Mirror, Mirror…

“Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.” – Proverbs 27:19 (MSG)

Peer into water and what do you see? You see a reflection of your true likeness. In the same way, your heart reflects your true character. Several times, in this blog, Bethel at Balata, I’ve written that your heart is that place deep within you beyond your conscious thoughts, your inner-most being and it possesses the power to motivate and compel you – if it is evil, you will tend to do evil but if it is good, you will tend to do good. In Luke 6:45 Jesus says,

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (NIV)

Although outside influences affect you, your true character traits come from deep within. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” Matthew 15:19 (NIV). Clearly, it is what’s in your fallen heart that corrupts your whole being. That is why David, after committing adultery and murder, pleaded with God to create in him a pure heart (Psalm 51:10) – he understood that it was in the heart that sin is devised (see Genesis 6:5; Proverbs 6:18), but even more importantly, he recognized that it was not within his own power to overcome and sought the help of the only One with real power to restore, God Almighty.

So too you must be honest with yourself, come clean with God about what’s really in your heart. Yes, it’s true, He already knows but this confession is not for God’s sake, it is for your sake. As 1 John 1:9 assures, 

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (NIV)

This verse gives credence to the familiar old Scottish proverb: “Open confession is good for the soul.”

The “open” is usually left out but it is indeed open confession that is the prerequisite to repentance, and forgiveness from a God who delights in forgiving and forgetting.

Allow me to leave you with a few verses from the Bible upon which you can meditate:

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment…Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3:3,4 (NIV)

People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NIV)

“For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:21-23 (NIV)

“Explore me, O God, and know the real me. Dig deeply and discover who I am. Put me to the test and watch how I handle the strain. Examine me to see if there is an evil bone in me, and guide me down Your path forever.” Psalm 139:23-24 (The Voice)

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

Amen†

Mirror, Mirror… Shelley Johnson 25-Nov-2016/29-Nov-2016

A Prayer For Today…

O Lord, You are the One upon whom no limits can be placed, You cannot be contained, and nothing is impossible for You, for You can do anything – immeasurably more than I can ever ask or imagine. 

Today I pray that You would forgive me for the limits I have placed upon You, thinking of You in my limited human terms and not as the all mighty, omnipotent, omniscient, universe-filling God that You are. 

Cause me to lift up my eyes from the natural realm so that I may truly perceive the spiritual. Teach me the truth of Who You are, the I AM that I AM. 

I long to clearly understand Your invisible attributes, Your divine nature, and to experience Your eternal power, in every area of my life. 

I thank You for Your Spirit in me, my Teacher, Who brings revelation of the truth and for Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who has made reconciliation with You possible through His incomparable sacrifice. 

I pray that I will not yield to temptation, instead I will yield myself to You as never before. Thank You for delivering me from the evil one and keeping me safe under Your protective wings. 

To You who alone are God, my Saviour through Jesus Christ my Lord, all glory, majesty, power, and authority are Yours before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! 

I pray in the powerful and matchless name of Jesus, Amen†

A Prayer For Today… Shelley Johnson 25-Nov-2016

Freely Give, Freely Given, Freely Receive

“All to Jesus I surrender, 

All to Him I freely give; 

I will ever love and trust Him, 

In His presence daily live.”

The opening lines of today’s post make up the first verse of the hymn written by Judson W. Van De Venter, All to Jesus I Surrender. Some of you may know it and have sung it, and for those of you who have, how many of you really owned it by taking it to heart, truly meaning every word you’ve sung.

“All to Him I freely give” – what a line. Have you freely given all to Jesus? It’s difficult, I know, but do not be afraid to do so. When you freely give Jesus everything, you will be freely given everything for God Himself will bless you and when He does you must freely receive them with thanksgiving.

“Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.” – 1 Timothy 4:4 (NLT)

“All to Jesus I surrender” – complete surrender, if you’re honest, is pretty daunting, but do not be afraid to do so. Let us look at Joseph and Potiphar (see Genesis 39). Potiphar, a wealthy officer of Pharaoh, was Joseph’s master therefore Joseph was Potiphar’s slave, to serve and to help him. But Potiphar saw something very special in Joseph and completely surrendered everything to him, making Joseph master over his entire household and over his field. Joseph, like Jesus, had two distinct characters, Servant and Master. 

Looking at Joseph as a type for Jesus, like Potiphar, you must give everything to Jesus. Come to the complete surrender of everything to Him – all that you are, think you are, and all that you have. Too often we see Jesus as Servant only, there to serve our every need; we say that we love Him and trust Him yet we do not see Him as Master but He is Master also and we are to treat Him as such – placing Him over every area of our lives. 

“He put him in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. From that moment on, God blessed the home of the Egyptian—all because of Joseph. The blessing of God spread over everything he owned, at home and in the fields, and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating three meals a day.” – Genesis 39:4, 5, 6 (MSG)

If God blessed Potiphar in such an incredible way, how much more would He bless you if you put your entire life into Jesus’ hands? God will surely cause blessings to spread over everything that concerns you, inside and outside. 

Say:

Today, I make Jesus Master over everything that concerns me. I surrender all to You Jesus – my inner life and my outer life; my soul, body, intellect, relationships, money, time, marriage, home, household, children, business, career, job. Every single thing, Jesus, I give to You, all that I am or think I am; all that I possess and all of my cares. Take complete control and cause me to live in Your presence daily. As I empty myself, I rest in the blessed assurance that as I freely give to You, I will be freely given, and I am now open to freely receive. Amen†

Freely Give, Freely Given, Freely Receive Shelley Johnson 24-Nov-2016

Thanksgiving

This week Thanksgiving will be observed in the USA. For them, this is a huge celebration – schools close, offices shut down, and people are busy travelling from one state to another to join family and friends for a grand time of food and festivities. For me, a person living outside of the US, looking on at the buzz that happens at this time of the year in the US, forces me to ponder deeply upon the whole concept of giving thanks. 

I look at the terrific effort that is put out this particular week, and the incredible energy that is spent in preparing for this single day of Thanksgiving, and I can’t help but wonder how people’s lives would change for the better if even half of this was done every day of their lives. If people, not just in the USA but people everywhere, on a daily basis, would simply be thankful on purpose.

On August 28th the blog post was, “The Gratitude Experiment”, where I invited you to join with me for three months, 90 days, of being intentionally thankful. Then after that, through blog posts in September and October, I reminded you to remain grateful and to still be thankful. I would admit, that some days I was hard pressed to do so but I made the effort because I knew that being thankful every day, no matter the events of the day, was to my benefit and the benefit of those who I’d come into contact with.

I don’t know how many of you participated but even if you did not for these past 90 days, remember it’s not a limited edition concept, there is no time limit on thanks giving. Be thankful every day, all day. Let God and those around you know just how grateful you are. 

Sometimes we do not recognize all the reasons why we ought to be giving thanks but even if you don’t, trust me, there is always a reason, so give thanks anyway.

Amen†

Thanksgiving Shelley Johnson 23-Nov-2016

“God owns Everything!” – Part II

God owns Everything...the cattle on a thousand hills are His (Psalm 50:10)

“When you come to grips with “God owns Everything!” and live as God’s faithful steward, God will always give you extra and you’ll begin to truly live the life of enjoyment and abundance that Jesus Christ came to give.”

That’s the final line from yesterday’s blog post, Part one of “God owns Everything!”

The fact is to live as God’s faithful steward extends far beyond the physical. Stewardship is an evaluation of your trustworthiness, not just of what’s physically apparent but more importantly, God is looking for someone He could trust with true riches, the things that are eternal. Stewardship is embedded in the spiritual. God entrusts to you money and other material possessions to determine how much He can trust you with spiritually.

How much you have is not the determining factor, it’s how you manage what you have that is the indication of your spiritual reliability.

