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Don’t Lose Sight Of The Real Issue

“Jesus wants to get rid of the sex trafficking [in the world just like I do], only he takes it a lot more seriously than I do…“

– Joshua Ryan Butler, The Skeletons in God’s Closet

No sane Christian will ever stand up and say that sex trafficking is good thing. No one that is taking Jesus’ words and actions seriously will ever be for the moving of persons for the selling and trading of sex acts. Obviously.

Christians rightly stand against such things. We should be protesting and fighting against those people and institutions and systems that make such things happen. We should be anti-sex trafficking.

But is that far enough?In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes it clear. Stopping sex trafficking is not enough, though it is important.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.“

– Matthew 5:27-30

Pastor and author Joshua Ryan Butler put it this way in his book, The Skeletons in God’s Closet.

“Jesus wants to get rid of the sex trafficking [in the world just like I do], only he takes it a lot more seriously than I do.

I want to get rid of sex trafficking; Jesus wants to get rid of lust. I want to prune back the wicked tree; he wants to dig out the root.“

We can feel good about agreeing with Jesus when we hear his words. We can feel good about picketing or signing a petition to see sex trafficking systems destroyed. We can feel good about the steps we take to see this destructive abuse of people taken down.

But that isn’t enough.

Jesus wants to see lust, not just the effects of lust, destroyed. Jesus wants to see our adultery, in all its forms, obliterated.

For Christians, the issue includes sex trafficking, but isn’t limited to that. Porn, masterbation; these might be the big ones that come to mind, but there is more. The lingering looks at girls, or guys, as they walk by. Fantasizing about sexual encounters.

The issue of lust runs deep and gets intwined into many parts of our every day.

Our every day.

Yours and mine. You and me.

Yes, sex trafficking and lust is a real issue out there. But it is also a real issue in us. In our hearts.

Let’s not forget that we are sinners too.

This article first appeared on Christian Thought Sandbox.

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Shed Some Tears, and Be Ok with That

Tears, shedding tears

Shedding tears in this world is not a matter of if, only a matter of when.

There’s nothing wrong with shedding tears.

I was speaking with a friend the other day and he was telling me about his financial hardships. He was going over how things were getting tough around the house, and how he was working hard to make life better. He had been crying. I responded with words of encouragement and said, “Don’t worry. God knows what you need. It’s going to be ok! He will respond to your needs!”

He replied, “I know but the pain is still radiating and my tears are what God has given me to relieve the pain.” I took me a while to understand why he felt the need to give me a reason to why he was crying. Then it hit me: He thought I was telling to stop crying when I was trying to provide spiritual comfort.

Any biblical response to a bad situation is not a call to “Toughen up Buttercup”. It’s recognizing you may not be able to do anything about the situation, you serve a mighty God that can. My Bible tells me that with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26). The shedding of tears may be a sign of weakness to some, but that’s weakness made perfect in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 12:9). Tears are a human response to relieve the body of physical pain. The removal of that response can evolve into a sinful nature that was never meant to engage. But because you were hurting, you were vulnerable, and you needed a release.

Let’s shed some tears. Don’t turn to adultery, drugs, or over eating. Don’t let Satan’s voice whisper in your ear to end it all. NO. I want you to have a good cry, but in that moment, I want you talk through those tears to a God that loves you.   Jesus gives us a perfect model to dealing with our tears. Jesus wept when he approached the tomb of Lazarus (John 11: 35- 38). But in his groaning, the text explains, he was moving towards a spiritual response. That response not only raised his friend from the dead, but was a confirmation to all he is God’s Son! (John 11: 39-44). God works through the spiritual to address the physical! Let His Divine nature take control and not only be victorious, but a testimony to others who may also be suffering.

When God is ready to use you, tears will dry up. Why? Because you’re  entering into a different form and function. Tears serve a purpose. Don’t ever think you’re wrong for crying. Don’t get defensive when people come to you with spiritual comfort. When giving spiritual comfort, let the recipient understand it’s ok to cry. But, let them know that God is in control, and that the brokenness won’t last forever. If we had more people shedding tears, and even more people comforting them with God’s Word, who knows how that would affect bullying, suicides, crime in general. It’s ok to cry. Never forget that.

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Living H2O

Living H2O

Water is an essential for the Acholi tribe. They line up at the well, they walk for a day to fill jugs then carry them home, they use the Nile for commerce and transportation via canoe.  Water is a necessity for all tribes of the world. Our bodies were made to need water. In the Western culture, some people live on sugary drinks like iced tea, flavored coffee drinks, coca cola, even juices.

