Inspire to Live

The journey..

2009-04-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Life is a journey, get on the right road and enjoy the ride!

Selling Isaac

2009-03-02T19:12:00.001-08:00

What a weekend…. For the last few weeks I've been in a battle with myself in finding finances to start a new business. This weekend I attended the Mighty Men Conference Australia held in Perth. During the meeting on Saturday I was troubled with these finance problems again and now another thought of attending the MMC in South Africa on the 24 April.

I knew that I had no money to start the company let alone go on a trip to South Africa to attended a conference for 200 000 men that I knew would change my life and those around me. Strange how sometimes you get these ideas in your head…..well in one night I gave my gift from God a name and made a decision to give it back in God's hands….hence the name Isaac.

Almost two years ago God provided me with a great blessing of owning a Porsche, something I wanted for a long-long-long time. Now in order to start the business and to make this trip to SA I have taken up on trusting God in selling my car (Isaac)…I'm not sure if there will be something else and to tell the truth I don't care. I'm just simply trusting God.

So there you go…is there an Isaac in your life that God has promised you, but you have been instructed to let it go again…..well then mate…we're at the same point.

TIGHT TIMES!!

2009-01-19T20:03:00.001-08:00

As we all know by now the world is in dire straits, not just one
country but the world across. As I'm writing this posting there is
talks of closing down whole production plants, projects stopped in
there tracks and people told they don't need to come in tomorrow.
This thing that is happening concerns us all and we should know how
to react to it.
A few Sundays ago I was listening to a service from our pastor. It
was in the beginning when it all started. He read out Psalm 23, I've
heard this scripture endless times before in my life but for this one
moment in my life this scripture jumped up at me and I understood it
for the first time.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…" Read it and then read it
again….you see in those words there is so much power so much freedom
so much joy and hope! God is my shepherd, I SHALL NOT WANT!! If I lay
down my life and place my trust in Him, He will take care of me.
Yes times are tight, but God is not!

Blessings, Mathys

Heroes of Faith 1

2008-06-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

First...sorry for taking so long in starting this.... I've been
flat-out with exam stress hence no blog posts.

One of the first Heroes of faith that I would like to share with you
is Smith Wigglesworth. Every time a read a story about this guys life
something within me just explodes.
One of the many great stories is the one about the little seriously
ill boy that died. The family had sent for Smith, but when Smith
arrived, the mother met him at the door, saying, "You are too late,
there is nothing that can be done for him."
Smith's reply on this was, "God has never sent me anywhere too late."
The boy's condition was so bad, that if he were to be moved, his
heart would stop and he would die. Needless to say, the family had no
faith and the boy was too sick to believe for himself. Before he
could pray for the boy, Smith had to leave for an engagement at a
local chapel. But before he left their home, he told the family he
would return. He instructed them to lay out the boy's clothes because
the Lord was going to raise him up.
When Smith returned, the family had not done what he asked, and when they saw his faith, they were embarrassed and immediately set out the boy's clothes. Smith asked them to put only socks on his feet.
Then inside the boy's room, Smith closed the door and told the lifeless
boy that something would happen different from anything he had
experienced before. "When I place my hands on you the glory of the
Lord will fill this place till I shall not be able to stand. I shall
be helpless on the floor." The moment Smith touched the boy, the
power of God filled the room and was so strong that Smith fell to the
floor. Suddenly, the boy began to yell, "This is for Your Glory,
Lord!" Smith was still on the floor when the boy arose and dressed
himself. Opening the door, the boy yelled, "Dad! God has healed me!
I am healed!"
Such glory filled the house that the mother and father fell to the
floor also. The entire village was moved and revival began throughout their city.

Blessings
Mathys
Thanks to Keith on
http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic_pdf.php?topic_id=11
497&forum=35 for the interesting read

Heroes

2008-05-28T04:03:00.001-07:00

Image is from http://michaeldougherty.blogspot.com/

I've been moved the last few days reading really interesting stories
about people that did great things for God.
I thought that I should start sharing some of these stories with
you... for a background to know where I'm heading with all this read
Hebrews 13:5-11

Hunger....

2008-05-13T20:48:00.001-07:00

I've been reading up a bit on the life of St. Francis and my heart
and soul started moving within me so much so that I almost jumped on
the Joondalup library table over the weekend shooting to God to bring
it back…… my heart can't contain that which is inside.

I hunger for God, I hunger for His power to move through us and touch
people in a way as never seen before in history. I read the stories
of guys such as St. Francis and William Wigglesworth and many others,
then I find myself propelled to have this in our generation.
I long for it to start!!!!
I long for people to get to know God, to get to know the saviour of
the world the King of kings…..

My life is nothing, my all is Christ!!!!!

My prayer is simple and I ask if you hunger for the same to pray with
me…. "Father God, please send your rain on this generation, Amen"

Mathys

The little things....

