You Get What You Pray For

Wow, a lot has happened since my last post in November 2013.

Today's insight is an offshoot from my Pastor's sermon yesterday morning. It has inspired me to write again, which is a huge deal because I have not written anything since November 2013. I said to a friend yesterday that I seriously feel as if God has, as in Job's day, said to the enemy "Have you considered my servant Joana?"

Yup, it's that hard. I feel as if God is stripping me bare and until yesterday's sermon, I was fighting it.  But no more, because as my pastor reminded me yesterday, the grape becomes even more useful after it has been crushed in a wine press. In the wine making process, the grape is placed under pressure until it is crushed and everything pours out of it. It is litterally trampled and seemingly destroyed. Yet, the end result is beautiful wine that can be preserved for years to become even more remarkable.

I'm in the wine press season of my life - where God is really crushing all the juices out of me. I was complaining until I remembered that you get what you pray for. For a while now, I've been desperately praying, "God, change me", "God, fix me", "God, I don't like the person that I am", "God, take everything out of me that is not of you".

God is answering me. He's answering me by putting me in places and situations where I have no choice but to let go of all those things that are tripping me up. He's shown me an image of myself in the mirror and drawing big red arrows pointing at the things that have to go. This process is hard, it hurts, it's scary and incredibly lonely sometimes but I know God is faithful. He reminded me yesterday that He has heard me and the fact that I'm going through this means that is answering my desperate plea to make me less like me and more like Him.

So folks, let's learn with me as it's a learning process for all of us. Don't believe any Christian who appears to know everything about this life, no matter how long they've been Christians. If we stop learning, we will stop growing and that is dangerous.

So here are the lessons I've learned between November and now.

1. You get what you pray for. When you ask God to work on you, He will. Don't resist the process.

2. In order for us to get to the point where we are useful to God, we have to go through the molding/crushing/shaping process. That process hurts but it is absolutely essential. Again, don't resist the process.

3. God hasn't forgotten you. He is faithful to finish what He starts. He hears our prayers, and even when it seems as if he is not there, He is, working quietly in the background, doing exactly what we asked. Stay focused and you won't lose sight of Him and what He is doing.

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

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Fruit of the Spirit: LOVE

This is the first of a nine post series on the Fruit of the Spirit. Before we delve into the whole thing, let's talk about the Fruit for a while.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23

You will note that the word fruit is singular, this means that each characteristic described above does not exist in isolation but is part of a whole. In other words, we are not being called to display only love without self-control, or kindness without faithfulness. These are all things that we should strive for.

LOVE

What is love?
We have discussed love on this blog before but let us define it again.

Simply put, Love is a decision to prosper another person above yourself. It means that when you love someone, you consider their needs above your own.

There are many aspects to love. Infact many languages have more than one word for the concept of love. Today we'll look at just a few ways that love is manifested.

Love for one person to another
The bible paints an excellent picture for what love is and what it is not in relation to people loving each other. In 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 it tells us:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

The bible also tells us that love for one another: 

Is Precious: 

Proverbs 15:17

A bowl of vegetables with someone you love

is better than steak with someone you hate.

Is Edifying: 

1 Corinthians 8:1

Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.

Is Unquenchable: 

Proverbs 17:17

A friend is always loyal,

and a brother is born to help in time of need.

Songs of Solomon 8:6-7

Many waters cannot quench love,

nor can rivers drown it.

If a man tried to buy love

with all his wealth,

his offer would be utterly scorned.

Promotes peace: 

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up quarrels,

but love makes up for all offenses.

Proverbs 17:9

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven,

but dwelling on it separates close friends.

These scriptures show us how powerful love is. If we learn to love each other the way it is taught in 1 Corinthians 13:4 -7, I'm sure we can all agree that the world would be a much greater place to live. 

Love of People for God

1 John 5:3 tells us something amazing: 

Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.
This means that our love for God can be demonstrated very easily. If we say we love Him, then what we have to do is pretty simple, keep his commandments! Wow. And here we all thought it meant we had to be at church a certain number of times for the week or serve on as many committees as possible or show our fellow Christians how much doctrine we know. Whilst these things are important, God simply requires one thing from us, that we do what He asks. Doing what He asks shows Him respect and shows Him love. 

