Hello dearest friends and fellow adventurers! Today I'm starting a series of 3 videos and blogposts that will bring you fresh revelation and understanding about what the Bible says about the person and role of Jesus. You could say that it is this series, The Jesus I Met, that I had in mind from the beginning when I first decided to create Explore Your Story because, for me, the most exciting part of my story is the revelation I received concerning Jesus.
So here's how I suggest we explore this week's topic together.
Monday
This week we're going to reverse the order in which we usually do things. I'd like you to reread the relevant sections of my book first, Brighter Than The Noonday Sun before watching the video, if that's possible. They are Chapters 4 and 5. You'll immediately see as you reread them why I have felt compelled for many years to create something that expands on my book, that goes deeper and explains further. I wrote the book in two weeks, almost like a semi-poetic stream of consciousness memory but I've always wanted to give more detail.
Tuesday
Now you can watch the video. It will give you far greater detail about what I outlined in the chapters you read yesterday. Here it is for your convenience.
Wednesday
There are tons of Scriptures that all say the same thing: Jesus is the way to God. Here are just two of them and what I want us to do today is meditate on these Scriptures, in the light of what I've shared with you on the video, until we are deeply convinced and convicted that it is the truth.
John 14:6Jesus said to him, “I am the way..... No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 4:12And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved
Thursday
Here are another Scripture that I want us to read and meditate upon today.
Matthew 10:32-33So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Can you see in this verse the key role that Jesus plays in who does or doesn't gain entrance to heaven and to God? He said in John 10: 9 that he is the door..now he may not be an actual, inanimate wooden or metal door..but only through Jesus can human beings gain entrance to heaven.
Friday
Not only is Jesus the only way to the Father and into heaven, but he is a guarantee for anyone who puts his or her trust in him. He will ensure that you get there. Spend time today listening to this song by Kari Jobe.
Saturday
Today I just want us to enjoy our weekend BUT pray and ask God to give you an opportunity in amongst all that enjoyment to share with just one other person that Jesus is the way to God. You don't have to convince them necessarily, just share with them that this is what you believe to be true.
Sunday
Go to church. Its a public acknowledgement of Jesus.
I hope you enjoy our adventure this week. We would love to hear your story of how you met Jesus, so please share with us either in the Comments below this blogpost, or in the Comments below the video on the YouTube channel..or on the Facebook page. It occurs to me that I often mention meditating on Scripture and perhaps you don't know how to do that. Perhaps I will produce a short video that explains the way I meditate on Scripture. Let me know if you'd like me to do that.
I'm so excited to share this week's adventure with you. It's a mysterious journey into a world that we seldom explore..your calling. Do you know what your calling in life is? Do you even believe in such a thing? Do you know the power and importance that you have as a child of God? Are you aware that you are the very apple of His eye and that there is nothing random about your life at all? These are the thrilling chapters of your story that we're going to be exploring this week.
There's no other word for the event that prompted this week's blogpost than..miraculous. It started when I drove past Bischopsford, the property where I lived as a child and where I used to go into Heaven from, and saw what had changed there. God then began to reveal to me a phenomenal truth about our lives..that we are called, truly called, by Him.
Monday
Watch the video. It's a little bit all-over-the-place because it happened very spontaneously and within a very emotional context...but its the beginnings of our journey of self-discovery.
Tuesday
I'm not sure if it came across in the video or not - but here is the story that prompted this week's adventure. Something I didn't mention in the book was that, as a child, I used to play church-church in my bedroom at Bischopsford, the property where I lived as a child, with my friends from school. The Lord had already told me to go and look for a church (Chapter 8) so in the meantime, I played church-church as a game after school. I had never been to church and didn't know what 'church' was supposed to be like, but nevertheless I did what I could. Years later, after I was saved as an adult, I drove past Bischopsford and saw that it had become a Buddhist Retreat. So what? you might think. Yet, when I saw that, I knew in my heart that it was my 'fault'. Does that sound weird to you? I knew that somehow that property was a metaphor or symbol of my life..I too had left the true God and followed after Buddhism and now this was reflected at Bischopsford. The Lord confirmed this by saying to me "Don't be sad. When you were a child you played church-church in your bedroom - and a church it will be". Since then I have waited for that word to be fulfilled. Did I really hear God? Did my childish church-church game really have such power in the world? Imagine my reaction when I recently saw the Buddhist Retreat boards come down and the Church of England boards go up..against the outside of what used to be my bedroom wall.
