The Private War of a Saint

Do you have those moments of despair, moments where you feel like God is not near you. Everything was going well. You read your Bible every day, you were growing with God, doors were opening and then all of a sudden you just don't FEEL Him. 

Or, you feel like God no longer loves you and you get tired and worn down by those voices that condemn you. Or that you've hurt God more than enough times and you just don't want to any more. 

Everyone who walks closely with the Lord has gone through seasons of having a heavy heart. Some of us have gone through financial issues, issues with our families, health problems, etc. David (I know I use him a lot), he had great faith, but he grew weary at times due to the burdens that he faced. 

Have you ever been through seasons where nobody, not even a service, a message, a counsellor, can lift your burden. You try to pray, which helps, sometimes, but it does not seem to get you anywhere. It feels like God has abandoned you?

When we are saved, we are made righteous in Christ - Romans 3:22 and even as Christians and as those who seek Christ, we will be tempted and we will go through seasons of heaviness of sin, private issues, pain, problems...possibly everything. All of us as Christians, as the CHURCH, are in a spiritual 'warfare'. You have heard this before. For example, if you look to the Middle East, Christians are persecuted for their faith. In fact, we had the Barnabas Fund talk at our Church about the persecution of Christians in Iraq, Kenya and other places. Places where people are KILLED and made to choose between their faith and their life.

Pastor David Wilkerson, who I truly, deeply love, quite a while ago, he was an American preacher, preached on the persecution of Christians. He said if we truly obey the true mission of Christ to a lost world, we will be marked. He said you will find enemies everywhere. We, as Christians, have a mission and that mission is to tell men who have spent a lifetime believing that they are doing good and that they are achieving something and tell them that it's all filthy rags. 

We know that the one who walks in the Spirit and walks with God will be tempted and will be persecuted. The more spiritual you become the more intense your battles. The Spirit of God will lead you into the wilderness BUT the devil will do the tempting.

Every Christian on earth has probably faced or will face their own private war. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:8 - "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time of war and a time of peace."

I know one Godly Man who suffered his own private war. He was a very charitable man and served God faithfully for years. He worshipped God, he was honest, he loved God's Word so much and even those who hated him knew how righteous he was. But one night, because of lust, he made another woman pregnant. Because he panicked and wanted to cover up his sin, he arranged a hit man to kill the woman's husband. He was later exposed. All his friends forsook him, he cried out because his burden became intolerable. He was ashamed and his guilt became unbearable. His soul was flooded with bitter tears and grief. Day after day, he cried out to God. You know who I am talking about, right? King David. A man after God's own heart suffered his own private war.

Paul told us that there would be a spirit of lust upon the world. We would be enticed. We cannot even think that the holier we are, the more immune we are to falling into the lusts of the flesh. Even if we are faithful to God and pray and study his Word, we will be temped. Look at David, who loved the Lord more than anybody, he was tempted fiercely and he gave in to his lust. 

But some of us have lost a battle against lust and we are in the midst of this private war. We face guilt, fear and confusion every single day. But remember, even in the midst of the war, Jesus is your Victor.

How Do We Overcome the Private War?

Psalm 18:34 - "He trains my hands for batter; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow."

There is no step by step plan to this. God works in mysterious ways.

1. David Cried Out To The Lord

Psalm 70 - 'Please God, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord and help me. May those who try to kill me be humiliated and put to shame...'

All of us will face burdens and times of heaviness because, I know you don't want to hear this, this will teach us wisdom as soldiers of God's army. He needs us in this war. You are an example to those around you. You are the one who God will use to drive back the enemy. You are the one he wants to teach how to fight.He will use you as an example to strengthen those who are weak in their faith.

    2.   Live or die I will magnify the Lord

We need to set our hearts to magnify the Lord in the midst of our war. That doesn't mean smiling and pretending to be happy, but to glorify Him regardless of what we are going through. It means to stand still in the midst of the storm and to firmly declare in our hearts, 'Lord, I believe in You.'

   3. Cast Yourself On The Mercy of God

If you look at David's testimony, David learned that God would never have allowed his distress to overcome him. By His grace, His problems would not take him down. In every struggle, God is always full of tender mercy to those who are repentant - 'The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger forever...'

Please make this your testimony. Look at all your fears,  your distresses, your anxieties and your temptations, and say by faith, "By God's grace, I am not going down. I will not be overwhelmed by these things.'

His grace is sufficient for you!

In every private war you face, keep your eyes and your thoughts fixed on God's mercy and loving kindness which will never fail.

Amen

Pastor Wilkerson teaching on 'The Private War of a Saint'

The Prophet Elijah

So, this Month I have been reading about the Prophet Elijah. Although, he is one of the most famous Prophets in the Bible, I have never really read up on him. I usually read Parables or a certain story and take what I can from that story. But, reading on Elijah, I have fallen in love with him. He is funny, quirky, interesting and very vibrant, yet his life was filled with a lot of sorrow, which today would be seen as turmoil. There is SO much to learn from Elijah because he was so bold and decisive, and sometimes fearful and hesitant to do things, we can (well, I know I can), learn a lot from this prophet. He had so much faith and demonstrated the power of God and there is a lot we can take from him.

Let's begin with his name. I was surprised to learn that the name Elijah means 'My God is Jehovah'. I wouldn't mind naming my Son that name now that I know what it means. Also, from the research I have done and even the reading, there is not much about his background either. In 1 Kings 17:1, we are just told that he came from Tishbeth in Gilead.

