CHOOSE JOY, NOT JEALOUSY!

If you ask any child of God what the strongest force in the world is, they will tell you that it is love. In 𝟏 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝟏𝟑:𝟒-𝟖, God’s Word gives us an extensive explanation of what love stands for. And sometimes, we tend to forget one of its greatest enemies: jealousy.

Jealousy is not as innocent as we think. It is not simply wishing for what others have. If we constantly feed on it, it leads to a vicious cycle of comparison and dissatisfaction. It is a tool satan uses to make us sad and disappointed upon realising that we do not have what our neighbour has, yet what you are feeling right now is as a result of your focus! If you focus on what you are lacking compared to others, it is only natural to feel left out, forgotten by God.

Nevertheless, in the book of 𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬 𝟐𝟎:𝟏𝟕, the Bible states, “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞; 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫’𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐱, 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫’𝐬.” Although we have needs as human beings, and we need resources to make it in this world, this command is essentially for our own good!

Indeed, if we have a look at the story of Abel and Cain, it is easy to understand that jealousy will draw us towards destructive behaviours. It will make us foster resentment, there will be no more room left for love to take root, and God cannot reside nor encourage a covetous heart. Envy also reflects a lack of gratitude, because no one can deny that the Lord has not blessed us already! Every day, He gives us a million reasons to be thankful, but we will never be able to appreciate any of them if we do not stop comparing ourselves to others as if life is an endless competition.

Therefore, if you want to be happy and feel content, shift your perspective and acknowledge the Lord’s sovereignty. And rest assured, when you say “no” to jealousy, you stop the devil from manipulating you with his lies, and you will find that thankfulness is a path to a more abundant and fulfilling life!

🙏 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫: “Heavenly Father, I pray for Your strength and guidance to overcome jealousy. Help me focus on Your blessings and teach me how to cultivate a heart of gratitude. Lord, do not let me forget about Your daily goodness, so I can fight against any negative feeling, in Jesus’ name!”

#𝐉𝐨𝐲𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲 #𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞

WE ARE KNOWN BY OUR LOVE

1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

We have prayed and hoped, but the thing that is yet to be applied is love. Since the greatest is love, you need to make the greatest sacrifice. A Christian is known by his love, first to God and then his neighbour. Your neighbour could be your enemy, those who don’t share the same faith with you. Despite that, you are commanded to love them all. This is because we begin to succeed in our lives when the problems and hurts of others matter to us.

Love is always there to act, no matter what happens, no matter what comes. Love cares more for others than for self. Love does not look down on others, love is not proud, love is determined, love does not give up, love loves without condition. A person who does not love others cannot be entrusted with the power of God, for he will misappropriate it, misuse it to hurt himself and others. As Christians, if we say love abides in us, we will not hesitate to show love to those who need it; we will look around to see those who need our love. We will be mindful of how we treat those around us. Therefore, stop meditating on your weakness and start loving Jesus; in other words, start loving your neighbour. Stop pointing fingers at the economy and start loving Jesus; in other words, start loving your neighbour.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to love unconditionally. Help me to love the right way, in Jesus’ name! Amen!

THERE IS STRENGTH IN UNITY!

Many people find themselves in relationships that are not rewarding and they tend to give up on those relationships before even giving them a chance to settle and grow. Nevertheless, the way we leave the old relationship is the way we enter the new one, and if the bitterness of separation stays in our heart, every bond we try to build will be inevitably infected.

The Bible teaches us otherwise! In 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝟐𝟕:𝟏𝟕, we find the key: “𝐀𝐬 𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.” Hence, when our relationships are under great strain and conflict, we should remember what God thinks about it! In times of great distress, He uses the tension to speak strength in our lives, to mature us and make us better people. Although the enemy of our soul will try his best to bring offense and cause us to pull back, the truth is that no one can succeed alone. We depend on others to succeed in our respective callings!

