Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life
Proverbs 13:12
Can you believe we’re in the year 2022! That came around quickly, didn’t it?! Naturally around January, being the start of the year, there is a lot of conversation about “New Year’s Resolution”, “Goal-setting” and so on…you may have already set yours! I remember in the year 2020, it was all about “2020 vision”. However let me ask you something, what happens when that goal you set/or the vision you wrote down doesn’t come to pass in the time you expected or in the way you wanted it to? Or you were disappointed with a particular outcome from the previous year. How do we muster the courage to hope again? Hopefully, by the end of the article, we’ll be closer to the answer.
Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets
Habakuk 2:2
I can say with confidence that we have ALL been there, you’ve entered the new year and you’re eager to set goals and New Year’s resolutions e.g., healthier diet, start the gym, do better at uni/work, pray more, cut off that relationship, the list goes on. Yet whilst we may start strong at the beginning our motivation and focus may wane through the year, it doesn’t always endure. Or we are hoping and praying for something such as a financial increase, healing, a change in location, a spouse, that new job etc. We hope and hope, yet we don’t see a shift. We don’t see a change in circumstances. Is it all in vain? In our hope and anticipation about what is to come, we shouldn’t neglect the gifts of the present nor should we desire the thing we are “hoping for” more than the God who we want to grant it. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7). In some Bible translations of this verse, it says “ask and keep on asking”, the underlying theme of persistence is present but also our heart posture is important during the waiting period, we must ask/seek/knock with expectation.
Friends your feelings of frustration and restlessness are natural but “let patience have its perfect work” James 1:4-8, exercise patience during these times. Adopt a farmer’s mindset, we plant seeds (goals/resolutions), we water it and nurture the soil then wait for the harvest (God’s response). In some cases, we sow and reap in the same year (Genesis 26:12), whilst sometimes it takes longer to see the harvest. Either way, we must trust that God’s word doesn’t return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11), if God’s not done working then we should not be done waiting! So let us pray for grace to wait well. Reignite the flame of hope once more and fan the flame by speaking God’s Word into that vision/new habit/goal. Open your heart and mind to His will but continue to do your part, whilst leaving space for God to do what only He can do in your life.
He makes all things beautiful in His time
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Ideas for when your hope is waning
Pray for renewed hope/vision
Revisit the journal you wrote your idea down or write down your heart’s desire in a journal
Create a Vision board (without putting a year/date) and stick it on your wall/phone/laptop screensaver
Talk to your accountability partners who started the journey of hope with you
Waiting is not easy. Recovering from setbacks and disappointments is not easy. Yet we have been given a resilient spirit and we serve a God who we can confidently put our hope in. Always remember that “anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame” Romans 10:11. This is not a “nice phrase” but an anchor to stabilise us in times of fear/anxiety/discouragement.
Cancel culture has had a huge impact on our generation. Authors, Influencers, Celebrities, basically anyone who is in the public eye has probably had a stint with nearly or undeniably being cancelled. More recently, we saw many attempt to ‘cancel’ Molly Mae for her comments on the fact we all have the same 24 hours. It is clear that many in our generation believe they have a moral high ground over people who are in the public eye and it is their right to enforce it. This article question how true that is and as Christians what should our response be to cancel culture?
The Nature of Cancel Culture
Firstly, this article does not attempt to deny the need for accountability. In the bible Jesus instructs us that “if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1). There is nothing restorative nor gentle about cancel culture. This is not me saying that people should not be corrected when they do wrong but when we do so we must do so to provoke a repentant and changed heart, not to emotionally abuse people through our keyboards or force them into sharing our opinions. Cancel culture is what the bible calls ‘the clanging cymbal/ resounding gong’ – meaning words not said in love that just cause a lot of irritating noise. Yes, the person being ‘cancelled’ may have lost a few thousand followers and issued a public apology but at what cost? Frustration is an inevitable emotion but it is not one that should be laid to rest on another human.
When we think about the love of Christ we really do not have any right to call ourselves worthy of cancelling one another. The bible says ‘let he who is without sin cast the first stone’ and immediately we all realise we are unworthy. It is pride that give us a false superior moral stance and makes us think we can cancel a whole person. We must Take out the log in your own eye before you talk about the stick in someone else’s. It is important to ask ourselves what would be the verdict if all the wrong things we had said about others were brought up. I personally know that I would have no case to stand.
Instead of engaging with cancel culture here are some way to call out wrong doings.
Be intentional with your language
When calling out people’s wrongs make sure that your language is beneficial and spoken in love not anger. (Proverbs 18:21)
Does it always have to be public?
In order not to be another voice in an array of abuse, why don’t you try and speak to people in a more personal way, send a direct message? If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private (Matthew 18:15)
Has pride entered the chat?
The bible tells us that pride comes before the fall. (Proverbs 16:18) Pride means seeing yourself as higher. Be aware that if we looked into your history would you be proud of everything you saw. Always reflect on your intentions before you comment on someone else’s wrongdoing. Engage the Holy Spirit and look out for the soft still voice in the midst of the rage and try and hear for the best way to get your thoughts across.
