Open window Christianity

Daniel 6:10 NLT

But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.

The first sentence of this scripture shocks me a little. Daniel heard about the new law but went home to pray with his window open. Isn't that something? I know what I would do after hearing about a law like that. I'd go home to pray but I would definitely keep my windows closed.

Daniel shows the kind of bravery that a lot of us (including me) don't have, Not only was he not ashamed of his Christianity, he was ready to accept the consequences of this choice. Most of us have the freedom to worship whomever or whatever we want in our countries, yet not many of us are willing to stand up boldly and declare that we are Christians. We attend church regular and pray regular within closed doors but when we are required to speak out again immorality we shy away. Heated discussions about major social issues that are changing our landscapes happen around us all the time and we are afraid to take the Christian stance for fear of ostracism. 

Daniel didn't care about being ostracised. As a matter of fact, his punishment was not ostracism, but rather death. At the time he made the decision to pray, there is no indication that God gave him the assurance that he's survive the plan the enemy had for him, but he did it anyway. 

My encouragement to you today is to live out your Christianity with the windows open. Live life outside of church the same way you do in church. Be bold about your faith, let the devil know that even when threatened, you are proud to be a Christian.

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Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Is Holiness Attainable?

You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. (Leviticus 20:26 NLT)

The word holy means having a spiritually pure quality. Nobody else on earth is holy like God. No person place or thing, not in the true sense of the word. So why then does he ask us to be holy like him? Sometimes it feels like you might just be fighting a losing battle, trying to be holy like God. But I'm reminded by the fact that God only gives us stuff we can handle, so if he has asked that we remain holy then it's fair enough to say that holiness is indeed attainable.

What I like about God's request is that in asking us to be holy as He is holy, he has requested that we strive for the rest of our lives to be like Him. God knows that as human beings with our sinful nature, we will fall sometimes, but his request reminds us to keep going. It's almost as if the minute we fall, our conscience whispers to us, "get up, be holy", so we get up and we keep moving. What that continuous request does, is cause us to grow, so that as time progresses, the things that use to trip us up and threaten our holiness before God, no longer even catch a passes glance from us. We grow simply by heeding the call to be holy each day.

Holiness doesn't mean that we have to walk around dressed in robes, hiding our faces and and ignoring the fun things in life though. It means that whilst we enjoy these fun things we are to remember that we are different from the people around us and even though we love them, we can't be like them. Holiness means recognizing that your body is God's house and it should be kept clean. Holiness means recognizing that you are special and living that way. Not with your head stuck in the clouds ignoring those around you, but with the understanding that you are to be different.

So God is our standard for holiness, and He's the ultimate standard since nobody else is as holy as Him. So like the saying goes, if you reach the for the moon, even if you don't get the there, you'll land among the stars. However, for our purposes, I'd like to say that when you land among the stars you are in an even better position to head for the moon again.

Be blessed everyone and have a Holy day!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo