Sheldon Stephenson, Author at 1Africa

When you are at the end of your tether

Faith

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February 16, 2017

Tether in the dictionary is defined as: A rope or chain with which an animal is tied to restrict its movement.

The saying “at the end of your tether” means that you have gone as far as you can go and basically if you tried going any further you’d get choked.

Have you ever gotten to the end of your tether? I know I have on many occasions. Being at the end of your tether or rope can really be a terrible thing. We in our human capacity can become very despondent and depressed when we feel we have reach a point in our life where we are no longer free and being held back by all the bad things in this life. Tethers can look very different for different people. Maybe it’s a job where you’re unable to grow, maybe it’s a financial tether or a health tether. Whatever your tether is I want to encourage you today – you can and you will get free of it. All you have to do is start changing your thoughts, words and point of reference.

Change your thoughts:

The way we think is very important in the process of setting yourself free from your tether. Negative thoughts will only cause you to sink further in depression and you do not need that extra stress. The deeper you start falling in depression the more chance you have of doing something irrational. The more you struggle against your tether the tighter the rope will become. Staying calm and keeping your mind free from stress enables you to think of positive ways to get that rope from off your neck. Don’t choke yourself.

Change your words:

Our words hold power. If we are constantly speaking negatively and constantly speaking death and depression over ourselves and our lives, the more we will see those negatives in our life. You have to change your words. Changing your words can only happen once you follow point 1.

Change your point of reference:

The world is by default quite a negative place. If your point of reference is the worlds point of view, then you are going to be in trouble for a very long time. Instead of listening to the world around you, chose instead to listen to what God says. He is the correct point of reference we must use. The Message Bible says it best:

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” – Matthew 5:3

We are blessed when we are at the end of our tether because that is where God can do the impossible. That’s when we witness the miraculous and supernatural happen.

So, I want to encourage you, that when you feel like you can’t carry on, instead of turning to the world and allowing all the negative thoughts, words and points of references to be your guide, rather turn to the correct source which is God. He is able to turn things around supernaturally.

If you’d like to find out more, please click the link or pop-up window and get in touch with us.

Your life will never be the same again!

God can get you out of debt… He already has!

Lifestyle

Sheldon Stephenson

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February 9, 2017

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God can get you out of debt… He already has!

Money is important and most times it can be a good thing but sometimes it can get us into trouble. It can be a source of joy to some and a source of depression and sadness for others.

I have noticed over the years that the more generous you are, the more you will find your money going further. It seems like a contradiction, after all, how can giving away your money end with you having more money at the end of the day. Well, it seems to be almost like a law of nature. It’s incredible then that when reading verses on money that I found the following…

The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
those who help others are helped.

Some people call this karma. Others like to call it the law of attraction. The truth is that this is a law put in place by God. Money can be a blessing and a curse depending on how you view your money and how you handle your money. – Proverbs 11:24-25

The Debt Trap

There are many of us who are in debt up to our eye balls, whether it’s credit cards, overdrafts or loans of any kind. These debts can slowly begin to grow and then they can very quickly drown us. I believe that these debts can be caused by our own unwillingness to trust God to provide. We as humans often have great anxiety regarding money and often we do something irrational out of our worry which can actually end up making our situation worse than before. When we attempt to do things in our own strength and out of a place of our own thoughts and fears, we most likely will end up worse off.

I believe that God can get you out of financial debt. All we have to do is keep in mind the laws he has put in place and start trusting Him to provide instead of going and getting ourselves deeper in debt through our fears. Another problem is that many people in this day and age seek acceptance and approval from friends and peers by trying to keep up with the Jones’. This ends up with them buying things they don’t really need or have the money for.

Here are a few points that may help you.

Stop buying what you can’t afford: If you cannot afford to buy what you want with cash then you can’t afford it. It’s that simple. Instead of getting credit to buy said item rather find space in your budget to start a savings pocket and save up for a few months and then go buy that thing you having been eyeing out. You may even find that in the six months it took you to save that you come to the realization that you do not really even want it anymore.

