Pastor Karabo Rantwa

The Whole Bible

2012-01-23T11:35:00.001+02:00

The Word of God is very interesting. It has a lot of hidden truth in it, that is why we need to pray before reading it. God has granted us the Bible as a primary way of learning about Him and about us. It is the primary way He talks to us. He can talk to us in many other ways but the Bible is the primary way, and whatever God speaks to us must be in line with the Bible.

Le us be people who read the Bible ourselves. Let us not just wait until Sunday to hear a preacher because He can't possibly teach everything we need to know. Sometimes we as pastors just choose certain Scriptures that we like and we do not teach you about other Scriptures that we may not necessarily like. If you want to progress in your spiritual life, read the Bible yourself. Find out what God wants to say to you personally. Even when people prophesy into your life check it out first, don't just believe everything. Its a shame that sometimes we as pastors say things that are not from God because we want favours from our congregation.

My encouragement for this week is Check it out don't take anybody's word unless God confirms it first. Don't even take my word before God confirms it. In these days its very important to stick to God, we need God's grace because He says that in the last days even the elect will be deceived.

Note we are starting church again this weekend at a different location, time 1030hrs
WE LOVE YOU GUYS

Welcome to 2012

2012-01-17T12:59:00.000+02:00

Dumelang (greetings)

Let me take this opportunity to welcome you to the year 2012, you have made it. This is a year that the Lord has made for you and me and everyone alive. If we are still on this earth there is a reason otherwise we would not be here.

Lets start this year by asking the Lord to lead us and direct us. Remember we need to commit our ways to Him.

I am personally excited about this year because the Lord has revealed that it will be a year of establishment for us at Progressive Glory International Church. It is good to have a vision as a church but more importantly it is important to have a personal vision as well. This year lets have a more personal relationship with the Lord. I encourage you to set aside time to spend with the Lord on a daily basis. Ask Him to constantly remind you to spend time with Him. I encourage you to be dependent upon the Lord this year.

If challenges come your way this year remember to seek the face of the Lord and continue moving forward. Forgive and let go of people who have hurt you this past year. Learn from the failures you had last year and forgive yourself. Put on the whole amour of God and stand firm this year.

Above all be determined to grow this year, grow from glory to glory as you become close to God.

Last Blog of the Year 2011

2011-12-19T08:38:00.000+02:00

Dumelang

This has been a great year. There were a lot of ups and downs but we made it. This year will always be in my heart because it is the year that Progressive Glory International Church was born and registered. There were a lot of things I had to pass through and learn before finally deciding to plant a Church. God has truly been good.

One thing I have learned is that if God wants you to do something no one can stop it no matter how hard they try. It is true that the Lord sets a table before our enemies. It is also true that we should love our enemies. Bitterness and anger cannot help us accomplish what the Lord wants us to accomplish, it is only when we let go of those who have hurt us and continue to love them that the Lord opens doors and uses us.

Until you realize that you are alone and you will stand before the Lord one day alone, there is not much we can do because we will not have an identity. As long as we are defined by a group of individuals, there is not much we can do. You are an individual and you work hand in hand with people.

N.B I am not talking about arrogance. Arrogance and trying to prove oneself will only lead to you being tired. Its better not to live your life trying to show people who thought you will fail that you are not going to fail. Its not about other people but it about doing the will of God. Don't try to prove to everyone that you are a success because if you are in the will of God you are already successful end of story.

I am expecting a lot of things this coming year. Progressive Glory International Church will rise to new heights and many people are going to grow and realize the capabilities they have been given by the Lord Jesus. I am definitely looking forward to this new year. We will have our first service on the 29th January 2012 you are welcome to visit us.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS I LOVE YOU GUYS AND THANKS FOR ALL YOU DID TO ASSIST ME

Control

2011-12-12T07:50:00.001+02:00

Psalms 24:1 "The earth is the LORD's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein."

Everything in this world belongs to God, including me and you. He is the creator of all things visible and invisible.

Sometimes we like to think that we are in control or in charge of things that are around us. That is not true. WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL. God is the one who has full control of what He has created. Simply put, if you want to understand what is going on around you and how to maneuver in life, the Creator is Key. If you want to know your purpose on earth, the Creator is key.

I believe it pains God to see us living in pain when He has given us all we need to live by. Don't misunderstand me, if we are still in this world, we will face trials and go through pain, but if we allow God to be on our side, He will give us peace and understanding in our trials. We will only have a pain free life in heaven.

Today if you always read this blog and you do not know Christ I advice you to surrender your life to the leadership of the Lord and I tell you things will never be the same. One of the reasons people don't give their lives to the Lord is because they are afraid that they will not be in control of their lives and do as they please anymore. God is love and whatever He asks us to do as His children is for our own good. You cannot compare Him to anyone or anything. If you want something new in your life this holidays. This is it.

If you want to give your life to Christ, connect with me in Facebook and we can chat about it. my Facebook name is Karabo Rantwa.

We have a loving Father or God. He is in control and we are not.

They will hurt you

2011-12-05T07:36:00.001+02:00

Luke 17:1 "Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!"

In this life people are going to hurt you. People are going to put words that you never spoke in your mouth. People are going to speak bad things about you. People are going to misunderstand you. People are going to blame you for things that you have never done. People are going to think that you are crazy. People are going to want you to fit into their box and if you don't, they will hurt you and say terrible things that you never even imagined. People that you have always trusted may turn against you.

People want your soul and if you have not given your life to the Lord or you are luke warm, you will be a play ground for people and the enemy. It may look like you are succeeding but if your soul is not in the right place you are just being used. If you are not surrendered to the Lord you are a slave, rather be a slave to the Lord because His yoke is easy and his burden is light. The Lord's burden is lighter than the yoke of people and the enemy.

Life is not as smooth as we want it to be, but thanks to Jesus He always makes a way and always makes our paths straight even when it seems like we are doomed. If we keep asking the Lord to hold us up, He will hold us up through thick and thin. Have a good week and remember God loves you

Why Give up?

2011-11-30T08:13:00.001+02:00

You know I have really learned a lot of things about God, life and people. Sometimes when I look back I just think, what would have happened if I gave up. Because truthfully there are times where i just felt like giving up. Times when it felt like nothing was working. I remember a few times where I had to literally break down and cry because it felt like I was at the end. I just want to thank God for holding me up and giving me direction.

I am sure there are times where you feel like giving up, but my question to you today is "why give up" keep moving forward, as long as God is the one leading you, you will succeed. All thing will eventually work together for good. Don't be afraid the Lord God is with you, just like He is with me. Don't give up because of pressure from people, circumstances e.t.c. The norm is that we tend to go with the flow. We tend to think that we cannot make a difference. We tend to think that only certain kinds of people can make a difference and we conform to the image that they have created for us. Stick to the image that Christ has set. Yes the Word of God says we need to have people who counsel and encourage us. My message is let us be balanced. Check things out for yourself and keep moving forward.

Don't be afraid to move forward and be yourself, the Lord God will protect and guide you.

Proverbs 14:12

2011-11-21T08:23:00.001+02:00

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

This is a warning to each and everyone of us including me. Sometimes we may be moving in a wrong direction and think that it is God. It is amazing that the Word of God says John 16:2 "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service."

