What’s More Important?
Filed under: Biblical Teachings, Godly Principles, Single & Saved
Current Mood:
Faith-filled
Recently, I found myself in a situation that was totally new and different from anything I have encountered. Being a Christian isn’t always easy, but it’s something I’ve dedicated my life to doing. Who knew something as simple as a “religious status” on a Facebook page would deter someone from dating me?
About a month ago I attended a friend’s birthday party where I met a guy. It’s been a little over a year since my last relationship and I have been in prayer since. I’ve prayed to work on myself and prayed to attract the “right” man. And it seemed to be working. I’ve learned a lot about myself and changed a lot of things in the process. So this guy and I had great conversation. Amazing conversation. He’s extremely intelligent. He holds a masters in English. He was a professor of English at ODU. And he’s only 28. It seems rare nowadays to meet someone who’s so gifted and truly a gentleman. But I didn’t pursue it.
So the next day he asks my friend if he could have my number. Sitting under the leadership of Bishop Kim Brown I’ve learned a lot about living single and holy. And I did not give him my number. We needed to get together in a group setting again before that happened. So we became Facebook friends.
Well low and behold a few days later my friend informs me that he says we’re incompatible. I asked what happened. She explains that he questioned my religious status on my Facebook page (for the record it reads: The Lord is my strength, my redeemer, my everything). Once he saw that – he backed down. And I came to find out that he’s an atheist. ” Wow,” you’re saying. I said the same thing. Yes, there are intelligent people out there who want nothing to do with God.
I was little taken aback by his abrupt “non-interest,” but I knew there was no contest. I had never experienced rejection because of my relationship with God. This experience opened my eyes and also made me realize how strong my relationship with God is. It is so strong that I’m not willing to sacrifice my relationship with God over a man just because I want to be with someone. One of the main things that many Christian singles fail to realize is that you will never meet “the one” until you build a solid foundation with God. And you will not be able to see the “pretenders” without a strong relationship with God.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” – Romans 12:2
Display your love for God and don’t be ashamed of the Gospel. You will reap the benefits of your patience.
“So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.” – Galatians 5:9
© 2010, Kimetha. All rights reserved. A part of Naima & Friends Network and NWC Ministries.
When the Righteous Cry
Filed under: Healing, Inspirational Articles, The Faith Walk, Words of Encouragement
Current Mood:
Blessed & 
Thankful & 
Triumphant
When the righteous cry, the Lord hearth and delivereth them out of all their troubles (Psalms 34:17). God has spoiled us to a certain extent that he gives us favor when we don’t think we deserve. Why? Because He is faithful. He is love, longsuffering, gentle, kind… the list goes on. So many times we cry out to him in doubt and fearing that he doesn’t hear our cry. But the whole time he saying, “Just be quiet and listen.” “Lo, I am with you always”. Gods’ still small voice is such an awesome sound to hear but we can’t really seek and/or find him because we’re sooo loud and going wild when we can’t have our way or when were going through certain things. We even think we’ve got everything under control neglecting Gods role in our lives.
As we go through life day-to-day, daily we are tested. We’re talked about, misunderstood, lied on, lied to, falsely accused, stabbed in the back by “so-called friends, mentally and verbally abused, let down, bashed, we go through trials and tribulation. Yet, God always sees us through. When the righteous cry, He’s going to love us anyway and with that comes favor. We have to go through each process of life so that God can reveal himself to us. And the good thing about going through is that God won’t ever put more on us than we can bear. He will never put you in a situation that your faith will fail. Hebrews 11:6 says: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him”. We must also remember that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28); and that’s us, the believers of Christ.
Whatever you’re going through, whatever the situation, give it to Jesus! Things aren’t going to get better until you give that burden to The Father. There is nothing too big or too small for him. And nothing will be strange to him because he knows exactly what you need and exactly when you need it. He’s All Knowing. Even when we say to ourselves “I’m good, I can handle it, I got this, I got this!” God wants us to give him every situation and every problem so we won’t have to bear the pain of hurting ourselves and even others. The devil wants us to give up and cry but there’s nothing like asking for Gods guidance and His extra protection. He is the problem-solver and a wonderful counselor. He waits for us daily to come to him; when we’re attacked with distress and worry. For when the righteous cry, Yahweh hears and answers with deliverance and with his mighty power to set his free. We gotta be the opposite of what the devil wants us to be! He can’t see the end results but God can!
