Thank you

This morning as I sat down to view my mail, blog, Facebook etc.I was pleasantly surprised to see the ticker on this blog having crossed 1000 views. I am overwhelmed! This  is a short note to a BIG thank you to all of you who have been reading my posts. I do hope you have been encouraged and blessed.
We have now added a "like"  which you can click on at the end of each post.
Thank you for your support once again and do share this Blog with your friends.


with love,


Colin and Navaz.

Friends @ Home - Hospitality

Friends @Home : A Study on hospitality
This is an extract from a set of Bible Studies I had written for women a few years ago. I do hope you will be blessed as you read and ponder on this. Much of the material here has also been taken from a sermon my husband, Colin, preached a few years back.

A few days ago I came across an article in the newspaper that spoke of a modern trend amongst the “yuppy crowd” of our cities – that of no longer offer hospitality in their homes but prefer entertaining people in restaurants to avoid the “mess and work and clear up” that is involved when you have friends over. I mulled over this article and thought to myself about how much we are moving away from anything that disturbs our comforts zone and anything that we see as threatening our private space. What should the Christian response be? Am I against eating out, or talking friends out for a meal? Far from it. But when there is a trend that does not want to have people in our homes because it is seen as being a pain rather than a blessing, I think we need to go back to the plumb line and adjust our thinking: the plumb line is the word of God.

As a home maker what should my attitude be toward hospitality, toward having people over? 

One of the functions of a God glorifying home of Christians is providing Hospitality.  

Q. Are we willing to open up our homes to hospitality? When our husbands want us to have people over for tea, or a meal are we reluctant or responsive?

Hospitality is a practice that God has honoured and commanded.

Rom 12:13 “Practice hospitality, practice hospitality”.

Gen 18:3 “Let me get you something to eat so you can be refreshed..”

Prov 11:25 “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed”

What was Jesus’ attitude to such mundane things as a home and food?

Mark 6:37-But he answered, “you give them something to eat”

 Mark 14:3-“ While  he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper..”

What was the early church like?

Acts 2:46- “They broke bread in their homes.”

In 1 Tim 3:1-7 Paul lists the qualification of elders and church pastors.
“. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, and able to teach…”

In 1 Tim 5:9, 10 Paul lists out the character qualities of a godly widow who is eligible to be put on the widow’s list and being hospitable is one of them.

In 1 Pet 4:7-9 Peter begins by saying “⁷The end of all things is near. ⁹Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others.”

The word hospitality is “philo xenos”. We know that philo is one of the greek words for “love”.

What does “xenos” mean? We get our English word “xenophobia” from it. – Fear of strangers.

Xenos is greek for “stranger”

So “philoxenos” is literally a lover of strangers.

There are several examples of people who excelled in hospitality in the early church viz Martha, Peter’s mother in law, Aquilla and Priscilla, Lydia to name a few.

Q. Is hospitality the same as entertaining?

In hospitality, the focus is on the fellowship and not on food. It is about keeping an open home where people feel welcomed. It may be that all you offer is a cup of tea or a light snack, or a simple “Dal and rice” for a meal. When you do this your home becomes a beacon for the Lord.  Keeping the meal simple  helps not to put a strain on ones finances and then one can do it more often than one large banquet done once a year. If you put up a big meal, people may feel fearful about inviting you over as they feel they may not be able to meet your standard. Also don’t busy yourself in the kitchen preparing or clearing up that your friends are left to entertain themselves with you absent most of the time.

Q. Who can be hospitable? ANYONE. You don’t need to be married or own a big home in order to be hospitable. Our experience has been the ones with small homes and incomes have been the most hospitable. I know a family of 5 that lived in a one room and kitchen home but had more people in their home for a meal than most people I know.

Q.What are some of the ways a single person can be hospitable? What about bachelors or spinsters?

We should aim to make hospitality a lifestyle and a family affair. Involve the children and get them excited about the prospect of having visitors over. In doing so you will train your children to be outgoing and friendly and welcoming to people who visit your home.

To be sure, every family needs privacy. However, today the trend is towards individualism and self comfort. This is not biblical. Many people, even Christians want to live in luxury and to live undisturbed by anyone. They offer no invitation to others and will not take the trouble to cook even a simple meal for someone.

Hospitality is one of the ways love is demonstrated amongst believers and members of a church, especially toward new comers to the church. Statistics show that if a new person makes 5-7 friends in a church, he/she is more likely to stay on.