Do not buy on impulse: Todays culture is rooted in an “instant gratification” mind-set. When we see something we want we just get it regardless of the implications. Instead of buying impulsively you can ask yourself these three questions, 1. Do I need it? 2. Can I afford this in cash? And 3. Why do I want it?

Pray about your situation: In James 4:2 it says, “You have not, because you ask not.” So my advice to you is to pray and ask God to help you to get out of your financial debt. Keep asking until you begin to see results and then continue praying more. The bible tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). So that is what we should do. I believe the more we seek God on things in our lives the more miracles we’ll witness. I also believe is that we would not get ourselves into half the financial trouble we often find ourselves in if we first sought Gods advice on the matter.

The heading of this post said, He already has gotten us out of debt. You may be asking yourself what I meant by that especially if you are in debt. The truth is that there is another kind of debt that God has already gotten us out of, but the debt I am talking about here is not financial but rather a spiritual debt. The debt of sin which is death. By sending His Son Jesus, God has already paid our most significant debt. He has given us a way of being free from the consequences of that debt. Saving us from our debt is a big part of God’s plan and I believe that it slides down into the realm of our finances too. God can do all things and I believe that He wants us to ask, not only for freedom from our financial debts but also from our spiritual debts.

If you’d like to find out more, I encourage you to click the link or pop-up window and get in touch with us.

Your life will never be the same again!

Live like you are dying

Sheldon Stephenson

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February 2, 2017

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I know a title like “live like you’re dying” might sound strange, but it will all make sense by the end.

Have you ever been stressed out by life, your job, bills or children and so on? Have you ever complained about something that was actually insignificant? I know I have been quite a grouch these last few years but I have slowly learned to chill out and stop taking everything so seriously (I’m not 100% there yet, but I’m working on it). My hope for you is that you too will get this revelation – Everything is meaningless.

I am a parent and I am much stricter than I ever thought I’d be. I have had my share of frustrations especially raising two boys. If you have children – boys or girls, you’ll know what I am talking about. The strange thing about parenthood is that you can easily cross the line which separates ‘reasonably strict’ to ‘annoyingly pedantic’ and once you cross it, it can become almost instinctual after a while to just moan and complain about anything and everything. One day my son said: “Dad, you are always in a bad mood and always moaning about everything and I feel like I can never do anything right! I am such a stupid, bad boy hey?” In that moment, my heart sank.

Had I failed as a father?
Had I been so harsh that I had destroyed my sons confidence and self-worth?

For the next few days, my sons words rolled around my mind like a rough ocean crashing waves upon the shore. I was so torn up by his words because they made me feel like I had failed him as a father. I knew I had to find a way to curb my fault-finding and instead allow him some room to learn things for himself and not be on his case about every little mistake he makes.

It was a story I read that changed me. The story was of a father who had lost his son; a story of all his regrets as a father – regrets not only for all the mistakes he had made but also for all the things that he didn’t do. It made my eyes fill with tears and my heart fill with love.

Imagine for a second that your loved one died today – what would the last words have been that you said to them and would you regret those words or actions?

There are many things in life that can cause us stress which in turn leads to outbursts of emotion, but maybe this year, we can all try harder not to allow the small things to cause us to ruin relationships with loved ones.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it – Psalm 118:24 Say –

We should celebrate life, enjoy our time with family and friends and also enjoy all the good and wonderful things this life has to offer like good food, drink, beautiful scenery, hikes through the mountains, sunrises, sunsets and having mud fights with your children. The list is endless.

Ecclesiastes 8:15 says: “So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.”

Let the small things go: Life can be stressful enough – so why add to that stress? Instead let the small, insignificant things go. If you find yourself freaking out about socks, then you know that you really need to try harder to get yourself to a place where you can let the small things go. Would you be fighting about socks if you were dying?