Let us be careful that we do the Word of God, that we do not waver when God leads us. The problem with many Christians is that we find ourselves doing what we were not meant to do because of many reasons. I encourage you to stand strong today and keep doing what God wants you to do. If it is what God wants you to do, the bible will be in agreement with it and you will be at peace. On the other hand be careful that it is God who is directing you otherwise you will not survive, there are wolves out there covered in sheep's skin.

If it is God who is giving you directions you will be covered and protected, there is absolutely nothing that God cannot protect you from. Lastly don't be afraid of death, Jesus has already given us victory of it. I love you all be blessed and remember God loves you more.

Godliness is not Gain

2011-11-16T09:03:00.001+02:00

1 Timothy 6:4-6 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Is there anything wrong with riches, the answer is no. Is there anything wrong with equating riches to favor with God, the answer is yes. There is everything wrong about having stuff and thinking that means favor with God. For some reason the church nowadays seem to take that direction. We may acquire a lot of stuff and that does not necessarily mean that God is pleased with us. True riches are the fruits of the spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

Let us not be deceived. God is continually purifying His church and the line between the true and the false will become more clear. People are starting to recognize what is true and what is false. Its time for another generation.

All things.

2011-11-07T13:58:00.001+02:00

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

I have heard so many teaching about this scripture. We know now that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes. One thing to note is that is says those who LOVE God. Jesus said that those who love Him will do His will. If we are true children of God eveything will eventually work for our good.

another thing to note here is that Paul had a revelation about this. In order for us to fully comprehend this Scripture God has to reveal it to us, otherwise we will just believe it without deep conviction. I can testify to the fact that indeed all things word together for good.

as we continue with the scriptures from verse 29 to 39 of the same chapter, paul tells us why all things work together for good. we have already being predistined and justifyed by Christ. In everything we do if we are living according to the word of god and what God tells us to do, we will be justified and glorified. So there is absolutely nothing that can work against you. That is why Paul said that all things work together for Good. Read the following Scriptures they go on to say that if God be for us, who can be against us

Paul goes on to say that who can lay a charge against us? It is God who justifies. This needs revelation from God to understand it. Literally with all this there is absolutely no way that all things cannot work together for our good. Let me stop here and go back to work .

Deliverance

2011-10-31T08:32:00.000+02:00

There is certainly something happening in Christianity especially in Africa. We always hear about deliverance, we see people being delivered. We see people crawling like snakes, we see people saying they are married spiritually (spiritual husbands and wife's). I see this most of the time.

As I look at all this miracles and deliverance happening one thing for sure is that the gospel is spreading because the Name of Jesus is used during these deliverance services and stuff. On the other hand It sometimes concerns me. The enemy can also perform miracles, this is seen during the time when Moses went to Egypt to help deliver the Children of Israel. The diviners in Egypt would also perform miracles when God performed miracles through Moses. Though there are true men of God who are used in the area of deliverance we have to be careful of the false/fake

Another thing that concerns me is that people now go for this so called deliverance services just for miracles. People get excited when they see miracles and people being delivered. It is very rare for people to listen to the teachings, they just want miracles. Many times after this services people always speak about the miracles and the way people were becoming snakes e.t.c Let us be careful of where our focus is.

Another thing that concerns me is that sometimes we see the same people being delivered. This concerns me because after "deliverance" if a person does not learn more about the Word of God and close the door, the Word says that when the demon comes back it comes back seven fold i.e seven times stronger. Imagine if something comes back stronger. A person may think "I have been delivered" and yet the demon is now seven times stronger and you are now stubborn to the point where deliverance is not working because you are blinded.

Let us be people who are constantly learning the Word of God. Miracles and deliverance are part of the Christian life but not the focus. The main focus is doing the will of God and being yourself, being free.

I don't Know

2011-10-24T08:28:00.000+02:00

I don't know why it is hard for people to say I don't know.

Is it belittle-ling to say "I don't know."? Its not a sin not to know stuff. The problem is when we are not willing to learn. If we know everything there will be no room to learn. If we think we know everything we will not learn because we will always be ready to give our own opinion and in the process miss everything. People tend to move away from people who "think" they know everything. Let us assess our selves today. Do we have an opinion about everything? Do we always want to know the answer? Do we feel irritated and angry when people don't listen to us?

On the other hand some people always say they don't know in order to run away from responsibilities. The way we say "I don't know" also matters our motives for saying anything are more important than the words themselves. If we don't know let us not end there, yes! we may not know but let us be open to learn

Remember it is not a sin to say "I don't know", If we say "I don't know" we will not die. At the same time, let us continue to learn for the Word of God says " my people perish for lack of Knowledge"

Jesus as a cover up

2011-10-17T08:42:00.000+02:00

Christianity is a good way of life, unfortunately when it is not done right it is very destructive. There are many Christians who are self destructing. Many Christians are hurting inside but they don't want to deal with the pain so they use Jesus or Christianity to cover up their pain.

The worse thing is that sometimes Christians like to put up their fake self and not their true self. This becomes a pattern and in the long run we are so deep into our fake self that we believe it is who we are. Sometimes it is very hard to get Christians to admit that they are in emotional pain. There are so many Christians out there who are ashamed of themselves and they way they live.

Sometimes because of this we Christians become judgmental and competitive because it feels better to criticize someone or to look better than them. Christianity is not what some people have made it to be. It is not all about looking good on the outside. So many Christians are in pain and suffering, the remedy is to let God know your pain He will heal us and give us beauty for ashes. Don't be ashamed yourself Christians are humans too talk to God and live a life of freedom. Don't be pressured by other Christians and become a performer too.

Rejoice in growth

2011-10-10T08:32:00.000+02:00

There are so many people that are doing well around us. Let us be happy for them. Many people are becoming Christians and they are advancing in the Kingdom very fast. This is a good thing. The Lord needs harvesters. The Lord needs people who will lead people to be at their best. If you are interested in people doing well and advancing, rejoice when it happens. Rejoice even if you are no the one who helped them.

Remember it is not about us. It is about the Kingdom of God. Whatever we do unto others must be what we would like other people to do unto us. Be happy for other people and in turn others will be happy for you when you advance. Let us not be deceived into believing that we are the only ones who know the truth. Let us not be deceived into thinking that our churches are the only ones that are teaching the true word of God. There are so many people out there who are teaching the truth.

Christians let us unite, let us remove selfish ambitions from our midst. Otherwise selfish ambitions will bring strife, competition, pride, jealousy and a lot of negative things, myself included. we all need to guard our hearts with all diligence.

This is a picture of our meeting on Sunday 09/10/2011 at Progressive Glory International Church.

Independence Vs Dependence

2011-10-03T08:25:00.000+02:00

The world today teaches a lot about independence. People like being independent. It makes them feel secure. Sometimes people don't even want to marry each other in community of property because they want to be independent.

Independence and freedom are good but as children of God how do we use our freedom?

King David wrote a proverb to Solomon teaching him Proverbs 3:5-8 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones."

The question is do we want to take the same instructions that David wrote to Solomon? I would advice that we take the advice. Let us use our independence for dependence. Let us be dependent on God for whatever we do. Dependence on God is a good thing. Dependence on God means we are wise. Dependence on God means we acknowledge that we are weak and we need God for strength. Admitting that we are weak is not weakness but it is strength.