Love of Money

This aspect shows us that love can have an evil side. Unfortunately for us, most of the problems we currently face in the world stem from man's love for money. People kill each other so that they can aquire what the other person has. Entire countries are suppressed and their resources stripped because of how valuable they are. We spend billions on war in an effort to control what another country has whilst children are starving all over the world. This list can go on and on and on. The point is that the bible is correct when it says: 

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10 (NLT)

So today, let us learn to exercise love for one another, the way the bible said we should. Let us also remember that God requires that we show love to him in the simplest way possible, just do what He asks. And finally, be reminded that love directed at the wrong thing can cause chaos in the world and in our loves. Let us set our priorities according to God's will and we will be much better off.

Next week, we will exam the second characteristic of the fruit, JOY! 

Devotions like this one and others can be found in the Soul Food Series in Kindle or paperback format. 

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How To Be a Good Christian

Today's topic sounds a bit pretentious doesn't it? Well,  I certainly don't claim to know the secret to "good Christianity"  but over the years I've learnt that there are some qualities that are absolutely necessary in order to have any chance at succeeding as a Christian.  So here they are:

1. Determination - From the first day that you make a decision to follow Christ there will be opposition, naysayers, mockers and more.  If you want to make it past the first day, week or year then you need to be determined and sure that this is the decision that you want to make.  People will mock you,  laugh at you and remind you of your past. Now it's the time to be strong headed if there ever was one. Be determined that no one will change your mind with their lofty arguments, mocking or jeering. 

2. Persistence and Perseverance - This is closely linked to point number 1 but slightly different.  The Christian life can be fun, eye opening, joy giving and much more but it can also be very hard.  You will have moments when you fall, make a mistake and feel like giving up.  Don't.  You will find every ounce of strength that you need to make it in the Holy Spirit.  From the very beginning,  learn to depend on Him. It will come in very handy in those difficult times. 

3. A thick skin - One thing that always amazes me is this: the world thinks that they can do whatever they want to us or  say whatever they want about us and we shouldn't do anything about it because our Bible says to turn the other cheek.  As a Christian,  you will be lied to,  lied about,  hated for no reason,  ridiculed etc,  etc, etc.  Learn to let things slide off your back. If you spend your time worrying about every little thing someone does or says about you,  you won't have time for anything else.  Also note that even among your fellow Christians there will be people who hurt you for no reason.  Learn to look past that and forgive.  You'll find that you are a stronger person for it. 

4. Discipline - This one is a biggie.  Christianity is about following rules and our rules are clearly written down in sixty-six books.  Following rules requires lots of discipline so now is the time to learn some.  Forget all the rebellious ways of your past where you questioned every rule because what God says will never change.  Learn to trust that his rules are for your own benefit because they are.  Good discipline will keep you out of trouble.  Try fasting,  I've found that exercising control over the body helps to control the mind. 

5. Devotion/Faithfulness - Above all things,  stay true to God.  Remain faithful.  Don't get bored or slack with your Christianity and don't compromise.  Pay attention to your spiritual link with God.  If you do,  you will notice when it starts to fade.  Nurture your relationship actively.  Feed it,  set time aside for it and make it your number one priority.  You'll find that it is a lot easier to know what God wants from you and to hear His voice if you are constantly listening for it. 

I do hope that these tips helped somebody today.  Be blessed and have a successful day. 

Devotions like this one and others can be found in the Soul Food Series in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab a copy, click one of the images below. 

Gossiping

Gossiping.  We all know that it's wrong yet we all still do it.  Yes,  that's right.  I said all of us.   Every body gossips or has gossiped at some point in their lives.  Sometimes it happens accidentally or unconsciously but it still happens. 

It is so easy to be pulled into gossip.  You may not be a compulsive gossiper; you may not even like gossip, but somewhere along the line somebody comes to you with a juicy story that you just can't help listening to.  It may even appear that you are discussing the story out of concern for the individual in question.  However, at the end of the day, it's still gossip. 

Dictionary.com defines gossip as idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others.  We can all agree that we've all done that, right?

So what makes gossiping so dangerous? Let's see,  here are a few reasons.

1. A lot of the time the things we gossip about simply aren't true.  We can do a lot of damage to someone's character, family life, careers etc with idle talk.  We even justify our gossiping by saying where there is smoke there must be fire, but have you ever come across a situation where there isn't even an ounce of truth in a story that you've heard?