Remember as Christians we are called to be set apart and not just follow the crowd. We are not called to simply go with flow of culture even when it may appear justified. The bible instructs us to constantly renew our minds and be filled with love not rage.
You may be thinking, that’s an odd thing; to be ashamed of a testimony. Is it even possible to be ashamed of something great God has done in your life? It may have been sheer confusion or even intrigue that promoted your interest in this article. Either way, allow me to explain where it comes from.
I was privileged enough to have had the Gospel presented to me at a young age.
I was 13 years old in my church when a guest pastor mounted the stage and my life would change forever. He preached the Gospel in a way I had never heard before. He was eccentric, smart and eloquent. Sweating on that stage, he skilfully articulated something that had been obfuscated in the church thus far; the explicit Gospel. He preached about Gods wrath, Jesus the saviour and how we could obtain eternal life. After he asked us to respond and I responded, I believe I became a Christian that afternoon.
As I grew up in the church, I would hear many people give their testimonies, how they came to know Jesus and believe in him and after celebrating with them, I would often take a look at my life and in compassion, my story just did not sound interesting enough. My story sounded mundane and ordinary whilst others were som colourful and vivid.
I remember one particular Sunday service where a friend of mine held the youth churches attention as he told his story of salvation. Jaws dropped, they hung on his every word as he explained how he was stabbed by a gang and fell to the ground, right before he passed out he asked God to save him and that if God did, he promised to follow Jesus for the rest of his days. The youth church drew a collective gasp and started to clap. I clapped too but in my young mind, I also thought. ‘that’s so cool’, why didn’t I have a story like this to tell, why was my testimony so vanilla and ‘ordinary’.
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It’s hard to articulate what I felt, but for years I would pass on the opportunity to tell my story, I would change the subject or defer to people who had more interesting stories to tell about how they met Jesus. Growing up and maturing in the Word has helped me address this earlier gnawing concern of mine
We are not really aware of our depravity.
One of the major reasons we seem to be shy about our testimonies is because many people aren’t taught about the nature of their depravity, what they saved from and the gravity of their sin. Despite what your life before salvation looks like to the carnal eye, no matter how grotesque or good it may appear to you, the truth is that the carnal eye cannot weigh up things in this way. In Ephesians 2:1, the bible says you ‘were dead in your trespasses and sins’. This was our default state before we knew Christ. We were dead. There are no degrees of spiritual death, dead is dead. It is only carnal eyes that rank sins in this way, the biblical reality is the same across all people and is very serious.
Consider this, the God of the universe who controls all things, the wind changes directions at his behest, the seasons follow his leading and the sun is only a spec of his brightness. This God that controls all things, called you and you said no. This is the gravity of our transgression. A day spent in rebellion against this great God is a day too much. That he did not wipe the earth of us is a miracle; instead, he waited for us and in his time he saved us. It really is as Michale.
Maybe you were the pastor’s kid or a pretty smart kid or you got saved young. You probably don’t think you were that bad. You maybe stole a sweet here or there but you never murdered someone. Maybe you think a white lie here and there can’t be that bad compared to a murderer. Rather than focusing on what you can remember you did, considered who you sinned against.
Consider your sin against an almighty and righteous God, consider the depth of the sin. I grew up trapped in my web of lies, dripping in jealousy and revelling in sexual immorality. Every time I tried to be good, it would last for weeks and I would fall back harder than I did before. I would dig an increasingly deeper hole for myself, trapped between peoples image of me and who I really was. When the gospel was presented to me, it was a miracle. It was a breath of fresh air after being underwater for so long. How could God bring good out of my life when there was so much bad? How could be fashion something beautiful out of something so broken? Well, that’s God. That’s the miracle of his work, bringing beauty from the ashes.
When we understand the depth of our depravity, then we can start to really appreciate just what God saved us from. We appreciate Jesus so much more because we realise just where our lives were going without him. The only thing we contribute to our salvation is the sin that makes it necessary
What is the greatest miracle?
There is much debate in theological circles about the most amazing miracle Jesus performed. Some say it’s the feeding of the five thousand with barley loaves. The sheer spectacle of it must have been much to behold. Others hold to Jesus turning water to wine, in a time where natural fermentation took forever, this miracle would have made some mouths drop to the ground. That wine could be created so instantaneously.
Today many marvels at healing services and legs growing on social media but of course, consider an even greater miracle. There’s a famous gospel song that poses a set of interesting questions. How can a brown cow, eat green grass and produce white milk? Don’t worry, you don’t have to answer. Consider God’s chemical laboratory of redemption that takes our black hearts, stained with sin, dips it in red blood, the blood of Jesus and we come out white as snow. This is what Jesus achieved on a cross, a miracle that would melt our brains if we tried to understand it. He took something dead and gave it new life. He closed a void that nothing else could close. He bridged the gap. Whether you were stabbed or not, this is what it means to be snatched from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. It’s the same thing for all of us. We all sin and fall short and all of us are inputted with Christ’s righteousness, Romans 3:23
Members of the early church were called Christians because their character resembled Jesus’ character while He was on earth. Their likeness and resemblance to Jesus Christ, by following His teachings and dedicating their lives to Him, was what made people name them Christians. So as a Christian, are you portraying the fruit of the Spirit? Do you think you’re a Christian by name, or by attribute?
