Christianity – Page 3

February 24, 2019March 19, 2019

I’m here

If I’m with you when it’s cool

And not with you when it’s hot

What kinda friend am I

When courage I have not

To shield you

To stand in the gap

To intercede for you

As a matter of fact

My love is proven

As I’m with you in life’s heat

Good times are for fairweatherers

But true loyalty isn’t beaten

When public opinion yells

“Crucify him! Hang him high!”

I’ll still be in your corner

Sending prayers toward skies

Of God’s mercy and

His unmerited Grace

For he alone is able

To save you, today

February 24, 2019July 9, 2023

What makes someone a hero? Are they perfect in every way, like Superman? Or, are they flawed like the rest of us? And what about the anti-hero, those who have deep flaws and yet at times display great courage and make a stand for what is right? Where do we see these people around us, and what can we learn from them? And, what about those who are famous and lots of people follow them but are not heroes at all?

He has conquered self–the strongest foe man has to meet. The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is self-control. He who can stand unmoved amid a storm of abuse is one of God’s heroes.

He who has learned to rule his spirit will rise above the slights, the rebuffs, the annoyances to which we are daily exposed, and these will cease to cast a gloom over his spirit.

It is God’s purpose that the kingly power of sanctified reason, controlled by divine grace, shall bear sway in the lives of human beings. He who rules his spirit is in possession of this power.

The man or woman who preserves the balance of the mind when tempted to indulge passion, stands higher in the sight of God and heavenly angels than the most renowned general that ever led an army to battle and to victory.

What young men and women need is Christian heroism. God’s Word declares that he that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city. To rule the spirit means to keep self under discipline”¦. They need to seek earnestly to bring into their lives the perfection that is seen in the life of the Saviour, so that when Christ shall come, they will be prepared to enter in through the gates into the city of God. God’s abounding love and presence in the heart will give the power of self-control and will mold and fashion the mind and character. The grace of Christ in the life will direct the aims and purposes and capabilities into channels that will give moral and spiritual power–power which the youth will not have to leave in this world, but which they can carry with them into the future life and retain through the eternal ages.

February 23, 2019March 19, 2019

Kisses from God: When God is in the waiting

It was my usual routine of rising around 5:30 (body-clock, not by choice). I went out to the kitchen to get a tea and there was a mess from the day before. I never do dishes and such at night because I am a morning person, so I even cook dinner in the morning some days and have it ready before 10 a.m. As I was cleaning, washing, preparing; etc. the “feel-sorry-for-myself” bug began to bite. I was moaning inwardly about how I do this stuff every day and no one even knows it. They just have a fresh breakfast, clean dishes, folded laundry and a hearty lunch and dinner. Yes, I work, part-time, but this routine has been part of my life for 34 years, daily. I have never achieved the dreams I thought I was destined for, so I was be-moaning that too.

Suddenly I heard that familiar voice inside my thoughts and He said to me,” She rises up early and cares for the needs of her family.” God was encouraging me in the midst of my self-pity. For those who may not know where this quote is from, it’s from Proverbs 31. I avoid this Proverb as much as I can because it details a woman that I think I can never be. Let’s read some of it below:

10 An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.13 She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight.14 She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.15 She rises also while it is still night and gives food to her householdAnd portions to her maidens.16 She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard.17 She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong.18 She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night.19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hands grasp the spindle.20 She extends her hand to the poor, and she stretches out her hands to the needy.21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.22 She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies belts to the tradesmen.25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.26 She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.27 She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.28 Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:29 “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.”30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.31 Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. (Prov. 31)

Pretty daunting list, huh! No wonder I have avoided it. I highlighted the one God spoke to me this morning for you. But as I read the list just now, I felt His kind prodding that there were other things on that list that I do as well, and He is pleased with me. He also pointed out one that I could work more diligently on, as well.The point is, God let me know that He is pleased with me this morning! There can be no higher praise in all the world. It was like what we do with our kids when they are hurting from a fall. We call them close and we kiss their hurt. There is no magic in that kiss, not to physically heal the wound, but just the sense of being loved and cared for is enough to send a child skipping off believing all is right now. Just because of that act of caring, that kiss on a wound. God kissed me this morning in a place I have been hurting, and there can be no greater blessing in all the world. Pour out your heart before Him this morning, Dear Believer, and may He kiss you where you hurt.

By: Carole L. Haines

February 23, 2019February 23, 2019

The Rise of False Prophets and Preachers

We are living in an age where anyone can call themselves a prophet, a teacher, a preacher or any other authority in the Christian body. All that is required is a silver tongue, charisma, and no conscience. Combine this with social media, and the media in general, and you’ve got yourself a circus.

Many desperate people are seeking a Messiah, but rather than turn to Jesus, they turn to a supposed man of GOD (or woman in some cases). They put their trust, their common sense, and their money into the hands of this man, hoping that he will bring them deliverance, health, prosperity, and love. This man will then capitalise on their need, exploit it, and use it to his advantage. This has happened in the past, and I am sure that many people are aware of the stories of charismatic leaders who declared themselves to be men of GOD, or even the Messiah himself. Their dangerous teachings brought people under bondage, going so far as to convince them to take their own lives. As outsiders, we may look at these unfortunate victims and shake our heads, wondering how they could have buried themselves so deeply in the cult that they believed the radical teachings and lies of the leader, but it’s simple really. If someone has a problem, and you claim that you and you alone have the answer to the problem, people will listen. Perhaps it may be out curiosity at first, but if you have the gift of the gab and you know how to appeal to the needy part of a person, you have them. Once you gain their trust, you can begin to take over their thoughts, beliefs, and will. Before long, you have a group of people who will do whatever you tell them to do. It is this type of person that has made Christianity a detested, hypocritical, and dangerous faith to many in the world.

In years past, these dangerous leaders would pop up here and there on the news, and then only if something horrific had taken place. These days, false prophets and preachers may not be asking you to kill yourself, but that does not mean that they are any less dangerous. In Africa alone, there have been countless stories of these leaders who abused their power by making their congregations do ridiculous and often dangerous things. A couple years ago, right here in South Africa, we had a pastor who sprayed insect repellent in the face of people to remove demons. Insect repellent? Really? I remember watching the video in disbelief, watching this supposed man of GOD spray Doom (insect repellent) into the faces of many people. This had my country in an uproar, with people making negative comments about Christians and painting us all in the same light as this pastor. It didn’t end there. We had another pastor who had his entire congregation eat grass like a cow. They were literally on their hands and knees eating this grass like animals. Funny thing was, I did not seehimdo it. Another pastor, who called himself a prophet (most of them do), had the congregation bring their underwear to church, hold it in front of their intimate parts, while he cast out devils. He actually had a bag full of underwear that he handed out to the church. This particular prophet was documented by an Englishman who had heard about the infamous church leader. The documentary actually aired some months ago on BBC.

