THE ABANDONED CHILD.

I’ve been noticing something within the body of Christ that is becoming more and more concerning. The lack of unity, the lack of oneness! Instead of living as part of the body of Christ, some of us are living like an abandoned child! Like we don’t belong! Why? What is really going on? I am genuinely confused. When I was part of the world, I could say I lived like I was abandoned. I had no guidance. Yes, I had a mother who did her best, but she too didn’t know God, so it was the blind leading the blind. I was living doing what I felt was right for me, making up my own rules as I went along. Yes, I had friends, but they definitely didn’t know any better than me. They, too, were swayed by the culture.

Something that is abandoned can mean to be forsaken or deserted, but it can also mean for something to be unrestrained, uncontrolled, and uninhibited. Yes, yes, and yes! That was my life before Christ. When I accepted Jesus into my heart, He scooped me up out of that deserted place I was in and He joined me to His body, and for the first time, I had a deep sense of belonging to something greater than myself! I quickly discovered that I wasn’t alone, and God’s plan for me was not to do His will by myself, but as part of a body of believers working together. So it wasn’t a surprise that the first thing He convicted me about was church and being part of a community! I had already had this false idea of church and Christians in general, but it was reading His word that challenged my feelings, and I accepted that God was right! Now, almost 4 years in, I know that I can’t be a Christian without being part of the body. It’s more than just attending church on a Sunday. It’s doing life together the rest of the week. Too many Christians believe that their relationship with God is all they need. They don’t have to add people to the mix. Their alone time with God is sufficient enough to see them through! What a big fat lie from the enemy! The enemy loves to keep you separated from the body so that you don’t work as you should. You take longer to complete the assignment that God gave you! And in that time of separation, he gets to work sowing seeds of doubt, making you more corruptible. Before you know it, you are drifting further and further away from Christ, and now you can no longer discern the voice of God from what you feel in your heart.

There are many reasons why Christians avoid attending the church and being a part of the community. Sometimes it’s complicated, people have been hurt before! It’s hard to trust when you have experienced trauma at the hands of the very people that are meant to safeguard you, the people that you trust to be the instruments of God. The other reason for people staying away is because it’s easier to live in your sin without accountability! You hold people at arms length because you don’t want anyone to speak into your life. You don’t want to be told to stop doing what you have grown to love doing. You have convinced yourself it’s ok. You are doing just fine as you keep telling yourself that God’s grace is sufficient enough. Thank you, God, that it is! But we mustn’t abuse it either. Another thing I have noticed is how easily offence has settled into the hearts of the Church. Someone doesn’t like how they were spoken to, or someone doesn’t like how they weren’t spoken to, either way, offence is taken, and the heart is hardened. Imagine a church that follows a ministry that promotes forgiveness and reconciliation but doesn’t have the grace to extend it to their brothers and sisters! What a joke!

ACTS 2:46 “EVERY DAY THEY CONTINUED TO MEET TOGETHER IN THE TEMPLE COURTS. THEY BROKE BREAD IN THEIR HOMES AND ATE TOGETHER WITH GLAD AND SINCERE HEARTS,” Imagine meeting with the people from your church everyday! Some of us can only muster 2 hours on a Sunday, we tell each other we are just too busy in our weeks to give anymore time. Church becomes secondary, and our 9-5 jobs and family duties take precedence. God is no longer first, and we become Cain instead of Abel, not giving God our first fruits, not honouring Him the way He deserves. In the book of Acts, the believers devoted themselves to fellowship, to breaking of bread, to prayer. They were together always, they had everything in common, they gave to anyone who had need, even if it meant selling their possessions and property! They were devoted to each other, which, in my opinion, was just an overflow of their devotion to God. So God added to their number DAILY those who were being saved! As we sit in our half filled churches, praying for chairs to be filled, asking for a move from God, lets ask ourselves if we are truly devoted to the body the way that is described in Acts! Maybe there, we may find our answer and our solution. I know we live in a different age to the believers of the bible, but I believe we can still uphold the same sincerity, devotion, and favour that has been left as a blueprint for us today.

Whether you want to accept it or not, you are part of the body! You are called to work together with the body, not separate from them. Imagine if someone chopped off your big toe, although the big toe is no longer a functioning part of the body, it is still your big toe, it just doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to, it no longer fulfills it’s purpose! Don’t be the discarded part that doesn’t function the way it was designed to because you don’t want to be a part of the body. Jesus has one body, and He is the head! You don’t get to be your own body, separated from everyone else. You don’t get to be casual with the body either. You can’t step in and out when it suits you or when you feel like it. Be devoted. If you can’t do it for yourself, then do it to honour your Father in heaven. MATTHEW 22:37-39 “JESUS REPLIED: LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREATEST COMMANDMENT. AND THE SECOND IS LIKE IT: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” When asked which was the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus gave what on the surface may seem simple. But when we look at what it takes to love our neighbour, we see that it’s far from simple. People are hard work, so trust me when I say I get the draw to want to take Jesus without the body!

Although the body is made up of different people from different walks of life, it’s these differences that make being a part of a community so enriching. Regardless of our differences, we have so much in common, Jesus! Jesus is who unites us, who binds us, who draws us together in harmony. The body is the people who edify us, who encourage us daily, who petition us to God. When we disassociate ourselves from others, we miss out on the fullness of what God has for us. Blessings upon blessings!! If you are deliberately avoiding being a part of the body, then I emplore you to check your heart position! Yes, it’s a heart issue. Ask God to search your heart and to remove what offends Him. Trust me when I say you not wanting to tolerate the body is offensive! You are not forgotten, and you are definitely not abandoned, so please stop living like it. You have a job to do, like we all have, but your job is to work in harmony with the rest of us! Just like the big toe works in harmony with the other toes to bring balance. The big toe is useless if it is removed from the foot, but do you know what happens to the body without the big toe? Absolutely nothing! The foot learns to balance without the big toe and continues on, while the big toe is disgarded to the rubbish heap. That’s a word for someone, I’m sure!

EPHESIANS 4:15-16 “INSTEAD, WE WILL SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE, GROWING IN EVERY WAY MORE AND MORE LIKE CHRIST, WHO IS THE HEAD OF HIS BODY, THE CHURCH. HE MAKES THE WHOLE BODY FIT TOGETHER PERFECTLY. AS EACH PART DOES ITS OWN SPECIAL WORK, IT HELPS THE OTHER PARTS GROW, SO THAT THE WHOLE BODY IS HEALTHY AND GROWING AND FULL OF LOVE.” Yes, we all have our own special work to do, but do you see how our own work affects the growth of others? Do you see how you contribute to the health of others and the love that fills us up? There is no mission that is separate from the body. We are one! PERIOD. Let’s start acting like it. Let’s show the world what it means to truly love one another, to have Christ as the head. It’s the way we treat each other, the way we devote ourselves to each other, that is what will bring people to want to know who this Jesus is who we serve and worship. And God will add to us, just like He did in Acts! Because in the end, isn’t this what it’s all about? Not me, not you, but spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and making disciples. That is the great commission! That is why we labour together as one body under Christ! As the saying goes, “United we stand, divided we fall.”

MAN OR GOD?

Before God shakes up your life, I find He tends to bring all the scum to the surface. He forces you to clean house before He can take you to that next level. The things He brings to the surface can be messy, but it’s nesscersary if you want to see the glory of God in your life. I got to thinking about that mess and how that mess that nobody expects to see can affect those around you. This week, I found myself exposed to someone’s mess. I saw how that mess affected someone impressionable. In my disappointment, I was reminded that man is not God. We can not place people in positions only reserved for God no matter what their title is. Man will never be perfect! Only Jesus holds that title! I know I am stating the obvious, but it’s so easy to place people on pedestals. When they fall off, not only do they do damage to themselves, but to others who are witnesses to the fall. Very quickly, we see where people place their faith. If your faith is affected by the fall of man, there you will find who the God you serve really is.

In the last few years alone, there have been many notable men of faith who have fallen from grace. These men have had huge ministries and overseen thousands of people. So when their evil deeds were exposed, the damage was not only done to themselves, but to many people who trusted and followed their ministries. A lot of people left the faith because of their transgressions. These are good examples of people who placed their faith in man instead of God! I understand God’s judgment for people in such positions. If you lead yourself into eternal damnation that’s on you, but if you take the flock with you, then that’s even worse. The bible talks about being aware of wolves in sheeps clothing, not being led astray. It also warns us that not many will endure to the end when Jesus returns. It’s a scary thought!