The Old Man Is Dead

2011-09-26T08:25:00.000+02:00

Romans 6:12-13 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

As born again Christians, the old man is dead. We are a new creation. The old man may try to resurrect but God has given us grace not to allow ourselves to yield to him. we have to yield ourselves to the new man.

It is very easy to go back to our old nature, therefore we should always be alert. We need to be careful of our thoughts and our actions. It is advisable to always be in connection with God. Without Him it is absolutely impossible to keep the old man down.

This week I encourage you to allow yourself to be led by God and not to ignore Him. Be blessed and remember to yield yourself to righteousness (Christ)

Time

2011-09-19T08:53:00.000+02:00

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

There is a time for everything. As people it is important not just do things. we need to do things at the right time. We should be careful not to do things just because we want to please someone. If it is not the right time to do it don't do it.

We must be careful not to do things because we don't like a situation that we maybe in, this may lead to premature spiritual growth. We should wait for God to say "now is the right time."

We must be careful not to judge people according to a season they are going through because there is a time for everything. Seasons change. We must be careful not to describe ourselves according to the season we are going through. we have to look to God for descriptions. He knows who we are regardless of what may be going on.

Be blessed and remember there is a time for everything and the only person who can tell us the correct time to do things is God. Yes people may advice you or prophesy but always take it to God for confirmation.

Sowing and Reaping

2011-09-12T09:09:00.000+02:00

Galatians 6:7-9 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not

There is a law that God has put in place and that is a law of sowing and reaping. This obviously is not only about finances. It includes a lot of things, it may be the way we relate to others and the way we relate to God etc. Paul here was especially speaking about the fact that if we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption and if we sow to the spirit we will reap life everlasting. He was not speaking about finances.

If we sow to the spirit (live according to the word) we will reap all the good spiritual fruits like peace and joy and eventually enter heaven and be given crowns. on the negative side, we can sow to the flesh (do as we please and ignore the Holy Spirit or the Word of God) we will therefore reap the opposite of the fruits of the spirit. we will have no peace and joy.

As I always say, God does not force anyone to do anything. He is not a controlling God He has given us free will to choose what we want. Its absolutely our choice weather we want to sow to the flesh or to the spirit. God is simply telling us the truth. what is your choice?

Who's laws do you exalt

2011-09-05T11:46:00.000+02:00

As we grow, there are many rules and laws that we make up for ourselves. We make this rules for many reasons. We make rules to protect ourselves, to make money, to fit into society, to feel safe e.t.c.

God has provided us with rules or laws in the form of the Bible. He can also communicate with us directly. Sometimes we refuse to let go of our rules because we just don't trust God. We are so attached to our own way of doing things and when God advises us to change our ways, we refuse.

Let us talk to God and ask Him which rules or laws does He want us to change. God will never do anything just for the sake of hurting us. Everything he does is for our own good. I encourage you today to ask God for courage to change. Courage to do things His way and to trust Him.

Vision

2011-08-29T11:55:00.000+02:00

Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."

Do you really know why you are here? Some people are just roaming around without a vision. We tend to get lost in to what circumstances and other people lead us to. We don't really stick to our vision and purpose because of different reasons including fear. Some of us don't even know what our purpose is because we have not asked God and taken time to listen and wait for the answer.

We settle to be puppets of people and circumstances. At the end of your life, will you be fulfilled? I encourage you today not to hide behind people and circumstances but stand out and let the light that God has given you to shine. Don't let it be snuffed out by people and circumstances.

DON'T ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU ARE NOT FREE TO DO GOD'S WILL. YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE.

Romans 8:29-39. Moving to another level

2011-08-25T10:04:00.000+02:00

29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things?

If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Give Up

2011-08-22T13:27:00.000+02:00

Sometimes when you are in Gods path, there are situations that may come your way and you can be tempted to give up. Things will not always go your way but remember God is still in control.

I have witnessed a lot of people giving up on God and taking their own path. I am encouraging you today not to give up. All the tests that come your way are intended to train you and make you stronger. All the obstacles that are on your way are going to be removed, one way or another. Just put it in the hands of God, He knows what to do.

I hope you are encouraged today not to give up. The Lord will renew your strength and you will soar once again like an eagle. Do not give up, He is holding your hand.

Eagles

2011-08-15T15:47:00.000+02:00

Today one of the people I work with talked to me about Eagles and how the mother eagle drops its chicks when it teaches them to fly. It lets them drop and then it goes down to pick them before the chicks reach drop to the ground. It does this repeatedly until the chicks fly on their own.

This is the same way God treats us. He drops us and before we reach the ground He picks us up again. God loves us so much He wants to see us sowing like eagles. There are a lot of things that God can allow into our lives but they all have a purpose. they teach us something. God loves us that much. Sometimes we may not understand how God shows love but eventually we will understand.

Don't worry don't be afraid God will pick you up and after that you will soar like an eagle. He is allowing everything you are experiencing and everything you have experienced in the past. FLY!! PEOPLE!! FLY!!

The Enemy "Time Waster"

2011-08-08T10:07:00.000+02:00

Many times I hear people saying "the devil did this and that" and forget that they are Christians. Everything and I mean everything that happens to us as children of God happen because God allows it to happen. It may pain him to allow certain things to happen to us but the truth is He is still in control. We give the devil or Satan too much credit.

Everything weather good or bad which happens to me happens because God loves me. I am not going to go around rebuking the devil for everything but instead thank God for victory and deliverance. I have no time to waste fighting the enemy. I just do that automatically by doing the will of God. As I do the will of God He automatically gives me victory. we resist the enemy by doing the will of God and living in obedience.

Growing Christians

2011-08-01T10:29:00.000+02:00

Hebrews 6:1-3
"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit".

As I was looking at this scripture I realized that it is important to grow as a child of God. Many times we just get stuck on the foundations of Christianity and not move forward. The Bible is a very huge book and it has a lot of teachings. Unfortunately we as pastors don't teach all of it. We get stuck on what we like and therefore our churches become stagnant.

Weather we like it or not, the people we lead, look at us and asses the way we do things. It is very possible that when we don't grow as leaders, people who are following us will also not grow. They may get stuck just like us.

Let us grow, let us study the word. Let us teach just like Nehemiah. I was reading Nehemiah 8 the other day and realized there is a great teaching there. Nehemiah was written when the Israelites left captivity. In Nehemiah 8 one of the important ministries during that time was teaching, there was even a pulpit that Ezra was teaching from. Interesting is that before it says the "the joy of the Lord is your strength", The Israelites were weeping after hearing the word of God from Ezra. They were convicted by the Word of God. They had to have their hearts changed by the word and repent before Ezra could actually say Nehemiah 8:10 "Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

In the Beggining

2011-07-25T13:26:00.000+02:00

Genesis 1:1 "in the beginning God...."

So many time the Lord asks us to do something and as we continue with it we encounter some problems or challenges. We sometimes forget that when we began God said ".........". We get caught up in what people say and the circumstances we face. No matter how big the challenge, if it was God who said begin, you will overcome.

However if we do not stick to what God said, we will definitely not overcome. It is those who are constantly seeking God who will overcome. I am careful not to take God for granted. Just because God asks me to do something does not mean I am excused from observing ALL of Gods statues. I am not special and I will be judged just like anybody else.

