Tag: holy

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Should I Do Yoga if I am a Christian?

Recently I’ve been on a spiritual journey that includes deep prayer, meditation, and mindfulness to help me to connect with God. At the same time, I’ve also been on the hunt for some low-impact stretching that could potentially help with chronic pain in a natural way.

Meditation and stretching. Put those two together and what do you get?

Yoga.

So, I’ve said I need to stretch. And I find that meditation brings me closer to God. These all naturally come together in the form of yoga. But, as a Christian, should I do yoga? Am I allowed? Will Jesus love me less?

Well, first, let’s see”¦what does the Bible say about the word “yoga”? Nothing. Zero. There’s no record of that word being used.

So now what do I do? Since the Bible doesn’t talk about yoga specifically, I have to use the brains God gave me to dig a bit deeper. Then I can determine how best to deal with this current cultural trend.

Let’s start with a few of the basics:

Yoga began as a spiritual disciple in Hindu which includes breath control, meditation, and static postures of the body. Some people who practice yoga are active Hindus or Buddhists. Many are not.
In the western world, yoga is a broad term that is often descriptive of people engaging in the physical body postures that encourage strength and stamina. Sometimes this is combined with meditation for mental strength, but not exclusively. Some yoga classes used sacred words such as “Om”, “Namaste”, and certain chants that hint to Buddhism and Hinduism. Other classes make no reference to the spiritual world at all and are simply a form of physical exercise. Yoga potures have Sanskrit names that have spiritual meanings. Many times these are replaced with English names that simply describe the form the body is taking. (For instance, “lotus” has become “criss-cross applesauce”.)

The word “yoga” in Sanskrit means “yoke” or “union with God”. God tells me to not worship another god, and I must obey.

So I know that yoga started as an ancient spiritual practice of another religion which should lead me to move forward with caution. But I also know that Jesus came to redeem all things.

Is it possible to engage in a moderated form of yoga that feeds our Christian souls, or should we avoid it altogether? Can we be aware of the potential pitfalls and dangers of the spiritual side of yoga and then practice it in a meaningful way with a Christian bent and attitude?

The famous American minister John Piper seems to think that we can’t. He says we should avoid yoga completely, citing it as antithetical to Christianity.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Piper has some good things to offer. But in this situation I tend to think that maybe he’s throwing the proverbial “baby out with the bathwater”.

Christians have often taken “secular” symbols or practices and re-stored them into something that is healthy and even God-glorifying. Take Christmas, for example. December 25, the day on which we now celebrate Jesus’ birth, was reclaimed from the pagans. That date was redeemed from a pagan holiday to a Christian celebration.

Jesus has come to redeem all things. Even pagan holidays. Possibly even stretching and meditation and breathing?

Over the ages, Christians have used wisdom and the discernment to choose what is right for them as individuals and as a Body of believers. To apply Jesus’ redemption to various non-Christian things.

“Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.” 1 Corinthians 10:23

So I need to decide if yoga could be beneficial (or detrimental) to me. In my case, I truly believe God has given me the wisdom and discernment to be able to stretch and strengthen my body without accidentally worshipping a false god. I even believe that I can meditate and breathe while I simultaneously reflect and contemplate how incredible God is. All without slipping into the devil’s snare.

But I am aware that this may not be the case for all people.

Personally, think that I can apply the idea of a “yoke” or “union with God” in yoga to my relationship with Christ. But that doesn’t mean I’ll just sign up for any yoga class that is offered. I need to be wise and first ask questions about how spiritual a class is before taking it. For my own purposes, I tend to learn at home with videos, so there’s not much of a risk of me getting caught in an awkward situation. If something gets a little weird, I can just turn it off.

Holy Yoga is a practice that is gaining traction, offering the grounding of the Gospel while reframing the positive aspects of yoga in a Christian way.

“Holy Yoga embraces the essential elements of yoga: breath work, meditation and physical postures. In all of these elements, Christ is the focus of our intention and worship.”

So as I‘m making a decision about yoga (or anything in my life!), I need to ask if it creates a risk of becoming a detriment to my walk with Jesus. If so, then I absolutely shouldn’t do it! But if yoga can be practiced in a way that is healthy to my body and mind, while drawing me closer to Christ with mindfulness and meditation, then is it possible that even John Piper can’t argue with that?

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What Does ‘Put God’s Word First’ Really Mean?

Prioritizing God’s Word

Preoccupations are constant. Whether we keep schedules or not, time will always be spent. At the end of the day, it would have either been time well spent or time utterly wasted. It’s extremely helpful to keep a planner but for those who like it lose or not too rigid, keeping small paper (or digital) notes of the daily “Must-Dos” will suffice. If you’re gifted, you may only need mental notes and do just fine.

