If Faith Comes By Hearing, Get A Bible App!

     I woke up in the early morning and instead of scrolling down Facebook, I decided to listen to a bible app that I have on my phone. I chose to listen to Romans because it’s what I’m reading on my devotional plan. Laying there wide-awake in the dark and listening to the Word was different for some reason. Before today, I wasn’t a fan of listening to the bible because I felt I couldn't sink my teeth into the scriptures and meditate on them the way I could reading them. I also always felt it was just downright lazy. However, all that has changed. As I was listening to the Scriptures, I found myself holding on to every word, every nuance of the text. I was completely engrossed. A desire built up in me to hear more.There were concepts that I glazed over in Romans while reading, but they possessed a new life and vitality in hearing them. They jumped out at me like never before. Before I got tired, I listened to the first seven chapters and half of eight. This might not seem like a lot to some, but it's a lot for me. My use of the app could be considered infrequent bordering on rare. Thankfully, God granted me a renewed and deeper understanding of biblical truths in Romans. I'm looking forward to rediscovering the Scriptures all again and for God to exponentially increase my faith through hearing His Word.

     

     Because I love learning and reading, I always prefer to have information in written form so I can refer back to it and read it several times to analyze and commit to memory if necessary. Silent reading is said to greatly enhance comprehension and retention of the material. I thought about that in comparison to my eye-opening experience of hearing the Word. I shouldn't have expected less. I shouldn't have judged audio bibles the way I did because I’ve been missing out on wonderful way to feed my spirit with God’s Word.

     The bible is a living book and God is faithful so when the Holy Spirit spoke through Paul saying, “so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, it will do what God has intended it to do. Isaiah 55:11 reads, “My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do” (HCSB). God has given Christians the bible for instruction, correction, encouragement, direction and salvation and it does just that! I praise God for His faithfulness! I thank Him for restoring my appetite for His truth. I thank Him for opening my ears, mind and heart and increasing my faith through His Word which is powerful to save and will never pass away. 

     P.S. I use the Bible.is app. Besides the audio bible, it has other great features including  a few familiar translations of the bible, with or without dramatizations, a place to capture notes, and access to the full length "Jesus"  movie. That's a pretty solid app in my opinion. Here is a link to access the bible.is website where you can download the app and get more information. http://www.bible.is/about

The Divine Valentine

Give It To Jesus!

    I’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day, not even once. One year I received a plastic rose from my sister’s boyfriend. It was a nice gesture, but I wanted my own boyfriend to lavish gifts on me that expressed his undying affection. Another year, I was sorta, kinda dating someone, but I only received a measly text, no phone call and certainly no gifts. I would have gladly accepted a cheesy e-card, but I guess for him that was asking for a bit more imagination than he could muster, but I digress.

    2014 is the first year I’ve faced V-Day with happy indifference. I can proudly say that I’m a happily single woman. Yay! God has really been working on me. I’m finally seeing the manifestation of prayers I sent up in 2010. I asked to be whole and emotionally stable. I asked the Lord to uproot and purge any and everything from my heart that didn’t belong there. I asked Him to replace it with the Fruit of the Spirit and all other Christian virtues worth having.This year, I decided I’m my own Valentine. I can’t believe how my outlook of myself has changed in the last few years. I’m worthy of all those things I used to think I lacked because I was inadequate. What were some of those things:

  

• Love
• Success
• My own family
• Happiness

     Does it sound weird that I’m my own Valentine? Well, let me explain. As I revealed above, I didn’t think very much of myself before Christ swooped in and rescued me. I was bound by low self-esteem, no purpose or direction, and mild depression. So now, I love me. I have purpose and direction. I’m loved by Jesus and find my worth in Him. I’m learning to love my body. I’m learning to love every single part of me. And guess what?  There’s no man in the picture, well expect for the one by the Father’s right hand, but you know what I’m talking about.

     I need no validation from men. There’s no Valentine’s Day Trauma. I can celebrate, if I chose. I have one of the greatest gifts ever bestowed on me besides everlasting life; I have the gift of myself. I’m unique, I’m worthy, I’m forgiven, I’m my future husband’s good thing (Proverbs 18:22). I’m daughter of the Most High. There’s nothing I lack while I’m waiting on my intended, my Boaz, my Adam. I look forward to celebrating V-Day in the future, but right now, I will not rob myself of the joy of celebrating my new-found identity in the Lord, even on Valentine’s Day.

