HAS THE CHURCH LOST THE FEAR OF GOD?

The once saved always saved debate, is what led me down a winding road, that took me on a journey that kept leading me back to this question, have we, the church, lost the fear of God? After a recent trip to visit my family in the USA, my aunt who I vividly remembered being a christian all her life surprised me when I witnessed certain behaviour and speech from her, far removed from what Jesus requires from us as his followers. It’s funny because the last time I saw her, which was before the dreaded pandemic, I was not a believer. I remember her calling me to her bedroom and asking me to get on my knees and pray with her and a friend who was on the phone. I will never forget how awkward I felt bowing my head. And as I listened to their feverent prayers to God, I kept thinking, when would this be over! Although I obliged my aunt out of respect, that memory never left me, and I can’t help but feel it was a seed that had been planted. That was the last memory of my aunt, a memory that built her up in my mind as a prayer warrior, a woman of God who had an unshakable faith. So, in my excitement to come back 5 years later, now a woman of God myself, I couldn’t wait to connect with my aunt in a way that I had never before!

We did connect in a new way, but it was just not how I envisioned it would be. I spent the first few days “correcting” her (her words), reminding her of what it meant to be a follower of Christ. But in me doing that, it brought us closer than ever, and we had long conversations about faith and her understanding. God used me to remind my aunt that He should be feared and his grace not taken for granted. Because of my own reverence for Him, it ignited her fire for the Lord, which had been smouldering for years. That was when the first thought about the lack of reverance for God came to mind. I know there are plenty of people like my aunt who have been believers for years, and for whatever reason, their faith has become habitual, instead of something you live for daily. People claim to know God, but they don’t exhibit His nature, for the bible says we should be holy because our father in heaven is holy! But how can you fear the Lord if you don’t even know Him? My aunt didn’t read the word like she should, and she could only digest a verse, never a whole chapter. This explained why she misused and misunderstood scripture. It’s hard to understand the word without any context. If you can’t understand scripture, I would think it would be hard to understand who God truly is, His nature, and His love for us! Of course, without that important information, it would be hard to revere Him.

PROVERBS 9:10 “THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM, AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY ONE IS UNDERSTANDING.” When I think of having fear of the Lord, I don’t see it like the fear of an abusive partner. It’s like the fear and respect you have for your parents. When you respect and fear your parents, you watch what you do, you stay away from doing things they prohibit you from doing, because you know that there will be serious consequences if you are not obedient. You respect them so much that the thought of disappointing them would break your heart. But the most important part about that relationship is knowing that they truly love you and want the best for you. They are your safe place! To me, that is the fear of the Lord! Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom because when you fear Him, you abide in Him, and when we are obedient, all things work in our favour! To know Him is to understand life!

I had been reading the book of Acts, and there seemed to be this theme of fearing God that kept jumping out at me. First, it was in chapter 9 verse 31, when it said the church became stronger as the believers lived in fear of the Lord. I started to think about the churches in the west and how lukewarm some (not all) appear to be. I started to think about self professing christians who didn’t even think church was necessary, how they lived like non believers, like the God of the bible was just a fable. I even thought about my church, how not every member was truly submitted to God. This is not me casting judgement, but me pointing out what is just a fact, not every believer fears God! Without fear, it’s hard to be an effective Christian. How do we successfully carry out the great commission in Matthew 28 without the fear of God? When our life is on the line, it’s only then we seem to remember that God is real and not to be played with. It’s in those times we promise God that we will be better if He would only give us more time! Why do we need to be brought to our knees for us to start taking God seriously? How do we translate that moment into our lives daily? I will never forget watching an old sermon with this Ugandan preacher sharing his encounter with God. I spoke about it before, but it convicted me in a way I had not experienced before. It was watching that sermon that brought me the fear of God. The way I crumbled and cried out to God for forgiveness, knowing how unworthy I was! I feared that He would not be pleased with me when I stood before Him, and the thought of eternal separation left me feeling fear like I had never known before. I bottled that fear, and every so often, I like to remind myself of it.

I started writing this post at the end of May so I could be on time to post in June, but God has been giving me nuggets of information and I have felt the need to take my time and listen to what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell me. It’s been clear that He has been trying to teach me the importance of fearing God. Sunday, I sat in my church and listened to one of my pastors give a great message, which seemed to lead back to fearing God. God is so intentional and has a way of affirming His message. We visited the book of Haggai, who was a prophet. I know I haven’t studied this book before, so I wasn’t that familiar with it, but oh, how it spoke to me as clear as day! In a time where God resided in a holy temple, His temple was lying in ruins and had not yet been rebuilt, for the people kept saying that the time had not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. So God gave a message through the prophet Haggai to the govenor of Judah and the high priest HAGGAI 1:4-6 “WHY ARE YOU LIVING IN LUXURIOUS HOUSES WHILE MY HOUSE LIES IN RUINS? THIS IS WHAT THE LORD OF HEAVENS ARMIES SAYS: LOOK AT WHAT’S HAPPENING TO YOU! YOU HAVE PLANTED MUCH BUT HARVEST LITTLE. YOU EAT BUT ARE NOT SATISFIED. YOU DRINK BUT ARE STILL THIRSTY. YOU PUT ON CLOTHES BUT CANNOT KEEP WARM. YOUR WAGES DISAPPEAR AS THOUGH YOU WERE PUTTING THEM IN POCKETS FILLED WITH HOLES!” He then tells them to go to the hills to bring timber so they can rebuild His house because the Lord wants to take pleasure in it and be honoured.