This post is a reminder of where our faith should be placed so that we don’t fall away. 1 JOHN 1:8 “IF WE CLAIM TO BE WITHOUT SIN, WE DECEIVE OURSELVES AND THE TRUTH IS NOT IN US.” We are all sinners. We all fall short of the glory of God. Yes, even Mary from church who always brings in the baked goods every Sunday; with the big beaming smile on her face, even she is a sinner! That includes your favourite pastor. So if someone tells you that they can’t be included in this list, the Word makes them a liar! Trust me when I say the acceptance that nobody is perfect is what is gonna keep you grounded, especially when you are new to faith. With the knowledge that we are sinful, we should forever be at the feet of our Father thanking Him for His great demonstration of love, sending Christ to die for all of us even though we are sinners. So why place our faith in someone who is imperfect? It’s disappointing when someone we felt could do no wrong is revealed to be a deceiver. We mourn for the loss of that person, but that loss should drive us deeper into the arms of Jesus. Because the loss should humble us, showing us how easy it is to stumble. It reveals our deep need for Jesus because we can’t do this life without Him!

If you go to church just for your pastor or because you like the worship, you are gonna find yourself at a crossroads if scandal falls upon your church or someone causes offence. If you think about the church hurt that people experience, the damage that it does to people who never want to step foot in a church again. These people grow a distrust at the mention of God. When, in fact, it has nothing to do with God! It’s not a reflection of who Jesus is. It begs the question, did you ever know God? Were you ever a friend of Jesus? ROMANS 10:17 “CONSEQUENTLY, FAITH COMES FROM HEARING THE MESSAGE, AND THE MESSAGE IS HEARD THROUGH THE WORD ABOUT CHRIST.” Our faith comes from hearing the word. The bible is where our faith pours out. We must read the word so our faith is so strong that when we see people fall away, our feet dig deeper into the foundation that we built-up our faith upon. We can’t stay a float on the faith of others, that will not carry us through this life. The enemy will quickly devour us. That’s why we have a relational God. He wants to walk side by side each of us, just as He did with Adam in the Garden of Eden.

To the people that hold respected positions in ministry, beware of the enemy lurking in the shadows, waiting to bring you to your doom. It may sound dramatic, but really, it isn’t. The enemy would love to tear you down because he knows he can maximise the damage, two birds with one stone! JAMES 1:15 “THEN, AFTER DESIRE HAS CONCEIVED, IT GIVES BIRTH TO SIN; AND SIN, WHEN IT IS FULL-GROWN, GIVES BIRTH TO DEATH.” He can’t force us to do anything that isn’t in our hearts already. All he does is speak to the desires of our flesh, he has no power over us! Greater is He in you than he in the world. So when you are behind closed doors indulging in whatever your vice may be, don’t forget that you are only decieving yourself! You can hide from your brothers and sisters, but you can’t hide from God, He sees you. PSALM 69:5 “YOU, GOD, KNOW MY FOLLY; MY GUILT IS NOT HIDDEN FROM YOU.”

We will never be perfect. We will stumble at times, but we must get up each time we fall. We are no longer slaves to sin because of Jesus. His death on the cross broke the power of sin over us. So keep telling yourselves that when sin comes knocking at your door, trust me, it will; just don’t answer. This is not only for people in leadership, but it’s for the whole body. As a body, we are more effective when all parts function. Every part of your body is important, even the smallest of limbs. If someone removed your big toe, you would find it hard to balance. something so small and insignificant can have a great impact on the body if removed. When we function as one unit, we are more effective in doing our kingdom work. JAMES 5:16 ” THEREFORE CONFESS YOUR SINS TO EACH OTHER SO THAT YOU MAY BE HEALED. THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS PERSON IS POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE.” Let’s look after the body, pray for your brothers and sisters who are struggling, don’t write them off because God doesn’t write you off with all your imperfections. Repent and ask for help. The devil can’t use what you do in the dark if you bring it to the light!

