Category: Theology and Biblical Studies

Renew Today!

~ Kiana ~ 1 Comment

Romans 12:2 says “And be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is that good, perfect and acceptable will of God.”
Today a new lesson was revealed to me about this verse that keys in on the renewal of your mind. If you think about a contract, subscription or even a lease, if you do not renew it, the benefits and allowances of it expire. You can no longer receive the things that were in the terms you agreed upon. Likewise I believe that our minds are that way. We will not continue to have the mind of Christ if we don’t renew it with God’s words and promises, therefore we will not see the changes God is trying to implement in our lives. This part to me seemed familiar and therefore easy to grasp so I wondered how the ‘be not conformed to this world’ part played a role in this lesson as well. Holy Spirit then revealed to me the danger of a tendency of the mind, which is to gather information and form conclusions. This process is natural and by no means bad, however that same process is done in research in order to form statistics or projected outcomes of a certain repeated event. While statistics many times are accurate and proven, we can not think like the world and wholly trust in the continued results of past occurrences. Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean to your own understanding.” Your own understanding is the conclusion that you’ve drawn about that situation that has always ended in a negative way. For instance, since grade school you’ve been a “bad test taker” so now that you’ve made it to college and you’re testing for a certification, you’ve already counted yourself out because the material is dense and you “just know” that once you get there and the nerves set in there’s no way you’ll be able to make it through. But, as a believer in the all powerful God, you are not allowed to use the statistics of your past test taking experiences to measure your ability in this current moment. Renew your mind, stop calling yourself a bad test taker first, then do what it takes to change the outcome. We’ve got to expect that God can and will do exceedingly and abundantly above what we can ask or THINK! That means if you think you’re going to fail, believe that God will not only allow you to pass but he’ll lead you to study and help you to retain the necessary knowledge for that exam.

A form of pity parties comes in us trying to prove to everyone and God that its impossible, we can’t do it and it will never change. But really you’re hurting God and selling yourself short. Of course it’s difficult to stretch your faith when you’ve seen things go wrong time and time again but hope is a fruit of the spirit and Romans 5:5 says that hope does not disappoint. All of life’s situations come in order for God to tighten us up in all the areas that make us more like Him. So before you build your case, with all your evidence from the day you were born up until this current moment, seek God and find out what he’s working on in the garage of your heart. Then ask Him to lead you to a scripture passage that will help to renew your mind in that area, like: “In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)!

Don’t wait until the last minute or rock bottom to decide to change your way of thinking. Renew your mind daily so that you will have space in your mind to perceive the impossible when God does it!

This Love Is Beyond Me.