© 2010, Glenda Perry. All rights reserved. A part of Naima & Friends Network and NWC Ministries.
Spirit of Intimidation: The Big Problem Least Dealt With
Current Mood: Anointed
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. -2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
- The Big Problem Least Acknowledged
- Intimidation Defined –Exhaustive
- It was Bigger than Just Me
- Spiritual Giftings Doesn’t Mean Spiritual Purity
- Even the Anointed and Pure Hearted Can Be Affected
- How Intimidation Binds the Strong Man to Plunder the House
- Coming Next: Breaking the Chains!
- Prayer For Overcoming Intimidation
- Other Scriptures to Study
Minister Naima Williams. Originally posted on June 23, 2009
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THE BIG PROBLEM LEAST ACKNOWLEDGED
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t’s amazing how much time and energy the enemy is willing to invest in order to close the mouths of the saints. Revelations 12:11 tells us that we overcome by the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony, so it only makes sense that he would try to influence or stop the spoken word of the saints. This has been one of the many spiritual battles I’ve experienced throughout my life, and it seems to have intensified over the last few weeks. If you’ve read my eJournal entries titled Stand In Your God-Given Authority and A Call to Take Authority, then you know that one of the spirits the enemy used to try to close my mouth is the spirit of intimidation. It’s interesting how we use this word so loosely in today’s society not realizing how it can spiritually, mentally and emotionally cripple its victim. Additionally, many do not know that intimidation is actually a spirit, and this spirit seldom walk alone. The spirit of intimidation is often accompanied by the spirits of insecurity, inferiority, shyness, control and manipulation just to name a few. Up until recent, I used to get clobbered by the spirit of intimidation, and was its slave most of my life. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ! (2 Cor. 2:14a). God has recently delivered me from the spirit of intimidation, and He is teaching me to walk each day in the power, love and sound mind He’s given me through Jesus Christ!
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ou know the old cliché that says never judge a book by its cover? Well, I admit to doing this myself over the years. I am grateful, however, that the Holy Spirit is helping me to steadily UN-learn this behavior so that I’m less inclined to judge others. This is not only because the Lord tells us to judge not lest we be judged in Matthew 7:1, but also because I myself don’t like being judged. I’ve had people misjudge me because I look a certain way and/or have a particular style, and as a result, many would make up their mind about me before even speaking to me, much less knowing me. Throughout the years, I’ve been frequently mislabeled as either conceited or overestimated as a woman with great confidence. I guess between the two the latter would be much preferred; however, neither was accurate. I was very insecure, shy and timid, but this was often hard to detect because the nervous energy I had would somehow transform into what appear to be an outgoing personality. I never really understood why this was neither did I plan it to be so. It was as if I had a built-in fail-safe that would self activate when needed.
INTIMIDATION DEFINED-EXHAUSTED
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ntimidation was a problem for me for as long as I can remember, but it was just recent that I began to realize how destructive this spirit is and how it can quench the Spirit of God in any believer (See Stand In Your God-Given Authority to read more). John Bevere, the author of Breaking Intimidation expounds:
The objective of intimidation is to restrain you from action and coerce or force you into submission. Intimidation wants to overwhelm you with a sense of inferiority and fear. Once you’ve retreated into submission, either knowingly or unknowingly, you are a servant of the intimidator. You are no longer free to fulfill the will of God but are doomed to the desires of your intimidating captor.
Consequently, the gift of God, His spiritual ability in you, is inoperative. Now your authority has been stripped from you in order to be used against both you and those in your sphere of influence.
The origin of intimidation is fear, which has its roots in our adversary, the devil. He is the originator of all fear and timidity (Gen. 3:1-10), especially v. 10). He will attack us by way of thoughts, imaginations and visions, or he will use circumstances and those under his influence to intimidate us. Either way, he has one objective: to control and limit us. (Page 46)
IT WAS BIGGER THAN JUST ME
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hen the Lord began revealing this to me, I asked Him to show me how this rooted in my life. A few days after that prayer He began showing me flashes from my childhood, and how as a little girl living in an abusive home, the doorway was opened for these spirits to set up strongholds. Without my knowledge or consent, these spirits attached themselves to me and my life at such an early age that I mistook their whispering lies for my own thoughts. As God began revealing this to me, I began to see how intimidation played a major role in my life, preventing me from living in the freedom and abundance that Jesus offers His believers.