What is the fruit of the Spirit?
Children of God are called to bear and birth the fruit of the Spirit. To do this, we have to know what the fruit of the Spirit is.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
These are the character traits that we ought to portray. We’re supposed to be full of love, joy, peace, and everything listed in Galatians 5:22-23. But it can’t just be an act, because the cracks will show. When people meet you outside of the church, do they know from your character that you’re a Christian?
A blueberry tree bears blueberries.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Matthew 7:20
To be known by your fruits means to be identified through your actions, words, deeds, thoughts, desires. It means to be recognised by what you manifest, surround yourself with, and what comes out of your mouth. It was what people saw in the early Church that prompted them to call the church Christians.
Many people call themselves Christians but act even more worldly than people of the world. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit is not just about speaking it and acting it, but it’s most importantly about the heart. Jeremiah 17:10; “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.“
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons and in Your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7 :21-23
It is impossible to keep an act up forever, but it is possible to be transformed into a bearer of good fruits.
How do we bear the fruits of the Spirit?
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
You can bear the fruit of the Spirit by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.
Ask God: The source of the fruit of the Spirit is Jesus. He’s the sunlight, the soil, the water, and the seed for the fruit of the Spirit. Without Jesus, you can’t bear good fruits. We don’t have the natural ability to be bear the fruit of the Spirit, but God does. So if you want to truly bear the fruits of the Spirit, go to your Father in heaven Who is very ready to give the Holy Spirit to all who ask (Luke 11:13).
Search yourself daily and ask God to search your heart daily (Psalm 139:23-24). In the process of growth, it’s possible for weeds (bad habits and self) to hide and grow along with the fruits that you are growing. That’s why it’s important to search your heart and submit your heart to God daily, so He can work on you.
As you continue to seek God and His kingdom, you’ll begin to see the internal change and then begin to manifest the fruit of the spirit.
Culture is influential. Some of what we believe to be true is influenced by the environment around us. We may deem that something is right or wrong simply because the people around us hold to a particular view. This cultural influence threatens to devour the Holy Spirit’s influence that ought to govern our lives. What the Bible explicitly states to be wrong, we may be tempted to deny, because in today’s culture it is deemed acceptable. One of these things is lying. How do you view lying? Do you have a zero-tolerance policy on lying? Or do you divide lies into big or small? White or otherwise? How we view and deal with lying tells us a lot about what we view about God.
Why Lie?
Cambridge Dictionary defines the word lie as “something you say that you know is not true”. This definition is partly right. Where this definition falters is that it neglects the condition of the human heart apart from God. We do not primarily lie because we want to hide the truth, we primarily lie because we do not know the truth as a result of our sinful nature. John 8 gives us the clearest exposition of this point. At the beginning of John 8, Jesus declares that He is the light of the world (John 8:12), which confirms the multiple Old Testament prophecies which stated this (Exodus 25:27, Leviticus 24:2, Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 9:2). The Pharisees took issue with Jesus’ statement because they judged wrongly (John 8:13-19). Jesus later identifies why they judged (concluded) wrongly, because of the condition of their hearts (John 8:39-41). And this is ultimately why we lie. We lie not merely to obscure the truth; our hearts don’t have the capacity to receive the truth. To speak the truth means to identify with the Light and to say what God says has a preeminent place not just in my head but in my heart (John 8:31-32).
Truth Over Lies
The battle between telling the truth and lying is really the battle of freedom. The reason why we lie is that we believe we can get, with a lie, what Jesus promises we can only get with the truth – freedom (John 8:32). Those who default to lying expose the nature of their heart – fallen. Their idea of freedom is too small. To paraphrase John Piper, you’re not free if the decisions you make today will not make you eternally happy. When we decide to lie, we often think of the consequences that we will face and rarely the consequences that others will face because of our lies. The reverse is also true. Perhaps, due to the condition of our hearts, we are blind to the freedom that is available on the other side of telling the truth.
The antidote for a corrupt, lying heart isn’t telling the truth, but the Gospel. Telling the truth is good but can’t change the heart that seeks to enthrone lies when the truth is inconvenient to tell. We need the Gospel that tells us that the condition of our heart is corrupt and fallen due to sin and there’s nothing we can do to change that. Therefore, we need Jesus who lived, died and resurrected for us- who doesn’t mend our heart but gives us a new one. With this new heart, our perception of lying changes. We realise to lie is to identify with Satan, whose nature is to lie (John 8:44). Instead, our desire is, to tell the truth, because when we tell the truth we declare that our allegiance is to the light and that we are free. When we tell the truth we declare that since my security is in Christ, I need not fear the consequences of telling the truth. If you’re struggling with lying today, turn to Christ. There is no lie that you have told that can’t be forgiven by Jesus.