~ Kiana ~ Leave a comment

Love is such an abstract idea and is therefore expressed and felt differently. I won’t say that there’s a right or wrong way to love or that there are definite signs of whether or not it is “real” love, but I think I’ve recently experienced the true essence of love.
For a long time I would believe I was in love with someone based on how they made me feel. When they would give me the right amount of attention and do nice things for me, when I knew they were thinking about me and wanted to be with me all the time, those things made me love a person. Recently though, I have a new understanding of love. This love is selfless, my love is no longer based on the attention I receive, but it is now tied to the well being of the person I love. I never knew you could love someone who you don’t spend much time with, but here I am, loving someone from afar. They have not done anything for me, yet I love them. I am constantly concerned about how they are doing. In fact, there are times that I am unhappy knowing that they are discontent. In true love, you are affected by the condition of the person you love. Love hurts sometimes, and not only when someone breaks up with you. It is a risk to attach yourself to someone and allow yourself to love them because once you’re in, it’s hard to disconnect yourself. And since you can’t disconnect yourself what happens is you end up bearing the pains and sufferings of that person. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that love is patient and kind. The New King James version says that love suffers long. The situation may not always last for a long time, but when you love someone you should be willing to suffer as long as it takes for the situation to change. You can’t only love someone and be there for them when things are good, love is truly exhibited in those hard times. In fact, a person may claim that you don’t love them based on the fact that you weren’t there when they needed you the most. And if you aren’t willing to be there when they need you the most, it’s quite possible you may need to grow in the love department. The Bible says that love bears up under all things. This is why traditional wedding vows are so important. (One should probably read and meditate on the words of wedding vows, prior to the wedding, to get a real sense of what they are agreeing to.) When you say those vows, you are stating that no circumstance can or will change your commitment to that person. Love should be unwavering and unconditional.
In relationships I say that I don’t want to say ‘I love you’ to my significant other until I’ve had the opportunity not to love them, but I still chose to. In saying that I mean that I don’t want to get caught up and say I love you during the wonderful bliss of a new relationship when everything seems to be perfect and we enjoying being around each other, etc. Rather when the truth comes out and we start to see the ugly parts of one another, that’s when the decision is made to accept them completely for who they are and therefore commit to loving all of them.
Also at that moment, it is important to love them for who they are at that time. Many people fall in love with or stay with potential in hopes that the person will become who they want them to be. That is an unrealistic trap because if they never change, they aren’t to blame for your unhappiness with them because you formed unrealistic expectations in your head. What should happen is when you’ve observed them in many instances, you should evaluate them as a partner. If you feel the ugly parts of them are things you can’t see yourself overlooking for the rest of you all’s lives, nor does the person see it necessary or feasible to change those things, the next step is to evaluate whether it is worth making a fuss over and if you feel it is, you should consider ending the relationship. That seems very cut and dry, but the problem most people have is that they agree to something they know drives them crazy and then later they can’t figure out what the problem is. The problem is that they hoped they could force change on someone over time when that person never planned on changing and now they’re stuck with something they can’t stand.
All in all, love is more than just saying “I love you”, it’s not a feeling but rather an action. Love is best exemplified by our Heavenly Father who loved us enough to forgive us eternally for any sin we would commit, just so that we could have a personal relationship with Him. Love isn’t only good times, hugs and kisses it is also found in tears and truth. Allow yourself to love unconditionally as our savior loves us, suffer with those you love and rejoice with them as well. It’s all in love and it’s all worth it.

Before you walk down the aisle, What are you here for?

~ Kiana ~ 1 Comment

As stated before, when considering marriage or even relationships/dating one should know their purpose. Once you know your purpose you will be able to decline relationship offers from people who don’t fit your life path. Many people disagree with the idea of getting married young because their understanding is that once you get married you will have to forfeit your life dreams to do what your spouse wants, which usually is geared toward having children. Getting married should not hinder you from pursuing your dreams and life goals, especially if you feel that those things are what you were put on earth to do. Your mate should be a compliment to who you are and be of support to you in your endeavors no matter what moment in time of life you meet.
Another important thing to consider when discussing the future with a perspective spouse is that you should know and express an ideal timeline of events, such as how soon you would like to have kids or some goals you would like to have met before you are ready to have kids. It is vital to first know what you desire is in that aspect, then to make that clear to your significant other. Don’t be so focused on trying to make a relationship work that you let your own wishes go unheard because it will be a problem when your counterpart makes their requests known and they don’t coincide with what you desire to do. Both parties need to say their piece and the couple should be able to come to an agreement. If a definite agreement is not made, a person should be strong enough to walk away from something they aren’t totally comfortable doing in order to avoid manipulation.

It is important to know and be confident in who you are so that you don’t find yourself wrapped up in someone else’s life. If they are sure of what their future is but you aren’t, they will quickly give you a supporting role in their life and that will be all you know and do. That’s modern day bondage because the day they decide they don’t need you and you are no longer an asset to them, they will leave you and you will find yourself without purpose because you lived to be apart of their life.

Introduction and Philosophy

~ Kiana ~ Leave a comment

Dating is a very popular topic, especially in the Christian community because of the wide variety of views on the subject. This post’s purpose is not to compare the views, however it seeks to present an approach that glorifies God.