SPIRITUAL GIFTINGS DOESN’T MEAN SPIRITUAL PURITY
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ontinuing down this path of discovery, I also began to see how this spirit infiltrated the body of Christ. This spirit is so camouflaged and so subtle that it often goes long periods of time without being noticed. Consequently, it gains enough strength and control to form strongholds in the church. I believe the answer to why it goes unnoticed for so long can be found in 1 Samuel 16:7, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.“ Because we have the tendency of looking at the outward appearance, we make the grave mistake of thinking giftings, anointing or ministry “success” indicate purity in heart and motives. Think about it. If you were living during the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, would you’ve been able to discern the heart and spirit of Judas Iscariot? This is a man who ate, traveled and somewhat lived with Jesus! Furthermore, did not Jesus himself charge him as an apostle? Did he not also heal the sick and cast out demons as well? (Read Matthew 10:1-5). SELAH
If that doesn’t do it for you, Jesus makes it very clear in Matthew 7:22-23 that anointing doesn’t mean a pure heart. “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” I really don’t think you can get any clearer than this.
The author of the book Breaking Intimidation speaks a little about ministry success and relationship with God:
Even though the church is experiencing a refreshing at this time, sin must be dealt with. It is wonderful that people are so hungry for the power of God, but let’s not neglect purity of heart. We have seen too many ministers fall. But they didn’t fall when they committed their first act of immortality. No, they began to fall earlier—the day success in ministry became more important than their intimate relationship with God. We’ve not only seen this among ministers but also within their congregations. (Page 23)
EVEN THE ANOINTED AND PURE HEARTED CAN BE AFFECTED
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n the other side of the coin are those who are anointed and have a heart after God. It is these that the spirits of Jezebel and intimidation seek to neutralize. The unfortunate fact is that these spirits are oftentimes successful, even when going against those who we believe are mighty in the Lord. An example of this can be found in the story of one of the most powerful prophets in the Bible, Elijah. The story of Elijah begins in 1 Kings 17, with chapter 19 showing how through intimidation and fear, Jezebel put this prophet to flight. During my study of intimidation, I stumbled upon a website that provided an excerpt from a book titled The Tactics of the Enemy (author unknown):
For seven years, God had carefully protected Elijah. God fed him in the wilderness. When Ahab’s armies sought to kill Elijah, they were unable to lay a finger on him.
Finally, in a showdown at Mt. Carmel, Elijah called down fire from heaven and resoundingly defeated and killed the priests of Baal. All Israel fell at his feet in repentance, worshipping the true God. Elijah was the man of the hour. He was vindicated, victorious, and clearly in charge.
Nevertheless, when Jezebel sent Elijah a single threat, he suddenly turned coward and fled to the desert. Anxious, depressed, and miserable, he begged God to kill him!
Think about this. It makes NO sense. Elijah enjoyed supernatural protection for seven years. He watched fire fall from heaven and defeat his enemies, yet when a single angry woman threatened him one time, he lost every shred of vision and ran away. He moaned in self-pity and depression, begging God to kill him!
This is a great example of Jezebel’s powerful demonic “anointing” to intimidate, create fear, and cause men of God to withdraw. Jezebel steals your vision. Jezebel will even make you depressed and anxious when there is nothing significantly different in your circumstances. If there are difficult circumstances, this spirit will tell you they are insurmountable, impossible, and overwhelming. Jezebel will make you feel like dying when in reality, you are God’s man of the hour.
WOW! The writer continues:
Jezebel’s witchcraft will attack key leaders in her targeted area through intimidation. Those under attack may awaken one morning to find it takes effort just to breathe. All joy seems to depart. Spiritual life seems irrelevant. Demonic voices will echo in their minds “something’s wrong with you!” They may suddenly find themselves in unreasonable anxiety, fearing tragedy or death. Much of what is called “depression” in the ministry is simply Jezebel!