The Problem

There is a reason why the Prophet Elijah came into being. The whole problem was that, the King at the time, Ahab, 'did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, even more than ANY OF THE KINGS BEFORE HIM.' This guy was crazy. Not only that, as if THAT wasn't bad enough anyway, he went on to marry Jezebel. He started worshipping 'Baal'. He even built a temple and an altar for Baal. He did more than provoke the anger of the Lord, than ANY of the other Kings of Israel before him. Okay, let me just enlighten those who do not know why God would be upset or who don't even have any IDEA who Baal is. Baal was a fertility god (and is still worshipped up to today) and people believed back then that he would help them produce children. Others, such as the Canaanites, worshipped him as the sun god and as the storm god. How he even came about, that's another story, but the whole point is, God was not pleased that His people were worshipping other gods and all this idol worship was not pleasing to Him. (1 Kings 16)

The Solution

Now, God being God, He will obviously offer a solution. He uses Elijah, which ironically means 'HE is Jehovah', I find it ironic because the people back then, under the reign of Ahab, were worshipping Baal. But God sends a Prophet called 'ELIJAH', a man, whose name praises HIM. So, Elijah confronts the King. See how BOLD he was. Imagine...okay, let's say President Obama (as an example), passes a law stating that we must worship a god called 'Baal'. Would YOU as a Christian confront him and challenge him to say 'God, Jehovah, will not be happy with this? The whole land is in danger because of this law?'. Depends on how prayerful you are, because that's what Elijah did. He challenged Ahab and even prophesied to him telling him that there will be 'no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word'. He was warning Ahab that a drought would come upon his nation because of his evil choices. Because they chose to worship Baal.

After warning Ahab of this, Elijah was told by God to hide near the Brook of Kerith, near the Jordan River. He was even fed by ravens as the drought and the famine in the land got worse. To be fair, from the human mind, I can't even begin to imagine how a raven would fly back and forth to bring food for a person. It's just something I can't even fathom. But the ravens brought Elijah bread and meat, each and every morning and evening. But, after a while, there was no rainfall anywhere in the land so it was all dried up. (1 Kings 17:6). 

The first thing I have learned is that Elijah had faith. He was told by God to go and hide and he left, without food or water. If I was him, I'd try and stash up as much food as I could so I could survive, but he trusted that God would provide for him.

The Widow - 1 Kings 17:8

So, obviously, as Elijah is in hiding, the famine is still going on. He hasn't got food left. God then tells him to 'go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon'. At this stage, knowing myself, I'd probably be sick of hiding and start complaining. I wonder if Elijah did that? He had a lot of faith because God told him to travel again. It was quite a long way from there and I am guessing he has never been before. He didn't know anybody, he had no relatives, but he followed God's word and went anyway. God sent a widow to provide food for Elijah. Now, this widow was a poor woman, she was out by the town gathering a few sticks for fire. He asked her for a drink, but she started to leave. He had to assure her that she would have enough to eat and they would not run out. She insisted that it would be impossible as she only had a small amount of flour and oil to cook for herself and her son. Once it was finished, she'd die. She was expecting to die because of the drought. There was no rain, the crops would not grow and obviously there was no food. 

I wonder...what did God see in this widow? Was it faith? He favoured her for a reason for Him to choose her. God would have provided for Elijah in other ways, but I wonder, why this widow in particular? But, anyway, just as the Lord had promised, they had food. She also had a tremendous amount of faith. Imagine going through a drought, you have no food, you're taking care of your only child, you're expected to die soon and you don't have enough food to feed a third person, yet when a stranger comes to you and promises that you won't run out of food, would you stand on that promise? She had faith because how did she know where that food would come from? Maybe God heard her struggle, maybe He heard her prayer. I just wonder. 

Sometime later, the widow's sun became very sick. In fact, he grew so ill that he died. She lay the blame on Elijah. Even though she always had food, and the flour and oil never got to be empty, the widow and her son had enough to eat, she ended up blaming Elijah when her son died. She was wondering whether Elijah was sent by God to curse her for her sins. I don't know what she was going through personally. What sins she had committed. But it makes me think of us today. Maybe she had lost her faith in God at that point; but she truly believed after her son was brought back to life by Elijah.

The Face-Off - 1 Kings 18:17-40

THREE years LATER...this is a LONG time for a drought...the Lord told Elijah to go to King Ahab. I wonder what been happening during those three years in that Kingdom. Was King Ahab looking for Elijah? I mean, if Baal was so powerful, how come he hadn't found Elijah? I wonder if Elijah ever got discouraged being in hiding. But, the famine was so bad in Samaria. Elijah got in touch with Obadiah, who was also a follower of God. They had a meeting and Elijah instructed Obadiah to inform the King that he wanted to have a word with him.

Once Elijah got in touch with the King, he made a deal with him. The prophets of Baal would call upon their god and ask him send down the rain. Then, Elijah would call upon HIS God, Jehovah, to send down rain. The God who answers is the true and living God. 

Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal, asking them to call upon their god. They did this all day long to send rain from heaven but nothing happened. Elijah mocked them, telling them to 'dance more' or 'shout louder' and funnily enough, they did this.

I love Elijah's sense of humour. He is hilarious. He said that Baal was maybe 'talking to someone else' or 'taking a walk or sleeping and needed to be woken up'. Well, they danced even more and cut themselves until evening but Baal did not answer them.


When they gave up, Elijah built an altar to God, put the sacrifices on the top of that altar and called for water to be poured over his sacrifice three times. HE called upon God to send fire from heaven and burn the sacrifice. God had proven that He was more powerful than any false gods. Of course, nowadays, we cannot see this sort of evidence of God's power BUT we have the same access to God and same power through the Holy Spirit in our lives. 2 Corinthians 4:7 - 'we now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves'.

Elijah had so much faith. Of course, there are many Prophets that had the courage to act on God's word. But, nevertheless, Elijah had the courage to act on God's word and show these idolaters that they were not doing right in praying to the false god. We do need to stand up for what's right, we need to be brave. Act on His WILL.

The Aftermath

After the whole victory over the false prophets, in spite of the victory and the provisions from God, Elijah enters a period of depression. He gets depressed after hearing that Jezebel was planning on killing him. He hides in a cave and starts to feel sorry for himself. He focuses on everything else but God. That's when the fear of what Jezebel would do to him and his feelings of being alone crept in. 