First, let’s establish the posture of one who desires to be married. It is important that one is whole ( Refined by God, having dealt with emotional past, committed to the things of God and has found contentment in God). Whole does not mean perfect in any way but it means that one is allowing God to complete the good work He had begun in them (which He will continue to complete until the day of Christ’s return.) It is also important that they know what their purpose is and are working toward fulfilling it in the Kingdom of God.

Now, if one is committed to the things of God and is serving in their area of purpose, that requires a level of focus which weeds out other idle activities and thoughts. This is not to say that one will not ponder the idea of marriage, however making personal decisions about who they will marry and when is no longer a concern because they’ve submitted those things to God’s timing and will for their life. </p

Song of Solomon 3:5 "I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases." Simply put don't do it until you're ready and in the right position for the commitment of marriage. It is difficult because many other influences provoke you to pursue your human desires to have companionship and share love with someone special, which are natural and not wrong. The key is to acknowledge the season you are in and conduct yourself accordingly. Consider this passage: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 "But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord- how He may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world- how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of this world- how she may please her husband. And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction."
Remaining single until you are lead to prepare for marriage is for our benefit so that we aren't distracted by the emotions and feelings that ultimately leads us to engage in illegitimate married couple's behaviors. (Sleep overs, joint finances, and other obligations which we are not ready to commit to full time.) Giving ourselves to God through serving Him will allow us to see ourselves bare before Him and be aware of the things we need to focus on in order to be ready for our marriage season.

It is not up to us to decide when our single season has ended. We should be lead by Holy Spirit in this step. This will occur in different ways for male and female and even from person to person. However, in your intimacy with God things will be made clear.

Forward in Faith

~ Kiana ~ 1 Comment

Lately God has been dealing with me about fear. I’ve realized how fear has snuck into certain areas of my life where I know God has graced me. What I’m learning is that it is the attack of the enemy to stop you from accomplishing the will of God through your God given gifts. For instance, I’ve been singing since I was a little girl. As a matter of fact, I lead songs in the mass choir, full of adults, at my old church at the age of about 7. I continued to sing fearlessly growing up until I came to college and met a new group of singers. Suddenly I felt like the weakest link, they were more talented than me, so I decided to hang out in the background. Finally an opportunity came for me to sing a lead after years of just singing in the choir. After losing sleep and being anxious at the thought of that song, I realized wow, I let intimidation come in and it grew into fear.

It is so important to be able to discern these attacks and catch them before they take root and grow because  when it gets too far, it takes a lot of digging and healing to get them out.

So I sung the lead and that was it for a while. A year or two later I met another group of singers, who were even more talented and annointed. This time I decided I wasn’t even going to be in the choir, much less the praise team! How would I even compare, I thought. EVERYONE here can sing!

Although all these things may be true, it does not cancel out the fact that God has placed a gift inside you, 1 Corinthians 12:11 tells us that God does the distributing of gifts and He gives what He wants to who He wants. Our job is to be good stewards of that gift, not to compare it to the gifts of others.

Well once I realized I would not be fulfilled until I was operating in the gift God gave me, I started going to praise team rehearsals thinking I would go through this long training process, but I ended up singing right away!

You never know how capable you are until you do the thing. No matter how inadequate you may feel, if you worship God with all of you He will honor your efforts and be glorified in it. 

One of my favorite scriptures about fear is 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. I’ve always wondered why God chose those three things to counteract fear, so I did some research.

Power in greek is dunamis which means physical strength or ability. So the first reason not to fear is because God gives us the ability to do whatever it is we are afraid of doing. Philippians 4:13 reminds us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Love in greek translates to agape which means goodwill and esteem. 1 John 4:18  says that perfect love drives out fear. Since God is love and he has given us His love, we should not fear. In addition to that, in Jeremiah 29:11 God lets us know that the plans He has for us are to prosper us and not to harm us. So even when He leads us to situations and we get fearful (God doesn’t give us that fear), we have to trust in Him and remember that He is not trying to hurt us, He’s just trying to use us and sometimes there are some things He’s trying to work out in us. 