This is just a little note this Monday to encourage you that if it was God who asked you to do something you don't need to worry or give up. Focus and move on, unless of course you are not living in obedience. If you are living in obedience, you will overcome.

New Wine, New Wine bottles

2011-07-20T08:01:00.000+02:00

Like I said i wiil do my best to blog every Monday. I could not blog this past Monday because we were on a long weekend.
Luke 5:37-38
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.

We need the Word of God (New Wine) in our lives. It is the only way to survive in this God loved world. However in order for the Word of God to preserve us, we need new wine bottles. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to destroy all the things we have learned before we gave our lives to the Lord. The problem with us Christians is that we rush to apply the Word of God before we let the Holy spirit change us. We like being called Kings and Priests and yet not allow the Holy spirit to heal us of the pain, sadness, anger, envy, resentment, the list goes on and on. The result is that we have angry Christians etc. We have Christians moving around with pain in their hearts.

Repentance and deliverance are not a one time thing. It is a continual work of the Holy Spirit. Being born again is just the first step. We have to continually repent and let God deliver us from contrary spirits and behaviors.

It is only as we allow the Holy Spirit to do His work that we will understand what it truly means to be a Kingdom of Priests, because that is who we are, Kings and priests. We are royal, we belong to the heavenly kingdom. A true king does not run away from pain, but lets the Lord lead him trough it. A true king does not have to run around saying "I am a king". A true king does not have to buy things in order to look like a king. A true king does not need to prove himself. A true king is free, he is not pressured by circumstances and people. A true king is just that: A KING.

More next week Monday Lord willing.
A lot of things are running trough my head as we are preparing for our first meeting this coming Sunday, please pray for us. Come join us as we will also be starting to pray about a name for our fellowship.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Founding Scripture
2 Corinthians 3:18(KJV)
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Vision
Spiritual, Soul(mind, emotions, will), Body (physical) Maturity.

Remember GOD LOVES YOU yes HE LOVES YOU.

New Beginnings (Planting)

2011-07-11T09:19:00.000+02:00

Its has been a while since I wrote something on this blog. I am back!! Me and my wife are now in the process of planting a church. I have been running around this calling for a long time and now it is time to get back. Last year I was in the process of registering the Church and I just felt from the Lord not to go ahead with it. The Lord then led me to a church where I served as one of the Pastors. When I felt the Lord wanted me to go back to planting a church after He led me to the church I have been in for the past year I was surprised. I was comfortable at this church.

Everything thing is now coming together and I can see clearly what the Lord wants me to do at this particular moment in time. I have learned a lot of lessons on my way to making this decision, some were hard and some not so hard. The Lord can use anyone and anything to mold us. I appreciate all the seasons I have went through until this point.

I humbly ask for your prayers as I enter into this new season of my life. I want to be a true vessel of the Lord and I don't want to be overtaken by any contrary spirit. It is my desire for the children of God to be filled with New wine, but in order to be filled with New wine, we need to have new wine skins as well (Luke 5:38 "But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved") Our problem is that sometimes we put new wine into old wine skins. More about this in my post for next week. I will have posts every Monday Lord willing.

Our first service will be on Sunday the 24th at 1030am-12pm then every Sunday after that.

DO I LOVE

2011-01-05T10:30:00.003+02:00

I know what love is. God is love. I have always learnt about the agape love of God; the selfless love.
It has however come to my attention that we can know who love is and what love is but not be able to practice it. We can do all we want to prove that we love people and do things to prove our love. We want to be like God and we try so hard to do things the way we “think” He wants us to do. We want so much for people to know that we are filled with God’s love to the point where we do things that God did not tell us to do.
It would be a great thing if we could all stick to what the Lord has told us to do and nothing more because anything beyond that will only lead to frustration. Can you believe that sometimes as Christians we do things just because we want to look blessed? We get into credit; we do a lot of crazy things because we want to look loved and blessed by God.
My plea to anyone reading this is “stick to what God tells you to do” do not try to prove to the world that you are loved and blessed; because you are. You are already blessed. God says so “you are blessed and you are loved.”
Be careful to do all that God tells you to do, so that you do not have to pretend. Be careful to do all that God tells you to do so that you do not forfeit your blessings. Amen, yes Amen.

Don’t be left behind

2010-07-23T09:31:00.000+02:00

There is a new move of the Spirit world wide. Be careful not to be left behind. This generation is a generation of GRACE. The time for doing things for the Lord like “reaching the masses” is gone. It is time we reach the masses after receiving a word from the Lord. A time for proving ourselves to the Lord is past. In this generation we only do what the Lord wants us to do. It is not a generation where we force ourselves by our own strength to appear righteous before the Lord. This generation is ground breaking. A time for running after money is gone. This is a time of God’s grace. Be careful not to be left behind. A time for tying to be a legend is gone. A time to be respected and honored is gone. It is a time to receive whatever the Lord has in store for you in your path as you seek Him.

The time for belonging to a certain denomination, organization or fellowship is gone. Please read this carefully because I don’t want anyone to be left behind. A time for trying to be like one of the past great leaders except Christ is gone. This is a time for Grace. This is a time to be led by the spirit. A time for dictating the where the spirit should take you is gone. It is a time to be led by the Spirit wherever He wishes. A time for cults is gone. The time for great things is here. Be careful not to be left behind.

A time for seeking miracles is Gone. This is a time for miracles to flow from the knowledge of God. A time for looking good on the outside is gone. A time for trying to look blessed is gone. A time for trying to look holy and favored is gone. This is a time for gods grace.

A time for judging other Christians and trying to look better than them is gone. A time for trying to change people and churches is gone. It is a time for allowing God into the picture. This is this generation. This is what I am a part of and what I am all about. Be careful not to be left behind.

Any questions about what is needed to survive in this generation contact or communicate with the Lord and He will lead you to an answer. There are many ways that the Lord answers i.e. trough people, His Word, circumstances e.t.c

Team

2010-06-03T09:55:00.000+02:00

The Body of Christ, meaning you and me if you have given your life to the Lord, is a team. We need to learn to be good team players. I was not a team player for a long time in my life even after I got saved. I pretended to be a team player but I was not. I say this because I always wanted to be recognized. I wanted to be seen and given credit by men for all the “wonderful” ideas I have put forth. If someone else took credit for MY idea I felt very angry inside. The truth however is that, whatever we do, the Lord knows it. We do not have to be in the lime light and gain recognition for what we do. The Lord recognizes it.

In a team if we want to be in the lime light we are going to destroy the team because we won’t pass the ball to others. We won’t be able to be happy for others when they progress. If one of us is moving forward and coming up with good ideas let us be happy. Let us recognize that the Lord can use anyone regardless of what we think of them. Let us be careful that we do not miss God because we are not team players.

BE A TEAM PLAYER. The people in the team who irritate you are actually part of the team, love them. Its good for you.

Different thoughts

2010-03-25T08:25:00.001+02:00

The world is so diverse; there are different kinds of people, White, black, colored, Asians etc. Even though we are all different we all have a common thing, God.

We all have weaknesses and we need God. We are all under the control of God. He also allows us not to follow Him (not Good for us). To follow Him is always the best choice.

Some people are very blessed because growing up they were not taught to be inferior or superior to other races and people. Even amongst the different races, there are different cultures and classes. There is no doubt that we cannot survive independent of each other. For example God blessed Europeans and Americans so that they may spread His word but it seems they then became selfish and guess what is happening, Africa and Asia are beginning to rise, I hope we will do the will of God.