To be honest, I'm not even 100% sure myself of what this all means. But what I do know, I will share with you over this week..and I hope that you will find the same incredible joy and security in exploring this, as I did.
Wednesday
The first element of our adventure this week is to examine prophetic actions. God called me to be His prophet when I was still a child. I knew not a thing of what I was doing, but in playing church-church, I was actually doing a prophetic action. I was enacting something BY FAITH, something that God had spoken, that would later become a reality. Let's take a closer look at what a prophetic action is. The two that you are definitely very familiar with are the Lord's supper (communion, breaking of bread) and baptism in water. You might be as unaware as I was as a child, but every time you break bread and drink wine you are doing a prophetic action; you are declaring, by faith, the truth that there is a covenant made with God that is ratified by the broken body and blood of His Son, Jesus - and that you are the recipient and partaker of that covenant. And what did you reenact when you went through the waters of baptism? Your death, burial and resurrection in Christ. Prophetic actions are amongst the most powerful 'words' you can ever give. They can be intentional, in other words, you know what you're doing - or they can be unintentional, being done by the leading of the Holy Spirit without you being aware of what you're doing. Either way they will produce definite and powerful results. Are prophetic actions Biblical? Yes, they are. Today we're going to read a few examples together:
John 9: 6, 7
Acts 21: 10-12
Ezekiel 4
Thursday
Today I want to explore what it means for you and me that God is 'in it for the long haul'. I mean, can you see from this week's video that God really is 'in it for the long haul' in our lives? At the time that I played church-church in my bedroom at Bischopsford, I was an 8-year old innocent, deeply in love with God and totally committed. But that only lasted a few years. After that I was as anti-God a rebel as you can get. Yet. Yet God was still in complete control. Despite the lapse of many years, ultimately, that prophetic action still found manifestation in space and time on Earth.
I find it expressed best in this Bible passage in The Message. Please click on this link, read the passage and meditate on it - then spend time allowing God to apply it to you life now.
So what does all this have to do with your calling? Everything! It firstly has to do with your calling to belong to Him. Are you aware that you are His because He chose you? Are you really, really, deeply sure that He knows, loves sees and chooses you? Are you? I encourage you to read these verses today - they are just a small sampling of many that speak about the same thing - and allow them to fill you with joy and confidence.
Ephesians 1: 4, 5
John 15: 16
Romans 8: 28-30
Revelation 13: 8
2 Timothy 1: 9
and my personal favourite
John 6: 44
Saturday
Today I think we should explore how our past and our present and our future are all held together in God's powerful hand, with special reference to your calling, ministry or career. Spend some time today considering your calling and how you have been prepped for it. What prophetic events in your past have contributed to where you are today? I'd love to hear all about it so please share with us.
Sunday
Go to church. Because every time you gather together with other believers around Christ, its a prophetic action, prefiguring the Day when we will literally gather around him in Heaven.
I feel like we've only just begun to scratch the surface of the deep and wonderful themes we've touched on this week. I hope you've been blessed and strengthened.
Do you know the saying "don't put all your eggs in one basket"? It's a proverb, a little bit of wisdom that has been passed down from one generation to the next, and it means 'don't risk everything on the success of one venture' or 'don't put all your hopes (investment) in one place or thing'. Its based on the idea that if ALL your eggs are in just one basket, and that basket drops, you will lose ALL your eggs; whereas if you carried them in different baskets you would only lose a few.
