A Single Thought Raised

A single thought raised is a perfect prayer, to God.

As I was driving by a local church the other day, their marquee read these words.

In our churches, in our youth groups, in our circle of friends, we are burdened with the thoughts of our prayers being too long, too short, too in-depth or not deep enough. How are we supposed to know the "correct" way to pray? Or is there even such a thing?

This message ran through my mind over and over again, and then I was reminded of this verse:

1 Thessalonians 5:17 -- Pray without ceasing.

Seem impossible? Not so.

I believe with all of my heart that God seeks to have a constant, ever-growing relationship with each one of us, and when we train our thoughts on Him, our thoughts become prayers before Him, and continual prayers at that. Prayer is about communicating with God. When we are ritualistic with Him, we lose the relationship component of our connection. Jesus outlined the concept of prayer for His disciples in Matthew (chapter 6), and through that, we learn that prayer is so much more than finding time in the day to connect with God just to repeat words for the sake of having done it.

Living a life of prayer is not about "penciling Him in" our day planners.

It is a living, breathing, constant interaction with Him; a connection from His heart to our own.

Blessings,

A.

Comfortable

I think we are becoming too comfortable. No, that's a wrong statement. We have become too comfortable.

We enjoy Christianity from the confines of our homes, while our brothers and sisters across the globe are being persecuted for just believing in the name of Jesus.

I want you to imagine that, right now.

What if, while you were sitting here reading this post, the anti-Christian movement began breaking down your doors, busting out your windows and yelling for you to show yourself. They heard that you were a follower of this Jesus. What do you do? Stand your ground, hold fast to your Bible and subject yourself to torture, prison or even death? Or would you shut down this page, hide your Bible and deny any claims made against you for being a Christian?

This idea may seem far-fetched to you, but this very thing is happening all over the world.

In America, we have chosen the kind of Christianity that we want (if it can even be called Christianity anymore). When Jesus walked this earth, He gave His disciple's very clear instructions on how to live, which down the line, means that we, as declared followers of Christ, have committed to the same thing. Our faith isn't something that can be turned off when we want it to be. It isn't something that we can adhere to from 9-5 and then become our comfortable selves again.

It doesn't work like that.

Those, my friends, are what God calls the lukewarm.

Revelation 3:15,16 -- I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

Hear me: WE WILL NOT BE GRANTED THE FREEDOM TO BE  LUKEWARM MUCH LONGER.

In our fallen world, we don't need comfortable Christians. We need passionate, praying, persevering followers of Jesus Christ.

This isn't a game.

This is war.

Blessings,

A.

Oh, Selfish Heart

Hey everyone!

First of all, I just wanted to let you know that I continually pray for you, praying that this blog is touching each one of your lives.

Today, I wanted to talk about something that we all go through on a daily basis: selfishness.

What have you been selfish with? Your money? Your talents? Your time? Your very life?

A Christian rapper, by the name of Lecrae uses these lyrics in one of his songs:

"See your money, your singleness, marriage, talents, your time; they were loaned you to show the world that Christ is divine."

These words spoke to me.

What I've come to find is that people feel like their lives and the things in their lives, are theirs. When in reality, everything we have, down to each breath that we take, is God's. Every cent that we spend on our own selfish desires or wants, belongs to God. How can we expect be like Christ if we are trying so hard to hold onto what we have?

The entire point of this blog is explained in the Bible verse on the top of this page:

Luke 9:23 -- Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me."

We have to be willing to give up everything we have to follow Christ. Modern society tells us to hang on to what we have, keep things to ourselves, and hide things from other people.

Money is probably the most evident contributor to selfishness in our lives. We want to earn it, have more of it than the next guy, invest in it, or spend it on things that we want, but don't necessarily need. The Bible is clear about serving two masters.

Matthew 6:24 -- "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

1 Timothy 6:10 -- For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

There is a story in the Bible, where a man wanted to follow Jesus, but he was wealthy and his possessions were great. He asked Jesus what he must do, and in Matthew 19:21-22, Jesus told him:

“If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

How are we supposed to give back to God what is rightfully His, if we hoard it and act as if it is our own? Better yet, if we are too busy holding onto it, how can we help those around us?

1 John 3:17 says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" 

That's true isn't it? Above all other things, we are supposed to love. And if that love of God is in us, then how can we be selfish and turn those away who are in need? As it states in Proverbs 28:27:

" He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses."

We, as Christians are called to do the work of God. We are supposed to help those who are less fortunate, because the things that we do to them, we are doing to Christ. Scary thought, huh? But in Matthew 25:45, Jesus says,  

"‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’" 

I don't know about you, but that makes me think about things in a different way. I know if Jesus were sitting on a street corner, in rags, with an empty stomach, I would give everything that I had and more.