Do not allow your stress to ruin your family relationships. People with children know how frustrating it can be. Repeating things ten times and constantly dealing with arguments. But before you go and lose your mind ask yourself if you would care about any of these silly issues if you had to lose your child. The answer would be a big, fat NO! If you had to lose your child, you would wish every day to see the dirty clothes, scribbled drawings on the walls and any other behaviour that previously would have irritated you.

If we lived like we were dying or with the thought of losing a loved one, we’d possibly cut our stress by more than half and we’d let things go, and just enjoy the madness that comes with life.

I found that the more I seek God on these matters, I find I get closer to achieving my goal of being less concerned about all the silly, unimportant things in life and instead focus on the most important thing in life and that is life itself – The life of my children, my wife, my family and friends.

I hope this can help you today and if you’d like to begin your journey with God and allow Him to change your heart and mind, I know for a fact that ultimately you will start to change, be happier and less stressed out with life. I encourage you to click the link or pop-up window. We’d love to help you.

Your life will never be the same again.

How Quickly We Forget

Faith
Other

Sheldon Stephenson

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January 26, 2017

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How is your memory? I know that my own memory is more like a sieve than a sponge but I am not taking about forgetting phone numbers or people’s names and I’m also not talking about walking into a room only to stand there with a blank stare wondering what you went in there for. I am talking more about when you make a mistake in life or do something stupid, and after apologizing you end up doing that same stupid thing once again. We so easily forget our promises. We easily forget the things we do and the reasons why we decide to try change things in our lives and we often end up going backwards.

It’s like the man who is caught in the clutches of alcohol. One night he ends up drinking too much. He ends up having a huge fight with his wife. Maybe he even gets violent and hits her. His children are all standing watching. In that drunken state, he is unable to control his anger and he has no sense of remorse or shame. It’s only the next morning, when he awakes without memory and with all of the consequences of his actions facing him head on, that regret and remorse set in. He feels regret as the alcohol begins to leaves his system – as the hangover starts to fade. His regrets push him to apologize and to make promises of never drinking again. For a week or two he does not drink and he manages to heal some of the hurt he has caused, but not completely. As time passes, he begins to forget and one day he begins to drink again. It is fine for the first week – everything seems under control. His promise to never get drunk seems to be working. One day though, the memory of that awful incident is gone from his mind and he once more becomes drunk and the whole cycle begins again. This is the memory of which I speak. Or like the father whose son is always being unruly and naughty. After a good talk with his son, the bad behaviour begins to change. It seems that the chat has worked. The son is trying his hardest to keep the peace, to do right. One day, the son has a bad day and reacts in the same old-fashioned way he always did. All the weeks of good behaviour and effort seem to be forgotten by the father, who once again sees only his sons bad behaviour instead of noticing that his son had really been trying hard and had actually been doing much better.

The truth is that we all have this same problem. We all forget too quickly. Whether it’s the good or the bad – we forget and we continue in the same vein once again. Does it sound familiar? Be honest!

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

There is a story in the Bible where God saves his people from the Egyptians. They were slaves and had been slaves for four hundred years – They were forced to do hard labour; they were beaten and abused. They wanted to be free and then God did something miraculous. He saved them and got them out.
They witnessed many amazing miracles and yet after all these miracles – from the ten plagues to the parting of the Red Sea to the provision of food and the water that just sprung from a rock – the people forgot. After a little time had passed, they were complaining. The incredibly sad thing about it was that they weren’t just complaining but they actually regretting ever leaving Egypt. They were reminiscing about the “good old days” when they were slaves. It seems totally ridiculous right?

I mean, who in their right minds would prefer being a slave over a free man? Well, we are all like this. We go through things and then we wish for change, but then end up forgetting how bad our lives were before and we end up wishing to return to that which caused us grief in the first place. Oh how quickly we forget!

