YOGA, THE GREAT DECEPTION.

This post is going to be a little different. It will contain a lot of information that I have put together while looking into the history of yoga and the modern-day practice of yoga. Now, I don’t make it a habit to dive into stuff like this, especially in the way that I have constructed my findings, but this subject hit close to home awhile back prompting me to look further into it, to be able to plead my case on the reasons why Christians should steer clear of yoga altogether! This post is not to judge a brother or sister who takes part in yoga. I understand the health benefits that can be present in this practice. Fitness is a good thing! I just believe that there are plenty of other practices that can be pursued for fitness instead of yoga. Stretching is good. Taking time to breathe is important, nothing wrong with taking deep breaths in and out. Meditation is necessary when we do it in the correct way; meditating on God’s word, so you will find no argument from me there. I already know that this is gonna be a long post, just because of the information I will share. But just know that this is just me scratching on the surface of what I found. The information I post here can be easily accessed if you just look for yourselves, and I have used a few unbiased sources so that I was fair. Trust me when I say I saw enough to be convicted that this was not pleasing to God.

Although these things might be carried out innocently in the guise of health and fitness, the enemy is a deceiver, and what starts off as something “innocent” after some time can open doors to other things. We already know God is very clear in the bible about idolatry and the worship of other gods. We might not be going out of our way to do this with yoga, but being that it is what it’s associated with historically and presently, depending on how advanced and serious a practitioner you are, it is still all connected and we can not seperate it and reclaim parts by adding “Christian” at the front of it. The philosophy is bad enough alone. What is made for the dark, must stay in the dark!

“Yoga” has roots from the Sanskrit word “Yuj,” which means to join or unite. It works on leading the union of your consciousness to the universal consciousness. If you experience this unity and bond between nature and self, you attain “Moksha”(ultimate liberation). The aim is to achieve self-actualisation and peace. This is when you achieve “Kaivalya” (freedom). Yoga is believed to originate in Northern India 5000yrs ago. The story is that Lord Shiva (a Hindu god, also known as the destroyer) was the first yogi. He imparted and taught yoga to his seven disciples and sent them out to different parts of the world to spread the knowledge of yoga. These teachings reached as far as Asia, Middle East, Northern Africa, and South America.

Yoga was first mentioned in the Sanskrit texts of Rig Veda dated back as far as 1500 BC. The vedic religion (Hindu) had vedic priests who took part in sacrificial rituals named “Yajnas”, these rituals required an invocation, and they used mantras and music to complete these rituals which they carried out in their everyday lives. They used poses as part of their rituals to their many gods, which have now evolved into modern-day yoga poses. As time passed, yoga found its way into Buddhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, an emphasis was made for meditation and yogic poses that helped attain enlightenment. In Jainism, the importance of meditation was stressed to attain salvation and “Moksha.” Lord Krishna said of yoga “That it strives for oneness between man and nature. It takes us back to our joyous state.” In ancient times, the purpose of yoga was to connect oneself with the world around them. It focused on breathing and freeing of the body, spirit, and mind. The four different paths of yoga were, Karma Yoga (yoga of action), Jnana Yoga (path of knowledge), Raja Yoga (path of meditation), Bhakti Yoga (path of loving devotion to a personal god). There are different yoga techniques that are still used, Dranayama (breathing exercises), Pratyahara (withdrawing senses), Breathing Modulation, Sound and Meditation in complete Peace.

Today in Western culture, the benefits of yoga are limited to fitness, flexibility, and ridding oneself of physical disabilities. It aids in strengthening physical and mental health, to achieve eternal peace and harmony between body, mind, and soul. The aim of yoga is to achieve self-actualisation and self-realisation. Asana Yoga (which means postures) is the one made popular today, as fitness and flexibility are at the core, but new classes and courses are starting up with the intent of spreading the full yogic culture, bringing back the forgotten yoga paths. After receiving a “Yoga day” by the United Nations, the plan is for yoga to be spread throughout the west to “enlighten” millions. Today, most people innocently partake in yoga, but there is a lot more to it than people realise. There are different types of yoga, and there are different levels of yoga. Most people who are beginners are probably taking part in Hatha Yoga, the popular exercise practised in the West, usually without the spiritual pairing. Although it is hard to separate Hatha Yoga from the spiritual because of the poses used.

The more advanced type of yoga is Kundalini, also known as “Shakti,” a new form of yoga that developed in the early 2000s. The philosophy is that the body is the vessel for the flow of energy. Shakti is the goddess of energy, creativity, and change. Known as the source of all life and an embodiment of the feminine principle. Shakti or Kundalini energy is said to be a creative force that lies within and gives you the power to manifest your dreams and desires when you awaken and harness the energy. The opening of your Kundalini energy can cause physical and emotional symptoms, which you are then advised to seek a qualified yoga teacher or yoga therapist.

Another advanced type of yoga aimed at the more experienced is called Shiva Yoga. Shiva is something you work your way up to, as it requires a lot of discipline and dedication. It’s cited as a powerful form of yoga that connects you to your inner power first and foremost but can also help to release negative energy and emotions. It combines physical postures of yoga with breathing techniques and meditation of Pranayama. Shiva is known as the god of destruction and regeneration, the destroyer of evil and transformer of the universe. Before you begin Shiva Yoga, the instructions are as follows: First, create a calm and peaceful environment, and turn the lights off. Then burn incense and play soft music. Sit in a comfy position, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths to prepare for the practice of shiva yoga. Chant “Om Namah Shiva” (which translates to “I bow to shiva”) to help you connect with the power and energy of shiva. Then begin physical practice using a basic sequence of yoga postures.

The poses used today are still relevant to worship and receiving spiritual enlightenment. These postures are meant to make you feel more connected to shiva. Remember these are the same postures used as part of rituals 5000 years ago that have evolved into modern-day yoga. Here are a few with there original names: Easy Pose (Sukasana), Mountain Pose (Tadasana), Warrior Pose (Virabhadrasana), Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana), Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana), Child’s Pose (Balasana), Downward Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana), Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana), Tree Pose (Vriksasana). There are many different gods that can be called upon for guidance and support by practitioners, each represents a different journey in yoga. Most common gods include Shiva (god of transformation), Vishnu (god of preservation), and Durga (goddess of strength and protection). You are meant to choose who you feel called to work with or are drawn to, as it helps you to connect more deeply with the practice. Lord Shiva is still considered the originator of the yoga lifestyle, the patron god of yoga.

There are a lot of different parts of yoga not mentioned, but I wanted to keep this brief. I think it’s important to stress that I do not believe that stretching is demonic, but what became very clear to me was that yoga was! Before I started looking into it, I had only heard the testimonies of people who had once been yoga practitioners and had now found Jesus! What they were exposing was shocking. I had also heard a few Christians speak of being into yoga and practising it with a “Holy” mindset, only to later become convicted that it was not good. I had never really investigated it myself until I needed to. Although some may argue that they are not summoning spirits or doing anything other than the fitness aspect of yoga, the fact that yoga to this day is still very connected to the demonic, is enough to say maybe we should consider finding another form of excercise as Christians. The fact that the postures are still very much the same and taught in the same way as in days of old is enough to err on the side of caution! Performing this sequence of postures is unsettling to me. We must be careful of what we dabble in or what we invite in! I don’t think this is a case of what one feels convicted about compared to another. I believe that God is very clear when it comes to things like this. We can not redeem everything in this world. DEUTERONOMY 12:4 “DO NOT WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD IN THE WAY THESE PAGAN PEOPLES WORSHIP THEIR GODS.”

We can not take the things made for the dark and make it something of light. We can not pick and choose and remix it to make it about the Lord. Instead, let’s leave the dark to the dark and set up our own things. Satan is always trying to deceive us by coming dressed as light! It’s time we wake up to his schemes and plans. Do not be easily swept away by his lies. I pray for my brothers and sisters who practice yoga, I pray that they will have wisdom and discernment, and that God would convict them and remove the scales of deception from their eyes. I hope this post was helpful. Like I said before, I used unbiased sites to get my info so that I would be fair in my assessment of yoga. But don’t just take my word for it, go look for yourself! I hope this blesses you.

TIME TO EXAMINE YOUR HEART.

Hello June, Yes, I know I missed May. I am coming to you from a brand new computer because the devil is a lie. In my delay to post last month, I have had a complete change of plan. I watched the most powerful testimony recently, which left such an impact on me that I am now writing this instead of what I originally had planned. God does that sometimes. So expect a bonus post this month. I watched a testimony from a man from Uganda called John Mulinde, titled “A Call to Repentance,” on Youtube; I highly recommend you watch it! After watching it, I was in tears, crying out to the Lord in repentance for forgiveness. It was the first time I felt the fear of God. It sounds strange to say that, but in my short walk with Christ I have felt many things; love, joy, peace, a wholeness, comfort; just to name a few, but not fear. I’ve spent all this time telling myself not to fear and how fear is not the Spirit of God, we all know how that verse goes from 2 Timothy 1:7. But never have I had the fear of the Lord until I watched that video! I’m not gonna try and tell you this mans story, as I would never do it any justice, instead I will share what I was convicted about in hopes that you too will stop and take stock of yourself and examine your heart like I had to.

