Chosen - The inner strength

Life with God is not easy. But for me, life without God is unbearable. I suffered with complexes, paranoia, constant nightmares and fear of death from a very young age. It was only Jesus who set me free from all that. I used to think that once I give my life to God, there will be no more problems. How wrong was I. We still face problems, the difference is we have Someone by our side guiding us, whereas before we were alone. For every problem we find the solution. While people resort to suicide and many crazy things because of desperation and feeling completely hopeless before their problems, God's chosen have the strength to endure and overcome everything that life throws at them.

In my walk with God I have faced things I never thought I would go through. When I look back, I think "how an earth did I get through this?"I know of people that went through similar problems to me but right before the situation, they crumbled to pieces and honestly I do not know what has become of them since then. When you are chosen by God you are strong and overcome everything you face. Many come and go but you always remain. It's in the toughest moments and fiercest battles that we find and build up our strength.

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Chosen - You find Him

I used to wonder why I longed to know who Jesus was. I went to different churches during my childhood, often sat at the back of the room, bored, not understanding a word, but deep inside I was searching for something. At 15 I started going to raves, night clubs, drinking and wearing certain clothes which just thinking about makes me cringe. None of that gave me what I was desperately in need of, an inner peace and sense of belonging. I went through some traumatic and tough times growing up, not knowing where I would actually end up, suicide seeming like the best option, but towards the end of my teens 18-19, I ended up in a place where I always wanted to be, but didn't believe I deserved to be, which was the Presence of God. I stopped going to church at 14 but found myself in a church 4 and a half years later.

When you are chosen by God, it doesn't matter where your life is heading, you will some how find Him. He selected us even before we were born, that's why all throughout our childhood and teenage years we never fitted in with the crowd. We always felt different and were also treated differently by others, even by our own family. We could not put a finger on it, but there was a longing for something more than this world could offer. We cried, we suffered, we went through hell but some how we made it through, like something was keeping us going, even when we were at the bottom of the pit. That was God, watching over His chosen, waiting for the moment we recognised Him and called out to Him. Then He came to our rescue and here we are today.

Many people who are chosen by God don't even know that they are yet, but they will know, I believe this. They may have even left God and gone back to the filthy life they came from or even worse, but they will come back to God, sooner or later because He has not given up on His chosen. There is still hope for them.

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Chosen

Yesterday we had our weekly Biblical Educators meeting. For those who don't know, Biblical Educators teach the children who attend the Children's Biblical Centre each week, the word of God, in fun but educational ways in which they will understand. During our meeting we read Isaiah 44: 1-2, which reads “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant And Israel whom I have chosen. Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb".

God spoke so much to us, just in these few verses and I would like to share with you what God revealed to me. We feel happy when we are chosen to be part of a play at school, voted employee of the month at work. When we are entrusted with more responsibilities or chosen out of hundreds of people to represent the organization we are a part of at an event or conference, we feel a sense of achievement because our hard work, effort and talents have been noticed. Now imagine being hand picked by God, the creator of everything you see, touch and feel. Out of millions, He chose me and you, full of mistakes, having a sordid and shameful past, to be partakers in His work and to be part of His Kingdom here on earth and in heaven. Isn't that great? What a privilege and honour. I once doubted and even despised this, but now I am forever greatful. However this does not mean life for us will be a bed of roses. With the calling of being saved, comes many trials and tribulations. I will elaborate more on this in my next post.

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Day one in Israel

7 Janaury 2012
As we arrived at the Hotel, I met my room mate Nomubele from South Africa and pledges from Africa, USA, Brazil and Europe whom I had been speaking to via email and skype prior to this trip. I was very excited to finally meet them.




Something our guide Renait reinforced to us that caught my attention. None of us were in Israel by mistake. God had brought us all here to teach us many things. Knowing I was in the Holy Land because God had chosen me to go was a comfort for me as prior to the trip I had a battle against doubts about my worth and deserving to be there. In the evening as I was reading my Bible I came across this verse that was the icing of the cake for me, "I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. Galatians 1:1.

In the afternoon after lunch and on our way to the Kibutz we visited Mount Carmel. It was here that Elijah challenged the 450 prophets of baal to call upon their god to send fire from heaven and consume their sacrifice. I learned something that really caught my attention.
Before Elijah sacrificed on Mount Carmel, he had to repair the altar for it was in ruins. We must do the same. We must repair whatever is broken in our lives, whether it is a broken relationship with a relative, family member, friend,person of authority or even in our relationship with God before we can offer to God any kind of sacrifice. The sacrifice is not only campaigns of faith but the daily sacrifices we are required to make against our will. Many times, we do not see the benefits of our sacrifices and the actions we take because there are things that need to be repaired first.

When meditating on this, I thought of the passage"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,eave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift". Matthew 5:23

Mount Carmel

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