In the bible a king by the name David writes – “Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” Psalm 103:2

Luckily for us, there is good news and that is that we have a God who does not change. We can rely on Him to always be the same, consistent God that He has always been. We know God does not change because he has told us so – “I am the Lord, and I do not change.” Malachi 3:6

So with that in mind, I believe it is important to understand that although we change our minds often, and although we are fickle and inconsistent, we have a God in which we can trust and on whom we can rely. I believe that only through God’s grace can we ever achieve positive and lasting change. God tells us through David that “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.” – Proverbs 26:11

So how do we get to a point where we can no longer forget but rather keep our minds focused and in a perpetual state of remembrance? Here are three points that can help.

Keep Visual Reminders: Make notes for yourself. Paste them all over the house, in your car or in any other place you may see them. I used to wake up in a very bad mood in the mornings. Now I have a big sign pasted on the wall in front of my bed which reads “Remember to speak and act in love and stop making a big deal of insignificant things!”

Keep a diary: I struggle to keep a diary because I often forget that I have started a diary, but if you can get into the habit of writing a daily journal, it can help you keep your thoughts and ideas ordered and accessible. It is also a great way of expressing your feelings in a safe space and also great for going back to further down the line. You will see whether you have changed or not and in what areas you may still be struggling.

Spend more time with God: God tells us to meditate on his word continuously day and night. I have found that as my quiet times get less so my bad behaviours begin to increase, but the more I spend time reading Gods word and just talking to God, the better I begin to feel. This can be tough to consistently do, but if we plan properly and set reminders to spend that time with God, it will eventually become a habit and we will see our lives be transformed. After all, reading Gods word encourages us, keeps us remembering what God expects from us and it gives us the drive to keep pushing forward and growing in areas we need to change. It makes us want to be better.

I hope that this post has helped you in some way. No matter what you may be struggling with, I encourage you to keep pushing forward and going deeper with God. You won’t get it correct all the time, you will probably fall backwards a lot, but as long as you never quit, then you will ultimately be further ahead of where you ever have been before and you will continue moving forward each day and through each new obstacle you encounter.

If you would like to have a relationship with God and have no idea where to start, I encourage you to click the pop-up or link below.

Your life will never be the same again.

Purpose equals stability

Faith
Other

Sheldon Stephenson

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January 19, 2017

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The other day while I was walking down the road, a strong wind came up and nearly blew me off my feet. I had to intentionally and purposefully re-position my stance and push forward in order to move against this strong wind. It got me thinking about how similar it is to how we move through this life – It’s exactly the same as trying to walk against a strong wind. Your stance and purpose in life will determine whether you will walk against the wind or whether you will be blown off your feet.

The dictionary describes Purpose like this: A determination or a feeling of having a reason for what you do.

Purpose is intentional and not by accident. Being deeply rooted takes courage and time, but it doesn’t have to take you forever. Determination will take you there quicker if you only stay committed to yourself and your dreams.

Here are 3 points I thought might help you if you are struggling to be purposeful and steadfast in any area of your life that you want to change or succeed in.

Adjust your stance: Just like when I was walking against the wind – I had to adjust my stance in order to achieve my objective (which was to make it home). The same applies in this life. There will always be things that seem to push against us. Maybe you have a dream, but people are constantly telling you that you will never achieve it. Maybe it’s people putting you down for your ideas, your beliefs or your moral convictions. Whatever it may be, if you adjust your stance and push forward, you will find yourself walking through the strong wind that keeps trying to push you backwards.

Be purposeful: When I was walking against that strong wind, I had to walk with purpose. I had to put my head down and face the wind with determination. I also had to know which direction I was going and I had to push hard in that direction. I never let the wind just blow me in any direction it wanted. That’s called drifting and many people do drift through life without ever really knowing where they are headed, allowing others to influence their direction. In life, you must be clear on your purpose – be clear what it is you want, where you are going and how you plan on getting there in every area of your life. Giving up is never going to get you to where you want to be, but walking with purpose – being intentional and determined will eventually lead to breakthrough in any area in your life that you wish to change or improve.

