Brokenness without Jesus

Brokenness without Jesus

by | Jul 10, 2018 | Christian Walk, Healing & Freedom

JULY 10, 2018

Brokenness without Jesus

By Kim D’souza

    By Pastor Kim D’souza

We often read and quote about Abraham and Sarah in the Bible, but there’s one more important character in their story whom we miss out. The story of the Egyptian slave Hagar in the Bible is a story of brokenness until she encounters the true and living God, “who sees her”.

As a young girl, one day Hagar finds herself given away as a slave to an Israelite childless couple. To be known as somebody’s slave is heart-breaking – no matter how rich, kind or God fearing your owners are. You have no freedom of action, no right, no will. And that was the beginning of Hagar’s brokenness.

Then one day Sarai, her mistress has an idea. She urges her husband Abram to lie down with Hagar. Suddenly this young beautiful girl finds herself next to a man, probably as old as her father.

And she gets broken further.

Soon the news is out – Hagar is pregnant. At this point I feel Hagar is fighting mixed emotions. She was broken because after all that she went through, she was still unsure of what the future holds for her and the unborn baby in her womb.

And she was in her moment of ‘success’ because she was able to bring forth what Sarai couldn’t after decades.

Genesis 16:4 says When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.

Brokenness – Jesus = Bitterness

Another version says, when Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she became proud and treated Sarai hatefully.

Here is what I want to draw your attention to.

Hagar was broken, but her brokenness was exclusive of God. You see, when Jesus is not a part of your brokenness, it becomes bitterness. Like it happened with Hagar, she became very bitter in her heart against Sarai and this overflowed in her actions towards her.

Similarly if Jesus is not a part of your success then there is every danger of pride creeping in. Hagar in her pride, reacted as the world would, and eventually she suffered the consequences of her behaviour.

But praise God, in His mercy, He rescued her and gave her a promise that still stands true today.

What does it mean?
No matter what season of life you are going through, invite Jesus into it. Cast your brokenness upon Jesus because He cares for you, like no one else. Share your heart to Him and allow His Word to seep through every crevice of pain and crack within you. And you will find that His grace will be sufficient for you. The Bible says that He is yet to deny a broken and a contrite heart.

Similarly yield your so called success to him. Always walk in humility and thankfulness and God will give you more grace, for He exalts those who are humble.
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Struggling? Come Walk With Me, Says Jesus

Struggling? Come Walk With Me, Says Jesus

by | Feb 28, 2018 | Christian Walk, Healing & Freedom

February 28, 2018

Struggling? Come Walk With Me, Says Jesus

By Kim D’souza

    By Pastor Kim D’souza

Struggling with addictions? Weaknesses? Fighting wrong thoughts? Doing something that you know is wrong but you can’t seem to win over it?

I hear Jesus singing over you, “Come, walk with me.”

That’s all you and I got to do.

Don’t try to be good or perfect in order to reach Him. Instead go to Jesus just the way you are, and start spending time with Him.

In the book of Acts 4:13 we read, When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

The best walk in life – Walk with Jesus!

Peter and John were ordinary, undignified and smelly fishermen. Until one day they decided to drop their nets and walk with Jesus – spend time with Him, listen to Him, ask Him questions. It is in this process of being with Jesus, that their likeness changed! So much so that the world around them were astonished!

That’s exactly what you got to do right now. Start spending time with Jesus and His Word and as you do that, you will not have to strive to see a change in yourself, but His light in your life will cause all your addictions and struggles to fade.

I love this testimony of my husband – there was a time when Derrick was struggling with the addiction of smoking. There was a desire in him to change but no matter how hard he tried, he could not let it go. So he started spending more and more time with Jesus (sometimes even with a cigarette in hand!) And as he did that, the word of God became like fire in his bones, and one day his bondage broke, and he could no longer smoke again!

Wow, that’s the power of being in the company of Jesus.

“Come, walk with me,” Jesus is calling out to you. Would you hearken to His voice today?

My God is Not a Dream Killer!

My God is Not a Dream Killer!

by | Feb 4, 2017 | Christian Walk, Identity & Calling

February 4, 2017

My God is Not a Dream Killer!