HAGGAI 1:9 “YOU HOPED FOR RICH HARVESTS, BUT THEY WERE POOR. AND WHEN YOU BROUGHT YOUR HARVEST HOME, I BLEW IT AWAY. WHY? BECAUSE MY HOUSE LIES IN RUINS, SAYS THE LORD OF HEAVEN’S ARMIES, WHILE ALL OF YOU ARE BUSY BUILDING YOUR OWN FINE HOUSES.” When you continue reading, it goes on to say that the people FEARED the Lord when they heard His message. It was fear that brought them into obedience. And when they feared God, He said, “I AM WITH YOU.” We no longer have temples where God resides because we have become the living temples. God resides in us! So when I read that scripture that morning, it hit different. Why is His house in ruins while we worry about our life and what we have? We need to make ourselves right with God. We have been spending time worrying about the wrong things. We neglect Him, like He isn’t the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! That’s why we are not satisfied. That is why we don’t reap what we harvest. That is why we don’t see growth the way we should. We are too focused on ourselves and have neglected to give God the honour He deserves! We have lost the fear of God! I think that’s why God is so intentional by repeatedly referring to Himself as The Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Someone who holds such a title deserves all the respect and fear we can muster!

It’s time to start living like we believe what we read in the bible, instead of using it as a motivational tool when we need a pick me up. When we start to live like God is real, we start to rebuild His temple. We have His Spirit that resides in us, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave! And He deserves to live in a home that is fit for a King, He deserves the best! And when we give Him what He deserves, God is honoured! Look at Cornelius, the Roman army officer in the book of Acts chapter 10. He was a devout God-fearing man, and He lived that way by giving generously to the poor, praying regularly to God. He didn’t know the Gospel and didn’t know of Jesus, but God received his prayers and gifts to the poor as offerings. Because of this, God saw that He would receive the Gospel through Peter because you can’t have the Father without the Son. ACTS 10:34 THEN PETER REPLIED, “I SEE VERY CLEARLY THAT GOD SHOWS NO FAVORITISM. IN EVERY NATION HE ACCEPTS THOSE WHO FEAR HIM AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT.”

We know Jesus, but can we say we are devout God-fearing believers? Do we live doing what is right in the eyes of God? These are hard questions that I have to ask myself. I so desperately want to be accepted by God. People strive to be accepted by man, but that is a waste of time. This is why the bible says we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling, because the day when you become sure of yourself and your standing with God, is the day when the enemy enters your gate. PROVERBS 28:14 “BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO FEARS THE LORD ALWAYS, BUT WHOEVER HARDENS HIS HEART WILL FALL INTO CALAMITY.”

THOU SHALL NOT JUDGE?

This month has been a whirlwind of emotions, feelings, and thoughts. I started off the month knowing what I wanted to talk about, but after a conversation that was a constant trigger to me, I decided it’s time I got something off my chest! Every day, we make decisions in our lives, judgement calls as some may refer to it; the key word being judgement. We are all guilty of it in some shape or form. Sadly, I am noticing this growing trend amongst “Christians” who are condemning other believers who cast judgement, picking scripture out of context to enforce this narrative that only God can judge. This same narrative, I hear from non believers who like to throw scripture back at christians (the same scripture taken out of context) telling us we have no right to enforce our views upon them. To be honest, they kinda have a point. But when I hear my brothers and sisters in Christ using this same argument, I get angry!

I have noticed a pattern. When Christians don’t like being “judged,” it’s usually because they are doing something they shouldn’t and don’t want to be called out on it. The call of our flesh is strong, and when we like how our sin makes us feel, we don’t want to come out of it, so we make excuses of why it’s good and convince ourselves that God wouldn’t care about it, we even go as far as saying that we are being led by the Spirit! When someone tries to tell us that we are wrong, we use scripture out of context to make ourselves right and the person trying to help wrong. Once you get to that place, it’s a slippery slope, and you often see people start to descontruct and fall away from the faith. Christ is the best thing that happened to me, but its not easy to walk with Jesus, especially when we live in a world that promotes the love of self and encourages you to do what ever you want if it makes you happy. It’s the opposite of what Jesus tells us. I know the stuff that I did before I found Christ was what made me happy, but it saddened and angered God. Because I don’t live for myself anymore, there is a lot of things I do that if I am honest, I don’t want to do all the time, but my desire to please God is why I do it. Every so often, we have to ask ourselves, who are we living for?

