Spread The Word - Dec/Jan 2012

take place. All the issuesof our lives stem from and aredetermined by the condition of our heart. Yourheart is the control centre of your world!Your heart is the incubator of God's word. Spiritand mind are designed to work together, not inisolation. That is why James declares "faithwithout works is dead" (James 2:20). There mustalways be a natural correlation to spiritualpursuits. To put it another way, your actionsmust be congruent with your faith. That is why'belief' is the key element of faith, because all ofyour actions stem from what you believe. Thatbeing the case your 'psychology' is also criticalto your faith as it is fundamental to your beliefs.Your psychology (to put it simply) is thecombination of your rules, values and attitude to

any given situation. When your psychology isin agreement with God's word there isnothing you will not be able to achieve!That is why the most effective people on theplanet are those who are able to combinetheology (spiritual) with psychology (natural).This model for success can be found in the workof Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, an ordainedminister and Pastor who blended psychotherapywith theology. A prolific writer, his highlyacclaimed book 'The Power of PositiveThinking' (a phenomenal best-seller writtenover 50 years ago) still impacts millions today.Over the past generation the church hasexperience unprecedented growth due to theshift in preaching psychology as well as theology.

Taking all this into account, the dynamics offaith boils down to taking a seed (in the form ofa word from God that addresses our need) andplanting it in our hearts where it will take rootand grow until we see the manifestation. Thesoil of your heart must contain nutrientsconducive to the growth of that seed. Thesenutrients come in the form of correspondingbeliefs, knowledge, principles and values; all ofthe things that make up your psychology. Toensure the right nutrients are present you mustwater your heart with God's word andinformation conducive with what you want tomanifest in your life.

THE NEED FOR PATIENCE

The dynamics of faith is liken unto the processof germination. Germination is the growth ofan embryonic plant contained within a seed.The things that God has promised for your lifewill come as a result of germination in yourheart. Germination is dependent on bothinternal and external conditions. Therefore inorder for germination to take place the right

or God is not unrighteous to forget yourlabour and the love which you have shown forHis name's sake in ministering to the needs of

the saints. But we do [strongly and earnestly] desirefor each of you to show the same diligence in realizingand enjoying the full assurance and development of[your] hope until the end; in order that you may notbecome slothful, but imitators, behaving as do thosewho through faith and patient endurance are [now]inheriting the promises (Hebrews 6:10-12amplified).

God's will and desire for your life comes in theform of a promise. This promise is packaged as a'seed' which He plants in the hearts of each andevery one of us. Evidence of this seed is thevision and calling that is tugging on our hearts toachieve something great. It is the one thing thatwe must achieve before we die. It is the thingthat would make all the difference to our livesand the lives of others and bring us to a place oftotal fulfilment. In the opening text, Paul makesan important distinction between our labour oflove in ministering to the needs of others andrealizing the promises of God for our lives. Thewillingness to serve is the prerequisite tobecoming a leader in your own right. It isimportant to submit under the leadership ofothers and aid in realizing their vision. Howeverthere comes a time when you must answer thecall of your own vision and pursue it with alldiligence. Our prime responsibility is to discover,develop and deploy the gift that God has givento us. We do not have the right to just bury ourgift as the lazy steward did in Jesus' parable of thetalents (Matthew 25:24-30).

So how do we manifest the promise of God forour lives? According to Paul it is through faithand patience. Let us look at these two aspects inmore detail:

THE DYNAMICS OF FAITH

Arguably the most concise illustrationthat Jesus gave on the dynamics of faith isthe parable of the sower. In this parable theword of the Kingdom (represented by seeds) issowed and scattered across four types of surfaceconditions: the wayside, stony or shallowground, thorns and good soil (all represented bydifferent types of heart conditions). It is only inthe good soil that the seed is able to take rootand bring forth fruit. What we are seeing here isthe synergy that takes place between mind(heart) and spirit. Jesus said "the words that Ispeak unto you are spirit and life" (John 6:63).Words are more than a form of communication,they are spiritual containers! Spirit is in essencelife (or a life force), therefore words (especiallyGod's word) are full of life.

Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to 'keep and guard ourhearts with all diligence for out of it flows theissues of life.' It is through the heart (mind)where manifestation of God's word for our lives

take place. All the issuesof our lives stem from and aredetermined by the condition of our heart. Yourheart is the control centre of your world!Your heart is the incubator of God's word. Spiritand mind are designed to work together, not inisolation. That is why James declares "faithwithout works is dead" (James 2:20). There mustalways be a natural correlation to spiritualpursuits. To put it another way, your actionsmust be congruent with your faith. That is why'belief' is the key element of faith, because all ofyour actions stem from what you believe. Thatbeing the case your 'psychology' is also criticalto your faith as it is fundamental to your beliefs.Your psychology (to put it simply) is thecombination of your rules, values and attitude to

any given situation. When your psychology isin agreement with God's word there isnothing you will not be able to achieve!That is why the most effective people on theplanet are those who are able to combinetheology (spiritual) with psychology (natural).This model for success can be found in the workof Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, an ordainedminister and Pastor who blended psychotherapywith theology. A prolific writer, his highlyacclaimed book 'The Power of PositiveThinking' (a phenomenal best-seller writtenover 50 years ago) still impacts millions today.Over the past generation the church hasexperience unprecedented growth due to theshift in preaching psychology as well as theology.

Taking all this into account, the dynamics offaith boils down to taking a seed (in the form ofa word from God that addresses our need) andplanting it in our hearts where it will take rootand grow until we see the manifestation. Thesoil of your heart must contain nutrientsconducive to the growth of that seed. Thesenutrients come in the form of correspondingbeliefs, knowledge, principles and values; all ofthe things that make up your psychology. Toensure the right nutrients are present you mustwater your heart with God's word andinformation conducive with what you want tomanifest in your life.

THE NEED FOR PATIENCE

The dynamics of faith is liken unto the processof germination. Germination is the growth ofan embryonic plant contained within a seed.The things that God has promised for your lifewill come as a result of germination in yourheart. Germination is dependent on bothinternal and external conditions. Therefore inorder for germination to take place the right

or God is not unrighteous to forget yourlabour and the love which you have shown forHis name's sake in ministering to the needs of

the saints. But we do [strongly and earnestly] desirefor each of you to show the same diligence in realizingand enjoying the full assurance and development of[your] hope until the end; in order that you may notbecome slothful, but imitators, behaving as do thosewho through faith and patient endurance are [now]inheriting the promises (Hebrews 6:10-12amplified).

God's will and desire for your life comes in theform of a promise. This promise is packaged as a'seed' which He plants in the hearts of each andevery one of us. Evidence of this seed is thevision and calling that is tugging on our hearts toachieve something great. It is the one thing thatwe must achieve before we die. It is the thingthat would make all the difference to our livesand the lives of others and bring us to a place oftotal fulfilment. In the opening text, Paul makesan important distinction between our labour oflove in ministering to the needs of others andrealizing the promises of God for our lives. Thewillingness to serve is the prerequisite tobecoming a leader in your own right. It isimportant to submit under the leadership ofothers and aid in realizing their vision. Howeverthere comes a time when you must answer thecall of your own vision and pursue it with alldiligence. Our prime responsibility is to discover,develop and deploy the gift that God has givento us. We do not have the right to just bury ourgift as the lazy steward did in Jesus' parable of thetalents (Matthew 25:24-30).

So how do we manifest the promise of God forour lives? According to Paul it is through faithand patience. Let us look at these two aspects inmore detail:

THE DYNAMICS OF FAITH

Arguably the most concise illustrationthat Jesus gave on the dynamics of faith isthe parable of the sower. In this parable theword of the Kingdom (represented by seeds) issowed and scattered across four types of surfaceconditions: the wayside, stony or shallowground, thorns and good soil (all represented bydifferent types of heart conditions). It is only inthe good soil that the seed is able to take rootand bring forth fruit. What we are seeing here isthe synergy that takes place between mind(heart) and spirit. Jesus said "the words that Ispeak unto you are spirit and life" (John 6:63).Words are more than a form of communication,they are spiritual containers! Spirit is in essencelife (or a life force), therefore words (especiallyGod's word) are full of life.

Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to 'keep and guard ourhearts with all diligence for out of it flows theissues of life.' It is through the heart (mind)where manifestation of God's word for our lives

environment must be present. This is why germination does not happen immediately. It onlyhappens after a period of dormancy. This period isknown as seed dormancy. The length of dormancyis dependent upon the nature of the seed and the

environment it requires. Different variety of seedsrequire distinctive variables for successfulgermination; some seeds germinate while the soilis cold, while most germinate while the soil iswarm. Some seed require light and others requiredarkness. It all depends on the individual seedand its nature.