2008-05-09T03:47:00.001-07:00

Guys, how many times have you heard this from your wife….. "It's the
little things that matter!!!!"

For the past few weeks I've been spending time with a mate that is really going through a tough time in his marriage. After listening to him I realised that it really is the little things that make a
marriage work. If I want my marriage to be a great success in years to come I have to learn to think different and do the things and more that I use to do when we dated.

I made myself a promise never to let the little things disappear out of my marriage. I challenge you to do something new for the woman in your life this week. Remember it's never too late.

Mathys

When My people turn and pray

2008-04-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

This is how one of the best promises start in the Bible. How do we
get our nation to turn?
Let me tell you about a miracle that happened in South Africa
recently. I realized then that
only God can change the heart of a nation.

Some of you might know Angus Buchan as the writer of the faith like
potatoes book. If you haven't read this book please do so trust me on
this. Three years ago Angus was told by the Lord to cancel his busy
speaking schedule completely. Angus was distraught as he believed in
what he was doing. The Lord told him to look after men but not to
advertise this. The first camp had 240 people attend from one
invitation mail. The second had over 7000 people attend.

I tried to register for Angus camp not because I wanted to learn from
him but because I had a desire in my heart to seek the Lord. The
website indicated that Angus believed for 20 000 people to attend.
Once the registration was complete I was assigned a number 25162. Yes
I was the 25162 registered person for the camp. I met with friends
for coffee and mentioned the registration and was met with
overwhelming response of men who wanted to attend with me.
In the end we registered 9 people. The last person number was 33125.
We tried to register more but could not. We assumed the registration
was now closed.

What had happened in fact is that the server which was setup could
not handle the 1 registration per second that was required. As we set
off for the trip 460 km away we saw vehicles joining the road from
most on ramps. We traveled with the biker club 30 men in total
(Luckily I was driving the support vehicle)

We had a bit of drama when two family members on their bikes left the
road and had a serious
accident about 120 km from the camp site. (more about this later)

As we got to the small town Greytown which is located about 20 km
from the farm where the camp would be held we realised something was
wrong. All the residents were standing outside their homes. As we
turned we noticed a snake of red lights as far as the eyes could see.
This was in fact a 22 km of vehicles waiting to enter the farm. We
arrived in Greytown just after 18.00pm. At 23.30pm we finally got a
spot to put up our tent.

How many men were there? Nobody is really sure but last count it was
68 000....
Ever heard so many men worshiping? I can not describe it words
can not do it justice.
It sounded like war but with a difference Spiritual War!

STORY VS. ARGUMENT

2008-01-31T18:25:00.001-08:00

I heard about someone that was challenged in an argument one day
regarding his faith, the Christian guy simply turned around and said
to his argumentative challenger "An argument can't stand ground with
a story"
I started thinking about this the last few days allot… it's true and
argument has nothing to a story.

Yes you might have a great 1 hour argument but I have a life story
that causes me to think different.

Mathys

GOD TALK TO ME SO I CAN HEAR YOU

2008-01-24T04:25:00.001-08:00

I was reeding the part where Jesus was in the garden praying when He
knew the final few hours were close. I read this searching for where
God spoke to Him in a loud audible voice… I didn't find it. Then
shame struck me, and I felt so stupid for shouting at God one day to
answer me in a loud voice so I could hear Him.

If God (with all respect) in the time when Christ was begging for an
answer didn't answer, then who am I to ask for a loud voice from Him.
The beauty of this on the other hand, is that in these times when we
think there can be no other way, God turns it around into something
awesome.

Mathys

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2008-01-10T00:09:00.001-08:00

Can you believe it another year has come and gone. I wonder is it
that I'm getting older
or is the years getting shorter and tougher every year ?

I for one am glad to see the back of 2007. After 2006 which was quite
a difficult year we hoped and prayed for a better 2007. It was not to
be...
But before we all go into a state of depression we should maybe note
the possible reasons why the years seams to
get tougher and tougher. The Lord said that he will come back for a
bride and we should be getting ourselves ready for this. Fire is used
to refine
gold. It seams that the Church and by that I mean the people that are
in the Church are reluctant to move closer to God on there own accord
in fact we
have even less time to spent with Him. Is it possible that the Lord
allows the fire sometimes to work with us to get us ready for His
return?.

The world seams to think the end is near look at the number of movies
that is showing on circuit depicting end of the world scenarios. I
mentioned to a friend just the other day that there is less end time
preaching in the church than there is in the worldly programs.

Lets get excited again, Jesus is coming back soon. The signs are
there the world can even see this but the big question is
do YOU still believe it?

Dewald

DEATH RATE IS 100%

2007-12-20T16:50:00.001-08:00

Here is something interesting… Did you know that the death rate is
100%...
100% of people that died… Is still dead.