Several religious channels in South Africa feature these false prophets and preachers. The latest one that caught my eye while channel surfing was a man who claimed to heal people by kissing them. Interestingly enough, he was picky about who he kissed. You had to be of a certain age (not too old), and you could not be an ugly duckling either. I watched this man put his lips on this woman, and hold her there for at least two minutes. Whether or not this method ‘worked’ I will never know as I changed the channel- I had had enough. These leaders have Youtube channels, reaching a wider audience than they normally would have. Some use Facebook to promote their false teachings, and even Twitter. They use these platforms to sell their ‘anointed’ products as well, whether it be a lotion, lip ointment, clothing, holy water, and other items that bring their followers under stronger bondage. You’re also always sowing into their ministry, but instead of them using that money for the poor and helpless, they use it to further themselves. As their church grows, so does their wealth and their heads. New cars, houses, girlfriends, clothing, and bodyguards are all the rage. They call it their ‘due’ as glorious and obedient servants of the Most High (what a load of blasphemous rubbish). While their church suffers, they thrive? I do not know of any teaching from Scripture that promotes this type of life.

Africa is not the only one with these type of people. America also has its fair share of false prophets and preachers who are glorified by their church members. They make a show out of their sermons, filling it with distracting effects so as to dull what little discernment the congregation has. Flying over the congregation’s head by means of a skillfully positioned rope, worship music that gets the listener into a frenzy that is far from godly, watered down Scripture that promotes tolerability of non-Christian values and lifestyle choices, drama-filled people who love to satisfy the flesh, busybodies intent on sowing disruption in the body of Christ, and people filled with the self who love to be praised and glorified for the supposed anointing on their lives. I don’t hear much about Europe or any other areas of the world, but I’m sure that there are plenty of these false leaders looking to fool an unsuspecting Christian.

Christians should not be able to be fooled, especially if they read their Bibles. However, many Christians are lazy. They are happier to let someone else teach them than actually meditate on GOD’S Word for themselves. With social media being such an essential aspect of a great percentage of peoples’ lives, it is easy to find a leader who you like, follow them, and then wait for them to post teachings, twisted Scriptures, videos, and the like. Not many Christians actually question teachings by Christian leaders anymore merely because their teachings ‘seem right’. Well, the Bible has something to say about ‘seemingly right leaders’.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15: For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Just in case some Christians are not aware of what these leaders are actually meant to do in the Body of Christ, I’ll let this Scripture speak for itself:

Ephesians 4:12-14: …for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of GOD, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,…

The Church, the Body of Christ, is more divided today than ever before because of these false leaders. Christians are arguing over problems that the Bible has already clarified, but due to their loyalty to their pastors, prophets, and the lot, they will take false teaching over truth because it suits them better. Sometimes you’ll come across a leader who knows the Scriptures so well that he can twist it to sing to his tune and then proclaim it as the truth. These leaders may not be physically leading people to their death, but they are taking them with on a one-way ticket to hell.

Brethren, we are not here just to plod along until Jesus returns! This is a fight! In 1 Corinthians 9:26, Paul the Apostle says: Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. You need to put on the armour of GOD and be ready for any evil, whether it be in the form of false preachers or prophets, persecution, attacks by the devil, or anything that opposes the Kingdom of GOD and His servants. I am not saying physically go out there and fight people, no. The Bible says that we do not wrestle with flesh (Eph 6:12), nor do we war according to the flesh (1 Cor 10:3). Spend more time with GOD in prayer, read His Word, study and meditate upon it, memorise Scripture, get into the habit of regular fasting, be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Ghost, and do not lose your faith. Know Whose you are, and Who you serve. Only then will you be equipped to suss out those who are not of The Body.

Disclaimer: I do not profess to teach or have any sort of authority over men. I share the Word of GOD and any matters about the world that directly applies to our lives and walk as Christians.

February 22, 2019October 3, 2021

Higdon Name Meaning & Higdon Family History

Pictured is the Higdon family. This photograph was taken in the year 1898 in Britain. Who were the Black Victorians? Mainstream history has virtually erased them from our minds and history books. We have been filled with images of slavery in America and across the world, but why is it that this chapter in black history was skipped? Why isn’t it equally common knowledge that in the midst of all of that darkness there was Victorian Britain have been revealed to the public for the very first time.

Delicate, rare and striking – forgotten photographs of black Britons in the late 19th and early 20th century have been unearthed from the depths of the Hulton Archive — one of the world’s oldest and largest archives holding over 80 million images.

Black Chronicles II, a photographic exhibition at Rivington Place in East London is currently showcasing over 200 images that explore black presences in Victorian Britain, the majority of which have never been revealed to the public.

Part of “The Missing Chapter” — a three-year project devoted to researching and revealing the earliest imagery of black people in Britain — curators RenÃ©e Mussai and Mark Sealy of archive and research centre Autograph ABP have re-introduced a neglected part of history to the public consciousness.

“We have been doing this work around black representation through the prism of photography for 25 years,” says Mussa.

“What we wanted to do with this research project was to expand, if you like, the narrative back to the very early days – to the invention of photography in 1839.”

Going far back in time

The history of black people in Britain is most commonly traced back to 1948, when the “Empire Windrush” ship carried 492 Jamaican passengers to British shores, following an ad in a Jamaican newspaper promising affordable carriage on board for those seeking a new life and work in the UK.

Searching for images taken prior to this moment proved to be both exciting and overwhelming.

“We didn’t know what we would find in the archive.” Mussai exclaims.

“The Hulton Archive didn’t know what they had because they didn’t look at it with this particular remit in mind, and with 80 million records, you can imagine things get lost!”

After extensive rummaging, a wealth of hitherto unknown photographs, carte-de-visites (thin paper photograph mounted on thick paper card), cabinet cards and albumen prints resurfaced.

At one point in history, people of color were included in high society and walked the cobbled streets of Britain. The women wore intricate, voluminous gowns and wore their hair in curls and chignons. The men in suits and fair business. This may not have been the case for all black people in Britain, but for some it was.