Finally a sound mind. Those words translate to sophronismos which means self-control, sobber-minded, temperate and prudent. There are numerous scriptures that tell us how to safeguard our minds. Romans 12:2 is the beginning and continuation of salvation, it says “And be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God.” If we follow the command to always have a renewed mindset we can be sure that our minds will be sound and free from fear. When we do not renew our minds with the words of God, we allow fear to creep in with the standards, stereotypes and ideas of this world, which many times do not coincide with the thoughts that God has toward us. 

Examine your life and find out where fear has stopped you and held you back from accomplishing the will of God for your life. Don’t even be afraid to face it, God also says in Romans 8:15 that the spirit we have received does not put us in the bondage of fear but we now have sonship with God and cry Abba, father. Don’t feel guilty for having held back because of fear. Just repent and ask God to renew your mind, strength and confidence. Now is the time to forgo fear and move forward in faith!

Good success in 2014

~ Kiana ~ Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and its not that I haven’t had anything to say but I must admit this first month of 2014 has had me on the move. I am excited about all this year has to offer and I plan on taking part of every bit of it. This post actually kind of relates to that last thing I said. What I meant by saying that ‘I plan on taking part in what this year has to offer’, was that there will be so many possibilities and opportunities because God has promised a great and prosperous year to those who keep Him first, (which is always what He expects). However, what you believe can happen will affect what actually does happen. The act of believing has a few steps or guidelines too: What to believe and how to actually believe. So let’s break it down.

What to believe

As believers in Christ our direction comes from the Word of God, A.K.A. the Bible. Although God was talking to specific people in some of the stories in the Bible, if you read it enough, you will begin to see that those people were much like we are today and that those words or dialogues are applicable to our lives. Jesus even told Satan that this is how we live our lives: 

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4

So first, whatever God says is what you should believe. And we know we can believe that because: 

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Number 23:19

In other words God means what he says and we can hold on to that better than anything else we hear or read.

I won’t say it’s impossible, but it is highly unlikely that you will be able to read and apply the entire Bible to your life in one year. However, I do encourage you to read and meditate on as much of it as you can, because everything God desires to do for you/ through you is addressed in the Bible. It may not say plainly that He will drop 6 figures into your bank account or see to it that you get a brand new Mercedes Benz but it does say this:

 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 28:2

 

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it

Malachi 3:10

 

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

Luke 6:38 

These verses have a few things in common: Heeding God’s words and the blessings that come with it.The second one speaks of the kinds of blessing God desires to give those who are obedient. He says there won’t be room enough to store it, He’s not just going to give you a cookie or a high five but He wants to do BIG things! 

So now that we’ve covered what we should believe let’s discover how the Word of God turns into what we believe.

You know, it wasn’t until recently that I had read Deuteronomy 28:2 for myself. I actually heard a couple people tell stories about random people who just gave them things that they had been needing or wanting. I would think to myself “Wow that’s cool and miraculous, but how do you become a recipient of such things.” Like what do I have to do for someone to just have to give me something of theirs without them even know me or knowing that I need what they have. Part of it probably has to do with the person who received those blessings, first knowing that God said these things would happen. They had to know God’s word and expect those kinds of things in faith knowing that God would hold up His end of the deal if we did the same. So I would gather that the key to receiving, is knowing that God said it and believing it for yourself. And this is how you believe:

 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8

 Once again, God gives a mandate to know His word, but he also says to meditate on it. So that goes even further to say, that you need to spend time thinking about it and letting it sink in. You have to understand what it means, understand what it means for your life and how it will impact your life. He also sneaks in some responsibility because when YOU observe all that is written it says that YOU will make your way prosperous. In other words, He has given us the resources to live right and if you do live right you can ensure prosperity. This scripture is as plain as it can get about what God will allow to take place in your life: If you know His word, you’ll be inclined to obey Him and as a result you will have good success. And God’s idea of success is way better than what we can imagine. 