There are so many people that we are involved with in our lives and the questions we should always ask ourselves is “Do I feel inferior or superior to another person?” If we are on either side of this statement (inferior or superior) we are very wrong. We need to be balanced. Now truthfully this is not easy to do that is why we need the grace of God. I am one of the people who battle with class, race and culture, yet if we were all the same we would not learn anything about the condition of our heart.

People often make statements that baffle me right here in the church, “all _______ are like that”. You can never trust a ______man”. _______ are lazy. ________ Work very hard. ________ are rich. ________ are poor. These people eat ______ food. Our _______ is the best. All bosses are _________.

The list goes on and on. We need to be balanced in our relations. We all have different opinions about people but let us always think positive about others. I am not putting myself out of the picture. I am in the same boat. I need the grace of the Lord, just like you.

To be able to function well in the kingdom of God be in a place that will allow you to grow and this place is God’s place. It is better to be disciplined under the hands of the Lord than under the hands of man. David himself understood this principle. Man is dangerous. If you are in a place where God wants you, you are under His hands. If you are not in a place where God wants you, you are under the mercy of people.

At the same time be free but be careful of your freedom.

Who are You

2010-02-22T12:26:00.000+02:00

From reading the Books written by Paul, one sure thing stands out. He knew what He was called to do. In most of his introductions He says calls himself an Apostle. The one I like is the one in 1 Corinthians 1:1"Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God,..."

It seems that it was not his own doing and it was not by his strength that He was chosen to be an apostle. It was just simply the will of God. It is important to step into the will of God for our lives. What is the will of God for your life? What does God want you to do?

We are not to step into a will that we are not called into, it is called stealing. This will never bring peace and it will always cause you to strife within yourself and with others. Peace comes from yielding ourselfs to the will of God. (yielding to righteousness Romans 6:13). Yielding to what God has called us to do does not require our strength but it requires surrender.

There she is Lebo (Lebza the Lady)

2010-02-06T14:21:00.000+02:00

One and Only

My Wife to be

2009-11-25T12:30:00.000+02:00

This Blog is one of the very important blogs I have ever written because it is about someone special in my life. I am currently in the internet cafe and I cannot post a picture of her because I do not have some pictures with me.

Saturday the 28th November is the day when my family is going to meet her family in a big celebration where we will be handing them some gifts as a form of appreciation. I am very happy about this. It is a very important time in my life.

I am very grateful for to the Lord for keeping us together until this time and giving us the grace to wait. I am very grateful. Malebogo Sehemo is a very wonderful lady. I can without a doubt say that I have never met anyone like her and I have never loved anyone like I love her. She is a gift from the Lord. She is patient with me and she is very humble and she always stands by me and she speaks the truth gently to me. This may seem like an exaggeration but it is not she is truly a beauty both inside and outside. She loves the Lord so much and always encourages me to pray and hear from God. I am very blessed. She is focused on the most important things in life and does not care much about keeping up appearances but she is up to doing what she feels the Lord wants her to do. She dresses nicely and very modest. she is perfect for me. She is very teachable and open to the Spirit of the Lord. She lets me make the decisions and we are not even married yet. She does not put her trust on me but she has her trust on the Lord. She always trusts that The Lord will cause me to make the right decisions. She is always truthful to me.

In my whole life I have not met any lady like her. I have honestly tried to compare her with a lot of ladies that I know and she always comes up on top. She is No 2 in my life after the Lord. I love her.

RISK

2009-11-15T19:42:00.000+02:00

Yesterday during my devotional time, the Lord led me to Matthew 25:15. The interesting thing about this particular verse is that after the Master gave the guys the talents, He left straightaway (KJV).

I always missed the straightaway part. Yesterday it seemed to me that it was rather unfair for the Lord not to tell them what to do with the talents He gave them. I know the Lord as the Lord who gives us direction as to how we must use whatever He gave us. This is why this verse seemed strange to me.

It even became more unfair to me that when He came back He required more from the guys and yet He did not tell the guys what they should do.

The answer from the Lord was quite simple when I asked Him. He said there are people around us who tell us what do to with our talents because He has sent them. Sometimes we fear to take Godly advice because of preconcieved ideas. sometimes we fail to take oppotunities that the Lord has placed before us because we just do not trust anyone. we are afraid of failing. At the end of it all we do not have any excuse.

Hearing from God and taking a step of faith is not a risk. People always say you have to risk, you have to take a chance. Taking a step of faith after hearing from the Lord is not a risk because His word never fails. In the kingdom of God we do not risk. we just have courage and take God at His word. The courage also comes from Him. He gives us faith which then gives birth to courage.

In the world, the courage does not come from God but it comes from ourselves. That is why it is a risk because no one is backing your step. Sometimes I do things without hearing from the Lord and the end result is always not good. I just do not want to take risks anymore, I want to walk by faith. Please join me in this endevor to walk by faith and not by sight and past experiences. sometimes the Lord may do something good at a partcular time or at a particular place and we want to copy that same thing. It is a different story altogether when you do something because you heard from God and when you do it because it worked for someone else. If God tells you to do it like the particular person then do it, but if you are just coping without hearing from God, you are taking a risk and no one knows what will be the outcome. One things I can assure you is that it will not be good.

I am speaking from the things I experience so please just pray about this, search the scriptures and let the Lord teach you.
Be blessed.

It’s ok for someone to be better than you.

2009-10-14T09:18:00.001+02:00

There is a big problem that we have as human beings. We always want to be the best. We always want to be the most loved, the most appreciated, the most important, the most listened to, the best speaker, the most focused, the most compassionate, the one to be followed, the one who has answers to everything, the list goes on and on.

From my own experience I have realized that there will always be someone better. There will always be someone who does things better than you and me. The question we should be asking ourselves is “what does God say about us?” regardless of how your co-workers are better treated than you by your boss, or your brothers and sisters are better treated by your family and friends, e.t.c.

Listen I had to learn this lesson also and the spirit behind it had to be dealt with. It is pure bondage. If we are doing our best in what God has in store for us let us not be concerned about the next person. Praise God when they progress along. God sees everything and He always knows what is best. We may find our selves in a mess just because we want to prove to the whole world that we are the best. YOU WILL GET WEARY AND TIRED. This affects everyone even Christians. I have been a Christian for some few years before the Lord revealed this in my own life.

My brothers and sisters relax and move on your path. Do not allow yourselves to be pressured by performing. It is interesting how we even compete about the number of people in our churches and the number of people we led to the Lord. Eish! a disaster. Our eyes need to be fixed on the Lord and the path He has set for us. PERFORMING TO PROVE YOURSELF WILL LEAD TO BONDAGE, PERFORMING THE LORDS WILL BRING FREEDOM.

Fear and Respect

2009-10-03T14:46:00.000+02:00

I have been meditating on these two words for a while. I have come to realize that there is a big difference between fear and respect. Some people say they respect their spouses, parents, ladies and guys, boys and girls, friends, boy friends and girlfriends, family and bosses while in actual fact they fear them. I am saying this from my own experience.