In like manner your time of manifestation isdependent on the nature of your purpose. Theconditions that worked for someone else may notnecessarily work for you. Depending on thenature of your purpose you may have to gothrough a period of darkness while others needlight. Like a cactus, you may flourish in hostileconditions where others cannot. Places andactivities that are questionable to others maybe

totally necessary for you. When yourenvironment becomes conducive to the characterof your seed, it induces germination. This is calledthe dormancy release factor. The dormancyrelease factor removes all the 'barriers' thatprevents germination.

As previously mentioned, the seed (word), inJesus' parable of the sower, only flourished in goodsoil. It is interesting to note that the Greek wordused for good is kalos which primarily means'beautiful.' It has nothing to do with benevolence!Beauty is a relative term (beauty is in the eye of thebeholder); what is beautiful to one, mayberepulsive to another. Therefore only the seed candetermine the beauty of the soil.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God makes everythingbeautiful in His time. Never think God's delaysare His denials. He is working on your heart andyour environment to bring you to your place andtime of beauty. It is in your time of beauty that youwill see the manifestation of God's promise. Thistakes time and patience. The barriers that arebefore you, the things that are hinderingyour success may have more to do with yourenvironment than your behaviour! What youneed is the dormancy release factor to break downthe barriers. Consider the environment you are inright now. This maybe your job,your social settingor even the country you live in. These factors andmany more can stifle your growth. Your place ofbeauty maybe in your own business rather than ajob. Your place of beauty maybe in anothercountry. Your place of beauty maybe withsomeone or without. Maybe you should be anactress instead of an accountant, a musicianinstead of a lawyer. Remember it is the nature ofyour seed that determines the beauty of your soiland the environment; not the opinion of others!

MANIFESTING THE PROMISE

If this article has been a blessing to you in anyway please email [email protected]

“the nature of your seeddetermines the beauty

of the soil”

“When your environmentbecomes conducive to thecharacter of your seed, it inducesgermination”

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Your HeartMattersBy Angela Tella BSc,Registered Dietitian & Nutrition Consultant

Heart disease remains a major cause of death in the Westernworld and is the UK’s biggest killer with over 275 people dyingfrom it everyday in the UK, according to figures by the BritishHeart Foundation.

I recently read Proverbs 4:23, “…guard your heart with allvigilance…for out of it flow the springs of life”, and saw thisverse in a very different light. Life flows from your physical heartas it pumps blood through your body and so you need to guardor look after it. One way of doing this is by eating a heart-

healthy diet which has been proven to reduce cholesterol andblood pressure levels, both well known risk factors fordeveloping heart disease. Some practical ways of doing this are:

• Eat more fruit and vegetablesAim for the recommended 5 portions daily.

• Eat oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, freshtuna and pilchards at least once a week. Oily fish containomega-3 fats which are important to heart health. Omega-3 fatscan also be found naturally in walnuts, flaxseed and flaxseed oil,and are added to some brands of yoghurt, milk, eggs and evenfish fingers.

• Prioritize and learn to say ‘no’. What’simportant and what’s urgent? Realize that saying ‘yes’ to this ineffect means saying ‘no’ to that. Besides, you only have 24 hoursin any given day…

• Watch fat intake.Replace saturated fats like coconut oil and animal fat (lard,ghee) with better quality fats such as monounsaturated andpolyunsaturated fats e.g. olive, rapeseed, sunflower, soya andgroundnut oils. Also choose lower fat dairy products.

• Limit salt intake as too much salt increases bloodpressure levels. About 75% of salt intake is from processed andmanufactured foods, so always check labels.

Other lifestyle factors that play an important role in keepingyour heart healthy include regular physical activity, maintaininga healthy weight, as well as reducing and managing your stresslevels. Remember, your heart matters so do what you can tokeep it ticking over nicely. Selah!

Angela is the founder of Illumina Lifestyle Consulting, which providesseminars and workshops on health and wellbeing, as well as consultancyto the healthcare sector and to voluntary and private organisations. Forconsultancy, seminars/workshops or other speaking engagements, [email protected] or call on 0845 116 1317 or 07961 413 053.