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So, let me just start by saying we are not called to judge non-believers. God will judge them fairly when the time comes, so when they shout from their mountain tops that we shouldn’t judge them, I make them right. They don’t know any better. They don’t have the Holy Spirit leading them in the ways of the Lord. We are to be compasionate, like our Father in heaven.

1 CORINTHIANS 5:12-13 IT ISN’T MY RESPONSIBILITY TO JUDGE OUTSIDERS, BUT IT CERTAINLY IS YOUR RESPONSIBILTY TO JUDGE THOSE INSIDE THE CHURCH WHO ARE SINNING. GOD WILL JUDGE THOSE ON THE OUTSIDE; BUT AS THE SCRIPTURES SAY, “YOU MUST REMOVE THE EVIL PERSON FROM AMONG YOU.”

I guess I could leave that verse right there and go about my merry way, but let’s go deeper. Paul addressing the church of Corinth about sexual immorality going on within the community is pretty tame to what we see happening within churches today. But his judgement still stands today for us as believers. He was what some would call harsh and definitely would be amongst those condemned as being too judgemental in todays standards. But he stood on business as the young folks like to say. He had no problems calling out sin and enforcing church discipline. If Paul thought it was good to do it, why is it so hard to do it today? Why do churches run from correction? Correction is good. There are so many good verses in the bible about the wisdom of correction, one of them being PROVERBS 3:11-12 “MY CHILD, DON’T REJECT THE LORD’S DISCIPLINE, AND DON’T BE UPSET WHEN HE CORRECTS YOU. FOR THE LORD CORRECTS THOSE HE LOVES, JUST AS A FATHER CORRECTS A CHILD IN WHOM HE DELIGHTS.” These verses are a comfort to me. They humble me and keep me at my knees before God. One thing is certain, we will always need correction, and I will always welcome it!

This world has started to affect the churches. This idea that we can’t call something wrong is causing us to become luke warm. The fear of losing numbers has overtaken the fear of God. Churches have become a money cow and pastors refuse to risk being out of pocket, so they prefer to stay silent and make the Word more agreeable. Now churches have become motivational ted talk centres that refuse to mention the word “SIN.” So, now, when the Word clearly instructs us to pass judgement and correct, we are being told that it’s not christian-like. We are being silenced by our very own community! You can’t make this up!

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MATTHEW 7:1-2 “DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS, AND YOU WILL NOT BE JUDGED. FOR YOU WILL BE TREATED AS YOU TREAT OTHERS. THE STANDARD YOU USE IN JUDGING IS THE STANDARD BY WHICH YOU WILL BE JUDGED.” I am sure we are all familiar with this verse. This is a popular verse used not only by believers but also non-believers to enforce the narrative that we can’t judge them. The mistake often made is to stop at verse two and not continue reading. We are not told not to judge but to be careful how we judge. There is a correct way to do it, which we rarely see done successfully. When done incorrectly, it is dangerous and damaging to ones faith. I have heard many stories from fellow believers who have been hurt and left broken by it. So when they find themselves in a situation that would call for correction, they tend not to be responsive to wisdom and are usually left triggered and become very defensive. Judgement becomes a bad word, and correction is never accepted. We all fall short of glory, that’s why we need mercy and grace daily. The Word tells us we are sinners, imperfect beings with bodies who still respond to the call of sin. We all have different struggles, but they are still struggles all the same. When we serve the one who is perfect and Holy, anything that falls short of that standard is sin. It would do us well to remember that when we cast judgement on others, and that is what the verse in Matthew continues on to say. Before we judge others and point out their short comings, make sure your house is in check first. MATTHEW 7:3-5 “AND WHY WORRY ABOUT A SPECK IN YOUR FRIEND’S EYE WHEN YOU HAVE A LOG IN YOUR OWN? HOW CAN YOU THINK OF SAYING TO YOUR FRIEND, ‘LET ME HELP YOU GET RID OF THAT SPECK IN YOUR EYE,’ WHEN YOU CAN’T SEE PAST THE LOG IN YOUR OWN EYE? HYPOCRITE! FIRST GET RID OF THE LOG IN YOUR OWN EYE; THEN YOU WILL SEE WELL ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH THE SPECK IN YOUR FRIEND’S EYE.” Jesus doesn’t tell us to not help our friend, but to make sure we sort out our own problems so we can see better to help our friend! Because the measure we use to judge our friend will be the same measure used against us.

Maybe this is all a sign that we are not reading our bibles enough. Have our feelings become the ultimate decider on what is true? These are things I often ponder when in conversations with fellow believers. Everybody wants to do Christianity their way. Why has following the Word become outdated and irrelevant within the faith? The flesh seems to be winning over the Spirit these days. The Word is good for instruction, rubuke, and correction. We should be as dependant on it as we are oxygen, for it is life!