If I bathe in Coca Cola, I will be sticky and I’ll need another bath. If I wash my hands in fruit juice, my hands will taste good but they will need to be re-washed. And yet we spend oodles of money on liquids that do not give us the refreshment we need. People can even become addicted to some of these things mentioned.

That is also true in our walk as a Christian. We can pick and choose things to live by. We can choose things that aren’t the best; they can distract us from God’s Word. Those not so “good things” can cause us to sin.

In John 4: 13-15, Jesus met a woman who was coming to get water from a well much like the wells we have in Uganda. The woman knew Jesus was thirsty but Jesus knew the woman needed a water that did not come from a well.

“Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

The Living Water of Jesus never dries up, it never gets polluted, it cleans us from sin, and it’s Eternal. Let’s drink Jesus’ water and be like a water fountain that overflows with love each day.

 

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Hello! Anybody Home?

Hello! Anybody Home?

Who is God and what is He like? If He is Father, what are His parenting skills like? Is He a tyrannical God with an iron rod waiting to smack us when we sin? Or is His heart just yearning to be around His children? If David of the Bible is known as the’ Man after God’s own Heart’, it is pretty evident that this big and majestic God, just like us, has a HEART too. However, what is it like? What does it long for? Is it obedience and law? Or is it justice? Well, God is concerned about all of that but not more than His heart longs for YOU!Many a times we feel like talking to God which the world often calls ‘praying’, is too religious an act for most people to carry out. Also, sometimes we feel like it is only us who long to speak to God, whereas He is too busy doing His other business. However, the Bible is very clear about who wants to start the conversation. In Psalm 27:8 David says:My heart has heard you say, “come and talk with me”,And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

So let me ask you, who wants to make the first move? Us or God? Just like in the ‘Parable of the Lost Son’ (Luke 15: 11-32), our God is the Father, waiting at the doorstop for His kids to come back. No matter how far and for how long you’ve been gone, your return is still worthy of celebration! Now that is RECKLESS LOVE. God is yearning to speak to us! He is constantly knocking on the door of our hearts. He isn’t interested in law abiding robots. He created kids, who bring Him glory and pleasure. He wants us to crawl on His lap and hold His finger and journey through life. He has always been about love and relationship. The bond Jesus exhibited with God the Father, is the prototype relationship that we are supposed to enjoy with our Maker. God isn’t LONELY though. He is self sufficient. He does not NEED us. However, He WANTS us! Now that changes EVERYTHING!How often do we scroll through our social media profiles? How often do we get excited when an unknown number messages or calls us? Every time our notification tone comes on, we hurry to check who remembered to drop in a message on our Whatsapp! Why do we do that? It’s pretty simple. Because we have been designed for COMMUNICATION too! Our heart longs to have someone to listen to us. We all long for someone who will laugh and cry with us, someone who wants to know what our deepest longings and fears are. The world can never provide that kind of company. Everyone is too busy sorting their own mess out. And so that friend that we have always wanted is actually our Abba Father! The great I AM. He is the best listener and the best adviser. He loves to listen to us and even longs to laugh at our lame jokes. That’s how good a Friend this God can be! So today and everyday of your life God stands outside the door of your heart and says, “Hello? Anybody Home?” and now all that matters is, will you answer the call?We were never designed to have all the answers. It was always about dependency on the One who made us!Today you are cordially invited for a meal and a time of catching up with your Dad. Will you accept the invitation? (Revelation 3:20).

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Stop Going To Church

Stop Going To Church

Okay, before I get into it, keep in mind that this is my own spiritual journal before it became a public post. Everything that I write is from my own reflection and my own personal journey with God – it is not so much an instructional blog as it is my way of pouring my heart out.

This post is no different.

So last week, I happened to be out of town for an over-the-weekend trip, and due to the schedule, I was unable to go to church on Sunday. So the night before, I was apologising to God for being unable to attend church, and I vividly remembered there was this sense of guilt gripping me that evening in my hotel room.

And right then, as I was doing my personal devotion, this thought came to me:

WHERE WAS THE GUILT FROM?

Should not going to church, or doing ministry while we’re at the topic, be the overflow/product of God’s love for you? Not the means for you to earn His love? Sure, this is something that we have heard numerous times, and sounding like a broken record is the last thing i want to do. But while we are familiar with the concept, that’s not really the case when it comes to its practice – we don’t live out our lives like that.