A few years ago, my little cousin was misbehaving and to reprimand I told him to sit in the naughty corner. After he served his time, I lifted his punishment. I noticed his sadness and how it inspired him to keep his distance from me. I called him over to me and he respectfully declined my invitation, he’s rebuttal was ‘I don’t want to come to you because I’m naughty ‘. The interaction reminded me of the uncanny resemblance of how Christians who identify themselves by their sin and cause it to distance them from God was before my eyes.
How Do We Respond To Sin?
This is something we can all relate to as human beings. A liar is branded as a liar because he lies, and his judgment is the fact that everything he says must be taken with a pinch of salt. My cousin expected me to treat him the same way, he believed what he earned was the distance from my presence. I’ll revisit the story and tell you how I responded to my cousin, but first a question.
How many of us can relate to identifying ourselves by our sin and allowing it to create a wedge between us and God? If we were to be honest with ourselves, a vast majority would say we can relate to this. This is the present-day reality for some even reading at this moment. But is the way we ought to respond? That’s the question this article seeks to answer.
He Who Knew No Sin
To identify ourselves by our sin and distance ourselves from God is anti-gospel. This is because the gospel is the good news of not just a change of life but an exchange of life. It’s a Righteous Jesus, dying in the place of sinful Barabbas. The name ‘Barabbas’ means son of the father. We are like Barabbas in that we are guilty deserving of condemnation, but Christ died in our place and by the substitution on the cross we become sons of the Father, taking on the same identity as Jesus.
Paul puts it this way: ‘God made Him who knew sin to be sin that we may be the righteousness of God that’s in Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Because of what Christ accomplished on the cross we are holy and blameless before God. We couldn’t do it with our works, therefore, we can’t undo it with our works. If we could then Christ would not have had to die and Colossians 1:21-22 would be nullified.
By identifying ourselves through what Jesus accomplished we are ‘making the tree good, so the fruit would be good also’. Jesus said, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” Matthew 12:33
We are the tree that Christ made good on the cross, but we must believe that we are now who He says we are because of the cross: Holy and blameless sons of God. Remember your sin cannot change that. If we attach our faith to our identity in Christ, our fruit will catch up.
Back to my story. I responded to my cousin the way God responds to Christians when we sin. I told him he’s not naughty and that he’s a good boy that misbehaved. But his misbehaviour does not define him. I beckoned him closer, hugged and embraced him.
Truly, I am in awe of the life of Jim Elliot. Although short-lived, he accomplished a lot for the kingdom and today we acknowledge him as one of the great missionaries. He was wholeheartedly focused on the mission to bring the Gospel to all the nations, putting aside his own desires and completely denying himself. We should all aspire to live more eternally focused lives. Here is more on the life of Jim.
From Childhood to the Mission Field
Born Philip James (Jim) Elliot on 8 October 1927.
The Elliots were a Christian family where the parents encouraged the children to know Jesus. There were 4 children, Jim was the second oldest.
At the age of 6, Jim professed his faith in Jesus saying to his family that he was ready for Jesus to return as he knew Him. And Jim lived his life with this confidence, for Jesus.
When the time comes to die, make sure all you have to do is die!
Photograph of Jim Elliot | Inspirational Christians.org
In 1953, Elliot married Elisabeth Howard, a devoted follower of Christ whom he met whilst in his final year of college. Together they had a daughter, Valerie.
He was an American Missionary martyed with four other missionaries on a trip to Ecuador in 1956.
Jim was only 28 when he died sharing the gospel with the unreached Huaorani people in Ecuador.
Mission Minded
Jim was interested in missions from a young age, asking questions to the visiting missionaries and enquiring about their trips. It was at college (university) where his passions for missions sprung into action. From then his life was one of complete commitment to the mission of bringing the Gospel to all people.
He was very passionate about speaking to people about Christ. On weekends, Jim would travel from his college in Massachusetts to Chicago to train stations trying to speak to people about Jesus. As well as his desire to evangelise, Jim was devoted to studying the scriptures. During his college years, he regularly attended Bible study. In his journal he wrote:
None of it gets to be ‘old stuff’ for it is Christ in print, the Living Word. We wouldn’t think of rising in the morning without a face-wash, but we often neglect the purgative cleansing of the Word of the Lord. It wakes us up to our responsibility.
Jim Elliot (right) with Ed McCully and Roger Youderian who also died in 1956 | Source: Christianity Today
After College, Jim was determined to enter the mission field, he believed this was where God was calling him. He wanted to bring the gospel to the unreached corners. So for years, he and his mission partner Pete Fleming, whom he met at a Christian conference, studied Spanish and the culture of the people they desired to reach. They became fluent in the language, which allowed them to converse with the natives in Ecuador, the Quichuas, and spread the word. Three years into their work, many of the natives had become faithful Christians.