PROVERBS 9:10 “FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE FOUNDATION OF WISDOM. KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY ONE RESULTS IN GOOD JUDGEMENT.” Fear is good when it is a fear of God. It’s like the fear we used to have of our parents when we were children, that fear of getting into trouble if you were caught doing something you were told not to do. That is a healthy fear; the fear of authority, and of righteous judgment. The fear of the Lord because He is Holy. It is the beginning of wisdom, but only the beginning.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

When I read about God in the Old Testament, He is terrifying! Yes, He loves us, and He is faithful and all the other wonderful attributes we know our Father has, but He is Holy! Holy! Holy! That Holiness that sets Him apart from any other god out there is why He is terrifying. It’s His Holiness why there is judgement coming for all of us, and knowledge of His Holiness results in good judgement! When I first encountered Jesus, He showed me my heart and showed me His Holiness, which is why I knew I was a sinner and needed to repent of all the things I did which were evil in the eyes of God. It’s His Holiness that causes us to repent and know how unworthy we are! In the book of Luke chapter 5, when Jesus is preaching on the shore of Galilee, He meets Simon Peter and tells him to cast nets to catch fish. Simon Peter had been working hard the night before to catch fish but was unsuccessful, so although he wasn’t too hopeful, he was obedient and cast the nets as Jesus requested. This time, the nets were so full of fish that they began to tear. The amount of fish caught filled two boats on the verge of sinking! Look at Simon Peters response to Jesus LUKE 5:8 “WHEN SIMON PETER REALIZED WHAT HAD HAPPENED, HE FELL TO HIS KNEES BEFORE JESUS AND SAID, “OH, LORD, PLEASE LEAVE ME-I’M SUCH A SINFUL MAN.” When we are really encountering Jesus in our life we should always be in a state of repentence, there shouldn’t be a day when we don’t ask God for forgivness because like Simon Peter we too are sinful and Jesus is Holy! Holy! Holy! God does great things through His children; He is a God still doing miracles, signs, and wonders through His people, for His people today! And it’s not because of how good we are, but because He loves us so much! Because He uses us mightily; in ways others can only dream of, we become complacent in our walk with Him. Somehow His Holiness is diminished and we unconsciously put ourselves on a level with God because He is speaking to us or doing wonders and miracles through us; like we are part of an inner circle, untouchable because we have a direct line to God. How foolish we are! like all of that excuses us from the judgement seat when Jesus returns!

MATTHEW 7:22-23 “ON JUDGEMENT DAY MANY WILL SAY TO ME, “LORD! LORD! WE PROPHESIED IN YOUR NAME AND CAST OUT DEMONS IN YOUR NAME AND PERFORMED MANY MIRACLES IN YOUR NAME.” BUT I WILL REPLY, “I NEVER KNEW YOU. GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU WHO BREAK GOD’S LAWS.”

Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com

Watching that testimony showed me how unsafe I was, how the Lord can easily tell me to depart from Him. This man who was planting churches in Uganda, doing everything in the name of Jesus, going through trials, sacrificing all he had to follow God and start his ministry, something’s many of us would struggle to do. You would look at this man and think, what an anointed man of God! And even though it was clear God was using him to do many things for the kingdom, he was visited by God one day and told that if Jesus was to return right now, he would not be saved! Can you imagine that!?! My mouth hit the floor in shock and disbelief! It didn’t matter all that he had done and was doing, God said it was because of what was in his heart! He would lust after women and use his imagination in ways that weren’t Holy. He had allowed himself to get into the habit of doing it because he wasn’t acting out on any of his thoughts, so he minimized the sin; and yes, thoughts are just as sinful. MATTHEW 5:28 “BUT I SAY, ANYONE WHO EVEN LOOKS AT A WOMAN WITH LUST HAS ALREADY COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH HER IN HIS HEART.” The problem was a heart issue. As soon as he was saying this, I instantly knew God would say the same to me and the fear of the Lord came over me so powerfully, I was literally wailing in sorrow over how sorry I was and how much of a sinner I was! God reminded me that He is Holy! Holy! Holy! And that there is no such thing as a small sin to God. He is so perfect and righteous that sin is just sin! When He calls you to account for your life, no sin will be minimized. When He retells everything you have done, it will be blown to full scale, and you won’t be able to plead your case. There will be no “but it was only….” God is too Holy for that.

I realised that I had minimized sin in my life; in my heart. I had forgotten God’s Holiness. I remember in my tears and snotty nose, I kept repeating, “It’s not small! It’s not small!” I have never been so grateful for hearing someone else’s testimony. There are no great levels of sin. There is just sin, and God hates it all! The enemy loves to deceive us and have us believe that whatever God says is a lie. He has been doing that since the beginning when he tempted Eve in the Garden, always finding a way to fill us with doubt asking us, “Did God really say?” God is God because He is Holy, and as His children, He requires us to be Holy too. We are set apart for God, not for ourselves.

JEREMIAH 17:10 “BUT I, THE LORD, SEARCH ALL HEARTS AND EXAMINE SECRET MOTIVES. I GIVE ALL PEOPLE THEIR DUE REWARDS, ACCORDING TO WHAT THEIR ACTIONS DESERVE.” You can not hide your heart from God. You may be able to fool everyone else, but God sees all things. The Lord warns us that our heart is wicked and deceitful. This is what will keep us from seeing eternal glory! This is why our heart posture is so important to our walk with Christ. We need constant reminding of this because it’s easy for us to be deceived into thinking we are safe. Yes, you go to church on Sunday’s, yes you serve at church in different ways. Yes, you pray for your brothers and sisters; but what does your heart say? Because in the end, when God searches your heart, all that other stuff won’t matter if your heart is not right with God!

The most important thing I was reminded of was God’s Holiness and that He calls me to be Holy, too. Jesus said in JOHN 17:17 “MAKE THEM HOLY BY YOUR TRUTH; TEACH THEM YOUR WORD, WHICH IS TRUTH.” God’s Word makes us Holy because it is truth. We need more of His word to help keep us safe from the evil one, to keep our hearts in check! His signs and wonders; his word of knowledge to us is not a replacement for His Word, which is truth. It’s not what keeps us Holy and guarantees us entry to the wedding feast. So don’t get too comfortable out here. While God gives you breath to see a new day because of His mercy, have wisdom and fear the Lord!

PSALMS 139:23-24 “SEARCH ME, O GOD, AND KNOW MY HEART; TEST ME AND KNOW MY ANXIOUS THOUGHTS. POINT OUT ANYTHING IN ME THAT OFFENDS YOU, AND LEAD ME ALONG THE PATH OF EVERLASTING LIFE.” AMEN.

DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND!

Did I get your attention? I hope so, because this post is a serious one. Being that it’s holy week, and as we approach Easter Sunday I felt this was a fitting message to share. This months post is connected to a message God gave me in a dream. It was a warning to the body of the church, to every believer; a reminder that we have a choice to make, a choice that results in life or death! As we get together this weekend and we are reminded of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection, we have to remember why and what he died for. Look in the mirror and you will see who he died for, he gave his life as a willing sacrifice so that me and you could have eternal life, so that me and you would have salvation. But what is salvation? what does that mean? When you look up the definition of salvation, it says to be saved from danger and destruction. As Christians, salvation means being rescued by God from the consequences of our sin which is eternal death. So we are reminded that there is destruction coming, it may not be here yet, but its on the way and we will be judged and we will have to pay for our sins, and we already know that the wages of sin is death, eternal death!

The beautiful part of this story is if we believe in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and what he did on the cross; and in his resurrection, with all our heart and soul, we get the free gift of grace, and we will be saved from destruction and separation from God. We will have eternal life in heaven, where there is no evil, no sickness, no tears! We don’t have to do works to receive this gift, nothing that we can boast about, all we have to do is accept Jesus and follow him. The simple Gospel.

So now that we are reminded that there is a coming judgement, let me also remind you my brothers and sisters that we are called to live by the spirit. This is what my post is about, living by the spirit! Before God gave me His message, one day as I was reading Romans, I suddenly truly understood what it meant to live by the spirit, something I hadn’t really comprehended before. I knew we had the Holy Spirit who was our helper, but there were other elements I didn’t understand, like our soul and body and how it was all connected. That day as I sat in my room with my bible in hand, it was as if there was an explosion in my mind, and everything just connected seamlessly! So before I share God’s message with you, it’s important that I share what it means to live by the spirit, I don’t think I can share the message without it.

As you know we are created in the likeness of God, who is God the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. We too are in three parts, our Spirit, our Mind/Soul, and our Body. Before we accept Christ into our hearts, our spirit is lost, its like somebody walking aimlessly in the desert, without a drop of water in sight, dying from dehydration and heat stroke. Our soul, which is our mind, where we think and feel, is being controlled by our body. The body is where our sinful nature is located, where the desires of the flesh are born. Our desires are so powerful it controls our mind; our soul. We become a slave to sin, because we naturally want to fulfil those desires of our flesh, we want to do what feels good, so without Christ we do what feels right, but ultimately leads us down a path of destruction. PROVERBS 14:12 “THERE IS A WAY THAT APPEARS TO BE RIGHT, BUT IN THE END IT LEADS TO DEATH.”

