Tag: freedom

THE THING ABOUT FAITH IS…

We talk about the importance of faith so much, almost like a well rehersed line that just rolls off the tongue without a second thought. When life is running smoothly, we don’t ever question our faith. Faith seems easy. Trusting in God is a walk in the park. But the true test of your faith comes with hardship. When you are sick, when you lose your job, when you lose a loved one. When the worst thing in your world happens, that is when we truly learn what it means to have faith.

This season has felt difficult. I feel like since becoming a believer, my faith has never truly been tested. For the past six years, I have been living in a cloud, and now I feel like I am free falling, anticipating a hard landing. It’s interesting how quickly you can become jaded when things don’t seem to go your way. I am not complaining, I think it’s been good to see things for how they really are. It has been making me more determined to understand what it means to be a believer and really please God! I have witnessed so many disheartening things happen to good people around me, people who fear God, and it made me think about what it actually means to have faith.

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HEBREWS 11:1 “NOW FAITH IS THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE CONVICTION OF THINGS NOT SEEN.” Imagine having hope for something, and being sure that you will receive that something you hope for. Having that certainty that runs so deep in your soul that no one can question or make you doubt it. That is what faith looks like. And when you have that type of faith, it makes you move differently. That’s why faith equals action! That’s why faith pleases God so much. There is something about watching a brother or sister going through lifes trials and tribulations, but not seeing their faith waiver in God, it acutually builds your faith when you witness it. Faith is powerful. That is why God says all you need is a mustard seed of faith to move a mountain. But you can’t have faith in God if you don’t trust Him, and if you have had a traumatic life where you have learned to not trust people, it can be very difficult to trust in what you do not see.

I remember when God first showed me that I didn’t trust Him. It was a time when I was dealing with a family crisis and instead of taking it to God, I decided to fall back to my old behaviours of dealing with things in my own strength, because for most of my life I had to protect myself by placing the unmaginable things in my imaginary box. Not dealing with things was how I survived. But God told me that I didn’t need the box anymore, that He would take care of me. I didn’t need to survive because He wanted me to live! I realised I still had this wall around my heart, and it was becoming a barrier in how I allowed God to flow into my life. As soon as I trusted God with everything and removed that barrier, I grew closer to him. You go to church, read the bible, repeat the words you read in this ancient book, but until you are tested, it’s hard to know how much everything you read really resonates in you.

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In pottery, fire is used to create durable and water-resistant vessels. God uses the imagery of a potter moulding and shaping his creation, illustrating His power to shape, reform, and control the destiny of His people. So fire can bring about purification, which means impurities are removed. And if we look at trials as going through the fire, then we know only good can come out the other side. Now, let’s use common sense because some trials are our own doing and very unnesscersary, but God in His goodness always has a way of turning the bad into good for those who love Him. JAMES 1:2-4 “DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHEN TROUBLES OF ANY KIND COME YOUR WAY, CONSIDER IT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GREAT JOY. FOR YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOUR FAITH IS TESTED, YOUR ENDURANCE HAS A CHANCE TO GROW. SO LET IT GROW, FOR WHEN YOUR ENDURANCE IS FULLY DEVELOPED, YOU WILL BE PERFECT AND COMPLETE, NEEDING NOTHING.” The testing of faith is nesscersary! Because this walk is about enduring to the end. Our endurance will not grow if life is rosey. Like I said before, when life is good, faith is easy. We actually need to go through the fire so we can grow. In our weakness, God is made strong, so He expects us to rely on Him when we weather the storms of life instead of relying on ourselves. I always think of Peter walking on the stormy sea to meet His master Jesus. His confidence in taking his first step out onto that sea, the hope and conviction he had in his heart that he would and could do the impossible. All until he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at his situation with fear, and stopped believing that he could do the impossible because he started to move in his own strength, and of course he started to sink into that stormy sea. He cried out to Jesus to save him, and immediately Jesus reached in and pulled him out. The first thing Jesus says to Peter is, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” That is so powerful! It’s a reminder that no matter what the situation, how impossible, or how big it may seem, God is bigger, and there is nothing that He can not get you through. When we see what God can do, not just reading about it, but having our own tangible experience with Him, it changes us, and our faith deepens. People in this world can call you crazy for believing in God because of a book written thounds of years ago, but they can not refute your own personal testimony of God working in your life!