Resist and persist: If you have ever walked against a strong wind, you’ll know that you have to really fight hard in order to not get taken down. In life you will also need to resist, fight, battle, attack and counter-attack but it doesn’t end there, you will also need to persist, persevere, continue, remain and stay the course if you want to achieve your dream – your goals. Life is not easy all the time and as the great Rocky Balboa once said:

“It ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”

Think about the people who have, through their courage and purposeful perseverance, changed history – People who have stood for what they believed in – people who swam against the tide of oppression from their friends and loved ones and even oppression from society as a whole – people who continued to believe in themselves even when they were called stupid, crazy, weird or over the top – people who died for that which they believed in. There is one man though who stands out from all the rest, a man who I believe gave us the greatest example of living with purpose in a time when his purpose was in direct contrast to the rest of society at that time. This man was Jesus and he was purpose driven and determined to fulfill what he knew he was born for. He had a strong wind to walk against, and he stuck it through, persevered and ultimately fulfilled the greatest and most wonderful purpose of any other man ever. He persevered through ridicule, through anguish and anxiety, through family and friends thinking he was nuts and then he even persevered through torture so terrible, many of us could never even imagine, never mind endure. He did all of this out of love for you and for me in order that we can have redemption and the everlasting life we were supposed to have. We have a great example in a God who knows how it feels to experience everything we will ever experience because he experienced it first.

If you would like to live a life of more purpose, then what better way to make it happen than by giving your life to the one who made you – the one who knows your purpose, your strengths and your weaknesses. After all, Jesus said: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

I want to encourage you, if you want to walk with purpose and be more stable, please click on the link below or the pop-up window.

Your life will never be the same again.

Let your fear be your fuel

Faith

Sheldon Stephenson

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January 12, 2017

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Last night my seven-year old son decided to use his Christmas money to take me to the movies. What a great treat that was and what a beautiful gesture from my son. The movie we watched was called Sing. In this movie the one character has a dreadful fear of being on stage in front of big crowds but her passion for singing is tearing at her heart. When she gets the opportunity to audition, she freezes out of fear and the audition is a big disaster.

Don’t let fear stop you

Later in the movie someone says to her that she should never let fear stop her from doing what she loves. That line really spoke to me because I myself have a passion for singing and also for playing guitar but I have never pursued my passion because I too am terrified at the thought of being on stage in front of hundreds of people. This fear is actually shared by millions of people around the world.

Later that night I got into bed and I was thinking about fear and where it comes from. Did God put these fears in our hearts and minds or are they a trap from somewhere else? Then out the blue a verse came to my mind – 2 Timothy 1:7 and when I read that verse it really blew me away – check what it says: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

Then another crazy thing happened, I checked my Facebook one last time before turning in for the night and the first post that came on my screen was a meme that said: “Let the fear of failure push you to greatness.” It was like a giant slap and I realised that I must embrace my fears and push ahead regardless and by doing so become greater than I am now and not worse off. I have been thinking a lot about it and here are four points that I believe can help us.

Let your fear be your fuel.

You can either allow your fear to paralyze you or you can use it to fuel your passion. Your fear can become the very thing that pushes you to prepare harder. If you fear messing up your lines or forgetting your words, then it will push you to practice more, practice harder and the truth is that if you are properly prepared for something and have practiced hard towards it then you will already be more confident than ever before.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

When we love something – doing that thing will make us happier, correct? That initial fear will have to slowly fade away because as we do what we love we will realise that when we are doing that thing, our passion will shine through and the fear in our hearts will begin to evaporate like a puddle of water in the desert sands.

The more you do it the easier it becomes.

This one seems obvious, but when we first start out, it may seem like that fear will never go away or lessen but the truth is that the more you do something the easier it becomes, especially when it’s something you love and are passionate about.