When we accept Christ into our hearts; the living water, we receive a new Spirit; the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who is our helper joins our dying spirit and we are reborn, we are no longer dehydrated and dying of heatstroke in the desert. With the Spirit of God living within us we receive a new nature, remember our old sinful nature before we received the Holy Spirit was to follow the desires of our flesh, but with a new nature we are no longer controlled by our flesh, the power of sin is broken, we now carry out the desires of the Holy Spirit, which are pleasing to God! So now we have the wonderful Holy Spirit, what happens to our old sinful nature? Are we free from the desires of our flesh? The answer is NO. Our sinful nature is part of our body, this is why when Jesus returns we get a new glorified body! Our sinful nature is always trying to control us, always calling out to us to do what feels good, always trying to get into our minds and corrupt us. ROMANS 8:7-8 “FOR THE SINFUL NATURE IS ALWAYS HOSTILE TO GOD. IT NEVER DID OBEY GOD’S LAWS, AND IT NEVER WILL. THAT’S WHY THOSE WHO ARE STILL UNDER THE CONTROL OF THEIR SINFUL NATURE CAN NEVER PLEASE GOD.” So the question to you reading this right now is, who is controlling you? Are you pleasing God? Or are you giving into your sinful nature?

As a believer in Christ we are not controlled by our sinful nature, we are controlled by the Holy Spirit! We are no longer under its power! Just like Christ was raised from the dead, so were we when we received the Spirit of God! But why are some of us living like we are still dead?? Some of us are living like we don’t have the Holy Spirit in us! Following Christ everyday is not always easy, the path is narrow for a reason, but what we don’t get to do as believers is claim Jesus but live like a child of satan, thinking all will be well because we say we believe in Jesus! Don’t be foolish! We are not called to be fan’s of Jesus, but followers of Jesus! With faith comes action, you have to act like you believe in what you don’t see. We are not safe my brothers and sisters, if we don’t live to please God, we won’t see Him! ROMANS 8:6 “THE MIND GOVERNED BY THE FLESH IS DEATH, BUT THE MIND GOVERNED BY THE SPIRIT IS LIFE AND PEACE.”

There is a reason why the bible mentions the need to renew our minds, it’s because our mind can be easily controlled by the wrong things, that’s why reading the Word is so important! It helps us in this spiritual war we fight! We wear the helmet of salvation for a reason, to avoid sinful thoughts, so that we are not dominated by our sinful nature! ROMANS 12:2 “DO NOT CONFORM TO THE PATTERN OF THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND. THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TEST AND APPROVE WHAT GOD’S WILL IS-HIS GOOD, PLEASING AND PERFECT WILL.” So now that I have shared my understanding of living by the Spirit, let me get to the message I believe God gave me to share with the Church.

One morning, I had woken up from an unfulfilled sleep, one of the many consequences of being a shift worker. After a short period of tossing and turning, I drifted into a sleep where I felt semi awake. I started to dream, but it was strange because it was like I was being shown something and I was watching it unfold, and I kept talking to myself saying things like “this is really important, I have to remember this!” and “as soon as I wake up, I am going to write this down!” I had never had a dream before where I was aware that I was in a dream like state! As soon as I came out of this dream and opened my eyes, my memory was blank! I could not remember a thing I saw, even though I knew it was important! It was all a blur except for one detail, which didn’t make any sense to me. The one detail I remembered was hard to explain, but it was like I saw people as two, like they had a second person connected to them, but this person was like a spirit with no distinct features, but like a fuzzy outline of a person. All I could remember was that there was something happening, something of great importance. After being frustrated with myself for not being able to recall the events in this dream, I fell back asleep. This time, I was taken back into what I instantly knew to be the same dream, but this time, the dream was being explained to me. The detail I remembered suddenly made sense! I woke up still not remembering the details of this dream, but I knew what the dream meant, and I knew it was from God!

A week before I had this dream, the Holy Spirit gave me the understanding of what it meant to live by the Spirit. Now I understand why, because I would have never understood the importance of this message without it! God’s message was clear then, as it is now as I write this, and this message was for my Christian brothers and sisters. The message is this, if you are a follower of Christ Jesus, this is a wake up call! Stop living like children of the world following your sinful nature, it’s time to turn away and start living by the Spirit that God gave you! Time is moving quickly and Jesus will be back soon, if you don’t change before it’s too late, YOU WILL GET LEFT BEHIND!

To be left behind is the worst thing I could ever imagine, I couldn’t even imagine it knowing what I know now that I am no longer part of the world! But scarily enough some of us will hear it, when God will say go from me, I do not know you! But while we still have the mercy of God, we have time to repent and change our ways. I notice that churches today do not like to confront sin head on, instead they dance around it, thinking it too harsh and not palatable enough for a Sunday service. But doing this does a great disservice to the flock, and that is not what God calls us to do, give a watered down version of what is right. It’s loving to give hard truths, remember souls are at stake here! I pray that we will all see God’s glory, but lets not be asleep and miss the wedding altogether! It’s time to wake up!

IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP!

If you are a believer in Christ, this post is meant to be like those annoying alarms that you can not sleep through because the noise is so piercing to the soul. If you are on the fence about what you believe, I would hope that this might stir something deep inside you, to draw you closer to the one who gave His life so you could have yours, our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe we are living in a time like no other. Now, I know there has always been talk of Jesus’s imminent return, although the bible says we will not know what hour or day that will be, even Jesus does not know when His day will come! But He told us the signs to look for so that we would know that it would be soon. If we pay attention to all that is happening around the world, we will notice a sequence of events that are laying the foundations of the great deception that is to come from the adversary. Maybe I will do a post on what I am learning in terms of bible prophecy in the future, but for now I want to wake the body up!

It is so easy to get distracted by life, work, school, family, all the things that can be all consuming. We get so distracted that it can often draw us away from our time with God, then before we know it, He is no longer top of the list of priorities. It happens to us all, during our walk with Him. At points we can be so on fire for God, and other times the flame is barely a flicker. The world is set up to distract us from God, its one of many tactics from the enemy. He sets it up in such a way that we spend less and less time in our bibles, less time seeking Him out. At the beginning of 2023 I decided to go on a social media fast. It started off as something I would do for the month of January, the intention behind it was to cut something off that took time away from spending it with God. I wanted to start my year off being intentional with my time with the Lord, and I noticed I was getting distracted by social media. It was such a bad habit of mine to just mindlessly pick up my phone and start scrolling aimlessly! Before you knew it, what started of as a 5 min scroll on Instagram or Facebook soon turned into an hour! This was happening more frequently then I would like to admit. In my busyness, I would always feel like I never had a lot of time that was free. So because of that, I started to make excuses as to why one week I hadn’t picked up my bible. Meanwhile I was spending at least two hours a day taking in mind numbing content on social media, clearly I wasn’t that busy! When I took stock of my time management, I quickly became convicted about it. God deserved so much more than what I was giving, so I removed my apps off my phone so they were not easily accessible. Not only did I cut out social media, I also cut out what I was watching, I really felt Spirit led to do that. I decided to only consume sermons, bible teaching, Christian content and read more books that edified the Spirit. That’s when something shifted.

I can’t explain it, but it’s like a fog cleared from my vision, all of a sudden I could see! My mood was different, I just felt different! It’s like all the things I was consuming was acting like a blocker to my Spirit, that is really the best way I can describe it. After the first week into this new set up, God started to communicate with me. It was all happening so fast, I almost didn’t believe what I was experiencing. I started to dream more frequently. My dreams were strange, because a lot of them made no sense to me. I had literally stopped watching worldly things and I was having dreams that almost felt like I was seeing in the Spirit. I am lucky to be blessed with one of my church leaders who is gifted, and understands dreams and seeing in the Spirit and what things can mean, so I had guidance to know what was fruit and what could be thrown away. God has given me a dream before, so it wasn’t a complete new experience, but what was new was the frequency of what I was experiencing. I almost felt like God had been trying to communicate with me this whole time and now, finally, I was able to receive! What really sealed my faith in what was happening was when God gave me my first dream about somebody I didn’t know! Let me explain…

One night after work, I had made myself comfortable, earphones in, ready to zone out as I made my way home on the train. Normally, I don’t make it a habit to talk to strangers, especially men I don’t know late at night, but almost as soon as I sat down, a guy approached me making polite conversation. For some reason, I felt led to talk to him as he wasn’t rude or disrespectful. As we got into conversation, I quickly mentioned my faith, which led us into deeper conversation, where he shared his experience with the church and his beliefs in Jesus, but lack of relationship. What was out of character for me, was the fact that I remember feeling like I wanted to give him my number, so when he asked for it to continue the conversation we were having, I happily obliged. A couple of days after meeting him, I had a dream. We hadn’t been able to talk again since that train journey, so I was surprised that I was dreaming about someone I had only met once. This dream was so strange, I knew it was about him, even though I couldn’t say I saw his face in my dream. I won’t go into detail about what exactly I dreamt as it feels like I would be sharing someone else’s personal business, but God showed me his life, and showed me his character, but ultimately He had a message for him, which was really a call for him to follow God. When I shared my dream with him, he instantly knew it was from God, as I had told him things I couldn’t have known! If I had any doubt that God was communicating with me through my dreams, it left with such a quickness.

