Yvette's Stellar Stories

Wednesday 8 August 2018

Remaining in The Vine!

John 15:4-5 (AMP)

⁴Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me. ⁵I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

I am sure you already know I am very self-determined and I feel I am capable of doing everything. Actually, it's a lie. Truth be told, I fail all the time. Why? I believe because I want to do things in my own strength. I must remain in the vine!

It struck me today that there are issues in my life. I do not have the power, I keep on failing.

Today, I have decided to call on God and ask Him to help me. I am in worship and praise mode right now. Because I need to set my heart straight with God. Once I feel that I have come into a spirit of humility and acceptance before Jesus Christ my Saviour I want to state my case.

The issue I am facing is driving me crazy. Satan is working very hard to keep me from reaching my destination.

Jesus reminds me to come to Him when I feel weary and heavily burned. Today I want to leave my burdens at the feet of Jesus, I am taking His yoke on my shoulders.

Prayer

Abba Father, here I lay my burdens down because my worth is in Your love. Casting every care on You. I have carried them enough. I am not alone Lord, I worship YOU. Please help me with this issue I am facing. I need Your Help. In the name of Jesus Christ my Redeemer and my saviour. Amen

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#Consequences

Numbers 14:18 Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹⁸‘The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving wickedness and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting (avenging) the wickedness and guilt of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].’

The meaning of Consequences: “a result or effect, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant” I know of people who are just too forgiving and they do not implement consequences at all. I believe they want to avoid bad vibes at home and hate confrontations. Sure I know we need to follow God’s example of being slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving wickedness and transgression. One one hand it makes good sense, but what about the bad attitudes and the back chatting. The “not now, I will do it later” actions. Is this the right way to deal with kids actions?

I don’t know as I child I never used these words and when instructed I would do whatever it was immediately or else there would be consequences. I believe that when I was given an instruction the kids should obey and do their chores. I see it is allowed to stay over and in fact not be done. This results in someone else picking up the slack or the job not done. Do we want our kids to be good for nothing lazy kids? I don’t know why someone would want that for their kids.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You, Lord for always being kind and slow to anger with us as people, thank You also for forgiveness of sins and our wickedness. Thank You, Lord, for clearing the guilty and giving us another chance. Help us to keep Your Word, guide each one of us today in the raising of our children. Teach us the right way so that we may honour You going forward. In the Holy Name of Jesus Christ. Amen

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Tuesday 7 August 2018

Lead me and Guide me

Jeremiah 29:11-12 (AMP)

^11 “For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. ¹²Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you.”

Good morning Lord, this morning I humbly come into Your presence and sincerely ask You to please guide and lead me through this day. I cannot do this on my own. When I reflect over my life I realise that only You can guide me.

Lord I want to ask You for a new spirit, I am asking You Lord to create in me a clean heart, and a pure spirit please remove this heart of stone and help me to live my live as You have planned it for me.

Lord I know that You have peace and well-being for my life, help me to embrace this today and I thank You Lord for my future hope. I am preparing myself to receive this in the name of Jesus Christ. I place my hope and I pray Lord give me the wisdom I need for today. Lead me and take me by my right hand. I cannot do anything without You. Lord send Your Holy Spirit and help me rise up, help me come out of hiding and stand and face today.

Lord bless each person who reads my blog, give them their hearts desires and bless them with supernatural favour. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen

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Setting Good Boundaries for Children

Leviticus 18:4-5 (NIV)

^4 “You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. ⁵Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.”

Reading Leviticus makes me see how much God cared for the Israelites. He set strict boundaries in place for the priest as well as how to care for their skin. It seems extreme but when I read how the other national carried on, it made good sense to keep God’s laws and decrees.

As a parent, we set boundaries for our own children. I like my children to have a bath before bedtime, it relaxes them. I also want them to go to bed at 20h00 each evening. School work is hectic and they need to be well rested and alert for the next day's tasks. If they go out on the weekend I want them to come home at a reasonable time. This ensures we have a mutual time if something happens I will go and look for them.

