I woke up on my 41st birthday and one of the first things I did was rub my hand on my head looking for the sign He had finally answered this longstanding prayer request. I told Him that this would be the best birthday gift. I thought He told me He would do it, that this was finally my time. I was wrong. Sadly, the familiar bald spots created by alopecia and scattered hair met the touch of my hand. I felt the disappointment trying to overtake me, but I fought against it. I thought on the goodness of God, and where He has brought me. No, I’m not a millionaire but at 41 years of age, I am a rich and fulfilled lady.
I am living on purpose.
I am at peace.
I have true joy.
I am blessed beyond measure.
And I know God in an even more intimate way.
So I got up looked at my mostly bald head reflection in the mirror and a sang a song of rebellion against disappointment! Restoration of my hair will come, of that I am certain. In the meantime, this song will become my anthem because I will worship as I wait.
What will I do As I wait on you?
I will worship
I will worship
Time does not change your mind
You are not a man that you should lie
So I will worship
I will worship
The doubts are trying to silence me
Lord help my areas of unbelief
By faith I declare
I will see what you have promised
Because you are God!
You are faithful!
I can trust you
So I will worship
I will worship
What are you waiting for? What are you doing as you wait?
Be Blessed
Anika
With time, I get a greater revelation of my purpose. More doors of opportunities are opening for me to flow in that said purpose. It’s exciting and scary at the same time. However, for me, walking through those doors is the only option, even if I have to do it afraid. The word of God has transformed my life and brought me to a place of wholeness. I have a deep passion to teach the word of God to others, praying they will receive and allow it to transform them like it transformed me.
With that said, a friend invited me to do a mini teaching on Jehovah Shalom and help lead prayer for her phone prayer group. Please click on the link below to hear most of the teaching. My battery died, and I missed the last ten minutes of the talk but I trust what I captured will bless you! Do you know your purpose? Are you embracing it?
“And I am loved by you,” the more I sang those words the more aware I became. Each time I repeated that simple phrase, my spirit connected with the reality that love have consequences. The consequences of the father’s love for me are my freedom, my peace, my victory, just to name a few. How could I not worship when I experience this kind of love? I’ve said it before and I will shout it again, the expression, “Jesus loves me,” should not be reduced to just being the lines of a song. Instead we should allow it to be the life changing truth that it is!
We are in the season of reflecting on the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All of which were motivated by the love of the father. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
What is your response to that kind of love?
Is it a willing surrender or is it continuous rebellion?
Is it a heart overflowing with thanksgiving or is it insipid worship?
Love can either be accepted or rejected. What is your choice?
For a long time, I knew that sugar was not good for my body. I spent a lot of time researching and studying these truths. I could rehearse different facts about the adverse effects of sugar and even shared it with others. However, I was still eating it. I knew the truth, but I wasn’t living it out. Knowing truth and living in truth are not the same thing.
Don’t be impressed with how much bible people know, rather be impressed with how much bible they are living out. It is so easy to be swept away by those who skillfully share the word of God while ignoring the rotten fruit that comes from their lives. Jesus is more concerned about how we allow the content we have learned to shape our character and impact our actions. It’s not just about learning the content, we are called to live it! 1 John 2:3-6 says “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” Again, the emphasis is on DOING not just KNOWING!
When I began to eliminate sugar from my diet and apply the knowledge I learned, I started to experience many positive changes. The same is true for us and our relationship with Christ. Focus on learning His word AND obeying it. As we obey, we then become more like Christ. Let your actions reflect that you are living in truth, and this is how we know we truly belong to God.
Be Blessed
Anika
Jesus’ response to the adulteress woman in John 8 shows that compassion is not the same as condoning sin. The woman’s accusers were ready to stone her. Their main motive was to trap Jesus, it was not about upholding the law. Jesus, however, was ready to forgive her. He tells her that he does not condemn her but neither does he condone her sins. Before she leaves His presence, Jesus tells her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” The forgiveness of God is a package deal, it’s a release of what you did wrong but also a warning to not return to your sinful habits.
When ministering to people we must not offer cheap compassion; one that tells you that we are all sinners and that Jesus understands, without ever addressing the need to turn from sin. This approach opens the door to compromise and produces rotten fruit. In our culture the calling out of sin and a call to repentance is mislabeled as condemnation when in fact it is true love and compassion. In John 3:17, we are reminded that Jesus did not come to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. That salvation comes when one receives the love of Christ AND turn away from sin.
We must also not be like the Pharisees and call out sin because we have impure motives and hidden agendas. We should not call out sin because we want to make ourselves look more righteous or with the intent to humiliate the sinner. We also should not do it for the sake of winning an argument and prove our point. We should address sin because we have true concern for the soul of the sinner. When love is our motive, we are more like Jesus and can be effective in reaching the lost.
I cannot deny the struggle that exists between yielding to what looks and feels good instead of submitting to the God who is good! This is a daily struggle that can only be conquered through a daily pursuit of God. Yes, I live in this world, but I don’t have to allow this world to live in me. I don’t have to become a slave to something that will perish. Oh, but what hope awaits those who choose God.
As I continue to meditate on 1 John 2:15-17, I ask myself what is my end goal? The words in vs. 17 arrest me, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” How many times do we loose sight that there is more to come? There is an ever after and our choices now will determine how that statement ends. Will it be happily ever after or tormented ever after? 
Our choice to love the world and what it offers OR our decision to love God and pursue His will determines what our end will be. Choose wisely.
Be Blessed
Anika
Deuteronomy 30:19 New Living Translation (NLT) “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!