As my fast continued, so did my dreams. As I was spending more time in the Word, I was getting a deeper understanding of things I was barely grasping. I started to become more sensitive in the Spirit, which was very new. I have discovered a new gifting, which I suppose was always there, of spiritual discernment. I have had dark experiences too, when I had been obedient in an assignment that the Lord had put on my heart (that’s another post for another day!) The enemy had let me know that he wasn’t happy about it, but I had no fear because of Jesus! Greater is He in me, than he who is in the world! Amen!

God communicates with us in so many ways, so far I have been receiving Him in my dreams. What is still so amazing to me, is all this happened almost instantly when I stopped letting worldly things consume me. I am nobody special, I say this to say that God will use YOU if you make yourself available to be used! In the Old Testament, God used dreams and visions to give messages to his people, whether it was a warning, or wisdom. And now we are in an age where His children are dreaming more frequently. ACTS 2:17 “IN THE LAST DAYS , GOD SAYS, I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT UPON ALL PEOPLE, YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY. YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN WILL DREAM DREAMS.” Paul was preaching to the crowd on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on all the believers. He was giving prophecy of things to come. God has given me two messages for the body of Christ, and I intend to share them on this blog! These are messages He shared through dreams. Todays post is really to focus on pressing into God, He wants to communicate with all of us right now, but we are Spiritually asleep, it’s time to WAKE UP!!!

Pay attention to what you watch, pay attention to what you listen to. These things can really block us from receiving from God. I used to be so flippant about stuff like that, thinking of people who cut secular things out of their life as extremists. Although I do believe there are some people that do fall into that category, but then there are others on the opposite end of that spectrum who do not exercise any caution at all! Where is the healthy balance? I think the Holy Spirit will convict us of things as we grow with God, for myself I have definitely been convicted of a lot of things I was consuming since starting this fast. I am reminded of this verse from PHILIPPIANS 4:8 “FINALLY, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHATEVER IS TRUE, WHATEVER IS NOBLE, WHATEVER IS RIGHT, WHATEVER IS PURE, WHATEVER IS LOVELY, WHATEVER IS ADMIRABLE- IF ANYTHING IS EXCELLENT OR PRAISEWORTHY- THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS.” I can honestly say not everything I consumed was inline with this verse, because a lot of the worldly things are the opposite of that, so it’s not a surprise to me that it could have such an adverse effect to our Spirit and how we connect with God when we take certain things in. I need to do a better job at guarding my gates.

I feel like I received a wake up call, to pay attention to what is going on, to keep my eyes focused on things from above. What first started as a fast, has now become a way of life going forward. I am not saying I don’t watch anything secular, but it is definitely at a minimum, and Jesus is back where He should be, a priority! I am sure as I grow, the Holy Spirit will convict me to not consume anything that is worldly, and I will welcome it when the time comes. I had shared my revelation with a close friend from overseas, a sister in Christ, and she was encouraged to do the same. She too has been experiencing things in the spirit, hearing from God in different ways, it’s actually amazing! God wants to talk to His children. He wants to impart wisdom, and I believe He wants to warn us of things, to prepare us for what’s to come. It’s time for us to wake up and pay attention! Do not let the enemy make you forget what is important, what is really going on, what is at stake! Its time to seek God while we can still find Him, it’s time to start knocking on His door! Remember ask and you shall receive! I hope this encourages you to dig a little deeper, all you need to do is just make a conscious effort to put something aside, and put Him first, and watch Him do the rest!

MATTHEW 6:33 “SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD ABOVE ALL ELSE, AND LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED.”

HEALING FROM PAST TRAUMA.

Today’s post is a hard one for me, maybe triggering for some, but I hope it promotes a journey that leads to healing for you. In my pursuit to start my year seeking God more diligently, it has led me down a road into an introduction to the world of spiritual healing and even deliverance. Now let me say it’s all very biblical, nothing new age over here! But in my struggles being a slave to sin, and having the colourful past I have had being apart of the world, I thought I needed to seek extra help to overcome some of my hurdles. I was recommended a therapist of sorts that deals with spiritual healing and deliverance. To be honest I don’t know what I expected, as I hadn’t talked to anyone professionally since I was 13 years old. The informal chats; getting to know this person who I am supposed to share the deepest part of myself with, were very refreshing and easy over a skype call, and before I knew it, I was in floods of tears after an hour into the conversation. Now, I have a long way to go still, as it’s only been a few sessions, but my last session was so revealing and surprising it moved me to share my revelation in hopes it might help someone else.

If you have been reading this blog from the beginning you would know I didn’t grow up knowing God, I don’t come from a religious family, and for 37 years of my life I lived as an enemy to God. Three years in, my walk with God has been difficult! That’s no surprise, its hard to be on the righteous path. As hard as it may be at times, it was definitely harder being apart of the world. When you are apart of the world you live a lie, because they tell you it’s the fulfilling path that leads to happiness, when the truth is you are always left with a feeling of emptiness. That emptiness you feel will never be satisfied if you follow the world, that emptiness is especially reserved to be filled by GOD! In my last session I had to admit I had been experiencing a block; a spiritual block, and I had no idea why. During the month of January, the month I had been seeking out the Lord, God had been communicating with me in different ways, but I felt like I couldn’t receive Him fully. I know the Holy spirit has been trying to fill me at points, but its felt like a tap that drips ever so slowly, instead of the gushing flow that is intended. But why? Was it a problem of unbelief? NO. I know God’s Word, I believe God’s Word! Watching my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ having these flowing in the spirit experiences, I felt like I was excluded from a club that wouldn’t let me through the door.

It’s very easy for the enemy to remind me of my past and make me feel unworthy, but I know that it’s not true! After our previous conversation where I had shared snap shots of my old life; a life where I lived very guarded with my heart, because of my past casual relationships that were built on me being in control and not letting men past a wall; all to protect myself from getting hurt. This led me to dig deeper, something I had never even considered doing. I had closed the door on my past since coming to Christ. All the things that I had experienced in my life and childhood, I had locked away. I thought that had no power over me. Growing up the way I did, I was never able to truly express my trauma, I always had to get over things quickly and get back to life! Sweeping every hurt and pain under the “carpet” being “strong” because that was all I was allowed to be. It was digging as far back as my earliest memories of my childhood that brought the revelation; that made me realise that I was still guarding my heart, even in my relationship with God my heavenly Father. I had created a wall unknowingly because I hadn’t given all the hurt of my childhood to Him. My mind and my heart were not connecting because I was still a hurt child protecting myself out of habit! I realised that I had never been a child, or even knew how to be one! Now when I am faced with being a child of God, and for the first time having someone to call a Father; never knowing my earthly father because he had no interest in knowing me, and not knowing what it meant to be a daughter because I grew up having a mother who wasn’t always loving and was very hard hearted, a mother who was physically abusive at times because she was abused, a mother that would always tell her friends with an air of regret that her life would of been different if she didn’t have me, a mother who planned to give me up for adoption when she found out she was pregnant, a mother who I had to mother. Add being abused at the age of 13 by my brothers dad, and seeing the only man who I ever wanted to call dad attempt to take my mothers life, my walls were built from an early age.

It’s strange how the things you don’t even think about can still haunt you. It’s in that hidden place where the enemy will get comfortable. He works in those hidden secret places, hiding behind the veil of hurt and pain. I thought that hurt didn’t affect me anymore, I am 40 years old! It’s funny how we can be transported back to that hurt child and feel every feeling exactly the same as you did back then. It was overwhelming but after the flood of tears that consumed me after that session, I felt a lightness that I hadn’t felt before. I closed my eyes and asked God to remove the wall around my heart that I had built, to help me to trust and accept His love for me so I could experience Him on a deeper level, so I could experience Him as MY Father!

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas on Pexels.com

Sometimes it’s hard reopening closed doors, it’s easier not to feel, to be numb is how we survive. But not allowing God to truly heal us is even more damaging. We have to trust Him with the hard things, as well as the good things because those who trust in the Lord are secure! No matter what has happened in your past, all the people that have hurt you, the everchanging hearts of man, know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever! 1 PETER 5:7 “THROW ALL YOUR ANXIETY ONTO HIM, BECAUSE HE CARES ABOUT YOU.” There is nothing of our past that He can not carry, no burden too big! His love for us is so great, it numbs our past pain so we don’t have to, we are perfected in His love!

I feel like I have drawn closer to Him since starting these sessions. He has been showing me new things and I have been and still am on this spiritual journey of what it means to worship Him in spirit. When Jesus tells us to seek and we shall find Him, no truer word was spoken. God is not hiding from us, if we look for Him, He will reveal Himself to us. What an amazing God we serve!