The Victorian Era was ruled under Queen Victoria, an era that is described as an opulent culture, although there were underlying bouts of poverty and child labor. History would like you to believe that black people didn’t arrive in Britain until 1948 during “The Empire Windrush”, when many Jamaican descendants entered the country, but that is not so. There has been proof to suggest otherwise. There is documentation that proves that it wasn’t uncommon to see black faces at a Shakespeare show. We’ve been there all along, humming softly in the background.These images prove that you can’t take mainstream history at face value. Take the time to look behind the curtain and uncover OUR history. It’s as if our ancestors are just waiting for us to seek them out.

February 21, 2019March 19, 2019

How to Love the Sinner & Hate the Sin

It’s a catchy phrase. Everyone uses it whenever there is a discussion about Christians interacting with people that live counter to Scripture (or their interpretation of Scripture).

“Love the sinner, hate the sin.”

But how do we do that? It’s easier said than done. It can be difficult to see the distinction between sinner and sin.

Thankfully, C.S. Lewis has some wise words to help get us see the line between.

“I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man’s actions but not hate the bad man: or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner. ”¦I used to think this a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man?

But years later it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life –namely myself.

However much I might dislike my own cowardice or conceit or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never been the slightest difficulty about it. In fact the very reason why I hated the things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself, I was sorry to find that I was the sort of man who did those things.”

– C.S. Lewis

It isn’t as hard to love the sinner and hate the sin as we often think, because we are doing it all the time. We love ourselves even though we do things that we hate and condemn in ourselves.

The problem is, we don’t know it. We don’t see it that way.

But when we do, when we turn those eyes of grace from ourselves to others, it is easier to see the sinner and not just the sin. It becomes that much easier to share the love of Christ because we know what it like to receive it.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

– 1 John 4:10

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

– John 13:34-35

This article first appeared on Christian Thought Sandbox.

February 15, 2019March 19, 2019

MILLENNIALS ARE DITCHING RELIGION FOR WITCHCRAFT. HERE’S WHY

Millennials Are Ditching Religion for Witchcraft. Hereâ€™s Why

Disclaimer: I do not profess to teach or have any sort of authority over men. I share the Word of GOD and any matters about the world that directly applies to our lives and walk as Christians.

Gone are the days when people regarded witchcraft as evil and demonic. These days, it has become a path of spirituality that many millennials are choosing to take. The witch population doubled in 2018, and I daresay that not many of us were aware of it happening.

More than half of the young adults in America believe that astrology is a science, compared to less than 8% of the Chinese public. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Astrology is an essential aspect of the average Chinese man or woman. They firmly believe that the time of a person’s birth is the main factor in determining that person’s personality, as opposed to the month you were born in for the Western astrology. Chinese astrology is the divination of the future from the Chinese calendar. Did you get that? Divination. Let’s continue. Wikipedia states that “astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a means of divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events.” Yes, I know, I used Wikipedia which is the last source of information that a person should turn to, but they are not wrong so in that I’m justified. Another website (which I very briefly looked through) describes astrology as “an ancient art” and that “understanding the patterns of the universe gives you the insight you need to navigate life.” So, my question is: how different is Chinese astrology to Western astrology? Both are claiming to tell the future based on when you were born. One may take the time of your birth and the other the month, but they clearly have the same roots. Which carries another question: why is astrology considered a science in America by more than half of the young adults and just 8% by the Chinese? Awfully strange if you ask me. It sounds like the Western world are trying to fool the public- what’s new?

Spirituality is increasing, while interest in religion is decreasing. According to a study from the Pew Research Center, it appears that the majority of the American population do not believe that it is necessary to believe in GOD to have good morals. In 2007, 81% of participants between the ages of 18 and 29 who “never doubt the existence of GOD” plummeted to 67% in 2012. It seems that many of them may have looked in the direction of psychic services such as astrology (shocker! Not.), aura reading, mediumship, tarot-card reading, and palmistry. This industry grew 2% between 2011 and 2016, although personally, I believe that it was much higher. The psychic service industry was worth a whopping $2 billion back in 2017, imagine what the IBIS World would report now in 2019?

Friends, people are turning to astrology and tarot card reading at an alarming rate. Several recent studies state that there might be more than 1.5 million witches in the U.S today, but I think that’s a lie. The number is far higher than that. I was watching a Youtube video the other day to see what this ‘sudden’ spike in witchcraft was all about. What do these witches actually do? Well, I do know already, it’s not rocket science or anything, but hearing it from the mouth of a witch was interesting (no, not really). A practising witch pulls tarot cards, they have crystals everywhere, they make shrines, they cast spells, they meditate, and apparently it all speaks to their radical feminism. A spell is supposedly a prayer to the universe, where they will have chalices full of water and candles lit up, something that represents the gods and goddesses and is just like how you pray in church (well, would you look at that!). Being a South African who is familiar with the witchcraft that happens in my own country (I literally live in an area where there are known witches and have been attacked by them), the witches that I know seem hardcore in comparison to the ones described in America. It’s funny how the media is trying to make it seem young, hip, and trendy to cover up what really goes on behind closed doors. There are the public witches (Wicca) who apparently practice ‘light’, good spells, mother earth nonsense etc., and the ones that meet in secret places, make sacrifices and call up all manner of devils, but it’s all the same really. Carrying on.

They say that the powerful are scared of this figure that has been traditionally powerless, but now that is not the case. They (the witches) draw on the sexual assault cases cropping up everywhere (that Weinstein guy, R Kelly, etc.), as well as the Me Too movement, saying that the only way to heal is by coming together in what they see is as a coven of witches. Confused? Well, I was. I didn’t think that there was much correlation between coming together for support and being a witch. But then they brought up feminism, and I thought ‘oh, I see where this is going.’ Witchcraft is making a comeback among US feminists because they believe that is it the only way to be powerful, to have power or take back power from the patriarchal society, and be in control of your own life. Being a witch in the modern world feels rebellious to these millennials, and it seems like a practical approach to spirituality (to them anyway).

One witch (I’m not putting names here) stated that she came from an Irish Catholic background and that there is a lot of Catholic folk magic and Catholic folk traditions that people are not aware of (who among you reading this still don’t know this?) which are witchcraft. Her grandmother and mother did things that they would never label as witchcraft, such as hanging a rosary on your door to keep evil away. One witches’ practice revolves around spirit contact and trance work (going into trances and communicating with spirits there). Witchcraft is also supposedly a method of decolonising oneself, your notions of morality, gender, religion and returning to a mindstate that was pre-Christian to become less prejudiced and ‘free’. Some wake up in the morning and pour a glass of water to their ancestors to honour them (hey, I know all about ancestral worship, it’s huge in Africa) and thank them for where they are right now. At the end of the day they will say thank you to the land, to the gods, spirits and animals of where they live, to the mighty dead, and the living people.