An Eternal Mission
One day, Jim heard about an unreached people in the jungle of Ecuador called the Aucas. They were known to the natives to be extremely violent as many of the Quichuas had been killed by them. Nonetheless, the call Jim felt for the mission was greater than his fear of death. Even the stories of the Aucas murdering foreign visitors did not deter him from an opportunity to share the Gospel, in fact, it solidified his resolve. Thus in January 1956, Elliot, Fleming and three other missionaries would set out for the jungle to preach to these people about Jesus. However, they would never make it home. They were killed by the people they were trying to reach.
Which one of us would risk the possibility of death to preach the word? How many of us would have given up when the call seemed too difficult? Truthfully, many would not choose to leave the comforts of their home to travel to a foreign land in their youthful prime. But Jim did and this is what draws us to look at his life. The question most people would ask is why? Here is one of Jim Elliot’s famous quotes:
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.
Similar to Scripture in Mark 8:36 where Jesus says “what will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul“, this is what God calls for us too. Although Jim and the four other missionaries never made it “home”, they are now home. With Jesus for all of eternity.
Man carrying bible and bag on a journey
Our Mission Field
Honestly, most times we do not have to give up our desires to this extent to preach the Gospel. But we do have to deny ourselves. We have to choose to walk in the call upon our lives when we committed our lives to Christ.
To clarify, the mission field does not necessarily have to be in another country or remote jungle, Elliot even preached in train stations! The mission field can be wherever we find people who need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It could be where we are right now. Undeniably, we are all called to know Jesus and to preach Jesus.
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Matthew 9:37-38
Saying all of this, if you are interested in going on a mission trip, OGGM annually takes a group of young people on a missionary trip to Tenerife. To find out more, send an email to hello@ourgodgivenmission.com. Additionally, you can read about the most recent trip here.
By faith, we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible – Hebrews 11:3
Noah’s Ark and the Flood Summary:
Genesis Chapters 6-9
God saw how great wickedness had become and decided to wipe mankind from the face of the earth. However, one righteous man among all the people of that time, Noah, found favour in God’s eyes. With very specific instructions, God told Noah to build an ark for him and his family in preparation for a catastrophic flood that would destroy every living thing on earth.
God also instructed Noah to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, both male and female, and seven pairs of all the clean animals, along with every kind of food to be stored for the animals and his family while on the ark. Noah obeyed everything God commanded him to do.
Source: Jesusway4you Image description: Illustration of Noah praying
After they entered the ark, rain fell on the earth for a period of forty days and nights. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days, and every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out. As the waters receded, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Noah and his family continued to wait for almost eight more months while the surface of the earth dried out.
Finally, after an entire year, God invited Noah to come out of the ark. Immediately, he built an altar and worshipped the Lord with burnt offerings from some of the clean animals. God was pleased with the offerings and promised never again to destroy all the living creatures as he had just done. Later God established a covenant with Noah: “Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” As a sign of this everlasting covenant, God set a rainbow in the clouds.
When we read the story of Noah naturally logic/pragmatism may challenge the science and the reality behind this story and even make you want to discredit it. However, my question to you is, if science could explain everything…where would faith come in?
God of the Inexplainable
Friend, let me tell you this as someone who has witnessed but also experienced this personally…there will be miracles/stories that cannot be explained with human understanding. As Christians, we are encouraged to not lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6), because that is where we will enter a downwards spiral where we are fuelled by questions behind our faith and lose sight of the reasons for our faith.
In this life, people will challenge the bible and what it says, to be honest, it is not a surprise. If people are not for Christ, they are antichrist (John 15: 18-21), and so there will be opposition to our faith and the contents of the Bible. Yet we are emboldened to still share God’s Word through the power of the Holy Spirit and not our human wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:4-9). We only see in part and depend on the Holy Spirit to unveil the hidden truths within the Bible (1 Corinthians 13:9). Doubt/fear is not an unknown emotion, God still meets us where we’re at in our faith and helps to build it Thomas (John 20:24-31), Elijah (1 Kings 9:1-14), Jonah (Jonah 1 and 2), Father of the child who struggled with unbelief (Mark 9:24)).
What You Do When You Don’t Have An Answer To These Questions
Go back to the word and pray for deeper revelation.
Seek wise counsel (Proverbs 15:22).
Admit when you don’t know – humility.
Understand that a big part of the Christian walk is faith and logic/reasoning can only take you so far,
God’s Power Starts When Human Ability Ends
It is important to ask questions about your faith, why do you believe what you believe but also to understand the intent behind the documentation of the Old and New Testament as they both feed into our faith. Ensure you are not just believing blindly and that your faith is your own because this will matter when it is tested i.e. questions/ridicule from unbelievers. Finally, God would not be God, if we could explain everything in the Bible. Faith proves that your experience of God in your life is very real and true. It also acts as a reminder to yourself of the relationship with your heavenly Father vs having an explanation for everything your Father does.
