Abstain

This is one of the most controversial subjects probably in the world. The church as a whole has become the poster child of “abstinence, guilt and strict confinement” to the world. Unfortunately because of this it quickly became an insult to “accuse” someone of being a virgin or abstaining until marriage, especially if the person claiming to be doing so is male.

Being abstinent is not a punishment or unthinkable task to do. I believe that if society hadn’t automatically deemed abstinence as moronic or old school thinking, more people would be abstaining from many things, not just sexual activities.

To the ladies:

Just because all of your friends have participated in various sexual activities doesn’t mean YOU have to. What will YOU gain when YOU follow your friend’s patterns? How does it make you any better of a person if you have sex “just because” you thought you needed to. You dictate what you do with your body, but let the Holy Spirit operate it-meaning yes you can do whatever you want with your body because of our free will, but don’t be reckless and know that the Holy Spirit will guide you to not just any cute boy/man but instead will lead you to your husband. If you want this path of abstinence until marriage give your life over to Jesus, accept Him as your Lord and Saviour and then ask for your sins to be forgiven and ask for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

To the men:

Just like what the women go through, the peer pressure to hook up with a girl right away starting at a young age is almost impossible to escape. A great start is choosing quality friends, not just friends that you grew up with friends that have a similar mindset, professionally and relationship wise. But you can always start where you are, just let them know that you’re looking for a quality woman, one that will be your wife, not just any random girl that happens to be attractive. Of course there’s going to be one or two guys that are going to laugh or try to push you even more to hook up with someone, but you must stand your ground-if they’re your friend they’ll drop it and let you be you, but if they never let it go then you know to drop them!

Be Abundantly Supplied

No matter how many times a Pastor has brought up anything having to do with money, people around them get really uncomfortable and sometimes very dismissive because they feel that finances and faith are unrelated.

I cannot stress enough that God wants ALL His people to be abundantly supplied. Don’t get rich and abundant confused-because ‘rich’ has such an arrogant connotation, we have the ability to become abundantly supplied, meaning ALL of our needs are met.

Most people think Christians should be simple people living with the bare minimum and little money. This is not what God had in mind for us, don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that if you are in that state that you are not a Christian or that God is mad at you, He wants you to move up. We all have to want more for ourselves and others and in order to be effective. You have to have something in order to help someone else, to provide shelter, gas, help with bills, food, clothes, traveling to get to somewhere/someone and so on. All the basic things in this world needs money at some point and this is why we have to be abundantly supplied. This also includes the connections you make with other people who have things that can help you help another, such as because you had the extra finances to travel to the next town to meet a friend who is stuck on the side of the road, you meet a man at a rest stop that has a towing service and is willing to tow your friend’s truck back to their home for half the price!

These things don’t happen by chance they happen because you had the finances and the favor of the Lord to help someone else and gave you a lower price to help that friend.

Being abundantly supplied means you and your family have all their needs met and have extra to do what you please (hopefully you choose wisely as to what to do).

Don’t be living on the cusp of financial downfall, be at a state of having more than enough!

Be Prepared

 This is not some doomsday preppers take on being prepared for an emergency, but being wise as to how to properly prepare for the world’s events.

Matthew 24:6

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all^[a] these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

We are now at the point where almost all of God’s word has come to pass. We are in the stage of ‘wars and rumors of wars’ and gearing up for the end.

Luke 21:11

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹¹ And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

These events are already taking place now and will continue to develop over a short period of time. This is why we have to be wise and diligent to what the word has ALREADY warned us. He told us there things so that we can be prepared and not fumbling around in fear or complacency during these times.

Regardless if you believe we are in the end times, everyone should be prepared for any type of emergency.

Yes the Lord will protect His people, however protection doesn’t always come in the form of an invisible shield around you, sometimes it’s a knowledge that He gives us in His word. If we’re told, there will be earthquakes in diverse places, wouldn’t you make sure to have preparations for in case of an earthquake? These are common occurrences any, so why not be prepared! This also includes places that don’t have or usually have seismic activity.