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his is exactly what I had experienced that day I wrote about in the eJournal entry titled A Call to Take Authority. I woke up to a series of mental attacks and didn’t understand why. Later on in the morning, the Holy Spirit told me to “take authority” and I did. In retrospect I now realize that He was preparing for what was to come a few days later (See Stand in Your God-given Authority). Not even realizing it at the time, I submitted to the spirit of intimidation, and as a result, I was knocked out of the spiritual authority God had positioned me in. I immediately began to experience the symptoms of intimidation and each day the symptoms grew progressively worst.
An intimidating spirit unleashes confusion, discouragement and frustration. Its goal is to cause you to lose your proper perspective. Everything will seem overwhelming, difficult or even impossible. The stronger the intimidation, the greater the discouragement and hopelessness. (Breaking Intimidation, Page 48)
These were the very feelings I had experienced; however, what was worst was that the Holy Spirit within me was quenched, the anointing went dormant and the sweet communion with God was interrupted. At the time I still didn’t understand what was going on, I just wanted it to stop. I prayed, repented, rebuked and bound evil spirits, and nothing I did seem to work. It was a few days later when God began to give me insight and revelation as to what was going on. Originally I was looking at what I was experiencing from a “me” perspective, but God then let me know that what I was dealing with was bigger than just me. He began to show me the spirits I was dealing with and have charged me with responsibilities I really can’t say that I wanted. BUT, when you’re used to communing with God and then that’s interrupted, you do whatever it takes to get back into communion.
HOW INTIMDATION BINDS THE STRONG MAN TO PLUNDER THE HOUSE
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here are still lots to tell, as this is a meaty subject, and it is one that I will be sharing with you over the weeks to come. What I want to make sure that I leave with you is the absolute awareness that intimidation is in fact a spirit, a spirit that is sent by Satan; for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV). Since this spirit is sent by the enemy, we know that the ultimate agenda of this spirit is to kill, steal and destroy all of mankind, especially the saints of God. In effort to help the enemy accomplish his ultimate goal, this spirit, which works closely with the spirit of Jezebel, looks to enter the strong man’s house and plunder his goods; but they must first bind the strong man (Read Mark 3:27 and Matthew 12:25-30).
If the Spirit of God within a believer is quenched, then the believer is in fact bound, and this almost always causes a domino and/or rippling effect. The book I’ve been referencing throughout this entry, Breaking Intimidation, mentions:
What would happen if all believers functioned in their place? What tremendous things we would see. Revival is not for the preachers but for the entire body—when every person takes his position.
Remember, the gift is the ability God gives us. We are not responsible for that which we were not entrusted with. The leg is not responsible for sight. Even so, the will of God can only be accomplished by the enabling of the Spirit. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” (2 Cor. 3:5).
It is the joint operation of these gifts the enemy wants to stop. When successful he can severely hinder out growth! He knows he cannot stop God from giving these gifts, so he is after our freedom to exercise them. Intimidation is the primary way he hinders this. (Page 40)
If there is a spirit other than the Holy Spirit that is controlling a person, family or church, than that person, family or church is in fact bound; and again, this almost always causes a domino and/or rippling effect. The author also makes another valid observation and point:
There are those who bear the title of pastor or leader, yet they are controlled by the manipulation and intimidation of others—usually the people who should be undergirding them, such as wives, associates, board members, deacons, intercessors and so forth. They run the show behind the scenes by controlling the person with the title of leader.
This also happens in homes. Parents are intimidated by their children; husbands are intimidated by their wives. They are not the head of their homes. It is important for a leader to consider the counsel of those around him, whether in his home or his ministry. (Breaking Intimidation, Page 52)
You may be thinking to yourself that you wouldn’t or couldn’t be a victim of such a thing (spirit) or that you would be able to spot such workings (manipulation, control and intimidation) a mile away. However, you must keep in mind that the working of these spirits is often camouflaged and subtle, and they can do an enormous amount of damage for years while going unnoticed. The enemy rarely comes at us in his true form because he knows he would have a fight on his hands. However, coming disguised allows him to do serious damage for long periods of time because your guards are down and unsuspecting.
Below are a few other quotes from the book that I wanted to share in this entry:
People who have strong personalities will use intimidation to make a lie look like the truth. You must stay in the spirit to overcome the strength of such attacks. (Breaking Intimidation, Page 86)
Usually intimidation will accuse you of the very weakness it seeks to hide. Those who act pure outwardly but have an impure heart will always attack the pure in heart. (Breaking Intimidation, Page 87)
Naima- I personally have had this happen to me a lot!