You have nothing to lose.

Another thing to remember is that you actually have nothing to lose. You can only gain from stepping out and conquering your fears. If your dream is to sing but you are currently only singing in your basement, then what do you have to lose by stepping out of your comfort zone and giving it a try?

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Psalm 20:4

You see, God has placed desires in our hearts. These desires may be the very purpose God has created you for and now that we know fear does not come from God it is easy for us to see exactly where that fear comes from. The enemy would love to keep you trapped in fear – to keep you from fulfilling your purpose. Let’s not give him that opportunity but instead let’s take our fears and turn them into the fire that drives us to greatness as we delight in the Lord.

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” Psalm 37:4

If you would like to find out more about God and learn more about how to live the life He has purposed for you, then I encourage you to click either the pop-up or the link below.

Your life will never be the same again.

Thankfulness brings wholeness.

Faith

Sheldon Stephenson

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December 29, 2016

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I have enjoyed writing for 1Africa this year. It has been an honour to get to share my thoughts and ideas with all the readers around the globe. As my final blog for the year 2016, I would like to bring this thought.

A lot can happen in a year and no doubt many of you reading this may have had some struggles or tough moments. I would like to encourage you to be grateful. Yes, I know being grateful when things aren’t going your way seems to be a lot harder than when everything is going well. However, I believe that gratefulness is one of the main keys to receiving breakthrough in areas of your life where, maybe you have been experiencing assault.

I know I have spoken about gratefulness before – this time I’m coming from a different angle. It’s such an important lesson to learn because not only does gratefulness turn your negative mind-set into a positive one, that positive attitude changes the words you speak. In light of the fact that our words have the power of life and death, it is highly recommended to be more grateful.

In the bible there is a story of Jesus healing these ten lepers. As they obey Jesus’ command to go show the priests their miracle healing, it says they were cleansed as they went. It also records something quiet sad. The important factor to take note of here is that of the ten men that were cleansed, only one man came back to give thanks – Only one man actually realised the gravity of what had just occurred and returned to give thanks to Jesus – I mean, he came back and fell on his face in praise and worship for what Jesus had done for him.

The rest of the men just took their blessing – their miracle, and continued on as if nothing amazing had just happened. No thankfulness for their healings, no gratitude and they didn’t receive the full blessing.

Gratefulness brings the full blessing.

The funny thing I noticed was that in this story, all the men were cleansed of the disease but only the one who returned and gave thanks was made whole.

The bible says that as all the men went off they were cleansed, but the guy who came back to give thanks was told by Jesus that his faith had made him whole.

It makes me wonder about the other nine men who were only cleansed but not made whole. It’s sad that they lost out on being made whole because of their unthankful spirit.

If you are going through good times give thanks, if you are going through bad times look for something to give thanks for. Turn your eyes from your problem to something that you are grateful for.

The thing I have realised is that no matter what happens, there is always one thing we can all always be grateful for regardless of the season we are in, and that one thing is what Jesus did for us.

In this season of thanksgiving and Christmas, I want to draw your attention to Jesus and the fact that all who accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour will be forgiven of all their sins. Through His death on the cross we are giving the keys to eternal life – we are brought back into relationship with God – Back to righteousness and holiness. If we want to receive real wholeness, we must always keep returning to give thanks for all Jesus has done!

I encourage you to click on the link or pop-up window and find out more about Jesus and all He has done for you so that you can be made whole. Your life will never be the same again.

Have a wonderful festive season and Merry Christmas to all.

God bless.

There’s two sides to grace.

Sheldon Stephenson

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December 22, 2016

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For those of you who have children, you may know the difficulty of finding the balance between grace and discipline. After all, you love your child and want to extend grace at times but you also need to make sure that your child is learning the lessons they should each time they do something inappropriate or naughty.