     Sisters, beautiful women of God! I know how hard it is to live year after year without as much as a hello from the opposite sex. I know what it’s like to walk the streets on Friday nights and Saturday evenings and see couples embraced and staring into each other’s eyes. I know what it feels like to struggle with loneliness, often in silence. I know what it’s like to feel unloved and invisible. I know that pain. I know that void. I know what it feels like to hear constantly about being “content in singleness” and to “wait on the Lord’s timing.” If I could give you any gift at all, this Valentine’s, it would be for you to see how loved you are already. Allow Christ to love you; allow Him to fill that void. Allow Him to give you the gift of yourself.

     I could quote hundreds of Bible passages to encourage you to embrace God’s love instead of disappointment on V-Day, but make an effort to seek Him on those pages. He’s already poured out the greatest love letter you will ever receive. He’s already stretched His arms as wide as they would go on the cross so He could give you the sweetest embrace. Don’t miss the opportunity to get closer to God and embrace this season of singleness. Don’t waste another second lamenting the man who God hasn’t sent to call on you yet. Below, I will post a Valentine’s Day poem I wrote some years ago. I hope it will resonate with you and allow you to focus on the Beloved who gave Himself as a sacrifice for the world because of His great love.

God’s Valentine

It’s sort of sordid affair

To see the gifts and chocolates and flowers

None of which I will receive

No secret admirers or amorous fellows shadowing

My doorstep

But wait!

I forgot. There is such a One

He remembers me every morning

With a glorious kiss of sunshine

My diamonds are the stars He placed in the sky

Many of years ago, so I could gaze

At their beauty at the precise moment He knew

I’d be watching. My flowers blossom in the springtime

Not a simple bouquet

But a botanic feast of tulips, roses, lilies and daisies

In whatever color I fancy.

This Love does not count my failures

Or magnify my faults

He accepts me the way I am

My lacks, my imperfections

And every wrong thing that dwells in me

But loves me too much to leave me that way

He is my God, He is my Valentine.

Purity of Heart, Mind and Body

Being a Christian is serious business. There is a war waging inside my body every day. Galatians 5:17 says, “For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want” (HCSB). The days of doing what I please are over, if I want God’s Spirit to lead me. I have been reflecting on my spiritual progress throughout last year and I’m not satisfied. I look back and see the areas where there was compromise and I failed miserably. Sexual purity is one area I need to work on. I’m celibate, but sexual purity is so much more than falling into premarital sex. To truly live a life pleasing to the One who created me, I have to be intentional about purity, but what does being pure even mean? I’ve compiled a list that works for me below:

    

• Staying away from any media that promotes and glorifies fornication, adultery, crude jokes and anything else that contradicts God’s standards for purity.

• Deleting any songs off my phone that are about sex. These songs only need to be listened to in the context of marriage. As an abstinent Christian, there’s no reason why I should listen to a song that will put me in the mood for something I cannot partake of in this season of my life.

• Refusing to dwell on any sexual thoughts or images that come to mind. It’s normal to think about sex from time to time, but it dangerous to dwell on those thoughts because they will lead into doing or saying something that’s displeasing to God.  

• Leaving or redirecting a conversation that has focused on crude sexual talk. It means dwelling on those things that Paul calls pure and lovely (Philippians 4:8). It means dressing modestly to help my Christian brothers in their walk.

For some these actions may seem drastic and unnecessary, but it was Christ who said if your hand offends you to cut it off, for it is better to enter life maimed than into hellfire with both hands (Matthew 18:8).  It’s so much better to be proactive than reactive. If there is a particular thing that I know will trigger a desire that I cannot satisfy, it’s best to avoid it all costs. 

The Bible says, “Can a man take fire to his bosom and not be burned? (Proverbs 6:27). Certainly, that applies to women as well. In other words if I play with temptation, it follows that I will give in to it and dishonor God in the process. Another element in my walk for purity is my love for God. Sin grieves God. Jesus said if we love Him, we would keep His commands (John 14:15). How can I love God, if I deliberately continue to think about and act in a way that hurts Him? Sin is no small thing, if it was Jesus would not have had to die a brutal death on a cross to divert God’s wrath. Although Jesus died to satisfy God’s wrath, He also died to cleanse us from past sins and to give us power to not sin.

One thing that has helped me is to remember that my flesh is fallen. It wants things that I don’t necessarily want. It has desires that are contrary to the way I want to live. Jesus said the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Mark 26:14). For a time, my reborn spirit has to live a dwelling that fights it every day. God says He will give us a way out of temptation; He knows how strong it is because He was able to experience what it was like to be human. The world looks down on purity, but it’s very pleasing in God’s eyes. In fact, He made us for holiness and purity, Ephesians 1:4 reads, “For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.” This year, I choose to be intentional about being pure in thought, word, and deed. I refuse to accept less, leave it to chance or the sway of my emotions. I will honor God with my mind and body because He bought it with a price.