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Sometimes, we forget that Jesus warned us that in this world, we would have troubles. He warns us so that we will have peace and remember He has already overcome this world! It’s so easy to get caught up in the things of this world. The culture is constantly telling us what we should and should not have, or who we should or should not be. Just like a stormy sea, it can get loud and all consuming, and all it takes is us to take our eyes off Jesus for one moment, and then we become consumed! The only way to get through and tred water is to keep our faith and never doubt! Remember that we are nomads on this earth until Jesus returns.

I know that I want to leave this earth perfect and complete, needing nothing. I know that I will not come close to that without a few storms here and there. As James says, consider it an opportunity for great joy! So this post is just a reminder that even if you are going through the fire of life, just know that God is using it as an opportunity to refine and purify you. See it as a great joy to know that through that fire awaits a more developed you, a you that grows closer to becoming perfect and complete, needing nothing!

WHEN GOD CHANGES YOUR DIRECTION.

I struggled with writing this blog because so much has happened since my last post, and I have debated whether I should discuss it here, but I would not be true to myself or my blog (which can sometimes feel like therapy) if I didn’t talk about it, and it might help somebody else, which has always been the point of sharing so openly. So, there is no easy way to say it, but I decided to leave my church. This was not an easy decision, and it was one that I prayed about, wanting to make sure it was the Lord moving me on instead of my flesh. There is so much I want to say about it, but I know it would not be right to disclose everything here. So I will share what I can and be mindful that I honour God with my words. Honestly, this has felt like a breakup. I have gone through all the emotions possible. This was my first church home where God placed me when he convicted me in my room that I needed to be a part of the body, which meant being a part of a community. The place where I got baptised. The place where I experienced my first’s with God. The place where He revealed my gift of worshipping and leading others in worship. It was home. But sometimes you come to a point when you just don’t share the same vision. I am aware of how crazy that sounds being that the body of Christ should all share the same vision, but sometimes it’s about how we achieve that vision and what we feel convicted about.

I am so glad that I came to Christ in my unique way. I was never indoctrinated by religion or followed man like he was God. I came to the Lord through His word and nothing more. I had no experience of church, I just read what it was meant to look like when reading the book of Acts, and that was what I wanted to be a part of. But God always warned me about man and how our hearts can not be trusted, so I pledged never to place my faith in man, but only the man that is Jesus. Because of man, church can be messy! If I was spiritually immature, I think I would have left church a lot sooner because people can be the most disappointing. I have had my share of ups and downs with the body of Christ, and believe me, I know that church hurt is a real thing. But the Word says that offence hardens the heart, and I always wanted to have a heart of flesh where God could mould it as he saw fit. When your heart is hard, you make it unmouldable. So, I kept my eyes focused on Jesus through the mess and constantly reminded myself that people who attend church are here because they know they need fixing (well, most do).

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As you may be able to tell from my posts and the things I talk about here, I am no wall flower, and if something doesn’t feel right, I will not hesitate to voice my concerns. I have always done that at church, so believe me when I say this time was no different. I believe that one of my gifts has been the spirit of discernment, and what I was descerning was grieving me in spirit. I am a creature of habit, and when I am comfortable, I will not leave! I had built up a reputation at my church as someone wise who others looked up to. I led worship every Sunday, which was an honour. I was comfortable in the position I held, but when God says it’s time to move, you move! When God is leading you, trust and believe He will give you that peace that surpasses all understanding. I remember going to bed in waves of grief, crying out to God to give me peace if it was His will. That next morning, I was so serene and at peace, I had the best restful sleep one can have with 5 hours, and I remember feeling so grateful that God had been so clear. From that day forth, I never shed another tear or even felt sad about my decision. In fact I felt the joy of the Lord wash over me and the day I met with my leaders to tell them of my decision and reason, I felt like God say, go in peace and honour them! It reminded me of the graciousness of David, the man after God’s own heart. He spoke truth in love when it came to Saul. He had opportunities where he could have cut Saul down, but he always chose to show him mercy and honour him. He left it to God to deal with, and that’s exactly what God did. Although I am no David and my church has nothing to do with Saul, I felt God reminding me how to carry myself as a child of God.

