What a debt! A blessing in disguise

In today’s culture and economy, debt is something that is almost normal though very disconcerting. Many people especially in the western world have been in it for as long as they can remember, while yet others have almost lost hope of coming out of it. 

Money needs to be used with the utmost care & discretion otherwise it will reduce you to a slave if it masters you.

Now, whether you are owed or you owe or perhaps are even ‘debt free’, there is ONE debt you will owe for the rest of your life. It does not matter how much you try to pay it or how loaded you are in financial terms, this ONE is here to stay. 

Let me say that again, it’s here to stay! You may try to avoid it, but you won't have a fruitful life without it and it’s the only debt that gets more rewarding, the bigger it gets. 

Interestingly enough, you will find that nothing really matters in life until and unless you pay this debt and continue paying it.

Know what I am talking about?

It is the Debt of Love! – The only debt you are allowed to owe and ironically one that you cannot pay off however much you try to, and the more you pay it the bigger and rewarding it gets. O how convenient!

The scriptures tell us to "owe no man any thing but to love one another" Romans 13:8 

Moreover our Lord and master Jesus Christ gave us the great commandments – The Love commandments - St Mathew 22:37 – 39

The debt of Love is a blessing in disguise, a blessing beyond measure and one that requires your honest participation. There are various ways you can participate.

Allow me name a few of this ways to you by the grace of God and I hope you will find them both edifying and uplifting.

The starting point is to never take anything for granted, big or small.

It’s worth noting here that, in life nothing just happens to or for you. There is a purpose to everything including your very existence. The key here is to be very discerning and apt to make a conscious decision to do the right thing.

The other point is to avoid criticizing, complaining, condemning or judging anybody. Instead of pointing fingers and trying to find fault with every body and every thing, being empathetic and lending a helping hand whenever you can to those in need would be more noble. 

Yet another one is to show mercy. To forgive and be forgiven is essential if you are to participate in the debt of love. The Lord Jesus Christ in teaching His disciples how to pray said, "…..forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who are indebted to us” St Matthew 6:12 (KJV). 
All of us without exception make mistakes and are in need of forgiveness from God and our fellow human beings, and that is done by showing mercy and being loving to one another.

Love is both given and received and you ought to be ready in season and out of season to do both.

Be loving and lovable. I say lovable because you cannot give(in this case Love) what you don’t have and you cannot have without receiving.

So the next time someone is kind to you, compliments you, does something nice to you, trusts you etc, anything they do to show they love you, the least you can do is to receive it! And you receive it by saying thank you from the bottom of your heart. As for long as it is an act of kindness, just receive it and be grateful.

Why?

Because, first of all, you will enlarge your capacity to love when you are open to receive love and secondly, whether the thing being done to or for you is done genuinely or not, as for long as you are grateful for it, your heartfelt gratitude glorifies God and subsequently the act of Kindness genuine or not is then sanctified. 

Thus, if any of it was originally meant for evil though it was an act of kindness, it will then because of the sanctifying grace of God, work out for your good. For nothing bad can prevail where God’s glory is manifested.

So, often say thank you at every opportunity and let an attitude of gratitude be your present hour disposition. It works wonders.

Last and by no means least, I implore you to pursue peace with all men as far as it lies in your power to do so. Be humble and acknowledge your mistakes when you screw up at times, there is no harm in saying sorry, in fact it is honourable.

I am confident that if you act on the preceding statements, you will be on your way to owing man nothing but Love. O what a debt!

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. 

Peace & Love

Libs

Take a Leap of Faith

A leap of faith, in its most commonly used meaning, is the act of believing in or accepting something intangible or unprovable, or without empirical evidence

The implication of taking a leap of faith can, depending on the context, carry positive or negative connotations, as some feel it is a virtue to be able to believe in something without evidence while others feel it is foolishness. It is a hotly contested theological and philosophical concept.

The biblical definition of Faith found in Heb 11:1, is the best definition of faith you can ever get.

This article is not an exegesis of what Faith is, it is simply about our day to day lives in light of the fact that, everyday living is living by faith and that Faith is non denominational. In every human being intrinsically in our make up is a measure of Faith.

In all honesty, living by faith is the only way to live.

First of all, without Faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6) & it really doesn't matter whether you believe in God or not, He exists regardless of your belief and more than that, you can only approach Him by Faith.

Success (or lack thereof) is intrinsically linked to your level of Faith (the level to which you have developed it).
If I may ask;
In your life, what do you believe is possible? .....

Your answer to the above question will depend on how developed your Faith is.

It is worth noting at this juncture that the greatest enemies to your life of Faith are the twin fears of failure and rejection.

I have seen, heard and experienced the tragedy that the fear of failure and rejection can wreck on the human spirit and the diabolical effects of their stronghold in any ones life.

Many people have literally been 'paralysed' by the fear of failure & rejection that they make faith of non effect in their lives. its sad, but there you go.

I can clearly identify with the preceding statement, because I have been there before & for years couldn't make meaningful progress in my life and what made it even more frustrating was that, I was acutely aware of the potential in me to make a difference.

My breakthrough as it were, came when I realised that, I am more than a physical body and that my creator endowed me with an excellent spirit and that I can live without fear, full of courage, love and fundamentally I understood that ultimately, the choice of what/who I believe, is the real difference maker because my faith hinged on that. I chose to believe in God and trust in Him.

Since then, it's been an ongoing journey of very humbling experiences that has culminated to my firm conviction that, God is all you need and can ever have and if you don't have Him, what else can you have, - Nothing, absolutely nothing! All else without Him is fleeting vanity.

Back to what we said earlier on about fear of failure and rejection, to live in such fear is not only dysfunctional, it all together limits your potential.

See, you owe it not only to God but also to yourself, to make the most of your life.

On the account of what you do with the great engineering in you, it will be asked of you by your creator God, what you did with your life. What will be your answer?

Will you have maximised your potential or would you have allowed your predisposition to the fear of failure & rejection to erroneously influence the choices & decisions that you make to live a purposeful life

It is inevitable that, occasionally you will feel the fear of failure/rejection when you are engaged in worthwhile projects and in living a life of purpose, and it really does not matter whether you are rich or poor, young or old, this twin fears are around you constantly and will tend to influence you at whatever level in life you are in.

Question is,
what will you do about it?

Answer,
Take a leap of Faith! Dare to go forward even in the face of your greatest fear of failure/rejection.

Act with boldness, courage & fortitude and step out in the face of uncertainty and do your hearts desire with such a conviction that your fears just melt into thin air - just go for it, you will be amazed.

General Douglas MacArthur once said: "There is no security in life, only opportunity"

Reminds me of the creed of Frederick the Great, one of history's greatest leaders, it said, "Audacity, audacity - always Audacity.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" said Apostle Paul

And,

Our Lord Jesus Christ said, " All things are possible to him who believes"

Dear beloved,

In closing, I would like to challenge you to stir up the great potential in you, renew your mind and have the courage of your convictions. Take a leap of Faith and do the extraordinary, you are more than able.
Whatever you need to do today to move forward, go for it, give it a try, you can make it.

Follow the advise of an old man to his grandson, "Act boldly and unseen forces will come to your aid"

Moreover, our LORD hath said that : "I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE NOR FORSAKE THEE
So that 'you' may boldly say: THE LORD IS MY HELPER, AND I WILL NOT FEAR WHAT MAN SHALL DO UNTO ME" (Heb 13: 5-6)

Is there anything you are contemplating to do and are procrastinating for whatever reason? Just do it, take a leap of faith, go for it. Be bold, act with Audacity!

We'll talk again soon. Till then, be sure to take good care of yourself.

Peace & Love
Libs