Why would it have to come to that? Why can't we show compassion to those, just as Christ did. Aren't we supposed to be His hands and His feet? Aren't we supposed to preach to the ends of the earth, the Good News? Aren't we supposed to love with the love that He gave?

He didn't have much, but He gave everything. Down to His very life. He was selfish with nothing. He kept nothing hidden. Yet we try to keep everything and sustain ourselves.

I know as humans, we all struggle with selfishness, but it's not just about the money. We are selfish with our talents as well. If you're great at teaching, why not share the Good News and help others receive the love of Christ? If you can sing, why not reach a crowd of people with lyrics that will fill their souls? If you are giving with your time, why not visit a hospital or nursing home and make someone smile? Each one of us, was given a gift.

Romans 12:6-8 says: We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

What else are we selfish with? Our time. We wake up in the mornings already thinking about the things that we have to get done. We don't stop and give thanks to God for the very breath that we take. My challenge to you, and myself as well, is to wake up 10 minutes early, and spend it with God. He deserves it. Pray, read a verse, or just sit in silence and listen to Him.

Once our day gets started, it's hard to find time to think about God. I've been there. But lately, I find that if I'm not thinking about God, the things that I am thinking about are pointless. I'm thinking about my future, relationships and worrying about things, when God says:

"I know the plans that I have for you (Jeremiah 29:11)."

Give your time, your every breath, your every thought to God.

And even more than anything I just talked about (money, talents and time), I want you think about what we are most selfish with in our hearts. Our lives.

I consider myself a follower of Christ, and I've heard a lot of people use the same words. But what does that mean? It means that we are supposed to die to ourselves, each and every day.

Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." 

By living our lives like Christ, selfishness won't be an issue. This is a lesson that I have to be taught every day, but it's something that I love to learn.

I don't want to be selfish. I want to give, as Christ did. I want to serve others and let the light of Jesus shine through me. I know from experience that there are many people out there today, claiming to be Christians, but the light that was in Christ, is no where to be found in them. In 2 Timothy 3:2-5, it is written:

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

We are told to avoid these kinds of people! Their lives are spent on building up what they have, trying to make a name for themselves here on earth, but honestly, what's the point? Their name may be remembered on earth for fifteen minutes, but what good is that going to do when God turns them away? We count a lot of things here on earth as treasures, but what better treasure is there than knowing and giving the infinite love of Christ Jesus our Lord?

So I leave you with one final thought.

Matthew 6:19-21 -- Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Where is your treasure?

Blessings,


A.

Time With God

I've found that I'm an analyzer.

I analyze the things that people do, the things that they say, and I try to understand what they mean. Not to say that I judge them; but I do find the human race to be fascinating. I've found that we are very much like animals. Bees busily buzz around. You never see them not working, do you? Aren't we like that? We have so many things going on in our lives and we never take the time to rest. How about owls or birds in general? Owls stay up all night. And birds are early to rise. Aren't we humans like these? We associate ourselves with being early birds or night owls. But do we think to recognize God when we awake in the morning, or before we lay down to rest? How about snakes? We as humans are prone to be sneaky, quiet, and ready to strike at any moment. We have the mentality of 'protecting our own' or seeking revenge on those who do bad to us.

We're not so different than the animal kingdom.

As I watch people walk by on the street, in airports, at school, or even my family at home, I can't help but wonder what goes on in their minds. Are they thinking about their crazy schedules? Are they worrying about tomorrow? Or are they thinking about the Creator of the heavens and the earth?

So much of our time is spent thinking about our own lives, that we forget that the reason that we are living, is up above. God created us. He knows our every thought, wish, desire and dream. But yet we feel the need to keep things hidden from Him. Like the early bird, we wake up ready to face the day, thinking that we can do it alone. Like the bees, we are busily going through the day, forgetting that God has it under control. Like the snake, we are prepared for fight or flight; ready to snap at someone who cuts in front of us, takes our seat, or looks at us with disgust, when we should be prepared to love those around us. Like the night owl, we stay alert in late hours of the night, happy to be with friends, but not thanking God for another day.

When is the last time that you spent time with the Almighty God?

Today? Yesterday? Last week? Last month? Last year?

We forget to wake up in the morning and give Him praise. We forget that He has our lives in His hands. We forget to love everyone we come in contact with, because we don't know what problems their lives hold. We forget to rest our heads at night with the assurance that God will be there watching over us, and to thank Him for giving us that day.

God deserves our time.

I know that I'm guilty of not giving Him enough of it. But when I think about it that way, I'm ashamed. I spend more of my time thinking about how I can advance in the world, and how I can get people to notice me, when all the while God is standing there saying, "Aysha, notice me."

My life was His before I was born, it is His now, and it will be His after I am gone from this earth.

He is always holding me in His hands, saying, "Aysha, I'm here. I'm holding you. Look up to me."

God deserves my time. My life. My praise to Him.

Because He is Lord.

Matthew 6:6 --But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

 Blessings,

A.