Of course, it's normal seeing as we are humans. When we start to focus on the NOISE and CLUTTER of this world, we get our eyes of the Lord. If we continue to walk in obedience to His Word, we will be rewarded. Elijah is a great example. He was filled with so many human failures and weaknesses, but he was used so much by God. God saw the potential in him. 

Purity In A Wicked World

Since it's Halloween, I thought it was fitting to post this today. We see Christians celebrating it. For some people, it's just a day, a fun day. Then they encourage their children to dress up in different outfits, witches, wizards etc. They entertain it. Should Christians entertain it? It made me question, is it possible for we, as Christians, to stay holy and pure in a world that's turning more and more wicked? A world that's accepting to practices that were considered immoral a long time ago? Is it possible? In a world that has become filled with murder, immorality and corruption?

When I ask those questions, I am reminded of Sodom and Gomorrah. In case you don't know...maybe you do, but for those who don't...Sodom and Gomorrah were two Cities that God destroyed due to the sin that was very grievous. So, you may be thinking, 'I thought God was a merciful God, why would He do that?'. Well, it seems to me that these two Cities were so grievous, so evil, that the people's hearts grew cold. It was filled with...well, probably what we see in the world today. Nobody in the City was righteous...except Lot and his family. It was SO bad that...when the Angels of the Lord came to get Lot and spent the night at his house, ALL the men from EVERY PART OF THE CITY OF SODOM, both YOUNG AND OLD surrounded Lot's house, demanding to have sex with the Angels. Do you see how wicked it was? Sodom was filled with drunkards, adultery, sex and murder. Do you ever wonder what made their hearts grow cold against God? I can imagine they did not even want to hear the Word of God. They did not want to be corrected for their wrongdoings. They had no fear of God in them. So, today...do people KNOW the truth behind Halloween? A holiday that promotes FEAR. Didn't GOD Himself tell us that He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound MIND? So, if Halloween promotes fear...then why do we indulge in it? We shouldn't be afraid of the devil...we have power over him.

In this day and age, do you ever wonder if you're the same? If you're accepting the practices of the world. I can imagine if Lot and his family had accepted those practices, they would not have been saved. How did they stay away from those practices? How did their hearts stay pure, their thoughts and actions? Isn't that hard to do when everything around you encourages you to do JUST the opposite? Nonetheless, in Phillipians 4:8, the Apostle Paul tells us that we should focus on 'whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God is peace will be with you.' 
Again, is Halloween right, is it pure, is it lovely, is it admirable? Does God praise Halloween? Did you see the Prophets celebrating Halloween? People need to read on things before partaking in them.

So, from this story, the one of Sodom and Gomorrah, I can see that it IS possible to stay pure in a wicked world, a wicked generation. It must be if Jesus commanded us to do so. It sounds easy, doesn't it? I remember when reading this story of Sodom and Gomorrah, thinking...I would not follow the crowd, I would be saved like Lot. I was so confident. But now...I'm thinking, oh, it's so easy to fall. It's easy to fall when you're surrounded by things such as magazines, promoting sex, fornication and discontentment. Magazines promoting greed and pride. TV shows that promote lust, profanity, nudity and violence. Adultery, which just makes it hard to trust your spouse. Gossip, which is glorified (...I watch The Wendy Williams Show, so I know), sexual promiscuity among other things. I've just recently started watching this Talk Show called 'The Real' with Adrienne Bailon, Tamar Braxon, Tamera Mowry, Loni Love and Jeannie Mai. Loni, who I love and I think she's hilarious, constantly talks about her affairs with men, her love for sex and how she loves alcohol. I find myself laughing and clapping then end up stopping myself thinking, 'Wow, did I just laugh at that? What would Jesus do?'. Not just that, she constantly berates and makes fun of Tamera for her faith. If not, it sure looks like it. So, TV is just junk nowadays, hence why I do not watch it as often.

So, listening to this sermon (which I will post down below) made me think and ask myself, 'Am I compromising my moral values for this world? Am I developing a thirst for the world? I remember watching 'The Truth Behind Hip Hop' by G Craige Lewis and his ministry called 'EX Ministries'. I was so convicted after that, I threw away all my Hip Hop CDs, all my music of Beyonce, Jay Z, Rihanna (that's not to say I have fallen a few times and listened to them again), but the whole point is, I did it. I learnt that music has drastically changed over the years. You do not have to be a Christian to know that. It has become more sexual, sensual, dark and demonic. I feel so guilty for listening to it sometimes that at some point, I stopped completely. Nonetheless, I think we have grown lukewarm and just blind to our spiritual condition. People say 'It's just music, there's nothing there.' Or, 'They are just words and I like the beat...there's nothing to it'.
With regards to Halloween, what makes Christians compromise their beliefs to celebrate it? When it has a history of sorcery, witchcraft, evil, demons...why are we okay with it? The Bible sets a foundation as to what we should NOT do. In Deuteronomy 18:10-12 - 'Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive our these names before you.'


So, what corrupts us? Why are we spiritually dry and empty? Why do we all say it's so hard to be a Christian, it's hard to stay pure? How did Noah stay pure when he lived in such an evil generation? Noah's generation was so bad that the Bible says that EVERY INCLINATION OF THE THOUGHT OF THEIR HUMAN HEART WAS EVIL...ALL the TIME. All they did was think about evil. Do you ever feel surrounded by opportunities to do the wrong thing? For example, having friends that want you to join in their gossip? Or teachers tell you that you should live in reality and the Bible is just a bunch of stories? Noah was surrounded by evil but the Bible says he walked righteously and faithfully with God.

It seems like a wicked generation has always been there. Even in Hosea's generation and you can read about it here (Hosea). But, in Hosea 7-9, Hosea tells his generation, 'You have forgotten God. You claim to know Him yet you fail to consult Him. You are so busy pursuing things of this life but you have become empty. You do not bear any fruit...'

Even the Prophet Isaiah cried out against his generation - Isaiah 1:4, Isaiah cried out, 'Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.'

In the New Testament, Peter cried out against HIS generation soon after Jesus was crucified. 2 Peter 2:14-15, "With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning, they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed - an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.'