The easiest way to fall away from faith is to place your faith in man instead of God! Read your bible. I’ll say it again, READ YOUR BIBLE! Get to know the God you serve. You won’t truly know the good news of Jesus if you never hear the word of God! As soon as your faith is tested, you will fall each time because your foundation is built on sand instead of the rock! When you read the word, you get to know God’s voice with the help of the Holy Spirit. No man can come and deceive you. No voice can whisper in your ear something contrary to God’s word. Remember, His sheep know His voice.

Church is a hospital full of the sick. The resident doctor on call is Jesus! We all need a hospital. Even when we may have to wait hours to be seen, we still know the value in waiting for the doctor. Church isn’t any different. As Jesus said himself, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” I think that’s a helpful reminder when dealing with the church. It helps to give grace and show mercy to our brothers and sisters who fall short. It also helps us to remember that we are also in need of a doctor and there is no other better than JESUS!

THE FRUIT OF THE VINE.

Before I came to Christ, it’s sad to say this, but I didn’t have a good impression of what it meant to be a Christian. People I met who claimed to be followers of Jesus weren’t the best examples. They actually made me feel I was better living my life away from Christ! I found non-believers in my life more loving and humbler than the Christians I encountered. Christians can often be depicted as intolerant and judgmental towards anyone who isn’t a part of what seems to be a members-only club, reserved for the chosen ones. This picture is the opposite of the life we are called to live as followers of Jesus. As Christians, we have a standard to live up to! To be “Christ-like” is to understand what Jesus expected from his disciples because that’s what we are when we accept Jesus into our hearts. But what does that mean? Does it mean we come to church on a Sunday for a few hours, get our word from whoever the speaker of the day is, then go home and continue on with whatever “life” looks like for us, then do it all again the following Sunday, showing no evidence of change in our lives? Of course not!

First let’s start with the word “Disciple.” It means to be a student, a learner, a follower. Someone who accepts the leadership of another. So to be a disciple means we follow Christ. We learn from Him and continue to learn from him because we always remain students, we always remain teachable. We turn our backs on our former lives, we change because He changes us. We stay close to Him and give Him all authority over our lives so that He can lead us to eternal life! But how do we know we are true disciples? What is the evidence? Let’s take a look at John 15:1-8, where it talks about Jesus being the true vine.

A vine can produce grapes, and the fruit that is born is of similar nature and quality of the plant from which it comes. We are the branches and Jesus is our vine. And what we put out to the world should reflect His nature. Being a disciple is about producing fruit! We are expected to produce plenty of fruit, and we produce fruit when we remain in Jesus! But what is this Fruit? In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul talks about the fruit of the spirit being love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruit is the change that following Christ invokes, the sign that the Holy Spirit is really working in us. We start from producing no fruit but being made clean, purified. Now pruned with the word, we start to produce a little fruit at first, then God tends to us, and we go on to produce plenty! John 15:4 “REMAIN IN ME, AND I WILL REMAIN IN YOU. FOR A BRANCH CANNOT PRODUCE FRUIT IF IT IS SEVERED FROM THE VINE, AND YOU CANNOT BE FRUITFUL UNLESS YOU REMAIN IN ME.” Remember I said we are the branch, so to be severed means not being in a relationship with Christ. It’s not about losing your salvation. It’s more about a loss of fellowship with Him and a loss of reward, which can have a serious effect on our spiritual lives. We can become useless to ourselves, to God, and to other people. Remaining in Jesus is to have a continued relationship of true intimacy with Him. The way we do this is through creating spiritual disciplines, like daily Bible intake, prayer, worship, spending time with Him in our secret place, meditating on His word, and really applying it to our lives. We should also invite the Holy Spirit to work within us. This is how we make Him the true foundation, the root, the vine of our lives. This is how we become fruitful!

JOHN 15:6 “Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.” Sometimes we have to take an honest look at ourselves and see what fruit we are producing. Are we even producing fruit? Or have we turned into the useless branch withering away, waiting to be burned? Remember, fruit isn’t hidden. For example, when we look at a fruit tree, we know whether it’s an apple tree or an orange tree because the fruit is visible. There is no confusion about what fruit you are getting. When people look at us, they should know what fruit we have! They should see Christ in us, and not just at church on Sunday! We are not called to be casual Christians. When we are out in the world, we are called to be the light and salt of the earth. People should be drawn to us like they were drawn to Christ because of our love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control!