GALATIANS 6:1-3 “DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, IF ANOTHER BELIEVER IS OERCOME BY SOME SIN, YOU WHO ARE GODLY SHOULD GENTLY AND HUMBLY HELP THAT PERSON BACK ONTO THE RIGHT PATH. AND BE CAREFUL NOT TO FALL INTO THE SAME TEMPTATION YOURSELF. SHARE EACH OTHER’S BURDENS, AND IN THIS WAY OBEY THE LAW OF CHRIST.”

Are you gentle? Are you humble? When you are helping your brother or sister, what is your heart saying? We are called to do everything in love, and that includes our righteous judgement. Our judgement should be helping to bring people back into repentance, but instead, we are bringing condemnation without grace or mercy. That is wrong. I would never respond to that kind of correction because it is not fruitful. What is beautiful about the bible is that we get clear instructions on how to deal with these issues within the church. From dealing with someone who is repentant to someone who continues to live in sin. We have the blueprint in our hands, and that is definitely the goodness of God. Some instructions may seem hard and even unfair, but we serve a God who is fair and just, and we have to trust that His way is good and right. PROVERBS 12:1 “WHOEVER LOVES DISCIPLINE LOVES KNOWLEDGE, BUT HE WHO HATES REPROOF IS STUPID.” Please don’t be stupid.

I could say so much more on this topic and use many more verses of scripture, but you could see it all for yourself if you only picked up your bible more. The lack of knowledge amongst Christians is gonna be what destroys us. We are called to judge the body of Christ, the church! If you as a believer have a problem with that, then I would ask you to do a heart check and ask yourself who’s voice have you been listening to, because it sure isn’t our Father in heaven. Stop letting your feelings be what leads you. Go back to the Word and find out what God says about it. So when your brother or sister comes to you about something you are doing, you will know whether it is from God and is true. Judgement is helpful, and correction is good!

HEBREWS 12:11 “FOR THE MOMENT ALL DISCIPLINE SEEMS PAINFUL RATHER THAN PLEASANT, BUT LATER IT YIELDS THE PEACEFUL FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TRAINED BY IT.”

THE CULTURE VS THE WORD.

Is it still acceptable to say Happy New Year? 2024 is only nine days old, and it has gotten off to a wild start in terms of the Church and what I have been seeing in the media. God is definitely not playing with His Church! Jesus is coming for His bride, and He requires her to be spotless! As saddening as it has been to see leaders fall off, in one way, I’m happy because I want false teachers to be exposed and their minsitries to be put to an end. I’m sad because the number of people whose faith will be scattered because of these accusations. It reminds me of the parable that Jesus gives in Matthew, about how the servants eager to pull up weeds, were warned that in doing so would result in rooting out the wheat as well, and because of this they should let them grow together until the harvest.

Now, we see churches with no reverence for God, treating places of worship like the club. It is getting out of hand, and honestly, I am upset! Instead of the pursuit to please God, it has now turned into the pursuit to please the culture. I hate the word “culture” because, to me, it means the world. The culture will be the death of you! The culture tells you that God’s way is wrong, the culture tells you to live by your flesh! So, in order to please the culture, now, we have to change the Word of God to fit the way of the culture. Now, we say the Word of God is outdated, and we have to speak in the way of culture so that we can draw the culture in. Remember, we live in an inclusive world, so not only are we changing the standards of God to fit the culture, we are affirming what God says is sin to be inclusive of the culture. Now, the Church looks just like the world. Again, I say the culture will be the death of you!

JAMES 4:4-5 “YOU ADULTERERS! DON’T YOU REALIZE THAT FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD MAKES YOU AN ENEMY OF GOD? I SAY IT AGAIN: IF YOU WANT TO BE A FRIEND OF THE WORLD, YOU MAKE YOURSELF AN ENEMY OF GOD. DO YOU THINK THE SCRIPTURES HAVE NO MEANING? THEY SAY THAT GOD IS PASSIONATE THAT THE SPIRIT HE HAS PLACED WITHIN US SHOULD BE FAITHFUL TO HIM.”