I believe that the two biggest enemies of dynamic Christian living, to truly living out the lives God wants you to live, are complacency, and routinely. Christianity, for most people, has been degraded into just a day of the week when it’s supposed to be  all of your life. It has been reduced to following a dull system when it’s supposed to be unpredictable and dangerous. Church is now just a place we go to on Sunday, when it is supposed to be something that we become, and we live out. And the thing is, people are happy with just that – we have become complacent.

Let me tell you this; Jesus is a lot of things, but one thing that He’s not, is boring.

The guilt I felt was a proof, that for me, Christianity, and church, have become my way of earning God’s love. If I go to church, and serve there, then God is cool with me. If I missed a day of church, then God is angry with me. This could not be further from the truth. Call it a stretch if you will, but if we have a strong relationship with God, should not there be a sense of security in God’s love for us? Now, I am not advocating not going to church, I am a big believer that if you’re a Christian, we have to gather together with a group of believers to worship God together. That’s one of God’s will.

What I am saying that, it becomes wrong, when going to church and serving in a ministry become more an obligation that it is an overflow of your love for God.

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”  Matthew 15:8

That’s the last thing we want to be said of us. So here’s what I am learning, and what I am encouraging all of us to do: step out of the routinely, LOVE GOD CRAZILY, and let everything that you do be the products of your love for God. GO CRAZY.

Stop going to church, and start being the church.

Stop doing ministry out of an obligation, let it be an overflow

If there is one thing I am for, and if there is one thing I am advocating, to be a Christian rebel. To refuse to be a part of the ‘system’ and be different. There is more that I could say about this, but that would be a post in itself. Till next time.

In His love,

Kenan

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What Do You Believe From The Scriptures?

What Do You Believe From The Scriptures?

If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.

– St. Augustine, Sermons

But I believe everything in the Bible. I take the Word as it is. The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.

Right?

The truth is that we are far more selective of the Bible verses we adhere to than we would like to admit, and tend to reject much of what Jesus said. We ignore some parts and highly favour others. This is not a good thing. Especially when it comes to the words of Jesus.

As Peter said, only Jesus’ words are the ones with eternal life (John 6:68).

You would think we would be better about listening to all of Jesus’ words then, but we are terrible for picking and choosing.

An example,

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?Can anyone of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

– Matthew 6:25-27

Now, everyone, please, honestly tell me that you do not worry. Ever. About anything at all.

We’ll quote this verse. We’ll talk about how good God is that he provides all the time. We have so much, so many blessings.

And then we worry and stress and lose sleep over, agonize and torment ourselves and fret about money, work, our relationships. We completely forget about what Jesus said and try to solve, try to figure out, try to establish a plan to solve all our problems by ourselves.

(I am preaching to the choir. If you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ll know that I struggle with worry.)

This is a perfect example of picking and choosing verses. Picking and choosing Scripture that we want and don’t want. Picking and choosing what we want, when we want.

Not that worry is a small thing, by any means, but there are so many other things that we pick over and choose to ignore.

Like,

Loving our neighbour, the immigrant, the distinct other race of people in our community.

Giving to the poor, whether that be financially or by giving them opportunities to compete and be at the same level as other people.

Finding your treasures not in the possessions you have or your neighbour has, but seeing the stuff and junk and garbage of a consumer-driven society for what they are.

Basically, reread the Sermon on the Mount.

Look at what Jesus said. Think about how many things Jesus specifically called us out of, what he called us towards.

There is a lot that we pick and choose. And considering Saint Augustine’s quote, there is a lot of us in our beliefs, and not nearly enough Jesus. Not nearly enough gospel for how Christ-like or Christian we claim to be.

Let’s ask ourselves; what do you believe from the Scriptures, and what do the Scriptures call you to believe?

This article first appeared on Christian Thought Sandbox.

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Goodlife Magazine Receives 2018 Best of Marietta Award

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Goodlife Magazine Receives 2018 Best of Marietta Award

Marietta Award Program Honors the Achievement

MARIETTA October 18, 2018 — Goodlife Magazine has been selected for the 2018 Best of Marietta Award in the Publisher category by the Marietta Award Program.

Each year, the Marietta Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Marietta area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2018 Marietta Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Marietta Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Marietta Award Program

The Marietta Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Marietta area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Marietta Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Marietta Award ProgramCONTACT:GOODlife MagazineEmail: info@goodlifemagazine.orgURL: www.goodlifemagazine.org                                                                   

Facebook: www.facebook.com/goodlifechristian

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‘The Cross a Moment in Time’

[waveplayer ids=”15007″]

The cross as you have never seen it before, inspired by God’s word and poduced by David Robinson

It may be empty since its last victim but it still whispers to every nation and in every tongue, ‘Come unto me’ pointing to ‘Christ the way the truth and the life for no man comes to the Father except through him’ John 14:6

There is no saviour here to adorn its boughs with glory, but there is an image of what a man would be without a Fathers love and a saviours sacrifice

The moment when death died and its last victim purchased eternal life for all who would put their truth in Christ’s blood bought salvation we can shout:

Thanks be to God, ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me’ Galatians 2:20

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Blessings from God or Just Luck

This is the first of a two part blog series on the topic of ‘Blessings’. How do we view blessings? Do we see them as coming from God, or are they just luck?  

This first series focuses on my testimonial of blessings and whether we see blessings as just ‘luck’.

My Testimonial of Blessings

I want to start my first ‘proper’ blog by discussing something positive. ‘Blessings’.

I personally feel truly blessed in my life. Now I’m not saying this to boast or to show off. People who know me know that I’m not that kind of person. All I want to do is to just show you the wonderful things that God has done for me and can do for you too.

Now, I have the privilege of working and running my own business from home. I feel that I have now been blessed with this way of life which I have wanted for a big part of my adult life, and all my life as a parent. I can now spend time at home with my young children; I can take them to school, pick them up, help them with their homework, bathe them and put them to bed and make warm nutritious meals for my family. These are all the blessings that I am truly thankful to God for and don’t take them for granted even though I do sometimes moan about all the work I have to do.

As I said before, having a business is something that I have wanted for a long time. I have worked hard on business ideas which have just not come to fruition. And I believe that those times were not God’s times for me to start those businesses, and possibly were not the businesses that God wanted me to get involved in.

Now, some of you reading may ask, but didn’t you work hard to get to where you are now with your business? The answer is yes. I do have to work hard on my business now that I have it, but to be honest, my current business came about without me trying hard at all, and actually came about at a time when I had given up on business completely.

The reason that I got back into the business world was after I had read a report on something Pope Francis had said at World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016:

“Jesus can give you true passion for life.  Jesus can inspire us not to settle for less, but to give the very best of ourselves.Jesus challenges us, spurs us on and helps us keep trying whenever we are tempted to give up. Jesus pushes us to keep our sights high and to dream of great things”¦”¦”¦”¦..In life there is a dangerous kind of paralysis. It is not easy to put our finger on it. I like to describe it as the paralysis that comes from confusing happiness with a sofa. In other words, to think that in order to be happy all we need is a good sofa. A sofa that makes us feel comfortable, calm, safe”¦..A sofa that keeps us safe from any kind of pain and fear. A sofa that allows us to stay home without needing to work at, or worry about anything. ‘Sofa happiness’! That is probably the most harmful and insidious form of paralysis, which can cause the greatest harm to young people. And why does this happen?… Because little by little, without even realizing it, we start to nod off, grow drowsy and dull”¦”¦

We didn’t come into this world to “vegetate”, to take it easy, to make our lives a comfortable sofa to fall asleep on. No, we came”¦”¦ To leave a mark”¦”¦ But when we opt for ease and convenience, for confusing happiness with consumption, then we end up paying a high price indeed: we lose our freedom”¦”¦. Jesus is the Lord of risk, he is the Lord of “eternal” more. Jesus is not the Lord of comfort, security and ease. Following Jesus demands a good dose of courage, a readiness to trade in the sofa for a pair of walking shoes and to set out on new and unchartered paths. To blaze trails that open up new horizons capable of spreading joy, the joy that is born of God’s love and wells up in your hearts with every act of mercy”¦”¦ God expects something from you”¦.. God hopes in you. God comes to break down all our fences. He comes to open the doors of our lives, our dreams, our ways of seeing things. God comes to break open everything that keeps you closed in. He is encouraging you to dream. He wants to make you see that, with you, the world can be different”¦”¦ Unless you offer the best of yourselves, the world will never be different. This is the challenge.”

Not to go off the point too much, I have added this lengthy quote not only to show you how this moved me to do something more meaningful with my life, but also that it may motivate any of you out there who feel like you’re stuck with no direction to go and not worthy of doing much with your life. Just know that God wants you to work hard on your goals and make something great of yourselves which you are proud of.

So back to the point about blessings, by coming across this report from the Pope which was handed out in church, I feel completely blessed, as it got me out of my comfy sofa state to start my business. And as I said before, I am truly grateful.

So yes, I do believe that these blessings are from God. Of course, I do have to work hard to keep my business going, but I would always look to God to give me the motivation and diligence to continue to grow my business.