Do you ever look at significant moments in your life where you are reminded of how far God has brought you? Because the old me would not have been so merciful, and my words would have spoken death instead of life. All glory to God! PROVERBS 18:21 “DEATH AND LIFE ARE IN THE POWER OF THE TONGUE, AND THOSE WHO LOVE IT WILL EAT ITS FRUITS.” Over the last month, God has spoken this proverb to me in many different ways. He knows me so well it makes me chuckle. I fear God, and because I fear Him, I can go in peace. God is sovereign and knows more than I could ever know or understand. All I need to be concerned about is being obedient and keeping a check of my heart posture. When people leave, it can cause more questions and confusion, and when you hold a respected position at your church, what you say to others can be like a death sentence. So God has been teaching me how to speak life instead. It’s so easy to get up on our self righteous box and point fingers and tell everyone that they have a plank in their eye, but what has that ever done that has been helpful to the body of Christ? Don’t get me confused, I believe that when things are wrong and hurt the body, we have a responsibility to call it out, but remember wisdom will be proven right by her deeds. Sometimes, we have to be careful we don’t cause the little ones to stumble on account of us being hurt or disappointed. MATTHEW 12:36 “AND I TELL YOU THIS, YOU MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT ON JUDGMENT DAY FOR EVERY IDLE WORD YOU SPEAK. THE WORDS YOU SAY WILL EITHER ACQUIT YOU OR CONDEMN YOU.”

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As you know, I have and will continue to be an advocator when it comes to being a part of a local church. This experience has not changed that. For almost six years, I served God diligently with joy. Being connected in my church community was a big part of my life. I have been like Martha, running backwards and forwards, making sure I was serving to the best of my ability. Now it’s time to be Mary and sit down at the feet of Jesus. God says that it’s time to choose the better thing. I am excited to have a season of just receiving it. I needed it! I know that I won’t be Mary for as long as I have been Martha because God has things for me to do for His kingdom. But I am going to enjoy this time of rest that He has been gracious enough to give me. Rest doesn’t mean not going to church. If anything, this has shown me how important it is for me to be a part of the body and be in a church community. I have found a church where I am hearing God clearly, and it’s nice to not be involved in the politics of it all, but I think it’s not good to rush back into a new relationship. Yes, I am looking at it like a relationship. When you leave a long-term relationship, it’s not wise to jump straight into a new one. I’ve only ever known one church, one way of doing church. It’s been refreshing to see what else is out there, and it’s helped me to understand what kind of church goer I am. It’s crazy to feel like the world has opened up to me, and I am now free. But that’s the best way I can describe it.

I have met so many great brothers and sisters in Christ who will continue to be just that. Sometimes, when people leave churches, that means they leave the relationships they created during their time there. I never understood why people did that. After all, the church is not a building! I might not be doing church in the traditional way with them, but we are still doing church together. HEBREWS 10:24-25 “LET US THINK OF WAYS TO MOTIVATE ONE ANOTHER TO ACTS OF LOVE AND GOOD WORKS. AND LET US NOT NEGLECT OUR MEETING TOGETHER, AS SOME PEOPLE DO, BUT ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT THE DAY OF HIS RETURN IS DRAWING NEAR.” Look at the apostle Paul, who wrote so many letters to the different churches. He recognised them as one body, just in different areas, and he loved them all the same. When Jesus returns, He is coming for ALL the body, the ones that have placed their faith in Him. Now, I get to meet more people and expand my family, which I find exciting. I also have to do life with people and be intentional instead of relying on seeing people one day a week. These are all positives.

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I want to end this post by saying church is important, even if it can be messy at times. Church is not a reflection of God but a reflection of our NEED for God! Yes, life would be much simpler if we could just do Christianity without people, but we need people to see the full glory of God manifest in His gifts. We can not be lone ranger Christians. We are called to serve just as Jesus served. Don’t let the mess get in the way of what and who God has called you to be, because in the end it’s not even about you, you are not the main character of this story, it is Jesus!

THE SYMBOLIC CHURCH.

Believe it or not, but this post was sparked by a conversation with an AI chat bot about whether the UK was still considered a Christian country. I was born in London and I have only ever resided here. My grandmother was an immigrant and she had my mum in London so it’s all she’s ever known too. Although I am british, I have always felt like an outsider due to the racial tentions I experienced growing up. When I would see white men waving their british flags with pride, it would subconsciously instil fear because through the years, that flag had been weaponised against people that look like me. Now, through a different lense I am starting to understand what is going on. British people are fighting for their culture and heritage to remain. I am seeing ethnic people like myself who have been born and bred in the UK protesting and waving their british flags with pride. And for the first time, I understand what it’s all about.