I’m going to take a breather here from all this witchy devilry and insert the Word. The following Scripture clearly tells us that everything that these people are doing are an abomination to GOD.

Deuteronomy 18:10-12: “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your GOD drives them out from before you.”

Go back a couple of years (us millennials) to when Harry Potter became the thing to read, The Hobbit took us to distant lands, and Narnia gave us a world unlike our own. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a cool chick who kicked butt, Charmed was a magical TV series that most people followed religiously, and magical movies fulfilled our every need for fantasy. I will give my last dollar (or Rand which won’t mean much anywhere else) when I say that many of us were so into this world that we imagined ourselves as having powers, destroying the bad guy with them, being unique because of our abilities, and wishing that we could be those people that we were watching or reading. It was a heady thing for us, more potent than a Man whom we spoke about in Sunday School, once a week in school, and not much else. I don’t remember being taught of how powerful Jesus was and is, how He destroyed death by his own death on the cross, how He overcame the devil and gives authority to his people to defeat evil principalities and such, or how Him arising from the dead was a mighty working of GOD’S Spirit. Why weren’t we told that He is the Superhero, the only One that we need? Why was He not hyped up as much as our books, TV series and movies were? There is power in the Name of Jesus, people, more power than any silly made-up world and hero. Maybe some of you got to be taught this Jesus, but many of us were not. He was just this good, benign Man who walked this earth and died for our sins. We were told how He loves us in spite of our sin. This all true, don’t get me wrong, but He is more than that, so much more, and many millennials do not know this or understand it. They only know of the old rubbish taught by religious people who probably aren’t even Christians themselves but agents of the devil masquerading as Christians.

This is an epidemic, plain and simple. Many millennials are being lost to witchcraft. And while I focused on America (well, because it’s America), this can be said for other places in the world. Only, it may not be witchcraft as in Wicca, but other religions, Satanism, Buddhism etc. I am a millennial myself, born in the last year of the 80s and a firm 90s kid. I remember what we used to watch growing up, and it seemed harmless. That is the deceiving part of it, how harmless it all seemed. We all wanted to be powerful, to have control of our futures, and magic seemed like the way to do it, so we may have played around with it- horoscopes, fortune tellers, ‘as light as a feather, as heavy as a rock’, Ouija board etc, but some of us didn’t get out. I once told GOD that if I ever got married and had children, that I would tell them just how powerful He is and precisely what He did. How nothing on this earth compares to Him, and how much He loves them. I want them to see His magnificence, His untouchable glory, and His gift of salvation for us all. There is a way out of this world and its troubles, and that is to give your life to Jesus. And while you still may live in the world, it does not matter because He has provided us with everything that we need to overcome the evil of this world that is not just physical, but primarily spiritual. To GOD be the glory now, and forever more.

There is so much more that could be said about the truth behind the lives of those who practice witchcraft, but I have chosen to tackle what the media is portraying to us. This goes much deeper, and if the Holy Spirit wills it, I shall write another post.

Disclaimer: I do not profess to teach or have any sort of authority over men. I share the Word of GOD and any matters about the world that directly applies to our lives and walk as Christians.

February 15, 2019March 19, 2019

Two Common Myths about Spiritual Gifts

I may not have made it through Seminary without my friend who had the spiritual gift of encouragement. Encouragement? Yes, that is a spiritual gift (Romans 12:8). Sometimes people believe the myth that spiritual gifts are only things that are dramatic and spectacular, but there is more to spiritual gifts than miracles.

Certainly things like healing can be gifts of the Spirit, but the New Testament describes many different spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6—8; 1 Corinthians 12:8—10, 27—28; 1 Peter 4:8—11; and perhaps Ephesians 4:7—11).

Ordinary Gifts

Giving is also a spiritual gift–anyone can give (and all the pastors said, “Amen”), but the Spirit enables some people to thrive when they are giving. I see the gift of serving present in people who regularly and cheerfully stay behind after a church event to stack chairs and mop the floor. I see people using the gifts of helping, mercy, administration, leadership, and hospitality at the community center my church has started.

None of these gifts sound all that supernatural. In fact, they sound quite normal. But these spiritual gifts are all supernatural in the sense that the Spirit is involved. The Bible affirms, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:11).

Hidden Gifts

Sometimes people aren’t aware of the gifts the Spirit has given them. After all, when people have the gift of administration, or any other less dramatic gift, they don’t start shaking, talking funny, and speaking like the King James Version of the Bible–“thus saith the Lord.” Instead, they just serve with excellence as enabled by the Spirit.

I hope this will be encouraging to some of you who thought you had no spiritual gift just because you don’t have a more noticeable gift, like prophecy or speaking in tongues. Perhaps you thought you didn’t measure up to those whose gifts were more dramatic.

We don’t all have the same gifts, and that is the way it is supposed to be. The Scripture says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us” (Romans 12:6).

Gifts Galore

You can find a lot of spiritual gifts in the New Testament. There could be even more. Some people from church history have claimed to have the gift of prayer, tears, and visions.^[1]

It is evident from looking at the lists in the Bible that none of the biblical authors intend to provide a list outlining what all the spiritual gifts are. For example, teaching and prophecy appear in three of the passages, whereas encouragement only shows up in Romans 12, and healing only in 1 Corinthians 12.

Instead of providing an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts, the biblical authors simply explain some of the many ways the Holy Spirit works through people. And the Spirit clearly works in both dramatic ways, and in ways that we might even say are ordinary.

Prophecy

In addition to believing the myth that spiritual gifts are only dramatic activities, many people in Pentecostal-Charismatic circles define the spiritual gift of prophecy too narrowly. When they say someone “prophesied over” them, they usually mean that someone told them something about their future. This shows that they belief the myth that prophecy is only about the future.

More than the Future

Prophecy can refer to much more than the future. In fact, when Paul mentions prophecy in his discussions of spiritual gifts in Romans and 1 Corinthians, he doesn’t mention any predictive element.