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Ephesians 3:20

In conclusion, as believers we have to know what we believe and expect it to manifest in our lives. If that takes reading the same scripture every day or multiple times a day, so be it, but don’t sell yourself short when you serve and believe in God, who desires to give you the world. (And He’s the one to do it because its His, not your boyfriend’s [And if you’re the boyfriend then um… leave that to God.]) He says that he will not withhold ANY good things from those who walk upright. Psalm 84:11 So if you know you are striving to live a life pleasing to the Lord, expect Him to do amazing things in your life, it’s what He promises and He doesn’t change His mind.

 

 

Will you be in the number?

~ Kiana ~ 2 Comments

For the past couple months faith has been thrown in my face constantly. I’ve been lead to study it, I keep hearing people talk about it and it’s a test I’ve been dealing with. I have gotten better at discerning the voice of God however, I still have my moments when I’m not sure, and that probably comes from not being completely pure in my thoughts. But today, it became really real to me that faith IS our walk. We know the scripture “We walk by faith and not by sight”, we’ve heard it a million times but it only takes one day when we have no idea where our life is going, or how we’re going to get where God has already ordained our life to go, when we don’t have a choice but to walk by faith because it is in that moment when only God is the one who can prosper that situation. But Jesus’ whole M.O. in His ministry was that the people believed, whether they needed healing, a demon cast out, someone to be raised from the dead or even a baby in old age, He just wanted them to believe it WOULD happen and that He was ABLE to do it. I think a lot of times we want want want but we don’t believe it can happen as much as we want it. But, that’s how people die with big dreams. They don’t give it over to God to let him bring it to pass. So in faith, we also have to be willing to take our hands off the situation while still being a part of it. That’s kind of crazy but it makes me think of those cars that can parallel park themselves. The car can do the work but you have to be in the car to turn it on and even press the button that allows the car to begin to park itself. So in life, we have to put the desire out there, (make our request known to God) and then give Him the okay to let Him do it in His timing and trust that He knows what he’s doing. Once you press that auto-park button, you’ll probably mess the car up if you try to turn the wheel a different way just because you don’t think it knows how to do it right. Likewise you can’t give God your situation and then try to work it out on your own just because you think He’s taking too long or because you think He’s taking you the long route and you think you know a better one. 

This morning I was reading about prayer and these verses struck me:

“And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:7-8. 

Jesus was teaching a parable about a widow and an unjust judge. The widow asked that proper judgment would be upon her adversary and the judge said no every time she came to him but eventually he said yes because she would not leave him alone about it. The point Jesus was trying to make was that God will hear us if we do not faint in prayer and belief. But He asked the question will there be any people still walking by faith when he returns.

So my question to you is Will you be in the number?

The biggest thing to do in your walk with Christ is to have faith in Him. And through your faith everything will become possible. That sounds simple (and it kind of is) but its the truth. If you believe that through the blood of Christ you are redeemed, then you are redeemed and you will see Him when he returns. If you believe that in your weakness, His strength is made perfect for you, then it is and you are a conqueror through Christ Jesus. We’ve got to believe that he has everything we could possibly need and that He knows what it is that we need. 

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Hebrews 11:6

That verse just goes right with the other one. If you know you are giving everything to God, believe that He will take care of you. That’s all it takes, literally a little faith. See:

Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:19-20

 

And once God proves Himself over and over your little faith will become bigger and that’s the whole point. So I encourage you to fight through doubt and unbelief and look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, so that you can be in the number. 

 

When I wanna do right……..

~ Kiana ~ Leave a comment

O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be! Let they grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.

Lyrics: Robert Robinson

This is the 3rd verse of the hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”. The song just kind of popped in my head as I was sweeping. But when I thought about that last part, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it”, something clicked for me. Its funny how you can hear something over and over all your life but it won’t make sense until its time and I feel that is the case for me in this moment. I can understand why the writer wrote that. Paul agreed when he said :

“So i find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.” (Romans 7:21-23)

Paul could feel it too; The battle we have against sin. We know the Lord and his commandments but sometimes we just have the urge to go in the opposite direction.

Why is this the case?