The only fear we should have is the fear of God. Any other fear is contrary to the will of God and it will definitely take us out of the path that he has intended for us. We must respect other people but we must not fear them. Fear brings a lot of things like deceit and flattery. In the work place and in our homes, there must not be fear of man. It must only be the fear of God and respect.

On the other end we cannot force anyone to respect us. Remember we gave our rights to the Lord when we gave our lives to Him including the right to be respected. We should be very humbled and grateful when people respect us.

Please look into this matter deeply and research on it. Any comments are welcome.

LET US FEAR THE LORD AND RESPECT EACH OTHER.
REMEMBER RESPECT IS INSPIRED BY LOVE.

ZION

2009-09-08T08:51:00.000+02:00

There is much I can say about Zion but I will just mention a few things.

What is Zion?
According to Scripture it is where the Lord dwells, His favorite place.
Psa 9:11 Sing praises to Jehovah, who dwells in Zion; declare among the nations His deeds.
Psa 132:13 Jehovah has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling-place.
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and lo, the Lamb stood on Mount Zion. And with Him were a hundred and forty-four thousands, having His Father's name written in their foreheads.

With all that said, the Lord wants us to strife for His best, so that we may dwell in Heavenly Mount Zion with Him. The Scriptures give us clear instructions on the choices we should make. Being God’s best is just being yourself and yielding to the Spirit of God. That is what we were designed for.

Let us strife to be close to the Lord in heavenly Mount Zion.

If you want to know more about the vision of Zion (God’s vision), please do not hesitate to contact me. This is just a little information. I will do my best to answer you by the grace of the Lord.

Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go out the Law, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

Believing is an act of our mind.

2009-08-10T09:09:00.000+02:00

I know the Lord can do it, but I just do not believe it.

I have come to realize that believing is a very important thing in the life of a believer. In My life I have known that the Lord can do things but I just did not believe it. The Lord has been teaching me to believe His Word, to believe Him when he says something. Let us not be those who say; “I know you can do it, I trust you but I just do not believe it”

The Lord showed me how this is very important. Let us believe the Lord together when He speaks to us.

How does it work?

2009-06-29T09:35:00.000+02:00

We always want to know how things work. We trust so much in ourselves that sometimes when things work out and we do not know how it happened, it makes us feel uncomfortable. Sometimes we may even feel that one day it will all fall apart because we just do not know how it is working.

We are children of God and He steps in many times to help us. We do not have to know how He does it or how it works, but we just have to trust that He is in control. I struggled with this for a long time. I am learning to trust God in everything I do, even when I do not know how the solution came up, How he made it work. It will not fall apart because God has fixed it.

Truth

2009-06-19T09:12:00.000+02:00

God only functions on truth. He does not scare people. He just says it as it is. Our duty is just to make a choice. Are we going to make the right choice when presented with the truth?

For example, the Lord says Jesus Joh 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

He is not trying to scare us, He is just telling us the plain truth. The enemy is the one who works through fear. God just tells the truth and whatever He says, happens.

Everyday, hour, minute and second we make decisions and it is very crucial that we make a wise decisions. It will not be wise to ride a car if the Lord told you it is going to crash, because that is just what is going to happen. It will crash.

The Lord does not threaten us in order for us to do His will. He is just telling us plainly that if He is not in our lives, we are heading for hell. It is not a threat. It is just the plain truth. God is the most truthful and the most real, we cannot surpass Him. He is the final authority.

It is always our choice.

It is impossible

2009-06-07T12:46:00.001+02:00

I have realised that it is impossible to live for God. I have seen so many people trying to live for God and they fail. So many people get hurt trying to live for God and so many people become bitter trying to live for God.
People just expect a lot from people when they say that they are Christians. We try so hard to live up to the standard that people have set for us and all it leads to is misery. It is very clear to me that it is impossible to live for God.

It is however very possible to allow the Lord to live through us. It is not about us, but it is about Jesus. He wants us to lay everything at His feet, all we have to do is to make a choice and then allow Him to lead us by His grace. This includes everything from being able to read your bible everyday, driving, helping people, working, forgiving, loving, correcting, being corrected, and basically everything. This is possible only by the grace of God.

People like giving compliments and telling us we have done a good job, but basically it all goes back to God. He is the one who enables us to do everything and be who we are. He is the one who gives us strength to be truthful about whom we are. He is basically our helper in everything absolutely everything. God is Good.

Do I really need God?

2009-05-09T16:40:00.000+02:00

I pray, I know God loves me, I know he protects me, I know he has rescued me from sin and many traps, I know he protects me and guides me. But have I come to the realization that I need Him?
It is interesting how God did a lot of things for me and yet I had not yet come to a place where I realized that I needed Him. I now understand what it means to need God. I really really need Him. He is my way, truth and life. He has broken through to me. I am my beloveds and I seek to do His will. I need Him.

My question to you my friend is do you think you need God? Close your eyes and look deep inside your heart. Ask yourself the same question that God put in my heart: Do I really need God? I am not talking about salvation. You are saved my friend, but do you need God?

Nothing just happens

2009-04-17T08:11:00.000+02:00

There is no such thing as luck. Things do not just happen. Everything we see and hear is orchestrated by someone and that someone is God. He has the whole world in His arms and under His control.

It does not only end there; there are things that happen in the spirit, in a dimension that we do not always see. This is where spiritual forces operate; this area affects the natural things/physical things that we see. The Lord is also in control of this area. As we communicate with Him, he causes a shifting to happen in the spirit and we see the outcome in the natural.

I used to be blind to this important truth, my mind was limited to the natural things or physical things. Everything is spiritual, absolutely everything. If we want victory, let us go to the one who is in control of everything.

Interesting

2009-04-09T17:43:00.000+02:00

When there is something I think is wrong about someone. I believe the best thing is to tell them directly. I realized that when they hear about it from someone else it hurts and it makes people build walls.

I always ask the Lord to help me to be straight with people, and I do my best to put all my cards on the table. Are all your cards on the table? It is just not fun to hide your cards.

In our weakness He is strong. If you believe that the Lord wants you to do something never be afraid to put it on the table. Sure it is not easy but the truth is God always backs you up. It also baffles me.

We have so many Do's and Don't so many rules to the point where we miss God. Yes there must be rules and yes we must allow the Spirit to lead us. BALANCE BALANCE BALANCE.

Let us be Careful

2009-03-19T08:59:00.000+02:00

It is interesting how we can have opinions about people. If your opinion about someone is negative and you always meditate on that thing, it is not healthy. There is a reason why the Word of God says:

Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Sometimes we want people to do things our way; we are in an endeavor to change people. We forget that only God can change people, our duty is just to present the truth and continue loving people even if they do not take our counsel. One thing I have realized is that when I try hard to change people, it stresses me out. My mind becomes darkened and I do not see things clearly. I start to see other wrong things with the person. I start to move backwards instead of forward. Eish bitterness!!

It starts to spread to other people. I start to be a judge. I start to think that I am better. I start to think that people are not in God’s will if they do not do things my way. Yes people may not be in God’s will like the prodigal son, but God knows what He is doing. Present the truth and move on K.B.

This is what I think legalism is, if I want people to do things my way.

THE QUESTION IS “WHAT IS GOD SAYING?”

ewww!

2009-03-16T10:02:00.000+02:00

I did not know that there could be so many bad sexual things in a person.