Think about this… You will die one day. What will you leave behind?
Let's impact the world!!

Mathys

Love or love?

2007-12-18T00:20:00.001-08:00

When we think love we think of something cuddly and soft. The
floating feeling of falling in love and all the nice things that go
with it. Then later in life after you have been with your partner for
a while you realise that love had nothing to do with that feeling.
Love is about caring when it is not convenient for
you, shopping when you hate it, talking when you are barely able to
release a grunt.

Why then is it that people that used to be so in love can hate and
spite one another so badly once they get separated? Sometimes even
using their kids as the weapons of mass destruction...

How fine is this line that separates love from hate?

When God created us we knew nothing about our nakedness (physical
love) yet Adam loved Eve so much that already he accepted his fate of
dying with her. He knew exactly what would happen if he ate the
fruit.

Adam forgot one thing though, that he chose his love for Eve over the
love for God. This should have beenthe end of it according to our
standards.

The amazing part is that
God did not stop loving Adam.

The line should have been crossed we should be hated by God or even
destroyed!

Ah but we never realised that God is the line. He is Love. The power
of such love so extraordinary that no matter how you have
disappointed Him He still died to save you. In fact he is still
counting your hair everyday....

Now that we realise that God's Love for us is eternal and not based
on any feelings lets base our relationships on His type of Love, on
Him.
Next time if you are not sure if something is from God consider if it
is based on Love Godly Love.

Dewald

LIVE LIFE

2007-12-06T22:14:00.001-08:00

Some wise words that landed in my inbox this morning:

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed
to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken
probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break
hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll
fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an
old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll
eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh
too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty
seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get
back.
Don't be afraid that your life will end,
be afraid that it will never begin.

Dewald

WISDOM

2007-11-23T02:25:00.001-08:00

The Bible comes to this conclusion regarding Wisdom:
"Wisdom is to know God and to shun evil"

Know God as you know your wife or friends intimately...

Shun evil - Do not put yourself in a position where you are
vulnerable in that way you avoid (shun) evil.

And all the other joys will be added.....look at Solomon.

ANOTHER CHANCE

2007-11-22T21:48:00.000-08:00

If you woke up this morning, congratulations!! You get another chance.
What are you going to do with it?

Mathys

FAITH ONE-SIDED

2007-11-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

Faith one sided
Question: Can faith be one sided? In other words, let us say someone
is ill and I pray for that person though they have no faith….can they
be healed on the basis of my faith?
I'm reminded about two stories off hand in the Bible, but one that
jumps out at me is the guy that was lowered through the roof of a
house by his mates so that he may be healed by Jesus. Picture this,
Jesus was in the village for some time and must have walked past this
guy a few times. The guy might have given up hope for all we know.
One of his mates might have been in the house while Jesus was talking
and all of a sudden had this bright idea, got some mates together,
picked him up and dropped him through the roof. Because of there
faith he was healed.
Next time someone around you is down and out, pick them up and carry
them on your faith to God.
Let's do what mates should do, be there for each other.
Mathys

WICKETS, IT'S A BALANCING ACT

2007-11-06T21:18:00.001-08:00

Do you have your wickets covered and who is covering it for you in life?
We get so busy and our focus are pulled from one side to the other
and before we know it the area that we thought is okay gets
"wicketed" We have to realise that we can't place our focus on
everything in our life, it's just impossible and you will get worn
out if you try and do so. But in contrary to this I would also like
to add that we can't let our gaurd down in other areas of life just
because we think it's covered. We have to balance life, we have to
learn and know when something in our life is suffering because we
have been neglecting it.
How do I balance my work and family life? How do I balance my
Christian life in this world? How do I balance myself?
Ps.119:9-11
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

I have to search for the heart of the Father, in doing this I will
know what needs to be balanced and what I just plain simple need to
drop.
Mathys

ARE WE ALL JUST MISUNDERSTOOD?

2007-10-26T03:36:00.001-07:00

I recently had the fortune or should I say misfortune to stumble
across a blog article with the title Sacrificial lamb on the Samson
blinded blog. See link below to read for yourself.

http://samsonblinded.org/blog/sacrificial-lamb.htm
It was a very negative article about how the Christians cant wait for
the Jews to be pulverized in Jerusalem. I would like to quote from
his site:

"A Christian editor sarcastically commented on one of my articles: "A
simple, inexpensive solution: pulverize Jerusalem. Think of the
problems that would solve." After a few seconds of shock, I realized
the suggestion as the quintessence of messianic attitude toward
Israel. Christians exterminated the Jews for fifteen centuries, and
neither mentality nor Christian religion has changed."