Even our Almighty Saviour had 12 disciples to carry out His mission, letting love lead Him, despite the weaknesses they had as human beings. So, think back. Were there any relationships that would have turned your life around for the better, yet they failed due to adversity? Do not fall for satan’s tactics anymore! Whatever the cause of trouble is, as His genuine followers, we must let go of bitterness and look beyond it, because there are blessings coming! We must let go of offense and let love lead us in every relationship instead!

So, are you ready to look at your relationships from Christ’s point of view?

🙏𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫: “Lord Jesus, You are the Healer of wounds both inside and out. Heal any disappointment in my life and erase the bitterness from my heart. Lord, grant me the wisdom to navigate my relationships with understanding and compassion instead of unforgiveness and anger, in Jesus’ name, amen!”

#BuildThatBond  #Relationships

WE ARE CHRIST’S REPRESENTATIVES

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.”

When you gave your life to Christ, when you said no to your life of sin and made the ultimate decision to follow our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, you became His representative here on earth. As a man born of the Spirit, as a believer, you are a representative of Christ. As His representatives, we must mirror Him because He is our standard. I mean, if we say that Christ dwells inside of us, we must speak it, act it and show it because our life is the greatest sermon.

For us to represent Christ, we have to be conscious of His presence in our lives. When we are conscious of Christ’s presence, we will be moved to do only what pleases Him. How we live then matters because we are expected to live right. For us to live right, we must be willing to let go of everything that will hinder our relationship with God. I mean, we must be ready to pick up our cross and follow Him. We must strive every day to know Him more so that we can become more like Him; this is the only way we can represent Him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me the grace to know You more, the grace to be more like You, in Jesus’ name! Amen!

FAILURE BRINGS YOU CLOSER TO SUCCESS!

People’s greatest successes are the result of hard work, patience, persistence, big risks, and many failed attempts. The number of failures doesn’t matter as much as the lessons learnt from them! As any successful person would say, the road to success is anything but easy. The secret of those who succeeded is that they never gave up! A man with a vision never gives up, no matter how many failures he has. Think of a person you admire – an athlete, an entrepreneur, anyone. It’s easy, looking at their life, to be lulled into the illusion that they got to where they are today without ever facing hardships or making mistakes. The reality, however, is that failure is a part of life, but what matters is our reaction when it comes.

Let us take Peter’s life as an example, reading from 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝟓:𝟒-𝟕. If Peter had caught many fish that day, he probably would have missed the opportunity to meet Jesus Christ. Thanks to his failure, he encountered the Lord, and everything else that followed! Of course, Peter did not stay put, but directly obeyed the instruction of Jesus to cast his nets again. In other words, he faced his adversity according to the instruction in righteousness that was given to him. This teaches us that disappointment sometimes serves to keep us for a new level in life!

Failures can bring forth opportunities that otherwise might have never come our way. Therefore, let us not underestimate the doors failure can open for us. However, there is one crucial requirement: we must recognize our mistake, accept it, see what we have learned from it, and dare to try again! No one said that our road will be paved with rose petals, it isn’t written anywhere in the Word of God; what is written is that Jesus Christ will be with us all the days of our life, and with God on your side, you can face life’s final road with courage!

🙏Prayer: “Father, help me to not be discouraged every time I fail. Help me realize that mistakes are not a sign of failure, but the lever to my success, and that the road to success goes through difficulties first, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen!”

#Failure #Success

THE GRACE TO LEARN AND MOVE ON

Philippians 3:12 says, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.”

The Lord has given us the ability to learn from our mistakes and errors. There are errors you committed in the past that would have led to your death; many others did the same but are not alive today. This proves that we are able to learn from mistakes and move on. As far as there is flesh, as far as you are not yet perfected, mistakes will come, but you should learn from them and move on. Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, never promised to keep us away from mistakes; however, He has given us the grace to learn lessons and move on. He never promised to keep you away from all these challenges, but He promised to see you through them. If gold must be gold, it must pass through the furnace. If you must be a Christian, there is a process. What it takes for gold to be gold is what it takes for you to be a Christian. Your character must be tested in real situations. Each challenge moves you either forward or backward. To make a change, you must take a stand on God’s Word, accepting that the assurance of His salvation will help you to maintain that change.