More importantly, the story of Noah’s Ark is a pointer to Jesus and His saving Gospel. God’s hatred towards sin and His desire to eradicate it is seen in Noah’s story. God enacts judgement upon the wickedness He sees on earth by destroying everything living thing except those who have found favour in His eyes and trusted in Him. The ark is a representation of Jesus and God’s grace in salvation. The vessel that saved the family from being destroyed, resembles how Jesus is the very means by which we can be saved. This is just one way in which Noah’s story testifies of Jesus. Take comfort in how God gives us a glimpse in His grand plan of salvation, through these stories that may defy logic.
Film recommendation: “God’s not dead”
Book recommendation: “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis
At Our God Given Mission, we take Missions very seriously. Our mission is to help young people discover Jesus and to empower them to make Jesus known. As part of this, every year, we take multiple groups of people on Mission. From the 28th of October to the 1st of November 2021, we took a group of young people over on a missionary trip to Tenerife. Beforehand we trained on ZOOM, completed an evangelism course and met for the first time at the airport for the trip. We saw amazing things happen in Tenerife and we are excited to share with you some snippets of the kind of things that happened.
Day One
Words by Temi Oluwadare
We arrived at Tenerife very early in the day. Our first goal was to leave the airport and pick up the bus we would be using to get around. This first stop was Fasina, in the more remote parts of the Island! Honestly, for me the drive was a bit wild – but the accommodation there was on some beautiful mountains away from the busyness of the Tenerife strip.
Once we arrived at the halfway house in Fasina, we were able to spend some time with John and Natasha who run a halfway house for those nurturing a relationship with Jesus after facing hardship. After this, we relocated to our accommodation nearer to the strip. Along the way to our new accommodation, we stopped in Lidl to pick up some key essentials!! Lots of snacks, pasta, breakfasts and a vast amount of juice. The plan was that this food would keep us going throughout the week.
After we arrived at our accommodation and we had all settled in. We went to El Cordero for a late lunch/early dinner. The atmosphere was lovely and this was the first time that we could all sit together as a team and begin getting to know each other. We used this space to discuss our personal lives, what we do and more. I loved this time because it was great for us to start building relationships. After we ate, we went to explore the strip, Las Americas – there were countless nightclubs and bars. It was exciting for us to see where we would be going to minister to people. I think at this point, we were all quite excited. After this, we went back to our apartment to have a Bible study. The study looked at ‘the ability to stay hot’ and we explored the dangers of familiarity and how it could hinder us from learning from people around us.
After this study, we continued to learn more about each other. We played a game that encouraged us to consider 3 items that summarise us well. But also a song game where we all shared our favourite songs and had to guess who’s song was whose. I loved this day because it set the tone so well of what the week would look like. Love, laughter & Jesus.
Day Two
Words by Oladipupo Joseph
The 2nd day of the retreat was possibly the most packed day. We were able to sleep earlier the previous night, so we got ready to go for our first prayer walk at 9 am. By God’s grace, our accommodation was close to a beach of sorts which was perfect for reflection and prayer. I really enjoyed the walk there; the open air and lovely weather encouraged the group’s conversations as we got to know each other before we separated to speak to God and it marked the beginning of a day filled with His Presence.
Afterwards, we got back home to have our showers and eat breakfast. Temi and Deborah handled most of the cooking which was truly kind of them. Tenerife has a lot of mountains which are honestly so beautiful to behold. As we stepped out of the house, climbing one of these was our first destination. We first got drinks from a nearby shop and made our way up the mountain. It wasn’t too steep and took us probably about 20-30 minutes to get to the top and remained there for about the same period. I remember the view made me feel so grateful and my problems so small. It was impossible to not admire the beauty of creation and feel at one with everything, I won’t forget that anytime soon.
We climbed down the mountain and walked down to the van to head to our next destination Golf del Sur. The experience here was more of a continuation of the beach. We were closer to the ocean as well with there being a large beach nearby so we could clearly see the flow and harmony it possessed even as it crashed into the sculpted rocks by the shore. Unfortunately, we could not go on the beach, but it was a worthwhile experience, nonetheless. We then headed to the strip to survey and acquaint ourselves with the area.
We journeyed back home afterwards to get some rest in preparation to go evangelise at night-time. I think we played a game or two but mostly talked and read books. After we regained some energy, we prayed and set out to the strip for the first time. We separated into pairs with a boy and girl- with Trudi and me at the front. Looking back, we must have looked like soldiers setting forth in some battle formation. At first, I had feelings of hesitance mixed with excitement as we approached the first person we spoke to. However, that night was one of the best I have ever had.
I got to meet and speak to so many different people, who engaged us in different ways and although some conversations felt more fruitful than others, I had a general sense of dropping seeds after we left each one. As we met up at the end of the night to debrief and share our experiences, I experienced even more beautiful conversations that the rest of our group had. We then prayed for them all and prepared for bed. However, we ended up playing games till about 5 am and honestly, I would not have minded that day going on forever.