God is so clear in His Word, and the fact that people twist it to fit their evil desires makes me sick. We are in the time when people have itching ears, and instead of humbling themselves before God, they instead search for “teachers” who speak to the desires of their flesh. There is no fear of God. Instead, they fear the loss of popularity or the riches that aligning with the culture brings. They sing praises with their lips, but their hearts are far from God! Because we live in a world that esteems man higher than God, this mindset trickles into our churches, and now these leaders have gone from being the mouth peice of God to God themselves! Now, bibles remain unopened, and people carry it as a prop to Church, and instead, whatever is preached at the front of the Church becomes the Word of God. Without the knowledge of God’s Word, we perish! The bible talks about a great falling away, and it’s honestly not hard to see! With people deconstructing every week (it seems), it is clear that the heart issue behind it all is evil. People no longer want to be Holy. They no longer want to be righteous. They just want to be happy and do what feels good! The bible warns us of our evil hearts and how our desires can not be trusted. But because the people don’t open their bibles, they think God is leading them and can no longer discern the voice of God. They say, loosen up, don’t be so serious, stop being a judgemental Christian! Well, I say judgement starts in the house of the Lord! We are called to give righteous judgement. Yes, there are ways to do it, but we must do it all the same.

God tells us to live decent lives for all to see because we belong to the day, He also tells us to not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness but rather expose them! So why participate in things that look evil? All to draw people to your church? How about we draw people to Jesus? What we have to do to get people into our churches is what we will have to continue to do to keep them! If Jesus is not what is pulling people into your church, He definitely won’t keep them! So you can’t boast about your numbers of Church antendees if Jesus is not even invited to the meetings!

God set us apart for a reason! We are the salt of the earth, the light of the world! We are different! Why would you want to look like the world? People of the world should look at Christians and see Jesus. If we look like the world, we have now lost our taste, and as the Word says, if salt loses it’s taste it is useless. The time of persecution draws near, and the real chosen ones of God will be left standing! The culture will ask us to choose. We can’t serve two masters. Some people think they can have the culture and have God, but we serve a jealous God who wants an exclusive relationship with us. MATTHEW 6:24-26 “NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS, FOR EITHER HE WILL HATE THE ONE AND LOVE THE OTHER, OR HE WILL BE DEVOTED TO THE ONE AND DESPISE THE OTHER. YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY.”

If you are a part of a church that looks to the culture instead of Jesus, run for your life! Your very soul depends on it! If the message preached at your church doesn’t direct you to Jesus, run for your life! It’s time to find a new church. God left us His word for correction, for instruction, to teach us, and to equip us to do every good work. It’s not an outdated book that needs a refresh to make it applicable for 2024. It is truth, and it is unchanging like the mighty God we serve! 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17 “ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED BY GOD AND IS USEFUL TO TEACH US WHAT IS TRUE AND TO MAKE US REALIZE WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR LIVES. IT CORRECTS US WHEN WE ARE WRONG AND TEACHES US TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT. GOD USES IT TO PREPARE AND EQUIP HIS PEOPLE TO DO EVERY GOOD WORK.”

I’m very passionate about the Word of God if you can’t tell. My fear, when I became a Christian, was being led astray. I believe the Holy Spirit revealed the need to know the Word when I became a believer, so I immersed myself in the Word, and because of the renewing of the mind, my faith became unshakeable! I was all in as soon as I accepted Jesus into my life, and I have never regretted that decision. The enemy has never been able to lure me away. With new years, come new year resolutions. I decided not to do any, I just want to be open to whatever God has for me this year. But a suggestion to you reading this little blog is to open up that bible collecting dust that every year you keep promising to read more. If you are a believer and you read your bible regularly, may God continue to burn that fire within and keep you hungry for His Word! If you are unsure of what you believe, and you stumbled onto this post by God’s divine appointment, this is your calling to go and read one. I know you see what is going on in the world, I know you have questions, I know things don’t make sense. Trust and believe what will make sense is the God breathed words written in that ancient book that people have told you is irrelevant!

I don’t know where 2024 is going to lead us, but wherever it leads us, stay true to God and know that He will keep us safe and hide us from whatever scheme the enemy has for us. Stay prayerful because I believe this year will require it more than ever. Let’s await with eager anticipation for all that Jesus has for us this year. We got work to do!

1 THESSALONIANS 5:19-23 “DO NOT STIFLE THE HOLY SPIRIT. DO NOT SCOFF AT PROPHECIES, BUT TEST EVERYTHING THAT IS SAID. HOLD ON TO WHAT IS GOOD. STAY AWAY FROM EVERY KIND OF EVIL. NOW MAY THE GOD OF PEACE MAKE YOU HOLY IN EVERY WAY, AND MAY YOUR WHOLE SPIRIT AND SOUL AND BODY BE KEPT BLAMELESS UNTIL OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST COMES AGAIN.” Amen.

FISHING IN YOUR POND.

I have spent the last few weeks talking and thinking about what it means to be a Christian and my purpose; the point of it all! It has led me to have some interesting conversations with other believers, who have made me delve deeper into understanding why we even exist. We all know about Jesus, and we all know that because of Him, we are reconciled back to the Father through the wonderful gift of grace, which cost nothing but our faith in Jesus Christ, and His death on the cross to absolve our sins. Hallelujah, we cry! Salvation is ours! But what next? Now, we work out our salvation on the narrow road, trying, and at times failing, to resist the temptations placed in our way by the evil one, all while we try our best to keep our eyes focused on Jesus! But what next?

