Be on your guard

The mind of a Christian is always a battle field between good and evil. This began in the Garden of Eden when Eve allowed the devil to take charge of her thinking. From the beginning, man had everything right around him. There was no sin and he did not have any choices to make because everything had been set right for him. There was no evil or sin. Then one day, the enemy came with the aim of trying to bring him down. In the book of Genesis 3 when the serpent appeared to the woman, he took control over her through playing with her mind. He made Eve doubt what had been clearly set by God by causing a thought that was not right to get into her mind. A simple “did God really say that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” brought the whole human race down because she allowed this to confuse her and in the process she lost control over her life and her freedom.

How many times has a similar thing occurred to us? We have allowed the enemy to destroy us by just a simple thought. How many times have we given the devil victory by allowing him to take control over our mind by a simple thought that we entertained in our minds? How many times have friendships been broken because of entertaining a simple thought of envy, jealousy, wanting to control others or marriages fallen because of entertaining a simple thought of lust, dishonesty? I will not lie to you by telling you that such thought do not come. The truth is that as long as we are living in this world, we will always struggle with such and many more ungodly thought. We will struggle with thoughts for self glorification after achieving something great even in ministry even when the glory belongs to God. Thoughts of Jealousy and envy might come to our minds when others are 'prospering' and it seem like 'we are not'. Lust; when we see seductive dressing, and even thoughts of revenge when hurt by others. However, how we will deal with these thoughts and desires is what will determine whether we will win or lose the battle of the mind and thus have victory over the enemy.

The bible tells us that we should be on our guard because the enemy is wandering around looking for someone to bring down (1 Peter 5:6-11). However, very many times we have forgotten this. Or maybe we expect to see the devil come to us with horns on his head and spades (like I used to think when I was a child) written on him ‘devil coming to tempt’, then we will fight him? NO, the Bible says that we are fighting against spiritual forces of the darkness (Ephesians 6:12) which includes the ungodly thoughts planted in our mind by the devil who is a spirit. 

We have to be on our guard because such thoughts will always present themselves to us (James 1:2-3). However, we need to realize that how we deal with them is what will determine whether we win or lose. We may decide like Eve to let the enemy to overcome us by giving in to the thoughts and allowing them to grow in us and we will fall. We might act also like David who after seeing a naked woman decided to give in to his thoughts (2 Samuel 11) and desires of lust and sinned against God. However, we can decide to say no to entertaining the evil thought planted in our minds, we can decide to destroy them once they get in our mind and refuse to let them take root in our minds which destroys our relationship with God. We can decide to follow the example of Christ who decided to say no to all the temptations and thoughts that the devil was trying to put in his mind (Luke 4:1-13) which he realized would cause him not to accomplish his mission on earth.

We can however, only achieve this by being on our guard. We need to keep our spirits sensitive (as my best friend calls it). To achieve this we need to:

·         Keep praying to be tuned in to God and to know his ways. I believe that one of the reasons why Jesus won over the temptations of the devil is because he had been praying and fasting (Matthew 4:2) so he way alert. We also see him overcoming his flesh in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:41-44) when he prayed so sincere to God and told him exactly what he felt and God gave him the strength to go ahead and die for us. We need to keep praying (Ephesians 6:18), and when we go to pray, let’s be real with God, let us learn to tell God what we feel and ask him to help us overcome it.

·         Read and know the word of God to avoid falling. The bible in the book of Psalms 119:11 says that we need to hide the word of God in our hearts that we may not sin against Him. We have the example of Christ who although he was God; he used the Word (Luke 4:4,8,12) to overcome the enemy in the wilderness after fasting for 40 days and nights.

We have victory over the enemy which we received when Jesus died on the cross and rose again and we should therefore not give in to the tricks of the devil and not let him take control over our lives by using the thoughts he plants our minds

God bless you!

Set free

So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed (John 8:36) but the enemy comes to steal kill and destroy.  However, the Bible says in John 10:10 that Jesus Christ came that we may have life and have it in full. By being set free, Jesus means that all our sins and guilt has been taken away. He died on the cross and took the sins with him to the grave but resurrected. This means that we are now free. However, some of us have not received the true freedom from their sins. This word has not found true meaning in their lives. 

So many times you have felt unworthy before God even after spending so much time in repentance. You may have always thought that you can never be forgiven. Maybe you were a fornicator before you knew Christ, a murder, a cheat, you may have hurt so many and wounded so many others before. Your name may have been; that liar or maybe that womanizer or gossiper. You many have performed 101 abortions or gave birth to babies and left them in the street. It doesn’t really matter anymore. Christ set you free.  If you have repented and accepted Christ, you are free. He does not condemn you anymore because he has washed you and cleansed you. The bible says that there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, that the old is gone and the new has come (Romans 8:1-2). We are new creations, and Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death. 