By Kim D’souza

    By Pastor Kim D’souza

Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped…. Luke 7:14 It was all over. And they were carrying the coffin away. It was the coffin that carried a dead dream. It was the only dream left with the dreamer. She had conceived it in intimacy and spent years nurturing and guarding it with all that she could afford. All she had was this dream to live on. But alas, when the time came to see the dream into fruition, the dreamer encountered a rude shock. The dream got aborted before time. How could this happen? Who was to be blamed? Why did the Giver gave me the dream if He had to snatch it away? She grappled with these thoughts. But none had the answer. All she got was eyes of sympathy and words of doubt and ridicule. It was now time for the dream to be carried away from the dreamer. It was broken, it was dead. And of no use.
Some dreams are just that – dreams, never meant to realise. And they came to carry the dead dream away. But then Jesus entered the scene. He had to, for He is yet to deny a broken heart. He told the dreamer not to weep. Because weeping implies it’s all over. But hallelujiah, as long as Jesus is in the picture, it’s not all over yet.
He who has promised is faithful

And then, He touched that dead dream. It was the encounter of sorts. Death verses life. Hope versus disappointment. And all those that tried to carry the dream away from the dreamer had to halt! Woohoo, the dream that all gave up on Rose Again!

Reminder

This is a Holy Spirit reminder for you who are reading this because I believe you are not on this page by chance. Is there a dream or vision that God has planted in your heart? Does it seem that it will not come to pass? Are the circumstances or the people in your life carrying the dream away from you? Do not weep. Do not let go. The God that I serve is not a dream- killer. Ask Joseph. Ask Abraham. In fact He is the one that is backing you up to see that dream into fruition. All your dream needs is an encounter with the Word of life and all those who are opposing it will have to stop in their tracks. And you will see your dream come alive!
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But God!

But God!

by | Oct 21, 2016 | Christian Walk

Recently I was meditating on the Book of Ephesians when I came across this verse, 

Ephesians 2:4 (NLT) …we were subject to God’s anger, BUT GOD is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much…..

As I was reading, these words “BUT GOD” just stood out of my Bible. Then I did a Google search on the verses with these words, and found that “But God” and its variants appear many times in the Bible. For instance see some of these below verses:

but-god

Genesis 50:20

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

 1 Samuel 23:14

David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

Psalm 49:15

But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself.

Psalm 73:26

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Wow, aren’t these scriptures beautiful?

To the left of BUT GOD, you will find discouragement, darkness and hopelessness, but to the right of these words you will find strength, hope and a reason to get up and run the race that God has called you for. 

The world may say you are a loser, your people at work may look down upon you, may be you feel you are struggling to be a good parent to your children, may be you are worried for your future….BUT GOD is with you and He is working for your good. 

Every time you see a BUT GOD scripture in your Bible circle it and start praising the Lord. Because that’s the game changer! As long as BUT GOD is there in your equation, your tables will turn in Jesus name! Hallelujah! 

God’s Choice – the Best Choice!

God’s Choice – the Best Choice!

by | Mar 9, 2016 | Christian Walk

Genesis 13:10 KJV
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord , like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

Genesis 13:14 KJV 
And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward…

image

It is so typical of man that when given an option to “select or choose”, man will use all his intellect and reasoning to make the best choice in the natural. As in the above case, because the land could not hold both of their livestock, Abraham asked Lot to choose which land he would prefer inhabiting so that he (Abraham) could go the other way and both could live in peace.

The Bible says “Lot lifted up his (natural) eyes and saw the well watered plains” and made his decision. What he did not see is what God was going to do to Sodom and Gomorrah which was the very place that Lot decided to pitch tent and make his aboard.

Now comes Abraham’s turn and guess who gives him direction to choose? The Bible says… And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look ….

Oh that blesses me beloved, here are 5 key points:

1. Be divinely led

As God’s children our lives are to be divinely led and not humanly explored. Man looks with his eyes. But God lifts up our eyes to see!

2. Expect God’s instruction

We can expect God’s instruction (long term/ short term) in our lives so we do not end up in places of Gods judgement.

3.You have the Holy Spirit!

God has placed on the inside His Spirit so that you do not make decisions in the flesh that may look rewarding in the short term but prove to be a loss in the long term.

4.Strategic positioning

God wants to position you strategically so that “many families and nations will be blessed by your obedience to His Word.”

5. Don’t compromise

Don’t live a life of compromise and settle in the plains of the yesterday’s ‘Edens’ but seek God to walk in His will today. The place He places you in may not look in the natural as a place of beauty but obedience to God will turn your desert place into an oasis of life to all!