The UK was built on Christian values, which has shaped its culture and institutions. The British monarch’s role historically as “Defender of the Faith”, the supreme governer of The Church of England, which dates all the way back to the 16th century has now become largely symbolic and has evolved over time. According to the 2019 British Social Attitudes survey, 52% of people in England and Wales identify as Christians, while 48% do not identify with any religion. When you see stats like that, it’s no wonder there has been such a shift in the UK. The UK is now considered a secular country with a Christian heritage. The laws and institutions, and social norms are largely secular and pluralistic. There have even been debates for the monarch’s title to be changed to “Defender of Faiths” to reflect the countries’ growing religious diversity. When you look behind the veil, you see something more sinister happening in the UK.

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Christian traditions are being erased before our very eyes, all under the guise of diversity and inclusion. If your spiritual eyes are truly open, it’s clear to see the UK is under spiritual attack! Just the other day, there was a report of a school in the UK that had decided to cancel it’s annual Easter parade so they could be more sensitive to other faiths. I do believe the other faith is Islam, as this ideology seems to be growing rapidly in the UK. Now, let me be very careful and clear about what I say because free speech no longer exists HERE. As a Christian, the goal is never to force people to believe in what you believe. Our God, Yahweh, is not a dictator. He gives us free will to choose him. So people are free to follow the God of their choosing. But Christian traditions shouldn’t be erased in a country built on the decrees of God! This reminds me of the Old Testament when Israel, after being rescued out of Egypt by God, then forgot about God. JUDGES 2:10 “AFTER THAT GENERATION DIED, ANOTHER GENERATION GREW UP WHO DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE LORD OR REMEMBER THE MIGHTY THINGS HE HAD DONE FOR ISRAEL.” There was a reason why the Israelites were told to study the Book of Instruction continually and to share what the Lord had done for them from generation to generation. Because when we don’t, we forget. Then we end up living in a time where research has shown that Christianity is the most mocked religion in the UK!

This brings me to the church. Sound doctrine is harder and harder to come by in churches today. The Church of England now reflects the pluralistic views of the culture and has made significant changes all in the guise of diversity and inclusion. It looks like the church from the outside, but inside, it is something else. I watched a video of an ordained UK minister talking about the lies found in Christianity. There was so much heresy in his list, but the one that was the most diabolical was that Jesus isn’t the only way, Love is, because God is love! I felt sick to the stomach. The church in the Uk has become infected, and it is spreading. I know not all churches have succomb to this infection, but it’s very hard to find a church that stands on the word of God. It feels like we have become luke warm, and we already know that Jesus warned in Revelation that He would rather us be hot or cold, He will spit us out if we are luke warm!

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The message of the Gospel has now been watered down so as not to offend. People rarely talk about the truths that will set you free from bondage, the actual things that save your soul. Going to church on Sundays or every religious holiday will not secure your place in heaven! Hearing motivational speeches on a Sunday will only make you feel good on a Sunday, but the rest of the week, your life is a shambles! 48% of people do not identify with any religion. That is a lot! There is definitely something not right here! If Jesus and the message of the Gospel aren’t being shared, then that number will get higher, and if we think it’s bad now, we haven’t seen anything yet! I know that churches are not perfect places because they are full of broken people. I know for myself it takes a certain level of maturity to endure. That might sound harsh, but I am being real! I do believe being a part of a church is part of the life of a believer, and I will always advocate for it. But when I see the people that God has placed as his shepheards leading people astray, I want to flip tables like Jesus did! But then I am reminded that God already warned us. 2 PETER 2:1-2 “BUT THERE WERE ALSO FALSE PROPHETS IN ISRAEL, JUST AS THERE WILL BE FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU. THEY WILL CLEVERLY TEACH DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES AND EVEN DENY THE MASTER WHO BOUGHT THEM. IN THIS WAY, THEY WILL BRING SUDDEN DESTRUCTION ON THEMSELVES. MANY WILL FOLLOW THEIR EVIL TEACHING AND SHAMEFUL IMMORALITY. AND BECAUSE OF THESE TEACHERS, THE WAY OF TRUTH WILL BE SLANDERED.” There are so many other verses about false teachers. It’s clear that God wanted us to know what a problem it would be to the church.