While that might seem like work enough, it doesn’t end there. If I am honest, I have spent the last four years worrying about MYSELF, MY walk, MY struggles, MY growth, and MY relationship with God. Don’t get me wrong, that is exactly what I should be doing, but God requires more from me. I have learned to love God with all my heart and all my soul, but now it’s time to love my neighbour as myself! Part of loving my neighbour is sharing the good news of the Gospel, something that I haven’t been doing as well. It’s easy to meet fellow believers and talk about the goodness of God. It takes no effort to engage with each other when we share our love for Jesus. But when we have to explain the reason for our hope to someone who has no idea of who Jesus is and often has no interest in finding out, our mouth suddenly becomes dry, and we stumble on our words, praying that we don’t get asked something theological because we don’t have all the answers! When I think about sharing the gospel, most times I picture myself standing on a street corner, talking loudly about Jesus to strangers who look at me like I have lost the plot, or shout out abuse at me. The thought alone doesn’t make me want to run and grab my bible and make my way to the local town centre. The first thing this fear highlights is my pride, my worry of how I will be perceived by others, or just my fear of persecution. A reason why I am forever reminding myself of 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 “FOR GOD HAS NOT GIVEN US A SPIRIT OF FEAR AND TIMIDITY, BUT OF POWER, LOVE, AND SELF-DISCIPLINE.”

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I then told myself to slow down and take one step at a time. I asked myself, what does sharing the good news of the Gospel really look like for me? Then, my sea suddenly became a pond! All this time, I was picturing myself talking to strangers, and my sea felt too big and overwhelming! Now, I saw all the people I knew, whether friends or colleagues, and now my sea turned into a manageable pond that wasn’t as frightening! It’s no secret that I live for Jesus now. I am constantly reminded of how much I have changed, becoming someone seen by some as wise and full of truth, and others, as a former shell of myself who is no longer fun! Well, you can’t please them all, and that’s fine by me. My faithfulness to God’s word, and how my faith gets me through lifes difficulties, has made it easier for me to naturally get into conversation about what I believe, but I know I haven’t been intentional with most of those conversations.

MATTHEW 28:18-19 “THEREFORE, GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL THE NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. TEACH THESE NEW DISCIPLES TO OBEY ALL THE COMMANDS I HAVE GIVEN YOU. AND BE SURE OF THIS: I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE.” The great commision Jesus left to His disciples in His day is also for His disciples today! And if you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, then you too are a disciple. We have a mission to go and make new believers and teach them to obey God’s commands. If you have wondered what your purpose in this life is, then look no further. You have found it! Too many Christians do not think this is their resposibility, they think this is reserved for others, but no, we all have a job to do. We need to stop living a life that is dead, wake up! You have risen from death into life! This new life you have been given is not to be wasted. It’s to be fruitful, to be made to be a blessing to others. It’s not about what God gives you, and what you can take from your brothers and sisters in Christ, but instead, it’s about what you can give to God and how you can meet the needs of others! This is why churches remain stagnant because people only attend, thinking about what they can get from it or what the pastor can do for them. Only a few come thinking about how they can serve the church. When we attend church thinking about how we can serve others, only then will we see and start to live out what it truly means to walk with one another, the Christian who is devoted to each other, the ones who love and do life together, true brotherly love!

So now that you know your calling, what will you do about it? Because in the end, if we are only hearers of the word and not doers, we are only deceiving ourselves.

The topic of evangelism has been coming up at my church recently. My church wanting to equip the flock to be able to carry out the great commission has been very enlightening for me. Like I said before, the idea of sharing the Gospel filled me with fear. But now I see it so differently. I was reminded of the story in the Gospel of Luke chapter 8, when Jesus healed a demon-possessed man and sent the demons into a herd of pigs. After the man had been healed, as Jesus was preparing to head back to the other side of the lake, the man begged to go with Him. But Jesus said no. LUKE 8:39 “NO, GO BACK TO YOUR FAMILY, AND TELL THEM EVERYTHING GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU.” SO HE WENT THROUGH THE TOWN PROCLAIMING THE GREAT THINGS JESUS HAD DONE FOR HIM.” Imagine wanting to follow Jesus and his disciples, but being told no, but instead, to just go and tell the people you know, your family, about the great things God has done for you!? Wow! This really blew my mind and made me think differently about what evangelism meant. All the time, I thought it meant that before I could do anything, I had to become a scholar overnight, having read all 66 books in the bible. I thought I had to understand everything in the bible so that I could debate anyone who challenged my faith! I definitely wasn’t a scholar, and I know I didn’t understand everything, I’ve only been walking with the Lord for four years, I just wasn’t qualified! But Jesus says you are qualified because your testimony is your good news! He says, “Go and tell your family about what God has done for you!” You don’t have to be a scholar. You don’t have to know or understand everything. So what, if you meet someone who seems to know more and wants to challenge your belief, because the one thing they can’t debate is your testimony, your experience with God! You will never lose talking about what God has done for you.

