Lives of Honour

Revealing God's character and His presence through your life is one of the fundamentals of Christianity. The very name by which we call ourselves means "like Christ". This means therefore that our lives must pattern after Christ.


So, do our lives reveal the character and presence of God. Can somebody look at us and see Christ's love displayed in our everyday actions, words and temperaments? You see, our biggest testimony here on earth is not what we say, but rather, what we do. We are constantly being watched. I know that in my everyday life, at home, work and everywhere I go, people are constantly examining my behaviour simply because I have declared myself a Christian. I know that sometimes that examination is simply to find my every moment of weakness and amplify it for ridicule, but even that is a testimony. Since we serve the God who is in charge of the universe, our reactions in the face of adversity should display that. God has our backs and when we're backed into a corner, or have been made very angry, we should remember who our God is instead of reacting like the rest of the world.

The rest of the world needs our lives to be an arrow pointing to Christ because lets face it, most of them will never just read the bible on their own or attend one of our churches even though we invite them a hundred times. Our biggest testimony is the way we live our lives because it's what people see and relate to.

So today, let's begin by making a conscious effort to let our lights shine, not by preaching on street corners, but by living lives that will bring Glory and Honour to His name. My goal is that people will start coming to me begging to know how I got through a difficult situation with poise, or how I was able to remain calm when I should have been frantic, or how I'm still alive when I should be dead. That is the biggest opener for sharing God's love with anyone.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Matthew 5:14-16

May God bless you and be with you today!

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

To grab your copy, click here. 

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

The Real Reality

So today, we're going to step away from the usual focus of this blog for just a little bit, but don't worry, I promise that you will still learn something.

Last year around this time, I released a new novel called Finding Romeo, a fictional story centered around two Christian young people. It's a romance novel, but I like to call it real life romance, cause let's face it, this stuff really happens in real life. In order for you to see where I'm going with this post, I gotta tell you a little bit about what happens in the novel so bear with me just a little bit.

See, my heroine, Daynia, is a Christian young woman with a desire to get married, just like most Christian young women her age, but she's been hurt before, also just like other young women her age, so she's a bit vulnerable. In comes Mr. Prince Charming himself, ready to sweep her off her feet. Richard (his name) is a church goer, so in Daynia's mind he must be a Christian right? Well...you decide. Anyways, they meet, they date and Daynia falls in love and (GASP)....Daynia let's her guard down and THEY HAVE SEX!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I did it! I dared to put a sex scene (watered wayyyyy down of course) in a "Christian Romance Novel". Why you ask? Because in real life, people who are struggling to live a Christian life make dumb mistakes and have sex. Trust me, it happens. How do I know? CAUSE IT HAPPENED TO ME!

So what's all this about today you ask? Well, you see... I was pretty discouraged about this book less than one month after it's release. I submitted it to fellow Christian authors for their honest review and THREE of them came back saying that they would NOT review the book. Why you ask? Because two Christians (dramatic gasp) had SEX! How dare me right?

Well yes I dared! Now that I've had a whole year to stew on my decision, I stand by it. You see, when I wrote this book, I had no plans for it to be another wishy washy romance novel where characters face unrealistic situations, hate each other for a while and then finally fall in love and ride into the sunset. There is more than enough of that out there. Several years ago, when God gave me the mandate for my life, it was to help others with my experiences. Well, Finding Romeo is my experience. Daynia is me.

You see in real life, we do dumb things. Really, really dumb things. We don't pay attention to warning signs, or to God's voice for that matter. We plunge ahead with decisions without thinking and we put ourselves in situations that are down right dangerous. Finding Romeo is my reminder to other young Christian women my age of the crappy stuff that happens to us if we don't pay attention or take heed. Daynia gave in to her beau and gave him herself, over and over again as a matter of fact. In return, she had to sacrifice her spiritual life and her heart. Richard didn't love her, as a matter of fact, he only kind of liked her. She was the girl he filled his spare time with whilst he tried desperately to get his ex back, the real love of his life. Daynia was warned but she ignored her friends. Like I said, Daynia is me (the exact details of her story aren't quite mine but you get the point).

So Christians, ladies, friends. Christianity has rules, things we should do and things we should stay away from, but let's be honest with our selves. We break the rules ALL THE TIME. Can we stop pretending that we don't and deal with the issues that cause us to break the rules. There's always a reason that we end up doing something that we really didn't want to do. Sit back a moment and consider the root cause of some of your actions. You'll find it so much easier not to make the same mistake twice, or three or four times....like in my case.

Be blessed today folks and have a good one. Oh and if you're interested in reading my Christian novel where two Christians are dumb enough to have SEX (dramatic gasp) then you can click on the cover below and get yourself a copy!

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. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

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