It is one thing to carry doubt, it is another thing to transfer it.

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Have you ever been in those situations where you feel like you have totally run out of your faith bank and one more pull would either make or break you? A lot of times I have noticed when we find ourselves in that situation we often run to people to help us out of that "faithless" situation hoping that God would use them in that time of our need. However what we need to be careful of is how thin the line is between them helping you to get back on track or pushing even further off track. When you have been a "victim" of a friend's word pushing you off track you can somehow understand how delicate it can be when the roles are switched and you are the one offering advice or encouragement to another.

Just a few days ago I was reading a verse and it stood out to me for confirmation of a message I got long time ago. However I must have forgotten to "do" the message after "hearing" the message so of course reading the scripture was a reminder for me.

Psalm 73: 13-15 (NLT)

Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?
Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
I get nothing but trouble all day long;
every morning brings me pain.
If I had really spoken this way to others,
I would have been a traitor to your people.

The Saul Syndrome; People Pleasing

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Every time I read the story of Saul, I see the same thing; the very thing that drove him to losing his Kingdom. But worst of all is the fact that it is too easy to relate with what he went through, for me that just sucks! People pleasing seemed to be Saul's weakness and when such mindset is left uncontrolled we loose ourselves in the process, fall into sin and most of the time justify it. Here are three instances in which we see Saul express this;

#1. Saul sets up the burnt offering: "Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear. Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself. .... Samuel said, “What is this you have done?” Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.” 1 Samuel 13: 8-12

Freedom, Faith, Love and Grace

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Text: Galatians 5: 1-14

Galatians 5:1 "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law." 

So this explains that you can slip, you can fall, you can get back to bondage. So the advise is to "stay free". How does one stay free? Its a conscious effort made by you with the grace of God applied. So since freedom is correlated to faith in Christ seen as love(verse 6: "What is important is faith expressing itself in love."), then you must make a conscious effort to walk in love.

Making claims on God

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Answer me quickly, LORD;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
Rescue me from my enemies, LORD,
for I hide myself in you.
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground. 

Psalm 143: 8-10

One thing that strikes me in these verses is the fact that David gives the reason for the claims he makes on God. There is a backbone that foundations his requests and a lot of time that determines the answer we get. The bible says that anyone who comes to God must believe that he is....(Hebrews 11:6), this is the most important foundation, to believe God can, God is able. Here we also see that apart from David believing God can, he also understands the advantage of coming to God for these requests. So he explains with phrases like "or I will be like those who go down to the pit", " for I have put my trust in you", "for I hide myself in you", "for you are my God", all of these explains that he has chosen God as opposed to another "source", he believes God can and why he believes so.

Breaking

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Kerry wasn't ready for the breaking, she had procrastinated too much though she knew it was well needed. She had gotten comfortable in the level she was with God, that very stagnant level. In her, was the understanding that the stagnation was not right, she knew it wasn't God's plan for her life-Proverbs 4:18 "But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day" (NIV). There was supposed to be an increase, a deepening, there was supposed to be MORE. But somehow Kerry had managed to push this work to be done further and further away.

The Power behind music

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I've always had this love for music, I believe it has powers. It's all about finding and playing the right song at the right time. Sometimes your shuffle does the magic, other times you are forced to figure it out on your own. I've known this song (almost) all my life but hearing it that day gave me this inner peace. I felt like the burden I had been carrying was taken from me. I felt sudden relief.

Our Hope

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Sometimes we sing songs but we don’t bother to let the words sink in. My Uncle is a Pastor, a Teacher, but he has no ‘Ministry’. He normally teaches people at home, and ministers via telephone, sometimes he is invited to preach at churches and at seminars. This particular time he was among about 12 pastors and he was to preach at a seminar on what it means to be ‘saved’. After the first sermon, he realized that there was much confusion, and he felt frustrated that the people didn’t seem to grasp the simple thing. But during the break, he was ‘corrected’ by the Holy Spirit, who told him that the purpose of his message wasn’t right. He had been trying to convince people which isn’t the job of any man. You cannot convince anyone, only God does that. So my uncle then repented, and began to teach what the Holy Spirit directed in the second part of the seminar.