2. Gossiping can lead someone to depression.  The worst possible feeling you can have is knowing that you are being talked about but not knowing what is being said.  Maybe people have gone into states of depression because of this.  Others have committed suicide.  It's easy to say that people should keep their heads up and ignore gossip about themselves, but let's be honest.  Some people aren't very strong and we destroy them with our idle words.  We are like bullies preying on the weak. You never really know what people are going through behind closed doors and your idle talk may just be the thing that pushes them over the edge. 

3. It's just plain wrong. I clicked through one of my bible apps and just did a search for the word gossip in the NLT version. Even I was astounded by the number of results. Here are just a few. 

Proverbs 16:28

A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. 

Proverbs 17:4

Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander. 

Proverbs 20:19

A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don't hang around with chatterers. 

Proverb 25:23

As surely as a north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger!

Proverbs 26:20

Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. 

Psalm 15:1,3 (I advise that you read the whole chapter)

1 Who may worship in your sanctuary Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? 

3 Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbours or speak evil of their friends. 

So how do we avoid Gossiping? I said earlier that most of us do it unconsciously but there are ways to recognise gossip and nip it in the bud. 

1. Are you talking to a third party about somebody else's business? That's gossip,  so stop. 

2. Are you really sure that you are doing this so that you can help that individual? If so,  what is your plan for helping.  If you have none then stop talking.  It's not your business. 

3. We all have friends who are just dying to know the latest developments in some body else's life.  The unfortunate thing is that we often come across information because people confide in us.  So let us learn to keep things that are confidential to ourselves.  Don't even tell your other best friend.  It's how gossip starts in the first place.  When asked,  simply say "I was told in confidence"  and leave it there.  Eventually your friends will learn that they shouldn't even bother to ask you about some body else's business. These two verses of scripture bring out this point clearly. 

Proverbs 11:13

A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

Proverbs 25:10

Others may accuse you of gossip, and you will never regain your good reputation. 

I hope these tips can help us become more aware of gossip and how easily we can fall into the trap.  As with all things,  awareness is the first step towards resolution. 

Have a blessed day. 

Devotions like this one and others can be found in the Soul Food Series in Kindle or paperback format. 

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Getting Over The Big Things

One of the things that trips us up the most as Christians is the ability to move past the things we love that aren't good for us. Often, we realise what is holding back our growth LONG before we actually let it go.  Knowing that something isn't good for us doesn't automatically mean that we are able to let go of it.  It could be a bad relationship, or maybe a friendship that drains you or a job that's sucking the life out of you or a shopping addiction that's killing your finances. It could be anything. Sometimes we just need to make a strategy and take practical steps to get over certain things. 

I've found the following steps to work for me. 

1. Set a deadline  - give yourself a date after which you will no longer allow yourself to pine over what you're about to lose.  Ensure that is realistic or else when the date comes and goes and you're not over your problem you'll find yourself becoming depressed. 
2. Write it down - a visual reminder Sometimes it's all that we need to get over certain things.  If your space is private enough consider putting it on your mirror as a daily reminder.
3. List all the reasons that whatever is it you are trying to get over is not good for you.  Making an actual list will sometimes give  you that jolt you needed to move on. Reality will hit and you will have a stronger mental resolve as a result. 
4. Let it go a little bit at a time.  Cold turkey works for some things.  Other things need to be changed over time.  Break down your problem into parts.  Set mini deadlines for dealing with each part.
5. Pray, pray, pray.  This should come first, in the middle and last.  In other words,  pray the entire time.  Pray for God's wisdom, strength, clarity of thought and focus because you will need it.  You might even consider a fast too.  A fast will  help teach you some self control, this may help prevent you from going back to what you've left behind.

I do hope that these steps will help you leave the weights behind and launch into God's purpose for your life.  Have a blessed day. 

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

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Joana James - Author 

All of Joana's books may be seen here. 

Obsessed With Our Desires

We all have desires for our lives; things that we want, things that we want to do, things that we want to be. Sometimes, these desires overcome us or overwhelm us. It's quite possible to develop tunnel vision where these are concerned. Maybe, as you get older, you realize that it's taking a really long time to achieve your goals, or maybe nothing seems to be working out right. Two things can happen at this point, you can give up on your goals, dreams or desires or becoming so obsessed with them that you see, hear or feel nothing else. None of these outcomes are good ones and none of them are what God requires of us.

