Skip to main content

Prepared for Greatness

This is one of my absolute favourite books! It lives on my bedside table & has taken me a year to read through it just once. I am not a slow reader at all, it's just that this book is so meaty that if you read it too quickly you will miss out on so much. So I take one bite every so often & allow it to sink in before I move on. Since I am so passionate about the subject of identity I thought I would share an extract of one of the final chapters with you. This chapter is entitled "The Importance of Confidence" & I really hope this bit helps you realise how important it is to be you. Feast on this then buy the book please, it will change your life.

"As we have studied the detailed & particular preparation that God moulded into David's life, we have seen how it enabled him to defeat Goliath... We see from 1 Sam 17:45-47 that he was obviously incredibly confident in his God, but just as importantly, he was confident in his own unique preparation. Look at what 1 Sam 17:40 tells us he did when he collected his stones: he 'put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand.' The shepherd's bag represented and symbolises his own preparation.

Every one of us has our own 'shepherd's bag', our own unique journey preparing us for our particular race. We have all come different ways, from different backgrounds, with different experiences and training to equip us for our own special destiny. As I renew my own journey, on many occasions I have been tempted to put on anothers armour because I felt my 'shepherd's bag' wasn't sufficient. What I have come to realise is that if I am to function the way God designed me to, I have to have confidence in my 'shepherd's bag'.

As for my own unique preparation, when I first started my schools ministry I would preach the gospel to young people in such a way as not to offend my Christian friends and peers. I would be very religious and speak to these searching young people in the way I would to Christian youth, using phrases that were easily understood by believers but totally alien to my young unsaved audience. Then, with much misunderstanding and criticism from the Christian world, I started to fight from my 'shepherd's bag'. The years spent entertaining in the rock group, my particular sense of humour and my natural ability to communicate were employed to their fullest and the results were amazing. Unorthodox, yes; offensive to some religious people, yes. This was my shepherd's bag and it worked for me.

I discovered that I had to maximise the brief time I was given, usually only five to ten minutes, to communicate the gospel in a relevant, palatable way, allowing the power of the gospel to have its full effect. As I sat there, a being from another generation facing a thousand complete strangers, I began to realise the invisible wall of acceptance had to be broken down within the first minute if the hearts of these young people were to be reached. I fully understand that before people accept your message they have to accept you, so I had to find a way to stand before a group of prepared, receptive hearts.


The secret was discovered accidentally while I was being introduced by the headmaster as 'a Christian coming to address the assembly on a religious topic', which only built the invisible wall higher. I felt something inside my nose causing it to itch like crazy, and as I attempted to relieve the itch with a well-targeted scratch with my finger, I heard ripples of laughter peal across the assembly hall. I quickly realised that the audience of bored teenagers thought I was doing the unthinkable behind the headmaster's back - picking my nose. I had stumbled upon the divine key to demolish this wall of unacceptance even before I stood to my feet. Nose-picking! The headmaster, still in the middle of introducing his guest speaker, was totally oblivious of the reason for his pupil's inappropriate sniggering in assembly. I continued to be the morning's clown, exaggerating each scratch vigorously, and every time the headmaster turned round to try to discover the source of disturbance he found me looking back at him in total innocence and, like himself, totally bemused as to the reason for the pandemonium. When he returned his attention to the assembly, I proceeded with the new-found key God had given me to open up the hearts and minds of my hearers, taking my acceptance level well up on the 'I like this guy' acceptometer...
"

I had better stop there or I will end up re-writing the book! It's awesome isn't it, how God uses each of us just as we are. Now God may not have given me a nose picking ministry ha ha, I am just not that funny, but I know he has given me my own shepherd bag & I intend to use it. What is your shepherd's bag, are you using it?

Comments

  1. Anonymous24.9.09

    Well, I’ve had many years of preparation. There is a great variety of sizes, shapes, and colour to my stones and some, which I have not used yet, I look forward to placing in my sling. They are there in my shepherd's bag for a specific purpose.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved by grace, a new creation, on purpose for a purpose. I am free with a future and a hope!

I've considered deleting this blog many times but can't seem to let it go for some reason. Perhaps because it contains such an important part of my life and I'm hoping that somehow my 'scribblings' can inspire and help others going through some of the things I've been through. So, I continue to hold onto it for a little longer. Tonight, 31st December 2021, I reflect on not only the year that has passed but the many years before that too. I love to look back and reflect before plotting the way forwards into a new year. So I've pulled out all my journals and as I flip through the pages I am in awe of how far I have come.  Only today I found myself chatting with Jordan about the importance of not comparing ourselves with others but without past self, and as I look back I am amazed and how far I have come. I can't help but go back to that day. The day that I hit rock bottom. I had been a Christian for 10 years at that point and yet still found myself on the

Conference Feedback

We had a beautiful day together on 8th September, thank you so much to you all for your incredible support and prayers. Feedback and testimonies have already started flooding in, have a read of some of them here . Also, keep an eye on our YouTube page as we update it with the speakers messages and conference highlight videos. We had the stunning Instruments of Praise gospel choir lead us in worship and it was truly heavenly. We also had Daughters of Davis who absolutely blew us away with their fantastic acoustic folk/soul vibe. Our Women in Business section was a real treat with stalls offering all sorts of beautifully displayed goods. Jill Chitty from the Entrepreneurs Circle spoke to the women in business offering practical tips for business growth. Other breakout sessions included a Hope for Justice talk by Naomi and Cynthia shared her testimony of life as a Samburu woman . Molly Catherine Beebee from Cirencester Creative Dance Academy dazzled us with

Daniel Fast - Odours, Tiredness and Pains

These are some of what can occur during a fast but don't be alarmed, it is only worse case scenario.  Many people don't go through all of this so don't worry.  This info is merely so that you understand what is happening in your body and that you don't become concerned if some of these symptoms present themselves. Odours, tiredness, dizziness, headaches and other pains - these are some of the things that you will face during your fast.  As you continue to fast you body will begin to cleanse itself and eliminate toxins.  These toxins will come out of your body wherever they can which will mean that you might sweat more and your sweat will have a stronger smell than usual.  You breath will also be stronger than usual and so will you urine smell.  You may even get a funny taste in your mouth or feel that your tongue has a thick coat on it.  It sounds nasty, but for a while you will face unpleasant odours from your body, so brush well with a natural toothpaste (as you don