Here is a list of some of the bad things that the Lord has showed me. I hope that in sharing this with you, there are some things that will be revealed in your heart and you will hand them over to the Lord. The Lord is willing and able to pull you through only if you allow Him and depend on His grace.

Bad sexual dreams

Rape/ vengeful sex

Sexual Imaginations

Lust

Impure sexual thoughts

Anal sex

Adultery

Fornication

Incest

Molestation

Masturbation

Acceptance sex (having wrong sex in order to be accepted)

I am not married yet and I am so grateful that the Lord has searched my heart and helped me pull though all these things. I have not literally committed all these, but they were resident in my heart. It is shocking I could not even believe it myself. All these things have got roots, I am sure the Lord will reveal the roots to all those things in your heart.

Victory

2009-02-23T08:08:00.001+02:00

Imagine what the world would look like if we were all victorious. This thought just excites my whole being, a place where everyone is moving in the fullness of God, a place where people will forget about themselves and embrace Love. It does not help to be selfish; there is no reward in selfishness.

It helps to love and to allow people to experience Love. It helps to allow the Lord to give us the grace to show Love to those around us. It may sometimes seem hard or “look foolish”, but the rewards are unimaginable. When we show Love to those who are around us and remember that it is all about Jesus, there are endless possibilities.

I want to be victorious and I want the people around me to be victorious. I am going to believe the Lord for this. By His grace, there will be change around me. Please join me in this battle, let us allow the Lord to use us to put those who are around us first, there are no boundaries when it comes to Love, try it and see, it works.

As long as we have the love of the world it will not happen.

1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (KJV)

Do not allow those things in your heart to hinder you, its not worth it, I am also asking the Lord for Grace to carry on, ask Him too, LETS ABIDE FOREVER GRACE IS AVAILABLE.

If you do not fight, you will be a captive.

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NO

2009-02-12T17:49:00.000+02:00

NO

So many times people misinterpret the word "NO". NO is a very good word. Sometimes when people say NO, to us, we may interpret it as the following: I hate you, You are not worth it, You are stupid, You are not my friend, and sometimes we even think the person who is saying NO is selfish and inconsiderate.

This however is not true. If we view everything as coming from the Lord and we believe that He is the one who is ordering our steps, then this mentality will change. God sometimes says NO to our requests. This does not mean He does not care about us. He is always on our side. It is very dangerous to assume and judge from the outside. This is what the enemy wants he does not want us to be deep. He wants us to be shallow. Let us fight this battle together, I am honestly one of you guys. There is grace available.

On the other hand, when you say NO to people it does not mean that you are insensitive, it does not mean that you do not care, it also does not mean you do not Love. Guilt does not come from the Lord, but conviction comes from the Lord. If you believe that the Lord told you to say NO, Say NO and if you believe the Lord told you to say YES, say YES. It is as simple as that but it always seems hard doesn't it :)

Let your YES, be YES and your NO, be NO.

We are together in this guys, remember, the battle is not ours, but the Lords.

THE TRUTH

2009-01-06T14:49:00.000+02:00

I have always heard people saying the truth hurts. I choose to disagree with this statement. The truth does not hurt. The only thing that the truth does is to bring freedom and relief to the person telling the truth and to the person receiving the truth.

Yes the truth may be shocking or disappointing but in the long run it does not hurt anyone. On the other hand when I speak a lie and listen to lies, I will definitely be hurt. When I lie to people and do not keep my promises, it hurts them. I have seen this in my own life. I have lied to people and I have listened to lies, all it does is bring hurts.

We are sometimes afraid of confronting others (in love) because we believe that they will be hurt. This is not true. If it is the truth I think it should be spoken in love of course. I think we should not be afraid of speaking that truth. This can only be done by the Grace of God. He is our enabler.

THE TRUTH DOES NOT HURT, IT BRINGS FREEDOM AND RELIEF.

ISSUES

2008-12-09T17:01:00.000+02:00

It has come to my realisation that we are lacking behind. There are so many people that I have met in my life including me, who are afraid of confronting issues in their lives. Our hearts are full of issues that must be dealt with.

One of the most painful things I have witnessed is that we become too busy doing stuff. We become too busy trying to help people and refuse to confront issues in our own lives. For some reason it gives us comfort to help others and forget about the pain in our lives, it is nice and easy to ignore the issues. I have seen this many times even in my own life.

I have come to believe that, this is exactly what the enemy wants. He wants to keep us bound in our little bondages. I have come to realise that if I concentrate on, confront and allow the Lord to deal with issues in my life, He ultimately brings people into my path that I can show Him to them.

It is so scary to love people, yet there is nothing to loose. It is so scary to take down our walls, yet the Lord always backs us up. I am convinced that if I deal with the issues in my life, the Lord will ultimately touch people around me. The Lord will ultimately minister to people though me. He will do His ideas through me and stuff. I am convinced that this works. AMEN

The picture has nothing to do with the blog its just people in my life.

Malebogo Sehemo

2008-11-20T09:38:00.000+02:00

It seems I am not good at blogging. I kind of stay a long time without blogging. anyway today I am just putting up a picture of my girl friend for the world to see. I hope to engage and marry her one day. She is a nice kind lady who loves people. I have not met any lady who is like her. She is modest and most importantly loves the Lord and respects the body that the Lord gave her. She is secure in the Lord and really that is what matters.

I will keep you posted. I believe she is the one. The Lord brought her on my path. There she is, you have to admit, she is beautiful.

sex

2008-09-19T16:55:00.000+02:00

Hello

This is kind of a brave statement to put on a BLOG, since it is something that is from my heart. I am just hoping that someone will benefit from it.

Some of you probably knew this all along. I also know that God should come first before everything in our lives. This is so true.

Some days ago, the Lord told me that sex and marriage must come after Him, especially sex. If the reason I want to get married is sex, then I am not ready. The reason I should want to get married is that I want to be closer to Him. The centre of every relationship should be God and not sex.

This meeting with the Lord really cut me to the heart. I am so glad that the Lord showed me this before I made a commitment for the wrong reasons. The Lord has blessed me with a beautiful God fearing woman and I believe that one day He will join us together in marriage.

God is a God who forgives and teaches His children to live righteously. Any other obsessions we have apart from the Lord are just vain. I’m sure there are other things in my life that the Lord wants to expose to me and help me deal with them. All of us have short comings but it is worth it to allow the Lord to deal with them. AMEN

WEAK IS STRONG

2008-09-05T19:10:00.000+02:00

This has been in my heart for a while. The word of God says that where we are weak He is strong.

All of us are weak. Most of the time we try to hide our weakness by pretending to be strong. We do not want people to see our weakness. We feel vulnerable when our hearts are exposed. It is as if people will harm us.

I think this is why people are afraid of being themselves. We are afraid of our weaknesses. We are afraid of rejection. We are afraid of being hurt. We are afraid of our ugly experiences. We are fearful.

I am coming back to the Word of God. We must remember that, where we are weak, He is made strong. Our whole purpose as children of God is to bring glory to God. God will never put us to shame. God will not allow us to be hurt more than we can handle. God has got our back.

It is so nice to be ourselves. Just be who you are and allow God to be who He is. He is our strength. He wants us to be bold and trust that He will be our strength. He really is our strength. It is not easy but it is very possible with God. Let me end here but please, think DEEPER about this. AMEN.