JOHN 15:7 “BUT IF YOU REMAIN IN ME AND MY WORDS REMAIN IN YOU, YOU MAY ASK FOR ANYTHING YOU WANT, AND IT WILL BE GRANTED!” This is not a one-way relationship. We give ourselves to Him and He gives Himself to us in return! This is what makes us fruitful. God sees the fruit we produce through Christ and He tends to us, designing our paths and being the architect in our lives so that we produce even more fruit! When we move away from Christ, we stop bearing fruit. We stop being useful to the kingdom, we start to wither away spiritually. When we stop remaining in Jesus, we stop being in true alignment with God’s plan. Remember, God has the blueprint for our lives already, but when we come out of alignment, we start drawing up our own plans and hand them over to God, expecting them to be done for us, all because we ask for it in Jesus’ name! We start to treat Him like a genie god, then get mad when wishes are not granted. But when we abide in Him, our plans fit in with the blueprint that God already has for our lives. So now when we pray and ask for what we wish, it will be done for us because we are in alignment.

JOHN 15:8 “WHEN YOU PRODUCE MUCH FRUIT, YOU ARE MY TRUE DISCIPLES. THIS BRINGS GREAT GLORY TO MY FATHER.” Every good thing we do gives glory to the Father. The seeds of encouragement that you plant among your brothers and sisters, the patience you show your neighbor, the acts of kindness that you show strangers, the times when you respond with love when speaking in truth, all this is evidence that we are disciples, not just fans of Jesus! People we meet should be attracted to the light within us, they should want to know why we are so different, what makes us so peculiar. They should want to know how and what caused change in us. That is how I came to Christ. It was finally meeting Christians living life the way God calls us to live. They did nothing special, but through the fruit that they produced I was attracted to them like a moth to a flame. There was a peace that they had, that was a peace that I had never experienced and I knew that nothing money could buy would ever give me that peace. And I knew this because they were not rich, their lives were not perfect, yet I felt desperate to have whatever it was that they had. What they had was JESUS! Their light is what led me down the path to truth. All they did was bear fruit, and in doing so, I am here today, my life completely changed. And that is all we need to do, live a Christ-led life, bearing the fruit that is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. And when people want to know our secret, now we get to share the good news that is Jesus Christ! And you didn’t have to go to your local town square screaming aggressively about burning in hell if you didn’t repent.

If you feel that maybe your fruit production needs some improvement, ask Him for what you need. If it’s more patience, pray for it! Just don’t be surprised when He brings someone into your life who tests your patience. Remember that God isn’t a genie, expect to put the work in. Also, look at the spiritual disciplines you have, and if there is a lack of them, commit to spending more time with Him. Remember, the Holy Spirit resides in you, and just like we nourish our bodies with food daily, we must also do the same spiritually. Some of us are spiritually malnourished! Here is my prayer for all of us as we continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

Father, we thank you for this day, thank you for allowing us to see another day with you. Each day you give us is a reminder that we have a purpose and assignment to fulfill. Thank you for loving us and choosing us, and thank you for the grace and mercy you show us every day. Help us to become more like you, Lord. Light the fires in our hearts so that we have a renewed hunger for you. Help us to bear good fruit, fruit that not only glorifies you but is nourishing to the people we encounter. May your light continue to shine brightly within us, that it will be a guide to people who seek to know you. Help us to share your goodness boldly with others. Give us a hunger that can only be satisfied by your word. Help us to become better students so we can do great things in your name. In Jesus name I pray, AMEN.

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.

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!

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.”

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!