The priorities of life will take the top spots and most often, they will be done most frequently. For the Christian, the list of priorities may be long and may vary from person to person. But in everyone’s top list must be God’s Word. In talking about his regrets in life, the late Rev. Billy Graham mentioned regretting that he did not study more and preach less.

God’s Word deepens our understanding and wisdom.

God’s word promises to give understanding to the simple. (Psalm 119:30) The Bible offers a wealth of information and advice on approaching the issues and happenings of life. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that since “all Scripture is inspired by God, it is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” As we go deep in God’s Word, we get a depth of character. Our viewpoint and understanding expand. We begin to see ourselves, others, and circumstances on a more enlightened and enlarged viewpoint. We move from narrow-mindedness to open-mindedness. We rely less on our own opinions and we begin to value the opinions of others and more importantly, of God’s Word.

God’s Word deepens our faith.

From 2 Timothy 3:15 we learn that knowledge of the Bible makes us understand everything about the salvation we enjoy through faith in Christ Jesus. The need for personal study is crucial. Preachers come and go and media would from time to time report on deceptions made by beguiling preachers to audiences who are uninformed. On another note, it’s indeed a blessing that God has given us messengers of impeccable skill and integrity. However, personal diligence in studying God’s truths is essential to maturity. Let us imitate the Berean believers who received God’s message with great eagerness yet examined the Scriptures every day to see for themselves if what the Apostle Paul preached was true. (Acts 17:11)

God’s Word causes persistence.

Romans 15 shares that “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” From God’s Word, we learn important principles we need to do life rightly and effectively. In times of hardships and failure, God’s Word comes to encourage us to persist and forbear the negatives of life because we know that our hope of overcoming and betterment will come at the end of whatever long and dreadful tunnel we go through.

God’s Word causes us to prosper and succeed.

Joshua was called to fulfill a seemingly heavy task. At the beginning of the Book of Joshua, we see God giving him an essential prerequisite to prosperity and success. God says in Joshua 1:8, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” Many personalities claim this verse for financial prosperity and business success. Indeed, financial and business success may well come upon a Christian who is devoted to the study of and obedience to God’s Word. But the verse means more. The verse teaches us that God’s Word is our book of instruction. As we ponder on the truths it contains and as we live out the principles we’ve learnt, we will experience prosperity and success. Prosperity denotes the meaning of “to flourish” and “to grow strong and healthy.” Success denotes the meaning of “to accomplish an aim or purpose.” The gain and accomplishment may be financial or not. In any case, we do know that God will prosper the works of our hands.

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Who’s Pimping Who…?

Who’s Pimping Who…?

A man and a woman coo over each other. A bystander turns to another and says, “What does she see in him?” Or, conversely, “What does he see in her?”

She’s tall, he’s short, shes from the city, his from the country, she  talks a lot, he’s quiet, he likes Australia, but she likes New York, he’s a Hill-song gospel music fan, she’s a Marilyn Manson fan. She also loves the bright lights and big options, shes unholy, she’s not righteous, she’s impure, she’s been around the block. People know her by what she does, not by her name. There the ‘odd couple’.

Now it’s been said that “Men marry women  with the  hope they will never change. but that “Women marry men  with the  hope they will  change.”

But not in this case. God has told this holy man to marry an unholy woman, a woman which will not be faithful, a woman by her wicked nature is sure to commit adultery, a woman that will cause endless frustration and monumental grief.   Hosea is a prophet, his wife is a prostitute. He’s a man of God, she’s a woman of the night, he is faithful, she is unfaithful, he peaches the power of the living God, she provides ungodly considerations for cash. The story of Hosea puzzles even the devout and zealous Christian. There an ‘odd couple’.

Why did God ask his own prophet to marry a prostitute?

An immense allegory can be interpreted from the depths of Hosea’s life.  The prophet Hosea was commanded to marry an unfaithful wife, and this set up a model of our broken relationship with God.

Hosea’s wife: an allegory of God’s undying  love

The LORD is the husband of Israel, and Israel’s passionate, chronic attraction for idols was like the lust of an adulterer. His people were as unfaithful as a prostitute.  For the land had committed great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.

Could you imagine Hosea’s, groomsman – you’re respected, a wise man, but your decision making is in question? Your wife is a disgrace. Why on earth are you married to a woman like that?

The reply, why on earth is such an awesome, good and powerful God married to a people like you?

Young people and self-esteem

Self-respect is perhaps the most essential quality for young women, especially in our generation.