You may have allowed guilt to eat you up and destroy your relationship with God. Guilt actually is usually a strategy of the enemy to bring us down. The enemy is always fighting us. He always wants us to see our past and make us feel unworthy of the love of Christ (the love of Christ for us is not defined by what we do. It is unconditional). This guilt can be too dangerous because it can cause us to go back to our past mistakes. However we need to realize that when Christ sets us free, He clears our record. The bible in Psalms 103:12 that as far as the east is from the west, that is how far our sins have been removed. To me, this means that I am completely forgiven and separated from my sins; the Lord has forgiven me and has made me new. We need to forgive ourselves because God already forgave us.

You need to experience true freedom from your past by realizing that all is gone, it is finished and the price for your sins was paid by Jesus on Calvary. You are not condemned but you are set free.

Happy Easter!

More than just a ticket to heaven

I am and will forever be grateful to God for his son because through him I am saved. When I got born again, my sins were forgiven. I became a new being in Christ once I accepted him and because of this, I earned a ticket to heaven. However, it was not just a ticket to heaven, it was greater than that, and this is why:

•   Became a member of the family of God.

The bible says that because of the death and the resurrection of Christ, we have the right to be called sons of God (John 1:12-13). And that we join in the family where Jesus is the firstborn (Romans 8:29-30). I remember the day when I first gave my life I felt so new. So much had changed because I had become a child of God. Although I forgot my identity on the way and left home after a few months, when I went back four years later I was still received in the family. This was because I still had the right to be in that family. It was even better than before and I would never want to leave again because there is fullness of joy. I am shielded and protected (Psalms 91)

•    My guilt and shame was taken away

I don’t have to say how my life without Christ was because we all have a past and to some of us, it was so horrible. So many times after I had rededicated my life to Christ I suffered guilt. I did not believe that God had really forgiven me. I would condemn myself and could not even pray because the images of the past sins were playing in my mind. But I thank God that he helped me through. He kept reminding me that I was a new creation and that the old was gone (Isaiah 43:18). He made me realize that I was free because His son had set me free (John 8:36). Slowly by slowly he took my guilt away and now I rejoice that am set free.

•       Freedom from bondage

I did not just become who I am today immediately I got born again. It took walking with God and studying his word everyday and the help of the Holy Spirit to be what I am. I struggled with so much in my life, so many bondages that had held me captive. But I thank Jesus Christ that he came to set the prisoners free and to release the oppressed and I was one of them (Luke 4:18-19). It wasn’t easy but God was gracious to me and I won’t lie to you that all is done but am so grateful that day by day and step by step he is setting me free. I have so much freedom in my soul.

•       His presence

There is nothing better than being in the presence of God always. The bible says that it is better one day in His presence than a thousand days elsewhere. I love being in his presence because there I find fullness of joy. In his presence I am safe because in the day of trouble he keeps me safe (Psalms 27:5). It is in his presence that I get healed, I get freedom, I find peace and I am favored. In his presence I find rest.

•      Guidance

Where would I be without him? It wasn’t enough to be born again, I needed to walk right too. When I failed to walk in His word I fell and went back to sin. But when I rededicated my life to him and allowed him to be my all, he held my hand and he now leads me. He has taught me his ways and he reminds me of them every day that I may walk in them and not fall (Psalms 119:33-40). But even when I fall, he is always there to pick me up and keep me going. He has given me His Holy spirit who is always there to remind me of the ways of God. He is that still small voice that calms the storms in me.

•     He is my best friend and has given me love

In him I find love. He always reminds me that he loves me with an everlasting love and I have felt it through his provision and doing. He has been my friend, the kind that I can share with everything without fear of being judged or condemned and you know what, he speaks back to me in so many ways. Through His still small voice, His word, different people and so many different way and I truly feel the love.

•           His provision and his faithfulness.

He has been faithful to His promises to me in my life. I have seen him bring each of them to accomplishment and what is remaining I know he is working on it (Psalms 145:13b). I have not lacked anything (Psalms 24:1). He has given me all I need because he has it all. Everything I have belongs to him because he created it. He defines my life and my happiness. He has given me family and friends. He has given me a ministry and I find joy in serving him.

•     He holds my future

(Jeremiah 29:11) There is no better place for my future to be that in his hands. He knows my tomorrow and my end (Psalms 139). He has all of it well planned and I feel secure. I have found hope in the Lord and I can always count on Him because he has all I need.

• My Ticket to heaven

I am one happy girl because I have confidence that even if I die tonight I will go to heaven because he has prepared my mansion (John 14:2-3). He has my get pass to heaven and he also has my crowns; my rewards for what he has helped me do (Revelations 22:12).

Therefore, I declare that I have heaven as the ultimate goal but he has given me more than just a ticket to heaven.

Happy Easter!

Just let go.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the waste land (Isaiah 43:18-19)

We have all gone through though times in the past, especially in the hands of the people we love/ loved and this left us so wounded. It may have been relationships with family members or even friends and people that we have dated before or are married to. We have been rejected by family, partners and friends, molested and even raped by people we know, hated and cheated on by people we loved including spouses, to some of us, our parents gave birth to us but they left us in orphanages and streets. Parents may have put us down or always compared us with other people, they did not see anything good in us. To others, the people we loved made fun of us because of various challenges that we have or have faced before.