Jesus constantly faced intimidation. The impure Pharisees and lawyers tried to discredit Him or catch Him in His words. If they could only intimidate Him, then they could control Him. So they said He was a traitor, a glutton, a drunkard, and a demon-possessed sinner, which were the very characteristics many of them possessed. By refusing to come under their control, Jesus exposed their hearts.
Why do the impure seek to intimidate the pure? To relieve themselves of conviction and to maintain control. If successful, they don’t have to examine their hearts and repent. (Breaking Intimidation, Page 87)
COMING NEXT: BREAKING THE CHAINS!
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n closing, I have seen people smilingly admit to being intimidating, not realizing that in essence what they are admitting to is allowing this spirit of fear work through them. For many years of my life, I used to be that way myself. After having the revelation God has shown me, I now understand what this truly is and this spirit can do damage to individuals as well as the body of Christ.
PRAYER FOR OVERCOMING INTIMIDATION
In weeks to come, I will begin sharing on how to break the chains of intimidation from your life. In the interim, if you are serious about learning more about this subject, then I recommend that you read the book titled Breaking Intimidation by John Bevere. He does an excellent job at exposing this spirit in great detail as well as how this spirit has impacted the church. Additionally, you can begin your deliverance out of the world of intimidation by praying the following prayer:
Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus, confessing that intimidation has caused me to stumble. I ask Your forgiveness for thinking of myself as inferior, for I am created in your image, and I am Your workmanship. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is in me. Therefore, the power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in me and causes me to face life with hope and divine energy.The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Lord, You said that Your would never leave me or forsake me. Therefore, I can say without any doubt or fear that You are my Helper, and I am not afraid of anything that mere man can do to me. Greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world. If God is for me, who can be against me? I am free from the fear of man and public opinion.Father, You have not given me a spirit of timidity– of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear — but You have given me a spirit of power and of love and of a calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength.
Scripture References:
1 John 1:9
Luke 17:21
Colossian 1:29
Hebrew 13:5
Romans 3:31
2 Timothy 1:7
Ephesians 2:10
Ephesians 1:19-20
Psalm 1:27
1 John 4:4
Proverbs 29:25
Philippians 4:13
(Prayers that Avail Much by Germaine Copeland, page 102)
OTHER SCRIPTURES YOU CAN STUDY:
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
Matthew 21:23-27
And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
© 2010, Naima Williams. All rights reserved. A part of Naima & Friends Network and NWC Ministries.
Why Can’t We All Just Get Along
In the movie; “A Few Good Men,” Tom Cruise played a young JAG lawyer, while his co-star Jack Nicholson played a highly decorated but arrogant colonel. While questioning the colonel on the witness stand, their conversation became highly adversarial. The lawyer hollered at the colonel “I want the truth.” The colonel hollered back; “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth.” In this same way, I believe most Christians cannot handle the truth. We cannot handle the fact that Christians are supposed to be different than the world. God wants us to humble, God wants us to be gracious, and God wants us to love, not hate.
Humility was one of the major characteristics of our Lord Jesus during His 3½ year ministry on this earth. He told us; “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt. 5:5. God tells us in the book of Psalms 37:11“…the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” The Bible is telling us here that without screaming and rabblerousing, we have power when we keep our mouths shut.
To be Christian means that we are imitators of the Christ and must obey the law of God and of Jesus. What we find in many Christians however, is arrogance, conceit, anger, stinginess, greed, bigotry, even hatred of fellow Christians. This is not just a congregational thing; this is ushers, deacons, and ministers, even pastors. People who have pledged their allegiance to God and His service now find themselves feeling superior to others.
The Bible tells us that; “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Prov. 11:2 NIV It was pride that got Satan and his gang kicked out of Heaven. The Bible tells us that “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.” Prov. 29:23 KJV The key to wisdom and God’s blessing is humility.
