My laptop needed to be updated and for this to take place, I had to connect it to an external power source. Once I connected my laptop, the update began. However, there was a message on the screen during the update that warned me not to unplug the laptop from the external power source during the process. If I unplugged from the power source, the update would be hindered, and I would have to start the process all over.
Each time I turned on my computer, the invitation to update was there. However, I kept hitting the option to postpone it for another time because I didn’t want to be inconvenienced. I wanted to get to work right away on my laptop. However, if I kept hitting postpone, I ran the risk of compromising the quality of my computer and its ability to do what it was created to do! The process of the update was needed, and it took time. I had to be patient and let it run its course.
You already know where I am going with this don’t you? My question to you is, are you connected to God, the ultimate power source? You connect with God by daily spending time with him through reading the word, prayer, and obedience. You can’t update yourself without being connected to Him. Some of us skip that connection with God and feel that the best way to be “updated” is to work hard to get more money, pursue the perfect relationship and perfect body, or read self-help books and rub shoulders with people in power. I must be frank and tell you, THAT AINT THE ANSWER HONEY! Don’t keep on hitting the postpone button, don’t let life distract you from connecting to God. When you are disconnected from Him, the quality of who you were created to be is greatly compromised. Be patient with all the updates God is trying to download in your spirit, don’t unplug from God because that hinders and halts the process. No power source, no update, no way around it.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
We assume we have mastered a lesson until we get another test some time down the road. Our grade on the tests reveals if it is necessary to relearn the material. In school, I tried to be diligent about studying for upcoming tests. I often passed the initial test. However, there were some instances where I did poorly on the final exam at the end of the semester, especially in math. This was a clear indicator that I had not mastered the foundational skills necessary to retain the material. I didn’t fully get it. Truth is, some lessons must be revisited.
Here I am at the end of the year taking inventory and asking honest questions, “Did I learn the material the Lord was trying to teach me, did I REALLY LEARN the lesson? Did I go around the SAME MOUNTAIN all year, or did I graduate? Have I made progress?” The Christian life is all about progress. We move from glory to glory(2 Corinthians 3:16-18). We press towards the mark of the high calling (Philippians 3:14). We allow the one who began a good work in us to continue it until its completed (Philippines 1:6).
As I sit and reflect, I encourage you to do the same. What lessons did God teach you this year, have you mastered them? Are you ready to go to the next level, or do you need to sit in class a little longer? I pray that 2018 finds us all in a place of total obedience and a made up mind to learn all the Lord wants to teach us.
Blessings
Anika
Have you ever prayed to hear God’s voice? Have you been stuck, uncertain of your next moves and you need the Lord to speak to you? I have. I go and pour my heart out asking the Lord to provide clarity. However, when He gives me an answer I don’t want, I go back with the same prayer request, “Oh God please let me hear your voice!” But what I am really saying is, “God I heard what you said but I don’t like that response. I don’t want to do it! Can you please come up with some other alternative?” He is God and I am not. Even though I don’t always like what I hear when He speaks to me, it is always in my best interest to respond in obedience. Deuteronomy 28 lists all the blessing that follow when Israel obeyed God’s instructions. We love to shout about those promises, ‘blessed going out blessed coming in!’ But before you get to shouting, don’t forget to read that passage in its entirety. The latter verses share the consequences of disobeying God. This passage reminds us that God does provide direction for His people and tell them what He expects of them. However, the ability to hear His voice demands a response of obedience from the hearer.
God speaks to us in many ways. It may be in a dream, from His word, through another believer, or just a strong inner knowing, among many other ways. Don’t take for granted that the creator of the universe speaks to you! Even if it is not what you want to hear, you know He won’t lead you in the wrong direction. As we prepare to enter a new year, do you find yourself with unfinished God tasks? You know, the things the Lord told you to do when you asked to hear His voice. The things you did not want to do. Yeah, those things. The start of a New Year does not mean that God will change His mind. I encourage you to not only pray to hear God’s voice but to also pray for a heart to obey when He does speak even if it is not what YOU WANT TO DO. His grace is there to attend you!
The story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 is one of my favorite bible stories. It reminds me of God’s ability to heal and the dangers of walking in pride! The passage opens by telling us that Naaman was favored by the King of Syria. He had a great position and great victories BUT he was a leper.