 Some of us however, it was easy and we forgave and let them free from our hearts completely. But some still hold so much to it. Maybe it is because you were so hurt, mocked and even put down by them that you lost your esteem and worth. This makes you look down on yourself and are not even able to receive love. Some of have had our love repaid with evil acts and because of this, we are afraid to give love to others. We want to surrender but we are afraid that it might happen again.

Today however, God tells you to let go. He wants you to know that He is changing things. That He is transforming your heart. That he is making things new. In Isaiah 43:1, the Lord says that you should not be afraid. This is because He says that He is redeeming you and that he has summoned you by your name. He loves you and you are His. The Lord loves you so much and he wants to let you to experience His true love. You can love again, you can give love again. It doesn’t matter what you have been through in your life. God says in Jeremiah 31:3 that he has loved you with an everlasting love and that he has drawn you with loving kindness. He cares for you so much that he has inscribed your name in His palms (Isaiah 49:16).

God wants you to let go, to surrender you heart and your life to Him completely, He will teach you how to love and be loved afresh. He wants you to arise and shine because he is giving you light even though there is so much darkness (Isaiah 60:1-2). You have found favor in the Lord and it doesn’t matter how much value you lost when they hurt you (Isaiah 49:8). He will turn your pain into a testimony and someone’s life will be changed because of your story. All you need to do is to surrender to God completely, just let go, just forgive.

Dedz:

 Dream Again by Kambua

Verse 1
I'm not the little girl I used to be
ever since that change
came into my life
I was standing in the rain
all my hope was lost
everything I had was gone
I know it's not too late to get my life back
to dream again, believe again, get up again
no it's not too late
to start over anew
and to soar
on the wings
of your love
Chorus
I can breathe again
I can smile again
I can laugh again
standing tall again
all the tears are gone
and the pain is gone
yes I can breathe again
again, again...

Beyond the standards of this world

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart, I appointed you as a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5). This is a very common scripture to most of us especially those born again. But if you are not born again but were born in a church going home and you attended Sunday school or a Christian Religious Education Studies class, then you’ve heard of it. This verse is so real and alive (ok, every word of God is alive and real, but i like this specific one). God told these words to Jeremiah when He wanted him to realize he had been created for a purpose; which was to be a prophet. 

Today, this word is so much applicable to us. God created us not just to eat, grow up, make money, get married, have kids and then die, no. He had a greater reason/purpose for us. Now you see, many of us, especially the born again have found out what our purpose is. However, we have failed to follow it for various reasons. I don’t know what your reason is, but as for Jeremiah it was that he was so young and that he could not speak. Maybe it was out of fear or the thought that he was not worthy enough to be used by God. I remember because of fear I could never speak because I had so much fear and I thought that I was not capable of saying anything good. Even after I realized my purpose, I always told myself that there was someone else better who could do it.

Our feeling of being unworthy and fear that has hinders us from living our purpose did not begin yesterday. It existed even during the time of Moses, Jeremiah, David and all other great people in the Bible. Remember the story of Moses when God called him to go and deliver the Israelites from Egypt (am sure you read that too in Exodus 3), Moses undermined himself. He had an excuse that he could not speak well. It is so true that he could not speak well; he had also killed an Egyptian before so he was a murderer and you know what else? He had also married a foreigner which was against God’s instructions to the Israelites (Exodus 2:11-25).  God used Rahab too who was a prostitute. She had lost so much value and respect in the eyes of her people that she could entertain two men at the same time. But God still used her. David the shepherd boy who was not counted has one of the capable sons for anointing by a prophet became a king (1 Samuel 16).

All these and many other great people had a reason (a ‘serious’ reason for that matter) not to serve.  But they chose to serve God. They realized that their purpose was beyond their lives, beyond what they felt about themselves or even beyond what people had made them be. It was under Moses’ leadership that God fulfilled the promise about Canaan that he had made to Abraham (Genesis 15). Jericho which was the last and great obstacle for the Israelites before they got to Canaan was destroyed because Rahab allowed the spies to stay in her home as they surveyed the place (Joshua 2). And as for David, God used him in a mighty way. I have to mention that I can’t do without those Psalms, they have made me grow. In addition to this, his story is great and an example to so many of us and has contributed to the growth of our Christian faith.

Today I want you to realize how much value you have in God. You need to stop valuing yourself by the standards of this world of your physical appearance, you speech, level of education, money and so many other things that the world defines you with. The Bible in Exodus 4:11-12 says that he created the lame and the blind too. All these however do not matter to God, what matters is that you are so much valuable and worthy in His kingdom and he created you for a purpose that should never be undermined by little and meaningless standards. You therefore have to pursue this  purpose without excuse.

God bless you.