L’IMPUDICITE
Beaucoup de jeunes se retrouvent pris au piège par ce fléau mais tellement le garde pour eux qu’on a le sentiment d’être seul à vivre cette situation. Cette solitude rend la situation d’autant plus compliquée et mets au-dedans de la personne une très grande frustration. On se retrouve parfois à s’éloigner des autres, de Dieu et à perdre notre amour propre. Aujourd’hui je viens te rappeler ce que la Bible nous dit dans Romains 10.13 :
Si tu l’appelles, Il ne manquera pas de venir à ton secours.
Aujourd’hui je voudrais que tu prennes conscience du fait que contrairement à ce que tu penses ceci n’est pas une bataille qui tu mènes seule. Ce n’est pas non plus une bataille qui tu mènes contre toi-même. C’est un travail d’équipe entre Holy Holy et toi. La Bible nous dit encore dans 1 Corinthiens 6.18-19 :
De ce fait il est temps que tu comprennes qu’Il n’y a que Lui qui peut t’apprendre la marche à suivre pour garder son temple propre.
QUI EST DIEU POUR TOI?
L'on ne s'en rend pas forcément compte mais la manière dont nous nous représentons Dieu joue un grand rôle dans la relation que nous partageons avec Lui. Il est aussi important de noter que parfois cette dite représentation peut limiter les manifestations de Dieu dans nos vies.
Comme j’aime si bien le dire Dieu est un gentleman. Il ne s’impose pas et n’entre pas où Il n’est pas invité. Il n’y a qu’une confiance et en un amour aveugle en la personne de Jesus qui peut nous permettre de marcher sur les eaux avec Lui, ou encore de ne pas paniquer face à la tempête. C’est pour cela que cette semaine je viens t’inviter à revoir la manière dont tu perçois Dieu afin de parfaire la relation que tu partages avec Lui.
LOVE LANGUAGE
By reading a book written by Gary Chapman I learned that there are 5 love languages. There is one that each one of us responds to primarily. The five love languages are:
Today I don't really want to get into the Bible today but I just have two questions for you:
VALUE
The dictionary defines value as the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.
I have come to realize that it is only in the eyes of a man that in order to have value you need to earn it. The wonderful thing about God is that the only thing you need to do is be you.
In Genesis 1.27 the Bible says: "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
As a human, you are a part of God and He is a part of you. This being established, you can never lose value in His eyes because you are perfectly imperfect. No matter how deep it is buried, a diamond doesn't lose its value. I, therefore, have three questions for you today:
STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS
Romans 8.28 says: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
I used to ask myself why I had to go through all that. "Why me?" was a question I was always asking God. Then I realized that if I hadn't gone through all that I would not have a story to tell. I wouldn't be able to talk about so many things because I would not have experienced them. I also came to realize that all those things were orchestrated by the devil to keep me away from the destiny God had planned for me.
Today what was a weakness is becoming a strength. Where the devil thought he had won, God is making my light shine even brighter for his glory. The one thing I want you to keep in your heart this week is this: I am not defined by my trauma. All the things that have tried to steal my light have not in any way diminished the love God has for me. On the contrary, because I have come to seek His help they will contribute to His glory being restored in my life. If He has done it for others, He can and will do it for me.
WHERE IS YOUR HEART
Matthew 15.7-10: "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them."
Some events this week lead me to ask myself if I truly do things for the sake of God's glory or if deep inside I do them just for me to be seen. Sadly the latter is true. Although I do want to share with others the wonders of God sometimes I just want to be noticed and as a servant of God, that means there is a problem with my heart. I say that because the love He has for me should satisfy me above anything I could receive from somebody else.
So I just wish to as you this question: In your relationship with God does your heart really belong to Him?
Moment With God
To be honest with you, this podcast is not very "new". This week I didn't really organize myself well enough to record because what I was supposed to share with you wasn't something I had been very good at doing lately. I knew this week's episode was going to be about being in God's presence but I haven't been doing much of that lately so I really could bring myself to do it.
Thankfully I have been recording for a while and even though I have a hard time listening to myself after I do, I ended up listening to this recording that I did back in March. As I was listening... it just clicked! This was it!
I won't be too long over here today. I just pray God enables us to have our energetic and intentional prayer times back. May He rekindle our dimmed flames. God bless you all!
GOD'S LOVE
Luke 15.1-7 says: "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
Once we realize that we are sinners, that we have sinned we begin to realize that the lost sheep that God leaves every other sheep to go and find is you, is me. Each time we distance ourselves from Him, He is more pained than we will ever be. I like to think that each emotion we experience as humans God experiences it x100. This is why I have the conviction that His love is even bigger, wider, and deeper than I could ever imagine.
God loves me; He loves you… that is a fact. Just as we don't doubt the laws of physics... it's is the same way we shouldn’t doubt God’s love. Although it is a universal fact it is tough to take it all in, to fully accept it.
As humans, we love with interest. We sometimes feel the need to be worthy of someone’s love, the need to prove ourselves. There is no need for any of that with God. He loves you because He created you in His image. How can He not love Himself? Just as I am a part of Him, you are a part of Him.
