of the real and meaningful connections and connectors in life with devastating effects. Further to this, Matthew 12:34 jumped out to remind me that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” So here is the clincher, I lose focus on the way and everything falls out of plan and purpose because there is nothing to hold it together. So I could be waltzing through the day with my mind jumping from here to there accomplishing nothing and then at the end of the ask what happened.

There are things I need to do that I don’t and things I shouldn’t do that I do. These then become sources of greatness or loss. What do I need to stop doing? What do I need to start doing? What are the repercussions of the choices I am making? My choices will make or break my life. I therefore chose to take charge of my thoughts as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “…We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

What do you need to daily, moment by moment take captive and redirect your thoughts about that will change the entire course of your life from your terms to God’s terms? What do you need to give up? What do you need to start doing?

Dear Lord, help me daily connect with you and to the realities that you have for me. Amen

Knowing You

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing.
You’re my all, you’re the best,
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
Graham Kendrick

What does it mean to know Jesus? What does it mean for Him to my all, my joy? Joy is a choice and a very personal one at that. To know Jesus is to spend time with him daily, to listen to him and talk to him and showcase him in everything I do.

In my strength this is impossible. I will never ever be able to be or do it on my own. I will never ever be able to make it work. I must connect to and stay plugged into his power to be able to live the way he would have me live. So here is the thing…I can only be close and content in my relationship with God if He is the one leading the way.

Teach me Lord, to daily listen to you and walk in your way with faith and belief.

Simplicity

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

 This is simple but profound. In a small town in the middle of a little known province, a mother gave birth to a baby boy who would grow up to be the Savior of the world. This was no normal affair. He was born in the cowshed, with cows, sheep and goats and other animals watching. His first bed was a cattle feeder as his mother sat close by on the milkman’s stool and dad sat on a bale of hay. Yet, the shepherds and wise men from afar came to worship him, the angels joined in chorus and a wonderful star shone above.

 How often are we unable to see the outcome of our current situation and despair because of all that is around us? Our hopes and dreams are met in Christ and only He and the Father know the unfolding. When we trust Him the plans He has for us become a wonderful reality. Joy can be found in the simple things like breathing in and out, watching children play, thinking wonderful thoughts about those around us and so much more. The beauty of life is in the simple things and these are the things we must focus on.

 Take time to watch life and see the simple things. Connect to God and understand the depth of the simplicity He calls us to live by. It is a wonderful day to be alive.