Faith, Five Minute Friday

The Future Is Now

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The future is now.  I know this might seem like a contradiction because the “now” is the present.  The future is something that is going to happen, not something that is happening.

When I say the future is now, I mean that what we do, what we say and how we behave affects our future and those around us.  So really, we should live like we are in the future.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Every time I would hit a rough patch in my life, I would always think of this Bible verse.  It would give me hope because I knew that God would not let me suffer forever…sooner or later, I would prosper.

I have recently learnt though that this Bible reading doesn’t mean what I thought it meant.  It was one of those “Really?” moments.  You know, when it comes as a shock to you that what you thought something was for so long, has actually turned out to be something completely different.

My hope is not lost though.

Here’s the gist of the story behind this verse…

Whilst the Israelites were in exile, there was a false prophet called Hananiah who stated that God was going to free them in two years.  Well, as we probably know, God doesn’t kinda work like that in letting people tell Him what to do.  It kinda goes the other way around. **wink**

Now, in steps the good guy, Jeremiah, to tackle this. **Sound the trumpets** He approached Hananiah and basically says, (and I’m paraphrasing here) “What do you think you are doin’?” Jeremiah then gives him a bit of a truth bomb and reveals that they are going to stay in exile for 70 years – a bit different to two years.  Some of them probably won’t even live that long to see them being free!

The Israelites will prosper in the future, but only after they learnt to seek God where they are now – in their current situation.

“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:7

If we can learn to seek the good things in the situation that we are in now, and be at peace with it, then we will prosper from it.  You’ve probably read this and thought…

How on earth, in my current situation, can I think positive and look for something good? Seriously? I am just too tired and it takes up too much energy.  It’s so much easier to just carry on with the way things are. Nobody cares anyway if I am a bit grumpy.

Does this sound about right?

Friend, God knows the plans He has for us and He will give us a beautiful future. But for now, as we are in this world living our crazy-filled lives, keep in mind that as we persevere through our difficulty, it will bring us hope and success.

Something to think about

Can you think of something that you are facing right now that you are finding difficult?  If so, hold on to the true meaning of what Jeremiah 29:11 brings.  Not hope that He will take away your difficulty and give you a better future, but that He will provide hope during your difficulty to make your future better.

Not hope that He will take away your difficulty and give you a better future, but that He will provide hope during your difficulty to make your future better. Share on X

Prayer

Lord, you know what I am facing right now, and I will be honest with you…I’m not liking it very much.  Be with me Lord, right beside me and give me the hope that I need to persevere through this hard time. Open my eyes Lord, to what is around me and help me to grow through my trials.  In Your Name. Amen

You are reading a Five Minute Friday word prompt. This is hosted by Kate Motaung and is where a group of people write about a given word for that week. This week the word is “future”. (Everything before the line break shows what I wrote in five minutes.)  If you are interested in taking part or reading other people’s inspiring writes, then hop on over to the site.

Faith

Trust and Obey

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I very rarely comment on social media what is going on in the world. Actually, I don’t think I have put up one post on Facebook about what goes on in the news. I only ever post about my life and the things that I’m doing.

It’s not because I don’t care about what goes on, because I do. Oh, I really do. My heart aches for what I see and read in the media about our broken world. And if I’m honest, sometimes I shed tears as well. Who doesn’t when you hear about another teenager being stabbed…

Or when another refugee seeking help is washed up on a beach…

Or when another bomb goes off and innocent people are being killed…

Or when you see pictures of children starving. Children that are the same age as my own, and all you can see is skin hanging off their bones and flies on their face.

Yes, my heart cries.

I guess I feel that my voice is not strong enough to shout out what I feel when I see all the noise and unrest going on around me. And let’s face it, there is a hell of a lot of unrest around us at the moment.

Injustice.
Famine.
War.
Terror.
Politics.
Natural disasters…Just to name a few!

Part of me is scared of what is going to happen to our world. Why should I be scared though? It’s not what is happening that scares me, but the “unknown”. Not knowing what is going to happen when decisions are being made. Not knowing what our world is coming to when I see all the fighting.

When it comes to politics, who shall I vote for? Will they really make a difference in my life…in our world? When it comes to the world around us, will we ever see an end to all the violence and suffering that takes place?

God prevails

All this unrest has all happened before though…many times over…and it will keep on happening.

Joshua could have easily turned his back on God when he stood in front of those gigantic walls of Jericho. Instead, he obeyed God and followed Him. And what did Joshua get in return? He saw victory over the city. God prevailed.

Gideon had an army of 32,000 men and he was up against it when he faced a mighty army that had 135,000 men. He was out numbered 4 to 1. Now those aren’t great odds, so when God told Gideon to reduce his army instead of increasing it, he must of thought that God had lost His mind. He listened though, and he obeyed. He won a mighty battle with just 300 men. God prevailed again.

And as for Jonah…Well, God certainly showed what happens when you don’t listen and you go your own way. You get eaten by a fish! Jonah in the end listened to what God wanted Him to do, and God prevailed!

There was also a man that was condemned to death…all because he was sent to help people…to save us. People laughed and mocked Jesus when He was being crucified on the cross. Well, how could He save people if He was hung on a cross? He was a little restricted at that point to do anything.

At that point He was! I wonder who had the last laugh in the end when He showed up walking down the road? God prevailed in the utmost way possible when Jesus rose from the dead.

Trust and obey

In all that had happened, God remained sovereign in all of it. He always has and always will, and it was when people turned to Him and trusted Him. They may not have understood what was happening and why it was happening, and at times God’s will probably seemed down right insane. But, they trusted Him, and obeyed.

