If - Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Michael Jackson On Em - Parabols

Gluttony

(The following is an edited excerpt from the (free) The Lord's Table course I have been involved to help me overcome gluttony in my life!)

One of the problems among Christians today is that very few are willing to say that the act of overeating is sin. It is socially acceptable to overeat and so most would rather say that overeating is a "weakness," or a dietary problem that may be corrected by changing foods, a glandular problem, or that we simply "have a big appetite"...etc.

Overeating is a sin for the following reasons:

• Whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we are to do to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). God is not glorified when I evidence a lack of self control in my eating habits.

• My body is the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:17, 6:19). The temple of God is not to be destroyed or defiled. Overeating or other sinful eating habits defiles the temple and if continued in can lead to its early destruction.

• Sinning leads to slavery (John 8:34). Overeating, like any sin, becomes addictive and may be extremely hard to overcome.

• Jesus told us to take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23) and Paul told us to crucify the desires of the flesh (Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5). To overeat is to gratify the cravings of the flesh, rather than to crucify them. This is sin. However, we are not at all saying that it is sin to eat when hungry. What we are talking about here, gluttony, is the habit of overeating and indulging our flesh, not the necessary requirement to receive daily nourishment for our bodies when we feel hungry. Food is not evil. Eating is not a sin.

• There are many passages of Scripture which speak of the sin of "gluttony" and instruct us to avoid the path of the glutton (Proverbs 23:20-21) and to "put a knife to our throat" if we are given to gluttony (Proverbs 23:2). (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines gluttony as "excess eating.")

In Acts 3:16-18, we see that repentance opens the flood house of God's blessing as it brings not only glorious refreshment from the Lord, but Jesus Christ Himself.

You see, if we fail to call overeating sin, we miss out on the blessings of repentance. Why not call overeating by the biblical term of "gluttony," so that we will see the need to repent? And, as we repent, we will experience such sweet refreshment from the Lord, such satisfaction from the Lord, such enjoyment in the Lord, that we will wonder why we weren't ever told this truth before.

Repentance is that which causes me to do a full turn away from overeating or any sinful eating habit and a full turn towards the Lord. In practical terms, it means that I have been looking to food to supply something that has been lacking, and now I turn away from overeating food and, instead, look to the Lord to meet that need. We mourn that we have hurt the heart of God by sinning with food and we may even weep over our willful and stubborn pursuit of satisfaction in food. Our sins not only pierced the heart of Jesus on the cross but, when God grants repentance to us, they also pierce our hearts, and our hearts become torn over our rebellion. But oh, what joy comes when God enables us, by His grace, to turn from overeating to seek the Lord. We experience the refreshment of God’s grace, the renewal of His love, the joy of His fellowship. Oh dear ones, I pray you will see the amazing value of repentance.

At The Lord's Table, we are not into a 60-day diet plan, pills that guarantee weight loss, programs that focus on food, or methods that require us to count calories, fat grams, carbohydrates or sugar. We are about calling ourselves to repentance from habits of overeating, about setting forth Christ as our soul's satisfaction and about developing habits of eating in a disciplined manner. If satisfaction in Christ and self-control would become the habit of our lives, we would see the blessings of God being poured out on us. In Christ there is joy and heart satisfaction, spiritual refreshment and renewal, and we "eat in plenty and are satisfied." Yes, repentance brings refreshment!

www.settingcaptivesfree.com/lords_table

Don’t Let Your Guard Down

Today I have been humbled in the most unexpected way! If you listen to Christian Hip Hop, you would have heard about Cross Movement Records artist, The Ambassador’s moral failure. Now before I continue, I do not want to gossip about the issue or judge Ambassador for what has taken place. My heart and prayers go out for him, his family and his church! I pray by the grace of Jesus Christ that there will be healing that comes from repentance and that this will lead to his restoration! This all really and utterly breaks my heart!

What I would do, rather, is share with you how complacent I have been in my faith and pray that it makes us all look at ourselves and realise that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)! Often we do not realise that this Christian life is a battle, like Ephesians 6:12 puts it, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” The life we are living is a war against the devil and his dark forces. And because we cannot see the demons, we carry on like they are not there! It is time to wake up and to be on guard.