So, THEN and even more so, NOW, people had forsaken God and rebelled. I talked about the consequences of that in 'A Hard Heart' post. All these sins - drunkenness, harlots, murders, divorce, fornication...yet God always had people that stayed pure, who stayed on the path of purity. They continued in God's presence with pure hearts. They rejected the world and all it's pleasures.

What about OUR generation? We have become vile and wicked because we have lost the fear of GOD. There is no fear of God in US. In Proverbs 16:6, it says that 'By the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil.' We have lost the fear of God.

In Psalm 36, David says, 'I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. There is no fear of God before their eyes.' The fear of God comes by making a CONSCIOUS decision to follow God. It begins by reading the Word of God and hearing it. If this is how we get faith, and the Word is neglected,  then we have no faith.

We cannot blame the devil, movies, alcohol, computers, pornography, we can only blame ourselves and our lack of prayer and bible study. We are ignorant of how God works. We all know we should pray but we just don't. We have time for a lot of things, time to watch TV, time to hang out with friends, time to chill, time to be lazy...but we do not find time to pray.

The Word of God cannot change you if you are not praying. The World can change you if your Spirit is cold or lukewarm and your soul is dry and empty. If you heart is fixed on the Lord, on prayer and praise, nothing can touch you. No demons from HELL can influence you. No ungodly CROWD can draw you from Him.

God wants us to become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation...and we do that by holding FIRMLY to the Word of Life. Phillipians 2:14.

1 Peter 2:11 - 22 gives us some guidance on how to live godly lives in a pagan society - we should abstain from sinful desires, and live good lives among the pagans. We should submit ourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority. We should do good to others.

Here is the message 'Purity In A Wicked Age' by David Wilkerson

What Seeds Are You Planting?

Luke 8:4-15 - The Parable of the Sower
Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him. 'A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on and the birds ate it. Other seeds fell among the rocks. It began to grow but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still, other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted'. When Jesus said all this, he told them, "Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand."

Clearly - they did not understand, because his disciples asked him what this parable meant and he told them. "You are allowed to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: 'When they look, they won't really see. When they hear, they won't understand'. This is the meaning of the parable. The Seed is the Word of God (Bible). The seeds falling on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message  and receive it with great joy. But, since they do not have deep roots, they only believe for a while but fall away when faced with temptation.  The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly, the message is crowded out by cares and riches and the pleasures of this life, so they do not mature. The seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God's word, cling to it and are patient.

When I was younger, my parents gave me a bible. I remember reading this Parable and I did not get it. But since listening to sermons, praying for understanding, I get it. As David Wilkerson said himself, this Parable is about patience as well as the condition of a believer's heart. I will explain why and you will be like 'ohhhh'...because that's what I did too.



So, we know that the seed represents the Word of God, which is the Holy Book...the Bible if you haven't gotten it yet. The farmer (it doesn't say this in the Bible) to ME represents God Himself or the Shepherds on earth that teach you the Words of the Bible.

The Footpath

So, Jesus already explained the meaning. But, let's delve deeper into it. The first kind of seed fell on the footpath. Jesus describes this person as someone who hears the Word of God, they didn't mock it or anything. In fact, this person is very interested in the Word of God. They nod in agreement with everything that is written in the Word. The Word of God is planted in their heart.
BUT...and it's a big but...
The devil (Satan) takes it away from their hearts...well, unless they believe and are saved. I'm just trying to imagine what sort of person would be like this. I think it would be someone with a hard heart. They must be hardened with sin, because they hear the Word but they do not understand it and Satan plucks that message away from them, so the Word of God cannot make an impression on them. They reject the message they hear and by doing that, they are refusing to be saved. They are probably corrected for what they are doing but they continue to ignore the gospel.

This is probably the most impatient person because, on hearing the Word, they don't want to deal with their sin. They would rather indulge themselves in pleasure (sex, drugs etc.). They do not want to be tested or tried. They do not want to wait on God. They hate preaching on disobedience, holiness or repentance. They want entertainment, to go to church and come back feeling happy. They do not want the Holy Spirit to prod them and correct them. For this person, maybe going to church is enough, they feel satisfied. They do not have that personal relationship with God. Maybe...just maybe, they want to go straight to heaven without having that test here on earth. I mean, isn't that what faith is all about?

Remember the Tower of (Genesis 11) - at that point, the whole world had one language and the people wanted to build a tower so they could reach Heave. For me, I took that to mean, they wanted to be like God. They wanted to reach Heaven and go straight there without being tested and tried. Because of that, God confused them and made them speak different languages, so they couldn't communicate.

The Rocky Path

Jesus described this person as someone who is happy and full of joy. They are vibrant, they go around testifying God's work. They are repentant and they live in the joy of who God is. They receive His Word with joy and gladness. They worship and praise Him but in the hour of temptation, they fall.

They have a sin that is controlling their life. This person is impatient with God. They want to be free from that sin and old desires, yet when temptation comes, they are impatient. You have to have time to grow your roots. Simply, go back, pray, dig in and ask the Lord for the roots. Ask God for patience until they come. God tests us to see if we are patiently waiting for Him to deliver us. God knows our impatience is destructive. I mean, look what happened with Israel.

• Memory Tour - remember when Moses went up to the mountain and God delayed him up there. After FORTY days, the people lost patience. They started dancing, carousing in drunken orgies and even made a golden calf to worship.

Then think about Saul.

• Samuel told Saul to wait for him at Gilgal before fighting with the Philistines. Samuel, let's call him Sam, told Saul, 'you know what, this journey may be long. I may take 6 to 8 days but do not worry, I will BE there.' But, as Saul waited, the Israelites grew impatient and began leaving. On the 7th day, Saul became impatient. But, I think God just wanted to know what was on Saul's heart, if he would have more faith, whilst everything looked bad. Saul, instead, took everything in his own hands. 1 Samuel 13:10.