If we let the cultural norm infect the church, the church will lose its power. Jesus has to be the centre of EVERYTHNG! If we pick and choose the truths that seem more harmonious for all, then we are not giving the people the real Jesus! To just lead with God is love to make everyone happy feels deceitful. Yes God is love, and it’s because of His love that He gives us commands to follow, because love is not just telling people what they want to hear to make them happy, love is telling people the truth because you want them to be better! Jesus came to give us life more abundantly. That doesn’t just mean that you get all your hearts desires, because sometimes you don’t. But this “life” means a vigourous life devoted to God! You can keep it light at church if your sole purpose is to make sure all the seats are filled and those tithes flow, then you will receive your reward right now. But isn’t it more than that?

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Church feels more symbolic of what it once stood for. All these new initiatives to create more butts in the seats feel empty and disingenuous. They feel like a business model with no heart or soul. Jesus no longer seems to be the driving force, and this grieves my heart. It feels like the church has fooled itself into believing that It’s all about Jesus when it isn’t. Again, I stress to you that as a believer, it is important to be a part of a community. We are called to serve others, not just ourselves. At the end of the day, it’s not even about us! We are living in some trying times, and it’s only gonna get worse. If you can not stand for the truth of the Gospel now, then woe unto you when you face true persecution for your beliefs. We must endure to the end, which tells us that it won’t be a walk in the park by the time Jesus returns. Please read your word contiunally. Know what the word of God says for yourself, so you can protect yourselves from having itching ears. Don’t get led onto the wide road that leads to destruction! Cling to God in these days, we can not endure if we are far from Him. Please pray for the UK. We need your prayers! Please pray for the 48% that they will come to the truth and knowledge of Jesus Christ!

JOSHUA 1:8-9 “STUDY THIS BOOK OF INSTRUCTION CONTINUALLY. MEDITATE ON IT DAY AND NIGHT SO YOU WILL BE SURE TO OBEY EVERYTHING WRITTEN IN IT. ONLY THEN WILL YOU PROSPER AND SUCCEED IN ALL YOU DO. THIS IS MY COMMAND-BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS! DO NOT BE AFRAID OR DISCOURAGED. FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO.”

GROWING IN FAITH PT2.

Last year, when I wrote part 1, I was in New Jersey spending time with my family for Thanksgiving. It was a very eye-opening visit. It prompted me to write about the importance of growing in faith. You could be a professing believer in Christ for 20 years, but after your first year of being on fire for Jesus, your fire began to die out, and you never grew beyond that first year. So, you spent 19 years in a loop, never really growing more than what you did when you first believed. You attend church every Sunday, and you even say your prayers before bed and before every meal. You feel like an accomplished Christian because you do these things. But you don’t grow in your faith. You don’t even pick up your bible outside of Sunday anymore because your week is busy. You spend every year just repeating that first year when you were chasing God. So your 20 years is really 1 year on repeat.

Growing in faith is evidence of our relationship with God. The more we grow, the closer we get to God. If we are not growing as we should, it becomes evident in our lives. We start to look like the rest of the world. This is what I witnessed when I visited my family. My aunt, who I love dearly, believes in Jesus, but the things I witnessed from her really disturbed my spirit. It had me wondering if she was truly saved!? It pains me to even think that, but Jesus said we would know His people from their fruit, and her fruit was rotten! As time went on, I realised that the problem was she had stopped persuing God. She wasn’t a part of any church. She even confessed to not picking up her bible anymore. She was responding to everything out of her flesh instead of the Spirit. When I would try to point out these things and guide her back to the word of God, I was met with such resistance and anger. My time spent with her felt like I was in a spiritual battle that I wasn’t prepared for! Unfortunately, as I write this blog, my aunt refuses to communicate with me. I’m ok with that because, like I told her, I will always stand on the word of God because I fear the LORD! The one thing I remember her saying when I told her that being a Christian meant we had to deny ourselves was this, “but it’s hard!.”