Furthermore, when we look at the content of prophecy in the Old Testament, we find that prophecies were generally more concerned with contemporary events than with the future. Their message was usually something like, “Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices” (Zechariah 1:4).

Prophecy, then, can also occur when someone speaks up when they see a problem of sin. Moreover, Paul added that prophecy takes place when “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3).

Everyday Prophecy

I once had a student sitting in my office, slouched over on a chair. He was feeling worthless and insecure about his abilities as a student, though I could see he was doing good work. I could tell by the marks on his arms that his depression had plagued him previously in life.

As I spoke with him I encouraged him and reminded him of his identity as a child of God and as someone who is made in the image of God. I did not shake or speak in a strange voice, which many people seem to think is a necessary marker of prophecy.

I never told the student I was prophesying. Yet when the student left, I was certain God had used me to prophesy to him. I had a sense of the Spirit’s presence, and I knew the words I shared were not something I had come up with on my own. And my experience fit well with Paul’s description of prophecy occurring spontaneously when “a revelation comes to someone” from God (1 Corinthians 14:30).

Prophecy is not always about the future. And like the other gifts of the Spirit, it might not always appear so dramatic and spectacular. That’s no myth!

*This is an edited excerpt from, Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit, by Dr. Andrew K. Gabriel, © 2019 by Emanate Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson.

[1] Yves Congar, I Believe in the Holy Spirit, vol. 2, He is Lord and Giver of Life, trans. David Smith (New York: Crossroad, 1983), 165, 173.

January 14, 2019February 24, 2019

Have Church While Cooking Your Sunday Roast

The digital age is great, but has it taken over? In this blog, I discuss whether it’s a positive thing for the Church and Christian organisations to go digital.

So, I attended the Premier Digital Conference on Saturday 3rd November in London. For those of you who are not familiar with this event, it’s an event to help the Christian community take advantage of all the opportunities brought about by our digital age. Their aim is to ‘inspire with what is possible, equip with new ideas and skills and connect you with people and organisations that can help you achieve your aims’.

As you can imagine, as a virtual ministry assistant, this was an amazing event for me, and it proved to be just that”¦”¦.

To me, this event really brought to question, whether Churches, and Christian businesses were now becoming in tune with the digital age.

Why do Christian organisations, more specifically, Churches, find it so difficult to move with the times and become more digital / virtual?

Is it because Christianity is all about community, communication, being present with one another?

In today’s age, we now have Church apps where you can download your Church sermon, or Church newsletter; Bible verses posted on Facebook or Instagram, view Church sermons from YouTube while on the go. We have so many online Churches. A lot of Churches aspire to get their Church online. So, do less people now physically attend Church now that there are so many online Churches? You could now literally have Church while cooking your Sunday roast! Will it eventually get to a point where there will be no physical Churches, and everyone will be at home in their families, or worse, on their own listening to their Church sermon online?

Of course, the flip side of this is that tens of thousands of people can easily hear the word of God. People who may not have usually attended Church can just tune in to hear what it’s all about. People who are house bound can experience Church in their homes.

As a virtual assistant, I’m all for the digital age. Most of my work and interactions with Churches, pastors, Church leaders are done digitally, and it works well. But it is very slow to catch on. In times of such great change, it is important to take the positives of the digital age. We can reach so many people in different cities, countries and even continents. We can work and bring together a vast amount of different ideas from different cultures and generations.

Nevertheless, we must not lose our human connections. We must not forget what Christianity is about. Loving your neighbour, helping and supporting each other and working together.

As a Christian community, we must be known to not only love Jesus Christ, but to also love one another, and to live in fellowship with one another. When the world sees this, our light will ‘shine before others, that they may see”¦ our good deeds and glorify”¦ our Father in heaven’. (Matthew 5:16)

We need to find a happy medium where we have an option to connect virtually and digitally, but also not loose touch of our human contact.

January 9, 2019January 9, 2019

Moving Into 2019: Through the Window of Their Witness

I remember around this time last year scurrying about the library in Trinity College Dublin attempting to finish an essay. Hours of reading, drafting, editing and perfecting left me worn out. What was all my energy put into? An essay on the adaptation of Marxist-Leninist thinking in the domestic policy of Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution (I know it sounds riveting!). Although history and geopolitics is not everyone’s cup of tea, it is part of the grand tapestry of history in which we are apart of. Further, it is overseen by the Creator of all things.

Thinking back on that essay has made me concerned for my brothers and sisters in the country of China. In researching the 1960s and 1970s for the essay, I discovered the horrors that Christians encountered. Further, it seems if history is repeating itself again in China. Whatever the circumstances and trials our brothers and sisters in China face, to the world they are a window through which others can witness the reality of Christ.

That Was Then

Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976 made it his aim to roll Communism into all areas of Chinese life. Michael Lynch in his book Origins and development of authoritarian and single-party states notes how Mao saw religion as utter poison, even making the comparison of Christian missionaries in China to Nazis in Europe. In his leadership, Mao wanted to dominate the political sphere and weed out Christianity along with all other religions. Fenggang Yang, a prominent scholar on religion in China, noted that Mao set out in the Cultural Revolution to eradicate religion from China through a form of militant atheism. Religion was the stumbling block to Mao achieving total dictatorial power.

During these years, outward expressions of religion were banned, religious rituals were prohibited, churches were torn down and ransacked. Followers of Christ were tortured, persecuted and killed for their faith. Mao’s indoctrinated Red Guards aimed to permanently delete Christianity from Chinese daily life. Ironically, Mao ended up creating a religion around himself — Maoism. Mao, through propaganda, presented himself to the Chinese peasantry as a god. His little Red Book replaced the Bibles that were burned. His pictures were to take the place of the symbol of the cross. All aspects of life were infiltrated by Maoism. In all his endeavours, Mao sought to transform every aspect of the individual’s life in China. Frank Dikotter, a Dutch historian, notes that Mao only really managed to exact outward compliance. Faith moved into the shadows at this time, but within those shadows it grew exponentially. The Protestant denomination from estimates grew from 0.8 million in 1956 to 3 million in 1982. Climbing to 16 million in 2009.

Although Mao sought the riddance of Christianity in China by bringing worship to himself, he was unsuccessful as the Christian witness within China persevered and experienced huge growth. This can only be seen as the gracious and merciful act of God, bringing people to a knowledge of him as the gospel went across China during those years of persecution. Consequently, we might be prone to think everything is fine and dandy in China today. Even with the Reform and Open Door Policy of premier Deng Xiaoping in the 70s and 80s persecution of Christians in China continues. Moreover, things are intensifying under the presidency of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping.

