Days Touched By Grace

Michael's Word of the Year blog

Happy New Year and thank you once again for granting me another opportunity to convey to you my thoughts and plans for another year that Almighty God has bestowed upon us. It has been a wonderful winter so far in the UK and although it hasn't been as wintry as previous years, I thank God every day for his amazing grace and blessings. I love him with all my heart and I will serve him and praise his name eternally.

Before I let you know about my word for 2016, I would like to first share with you how God has worked amazingly in my life. My life has been a revelation since the last time I wrote a blog. As you would recall from my last blog, towards the end of 2014, I had a successful operation to remove a salivary gland from my neck, which was found to be malignant and resulted in 6 weeks of radiotherapy. During the recovery, I developed problems with my heart after experiencing a lot of dizziness and a very fast heart beat. I had to have tests done at the Heart Centre of the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford which yielded nothing although I was given plenty of advice about nutrition and good health which i have incorporated into my life.

During these times of upheavel, I kept my faith strong, my outlook positive, knowing God had a reason for giving me the trials and that he was going to be there helping me through to the end of the tunnel. What I had not anticipated was how great it would be once I came out on the other side. I feel so joyous, so blessed, so happy. I have finally found true joy, true love, true happiness that comes from God. Having witnessed fellow Christians’ testimonies and lives, full of grace, peace, love, joy and peace over the years, I am overwhelmed how good it felt to finally go through the same experience. I still cannot explain properly in words how much am enjoying every single day of my life. It is such a good bubbly feeling and all I want to do for the rest of my life is to praise him from the rooftops, sing his praises and lettting everyone know that our God is truly amazing. 

During this time, I was reflecting on my life, with the knowledge that God had a plan for my life. He has a plan for each and every one of us. Every single day, we are all doing God’s work and knowingly or not, every experience, every occasion, every trial happens for  a reason. Which leads me to my word for 2015, purpose.

PURPOSE

God has a purpose in life for each and every one of us. I wanted to know what my actual purpose in life was. I wanted to understand what the Lord was revealing to me as every day passed by, as my life unfolded. Knowing what his purpose for my life was would give it simplicity, meaning and added motivation even in times when it seems to be a grind. Finding the purpose enabled me to experience true and everlasting joy.

We all have been blessed abundantly with different talents, skills and abilities. It is for us to ensure we use them as best as we can and in a way that glorifies and honours God. 
So last year I set on a journey of discovering my own purpose in life. I drew inspiration from the story of the conversion of Paul the Apostle, who had a dislike for christians and had made it his mission to persecute them..

Acts 8:3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

..but Almighty God had a special purpose for his life.

Acts 9:1-6 Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”. Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

 In the end, he ended up being one of the best messenger of God’s words, writing half of the books in the New testament. He also took the message of God to the Romans and even the Gentiles. This did teach me that God has the power to use any one us for a greater purpose, even in the midst of fierce opposition.

Throughout the year, I reminded myself of the word Purpose and tried to incorporate it in every aspect of my life. Every little achievement, every thought, every goal fulfilled, prayer that I prayed, I made sure that the purpose was at the forefront. This helped me make some very important achievements.

• Since receiving Jesus as my personal saviour on 30th March 2014, I joined my local village Anglican church. It was a fabulous experience, listening to God’s word and worshipping with fellow christians. It still didn't feel like it was the church I was destined for. After talking with my friend Judy about it and telling her how much more I enjoyed her Baptist church in Las Vegas during our visits, she trawled the internet and found a local one in my area.

Yarnton Anglican Church

Yarnton Anglican Church

• Once I attended, I haven't looked back. The Kidlington Baptist Church principles and doctrines, worship styles, the music, the feel of the church felt so right to me. I have even encouraged my family who have attended with me and have been so encouraged too.

Kidlington Baptist Church

• I wanted to learn more about the word of God and include it more in my life. In our busy lives, we all have to try and set out more time for God irregardless of how busy we are. However, with my job at BMW and with their crazy working hours which can vary from starting as early as 6am some weeks to finishing as late as 4am on others, I always found it a bit difficult finding a consistent time. This led to me finding an app on my phone where I could load daily sermons from Dr Charles Stanley among others and listen to them when i was up and about. Nowadays worship happens everywhere; in traffic, break time at work, in the park, on my jogs. It has given me power, direction, clarity and more knowledge of the will of God in my life.
•  Another way of learning about God is to put as much of his word as possible in our minds to help us in our daily lives. Around August of last year, Linda, Judy and I decided we would memorise two bible verses weekly and send clips to each other. This has been one of the the most beneficial things I have done and am very thankful to them for their support and encouragement along the way.

•  I am also doing my best to integrate with other christians and worship God in every way. I was blessed to once again attend a christian festival in the south coast of England called Big Church Day Out. That was my second visit and we have seen some great acts including Matt Redman, Third Day, Matt Maher, Phil Wickham, Newsboys, Jason Upton amongst others. We also had Kari Jobe and Matt Redman for a worship night in Oxford in late November which was a wonderful occasion.

Big Church Day Out festival

Big Church Day Out festival

Matt Maher @Big Church Day Out festival

Kari Jobe at a concert in Oxford

Matt Redman at a concert in Oxford

• I also realised that in England, the majority of people do not know about the truth of God’s word. When I’ve tried talking to some of my colleagues at work about God, some of them have been very resistant. A few, however, have been very receptive and willing to have a conversation. Funny thing is the one person who I thought would be most resistant turned out to be the one who was willing to engage with me the most. I was very pleased with their reaction and continual willing to learn the word of God. I was also impressed by how much he already knew which made it easier to engage with him. He recently had a problem in his personal life that drove him to tears and he was humble enough to trust me to help him through it. Happily, he took my advice and just before we shut down for Christmas, all was looking up for him. Praise be to God!

As the new year starts and I move on to a new word, I shall endeavour to make sure the work of my hands shall be in the glory of our Lord. I shall, through prayer, worship, bible study, witnessing continue to learn more about the truth of the word and help others around me continue to learn.

 My word for 2016 shall be FOCUS. While l still continue to learn more about God’s purpose for my life, I want to be more focussed and driven in all aspects of my life and I’m praying that with all the words I've had so far (Focus, Purpose, Self-discipline, Gratitude), God will bless me with another successful year, Amen.

At the last opportunity, I am adding this video that I first heard at Kidlington Baptist and it brought tears to my eyes. Listening to it makes me remember how blessed I am that Jesus gave his life for my sins. Its been such an inspiration to my year.