MATTHEW 7:13-14 “ENTER BY THE NARROW GATE. FOR THE GATE IS WIDE AND THE WAY EASY THAT LEADS TO DISTRUCTION, AND THOSE WHO ENTER BY IT ARE MANY. FOR THE GATE IS NARROW AND THE WAY IS HARD THAT LEADS TO LIFE, AND THOSE WHO FIND IT ARE FEW.” Jesus warned us that following Him would be hard. That is the life of a believer! But he also promised us a helper when we placed our faith in Him and decided to choose the narrow path. The Holy Spirit is with us as we journey! God in spirit lives within us, leading us on this difficult path. We don’t do anything in our own strength. But if we stop seeking the Spirit while we journey like nomads, we will find ourselves stumbling on to the wider path and fooling ourselves to believe it is the right path because it’s easy. There is a great proverb that says that there is a path before each person that seems right but ends in death. If we stop seeking the Spirit for wisdom, we then start to do whatever feels right in our own eyes.

We live in a world, so opposed to God, it feels like we are in an episode of the twilight zone. If we are not careful, the culture will infect us, and we will start to look like friends of the world. The things that once grieved us when we first believed will no longer affect us in the same way. We will become desensitized to sin and start to make excuses for the things we know offend God. Then we will start to tell ourselves that we don’t need to go to church and be a part of the body, because we don’t need the body, why, when we can readily tune into one of our many social media pastors from the comfort of our beds. We will tell ourselves that we don’t need to read the bible because we’ve read it before . Like  it’s just some regular book that holds no power. Then, before we know it, we will start to fall back into our old bondages that Jesus set us free from. Satan will sit back and laugh at us as we exchange our freedom and return back to being a slave to sin, chained up with the other unbelievers walking that wide road away from God.

I don’t know about you, but I have been feeling this shift happening throughout the church. I feel like we are in a season where it is imperative that we seek to draw closer to God and grow in our faith! My fear is that if we remain stagnant, we will not be able to endure to the end and receive our crown of life. We run the risk of becoming like the five virgins who didn’t have enough oil in their lamp and missed the wedding! We are seeing a rise in so many false teachers as well as false doctrines, and people are being led astray. God is exposing those who have built their foundations on sand instead of the rock. People are deconstructing because they can’t handle the narrow road. It’s clear that many people are doing religion with God instead of a relationship, and faith is wavering as a result. JAMES 1:2-4 “DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHEN TROUBLES OF ANY KIND COME YOUR WAY, CONSIDER IT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GREAT JOY. FOR YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOUR FAITH IS TESTED, YOUR ENDURANCE HAS A CHANCE TO GROW. SO LET IT GROW, FOR WHEN YOUR ENDURANCE IS FULLY DEVELOPED, YOU WILL BE PERFECT AND COMPLETE, NEEDING NOTHING.” The hard narrow path is meant to breed endurance through the testing of our faith, and if our foundation is firm, our faith strengthens, and we become more mature. The hard road is not meant to destroy us. This is why faith is so important. A strong faith keeps us obedient. You can’t say you have faith when your life does not reflect what you believe. As the word says, faith without action is dead!

God promised that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. I emplore you to take your relationship seriously with Him, for your life depends on it. If your faith isn’t where it needs to be, it’s time to start working out your salvation with fear and trembling! I look at what’s going on in the world and it excites me, because we are on this timeline of end time events, which is moving with such speed that I sometimes wonder if Jesus will return for His chuch in my lifetime. The bible is not only a book full of wisdom and teachings, but it is a historical and prophetic book. A big part of our growing in faith is due to the bible. If we are not reading it and seeking to understand it, how can we expect to have an unshakeable faith needed in the times we live? We are setting ourselves up for failure! PSALM 119:30 “I HAVE CHOSEN THE WAY OF FAITHFULNESS; I HAVE SET MY HEART ON YOUR LAWS.”