I agree that we need to live and act in a way that pleases Him because that is the only way to show Him our love for Him but His love truly comes with no conditions other than to let Him live in us. Today I just want to tell you this: don't let your guilt lead you astray. Don’t let your guilt take you far away from Him. Don't let your guilt rob you of the grace and favor He bestows upon you.
Because you are trying to repent He will continue to cater to you. Just remember... it feels so hard because you feel that because you have sinned you need to do it alone at first and go back to Him once you have conquered. There is no real victory without God. Without Him, you win battles and not the war.
In the Bible, many in the eyes of men would not have been seen as worthy of their destiny but He chose each of them. This path of mistakes you are going through will enable you to connect even more with others. Your experience will touch more than anything else. Yes... His love is reckless because He loves us with the only care for us and not Himself. He knows that through it He will ultimately be glorified.
HOPE
One of my high school teachers had once told me that the difference between living and existing is hope. I hadn't really understood it but I think now I do. When you live a life with no hope, there is nothing for you to look forward to. To me it is just like you a robot programmed to just do the basics to survive. On the other hand when there is hope, you have the will to fight. You want to make things better and you allow yourself to dream; you try to make those dreams come true.
This episode is a bit more personal because I shared a part of my story with you all. I decided not to go in too much detail but I sure do hope it was enough to give someone out there hope. I believe that if God has done it and is still doing it for me then He can and will most definitely do it for you if you let Him. Our God has never and will never change. Fortunately He is always the same and loves us regardless of out flaws. He is merciful and He provides.
I just want to remind you that you are not alone! God is with you every step of the way... as long as you let Him in. He will not impose Himself on you. The ball is in your court and you always have the choice to let Him in or not. Which ever decision you make just keep in mind, He made you, loved you first, and therefore knows more than you what is best for you.
GOD'S WILL
When you have a hard time seeing, you book an appointment with the ophthalmologist in hopes to get a solution to your problem. In most cases this comes with getting a pair of glasses. In our case our ophthalmologist is the Holy Spirit. It is through Him that we are able to visualise and understand God's way, He even teaches us how to pray like the bible says in Romans 8. 26-27
The ultimate goal is for our will and God's will in our lives to become one. He is our Father and although sometimes the things He asks to do seem to not even make sense, they ultimately lead to greater things. Had Abraham not obeyed to God and gone to sacrifice Isaac, most likely all the blessings God had in store for him would not have been fulfilled. Jeremiah 29. 11-13 tells us:
In this new life we have found in God letting go also means accepting that we don't actually control much. It means accepting that we are weak and the we need to depend on God in order to navigate smoothly through the waters of life. It demands humility to ask God to enable to accept His will no matter how hard it may seem. The one thing I hold onto when things get hard is that all my Father does can only be good for me on the long run.
FORGIVENESS
1 John 1.9 tells us: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Most times we view forgiveness as something we give to others. I have come to realize that it also applies to ourselves. Many times in our lives, we have held grudges about how we handled a situation, the things we should have done but did not do. This line of thought can easily land us in a situation where we feel too dirty to go to God. That is exactly what the enemy wants. He will cloud your thoughts with nasty ideas that will lead you to think that you are not worthy of God's forgiveness. I just want to remind you that God doesn't forgive because we are worthy... it is only because He looks at the repentance in our hearts and the unconditional love He has for us.
Romans 8.28 -30 says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Each and every scar you bear will ultimately lead you to who you are meant to be, only if you let God do His magic. We were drowning, and He has brought us back to the surface. Do not let the shackles of past mistakes hold you down. The hurt you have carried will enable you to look at every victory coming your way in a new light!
COURAGE
Too often have I heard that when a person commits suicide it is out of cowardice. Truthfully it is because they have been strong for too long. The difference between thinking about doing it and taking action is the courage to go ahead with it.
In that same line of thought, it demands courage to abandon ourselves to God, entirely. Giving up total control to Him demands so much courage because we all want to live our lives the way we see fit. The thing is... there is strength in living fog God because He will take care of us as no other person can. He resurrects aspects of our lives that are dead. The way I see it, it is only fair that because He died for us, we live for Him.
He knows us better than anybody else. He loves us more than anyone can ever love us. I just pray that we all have the courage to let Him do His 90% as we do our 10%. Every tear that leaves our eyes is more painful to Him than it is for us. Unconditional love is the only way to describe the love He has for us. It is a love that is totally unmerited, love that we didn't do anything to deserve. Just take it all in because His love is based on nothing but the fact that you are YOU. He loves you for YOU, for the person you are deep down.
I really do pray that by the grace of God we all go back to our godly identities.
Be Blessed!
SUICIDE
A topic that touches so many, but that is still so unknown. I have tried to put words to how it felt for me. How I experienced hitting rock bottom. How I went from being completely in the dark to remembering that even in the darkness of the night God put the stars and the moon in the sky for us to remember He is there.
This is a glimpse of my encounter with suicide... and I hope the story of how God saved me will enable someone to remember that no matter how lonely that place may feel He is there with you. Just let Him in and I promise things will get better.