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

CHRISTIANS AND CANCEL CULTURE

Hi, remember me….. Yeah it’s been a while, but life! Lets just start by thanking God and giving Him all the glory for the fact that I am still here and able to come back with another post! This world has gotten a little crazier since I last posted and I have been paying attention to it all! Whether it’s celebrity antics or the war currently taking place, there is a lot happening right now. Firstly I wanna acknowledge and send prayers to those that have lost their lives, and those who don’t know whether tomorrow will come in the Ukraine. Without wanting to feel like I am jumping on another hashtag bandwagon, it’s important to acknowledge that there have been plenty of conflicts and war, this one right now seems to be getting more traction in news and media. So my prayer is not only for the people of the Ukraine, but for all the voiceless and faceless all over the world who have been victims of tyrants, who have lost so much and become displaced, for all refugees!

For the last few weeks this topic has been heavy on my heart, the issue of cancel culture amongst Christians. I have started to think that maybe we were the originators of this cancel culture we see today! That might seem extreme to say but think about it! For as long as I can remember; and this is before I knew the Lord, when I thought of Religion I always equated it to judgement and condemnation, which is the opposite of what Christianity is supposed to be! I remember I was never alone in that thinking, it seemed that was the general assumption amongst non believers. How sad is that!? But why did “we” believe that?? It’s how Christians conducted themselves, it’s how the Church would quickly turn their backs on you if you somehow didn’t meet the standards they had placed on your life. It had nothing to do with Christ but had everything to do with man’s opinion of right and wrong! Sad to say I am seeing the same thing today. What I am noticing today, and to be honest its always been this way, but there are too many Religious people and not enough Christians. Let me explain what I have worked out in my short time on this walk with Christ. When I started to get to know the Lord, I mean really get to know Him through bible study, I saw the difference of what it meant to be Religious and what it meant to be a Christian. In the bible, the Religious leaders in the time of Jesus (the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Scribes) were what Religion looked like, to be fair it still looks the same in present day. But these Religious leaders would look holy and devout from outside appearances because of the “works” they did and the laws they followed. But when you looked inside of their hearts, their hearts were hardened, they were self indulgent, full of greed and worldly desires. They looked down on others that didn’t meet their standards, standards passed on through tradition. They ignored the important issues that God required from them and focused on minute details that had nothing to do with Gods word.

Jesus said this in the sermon on the mount ” DO NOT THINK THAT I HAVE COME TO ABOLISH THE LAW OR THE PROPHETS; I HAVE NOT COME TO ABOLISH THEM BUT TO FULFILL THEM.” MATTHEW 5:18. He came to build upon what was already established, so that we were no longer legalistic, so that we would have a deeper understanding of who God was through Christ, so that we could be in relationship with God through His Son. Jesus came not only to teach God’s word, but to be a doer of God’s word, something the Religious leaders had not grasped. That to me is what makes a Christian. We are to know God’s word and apply it to our daily lives. So the question I pose to you is this, are you Religious? or are you a Christian?

Now I don’t know how much of social media you intake, but I find it interesting watching from the side-lines. Before Christ I was heavily influenced by culture, social media was my bible. Now it makes me cringe when I see what used to move me, when I would agree with people online thinking they were wise and speaking truth. Now that I see God’s truth is the ONLY truth that matters because it is everlasting, it is clear to me what it really means to be a new creation. Which leads me onto what triggered this whole think tank….Kanye West! Whether you who reads this blog even knows who Kanye West is, is irrelevant. What you need to know is that he is a very big celebrity who publicly converted to following Christ a couple of years back (don’t quote me on time of conversion) What I know about him was that he was brought up to know God thanks to his mother who sadly passed away in the prime of his career. Being a big part of rap culture today, it was a shock to see him really give his art over to serving the Lord. His new Christian music and the Sunday Service Choir brought a lot of celebrities to Sunday service which was basically a praise and worship service that he put together. I remember reading an article that said he had held a concert and over a thousand attendees gave their lives to Christ that night! You can not deny that God was working through him. When he was doing all of this work for the kingdom he was met with apprehension from fellow Christians, he wasn’t trusted by Christians, they questioned his authenticity, some thinking he was just using it to make money and it was fake news. I did understand the doubt over whether he was being genuine but in the end I decided it was none of my business and I would leave the heart issue to God to judge, remembering Jesus when he said I would know His people by their fruit. Fast forward to present day, where Kanye is going through a messy public divorce with his equally famous wife. As a celebrity nothing is private as you know so its been sad to watch the mental decline of Kanye West on social media. His now ex wife is dating another public figure and Kanye who didn’t want to divorce in the first place is now using his art to incite violence towards the new guy. It’s all very messy like I said, but what makes it even more messy is that the Church is watching and judging and the the world is watching the Church!