It’s Luck And the Choices that we Make NOT Blessings from God!

Yes, some people who have good things come their way say that it is good luck, and I guess when you don’t believe in God, then it is good luck. But if God is in your life, then you should believe that it is coming from God.

Some people may say that it’s about the choices that we make in our lives; the person they chose to marry; the school they chose to send their kids to; the area they chose to live in; the education they chose; how hard they chose to work; the medications they chose to take and so on”¦.

But if you believe in God, then you should understand that God puts these things, these ‘blessings’ in your life. God puts a good spouse before you, God puts a good school in your reach and so on”¦”¦

We then all have free will and are able to then decide whether to follow what God wants from us. Do we go for the good guy that God has put before us, or go for the bad guy who already has two girlfriends because he’s exciting to be with?

One example that I will give you is the choice of Primary school for my daughter. We had several ‘outstanding’ rated non faith schools in the area that we lived, and a ‘good’ rated catholic school. The focus of the outstanding schools were children excelling in different subjects and really pushing them to do well academically which is of course highly commendable.

In the Catholic school which myself and my husband chose for our daughter, their mission statement is “We love to learn in Jesus. In Jesus, we learn to love”. To me, that shows a Jesus centred school. And although we too want our children to excel academically, we always believe in putting God first, and trust that God will bless our children with the best education for them. So, I believe that our children will be blessed in whichever way God chooses because we their parents have put God first in their lives.

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Dangerous “MOMO Challenge”

Courtesy: Hack Forever

Evil never rests, it only regroups and develops a new strategy to bring about as much death, destruction, and pain as it can. It seems that the dust has hardly settled over the last suicide inducing game (The Blue Whale Challenge) that a new one has cropped up: The “Momo Challenge”.

A twelve-year-old girl from Argentina has reported having committed suicide, a suicide linked to the Momo Challenge. There are other suicides that have been linked to the challenge but have yet to be verified. Police officers all over the world are warning parents to be on the lookout for this deadly social media game and to be aware of the signs associated with it.

The way that this challenge works is by sending a number to a person’s phone and asking them to contact a Momo Whatsapp profile. Once a connection has been established, Momo will begin to send challenges/objectives to the users that escalate in self-harm as it progresses. Failure to do so will result in threats such as promising to curse the user, kill their family and appearing at night to them. Graphic and disturbing pictures are also sent to the user to further terrify them into complying with the demands of the Momo.

A father from Cutral Co has claimed that the game threatened his fifteen-year-old daughter with certain death. A Momo-connected profile sent the girl a picture of a dead person and threatened her home, family, and friends if she didn’t respond to the challenge.

The Momo is a terrifying-looking half woman/half bird creature that is weird enough to strike fear into any child (or adult for that matter) when coupled with threats of harm and promised death. The creators of the now-dubbed suicide game are using the cropped image of a bird-woman sculpture that was created by Link Factory, a Japenese special effects company. The Momo challenge has no connection to the Link Factory.

Children remain at risk for games like this because their concept of reality and fantasy can become easily blurred. Parents should keep an eye on their children and their mobile use, but take care not to appear overly controlling because that can create much frustration and distance their children from them. If a child is spending an unhealthy amount of time on their mobile, parents need to promote playing outdoor games. If parents themselves spend a considerable amount of time playing games on their mobiles, all efforts to stop or reduce the time spent doing so should result in your child having less of an interest to engage in mobile games. Having good communication with your child/ren is also vital.

The most important thing that we can do for our children is to pray for them. There is only so much that we can do in the physical realm to protect our kids, therefore prayer is the only form of action that we can take to counter all that takes place in the spiritual realm. I believe that all events that take place in the physical realm first originate in the spiritual realm, and as we do not have constant access to that realm (and should not unless by the Holy Spirit at appointed times and by the will of GOD) we need to put our faith in the Almighty to hear our prayers and petitions to keep our children safe.

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Dead Man Walking

The need to bring the Gospel to the Lost has intensified during these Last Days. It is a terrible thing to walk about and see dead people everywhere and know that their numbers are most likely growing. The world has so many enticements and lies that people are more than happy to remain dead, instead of choosing life. These people may not be six-feet under or even ashes, but make no mistake, they are as dead as you can get because there is only one destination for them: hell.