Day Three
Words by Deborah Brown
After a Friday night of intense competitive games (post evangelism), we reconvened in the morning early as usual. We were reminded of the life of discipleship that we were committed to; being submissive in learning from our Lord Jesus and from the more mature in the faith. We were also reminded of our due diligence to offer that same discipleship to others – being poured out as a drink offering.
All that before lunch! Together, we enjoyed the European delicacy spaghetti bolognese courtesy of the amazing Tems and Trudi (who thankfully spotted that the supposed bottle chilli actually said ‘food colouring’). This was followed by a calming walk to the beach, a semi-dip in the sea and yet another game of Mafia (with unsurprisingly zealous participants).
Then came another Bible Study session on the 86% Christian – who, by the way, doesn’t actually exist!!! There is no such thing! We go all in! Nothing but 100% is acceptable! We’re also encouraged by the fact that this 100% Christlike living is by His grace. Grace through faith – the same faith by which we are saved. We live our lives committed to Him, dependent on Him.
With this in our hearts and minds we set out back to the streets of Tenerife that night preaching the Good News of Christ to people – one having no plan and no way forward for his life; another being stuck in a rut feeling like he wants to commit to Jesus but thinking he won’t be able to give 100% and will go back to the world; and another seemingly knowledgeable but oh so confused. We preached the Gospel to such as these, and continue in prayer for their hearts and souls to come Him, knowing that whom the Son sets free is truly free indeed.
Day Four
Words by Trudi Auletta
We woke up early on Sunday morning for our last full day in Tenerife – we began, like other mornings, with a prayer walk, before coming back and getting ready for Church!
We had the privilege of participating in the service at the Tenerife Family Church – with myself (Trudi) being able to share my testimony of coming to faith and a bit about the encounters we had so far during our time in Tenerife, and M.T delivering the sermon on the topic of ‘How To Change The World’. The members of the church were very hospitable towards us and it was lovely to speak to some of them about their experiences in ministry and missions.
Before we went out evangelising on the strip, we visited The Living Room – a supportive drop-in centre that “support people, listen to people, share testimonies with people and often pray with people”, run by Rachel from the Tenerife Family Church and located on the strip. Rachel shared some inspiring stories that she has witnessed in her 12 years as a missionary in Tenerife and gave us some exciting insight into the future of The Living Room. We chilled together, prayed together, grabbed some dinner, and then we finally went out onto the strip one last time.
Our final evening of evangelising continued to be fruitful just like the rest of the nights, as we were able to proclaim the good news to many people! It was particularly interesting as this night happened to fall on Halloween. There was once again lots of unique encounters and conversations that were held and we are trusting God to continue His work in all of those individuals.
Once we headed home, we prayed for all of the interactions and thanked God for His faithfulness during the trip, and prepared for our departure the following morning. (Preparation may or may not have involved a few more rounds of mafia).
Day 5
Words by Daniel Atere
As a group we knew there was only one way to start this day….at 1 am playing mafia. Once again for the fourth time, Deborah and Ladi were mafia’s but we all knew it was Deborah’s tactic that won the game. After many “one more games” we went to bed to take a quick nap to be up for 7 am. This wasn’t going to be an ordinary morning though, as Nana made the decision to get baptised as a public declaration of his faith and his obedience to God’s command in the Bible. We first walked down to the beach to do our morning prayer, we thanked God for all He had done on this trip and what He is yet to do.
Before Michael and I baptised Nana, we all had to adjust to the waters temperature step by step until the water got up to our waist, we prayed for Nana and baptised him. It was a wonderful experience as Nana came out of the water, just the knowledge that a new and wonderful life is ahead of him is something we were all joyful about. When we go back home, we were in good time to pack the rest of our things, shower and have breakfast and of course, one more game of cheat (which Nana won, clearly because of the baptism). After, we had to get the airport time to make sure there weren’t any issues with documentation and all of that. Now, I hadn’t yet done my lateral flow test to get my certificate to fly but I was sure the results will come out negative so before arriving at the airport I was as calm.
When I did the test, we all went through security and waited for the results. As I opened the e-mail I was sure it was negative so you can imagine my disappointment when I saw positive, my chest was beating, palm-sweating but I held on the God’s promise to get me back with negative results. As I told the others, there was suddenly a realisation that I could be here for another week or so. I went back out through security and attempted to take another test at the same place but the ladies there were not having it because of the company policy of only doing the test once. I asked around the airport and no one had any other alternative apart from doing another test. Mike made a few calls and in a matter of minutes Neil a guy from the local church was there to help me.