The Thorny Path

This is a person who does not fall or go back to the world. They have stopped all communication and flirtation with sin, they just do not bear the fruit. I can imagine this person as someone who attends church regularly, listens to sermons, reads their bible, hangs out with God's people BUT they just do not have that fruit. He may make promises to God but he does not fulfil them. He hears God's Word but does on with his life. He prays a little bit, witnesses to people but he is preoccupied and busy. He cannot FULLY embrace that self-denial. They desire wealth and riches. They want to be rich and in the end, that richness and pleasure chokes out the love for Jesus. Remember, the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Even in 1 Timothy 6:9, Paul tells us that those who want to get rich will fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

The Good Soiled Path

The Lord describes this person as the ideal saved person. This person has a good and honest heart. They have their heart set on loving God and they are convinced that God will always deliver. This produces long lasting fruit. 

They endure a lot of difficulties, trials and tests, sometimes seduced by the flesh and unholy thoughts, but this person's heart is in God and he patiently waits on Him. I cannot help but think of Psalms 15 (which by the way, I'm trying to vicariously live by).

Psalm 15 describes a person who can dwell and live in God's Holy Mountain. This is a person whose walk is blameless, they are sincere in their walk, they are righteous, they speak the truth from their heart, they do not lie, they hate sin, they honour God, they keep PROMISES even when it hurts. When these people do that, their faith will not be shaken and they will stand firm.

So, what seed are you planting and on what path?

When You're Losing Your Faith

King Asa of Judah  - A Man of Faith

2 Chronicles 14 describes King Asa - "Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord, his God."

So, what does it mean to be 'good and right' - obviously this means he was a man of faith. He was a righteous man, a truly Godly man. He did not flirt with sin, he knew he had no place to hide because he knew God watched him. He knew even in darkness, he could not hide from sin so his life was basically an open book. He had constant knowledge that God watched him. God saw everything he did.

One thing I've learnt from this sermon is that King Asa was King Solomon's Great Grandchild. I'm sure you all know the story of King Solomon, he was the wisest man (apart from Jesus) in the Bible. So, I'm sure King Asa read about his great grandfather's teachings, about his life, his wisdom and how he fell in his wisdom. He must have studied about Solomon and read his proverbs in those days, about adultery etc. So, it must have taught him a lesson, probably not to repeat what his great grandfather had done. The fact that his great grandfather preached a great message against adultery yet that is the very sin that cost him everything. But King Asa sought after God. He must have wondered, surely, how such a wise man, with such an anointing, blew it all off? He must have said to himself that he did not want to be like that man.

Nonetheless, he had a great father. His father, Abijah, was a praying man. In 2 Chronicles 13:10, even during the war - Abijah encouraged everybody and preached to them, saying, 'As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the Lord are the sons of Aaron, the Levites assist them...God is with us, He is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.'

So, King Asa knew that Men of God, caught up in adultery end up ruined and fail in their faith. He KNEW that men who did not set their hearts to PRAY end up with no peace and no order in their homes. He KNEW that the secret to God's favour is available to those who SEEK Him with all their hearts. 2 Chronicles 14:4 - 'He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey His laws and commands.'

Because Judah sought after the Lord, they prospered. But this does not mean they were immune to the enemy's attacks. We seem to think that just because we are Christians, we won't have trouble. But think about Job, think about all that happened to him. Think about Paul, who was continuously belittled for his faith. Jesus Christ, Himself, as God on earth faced many troubles I'm sure, but he was a man of faith. (What am I saying, He is God, so surely, He had faith).

Anyway, Asa faced a MILLION man army against his 3,000 man army. But guess what he did? He prayed. It made me think, when I'm faced with calamity, I should surely pray. Not just that, Asa and the people of Judah had PEACE. This means they had no FEAR, they feared nothing. I don't know HOW I would feel but it wouldn't be peace at this point. I am trying to imagine facing a million man army with 3000 people on my team.

But, he PRAYED. He remained faithful. He remained calm when he faced calamities - 2 Chronicles 14:11 - ''Asa called to the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, there is no one like You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, You are our God; d not let mere mortals prevail against You.'''

King Asa had no other strategy. He went and rested it all before the Lord. Imagine! I mean, he only had an army of 3000 men yet the enemy had millions. He had no plan but instead, he sought the Lord and he prayed. They prospered in the end and they were still at peace. A praying person who prays in faith will not be overcome.

That's one thing I've learned - You should always seek God. Even when you are prospering, not just in hard times. In GOOD times, thank Him. Be grateful for where You are. Pray for your families, your friends, your loved ones, pray!

The Warning

Clearly, he was going down the same route as his grandfather (Solomon) because God saw fit to send a prophet to warn Asa. In Chronicles 15 - God sent Azariah, the Son of Oded who went out to meet Asa and said to him, 'Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you but if you forsake Him, He will forsake You...be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded...'

The warning here is important. We can actually apply it to our life. You know when you pray, pray, pray and then get the thing you were praying for, do you ever get spiritually lazy? Do you get prideful? That's what God foresaw happening to Asa. He  foresaw that Asa would have pride and be confident in his own flesh. He would lose his anointing. God knew so he sent Asa a warning. I can't help but remember how God sent the Prophet Nathan to warn King David about his sin too. The good thing is that King David took it on.

Nonetheless, King Asa took on the words of Azariah and he took courage. In fact, he removed all idols and abolish idol worship. He repaired the altar of the Lord and even offered sacrifices to God - obviously a way of giving thanks to God for the favours received. (Nowadays, we pray and praise God, which is a spiritual sacrifice).

They entered into covenant with God and repented for what they had done, hoping for a better future. They diligently sought after God themselves with ALL THEIR HEART and with ALL their SOUL. Asa even took down the image of Asherah, this image that his own grandmother would worship. An idol, in his palace - he did this whilst destroying all the idols in his kingdom. She must have sought after God took and sought after him because, remember, all who did not do this were put to death, men and women.

Because of this, there was NO war in the land!