Speaking about death seems quite gloomy, but it’s a necessary part of our lives, especially as Believers. I used to wonder about Luke 9:60 and what it meant for us as GOD’S people, but reading the first two chapters of Colossians has made the meaning as clear as day. Do you know that we deal with dead people every day? We speak to them, shake hands with them, do activities with them and even love them, but they’re dead. I don’t think that some of us actually understand the severity of this- these people are alive and breathing, but they are as good as dead if they do not know Jesus.   That’s what He meant when He said that the dead should bury their own dead. He was letting the ‘wannabe’ disciple know that to follow Jesus was life, but to go back and bury his father would mean death. That’s a ‘shut the front door’, ‘drop the mic’ type of Scripture (for me anyway). That’s our ultimate choice, isn’t it? The choice of life or death. For us Believers, we know that even though we may die in the flesh, yet we still live because Jesus has ‘delivered us from the power of darkness’ (Colossians 1:13), but those who have rejected him only have one destination after death and that’s hell. We have to just take a moment and realize that this is a hectic truth to know, especially if we are not doing enough to speak to people about Jesus.

This whole ‘zombie apocalypse’ thing seems more believable to people than the fact that Jesus died for their sins. I feel like telling them that they are basically the walking dead due to their unbelief! But that wouldn’t go down very well, would it? This gift of life is such a beautiful truth and needs to be spread like wildfire because the Last Days are upon us. You can just turn on any news channel and see what’s happening in the world for proof of this. Each and every one of us has a mission: to go out and preach the kingdom of GOD. It’s not just preachers and missionaries that have this charge, but each and every one of us who confess Jesus the Son of GOD. We don’t need to ram it down their throats or Bible bash them, but when the Holy Spirit moves you to talk to someone, you do it. It may seem embarrassing or scary at first, but look at it this way: if they reject you, don’t take it personally because they are actually rejecting GOD, not you.

I’m going to flip this around now and concentrate on us. This is the area that the Holy Spirit was most insistent about (at this moment): living to the basic principles of the world when we have died with Christ. Many of us are allowing people to cheat us out of Christ because we are giving into their lies. The people of the world think that they are wise and like to puff themselves up with false wisdom. They have all these philosophical things to say, ‘science-backed’ evidence of nothing but lies, and traditions that have no place in our lives. Why are we subjecting ourselves to the basic principles of the world when they are nothing but the words of dead people? It says in Colossians 2:20  ‘Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations-‘. We no longer live in the world, Family, so we have no business following the rules of the world. ‘As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the LORD, so walk in Him,’    (Colossians 2:6), we received Him in faith, therefore we have to live faith-filled lives, and that doesn’t include what the world has to say about anything regarding our lives. If we want greater wisdom and knowledge regarding anything, then just ask GOD: ‘…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (Colossians 2:3). GOD created everything, therefore He knows it all. We certainly do not need the world to tell us what we should be doing, how we should be doing it, and when we should be doing it, especially when it contradicts the word of GOD and leads us astray.

‘Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from GOD’ (Colossians 2:18-19).

Run if you must, but do not entertain the words of a man who professes to have wisdom but does not confess Christ. These people can and will cheat you out of your reward with their empty words. These people are convincing, let me tell you, freakishly convincing at times. That is why you need to be immersed in GOD’S Word and presence on a daily basis. You need that daily ‘oomph’ of strength, wisdom, and knowledge that only GOD’S Word can give you if you are going to survive these Last Days, but we’re also all here to help each other out.

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2 Truths About Christian Parenting

2 Truths About Christian Parenting

A September 24, 2018 article by *Newsweek covered the story of one teenager lost at sea for 49 days. The article begins by saying, “Reading the Bible and remembering the advice of his parents gave a teenager cast adrift on the Pacific the motivation to keep fighting for his life.” Scared, tearful, fearful of death, Aldi Adilang (the teenager talked about) remembered his parents telling him to pray during times of distress. And that he did. More news coverage shared that he remembered his parent’s faith and that Aldi turned to the Bible he had with him during the difficult ordeal. He also sang Christian songs. And he managed to apply survival skills to battle hunger and thirst.

Real life stories like this testify to a lot of truths when it comes to Christian parenting, such as:

  1. Modeling authentic faith before your children is the best thing you can do for your kids.

Authentic faith is never perfect but it’s always true. Living your faith authentically happens by submitting and applying to Scriptural truths you learn as you learn them. Mistakes will happen, yes. Sin will be committed, yes. But genuine faith will move you to grow past those mistakes and to grow stronger as you handle the struggles of sin and its temptations.

To live in all honesty and sincerity before your children, transparent with them even when you fail, and showing them your dependence on the grace of God for victorious Christian living is the best thing you can do for your kids. Why? Because thru your life you show them that living for Christ and pleasing Him is all that possible even when you fail and make mistakes. You also show them that God will support and bless a life lived for Him.

