Wednesday, February 19, 2014

INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK: The Brevity of Life

"Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom."
- Psalm 90:12 NLT

There is a man whose writings and ministry inspires me and his name is Angus Buchan. In reference to an incident whereby one moment he was on the platform, preaching his heart out to the biggest crowd of men that's ever gathered for a conference in South Africa and the next moment he was lying in the grass, helpless, possibly due to a heart attack; he wrote in his book Coming of Age: The Road to Spiritual Maturity:

I have, in the last three weeks, come to the full realization 
of the meaning of the words “brevity of life”. I’m sixty-one 
years old as I write this book and it’s taken me sixty-one 
years to come of age. It’s a funny thing, you can go on 
preaching and teaching about the importance of life, tell 
your children, your congregation, your friends, the world, 
but unless the Holy Spirit reveals it to you in a very drastic 
way, you never really understand what it means when you 
hear that life is but a vapour. It’s like the grass of the field. 
It’s here today but gone tomorrow. Especially when you 
are a young person, you think you’re going to live forever. 
It really saddens my heart more and more each day as it 
seems as if there are more young people dying than older 
people, especially in our beloved continent of Africa.

In most cases death reminds us that we are just passing by on this earth. In fact, most of the time we do not want to be reminded that there is a day that is coming where we will have to say goodbye to this world. We live our lives like we are permanent citizens of this planet.

How I pray that we may be wise. How I pray that we may realize that life is short. How I pray that we may start living with full realization that life indeed is a vapour. I know that sometimes we do not want to entertain such a subject. I know that sometimes we do not even want to entertain the message that Jesus is coming back very soon. I believe that devil has his hold on us so that we live life as if we are in total control of our number of days on this planet.

The Psalmist says, "Teach us the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom." On the other hand Paul says, "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:15-17 NKJV).

When we begin to understand the brevity of life we will live circumspectly, as wise people. To be circumspect is to think carefully about possible risks before doing or saying something. Foolish people speak before they think and they act before they think but wise people take everything into consideration before they find themselves in trouble. If you understand the brevity of life, you will act wisely.

My dear friend, as we go about our daily lives, let us live as if this is our last day on earth. That means let us make sure that we have a right relationship with God. Let us be mindful of how we conduct our selves. Life is short. Most importantly, let us seek the will of the Lord. If we understand the brevity of life, we will understand the need to do the will of the one who holds our lives in His hand. His name is Jesus. 

My prayer is; "Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom."






Tuesday, February 11, 2014

INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK: He Daily Bears Our Burdens


"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,

who daily bears our burdens."
- Psalm 68:19

There are times in life when you just want to give up. These are the times when things just do not go right. These are the times when it seems like God is not listening to you,,, in fact He seems so far away. These are the times when words just don't come out when you try to pray... the burdens that you are carrying seem to be too heavy for you.

Child of God, this is a very painful and dangerous phase in life. It is painful because you have done everything right but everything seems to go wrong. It is dangerous because the enemy finds an opportunity to whisper little lies to you. He will whisper to you that "God doesn't care about you". He will say, "You are on your own now!" 

It's a lie my dear friend, its a lie. The truth is that our God has promised that He will never leave you or forsake you. In fact, He draws closer to those with a broken heart or a broken spirit. Our Lord Jesus Christ shares your pain. He loves you. He cares about you. He is with you. 

Peter advises that you cast all your anxiety on God because He cares for you. Remember that invitation by our Savior Jesus Christ, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28). 

No human being can afford to carry all your burdens. Offload everything to Jesus. Don't worry, He never grows tired of hearing your voice. Trust Him, He will take care of your burdens. Don't run away from away from Him, instead run to Him all the time, everyday because He daily bears our burdens. He is our Lord. He is our God. He is our Savior. He loves us so much.