Jesus said, “If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, you will not be trusted with the true riches. And if you cannot be trusted with the things that belong to someone else, you will not be given anything of your own.” – Luke 16:11-12 (ERV)

The only possession that is your own is in eternity and your stewardship of worldly riches will impact upon the eternal. 

When you finally come to terms with and genuinely understand that every financial decision is a spiritual decision, you will realize that the way you think about money and possessions must change – it’s a whole different way of thinking. You begin to “see” that it really is all God’s and what you do with what belongs to Him can no longer be your decision but the decision has to be His and His alone. Your question must now be, “How does God want me to use this money?” and the only way to find out is to ask God. Keep in mind that it’s not just money but it’s every possession you have, your house, your car, yourself. How can you use what God has given you to serve both God’s purpose and the needs of others?

So, it is clear that in order to live as God’s faithful steward, you cannot be focused on yourself. Selfishness is a breeding ground for unhappiness because it’s when you are behaving selfishly that you complain the most about everything. And, who can enjoy life when they’re constantly complaining? Think about that for a moment.

Be willing to give, and give cheerfully (Malachi 3:10-11; 2 Corinthians 9:7). That willingness can only come from a renewed heart and a transformed mind, eager to please God – “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:21 NLT). What you do with what you have reveals the truth about your priorities. Even in this, is a reflection of what’s really going on deep within you beyond your conscious thoughts (see Luke 6:45). 

God owns Everything!

Resign yourself to that truth, and you will see just how easy your life will become. It is freeing, because, the truth will always set you free. Free to give – it is easy to give cheerfully when you know it does not belong to you, since you’re not trying to selfishly hold on to it. It is easy to be a cheerful giver when you know that by giving that which belongs to God, you’re actually engaged in doing the will of God. It’s easy to give cheerfully when you know that the more you give the more you will receive (see 2 Corinthians 9:6-10; 1 Chronicles 29:14; Luke 6:38).

Now that you know the truth, let go of ownership and enter into freedom, the freedom of stewardship where you get to enjoy the perks of ownership as you manage the property of the true owner, God, the owner of Everything.

Amen†

“God owns Everything!” – Part II Shelley Johnson 22-Nov-2016

"God owns Everything!" – Part I

“…all the world is mine and everything in it.” – Psalm 50:12 (NLT)

Your life experiences influence the way you think – from childhood you’ve been programmed by one thing or another, one person or another and altogether these have marked and continue to mark your thinking and ultimately your beliefs about many things, including how you value money and other material possessions. 

Do you know that there are over 2000 verses in the Bible that, directly and indirectly, deal with money, finances, and possessions? The book of Proverbs alone is full of financial wisdom. This tells you that, how you view and treat with these things is important to God. He cares so much about it that He has given instructive lessons, throughout the Bible. 

One of the very first things you learn is that God owns everything since He created everything (Genesis 1:1) and if He created it, then He owns it.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.” – Psalm 24”1-2 (NLT)

Here, it’s plain to see, creation establishes ownership: you belong to God along with everything you think is yours. Like Adam and Eve, you were created by God and placed in a garden that He also created, and, just as they left the Garden with nothing, so too you will have to leave behind, in this garden, everything you think you own.

“People come into the world with nothing. And when they die, they leave with nothing.” – Ecclesiastes 5:15a (ERV) (see also 1 Timothy 6:7) 

It is sometimes hard to come to grips with this, especially if you have worked hard to earn and are successful. But the truth is that even if you’ve worked hard for everything – house, land, car, boat, furniture – you still have to leave it all behind.

“They might work hard to get things, but they cannot take anything with them when they die.” – Ecclesiastes 5:15b

Everything belongs to God!

Understand that whether or not you have worked your fingers to the bone to acquire stuff, it is God who has given you that power and ability. You don’t have to believe me, you can read it for yourself in Deuteronomy 8:17-18.