Well, the first group of people that were God’s people didn’t do right by Him.

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- Who is forever praised. Amen” (Romans 1:21-25)

In a nutshell, God gave us over to sin. Instead of making us chose Him, He gave us a choice. So now we live this life fighting to live right, but sin is still in us, regardless of our choice to follow Christ or not. Once you find the light which is Jesus Christ and you understand what is right and what is sin, you will begin to know the signs of your wandering flesh. There will always be a part of you that wants to go back to your “old life”. The key is to recognize it and strengthen your spirit against those desires.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except was is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

God is truly faithful! Although he lets us battle with sin he won’t give us anything we can’t overcome. Although it seems rough, we have to know that we have the victory since we are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Let NOTHING move you!  Do not allow the enemy to make you think you have no control over your life and actions. Remember:

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:11-12

I know this blog seems super scripture heavy but that’s what can really get you through. When I was coming out of my situation I had scriptures posted EVERYWHERE (and I still do!) The one I kept reciting is 1 Corinthians 10:12-13, it helped me to know that what I was going through, others had gone through as well and that God knew I could handle the process. And he surely delivered me. IT didn’t take me out! Yes, testimony is always a motivation (that’s why I do this) but you NEED to know that the God you serve and Christ who died for your freedom wants you to be free from the bondage of sin. That is one of the reasons we have the Bible, so that you will know how he feels about you when you can’t hear his voice (or when you don’t want to because you’re ashamed of where you are in life.) His love is UNconditional, it doesn’t change because of the things you are doing.

Know the signs (Your thoughts)

Stay away from things/ people that will make you relapse. (I stopped listening to Trey Songz)

Stay in the Word. Know that God wants you out!

Be Free but not too free…..

Why are you ashamed?

~ Kiana ~ 1 Comment

Throughout life I’m sure everyone has a thing or a person they become ashamed of at some point. For instance, in middle school a boy might be ashamed because he likes the girl that all his friends call ugly. Or both genders at some point are ashamed of the effect puberty is having on them. What ever the case is, we’ve all had a moment of shame. In Christianity we see it all the time, where we are ashamed to let the world know that we are believers. Some might say “because, people get offended if they don’t believe” or “I don’t want to force my religion on them” or they might just feel like its not cool among the people they hang out with, so they hide it around those people. The issue with that is, the Bible clearly states a few things about being ashamed of Christ.

1. A reason not to be ashamed. Joel 2:26-27

You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am the Lord your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.

Here’s the interesting thing about Christians. When it comes to receiving and claiming things from God we are all for it and will do what ever it takes to “get our blessing.” But as soon as He wants something from us, we act like we didn’t hear that from Him. The basic stuff is already in the Bible, like the Great Commission. God does not have to call you to be a witness for Him or to pray for someone you KNOW is hurting and doesn’t know God for themselves. This scripture is talking about blessings God is giving to his people, but yet he still has to say TWICE that his people will not be ashamed of him. You mean to tell me that even after the blessing that clearly came from the Lord, you still don’t bear His name on a daily basis? Sometimes we do God so wrong. When you get something from the Lord everyone will know its something special, so when they ask you about it, a way to bear His name would be to say “God did that.” You have to recognize His power in your life. The glory is not for you it’s for Him, ALWAYS. In that scripture it tells you what is going to happen (the people will have plenty to eat) then it says THEN you will KNOW I am your God, which means the reason He’s doing it is to show himself and for Him to get the glory. He cares about you so you got something in the process but His point was to make Himself known. Don’t steal or hide His shine.

2. Persecution is coming, REGARDLESS

Luke 21:17-19

Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.