We live in an era where girls as young as middle school are posting provocative things online. It’s a cry for attention being sought from boys or anyone else who will listen.  The story is told of a young girl who had a male friend who came to her with an article  in the classified section of a newspaper. The proposal was, if you have sexual relations with a stranger for 1 million dollars there are three things you are guaranteed:

  1. Nobody will ever know
  2. No disease
  3. No baby

1 million dollars, no questions asked, out the door, he asked her, would you do it? She thought about it, like some people reading this article.

The girl the said, are you kidding me, nobody will ever know, no disease, no baby, sure i’ll do it. Well then he said, would you do the same for $10?

She replied, “What, do you think I’m a prostitute?” To which he replies,  “We’ve already established that — I’m just haggling over the price.”

However, young ladies, you don’t have to lower your standards or provide ungodly considerations for cash. Tell that young man, I’m not for sale and because you’re not for sale, take off all those for sale and on sale signs.  Hug appropriately, speak appropriately.  Text appropriately, stop posting  barely-clothed photos, sexual innuendos, and explicit language. Be honest in your motivations for being  in a relationship.

Young ladies, if he can’t take care of himself now,  how is he going to take care of you later.

So the question today is who’s Pimping you?

Sorry boo-boo”¦ hate to burst your bubble, but you have been bamboozled, conned, led astray , run amok, dupe, tricked, fooled, swindle, hoodwink; you have been deceived”¦

You see, Satan has been pimping from the third chapter of the Bible onward and is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The pimp of all pimps and you want to hang out with him!

But he has no power in the life of a believer unless we give it to him. That’s right! Regardless of how you’ve been thrown out to the trash,  we want you to know that Jesus loves you.  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free, and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Gal. 5:1) Refuse to make deals with Satan, no matter how attractive the trinkets. Refuse to be a commodity that is for sale to the highest bidder.

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Why Is the Bible So Important?

Why Is the Bible So Important?

The Bible is the single most important book ever written and is essential for knowing God and His will for our lives.

It is impossible for any human mind to exhaust one truth or promise of the Bible. One catches the glory from one point of view, another from another point; yet we can discern only gleamings.

#1: THE BIBLE HAS TRANSFORMED THE WORLD

It is not too much to say that the events recorded in this book are claimed by a significant percentage of people who have ever lived on this earth to be the most important events ever recorded in the history of the world.

The full radiance is beyond our vision. As we contemplate the great things of God’s Word, we look into a fountain that broadens and deepens beneath our gaze. Its breadth and depth pass our knowledge. As we gaze, the vision widens; stretched out before us, we behold a boundless, shoreless sea. Such study has vivifying power. The mind and heart acquire new strength and new life.  

Most of the Bible was written in what is modern-day Israel (Asia). But some passages of Jeremiah were written in Egypt (Africa) and several New Testament epistles were written from cities in Europe.

#2:  PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO DIE FOR THIS BOOK

This experience is the highest evidence of the divine authorship of the Bible. We receive God’s Word as food for the soul through the same evidence by which we receive bread as food for the body. Bread supplies the need of our nature; we know by experience that it produces blood, bone, and brain.

Apply the same test to the Bible; when its principles have actually become the elements of character, what has been the result? What changes have been made in the life?

“Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

 #3: IT CONTAINS A LIFE-CHANGING MESSAGE OF FREEDOM

In its power men and women have broken the chains of sinful habit. They have renounced selfishness. The profane have become reverent, the drunken sober, the profligate pure. Souls that have borne the likeness of Satan have been transformed into the image of God.

4: IT CONNECTS YOU TO HISTORY’S MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE

The change is itself the miracle of miracles. A change wrought by the Word, it is one of the deepest mysteries of the Word. We cannot understand it; we can only believe, that, as declared by the Scriptures, it is

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

A knowledge of this mystery furnishes a key to every other. It opens to the soul the treasures of the universe, the possibilities of infinite development.  

Keep turning the pages of this remarkable book.  Read it with an open mind and open heart. It contains pure truth about God, about life, the nature of mankind and our own hearts as human beings.

Then Christian Bible is described: made up of 66 books, two ‘Testaments’ (39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament). It’s been translated into over 500 languages and over 5 billion copies have been sold; the best selling non-fiction book ever. For Christians, it is God’s word, full of guidance and wisdom, containing everything you need to know about salvation, about being right with God. The Bible is a complicated book; its many stories need applying to the modern world.

 

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Poem: The Unravelling of a Christian Marriage

Marry the wrong person, everyday is Martyrs Day.
Marry a lazy person, everyday is Labour Day.
Marry a rich person everyday is New Year’s Day.
Marry an immature person, everyday would seem like Children’s Day.
Marry a cheater or liar, everyday will become April Fool’s Day.
And if you don’t get married, everyday is Independence Day!

Marriage is the only school where you get a certificate before you start.
It’s also a school where you will never graduate.
It’s a school without a break or a free period.
It’s a school where no one is allowed to drop out.
It’s a school you will have to attend everyday of your life.
It’s a school where there is no sick leave or holidays.
It’s a school founded by God on the foundation of love.
The walls are made out of trust.
The door made out of acceptance.
The windows made out of understanding
The furniture made out of blessings
The roof made out of faith.

Be reminded that God is the only Principal and you are a student,
Even in times of storms, don’t be unwise and run outside.
Keep in mind that, this school is the safest place to be.
Never go to sleep before completing your assignments for the day.
Never forget  to communicate with your classmate and with the Principal.
If you find out something about your classmate (spouse) that you do not appreciate.
Remember your classmate is also just a student, not a graduate.
God is not finished with him/her yet.
So take it as a challenge and work on it together.
Do not forget to study the Holy Book (the main textbook of this school).
Start each day with a sacred assembly and end it the same way.

Sometimes you will feel like not attending classes, yet you have to.
When tempted to quit find courage and continue.
Some tests and exams may be tough but remember,
the Principal knows how much you can bear and yet it’s a school better than any other.

It’s one of the best schools on earth;
joy, peace and happiness accompany each lesson of the day.

Different subjects are offered in this school, yet love is the major subject.
After all the years of theorising about it, now you have a chance to practice it.

To be loved is a good thing, but to love is the greatest privilege of them all.
Marriage is a place of love, so love your spouse.

Whether you’re married, engaged, or still single, we hope that you have found wisdom and encouragement in this poem about marriage.  

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How to Raise a God Fearing Child?

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

It’s every parent desires to raise up their kids in a Godly way and for them to follow and love Christ passionately. It becomes a tragedy when you as a parent does not have any idea on how to. What a hard nut to crack if the children decide to be rebellious and as a parent or guardian you are not rooted in the word of God?

This pushes me to ask this annoying question, “Are you living a life your child would love to emulate?” Live as an example and whatever principles you set he will follow them wholeheartedly.

Proverbs 22:6 says “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Children are a blessing from God and it’s a joy when they are following the footsteps of our Lord Christ Jesus and doing things according to his will. As we were all born sinners, children aren’t an exception and unless you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in parenting, I tell you this is not for the faint-hearted but I’ll take you through ways on how to help you raise Godly children and for them to learn His attributes.

Pray for wisdom

James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Praying, reading the word and exercising wisdom as you wait on God unlock many puzzles which the enemy can use to draw your children far away from his love. It doesn’t act like magic but takes the grace of God which will always sustain you. Implementing on what you learn from God’s word is highly recommended.

Protect your children

In this generation we are living in, children are surrounded by perverts, ungodly media and all negative influencers. As a parent, you need to take full responsibility to ensure that your children are protected from all vices. It’s your mandate for the Lord has entrusted them to you.

Control your children

Parents allow too much freedom to their children and it turns out to be very difficult to withdraw that freedom while they are older. You have the right to supervise what they’re watching, sites they log into to protect them from cyberbullying and to avoid technology controlling them. Monitoring whom they spend their time with is advisable. Teach them to walk in the “fear” of God and make them understand that there are boundaries. Be firm but with a lot of love.

Trying to turn children away from their wayward behavior comes with a lot of emotional burdens that takes massive effort to heal.

Have commitment and determination

Amos 3:3 says, “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?”

It’s obliviously a no! As parents, you need to agree and purpose on how to raise your children in a Godly way and with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit you’ll definitely emerge victoriously. Determination comes from within and the higher the commitment; awesomeness will be experienced by all.

Bless your children

Speak positively concerning your children. Bless them and speak to their future. The tongue has the power to curse and bless and you may not wish your child to live in resentment for the rest of his life because of the choice of your words.

Proverbs 12:18 says, “The words of the reckless pierce like swords but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Sieve every word that comes out from your mouth. Children can be rebellious at times and no matter how irresponsible they are, thank God for blessing you with that child. Talk to them about how their behaviors are weighing you down and at the same time appreciate them for their best part. Dwelling on the negativity will tear both parties down. Be wise.

Proverbs 23:13-14 says, “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from the death.

Children are bound to be rebellious and little spanking is allowed as long as it won’t cause bodily harm. Do it with a lot of love though. Involve your children in daily prayers and set family devotional times.

 

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