My church challenged me to be able to give my testimony in three minutes. It really was a challenge to condense it because I am a natural born waffler. But I mangaged to, and now I will be able to share it with people without fear of losing their attention, and giving them the highlights opens up the door for questions and genuine interest. I really encourage you to do the same. So start with your family, share with your friends, your colleagues, work your way down the list of the people in your life, and before you know it, it will become so natural that you too will be going through your town proclaiming all the good things Jesus has done for you!

When Jesus says, follow me and I will make you a fisher of men, all we need to do is make our way to our own personal ponds, our family, our friends, the people that we have V.I.P access to in our lives, and fish! Keep talking and sharing about the goodness of God, pray for them, and live a life that is holy and righteous. Live a life that speaks of Jesus, and just let the Holy Spirit do the rest. You will be surprised when you ask people who they think Jesus is. The answers will make you realise how misimformed people really are. My mum came to Christ through me and my walk with God, I know this works, God used me without me even knowing what was happening!

So be encouraged, my brothers and sisters. Your testimony is unique. Your testimony is powerful! Go and share what God has done for you confidently and boldly! And remember, you can be sure of this, that He is with you always, even to the end of the ages.

Thank you, Lord, thank you, God, for you are good, for you are love

Forever faithful, full of grace, God of mercy in this place

King of kings, Lord of all, the Alpha and Omega, my cornerstone

The right side of the Father, where you wait, my advocate, who prepares my place

The hearts of men, you know them all, no river too wide, no mountain too tall

Nowhere to hide, for all things you see, from the beginning of time to eternity

Then, one day, when it’s time to rest, I’ll sit and hope I’ve done my best

Faithful servant, righteous and true, is who I hope I’ll be to you.

Cerise Vidal.

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!

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.”

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!

THE CHURCH IS NOT A BUILDING….IT’S YOU!

First let me start off by saying Christians are not perfect. Did you catch that? Let me say it again for the people in the back, CHRISTIANS ARE NOT PERFECT! Ok now I’ve got that out of the way I can move on. That took me a while to grasp myself, for a long time I assumed Christians were meant to be perfect people, holding themselves to a standard that us mere mortals could never achieve! I thought “CHURCH” was this building where all these perfect people came together to praise God and look down on all the unsaved people who weren’t apart of this members only club! When that is your view of church, it doesn’t sound that appealing does it? So it’s no surprise that I never saw myself as a church goer. I can count the times I stepped foot in a church in my life on one hand (before I came to Christ) Like I said before I had urges to know God, but unfortunately the one time in my adult life I found myself attending a service, I left feeling unmoved. I remember feeling that everyone was fake and the only thing that seemed to matter to these people was who was wearing what! I never expected church to feel like a fashion show, or a parade of wealth that didn’t seem to give any glory to God! Nobody seemed particularly welcoming and I left feeling like church was full of hypocrites! Imagine Monday through to Saturday your neighbour Mary or John from up the street supposedly being Christians, but nothing about their daily lives reflected a Christ like nature, they weren’t loving to their neighbours, they gossiped about everyone, they only helped themselves, but come Sunday morning they were the first arrivals at service?! When your expectations of church involve the word “perfect” when you meet the John’s and Mary’s you can’t help but feel the idea of church is pointless and not worth getting up for. That’s definitely how I felt about it, I was one of those people that said “I don’t need to go to church to praise God, I can do it from my home” But I didn’t say that because I really knew what I was talking about, remember I had no biblical knowledge at that point, I just used it as a way to validate my reasons for not getting up early, and I found other people just as clueless as myself to strengthen my opinions, talk about the blind leading the blind!

So imagine my surprise when two months into confessing my allegiance to Jesus that I felt the Holy Spirit moving me to find a church! At first I tried to ignore that pull, but you can not ignore God, which I learned very quickly! The more I continued with my Bible study the more I was convicted that I NEEDED a church! Ultimately what I was really craving was a sense of community. My coming to Christ wasn’t your typical story, I had built relationships with fellow believers that lived overseas! It was ok when it came to the odd Whatsapp call or message but I still felt lonely and isolated. Having friends but feeling lonely is a trip! All my friends I had here were not religious, or not believers. 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 “THEREFORE, IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, THE NEW CREATION HAS COME: THE OLD HAS GONE, THE NEW IS HERE!” When you accept Christ and allow the change that comes with it, it’s impossible to stay the same person! You naturally start to feel the need to be around people who have the same core beliefs and things in common (That’s another blog post cause we need to discuss how hard those changes can be)

People make up a community, people make up a church, church is community! Church wasn’t designed to be just something you “Do” on a Sunday, church wasn’t meant to be something you do in a list of things, which really is just you doing works to secure a place in heaven, to avoid eternal damnation. How many Christians have you come across that actually believe if you don’t go to church that means you are not saved? I’ve heard people say that they have been told this! These same people who are quick to tell you about your salvation might feel righteous because they attend church every Sunday but all week they live in the spirit of unforgiveness and pride, but you’re the one with a salvation problem! The minds of some baffle me! EPHESIANS 2:8-9 “FOR IT IS BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED, THROUGH FAITH- AND THIS IS NOT FROM YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD- NOT BY WORKS, SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST.” So now we know that your attendance at church is not dependant on your salvation, lets talk about why we should go to church.

