Before that, I worked for many years in a number of community development NGO’s as an educator, trainer and manager, ultimately taking on the role of National Director. During this period also served in a number of NGO boards as part of my contribution to development in the country.
As a young person, through seeking to make a meaning out of life in the township, I became a member of Reach Out for Christ Ministries (now Freeway Tabernacle) since its inception (1986) and served in the ministry as a leader in various capacities including managing and overseeing the running of the Bible class and the overall coordination of the ministry of helps in the church.
I consider myself a community development practitioner and leader. My passion is to see ordinary people develop and succeed, to help people become the best they can be and discover their own passion.
I am inspired by reading inspirational books, The Bush (National Parks) or anywhere near the ocean is the best place for me to recharge
Day 1
Recently I became aware of a project of the Department of Home affairs called “Who am I Online (I am I said- SOUTH AFRICAN)”. It is a project that is attempting to simplify identification of people, citizens and non citizens, by their photos, fingerprints, signatures, and voice using technology. One of the things that they encourage people to do to get the system to work well is to update their ID photos, which means applying for a new ID. Not many people will be excited by this Idea. Billions of
Have you ever asked yourself who you really are? Why you were born and what you should be doing with your life? When you look at the mirror what do you see? How do you respond to things that happen to you whether good or bad, at work, at home & in social environment? How do you position yourself in the context of what is happening round you?
“Who am I on line” really got me thinking. How come we never have to take our ID when we go to meet with God? How come we never hear of any stories of people praying and God saying to them I don’t know you, I can’t recognise you. Even to the worst of sinners. Instead he says “before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” (Jer 1:5). The Bible also says “We are God’s children. Now if we are God’s children we are heirs- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.....” (Rom 8:16). No parent ever forgets who his or her child is, what more with God. Every parent does the best they can to bring up their child to be the best they can be. God does more He wants you to be like Christ. He wants you to be more than the parents can ever wish for.
This week I would like to take you though a short journey of understanding who you are in the eyes of God so you never have to ask yourself WHO AM I ONLINE?.
Prayer: Lord help me this week to be still and know who you are so I can be able to understand who I am in your eyes. Amen
DAY 2:
DAY 2:
MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD
Then God said “let us make man in our image, in our likeness, So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; Male and Female he created them.” (Gen 1: 26- 27)
What does being made in the image of God mean? There are several meanings of the word Image, but the most common and related are:-“to produce a physical or mental image of somebody or something” , to embody or typify something” a picture or likeness of somebody or something, produced either physically by a sculptor, painter, or photographer, or formed in the mind”, “the likeness of somebody or something that appears in a mirror, through a lens, or on the retina of the eye, or is produced electronically on a screen”
This portion of the scripture talks about the physical likeness of us to God. So being an image of God means that, you are a copy or picture that resembles God. When God Look at the mirror he sees you and when you look at the mirror you see an Image of God. Male or female, black or white, rich and poor, educated or illiterate all of us resemble God on earth.
God created Man after he had commanded all other things to be formed, from Vegetation on the land, birds of the skies, fish of the sea and animals on the land. Remember, with the rest of creation God said “LET THERE BE” and there was. But when He forms Man he says “LET US CREATE MAN WITH OUR IMAGE”. For me this means that there was a special purpose for creating Man for God. As we said yesterday HE “set you apart”.
What is that special purpose that God created you for? If you have not found it yet, I suggest you start seeking Him to reveal it to you because it was there even before you were born because if you don’t, I can assure you will be unhappy for the rest of your life. There is nothing as frustrating as having a purposeless life.
Prayer: Lord help me to reveal my purpose for your creation. Lord help me to find a path that you have set for me today so I can start walking that path.
Day 3
UNDERSTAND THE POWER IN YOU.
Then God said “let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them RULE OVER :- (Govern, Control, make legal decisions, and dominate.) (Gen 1: 26- 27).
I believe that one of the major purpose for God creating man was to give him responsibility it was not only take care of HIS creation, but to take charge as it says in the scripture above ”…. And let them rule over” the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and overall creatures that move along the ground. God has given us, right from the beginning, authority over the sea and its creatures, the air and its creatures and the land and all its creatures. How powerful is that? It can’t get better than this. You are in-charge on behalf of God.
When you or someone, (your child, a family member, or a fellow Christian) are confronted by the devil, or just some life situations, do you remember who you are? Do you remember that you are made in HIS image, that you have dominion over all? The problem is that we try to rely on our own means and other people’s intelligence to resolve our problems, not God’s power. Let me tell you child of God, for some of you until you are in a situation where no one is able to help you resolve your situation, you can never understand the power you have in you. You don’t have to wait for those situations especially now that you know. You just need to behave like someone who is made in the likeness of God, some one who has authority over all through HIS power.
Yes Adam and Eve lost that power when they sinned, but today we draw the same power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). This power is charged with fire.
Prayer: Lord, Grant me have the courage to acknowledge the power and authority that is in me so I can learn to use it to its full potential.
Day 3
UNDERSTAND THE POWER IN YOU.