The Fall

So, how did King Asa come to his fall. How did this happen? Well, something was happening. The King of Israel wanted to wage war against Judah, so King Asa decided to take the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord's temple and his own palace and he sent it to Ben-Hadad, King of Aram, who was ruling Damascus. This seems different. This time, he seems to be forsaking God. Instead of praying and trusting God, like before, he tries to make this other King his friend. If he didn't have to do this, he would have had to pray to God. He trusted in himself. He felt comfortable and God was not pleased.

So, guess what God did? He sent another prophet to Asa. 2 Chronicles 16:7, the prophet sent a message to him, saying, Because you relied on the King of Aram, and not on the Lord, your God, the army of the King of Aram has escaped from your hand...' Basically, God was trying to tell him, to remind him that he was the one who delivered them out of the battle against the million man army. He even told him, 'the eyes of the Lord are only on those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.'

He would have nothing but pain and suffering from then on, only because he trusted in himself. His pride got to him. What was his response? He was enraged. He was angry. Why? Because of what this prophet was saying. He knew he used to be like this prophet. He was a man of prayer, he sought after God, he was a righteous man. He walked and spoke just like this Prophet.

God inflicted him with a disease in his feet. It was a severe disease, I have no idea what kind of disease it would be but it was bad. But, even then, Asa did not seek the Lord. He did not get help from the Lord. He went after doctors! He sought after them but not after God.

So, there's a lot I've learnt from King Asa. Well, not a lot but quite a bit.

1. Even when we have strayed away from Him, or really...never even KNEW Him, somehow He is still there, waiting for us to come back. To welcome us back into His loving arms.

2. Prayer is important - we have to SEEK God and He will be found by US. It's really a choice. The Prophet Azariah, teaches me a lot actually. If we seek Him, He will be found by us. He is there. If we forsake Him and ignore Him, He will ignore us. God isn't a God that forces us to worship Him, even if He does desire it, it's a choice on our part. When we are distressed, we should seek after Him. We should be strong and take courage, because at a point, we will be rewarded (2 Chronicles 15:7). This reminds me of that scripture, where God tells us to not grow weary for at the appropriate time we will reap a HARVEST if we do not give up.

3. Judah's desire to please and worship God actually resulted in them getting more blessings from Him. 2 Chronicles 15:15 - the Lord actually gave them rest on every side. They had peace.

4. Instead of acknowledging his own guilt, Asa was upset and angry. He even imprisoned the prophet that the Lord had sent to him. He refused to seek God even when he was in pain, in suffering, in his illness. He did not repent for what he did. He was angry and even oppressed a few other people, apparently. He was bitter!

The Lord warns us a lot about enduring and staying committed to Him and His way of life until the very end. In Matthew 24:12, Jesus said, 'Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.' But, look at King Asa, he was righteous for most of his life but he failed to remain faithful to God and serve Him until his death.

In Hebrews (one of my favourite Books), we are encouraged to have faith. We are told to have confidence in God, that the JUST must live by faith.

But just like King Asa, God gives us a CHOICE. Remember the story of Cain and Abel. How Cain got SO angry at his brother, Abel, because Abel received more favour from God. He was angry and in his anger, he killed his brother. God even warned Cain, telling him that sin is crouching at his door, and tells him to RULE over that sin.

So, endure the race, guys and girls. x

A Jealous Lover

Do you know you're in a relationship with God? Do you know that He loves you? He sent His only son to die in your place? He has loved you with an unfailing love. Isaiah 54:5 "For Your maker is your HUsband - the Lord Almighty is His name, the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, He is called the God of all the earth." But as with every lover, God is a jealous one. When He doesn't have our time, when we don't spend time with Him, He gets jealous.

Exodus 34:6
God revealed to Moses that "the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin..."

That's all true, God said it Himself. He forgives iniquity, He loves His children. He is our rock, He is our fortress. But He also reveals Himself in a different and deeper way. Yes, God is our Love, God is our deliverer, He is our healer. But there's more to the revelation of who He is. Skip to Exodus 34:14, "Do not worship any other God, for the Lord, whose name is JEALOUS, is a jealous God."

So, God is love, He is gracious, He is KIND, He is a deliverer but He is also a JEALOUS God. He is in LOVE with His people. If you read throughout the Old Testament, it's almost like a love story. He is passionately in LOVE with His bride. Jealousy means to be intolerant with CHEATING. This means God will not allow His bride to have roving eyes. He has EYES for YOU which means You should have eyes for Him only. God is a JEALOUS lover. He doesn't want anyone else taking that place. He gets ANGRY.

Imagine you're married, and your husband or wife constantly focusses on other things, other men or women...your wife or husband will be JEALOUS. Your attention is not on your husband. God has been a faithful lover...He has never cheated on US. He always provides for US, He is always faithful. He never lets us DOWN.

"Psalm 89:1 "I will sing of the Lords great love forever, with my mouth, I will make your faithfulness known through all generations..."

So, when can God get jealous? When there's an alienation of affection. When your affection for God is no longer there. You can see it with Israel. They wanted something to see, to touch. They didn't want God because they never saw God, they couldn't touch Him. Even though the miracles were there. They made idols, and worshipped idols. Israel is a 'Church' in the Bible.

Deuteronomy 4:23 "Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you. Do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a JEALOUS God."

Deuteronomy 5:7 "You shall have no other Gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an image in the form of anything in Heaven ABOVE or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord Your God, am a jealous God..."

Deuteronomy 6:14 "Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and He will destroy you from the face of the land."

Joshua 24:19 "You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God, he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you after he has been good to you."

God's jealousy is always TIED to idolatry. Those people who probably worship God but do not do it in Spirit and in Truth. Worshipping Him everywhere you go. That doesn't mean going out to your place of work and raising your hands up and worshipping Him. It just means living out your truth.

Looking at the Israelites, God provided for them. But you can see what idolatry did to them. Israel provoked God to ANGER with their idols.

