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.

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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 

God is on your side

I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. Psalm 16:8 NLT

Have you ever had a bible verse stick out at you so much that you just can't get it out of your head? I read this yesterday as part of my morning devotions and even after moving on to today's devotions it's still ringing in my head.

One of the things that keeps us going is the knowledge that our God is always with us. It brought David great comfort when he needed it and it brings me comfort every day.  I always say and I will say again, my life would be totally unbearable without God. Just knowing that God has your back is enough to keep you going in a difficult situation.  Suddenly, life has meaning even when you're all alone. Suddenly, you're no longer in despair. Suddenly, an impossible situation seems possible.

Knowing that God is right beside you keeps your faith firm. It's when we forget the trouble starts and the devil likes nothing more than to help us forget.Like David, let us find comfort in knowing that God is right beside us. Let us bolster our faith and remind ourselves that we've got the only person we should really be afraid of on our side.

This is my word of encouragement to you today. Have a great day with God on your side.

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

Leaning on the Everlasting Arm

Do you ever feel like you could literally just fall over from the stress of your everyday life. Life can be full of joyous moments and can be really wonderful sometimes, but there are those moments that just make you want to scream. What's worse, is that those moments enjoy happening in a cluster. They weigh down on your faith, bare down on your finances and steal your sleep. They can leave you walking pretty much like a zombie, lifeless and unable to smell the roses or see the smaller things that would usually make you happy.

At moments like that, you just want to crawl in bed and stay there. Your energy has been completely zapped and you barely have the energy or the willpower to stay standing. I'm having one of those moments, and in the midst of it, a song was deposited in my spirit. One phrase got stuck in my head; it says "leaning on the everlasting arms". Another says, "safe and secure from all alarm". When I think about it, that's probably the only reason I'm still standing; God's everlasting arms are strong enough to keep me going even when I feel like I don't even want to keep going. I've probably been leaning on those arms for a very long time and did not even realise it.

That's something about God that amazes me. A deep, intimate walk with him brings such closeness that sometimes you don't even have to actually ask for His help. Your spirit becomes so entwined with Holy Spirit that He cries out for help for you. God hears that and honours it. I often wonder how people go through difficulties outside of Christ. What do you do when you don't have a big strong God who can handle anything  to lean on? Of course, I got my answer right away; it's the reason that many people end their own lives. Some challenges are just too much to bare on your own. In fact, I'm pretty sure I would have lost my mind by now if I was trying to do this on my own.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. In a lot of Christian circles  this verse has become quite the cliche, but it's the absolute truth. God cares about our situations and our worries. They are obviously too much for us to bear on our own, so why try to carry them our selves. God knows how to solve them and He does it right each time, so let's learn to give ALL of our worries and cares to God. Let him handle things. Lean on Him, He'll never feel like you are putting too much pressure on Him. Most of our friends would buckle under the pressure of our problems, but God won't and unlike our friends, He can actually solve them.

When all your strength is gone and you feel like you just can't stand any longer, remember that you can lean on God's ever lasting arms. He's there to support you and to keep you going forward.

Be Blessed.

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