If you find yourself struggling in this area ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Ask Him to pour love in your heart for your brothers and sisters in the Lord. All our acts of service should be motivated by faith and love or else they will be a dead works for which there is no reward.

Take some practical steps to help you get into a new groove. Call up people and fix a date for when you can have them over. This ensures commitment on your part and theirs rather than leaving it vague and to chance.

Reflections:

Q. Think for a moment about your own attitude toward hospitality-

 Are you open to having people in your home or are you reluctant and see them as an intrusion?

Q. When was the last time you had people from the church over to your home for a meal?

Q. Do you find hospitality difficult? If so, what are the factors that are hindering you and how can you overcome them?

Q. Spend a minute to consider who you can invite to your home in the next month and write down some names here. Then make it a point to call them up within the next few days after you have discussed it with your husband ( if your are married).

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Hebrews 13 urges us to follow the example of the ancients who emphasized hospitality and because of it sometimes unknowingly welcomed angels into their homes. The reference is undoubtedly to Abraham and Lot entertaining strangers and later discovering them to be angels (Gen 18).

Q. Who do you invite to your home ? Be careful of only inviting “your type” of people viz ethnic group, language group, economic status, marital status etc. We are encouraged to be hospitable to all.

Remember what Jesus says: In Mt 25:31 onwards -³¹ "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.³⁴ "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

So with these thoughts in mind let us motivate ourselves to becoming more hospitable.. Jesus offers a kingdom to those who have been hospitable.  Wow – what a reward!

 Navaz D Cruz

The Courage to encourage

The courage to encourage

 Encouragement: Who does not want it? Who does not thrive under it? This thing called encouragement is very powerful. It can lift up the lowly; make the failure to fly into the realms of success, the heartbroken to hope again, the weak to do things beyond themselves. We have all received encouragement at some point in our lives and have been the better for it. We can remember the people that gave us encouragement very distinctly. Those memories are etched in our minds and hearts forever. Many of us are doing the things we are today, only because somebody had the courage and cared enough to encourage that gift, that ability and see the diamond in the rough.

 The question I ask myself is will I be that somebody for someone else?  It takes courage to do that. Because encouragement it not flattery, it’s not glib talk, it’s not irresponsible words spoken. People cling to those words as it promises hope and a new future. So when we encourage we bring hope and kindle faith in a flagging heart.

There are many challenges that ones who encourages may face and those are challenges of the heart.  We live in a world where criticism is rife; putting others down is the way up, envy and jealous rule the day and secrecy is the way to secure success. To spare a kind thought, word or deed is not a common practise these days.  Often the outlook is “what’s in it for me?”

Here are some things I have been pondering on and some questions I would like to challenge myself with. Maybe you would like to reflect with me?

• ·        Am I willing to put myself out to encourage someone else and make them feel good about themselves? Can I look beyond my own nose? In order to encourage, I should practice being able to think of others better than myself. Sometimes my own pride gets in the way of encouraging someone else. It feels like giving ground to someone else. I need to practice humility and honouring others. (Rom 3:12, Phil 2:3) It’s not good enough to think the good thoughts in my head; it needs to be vocalized to the person who deserves the praise. Am I deliberately holding back praise from someone because of envy, jealousy or selfishness?  Don’t we all remember being in situations where a lot of effort was put into something and no one even says a word of thanks? Let’s not do the same to others.
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• ·        Am I willing to play the part of Barnabas (Acts 9:26)who brought Paul to the other Apostles. Paul went on to be one of the greatest Apostles who wrote so much of the New Testament. If Barnabas had not played his part I wonder how history would have panned out. He did a selfless thing. He did not promote himself. He had the courage to stick his neck out for the “the new kid on the block”. And you know what? Paul gets to be part of the Inner circle and Barnabas is left out in the cold – or that is how history gets recorded. We don’t hear of Barny anymore. (But you know, there is another perspective to all this. If I get caught up with recognition and affirmation from people alone, I will be left sorely disappointed and despondent. DON’T. People can be self absorbed and fickle. But there is one who sticks closer than a brother and who is faithful to the end. His encouragement is forever and with it comes rewards that are eternal. He is Jesus our Lord).
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• ·        Am I ready for the person I lift up to go ahead of me? (Phil2:3) If my motives are clean it will not bother me, it will only make me glad. I remind myself of that final day of reckoning when the books will be opened and everything we have done will be tested by fire, I do not want to be found wanting .
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• ·        For those of us who have received encouragement – go back to those who gave you a help up and thank them for the role they played in your life. Lack of gratitude is a bad thing.
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• ·        Does envy and jealousy catche my throat and cause me to withhold the praise that is due? I need to repent and the only way to overcome it is to do the very opposite.  I need to be profuse in my encouragement to the one I am envious or jealous off. It will take the sting away. Thank God for the talent/gift/ abilities God has blessed them with.
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• ·         I should expect nothing in return – this helps clean up the motives. I will get my reward in heaven.
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• ·        Am I afraid of encouraging someone else because they might then get noticed and get ahead of me? Do I believe in a sovereign God? Then I should be careful of manipulating circumstances. God can bring a man crashing down on his face in a day and exalt a man in a second. We have plenty an example in the Bible and the starkest one is that of Joseph – one of my own personal heroes. His brothers thought they could manipulate his destiny and keep him away from the lime light. But God worked things out where he got exalted way beyond anyone’s expectations of wildest dreams ( I don’t think Joseph knew his this was how his dreams would pan out)