“Don’t ever say to yourself, ‘I got all this wealth by my own power and ability.’ Remember the Lord your God is the one who gives you power to do these things. He does this because he wants to keep the agreement that he made with your ancestors, as he is doing today!” (ERV)

There is still another problem and it is a worldwide epidemic that afflicts every single human being – selfishness. Selfishness is a tricky affliction that can hide itself making you think that you don’t suffer from it. Other people certainly, but never you, after all, you give money to the poor and to orphans and donation sheets. 

Selfishness is in every financial decision that you make. You base your financial decisions on what’s best for you in your situation; even the money you donate so “freely” to charity is selfishly motivated because your giving solely depends on how you feel. You give because it makes you feel good, you feel that you look good or both – it’s all about you. When your thoughts are set on “me” and “I” that is selfishness. 

Right now, your view about what you have is all about you. You do not truly realize that your entire existence depends upon God. He is the owner of everything, not you. You are not the owner and you have to let go of ownership. When you let go of ownership that is when you enter into genuine financial freedom, that’s when you begin to truly believe that God is Jehovah Jireh, your provider, the supplier of all your needs. 

However, to believe this requires a different way of thinking, a re-programming of your thought process, from thinking like the owner to thinking like the steward of someone else’s possessions. But that is who you are: a steward who manages someone else’s property, that someone else being God.

To change from thinking like the owner to manager will take some doing but it is not impossible and for you to truly enjoy what you have, you must do it. And if you are a steward who does well at managing you’ll be given more to manage and more to enjoy (see Luke 16:10 and 1 Timothy 6:17).

Understand that being the steward and not the owner does not mean that you’re destined for the poor house, it simply means that you are giving up control of ownership and it certainly does not mean that you will no longer enjoy life, actually you will enjoy life more because true enjoyment comes from God for those who do the will of God, it is a gift (see Ecclesiastes 2:24-25) – there’s no price tag on enjoyment. You get the privilege as you learn to manage

When you come to grips with “God owns Everything!” and live as God’s faithful steward, God will always give you extra and you’ll begin to truly live the life of enjoyment and abundance that Jesus Christ came to give.

“I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” – John 10:10 (AMPC)

Amen†

"God owns Everything!" – Part I    Shelley Johnson 21-Nov-2016

“My Cup Overflows!”

“…my cup overflows. Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life…” Psalm 23:5,6 (NIV)

If that isn’t a positive affirmation, I don’t know what is.

Imagine yourself, for a moment, filling a large jug with water, then pouring all of that water into a teacup without stopping when the teacup is full. What do you see? 

What if you changed the jug into a hose that’s attached to a fully opened tap. That’s how God wants to bless you. He wants you to experience a continuous source of supply, like gushing water from a tap, always flowing into your cup, filling it up to the brim and then overflowing.

This outpouring of God’s blessings was not and is not exclusively David’s but you too can have a life of Divine favour and grace upon grace, by drinking of the cup of Salvation through Jesus Christ and coming into genuine relationship with Him. David had a genuine relationship with God and was blessed in that relationship.

Beloved, know that God longs to fill every area of your life again and again with His goodness, and His love each day of your life. God’s desire is for you to be pursued by His abundant bountiful provision, always and everywhere no matter where you are.

How wonderful to be the recipient of such a beyond your imagination blessing - far more abundantly beyond all that you ask or think (see Ephesians 3:20). 

Can you see yourself so blessed? 

Can you believe that such a blessing can be yours? 

Will you believe that it is already yours? 

Yes, it can and it will if you just believe, for it is when you believe that you see (John 11:40); it is when you believe that you will have (Matthew 21:22); it is when you speak what you believed, that it is manifested (Psalm 116:10, 2 Corinthians 4:13). 

Your responsibility is to believe, only believe, and to speak, affirming, like David, every day, “My Cup Overflows!”, until you see, until you have, and until it is manifested.

Amen†

“My Cup Overflows!”    Shelley Johnson 18-Nov-2016