We are meant to seek to become mature Christians. Some of us have become unteachable, which is not a good place to be in. It’s time to become like children again, hungry to learn and grow. We are in a spiritual war, and too many of us are not wearing all our pieces of armour. We are running out into battle without our shield of faith, which is meant to protect us from the fiery arrows of the enemy. God has provided everything we need to finish our race, to be victorious in this battle. But if we are not wise and prepared, we will be destroyed. It’s time to sharpen up our swords, which is the word of God. It’s time for the body of Christ to unite, for iron sharpens iron. If you are looking to truly grow in your faith, here are some suggestions. Join a church. It’s time to have a spiritual covering. You were not created to be a lone ranger Christian. You are a functioning part of the body of Jesus Christ. Ok, I hear you when you say you tried it and it didn’t work out for you. Well, I say try again. Find a different church that is solid in theology and ask God to heal your heart of church hurt. That is what it looks like to be a mature Christian. Create a habit of reading your bible daily. Buy a study bible to help you in your personal reading so you truly understand the word of God. Find a believer who is wise and allow them to speak into your life. Go to them for godly counsel instead of looking at what the culture says about a thing. These are just a few suggestions, but they are so impactful to your walk, and I speak from experience. I have been a believer for 6 years. I am young in the faith, but I am mature because of the word of God. I am young in the faith, but I am mature because of church. I am young in the faith, but I am mature because of fellowship with my sisters and brothers who hold me accountable and who hold my hand on this narrow hard road. I thank God for placing them in my life. My prayer is that 2025 will be a year of growth in our walks with God. May our faith endure until we are reunited with our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ!

GRATITUDE.

It feels like we are flying through the year. It’s March already! This is the month where we celebrate what Jesus did on the cross for us. I chose to call this months post “gratitude” because sometimes I think we can easily forget the magnitude of the cross and what it meant to have Jesus defeat death. As followers of Christ, we sometimes get caught up in the cycle of life; looking after the family, working but never feeling like it’s enough, making sure the kids get to school on time, wondering why the cost of groceries keep going up but your money stays the same. So many things can weigh us down, and we forget about the power of the cross! We start to complain about life being hard, how everything is bad, bad, bad! We come to church on Sunday feeling the stress of the week, singing the worship songs on auto pilot, and trying hard to listen to the message given and resonate with the words spoken. We stop living like we believe God because life is just too hard!

Well, I am here to tell you that life is hard! In fact, Jesus never said following Him would be easy. The bible tells us that there will be trials and tribulations that we must endure to the end! Even Psalms 23 tells us that we will walk through the valley of the shadow of death! What sets us apart from the rest of the world is that we don’t walk through times of danger, scarcity, and the unknown alone, for God is with us! He is the cloud by day and the fire by night, and He goes before us and follows us. Because of God’s love for us, we don’t need to fear or be weighed down with anxiety because life is hard. Our strength to endure comes from the Lord.

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Sometimes, we can be guilty of thinking too much about what we don’t have, feeling like we are being punished because the desires of our hearts have not been met. We complain, and we obsess about what we feel we lack, and we forget about what we already have, the best gift of all; salvation! We complain so much that we become ungrateful. We act like spoilt kids when we don’t get our way. What saddens me is that we have become entitled when we don’t even deserve all that God has sacrificed for us! God gave us His one and only begotten son as payment for our sins. Jesus knowingly gave His life as a ransom for us. He chose to die a horrific death because He knew that was the only way we could ever have a relationship with God. God gave us the ultimate sacrifice, and here we moan when we don’t get what we want! God doesn’t have to do another thing for us! He has done enough already, but he still blesses us, even though we are ungrateful, because we serve a good God who loves us like no other!

Often, we find ourselves walking a thin line between the standards of the world and the standards of God. We live in a world opposed to the message of the Gospel, and we can sometimes get drawn into what the culture tells us we should have, instead of what God wants us to have, the two can often be very different! PSALMS 37:25 “ONCE I WAS YOUNG, AND NOW I AM OLD. YET I HAVE NEVER SEEN THE GODLY ABANDONED OR THEIR CHILDREN BEGGING FOR BREAD.” This verse has stuck in my head of late, and I think it has been a powerful reminder that I have everything I need. I haven’t been anxious about anything in particular, but I think it’s verses like this that keep me humble and thankful. They remind me of how blessed I am! There was a point where the things I didn’t have became almost like an idol in my life. One of my desires was to have my own house, the idea of living alone became the most important thing, so important that I became sad when I saw others living the life I wanted, what I thought I deserved. I almost started to think that maybe God was punishing me because my dream felt unattainable. It made me ungrateful, and I stopped noticing all the ways God was blessing me in my life, I just took everything I had for granted. Then, one day, God revealed my heart to me, and I was repentant! Every morning, I opened my eyes to see a new day, and I was grateful. Every day, my body didn’t fail me in some way. I was grateful. Every day, I never had to worry about what I was gonna eat, I was grateful. Every time I never had to stress about my bills, I was grateful. Every night I went to bed, I knew I had a roof over my head, and I was grateful. All the things that seemed so small and insignificant, I knew somewhere out there someone else was not so blessed. When I realised what I had made an idol of, only served me, I felt selfish. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying it’s bad to ask God to fulfil the desires of your heart, He pretty much tells us to ask, and we shall receive. But it becomes an issue when our hearts desires become a stumbling block for us. MATTHEW 6:33 “SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD ABOVE ALL ELSE, AND LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED.” Notice it say’s NEED, not want!