The Bible is exhorting us to be more like Jesus than that old man within us. Have we really changed when we were saved? The Lord says that “…in humility (we are to) consider others better than ourselves.” Phil. 2:3 NIV I will leave you with this one last word that Paul wrote to Titus because it is so important that we really get it. He wrote: “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.” Titus 3:1-2 NIV
© 2010, Min. Raymond E. Williams, Jr.. All rights reserved. A part of Naima & Friends Network and NWC Ministries.
Prayer to Bear Fruit
Current Mood: Anointed
Lord Jesus, You chose me and appointed me to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Fathe4r will give me whatever I ask in Your name. Father, You are the Gardener. You prune every branch that bears fruit, so it will be even more fruitful.
The Apostle Paul said to be filled with the fruit or righteousness and that he desired that fruit might abound to our account. Therefore, I commit myself to bring forth the fruit of the spirit; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. I renounce and turn from the fruit of the flesh, because I belong to Christ and have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts.
A seed cannot bear fruit unless it first falls into the ground and dies. I confess that I am crucified with Christ: Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Father, I thank You that I am good ground, that I hear Your Word and understand it, and that the Word bears fruit in my life – sometimes a hundredfold, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty. I am like a tree planted by the rivers of wate3r that brings forth fruit in its season. My leaf shall not wither, and whatever I do shall prosper.
Father, in Jesus’ name, I thank You for filling me with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that I may walk worthy of You, Lord, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of You. Amen.
Scripture References
John 15:16, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 1:11, Matthew 13:23, Philippians 4:17, Psalm 1:3, Galatians 5:22-24, Colossians 1:9, 10, and John 12:24
Prayer from ‘Prayers That Avail Much’, 25th Anniversary Commemorative Gift Edition, written by Germaine Copeland; 1997© 2010, Naima Williams. All rights reserved. A part of Naima & Friends Network and NWC Ministries.
Compromising Christians
Filed under: Godly Principles, Marriage, Our children
Current Mood: Anointed & Blessed
Compromising Christians
Christianity is known as the largest religion in the world. Christians are people who believe in the doctrine of the trinity which is God as father, the son and the Holy Spirit. If you were to ask most people who attend church on a regular basis, read the bible and are actively involved in church activities if they considered themselves as Christians the answer would be a definite “YES” even though as a christian all of the above would be great and there would be nothing to worry about because we all would be in a perfect world. However, in a world of reality we have all done somethings that we are not proud of. How many times have you compromised your relationship with God? And now that you look back at that time in your life, was it really worth it?
To compromise your relationship with God could be anything that in God’s eyes is not bearing good fruit. We are all as Christians held accountable for the things we do in our everyday lives. When we get to a point where a closer walk with God is all we want, when we in our hearts know that God is the beginning and the end, we need to start to purge things out of our everyday lives that are not in his will for us. When I say purge, I don’t just mean your cell phones. Ask yourself the question: If God walked into my home would he be pleased with what he sees. If you went through your DVD collection would he be pleased to see Videos that contained cursing or nudity? Would he find your bible tucked away neatly on a shelf? If he listened to your Ipod or your child’s Ipod would he find it full of profanity or Gospel? These are just a few things to think about. There are some of us who want the life simply because our backs are up against the wall and it seems as if there is no one there, so we go to the one person who we have been Taught would help, but we are not willing to make the necessary changes. You see everyone else around you being blessed and you wonder when your time will come. Then there is the rest of us who really wants a closer relationship with God and are willing to make the necessary changes in order to get there.
Compromising your faith is so easy, in fact it is so easy that most of us do it and not even realize that we are compromising our faith walk. It comes so natural that it begins to be a part of our daily routine.
(Romans 8:9) it states “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
This means that as long as God’s spirit dwells in you, we as Christians do not have to worry about living our life without him, however we should never think that we can compromise our faith and no one will ever find out. Since it is a part of our daily lives and we compromise unknowingly we think that others are not watching us and it will be OK. That is not true because God’s eye is on us every second of the day, and if no one else knows he does.
We as christians have a voice, we have a say so about the our lives and the world around us. Ask yourself how many times have you saw something you did not agree with? You feel like since no one else is saying anything “oh well”. We are at a convenience store and there just beside the ATM machines is a magazine stand and this stand has X-rated magazines. Although they are covered with plastic, what sort of message is the owner sending? What kind of relationship does he or she have
with God? Yet we sill support them by paying for the gas. Or we are in a restaurant and there are people there using profanity at the other table, we figure that we have nothing to do with it so we say nothing.
