Monday, June 30, 2014

We are living in evil times...

Posted by Living Passionately, Purposely on Monday, June 30, 2014 0 comments
The AMP version of the Bible outlines these two verses in James chapter 1, which says,

14 But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).

15 Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.

God doesn't tempt man to lure them into sin. When we are tempted it is because there are evil ways within us that keep nagging at us... If we continue to dwell upon it, we will premeditate upon it enough to act upon it. When we fulfill the act of sin, it is only a short while after until we see the consequences of the sin, being death.
For example, when we have a disagreement in our homes, we could sit and ponder about the things someone said to us and how much it hurt us. We could then allow our minds to go to a place where we want to return the favor and spit words back at the person. The bible says that we are not to let the sun go down on our wrath..but when we get too angry we go to sleep thinking about what happened. The devil sees the entrance we have created and as such, he comes in a drops more evil thoughts to have us dazed, confused and swimming in sin. After a while, we explode with anger causing the situation to worsen. Sometimes it means that our spouses walk away, our children leave feeling worthless, our neighbors become our enemies, we lose our jobs, etc. This will be the consequences of our sin... The final result is death in the situation and not life. Too often we sit and focus on the problem...allowing the situation to become magnified in our minds. We need to trust God to fight our battles for us, while we look for solutions...
Our Lord only thinks good thoughts towards us..let us renew our minds daily to rebuke the devil bodily and cause him to flee!

Monday, June 23, 2014

Marriage

Posted by Living Passionately, Purposely on Monday, June 23, 2014 0 comments
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready (Rev 19:7). In this scripture, it is clearly telling us that the church is the bride who is getting ready for the marriage ceremony with the groom, Jesus Christ. As evidenced throughout the Bible, God holds marriage as a sacred union. That relationship between man and the church is ultimately the most significant of all. In the same way, God loves the earthly marriage between a man and his wife. But, do we really value our marriages today? Do we take the time to treat our spouses with the same love and attention we did when we were first married? For me, I am guilty of not doing my best. 
I could remember a time when I would show affection and love in everything I did... in household tasks, in financial situations and especially towards my hubby. However, after 8 years of marriage, the romance has halted somewhat, and the affection a distant memory! But, through prayer, and spending time with God, He has taught me that I can do much better, instead of waiting for my husband to do things differently! 
So, I started off to change MY ways in the home. I often tell my husband that he is no longer romantic and doesn't show love the way he used to, but then I recognised the change begins with me. So let us be the change as we seek to better ourselves in our marriages....

Saturday, June 14, 2014

The earthly minded cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

Posted by Living Passionately, Purposely on Saturday, June 14, 2014 0 comments
Adam was the first man created by God. He was a physical body, a shell, a vessel, empty and lifeless until the breath of life was breathed into him, making him a living soul. Since he was made from the earth, the Amplified Bible tells us in 1 Cor. 15, that he was earthly minded. The second Adam the scripture says, is Christ. He was not created from the earth, He made the Earth! He is from heaven, and thus remains heaven-minded. As we read on, we are taught that flesh and blood is a perishable 
commodity, and thus if something could perish, it cannot enjoy an everlasting inheritance! 
The living soul within us is from God, and thus cannot die. Therefore, our soul, this imperishable part of us, is the part of us that can inherit the kingdom of God. We have to now seek to align ourselves with God to gain entry into His mighty Kingdom. 
The flesh seeks after worldly pleasures that are temporal. However, when we can renew our minds daily in the Word of God, we begin to think with more wisdom. We then go after things in the Spirit and watch for the manifestations of these things in the natural world we live in, for this is our inheritance.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Wives, submit yourselves to your husband..