I want to be the one who will be remembered for moving people forward and up and not manipulating people into the shadows and down.

When I do this my father in heaven is pleased, God is glorified, blessings come down and there is enough to go around for us all.  So I want to  encourage and thank those who have been sources of encouragement in my life.

Navaz D cruz

Rats !!!

Running like rats on a treadmill is what some days feel like. Then a restless begins to descend deep into ones soul and begins to express itself in a sharp tongue, ill temper and anxiety for no reason at all.

Have you been there and done that? I plead guilty many times over. I then I want chide myself and say "how foolish"!! Don't you know the source of Peace and stillness? Don't you know better than to be anxious? How often I forget, and do the very things I ought not to.

Then my heart and spirit lead me to the Rock that is higher than I, to Jesus throne and I am stilled like a child. Did He not say His yoke is easy and burden light? Did He not say "Be still and know that I am God?” Did He not say that He will renew my strength? Did He not say he will give me living water that will quench my thirst? Did he not promise to leave his peace with me? How foolish have I been!!! I turn in repentance to giver of LIFE and PEACE - Jesus.

I realize that the practice of being still takes a lifetime and is often ruffled by life's busyness. I have to make sure I do not wander away from this. Here is where my soul finds it’s anchoring - in His presence alone. So this is my prayer:

 To know you more take - me deeper Lord

To seek your face takes - me to your throne

To love you more - pour out your spirit Lord

And make me yours alone.

To live in your presence - that’s where I want to be

To draw closer and linger is my heart’s desire

To wait on you for renewed strength

To draw on your grace that flows without end

To hope in you and have faith rekindled

This is my desire, this is my desire.

Navaz D Cruz

Cure for the Common life.

https://kindle.amazon.com/post/Z5T0R6GU1JFV

This book makes for great reading and provokes us to live life to the fullest.

Navaz

THE CANCER CALLED CORRUPTION

It looks like this has been a season of reckoning for governments, autocrats, dictators, corrupt politicians and the like. We are all fed up with reading of a new scam in the newspaper each day. It makes one wonder how many more are out there that are un accounted for and that goes on, on a tiny scale below the income tax radar and the big ones, big enough to fly above the income tax radar.

We can all look out there and say that’s where the problem is. It’s those corrupt politicians that are the ruin of the nation. Crucify them!!!!

I have been brooding over the world events of the last 3 months. It has made me to stop and think and pray and reflect. I like to reflect against the mirror of the Word of God , the Bible. When a nation is going through turmoil, hardship, famine etc what does the bible have to say? Some of explain it away with “O the end times are here” and that may well be true. But I see something else being mentioned as well.

I am reminded of  2 Chronicle 7:14 which says “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

This seems to be the solution God is offering. Where does the responsibility of the well being of a nation lie? I think the passage is clear: with the people of God and not Anna Hazare going on a fast (though it might be effective for a short while) .

We the people of God have a responsibility toward our nation.  I, as a child of God am first of all called to humble myself – acknowledge the problem is too big for me to handle at a human level.

I am to seek God’s face – ie To make him no.1, to covet his presence more than anything, to find out what is on his heart, to spend time with him.