My childhood might have been hard but God carried me through every hard point. When I look back on my life I see He was always there, even in the darkest moments He was a light that carried me through the darkness. My mum is amazing, after the life she had and the things she experienced at the hands of those who were meant to love and protect her, she did the best she could in a dark place. The enemy is real and he is out here destroying lives! My mum being new to Christ today is a testimony of the power of God! Remember your past life doesn’t define you, it is your identity in Christ that defines you! So give it all to Him and let Him heal you, because only He can.

PSALM 118:5 “OUT OF MY DISTRESS I CALLED ON THE LORD; THE LORD ANSWERED ME AND SET ME FREE.”

MORE LIKE MARY, LESS LIKE MARTHA.

Happy New Year! I hope my first post of 2023 finds you well! It’s almost two weeks in and it’s been very eventful for me already (spiritually speaking). I know a new year usually ushers in the want for change, it’s a time where the resolution is born and we become obsessive for the first three weeks for whatever we are focused on, then usually lose momentum and quickly fall back into old routines. For this reason I never made new year resolutions because I knew I was never consistent with whatever I set out to accomplish. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was definitely weak! This year I decided to reflect back on 2022, and really look at my walk with God and highlight my growth. I think it’s necessary to evaluate important relationships in your life and make improvements if needed. This world and it’s many distractions can have us not focused on what really matters, and our priorities can easily shift. Whether it’s work, family, friends, social media etc before we know it, we are spending less time with the Lord and we become stunted in our growth. Growth is so important, and we can not be like nursing babies forever! When I don’t grow, I hear from God less. My worst fear is to feel disconnected from God, especially since I know how much I need Him. To do this walk without Him is impossible, and I need to be by His side or I will easily be devoured.

Looking back at 2022 I realised I had a stagnant walk with God, therefore I felt like spiritually I hadn’t grown as much as the previous years. This saddened me. Although I served God on Sundays, leading worship at my church, I noticed that relationally I was not where I needed to be. Sometimes our serving can be a substitute for building deeper relationship with Jesus. We spend time doing for God but forget to spend time with Him also. Our serving can not replace intimate relationship, although it might seem to be possible to have two for the price of one. So seeing where I lacked, for the first time in a long time I made a new years resolution!

This year my resolution is to be more intentional with my time with God, and really start to pay attention to where I spend most of my free time and how I can make better use of what I do with it. I guess it’s a poor excuse for a resolution really, as it’s something I should be doing without thought! But I am not perfect, and I need the help or at times an incentive. Someone once told me to do something, even if I didn’t feel like doing it until I got a routine. I can be honest and say I don’t always feel like doing what I should be doing. I didn’t want to have another stagnant year where my main focus was on serving and nothing else, so God reminded me of the story of Martha and Mary in the Gospel of Luke.

Martha and Mary were sisters. Jesus spent time with them when Martha opened her home to Him. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus as He spoke and taught, while Martha was distracted by all the preparations that needed to be made to host Him. Martha, clearly annoyed that Mary was not helping her with the work, (probably doing nothing in Martha’s eyes) taking into consideration the culture of the times, it would of been the women that would of served most likely. Martha goes to Jesus and asks Him if He cares that she has been left to do the work by herself? “Tell her to help me!” are her words to Jesus! Can you imagine!? This is what He says in LUKE 10:41-42 “MARTHA, MARTHA,” THE LORD ANSWERED, “YOU ARE WORRIED AND UPSET ABOUT MANY THINGS, BUT FEW THINGS ARE NEEDED-OR INDEED ONLY ONE. MARY HAS CHOSEN WHAT IS BETTER, AND IT WILL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HER.” That’s probably not the answer poor Martha was expecting. As simple as this story is, it tells us so much about what we should deem most important. Serving as Martha was doing was important, the fact that she was honouring Jesus, we should all strive to serve and honour Jesus in what we do. He definitely was not saying do not serve, but at that moment she had an opportunity to be like Mary and be close to Jesus, listening intently to his infinite wisdom, but she missed it because she was concerned with what was least important at that moment. God wants us to spend intimate time with Him, so we can hear Him, so we can learn from Him. We might not have Jesus in the same way Mary and Martha did but we have the Word, and like it says in JOHN 1:1 “IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD.” We are so blessed to have a God that is relational and wants to be close with us! Jesus is with us until the end of ages, and we too can sit at His feet today!

Like I said before, this world is full of distractions, and it’s easy to lose focus on what’s most important! But every so often God will send a little nudge to get you to refocus, just don’t get lost in the doing that you miss out on experiencing Him fully. It’s easy for our serving to feel like work if we are not careful. People view us doing all these things we do to serve God and it looks to them like our intimacy with God is at the same level as our service. They don’t stop and ask you “hey, how are you really doing?” that’s a dangerous place to be. It always reminds me of the religious leaders of the bible who to the outside world, they appeared so holy because of how they presented themselves and the “work” they did, but they did not know God at all! It might be the extreme end of the spectrum but it’s always best to keep these things at the forefront of your mind, the enemy is real out here!

So I encourage you also to be more intentional with your time with God. God wants to do so much in us but we have to be wiling to give Him our time. I really want to have more encounter with Him this year, and I know that will come the more I search Him out. Last year I was asleep spiritually, today I am wide awake!

PROVERBS 8:17 “I LOVE THOSE WHO LOVE ME, AND THOSE WHO SEEK ME FIND ME.”

THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION.

I hope everyone has enjoyed the Christmas period. As we look to the new year, I wanted to share this message I shared at my church at the beginning of the year about reconciliation. Forgiveness can be very hard to do but as Christians it’s a very important part of our walk. So I thought I would share this message with hopes that as we go into 2023 we can go with forgiveness in our hearts. God bless you all, see you in 2023!

If we think about the relationships in our lives, I am sure if we are honest we might see there are relationships in need of repair, relationships in need of reconciliation. Now I know we can all feel justified in our reasonings for these relationships breaking down, we can have our reason for placing the blame on others for their wrong doing, and we may feel that things are beyond repair. God teaches us in the bible the importance of reconciliation because ultimately God’s sovereign plan is for us to be reconciled to Him! One of the stories I want to draw from in the bible is the story of Joseph in Genesis. Now, the story of Joseph is very long and I don’t think I could go through it all in detail right now, but I will do my best to summarise it to the best of my ability. There is so much teaching to be had from it, but what I want to focus on is the story of a family being restored. If you come from a big family, I am sure the family dynamics will be familiar to some, I know I see a parallel when I look into my family history.

Joseph was one of twelve brothers. Joseph was what we would call the golden child, he was his fathers favourite. GENESIS 37:3-4 “NOW ISRAEL LOVED JOSEPH MORE THAN ANY OF HIS OTHER SONS, BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN BORN TO HIM IN HIS OLD AGE; AND HE MADE AN ORNATE ROBE FOR HIM. WHEN HIS BROTHERS SAW THAT THEIR FATHER LOVED HIM MORE THAN ANY OF THEM, THEY HATED HIM AND COULD NOT SPEAK A KIND WORD TO HIM.” This story is all too familiar for some of us. This is a cautionary tale to parents. Joseph was resented by his brothers because of his fathers behaviour. Having a big family can be a blessing, but not for Joseph. He experienced rejection from the people that were meant to love him. Just like Joseph we can experience the same rejection from our family, even our friends who are often like family to us.

God gives us spiritual gifts, and we see Joseph’s spiritual gift of interpreting dreams given to him at the young age of 17 years old. He was given two prophetic dreams from God which were a foretelling of his rulership. In his immaturity he told these dreams to his brothers, some may argue in a prideful way without humility. GENESIS 37:5 “JOSEPH HAD A DREAM, AND WHEN HE TOLD IT TO HIS BROTHERS, THEY HATED HIM ALL THE MORE.” I think when God shows us something we have to be careful how we share it with others, because this is what led to Joseph’s brothers conspiring to kill him. Sometimes we have to use wisdom when giving a word, not everyone is able to receive what God is saying.

Now we see what the relationship was like with his brothers, lets fast forward to his brothers conspiring to kill him and a summary of what Joseph’s life is like afterwards. When his brothers plot to kill him and throw him in a cistern, it’s his brother Reuben that tries to rescue him, suggesting that they leave him in the cistern and not harm him. But later it’s his brother Judah that decides to make some money by selling him into slavery where he is taken to Egypt. Joseph goes through a lot and there are parts of his story that we can all relate to. Firstly being betrayed by the people closest to him, feeling alone, treated like an outcast. He was accused of something he didn’t do, lied about, even we he was living the right way. He was imprisoned, he was overlooked and forgotten, all these things we experience in our relationships today. But through it all God was faithful to his word and everything that happened led him to be in a position to fulfil God’s ultimate plan of saving a nation. Joseph was sold into slavery at 17; remember he was 17 when God gave him the prophetic dreams. The dreams didn’t come into fruition until over 20 years later! God can give us a vision of where He see’s us, and in our excitement and impatience we want to see God’s plan for us immediately. We question God when we feel it’s taking too long, but the thing about our Father is nothing happens before it’s time. During the waiting period He is always preparing us to be able to handle where He intends to take us! It’s important to note that during all of this we never see Joseph crying about his situation or cursing the brothers for his predicament, instead you see him honouring God in everything he does, something we can all learn from. Even in his darkest moments, God is always with him! Something we all need to remember in life when we are going through our difficult seasons, God is always with us, even in the silence. God doesn’t forget us!