The problem I have found is that when I offer my son grace in place of punishment on too many occasions, that gratitude which my child first exuded begins to wane. I find that he ends up making the same mistakes over and over again instead of learning the lesson he needs to learn.

The other night, I was on his case about something he had done wrong and something came over me. I began to realise that I must seem like a very big scary person when I am standing above my child shouting at him. So I knelt down, grabbed him by the hands and in a soft voice told him I was not angry with him but rather that I wanted to help him. I saw his eyes come back to life in that moment and I felt absolute, unconditional love for this little guy. Then I asked him to tell me what I could do to help him improve in the areas of his life where he was struggling; he needed to know and understand that I was not happy with what he had done and I let him know why, every time I extend my grace, he just continues making the same errors and doing the same things time and time again without any real change.

You see, there are two sides to the grace coin and it may surprise you what the other side of grace is. The other side of the grace coin is – TRUTH.

Without truth, grace is just an excuse to continue living the way you always have been. Grace without truth is a path that leads to no real change. A real, long-lasting change happens when you see truth, accept truth and change accordingly. Truth leads to repentance and grace is there to lift you up off the floor in order to give it another chance to get it right.

Definition of repent

to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life
to feel regret or contrition
to change one’s mind.

The bible tell us that

‘The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us.’ – John 1:14

We must always make sure that we have a good balance of grace and truth, because one without the other does not help anyone become better.

You can’t have one without the other.

With only truth, people feel judged and can even end up feeling useless – like they may never achieve what is expected of them.
With only grace, people will feel like they can just continue to do wrong things without any consequences – After all, they will just be forgiven again.

You have to have both and without both, people will never learn or grow from their mistakes. It’s important for all of us to learn from our mistakes in order to grow in life and character.

So live with both truth and grace, teaching right from wrong yet always extending grace. Remember, none of us are perfect in anything. Extend that grace to your friends and family, but also be truthful because telling someone truth shows them you care. When people feel really loved and cared for, the changes will begin to happen naturally. If you would like to know more about the grace and truth of Jesus Christ, click the link or pop-up window and let us walk this journey with you.

Your life will never be the same again!

God bless!

Good isn’t always good.

Faith

Sheldon Stephenson

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December 15, 2016

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Many years ago, I worked for a company that sold timeshares. It was not an easy job – we had to get couples with specific qualifying aspects and ideals up to the hotel. Once there, a salesman would try sell them a timeshare.

How we did this was a bit tricky. We had a bag of prizes and from this bag, the couples would draw a prize, and if they wanted the prize, they had to come to the hotel and sit through the hour-long sales pitch. Yeah, it wasn’t very ethical or nice, but hey, it was a job. But I digress…

My point is this, these unsuspecting couples would win a weekend away at one of the timeshare accommodations but first they had to sit through an hour-long sales pitch. They also needed to organise their own transport to and from the holiday destination and to top it all off, the holiday cabin was self-catering.

So was this prize really that great? These couples weren’t exactly winning much that would really benefit them.

Have you ever received a gift that cost you more than you bargained for? Well sometimes in life, we can be promised many things – whether those things actually happen is another story all together and when they do happen, not all those great things are things that will benefit you.

The bible tells us in James 1 verse 17 that whatever is good and perfect is a gift from God. This is basically telling us that all good things that happen in our lives are a gift from God.

The Question

If all that is good and perfect comes from God, then how could Satan promise to give Jesus rule over all the kingdoms of the earth if only He fell down and worshipped him? Check out the devils words to Jesus.

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” – Matthew 4:8-9

The Clincher

The profound truth we can see in these seemingly contradictory verses is this: Not all that we see as good truly is good.

Sometimes we may believe that a thing is good and perfect but then later we find out that we have been swindled. Today, many people would have taken Satan up on his offer of ruling the world and most people would think it was a good thing – but would it really be? After all, what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

You see, sometimes God’s good and perfect thing doesn’t always look that amazing to us or it may not look the way that we might have expected it to look, but if we have our trust in God’s omniscience and omnipotence and his love, then we can know without a doubt that God is in control.