  1. All the efforts you invest into Christian parenting will bear fruit.

Christian parenting is called that way because the way you parent will be different from the norms of society and its worldly, humanly culture. It may be a bit difficult at times because you are rearing a child in a way that both you and your child are “going against the grain” in so many ways. Biblical values differ, attitudes differ, actions and motivations differ; these all differ from the world’s viewpoints. That is Christian parenting.

Proverbs 22:6 says we are to train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Provide solid, biblical training to your children and when they grow, those values you’ve instilled in their hearts and minds will come back to them in time of need. The verse does not guarantee that your child will be perfect in all his ways, but it does guarantee that truths will be present to guide him back to rightness. Seek and apply God’s wisdom. Bathe your life and that of your child in prayer. Then, allow the Holy Spirit to work everything out.

Persevere and enjoy Christian parenting. And remember that the call to discipleship starts with yourself, then to your family. You can only lead them to the point where you are spiritually at.

 

https://www.newsweek.com/teenager-drifts-pacific-ocean-7-weeks-wooden-hut-1135117

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Ladies, Hope for A Joseph-like Husband

Ladies, Hope for A Joseph-like Husband

Many Christian women speak about finding a husband like Boaz, which is fine as he had many good qualities. However, I have yet to come across a Christian woman that expresses the need to find a husband like Joseph, the most beloved of Jacob’s sons and a godly man.

Recently I attended my cousin’s wedding and as a result, I was bombarded with questions about when I was going to get married. One of my aunties even tried to drag me over to the dance floor to stand a chance of catching the bride’s bouquet. Thankfully I was firmly behind the serving table when I argued the fact that technically, I wasn’t all that single and that I wasn’t even on the ‘market’. I firmly believe that GOD has the right someone for everyone and that if you’re patient and faithful, He will reveal that person at the right time. How can we say that we give GOD control but still choose to actively hunt for a husband? Our time is best spent drawing closer to GOD and letting Him handle that important aspect of our lives.

Attending the wedding got me thinking about marriage and the kind of man that I would one day marry. Joseph is one of my favorite people from the Bible and he holds many characteristics of an ideal husband. While many women consider Boaz and even Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, as men with good husband qualities, the Genesis Joseph appeals to me more. Here’s why:

  • First of all, the name Joseph means ‘GOD increases or adds to’ so that’s a good start right there!
  • Joseph was a principled man. He was an honest man of character and integrity. Look at the number of times that he was tempted. But did he give in? Nope. Not once. A godly man like Joseph would not cheat on his wife because he honors GOD above all else.
  • He was humble. This man had all the power and prestige as a man who was second to Pharoah in all things. However, he didn’t let this get to his head. He was always aware of the fact that it was GOD who had put him in that position. As a husband, there would be no gloating and feather primping.
  • He was disciplined. This man was sold into slavery by his own brothers and spent time in prison for a crime that he did not commit. However, he didn’t let any of this make him bitter and forsake his GOD. He disciplined himself to make the most of his situation and remained faithful to GOD, knowing that GOD would come through for him. He had a long-term vision- it wasn’t a case of here and now, but of what was to come by GOD’S hand.
  • Faithfulness. Not once did Joseph’s commitment to GOD waver. Not once. He remained faithful to Him at his lowest moment and at his highest moment. A husband that remains faithful to GOD despite his situation is a keeper:)
  • Grace. Out of pure jealousy, Joseph’s own brothers sold him into slavery. That’s a hard blow. But still, he chose to show grace and mercy to his brothers and forgave them. Such a godly characteristic is a must in a husband.
  • He was a competent man. This man did his best in all that he did. He was a man of excellence- he truly excelled in all of his jobs! Whether as a servant, an interpreter, a ruler or manager of his family’s flock, he did it all to the best of his abilities.
  • Joseph was a wise man. Did you know that he was 30 when he stepped in to help set up Egypt for the famine that was to come? It’s not like he went to business school or something, but he managed to see them through the famine. Without a doubt, it was GOD that blessed him with such wisdom.
  • He was also strategic. I love planning and will often plan for events many months in advance (my family finds that rather irritating!). Joseph was a planner. He successfully planned for the famine by instructing officials to gather up food and store it during the years of plenty.

Not all women will share my opinion about a Joseph-like husband, but when in doubt about someone that you’re considering or possibly even getting married to, base their characteristics on the verses from 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 like so:

“Joseph is patient, Joseph is kind. He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. He does not dishonor others, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs. Joseph does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

If you can honestly say that the man you are batting your eyelashes at embodies these values, then you have a godly man who is full of the Holy Spirit.