This is Now

China is the world’s second largest economy and in years to come is predicted to overtake the US. With globalisation, China’s single-party police state is attempting to find means of dealing with the outside world politically and geographically. Historically, China has not dealt well with its surrounding nations, maintaining a tendency to look inward and grapple at self-sufficiency. Maybe greater openness has helped transform China though?

Modern day China appears to have greater accountability structures than those that existed under Mao — society is a project aiming for harmonious and prosperous living under party rule. Although we have seen greater openness from China since the tyrant Mao died, officials in China continue to crackdown on whomever they will. The CCP is permitted to go beyond the law without any accountability. This has created an environment of fear, uncertainty and frustration from the political to the economic to the societal spheres. While this abuse of power is punctuated by human rights violations.

Diana Chandler addresses how 2018 has been a difficult year for Christians in China — has there been a return to Mao era persecution? Most definitely. For example, most of us have heard of the hunting down and arresting of members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Sichuan Province. The pastors and elders of this church wrote ‘we will not bend, even it means jail, even it means death. We will continue to preserve our faith’. Police raids have escalated, crosses have been removed, people have been blocked from entering churches, worship has been shut down and Christians have been harassed. Those arrested from Early Rain reported being beaten, tortured and denied food. These Christians were dragged, stepped on, bound with chains for their faith.

President Xi Jinping will deny all these corrupt human rights violations. Unlike Mao, Xi does not want to ‘eradicate religion’ rather he desires to Sinicise it. He wants to bring the Christian religion in line with the CCP’s ideology. This is not feasible though as Christianity is diametrically opposed to a worldview system that bases itself in atheistic philosophy.

Xi knows that Christianity is a threat to CCP power, as it opposes everything the tyrannical and dictatorial CCP stands for. We, as the international community, need to stand for the religious freedom that Chinese Christians should be guaranteed. Any abuse of people made in the image of God in any shape or form is unacceptable and loathsome. However, even in the midst of their persecution they are witnesses.

Those Who Witness

Secular author Ian Johnston noted how the Cultural Revolution showed how oppression encouraged real faith; the prayer for the church in China is that God would continue to grow his kingdom amidst persecution from the Chinese Communist Party and their cult like leader Xi Jinping. May the God of all comfort use the trials and difficulties of our brothers and sisters in China to bear witness to all around the world. Ultimately that they may believe in Jesus and his redemption of a sinful humanity.

The gospel of John begins by communicating how John the Baptist “came as a witness”¦ that all might believe through him” (v.7). John the Baptist was the first among a great “cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1) to testify to the truth of Jesus’s life. This cloud has swelled to millions of Christians in recent decades in China. Each witness having seen Christ through the witness of one another. Many in this cloud have lost their lives in China, but through this we hope that thousands more will join the cloud of witnesses who testify to the Son. The glorious Son who came, full of grace and truth.

December 22, 2018

The Son of God?

As Christians we always talk about Jesus being the “Son of God” but I don’t think that we do a good job of helping others understand what this means, in fact, I have known many Christians who struggle to articulate the truth that Jesus is the “Son of God”. For this reason, I want to take a moment and clarify this concept in order to add a layer of depth to our faith. I will do so very quickly so as not to complicate an already difficult topic.

The short and sweet of it is this: The phrase “Son of God” or “God’s One and Only Son” is not referring to Jesus being a child of God as a result of his sexual interaction with a spiritual female in heaven. It is important to know that our Mormon friends believe this to be case, which is different from Evangelical Christianity and its belief that Jesus Christ is completely equal with the Father and that they have always existed together as One. Jesus may have (certainly was) been born on earth from a human woman, but he was never born in heaven–He just was. The truth is that it means Jesus is the perfect mirror reflection of God the Father. When we see Jesus we see God the Father and we see the Holy Spirit. This is the relationship that is described. The verse that does the best job in clarifying the topic is this:

Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

When you read the Gospel of John it becomes very evident that the Jews, who stated that they believed in God the Father, truly did not believe in the One true God because they did not believe that Jesus was equal with Him. When they saw Jesus they did not see God; they saw only a man (The Son of Man). But those who believe in the One true God see the Father when they see Jesus.

We see the conflict in John 10:31-33, which reads:

Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. Which of these works are you stoning Me for?” “We aren’t stoning You for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because You–being a man–make Yourself God.”

What they refused to believe was that they were looking at the image of Father God when they looked upon the person of Jesus of Christ. It would have been OK for Jesus to claim to be a prophet, or even a perfect human being perhaps, but not God in Flesh. Or some religions are OK if you believe that Jesus is literally a son of God, one of many gods, but not equal with God in every way.

December 2, 2018January 15, 2024

Watch Vocal Artist Kymberli Joye Take ‘The Voice’ to Church, With “Break Every Chain”

Team Kelly's Kymberli Joye performs "Break Every Chain" during The Voice Live Top 11 Performances.

With her impressive vocal range and soulful sound, Team Kelly’s Kymberli Joye has been a standout performer on “The Voice” ever since her initial blind audition.

Now, the minister and worship leader hailing from Windsor, Connecticut has taken her passion for Jesus Christ to center stage with her live Top 11 performance of “Break Every Chain.”

With parents as pastors, the 26-year-old contestant has had Christianity ingrained in her roots, but nothing brings her faith to life quite like worship. Bringing judges to their feet and audiences members to their knees, Joye undoubtedly took “The Voice” audience to Church with her goosebump-raising rendition of this popular Christian song.

Check out her unforgettable performance of “Break Every Chain” below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfIog7RIgFE&feature=youtu.be

Team Kelly’s Kymberli Joye performs “Break Every Chain” during The Voice Live Top 11 Performances.

December 1, 2018December 2, 2018

Where did the word “Church” come from?

At the risk of sounding like one of those zealots, it is time that we begin to openly draw a distinction between our Lord’s Ecclesia and Constantine’s Church. All of us that are serious about our relationship with our Father and our walk of faith have recited, or at the very least heard it recited, the statement Jesus spoke to Simon Peter: “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. When we read the word “church” in this passage, we immediately begin to visualize a building or a group of buildings—because that is how we’ve come to understand “church” as we know it—and equate that to what Jesus said as written in the quoted passage. Or perhaps we envision a group of people that congregate in a building on Sundays or some other day during the week.