God didn’t create us to be lone ranger Christians! Our Triune God who is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, designed us to be in relationship with Him and others! It’s no coincidence that the whole Bible or law is summed up to this, love your neighbour as yourself! (GALATIANS 5:14) When Covid hit in 2020 and lockdowns were implemented, I felt the church was truly tested, churches had never closed their doors before and we were tasked to think outside the box so that we could still find ways to do community worship. I realised then that church was more than a building, here I was watching online services on a Sunday from the comforts of my bedroom, technically in attendance but the feeling was definitely different. Congregations gathered in outdoor spaces, like public parks in some countries, they had their whole services like this, not enclosed in brick and mortar but they were still a church! What made the church was the congregation! The church is the body of Christ and Jesus is the head of that body! The body is made up of believers of Christ, and Christ is the head, the One that leads us! (EPHESIANS 1:22-23)

Think about YOUR body, every part of your body is functional and has a purpose, some parts would have more impact on your life if they were to stop working than others but every part is just as important! Now if we transfer that analogy to the body of believers that make up the church, the body of Christ, that should tell us that we have a responsibility to be more than just church attendees, we all have a role to play, and its not exclusively just for the pastors, church leaders and worship teams! As believers we know that the Holy Spirit lives within us, He distributes gifts to us, and we are called to use these gifts, whether it be the gift of healing, wisdom, words of encouragement to build faith, knowledge, or prophecy to name a few, we are called to use them to edify the church, and these same gifts help us to share the Gospel! So our presence when we attend church should be felt, we should be active members within our churches, and when I say active I mean taking part in fellowship with each other, reaching out to other members, building relationships. If we all operated in this way, when someone new shows up on a Sunday, we would naturally make them feel welcomed, showing them what church is really about, giving them a feel of what community is meant to be, now church becomes something you look forward to, not something you numbly experience.

Life is hard, but life is even harder when you accept Christ! So why would you want to do it alone? We need a community of believers who we can come to for wisdom, counselling, encouragement, knowledge, a place where we can communally worship and honour God and really sit in his presence, not like we can’t sit in His presence on our own but there is something powerful about being in a group of people all calling out to God and praising his name, it really changes the atmosphere of the room! This world is designed to lead us astray, to make us question our faith, it’s very easy to let culture infiltrate the standards that God expects us to hold true, we start to compromise ourselves, then instead of walking like Christ, we start to live like everyone else and the light that Jesus called us to be starts to dim, our views start to become worldly and worldliness is just the absence of God! Once we start down that slippery path it becomes very easy for us to fall away from the faith, because the moral of the story is we need a community, we need our brothers and sisters in Christ to keep us on this narrow road which is not easy to tread! This is why WE NEED CHURCH!

Like I said before we are not perfect, the bible tells us in 1 JOHN 1:8 “IF WE CLAIM TO BE WITHOUT SIN, WE DECEIVE OURSELVES AND THE TRUTH IS NOT IN US.” So bare that in mind when dealing with your fellow brothers and sisters. I know there is a lot of church hurt out there, and there is a lot of unsavoury stories when it comes to the history of some churches, but to me that is just confirmation that perfection doesn’t exist, only Jesus can hold that title! I urge you to find your community, it makes such a difference to your walk. Since I found my Church it has really become a family to me, don’t be mistaken, I prayed over finding a good church, every time I went, my prayer was always for God to plant my feet firmly at my church if this was where He called me to be! I listened intently to the word given and made sure it was God’s word (the importance of Christians knowing their word is also another blog post I need to explore) In no time God ushered me into my church and I am now a part of my worship team, even a few weeks ago I had the privilege of giving my first sermon/word of encouragement, which still baffles me to this day! God has really been present in my life and he is definitely present in my church! I have grown so much more in my faith because of my church, I definitely wouldn’t have experienced the growth I have without it! We need Church like the sick need the hospital, we can bandage ourselves to a certain degree at home with our first aid kits but if we want true healing we need our doctors, and hospitals are where we find them, we need our check ups from our GP’s! So think of the church like going to see our GP for a weekly check up, or think of Church like going to hospital because we are sick and need heart surgery, and our surgeon is King Jesus! Just like we can’t do without hospitals, in that same way know we can’t do without churches!