It’s over 20 years until Joseph see’s his brothers again. When they do come face to face, Joseph is in charge of all things in Egypt, a position given to him by the Pharaoh because of his spiritual gift which saw them well prepared for the famine that would last for 7 years throughout the country. All of the country would have to come to Egypt and deal with Joseph for food supplies, this is what brings the brothers face to face with Joseph. Joseph’s brothers do not recognise him, so Joseph uses that to put them through a series of tests. Being in the position he was in, when he accuses the brothers of having ulterior motives for coming to Egypt; possible spies, the brothers are fearful of Joseph. The tests he puts them through shows a side we haven’t seen of the brothers, it’s the first time they show regret for what they did to Joseph, believing that this bad turn they find themselves in is God’s punishment for what they did to Joseph. Even though Joseph really puts them through it, it’s never in a malicious way, it’s God working through him to bring the brothers to repentance. Remember we need to repent before we can be restored!

Sometimes time can have no affect on a person, but sometimes time can change a persons heart completely. Joseph wept when he heard their regret. After a few more tests he puts the brothers through, he finally reveals his identity to all of them. What you see is a family who was once broken coming back together, being restored after 20 years of separation! You do not see blame being cast out, all you see are hearts being mended. Joseph says this to the brothers when he reveals himself, GENESIS 45:5-8 “AND NOW, DO NOT BE DISTRESSED AND DO NOT BE ANGRY WITH YOURSELVES FOR SELLING ME HERE, BECAUSE IT WAS TO SAVE LIVES THAT GOD SENT ME AHEAD OF YOU. FOR TWO YEARS NOW THERE HAS BEEN FAMINE IN THE LAND, AND FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS THERE WILL BE NO PLOWING AND REAPING. BUT GOD SENT ME AHEAD OF YOU TO PRESERVE FOR YOU A REMNANT ON EARTH AND TO SAVE YOUR LIVES BY A GREAT DELIVERANCE. SO THEN, IT WAS NOT YOU WHO SENT ME HERE, BUT GOD. HE MADE ME FATHER TO PHARAOH, LORD OF HIS ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD AND RULER OF ALL EGYPT.” Joseph doesn’t send his brothers away, he doesn’t blame them for the hard times in his life, he doesn’t even have hate in his heart for them. Instead he shows them love and forgiveness, and he recognises God’s divine plan in it all. He says come, you and your families come here where I will cover you, keep you and provide for you. He kisses them and cries tears of joy that he has his family back!

Photo by August de Richelieu on Pexels.com

This is what God wants, He wants us to be reconciled back to him. He says I know you have done wrong, but I want you still, I forgive you! He says I want to cover you, keep you, provide for you, you are my family! This is the ministry we are called to. This is why Christ died on that cross. This is why our sins are washed clean by His blood! God knew that was the only way He could be back in relationship with us. He planned this from the beginning, when Eve took the forbidden fruit. He planned for a way to bring us back to Him so that we could have the opportunity to be restored, to be brought back to our Father, our sins wiped clean, made into a new creation! This is the message we have been charged to share; this is the message of the Gospel! 2 CORINTHIANS 5:18-20 “ALL THIS IS FROM GOD, WHO RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF THROUGH CHRIST AND GAVE US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION: THAT GOD WAS RECONCILING THE WORLD TO HIMSELF IN CHRIST, NOT COUNTING PEOPLE’S SINS AGAINST THEM. AND HE HAS COMMITTED TO US THE MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION. WE ARE THEREFORE CHRIST’S AMBASSADORS, AS THOUGH GOD WAS MAKING HIS APPEAL THROUGH US. WE IMPLORE YOU ON CHRIST’S BEHALF: BE ROCONCILED TO GOD.”

God doesn’t count our sins against us, instead He shows us grace when we don’t even deserve it. Even when we fall from grace time and time again, He doesn’t hold it against us, keeping score. He asks us to do the same of others, to show grace and forgiveness, even when they don’t seem deserving! But if we have a God that can forgive us of so much, then surely we can begin to do the same for others! MATTHEW 5:23-24 “THEREFORE, IF YOU ARE OFFERING YOUR GIFT AT THE ALTER AND THERE REMEMBER THAT YOUR BROTHER OR SISTER HAS SOMETHING AGAINST YOU, LEAVE YOUR GIFT THERE INFRONT OF THE ALTER. FIRST GO AND BE RECONCILED TO THEM; THEN COME AND OFFER YOUR GIFT.” It doesn’t matter if its you that has something against your brother or sister, or if they have something against you! We have to learn to own up to our sins and we have to learn to forgive. Remember we have a God who searches our hearts! We can not come to the alter if we can not reconcile in our own lives. How can we be ambassadors of Christ if we do not do what we proclaim!?! If you don’t feel convicted to address any relationships that need reconciliation today, I pray that this message will act like a stone in your shoe. It might be uncomfortable at first, but the longer you walk with it, it starts to hurt and you can’t ignore it any longer, you got to stop and take your shoe off; get rid of that stone!

My prayer for you reading this today, is for your hearts to be softened, for peace and harmony in your relationships, for families to be restored, for forgiveness! Like God forgives us and shows us grace, I pray that you can forgive and extend that same grace to others, so that when you approach the alter, you can approach with boldness! In Jesus name, AMEN.

WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME 2022.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! This season can find us all in a reflective mood whether you are Christian or not. It’s a time where we get together with our loved ones, share gifts, and eat plenty. Although I love all those things, lets always remember Jesus is the reason for the season. This year I have been given a new reflection, and I pray that the Holy Spirit will always give me fresh eyes to see the many ways that God loves us.

Last month I was at a place where I found myself doubting my commitment and even my love for God. It started from a relapse I had. Now, I have always said that I had struggles, but never really mentioned what I struggled with because I wanted to talk about it when I felt truly free from it. I now realise, that is not the right way to go about it. I think the underlying reason for not sharing was because I felt shame, whether I realised it or not. I wanted to talk about it with you when I had overcome it, but that’s not how this works, so in keeping with being completely transparent, I am going to share what to this day I still continue to struggle with.

I struggle with being free from porn and masturbation. LUST. I will make a post in the new year about it in more detail but for now it’s important to know what the catalyst was for my revelation about what this season means to me this year. After having a good solid run of being free from even having the urge to seek out porn, I suddenly relapsed and had a few bad days where I totally ignored God and wouldn’t speak to Him, or even Seek Him out because of the deep disappointment and shame I felt. I started to feel unworthy, worthless, and even came to the conclusion that my struggle meant that I could not possibly love God if I kept doing the things that I knew he hated! Knowing that every Sunday I was up leading worship, but still here I am buried under my sin?! I felt like a fraud.

Photo by Nubia Navarro (nubikini) on Pexels.com

I had taken “For the wages of sin is death” from Romans 6:23 and weaponised it against myself. Repeating it over and over in my head, I told myself that I was going to pay for my lack of self-control. This is the part where I tell you how important it is to have community amongst your brothers and sisters in Christ. To have people you feel safe enough to share with that know God and receive you with love and truth. It was my sisters who sowed this seed in me when I broke down and shared what I had done, how I was feeling about it, and how I was feeling about myself. My sister shared this verse with me, and the enemy who I had let take root in my mind was suddenly evicted!

ROMANS 7:15 “I DON’T REALLY UNDERSTAND MYSELF, FOR I WANT TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT, BUT I DON’T DO IT. INSTEAD, I DO WHAT I HATE.” If Paul who wrote at least 13 books of the Bible said this, then clearly, he had struggles too! Who knows what he was referring to? but knowing that even someone as Holy as him still wrestled with things made me feel an instant peace. The fact that I was so grieved by my actions was a sign that I loved God! How easy it was for me to let the enemy sow a seed of doubt, it was frightening. After that fellowship, the Holy Spirit; my helper kept on showing me things that focused on God’s love for me. The coming together of everything was sparked by the words “HIGH VALUE.” I know that if you dabble on some of the secular platforms on social media, you usually see this spoken about in regard to men being high value in the most toxic way possible. But it was reading a devotional one morning that highlighted this word in the most beautiful way. I hope it speaks to you like it spoke to me.

Do you know how highly God values you? How much worth you have? God knows you are far from perfect, He even knows what you are going to do, say, or even think before you know it. Even though you have your struggles and you have your bad days, He never holds it against you when you fall short, instead He meets you with grace and love and shows you more mercy than you deserve. His love for you is a love that is hard to comprehend. It’s a love that you will never experience from anyone else. It’s a love that can feel foreign because to receive a love like it, usually comes with conditions. God loves you without condition. His love isn’t dependant on you loving Him back (although it would be wise if you did) He loved you before you loved Him!

EPHESIANS 3:18 “AND MAY YOU HAVE THE POWER TO UNDERSTAND, AS ALL GOD’S PEOPLE SHOULD, HOW WIDE, HOW LONG, HOW HIGH, AND HOW DEEP HIS LOVE IS.”