Have you ever read the Book of Hosea? In that Book, Gomer (Hosea's wife) was a prostitute, representing Israel which was the Church in those days. Hosea had love placed in his heart for Gomer. He was instructed to marry her but throughout the Book, although she was faithful to him at the beginning, she was intimate with him (she bore him a son) and they were fruitful, Gomer began cheating on him. She had love for other gods, she had many lovers. Now, imagine the pain and brokenness suffered by Hosea. The pain in Hosea's heart was overwhelming. Gomer had promised to be faithful, but she wasn't. This is a representation of our relationship with God. We got married to Him by giving our lives to Him, making a covenant and commitment to Him. He is our Husband (Isaiah 54:5). We may not fully understand the pain that God Himself goes through when we hurt Him, when we cheat on Him. Hosea's story is just a glimpse of it. But each and everytime Gomer cheated on him, Hosea was commanded to take her back and love her just as much. Yet, she would cheat on him again. 

Hosea 2:3 - this represents what God will do if we continue to cheat on Him. All the resources of the Holy Spirit will go. The peace of God will leave you, the joy and fellowship of God will leave you. You will be left with confusion and pain, no fulfilment and you will thirst for some meaning in life. 

Hosea 3:1 God instructed Hosea to love her even though she was loved by another man and had sinned. JUST like He loves Israel in their sin and they turn to other gods. 

Today, in this present age, are we provoking God?

Self Help
You know when you're so down in the dumps and you just want to talk to someone. Someone you can see, someone you can hear with your ears, someone you can just vent to, but you don't go to God first, it can sort of hurt. I'm just trying to imagine myself being in a marriage where, every time my husband is in trouble or is so burdened with something, he runs to someone else, I would feel so JEALOUS. I would feel angry. I would feel hurt and unworthy. That's what happens nowadays, when we get in trouble...we go to books for help. Or we look for quotes. We no longer run to God, we no longer pray to God. We get self help books such as 'coping with poor marriage', 'how to find the right mate', 'how to cope with loneliness'. But God is right there and He feels rejected.

It must provoke GOD to jealousy when we run to the flesh instead of HIM. We cannot rely on MAN. God is our lover, He is our provider. It is important not to run to men but to RUN to God.

Psalm 37:39 "the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord, He is their stronghold in time of trouble."

When you look to anybody else but God for help, you are provoking Him to jealousy. You are idolising someone else, some other god instead of Him. Sometimes, when God can't give you something right away, He just wants time with you. When you go into His presence, He just wants to feel your love. He waits for that time, that intercourse, when you are loving Him and He is loving You. When you two communicate.

Fretting
When you are very worried about something because things aren't happening according to your plan. That's when you fret against the Lord. Your life is not completely submitted to God then. I am guilty of this. I know I shouldn't worry because He's got me but it's so hard not to worry because I cannot see past my problem. I know I have to trust Him.Trust is the highest form of affection. If you say you love somebody you will trust them. If the trust is not there, there is no basis for true love. TRUST is possibly the highest form of worship. I am truly working on this.

When you fret or worry, you are not fully persuaded that He is capable of bringing it to pass, or what He has promised He is able to perform. God knows what's going on. He is working in every area of Your life. He just wants YOU to love Him, sit in His arms and let Him do the work.

Just imagine what God thinks, when we worry and fret, He must think 'does she not think I am capable of doing it all? Does she not think I am the Lord?' He brought out SLAVES from Egypt. He saved Daniel from the den of lions. He sent His SON to die in your place. What LITTLE do you think He cannot do?

Nowadays, there are so many ways that we dishonour Him. When we are among friends, we complain yet we state that we are God's people. We murmur and complain. We honour Him with your lips but our hearts are far from Him. Honouring God is not just by works, i.e. you do not smoke, drink, fornicate but honouring Him by being fully HIS. People around you MUST know that you are God's child. When sorrow or tribulation strikes you, you do not fall apart. You do not go to others and say how hard it is. You say it all to Jesus. You remain peaceful in those times. Then those who do not believe will see the testimony of God in YOU.


It must make Him terribly jealous when we give time to everything else but Him. When we go to our friends and talk about our problems instead of Him. If you don't want to pray or be in His presence, you don't love Him. People who are in love want to be alone with each other. That's what it's like. Whoa, that's actually scary. Again, it's like marriage. When you are married, you want to be alone with your husband sometimes. You want to be with him and spend time with him. You even probably rush home because you can't wait to talk to him. It's just the same with God. Prayer is communication with Him. You pray and communicate with Him because you love Him. Your love who He is. You love His presence. You love spending time with Him. As it should be. We can all work on this. Life gets so busy but it's important not to neglect Him because essentially, you are putting everything else before HIM. He even told us himself (you know how husbands can command this), to not have any other gods before HIM.

Listen to this message :)
Christ and His Harlot Church

Let your heart not grow COLD. He loves You and wants you close to Him. Happy Sunday. x

Dating in 2014

I know...I know, it seems like I talk about this quite a lot, but it surrounds me. This post is about dating.
It's not like I claim to know everything or that I claim to be perfect or that I am the purest of them all and those that do stuff in relationships are hypocrites. I am not saying that at ALL. But this is what I have learnt through observation and learning through other people's relationships.

Let's start from the beginning:

We know that God created mankind in His own image and he created us 'male and female'. God also gave us a blessing to be 'fruitful and multiply in number, to fill the earth and subdue it...' - Genesis 1:27 and onwards.

So, we know in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and he created a man...Adam. But, all the animals in the Kingdom had a mate and God saw that Adam was alone and said 'It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.' So, although the world's idea of marriage is trading rings and getting tied down, God's idea of marriage is tying two people together into a beautiful, permanent, love relationship.

Then we have Proverbs 18:22 says "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord".

FIND means "to be discovered, to be gained. A man basically gains something when he finds a wife". Isn't that amazing? This actually tells me that I have to be found, I shouldn't be out there looking for a a man. I should not even lower my worth to go out with someone. Why should I? I am a special kind of woman (I'm saying this without pride by the way) and I know I am worth something.