For the last 406 years, most of the Christian world has been conditioned by the teachings of the King James Version (KJV) of the Holy Bible. For the most part, this translation has served a very important role in shaping the ideals and beliefs of people and nations around the world. For the purposes of this article, I want to address a specific point of conflict with the way the KJV text translated a particular word from its original use. That point is this: “how did the word ‘ecclesia’ get replaced with the word ‘church’”? The answer to this question will no doubt offend some and open the eyes of others. Nonetheless, it is a question that anyone who is serious about their walk of faith should consider.

One of the other agendas of the KJV translators was the change of the word “ecclesia” to the word “church”.

During the creation of the KJV one of the mandates of King James I of England to his team of translators was that they were to ensure that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology (that is, simply put, the doctrinal beliefs, architecture, and adornment) and reflect the Episcopal (Bishop’s oversight) structure of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy. If this was the only instruction to the translators, it alone would have been enough to call into question the purity of their finished work, or at the very least, it would lead to the inevitable concern about a hidden agenda regarding the final work. But this was not the only coercion. One of the other agendas of the translators was the change of the word “ecclesia” to the word “church”. I’ll deal with “ecclesia” later in this article. For now, let’s focus our attention on the word substituted in the place of “ecclesia”.

“Church” was originally used by Emperor Constantine when he made Christianity the state religion of Rome around 310 A.D. Thus the word “church” became the standard of assembly for the Christian religion, and has continued to be used this way ever since. By the time of the creation of the KJV, the word church presented itself as a satisfactory pawn for King James to perpetuate the superiority of the English monarchy over the Kingdom government of the Body of Christ.

Throughout the KJV translation, the word “church” was substituted for the Latin word “ecclesia”. These two words do not mean the same thing, neither do they derive from a common word; in fact, they convey two significantly different understandings. In short, the translators of the KJV deliberately altered the meaning of critical passages of scripture to divert the reader’s and believer’s understanding as it pertains to who Jesus declared them to be, and what our position in the Kingdom of Heaven truly is.

The word “church” was substituted 112 times for the word “ecclesia”

The word “church” was substituted 112 times for the word “ecclesia”. There are three other translations of the same word into the word “assembly”. One could easily become suspicious as to why these three instances were not also translated “church”. Given that the words do not mean the same thing, why would the translators make such an obvious alteration to the “Holy Scriptures”? The exact answer cannot be definitively concluded, but it is not hard to arrive at a reasonable conjecture of a deliberate agenda to alter our understanding of our Kingdom position relative to the state’s desire to maintain control of the Christian religion.

So what does the word “church” really mean? In the earlier Greek, it was pronounced “kuriakos” or “kuriakon.” The meaning of ” kuriakos ” is understood by its root, ” kuriakos,” which means “lord.” Thus, “kuriakos” (i.e.,”church”) means “pertaining to the lord.” It refers to something that pertains to or belongs to, a lord. (Note the usage of the lowercase letter “L” here”¦this particular usage refers to someone having power, authority, or influence over someone, and generally refers to someone in the position of a master or ruler in an established monarchy.) The Greek “kuriakos” eventually came to be used in Old English form as “cirice” (kee-ree-ke), then “churche” (kerke), and eventually “church” in its traditional pronunciation. Church from its original Old English meaning referred to a public place of worship.

Paul and Silas was not building churches they were establishing the Ecclesia!

Now let’s look at the word “ecclesia”. Ecclesia [from medieval Latin and Greek, meaning “summoned” or “called out”] means “a regularly convoked assembly”, especially the general assembly of Athenians. It was the name given to the governmental assembly of the city of Athens, duly convoked by proper officers and possessing all political power including even juridical functions. Consider Acts 17:1-7, and in particular verse 7: “Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus”. We can see here that what Paul and Silas were doing was inciting insurrection among all those that would hear and believe their preaching. They were not trying to change Judaism, they were establishing the ecclesia.

The Ecclesia is NOT the “church”. This is something that believers have been told since the days of Constantine, in order to exercise control over us and to keep us from understanding the true identity of our dominion. We, the Ecclesia, are the governing body of our Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, in this season, Holy Spirit is once again raising up voices to give understanding to the Ecclesia”¦that we are not “the church” as we have been told. He is revealing to us that we must come out of this Constantinian religious system and begin to embrace our true sonship, our inheritance, and our authority as heirs of righteousness and heirs of promise.

In this season, those who are hungry for the truth of our identity will begin to hear the sound of the call to the Ecclesia. I encourage you to pursue that sound as it will lead you to its source: Holy Spirit! There you will find the truth of who you were created to be. There you will find true worship of your Father in heaven. There you will find your place in the Godhead. Don’t be afraid of what you begin to hear. Holy Spirit will not allow you to be misled or seduced. He will guide you into ALL Truth.

BLESSINGS!

November 21, 2018

Have We Got It All Wrong About Christmas?

The story of Christmas is a good passage to meditate on at any time of the year; but yes, most especially around the Christmas season. Passages like Luke 2: 1-20 gives us insights about a lot of things. It actually challenges our way of life and thinking in a number of ways.

Christianity is not about recognition or fame.

Christ did not come as a celebrity. All throughout the Gospels we see a Christ, a Messiah who did not come for fame nor recognition. He was mostly low-key. He never showcased His power. He displayed it to perform miracles that directly served a purpose and met a need. This tells us that there is more to life than worldly achievements and preoccupations. Knowing this challenges us that as Christ was more interested in making a difference in the spiritual and internal conditions of man, so should we. Earthly responsibilities and obligations must be met. But we ought to make sure that doing Kingdom work is part of our regular routines.

Christianity is always inclusive.

The primary characters in the narrative were common people. Christ’s earthly parents were a carpenter and an ordinary girl who had average standing in society. Luke 2:24 mentions what Mary offered a pair of turtledoves at the temple. According to the law, that was what poor people presented for purification offerings. Christ was first welcomed by worshippers who were shepherds by profession; a class of workers looked down by society in those days. Later on, Christ would call mere fishermen to take part in his earthly ministry.

From these we gather that God wanted to affirm his all-inclusive love and plan of salvation for all. That He made connections and paid attention to the lowest “ranks” of society tells us that God excludes no one. 2 Peter 3:9 says He is never willing that any should perish but that all should come to know Christ as Savior of mankind. This challenges us to try to reach all sorts of people for Him. As God thought of all people so should we. Even the most unlovable person is loved by Him. Even the cruelest, evilest, most incorrigible person is loved by Him. Though we are unable to extend love as supremely as God does, we can love people enough to pray for salvation and enlightenment to dawn on their lives. In fact, the best way to get rid of your enemies is to pray for them to get saved and be changed by the saving and transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

Christianity is always about giving.