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Since the begining of man we have been ungrateful, and it all started on that fateful day when Eve convinced her husband Adam to consume the only fruit forbidden to them, because she was conviced by the serpant that God was holding out on them, when the reality was God had given them Eden, He had given them everything! It really is in our nature to question the goodness of God, to be unsatisfied. But yet God still overlooks that part of us because of the depths of His love for us we will never comprehend! So He hatched a plan, a plan He already had in motion before the fruit was consumed by the man and woman in the garden. He knew the nature of man who He created, a flaw you may say, but it was the only way He could create us to exprience love, love that came from having the freedom to choose. So He honoured their choice to be separated from Him and banished Adam and Eve from Eden, cursing the land as punishment. From that point on, men grew evil and cold, murder tainted the land. But God watched on reaching out to those who still called on Him. Until the only God fearing man remained, and God instructed Noah to build an ark because the evilness that grew angered Him, and He saw that nobody but Noah and His family were righteous enough, so he plunged the earth back into the depths of the water He seperated it from. Starting again, the great reset.

As the land became dry and life began to spring from the ground, God made a promise with a rainbow to Noah, never to flood the earth again. As man once again populated the earth, so did evil. But God still remained faithful to those who were faithful to him, His chosen people Israel. But even Israel would fall into temptation time and time again, so God would choose people and raise them up to prophesy on His behalf. But still, Israel were hard headed and refused to listen. Then He sent them the law through Moses, a law that was meant to show them their sin, a law that they could never follow because of their nature, a law that was meant to bring them to repentance, but never did. All this setting the stage for His plan to save us from our sin, the plan from the beginning. Then, one day, a child was born, a virgin birth, concieved by the Spirit of God. Gods plan wrapped in flesh, His promise now a reality. The child named Jesus full of wisdom grew into a man, and this man filled with the Holy Spirit preached a message of repentence. He called on all who knew they were sinners, and He taught them about the Kingdom of God, about faith, hope, and love. He healed the sick, raised the dead, and freed the demon possessed. He was God incarnate. Come down from His mighty thrown to be a lowly servant to an ungrateful nation. He was the plan from the very beginning. He knew we would never be able to make ourselves right. We failed every test given, and we could never pay what was owed. So He chose to pay our debt for us. Jesus drank the cup that was given, and He gave His life on the cross, beaten, humiliated, disgraced, nailed to the wood born of a tree, a reminder of a tree that once produced fruit forbidden to man.

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But death was not the end, Jesus defeated death, and on the third day, the tomb He was buried in was now empty! Jesus is alive! Sending out His disciples to spread the good news to all nations, He left us with the gift of the Holy Spirit in His absence, promising to return for His final judgement. Now that He paid our debt, we all recieve the free gift of God’s grace, and all we have to do is repent and accept Jesus Christ into our hearts as Lord and saviour, believing in the finished work of the cross. This is what reconciles us back to our father in heaven, and that is all He ever wanted, not to have us separated from Him. It’s the greatest love story ever told! And because I accepted Jesus, I get to be a part of that love story. Eternal life is something that I find hard to fathom, but it is mine, and it is worth more than gold! Salvation means we are being saved from something and that something is judgement, the wrath of God when Jesus returns. God never breaks a promise, so rest assured, judgement will come. The question is, where will you find yourself?

PHILIPPIANS 2:10-11 “SO THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE WILL BOW- IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH AND UNDER THE EARTH- AND EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER.”

So this is a friendly reminder that God has given you everything, He has given you Jesus! He has given you everything you need, and your treasures await you in heaven. So keep your eyes focused on things from above. Everything else is just noise. Tune it out. It will give you contentment when you have abundance and contentment when you lack. Be grateful because you are saved! And that is more important than anything on this earth. God bless you all, and Happy Ressurection Sunday.

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!

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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.

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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.”

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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.

YOGA, THE GREAT DECEPTION.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

HEALING FROM PAST TRAUMA.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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