Now, it wouldn’t be right for me to talk about waiting for the right man without saying that you need to be a godly woman yourself. Often I receive compliments on my cooking skills and I’m told that because of it I’ll make a good wife, but a part of me always rebels against that. Sure enough, my future husband will be spoilt when it comes to food, but that cannot be the ruler that I’ll be measured against when it comes to being a good wife. The Bible has much to say about being a good wife, and that for me is a far better source. Scriptures speak about a noble wife who is worth more than rubies, a wife who her husband has full confidence in, and who brings him good. She is not a slanderer and is sober and faithful in all things. She loves her husband and children and she exercises self-control. She is pure and kind and is subject to her husband so that no one will malign the word of GOD. She respects her husband and loves him deeply, knowing that GOD has joined them together for His good purpose.

Whether you are a wife or a wife-to-be, put your name in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and see how you stack up. Of course, no one is perfect and we all make mistakes, but we must remember to honor our vows and faithfully remain at our husband’s side. It is not good for a man to be alone, and with a marriage of two people who put GOD first in everything, he never will be.

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SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE LOVERS OF THE WORLD

SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE LOVERS OF THE WORLD

Beautiful landscapes, green vegetation, everywhere seem calm and peaceful. Hmm, I like it. Blue skies with wonderful birds hovering about it, lovely and beautiful creatures living in harmony. Everything is in order just the way I had intended it to be. Excellent! Excellent! This is good, very good. This is presumably God expressing excitement over the work of His hand. He was happy about His creation. So upon looking at everything He said it was very good. Genesis 1:3;

“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good…”

Apparently in the beginning the world was very good, no pollution, no stains and there was no sin. Harmony thrived and peace rained. Nature enjoyed equilibrium. There was balance and the mechanics of the elements of the world was in order. It was a beautiful world.

We can see from the foregoing that the idea of creating the universe was exciting to God. The most High was happy about it. A major reason for God’s excitement apart from the beauty and splendor of the world, and of every other elements of nature, whether they are living or non living, was that, it was creation that marked the beginning of the existence of man, a creature that bears the image of God. Genesis 1:27;

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

The scripture above explains why God was delighted in handing over to man, the dominion of the world. It’s simply because he (man) is a bearer of the image of God. So God gave him everything. Let’s take a look at Genesis 1:28;

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

It is crystal from the scripture above that it was the will of God for man to have dominion over the earth and the air. A careful look at the words “earth and air” implies total dominion over the cosmos. Meaning man can go towards any length in the cosmos as far as his wisdom can take him. So while man celebrates his breakthroughs in rocket science, astronomy and the like, it was not a thing of marvel before God because He had declared it already in the beginning. The point here is that, the most High gave it all to the bearer of His image –man.

While being caught up in a misty cloud of deep wonder, the Psalmist gave the expression:

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”

The words spoken by the Psalmists can be summed up as God, what’s so special about man? An answer has been presented to this question above. Man is special because he is a bearer of the image of God. He is so special that God gave him dominion over the cosmos. This “specialness” of man is of priority to God such that upon the derail of the first man (Adam) and his progenitors, God had to send His only begotten son “Jesus Christ” to place them back on track. See John 3:16;

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Apparently the key to getting back on track is to simply believe in the only begotten of God. To believe Him as the one sent to restore man. To believe Him as the savior of the world.

The world is ours. God gave it all. Apostle Paul knew this, his words to the Corinthians was: all things are yours. See 1 Corinthians 3:21-22;

21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;

22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours”¦”

We can see in verse 22 of the scriptures above that even the world is ours. God gave it all. He did at the very beginning of creation.

Nevertheless, many are ignorant of this reality. The reality that God has given man all things. So here is the problem, many have upheld the things of this world more than the creator of the world. In other words, they have given honour to the gift rather than the giver of the gift. It’s like lusting after what you own. It’s yours already so why lust after it. In the light of the foregoing, John the beloved instructed us not to love the world or the things contained in it. See 1 John 2:15;

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

The use of the word “love” in the scripture above could imply “lust coupled with a strong attachment”. So the instruction is that we should not lust or attach our minds to this world or the things contained in it. Why? Because all things belong to us. The world and all its elements should not be given priority over its creator. Apparently what makes us lovers of God rather than lovers of the world is in detaching ourselves from lusting after the world and things contained in it. Anyone who has detached from the world and the things contained in it is attached to God.

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