Several comments was made after the article and the importance of the
misunderstanding between Jews and Christians and even Christians and
Christians about the role the Jewish people play was what shocked me.
Some people are under the illusion should the Jewish people be
exterminated the whole world will be peaceful. I think we should
remember Jesus' comments to the disciples to go to the nation of
Israel first and then to the Gentiles. This shows the importance the
Lord put on the nation of Israel who because of their inherited
stubbornness not to conform to their surroundings was able to present
us with a clear message from creation up to the birth of the Messiah.

The lies Satan spread that the Jews killed Jesus has caused great
confusion and divide between two people who should have otherwise
been at peace. Fact the Jews could not touch Jesus until He allowed
it. He volunteered to be our Messiah. He choose the Jewish people. He
has not forgotten them or us his adopted children. He is coming back
for us. Amen

WASTE OF TIME

2007-10-21T23:45:00.001-07:00

Got this from one of Baz Luhrmann songs Everybody's Free

"Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes
you're behind...the race is long, and in the end, it's only with
yourself."

Reference http://www.lyricscrawler.com/song/3953.html

FREEDOM WRITERS

2007-10-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you that haven't seen the movie Freedom Writers, go get
it now!!
It's amazing how we can be divided over race or colour but deep down
we have so much in common that we are actually more alike than we
would like to admit.
We have to realize that there is potential in every person no matter
his or her background or dare I say their religion even. How much
greater is it to built up someone of an opposing faith in just being
there for him/her and in this way win their trust and respect without
confronting them first about that which "divides" or make us
"different".

May this movie impact your life and force you to think in a new
direction.

Destiny

2007-10-16T19:35:00.001-07:00

I would like to share two things on destiny with you.

-Your destiny is in the people you meet.
Why do I say this? Think about where you are today and about the
people that changed you and helped you to be who you are.

-Your destiny is to change the world.
You were born to change the world, you are here right now because
there is a purpose for you. Believe this and live it!!

DARKNESS WITHIN FAITH

2007-10-11T00:31:00.001-07:00

My personal reflections on an article by David Van Biema, Time
Magazine 23 Aug 2007 "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith"

"O God, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self
thirsts for you, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and
weary land where no water is." [1]

The article Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith is written with a
shocking insight into the life of a great woman, Mother Teresa (Anges
Bojaxhiu), and portraying one of her deepest inner battles "the
darkness within faith" [2] that she faced for the biggest part of her
ministry. This "darkness" reflected in letters written to her
confessors, which showed a woman that very much loved God and tried
her very best to do His will, yet still felt even lonelier in doing
so.

On this subject I'm with Mother Teresa and David as with so many
others, when we in all our human failures ask the same question in
times of darkness. Even though we know there is a God we still ask
the question when looking at our situations.
"… that there was no human remedy for it (that is, she should not
feel responsible for affecting it); that feeling Jesus is not the
only proof of his being there, and her very craving for God was a
'sure sign' of his 'hidden presence' in her life; and that the
absence was in fact part of the 'spiritual side' of her work for
Jesus." [2]
Reading this statement strengthens my way of living for God in the
fact that, if the norm in my life is feelings and manifestations I
will fail in troubled times, but if the norm in my life is faith upon
the word of God, I will pull through troubles times. Mother Teresa
could have stopped believing, doing and caring but how many lives
would have been lost by her going on a feeling.

In my life as a Christian there will be times that I feel that God is
just not there. These are the times that I need to start acting in
faith as Mother Teresa did and continue pushing forward for that
greater goal, His kingdom. Mother Teresa said it so beautifully;
"I accept not in my feelings—but with my will, the Will of God—I
accept His will" [2]
Having times of darkness within faith forces me to turn my face away
from that which is around me and face towards my creator, it forces
me to search His will and not mine.

These are not times of abandonment but times of focusing on my
dependence in God.

References:

1 Psalm 63:1 Amplified Bible
2 David Van Biema, Time Magazine 23 Aug 2007

BECOMING REAL

2007-10-07T23:23:00.001-07:00

What is it about becoming real? read on......

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the
others. He was so old and most of the hairs in his tail had been
pulled out to string bead necklaces. For nursery magic is very
strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and
wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side
by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room.
"Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out
handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing
that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time,
not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When
you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit
by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It
takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who
break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.
Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved
off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very
shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are
Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

from The Velveteen Rabbit

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/williams/rabbit/rabbit.html
by Margery Williams; illustration by William Nicholson

LIFE

2007-09-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

Walk on the wild side
Go Places
Climb the mountains
Dive the oceans
Walk the land
Challenge yourself
Challenge others
Be inspired
Inspire someone

I saw this once on someone's T-shirt sitting at a church service and I was gripped by it. In a way it's me in a few words. This is my first entry onto the blog so come with me and enjoy the journey.

Fear Faith Love

2007-09-25T18:56:00.001-07:00

Martin Sheen, actor and star of the award-winning television series
"The West Wing"

Fear is useless
Faith is necessary
Love is everything!