God gave, God gives, and He will keep giving. His giving never stops. Our receiving will never end. All mankind are recipients of God’s benefits each and every day, whether people acknowledge and thank Him or not. It is God who gives us the ability and strength to perform tasks and accomplish things. (Deut. 8:18). It is God who blesses us with daily needs and sustenance. Our very need for the sun is supplied by Him. (Matthew 5:45). It is God who adds days to our lives. (Job 12:10). Knowing all these challenges us to try to be more giving in life and to afford grace to others even when they may not deserve it. When we nurture a giving heart, we become more understanding and more forgiving towards people. We become blessers instead of hoarders. We become content with what we have and become more purposeful with our spending. We become less selfish and less self-absorbed. We become more appreciative of life and people.

November 18, 2018November 18, 2018

We Gave Up Everything and Somehow Gained Everything in Return

Time is ticking away and the world is slowly but surely going up in flames. Christians are being persecuted, Christianity is being banned, natural disasters are happening more often, Christians are turning away from their faith and we have become blind and numb to GOD’S Word. It seems as though everything is going pear-shaped for us, but that is only if we believe that GOD is not in control.

I believe that we tend to forget that GOD is in control. We look at the chaos happening around us, and we wonder: where is GOD in all of this? He’s right where He has always been, making things happen at the preordained time. The devil hasn’t suddenly become more powerful, no, GOD is still keeping a lid on what he can and cannot do. If you are Christian, then you know that the devil has no power over you. However, if you commit a sin then you can expect Satan to know all about it. In any well-run and tightly controlled organization, there is the boss at the top, the leaders that work under him, and the people that monitor what happens in the organization to report back to the leaders. It’s the same for Satan and his kingdom. He has monitoring spirits that roam the earth to keep an eye on people and report back to their leaders (the demons higher up in the kingdom). We need to understand that while the monitoring spirits do not attack us, they are watching us, waiting for any open doorways to afflict us. Therefore, when we sin we open a spiritual doorway for the devil to do something to us, and it would be completely ‘legal’. But, with Jesus by your side and the power of the Holy Spirit, you can send those demons packing and have the affliction removed from you. Do not expect it to be easy to detect the work of the devil- he is a crafty being who knows what makes us tick and what makes us fall apart. We are pretty stupid creatures, we may think that we are smart and all that, but when you’re up against a being that had been around since whenever, then you’re in for a rude awakening. That’s why GOD tells us to trust Him in all things- He created Satan, therefore He can put him in his place.

It’s not easy giving up control over our lives. We are always planning for the future, trying to maintain financial security and care for ourselves and our family. But we get it so wrong. GOD had this plan for our lives, a plan that fits you into the grand scheme of things. Think of a massive quilt with hundreds of thousands of interconnecting images that make up one beautiful story. If one of those images were to be removed, then there would be a gap in the story, a missing piece that distorts things but doesn’t necessarily stop the story from continuing. You are an image in that quilt; your life connects to the lives of other people, influencing them and making a lasting impression- whether you realize it or not. But if you choose to remove yourself from that quilt, then there will be a gap, but that doesn’t mean that GOD’S plan for His people changes. It’s just that you didn’t fulfill the plan for your life because you chose to go at it alone. There is a bigger picture that our minds cannot comprehend, but each one of us makes up that one picture and we are all equally important. We are the body of Christ and GOD has plans for all of us, some plans take longer than others to come to fruition, but it’s all part of His plan.

There is nothing sadder than to watch Christians try to live a life for themselves and watch them fall apart. On one side, Jesus is waiting with open arms to welcome them home and on the other are demonic vultures just waiting to tear them apart. But they never look like demonic vultures, they look like everything that you could ever want. A Christian life is as simple or as complicated as you make it, it’s all a matter of trust and obedience. Commit your life to GOD if you haven’t already; it will be the best decision of your life, but don’t expect it to be a walk in the park.

November 17, 2018

Lay Aside the Weight of Discontentment

The discontent Christian, he shouldn’t exist. So many places in Scriptures assure us that a life in Christ is not only marked by content and satisfaction, it is characterized by abundant joy, peace, and fullness of life. Christ says, “I am come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) He also says, “I am the Bread of Life, he who comes to me shall never hunger. He who believes in me will never thirst.” (John 6:35). Jesus also says, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’’ (John 7:37-39). The living water referred to is the Holy Spirit, who would be given to every person that comes to believe and accept the Lord Jesus the Messiah as one’s Savior.

But the discontent Christian does exist. The cycle of the Christian life undergoes periods of highs and lows. At times, the middle or level ground is one of spiritual consistency. At other times, it is one of stagnancy or lukewarmness in the faith. In all states, discontent may creep in and the wise Christian should know by now to deal with this heart problem early on. Else, one is in danger of losing his passion and love for God.

Following are 2 ways we can deal with discontent:

Deal with Discontent by Repurposing Your Heart

Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your affection on things above not on things on earth.” Life on earth, the blessings and challenges that come with it; these are all meant to be enjoyed and faced with positivity. We know that God sees our past, present, and future. He knows what’s coming and He’s with us all the way. Keep your eyes upward. Stay committed to Him. Desire His thoughts and fellowship first of all. He is ever with us and He will never leave us. Stay mindful that all we see, feel, and do in this world are temporary. But the fruits of doing what pleases the heart of God lasts forever.

Deal with Discontent by Reprioritizing Your Life

Matthew 6:33 tells us to “seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” God’s Word Translation renders the verse this way: “But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you.” We need to seek His heart and what pleases Him. In finding and pursuing that, we find ourselves treading the right path, making wise pursuits, finding fulfillment in the right places. God stands by us, ready to support us in the right things we do in accordance with His will. He will not fail us. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Deal with Discontent by Enjoying God

Scriptures say that God has placed eternity in the heart of every man. God is our Maker. He is “I AM.” You can’t be away from Him and expect to feel whole. In Him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28). He understands us completely and knows how to guide us as we navigate the uncertainties and rough patches of our life. The Christian life is a life of freedom. It unleashes us to do better and be the best we can be. In the Christian life, rewards are high yielding and of great and lasting worth. God in our lives is always more than enough. With Him, we will have all we need to live an overcoming life on this earth.

Tag: Christianity