Watching the critique from fellow brothers and sisters has been shocking! I have been really disappointed in the lack of grace shown, I expected that from the worldly not from Christians! What’s even more damaging is watching the rest of the world react to us Christians reacting to Kanye. Imagine when you first came to Christ, remember what the beginning of your journey was like, how easily you would fall from grace. Now imagine that whole journey being documented for the whole world to see! for everyone to have an opinion and have a say about who you are and the state of your heart for Christ even though they don’t know you! We have all been Kanye, but the difference is we had our privacy!

I know in the bible it says we should pull our brothers and sisters to the side for correction, and I know that is what some will think they are doing, but let me be the one to tell you that, that is not what you are doing. What I see is public judgment and condemnation. The very thing that used to turn me off from Religion. That is not how we win souls! To be a Christian means to be like Christ, so stop being a religious Pharisee! MATTHEW 7:1-5 “DO NOT JUDGE, OR YOU TOO WILL BE JUDGED. FOR IN THE SAME WAY YOU JUDGE OTHERS, YOU WILL BE JUDGED, AND WITH THE MEASURE YOU USE, IT WILL BE MEASURED TO YOU. WHY DO YOU LOOK AT THE SPECK OF SAWDUST IN YOUR BROTHERS EYE AND PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE PLANK IN YOUR OWN EYE? HOW CAN YOU SAY TO YOUR BROTHER, ‘LET ME TAKE THE SPECK OUT OF YOUR EYE’, WHEN ALL THE TIME THERE IS A PLANK IN YOUR OWN EYE? YOU HYPORCRITE, FIRST TAKE THE PLANK OUT OF YOUR OWN EYE, AND THEN YOU WILL SEE CLEARLY TO REMOVE THE SPECK FROM YOUR BROTHER’S EYE.” I know we are all familiar with the phrase “Only God can judge me” now you see where it was born. Usually people stop at the part of the scripture where it says do not judge, but that is what we call cherry picking, when you take scripture out of context to push forward your own agenda. When we Christians are wagging our fingers and turning our backs on our brothers and sisters lets remember this teaching. You will be judged with the same measure you use to judge the Kanye’s of the world, so before you start looking at the faults of others, look at yourself first. Are you faultless, are you without sin? We already know that as Christians the answer is NO! So when you are dishing out that judgement make sure you dish it with a side of grace. As you see from the scripture it doesn’t say we shouldn’t judge our brothers and sisters, but it says before we do anything, before we can bring correction, lets address the faults in our life first, so we can be a better help to our brothers and sisters. Our plank is much more serious than the speck of dust in our brothers eye!

We have to be careful not to cause harm to the body, the Church. God will use whoever He choses, even the unsaved to bring forth His Kingdom agenda. Remember Satan can not cast out Satan! We are all so weary of being led astray by false teachers, as we should be, but we are too quick to call everyone false, quick to cancel! Let’s remember that we are all human, and the struggle on this walk is the same for all, it just looks different for others. Satan knows what to use against us, and when we turn away from him and turn to Jesus, he hates it and sends everything our way to bring us back to him. We know what that was like in the beginning when we were weak, to be honest it something that never stops, it just gets easier to deal with as our faith increases! Leave the matters of the heart to God, no one can deceive our Father, He knows all, He see’s all! MATTHEW 7:22-23 “MANY WILL SAY TO ME ON THAT DAY ‘LORD, LORD, DID WE NOT PROPHESY IN YOUR NAME AND IN YOUR NAME DRIVE OUT DEMONS AND IN YOUR NAME PERFORM MIRACLES?’ THEN I WILL TELL THEM PLAINLY, ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU. AWAY FROM ME, YOU EVILDOERS!” Let’s remember to extend love to our struggling brothers and sisters, lets remember in the same way we struggle and our Father loves us and gives us grace lets do the same for the Kanye’s of the world. But most of all lets not forget Christians, THE WORLD IS WATCHING!