Our best bet is to seek God for His wisdom when we have serious choices to make. In the hullabaloo of the world – smothered with all its appealing deceptions – we must seek God’s small whispering voice of reason and truth – then you will have a life filled with more joy and less troubles. We cause our own problems by not seeking God’s counsel in our lives.

If you would like to find out more or if you’d love your life to change for the very best, I pray you will click the link or the pop-up window and take the next step to your new found freedom in Christ Jesus.

Your life will never be the same again!

Heart and Mind or Wealth and Prestige?

Lifestyle

Sheldon Stephenson

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December 9, 2016

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I felt like I needed to encourage some people today so I hope that what follows will bring some hope and a new perspective into your life.

I know that this world in which we live has a lot of people fooled into believing that we are just a bunch of animals – put here for no purpose or reason. We are all just here to survive and to get as much stuff as we can regardless of the expense to oneself and others – so basically we should just enjoy the ride because one day it will all be over and then there is nothing left but nothing… Right?

Well, that seems like such a depressing existence doesn’t it? All it does is help me understand why the world is the way it is. It makes sense now why there is so much greed out there but to be honest, I do not believe that’s the way it was meant to be. We are living in a war-zone, full of lies and perceptions and opinions. We are caught up in a battle that is deeper than anyone expects and the lies have become ‘truth’ to some but there are still others who have eyes to see and ears to hear and who have not been lured in by the tricks and schemes of the father of lies.

So with everyone scrambling to only look after themselves or their family, what happens to those who are not selfish, ruthless and who have a conscience?

When we look at the words spoken by Jesus of Nazareth during his sermon on the mount, we get a very different picture compared to what we have been taught by the world.

In Matthew 5:3-12 Jesus speaks these words and they are profound, confusing and smothered in comfort for all those who seem to have been forgotten by society and the world.

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The world tells us that riches and prestige make us important – that what we wear, how big and fancy our houses and cars are – these things make us important. The world tells us lies about money, and those lies turn normal men into corrupt and evil creatures, willing to do whatever is needed in order to hold on to what they have accumulated. But these words that Jesus spoke are so contrary compared to what the world teaches, that they seem like a paradox of some epic proportion.

The truth is much simpler. God is not interested in your fancy shoes or your five-story mansions. God isn’t interested in your sports cars and fancy designer clothing. He doesn’t care which sports team you support or whether your friends are prestigious.

Now that may come as a shock to many of you and maybe not such a shock to many more of you who don’t want to think about these fairy tale stories… but it is the truth.

Would you like to know what God is interested in?

Justice, love, and compassion are a few things but the most important thing to God is – our heart and our mind.

Here are two verses that show this pretty clearly.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7

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The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.” – Jeremiah 17:9-10

At the sermon on the mount, Jesus flipped the tables upside down by declaring that the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek and merciful, the peacemakers and persecuted will be given justice for all they have suffered in this present world.

So I pray that no matter what you may be going through right now, that you will find strength in the words of Jesus. Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh, and did many amazing miracles. Thousands witnessed Jesus in action and hundreds saw Him after He was raised from the dead. We must stand on the truth of scripture. We must never forget that we serve a loving and all-powerful God through whom all things are possible and those who have suffered will be rewarded one day by God himself.

I hope this blesses someone today. You can fall to your knees and thank God in whatever situation you find yourself today and you can know without a doubt that your reward will be paid at the exact, perfect time. Keep pushing forward.

If you’d like to find out more about Jesus please click the link below or the pop-up and set yourself free from the lies of this world.

Your life will never be the same again!

Sheldon Stephenson

Change your thoughts:

Change your words:

Change your point of reference:

The Debt Trap

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Don’t let fear stop you

Gratefulness brings the full blessing.

Definition of repent

You can’t have one without the other.

The Question

The Clincher

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