Imagine how strong the body of Christ would be if we just become real. Let’s fight this thing.

DIRECTION

2008-08-22T17:39:00.000+02:00

Hello people, I believe that the Lord is continually drawing all of us closer to Himself. It does not matter what we are going through but that is the bottom line. God is always drawing drawing us closer to Himself.

The Lord is not only drawing our pastors closer to Himself but He is drawing all of us. There are times where we find ourselves in a dilema. WHAT DO WE CHOOSE? Times where we have two paths in front of us and both of them good. We can choose either of them and not sin.

This is a time where we have to fall on our face and ask God for direction. There is always God's best. It is a time where he wants us to seek Him cause he wants us close to Him. He is drawing us. Whatever direction the Lord is taking you, take it.

Here are a few points you may want to consider as you pray

Who will benefit from my choice, is it all about me and what I want?
Will my choice bring me closer or further from God?
Are my authorities ok with my choice?
Am I stepping out of the boat?
Does God want me to step out of the boat?
Am I constantly thinking about this or have I put it in the hands of God?

These are only a few questions that you may ask yourself as you pray and remember, PRAY WITHOUT CEASING AND MAKE YOUR REQUEST KNOWN UNTO GOD.

GOD LOVES US

2008-08-01T18:12:00.000+02:00

It has been a while since I put something on this blog. Well, things have been good and the Lord is teaching me a lot of things. I really love my job here at Children's Cup. I feel good every time I wake up to go to work. I am really convinced that this is where the Lord wants me to be. Yes, there are times when things do not go as I have planned, but I am learning to accept the Lord’s will. It is good to have plans, but our plans must always be flexible to the Lord.

I have realized that I love people. People are very interesting creatures. We are all uniquely designed by the Lord. One thing I have realized is that people are hurting. People like it when you listen to them and pay attention to them. I believe that this is what ministry is all about- listening to people and letting them know that they are not alone, helping where you can help, and, most importantly, telling them that God loves them in so many ways.

People are God’s creatures and God loves us so dearly, if only we can get that through our thick skulls. God likes to see us all doing well. God wants to cleanse us of all the wickedness that is residing in our hearts. That is why He sent His one and only Son to come and die for us. That is why He sent the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes it is hard to get along with people, but just because they believe differently, they are no less important or less valuable. This is hard because sometimes I think that people should do things my way and no other way. This is a wrong attitude.

FORGIVENESS

2008-06-02T11:41:00.000+02:00

It is interesting how we can believe that we have forgiven people when we have actually not. I am saying this out of experience. I have always believed that I had forgiven my father, this however was not true. Deep down in my heart I still had not forgiven my father even though I was saying that I had. It was deep deceit. The problem with deceit is that you believe a lie.

Even though I was born again, I still had unforgiveness in my heart. It took deliverance for me to forgive my father. It was like facing reality. It is amazing how the Lord shows us stuff in our hearts. Now I can clearly say that I have forgiven my father. It was not easy to face it, but I did by the grace of God. I felt like all the problems i have ever had were caused by him. A BIG LIE. We always have a choice.

Testimony

2008-05-23T10:39:00.000+02:00

My name is Karabo Rantwa.

I was born in 1982 at the Princess Marina Hospital around 22:55hrs to Bongiwe and Modise Rantwa. I have only one sister and she is two years older than me. I never actually knew my father until I was around 7-10 years old. I understand he left my mother because he didn’t want to quit drinking. He married another woman. My mother was a hard worker and I had everything I needed except for a bicycle :). I had a happy childhood, my mother gave me all the love I needed. Most of my childhood was spent in a small village called Mochudi where my mother was working as a nurse. I was basically a good boy and did not get myself into trouble. I had good friends. I stayed in Mochudi until I finished my Form 2, at age 13 . My mother then moved to Gaborone, the capital of Botswana that is where all hell broke loose. I wanted to fit in with the city guys and there was an empty space in my heart so I started drinking and smoking.

After my Form 5 (High school) I did national service for a year as a teacher and the smoking and drinking got worse and worse. After my national service I was employed as a teacher for 6 months and my bad habits continued. While I was still a teacher I got a sponsorship from the Government of Botswana to go and study I.T. in George South Africa. Now I was far from my parents and I was given a good allowance by the government each month. The drinking got worse and I started to skip classes.

It was in August 2002 while I was still in George when a lady Trudy van Kirk same to my room which was full of empty bottles of alcohol and I also was a mess. I was addicted to alcohol. She started telling me about Jesus and gave me a bible but I did not take her to heart, however I knew that something in me had to change. So one day I was a bit confused about life because Trudy had opened a whole different door that I did not understand. So I went to the school counsellor who was not there at the time but a lady called Ena Wessels a Christian told me to wait for her in her office, she together with her friend (Christina) talked to me, God touched me that day and I had never felt anything like it before. I cried. When I left that place everything looked different. I was a new man. I felt God’s power. That evening I opened my bible and read from Psalm 119: 169-176, it touched me. Ena is a dear mother to me somehow she saw something in me that no one even myself knew I had.

However I did not last long in the faith. I had friends who told me that being a Christian is just about knowing God and nothing else. I thought that I was invincible because God was in me, so I went back to drinking again. This time it was much worse. I went to the point of using the bible to smoke dagga. I ended up in a mental hospital. I still believed that God was there but He didn’t mean that much to me anymore.
I reached a point where I saw that I was not going anywhere if I continued drinking like this, so I sought help from a traditional doctor, I stayed with him for around 3 months. When I left that place, I still continued drinking, but this time it was out of control. All this time my mother and sister never gave up on me and I thank God so much for them.

That is when I went to Teen Challenge Swaziland where I renewed my vow to God and where I learned more about Him. My life has never been the same since then, I have been set free from the bondage of alcohol and much more, I am continuing to move with God and every day is a new day. My troubles are gone and Jesus has taken my sins away, not because I was intelligent but because He loves me and His grace has set me free. When I look at my life now and compare it to before I met Jesus, there is a tremendous difference. Jesus is my only hope and I pray that He will continually give me the grace to walk with Him

I graduated from The Lighthouse Teen Challenge Swaziland Rehabilitation Programme in December 2005, I also did their one year discipleship program. I then worked as a staff member at the rehab till April 2008. Now I am with Children's cup Swaziland and I am also working on my degree in theology with Zion University. This is not me, this is just the GRACE OF GOD, because, I know myself, I CANNOT DO ANYTHING, LITERRALY

2008-05-13T15:37:00.000+02:00

This are my friends. They all have a special place in my heart. I was with them at Teen Challenge Swaziland for a long time, 4 years.
Check them out, Now that is what I call Cool
They Love Jesus

Spiritual Father

2008-05-13T14:37:00.000+02:00

Everyone needs a spiritual father and I am blessed to have Dr Ron Courier as my Spiritual father, He has been in Swaziland for around 7 years as a missionary for Zion Fellowship International

I Love this man he has really helped me with a lot of things. God has used him tremendously in my life.

If you do not have someone to be accountable to, should ask God to provide one. He is faithful.

JUST KARABO

2008-05-09T15:15:00.000+02:00

The Lord is really Good as we all know. He is our Father and He wants us to Grow. He wants to show His love to us as we grow closer to Him.

The way to Grow closer to the Lord is to die to oneself.