When it comes to food I want them to eat healthy foods and we do fight about vegetable but its essential to their diets. Studying is one of the other things that need to be done and they have to abide by the rules. We want them to attain the best results so that they can go to the college or a University.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your laws and decrees I am guilty of not always being faithful or obeying Your decrees. I humbly pray to forgive me in Jesus Christ Name. Thank You that You love me enough to help me see my mistakes and let me fix them in time. I love and adore You, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

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Monday 6 August 2018

How to get rid of the act Part 3

Matthew 5:29-30 (AMP)

^“29If your right eye makes you stumble and leads you to sin, tear it out and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰If your right-hand makes you stumble and leads you to sin, cut it off and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Jesus gives us the solution to our desires.

According to the Jewish culture, our right hand and right eye is our most valuable asset. Your best vision is in your right eye and the right-hand hold your best skill.

Jesus makes the point that we need to be willing to sacrifice our best and give way for our best and precious position to become free of all sin.

If I have God, then I have everything. I believe if I can possess God's righteousness I have everything. This righteousness comes with a price. Jesus paid the ultimate price when He went to Calvary to receive a new garment of righteousness. Jesus didn't only sacrifice His right eye and right hand but gave His life!

2 Timothy 2:22 (ESV)

^“22So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” Getting rid of bad habits does not mean we are delivered of sin in our hearts. Jesus Christ's blood is the only cleaning we can take. 1 John 1 verse 9 reminds us to confess our sin, God will forgive us.

Jesus reminds us that we cannot possess the Kingdom of God standing on our own strength.

We can only enter the kingdom through His Holy Spirit and His power and salvation.

John 15:5 (NIV)

⁵“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.”

Prayer

Abba Father, create in me a clean heart and a pure spirit. Lord help me to focus on Your Word and teach me the way forward. My habits and my own life falls short and I can never get to heaven in my own strength. I accept You Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and my Saviour. Amen

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Honour God with My Body

1 Corinthians 6:20 (AMP)

^“20You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honour and glorify God with your body.”

I believe our bodies are God's temple. We are supposed to be looking after our bodies. Because God resides within our bodies. We need to take care of what we put into our bodies.

In my youth, I struggled with bulimia. I never thought of the danger of losing too much weight, I just wanted to look pretty. Today I suffer the consequences of not looking after my body. Two aspects that have been negatively impacted is my stomach and my teeth. Believe me, you need both of them going into your old age.

The only way forward is asking for forgiveness, I repent and trust in God. I have gained about 10 kg. Apparently I boarder on obesity but I do not believe that.

God has given me a second chance. I need to do exercises but I am still not in that space.

Prayer

Please Lord, forgive me for not looking after my body in the past. I dedicate my thoughts and my eating habits into Your hands. Please, Lord, bless my life and thank You for my food. Thank You, for the forgiveness of sin. I love and Adore You. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

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Friday 3 August 2018

The desire of adultery Part 2

Matthew 5:28 (AMP)

"28 but I say to you that everyone who [so much as] looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

In the Greek context, we see that every man who intentionally looks at or desires has already committed adultery in his heart. Jesus refers to a person who wants to satisfy his/her sexual desires by watching a TV show which has a sexual rating or goes to a club where the girls dress provocatively, as well as the beach where the swimwear is skimpy.

The phrase "... looks at a woman with lust for her ..." refers to a person who looks lustfully commits adultery in his heart.

In other words, it isn't the deed "looks at a woman" which causes the person to sin in their hearts, but they are provoking the desire by focusing on the woman to sin in their heart.

Let us look at Genesis 3 verse 4 to 6 "But the serpent said to the woman, "You certainly will not die! For God Knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened [that is, you will have greater awareness], and you will be like God, knowing [the difference between] good and evil." And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was delightful to look at, and then a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate."

Eve fell through allowing Satan to establish unholiness and rebellion within her heart. She desired the fruit resulting in her eating it. The action gave birth to her sin. Jesus doesn't speak of unexpected or unavoidable exposure to sexual temptations He says it the purposeful desire. We can be tempted to sin, but we are able to resist it. Making us victorious.

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Stephen R. Covey. This is exactly what Jesus is talking about.

Remember this does not only pertain to men but also women.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help us to keep Your Word close to our hearts, we are so easily misled. Please protect us and give us the necessary strength to withstand the devil in our hour of temptation. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

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