Based on this sagacity, people diversify their investment portfolios, try to make sure that they are not reliant on just one big client in business and so on. I wonder 'though, do we have this kind of thinking when it comes to God?
This week's adventure is based on a phrase in my book, found in Chapter 3.
"Right there and then, my allegiance was transferred. For I knew that God was true and anyone who said not, was just plain wrong, even if he or she was amongst those I loved the most."
It's a very strange thing to be a devotee of Jesus in an unbelieving world. It's getting harder and harder to do..so this week we're going to explore the extent to which we have transferred our allegiance.
Monday
Watch the video. Here it is for your convenience.
Tuesday
Read Chapters 2 and 3 of my book Brighter Than The Noonday Sun again.Spend time today remembering when this transfer of allegiance took place for you - have you since back pedalled?
Wednesday
Are you holding something back from God because you're afraid of putting all your eggs in His basket? Have a little chat with the Lord about that today.
Thursday
Spend time today meditating on this well-known verse: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." – Matthew 6:33 Ask God what this means for you at this very moment in your life.
Friday
Sing this song until you can sing it with all your heart, mind and soul. Wherever you find yourself doubting what you're singing, stop, and ask God to minister to you in that place. Why have you lost faith? What is going on? Give Him time to restore you.
Into your hands I commit again With all I am, for you, lord You hold my world In the palm of your hand And I am yours forever
Jesus I believe in you Jesus I belong to you You're the reason that I live The reason that I sing With all I am
I'll walk with you Wherever you go Through tears and joy I'll trust in you And I will live In all of your ways And your promises, forever
Jesus I believe in you Jesus I belong to you You're the reason that I live The reason that I sing
Jesus I believe in you Jesus I belong to you You're the reason that I live The reason that I sing With all I am
With all I am All I am
I will worship I will worship you
I will worship I will worship you
I will worship I will worship you
I will worship I will worship you
I will worship I will worship you
Saturday
Is mammom your 'other' master? Do you feel yourself constantly compelled by a desire for more money or constantly under the heel of 'not-enough' or constantly feeling like everything you do is 'for' money? In the light of what I shared on the video, consider these things before the Lord.
Sunday
Go to church. After your baptism, thats the first way to show Jesus that you have transferred your allegiance to him.
I hope you enjoyed this week's adventure. Look out for another video on my YouTube channel this week - a vlog that I put together about my latest ministry trip on the Westrand.
Until next time, I look forward to your comments. Avante!
Here's what I suggest we do each day this week to explore this adventure further.
Monday
Watch
the video. Here’s the link for your convenience.
Tuesday
In the light of our topic this week, we’re
going to spend the week reading through one of the books of the Bible – my
favourite book, Colossians. But really, if you want to read a different book,
go ahead. So today, read Colossians, chapter 1. Read it like this:
1. Read it through silently
2. Now read it out aloud
3. Now read verses 13 to 17 as if Jesus was
saying this to you. Substitute “I” for “He”…”I have rescued you from the
dominion of darkness…” etc.
Wednesday
We’re
continuing our reading of Colossians. Today we’re going to read Colossians,
chapter 2, like this:
1.Read it through silently
2. Read
it through aloud
3.
Which section stood out for you – is there anything you need to change your
mind about?
Thursday
Today
we’re going to read Colossians, chapter 3, like this:
1.Read it through silently
2. Read it through aloud
3. Remember how I shared with you that when I was
a child Jesus was teaching me how to do my good deeds in secret? Well, that’s
what he wants us to do with the whole of the Bible – put it into practice.
Choose just one practice from Colossians 3 to put into practice this week, for
example, “Clothe yourself with patience”.
Friday
Today
we’re going to read Colossians 4, like this:
1.
Read it silently
2.
Read it out loud
3.
Read verse 12 again. What a wonderful prayer! Pray that for yourself and for
another Christian you know.
