How to Grow Spiritually...

I was at a meeting last night where we were learning how to move people or how to grow spiritually. One of the things we looked at was the top factors that help people grow. These results are from a worldwide survey done by the Willow Creek Assosiaction.

1 - Not surprising, The most important thing that we can do to grow spiritually is to READ THE BIBLE. This might seem pretty simple but most of us find it extremely difficult to read our bibles everyday, but I encourage you to persist in this. I have see grow in my own life by reading everyday. Even if you read just one chapter or a few verses. As time goes on you will find yourself reading more.

2 - PRAYER - not surprising either is praying. This we also find difficult and we don't think we are qualified enough. Pray to me is simply talking to God. I don't really has a specific time to pray but I talk to God through the day. Just to let Him know how I feel, ask Him for help, I even ask Him to speak to be about situations as they arise. I encourage you to share your day with God, don't just set aside a few minutes in the morning for Him. Pray short prayers.

3 - BEING PART OF A GROUP - I always say to life change happens is a group because we can ask question, discuss and come to a conclusion. You can't ask question in church. I encourage you to get involved in some kind of spiritual growth, it doesn't have to be formal, but something that you can ask question, open up, and talk with people about your walk with God.

4 - SERVING - I find most people aren't keen to do this. Maybe it's because we have to serve other people so our pride gets in the way but that is exactly the point. When we can serve other people and forget about ourselves is when God opens up our hearts and does amazing work. If you want people to speak God's word into your life don't wait for it to happen, start speaking God's word into other peoples lives and watch God do amazing things.

5 - GENEROSITY - And this is where we all shut down. Let me just share what has happened in my life. I don't believe generosity is something I am good at even when I think I am getting better I am still really bad. My wife and i have had may arguments about being generosity. She wants to give it all away and I want to keep it. But recently I noticed that our finances (generosity doesn't just mean money, it could be time. just think about it) were running low and that we didn't have much and all of a sudden God started to challenge me to give money away. I remember think to myself that it is easier to give money away when you don't have much then when you have a lot. As I started given people money, I don't just give money to anyone, I am very clear about who I give to; I noticed that God started speaking to me more and more everyday and opened opportunities for me to share with people. Open your heart to being generous and allow God to work in your heart.

I hope this gives you some help and some practical things do.

Please share with me your experiences of each step as God has worked in your life.

God is Faithful

Just thought I would drop a quick blog to encourage you.

Some people have already let me know that this year has started off hard. I want you to know that God is Faithful!

I have been meditating on this the last few week and have been so encouraged. I was considering all the things, in my life, where God has been faithful. I then started sharing with my wife, Chantel (you can read her blog @ www.chantelrobert.blogspot.com) and we were so encouraged and it gave us so much faith. So I thought I would share some of the things God has done in my life quickly and I encourage you to do the same and notice how God has never left you and He never will.

First up, when I was in school I was diagnosed with a learning disability and told that I would pass matric but would not get an exception. Well I passed matric with an exemption through IEB. God is Faithful.

I had an appendix operation when I was about 24. My heart stopped on the operating table but GOD was with me!

More recently, my wife was diagnosed with POS (You can read about it on her blog), which means we would have trouble falling pregnant. If you know my wife you would know what a big deal this was to her. I strongly believe that one of her purposes in life is to be a mother. Just after this happened we were given a months notice to move out of our flat. Everything seemed like it was going wrong but God was with us and preparing something amazing! God is so faithful.

Within a month we found a house to rent which was much bigger and at a good price. Something we could bring up kids in! A few days after we moved in a beautiful baby was conceived and is 3 months away from being born. God is faithful, He will never leave you.

I haven't even mentioned how God spoke to us about getting married, about the dreams we had that we would have a child (days before we found out), How God has protected us but how He has also allowed us to go through trials so that we can come out better. God is Faithful, He will never fail you!

God has given me a new lease on life, I hope that as you consider the things God has done for you that you would be encourage to keep trusting that He will come through. Our lives are so broken and fragmented but if we just have faith in God, He will make something beautiful.

Don't give up, God is faithful even when you are not!

Keep going

A new year brings new challengers and new opportunities but for many of us a few days into the year we just slip back into the old habbit we had. I really believe that this year we can do better and go furthur than ever before.

Galatians 6:9 says - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

I want to encourage you to keep doing what you said you were going to do different this year. Don't give up! You are doing better than you think you are and God is still please with you.

Maybe you have already given up but I want to encourage you to pick up where you fell and keep going. You can do it! I believe in you and so does God!

Just when we think we can't do it anymore or feel like we have failed is when we need to put our head done and keep going with perserverance and as the scripture says, at the proper time we WILL reap a harvest.

Don't give up!!

A New Thing

The New Year has begun and many of us have some new years resolutions and things we want to change. Some of us might still be going strong and others may have failed but it's good to remind us that God will never fail on us.

As this year began I had a great sense that God would be doing something new in our lives personally but I also believe that God desires to do something new in your life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. the Old has gone and the new has come."

If you are a child of God you are a new creation and God is doing something new in your lives everyday. Keep trusting God that He will do something new as you give Him your heart.

You might have had a terrible 2011 or had a bad start to 2012. You could have done something you regret and would rather forget. It could have been giving up your virginity, doing drugs, having an abortion or just making the wrong decision. Yes, you can't change what you did but God wants to do something new.

Isaiah 43: 18-19 says - Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

You might be thinking you are a bad person but God wants to make you a new creation, He wants you to forget the former things and allow Him to do something new.

Will you put your complete trust in God this year and look ahead and not behind as He does a new thing?

Read these lyrics from a song called "All things new" by Elevation Worship. I have decided it is my anthem for the year, maybe it will be yours too.

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Peace be still, You are near

There's nowhere we can go

That You won't shine redemption's light Our guilt withdrawn

As You rise, we come alive

The grave has lost, the old is gone

Chorus:

And You're making all things new

You are making all things new

 You are making all things new

And we are free

Hope is found

You are here Our hearts forever sealed

By this love that came for us

Now we are Yours

As You rise, we come alive

Your love never ending

Your grace never failing

Redemption is calling us home 

The year of the Lord's favour

As a New Year is upon us we all have gone through some sort of reflection of 2011. What we did well, what we did wrong, what we can do more of and what we can do less of.

I have been praying into 2012 for a while now and I really believe that 2012 is going to be an awesome year for you and I believe God wants to show you His favour! We can get all pumped up about how awesome that statement is but there is a lot more to it than just being a statement.

Exodus 33:12 says - If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

In this scripture Moses desires to find favour with God. Don't you want God to be please with you and to favour you? Later in the text God tells Moses that he has found favour in His eyes and God showed Moses His Glory.

So what is Favour? What does it look like?

Someone (I am not sure who) said - Favour is God's goodness displayed in an individuals life in such a way that only He can get the credit.

What are you trusting to happen this year? Is it possible that you can achieve these things yourself? How could God totally blow your socks off?

Something you will notice in the Bible is that anyone who did something great for God first found favour with God. Before God uses you in whatever way, you need to find favour with God!

Lets just clear this up. Finding favour with God is NOT getting a favour from God. It's not something you can repay or deserve. It's something God does because He is good.

In order for us to have God's favour in our lives we have to activley seek God's favour. We can't just sit back and think God is going to come through. James tells us that faith without action is dead. Lets show that we have faith that God is going to show His favour towards us in 2012.

We have to find favour in God's eyes. Find is a very important word in that sentance. There are so many examples of people searching for something and find it in the Bible. As the year goes on we will look as some of these examples and how we can take practical steps to find God's favour.

May 2012 be an awesome year with lots of favour from God.