Turn from my wicked ways – Wow!!! God does not mince words. We would like to sugar coat the pill. He calls my wandering ways “wicked”. Can I call it anything else? Its only when God’s people get distracted with others things, other than focusing and worshiping Him, does He called their ways wicked. I would be wise to take this seriously. What ways in my life does God see as wicked? I only need to read His word to find that out and the list is shocking.

When I do this - the country will prosper, the land will be healed and our sins forgiven. WOW , !!  So the future well being of my country is dependent on how I as a Christian live my life? Are you serious? Well, read the passage again- I don’t see any room for discrepancy.

  Does this means I can’t really fault the government, the judiciary, the army, the police, the politician etc etc. ? I believe everyone has to give an account for what they do and do not do. But God has given His people a clear mandate and a responsibility: To walk humbly, live righteously, to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, to repent or our wicked ways. This is the key that will unlock might blessings in our nation.

 So let’s hit the floor.

I have written this song as a prayer . Pray as you listen to it , for a spirit of supplication to fall upon you.

Navaz

Breathe on me - A story of God's faithfulness

 Have you ever had a dream , a dream close to your heart, a dream close to what you know is God's call on your life, a dream that feel is too big and just "like a dream"? I have been there. I lived in the shadow of a dream for over a decade. I had  prophetic confirmations I needed many times over to take that leap of faith . And yet, I lacked the confidence to take those steps of faith in spite of knowing I had a BIG God backing me and giving me His approval. I made feeble attempts at accomplishing that dream and felt I could not do it on my own. There were some friends who encouraged me to step into making the dream a reality.  So I sought the help of other people I thought could help and had a similar vision. But it did not materialize and I was left hanging, waiting for this dream to take shape.I landed up getting frustrated, disappointed and buried that dream in despair thinking I had got it all wrong.  The Bible says "Hope differed makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life " Prov 13:12. I was in this place with regards to this dream for many years and I did not know how to get out of it and then came a stage when I couldn't care.

But , the ever faithful God who does not give up on us or our dreams in his great love pursued me patiently. HE who is the author of that dream was not willing for it to die without bearing some fruit. 

Last year in February we attended a 3 day conference for Church Leaders. It was there that I had the most significant coffee conversation  yet. The lady whom I was chatting with, out of the blue asked me if I wrote songs. I thought the sky would fall on my head. I was shocked as the question was prying the nails I had banged hard and strong in that coffin. I could not run from what I knew was the Lord wanting to take off the grave clothes and bring back to life that which was deeply buried. I sheepishly answered in the affirmative and said I had tried everything , tried getting help in vain and that I had reached the end of myself and any inspiration. She felt I should not give up and try new doors. The Coffee break ended and we assembled for another session. 

The session was on taking responsibility for what happens in our lives and not giving into a hostage mentality or a victim mentality. The speaker gave us a moment to share with each other. This friend shot out of her chair and came straight to me and said "GOD IS SPEAKING , IS N"T HE?". Heaven was using a megaphone. I knew I was cornered by the Living God himself. I felt the Holy Spirit  work deeply in me. I felt deep conviction for giving in to satan's lie and giving into a victim mentality. I went through deep repentance. I was overwhelmed at how much God was interested in this dream, this gift seeing the light of day.

I resolved to make another attempt and push every door for help that I could possibly think of . 

I prayed  a desperate  prayer asking the Lord Jesus to breath a fresh on me, to anoint me for what He want me to do,not to give up till the end of my days, to be faithful with every gift He has given me so that when He comes again He will see that I have multiplied what He has given me.

That prayer  became my first song - the first of this dream , this gift coming out into the open. I titled it "Breathe on me". Since then , there has been an overwhelming flow of new songs, that has  even take me by surprise. My book is full of lyrics leaping out of the pages waiting to be sung.

I look back at the last year and am amazed at God's  faithfulness. As I took those steps of faith, the lyrics fell into place, fresh tunes flooded my mind, new doors of help opened up that only encouraged and guided me so well. 

I have walked with the Lord for nearly 4 decades and there are so many lessons to learn and so many life patterns to unlearn. I am grateful that He is the author of my life and He will finish what He has started in me. He will not give up. And all I can say is " To love and serve You is the greatest thing, To love and serve You, Jesus my King"

Here is the link to the song. Be blessed as you listen to it. Share it freely.

Navaz