I've learned the hard way that God sometimes withholds the things we desire most from us simply because we place so much emphasis on it. Its not that he doesn't want to give you the desires of your heart, but rather, he wants you to want Him more than anything else in this world. When you begin to focus on anything else with such tenacity, it becomes your god. Your real God will not allow that to happen. Its very easy to destroy our relationship with God when earthly desires get in the way. They become our focus and sometimes, the only thing we pray for. They consume us so much that we forget to see the other good things in life. We don't count our blessings anymore, instead we pine and dwell on the things God hasn't given us yet.

I recently learned that sometimes when you let go of the thing you desire most, that's when God steps in to give it to you. Of course, it does not work that way all of the time, God only gives what we can handle. But sometimes He really does what to give us that thing that we desire but we're so obsessed with it, He has to hold it back. When we recognize our obsession and step back and give it up, living our lives according to His will, He steps in and gives us the best.

God is supreme and sovereign and He won't share His worship with anything, including our personal desires. Examine your heart and whatever it is that you desire, ensure that it has not taking His place. Ensure that it's not the only thing that you pray for. If it is, change your prayer to "let your will be done in my life". Totally surrender your will to His with no strings attached and be willing to accept a "no" for the thing you want most. If you can't accept His will in place of your desires, then you haven't really surrendered. Don't get me wrong, its probably one of the hardest things you will ever do, but its the right thing to do. Until then, you'll be struggling for something you'll never get.

Please note that I am not saying that you shouldn't have goals and desires because without these life would be pretty empty, however, never ever let them be your sole purpose for living.

Have a blessed day!

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

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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 

Feather-weight Christianity

Since Christ made an appearance here on earth Christianity has always demanded a bit of radical faith. First of all, it takes a radical determination to believe the things we do. To the ordinary man, what we believe looks somewhat ridiculous. It may even look ridiculous in our own eyes sometimes, but we have our experiences and assurances that keep us going, so we believe.

Believing is one thing, however, actions are something totally different. Back in the day of the apostles, proclaiming Christianity was punishable by death, yet that era gave us the most radical Christians we have ever seen. In the face of persecution, the apostles continued to preach, teach and lead their flocks of believers.

Nowadays, we have things so much easier. We can gather in public places and talk about our God. We can declare boldly that "I am a Christian" without fear of any harm coming to us. We basically have it pretty easy.

So why then are so many of us practicing feather-weight Christianity? Why are we just doing to bare minimum? We walk into church on Sunday morning, or Tuesday night or whatever other day we choose to go to church and after that we behave like we've paid our dues. We have the "no one can judge me except God" attitude and we basically live our lives however we want. Most days, no thought is taken concerning God's rules and our lifestyle does not match up with the Bible or with Christ. We have a million and one excuses for the reason that we can't do what the Bible says and we claim that those that do are fanatics or ignorant Bible thumpers.

Its been said before that the main reason the world resents Christianity is the Christians. We don't practice what we preach and that serves as a deterrent to those on the outside. Our pulpits are confused and we relax our principles in the name of tolerance or love. I bet God is saddened when he looks down on His Church; His bride that he's supposed to return for. The bride that should be getting ready for his return.

There are a lot of things wrong with collective Christianity but it takes each individual to look at him/herself and make the changes. The Church is you and it is me. It is not a building or a denomination. Therefore it is not a building or a denomination that needs to change but you and I. Our priorities need to be reset, goals revisited and lives re-examined because change starts with the individual. Let your neighbors see a difference in the way you live. Let your coworkers see a difference in the way you work. Don't use excuses to fornicate or to party like a wild animal. It's easy to put on makeup and head to church and call yourself a Christian, but it's a totally different story where living the life is concerned. Let's go back to the basics, honouring God and doing His will. That's all that's required from us.

Let's live today with a difference. The world is watching.

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

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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 

Avoiding self-inflicted depression

Some times we humans crave for things we shouldn't have. Maybe an extra candy bar when we're trying to lose a few pounds, or maybe it's relationship that's off limits for whatever reason. Since the garden of Eden, man has wanted what wasn't good for them.

I'm sure we've all found ourselves in the situation where God has said no about something we want yet we continue to toy with the idea in our heads. We romanticize the moment when we finally get want we want, dreaming of the possibilities and how beautiful it will be. We day-dream and obsess and obsess and obsess. And the more we obsess, the more we need to torture ourselves at the end of the day when we're reminded that the things we spent the day dreaming about can never happen.  When the harsh reality hits, we're on the brink of depression and all we can think to do is blame God. "Lord, why can't things ever work out for me? I never get anything that I want. Everybody is happy except me." Does that sound at all familiar?