Do you know how much God wants you? Do you know how much He wants to be apart of your life? How He wants you to be able to be in relationship with Him? For God who is Holy and perfect and infinite longs to be close to you! Because of His enduring and unfailing love for you, He made a way that he could redeem you to Himself, where you belong. You who were born in sin, born on a sinking ship, in a vast, deep, dark ocean, with no way of escape; death was inevitable. Everyone on this ship doesn’t even realise it is sinking because the hole is so small and nobody has noticed the water seeping in. But because God is so good and loves you so much, He made a way for you to be saved from this sinking ship. A life boat appears and His name is Jesus. God sent His one and only Son to pay the ultimate debt for you, a debt that you could never pay for yourself because you are not perfect. He sent He who was without sin to pay the price for your sin! The ultimate sacrifice, because God loves you so deeply and see’s that you are high value.

JOHN 3:16-17 “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. FOR GOD DID NOT SEND HIS SON INTO THE WORLD TO CONDEMN THE WORLD, BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH HIM.”

Photo by Yugantar Sambhangphe on Pexels.com

This season I was reminded of God’s deep love for me. He sent Jesus so I could be close to Him, because the only way to the Father is through the Son. Even though I still struggle and I am far from perfect, His Love is Perfect and it casts out fear so I can trust in Him. When I stumble I am reminded that He made a way for me, and it doesn’t require me to be perfect everyday, His grace is sufficient. All I have to do is believe with all my heart in my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

So as Christmas day fast approaches and we are reminded of the birth of Jesus, let us also be reminded of God’s love for us. When I think about it I am often overwhelmed because I honestly believe I don’t deserve it, but who does? God is just that Good! And if He never did another thing in my life, I would still shout out that my God is Good, I am saved! I don’t know who needed to hear this but I hope you feel encouraged! If you are a new follower of Jesus like myself I say to you, you are doing great. God knows your heart so don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t always get things right, remember the righteous path isn’t the easiest path, know you are not alone. If you don’t know Jesus then I encourage you to find out who He is, what He means to YOU and why you NEED Him. As I drift away to safety on my life boat I pray others find their life boat too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE!

THE MISCONCEPTION OF RELIGION.

I know, I know, it’s been a minute. Let me tell you the devil is real! My laptop broke, and I just got it back in working order last weekend, hallelujah! So much has been happening, I don’t even know where to start. I have a few posts that were waiting to be posted (since June) that you will see very shortly, so they may seem a little outdated, but still very relevant. I never realised how doing this blog was helping to shape me until I was disconnected from it. Oh, how I missed this space! Thank you if you are still here with me, please forgive my inconsistence, and hello if you are new to my little blog. There is so much I want to share, so much I have learned during my absence. This walk with God constantly surprises me, it can also be extremely challenging! Every day I am reminded that it really is a choice we make to follow Jesus, it’s actually easier to not follow Him. Which brings me on to today’s topic, religion and the misconception of it.

The reason why I wanted to write this post comes from a Facebook status I saw on my feed from an old work colleague. He is not a believer; he is into Buddhism. Do you ever notice how “wise” people into Buddhism think they are? Like they hold the key to all of life’s unanswered questions? Well, this Facebook friend decided to share his thoughts, probably feeling super enlightened as he typed it out and clicked on post. It read as follows “In my opinion, people turn to religion not to be informed, but to be massaged. It tells them what they want to hear, not what they need to know.” If I am being honest, the post annoyed me. It annoyed me so much all I could comment was “interesting theory.” I had so many thoughts and feelings about it, I didn’t think I could respond in a way that would spark a healthy debate. So, I mulled it over until I had all my thoughts in order, and here we are. Now I don’t know if my colleague will see this, if he does, he will know that this is about him. Just know I have written this with love.

The first question I had after reading that post was what was the religion he was referring to? I couldn’t help but think it was a jab at Christianity, after all Christianity seems to be the most disrespected religion out there! From jokes about Jesus, to tv shows being blasphemous, it’s always socially acceptable to step on the beliefs of Christians. My theory is because Christianity is the truth! Jesus is the only way to the Father and the enemy knows that, so he has people lost and believing the lies and propaganda that is spewed out. Remember the enemy has no care if you follow God. Many people follow a God, but Jesus is who he doesn’t want you to acknowledge!

I also remembered in my time hearing, and even once upon a time agreeing with that sentiment. There always used to be this thought process when you heard that someone you once knew gave their life to Christ. It was that the person had been searching for something that they could not find to satisfy them in everyday life. They had hit their lows in life and could no longer stay afloat like the rest of us. They had failed, so they turned to religion. The funny thing about that was it wasn’t far from the truth; the problem was WE had it all wrong. There is something we are ALL searching for, something that money, material things, sex, drugs, alcohol or social status cannot fill. That space we all try to fill is only reserved for God! The God-shaped hole as I’ve heard it put. We can have all the things this world has to offer and still be unhappy, depressed, and riddled with anxiety. I could go on and on, but I don’t want to stray too far from the point I was trying to make. I remember always looking at someone who suddenly found religion like they were doing life wrong, they needed people to hold their hand and tell them what they wanted to hear, a little like my work colleague. So, I know he wrote that post from a place of ignorance, I too used to be just as ignorant!

LUKE 9:23 “THEN HE SAID TO THEM ALL: “WHOEVER WANTS TO BE MY DISCIPLE MUST DENY THEMSELVES AND TAKE UP THEIR CROSS DAILY AND FOLLOW ME.” I love how it is worded in Luke because of the word “daily.” It really is just that! Every day I wake up and have to deny myself to choose Christ. Following Jesus is doing the opposite of what my flesh wants to do. It’s a constant battle and anyone who says it isn’t, is not being honest. The stronger your walk with God becomes the less battles you may face, but there will always be battles! For 37 years of my life, I was living as an enemy of God. I did what brought me pleasure, I lived for myself only. I got drunk, I had sex casually; there was nothing holy about the life I lived. When God called me, and I answered, He didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear, nor did He massage my ego! He didn’t tell me I was doing a good job and to keep up the good work. Instead, He absolutely brought me to my knees! He showed me I was a sinner, He showed me that the path I was on only led to death, He humbled me! I can say I was truly informed, I was given truth, a truth that had been hidden from me. It’s hard to be told home truths about yourself. It’s hard to accept your shortcomings, but the truth revealed to me was such a great act of love, a love only God could have shown me!

When I read that post I was triggered because I knew how hard it had been for me, and still is to be “religious”, whatever that means to people these days. It’s funny how the word religion can feel so negative at times. When I was part of the world, I never liked that word. Religion meant hypocrite to me. I had such a bad impression of religious people; everyone became tarred with the same brush. When I became a believer, I tried my hardest not to be “religious” even though my view of religion in general was not correct. As I read the bible and started to understand what it meant to be a Christian, God softened my heart to the wording, and now informed I stopped looking at it in a negative way, after all the word means to believe in, and worship a superhuman power, a God, which is not a lie. Now when people use the word religion in a negative way it makes me think of the religious leaders of the bible who would fulfil their religious duties, appearing holy from the outside, but their heart posture was not of God, they had no relationship. Unfortunately, there are a lot of so-called Christians who live like the Pharisees of the bible today.

1 PETER 1:14 “SO YOU MUST LIVE AS GOD’S OBEDIENT CHILDREN. DON’T SLIP BACK INTO YOUR OLD WAYS OF LIVING TO SATISFY YOUR OWN DESIRES. YOU DIDN’T KNOW ANY BETTER THEN.” It can be so easy to slip back into old habits, that is why we are constantly warned throughout the bible about the dangers of this. It’s very different falling back into sin when you know better. The conviction you feel knowing you are displeasing God but doing it anyway is another level. The road to Jesus is not easy! The great thing about it is that He never gives us a false impression of what it means to be His sheep. He tells us the path is narrow, He tells us we will face persecution for His namesake, He tells us we will be asked to sacrifice and put ourselves last, He tells us we will endure suffering and be hated! If we look at the society we live in today; the shift that culture is making, if we stand true to God’s word and do not compromise ourselves, we will experience all those hardships that we are warned about. To be a Christian today is to go against the world we live in, a world that glorifies what God hates. A world where people are a lover of selves, where money and status are king, where people’s hearts have become hardened and cruel, and there is a lack of love for people in general. To be a Christian who does not compromise in this day and age is not an easy feat! Sadly, many are failing in this department; deconstruction is really happening. Nothing about being a Christian is a walk in the park.

JOHN 16:33 “I HAVE TOLD YOU THESE THINGS, SO THAT IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE. BUT TAKE HEART! I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.” Even though we will go through our trials and tribulations, we can have peace in our hearts because we have Jesus! He has already won! We are to keep our eyes focused on above not on earthly desires/treasures, things that are meaningless to the kingdom because we cannot take them with us. Remember we are aliens here; this is not our home. We know our God is faithful and keeps His promises. As Christians our eyes and hearts are focused on an eternity with Christ, that is what we have to look forward to. That is why we choose the hard path and deny ourselves. My Facebook buddy has it wrong, it’s the world that tells you what you want to hear. It’s the world that massages your ego! We live in a culture that affirms your every whim and lies and tells you it’s an act of love. You can wake up and be whatever you want to be, and because it’s your “truth” then that’s ok, cause as long as you are living your “truth” that’s all that matters, even if that “truth” causes you more harm than good.