Prayer: O Holy Spirit, take more of me and give me more of You! Give me more of Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control, in Jesus Christ’s name! Amen!

GIVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR ANOTHER CHANCE!

Since you live in this world, disagreements or even arguments with other people are inevitable. Surely, in the course of your life, you will also meet people who will sin against you, intentionally or not.

And this is a trap of satan where many fall today – including Christians. That is, they do not forgive other people’s sins. But learn that when you are holding offenses such as bitterness, anger, hatred, pain of the past and so forth, you are building a wall. A wall that doesn’t only isolate you from others, but from God as well.

In 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰 𝟏𝟖:𝟐𝟏-𝟐𝟐, Jesus Christ makes it perfectly clear, “𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝, ‘𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞? 𝐔𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬?’ 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬.” It is, therefore, extremely important to forgive, not just because we need forgiveness, but because no one can succeed alone. We depend on others to succeed in our respective callings.

Therefore, to improve your relationships, learn to give people another chance!

🙏𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫: “Father God, teach me Your opinion about me and about the people around me. Empower me so that I can forgive and give others another chance, just as You always give me another chance, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen!”

#Forgiveness #ImproveYourRelationships

CHRIST HAS GIVEN US VICTORY

1 Corinthians 15:56 – 57 says: “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ has given us victory by conquering death so that we might reign in life with Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins so that we might be free. This victory is a rare opportunity given to all believers for us to experience a new beginning. Jesus Christ’s victory is the joy of a true believer. His death and resurrection brought about the new life we enjoy today. Having life in abundance, He brushed aside our unworthy past and brought us to the living God. His resurrection has made a way into eternal glory for us and has offered us victory.

He conquered death so that we may live. He conquered sickness to give us good health. He conquered poverty to secure abundance for us. Begin to take your place in the believer’s authority and start confessing this victory over your life, over your situation — and see it become a reality.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for taking my place in death. Thank You for Your gift of life. Thank You for giving me victory, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

THE TOOL OF DISCERNMENT!

Advances in technology levelled up the role of information and news. Today, at any given moment we have access to any information we desire. But how do we know what is reliable, valid, and true, and what is not?

Thus, in an era where lies dominate the world, we, as children of God, are called to live according to the revelation of the Holy Spirit, that is, according to His truth, which is found in the Word of God. 𝟏 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟒:𝟏, “𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.” We live in a world full of darkness and deception, but God has empowered us with a spiritual gift, the discernment between good and evil. We should not base our beliefs according to human philosophies or ideas, but according to the Word of God! Man’s judgement is based only on what is seen, heard, and on what the circumstances look like. This kind of judgment is limited and cannot understand God.

Seeking and finding the truth, which as we said exists only in the Holy Bible, equals living a life of freedom, free from fear. Remember, satan hates an independent mind. It’s time to make God’s Word the database for your personal opinion!

🙏𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫: “Holy Father, may Your truth dwell in the hearts of all Your children! Help us, Lord, to discern between what is good and true and what is bad and false, in the almighty name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen!”

#𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 #𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡

HE TURNED THE CROSS INTO A CROWN & THE TOMB INTO TRIUMPH!

An empty grave, and a stone rolled away– this is the single piece of evidence that astounded Christ’s enemies because no one before Him – or after Him – had ever defeated death. Therefore, we should rejoice, because in His resurrection lies the assurance that no darkness can extinguish the light of love and no despair can undermine the promise of a new beginning!

Indeed, in His resurrection, we find not only salvation, but also the strength to endure life’s perils! What cross are you carrying today? Is it setback? Disappointment? Jesus can turn it into a crown! What tomb have your dreams fallen in? He can turn that tomb into triumph!

𝟏 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏:𝟑: “[…] 𝐈𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝!”

So, just as Jesus Christ is risen, we encourage you to let your heart rise and seek the things that are above. For just as He conquered death, you can conquer your worries too! This Easter, may your heart be filled with hope and peace, remembering that no matter what trials you are facing, you do so with the promise of ultimate triumph!

#HappyEaster #DayOfVictory