Does the thing you want most but know you can't have consume your thoughts? Do you dream that just for one moment things will be different and you will get to have want to really want. Then you need to quit torturing yourself. The answer is already no and God won't change his mind. Dwelling on the situation daily will not make Him change His decision. All it does at the end of the day is make you bitter, angry and depressed. You're destroying yourself and in the process you're failing to see the good things that God has in store for you; the things that are actually yours. Your life could be a lot happier if you'd accept the things you can't have and look to God with trust for your future.

Stop the self destructive behavior. Instead of dwelling on what you can't have, occupy your mind with something productive. Learn a new skill that falls in line with your life plan. Develop a new hobby. Play music while you work to keep your thoughts from straying. Actively monitor your thoughts. When you notice that you have slipped, make a decision to stop and deliberately occupy your mind with some thing else. And of course, ask God for help to overcome the thoughts and the obsession with whatever desire you have. Believe it or not, he will provide a way of escape but you have to be willing to move on and your eyes must be open to see what he's brought you.

Have a blessed day and remember to take control of your thought life. 

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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 

All we need is Love

So my mother died. Wow.

One year ago, she found out she had stage four ovarian cancer. It was a rough battle, one that I could barely handle. Many of my posts in the last year were inspired by the depths of the pain I felt during her illness. Only one person could have brought me through all that...God.

My mother was a Christian for the last 44 years of her life. She served God faithfully throughout that time, never looking back. Everybody who knew her, knew of her dedication to Christ. It was easy to love her as she had the heart and attitude of one called to serve. She was a mother to all my friends and countless others. Some even called her mommy too. I remember inviting friends over to hang out or sleep over and their breakfast/lunch/dinner would be brought to them in my room whilst I had to go in search of mine in the kitchen.

She was one of the most self-less people I knew. I remember when I was still a teen, there were two young boys who moved into our neighbourhood. We're a small island and an even smaller community so almost nothing goes unnoticed. Those two boys were under privileged at best. Within weeks they were left on their own by a mother who went off to a different island seeking work. For six months, those boys were on their own. They had no food and no money. The older of the two was no more than 12 years old at the time. But those boys didn't starve. Not whilst my mother was on watch. There was no way she would allow that to happen. I remember her waking early every morning to prepare breakfast for them. I remember her adding items to our grocery list just for them; we weren't rich and money was always tight but on the meager amount of money that she had she would find a way.

Things like that helped shape me. I didn't understand her drive or her desire to help others at the time, but I knew that she was something special. She didn't have a college degree or even a secondary school education, but she did what she could to change the world and her efforts were not in vain. Several years later, the older of the two boys met me in a store and couldn't stop thanking me on behalf of my mother. He was all grown up, gainfully employed and a contributor to society. Only God knows what would have happened to that boy had my mother not stepped in.

Years later, I saw her kind heart in action again with another neighbour,  this time an older woman near the end of her life. This lady had two children, a boy and a girl, however none of them were around to help her. She was getting older and weaker and unable to even feed herself. So my mother stepped in. For a period of about two years my mother bathed and fed this lady. Again, from her own money, she would buy food, medicine, adult diapers and pay the utilities at the house until the lady passed.

Just before she died, I visited her and she was rather weak. Now, she was the one who needed to be bathed, fed and changed. Somehow though, she couldn't bare the thought. She said something that really struck me, she said "The very same thing I did for Ms. G , somebody now has to do for me".

In that one sentence, I learned the lesson of a lifetime. You NEVER know where life will take you. One year ago my mother was a plump 62 year old rocking her senior years. She had better fashion sense than me and probably had more fun than me too. By the time she passed away,  at age 63, she was completely emaciated;  the cancer had sucked the life out of her. She went from strong and vibrant, to frail and helpless in almost no time at all. None of us are invincible. Nor are we immortal. My mother lived a very simple life and she lived it with a very kind heart. She worked hard and took care of her six children the best way she knew how. Even to her death, she was more worried about us than about her own self.

So today, I've learned the lesson that my mother obviously understood. In Matthew 22, Jesus gave two commandments, love the Lord thy God with all your heart and love your neighbour as you love yourself. Mom followed both those commandments till the day she died, and I will too.

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37- 40

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