Exodus 20:7 states that “ Thou shalt not take the name of the lord thy God in vain; for the lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
We did not say anything when we should have, we should have written a letter expressing our concerns but we chose not to. Because we chose to remain silent, we have compromised our faith once again. We think that biblical principals are too hard to achieve however, when we compromise with evil, guess who wins the fight? The next time you go into an establishment or even your doctor’s office look around you, can you tell that these business persons are on the same journey as you are? The answer is probably no, and they don’t have to be, but do you have a choice to support them? Yes you do, but supporting them comes with a price. Even though they probably attend church on Sunday, give God his time but it is back to business on Monday. They look at it as if “ Yes, I have made it and I thank God” but it is a silent praise. Compromised! He or she should be leading others to salvation. This is a real successful business man or woman.
There are so many ways that we including myself can compromise our faith, and it is without even knowing that we have done so. God has no mercy on a compromising christian. He does not want to be or feel betrayed by one of his very own. The next time you want to start purging things out of your life to be closer to God think to yourself: Who am I putting first in my life? Who gives me the direction I should go in? Did I perform any of the commands of Jesus recently? Have you, yourself tried to save at least one person? Purging is not only numbers out of your cell phones, nor is it just getting rid of what people in your past gave you. Take real inventory over your life and lastly, ask yourself “ Is it really worth it to compromise my faith.”
© 2010, Kimberly Moore. All rights reserved. A part of Naima & Friends Network and NWC Ministries.
Hurt Feelings
Current Mood: Triumphant
The definition of hurt: to suffer pain or grief, to cause damage or distress. Why are so many Christians hurting? The real question is, why are we walking around, pretending that things are great – when things couldn’t be any more awful? The problem is, as Christians, we have the misconception that if we are feeling any emotion other than joy, it’s not right. Things happen in life in which we have no control; and no one said being saved would save us from life and all of its trials and obstacles.
We cannot fall into the trap of thinking that we are not “allowed” to be hurt or depressed when things don’t work out the way in which we want. Maybe we suffered a bad break up from a relationship. Maybe we didn’t get the promotion for that job we really wanted. Maybe we lost our job. Maybe we lost a loved one. And it’s ok to feel pain, grief or distress in any of these situations because we are human. Did Job not feel hurt when the Lord took away his family and literally his entire life and everything he worked for? The Bible shows us that it is ok to feel depressed:
“And now my heart is broken. Depression haunts my days. My weary nights are filled with pain as though something were relentlessly gnawing at my bones. With a strong hand, God grabs my garment. He grips me by the collar of my tunic. He has thrown me into the mud. I have become as dust and ashes.” – Job 30:16-19
But life must go on. If we are living, this means God has a destiny on our lives that must be fulfilled. This fact alone can work on those feelings of hurt and begin to massage all of the emotional pain away. Remember that God is always with us. All of the time, everyday. When we begin to reflect on God and meditate on our purpose in life, God can heal any hurt we may have. It all boils down to staying faithful and fully trusting in Him. Pray without ceasing.
“When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!” – Job 42:10
Does God not restore Job to even greater prosperity than he could have ever thought or dreamed in the end?
“So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning.” – Job 42:12.
As Christians, we must remember than in Him, all things are possible. Feelings of hurt and rejection are part of being human. But when we turn our hearts to God, He heals us. He hears our prayers and He answers them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
© 2010, Kimetha. All rights reserved. A part of Naima & Friends Network and NWC Ministries.
About the Author
Name: Kimetha, aka "Kimetha"
Email:
Web Site: http://www.seeds4life.org
Bio: Kimetha is a 2005 graduate of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. She holds her undergraduate degree in Communications with a minor in French. She currently works in the marketing department as the marketing assistant with For Rent Media Solutions, a division of Dominion Enterprises in downtown Norfolk, VA. Kimetha was raised in Herndon, VA where she attended Herndon High School. She is the oldest of four girls and embraces her role as the eldest child and role model. She has a passion for writing, which is displayed in her projects with For Rent in blog, article and search engine writing. Kimetha enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with friends and family. Kimetha currently resides in Portsmouth, VA where she is working towards the next phase in her life. To God be the glory.
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