Proverbs 12:14 states "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones"

A crown is typically worn by Kings, right? So, a man should be a King. I can see someone actually shaking their heads at this, but its only on how you treat them or see them. It should be an honour to have his last name, is he worth having as a King?

So, for me, I feel like dating is like an interview process. You should determine whether you want them in your forever or not. You don't want to go from guy to guy to guy to guy and treating each guy as a King when they're only passing by...or won't even get to the graduation (marriage). You are worth so much more than that. You are wonderfully and fearfully made. You are a goddess, a queen and you deserve to be treated as one.

When you are dating; you should learn things - what are their eating habits, do they want children, what is their family like (heck, I need to know because I am marrying into that family, potentially), how do their finances work (if he is a spendaholic, and he is a save-aholic, can you work around that?).

Check that person's standards; check that person's boundaries, ask them what their values are (do they believe in sex before marriage?) and are those in line with the God's Word (If you're a Christian)?

There is emotional intimacy and physical intimacy. Emotional intimacy is all that stuff men probably don't like. Communication etc.Physical intimacy is...well, it's sex (yes, I said it). At least place some boundaries in your relationship, if a man has to force you or make you feel guilty about having sex with him, clearly he doesn't want to be with you for very long.

Oh, and the friendship thing between men and women. I was reading Heather Lindsey's blog on "Can Guys and Girls Be Just Friends"- check it out by clicking HERE.  She was saying that either a woman will get connected and grow feelings for that man or you become emotionally invested in that person. After pondering on this, I had to agree. Every man who I have had a close friendship with, somehow I end up growing feelings for them. It is so weird. For example, they will be the first person I call, or if something exciting happens to me, they will be the first person I call to even share the news. So, I kind of agree with Heather Lindsey on this. So - check it out and read it --> Heather Lindsey's Blog

What are your standards and let them know what YOUR standards are?

Ensure that how you act doesn't attract people who will make you LOSE YOUR VALUES or compromise your values. For example, staying pure and straying you away from God. 

What is the vision for their life?

Also, I know there are ladies out there that really want marriage (to be honest, I feel that they focus more on the wedding than the marriage) but don't get married just because you feel lonely or you FEAR that you will forever be alone. Remember, do not awake love before it's time (Songs of Solomon 8:4), and there is a TIME for everything under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1). As you wait, ask God to help you be patient, be kind, be gentle, be loving and joyful. It's not your time yet.Oh, and another thing, don't be depressed. Men come and go, heck, there are BILLIONS of people on this earth and God is that powerful that he will give you what you desire. There are so many misconceptions about marriage too (I am not yet married, but my mother has taught me so much...wisdom is gained through research). Most people just want that title because marriage is seen as the highest achievement. You shouldn't get into a marriage/relationship because you are lonely and you want someone to love you. 

Lastly, the Word tells us to be patient. James 5:7 tells us that just like farms wait for their land to yield valuable crops...patiently waiting for rains, we also have to be patient and stand firm. And if you believe in praying, pray. I don't know about you but my faith was strengthened because EVERYTHING I have asked for came to pass. If I didn't get it, it's ONLY because God knew what was best for me.

Some ideas from Pastor Conlon:

• Be kind to other people - people are frail, believe it or not.
• Keep it CLEAN
• Keep it PUBLIC - there is no shame in dating someone if you believe its a lasting relationship
• The date ends at the DOOR (LOL) 
• Lasting marriages are built on friendship and trust. If you violate friendship and trust, your soul builds difficulty in trusting them. It will be very hard for that other person to trust you when you get married (as they promise it at the wedding) - Marriage is honourable, it is the Will of God, the design of God
• Marriage is the most deep fulfilment of your heart in this life.
• Learn to pray and seek God. If you are selfish, be quick to admit it and ask God to change YOU before you get married.

We Are Hosea's Wife

I love the Book of Hosea. I  read it quite some time ago but it's never too late to write what I learnt. Besides...I've got my notes, and it's still clear enough in my head. Okay - this is the story of Hosea's Wife, known as Gomer, in a nutshell.

Gomer was a prostitute. She didn't try and hide this sin. She flaunted it actually, living like a prostitute and sleeping with anyone who would buy her something pretty. She was known as the town prostitute. I wondered why God told Hosea to marry HER.

But He did...and God essentially used this marriage to draw a before and after picture for us. Gomer's sinfulness led her to a life of slavery and it was Hosea's right to get rid of her adultery. But GOD instructed Hosea to do something unusual. Hosea bought Gomer back from slavery and still loved her. Would you do that? Your wife/husband is constantly cheating on you yet you keep getting them back, loving them just as much as before and treating them as wonderfully as if she were brand new, a virgin. After Gomer had treated him so badly...so awfully, Hosea GAVE her mercy and grace she didn't even deserve. I wonder why...


Well, this is reflective of how God loves us. Our sin against Him is hurtful. It HURTS Him just as much as Hosea's wife constantly cheating on Hosea. We may not think that our sin is all that bad, but each time we do it, it insults Him. He bought us with the greatest price ever paid...His own blood and then...instead of treating us like SLAVES (which He is entitled to), He welcomes us back each and every time.

In a way...we are all like Hosea's wife. We are not perfect (but perfect in Him), but we struggle to remain faithful. The only thing that actually surprised me is Hosea's constantly forgiveness despite his wife's unfaithfulness. His love remained. Anyway, regardless of us being unfaithful, God is always faithful to us.

Sinful actions are like concrete to the soul. After a while, your heart becomes hard and heavy, preventing YOU to turn to God for help.

Also, this is not to judge anybody because your relationship with God is so different to my relationship with God. It is personal. Some people believe we can't wear make up as Christian women...others believe we can. Some people don't do their nails, others do. Some people don't believe in speaking in tongues, others do. It's all different. But being loyal and faithful to God is the main thing. Being obedient and loving your friends is the main thing. Being kind to one another and consistency in talking to God is the main thing.

God bless x