Posted by Living Passionately, Purposely on Thursday, June 12, 2014 0 comments
Ephe 5:22 says, 'Wives, be subject (be submissive and adapt yourselves) to your own husbands as [a service] to the Lord'. This is such a powerful statement to me. I was raised to be an independent woman, who in no way was ever supposed to cater to the every desire of a man, unless it pleased me. Even more so, when I found Christ, I did not believe this verse applied to me because although I was a Christian, my husband was not. How wrong was I!As I began to seek God more, I recognized that I had fallen victim to another one of society's tricks which caused my ultimate enslavement. It didn't please God for me to be selfish, and to be above my husband in the authoritative way I had grown accustomed to. To my surprise, God wanted me to be the person for my husband that will love him enough to encourage him, and become a help meet to him. I was startled by this, but again thought to myself, that I would do this when my dear husband got saved.... Again, wrong! My own stubbornness kept me from seeing the truth behind what God intended for me, and my marriage.It took a conversation with a church sister of mine for me to recognize that in this scripture, God was talking to all wives who had ears to hear. He was telling us that we as the women in our households, need to submit ourselves to our husbands, being that help meet to him, who will be there to encourage and support him in all his endeavors....and then it hit me - whether he is saved or unsaved!I felt so guilty at that point... for so long I had been pointing fingers at him when things didn't go my way. I thought to myself often that I am the saved one, so therefore, I know better. All this time, I was the one pushing my husband away because I had built up walls of resentment, unforgiveness and even bitterness that separated us from each other. I was not submitting myself to my husband. I was denying myself this service unto the Lord, which only had benefits for me. I was walking away from the abundance of blessing that was getting ready to be poured out of the heavens for my life, because I was living in disobedience.But, I thank God. I thank God for His Word, and for revelation and wisdom to do better now. I am thankful that I can now rely upon God to change my very mindset from the pre conditioned ways of thinking, to newness that reflects His saving grace. I am thankful that everyday I have a new opportunity to learn how to be a submissive wife... a ministry that will only develop over time as I continue to seek the Lord. Wives, submitting to our husbands is not lowering our self worth in any way. We are not doing that to be slaves to the men we are married to. We are doing a service unto God. We are taking our stands as righteous women of God who live everyday to please Our Father which art in Heaven. We are teaching our daughters how to live, grow and develop with Christ like character that pleases God. We are learning everyday, and for that, we will be blessed.May God bless you all and may your marriages be filled with love, peace, joy, compassion and romance... God is love. When we love, it pleases God.

My Husband, My Friend...

Posted by Living Passionately, Purposely on Thursday, June 12, 2014 0 comments

You are more than I could have asked for
Your eyes pierce deep into my soul
uncovering the darkest parts of me
Your are masculine, strong, bold and fearless
Yet gentle, loving and sensual
When you hold me in your arms
I melt at your touch
The world seems empty and distant
Because I am lost in your embrace
You appear before me as excellent, stately, 
A king of royalty
My life is complete because you are with me
God has blessed me
And too often i couldn't see
Mistakes are now a thing of the past
With you by my side
God is ready to make us new
Take my hand my prince 
Sweep me into your loving arms
Walk with me into our future
You have been and will always be
My friend, confidant, company
I love you.

Love Song

Posted by Living Passionately, Purposely on Thursday, June 12, 2014 0 comments
My all I give to You
Oh Lord You're all I need
You captivate me
With Your presence every day
You are so faithful
So loving 
So tender and charming
You lift me up and pull me out
You leave me in complete awe
I kneel in all surrender God
Before your throne of mercy
I am nothing Lord 
I need You more 
Hold me close 
Wrap me in your love 
Drown me in Your compassion
Consume me in Your flames of fire
Lead me where You want me
My all I give to You
Oh lord You're all I need.

Who You are to Me

Posted by Living Passionately, Purposely on Thursday, June 12, 2014 0 comments
Oh Lord Im so glad I found You
Theres none like You
You fill me with courage, 
You lift me on wings of hope
Out of darkness, You captivated me 
With the marvelous warmth of your light
Jesus, You are everything
My second chance of living
You are my One and Only God
Who is like You Lord
Everyday, my heart chooses You again
In your presence I could feel Your breath cover my existence
Holy are You, 
You fill me with your blessed assurance
As I stand on your grace
I am renewed..
 

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