Living like Christ

Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. 

Matthew 3:8

Christianity is a lot more than just mere words. Saying that you are a Christian and doing the complete opposite may gain you recognition with your friends but it won't get you very far with God. Even your friends after a while will notice that you are a phony and will call you out.

Professing to be a Christian and then not living like one benefits no one. As a matter of fact, you are doing yourself a disservice. Christianity is more than just the name of a religion or something to identify with, it is about living a life that is like Christ's. To call yourself a Christian is to say "I plan to live like Christ". Therefore, if you are not living like Christ you turn yourself into a liar.

Today's challenge is to live your Christianity. Let it be more than just the word you fill in on the forms that ask for your religion. Let it also be more than just the thing you do on Sunday mornings or whatever other day you choose to worship. Let it be the thing that drives you. Let it be your way of life, the code you live by, t

he thing that pushes every decision you make. Study Christ and how he lived. It's the only way that you can be Christ-like. If you don't know Him, then you can't be like Him.

Have a blessed Christ-centered day!

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 

It begins with you!

There are a lot of things wrong with the way we behave in the body of Christ, there's no doubt about that. Nothing is wrong with the church that Christ built, however we are mere humans marred by sin and we have weaknesses.

Yesterday, a friend of mine told me a story. He said to me that one day, a lady at church simply walked up to him and invited him and his siblings to lunch. My friend was overwhelmed and quite frankly, suspicious of the lady's motives. He asked many questions about her, trying to figure out what she really was up to. Finding nothing that worried him, he finally accepted the invitation.

My friend's behaviour may be a bit paranoid, but when you really think about it, there's a reason for that. Kindness is missing in the body of Christ so much so that when it is offered to us, we find it strange. We see each others needs, (emotional, spiritual and physical) and we simply offer to pray, most of the time forgetting to actually pray for that person.

So the body of Christ is sick. No every joint is supplying and instead of doing our part we look to the person sitting next to us in the pews or even to church leadership. We have grown into a society that cares more for our own well being than that of others. We have lost our empathy.

Things can change in the body of Christ very easily. All it takes is each person working on himself. Each person seeing where they have erred and making a move to fix it. Each person showing kindness to the next, or love to the next or extending forgiveness to the next. That's how the body of Christ would return to proper functionality.

Ever wonder why it's so hard to convince others of the love of Christ? It's because we do not show that love. We talk about it but people do not feel it coming out of us. We are Christ's hands here on earth. We are the ones that are to show forth his love. People get to know Him through us. When we begin to show Christ's love tangibly, our buildings will become too small to hold the flock.

So today, let us not go about complaining about all the things we see that are wrong in our own local churches, but let us start to make the necessary changes individually. Before long, we will see the change we have always wished to see in the entire body. 

It begins with you!

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 

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.

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 

A Mind to Work

Nehemiah 4:6 

(KJV) So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work. 

(NLT) At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm. 

When Nehemiah embarked on rebuilding the wall around his beloved Jerusalem, he faced serious opposition. You would think that everybody in the city would be happy that their main means of protection was being rebuilt, but some chose to oppose the work. Similarly, In every day life we are faced with people who seem to oppose every thing we do, no matter how important the job is. In biblical times, these people were called naysayers, in our time, we call them haters. These are people who, no matter what you do or how well you do it, will find something negative to say. These are the people who will refuse to help you and never say a word of encouragement to you. Rather, they will do their best to impede your work for no real good reason.

The people of Jerusalem prevailed and got their wall built because they refused to listen to the naysayers. They were constantly under threat of attacked yet they built a wall whilst constantly having to watch their back. They build with swords in one hand and tools in the other. This is a story that we can take home and learn several lessons from.

The first is that no matter what people around you are saying, if God is asking you to do something, then you should do. Keep at it and trust God to give you the strength to complete it.

Secondly, the enemy may be fighting you from every side, stand your guard, take up your sword and fight but don't stop working. Trust God to be your rear guard and keep doing what you need to do. The devil will put many obstacles in your way to prevent you from doing what you need to do, these are simply distractions to take your mind off the work you are doing which is very important. Remember this tactic and keep working.

Thirdly, when we come together, we can accomplish much. Nehemiah faced lots of opposition, but he had enough of the people working with him to make things happen. Had the people listened to the naysayers, the wall would never have been built because Nehemiah could not do it on his own. Each person in the body has a job to do and if we all don't pull together and do our part, nothing will happen.

As you go through today, let us put our hands to the plough and work. Work towards the goals God has set for you. Ignore the haters and naysayers, don't be afraid of the enemy. Fight if you have to, but don't stop doing what God has asked you to do.

Have a blessed day!

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 

Man up!

Man up or Woman up! Whichever your case may be.

Christians have been called a lot of things. They tell us that we're closed-minded, small-minded, timid, coward, weak and more. As a Christian after almost 16 years, I can tell you that Christianity is not for the closed-minded, small-minded, timid, coward or weak.

First of all, believing what we believe takes so much open-mindedness it almost makes no sense. I mean, our  God created earth from nothing, people from dust, sent himself to earth as a baby born of a virgin, died and raised himself, then sent himself as a comforter for all man-kind. Are you kidding me?

See, we have to be the most open-minded and brave people around to believe what we believe. Christianity is not for the weak either; just proclaiming yourself a Christian puts you in an instant war.

So why then when it comes to our life do we become afraid to make the decisions that are necessary to move forward. When we are face with touch choices or situations where we are required to be brave, we shy away and slink into the little boxes the world has created for us.

My challenge to you today is man-up (or woman-up) about taking control of the things that make your life difficult. Attack every situation as if it's life or death. God has your back. Determine that from today, the things that weigh you down have got to go. Kick them out of your life and be serious about it.

Take charge of your day and be blessed!

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