My Facebook buddy shared his opinion, and opinions can always change. Who knows, maybe he wasn’t even thinking about Christianity when he wrote that post, I could have been triggered for no reason lol, only God knows what was in his heart when he wrote it. But I do know many people share that view of religion and maybe this post will help someone to rethink and ask questions, God has a funny way of reaching people. Although I have spoken about the difficulties of this walk, I want you to know this is, and will forever be the best decision I ever made in my miserable existence. I felt so empty for the longest time, I experienced so much trauma as a result of my search to fill my missing piece. The changes that God has done in me has given me a contentment in myself and my life that I never had before. God has filled me, and I feel so complete within myself. If you read this, and you experience an emptiness, maybe you do not know God yet, or maybe you are curious and something inside you is making you want to explore, well just taste and see, He is good! He knows you and His love for you is so deep that even though you live opposed to Him, when you decide to seek Him, He will be waiting for you with His arms outstretched. Isn’t that beautiful.

WHO’S BODY IS IT ANYWAY?

I hope the month of May finds you in good health, physically and spiritually! We are at the end of the month and so much is happening in this world we live in. It’s sad to watch the lost fall further away from the light of God. The most disturbing thing of late has been the talk of women’s bodies and what they have the right to do with them. I’m talking about the sensitive topic of abortion. I have debated about discussing this topic, but its been hard to ignore of late because of what’s going on in America (it’s always America lol) Plus it’s been a very triggering subject for me as in my past life I was no stranger to that procedure. So I have been wrestling with the feelings of seeming hypocritical about my stance on it now. I have constantly had to remind myself that I was once dead in my transgressions, but now that I have accepted Christ I am reborn, I am a new creation, I know better now because I live in God’s truth, my sins are forgiven!

It’s funny listening to peoples views about abortion, it reminds me that I once held the same opinions, like I said before I have utilised that option more than once. I never thought anything about it then, it was like going for a routine procedure at my doctors, it was an option I had no problem using! Fast forward to now and that choice I made haunts me to this day. I know that God has forgiven my past transgressions but forgiving myself is something I am working on. The sad thing about it is I always saw myself as a mother, I’ve always been told I would make a good one. When I was younger I had a vision for my life. When I think about it, it was quite traditional. I always wanted to get married, I saw myself with a husband, kids and a house (minus the white picket fence) I saw all these things happening for me by the age of 30, because at 19 yrs of age 30 felt ancient! Now I am knocking at 40’s door, alone. Sometimes I feel like maybe I missed my chance to have those things, sometimes my mind tells me its my punishment. Of course deep down inside I know better.

There are many reasons that women choose the option of abortion, but I can only tell you about my reasons. The first time I made that choice I was 19 yrs old. 19 was a big year for me, it was the year I discovered my sexuality and the year I lost my virginity. I was the last in a group of my friends. Although I wasn’t really in a rush, the fact that I was in a friends group who shared this experience, I felt like I was falling behind, and the more I hesitated the more fear I built up around sex. Now no one ever sat me down to tell me about sex and how to have it safely, I was just out here winging it. My mum ignored the topic in hopes I would just forget about it and I wouldn’t show any interest in the act. Of course that was not what happened, instead the world and its views taught me about sex.

I was so naïve to sex and the repercussions of it, I was just learning from my mistakes, and not always. Before the year was out I found myself pregnant and in an abusive relationship. I won’t go into details about that but I was already planning my escape so there was no way in my mind I was ready for that responsibility, and I surely didn’t want to be tied to a man that was mentally trying to destroy me and now was being physical and threatening. My mum was not against it, she had a history of also using that as an “easy fix” option. So that was that, it was quick and I carried on with life feeling relieved. The next time was very different, it was not so easy as I wanted to be a mother, although I was only 21 years old, I was in a different relationship, I was young, still naïve and in love. My partner (who I ended up spending 7yrs of my life with) wasn’t really committed, I was ten steps ahead in where I thought we were in our relationship. Everyone saw it for what it was but me, but that’s what happens when you are young and in love. When I realised three months in (the first trimester) that I was pregnant, my mum was upset, more because she didn’t like my boyfriend but she also thought I was too young! She saw me going down the same path as she did, being a young single mother, and she didn’t want that for me. It was her idea for me to see the doctor to discuss my “options”. Like I said before, I wanted to be a mother. I wasn’t convinced 100% that ending my pregnancy was what I wanted. But after a visit to the doctor, and my doctor (a woman) telling me that I didn’t want to end up being another statistic by having a child and being a single black mother, she booked my appointment at a well known clinic, and I left feeling voiceless and confused. By the time my appointment arrived, I was so confused I went anyway because I didn’t want to be another statistic and I didn’t want to struggle like my mum so I thought that was the best decision, even though I regretted it after and sobbed until my my eyes were red. But even then my views on abortion were still the same, that was not my first rodeo, just the first time I actually wanted to keep it. I never saw it as murder, I was convinced that it wasn’t murder because it wasn’t actually a “baby” yet!

PSALMS 139:16 “YOU SAW ME BEFORE I WAS BORN. EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE WAS RECORDED IN YOUR BOOK. EVERY MOMENT WAS LAID OUT BEFORE A SINGLE DAY HAD PASSED.” How beautiful to know that God knew you before you were born, He knew everything that you would do in your life before you lived out your first day! How intentional He was when he formed you in your mothers womb! If God thought about everyone of us so intently, from the moment we are conceived we are important, we already have purpose, and we are known by God so we are “somebody”, we have a soul! The world will convince you that we are just an embryo that has no feeling or importance, but that is a lie from the enemy!

JEREMIAH 1:5 “I KNEW YOU BEFORE I FORMED YOU IN YOUR MOTHER’S WOMB. BEFORE YOU WERE BORN I SET YOU APART AND APPOINTED YOU AS MY PROPHET TO THE NATIONS.” When God called on Jeremiah, he thought that he wasn’t ready for such a calling, he thought he was too young. But God told him that He had a plan for his life, He knew him before he was born, He formed him in his mother’s womb!! His message isn’t just for Jeremiah, but can be for all of us! God has plans for everyone of us, and it starts before He forms us in the womb. To say we don’t hold any importance is a lie, because to God we are important at all stages! Abortion is definitely a sin! When you are aligned with God’s will you see everything differently, what grieves Him, grieves you. I read someone say that because abortion wasn’t mentioned in the bible how could it be a sin? PROVERBS 16:4 “THE LORD HAS MADE EVERYTHING FOR ITS PURPOSE, EVEN THE WICKED FOR THE DAY OF TROUBLE.”

What I have learnt on my walk is that this is not my home, this fallen world, I have become an alien in. What seems wise to the world is foolish to God. When we don’t know God we will always choose ourselves and what feels right to us over God’s truth. Satan’s plan is to destroy us, and we give him the power to when we don’t submit to God and His perfect way. Satan is the father of lies, this world belongs to him. When you listen to people who reason for abortion it’s just a reminder of how far away we are from God. I can’t even be angry as I was once a lost soul, I didn’t know God, I didn’t know truth! In this generation sex has become so casual, it’s become cheap and unimportant. People have casual hook ups and are not bothered because they know that if they become pregnant they have “options.” Children are having children because the culture is teaching them about sex. Even in the worst situation a woman may find herself in, having a baby as a result still can be positive because you don’t know who that child will become, you don’t know God’s plan even in the worst scenario. Even still there are always other options like adoption. People have become so detached and dehumanised about what abortion is, it makes me sad. JEREMIAH 29:11 “FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU,” SAYS THE LORD. “THEY ARE PLANS FOR GOOD AND NOT FOR DISASTER, TO GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND A HOPE.”

To the people that don’t know God, I understand why you will always make those decisions and choose the love of self over the love of God. But to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who I have heard say that abortion should be a choice given to a woman, even though you would not make the same choice for yourself, I ask you to really think about that and why that is. Don’t become a compromised Christian, read your bible and spend alone time with your Father in heaven. Make sure your relationship is where it should be, don’t let the culture infect you with lies, until you can not discern what is truth! The scripture that has really resided in me this month is this, ROMANS 12:2 “DON’T COPY THE BEHAVIOR AND CUSTOMS OF THIS WORLD, BUT LET GOD TRANSFORM YOU INTO A NEW PERSON BY CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK. THEN YOU WILL LEARN TO KNOW GOD’S WILL FOR YOU, WHICH IS GOOD AND PLEASING AND PERFECT.” It’s so easy to be swayed by the majority, going against the grain is difficult. Having a conversation such as this with someone who is strongly for abortion will not make you any new friends. That’s ok because we already know that the world will not love us because we love Christ! But stay strong in God’s love and don’t let the world and what it stands for grind you down, stay convicted in truth! Talk to people in love about these difficult topics, you won’t win everybody over, but you will make some think about what they really believe, and if you can do that God will take care of the rest.