Читать книгу Let Your Light Shine Before Men - Job Mothiba - Страница 9

Not everyone knows God is real until you tell them about your testimony. It’s when people hear your real story that they get to know you, like you and trust you. And want to do business with you, realising that everything that looks nice comes with a price. The one who is willing to pay whatever price it takes to do the will of God is worth more to God than the one who always looking for a cheaper way.

Be careful of desiring a lifestyle you are not prepared to pay for. You cannot get a return on an investment you never made. When people say they’d like to be in your shoes, it’s usually after the difficult journey is finished. They tend to believe in you when you are succeeding but, you need to believe in yourself when you are not.

And, often times the people who criticise your life are the same people who don’t understand the price you paid to get to where you are. They tend to connect with our perfection and performance. All that is slick and shiny about us attract them. But our tears? They are liquid that repel others, scares them or make them shrink back.

The hardest thing I am still trying to learn to accept is that you can’t just force people to care. Trust me. You would not want to be associated with people who does not really care. For a moment they are, because they need you. But as soon as the tables turn and you are the one who needs them now… they would be gone in the blink of the eye.

You can’t force people to care about you. You can’t force people to believe in what you believe in. You can’t force people to fight for you or fight for something you hold dear to your heart but, the people who care will fight without being asked. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how amazing and lovable you are to your Father. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

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The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, he has send me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. (Isaiah 61; 10)

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The Lord has called you like *Lazarus to come out, why are you then still wearing your grave clothes when the Lord has unbound you? Come out of the grave and tombs, for this is the time for you to be released to minister.

Why are you trying to hide in shadows? Why do you find it easier to lie, than to come out in the light? Do not be afraid to be judged by man and come out. Who are we to judge and question God for putting greater grace on the most broken and battered vessels?

If it was up to man the woman at the well would have remained a statistic and an outcast. Even the woman who was caught up in prostitution would have been stoned to death. But, if it had not been the Lord’s mercy… (Psalms 124:2)

So, do not spend your life bound by your mistakes. If you acknowledge, repent from it, you will recover from it, and be better because of it.

Since grace was extended to you. You did not earn it and you did not work for it. It is a free gift, may you extend the grace to others. “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8)

Again, stop getting so frustrated about when you are going to reach your destiny that you do not enjoy the journey. The difference between where you are and where you want to be is not based on what kind of a job you have or do not. It is not about how much God has given to you, it is about how you handle what God gives to you. The more you are truly thankful for what you have now, the faster what you want will start to show up.

I believe that everyone is gifted, but some of us never open our package. Believe with all of your heart that you will do what you were made to do. For what we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us. At times we might think we are not good enough, but you will surprise yourself if you keep trying. You are capable of achieving more than you realize.

So, your past does not determine who you are. Your past mistakes prepares you for who you are capable of becoming. What ultimately defines you is how well you rise after falling. Do not ever be afraid to give yourself a chance to be everything you are capable of being. Forget the haters. Never under-value who you are and what you are capable of. For you are not called to just think about the prize and claim the prize. You are called to hold the prize. Just as the Lord said “…I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you, even to your old age” (Isaiah 46:4b NIV)

So, God has given you a gift, it is called today. What are you going to do with it? Well, there is no better time than today to change the way you view yourself and the world around you. Be mindful of how you start this day. Your first conversation, and your first thought can set the entire tone of your day. One small positive thought this morning can change your whole day. So, start your day with a smile, a good attitude and a prayer. For a simple smile and a hello could lead to a thousand different things.

Thus, a smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring and a sharing person inside. “Be careful with the way you are thinking because your thoughts run your life.” (Proverbs 4:23).

Yes, you cannot solve every problem in the world, but at least you can attempt to solve one. Do something with the gift God has deposited in you. You gain confidence and grow stronger by every experience in which you really push yourself to do something you did not think you could do. Nobody who ever gave their best regretted it. When God has selected you, it does not matter who has rejected you. Keep on being original. You will be amazed what comes to you when you stop trying to be someone else.

God did not place people on Earth to be pawns or puppets of an identity he did not give them. For He has created you in His image. The clay does not tell the Potter how to form it. It yields to the process. Stay mould in the hands of God and receive the Grace to move in your gift and endowments. “For a gift opens doors for a man and brings him before the great” (Proverbs 18:16)

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Let us pray:

Father, we acknowledge that each day of life is a gift, and we do not know when we will see our last. Help us to live with eternity always in view. As, we admit our sinful and selfish ways. We look to you for forgiveness and healing. Thank you for your mercies today.

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