Have a family plan to meet somewhere if something happens. Be prepared with food, water and protection (whatever that may be) and money if there are power outages or system crashes-which is not uncommon and will happen in the last days. Just be prepared regardless of what your local church believes. Be safe and pray when you read scriptures about the end times and ask for the Holy Spirit to clarify and give you wisdom about His word.

Armor

Ephesians 6:10-18

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,^[a] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

We have to be war-minded regardless of your stance on the issue. The difference is that we are fighting a battle everyday-all day whether you know it or not. There is a constant battle over your soul, between the light and darkness, looking for a point of entrance.

As believers in Jesus Christ, who have been saved by grace, we can’t be naïve to the notion that we are a part of a war.

The war is a struggle between Christ and Satan and the battles we fight daily is the demonic spirits trying to interfere so that they can pull us away from the Lord. Nonbelievers are already oblivious to the things of God so they are easy victims for demonic activity to interfere in such a way that they will ultimately never find salvation.

As believers we have to remember Ephesians 6: 10-18. We have armor that God has given us, spiritually because it’s a spiritual war, that will help us fight off those attacks of the enemy, even when we aren’t aware of what’s going on.

Don't forget to suit up!

Pass

Not every opportunity is for you.

There are some people who think anytime there is an opportunity to do something is for them to jump on and don’t think twice about it.  Yet, I have learned that that’s not the case. Some opportunities are meant for someone else to benefit from.

It can be hard to weed out those opportunities for you and those that are not. One factor that you cannot ignore, just like before you got saved, is that your body and your heart will give you a quick heads up. Intense anxiety or fear, nausea and sleepless nights are key indicators that this may not be for you whether it’s before your start or during the process.

Anxiety and fear are not of God. Yes, you are to fear the Lord, but not scared of God but to respect Him to the point that you don’t want to go against Him because you love Him. No other fear is acceptable! Don’t believe anyone that says there is healthy fear outside the Lord.

Philippians 4:6

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

God’s blessings and opportunities are not coupled with fear and anxiety. Especially to the point where you can’t sleep and feel sick. If you’re still unsure about it, pray!

Prayer eases the anxiety for those situations that aren’t for you and eliminates anxiety for those that are for you, but the enemy is trying to make you anxious. If prayer doesn’t remove the fear or anxiety trust that the opportunity is not for you.

Tongues

The infilling of the Holy Spirit has long been a point of contention amongst the Christian denominations.

Despite there being proof in the written word, spread out through new and Old Testament, some denominations don’t acknowledge it or acknowledge it but won’t practice it. The power that comes with speaking in tongues is an amazing experience and gift from the Lord. He left us His spirit so we can be led/helped and connected to Him.

Acts 2:11-13

Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹¹ Cretans and Arabians too—we all hear them speaking in our own native tongues [and telling of] the mighty works of God!

¹² And all were beside themselves with amazement and were puzzled and bewildered, saying one to another, What can this mean?

¹³ But others made a joke of it and derisively said, They are simply drunk and full of sweet [intoxicating] wine.

The speaking in tongues can transform your prayer language into a language unknown by you but understood by others.

Ephesians 6:18

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Praying in the Spirit means to pray in tongues, the evidence of having the Holy Spirit in you is with the evidence of speaking in tongues-speaking in the Spirit. A heavenly language designed for your spirit to speak to God. This is important, to have your spirit freely and clearly pray for what you can’t articulate.

Don’t push Him away by choosing not to believe in the gift the God has given to you.

The Little Things

Every blessing counts!

I sometimes forget to acknowledge certain blessings in my life because they seem like just “good things” that happened rather than blessings from the Lord. I don’t want to forget those blessings, big and small because if I don’t notice those “small” blessings I may overlook the “big” ones in the future.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁷ “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear^[a] when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

Every day that we wake up we are blessed, regardless of our situation in life, we are still blessed. Of course there are times when we feel like our circumstances outweigh the blessings, but we have to remember that we are able to live another day and take advantage of more blessings to come.

Don’t ignore the smaller blessings and demote them to just being a “that’s nice” moment or experience, thank Him for the blessing(s) when they happen and realize that you are blessed, because He loves you.