As long as we trust and obey God, He will reign over all, and everything will work out. This is one thing that I am sure of in all the unrest that we have in our world today.

Tweet: As long as we trust and obey God, He will reign over all, and everything will work out.

A question to reflect on…

Is there an area in your life where you need to trust God and obey Him? If so, why don’t you consider handing it over to Him today?

Prayer

Lord, in this world where there is unrest, you are the One that reigns over all. May we remember that truth when we do not understand what is happening around us. Help us to stand strong in what we believe in. Help us to trust you and to obey you in what you call us to do. In Your Name. Amen.

Bible reading

1 Corinthians 15:58: Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Suggested Listening

If you want to feel inspired in doing God’s will today, listen to the hymn “Trust and Obey”. Although it was written in 1887, the words are very much relevant today as they were back then.

Faith, Five Minute Friday

Should

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//When I think of the things that I should do, it gives me a feeling like I have this big responsibility to do it…and you know it’s the end of the world as we know it if I don’t get it done, right? So, here then follows that well known feeling of failure because most of the time, let’s face it, I don’t do what I should do. And, I often think about the things that I shouldn’t do that I am doing!

Should is defined as an obligation, a duty, or correctness, and it’s usually when someone is criticising the persons actions. Basically meaning that when someone should do something, it is supposed to benefit you or those around you in a good way.

So, how do I know what I should do? Well, the Bible is full of all the things that we should do in order to live our lives right, so I guess that this should be a good starting point…//

Colossians 3:12-17 

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

In just 5 verses I have been given a lifetime’s worth of advice. I should…

Be compassionate; Kind; Humble; Meek; Patient (especially with those that irritate me!)

I should forgive (and I know this is easier said than done at times); Love (always and forever, with anyone and everyone); Be thankful (for anything and everything); Peaceful; Wise; Giving praise to God (even in the hard times); Read my Bible and let His Word live within me.

Wow! All that in 5 verses. (I’m pretty sure that I’ve probably missed one as well). It’s a lot though to take in, right? This is just a little list of “should dos” taken from a small passage – can you imagine what the list would look like if it was the whole Bible?

Do not fret though. We are not always going to get it right. One thing we have that we can fall back on when we feel we have failed, is Gods amazing Grace…and then we should get back up again and carry on with our obligation to live our lives right by God.

You are reading a Five Minute Friday word prompt. This is hosted by Kate Motaung and is where a group of people write about a given word for that week. This week the word is “should”. // marks what I wrote in 5 minutes.

Faith, Five Minute Friday

More

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//”Can I have some more, please?” One of my children ask me nervously.

“More? You seriously want more after everything you’ve had? Let what you’ve had satisfy you,” I reply sharply.

We live in a world now where we are not satisfied with what we have. We always seem to want more. We get the latest mobile phone model or the latest car, which makes us happy for a few weeks, or even a few months at a push, but we realise something is missing and another new model has come out. So, we go back to square one of needing more so that we can accomplish more and feel more satisfied. It’s a never ending circle.

Children are the worst for this. They receive something that makes them feel good, but they get bored easily so they come back and ask for more. Children are young though and it takes them longer to understand concepts in life. The notion that we need to be satisfied with what we have in front of us is just too hard for them to handle sometimes.//

Children need to understand that we are not always capable of providing them with more…with everything they want. Children are children though, and like I said, it takes a while for them to understand the concept of being satisfied with what they have. You would think it would get better though when you get older…right? It doesn’t.

When I think of how unsatisfied we are in this world, I am truly grateful that we can fall back on the One that will always satisfy our needs. The One that I always go to asking for more…

More grace…

More peace…

More love…

More of Him.

Isn’t it a good job that He doesn’t reply so sharply to me “be satisfied with what you have. I have given you enough grace as it is to last you a life time.”


I am satisfied in knowing that if I go to my father, he will always give me more.

You are reading a Five Minute Friday word prompt. This is hosted by Kate Motaung and is where a group of people write about a given word for that week. This week the word is “more”. // marks what I wrote in 5 minutes.

Five Minute Friday, Happiness

Make A Joyful Noise!

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You are reading a Five Minute Friday word prompt. This is hosted by Kate Motaung and is where a group of people write about a given word for that week. This week the word is “sing”. // marks what I wrote in 5 minutes.

//Singing is in all of us – wether we can sing or not! And all of us at one point will have an urge inside to get out what goes around in our heads – whether it’s humming a simple tune, or pelting it out at full force in the shower!

I use to sing quite a bit when I was younger – in school choirs and church choirs – and wasn’t that bad. I could even reach the top notes back in the day. I struggle now though and you would probably laugh at me for trying (I laugh at me for trying), but that doesn’t stop me from singing when I want to! //

Singing is a great way of increasing our well-being. We breath better because of the amount of oxygen we take in. The more oxygen we take in getting to our brains, it makes us more alert. Singing also helps us with facial exercises because of the expressions that we make when we sing – some people obviously get more exercise that others!

Singing has so many more benefits – mentally and emotionally as well as physically. Focussing on the words that we sing, especially emotional songs with meaningful words, helps to soften even the hardest of hearts. Singing is also very Spiritual and what better way to use your voice, whether you can sing or not, than by using it for God. However we sing, if we are singing for God it is music to His ears. Make a joyful noise it often says in the Psalms. A JOYFUL NOISE!!

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So why not try and let out some of those songs that you have been keeping inside of yourself today. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain with the benefits of singing. Don’t worry about whether you can sing or not. Just because you can’t sing doesn’t mean to say that you don’t sing!!

 

Encouraging hope in a broken world

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