To see our brother Amba get taken down by the enemy really shakes my faith! I look up to this man (even now) and saw him as an example of the way I should go! Now I question myself. Can I make it through? Do I have what it takes? If he can fall, then I must be doomed? These are the questions that I had running through my head today and I really hope they are running through your head now! Friends, this is not a joke, the Bible tells us to, work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). I had lost this fear and trembling! I go about my day without real thought about the battle and I am caught, like so many people, in the day-to-day things in life that I fail to take a step back to take stock. I forget that I have to be sober, be vigilant; because our adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We are so quick to notice someone fall but fail to notice that we are right on the edge of doom ourselves!

We need to look to Jesus! We need to individually, fight the good fight of faith, laying hold on eternal life, to which we were also called (1 Timothy 6:12). We need to put on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). Practically this means taking time out regularly to see where we are spiritually, how much time do we spend with God (reading the Bible, praying, worshipping), who are we accountable to, making sure that we are constantly fleeing from temptation and repenting (turning away from sin) when we mess up.

There are three things that I have learnt from the events of today and they all apply to all of us! Firstly, it could have been me! It is only by the grace of God that we are where we are in our lives. “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Therefore, we have no right to feel self-righteous because God is sovereign over our lives! Secondly, we have to look to Christ and not to man! People will always let you down, and if you let other people and their actions determine your faith then your faith is in the wrong place! “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2). Christ alone should be our only standard that we look to! Any other standard is not high enough. Finally, love those who fall! We live in a generation that loves to see stars rise so that we can watch them fall! That is evil! We need to love those that have fallen! We need to pray for them and hold them up because who knows, next time it could be you! Above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8)

Ultimately, we need to keep our guard up by relying on Christ! We have no idea what is coming around the corner. Only God knows what trials we will face but if we have confidence, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6), then we should have no fears. Don’t let your guard down, this is a race. Please keep your eyes focused on Christ the King!

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Psalm 19: The Perfect Revelation of the Lord

(To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David)

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgements of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

Too Late - F.L. Eiland

1 Too late, twill be for you to cry, When mercy's day has passed you by! When solemn night, of dark despair, Shall come upon you halting there!

2 Too late, when death has barred the door, Your wailings can be heard no more! Rejected, there, thy soul will be Shut out, through all eternity!

3 Will you not heed the voice today, Inviting you Christ to obey? And be prepared to enter there, A pure and spotless robe to wear?

4 No longer, there in sin abide! This all-important step decide! Come out, where Christ can touch thy soul, And at this moment be made whole!

Chorus: Too late, too late, poor trembling soul! O will this be your fate? Too late, too late to be made whole! Too late, too late, too late!

25 Random Things About Me

1. I am an introvert! But I'm not shy!

2. I have watched and enjoyed 2 seasons of the Gilmore Girls with friends (who wish to remain anonymous).

3. Sometimes I feel like a nomad, I’m always moving from one place to another (not always by choice)!

4. I have been DJing since the age of about 10!

5. I once wanted to do drama in university! I wanted to be an actor. But, being African my dad said NO!

6. When I’m by myself I am a very serious person and I think a lot!!! I don’t think I even smile when I’m chillin’ by myself.

7. I believe family is the most important gift from God! I would die for mine!

8. The number 25 is so far off and I don’t think I can come up with anything else!

9. I am random and spontaneous!!! I love trying new things at least once, except for swim in the shark infested waters of Adelaide.

10. I love singing!!! Especially when worshipping God!!!

11. I have a tattoo and am considering getting two more!

12. I am a tech geek! I like to know what the latest developments in technology are! I’m a bit behind these days but only because of fiscal reasons!

13. I’m secretive!!! I keep things that are very important to me close to my chest!

14. I love babies but I am officially not a baby person because they cry when I hold them! But I look forward to the day I become a father!

15. I’m really bad at staying in touch with people!

16. If my house was burning down the three things I would take with me is my NJKV Bible, my laptop (because I have sermons on there) and my PlayStation 3 (for the same reason)!

17. I hate flying, its just stressful, but I love visiting new places and travelling!

18. I love long distance driving, by myself! It’s peaceful and relaxing and the feeling of escape is fantastic! An 8 and a half hour drive feels like only 2 or 3 hours.

19. I write a journal but I never read over it! I don’t see the point of reading it, I already know what is in there!

20. I am an entrepreneur! I am always seeing new potential business ventures!

21. I’m proudly Zimbabwean! I don’t like it when people talk ill of my country! I know there are problems and my heart is to see them get fixed.

22. I would love to drive a Bugati on the Autobahn. No speed limits baby!

23. I hate maths!

24. I am an African Metrosexual! Which means to an African I’m a metrosexual and to a metrosexual I’m just plain African!

25. I am addicted to BBC, CNN and Cartoon Network!