As the story of Naaman unfolds, we see that he not only had leprosy of the skin but leprosy of the heart. What on earth am I talking about? Naaman was angry when the Prophet Elisha didn’t come out to see him and by way of his servant, told him to go dip seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman was furious because being a man with such authority, he was expecting a more honorable greeting followed by special instructions for His healing. He received neither!
Given the severity of his situation, I would think that Naaman would have immediately obeyed instead of protesting. After all, leprosy was fatal! However, the pride in His heart made Him forget about his desperate situation. Pride has a way of blinding us from what we really need. Pride can be a deliverance snatcher! Thankfully Naaman had a wise officer who encouraged him to take heed to the instruction given by the man of God and he was healed.
What is the BUT in your life, that exception, that thorn? In other words, what is the thing that is hanging over your head that seems to overshadow all the other great things that you have going on in your life? Sometimes God allows the outward “leprosy” in our life to highlight the most fatal leprosy of all…the one in our hearts. God knows how to present scenarios in our life that brings the ugliness in our hearts to the surface so that we can be healed, delivered, and freed from pride. Have you been protesting, or have you yielded to the process so that you can be healed of spiritual leprosy?
Deliverance from sin comes only when I want it and I reach that place of true repentance. No one can wish me to deliverance. It is something that I must be desperate for and God in turn meets me in that desperation and brings freedom. The blood of Jesus is what makes deliverance from sin possible, no matter how severe the case. A lack of deliverance is not based on God’s inability. Instead, it is based on my unwillingness to submit to the process and REPENT! At times, I mistake wanting comfort with wanting to be free. There is a huge difference! Many will come and say they want to be delivered from making unwise decisions and being spiritually wayward. When in fact what they are really saying is, I don’t mind the decisions I am making, I don’t mind living in sin but what I really want to be delivered from is the consequences attached to my sinful choices. Feeling bad and trying to avoid the CONSEQUENCES and not the SIN that warrant the consequences reveals a heart that is not repentant. 2 Corinthians 7:10 reads, “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” I know I really want to be delivered when I begin to feel sorry about THE ACT OF SINNING and not just the CONSEQUENCES attached to my choices. Take for example a man who is caught stealing and is sentenced to years in prison. The question he must ask is, do I really feel bad about stealing (the sin) or do I just feel bad about being in prison (the consequence)? Other signs that I want to be delivered is that I stop making excuses and pointing the finger at others. Instead, I take responsibility for what I have done wrong. I am also willing to be fully transparent about my sins and not pick and choose what I share. These are all signs of humility and God gives grace to the humble but resist the proud (James 4:6). God’s love, forgiveness and deliverance is available to us. We just have to really want it!
Be blessed!
Anika
Whenever my children do something wrong, they go into hiding. I have been guilty of having the same response with my heavenly father. When I allow my anger to get the best of me and I snap on those I love and speak hurtful words, I am left feeling ashamed and condemned. My hiding sometimes comes in the form of an avoidance of prayer. However, I am so thankful for the truth of 1 John 1:9, that reminds me that when I come out of hiding and come with a repentant heart, God is willing to forgive and cleanse me.
As I read through Genesis 3, I realize that this hiding game started with my first parents, Adam and Eve. When they ate of the forbidden fruit, they hid from the Lord and attempted to cover their nakedness with fig leaves, an itchy choice (Genesis 3:7-9). Their attempts at covering themselves was futile. But how often do we respond in the same way when we have sinned? We may try to cover ourselves after sinning by performing outward acts such as giving more, or listening to gospel music. These acts do not deal with the sin that is in our hearts and our need to repent. Genesis 3:21 mentions that God covered Adam and Eve with animal skin. In order for them to have the proper covering, an innocent animal was killed and it’s blood was shed. This is a foreshadowing of what Jesus; the spotless lamb of God did for you and I on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven. Hebrews 9:22 reminds us, that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.
My question to you is, have you sinned and instead of coming clean, you have gone into hiding? Have you been hiding by lying to make yourself appear in an innocent light? Perhaps you are trying to avoid the people of God. The enemy knows that if he isolates us, he can devour us. Sometimes when we sin we avoid going to church because we do not like the idea of being accountable to anyone. While accountability is not always comfortable, it helps to keep us on the straight and narrow. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us that we are not to forsake coming together with the saints of God. No matter what you have done, if you come out of hiding and come to God with a repentant heart, He will forgive you! The choice is yours. Make the right one while there is still time.
Be Blessed!
Anika