We first drove back to his house and I met his lovely family, and the way they embraced me as if they were also sure that my results were negative was mind-blowing. I thought they would have wanted me to keep my mask on and stay in a corner but no, the first thing they asked me to do was to remove my mask and assure me everything will be fine. After making a few calls, Neil found a local clinic that was still open, before we went his wife prayed for me and prayed that the test will come back negative and because God is faithful to these promises the result did come back negative. I got my certificate to fly and booked a direct flight to London leaving that evening. This whole trip, especially the start and the finish taught me that if God says He’ll do something, He will do it, maybe not how we envision it or when we expect it but He will do it. KB a Christian rapper once said to “write your plans in pencil and allow God to write his in pen”, more than ever before I’m learning to trust God’s word and allow His say to be the final say, and even when I feel fear, I’ll still do it in faith anyways. This whole trip has been a whole experience and the people that I went with were absolutely amazing and I wouldn’t have had it any other way!
Are you going to go on mission?
Jesus’ instruction was simple and clear. When He was leaving the earth to be with the Father, He gave us the Great Commission. He commanded us all to preach the Gospel and to make disciples of all nations. Whether you do this in a different country or at your workplace, or in your family, that’s for you to work out. However, the command is non-negotiable. It’s for all.
If you are interested in coming on future mission trips then please email hello@ourgodgivenmission.com and express your interest. Our next mission trip will be in the second quarter of 2022. Looking forward to seeing you there.
I am sure we have all at some point read or heard a passage from the book of Proverbs, Song of Solomon or Ecclesiastes- books that carry threads of wisdom through them. As we know King Solomon had the honour of being the wisest King in the Bible. However, to who much is given, much is expected. Through examples such as that of Samson or even King David, we see men who were entrusted with a gift or a position of power and abused it. Despite the great gift King Solomon was bestowed with, he was still subject to sin and unlike his father, he drew further away from God. Essentially, he ended up backsliding…so how did he get there?
God’s Relationship with Solomon
God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone — wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations
1 Kings 4:29-31
In this Solomon requested wisdom and this was given to him. God even commended the humble nature of his request and exceeded his request by adding wealth and honour to the list! (1 Kings 3:10-14) and it was such a good thing that he attained that wisdom. We are certainly reaping from it today.
Solomon Turns from God
King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women from the nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn your heart away to follow their gods.” To these women Solomon was deeply attached in love – 1 Kings 11:1-2
Foreign women were Solomon’s vice and idol and he never actively tried to wean himself off them. He didn’t even exercise or tap into the gift of vast wisdom that was given to him- but instead, he sought vices out. He allowed these women to take precedence in his heart and turn it towards other gods. His devotion to God gradually deteriorated.
Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, and unlike his father David, he did not remain loyal to the Lord…The Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
1 Kings 11:6, 9
The Lord appeared to King Solomon twice first in a dream for Solomon to make a request from Him (1 King 3:5). He also appeared to Solomon a second time saying if Solomon obeyed His command and lived according to His will, that He would establish the throne of Solomon’s kingdom over Israel forever (1 Kings 9:2). In God’s latter appearance to Solomon, He blesses him but also issues a warning: “But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name” (1 King 9:6-7).
Solomon did not observe what the Lord said, which made the Lord angry. To expound on this point further, when in right living with God we can experience fruitful moments where God can bless us richly, where we walk intimately with God and receive His favour. However, when we go against His commands, out of love, God can chastise us. If we don’t honour Him with our lives, He can remove certain gifts and responsibilities from us. As a consequence of Solomon living according to his own desires and not God’s desires, God said He would remove the kingdom from his lineage leaving his son Rehoboam only with Judah (out of love for his grandfather David). God also raised adversaries to rebel against Solomon.
Lessons on backsliding
1) Solomon neglected His time with God – which gave way to various forms of idols forming within him. Our time with God allows us to be purified and refined by the word (John 15:1-4).
2) In that neglect, Solomon sought after what God had warned him against, leading him to sin. We are warned to flee from temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).
3) Solomon’s gift could not cushion him nor protect him from the sin that dwelt within and the temptations of the world (1 Kings 11:11).
4) Our disobedience can impact our bloodline, we need to think carefully about the seeds we sow in our lives as this will reap blessing or disaster for our offspring. It was the obedience of King David that saved King Solomon’s son Rehoboam (1 Kings 11:12)
5) 1 Kings 11’s account of Solomon’s love for his sin acts as a warning to all of us. Matthew Henry puts it, “Though we have reason to hope that he repented, and found mercy, yet the Holy Ghost did not expressly record it, but left it doubtful, as a warning to others not to sin. The guilt may be taken away, but not the reproach; that will remain.Thus it must remain uncertain to us till the day of judgment, whether or not Solomon was left to suffer the everlasting displeasure of an offended God.“
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.
Romans 8:39 (b)
Whilst King Solomon was not in close fellowship with God, it didn’t mean that God’s love for him died. It is important to mention that no one is too far gone for salvation. When we sincerely repent of our sins and turn away from our wicked ways, we can approach God’s throne of grace with boldness (Hebrews 4:16). If as Christians we backslide and then become aware of this, as long as there is breath in our lungs we can still cry out to our Father as He waits for us with a patient and steadfast love (2 Peter 3:8).