Then God said “let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them RULE OVER :- (Govern, Control, make legal decisions, and dominate.) (Gen 1: 26- 27).
I believe that one of the major purpose for God creating man was to give him responsibility it was not only take care of HIS creation, but to take charge as it says in the scripture above ”…. And let them rule over” the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and overall creatures that move along the ground. God has given us, right from the beginning, authority over the sea and its creatures, the air and its creatures and the land and all its creatures. How powerful is that? It can’t get better than this. You are in-charge on behalf of God.
When you or someone, (your child, a family member, or a fellow Christian) are confronted by the devil, or just some life situations, do you remember who you are? Do you remember that you are made in HIS image, that you have dominion over all? The problem is that we try to rely on our own means and other people’s intelligence to resolve our problems, not God’s power. Let me tell you child of God, for some of you until you are in a situation where no one is able to help you resolve your situation, you can never understand the power you have in you. You don’t have to wait for those situations especially now that you know. You just need to behave like someone who is made in the likeness of God, some one who has authority over all through HIS power.
Yes Adam and Eve lost that power when they sinned, but today we draw the same power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). This power is charged with fire.
Prayer: Lord, Grant me have the courage to acknowledge the power and authority that is in me so I can learn to use it to its full potential.
DAY 4
YOU HAVE THE POWER OF CHOICE
Deut 30:15 “See I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.”
There is a story of two twin brothers. One of them was extremely rich and other one had nothing. People wondered what could have happened that they turned out they way they did. One curious man wanted to know and he approached them individually and asked each one of them. The poor brother explained that their parents died when they were young and they had no money to go to school and make a better life for themselves that is why he was so poor. The rich brother told the same story about them being orphans; however he said that, because they grew up poor, this gave him a motivation to make it in life so that his children should not have to go through what he went though. If he dies early his children would have an inheritance. What is the difference between the two brothers?
One of the greatest things that God has given us is CHOICE. Salvation is a choice. That is why you have to confess with your mouth that He is Lord. God does not make choices for you. He gives you this power to choose whether you want life or destruction. He gives you an opportunity to choose what kind of life you want to live. Everyday we are presented with opportunities and challenges of which a choice is demanded from us. You can choose to be ordinary, you can choose to be mediocre, and you can choose to be significant. It’s your choice. We all have 24 hours in a day, no one has extra hours or shorter, it’s what we choose to do with those hours that matters. The “hobo” who roams the streets or the park has 24 hrs, so do all the people you know who have made it in life. Time and chance happen to all of us.
When you are confronted with challenges what choices to you make? When you are presented with opportunities, what choices do you make? Do you choose life or destruction?
What does it mean to choose life? In my view it means choosing to do or be what God intended for you to be or do as an heir and co-heir in His kingdom. As a person who has to have authority and power on earth you choose to be good or bad you choose to have a positive attitude, you choose to forgive no matter how much you feel you have being wronged. For example, no one can ever make you angry, you choose to be angry. You give yourself permission to behave in a way that you behave. You must understand that, when you choose the opposite of good, you are giving away your power and your ability to take control of that situation. Invariably, when you do that you are choosing destruction. Destruction does not necessarily mean the holocaust; it can just mean making choices that will lead you to an undesirable life. Sometimes we make the wrong choices out of fear.
If you understand who you are, that you are an image of God, that you have authority over all and that you have the power of choice. You will learn to make better choices for yourself. Choices that are life filled. Just like the three servants that were entrusted with their Master’s property in Mathew 25:11, the one who chose to dig a hole and put his talent there until His Master returned, was disposed of everything, yet the one who chose to trade and increase the talents they were given in abundance.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I know that you want the best for me, however now I know that I have to make the best choices for myself based on the opportunities you present. Enable me to always discern what the best choice is for me at a given point in time. To choose life and not
Destruction.
Day 5
WHO AM I ONLINE, (I said I am a child of God, I am more that a conqueror)
Scripture: Romans 8:31. “What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
In the last few days four things were made clear, first, that you are a child of God, made in HIS image, secondly that you have a special purpose that you should pursue and accomplish in life, thirdly, that you have been given authority and power to take charge on behalf of God on earth, fourthly that you have the power of choice, to choose the life that you want, the life that God want for you. Lastly today remember that God is always on your side “---- if HE is for us, who can be against us” what ever the challenges you face.
My understanding of this scripture is that, it does not mean that if you are his child you will never have opposition or forces working against you, we are often confronted with challenges and as Christians, however it means that, when that happens, you need to remember who you are in the situation. If you remember that you have the authority and take your stand as well as make the right choices, he is automatically on your side. And no one or no evil force can ever win the battle against you.
“in all things God works for the good of all who love HIM who have been called according to his purpose”… in all things we are more that conquerors through HIM who loves us” (Romans 8:28 & 37).
Prayer: Dear lord help me to remember everyday, in every situation that I am more that a conqueror through you, that with you on my side, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future or any other powers shat separate me from your love in Christ Jesus, Amen.
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