The scripture is plain here. EVERYONE will hate you because you believe in Christ. That may be exaggerated a bit but the truth is a lot of people will be mad when you mention Him. Some people have not come to believe in the God and Jesus we’ve never seen and the holy spirit they’ve never felt. God knows its hard for us to wrap our human brains around him but that’s why this is a faith based religion. The only way you can believe in it is by believing in Him and his son. So if you know you’ve experienced God in your life and you have salvation through his son, its time to be open about it. America loves for you to be open about everything else but as Christians we have to include this and make it the number 1 choice at that. The promise that comes with being bold about Jesus is that you will not perish. He’s going to make sure you get to heaven just for making his name great in the earth. We just have to come to terms with the fact that our life may not be cool or accepted by everybody, but for a God that continues to bless us and open doors for us, it should definitely be worth it.

3.  The consequences of being ashamed. Matthew 10:32-33

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Finally, here’s the worse consequence of being ashamed. This may seem a bit blunt, but its the word of God. Jesus will deny you in front of God on judgement day if you’ve been living your life as if He hasn’t been in it. Now think about it, you’ve believed in God ALL your life, you got saved at the age of 15 and you never miss a Sunday, you do outreach with the church you’re in 5 different ministries, but outside of that your friends don’t know a thing about your Christian life. Let’s stop there, because there shouldn’t be a difference between your daily life and your Christian life. Once you give your life to Christ, it (your life) becomes completely Christian. Yes you’re going to mess up and your ways may not change right away, but there should be enough evidence for people to know you are not the same person you used to be. Stop hiding Jesus. He’s the light of the world, his purpose is to shine. That’s like trying to block the sun. Its too hard! Because it’s supposed to be there, just like Jesus! You don’t want to live this life just going to church but not letting your light shine the rest of the time if its going to mean you’ll miss heaven. That would be the absolute worse. Don’t be ashamed, God is everything and if you know that for yourself, you should share it with someone who hasn’t experienced it yet.

Get Your Mind Right

~ Kiana ~ 1 Comment

2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 5 Put to death, therefore,  whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.       Colossians 3:2,5,7

This is something I have been struggling with lately and I felt others might be able to relate as well. One would think that once you decide to focus on God and submit to Him completely, everything will be easy breezy and your old life and ways will just fall away from you. However, this is definitely not the case. Life actually seems to get harder when you actually fight the temptation of things that you learn are not pleasing to God. What I’ve found is, you have to do a mindset change in order for you to successfully change your life through the power of God. Once you make the decision to live for God you have to go from thinking in a carnal (relating to the physical body) mindset to thinking in a spiritual way. Hence the first scripture, “set your mind on things above and not on earthly things”. In today’s world everyone seems to be screaming “Do you, Be you, and everyone HAS to accept you for who you are.” Depending on the way you feel about that, it can be unfortunate that the Christian lifestyle says the opposite. You have to die to what your mind is telling you to do to bring pleasure to your flesh and start focusing on what your spirit needs to make it to heaven. No doubt this is hard, but not as hard as you think. It’s basically a mind reset. You have to get rid of just about everything that you’ve learned from the secular world and begin to search the scriptures (with the Holy Spirit interpreting) for the correct way of going about everything.

It is a prevalent issue among modern day Christians to try to have both lives. You can’t be in the middle though, God does not work like that. If you need deliverance from sins, ask for it! 1 John 5:14-15 says “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us, And if we know that he hears us– what ever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him. I would venture to say that it is God’s will to deliver us from those things, all you have to do is believe that He will do it and by his power begin to remove yourself from those situations and conditions. Did you understand that? You have to do work as well. Learn to say no, learn to separate yourself until you find a group of people that are trying to go in the same direction as you. And it may seem crazy but in those moments of solitude, pray that God would take that fleshly desire from you and look for a scripture to encourage you like Hebrew 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. You will be rewarded for seeking Him, and part of you seeking him is wanting to live pleasing unto him. Sounds to me like this is a better deal. (Just saying)

So lose yourself in the eternal moment. Think about your reward in heaven, then you will realize the hard work is worthwhile. But it starts in your mind. Once your mindset changes, some things will no longer be a temptation to you because your desires will change as well. Sometimes you will need a tune up, but just listen to your spirit and know where to go when you feel like you’re falling off.

I hope this helps you to repent (to change your mind) so that you can begin to be the ‘You’ God wants you to be.